#'i do not doubt your strength' addressed to sakura

[meitanteisachi]

Sasuke Retsuden be giving all Sasusaku shippers the biggest crumbs in life they are winning

#i am so glad this is canon fuck yeah #it's fun to be a multi-saku shipper i keep on winning #for real #god sasuke is an oblivious dumb man akjjsgd #the ring scene. the ring scene!!!! #It be happening soon WOOOO #'i do not doubt your strength' addressed to sakura #YES #and that other scene- boy ya jealous?!? #ya finally showing emotions?? Heh. He heh. #doctor-patient dynamic is killing me istg #ANYWAY IM LOVING THIS #gonna savor the crumb- no the meal #WOOT #sasusaku

[nejibaby]

Small Details

Pairings: Neji x Y/N

Summary: Neji was a man of few words, even more so with you, and when he sees you with Naruto in a compromising position, he has troubles expressing himself.

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: And I finally managed to finish this! It took me so long! Today, I offer you a flustered Neji... 👀 I hope y’all enjoy it because I may or may not have melted after writing this 😚

✨Photo taken from this post by @yul-is-sparkling ✨

Naruto was finally back after two years of training with Jiraiya. Being one of his closest friends, you were excited to meet him and to see for yourself how much he’s grown.

Naturally, you challenged him to a duel the first time you saw him again. It was kind of your thing with Naruto — competing with each other on who’s faster, stronger, better in ninjutsu, anything really. Mainly because Sasuke, who he often referred to as his rival, would rarely indulge him with such things, and you did. You were both competitive like that.

In no time, you were both alone on the training grounds. You could already tell how drastic his improvements were within the start of the battle.

You were in awe at how the Legendary Sannins could bring out the best in their apprentices. But despite not being trained by them, that didn’t mean you were lagging behind.

In those two years when Sasuke seeked Orochimaru for power, Naruto trained under Jiraiya, and Sakura learned from Tsunade, you were the only one in Team 7 who remained under the supervision of Kakashi sensei.

Kakashi sensei may not be a Legendary Sannin, but he was a formidable shinobi — one of the best during his generation even. However, truthfully, he infuriated you at first, not because of how late he always was — you were pretty used to it to the point that you don’t question him anymore about his whereabouts and he stopped coming up with excuses as to why he was late — but because there were times when he was too laidback.

Sure, there were moments when he was hands-on: teaching you different jutsus, lecturing you about certain concepts, informing you on what you should always look out for, drilling your body past exhaustion, and the like. But more often than not he would be saying something like, “Find it out yourself” or “I can’t exactly tell you how” as he leisurely sits on a tree branch while reading the stupid Icha Icha books.

You were dumbfounded and furious at first but when your initial annoyance subsided and you had adjusted to his teaching style, you flourished.

That’s why you could take on Naruto even after his training with Jiraiya.

What started as a serious duel between you and Naruto was reduced to playful banter the longer the fight dragged on. At one point, both of you would just tease each other while throwing kicks and punches halfheartedly.

Both of you had your guards down. That was a mistake on your part, because just as Naruto aimed to kick your face and you bent over backwards to dodge it, you slipped. You lost your footing all because of a rock situated near your right foot.

It was a rookie mistake.

Naruto was quick to notice that you were falling so he immediately grabbed ahold of your hand. The problem was he failed to pull you back up. So you ended up falling down with him. And somehow, he ended up with his arms on the sides of your head so he wouldn’t crush you as you were underneath him.

You were both shocked. You were just blinking at each other. It took awhile for the two of you to gather your bearings. When you did, you both immediately laughed out loud. Naruto moved his body so he was lying next to you as you both continued laughing your hearts out.

“What the hell was that, Naruto?!” You feigned exasperation. “You wouldn’t be able to save a fly if you tried.”

“At least I wasn’t the one making rookie mistakes like that,” Naruto shot back. “Plus I tried to help, that’s what matters.”

You snorted. “Yeah, right. You could’ve at least focused your chakra on your soles so we didn’t fall!”

“And you could’ve paid attention to your surroundings, Y/N!”

You bickered with each other as you stood up and helped Naruto get up. What the two of you didn’t know was that your boyfriend Neji had watched the whole incident.

Neji wasn’t really the type to get jealous. He’s a very understanding boyfriend. He’s aware that you and Naruto have been best friends even before he met you. He even knew about Naruto’s feelings for Sakura. However, any sane person wouldn’t want to see his significant other beneath someone else, right? Granted, it was an accident, but still… It was such a compromising position to find you in.

He made his appearance as you playfully punched Naruto in the gut.

You instantly noticed him approaching. Your smile widened even more at the sight of your boyfriend. “Neji!” You called, skipping your way towards him. You would’ve tackled him in a hug if Naruto wasn’t around.

He maintained his stoic expression as he greeted, “Y/N. Naruto.”

“Oi Neji, it’s been a while,” Naruto waved.

Neji only gave a curt nod in response.

You asked, “What are you doing here, Neji?” but just as you ended your question, the answer immediately clicked on your mind. “Oh my god, I’m sorry I forgot!”

Over your excitement of Naruto’s arrival, you forgot that it was a Tuesday. Tuesdays were your lunch dates and sparring sessions with Neji.

“It’s okay.”

“Hold on.” you told him and then faced Naruto. “Gotta go, Naruto! Bye!” you said as you grabbed Neji’s hand out of habit.

Neji flushed, not exactly expecting your action, but you didn’t notice because it was something that you’re used to doing, although not in the presence of someone else.

“See you later!” Naruto waved.

When Naruto was out of sight, you dropped Neji’s hand unconsciously. “Sorry, I forgot about lunch. What time is it? Have you eaten?” You asked Neji.

He quickly responded and told you he hasn’t eaten anything yet.

“Well then, let’s go. I’m starving.”

Neji and you walked side by side out of the training grounds.

“So…” you started saying.

Neji stared at you. “Hm?”

“How was your day, baby?”

He cleared his throat and looked away almost instantly. Very rarely would one find Neji flustered, but calling him “baby” always worked. He wasn’t quite used to the endearment and every time you addressed him as such with tenderness laced in your voice, he would blush. You use it all the time just to see his cheeks tinted pink. It was a cute sight.

“What’s wrong?” You playfully asked while trying to get into his line of vision.

He refused to meet your gaze until he regained his composure. When he did, he told you — in an impassive manner — what he had done in the morning before he went out looking for you.

Despite his expressionless face and his rather hushed tone, you listened intently to the words he was saying, the smile on your lips never leaving your face. Neji was a man of few words even until now that you were together so you made sure you paid attention every time he spoke, not wanting his words to go to waste.

He wouldn’t admit it to you but he loved that about you. You would remember even the little details of his stories, which in itself was a big deal considering you tend to forget a lot of things. You treasured his words, sentences, thoughts, ideas and plans, and kept them enclosed in your memory.

Neji loved that you focused on him. You made him feel like he was important and worthy, and that he mattered, in a completely different way than the others’ view of him.

The others only saw him as important because he was an asset both to the Hyuga clan and to Konoha. He only mattered to them because he has the strength and ability to protect them.

But you didn’t see him that way. You saw him as his own person — a man with a brilliant mind, a great moral compass, and a heart of gold. This was further confirmed when you told him that if his circumstances were different — if he was not a Hyuga or even a shinobi — you’d still fall in love with him as long as his character remained the same.

He knew you love him, there was no doubt about that. It was known; it was an irrefutable truth, an indisputable fact. But why did seeing you with Naruto trigger his insecurities that you had previously put to rest?

His mind was reeling, but he tried his hardest to be in the moment with you.

The thing was, he might have misread you a little. Because the attention that you gave him wasn’t solely focused on his words. In actuality, it extended to his actions and mannerisms as well.

This was how you knew that there was something that was bothering Neji today.

Unwelcome thoughts swarmed his mind, leading him to absentmindedly reach out to you. He was walking beside you closer than usual, with his hand on your lower back. While there was no doubt that he was listening to you when it was your turn to tell him about your day with Naruto, he had a faraway, vacant look on his face.

You may have missed the presence of a rock a while ago, but you certainly wouldn’t miss these small details about Neji.

These might come across as something normal for other people, but for someone like you who dedicated a lot of time admiring and memorizing every little detail of the certain Hyuga boy, it was easy to tell that something was on his mind from the way he was taking up a portion of your personal space. Almost as if his own restrictions were non-existent.

Normally, it would’ve been easier to confront him about it, but you were a shinobi, and if there’s something you learned from Kakashi sensei, it was that you have to gather more intel before actually making a move.

But you could only think of one way to confirm if there was something bothering your partner, and it was through his hair.

On regular days, Neji wouldn’t allow anyone to touch his hair, including you. But when there was something that was bothering him, or if he had a particularly rough day, he wouldn’t mind it if you threaded your fingers through his hair. In fact, he wouldn’t admit it, but he preferred it if you did that. It was something that calmed him down.

So while you continued telling him how your day went, you subtly angled your body towards him. Then you tentatively reached for the tips of his hair with your hand that was closest to him. You managed to grab a few strands of his hair between your thumb and index finger. You twisted them between your fingers.

You looked up to him to check if he was bothered by it, but it seemed like he didn’t mind at all. This certainly meant that his mind was elsewhere, despite the fact that he was nodding in the right parts of your speech and even correcting you when you used the wrong word to describe something.

You retracted your hand after coming up with your conclusion. You even stopped talking as you were thinking of what could’ve happened for him to be this distracted. Neji didn’t even notice you stopped talking mid sentence.

Somehow this just felt different from the times he was frustrated or anxious before, and quite frankly, you were worried.

By the time you had both placed orders and seated in a random restaurant, you decided to confront your partner. “So, Neji, baby, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

He choked on nothing after hearing your question. Was he really that easy to read? Or was it easy just because it was you reading him?

He cleared his throat and feigned ignorance, “What are y-you talking about?”

You opted to give him a pointed look instead of a verbal response.

He didn’t stare back, looking anywhere but you. Most times, Neji would face you head on until you conceded; with you, he was comfortable being stubborn and unyielding because it came without repercussions. But today, he wasn’t up for the challenge. And if you looked more closely, he was once again sporting a faint color on his cheeks.

You waited a moment for him to answer, or at least to look back, but it was to no avail. With a sigh, you said, with the softest tone you could muster partnered with a reassuring smile, “Would you let me know when you’re ready, at least?”

Surprisingly, Neji looked at you then. “It’s nothing… It’s just… something silly.”

You gently grabbed a hold of his hand. “Don’t tell me it’s silly, I know it isn’t if it bothers you, baby. You don’t have to tell me now if you aren’t comfortable yet, hmm? Just know I’ll be here to listen to you.” You gave him a genuine smile and a small squeeze to his hand before letting go.

Neji’s eyes hadn’t strayed from then onwards. He had to admit sometimes he would forget how incredibly kindhearted you were, even more so when it came to him. You always made sure he was comfortable. You never forced him into doing or saying things that he wasn’t ready to do or say. You allowed him to make his own decisions and respected them, something that rarely came from being a subordinate of Konoha and a member of the branch family of the Hyuga clan.

Life as a shinobi was sometimes constricting, but you were his breather from all that.

It was your turn to be bashful from his stare. You could feel your face warming up from the unexpected, scrutinizing gaze. “Neji, stop it.”

“What?”

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Stop being beautiful, then.”

The words that came out of Neji’s lips startled you. It wasn’t everyday he would actually use words to tell you you’re beautiful. The way he expressed his appreciation to your beauty would come in the form of fluttering kisses or gentle brushes on your body parts — coincidentally, or not, on parts where you feel the most insecure about.

Fortunately for you, the food came at the right moment, since you weren’t exactly sure how to respond to his unexpected compliment. You both ate in silence then, occasionally peeking at each other  — almost like how it was when you first started dating each other.

When you were done with lunch, you expected to take the route towards the training grounds like you both usually did, but Neji’s hand has taken solace on your back once again and this time with intent to guide you to a different direction.

You were confused but you followed anyway. “Where are we going?”

“To my place.” A pause. “Is that fine with you?”

“Sure” was all you could say. Admittedly, you were quite tired from the duel you had with Naruto earlier and you didn’t really have enough energy to spar with Neji, considering he never went easy on you.

By the time you had entered his place, he graciously offered his couch to you, as if sensing your exhaustion. You immediately plopped down on his couch after setting aside your footwear by his front door.

“Tired?”

“Very,” you mumbled.

He handed you a glass of water, knowing you weren’t quite fond of tea. He sat down beside you just as you thanked him and sipped on your drink.

Setting aside the glass, you leaned back on the couch, only to be welcomed by Neji’s arms. A small smile automatically crept into your lips from the gesture. You snuggled into him as a reflex.

It was moments like this with Neji that you treasured most. While you enjoyed tagging around with him and the rest of Team Guy on missions, you preferred spending time with him peacefully like this, without the imminent threat of danger looming over your heads. It was rather a rare occurrence, after all, for two shinobis like you both were.

Neji was first to break the comfortable silence. “I saw you with Naruto a while ago.”

“You did? When?” You excitedly asked while trying to pull away from his embrace to look directly to his face. But for some reason, he kept you in place, your cheek pressed to his neck. “Did you see me kick his ass? Like literally.”

“Yes,” he answered flatly. It was a response that sounded so… dry. Usually when you both talked about Naruto, there would be a fondness from his tone. “But… I also saw something else…” he trailed off.

You raked your mind, trying to remember what had happened earlier. Then the memory of falling down flashed on your mind, and suddenly you felt embarrassed for Neji having to witness such a mistake. “Oh no!” You jumped out of his grasp, startling him in the process. “You saw me fall down! That’s so embarrassing!” You covered your face with your palms.

“Well, yes… but—”

You snapped your head at the tone he used. He didn’t sound like he was going to tease you for your mistake, in fact, it kind of sounded like he was worried.

“I’m fine though, if you’re worried,” you offered, assuming he thought you got hurt from the fall.

“I’m glad you are not hurt,” he said. Not long after you noticed him visibly gulping.

You could tell there was something else in his mind, and whatever it was, you had a feeling it might’ve been the thing that was bothering him a while ago. You tried to come up with guesses as to what it could’ve been. As you recalled how the conversation started and considered how he was acting, a plausible answer popped into your mind.

“Are you perhaps… jealous?” You hesitantly asked. He was the first one to initiate this conversation so you were assuming he was ready to talk about it. Despite that though, you didn’t want to force him to talk so you carefully and reluctantly asked him. He was always allowed to drop the topic if he wasn’t comfortable and he knew that.

Neji cleared his throat as soon as the words left your mouth all the while avoiding to meet your eyes once again. “Maybe,” he almost inaudibly said.

You were surprised by his answer. It wasn’t always that Neji got jealous. The only time he was was when a stranger was blatantly hitting on you in front of him while you were on a mission together.

“It did not sit right with me seeing you in an… inappropriate position with someone else.” He explained. The tone he used sounded like the one he used with the Hokage when he was taking responsibility for something that went horribly wrong on a mission.

“Don’t make it sound like it’s wrong,” you said softly as you cupped his face. “You don’t have to feel guilty about feeling jealous. Your feelings are valid.”

The gentleness and warmth in your voice made his heart flutter. If this was a conversation with someone else, he was sure he was going to get teased for feeling this way, but it was with you, and you had always been different.

“I love you, Neji,” you said before you kissed his lips.

It was amazing how the three words you used that preceded his name could easily wipe out the jealousy that had brewed inside him. This was another testament of how well you knew Neji — not only did you know the small details about him, but you also know the right words to ease his worries.

#neji hyuga #neji #neji hyuuga #neji hyuga x reader #neji hyuuga x reader #neji x reader #neji x y/n #neji x you #neji hyuga x y/n #neji hyuga x you #neji fluff #neji fanfic #neji fanfiction #naruto #naruto fanfic #naruto fanfiction #naruto fluff #naruto shippuden #neji hyuuga imagine #neji hyuga imagine

[iturbide]

If you are still up for character asks, how about Sumia. I was sad no one asked about her yet.

And your latest fan art got me interested in also hearing your thoughts on Takumi. If you feel ok answering since I know you haven't played Fates.

I’ve been sad about that too so thank you for rectifying that situation ❤

How do I feel about this character?

My girl.  I love Sumia so much, she is one of my absolute favorite characters in Awakening and one I will never pass up an opportunity to write.  I love her and how passionate she is about books, how deeply invested she gets in the stories and characters and how she uses them both as an escape from her own life (where she can’t help but dwell on her own shortcomings) and as a source of inspiration and courage.  There’s something intensely relatable about wanting an escape like that, feeling outclassed or useless and getting lost in a book as a way to cope -- and yet she’s so capable, even if she doesn’t recognize it herself.  She seems so used to people looking down on her or criticizing what she does or making fun of her slip-ups that she’s started to really believe all of it, when the reality is that her mistakes have never been her defining trait: seeing her learn to embrace her own skills and talents is so heartwarming and I find myself constantly rooting for her to succeed in everything.

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

Sully!!  Sully and Sumia is one of my favorite ships in all of Awakening, honestly: I love these two ladies who are so gung-ho about horses and bond over that mutual interest and I love the idea of them getting together and learning more about each other, bolstering one another’s confidence (Sully reassuring Sumia that she’s more capable than she thinks and offering to train her if it would make her feel more assured, Sumia insisting that Sully doesn’t need to be girly to be a woman and gushing about how she admires the cavalier) and falling for one another in the process.  It’s just really warm and I love it a lot, and given how encouraging they are in their supports, I really think they’d be a fantastic match for each other.

Also, I do love her with Chrom, and I feel like she’d be an encouraging influence for him, doing what she can to give him confidence and help him keep moving forward in spite of the obstacles; she’s such a bright and refreshing character and I think they could end up working really well together, leveraging their individual strengths to make the halidom a better place.  And I really enjoy her with Robin, too, considering how they bond over their mutual love of books, and I think Robin would be one of those people who really can see her for who she is, rather than the klutz she sees herself as.  It’s especially good when it’s both of them together with her though (yes I love my OT3).

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Robin and Sully, when I’m not shipping them!  Their relationships are so strong and they’re founded on such deep rooted friendship that even when I have them in other relationships, those bonds remain.  Also, even though she doesn’t have any supports with him in the game (which is criminal), I love the idea of a Sumia and Kellam friendship.  Kellam is someone who struggles to be noticed, Sumia’s someone who often seems to wish she could disappear.  The idea of them coming together and overcoming their obstacles together is really heartwarming to me.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

She’s so much more capable than fandom wants to give her credit for.  Most people seem to write her off as stupid, passing over her as a brainless klutz in favor of the “genius” Cordelia -- but this is such a disservice to Sumia and her character.  She’s a fantastic fighter if given the chance, outrunning and outmaneuvering enemies, and while the game loves to play her off as comic relief, she’s a character with interesting, thoughtful support conversations whose life clearly doesn’t revolve around getting a man’s attention.  She’s her own person with hopes and dreams, hobbies and interests, unique skills and charming quirks, and bothering to get to know her really allows her to shine.

And personally, I don’t think she’s actually that clumsy.  Sure, she can be a little scatterbrained sometimes, but even the smartest and most capable people can be; when she has too many things to juggle she slips up in comic ways, but when push comes to shove she’s incredibly capable; if she weren’t, she never would have been able to rescue Chrom at the Longfort (sometimes I think people forget that she’s the one who swept in and got him clear of the javelins).

(And for a bonus unpopular opinion: I hate Cordelia and Sumia as a ship.  Cordelia is so mean to Sumia in their supports, banning Sumia from telling her flower fortunes because she personally doesn’t see value in them -- she doesn’t even bother trying to understand what Sumia’s doing or why, she just decides that her own way is the only right way, which is not how friends should act; putting them in a relationship is out of the question for me.)

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Why does she have so few supports?  It’s not fair that she can so easily end up alone because the game limits her options so much; aside from Chrom, she has the fewest marriage options, but unlike him she doesn’t have an auto-marriage after a certain point.  It’s not fair that the game treated her that way, and I wish canon had given her more supports, platonic and romantic both.  Again, seeing her with Kellam would have been incredible, and I really wish they’d bothered to give her a support chain with Maribelle, too, considering how Maribelle treats her early on; it would have been amazing to see them work things out.

and you know I was wondering if people forgot my favorite Fates character

How do I feel about this character?

I have never played Fates.  I know about these games purely through fandom osmosis.  And yet I will say, in no uncertain terms, that Takumi is my absolute favorite Fates character. Fallen Takumi is still one of my very few units at +10 merges in Heroes because I love him that much.  And it’s kind of hilarious how it came to this because it’s kind of Heroes’ fault that I’m in this situation. 

I remember when the game first launched how much of a pain he was in the early Arena before Skill Inheritance was a thing, and how the only reliable counter I had for him was Hector because I’d never gotten Takumi myself.  And then one day he randomly showed up in a summon, and I was so excited I ran off to train him immediately...and realized as I did that this guy has some massive self-esteem problems.  It’s what got me interested in him in the first place, enough to do some digging in the wikis, and I kind of fell in love with his character: he’s smart, he’s capable, but he has a massive inferiority complex since he’s grown up in the shadow of his older brother -- something Corrin’s return manages to make worse, since everyone kind of loses their minds over it and pushes him down and away despite the fact that he’s the only one being sensible and questioning whether they can really trust Corrin after they were brought up in Nohr.  While he has an attitude problem that needs to be addressed (though it’s nowhere near as bad as Felix’s), he can get better and gain confidence in himself and his abilities...but in Conquest, his fate is an absolutely tragic one, where his self-doubt and anger allow Anankos a foothold, something to prey upon, and ultimately lead to his loss of control, loss of self, and loss of life.  His story just really hits me in the heart, kind of like Lyon, and I just want to see him grow and overcome his doubts. 

Who do I ship this character with romantically?

Okay so this is probably where my not having played the game is going to bite me but I have no idea. There are so many characters in Fates and I don’t even know half of them.  I know Leo is a popular partner for him but I’ve never really seen the chemistry there so I can’t say that’s for me; I could always cheat and say I ship him with happiness because honestly that is true, I really do want him to be happy first and foremost, but I don’t have an actual character answer whoops.

Who is my brOTP for this character?

Azura.  I love the idea of the two of them coming together as friends, both haunted and hounded by nightmares and terrible thoughts they can’t seem to shake, and finding ways to support one another through it.  I get the feeling that Takumi might have treated Azura with some distrust early on, but despite the fact that she came from Nohr, I honestly think they could have ended up having a close bond in Hoshido growing up as they struggle with their own problems, and it would have been amazing to see them come together to overcome them.  Also, I love the idea of him and Sakura being close as siblings, with Takumi protecting Sakura and helping draw attention off her when she’s feeling especially shy while she tries to encourage him and give him a place where he can relax with and get away from all his issues for a little while, someone he can enjoy himself with and not have to think about his problems.

What’s my Unpopular Opinion™ about this character?

I actually don’t know what kind of popular opinions there are about Takumi so I have no idea what kind of unpopular opinion I could have.  Honestly I don’t see anywhere near enough to Takumi in general since he seems to be eclipsed by not only his older brother but the Nohrian royals in fandom-wide popularity; is it an unpopular opinion to want more people to give him a chance, rather than writing him off as just an angry nay-sayer?  Because honestly, he is the only one with any sense, since he’s the only one who thinks to distrust Corrin when they return.

What’s one thing I wish would have happened with this character in canon?

Okay so this is really really niche but I really wish they’d made Takumi Corrin’s half-brother rather than just a step-brother.  It honestly would have made so much sense?  Takumi’s the only other character who has the same kind of pale hair that Corrin canonically does, even if it’s not the exact same shade, so if that came from Mikoto it would fit perfectly with not only Corrin’s and Takumi’s hair color, but Sakura’s hair being that super pale pink compared to Hinoka’s vibrant red, which is what you’d probably expect from Ikona and Sumeragi after Ryoma inherited his father’s very dark hair.  I get the feeling they didn’t do it because they wanted to make all the royals available as romance options, which is both cheap and gross (and after what they did with Azura in Revelations it’s worse), but I think it would have been a really interesting plot element if they’d taken the time.

Give Me a Character  

#answered #alerawolf #meme #fire emblem: awakening #fire emblem: fates #sumia #takumi #two of my favorite characters in one ask #you are my hero for requesting these two #i love takumi so much now i want to draw him again

[blackbriarsparrow]

The Ballad of Shimura Danzo (taken from: Born from Winter Ash)

The Ballad of Shimura Danzo Arc I (Born from Fire)

 No mercy.

It is the phrase that Shimura Danzo grounds into the malleable skulls of his burgeoning army of adolescents. Danzo walks tall with his hands clasped behind his back, squinting through the noonday sun as he watches the young boys in the training arena. He has a favorite. An indomitable youth with moonlit hair; a trait, no doubt, given to him by the gods. They have a habit of marking their favorites and Danzo has learned to recognize the signs.

The boy is naught but nine years old, and already he is fast and strong. He listens with eager ears and watches with careful eyes. His movements in the arena are meticulous, and he has yet to be defeated by an adversary. He is a tolerant warrior, and Danzo is most impressed with the youth. He watches him use the bamboo Shinai to knock his opponent off his feet. Obito lands on the ground, the air whooshing from his lungs as he stares up at Kakashi and holds his injured ankle. “Breathe, Obito,” Kakashi reminds him. “On your feet.” He offers his comrade a hand.

Danzo strikes Kakashi on the back of the wrist with the flat edge of his dagger. The crack is loud enough to draw attention from nearby sparrers. Kakashi inspects the smarting welt on his wrist. He looks up at Danzo with a frown on his face and anger flaring behind his lucid eyes.

“We do not help our enemies, Hatake Kakashi. Why are you offering this boy your hand?” Danzo slides his dagger back into his holster and looks at the boy expectantly.

“Obito is not the enemy, Hersir. He is my comrade.”

“And how will Obito become the best warrior he can be if you are always there to carry his weight? Obito relies on you too much. You only think you are helping him Kakashi, but you are indeed enabling him to be weak.” Danzo leans forward, leveling his gaze with Kakashi. “If Obito is to become strong, you must show him no mercy.”

Kakashi frowns at Danzo, and Danzo sees the wheels of thought turning in his mind. Danzo thinks he is getting through to the lad, but Kakashi believes in a different code and no amount of manipulation on Danzo’s part will cause Kakashi to change his mind.

“Finish him,” Danzo instructs.

Obito, lying on the ground with his elbows propped beneath him, looks up at Kakashi with parted lips.

“Hersir?”

“Make him fight for his spot, Kakashi. The Black Army does not tolerate weakness. Make Obito prove that he belongs here.”

Kakashi does not move. His hand tightens around the Shinai.

“I said,” Danzo repeats, “finish him.”

“He’s wounded–”

Before Kakashi can finish his sentence, Danzo lunges and reaches for the boy’s Shinai. He wrenches it from his hand, but Kakashi leaps when Danzo swings. He rolls to the ground, scooping up Obito’s abandoned weapon and uses it to parry off Danzo’s swift attacks. Kakashi is very small compared to the Hersir, but he is fast and strong for his age. He manages to block each of Danzo’s strikes, but Danzo leaves no room for Kakashi to present a countermove.

Danzo means to teach the boy a lesson. If he will not do as commanded, Danzo will break him until Kakashi’s will bends to his authority. He strikes the boy hard in the ribs, and Danzo is sure he hears them crack. Kakashi’s face pales, but he does not let go of his weapon. The boy plants his feet, leaving his right side wide open for the strike. Danzo sees the opening and he means to take it.

He would have taken it, that is to say, but the boy pivots and brings his Shinai down hard over the side of Danzo’s head, right above his ear. Danzo’s vision blackens at the edges and stars crackle and sputter like fireworks in his head. He feels the ground beneath his knees. Suddenly, Kakashi is the same height. The boy is looking at him with wild fury and Danzo knows he has struck a chord.

“No mercy,” Danzo pants, wavering on his knees.

Kakashi cries out and brings the Shinai across Danzo’s mouth. He manages to break a tooth and the taste of hot copper spills over Danzo’s tongue. He falls to the ground, laughing as he spits blood onto the dirt floor of the arena and smiles.      

The Hokage sees everything from her window.

Arc II (Born from Ash)

Malodorous smoke spans across the night sky and shouts and cries from the burning village are heard through the blackened trees. The white-masked man thrusts a small bundle into Danzo’s arms and he expects the thing to cry. Ash from the stable fire rains down through the gnarled bare branches of the surrounding trees, settling like freckles on the babe’s small, heart-shaped face.

Danzo looks at the girl; the crown of her head adorned with soft pink curls. He thinks her family named her adequately; for her hair is the exact color of Sakura blossoms. Oddly enough, the girl’s pink hair is not her most notable feature… She is gazing up at him with eyes so green Danzo is forced to think of the spring-time forest after a rainstorm. They are the eyes of a witch; so wide and so bright – undoubtably given in favor by some infernal siren goddess. The child’s birth was prophesized by the gods, after all, and Danzo seeks to use her gifts to exact his revenge on the accursed Black Army.

He thinks only of his success as he climbs into the saddle of his war horse, tucking the babe within his cloak as he rides out into the night with his men following close behind.

The baby never cries.

Arc III (Forged by Iron Will)

Sakura is ten years old when Danzo begins training with her. He looks for signs that her powers will manifest, but he sees nothing. She is a good warrior. Smart and capable; a force in her own right. She is small and works hard to prove her worth in the training field. The boys don’t take it easy on her, but Sakura never yields and she does not complain. She shows determination in the face of adversity. Danzo cannot help but see the parallels between she and his former favorite prodigy. It is for that reason Danzo chooses to watch Sakura from a distance. He does not wish to be reminded of Kakashi. With any luck, it won’t be his blade that cuts Kakashi down when he takes his final strike against Konoha.  

His plans are shaping up nicely. His army is growing, and he is building allies outside of Kumoga borders. It will still be years before his army is ready to take on the Konoha elites, but he will test their strength and determination before he sets his plans to motion. Sai shows promise with his mage abilities; a very useful trait that Danzo can’t wait to exploit. He trains more careful with these Kumoga’s warriors. He can’t risk getting ejected from Kumoga before his plan comes to fruition.

The Raikage knows nothing.

Arc IV (The Birth of a Phoenix)

The night sky turns red, a mirror of bloodshed, from all the lives that were lost in battle. There is a thick haze, choking out the stars so that no light shines through. It is a cold, unforgiving night. The wind howls with the death mourners and smells of frozen copper.

Danzo counts the warriors that return home and he notices that Sakura is not with them.

Sai is injured. Omoi supports most of his weight as he carries him through the village gates. “What happened to Sakura?” Danzo asks.

Sai’s face is a ruin of blood and tear tracks. He works his jaw, but he cannot say the words that are stuck in the tangled nest of his throat.

“She fell,” Samui answers beside them. “I saw a warrior from the Konoha village stab her in the side. She’s… gone…” Samui’s words are barely a whisper.

Danzo clenches his fists and thinks of what a pity her wasted life was. She never came into her Healing powers and yet Danzo feels her loss like a swift punch in the gut. He tells himself it is because he won’t get the chance to use her against Konoha.

His mind involuntarily conjures images of the babe with big green eyes and he remembers that she never even cried when he took her from her home…

Arc V (Born from Retribution)

The warriors from Kiri are heedless. Danzo admires their stamina and thirst for blood. They are a savage nation, behind the progression of time, and easily persuaded with gold and marauding. They lack a strong figurehead and Danzo effortlessly slips into the role. They follow him without question and are eager to strike the Black Army.

Danzo does not tell them that most will not return.

The Black Army is strong. They will survive this particular attack.

Danzo tells the Kiri army how to get onto the mountain without being seen. He instructs them to take whatever strikes their pleasure in the raid. “Burn the village to the ground if you must,” Danzo tells them. “You will only have a chance at penetrating the barracks if you draw out the warriors. Our goal is to weaken them.”

“Lord Hersir,” one of his men addresses him. “Our attack will only serve to anger them. They will come looking for us when it’s over.”

Danzo presses his lips into a thin line. This one is smarter than he looks. “We want them to attack Kiri,” Danzo says, enunciating each word with careful articulation. “The rest of the Kiri army will be here waiting for them. My allied forces will join in and the Konoha elites will be severely outnumbered.”

Danzo doesn’t say this aloud, but he is uneasy that he hasn’t received word from the clans surrounding Konoha. He suspects The Spy of the North has intercepted his messenger hawks. No matter. Danzo doesn’t need the alliances of those neutral clans. With half the Kumoga army under his wing, the warriors from Kiri, and allies from Waves, the Black Army won’t stand a chance against him. As long as they march on Kiri, Danzo will take them at the river crossing.

The Black Army will be his for the taking.

Arc VI The Down-spiral of a Hersir

After the fallout, Danzo leads his newly split forces into the woods as night falls like a cloak behind him. They left so many wounded, but it is of no concern to him now. Those who stayed behind in Kumoga are now his enemies. Danzo made himself perfectly clear: join him, or forever be ostracized. After he takes the Black Army, he will eradicate what’s left of the Kumoga warriors and leave the nation completely defenseless.

Danzo works his hands into fists, grinding his molars.

Sai chose to stay behind.

Years of training flash through Danzo’s mind – all the effort and special attention he paid the boy was all for nothing…

Danzo has never feared the gods, but he wonders now if this is his punishment for taking the child prodigies from their cribs so long ago… Sakura died in battle and Sai, his most notable progeny, had chosen to stay behind with the wretched, poor excuses of Kumoga warriors. Sai wasn’t even Kumoga! Perhaps he should have been honest with the boy about his true lineage, but Danzo could not tell him of his interference… After all, he had needed Sai to trust him.

All for nothing, Danzo repeats over and over, like a poisonous mantra that coils through his mind.

It is of no matter, Danzo tells himself… their losses will be of no consequence; the plans of attack are already placed in motion. The Black Army will be his in a fortnight.

Danzo’s hand trembles as he leads his army through the woods.

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13781683/1/Born-from-Winter-Ash

#naruto fanfiction #danzo shimura #sakura #Kakashi #obito #sai #kakasaku #viking theme #sakura and kakashi #kakasaku AU #kakasaku fanfiction

[wolf08]

The Art of Seduction

A/N: Surprise! I couldn’t resist taking a break from my other work to participate in SasuSaku Month 2020. I missed fic writing so much and had a blast with this. Hope you enjoy. :) 

Prompt: Let’s play pretend (Sorry, I know I’m like 5 days late lol)

Summary: Kakashi Hatake, Sixth Hokage and the mastermind behind the infamous bell test, had just the trick for igniting the inevitable romantic spark between his beloved students: assign Sakura a seduction mission. Blank period. SasuSaku. Available on fanfiction.net and AO3. 

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fan fiction using characters from the NarutoTM world, which is trademarked by Masashi Kishimoto. The story I tell here is created for entertainment only and is not part of the official NarutoTM storyline. I do not profit financially from this story.

Tags: Humour, fluff and humour, mutual pining, attempted seduction, awkwardness

Words: 3463

***

The Art of Seduction

***

“Hey – what’s that?”

“What’s what?”

One sunny afternoon, amidst Sasuke and Sakura’s private travels, while Sakura was rinsing her tired feet and Sasuke was sharpening their weapons after weeks of climbing mountains and hiking through forests, the duo was unexpectedly interrupted.

“That! Flying straight at us!” Sakura shouted and leaping clear out of the rushing brook, over the rocky shore, and onto the surrounding grass.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and glanced in the direction of the disturbance.

“A bird,” he said simply without budging from his shady spot at the foot of a large oak tree.

Sakura rolled her eyes before breaking out into a grin. “Not just any bird – it’s the Hokage’s messenger hawk!”

This piqued Sasuke’s interest. It had been months since the pair had heard a peep from their home village, after all.

As it happened, the bird was carrying a scroll addressed to Sakura.

“What does Kakashi want?” Sasuke asked, while hopping to his feet and joining his companion by the brook. Sakura was crouched by the rocky shore, eagerly unravelling the scroll.

Sasuke watched her closely– taking in the emotion brimming behind her emerald eyes and her trembling fingers.

She misses home, Sasuke thought, his chest tightening. Though he didn’t blame her, Sasuke just hoped she didn’t miss home too much.

He didn’t express it much, but Sasuke thoroughly enjoyed his lively travelling companion’s company. And he really didn’t want her to leave.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, the hopefulness drained from Sakura’s face as she scanned the letter. She pouted and scrunched her eyebrows together (a rather adorable expression, in Sasuke’s opinion, all things considered).

“What, Sakura?” he asked and drawing closer, crouching beside her, and hoping beyond hope this wasn’t bad news.

“It’s… a mission assignment.”

There was confusion written all over her features. Sasuke didn’t blame her.

“But you’re with me. We’re already on a mission,” he mused while reaching for the scroll to have a look himself, but, to his surprise, Sakura tugged the scroll out of his reach, colour rising in her face.

Sasuke blinked. “Sakura..?”

She twisted away from him, her face buried in the scroll and her cheeks a similar hue as her pale, pink hair. “It’s assigned just to me. And it’s a… weird one,” she said quietly, like she couldn’t believe what she was reading.

“What’s the mission?” Sasuke asked, dread pooling in his stomach.

“A seduction mission.”

***

Sakura paced back and forth through the grassy clearing in bare feet, hands clasped behind her back, and feeling stressed out of her mind. Sakura had never been assigned a seduction mission before. She had most certainly fantasized about doing one, back in her early teenage days, as most young kunoichi did. Because there had been a certain thrill in using her sex appeal as a weapon against an unsuspecting opponent. It was the perfect blindside.

But these times were different.

Nowadays, Sakura would much rather spend her time exploring the land with her beloved travelling partner than seduce strangers. And, to boot, Sakura had never been particularly confident in her ability to sway someone romantically (with her ever-so-distant object of affection compounding her self-doubts).

Sasuke’s reaction to her mission had been rather hard to read. He seemed puzzled as he read the letter over a couple of times himself. “Do you do these often?” he asked with raised eyebrows, his voice catching ever so slightly.

“No, never,” she groaned and crossing her arms.

This is going to be terrible, she thought. Failing to make a move on the love of her life even once during their months travelling alone together told her as much. Although she and Sasuke had undoubtedly grown closer and were teetering on the edge of being in a relationship – between their heated looks and gentle touches – nothing outwardly romantic had actually transpired between them.

And now Sakura was expected to leave to seduce someone else?

Some wing man you are, Kakashi-sensei.

“Then why’d he assign you?” Sasuke wondered with narrowed eyes while pocketing the scroll.

Sakura shrugged. “Well, we’re only a few miles away from the village that the… target is currently in. I bet Kakashi-sensei has been tracking our whereabouts and picked me because of proximity. Plus the target isn’t staying there much longer so I’ll need to set out first thing tomorrow.”

According to the mission assignment, the target in question was an important Wind Country delegate who (rumour had it) was involved in a human trafficking scheme. Apparently he was known as being a bit of a ladies man – thus, Sakura presumed, seduction tactics were a straight-forward means of extracting information from him.

“Hm,” Sasuke said.

“But I don’t know the first thing about seducing someone!” Sakura fumed, hands on her hips as she resumed her pacing. “Kakashi-sensei screwed up. It’s gonna be a total flop.”

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he said before returning to the shade of the tree and resuming his task of sharpening their weapons.

Sakura watched as he ran a hand through his black, mused hair and grabbed a kunai and ran the blade along the sharpening stone with determined, aggressive motions. His expression was impassive, with his dark eyes focused on the task and his mouth frowning in concentration.

Sakura turned away, as not to be caught ogling at her handsome companion.

But that was when she was struck with an idea. An embarrassing, yet intriguing idea.

“Hey, Sasuke-kun?” she asked, feeling her face warm in anticipation.

He glanced at her. “What?”

She returned his gaze. “How do you do it?” Sakura asked bravely. “You know, women practically faint in your presence. How do you get their attentions so easily?”

Sakura figured he was a neutral party on the matter, and she was willing to follow any advice she could get her hands on. After all, she could personally attest to the effect her travelling companion had on women, so surely he had some advice.

Sasuke redirected his stare to something on the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sakura rolled her eyes and joined him beneath the tree. “Oh sure you don’t,” she teased. She plopped down right in front of him. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn’t help but smirk because Sasuke looked about as uneasy as she felt, his face tinted pink and his eyebrow twitching as he tried to avoid looking at her. “C’mon. What’s your secret?”

He looked up and there was something almost pleading in his dark eyes. “Sakura, believe me. I have no clue what I’m doing,” he said. He held her gaze and Sakura’s heart skipped a beat for some reason. But she ignored it.

She pouted. Maybe he’s right – he’s just so effortlessly attractive that he doesn’t even have to try.

Sakura felt a dip in her confidence as she was reminded that the two of them weren’t in the same leagues.

But she needed to try anyways.

“Fine,” she huffed. “But I need your help because I don’t know what I’m doing either and I need to complete this mission. And you’re the only person I have to consult.”

Sasuke eyed her apprehensively as she resumed her pacing.

Meanwhile, Sakura’s mind wandered. What on earth was she to wear for this mission? She only had training gear with her and she certainly didn’t have any make-up on hand. With such a tight schedule, a shopping trip was out of the question. Should she just wear her undergarments – her spandex shorts and black band around her chest?

I’ll feel uncomfortable wearing something that revealing, Sakura thought, her heartrate quickening. Did she really have to change her appearance that much, or was it more about her demeanor – how she moved and how her voice sounded, or whatever?

Ugh, I’m so confused!

Sakura gritted her teeth and stopped her pacing. Abruptly, she turned to face Sasuke square on. He was sipping from a water canteen, watching her curiously. “You’re a guy,” she pointed out. “Let’s pretend you’re my target. What would seduce you?”

Sasuke swallowed a mouthful of water with a profound gulp.

He blinked at her after that, eyebrow twitching again. He opened his mouth and closed it, faltering.

Sakura realized perhaps her question was too loaded. Let’s back it up, then. “How about – what are you attracted to in a woman? Let’s start with that.”

She watched him expectedly.

Sasuke seemed particularly fascinated by a knife he was sharpening when he said, “Um. Strength.”

“Strength,” Sakura repeated, a bit flatly. Really?

“And intelligence,” Sasuke added, his head tilted down and his eyes concealed from view behind his hair.

The knife he was sharpening really couldn’t get any sharper.

Sakura folded her arms and reflected on Sasuke’s comments. I wonder if he thinks I’m strong and smart enough to be attractive? Despite her generally low self-esteem, Sakura was fairly confident that she excelled in both of those areas, especially now.

She felt the tiniest tinge of hope. If that’s what he’s into, maybe I’ve got a shot?

But that was besides the point. She had a mission to focus on.

Did other men look for strength and intelligence in women? She wasn’t sure. Either way, it would be hard to show off those qualities to her target, unless she challenged him to an arm wrestling contest or a game of cards.

Sakura suspected there were more straight-forward ways to seduce a stranger.

She sighed. “This would be so much easier if I were talking to Naruto,” she groaned while leaning against a protruding rock between the brook and the tree. Sakura had a feeling that said Hokage-in-the-making had an arsenal of strategies for seducing men – given his experience using those very strategies in the guise of his Sexy Jutsu.

Sasuke turned to her, a trace of competitiveness in his eyes, before he seemed to remember what they were talking about and turned away.

It seemed he was willing to accept defeat from his rival on this particular matter.

“Okay, how about looks? You must have thoughts about looks, at least?” Sakura tried.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “What are you asking?”

She felt her heartrate quicken again, for some reason. “I mean, what do you find seductive about a woman’s appearance?” she clarified.

I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.

As anticipated, Sasuke looked dumbfounded by her question. But he at least seemed to be thinking about it, given his thoughtful stare into the distance with his eyebrows furrowed.

It was kind of him to play along and try to help – despite his clear discomfort. Sakura felt a stab of empathy and decided to ask what she felt was an easier question.

Thinking back to their Genin days, and Ino’s insistence that Sasuke preferred certain hairstyles on girls, Sakura asked, “For instance – should I change my hair?”

There wasn’t much she could do about its length or colour – unless she got her hands on a wig, somehow. But maybe she could style it differently, by tying it up or braiding it?  

“No,” Sasuke replied curtly.

“Okay… what about make-up?”

Sasuke shook his head before getting up with the water canteen in hand. “No. You’re fine,” he said, and making his way towards the brook.

Sakura looked up, her heart fluttering slightly because maybe that meant he liked the way she looked.

Or maybe he was just trying to end the conversation.

Sasuke crouched on the rocky shore of the brook, dipping the canteen beneath its surface for a top-up.

Sakura’s eyes roamed skyward to the tuffs of clouds, her mind running astray. She didn’t mean to torment Sasuke with this awkward conversation, but she really did need all the help she could get. She imagined herself entering a darkened pub to execute her mission. She just had to pull this off, somehow, because if her enemies caught onto her, it could turn into a dangerous situation – not for her personally, for surely she could pummel her enemy if she needed to, but there could be larger international strain if she was caught spying.

Sakura closed her eyes as she imagined approaching her target at the bar. She would introduce herself, start some small talk… and then…?

“Maybe I should touch him… suggestively. But not too inappropriately, you know?” she mused.

“No, I have no clue what you mean,” Sasuke chimed in. He was now sitting on the shore with his shoes discarded and pants rolled up, his feet resting in the cool, rushing stream as he replenished their supply of drinking water.

Sakura carried on. “You know – like running my fingers along his hands, caressing his face, or something. Maybe that would work?”

Once again, Sasuke seemed very fixated on his task. “Maybe,” he said.

But Sakura wasn’t really paying attention to him. She was in her own world now, talking through a scenario she was playing out in her head.

She imagined Tsunade or Ino – two of the most sought-after woman that Sakura knew – walking into a bar and harnessing the attention of most men they passed.

What was their secret?

“I know – maybe it’s just a confidence thing,” Sakura realized. “Maybe it’s more about how I say things.”

She stood up with vigour, facing the general direction of the tree, paced forward deliberately, swaying her hips and imagining that her target was before her. She ran a hand through her hair in a way she imagined must be at least somewhat attractive, and said, “Like what if I walk right up and whisper in his ear –” (Sakura cleared her throat and tried out a low and husky tone) “- I want you. You want me. Let’s get naked. And… And…”

Sakura faltered. I can’t do it, she thought while dropping to her knees.

Then she remembered her silent audience and peered in Sasuke’s direction nervously. To her horror, he was indeed watching her, his eyes wide and his lips pursed – like he was supressing a smirk.

He thinks I’m ridiculous. Sakura put her face in her hands. “I’m sorry. This is embarrassing. I’m so bad at this.”

Sasuke shook his head and stood up, capping the water canteen.

“I’m such a lost cause,” Sakura continued. “I don’t even have a nice outfit to wear.” She fiddled with the zipper at the front of her dress absent-mindedly. “But maybe if I just remove my training clothes slowly enough, it’ll distract him from the stupid things I’m saying. Then I’ll just have to hope that –”

Sakura was interrupted by Sasuke grabbing her wrist, squeezing just hard enough to force her to release the zipper.

She turned to him, startled. “Sasuke-kun?”

He looked a little conflicted – perhaps over being amused and angry – and there was a bit of colour on his face again. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a blood vessel was about to burst in his temple. “That might work,” he said. “Don’t do it.” He gave her a pointed look and stalked back towards the tree.

“Well, what am I supposed to do then?” Sakura asked his retreating figure, feeling more confused than ever.

“You’ll do fine, Sakura,” Sasuke mumbled with a dismissive air.

Sakura folded her arms and watched him pace away, not quite sure what to make of his comment.

She sighed again and muttered, “I wish I could just kick the guy’s ass.”

***

Sakura woke abruptly to the sounds of scuffling and snapping twigs.

Wasting no time, she grabbed a kunai from her weapon pouch and sprang to her feet in one fluid motion.

Damn it, Sakura thought. She was planning to set out for the seduction mission today – and how untimely it would be to get ambushed now.

That was when she realized that Sasuke, who had fallen asleep beside her under the looming oak tree, was missing.

Sakura felt a swell of panic as her eyes darted around. And then she heard more scuffling, and this time, a male voice yelling (though muffled slightly) from somewhere through the trees ahead.

Sakura inhaled sharply and raced through the trees, knife in hand, towards the source of the disturbance. And then, moments later, Sakura arrived on a perplexing scene.

“Sasuke-kun?” she asked and slowly lowering her knife.

Her travelling companion was standing there, wearing his usual black travelling cloak, with his back facing her. Evidently, he was just fine.

It was the man bound to the tree who didn’t look fine.

Sasuke turned towards her. He seemed a little surprised by her presence. “Good morning,” he said evenly.

“Good… what the heck is going on?!” Sakura exclaimed as she approached the pair of them, studying the bound man carefully. She didn’t recognize the guy whatsoever. But Sasuke wasn’t the type of person to capture strangers for no reason, so surely he had an explanation for this. “I’ve got a mission to complete today, so this had better be important!”

Sasuke turned to her, his expression calm. “There’s no need for you to go anywhere – this is your guy,” he said simply, and gesturing towards the bound man like he was presenting a gift.

Sakura’s jaw dropped. “So… you’re telling me that you abducted the man I was supposed to seduce?” Sakura asked and massaging her temples, the puzzle pieces coming together. She felt a tinge of relief come over her because normal interrogations were much more up her alley than seduction missions.

But something still didn’t add up. “Why?” she asked.

The man bound to the tree nodded stiffly and mumbled against his mouth restraints – apparently just as keen to find out what Sasuke was planning. He had a long, straight nose, grey streaks through his black hair, and expensive-looking pyjamas.

Yep, looks like an important delegate to me, Sakura thought.

Sasuke folded his arms, closed his eyes, and turned away slightly. “I knew you were stressed about the mission so I helped,” he explained. “I figure you can just ask him your questions here and I’ll wipe his memory with my Sharingan when you’re finished.”

He didn’t seem terribly concerned that the target could hear all of his.

Sakura frowned. Sure, it was nice of Sasuke to lend a hand, but Sakura found herself feeling angry. “So you didn’t think I was capable of doing the mission so you decided to intervene,” she snapped, rounding on him.

Sasuke turned to face her fully, eyes wide. “No, you’re capable..”

Sakura raised her eyebrows. “So you just didn’t want me to go on the mission.” Boldly, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“No, I didn’t,” he finally admitted. And then, yet another surprise, Sasuke brought a hand to Sakura’s face, tracing her temple, cheek bone, and jaw with the tips of his fingers.

That’s a caress to the face if I ever saw one! she thought as a shiver raced down her spine. She was unable to look away. “Because you don’t want me seducing men,” she added with a smirk while she gazed at Sasuke’s face. Her heart was in her throat for being this close to him.  

Sasuke’s fingers paused around her chin. His face was very close to hers now. “Because I don’t want you seducing other men,” he corrected quietly.

Sakura stared at him, processing the implications of his words as her face grew hot, and he leaned in closer. His nose was mere inches from hers, his breath warm on her face. Sakura’s eyes fluttered closed.

It’s happening! It’s finally happening!

“Ahem.”

Sakura startled and jumped about ten feet away from Sasuke. Enraged, she whirled in the direction of the disturbance and found that their captive, still tied to the tree, had chewed through his mouth binds and was glaring at them.

“Not that this isn’t fun, but if it’s not too late to change plans, I much prefer the one where this girl seduces me.”

Sakura rolled her eyes, her face still burning, as she smoothed out her hair.

That’s when she heard a familiar chirping sound. A sideways glance confirmed the Chidori in Sasuke’s palm. But even more menacing was the glare he was directing at their target.

“Sasuke-kun – wait! Just let me interrogate him first, okay? Then we can get back to… where we left off?”

Sasuke shot her a calculating look, eyes narrowed. He swallowed. It seemed he was quite torn between doing as Sakura asked or immediately murdering the guy tied to the tree. But in the end he caved, sitting on the ground with a humph, waiting impatiently for Sakura to finish her questioning.

Sakura hoped Kakashi wouldn’t be too disappointed that she’d failed to follow the instructions for the mission.

Then again, another part of her wondered if maybe, just maybe, this was the outcome Kakashi planned for all along.

#ssm20 #ssm20d8 #sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku month #mutual pining #wolf08fic

[readerinsertfanfiction]

I wanted to know if you could do a kakashi x civilian reader (with fetus team 7) where the reader and kakashi used to date as kids but kakashi (after rin and minato and all that) broke up with the reader but was kinda mean about it (he wanted her to move on because he was scared of hurting her). And team 7 finds out and tries to hook them two together because they still like eachother (but the reader is hella mad and stubborn). This is all pre shippuden btw.

That’s rather specific and a lot to cramp in. I will see what I can do. However, as I always do with requests, I try to take my own liberty, so I will take and leave what I need to write. 

Fandom: Naruto

Character: Kakashi Hatake

Despite being worlds apart the two of you were only physically separated by two front doors right next to each other. It was only natural that the two of you knew of the other, often looking after one another in a world that had forced you into loneliness much too early in life. It was funny how two lives, so different from one another, could walk so parallel.

Perhaps it was that corresponding time and life that pulled the two of you together. Orphaned much too young, left to your own devices much too soon. Despite being a mere civilian you understood the pain in which Kakashi found himself, as he understood your loneliness in life. However, differences were bound to arise as you grew up.

Undeniable was the genius that Kakashi harboured, the talent he had for the way of the ninja, the strength he mustered to go on and fight the battles from within the shadows. A civilian like you couldn’t tip to the life or the adrenaline that his life provided, the distraction to his mind. Where you found peace and a place within your own daily life, Kakashi found his on the field, in the bloodbath that had condemned so many.

“I can’t spend my time playing in your little fantasies, or worry over your fragile civilian existence.”

The words had cut cruelly deep, but it illustrated well what his life had been like apart from you. Where you had only heard of the war, he had been in the midst of it. Where you could leisurely explore your path, find your way and settle for an illustrious peace, Kakashi knew that he was the footman that provide. You knew very well that the words he had said were only meant to scare you, to shake you. Later on you would come to understand that it was merely to protect you, to help you.

“Long time no see, [Name],” he said almost too casually, his eyes lazily scanning you over, taking in every change that you had gone through in the time that the two of you had spent apart. Years, years it had been, years in which you had brewed in contemplation, gained new insights and understandings, matured, and ultimately reached a point of sympathy.

“Has it?” you responded, a smile plastered on your lips. Sympathy did not mean to forgive, you had learnt, and despite all of your compassion you could not find it within yourself to allow this man to reach close once more. “I hadn’t noticed,” you lied, though you would never admit such to him.

“Who tha?” a blond next to the jounin asked, his goggles reminding you of a certain friend that you hadn’t seen around in a long while. The set of clear blue eyes and bright blond hair gave you an even bigger whiplash of people you hadn’t seen in a long while.

“[Name], as Kakashi already said,” you responded before giving the infamous copycat a chance. “Kakashi and I were neighbours back in our childhood,” you filled in the gaps with a shrug.

“Huh, so even he was young once,” the boy mused to which you grimaced. Despite not being involved in his world you had a general idea of what Kakashi’s life has been like ever since your fall-out, what with him being a local celebrity and all.

“Naruto, not? Number one troublemaker,” you teased the boy, earning wide eyes of surprise before his eyes turned into deep squints as he scratched his head at you.

“I’m still not sure if I should know you,” he admitted honestly, earning a hit over his head by a certain pink-haired girl.

“I’m so sorry for Naruto. I’m Sakura, and the boy over there is Sasuke, we are Kakashi’s students,” the girl smiled up at you cutely, green eyes scanning you over as well as she dug through her memory.

Behind there was another boy, dark and brooding, reminding you of the man Kakashi had been before. He as well seemed to scrutinise you, eyes inconspicuously scanning you over for any sign on whether you were a fellow ninja or not.

“How adorable,” was your only comment, trying not to let your ire between Kakashi and you extend towards the three innocent lives in front of you. “No offense taken, I’m not a ninja anyway,” you quickly addressed their worries, the relief in their eyes telling as they realised that there was no need to recall you, yet.

“[Name] has been out of Konoha for a while, studying all sorts of secrets to assist the hokage and the council,” Kakashi explained the rest, earning a look from your side and drawing the awe from the other three.

“You have been paying attention, I see,” you faked yet another smile, unsure whether you should actually be surprised that Kakashi had been keeping tabs on you. In hindsight it seemed almost natural.

“Heartwarming, as always,” you clipped before waving the group off. “Don’t let me, a mere civilian, hold you up,” you grimaced before retreating.

“What was that about?” Naruto scratched his head once more, confused over the hostility that you seemed to express towards his teacher. A fact that confused the rest of the team as well, who couldn’t help but feel themselves be piqued in their interest.

The answer came in the form of Might Guy, brightly smiling as he was quick to recall something that had passed so long ago.

“[Name]!” he exclaimed as the students stood in front of him, eagerly coaxing out the answers from the man. “Ah, yes, [Name],” he shook his head as he crossed his arms, seemingly sinking into thoughts before realising that Team 7 was still staring up at him, unimpressed.

“All I really know is that [Name] and Kakashi dated for a bit when they were children,” Guy admits, not thinking too much of the statement. “I don’t know what pulled them apart, but suddenly [Name] disappeared from Kakashi’s life,” he followed after some more prodding from Sakura as he let go of a sigh.

“Ah, youthful love!” Guy suddenly exclaimed, his fists balling as he rose them up into the air. “I bet that Kakashi is so over the moon with [Name]’s return, I must challenge him to another bet!”

And with that the man disappeared into the horizon, searching for his eternal rival.

Team 7 wouldn’t be the Team 7 that Kakashi led if Guy’s exclamation didn’t lead to shenanigans.

“[Name]!” Sakura ran up to you, an arm waving over her head as she tried to catch your attention. “Oh, thank heavens I found you, I really, really need your help,” the female pitched, her eyes beaming at you in a way that you found it difficult to refuse.

“What is it?” you carefully tried, not liking the glimmer in her expression one bit as she dragged you off, surprising you with the amount of strength her body carried. Ninja were definitely of another calibre, you found.

“Well, you see, it involves Kakashi-sensei,” she started, earning a firm halt from you, your heels planting itself into the soil as you shrugged the female off.

“If it involves Kakashi I don’t want any part of it,” you spoke, your voice firmer than you had intended as you quickly let go of your breath. “I- It is complicated between the two of us,” you mumbled upon the questioning look of the girl. “I doubt he would want me to interfere either,” you scoffed, guilt building up within you as you watched Sakura’s expression drop further.

“Ah,” Sakura let go of a breath, her expression turning apologetic as she let go of a sigh. “I suppose you wouldn’t want us to pry?” she questioned in a small voice to which you grimaced painfully.

“You guys are good kids and don’t deserve to be sandwiched between whatever Kakashi and I had,” you shrugged, hand ruffling through the pink tresses of the young teen. “Don’t worry your pretty head. It is a story that deserves no attention,” you reassured the female before heading off into your original direction once more.

The boys didn’t have much luck either from their side.

“I doubt [Name] wants anything to do with me,” their teacher had grimaced at them as soon as he figured out their plans. It was rare for Kakashi to be so straightforward, but it had been a clear signal from his side as well.

“Obviously they still think of one another,” Sakura exclaimed, her arms thrown up into the air as she sat down exasperated. Sasuke kept to himself as Naruto just nodded furiously along.

“That just means we will have to force them together!” the blond determined, earning a look from his team members, a devilish glint in his eyes. “Leave it to the number one troublemaker!”

You were suspicious, to say the least. When Team 7 appeared in front of you, claiming that they wanted to get to know you better, you had thought nothing much of it and agreed. However, the deeper they led you into the forest, the further they dragged you into --for you-- uncharted territory without any explanation, the more you started to wonder.

“So, what exactly is it that you guys wanted to show me?” you questioned the three teens, earning only an exchange of eyes between the students before they grimaced at you.

“Oh, you know, a nice picnic in the woods,” Sakura spoke, obviously lying straight through her teeth. You rose a brow, leaving the subject alone. You trusted the three genin enough to be confident that there was no harm to come.

However, when the trees above you rustled you suddenly found that the three teens had disappeared, leaving you all alone in the forest.

“Hello?” you called out, worried as you turned and turned, wondering where the three of them had headed. “Sakura?” you tried, knowing that the girl was the most sympathetic of the bunch. “Naruto?” you called, hoping that the troublemaker would find any hilarity in your rising worry. “Sasuke?” you tried at last, though you didn’t expect much if this went all within the plans of the team.

Again the leaves rustled as you clenched your fists together, worry spiraling down as your mind mulled over all of the reasons why the ninja had left you behind.

“I don’t like this trip or this joke,” you spoke firmly, not liking the silence that followed after.

When a shadow came from out of the bushes you were quick to react, a stone flying into the direction of the moving shade as you scrambled around for another stone to throw. All of which were evaded with deft skill before a hand grabbed your wrist, stopping your attack.

“[Name],” Kakashi breathed, his mask pulled up to reveal the eye he had received from the friend he had lost so soon before cutting you off.

Your chest was heaving, your breath ragged as you looked the other into his eyes, panic slowly replacing itself for something of distaste as you tried to squirm yourself out of Kakashi’s hold.

“What are you doing here?” you questioned, letting the stone fall between you as you pulled back your hand. “Where are your students?”

You didn’t mean to sound cold, or perhaps you did, still angry at the cruelty in which he had made the decision to cut you off.

“They came to me, claiming that you were in danger,” Kakashi simply answered, his hand rubbing the back of his head as he took a step away from you. “I know you don’t want to see me, but these forests are dangerous and--”

Raising your hand you cut the man off, your eyes closed as you tried to work away the headache that was slowly crawling up. “Kakashi,” you spoke sharply, a deep sigh following after as you exhaled deeply. “How much longer are you going to look down on me?” you snapped, a pain welling up as you shook your head.

“No, nevermind. Forget it. Let’s just go back,” you said, waving off any of the tension that there was, ignoring the look in the eye of the other.

Both of you had been young, forced to grow up too fast in a world set to be cruel. There was little more to say than that whatever had been before would take time to grow back, for understanding was easily gained, but forgiveness needed to be chosen, and neither of you had decided to forgive the other, or yourself.

“Kakashi,” you called, forcing the man in front of you to turn around, his mask back in place once more to cover his scarred eye, and his expression back to its apparent apathy.

“Thank you,” you mumbled, having to force the words beyond your lips as you clenched and released your fists. “For coming, I mean. And worrying,” you added, feeling the need to clarify the situation.

The copycat just stared at you, eyes once more going over your features, as if trying to find the differences between the you at present, and the one from his memories.

“For you, always,” he responded, the last word lingering on between the two of you.

Though, perhaps the decision could start by taking one step at a time.

#naruto #naruto x reader #kakashi #kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake

[darquedeath4444]

Naruto Fantasy Week - Day 2 - Mythical/Monstrous

For @naruto-fantasy-week

Day 2: Mythical/Monstrous

Team Seven

Kakashi moves into a supposedly empty mansion, only to find out that it is inhabited by a possibly crazy trio of kids. 

====

It is the growing feeling of being crushed, unique to a busy city, that drives Kakashi away from the concrete jungle and to a more rural area. He still has work so he can't move far, but luckily an hour by car from the heart of the metropolis lands him in the countryside. Jiraiya, an old family friend, had offered to lend one of his many mansions to him and Kakashi had seen no reason to not take it.

Jiraiya's mansion, now temporarily his, is located a little up in the mountains. There are a handful of other mansions located nearby, but they are far enough away that unless Kakashi actively goes looking, he will most likely never meet their occupants.  

The key Jiraiya had handed him along with the address is big and old fashioned, and Kakashi finds himself increasingly excited as he pulls up in front of his new living space. Large wooden double doors mark the entrance of the place, and there is a satisfying click when he unlocks them. 

The inside is dark, but there is enough light for Kakashi to make out a large set of stairs on the far side of the entrance. There are doors leading both left and right, and he can see the mouth of a corridor at the top of the stairs.

He cannot wait to explore.

Somebody purposefully clears their throat and Kakashi’s head whips up. A girl dressed in a witch outfit is perched on the rails of the second floor. How had he missed such a big, pointy hat during his first scan of the room?

“Oh my, are you lost?” The girl asks. “You look lost. I guess that makes you mine.”

Kakashi stares, but before he can tell her that Halloween is months away, another voice cuts in from behind him. 

“He’s clearly an intruder. That makes him mine.”

Kakashi freezes and slowly glances over his shoulder. A raven-haired boy stands with his back against the doorframe. He wonders if the dramatic fluttering of his cloak had been an available upgrade that came with the online bought vampire outfit.

The girl lets out a scoff. “You said that about the last guy!” She exclaims angrily. “Thanks to you we no longer get the newspaper!”

“He smelt like an intruder!”

“And clearly we can’t trust your sense of smell!”

“Or maybe, he’s a visitor?” A third voice chirps in from the top of the stairs. A blond boy stares down at him with bright blue eyes and a friendly grin plastered onto his face. “Say, are you the guy the pervy old man said would be living here from now on?”

“Wait, really?” The girl pushes herself off the ledge and Kakashi feels his body moving towards her automatically because the fall from her height will be sure to break her ankles, despite knowing he will never get there in time, only to skid to an abrupt half and take two steps back because she lands nimbly on some surface he clearly cannot see a little above the actual floor. 

Of course there is an invisible ground there, because what, was she standing on air?

The girl skips over and leans into his face. “They look nothing alike,” she says.

“No one said they were related,” the Vampire wannabe says. “Just that they were family friends?”

“Something like that.” The blond hops onto the handrail of the stairs and gracefully slides down. “What’s your name again? Bakashi?”

“Kakashi,” the pink girl says. She elbows the blond. “Be nice.” The wolf boy chuckles. “Right, sorry about that.”

Kakashi hears the sharp sound of heels clicking on wood, and the vampire boy is behind him. “Why’re you wearing a mask?” He asks. “Are you sick? Do you have a cold? We don’t want human colds here.”

The blond laughs. “More like the remedy to said colds come from Sakura and they make you wish you’d rather suffered through a few coughs-”

The girl, Sakura, whacks the blond upside the head. “Rude,” she snaps. “That’s not what you said the last time you ate something weird and wanted something for your upset stomach.”

“That’s cause the idiot eats anything he finds,” the raven says. “Like an idiot.”

“What did you say bastard?”

“Boys,” Sakura says, and Kakashi gets the impression that she is used to this. 

“Uh, can I ask a question?” He asks slowly.

The blond turns to him. “Yeah, sure?”

“Who are you?”

“Oh.” The boy scratches the back of his head. “Right, we didn’t say. I’m Naruto, the bastard over there is Sasuke, and the pink chic-girl, the pink girl is Sakura.”

Sakura slowly lowers her clenched fist, a tight smile on her face. “Nice to meet you, Kakashi.”

“Hn.”

Kakashi feels a headache coming. “And why are you here? Do you know Jiraiya?”

Naruto brightens. “Yeah! He used to be our link to the human world, but recently he said something about writing a book? So we were looking for a replacement and BAM, here you are.”

Kakashi blinks. Link to the human world? “So you are a bunch of shut-ins?”

“What, no!” Sakura exclaimed. “What gave you that impression?”

Kakashi pointedly looks at their outfits and from the way the girl blushes she knows what he is trying to say. 

“Well, we don’t actually have to dress like this, but it gets us in the mood, you know? Besides, it was you humans that imagined us to be like this, so if you’ve got a complaint, go take it up with your ancestors or something.” She flicks the tip of her hat. “Like, what is this even for?”

“At least you can find a look for yourself without having to look like a dirty mop!” Naruto retorts. “Half the stuff I’ve got to look through has chest hair.”

“Fur,” Sasuke says. “I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be fur.” The boy is standing straight with his cloak wrapped around himself, like a vampire from a movie. He is repeatedly biting his lip and, as Kakashi watches, finally seems to grasp the ‘one visible sharp tooth’ thing. 

“You don’t even have to change your wardrobe,” Naruto continues. “You’re all black and doom and gloom, to begin with.”

Sasuke scoffs. “Admit it, you’re just jealous this looks good on me.” He tilts his head a little and Kakashi has to admit, he can be the promotion character to a Halloween party or something.

“You know, that set included gloves too?” Sakura says offhandedly. “But it was such a bother to get the ketch-blood, it was such a bother to get the blood out every single time, so we scrapped it.” She claps her hands together. “Anyways, we didn’t know you were arriving so soon, Kakahi,” she says. “We were planning to clean the place up a bit, maybe get something nice to eat?”

“Like a welcoming party!” Naruto chirps.

Sakura ignores him. “But since you came early without notice, we’ve got none of that done. The place is a mess, not that anyone seems bothered by it.”

“You’re the one with the broom,” Naruto says.

Sakura looks offended. “You want me to clean with it? How would you feel if I swept the floor with your tail?”

“Sad.”

“Exactly.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. “Anyways, what she means to say is, absolutely nothing is prepared for your arrival. Unless you have food on you, you’re going hungry tonight.”

“Did you just assume what she was going to say?”

The two boys start bickering again and Kakashi feels the strength leave his body in one go. He staggers backwards, scrambling for his phone, to talk to Jiraiya, to try and make sense of anything. He turns on his phone and is met with the message screen. He scrolls down to the text Jiraiya had sent him, the one with the address on it, and he scans through it. 

Hi Kakashi!

I’ve attached the map and the address to the message, just in case. The place is in good condition, I’ve made sure of it. There’s no other person occupying the place, so use it as you like. All I ask if for you to take up the small project I left behind, it’s nothing too difficult. You’ll see when you get there and you’ll come to love it I’m sure.

Anyways, that’s all for now. I’ll see you sometime soon!

“Jiraiya mentions nothing about occupants in his house,” he said. “I don’t doubt you know him, but are you supposed to be here?”

“Lemme see that.” Naruto snatches the phone from him and squints at the screen. “Uhh...ah! See, he says ‘no other person’. Person. There is definitely no other person here.”

Kakashi pointedly looks at him and Naruto grins. “Person. We’re not persons-”

“People,” Sasuke corrects.

“Shut it. As I was saying, we’re definitely not people.”

Kakashi rolls his eyes. “What, you classify as a vampire, witch, and-” he stares at Naruto. “Cat man?”

Sasuke chokes on his spit and Sakura has a smile on her face. 

“What? I’m a wolf!” Naruto says indignantly.

“Right, anyways, you say you’re not people.” 

The three of them nod.

“And you, what, live here?”

“That’s right,” Sakura says. “We work here too.”

Kakashi is left stricken once again, but the three in front of him seem to take this as the end of his questions. 

“Now that’s done with, let’s move onto the tour!” Naruto grabs him by the shoulder and begins pushing him towards the stairs. “There’s a lot to see, and a whole bunch of things to be careful of. You don’t want to step onto the third-floor cause that’s the attic and Sasuke’s occupied the entirety of it as his lair or something. You might want to be careful of which room you pick as yours too, cause the bats aren’t very smart and they hit the windows when they’re trying to head in for the day. The far wing is Sakura’s area and she makes a whole load of weird stuff. She claims they're potions and whatnot but I swear she’s just mixing poison to mess with the rest of us. Regardless, the air there is nasty. If you’re not careful you might wake up the next day with a hand growing out of your stomach.”

"I suggest staying out of the dungeons as well,” Sakura helpfully says. “It smells like a pack of wet dogs down there. Unless you wish to never be able to smell anything for the rest of your life, stay far away.”

“And buy earplugs then next time you go down to the city,” Sasuke adds. “Because ear pain-inducing howling is apparently what passes as singing among his kind.”

Kakashi’s brain chooses that moment to decide that it is officially overloaded. He faints. 

====

Kakashi wakes up to a comfortable bed and an unfamiliar ceiling. There is an eerie smoke wafting around and he turns his head slowly, catching a glimpse of Sakura approaching him with a cup in hand. 

“How’re you feeling?”

Kakashi thinks this over for a second. “No idea, honestly.” Sakura laughs and holds up the cup. “It’s water. You can ask questions, I’ll try to answer them.” Kakashi sits up and gratefully takes the cup. He drinks until it is empty. “Where’s…” He waves a hand. 

“Naruto and Sasuke?” Sakura takes the cup from him and places it on the bedside table. “A client came by, so they’re dealing with her.”

“Client?”

Sakura nods. “I said we work here too, remember?” 

“Right. You never said what you do though.” Kakashi looks around. The room he is in is small but well furnished. There is a doorway that leads off somewhere, and a shelf stocked full of something near it. The curtains are open and he can see that the sun is already setting. “How long was I out for?”

“Just a few hours. And yeah, we didn’t, but you didn’t ask.”

Sakura is smiling at him happily, and Kakashi swallows. “Oh, so, what do you do?”

The girl claps her hands together. “This gets a little long, but you know? So, there’s this woman, she’s called Tsunade. She’s like our leader. And where we come from, we’re put into groups of three. Our group was me, Naruto and Sasuke, and Tsunade, she didn’t like us very much. Well, I think she liked me because I was her apprentice and everything, but Naruto and Sasuke got into a lot of trouble. One day, Tsunade decided that she was done with them, and by extension me, and she sent us off to solve cases out in the human world before she considers taking us back-”

“I’m sorry, wait a second.” Kakashi notes that Sakura is not a very good storyteller. “So, this Tsunade is your leader, and as punishment or something she sent the three of you here to solve cases.”

Sakura slowly nods through his analysis. “Yup.”

“Where did she send you off from?”

“Our house. We lived in a big mansion, but she kicked the three of us out.”

“Right, and what do you mean by ‘cases’?” “We’re like private consultants!” Sakura turns to look at the clock located above the doorway. “Like, our current client is Ino. We know her from back home, by the way. She’s a siren, see, and recently some human dude’s been pestering her. Probably a victim to her voice, the poor bloke. Some people are just more sensitive to it. Anyways, she came by for something to make him more resistant to the pull, so I’m whipping together a potion to do just that. You could call us troubleshooters for those of our kind who live out in the human world.”

“And by your kind, you mean…”

“The supernatural,” Sakura says. “The magical, the fantasy, the mythical and monstrous.”

Kakashi swallows. He is either stuck in the grasps of a trio of crazy kids, or he is stuck in the grasps of a trio of creatures he had previously thought only to exist in books and movies. “Does Jiraiya know about this?”

“Of course! He’s actually a close friend of Tsunade’s. They drink together a lot. He’s in the human world a lot yeah? And he’s well known there too. When there’s a particularly difficult case that needs a shove from the human side he’s the one we usually talk to.” She gets to her feet. “Give me a second, I need to go check the cauldron.”

The girl vanishes through the doorway and Kakashi stares after her. Seconds later, he hears a platter of footsteps and Naruto bursts through the door. “Sakura-chan! Oh, Kakashi! You’re awake! Perfect timing!” Sakura sticks her head out from the other room. “I’m almost done. If the pig’s complaining, tell her she can-”

“No, no!” Naruto rushes towards her. “Gaara’s here, like we promised.”

Sakura raises both eyebrows. “I didn’t think he’d come,” she admits. 

“Well, I never doubted.” Naruto is grinning, and Kakashi assumes this is another case. Sakura smiles at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Well, he came at a good time. Kakashi’s up and ready to go.” Kakashi blinks. “Me? Go where?”

Naruto rolls his eyes. “Gaara’s house, duh.”

“Why?”

“Gaara’s like us, but it’s a little weird cause he seems artificial. We suspect he was once human, and someone forcefully planted a supernatural into him.”

“Why?” Was that even possible? “How?”

Naruto laughs. “That’s what you’re going to go find out.”

Kakashi cannot see where this is going. He doesn't know how it had come to this. “No?”

“We tracked down Gaara’s family, but we need someone to go look into it. You’re human, you’re perfect for the role!”

“What? No, I-I don’t-you can’t-” Kakashi wants to pull his hair out. He wants to faint again, because then at least he doesn’t have to think at all. “Can’t you just, like, can’t Sakura make a truth serum or-or-Sasuke go turn them into vampire slaves by sucking their blood or something?”

Somewhere, somehow, he has begun talking and thinking as though he has accepted that they are supernatural. He does not even question it. 

“We can’t hurt humans,” Sakura tells him. “Unless they deserve it, of course. That’s one of the rules Tsunade put in place.”

Naruto gives his shoulder a pat. “Come on, Kakashi. It’s late today and I know you humans need sleep, so you can go tomorrow. I’ll have Gaara write down the address or something.” “Gaara should stay the night too,” Sakura says. “Like you said, it’s late.”

“Cool! I’ll go tell him that. Sasuke’s entertaining him right now.”

Sakura hands the blond a bottle. “Give that to the pig while you’re at it.”

Kakashi blinks. He is done, he decides. He thanks whatever resides above the clouds when he faints a second time.

Naruto Fantasy Week Master List

#narutofantasyweek #Team 7 #sasuke #sakura #naruto #kakashi #yeah they be up to a lot of shenanigans #i drew something for this one #but i didn't finish it sooo #hopefully it'll be done by halloween

[blue-likethebird]

Shimizu Kiyoko: A Meta

Recently, Haikyuu finished its last match and ended an 8-year run in Shonen Jump. I love Haikyuu. It has so many unique characters with complex motivations, a plot that had me invested for 4 years straight, good pacing and a fanbase full of talented creators. It had a big impact on my style as an author and even motivated me to try out for my school’s volleyball team back in middle school (but I ended up getting hit in the head with a serve and cut after the first tryouts ended rip.) But like every story, Haikyuu had a few flaws too.

Shimizu Kiyoko is without a doubt one of my favourite characters after Michimiya and Suga. But when I reread the series following the manga’s end, I had the uncomfortable realization that as much as I love Kiyoko, the way her character was handled fell into a few -kinda misogynistic- pitfalls. Well, this is me taking a closer look at that. Below the cut is the full meta, which contains spoilers for the final arc of Haikyuu!! You’re free to add your thoughts, argue that I’m wrong, or call me a bitch and block me at your own discretion!

In fairness, Haikyuu is a series about a boys’ volleyball team, and that premise doesn’t leave much room for girls outside of the supporting cast. At the very least, Furudate did a good job making the female characters in his series likeable individuals with distinct personalities who have lives of their own outside of the guys. Even characters like Michimiya, Kanoka and Mika -who are comparatively minor characters serving romantic roles in the story- have identities not revolving around their relationships with boys. I’m glad that the girls were allowed to express ugly emotions, have supportive relationships with one another, and weren’t solely defined by what guys they were in love with. On that level, Haikyuu is leaps and bounds better than a lot of other shonen mangas ie Boruto’s Dad.

Unfortunately, Kiyoko’s arc fell slightly short of the mark. In the grand scheme of things, she really didn’t have much to do and her identity as a character is comparatively murkier than others once you strip away her relationships with the men in Haikyuu. Given her potential, popularity, and the higher standards Haikyuu set for its ladies, it’s a bit disappointing.

“But blue!” Someone in the back row pipes up. “You said yourself that Kiyoko isn’t a main character! Authors don’t develop the supporting cast nearly as much as the protagonists!”

Well yeah. If authors expanded on every character to the extent they expand on the lead, then it would be impossible to get to the actual plot. But hey, Oikawa appears less frequently than Kiyoko does and his motivations and interests are given time to develop. Heck, Yachi only joined the cast in chapter 73 and the series explores her interest in art and relationship with her mother really well during her introduction. We don’t know Kiyoko’s family situation, or why she quit track, or what drives her to put so much of her own time into the volleyball club. And the scenes where she has an impact on the story, or the game going on, or Hinata’s quest to become a great volleyball player, or another character she interacts with are few and far between when stacked up against other members of Karasuno’s volleyball club. The only exception would be Kinoshita and Narita, who have the bad luck of being Haikyuu’s version of “those two guys” so that’s not exactly the best demonstration of what Kiyoko has to offer.

Then there’s my beef with the pedestal she’s dropped on: Both in canon and out, Kiyoko is presented as a perfect goddess who can do no wrong. This setup has so much room to expand on and deconstruct, which dozens of stories have done incredibly well. Even Haikyuu itself has done a similar thing through Kageyama’s relationship with the other Kitadaii alumni and the “king of the court” storyline. Yet Kiyoko never gets a chance to explain her feelings on being held to such a high standard, nor is it ever brought up as something that could be uncomfortable for her. It’s briefly implied that she’s somewhat out of her element when she’s the centre of attention in the “do your best” scene, but that’s not really touched on further. Given that haikyuu has acknowleged being held to unreachable standards is damaging, it would have made sense to acknowledge Kiyoko’s perspective too. Is she insecure about being considered flawless? Is it something that brings her confidence or boosts her ego? Idk, because it’s never explained clearly. It’s like a porcelain doll: Kiyoko is perfect, but by keeping her up on a high shelf to maintain that perfection, we miss the chance to get a closer look that could help further our appreciation of her.

It’s not that being one of the less dynamic characters is inherently a misogynistic pratfall, since there are plenty of male characters out there who could give a cardboard box a run for its money in terms of complexity. However, given that Kiyoko’s character is already floundering among all the unaddressed idealizations around her, to have so little opportunity to address that and how damaging it can be, well it’s not great to say the least. She’s also one of the only characters in the whole series to suffer from this particular burden. It’s kinda difficult to handwave that as just a weird coinky dink that Kiyoko’s not given more development while the arrival of Lev at Nekoma warranted a dissection of how this affects their dynamic. 

This all builds up to a defining moment. The one that made me realize how Shimizu Kiyoko had never quite escaped the trap so many other shonen manga ladies since Sakura and Orehime had fallen victim to.

The reveal that she and Tanaka got married between the end of nationals and the time skip. That was when I realized that for all I loved her and the series she was a part of, the writing surrounding her was misogynistic. 

I have a... variety of emotions about this particular relationship’s road to becoming canon, and they’re not especially positive emotions either. I could prattle on for ages about the execution or buildup, and a whole other post could be written about why I always interpreted her as a lesbian, but that’s best saved for another time. How was Kiyoko falling in love with Tanaka a weak point?

To put it bluntly, it’s because she didn’t.

We’re shown over and over again that Tanaka has feelings for Kiyoko. That was established in basically the first scene they appeared together in. What irks me is that she never gets the same: that the ‘hints’ that Kiyoko returns those feelings barely qualify as hints at all. Yet, with one scene where Tanaka carries her bag, we’re supposed to believe that the few scraps of interest she’s shown throughout the 300+ chapters of the manga they’ve both appeared in is a strong enough end point to lead to them getting hitched. Come to think of it, is there ever even a scene outside of the bag carrying where they spoke one-on-one about anything meaningful? Did Tanaka ever get to see her as more than her pedestal that we saw? The scene they ended off on is where most romance arcs start for heaven’s sake, and it ultimately disservices both characters. 

Once again, poor Kiyoko got screwed over by the series denying her a chance to express her feelings, and the marriage bomb came off as less of a satisfying conclusion to either of their arcs and more like a one-sided “wear the girl down” pullout where the girl in question is treated more like a prize than part of a healthy relationship. That kind of “romance” is more at home in a cliche action bland-com than Haikyuu, where the relationships are written with more complexity. This would have so easily been avoided with even one throwaway line. But since Kiyoko never got to express her own feelings, a crucial building block to a satisfying romantic arc was left out and the whole relationship toppled over like a jenga tower.

To wrap this up, lemme say that Haikyuu is one of my favourite series and one of the strongest shonen or sports manga I’ve read. I love both Kiyoko and Tanaka both a fuck ton, and I’m incredibly grateful that Furudate gave us such a powerful series these past eight years. None of this is me trying to bash the author, story, or any of the characters and I’m definitely not trying to argue that they’re in any way problematic. This is merely one interpretation of the series and an examination of a relatively minor part of the genuinely enjoyable whole. My goal in writing this longass meta wasn’t to condemn. But, in a manga whose biggest strength is having such well-rounded characters, it’s still somewhat of a shame that so much of Kiyoko’s potential stayed just that: potential. Haikyuu is a series that’s well-known for giving complex personal stories to all its cast from major player to one-chapter rivals. Why is it that Shimizu Kiyoko -who’s been a regular presence in the story since the very first chapter- couldn’t get the same?

#bluebird.txt #bluebird thinks #meta #shimizu kiyoko #haikyuu!! #long ass post #long post #hq critical #salty wench #volleyboys

[reinosaurs]

Home (A KoiTsudu Fanfic)

Genre: Drama, Angst, Romance

Characters: Nanase Sakura, Kairi Tendo

Disclaimer: KOITSUDU, NOT MINE! THIS FANFIC IS! :'>

Note: Requested by @lonelydandelion 🌸 particularly on Episode 8 when Nanase left based on Tendo-sensei's point of view! I hope you like it! I hope everyone will like it! 🙇‍♀️

•••🌸•••🌸•••🌸•••🌸•••

It was night time and soon, her shift will be finished. Nanase walked down the hospital hallway - nurses and other staffs passed by her as she stared at nothing. Her mind is a chaos, almost giving her a headache.

Soon she reached the storage room and locked herself inside.

Finally, she breath deeply - releasing all the tension in her shoulders. Her lips quiver and she blinked her eyes rapidly - attempting to stop the forming tears.

Breathe.

"The lawsuit... I can withdraw it. Except, you have to come with me."

It has been hours since she heard that words from Kamijo-san and her mind is restless.

Kamijo-san... why?

Her chest got tighter as she remembered Anri's sweet smile. She can see the hope in her eyes. The relief. The incoming freedom from the hospital's grasps as the child would finally go through an operation.

And Tendo-sensei...

He had been with Anri-chan from the beginning. He knows her condition more than anyone in the hospital. Him, not being included on Anri's surgery is outrageous.

Simply not fair. To make haste decisions like that.

Why would Kamijo-san do this? Tendo-sensei would never hit anyone especially his patients. He had been so gentle and caring to them, no one will ever believe that he did such harsh actions.

It wasn't Tendo-sensei's fault. He doesn't deserved all of this.

No.

It wasn't Kamijo-san's fault either.

It was her fault.

Since she met Kamijo-san, he had been so attached to her. If only she had paid more attention to him, or give him everything he wants, then none of this would happen.

She breath deeply for the nth time and grabbed a rolled tissue, Anri-chan had offered her before, here in the exact place where she was. She wiped her tears quickly and left the storage room.

When her shift is done, she changed her clothes and went straight to home. She made a few onigiri for herself and ate it in silence.

Remembering the days she studied so hard just to become a nurse. The tears, and the short breakdowns she had when school is getting harder and harder for her. She thought of quitting but Tendo-sensei always appeared on her mind. She can't cause they will soon reunite again. She had made sure of it. Risks everything for it. She just wanted to be with him. Tendo-sensei became her motivation. Her strength.

But she's a nurse. Tendo-sensei trained and mentored her. She will do what is right.

I made up my mind.

The last thing she would do in her life was to leave Tendo-sensei. But if leaving him would be the only thing that will save him, she would gladly do it.

A thousand times.

Bowling... sounds good to do tomorrow.

She forced her lips to smile like she always used to.

•

"Then you'll be able to participate in Anri-chan's surgery!"

Tendo released a long sigh after he heard those words from Wakabayashi. This news gave him a total relief.

Kamijo dismissed the case - willing to let everything go and felt better.

Just like that?

Something is off.

But he would think of it later for he should be focusing on Anri's long awaited surgery.

The child had so many dreams. He would do everything to save her, gave her life another chance to dance into sunlight and live the best of it.

•

"Sakura... why?"

Nanase bowed infront of the head nurse. "Mariko-san.. please!"

Confused, Mariko placed her hands on the girl's shoulders to straighten her up. "I don't understand. Why so suddenly? What happened, yuusha?"

Once again, Nanase tried to smile. "Please... let me quit."

"Nanase---"

"Mariko-san.." She grabbed both of Mariko's hands and looked at her, begging. "Just trust me. Let me quit. Please."

•

The surgery was sucessful. Tendo had never felt at ease until now. There was no complications and the operation had gone smoothly. Everything is going well for the child and he assured that she will be able to function again starting today.

He glanced at the unconscious child. From now on, go and live the best and be happy, Anri-chan.

"Tendo-sensei!"

He looked up and saw Mariko running towards him. "Good job on the surgery."

The next words from her sent him confused and worried.

"Did you hear anything from Sakura?"

His brows quickly furrowed as his thoughts started to jumbled.

"What do you mean?" He asked instantly.

When Mariko was about to explain everything, he dashed through the hallway.

He already knew what was happening.

Sakura is gone.

Kamijo dismissing the case. And now, Sakura suddenly leaving.

He changed his clothes and frantically dialed Sakura's number but failed.

She's not answering her damn phone.

He tried again and again. Frustratedly, he opened a door leading to the hospital's balcony. He stood there, staring at the night sky and chasing his breath. He gripped the phone tighter in his hand. He clenched his jaws and suddenly wanting to break something.

When he can't take it any longer, he forcefully dropped his fists to the metal railing.

Some people can really get whatever they want in just a flick of a finger. Without even having a second thought and doubt. Not caring for the consequences it may held in the future. No matter how it affects a person's life.

Calming himself from the sudden rage he was feeling, he shoved the phone back to his pocket and left the balcony. He fixed his white lab coat neatly and strode straigtly through the hallways.

That night, he had a talk with Kamijo. Him, apologising was enough to ease his anger and annoyance but really, despite of those, he understood.

The bastard was lonely and Sakura gave him the attention he ever wanted. Tendo was still not happy for what he just did but he knew damn well of what loneliness feel like.

Loneliness can kill your soul.

But ever since Sakura came barging to his life, he changed to a completely different person. She had been a nurse to his broken soul. He failed to notice earlier of what is special about her. But the time he finally knew, he can't her out of his mind.

"I've had a crush on you!"

"I came to steal your sadistic heart!"

"This is the best date I could ask for."

"Let's stay together forever!"

Sakura... where are you?

Days passed, even when busy at work, Tendo did everything he can to know where the girl is. He tried to asked her friends from the nurse's station to call her but she's still not answering any of them.

That's it. He had enough.

He opened his laptop and scrolled through the profiles of the hospital's staffs.

Why did he only thought of doing this now when he should much earlier?

Cardiology Department. Nurses. Nanase Sakura.

He stared at her hometown's address and wasted no time. He signed a temporary leave and in just a blink, he was preparing to leave.

"I'm heading off." He grabbed his sister's phone from the kitchen counter. Just yesterday, Ryuko reminded him that she had Sakura's number and she might answer the call if she's the one who called. But Tendo stopped her.

If that's the case, then he would bring the phone with him and call her as soon as he reached Kagoshima.

He should be the one to hear her voice.

I will bring her back. Please, let me bring her back.

And as if the heavens agreed to his prayers, when he reached that particular town from Kagoshima, he quickly found her.

She's walking with two plastic bags in her hands. He saw her looked at the bowling sign on a building and his gaze softened.

"That won't be your last moment with me. Come home, and we will make more memories, you baka." He mumbled through the air as he stared at her from a far.

"Let's go home." He dialed her number through her sister's phone and slowly strode towards her.

#koi wa tsuzuku yo dokomademo #koitsudu #lovelastsforever #kairi tendo #nanase sakura #fanfiction

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Day 22 : Nicknames - Mitsuhide Akechi

“Wait, you have festivals in this era too?! That’s amazing!” I gasp in glee, looking up at the one eyed man. “Of course we do, lass! We gotta have fun sometimes too, y’know? People will always find means to entertain themselves, no matter the era they’re in.” Masamune winked at me, putting his arm around my shoulder. “That’s so cool! So, it’s tonight? Why didn’t I hear of that, now I’m upset!” I pouted briefly, crossing my arms. “Awww, Kitten, turn that frown into a smile, it suits you much better. Let’s go to Mitsuhide, I’m sure he’d love to take you to the festival.” Masamune teased me, making me stiffen up. “Mitsuhide...Huh? Isn’t like...Super busy all the time?” I bite my lip, looking away. “Kat, c’mon, literally all Azuchi...No, better said, the whole territory knows you have a thing for each other. Why don’t you just admit it already?” the chestnut haired man pressed on, yet his tone was more serious than usual. “You realise he could have literally any woman in Japan, right? Why would he choose me, of all people?” I take off his arm from my shoulder, sighing, as I take my little bag and prepare to leave his home. “Because, Katrina, you’re special. Foxes stick together, that’s what I’ve heard. You’d make a nice couple, don’t you think? Fire and Snow?” he spoke in a cryptic manner, which made me turn abruptly on my heel, taking him by the hem of his kimono and pulling him down to my level. “You know something and you’re hiding it from me, aren’t you, you sneaky little cyclops!” I shook him slightly, as much as my strength allowed me, but it only earned a very healthy laugh from him. “If you suddenly decide you prefer dragons over foxes, come at me, lass, I sure as hell would love to have you. Can’t say I’m not jealous that your affections are addressed to him, but I’m sure he’s a much better match for you than I’d be.” he took off my hands from his kimono and kissed them softly. “Go get him, Kitten.” he winked, making me sigh in annoyance. “Of course you knew something and wouldn’t tell me. That’s just like you, Masamune. All wild and mysterious, like the dark side of the moon. Very well, thank you for the advice. And...Masamune?” I call out to him before I left, earning a questioning hum. “Thank you. I’m sure someone like you will find a fitting match in no time. You’re amazing.” I winked at him, leaving back to the castle so I could prepare for the festival.

Thankfully enough, on my way there, from the market, Mitsuhide himself spotted me and saluted me, offering to escort me to the castle.

“Fancy seeing you on this fine day, Mitsuhide. How are you?” I smile tenderly at him. “Nothing unusual, per say. And you?” he spoke as evading as usual. “Nobunaga sent me on some trivial errands around. Oh, that reminds me. Masamune mentioned a festival happening tonight. Are there usually many of them yearly?” I ask in curiosity, no doubt my eyes shining. “Festivals? Hmm...Well, I suppose there aren’t that many. Then again, I suppose it would be your first festival in this era. Would you like to go?” he asked the fated question, making me grin wider. “Yes, that’d be lovely!” I clap my hands together in happiness. “Very well. I will talk to Masamune to escort you, then. He’s the one fondest of festivals around.” he said, making me grow visibly confused in a split second. “Wh-What? Why, don’t you like festivals? I thought you’d like to come as well.” I asked, trying not to show any worry. “Thank Nobunaga for giving me more work than necessary. Sorry, little fox, but sometimes we don’t get to choose the routes we would like, but the ones we must take.” he closed his eyes solemnly, patting my head as a way to apologise. “I see...Well, that’s a real pity.” I mutter, looking away with a pout. “There are always other festivals later on. Perhaps you would be willing to go with me for the next one, should my schedule not be so full.” he asked, making me look up at him with a small smile. “That would be really nice. Oh, I see we’ve arrived. Thank you for escorting me, Mitsuhide. I have to report to Nobunaga right away. Take care and don’t overwork yourself, alright?” I waved at him with a smile on my face, earning a soft chuckle from him. “That, at least, I can promise you.” he nodded, leaving to his home. “Well, time to sort things out, I guess.” I mutter to myself, rushing to Nobunaga’s room, where Hideyoshi and Mitsunari were discussing leisurely.

“Ahem. I would like 5 minutes with Nobunaga, if possible.” I looked at them with a strict look, and Nobunaga sensed that things would get fun, so he dismissed the 2 for a little while. “My little firecracker is back. What do you have to report so important that you had me kick them out?” he asked, and suddenly, I could feel my confidence deflating. “A-Ahem...Well...It’s...Not what I would call “Important” generally, per say, well, it would be for a certain small, restrained group of persons that I know, which will gain quite an emotional and moral benefit-” I trailed on, completely forgetting where I was trying to go, were it not for his dark chuckle of amusement. “I take it you want to ask a favour of me, correct?” he raised his eyebrow, holding a knowing smirk on his face. “...Yes.” I sighed, letting all the pent up stress go away. “Ask away, then. Knowing you, it’s going to be something innocent.” he rested his face on his fist, looking at me expectingly. “Could you...Post-pone Mitsuhide’s work for tomorrow? I found out tonight is a festival and he said he’d like to go, but was buried in work and couldn’t do much about it.” I bite my lip, looking away, but Nobunaga’s expression changed to a passive one, his smile vanishing. “I don’t want to ruin your dreams, Katrina, but as far as I remember, I didn’t give Mitsuhide any huge amount of work, nor was it urgent, so say the least. You might want to clarify things before they go out of control.” he patted me on the shoulder, but I couldn’t cheer up. “I see...So he lied even to me. Guess I should stop asking favour for others.” I mutter, getting up, ready to leave. “Thank you for your time and advice, Nobunaga. I appreciate it.” I open the door, looking at the 2 men chatting outside. “You can go back inside.” but I didn’t look at them, only thinking over Nobunaga’s words.

Well, guess Masamune was dead wrong.

That’s annoying.

I could always ask Masamune to come with me, so I wouldn’t go alone, right?

Ah, no, never mind, he said he was leaving somewhere else for the week.

Okay, alone it is.

I dressed in my pink yukata, put on the pink flower hair pin that Mitsuhide gifted me, more or less without even realising it, and as the Sun started setting, I made my way to the festival up the hill, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful, full of booths with games, candy, good fortune trinkets, love trinkets, accessories, fans and all that.

I wondered around, getting candy, looking around at the beautiful lights, so much, got myself a fan...And the best part...A Kitsune mask.

I grinned at it in delight, getting it as I attached it to the side of my obi.

“Hey, miss, do you know about the Love Tree?” a girl about my age asked randomly, which made me jump in my skin as I wasn’t expecting random strangers to talk to you. “Hmm? What is that?” I asked in curiosity as she gasped in shock. “You don’t know?! Basically, there is this Sakura tree and we write the name of our crush on a piece of wood and hang it on a branch, and it’s fated that you will be together forever. Lovely, isn’t it? I’m finally of age, so it’s my first time doing this. Here, have this piece of wood, it’s from the stall right there.” she explained excitedly, gifting me the little piece of wood and showed me to the man who had a brush and ink, so I could write my crush’s name on. “Okay...I guess I’m done. Hey, does this festival have a name? Or a reason why it exists?” I ask in curiosity, holding the little trinket close to my chest. “Of course it does! We celebrate the blooming of the Sakura trees! It’s the best time of the year, if you ask me-...Oh! Sorry, but I have to go! I just spotted my boyfriend, and I promised him we’d put each other’s name on the Tree. See you there!” she waved me goodbye, rushing to her boyfriend and attaching herself to his arm. “How...Cute.” I mutter, looking down at the little trinket in my hands, stroking it gingerly. “And here I am, being stupid. I’m a modern girl, and yet, I’m still doing silly highschool rituals.” I sighed, upset at my childishness, before a pair of hands abruptly planted on my shoulder, making me squeal in surprise and fright, turning around swiftly, ready to punch my assailant...Who turned out to be a silver fox. “Mitsu...Hide...?” I looked at him in shock, not having expected him here. “I thought you didn’t want to come to this place, more less see me. Why the sudden change of heart?” I ask skeptically, hiding the little trinket in my purse. “My, little fox, to think you’d be so direct with your interrogation, although you have the wrong idea, it is completely my fault. Will you let me make it up to you and explain the misunderstanding?” he said gently, looking at me in the eyes. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to know.” I mutter, looking away. “Very well. Would you come with me?” he asked, extending his hand for me to take. “I have nothing better to do.” I put my hand in his, as he guided me up the hill, where what seemed to be like a huge Sakura tree stood there, with lots of wood trinkets were hanging from the many branches.

I wasn’t able to fully focus on the stunning scenery as the nervousness I got from Mitsuhide’s presence was getting to me. We both sat down, leaning on the large trunk of the Sakura tree, and silence took over us momentarily.

“I won’t make up any excuse for my lies. I suppose it wasn’t gracious to lie even to you, my little fox. My intentions were not ill-willed, I promise. Although, I was not expecting you to go even to Nobunaga to ask for a favour. You never cease to surprise me, do you?” he smiles softly, turning his head to gaze at me. “I suppose it was meaningless in the end. But don’t worry about me, I can enjoy a festival without company.” I refuted, still pissed at him lying. “I apologise for lying to you. I wanted to surprise you, but I see it backfired rather hard. I never know what to expect from a modern woman like yourself.” he explained, taking out a small pink flower and putting it in my hair clip. “You look as beautiful as always. Pink really suits you, my dear little fox.” he complimented in a soft, lower voice, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Don’t think compliments can make up for your lies, Mitsuhide. I’m still upset.” I huffed, but somehow, it seemed to make him chuckle. “Would this make you smile?” he asked, taking out a wood trinket, similar to mine, yet the difference was...That my name was neatly written on it. “What...?” my eyes widen in surprise, looking at the trinket in his hand. “Don’t be so surprise, I know very well you know of this festival’s tradition. In fact, I saw your trinket. It was rather cute, if you ask me.” he smirked, teasing me, his face closer to mine. “It was a silly mistake on my part, don’t flatter yourself.” I scoffed at his boasting, despite knowing full well that it was the truth. “Well, it’s almost time for the fireworks. Would you like to put the trinkets in the Tree, my dear fire fox?” his grin resembled one of a fox, but I wasn’t going to complain, since it made my heart beat faster. “If the silver fox will, then we shall.” he helped me get up, but when I looked up, all the lower branches were already full with trinkets from the previous years, so I couldn’t reach it...But he could. “Does it count if you put both?” I ask, tilting me head to the side, but he didn’t answer, as he put his. “There would be no fun, would it?” he smirked as he put his arms around me, raising me up, earning a squeak of surprise, as I put my hands on his shoulders for balance. “You really have a bad tendency of scaring people, Mitsuhide!” I call out in fake annoyance, despite my cheeks getting the colour of my kimono. “But you have such cute reactions, I can’t resist teasing you.” he said as I put my trinket next to his. “You can put me down now, thanks.” I chuckle nervously as he put me down. “Oh...! Mitsuhide, look! The Moon and stars are so beautiful and close tonight...!” I gesture for him to come closer as I rush towards the top of the hill, looking up at the beautiful sky. “Pollution destroyed so much of the environment that the sky doesn’t look...Well...As gorgeous as this. I could just gaze at it all night, for the rest of my life, and I won’t get tired of it.” I turn back to Mitsuhide, extending my arm toward him, as a serene look didn’t fade from my face. “My, and I could gaze at you all day, and I wouldn’t get enough of you. Seeing you upset really breaks my heart, little fox, but I’ve been thinking of how your lips would taste the whole day. Would you let me me find an answer?” he asked, putting his hands on my face, making me look up at him, and I realised all the bitterness I held in my heart, vanished. “What a bold proposition, Mitsuhide. But I quite like it.” I giggled and got on my tippy toe, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep and passionate kiss, finally listening to my heart’s cry. “You’re saying I’m bold, and yet, you don’t have a clue how your actions make me feel. If it were my way, I wouldn’t let you go from my arms.” he pulled me back into a kiss just as tender and loving, before gazing into my eyes with such a soft look that I almost didn’t recognise him. “My dear silver fox is rather mellow today. I never thought I’d live to see that day. You make my heart beat faster than ever before, and yet, you say that I’m the one making you feel weird things.” I gave him a smug side smile, but before he could say another word, the voice of the girl that told me about the tradition called out to me very shocked.

“No way! Mitsuhide Akechi was your lover?!” she gasped, as it took a few seconds to get over my shock and laugh at her. “Yeah, he is. Y’know what they say...Foxes stick together.” I winked at Mitsuhide, before he chuckled and put his arm around my waist, telling me to sit down. “The fireworks are going to start.” he informed, bringing me closer to him. “I had no idea fireworks dated so far back...Whoa! So beautiful!” I gasped in awe, clasping my hands together. “And they’re even more beautiful when you have someone to watch them with.” he muttered, kissing my temple. “Yeah...You’re right...” I sigh in content, feeling at peace with everything happening today.

#ikemen sengoku #ikemen sengoku x reader #ikemen sengoku imagines #mitsuhide akechi #mitsuhide akechi x reader #ikesen mitsuhide #mitsuhide x reader #mitsuhide akechi imgine #mitsuhide imagine #nobunaga oda #nobunaga the warlord #masamune date #hideyoshi toyotomi #ikesen hideyoshi #ikesen #mitsunari ishida #sengoku #japan #fluffy self-cember #angst turned fluffy #fluffy #festival #cherry blossom #self indulgent

[britishassistant]

But I Like One Piece (15)

Otou-san insists on walking her to training with Gai-sensei the next morning.

It’s a nice gesture, but he’s clearly not used to rising so early, shuffling alongside her with sleep in his eyes and trying to cover his yawns.

They get there in time to spot Gai-sensei kneeling down and talking very seriously to Naruto and Lee about something.

When he spots them, he straightens quickly, waving a hand. “Ah, Mayu-chan, Jirou-san! Perfect timing!”

He claps a hand on Otou-san’s shoulder that almost has her father falling over, and ruffles her hair quickly. “I was just about to tell Naruto-kun and Lee, I’m leaving Konoha for a mission today.”

“Today?” Otou-san says, blinking himself a little more awake.

Gai-sensei gives him a serious look, nodding once. Then his face suddenly brightens as he turns to the three of them. “I expect to be gone for around two or three weeks. In the meantime, I expect you all to continue your most youthful training as you would under me! If there is anything you are having trouble with, do not hesitate to reach out to the other shinobi of the village! They are your comrades and will surely help you blossom into the springtime of your youth!”

“Yes, Gai-sensei!” Lee cries, as she and Naruto nod along with him. “We hope your mission goes well and will await your most youthful return!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

This exchange continues for quite a while, before Otou-san has to say his goodbyes so he can stumble back to bed, and they begin their last training session under Gai-sensei for a while.

Something’s going on.

It’s been a week since Gai-sensei’s departure, but she can tell something...odd is happening.

And nobody but her seems willing to acknowledge it.

She and Naruto were already practically attached at the hip, but it feels like he’s with her everywhere she goes now. He’s waiting outside her door in the mornings before training instead of the other way round, and he and Lee walk her home after, before going their separate ways to wash up before breakfast.

And when Naruto isn’t available to go with her somewhere, Lee or Kiba or Hinata or Shino or Sauke pop up with suspicious frequency to walk with her instead.

And she wouldn’t mind it—they’re her friends, after all, she does enjoy spending time with them—but they always seem so...distracted while they’re doing it. Like they’re spending all the time constantly on alert for something else. Hinata in particular seems to be staring at things so hard sometimes that it makes the veins around her eyes bulge a bit.

The poor girl always needs to have a sit-down in a shady area with a hand or cool cloth over her eyes after that.

And when she asks them about it, every last one of them acts like they have no idea what she’s talking about.

Even Naruto and Lee.

That hurts a bit.

To add insult to injury, there’s now a stalker following her around.

Well, a slightly more overt one than the masks.

Maybe she’s just being paranoid, but it feels like every time she leaves the house, there’s this creepy one-eyed old man who appears wherever she goes.

He’s always far away, and his head seems to be wrapped in something so she can never get a good look at his face.

But she’ll be minding her own business and then the hairs on the back of her neck will prickle, and she’ll look up and see him there. Not always watching her. Usually pretending to be absorbed in another task.

But whenever she tries to get away from him by going somewhere else, he always pops up again at her new location like a damn jack-in-the-box, just as innocuously invasive as before.

It’s like a reverse Pandaman, where instead of trying to find him, she just wants the creepy old man to go away.

It’s enough to make her long for a good can of pepper spray.

And what’s worse is nobody else seems to notice him. When she tries to point him out to Naruto or Lee or whoever is with her, they always squint and stare and tell her they can’t see any weird old man. And he’s always moved from where she was pointing to somewhere else, making her question her own sanity.

Hinata sees him exactly once. They both agree to go back to Mayu’s house, which is the one place she’s reliably sure he won’t follow.

It’s only once her mother sits her, Naruto, and Lee down to have a discussion that she works out what this is about.

Well, what the “having-an-escort-practically-everywhere-she-goes” thing is about.

The creepy old man remains a creepy old mystery.

Okaa-san sits across the table from them, frown severe. “Now, once you’re all shinobi, you’ll be strong enough to defend yourselves even from adults with the right training. But in the meantime, you need to know how to avoid confrontations with adults who mean you harm.”

Lee nods rapidly while Naruto just stares at her mother, gaze focused and determined.

She’s just getting the strangest sense of deja vu.

And then her mother opens her mouth and says, “If an adult you don’t know tells you that either me, Otou-san or Gai-sensei want you to go with them, never just follow them blindly. If we do send someone to go get you, we will always tell them the answer to a specific, secret question that the three of you know. If they do not know the answer to this question, try and get away from them and to a safe adult as fast as you can.”

Oh.

Oh.

Oh dear Vivi, she knows this talk.

She remembers this talk.

“What if the adult is wearing a forehead protector of the village?” Lee asks, pointing to his own forehead.

“Even then, don’t just follow them.” Okaa-san says. “After all, an enemy ninja can change their shape to disguise themselves as one from this village. And if someone you know begins acting strangely, try asking them about something only the two of you know about. If they can’t answer it, do whatever you have to to get away.”

Lee gasps, shock on his little face, as though the idea of such trickery and treachery has blown his entire mind.

Luffy have mercy on her. It’s taking all her strength to keep herself from laughing.

Somehow, she manages to choke out. “W-what will the question we use be?”

Okaa-san shoots her a mildly reproving look, so she’s not doing as good a job as she thought keeping the laughter off her face. “That’s for you three to decide. However, it’s best that it’s not something that’s common knowledge, or that someone could figure out by observing you.”

Naruto’s brow furrows. “What about the color of Gai-sensei’s tortoises? The ones that visited us, while...”

She nods. “That’s a good idea. And since a different tortoise visited each of us, an imposter couldn’t just learn one color and repeat it to all of us.”

Okaa-san looks a little confused, but soldiers on admirably to tell them about yelling “fire” and causing a fuss to get others’ attention, to not to follow strange adults who claim to have their favorite foods, or will let them meet their favorite characters, or tell them they are their favorite characters.

Her mother pins her with an intense stare during all this, so she’s left with no doubts about who this entire spiel is directed towards.

The summer break comes to an end.

It feels like their class has gotten smaller again as they trail into the large upper year classroom. Ami’s not there, for one thing, and neither are her two closest cronies, though there still are plenty of girls who swoon and squabble over Uchiha.

When she asks Ino about it, the blonde girl shrugs. “Maybe she couldn’t make the cut on exams and dropped out? It’s not uncommon for kids from civilian families.”

The explanation makes sense, so she tries to push the nagging feeling of wrong and weird to the back of her mind.

It’s easier to do when Iruka-sensei walks into class and introduces himself, beaming at everyone but throwing in a small wave for Uchiha.

The way Uchiha’s face freezes with embarrassed outrage and betrayal, when even she’d known Iruka-sensei was going to be their teacher this year, is second only to the face he made when he first met Gai-sensei.

She doesn’t bother to stifle her chuckles when Uchiha thunks his head down on the desk and refuses to raise it for the entire lesson.

Sakura and Chouji are acting strangely.

In Sakura’s case, her behavior has become weird mixture between dainty and assertive. She’ll cover her mouth when she laughs, now a strange high-pitched sound that Mayu thinks is supposed to sound “cute” but instead just sounds kinda squeaky.

Sakura arranges herself to take up as little space as possible when she sits and stands, walks with tiny, mincing steps, and tosses her now shoulder-length hair more than seems practical.

She’s also begun not-so-subtly edging away from Ino, and ignores Kiba and Naruto entirely unless it’s to scold them for being too noisy.

Hurt always flashes across Ino’s face when this happens, though she’s quick to bury it under a veneer of carefree cheerfulness.

Kiba and Naruto just look like kicked puppies, all wide bewildered eyes asking what they’ve done wrong and treading carefully to avoid causing more offense.

Thankfully Chouji’s not quite as bad as Sakura.

At least not in terms of “maybe replaced by a pod person who is unnecessarily mean”.

She does worry that he might have come down with a bout of summer flu or something though.

Every time she sees him, there always seems to be a vivid pink flush in his cheeks, like he’s got a temperature.

He also keeps stuttering at the start of his sentences, like he’s so out of it he’s caught off guard every time he’s addressed.

She’s tried asking if he feels alright, and seeing if his forehead feels hot, but he stubbornly insists he’s fine even though his flush always deepens into a worrisome dark red.

Shikamaru keeps snickering under his breath at Chouji’s condition. She tells him it’s not nice to laugh at sick people, only for him to snort and begin laughing harder.

Gai-sensei comes back the weekend after the Academy starts back up again.

They’ve all just started breakfast when the front door bursts open.

“I’M HOME!!” Comes the booming cry from the hallway.

Lee’s on his feet immediately, running for the door with Naruto and Otou-san hot on his heels.

She and Okaa-san look at each other and smile as they begin wordlessly fixing up an extra place and plate at the table.

Gai-sensei looks only slightly worse for wear, small bags beginning under his eyes, and he collapses into the chair and falls upon the rice and grilled mackerel and miso with appreciative gusto.

Breakfast is a noisy affair, with Naruto and Lee badgering Gai-sensei for any details of his mission that aren’t classified and many different exclamations of youth.

But when she tries to get up to help Okaa-san clear the table, Gai-sensei looks at her with...something complicated in his eyes. “Mayu-chan, could you sit down?”

The noise of the kitchen pauses for a moment.

She sits back down.

Gai-sensei drums his fingers on the table. She’s never seen him fidget before.

“Mayu-chan, you remember that comic you liked? One Piece?” Gai-sensei asks, tone serious. “Where did you first read it?”

“It was a long, long time ago.” She replies. “I don’t remember where.”

Gai-sensei’s face looks sad. Like she’s disappointed him somehow.

It makes her feel sick.

“My mission took me all over the elemental nations.” Gai-sensei tells her, quietly. “From Iron to Kiri, to Yuki and Kusa, everywhere before I was able to come back to Konoha. I stopped in a lot of bookstores and libraries on my trip—practically one for every nation.”

Her palms are sweating, and her mouth has gone dry.

Don’t. Please, don’t.

Gai-sensei doesn’t hear her silent plea. “I could not find one copy of the series known as One Piece in any nation. No bookseller or librarian from here to Iron has ever heard of a story about pirates who fly under a straw hat flag.”

He leans forward, earnest. “Mayu-chan. Where did you read that story? Who told you it?”

She inhales, breath shuddering.

When had she stopped breathing? She doesn’t know.

“You don’t have to be scared.” Otou-san says, his voice impossibly gentle as he stands behind Gai-sensei. “You’re safe here, Mayu—we’ll protect you.”

Okaa-san, moves to his other side, eyes dark and wet. “We just want to know you’re safe, sweetheart, that no one’s taking advantage of you. And we can’t know that unless you tell us the truth. Please, Mayu.”

Her lips part but no sound comes out. What can she say?

Can she really keep lying to them after all this?

She starts as a warm hand slides over her cold, sweaty one, giving her palm a gentle squeeze.

Naruto smiles at her, big blue eyes both fearful and hopeful. Lee stands behind him, lower lip trembling but spine straight, and gives her a thumbs up.

She turns on all the taps.

It’s a waste of water, but the rushing liquid that thunders into the sinks drowns out a lot of sound. She shuts all the windows and doors to the outside just to be sure, before going upstairs and repeating the process.

Then she shuts the doors to the other rooms of the house, shepherding everyone out of the kitchen into the front hallway.

As a last precaution, she darts upstairs to grab her rain coat, her winter coat, and her summer yukata, then quickly goes back down to place each of these items along the bottoms of the front door, the kitchen door, and the living room door.

Gai-sensei and Okaa-sama are watching her with a wary look on their faces. Like they think she’s been replaced by an imposter or something.

Otou-sama, Lee, and Naruto just look hopelessly confused by her behavior. They still seem to think she’s her though.

She sits down on the stairs, facing them. She takes a moment to stare hard at their faces, trying to absorb every detail as they are now.

She’s...relatively sure they’ll still love her after this, but.

But.

She takes a fortifying breath.

“There’s something I need to tell you all.” Ketsugi Mayu says.

#but i like one piece #my writing #naruto #one piece #reincarnation #isekai #naruto uzumaki #maito gai #rock lee #shino aburame #kiba inuzuka #hinata hyuga #kakashi hatake #sasuke uchiha #iruka umino #sakura haruno #ino yamanaka #chouji akimichi #nara shikamaru #naruto oc #ketsugi mayu #stranger danger #truth #supportive family

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                     Amari Hotaru, who is known by no other name;                                     a 22 year old son of Susanoo.                        He is a swimming instructor at Zero to Hero                                              and host at Sakura.

FC NAME/GROUP: Yeo Changgu/Yeo One (PENTAGON) CHARACTER NAME: Amari Hotaru AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 22 Years/March 27, 1998 PLACE OF BIRTH: Shodoshima, Japan OCCUPATION: Swimming Instructor at Zero to Hero/Host at Sakura DEFINING FEATURES: - Somehow almost always smells like the ocean. - Tall, tanned, fit, and smiley :)

PERSONALITY: Boyish, friendly, upbeat, and kind, Hotaru is a reflection of all the love he was given growing up. The easiest way to explain it being that his mother, uncle, and aunt had poured so much love into him, that at some point, all that warmth and tenderness brimmed over and spilled out into the world in the forms of compassion and care. He’s a whirlwind of joy, excitement, and best intentions. If someone were standing in the park with a “free hug” sign, not only would he take a hug, but he would join them in offering free hugs himself. If someone was caught in the rain without an umbrella, he would hand his own over to them, no problem. If someone showed up at his door in the middle of the night with nowhere to go, you bet your ass, he would take them in, and give them his bed in a heartbeat. Some would say that he’s a bit of an extreme altruist, others would call him extremely naive.

Despite the fact that he’s almost exasperatingly positive about everything, he can be just as insufferable when his feelings are hurt. He’s got a little flair for the dramatics especially when his feelings are hut. If it’s sunny out and there’s a sudden downpour, chances are Hotaru had his heart broken again. Or he watched another tragic show or movie. But he bounces back fast. Never one to dwell on his negative emotions for longer than a couple of days unless he’s really hurt. He’s an expressive person, an open book, wears his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see. He’s a little lovesick too. Love crazy at times with how he has a new(unrequited) crush every other week despite his better judgement. And a little chaotic with some of the poorer decisions that he makes. Overall, he’s a good person, but a little bit of guidance wouldn’t hurt him either.

HISTORY: tw: mentions/heavy implications of chronic illness, mental illness, and suicide.

Hotaru’s childhood had been a happy one. He had grown up healthy, taken care of, and though he couldn’t have everything he asked for, he knew he was loved. Now that he’s older, he can appreciate how lucky he was. He was given more than what some others get. Yet, that doesn’t change the face that there’s still a handful of things he wishes could’ve been different.

Though his mother did have a presence in his life, she wasn’t the one who raised him. As soon as he was born, she had given him over to her adoptive brother and his wife. The reasoning behind this decision only ever being hinted to him through cryptic words that skirted around the entire truth. It wasn’t until Hotaru was well into his teens that he learned why exactly.

“Your mother… Isn’t well, Hotaru…” his uncle had explained to him when he’d asked the first time. “She’s doing her best to get better, but right now she can’t take care of you… Hopefully when you’re older and she’s feeling good again, you can go on to live with her.” And that was that.

His uncle and aunt had taken him in without any fuss though. They treated him like their own, but made it clear to him that they weren’t taking his mother’s place in his life or trying to keep him from her. He was allowed to see her most weekends and she visited him as frequently as she could during the summer and winter.

Years later, when Hotaru is ten, the offer to live full-time with his mother arises. Naturally, Hotaru is eager and excited. He jumps on the opportunity without really thinking about it. Not that he doesn’t love his aunt and uncle, but his childhood wishes to be with her as much as possible finally comes true. Just as naturally, his aunt and uncle are apprehensive, but they’re supportive nonetheless. The couple couldn’t be any happier for the mother and son duo and wished them all the best.

Come the next summer, Hotaru’s mother whisks him away from his hometown and out to her modest apartment in Tokyo. The city is very different from what he’s used to, but with his mother by his side, he adjusts to everything well. The next few years are happy ones. He makes so many good memories with his mother that at times, he can hardly remember any of the heartache and pain that comes next.

He’s thirteen, when things start to change. His mother’s mood shifts and Hotaru finds himself helplessly watching as she withdraws from the world and him along with it. When he asks her if she’s alright, she dismisses his concerns with a gentle smile and a ruffle of his hair. “I’m alright,” she would say or, “Don’t worry about me, I’m just a little stressed.” Every time she does, he so desperately wants to believe in her words, but he knows deep down that there’s something she’s not telling him.

Around the same time, his powers start making themselves known, but he brushes them off as coincidences and they’re more or less shoved to the back of his mind. He has other things to worry about and worry he does. Between then and now, things get progressively worse and worse. It’s not until he gets his uncle and aunt involved that things improve again, but the relief and happiness is short lived.

He’s fifteen years old when he comes home from a swim meet, his aunt and uncle in tow, the older couple chatting with him about school and congratulating him on the silver medal he wears around his neck. When he calls out into the apartment to greet his mother and receives no response, but he dismisses it. Figures his mother is still resting in her room. But there’s an unnerving stillness in the air, like the calm before a storm, and Hotaru can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. He tries to keep his cool though, chuckles a little nervously when his aunt and uncle give him a worried look before going off to check on his mother.

The couple watches as he disappears around the corner and over to her bedroom calling out for her once more before he stops mid sentence and something thuds to the ground. They glance at each other. The scream that they hear next is so loud and so heart wrenching and so pained that it stuns them for a minute before they’re rushing after him.

The scene that they come across next is surreal. Hotaru collapsed to the ground in a fit of inconsolable tears and anguished cries hunched over his mother’s lifeless body. For as long as they’d known the boy, he’d never made a sound so heart breaking in his life. It shakes them up even more. Outside, thunder cracks in the distance and there’s a sudden downpour, but the only storm they can focus on is the whirlwind of grief that comes next.

After the funeral and his mother’s cremation, Hotaru moves back home and he isn’t himself for a long time. Years of counseling, therapy, and the support of his family help him along the way and he’s better for it, but there’s something fundamentally different to him regardless.

On his eighteenth birthday, his aunt, uncle, and a few friends gather together at the beach to celebrate. It’s a happy occasion, but he can’t help but wish for his mother’s presence there. The very same night, after returning home for the evening, his uncle pulls him out to the back porch and hands him one last gift. A modest sized box with an elegant looking envelope on top. There’s a bit of weight to it and when he opens it, it reveals a series of black journals. He flips the envelope over to see it addressed to him with his mother’s handwriting on the back of it. The young man looks up in confusion and his uncle explains.

“She wanted you to have these when you were sixteen, but we thought that it would be too soon after…” he pauses, eyes glossing over with tears that he does his best to blink away. He clears his throat, “I’m not sure what’s in the journals, but she wrote them all for you to read when you were old enough to understand… But read the letter first. There’s something important in there that she wanted you to know, I think.” He wishes the demigod another “happy birthday” before going to bed for the evening.

Hotaru sits there in the dark for a while, twirling the letter by its corners tentatively while he debates opening it like his uncle insisted. It’s a while before he can muster up the will, but he eventually does and the contents of the letter leave him speechless. He’s not sure whether the line of, “You’re a demigod, Hotaru,” holds any truth to it at first, but his doubts disappear when he manages to stop a sudden rain shower with nothing but a wish. Of course, he repeats it a few times for good measure, but the action confirms his mother’s words to be true.

After putting himself through university and earning himself a degree in honor of his uncle and aunt’s wishes, he was finally able to set off to the place his mother encouraged him to go to in her letter. He’s twenty-two when he arrives at Mount Phoenix and despite not knowing entirely what he’s there for, he’s looking forward to the new atmosphere and learning more about this side of his heritage.

PANTHEON: Japanese CHILD OF: Susanoo POWERS: Can summon and control storms for a short time. They are particularly powerful near oceans and salt water restores their energy.   STRENGTHS: He’s compassionate, kind, and caring, a good swimmer, all around good human. WEAKNESSES: Attractive people, sad animes, his own emotions, a little chaotic, cares a little too much sometimes.

#kpop rp #krp #pentagon #yeo changgu #yeo one #mp; welcome

[sariasprincy-writes]

Hollow Point 33

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen // Twenty // Twenty-One // Twenty-Two // Twenty-Three // Twenty-Four // Twenty-Five // Twenty-Six // Twenty-Seven // Twenty-Eight // Twenty-Nine // Thirty // Thirty-One // Thirty-Two // Thirty-Three (here) 

Chapter Thirty-Three The fall after the high

The morning was quiet, but not still. Outside, rush hour traffic rolled by while businessmen and women hurried to work as they always did, coffee cups and briefcases in hand. It was like every morning before. And every morning that would forever come.

Nothing had changed.

And honestly, Sakura hadn’t expected it to. Hashirama had been one of a million. And no one would notice his absence. The world would continue to turn.

Sakura stayed in bed most of the morning. She listened to the traffic roll by outside and watched as the shadows cast by the sun grew longer and then shorter. She kept reminding herself her job was done. She had completed her task. The question was, what did she do now?

There were still some loose ends, of course. The shirt she had stolen from Madara’s cleaners, the one she had worn while taking Hashirama still needed to be planted. As did the gun Tenten had provided her. The exact replica of Madara’s. But those would be taken care of today.

Laying on her back, Sakura stared at the ceiling. She ran her plan over and over in her head, but as much as she attempted to distract herself, her thoughts kept returning to Tsunade.

Sakura hadn’t heard from her in over a year. Or was it two now? She had tried time and time again to call her adopted mother, but there was no answer. There never was an answer. Still, Sakura’s fingers itched for the phone.

Her resistance lasted all of two minutes before she picked her cell off the nightstand. Rolling onto her back, Sakura punched in those familiar digits before she pressed her phone to her ear. It rang. And rang and rang until it went to voicemail.

Irritation flared in her chest. Sakura tossed her phone onto the other side of the mattress before she turned her back on it.

A few seconds later, her ringtone went off. 

Jerking, Sakura scrambled for the device. She hated herself for that hope that bloomed in her chest for it was sharply squashed down when she saw it was only Ino. Deep, simmering anger filled space between Sakura’s ribcage. But it wasn’t at her blonde friend. It was at herself. At Tsunade.

Sakura took a deep breath before answering. “Yeah?”

“I know you’re probably busy, but I wanted to give you an update,” Ino said.

Sakura looked around her still, still condo and resisted the sudden urge to smile ironically. If only Ino knew how not busy she was this morning.

“Yeah, what do you have for me?”

“First thing, I don’t know what you said to Killer Bee, but it worked. His shipments to Akatsuki have stopped,” Ino told her. “He’s gone into hiding.”

Surprised, Sakura gave pause before a pleased smile crossed her face. Perhaps this morning was better than she had first thought. “Good. How is Akatsuki handling it?”

“They’re scrambling. Their men are working overtime to dig into the Underground and see what they can conjure up.”

“And you have eyes on them?”

“Of course,” Ino said, as if she was doing anything but.

Sakura was quiet for a long moment as a new plan began to form in her mind. She had planned on attacking Akatsuki head on, but it was quickly becoming more and more apparent that she didn’t have the time or the resources to do so, even with their weakened defenses. Perhaps she needed to do what she did best. Corner and kill her prey. One at a time.

“I’m changing our game plan,” Sakura said slowly, talking as each part of the plan fell into place in her mind. “I want you to keep your sights on all the major members. Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, all of them. Work with Tenten if you have to. I want them all under twenty-four-hour surveillance.”

“What are you looking for?” Ino asked.

“The perfect opportunity.”

On the other end of the line, Ino gave a small pause. Then she said in a hushed tone, “You’re going to take them out.”

“It has to be done in sync. Otherwise, the other members will be on alert.”

A brief pause followed. Only the faint sound of clanking in the background, perhaps Shikamaru making breakfast, told Sakura that they hadn’t been disconnected. When Ino spoke again, her voice was still soft but firm and full of strength.

“I’ll keep you updated on their locations.”

Sakura knew Ino wouldn’t fail her.

“Good,” Sakura said. “Meet with Tenten this morning. There’s something else I need you to do for me tonight. I’ll come over later this afternoon.”

And before Ino could reply, a loud knock sounded against the front door of Sakura’s condo. It was more of a banging. Like someone was trying to knock the door down rather than alert her to their presence.

Sakura bolted upright and sprung out of bed just as Tobirama threw the door open. He looked like devil himself with wild hair and even wilder eyes. His expression was one of pure murderous rage. But it wasn’t directed at her.

Without a doubt, Sakura knew that he knew Hashirama was dead.

“I’ll call you back,” Sakura told Ino. Without waiting for a reply, she hung up and tossed her phone onto the bed before she gave Tobirama her full attention. “What happened?”

It took Tobirama a long time to find his words. He raked his hands through his hair, hate and fury rolling off him in waves so thick it was nearly suffocating. “The bastard fucking did it!”

“What’re you talking about?” she asked.

“Hashirama. Hashirama is dead, Sakura. Murdered! By fucking Madara,” he spat out.

Sakura blinked in true, honest confusion. Why did he think that? She hadn’t even fully put her plan into motion yet. “How do you know?”

“I was supposed to meet with Hashirama last night, but my men were ambushed by Izuna,” he told her. “I never made our meeting.”

Well that was a lucky coincidence. And all circumstantial, but Sakura didn’t utter a word. If it helped convince Tobirama that Izuna and Madara were responsible, then she would let him believe that.

“I’ll fucking kill the bastards,” Tobirama continued, his voice tight with fury. “I’ll rip them limb by limb.”

He spun on his heels, intending to make for the door, but Sakura quickly stopped him with a firm grasp on his jacket, pulling him back. “Tobirama, wait. Madara and Izuna planned this. They’ll expect you to come for revenge. We have to do this carefully.”

“I want them dead now!” he snapped, turning his deadly gaze on her.

Sakura held his gaze unflinchingly. “I know. And I promise you we will make them pay. But if you go running in there right now, you’ll only meet the same fate as Hashirama.”

Tobirama held her gaze as he ground his teeth together, the need for revenge burning bright in his normally impassive eyes and hardened his face until he looked like he was made of stone. Then it softened, that hate fading until only grief and anguish remained. It seemed to consume him until that was all Sakura could see.

“I should have been there.”

Sakura shook her head. “Then Madara would have killed you too.”

A muscle in Tobirama’s jaw ticked. As if he was using all of his self-control to keep his more vulnerable emotions in check. She had never seen him so broken before. It nearly made her regret what she had done.

“My brother is dead,” Tobirama whispered.

She gave him a sympathetic look, her voice gentle. “Yeah, he is.”

He was quiet for a long moment before he ran an agitated hand through his hair. “What do I do now?”

“You finish what Hashirama started,” Sakura told him, carefully planting the seeds of her plan. “You take out Akatsuki and then make Madara pay.”

Tobirama didn’t speak, but there was no denying the killing intent that still rolled off him. She didn’t wait for an answer. She simply smoothed her hands down the front of his jacket until she felt his phone.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Sakura said as she pulled the device from his pocket and pinned a location on his maps. “Go to this address. Wait for her to come to you.”

Tobirama left after that.

Sakura leaned against the doorway and watched him head down the hall, his footsteps soft and uneven as if he was wandering through a thick fog. She knew he was hurting beyond hurt right now. That his grief would follow him like a dark shadow in the months and possibly even years to come, but it paled in comparison to what he would feel if he knew the truth about Hashirama. That the brother Tobirama had loved so much was simply using him. Like everyone else in his life use him. Like she was using him.

Sakura watched Tobirama until he was out of sight before she made her way back inside. She sent a text off to Tenten, telling her that once she was done with Ino that she would meet Tobirama, the brother of the bastard that had been a pain in her ass for the last several years. They were to work together. Sakura didn’t care if they didn’t like each other, but they would need to cooperate, something Sakura didn’t think would be an actual problem. For Tobirama was a little rough around the edges, but he was nothing like his brother.

Sakura knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help the satisfaction that pooled in her stomach. For she was watching all the pieces of her master plan slowly fit into place right before her eyes. And tonight, she would be taking a large step towards completing the picture.

xx

It was a beautiful night in New York City. There wasn’t a cloud in sight allowing for the stars to dance in awe without hindrance. Sakura sat beside the window in a top-floor bar, admiring the view and all it had to offer. Below her, the water off the river sparkled from the city lights. A stunning sight, even to the well-traveled.

She continued to sit even after the moon had risen over the horizon, it’s brilliant light chasing the nearby stars away. The waiter came up to her three times and each time she waved him away, until at last her unexpected, expected guest finally arrived.

“It always amazes me how quiet this city can be,” Sakura murmured.

Across from her, Madara lowered himself into the vacant chair. He too seemed to study the breathtaking view out the window before he finally agreed, “The calm before the storm.”

“And a storm it will be,” she promised.

Madara held her gaze, even as the waiter came by and introduced himself. He collected their drink orders quickly before he made himself scarce once more. Throughout the short conversation, Madara watched her. There was a smile on his face, just a faint little tilt of his lips that seemed more dangerous than pleasant.

“This need not end in violence,” Madara said once they were alone again.

Sakura cocked a brow “No?”

“We are both aware of the events of last night,” he told her, adjusting the cuffs of his suit with an air of grace. “Let us not pretend that we do not know of Hashirama’s untimely death.”

She didn’t share his smile. “You mean murder.”

“Yes,” Madara nodded, his tone factual rather than regretful as he returned his gaze to hers. “But I believe that we both know who is responsible for that.”

She didn’t know if he was suspicious of her, but she made no attempt to clarify. She simply held his stare. “According to Tobirama, you are.”

“Tobirama has always allowed his emotions to cloud his judgement.”

“And why shouldn’t he? All evidence points to you.”

Her tone of utmost certainty caused Madara to frown. “And what evidence might that be?” he asked, his tone deceptively indifferent.

Sakura sipped her water slowly, making a point of dragging the tension out before she finally said. “The evidence that shows you had Izuna intercept Tobirama last night so you could meet with Hashirama alone. To shoot and kill him.”

Madara sat quietly for a moment before another smile spread across his mouth. “I see what you are trying to do, but there is no such evidence.”

“Are you so certain?” she asked quietly. She swept her hair over her shoulder before she leaned back in her chair, feeling somewhat like a queen upon her throne. “Between the two of us, only one is a poker player and it isn’t me. Call my bluff.”

The waiter chose that moment to return with their drinks. He set them down on the table before he gave them a few more minutes to glance over the menu. Madara held her gaze until the young server was gone once more.

Then he rolled his shoulders in a small, graceful shrug before he reached for his aged whiskey. “Even if that were true, that is all circumstantial.”

“Perhaps,” Sakura agreed airily. She sipped her lemon drop and licked the sugar from her bottom lip as she peered at her glass, as if deciding where to drink from next. “But the police will be looking into the anonymous report they received very early this morning of a man with blood stains on his shirt in the Anderson’s building in Lower Manhattan on the fourth floor.”

Madara’s exact apartment building. The one Sakura had been in with Itachi only a few short weeks ago.

Sakura raised her gaze when Madara remained silent. She knew he was finally starting to realize how serious she was when his fingers tightened around his glass until his knuckles were almost white. She was a little surprised the glass didn’t crack under his tight grip. She bit back her smile.

“Unless, of course, you have an alibi…” Sakura offered.

Even as she said the words, she knew he didn’t. Because Madara had been deep in the Underground, buying loyalties and delivering illegal arms. If he gave the police any solid information, he would just be trading murder charges for acts of terrorism.

“That evidence is not enough to get a conviction,” Madara finally said, his words tight.

“No, but it is to make an arrest. And really that’s all the CIA needs,” she said unable to hide her smile. Then her expression turned thoughtful. “Although, when the police really begin to dig, I’m sure they’ll find more. Like the money you stole out of Hashirama’s accounts.”

“That money was paid to me. To watch you,” he told her, as if he was dropping some previously unknown information on her.

Sakura feigned a look of confusion, her voice pitching a little higher. A little more girly. “That’s strange. According to my super smart computer friend, the transfer was done over like a really secure network, that all stems back to your IP address.” Then she pouted. “Or something. All that technical speak just goes right over my head.”

Madara didn’t blink at her innocent routine. “That is not possible.”

Was it true? No. But was it possible to make it appear that way? According to Shikamaru and his computer genius, yes.

At that exact moment, Sakura’s phone pinged. Even without looking, she knew it was a text from Ino informing her that she had completed her job. The gun Sakura had used and the shirt she had stolen and worn at the crime scene had been planted in the trunk of Madara’s car. Under the carpet where the spare tire was. A place Madara wouldn’t think to look. A place for the police to find.

Sakura held Madara’s stare with a dark smile. “If I were you, I would get out while I still could. I’m sure there’s a judge somewhere right now signing a search warrant with your name.”

Had they been alone, Sakura was sure Madara would have tied her up and taken his time torturing her before killing her. But they weren’t. They were in an upscale restaurant with nearly every table full and a wait at the door.

So instead, he stood, only to pause beside her to lean down and whisper in her ear. “This will not be the last time we meet,” he warned.

His voice was full of animosity and a promise of dark things to come, but Sakura only turned her head, their mouths close enough she could feel his breath on her lips. Her eyes turned hooded, as if she were sharing some secret with her lover, before she murmured, “Do your worst. I have certainly done mine.”

Madara lingered a moment longer, his eyes narrowing into slits that would instill cold fear into a lesser man before he straightened and made his exit. Undoubtedly trying to flee the country before the police caught up with him.

In the back of her mind, Sakura knew she had just cheated Itachi out of the very goal he had been striving to achieve for years, but she didn’t allow herself to feel guilty about it just yet. Madara was a man with a lot of power and a lot of money. He would surface again.

For now though, Sakura had just made it easier to take down Akatsuki. And Izuna. The last of which wanted her dead more than Madara. Even given the conversation she’d just had with the latter.

Even upon finding herself suddenly alone, Sakura ordered herself dinner. She ate slowly, savoring the well-seasoned flavors. She paid for her meal and Madara’s unfinished drink before she drove home, double checking and then checking again that she wasn’t followed. She wouldn’t put it past Madara to have put a kill-on-sight order out on her.

Her apartment was quiet as she sat behind her laptop, counting the numbers and going over her stores. Even given everything that had happened within the last twenty-four hours, she felt light. Perhaps even a little high on adrenaline.

She thought of Itachi as she slowly spun her phone over in her hands. She missed him. Both his presence and the way he made her feel. She wanted to feel his hands in her hair, his mouth on hers, his body against her own. Hear her name tumble from his lips.

Unlocking her phone, Sakura punched in the first three numbers of his cell when a knock sounded on her door. She stilled, wondering what the chances were that Itachi was here right when she was wanting him to be.

As it turned out, it was incredibly low when she found not Itachi on the other side of the door, but Kakashi. He didn’t wait for her to let him in. He simply pushed past her.

Sakura didn’t have to ask to sense his agitation. She closed and locked the door behind him before she followed him to the living room where he was pacing. He stopped when she came into the room.

“What did you do?” Kakashi demanded.

Sakura shook her head faintly, not understanding. “What are you talking about?”

“Hashirama is dead.”

Word was bound to spread. She was just a little surprised it was happening this quickly.

“I heard,” she acknowledged, letting the slightest bit of sadness creep into her voice. “Tobirama’s pretty upset, but at least it makes it easier to move against Akatsuki without Hashirama breathing down my neck.”

To her surprise, Kakashi continued to stare her down. “Where were you last night?”

Understanding dawned on her then and she shot him a look of mild confusion. “You think I killed him?” When Kakashi remained silent, Sakura let out a slight scoff. “That’s ridiculous. I didn’t do it-.”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me, Sakura,” Kakashi snapped so sharply, it struck her to her core.

She had never once seen Kakashi look at her the way he was looking at her now. He was furious, spitting mad, in a way she hadn’t seen before. Smartly, she chose to keep her mouth shut.

“I was watching Hashirama last night and you sent me to Newark,” Kakashi continued. “Then you conveniently forgot your phone at home. I’m not an idiot, Sakura. I know it was you.”

Unable to take the intensity of his stare, she looked away. It was all the admission he needed.

“Why did you do it?”

Sakura didn’t immediately answer. It was something she had been wanting to tell Kakashi for a while, but she just couldn’t find it in her. Still, he was a smart man. Far smarter than she was.

“I think you know why,” she finally murmured.

Kakashi’s temper seemed to cool to a simmer at that. The dots connecting behind his eyes. “Tsunade. She ordered you to.” Even given his statement, his eyes narrowed, his anger warming again. “You didn’t have to kill him. You had other options.”

His frustration stirred her own. Defensive, Sakura bit out a laugh. “A little hypocritical, don’t you think? You were a Marine sniper, trained for the sole purpose of killing the people your government ordered you to. How was what I did any different than you?”

“Because I was serving my country!”

“And I was serving my family.”

Kakashi shook his head, the next words out of his mouth as cold as the Russian winters Sakura remembered as a child, “That woman may have taken you in from the orphanage, but she is not your family.”

That topic had always been a sore spot, even more so given the lack of contact from Tsunade in recent years. Automatically, Sakura bristled. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You should have called me! You should have let me have your back like I always do!”

His words left her at a bit of a loss, but he didn’t give her time to find her voice. He simply swept past her, only the front door slamming closed behind him to fill the sudden quiet. She could still feel the sharp burn of his fierce outrage and disappointment even after he was gone. It lingered in the air like the bite of a stubbed-out cigarette, burning her nose and her eyes. Tears threatened to clog her throat, but she swallowed those back too as she wiped the sudden wetness off her face.

She had completed her mission. And yet she felt as though she had failed the person most important to her.

to be continued…

#hollow point #chapter 33 #itasaku #tobisaku #crime au #arms dealer au #late post #happy friday

[joygaroz]

There You Are

[5/7] [Day Twelve: Gravitation]

SPANISH VER: FFNET

Only after they were back to the starting point —the reception of the small store of her mentor, was that Sakura dared to wonder:

“Where did Naruto go?” she interrupted the silence that had made appearance in the room as she stepped out of her own now properly dressed in a gray skirt and a carmine sleeveless shirt.

And it was only natural for her to ask, after that revelation, Sakura could barely register the events occurred. Now she was linked to a vampire, the poison in her body had been removed and, thanks to that, she now counted with the powers of an immortal white witch and lost descendant of some member of the Senju clan. She had even been close to give in to the unusual chills the touch and closeness of her partner provoked in her.

“We don’t have time to worry about that idiot, we should get going as soon as possible” her partner scoffed, leaning back in the stool that he seemed to have branded as his and crossing his arms over his chest.

Sakura tried hard not to look in his direction and watch closely at the movement that accentuated his arms in that position. Only moments before he had surrounded her with them and that was a treacherous thought that she did not want to recall in such circumstances. He was talking abot parting ways from the village that had protected her for months.

Wait a minute, leave? She thought with scandal

Realizing her alarmed look, Sasuke returned the gesture by arching one of his brows in her direction.

“You did not seriously think I was going to leave you here, did you?” she remembered, but at the moment she had been far more distracted at his declaration of him protecting and taking care of her rather than the part in which he said she would leave her small sanctuary.

Even if it was that way, she had no reason to fear, she reminded herself. She now carried great abilities as she had demonstrated when she pushed away without difficulties the super strong vampire.

She smiled to herself without noticing she continued to be observed with detail by her partner and he, by her mentor.

Releasing a sigh, the high priestess rose up from her seat and after searching through on of her drawers, she called for the attention of both by placing a new scroll on the counter.

“Naruto left his map; it marks the point he has been protecting and the point where danger could possibly be in danger. With Sasuke’s powers help, you should be able to reach these locations in matter of minutes.” Her mentor explained before the attentive gazes of both, then turning her attention to Sakura, who returned the glance with concentration “But it’s important, that before you face these creatures, you are able to control your abilities”.

Frowning with doubt, Sakura made a grimace with her lips.

“Even if you tell me that, Tsunade-sama, who would I go to put them in practice?”

“Obviously you can try them on me” her partner intervened, making her attention to return to him.

“But, what if I hurt you?”

Arching one eyebrow, Sasuke smiled entertained.

“That’s cute” he suppressed a chuckle when he heard her click her tongue. “You can try, if you want. But you’ll have to heal me if you manage to scratch me”

Sakura emitted a growl in frustration.

“That’s what I mean, if I have yet to know how to control my powers, how am I supposed to even attempt to heal you?”

“Oh, he doesn’t mean you need to heal him with your powers, but rather to feed form your blood” Tsunade explained, and it was then that Sakura felt her cheeks to warm up when she noticed how that would happen. Shrugging, Tsunade continued: “You are bound after all, your blood has been chosen to be his medicine”.

Not wanting to be much distracted appreciating the adorable and shy expressions of his partner, Sasuke decided to interrupt his line of thoughts before he was led back to that heated situation of just moments ago. Instead, he stood up before the gazes of those women and took the scroll off the table.

“Alright, now that we have a lead, it’ll be better to get moving”.

Sakura had never traveled before in the formal sense of the word but, something told her that this was not a usual way.

Although, truth to be told, this was about an immortal being after all. His magic abilities allowed him to be able to teleport through dimensions, different places. Even if she clung to him with strength and he circled her form with his arm, Sakura could not help to feel that at any moment she would fall to some abysm with no way out since all she saw before her were flashes of light.

Being unable to keep for much time her eyes open before so much radiance, Sakura closed her eyes for a few moments until suddenly that sensation of void stopped invading her. Opening one of her eyes tentatively, she noticed that before her was a dessert of golden sands and rosy sky.

“We are here” she heard Sasuke say, his voice rumbling inside of his chest to which she was clinging with urgency and Sakura raised her gaze to him, who had his own still fixated on the horizon and she squinted.

“Where?” she wished to know since all she looked was ground and air.

“Your training area” he clarified as he separated from her and took a few steps to the front before turning around in her direction so he could face her “You can try to attack me here”.

“But I don’t want to” she looked at him with bewilderment. She had never assaulted someone intentionally, the insinuation seemed so absurd.

Sasuke suppressed a smirk, it had been quite some time since he had found a human that provoked in him the variety of reactions that she did to him. Instead, he kept his serious expression.

“You’ll have to learn to do it, you must be prepared for the worst”.

“That’s not what you promised!” she exclaimed frustrated at the same time that a sound similar to that of a canon made echo in the abundant infertile land that surrounded them.

Alarmed, both turned their faces in direction to that sound, throwing glances to the other, Sakura could not help but to address him:

“What was that?” she asked worried.

With his scarlet gaze now alert to the distance, Sasuke whispered “I don’t know, but it should not be anything good”

“Are you saying that this place is not safe? Was that not the reason why you brought us here?”

“They can teleport like I do, Sakura. Naruto’s coordinates were just an approximation” he explained without tearing his scarlet gaze away from that golden and rose horizon.

“So, what are we still doing here? We should go!” she started to say, agitated at the prospect of facing more immortals to which she would not be able to deal with in her inexperienced condition.

“If we move now, it’ll be easier for them to track us” he quickly explained and, had it not been because Sakura had her stare fixated on him as he explained, she would not have been able to distinguish the silhouette of Sasuke grabbing her, successfully managing to protect her before a bomb fell on them with what Sakura thought was a veil of violet energy.

“What the hell?” she heard herself whisper between his partner embrace, who now stared with intensity to a point at his right with those eyes usually a shade of scarlet now wearing an impair tone. One of them shining with the same shade of violet as the energy that surrounded them.

“Who knew we’d be this lucky, eh, Sasori?” they heard someone call between the mantle of sand that still dissipated at their around. Sakura noted how the grip on her figure clenched lightly at the sound of the voice and she gasped.

“Sasuke?” she meant to ask what was it that made him look ferocious however, before she could manage to voice out her doubts, the new voices interrupted her.

“To cross paths with the famous Uchiha survivor and…” Sakura directed her gaze to the direction Sasuke looked so intently only to soon see a black figure, they wore a black mantle like Sasuke’s only that it had red clouds sewed to it. “Well, well, is that not that pinky girl from that time?”

This time as Sakura gasped agitatedly between Sasuke’s arms, he grunted and its sound echoed against her body. Her emerald eyes widened as she recognized the figures, as she saw they knew her.

“So we meet again little girl?” the voice that talked this time was from the other companion, their figures now clear at just few meters of distance.

Both of them wore the same mantle, a black mantle with red clouds decorating the long cloth that covered their bodies but, while one of them was taller and of blonde tresses, his companion was shorter and wore his red hair short and rowdy.

“I’ll distract them, but I want you to run in the opposite direction. I’ll look for you once I get rid of them” she heard Sasuke whisper to her, without removing at any moment his stare from those vampires.

“I can’t do that” she refuses to continue with his plan; searching for his eyes only to be met with his tense profile, not wishing to lower his guard before those immortals. “I don’t want to leave without you”

She could barely register the spark of discomposure cross his gaze, only to soon pronounce the frown on his eyebrows.

“I’m not asking you, Sakura. You’ll do it”.

“At least take my blood now!”

“I’ll gladly do it, little girl” the blond responded from that distance, managing to distinguish her words as soon as she screeched elevating the volume of her voice.

Just like moments ago, she sensed once more the quick movement of flashes blinding her and, suddenly, she was alone in the middle of leafy green trees, away from the previous infertile and desertic scenario.

Stunned, Sakura cried out the name of her partner, only to be replied with the sound of birds flutter between the trees and nothing else.

“Who would say that the powerful and proud clan Uchiha end up subdued before the charms of a child” the blond smiled with sneer and Sasuke felt his violet aura blaze with more strength. “Itachi would be so disappointed…”

In a blink, that violet aura extended to them with velocity, in its pace letting a black flame as trail of their possible destiny had it not been thanks to their good speed that managed to make them react just a moment before being consumed in flames.

Instead of eating out their bodies, the flame managed to capture the black mantle with distinctive red clouds and turn it into ashes just seconds earlier so they could appreciate the burning cloth convert.

Astounded with the ferocity of said power, his blonde opponent observed the cloth still incredulous while his redhead partner addressed his gaze to Sasuke with caution.

“Your powers, they’re stronger than before” he observed but the Uchiha kept silent “It’s her, isn’t it?”

“Her? Are you idiotic, Sasori?” his blonde companion exclaimed indignant, reacting as he heard what seemed to him, a nonsensical declaration “She’s just a human”.

“You’re the idiot, Deidara. Did you not see the mark on her forehead?”

“The mark on her… Ah! Was that—”

Before they could continue getting their own conclusions, Sasuke lashed out against them once more.

“So we touched a delicate point huh” Deidara said avoiding the attack only by little, while his partner dispersed in the distance. Feeling the aura of the redhead disappear at his side, Sasuke cursed. “Don’t sound so disappointed, Sasuke. We can still play a little while your little pet plays with a new master”.

Instead of responding, Sasuke limited to send him a scarlet stare in which his black iris wheeled and ended up catching his blonde opponent in an illusion to the void of his mind in gloom.

“Do you think I have not been in this situation before? I knew your brother, you know?” even in this reality of black and white images, the blond wandered in the darkness, shrugging as he spoke: “Although, the reason he had gotten so defensive was because I spoke of his clumsy little brother, not because of a simple human

“Or, maybe I should give you a little recognition now” he continued to speak, allowing him to continue digging his grave, Sasuke kept silent as he planned his next point of attack “, you ended up being attracted to a strength different to your species. That is an unusual feat on Uchihas”

Gravitation, that was how they called the phenomenon that attracted two beings together. Having his soul linked to Sakura was another way to call it, but the result was the same: the inertia to protect what was linked to a vampire by sharing blood.

Deidara was right, the instinct of an Uchiha to protect someone who was not their direct descendant or precedent was unusual for them. His father had gravitated towards his mother, his mother towards Itachi and him to Sasuke. Sasuke, by having his family taken away, seemed to be gravitating towards Sakura. It was clear to the wanderer before him, most likely it was also clear to the redhead that had just disappeared.

Which only ended up in encouraging his resolution. While he was distracted making his monologue, Sasuke took the chance to propitiate him a strike of blue lightning bolts that ended up extracting Deidara’s breath and soul only moments before he could watch him fall in that dark abysm and bring them back to the golden soil now dampened in scarlet liquid.

As Deidara’s corpse collapsed a few steps away from him, little trails of smoke made way around Sasuke indicating the blond also planned to attack him as soon as he moved from his position. Not counting with the Uchiha not needing to move to stab him with his lightning bolts and ended up dying before he could blow his ground bombs.

Now that his partner had fallen, it was moment to look for Sakura. Determined to not let that other precious person to him died as long as he existed.

#ssm19d12 #ssm19 #ssfanfic #ssfic #ssfanfiction #sasusaku #sasusaku fanfic #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku fic #joy writes #vampire ss #another good monday i guess #thank you for waiting

[mdelpin]

Things Aren’t Always As They Seem - Chapter 2

Gratsu Bingo 2019 Prompt: Dare AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr Ch1

Chapter 2

Two men walked along a busy street, looking at the numbers on the buildings as they bickered. One had longish pink hair, his skin sun-kissed. Everything about him radiated nervous energy while his companion, a slightly taller man with dark raven hair and a pale complexion only looked at his surroundings with disinterest.

“You don’t even know where you’re going, do you?” An exasperated grunt was heard from the taller male. “What do you plan to do, yell out his name and hope he answers? Sounds like something from a bad movie.”

“It’s around here somewhere, Sting wrote the address down for me,” Natsu Dragneel huffed, not wanting to admit that he wasn’t even sure they were on the correct street. The numbers were all wrong.

“What makes you think he even wants to see you again? From what you said, you were kind of a douchebag to him.”

“Shut up, Zeref! I wouldn’t have had to be if it weren’t for you,” Natsu snapped, his frustration evident in the sharpness with which he replied.

“Me?! What on Earth did I have to do with it?”

“Just shut up.”

They continued to make their way slowly up the street when Zeref tore the piece of paper from Natsu’s hand. “Let me see that.”

Natsu huffed, “What would you know? You’re not even from around here.”

Zeref swallowed his retort and studied the address that Natsu’s friend had scribbled on the piece of paper, peering at the numbers on the buildings nearest to them. With a long-suffering sigh, he pointed out the problem. “We’re on the wrong side of the street.”

Natsu only gave him an embarrassed grin before hurrying to cross the street with Zeref following close behind. He looked at the number on the building and announced, “It should be on the next block.”

Zeref had already begun to move towards the address when he noticed Natsu hadn’t budged.

“What’s the matter now? We’ve come all this way.”

Natsu’s eyes were unsure, fear lurking in their shining depths. “What if he’s still angry? What if he’s moved on?”

Zeref sighed, not this again. He tried to be patient, matters of the heart were complicated and frankly more terrifying than being chased down by a band of bloodthirsty warriors intent on their destruction, which they had been doing for quite a while now.

“There’s only one way to really know the answer, and that is to talk to him. If you mean as much to him as he does to you, he’ll listen,” Zeref wanted to hug Natsu desperately, but he held himself back, still not sure if he had earned such a gesture.

“You’re right,” Natsu breathed deeply, and in a jittery voice, he added, “I knew it was a possibility when I decided to go on this journey. If only he’d waited a bit longer before acting on it.”

Natsu frowned at himself. It wasn’t Gray’s fault for telling Natsu how he felt, it was Natsu’s for not telling him what he was planning. He sighed, when did everything get so damn complicated?

“Let’s go,” Natsu tried to find some confidence within himself to quiet down the panic he was starting to feel. Not much longer now. He surprised himself by grabbing Zeref’s hand and holding on to it, like a child looking to his parent for strength, was even more surprised when Zeref allowed it. And as they moved closer towards the address Sting had jotted down, Natsu was glad Zeref was with him, even if he wasn’t the touchy-feely type.

O-o

The Uber finally arrived at their destination, and after having paid for the ride, Gray had the unenviable task of somehow getting his passed out brother out of the car and into their apartment. He managed to pull him out, and to save some of his dignity maneuvered him onto his back, the offending sash all but forgotten.

Gray turned around, hoping for once the unreliable elevator in their building was working, he wasn’t really looking forward to lugging his brother up four flights of stairs. It was at that moment when he saw him. Or at least he thought he did.

A sakura haired man was walking towards him, his hand held loosely by a slightly taller man with features not that dissimilar to Gray’s own. Gray blinked wanting to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d imagined seeing Natsu, and he had been drinking.

When the vision in pink was still there, Gray felt a blind fury explode within him. How dare he? How dare he disappear for two years and return with a boyfriend that for all intent and purposes looked like his replacement? Was he not good enough?

He could tell the exact moment Natsu saw him, could see the panic in his best friend’s eyes and the squeeze to his hand the other man gave him before letting go and giving him a soft nudge in Gray’s direction, an action that both enraged and confused Gray but he wasn’t about to dwell on that now.

He forgot he was holding Lyon as he darted forward, and feeling annoyed by the weight on his back that was keeping him from moving swiftly, he dropped it, instantly hearing a thud followed by a surprised yelp.

“What the hell?” Lyon muttered in confusion as he woke mid-flight to landing on his ass on the sidewalk in front of their building.

“Damn it, Gray, the last thing I need is a bruise on my ass!” He protested loudly, already rubbing the sore spot as he stood up unsteadily. He watched in disbelief as his brother quite literally stomped towards another man. A man who looked to have a rather distinctive shade of pink hair.

Lyon closed his eyes for a moment, willing the alcohol to stop showing him impossible things, but when he opened them again the man was still there, and his brother was still headed towards him with what looked to be murderous intent. He also noticed the man standing next to who could only be Natsu tensing up, his eyes measuring Gray up, his hands already clenched into fists.

“Oh, shit! Gray, just hold on a minute,” Lyon stumbled along as best he could trying to reach his brother before he did something he would regret. “Will you just listen to me?” he continued to shout as it became increasingly clear he wasn’t going to get there in time.

Natsu could only stand there like a deer in headlights, he’d never seen Gray so angry. And even though he’d spent most of his childhood fighting with Gray, and had upped his training the last two years while evading Zeref’s enemies he knew he deserved whatever Gray dished out. He tried to relax his body as he waited for the impact.

“One free hit is all he gets,” Zeref avowed next to him, his voice remaining calm but Natsu was quick to recognize the menace implied as to what would happen after that hit. He knew he had to do something fast. If there was one thing he’d learned about Zeref in their time together, it was that he could be quite violent and scary when he wished to be.

Natsu knelt, touching his head to the sidewalk and whispered, “I’m sorry!”

This action was enough to stop Gray in his tracks, leaving him with a confused expression that was enough to make Zeref relax slightly.

“Get up!” Gray growled, and Natsu complied, albeit slowly, taking in the changes that the last two years had wrought on Gray. His gaze got as high as Gray’s chest before his expression changed from one of remorse to one of profound sadness.

“When’s the wedding?” Natsu asked politely, trying to hide how everything inside of him was shattering.

“Tomorrow,” Gray responded, confused by the question, but it had been one he had been asked a lot that evening, and so he responded matter-of-factly, as he had every other time.

“I wish you congratulations, I guess we can talk after you get back,” Natsu held on to the last threads of his self-control, not wanting Gray to see how much that information had affected him.

“Let’s go Zeref,” he turned around walking as quickly as he could, leaving all three men staring after him blankly.

“Why is he so upset about Lyon getting married?” Gray scratched his head, not understanding anything that was happening. He felt an eerie pressure on his back, and as he attempted to find its source, he was confronted by the heated glare of Natsu’s companion.

His fingers moved to his shirt, already working on getting it off when they bumped into the sash, and things finally clicked. The fucking sash, God how he hated that thing.

For fuck’s sake!

Gray ran after Natsu, reaching him before he could cross the street. He pulled him back, turning him around in the process. He was startled by the way Natsu seemed to be fighting off tears.

“You idiot! I’m not the one getting married. Lyon is, he just made me wear this to torture me,” Gray cheered inwardly at the relief on Natsu’s face, but then he remembered how Natsu had left without a word and even though he was thrilled to have him in front of him again he was still mad.

“But even if I were, it would be none of your damn business. Where do you even get off being upset about it? You ran away from me, remember?”

Natsu threw his arms around him, ignoring the stiff set of Gray’s shoulders that were clearly screaming, Don’t touch!

Once Natsu let go of him, Gray took the sash off and shredded it to pieced before throwing it away, hoping Lyon hadn’t intended to keep it. He kind of doubted it, his brother was not exactly the sentimental type.

He took his own look at Natsu, his eyes hungry for the sight of him. It had been too long, two years of only being able to see him in old pictures and memories. Natsu looked leaner, having finally lost the boyishness of his features, and even though Gray lamented their loss, he had to admit Natsu looked even more attractive than he remembered.

“I’m so sorry for the way I left, but you have to believe me, it was the only way,” Natsu’s eyes pleaded with him in a way that was very familiar although this had more urgency than usual, and Gray was comforted to see that at least some things hadn’t changed.

“That remains to be seen, who’s the boyfriend?” Gray tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice, but it still hurt. Then again, it wasn’t like he hadn’t dated anyone in that time or like they’d promised each other anything.

Actually, he promised you less than nothing, his mind reminded him helpfully.

“Boyfriend?” Natsu had no idea what Gray was talking about, he’d never even looked at anyone that way since he’d left, his mind being full of Igneel and Gray. He thought about the way he’d been grasping Zeref’s hand and guessed that could be confused for something more.

“Oh, you mean Zeref? He’s my older brother,” Natsu explained, knowing very well it would come as a shock. Hell, it had been a shock to him too! He’d gone in search of Igneel, only to discover a brother he never even knew he had.

“Brother? Are you sure?” Gray had known Natsu all his life, and he’d never heard of a brother before. Just what the hell had happened in their time apart? He couldn’t help it, his curiosity was far outweighing his anger, and he knew it.

With a halfhearted nod to his quickly receding rage, he announced, “I’m still angry with you, but I want you to tell me everything. Come on, let’s go inside, Lyon has to get up early tomorrow.”

They walked back to the other two men who were engrossed in conversation, and Gray wished he’d been able to hear it. He was very interested in this Zeref, especially considering the glares he was getting from him.

Natsu managed to get Zeref’s attention and quickly introduced him to Gray, “Zeref Dragneel, these are Gray and Lyon Fullbuster. Guys, this is my brother, Zeref.”

He managed to grin a little, after all this time alone, it felt good to be able to say he had a brother.

“It’s Vastia now,” Lyon corrected absently.

“Huh?”

“Don’t even get him started,” Gray rolled his eyes at his brother, “He and Juvia are doing this thing where they’re picking a last name they both like instead of having her take Fullbuster.”

“Juvia? As in Juvia Lockser?” Natsu asked as if there were a horde of girls named Juvia who lived in Magnolia.

“The one and only,” Gray shrugged, not giving the matter much importance, “If you ask me, he just wants to make sure she doesn’t end up with my last name.”

“After the way you treated her when you guys were together, maybe she wasn’t comfortable with the idea,” Lyon defended weakly, but the way his cheeks flared made Natsu think that perhaps Gray might be on to something. Juvia had obsessed over Gray all through high school, sometimes in overly creepy ways.

“You used to date her? I think I need to sit down.”

“Don’t even attempt to change the subject, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

They entered the building, luck favoring them as for once the elevator roared to life when they pressed the Up button. Natsu and Gray remained silent, each preparing for what was to be an awkward conversation, while Lyon and Zeref exchanged meaningless pleasantries.

They entered the apartment, and Lyon set about making coffee for everyone. Although he should go to bed, he knew how volatile Natsu and Gray could be, and he wasn’t sure Zeref could handle them. Besides, he was curious as well.

Lyon was glad to see Natsu back. When they hadn’t heard anything from him in such a long time he’d feared the worst, well aware of Natsu’s gullible nature.

He believed the two could hash out their differences with time. Lyon missed the way his brother used to be before everything had happened, and he hoped that Natsu’s presence would cure him of the depression he’d been under.

“Alright, talk,” Gray demanded, barely even giving Natsu a chance to sit down in their living room, which was currently cluttered with all sorts of items for the wedding.

“I got a strange letter right before graduation,” Natsu began, looking down at his hands nervously.

“What kind of letter?”

“It said that if I wanted to see my father I needed to go to Alakitasia right away,” Natsu explained.

“I should have known!” Gray exploded, “I should have known this would have something to do with Igneel. You promised us Natsu! You said you were done with these wild goose chases.”

“See?” Natsu yelled in frustration, his voice sharp as he defended himself, “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you anything then. I knew this was exactly how you were going to react.”

“Because all it does is cause you pain,” Gray snapped,” You always come back empty-handed, and then you’re miserable for months, and I’m the one stuck helping you get you over it.”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to give up hope on finding the only person who ever cared for me!” Natsu retorted, feeling hurt by Gray’s words,” Sorry for inconveniencing you with my feelings.”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Natsu,” Gray protested weakly, knowing he might have pushed too hard a bit too early. He really was out of practice, and in some ways, this was a new Natsu. He’d have to get to know him all over again.

“Not to mention, Alakitasia? It’s not exactly the next town over,” Gray sputtered in disbelief, “For chrissakes, you get lost taking the crosstown bus! How the hell were you expecting to get to Alakitasia? That’s not even factoring in your motion-sickness! Who was the letter even from?”

“I don’t know,” Natsu had been dreading that question, but he’d promised himself that if he ever got this far, he would be truthful.

“You’re telling me you went off to Alakitasia on the say-so of a letter that wasn’t even signed?” Gray shouted, even though his head was throbbing from the stupidity that was spewing from Natsu’s lips, “Are you out of your goddamned mind? They could’ve been trying to kidnap you!”

“I know, Gray,” Natsu sighed, this was going to be harder than he’d thought, “Are you going to let me talk?”

“Are we sure they even like each other?” Zeref whispered to Lyon, confused by the amount of tension and anger in the room.

Lyon laughed easily, “They do, they’ve just never communicated well with words.”

“Then how do they usually…,” Zeref let the question linger in the air, not sure what he was asking.

“Fists usually, that’s where you and I will come in. We’ll need to stop them before it gets to that.”

“This is friendship?” Zeref asked in disbelief.

“They’re not easily defined, “Lyon’s smile was full of affection for both men, “Perhaps we should arbitrate from the kitchen? I’d love to hear about Alakitasia, it was one of the places we considered for our honeymoon.”

Zeref nodded in agreement, still perplexed by this man his brother was so deeply in love with. His temperament was all over the place, and a few times he’d looked like he genuinely wanted to hurt Natsu, only to have his face look like a kicked puppy when Natsu replied in kind. It was nothing like the love that he’d been used to, and he wondered if he’d done the right thing letting Natsu come back here.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Okay just ignore me completely, I have no idea how long anything is ever going to be. I’ve just come to accept it. It grew too long as I was writing and so I have decided there will be another chapter because I became too enamored of  Zeref’s backstory and Natsu hasn’t even left Magnolia yet in his telling of events. This seemed a good stopping point.

#fairy tail #gratsu #gratsubingo2019 #ftlgbtales #update #prompt: dare #natsu x gray #gray x natsu

[rkchwev-blog]

movie star - cix line distribution

another week and he had somehow made it this far. the more time that passed with him in the competition, the more vernon found himself going from passive curiosity to discovering something that he could find passion in. sure, it wasn’t acting but between exploring genres ranging from mellow to upbeat and cute to charismatic to chic and possibly even more to come, vernon felt that being an idol was just as diverse as taking a script and bringing a character to life. idols were in charge of bringing the concept to life and that was something that he was always confident that he could do.

last week having to dance so much to keep up with two amazing dancers was an experience in and of itself but he had managed to hold his own. however he couldn’t get jungeun and jinyoung off of his mind... they had worked so hard too and he couldn’t help the resentment he held towards kenta and towards daniel as a result. the two of them had spent so much time not focusing on their team and what their team needed from them that it got two members who had more fully dedicated themselves vernon felt back home. so when daniels name was called alongside his own to form the group he was in as well as the name of yet another member of this band.... vernon was less than pleased to say the least.

here we go again.

he thought this constantly as the day drew nearer. he saw it already even before it could begin. he was excited about the coaches seeing as he was a fan of convex and they had the advantage of having a coach who had been in the mgas before so there was also that experience and relatability they could all foster from as a team to do their absolute best but he had to address what he knew was going to be an elephant in the room.

daniel.

the moment he was able to see daniel and approach him, vernon seized the opportunity before practice could even begin on their first day. he had to get what he had off of his chest and clear the air as soon as possible for the sake of the team and for the sake of their relationship. “i wanted to talk to you because i didn’t want there to be an odd air between us and i wanted to be up front so that we could get any weird tension out of the way. i have to admit that based off of last week working with your team in the same room that i did start to feel rather annoyed and put off by both you and kenta because of all the joking around. i don’t doubt that you guys can work hard but i really didn’t see too much of it last week and i gotta admit going into that it’s really concerning me and i don’t want my opinion of you to be jaded when we’re supposed to be a team. i want this to work out well for all of us and i guess.. i’m just questioning how committed you are to actually working towards the same goal. i don’t want to feel negatively towards you and i want to work hard alongside you and help you if i can... i’m here for you so i’m just asking that you also be here for us too.” he seemed to have gotten through to daniel who also had the same agenda for himself as well and having been able to have that talk and clear the air between them definitely gave vernon the comfort to be able to go into their practices feeling as if this week would be significantly less stressful than last week was. at least he hoped.

jinwook, jinki and hojung as their coaches was definitely a match made in heaven. vernon, being a fan of convex, was able to learn so much from them as they highlighted to him the importance of what to focus on in the performance with charisma playing a large part as well as the advice he received from jinki about his rapping and focusing on pronunciation was definitely something he took to heart. he enjoyed the praise for his dancing skills and with dance quickly growing to be something he was starting to love just as much as acting, he took the moments where woojin went over the choreography with the group very seriously. with muscle relief patches plastered to his skin shown beneath his shorts that he practiced in over his knees and some pressed to the backs of his biceps, he took into account the advice he received and tried to apply it into each practice.

when he was dancing, he watched himself like a hawk in the mirror, using the time he had at his dance classes at night to focus on problem areas with his dance coach as well as taking his water breaks as semi-regular intervals to keep himself hydrated and energized in order to keep up with the moves. this dance -- while still mellow thanks to their lack of dancers this week -- had its precision and he wanted to honor that as he was advised to keep his lines clean. the rap for him was one that he practiced constantly -- a pen placed in his mouth to practice pronunciation as used by foreigners who were first learning korean -- and he used his dance practice to go over his lines each time his verse came out but this time he was also met with a new challenge.

he would be center in the chorus on multiple occasions.

he was excited. this song far more suited him than did his dance the previous week and he had learned to feel at home in retro future but to be able to be in a performance where his charisma -- his strongest skill -- could shine was something that he wasn’t going to take lightly. like an actor practicing a monologue in the mirror to emote, he watched himself in the mirror as he danced and monitored his facial expressions and experimented with them to see what he felt suited him best and what suited the song best. he was non-stop and his muscles felt it but he did not want to drag himself nor his teammates down going into this. it helped that sakura prepared bento boxes each day, the crafted lunches so unique each day and perfectly packaged for them giving him the strength that he needed in order to keep himself going.

he was totally in love with this concept and it showed.

he practiced his lines incessantly especially those he was responsible for in the chorus in order to keep the atmosphere of the song afloat and the dance was one he worked on with pointers from woojin and his dance coach in mind as well as the coaches from sphere so that he could focus on fixing what they felt was lacking to make the practice that he was able to get meaningful. a few of the muscle relief patches on his thighs turned to two or three of pain relief as he worked to get the power and cleanliness jinki had advised.

“All eyes are on you wherever you go, which is good and bad. You’re  like a firecracker waiting to explode. What I am worried about is that since you have such a strong stage presence, everything you do will be watched further like a hawk.”

those words continued to ring around in his consciousness throughout the week of practice because if that was the case then he would have a lot to prove when his charisma was being put to the test. it was his strongest asset and if there was a song that he had to show it, it would be this one and he didn’t want to be scrutinized over minor mistakes. he wasn’t necessarily feeling the pressure of being in the semi-finals but instead he wanted to feel the pressure against himself to improve. he knew that he had a lot in him that he wanted to show and with jinki’s words sitting forever in the back of his mind as he practiced whether he was rapping through the pen he kept clasped between his teeth or when it was well past 4am and he was in the studio staring himself down in the mirror to criticize himself or later on those mornings when he was back with the team to practice alongside them and sync himself to the best dancer in their group, vernon didn’t let a single moment go to useless practice.

all of this was a learning experience and for once he was enjoying studying.

----

when the day came, vernon felt that he came prepared. he had lived, breathed, ate and slept this song for the entire week and his body showed it beneath the outfit he wore. to have gone from dancing semi-regularly to an almost frequent basis, his body had toned out and though there were areas that had aches and pains here and there, he knew for sure that his body was adjusting and the more he found himself enjoying the dance, the less exhausted he felt. maybe it was psychological or maybe it was physiological but going into dances, he didn’t feel daunted but instead he felt motivated.

he would let the energy the team had created fuel him and confidently display the role that he had made his own.

he started their introduction off with their practiced greeting, a smile far brighter than the expression he would later display directed at the camera and at the judges before they were soon taking their spots.

this was it.

he was ready.

----

he took his position, daniel starting the song off and getting him to snap into position from the moment his head raising his eyes smoldering with the sexiness that jinwook had emphasized during their practice, the easy rocking of the song something he had gotten a lot of practice in doing during last week during retro future. he worked to make sure every move had purpose as he had practiced in the same way he gave focus to his rap to give purpose to each word, the emphasis he learned from his dance coach and the precision he learned from watching woojin and keeping himself as clean as possible as per the way jinki recommended he did had him performing with practiced confidence.

he let the tension of the dance release and follow throughout his body, tightening as he needed as the first half of the performance was primarily dominated by the rest of the team as the song was very vocal heavy which meant he had to make up for his lacking vocals in other ways by way of his dance and performing to his strength flawlessly. he carried that weight on his shoulders throughout the week of practice and the dedication he put into what he had to show displaying itself in the naturalness he was able to achieve in comfort of the dance. he wasn’t fighting to keep up with the moves. even with his pain relief patches on his sides beneath his shirt, the adrenaline drowned out the faint aches as his body responded on muscle memory to what he committed himself to.

the song was chic and sexy with charisma being the key to drawing the audience in and because of this he paid attention to details. the soft flow of his fingers as they fell from the sky during the chorus, the flow of his arms as they were guided by sakura, the easy and sexy confidence meant to tempt the audience and seduce them in the way his hips rolled into low thrusting step forward, the tension he had to keep in the isolations of his neck and hands in the build up before the chorus.

he snapped back into position as he rejoined the dance formation, the residual commitment to his dance that he was steadily building up as the song continued on not abandoned as his arms snapped round both ways with his knees coming in before bringing everything in all together, the sharpness jinki had coached him into giving him the power he wanted in the moves, his body turning in on itself before his arms rose and he was thrown into a spin that he stopped to slide into his position. his arms flowed into the dance and as he stuttered to the ground as per the dance and slid across to stand for the pre-chorus, he did not feel the exhaustion he might have once felt so that when he finally met the chorus, he was like a fish in water.

She’s a Movie movie star 너와의 모든 게 꿈같아 이 순간 [VN/JH] She wants it [VN/JH] She wants it

the lyrics flowed down his body in the same way his hands drew themselves down his torso as his foot kicked out, his head dropping back to come forward with a snap, his eyes on the camera, his feet turning out to rock him side to side smoothly as his deep brown eyes were ablaze beneath his slightly tousled front bangs, the deepness of his voice suiting the seductive whisper talk of the chorus as he taunted the audience before him. he took the step forward, his hand coming round his head to bring his hair back slightly as he pushed into the provocative move, his eyes channeling the seductiveness within him as he did not shy away from overt thrust before he set himself back with practiced steps, harmonizing with joohyuk for the final lines with his deep voice allowing for joohyuks more trained one to take the brunt of the notes. singing was not his forte and it never would but it was the way he could talk his way through his lines that had him deliver them with confidence, his tone rising as his strength as he had practiced his lines.

the changing bridge of the song welcomed moves that were more precise than they were difficult so that as he rode the timing of the song, he was able to rock into the dance before he burst forth for where he shone best.

내게 다가 온 이 운명의 고리 다 정해져 버린 듯 해 우리 길이 Lights, Camera, Action! 짜여진 direction 이끌린 채 여기로 달려왔어 uh

his voice projected with the same powerful enunciation he became known for, the very first word leaving his mouth rapped into his microphone matching the passionate sexiness of the song as his deep voice gave it a raw impact that he had fine tuned into his moves, the words just as enunciated and pronounced as his dance, the practice he did with the pen between his teeth having helped to keep his words clear as he snatched the air in front of him to drag his team behind him into place, his body rolling deeply towards the camera as his head rolled round to look into it with the same smoldering look in his eyes that he never lost, his rocking movements forward dropping his head backwards before he looked to the judges as he stepped back, the foot that kicked out to let sakura into her place drawing his body back and tossing his hair back dramatically as he adopted his role back into dancing, his body flowing into the moves before jerking forward as though stopped, rocking backwards, the prechorus appearing once more as he found his spot at the center once more for the chorus, the building passion he felt radiating as he felt the members side stepping out behind him, the audience tempted towards him as he beckoned them forth, the slight sweat coming down his neck showing his hard work, his hands coming together to snap his neck round as he bit his lip on the deep thrust iconic of the chorus, his hair pushed back before he snapped back into position.

She’s a Movie movie star 너와의 모든 게 꿈같아 이 순간 [VN/DN] She wants it [VN/DN] She wants it

the prechorus took over once more and it flowed within him, his moves coming as though they were his most natural ones next to the actual chorus and once the dance break began, he focused all of the passionate energy that had been building up since the beginning burst forth as the lines in english were by far the easiest ones he had the whole song and with the way he threw himself into the dance, the song once again consuming him as it did in practice, he did not leave the emotion out from his words as he recited his lines. he had followed woojin closely for the dance break as it was their dancers time to shine and he wanted the other to be as in his element as possible while looking good, his hands coming round his head as his body rolled, his eyes casting off to the camera, the second half of moves bursting forth from him as he had practiced with specific focus on hitting the correct angles, his body sliding into the moves as the formation shifted with ease powered by the ache in his thighs, his chest popping before he turned to roll his body all the way down, his hand following the wave, sliding forward to pop his chest out once more before turning and gathering his hands together to step back into the final position where he stood front and center, his last lines delivered with deep brown eyes set in pools of fire as his chest rose and fell heavily, the sweat down the side of his face shown as he held his position, eyes not shying from the camera as he spoke, his head tilting invitingly.

You wanna play with me? I wanna play with you You wanna play with me? I wanna play with you

#rkmga5 #rkmga5groups #tags later!