#as hes saying all these heartless things sakuras like 'how can | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

madara-fate · 1 year

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Hey, maddy! It’s been awhile, I’m currently writing this at midnight because while I was tinkering here and there and also simultaneously doing my assignments and projects, a sudden thought came into my mind. The causes of female character hate. The first thing that would come to ones mind will always be misogyny and sexism but as I was hanging out in Twitter, Facebook, and Tiktok, I’ve come to realize that the very thing that uplifted women all these years is now tearing itself bit by bit, feminism or to be precise, toxic feminism.

We’ve come to an age where people would scream “pro-choice!” “my body, my rules” but when women chase after a man, do the first move, or pursues the man they actually want instead of waiting for a damn old lady to transform into fairy godmother, they would criticize her for her choices, saying that she has either poor judgement or bad taste. Sakura chose to be with the guy she likes and she would never end up with him if she simply stood there. Doing the first move actually gets you the guy you like, not in every situation the guy you like actually likes you back, this isn’t some fantasy book.

They would want women to just sit still and look pretty but that’s what 90’s women did but that didn’t stop them from ending up with abusive husbands. They would tell you that being a housewife is not the problem, that it’s okay and not bad, they would tell you that it’s okay to be a housewife but deep inside even these women possess internal misogyny— that while it’s okay to be a housewife it’s still BETTER to have a job, carry the pants in the family, make your husband basically your slave and that it’s nice if he’s under you instead of striving for a healthy relationship where both partners are heard and stand on equal ground.

Seeing post here on Tumblr about Sasuke being jealous has started to irked me. People are now starting to romanticize jealousy as if your partner getting jealous is a good thing, people automatically equate jealousy to “I’m afraid of losing you” instead of “I’m insecure, I’m easily replaceable, I don’t know who I am and where I stand in your life”. If Sasuke is jealous that simply means that Sakura hasn’t reassured him enough and we both know she has. I know Sasuke isn’t the jealous type, anyone wouldn’t want their partner to be looked at as if they’re somewhat being undressed.

I’ve also come to have realize that the other reason why SasuSaku works so much is how Sakura is the type to always extend her hands to anyone, I remember how she would notice Naruto is sad or down (one in the Chunin Exam and one after the Pain Arc) how she tries to comfort him, cheer him up, and set asides her own feelings even though she needs the comfort herself. The thing is I like how Sakura can’t fully fathom someone (she can understand just not fully, she isn’t a robot who’s heartless after all) but she tries, she tries to understand him or them, not just to Naruto or Sasuke but to anyone because that’s just the kind of person she is, the kind of girl that Kakashi is so proud of. This is why I like SasuSaku because Sasuke has moments where he meets Sakura half-way, how he told her that he’s the only who could kill him (Itachi) there were times where he would try and reach out for her hand but would stop and take it back again and this is why I think their relationship works a lot because there’s Sakura who’s extending her hand, willing to help and then there’s Sasuke who tries to reach out to her hand half-way and I just love that. I like how Sakura is so independent and free in their relationship that I feel like Sakura could never get if she ended up with Naruto. Hear me out, Naruto thinks Sakura is strong, okay? He cares about Sakura a lot and believes in her but he would rather not risk it, he oftentimes worry about not being able to save someone, about someone important dying because of him or he failed to protect them and it seems to be the cause why he’s not that willing to risk Hinata or Sakura’s safety in battle or anyone for that matter, he would rather risk his own life that someone else’s.

While Sasuke does worry, he chooses to trust Sakura. I think that the Uchiha Family is heavily bounded by trust. How Sasuke trust Sakura and vice versa and how they trust Sarada and her capabilities. Despite there’s an obvious power imbalance between Sasuke and Sakura (strength wise) they stand in equal ground in there relationship and Sakura surely isn’t submissive, I actually find it comical how people say she listens to anything Sasuke says when Sakura this entire time hasn’t been following what Sasuke wants in the first place. Then they say she’s being forceful but she never demanded him to love her nor did he outright rejected her either. Not to mention, due to Naruto growing up alone he seemed to have grown accustomed to not relying on anyone else, he seems to prefer doing things alone or by himself because reading Shippuden made me see that there were numerous times Sakura wanted to help Naruto but Naruto never wants it, he doesn’t mind doing things all by himself, Naruto isn’t willing to meet Sakura half-way and accept her help which makes their relationship looks one-sided but it never was.

It’s been a while, I’m currently writing this at midnight

What a coincidence, I'm currently answering this at midnight :D

The first thing that would come to ones mind will always be misogyny and sexism but as I was hanging out in Twitter, Facebook, and Tiktok, I’ve come to realize that the very thing that uplifted women all these years is now tearing itself bit by bit, feminism or to be precise, toxic feminism.

I know what you mean, and that's partly the reason why a few years ago, I stopped identifying as a feminist, and instead chose to identify as an egalitarian. The toxic femininity was derailing what feminism at its core was supposed to represent. By no means was this the only reason for my switch, but it was becoming increasingly noticeable.

Yeah, it seems that a lot of them often have progressive values in some areas like employment, and traditional values in other areas like dating, which is annoying because it's very contradictory. It's like how they appear to have modern values because they insist they have good jobs and can take care of themselves financially, but then when it comes to dating they expect the man to pay on dates. Why?

Regarding the criticisms you mentioned, one of the most annoying ones for me has always been when women often call other women "desperate", just because she decided to make the first move or take some initiative in her relationship. You're literally just letting someone know that you're interested in them, where's the desperation in that? It's like some of these women think they're devaluing themselves when they make the first move, it's ridiculous.

Sakura chose to be with the guy she likes and she would never end up with him if she simply stood there. Doing the first move actually gets you the guy you like, not in every situation the guy you like actually likes you back, this isn’t some fantasy book.

Some of them then like to fall back on that typical and lame excuse - "if he doesn't make a move, then he's probably just not that into you", as if that's the case in every possible scenario.

I actually kinda saw that happening with Hinata. I saw a lot of comments beginning with something along the lines of "it's obviously okay for Hinata to be a housewife, but...". To which they'd proceed to put her down in comparison to Sakura and Ino due to their professions. It was kinda transparent.

Definitely, someone could have all the faith and belief in the world that their partner wouldn't ever leave them, but that still doesn't mean that they'd be okay with someone making any gestures towards them which would overstep their boundaries.

Sasuke was definitely bothered by Jiji's actions, and who wouldn't be? He didn't want someone inappropriately touching his wife. But the way people are now using this to insinuate that he's the jealous type, and insecure, and possessive is just irritating.

If Sasuke was actually as jealous and insecure as some people are making him out to be, then quite frankly, I'd just feel bad for Sakura. For him to still feel this way after over a decade of marriage? After all the times that Sakura had made it clear how much she loves him? How much more would the girl need to do get it through to Sasuke that he is her one and only? That's not a positive look for their relationship, so I dunno why this thought is so appealing to them.

The thing is I like how Sakura can’t fully fathom someone (she can understand just not fully, she isn’t a robot who’s heartless after all) but she tries, she tries to understand him or them, not just to Naruto or Sasuke but to anyone because that’s just the kind of person she is, the kind of girl that Kakashi is so proud of.

Yeah, which is part of the reason why I'm always so puzzled whenever antis like to hate on Sakura for apparently never even trying to understand Sasuke. They constantly say that all she ever cared about were his looks and never tried to actually know who he was, but it's just as you said - even when she didn't understand fully, she tried. During her first confession, Sakura was hurting because she wanted to know more about Sasuke, she wanted to understand him better, but Sasuke was closing himself off:

This is why I think their relationship works a lot because there’s Sakura who’s extending her hand, willing to help and then there’s Sasuke who tries to reach out to her hand half-way and I just love that.

That's a very good analogy, it reminds me of the way in which they held hands in the Forest of Death, because it was a good representation of a recurring theme of their relationship - Sasuke suffering and being in a dark place, and Sakura being there and offering him love to illuminate his dark life.

I actually find it comical how people say she listens to anything Sasuke says when Sakura this entire time hasn’t been following what Sasuke wants in the first place. Then they say she’s being forceful but she never demanded him to love her nor did he outright rejected her either.

Exactly, Sakura and Naruto both went against Sasuke's wishes for the majority of the story. And yeah despite Sakura never demanding that Sasuke love her back, you get these extremists spouting how Sakura apparently "begged" Sasuke to love her, and I always just wonder where the fuck they get that from.

Not to mention, due to Naruto growing up alone he seemed to have grown accustomed to not relying on anyone else, he seems to prefer doing things alone or by himself because reading Shippuden made me see that there were numerous times Sakura wanted to help Naruto but Naruto never wants it, he doesn’t mind doing things all by himself, Naruto isn’t willing to meet Sakura half-way and accept her help which makes their relationship looks one-sided but it never was.

This is a tough one, because while Naruto has indeed shown that he often prefers to do things by himself and on his terms, such as the time he told he peers that he alone will fight Sasuke:

The series also made it a point to highlight the fact that Naruto is, among other things, Ashura's reincarnation, which means that he inherited Ashura's philosophy which dictates that cooperation and relying on the help of those around you are what allows someone to attain strength and achieve your goals:

So I dunno, I can see your point with Sakura though. It's just that when speaking in general terms, it becomes a little harder to make conclusive judgements about Naruto when it concerns this topic. Naruto is supposed to be all about accepting the help of others, but he's shown that he doesn't always do that. Well, that's only human.

#Sasuke Uchiha #Sakura Haruno #sasusaku #Naruto Uzumaki #Feminism

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maguro13-2 · 3 months

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The Dark Beginnings ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 0 Pt.5 ~

[Unknown From M.E. - Hunnid-P, Marlon Saunders]

Naruto : Last chance, wise guy! Just who do you think you are!?

Black Star : How many times did I have to you tell, I am Black Star, warrior that lives in the shadows.

Naruto : Oh really, you warrior that lives in the shadow. Then why don't you say that to my face, ya Shounen Jump wannabe!?

Black Star : You're on, wise guy! I do anything for myself to be the hero of my own story!

Naruto : Well, I'm the hero of a thousand stories! How do you like that one, dumb star!?

Black Star : Who are you calling a dumb star--!?

*BAM X2+DING!*

Sakura & Tsubaki : Would you two knock it off, already!?

Naruto : Ow, jeez, Sakura! Could you really not do that so hard?

Black Star : Easy with the punch, Tsubaki! You could really knock someone out of the park for that one!

Sakura : So what are you two fighting over what?

Naruto : I was coming back to the ramen shop when I heard this guy saying that he's a better ninja than I do! And I'm not just some Shounen wannabe that is an assassin who does nothing but greedy government work!

Black Star : Oh if you think that being a government puppet is a really handy-dandy work, so I want you shut up about and we'll never talk about it in that years. Not another thing for all these years of the world's greatest ninja. I bet you're from the Uzumaki Family, well I'm from the Hoshi Clan.

Naruto : Hoshi Clan? That clan of Ninjas is dead, and by we mean that Ninja's are preferred to be called Shinobi's, that word "Ninja" is really sounds like a racist joke to that!

Sakura & Tsubaki : Excuse me?!

Naruto : What? You know, the word "Ninja" was used for a slang term on different races in the planet. I totally get myself out of that one. No offense, Sakura. I prefer the term Ninja girl to get myselff onto that one.

Black Star : Racist joke? A Racist joke, dude!? Oh that's it, buddy! This is going to be the final straw If I ever wanted to be on the top as the world's greatest Shinobi that I can be and no simpleton like you could ever stand a chance of against me, we'll show you who's a better Shinobi then any of these geeks! I ain't afraid of those heartless morons that are sprawling everywhere since the village incident 12 years ago!

Naruto : Right back at ya, starfish!

Black Star : You're on, Noodle lover!

Sakura & Tsubaki : *sweatdrop* Oh brother! This is going to be a rough day, isn't it?

Hibana : You boys are way going out of character.

Tsubaki : Oh, Mrs, Hibana. I haven't seen you in a while, you hardly knew about the incident back a year ago. Ever since I was 14 years old, I trained to learn the secrets of Ninjutsu and would wield the awesome and powerful Akujiki.

Naruto : Akujiki? That evil-eating accursed blade wielded by that other Shinobi? Hotsuma. Was it?

Tsubaki : We heard that Akujiki was being reclaimed by that cyborg named Kurohagane, a Shinobi that was sented by a conglomerate named Nakatomi to retrieve Akujiki. But then Hibana, the Kunoichi came and decided to help me on Kunoichi training so then...I'm a secret agent working for Japanese government!

Naruto : Huh? This one is working for the government?! Well I didn't know that you were working for the government, what a pleasant surprise for being an action hero. Everything in this world that I ain't a nerd for some secret agents, maybe you get a point on those occasions to get a good view. (Looks at Tsubaki's breasts)

Tsubaki : What are you eyeing on what?

Naruto : I'm looking into some information for giving these nice implants of yours.

Tsubaki : Okay, then. Just a peek.

Naruto : Well then...(attempts to touch Tsubaki's breasts) Don't even mind anything if i-

*PUNCH X2*

(birds chirping)

Sakura : Naruto, you idiot! Don't do anything stupid to a lady! That's now how greet a woman appropriately! Pay attention, next time. Sorry bout, Tsubaki. I wouldn't be too Pervy for Shounen fanservice.

Tsubaki : Sumimasen. That's okay, I just get happened to that you know. I get anxious when boys get crazy for girls all the time, although it would be wisely for anyone who gets a little Pervy sometimes. I am dreaming the former love of my life one year ago. I made a promise to the one that I loved, my promise to Kurohagane-san.

Naruto : Wait are you telling me that the cyborg named Kurohagane is a man?! You knew him that he was that Kuro-san, guy!? Man, talk about the romance of lost ones, that's not even funny and it's so sad that he was a handsome pretty boy to be a Shinobi, but eventually Nakatomi captured him and was turned into a cyborg. Go figures.

Black Star : Yeah, right. That's Kuro-san, alright. He was that guy that Tsubaki really met and not me, I Hardly recognized that he was married to-

Tsubaki : Don't. Not a single a word out of your mouth.

Black Star : I was gonna say that he was married to his wife, his "former" wife.

Tsubaki : Good. Okay then, now that you'll excuse us, I got work to do at home. (The group leaves)

Sasuke : What's his problem?

Naruto : He needs to go see a therapist. That's what. I'm thinking that Tsubaki must've lost someone that she loved dearly. Something like something like friends, family, and love. And not a single way and having fear of losing hair and penis. Not in this case. So what I'm trying to say that Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, heir to the Nakatsukasa family, have lost something that she really some that she really loved. Her family, her brother, and even...her lover. (We show Tsubaki shedding a bloody tear)

"later at night..."

*DING*!

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa : Hello, my love. We meet at last. Thank you for giving Akujiki as your successor and for claiming as your bride.

*Flashback*

[Separation - Masamichi Amano]

Tsubaki : Kuro-san. I dedicated my life for ever saving me, I wanted to become the strongest Shinobi and reclaim the Nakatsukasa family name out of the darkness. Reclaim your bride, please.

Kuro-san : Yeah. I will. This would be your gift your from now on. (Puts ring on Tsubaki's finger) Now that I have reclaim you as my bride, this sword that eats the souls of good and bad that gives power to the Oboro's legacy. Take care of yourself, Nakatsukasa-san. (Gives Akujiki to Tsubaki before he leaves)

Tsubaki : ...? Ma...Matte!

(we show Kuro-san leaving the village)

Tsubaki : (sheds a bloody tear) Sayonara.

*flashback ends*

Tsubaki : And that was the day, Kuro-san reclaimed me as his bride and he was sent to investigate on the whereabouts of Nakatomi, never to return. First my brother, and now my lover. I'm the only one that can carry out Akujiki to look after it.

Black Star : EARTH TO TODDLER B*TCH! That Ramen-eating d*ckhead! Who does he think he is?! Me a joke to him? I'm a joke to nobody, he is! I just can't get enough of me being a gay lord jokester that knows nothing about jokes! I'm the hero of my own story! Nobody pushes me around! Nobody accept me! *Heartbeat echoing* NOOOO! (Holds chest in pain) WHAT'S HAPPENING?! (Groans in pain) Not. Now!

Ansem : So it seems that you have opened hearts to the power of darkness, I'm impressed.

Black Star : Who's there?! I got nunchucks from my Fist of the North Star collection! And I'm not afraid to use it!

Ansem : (chuckles) Only mere children's toys cannot stop me with those. They don't even have an effect on me. (Magically throws nunchucks outside)

Black Star : AAH! Hey! I just bought those at the convention!

Ansem : And now, I will make you a valiant effort of making you a warrior...a warrior of capable to use the power of darkness and this will be your very last of your existence and drain the light from your arrogance.

Black Star : No! Stop! Don't come any closer! No! I warned you! I went to college! NNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

(Ansem laughs evilly)

Tsubaki : Black Star! You get away from him! (Attempts to kill Ansem, but disappears along with Black Star) Black Star! No! I have failed! (Sheds a bloody tear) Gomenne...Kuro-san.

~ Prologue 5 : Love of a Shinobi ~

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elia-de-silentio · 2 years

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Hi! I’m the shy anon who sent you the ask, thank you for answering! Yes, I’ve been looking for analysis on JJK and Naruto and since I’ve seen your analysis I decided to ask you. I actually followed you since I read your first chapter analysis on BSD and I liked it! I can’t explain things very well and my mind are always in a jumble but maybe it’s because of how you also pay attention to details and your psychological and philosophical explanations on the characters. How you understand that the characters are grey and not simply black and white, how people with trauma can have some sort of internal conflict with themselves like how Atsushi wants to die but also wants to live, I really like that because most people just don’t understand that and think it’s a contradiction. I’ve only seen a few who are like that and in Naruto, I’ve only met 1. Since Naruto is illustrated as a “show and not tell” manga, it’s really hard to find people who can properly analyze the characters fully including behaviors which is why there’s just a huge misinterpretation in the characters in Naruto. Like how people think Sasuke is a very cold and heartless character when he really craves for connection but is also afraid of it because he’s scared of feeling the grief and sorrow of losing someone important again, so he pushes everyone or keep them in a distance but people think that he’s just simply arrogant and indifferent and has nothing in mind but revenge. 😭 This can also be applied to Sakura, the huge misinterpretation the fandom have for this woman is appalling. Anyway, sorry for ranting on.

Moreover, I’ve seen linkspooky’s JJK metas and I just gotta say, they’re good. I even read all the others like his meta’s on Demon Slayer and BSD, they’re really good 😭. Furthermore, I don’t know Italian so I guess I just have to keep on searching and hoping to find a diamond underneath all these rocks. Thank you so much again! Please keep doing what you do, I support you wholeheartedly!

First of all, thank you so much for all of the compliments! And really, no problem for the ramblings, if I didn't like ramblings I wouldn't be writing metas.

Sorry for your Naruto predicament, and good luck for your search of good analysis.

Thank you for your support, and have a good day/night!

#asks for elia

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sockori · 4 years

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sasori stans. or anybody really. i gotta ask. what’s your favorite part(s) in the entire sasori vs. sakura and chiyo fight

#sasori #ill tell you mine #i can make a dumb answer like 'the horrible animation when he pops that coil out' but i need to be honest here #its not even the actual fighting- i favored the dialogue mostly #my favorite part is basically the entire exchange at the end of the fight- the part after sasori gets fatally wounded until his death #because before then you didn't necessarily hear a whole lot about sasori. at least personally.#the most we got was 'art is eternal beauty'- human puppets- he makes poisons- puppet puppets puppets blah blah blah #despite seeing his real face and the parent puppets it was still in the dark for the most part #but then suddenly. the fatal wound. everything's gone quiet. both parties are tired. sasori and chiyo become face to face for a moment #sasori starts revealing things through his teeth. no empathy towards his own kin. how many people he's killed. lacking emotions #the horrific philosophy of his 'incomplete puppet' body. even inviting them to join in alongside him.#as hes saying all these heartless things sakuras like 'how can #you be so cruel?!' and chiyo just says 'its ok sakura.... this is the sand village's fault..... we did this to him....'#and it just.... smacks you right across the face.#then you got the flashbacks... and your whole prospective on this weird puppet guy gets thrown out the window... a masterpiece #'OH. art is eternal beauty because... and the... he... and... holy fuck'#(brain explosion- immediately followed by depression)#a beautifully tragic sequence of events... the mans death still ruins me every single time #but uuhhhhhhhh what did yall like

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redxblueihateloveyou · 3 years

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Hey i really love your blog!!! I just plucked the courage to actually send u an ask fhdjhd but GOSH i love your video edits and your gifs and your meta article posts, you're so articulate and you can explain/describe moments in a way that makes me go "oh wow, i cant believe i haven't seen it that way before!!" Haha ANYWAYS i'm just here to say that i completely agree with what all u said, Free creators might do a lil fanservice here and there for the 25 ships that exists within the fandom's circle, but rinharu's storyline is clearly the most romantic one! And i'd argue it's the one closest to being canon esp after part 1, i mean the fact that they put such an explosive emotional outburst right at the end of the second to the last movie means a lot. It's like reinforcing the fact that this series has always been about them, and everything that has happened only happened either because they met or they grew appart and miss eachother. I kinda feel like maybe.. juust maayyybe there's a chance KA wants to make the ship canon, since it's the last movie and they want to end it on a highnote maybe (bcs honestly i think the only reason they've been holding back is purely bcs of the merch sales, since they don't have a problem showing a wholesome lesbian love story in kobayashi maid dragon) butt i could be wrong, maybe i'm just overly optimistic and delusional, they could somehow ruin it and give an ending that panders to all the ships again 😅🥲, but at least there's a clear-cut guarantee that part 2 would dedicate a large portion of it fixing rin and haru's fight!!! Oohh how can i wait another 6 months now!!😭😭 (sorry for the long ask btw!! 🙏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️)

OMG thank you so so much!! For watching my vids too! ❤️❤️❤️ It really means a lot to me! Ahhhh wow, thats the longest ask I've ever recieved! 😍 I'm trying to explain myself so hard lol I'm glad its appreciated, bc sometimes I'm like "I don't fucking know how to say this" xD

Well, you know me, I only care for one ship, which is the only one with confirmed info that they're both actually gay and have mutual feelings for each other. There are some other ships in free! I'm fine with (those do not include Rin or Haru in them xD), but I just mostly don't care, bc after reading all the stuff, you can see that in some of those to one the other one is actually like his second option, which I just do not like. Others I just don't even see, bc again to me who witnessed great close male friendships and having two sisters who I'm very close to, I just do not see anything romantic in that.

It's not just Free! tbh, it's like any sports anime these days. They see two guys walking together, it's a ship. And like no one cares if they're just bros. Like I'd get i they did some fanservice fanservice, but like I never saw anyone in Free! crossing the line the way rinharu do. I can without thinking much name you 10 rh moments that no matter how hard you think can't be explain as being bros, but can't name one when it comes to others. I just find some ppl shipping everyone with everyone weird sometimes. It's like western fans see like some eastern actors or singers slap each other ass lovingly and they're like "oh they're fucking" I'm like "yeah, ofc all 500 of them, you're absolutely right". And Free! doesn't do anything even like that, I just do not get sometimes like what moment even brought on some ships. I'm genuinely confused. Albert and Haru? You fucking fell from a sakura tree or smth? I'm...

I'm especially confused when it comes to guys, whose character type is who I call "I only want this one and if I can't have it, then I'm ok" xD. It just always surprised me, when they try to pair up them with someone else, it's like a complete ooc.

I'm also not into this whole "well, if there are gays in this anime, than everyone there is gay". I'm like... huh. It's like with KNB and MDZS I had same feeling. It's like you have already couples there who are canon/borderline canon, why do you need another 10 who don't even interact or just don't even go there? I'm always so confused in those situations. Or like wangxian is married and some are like "no, I actually don't like it, let me write a fic when they're with other ppl". Lan Zhan... being in love or having sex with someone else? Yeah, that's not Lan Zhan, dude, you're writing about someone else. Might as well change the name at this point.

But last time I went to twitter someone had a thread about how if they make s4 of Free! they should mainly explore there Momo's angst (and no, it wasn't a joke), so I'm already like, I'm just.. nothing will surprise me no more. But I'm forever gonna be confused.

Yeah, I eel you about "going there". I mean seeing part of it, it just kinda cemented my confusion, bc I do not get how it can be considered platonic. We were just discussing since yesterday with @freeseafirefly how I now even more perplexed and do not understand how they will resolve it without going into relationship territory. It's just our point here is that like... no one forced them to go there (I mean its not like this whole fandom has some wild expectations or anything already), we were waiting or our usual friendship and swimming and maybe tiny conflict about struggles of pro-careers and some usual rh implications (maybe all the rh gay in dramas as always). Not some pure fanfiction coming to life here haha.

Like why I'm laughing is bc I twice used in my "fics" bringing up him leaving Haru as a force to push the confession, bc there's no way if he adresses this it won't lead to this. And now we not only have this (bc Haru just basically layed it out there), but an actual scene of him playing on their feelings for each other and a literal image of Rin leaving and "taking Haru's heart with him" to the point when he's for the first time in his life openly crying on the ground. And it's not like this scene can be interpreted as anything else, the whole fandom talks same, bc the whole fight was just about them, what Haru said was just about them, there's a literal boom of his heart getting out of his chest, before he falls and now he's heartless.

So our question is like... why go there?

It's like some say that they might still resolve it with "they're special to each other" and swimming, but still like we already knew that, there was no reason to go that far is what I'm saying. And to think that it was planned since forever giving the clues is like... ???

The whole spoon theme also throw me on the loop because like, lets be honest, it's wedding themed. And that part of the interview about part 2 there also made me go...?????? Because I mean, huh?

This is just all in all very interesting turn of events to say the least. I do not see the point of all of this if its not what I think it is, esp after seeing tweets like "even I see a rh wedding and I'm mh T_T". It's just all very unsubtle, that's why we're confused.

Like who knows, maybe we'll really by some magic turn of events get lucky and they really decided that since its the ending, it's okay to go for it. But I also don't wanna to hype myself much, I'm already really happy with it, just bc again, this scene already proves all of my points.

And yeah, I'm sure they'll pander to everyone, bc it's the end and etc and we have to handle everything on the good note and there's a whole line of ppl who's obsessed with us, esp with Haru xD, but like bromance pandering and romance pandering are different things, you know *wiggles eyebrows* and u know who always gets the second one.

#answered #a-girl-with-a-ponytail #rinharu #harurin #free! the final stroke #free!#free #rin matsuoka #haruka nanase

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catflorist · 3 years

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Stars (ao3/ffn) catflorist warning: major character death

Sasuke joined the Akatsuki for simple reasons. He heard they had a plan to destroy the shinobi world, and he wanted a part of it.

As a blizzard raged in the cold northern air, he followed a dark-robed figure into a passageway carved into the cliffside of a snow-capped mountain. The tunnel twisted and turned, snaking past cavernous rooms and rocky chambers. Akatsuki forces milled about everywhere, red clouds hovering on dark cloaks everywhere he looked. His guide, Konan, led him past without stopping.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To our leader,” Konan said, leading him deeper. “She says she knows you.”

He was sure they were halfway through the mountain before she stopped by a metal door.

“Wait here.”

She knocked and the door opened a crack. Whispered words were exchanged, too low for Sasuke to overhear.

“You’ll have to wait,” Konan said. “She's still bathing.”

Sasuke was annoyed. Why was Karin going through these theatrics? He hadn’t seen her for months, not since disbanded the team and left to face Itachi alone. How she’d ended up in the Akatsuki he couldn't guess. Not only that, she somehow had all of them tiptoeing around her.

“Tell Karin I don't have time to wait,” he snapped.

Konan gave him a curious look, but stayed silent.

“What?”

“Enter,” a voice called from inside. The way it echoed off the rock, it didn't sound like Karin’s voice at all.

He stormed in. Torches lit the dark room in a flickering glow, and the air felt warm. A shadowed figure rose from a steaming pool of water. An attendant held out a billowing Akatsuki robe, helping guide arms through sleeves.

When the light caught her face, shock ripped through him. Because it wasn’t Karin.

Her pink hair was dripping wet, her cheeks hollowed. She pulled on glasses over red-rimmed eyes pinched with pain, the green irises huge beneath the thick lenses. The dark robe slipped off bare, bony shoulders—was that all she was wearing? He averted his eyes, stared at the steam curled in the air. His guard down, his chakra stretched out to meet hers of its own accord. But there was nothing.

He recoiled. How was that possible? She should be dead.

A diamond mark on her forehead pulsed like the core of a star, the only part of her with any vitality, energy. That and her eyes—they were still bright and sharp. The rest was fading.

“It's good to see you,” Sakura said.

It didn’t take long for Sasuke to understand. The chakra stored in Sakura’s seal was all that kept her alive, and one day it would run out.

At the same time, it all depended on her, it seemed, the meticulously planned attack on the shinobi world. She was its life force. Every ounce of her remaining chakra was rationed and monitored, planned in advance for that day. It was all anyone talked about, the reason why heads lowered in respect when speaking Sakura’s name.

To fill his time Sasuke accepted mission after mission. He brought back intel, took out troublesome political figures, and weakened supply chains, doing anything they asked of him to prepare for the attack on Konoha, three months away.

He avoided Sakura.

One night Konan pushed aside the curtain hanging in the door of his small chamber, an alcove in the stone set apart from the other Akatsuki members. “You’re back. What was it this time?”

“We intercepted a shipment of weapons,” he said. “They’re waiting in the meeting room.”

“When do you set out again?”

“I don’t know yet. What do you want?”

Konan met his eyes. “She wants to see you.”

He crossed his arms. “Tell her I'm busy.”

“You think you’re so important,” she said in that calm, mild way of hers. “You wouldn’t act this way, if you truly understood the magnitude of what she’s doing for us. For the world.”

Overcome with sudden anger, Sasuke forgot he came to the Akatsuki willingly, that each day he helped advance its mission. That he too hated what their world had done to his family.

“It's all for nothing!” he spat. “You’re throwing her away. For nothing.”

“You’re selfish. It’s no wonder you don’t understand sacrifice.”

He grit his teeth. “Find another way.”

“She’s dying already,” she said. “She’s just making something from the time she has left. What have you done with your life?”

Sakura was frozen. Dying. Sasuke pictured her in a land of ice, the snowy expanse that surrounded the mountain lit by a weak and wintery sun. Perhaps she could stretch her life a few years, each day lighting her chakra no brighter than a candle’s fire, barely warming her hands in the cold.

Instead she would burn up all at once, quick and hot and bright, like an exploding star, and maybe something would grow after the flames cooled. Fire always led to life in some way after all. She would not wait to freeze to death.

“Go away,” Sasuke snarled. The curtain was already flapping in the doorway.

Sasuke stormed through the hideout after a botched assignment. What should have been a simple scouting mission had turned into a bloodbath after a surprise ambush. The hidden villages were growing more hostile and clever as the day of the attack drew nearer.

He didn’t pay attention to his loud footsteps, the eyes following him in fear, until a figure darted into his path. One of Sakura’s attendants, blocking his way with an outstretched arm, a finger held to her lips.

“What?”

“She's asleep.” Her voice was hushed, like discussing a sleeping god. Not his old, annoying pink-haired teammate.

Sasuke stepped back. “So?”

“It's the first time in three days.”

Sasuke realized the hideout was utterly quiet except for their conversation. If he listened hard enough he might hear snow falling outside.

An old memory flashed through him. When they were genin, taking missions as a team, how much Sakura hated waking up in the morning. She’d groan and clutch her pillow, though she’d always get up and help him with their breakfast anyway. That Sakura would never struggle to fall asleep for three days. How things had changed.

Sasuke knew when she woke up, because the deathly silence in the compound lifted. Foot traffic picked up again, the scent of cooking food from the mess hall drifted through the halls.

He walked down the twisted passageway to the metal door, following the route he’d memorized, though he hadn’t ventured this way since Konan led him the first time. He pushed open the doors without knocking.

A wide futon was spread on the ground, where Sakura lay against soft pillows. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell from the stiffness of her shoulders that she was awake.

“Sakura,” he said.

Her head turned, set deep in the pillows like it held a heavy weight. She did not look surprised to see him, did not ask why he’d avoided her for weeks. “Sit down.”

With some reluctance, he lowered himself on the edge of the futon. Steam curled in the air, and water gurgled somewhere hidden, feeding the spring. Beneath the blanket, Sakura’s legs shifted gingerly.

“What happened to you?” he said.

“It’s this world,” she said. “Person after person, sent out to get killed. To protect someone else’s money, or goods, or to fight in pointless wars. And the survivors, they sent them all to me. It never ended.”

She closed her eyes again. “I healed, and healed, until something inside me broke. I couldn’t make chakra anymore. Without my seal I would have died then and there.”

Without meaning to, Sasuke’s hand stretched out, brushing her forehead, where the mark lay. Her brow was feverishly hot.

“That’s nice,” she whispered. He was about to pull away, but his fingers changed course, trailing into her hair, drawing a sigh. He didn’t know what to do. It was a long time since he’d tried to be gentle. He tried to think of what he liked as a child, the comforting touches he received from his mother, or Itachi, a lifetime ago.

When he finally lifted his hand, the cords of her neck seemed less tense, her head less heavy on the pillow.

She exhaled. “I was dying. I’d given everything away, but still they wanted more. That’s why I’m here. The way this world is, it can’t go on. Everything I have left is going into changing it.”

“This world won’t change,” he muttered.

A thin arm emerged from the blankets, fumbling at her bedside for her glasses. She slipped the frames on, appraising him with large eyes. “Then why are you here?”

This new Sakura was a stranger in many ways. She carried herself with a quiet calmness, a stillness, like she’d lived longer than her years. When she walked down the corridors of the hideout, heads bowed. At gatherings, she barely needed to speak louder than a whisper, because everyone listening hung onto her every word.

Knowing she favored him, the members of the Akatsuki looked differently at Sasuke, too. They brought him into their meeting rooms, seeking his advice and ideas. He learned why each of them wanted to destroy the shinobi system. Its claws had harmed others beyond himself. He started to believe they could truly build something new. Something better, that would never force older brothers into cruel and heartless choices.

When Sasuke returned from a mission he found Sakura sitting on a ledge under the stars, snow gently falling around her. They were high up on the mountain, but the sky was white and hazy in all directions, so he could barely tell where they were or what lay in the distance beyond the haze.

“What are you doing out here? It’s cold.”

“I like the fresh air.”

He sat next to her, knowing it was useless to argue. Everyone knew Sakura did as she wanted.

“My father used to use his katon on days like this. His fireball was strong enough to span the whole length of the lake. But when it was cold, he used it to warm his breath.”

“Show me,” she said.

His hands shaped the quick signs. When he exhaled, a soft puff of fire curled out, a flash of red and orange warming their icy surroundings. “Like this.”

Sakura watched him with furrowed brows. “Can you teach me?”

“Yes, but…” He stopped, tried again. “You can’t...”

“I can’t use my chakra,” she said. “But I can still learn.”

He took her hands. “Serpent, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger.” He didn’t need to, but he shaped her fingers through the signs. “Pull the chakra into your throat. Let it churn. Exhale.”

Sakura mimed the signs, paused in concentration so the chakra could build. Of course, it was only pretend. She exhaled. Her cold breath hung in the air, the furthest thing from fire.

“Thank you. I understand now. Your katon always fascinated me.” She opened her eyes. “Once, I saw you practicing in the distance. I secretly hoped, one day, you would teach me yourself.”

Bitterness filled him. “Not like this.”

“This is enough,” she said, her voice kind.

He thought about young Sakura—energetic and talkative, irritating, nervous around him. He pictured her, watching as he exhaled fire, wishing. The way her voice sounded as she spoke to his back, because he didn’t have the strength to turn and look at her, begging him to stay, or to take her with him.

“Did you mean what you said? The night I left?”

For once she didn’t meet his eyes. “That I loved you? Yes, I meant it.” Then her calm returned. “I’m glad you’ve thought about it since then.”

He felt the urge to throw her off guard, to catch a glimpse of the girl from his memories.

“You still love me,” he accused.

Her eyes seemed to sadden. She touched his face, her hand growing warm. He wrenched away, but it was too late. A cut on his cheek was healed.

He held his cheek like she had burned him. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m in control. I know how much I have left. Shouldn’t I be able to do what I want with it?”

Her hand remained outstretched. He gripped her wrist tightly, so tight it must hurt, and threw it away from himself.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“Why are you always bathing?” Sasuke asked her once.

Shameless, she stood up in the bath, reaching for her robe. He tried very hard to ignore her body, only glancing up when he was sure the robe was around her. The front hung loose, only her hand clasping it together.

“It hurts less in the water.”

Her eyes always gave everything away. Even when they were kids. They said everything she was thinking. When he met her eyes now, he was dazed to find unguarded curiosity, desire. The difference now was she put it bluntly to words.

“Haven't you wondered?” she said.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t. He was wondering now, painfully aware of how his body was reacting to her there, so close, so easy to touch.

“It doesn't matter,” he said. “You’re—you’re sick.” Dying. But he couldn't say that. “I could hurt you.”

“I've never been as fragile as you thought I was.”

She let the cloak slip. It draped down low, revealing the narrow expanse from the hollow of her throat to the space between her breasts. Sasuke heard a small noise escape his throat, a strangled cry. And he was crossing the room, because he couldn't refuse her, not when it was something he also wanted so badly. Each footfall shed away the time and distance built up between them, laying in his wake like shed layers, so by the time he got to her he already felt naked.

He walked straight into her touch, her palm pressing against his heart, the other curling around his nape. He slipped her glasses off, let them fall, secretly hoping they’d break on the stone ground. He hated them.

In the dark, as he leaned in to kiss her, he could almost imagine they were somewhere else. In a soft bedroom, in a life they lived together, elsewhere. But he could not ignore the echoes sounding off the rock walls, the feeling of emptiness handing over their heads, the cold pressing in.

Sasuke stared up at the sky, his back to the dirt.

Around him, battle was waging. The day they’d all been waiting for, fueled with Sakura’s remaining chakra, was almost over. He didn’t know which way the tide was pulling now. He could only feel the hole in his side and know for him it was over.

When he next opened his eyes, everything was green, like he was lying on the forest floor. It wasn’t what he expected death to be like. But Sakura was there, leaning over him. He smiled, washed with relief. At least, even in this place, they had found each other. It was such a comfort, it didn’t matter to him what happened next.

He tried to sit up, and pain tore through him, though it was fading quickly. His eyelids drooped. Sakura’s hands shifted across his body, so warm.

“Can I go back to sleep?” he mumbled.

She cupped his cheek. “Yes, my love.”

He almost listened to her, but strange sounds reached his ears. Metal clashing, screaming. He cracked open his heavy eyes. A body lay close by, red staining the ground beneath. Above him, Sakura’s face was streaked with dirt and tears.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

“My part is over,” she said, hands rooted to his chest like an ancient tree to the earth, unwavering and sure. “I have some left. Just enough.”

His body rippled with an electric shock. “Don’t, Sakura!”

He struggled to move, but she held him down with an iron grip.

“Just take it!” she cried. “What else would I do with it?”

It was always coming to this, he knew. But he wasn’t ready. He needed her to stay just a little longer. There was so much he still needed to tell her.

“One more day,” he begged. “You could stay just one more day.”

Her green eyes were like a storm, and as she steamed the last of her chakra into him, she didn’t look like she was dying. She looked as strong as he remembered. “If I stop now you’ll die.”

That night, when he left the village, he should have taken her with him. Taken her far, far, away. Why had he left her there? What use were his prized eyes and Uchiha blood if he couldn’t see the right choice to make?

“Don't leave,” he gasped. It was hard to see her, tears blurring his vision. “Please don't leave.”

Her hands softly slipped from his chest. “It’s okay, Sasuke-kun.” Her voice came from far away. “Just go back to sleep.”

The mark faded from her forehead like a star at dawn.

Konoha fell. The world was raw and overturned. Burning, and growing, and burning, and growing. One day, Sasuke would want to see it. For now he returned to the mountain, to Sakura’s pool.

He floated in the water, weightless, aching with the life she’d given him.

notes: a longer multi chapter is coming soon, but for now take this, and sorry

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku fanfic #ss fic #ss #my fic #stars

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ohplagg · 3 years

Text

The Yato-gami I know

Also read at AO3

Summary:

“My name is Sakura,” she decides to try a much simpler approach “what’s yours?”

The man with his right hand still holding half of his face and with a skeptical look writes on the dirt.

夜卜

Ya…to?

AU where Tenjin never fired Tamanone.

NOTE: Adachitoka never bothered to come up with Tamanone's Tenjin given name so I'm following their example by also avoiding the issue and using Sakura instead

I want to once again give a big 'thank you' to @noragamibigbang for organizing this.

And an even bigger 'thank you' to my lovely partner (@mochakat) who came up with the idea and who also created a beautiful artwork that goes along with this!

It was a day like every other day; nothing new, nothing exiting, nothing special. Just everything really quiet and peaceful and boring.

Sakura, a beautiful young lady with long dark hair dressed in a miko, was starting to despise every second of it. Well not every second of it. Sakura couldn’t really complain much about her days being too peaceful, it definitely was an improvement from those days where her master had his rage moments and fired anyone who even dared to just breathe the wrong way in his presents.

She was lucky that Tsuyu was there that day to talk to master Tenjin out of the idea of firing her, she will forever owe her live to Tsuyu. Who knows what would have happened if she had been fired that day who knows how long ago? ...Was it a 1000 years ago? It’s been so long that Sakura had lost the track of time.

But peaceful days doesn’t mean they should also be boring and lately life had become extremely mundane. Ever since she was forbidden from working in the prayer altar she’s been sweeping fallen leaves from stone stairs that lead up to the tori, far enough that she can’t eavesdrop on the human prayers any more. According to Tenjin-sama “it’s his job to listen to the prayers, not hers” but Sakura knows there’s more to the reason even if he doesn’t say it.

“-hope Tenjin-sama grants that old lady’s prayer.” Sakura’s attention is caught by the gossiping some shrine maidens are having about some human prayer. Oh, how she misses listening to human prayers; learning about the near shore problems and how humans found solutions to their problems, the emotions they felt for one another, the human nature can be beautiful sometimes.

Sakura stops her sweeping as she listens carefully to the gossiping whispers “Yeah. Ever since that Yaboku god murdered that old lady’s son and his wife she comes here daily asking Tenjin-sama to bless her granddaughter academically since scholarships are the only way that child will have a way to pay her studies.”

How unfortunate, Sakura thinks to herself as she resumes her chore of sweeping leaves. If only that Yaboku god would cease to exist, the world would become a much happier place.

After an excruciating long and boring day Sakura is taking the last basket of fallen leaves to the trees and bushes at the back of the shrine for disposal. As she dumps it all in the pile of leaves she notice what looks like a head of dark hair among all the orange, gold and yellow autumn leaves.

A bear. Her heart drops and she’s suddenly hit with her fight and flight response. She knows in theory she shouldn’t be scared by things like this but survival instincts wait for no one when a bear is right there.

Without even a second thought she throws the hardest punch she can manage to where she’s guessing the nose would be.

“Ahrg!” someone replies to Sakura’s punch. Maybe she should have given it a second thought.

Sakura frantically apologizes as she tries to check the nose of the poor victim she just attacked. As she does so she notice that the person in front of her was a young looking man dressed in a yukata.

“Here, let me see.” She insists as she pushes the poor individual’s forehead back and tries to move his hands out of the way, but the man rejects her aid between whimpers and grunts as he tilts his head forward and hold the right side of his face with one hand

An awkward silence falls among the two as the young man attends to his bleeding nose, spitting blood from what seems to be a busted lip and probably a lost tooth all the while Sakura just stands there.

“That was a really hard hit, uh? I’m so sorry. I never do things like this, I don’t know what came over me. I really thought you were a bear, which is ridiculous because why would you be a bear? Bears are too busy right now seeking their shelter for winter, they wouldn’t be under a pile of leaves in the back of a shrine, of course not! But why were you under a pile of leaves in the back of the shrine? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that it’s unusual- surprising! I meant surprising. Unusual sounds like it’s something bad- which is not! Totally not.” Sakura rants on in her best effort to strike a friendly conversation with the stranger. She sighs and stops her words as she notice that the young man isn’t appreciative of her effort.

“My name is Sakura,” she decides to try a much simpler approach “what’s yours?”

The man with his right hand still holding half of his face and with a skeptical look writes on the dirt.

夜卜

Ya…to?

Ever since the ‘I can’t believe it’s not a bear!’ incident Sakura had encountered Yato in several other occasions. Once he was hiding at the top of a tree, other times she found him sleeping in the garden shed and each and every time she tried her luck to befriend him.

He had made it clear several times to leave him alone, that he didn’t want anything to do with her or anyone for that matter, but she was bored out of her mind most of the time and he kept coming back so might as well enjoy the company right?

As the weeks passed by, Sakura found out that Yato was a shy curious individual that just hid behind a mean attitude. The first time she noticed this was when she was talking about her first days as Tenjin-sama’s shinki. As she was talking about it she could tell that she had Yato’s full attention even though he acted as he didn’t care.

Because of this she started to talk about anything and everything in an effort to bait him into participating in the conversation. Some topics were a dead ends but there were a few that she could tell had Yato curious to know more.

“But why flowers? Can’t they just say things straight as it is?” This wasn’t the first time that Yato had asked something that to many could be considered obvious.

“Sometimes words and actions aren’t enough to express one’s emotions and feelings. Flowers have different meanings that can help us express what we wouldn’t be able to with just words or actions.” Sakura explained.

“For example,” Sakura continued with her explination, “the emotion of love. You can tell someone you love them but there’s a big difference between the love you feel for a friend, the love you feel for a family member and the love you feel for your lover. Flowers help communicate what type of love you want to say.”

By now Yato had warmed up enough to the point that he was constantly asking questions about anything that she was talking about in the moment.

He asked her about human prayers, about dreams and wishes, about human festivals and ceremonies, about sports and game. He asked about the different types of human relationships, about human entertainment. If humans were involved, you could bet Yato would make a question. He kind of reminded her of a little kid that was just discovering the world for the first time.

“

“Okay, but what about-“ the conversation in the garden shed was interrupted by the sound of a firetruck siren.

“That’s the 3rd one this week.” Sakura sighs. “My master says that some gods have been causing suffering to humans to amuse themselves since the amount of dedicated believers have dropped and with it the amount of things for them to do, that’s why there has been an increase in tragedies in the last couple of years.” She explained.

“That’s awful.” Yato pointed out.

“I know! How heartless can one be to call the killing of humans a game? Those gods are horrible monsters. The world would be better without them.” Sakura expressed her frustration.

“Sorry,” Sakura apologized after a sour and tense pause, “I just-”

“It’s ok, you don’t have to explain” Yato suddenly interrupts as his voice crack in the process. “I feel the same way.”

“Anything interesting happened today, Mizuchi?” a young looking man with almond colored hair dressed in a dark Yukata asked as he cooked some miso soup.

“Nothing much, Father.” A little girl with short dark hair dressed in a white kimono sat by the table, waiting for said miso soup. “Bishamonten-sama has lost 2 more shinki to god’s greatest secret, Takemikazuchi-sama is still trying to get a blessed hafuri, and Ebisu-sama might reincarnate soon again.”

“What about our Yaboku dear?” the man asked over his shoulder.

“He’s been going to Tenjin-sama’s shrine quiet a lot lately. I think I’ve seen him talking to a shrine maiden a few times. She goes by the name of Sakura.”

“Is he now?” Father halts everything that he’s doing for a brief second.

Father has been aware for the longest time that his son spends his time in different shrines whenever he has free time. Even though Yaboku thinks his father doesn’t know, he knows but simply decides to turn a blind eye to it as long as his Yaboku stays obedient to him.

But it is quiet surprising that Yaboku has spent most of his time in Tenjin’s shrine, even more so now that its winter time. He usually spends winter time at Binbougami’s shrine.

“Mizuchi dear, could you tell Yaboku to come visit me next time you see him? I have something I need him to take care of.”

Yato visits Sakura. Sakura is busy setting up some extra lanterns and some other decorations in the stone stairway. Sakura explains that New Year’s is coming and along with it a lot of humans visit the shrine as well.

“Where are you going to be during all of this?” Yato asked sternly, something felt out of place for the child-like curious Yato that Sakura knew.

“Probably near Tenjin-sama, why?” Sakura wondered

“No reason.” Yato’s response was sharp in the tongue. “I have some business I have to attend to in Kyoto so I won’t be seeing you until after New Year’s, okay?” He asked but it felt like it didn’t matter what Sakura answered in returned.

Both Sakura and Yato briefly said their farewells and just like that Yato left. Sakura made a mental note to ask Yato once he returns and seems less on edge to ask him what happened that made him act so out of character.

It finally was New Year’s Eve. Everyone’s visiting the shrine. Families with their children and elderly. Some couples; young love, old love, friend groups, you name it. Sakura was loving every second. She loved being close by humans, there’s something about their joy that just feels amazing.

Sakura had been sent to the entrance on her master’s orders. And just when people were starting to pray. But she can’t complain much, at least now she is surrounded by humans and enjoying the happy chattering they have amongst themselves instead of being stuck next to her master hearing the same jokes he makes every year.

As she walked there was a sudden screams interrupts any and all gleeful chat. Everyone starts walking towards where the scream came from. On the road, just before entering the shrine perimeters. A man had fainted and looked like he had a seizure and judging by the reaction of his wife, it looked like she had just seen a ghost.

People gathered around the married couple trying to wonder what just had taken place, all the while some other called the emergency line.

As all of this was unfolding Sakura knew she had to rush to her master and tell him the incident that had just taken place, but as she was turning back she caught a glimpse of a familiar black hair head and a dark yukata.

Yato?

That didn’t make sense, he said he wouldn’t be in the city by this time around. Her curiosity got the best of her and she started following the man that had an extreme resemblance to the Yato-gami she knew.

“Stop!” Sakura yells as she’s lead to the back side of the shrine, where she met Yato the first time. She notice that she’s out of ear’s range of anyone so she decides to finally test out her theory.

“Yato, wait!” the male figure pauses. Frozen in place but with his back still facing her. “It’s you, isn’t it?” Sakura didn’t need an answer. The hesitation in that man’s actions told her enough.

Yato slowly turned around, looking like a kid full of guilt. Sakura noticed he was holding a katana-like weapon but this one looked odd, like it was made of water.

“I don’t understand. Why are you here? You said you wouldn’t be here!” She questioned him to no avail. Yato remained quiet, eyes glued to the floor unable to face her. “Why… why are you acting this way? And why do you have a weapon? Did you have something to do with that man?”

Sakura was furious and frustrated and upset. It didn’t help that Yato still wasn’t looking at her but rather was very focused on the dead and muddy grass under his sandals.

Sakura noticed Yato say something under his breath and as soon as he does his katana-like weapon transforms into a beautiful young girl with short dark hair.

‘He has a shinki’ Sakura realizes.

“Hello! So you are the famous Sakura!” the little girl gleefully greets Sakura, “I’m Hiiro! I’m sure Yaboku has told you all about me.”

“Ya…boku?” Sakura whispers in disbelief towards Yato as he looks like a deer in headlights, still unable to look at her. To say Sakura was confused was an understatement. With just one sentence she had more questions than what she could actually think of. “Yato. Who is this?” unable to put her thoughts into words, Sakura decided to focus on the first thing that confused her.

Yato tries to find his voice, tries to answer Sakura but the knot in his throat is too big that any time he opens his mouth to say something, anything, nothing comes out.

“Come on Yaboku, you didn’t tell her who I was? Some brother you are.” The girl that answers instead. “I’m Hiiro. I’m Yaboku’s shinki and sister!”

“Why does she keep calling you Yaboku?” Sakura carefully questions Yato, as if she’s walking on eggshells that could turn into glass shards any second. Sakura noticed that Yato looked beyond scared.

“He didn’t tell you? His name is Yaboku.” Hiiro once again answers in Yato’s stead. She turns to look at Yato, “don’t tell me you didn’t tell her.” Yato looks like he wants to run away even though he is frozen in place.

“You’re the yaboku?” Sakura seeks confirmation from the man himself even though she doesn’t need to hear anything else. “All this time I thought that- that you- and I thought that we-“ a rush of fury clouds Sakura’s thoughts leaving her speechless.

“I- I can explain!” Yato stumbles with his words, desperately trying to gain his voice back.

“So you used me to choose your victims? Did I lead you to your victims?” Sakura questions in disbelief.

“No!” Yato frantically tries to get a word in “Let me explain, I-“

“And you even lied to me about who you were! You deceived me!” by this time Sakura was yelling at the top of her lunges

“Yes- I mean no! Sakura you got to listen to me-“

“Don’t. Keep my name out of your filthy mouth. I can’t believe I ever considered you a friend.” Sakura emotionlessly says as she wraps her arms around herself and leaves.

Yato reaches a hand out towards the leaving figure of Sakura trying to call out to her but gives up shortly after seeing as there is nothing he could say to make her stay.

“Yaboku. You’ve been like this for months now. Its time you snap out of it.” Hiiro pushes Yato’s shoulder as he’s laying on his side looking out to the garden.

Hiiro would be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised at Yaboku’s unusual behavior. They had gone out several times now on Father’s command but whenever they did Yaboku looked so miserable that she actually felt bad for him.

“How about we go to play? That always cheered you up!” Still no answer from his brother. “Sigh. What can I do to cheer you up? Would me calling you Yato like that Sakura girl did do any good?”

Hiiro noticed that as soon as she suggested the idea Yaboku’s face had a hit of emotion for the first time since that night.

“I’ll call you that if you want me to but you have to tell me, otherwise I won’t know. Hiiro tried once again to get Yaboku to say something.

It was close, she could feel it. Yaboku looked like he really wanted to say something but just like it had happened so many times now he got caught up in so much hesitation that he gave up in whatever idea he was about to share.

But this time she almost had it and she wouldn’t let it slip away. “Look, it’s obvious you miss this Sakura girl and I could tell that she genuinely cared about you so she probably misses you too so why don’t you go talk to her?”

Hiiro was right, all that time spent with Sakura was something both of them enjoyed and if he was missing her this much it was very possible that she was missing him back. But did he had any right to go back to her? After he lied to her so much? Yato didn’t deserved her forgiveness, didn’t deserve her time or her kindness.

But she deserves an explanation and an apology. Yato thought to himself.

And with that he got up and left.

It was a day near the end of spring. Sakura couldn’t really tell what day it was, every day had felt the same since that night. The only thing that made the day different from other days is that now she was sweeping the Sakura blossoms instead of shoveling snow.

At first Sakura was furious. She felt angry and betrayed. After a few weeks she felt just upset and used. After that she simply felt sad and lonely. With all the time Sakura had to think she understood that she was in no position to judge a god and she also understood that it was unfair of her to cut all communication with Yaboku-gami as if they had never known each other ever. She wished she could talk to him.

As Sakura is taking the last basket of fallen sakura blossoms to the trees and bushes at the back of the shrine for disposal she sees Yato standing by the same place she first met him. That time she confused him for a bear.

“What are you doing here?” Sakura kept her voice firm and emotionless even though she felt otherwise.

“I just came here to apologize for everything I’ve put you through” Yato starts as he hands Sakura some purple hyacinths.

Sakura takes them with a shocked and hesitant but pleased expression.

“I asked the flower shop lady and she said that purple hyacinths mean deep sorrow and regret. That if I wanted to make it clear how sorry I was these were the ones to give.” Yato explains and then continues, “I’m sorry for lying to you. For not being honest about everything. For being a coward. But most importantly for being Yaboku.”

It’s not every day that someone apologizes for their existence so Sakura waited for Yato to explain further before she said anything in return.

“I know I’m the worst of the worst. I kill innocents and I don’t show regret. I destroy and taint all the beautiful things in the world for my own selfish reasons. But I promise you that the me you knew, the Yato you knew, wasn’t an act.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, Yaboku. But please forgive Yato, he is a little stupid and naïve and new to all this being a good god thing but I promise that he means well and he’s trying his best.”

Sakura takes a moment to consider his words. “So what Im understanding is that you want to be the Yato-gami I know?”

Yato only nods.

“Then I suppose I’ll accept Yato’s apology” Sakura pauses as Yato’s face lights up, “but only if he promise me that he’ll give it his all to become the Yato I know he can be.”

“With your guidance I think I can do that”

#it was really fun and relaxing thinking about this what if #sakura noragami #nora noragami #noragami fanfiction #noragami #yato #yato noragami

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fangirlandiknowit101 · 3 years

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12, 14 and 18☺️

Thanks for asking <333

12. Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to?

There's lots to be honest, but something I still can't believe I haven't written is a horse riding au. Like, that's half a lie bc I have a few thousand words written for a Simon/Baz horse rider au that I might never finish, but I'd really like to write one for Naruto. But I always decide not to because I don't know all the words and I hate googling stuff while I write. But one day! Surely!

14. If you were stuck on a desert island with only two characters, which would you pick?

Honestly? Kirk and Spock. They'd find a way to get us out of there. And if not, it would at least be cool to meet them.

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

You really had to pick such a difficult question... I can never decide on any particular line/scene. So I opened up The sun within me and looked at the chapters and thought I'd pick something that could be interesting to comment on. And in this case, it's a bit about how Naruto, Sasuke, and Charasuke have changed and their different relationships with each other. So! Here's a bit of commentary for a scene in chapter 40 (under the cut bc it's fairly long lol):

[For clarification, this is right after Naruto and Sasuke come back home from Sasuke's mission where he fought Menma and Menma then disappeared. I'm skipping ahead to the part where they arrive at the orphanage and Charasuke is waiting in their room (Naruto's POV). My comments will be written in bold text.]

The clone’s memories dropped into his head like a puff of smoke, and he groaned out loud, making a face. Sasuke gave him a concerned look, but Naruto sighed and shook his head.

“Let’s go,” he said, feeling very reluctant as he grabbed Sasuke’s arm.

He supposed he could have teleported them somewhere else, but Charasuke had seemed prepared to wait until they returned. Maybe Sasuke could deal with him while Naruto sort of… drifted away and hid in the kitchen.

Naruto is acting very childishly in this scene, mostly because he's still wary of Charasuke, and also because he's just spent two days in Sasuke's company but pretending to be Menma, which means no cuddles/kisses or anything. He's kind of clingy, isn't he? Haha. And also, he doesn't really want to admit to himself that Menma disappearing for Charasuke is the parallel to his worst fear, that Sasuke will disappear.

“Where is he?” Charasuke demanded the second they arrived in the bedroom.

“Ah, Sasuke, maybe you can explain?” he suggested, inching towards the door, but Sasuke nailed him to the floor with a single glare.

“He could be anywhere,” Sasuke said, continuing to glare until he was sure that Naruto wouldn’t escape. “I didn’t manage to get a good look through the portal.”

“The portal?” Charasuke seemed to waver, arms wrapped around himself as he looked between them. “Tell me what happened.”

You can tell that Sasuke has really started to care about Charasuke here. He's not entirely open with him yet, but he recognizes a lot of himself in Charasuke and he puts himself in Menma's position, thinking about when he left the village and Naruto was left behind. He doesn't want Charasuke to hurt the way he knows Naruto was hurting back then.

While Sasuke described the mission, including what he called ‘Naruto’s dumb interference’, Naruto dug through his closet for the shirt he would make Sasuke wear. He was absolutely sure that Sasuke would argue about it – especially since he’d sent a clone to Akatsuki and not himself – but if he talked fast enough and relented that it would be enough if Sasuke slept in it for one night…

“He really is gone, then,” Charasuke said, his voice toneless. “I’ll never see him again.”

“I’m sure you’ll see him again,” Naruto said, contemplating the pros and cons of a t-shirt versus long sleeves. “Whoever grabbed him and hauled him off probably just wanted to keep him out of Sasuke’s reach. He gets awfully strong when he’s irritated.”

Naruto is definitely acting a bit heartless here, again, because he doesn't want to think about his own feelings or feel forced to recognize that Charasuke is a person Sasuke cares about, that he should also care about. I think he can get a bit closed off when there's too much going on in his own life, and that makes it hard to focus on other people, especially since he still wants to leave the other dimension and doesn't want to think about Sasuke caring about his family here - meaning Sasuke might want to stay.

When he turned back from the closet, he found Sasuke giving him a disappointed look.

“What?”

“You’re taking this lightly,” he said, glancing at the shirt in Naruto’s hand and apparently deciding to ignore it.

“Well, unless we figure out how to dimension-hop after him, I don’t think there’s a lot we can do.”

Now that he was back to being himself, all Naruto really wanted was to curl up in bed with Sasuke and not think about the outside world at all. Charasuke, on the other hand, seemed on the verge of tears.

“And what would you have done if I was the one who disappeared?” Sasuke asked, an icy note to the question.

“How would I know? It hasn’t happened yet.”

A bit of foreshadowing lol. Except Sasuke is the one left reacting when Naruto leaves, but Naruto really is trying to keep a tight grip in his emotions here and absolutely not think about the fact that Sasuke could have disappeared with Menma, and he wouldn't have known what happened to him.

“You could have let me follow after him and we’d know where he went.”

Naruto straightened up, face hardening.

“No, you might have known where he went, but the rest of us wouldn’t. Besides, he was trying to kill you. I went through too much trouble to keep you alive to just let you jump into some unknown enemy territory.”

As you can see, putting a lot of emphasis on Naruto's fear of losing Sasuke again.

Silent tears now streaming down his cheeks, Charasuke sat down on the bed and clenched his fists over his lap. It was obvious that he didn’t like what they were saying, but Naruto pushed his feelings of sympathy aside. Sasuke was his top priority, and that hadn’t changed simply because there was another one of him now.

“I told him I never want to see him again,” Charasuke sniffled, and it was really disturbing to watch someone with Sasuke’s face – well, a version of Sasuke, really – crying out in heartache.

Meanwhile poor Charasuke is having a background breakdown. To Naruto, it's hard to see a version of Sasuke like this. Charasuke is coming face to face with the realization that he's A: definitely not over Menma, B: he really handled things badly and never even stopped to think about why Menma was doing things.

“If he survives, you can apologize,” Naruto told him, trying to sound comforting. “Hell knows Sasuke said a lot worse stuff to me.”

To his great surprise, Sasuke went over to sit beside Charasuke, frowning as his hand twitched to reach out to him.

“This isn’t about you and me, Naruto,” he said, settling for an awkward hand on Charasuke’s shoulder. “And it could be our fault, anyway.”

“You know, Sasuke,” Naruto said as the initial shock wore off, “that sounds scarily like you’ve started caring about other people.”

Naruto and Sasuke having a small fight about Charasuke... Naruto knew Sasuke cared about Charasuke, but this is when he realizes that Charasuke is becoming a person that Sasuke wants to protect. And for Sasuke it's a small step towards opening his heart for more people than just Naruto. Sasuke is honestly mad at Naruto for taking things so lightly, for treating this other dimension as something that doesn't affect them. Besides, I really wanted Charasuke to be comforted by Sasuke haha.

Charasuke kept crying, and the look Sasuke directed at him clearly said what he thought of Naruto right then.

“Moron. I care about other people, just not anyone in our own dimension.”

Naruto knew that to be a lie, but decided not to say anything. Having Sasuke admitting to something like having feelings was a huge enough step on its own. Instead he sighed, grabbed something to sleep in, and headed for the door.

“I’ll just sleep on a couch,” he mumbled.

Does Sasuke care about anyone back in their own dimension? Maybe, but you wouldn't really see him act like this with canon Sakura, not before they left for the RTN dimension at least. It's a big thing that Sasuke is starting to voice his feelings out loud, and acknowledge them more. Naruto is feeling jealous actually, because he wanted to finally have Sasuke to himself, and also he feels guilty for being jealous, and also he's hoping that if he pouts enough Sasuke will comfort him instead of Charasuke lol. Not always the most mature person, but who is?

Coward, Kurama accused as he headed towards the living room, but Naruto was too tired to argue with him. Something about Charasuke always rubbed him wrong, and maybe it had to do with how he displayed his emotions openly and so obviously thought of himself as weak. If Sasuke wanted to handle it, fine. Naruto didn’t have the patience for people who sat around crying, and a small part of him didn’t like that he had such problems with caring about Menma, either. Menma had everything, a loving family, a Sasuke who cared about him, but he was still feared and treated differently. Even in this world people treated the bijuu as something dangerous, and he wondered how much of the whole story of them losing consciousness and turning into beasts was true, and how much was justification to treat them badly.

It's a bit of 'my problems are worse than yours so you shouldn't be so upset'. In the movie, we really got to see how much it hurt Naruto to see this other world where he had everything he wanted, and then acknowledge that it wasn't real. Even if he can recognize that the bijuu were still treated badly here, he can't quite make peace with the way Charasuke and Menma can't appreciate what they have. It makes it really hard for him to sympathize with them.

Am I supposed to feel touched? Kurama snorted as Naruto rearranged pillows into an acceptable bed on one couch. You didn’t care much for us either before you figured out the truth.

No, but everything was supposed to be the opposite here, right? Well, this part isn’t the opposite, it’s the same.

Between one heartbeat and the next, Naruto blinked his eyes open in front of Kurama’s open cage. There was water sloshing around his ankles, and everything was clouded in some sort of yellowish haze.

“Oh, come on,” he complained, but Kurama tsk’ed at him with his head supported by one giant paw.

“I hate to admit it, but you might be onto something, kid.”

“Uh-huh, well I don’t know about you but I want to sleep.”

Kurama reached out and poked him in the stomach with a sharp claw, eyes narrowing to slits. Even if they were friends, Naruto didn’t feel like testing the limits of that friendship with those claws so close to him.

“Sometimes you say things in such a stupid voice that I miss how important it might be. Now shut up and listen,” Kurama growled, three of his tails swishing angrily behind him. “This world is supposed to be opposite, right?”

“I don’t know, but everything seems opposite.”

“Let’s pretend we know it’s true. So, everything and everybody is the opposite more or less. But, the prejudice against the bijuu is still there. And we were told that it was only recently that they became unable to control. So, where does that leave us?”

Naruto pouted, not bothering to answer. Obviously Kurama already knew what he wanted to say.

“I think it means that anything that is the same, is something that somebody has tampered with.”

I was going to do more with this, but it was also a bit of 'what sort of theories would they have for what was really going on?' and this one is accurate in a way, because Hagoromo did tamper with the bijuu which in turn made them become feared and badly treated. So it's definitely hinting at there being someone behind the scenes manipulating the bijuu.

“Huh?”

Kurama rolled his eyes, sighing so deeply that Naruto felt the wind from it tear at his clothes.

“Think, boy! If this is a mirror-world or whatever, people shouldn’t be afraid of me and my siblings. But they are, and it only started a while ago. Obviously someone made us go crazy. And Menma has me inside him, but a crazy version of me, so wouldn’t it be logical that whoever did something to the me inside Menma, could also do something to Menma?”

He thought about it, hard enough that his head started hurting. Sasuke would probably know, but he was busy with Charasuke.

“I guess,” he said eventually, huffing a little. “But even if you’re right, it doesn’t help us figuring out who’s behind it all.”

“Does it matter?” Kurama scoffed, and then his lips spread in a terribly evil grin. “We’re going to kill them anyway, aren’t we?”

“This is why you have such a bad reputation,” Naruto sighed.

Kurama only laughed.

I really love Kurama... His and Naruto's weird friendship gives me life. His solutions to problems are always very straightforward heh.

Well, that's that :3

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sgrayonderii · 4 years

Text

a knight does not die with empty hands

SSM20 prompt #30: Only One

Sasuke’s old habits are hard to break. Rated K

Their romance begins in an utterly mundane fashion, and Sakura wouldn’t have it any other way.

She doesn’t have a story of cosmic and world-ending consequences like Naruto’s or Hinata’s. And unlike Ino and Sai, there are no evil cult leaders and daring rescues.

Her story and Sasuke’s story are those quiet nights walking back side-by side after a hospital shift. It is a soft affection that grows at the table sipping tea while talking about the weather. Just a girl and a boy and the emergence of something deeper.

---

They don’t hold hands. Not really.

Sasuke has never been a proponent of public displays of affection and Naruto finds it to be a great insult on her behalf.

“You two are acting the same as always,” Naruto berates Sasuke one day as they all are having dinner. “How are we all even supposed to know you two are dating?

Taking offense to the comment, Sasuke hisses back “We’re not dating. We are courting.”

“What’s the difference?! It’s the same thing!”

“You’re an idiot.”

“And you don’t know how to romance a lady!”

The two continue to argue loudly until Sai informs them that management is unhappy with the noise level and considering kicking them out. Hero status notwithstanding

---

When they were younger, Sakura took great pride in being one of the few allowed to touch her beloved Sasuke-kun. Normally he rejects any shows of affection and comfort, especially if they involve hugs and hand holding and touching of any kind.

Although he never did quite look happy when she wraps her arms around his middle or hooks their arms together or when she cries over him when she thinks she lost him, Sasuke doesn’t quite shake her off either.

In fact, there are even times when Sakura thinks those stray touches have a deeper meaning. Their intertwined hands in a dark forest. The desperate embrace during his descent into madness. His arm catching her before she falls.

Things are different now. Sakura doesn’t quite love him like she used to and Sasuke doesn’t really hate her as much as he claimed. And they are so weak for each other.

Now when Sakura grasps his hand, threading their fingers like a promise, he smiles so softly at her. It makes Sakura fall a little more.

---

Except there are times, more often than not, she notices that Sasuke isn’t at ease as he seems.

He grits his teeth when they shop hand in hand at the market. Sweat drips from his brow, his breathing quickens, and his grip on her hand tightens whenever someone approaches too close. There is a slight trembling in their clasped hands whenever someone stops to talk with them on the streets.

He accepts her hand and her arms and her affection, but Sakura knows he is uncomfortable. He always has been a private man and she feels guilty for forcing him out of his comfort zone. She worries that due to his never ending penitence, he feels he has to indulge her.

So Sakura tries to reduce the amount of times they touch each other in public. She makes sure to stand at a respectable distance, hoping to ease his anxiety even just a bit.

Perhaps that’s why Naruto complains about Sasuke’s aloofness. Or why Ino wonders how he is still so cold to her. Or why Kakashi sometimes looks at them with pity.

To the outside world, that’s what it must look like. A foolish girl in love with a heartless man.

It hurts to not be able to express her love, but she loves him enough to compromise her desires for his comfort.

Yet, away from prying eyes, Sasuke is more receptive. He actively seeks out her embrace. Her hands, her lips, her love. He holds her closer and closer still.

So when he asks if she would leave with him, Sakura knows it will be good for them. Things will be different.

---

Sasuke is not much better even with the scenery change.

When they are on the road, Sasuke is still on edge. He tenses when she reaches for him. He jumps when she extends her arm. He clutches his sword a bit tighter when she draws near.

Yet sometimes, when the night is so quiet it seems like they are only ones in the universe, he inches closer and closer still until they are one.

She finds herself feeling disappointed hoping that being away, from Konoha, from expectation, from everyone, would change things.

Sakura does not understand. And all she ever wanted was to understand him.

---

The ambush had been a surprise but hardly a battle for their combined skill. A few thieves on the road are nothing compared to what they have already seen. The highwaymen are quickly apprehended and left with the nearest officials.

Despite this Sasuke throws himself forward as vanguard, first to engage. Afterwards he brushes her off, never meeting her eyes or responding to her concerned inquiries. When she reaches for his only hand, he all but snatches it away, horrified.

“You know I could have taken them.” she tells him after they make camp as he methodically wipes the blood from his sword. “I am perfectly capable of fighting, you don’t have to jump in front every time.”

Sasuke continues cleaning his weapon, “It’s not like that.”

“Then what? Why are you acting like this?”

Sakura is frustrated. It’s one thing to be protected, it’s another thing to not be trusted to protect herself. And the weeks and weeks of his hot and cold attitude, she finally reaches her limit.

She sits down across from him seething and does not speak to him the rest of the day.

----

As they settle in for the night, she senses Sasuke lying down next to her in their makeshift tent. She is facing away from him and he turns to her. Sakura is aware of the heat radiating from him like an imploding sun.

Then slowly, ever so softly, he reaches for her.

His fingertips barely brush against the back of her shirt before he clutches the fabric between the tips of his fingers. Sakura almost believes she is imagining it if not for the slight trembling of his only hand.

For a long time they are still. The only sound permeating the tent is the night outside and the synchronization of their breathing.

Eventually Sakura turns to face him, the only man she’s ever loved. She brushes his hand away from her shirt. Sasuke is startled by her sudden movement, but when she intertwines their fingers he relaxes. He brings their connected hands to lips as a silent token of gratitude.

Sakura notices that the trembling still hasn’t subsided.

This time she reaches for him. Her other hand cups his cheek and brings him close until their foreheads touch.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sasuke-kun, it’s…” but he cuts her off.

“I trust you, I do. I just...” There is a faraway look in his eyes. “I have only one.” He squeezes their clasped hands.

She already knows about his qualms about a prosthetic arm. He had told her once upon a time ago that he didn’t deserve it. It is both a reminder of his sins and a testament to his atonement.

“If I couldn’t protect you because I was…” she follows his gaze to the shape of their connected palms, “Distracted.”

There is a long silence, “If something were to happen to you, I don’t think I could forgive myself.”

---

The next morning when they set off, Sakura grabs his empty sleeve. She wraps it loosely around her wrist as if they are bound together.

This is her new oath

Sasuke is surprised but does not try to shake her off. Sakura raises her opposite hand and clenches it into a fist.

“If something happens, I’m sure we can take them one hand behind our backs! Together”

And the way he smiles afterwards is so gentle makes her fall for him a bit more.

---

Sarada unsurprisingly starts to learn to walk much quicker than her parents initially anticipated.

Sakura watches with amusement as their daughter attempts to stand using Sasuke’s pant leg as purchase. Her husband is very patient and always carefully helps Sarada back up when she loses balance. He murmurs words of encouragement that Sarada doesn’t understand but nevertheless welcomes.

Eventually, Sarada grows tired of just standing and attempts to take her first step. Unfortunately she overestimates her gross motor control and starts to topple forward. Her father catches her before she falls.

Not deterred, Sarada tries again. This time with her using her father’s hand for balance.

As she takes another step, Sakura takes her daughter’s other hand. Sarada takes another step. Her husband glances over at her, but she finds instead of a tense gaze it is one of contentment.

And the Uchiha family walk together hand in hand, one small step at a time.

A/N: Oof and that’s it for me this month! SSM is always so fun so I’m glad to be able to participate again. Thank you for reading! Happy SSM20 and stay safe!

#sasusaku #ssm20 #ssm20d30 #sasusaku month #sasusaku fanfiction #Sasuke Uchiha #Sakura Haruno #sakura uchiha #sarada uchiha #sgrayonderii

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spring-days-at-dusk · 3 years

Text

Beast Translation Update!

Hey! Me again. Something’s come up so my typesetter won’t be free until the 22nd of December. I’m sorry for the delay and would like to thank everyone for your patience. In the meantime, under the cut are chapter summaries I wrote for those that really want to find out what happened! Sorry they’re pretty long for summaries since I suck at being concise, hope you enjoy!

Beast Chapter 8 Summary [Title: The Beast Called Myself]

Oda asked Akutagawa to babysit the kids he looks after for three days while Oda is away on a business trip. Akutagawa is very upset at this, even more so when Oda refers to him as the eldest of the kids he looks after.

On the first day of babysitting, Akutagawa uses his ability to play with the kids. The second day, he visits Sakura’s class and helps motivate her to answer the teacher’s question.

On the third day, Kousuke cooks a meal for Akutagawa and asks him to give him combat training. Kousuke explains that he wants to get stronger to join the detective agency like Oda, who he says is like an older brother to him. He pulls out a gun that he bought himself and Akutagawa is surprised that a criminal would sell a gun to a child.

The combat training begins and Akutagawa is very clearly winning the fight. Akutagawa then puts a gun up to his own head but Rashomon blocks all the bullets. He says that he hates guns, explaining that they cause people to grow ignorant, which he says is the reason his friends were killed. He uses his ability to destroy the gun and tells Kousuke that if he ever steps foot in front of Akutagawa with a gun again, he’ll kill him.

Oda returns from his business trip and apologizes for ‘leaving the dirty work’ to Akutagawa (i.e. fighting Kosuke), since Oda says that if he were to fight Kosuke, it would only ‘fuel his admiration’. Akutagawa says that Kosuke isn’t cut out for fighting and would be better off becoming a chef. He says that Kosuke is too willing to sacrifice himself for his younger siblings to survive in a heartless world. Oda then gives Akutagawa some of his wisdom, telling him not to chase ‘the beast of yourself’.

Akutagawa asks if this was all set up just for Oda to try to convince him to control himself when fighting ‘the man in black’. Oda denies that though. Akutagawa finished the conversation by saying he was wrong about Kosuke. Oda responds with ‘I hope so’.

Back in the cafe under the ADA, Akutagawa calls Kunikida to try to get out of doing any paperwork when the door swings open and Atsushi enters.

Beast Chapter 9 Summary [Title: Encounter, Part 1]

Atsushi tells Akutagawa that he was asked to deliver a letter to the president of the ADA. However, he got lost on the way and it started raining so he had to take shelter in the cafe. To Atsushi’s relief, Akutagawa tells him that the ADA is on the fourth floor of the building they are in.

Atsushi puts three sugar cubes into his coffee and says that his coworkers always tell him it’s too much. He says he can’t help it due to the place he grew up. ‘An orphanage’ says Akutagawa. Atsushi asks how he knew that. Akutagawa explains that he grew up in a similar environment. Atsushi seems distraught as he says that the natural instinct to use a lot of sugar is probably something that he’ll have for the rest of his life. Much to Atsushi’s surprise, Akutagawa replies by saying he uses four cubes of sugar in his tea.

Atsushi asks if Akutagawa knows about how everyone was always fighting to get their hands on pencils and notebooks. Akutagawa says ‘of course’. He then asks if Atsushi knows about chocolate bars. Atsushi responds with “Of course, it’s a type of currency, isn’t it? There’s relatively a lot, but everyone always wants it, so its value remains constant. Therefore it naturally became used as currency.”

Akutagawa says that at one point, for a while he ate nothing but chocolate bars and then collapsed due to malnutrition. Atsushi bursts out laughing at this.

Atsushi tells him that this is the first time he talked about this. He then asks Akutagawa to deliver the letter for him and asks what his name is. They exchange names.

Akutagawa then asks who sent the letter and Atsushi says it’ll be clear who sent it when the letter is opened. Akutagawa says to be safe, he has to check what’s in the letter in case it’s something dangerous.

Inside the letter, Akutagawa finds a photo of Gin. He asks Atsushi if he knows the person in the photo, Atsushi says he does but is confused as to why the boss put a photo of her in the letter. Akutagawa’s rage is building as he asks Atsushi to tell him where Gin is. Atsushi says he can’t tell Akutagawa where she is, since there is a rule in his organization stating that if you ever find someone searching for Gin, you must kill them. Akutagawa then announces that Gin is his little sister. Atsushi doesn’t believe him, saying she doesn’t have any family. The two begin fighting. They’re pretty evenly matched and eventually Atsushi decides to leave. He says he has to report this to his boss and ask him why there was a photo of Gin in the letter.

Akutagawa tries to stop him from leaving but some mysterious attack renders him unconscious.

Beast Chapter 9.5 (Title: Encounter, Part 2)

Akutagawa thinks about his past, when Dazai told him that he would keep his sister until he figured out what his weakness is. The words of Oda also echo in his mind: “Don’t chase the beast of yourself.” He also tells Akutagawa that he ‘will surely be given a chance for redemption’.

Akutagawa then wakes up and notices his wound is gone. Yosano tells him to follow her and the two head to a room with some of the other ADA members and a projector.

A video is played on the projector of a meeting between Chief Taneda and Dazai Osamu. Kunikida says that Ranpo found out that this video was taken by the government and Tanizaki then says that Oda snuck in and got the video, saying the dangerous mission took Ranpo and Oda three days. Kunikida explains the science behind how the video was secretly obtained using luminous flux waves.

Kunikida then plays the video, in which Chief Taneda says that he heard that Dazai assassinated Mori, Dazai responds with “That’s quite the troublesome information network you have”.

Akutagawa says that he recognized Dazai to be ‘the man in black’. He asks Kunikida to tell him where Dazai is. Kunikida says that he’s on the top floor of the Port Mafia headquarters but explains to Akutagawa that getting to him is impossible. He tells Akutagawa that if he goes, he’ll die. Akutagawa says that it doesn’t matter. He tells Kunikida about the photo of Gin in the letter Atsushi gave him. He says that since Atsushi is reporting to Dazai that Akutagawa is looking for Gin, then Dazai will know he’s coming, causing him to reinforce security and disappear. Alternatively, Akutagawa thinks Dazai might threaten to kill Gin. Tanizaki tells Akutagawa to wait, saying if he goes alone he’ll be killed. Akutagawa shoves him and leaves anyway.

A group of armed men spot Akutagawa approaching and are ordered to kill him.

Beast Chapter 10 (Title: Scheme)

Akutagawa begins infiltrating the port mafia headquarters. He remembers his first meeting with Dazai, who called him ‘an unintelligent, dangerous animal’ and he thinks about his friends calling out to him for help. He demands to be told where Dazai is. Kyouka then makes an appearance. Akutagawa tells her to get out of the way and that even if she’s a little girl, he’ll kill her if needed. Kyouka says no matter what she’ll silence Akutagawa to protect ‘that person’ (Atsushi).

Dazai asks if Atsushi knows who the intruder is, he tells him about their encounter in the cafe. Atsushi requests permission to ask Dazai a question. He asks if it is true that Akutagawa is Gin’s older brother. Dazai says it is true. Atsushi then says “You wanted the Mafia headquarters to be attacked, didn’t you?”. Dazai says he did and then begins a monologue about how the smallest things can lead to large natural disasters, implying that this is all a part of a much larger picture.

Akutagawa and Kyouka continue fighting, Kyouka talks about a time when she tried to leave the port mafia, a person was sent after her to kill her and she says that person was much stronger than Akutagawa. Akutagawa remembers when Oda told him that “when it comes to physical combat, your body’s frailty comes to light” so Akutagawa decides to ‘turn this fight into a battle of abilities’. Akutagawa seems to think he’s about to win when Atsushi comes to kyouka’s rescue. Kyouka tells atsushi that she felt if she didn’t fight Akutagawa, he’d go up against Atsushi and one of them would die. Atsushi reassures her that he won’t die, that he’ll never let her be alone in the darkness. Akutagawa remarks that “there are kind hearted murderers

huddled together in this organization of darkness”. He says the thought could move him to tears, however he did research about Kyouka and Atsushi, calling them ‘the murderer of 35 people’ and ‘the white reaper of the port mafia’. He says that “ No matter how much you grasp onto each other with your bloodied hands, you will never be able to feel one another’s warmth”. Atsushi then responds by saying “That might be true. But even if that’s the case, then you and Gin san will never be able to feel one another’s warmth either”

Thank you for reading the summaries! Hope you like them <3 Sorry they’re so wordy and once again, thank you all so much for your patience.

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mytwitterisdogtoast1 · 3 years

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Kingdom Hearts 3 broke my heart.

I am a fan of Kingdom Hearts. i've been here through the first game and even though I grew up without the money to play every game I stuck with the series as best I could. In fact I've bought multiple copies of games on multiple systems and beat a couple of the games not just once but 3 or more times. Here is a list of the things I've done involving this series.

1: I bought KH1/2/COM on more than one system such as ps2,3, and 4. 2: I've played and beaten on the hardest difficulty on each main installment (except critical mode of 3) 3: I have 100% KH1 which might not seem like a big deal but it is the only game I have 100% ever. Got all the trophies and so on. 4: I stuck with the story and even recently before 3 came out played and beat most of the games. (except DDD since it wasn't my kind of deal since I don't like the flowmotion part of the combat.)

You could say I'm a fan of the games and have done what I can to in general keep up with the series as well as have enjoyed the series.

But then 3 came out and I was just not happy with it. After waiting for so long and playing the game and screaming and ranting about certain plot points that just don't make sense to me (KH is notoriously hard to keep up with plot wise and I am just not the brightest person in the world when it comes to shit. Like I really need some things explained outright for me and to some degree do not mind spoilers for some things) I swore off KH the entirety from now on cause it was just that bad of a game for me. It wasn't a horrible game but the direction they started taking it in was just so far removed from what the original 2 games in the numerical series were that this was just NOT Kingdom Hearts at all. Sure you can say it is a love letter to the biggest of fans but I can say that a letter to regular fans was something it needed to do more than cater to such a rabid fanbase compared to a regular fanbase. I thought this was unfair and then bought Memory of Melody. That is now the worst game in the series to me. So I dived into what people thought and looked at a ton of youtubers who played the game and saw what they thought. I looked at reviews of non youtubers and read what they thought and the game has made the fanbase more divided than anything I'd ever seen from a fanbase. So I replayed the game with the intent to write down all I felt on the game to give it a fair review. Like I said I'm a filthy casual and I can give stuff a large break when it comes to media and have a large understanding of what that thing is meant to be. Sometimes a product is meant to be a certain way and we have to enjoy it for what it is and I can try and do that. I mean I love the WWE and Yugioh and anyone who is a part of those fanbases knows in their hearts (kek hearts) how bad those things can be at times. So I played the game and wrote down all the thoughts I had on it and Some might be easy to explain while others are in general probably at least fair on how I feel about it.

Kingdom Hearts is a series not meant for the new comer. It knows what it wants to be and does that thing. It isn't here to make everyone happy and that is just absolutely fine in general. I've been a fan and it makes me happy that the game is one long story that I can appreciate and make call backs to in stuff. I remember being so rewarded when I looked at my then best friend who skipped over chain of memories (I had to emulate it but I think it was fair of me to do so since I bought the game 3 times since now that I have the money to do so) and said he knew what happened because he saw the cutscene of Sora reaching the top and Namine betraying him by putting him into a pod. I laughed at him cause he was a fool who knew nothing of how the story went cause he foolishly just thought he didn't NEED to play the game. This made me more invested into the series than he was. I stuck with the series reading up articles and even watching videos on the series for stuff I missed out on since again i couldn't afford everything. They were building a story over a decade long and at the end it just didn't do it for me. It's not that the story wasn't the end of the series in general. Heck gotta make dat' money Y'all but in general this was the end of a saga for Xehanort and it just didn't cut it. But maybe I'm not starting at the right spot to give my feelings on it. Maybe I'm coming fresh off a game play and feeling a rant building for multiple reasons. So let me start with the positives before I bury the list under a pile of problems for me.

So I'll be putting things in order of good, mixed, bad. They will be somewhat fair and if they have an answer you have my sincerest apologies but remember I'm slightly the "dumb" and would in general like to just get simple straight answers. Something simple and clean if you would. On that note

1: The starting song is a god damned banger - Face my fears is up there with sanctuary which is better than Simple and clean. To be fair though simple and clean was made in like a flight and pretty much is nonsensical to the game in general. However it is a good song. How could it not be with one of japans best pop artists? Have you heard sakura drops? Colors? Traveling? Apples and cinnamon? Fuck man this song is just really good. 2: The game looks great - Sure the game might not look like ps2 graphics anymore but this isn't a bad thing it just is a different thing. The only time I thought it looked bad was during the pirates area where they had to make real people. Sometimes it is better to have a different art theme and even if something is just ok at best during it it can still be over all great. Everyone looked good during it. It just in general looked like a new version of KH entirely. 3: You can power up keyblades - One of the best parts of the game is powering up keyblades. Now sure mickey saying "we should have powered up our keyblades" is a stupid line in general when they are magic items and not fully meant to break form normal stuff but i think the ability to latch onto a key and make that sucker your main key is a great idea. Finally I can power up keys like sweet memories or the kingdom key and go through the cutscenes with the keyblade never changing and it look like it's meant to be there. 4: The whole getting treasure for sinking ships - Even if in general people might not like the ship combat the idea of being a pirate and stealing treasure from a ship when you sink one of the large ones is one of the best thematical ideas in the game. You can just sail the ocean and just pirate ship for loot if you wanted to and since you get xp during it and get your ship to be better it just is a great idea in its entirety. 5: Rikus keyblade - That is one of the better keyblades. I'm not gonna lie but the final fantasy cloud based keyblades where they are more realistic have been one of my favorite designs and I am sad i can't throw it on sora. I like the idea of an actual blade instead of a blunt weapon in the game since it just feels cooler sometimes. Riku getting a keyblade that not only looks more like a sword but is also still a key for a more modern car is one of the cooler things they have ever put in. 6: The call back to union cross players - This was a little lover note to people who played the game. They grabbed a ton of names and threw them in as you threw hundreds of keyblades at the giant heartless storm mob thing. I think it is great and even if I didn't play one of the names that pops up is my actual name so I find that pretty cool whenever I see it.

And that is it. Those are the best parts of KH3 to me. Everything else is either a mixed bag or just not good. I'm sure you can tell which one has more in it. As for the stuff that is in the middle of both good and bad let me make it clear that some stuff that is bad will probably be talked about in the bad section because it needs its own commentary.

1: All the party members - I always was a little sad having to remove one of the characters in my party to add the one new person they wanted to add in and was always sad at that limitation but with 3 you can now have ALL THE MEMBERS. This is great because now I have access to all of my forms with donal...... Oh right, they're not in the game anymore. 2: Nice to one and done an area - Back in the day when I first played the original first game I never went back cause I beat the level and thought it was extra stuff. When I got older and playued through 2 I was a little impatient and just didn't want to keep going back. Now as I am older and wiser and more patient I just do the thing cause it's a part of the game and deal. Thankfully it is all in one trip which is good CAUSE I DON'T WANNA FUCKING PLAY THESE LEVELS EVER AGAIN. 3: I'm gonna say it and people are gonna question me (probably not I'm not a large content creator thus people probably don't care about my opinion so strange of you to be here reading this) but I fucking hate winnie the pooh. I don't like him as a person and I'm just not a fan of his entire world. I only like Eeyore and not cause "gosh that's how I feel" Eeyore is the fucking man. He never lets his bad mood get him down and he powers through even when life is shit. Good for him man. Love that guy. Such a trooper. I just don't like pooh but the levels. God Kingdom Hearts mini games are just mostly not fun in general so not having to play so many mini games in poohs level is fantastic. EXCEPT EVERY WORLD HAS A DAMNED MINI GAME IN IT. 4: Speaking of mini games the ship combat is fine. - It's just, fine. 5: I had so much money - I don't remember playing any other game having so much money. I remember caring and investing and even trying to get money to spend on stuff in some points and in here it just.... I never spent it until i got bored and started using food. I didn't use food until the last world and beyond cause I wanted to finish the game faster. I mean the change of pace having money is nice but there was nothing really to do with it. Maybe I should have bought Hayner, Pence and Olette a ton of pretzels with it. 6: Playing as any other keyblade wielder - Man this was one of those great moments that I was excited to do. Having played as many other characters during other games was always nice and refreshing and being able to do so here was great. It got me excited to play as Mickey again since I got to use him a few times in KH2 or to be able to use Ventus or Aqua again cause they were gonna be saved and be able to fight in the upcoming battle. That is you know. If they are used in the game more than one time each. 7: Giant heartless battle - One of the best moments in the game was the "goofy just died" moment. Not because The goof man "died" but because you got to solo fight a crowd of enemies and in this game it was so cool to have that call back. The shit icing on that beautiful cake was having to use the train to win. Like it just felt like I was making no progress and I can't on my own fight the enemies and no matter how hard you try you can never stop the enemies ever. 8: The what if scenario - The group dying was pretty cool and was a great what if but would have been better if they didn't come back to the past and have Ventus run up and think it was Terra again. It was cool for the lingering will to step in and help but even then the whole situation was so stupid that it could have been written better. What if instead of doing the whole scenario it was a mind fuckery to sora to put him down mentally like they had been trying to entire game. What if it showed him losing and that it was possible? Instead we got this long winded scenario where people didn't learn from their first mistake and tried to go run up to Terra when in that moment Aqua when Ven tried going should have grabbed his shoulder and said "you know it's not him so let's just get ready to fight"

Those are the mixed bag moments I was commenting on. Some things are fine and aren't really an issue except the are a part of a bigger problem in itself which makes them a mixed bag. The last part's I'll be writing about are pretty much a giant rant or asking questions to things. There are problematic points I'll be making as well. So now let's look at the bad stuff in KH3. However, before I get into it, I want to also write down the not as bad stuff as well as some of the really big stuff so I'll make sure to point out when it is a gripe that isn't the worst thing in the world compared to it actually being not good.

1: Nitpick/The social media is dumb - Look I'm not much of a social media person and I know todays kids and teens are all about that jazz and such but man this part of the game is pretty dumb. I am in no way too old to "get hip with it grandpa" and think social media is a bad thing. Times and things change but WHY IS THIS A THING? Sora and friends are out saving the world and probably do not know about current phones since they are so busy. They would be like really old people trying to catch up with todays world and just in general should not have time enough to do it. Sure giving a phone is fine which whatever they can just add in ways to contact which again makes the phone fine but social media is dumb. What platform are they on? Who is following them? What world is this being sent to in general? Does anyone really care?

2: Nitpick/Why 7 VS 13? - I think the number is just really off. Ok look the original organization 13 was fine. Having 14 members in it wasn't a big deal and sure fighting them seperately and not all in one game made me a little sad until final mix came out but at least i got to fight Marluxia in all his pretty boy glory. The point I make is they just seem to have stuck with the 13 which is fine I guess? It just seemed like it was more or less there for no real reason. Sure we would have to fight every single Xehanort around such as Ansem, Xemnas, Terranort, Xigbar who works with old man Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Old man Xehanort. If you also in general wanted him to have each good guy fight a bad guy we would need one for each single keyblade wielder to come out. So let's say Kairi and Axel were just gonna join in so we can have for whatever reason Xion and Roxas just pop out to fight people. We would have need for a total of 7 enemies to fight. Let's just use these guys here as people for people to fight. We can have terranort fight someone before he comes back as lingering will to fight and get his body back. We can have Kairi fight Xion until she defects in general and fights another person with her. We can have axel fight Xemnas so he can get revenge and then have him lose and Roxas can come out. So on and so forth until we have just enough for each person to be matched with another person. You wouldn't need to stretch and find whatever you can and just fill the numbers. You could have at that point just filled it with villains you knew you wanted on your team. Not just bring back generic dudes who don't even need to be here. I'll get more into that in a moment but the numbers just seem off and could have been anything not 7 v 13 but like I said. Nitpick.

3: The plot of Sora flying around this time is a little weak. - So Sora lost his powers and needs to get them back. So he fucks off for a bit until he can regain the powers. Wouldn't it be better if he also trained with Kairi and Axel? What about just going into the realm of darkness to help the others get Aqua? What if instead of just going back and forth to each Disney world like he normally did he in general just.....trained. See the point of the other games was "close the keyholes of the world so heartless stop getting in. Stop those nobodies from opening Kindom Hearts." Kind like saving the world is a great motivation to have compared to "fuck off until you are good or something". It's one of the biggest issues in general. Now if he was told something more substantial than "you need the power of waking" than it would have made the grind through much better. Add in a new plot element for him to need to travel to lands in general so he can earn the power of waking. Send him to places to get that shit instead of "get stronger". You think I can't just do that shit with story? Shit's boring man lemme do stuff.

4: You cannot turn off attractions - That is without playing critical mode. Man Attractions are in general one of the worst parts of the game. Sure I find it hilarious when I'm fighting an important boss (such as Xemnas) and I last hit him with a merry go round but in general they just suck. They aren't fun and they slow the games combat down with a cinematic. Sure they can be "avoided" and I "don't have to use them" but they exist in the game. They are the creators vision and he wants you to use them. If they didn't want it to be a huge part of the games combat system they wouldn't add it in and the fact that it shows up so often just kinda proves they want you to use the thing. Combat in here is very floaty if you haven't noticed and a more grounded approach is sometimes best. This is what the attractions do since they still try and attack you thus getting closer to the attraction in the first place. It's really a jarring object. Telling me not to use it while having the chance to actually accidentally press the button is frustrating. It's the smaller version of telling someone don't be mad when they are mad or try not to be depressed. It's hard to avoid and the answer isn't just "don't do it." Especially when the game puts in abilities to make them more prominent such as extending the time on them. Another point on this is that if the developer wanted them to be optional they wouldn't sometimes be mandatory or even show up during boss fights. Either this was an added on horse shit thing where Disney was like "add attractions or we're done" or Nomura just was like "i recently went to disney land and you gotta put this in it's dope". Joke aside it is one of the worst parts of the game since I can't turn them off and it is hard to get around them. Let me turn them off fully or let them be used as an ability where you can add them in if you want it. Customization should be more of a thing than a gimmick you keep getting. Also they show up so often and I believe in every enemy spawn group. Multiple times even if you miss it the first time. Having so much prominence placed onto this one mechanic just shows they went in hard on it and sure if it was just the rock titan or just the horde of heartless at the end or maybe even rare I wouldn't find it much of a problem but it is EVERY FREAKING COMBAT. I hit that button on accident more times than I wanted to that in general I was trying to use a spell but I missed it by seconds or something and the carnival ride started up and I just said "god dammit" and had to end it dealing a burst of damage since you can't just stop it, it has to go full swing. Also only in critical mode is kind of bullshit. Add it to every mode in the game and it'll be less of an issue.

5: Nitpick/Sora is an idiot - Look I don't mean the whole "he's so stupid now he just is always happy or has dumb dialogue" I mean the idiot tried to touch fire and instead of water magic which he now has and I spammed on the fire balls he walked up to a freaking inferno of flames and just tried to see if it was hot by touching it with his bare hands. Shit Sora you dumb fuck Goofy had a better idea than the mage and the main character and he's not always the brightest. Fuck you.

6: There is too much stuff in this game - Way too many mechanics and most of them are on forever. You have so much you can do such as the shotlock, Flowmotion, Carnival rides, Extra forms, Summoning the fat cat dream pokemon, so many mini games, just so much shit and I'm sure I forgot something. Now look I can let go of the whole "cat" thing because it is a summon and those are normal but in general it just feels like the entire game was overloaded with everything from every other game EXCEPT for cards and if we don't have cards for character upgrades or something it feels like a waste. (that's a joke) The point is that there is too much stuff and it's all filler and fluff and we can just have a nice game without 10,000 things to learn in the first section of the game.

7: Nitpick/ I think the selfies are just dumb - I've taken a total of maybe 5 selfies. All of which are to show a single person in that specific moment. Selfies don't really do much in the world we play in for KH3 and I just think it is in general a dumb game mechanic. However it is not required to do so it's not a big deal to have in. Just another nitpick.

8: Food and cooking - Look, this is not monster hunter. This is not another game where food is an important detail and sure I don't mind the addition of it if you really wanna put it in but it does make the game easier when used. In that direction fine making a game easier isn't a bad thing, however, constantly telling me now is a good time to find ingredients for little chef is annoying every time. I could figure it out if I really wanted it but in general since it is an optional mechanic to which I can just buy the parts for it and even the food at a kupo shop than what is the point in adding in the game play mechanics for it? The mini games are dumb and take too long to do for such a small mini game. Crack and egg get soup. Nothing else but crack an egg. So than the game is too short for a mechanic I'm supposed to do often? Why not add in a larger game so that I can help him create the object one time to see if he likes it and then when he adds it on I can order the object from him. Don't add it into the kupo store if I you want me to make it and don't make me make it be so tedious if you want me to make it. Also why is sora cooking at all? It's Remys passion not mine. He's even shown to run a packed restaurant all on his own at the end of the game in the credits scene.

9: More customization please - Here's a major issue I have with the game. There is less customization compared to other games. This is strange as in general it seems to be the same. The problem is this. I have to use flowmotion in the game. It is not an option because in certain levels it is a legitimate requirement to use for moving elsas castle. It is required in a couple other places as well but the point still stands. I need to have them equipped in order to make progress. The fact that in KH2 I could turn off big moves from team members but cannot now takes the agency away from me from making my fighting style more what I want to do. This means in order for me to really enjoy the game I have to really accept mechanics I was not a fan of in DDD. Maybe having an option for character customization such as turning off forms, and what special attacks you wanna do would be nice instead of giving everything under the sun. Do I want to be a fast mobile fighter? Than make that a character level abiliy choice instead of just making me have it from the start and also making it mandatory for levels. Allow me to remove the big moves with my team and stop making them always on since I never liked them. Sure I can ignore them but it comes down to the same thing as the attractions. Sometimes you cannot avoid hitting the wrong thing. This also goes into the whole magic sucking ass in this game. Every spell is offensive and thus it just feels like it is the same. Wanna do a little small thing with some damage? Wanna do massive damage comparatively? It just feels like they wanted to simplify the whole having a summon, having a spell, having 2 items on or something along those lines. This stops you from having more options on your character and just stream lines you in to a generic build. I didn't use ice once past the first time finding out its pretty much a fire ball. I used cure, fire, water, thunder. Thunder for crowds, fire for damage, water for crowds also because I just stopped caring and cura cause I heal all my damage cause DONALD NEVER HEALS YOU. WE'RE 4000 GAMES IN MAKE DONALD HEAL BETTER. This again comes back to the limits. Let me turn them off since I do not like them. If they worked as magic they would be better cause the magic sucks ass in the game. I mostly after a while stopped doing any real care in magic and just used healing. This also comes back to the original abilities in second form that you can unlock via smacking them with your keyblade. They would be nice since the magic in the game again sucks ass so having something to use magic bar that is not cure would be a nice touch.

10: For a guy who lost his powers I sure have a ton of abilities right away - Remember when in the beginning of each game you lost all your powers and had to slowly unlock everything and it would come to you not just willy nilly? Man those were the days. Could earn powers for reasons. I'm not helpless in the game if I can run up mountains or sky scrapers. If I can glide with the shotlock from one spot to another. I'm too strong if anything at the start and it just makes you feel like the game is padding time before the small amount of story at the end that matters. This could have literally been with the final chapter prologue and it would have worked fine. But no, we didn't get that. That leads into us just spending time until something happens. The story has its own issues (which I will touch up on near the end) and it has some really bad pacing issues. There is bad pacing, and then there is bad writing because of bad pacing. Why not put some shit in the middle. Show I'm getting better instead of just having me just do everything all at once. That's not really an issue if they space parts of it in or let me play as the other characters while sora is fucking off for power. Imagine if they added in more parts with Riku while Sora quests for strength. Imagine us going through the land of darkness instead of just Disney world after Disney world. Imagine what we could have had had it not just been all the Disney stuff then the finale all at once. It wasn't bad pacing for the end to pick up, it was bad pacing for there to be nothing in the middle. This is where the final fantasy characters could have been nice. Adding in the end of the Cloud and Sephiroth stuff so we can fight for more power there. Having us talk with Leon and the gang while they battle with some heartless just in the area and needing help. This would have made better pacing since it would have cut the monotony of the Disney grind. There are times when you just sit there waiting for stuff to happen as you run through world after world waiting for plot in general to just move forward. This does not mean it is bad pacing, this just means there is nothing important going on and leads to the story just falling short of being gripping and engaging. I again bring up the final fantasy characters because let's face it, if they did exist it would give something in general more time to flesh out. There is nothing to do but repeated disney movies that either play out like normal or that you play no real part in since it is after the story in the whole movie. Sure it was great to see what happened with boo and the monsters but Randall just is there and I'm sure he was gone at the end of the first movie. In fact after using my Disney plus account (#notsponsored) to just hit the end of the movie it shows him in a trailer getting beat with a shovel. He probably got back but still.

11: The combat is too "floaty" - I'm in the sky like fucking constantly man. Like all the time. Which is a bad thing since the fucking god damned level creation is now just a tall hallway. See I say tallway (patent pending) beause the level of the game is still pretty small but now it just also goes up a long way. I know this because there are so many flashing walls that there should be seizure warnings in the beginning of the game. It doesn't stop either since in general you have to climb high and doing so brings you ledges and if you have to hit people flying then you are gonna fall. Sure we can use magic but magic runs out and is complete ass. Now look this isn't just me saying it can happen since it does right in the hercules area. The first area where they could have been testing thing and probably did which means someone dealt with this shit and said it was fine enough to pass. That's just bad game mechanics right there. If you want me to be floaty in combat that do not put ledges I can fall down in your game. I do not want to climb all the way back to the top just to get into more fights I might fall down because of. Maybe make the parts I'm on bigger platforms. It just seems they want us to use the attractions because you can't fall off the safe attractions. Another thing is that it isn't just combat that is "floaty" but your movement is also a little too fast. Making larger areas and then making us speed up into a sprint is fine but having me stop right next to a save spot inches too short of touching it only for me to Vroom Vroom right over it because of how fast and far I move is god damned infuriating. It also continues combat wise as an issue in that once you get the ability to knock people up you start going into air combat and smacking them away and you can do that so much since in general the areas you fight in are so large that you can knock a single heartless out of the spawning area enough that you have to run back to fight it.

12: Proud mode is a fucking joke - I think I died a total of one time in proud mode which is probably more than others. See the difficulty has been said to be really easy on this games play through and I'm inclined to believe them. Here is the thing. I know critical mode now exists. I just don't like it. See critical mode was doable in 2 since it was just again harder stuff but in this it is no longer you playing KH3. It is you playing Dark Souls which if I wanted to play that kind of game I'd pop in my copy of bloodborne or turn on my copy of dakr souls 2 which in general I'm not a huge fan of so I stopped playing those games. Difficulty in a game is fine but there is going from hard to fuck why am I playing dark souls? No I'm not the kind of guy who says anything hard is dark souls because I grew up in the era of gaming where games had one difficulty and you had to learn to "get gud" or deal with never winning. Even if I was never good at games I didn't shy away from things being difficult. There is however an exception that the game changes so drastically that there is no happy medium between pants shittingly hard or baby mode. The other thing is that in general DLC should not dictate if a game is good on its own. DLC is meant to enhance the fucking experience and should not make me want to have to buy something (this was free) to get a god damned happy experience out of something that cost me top dollar to begin with. If I need your DLC to have fun or enjoy the story than you clearly missed the damned mark. DLC is extra boss battles. It is final mix of the game when it comes out. It turns your vanilla play through into more than what it once was. It adds aesthetics to the game not makes the game difficult and if it does it doesn't make the game different to such a degree that I'd rather fucking play a game that was created to be that difficult because their combat system is hand crafted for said difficulty. Secondly on that list of being too easy who the fuck thought kupo coins was a good idea. I literally just stopped giving a shit since I could use my now always full magic bar since magic is ass to heal when I needed it and to just run away with my big fucking area during battles and not take damage until I could go in and do slappies for a while before running away and gauging if I need to heal and then if I died come back to life. With all the power moves and free attractions each combat I could have beaten proud mode without gimping myself by trying to not use attractions. The forms didn't help with that either because I would just second form and have a brand new powerful thing to do since it was right there. Not only that but rage form is a full heal and why am I heartless sora again? Either way rage form into run away fast because I run like I'm form kenya with all the movement abilities and then with kupo coin and magic makes the difficulty in here easier than "just don't use it". Mostly because it is implemented in the game and they want you to use it. Telling someone not to use the thing is again stupid because if they didn't want me to use it they would remove the feature. This is no longer a kids game. I'm over 10 years older than I once was and I'm a big boy and want to not be treated like a child. Sure they could be putting it in for kids but why not just have it in easy mode since kids will either do easy mode or know they want that extra challenge.

13: Many of the fights and heartless are just not that good compared to earlier games - So firstly the giant horde of heartless was cool one time. Each time you fight it it gets more and more boring and feels like a cop out on trying to make a good battle and a "oh man this is such a cool idea lets use it alot more than we need to". For a game that was in development for 6 years you think they would have more varied enemies and fights and by that I mean more better heartless. Also some of the heartless are just kinda eh in general. Not only that but the places we visit feel like the heartless are kinda thrown in there and they just made way less enemies than normal. Maybe that is me forgetting if other games did the same thing but I can remember many places having more unique enemies that made more sense. Like why is the monkey heartless here? This is not the time to return to monke or some shit like that and it makes 0 sense when I have to fight it in more than one area. How about the lady heartless with the umbrella. Doesn't fit in every single place it shows up and just feels like it is there. Sometimes they do a nice job putting in certain heartless such as the reindeer which I thought was a nice touch but i don't remember them interacting at all with the reindeer from frozen. I also in general remember each heartless having a newer form such as the fat heartless eventually turned into fire breathers and then eventually into shield dudes. They do not make a reappearance but the fat ones show up all over the place and it would be nice to fight things that are great for the area. Some just also have eh designs and the game just feels poorly made because of it. Some bosses are just boring as well. In fact off the top of my head I can't really remember one I like but I sure as shit can remember the one I hated most which happens to be the airship section where you board a machine gun heartless to fight that sky bird thing in the pirates section. I even found the robots in general tedious because they were hard to beat without the use of the robot suits and felt like another tacked on gimmick to use to make combat more easy. Had they been a single section and not everywhere in the store it would have been cooler but instead we had many fights to do with robots who almost always wrecked my shit. In fact it ruined combat a little for me in general and made the section of toy story a little less good. See most of these issues I have with the places are the grand scale of things and having to go back and forth with them with having really unmemorable heartless for the most part and just not finding the game to be that great with some of the more important parts. Enemies help to flesh the game out to be cooler and as much as I love the generic heartless the worlds make the heartless cooler by making them change to be better suited for the world they are in. Having extra enemies like nobodies and unversed without having much of a reason to have them there other than "you remember this right?" seems like a waste of design chances. Some just either were frustrating tank sponges and the others were just not good. The other issue is some bosses appeared numerous times and just didn't feel impressive when fighting them since they just keep coming back. The giant heartless who I saw in hercules mode coming back on the bridge where you first meet Baymax makes the scene not great since it is a simple color swap at most and it is the same thing again. A lot of the bosses in general just feel ok at best too design wise. I can look back at many of the designs and just name really enjoyable ones who are better than the ones we got here. Honestly the designs are just so much of a let down I don't even wanna revisit the stages which is good because the game just isnt that much fun. One of the more unfun parts of enemies is also the shield stuff they have sometimes which is just more ways to give them extra health. Why not just in general just give them more health since it is just a way to beef them up? Not only are they now mostly damage sponges but the fact that some turn into shielded damage sponges just makes me less happy to fight things. The worst version of unfun boss happens to be the lich at the end when you need to rescue everyone from it. The thing is that it not only takes forever and makes you have to fight it numerous times but it also has the ability to make you unlock from it and in such large areas that becomes tedious to deal with lengthening the entire fight from the already long fight it is.

14: Quick speed round of things I don't like that are just not as good as earlier games - Magic sucks in this game. It's all relatively the same since it is all offensive. Aero was in general the same as thunder since it is aoe with a secondary effect. Water, Fire, Ice are all the same as they shoot a ball of the element that homing devices onto an enemy and when not in general locked on fucks off wherever. I miss the older spells and how they worked and felt more unique in 2 while also having more than just offense. Maybe introduce more spells to the next main entry based on the spells of every other game? I'm just not a fan of some of these worlds as they are all new. I haven't had a chance to catch most of the new movies (even thought I have disney plus which is great you should totally buy it #stillnotsponsored) I just don't like some of the places and the mini games in the don't help. Slight inconvenience but making me have to press x as I load new levels is kinda dumb. Maximus should be a party member. Give me him instead of eugene. Why do I need the flowmotion to progress? Hooray WATER LEVELS MY FAVORITE. Crabs. Watch me beat davy jones in a 4 on 1 battle.Darkubes are dumb. Jesus christ Jiminy shut up I'm trying to grind in the best place for the end game. Oh look it's an organization member maybe I can figh....nah they gone now. THERE ARE SO MANY CUTSCENES.

15: 2 final things before the story issues - Playing as other characters, keyblade forms. One of the biggest gripes I had in this was each time I used a new keyblade i wanted to fight with it and not transform into a new form because I do not like the new forms. They do nothing for me and since they kind of all are ok at best that it just kinda feels meh to me to use them. I pretty much used the kingdom key because second form was fine and stayed a keyblade. If anything I would rather have a new style of fighting like second form in general like the original forms are in KH2. I like valor and wisdom form and as cool of a call back as it was for the 2 first keyblades to be given to you I don't like the final ability to be used which makes me less inclined to find a weapon I do like. Which leads into my second final gripe. I was really excited to play as multiple keyblade wielders. Playing as mickey in 2 was super fucking cool and I miss that. Playing as Aqua and Riku in this made me hope for eventual fights at the end where it was each person fought someone else and you would get an ability to play through a final area for extra boss fights as any character for extra gameplay. I was excited to see what Axel and Kairi could do since in general they finally had moments to shine. You could make them fight and even if they did win just have them lose via cutscene and bring back Roxas and have Xion turn to your side. So many issues I have with that because it goes into another issue of.......

16: Everyone but Sora is fucking worthless - I have seen Dragonball GT and the main main main main main issue I have with that show is no one matters except Goku. See in other series characters could fight and kill or do something against the not main villain and be worth a damn but when GT happened everyone kinda just. Became worthless. No one could win a fight except Goku especially near the end when they had him fight 7 dragons. Sora does the same here when he has to be involved the final boss rush in the game. I'd have liked to see other characters stand out but even then he is the only one who can fight Xehanort when Mickey failed to do anything. It was all sora. Even waking Aqua was all sora. The only time someone did something was when Aqua fought Vanitas and still got her shit kicked in at the end during the cinematic and at that point he just didn't wanna fight 3 people. This is a shame because as I already said it would have been cooler to have those characters fight people and it matter. Let's break down the people who would be on our side Riku Kairi Axel Roxas Terra Ven Aqua Xion Sora Mickey Thats a total of 10 different people to play as. That would have made the final boss fights unique and super cool. You say that would have taken so much time and I say "Cool" but it would have been cooler to fight as these different characters. If they put in 2 extra just do them all. It is the most let down of let downs in gameplay mechanics. Who could they have fought in the game? Let's look at the villains Xigbar Marluxia Terranort Young Xehanort Xemnas Ansem Larxene Luxord Older Xehanort Evil Clone Riku Vanitas Saix Xion There are 12 total people to fight that are not the original Xehanort and each one could be fought with someone totally different. If Xion fights twice but wasn't really trying the first time she can be fine for the second battle. Let's give everyone a person to fight. Let's get the easy ones out of the way. Remember the ones who we fight first don't matter as much because each person not Older Xehanort do not matter even if they are him in other forms. Terra as the lingering will is gonna fight Terranort and get his body back. Riku can fight Ansem who tries to use his darkness and their past against him. Kairi can fight Xion who is noticed to not even be trying and then kairi can be captured to still do the ending they planned for. Xion who now defects can join and fight Larxene Axel can fight Xemnas and lose leaving him almost die while Roxas can jump out and fight him instead Ventus can finally defeat Vanitas Aqua can fight and defeat Xigbar who she has some history with Sora can fight and defeat Luxord so he can give him the card he was going to give. This fight can be more simple than the others and Sora can have to fight against the other Riku Mickey can fight Marluxia Before losing his fight with Xemnas Axel can fight and beat Saix We get to the final battle and while Sora who ran off to find Kairi he has to get through Younger Xehanort to get to the older one.

Look at that clean battle line up. Throw them in the correct order and you can have fights with so many people and even do the stuff needed for it to make the story go smoothly. Everyone gets to be unique and have their day in the sun. The final fight would be sora and gang fighting Xehanort and since the end game would be choose who fights who you can literally have over 120 different fights total if you leave out Donald and Goofy from the sora versions of fights. Heck allow us to fight the final boss final main form and we can in general have even more as we fight him with each character.

17: What is the difference between a heart and a soul? - This is a simple question because they keep saying we don't need the bodies cause we still have their hearts and I'm just having troubles figuring out if the story writers know the damn difference between a heart which is a physical thing or a concept of the soul which is the metaphysical thing. You know like what makes you you.

18: Why doesn't Axel have 2 keyblades? - Like I like that he holds it the way he does, it's very him very unique and all that but if Roxas can have 2 and he gets one from Xion who is no longer a part of him because she is right there than why can't Axel who is specifically a dual wielder of weapons get 2 of them? I mean give the main a sword that is like a Chinese Dao sword combo. It literally is a blade that turns into 2 blades. Like don't even tell me that shit is unable to happen cause Ventus fucking gets that strange keyblade because it is unique to his style so if that is how it works and they all have based on their personality he should have two. Especially since it would be a great call back to my favorite Axel line in the entire series. "Two!?"

19: Clone Riku should not be a boss - Remember when we beat the shit out of Riku as Sora and then Riku clone and then Riku beat Riku clones ass? He's not a challenge. "He was given more darkness powers" Nice, cool cop out there. Fuck you.

20: Why kill everyone just to set up a story line when you could just do it better - So this one is a little subjective. Need sora to meet Chirithy or whatever its name is and maybe set up remind dlc or whatever but in the end you could have just broke his spirit from his body and put him in the other world by making Xehanort who tried taking him over show him everyone dying and it causing Sora to blank out and travel there as a spirit or some shit. It could have worked just as fine allowing the rest of everyone else to go fight the enemies at the end giving sora time to eventually wake up and join in while Donald and Goofy protect him. Then when he wakes up Luxord who could have said "I'll handle the boy when he wakes up could have just did what he wanted to do with the card then. It's just a dumb moment and we could have instead of dumb gameplay where we have to put ourselves back together and have to save everyone and re watch a stupid ass cutscene just watched a cutscene and went back while everyone handled what they needed to.

So before I get into the final 4 parts to get into I hope that you know I was trying to be really fair with a bunch of these and not just looking for things to gripe about. When I didn't understand things I made myself look up to make sure I understood and didn't just bitch about it for the sake of bitching. These last 4 things are kind of in general I beleive super fair.

1: The battles stop as you talk with each person - Nothing kills a fight sequence like starting it, defeating a single enemy in it, talking with a full blown conversation to them, then as they die restart with another fight scene to do it with every single person in the fight. WHY WOULD MARLUXIA AND LARXENE ALLOW LUXORD TO GIVE HIM A CARD? Why would they stop fighting? Why would Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort watch as one of the others fell and talked? Why would any sane fucking person do that? It makes 0 sense and ruins that boss rush.

2: I know you need to set up another game but fuck you - You literally made the happiest of endings where everything is the best for everyone ever and I MEAN EVERYONE except for Sora and Kairi. Fucking fuck you man. I'm not even mad that that was the ending but when everyone comes up fucking peaches and cream I tend to question the product even if they need to set up story. They can do it better, do what you did at the end of 2 and send a message in a bottle and say "there are still other worlds out there that need us, just not in this universe" or some shit like that. Shit if in general they can have emotions in games than have sora have to jump into the game. You already said my microwave can feel love so than if he can be in that rex universe than he can just go in after he has a nice break with all of his friends.

3: No - Xehanort was not a good guy the entire time. He literally murdered people and stole a childs body and ripped the emotions out of another child and made them not whole. He got a child so angry he murdered his new sorta dad. He pretty much was the whole reason anything bad happened and he was "misguided and wanted to good but did bad to do so". Then in the end he's forgiven and everything is fucking fine? Then he turns into a good guy and goes into the big heart in the sky. This is the kind of writing that literally kills off stories for at least me. Not everyone needs a second chance and sometimes people are just evil. We need stories that have people die at the end sometimes. I know it is fantasy and it can be all rainbows and butterflies but dear god Steven Universe was literally "no you" and that was the end of the entire fucking series. This is the same thing. It might not be "no you" but fuck this ending. This was a story that was supposed to end a 17 year long story and the end of this single part literally spits in the face of people who played it by saying "hey guys, he wasn't bad, he is sorry now". That is complete and utter horse shit. I don't mind that this is not the end of the series. I don't care because if I stuck around this long I would do the same if the story had a satisfying ending. Fuck man in the new game he's even evil then unless that is just how Kairi remembers him but let's face it. The gang would have told her what happened and this is just horse shit in general. This is a fucking stupid story and I literally am fine with alternate realities since time travel and other dumb stuff has been the main name of the game the entire fucking time but let's face it. This is one of the worst ideas for an ending for a villain. The buold up is fucking massive and the payout is just sad.

4: NO - Fucking xigbar. I don't even know how to put this into words how much of a let down it is for Xigbar, Fucking XIGBAR to be the next main enemy. (or at least it looks that way). Fucking we could have had Luxord. We could have had Marluxia. We could have had Demyx. We could have had fucking I don't know Vexen. We could have had fucking anyone but we get Xigbar. You could have slapped any other character onto his scenes and gotten the same amount of out of nowhere shit to explain him being next but it is fucking xigbar. Fucking unreal.

So yeah. That's my massive wrap up on KH3 and I personally do not know where I stand from here. Maybe if the next game doesn't play like shit in 400 years when Nomura gets off his ass and lets us have kingdom hearts 3.76 tie in to 4 which is oddly enough a main title and not a second part of 3 I'll see how it plays. Until then I think I'm gonna sit hereand never touch 3 again and never finish Melody of Memory.

#kingdom hearts #3 #kingdomhearts3 #kh3 #kingdom #hearts #Kindom Hearts 3

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mistbornthefinal · 3 years

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Madoka Magica Aniversary Analysis: Part 5

My City Now!

We open at the hospital just before Sayaka made her contract. After confirming that she agrees to his terms Kyubey reached into Sayaka’s chest with his weird ear tentacles and pulls out her soul. The process is clearly painful and his words are not particularly comforting.

“Now... just accept it. This is your destiny.”

Cue connect.

At school Hitomi is telling Madoka and Sayaka that the whole suicide cult incident is being written off as some kind of mass sleepwalking incident. She doesn’t appear to have any recollection of what happened or that Madoka and Sayaka were involved. Hitomi doesn’t seem all that perturbed by what happened.

After school Madoka and Sayaka the newly minted Faustian bargain at the riverbank. Like at the end of last episode Sayaka seems almost relived to have made or choice to become a magical girl. Madoka ask if she is scared. Sayaka says yes but downplays it.

It’s clear she’s riding high from her success taking down the Witch last episode and saving Madoka and Hitomi, literally patting herself on the back at one point. If she has regrets it’s not making the contract sooner and potentially saving Mami, a regret Madoka clearly shares. Sayaka tell Madoka not to beat herself up about it, it’s only after making the contract she considers it retroactively inevitable. Sayaka has a wish to fight for now, something she feels is worth risking her life, well see how long that confidence lasts.

We cut back to the hospital at sunset. It seems Sayaka’s wish was limited to Kyousuke’s hand thus the hospital is still keeping him for rehabilitation, they also baffled by the whole miraculous recovery. Kyouske apologizes for lashing out at Sayaka earlier so it appears that the boy isn’t completely blind to other peoples emotional landscapes. Sayaka seems like she’d rather brush that episode under the rug rather than let it interfere with the current happy moment.

Sayaka brings Kyousuke up to the roof in a wheelchair, where Kyousuke’s parents and several doctors and nurses are waiting. His father returns to him the violin that he couldn’t bare to throw away, and Kyouske begins to play silhouetted against the setting sun. In the face of the culmination of her wish Sayaka vows never to regret her decision.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been!” (She is so doomed now)

It turns out that unfriendly eyes are watching that scene on the rooftop. Sakura Kyouko is scoping out the competition and eating, can’t forget that charming character quirk which in no way indicates repressed trauma. Kyouko seems pretty confidant in her ability to kill Sayaka and asks if Kyubey would object if she did. Kyubey says no but points out there’s another meguca in the city.

Kyouko asks who it is and what’s her deal, prompting Kyubey to admit he has no clue. Logically Akemi Homura must have made a contract with him but Kyubey admits no memory of actually making one. She’s an irregularity.

That doesn’t seem to dent Kyouko’s confidence.

Elsewhere Madoka and Homura have sat down at the cafe. Madoka is clearly trying to convince Homura to help Sayaka saying that while the girl is bullheaded she is kind, courageous, and willing to go to any length to help people. Homura fires back that all the qualities that Madoka has listed even the positive ones are fatal for a Puella Magi.

“Excessive kindness leads to weakness. Reckless courage leads to carelessness. There’s no reward for dedication of any kind. You can’t be a magical girl if you don’t understand that. That’s why Tomoe Mami lost her life.”

Needless to say that’s not the answer Madoka wanted to hear. (Also Homura punctuating that last part by ripping the lid off your coffee was over the line, don’t trigger the cupcake) Madoka outright ask Homura to not to fight and to cooperate with Sayaka, to protect her if she can. Homura says she don’t like to make promises she can’t keep. She tell Madoka to give up on her friend Sayaka has made a mistake that can no more be undone than the dead can be returned to life.

“Once you become a magical girl there no hope for salvation.”

Madoka asks and Homura confirms that she includes herself in that. Accepting the contract means throwing everything else way in exchange for one hope. (The way Homura talks about the state of a Puella Magi, in terms of sin and salvation I can belive she went to a Catholic school)

Homura leaves with an apology.

At Sayaka’s house the newly minted Puella Magi is trying to psych herself up for the second night on the job. Waiting for her at the entrance to her apartment building is Madoka, she offers to accompany just like old times. Madoka says it’s just for moral support and Sayaka seems to welcome that, but Kyubey points out the real reason over telepathy. If Sayaka gets in too deep Madoka’s contract is always a possibility.

It’s clear at this point that Madoka wants to become meguca, but is unable to logically justify that decision to herself. Which is why she keeps throwing herself into these situation hoping eventually a situation will come up where she has no choice. Ironically this would mean making a contract in the kind scenario that Mami explicitly didn’t want for her.

The two track a Familiar to narrow alleyway. It turns out crayon themed and Sayaka attempts to give it the unlimited blade works only to be foiled by Kyouko’s spear.

The Familiar beats a hasty retreat it’s barrier vanishing with it. Kyouko bars Sayaka from pursuing it with her spear. What Sayaka ought to do according to Kyouka is let that Familiar kill a few people and become a Witch, then when she kills it it’ll actually drop loot. It’s the food chain, essentially.

Given what we later learn about Kyouko it’s sort of unclear how much of this she believes verse how much she’s just saying stuff in order to pick a fight. She’s pushes her way into Sayaka’s space (and specifically sections off Madoka from the fight an early indication she’s not as heartless as she presents). She keeps trying to wind Sayaka up dismissing her heroic ideals as a delusion until the other girl actually takes a swing at her.

Kyouko blocks her strike and as the lock weapons it’s clear she vastly out muscles Sayaka as she is able to push her back with one hand. She finishes the taiyaki she was chowing down on and then seems to end the fight with viciously strike from her extendo-chain spear.

Sayaka isn’t done she stands up again blue magic knitting her wounds back together. This takes Kyouko off guard she expected the blow she struck to keep the other Puella Magi out of action for a while. Kyubey explains that a girls magic is tied to their wish, Sayaka wished to heal someone and as a result her magic is particularly adept at healing.

The Sayaka is adamant that she is unwill to lose not against Kyouko the sort of person she considers responsable for Mami’s death. This seems to touch a nerve Kyouko goes on the attack again but this time Sayaka gives a much better account of herself. Neither is willing to back down their blood is up and it’s clear that if this allowed to continue someone is going to end up dead (or worse). Madoka pleads for Kyubey to intervene but bunnycat claims it’s out of his hands. If Madoka want this to stop though... there is a way.

Kyouko moves in for the kill and Madoka seems on the verge of contracting. Again though that won’t be necessary. Homura reveals herself and moves Sayaka out of the path of Kyouko’s spear.

And that cliffhanger is where EP 5 leaves us. (cue Magia) This is Kyouko’s big debut and as much as she’s usually presented as Sayaka’s foil it’s hard on this viewing not to see her as a foil to Mami as well. The big conflict in EP 4 was essentially who is going to replace the fallen Puella Magi and while the framing of that episode imply Sayaka in this one Kyouko makes the case for herself. She does refer to herself a senpai, though she seems like the delinquent type of senpai who’s lessons you probably shouldn’t listen to here.

This is also an episode where we get a much clearer look at how Homura sees things. She presents another philosophy about what it means to be a magical girl for Madoka to consider alongside Mami’s ideals which Sayaka claims loyalty to as well as Kyouko’s brutal pragmatism.

#semi-original content #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica anniversary analysis

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sariasprincy-writes · 4 years

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Hollow Point 35

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Chapter Thirty-Five Happiness is a bullet in the back

A cigarette hung between Kisame’s lips. It burned his lungs on every inhale, the acidic taste tainting his tongue and filling his nose. He pinched the end between his teeth as he meandered down the street, his hands in his pockets. On the corner, he paused at the red crosswalk sign and glanced both ways before hurrying through the intersection.

This time of morning, there were few cars out and even fewer people. Those that had stayed out partying all night had already slipped off to bed and rush hour was still an hour off, leaving the streets bare. A hush had fallen over the normally busy city. A ghost town. At least before the walking dead of the working class crawled out from their holes.

Slipping his cigarette from his mouth, Kisame exhaled just as his phone pinged in his pocket. With his other hand, he retrieved the device. The message that waited for him made him hiss out a curse.

The shipment was early. And Pein was calling for all members within the States to be dockside to help with distribution. This wasn’t how Kisame was hoping things would go.

Shoving his cell back into his pocket, Kisame continued towards his townhouse at a hurried pace. He paused on his bottom step and rapidly took a few more drags off his smoke before he stomped it out.

Inside his living space, Kisame flipped on his lights as he made his way down the hall and towards the combined kitchen and living room. On the far side was his den, and he made a beeline towards it when a voice suddenly spoke.

“You know, smoking is bad for you. Might kill you some day.”

Kisame nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to find none other than Sakura lounging in the loveseat near the front window. From the height off the city street he wouldn’t have seen her, but she certainly would have seen him come home.

He looked her up once, half-annoyed that she looked so comfortable there like she owned the place. In her dark jeans and leather jacket she looked more like an assassin than an international arms dealer.

He resisted his glare. “Why do I get the feeling it won’t be the cigarettes that do me in, little viper.”

Sakura’s didn’t reply, but he thought he saw her smirk briefly. His eyes briefly flickered over the room.

“Where’s Itachi?” he asked.

“Not here.”

It seemed his assumption wasn’t off the mark. “I see. You come to kill me then?”

Sakura ran her hand through her ponytail before she settled her arm against the armrest. “I’m undecided, but I’m pleased you’re not against the option should it come to that.”

Kisame’s eyes narrowed at the small, fleeting smirk upon Sakura’s face. Perhaps she was being sarcastic, but he wouldn’t put it past her to shoot him anyway.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

He could tell she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “Why do you think? The shipment is here earlier than you said, Kisame. I wonder why that is.”

His brow arched in surprise. “How do you know about it?”

“I have eyes on every single port in this state and the next. I know about it,” she said, her tone cool.

Kisame’s mouth pressed into a thin line. It suddenly made sense why she was so threatening tonight. “I know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t betray you,” he told her, slipping his hands out of his pockets in a show of good faith. His hands were empty. He wasn’t looking for a fight.

Sakura returned the gesture with a flat look.

“The information I provided you was the same info given to me,” Kisame continued. “I had no intention of giving you false information. I wasn’t trying to screw you over. The shipment arrived early. I only found out a few minutes ago myself.”

“Convenient,” Sakura said patronizingly. Then her voice hardened. “But I don’t believe you. You Mossad Operatives are all the same.”

“That’s a pretty close-minded opinion,” Kisame said, a hint of disdain in his tone. He crossed his arms then, making him appear twice as broad and certainly more threatening, but Sakura merely sat and watched him like she was watching a particularly uninteresting movie.

“Is it?” she replied. “I don’t know your full history with Itachi, but there is very little you or he can say to make me believe you weren’t using your working relationship with him to take me down.”

From across the room, Sakura saw the muscles in Kisame’s jaw tighten. Without a doubt, she knew she had him cornered, but it gave her no satisfaction.

“I know Mossad. And I know you want me,” she continued darkly.

A brief but strained silence passed before the muscles in Kisame’s arms released their tension. “Be that as it may, I told you before that Akatsuki is our primary target.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your only one.”

Her expression was like moonlight reflecting off ice. Beautiful. But deadly. As if she could watch on without feeling if he were to shiver and slowly freeze to death on a cold tundra before she slipped away over the horizon.

Then her expression cleared and she shrugged faintly. “But I’m not here to discuss your grievances against me.”

Confusion flickered across Kisame’s expression, only to deepen as he understood her meaning. “You think I betrayed Itachi? Why would I do that?”

“That’s the very question I want answered.”

“I’ve been working with Itachi for over five years,” he said, his voice hard with offense.

“And I’ve seen assassins stalk their prey for decades before making a move,” Sakura countered. Then she reached into her jacket and withdrew her weapon before she aimed the barrel directly at him. “So, convince me.”

Kisame’s eyes lingered on her weapon as the weight of the situation settled around them. The air grew thick, making it hard to breathe as if each breath might be his last. Then, in a flash of movement, he made to withdraw his own gun, but Kakashi was faster. He slipped out of the dark den behind Kisame like Death himself, the blunt end of his weapon pressing into the back of Kisame’s skull, stilling his movements.

Kisame’s gaze flickered to Kakashi before finding Sakura again. An odd mix of anger and frustration crossed his face.

“You really are a heartless bitch,” he spat.

She was unfazed by his harsh words. “I just want the truth, Kisame.”

“I’ve told you the truth,” he retorted, his tone giving away his exasperation. “I have told you everything Pein has told me. I didn’t know Madara was involved and I certainly didn’t know Akatsuki was regrouping at the old port in Newark. Pein has always been like this. He gives us basic information and when he’s ready to move, he summons us. I know you’ve done enough transports by now to know that ships don’t always arrive the day they’re scheduled due to weather. If I was going to kill you, I would have done it long before now.”

His last statement sounded more malicious than defensive, but Sakura supposed she couldn’t really blame him. If he truly hadn’t wanted to kill her before now, he very likely wanted to now. She was balancing his life in her hands now. Just one trigger-pull from ending him. Permanently.

He was a Mossad Operative. And a close, personal informant of Itachi’s. If she was wrong and he was telling the truth, his murder could have dangerous consequences for her. She needed to consider this carefully.

That’s when Sakura’s phone rang.

It interrupted the tense silence sharply, the standard ringtone echoing throughout the room. She didn’t reach for it, instead letting it go to voicemail in her jacket pocket before she began to ponder where this situation would go next.

Then her phone immediately rang again.

A muscle in Kisame’s jaw twitched. “You going to answer that?” he asked dryly, only well aware of the gun still pressed to the back of his head.

Over his shoulder, Kakashi shot her a look of confusion that bordered on concern. Sakura kept her face a complete mask as she withdrew her phone, her weapon never wavering from Kisame. Shikamaru’s name was on the caller ID. He hardly ever called her. And never back-to-back unless it was an emergency, but she didn’t let her curiosity show.

Sakura swiped her finger across the screen. “Go,” she answered.

“Izuna is heading towards Newark. He didn’t take the bait,” Shikamaru told her in one breath.

She made sure to keep her expression neutral as she replied, “You’re sure?”

“I just pinged his phone location. He’s just left his penthouse. He’s headed south.”

Sakura’s brows furrowed minutely. Why would he do that? He knew she would be in Brooklyn, so why would he go to Newark?

A memory of the night Madara cornered her popped into her head then. The night he had approached her in that Five-Star restaurant with pictures of her with Itachi in Egypt.

“You appear rather close, do you not?” Madara had murmured. His voice so factual, so darkly promising.

It was all suddenly so clear. Sakura had consistently antagonized Izuna, pushed his anger and threatened everything he had worked for. And now Izuna wanted revenge. For what she had done to Madara. What she had done to him.

Izuna wanted Itachi. Dead.

“Intercept him,” Sakura suddenly demanded.

“I can’t. Both Tenten and Tobirama are tied up with the other Akatsuki members, and Izuna’s already ahead of me,” Shikamaru said.

But Izuna wasn’t ahead of her. Kisame’s apartment was only a few miles from Newark. If Izuna was coming from his apartment in Midtown, she might have just enough time to get to Itachi first. But she would have to leave now.

Her gun was still drawn but her gaze was distant as Sakura hung up her phone and slipped it back into her jacket. Her mind was racing but she was forced out of her thoughts when Kisame suddenly spoke.

“So, are you going to kill me, or are you going to save him?”

She didn’t know how he had read her thoughts so easily, but she said nothing. Merely sent Kakashi a single look as she stood and re-holstered her weapon in one fluid movement. She didn’t see Kakashi’s strike, but she heard the heavy thump as Kisame’s body crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Only once they were in the car and on the highway did Sakura explain what was going on. Kakashi listened silently, only letting out a single, long exhale once she had finished.

“This isn’t what we had planned,” he told her.

With her gaze still forward, she nodded. “I know.”

“The CIA is already in position to raid the shipping yard. You’ll have to sneak past not only Akatsuki and Izuna, but the CIA as well. It’s going to be difficult.”

“I know,” she repeated. After a moment, she added more quietly. “But I have to. I made Itachi go.”

Kakashi glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, but she wasn’t looking at him. There was an odd expression on her face, one he had never seen before. One of worry and regret.

He said nothing else, casting them into silence as he took the exit. Only once they were a block away did Kakashi pull into a dark alley beside an abandoned house. He killed the engine and stepped out before making his way to the trunk.

“I thought something like this might happen,” Kakashi told her. “Which is why I got these.”

Confused, Sakura stepped forward as Kakashi popped the back open. Inside were Kevlar vests like the ones police and federal agents used. They were already packed with guns and extra rounds, and on the back in big capital letters was the abbreviation: C.I.A. It was a perfect disguise. They would blend right in.

“Where did you get these?” Sakura asked. She grabbed the smaller one and held it against herself, finding it was her size.

The other fit Kakashi. He stripped his jacket and guns off until he was down to his undershirt before he pulled the vest on and adjusted the straps until it was snug around his form.

“Don’t ask,” he told her.

Then he took her vest and helped her slip into it, adjusting it until it protected her center. He grabbed a hat out of the trunk and passed it to her to conceal her hair before he gave her a onceover to ensure she looked like every other agent that would be out there.

Satisfied, Kakashi nodded. “Now let’s go find your boy toy.”

Sakura glared in response. “He’s not my boy toy-.”

“Whatever.”

Three streets down, the Akatsuki warehouse was full of activity. At the port, a large cargo ship was being offloaded by a towering crane. There was no sign of any special agents yet, but men with guns were running around, barking orders at one another as they unloaded wooden crates from the metal carriers. Definitely illegal arms and drugs.

From a dark corner on the other side of a chain link fence, Sakura and Kakashi watched in silence. They crouched there for a few minutes, taking everything in. Trying to identify where the CIA would infiltrate from.

“Do you see Itachi or anyone?” Sakura murmured.

Without removing his binoculars, Kakashi hummed a negative. “No, and I don’t see Izuna either.”

She didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing, but she remained silent as she continued to watch the activity in front of them. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before Kakashi spoke again.

“Over there,” he said. “The CIA is getting ready to move in. We can slip in now while they’re distracted with getting into position.”

After securing his binoculars in his vest, Kakashi pulled up the bottom of the fence where age and corrosion had weakened it at the base, leaving enough room for Sakura to crawl under. She held it up to let Kakashi through behind her before they raced across the dark corners of the shipping yard to slip into rank with the quietly moving CIA agents.

The group they joined paused behind a large shipping container on the outskirts before they broke up into teams and continued to surround the working Akatsuki criminals. Sakura followed behind Kakashi, her eyes searching for Itachi and Izuna. The very moment she spotted Izuna she was going to kill him, consequences be damned.

However, that thought went out her head when Kakashi nudged her. “There,” he nodded.

Across the shipping yard, near the warehouse was Itachi. He was decked out in black tactical gear same as everyone else, but Kakashi was right. She would recognize the shape of his shoulders and curve of his jawline anywhere.

“We need to get to him,” Sakura murmured back.

Kakashi gave a single nod. “Stay close and stay low,” he told her.

Like a single shadow, she and Kakashi separated from the other CIA agents. They slipped behind the teams moving into position, not drawing their attention or the criminals working only a few meters beyond.

Sakura did her best to keep track of Itachi. He was with a group of agents, but as she closed the distance, he got the rest of his team in position until he was the closest one taking cover behind the edge of the shipping container near the warehouse.

Kakashi and Sakura took cover behind the next container over and with Kakashi at her back, Sakura slipped as close as she could to the edge before she whispered sharply to get his attention. “Psst, Itachi.”

With his gaze trained down the sights of his rifle, it took another attempt or two before he finally lifted his attention in her direction. His response was immediate. His eyes widened and his mouth went slack before his expression sharpened.

‘What are you doing here?’ he mouthed, his anger visible.

Sakura shot him a silent look that said they needed to talk. Now.

His expression could only be described as annoyed incredulity.

When Sakura remained firm, Itachi let out an aggravated sigh before he turned to the agent beside him and murmured orders she couldn’t hear. Then he checked the coast was clear before he crossed the short aisle separating their containers to join her.

Shouldering his weapon, Itachi grasped her upper arm tightly. Almost to the point of pain. He searched her face briefly before he glanced over at Kakashi. When he turned back to her, she opened her mouth but he quickly silenced her.

“Not here,” he murmured.

Itachi seemed to search their surroundings a moment before his gaze landed on the warehouse behind them. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her the few yards into the open loading dock.

As soon as they were around the corner, he knelt down, pulling her into a darkened corner with him.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped, his hands tightening around her upper arms. "If the CIA-"

"Izuna is looking for you," she interrupted.

Itachi's irritation gave way to confusion. "What? Why?"

"Because Madara isn't here,” she said quickly. “Izuna knows I chased him from the country. He's coming after you to get back at me. We have to leave before he finds you. He wants you dead.”

"Get back at you?" he repeated. "How does he know...wait, what do you mean you chased Madara out of the country?"

Sakura's lips parted but no words came out. Because how did she tell Itachi she had knowingly deceived him? Ever since their first official introduction, he had only ever been straight with her, and now she had just told him she had betrayed his trust. The thing she held most dear.

Sakura saw the moment realization dawned on his face, like she had just slapped him. Her chest tightened uncomfortably as his expression gave way to a mix of anger and dejection, but she never found the words to explain. For their strained silence was interrupted by footsteps up on the upper rafters above where they were crouched.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Sakura's head snapped up just as one of Akatsuki’s men drew a weapon from inside his jacket. In the same second, she shoved Itachi behind a wooden crate, taking cover after him as bullets peppered the concrete floor where they had been crouched only a moment earlier.

Sakura didn't know if the noise had caused a stir or if the CIA had finally given the order to move, but shouts erupted outside at the same moment before gunfire filled the air both in the shipping yard and the warehouse.

Together, she and Itachi returned fire. She wasn’t sure who delivered the killing blow, but it didn’t matter for three more men took his place. In the metal warehouse, the rain of gunshots was deafening. Adrenaline rushed through Sakura’s veins, but it was her training that kept her sharp. She fired round after round, fully aware how thin the wooden box they were taking cover behind was against a rifle. For the most part, it protected them against the handguns these attackers were using, but anything bigger, she and Itachi would be in serious trouble.

Forcing herself to inhale, Sakura tightened the grouping of her bullets, striking and killing one man before hitting another. Itachi took out the third, causing the barrage of noise to cut off abruptly inside the warehouse.

Still, Sakura didn’t relax her stance as her eyes quickly scanned the rest of the floor for more men. Only once she was sure they weren’t any more incoming for the time being did she minutely relax her grip and glance at Itachi.

“We need to leave,” she told him.

“And go where?” he countered. Even in the wake of their brief firefight, she could hear the anger in his voice. The bitterness. The heartbreak. “Even if Madara is not here, the CIA is already in the middle of a raid. I cannot just leave my team.”

“But Izuna-.”

“No, Sakura,” Itachi snapped.

The harshness of that single retort made her still. In that moment, she would have given anything to make him look at her like he had only a few hours ago back when they had been in his apartment. Back when his fingers had traced over the keys of the piano, his hands attempting to play her song. Anything was better than the grief and hurt and betrayal that filled his gaze now. She swallowed thickly, trying to push down the emotion that swelled painfully in her chest.

“Itachi…” she tried. But he merely turned away from her as he stood, ready to rejoin the agents outside. “Itachi, please-”

She never finished the rest of her sentence as gunfire filled the warehouse once more. She didn’t know which direction the bullet had come from. All she knew was in one instant, Itachi was standing before her and the next, he was on the ground, unmoving.

Fear like nothing Sakura had ever felt before flooded her. It seized her, stopping her heart in her chest and making the rest of the world fall far, far away until all that existed was Itachi in what appeared to be a slowly gathering pool of blood.

“No,” she murmured. Then louder, “No! Itachi.”

Sakura made to reach for him where he lay only a few feet away, but stopped abruptly when bullets struck the concrete inches in front of her. She dove back behind her cover, glancing across the room towards a second entrance where the shots had come from.

“I warned you the last time we spoke that it would not be our last meeting,” a voice said after the echoing gunfire had faded.

Immediately Sakura stilled, recognizing none other than Izuna. She sat frozen, not daring to move a muscle, with her back pressed against the wooden crate, her rifle held to her chest and her breath bated as she listened to his footsteps echo across the room.

“What, nothing to say? Where’s all that talk you used to have? Or was it just that? Just talk.” Then his footsteps stopped. “I told you you had a pretty mouth, but I guess that’s all you are. Maybe if your little play thing had known that, he wouldn’t be here now.”

Automatically, Sakura’s gaze returned to Itachi. He remained motionless, his blood creeping into the cracks of the concrete around his middle. The bullet must have struck just under his vest. Which meant he likely wasn’t dead. But he would be soon if he didn’t get immediate medical attention.

Anger like no other replaced the fear gripping her heart. “You fucker, I’m going to kill you!”

Izuna’s quiet chuckle reached her ears. “Only one of us will die tonight-”

Pinpointing his voice, Sakura peeked out from around her cover and unloaded her entire magazine in Izuna’s direction. She fired until her weapon was empty before she discarded it and dove for Itachi. She grabbed his vest by the shoulders and tried to drag him to another crate nearby.

She made it two feet before more shots filled the air. Something hard struck her in the shoulder, like a hard punch, knocking her off her feet and onto her back. It kicked the breath from her lungs, leaving her staring dazed at the ceiling and gasping for air like a fish out of water.

It took a moment for the pain to catch up. Then it was everywhere. Icy hot fire erupted in her shoulder and she pressed a hand to it only for her fingers to come away red. She had been shot. Her vision doubled but she forced herself to blink into focus as a shadow appeared above her.

Izuna looked down at her. Even against her darkening sight, she saw the sinister smirk curling in the corners of his mouth. “I am going to enjoy this.”

Then he raised his gun and pointed the barrel directly at her head before a single gunshot filled the air.

Sakura snapped her eyes closed.

A second passed. Then another and another before she realized she was still alive.

Confused, Sakura picked her head up only to find Izuna laying a few feet away, blood bubbling out of his throat. She didn’t understand what had happened until a new set of footsteps reached her ears. Clearing her swimming vision again, she turned her head just as Kakashi lowered his rifle and hurried into the warehouse. He marched straight up to Izuna and pulled his Glock from his hip before he unloaded two rounds directly into Izuna’s head.

Relieved, Sakura let her head fall back to the dusty floor. Then Kakashi was by her side. He pressed his hand into the wound in her shoulder, causing her to hiss out a pained noise between clenched teeth.

“Fuck,” he cursed. “You’re losing too much blood. You need a hospital.”

Without waiting for a response, Kakashi hoisted her to her feet. The movement gave her another glimpse of Itachi and automatically she reached for him.

“Itachi,” she gasped between pained breaths.

To her incredible dismay, Kakashi dragged her away. “We have to go,” he told her. “There’s nothing you can do for him now.”

Sakura fought against him. “No! Itachi! We can’t just leave him.”

Kakashi didn’t reply. Instead, he stopped just long enough to hoist her weakening body into his arms before he exited the warehouse the direction they had come, shouting to someone outside about an injured agent.

Her last sight was of Itachi’s bleeding body before her world faded and went black.

tbc…

#itasaku #itachi #sakura #hollow point #chapter 35 #crime au #arms dealer au #only a few chapters left #thanks to those of you who continue to review #like seriously youre awesome #I love you so much #tw: violence #tw: blood #tw: character death #late post #ill reblog tomorrow morning

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