#his word.’ he falls but before he can hit the ground naruto supports him

[embraceyourdestiny]

Imagine sasuke spitting on the konoha name and saying he had nothing there nothing anyone did was enough and he was completely utterly alone and he freezes in fear as naruto shouts on the top of his lungs “WHAT ABOUT ME?!”

#og #it’s a lot it’s a lot I’m feeling A Lot Right Now #i need naruto to fucking cry and be angry with sasuke for ‘forgetting him’ even though he NEVER did but how is naruto to know? #for him to tell sasuke just how he felt being abandoned and left behind and betrayed because ‘did you once ever think about how /I/ FELT?!’ #‘I spend all this time chasing you and you don’t think about me at all. what’s the point! maybe I should give up on you like everyone says #but I can’t. and I don’t want to. i care about you so much but for what? to get nothing in return. you never cared about me. i was never #your friend. i was just someplace to put your hate and disdain and I’m tired.’ #sasuke horrified because ‘no he’s so wrong /no/‘ but why fucking say anything? why correct naruto? this is what he wanted right? to cut ties #to be truly alone. but it hurts so fucking bad. he never anticipated tears rolling down his cheeks feeling like knives digging down through #his chest. he can’t breathe. he has to be bleeding internally because there’s no way he didn’t sustain any wounds with such sharp words. #his chest hurts so much. a sharp pain he can’t claw out. he falls to his knees clutching his chest and naruto stops his crying to say his #name in a worried voice. sasuke tsks and feels a different kind of wetness on his cheeks. ‘even as he says all that he can’t stay true to #his word.’ he falls but before he can hit the ground naruto supports him #HOD THEYRE SO MUCH #FICK

[beneathstarryskies]

Hello! May I request a oneshot (modern au or everybody lives au pls) where Obito falls in love with reader? With the whole falling out of love w/ rin angst as well pls (I like Obito so much and I am hella jealous of Rin >:( )

Word Count: 1,517

Warnings: Angst, fluff, fem!reader

A/N: I had a lot of fun with this, and I was so tempted to make it smutty but alas I practiced self control.

The village is bathed in orange light as the sun sets over Konoha. Obito sits alone on the rooftop, his eyes trained on the stone-carved face of his former sensei. His memories of being on Team Minato play in his head.

The journey to redemption had been long and difficult. Obito expected to die helping Naruto save the world, coming to fully accept his fate. Things didn’t happen that way, instead, he found himself having to face living. It was a scenario he’d not planned for at all. Kakashi had pulled every string possible to be able to give Obito a second chance.

“It’s what Rin would’ve wanted,” Kakashi had told him.

Rin.

Obito sighs as he tries to focus on his breathing in an attempt to clear his thoughts. His attention is pulled away from the air filling his lungs when he hears your feet hitting the rooftop. He turns to you slowly, his chest blossoms with warmth when his eyes fall on your shy smile.

You’ve been gone for a couple of weeks now on a mission, and Obito felt a tugging in his chest the entire time you were gone. It’d taken him a while to realize it was because he missed you. Truthfully, it was that realization which brought him here. Trying to come to terms with what it all means. Of everyone in Konoha, you were the first to truly accept his presence. You reached out to make friends with him despite his initial insistence on keeping you at arm’s length. Little by little he felt himself warming up to you, eventually coming to crave your presence when you’re away on missions or too busy with your other duties to hang around much.

“I thought I might find you here,” you say quietly. “What’s on your mind Obito?”

“Nothing really,” he shrugs. “Just trying to clear my mind a bit.”

“Hm, me too,” you hum.

Obito smiles weakly, “How did your mission go?”

You shrug, “Boring.”

You lay your head on his shoulder and let out a small sigh. A thought was bursting forth in your brain. The words linger on your tongue, but the way Obito tenses at the closeness you’ve presented causes them to stay trapped there. You bring your head back up to study the stern eyes of the past Hokage staring back at you.

“I missed you,” Obito says finally.

“You stole the words right out of my mouth,” you smile.

Obito feels his cheeks grow warm. He turns his face away from you to hide the pink dusting across his cheeks. Obito is certain by now you’ve noticed how flustered gets around you but is grateful that you don’t feel the need to point it out. There are so many things he’s grateful for where you’re concerned he lost count long ago.

You lean back on your hands, your hair falling behind your shoulders.

“Hey, maybe since I’m gonna be home for a while we should find something fun to do,” you suggest with a bright smile.

His heart pounds in his chest, “Oh yeah?”

“I could use a trip to the hot springs,” you suggest. “Or maybe we could find a carnival or something.”

“You choose,” Obito smiles.

I’d follow you anywhere, he thinks to himself as he looks at your sweet face. He wants to say it but keeps the sentiment to himself.

~

“I don’t deserve to love again,” Obito says in a hoarse whisper as he stares at Rin’s headstone.

His fingers trace over her name as light as a feather. Tears sting his eyes as he feels so consumed with guilt. He’d been willing to burn the world down for a chance to be with Rin again, but now he finds those feelings fading each day as you make a home in his heart.

Rin is always watching, he keeps telling himself. How would she feel to know he’s fallen in love with someone else? Is she watching it happen while being so helpless to stop it?

He turns these questions over in his mind until he gets the feeling he’s being watched. His hand pulls away from her gravestone to look around the grounds, finally spotting Kakashi leaning against the gate.

“I heard you were visiting the hot springs,” Kakashi says as he begins to walk toward Obito.

“We’re supposed to leave tomorrow.”

“Good,” Kakashi nods. “That’ll be good for you.”

Obito furrows his eyebrows at his friend, “Why?”

“Because you and y/n are close,” Kakashi shrugs. “Maybe this will give you a chance to bond.”

Obito’s chest feels heavy at Kakashi’s words. Was it so obvious? He shoves his hands in his pockets, pulling his eyes away from Kakashi back to Rin’s memorial.

“I think Rin would be very happy for you,” Kakashi’s voice has fallen to a soft whisper.

“Maybe,” Obito sighs.

“She would be,” Kakashi persists. “All Rin ever wanted was for you to be happy, Obito. If this makes you happy, then she would be fully supportive.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

“Love is not about deserving it.”

“What do you know about love?” Obito spits back, not even understanding why Kakashi’s words bothered him so much.

Kakashi just shrugs, as unbothered as ever. Obito groans because he knows Kakashi is right.

~

“I hope you don’t mind that I booked us just one room,” you say as Obito sets his things down. “It’s all they had on such short notice. Plus side though, we have a private onsen!”

Obito smiles, “It’s fine. We can take turns.”

You giggle, “We don’t have to do that. I trust you not to be a pervert.”

Obito’s cheeks turn bright pink. His heart pounds in his chest. Truthfully he doesn’t know if you should trust him so much. He’d never do anything to hurt you, but he’s not sure if he could stop himself from at least looking at you. Even in your usual loose-fitting clothes, he finds you absolutely gorgeous. Seeing your soft skin would be very difficult to resist.

But also, he’s scared of you seeing him. He’s still a bit insecure about the scars on his face. Your eyes never linger on the scars too much, in fact on more than one occasion you’re pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as though they weren’t even there. He’s worried this may change once you see the way they’re stretched over half his body.

You unpack your things in the room despite wanting to just strip off and jump into the hot water. Obito isn’t as neat as you. His clothes get shoved into the drawer, but he lingers awkwardly in the room once he realizes there’s no other way to get around the main purpose of this trip.

“I’m gonna get in now,” you say quickly. Obito realizes you’ve also been trying to get around it.

“Maybe you should get in first,” he suggests. “So I can’t see anything?”

“Hm, or we can just undress at the same time? That way we just won’t worry about it anymore.”

Obito swallows hard, “Are you sure?”

You laugh despite the blush on your cheeks, “We might as well. I don’t want us to spend the whole trip trying to avoid nudity. We’re at a hot spring after all.”

“I just,” Obito looks down at the floor. “You know these scars aren’t just on my face and neck.”

Your lips tighten into a frown as you step forward. Obito’s eyes slowly trail to your sad face. He’s not sure what he expected, but to feel your arms wrap around him was not it. Your lips brush against his cheek before you look up at him.

“Obito, you fool,” you say as you stare into his eyes. “I don’t care about that at all.”

Tears prick his eyes, and a knot begins forming in his throat. He opens his mouth as it becomes harder to breathe. Your eyes are so filled with adoration it’s overwhelming.

“You don’t?”

“Of course not. I was gonna wait until dinner but I guess I should just say it now,” you take a shaky breath. “Obito, I think you’re gorgeous.”

He bites back the sobs threatening to escape him, “Really?”

You lay your head on his chest to hide your flushed face, “Of course. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I-”

“I love you!” Obito blurts out as his arms tighten around you.

You look up at him with tears filling your eyes, “Obito, I love you too. I was so worried you wouldn’t feel the same way I just-”

He steals your words with a clumsy kiss. His heart feels like it’s going to burst when you eagerly kiss him back. Your hands move to tangle in his hair, and you raise on your tiptoes to deepen the kiss. Obito breathes you in, wanting your affection to wash over him and erase all his insecurity. By the time you pull away, both of you struggle to catch your breaths.

As your hands trace over his cheeks with a small smile, Obito can’t believe his luck.

#obito uchiha #obito x reader #obito x you #obito x y/n

[lailnii]

when you first meet ft naruto characters

warning; none

word count; 589

🎶

shikamaru

↦ the morning sky was mostly cloudy, deep steel blue-greys that mirrored the hues of the village. everything was muted shade, like a mate photograph in a dimly lit room. at the edge of the clouds, however, there was a brilliant white patch like a turning page catching the sun. the horizon was dove grey with a subtle hint of purple, just enough to announce the coming sunset. you could see see it all from the spot on the grassy hill, it was your favorite pastime to lay there and watch the sky change with the time

↦ the only problem with this was that you usually fell asleep before you could ever watch the entire day pass by. on this particular day your tiredness had gotten the best of you. it felt liked every muscle was giving into gravity, and slowly you started drifting off to sleep. this momentary bliss didn’t last long though. all of the sudden you felt something hit you hard and you instantly rolled over to clutch your side with a gasp. it was like someone had kicked you in the ribs.

↦ your eyes fluttered open but no on was there. your brow furrowed in confusion, that is until you heard a groan and shifted your graze to the ground. there was a boy about your age, laying face first in the grass. the only viable feature was his dark hair, the ends spiked into the air like the very blades of grass surrounding him.

↦ “what a drag — i thought this place was empty.” he sighed, eyes closing as he turned over and thwacked his head back to the ground.

↦ “yeah, well it’s not.” you grumble in annoyance, still feeling the sting in your side “maybe watch where you’re going next time.”

↦ “i wasn’t exactly planning on falling into the mud today, woman/man.” the boy mumbled in irritation, still refusing to reopen his eyes or to move from the spot he had trippped into.

↦ “yeah, whatever, you’re forgiven — now can you please leave?” you huffed, leaning up on your elbows and glaring down at his relaxed form.

↦ “— that sounds like more effort then it’s worth.”

↦ “for you maybe, but not for me.” you hissed

↦ “then why don’t you leave them?”

↦ “that’s not what i — i was here first!” you stammered back, rage boiling in your veins “oi! don’t ignore me!”

↦ the boy remained silent, arms stretching up to support his head like a pillow. he didn’t look like he was even acknowledging you anymore. if it weren’t for the sigh that whistled through his mouth, you would have thought he was sleeping.

↦ “come on, dude! you can’t just kick someone in the ribs and then take their spot.” only complete quietness answered you, and it filled you with so much anger that you jumped up from the ground with more energy than you had anticipated. “you’re seriously the worst.”

↦ of course, you could have just stayed there with him, but the last thing you wanted was to sit there with a complete stranger. no less one that had left you with a admirably sized bruise without so much as an apology.

↦ what you didn’t know though was that as you stormed off down the hill, the boys head rolled to the side and one of his eyes opened slightly. “how troublesome —“

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

previous; sai

next; kiba inuzuka

#shikamaru nara #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru #shikamaru nara x reader #shikamaru imagine #shikamaru headcanons #shikamaru scenarios #kiba #kiba inuzuka #naruto shippuden

[mavda]

Beast Tamers

Ch.1 |  Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) |

Ch.5: Becoming a family (2)

    Naruto drags his underwear off him with a swift movement off his hand and then kneels in front of Hinata. She startles as Naruto's hands come to her arms and Naruto kisses her before burying his face on her chest. He inhales deeply before trailing sloppy kisses up her neck, his mouth pressing, eager. Hinata sighs with pleasure as she feels him coming up, and she can't help but catch herself staring at his back muscles. Naruto is breathing heavy and he locks eyes with her before reaching for her robe's belt.

    "Are you nervous?" He asks. And Hinata nods before he looks down.

    Her belt gets undone and Naruto raises his hand and cups her cheek. His hands tremble slightly. "So am I."

    There is a relief that fills Hinata she didn't know she needed. Her arms stop grabbing at her own clothes and she reaches for Naruto's arms. She feels her eyes watering and Naruto catches the change immediately.

    "We can take our time, all right?" He wipes the tears that threaten to fall with his thumb. "Don't be scared..."

    Hinata shakes her head no and reaches for Naruto's neck to bring him to her, "No," she whispers, "It's just... I'm glad."

    Naruto is still worried she might be forcing herself but her kiss is full of desire and he leans into her to deepen their touch. As they separate, Naruto slides his hands under the robes on her shoulders and lets the garment fall. Her hair covers part of her chest and that makes her somehow more alluring, her robe falls fluttering to the ground and surrounds her as if framing her against her surroundings and Naruto can't help but stare until Hinata's blush covers her neck and she locks eyes with him. He moves slowly, careful, and places his hand on her thigh, gives it a squeeze. His hand feels charged, every touch is filled with energy that travels through his whole body. His breathing comes out in sharp breaths that make his chest rise and fall rapidly.

    Hinata covers Naruto's hand with her own, and seeing him so entranced makes her move towards him, with her knees still on the floor, with the help of her hand to support her, she gets closer. Close enough to feel his breath on her, close enough to dip her head and kiss him. Her hand rests on his arm and his chest. She worries whether her sweaty palms will be noticed, but Naruto's hand travels up her thigh towards her stomach and she soon forgets about anything that's inside her head.

    Naruto caresses her stomach,  barely touches her chest and moves his hand back to her thigh, covering  almost all of it, and slowly but surely, as they kiss each other and lose themselves in their feelings, he moves it slightly towards the center of Hinata's legs. She startles and jolts in place. There is warmth everywhere Naruto touches and as they lock eyes, she rises. Still on her knees, trembling with anticipation. Naruto's breath is now on her chest and he steals a soft bite at the side of them. His tongue is velvet against her skin and his hand is fire traveling up and up. Slowly, careful, with each finger tracing a way upwards.

    Once his fingers touch her, when there are just beneath her center, they still. Hinata has no time to think about how to feel in this situation, because Naruto is finding his way around and when her knees give slightly, weak in her body, the hand on her waist supports her. He looks up at her with a face Hinata has never seen him do before, and he catches her mouth with his.

    She can't breathe.

    She does her best to gulp air in between kisses and Naruto finds more and more with his hand, and when the tip of his finger finds her entrance, wet and inviting, Hinata hides her face to his neck and Naruto stops. His palm touches her clitoris and presses with every movement. And Hinata can't breathe, she comes closer to him, pushes her chest to his, circles his neck with her arms, and nods, moans a yes, and kisses his neck. Naruto's finger goes up and Hinata breaths in sharply, feels her legs clenching  but does her best to keep them apart. She trembles, trembles so much Naruto stops midway and peppers kisses on her neck and shoulder, moves his hand up and down her torso. He keeps on moving his finger upwards and then, as his knuckles touch her hair, he finds his finger can't go up any longer.

    He checks in on Hinata, looks at her face, or what he can of her chin and asks, "You ok?" He tries to kiss her mouth but only reaches her cheek with poor results. His hand moves up and down her waist, with a lazy speed, trying his best to relax her. Hinata rubs her head on his body, stops with her mouth on his neck and sucks, "Yes." Naruto bites down the smirk on his face as he feels her kissing the space between his neck and shoulder next. His finger retreat and then burrow inside her and Hinata can't help the shaky breath she inhales. Her whole body tightens and she stifles a moan against Naruto's body, his movement is rhythmic and soon enough he feels himself standing tall. As Hinata's moans fill his ears,  as her fluids start  to drip down his finger and into his hand, as the room begins to get filled with wet sounds echoing around, he feels himself eager to be touched, too.

    "I'm gonna- Tell me if it hurts." Naruto enters another finger into Hinata and she stands upright, surprised at this new feeling, Naruto follows her and stares at her face, trying to gauge her emotions, but she drops to him and crashes her mouth to his, grabs his head with her hands and starts to move her hips to his rhythm. Naruto grabs her head, "Touch me," and guides her hand down his chest.

    Hinata rests her head on his shoulder, grabs his arm for support and grabs his penis with the length of her hand. "Up and down, love, up and-"

    Her movements try to find a rhythm, but Naruto can feel herself clenching against his fingers and her moaning getting more and more hitched. He can't blame her, he can feel his precum dripping down the head of his erection just because of the sounds in the room alone.

    When Hinata comes, Naruto doesn't stop moving his fingers and her moans come and go as she grabs onto him however she can. She gives a hard squeeze to his member that leaves Naruto moving his hips upwards following her hand, but she steadies herself on his shoulders and falls to him. Naruto hugs her back with his free arm and slowly moves his other hand away from her. His hand is sticky and he looks at it from over her shoulder. It's thick, viscous and clear, and Naruto can't help but feel the need to smell it and taste it and-

    Hinata rises while peppering kisses on Naruto's body along the way, her own attention on her hand, as some of Naruto's precum is left on it. Naruto's movement catches her attention an Hinata stops his hand, horrified, "No!"

    Naruto looks like a puppy being denied a treat, "what?"

   Hinata stares at him and then looks at her own hand. It's not like she can't understand his curiosity.

   Naruto moves his arm slowly, giving Hinata the chance to stop him again if she so wanted, but she only stares. "Just a taste," Naruto shares and Hinata frowns at his words, worried. Naruto licks one of his fingers, enough to get a taste and gulps down. He ponders a second and cocks his head in appreciation, "I could get used to it."

    Hinata sighs in defeat and does the same with her own hand. A swift movement meant to happen before she can think too much about it and before Naruto can say anything at all. She sticks out her tongue immediately, "bitter." She looks at Naruto expecting for him to change what he said before, but he just looks at her with slight amusement.

    "You wouldn't try it again?"

    Hinata looks away. In fact, the more she thinks about it, the more she thinks about them... she is eager to try and know so many things. She lets herself fall down, and ends up sitting on top of Naruto's leg. She does the barest of movements to move away, as the realization is starting to sink in her and her embarrassment is finding ways to surface, but Naruto grabs her hips and keeps herself where she is. He sinks down to her and kisses her again, dragging his teeth along her lips. Hinata had caught a glimpse of him sitting there, upright, hard, glistening in precum, and the wet feeling beneath herself against Naruto's leg is enough to make her feel a warm tingling in her belly again.

    Naruto caresses her buttocks and Hinata arches herself towards him, without his beckoning she puts her hand over his penis and there is only one thing going around in her mind now. She feels Naruto's body tightening and she rocks her hips against him, "I want-" she breathes, "I want it."

    Naruto places his own hand over hers and steadies the rhythm over his erection, "You sure? We can," his breath hitches, "we can get you off once more if you wa-"

    Hinata shuts him up with a kiss. She wants to come again, yes, she wants for Naruto to touch her again, yes, she wants everything but now, now she wants to have him inside her with a desperation she can't explain. "No," Naruto moans against her and Hinata is becoming more and more brazen in her actions, "now," she says and Naruto doesn't wait for another word from her, he grabs her and moves her with little effort. He makes sure to let her down slowly and to accomodate her against the bedclothes beneath her.

    "You okay?" He has trouble speaking, his member stands hard and erect and as he lets it rest against Hinata his words come out in between hard breaths he can barely control. He's trembling all over and his hands twitch with every movement he makes. Hinata lets her hands travel up his hands, and Naruto grabs one immediately. "You okay?" he repeats. Hinata caresses his other arm, where his hand grabs her thigh, where his fingers dig against her body.

    "Yes."

    Naruto moves his penis up and down her groin, letting his precum cover his own member as well as letting Hinata's pubic hair glisten under the light, his testicles hitting her entrance with every movement. "If it hurts..." Naruto looks at Hinata, entranced just as him with their bodies, "you have to tell me, ok?" She nods, with her head turned slightly and looking at his stomach. She looks up to him, locks eyes, and nods again.

    And Naruto moves his free hand to grab his erection and guide it inside her. His precum meets Hinata's own warm fluids and Naruto frowns as his penis gets coated in layers of the viscous fluid. Hinata squeezes his hand and Naruto lets his head sit at her entrance, he positions himself, moves his knees to stand easier against her, and moves his hand towards Hinata's thigh, Hinata finds his arm again immediately.

    Naruto squeezes her hand, and pushes slightly. Hinata opens her mouth and rolls her head back, her entrance gives way, warm, wet, and inviting, so amazingly inviting. Naruto can feel the sweat running down his spine, can feel his fingers digging deeper into her skin and can feel her hand biting into his own. He feels everything and yet he can only feel Hinata's muscles contracting against him. Hinata breaths in deeply and adjust herself, making Naruto groan at the friction. Slowly, careful, checking on her every so often, at last Naruto can't go any further and he relishes on the sight before him.

    Hinata's leg rest on his waist, her body lays open to him on their bed and her eyes lock in on his torso, where his muscles move and spasm on their own. Naruto moves his hips once and he knows he won't last long, Hinata pulls on their intertwined hands and Naruto looks at her, she beckons him to her, with her hair disheveled, with her body glistening in sweat and with her breasts inviting and Naruto falls towards her immediately. She hugs him, brings him closer to her and as she accomodates to their new position Naruto groans into her ear.

    He starts moving again and the gasps at his ear undo him. Hinata looks for his face and the moment she has his attention she lets her hand rest at his neck and lets her nails dig down, the sharp feeling makes Naruto's hip stutter. Hinata finds his mouth and they join them together, but their kisses are barely kisses and Naruto lets his mouth lay open against her cheek and mouth, in a never-ending moan that Hinata seems to share. Naruto moves his arms right beside her to steady himself and their hands lay atop their heads, stubbornly clasped, Hinata moves her hand to his back and drags her hand agains his muscles.

    Naruto's testes hit Hinata's groin and soon he feels them dripping wet, he raises himself on his legs, in an attempt to follow the pleasure that's filling his very being and he feels himself trying to fill Hinata more, to try to reach a position where his body finds release.

    Hinata scratches at his back, arches her body, digs her nails at his hand and rolls her head backwards. Before Naruto can even register what's happening he feels his penis being pressed on, his mouth latches onto Hinata's neck and he bites. His feet dig into the bedclothes, trying to find some type of anchor from which to keep on reaching his height, and as Hinata circles his waist and moves her hips, moaning from her high, Naruto's hips press hard onto her and he feels himself spilling inside of her body.

    His hips move slower now, but with each thrust he releases himself. The pleasure fades but he feels warm and content, Hinata's hand find his face and they kiss, with him still inside her. Neither say anything and Naruto kisses their intertwined hands as he comes up. Hinata lays spent beneath him and Naruto doesn't want to pull out.

    As he begins to move his hips, Hinata's legs clench and her hands come up to her stomach. His penis is covered in fluids and the breeze greets him immediately outside. There is an audible pop when he leaves Hinata and he can see her muscles clench from this position.

    It's... arousing.

    The sweat on his skin makes him shiver and he moves quickly to grab his robe and dry Hinata out. Her body no longer a mystery, their distance now nonexistent, he kisses her as he dries her stomach and breast and Hinata sighs between his arms.

    They say nothing to each other, but they nuzzle, hug, kiss and stay at touching distance at all times. When they go to sleep and Naruto wonders whether they'll use the two sets of futon that were laid in the room, Hinata comes to him and cuddles. As his arm rest in her waist, and his hand caresses her back. As her mouth peppers kisses on his chest before resting on her pillow. As her breathing gets less and less labored and he is sure she is sleeping.

    Naruto feels his tears falling.

    His father had told him he would be able to come to love the woman he married. If not at first, somewhere down the line, it would take some time, maybe, but after some years, surely...

    Maybe this was really some higher being's way of making it up to him for the life he has had to endure.

    Naruto can't help the hope that fills him right now. Hope for what? He isn't's sure, but hope, for something better...

    For something to look forward to...

    Haha. He loves her.      

#naruto #naruhina #fanfiction #Beast Tamers #ch.5 #part 2 #welcome to format hell!! #I thought I had finally found a format that could withstand anything #look what they did to my baby #may go back to the other format style may keep this one #who knows #THEY DID THE DO #do you know how hard is to talk about reproductive organs without sounding crude or repetitive?? #I'll tell you #it's hard lol

[excitedlysuffering]

Not sure how I feel about some of these. Probably cuz it’s 2 am. I should sleep... (disclaimer: I don’t own any characters from Naruto even if they own me!)

He Asks You Out

Naruto~

Three months had gone by and you and Naruto had quickly become best friends. He introduced and integrated you into his friend group and showed you around Konoha, and you kept him company and helped eat food other than ramen.

You spent a lot of your time at the blondes house, either just hanging out or making sure he didn’t starve or drink spoiled milk. Now was one of those times.

“Naruto, you had ramen for breakfast already! I’m not making any more!” He groaned, following you into the kitchen. “Then I’ll make it! It’ll only take five minutes!” You exhaled slowly. “Naru, you can’t live on ramen, it’s not healthy. I’m going to make you a balanced meal. You’ll love it okay?” He sighed. “Fineeee.”

You smiled. “Great! Would you make the tea real quick?” He gave you a mini salute already back to his chipper self. “So, what should do we do once dinner is ready?” Naruto asked you. A smirk appeared on your face. “Well, there’s this thing called face masks. They’re super relaxing and I just happen to have two on me!”

He gave you a sideways look. “What do they do?” You clapped gleefully. “It’s like a paste that you apply on your face, it feels really good. It also helps your skin!” He laughed. “Sasuke will be so jealous when my skin is better than his, believe it!” You laughed, agreeing.

Dinner was Yaki Udon, a simple meal with stir-fried noodles and beef, but it was one of your favorite things to make and you’d added a few things to it. “(Y/N), this is amazing! Almost as good as ramen, believe it!” Although it sounded like a backhanded compliment, you knew just how strongly Naruto felt about ramen. This was high praise.

“I’m glad you like it, Naruto! Now hurry so we can do face masks!” He pursed his lips, finishing his bowl. “What color are they?” You giggled at his skepticism. “They’re both pink.”

Naruto pouted the whole time. From the time you’d brought out the jar, to the first time it touched his face. “Oh, c’mon! Pink is a manly color, Naru!” He scowled. “I’ve never seen Sasuke wear it.” He muttered. I dawned a smug expression. “That just proves you’re manlier than him!” The blonde was silent, much to your confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Naruto flushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “I was just thinking… how you always support me and take care of me. You keep me company even when I’m being an idiot… I really like you, (Y/N). C-can I take you out? Like on a date?”

Your hand fell away from his face. You had begun to catch feelings for your best friend, but you didn’t think he’d return them. You were practically on cloud nine!

“Naruto… that’d be amazing!” His expression was pure joy, no doubt reflecting yours. “But on one condition… you let me finish your mask!” “(Y/NN)!”

Sasuke~

You dodged a roundhouse kick to your temple by the skin of your teeth, grunting as you blocked a fist. You returned his attacks with a rapid flurry of punches, all being blocked, but that wasn’t your goal. You sent a spin kick towards him, but he caught your leg, tossing you away from him. You landed on your feet in a defensive position, panting slightly.

“Hn. You’re a bit slow today, are you okay, (Y/N)?” You scowled at Sasuke as he stood up from his stance. “I am not! I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

He gave you a look and put his kunai in his pocket. “You should’ve just said that. I wouldn’t have asked to spar.” Your face screamed indignation. “I’m fine! A little tiredness never killed anybody!” He gave you a questioning glance as he sat down on the grass. “Actually, I’m sure it has. Especially in battle.” You groaned, crossing your arms. “Smart alec.”

He smirked, tossing you a water bottle. “You want to spar that bad?” You shrugged. “Usually I’d go for more talented opponents but I guess you’ll do for now.” He chuckled. “So that’s why you could hardly keep up with me?” You threw the water bottle at him, scowling when he caught it. “Just fight me, Uchiha.”

You and Sasuke had meeting up for weeks now to train together and sometimes just hang out. Playful banter was a constant between you two but at the end of the day, you guys knew it was all in jest. You had caught your thoughts drifting back to your conversations with him to know that you were beginning to fall for him, but you kept it under wraps, there was no way you were going to turn into Sakura and Ino.

But you didn’t have time to dwell on your blossoming feelings, Sasuke was already charging you, kunai in hand. You pulled out your twin katanas and parried his every attack. It was almost like a dance between you two; both of you light on your feet and dodging every attempt while counterattacking. It went on for a while before those four fateful words left Sasuke’s mouth.

“Go out with me.” You didn’t know what to think. Was he serious? Did he even mean a date?! “We’re in the middle of a fight and that’s what you’re thinking of?” I saw his lips curve upwards as he blocked my swords. “Tch. I’m serious, (Y/N). You’re different from other girls… I like you.” Sasuke blushed, but you were sure your face was showing shades of red no one had ever witnessed before. “If we don’t accidentally kill ourselves because we’re distracted, I’d love to.”

“Would that mean it’s a bad time to tell me you kinda stabbed me in the side?”

Neji~

“Where are we going exactly, (Y/N)?” You smiled at Neji as you pulled him along behind you. “I went to this great little cafe and their tea is to die for! I had to take you!” He snorted, clearly amused. “The tea?” You laughed. “You’re always drinking tea, I thought you could use a little a variety!” He chuckled as you both walked through the door.

“I’m going to use the restroom real quick, will you be okay?” I nodded but pointed to the menu. “What do you want?” He handed you a few yen, that you didn’t plan on using. “Surprise me, this is supposed to be for variety right?” Then he was gone around the corner.

You shrugged to yourself as you walked up to the counter. “Hello, how can I help you today?” You smiled, pulling out your own money. “Hi, can I get a Berry Blend Açai Tea, please? Oh, and two dangos, as well!” In no time you had paid and received the sugary treats. They would bring you and Neji your tea.

“Well, well, well, what’s a pretty lady like you doing all on your own?” A man appeared in front of you, causing you to stop in your tracks. You looked behind you, unsure of who he was talking to. “Yes, you, sweet cheeks.” You scowled. “I’m not alone, now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to sit down.” The man just laughed, not moving an inch. “Aw, don’t be like that. I don’t see anyone-”

You took a deep breath, but it didn’t work. You were still pissed. “Look, if you don’t move, I’ll be forced to move you.” He didn’t have a headband, so he wouldn’t be a challenge. He just stood there laughing at you. You set your dango on a nearby table, before kicking out his knee. When he bent down, yelling profanities, you grabbed his head and brought it down harshly onto your knee. He wouldn’t need his nose, right? “Why you little-!” You cut him off with a hand to his pressure point and he fell, unconscious before he hit the ground.

“(Y/N)?” By now you had a small audience, but you were only paying attention to Neji. “I was just coming over to tell him that I was with you… but it looks like you had everything under control. You laughed sheepishly. “Maybe we should get out things to go?”

Neji walked beside you, quietly sipping his tea, seemingly deep in thought. You knew it was best to let him think through whatever it was, so you ate your dango while you waited. “She really is perfect…” You heard him mumble to himself. You have him a strange look. “What?”

His cheeks were tinted pink, but he didn’t back down from your gaze. “I realized you were special from the moment I first met you, but… seeing you take that man down opened my eyes to how perfect you really are.”

Your heart fluttered at his words. Did Neji like you…? “I don’t want to lose you to anyone else, I was wondering if you’d like to… go out with me?” Your face broke out into a huge smile.

“Oh, Neji only you could see a girl fight someone twice her size and fall in love. Of course, I’ll go out with you.”

Shikamaru~

You and Shikamaru had agreed to meet up for lunch at a local sushi place for lunch at noon and you were so excited that you had ended up a little early. You didn’t mind though, you’d have a chance to survey the menu before you ordered.

However, you didn’t expect to see Shikamaru Lazy as Hell Nara already waiting on you. But what really shocked you was the cigarette dangling loosely from his lips. You walked up to him, hands in your pockets. “I didn’t know you smoked, Shika.” He took a long drag, a lazy smile playing at his lips.

“Do you want me to stop?” You shook your head as he blew out the smoke in the opposite direction of your face. “Nope. As you long as you know the dangers of smoking, I won’t mention it.” He smirked, throwing the topic of conversation down and squashing it with his heel. “No nagging?” I shook my head. “Doesn’t help. If you’re going to quit you need to do it for yourself, not cause someone bothered you about it.”

Shikamaru wrapped his arm around, in a rare show of affection, and led you inside. “You’re really something else, (Y/N).” You couldn’t help but eye the pack of cigarettes he clearly had in his pouch. You knew they were bad for you, but surely a few couldn’t hurt right?

“Tch, I’m not letting you smoke, so you can get rid of that idea.” Shika deadpanned. Your jaw dropped. “But I didn’t even say anything!” He just chuckled as you both took a seat at a booth back in the corner. “I know you, you were clearly staring at them and thinking about trying one.”

You groaned at how easy to read you were. Surely he was exaggerating and it was just a lucky guess. “Hello! I am to be your server today. What can I get you, sweetheart?” You gulped, more than a little uncomfortable with the way he was looking at you. “Oi! Are you serious? We’re clearly on a date! Stop eyeing her like a piece of meat and take our orders!” Shikamaru shouted, peeved. It was an unusual sight, you knew he was a laid back guy, he was more likely to brush things off.

“I apologize, I was ju-” Shikamaru held up a hand. “I’m not her keeper, apologize to her, she was clearly uncomfortable.” The waiter paled. “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” You nodded once. “It’s okay…” Seemingly satisfied, Shikamaru grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the restaurant, obviously not caring for the service.

You couldn’t help but giggle at his annoyed expression. “So that was a date, Shika?” His face went from annoyed to embarrassed instantly, but he didn’t let that deter him. “I mean, it’d be a drag but I could ask you on a more official one.” You grinned, linking arms with him. “That’d be fabulous, but I’ll spare you the trouble, Mr. Lazy, and say that I’d be happy to go on a date with you.”

With a slight blush still adorning his cheeks, he moved his hand to wrap it around your waist. “Maybe you’re not as troublesome I thought.” You gave him a look. “Wanna bet?” He just sighed, but you didn’t miss his smile.

Kiba~

Shikamaru and Kiba had gone a few hours ago for a ‘boys night out’, leaving you alone with a plethora of movies and all the ice cream. Mr. and Mrs. Nara were already asleep and from their bedroom, you couldn’t hear the TV in Shika’s room. It was perfect.

You had decided on watching ‘The Boy In The Striped Pajamas’ after having heard it was good. It was a mistake. A huge mistake. You could handle movie horror, gore on missions, and real-life tragedy, but this was too much. The tale of two boys, oblivious to the horror show they lived in as they became friends, only to be killed in such a brutal fashion…

That’s how the boys found you, sobbing as you watched the kids enter the gas chamber. You felt like your heart was tearing apart. Maybe you shouldn’t have had so much coffee before. “Um… (Y/N), you okay there?” You turned to Kiba, sniffling. “No! They d-died!” Your wailing started back up again. Shikamaru groaned. “Troublesome woman, you know you’re not supposed to watch sad movies.” Kiba wrapped an arm around you. “Cut her some slack, Shikamaru. Everyone gets sad from time to time.”

Kiba gave you a small smile as he grabbed a tissue. “Here,” he gently wiped away your tears as he looked at the ice cream tub. “How much ice cream did you eat, (Y/N/N)?” You flushed. “More than I care to admit.” He laughed, throwing away the tissue. “Thank you, Kiba, I really appreciate you.” He gave you a grin and ruffled your hair.

“That’s what I’m here for. Now, let’s clean up the remainder of your sob fest.” You laughed tears forgotten, as you and Kiba cleaned up, while Shikamaru took out the movie from the DVD player. “Was the movie that bad?” Shikamaru asked skeptically.

“Yes. It was. You have to watch it sometime when I’m not around.” They both snickered. “We’ll have to just so we can see how dramatic you’re being.” I scoffed. “Sure, Kiba. But you’re going to eat your words when you start crying.” Shika sighed. “What a drag. You have a bad taste in movies.” I rolled my eyes. “Lies.”

Kiba crossed his arms. “If you let me take you out, I’d show you some good movies.” He mumbled under his breath. You did a double-take. “K-Kiba… what was that?” The rest of his cheeks matched his red stripes. “I said that if I could take you on a date, I’d show you a good movie.” A grin spread across your lips. “I think I’d like that… a lot.” Shikamaru looked between you two, alarmed.

“Wait, my two best friends?! I’ll always be a third wheel!”

Gaara~

You set down your book when you heard a soft rapping at your door. Puzzled at who it could be you walked to your door, opening it. You were pleasantly surprised to see Gaara standing on your front steps, a small smile adorning his face.

“Gaara! Come in, what are you doing here?” He stepped into your home, as you closed the door. “Well, I learned my first song and I wanted you to be the first to hear it.” You grinned following him to your piano.

“This is great! What is it?” He sat down beside you and flushed as he began. “The first thing I ever heard you play was the theme for Swan Lake, so I learned the finale to it…” His fingers danced as he played the song perfectly. It was the simplistic version, but you could tell he really practiced.

“Gaara, this is beautiful. You have a real talent for the piano.” His blush darkened as he finished. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. Truthfully, when I asked you to teach me, I just wanted to spend more time with you, but then I really did enjoy playing.” Your flush matched his. “R-really?” He nodded, uncharacteristically nervous. “Yes, but now I… want to see you outside of these lessons.”

You placed a hand over his, both of you wearing matching smiles. “Like a… date?” He nodded, shyly. “Yes, like a date.” You wrapped him in a hug. “That sounds amazing, Gaara.” He hugged you back, his head resting on your shoulder. Your door slammed open, scaring you both so bad you both fell off the piano bench.

“YES! We’ve been waiting for this moment!” Kankuro and Temari stood in your doorway fists raised in victory. You and Gaara just stared, too shocked to even be embarrassed. “Were you guys eavesdropping?” He asked, clearly not thrilled. He stood up before lending me a hand.

“We couldn’t help it!” The siblings whine simultaneously. “You guys are just too cute together! After all our planning, we just had to know what happened!” Temari cooed. You just covered your face, trying to hide your red face, but you were secretly flattered that Gaara had actually taken the time to plan. “Guys! This was supposed to be a private moment!” Gaara gave them a look.

“You heard her, bye guys, see you later!” With that, he shoved them out of your living room, slamming the door. “At least they’re happy for us?” You suggested, giggling.

Kakashi~

“Don’t be so stubborn, Kakashi-sensei! How hard could it be? You guys are so close, this next step is natural!” Your eyebrows furrowed as you saw Sakura and Ino talking to Kakashi. They were actually getting along?! You pushed down your shock, opting to listen to their conversation from your hidden spot in the tree.

“It’s not that simple, guys. (Y/N) and I haven’t been friends for that long, I’m pretty sure she would turn me down.” You perked up at hearing your name. What were they talking about? “Oh, c’mon! We see the way you look at each other, it’s clear you both like each other!” Ino exclaimed. Your face instantly heated up. Were you that obvious and oblivious? Did he actually like you? That would be a dream come true!

“I don’t know about that… I think it’d be best to wait a little longer before I do that.” Sakura rolled her eyes at his hesitance. “Sensei! There’s nothing to asking someone out, it’s so simple!” Ino complained impatiently. Kakashi crossed his arms. “Oh, is it? Then why hasn’t Sasuke gone out with either of you?” You covered your mouth at the utter brutality, trying not to laugh.

Sakura and Ino screamed incoherently at how that was a totally different story. “Look, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura exhaled, “we’re just trying to help you. You of all people deserve to be happy and it’s obvious she makes you happy!” You smiled, seeing how she cared for her sensei.

“Sakura is right, said no one ever,” Ino whispered, “how do you know she doesn’t like you if you never ask? But, she’s my sensei! I see the way she smiles more when you’re around. She blushes like a schoolgirl for goodness sake!” Said blush was creeping up your neck as they ruthlessly exposed you.

“I know you girls are right, but how am I supposed to ask her?” Sakura gave him a dubious look. “You’re the one always reading those smutty romances, shouldn’t you know?” A small giggle slipped through your lips. You watched Kakashi smirk suddenly and you swooned. Swooned?! You mentally shook yourself, trying to control your emotions.

“I don’t think asking her will be a problem since she’s been listening to this whole conversation. Come on out, (Y/N).” You were pretty sure your heart dropped down to your feet. You gracefully jumped down from your tree, blushing about fifty shades of red.

“Um, h-hey guys! What’s up?” All three of them gave you flat, unamused looks “C’mon (Y/N)-sensei! What’s your answer?” Ino begged. Kakashi placed a hand on her head. “How about you let me ask her, hm?” Her cheeks went red. “O-oh, right!”

His focus turned back to you. “I know you heard everything, but I really do like you and I want to take you on a proper date.” Sakura rolled her eyes, snorting. “‘Proper’? Have to be on time for that.” Ino punched her, hissing at her to shut up.

You giggled at the pure chaos, but you knew you wouldn’t have it any other way. “I guess it’s good I really like you too. Let’s just hope it’ll just be the two of us!” Sakura and Ino laughed before realizing it wasn’t a joke. “Oh-oh…” Now it was you and Kakashi’s turn to laugh.

~Akatsuki~

Pein~

Even though Pein had seemed cruel and cold in the beginning, he had actually panned out to be a decent human being. Or God, in his not-so-humble opinion. It took six months for you to realize, but you had noticed. He made sure you had everything you needed, food, clothes, your own room… things you hadn’t had consistently in years. You couldn’t hide the fact that you had grown fond of him.

When he sent you on missions they were usually solo, seeing as no one had your stealth and sticky fingers. However, they were always manageable and you were always successful. You had just gotten back from your last mission, you had been sent to eavesdrop on Orochimaru’s meeting with some important what’s-his-name, and you were heading to his office to report back.

You knocked twice, knowing he didn’t like people just barging in. “Enter.” You opened the door, unsurprised to see the Akatsuki leader surrounded by paperwork. “Ah, you’re back sooner than I expected.” You handed him the scroll, filled with your findings. “It was a very to the point meeting, Leader-Sama.” He nodded, exchanging the scroll you gave him for another one.

Your eyebrows furrowed in question. “I know you just got back, but I have one last mission for you. It’s very simple, I have no doubt you’ll finish it before the night is over.” You sighed, at least it was quick.

“Yes, Leader-Sama.” Just as you turned, you heard the carrot head’s voice. “Oh, and (Y/N)? Tell no one of this mission, please. You leave in 30 minutes.” You nodded sharply. “Understood.”

~~~Time Skip Brought By You Stealing Kakuzu’s Money~~~

Your mission was almost too simple, in comparison to what you’d been tasked with before. All you had to do was make your way into a high-end restaurant Pein had gotten you a reservation for. Your goal was to find one of Orochimaru’s contacts and steal an important message he had.

You awkwardly smoothed out the red cocktail dress you had on and moved to look for the man the scroll had described. You didn’t see anyone, so you sat in a corner booth, content to wait. “Can I get you a drink to start you off?” Your attention snapped to the waiter, and you dawned a smile. “Um, I’ll just take a Sake, please.” He nodded, writing it down. “I’ll be right back with that.” He dashed away, revealing someone behind him.

You blinked rapidly trying to make sense of what you were seeing. “Leader-sama?!” You shout-whispered. “What’s going on?! Is something wrong?” He offered you a smile as he sat down across from you. “Not exactly. There was never a mission, I ju-” Anger surged within you.

“You mean to tell me, you brought me on a wild goose chase while I could’ve been sleeping?!”

The man had the nerve to sigh at you. “Just let me explain, okay?” You crossed your arms, waiting for him to explain.

“There is no mission because I wanted to take you out on a date.” You choked on absolutely nothing but your own disbelief. You had developed a soft spot for your leader, but… he wanted to take you on a date?

“Leader-sama-” “Pein,” He interrupted. You nodded slowly. “Pein… why didn’t you just ask me? Like a regular person.” He nodded at the waiter as he brought your drink. “Well, first, I’m a God, so I don’t do things like humans, and second, I didn’t know if you’d say yes.” You laughed a bit. “Well, Pein, that’s usually where asking the person comes in.”

His lips quirked upwards. “Well, we’re already here, aren’t we? We might as well enjoy the night.” You hid your grin (unsuccessfully).

“Yeah, yeah, I suppose. I am pretty hungry.”

Deidara~

Ever since your explosive art exhibit, you had been wondering what had happened to Deidara. It’d been a month since you’d seen him ad frankly, you missed him more than you’d care to admit. Maybe he hadn’t meant what he said?

You hadn’t been up to making ant new art lately and that wasn’t going to change any time soon. Instead, you resigning yourself to a self-pity nap. You’d been resorting to those a lot lately.

You heard your bed creak in the back of your mind, and because you were a light sleeper, you felt yourself begin to wake up. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake up, (Y/N), un.” You blinked for a solid twenty seconds, your tired mind not being able to compute what you were seeing.

Deidara sat next to you, on top of your covers, a half-smile on his face. But what was possibly even more astonishing was the fact that he was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. “Dei…? W-what’re you doing here?” You sat up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I made you a promise, and I intended to keep it… even if it took me a little longer than I imagined, un.” You still couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

The sweet, charming artist you had come to love was a member of the Akatsuki. “Ah, I see you noticed my cloak, yeah. I figured it was wrong to keep it from you, un.” You just stared, totally stunned. His hand rested on your cheek, gently bringing your gaze up to meet his. “Please say something, (Y/N),” He whispered nervously. “I’m really glad you’re back, Deidara.” And it was the truth, him being an S-ranked criminal didn’t change that. You had no loyalties, no ties, and that gave you no reason to dislike his choices.

“You don’t hate me, un?” You placed your hand over the one that was still placed on your cheek. “The time we spent together, the person I got to know didn’t change in my eyes just because he has certain loyalties. You’re still the funny, wild, and charismatic Deidara I met a month ago.” His smile brightened up the whole room.

“Thank you for waiting for me, I didn’t have a chance to get away from our base, yeah.” You smiled. “It doesn’t matter why, you’re here with me now.” The two of you were silent for a moment before you both burst into laughter. “We sound so corny!” He snickered. You rested a hand on his shoulder to stay upright as your laughter shook your form. “I know right! But, I did mean everything I said, just pretend I phrased it cooler.” Deidara chuckled before his face turned serious.

“Me as well, especially when I say that I’m going to take you on the best date ever before I have to leave. I swear it, un.” You pulled him into a hug, resting your cheek in the crook of his neck. “How much longer do you have?”

His arms snaked around your torso. “Until the end of the night, yeah.” You pulled away, giving him a sly look. “Well, we’d better get going then, huh?”

#shikamaru x reader #sasuke x reader #kiba x reader #kakashi x reader #neji x reader #naruto x reader #gaara x reader #deidara x reader #pein x reader #x reader #imagines #naruto shippuden

[razorblade180]

The NaruSaku post

@perfectkidalienpatrol asked me a two questions a couple weeks ago one about restructuring Kingdom Hearts DDD and 3 to be more emotional which you find right here < [it took time, please read. Also leave a reply on this one because it also took way too much time. Thank you 😅]

The second question is about how I would write NaruSaku, which is this post. [I rewatched 60 percent of Naruto Shippuden for this. I’m not playing games here.]

I’m gonna follow the same rules I did for KH more or less. I’m not changing 90% of any major events just certain people surrounding it and I’ll add stuff that’s not unreasonable. Most of the things I’m about to say is gonna be from Sakura’s perspective since Naruto is already in love with her and have a good of his feelings towards her. I’d also like to take a moment and say I’m a person who doesn’t believe Sakura is weak or useless, but she’s sorely underused. What makes this bad is her screen time is almost always to make others around her have more of an effect or her doing something stupid because plot. Okay, let’s get the big stuff out of the way first that lays the ground work.

Part 1 of Naruto is unchanged. (Rip Sakura, she’s still of no use here.)

The start of Shippuden, all the way up to Pain is basically the same. The thing about NaruSaku is there’s plenty of ground work in the show. The series definitely shows Sakura warming up and caring about Naruto in a variety of ways. The entire blueprint is there, Kishimoto just decided to go with Hinata.

During the Rasenshuriken training, Kakashi grabs the food pill basket from Sakura and tells her stay. Since Naruto’s training is more trial by fire and repetition, Kakashi uses his free time to train Sakura. Combat, a little ninjitsu, even tricks about genjutsu and things he’s learned about sharingan. (You know, sensei stuff)

Neji will live for obvious reasons.

Okay, so my whole thought process really starts at the point in the show where Sakura falsely tells Naruto that she loves him. At this point, the show has given tons of scenes of Sakura healing Naruto, defending the way he is, acknowledged his growth, and has him as a strong motivator do whatever she can whenever she can. All while being emotionally torn because of her love for Saskue and being faced with the reality that Naruto has been in love with her forever. The scene plays out the same with Naruto not believing her and the Saskue murder team leaving. Sakura doesn’t let it show she is deeply conflicted about telling that lie. Was it a lie? It certainly wasn’t completely truthfully. Her thoughts and feelings on Naruto had been rapidly changing and confusing her little by little since he returned to the village. All she was certain of was that Naruto was a person that had become very important to her and she didn’t want to cause him any more suffering.

Fast forwarding to Sakura encountering Saskue, the encounter is only different by Sakura confessing her honest feelings to him right on the iron bridge, telling him how she’ll join his side if he can’t find it in himself to stop being a criminal. She’s unknowingly under a genjutsu that’s letting Sakura see him in front of her, pretending to care about this conversation while he’s actually about to chidori her from behind. Sakura catches on to the trick a bit too late but was fortunately saved by Kakashi. Naruto eventually shows up, the fight happens, and we get the scene where Naruto tells Saskue that they well both die the next time they fight. Two very important things come out of this entire event. The first is Sakura’s feelings for Saskue are now shattered after he tried to kill her twice, while the other thing is Sakura’s fear of Naruto’s prediction coming true.

We get back to the village and everyone starts going their separate ways except for Naruto and Sakura, because she tells him to stay back for a moment. She takes this moment to apologize to him for what she said. The guilt about the entire thing builds more and more as she continues her apology until Sakura gets so frustrated with her own actions, or lack of action. Naruto interrupts her apology before she got too far gone into self loathing and sorrow and tells her that it’s okay. Yes, his promise is a big reason for motivating him but Naruto is also in it for himself and tries to lift some of the guilt Sakura has for all of this. In the process he ends up mentioning just how much she actually does for everyone, especially him; which only makes her feel more conflicted about everything since all of his feelings are on the table clearly for her. Sakura mentally decides she having such a kind person like him always supporting her was something she wasn’t close to being worthy of, so she would strive to be that person. Sakura decides to do one more selfish act though, she asks Naruto to stay alive through all of this. Naruto simply looks at the girl that is clearly concerned about all of this and says yes, despite not knowing just how sure he can keep this promise.

At this point in the anime there’s a lot of war preparations. In one scene there’s Sakura looking at photos of the gruesome tragedies that she should expect to see as a medical ninja. A head nurse also explains how sometimes you have to prioritize who to save. Sakura then thinks to herself in a crazy circumstance where both Naruto and Saskue are fatally wounded, who would she rush to? I’m keeping this scene but giving it new context. This thought plagues her mind not because of love, but because desire. Sakura hates to admit it but she still very much hates the idea of Saskue dying. Like Naruto, she very much wants him to come back, regardless of the heartache she feels whenever she thinks about the boy who barely gave a damn. But Sakura also has made the goal to do all she can to support Naruto the right way and the thought of leaving him to die is ludicrous. Sakura shakes off the crazy thought and focuses on the task at hand. None of those ideas matter if she can’t get stronger. I like the idea of her hitting a rut someone like Ino or Shizune coming to her aid since Tsunade is busy. One of the women reinvigorates her drive by telling Sakura how Naruto is probably pushing himself to the limit as they speak. [Nine tails is beating him up] Not just for his friends, but for the world. Sakura takes that to heart, protecting everyone is the bar, not just Naruto and her friends. Sakura decides now would be a good time and take a step back, going off to train by herself until it was actually time to head into war. Kakashi would personally be the one to get her when that time came, surprised to see a very specific part of their previous training had gotten much better along with her chakra control.

On the Naruto side of things, all the same events happen. The only thing I would add for my own personal amusement would be Naruto mentioning Sakura to his mom and how they’re similar, but Sakura has no interest in him. Kushina laughs and tells him if Sakura really is anything like herself then Naruto can’t be too sure of anything until it happens. He doesn’t understand that all but nods anyways.

War starts! All the cool fights happen and the filler. All of this is same obviously because so much is going on, including injuries. Naruto eventually joins the war and sends his clones to help everywhere. The location where Sakura is stationed is under severe condition, to the point it’s about to fall apart. Injured ninja and attacks have relentlessly assaulted the place in one form or another and the medics are running on fumes. Sakura herself is barely hanging on as another wave of injured people are in desperate need of healing. Supplies are diminished to almost nothing, staff has gotten hurt, and more white zetsu were said to be headed their way. Sakura took a moment to look at the chaos of war. The overwhelming feeling of it, the pain, how everything just kept going until something gave out. She was about to give out. Her body exhausted from being up for days treating people was finally catching up with her mind in thinking about shutting down, until she thought about Naruto. She wasn’t sure why she did, but he popped into her head, as well as the numerous times he’s pushed passed the breaking point to the finish line. Then she remembered his praise about her and her vow to catch up with him. Not yet, she couldn’t be done yet. Not while there was still everyone to protect. Sakura rallied the people she could to both attack and defend what they had left. Somehow, through all the madness, the injured had been treated and another wave was taken out. More had to be done and all who were able to move were more than willing to help the ninja that had saved their life. Unfortunately, a zetsu had snuck into the ranks and was heading right for Sakura who was far to tired to defend herself from the attack she saw coming. If she got hurt then it was game over for this unit and her, now that they had basically nothing. Sakura should’ve died on the spot but a Naruto clone had finally arrived in the nick of time, beating the zetsu in an instant. Sakura couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her body gives out and Naruto catches her in a similar way Minato catches Kushina. Naruto tells everyone how awesome it was that they held out so long and they rightfully give Sakura a majority of the credit. Naruto starts to tell her how amazing that is but she passes out. He simply chuckles and tells all of them to follow her lead. He’ll step in now and let them rest. It’s his turn to protect everyone.

The next time the show cuts back to this location is when reports of Naruto clones suddenly vanishing after many tremors and explosions have happened, giving Sakura an uneasy feeling. Minutes later word reaches them that the real Naruto is fighting the masked man and Madara. Many ninja from everywhere go ready to race off to this final battle. Sakura’s had the chance to rest and is ready to give her all in any way she can, along with so many others.

[Cool shit happens! The allied shinobi force appears!]

Neji gets injured protecting Hinata and Naruto, bringing him right to deaths door and nobody is around to help him. Naruto looks around to see all the death and destruction that leads to Obito into giving his speech. So basically I just changed this scene from Neji being dead, to Neji dying and having to be left there; causing everyone to simply accept that they have to press on and that Neji isn’t going to make it. We still get the moment of Hinata snapping Naruto out of despair and Kakashi’s elaboratetion on his meaning behind the statement “I will not allow my comrades to die.” That way we still get Kurama motivating Naruto, causing Naruto to snap Lee out of his despair and then outcome plays out like it usually does; the people rallying to attack the ten tails again with the Nine Tails Power given to them. Naruto spends up all his chakra protecting everyone and gets badly injured. I had forgotten Sakura literally gave a speech to motivate ninja to do their best protecting him while she healed him, so that was nice to see.

The Hokage show up. People are hyped. Minato asks Naruto if that’s his girlfriend, to which Naruto says yes like the goofy fool he is. Sakura still hits him for it, but blushes. Minato clearly sees a lot of Kushina in Sakura, but says vocally, instead of in his head. Naruto thinks about his conversation with his mom. Sakura just tries to stay focus.

Tiny Rant-I can’t wrap my head around why this scene actually exists. This happens after Neji’s death, a cornerstone event that pushes NaruHina greatly. Why would Kishimoto almost immediately swing back in the exact opposite direction! It paints the picture that while Naruto is extremely grateful for Hinata’s actions, Sakura is still the only girl he is interested in! Neji died for NaruHina like five minutes ago!

Saskue shows up like a cool guy. We get the moment of Naruto telling Sakura to stay back after he’s fully healed; to which Sakura tells both of them how that’s not gonna happen. Team 7 is back! Another moment I don’t have to change because the show flat out shows how happy Sakura is to be standing next to the two most important men her life. She’s by their side and fighting, they don’t feel out of reach. Sakura has her team back for once and is protecting everyone thanks to Tsunade’s training. Finally, things feet right. Until they don’t.

The battle progresses naturally. Eventually the Kagoshima show up, Obito becomes a Jinjuriki, Madara is being terrible, etc. Things are spiraling out of hand pretty quickly but everyone keeps pushing as hard as they can. Then the worst happens, the crazy scenario Sakura didn’t think was possible has suddenly became reality. She feels both Naruto and Saskue’s chakra fade away, they’re down. Madara has taken both of them down. However, now isn’t time to despair on that fact. Every second matters. Two people, fatally injured, only enough time save one. The one she promised to protect to protect, or the one she desired to come back home. Time feels like it’s come to a stand still. Sakura didn’t want to imagine a world without either of them, then it hits her instantly. Sakura has been living in a world without Saskue for years now, but Naruto, the agony of a world without him gives her an immense sorrow in her heart she refused to ever feel again. It was the same sorrow she felt when Saskue left that night years ago. The sorrow of the one you love leaving you. Sakura realizes that she does in fact love Naruto, and she isn’t about to let it fade. She will keep her promise. Sakura rushes to go save him, fearing she’s wasted enough time as it is. In actually, Sakura had made that decision in less than second. She had been running his way the moment his chakra stopped.

With the help of Gaara and Minato, Sakura is managed to save Naruto. Minato has been watching the worry the girl tried to hide and stared again how much she was like Kushina. He then thanks her for looking after his son. Sakura corrects him, giving Minato thanks for bringing someone who cares so much about her and support her into this world, despite the many slip ups and pain she has inflicted on Naruto. Minato tells her that he didn’t have to be around long to know his son must feel same sentiment towards her, if not greater. They get informed that Saskue has been recovered and receiving medical aid. Sakura feels a weight lift from her shoulders. Both of them, she still in a world with both of them.

[More craziness happens! Night Guy!!!!!! All the hype stuff!]

Naruto and Saskue are back in action! Naruto save Guy, then he gives Kakashi an eye. Everyone is impressed, but not as impressed as the moment he senses that Neji isn’t dead yet and heals him to the point he’ll live; Neji is still completely out of commission though, but it’ll be quite the surprise for Hinata, her father, and Team Guy.

More of the same stuff happens all the way up and through Kaguya. Sakura gets a little bit of emotional whiplash by Saskues actions. One minute he’s looking out for himself, the next he’s actually saves her from a threat. It’s a very confusing couple of minutes. It’s welcomed though, it’s like old times. Things just might get back to some since of it in Sakura’s eyes.

[He is so rude! Still love him though.]

Now we’re gonna skip to after Kaguya is beaten. Team 7 has saved the world. Now they just have to release the people, except Saskue is still on his nonsense. Naruto confronts Saskue about his plan to kill the Kage. Sakura could feel her heart sink. They were going to fight again. If that happened then Naruto’s prediction might come true, they would die. Naruto would die. Sakura couldn’t stand still and ran in between the two unexpectedly. Sakura pleaded to Saskue to just stop for once in his life. That if he ever cared about her and Naruto in any form, then the fighting would stop here; reminding him of what Naruto said about dying. Saskue takes a step closer and Sakura’s tearfully eyes hardened. This wasn’t going to be like last time. Sakura wasn’t going to hesitate to use force and Saskue could tell. “You really are annoying.” He says before activating a genjutsu, but it doesn’t work on her. This was it, the exact thing her training with Kakashi and by herself had been about. Constant days of intense chakra control and being trapped in various visual genjutsu that Sakura had to learn resist/breakout of. Saskue had made his answer clear, but Sakura refused to let him dismiss her like that and charged at him. She knew she was outmatched. She knew that there was only so much she could actually do against him, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. Sakura was going to stand up properly to Saskue and give everything she had to prevent an unavoidable fight. The fire in her was immense, but the fight was over in no time, ending with Saskue knocking her out from behind like when he first left her behind. Naruto was pissed and Kakashi rushed to her. All that effort and pleading from someone who wanted nothing more than to be by her comrades, tossed to the side like a leaf in the wind. The final confrontation had begun. Naruto vs Saskue.

[One exceptional fight 10/10 fight later]

Sakura has woken up and is racing to the Final Valley in absolute terror, along with Kakashi behind her. He didn’t show it but he was fearing the worst as well. He could see tears fly off of Sakura as she took off. Her mind was flooding and rejecting thoughts all at once the whole way there. All she wanted was the reality of the outcome. Whatever it was, she’d have to face it. What she faced was a miracle. The ability to save both of her friends who were definitely battered and broken, but alive. The fighting was finally over. Saskue apologized to her, noticing just how angry she stil was through her tearfully relieved expression. Sakura told him to shut up. The emotional rollercoaster she was dealing with was crazy enough as it is.

Fast forward to Team 7 at the Hidden Leaf Gate to see Saskue leave. Instead of Sakura asking to join, she walks up to him with confidence, giving both a playful and serious attitude. She holds her fist out and taps his chest. “Get into trouble and I’ll stand in your way again to knock the sense back into you.” Naruto’s jaw drops hearing that. Saskue smile then flicks her forehead. “Still annoying, thank you.” Sakura can’t help but smile back. Naruto gives Saskue his old headband and then the man sets off.

Naruto lets out a huge sigh as he walks back into the village with Sakura. He feels exhausted from the whole legal experience but there was more things to be done, but first, he was starving. He started waving goodbye to Sakura until she asks to go too, offering to pay. Naruto was shocked. His ears had to be playing tricks. He turned back around to see Sakura not directly looking at his face but she clearly talking to him. He could tell her face was a little pink too. “You know, like a date...” Sakura said, walking past him. Naruto stood motionless for a couple of seconds before catching up with her. “How about we go halfies?” Naruto asked. He had asked this same question when he asked her on a ramen date so long ago. Sakura remembers this and can’t help but giggle. The fact that she had rejected such a gesture before was embarrassing to say the least, now it was too her benefit and it was still dumb. The more things change, the more they stay the same. “It’s a date.”

The the tail end of the show where time skips gives us how they continued to grow closer and do these little dates until the moment Sakura tells Naruto that she loves him one moonlit night by the training field or academy swing. This time those words are real, and Naruto gets emotional because he finally gets to say those words back, their promises fulfilled. The final episode is their marriage. The start of their new and strongest promise to each other.

There, I’m done. In summary, what if Sakura stopped liking a person because they tried killing her and everyone she cared about. You know, sane people stuff. She’s a smart girl with critical thinking skills and able to blossom in many areas in her life, and yet the series didn’t let her fully exlpore or evolve it in the one area that arguably mattered the most. How her relationships with Naruto and Saskue. They left it one note even though many scenes and articles point into the direction of her affection towards Naruto was growing. They even paralleled her with Kushina. It’s so weird to lay all that ground if that isn’t the route. Those moments of romantic growth could’ve gone to Hinata, the one with nearly zero interaction throughout the series. I can only think of four scenes, two of them being in part 1 of Naruto. It’s weird.

Side note:If anyone is having a hard time believing Sakura could learn a way to resist genjutsu, Deidara did it with one of his eyes to deal with Itachi, and also didn’t fall of Saskue’s. You can not convince me Sakura wouldn’t learn a way, someone with far more control and an affinity for that kind of thing. Especially with the help of Kakashi. Also it’s just very thematic that the two people Saskue wanted to push away the most, could see right through him and render one of his major things useless.

#naruto uzumaki #naruto ships #naruto shippuden #narusaku #naruto talk #ask me stuff #anime #sakura haruno #saskue uchiha #naruto

[kuroopaisen]

manager matchup #1 ♡

@haikyuu-ink yuki darling! thank you so much for your kind words :( i hope you like this! i think i might surprise you a bit with the choices i've made? (when you had your little shipping thing going the guy i chose wasn’t mentioned, and you didn’t list him in your self-ship either so now i’m WORRIED) but i kept thinking it over and over, and i kept changing my mind.

ANYWAY on with the matchup!

school: shiratorizawa year: 3rd

it's the beginning of your second year when tendou approaches you. you're confused at first; but a few minutes of conversation make his intentions very clear. he really, really wants a team manager. and heretofore, he's been unsuccessful. you can't help but wonder how many girls he's asked at this point, but he's still making his pitch. and you're listening to him, but you're also thinking "hm,,, it could be good for my college applications,,, we've got a very good team here,,, it's not a terrible idea."

so, you say, "okay, sure." tendou doesn't quite believe you at first (he keeps asking you to repeat that), but that afternoon you're standing in the gym and you're like "what have i done." washijo's a bit confused about your presence (and you wonder if tendou has even spoken to him about this), but he lets you stick around. half the team is just as confused as to why you're there, and the other half is excited that they've finally got a female manager.

but, your responsible nature quickly endeared you to both the team and the coaches! before long, you've become an invaluable part of the team, and some of them have convinced themselves that they’d fall apart without you there (it’s goshiki. goshiki’s convinced they’ll fall apart without you--)

your team ♡

ushijima wakatoshi

✧ truth be told, you were probably intimidated as all hell when you first met him. he's massive, and he's blunt, and he's not exactly known for having great people skills. i know i'd be terrified of him at first! but, because he's so,,, straightforward, it's surprisingly easy to get along with him (so long as you're not expecting him to be something he's not)?

✧ he appreciates how responsible you are as a manager, even if he doesn't really say it all that often. admittedly, he didn't see much need for a manager, at first. were they not doing well enough without one? but, he's wise enough to notice the good effect that you have on the team. and, he appreciates your time-management skills. after all, you're not going to get an effective amount of practice if you don't have a good schedule.

✧ it took him a while to fully warm up to you simply because of his personality (and he's just,,, not the sort to reach out and try to cover that gulf with someone, you know?), and you have no idea what to try and bond with him over. but, you both don't like feeling fragile slkjdf

✧ funnily enough, the moment that you and toshi truly bonded was during the first few months of your third year, where things were really and truly beginning to get stressful. you, personally, were at a tipping point: college applications, prepping for exams already, varsity commitments, the volleyball club,,, frankly, it was all too much

✧ and that's when toshi finds you crying in the store room. he'd been practicing late (as he often did), when he hears your gentle sobs. he doesn't quite know what to do, because he's never really dealt with this kind of thing before. but, he just,,, sits with you. and he asks you what's wrong. and he lets you vent.

✧ he doesn't really say anything, because he's not equipped to. but, he's just there.

✧ after that, you're a little closer. he makes sure to ask you how you're feeling that day (to the surprise of much of the team ljds), and he pays particular attention during exam periods. it's only something small, and he always asks with that monotone voice of his, but it's enough to make you feel all soft.

✧ you don't spend any significant amount of time together outside of club activities, but when you do, people are terrified. the star of the volleyball team and an honours/varsity student? both with resting bitch faces? there are certainly some 'power couple' rumours going around about the two of you, but you don't let it get to you (even if it bothers a certain team member, but we'll get to that--)

✧ okay but a cute little headcanon,,, because he's the star of the team, you feel obligated to include him on any posters and such that you design (and, also because the coaches are adamant that featuring ushijima will draw the most attention). but,,, the man's deeply unphotogenic. like. every time you try and get a good shot it just looks a bit off. even if you take an action shot of him spiking. you're not sure how he manages it, and he doesn't quite get it when you try and explain it to him. tendou thinks it's hilarious dflkjdf

tendou satori

✧ tendou quickly becomes one of your best friends, both on the team and outside of it. As the person who recruited you, he feels personally responsible for your well-being (and for helping you integrate into the team smoothly). it's hard not to be endeared by that, especially when he's constantly checking in with you to make sure you're doing okay. and that's a habit that carries well into your third year.

✧ he appreciates the fact that you offer all the boys a shoulder, and he's grateful for how much you give them. he knows it mustn't be easy, tending to the needs of a large group of young men (and shiratorizawa has a large team), and he's always reminding you to look after yourself.

✧ he's excellent at reading people, and he's always there to support you whenever you're at tipping point. he’s not great at being vulnerable, per say, but he knows how to try and lift a mood. 

✧ oh, please share your writing with him, he'd be delighted to read it! especially if you ever venture into more fantastical genres. he's very supportive, and he's good at giving constructive feedback while also being an enthusiastic reader.

✧ i feel like you end up keeping him in check a bit? he strikes me as someone who’s prone to procrastinating, and being terrible at organising their time, so you’ll have to kick his ass into gear from time to time. he appreciates it, even if he’s always teasing you for being a such a model student

✧ like ushijima, i don’t think he’s all that great at being vulnerable? he seems like he’s got some walls that are harder to break down, as they’re some kind of defence mechanism. that being said, should he need to vent, he knows he can come to you.

✧ honestly, i think that quiet affection is a staple of your friendship; you’re more active in showing each other that you care, and demonstrating your support through your actions. you’re big on roasting one another (tendou’s very good at it hh), but you know you’ve always got each other’s backs.

✧ oh but he gets so sad if you snap at him,,, he’s more sensitive than he lets on and he doesn’t quite know how to meet your sharp tongue head on. he usually just tries to diffuse the situation with a bit of banter (since you two are good at that), but that tends to be hit and miss. you two never really have arguments, though, and he recovers pretty quickly (especially if you promise to read that week’s shonen jump).

✧ you two get so loud sometimes though,,, either before or after practice (basically outside the time frame where washijo can get at you dklj) but you’re always bantering back and forth. it often ends up in something of a three-way with semi, with the occasional input from taichi. goshiki tries joining in, bless his heart, but he’s really not very good at it.

✧ OKAY but he always has this big ideas for the team posters and you have to be like “satori, sweetie,,, absolutely not.” like, he wants them dressed as samurai. or yokai. or as characters from naruto. and you have to be like “that’s great but how is this going to get people to support the team.” and his excuses are always terrible.

✧ overall, you two have a very wholesome, supportive friendship? bless you guys. also he’s your number one wing-man and hype-man, even if you don’t want him to be. but we’ll get to that in a minute.

✧ side note: i think tendou’s an entp (if not, he’d be an estp), and they tend to meld very well with infjs! a good complement where you balance each other’s weaknesses while supporting one another’s strengths!

semi eita

✧ you were pretty intimidated by him at first, because 1) he’s very tall, 2) he comes off as very intense, and 3) he’s very, very pretty. semi was one of the guys who was a little confused as to why you were there; was a manager really necessary? but, you were cute, and you seemed pretty gung-ho about the whole thing. so, he just shrugged it off.

✧ because you got close to tendou, it was only inevitable that you ended up getting to know semi too. and, before you know it, you and tendou were constantly ganging up on the poor boy.

✧ but, you end up finding that being around semi is,,, surprisingly easy. your personalities just gel in a very natural way, and you balance each other out. he’s hot-headed and competitive, while you seem a lot more grounded and soft. but, at the same time, you have that sassy side, which plays off his personality quite well. so, you bolster each other while still being able to have a lot of fun together!

✧ honestly, semi develops a crush on you pretty quickly. it’s a few months into your friendship, and he casually mentioned that he’s interested in making music. when you were actually interested in what he had to say, he really perked up. and you let him ramble about it; that little passion of his that he hadn’t shared with anyone yet.

✧ and in that moment, he realises just how invaluable you already are to him? you listen to him vent about stupid shit all the time, you take an interest in the things he cares about, and you’re more than capable of maintaining good banter. and he’s like “oh shit oh no oh shit oh no--”

✧ tendou catches on immediately. semi literally begs him not to tell you. he promises to buy him boba for like a month for his silence. tendou never says anything directly (he’s a man of his word, after all), but oh man does he tease semi.

✧ you remember what i was saying about him being your wing-man? yeah. yeah.

✧ he’s already a bit of a show-off, and that only gets worse now you’re around. he tries to make his serves even more powerful and impressive, and he always looks over to you whenever he makes a service ace (he wants to see you cheering for him, but he’s not going to say that.)

✧ he’s literally always ranting about something slkdjf he says he’s not that hot-headed but you can always pull out a list of every single thing that set him off that week,,, and it’s never anything that serious, but it’s quite funny how much he’s able to ramble. but he really likes coming to talk to you because you listen and you tolerate it, and that does things to his heart, you know?

✧ it goes two ways. he’s quietly caring, and he’s very gentle with you when you’re feeling fragile. he’s particularly kind to you, and he tends to go into overdrive if he ever finds you upset. like, you can snap at him, but instead of getting angry he’s just like “O H N O what can i do? how can i help? i’m here if you need me.” and you’re like “huh? that,,, wasn’t the response i was expecting?” but he’s always unfailingly supportive of you.

✧ you’re always there for him, letting him lean on you, so he wants to return the favour. he told you that, once, with a blindingly red face.

✧ your relationship, even when you’re ‘just friends’, is littered with soft little moments. whether it be that support, quiet little compliments at opportune moments,,, that usually end with one of you turning around and going “haha i actually meant that you’re a l o s e r”

✧ because , for all the tenderness, you two roast each other all the time. is it flirting? probably. usually, actually, on semi’s side (tendou’s always complaining that semi’s never that nice to him when they’re bantering). honestly, semi just gets all giddy when he makes you laugh.

✧ he tried teaching you how to serve one time, because he’s like “okokok, this is an excellent opportunity to flirt and get close to her. i’m gonna seem so cool, just you watch--” but he’s the one who ends up getting all flustered because of course (tendou roasts the hell out of him for it. semi never quite lives it down)

✧ definitely pretends to be a little dumber than he is so you’ll tutor him -- you catch onto him because his grades are actually fine, but you humour him (even though you’re a little confused as to why he’s doing it? but you’re not going to turn down an opportunity to spend time with him--) somehow he’s still competitive with you when it comes to grades, but that’s just,,, him

✧ semi’s capable of joining in on the chaos from time to time (he’s always ready to throw down with tendou, after all), but if you want to relax, he’s happy to be quiet. he’s just happy to be in your presence because this boy is a simp okay

✧ you feature him on posters more than is maybe reasonable, but it’s just because he’s so pretty. like,,, his face alone is good marketing.

✧ look, this boy would die for your cooking. when he’s crushing on you, getting food from you just. destroys him. like,,, he goes bright red and the rest of the team’s like “hey dude, are you okay?” and he’s like “:) she made this :) for me :)” (cue ushijima being like “actually she made it for the entire team” and tendou starts cackling--)

✧ confessed to completely by accident. was more than willing to take it to the grave with him, but fate had other plans. poor boy was probably jealous of someone (you’ll see below), and he gets all grumbly. when you confront him about it because Oh My God Semi How Are You More Terse Than Usual, he just,,, blurts it out. literally just goes “it’s because I’m in love with you, you dumbass!” and you’re like “uh—” and he’s like “UH—DON’T TELL TENDOU.” to which your response is, “that’s the first thing you’re going to follow that up with?”

✧ at that point, he’s begging you to forget that he ever said anything. you, of course, are like “nope. not gonna.” and semi’s desperate and scrambling in his brain about how he’s going to salvage your friendship, when you say – “i never turned you down.” and semi’s like ??????????? i,,, i guess??? and you’re like “so,,, date this friday?” and semi thinks he’s ascended. this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. being a complete and total dumbass is not the way to get a girlfriend but there he is—

✧ tendou never lets him live it down, by the way. semi spends the rest of his life regretting not having some fancy confession planned. you assure him that it’s hard of the charm. he doesn’t quite believe you.

✧ okay but artistic couple? powerful. you show him your prose, and he lets you listen to a little of his original music. he always gets kind of nervous about it, because he needs to be The Best and he needs you to like his stuff. but of course you love it (and your personal favourites become the pieces he’s most proud of)

✧ poor boy has considered writing you a song so many times, but he keeps chickening you out. he always finds excuses not to-- when he’s crushing he’s like “no, that’s too much.” when you’re in a relationship, he’s like “i can’t because of,,, reasons.” he just doesn’t want to get it wrong, you know? but he keeps the rhythm and the lyrics he associates with you as notes between his heart strings (>:])

✧ also, when you’re finally together, he’s clingy as hell. He’s not the best at asking for affection, but he has a tendency to just,,, initiate it. And somehow, he makes it awkward like half the time. But it’s hard of his charm, and there’s nothing he loves more than feeling your fingers laced through his.

✧ those soft hours you mentioned? yeah. yeah. Semi gets super fond whenever you’re alone (especially when you two are cuddling), and he has a tendency to just,,, litter your face with kisses. You tease him for it all the time, and it makes him blush something fierce. He wouldn’t have things any other way, though.

✧ you two make me so soft and it’s such a surprise? i didn’t really expect to choose him but here we are,,, and i love you two (even if it seems like an unconventional choice). also whoops it’s so long i’ve set a precedent for myself :’)

ohira reon

✧ let’s be honest, both of you are responsible for holding the team together. having reon around is something of a godsend because it’s like “finally, someone’s got their shit together.” because while your boys are talented, they’re an absolute disaster sometimes. it’s not even that they’re chaotic or anything; it’s just that they’re prone to self-destructing? so you and reon are just. constantly on mum duty--

✧ he’s so mindful and polite, and he’s constantly thanking you for all you do. he knows you’re putting in a lot of work for them, and he wants to make sure you feel appreciated. he gently reminds you to look after yourself (especially around times of high stress), but he makes sure he doesn’t overstep any boundaries.  

✧ okay, but it’s so nice to just relax with each other every now and then? whether that’s chatting before or after practice, catching up on the weekends to discuss your disaster children, or helping each other study… he’s just a nice dude to spend time with?

✧ he’s more than willing to be a shoulder for you to lean on when times get rough. he’s well aware that you’ve got semi and tendou, but it’s certainly not a bad thing to have a sizable support system. reon strikes me as a good listener, so if you’re ever in the desperate need to rant, he’s your guy.

✧ he’s a bit supporter of you and semi. he likes how you balance him out and soften him, and he genuinely enjoys seeing your dynamic. he also just likes seeing two of his friends happy, you know?

goshiki tsutomu

✧ look,,, the moment he joins the team, he’s your son. you and tendou co-parent him. it was bound to happen, and how can you not develop a fondness for him? he definitely looks up to you like an older sibling, and your word is law in his world fdslkjdfs

✧ he just really wants to impress you! he doesn’t get the validation he’s seeking from his teammates, and that’s where you step in. give him the praise that he needs! tell him he’s doing well! he deserves it!

✧ he tries to keep up with the banter but he’s,,, not very good at it. his jokes don’t really land all that often because he’s too earnest. he’s too eager to please so he can never actually roast anyone (especially not you third years,,, the poor boy would combust before that’d happen)

✧ he appreciates how supportive you are! he’s also so, so appreciative, thanking you for listening to him, for making meals for him, for making time-tables for him,,, honestly, he’s just very touched? like you did this thing? for him? because you care about him? it makes him feel very Special, and that’s an instantaneous way to secure a place in his heart (even if technically, you’re doing it for the others too, as that’s kind of your job as a manager, but that’s irrelevant--)

✧ i don’t think goshiki’s very bright (bless), so he’d absolutely be asking you to tutor him. as with everything, he gives it his all, even when he’s got the question wrong. but, he’s your precious son, so you’re gonna do all you can to make sure he’s getting the grades he needs.

✧ i think you’d be able to get along with him quite well? just a very soft, loving friendship (also i can’t imagine you ever lashing out at goshiki, even when your patience is thin,,, just imagine the look on his face dssfklfsj poor baby,,, other members of the team are Deeply Jealous of him for that hhhhh)

shirabu kenijirou

✧ shirabu’s got a strong personality, and i think that could cause the two of you to get off to a rocky start. he’s the,,, “you have to prove your worth to me” type (at least by my count), so it might take him a few months to really understand why you’re even here (he’s still polite to you, of course, as you’re his upperclassmen, but the tension’s still there)

✧ somehow, the two of you have a bit of an academic rivalry going. sure, you’re in different year levels, but you’ve managed to make it into a competition. he’s not going to directly ask for your grades or anything like that, but you always feel like he’s testing you,,, trying to catch you out to see if he’s got a better understanding of the content than you did

✧ but because of that, he’s a really motivating study partner. if you’re both in the library (usually before practice), you feel this pressure to really buckle down and work extra hard because there’s no way you’re letting this runt beat you.

✧ a begrudging respect does develop between the two of you, and he’s willing to acknowledge all the little ways you help out the team. he also appreciates that you’re capable of being quiet ahahah

✧ he also appreciates the fact that you,,, can stick up for yourself, if that makes sense? even if it’s just roasting people? and he can’t deny how much work you put into your studies and your extra-curriculars. so, while i don’t think you guys would end up being all that close, your relationship is quite valuable.

yamagata hayato

✧ he’s a mum friend. no-one can convince my otherwise. and, that means he’s a mum friend for you, too (even though you tell him, constantly, that you’re the manager, and that means you’ve got to look after him. he doesn’t listen, of course.)

✧ he knows you’re smart and hard-working, but he wants you to look after yourself! he’s always reminding you to drink water and eat healthy. you’re one of his underclassmen, and he’ll be damned if you’re not taking good care of yourself!

✧ reminds you to go easy on the first years if you ever snap at them. he understands why, but he’s just like,,, a little calming force in moments like that. he says it’s a favour in return for you keeping track of his phone dsflkjdfljk

✧ he was one of the kindest, most welcoming members of the team when you first joined up! and honestly, the fact that he’s not A Giant (like some of the other boys), he was a lot more approachable. along with tendou, he lent a hand with helping you settle into the rhythm of things, and the two of you will always share a cute little bond because of that.

✧ he’s definitely one of the more chill members that you recharge with, and he’s also grateful to take some quiet time with the less chaotic amongst you.

✧ okay but i just have this vision of him helping you prepare food for the team? especially if it’s someone’s birthday or a different kind of celebration. i have no clue if he’s any good at cooking, but he tries.

kawanishi taichi

✧ he’s definitely one of the boys you were most intimidated by. He’s tall, and he’s got that whole expressionless thing going. He’s also not the type to,,, reach out, so your friendship develops due to propinquity more so than anything else

✧ honestly, i think you and taichi would have a cordial relationship, but not a particularly close one. you find each other pleasant enough to chat to, it’s just that you have other people that you’re closer to, if that makes sense?

✧ you’d gel best intellectually, i think. he’s clever, and he’s analytical, so i can see him sitting down and talking about the game with you. he thinks you’ve got a valuable perspective as someone looking from outside the court, so he likes to take advantage of that.

✧ often asks you what you think, and if you’ve got any ideas for improvement. The rest of the team is kind of ???? because his motivation is quite spotty, but it’s just because he likes thinking outside the box

sorry that one was short but I’VE GOT SO MANY WORDS YUKI AND I’M STILL NOT DONE

some other interactions ♡

akaashi keiji

✧ so, it's the first time you've gone to nationals with your team. and you're pretty excited. you guys aren't facing fukurodani, but your courts are next to each other during warm-ups. so, your boys get to it, and you take a moment to look around the room because you're so curious. 

✧ and, as you look over to the court next to you, you're dumbstruck because,,, the most beautiful man in the world is standing there? like it's nothing? and you're just,,, blown away. you don't notice you're staring until semi calls your name (because of course he's noticed that you're staring at someone--). you're like, "oh shit!"

✧ and as you're turning your head to call back to semi --thwack!

✧ you're on your ass. you're seeing stars. you're not quite sure what's happened. (as you were turning your head, one of bokuto's cross-courts collided directly with your face. all things considered, it's incredible that your nose is intact.)

✧ as your sight comes back to you, you see semi frowning at you. and next to him,,, oh god it's that boy. the pretty one. and poor you, dazed and confused and utterly fuddled can't quite handle it. you're being asked questions ("where are you?" "what day is it?" "how many fingers am i holding up?") and you manage to spit out acceptable answers, but your brain is going something like this: HFNHFNFHFNFHNDHSKDFFDJKJDSNFDSKJN

✧ somehow you make it to your feet, and you realise that one of your arms is being supported by semi, and the other by that pretty boy (you miss the side-eye semi's giving him). and he hangs around until you've been given a damp towel and a water bottle. "are you sure you're okay?" he asks, and you just smile at him. "i'm so sorry about that." you're unable to say much more than "it's fine" because you're so shy.

✧ and then he smiles. he smiles. It's Over For You. you can't get it out of your head, even when your game starts (even though semi is trying harder than ever to show off--).

✧ once your respective games are over (both teams came out victorious), he comes back over. and you're honestly just !?!?!?! "what's happening?" but he just smiles at you gently and says, "i'm so, so sorry about what happened. how are you feeling?" and you're like "oh, i'm fine! i feel much better."

✧ but then he goes, "let me buy you lunch as an apology." and you're like UM SIR? SIR? And he's like "I feel repsonsible because I set the ball." and you're like "THAT'S NOT YOUR FAULT UM--" and he's like "my treat." and because he's The Prettiest Person In The World, you buckle and agree to go with him.

✧ by lunch, he means a trip to the cafeteria (you're not quite sure if you're disappointed about that). but, he asks you what you want, and even though you try and pick the cheapest thing on the menu to be polite he's like "are you sure that's what you really want?" and he ends up getting you the most expensive thing anyway --

✧ (while this is happening, semi's freaking out having watched you walk off with Pretty Boy. He's just going TENDOU TENDOU WHO IS THAT WHO'S YUKI WITH WHERE ARE THEY GOING WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE'S GOT STARS IN HER EYES and tendou's just like oh my god you're so obvious ask her out already. semi: ABSOLUTELY NOT)

✧ anyway, you and akaashi are having a genuinely lovely time? you were expecting to just have a quick lunch and then move on, but the conversation's flowing so nicely, and your personalities seem to complement each other? so your heart's going thump thump because how is he so nice, and pretty, and polite enough to treat you to lunch? maybe taking a spike to the face wasn't such a bad thing

✧ anyway, he ends up getting your phone number (because he’s smooth), and you end up texting back and forth a lot for the next few months. (whenever semi glimpses at your phone absentmindedly during study and sees akaashi’s name he’s all >:( and suddenly has trouble studying. twice as bad if you smile when you see the notif--)

✧ unfortunately, it’s a bit difficult keeping in consistent contact, because you’re so far away from one another (and i see akaashi as the sort of person who’s just. bad at texting, even when he’s trying ahaha). by the time you’re officially with semi, your texting relationship had dropped off a lot. but, not completely! you gel quite well, after all, and it’s quite pleasant to have a conversation every once in a while. definitely becomes one of those friendships where you’ll catch up if you happen to be in the same area for whatever reason!

iwaizumi hajime

✧ this is a more fleeting interaction, but it’s a sweet one nonetheless. the two of you met during your second year, when shiratorizawa was facing off against aoba johsai.

✧ from the other side of the gym, oikawa turns to iwaizumi and goes “i’m going to seduce shiratorizawa’s manager because that’ll lower their morale >:)” and iwaizumi goes “you absolutely will not be doing that”

✧ but oikawa’s already on his way over, and iwa’s just like “oh god no.” so, he sprints after his friend, half-yelling the words “shittykawa, i will kick your ass. leave her alone”

✧ but then you laugh and iwaizumi’s like “oh?” and oh at the same time. you’re quick to apologize, pointing out that you just thought the name was funny. isn’t that his captain? is he allowed to speak to his captain like that?

✧ oikawa tries to recover his dignity, but you and iwa are ignoring him. and the thought playing in the back of iwa’s head is :) a girl laughed at something i said :)

✧ he manages to get through the rest of the conversation before you’re called away (he heard something along the lines of ‘fraternizing with the enemy’ from some kid with a shock of red hair), but his heart is thumping a little quicker

✧ as they’re walking away, oikawa turns to him and goes, “iwa, you should seduce shiratorizawa’s manager to lower their morale.” iwa, of course, goes “you’re such an asshole.”

✧ but, he spikes really well that game, and a small part of him hopes you’re watching.

✧ after the game, oikawa pressures him to try and get your number (he thinks he’s being a good wingman, but honestly he’s just making it worse). iwaizumi’s excuse is that it’s too hard to approach you with the rest of shiratorizawa around; how’s he going to explain himself?

✧ oikawa’s like “duh you tell them you’ve come to steal their cute manager away” and iwaizumi’s just “i am One Step Away From Striking You Down Where You Stand.”

✧ he doesn’t end up getting your number, but oikawa brings you up consantly afterwards. he keeps telling the team “come on, we’ve got to get to the finals so i can finally crush ushiwaka and lay my inferiority complex to rest so iwa can see that cute manager again!”

✧ makki and matsukawa absolutely join in on the teasing. the first and second years are a tad too respectful to do the same (although yahaba and kindaichi are absolutely on-board with trying to set iwaizumi up with shiratorizawa’s cute manager,,, they tried to find you on social media once and iwa was a bit livid because he thought it was a little creepy fslfdk)

✧ so unfortunately, this doesn’t really go anywhere, but he does think about you sometimes. It’s usually just him wondering how you’re going, and hoping that you’re doing alright (because this is iwa we’re talking about, bless his heart)

#manager matchups #rowan plays matchmaker #that was my old tag for matchups when i did them on this blog hh #so block either of those if you don't wanna see these! #i had to edit this bc there was an inconsistency kdfjfdk SORRY

[deaf-sakura]

Signal (Deaf Sakura AU)

(This took me a while to churn out but I’m not mad at it; I love any sort of feedback so feel free to chat with me in the notes or via my askbox! You can find this on AO3 right here, so stop by and drop a kudo/subscribe if you can!)

Sakura sat on the bridge with her teammates, fidgeting with the choppy bangs framing her face and the stiff fabric of her new headband. Naruto kept glancing at her with a nervous grin, like he wanted to approach her but wasn’t sure how. She smiled politely back at him, not really wanting to start a conversation through notepad this early. Sasuke on the other hand stood motionless, not acknowledging either of them.

She sighed and scooted over to one of the poles supporting the bridge, resting her ear on the cool metal. Its surface buzzed from the river rushing below, and she watched a large branch drift towards her until it hit the bridge, sending up a hollow bang that vibrated in her ear.

That was a habit she’s had since preschool; it wasn’t a ‘deaf' thing so much as a ‘Sakura’ thing. Her favorite memories involved sprawling out on the school’s merry-go-round and pressing her ear against it while Ino and the other girls played around her. She’d giggle at how the vibrations from all their running, stomping, and spinning tickled her ear, and they’d gush about how her laugh was “so cute, like a baby’s!” later on (not that she’d know or care about how her laugh resembled a baby’s).

Now she sat here with two former classmates she barely knew and was desperately missing her old friends. Ino was the only one in the academy who could sign, so why on earth weren’t they put on the same team? Why did she have to be stuck with the hyperactive knucklehead who was always shouting at her? Or the sullen emo boy who wouldn’t look at her to talk, then got mad when she couldn’t read his lips?

Sakura sighed again, not caring who heard. And this new sensei who always wore a damn mask over his face? That had to be the worst part. She couldn’t even read his lips. When she motioned for him to pull the mask down, all he did was take out a sticky note and write down his directions (she made it a point to never write anything back). And here they were, one day after the bell test, groggy, bored, and probably being stood up by their new sensei.

Suddenly she sensed someone, their chakra to be exact. Probably the teacher. She could tell he was coming towards them quickly, his energy flickering wildly through the tree tops.

She tapped Sasuke’s foot to get his attention, but he barely glanced at her. She tugged at his pants leg, and he pulled away, making it a point to step just out of her reach. She quickly turned around, jaw clenched and cheeks burning. Naruto however was still watching her, now eagerly scooting closer to hear what she had to say. She paused before pointing at the canopy of leaves; he looked back and forth between her finger and the forest, brow knitting in confusion. She covered her face with the free hand and gestured towards the trees again. His eyes flickered.

“THE TEA-CHER?!” he shouted, over-enunciating every syllable. She gave him an awkward nod and a smile. Sasuke actually perked up at this, but he still wouldn’t look straight at her.

Within a second Kakashi appeared, perched on the railing with an arrogant grin clearly plastered on under the mask.

‘Good morning guys!’ he signed, lips moving under the mask as he spoke in tandem with his signing. He smiled at Sakura. ‘You signaled to the others that I was coming. Now tell me, how did you know that?’

‘I sensed...’ her arms froze as her mouth fell open.

‘My chakra?’ he finished. ‘That’s actually pretty good coming from a rookie. Good job.’ She stared blankly at him before her lips twisted into a snarl.

‘You sign?!’ He grinned and tried addressing the group again, but Sakura leapt in front of him and pulled his arms back down.

‘Why didn’t you do that yesterday?! Instead of making me read through all those stupid little sticky notes!’ She stomped her foot at the last word.

‘Relax, relax....’ his held his hands in the air defensively. ‘I’m still getting to know you guys and you’re still getting to know me. Can’t be spilling all my secrets so quick, can I?’

‘Liar!’ she snapped.

Honestly, he had no good reason. Maybe he didn’t want to get too chummy with a team he didn’t expect to keep. Maybe he didn’t want her bonding with an ANBU assassin until he knew he wasn’t going to go get his ass blown up on an S-rank mission. But none of that he wanted to explain right then and there.

‘Listen, I want you to be able to trust me, alright? From here on out I’ll keep signing. I’m not gonna let you fall behind or feel like you’re not a full fledged member of Team 7. I promise.’ He squeezed her shoulder. She eyed him pensively before nodding.

‘Okay.... First and foremost, let me give you two these. That should kick off your signing.’ He handed the boys two pocket-sized books labeled “Beginning Fire Nation Sign Language”. Sasuke scowled.

“Why do I have to be the one to-”

‘From here on out, this is officially a bilingual team. Most ninja develop some sign language to communicate on stealth missions and to work with deaf civilians and clients. However, you three will-’

“On stealth missions?! So like, you use it as some sort of secret code?!” Naruto snapped.

‘Yes, it’s like a secret code you can use on stealth missions,’ Kakashi repeated, trying to keep Sakura in the loop.

“That’s awesome!!!”

‘No,’ Kakashi shook his head. ‘Follow me.’ He held up his hand to his face and bent his fingers like claws, then motioned Naruto to do the same. He waved it over his mouth twice, nodding when Naruto mimicked perfectly.

‘Awesome,’ he repeated. ‘Start working on this; you say it and you sign it. That’s how we all communicate.’ Naruto grinned and repeated the sign to Sakura who smiled back.

‘Like I said, most ninja learn some sign, however working on this team your skills will greatly exceed that of your peers which will open you up to more missions. Just like any other skill set, I expect you all to work on your communication skills both during and outside of official practice. Is that understood?’

Sakura nodded her fist for ‘yes,’ and Naruto followed suit. Sasuke nodded curtly.

‘Great!’ Kakashi smiled. ‘Now, let’s get on to some real training.’

..........

To say Kakashi worked their asses off was an understatement, but to his credit, he did give them breaks.

Naruto collapsed in the grass after his tenth lap around the training grounds. Kakashi grinned and handed him a dictionary.

“If you have time to sit, you have time to study!” he said a little too sweetly. Naruto happily obliged, quickly thumbing through his new book. Sasuke used this as motivation to keep moving until he was dry heaving at the base of a pine tree. 

When Sakura fell to her knees panting, he loomed over her with that same saccharine-sweet grin behind his mask.

‘Let’s see.... You obviously don’t need to work on your signing. What can we work on while sitting down, hm?’ She shrugged sheepishly. He hit his fist into his palm with sudden realization. ‘Your academy teachers said you were great with chakra control!’

He pulled her up by her elbow and dragged her to the edge of the pond.

‘You’ve used chakra to climb up trees before, right?’

‘Just a little bit.... Ino’s dad taught me.’

‘Great! Well this isn’t much different. Focus your chakra at your feet, and just follow me.’ He stepped out onto the water and took three wide steps before turning back to her. She was smiling ear to ear in awe.

‘It’s the same idea, except you’re using your chakra to gently repel the water rather than glue yourself to the surface. Your turn, follow me!’ Sakura glanced between her sensei and the water before taking a shaky step onto the pond. Once she shifted enough weight on it to know it wouldn’t fall through, she lifted her back leg from the shore and put it in front. She started hobbling over to Kakashi’s side, latching onto his arm before she could lose her momentum. He quickly turned and dragged her out further onto the pond until they were way too far from shore for Sakura’s liking.

‘Now....’ Kakashi made the sign for chakra by his shins, telling her to redirect her chakra there.

‘And now sit!’ He pushed down on her shoulders until she awkwardly knelt on the surface. She bobbed shakily, her calves getting swallowed and spat out by the water until she found the right balance of chakra over so much surface area.

‘Good work. Now see how long you can hold this position while I go check on the boys.’ Kakashi grinned.

‘Wait, I just stay here like this?!’ Sakura snapped.

‘Yup, just come join us when you’re done!’

‘I don’t wanna fall in!!!’

‘Hm.... I can’t say I blame you. You better focus then!’ With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Now...Naruto, how are you doing?” he hummed. Naruto perked up at Kakashi.

“Oh...I’m doing great! I really like this stuff Kakashi sensei!” he grinned.

“Great. Show me one sign you’ve already learned.”

“Okay!!!” Naruto eagerly crossed his forearms and stuck up his thumb and pinkie on one hand, then started flexing his fingers on the other.

“Bullshit!!!” he hollered, cackling to himself. A single bead of sweat slipped down Kakashi’s forehead.

“Okay great. No, really, fantastic. Got anything useful though?” Just then a scream echoed around them followed by a splash. 

“She can swim right? Okay, yeah, she’s swimming, she’s fine,” Kakashi mumbled before turning back to Naruto.

Naruto hummed before touching his pointer finger to his wrist and waving his free hand.

“Leaf! Like the village.” Kakashi gave a more earnest smile at that.

“Alright, how about you Sasuke?”

“Tch.” 

Kakashi sighed and Naruto grimaced.

“Come on bastard, this stuff is actually pretty cool! Plus you should try to learn to talk to Sakura just a little bit! Not like we can be passing notes in the middle of a mission.”

“I don’t need to talk to her, loser. I don’t even need to be talking to you, either. You’ll both just get in my way.”

“Sasuke,” Kakashi hummed, giving him that fake smile. “No man is an island, no accomplished ninja today got where they are on their own. I know you have...goals. And signing with us won’t exactly help you accomplish them. But trust me when I say, becoming an integrated member of your four-man squad will help you develop your skills in the long run. It’s in no one’s best interest for you to isolate yourself.” He calmly held Sasuke’s gaze until the younger broke away. Just then Sakura came trudging in, soaked pond water.

‘I fell in!!!’ she snapped, huffing in anger.

‘You poor thing. Will you live?’ Kakashi snorted.

‘I saw him sign “bullshit” and it broke my concentration! How did he learn that?!’

“Ooh Kakashi-sensei, she cursed at you! I caught that! I’m already pretty sharp, huh?” Naruto laughed. Sakura caught just enough of what he said to look bemused.

‘Alright team!’ Kakashi spoke and signed. ‘I’d say we got off to a good start today. Meet back at the bridge tomorrow and we’ll start discussing our very first mission! Until then, you are all dismissed.’

Sasuke quickly turned on his heels to head home, while Naruto started running off and yelling his goodbyes behind him. But as Sakura tried to leave, Kakashi tapped her shoulder.

‘I’m just now realizing, I never got your sign name,’ he said. Sakura smiled shyly. She held up two fingers on each hand and traced them down the sides of her head, from her scalp to her ears. Kakashi copied her.

‘Ah, so like your headband?’

‘Not really. I had this ribbon growing up that my friend Ino gave to me. I wore it to hold my hair back with every single day until I was given my headband. I still have it though, the ribbon!’ she grinned.

‘Okay then, Sakura....’ He emphasized her name now that he had it. ‘I’ll see you back at the bridge tomorrow first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I want you to start thinking up sign names for all of Team 7 so we can easily communicate. Understood?’ She nodded before he once again he disappeared in a puff of smoke, letting Sakura be the last one to leave the training ground.

#sakura haruno #pro sakura #deaf!sakura #sakuino #inosaku #deaf sakura #team 7 #kakashi and sakura have a good HEALTHY student/teacher relationship #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #kakashi hatake #deaf character #based off ASL

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Acrobats (ARCHIVED)

The story has been condensed into one document for easier reading

No one is born an orphan. Sure some babies could be an orphan three seconds after they take their first breath, but the mother is always alive when she gives birth. If only I had been as lucky as those children. I don't know, maybe my father was happy and kind once, but the death of his wife snapped him. All I know is that my father was a drunk and that he hated me from birth. How do I know? My earliest memory was of him coming home, drunk again, when I was three. I don't know what motivated him, maybe my name was already Tora, even though he never called me that before, or maybe an ANBU who happened to wear a tiger mask 'escorted' my father home. Whatever the reason, my father thought it would be funny to carve tiger stripes into his three year old daughter's face. No one saved me, mostly because my father scared everyone. He was supposedly a powerful ninja before my mother died and left me to his cruel antics. My father hit me, kicked me, made me his slave, abused me, cut me, and threw things at me like an unwanted animal. My dark past thankfully ended when my father died, whatever the cause, when I was five. I was finally free of him.

 I'm not here to tell you a sob story. What's done is done, nothing can change that. I could long for the lost seconds of my youth, but they would still be lost. I could cry in anger how my mother left me with him, but it would be useless. I refuse to be hurt by my father, a man who I knew only as abusive, or by my mother, a woman I never knew. My life is my own.

 I remember the day after I was imformed that he was dead. I can't remember if I found him or if someone happened to tell me, all I remember was that I left. I walked out of that nightmarish house and never returned. I remember walking down a street clogged with people and all of them screaming about a tiger demon. I had been confused, until I had realized that they were talking about me. My scars made me look like a demon. The day I was set free was the day I learned what life was like. Subjecting a small child to the hate and disgust of the world the day she becomes an orphan. I did what I knew best, I locked my heart away and let their insults wash over me like water of a stone. Nothing could touch me. Nothing. Not my mother's betrayal, not my father's cruel abuse, not the strangers hard words. I had found an abandoned house to live in and settled down, coming out only at midnight to steal nessecities from the people who purposely left things there for me to take. Not all of them thought me a monster.

 v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v

 "COME ONE, COME ALL!! COME SEE THE AMAZING TORA AS SHE PREFORMS ACROBATS FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!!!" I rolled my eyes at Reiko's embelishment. I told him to make it simple. I was glad I had, no telling how wild he would have gone had I not made my orders clear. Reiko had been my caller for the past six years, ever since I had taken him from the orphange. Over that time we had grown close, so close that we thought of each other as siblings. Reiko was twelve, three years younger than me, yet he had the deepest and loudest voice I had ever heard of. I stood up as he said, "HERE SHE IS!!! PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!" I scanned the crowd below the building I was standing on. Over the years the number of people grew from about ten people to hundreds. I placed my hands on the lip of the building and backflipped off it, landing gracefully on my feet two stories below. Reiko smiled as the crowd clapped and began to work the crowd, begging for money.

 I arched my back until my head was pressed firmly against the small in my back. Over the ten years I had lived on the streets I had taught myself acrobatics so that I could support myself rather than living off the people. Placing my hands firmly on the ground I slowly lifted my legs until I was standing straight up on my hands. The crowd 'ohh'ed and 'aww'ed, even though these moves were old. I lifted my right hand off the ground with smooth practice. I slowly raised my left hand and the crowd gasped. It was almost impossible for someone to be able to hold their weight soully on two fingers. I say almost because I could do it. After ten years of hand standing I should be able to. I stayed in that position for a few minutes before flipping upright.

 The crowd cheered. But I wasn't done yet. I bent forward so that my hands sat a foot from my feet. Using my right leg as a lead, I flipped over so that I bent backwards. I bit my lip, this was a hard part. I lifted my left hand and moved it closer to my foot. I followed the same with my right hand. Then I moved my feet so that my hands and feet were touching each other. My back screamed and I managed to retain the position before having to stand up. I followed the move with a few basic flips and cartwheels to loosen up my knotted back. I pulled a back flip in midair so I didn't bore the crowd with everyday tricks. I stood still in the middle of the space, waiting. Reiko took his cue and made his way out of the crowd. There wasn't much I could do with a slight twelve year old boy, not as much as I could with a full grown adult. But no one else trusted me as much as he did. I put my hands on his shoulders and slowly, so I didn't topple him, flipped over him. I stood straight for a minute, doing a complete handstand on his shoulders, before letting my legs fall the rest of the way. I pulled a few more tricks, including lifting him up while doing another handstand, before stepping away from him.

 Reiko roared out, "I HOPE YOU'RE ENTERTAINED!! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DONATE MONEY TO KEEP OUR LITTLE SHOW GOING, THANK YOU!" I saluted the crowd and scaled the wall, using invisible chinks and cracks to climb. I ducked into the shadows and watched as very few people handed Reiko bills and coins while the rest despersed. I sighed, looked like another hard week. I made my way back to our hideout/home. I sat down and took a piece of wood out of the homemade basket that I had found on one of my 'suppliers', as I called the people who helped me, stands. Not only did I preform, I also sold wood carvings.

 I inspected the foot long log in my hand. It was generally straight, except from a slight curve at one end. The most troublesome flaw was a two inch knot in the middle of the piece. I groaned fustrated, this carving would have to be realively small to avoid the knot. I picked up my dull kunai and set to work, first things first, get rid of the bark. I dug into the wood and scaped along the grain, peeling back a sliver of the papery smooth bark and set it aside. One thing I learned over the years, you could always find a use for something. I continued the boring task of stripping the wood of it's bark, then, once the last piece fell, began to work on digging the knot out. Soon my right hand was sore and red from the hard kunai handle. I switched hands and continued.

 Reiko finally made it back just as I finished smoothing out the hollow that the knot had left. I caught a glimps of the sun setting behind the Hokages' mountain as he pushed back the ratty cloth that covered the doorway. I frowned at him, "Where have you been?" I demanded, just like the typical over protective older 'sister'. Reiko tossed me his bag of money, "Some thugs tried to get the money. I was lucky that the shinobi stepped in or we wouldn't have any food this week, except what you get from your 'suppliers'." I didn't trust the leaf ninja, or any ninja for that matter. No one had stopped my father from abusing me, they didn't protect me from the smacks and kicks I got from the villagers. Yet my 'little brother' still admired the shinobi as he should. Reiko didn't have my cursed luck. If he was in trouble the ninjas always found him in time. With me, they either ignored the Tiger Demon, or they were never there. It didn't matter.

 I grumped and asked, "How much?" I held up the very light bag and shook it experimentally, hardly a jingle. Reiko shurgged, "Enough to either have one hot meal between us, or enough for one cold meal each." I groaned, looked like we would be relying on my 'suppliers' this week. I pushed my raven hair out of my orange eyes and looked up at him. "So... do you want to get supper with our money, or use it as a last resort?" Reiko thought about it, "Supper, I'm starving." I rolled my eyes, "You aren't the one who works." Reiko punched me in the arm playfully and I laughed. I only laughed around Reiko, no one else.

 I took my 'brother' to Ichiraku Ramen, the one place that treated me decently. The kind old man and his daughter smiled when they saw me coming with a hand on my 'brother's shoulder. "Tora, good to see you! How long has it been again?" I settled on the seat farthest to the right, Reiko sitting on my left, "I don't know, three weeks maybe?" The chef laughed and placed two bowls in front of us, "Enjoy. Tonight's on the house." I smiled at him. This is why I liked coming to Ichiraku Ramen, five times out of ten we get to eat for free. I broke apart the chopsticks and began to eat, pausing every now and then to talk with the chef's daughter. We were what some people could call friends, but if we ever met in the streets I wouldn't acknowledge her unless she called to me first. Reiko just shovled food into his mouth, not talking. I mentally sigh at his lack of manners, but after six years of trying to teach him I finally gave up.

 The chef called out, "Naruto! Good to see you." I glanced at the new party sitting down two seats from my brother and immediatly look away. A genin team. I shook my head so that my raven hair curtained my face, shielding my scars from them. Reiko finally looks up from his bowl, admiration shining in his green eyes while my orange ones held distrust. The blonde boy about Reiko's age answered the chef, I guess he was Naruto. "Good to see you too!" He was the closest to Reiko with the others seated on the other side of him. He glanced over at us in polite curiosity, I ignored him but Reiko didn't, "Are you really a shinobi?" My eyebrow twitched, it should be obvious due to the Hitai-ate. I elbowed him to keep him quiet, but Reiko was in charge of his own mouth, not me. the Naruto kid nodded and moved his headband so that the metal plate reflected the ramen stand's lights, "Yep." He chuckled then squinted at Reiko, "You look familiar." It was Reiko's turn to chuckle, "You might have seen me in the orphange when we were younger, I'm Reiko." That stilled me, did Reiko know Naruto from before I took him? I never knew that.

 Naruto thought back, his blue eyes narrow in consentration. His face looked so comical that I could help but smirk. Then he peiced it together, "Reiko? The one who disappeared right before we went to the Academy?" I winced at that, wishing once again that I had either let Reiko go or grabbed him before the night they were to go to the Academy. Reiko nodded happily, "Yeah, that one. But I didn't disappear, I left." Naruto's eyebrows were pulled even farther down his nose, "Why?" I finally spoke up, keeping my eyes on my bowl of ramen, "Because I asked him to." "And you are?" The jounin asked, looked over Naruto's head while the other two genin leaned around him. I didn't take my eyes off my bowl but comtept grew in my voice as I spat out, "Tora. The Tiger Demon." Naruto looked surprised, as did his team mates but the jounin's face mask hid his reaction. I pushed my hair behind my ear so they could get a good look at my adnormal colored eyes and scars. The girl genin gasped. I always wore a mask when performing so I didn't scare away the crowd, but I always took it off after the proformance.

 I turned away from them, ignoring the shinobi as I continued to eat. The jounin asked Reiko after a moment of silence, "Why didn't you go to the Academy?" Reiko shrugged, "Because my adopted sister never did." It warmed my heart to no end when he said that, even in my bad mood. The jounin glanced at me then back to Reiko, "Why didn't she?" Obviously he knew I wouldn't answer any questions. Reiko shrugged, "I don't know." I never told anyone why I didn't go, but it was rather a simple reason, who would want the Tiger Demon in a class room? For all they know, I might try to kill my fellow class mates. I stood abruptly, not wanting to hear them talk about me as if I wasn't there, "Thank you for the ramen." I said to the chef and his daughter. They nodded and smiled, "Come back again, we love having you." The chef said. I twitched a smile and turned around, calling over my shoulder to Reiko, "Be home before dawn." I really didn't care what he did, he was his own master as I was mine. I was in no positon to order him around, even if I was three years older.

 When I got back to our home I sat down on the roof to stare at the stars. I smiled, no matter how difficult my life would be, the stars would always comfort me, they were my constant companions, my closest friends. I could sit up for hours just watching the stars march across the night sky. Reiko didn't understand my need for them, just like I didn't understand his awe for shinobi. I sighed and looked away from the sky. Reiko. He wasn't like me, he needed human contact, I couldn't keep him anymore. I knew what I must do, and I knew Reiko would hate it, but deep down he would thank me someday.

 I had to let him go, to give him back to the village, before they shunned him like they did me.

 Early the next morning I went to the orphange. Reiko was still asleep when I left, there was no way I was telling him my plan. My knocking was answered by a kindly old lady, that is kind until she caught sight of my scars, "What do you want?" She snapped. I refrained from rolling my eyes, once again glad I didn't let them take me when my father died. "I want to talk about Reiko." The old woman slipped outside and shut the door, this time I did roll my eyes. Everyone was afraid I would corrupt children. The woman glared, "What about him?" I hesintated, if she actually did what I asked for once I would lose my brother. I would lose the only family I cared about.

 The cranky old woman placed her hands on her hips, "Well?" I straightened, "I want him to be entered in the Academy." I stated and the woman stared at me for a moment before getting ahold of herself. She huffed, "It's too late for that. He's old enough to be out on his own. If you wanted him to be in the Academy maybe you shouldn't have stolen him right before he went." She turned and was about to walk back in the building when I grabbed her shoulder. She screeched and shook me off, I glared, "I'm trying to fix that mistake, why don't you stop trying to shun me and take the boy? Stop punishing him for my mistake." Even though Reiko agreed to go with me willingly, I was going to shoulder all the blame like I had for my whole life. The woman hesintated this time. She glanced down the road to see if anyone was watching her talk with the Tiger Demon. She glared back at me, "I'm sorry, if you want that poor boy in the Academy you are too late. He's too old." I sighed, "Then how do I get him to be a shinobi?" The woman shrugged, "How should I know? I'm in charge of orphans not shinobi." She snapped.

 I walked away calling over my shoulder, "You're not in charge of all of them." I could hear her fustrated scream as I turned down a back alley. No one was in charge of me, something I liked to remind people constantly even if they didn't listen. Walking to the Academy I stuffed my hands deep in my pockets and yawned. I should still be in bed, but I needed to get this mistake untangled before my brother found out and could stop me. Though it was early in the morning classes were just starting at the Academy. Fearful ten year olds stared at me as I walked through the halls, probably scared that I would eat them for breakfast. I rolled my eyes, I was just as normal as the next fifteen year old, with the exception of scars. Iruka, a chunnin who treated me well, frowned when I walked in. His class stared wide eyed at me, most afraid only three or four mesmerized by my scars.

 "Can I help you?" Iruka asked, slightly irritated that I inturrupted his class. I jerked my head towards the door and left silently, expecting him to follow. When he did, after a few minutes just to show me my place, I spoke before he could scold, "I want Reiko enrolled in the Academy." Iruka looked taken back, then he frowned again, making his nose scar bunch. I don't know how he got it, only that it was probably the only reason why he even tolerated me. "He's too old. He should be a genin by now." I nodded my head, "I know, but can you blame me? I have no one else." Iruka sighed, "Why the sudden change of heart?" I could talk to Iruka, better than I could to Reiko. To me Reiko was a kid and so he should be spared from my problems, Iruka however... he was an adult who treated me decent and who understood some of my problems. I leaned my head back againt the wall, "I realized that he wasn't cut out for the life I have. He needs people."

 Iruka raised an eyebrow at that, "We all need people, some more than others. I'm sorry Tora, but there is nothing I can do." I sighed, defeated, "Who can I talk to?" The chunnin shugged, "I don't know. The Hokage, if you could get that far. Maybe a sensei, to see if they would be willing to privatly train him." I nodded once and left without a good-bye. If I was going to get my brother into the Academy, or get him to be a shinobi, I would have to fight for it. And what better what to kill a problem, then go right to the head?

~No One's POV~

 Commotion outside the Hokage's office brought the Yondaime Hokage's head up. (A.N. Yes, Minato is still alive. No Kyuubi attack, no death of Naruto's father) The genin team he was speaking with turned towards the door as he stood, probably ready to deal with any threat that came through. The door was pushed open by two ANBU dragging a girl in. Minato raised his eyebrows in a silent question and the ANBU on the right spoke, "We caught her trying to scale the wall to the Hokage's Tower." The girl huffed, but her black hair veiled her expression, "If I really was trying I wouldn't have been caught." Minato surpressed a smile and leaned against his desk, "Why were you trying to get caught then?" He asked, greatly amused by this girl's so-called master plan.

 She cleared her throat, "I want to enroll my little brother in the Academy, or find a jounin who would train him privatly." Everyone was surprised at that, who in the world would get caught just so she could talk to the Hokage about her younger brother? The girl seemed to read the unspoken question correctly, "Who would let the Tiger Demon in the Hokage's Tower? For all you villagers know, I might try and kill you." Even though her voice was flat, Minato detected contempt in her words. The girl lifted her head so that her hair fell away from her face revealing her famous scars and orange eyes, which were blank and expressionless. Minato glanced at the genin team, Team Eight, to judge their reaction. All three kids were frightened like they were raised to be, but Kurenai was carefully hiding her thoughts. Minato sighed, shaking his blonde head, he had tried to stop the villagers from spreading rumors, to make them understand that Tora wasn't a demon. Just a girl with a hard life. Only a few listened to him, but even they found it hard to accept her.

 Minato shooed everyone out of his office and closed the door, leaving him and Tora alone. She stiffened, her distrust rolling off her in waves. The Yondaime Hokage sat back down at his desk, and motioned for her to take a seat. She did, perching on the edge of the seat, ready to flee at any moment, "Tora, why couldn't you speak with the Academy or even the orphange?" He asked. The girl looked mildly surprised that he knew her name, but she still answered, "I already tried, both turned me away saying Reiko was too old. Iruka suggested either the Hokage or a jounin." Minato nodded absently, leaning back against his chair, "Why? You know he'll be picked on for living with you." Most girls would have bristled at the statement, but Tora just shrugged, "He's lived with that for six years, what's the rest of his life going to matter?" Minato gave a fustrated sigh then, if this girl was so uncaring he might be able to do something. "I'll tell you what, I can give your brother to a genin team, if he does well he can become a part of that team." Tora narrowed her orange eyes, "And if he doesn't...?" She asked cautiously. Minato shrugged and stood, "There are many other lines of work in which he can succeed in." Tora glared, her eyes hard with anger and... something else. "I don't think you understand my predicament. The shinobi are the only people who treat me realitivly well, Reiko's only hope out of the life I got him in is to either leave Konohagakure or become a leaf nin. Would you rather have a boy with contempt for this village running around, or have a loyal shinobi?"

 Minato couldn't help but laugh, which made Tora finally offended, "You are wasted in the streets, Tora. I'll see what I can do to reassure that Reiko has every chance possible, don't worry. Now, is there anyway I can convince you to leave the streets?" Tora looked taken back at the question, then she slid her impassive mask back on, "If my brother is successful, then maybe." She stood and managed a vague bow before walking back out. Minato shook his head, and called Team Eight back in. Kurenai watched as the fifteen year old disappeared, "What did she want?" The Hokage glanced up at the woman, but nothing but worry and concern touched her face. "She wanted her brother to be a genin. Can you inform Asuma that I want to talk to him?" Kurenai bowed but didn't ask for details, even though she would find out soon enough.

 ~Tora's POV~

 I didn't return to our home just yet, most likely if I did Reiko would kill me for multiple reasons; starting with the fact that I didn't tell him where I was going. Instead I walked the streets, head bowed and shoulders hunched to make myself a small target. Even though I showed no intentions of harm, I still recieved digusted looks, avoidance, even the rare smacks from those barve enough to touch my revolting skin. Nothing touches me heart though, as it hasn't for ten years. I don't know why they even bother, they know they can't get to me. My suppliers that I can see ignore me and I them. Some of the shinobi watched me with distrust, others looked pitied. I didn't need their pity, I didn't need their sorrow, concern, distrust, anything. All I needed from them was a way to get my brother to become one of them, and for them to leave me alone.

 I passed in front of the Hyuuga compound. The dark haired and paled eyed members of the clan glared at me, their Byakugan activated, watching my every move. I just watched them out of the corner of my eyes, cautious. Too many times I have run into the Hyuuga and too many times I have come away perplexed. They were arrogant and didn't seem to understand any one's problems, not even the normal people. I could only hope that Reiko didn't end up with one of the two genin Hyuuga kids. I was about to turn away when I saw a little girl, probably no younger than three, smile at me and waved at me from behind who I guessed was her father. I stop and stare at her, doesn't she know who I am? Her smile falters a little and she sinks farther behind the man. I blinked several times and walked away without a second glance. All my life no one but Reiko ever showed my any positive emotion, and even with Reiko it took years. So why would a little girl, someone who didn't know me except for the rumors, smile as if we were friends? Humans confused me sometimes.

 I continued down my path, glad that the population was starting to thin out the farth away I got from the Hokage Tower. Bored I did a few front flips a few times, then began to walk on my hands to practice my next proformance. The outside world disappeared, nothing mattered anymore. I couldn't hear what the villagers said, I couldn't feel what they did to me. I was in my moment where the only thing that mattered was my acrobats. This was my zone, where I mattered.

 Something hit me hard and, before I could fall and break my neck, I flipped up to my feet, glaring at the intruder. The man that I had ran into was laughing, bent over clutching his stomach. His hair was short and unkempt. He had a pale skin tone and upturned markings at the edges of his dark eyes. Beside him was a younger boy, about my age or a little older, with long hair tied back at the nape of his neck and the same onyx eyes as the first. What looked like tear lines marked from his eyes down to his cheeks. He wasn't laughing, just watching. The older boy, if he could be called that, wiped streaming tears away and held out his hand, "I'm sorry, I should have moved. Uchiha Shisui." I blinked, for the third time that day I was caught off guard. Uchiha was another powerful clan, probably the most powerful. Why would one of them hold his hand out to the Tiger Demon? They had full view of my face and scars, surely they knew who I was. Uchiha Shisui raised an eyebrow and dropped his hand, "Cat got you're tongue?" He joked and I frowned, was he... teasing me? I turned to walk away, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me and spun me back to face them. The Uchiha didn't look happy any more.

 "What, are you mute?" He asked, the mirth gone from his face. I shook my head, "I can speak." Both Uchihas exchanged glances, something unreadable passed between them. The older looked back at me, "What's your name?" I narrowed my orange eyes, "Don't get out much?" I snapped and he laughed, "Oh ho! Kitty has bite. Now are you going to tell me, or do I have to keep calling you 'Kitty'?" I was tempted to hiss and run, but it was obvious these two were ninja and could catch me in an instant. "...Tora." I said after a while. Uchiha Shisui and the younger Uchiha exchanged glances again, "The acrobat?" Shisui asked. I huffed, "I was walking on my hands when I ran into you, isn't that answer enough? Or do you need more proof than my scars?" The younger Uchiha narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. Shisui, however shurgged, "We know about you, but we don't know you. Come on, Itachi." The Uchihas turned and left, leaving me to ponder over his words.

 I shook my head and walked back towards my home, it was now or never. I couldn't keep putting my encounter with Reiko off. It was time that he knew what I was planning and I knew he wouldn't like one bit of it.

 "You did WHAT?!" Reiko screamed at me. I sighed, wishing I was anywhere but here. "You can't really expect me to be happy that I'm leaving you by yourself, becoming something that you hate!" He yelled and I cut him off, "I've lived fine for four years before I met you. And besides I don't hate the shinobi, I just mistrust them." Reiko narrowed his green eyes and I sighed again, I knew what was coming. "So you'll mistrust me? Is that what you're saying?" Reiko growled. I rolled my eyes, "No! You'll be the only one I do trust if you become a leaf ninja!" "You're doing this for selfish reasons?" He hissed and I glared. That kid was really started to get on my nerves, "I've been watching you Reiko, you need human companionship." He geastured wildly at me, "And what are you? A jackass?!" All my emotions drained away, "No I'm the Tiger Demon. You are going to be a shinobi and that's final." Reiko's eyes filled with tears, "What about you?" His chin trembled, another sign that my little brother wasn't cut out for my type of life, "I'll get by. Come on, We're going to see the Hokage."

 The Yondaime Hokage circled Reiko, inspecting my brother while his furture team stood across the room from me. I stood with my back to the window, ready to escape at the slightest threat. The Hokage stopped in front of a very sullen Reiko, "Your sister says that she wishes you to be a shinobi, but I can't force you. Do you want to be a shinobi?" He asked. Reiko swallowed and glanced at me, I kept my gaze flat determined not to show Reiko how much I hated leaving him. Reiko looked back at the Hokage, "I would like to be a ninja..." He trailed off and the blonde got the hint, "But?" He probed. Reiko glanced at me agian before turning back to the Yondaime Hokage, "My sister, she has no one but me." I refused to meet the Hokage's blue gaze. I was almost tempted to just abandon Reiko, but that could make him hate me. I didn't want that. "Is this true, Tora?" The Hokage asked me, I wordlessly nodded then looked up at him, "Unlike Reiko, I can survive." The Hokage glanced at the genin team spread out across from me. I studied Reiko's future team, unlike the first genin team I met here these kids seemed unaffected by my presense. Good hopefully I could still visit Reiko without them interfering.

 Reiko looked down at his feet, but not before I could see the hurt in his eyes. "Alright, I'll try to be a shinobi." I could barely hear his voice, but the pain lacing it broke my heart. Like I had done all my life I buried my feelings deep within my heart and locked my heart away. I took a deep breath and I was expressionless once again. "Good luck." I told my brother and jumped out of the window before anyone could stop me. I landed on my feet then rolled so I didn't break any bones. The villagers around me gasped in surprise at my sudden appearance, but I ignored them. I ran down the street, dodging anyone who got in my way. Someone with a heavy load stepped in my way and I used my speed to run the wall to avoid him. I cut through alleys and blindly jumped over fences until I came to a place I thought I never would visit again. My childhood home.

 The house was abandoned, cobwebs hung sagging to any surface while dust coated the floors and old furniture in an inch thick layer. Sunlight filtered through the dirt clogged air casting a dingy glow to everything. I gulped and glanced around, everything was attached to a horrible memory. There was the spot where my father carved my face, I could still see the dark spot of my blood. And that cracked vase sitting harmlessly on a decorative shelf had been thrown at me. There was the chair that broke my arm. That picture used to be framed, until my father had hit me with it, causing the glass to break and cut me. I walked farther into the desolate house, looking at every place where my father had chased my childhood youth away. That stain on the floor was from when my father had cut the inside of my elbow, causing blood to gush out at an alarming rate. There was the broken pieces of a statue and the crater on the wall from where it hit, barely missing me. Something clinked against my foot, causing me to glance down. Empty glass bottles, some shattered, were piled carelessly to one side. Whether my father had thrown them there or if someone who had looted the house for valuables did so, I didn't know. I bent down and picked one up. dried liquid hung to the insides, creating a dirty film that colored the glass a murky brownish grey.

 I set the bottle back down gently, as if afraid that my father would come in roaring for me to stay away from his stuff. This place had caused me nothing but pain and despair, but I was oddly happy to be back surrounded by it's cracked walls. This house had watched my father abuse me endlessly, but it had guarded me against reality, keeping my scarred face away from the scrutiny of the world. It was like that old friend who constantly hurt you, but would never betray you and who always listened to your pain without judgment. I touched the rough walls, glad that this house still stood telling it's tale of my childhood to anyone who cared to see.

 I stayed at the house that night, knowing that Reiko would most likely be out looking for me to give me a piece of his mind. I sat with my knees drawn to my chest, watching dust motes float through the air. I refused to sleep in this house, not after all the things that happened here. I may have made my peace with this place, but I would never feel completely safe in it. The sun dipped down in the sky and disappeared, leaving me in darkness.

 My eyes were beginning to feel heavy when a sudden clatter and a garbled laugh startled me. Who in the world would come near here? This house was avoided almost as much as I was cursed at. Slurred voices accompanied by the sound of glass breaking and loud laughter. Drunks. Of course they wouldn't avoid this place. I should have realized that they would be here, those bottles were evidence enough, but I was too stupid to realize that. Now I would face the consequences of my mistake. I stood shakily, my legs had fallen asleep. I took a step, hoping to escape before they found me, and my still weak legs gave out from underneath me. My hand shot out to catch myself but rammed into the edge of a side table, making the thing topple over the vase on it shattering. Silence descended on the dreary night.

 A flash of something out of the corner of my eye and searing pain stabbed at my ribs. I bit my lip to smother the scream rising from my throat, muffling it to a groan. Dark figures stumbled towards me, "Wha' you doin' here?" One of them, a man by the sound of his voice, slurred. I scooted farther away, hand clutching my bloodied side. The speaker stepped on my hand, I closed my eyes again the pain, "I asssked, wha' ya doin' here?" He leered crouching over me, putting even more weight on my hand. A shaft of watery moonlight cut across his face, letting me see my attacker. His face was flushed from the drink, and his teeth were yellow and crooked. Greasy hair hung in straggled clumps around his head, I couldn't tell the color of his eyes in the dark.

 He shifted forward making my bones grind uncomfortably against each other. I still didn't answer. "Na goin' ta talk, huh? Ma'be if we cut ya, then wha'?" I nearly laughed; cutting me wasn't an option of torture. My father ruled that out a long time ago. When the drunk realized that his threat didn't bother me, he changed tactics, "How 'bout breakin' a few bones? Yer fingers are real thin, don' take much ta snap 'em." Still wouldn't work, my father made sure of that too. If there was anything my father did for me, it was raise my pain tolerance higher than normal. The man grabbed my throat, cutting off my air. "Ya strong, aren't ya? How 'bout we just use ya?" My heart stopped for a second, that wasn't something that I could resist.

 Adrenaline pulsed through me. Untrained as I was, I could still land a good strong kick when I wanted to, and I did. The man doubled over, groaning and I wasted no time in jumping out the nearest window, my arms covering my face, its glass cutting my skin as it shattered. Shouts filled the house behind me. I stumbled down the deserted street, trying to find my footing, but my entire legs were still numb. I made it maybe ten steps away from the deserted house when my knees hit the ground. Pounding feet behind me; but I was too tired to care now, all I wanted to do was lay down and close my eyes…

 ***

 "I don't care! I'm going to..."

 "Her condition is worsening, I don't know if she'll survive or not."

 "Broken bones, a punctured lung, and a concussion. What did they DO to her?!?" "Just heal her."

 "Tora..."

 ***

 The first thing I felt was an excruciating pain throbbing all over my body, not one inch left out. It felt like hot needles were plugged into every pore in my skin, burning all the way to my bones. Nothing could compare, not even when I first started teaching myself acrobats, not even my father cutting my face. Opening my eyes was hard; and only one would work, my right eye wouldn't open. At first the bright whiteness blinded me, making me squeeze my eye closed again. I must of made a sound because someone gently touched my right hand. A woman's voice I didn't recognize spoke softly, "Tora? Can you hear me?"

 I rolled my head to the side so I could look at the woman. She was buxomly with caramel colored eyes and a small purple diamond peaking out of her straw yellow bangs. The rest of her yellow hair was tied back in two longs ponytails. I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was so dry, I was expecting nothing but dust to come out. The woman reached for something out of my view, a glass of water. She helped me drink, which irritated me to no end, but at least she wasn't leaving me to fend for myself.

 "...H...How?" I forced out of my mouth, it almost sounded like a strangled choke. The woman seemed to catch on though, "You were found unconscious and someone brought you to the hospital. You've been out for almost three days." She left silently after that before I could ask her anything else. Like who found me. I lay back down and closed my eye, questions swirling in my mind.

 ***

 "Awhhhhh, that's not fair! Grandma Tsunade said she was awake." A kid whined from the foot of my bed. I kept my eyes closed, wanting to hear this conversation. Reiko hissed back immediately, "Quiet Naruto! You might wake her up!" Naruto was the genin kid from Ichiraku Ramen; Reiko must have made friends with him. Naruto grumbled, but much quieter, "Still, we came all this way just to watch her sleep. I had to beg both my Otou-san and Tsunade to come visit and she's not even awake!" Naruto was nearly shouting again by the time he finished. Reiko shushed him, threatening to go get Lady Tsunade if Naruto wouldn't shut up.

 Naruto couldn't be silenced though, "I know you're thinking the same thing. The whole time she was unconscious you've been here and now the day before you leave for a mission she won't wake up." "It's not like she has a choice, if she did I'm sure she would be awake and telling you to shut your mouth or else." Reiko snapped at his friend. I couldn't tell if it was playful or not, but he sounded quite upset.

 A new voice, male and older than both boys, spoke, "What are you doing here?" Though his voice was barely above a whisper, it shut both Naruto and Reiko up. "I-I-Itachi-san, w-we were just coming to see if Tora was..." I drifted back into unconsciousness before Reiko could finish.

 ***

 When I woke again it was dark in the room. A slight hissing sound came from outside, confused I frowned at the window. It wasn't until lightning flashed across the night sky did I realize it was raining. I struggled to sit up, but the tightly wound bandages restricted my movements. I grunted and laid back down, so much for leaving before I was kicked out. Now that I was awake and past danger I suspected that the medics wanted me gone, if I could move I would have beaten them to the punch and leave.

 I twisted to reach for the glass of water kept on a nearby table just as lightning flashed again, illuminating my room. I paused at the glimpse of a single flower sitting in another glass of water. I couldn't tell the color or the type of flower in the second of light, but it looked like a sakura blossom. Who would go through the time to get me a flower? Reiko was too busy and probably wouldn't do such a thing anyway. I didn’t know anyone besides my little brother. I fell asleep again thinking over the flower and its mysterious sender.

 ***

 The next day I managed to stay awake most of the day. The woman, Lady Tsunade, forced me to stay in bed, glaring at me when I tried to tell her otherwise. For once I didn't disobey, that woman had the deadliest glare I've ever seen. She and her assistant, Shizune, checked up on me every two hours. Sometimes another girl came in, quietly moving around avoiding my gaze. I didn't say anything, I just watched her silently.

 Around noon she checked my heart rate. I finally spoke up, "Who brought me here?" She jumped and glanced at me guiltily then quickly away. I refrained from rolling my eyes. Like the Tiger Demon would attack someone when she was hurt and trying to heal. "Uchiha Shisui and... I-Itachi..." I raised my eyebrows, the two Uchiha's I had met were the ones who found me? They were the least I expected. I thanked the girl, but she was already out the door so she probably didn't hear me.

 When Lady Tsunade came in I managed to persuade her to bring me a book so I didn't die of boredom. I think she was a little surprised that I could read. I didn't blame her, after my history who wouldn't be surprised? Reiko had made it his personal goal to teach me to read when we first met, among other things, like actually socializing when needed. She brought me a thick book of different medical procedures, which I found actually very interesting. So interesting that I started ignoring whoever came in my room.

 Because I was the Tiger Demon, I didn't expect any visitors; but right before the end of visiting time, the Hokage came in. At first I didn't pay attention, too caught up in my book, until he cleared his throat. I glanced up, surprised to see the Yondaime Hokage standing at the foot of my bed. I silently raised an eyebrow, I refused to be flattered by the attention. Minato smiled, "I see you are healing well. Most people beaten half to death wouldn't recover so quickly." I frowned at him, marking my place in the book before putting it aside, "An abusive past can alter a person's healing rate. And raises their pain tolerance." The Hokage sobered at the mention of my dark past. "Tora, could you describe the people who attacked you?" I glared now, "Why do you care?" I growled back.

 Minato scowled, "Because, contrary to popular belief, you are a part of Konoha." I shrugged, trying to act as if his words didn't affect me when they did, "It was dark, I couldn't see them. I can tell you that they were drunk and seemed to be staying at my... childhood house." I couldn't call that place a home, not anymore. I could easily forget things that happened in the far past, not recent events. The Hokage nodded, "Thank you, Tora. I hope you feel better soon." He left after that. I picked up my book again, but I couldn't consentrate on it. My life was changing before my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it.

 By ten the next day I had read the medical book from cover to cover, earning a reprimand from Lady Tsunade for staying up all night to do so. Shizune brought me another one, this book over the different poisons and their symptoms. Since the volume was smaller I had it read by four that afternoon. It was then that Lady Tsunade deemed me ready to exercise; I suspected it was because she was running out of reading material to lend me. There were limits of what I could do, I couldn't leave my room, I had to use a crutch to keep pressure off my broken leg, and I could only walk under supervision. Considering the alternative of laying in bed forever I was happy with what I could get.

 On my third day of being fully awake, I had another surprise. Shizune was sitting on my bed, chatting with me as I walked around the room. Over the days I had come to know her, we had become very close, despite the age difference. I looked up to her as if she was my older sister, though I would never tell her that. The door to my room slid open and a certain Uchiha walked in, looking cheerful as always. His dark eyebrows migrated to his hairline when he saw me by the window, crutch in hand. "I was still expecting to see you unconscious, Kitty." I automatically scowled, "My name isn't Kitty. It's --" Shisui waved a dismissive hand, "Tora, I know. Humor me." Shizune slipped out then, so silently I didn't notice she left until the Uchiha sat in her empty place.

 "So, six days and already you're walking about. I do believe that this is the fastest recovery I've ever seen." He said conversationally. I bit back a sarcastic reply and asked instead, "Why did you save me?" Shisui gave me an amusing look, "I didn't save you. Itachi did. I just happened to tag along." I sat down in one of the chairs and crossed my arms, "Fine, why did Uchiha Itachi save me?" "He didn't save you, my cousin found you unconsious." Shisui bantered. I nearly screamed in fustration, "Why did he bring me here? Why did he do anything? And if you give me another cryptic answer I swear I'll bash your head in." Shisui had the audacity to laugh, "Kitty can hiss and spit." He commented to the air. As I raised my crutch above my head, intending to smack him, Shisui hurriedly said, "I told you, Tora, we know all the rumors about you; but so far none appear to be true."

 I lowered the crutch, "What's that got to do with anything?" I asked warily. Shisui looked dead seious, for once, "If the you were really a danger, I don't think the Hokage would let you live in Konoha. Itachi and I both know that. To me, behind those scars you're just another fifteen year old girl who has been misunderstood. I suspect Itachi feels the same," Shisui stood, his good humor back in place, "Good-bye Kitty. If you're a good girl I'll bring you a treat next time." The glass of water I threw at him smashed harmlessly agaisnt the door where his head should be. I nibbled on the inside of my cheek, wondering why two powerful Uchiha men didn't just look at my scars and think me a monster. Why Shisui made an effort to cheer me up and why Itachi seemed to care whether I lived or died.

 After seventeen days of being stuck in the hospital, I was starting to get on everyone's nerves and visa-versa. Shisui seemed to be the only person who wasn't too affected by my irritation. But then he was the only one who could come and go when he pleased, so he wasn't always around me at my worst. Lady Tsunade wouldn't let me go until Reiko came back to make sure I was taken care of. When I tried to tell her that I could survive on my own she just gave me a look; I guess my days as fending for myself were over.

 Reiko returned that evening. I was reading yet another book when suddenly my little 'brother' burst into the room, panting slightly. I braced myself for a lecture, but instead Reiko just pounced on me, doing his best to crush my ribs again. I grunted at the twinge of pain in my side and Reiko leapt back as if I burned him. He blushed, "Sorry, I forgot." I laughed softly, "I don't care. It's not every day I get a hug from you." A moment of awkward silence passed between us.

 I cleared my throat, "So... How was your mission?" Reiko gave me a funny look, "How do you know I had one?" I had to quickly save myself; luckily, after all those years of being a street rat I learned how to lie with a straight face, "Someone mentioned it when I asked where you were. They said you were probably on a mission or something, since you are a genin now." Reiko relaxed a little, "Fine. My team and I had to escort some old man to his village. Nothing like hiring a genin team to make you feel important. At least that's what Ino says." I noticed he reddened a little at the mention of this 'Ino'.

 I smiled, "I'm glad your fitting in. You seem to enjoy it." Reiko cast me another look, this one I couldn't interpret, "Still, it's nowhere near as fun as spending time with you. They don't know any good jokes." I laughed, "Those jokes are stupid. Anyone could do better." I responded, but Reiko wouldn't be outdone, "Fine, they have no sense of humor. I mean, our Sensei smokes all the time, Choji does nothing but eat, Shikamaru makes me feel dumb and he's extremely lazy, and Ino is always mooning over Uchiha Sasuke." I perked up at the mention of the Uchiha clan, "Uchiha Sasuke? Who's that?"

 Reiko rolled his eyes, "Apparently the greatest genin in the class. I think he's just a big jerk with a super-large ego." Reiko glanced at me, "His older brother, Itachi, was the one who found you." I nodded, "I know, Lady Tsunade told me; and Shisui, their older cousin, has been keeping me company since I woke up. He won't let me forget the fact." Reiko seemed a little surprised that I actually held normal conversations with someone other than him.

 As if to prove my point, Shisui walked in just then. "Hey Kitty! Good to see you actually trying not to kill someone. Who's this?" Reiko looked offended at Shisui's nickname for me, but I had gotten used to it over the days. "Shisui this is Reiko, my adopted brother." Shisui studied Reiko, who looked uncomfortable in the presence of an ANBU Black Ops. The Uchiha tilted his head, "Your the kid that Tora went through so much trouble to make you a shinobi? Your sister's work better be paid off."

 I couldn't tell if Shisui was kidding or not. Before I could ponder it, he changed the subject, "Hey you're Sasuke's age, aren't you? What do you think of him?" Reiko gulped and looked down, I stiffled a giggle. Just a minute ago he was dissing this Sasuke and now, he was supposed to tell Shisui all about how much he seemed to hate him. Shisui saved him by answering, "Think he's a prick? Because I do. He's worse than Itachi, and that's saying a lot!"

 The door slid open again to show none other than Uchiha Itachi, looking on the verge of impatience. Shisui didn't even look slightly embarrassed. Itachi looked at his older cousin with masked eyes, the perfect picture of an Uchiha clan member, "Did you give your report to the Hokage yet?" He asked quietly. Shisui sighed, "No, I came  to say hi to Kitty." He turned to me, mock saddness in his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kitty, but it appears I have to do my duty." He left whistling a tune happily. I must say it took a lot to embarrass him.

 Reiko made some lame excuse of having to be somewhere for something and practically ran from the room. My poor brother, he acted like he was scared of Uchiha Itachi. Which, getting a good look at the young ANBU Captain, didn't surprise me. From the things I've heard of him, he had became a genin at age seven, a year later he activated his Sharingan, and passed the chunin exam at ten. That wasn't the end of his ambitions though, apparently Itachi even became an ANBU Captain when he was thirteen. In other words, by the time people his own age were learning the ways of a ninja, he was at the top of the list. I also heard was that he was the prodigy of his clan, surpassing even Shisui, who was talented as well.

 Itachi studied me laying in the uncomfortable hospital bed for a moment before silently turned and headed for the door. I felt as if I should say something, "Thank you." I whispered. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, silently inviting me to continue. I looked down at my hands, suddenly shy, "T-thank you for saving me. And not leaving me to die." He just continued to watch me, then he spoke, "You're welcome." Like a shadow he left.

 ***

 Since Reiko was held up with training the next day, it was Shisui and his silent cousin that checked me out of the hospital and walked me to my new home. Reiko had managed to get a hold of a real home, not an apartment, for the two of us so I wouldn't be left on the streets. He even managed to coerce Lady Tsunade into giving me a job at the hospital in return of learning how to heal. He told me it was to keep me busy while I was healing, but I knew he was planning for me to keep the job. Even after six years of living with him, that kid still surprised me.

 Shisui kept the conversation flowing all the way to the house. He and Itachi walked on either side of me, silently daring anyone to insult me in their presence. But even they couldn't stop the glares and spits in my direction. Shisui noticed the villagers' dislike towards me. He watched an old woman scurry down the road away from us, when she realized that her path crossed mine she turned around and headed back where she came from, then asked, "Why do they do that?" My emotionless mask was back in place, "They don't see me, they just see my scarred face. It's rare to find someone who sees me."

 Itachi spoke for the first time that day, "Not as rare as you think." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, "What do you mean?" All three of us stopped. Itachi's face was blank as always, "Not everyone in the village sees you as the Tiger Demon." Then he turned and walked away, his dark ponytail swinging slightly from his pace. The girls he passed sighed dreamily, hoping that they would have the luck of catching his gaze. A few even started stalking him. I glanced at Shisui and we both burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

 Shisui left me to explore the house alone. It was simple, just a kitchenette with a small table in the center, two tiny rooms, a shared bathroom, and a main room separating it all. The place was furnished already, either that or Reiko spent a lot of money to make this place a home. I smiled when I spotted a rolled up mat and a basket of seasoned wood in the corner of the main room. Reiko thought of everything. I hobbled over to the window, taking in the practically deserted street. My brother had went through the trouble of finding a house near the hospital in a secluded spot, but not entirely deserted. Such a wonderful thought.

 It was nearly dusk when Reiko came stumbling home. I had already rearranged the house to my liking and fixed dinner for both of us, eating my portion when I couldn't wait anymore. Being the older sister that I was, I coddled him, forcing him to sit down at the small table and eat while I stood over him. Finally when I had forced him to eat half of his dinner I took the rest of the food and set it out for anyone to grab. I knew what it was like to starve; if anyone was out there looking for their meal, then there were easy pickings. Reiko stayed at the table, watching me limp to the basket of wood with a stern eye, "You overdid it today." He commented.

 I whirled on him, hands on hips, "Who’s in charge here?" I asked, half kidding. Reiko grinned and pointed to himself, "I'm the one who bought the house, and the one with a paying job, so I am." I tried to keep a stern face, but a smile managed to twitch itself onto my face, "I'm the one who made you become a shinobi, so I am. End of discussion." Reiko turned serious again, "You're still healing, and Lady Tsunade will kill me if she knew you exhausted yourself." I snorted, and opened my mouth to snap, but Reiko cut me off, "Go to sleep, Tora. You have to get up early tomorrow." Growling about annoying brothers and their demands I stomped off to my new room, Reiko's chuckling following me as I left.

 By dawn the next morning I was ready to go, but Reiko managed to force breakfast down my throat, claiming that it was Lady Tsunade's orders. I retorted that she was going to have a piece of my mind if she thought she could tell me what to do. Reiko immediatly offered to walk with me to the hospital so he could witness the show off. I threw the bowl I was eating out of at him.

 We were half way to the hospital when I heard someone shout, "Reiko-kun! Wait up!" Both Reiko and I turned to see a pretty blonde girl running towards us, her long ponytail swinging back and forth in time with her pace. "Reiko, Asuma-Sensei is treating us to dangos, wanna come?" The girl asked, panting slightly. I could tell from the way she stood, ready for an attack, that she must be a ninja, a genin from the looks of her age and respect to this Asuma person. Reiko glanced at me and I nodded, "I'll be fine." Reiko just frowned and turned back to the genin girl, "Ino, do you mind if we walk Tora to the hospital, Lady Tsunade would kill me if she showed up without me as an escort."

 Ino looked surprised to see me, I saw a flash of fear in her violet eyes, then it all disappeared into a forced smile, "Of course! I'm Ino, Reiko's team-mate. You're his sister Tora right?" I nodded silently. Ino continued to babble, "I'm so glad he's my team mate. I don't want to get Reiko angry, he's really good at taijutsus, as good as Rock Lee!" Well he should be, after working with me during all those years as acrobats. I didn't realize I had spoken out loud until Ino asked, "You're an acrobat? I didn't know that, I bet you're really good at taijutsus too. Maybe Gai, Lee's Sensei, could teach you or something; but I'd be careful, Gai is very... enthusiastic."

 We reached the hospital, but Ino didn't look like she was ready to leave yet, "Why are you here again?" She asked me. I looked at the uniform grey building, wondering the same thing, "Reiko got me a job here. You two have fun, I think I can make it from here." Reiko turned to Ino, "You go on ahead, I have to speak with Tora for a minute, I'll catch up soon." Ino looked a little disappointed but waved and walked away. I raised my eyebrows when Reiko looked back at me, he looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to put it, finally he said, "Have a good day." And ran off to join his friend.

 As I walked into the hosptial I thought about my encounter with Ino. Except for the brief glimps of fear when she first saw me, she acted very friendly. I just hoped that it wasn't for some cruel joke. I had had enough of those in my years on the streets, if my new friends were like that, I would kill them. With my mind on such thoughts the first words out of my mouth when Lady Tsunade greeted me as I walked in were, "Why does everyone help me?" Lady Tsunade blinked, but answered, "Because you are not a monster, just a little girl." I barely refrained from rolling my eyes, but didn't push the subject. "Lead me where you want me." I stated and the woman laughed.

 "Well I was going to put you to cleaning the floors, but the Hokage has suggested something that is so much better." Lady Tsunade said, I just raised my eyebrows, inviting her to continue. "Minato thought that visiting the patients would be a good idea. That way they see you as a girl and not the Tiger Demon." I had to admit, the idea was a good one, but ever being the pessimist I asked, "And what if I upset them and make it worse?" The blonde woman frowned at me, "Well aren't you a bundle of fun?" She snapped sarcastically before going on, "We'll start with the people who we know don't mind you, then go from there." Without another word the woman turned and walked away, expecting me to hobble after her.

 In the first room an older woman smiled, "Good morning, Lady Tsunade. Who's this?" Lady Tsunade dipped her head in respect and said, "This is Tora, she's here to make sure your comfortable. If you need anything just ask her." She left me with the woman, who then ignored me completly by reading. I guess tolerating someone wasn't the same as actually enjoying their company. I stood with my back to the patient, looking out the window; unfortunatly her view was not very good, her window overlooked a small alley and that was it. I could see three children playing in the street, kicking a ball around or something. It was hard to see from my point of view. I smiled though, their life was no where near as hard as mine, and for that I was glad.

 "How old are you?" At first I ignored her, I was so used to being ignored myself. It wasn't until she cleared her thoat loudly that I realized she was talking to me. I spun around, "I'm fifteen." The patient looked mildly surprised at my young age, "You're the acrobat, right?" I nodded. She looked thoughtful for a minute, before asking, "What is your name again?" I know she knew my name, but she wanted me to say it. I keep my gaze on my feet as I say, "Tora..." "Clan name?" The old woman asked right after my answer. I was starting to feel uncomfortable, "...I-I don't have one. Not that I know of." The woman didn't believe me, "Of course everyone knows their clan name, it shows that you belong." I stay silent, she wasn't very subtle in telling me that I didn't belong. I turned around and faced the window again, the kids playing in the streets were gone.

 When Lady Tsunade came to get me an hour later I said, "They may tolerate me, but they still don't like me." The medic raised a blonde eyebrow in a question so I told her the conversation between the older woman and me. Lady Tsunade waved her hand, "I didn't say you were going to be loved, it takes time you know." I still felt sorry for myself, no matter what Lady Tsunade would say.

 She paused in front of another door, "Maybe he'll be more understanding." She slid open the door and pushed me inside before I could do anything. An eight year old boy looked up, his eyes wide as he took in my scarred face. I didn't smile, I had learned that smiling twisted my face even more than the scars already did, scaring anyone who didn't know me even more. Instead I tried, "Why are you here?" I asked timidly, expecting the kid to start screaming. He lifted his right arm, or what was left of it. Pink streaked bandages covered the stump that was supposed to be his elbow. From the look of his face, I knew he didn't want pity, he was sick of it. I took a step closer, "Have you been here long?" He wordlessly nodded. I inched closer so that I was standing at the foot of his bed, he still didn't flinch, "What's your name?" The boy hesitated then rasped, "Nasake Jiro, how did you get those?" He pointed to my scars, "They look like tiger stripes." I smothered my smile, "I got them when I was young. Younger than you."

 Jiro looked back down to his stump that was his right arm, "Something fell on my arm, crushing it. They had to cut it off. How did you get your scars?" I bit my lip, I didn't like saying that it was my father, most people wouldn't believe me, "Someone didn't like me very much. They were drunk when they did it." Jiro let the information sink in then whispered, "My mama died when I lost my arm, so did my baby sister." I sat down on the edge of the bed and patted his ankle, he didn't even tense up at my touch, "My mother died when I was born, and my father when I was five. Is your father still alive?" He nodded, then sniffed. I moved beside him and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. Jiro broke down sobbing and buried his face in my shoulder. I rocked back and forth, humming a tuneless melody until he calmed down enough that I could let go. He still sniffed periodically, but I didn't comment. Sometimes people just needed to cry. I did in the beginning, but after I was exposed to reality I locked my tears away, refusing to let them come out.

 I leaned away a little, "Listen, Jiro. Things may seem bad, but they will get better." He rubbed the back of his hand across his nose and said shakily, "How? It will never get better." I gave him a look that said Your telling me that? but I answered what Reiko told me a long time ago, "You'll never be the same, but you'll learn to be happy. It takes a long time to heal, it took me four years to finally laugh again. I have a grotesque face, I know it's hard to smile when people are either pitying me or hating me, but I have people who treat me like I am a normal person. Those people are the ones who cheer me up, no one else." Jiro looked up at me, "Are you one of those people?" I let a small smile spread across my face, he didn't shiver or look disgusted, "I can be. It's your choice." Jiro leaned back in his bed, nodding to himself, "Okay, you are." I thought I'd never feel so needed until then. Jiro looked at me, "Tell me a story." I mentally sighed, Reiko liked me to make stories out of the carving I did when he was younger. "There once was a fox who loved to steal everything in sight..." I started.

 Lady Tsunade came in some time after that, I looked up from the picture I was drawing at the side table. She raised her eyebrows at the sleeping boy then at me, I stood, "I'm a really bad story-teller, I always put people to sleep." I scribbled that I would be back tomorrow in the corner of the drawing and slipped out of the room with Lady Tsunade. She seemed impressed, "I thought he would be your worse patient. Jiro's been quite difficult to everyone else." I shrugged, "He hates pity and sympathy. I did when I was his age, I still do. Besides we have a lot in common." The woman just gave me a look, "Anyway, it's your lunch break. You can pick up afterwards. I believe someone is taking you." I gave her a strange look, but we were already in the waiting room.

 Shisui grinned widly when he spotted us while Itachi just looked bored beside him. I had a feeling that Itachi just went along to make sure his cousin didn't do anything stupid, that or he was constently being dragged into things. I walked up to them, "Your taking me on my lunch break?" I couldn't keep my skepticism out of my voice. Itachi actually answered, "Lady Tsunade is very protective over her patients." Like always he couldn't give a straight answer and left me with more questions then before. Shisui read my mind, "Yes, since Reiko is training and you don't trust anyone else. Lady Tsunade wants you to have an escort until you can take care of yourself. The last thing we need is you back in the hospital." I was touched that people besides my adopted brother actually cared about my health, but I would never tell them that. "Okay, so where are we going?" I asked after a while as we walked down the main street. Shisui smiled, "I can't tell, it's a surprise."

 "Come on, Kitty, quite fighting and just get over it." Shisui pleaded as he literally dragged me towards where they were taking me to eat. My heels were digging into the ground as my friend pulled me forward. A crowd had gathered, laughing at the comic scene, even Itachi was having a hard time keeping his face expressionless. I pushed at Shisui's arm, leaning as far away from him as I could, using my weight against him. Shisui suddenly let me go, causing me to crash to the ground. The crowd roared even louder. My Uchiha friend towered over me, snickering at his deed, "You had to admit, Kitty, you had that coming. Now can you just act like a sane person and stop making this difficult?" He asked.

 I glared and hissed at him. Shisui gave me a funny look before bending over, hands braced on knees, laughing even harder than before. I took my chance and scrabbled to a stand and tried to make a run for it. Instead I ended up nose to nose with Itachi. For a brief moment the world froze as I stared into his onyx eyes, and finding a spark of amusement buried deep within his eyes. I ducked away, feeling heat raise to my cheeks and tried to slip around him; but he stepped in my way. Before I could try to escape again, Shisui had caught me, still chuckling. "Kitty, either you eat with Itachi's family or go back to the hospital hungry."

 Ten minutes later I was sitting between my Uchiha friends, trying to avoid looking at Itachi’s father, who continuously scowled at me. I tried not to take it personally since he glared at everyone, but was failing miserably. Mikoto was really friendly, she reminded me of Shisui in a way, and it was she and Shisui who kept the conversation going. It wasn’t until she cleared away the food that Fugaku spoke, “So you’re Tora.” It wasn’t a question. I silently nodded, keeping my eyes glued to the table; I didn’t like adults, they reminded me too much of my father. I only respected the Hokage, and Lady Tsunade helped me before I knew her. Even though Shisui was technically an adult, he acted like a goofy teenager so I trusted him.

 Shisui shot a glance at Itachi, but his cousin ignored him. I had a feeling that neither of them knew Fugaku knew of me. Fugaku leaned closer, "Karasu's daughter." My head jerked up at my father's name. Fugaku took that as a yes, "Karasu was my team mate as a genin." I looked away again, "I wouldn't know that. I hardly knew my father." Fugaku was silent for a while, then asked, "And your mother?" I shifted uncomfortably, I didn't like his probing, "Dead when I was born." "Pity, she was a kind woman." I glanced at him, wondering how the head of the Uchiha clan knew about my parents that I didn't know. Mikoto spoke, "Hikaru, your mother, was also Fugaku's team mate, and my best friend. She introduced us." I glanced back and forth between the two adults, here was connections to my parents that I would never meet. Suddenly I was very eager to know the two Uchihas.

 Unfortunatly before I could expand my knowledge of my parents Itachi stood, "Forgive me, Otou-san, but Shisui and I are due for a mission, and we are needed to escort Tora back to the hospital." Silently I stood as did Shisui, and with one final bow we left Fugaku and Mikoto. Once again between the two Uchiha men as had become our positions. Shisui was, for once, quiet; he continuously glanced at Itachi, frowning. His younger cousin either chose to ignore him or didn't notice, the latter being unlikely. I could feel the tension thickening in the air over my head. A few feet from the hospital, Itachi finally looked at his cousin, "What?" He asked flatly. Shisui narrowed his eyes, "It was obvious Tora wanted to know something about her parents, why did you make us leave?" He growled. Surprised at my friend's uncharacteristic attitude, I actually took a step back from him. Itachi didn't show any sign of anger, but I could tell he was starting to lose his patience, "She's not ready to hear about them yet." How dare he say that!

 I glared at the stoic Uchiha, "What gives you the authority to chose what I hear and don't hear?" Itachi turned to me, and I flinched from the fury smoldering in his endless black eyes, "I've heard the stories." My anger returned in full force, "So that automatically gives you premission to withold them from me. I am not a baby to be coddled, I know my father was evil, he gave me these scars! I've lived on my own since I was five and--" Itachi gently placed his fingers over my lips, shuting me up effectivly. The rage was gone from his eyes, in place was... something. "I know your story. Trust me Tora, you are not ready to know about your parents." Without waiting to see if I would argue or not, he turned to Shisui, "Let's go." Shisui looked from his cousin to me and back, his expression knowing and somewhat sly. "Very well. I'm sorry Kitty, but this mission will take awhile, you'll just have to make do until we come back to keep you company." I rolled my eyes as I walked back to the hospital, calling over my shoulder, "Finally, some peace!" I could hear Shisui laughing as I entered the main door.

 The woman at the desk in the waiting room looked frightened to see me, but she let me know that Lady Tsunade was in the emergancy room and I could go about my rounds if I wished. Since I knew of only two patients, I went to see Jiro. His nurse was just leaveing as I reached his door, she smiled and place a finger on her lips then pointed to the door. I nodded and slipped quietly into his room. The boy was sleeping peacefully, his bandages had been replaced and he had shifted in his sleep, but otherwise he was exactly as I had left him earlier. My drawing had been moved to his night stand so it was the first thing he saw when he woke up. I walked over to the window and stood there, basking in the warm sun filtering through the glass. Jiro had a view of the better part of the city, with the Hokage Tower looming in the background. The roof of the floor below Jiro's petruded out so that he could go outside without leaving the hospital.

 A moan behind me made me turn, Jiro stirred in his sleep and mumbled, "Mama, no... not that way..." I smiled at his sleeping form, poor little boy. He had lost so much the day his mother and sister died. I was luckier, I lost things taken for granted over a period of time, stretching out the hurt and grief instead of being waylaid by in a matter of minutes. I sat down in the chair by the bed and touched Jiro's hand gently. He stilled and muttered one last word before slipping farther into sleep, "Mama..." I jerked my hand back, surprised that Jiro, even in his sleep, would confuse me for his mother. I sat back, thinking over the conversation between Itachi and I. What was so bad about my parents that he would try to keep them from me, even when he knew my father had scarred my face?

 XxXxXxX

 "Tora...?" I jumped at my name. Glancing up I saw Jiro blinking sleepily at me, from the darkness of the room I knew the sun had set. Which meant I had been in Jiro's room for hours. That worried me, Lady Tsunade wanted me to continue my rounds after lunch; and even if she was too busy, Reiko would have stopped by to walk me home. Jiro seemed to catch unto my moment of panic, "Tora? What's wrong?" I automatically tried to protect him like I always did with Reiko, "Nothing, I just realized how late it is. I must have fallen asleep." Jiro still looked worried, "Shouldn't you be home by now?" I covered with a joke, "And miss your company? No thanks. I better get going, my brother will be worried, the worrywart." Jiro smiled, "Okay, see you later." He called as I left.

 I ran back to the waiting room and asked the girl at the reception desk, "Where is Lady Tsunade?" She looked startled, but there was no fear in her stormy grey eyes, "She's still with a patient, one of the senseis was badly injured during a mission." Maybe Reiko's sensei was the one injured, and that was why he didn't come for me. "Which sensei? Asuma?" I demanded. The girl stuttered, "N-no. Sensei Kakashi of Team Seven. He--" A voice interuppted her, "Are you Tora?" I turned to see an oddly familiar dark haired boy Reiko's age looking back at me with no emotion. Cautiously I nodded. The boy stood and walked toward me, causing the girl behind the desk to sigh dreamily. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke and your brother asked me to take you home since his team was called on an emergancy mission." Immediatly distrust swam up, I thought Reiko didn't like Sasuke, so why would he chose the kid to escort me home?

 As if reading my thoughts Sasuke said, "Reiko thought that you would be more willing to go with me since you are friends with my cousin and older brother." His explaination was reasonable, I'd give him that. "Why you? Why anyone, I can walk home myself." I stated. Sasuke shrugged and stuffed his hands in his short's pockets, "Shisui and Itachi wouldn't like it if I left you. They are very protective over you." It warmed my heart to hear from someone else how much my friends cared for me. I waved a hand, "Fine." Sasuke turned without another word and lead me out of the hospital.

 Halfway to my house I came to realize why both my brother and Shisui didn't like Sasuke. He didn't say much, but from what he did say I knew he was a stuck up jerk (A.N. Sorry Sasuke fans, but don't worry, she'll change her opinion soon) who thought everyone, with a few exceptions, were all weaker than himself. He had even hinted that Itachi and Shisui were foolish to befriend me. I finally stopped and turned to him, "Look kid, I don't care if you hate me, I get enough of that from everyone else; unless you change that attitude of yours, you're going to end up with a lot more enemies than friends. I know you're going to make enemies anyway, being a shinobi, but don't go looking for them. That will get you killed." Sasuke glared at me and opened his mouth, but I spoke before he could, "I can find the rest of my way home." Then I turned and stalked away, favoring my still healing leg.

 Over the next few weeks I fell into a routine. In the mornings Reiko would walk me to the hospital and I would go on my morning rounds, always saving Jiro for last, just before lunch. After lunch with Shizune, and rarely Reiko, I would go about my afternoon rounds, making sure to check with Jiro and one or two of my other favorite patients during my frequent breaks. At dusk Tsunade, if she was free for that day, would take me aside to teach me basic healing. Then I would visit Jiro until either Reiko or Sasuke would come fetch me. I would fall into my bed, exhausted and sleep until Reiko came to wake me and begin the process again.

 I was just walking in from my lunch break when a very pregnant woman was rushed in by who I guessed was her husband. Immediatly the nurses ran forward, analyzing the wailing woman with sharp presicion. I watched mesmerized with the proceedings, it wasn't very often that I got to see the people I worked with in action. The man spotted me, "What's she doing here? Get her out before she curses my wife and child!" The nurses didn't even glance up, all of them had gotten used to my presence that they didn't even think about me. I backed away, my hands held out in to show him I meant no harm. When I reached the main hallway I turned and fled.

 Umi, another patient I had befriended, looked up when I came in. She was an older woman, cynical to everyone but me. "Tora, you look as white as a sheet. Here, have a drink." She pushed her own glass towards me, but I shook her head. I didn't like taking from the patients. She scowled at me, "Take it or I'll shove it down your throat." We both knew she was too sick to even get out of bed, let alone force me to drink her water, but I took it just in case she tried. She folded her hands over her stomach and said as I guzzled the lukeware water greedily, "Now, do you want to talk about it? Or did you just come to bother me?" I looked down at my lap, "A pregnant woman came in when I was returning from lunch..." I started, feeling foolish now.

 Umi raised her eyebrows, "So? What's that got to do with me?" I shook my head, "Nothing, I didn't know who else to talk to." Umi sighed, "Girl, either you tell me what's really eating at you or go bother that poor boy in room 206. What's his name? Jiro that's it." She answered her question before I could even open my mouth. I tried again, "Her husband thought I would curse her and the babe." Umi snorted, "Then half this hospital is good and cursed, including the nurses. That's still not the problem though." Finally I spit it out, "No one ever explained to me... you know... how women get pregnant in the first place..." I mumbled. Umi stared at me, "Never?" I shook my head, feeling my face heating up. Umi still looked startled, "You never overheard anything? Never went to anyone before now? No one ever just flat out said something that caught your attention?" With each question I shook my head, blushing even deeper.

 The old woman sat up, a sparkle in her eye, "Well then, little Tora, it's long past time you found out..." (A.N. I'm sorry! Random idea, humanizing moment, how could I pass it up!?)

 XxXxXxX

 Half an hour later I bolted from Umi's room, my face on fire, the old woman's cackling still ringing in my ears. Turning a corner, I ran right into Lady Tsunade. The older woman yelped and fell back against the wall. A bundle in her arms began to scream. I jumped away, ashamed that I had made the baby cry, whether from seeing my face or the fact that I nearly flattened it, I didn't know. Lady Tsunade sighed tiredly, "I just got her to stop crying." I stammer, "I-I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama." She shook her head, "No, I was looking for you anyway." I looked at her confused, Lady Tsunade never sought me out when I was doing my rounds. She waited for any announcments during our training sessions.

 "What for, Lady Tsunade?" I asked curiously. Whatever she wanted must be important if she was seeking me now. Instead of answering me right away she positioned herself so I could see the baby held in her arms. The little girl was still whimpering from her fright, her eyes tightly closed and her little face contorted. She was so small, smaller than what I would have ever believed.

 One tiny fist shot out of the bundle and waved violently in the air. I backed away, thinking I had frightened her. Lady Tsunade smiled, immediatly reading my responce, "No, Tora. She's too young to understand fright. Besides, she can't see your face." I guess Lady Tsunade was right, with her eyes so tightly closed she wouldn't be able to see my scarred face. I looked at Lady Tsunade, "What's her name?" The older woman looked a bit uncomfortable, she wouldn't meet my eyes when she said, "She doesn't have one." I turned back to the beautiful baby, wishing that Lady Tsunade would let me hold her. But I knew that even if I wasn't the Tiger Demon, Lady Tsunade wouldn't trust my inexperiance. "Why not?" I asked, not completly fazed that Lady Tsunade was acting a little strange, or that the girl wasn't named yet. I touched her fist and the babe immediatly grabbed my index finger, barely able to wrap her whole hand around my finger.

 "Because she won't ever." That got my attention. I looked up at the blonde woman in surprise. How could this little girl never have a name? Lady Tsunade gave me a sad smile, "The reason why she can't see your face is because she was born blind, Tora." I stared horrified at the little girl, to never see was horrible, more horrifying than my past. Looking up into Lady Tsunade's eyes I asked, "What's that got to do with anything?" Just because she was blind didn't mean she couldn't have a name. I had a scarred face, but I had a name. Reiko's parents both died shortly after he was born, but he still had a name.

 The blond woman sighed, "Tora, this little girl is the baby from that couple that came in with you during your lunch break. Her parents think that she's born blind because you cursed her. They refuse to accept her as she is." I slumped, another person was shunned because of me, first Reiko and now this innocent little girl. I looked at Lady Tsunade, dejected, "Why are you telling me this?" I asked. She answered quietly, "No one will take her, not when the story will spread of how you cursed her. Not even a good family would risk taking her and lose standing with the village." My eyes began to widen as I realized what she was saying. I began to shake me head. Lady Tsunade nodded, "Not now, she's still a little baby. But if you don't do something, this little girl will grow up like you. Alone and shunned because of something you were wrongly accused for."

 I began to feel paniced, "But I'm only fifteen, I can't raise a child." Lady Tsunade gave me a stern look, "You raised Reiko when you were nine." I glared at her, "That's different, he was older and he knew from the start that I wasn't his mother. This girl will think I'm her mother." The blonde woman sighed, "Tora, I'm not giving her to you today, she needs hospital care before she can even leave this place. I'm only showing her to you now so you can chose her name, and to warn you that you might have a new addition to your house." I gave her a wry look, "Might?" Lady Tsunade shifted the baby and placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'll give her a year, if no one decides to adopt her then you'll have to take her. She can't live in an hospital all her life."

 "Why can't you take her?" I asked, trying hard to keep the whiney tone out of my voice. Lady Tsunade barked a laugh, causing the girl to squirm in protest, "I'm not good with kids. Besides I'm too busy here to take care of a baby girl." I heaved a sigh, "Fine, if no one claims her in a year I'll take her." Lady Tsunade smiled, "I knew I could count on you, Tora. What will you name her?" I peered into the face of the baby girl. During our discussion she had opened her eyes to reveal a pair of cloudy blue eyes, she stared at the ceiling blankly, her tiny hands waving in the air as if to find something in the dark. I touched her cheek with one finger and she grabbed my finger, making whimpering sounds that tore at my heart. "Tenshi." I whispered to her. I glanced up at Lady Tsunade, who was watching me with a small smile, "I like the name Tenshi." I said a little louder. The older woman smiled, "Tenshi it is. If you ever want to visit her, she'll be in the care facility. Do you know where it is?" I nodded, first door on the right on the first floor. I passed by the room every day, staring into the wide window at the squalling babies.

 Lady Tsunade rewrapped Tenshi so that her hands were back in the bundle, "Go about your rounds, I'm sorry I made you late." I shrugged, "I don't mind." Turning I walked down the hall to my next patient, a grumpy older man who, unlike Umi, didn't like me; but then, he didn't like anyone. "What do you want?" He demanded as I walked in his room. I had leaned early on that a sharp retort worked best, "Coming to see if you died yet. Unfortunatly, I see that's not the case." I snapped back, not meaning a word of it. Secretly I thought he was like that grouchy old uncle who complained about anything. The man, I had still yet to learn his name, crossed his arms and grumbled about the rude teenagers these days, ignoring me.

 I smiled and turned to the window so he wouldn't see it. I knew he would come around when it was nearly time for me to leave, he always did. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the man finally asked, "Where's that boy you call your brother? At least he would talk to me." Reiko had met the old grouch once and was polite to a point. When we had left the man's room he immediatly started ranting about what a tyrant the old man was. I gave the patient a look over my shoulder, "You scared him off." I said and the old man barked a laugh, "What a wimp. He doesn't deserve to be a shinobi if an old crow like me scares him." I rolled my eyes and stared back at the window, the conversation was always the same, I could almost quote his next question. "So haven't scared any patients off yourself?"

 Usually I would shrug and say no, that I wasn't as scary as him, but this time I said, "A family thought I cursed their baby." The man laughed, "Ah, you probably did. With that face and those eyes anything is possible." I mock glared at him, "So if I cursed you to die the most painful death, would you?" He laughed again, "Too late, I'm already dying. You missed your chance." I made a face, "Pity, I was hoping."

 Like I predicted he lost his bitterness a few minutes before I had to leave for my next shift. When I told him I had to go he snapped, "Fine, just when I was starting to like you too! See if I ever talk to you again." I shook my head as I slid the door closed behind me, it was always the same everyday. He acted like an overgrown two year old every time. I checked the time, it was my two o'clock break. I decided to drop by Jiro and tell him about Tenshi. I smiled when I realized Jiro's father had thought of the same idea. He sat in my place, telling Jiro about his day. From Jiro's avid face I knew he enjoyed every minute with his father.

 Jiro's father smiled when he saw me. He was a large man, able to fill the room with his presence. The wrinkles on his face told of much smiling and little frowning. His face was haggared from the grief that overshadowed his family, but he still managed to smile every day. From what Jiro told me about him, his father was a specialist Jounin before the tragedy, but quit to take care of his son. "Here comes your friend to steal your attention away from me," He joked with his son. Jiro grinned and shook his head, "I would never ignore you, Otou-san." His father laughed and ruffled his gold-brown hair, "I don't know, once Tora's in the room I'm not so important all the time."

 I chuckled, "It's my face, Jiro can't stop staring at my scars." Jiro pretended to pout, "You two need to stop ganging up on the invalid here. It's not fair." He muttered. We all laughed and his father leaned down to kiss his forehead. For a moment I felt jealous that my father never treated me like I was a treasure, but I shoved it away. It wasn't fair to wish for something that I would never have now. "I got to go anyway, son. By the way, I have some news I forgot to tell you." Jiro raised an eyebrow questioningly. The big man chuckled and continued, "Lady Tsunade said that you could leave the hospital next week, if everything goes correctly." Jiro whooped and gave his father a one-armed hug and I smiled, happy to see my friend finally leave this place.

 When Jiro's father left, I sat down and sighed, "Well, it seems we both have had an eventful day." Jiro cast me a curious look, "What do you mean?" I glanced at him, "You find out that you're going to leave, and I got a new addition to my family, maybe." The kid jerked in surprise, "What do you mean?" I laughed at his face and said, "A little girl was abandoned by her parents shortly after her birth. If no one adopts her within a year Lady Tsunade is giving her to me to raise." Jiro lurched forward to hug me, nearly falling out of bed in the process. "That's great, Tora! What did you name her?" I smiled at my little friend, "Tenshi. And when you leave, what are you going to do?" Jiro laughed, "I'm going to run all the way home and no one can stop me!" I laughed with him, Jiro had been confined to his bed for over two months; the day he went home would be the first day since the accident that he would be able to walk.

 Jiro and I talked for the rest of my break about anything that came to mind. Then I went to run my rounds again, spending an half hour with each patient, making a progress of six patients before Lady Tsunade came for me. Instead of training me in healing, the woman took me to the care facility and showed me how to take basic care of a toddler. When she left I stayed, spending my time with Tenshi. Reiko found me still watching the little girl coo and wave her hands blindly in the air. He blinked in surprise, "Her parents don't mind you being here?" He asked.

 I couldn't keep the contempt from my voice when I said, "Her parents don't care what I do with her." I looked at him, knowing my fury was burning deep in my orange eyes. Reiko actually took a step back, "They abandoned her because she was born blind. They thought I cursed her to be born blind and wouldn't take her." Both Reiko and I hated any person who would abandon anyone for whatever reason. I guess it came from being orphans. My brother stepped up to lean over Tenshi's crib, and wiggled his finger in front of her face, when she didn't react he tapped her nose. She immediatly grabbed his finger and pulled it to her mouth. He chuckled a little and gently pulled away. When she made a fuss he gave up and let her suck on his finger.

 I stuggled not to laugh out loud, but a smothered giggle still managed to make it though my throat. Reiko shot me a dirty look, but I couldn't help it, I laughed a little louder. My brother rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the blind girl. I thought carefully how to word what I was going to say next. Finally I said, "You know since she has the Tiger Demon curse, she will be shunned, right?" Reiko looked up both eyebrows raised, "She's coming home with us isn't she?" I sighed, that kid thought too much like me sometimes, "Only if no one adopts her in a year. If she's still in the hospital then we will have a little sister." Reiko looked skeptical, "And how do you plan to take care of her?" I twirled her baby fine hair with my finger, "Lady Tsunade has added child care to my duties." Reiko sighed, "That woman is going to run you into the ground." He said to the ceiling.

 I kissed Tenshi good-bye and walked my brother out the door, "At least we're not trying to survive on what I made as an acrobat anymore. Both of us have paying jobs, a nice home, and each other plus all our friends. That little girl will have nothing if she isn't taken in by someone. Will you be so cruel as to deny her those things?" Reiko sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Alright! Sorry for being a tyrant. Geez, I hate it when you get righteous on me." I laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Someone has to keep you in line. As your older sister, that's my job. Hey are you getting taller?" I asked suddenly, realizing that my twelve year old brother was almost my height. Reiko laughed at my sudden change of subject, "Yes, shorty, soon I'll be towering over you like everyone else." I grumbled under my breath, "I'm not that short." Reiko heard me and ruffled my hair, making me squack in protest, "Yes, you are. You're going to be sixteen next month and you have the hight of a twelve year old." I didn't bother to grace the comment with an answer.

 Because both of us were too tired to cook anything we went to Ichiraku Ramen. No surprise that Naruto was there already. Over the weeks that I had worked at the hospital Naruto and Reiko had become fast friends. He was over at our house frequently when he had nothing to do. I listened to them talk as I ate quietly, glad to see my brother getting along with someone his own age. I finished my bowl of ramen just as Naruto finished his third. The blonde boy wiped his mouth on his sleeve, earning a disgusted sound from me, and asked Reiko, "So are you entering the chunnin exams?" I perked up, this was the first time I was hearing about it. I glared at my brother for not telling me.

 Reiko shot me an sheepish glance and answered, "My sensei thinks I'm ready, even if I'm a few months behind the rest of you. Although I might not be able to since there are four people on my team." I spoke up then, "When is it?" Naruto answered me in his hyper way "The first part of the exam is in two days, the second is the day after. The finals are, I think, a week after that, anyone is allowed to watch the finals, but the other two are secretive." I smacked Reiko upside the head, "Couldn't give me more of a warning?" I snapped at him. He chuckled nervously and I jumped off the stool, "Just for that, you're paying. See you at home, and don't be late." I said then walked off, wondering if Lady Tsunade would let me off to see the chunnin exam. I would have to ask her tomorrow before I forgot.

 Naruto was wrong; the finals took place a month from the preliminaries. During that month I continued my work at the hospital, although it was slightly lonely when Jiro left. Instead I found myself spending my free time by Tenshi's crib; sometimes whispering to her what life would be like if she came to live with me and Reiko or just content to watch her. Tsunade alternated my lessons so that some days I would be learning medical techniques and others I would continue child care.

 Every night Reiko would stumble home, bruised from his extensive training, and would stay awake long enough to eat then crash on the couch. I rose each morning knowing Reiko was already gone to train again. I worried that his sensei was pushing him too hard, but didn't say anything. If Reiko didn't complain, I wouldn't either. Sometimes he was rested enough to talk to me, but most days he just sat there. From the scant information he gave me, I learned that he was one of the few that passed the preliminaries, Naruto and Sasuke include.

 The day of the finals came so suddenly that I had forgotten about it. I had walked out of my room, expecting to have the house to myself as usual; but Reiko was pacing the room, surprising me. When he caught sight of me Reiko exclaimed, "Could you be any slower? I have to be there quickly, you know!" Confused I blinked until he finally grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the house, "Did you forget that the finals for the chuunin exams were today? Let's go, we're probably the last people there!" It turned out we weren't, Sasuke wasn't there when we arrived. We had missed Naruto fighting Hyuuga Neji and defeating him, which was a huge feat, considering Neji was supposed to be the prodigy of his clan. Shikamaru was in the middle of fighting a female Suna nin. I was slightly stunned that Reiko's teammate was such a strategist. I had always thought he was a lazy boy who was pessimistic about everything.

 Reiko gave me a brief hug before leaving to join the other contestants. I found a seat towards the top of the arena and sat down. The people closest to me didn't even try to hide their disgust and moved as far away from me as they could, crowding each other just to get away from me. I sighed and rested my chin in my hand, even after all I do at the hospital, and I'm still considered a threat.

 Shikamaru finally beat the Sand nin using his shadow kekke genki to trap her. I leaned back, and closed my eyes, waiting for the next battle to begin. I knew it was supposed to be Sasuke and a boy named Gaara, but Sasuke had yet to appear. A familiar voice said beside, "I've heard of fashionably late, but this is ridiculous!" My eyes snapped open at the sound and I turned to see a Rabbit ANBU mask peering blankly back at me. I glared at wearer, "So when did you get back?" Shisui laughed, "A few minutes ago. The minute my captain heard about the chuunin exams we wrapped up the mission and headed back here to see Sasuke participate in the exams. Although, I think we could have taken an extra day the way this is going." I glanced around, but only Shisui was near me, "Where is... your captain?" Shisui shrugged, "Hokage needed him for something." He sat down beside me and we talked for a good time about what we had been up to the last two months.

 Sasuke arrived at the last minute, when the officials were about to disqualify him. Shisui chuckled, "Well, better late then never I guess. Although I would have enjoyed watching Sasuke have a temper tantrum once he learned that he was disqualified." I laughed with him and sat back to enjoy the fight, chuckling at Shisui's snarky comments.

 Soon neither of us was even smiling, both of us were leaning forward, engrossed in the extraordinary battle raging below us. Apparently Gaara was a force to be reckoned with, given his complete control over the sand. He hardly moved an inch for the first half of the fight, but then Sasuke began to change his tactics, causing Gaara to go from neutral to defence mode. Finally Gaara simply created an impenitrable ball of sand around himself. When Sasuke managed to punch a hole in Gaara's defence using the Chidori I was impressed, from what Reiko told me the Chidori was a very powerful jutsu. I bit my lip when a large apendage came out of the sand ball to swipe at Sasuke, I was suddenly very worried for the young Uchiha. Shisui looked very pale.

 "Kakashi wants us. Lets go." Itachi suddenly said, causing both of us to jump. I didn't know how long he had been standing there, or if he had suddenly just arrived. Shisui sighed, "Can't that lazy pervert do something on his own for once?" He grumbled as he rose, deliberatly slow I noticed, to his feet. Even though Itachi wore his ANBU mask I could still feel the heat of his glare and shuddered. Shisui seemed used to it though and turned to me, completely ignoring his cousin. "Sorry Tora, it seems duty calls me away again. See you later." Like that they disappeared.

 A white feather floated past my nose. I blinked and looked up to see thousands falling from appeared to be no where, it almost looked like snow. That was when I noticed the people near me dropping into a sudden sleep. I myself began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. Shaking my head hard to clear away the fog of sleep I stood and staggered up the steps. I put a hand on the wall and bent over, gasping. I felt like something smothering and heavy was pushing at me, demanding that I lay down and fall asleep.

 Something Lady Tsunade said to me recently managed to escape the haze taking over my mind, "Genjutsus are hard to detect, very few know when they are in one. Fewer still can deactivate it. If you ever feel like reality isn't real anymore it most likely means you are in a genjutsu. The bast way you can avoid one, Tora, is to get out of it's range until you learn how to deactive it yourself." The only reason anyone would cast an illusion sleep on a crowd of people would be because...

 The sound of battle reached my ears. I turned to see shinobi, both Konoha nins and Oto, attacking each other in the arena.

 ...Because Konoha was under attack.

 ***

 Within minutes after I reached the hospital the injured began flooding in. Due to my lack of knowledge in all things medical I was put to rearranging the regular patients to make more room for the new ones. Sometimes one of the nurses would shout for me to go fetch something and I would, using my skill as an acrobat to get through the maze of nurses, medics and patients. Soon we began moving the less injured into the hallways and waiting room.

 It wasn't before long that I was the only worker dealing with the regular patients, trying to keep them calm and postitioned so that they were in no ones way. I put all the children under ten in one room with a few of the elderly so that they would not see the people being rushed in, coated in blood. Or the lifeless bodies carried back out. Some of the more mobile patients began to help the nurses by fetching them things when I wasn't avalible. When the patients calmed down enough not to create more chaos I was put to comforting the less injured as they waited to be healed, using my meger skills bandage wounds, set bones and stitch the shinobi back up agian. Time was lost to me as people passed by, each bringing their own definition of pain and misery.

 ***

 When the flow of wounded ebbed I sat down where I was standing, resting my back against one of the movable beds where I had been stitching a shinobi's leg wound. I hung my head and began to close my eyes, thinking I would close my eyes for just a second... A voice in my head screamed, "NO! People are suffering, get your butt up and help ease their pain!" I climbed slowly to my feet, my muscles screaming in protest, but I didn't care.  Rubbing my arm across my eyes I tried to clear away my drowsiness and got back to work, slower this time so I wouldn't make a mistake.

 My eyes were perminatly half closed, no matter how hard I tried I could not lift my heavy eyelids. I know blood streaked my face from the numerous times I had to push the hair escaping my ponytail from my face. I shuffled my way around the hospital, never bothering to pick up my feet. People who normally would shun me, looked at my with concern. Some of my patients tried to assure me that they would live a few more minutes. I just shrugged them away and continued my mindless medical procedures.

 ***

 Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures... were the only thoughts running through my head. I had learned from the shinobi that I attended that the battle had been won at a great cost. The fourth Hokage had died fighting Orochimaru. When I was informed I nodded and continued my thoughtless treatments. People began to bring in the enemy along with our own shinobi; after all, what harm could someone do when they were bleeding to death?

 My feet were numb from so much standing, I had no idea how long I had been up, trying to save the people that had protected me. Many died anyway from too much blood lost. I was too tired to even feel sad. All emotion had fled after the first wave of the wounded came in. My back ached, but I paid it no mind, what was the pain in my back compared to those suffering in front of me? The first time I stumbled I berated myself for being stupid, now it was just the way I walked. I hadn't said a word since I had lost my voice hours ago, shouting for things I needed to attend to the wounded; my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth and my lips were fused together. I tried hard not to blink, because it took longer to open my eyes. My shoulders slumped with fatigue and my arms were coated with more blood then most of my patients. My throat felt like I had slept with my mouth open during a Suna sandstorm, I hadn't had a drink since before the chunnin exams.

 The shinobi I was treating grabbed my arm when I turned away, I looked back at her, dully watching as her fierce grey eyes glared back at me, "You are in no condition to continue this." She stated. I just smiled, my chapped lips cracking and bleeding, and gently dislodged my arm from her grip. There was no one else to take care of them until more professional help could heal them.

 My next patient was a Suna nin, the girl who had fought Shikamaru in what felt like ages ago. She grimanced when I touched arm and looked at me with her pale eyes, "Don't." She gasped, but I checked over her injures anyway. Nothing physical. I waved one of the patients that was running errands and motioned to the Suna nin, "She needs professional help. Take her to one of the nurses." The boy, who appeared to be my age, glanced from me to her. His glare made her flinch then groan. He turned back to me, "She'll survive. It serves her right trying to attack us like they did." The girl seemed to agree with him.

 Rage suddenly pulsed through me, waking me up. I shoved him hard, making him stumble back a step. He looked at me surprised that I still had the energy to push him. "I don't care if she was the mastermind behind the attack! No one should suffer just because they were fighting for the wrong side. Now you either take her to a nurse, or I'll make sure that you have a very unpleasent surprised in you meal tomorrow!" Without seeing if he would agree or not, I turned and continued treating shinobi, my rage still coursing through me giving me my second wind. All too soon my rage dispated and I returned to my mindless shuffle, treating the endless line of wounded. Check injures. Treat wound. Pat shoulder. Walk away. Check injures. Treat wound...

 ***

 I finished smearing a cream that would cool the heat from the burn that one of the Oto nins had gotten from one of a Konoha nin, from his rant I knew the person that burned him was an Uchiha. Only they had such control over the element of fire. Wrapping a clean bandaged around the arm I tied it off a gently as I could and turned towards the next patient. There was none. I looked back and saw nothing but treated people. The burned Oto nin was the last patient. I smiled, swaying on my feet, glad that I had managed to finish attendng to the wounded.

 The last thing I remember was someone shouting and the sensation of falling.

 ***

 Sunlight hit me squarly in the face and, groaning I rolled over away from it's brightness. "So, she finally decides to wake! How lucky the world is that the great heroic Tora should grace it with her presense!" Reiko's very sarcastic voice reached my ears. I cracked one eye to see him scowling in front of me. His eyebrows pulled even farther down his nose until I thought they would fall off, "You're stupid, you know that? Even Lady Tsunade said so! Hell, Shisui said it too!" I didn't bother explaining, I knew he wouldn't listen. He wouldn't understand.

 I rolled on my back, noticing that I was in my bedroom and not a hospital room, and tried to sit up, but my brother figure pushed my roughly back down, "Na-uh! You're going to lay in bed and not move until you are about ready to scream with bordom. When I get back, if you're in the exact same spot, I might let you roll on your side." I looked at him and managed to choke out, "Where are you going?" Reiko glared at me for speaking, but then he sighed and all his anger left him, "The Yondaime Hokage's funeral." He said tiredly. I tried to sit up again, but Reiko frowned and held me down. I struggled, but was still too weak from yesterday... or whenever the attack was.

 "You're not allowed to go anyway. Shinobi only." He started, I bashed my head against his and he fell back, groaning and holding his head. I jumped out of bed and sprinted for the door, but he twisted at the last minute and grabbed my ankles, pulling them out from under me. "Tora! I swear if you don't behave I'll chain you to the bed, and don't think I won't!" As a last resort I kneed him hard in the groin and scrabbled out the door. Turning I scaled the wall of our house and flipped onto the roof of the house. I got to my feet unbalanced and stumbled a few steps before crouching low, hiding from my brother.

 I could hear Reiko roar, "TORAAAA!! GET BACK HERE!" He rushed out into the street and looked both ways before running right, towards the Hokage Tower. I stood and followed, easily jumping the spread out houses as if jumping over cracks. He lead me past the hospital, which looked so empty compared to before I fainted. Soon a sea of black clothed shinobi replaced the hospital. I lost Reiko in the mess, he blended in too easily. Kneeling on a nearby roof I watched as each shinobi came up and placed a white flower on the memorial of Minato.

 I saw a woman standing off to the side with red hair, staring straight ahead, tears in her eyes. I could only guess that she was Minato's wife. A girl Reiko's age with the same red hair stood to her left, sobbing openly and not being very quiet about it. What surprised me though, was Naruto standing rigid beside the red haired woman, his blue eyes flashing. I had thought Reiko said he met Naruto in the orphanage. Could Naruto had been mistaken with someone else? Or was he adopted by Minato and his family? (A.N. hee hee ^.^"... I found a mistake in chapter one saying Naruto was an orphan when we all know he's not, but I'm too lazy to change it, so I'm just going to explain it later in another chapter...)

 Once everyone had placed a flower on the memorial someone came forward to speak about the Hokage. The red haired girl bit her lip and ran, her mother tried to stop her, but she still managed to get away. She passed under me and I backed into the shadows in case she looked up. When she didn't I took one last glance at the funeral to make sure no one was watching and went after her.

 It wasn't hard to find her, especially when I had a higher view point. I found her huddled in a corner in a deserted alley. I jumped down, crouching so I didn't break my legs. The girl gasped when I turned towards her, she stared wide eyed at my scars with her large brown eyes. Streaks of dirt smeared her face. We stared at each other for the longest time until I had to stand when my legs began to fall asleep. She cringed, thinking I meant her harm. I slowly sat back down.

 "I can't know how you feel..." I started and the girl grew angry for some reason, "I don't doubt it! You can never understand what I feel! I bet your father is still sitting at home, not caring that my father just died!" I tilted my head, confused. Was my scars not enough evidense that I didn't have a normal life? "I meant that--" She cut me off, "I don't care what you meant! My father died! You won't ever understand what that's like!" "My father already died." I whispered, but she was still angry. "So what? You're father didn't love you as much as mine did me! He loved me so much that he kept me! Even after Naruto came back, they kept me!" I had no idea what she was talking about now. I nodded, "I know, my father didn't love me, he hated me." She scoffed, "Do you want pity? You're not going to get it! My father died, he's gone forever to save selfish pigs like you! And all you do is go around saying 'my father hated me, boo-hoo' get over it! I won't ever be able to see my father's face again! Never to have him hold me or..." She broke off into a sob. She buried her face in her hands and wailed.

 When I tried to comfort her again she slapped my efforts away, screaming "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I tried to think what to say, but then she started shrieking and I jumped away in surpise. "Hey! What's going on?" Someone shouted from the entrance of the alleyway. I spun to see a large man coming towards us. Minato's daughter pointed towards me, "She was trying to hurt me!" The man took a closer look at me then scowled when he realized who I was. Without warning he lunged for me and I jumped, grabbing onto a part of the wall that jutted out, I hulled myself up out of his reach and made it safely to the roof. I didn't look where I was going, just blindly jumping from roof to roof until I reached a place where I could be safe.

 ***

 Of course Reiko heard about it. It would be stupid to hope he didn't. I expected him to storm in, ranting and raving about how stupid I could be, I just didn't expect Shisui or Itachi. I was sitting on the floor facing the door, waiting for Reiko to come back home so he could lecture me. I knew I was being stupid  and was ready to face whatever punishment was waiting for me.

 Indeed Reiko slammed open the door, his young face a thundercloud. Shisui soon followed, his usually easy going nature replaced with a deadly seriousness that laid to rest any doubt I might have about him not being an Uchiha. Itachi stayed in the doorway, leaning against the doorway, his face an emotionless mask as always. Reiko started the shouting match by yelling, "And here I thought you were just stupid, but I see I'm wrong! You're a complete idiot!!!" I just watched him, intending to take whatever insult he threw at me to heart. "Did you really actually seriously think that that girl would want to be comforted? That she might actually want to be left alone?!" I refused to look down, "I know I made a mistake." I whispered quietly.

 Reiko turned purple with rage and Shisui stepped in before he could pop a vessel, "Tora, it was incredibly stupid what you did. Do you understand that you might have endangered yourself?" I nodded. Unlike Reiko, Shisui kept in anger under control, being an Uchiha. He continued calmly, "The girl was Minato's adopted daughter, if she says you hurt her, everyone, save a very few people, would believe her over you. You need to lay low until this blows over and try not to do anything... stupid until the new Hokage is selected."

 Reiko snorted, "For all we know, the new Hokage might be one of those people who want to kill her. Congrats, Tora, you just became an enemy of Konoha!" Shisui sent Reiko a stern glance, behind the two Itachi narrowed his now red eyes at my brother. Apparently he didn't like Reiko being so harsh either. Reiko glared right back, "You know I'm right! Minato-sama's daughter is running around accusing my sister that she tried to hurt her. Lady Tsunade has run away, taking with her Shizune. That leaves me and you two to defend Tora." Itachi spoke, "My parents might stand with her." I blinked in surprise as I stared at the heir to the Uchiha Clan. Shisui nodded, "And the Uchiha clan will stand with the head of the clan. Besides everyone knew Minato-san liked Tora."

 Naruto chose at that moment to come in, his blue eyes flashing. He completely ignored everyone else as he pointed an accusing finger at me, "Leave my sister alone! Don't even come near her, you understand?!" I nodded solomly, as if I didn't know that I was in enough trouble as it was. Reiko glared at his best friend, "Naruto, I got it covered, you can leave now." The blond glared, his eyes puffy and red from crying, "If you had it covered we wouldn't be in this mess! Akarui is hysterical because your demonic sister tried to hurt her."

 "She's still my sister and I don't care if she's demonic or not, if you so much as say anything like that ever again, I swear I'll break every bone in your body!" Reiko snapped back. Shisui rubbed his temples and shouted, "Both of you shut up, before I pin you to a tree by your testicles!" (A.N. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it!) Reiko ignored Shisui's warning and shouted at Naruto, who looked positivly livid, "She knows she's in trouble, we were handling it perfectly fine until you came storming in!" "Oh no, I'm not letting this go! Tora is in a world of hurt now!" Naruto retorted.

 I couldn't stop the gasp escaping my lips. All the men before me turned to look at me staring at Naruto in horror. What he had said... my father used to say thing similar to that. Reiko seemed to catch, his green eyes widened and he tried to take a step towards me, but I flinched away. My hands started to shake and I blinked hard to keep the tears from spilling. "Tora...?" Naruto asked quietly, knowing that he had said something to frighten me, but he just couldn't figure out what. I scrabbled to my feet and darted into my room, slamming the door shut before anyone could say anything.

 ~No one's POV~

 Reiko growled when Tora shut the door and rounded on Naruto, "Well I hope you're happy now! Do you realize what you just did?!" Naruto looked at his friend bewildered. He had never seen Tora act like she did, from the looks of the two Uchihas, neither did they. Dumbly he shook his head and the enraged red head growled, looking as if he'd like to take a swing at the blond, "I'll be lucky if she comes out now! Congraglations, Naruto, you successfully managed to hurt Tora than we ever could physically."

 Shisui was still staring at the closed door, "What did he do?" He asked, more to himself than Reiko. The kid answered him anyway, "He said Tora's in a world of hurt!" Turning back to Naruto, Reiko shouted, "You imbicle, don't you realize her father used to say that everytime he abused her? It's a wonder she didn't run away instead to her room!" When he realized the gravity of the situation, Naruto went and knocked on Tora's door, no answer. Reiko pressed his fingers to his forehead, "Just leave, Naruto. You caused enough damage now." Reluctently the blond left, the two Uchihas going with him.

 ***

 Days passed and I refused to leave my room. Reiko knocked on my door every day, asking if I would come out. He even tried to force his way in, but my heavy nightstand prevented the door from budging. Naruto was at my door as much as Reiko, apologizing and begging me to answer him. They had even forced Naruto's sister to come once, saying that she was sorry for falsely accusing me. Sometimes Shisui would just talk to me from the other side of the door, he never bothered to ask if I would come out. He understood my need to be left alone. I never responded to any of them. I was too angry and hurt.

 When Minato's wife, Kushina, learned that what her daughter claimed was false, she came to our house herself. It was the fourth day after I locked myself in my room, four days without any human contact. A light tap was what alerted me. Reiko had taken to pounding on my door, begging for me to come back out. I waited for whoever this person was to speak. Her voice was soft and hoarse, "Tora? It's Kushina... M-Minato's wif-wido-wife." I immediately felt sorry for the poor woman, she didn't even know how to identify herself anymore. She continued, "My son said he had said something wrong and now you won't leave your room." She paused to see if I said anything, I didn't. Sighing she asked, "Do you need anything? Your brother said that you were refusing food and drink. That's not healthy."

 I tried to scorch the wall across the room with my glare, but still didn't say anything. After working in the hospital for two months, I knew what was healthy and what wasn't. Kushina tried again, "I want to apologize for my daughter's behavior towards you, it was wrong what she did." I scoffed, of course it was. I hadn't been within throwing distance when she accused me of trying to harm her. I understood that she needed privacy, but accusing me was going too far. Kushina talked for a few more minutes before she finally gave up and left me alone like everyone else.

 ***

 A week had passed. Naruto had gone with some old man named Jiraiya to fetch Lady Tsunade back so she could become the Godaime Hokage. Shisui and Itachi had left on a S-ranked mission, so it was left to Reiko to try and pry me out of my room. Even when he shouted that Sasuke was in the hospital in critical condition I didn't flinch. I stayed where I was, not moving a muscle.

 Loud hammering on my door woke me from my light nap. I wonder who it could be, it had been three days since Reiko finally gave up, leaving me in peace. A voice shouted through the wood, "Tora! If you don't open this door, I'm breaking it down!" I twisted around to stare at the closed door, wondering when Lady Tsunade had gotten back. When I didn't open the door it bulged inward, sending the nightstand I had pushed up against it straight for me. Only my training as an acrobat saved me from being mowed down by the incoming furniture. The door slammed open just as I landed on all fours on the still skidding nightstand.

 Lady Tsunade was standing in the doorway with Naruto, Reiko, Shizune, and Reiko's team mate Ino peering over her shoulders. The blond healer raised an eyebrow at my position, "So you going to talk, or sulk like a immature girl?" Reiko grimaced at her insult, but I knew she was right. I was acting immature; but, considering my life, I deserved a little sulking time. I glared at the woman, "Depends, are you going to try and kill me again?" I asked my voice rough. Tsunade frowned at me questioningly and I shifted so I was sitting cross-legged on the nightstand. "Though it may shock you, I don't spend my time sitting on nightstands in the middle of the floor. I prefer the floor or a chair." I snapped sarcastically. Ino twittered uncertainly, followed by Naruto's more brazen laughter.

 Lady Tsunade rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Well, while you're deciding where you prefer to sit, you have fallen behind on your work." I narrowed my eyes and hissed, "Look who's talking. Who's the person who ran after the Hokage's death?" Naruto cringed at the blunt reference towards his father's death, but I didn't care. He lost my sympathy two weeks ago. The blond woman glared at me the shooed everyone else away and closed the door behind her. She turned to me and I tensed, waiting for whatever lecture I was about to get.

 ***

 Two hours later we both exited the room. Everyone was in the living room, standing or sitting awkwardly. Reiko looked up and shot to his feet when he saw me out of my room. A grin split his face, one that almost rivaled Naruto's. Ino and Shizune smiled more sedately, but I could tell they were both glad to see me out.

 Lady Tsunade turned to me, "Remember, sunrise. Not a minute after." I nodded and Shizune and Lady Tsunade left without another word, although I could see that the younger woman had questions in her eyes. I stood there awkwardly, not daring to return to my room, but unsure what I could do. Reiko broke the silence by asking his friends "Are you hungry?" Naruto, of course, nodded eagerly. Ino hesitated, but then nodded as well. My little brother grinned and glanced at me. I knew what was coming. "You should stay for dinner then, Tora is an awesome cook. And I bet she's very hungry after staying in that room for almost two weeks."

 Ino gasped, "How on earth are you even conscious?" I just gave her a look, "Let's just say, my father trained me well." Very well. Growing up with very little water and scraps, one learns how to get by on so little. Reiko flinched at the mention of my father, but I don't mind. What Lady Tsunade had told me would help. I know Reiko wanted to ask what we talked about, but he dare not ask in front of his friends. I lead the genin into the kitchen and fix them fried rice balls and ramen. Naruto doesn't even touch the rice balls when I set the bowl of ramen in front of him, so I eat his share. Reiko was right; I am very hungry after not eating.

 Ino made good company; she had all us laughing with stories from her family's flower shop. Naruto told us about his team's failed attempt to get Kakashi to reveal his mask. Reiko had some very funny stories from the time when we were on our own; I sometimes added a detail he left out, or suggested some topics, but mostly I kept quiet. I noticed how attentive Ino was when Reiko was talking, or how she laughed more often and I couldn't keep the small smirk off my face.

 After a while, I cleared away the dishes, turning down Ino's offer of help, and returned to the table with a small ceramic cup and a bottle of sake. Ino blinked at the alcohol, but didn't say anything. Naruto however, wasn't against asking what was on his mind, "You drink?!" Reiko rolled his eyes, but I smiled as I poured the rice wine, "It's for the pain." I explained, confusing Naruto more. "What pain?" He asked oblivious. Ino groaned and buried her face in her arms, I just laughed and Reiko slapped him upside the head, "Knucklehead! What pain do you think?!" Naruto's eyes darted to my face then away, his cheeks red, "Oh...." I gulped down the shot and grimaced at the taste before putting the bottle away. I hated sake, but it was the only thing that eased the tightness in my face.

 It was well past dark when Reiko's friends finally left. My brother immediately turned to me and asked, "Okay, how on earth did Lady Tsunade get you out of your room?" I smiled and rolled out my practice mat before sitting down. "She made me a deal." I started, then folded my left leg under me and reached for my right foot. Reiko sat down and waited for me to continue. "She said that everyone was impressed by my hard work during the attack, and to reward me for my determination she would train me as a medic." Reiko stared for a good long minute before saying, "But it's the Hokage's job to decide if someone is to be privately trained."

 I let go of my position and switched sides, giving him a look in the process, "And who's the new Hokage? Besides, apparently Minato told her that if she saw potential in me, she could train me." Reiko took a while to absorb that, but when he did, he jumped into the air, shouting in triumph. Then he scooped me up and twirled me around. I laughed and swatted him, trying to get him to put me down, "I'm only going to be a medic, not a shinobi! Reiko put me down!!" He did, but only to sweep me up in a hug. "Tora, I'm so happy! You actually have a real job now! Not just a volunteer thing!"

 ***

 After training with Lady Tsunade for five hours, I was ready to hit the dirt. Ten minutes within our training session I automatically knew why the blond woman was chosen as the Hokage. It was ten in the morning and I hadn't even put a dent in my rounds around the hospital. All the patients I had were more eager to share what had happen in the last two weeks than they had in the past two months.

 I yawned as I bent backwards, trying to stretch my back. I was surprised how out of shape I was. Tiredly I entered my next patient's room and turned to shut the door, but a voice interrupted me, "What are you doing here?" I spun to see Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto standing by the bed, where an unconscious Sasuke laid. I checked my list and then the room number, I was in the right room. I glared at the paper in my hand, Lady Tsunade must be trying to get back at me for something I did.

 "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Uchiha Sasuke is my next patient." I said, bowing a little to the head of the Uchiha clan. Mikoto smiled at me, at least she seemed happy to see me. Fugaku didn't, but then he never did. "You work here?" He demanded. I mentally rolled my eyes, as if I wasn't clear enough. "Yes. Lady Tsunade is training me to be a medic, until then I try to comfort the patients on my roster. If you want some privacy I could leave." I added. Mikoto's dark eyes darted to her husband then her youngest son. She turned back to me, "If it isn't too much trouble." She said softly. I smiled at her and shrugged, "It gives me a chance to visit my other patients. If he wakes Lady Tsunade would like to be informed." Mikoto nodded and I left without another word.

 Telling a passing nurse that I would be in the nursery if anyone needed me, I walked down the stairs to the care facility. I hadn't seen Tenshi since before the Chunnin exams; I was too busy sulking to even think about my little girl. One of the nurses was bent over her crib when I opened the door, she looked up and smiled. I recognized her; she was Jiro's nurse, one of the ones that didn't mind me from the very beginning. I smiled back, "How is she?" I whispered. The nurse picked Tenshi up and cuddled her for a moment before handing her over to me, "Fine, she's been touchy lately, but not that bad. I think she hasn't been getting her sleep." I didn't blame her; I had next to no sleep for the past week. Holding Tenshi close I sat down in one of the chairs put there for that purpose. The nurse, I had yet to learn her name, smiled again before leaving quietly.

 Tenshi grunted and waved her hand blindly. I touched her hand and she grabbed my finger in a small death grip. I smiled and gently wiggled my trapped finger back and forth, she brought my finger to her mouth and began to suck on my fingertip. Rocking back and forth I hummed a little lullaby that I used to hum for Reiko when he first moved in with me. It was one of the few memories from my past that was pleasant. I remembered during that first year someone had taken me in, giving me a room and food on stormy nights. I remember vaguely that the mother would sing her own children to sleep; though I forgot the lyrics, I always remember the melody.

 The little blind baby girl cooed and chewed on my fingernail with her warm gums, saliva coating my finger. I pressed my scarred cheek to her fine dark hair that swirled around her head. I wondered if her hair would stay that color, or lighten when she grew older. I kissed her forehead. Tenshi stiffened, her sightless eyes fluttered open, her light blue cloudy eyes looking blindly at me. "Hi there." I whispered. She relaxed and shut her eyes again, content to be held by me.

 A sudden crash from outside the window and Tenshi jerked then began to scream. I tried my best to get her to calm down, but she wouldn't be quieted. Sighing I stood and began to pace the room, bouncing her in my arms and whispering things that didn't make sense, just speaking to show her I was still there. She wouldn't stop screaming, I was just lucky that she was the only baby in the nursery at the moment. Finally I held her at arm’s length, she squirmed at the sudden disappearance of my warmth and fell silent. Tears raced from her eyes, down her red face. Sighing I cuddled her again, she huddled against me, as if afraid that I would vanish again. Still pacing I hummed the lullaby.

 "I would have never thought they would even let you within ten feet of this place, let alone touch one of the babies." I turned towards the door at the unfamiliar voice. A man stood in the door way, wearing ANBU armor and looking fresh from a fight. From the pearl colored eyes, I knew he was Hyuuga. I looked down at Tenshi, still whimpering into my shirt, then back up at the ANBU Hyuuga, "Normally I'm not." I saw no need to elaborate; my business was none of his. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Shisui appeared, "Kizoku, aren't you supposed to be giving Lady Tsunade our report?" He asked, looking about as emotionless as Itachi. The Hyuuga looked like he wanted to argue, but one more glare from Shisui sent him away.

 My friend turned to me and watched as I tried to put Tenshi back in her crib, but she held on, pulling at everything to stay with me. Finally I gave up when she managed to yank a fistful of my black hair out. Shifting the colicky baby to one arm I rubbed the sore spot while I waited for Shisui to start talking. "What are you doing here? I thought you spent most of your time with older patients." I smirked, "Tenshi's my daughter. No one can tell me to stay away when she's here." Shisui's mouth dropped open as he glanced from the dark haired babe to me, then back. He shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly and mumbled, "I never thought..." I let him wallow in his awkwardness for a few more minutes until I couldn't help but laugh at him. Shaking my head I said, "She was abandoned at birth. Lady Tsunade gave her to me, Shisui, so technically she's my daughter. Now what are you doing back, I thought you said your mission would last for another month."

 Shisui glared at me for laughing at him, then shrugged, "Do you really think Itachi is going to ever take his time with a mission? Besides, once he heard the news that Sasuke was hurt, he quickly finished the mission. If anything else happens to that brother of his, Itachi is going to have to resign from ANBU work. First the Chunnin Exam and now this." I held up a finger, "You can't blame him, I made sure that I was present at the Chunnin Exams to watch Reiko. And if Reiko was hurt I would drop everything to come here. At least Itachi-san finished the mission instead of aborting."

 Tenshi wiggled and I patted her back, calming her down. Shisui's attention riveted back to her, "Why was she abandoned? She's healthy." I turned her so he could see her sightless blue eyes, "Her parents claimed that I caused her blindness and didn't want her after that. She had a year to be adopted, if she's not, then I become her legal guardian." Shisui stared at me, his eyes boring into mine. Shisui had been very serious lately, I didn't like it. He spoke, "Aren't you a little young?" I jerked my chin up and snapped, "I've been on my own since I was five, I raised Reiko when he was six." Shisui held up his hands, "I'm just saying, you've raised Reiko since he was six, not from birth."

 I frowned at Shisui's sudden mood swing and stepped towards him, "What's wrong? Usually you're laughing and trying to steal Tenshi by now." Shisui tried to deny that anything was wrong, but I knew him too well. I pestered him about it until he sighed tiredly and said, "It's just... the other night, I knew you were abused by your father, but I never realized..." I couldn't help but smile at my best friend, "Shisui, the past is the past. I'm not going to sit around crying about how I lost my childhood because of my father. I know I overreacted, but I was just stressed out with Minato-san's death and exhausted from the attack on Konoha." Shisui looked at me, his expression unreadable, after a moment he grinned and stepped forward to coo over Tenshi. I let him hold her, letting her grasp my finger so she wouldn't think I left her.

 As my friend watched Tenshi, I watched him. Shisui was quiet old, over his twenties at least, but I never heard him talk about a girlfriend. He never even mentions having someone he liked, but then whenever we did talk it wasn't about romance. As I accepted the now napped Tenshi back from him I couldn't help but ask, "Shisui, do you have a girlfriend?" My friend froze then gave me a funny look. I didn't meet his gaze as I laid Tenshi back in her crib. "And the sudden interest is because...?" He probed. I shrugged, "You just never talk about any girl, you are an Uchiha after all." Shisui grinned then hugged me around the shoulders as he lead me back into the hallway, "I have my eye on someone, but she never notices me." Now I was interest, who did Shisui like? I asked but all he did was grin and say, "You get three guesses, don't guess and I throw you into the lake outside of Konoha." I shot him a glare, "And if I win?" I asked, Shisui smirked, "Then you get a favor from me, anything you like."

 The game was on.

 ***

 The next day I was walking into Sasuke's room after my lunch break, eyes on the scroll of medical jutsus that Lady Tsunade had given me earlier that morning. "What are you doing?" A voice brought my head up; Sasuke was staring at me with his dark distrustful eyes. I smiled briefly, "Learning medical jutsus. How are you feeling?" Sasuke frowned but didn't say anything, as I knew he wouldn't. Putting the scroll away I sat down in the chair that Mikoto usually occupied. The young Uchiha just watched me.

 I tilted my head, "Are you going to say something? Or am I going to have a one-sided conversation?" He didn't even blink. I shrugged, "Alright doesn't bother me." I said and pulled the scroll back out. Just as I unrolled it, he spoke, "What does Shisui and Itachi see in you?" I glared at him, I knew he was a rude little brat, but not crass. "Something that you are clearly blind to." I retorted. The boy glared, "It was a simple question." He said. I growled, "No it wasn't, it was rude and none of your business." I slung my legs over one of the arm rests so that my back faced the bedridden Uchiha.

 I tried to concentrate on the scroll in front of my, but the glare that Sasuke was sending me made it pointless. Finally I bent my head back so that I was looking at him upside down, "Do you mind? Whether you like it or not, I'm stuck in here for half an hour every day. Might as well at least try and make it bearable." I noticed that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, I lifted my head back up, "That won't help you, no attacks in the hospital. Why do you think Shinobi are paranoid of hospitals?" It wasn't true, but he didn't know that.

 "That's not why we are paranoid!" I rolled my eyes, of course Shisui would ruin it. Without turning I asked, "Is she Yamanaka Ino?" Shisui gagged, "Ewww, gross. And wrong, two more guesses." I finally looked at him, "If you're not here visiting then leave. I'm busy." My friend smirked, "What, annoying Sasuke?" Sasuke glared at both of us, "I'm right here." He intoned, but we both ignored him. I waved my scroll, "No, I'm studying. Now leave before I kick you out for harassing patients." Shisui wouldn't wipe that silly smile off his face, "The only person I'm harassing is you, you're a worker, so that doesn't count." I growled and didn't say anything. He continued, "Moody, aren't you? What's wrong, Kitty, thorn in your paw?" "Yes! And if you don't leave I might take it out and stab you with it!"

 "Move." Itachi said from behind Shisui, cutting off our banter. The older Uchiha shot another grin at me and stepped aside to let Itachi in, then left without another word. I stood to give the brothers privacy, but Itachi shook his head. Frowning, I gave up the chair and moved to the floor under the window, wondering why Itachi wanted me to stay. Bringing my knees up to my chin I laid the scroll out in front of me and tuned out whatever the two Uchiha brothers were talking about. Considering that neither of them hardly said anything, it wasn't that hard.

 It wasn't long before Sasuke drifted back off, not that I noticed at first. Itachi spoke, "He says he doesn't care, but I know he does." I looked up confused. Itachi was sitting in the chair, watching his younger brother sleep, his dark eyes void of all emotion as usual. I shrugged and turned back to my scroll, "I could say the same for you." I didn't realize I had said it outloud until Itachi asked, "What?" I grimanced and met his gaze, "If you didn't care, would you have taken me to the hospital when I was hurt? Or would you hurry your mission along to see your brother participate in the Chuunin exams?" Itachi turned away, but not before I saw the answer in his eyes.

 I stood, "I'll leave you alone now." I bowed and left. I walked down to the waiting room and gave my report of Sasuke's health to the waiting nurse behind the reception. Naruto was pacing the room, growling under his breath as I recieved my next list of patients to visit. When he saw me he sprinted towards me, "Which room is Sasuke in? No one else will tell me." I scanned my next patients, refusing to meet his gaze. I began walking back towards the hallway, calling out, "Uchiha Fugaku requested that only family be able to visit him so far. But, if you walk around the third floor, I'm sure you'll be able to find his room soon enough." "Thanks Tora-chan!" Naruto called after me. I smirked as I continued doing my rounds, I had a feeling he would be thanking me later.

 Umi was my first patient, I hadn't talked to her since Jiro left, and I knew that I would get it for my neglectence. Sure enough, the minute I opened her door she began shouting, "Well look you finally discided to pay an old hag like myself a visit! Come to see if I'm dead yet, girlie?" I sighed and shut the door behind me, before anyone could ask what was going on. I faced the furious woman to explain but she cut me off before I could even open  my mouth, "Nuh-uh! You're not allowed to even speak to me! Not until I'm done being mad at you." I sat down silently and prepared myself for the worst.

 ***

 I was checking up on Tenshi one last time before I left when Shisui found me again. "You know you still have two more guesses left." I gave him a look, "We never said that I had to use them all in one day." He smiled, "Nope, but still, it's a nice day for a swim." I put my fists on my hips and said, "Oh, so you think you'll win?" He nodded, "Which is why we're going to the lake after you check out."

 Tenshi whimpered from her bed, drawing my attention away from Shisui. I leaned over the crib and gently brushed her black hair away from her forehead before planting a kiss there, "Hush now, little one. Sleep and dream of happiness." She calmed at my voice and grabbed my finger as had become her habit. I waited until she was fully asleep before dislodging my finger from her grasp. I turned back to Shisui, who was watching me with a strange expression on his face. He shook his head and grinned, "Ready to go, Mama Kitty?" I glared at him but followed him out of the hospital.

 "Itachi is planning to meet us later, with his girlfriend." I started at Shisui's comment, "He has a girlfriend?!" My friend gave me a weird look, and nodded slowly as if it was old news, "Yeah... personally I don't see why. She's a spoiled little brat who throws a tantram if she doesn't get her way. Itachi only goes out with her because Mikoto-oba is friends with her mother. Sometimes I think even Mikoto doesn't want Itachi dating her." I didn't say anything else, the shock that stoic Itachi would have a girlfriend and easygoing Shisui didn't was too much to absorb.

 Shisui seemed to read my thoughts though, "He's the heir to the clan, I'm just the goofy older cousin." I pursed my lips, "So? You're still a powerful member, second in the clan." He gave a short laugh, "Yeah, with Itachi at first." I couldn't help myself, I punched him in the arm. He yelped in surprise and rubbed the sore spot, scowling at me. "Oh stop that! I didn't hit you that hard. And stop feeling sorry for yourself before I really hurt you." I snapped. Shisui muttered something about Lady Tsunade rubbing off on me or something, I really didn't catch what he was saying.

 As we reached the lake I asked, "Do you like Hayaku?" Hayaku was a fellow nurse, she didn't talk to me, but I had noticed that she was always less moody when Shisui showed up. Shisui sent me a confused look, "Who?" I sighed, I guess he didn't like her. "Nevermind." Shisui grinned, "One more guess left." I thought long and hard, but couldn't think of anyone that Shisui really seemed to like. I scratched the back of my head, this was hard. I wished I had never asked that question. I sighed and flopped down on the ground, "I give up."

 Shisui laughed and sat more calmly down beside me, "No giving up. Either you guess right and get a favor or guess wrong and get thrown in the lake." I threw an arm over my eyes, "Is it... no one...?" Shisui laughed again and stood, I knew I had gotten it wrong. I tried to escape him but he wrapped his arms around my waist and climbed the small overhang that rose about five feet from the lake. "Wrong!" He said as he tossed me screaming into the lake. I hit the water hard and sunk a little, stunned by the impact. I shook my head to clear the buzzing feeling and swam back to the top.

 My friend was still laughing when I surfaced. I growled and shoved water at him, but very few drops managed to land on him. He caught is breath and looked down at the soaking wet me, and burst out in laughter again. I began swimming for the shore, Shisui called out after me, "That was quite a girly scream, Kitty! Didn't know you had it in you." I stomped to where he was standing, water dripping everywhere. I stopped a few feet from him, trying to scorch him with a glare, "Alright, you got your wish, now tell me who you like." Shisui grinned and leaned closer so that his face was inches from mine, "That wasn't part of the deal." I stiffened and shoved him playfully. Unbalanced my friend teetered over the edge for a minute before falling headfirst below. Now it was my turn to laugh.

 When he came back up I called out, "You're right! That was funny!" He shook his wet hair and looked at me mulishly. I turned my nose up, "Serves you right." I said snippishly and Shisui lunged out of the water, grabbing my ankle and dragged me back in, screaming again. He placed his hands on my shoulders and shoved me under the water. My feet hit the bottom and I pushed my weight against it to propel me back to the surface, "SHISUI!" I yelled, pushing my damp hair out of my face. He had managed to put distance between the two of us so he could laugh in peace.

 "Ugh. It's too hot Itachi-kun. Why can't we leave?" A snooty voice called from where Shisui and I originally stood. Shisui dropped his mirth like a hot bowl of ramen. It literally looked as if his smile slid off into the water. I turned to see Itachi standing there watching us from the overhang, a girl sulking beside him. I smiled and waved to Itachi, and Shisui said in a monotone, "Hey Itachi, Yakkaina." Itachi nodded his greeting but Yakkaina just made a disgusted face, as if she could believe that Shisui even bothered to look at her.

 I called out, "Hey Itachi-san, care to join us?" Yakkaina answered for him, "No, we don't." She said it in such a manner I was tempted to pull her in the lake just to get back at her. Itachi shook his head and sat down at the overhang's edge, forcing Yakkaina to sit with him. I swam over to them, delibertly ignoring Yakkaina's flinch, and hoisted myself up so that my toes dangled just above the water. Water dripped from my hair, running down my arms and disappearing into the grass underneath me. "So, Shisui won the bet, but he won't tell me who he likes. Do you know who it is?"

 "That's cheating, Tora!" Shisui yelled at me. I shot a grin over my shoulder, "There's no rule against it." I called back. Itachi looked from Shisui to me and back again, an almost invisible smirk on his lips. He leaned closer as if to tell me, but Shisui grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back before Itachi could share the secret. I twisted to tackle him, trying to gain the upper hand but was failing miserably due to my smaller size and inexperiance. Soon I was in a loose choke hold, just tight enough so that I couldn't escape.

 Yakkaina, of course, complained, "Itachi-kun, I don't want to be around uncouth people." Itachi gave her a look and said quietly, "So leave." Shisui paused in his attempt to drown me long enough to hear Yakkaina's answer, "You never do anything I want to do! You think it's more fun to play ninja then actually spend time with me!" She stood and stomped away. Itachi didn't seemed too worried that his girlfriend just snapped at him, but then, he never did. I looked at Shisui in explination. Shisui let me go, "Yakkaina always says that, besides Itachi only dates her so Mikoto-oba will stop bothering him." Itachi narrowed his eyes at his cousin, but I don't think Shisui noticed.

 I crossed my arms, "So are you going to tell me who she is?" Shisui smirked and shook his head, spraying me with water from his dripping hair. Itachi spoke, "It's Hana." Shisui glared at his cousin, who was smirking at him. I laughed at my friend, then ducked underwater when he swiped at me.

 ***

 It was close to midnight when I finally stummbled home, still sodden wet. Shisui finally had gotten over his embarressment at liking the Inuzuka girl enough to actually walk home with Itachi and me. Shisui seemed overly fond of wring his clothes out on top of me, causing me to be even wetter than I already was. I pushed him away laughing everytime. Even Itachi, who didn't even get his feet wet the whole day, seemed more at ease then he usually was; enough that I teased him about Yakkaina as much as Shisui did. He didn't seem to mind and for that I was grateful. I felt as if these two trully did accept me as I was, and that was a blessing in itself.

 ***

 I opened the door to my house and froze, nine faces turned to stare back at me. I stood there for a while, still dripping from the lake. Reiko found his voice first, "Geez, Tora! What on earth happened?" I shook my head and waded into the genin crowd, "I could ask the same question. What's going on? Why is everyone here?" I asked as I made my way to my brother. Reiko scowled at me, "Preparing to look for you! No one has seen you since this afternoon! We thought that someone harmed you. Who did this to you? You look like a drowned rat!"

 I shrugged, "I lost a bet with Uchiha Shisui." I said nonchalantly and scanned the faces of all the genin. All were here except Uchiha Sasuke, who was still in the hospital. Reiko rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "You're acting just like one." I smiled and slung an arm around his shoulders, "Funny, Shisui was just accusing me of turning into Lady Tsunade. I wonder which one of you are right?" Reiko tried to push me off, but my training as an acrobat paid off. Using his weight against him, I knocked his feet out from under him. I looked at his friends, "Well, I suppose I have to feed you don't I?"

 Naruto and Ino, both who had tasted my cooking, nodded vigerously. Reiko's fat team mate, Chouji, looked pleased as well. Reiko stood up, his face pink with embarressment at being beaten by an untrained citizen. He spoke, "That'd be nice, I'm starving." I smiled and left the room for the kitchen, Ino followed me.

 I glaned at the younger girl as I got down the ingrediants I needed. The young blonde looked uncomfortable, but determined. Finally she blurted out, "All the girls my age have a crush." I started at the sudden announcement and gave her a look, "So? What's that got to do with anything?" Ino blushed and looked down, "Well I never did. For the longest time I had a crush on Uchiha Sasuke, but I knew I didn't stand a chance against Sakura who saw him everyday." I stirred water in with flour and buckwheat for noodles. "If your going to be in here you might as well help"

 She hesintated then joined me at the kitchen counter, "I used to think that I would never meet anyone. That everyone I had a crush on would be taken by someone else, and now... well I'm scared that's going to happen again." I dumped the sticky dough on the counter and began rolling it out, flattening it then rolling it up into a tube again before repeating. I handed her a metal pot, "Here fill this up with water then put it on to boil. Now, who do you have a crush on?" Ino did as I told her, but didn't answer my question. Instead she kept babbling, "Anyway, all my friend have team mates that are actually interesting. I'm stuck with a lazy genius and someone whoe does nothing but eat! They are my team mates and my friends, of course, but still. I've known them for the longest times, our fathers are team mates too! I never got to meet anyone knew, I always knew that I would be teamed with Shikamaru and Chouji."

 I placed a flour whitened hand on her shoulder, leaving a print on her purple shirt, "Look Ino. Just tell me what's on your mind, stop getting off the subject." She heaved a sigh and said barely above a whisper, "I like Reiko... very very much." I stilled in rolling out the dough and stared straight ahead. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see the poor girl blushing deeply and probably regreting that she ever told me anything. I took her arm and sat her down before turning back to my work, "Why don't you tell me everything?" I asked.

 And so she began, going from how she had originally tortured Reiko about being my adopted brother, but never getting a raise out of him. She used to tease him and insult me, but he just remained calm and at ease. Then during his first mission with them, Reiko had saved Ino by taking a major blow that would have killed him if a healer hadn't been with them. Ino was surprised that, even after all her cruel remarks, he would risk his life to save her. When she asked why, he told her that I wouldn't let him get hurt because I was his big sister and it was my job. Just like it was his job as a comrade not to let Ino get hurt and visa versa. That was when Ino was determined to know my brother better, soon she was trying to spend all her free time with him and before she knew it, she had a crush on my little brother.

 When she finished I stayed quiet for a while, consentrating on creating noodles from the tube of dough, then asked, "Why are you telling me this?" Ino sighed, "I don't know if he likes me in return. It always happens. I like a guy, but he never likes me back." I rubbed one of my jaw line scars and thought carefully how to word what I was going to say, "I've known Reiko for almost seven years. He isn't against hidding his emotions like I am; if he's going to laugh or cry, he will do it and not hold back. I know he sees you as a friend and comrade." Ino spoke, her voice full of disappointment, "But not as a girlfriend?" I turned to face her, "You're both still kids. Call me old fashion, but twelve is a little too early to be dating. But I think with time, he might start liking you back, as long as you don't do anything to lose his trust."

 Ino gave me a tentative smile, "You think so?" I smiled back at her, "My brother is one of the most loyal people I know. Once your his friend you stay so until you do something completely unforgivable." I paused, then decided to tell her, "Had Reiko ever told you about Kouitsu?" Ino looked surprised at the change of subject, but shook her head. I smiled, "Well, when we were younger, Reiko and I used to know an old man named Kouitsu, who owned an inn. He used to let us stay with him when the weather was bad, before we had found a perminate place to stay. Kouitsu was a nice old man, he would feed us well and reserved a room for us, as long as we worked for our stay. Reiko saw him as a grandfather, but I was distrustful, there was something just off about him, now I'm glad I was. You see Kouitsu, he..." I bit my lip, trying to think of the best way to describe his evilness, "liked to ...use... little boys. And Reiko was easy picking. Fortunatly I got him away before Kouitsu could do anything harmful." Ino's light blue eyes widened at the implication.

 I looked at the stunned blonde genin, "As my brother, Reiko hasn't had an easy life." Ino stared at the table and when it was clear she wasn't going to say anything for a while, I turned back to my cooking. dropping the noodles into the boiling water. I added beef broth and spices then stirred the ramen for a while before turning to make dangos. Finally Ino spoke, "I never would have guessed that..." She trailed off, unable to finish her thought. I shrugged, "No one would have. My brother may be an open book, but no one can read a burned page. I probably would have never known myself if I wasn't there when it happened."

 Reiko walked in then, "So, what are you two talking about?" Without turning around I laughed, "Anything and everything, Reiko." My brother scoffed, "Yeah? Like what... boys?" I shot a carefree smile over my shoulder, "Since when am I ever interested in that? No, we were talking about the Yamanaka flowershop. Now Ino, you were telling me that your grandfather started the shop, right?" Reiko chuckled and said, "Tora, you may be a master liar, but Ino isn't." I turned to see the poor girl turning beat red and burying her head in her arms. I raised my eyesbrows, "We'll have to work on that then."

 Reiko sat down across from Ino and said, "Really? Why?" I rolled my eyes and turned away again, "Well, if Ino's going to be a shinobi, she needs to lie with a straight face. Her life may depend on lying one day." Ino spoke, "You would really teach me?" I smiled at her, "Why not? I taught Reiko, and he was worse then you when I first met him. Now look at him." To prove my point Reiko said calmly, his face straight, "I'm a purple panda that juggles tiny cats made out of leaves." Ino laughed. Reiko continued, "Anyway, everyone is asking when we eat, we are really hungry." I spun around, "It's done, when it's done! Either you be patient and eat or all of you can go home starving."

 Reiko held his hands up in surrender and began backing away for the door, "Hey, I'm just the messager..." I threw the closest thing on hand at him, a bottle of cooking oil, "Message this!" I yelled playfully. Reiko darted out of the room and the bottle continued its journey until it crashing into the front door. Ino had fallen out of her seat from laughing so much. "It is always so dramatic around here?" She asked when she caught her breath. I shrugged and turned back to the pot of ramen, "Of course, Reiko lives for drama and I happen to be living a life full of it. My eyes darted towards the empty doorway and I whispered, "Food's done, you might want to hurry and grab something before all of them come stampeding in." Ino giggled and served herself and before going to tell everyone else that the food was ready.

 ***

 Reiko tugged on my arm, "Come on Tora, we have to go!" I sighed as I followed him. Honestly I didn't see the whole point in a festival, but maybe that was because I wasn't exactly welcomed at one before. But apparently Reiko thought I was getting too used to our soft life, and had signed me on as a professional performer.

 It had been two months since the day at the lake, during that time I had made another bet with Shisui to see whether or not I could upset Itachi. Unfortunately I won; but at least I got two favors out of Shisui as a reward. After I had cooked for the whole genin group, I found that at least two genin were always eating with Reiko and me. Ino or Naruto seemed to be at our house more than everyone else, with Choji right behind them.

 "I still can't believe you're making me wear this." I grumbled. Reiko smirked at my outrageous costume that he assured me was the uniform of all performers. I glared at my younger brother then down at the orange and red spandex and red ribbons flowing from my waist that were supposed to symbolize fire. I was just glad that Reiko chose the Fire Festival and not the Sakura Festival for me to perform in. Of course, he probably knew I would have killed him then. My brother nudged me, "Oh, cheer up. It's not like this is a life profession for you, you work in the hospital full time now; there is no way you could ever go back, even if you wanted to." It was true, Lady Tsunade had decided that I was responsible enough to take on a more permanent job; I was a medic in all but name.

 "Hey!" Someone called from the crowd pushing at us. On instinct both of us tensed, ready to run. Living on the streets for so long taught us to treat everything with caution first. A woman in her early thirties wearing a similar costume as mine, only black and white, trotted up to us, her face was covered in face paint. White paint surrounded her eyes narrowing into a thin line that cut across her temples and disappeared into her silver hairline, the rest of her face was painted black. Reiko relaxed when he saw her, "Seiji, this is Tora, my sister."

 The woman looked me up and down then nodded, "So your brother tells me you're a very good acrobat." I shrugged, "I've been doing it since I was five. That's ten years, so I guess I'm good." The woman seemed unimpressed, "No wonder you’re so short." I gritted my teeth at the jab, but didn't say anything. The woman continued, "Oh well, our original acrobat fell and broke his arm while practicing, so I guess you'll have to do. Follow me." She grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. When Reiko tried to follow she stopped him, saying only performers were allowed backstage.

 Seiji faced me when we were backstage among dancers, some practicing with real fire and others with ribbons, players for a skit, and snake charmers. She circled me, "Well your costume fits well at least. Now about that face." I glared at her this time, "What about it? Want me to peal it off so I don't scare the crowd?" I growled. Seiji blinked in surprise then shook her silver head, "No, paint. No one can perform without face paint. In fact, I'm glad for the scars, it will be easier to paint tiger stripes on you." Now it was my turn to be surprised, never had anyone said they were glad for my scars, no one except me at times. The woman motioned to a boy carrying a tray of multiple colors forward. Dipping her first two fingers in the red paint she turned to me, "Close your eyes." She commanded.

 ***

 My fingers itched to touch my face as I waited for my turn to perform; the paint felt awkward and heavy, but Seiji assured me that I would get used to it. Three hours had passed since she painted my face in orange stripes and a red base. The skin around my eyes was coated with a very dark red to bring out my orange eyes. My black hair had been tied back in a high ponytail, the red ribbon used to tie it off hung almost to my waist.

 The fire dancer on the stage flung his torches up high then caught them in one swift motion and bowed. The crowd loitering about the stage clapped and he bounded off the stage, looking very pleased with himself. Seiji stepped back up, "The next performer is one of you own, Konoha. Please welcome the Tiger Demon, Tora!" I glared at her for a second, that name wasn't a nickname, it was a curse. There was no standing ovation, and I wasn't expecting one, but clearly Seiji, not being from Konoha in the first place, was.

 I walked out to a mute crowd, though there were a few quiet chuckles at the sight of my stupid costume. Seiji looked panicked at the silence, I gave her a reassuring smile and faced the gathering, noticing the all my friends had taken the front. I took a deep breath then started my routine off with a handstand. Bending my legs I placed my feet firmly in the small of my back. The crowd responded by hissing in pain at my twisted position. Slowly I lowered my feet until my hair was touching the backs of my knees. Now was the hard part. Getting up without falling. Raising my right hand out for balance, I shifted my left foot back until my calf was touching the back of my head. Very slowly I brought my left hand out from under me so that it rested in front of me.

 I stayed there for a moment, catching my breath, then quickly straightened. Unfortunately, I over calculated and went too far forward, but luckily my right hand stopped me from doing a face plant. Without missing a beat I brought my legs out from under me so I pulled a back flip, making my error look like it was part of the act. The crowd cheered, now over their dislike towards me for a good show. I did a few back flips and front flips to ease my muscles. Reiko was right, I was out of practice. During our times on the street I would have never almost fallen. I landed another handstand and pushed off the ground into the air. I flipped in mid air and landed on one foot.

 My weight was not distributed correctly and I fell forward once again; I managed to catch myself and executed a cartwheel to cover up my mistake. Bouncing on the balls of my feet I shouted, "For my next move, I need all of you to stay still please." Amazingly the crowd followed my orders and I ran forward, jumping into the crowd. I happened to land on Itachi's shoulders; his girlfriend, who was standing beside him, didn't look very pleased. Walking on my hands across the crowds shoulders' I traveled in an arc and flipped back on the stage. The crowd roared at my feat. Seiji, standing off to the side, smiled brightly at me.

 I continued my routine, bending my back into impossible positions and coming out of them with no more errors. I fell back into my zone that I had not entered in almost half a year. The crowd's cheering was a dull hum in my ears, I was no longer performing for the people, I was doing it for myself. As my finale I climbed the wall that the stage was shoved up against and flipped off it, turning three times, and landed in a sideways split. The crowd winced but still cheered as I bowed from my position. I rose on a twirling handstand and back flipped off stage.

 Seiji was waiting for me, her bright smile still glued in place, "I must say, that was a wonderful sight. Not even our official acrobat can twist his body like that." I shrugged, unused to praise, "I started learning when I was very young, my body is probably just used to it." Seiji nodded, but she was already distracted again, "Well change out of that costume then go enjoy yourself, but please return for tomorrow, I'd like to use your act the remainder of the time of the Fire Festival. I'll pay you triple your amount for every day, alright?" I nodded eagerly and the silver haired woman disappeared to announce the next performer.

 I was in the process of wiping of the face paint when my brother and Shisui managed to sneak backstage. Reiko pounced on me, "That was awesome, Tora! I do believe it was your best performance yet!" I rolled my eyes and ran the soft cloth under my eyes to rid myself of the maroon paint. Shisui laughed, "No leave it on! I like your paint." I glared at him and deliberately pulled the cloth across my face, leaving a clean strip down my face. He just laughed. We teased each other for a little bit more as I finished cleaning my face and then shooed them out to wait with the rest of our friends so I could change back into my bland black long sleeve undershirt, grey sleeveless vest and black pants.

 Outside I slung my arm over Reiko's shoulders and commented, "Seiji would like for me to perform as long as the Fire Festival is in, she'll pay triple what she's paying now." Reiko grinned, "I feel rich! I remember a time when getting a hot meal for the both of us was a big deal!" Our little group looked surprised. Ino spoke, "Really? It was that bad?" I shot Reiko a dirty look, who was chuckling sheepishly, and told her, "He's exaggerating. We had a meal every day, but most of the time it was cold." Choji gave us a pitying look, "Only one meal?" I shrugged, "It's no big deal. The past is the past."

 Yakkaina decided then that Itachi had been mingling with us too long. She tugged on his arm, "Come on Itachi-kun! I want to go buy something!" Itachi left without even a nod towards us. Shisui and I exchanged amused looks while the genin just looked very uncomfortable. We walked down the people clogged street, laughing at jokes and stories. When we reached the food strip Choji and Naruto disappeared. Ino dragged the genin girls away, chattering about boys and clothes. Reiko slipped away soon after that, leaving Shisui and me alone.

 The Uchiha looked amused, "What, are we horrible company or something?" I elbowed him in the ribs, "No, they're just intimidated by the two of us." He laughed and ruffled my hair. We walked a little longer, pointing out different things that caught our attention. Like the Fire Eater that stood at a street corner, swallowing flames for entertainment. Or the stand sold ANBU styled play masks in red, gold, orange, and yellow colors to celebrate the Fire Festival. Beside it was a man offering to heal any scar, no matter how old. As Shisui and I walked past him he called out, "Young woman! I can rid you of those scars, for a small amount!" Shisui frowned, not believing him for a second. I turned the man down on his offer and walked away.

 "Hey look!" Shisui suddenly said, pointing ahead of him. I followed his gaze and saw a young woman sitting at a table, three canines laying by her chair. I knew she was Inuzuka from the red claw like marks on her cheeks. From the way Shisui had brightened at the sight of her, I knew instantly that she had to be Inuzuka Hana. I grinned mischievously and  nudged Shisui, "Why don't you go talk to her?" He got cold feet quickly, "Well, she looks pretty busy..."

 I looked back to the woman, she actually looked very bored. Her hand cradled her cheek as she looked mulishly into the distance. Her dinner partner was talking non-stop, it was clear that he was the source of boredom. Before I could doubt myself, I walked over to her, ignoring Shisui's hiss, and tapped her on the shoulder. Hana turned to me and the man sitting with her glared at me for interrupting his tirade, "I'm sorry, but are you Inuzuka Hana, right?" The woman raised an eyebrow and nodded quietly. Her dogs sniffed me cautiously, but didn't attack. I sat down, much to the man's displeasure, "I'm Tora, and a friend of Uchiha Shisui. Do you know him?"

 Hana smiled, "Everyone knows Shisui, he's one of the few Uchihas that actually knows how to laugh!" I pretended to act surprised, "You mean there's more?" The woman laughed pleasantly and the man looked positively enraged. I continued like we were old friends, "Anyway, Shisui saw that you were bored out of your mind, and asked me to see if you wanted to come watch the fireworks with us." The man cut in at that point, "Look, kid. Hana's my date! So bug off." I smirked at him, "You’re welcome to join us." I said sweetly. Hana chuckled at the man's incredulous face, and said in a low smooth voice, "I'm delighted, but Shunzou is right. It would be rude to leave him." Shunzou looked satisfied and sent me a smug look. I twirled a lock of hair, "I said he could come too...” Hana laughed again, "I'm sorry, Tora, I can't; maybe some other time. Thank you for asking though." I smiled and bounded back to Shisui, who looked like he was about to explode.

 I laughed at him, "Oh cheer up, she actually seemed interested, not disgusted. That's a good sign!" He glared at me and muttered, "The day a fifteen year old girl plays matchmaker for me..." I smirked, "I'm sixteen. I have been for two months now." Shisui gave me a look that told me he wasn't amused at all. I looped my arm thought his, "Oh, you should be happy! She thought the gesture was nice." When he didn't answer I pointed a random to a stand to rid the air of the awkwardness surrounding us. Luckily the stand was something I actually found interest in, "Look, puppets!" Shisui gave me a funny look as I scanned the collection of wooden puppets. The kind old woman pointed out the attributes of each puppet that I seemed to inspect too closely. Finally, after much debate, I chose a simple white tiger puppet and paid the woman. I turned to show my treasure to my friend when I made a shocking discovery.

 I had lost Shisui.

 ***

 I tried to see through the crowd, thinking that he had just wondered away, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I asked if the puppeteer saw where he went, but she just shook her head and turned back to her next paying customer, a five year old boy that seemed really interest in a wooden dragon doll. I guess he was trying to get back at me for teasing him about Hana.

 I wandered around a little, trying to see if I could run into him, but he was nowhere to be found. I was starting to get worried. The crowd gave me a wide berth, most of them glaring at me while others refused to even come near me. I had forgotten how the villagers of Konoha treated me. I sighed and looked down at my feet as I walked so they wouldn't see so much of my face. One of the braver children running through the streets threw a rock at me. I managed to dodge it, due to my training as an acrobat and Lady Tsunade's student. I should have never thought that being friends with shinobi would make the villagers like me. I was still the Tiger Demon to them.

 A voice caught my attention, "Why do you hang around with your cousin, Itachi-kun? I swear, you find him more entertaining than me!" Yakkaina whined. I peered through the crowd to see Itachi sitting with his girlfriend on a public bench, far enough away from her so that he didn't touch her. I bit my lip, I didn't want to disturb him, but I had no choice. I had to find Shisui. "Excuse me, Itachi-san?" Yakkaina glanced at me then snorted, "Look, fan-slut, I'm his girlfriend, so just back off." I pointedly ignored her as I waited for Itachi to turn around. He raised a quizzical eyebrow and didn't say anything. I felt foolish.

 "I can't find Shisui, he didn't tell me where he was going and--" Yakkaina laughed cruelly, "That's because he was probably ditching you!" Itachi glared at her and stood silently, "I'll help you look for him." He said quietly. Yakkaina didn't like that idea, "But Itachi-kun! You were going to show me the fireworks!" Itachi didn't answer her as he joined me. I felt happy at my small victory.

 It was awkward walking with Itachi alone. We were friends, but we never spent time together, Shisui was always there. We walked silently through the obnoxious crowd, searching for Itachi's lost cousin. Yakkaina followed for a few minutes, throwing insults at me and begging Itachi to come with her, but we both ignored her. Finally, with one scene that would have put drama actors to shame, she left us alone. I couldn't help but ask after she left, "Why do you date her?" Itachi raised an eyebrow and I blushed, feeling sheepish for invading his privacy. That wasn't like me.

 "I just do." He surprised me by saying, usually when I asked Itachi anything he would just shrug or respond with his famous 'hn'. "But why? She is so pushy; she acts like she owns you!" Itachi gave me a half-amused, half-annoyed look, "I date her because of an obligation." I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pockets. Several more minutes passed in silence before I began to speak again, "Do you know where he would be?" Itachi shook his head and continued to push through the crowd; luckily being the Uchiha prodigy and heir they readily made room for us. "I guess he was trying to pull a prank on me, since I teased him about Hana. I actually spoke to her, asking if she would like to see the fireworks with us, she said she would think about it."

 I was babbling but I couldn't help it. Itachi finally stopped and sighed, a hand pressed to his forehead in irritation, "Tora, could we just focus on finding Shisui? I'm sure it wasn't a prank, he probably just got distracted." I blushed and looked down at my feet, determined not to open my mouth again. Unfortunately tonight was not my lucky night. I opened my mouth and heard Itachi groan, defeated, "Why won't you tell me about my parents?" I whispered. Itachi stopped and looked at me, his dark eyes held a glimmer of surprise.

 He was silent for a while, trying to think of the right way to word his answer. Itachi looked around at our surrounding then motioned me to follow him. Confused I did, wondering what he was up to. Strangely he took me to a small secluded restaurant and sat me down across from him. Waving away the doe eyes waitress he turned to me, "I suppose it is your right to know." I straightened; he was really going to tell me? Itachi hesitated, seeing the look of hope on my face. He frowned slightly, "Your parents... they were... unstable." I would have found Itachi's loss of words amusing if it wasn't over such a serious subject. I leaned forward, silently willing him to tell me more.

 "Your father and mother were teammates with my father when they were genin that much is true. But my father lied when he said you mother was a kind woman. She found joy in hurting people." I cringed at that, Itachi gave me a look that said I warned you and continued, "Fugaku says that Karasu was timid at first, but he fell in love with Hikaru. She belittled him and tried to belittle my father, but failed. Hikaru was known to be manipulative and blood thirsty, her sensei was often concerned that she would turn evil." I had to ask, "And d-did she?" I managed to choke out. He ignored my question, not a good sign, "She had an affair with Karasu shortly after they became Jounin and she ended up pregnant with you.

 "Neither of your parents wanted a child. When Mikoto heard a rumor that they planned to kill you once you were born, she told Fugaku and he threatened to bring them up with charges of murder if they did." I stared at him, my fingernails digging in into the wooden table, my parents wanted to kill me?! Is that why Karasu scarred me, because he was unable to kill me? Itachi was watching me calmly, but I could see pity deep in his eyes. After you were born, Hikaru left your father and became a rogue nin." My mouth dropped open, that couldn't be true! My mother couldn't be alive. Itachi watched my cautiously, waiting for me to react. When I didn't do anything drastic he stood and pulled me to my feet, "Let's find Shisui." He said and left, with me stumbling behind him.

 My mother was alive, I wasn't an orphan. She had truly abandoned me, leaving me to my distraught crazy father. Worse, she was an enemy of Konoha, someone who would harm me. Someone who had planned to kill me in the past. I was still in a daze when Itachi finally found his cousin arguing with the puppet seller where I had lost him in the first place. Shisui saw me depressed state and asked Itachi, "What's wrong with her?" I mutely stared at the ground, still horrified by my family. Itachi spoke quietly, informing his cousin of all that had happened while he was away.

 Shisui made a pitying noise and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "It's alright Kitty! Don't fret; I'll make it all better!" Itachi rolled his eyes and muttered, "You make it sound like she's five and scraped her knee." I smiled a little at the comment and at Shisui's offended expression. My friend turned back to me, "What Itachi said is just the worse of it tied up in a pretty bow, Karasu was actually a good man before your mother corrupted him." I gave him a strange look, "Did you know him?" I asked. Shisui nodded, "I was thirteen when he died, and Itachi was seven. We saw him frequently after you were born, and each time he seemed more..." Itachi finished for him, "Unstable." Shisui nodded then added, "But in the beginning before even Itachi was born he was really nice, he always had something to laugh about."

 I frowned at that, "Yeah, I bet he really laughed at my face." I growled, crossing my arms. Shisui shoved me lightly, "Oh stop that. If you start that sulking mood again I swear I'll... I'll... dump you head first in a barrel of tar then throw feathers all over you!" I snapped out of my anger quickly and inched away from Shisui, who was too busy laughing at his own joke to notice. Itachi came up behind him and threw a bucket of water over his cousin's head before grabbing me and taking off. I laughed as we ran through the streets, Shisui's angry shouts following us, amazed that the stoic Itachi knew how to pull a prank.

 ***

 Almost five months had passed since the Fire Festival before anything happened. I was folding unused bed sheets with Seisuikina and Muryou, two of my fellow nurses who were close to my age. Over the months since I had started working at the hospital, Seisuikina and Muryou befriended me; but even after eleven months they still acted awkward around me when something happened to remind them of my scars, but at least I had friends who were actually girls. It felt good to act like a girl sometimes and giggle over the most absurd things.

 Seisuikina, fourteen and Uchiha crazy, pushed her deep blue hair away from her bright blue eyes and teased me, "Oh come on Tora, you're around those hot Uchiha men all day, don't you have something to share?" I grinned and shook my head in a way that made her believe I did, when in fact I didn't. I might be friends with Shisui and Itachi, but I wasn't that close. Muryou just smiled as she watched from her corner, amused by us. She was a bookish sixteen year old and looked the part too. Her mousy brown hair was always tied back and her intelligent grey eyes hit behind square glasses. During our lunch period, when I ate with the girls, she always had a book in her hand and rarely joined our conversations.

 Suddenly one of the senior nurses popped her head in, "All experienced nurses and medics are needed in Block number 12, now!" Muryou and I immediately dropped the sheets we were folding and ran towards the emergency wing. Muryou was a Chunnin medic and I was at her level of experience due to my services during the Konoha attack. Seisuikina had started her training a few months ago, her experience or skill wasn't high enough to deal with emergencies yet. I could hear her complaining very loudly how it wasn't fair as I rushed away.

 I skidded to a halt in front of Lady Tsunade who was speaking softly with an unfamiliar man, Muryou slid into me, causing me to stumble forward, nearly bumping the man. Tsunade gave us a brief glance then stated, "Muryou to room seven, Tora stay with me." Muryou mouthed 'good luck' and I nodded in return before standing a little behind Lady Tsunade. The man finished the conversation then left, leaning on a wooden walking stick heavily as he headed for emergency room four.

 Lady Tsunade turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Tora, I don't want you to panic." Automatically I start thinking the worst. The blonde medic gripped my shoulder hard, "Reiko is in critical condition, along with over half of the genin boys." My eyes widened and I felt my heart falter for a second. The woman guided me over to a bench put in the halls and sat me down, "Sasuke has been kidnapped by Orochimaru. Shikamaru, Naruto, Reiko, Kiba, Choji, and Neji were sent after him. All have returned in critical condition, but Sasuke wasn't recovered. Itachi and his team are currently in pursuit, if they are unable to retrieve him then no one can."

 I stared at my hands, "Why are you telling me this?" I whispered. She patted my shoulder softly and said, "You're Reiko's only family, it's mandatory that all family members must be informed. There is another reason why I drew you aside. I'm putting the whole recovery unit under your care." I stared at her, stunned at the sudden responsibility. She smiled, "You handle yourself well in emergencies, and you have a gift for understanding the patients. I think it's time for your promotion."

 "But... I'm not even an official medic." Lady Tsunade shrugged, "Once you take the Chunnin medical exam you will be. You don't have to accept it, but I can't think of anyone better." I frowned, "Where's Shizune going?" Shizune was currently in charge of the recovery unit. Tsunade smiled again, "She's going to become the head medic, since I'm retiring and focusing on my duties as the Hokage." When I continued to hesitate Tsunade sighed and said, "Look Tora, I know what you're thinking. But you've been here for almost a year, people who matter trust you. I've seen the way you are around patients; you understand them and have the ability to make them comfortable. You are the perfect person to be in charge of the recovery wing."

 I was still reluctant to accept. She grabbed my arm in such a grip that I was sure it would leave bruises. "Look Tora, Tenshi is almost a year old, in two weeks she'll be going home with you if no one adopts her. Do you honestly think that a nurse's and genin wage is enough to support three people on?" I shook my head, I remember when it was just me living off what I made as a street acrobat. It was enough for me then, but when Reiko came into the picture is was frightfully meager.

 Lady Tsunade nodded firmly, "Right, as the head of the recovery unit you have enough to support three people, plus a little extra to spoil your daughter." She smiled when she said the last part, and I couldn't help but smile too. She knew me too well, I would spoil Tenshi every chance I got, no doubt about it; not only that, I was sure anyone who was around Tenshi often would also spoil her too. After a moment I finally consented. Lady Tsunade grinned and opened her mouth, but I held up a finger, "On one condition." I said before she could do anything. The blonde woman didn't seem to like that, but she nodded anyway. "I'm allowed to take Tenshi home now, since we both know no one is going to adopt her." Tsunade didn't seem to mind granting my wish.

 She stood, "Come to the nursery after you're done for the day." She turned to the closed doors nearest to us and paused. Looking over her shoulder she said, "I believe Naruto is awake. Would you visit him please? He's in room eight." I nodded and stood as well before turning and leaving.

 The red light of room eight was blinking slowly, showing anyone who knew what it meant that the patient was taken care of. A steady light would mean the patient needed attention and if the light was turned off that meant the room was unoccupied. I slid open the door and frozen when I saw Naruto's visitors. My eyes automatically narrowed at the sight of Akarui standing by her brother, their mother sitting in the only chair, her son's hand pressed to her lips. All three Uzumaki (A.N. I know Minato was actually alive, but he took Kushina's name in this story so I don't have to bother with anything) looked at me startled.

 I schooled my face to be emotionless, something I picked up from being around Itachi too much, and bowed, "Forgive me, I didn't realize Naruto had company, I'll leave." Kushina spoke before I could turn away, "No it's alright." Akarui asked at the same time, "Don't you have some place to be?" I had thought she had acted the way she did when her father died because of her grief; but I was wrong. She reminded me of a younger version of Yakkaina, and that made me immediately dislike her. I opened my mouth to tell her off, but Kushina beat me to it, "Akarui! Apologize!" She said in a stern motherly tone.

 The girl actually snapped back at her mother, "Why? I already apologized once to her, when I didn't do anything." Naruto narrowed his blue eyes at his sister, "Akarui, you accused her of something she didn't do. That's something." The little red haired brat burst into tears, I was mildly impressed, I would never be able to do that, even if I wanted to. "Why are you all mean to me?! You don't know if she did anything or not!" Kushina turned red with anger and stood without ceremony and dragged her crying daughter out of the room, leaving me and Naruto alone.

 He spoke first, "How's Reiko?" I shrugged, still standing at the door, too uncomfortable by all the drama to sit down, "Tsunade says critical. As far as I know, you're the only one who is awake." Naruto nodded, "That's because I only fought a few clones, not an actual person." He looked down at his bandaged hands sadly and whispered, "I was ten feet from Sasuke when I blacked out. I could have held on long enough to save him..." He trailed off. I sat down and said, "Lady Tsunade said that Itachi-san and his team are deployed, they should bring him back." Naruto gave me a look, "You don't understand, Tora. I failed my friend and team mate. And..." He glanced at me then back down at his hands. I could barely hear what he said next, "...and I left Reiko defenseless to do so."

 My eyes widened, Reiko's best friend had left him helpless, probably injured, to save a boy who probably wouldn't thank him anyway. I closed my eyes to try and stem my anger, but it boiled anyway. I bit my lip to keep from yelling at the genin, but my anger shown through my eyes, making Naruto flinch. I stood silently and walked away without a word, carefully shutting to door behind me. Kushina looked up from her lecture in the hallway and watched me walk quietly away. I could feel her questioning gaze drilling into my back, but I ignored it. I couldn't believe it, the boy that Reiko had befriended even when no one else would had betrayed my brother, and probably killed him.

 I needed someone to talk to. But Shisui was part of Itachi's team, Reiko was still in surgery and I didn't know Muryou or Seisuikina enough to talk to them. I ended up in the nursery. Tenshi had just turn 11 months and had been moved to a smaller room off to the side of the main nursery. Jiro's former nurse, who I had learned her name was Kokoro was already there, watching Tenshi walk around the room, clinging to things. She could walk by herself for brief moments, but always fell down sooner or later.

 As I slid open the door Tenshi stilled and turned, waiting for me to identify myself. "Hey Tenshi." I whispered quietly and a grin split her small face. She had already recognized me as someone she could trust. She turned on unsteady feet and, gripping the table she was using to stand upright, she began toddling towards me. I smiled and took a step closer to her, but stopped a foot from the table. Kokoro watched with a tender smile on her face as Tenshi reached the end of the table and let go to walk alone for the last foot. She fell into my arms and I chuckled picking her up in a wide arc, she shrieked with laughter as I spun her around.

 When I hugged her, Tenshi's small arms automatically reached for my face. That was how she identified me. Confirming who I was, my daughter pressed her face into my shoulder and murmured, "Mmmmm." Tenshi would speak yet, but I had a feeling that meant 'mama'. Kokoro stood; I could almost hear her old bones creaking from across the room. Patting absently at her grey bun, she said, "I guess I'll leave now that you're here, dearie." She called anyone younger than thirty ‘dearie’; it was funny to watch some people get frustrated, like Shisui.

 I smiled at her as Tenshi pulled at my hair, something I had gotten used to, "Thank you Kokoro-chan." The older woman smiled and headed for the door when I remembered something, "Oh, Kokoro..." She paused and turned back to me. I bit my lip, not sure how to ask, "Lady Tsunade is letting me take Tenshi home early, and I was wondering..." As always Kokoro read my thoughts, she smiled, causing her many crinkles to bunch around her eyes, "I would be happy to assist you in any way." I nodded, "Thank you, Kokoro, as you probably heard, Reiko is in critical condition and I was hoping that you would help me transit Tenshi. You're around her as much as I am, so--" The elderly nurse cut me off before I could start babbling, "I'll be happy to help, dearie." She said then left without another word. I sighed and held Tenshi tighter

 Tenshi pulled back, her cloudy blue eyes staring in my general direction. I kissed the top of her head, "It's alright, sweetie. I'm just tired." I knew she didn't understand half of what I was saying, if that, but I knew she would listen no matter what I said. I sat down in the chair that Kokoro had left and settled Tenshi in my lap, "Guess what? You're going to be coming home with me. Won't that be fun?" I told her. Tenshi snuggled against me, rubbing her cheek against my chest. I smoothed her hair back and hummed a tune.

 After a while, I sighed, "Oh Tenshi, I'm so confused. First I find out my brother is in the emergency room, then that Lady Tsunade wants me to run the recovery unit. And on top of all that, I learn that Naruto is the reason why Reiko is in the hospital in the first place. I understand that he had to chose between Reiko, someone who could still defend himself, and Sasuke, who I hear was unconscious at the time; but it's just... wrong. Then I begin to think what would happen if I had been in Naruto's place, would I protect my brother or go after Sasuke?" Tenshi just made little baby noises, she didn't have a care in the world. She sat up in my lap and turned so that she faced me, I stilled, waiting to see what she would do. Pawing around my shoulder, Tenshi located a strand of my raven hair and brushed it across my lips, making me laugh at the ticklish feeling. I hugged Tenshi close to me and she squirmed into a better position. It was nice to have a daughter, even if she was blind and couldn't understand why I was upset.

 ***

 It was two days before the next boy woke, and he was Shikamaru. Since I hadn't forgiven Naruto yet, though Lady Tsunade didn't understand why since neither of us would tell her, she put me in charge of making sure the Master of Boredom, Reiko's nickname for his team mate, was comfortable. Most of the time we both ended up reading quietly, or sometimes he would force me to play Shogi and beat me swiftly. I felt very dumb around him at times, but we both had a common topic to talk about, my brother.

 "I've never seen anyone so flexible, it's bothersome." Shikamaru said once. I shrugged and set down my glass of water, "He's been practicing acrobatics since he was six, of course he's flexible." Shikamaru shook his head, his spiky ponytail swinging with the motion, "It's inhuman." I rolled my eyes and didn't respond. There was no arguing with him, it was like trying to win an argument with a brick wall. “Well I guess that means he really is my brother by blood. I am after all the Tiger Demon.” I snapped at the boy, who had the decency to look abash.

 Sometimes Asuma was there, so I was given the time off to learn from Shizune how things were done in the recovery unit. I memorized every name of the nurses and medics that would be under me and tried to win them over, but very few actually seemed tolerant of the change. The patients however, seemed pleased that I would be over the unit. I was confused until Umi, one of the patients I considered as my friend, explained, "It's because you seem to actually care about our health. You don't ask 'how are you feeling' because it's your job, you ask because you actually want to know." When I tried to say that the other medics also cared she snapped, "Just take the compliment and shut up!" I did.

 ***

 It was a week before the next genin woke, Inuzuka Kiba. Because his sister, Hana, was with Itachi's team still hunting for Sasuke, and that his mother was too busy with clan issues to get away, I was put to comforting him as well as Shikamaru when no one else was there to do so. Shino and Hinata, Kiba's team mates and his sensei often visited him, but not as often as they should. Most of the time I was in his room I spent learned everything there was to know about his sister. He seemed very eager to share when I told him my reason for asking.

 It took forever for the next genin to wake, who was Rock Lee. Lady Tsunade explained to me that the reason it was only the three so far was because they were saved by the Sand Siblings in the middle of their fight with a group that took orders from Orochimaru. At first I had all three boys on my schedule, but then Lee started moaning about my loss of youth because of my scars and I had him taken off my roster. Both he and his sensei, Gai, were too enthusiastic for my tastes, more so than Naruto.

 It was another three days before Neji woke and after that Choji, but Reiko still wouldn't wake up. Worried I found myself pacing, upsetting whoever's room I was in until they finally shouted for me to leave. Tsunade said that Reiko had taken a blow to the head that had sent him into a coma. There was no telling when he would wake up, if ever. I only slept maybe a few hours each night, and picked at my food. Lady Tsunade threatened to put me in a hospital room myself if I kept it up.

 ***

 "Tora?" A voice called out to me in my sleep fogged mind. I groaned and buried my head deeped into my arms; didn't people understand that I had gotten maybe three hours of sleep in a week total? The voice called again, slightly more panicked, "Tora?" My eyes opened and I remembered where I was. I had fallen asleep in Reiko's room. That meant... I jerked my head up and stared straight into Reiko's worried eyes. I lunged for him and wrapped my arms around his bandaged torso, he yelped in surprise. "You're awake." I whispered, hardly believing my own words.

 I pulled away to see Reiko's frown, "What am I doing here? How did I get here? What happened?" He asked, his questions tumbling into each other. Now it was my turn to frown. Pushing his messy red hair from his eyes I said, "Reiko, what was the last thing you remember?" His face twisted, trying to remember what happened. "I remember we went after Sasuke..." He said. My heart skipped a beat, Lady Tsunade said Reiko would lose some of his memory, but she had no idea how much. It was possible that he would lose everything since he became a genin, or possibly just a few hours.

 I tried to smile, "You almost found him, but someone hit your head and you blacked out. You've been here for almost two weeks, Reiko." His grey eyes widened as the news sank in. He stared at his hands for a long while, not saying anything. "Reiko?" I probed and reached out to touch his arm. He jerked away from me, "I'd like to be alone for a little while, Tora." He said it quietly and without emotion, but it felt as if he had stabbed me with a kunai. I nodded and left the room. Outside I leaned against his closed door, trying to force down the lump in my throat. In the seven years I had known Reiko, he had never treated me like everyone else did. It was one of the reasons why I became friends with him in the first place.

 Holding my forehead I groaned; with my lack of sleep and the stress, this new problem was turning out to be the beginning of a severe headache. Pushing my hair out of my face I headed downstairs towards the nursery before I remembered that Tenshi was settling in at the house. With Reiko being closed off and Itachi's team still hunting for what I considered a lost cause now, I had no one to talk to. Sighing I went on the rounds that I hadn't been on since the fire festival. I had been too busy learning playing a more responsible role. Lady Tsunade said that I was welcome to go on my old rounds anytime I had free time. I went to Taka's room first, the old fusspots was there only because she unbelievably rich and thought every little twitch in her body was some deadly disease.

 "Girl! I want sake, and I want it now!" Taka screamed as I opened the door to a very unusual sight. Because I had been too busy to do my rounds, some of the younger nurses took over, as part of their training. Seisuikina was standing in the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at the formable elderly woman. I saved her by bowing to Taka, she wasn't happy if you didn't, and murmured, "Forgive Seisuikina, Taka-sama. She is new and doesn't yet know how things are around here." My friend sent me a grateful look and tried to slip away, but I grabbed her collar as she passed, "If you're going to learn to be a medic, you have to learn your patients." I stated something Lady Tsunade always said. The fourteen year old gulped.

 I didn't know how long it was before I left Taka's room, but by the time I did Seisuikina and Taka understood each other better. I turned to my left and began walking further down the hall, trying to kill time before I could leave. "Tora!" Someone called behind me and I turned to see Ino running towards me, her blond hair flying out behind her like a banner. She skidded to a halt a few feet in front of me, panting, "Did you hear?" I could only guess that she meant Reiko. I nodded glumly, still upset that he had pushed me away. Ino looked confused, "You don't seem very happy." She stated. I gave her a look, how did she expect me to act? Skipping around and singing now because my brother was awake and ignoring me?

 "Why should I be?" I asked. Now Ino looked genuinely angry, "Itachi-san found Sasuke and you're not happy?!" I stared in surprise then I began to laugh. Ino lost her anger in favor for confusion again. I wouldn't blame her; I was acting like a lunatic. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but the giggles still managed to sink through my fingers. People sent us strange looks; some glared and pressed a finger to their lips, trying to shut me up. Ino looked concerned for my health now, I waved my hand at her as I caught my breath, "I'm sorry... it's just I didn't hear that. I thought you were talking about something else." Ino tilted her head, "Like what?" I shook my head; I didn't want to spoil my good mood now by telling her about Reiko's sulking attitude. "Nothing. I'm just moody, pay no mind to me." Ino frowned but let the subject drop.

 It was silent for a while as we stood there awkwardly before I asked, "So, how bad is Sasuke's condition?" Ino gave me an exasperated look, "You're the new head of recovery, you go ask." I smiled sheepishly, with all the stress I had been dealing with lately I had forgotten that I had passed my chunnin medical exams and had taken over the recovery unit. I turned to leave and called over my shoulder, "By the way, Reiko's awake. Why don't you go entertain him?" If he wanted to be entertained, that was.

 ***

 Days passed in a haze. I hardly received any sleep, with the hectic state the hospital was in and Tenshi crying at odd hours of the night, I was lucky to get three hours of sleep. I sometimes felt as if the night of the Chunnin Attack had made reappearance.

 It was my lunch break, but I was too tired to move from the bench where I had sat down outside the emergency wing. Since Reiko was my brother, Shizune had added taking care of him as well as the rest of my unit. He still hardly talked to me, but I knew he talked to Ino regularly, about 'shinobi matters' he told me. That irked me in the beginning, I had known him for years and he turned to a girl his age for comfort, now I was too tired to care. He treated me like he would any nurse, aloof and nonchalant.

 Forgoing my break I decided to visit Shisui, who had been wounded during his mission. I wasn't surprised to see Itachi there; since Sasuke was still unconscious and unlikely to wake at the moment, I found the dark haired Uchiha heir in his cousin's room often. Shisui gave me a pained grin when I walked in and I felt ashamed that I was being moody when he was injured. I forced a smile, but he knew me too well. He frowned, "What's the matter?" He asked, a little slurred. Itachi looked at me, his face blank, but I somehow knew he was wondering the same thing. I shrugged, "I'm just tired." To prove my point, I yawned long enough that tears formed at my eyes. I blinked to clear them away.

 Shisui still didn't look convinced, but he knew that I wouldn't tell him what was really bothering me. He moved on to a safer subject, a wide grin gracing his features, "So, Lady Tsunade thinks that I'm either very foolish or very reckless. What do you two think?" Both Itachi and I answered at the same time, "Both." Shisui laughed loudly and I frowned. He normally wasn't so... obnoxious. Could it be that I was just testy, or was it something else? I checked his diagnosis chart and nearly laughed. Shisui was high on pain killer. I discreetly showed Itachi and he smirked a little. I had a feeling that he was going to get revenge on everything his older cousin had ever done.

 Since it was against the rules for visitors to deliberately make the patients feel uncomfortable, and we medics were supposed to stop it before things go ugly, I slipped out the door, telling Itachi I as going to find Shizune to lower the dosage of painkiller. I also warned him with a very stern face that it might take me at least an hour to find her. He nodded; he understood what I was trying to tell him. I walked down the hall, feeling better than I had ever since Reiko had woken up.

 ***

 I was leaving for the day when I ran into Shizune. She smiled brightly at me, "Oh good, I'm glad I found you! I need you to find someone to stay overnight in the recovery unit. Our night nurse is on maternity leave as of today now." I stared at her for a brief minute, my mind too tired to even register her words. Finally I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes, "I could stay." Shizune gave me a look that told me she didn't seem quite sure I could stay awake all night. I gave her a smile trying to reassure her, but I was a horrible liar when I was exhausted. "Well, I can't force you to go home. You can, but only if you promise me that you will replace yourself if you start falling asleep." I promised and she continued, "Well, with Sasuke in danger from Orochimaru, we have an ANBU guarding him, but Fugaku-sama has requested that a nurse be on hand in case he wakes. Can you handle that?" I nodded and the dark haired woman left. Turning I trudged back to the emergency unit where I would be spending the night.

 On the way, I passed Shisui's room just as Itachi left. I gave my somewhat friend a brief smile, and he nodded in return. I expected him to head the way I came, but instead he fell in step with me. I shot him a frown, confused, but he didn't pay any attention. His dark eyes stared straight ahead, pointed chin raised high to show that he was not submissive of anything. I couldn't help but notice that his long eyelashes seemed prone to tangle with his dark hair, or that the shirt he wore did little to hide his lean muscular arms. The more I looked, the more I realized why girls seemed to fall for him so easily. That was a disturbing thought. His dark eyes shifted towards mine, catching me staring at him like a love-sick fan girl. I was glad that my scars hid some of my blush. Looking down at me feet I asked, "Aren't you going home?" "No." He stated, not unkindly as he would a normal fan girl. Finally my sleep fogged mind connected the dots, "You're watching Sasuke, aren't you?" He nodded and didn't say anything.

 Spending the night with Itachi was every fan girl’s dream, even if it was in a hospital watching over his younger brother. I soon realized how wrong they were. We hardly ever spoke, and when we did it was to tell the other that we were leaving to go somewhere. I sat sprawling in the chair beside Sasuke's bed while Itachi propped himself up on the windowsill, his gaze fixed on the night sky. The dim moonlight casts as bluish tint in the room, making everything appear ghostly. Nothing happened, except for the rare times that Sasuke would groan in his sleep. I found myself wiping the sweat from the kid's brow, since there was nothing better to do.

 It was close to midnight and still nothing happened. I had given up trying to stay alert, like Itachi was doing so effortlessly, in favor of dozing off. My hand rested on Sasuke's bed so I would wake if he shifted during the night, but he had stilled hours ago. Suddenly the relaxed air in the room became tense. I pulled myself back out of my light doze, aware that something had changed. I glanced first at Sasuke, but he was still sleeping peacefully. I couldn't help but notice that he looked younger in his sleep and I wondered if Itachi looked the same. Shaking my head to clear my mind of those frustrating thoughts I turned to Itachi. He was standing, his back turned to me.

 I slowly got to my feet, scared that any suddenly movement would startle Itachi into attacking. I shuffled forward until I was standing beside him. The Uchiha spared me a brief glance of acknowledgment before turning his blank gaze back outside. "Is something wrong?" I asked, expecting him not to answer. To my surprise he said softly, "The night is too quiet." I looked out and indeed he was right, nothing, not even the wind, made a sound. It was like the whole world was holding it's breath in anticipation for... something. Sasuke moaned from his bed, and I turned my attention to my charge, and couldn't help but gasp at the dark eyes gleaming back at me. Dumbfounded I actually smacked Itachi to get his attention; he glared at me then followed my gaze to his younger brother.

 Sasuke twitched then winced in pain, "A-Aniki?" He croaked and Itachi was by his bedside in a flash. I stayed where I was by the window, this was between them. I turned away to stare out the window, remembering the last time I was in the room alone with the Uchiha brothers. I smiled, then I had told Itachi that he did care, even if he didn't show it. He proved me right once again.

 A shadow fell across me and I glanced up to see a night owl gliding in the still air. It hooted softly and with that sound the nocturnal life came alive once again. Whatever had silenced the night had passed and no harm had come to anyone, at least I hoped.

 ***

 "Here we are! Welcome home, Reiko!" Ino chirped as I unlocked the door and opened it. Reiko twitched a smile and limped forward. He paused just inside, glancing around the main room, as if trying to find anything familiar. I didn't blame him, it had taken me a while to get used to the child proof room. All the furniture and been shoved against the walls and plush carpets lay on the floor, giving Tenshi plenty of room to practice walking. My carving tools were put away safely as were Reiko's weapons. Kokoro, who had permanently moved in a few days ago, smiled at Reiko from the floor where she had Tenshi in her lap. Ino squealed at the little girl and sat down beside the older nurse, cooing over Tenshi.

 I stood behind Reiko, waiting for him to say something. Ever since he had woken up, neither of us had been easy around each other. Something had changed and we were both too afraid to admit it. How I longed for the days when it was just the two of us against the world, but I just had to be determined to get rid of him. Reiko looked over his shoulder and jerked his head towards the kitchen. I silently followed, sure that Kokoro and Ino's eyes were on us.

 My brother stood leaning against the kitchen counter as I sat on top of the table, swinging my legs and waiting for him to speak. Reiko finally turned to face me, his green eyes flashing, "Why bring her home?" I frowned, "Why not? You knew she was coming home if no one adopted her." Reiko drew a hand down his face, "Why now?" I glared, "This isn't about Tenshi, and you know it. What are you whining about?" Reiko growled, "You don't understand." He started towards the back door, but I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him, "No I don't, so make me understand. You've never shut me out before." He scowled, "Just like you never shut me out? Don't lie to yourself Tora, you shut me out the day you went to the Hokage to make me a genin. Did you even ask me?"

 I stared at him for a good minute, "This is what this is about? Something that happened almost two years ago?!" Reiko jerked out of my grip, making me stumble a little, "Surprised? I bet you are. You never considered how I would feel. You thought I was too weak for your life!" I was stunned, I stood there trying to say something. By the time I could remember how to speak, Reiko was out the door. I stomped after him, "I never thought that, and you know it! I was doing it for your best interest. You would have never made it this far if I hadn't done something." Reiko spun on me, his hands clenched in fists. For a moment I was afraid he would hit me, "I almost died because you did something!"

 I narrowed my eyes, regaining my anger, "Don't blame me for that! I could not have foreseen it, and I definitely would have never done so if I knew you would have almost died!" Reiko opened his mouth but I cut him off, "If you do not like the life that I made possible for you, by all means, quit. I am not in control of your life, you are! It's your choices now; I opened the door, but you chose to step through it, even when you knew it was dangerous!" I spun around and made for the door, but Reiko called out, his voice suddenly haggard and sounded old for his age, "I'm sorry." I stilled but didn't turn back.

 Reiko continued, "I'm sorry Tora, for accusing you. I guess I'm no better than the villagers. Once something bad happens I automatically blame you." I closed my eyes, I didn't want to hear this, but my mind had no control over my feet. "I was just scared. I've never been that close to death, and it's my own fault. I panicked during the fight and put Naruto in a critical position. Either he could save me or save Sasuke," My shoulders slumped, that meant that Naruto was wrong, he didn't endanger my brother. My brother endangered himself, "I'm glad he chose the right one, and I don't hold him responsible for it."

 "I'm sorry too." I whispered, "I shouldn't have said those things." I turned and gave Reiko a shaky smile, holding out my hand, "Truce?" My brother laughed and shook my hand before pulling me into a hug, "Truce." Our sibling affection didn't last long before Reiko had me in a choke hold trying to make me surrender.

 ***

 The next day I walked out of my room, yawning. I walked towards the kitchen, intent of fixing breakfast before everyone else woke up, and tripped over something. I laid there, flat on my face for a moment before flipped over and looking at the culprit. A scroll lay in front of my door, my name printed neatly on its side. Crawling to my hands and knees I retrieved the small thing. Unscrolling it I read:

 Tora,

 It would please me if you would once again lend your services to my youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke, while he is recovering from his wounds at our home. My eldest son has informed me that you had taken care of Sasuke all through the night when you could have chosen someone else to look after him. It would please me if you would repeat such actions as Sasuke's personal nurse for a few days until his health is stable.

 ~Uchiha Mikoto

 Sighing I rerolled the scroll and went to tell Reiko the news.

 A few hours later I was standing in front of the Uchiha compound, wondering why in the world I had agreed in the first place. I might be friends with Shisui and Itachi, but I was still a nobody, a Tiger Demon. Before I could turn around and run away, Shisui asked behind me, "Tora? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a long time." I grimaced, but turned around with a smile on my face, "Mikoto-san invited me to come stay so I could take care of Sasuke. Apparently Itachi mentioned me looking after Sasuke, so here I am." Shisui playfully pouted, "No fair I was wounded retrieving the brat, why don't I get any special attention?"

 I fluttered my eyelashes at him, "Well while I'm here, I'm sure I can baby you." Shisui shivered, "Please, you'd probably get my high again and leave me to be tortured by my cousin." I rolled my eyes, "He didn't torture you, just... interrogated you." Shisui gave me a look, "You better keep a close eye on the pain killer you brought with you, I might be contemplating revenge." I stuck my nose in the air and said, "Then I won't tell you what I learned about Hana." Shisui fell to his knees drastically, drawing a few looks from passing villagers, and begged, "No, Kitty! Please, if I am to ever have a chance, you must tell me all your secrets." I laughed and tugged at his hand, "Get up. Besides, if you told her that you were interested, I'm sure she's agree to go out with you. Any Uchiha, even one as goofy as you, is better than the losers her mom sets her up with." Shisui grumbled, "Thanks I feel so much better."

 I stuck my tongue out at him, "Now are you going to keep your family waiting, or are you going to help me with my bags?" Shisui heaved a sigh, as if it was such a terrible idea to help me, and lifted one of my larger bags, "Geez, what did you pack? Bricks?" I frowned at him, "No and be careful with that one, it has all the medicine I might need." Shisui hefted the bag and slung an arm around my shoulders, "Well come on, Uchiha Kitty, let's go meet your new family." For some reason I blushed, "I'm the nurse, not family." I grumbled. Shisui just smiled in such a way I was sure he knew something I didn't know.

 Shisui opened the door without ceremony and called out, "Hey look what I picked up on the street!" Mikoto came in from the kitchen and smiled when she saw me, "I'm glad you could come." I bowed, "I am honored, Mikoto-san, that you would consider me to act as Sasuke's nurse." Mikoto laughed, "That is unnecessary. Come, I'll show you your room." I followed her down the small hallway. We passed the family room and I couldn't resist peaking inside as I walked by, Fugaku-sama was talking with Itachi quietly, but otherwise they were alone. I hurried away, feeling as if I was intruding on something private.

 Mikoto paused at the second to last door on the right, "This will be yours for the duration of your stay. Sasuke's room is the first door before you reach the family room." I nodded and asked, "Is there anything particular that you would like me to do?" Mikoto smiled, "You are a Chunnin medic, I'll leave the decisions up to you, unless it involves the clan." She bowed slightly and left. Shisui, coming from the main room with all my bags, had to flatten himself against the wall to let his aunt pass by. I rolled my eyes and opened the door to my room.

 To say is was scarcely furnished would be an understatement. There was a bed and the Uchiha clan symbol painted on the wall, and that was it. I blinked, the old abandoned house that Reiko and I stayed in when we were on our room had more stuff than this! Shisui chuckled behind me, "Mikoto-oba gave you the room with the bed? She must like you?" I turned to him, "You mean there was a chance I wouldn't have a bed?" Shisui smirked and edged past me into my room to set down my stuff, "Fugaku-oji believes that furniture is a waste of money that could be used for something better." (A.N. Sound like someone else we know? *cough, cough KAKUZU cough, cough*)

 I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "I knew there was something I didn't like about him." Shisui grinned and sat on my small bed, "So... what were those secrets about Hana?" I frowned at him and pointed towards the door, "Out." I commanded. He pouted and crossed his arms, "Not until I hear one secret." "She's allergic to cats. Out, out!" I snapped and he left protesting that that wasn't a secret. I leaned against the closed door and exhaled, I came here on my own free will, so why did I feel like a prisoner?

 ***

 The next day I sat down with the family for breakfast. Sasuke was still asleep so I took his place to the right of Shisui, farthest from the head of the table. Not that I minded, it meant I didn't have to be any closer to Fugaku than necessary. For some reason I didn't want him near me. Maybe it was the constant glares shot in my direction. After he was sure that I wouldn't try anything, Fugaku turned to a very silent Itachi, "When are you going to bring Yakkaina to dinner again? It has been so long since she was here last." Shisui and I exchanged discreet glances and even Mikoto stiffened.

 Itachi took his time chewing his last mouthful before answering, "I don't know, Otou-san." Fugaku's frowned, "Are you not dating her?" Itachi didn't answer and the subject dropped, much to Fugaku's displeasure. Silent reigned for a brief period of time before the head of the Uchiha clan spoke again, this time directing his questions to me, "Itachi has informed me that you know the truth of your family, now. Is this true?" I flinched and almost spilled my tea. Setting the cup back down I answered quietly, "Yes, Fugaku-sama." "But he didn't tell you the whole truth." Fugaku stated. Blinking, I finally met his gaze. Instinctively I glanced at Itachi to see him glaring at his father, his Sharingan unconsciously activated. Mikoto murmured, "She doesn't need to know the full truth." Fugaku allowed a small smirk, "Perhaps you are right, Okusan." Itachi spoke, anger underlying his otherwise flat voice, "You have to tell her now."

 "Tell me what?" I asked, slightly irritated. Why did it have to be the Uchiha clan that knew my family so well? At this rate, I would know my family by the time I was half way in my grave. Fugaku leaned forward, "I assume Itachi told you that your mother was still alive?" I didn't like the fact that the Uchiha seemed slightly pleased when I nodded. He asked, "And that she was a rogue nin?" Again I nodded, more cautiously than before. Mikoto was now glaring at her husband along with Itachi. I knew I wouldn't like what came next, and I was right, "But you don't know that she was last seen with the renowned criminals, the Akatsuki?" My mouth dropped.

 Fugaku continued, ignoring all of us, "Itachi didn't tell you about your brother, did he?" Itachi growled and looked as if he were about to attack his own father. I wanted to stop him, but my limbs felt like lead, useless. I couldn't even cover my ears and save me the trouble and heartache that I was sure was coming. All I could do was stare. "We found out too late about him, Karasu wanted to kill you and keep the boy, your twin, alive. But he died the night your mother disappeared of unknown causes. It appeared that he had a heart failure, but then your mother was an expert in poisons. I'm sure she knew some poisons could stop a heart."

 Shisui stood then and dragged me away, no one stopped him. "I'm sorry, if I had known he would pull that stunt..." He trailed off, glaring down the hallway. I pulled free of his grip and shook my head, "No, I needed to hear it. I just wish... he had told me more kindly." Shisui snorted, "If there's anything my uncle isn't, its kind. He pushes Itachi and Sasuke too far and still expects so much from them. But the person he treats the worst is Mikoto-oba, it's like she's nothing. I don't know how she stands it." I smiled and patted my friend's arm, "It's so nice to see you so angry on your family's and my behalf. Now if you'll excuse me, I better get to work." Shisui shook his head as I headed back up the hallway towards Sasuke's room and called out, "You're too sweet for this family, Tora." I turned around to walk backwards, "Nice of you to think so, Shisui!" I laughed before disappearing into Sasuke's room.

 ***

 "Just take the stupid pills!" I snapped. Sasuke glared at me and shook his head again. It had been eight days since I came to look after him, and he had been nothing but trouble ever since. I curled my fist around the three small pills, careful not to break them, and pointed an accusing finger at the infuriating younger Uchiha, "Either you take them or I shove them down your throat, and don't think I won't." Sasuke scowled but didn't open his mouth; he had learned five days ago that if he did, I would force the pills in while he was trying to speak.

 "Sasuke, take the pills." Itachi said from the corner of the room. We both looked at him lounging in a chair, his nose in a book. Ever since Sasuke had proven to be difficult, Itachi always made sure to be there in case his younger brother wouldn't follow my orders. Sasuke tried to resist, but like always he did as his brother told him. As Sasuke swallowed the pills, with glares in my direction, I turned to Itachi, "Maybe you should be his nurse." Itachi looked up, "I'm not a medic." He stated calmly.

 I was about to say something when Mikoto slid open the door and smiled, "Tora, do you think Sasuke is ready for a visitor?" Sasuke opened his mouth to say he was, but I spoke before he could, "As long as it is a short visit." I could see Itachi shoot Sasuke a smirk out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored it. Instead I turned and propped Sasuke up a little, much to his obvious displeasure. Naruto walked in, looking a little nervous. Itachi stood and left without a word, the week I had been staying here, I learned that Itachi didn't like more of Sasuke's friends, especially the hyper ones.

 The blonde smiled at me sheepishly, I nodded then moved to stand in the corner, my hands folded neatly before and my head bowed like a maid. I knew I was a guest, but I couldn't help but act like a servant. Naruto pulled the chair that Itachi had used closer to the bed and sat down, "How are you feeling?" He asked. Sasuke shrugged, "Hn." I frowned at him then answered, "He's coming along nicely. If it continues, he should be able to walk soon." Sasuke glared at me while Naruto chuckled. He looked down at his hands, growing quiet again, "I'm leaving." Sasuke actually looked startled. "Why?" He croaked.

 Naruto looked away, "Jiraiya-sensei is going to teach me what he can. Kakashi-sensei says there is nothing more he can teach me." Sasuke tried to sit up straighter, but he groaned and fell back. I was at his bed side in an instant, "Don't make me knock you out again, Sasuke. You know better." I hissed at him while I helped him reposition so his wounds wouldn't hurt him. The Uchiha just glared at me. Naruto stood, "I'll be gone for a long time, Jiraiya says about three years." Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes at his friend, "And what will Sakura and I do?" Naruto shrugged, "Kakashi-sensei says you're getting a new member to replace me, until I come back."

 I straightened, "Alright, visitations are over. Come with me Naruto." The boys said their last good-byes and the blonde followed me out of the room. Itachi was leaning against the wall across from Sasuke's room. He looked up when we both walked out. "I'll be right back." I told him and he nodded before disappearing into Sasuke's room. I walked with Naruto for a while, neither of us speaking. Finally when the Konoha gate came in view I stopped, as did Naruto.

 When I opened my mouth Naruto cringed and I didn't blame him, the last two times either one of us spoke to each other, one or the other got hurt. I closed my mouth and looked away, suddenly at a loss of words. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sorry... about Reiko." I shook my head, "No, I'm sorry. Reiko told me the real story. That he put you into a critical position." Naruto tried to defend my brother but I held up a hand, silencing him, "Look, just let me blame my brother, it's easier to forgive him." Naruto laughed a little. I smiled and continued, "We've never been on good terms with each other, and both of us are too easy to jump to conclusions. But both of us are dear to Reiko, so let us try to get along when you come home, alright?" Naruto gave me one of his bright smiles and held out his hand, I gripped it, "Alright."

 "N-Nar-Naruto?" A very shy voice called behind us, making both of us turn. A girl with dark purple hair eased out of the shadows, a blush marring her face. Naruto blinked in surprise, "Hinata-chan. I didn't know you were coming to say good-bye." The girl blushed even more, if that were possible and suddenly I understood. Unable to keep the smirk off my face I eased away to give the two genin privacy. I stood watching as Hinata whispered something to Naruto and he looked uncertain for a moment but quickly smiled, "Of course I like you Hinata-chan! You're a good friend!"

 I face palmed and someone groaned behind me. Turning I caught sight of a man with spiky long white hair and red marks running down his cheeks like tear lines, "That boy has no clue." He grumbled to me, his eyes on Naruto. I turned back in enough time to see Hinata grabbed Naruto's hair, stood up on her tip-toes to his level, and boldly kissed him in front of anyone who cared to watch. She gave Naruto a shaky smile then fled. I came out of hiding to stand beside the dumbfound blonde. "Tora... She-she..." I rolled my eyes and smacked him upside the head, "I don't even know her, and I could tell she liked you. You better have a better answer than 'friend' when you come back."

 Naruto rubbed the back of his head, giving me a mulish look, "I think I liked you better when you didn't like me." I smirked, “Shisui and Reiko say things like that all the time, get used to it.” The white haired man walked out and said, "Come on Naruto, we're wasting time." I ruffled Naruto's hair, "Who would have thought I'd be the person to see you go?" Naruto laughed and shoved my hand away. He picked up the pack that the white-haired man had thrown at his feet and slipped it on his back; waving good-bye, Naruto Uzumaki left.

 I stood there for a while, smiling slightly. The Tora that had ran the streets a year ago, performing acrobats for food, was gone for good. I was glad; I didn't have to worry any more if Reiko and I would survive to the next week. I reached up to run my fingers lightly down my scars, they weren't a symbol of my father's hatred for me anymore, nor were they a sign of the Tiger Demon. Now they were what helped Tenshi recognize me. They made me Tora.

 I turned around and began the long walk back to the Uchiha Compound, I had work to do.

#Script's Archives #Acrobats #Acro/Trap #ItaOC #naruto fanfiction #fanfiction

[fiercyy]

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Team 7 - Relationship, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Characters: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade (Naruto), Orochimaru (Naruto) Additional Tags: AU, Post-Chuunin Exams, post chuunin exams attack, Minor Character Death, Trauma, Team 7 Family bonding, Genin Era, Everybody moves in with Sasuke, he's got room, semi-au, Plot Twists, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Roommates, Friends to Enemies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), Team as Family, Slow Burn Series: Part 1 of Post-Chuunin Exam AU Summary:

Sakura always wished she could relate to her teammates better. She wishes she could take it back.

In which Sasuke acquires some unwanted roommates and a team becomes a family.

.

.

Sasuke hasn't needed an alarm clock to wake him up in weeks. Every night he falls asleep to Naruto's soft snores and the anxieties of his day as told by the voice in his head. When sleep finally drags him under, ankles first, he has the same dream.

He's in the Forest of Death, but instead of the canopy of trees, the trunks just stretch up and up into darkness. He is completely alone. He walks at a leisurely pace for a while; the scenery doesn't change. Eventually, he looks down, only to realize that ahead of him are a set of footprints. He glances behind him and finds that he has left his own track of prints, they curve behind him and into the trees. He realizes that the set in front of him are his own. He's been going in circles.

Beneath him, the earth splits. He hovers above the chasm. The chasm blinks. A golden snake eye glares up at him. A hissing noise rises like the roar of a river.

"Sasuke," Sakura whispers in his ear, but when he turns, she's 50 feet away and her fist touches the ground. She is the source of the chasm.

"Try to keep up, bastard," says Naruto, only he is right by his side. "Or we'll leave you behind."

Suddenly, Sasuke is falling into the eye. Naruto grabs his hand and stops him from falling. "Naruto," Sasuke orders, "pull me up, quick!"

"You can do it yourself, can't you?" He wrenches his hand away and Sasuke is falling falling falling again into the eye. Consumed.

Relying on them is foolish. They will leave you. A voice hisses from all around him. He's still falling. You can't trust anyone but yourself. They're not worth your time anyway. You've tried to pull them up to your level. But at what cost? They've dragged you down to theirs. You're better than this Sasuke Uchiha. I can offer you-

And it is often here, that he startles himself awake. But today. Today the nightmare continues.

He stops falling. Heart in his throat, he floats in the inky blackness of the snake eye pupil. I can offer you power. You languish in this village, thwarting your true potential. Look at what Uzumaki Naruto has achieved with the help of a sannin. he is weak but he almost beat you. Why? And Sakura Haruno. Pathetic, sobbing Sakura Haruno. She will learn to bring men back from the dead. What can you do? You need me. Come to me. I will give you power the likes of which you've never-

"Sasuke!"

He gasps and emerges from the nightmare. His heart races under the fist he's clutched to his chest. His neck burns. Sakura stands over him, hands on his shoulders. He slaps them away.

"What!?" he demands.

Sakura deftly takes a step back, like dodging a fist. "Fine. I'll train on my own today…" her tone is sullen until she takes a good look at him. "Are you sick?" Approaching with the slow unstartling gait of a snake charmer she lays a hand on his sweaty forehead. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I should have let you sleep."

"…It's fine."

"I'll pick up some soup on my way back from my lesson with Tsunade," she promises. He's glad she hasn't offered to make any herself. Salty, spicy and oily broth might make him feel worse than he already does. Then again, the longer he's in her presence the worse he feels—the more he thinks about the voice from his dreams.

He nods, tense and shivering and goose-pimpled like he's just come out of a freezing lake.

Sakura shoots him one last look from the doorway, hesitant to leave.

"Would you go already?!"

Her mouth presses into a firm line and the door snaps closed.

Once she's gone and he's left to fixate, Sasuke spirals lower. He can't be around anyone, but he doesn't want to be alone. He's furious. He's scared. He desperately wants to go back to sleep but knows what's waiting for him if he does.

So Sasuke makes a liar of himself and prepares for some solo training.

.

.

Sasuke is being so weird and Sakura is torn between genuine worry and anger. He could be such a hypocrite sometimes. She slept in once an he left without her. She was kind enough to wake him and he was nothing but cranky! He looked terrible though; red rimmed eyes, gaunt and seeming a little lost.

What a stupid, self-centered jerk! …Who patiently waited for her most mornings and helped her catch up to him and Naruto with extra training…

Sakura quickly grows bored of training by herself, having been ditched by her old friend. Her new friend. Her former crush and former enemy. Sometimes it's hard to keep Sasuke straight. Living with him and dealing with his henpecking ways makes it hard for her heart to pound every time he talks to her. It would become a medical condition. But does that mean she doesn't love him anymore?

She does… she thinks. She's just figuring out how.

With Naruto, it's so easy. He wheedled himself into her heart slowly; with jokes, support and attention. It feels as if they've always been together. He has never once confused her.

After they came to live with Sasuke she didn't have the emotional bandwidth to worry or question the way the boys treated her. There was no room for surprise at the delicacy with which they both handled her. In retrospect It's not shocking at all that Naruto filled her cracks and held her together, but it is surprising that Sasuke did too. He found it somewhere within himself to give her a home, acceptance and empathy. Even though there was no conceivable means for him to have acquired it. Sakura doesn't have her parents anymore, but she does have a family. They must love her very much.

She turns on her heal and stomps away from the training ground toward the market.

.

.

She's early for training with Tsunade, but the Hokage is already there. The training ground is a rocky clearing that peaks just below the treeline. Konoha is in the middle of a draught and the air is dusty. A small stream runs through the middle when it rains; sometimes Tsunade plucks a small fish from it with her bare hands and makes Sakura keep it alive for as long as she can.

"Good morning Shisou."

"Morning Cutie." That tells Sakura that she's in for a rough morning.

It doesn't matter that they're both half an hour early, they get started right away.

"What am I-" Sakura chokes on the sentence because a rock the size of her head is flying right at her. She dodges. "What the hell?!"

"Strength training, block, don't dodge."

"NO!" Sakura shrieks as a rock twice the size of her head flies overhead.

Tsunade picks up a boulder. "They're just going to keep getting bigger!"

.

.

When Sasuke wakes up again, he's cranky. It's why he doesn't often sleep in or nap. He always wakes up worse off than he started. The bitter taste of his tongue travels to his heart and his belly with each aching breath of wakefulness.

He glances at Naruto's bed. Gone, training with Jiraiya. They're set to go on an expedition soon. He says the Sannin's going to teach him a new technique.

Sasuke scowls. They haven't fought in months, not since the Chunin exams, but Naruto bested him when they fought Gaara and that counts. Meanwhile, Sasuke has stagnated. Kakashi's one-on-one training is centered on control and expanding his chakra reserves. It's a long, painstaking process and he isn't getting stronger fast enough. Itachi is so far ahead. By his age, Itachi was already in ANBU. Meanwhile Sasuke couldn't even make Chunin on his first try.

He's never failed at anything before and it hits harder than he cares to admit. The prospect of retaking a test is maddening—the kind of thing reserved for dead last losers in the academy, like Naruto.

"At least we'll get to do it again as a team!" Naruto had proclaimed, sunnily. To him, the greater tragedy would have been one of them passing without the others.

Sasuke would have been perfectly fine leaving them behind. He sees them every day at home anyway.

A creature of habit, Sasuke drifts to the kitchen for breakfast.

On the fridge the magnetic dry erase notepad reads 'check the microwave' in Sakura's handwriting.

In the microwave is a takeout container of chicken broth.

.

.

That night, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura fall asleep under the chunky red blanket on the couch in front of the TV.

In the morning, Sasuke wakes up first and waits a few minutes before jiggling his shoulder free of Naruto's head and shaking Sakura awake. Together they go to morning training as usual.

.

.

Naruto can't help but think that Kakashi's getting a little lax in the sensei department. Team training's been pretty lackadaisical lately (a word he heard Sakura call their training sessions, that he liked the sound of). It's usually just exercises. Or style specific sparring; Taijutsu only, no chakra, kunai only, substitution only etc. He hasn't given them a team building exercise in forever. And while that was Team 7's least favourite kind of exercise, they were really really good at it. Especially lately. With Sasuke being more of a grouch than usual, it'd be nice to be on the same side for once.

"Today we're doing round robin spars," Kakashi tells them, "All out, no holds barred."

"YES!" Naruto screams. Screw being on the same side, he wants to beat Sasuke into the ground at full power.

"Great, you can go first."

"I wanna fight Sasuke!"

"Of course you do," Sakura rolls her eyes and drags her feet on her way you a tree. She settles in the roots and her peevish expression makes him feel a little bad. It's just that… He loves fighting Sasuke, with Sakura he doesn't feel like he can go all out.

"Hm," Sasuke rolls his shoulders. "Let's go then."

.

.

The spar lasts a while. Sasuke is down to his last Chidori. Naruto's crowd of clones has thinned, there's only two left.

He knows that Naruto needs at least one to shape his Rasengan, so all he needs to do it get rid of them both, or keep his eye on the pair that are together. One Naruto holds out his hand to the other, getting ready for the assist. Sasuke won't give them the chance. He makes the safe bet that the one assisting is the clone and charges his last Chidori. He needs much less runway for his attack. He lunges for the pair of Narutos, ready to aim his leg for the clone, and Chidori set on Naruto's gut.

Suddenly, he's flying through the air, hits a tree and crumples to the ground.

What just happened? Naruto… he used the Rasengan without the help of a clone. How did he do that? When did he learn to do that?

Sasuke doesn't get up—not because he's hurt. The attack was only at 20% of its power, otherwise he'd have been killed. He just… can't understand what just happened.

.

.

Naruto hasn't seen Sasuke since the end of their spar yesterday. He stormed off right after and was asleep before Naruto and Sakura came home. In the morning he was gone, but when they arrive at the training grounds for day two of the round robin spars, he's already there.

"You look like you're chomping at a bit," Kakashi remarks when he finally gets there an hour after their meeting time. "Sakura, you wanna take him on when he's like this?"

Sakura quirks an eyebrow and switches her considering gaze between Sasuke and Kakashi. Naruto just knows she's weighing whether or not she's going to be insulted. "Yeah," is all she says.

From her pouch she puts on these sick black leather gloves and cracks her knuckles.

Sasuke's expression doesn't change, but at least he takes a stance. He's taking her seriously.

Naruto isn't really sure what goes on at their extra training sessions. He's had absolutely no desire to join them because honestly? He needs every extra bit of sleep he can get and they take everything so seriously. The one time Sakura made him tag along, they did three hours of Katas. Snooze.

.

.

Sasuke streaks across the field going right for Sakura. There are two approaches to beating Sakura: speed or stamina. He's faster but he can also outlast her. They've been working on building up her stamina and chakra reserves.

With Sakura, he doesn't have to worry that she's going to have any big finishing moves. He's got to watch his back for a sneaky kunai and use his head to figure out what elaborate strategy she'll use on him.

He engages her in a taijutsu bout to test her reflexes and warm up. Maybe he won't finish her off right away. It would be mean and embarrassing for her. They'll play a bit. Just long enough to see what she comes up with. Sakura's a fun sparring partner because it's also a little like playing Go.

Close combat's the way to go, if he loses track of her, she'll take advantage and substitute herself until he makes a mistake. He dodges a punch and blocks a kick with his right arm only to hear a crack.

What?

She sweeps her legs again, determination blazing in her eyes and Sasuke jumps over them, nervous for her to connect again. Pushed by yesterday's wounded pride, he changes his mind. He wants to end this swiftly. He charges his left hand with a Chidori. It's just at 1/5 power, so it won't hurt her too bad.

His range is good, she won't have enough time to get far enough for a dodge. He thrusts his arm out.

Sakura ducks—no, she strikes the ground with her gloved fist. With a spine tingling crunch the ground opens up beneath their feet.

(It's just like his dream.)

He's weightless, falling, his arm still reaching out to strike Sakura. Their eyes hold, all widening in alarm. He sees it all in slow motion, Sakura reaches for him even as he drops into a chasm of her own making-

(How did she do it?)

-She takes his hand, grounding the circuit. Sakura spasms, but holds on. Tears gather in the corners of her eyes and she cries out. Holding on is making it worse, but if she lets go, he'll fall.

"Sakura," he says, gentle and shell-shocked, processing what's happening in sluggish disbelief.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She shrieks, not in pain but determination. She hauls him up and over the lip of the crevice. He tumbles on top of her. With his head against her stomach he can feel the rhythm of her ragged breaths. Sasuke rolls off of her and pants. He's barely exerted himself but his heart is racing.

Sakura has gotten so strong. He sits up and turns to the side so he can look at her. Her eyes are closed, her hands curled loosely at her sides.

"Uuuh, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto considers from a short distance away, "Who do you think won?"

Sasuke is the only one left standing, but he doesn't feel like it was him.

#sasusaku #sasuke x sakura #naruto #team 7 #fanfiction #IYC #if you can't hold on hold on #my fic

[a-spoopy-bird]

i um

yeah i wrote a naruto fanfic sue me. slight blood tw and hella angst because you know its ya boi

    Naruto fell from the windowsill into Sasuke’s living room with a grunt. The only thought sustaining him was the need to get somewhere safe. The ground wasn’t safe. He could get kicked down here, or stomped, he had to get to somewhere safe. 

    With a heavy groan, he hauled himself to his sore feet, listing to the right before stumbling forward. His knees hit the arm of the couch and sent him sprawling onto it. Naruto groaned again, body aching everywhere, face throbbing. 

    He faintly heard someone click on a light and winced at it. Everything seemed to be coming from far away, like he had fallen down a well. A face swam in front of him. He instantly felt better, relaxing his sore muscles and melting into the couch slightly. 

    “Sas...uke…” He coughed wetly.

    “You idiot, what happened?” Sasuke struggled to turn the blonde onto his back, hissing through his teeth when he inspected his face. 

    Naruto didn’t have the energy to cry out in pain. His eyes were sliding closed as Sasuke tried to get an answer out of him. A shake on his shoulder only jarred him back to reality so much. 

    “Naruto, who did this?” Sasuke’s voice was intense. His hand was gripping Naruto’s shoulder, the other on his phone. “Answer me, please, dammit!”

    Naruto blinked sluggishly. Why wouldn’t Sasuke let him sleep? He was so tired, and everything hurts… 

    The hand on his shoulder started to shake, and Naruto faintly heard half of a conversation. 

    “Sakura? Are you busy? It’s Naruto, the idiot’s all busted up. No, he’s not responding. Yes, of course I tried! Yeah… yeah, alright. See you in a few.” Sasuke turned back to his boyfriend. “Help me out here, alright?” 

    Sasuke wound his arm under Naruto’s and hauled him up. “Jesus, how much do you weigh?” He groaned, stumbling towards the door. 

    Naruto’s head lolled and rested against Sasuke’s shoulder. He stared hazily at the ground, falling asleep. He faintly heard Sasuke talked, but it wasn’t relevant. His feet dragged against the ground, too tall for Saske to fully support. 

    “Naruto, I swear to god, come on, snap out of it.” Sasuke jostled him a little. No reaction. “Hey, idiot, come on.” 

    Sasuke swore, trying to hurry out the door, but Naruto was dead weight at this point. He dragged the beaten boy to Kakashi’s car, knowing the keys would be in the center console. He managed to get him buckled into the front seat, before getting into the driver's seat. 

    Sasuke jumped when his phone rang. He hastily answered it. “Hello?” 

    “Sasuke, where are you?” 

    “I just got this idiot into the car, on my way. He’s responding less now, I’m- I’m getting worried.” What an understatement. He was beyond worried. Naruto was the only person besides Kakashi who understood, who knew what it was like, who could comfort him. He was half-dead in the passenger seat. 

    “Listen to me. Get him here. We have the emergency room prepped. We contacted the police, they’ll let it slide if they see Kakashi’s car speeding.” Sakura informed him. “Get Naruto here, quick.” And with that, she hung up. 

    After gently turning off his phone, Sasuke slammed the palms of his hands against the steering wheel. Tears threatened to spill over. He gripped the steering wheel hard with his left hand before slamming his right against the steering wheel. 

    With a final, steadying deep breath, he jammed the keys into the ignition and started the car, pulling out of the driveway and out of the neighborhood. All along the fast and slightly illegal journey, he kept sneaking glances at Naruto. The blonde haired boy slumped against the window, nose gently trickling blood against the cold glass. 

    Sasuke pulled into the hospital parking lot, roughly yanking the key out of the ignition and rushing out of the car. Sakura and a team of people came out of the hospital with a gurney. Sasuke helped then situate him on the gurney, careful to work with them. Then, before he could process what was happening, Sakura had lead Naruto away, leaving him alone in the parking lot. 

~~~ 

    The waiting room wasn’t large- there were two other families here. Sasuke checked his watch- two in the morning. Was it really that late? Sasuke sat in one of the uncomfortable plush chairs, jogging his legs and massaging his knuckles. His mind bounced around, latching onto irrelevant facts and onto anything about Naruto. 

    “Sasuke?” Sakura had peeked her head out of the door. “Could you come back here for a moment?” 

    Sasuke stood up, the fog in his head lifting a little. It had to be about Naruto. Maybe he was alright? Just concussed? He didn’t let himself hope that. He knew he attracted bad luck- it was his fault if Naruto wasn’t all right. Naruto was so happy and fun and bright, and Sasuke was just the complete opposite. He was going to suck all the bright sun out of Naruto just by being around him, just like his mom and his dad and Itachi- 

    “Hey. Snap out of it.” Sakura’s fingers snapped a few times under his nose. 

    “I- sorry.” 

    “He won’t calm down, he’s scared of the nurses and doctors. We can’t hold him still enough to sedate him.” She explained. “And I- I can’t stand seeing my friend hurt like that.” She turned her head, hiding her shame. 

    Sasuke nodded. She slid her card through a lock on a door and opened it. 

    The sound reached him immediately. Wet, harsh sobs punctured the air, along with the sound of several people struggling. Sasuke hesitantly stepped into the room, and resisted the urge to recoil. Five nurses were trying to hold him down, but he was putting up a better fight than Sasuke had expected him to. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he kicked and struggled against them, hyperventilating. He struggled to talk, half formed words breaking his sobs. 

    “No! Don’t- please- Stop! No! Don’t- don’t- please-” 

    Sasuke quickly wound around the nurses and placed his hands on either side of the other boy’s face. “Hey, Naruto, look at me.” 

    He struggled harder, jerking his head out of Sasuke’s hands. “Stop, stop, no, please stop,” He rasped, coughing wetly. 

    Sasuke tried again, but without touching him. “Naruto, please. Look at me.” 

    Wild, wet blue eyes hesitantly locked with the cool black ones. He huffed and sniffled, glancing at the nurses periodically. 

    “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Can you breathe for me?” He coaxed gently. 

    Naruto breathed harder, not anymore even. He kept glancing back at the nurses, fear clear in his eyes. 

    “That’s right, babe. In, and out. It’s alright. They’re trying to help. Promise.” Sasuke offered a small smile. 

    “P-p-promise?” Naruto hiccupped, still trying to steady his breathing. 

    “Promise.” 

    A nurse readied the sedative, waiting for a good moment to use it. 

    “What- what’re they going to do? I- I don’t want- don’t-” 

    “Naruto. They’re just here to help. Sakura is in charge of them. You know she’d never, ever hurt you.” 

    “S-Sakura?” 

    Sasuke nodded. “They’re going to give you something to relax, alright? It’s going to be alright, you’re safe.” 

    Naruto relaxed slightly, still sniffling. He nodded. “O-okay.” 

    The nurse gently eased the IV into his arm, and they all backed away, their job done. Sakura came back in, relieved. Sasuke reached for Naruto’s hand, gently rubbing circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. The sedative slowly took affect, and Naruto was out within five minutes. 

    Sakura pulled Sasuke from the room, back into the hallway. “I didn’t get a chance to thoroughly examine him, but he’s pretty beat up, Sasuke.” Her eyes searched his. “What happened?” 

    Sasuke looked away, shrugging. “He sneaks to my house sometimes, he practically lives there. I heard him crash in tonight, and he was on my couch half-dead.” Sasuke paused. “Is he- is he going to be alright?” 

    Sakura sighed lightly. “Knowing Naruto, he’ll be fine. He’s come closer to dying than this. But it’ll probably be touch and go for a while. Do you know how he ended up like this?” 

    Sasuke started to shake his head when it dawned on him. By her expression, Sakura realized what it was too. “It’s October 10th.” 

    She nodded. “He was probably over in Konoha’s graveyard.” 

    Sasuke cursed. “How many times have we told that idiot not to- not to go alone?” His voice stuck for a second. 

    Sakura shook her head helplessly. “He’s Naruto. It’s something he’d do. Even knowing the people there hate his guts. It’s just who he is.” She turned and went back into the room, leaving Sasuke to figure out how to get back to the waiting room. 

~~~

    Kakashi was in the waiting room when Sasuke came back. 

    “Yo.” 

    Sasuke sat down heavily beside him. “How’d you know I was here?” 

    “Blood in the living room.” 

    Sasuke cringed slightly. “I’ll clean that up.” 

    “I already did. Was it Naruto?” 

    Sasuke nodded, clenching his hands together. 

    Kakashi checked his phone. “Went to see their graves?” 

    Sasuke nodded again, starting to jog his leg. 

    “Hey. That kid’s strong. He was strong enough to convince you off the brink. He can do this.” 

    Sasuke shook his head slightly. “He- he was almost in a panic attack. They had to call me back. I just- I’ve taken all the joy out of his life. This is my fault, I should’ve-” 

    “But you didn’t.” Kakashi interrupted. Sasuke’s head snapped up, glaring reproachfully at the white haired man. “Besides, Naruto has enough joy to go around. You know he’s glad to be in your life.” 

    Sasuke nodded and let it drop. There wasn’t any point in pushing it any further. 

    Kakashi pulled up the news app on his phone. “Looks like it was reported to the Konoha police. Figures, ever since leadership changed it’s been a disaster.” 

    Sasuke wasn’t paying attention. “I think I’m going to get some fresh air.” He stood up abruptly and half ran out the doors. He leaned heavily against the metal railing, feeling the cool October air chill his cheeks. He squeezed his hands into around the metal pipe, trying to stop them from shaking so badly. It didn’t matter what Kakashi said, he should’ve known Naruto would’ve tried something like this. He did every year when he was alone. Sasuke should’ve done something. He should’ve been with him, and he should’ve talked to him, and not just in his room eating shredded mozzarella cheese. 

    Kakashi walked out to join him, probably offer some words of half-baked wisdom again. 

    “Before you say a word, please, don’t.” Sasuke said voice shaking, his grip on the bar increasing. 

    Kakashi simply nodded and leaned against the railing, book in hand. For some reason that irritated Sasuke more. He bit the inside of his lip, trying to quiet the noise in his head so he didn’t scream at one of the few people close to him. 

    Kakashi looked up. “This is just as bad huh? Sorry, sorry, I’ll go now.” He closed his book with a snap and went back inside. 

    Sasuke sighed again, easing some of the tension out of his shoulders and releasing his lower lip from between his teeth. His hands shook when he detached them from the railing. Countless thoughts swirled through his head. 

    It’s your fault he’s in here, if you had been a better boyfriend, if you could’ve just been there for once, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, you filthy Uchiha, you aren’t even welcomed in Konoha just because of your stupid parents. Maybe if he killed you too this wouldn’t have happened. If you had died then Naruto wouldn’t be in the hospital right now, it’s all your fault Sasuke it’s all yOUR FAULT-

    “Oi.” Kakashi’s familiar greeting shattered Sasuke’s spiral. He felt a hand firmly placed on his shoulder. “Breathe, kid.” 

    “I- I can’t,” He grit out. “I-it’s- it’s my fault, Kakashi, I-” 

    “Stop that.” He jostled Sasuke’s shoulder a bit. “It isn’t. He needs you here just as much as you need him. Who else would stop him from doing reckless stunts unsupervised?” 

    “But- but I-” 

    “You can’t save him every time, Sasuke. Life isn’t that simple.” Kakashi sighed, leaning against the railway beside him. “Listen, this time may be bad, but I’m confident he’ll recover. He’s had much worse.” 

    Sasuke would have laughed if he could remember how to breathe properly. He struggled to pull a full breath in. “I was- I was just eat- eating cheese, K-Ka-” He broke of, wheezing for breath. 

    His eyes began streaming when Kakashi held his inhaler in front his face. Hands shaking, Sasuke took it, desperately taking a puff. “Thanks,” He groaned once he could talk. 

    Kakashi shrugged. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, kid. It was what, two in the morning? You don’t have to be ready for everything all the time.” 

    They stood there for a long moment, each in their own thoughts, before going back into the waiting room. 

~~~

    Naruto was discharged the next morning. He was waiting at the receptionist’s desk when Kakashi woke Sasuke up. 

    He was there in an instant, quietly taking Naruto’s hand as he filled out forms with the other one. Naruto chuckled softly, rubbing the back of Sasuke’s hand gently. “I’m alright, Sas. Look, they even gave me free merch.” He joked, showing off his hospital tags. 

��   Sasuke just stared before saying, “I equally want to kiss and punch you right now, dick.” 

    Naruto laughed again. “I’ve reached my punch allowance for the month, Sasuke. You gotta wait until November now.” His face stayed in the same carefully constructed, optimistic half-smirk he wore so often, but Sasuke knew different. 

    “Fine. I guess you’ll just get your ass kicked again in a few weeks. Better work to pay your hospital bills.” 

    At a concerned look from the secretary, Naruto jumped to explain. “Oh- oh no, he didn’t do this, don’t worry. We love each other very much.” He grinned widely, throwing his arm around Sasuke’s shoulders. 

    Sasuke’s worry and anger seemed to lessen as he watched Naruto spew actual sunlight. 

    That didn’t mean it was gone for good. 

    “Sooo. Naruto.” Sakura was waiting in the parking lot. 

    Naruto’s eyes widened, and he turned around, looking for a way out. Not finding one, he slowly turned back around to face her. “Hi, Sakura.” He grinned nervously.    

    She tapped her foot angrily. “What. The hell. Were you thinking.” 

    “Ha, you see, Sakura, I was-” 

    “Can it, off-brand Goku!” He recoiled slightly, the excuse dying in his mouth. “If you weren’t already beaten up so badly I would literally murder you right now.” 

    “Hey, Sakura, don’t you think that’s a bit intense?” Kakashi said from where he was leaning against the car. He peaked out from behind his book. “Besides, Sasuke and I already have first punching dibs. Get in line, kiddo.” 

    Sakura sulked for another moment. “I gotta get back to work. Naruto, if you do anything else stupid this month, I won’t hesitate to break your arms.” And with that, she stormed back into the building. 

    “Guess I have to break your ribs.” Sasuke remarked calmly, ducking into the passenger seat. 

    “Konoha beat you to it- fuck.” Naruto realized his slip up a little late. 

    “We been knew, Nards.” Sasuke said saltily.

    “Hey wait! Why do you get the front seat?” 

    “You got it on the way here, idiot.” 

    “Don’t remember! Didn’t happen!” Naruto said, getting into the backseat.

    “You probably don’t remember falling onto my couch at two a.m half dead but here we are.” Kakashi remarked simply. 

    Naruto shut up and sulked the rest of the way back to the house. 

~~~

    “Explain.” 

    He sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with the bandage on his left hand. “Guess I can’t really plead the fifth here, huh?” He felt hot shame and guilt eating away at his stomach. Which was fine. Nothing he couldn’t hide easily.

    “Obviously.” Sasuke was not impressed by Naruto’s stab at humor. “Why in God’s name would you go there? Especially on your birthday!” 

    Naruto blinked in surprise. “Y-you remembered?” 

    Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Of course I remembered, it’s your birthday, why wouldn’t I?” 

    He fiddled with the bandage some more. “No one else really did, ya know?” 

    Sasuke sighed. “Yeah, well, I did. Happy seventeenth or whatever.” 

    “That’s gay. Anyways, you still have to explain yourself.” Kakashi said from his corner. 

    Naruto looked at his hands. “Just- I wanted to see them, ya know? I don’t care what they think, they’re my parents, not theirs. I- I should be able to visit them peacefully without being chased down, ya know? It’s not- it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong, I just wanted- just wanted to clean off the headstones.” 

    Sasuke reached his hand across the table. Naruto reached out to take it, but Sasuke slapped the back of his hand. 

    “Hey! What was that for?” He yelped, pulling it away. 

    “For being an idiot! How many times have we told you to not go to Konoha? Especially on the tenth!” Sasuke took a deep breath in. “I’m glad your not dead.” 

    “Yeah, me too.” He said saltily. “Man, why are old people so mean?” He whined. 

    “Maybe you’re just weak.” 

    “Sasuke I’ll- ouch!” Naruto had jumped up and disturbed his healing ribs. 

    “Don’t hurt yourself anymore, idiot!” Sasuke got up to look at his bandages. 

    “No, no, I’m good, just moved wrong.” 

    “If you’re shitting me I won’t hesitate to fully break your nose.” 

    “Oh, it’d be a lot scarier if you had just gotten beat up by old people with sticks and rocks.” He snarked. 

    Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “They beat you, Naruto Uzumaki, parkour expert and self proclaimed ninja, with sticks and rocks?” 

    “I can’t hit old people!” 

    “But you hit Kakashi the other day!” 

    “Stop. I’m not old. And if you two are gonna be this grossly in love, take it to your room. I don’t wanna see it.” Kakashi interrupted, pulling out his book. 

    “Still, if you ever go to Konoha alone I won’t hesitate to eat your eyebrows and steal your eyeliner.” Sasuke said before grabbing his boyfriend’s hands and tugging him upstairs. 

    “Gasp! Not my eyeliner!”

#sns #sasunaru #angst #angst fic #slight blood tw #slight blood #blood tw #blood #idk bro #naruto #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiya #kakashi hatake #sakura hanuro #i think idk #it my first naruto fanfic #and the idea hit me like a b u s #bc ive been in writers blockkk

[7team7]

SasuSaku Month Day 7: One of These Nights

Title: Sasuke and Sakura’s Night Out! // Rating: M (drugs, language) // Summary: Sakura and Sakura don’t get out much, but just one night is enough to make up for a lifetime of staying in. Very much inspired by my love for both the movie booksmart and those memes where it’s like aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you want to just go absolutely fucking feral? Yeah, nerd SasuSaku going feral basically // ao3 link 

A/N: something to make up for yesterday’s angst, this was a ton of fun to write!! Also why do i keep writing things i dont know about?? Idk anything about the good old mary jane or drugs in general lol but just go with it this isn’t really supposed to make sense Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, Booksmart, or anything mentioned in this story. I’m just a wee speck of dust in the universe

----

“One of these nights we should do something actually fun.”

“Since when did watching movies with me stop being fun? Did you want a snack or something? I saw that post you tagged me in this morning, I guess we can build a blanket fort on the trampoline, but you can’t complain about it being cold.”

Sakura sat up from where she was lounging on Sasuke’s bed, staring at the wall. “Now that you mention it, I could go for some boba. Or an edible.”

Sasuke, sitting in his bean bag, stared at Sakura in disbelief, “do you even know what’s in those?”

Sakura straightened up even more and looked down haughtily, “of course I do. Naruto told me a long time ago. And doesn’t a brownie sound so good right now?”

“Sakura, you got drunk off a few sips of your Aunt Tsunade’s rice wine and you’re telling me you want to get high? We’re about to go to college and you want to fry your brain?”  

“We’re about to go to college and we’ve never done anything. Do you know how lame that is?”

Sasuke seemed to contemplate Sakura’s words for a moment before giving her a wolfish grin, sounding every bit the teenage boy he was, “that’s not true. We’ve done stuff. We’ve had sex. Lots of it.”

One of Sasuke’s pillows sailed across the room towards his face, accompanied by a screech, “I knew it, I knew you’d say something dumb! What does it matter when you’re already a stupid boy with no brain. Those ads are totally false, by the way. What’s the harm in trying weed, Sasuke? I wanna try, so you should do it with me.”

Despite being the captain of the speech and debate team, he couldn’t find anything to argue about. He texted Naruto; at least he could trust their “plug” or whatever he’s called by half the school.

Except, they actually couldn’t because he was somehow all out and directed them to Kiba instead.

“Seriously? We’ve known Naruto, like, forever? And he lets us down now? Kiba is smelly and weird. His weed probably...smells like weed.”

Sakura doesn’t let up, “just text Kiba, he’s not that bad. Don’t be lame.”

“What should I even say? Leaf emoji? Side eye emoji? Plug emoji? Is he going to give us a friends and family discount?”

“Sasuke, I know you love using color coordinated spreadsheets to organize your life, but now is not the time. Mention my name. Maybe he’ll give us a hot girl discount.”

“I just sent him ‘weed’ with a question mark. Oh, he already responded. He said come over right now and he’ll ‘give us the hook up.’ Sakura, does that mean he wants us to have a threesome with us?” Sasuke asked with false, exaggerated concern.

That earned Sasuke another pillow thrown at his face (this time it’s his favorite dinosaur plushie) before Sakura gets to her feet and announces with a rather dramatic clenched fist, “get in the car, we’re going to Kiba’s.”

----

“Yooo, Sasuke! Woah! And Sakura? The Kiba Hut is going to have a blessed night if these two legends are here! Come on in guys, we’re having a kickback.”

As Kiba opened the door wider to let them in, a haze of smoke wafted out and the smell hit them like a wall. They had definitely come to the right place.

They saw Kiba’s usual crew, Hinata and Shino, sitting on the couch looking very blissed out already, along with a number of other kids from their school. Sakura checked her phone, isn’t it like 9 pm? Is this late or early for this kind of stuff?

“My guy Naruto told me you’re here for some famous Kiba Hut edibles, and like, welcome to the bake sale, but I’m telling you man, you gotta try the newest from Shino. Shit’s dank, bro.”

The couple turned away from Kiba to look at Shino sitting there with his sunglasses still on despite being indoors. He raised a single hand in greeting, then gestured to a plate of brownies plus something less familiar in front of him. “The new goods or pot?”

Sasuke looked disturbed by the sight and was about to say “neither” before Sakura elbowed him sharply in the side, “we’ll take both!” she cut in with a big smile.

“Adventurous! I fucking love it! Man, you kids are too cute, I’ll give it to you real cheap. You got Venmo?” Kiba pulled his phone out to start the transaction.  

Sakura glanced around, they had never been to Kiba’s house before, so this was a new experience all around. She spotted a bowl of water by the kitchen, “uh, can dogs get high?”

Kiba laughed, “you’re probably wondering where Akamaru is! He’s chillin’ in the backyard. He’s cool with it though, he’s a total bro. He’s got hella treats out there, we’ve got hella treats in here. Equality, you feel?”

“For sure, for sure. I’ll just approve the charge now and we’ll be on our way!”

“Not so fast you two! Here at the Kiba Hut, we support tripping out in a safe environment, so you should take Shino’s new-new here.”

Sasuke and Sakura exchange glances. What did they have to lose?

----

Well, for starters, their grasp on reality.

They sat at Kiba’s kitchen table to take what Shino gave them and saved the edibles for later. And it was like nothing they had ever experienced.

“Sasuke. Your eyes are really red. Like not just the whites but your uh, pupil or whatever is the colored part.”

Sasuke rubbed at his eyes, “no they’re not. I can see them. So I know they’re not red.”

“Uhh, okay? They totally are though. And..did your head get bigger?”

“No but yours did. Ha, if only Ino was here. Hey, forehead. Wait—what the fuck, when did we get so small?”

“Oh my god, you’re so cute. You’re so short, Sasuke, you’re so small!”

*A/N: please imagine them as the SD versions of themselves*

Sakura started scooting forward on her chair. “What do we do now? How do we get down? We’re so small. We can’t stay here. What the fuck is going on? What did they give us?”

“It’s so hot in here. What did Kiba say about getting ready to hot box? What does that mean, like sweaty boxing? Where’s our water?” Sasuke looked up to their glasses of water on the table, which seemed miles away in their shrunken state.

“There’s no way we can reach up there. My head feels too heavy for my body, I’ll fall over if we try to jump.”

“Shit. Shit, okay, take your jacket off, first of all, am I the only one melting? Are the walls melting? Just throw it on the ground and to make a cushion. I’ll throw mine down on top and we can jump down.”

“Are you insane? What if we die?”

Sasuke gave Sakura a judgemental look, “we might as well be, I’m so fucking high! Just jump, I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Plus, I’ll go first and I’ll catch you,” he finished with a wink. He threw his jacket down on the floor with a pointed expression. A burgundy cardigan soon followed. And Sasuke jumped.

A voice sounded from below, “it worked! I made it! Jump now!”

Somehow Sasuke’s now doll proportion arms caught Sakura despite her now huge head. He set her down and started looking for the exit. There was no way they could push the kitchen door open, and he didn’t even want to see Kiba at the moment. It was so hot in the kitchen, he just wanted to get out of there.

“Sasuke! There!” Sakura pointed across the kitchen to the backyard. The doggy door.

“Fucking score! Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand and they scurried across the tile as fast as their little legs could take them. But they needed to climb up a small threshold to get through the door, and the run combined with the heat of the kitchen had really drained them. They exchanged a look. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Akamaru’s dog bowl was full of water.

“Give me a boost!” Sakura told Sasuke as they faced the metal bowl. The way the metal warped their reflection made her feel even more tripped out, if that was possible. She just needed water now.

Sakura climbed up onto Sasuke’s clasped hands, grabbing onto the edge of the bowl. She held herself up on the edge and dipped her head to take a cool, refreshing drink.

Except her mouth encountered strands of white dog hair floating all around the water. She nearly toppled backwards as she tried to spit it all out, “ew, ew! Disgusting!”

Sasuke lowered her and asked as if it wasn’t already apparent, “so I’m guessing I shouldn’t drink the dog water?” She shook her head, “let’s just go outside.”

They walked to Kiba’s lawn and collapsed. It seemed like the sprinklers had just finished their cycle, so the cool, wet grass was a welcome change from the stuffy kitchen. “Sorry for dragging you here. I didn’t think it would be like this,” Sakura spoke quietly. Sasuke was a bit of a homebody to say the least, so when he didn’t have a good time during their outings, she always felt guilty for pushing him too far for comfort.

But he didn’t care as much as she always thought he did, he just enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend. They would both cherish these memories in the future since they were attending separate colleges. “It wasn’t that bad. Makes for a good story, I guess.”

Except the night wasn’t over, because a deep growl sounded from the shadowy corner of the yard.

Sakura bolted up, “Akamaru?!” before Sasuke dragged her back down, “are you trying to get us eaten? Keep quiet and just run!” Sasuke pointed to the side gate and without another word, they made a break for it. They didn’t bother locking the gate up again, too intent on getting the fuck out of there.

Sasuke took one look at his car and said, “nope. I’m not getting in that thing. We’re still coming down and it’s not safe. What if I get a DUI? What if we die? My dad would kill me either way.” Sakura nodded along as they started walking down the street, not another soul in sight.

Konoha wasn’t a huge town, despite never visiting Kiba’s house before, they could easily make their way back. “Hey, the park isn’t that far away. We could go sober up there then come back for your car?”

----

It seemed like whatever Shino gave them had mostly worn off during their walk and their stone bench looked more inviting than ever. They had shared countless moments there, from their first kiss, to their first “I love you”. They even opened their college acceptance letters there. Sakura swung her legs back and forth on the bench, “You know, I still have the edible in my bag. Should we?”

Sasuke ran a hand through his midnight hair, “Jesus fuck, alright. We’ve gotten this far and I know you wanted to try it. We can split it.”  

They had been sitting and talking for quite some time when Sakura started giggling more and feeling some type of way. “Woah. Is this why half our classmates came to school high everyday? What have we been missing?”

Sasuke’s eyes were half lidded as he slouched on the bench, “maybe Naruto is actually onto something. We should call him. Haha. Naruto. What a loser.”

Sakura started patting around her pockets to call their friend, “Sasuke. I think I left my phone in my cardigan pocket, which we left on the kitchen floor. Fuck, I’m so stupid,” but she was still laughing a little and Sasuke just shrugged. “It be like that. I left mine too. We can get them later and we can call Naruto later. Life is so chill.”

Sakura smiled, “exactly, it really do be like that. And life is so chill. Like woah. Are you hungry by the way?” Sasuke perked up a bit and nodded, “starving. Ichirauku is just around the corner.”

----

Sitting in the vinyl Ichiraku booth waiting for their cheeseburgers, Sakura was relieved to be somewhere she’s familiar with. But then she spotted a face she’s very familiar with after years of sleepovers and flower shop visits: Ino’s dad. She ducked down started tapping her palm the table, “Sasuke, don’t look, don’t look, it’s Ino’s dad. This is terrible, he’s like a fucking mind reader or something he’s totally gonna know we’re high.”

“Can you stop, he’ll look this way if you keep making noise. Just be chill or something.” He couldn’t help but steal a glance over his shoulder to confirm if it really was Inoichi. “Holy shit, wait. Is that Shikamaru’s dad?”

Sakura craned her neck to see over Sasuke’s head, “it totally is! And they’re with Chouji’s dad too! This is crazy. If they see us they’re gonna tell my mom. And then I’ll be on permanent house arrest.” She sank lower into her chair until her pink head rested on the table.

Sasuke placed his chin on his folded hands. He had endured enough shenanigans for one night, it was time to just wait this one out. Once he got his cheeseburger with extra tomatoes he was ready to go home and knock out.

Except Chouza’s laugh carried across the diner, and so did his booming voice, “just like the old days, right guys? We still get the munchies!”

Sakura perked back up when she heard this, “did he just say the munchies? Oh my god, Sasuke they’re high. They probably smoked weed and now they’re here because they have the munchies. Just like you and me. This night is too fucking weird.”

Thankfully as the trio of dads was about to walk out with their food to-go, the waitress arrived with their order and blocked them from view. The pair ate in relative silence, glad for a moment of calm. But it didn’t last because not long after the dads left, another familiar figure walked in.

“Sakura, you’ll never fucking believe it. Actually just look, it’s Kakashi.”

She whipped around to see that it really was none other than their favorite literature teacher. She waved him over without thinking twice and Sasuke kicked her under the table. “What are you thinking,” he grits out. Kakashi was cool, hell, cool enough to let everyone call him by his first name, but he was still their teacher. An adult who worked for their school. Someone who could totally get them in trouble. Like, worse than detention, and they’d never even had detention.

“If it isn’t my favorite students,” Kakashi smiled as if seeing them outside of school was a perfectly normal occurrence. “What are you doing here?” Sakura questioned innocently, as if it wasn’t well into the night and she didn’t reek of weed.  

“Picking up some food,” he answered matter-of-factly. “I could ask the same of you two, you’re normally home studying at this time of night, am I wrong?” Nope, he was 100% correct.

Sasuke chose his words carefully, “tonight has been an anomaly. But I am ready for bed now.” Kakashi nodded, “I see. You look like you’re done eating, so it won’t be long now. Drive carefully.”

The students exchanged a look before Sasuke swallowed his pride and started to beg as best as he knew how, “please, can you drive us home, we walked here from somewhere else and I don’t feel comfortable operating a motor vehicle in my currention condition, if you know what I mean.” Kakashi considered the two of them. They were certainly acting strange. Was Sakura trying to wink at him or was that a nervous twitch?

His eyes crinkled, “one ride won’t hurt, it’s late and what kind of teacher would I be if I left my students out to fend for themselves? I’ll just pick up my order and we can leave.”

----

They got situated in the car, just to find their former elementary school teacher Iruka sitting in the passenger seat. Sakura’s jaw dropped as she looks between Kakashi and Iruka. “You,” she points to the gray haired man, “and you?” she points to the ponytailed man. “Huh,” added Sasuke, “I thought Iruka hated tardiness, but Kakashi is late to class everyday.”

“Honey,” Iruka laughed nervously, “did you not tell your students about us? You always call them your precious students, I mean, I thought you’d tell at least these kids and Naruto.”

“Yeah,” jeered Sakura from the back seat, “what other secrets are you hiding Kakashi?”

“Sakura, shut up, shut up, Naruto texted me to come over now. He has something really cool to show us—or so he says. I wanna see, plus he owes us for sending us to Kiba’s. Kakashi take us to Naruto’s instead.”

Kakashi sighed, “I’ve seen some shit being a teacher, but I never thought I’d become a chauffeur for my students. But alright.” He made a U-turn and headed to Naruto’s. He had been there plenty of times, seeing as Minato was the school principal and something of a mentor to Kakashi.

----

After a car ride filled with the Mamma Mia soundtrack (Iruka claimed it was neutral territory, everyone loves it), they finally got dropped off at Naruto’s. They knocked on the door, ready for whatever surprise Naruto had to show them. When he flung the door open, they had never seen their friend so excited. His blue eyes were sparkling, “hurry! My room!” and he scurried into the house before they could even take their shoes off.

Naruto’s room was already quite a sight to behold considering the orange color scheme and ramen cups littering his desk, but his new orange quilt wasn’t what had Sakura screaming. “Why the fuck do you have a fox? Is that legal? Where did you get that thing?”

The blonde sniffed, “excuse me, ‘that thing’ has a name. Say hi to Kurama. Isn’t he a cutie?” Sasuke crossed his arms. Yup, their best friend had lost his mind. Even the fox’s collar and ID tag were orange. “And just what do you plan on doing with a fox, idiot?”

Naruto considered this for a moment, “I dunno. Didn’t think that far. I got it from this guy I know. Do you think Suna State allows pets in the freshman dorms?” Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Hopeless, he was really hopeless. And then he remembered how Naruto had let them down earlier, but he didn’t think it was because he had acquired a new pet. “What was that all about earlier? How do you not have weed?”

“Oh yeah! I have something else to show you! It’ll explain everything. Come into the basement. Say bye to Kurama first.” Sakura half-heartedly waved at the rather grumpy looking fox in his cage before they followed Naruto down below.

----

There was no way the universe wasn’t fucking with them. “Sai? Why the hell are you in Naruto’s basement?”

“So rude, Saucey-k! He’s my guest, you’re a pest! And he’s painting, duh.” Their very strange and very pale friend was sitting in front of a giant canvas that nearly stretched the entire span of the wall. He was adding details to what looked like a picture of Naruto in a loincloth. He was lounging on his side, eating grapes with one hand, and petting a fox with the other.

“Yeah no shit, I can see that,” Sasuke quipped, “but why?” Naruto huffed at him again, like it was obvious, “he needs money for his college tuition, so I commissioned him to paint me and Kurama. I’m looking pretty sexy, right?” Sakura didn’t bother answering him, “how does this ‘explain everything’, though?”

Naruto snapped two finger guns at them, “oh, right! Sai is an artist. And he does his best work when he’s high. He obviously needed a lot of weed to complete this masterpiece, so I gave him all my weed. It’s like, paying it forward or something.” If at all possible, Sasuke was even more irritated than before. He couldn’t spare a gram for his lifelong best friends, but he could give it all to this guy? Traitor.

“Well, now that you’ve seen it, we should leave Sai to work in peace. Looks amazing, cutie! Kurama, we’re coming back up, did you miss me already?”

---

“Wanna pet him? He’s only bit me six times in the last hour, I think he really likes my vibe or something.” Before either of them could protest, Naruto started opening the cage. “Kurama, come here, come here. Who’s a good boy? Who wants to get pet?” His arms made a circle for Kurama to settle into when the fox started stalking towards the cage door. He pounced through the gap in Naruto’s arms and hit the ground running.

“Kurama, wait! We were just becoming such good friends! Come back here!” The trio immediately chased after the animal, but he was too fast and he escaped out of their doggy door and into the night. They rushed into the backyard just in time to see Kurama leap over the fence and out of the Uzumaki property.

They all plopped down onto the grass and Naruto started wailing, “he’s gone! What did I do wrong? Please, you guys we have to find him!” They definitely weren’t high anymore, they were too tired for this, but they weren’t shitty friends, so they agreed to go look for him.

----

They had even enlisted Sai to help them out. As they walked around Naruto’s neighborhood calling for Kurama, Naruto’s phone started ringing, “do you think Kurama is calling? He wants to come home!” He started excitedly fishing his phone out of his front pocket, “Kiba? Why would he be calling now?” Sasuke and Sakura settled on the sidewalk, expecting some weird conversation between dealers.

“You found him? Holy shit man! Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there soon! Thanks bro!” he hung up the phone and faced his friends, “Kiba found Kurama! Let’s go, we have to go now before Kurama starts missing me too much!”

And they were headed back to the place where the night had begun.

----

Thankfully Kiba only lived a few blocks away because Sakura’s feet were dragging with exhaustion. They were standing in Kiba’s backyard and she leaned against Sasuke’s shoulder as they listened to the explanation. The back gate was mysteriously left open, and Akamaru wandered out into the front yard. He was having a relaxing evening chewing a bone on the front lawn when a fox appeared. It seemed that the fox smelled Akamaru’s treat bank in the back and wanted a taste for himself. When Akamaru started barking like mad, very peeved that some other animal was trying to get at his precious treats, Kiba went outside to see what was going on. He just thought he was hallucinating since he was super high, but it was really a fox.

“And then I saw he had a tag and it had your name and number!” Kiba finished. Naruto had tears in his eyes, “that’s amazing. Kurama probably smelled Akamaru and just wanted a friend. Friendship is so powerful!” He was hand feeding Kurama treats, who looked much more complacent now that he was being fed.

They all made their way back into the house just as Kiba’s kickback was winding down. Sai disappeared into the kitchen for a while, returning with a cardigan and a jacket. “Ugly, this is a terrible color I’ve only ever seen you wear. And your boyfriend is basically attached to you, so I’m assuming this is his.” Sakura reached out to grab them from his hands before settling back on the couch.

“Thanks again, Kiba. I’m gonna take Kurama home now,” Naruto turned to face Sasuke and Sakura. “You two live in the opposite direction. Are you gonna walk?”

“I can drive.” The whole group looked to the front of the room where the voice came from. “Shino?” asked Sakura, “I didn’t even realize you were still here. And aren’t you high?”

“I’m the supplier and the designated driver.” When he offer any further explanation, Sasuke and Sakura shrugged and got up from the couch. Sasuke could get his car tomorrow. A free ride back to his comfy bed sounded wonderful.

----

Sakura had fallen asleep almost immediately when she got back to her own room, not even bothering to change her outfit. It had to be well into the afternoon when she finally woke up. Her head felt fuzzy and her mouth was dry. Was last night even real?

She grabbed her phone out of her cardigan pocket just to find that it was dead. But her pocket also held a napkin, “what is this? I don’t remember putting this in here?”

She unfolded the white napkin to see one of Sai’s signature ink drawings. It depicted Sakura, drawn in red pen, leaning against Sasuke, drawn in blue pen. He even added a bit of background—it looked like the grass and fence of Kiba’s backyard. He must’ve drawn it when he went into the kitchen. Sakura plugged her phone in and flopped back down onto her bed. She stared at the little drawing, wishing she was with Sasuke right now.

So last night was real.

----

A/N: this isnt meant to make nerds feel bad about staying at home. im writing fanfic so i am the nerd at home

#ssm19d7 #sasusaku month 2019 #my writing #sasusaku

[dom2040]

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.

Author's note: Hey readers! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!

Beta Reader for this Chapter: AnimeFanGirl2223

(Interview)

"Just like everyone else, I had no knowledge of what was going to happen next. I'm a shinobi, so violent deaths were common in my profession, but still—I never actually thought that my life would end in such a way. Now that it might, I have no choice but to brace myself for whatever lies ahead of me. It's surprising, but dying seems to be rather peaceful and serene no matter how we go; I guess this is what heaven really feels like. Despite this calming sensation, I have a feeling that it isn't going to last."

-Boruto

The last thing that Boruto remembered before being swallowed by complete darkness was a blindingly bright light. It took a few moments, but soon, all of his senses slowly returned to him. He felt a single drop of a familiar liquid and woke up fully, his eyes snapping open.

He found himself lying on his back and looking up at something brown and green which he soon realized to be branches of a tree with leaves sticking out of it.

Boruto slowly tried to get up but felt pain all over his body. He cringed and winced, but was eventually able to sit up enough to finally get a good look at the place that he had woken up in.

"What in the world?" Boruto muttered. He had found himself in a forest, possibly in the middle of nowhere. In addition, the sky was dark and cloudy, fat rain drops slowly starting to fall. He supposed one had hit him earlier as it slipped through the fluffy tree leaves.

Of course, he was still confused. Why would he end up in some forest? His memories from before waking up here consisted of him in a death match with Kawaki. The energy surge from his Jougan had been powerful and at the time he'd thought it was going to rip him to shreds and then disintegrate all the pieces. But instead, it seemed like he'd been transported somewhere.

As the blonde slowly got back to his feet, he had to support his weight on the nearby tree, his balance still unsteady causing him to stumble around. Once he was sure that he wouldn't fall, he surveyed his surroundings. To his continued shock, he found his sister lying unconscious a few feet away.

"Hima-chan!" Boruto exclaimed as he instantly tried to rush to her. It still hurt to move though, the pain in his legs keeping him from running and causing him to limp the short distance. His mind was racing a mile a minute, thoughts boring into his head.

Was his little sister really alright? Was she injured in the blast wave like he was?

The blonde couldn't subdue his worried, overprotective 'big brother' complex away as usual; every time Himawari was in trouble it tended to come out and consume him. He kept repeating 'She's going to be alright, no matter what, she has to be alright' over and over again.

As soon as he reached his little sister, he rolled her over so that he could check her vital signs and examine any injuries she might have sustained. It was very possible that she received broken ribs and damaged muscles just as he had. He wasn't a medic ninja, but right then he had to do his best; if anything happened to Himawari when he could have prevented it, he knew he would blame himself.

To his intense relief after several minutes of intense examination, he didn't find a single serious injury to the lavender haired girl. He sighed happily, hoping that her unconsciousness was just a deep sleep and not indicative of something worse.

Boruto struggled to lift her from the ground, finding her much heavier than she had been when she was a child. He told himself that she was growing up and felt pride swell in his chest. He sat her back against a tree and then stood again to continue searching. If she'd been transported their as well, then that meant that Sarada and Kawaki could have been too.

Before leaving, he used what was left of his chakra to create a shadow clone that would guard his sister just in case, hoping that all would be well again soon. He kissed her head gently, whispering that he'd be back to take care of her.

(Interview)

"It was the only thing what was left in chakra vault so far and I'm really glad that it was a full working clone that puff up.

-Boruto

Boruto eventually decided to search for Sarada first, his mind deadest on finding the girl that he somehow saw as a possible crush. He was fairly certain that she felt the same way towards him, but it was just intuition. His feelings were far more obvious since he'd always blush whenever she got near him.

The blonde shook his head to clear it. There was no time to think about such frivolous things when his priority needed to be finding her and making sure she was alright too. It took a while, but luckily the sun was still out to help him see. He eventually found her lying in a small grassy field a little ways out of the forrest.

"Why would you end up all the way over here Sarada?" Boruto thought to himself as he approached her unconscious form.

The area was quiet, almost too silent. It gave him the creeps and put him on edge, especially when he was still very low on chakra and limping. He examined her as he had with Himawari, relieved that she was unharmed as well.

He picked up her glasses that had ended up on the ground beside her and looked at her face. It was covered in a few cuts and dust, but she was beautiful. "She might even look prettier without them on…" he thought as he smiled.

As he proceeded to pick the girl up though, he sensed danger coming towards them and knew he had to get here somewhere else that would better allow him to keep her safe. Just as he turned to run, he came face to face with a large wild boar, it's snarl telling him in was angry and probably hungry as well.

There was a moment of silence between Boruto and the wild boar, the wind russeling around them as they stared each other down.

"You've got to be kidding me Dattebassa." Boruto tiredly sighed. He did not want any more trouble but, it didn't look like the boar was going to back down. He had to just suck it up and run like a real man.

(Interview)

"It practically scared the hell out of me (Chuckles) Can you imagine a fearless Shinobi scared of a small but menacing wild boar."

-Boruto

Boruto found himself running comically through the forrest for dear life as the boar chased him. He kept his grip on Sarada firm, though the girl on his back didn't even stir from the jostling trip; "lucky for her"he mused.

She was still in her deep sleep and was unaware of what was happening right then. Although, there were signs of her dreaming as she was muttering some words about riding a roller coaster and eating lots of her favorite dishes.

As funny as the situation was, Boruto was still injured and tired. He knew he had to find a way to either outrun or outsmart the boar so that they could get away and he could safely get back to Himawari.

Luckily, his quick thinking worked out and he saw a large, sturdy tree coming up ahead of them, knowing he could use it to his advantage. He kept running straight at it, tricking the animal into thinking that he wasn't going to change directions anytime soon.

"Hold on tight, Sarada." He muttered as he channeled chakra into his feet and braced himself for a jump. He ran up a few steps and then did a backflip, holding his unconscious teammate tightly as he flew back.

The boar, who hadn't expected Boruto to leap away, widened its eyes in shock. It watched as the blonde barreled over it, escaping its clutches without realizing that it was still running at the tree. A moment later, the impact occurred, instantly knocking it out.

Boruto landed safely on the ground with his Uchiha teammate in one piece and finally safe. Breathing out a sigh as he headed back to his little sister.

The rain had finally stopped by the time the young Uzumaki had made it back to where he'd woken up and the sun finally appeared in the sky. He saw that Himawari was still asleep while the rays of the sun penetrated the forest and shined upon her. He then thanked the clone for its service of protecting his little sister and with a single hand sign, it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Boruto gave a small smile as he slowly walked towards the tree where his little sister was resting and placed the still sleeping Sarada beside his her. As for the blonde he sighed and rested on a rock in exhaustion.

The blonde let out all the pressure that had been building up inside of him and breathed in a fresh breath of air, completely forgetting about Kawaki who didn't seem to have been teleported their too. Of course, he knew celebrating wasn't the answer since the enemy was still at large somewhere and he had to find a way back to civilization or at least away from ground zero.

He theorized that somehow his Jougan had reacted to the intensity of his fight and accidentally transported them far away from the ruins of Konoha. But he was not sure and there was only one way to find out.

Boruto then darted his eyes at the two girls, who were sound asleep. The blonde smiled, he was sure envious of them because they were getting a good sleep while he was still awake and acting as a babysitter for the two of them.

He knew he couldn't just leave them there, but carrying both would be difficult. There were shadow clones, but his chakra was so low he wasn't sure he could make another one right then. Boruto sighed yet again, knowing he just had to try and lift them both himself and hope for the best.

While he considered the best positions to carry them in, he saw and heard some birds flying above him. The blonde looked up and wished that he had wings so that maybe he could get an idea of where they were and where they should go. It could be a long journey otherwise.

(Interview)

"I really didn't have any maps or whatsoever, I really had no idea where I was, but when I saw those flock of birds, it gave me idea that they could be somehow useful as a guide to get out of the forest.

-Boruto

Unbeknownst to Boruto, the birds were flying in the direction of a village, one with a large overseeing mountain with five huge faces carved into it.

(CHAPTER END)

Author's Note: Thank you for reading the Chapter!

#Boruto #Sarada #Naruto #Himawari #Konoha #Fanfiction #Boruto Fanfiction #Boruto Fanfic #Adventure #Timetravel #Forest #Action #Jutsu #Story #Boruto The Next Generations #Hokage

[glasswingsndreamz]

Bet on Me (7)

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Yamato/Tenzo x Reader

AO3 Link

Summary: It’s about to go down.

Yamato awoke to find your peaceful looking face close to his. He could clearly see drool dripping from the corner of your mouth. Even then he found you cute. Adorable and at peace with one arm slung around him.

Carefully he slipped out of your grip only to be pulled back into your arms so that he was facing you.

“Nooo, not yet,” you groaned, burying your face against his pajama shirt. He was careful to not let you feel anything below his torso, keeping his body far enough away so that you weren’t pressed right up against it. Even without his feelings towards you, morning wood was unavoidable and the last thing he wanted was for you to feel that right now. At the moment he didn’t want to risk you touching him and asking why exactly he was hard. It left him feeling more than a little embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“You’re lucky it’s only the weekend. Otherwise you’d have to be up by now,” he said, patting the top of your head. You groaned even louder at that. He found himself relaxing beneath your touch as you began tracing patterns on his back.

“Mmm what do you want for breakfast?” you asked before yawning. Still you remained by his side, cheek pressed against his chest. How it was a comfortable position for you he wasn’t sure.

“Why don’t you stay here and sleep some more while I go make us breakfast,” he suggested as he made a move to get up. Once again you pulled him back down beside you.

“No let me do it. You can just stay here. I want to make it up to you after last night,” you finally sat up in the bed. He knew better than to dispute it any longer. When you had your mind set he knew you weren’t going to back down anytime soon.

“Thank you,” he caved in. The warmth of your bed was practically begging him to stay. His eyes grew heavy as you maneuvered your way over him and got out of the queen sized bed.

He hadn’t even realized he had fallen back to sleep until he was woken up by you gently prodding him and the scent of eggs and bacon taking over his senses. Yamato was quick to sit up in bed, forcing himself awake.

“Wow you really must have been exhausted,” you said before handing him a plate piled with scrambled eggs and bacon on the side. Silverware rested on top. You held another plate for yourself in your other hand.

Yamato made a move to get out of bed but you stopped him.

“No you’re staying in bed mister. If you fell back asleep then you really must need the rest. Just sit back and relax. I don’t mind if you eat in my bed,” you said before sitting down at the end. Without hesitating you began digging into your meal.

Yamato was careful not to make a mess, keeping his mouth over the plate so no food fell from his fork and onto the comforter of your bed. There was a comfortable silence between the two as you finished eating your meals. As soon as he had cleaned his plate, you took the empty dish and silverware from his hands.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while? Let yourself rest okay? I really don’t mind,” you said as you stood up from the bed.

Yamato was hesitant to give in to your suggestion. He was still tired but the idea of going back to sleep felt wrong. He needed to get ready for the day. The idea of not being up at a decent time rubbed him the wrong way. If he got up now he could get more things done.

“Please. You really should take care of yourself. Let yourself sleep for a little bit longer. I promise I’ll wake you up, alright?” you persisted, not daring to leave the room until he gave his word that he’d stay and rest.

“I should go to my room,” he didn’t necessarily agree. At the very least he should sleep in his own bed. It felt as if he had overstayed his welcome in your room. The idea of being in it without you there felt like an invasion of your privacy and personal space. Regardless of having your permission or not it still felt wrong.

“Fine, as long as you go back to bed or take a nap later,” you demanded.

“I will if you wake me up before ten.”

“I can agree to those terms. That gives you another hour. Better get to your own bed then,” you said. Leaning down you pressed your lips against his forehead before leaving the room to clean the dishes in your hands.

Yamato took his time getting out of bed. Part of him feared that he may be getting sick due to the fatigue he felt. It could also likely be due to stress. That seemed much more likely but he didn’t want to take the risk of getting worse. It seemed to take a long time to make it to his room and to crawl into his bed. In no time at all he gave in to the exhaustion and fell asleep once more.

---

It was 9:47 in the morning when Yamato woke up again. That was more than enough rest. Still feeling fatigued, he managed to get out of bed easier than before and began putting on a fresh pair of clothes. With each passing moment he found himself feeling more and more awake.

Yawning, he opened his door and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It wasn’t his intention to overhear you. He barely paid any attention to what you were saying through the small opening of your doorway until he heard his name being said. That caught his attention.

This time he found himself feeling less guilty about invading your privacy without your knowledge. Yamato didn’t take you for the type to talk about him behind his back. He couldn’t help but be curious as he stepped closer to your bedroom door. It was only partly closed, open a few inches but still enough for him to be able to hear you better as he moved closer. He was able to make out that you were talking on the phone.

“-’t like me like that. He treats me like a little sister,” you sounded vaguely annoyed from what he could pick up.

“Besides he just went on a date last night. I don’t think he’d be doing that if he was interested in me like that.”

Yamato felt as if he had punched in the gut. Had you suspected his feelings for you before? The date he had gone on last night was the only evidence that he might not have feelings for you. Is that what you were talking about right now? The thought of you knowing that he had romantic feelings towards you but chose to ignore it made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t know what was worse. The fact that you ignored his feelings or that you had silently rejected him without confronting him about it. Had you been waiting this whole time for him to reveal his feelings so that you could finally turn him down?

Grabbing blindly, he grasped at the wall for support. He successfully knocked down a picture frame hanging against it. Yamato let out a shout as he scrambled to catch it, barely managing to catch it before it hit the ground. There was no doubt in his mind that you heard that. The panic began to set in when he heard your hurried footsteps and you threw your bedroom door open.

Your eyes were equally wide with surprise and poorly hidden panic.

“What did you hear?” you asked in a shaky voice. Your face was flushed pink most likely due to anger from him overhearing you talking on the phone.

“I heard enough,” he kept the tremor out of his voice. Yamato wanted to hear you say it to his face. That you weren’t interested in him that way. That you had known this whole time and hadn’t brought it up once. Instead you chose to let him mentally fight with himself and suffer as he did his best to get over you and the pain that came with it.

You looked distressed by his response.

“So I guess you know how I feel now, huh?” you laughed nervously. Despite the distress, there was still a hopeful look in your eyes.

“No. I need you to say it to my face,” he said, a tired look in his eye. At this point he was both mentally and physically exhausted. He was tired of having to hang on to these emotions when you clearly had no intention of returning them. They had haunted him long enough and he was sick of it.

You were clearly surprised by this request, eyebrows raised and the blush darkening on your cheeks.

“Well this is embarrassing,” you mumbled as you shifted your weight to your other foot. “I really like you Yamato. I know you’re probably not interested since you’re trying to date other people. I’m sorry you head to hear me confess like that,” you kept your gaze towards the floor.

What?

Yamato could do nothing but stare with wide eyes.

“Oh and you really don’t have to say anything either. I don’t want to ruin anything between us. You’re still my best friend no matter what. I’m sorry you had to find out. I don’t care if you don’t return my feelings as long as you continue to be my friend,” you continued on in a soft voice. “I really hope I didn’t ruin anything.”

It would turn out like this wouldn't it? It almost seemed ironic. Regardless of his own feelings, he felt like a fool for things turning out this way. How could he have not noticed that you felt this way? Had he been so blind? Yamato wracked his brain for every moment that might have given away your feelings but still came up blank. You had always treated him kindly but that didn’t necessarily mean you had feelings for him right? Oh gosh he was too much of a mess right now.

“Yamato?”

“Sorry,” he shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

“You just heard me say it on the phone!” you exclaimed, cheeks burning even more. “Oh god. Did you actually not hear my confession?!”

“I thought you were talking about something else,” he explained.

“What did you think I was talking about!?”

“I thought you knew I had feelings for you and that you’d been pretending that you didn’t know about it,” he confessed, his gaze falling towards the ground instead of meeting yours.

Your mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as you stared at him equally surprised by his accidental confession.

“You feel the same way?” your voice cracked the tiniest bit.

“I thought you knew. At least everyone else seemed to know,” he muttered the last bit as he pictured Kakashi and Raina.

“No I had no idea. I thought you only saw me as a little sister from the way you treat me!”

“That’s funny. I thought you’d only ever see me as a friend,” he admitted, finally meeting your eyes.

“Are you kidding? Did you think I’d be able to keep from being attracted to such a hot roommate? I mean wow I really scored in that department. You were always so nice to me though and you were always respectful which is honestly a bonus. I never thought you’d be interested since you never made a move before,” you said.

“Then why did you go on a date with that one guy?” Yamato furrowed his brow. He frowned at the memory of the man kissing and putting his hands on you. The image still left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Well I imagine it was for the same reason you went on a date with that one woman last night,” you crossed your arms.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

The two of you stood in silence, staring at each other while awkwardly waiting for someone to speak. You took the first step.

“Well what do you want to do? From my view we have two options. Either we can go back to normal and pretend nothing happened or we can begin a relationship,” you said. He found himself greatly appreciating the forwardness of it all. It was better than continuing about the day and not bringing up the conversation for some time. Leading to awkward moments where he wasn’t sure whether the two of you were actually dating or not.

“Personally I want to be with you. I don’t think I can go back now if you don’t reject my feelings. I understand if that’s not what you want,” he spoke carefully, watching your face for any sign of negative emotion. He could only find happiness on your face as he said those words.

“I’m glad you feel the same way. I want to be with you too Yamato,” you said, reaching forward to take his hand in your own. You brought his hand to your lips, keeping eye contact the whole time. “I like you a lot and I’m glad I finally know you feel the same way.”

His heart felt like it was melting from your sweetness.

“Would it… Would it be alright if I kissed you?” he surprised himself, the words coming out of his mouth without his own permission. A blush rose on his face as you nodded eagerly. Moving closer you tilted your head upwards to make it easier for him.

His heart pounded in his chest at the nearness of you. Your face was much closer than it had been this morning and here you were, offering yourself up for him to kiss you. His heart skipped a beat as your eyes fluttered closed and you leaned in even more.

Gently cupping your face he placed a kiss on your cheek, only a few centimeters away from your lips. That was all he could handle right now. Anything more and his heart my burst out of his chest.

It wasn’t hard to decipher the mild disappointment on your face when he pulled away. However it quickly turned into a smile as you quickly leaned in to peck him on the cheek in return.

This was going to take a while to get used to.

#naruto yamato #yamato tenzo #yamato x reader #tenzo #tenzo x reader

[shikastemari]

reverse psychology - k&b.

characters boruto; kakashi

request

word count 1,692

when it happens a month after boruto defeated momoshiki

warnings PANIC ATTACK, don’t read if you feel like it could trigger something

MASTERLIST

“You know what, old man, some grandpas just take their family to the zoo.”

Boruto stated, between pants, holding the side of his body that almost got hit by his Kakashi’s strongest jutsu. After he defeated Momoshiki, he thought people would go easy on his training and stuff, but the contrary happened. His uncle decided to teach him one of the strongest jutsu he had ever seen.

At first, Boruto wasn’t interested at all. He thought he could live happily only with his vanishing rasengan, until the moment his master, Sasuke Uchiha, told him he wouldn’t be capable of realizing such strong jutsu. That was literally music to Boruto’s ears, there was nothing he liked more than proving other people wrong.

But after four weeks of really hard training, giving up actually crossed Boruto’s mind. He still wasn’t able to control the raiton yet, and this being by far the hardest thing he ever had put his mind on.

“You remind me terribly of your father at your age. He was also a pain in the ass, but at least he was focused.” Kakashi didn’t even bother to look up from the book in his hands.

“I bet dad didn’t go through a training this hard.” Boruto muttered, kicking a branch next to him. He was breathless and feeling like the air was escaping so easily from his own lungs. The whole world started to spinning faster than normal.

“Boruto?” Kakashi called out for him, but his concerned voice seemed far away. He threw aside his book, and ran to the boy’s direction. Almost as instinct, Boruto whimpered and scooched away from him, tears starting to form on the corner of his eyes.

His head spun faster and he could feel his pulse beating in his temples. He didn’t manage to contain a ‘not again’ that escaped his lips. Boruto bent forward, bracing his hands on his knees. Soft popping sounds echoed in his ears, and a blurry black framed his vision. He tried to fill his lungs, but it was like the air had disappeared. The whole world tilted and Kakashi slipped sideways in his vision.

Kakashi grabbed both of his shoulders to keep him from fall directly to the ground. The deeper Boruto tried to inhale, the tighter his throat constricted.

“I. Can’t. Breathe.” Boruto choked, clutching his throat with one hand.

Kakashi helped Boruto to sit. “Put your head between your knees.” He instructed, guiding his head down.

Boruto lowered his head, breathing rapidly, trying to force air inside his lungs. Very slowly, he felt the oxygen creep back into his body.

“Better?” Kakashi questioned after a minute.

Boruto just nodded, once.

“Keep your head down and take long, deep breaths.” Kakashi told him.

He followed his instructions, feeling a clamp loosen around his chest. “Thank you.” He muttered.

“Since when these panic attacks are happening, Boruto?” Instead of what Boruto expected, there wasn’t any tip of anger or pity on his sensei’s voice. It was carefully emotionless.

“It was the first time.” Boruto lied, not feeling in his bone the will to explain anything.

“You said ‘not again’. It happened before.” It wasn’t a demand, or anything. He was just stating what he witnessed.

But Boruto still didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to confess it to one of the most powerful shinobi alive he had a new discovered weakness, and Kakashi being himself, he obviously noticed it.

“I have seen it happen before. With your father.” That made Boruto peer up to face Kakashi. He never heard about it before, so he thought it was a little hard to believe. Not that he actually thought his dad was perfect, or something, but having a panic attack? It was quite shocking for him.

“What happened, old man?” Boruto questioned, intrigued.

“He hyperventilated after he realized everyone wanted a dear friend of his dead. It was a hard burden to carry. Just like yours now.” Kakashi informed him with a shrug.

All Boruto could do was sigh. He had carrying this feeling inside him for so long now it almost felt like it was a part of himself. Both Mitsuki and Sarada noticed there was something wrong with him, but he still didn’t tell them, how could him? What they would thought about it?

“When it started?” Kakashi questioned again, but there was no pressure on his voice tone.

“Four weeks ago.” Boruto whispered.

“I see. Since Momoshiki, right?”

Boruto nodded, looking away, embarrassed.

“So, you were talking about your father when it happened.”

“It’s just…” Boruto glanced over the shinobi in front of him. Kakashi’s eyes were showing nothing but support at that moment. He breathed in deeply. “My father is strong. He is incredibly strong and he wasn’t capable to hold that bad guy. He almost died. There was only four of them, old man Kakashi. What if there’s more? What if the next time they come back with an army and we are not able to stop them? What if the next time they actually succeed killing someone I love?”

Kakashi studied Boruto’s words and took some time thinking about his answer. “The first rule of shinobi world is that you should not be afraid in anticipation. I’m not gonna lie, Boruto. It can happen. It can happen tomorrow, for all we know, but the key is to worry about things when they are happening. Exhausting yourself now for something that has a chance of not happening, it isn’t not worth it.”

“To let it go? That’s your advice?” Boruto narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.

“Not at all.” Kakashi placed one hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “If it was that easy, you would have done it by now. My advice is focus on the things you can change. Right now, you can train harder, so if something happens, you will be as prepared as you can be.”

“I am trying.” Boruto bit his lower lip.

“I know, but you are not focused here. You are focused on the future. All you need to do is change your goal.”

The more that Kakashi talked, the more convinced Boruto was he had done the right thing telling him everything. He felt like there was a weight taken from his shoulders and he could finally breath without being afraid to lost the air of his lungs.

Kakashi was right, he would change the things he could, and then deal with the others when the times come.

“You were wrong, by the way.” Boruto’s tired eyes locked on his.

“Huh?”

“What you said it’s not the first rule of being a shinobi. The first rule is ‘those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!”

Boruto gave Kakashi a quick hug, catching him completely off guard. The gray haired guy didn’t even had the chance to embrace him back, as he ran away. “Same time tomorrow?” He screamed.

“Yes.” Kakashi yelled back, breathing out in relief. He walked towards his book, opened on a random page on the grass. “I told you he would be fine.”

“I was concerned.” Sasuke came out behind a tree, resting his body on the trunk afterwards.

Kakashi’s mind was too scrambled by the slope of Sasuke’s eyebrows and the unyielding sincerity in his voice. “You were right. He was carrying so much inside of him and at some point, it would take its tools on him eventually.”

“A blond, blue eyed kid who acts like that is his job to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders? I wonder who he got that from.” Sasuke giggled dryly.

“Don’t mock Naruto, you are not so far behind. Let’s just hope Sarada didn’t inherent your rogue tendency.” Kakashi shrugged, not before sending Sasuke’s an amusement glance.

“Should we tell Naruto? About the panic attacks?” It was interesting for Kakashi the uncertain on Sasuke’s voice. His former student, who was usually so cool and confident under pressure, was showing signs of concern and caring towards someone. It didn’t go unnoticed the way he took another breath to steady himself either.

“Would you like both of us keeping it from you if was Sarada instead?” Kakashi jerked his head around to look at Sasuke, ready to argue, but the look on Sasuke’s face took all of the defensive out of him. The frustration in his tone wasn’t for him, but for his ‘student.

Sasuke sighed. “I will pass on Hokage’s office before leaving town.”

“Tell him not to say anything, or it will ruin our progress.” Kakashi pointed out.

“I will, but it’s Naruto we are talking about.” Sasuke felt silent, but his voice sounded smoother, and even thought Kakashi wasn’t looking at him, he could tell that his posture wasn’t so rigid either.

“People change. Who would thought you would use the reverse psychology to use your student to be around me?” Kakashi was grinning and Sasuke knew that. After all those years knowing that old man, not even a mask could hide the joy laced on his tone.

There was a long, awkward pause and Kakashi just sighed.

“Everyone would.” Sasuke replied, sounding a bit out of place himself, meeting Kakashi’s gaze solidly.

“But you did it to help him, not use him.” Kakashi easily noticed the guarded way Sasuke spoke. By now, he was ridiculously used by it.

Sasuke shrugged and looked away, his eyes scanning the path he would have probably left. “I have to go.”

Kakashi only nodded in response as he watched his former student leave.

“Kakashi?” Sasuke hesitated, but he didn’t turn back to look at the gray haired man. “Am I the Naruto’s friend that everyone wanted dead? Was it my fault?”

Kakashi nodded, once again and Sasuke just swallowed hard.

“Take care of him.” Although the way he said wasn’t a demand, but a request.

“I will, I always have. Sarada as well.” Kakashi sat down next to a tree, his body pressing the trunk, his books already opened on his lap.

“I know.” Sasuke’s sharpness returned to his voice before disappearing into the woods.

#boruto #boruto fic #boruto uzumaki #boruto uzumaki oneshot #boruto uzumaki imagine #boruto uzumaki fanfic #kakashi #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi #kakashi hatake fanfic #kakashi hatake imagine #kakashi hatake oneshot #kakashi x boruto #boruto x kakashi #kakashi and boruto #boruto and kakashi #naruto #naruto fic #naruto fanfic #naruto oneshot #boruto oneshot #boruto fanfic

[jenology-archive]

100 things to love about Jeno

his infinite amount of passion and relentless enthusiasm!

he’s incredibly humble as well, modest to the point he’ll praise his fellow members while he’s getting praised

he’s been in showbiz scene ever since he was young (starting around 2005!)

he loves animals and he has three cats!

bongshik was his first cat, when he was younger he found her abandoned on his way home

nal and seol were adopted later, even though he has a cat allergy he loves them to bits and overcomes his allergy as best as he can!

his voice is so soft and gentle, though it’s also really deep and he can also be really loud

he has an AMAZING sense of humor and doesn’t deserve being called “boring” or “no jam” at all

he’s more mature than he gets credit for: he’s compassionate and wise that even mark lee, the leader of nct dream who is one year his senior, will confide in him for advice

he’s also way funnier than people make him seem, he comes up with really witty retorts too

he doesn’t stay still! even if it’s the slightest bit of movement, he’s always up to something

also fiddles with other objects, anything he can get his hands on

in most cases they’re items present wherever he is

though there are various cases where he has kept a fidget spinner in his back pocket and he’d just whip it out and start spiNNING

sometimes (read: often) he’ll be doing something to his members, the victim tends to be whoever’s closest

he plays with their ears or tickles their chin, amongst other cute gestures

It’s so cute when he takes selfies or videos with other members! no explanation needed because you’ve probably seen evidence to support this claim

It’s also really cute when he does something wrong or gets called out and he just freezes up with a funny expression on his face

speaking of which, he really is the KING OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

he can display such a wide variety of expressions, it’s extremely impressive

and he can change them really quickly too, the way he fluctuates between expressions is almost as cool as it is endearing

sometimes he’ll have a cute smile on his face and it’ll morph into an intense gaze, or vice versa

THERE IS SUNSHINE IN HIS SMILE! It’s absolutely radiant and contagious!

on a side note, his teeth are absolutely perfect?

his cheek moles are also really lovely and it really sucks when they cover it up with makeup

it’s also a huge shame when fansites photoshop their pics of him so you can’t see his acne…

he does have a lot of it which is completely normal, and when he’s given the opportunities he does embrace it! even though he’s this perfect and loveable, he’s also very much human

he really has the most endearing habits in the entire world!! The gestures he does are super cute

like when he rubs his nose with the back of his index finger

or when he’s biting on his index finger? lol

he also tends to touch the lobule of his ears

puffs up his cheeks very cutely

rests his chin on his palms and wiggles his fingers

his salute!! it’s not a “real” salute but he does something like it with two fingers

it’s really adorable when he waves or makes peace signs

notice that when he’s performing or even just saying certain words, he’ll bite his tongue :o or it’ll peek out for a moment

he also bites his bottom lip a lot

and he has a tight lipped smile that he tends to do, it’s especially endearing if he looks in a different direction while he’s doing it

HIS HAPPY DANCE!! there’s a lot of variety to it, like when he’s jumping up and down, or when he’s… doing That (there’s really no way to describe it ngfng)

and when his nose scrunches up… actually, while we’re still on the topic of his nose it’s really distinct and beautiful!!

the expressions or things he does while listening to others! he reacts a lot too!

like when he furrows his brows and/or looks all confused

when that happens and he has creases on his forehead :’)

also sometimes he does that really cringey fake sob ognfdkgndfkjg

it’s really nice when he nods as people are talking to show that he’s following along with what they’re saying

Jeno is extremely attentive in general!! he really gives others his undivided attention

in some cases, like during vlives, he’s looking at his phone instead though. but he’s still being attentive because he’s trying to keep up with comments from fans!

HE’S SO TALENTED!! he’s honestly so impressive

even though sm doesn’t let him do much, he’s still capable of SO MUCH. he’s a vocalist, a rapper, a dancer, and the visual and that’s A LOT

even though he doesn’t get the amount of lines he deserves, the way he delivers them is so captivating

and there’s a reason he gets all those notable points of choreo, as well as hoverboard time in chewing gum!

and why members will say he’s the best at riding hoverboards too because he really is :/

he’s admittedly rather clumsy, but he truly does his best to overcome that especially on stage

please consider his IMPROVEMENT, especially since chewing gum era when he would make various mistakes or slip ups during live performances! he’s come a long way and is constantly improving

also consider his great acting skills, he’s been acting since a young age and he’s still improving as well

he’s really great with skits and reciting scripts, his voice and gestures suit the characters he portrays

he also has various hidden talents, and I’m sure we’ve only gotten mere glimpses of what he has to offer

for example, he’s really good at winking! he can also wink with both eyes

he’s also pretty good at tongue twisters, and he can say them at a fast pace

the thing he does where he lies down flat on the floor and pushes himself back up?? (he did it in the ot18 and 00 line vlives)

he’s excellent at speaking and is very charming while doing so, which makes him a great MC as well

never forget that he represented nct at the smtown conference in dubai!!

he’s been wearing glasses since a young age, apparently has really bad eyesight :’)

used to get called “harry potter” when he was younger, probably because of his round lensed glasses

was very well praised for the powerpoint presentations he would make in computer class

impossibly well rounded as a student, he excels academically, athletically, and musically

in middle school (year 1) jeno placed 2nd during the first exam!

he was a member of track & field and was especially good with relay races, so his class would rank high because of him

he was also a mischievous student though, there was one instance where he put glue on a desk and ran away lol

but to this day he’s still pretty mischievous, you might want to keep an eye on him!

apparently he can play a huge variety of instruments, not just the guitar

his instrument specialty is the violin!

HIS LAUGH IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS YOU’LL EVER HAVE THE PLEASURE OF HEARING

even the way he laughs is absolutely divine and genuine and WHOLESOME

he just lets out his laughter unapologetically, often with an eyesmile too!

it can also be super extra when he laughs: sometimes he’ll clap or hit something (in some cases, someone), or he’ll lurch forward or fall backwards… sometimes he even falls to the ground from laughing

he also tends to laugh after answering questions, or while he’s answering the question

horror movie lover, likes to watch them with renjun and has made a horror movie reference lol

anime enthusiast!! he really likes one piece and naruto in particular

he also likes figures, especially putting them together

on a side note, he’s really crafty and creative! when he was younger he liked to build things with toy blocks and he also had an affinity for puzzles

don’t forget nct school dream mate where he made a bento box completely out of clay… it was really well made, of course

he’s liked cars since a very young age and enjoys drawing them, he actually wanted to be a car designer when he was young

but because he wasn’t pleased with his drawing skills he decided to become a singer instead :’o he’s really good at drawing though!

he uses emoticons very cutely :’)

like when he draws a little smiley face that looks like =) beside his name… <3

he also started using TAT because of the fans which is really sweet

suspenders and him don’t go well together… not in a visual aspect, jeno looks good in everything, but every time he wears them they always slide off his shoulders lol

really likes t7s and practices the choreo with jisung (sm let them do a t7s cover!!)

he plays pokemon go on his ipad (no promises, but I think he was on team mystic)

he’s interested in photography and also takes really good pictures!

meme king… never forget the various times he’s dabbed, nae naed, played with a fidget spinner, and brought up ppap

does really cheesy things and does them SHAMELESSLY. but it’s all for us and it’s lovely (yes! even the aegyo!!)

he’s recommended the song “breath” by park hyo shin multiple times, he also listens to it (almost?) every night before he goes to sleep

he’s very considerate and kind hearted! It’s so sweet when he checks in with others or reminds others of things too

that’s a big reason why doyoung really cherishes him, because jeno is really thoughtful of others and also very grateful

his stage presence is no joke. he’s so professional and bold, it’s practically impossible to watch him perform something and not get spell bound…

...but even though he gives every stage his all, jeno still has so much fun while he’s at it and you can tell!

he doesn’t think of his role as an idol as a “job”, but rather something he does where he can have fun with others

he’s constantly striving to “become a better jeno” and often tells us so! he’s always trying his best and giving everything his all!

#as promised! in time for his bday too :) unfortunately i couldn't include all the points i came up with but i'll do more in the future!! #jeno #jeno imagines #jeno scenarios #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct #nct dream #kpop #my text #jushing #lee jeno #jenonly #hjd