#naruto i learned about cause the naruto run and i was a bit of an obsessive middle schooler so i had to learn the context of the naruto run

[team7-headquarter]

The thing about Naruto being Hokage and why the execution of such concept is so tricky is that every other Hokage was practically a genius.

I'm not saying Naruto is not smart (he tricked a goddess with a sexy jutsu, after al), or that every other Hokage was better than him 'cause they were book smart or whatever. What I'm saying is that every other Hokage was more versed on stuff like politics and negotiations, were a bit more crude or realistic or at least had more experience.

Naruto is not fool. He's not a little kid too busy dreaming to do something about the world. I don't mean to undermine his capacity of learning, nor deny that he could become a great Hokage.

The thing is —he needs training.

And yeah he's the strongest shinobi in the world and there's no one more qualify to protect the village (he proved that several times). But we're talking about governing. Not only paperwork, but what's behind the paperwork. We're talking about decisions like sending some kids to possibly die in crazy missions. We're talking about malicious and dark stuff. Choosing a side in a conflict between allies. Dealing with greedy no-shinobi politicians. Interfering with clan politics. Making people mad. Dealing with bad consequences of good actions.

You could argue that all the leaders of the world became besties after the last war and I could say that's one of the most bullshit decisions of the manga. This is a shonen, I know. But if you meant to have a continuation of some sort, I think you'd have to acknowledge that peace can't last. You don't even need an entire family of gods to reach that conclusion. You don't even need to mess with space and time. All you need is to wait for the tiny conflicts to accumulate. Evil shinobis wanting to wreck havoc, some misunderstandings, even just climate catastrophes or the consequences of a past you can't erase.

In the end, you can't be loyal to the entire world. And while Naruto did fight in a war, the nature of it was not the same as the other wars. There was no big common bad back then, just flawed people being flawed people.

When I say every other Hokage was a genius on their own ways, I mean this:

Hashirama was a founder of the hidden villages, a political solution to protect the shinobis, balance the entire world and further the progress of society.

Tobirama did almost everything in Konoha's system, including the Academy, and he is arguably the best Hokage when it comes to modernization, politics, jutsu creation and being realistic.

Tsunade changed the entire landscape of how wars were fought by introducing the importance of having a medic nin in every team (or close to it).

Minato proved to be not only the strongest but the smartest shinobi in Konoha, without kekkei genkai or any clan; he was second to Tobirama (in my opinion) in terms of Hokage intelligence in politics and such.

Hiruzen was the student of both the first and the second Hokages, and even when he made a lot of bullshit decisions (LIKE A LOT), he had the experience of having lived through almost every war and kept Konoha running after Tobirama died.

Kakashi has been making war decisions since his childhood. Bloody, ugly, dark decisions. A prodigy who became an anbu at childhood, with a mind capable of adapting on the run, capable of quickly analyzing any situation. Again, more versed in politics and such.

Naruto needs training. He needs instruction, he needs to study. He needs to mature further still. But when I read about the blank period, all I read is about him falling in love with Hinata, teaching the kids on the Academy, etc.

I personally want Naruto to be the best leader he could be, 'cause I grew up supporting his dream of becoming Hokage. I want to see him succeed! What I don't want is the implication that someone else has to do the job for him. I want Naruto to be able to discuss shinobi politics with Shikamaru, not because Naruto is a genius, but because he loves his village and he's willing to work hard for it. I want a Naruto that has his own thoughts about shinobi children, about orphans and families and civilians and clans. I want a Naruto that learns all he could about the origin of Konohagakure and tries to reach other Uzumakis and give them a home. Stuff like that.

Every other Hokage was practically a genius but competing with geniuses never stopped Naruto. He's stubborn and he loves with his entire heart and he doesn't give up. He mastered the rasengan in a couple of days. He won his match against Neji in the Chunnin Exams, defeated Pain and Nagato. He is not stupid or incompetent, okay? And that's what I want to see when I'm presented with the future of him being Hokage.

#naruto #naruto uzumaki #Hokage #Naruto Hokage #Naruto Shippuden #Konoha #Konohagakure #hashirama senju #Tobirama senju #Tsunade senju #Minato Namikaze #Minato Uzumaki #Kakashi hatake #hiruzen sarutobi

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

I have decided our OC is a girl now in the Feral Neighbours AU. Her name is Haru. And she’s… weird.

-She grew up in a tiny village and like from a young age she was Odd. I mean she’s a reincarnation of an adult from another world who remembers shit.

-her parents died when she was 8 and she ended up fucking off with a Hunter. Hunters being those who roam the lands going after chakra enhanced animals because they’re an invasive species.

-Her teacher was a Uzumaki man who told her about caches containing Uzumaki things after making her promise to pass this info on if she ever meets a Uzumaki while dramatically dying.

-Haru “This is dumb I’m avoiding them all but okay since it’s his dying wish.” Ten years later: “FUCK”

-Haru is just… not normal. It’s partly the reincarnation thing. Partly cause her life has been fucking weird since she was born. She was raised by loving parents, her mother the local coroner and her father the local chemist. Her grandfather was probably a retired missing nin. She doesn’t know. She got raised by these three before getting swept up to roam the world while hunting with a Uzumaki who had no idea how to parent or teach.

-Haru’s dog is named Barkspawn and is the offspring of a summon and a normal dog that got abandoned cause he’s a bit different then normal pups. Haru found him and they’ve been besties ever since. He’s the only one who knows everything. He thinks the whole ‘oh god my neighbour is Kakashi’ thing is funny.

-Haru has no idea how to be civilian. She just doesn’t. She’s a Hunter who went after very dangerous animals (and sometimes minor bandits or mercenaries who needed a quick death) and has been on the move for years. She is a very good buisness woman but being a normal civilian? Ha. She would have always fallen in with Shinobi.

-Haru is 100% bisexual as fuck. She does not hide this. Which the Shinobi folk accept because ‘I might die tomorrow who cares’. The civilians… Konoha is very progressive and not everyone cares to much but there is still: expectations and shit and most assume it’s strictly until she settles down. *deranged laughter*

-Haru and Kakashi only get along cause of their dogs at first. Haru is Busy with her business and Kakashi is like ‘strange person’. It is 100% the food that draws them together. They also bond because both are just… odd. Both had Uzumaki influences and dog in their lives that affected them a lot.

-They have never thought of each other romantically and never will. Kakashi is also bisexual but Haru is just his feral neighbour/best friend.

-Shinobi get it. Civilians don’t. Or well most Shinobi who are at a certain level get it.

-Haru 100% met Kisame at a bar once and decided to hit that. She does not regret it and brags to Kakashi about it. Kakashi is amused.

-Actually I like the idea of Haru just sleeping with like most of the Akatsuki somehow. Not like Sasori or Pein but everyone else? No she doesn’t know how. She finds it funny as fuck.

-Shinobi don’t care whom you sleep with but have expectations to produce. Kakashi point blank asks Haru to have his kids in a ‘not weird way’ when they’re like 25 cause they’ve been friends since 22. Haru is fine with it but ‘let us wait for a few years dude. I am not in the right space’. Kakashi can now go: Haru is my future surrogate and ignore people bugging him.

-Haru is an Akimichi bastard but her stepdad is her dad. That’s what she cares about. She makes it clear to everyone that it’s true and people accept it. But she does learn she’s Chouza’s sister cause I like the idea of her being Chouji’s aunt and like having the future Ino-Shika-Cho running around.

-Haru is a sealing master cause I like the idea and I like the idea of her (after groaning cause fuck why is this happening) sitting down to teach Naruto her Sensei’s seals.

-Haru isn’t a ninja but has a lot of tricks of chakra and the such from being nomadic and her Sensei. He 100% taught her some ninja shit.

-Haru cannot fight. No legit she sucks at fighting unless it’s with her bow. Kakashi once tried to teach her to throw a punch. She broke a chair.

No they do NOT know how.

-Haru has ‘written’ (aka shamelessly stole and plagiarized) multiple books from her old world, edited for Naruto land. She has a photographic memory passed down from her first life…

-… is it to much if it turns out her grandad was a Uchiha who fucked off instead of join Konoha?

@anastasian-dreamer IS IT?!

#naruto #the feral neighbours #kakashi hatake

[aloeverified]

i really hate how out of the main konoha 9, only one of them isn't from a clan — and not only that, but only two of them aren't heirs.

it just seems like such lazy writing to throw all these clans in at once with no further explanation. if there was a reason given like konoha has a really high amount of clans so of course there'd be a few person class, or maybe all the clan heads tried to have kids around the same time to start the new generation together — at least then it would kind of make sense.

with characters like hinata, naruto, and sasuke, it's kind of impossible to strip their heritage away from then since it's integral to their character — but with other characters, it kind of just feels like they're from a clan for the sake of being from a clan. their clans are never really expanded on and how they feel about their families aren't talked about.

i get that not all the clans have to be super depressing like the hyūga and uchiha, but it feels like that's kind of the point — like, a lot of naruto's storyline is about how damaging these clans' rules and such can be, so it feels out of place to just have completely happy and normal clans besides the others.

i think inoshikacho could be changed. rather than representing clans coming together, it's shinobi families. they're all simply from lineages of shinobi who developed their techniques over time. they were all born around the same time because their parents planned it, just like their parents had done before them.

ino's family could specialize in the interrogation unit, which caused them to develope their mind jutsu over time; shikamaru's family could have been stealth ninja or even anbu members; and choji's family could have simply been from people who learned how to use the yang release and such.

it's a bit harder to separate kiba and shino from their clans because their techniques are so unique, but i think it works better to just tweak their clans rather than getting rid of them as a whole.

the inuzuka clan is looked down on for not being as prestigious as the others, along with their general distaste for gender norms and traditions. they're hard working, ambitious, and will not be pushed around or trapped behind ridiculous rules.

i know this contradicts what i said earlier about having happy clans running around, but i feel like the inuzuka could help represent small clans and also more indigenous traits. having hunting dogs, facial markings, and women in power are things found in many indigenous clans — i can't see any of inoshikacho being the same.

the aburame clan is generally isolated from the rest of the village, some if it by choice and some not. they're judged for their abilities — and after being faced with so much because of it, they decided they're better off on their own for the most part. they're not malicious, however, or looking for revenge; but they're taught that people will judge them and they have to be smart enough to value themselves of those people's opinions. they are viewed with disgust and fear, not envy or respect. they will welcome you, but only from an arms length.

#this is just my opinion though #i don't like how the clans are all dropped at once rather than slowly revealed #naruto #naruto headcanons #yamanaka clan #nara clan #akimichi clan #aburame clan #inuzuka clan #aloeverants

[bougiebutchbitch]

Kakashi/Jiraiya?

LiStEn my kakajira thoughts are basically limited to two scenarios

they get together when they're both adults, at around the time when Kakashi is getting Jiraiya to teach Naruto and probably trying to guilt him into sticking around and being somewhat supportive because he sure wasn't there for Kakashi

It's incredibly messed up and self-destructive on both sides, because Jiraiya feels guilty after running off after Sakumo died (in my headcanon, shhh) and maybe had a bit of a thing for Sakumo and HOW FUCKED UP IS IT TO SWITCH THAT TO SAKUMO'S SON AND HIS STUDENT'S STUDENT???? But knowing Jiraiya... he kinda gets off on the fucked-up-ness too. Meanwhile, for Kakashi daddy-issues Hatake, he's dealing with his abandonment complex through the medium of having another big white-haired older man to hold him sdfklgdfsljg

It's twisted and messy and hurtful and they both wind up walking away from each other because it's better than the alternative! No happy endings here (but oooooh, what a fascinating, fucked-up dynamic to explore)

OR

Or.

2. they fuck ONCE because Kakashi thinks Jiraiya is going to be great in the sack after devouring all his Icha-Icha books, and Jiraiya is always delighted to meet such a devoted fan.

It's awful.

Either Jiraiya gets hit by the '...oh god this is my student's student' or the 'oh god this is my old friend's kid' lightning bolt and can't get it up, or he's just generically bad and doesn't really care about his companion's pleasure, or he and Kakashi have 1000% clashing interests and likes. Whatever the cause, it SUCKS BALLS and Kakashi learns why you should never hook up with your heroes 😂

....as you can tell, me saying 'I ship something' is usually me saying 'I think these characters could have an interesting relationship, no matter how it ends' sdfljgjsdklfghsdfg

[inavagrant-a]

@ @ @

@ghostlyanon

Ohohoho's to your hhehehe's awraxa.

@scarletooyoroi es next.

I actually know Jace from a distance from a while back ago! Back when I barely entered the Kingdom Hearts fandom, I knew of his Sora blog and I was a Roxas blog but I don't think we ever rp'd. It wasn't until my Cloud blog that I began to rp with him via his Sora blog! Jace is so fucking cool dude like, he's so damn chill and always has the coolest thread ideas, goes into it 100% and that just gets me hyped up. I honestly had no idea this was Jace until we followed each other and I was lIKE HEY HEY I REMEMBER YOU from a distance, could have just been me, I tend to remember lots of people I interact with here. I also figured out that he was also in the Naruto fandom once! I had no idea I never really ran into him there but that was cool cause I too dipped my feet there a bit. It's just amazing how you just run into people here honestly. Jace has always been a chill dude, always and like I said every time he rps he just does something that gets me so hyped up for it, I love reading his interactions and how he thinks about his characters. If you're not following him then you're really missing out honestly, give this guy some love, he's really cool and chill.

@reginrokkr es another.

If you aren't following Lyria you are doing yourself a disservice. Like holy shit this blog is so good, godly even, not just the rp content itself but the insight and thoughts on the game and on Dain himself, they are delicious meals every time. Lyria puts a lot of thought into their portrayal, using inspirations from that which inspires the game material itself to establish ground, I too find myself learning a lot of cool information through the posts they make in which they share their thoughts. Honestly, rp wise they too are goals, having threads that are like 50+ notes and still continuing that I read in silence to myself in the background and I'm just like hello?? Amazing, showstopping. Though I do my best to keep up with the game and keep tabs on the lore of it even I miss some things and get confused by other things and sometimes Lyria's breakdown posts about them and it helps me understand and see what I missed or what point went completely over my head. I've only gotten the chance to speak to them here and there but they've always been pleasant conversations. I've gotten the chance to rp with them too and I've had a blast interacting with them. Please do yourself a huge favor and follow them!

@dochttore ohohoho

Freaking Eddie, the Edster. Eddie is really quiet but they are very pleasant to chat with. They've always been considerate and I'm glad and count my blessings that they're someone I had gotten the chance to know. They are also a very amazing artist and I'm happy that every now and then I get to see their works in progress. Like I said before they are very quiet so most of the time I feel like I'm being too loud and annoying them by sending them messages on disc awraxa, but they're always really reassuring. I love the plots that we come up with and how open they are to exploring things because they also have some crazy ass ideas that very well match my own awraxa. So that makes me feel less crazy not gonna lie awraxa. Anyway, as a rper they are also great, their rp style is very easy to understand and to follow. I just love, like I can't express this enough, I love how Eddie's writing is always moving the scene forward, like there is always something left open on purpose for you to respond to. I can't say how frustrating it is sometimes when the scene just stays stagnant and it's something I really admire about the way they rp because it's something I want to get better at as well and I want to do all the time not just every now and then. I'm really thankful for their consideration for me and for sparing me some time off their busy life.

#ghostlyanon #inquiries. #out. #anyways these people are great in summary is what i'm saying awraxa

[rose-lalondde]

Naruto Fic Recs Friday

Unsent Letters

Chapters: 1/1

Rating: G

Summary:

Gai finds a box of letters with his name on them when he's going through a neglected closet.

Comments: Actual old men in love and it made me weep. Big win fpr kakagai fans.

Twitch Streamer Yuji and Youtuber Megumi

Chapters: 7/?

Rating: G

Summary:

Yuuji is a famous Twitch streamer who does streams from his college dorm. Among his fanbase, his huge crush on a random book reviewer on youtube has become a running joke. The fanbase decides to make it their mission to discover who Yuuji's mystery crush is.

Megumi has a very small book reviewing channel on Youtube he started in high school. He doesn't even know what Twitch is, but Nobara keeps insisting he needs to help her find this random Twitch Streamer's secret crush. Her reasoning: the secret crush does youtube and reviews books.

Comments: As you will find I'm such a sucker for modern aus and this one is really cute! Megumi being a booktuber & its so sweet to see them fall for each other just through their channels.

Ain't That A Kick in The Head

Chapters: 27/?

Rating: M

Summary:

He really, really doesn’t want to think about what it’ll mean to be a double agent. What it’ll really mean. How he’ll have to act. How he’ll have to lie for the sake of his revenge, how he’ll have to reforge severed bonds. And it’ll all be fake. Is a false bond better than not having that bond at all?

Sasuke feels haunted by Itachi's death. Literally.

During their fight, his brother placed a seal with the remainder of his chakra on him as a protective measure so he could watch him from the grave. Itachi, however, did not realize that his actions would change everything... by being able to assist his brother with getting his revenge against Danzo.

This is the story of how one unhinged outlaw, along with the ghost of his dead brother, infiltrates a village to flush out the corruption within and faces those who he left behind. Including but not limited to: old teammates, classmates, and the guy he has feelings for that he keeps repressing.

Maybe they'll even save the world and have a proper conversation.

Comments: Itachi is so funny, literally causing drama from beyond the grave. It's naruto if it was a romcom, and its hilarious & very gay. Also I love sasuke in this fic <3

Redemption In A Worthy World

Chapters: 69/?

Rating: M

Summary:

Sasuke Uchiha has returned to the Konoha of his youth missing an eye and questioning everything. While knowing what's to come is an incredible advantage, his very existence starts a domino chain of events no one could predict. With both the Akatsuki and Danzo interested in a new Uchiha, Sasuke will have to fight to keep those he loves safe in the cloak-and-dagger world of the shinobi. Except things are changing before he's even woken up, his younger self is just as stubborn as he is, and he's going to have to learn how to parent all over again.

Comments: LISTEN LISTEN ik it says 69 chapters it's so worth it, especially if you love sasuke or fix-it fics or time travel or worldbuilding and lore. If you like learning about the Uzumaki clan and always wanted that to be explored go ahead and open it up. It's in my top 3 fics of all time, that's how serious this is. I will say that it's rated M for a reason, which is that the violence is very intense and a bit gory & in chapter 66 there's a sex scene, but you can skip it if you want. It's definitely emotionally heavy and, I'm not even gonna lie, it's a really long read. Personally, I don't care for the aliens, BUT they do their part & the writer makes them interesting, they're also not as prominent in the story as you keep reading.

The "Five Years" Game

Chapters: 21/21 - Completed

Rating: T

Summary:

Things have finally calmed down to business as usual—as much as business is ever usual, for the Ouran High School Host Club—and Kaoru is feeling some tried and true Hitachiin-brand boredom. Seeing this, Kyoya issues an intriguing challenge: he plans on winning a certain game in exactly five years. If Kaoru wants to beat him, all he has to do is figure out the goal of the game before Kyoya wins it.

As if a tried and true Hitachiin could turn down a challenge like that.

Let the “Five Years” game begin!

Comments: I feel like I should tell you that my only bookmark notes on here say "VICTORY!" Anyway, I love it when people write kyoya and know what they're talking about, he's my favorite host club member. I have not been into ohshc for a while and this made me want to get back into it. It's very clever and well-written, had a lot of fun reading this. Definitely cried a bit at the end lol.

Crazy Stupid Love

Chapters: 11/?

Rating: M

Summary:

Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki were more than just friends. What they meant to one another would take a lifetime to express, so they did. The shinobi world is cruel, but it is also very beautiful. Sometimes, you can still find that beauty on a battlefield or on a lazy Sunday morning.

A companion piece to Redemption in a Worthy World, but can be read separately.

Comments: It felt wrong to not include this when I'm recommending Redemption too. It's so beautifully written but it's so dark and tragic, but I think about this fic often. It's also good for providing background info on some things that happen in Redemption but they're both standalone fics.

#look its still friday this counts #naruto fic recs #fic rec #naruto #naruto fics #ohshc #jjk #did 6 this time b/c y'know i had to double it #my comments for Redemption being longer than the summary...Yeah #ohshc fic being thrown here is so random but i love it so much #all of these are queer of course #both unsent letter and redemption feature characters with disabilities #also oomf wrote aint that a kick in the head so all of you have to read it now #btw they all have themes of love if you even care #ok let me post this before it's no longer friday #moon posts

[slotheyes]

sorry if this comes off as a little direct, but I was wondering if you have any nrt fic recommendations? Im also a bit sensitive when it comes to vocabulary/epithets/etc which makes finding fics kinda difficult. that being said the days are getting shorter and i can feel my self slipping back into old habits… if u have any recs you r comfortable w sharing (ofc none at all is fine too lol) I would appreciate it🙏 I value ur characterization of the nrt cast as well so I have confidence in what u choose to read, should probably also say this is the first time ive ever asked someone for recs so i apologize if it came off awkward 😭😭 lots of love! ❤️

Anon you have nothing to apologize for, I am always glad to share things I enjoy :') I'm not sure what kinds of things you prefer to read, but so far here are some fics I've enjoyed:

Something to Remember Me By by heimai: Modern au set SNS fic. Very cute but also sad as hell. I cried. No spoilers tho please experience the highs and lows for yourself and I hope you enjoy it.

Moonshine by Victopteryx: Probably one of my favorite fics of all time tbh. Hashimada au set in early 1900s America, the Uchiha clan runs a moonshining business and the Senjuu clan moves in on it for a potential partnership. Absolutely out there concept and it is such a delight to read, so fun.

When Love Fades by Kizukatana: This one might not be everyone's cup of tea, and I fully understand if it's not, but I loved it. Modern au setting, Sasuke and Naruto breaking up after 6 years together. The bulk of the fic is them apart, learning about themselves and their relationship and where things went wrong. The heartache is real, the emotions are raw, and ill be honest it was a little more relatable than I was ready for, but that just made it hurt all the better. Theres some parts towards the end that focus in on Naruto's childhood a little more than I think was necessary but aside from that I thought it was a very good read.

Flesh and Bone by dawnstruck: i just finished this one and it was cute! The first half is stronger than the second and admittedly I haven't read much genin fic but I liked the genin part so much 🥺 nice take on the arranged marriage trope.

The Things We Sacrifice by CanineKitten: Another one i can understand not being everyone's thing cause it's a Boruto-set cheating fic. I like the drama, and hate their marriages, so I eat this kinda shit up but that's me.

#hopefully it's not a list of a bunch of fics youve already read cause i actually havent read that much naruto fic #but if you do read any of these i hope you like them! #if you do read any of them and need to scream about it hmu #bumby asks

[specialability]

Naruto

In my Naruto reread I've basically hit the point where I stopped reading the manga in its original run. I didn't even make it to the Sasuke vs Itachi fight originally and then speed-read a bunch once it ended so I don't remember it much. Unnecessarily long thoughts follow.

The first story arc, i.e. pre-time-skip, is a bit rough sometimes but is fairly tightly written and fast-paced. It has a set of coherent themes and character arcs. Unfortunately, this is only 27 volumes, ending with Kakashi Gaiden.

There are 72 volumes total so that's only about a third of series. The second post-time-skip arc (Shippuden) starts off okay as it reintroduces all the new characters. Kakashi vs Itachi (and Gai's rescue~) is vol 29. As some variety from going to rescue Sasuke they go to rescue Gaara instead. I appreciate this arc because we get some more Sand Siblings and Team Gai. Most interestingly, Sakura gets her one and only battle victory. As far as battles go, it's a well-written one as Sakura shows off her new skills, intelligence, and determination. She gets a W on the board and we get two women fighting together! Chiyo's relationship to Gaara changing is genuinely touching.

The introduction of the chakra types in Shippuden feels like a very late retcon. Even though Kishimoto may have been using those concepts from the beginning, it really doesn't feel like it, especially when he avoids explaining more how more complex jutsu fit the system. It's impossible not to compare to Hunter x Hunter (although I'm trying) because as Gon and Killua progress through that story and learn more about the magic system of that world you definitely get the feeling that all the battles previously still make sense and a lot of things fall into place for the audience as well the characters. It's a bit like hitting a twist in a mystery. In order for it to feel satisfying you have to be able to look back and say "oh, I see it now". For examples of this not being done well see also: midichlorians

While Togashi is definitely the master of shonen battle manga when it comes to coming up with intentional magic systems, it's Oda who is probably the best at coming up with new powers and plot twists and making it seem like he was planning it all along. Fans call him GOda, but in interviews he's always like "at the last minute I had a sudden inspiration on how to finish this battle!" and then fans find some detail from volume 2 that has come back to pay off in volume 200 or whatever. I'm not sure sometimes how much of it is planned and how much is completely flying by the seat of his pants. If you write a manga for so long, there's no way you can remember every detail the way fans do.

And then back into the story... I cannot overemphasize how boring it is to rehash the same argument over and over again. Yamato and Sai are added to Team 7 in vol 32 and this starts the Pain arc which is... painful. It can't help but feel a bit cheap that after only a few years of training Naruto surpasses basically everybody else including his mentors. Pain apparently seeks to derive world peace from essentially causing equal pain to everyone. Fair enough, people in real life have made that argument. However, Naruto's response inspiring him to revive everyone and also kill himself so Naruto doesn't have to bloody his hands feels even more cheap and childish. I can't help but feel the philosophical questions of why is there war and how to solve cycles of violence is beyond Naruto as a character but also Naruto as a narrative.

This is also what strikes me about Sasuke vs Itachi and his interactions with Tobi afterwards. Naruto's response to "how do we solve war and heal emotional wounds" is generally a big shrug and "be nice to people". His unintentional method of seeking peace is befriending world leaders one at a time which isn't completely ineffectual. Sasuke's response to "how do we stop people from suffering" is "who cares, fuck you, my pain is more important than yours". Which is even more childish. An interesting theme that doesn't seem utilized is being trapped in one's childhood / not progressing as a person because you choose to hold on to your pain otherwise you feel you'll have nothing. Gaara's character arc towards accepting and giving love after alienation and suffering is way better by comparison. The manga keeps bringing up more mature big questions like the economic value of war but never actually addresses the various viewpoints and keeps skipping back to the interpersonal relationships. Which I mean sure, is important. But since there's no intentionality about it it just ends up feeling muddied.

On to the next...

#misc #ruth reads manga #:naruto

[akane171]

Pfff, THAT doesn't count, I'm hard-headed 😂😂 (Plus, well, no wonders my memory is shitty🤷🏻‍♀️😅🙈)

Didn't Naruto and Sasuke technically do that with Kaguya's dimensions? Oh, and I think Dragon Ball Super had a whole Tournament in which the losers' universes get destroyed?🤔😅 And well, thanks for the warning!🙈😂

Ehw...fishy...😕 And nope, we-or well, at least *I* - am being truthful😊 (animals have to be protected, I don't care who or what I have to annihilate to protect them, but I will protect them, esp. Puppies😍)

...That's a very weird running joke, how the heck did you guys end up with that?😅 (Some friends of mine used to make a similar joke but it was mostly just to annoy our asian friend by being asses, soo🤷🏻‍♀️😅🙈)

Juuup, it's so sad, it will never be funny😭

Ahh, yes, true, he totally went all adaptive Dad-mode on those freaking teenagers 😍😂 And yuup, his development was beautiful😍😍🙈

WAit, WHAT?!? YOU'VE WRITTEN A FIC LIKE THAT?!?! OMG, HOW DID I MISS THAT REPEATEDLY WHILE BINGING THROUGH YOUR STORIES?!?!😱😱😱😱😱😭😭😭 Excuse me, I think I need to go and find out if I'm blind or just too stupid to see🤦🏻‍♀️🙈

HAHAHA, I'd totally watch a show with just those meetings in each episode🤣🤣😍

..."have a talk with her"... sooo...Angry mob and Bazookas?🤔😉😂

You know, I don't think I've ever thought about whether Bal-Seg knew something about that or not, but now I'm very curious, too, and itching to ask LW🤔😅🤦🏻‍♀️

Hmm, well, dunno what would be 100% accurate (only LW can know THAT) but I like to think Bal would be his usual semi-grumpy self and snark with/at Mon-El, but actually be quite happy cause Kara obviously makes Mon happy and want to be better (like the great king Mon should have been damnit!)🤔 Maybe be a bit suspicious of Kara cause despite Mon and Bal being idiots who can't just tell each other they care deeply for each other (...Lol, is this a pattern? Looks like Mon's relationships with people are showing a pattern😂😉) he is kinda protective of his prince?🤔 [Tbh, not going too deep into it cause I still plan on writing this whenever I finally have enough time to properly sit down and work on it, my One-Shot idea was sth like a Medusa episode AU of PiaD in which Mon gets infected and Kara somehow learns of an alien who might know sth which turns out to be Bal-Seg, going to beg for his help and him coming cause he didn't save his prince so the idiot could die like this damnit and well, Mon might or might not be thinking he's hallucinating/dreaming?😂😅]

Ohhh, I really like this idea of yours!😍 Bal-Seg and Mon actually leaving?? It sounda so angsty but uff, sounds like It'd be SOOOO good🙈 And awwwww, Bal sitting with Mon all the time 😍😍😭😭

Hmm, maybe after he helps (e.g. by somehow negotiating with the aliens?) he tries to go back to the whole no-contact thing with Kara but she finally wants to talk about it, they have one of their spectacular fights/arguments (Oh god, now I'm imagining all the kind of hurtful things they could bring up like Mon saying sth like "Why?! Why do you even care?! I'm just the selfish fratboy of the universe DAXAMITE PRINCE, right?!") and they just blow up at each other and Eliza and Bal have to go and "translate" and make Karamel see reason and truly talk to each other instead of deciding the other is better off without them or sth? Oh, and maybe they somehow end up back in a Cell like in Cadmus (kinda to make them reminiscence cause pretty sure that's when at least Mon realized he might be falling for Kara) and finally admit how they really feel?🤔 (Nevermind this, I'm just brainstorming, feel free to ignore this😅🙈)

Jup, that he definitely is and that's how we love him😍😂

It WOULD be precious😍🙈 They could have a Frenemenection?🤔 Frenebros?🤔 

You too!😊

PS: Ohhhhh, nearly forgot: Have you seen the first two episodes of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series?!? Not gonna spoiler but OMG, S3!Mon is literally a mirror-version of Obi-Wan at that point in time😂🙈

XXX

...how often do you hit your head.... if you know it's oh so hard...

You know, i tried to erase the last arc from my memory, so I don't remember a shit...

So, you don't eat meat? No ham? No cold meat? No steaks? No hamburgers with puppies?

I don't remember, seriously. Our field of study was and still is very specific and weird people end there, teachers included. Our fave philosophy of life was WELTSCHMERZ.

Yay! Go go Chris fanclub!

Oh yes, I did. IN POLISH so don't get excited... But damn, it is so funny. So much funnier than in English, sigh

We will know? Hopefully XD

You know now, that if you won't write it, I will go aftr your ass too? So yeah? Cool ideas about Seg meeting Karamel, now go and write it? YES??????

I was kind of thinking about him, being the prince, going for negotiations that ended with whole night drinking and he ended super hangovered and Kara screamed at him again, because frat boy of the universe strikes again, while him just silently taking it and then giving Alex a napkin with some scribble. The more hangovered aliens come and prised the Daxamite prince strong head and how he out-drank them what ended with them singing some treaty and Kara is like,what treaty? And the point the napkin, where indeed, a nice for humans treaty is written.

And well, I think Kara and Mon El would argue a lot, him maybe helping sometimes with stuff, that Bal Seg comes more and helps them, without Mon-El but Kara is dissapointed every time when he doesn't appear, but when he does, she is snappish and annoyed, what makes him annoyed too, you know, idiots in love who can't talk to each other like normal alien beings. And well, maybe Mon-El could get interested for the first time in stuff he really likes, like engineering, and creating his legion ring? A lot of ideas, if you have something, please share :D

A Max fanclub too, huh? xD High five!

Fremenection sounds like something from Dune xD

And no, so far I didn't but I plan, of course. It's our son Obi-Wan, right?!!!

#ReFail #my fam

[isanyonetoknow]

the only experiences i’ve had with pokemon growing up are when, in elementary school, i and a couple of other kids were trying to trade the cards but we had no idea what standards to trade them by so we were sort of just shuffling them around and one vivid scene in which ash(?) and pikachu are in a canyon and it sort of pans to show team rocket and they’re maybe going to have a stand off.

#vt.talk #oh i watched detective pikachu a while ago so does that count? #and ive seen some stuff on the internet though not muc #anyways i just kinda find it funny how much i know about some popular franchises #like star wars was just the 'i am your father' through memes; my friends arguing about the best watching order; watching one of the movies #i think tfa on a bus ride and honestly that's where i learned the most. like the fact that darth vader was dead and luke and co were old now #and then at disneyworld someone dressed as someone from star wars was talking about padawans or something; oh and obv i knew what #lightsabers were. #naruto i learned about cause the naruto run and i was a bit of an obsessive middle schooler so i had to learn the context of the naruto run #i know nothing about star trek except data's great spock's great and there's a kirk in there? #marvel i used to know nothing about except through my friends but then i watched some movies #and there were various anime i learned about because i used to listen to nightcore and people in the comments would be like #'poor [character whose image was used as the image for the video]' and id be like who tf is character #and figure it out #then usually be like 'damn that was fucked up' before forgetting about it until something triggered the memory #like once i was shelving books in the library and some of them were black butler and i was like 'wait i know this.' #oh and atla i knew nothing about except that i thought it was the same as the avatar movie and i remember seeing the comics around #then there were how to write a good villain/redemption arc posts with azula and zuko respectively #lets see what else. #see if it's a popular book series i will have read at least the first book so those don't count #ig i learned a bit more about some animes through listening to their osts though i don't really care as much about learning then #and then i know the basic gists of a lot of movies. like indiana jones deals with artifacts and adventure #james bond i read the first few books of but wasn't impressed at all #hp i unfortunately read and then decided 'ok' and moved on #and now i can't look back without distaste #oh and i do know a bit about like bleach op and another i think? #oh and i also remember seeing arabic sub of hxh episodes but idk arabic so i didn't click on them #unrelated to everything in this post but i would not survive star wars #i'd see darth vader and just start LAUGHING #i won't be able to run and he'd just kill me

[forthereaderinserts]

Basic Headcannons for pokemon Y/N

. They flinch when they see people while traveling, hand going to their pokeballs. They relax when they've passed them.

. Pokemon Y/N picks fights more than Sasuke and Naruto combined.

. They also win more.

. Pokemon Y/N has gotten in trouble on multiple occasions for bringing out Lugia and attempting to start fights whenever a villiager insults their friends/teammates.

. They take a while to understand norm animals and summons. Summons were a bit easier to understand for them, but regular animals? What do you mean they don't have abilities? What do you mean they cant be my friend? What do you mean they can't understand me????

. Eventually pokemon Y/N learns how to leave the local wildlife alone.

. Pokemon Y/N cuddles woth their pokemon all the time, often times accidentally scaring someone who went to go get them and didn't expect to see Zoroark or Mimikyu

. No one understands how pokemon work and Y/N is constantly trying to explain it.

. Y/N takes one look at pein and brings out Arceus and MewTwo.

. Y/N is suddenly able to break the '6 pokemon at a time' rule and is super excited about it, no one really gets why.

. Y/N is constantly mistaking people for gym leaders or other people they knew back in their world.

. It also took a while for Y/N to understand that the big bad guys didn't just want to steal all pokemon or summons and did in fact murder people.

. Murder also took a bit to get used to.

. Y/N doesn't need running shoes to run anymore. Another thing people didn't understand.

. Magic healing hands work on pokemon??? Y/N proceeds to learn how to heal just so they can heal their pokemon.

. They absolutely love to confuse people and flex. "Yeah, you've collected a few of the tailed beasts, but do you have God? How about the creators of time and space? Or the controller of antimatter? Huh? Huh?"

. Pokemon scare most people until Y/N brings out the cute ones like Eevee and Vulpix.

. The pokemon Nintales and the narutoverse Nintales cause some confusion, surprisingly they do end up getting along after a while. Y/Ns pokemon ninetales likes naruto a lot.

I love these so much

I'm hyperfixating on Pokemon again yayyyyy

~|~

•When Y/N first shows up, no one understands why they keep talking to everyone they see and digging through trash cans. They always mutter something about hidden items and moves, it's not until they start breaking into people's houses that team 7 tries to actually stop the habit

•No one understood why they're so strict about perfect counters for chakra natures, yeah some jutsus are good for certain strategies, but you don't have to only use fire types when fighting Yamato. Please he can only take so much

•The first time they see Sasuke or Kakashi use chidori against an earth wall and break through it, they have an aneurysm

•When Y/N finds out about how many ninja die during missions, they started walking around the graveyard with a pokedoll and some ghost types

•Pokemon Y/N and Ghost Y/N would like each other, P!Y/N gets to comfort ghosts and G!Y/N gets to interact with ghosts that aren't obnoxious

•Y/N compares poffins and berries to the ninja rations and chakra pills all the time, when they pull out an X Speed or X Attack in battle people stop making fun of how soft their battle items are

•When they found out about the nine tails attack, they got so excited for the possibility of other Pokemon in the world, but were so sad to hear that their trainer was using them for evil. Even after it got cleared up that it wasn't a pokemon attack, they still felt guilty for bringing out their nine tails during battles

•When they met all the kages, they accidentally almost started a war by asking them who was the champion and who were only the elite four. They made a similar joke to the Akatsuki about who was the first gym and who was eighth

•People keep making jokes to Kakashi about how Y/N is able to use over 1,000 jutsu without needing a sharingan to copy it

•They give people nicknames based off of what type of trainer they look like or if they resemble people from their universe, and they 100% hatched some new Pokemon just to name after their new friends. IE a luxray named Sasuke and a buizel named Naruto

•Someone has definitely tried to kill them, only to be stopped by a pokemon jumping in front of the attack. They better hope that pokemon knew protect or had the sturdy ability, cause the second their pokemon goes back into their ball to rest, they're bringing out the big guys

•I hc that unless you attack Y/N out of a pokemon battle, like when they're just walking with the pokemon or they aren't out at all, they are impervious to physical attacks. If you strike them in-between switches or when one faints you could hurt them then, but you'd have to deal with a hoard of angry pokemon jumping out of their balls to protect their trainer

•The first time Y/N and Pein met, they stood there for a couple minutes pulling out ever god, legendary, and pseudo legendary they have

#ask! #naruto imagines #naruto x reader #naruto headcanons #pokemon au #naruto akatsuki x reader #naruto team 7 x reader #mod kini #i fucking love the pokemon au

[cafeinthemoon]

Gaara helping his s/o to control their power ⚡

Fandom Naruto

Characters Gaara Sabaku

Symbols 💜 . 💚 . 💛 . ▶️

Warning (s) none, just a bit of sadness but generally fluff

N. A. First of all, I know I just disappeared from Tumblr these last weeks, and this had a reason: my daily routine was so tiring that I didn't manage to create any content or even think of it. But now that I 'll finally have some time for myself I can go back to my beloved writings 💜 So please forgive me for this lack of posts and accept this request for now 🥺

So this was such an interesting request I've received long time ago and finally it’s seeing the light of the day! This time we have our dear Kazekage Gaara with a s/o whose powers are connected to Raiton (Thunder) and they go out of control when s/o has a breakdown. Having struggled to learn how to control his own powers at a very young age, Gaara might be the best person to help her in this sense. Let's see what happens then!

Gaara is very observant and empathetic, two essential qualities in the present case

He has heard about the latest incident involving your abilities and, by the description of the events, he figured out part of your power's nature and how it might work

But of course he would need to meet you in person to confirm his theories

It wasn't hard to find you: you always have lived in an isolated part of the territory, and many people could point him the directions

At first, you weren't content to see the Kazekage at your door

He was alone, but that could only mean one thing: he knew about the destruction you caused and went all by himself to finish this without involving any more people

It didn't take long until you started thinking his intentions were the opposite, however

First, he stated he wanted to talk

You were afraid, but if you tried to run, what chance would you have? It was better to see what was going to happen before trying anything

Just like he said he would do, Gaara worked to have a pacific, honest conversation with you

He wasn't judgmental despite having all the right to act like this; his questions were precise, but never sounding invasive, so that you felt respected and open to talk more

You've heard some conflicting things about his childhood and his condition as a Jinchuuriki and never thought they would resemble so much your own situation, but that was exactly what happened

Being rejected, feared as if you were a monster because of something you didn't ask to have, some mysterious power out of your control was cruel, especially for a child

He knew that reality better than anyone

Still, he had a gentleness, a kindness that you couldn't associate to the rage that was attributed to him (and that you always had in yourself)

After your consent, he offered himself to train you

Still suspicious, you accepted it. It was better than keep running, right?

It wasn't easy at first: you had no idea of the amount of force you naturally had and what to do with it, nor what triggered the lack of control

But once he explained the Natures of chakra (you had Thunder Release, according to him) and what could be done with them, you felt a bit less insecure

Soon, you noticed that his sand could neutralize the side effects of your mistakes while you trained, isolating the area and dispersing the remnants of electricity. After that, you felt at ease to explore your abilities

The next step was to create techniques with it

That was when you had most fun

It was also by that time that you started approaching each other

You found out you had other things in common besides your past: personality traits, opinions, places you liked to go, etc. It was all so natural!

Your biggest challenge now was to be accepted by the people of the Village because of the incident, still fresh in their memories

But if they remembered well, something similar happened with their Kage, yet they accepted him later

And if he was putting his trust in you, they were more likely to do the same

With time, you came to master your own power

This made you a precious member of the community

You felt that you could make your choices as any normal person now: a career, a family, friends, whatever you wanted

But in all these alternatives, Gaara was a constant: whatever you chose to be or to have, you wanted him by your side, and he wanted it as well

When, one evening, he asked you for what was the first date for both of you, you knew you were no longer running away 😌

#naruto requests #naruto asks #gaara #gaara x reader #gaara requests

[scuttle-buttle]

I’ve Been Thinking

WC: 768

Rated: M

Chapter Tags: domestic fluff, married life, discussions of gender roles/expectations, children, implied smut, breeding kink? Yeah Laszlo's got a breeding kink tell me something I don't me

🧠

When you get home from work your husband is in his study. The dim light from his desk lamp illuminates his face in soft golden tones, his brow is furrowed in thought as he peers through his round glasses at the book in front of him. You can’t help but lean on the doorframe to watch him.

“I know you’re there, Bärchen. Come in,” he commands playfully, looking up from under his lashes. You enter and perch on the side of his mahogany desk. “How was work?” He’s abandoned the text in favor of running his palm along your knee.

“It was good, long. You?”

“It was fine. I finished grading the term papers ahead of schedule. John even stopped by for a bit to show me a new video of Georgie; he’s learning to play the piano apparently.”

When John and his fiance Violet announced they were expecting you had been overjoyed. You knew he wanted a large family. Little Georgie, named for John’s late brother, was an absolute darling. His dark curls bobbed when he learned to walk and then run; of course with Laszlo as his godfather you knew he would be so smart. By the time he was 3 he was already able to read simple children's books.

But all in all, the older Georgie got the more you craved your own. You have been with Laszlo for a few years now. You were older. You had experienced the world a bit more, had the time to travel and settle into who you were meant to become. The thought of having a baby with him made your heart beat faster. You were ready.

“Laszlo, I-” “My dear-” you both start at the same time, cutting off with a smile.

Nerves bite at your tongue, so you offer “you first.”

Laszlo takes a deep breath as if to steel himself for whatever he wants to say. “My dear, I know it’s been some time since we last discussed it,” he pauses. “However, I have been thinking.”

“If you hadn’t I’d be worried,” you tease.

He rolls his eyes before growing serious once more. “I’m not getting any younger and… seeing John with his son has made me think that perhaps it’s time we talked again about children.” He taps at his beard before continuing. “I of course do not expect that you need to uphold some sort of antiquated wifely duty of producing a child, or to put your body through the physical and mental strain of pregnancy and childbirth. I would not ask you to sacrifice yourself for something that you have no interest in, should that be your stance. And of course there are always other options - surrogacy and adoption, amongst others...” He speaks rapidly, clinically. You think perhaps it's to quelch his anxieties about the topic.

“But?”

His fingers on your thigh tighten a fraction. “But, I find that despite my fears of myself and my abilities I- I want to be a father.”

His admission warms you. Even without him saying so you know he doesn’t expect anything of you. Hell, if you said you’d never wanted children he would accept it as law without question.

Sliding off his desk you push his chair back so that you can settle into his lap. His arm curls around your back. You pick up his weaker hand to hold in your own, fidgeting with his fingers. “You know, sometimes it worries me just how similar we are as people,” you start. Tilting to look at him you explain. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I think…” you swallow as you meet his eyes, “I think I’m ready to have a baby.”

“Yes?” Laszlo’s face lights up.

You nod with a smile. “I feel like I’ve reached a place in my life where it just feels right; I’m ready.” Leaning in you press a tender kiss to his lips, your fingers scratching through the thick beard you love so much. “I want to have a baby with you, Laz, and you’re going to be the best father.”

“Ich liebe dich, meine schöne Frau. So sehr.” He abruptly stands, causing you to slide from his lap and nearly fall. His left arm catches you.

“Oh! - what are you doing?”

Laszlo backs you into the edge of the desk. Lips attacking the sensitive skin under your jaw he growls in response; “I’m going to put my baby in you.”

There's no doubt that your neighbors are kept up all night by the sound of your lovemaking as your husband does just that.

Tag list 

@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams @that-one-fandom-kid @hb8301 @fandom-princess-forevermore @foggycandywitch @creme-bruhlee @andy-rocks @nonamec0s @everythingbeginsineternity-blog @uncomfortablebagel @rachelicouss @wisia02 

#laszlo kreizler x reader #laszlo kreizler #laszlo kreizler x you #daniel brühl #daniel bruhl #the alienist #the alienist fanfic #the alienist angel of darkness #daniel bruhl fanfiction #daniel bruhl x reader #daniel brühl x reader #psychopathia sexualis #the interpretation of dreams #scuttle-buttle #Peri Psyches

[cherrycocaineee]

14. Naruto Uzumaki - Best Friends

I strapped my bag over my shoulder before throwing on my sweater before heading for the front door of my apartment. It was time to go grocery shopping for the month with the small amount of change I had left from paying rent. The roads weren’t busy today, probably because in just a few moments it would be raining. Wanting to avoid the villagers all together, despite there being few of them wandering around, I hopped on top of one of the multiple roofs and jumped around to find the market. When I arrived, I jumped off the roof and bolted inside just as it started to pour. Thunder rolled against the gray clouds, lightning only poking out a bit through the blankets of puffy, rain clouds. I was thanking the stars that I had made it inside before I got rained on, and sending out another silent prayer that the rain would stop before I had to head home.

   The few people inside were giving me side glances and mumbling to one another, however, I didn’t pay attention to them and just did my shopping. After grabbing a bunch of things, I paid for my food and left the store, wanting nothing more than to get home. Luckily for me the rain had stopped, allowing me to make my way home. Once again, I took the roofs to avoid the villagers, however, I didn’t rush home like I had rushed to the market.

As I got closer to my home, I jumped off the roof and started walking past the windows. Most of them were covered with curtains, but some weren’t. I did good to keep my eyes forward, not wanting to make eye contact with someone who may have been looking out the window. But my eyes betrayed me as I passed the open window of a young boy’s home. He was laying on the bed, arms sprawled out, staring at the ceiling with his blue, teary eyes. He looked sad. And even from all the way over here, I could hear his stomach growling. I could see inside his home, and saw that there was no food inside his building. He was hungry.

  Having an idea, I ran home as quickly as I could and practically slammed the door closed behind me as I headed to the kitchen with my groceries. I started digging through my pantry until I found a basket holding all of my hand towels. Dumping the towels out onto my counter, I started going through my food to see what I could give to him. Packages of cup noodles, giving him most of them since ramen wasn’t my favorite dish, some fruits and vegetables, one of the two loaves of bread I had bought, eggs, milk, and some of the other things. Once I was finished packing everything together, I didn’t waste time leaving my home again and headed back towards that young boy’s home.

  When I arrived at the window from earlier, I noticed that he wasn’t inside anymore. So I decided to sit on the ledge and wait for him. It must have rained while I was inside my apartment because there were drips of fresh water falling from the ledge of the open window. I was surprised that his bed wasn’t wet. Thirty minutes passed before I heard the opening and closing of the front door behind me. I swirled around and came face to face with the blue eyed boy. He was staring right at me when he entered.

  “Who are you?” He inquired, his eyes narrowing.

  “My name is Akiko Haninozuka,” I introduced, “I was walking by earlier and heard your stomach growling so I went home to make you this.”

  I held up the basket of food. His eyes widened and he came bouncing towards me, a grin spreading across his face as he took the basket from me. After taking the basket from me, he waved for me to come inside; his grin still plastered on his face. That’s when I really took his face in; there were these whisker-like things on his cheeks. I climbed into the window, avoiding his bed all together so I wouldn’t get the bedding dirty.

  “What’s your name?” I inquired curiously.

  “I’m Naruto Uzumaki,” he informed cheerfully.

   The name sounded familiar and I tried to think hard about where I had heard the name from. Then I remembered that many of the villagers, when they weren’t talking about me, were speaking about another kid named Naruto. This must have been him. Naruto began putting the groceries away while I walked around his home. It was a bit untidy but not a lot. When Naruto finished putting his food up, he turned towards me.

  “Thank you for bringing me some food,” he said, “I really appreciate it.”

 “It was no problem at all,” I smiled.

   The two of us decided that we’d hang out for a little bit. He wanted to go to the park and play like all of the other kids did when they weren’t in school. So that’s where we were headed, Naruto was holding a bouncy, red ball as we walked. The entire walk home we conversed about ourselves, learning that we had many things in common. Both of our parents weren’t in the picture and we lived alone.

By the time we got to the park, the rain clouds had finally dispersed, and there were tons of children our age already enjoying the welcoming, hot sun. Most of the kids avoided us while staring with slight disgust but others just did what they were doing before we even showed up. Naruto and I went to a small area of the park and started rolling the ball with each other. We shared a laugh as the rolling turned into kicking the ball back and forth.

   Soon we started doing other things like swinging, chasing the butterflies, playing chase, and running towards some type of lake or river. We were having so much fun that we didn’t even notice that the sun was going down until it was completely pitch black. Now we were sitting in the dark while Naruto was trying to start a fire to warm us up, neither of us wanting to go home to absolutely no one.

  “Ah-ha!” Naruto cheered as the flames erupted making me smile and clap my hands.

 “You did it!” I giggled, “you’re awesome, Naruto!”

  Naruto’s head snapped up as he faced me, a sheepish grin plastered on his face.

  “Thanks, Akiko,” he said.

*Time Skip*

       Faded steam rose from the pan on my stove as I stirred all of the vegetables inside. From the other room, I could hear Hanako and Takashi playing a game with Kakashi causing a smile to appear on my face. Having my family sitting in the next room and enjoying each other's company. As I was finishing up some of the cooking, there was a knock on the front door.

  “I got it,” Kakashi called from the living room.

 “Thank you,” I hummed back.

    A few moments passed before Kakashi walked in with our guest, Naruto Uzumaki. Or technically now, the Seventh Hokage. I smiled kindly.

 “Naruto,” I greeted, “what brings you here?”

  “I was wondering if maybe you and I could speak,” he said, “it’s been a while since we’ve just been able to talk.”

  I nodded my head, “just give me a few moments so I could finish up dinner.”

 “It’s alright, honey,” Kakashi said, touching my shoulder, “I’ll finish up. You go with Naruto.”

After making sure that my husband was actually okay with me leaving, I followed Naruto out the front door while waving goodbye to my kids. While we walked, I asked Naruto how everything at home was going for him. He wowed me with stories of how his family went on picnics together, how his day with Himawari went during Parent Day, and so much more. I was genuinely happy for Naruto; he finally had everything he could possibly want in life. We both did.

  Somehow, Naruto and I managed to make our way back to the lake where he started the fire so long ago when we first met. No one knew how much the two of us would later depend on each other, how we would grow up to be practically inseparable even into our adult years. I’m sure plenty of people were shocked when we didn’t end up getting married but our love for each other was much different than his and Hinata’s or mine and Kakashi’s. It was pure family love.

   Naruto quickly started a fire to keep us warm and joined me on the log we had placed here long ago. It was silent for a while, listening to the sound of crickets and toads in the background. My blue-eyed friend looked up at the darkening sky, the stars twinkling, and the moon that illuminated over the lake.

  “Remember when the moon was falling?” He asked, eyes still staring upwards.

 “Well, of course,” I muttered, “I almost died so it’s not something that I would easily forget.”

  The two of us laughed.

  “I sure do miss the old day,” he continued, “team 7 going on missions with Kakashi. The many team dinners we had together when we were away. And I especially miss Pervy Sage.”

  “Me too. But now look at us. We’ve got beautiful kids and loving spouses, our friends are still around and they’re supportive. Our lives are great now just as they were when we were younger.”

  He laughed again and scratched the back of his head, his eyes were closed. I giggled too.

  “You’re much more optimistic about our childhood than I am.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

 Naruto folded his arms in front of him and sighed.

  “Thank you, Akiko.”

  “For what?”

  “For being there for me. Back then, everyone shunned me and kept me at a distance while telling their own kids to not play with me. But you were there for me, no matter what. Even when we were both bullied much worse after we started hanging out, after I told you that I didn’t want anything to happen to you, you still told me that you’d never leave.”

  I remembered that day. Three kids had come up to us while we were playing a board game outside to enjoy the nice weather. They walked over to us and kicked our game pieces before they started harassing the two of us. Calling us freaks and saying how neither of us should hang out with one another because together we were dangerous. At the time, neither of us knew what they meant at the time. But it didn’t matter. After the three of them finished shouting insults at us and hitting us, Naruto had told me that if I didn’t want to be his friend anymore because of it he’d understand. However, I told him that was ridiculous and that I liked hanging out with him. So the two of us continued our friendship.

  “Things were different back then,” I whispered, “and I’ll never forget it because it made the two of us closer.”

  “It sure did. Our parents would have been proud.”

 “Our parents, our teachers, everyone who stood by us.”

  Naruto wrapped his arm around my shoulder and hauled me up in a swift motion.

  “Let’s get home to our families, huh.”

 Nodding my head, I followed Naruto out of the lake area, letting the fire finish burning down what was lit. The ashes, soot, and smoke all collected in the air as we got further and further away. I was smiling the entire way home, feeling absolutely lucky to have a great friend like Naruto by my side. And I knew he felt the same way.

#naruto fanfiction #naruto uzumaki #naruto x reader #naruto uzumaki x reader #naruto imagines #naruto uzumaki imagine #imagines #naruto fluff #naruto uzumaki fluff #naruto fanfic #naruto uzumaki fanfic #fanfiction #naruto uzumaki fanfiction #Naruto Shippuden #naruto shonen jump #boruto #best friend #smut #naruto smut

[sup-hoes-its-me]

Hi hun! Hope you’re doing well! Could a request a Shikamaru fic! I was thinking maybe it’s obvious to everyone that Shikamaru and Reader like each-other (except themselves of course). But a mission where they have to pretend to be a couple and they finally confess.

😘

Pretenders (Shikamaru x Reader)

A/N: another request. Im not super proud of this one, i really got stuck halfway through and i think that shows here. Thanks for requesting though, and hopefully you still enjoy. Trigger Warning for sexual assault.

word count: 6500

“So, you two set out on a mission tonight right?” Ino asked, leaning her cheek in her hand, nodding toward her two friends across the booth.

“Yep. Supposedly 3 weeks,” Y/N told her. “I won’t get to see you guys for so long.” The girl took a quick sip of her lemonade and sighed. It was a substantial amount of time. It’d been a while since she’d gone somewhere so intensive.

Shikamaru and Y/N had only a couple more hours before they were to be briefed on the details of otheir next mission and whisked away to a far away land for yet another tedious job. Y/N was perfectly fine with the premise of going on a 3 week mission, she’d been home too long and longed for some kind of adventure. She still wasn’t sure the caliber of the mission, nor did she even know where or what they were doing, but she was excited nonetheless.

Shikamaru, of course, wasn’t too fond of the entire idea. Yes, he was more than happy to find out his mission partner was Y/N L/N. Out of all the people he could have been paired with, she was most definitely the least annoying. He really felt like Kakashi had his back lately with missions, giving him ones that were semi decent, and sending him out with his friends. He was certainly grateful for the Hokage’s assignments.

Choji added from his spot near the wall, taking a second away from munching on his lunch. “It won’t be so bad. You guys have each other, after all. How could things get boring when you have your little girlfriend with you, Shikamaru, am I right?”

“Choji…” Shikamaru groaned, pressing his fingers to either side of his temples. These sorts of things borhered the hell out of him. The constant teasing from everyone, not just his teammates, but literally teachers, other squads, his mother, her grandmother. They weren’t dating. They never were dating.

Yet every person in this damned town was under the assumption there was something going on between them. Really, he was just trying to live his life.

Did he want to date her? Yes, a million times over, yes. She was literally perfect, he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. But was Y/N at all interested? Definitely not. She was more oblivious than Naruto was with Hinata, and that’s saying a lot. She seemed to ignore everyone when they made jokes, she thought all his measly attempts at flirting were just normal conversation even when he treated Ino completely differently. She wasn’t a dumb girl either. She was smart in her own right.

That’s why he’d begun to think she was maybe avoiding his advances on purpose. That she didn’t like him and she was trying to let him down easy. It was stupid really, and he wished she would just come out with it already, tell him to his face that she just wanted to be friends. It was frustrating, to say the least, but he kept trying.

He could safely say he hadn’t felt this way for another girl in his entire life, and he wouldn’t give up that easily. He really just wanted other people to mind their business. That’s the reason he shot down all the jokes and comments from his friends. They didn’t need to know about his lovelife, that was personal.

Ino smirked, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and letting a laugh leave her lips. “Come on, Choji. You know how Shika feels about you teasing him.”

“Fine. But you gotta admit it’s funny.”

They continued on with their conversation, Shikamaru groaning at their jokes and the other two laughing the entire time. That was how it usually went. Y/N just listened quietly, sipping away at her lemonade. Those two, his teammates, they always made jokes, it was normal. She was constantly labeled Shikamaru’s girlfriend, and each time he denied it. Over and over again. He didn’t let a single instance slide by.

That’s how she knew to avoid the subject. To keep her feelings to herself. There was no point in confessing to him when he was already so adamant at keeping their relationship out of other people’s mouths. She was a troublesome girl, anyone who thought he saw her as anything different was delusional.

So she kept quiet, just listening.

Each time someone joked, her stomach would turn and she would wait for him to say something, for him to admit they were right, for him to get flushed in the cheeks, for him to reach out and hold her hand and confess his feelings, and each time she was let down brutally. After enough times getting her heart broken, it was only inevitable she give up this false hope. There was no digging her way into his cold heart. He was so closed off, to get inside...it seemed like an impossible feat.

She wasn’t willing to fight for him anymore. It was tiring, and they never got anywhere.

After enough time, she stopped crying herself to sleep. She stopped talking about her crush with Hinata and Ino when the boys weren’t around. She still looked at him with all the love she had to give. He was the best man she knew, how could she not. She just stopped wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen. She stopped investing so much of her time and energy into a useless, pointless dream.

She was tired of running endlessly in circles, over and over again. All because of his dumbass.

Maybe with time, she could try and get over him. With time she could learn to like him the same way as all their other friends. It was always just the little things that would pull her back in every time. It was the walks home at night when she was tired, or she had too many drinks and he’d wrap his arm around her waist and hold her so tight to his side she could feel his heart beating. It was the times he’d lay beside her in the grass and run his fingers through her hair splayed out over the ground. It was the times he would hold her silently as she cried for her mother and father who’d died, and he would rub her back until she could breathe again.

Every single fucking time she got close, the moments she felt she might not be desperately in love with him anymore, he came right in and stole her heart again. It wasn’t his fault, he was just being a good friend, but God, did it hurt sometimes.

And it wasn’t Ino and Choji’s fault for talking about it. It was so fucking obvious she liked him. Y/N followed Shikamaru around like a lost puppy half the time, what else were they supposed to think? They were just wrong in their assumptions that she was anything more to Shikamaru himself. That the boy thought of her as anything more than a troublesome friend who was always needing help with something or another.

She drank the last bit of her drink and set down the glass. “We better be heading to the Hokage tower soon. It’s almost time, and he still has to debrief us and all, “ she told the boy at her right.

“Yeah. I’ll go get my bag from home first and we’ll meet up there?”

“Got it,” Y/N slid out of the booth and waved to her friends. “See you when we get back.”

“Bye, Y/N!” Ino called as the girl left the restaurant with her book bag over her shoulder. She sighed, sinking down into her seat and glaring over at the pineapple head across from them. “You gotta make your move on this mission, Shika. Stop being such a scaredy cat.”

“Listen, you guys don’t know anything about anything, okay? She doesn’t like me that way. She never has.”

“I never thought I’d have to say this, but you’re dumb, man,” Choji laughed. “She obviously likes you.”

“Yeah, yeah. All of you seem to think that but you don’t see how she is with me. We are purely friends. That’s it.”

“Whatever, man,” he waved off the boy’s stern reply and added, “ Have fun on your trip with Y/N. Hope you get lucky.” Those words caused Shikamaru to heat up from his neck to the tips of his ears and he promptly slid out from his seat, straightening his vest as he did so to try and calm himself. That was unnecessary of his friend to say, for sure.

He turned to them once more and nodded his head. “See you around.”

“See you!”

Now all he needed to do was get his things together and meet up with the girl of his dreams for their weeks long mission. Fun times. Especially now that his friends made him annoyed and frustrated with the entire situation again. He’d have to calm down before seeing her soon.

_______

“We’re doing what?” Y/N asked, staring down at their Hokage in disbelief. He’d been detailing their mission and everything seemed normal so far, infiltrating and learning information about a budding coup in a far away nation just on the edge of the Land of Earth and The Land of Wind. It seemed easy enough at first, but then he kept going.

Kakashi sighed. “I said, you two are to be disguised as a princess and her consort from the Land of Sunflowers. The leaders of this land are expecting these royal visitors and you will be taking their place.”

“So, like, he’s gonna be my husband?” she asked for clarification again. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand his words, it was that she didn’t want to believe them. This was her worst nightmare. They would have to pretend to be in a relationship? Shikamaru was going to hate this more than anything and it would be uncomfortable the entire time.

Why did Kakashi have to pick them two, of all his shinobi? Why?

“Yes. That won’t be a problem for two close friends such as yourselves. After all, that’s why I picked you. You have some kind of dynamic going I feel your targets will find believable.” Shikamaru cursed the heavens. Even the fucking Hokage thought they were involved. This was ridiculous. Now this long ass mission he was already dreading was made ten times worse with this awkward situation. “We’re not gonna have a problem, are we?”

It would be okay though. He just had to take a few deep breaths. That’s all.

“No, sir, of course not. I’m ready for anything you throw at me,” she declared, straightening her back and letting the heat fade from her cheeks. She was embarrassed, obviously, but she couldn’t let the Hokage know. It was easier talking to Kakashi though, much easier than Tsunade. Kakashi watched them grow up, he knew them personally from helping them train. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be flustered.

“You’ll take those bags with you. They have some more suitable clothing for royalty. Put them on when you get close to the village. Throw out any indicators you’re from the Leaf as well.”

“Okay.”

“You’re dismissed. Leave as soon as possible,” the gray haired shinobi told them. She nodded and threw the bag over her shoulder, tossing the other one over to Shikmaru who caught it and slung it onto his back. He definitely wasn’t happy about any of this, but maybe it was a sign.

Ino and Choji told him to confess his feelings to her on this mission. Kakashi just told them they would be pretending to be a married couple. As he watched her walking in front of him down the Tower stairs, her head just barely dipped as she absorbed all the information running through her mind, he wondered if maybe this was his opportunity. A make or break type scenario. He had three weeks to figure out how to tell her how he felt in a more direct way than he’d tried before.

He worked out all the scenarios and their outcomes in his head millions of times and every time they ended in disaster. For someone so great at strategy, he sure did struggle with this one.

“So, I guess we’re married now. Should we start kissing or something?” she asked awkwardly as they reached the bottom of the stairs, shifting back and forth from her toes to her heels. He stopped, more like froze, in his path and stared at her.

“Now you're just making it weird,” he replied. “We aren’t even there yet.”

“I know, I was kidding. Trying to lighten the mood, you know,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Of course he would reply like that. He didn’t like her at all, he couldn’t even take a fucking joke. Had to get all upset over it like a baby, all because he was so set on never dating her ever, never even entertaining the thought. She rolled her eyes, “You don’t have to be so rude about it, geez.”

She kept walking before he could reply. He had a feeling this trip was going to be a lot worse than anyone had anticipated. He was nervous, grumpy, and preparing for the worst. In fact, what he really wanted was a nice long nap.

_________

The dresses that Kakashi packed for her were...extravagant to say the least. They flowed all the way down to her ankles, thick heavy hoop skirts embroidered from head to toe with symbols of the land of sunflowers. She felt strange with her shoulders exposed and her body on display in these outfits which were so unlike the pants and t-shirts she wore when she was back at home or on a normal mission. She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and sighed, feeling at least a little covered.

Shikamaru had nice clothes, but they were nothing in comparison to her wild dresses and all the bright colors of the fabric. He looked semi-normal. She was jealous, admittedly, that he still got to wear pants and shirts. He said she looked good in the dress, he actually told her about a dozen times, reassuring over and over again that she looked fine, but she didn’t believe him. She wasn’t dainty, how could she look beautiful when she clearly didn't belong in something so delicate?

Still, when they walked up to the gates of the Land of Shadows, they were greeted like the royalty they pretended to be. They were swept away to the main castle to meet with the King and his wife. It was nearly dinner time, and they were to eat with them as a greeting. It made sense, but Y/N felt herself growing more nervous with the second. She didn’t know the first thing about being a princess, or acting like a monarch. All she knew was fighting and joking with her friends.

Not only that, but how could she convince them that she and Shikamaru were in a relationship? Y/N wasn’t sure they possessed the right dynamic and even if they tried, it would be obvious they were uncomfortable with each other. It was all making her heart race, and she had to take a few deep breaths as they entered the dining room.

But her companion...he knew what he was doing. He was going to put on quite the show, take advantage of the situation. If this week and a half was his only chance to hold Y/N in his heart, than he wouldn't let any opportunities slip by.

Without warning, she found that Shikamaru had reached over and wrapped her hand up in his bigger one, clutching at her shaking fingers. He was so steady, she found herself sinking into his touch. It was comforting, more so than she thought it could be, given the circumstances. His skin was just so warm and soft against hers, it was only natural she felt safer.

“Ah, Princess Ayaka, Duke Hisashi. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” a man called from his place at the table. His wife was sitting beside him, her soft smile only reaching her lips not nearing her eyes. Y/N caught that immediately. Her distance. Silently, she took note of that as the King approached them, extending his arms for an embrace.

“It’s an honor to meet you, your highness,” Shikamaru replied with a smile, an obvious fake one, but damn was he good. She watched as he hugged the man so earnestly, as if he’d sunken right into the role of consort without an issue. She’d have to ask him tonight how he was so good at acting.

“And your beautiful wife,” he extended his hand to the girl and she raised it hesitantly, receiving a soft kiss to the back of her palm. “Come take a seat. Dinner will be served soon.”

The pair took their seats beside each other on the opposite side of the table, Y/N directly across from the Queen, who looked up at her for merely a moment only to sigh and go back to fiddling with the curve of her wine glass. "Your highness," Y/N hummed to the woman who nodded.

"Oh what a dream, to be young and in love," she said. "I remember the days."

"Please dear! To me, you will always be my beautiful young wife! We share a love to last a lifetime," the king cheered, placing his hand over that of his wife's as he took his seat at the table. "I apologize for her gloom. She's been going through a rough patch. We are more than overjoyed to have you here."

"It's fine. We all have our bad days," the girl replied softly.

After a few minutes of small talk, just dipping their feet into the conversation, a couple servants brought out plates of food and wine bottles full of vintage drink truly meant for the highest of royalty. Compared to the plain sake she had drank at home, this was liquid gold dripping down her throat. Shikamaru sent her a warning look. Y/N was known to be quite the lightweight, and even a couple glasses of wine could send her into a tipsy stupor. He really knew her too well, so hyperaware of the things she did.

"So, how did you two meet?" their host asked, taking a moment away from the chicken in front of him. "It's said that you married for love, not arrangement. That's true?"

Y/N and Shikamaru hadn't been versed very well on the details, just on the basics. Her heart beat increased, stress building up. Her lies would have to be good.

"Yes. You've heard right. He was my friend before anything else. We met as children." That much she knew for sure after reading the mission summary.

"Oh wow. Childhood lovers. Very sweet," the queen sighed, resting her cheek in her palm.

Y/N would be lying if she didn't feel a bit of similarities between her own story and that of the real princess she was pretending to be. Shikamaru and Y/N grew up together, for as long as she could remember. She started to love him before she even really knew what love was. It only made sense she pretended to be a princess in the same situation.

And when he held her hand again, this time under the table, his thumb brushing over her knuckles so softly she thought she might melt. Her cheeks began to heat up under his touch and she smiled. It was so nice holding his hand, pretending to care about each other this way. Not that she needed to pretend.

Dinner droned on, and she continued to hold his hand the entire time, besides when they were spooning at their food. For once on a mission, it felt like they were completely at peace. Of course, they were both supposed to be analyzing the movements of everyone around them to make sure no one was planning a coup like Kakashi told them. But she couldn’t held but cherish the moments of calmness and warmth between everyone.

The King and his wife were genuinely some of the kindest people she’d ever met, whether they were just acting that way or not. It was a pleasure to have dinner with them, talking and laughing like an uncle would with his nieces and nephews. It had that same energy, talking to him.

“Hisashi, you wouldn’t mind accompanying me to my library? I have some books I think you might enjoy,” the man said, standing from the table. The rest of them slid out of their chairs after him, and she had to brush down her skirts to make sure everything was in line. It was tedious, wearing these outfits without any prior warning. She felt like a clown. The Queen was so effortless in her movements, how could she not feel stupid standing beside someone so regal?

“That sounds great, your majesty-”

“Not necessary. Call me Shoto, that’s my name after all, and you are an honored guest,” he laughed. He reached over and gave his wife a gentle kiss on the cheek before turning on his heel and heading toward the door. She really expected Shikamaru to just leave with just a simple goodbye, or a “I’ll see you tonight” kind of thing.

Definitely not this.

He was gonna go all out this time around.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered, just loud enough for only her to hear, over her shoulder into her ear. When his warm breath hit her skin, shivers ran up and down her spine. Her eyes widened and she turned to stare up at him, cursing herself when she felt heat rise up in her cheeks and burn the tips of her ears. Was he serious, or just teasing her? He always liked to crack jokes like that.

But when she felt his rough hand pressed to her cheek, lifting her face ever so carefully to meet his, she knew he wasn’t messing around. His eyes met hers for a split second, and she could have sworn he winked down at her before pressing his lips to hers.

Honestly, she thought she might have a heart attack right there in the dining room. Shikamaru was kissing her. It felt even better than she dreamed it would. Chapped lips running against hers, heat pooling in her stomach, heart pounding in her chest.

As soon as it started, though, the kiss was over, and he took a step back. "See you tonight, Princess."

She was keen on catching the smirk on his lips, and the way he laughed to himself as he walked out of the room with the King before him.

Y/N stood there silently, her fingers pressed to her lips, breath caught in her throat. The boy she’d wanted for so long just kissed her like it was nothing, and she was left all alone to deal with this predicament, all the feelings that came rushing in after. All she knew for sure, whether he was serious or not, was that she really, seriously liked him. She liked him a lot more than she thought.

And now they had a whole week and a half of fake kisses and hand holding to endure. Jeez.

__________

“You know, you’re nothing like the other princesses I’ve met,” the guard said to her as she waited for Shikamaru to show up. He was still out with the King practicing archery. Apparently that was a hobby a lot of these rich country men had. So far, she wasn’t suspecting a thing out of the King or any of his closest acquaintances. They were nice as could be and seemed sincere in their intentions toward the village alliances. She had no reason to suspect them, and was beginning to think a coup was just as Kakashi thought, a mere rumor.

That made things a lot easier.

She sighed, tapping her fingers on her wrist. She wasn’t a fan of having a guard watching her every second of the day, especially not the talkative ones. This one was strange. He gave off this energy she couldn’t describe as anything other than creepy.

“Yeah? That’s nice,” she muttered.

“It’s just, usually princesses are pompous, full of themselves, spoiled women. You aren’t the same,” he continued, even if it was obvious she wanted him to shut up and go about his business while she did hers. She felt uncomfortable being alone in this land, without any of her weapons or the ability to fight back if someone was acting sketchy. She was forced to sit by like some little, ditsy princess just watching and observing.

Honestly, though, Shikamaru was probably having a great time. All he had to do was eat with the royalty, play board games, shoot some arrows, and then go to sleep. There was no extensive fighting or thinking going on, just sitting around observing and waiting for something suspicious to happen.

The queen would normally hang out with the female guests but thanks to her bouts of depression she stayed in her room, leaving Y/N completely at the mercy of time. So much time passed, and she was bored of it.

“I’m honestly just another princess. You’d be surprised though. Many princesses are just as modest as I am, it’s not all that uncommon,” she commented, taking a peek over at the man, only to quickly look away. He had quite the hungry look on his face, and if her eyes hadn’t deceived her, his own were trained right on her breasts. Damn these dresses.

Y/N wrapped her arms across her chest and slumped down, trying to hide herself from this weird man watching over her. Only, it seemed impossible. He was so much taller, could just look over her shoulder. She couldn’t run away and raise suspicion. She had to sit here and wait for someone else to break the tension.

She was scared.

“I meant that as a compliment. You say thank you when someone compliments you, yeah?” he mumbled, a firm hand reaching out to snatch her wrist. It hurt, his grip on her arm, and she winced at the feeling. “Say thank you.”

She bit her lip and refused to meet his eyes, instead focusing on his hands. If she needed to, she would defend herself but only to a small extent. She couldn’t blow her cover just because some guard was manhandling her. Take a deep breath, Y/N. It’s gonna be okay. Just calm down.

“T-Thank you,” she gulped, hoping he would drop her wrist. But he didn’t. He only held on tighter.

He smiled, yellow teeth showing through his thin lips. “See, you are a good girl, aren’t you?” he questioned, and she felt his other hand run up her waist. All she could do was whimper, shivers running up her spine and any skin this man laid his hands on. The only hope she had was that another guard come walking around and see them.

It was unlikely, but she prayed for a savior to make their appearance.

His hand worked its way down to her ass, and she felt him squeeze. Vomit rose up in her throat and she squirmed away, pressing herself against the wall as tight as she could so his hands had nowhere to go. Instead, he took to fondling her breasts in his hands. She could only bite her lips and feel the tears bubble up in her eyes as he pushed down the fabric of her top and pressed his filthy palms against her skin.

“What the fuck?” a voice cursed from behind them. The guard was torn off of her form and she brought up her hands to cover herself, tears still dripping thickly from her eyes as she cried, little breathy sobs leaving her lips. Shikamaru stood there, hands shaking at his sides as he glared over at the guard. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. Y/N watched as her friend turned red in the face, burning up with an anger she rarely saw from him, if ever.

“You tell me, your highness. Your wife seduced me!” the guard cried, clearly lying to cover himself and his sins.

The eyes of all three men, the guard, Shikamaru, and the King standing near the footwell of the stairs, turned to her. She just cried harder, shaking like a leaf in front of everyone. “He grabbed me and started to touch me, and-and I couldn’t do anything,” Y/N told them all through her pained cries.

The King marched up the steps and grabbed his guard by the arm, yanking him toward the doorway to enter the castle. He appeared worn from his workout, tired and sweaty, but he was awake enough to realize the severity of the situation. He bowed low to Y/N and her companion.

His apology ran thick from his mustached lips, “This is unacceptable. Honored guests, I apologize for everything that’s happened. I will take care of this, I assure you. Please, don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need tonight.” Shikamaru nodded, and they watched as the pair of men walked into the castle, no doubt to find another guard to incarcerate the guard in question.

Shikamaru turned to her and winced, seeing her dress pushed down below her breasts and the tremors running through her hands desperate to cover them. He watched as hot, heavy tears ran thick down her cheeks and her lips quivered and shook with fear and trauma. Gently, he moved her hands to the side and brought her dress back up to cover her chest. He worked carefully, making sure not to startle her or make things worse.

The woman sunk into his touch, leaning her head against his shoulder and sobbing. “It’s gonna be okay, Y/N. You’re safe now.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her close to his chest, pressing a soft, gentle hand to the back of her head to stroke her hair. “I’m so sorry. I won’t leave you alone again, okay?”

“Shika, “ she whimpered, “I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. I couldn’t do anything to defend myself and there was no one else around to help me. I-I didn’t know what to do.”

“I know. You must have been so scared,” he whispered. She just nodded against his shoulder, crying deeper into his chest. He hugged her tighter and swore to himself, even if he couldn't make it happen, that he would protect her. This kind of thing would never happen to her again if he had any say at all. “I promise this won’t happen again.”

"I've just never been in that position before. I always have the upper hand. It was awful. I was so scared and I wanted to cry for you to come help me but I didn't know where you were."

"God, I'm sorry," he mumbled, hugging her tighter in a desperate attempt to calm her shaking. He just wanted for her to be better, even if he knew that wasn't an option right now.

He felt so hopeless, knowing the only thing he could do was promise, to say things without any actual basis behind them. He was just whispering words to the wind hoping they would stick and he was right. He cursed himself for not being there in the first place to protect her, to make sure something like this never happened in the first place. He really was useless when she needed him the most.

He wouldn’t even argue if she said she wanted to go home, if she never wanted to see him again. He let her down. For the first time ever, he let her down in the most terrible, awful way he could think of. And now she was crying and he didn’t know how to make it better. He was really trash.

For now, all he could do though was hug her and promise her the world, all these things that might make her feel safe and comfortable, make her feel less alone and scared. It was the least he could do.

________

Finally, after a long evening of socializing and another huge dinner literally fit for a king, Y/N found herself stripping off her gowns and heavy undergarments, switching into something much lighter and comfortable for the night.

She was tired from the day. From being left alone for the good part of the morning just sitting in the sun waiting around. She was tired from the assault on her body by the guard whom was supposedly in jail right now for his actions. She was tired from all the crying and the shaking. She was just tired.

Shikamaru was out, finishing up drinks with the King and some of his subordinates for the time being, so she sunk down into the mattress near the far wall, curling up under the down covers and pulling a book from the table beside her. Anything to ease her mind for a while. She felt safe being alone in the confides of the bedroom, knowing that her friend was right down the hall if she needed him.

She scanned the pages of the novel quietly, humming each time she turned a page, leaning on her elbow so the pages would be illuminated in the candlelight.

After about an hour, the door slid open and her companion entered, shutting the door silently behind him. "You aren't asleep? I expected you to be after such a long day."

"I'm tired, but I'm not in the mood for sleep yet," she shrugged, still skimming through the pages of her novel. "Did you have fun?"

"Nah. It's such a drag having to hang out with that old man. He's nice but he never stops talking." He took off his coats and tossed them onto a chair, kicking off his heavy boots and thick socks. "Annoying, having to wear all this fancy shit too."

"Trust me, I know." She shifted over in the bed so he had more space to lay himself down, kicking out his legs and crossing his ankles. "Do you know what's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

He nodded, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side to peek at her face. His eyes slid down to the novel turned over in her hands and smirked, "Yeah. You've got book club. Have fun with that." She tossed her book back on the table beside her and instead curled further into the blankets.

His eyes caught hers and he smiled, one of those undeniably handsome intoxicating smiles she loved so deeply. "You know, you look kinda cute like that."

"Huh?"

He shrugged, "All curled up under the blankets like a little baby. It's cute. I'm just calling it how I see it."

If she wasn't flustered before, she definitely was now. He was undeniably making her feel some sort of way, and she was loving the attention. He was being so bold, so unlike him. She questioned what had compelled him to act like this, to say such things. They weren't in character anymore, it wasn't like he had to say these things.

"Thanks, Shika." She felt dumb but what was she supposed to say? She was overwhelmed. "But we're alone now. You don't have to act all lovey-dovey."

He crossed his arms beneath his head and sighed, eyes gazing up at the canopy. He mumbled, just loud enough to reach her ears, “When this is all over, I’m gonna miss you being my princess.” She peered over at him in the candlelit room, making out his faint silhouette in the darkness. Her heart fluttered in her chest at his sweet words. She never imagined in a million years Shikamaru would say these things to her, and now that it was happening she didn’t know how to react.

She dreamed of this moment for a while now. The thoughts of Shikamaru confessing his feelings and then her falling into his arms dramatically. It was a fantasy of hers, a guilty pleasure. Far too dramatic to ever be a reality.

That's why she was too shocked to meet his eyes. His princess. Those words made her woozy.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not stupid. You know what I'm talking about," he said calmly.

"You don't want things to go back to normal?" Y/N asked, hesitant. She felt nervous, diving into these waters. Each words felt like it held so much weight. It was a puzzle, just finding the right thing to say, how to reply to his statement. "Just friends, like before?"

"Is that what you want?"

And when she really thought about it, he was right. She didn't want to go back to normal. She wanted to continue holding his hand, kissing his cheek and his lips, loving each other with their words and their gazes and all the little touches. She wanted all of this to last and as the mission came to a close, she found herself worrying for the future empty of all those things.

She shook her head, just barely able to bring her eyes up to meet his. He looked bored, but she knew he cared. He cared a lot, actually. "I-I think I'd like if we could stay like this."

"Falling in love with you, Y/N, was one of the easiest things I've ever done. Finding the right time to tell you, that's been troublesome," he confessed, blowing a stray piece of hair from his eyes. "You never seemed emotionally available, really."

"I always was. I was always waiting for you, Shikamaru. Ever since we were just teenagers, I've been waiting for you," she told him, letting her heart finally come out with her words. "I just thought you wanted to be friends. Before this mission, I had completely given up on being with you, but then everything seemed to fall into place on this trip."

"When Kakashi told us we would be married for this mission, I have to admit, I got excited." He rolled onto his side to face her. She was still curled up in her blanket, and he felt like he was melting. The most beautiful woman in the entire world right in front of him, his heart playing right into her hands. He was okay with that. He was okay with this girl having his entire soul if that meant he would see that smile and those eyes peering up at him.

He wasn't a romantic man. Far from it. But she brought out a side of him he'd only heard about from love struck novelists, such kinds Kakashi sensei would read.

"I just knew I'd have to shoot my shot with you," he finished, sending a wink her way. She truly was swoon, like putty in his hands. Her words came faster than she could think to stop them.

"Shikamaru, I think I love you. When you kissed me for the first time, I knew it was true. All these feelings for the past few years weren’t in vain. I love you."

"The feeling is mutual."

The girl crawled out from under the blankets and over to him on the other side of the mattress. Her arms wound around his neck and as best she could, she curled into his chest. Her ear pressed to his heart, beating loud and constant in her mind. He was more than happy to let her cuddle up to him, in fact, he relished in the feeling.

This is what he'd been missing out on all this time. The hugs. The cuddles. The looks in the dark full of love and longing. It was nice, to lay there with someone he knew for sure, without any doubt, loved him to the moon and back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter to his tired form, letting her sink further into his touch.

Kakashi knew what he was doing sending them. Two lovers with a mask over their emotions, straight into a game full of dancing around their feelings and pretending to be something they always wanted to be. Everything played out perfectly, a happy ending for a couple of worthy shinobi.

He was happy. That's all he could ask for.

#shikamaru x reader #shikamaru x y/n #naruto x reader #naruto imagines #shikamaru nara #shikamaru imagine #shikamaru one shot #naruto oneshot #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto imagine #i HATE this one omg #fuck this story i struggled so badly #sorry requester but i couldn't vibe with this but i did my best hope you still like #my shitty writing omg #read my kakashi fics for something good lmao

[rayshippouuchiha]

How does Kakashi discover Naruto's name? Or does he get his head out of his ass and realized he just needs to ask?

This is Kakashi we’re talking about so of course he doesn’t.  Instead Naruto gifts it to him:

It’s evening, the air is thick with heat and so heavy with the promise of rain that Kakashi can practically taste it.  The storm rolling in promises to be a harsh one, the heat of the dying day and the wind already whispering through the trees telling a story Kakashi learned to read as a pup.

But none of that matters to him.  Not now.  Not when every spare inch of his attention is so firmly focused elsewhere.

On the body moving across from him.

On his new bride.

They’d spent the day together, just as they’d spent every day for the past few weeks together.  Just, Kakashi realizes now, as they’d spent the months leading up to Kakashi being called away together.

The nights too.  Only now, instead of warm fur and the steady, comforting, breathing of his kitsune friend beside him on his bed, Kakashi has had to deal with something so much ... more.

Long, silken tails that flick and drag almost teasingly across his body, smooth skin and firm muscles, sweetly dipping curves and hair that always smells of sun warm satsuma and a light musk. A delicious scent that makes Kakashi’s teeth itch with the urge to bite.  All of that and a lithe body seemingly determined to plaster itself across every single inch of Kakashi’s.

Each night has been a test of patience and restraint.  A sweet sort of torture that leaves Kakashi aching in the morning when he wakes up to vibrant blue eyes and a voice, honey thick and twice as sweet, whispering “husband” against the hollow of his throat.

Kakashi’s never really believed that kitsune were curses but now, sitting out on the engawa with his back leaning against one of the columns and an empty sake dish hanging forgotten from his hand, he thinks there might be some truth to the legends and superstitions after all.

There’s no other reason why this is happening to him, why he’s been so easily twisted up inside by this one creature.

Out on the thick grass his bride dances, a fan in one hand, a rich crimson kimono Kakashi’s never seen before barely clinging to his shoulders as he twists and twirls.  Slender thighs and deep cut collar bones flash as his tails writhe and fan around him as he dances, shooting coy looks in Kakashi’s direction over the arch of his shoulder or around the edges of his fan.

He’s as alluring as every legend has ever said a kitsune could be and, in Kakashi’s opinion, twice as beautiful.

Kakashi doesn’t even know this kitsune, his friend and accidental bride, actual name.  But Kakashi does know that he’s the first thing in a very long time to make Kakashi feel much of anything at all.

And Kakashi also knows what he wants to do to his little bride.  Has become well acquainted with all of the ways he wants to touch and taste and take.  Has woken up aching and desperate only to bite it all back and down through sheer force of will, determined to have some form of restraint.

There’s a loud crack of thunder and the long promised rain comes pounding down.  Out on the grass the kitsune gives a yip and darts back beneath the protection of the engawa, a pout on his face as he snaps his fan shut and then disappears it up a sleeve.

“I’m all wet now,” he complains, hands running through his hair even as he flops down to sit on the wooden floor beside Kakashi with more grace than should be possible.  There’s a familiar coy look on his face when he stares up at Kakashi from beneath the thick fan of his lashes.  “I might catch a chill.”

“It’s still summer,” Kakashi tells him idly, eyes locked on the way that kimono top has slid down to pool around his elbows, exposing the deceptively delicate curve of his shoulders.  “You’ll be fine.”

“Hmm,” he hums lightly, “Maybe. Or, Husband, you could come warm your bride.  Just in case.”

And Kakashi just ... can’t.

He’s moving in the next second, sake dish dropping from his hand with a quiet clink as he twists up and away from the pillar beside him and towards his companion.

The kitsune, blue eyes bright, meets him halfway.

They’re a bundle of tangled silk and flaring tails when they come to a stop, Kakashi on top with two slender wrists grasped firmly in his hands and pinned to the wood beneath them and his knee wedged firmly between golden thighs.

“I,” Kakashi practically announces, “am going to kiss you.”

It is, Kakashi’s coming to realize, better to be blunt in some things.

“It’s about time,” the kitsune grins up at him, all bright blue eyes and plush pink lips as he raises one leg up to press against Kakashi’s side.  “I’ve been waiting so long, Husband.  Didn’t think you’d ever get the hint.”

And Kakashi doesn’t have anything to say to that.

So instead he leans down and does just what he said he was going to do.

The kiss is soft to start off with, a press of lips more than anything, but it doesn’t stay that way for long.  Can’t.  Not with the way Kakashi’s senses are being flooded with the scent of musk and sun warm satsuma.  Not with the way that leg has moved to curl around his waist to pull him just a bit closer.

Kakashi licks his way into the mouth below him, tongue sliding past petit fangs even as a growl builds up hot and heavy in his chest.  It’s hot, all spit slick lips, nipping teeth, and that insatiable urge to get closer.  To give and take more.

He can’t help but let those wrists go so he can slide his hands across the line of those shoulders, before he reaches down to grab ahold of the leg not already curled around his waist to pull the kitsune closer.

Slender, clever hands bury themselves in his hair, claws scratching delicately at his scalp.

Kakashi wants this moment to never end.

So of course it does.

A vicious gust of wind rips through the forest and slams into the engawa, sending their hair and clothes fluttering and causing the trees around the house to groan.

They can’t stay out here any longer.  But, bad weather or not, they don’t separate quickly.  Instead they linger there, pressed together and staring at one another.

“Naruto,” the kitsune murmurs then into the silence between them, something almost vulnerable and sweet in his expression.

“Hm?” Kakashi hums the question back.

“Naruto, that’s my name,” the kitsune, Naruto, tells him quietly before that familiar sly grin is back on his face.  “Figured it was time I gave it to you, husband.  Since we both know you don’t know it.”

Kakashi feels the flush rush up his cheeks without his permission and ducks his head to groan just a bit even as Naruto laughs merrily and then wiggles out from beneath him.

“I want a bath and then our bed,” Naruto declares even as he turns as sashays away in a now familiar whirl of silk and fur.

Yeah, Kakashi can’t help but think as he watches the sway of those tails move further away from him, drunk more on that dance than the two cups of sake he’d had, on his bride, on that kiss, on Naruto, it must be a curse.

And if it is then it’s not one he has any real interest in having lifted.

#The Fox Bride AU #Naruto #Anonymous #RayRambles