#and the fact that Sasuke did not HESITATE and tried to kill her too

[onedirecton]

[team7-headquarter]

I don't know how people miss the part where Sasuke was so freaking loving and adoring that Itachi and Orochimaru had to deeply traumatize him and convince him he was weak and would always be weak as long as he kept his hatred in check / didn't walk the dark path.

Almost in every scene where Sasuke snapped badly, it was a direct result of a memory or a genjutsu of Orochimaru and Itachi. He treated his teammates badly because of it, okay? Before he could be cold or even a bit cruel, but never to the extent he did after getting the cursed mark and meeting Itachi again.

He only went to murder Naruto because Itachi told him killing his best friend was the way to get more powerful, enough to kill Itachi himself. And even then, Sasuke could have hurt Sakura as a distraction if he was malicious, he could have killed Naruto for real at the end of their fight, but he didn't.

Again and again and again, Itachi and Orochimaru had to use Sakura and Naruto against Sasuke to convince him to let his teammates behind. They had to convince Sasuke that his teammates were a burden. He grew in violence and hatred towards them to try and make it easier: he would kill them, he would. Yet, his determination did little to hide the fact he cared so absolutely about them.

Years later, after trying to kill them, after saying he didn't care, after playing it in every possible angle, Sasuke would still think of them fondly. His mind would betray him, his voice, his body.

Sasuke stepped in front of Naruto to take with his body an attack that could have killed him (if Haku had wanted). Sasuke stabbed himself in the leg to move and save Sakura from Orochimaru. Sasuke knew them so well, he knew when Sakura was acting weird and how to cheer her up, he knew when someone was impersonating Naruto and didn't hesitate to attack 'cause he was 100% sure.

I could point out every little moment of Sasuke caring so openly about his teammates, it hurts.

He loved them so much as a kid, it took Itachi and Orochimaru several tries to finally break him. He was a kid, a freaking genin.

He tried so hard to make them hate him and he didn't understand how or why they could still love him. Again, he tried to murder them and Sakura even tried to murder him too —people remember this and miss the whole point that Sakura couldn't kill him, not just because he was faster/stronger, but also because her hands wouldn't betray what she felt for him.

Sasuke had to put Sakura on a genjutsu to avoid having her trying to stop his fight with Naruto, because he knew from experience she'd die trying (she'd jump between their attacks even if it's too late, use her body as a shield for them, she made that clear). Naruto said he would die with Sasuke if necessary; he'd never abandon him / let him go.

That's how fucking much Sasuke love them and why Naruto and Sakura were dead set on having a future with him.

[yu-huuuu]

:O I just saw your new post about Neji and a reader that ahs eyes like Gojo, Can you make one smiliar but with Itachi or Sasuke please?????? :O

[ 🌸 ] I'll go with Sasuke this time since I'll be posting something for Itachi this week, so stay tuned <3

characters: sasuke uchiha,, some character mentions

genre: fluff;; light angst (sad sasuke)

warnings:  kidnapping mentions;; sasuke missing his family;; gn!reader(I hope you like annon);; sasuke experiencing love and denying being in love u.u

enjoy <3

- - -

he had done it

Sasuke had left his home to seek more power.

He wasn't enough, he needed more power and he wasn't going to get it if he stayed with his teammates.

Sakura had reached out to him, she had begged him not to leave, he had a hard time saying no and that made him angry even though he didn't show it. Despite his annoyance, he wasn't going to take it out on her, Sakura wasn't to blame for all his misery, it was Itachi's, his older brother.

Sakura was his friend, a very close one.

'I'm not going to hurt her' Even if Sasuke wanted to, he couldn't hurt Sakura, perhaps because he inadvertently became very attached to her along with team seven. They were almost like family to him.

Family.

How bitter that word had become.

"Sakura..." Sasuke heard the pinkhead's soft gasp as he stepped up behind her.

'I'm not going to hurt her' before he knocked her out, he let her hear the last words that would be directed at her. After all, maybe this would be the last time they would see each other, that she would hear his voice… 'thanks for everything' was what he wanted to say, but instead he just came out with a bitter “thank you”, before knocking her out...

Sasuke couldn't leave her at her house, that would take a long time, so instead he left her soft body on a park bench, in his mind it was the least he could do.

The next morning Naruto arrived. Both fought in hand-to-hand combat, between punches, kicks and harsh words that were given, sasuke remembered his family.

The death that hurt him the most was of his beloved Mother. His Mom who was so affectionate and the one who was by his side. Oh, how much he missed her. And it was too bad that the last time he saw her was when she was lying dead on the cold floor next to her father. Perhaps remembering his Mother would not be so painful if his last memories of her were when she said goodbye to him, giving him his breakfast that same morning of the massacre.

The feelings were confused with his Dad, but if what his Mother said was true, then his Father loved him too much and Sasuke loved him too, that's why he always tried to be the son his father would have wanted, fearing disappointing him even though he wasn't here anymore, Sasuke would always have that fear.

What hurt him the most was Itachi, he was his world and he was also the one who destroyed him until he did it in small pieces. Sasuke hated himself on the darkest nights when he missed his presence, and even so, despite declaring and swearing that he hated his brother, he had that feeling of hesitation in killing him, perhaps because if he did, he would be left alone

Naruto couldn't and never could understand him and his pain. How dare he compare his pain with his? Naruto was inept, a fool, a loser who was born with nothing.

And he wasn't going to leave without letting him know first.

Despite wanting to cut ties, wanting to kill Naruto, he couldn't, something stopped him. Perhaps later, in a few years he would realize what stopped him, was the fact that he by default was still a child and he was afraid of being left alone again... but Sasuke would never admit it, because sometimes his pride was too much. stronger than his own will.

When he arrived with Orochimaru he didn't feel intimidated and if he felt that way he wouldn't show it, as soon as he finished his training he would end the life of that disgusting guy.

'I'm an avenger' he was and he wouldn't let anyone hurt anyone else, at least not like he was hurt in the past.

Several months passed in which Sasuke could feel the difference, he felt stronger, much more than he was before. After having finished some difficult exercises to exercise his Sharingan, Sasuke was on his way to the showers and in the middle of his journey that's when he saw you.

You were…beautiful, well within what was possible, since the band for the eyes hindered the full view of your face, but with what he could see you were in fact very beautiful. Sasuke wondered in the back of his mind who you were, but he would never approach you with such a dumb question, this was not his goal.

With a snort he ignored you as he hurried to the shower, ignoring the wetness of his hands and the heavy drumming of his heart, when was the last time he felt like this?

"Ridiculous…" Sasuke muttered not realizing that you were paying attention to him.

"Mmm... what a strange boy" you dared to whisper when you stopped listening to the footsteps of the person who passed sulking next to you. 'Well, it doesn't matter, I need to give my report to Lord Orochimaru' you thought as you let out a long breath, this would be a long day.

.- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -.

The next time Sasuke saw you, it had only been a few weeks. You were talking to Kabuto about something.

"Aa Sasuke you're here, great" the man said before turning to you "Y/N this is Sasuke"

"A pleasure" you spoke, but your voice. Oh, your voice was so sweet and soft, it reminded him of his Mother's voice. Sasuke felt a little worried by that line of thought.

"I'm saying the same" he half muttered, Sasuke definitely didn't expect to meet you. He could feel his hands sweaty again. 'How annoying'

"Well I have to go, take care Y/N" Kabuto said turning to you "Sasuke" he spoke as he leaned a little towards him in farewell mode before leaving.

"See you Kabuto-san" you spoke, raising your hand a little, waving it as a sign of farewell.

Sasuke really didn't want to be around you, you put him in a way that he didn't want to be with, but before he could even turn around, you spoke.

“You are… the weird guy from the other day. I heard you sulking when you passed me" you spoke, as you went on in your sentence your voice became more smaller but Sasuke hardly paid attention to it.

Have you heard it? oh, Sasuke could feel himself cringing internally.

“... hn. forget it,” he muttered as best he could before walking away. no, he definitely wasn't running, he wasn't running and he definitely wasn't sweating or shaking or…

Who could he fool, Sasuke was so deep in thought that he didn't even think if you'd be able to get anywhere in the base by yourself with that eye band, he only started thinking about it when he got to his room with his head spinning and his heart beating hard against his chest.

'Shit…' he thought when he realized his mistake, he had left you alone.

with the same speed with which he entered his room was with which he left. Sasuke didn't know why he was so worried about you, it was ridiculous and yet he kept running to where he had last seen you.

'He's gone. How rude-' you thought before being interrupted by the same types of footsteps but more hurried from that boy. The footsteps stopped abruptly a few steps from you, you could hear his heavy breathing. He really ran fast, huh?

"I... are you okay?" you spoke without knowing exactly what to say.

"Yes..." the voice spoke a little agitated.

"And why did you run back?"

"because I'm sure you're a fool to guide yourself on this basis"

…wait, he really-

you felt a little offended now, but at the same time a thought came to your mind 'did he care about me?'.

“ummm… thanks” you really didn't know what to say next, so you said the first thing that came to your mind.

"So, do you want to accompany me to the dining room? I think I'm hungry"

From that day Sasuke would accompany you to dinner. It became like a routine for the two of you, at those meals you just talked incessantly and Sasuke always listened to you talk, and if you took a while to finish your food he would wait for you until you finished your last bite. He was sweet, in a way, it was like he was taking care of you.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was beginning to understand a little more about his feelings for you. Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew what these feelings were, Love.

he had seen that feeling first hand in the interactions of his parents, Fugaku despite being a serious man, even Sasuke could see his icy gaze melt when he looked at his mother. and now Sasuke could understand that phrase that his paternal grandfather told him; "Even strong men can fall for the women they love."

Oh, how foolish Sasuke felt for falling in love on his way to revenge on his brother.

.- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -. .- - - - -.

Tonight you had decided to dine outside right under the stars, even though you couldn't see them, you wanted your faithful companion to feel comfortable with the view.

“is the sky beautiful?”

"It is…"

Just those words were needed to create a safe environment between the two of you, the food was hot and the breeze was nice, it was a perfect environment.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had a question running through his mind, why were you wearing a blindfold, he never asked since it was none of his business, but on nights like this when you looked so gorgeous? he couldn't help but wonder what your eyes would look like under that piece of cloth.

"Y/N..."

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing that blindfold?"

it was a simple question, but you were still surprised that he of all people would ask you.

"Well... I think it would be better if I show you" you spoke as you put down your tea, then reached your hands towards the blindfold.

when the blindfold fell, Sasuke saw you in the eye for the first time and you were more beautiful than he thought.

This was also the first time you saw him. You had already realized a few weeks ago that you were beginning to have feelings for Sasuke, always hearing his voice, but never seeing his face, now you understand why there was such a fuss when a woman saw Sasuke. he seems so ethereal.

"why do you hide your eyes?" You had almost missed the question, swallowing your nervousness and stopping the small blush, as you could you answered the reason why.

when you were born you had slightly weak eyes, you were five years old when Orochimaru kidnapped you for experiments. and they quickly gave results, your eyes became that way giving you various abilities but still your eyes needed to be at rest until it was time to fight. That was the main reason why despite your abilities Orochimaru did not possess your body.

After finishing your story, Sasuke let out a small whisper.

"I will become stronger"

"eh?"

"I will become stronger to protect you" he spoke louder this time.

Sasuke could make this promise to you for now, for while he would find a way to confess to you, perhaps he would when he has achieved all of his goals. perhaps he would think better of it when he had found the motivation to kill his brother again.

maybe he would put the hate aside, because Sasuke had found a new motivation protect you. Apparently his grandfather was right, how low can a man in love really fall...

* Sasuke is a love with you, but a tough guy towards others. * when you're a couple, he'll draw you when you're asleep, but shhh it's a secret that no one should know, including you. * will always follow you when he is not doing something important, which is usually training and getting stronger. * It is probable that Sasuke has lost interest in killing his brother, but who knows you already changed many things in him...

[sasukesakura7]

Sasusaku on first date (oneshot)

They were both walking towards the park, watching the sun shutting down across the beautiful blue sky. The village was quiet, however you could hear the birds chirping in the trees. Sakura was too shy to look over at Sasuke and he was to uncomfortable with the situation to look over at her.They knew this was a date but both felt like two strangers seeing each other for the first time. Sasuke still couldn’t believe he asked her out. After everything that happened he knew he had no chance with her. The wound in his soul would never heal from the fact that he once wanted to kill his now love of his life. Of course he would never dare to admit it but it was the tiny things that he let out with no hesitancy. For instance when she overworks herself at the hospital, he would follow her home so she won’t pass out; or when people start starring at her beauty, he would walk in front of her functioning as a shield and sends death glares, already marking his territory; or even when he would catch himself starring at her spacing out and feeling only lust and desire. And the list could go on and on. Sasuke knew he doesn’t deserve her friendship let alone another more intimate type of relationship. He didn’t even know why he tried it gave her hope. But he couldn’t resist her, not anymore.

„I hope you‘re okay with us doing this“ he finally had the courage to ask even though on the outside he still looked like the tough iced cold handsome man every woman has ever seen in her life.

„Why wouldn’t I?“ she said finally looking him into his eyes. Both of them freezing for a moment because of the intensity of their eye contact. Somehow this was their thing since the genin days. Their eye to eye connection more powerful than any other words one can think of.

Sasuke broke the starring and walked further. He didn’t know how to explain it to her. Sakura soon followed and as soon as she reached him, she touched his arm just for him to stop and turn around to her. The eye to eye contact again. She was a few good inches smaller than him. His shadow and his dark aura almost swallowing her. She liked his masculine side but she knew right now it was only a cover. She knew he tried to show her his feelings, his concerns. His face looked almost angry and she knew he was dealing with his demons from the past. He just didn’t know how much she loved him. A crush from the childhood flourished into these strong feelings called love and she never imagined anybody else in her romantic life but him. The tragic events in the past were something to deal with indeed however the only person that understood his darkness besides Naruto was her. She could‘t blame him not when he was the victim that got raped of a bright future in the village along his teammates. All she ever wanted was for him to come back and be happy and she knew she could make him happy, the same way he could make her happy. So, she touched his face with her soft fingers and examined his face: strong beautiful features, lips to die for and eyes to fall into very deeply. He looked so good so she had to come closer. At this moment she got overwhelmed by his strong scent. It was so sexy that she could just smell him and fall into a trance or even a dream that she would hope not to wake up from ever again. From his point of view her as well smelled like heaven; like an angle ready to hold him at night and so he could finally have a good sleep without his nightmares. Her pretty eyes just swallowed him whole. He could spend the rest of his life just starring at her eyes. Her juicy lips and her feminine body made him hot. He felt the heat as did she when her hand fell from his face to his chest, coming closer that their faces were only inches apart. Before she decided to kiss him and be in action, he placed his one palm behind hear neck and one arm wrapping around her waist only to violently pulling her closer than ever and kiss her passionately. The kiss lasted a couple of seconds before Sasuke broke the kiss instantly fearing of being too brutal to her.

„I‘m sorry I didn’t mean to…“ he started to explain but got interrupted by Sakura pulling him close and starting kissing him again. After a few seconds she broke the kiss just to look him in the eyes and say:

„I want you, Sasuke. All of you. I don’t care what happened in the past because it’s history. You came back to your old self, you came back to me. And I don’t want to waste any more time because I feel the sensual tension between us. I feel the connection and the mutual desire.You are holding back because of your past actions and I don’t want you to anymore. So please tell me now because I need to know: Are you in or out ? „

Sasuke took a moment to decide now and forever but it didn’t take him long until his love for her conquered his fear. At least he said:

„I‘m forever in“

[tamelee]

Helloo!!👋 Don't mind me venting a little bit about my struggles as a SNS Stan :')

Back in 2014 or so, I saw my uncle watch Naruto, he was in Pain Arc. I thought "Oh, that's cool!" But I didn't get into Naruto, or into anime until like, what? 2019, 2020? And I absolutely regret it, sometimes.. Anyway, SO like.... I've watched ALMOST every episode of Naruto. I literally stopped at War Arc aft er Neji died because what was to come after VoTE2 was complete bullcrap, so I didn't bother continuing (I would cringe too hard anyway too).. Like I said, I watched almost every episode, right??? But like, I can't bring myself to read the manga. IDK why, I just can't. Something about going back to the first episode I set my eyeballs just ticked me off. But sometimes I just want to read it.. Idk if it's because while reading I'll remember the fact that those sweethearts would not go in their separate ways and recollect themselves, and just have one next to the other. When watching Naruto actually, I was hellbent on them being together, I was like "For sure they'll end up together! they will 100%!" Reaching Shippuden, dumb as I am, I decided to take a peak at the very last episode.. I was so mad, and sad, and just overall disappointed.. After that I took a break..

During Thanksgiving or whatever, I was watching the part where Naruto had collected some chakra from Kurama and he was eliminating some of the white zetsus.. By the time I went home I was at the part where all the allied shinobi forces were joining Naruto to fight Obito and Madara. After Neji died I felt sad but tried so hard not to cry.. And then Hinata went all "Oh! Naruto kun's hand!!!" 😐😐 I honestly sometimes feel like an idiot because I actually liked her before.

So my main point is that, I cry just thinking about Naruto and Sasuke.. I once remember creating a random headcanon about them growing old, next to each other, and looking at each other passionately one more time before they passed away. Yeah, and this is just level 2... And another time I really put Sasuke in a sticky situation where he was kidnapped and his kidnapper put him under a genjutsu, and in the genjutsu was Naruto being killed over and over again by Sasuke's own hands.. I didn't really know how Sasuke would react, so I just head cannoned him to completely lose his mind. And then Sasuke found a way to escape, and, to me he doesn't seem so merciful when it comes to Naruto, so I thought he would just kill the person who set him under that genjutsu on sight and go to Naruto.. Or like another time I put Naruto and Sasuke in a really sticky situation where they were surrounded by shinobis from different villages to hunt Naruto down for who knows what reason. So like a normal SNS stan, I knew Sasuke would, without hesitation jump in front of Naruto to protect him (btw I'm more of a SN than NS, I still enjoy NS tho!)

So ya.. This is just the beginning btw.. It would take too long to write the whole thing.

Oh and,, sometimes I find it utterly stupid that SNS fans fight among each other because one prefers SN or the other prefers NS.. Like common, I mean it's free choice, you can like any of them. I don't do logic, so the one I personally like is SN. Trust me though, I am still inlove with NS.. Idk if this makes sense but.. Even though I personally prefer SN, I also go for switch.. I mean, to me they're both dominant so like..

And on your latest artwork, yk when S and N did the "thing" right? An idea literally shot up! Like I was thinking about Sasuke waking up from a nap.. And sweet, sweet Naruto disturbed him a little..

Also, I think I said this once, but literally thank you so much for sharing your art skills with the SNS fanbase!

Hi there lovely @cheesiestfriste 🧡!

Oh feel free, please do!~ 

“Back in 2014 or so, I saw my uncle watch Naruto, he was in Pain Arc. I thought "Oh, that's cool!" But I didn't get into Naruto, or into anime until like, what? 2019, 2020? And I absolutely regret it, sometimes.. “

Hahahaha, pffft.. I know, - I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.., but it’s more a.. “shit, we’re in the same boat”-kinda laugh, y’know? The kind of laugh one gets when you fall on your knees on a rainy night as you’re being illuminated by the only light-source around like you’re in a dramatic play singing ‘memories’ from ‘Cats the musical’ (no, not that shit-show of a movie)- or something, but nothing goes your way and no one is around, you’re stuck, it’s too late and fuck all of it. 

Fuck Anime. Fuck Naruto and fuck SNS for sure. 

Bittersweet regret, yet sour and salty as hell. 

At least you get it all. 

Haha.. ha :)

“Anyway, SO like.... I've watched ALMOST every episode of Naruto. I literally stopped at War Arc aft er Neji died because what was to come after VoTE2 was complete bullcrap, so I didn't bother continuing (I would cringe too hard anyway too)..”

Yeah, I heard a lot of people stop there, but I honestly think it’s worth watching until this point: 

There are elements of the VotE2 fight that the anime definitely could’ve done better.. I think they changed key-elements from the manga and I really don’t understand why they’ve made these specific choices. If they kept certain parts of the manga intact, parts of it would feel much more intense between them.

But maybe that was their problem? Think about it.. it literally led to a confession that in the manga you can’t read as anything else, especially after Sasuke’s thoughts. Still, hearing their voices, the music, the effects.. those are things you just don’t have with the manga. So I guess for me, the Hitai-ate scene would’ve been a good ending. 

“When watching Naruto actually, I was hellbent on them being together, I was like "For sure they'll end up together! they will 100%!" Reaching Shippuden, dumb as I am, I decided to take a peak at the very last episode.. I was so mad, and sad, and just overall disappointed.. After that I took a break..”

Oh~ now it makes sense. Yes.. the ending..

You’re not dumb. 

My friend thought the same as you and I said to him “well duh, it's Shonen, what did you expect anyway!?” And I said this out of frustration more than anything, because in my mind this is just ‘a simple fact’. No matter what, despite it all.. and I mean every. single. thing. It’s simply not possible for them to end up together and I didn’t expect them to anyway, but that didn’t invalidate our findings right? 

But I was an idiot, because he replied: “well, how was I supposed to know what this ‘Shonen’-shit you talk about meant in the first place? I was just watching an anime with two guys being gay as hell and all of a sudden what I see isn’t possible, because of a label? Oh, I’m sorry Tamee.” 

And yes, he was being this sassy with me. 

And yes, he had every right to. 

I think a lot of times we say things like “of course.. it’s Shonen” expecting everyone to know what it means, when a random Japanese word in this context for some people could mean “anime to watch when you run out of milk”- for all we know.  

“After Neji died I felt sad but tried so hard not to cry.. And then Hinata went all "Oh! Naruto kun's hand!!!" 😐😐 I honestly sometimes feel like an idiot because I actually liked her before.”

No, in fact you’re one of the strongest human beings on this planet. One, for trying not to cry during the unnecessary Neji scene in which Hinata was the one who was supposed to die (yes, I genuinely think that). And secondly for being able to like an atrocious character like Hinata H. who from the beginning didn’t hesitate to screw over her teammates. 

Mad props to you. 

“So my main point is that, I cry just thinking about Naruto and Sasuke.. I once remember creating a random headcanon about them growing old, next to each other, and looking at each other passionately one more time before they passed away. “ 

;___;…

“And another time I really put Sasuke in a sticky situation where he was kidnapped and his kidnapper put him under a genjutsu, and in the genjutsu was Naruto being killed over and over again by Sasuke's own hands.. I didn't really know how Sasuke would react, so I just head cannoned him to completely lose his mind. And then Sasuke found a way to escape, and, to me he doesn't seem so merciful when it comes to Naruto, so I thought he would just kill the person who set him under that genjutsu on sight and go to Naruto.. “

You a fic-writer? I mean.. maybe an idea.. just sayin’. 

Well, I do wonder how many times Sasuke would be thinking about that time his arm was rammed into Naruto’s chest. Imagine if he actually had killed Naruto.. oof. 

And no, you’re definitely right 😂 Naruto, Sasuke and the word “merciful” don’t go together in one sentence when it comes to an outsider harming one of them. 

“Or like another time I put Naruto and Sasuke in a really sticky situation where they were surrounded by shinobis from different villages to hunt Naruto down for who knows what reason. So like a normal SNS stan, I knew Sasuke would, without hesitation jump in front of Naruto to protect him “ 

*-* ooh~ 

Of course, of course. 

“Oh and,, sometimes I find it utterly stupid that SNS fans fight among each other because one prefers SN or the other prefers NS.. Like common, I mean it's free choice, you can like any of them. I don't do logic, so the one I personally like is SN. Trust me though, I am still inlove with NS.. Idk if this makes sense but.. Even though I personally prefer SN, I also go for switch.. I mean, to me they're both dominant so like.. “

Meh, it’s a pointless debate. But “I don’t do logic” 😂 had me wheezing. 

“And on your latest artwork, yk when S and N did the "thing" right? An idea literally shot up! Like I was thinking about Sasuke waking up from a nap.. And sweet, sweet Naruto disturbed him a little.. Also, I think I said this once, but literally thank you so much for sharing your art skills with the SNS fanbase!”

“The thing” ~ I don’t know what you mean @cheesiestfriste you know how many things there are? How am I supposed to know what this is. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) hehe. 

J/k I love your idea so much, in fact I’m already on it! When it’s finished I’ll link it back to here, okay? 💕 I want to thank you for sharing your lovely idea’s and headcanon’s, because I’m really bad at them. This was such a fun read! I hope SNS doesn’t make you all too sad, tbh if you’re up for it I do recommend you to read/watch until the Hitai-ate exchange and then be free to continue your hc’s. 

And I always appreciate your support 🥰 I hope you’re doing well!! 

[animeyanderelover]

💕Can I request all the senjus,orochimaru,shisui and itachi with a s/o who managed to make themselves immortal with out consequences and they did it without experimenting but they can make other people immortal but people keep trying to kidnap them for it,also they don’t age anymore?💕

This is what pretty much Orochimaru’s dream is.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, kidnapping, manipulation, clinginess

Immortal s/o

Hashirama Senju

🌳He is quite the more supporting and encouraging person. But in this situation even he finds himself a bit unsure how to feel. Your jutsu is quite amazing and something marvelous, but Hashirama is someone who wants to spend his whole life with his darling and die later on when both of them are grey and old together, that is his dream. But with you who stopped aging long ago and will never die, this is something impossible. The clan has definitely a huge interest in you, even though they are aware that your ability will end up being terrifying if it goes into the wrong hands which is why the Leaf guards you very observingly, not wanting to risk that a rival village gets their hands on you. If their strongest shinobi would be made immortal, that would end in a catastrophe. Hashirama himself makes sure that even in his own village no one plans on abusing your powers.

🌳I do not think that Hashirama would force you to either make him immortal nor to somehow tell you that you should try to stop your powers and start aging again. Not like he won't try to convince you to eventually consider finding a way to stop being immortal and instead settle down and live with him. Given the fact that are immortal, you might lived longer than he did and for that have knowledge he and his clan do not possess which is why you're treated from the Senju and the whole village really respectfully, if they need advice they will go and ask you. Hashirama can also only do this much and so he grows more clingy since he knows that he will die whilst you will live. And so he wants to be able to have a place in your heart for all the time to come and alongside with his brother and future generations, he trusts you to protect the Leaf Village once he dies. Even if his darling is immortal, he still wants to marry them since he is traditional.

Tobirama Senju

🌊Despite him being the harsher and much more intimidating and blackmailing guy from all the Senju, he has a rather simple dream as well. He wants to marry his darling and live with them together and one day die. And his dream is messed up with all of this as well and he is quite irritated by the knowledge that you made yourself immortal. On the one hand Tobirama is eager to invent new jutsu himself so from that perspective this is beyond fascinating, a wish many people before him had and tried to work on. But in a way this is honestly way too mocking for him as well because even if his darling might have to endure harsher lessons with him, they might honestly have the relieving thought that he will die one day anyways and then they're free. It is angering because it is true and depending on how old they are, they might nag him because of his behavior and he won't be able to say much against it since he knows they have more experience than him in life.

🌊This might be an advantage you have against him next to the whole being immortal thing. He will start being more respectful once he finds out how old you really are. He literally can not help it and that is why he sometimes, under the risk of his pride, asks you for some advice. He doesn't really want to be immortal either, even though he is more curious about it than his brother is. But what he has to do is always guaranteeing that you are under high protection because he know what terrible things your powers can do when being wrongly used. He might actually try to create a jutsu similar to yours because in a way you have been inspiring him. He also will end up marrying his darling. For starters he is a pretty traditional guy so marriage has a high meaning for him as well. Additionally he is not willing to let you that easily get away with your long life, he is possessive. He just kind of wants to set a mark on you for as long as you're part of the Leaf.

Orochimaru

🐍You have literally achieved what he has been trying to complete his whole life time without even having to experiment on anything and it is thrilling for him. No wonder he is after you as soon as he has heard the rumors, being in his way fervent about it and his obsession starts before he has even met you in person. And oh, he will hunt his darling down, no matter where he has to go and who he has to kill. He wants that jutsu and that talent who created it and no one will stop him. Not going to lie, at the beginning he is a bit salty, mostly because he feels like he has been beaten since you didn't even have to use anyone, you just had pure skill. But whilst he might have lost this, he still can owe the person who had the skills and intelligence and since he will totally force you to teach him that power and make him immortal as well, you might be stuck with him forever if you do so. And the bad part here is that if you don't, he will have no problems torturing you or using you as his next vessel.

🐍You're immortal, so it's not like you will die and he takes advantage of that if you refuse to lend him a hand. If you do help him, he will show his gratitude in a rather odd way, but it's better than his sadstic side. He simply keeps you, that much has to be said already. He can't effort to lose a talent like you, the experience not even to mention. His darling becomes his very special treasure who helped him earning immortality and in return he offers them a place to stay and protection. He knows that everyone wants to have that sort of abilities and he gets rid of all of them all to gladly, he won't let anyone dare to take his special underling away from him. He just always has you tagging along with him. Sasuke gets kind of interested as well since you are indeed powerful and you might as well get close to him since he is together with Kabuto and Orochimaru the only person you will see for a long time. Depending on how long you are already alive, Orochimaru also wants to know pretty much all jutsu and other knowledge you might have.

Tsunade Senju

🐌She looks quite young for her age which comes from the fact that she uses a jutsu that makes her appear young, but she is just like everyone else. She ages and is bound to die one day. And Tsunade handles this maybe a bit worse than some others do. You gotta understand, she just thought that she finally found the one person she can manage to live together with the rest of her life only to discover that they will continue living forever. And to know that she might be only one of many to come and that she might be forgotten one day is truly not very pretty, it makes her a bit more desperate. At first she was probably scared that you used to do the same things Orochimaru did to reach your goal so she was definitely more at ease when hearing that you succeeded without having to go with such drastic methods. For that reason she refuses to let her old teammate find out about you, knowing that he will be after you if he hears that you're in the Leaf which would only give him more reasons to attack.

🐌Tsuna might find herself tempted by the thought to be made immortal from you and live for all eternity together with you, simply because she is possessive as well and wants to be finally happy with the person she loves after all her beloved people dying on her. She's not completely sure, she knows that being immortal can be as much of a curse as it can be a blessing. The the council from Konoha is quite possessive as well, knowing how valuable you are and so they might want to use your powers for more selfish reasons from time to time. This leads to arguments between Tsunade and them because she is often against such decisions, seeing that they plan on making use of you. But one thing they do agree on is keeping you save from all other forces who want you in their grip. Funnily you might be a part of the eldest yourself if you lived long enough which gives Tsunade an advantage since you are on her side and not that narrow-viewed like the other eldest are.

Shisui Uchiha

🍂At this point in his timeline his darling might as well be already part of the village or at the very least known everywhere in the hidden villages for their special jutsu which is why everyone is on some sort of hunt for them. Shisui himself honestly probably never really saw himself falling for someone who constantly dominates the spotlight like you do, maybe also because he thought, despite the fact that you look young, the age difference would make him view you more as a admirable sensei because being able to make yourself and others immortal without having to do experiments on humans needs skill and wisdom. Shisui also just knows that even if you like him as well, this is a completely impossible love since not only might the superiors forbid it, but he does not desire to be made immortal. He already knows that everyone dies sooner or later and given his job being ready to die is a must since he is constantly exposed to danger.

🍂It would only break your heart in the end which is why he kind of feels like it might be best if he stays silent about his feelings at first. He just focuses on protecting you from potential enemies who plan on kidnapping you and tries to be someone who can leighten your mood up a bit since he sympathizes that life for you must be quite tricky. If he does confesses to you because he feels like you really like him as well or you tell him you like him first, he might hesitate and voice his doubts, but can be more easily manipulated since he loves you. Shisui kind of knows that he might not be the last since he doesn't want to be made immortal and you might find after his death a new person you love. And he accepts that, he doesn't want his darling to be alone only because they can't die. But he can make sure that he leaves some sort of impression on you so you will remember him. He wants at the very least a special place in your heart.

Itachi Uchiha

🍡He did not kidnap his darling so he could have their jutsu for himself, he definitely didn't. He did it because he lost control over his emotions and given the fact that you are constantly being chased by other power-hungry persons, he got triggered too much because he knows that some will hurt you to get what they want since you can not die. And afterwards Itachi just has to be really careful so that no one will find out because you are no ordinary person. You are famous and a living legend for your achievement and it'll cause a huge motion if he is being sighted with you because everyone will know afterwards, including the Akatsuki and he can expect that Pain will definitely want you to be a part of his organization since you not only have a very gifted ability, but might also possess knowledge and forgotten jutsu from long time ago. And Itachi doesn't want to force you to live the same life as him, even if you can't be killed on such missions.

🍡Itachi knows that he doesn't have long to live anyways and he already accepted that fact, he has his plans in mind for this. So he knows he won't be there for too long to protect you from all the greedy and selfish people which is why he might plan on making Sasuke look after you once he dies and he tells you about this as well, even though he knows you can handle yourself very well on your own as well. He respects people who are older than him and for that reason he might be far more respectful to the s/o than he would be already and he isn't embarrassed about it. Similar to Shisui he also knows that after his death his darling might find someone else and he won't be angry with them for it. They shouldn't spend their whole life grieving over him since he wants them to be happy. The only person he might ever tell willingly about his darling is Kisame since he is next to his younger brother the only person he really trusts with his darling.

[ravysu]

Sannin headcanons and thoughts

The last thing I would like to post for the sannin week. It is still 24.04 here! :D @sannin-central

This is long. Spoiler alert. Mostly Orochimaru, some Tsunade, a little of Jiraiya (because his story is pretty clear and spoken and idk what I can add). Also I recommend to read this meta about Orochimaru, it has influenced me a lot and has some good points. Sorry for any posible grammar mistakes. Also I really should put here a lot of references to the manga or anime but it was something that was piling up for a year and I'm soooooooo lazy. After all, those are just headcanons. Also: Im not excusing Oro's bad stuff here, Im trying to understand the reasons.

Ive already posted some hcs, here, here and here.

1. First if all, the chronology pic of sannin lifetime based on the info i found on naruto wiki and also some statements about wars from this post. It was tough considering what a mess naruto’s chronology is.

2. Sannin story shows what it cost to be a legend. They're like Team 7 but more realistic. Tsunade literally carried the war but left with nothing and developed a ptsd and have problems to just live on. Also anger control issues. I think she can be pretty bossy and stubborn which is not always nice. Jiraiya is the hero of the day but also very idealistic and can ignore some important details in the real word whether its the fight (he always injured during flashbacks maybe because each time he took too much to handle and on the one hand it's heroistic but on the other is a mistake that can lead your team to situations like in that Iwa cave) or your friends issues (I bet he saw what's going on but thought it's fine until Oro actually got red handed and left). He lives in his world and may have problems to get out to see it through someone else's shoes. As for Orochimaru, it seems like he was a normal guy for 20+ years (I mean, he didn't do crazy criminal shit and had something good in him and it was stated somewhere that it was his teammates influence. It is obvious they considered him as a friend, I don't thinks it was for nothing) but we mostly know his darkest side. Despite being a moster he is a human that have empathy and some ordinary human traits (man just decorates every bit of an environment he is in lol).

3. Tsunade was the leader of team Hiruzen.

4. Tsunade sometimes hit Jiraiya for some stupid things he did or said but never touches Orochimaru even if he did something same. Jiraiya complained about it once and almost got another hit.

5. Jiraiya had problematic parents that didn't care about him much and a lot of time he was wandering in the streets.

6. Judging by the look of Oro bangs and hair, he sometimes cut it off. A stress relief huh? And the fact that he doesn't do it now in Boruto..

7. It was shown that Tsunade and Orochimaru was acknowledged before they become a team. Maybe they did just before, or maybe some longer time before. I prefer the second option and hc that they met because both had no real friends - Orochimaru seemed weird and scary for everyone and Tsunade was Senju so everyone wanted to hang out with her but didn't really care. They weren't seen as what they were - people put the labels on them. But they didn't care about each other's labels and actually saw each other in true lights.

8. Tsunade knew it was an accident and it's not right but still she blamed Orochimaru for Nawaki's death for some time. It was something that seriously damaged their friendship and the team. Orochimaru was mad but also guilty, after all, he was responsible at least as a shinobi since Nawaki was under his watch. So he started to act cold and emotionless and was trying to distance himself from his teammates.

9. Jiraiya was in Ame while Dan died.

10. The whole his orphans mission was a bit irresponsible tbh. They already fought Hanzo and as he stated the conflict between Konoha and Ame is going to an end with Konoha's win. It's weird to stay here for three years in the middle of the war while there were other lands to fight. He left his teammates for some idea. Maybe that caused another crack in their team friendship.

11. If Tsunade would have find a way to live on with her trauma and follow the will of fire and stuff it would affect Orochimaru as well just as her grief affected him. It's like he would get an example that you can live on with this pain. So death isn't above human capability and we are not just the slaves of mortality (sounds stupid but i dont know how else to describe sorry). But as we know what he actually saw is that it broke her crucially to the point she couldnt be herself again. And so the death is above everything.

12. Oro wasn’t just acting as a cold pragmatic bitch in that cave but also tried to save Tsunade. Jiraiya knew it and that’s why he showed this sign to him like "I see what youre doing here" and that stunned Oro because he would prefer to look rather like a cold pragmatic bitch hehe

13. Just a thought. People in the village probably treated Oro as a foreigner or just wouldnt accept him because he looked so differently and had a weird attitude. That's why he sometimes didn't feel that Konoha is his home. After the wars where people were treated as means and tools, even the children, he himself developed this view on people - he dehumanized them and used as the means to his goals, just as his village did. Funny thing some people were straightly dehumanizing him too like Ibiki thought that he was a demon (tho he was a child). And he probably weren't the only one. Anyways the point is that it's logical that Orochimaru don't care about anybody but some few people, he's the product of his era. He's like Naruto that would chose the hatred way. But naruto had some good and understanding people around him and.. Orochimaru had them too, but match how Iruka treated Naruto and this Hiruzen's "I sAw tHe mAliCe in This cHiLd fRoM tHe BegGinNinG". And oro didn't even have a big ass evil fox in him. sry i hate hiruzen

ANYWAYS the moral of the story is not "go criminal if they hurt you" but always treat people like people. Waving my hand to Kant.

14. The reason why Orochimaru didn't pick some good morals to stick with through the hard times no matter what (like, idk, Jiraiya or Naruto) is because 1) I think he is/was pretty depending on people around him 2) the war fucked him and his friends up too much (Nawaki incident + Tsunade) 3) twisted addictions (though I don't think he's that sadistic, we never saw him torturing randoms just for fun, it was always some science experimental shit. He tends to get fun out of cruelty only when it's personal) that maybe developed as a way to sublimate anger and sadness caused by his parents loss (that's what they share with sasuke - unlicke naruto, they knew their parents and it's other kind of pain. Sasuke developed a revenge issue and Orochimaru - cruelty pleasure which... is kinda the same but less epic and more occasional lol).

15. Speaking of that, Orochimaru cared for Sasuke because he saw himself in him.

16. Oro hold grudges against Hiruzen for not choosing him to be Hokage not only because he was ambitious and/or egoistic, but also because Hiruzen was some kind of a father figure for him and his approval was important tho i doubt he was aware of that. He also probably could tell that Hiruzen was suspicios about him when he was a child and that led to many conflicts and was hurting as well.

17. Tsunade knew things weren't pretty with Orochimaru after the wars but she never expected them to be this bad. During the week that she was given in her arc she thought not only about how much she wants to see Nawaki and Dan again despite how wrong would it be but also was trying to bury all the good memories she had left of Orochimaru so it would be easier to kill him.

18. She poisoned Jiraiya exactly because she knew he would not let her do it. Jiraiya was always hesitant to kill and inclined to forgiveness, while Tsunade, as mentioned by Orochimaru, could be merciless (so much so that he was not surprised when Kabuto suggested that she wanted to use Jira for Edo Tensei).

19. That was one of her traits that scared Jiraiya and fascinated Orochimaru.

20. Remember how Oro grabbed Jiraiya's neck when the latter was trying to cover with hair jutsu? On the snake, in Tsnade's arc. Orochimaru could have easily kill Jiraiya by pulling the sword out of the mouth (arteries are right there) but he didn't. As well as he could kill Tsunade when she was still shaking - just aim for the neck or the heart. Instead, he just injured her lung and kicked her which is not a big deal for the kind of shinoby like her at all.. Also he helped Anko not accidentally kill herself but it would be way much profitable to let her do it. "Orochimaru has no feelings".

21. The reason he suddenly wanted to kill Tsunade instead of forcing her to heal his arms as it was planned (which is weird since it will not going to get him heals and he kinda said that he wouldn't want to kill her just minutes ago) is that not only she refused to help him (he thought he could work it out) but she also prefered the village over him (from his point of view). Out if everyone she was the closest to being able to understand him since the village caused her painful losses too but nevertheless she agreed to be on it's side.

22. He wasn't fighting her back in the end partly because he thought he deserved that. Somewhere deep inside hahah.

23. Tsunade got a fear to develop deep bonds so they probably weren't very close with Shizune (also the way she knocked her down in this hotel.. oh).

24. Orochimaru will be here when she'll die.

25. Orochimaru's eng dub to Tsunade: "I often wondered what it would be like to ring that pretty neck yours". No comments.

26. Orochimaru is either bi/pan or ace. Anything or nothing lmao

27. Hiruzen knew about at least some of the Oro’s illegal experiments and was okay just as he was okay with the Foundation all the time. Because it’s useful. Then he has discovered he went too far OR he knew everything and oro just became too inconvenient because of his methods. The way Orochimaru tells Sasuke about reasons they are well treated as the criminals is based on in his experience with Hiruzen.

28. As you may know the lyrics in Orochimaru’s music theme goes “don’t talk with the silence of the heart”. It was taken from one Indian song that also had lines like “don’t question life too much”, ”pain arose somewhere in the chest”, “don’t speak to the wounds of the heart”. Though I’m not sure 100% because I was translating it with some hindi dictionary with like zero knowledge of hindi

29. I like to think that this “silence of the heart” theme and the fact that he called his village a hidden sound village are somehow connected. The hidden sound is the possible explanation of all things waiting to be listened to but the truth is silent and you know it deep in your heart and it bothers you. The world is silent just like the life is meaningless but people can only hear. *Sigh* anyways

30. Orochimaru’s journey is the one about accepting death. When he saw Karin released her chains while was trying to get to Sasuke he understood that the death is a part of human’s strength.

Can’t wait to feel that everything I wrote is wrong or not enough or stupid and obvious lol. Anyways, it’s something that I wanted to share until I move to some other fandom.

[anerdinallherglory]

Approaching Sun (31)

Author’s Note: Surprise readers! I wanted to celebrate the start of Spring Break (a very much needed break) by posting an update sooner than I expected. Also, it’s double the length, too. It’s practically two chapters in one!

Thank you always to my loyal readers. If I do not get back to you, please know that I see every review, every comment, and every mention. I am grateful for all of you!

Also, I have had a few readers tell me of songs they associate with A.S. and I just think that is so cool, because I too, connect music to books and fanfics that I read. I’d like to make a list of all my readers’ songs that they think fit A.S. and share them on my next update as the “soundtrack” for this story. Please let me know yours in the comments or through message.

Pairing: SasuSaku

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

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Chapter 31: Not Enough

Sakura spun the sword, adjusting it on her left forearm as she pivoted on her heel to bring it around her in another protective arc. The blackness that hovered before her again instantly shielded her enemies from view which could be considered both advantageous and disadvantageous for her.

For the first, Mako and Hisa immediately rushed forward, using the ninjutsu as a cloak. They crisscrossed her, one taking a swipe at her from the front right and the other coming from the left. When Hisa’s blade came from the right, Sakura’s first instinct was to dodge and strike her foe in the side with her fists as she passed. But with her chakra currently restricted, Sakura ducked, pushed up on the handle of her assault weapon with her forearm, and brought her own blade naturally to Hisa’s right flank as she redirected the attack. Sakura hissed in disappointment because the cut was interrupted when she retreated and the result was shallow, not slicing deep enough to incapacitate her. When Hisa took a step back, clutching her flank, Mako suddenly appeared like a breaching shark from the deep only inches before Sakura’s face. He kicked her, quite hard, and Sakura fell into the sand, her weapon tossed aside from the blow. She scrambled for it as Mako grabbed hold of her ankle. She kicked free of his hold, but he was upon he, knees straddling her, and Sakura had no choice but to turn and face him.

He cuffed her hands above her head, saying quietly, “Don’t make this difficult! You will lose your life if you continue to resist. They’ll kill you. Stop struggling!”

Sakura cursed herself for drinking that damn tea, because if she had chakra, she would headbutt his face so far back into his skull that the impact would instantly kill him. Hisa’s face suddenly appeared above Mako’s rights shoulder.

“Killing her is the only option. We don’t have time to hold her hostage,” she chastised Mako with venom in her voice. “We have to get back to base quickly with the news of her death.”

“We could use her. She’s too important to kill immediately.” Came Mako’s response as he sat down hard against her bucking legs.  

“We don’t have time for this! The drug effects won’t last on her all the way back to Tanigakure!”

Perfect, Sakura thought. The confirmation she had been looking for. They were in fact the same party of ninja who had attacked her and Sasuke on their journey to Suna. Sakura still wasn’t entirely sure just how many belonged to their group.

“Reach in my pocket for the second dose. We will knock her back out if we have to!” came Mako’s reply, but it was too late. Sakura had been calling, calling, calling her chakra to her wrists this entire time and used that small amount of sudden strength to overpower Mako’s hold, swinging her arms quickly back down to her sides which caused Mako’s own arms to follow. His head hit the ground to the left of her neck and Sakura immediately rolled him, bestriding him the same way he had just held her.

Hisa didn’t hesitate a second as her weapon came swiping horizontally across Sakura’s back. Sakura predicted this and used Mako’s struggling momentum to once again roll him back on top of her. The blade bit into the flesh of his back and he screamed. In the same moment, Sakura used the last of her strength to wedge her knees between herself and Mako’s chest, shoving him out and back toward a surprised Hisa. They both fell tangled back into the shadowy mist, hitting sand somewhere out of sight.

Within seconds, Sakura scrambled toward the lost weapon and the sword she had dropped was within Sakura’s reach. But when she fisted the pommel, a foot stepped down on the blade. The black mist cleared to reveal the eyeless depths of the shadow demon above her.

“Enough of this,” he hissed. Shadows leaked from his eyes, down his face, and crawled down his chest, legs, and over the length of the weapon, icing Sakura’s fingers when they touched the handle. Sakura immediately recoiled in pain as her fingers turned a sickening black. She screamed, backing away from his advancing figure, hand tucked protectively in the crook between her arm and side.

Rage more than fear boiled beneath Sakura’s skin. What sick ninjutsu was this? It reminded her of a combination between Zabuza’s Hidden Mist technique and Shikamaru’s Shadow Control. But the damage was entirely unexpectedt, as if the shadows inside his body were made of a poisonous substance that bleached out the life of whatever it touched. This phantom before her controlled darkness directly, thickening what already existed in the air around them, and then leaking black chakra directly from his body which destroyed whatever came in contact with it. Like the shadows of death itself, Sakura was certain it had stollen all life from her immovable hand.

Sakura cursed and bolted to the left, seeking out the jagged rocks that she had created earlier. She had to test a theory. Sakura slowed as she clutched her hand, listening, keeping an eye on her feet at all times in fear of creeping black, knowing the phantom would pursue.

When his steps came closer, Sakura turned and faced him. A chakra-manipulated path cleared the darkness between them, allowing the two ninja to see each other in the surrounding haze. This confirmed one thing for Sakura: no one, including the ninja user himself, could see through the darkness he created. That was good to know.

Just one more thing then. She waited and the shade sneered as he approached. When he came withing a few feet away, shadows reached for her like grasping fingers. Just as she had seen Temari do all those years ago during the Chunin exams, Sakura backed away until the shadows stopped and retreated back into the skull of the demon who had projected them. She drew a line in the sand, confirming the distance of ten feet between them.

Ha. She thought to herself. Just like Shikamaru’s justsu then. Similarly, it had a limited reach, although it was much shorter than Shikamaru’s range and didn’t seem to be able to use the shadows in the air around it to lengthen or widen. It explained the purpose of the shadows in the air though; the phantom ninja needed to be in close range where individuals couldn’t see the approaching black tentacles of death.

Sakura scoffed. Apparently, this ninja couldn’t measure up to Shikamaru’s intelligence either, considering the fact that she had just figured out how his ninjutsu worked.

There was only one problem, though. Sakura was a close-combat shinobi as well, and her number one battle technique was her chakra enhanced strength. She needed a plan that would allow her to take a different approach.

She ran and her attacker pursued her, thickening the air before her but leaving the trail behind her completely clear.

Suddenly, Mako’s words from earlier came back to her, which gave Sakura an idea. It was the only thing Sakura could think of. She doubled back to where Mako and Hisa had been disposed. She followed the blood in the sand to the precipice of a jagged chunk of earth. When she came upon Mako, Sakura noted that Hisa was already gone, having abandoned him immediately. Hisa was probably blindly searching for Sakura among the shadow-cloaked mountains of ground and sand.

Sakura didn’t have much time. She placed her hand over Mako’s mouth so he wouldn’t scream and give away their location; not that it would do much good. If the phantom had room for a brain somewhere next to that pit of darkness in his skull, he would follow the blood as she had, or trace her tracks in the sand.

Mako, laying on his bloody back in the sand, shot his eyes open when Sakura’s hand pressed down hard on his mouth with her black hand. It was barely more than a useless appendage at this point, but with the help of her good hand, Sakura shoved her fingers in his mouth to silence him. He tried biting them, tearing into her blackened flesh. But Sakura couldn’t feel them at all, the deadening so complete that Sakura was afraid she would never regain use of it again.

With her free hand, Sakura searched Mako’s person. Her hand fisted triumphantly in his back pocket around something long and cylindrical. She pulled it free, praying frantically that it was what she theorized it to be. Bless you for being thorough and for telling me you had it, she thought to Mako as she surveyed the capped yellow injection tube. Whether it was Ashuwa or a second dose of whatever he had put in her tea, Sakura didn’t know. But whatever it was, Mako had revealed its purpose to Hisa which was to incapacitate her again once the current drug in her system stopped working.

Mako squirmed beneath her and Sakura contemplated killing him right then and there. But she just didn’t have time. Lucky bastard. She sprinted from him, the phantom stepping over the boulder in the same moment she darted from the concealed spot.

Did he see what she grabbed? Sakura wasn’t confident but couldn’t stop to try to interpret the eye-less facial expression the ninja wore. Remaining hopeful, she kept running.

Spotting a smaller set of tracks in the sand leaving the location, Sakura followed them, tracing them all the way to their source. When Sakura came upon Hisa, she almost collided with her directly, the blackened air only revealing her in the last second. Hisa didn’t even have a chance to react before Sakura uncapped the needle and dispensed a third of the dose into her neck, enough for her weight. The woman dropped to the ground and Sakura thanked Mako again for designing the perfect drug. Sakura didn’t estimate that she would remain unconscious for long, though, not having the full dose.

Sakura moved quickly. There was only a matter of minutes before the phantom caught up to her once again. Sakura quickly removed the cloak from Hisa’s shoulders and wrapped Hisa’s face covering around her own. She picked up Hisa’s small rapier from the ground.

She turned and walked toward the approaching footsteps, using the black at her back to her advantage this time, thankful for once that it would conceal Hisa’s body completely.

When she came into his view, the ninja balked, taken aback at her familiar presence. “Hisa?” came the hissing whisper. Sakura kept her head down long enough. Long enough to come parallel with him and turn the blade to relieve him of his head.  

He ducked as Sakura knew he would. Dropping the shortsword, she came back toward his face with the hidden syringe in the same hand. Like with Hisa, she caught him in the neck with the needle neck, and his black sockets widened as she fully pressed in the plunger.

Deathly black shot out of his eye sockets, gripping her remaining hand with blackness as it traveled up her arm. She cried out in both pain and fury as the medicine injected into the demon’s skin. He screamed and she pulled away as he dropped to his knees.

His consciousness remained momentarily, and Sakura turned, arms limp and useless from damage like Orochimaru’s had been. Turning, Sakura found the sword she had dropped. Bending down, she gripped it between her teeth, the taste of metal and sand coating her tongue. It tasted so, so sweet in that second.

Like another mist demon she remembered, Zabuza Momochi, Sakura wielded the blade between her teeth and pivoted to face this monster who was solely responsible for torturing Isao, spreading hatred and pain, and most of all, underestimating her.

Sakura would never be weak enough that anyone without substance, anyone who couldn’t consider themselves subpar to a legendary Sanin, could dispose of her easily. She didn’t need abilities. She didn’t even need chakra to make it out triumphant in these futile attempts on her life.

“You will regret your choices,” the phantom hissed disorientated. “The next generation won’t be able to handle what is coming.”

Sakura began to advance toward him, ready to mimic Zabuza’s killing blows with a fang-wielded blade. When she reached him, she glared down at him, bloodlust in her veins.

“War is a good thing. Anger is a tool to be used. Vengeance is necessary to strengthen.”

Sakura gripped onto her own blood-bent mind, talking to herself as she looked at this man…beast…whatever he was. And as she had done with Satou, Sakura now too, thought of Sasuke. A person so wrapped in darkness that the darkness presented itself in his very nature.

“You, like everyone else, deserve mercy,” Sakura announced after she dropped the sword from her mouth. Sakura had once blamed herself for being too weak to kill Sasuke, but in this moment, Sakura had an enlightening clarification. When someone so vile deserves death and you can find it in yourself to drop your too-ready hand of justice and offer them a second chance—that is real strength. It’s what Naruto would have done. It’s what Sakura chose to do now.

The man slumped forward, eyes level with the blade that stuck up from the sand. “You will see one day that I am right,” he hissed in finality.

“You have us confused with one another,” she announced to the fading darkness that began to disintegrate into light, the final sign signaling his unconsciousness. Sakura could just make out the sunrise in the east and it was beautiful, pale, and rosy. Sakura pretended it was her victory banner. She also believed it was a sign of hope.  

………………………………….

The second chakra pill worked another miracle. Sasuke felt replenished as he practically flew across the sand path in Isao’s memory. He had only run this fast a few times in his life and most recently, it was because of this same scenario. Kido, too, had kidnapped Sakura, and when Sasuke had found out, he had run.

Sasuke cursed himself now for his stupidity. His pride. His mission. He had left in anger and confusion after their kiss, left her alone in Suna despite his promise to never let this sort of thing happen again. Each step he took into the sand was echoed in his mind with an apology. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. He lost count of how many times he said it.

Chakra coursed through his limbs and Sasuke mentally prepared himself for war. Bones enveloped his body, ribs caging around him as he activated an incomplete Susanoo. Purple chakra radiated from him, a threatening beacon to the kidnappers he knew would be nearby.

Sasuke instantly recognized the projections of broken ground that penetrated up from the sand like a golden crown. Unlike in Isao’s shadowy memories, the morning light illuminated each pillar, revealing the sheer length and size of every new peak that Sakura had brought forth with her inhuman strength.  Sasuke didn’t even think of concealing his presence; he didn’t need to. He charged into the center of the fray, looking about him everywhere.

He looked behind a few of the crags, eyes finally landing on an individual. Bloody, but not unconscious, Mako lay with his face projected to the sky. His eyes shot open when Sasuke placed a heavy foot on his chest. He wanted to light him up with his Amaterasu and let the flames devour him alive until the ninja was nothing more than the sand beneath him.

Mako groaned and Sasuke unsheathed his katana, stabbing into this ninja’s shoulder. Although he didn’t need to pin him to the ground, it felt good to watch Mako clutch at the blade near his collar bone. The medic ninja was still alive despite his blood loss, but Sasuke relished in the thought that he wouldn’t be for long. Gaara might be mad at him for this later, but Sasuke didn’t care.

“Where is she?” The Uchiha hissed as he sent electricity down the length of his blade into Mako’s chest muscles. He began to spasm.

“Stop!” Mako screamed in pain.

“It will stop when you answer!” he yelled back, losing control of his own emotions. He twisted the metal for emphasis.

“Sasuke, stop!” came a familiar voice and Sasuke’s dropped the blade in shock as Sakura threw her shoulder into him.

“I don’t have enough chakra to spare to heal any more wounds,” she reprimanded him as if she were talking to a patient.

Sasuke blinked in chastisement at the pink-haired woman standing whole before him. He instantly pulled her into his Susanoo, crushing her to his side as he extended the ribcage of the Susanoo to include her. He looked around warily as if he couldn’t quite believe there was no current threat to Sakura’s person. He finally spoke, both relief and annoyance edging his words. “You’re okay?! Where are the others?!”

“I’m fine!” she announced, face suddenly red in embarrassment at their close proximity. Sasuke didn’t notice it at first as he held her back at arm’s length to check her current state. His stomach dropped when he saw her dangling arms, blackened, charred, and bruised. One of them currently had a small halo of green around it and its color paled in comparison to the other.

“Who did this to you?” he rumbled lowly, flashing a red and purple glare back down at Mako, who whimpered pathetically from his wounds. Sakura pulled from his hand and moved in front of the Uchiha, cutting off his direction of blame.

“Not him,” she excused, and her defense thoroughly pissed Sasuke off. Whatever Mako’s role was in this, Sasuke was certain that he was to blame for all of it.

Sasuke did his best to swallow his murdering thirst, eyes landing back on her like a lifeline to his sanity. “Tell me what happened,” he ordered. It was the only words that he could force past his teeth.

“I will explain everything to you, but I need your help first.” She made to step away from him, but Sasuke prevented it. Careful not to aggravate her injuries by touching her arm, Sasuke grabbed her shirt on reflex instead, pulling her back into the safety of the Susanoo.

“It’s okay. We are safe.” she breathed, smiling at him for the first time since he had left her, which brought Sasuke back some soothing clarity of mind. “They are all incapacitated.”

Sasuke’s eyebrow shot up into his bangs. “All of them?”

“It’s insulting that you are surprised,” she nudged him with her shoulder, turning her shoulders to face Mako. She bent to medically assess his new stab wound.

“I wasn’t expecting,” he admitted, but then fell into silence at her targeted look. “I mean, I thought that you were drugged!”

“I am,” she announced, narrowing her eyes further. “But I don’t know how you know that.”

Sasuke cursed at his slip. He couldn’t tell her just yet about how he practically forced Isao to spill all the information earlier. Instead, he said half-truthfully, “I ran into the kid.”

“Isao?” Sakura’s face lit up. “He’s okay? He made it back?” She slumped into the sand at Mako’s side. She practically deflated as her concern for the boy evaporated. “Bless that child.”

Sasuke had to agree. If it weren’t for him, Sasuke wouldn’t have been able to find his teammate this quickly. Even though Sakura hadn’t really needed his help after all. How strange that felt for Sasuke, to not be needed in the ways that he had once been. It was an unexpected jolt to his mindset toward Sakura. She had proved her strength repeatedly to him and he continued to see her as someone to protect.

Before he could even offer an apology, Sakura motioned toward Mako’s body. “My arms are a little preoccupied at the moment. Do you mind flipping him?”

Sasuke’s thoughts instantly darkened at the mention of both her arms and Mako. “What for?”

“I need to look at his back. See how deep the wound is.”

“He doesn’t deserve your help,” he replied instantly, wishing for the ninja to suffer in the same ways he had made his friend.

“I remember a time when you didn’t either,” Sakura replied with a smiling voice, “but I helped you back then, too. Now flip him.”

Sasuke scoffed at her statement, stooped, and flipped the ninja on his stomach. Mako let out a pained groan and Sakura “tsked” at his blatant carelessness. He kneeled beside her, ready to be her hands despite how much he hated the thought of her trying to help him.

“It’s not as deep as I thought. Hold his flesh together,” she ordered and Sasuke did so as she summoned a small stream of chakra to the gray fingertips of her semi-healed hand. The small amount did not last long, but it was enough. Just enough to stop the bleeding.

“Why are you helping me?” Mako asked faintly into the sand, and Sasuke immediately responded for her.

“You don’t need to know, so just shut your mouth so I don’t have to hear your voice.”

Sakura nudged him for his harsh words. “You sure have a lot to say today.” And Sasuke blinked at her again in surprise. She was right; he was talking a lot…for him. He responded with another scoff.

Sakura answered Mako’s question despite Sasuke’s threat. “You believe in war. I believe in peace. We are stronger united than when we are divided. This is how I create peace.”

Sasuke wasn’t following entirely, but he knew that Sakura was referencing words that had been exchanged between them, and Sasuke recognized them as the poison from a mindset consumed in darkness.

Standing again, Sakura said, “The hard part is going to be getting them all back to Sunagakure.”

“What do you mean?” Sasuke asked.

“They’re drugged. Not all of them are dead. They’ll wake soon,” she clarified for him.

Sasuke didn’t even think before saying, “I can remedy that.”

She ignored him, continuing, “We might have to make a couple trips. How many can you carry?”

Sasuke didn’t even respond to that ridiculous notion. Instead, he activated his Rinnegan once more, feeding it with the chakra from the chakra pill. A spiral appeared before them, revealing the central red-dune dimension. Sakura didn’t even have time to protest before Sasuke was throwing Mako’s limp body inside the hole.

“What are you doing?” Sakura asked, confused and stunned by his actions.

“They can remain in this dimension until we make it back to Suna. They can’t flee inside. They have nowhere to go.”

Sakura nodded in understanding. “Good idea!” she praised him, obviously relieved she wasn’t going to have to try to carry anyone with her arms practically useless.

“I’ll take you to the others.”

A female kunoichi Sakura called Hisa was the second to be transported to Kaguya’s center dimension. Then a different sort of being Sasuke considered warily. He didn’t look to be human. Sakura explained that he had been the most dangerous of them all. Sakura believed him to be the ringleader, though she wasn’t sure how many group members he truly led. It was still a confusing web of connections.

Sakura left out the fact that this ninja must be the one to have damaged her arms, but no good would come from Sasuke demanding that she confirm that for him. The Uchiha made a mental note of it as he tossed the unconscious ninja inside, already contemplating on ways to make him talk.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“One more,” she replied, and she led Sasuke toward a small adobe house that he hadn’t noticed before. It was alone in the desert, one wall completely destroyed, revealing the building’s stark clay interior.

Just before they reached the ruins, Sakura stopped when they approached the body of a large man. Sasuke was surprised to find this man not just unconscious; he was dead.

“He hurt Isao,” she defended automatically, ashamed that death had been necessary.

But Sasuke didn’t need an explanation from her. If she wouldn’t have, Saskue was pretty sure that he would have killed him. “Let the sand have him,” he declared, but Sakura shook her head.

“He belongs with them. They must be able to bury and grieve to find peace. We don’t want to give them cause for any further resentment.”

Sasuke wanted to say “you can’t be serious,” but he didn’t feel like arguing, because no matter what Sasuke could come up with to say next, Sakura would still be right in the end. She had a bigger vision in mind that Sasuke couldn’t quite connect sometimes. He just knew that he would always trust her to do the right thing, even if it wasn’t sensible, or in most cases, not what Sasuke would have done.

“Fine,” he declared, opening the portal once more. His breathing became labored as he pushed the effects of the chakra pill. Like with the others, Sasuke dragged the man’s body into the portal.

Sasuke also stepped through, leaving the gateway open between realms. He directed his attention to Mako, ice already coating his next words.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t wander too far from this spot. The dimension is endless and not of our world. You will only lose yourself and die in this place.”

Mako swallowed deeply in fear as he watched Sasuke’s form from his stomach.

“On second thought,” Sasuke sneered under his breath. “Feel free.” The portal closed behind the Uchiha as he exited. He would deal with all of them later, he thought. He needed to get Sakura back to Sunagakure first.  

………………………………

Sakura couldn’t help but whimper when her left arm wasn’t responding as quickly to her healing chakra. Her right hand—the very same one she had shoved into Mako’s mouth to keep him from screaming—had almost fully recovered as the medicine suppressing her chakra began to wear off and her healing abilities returned to her. Her left hand, however, was at first very numb, which Sakura knew was a very bad sign. But the longer she worked at healing, the more the pain began to intensify. It was almost unbearable, but Sakura was ultimately relieved at the burning sensation that indicated life. Sakura considered the differences between the two hands and all she could conclude was that distance must have had something to do with it since her right hand had a grabbed the blackened sword at his feet and her left had been near his face when she plunged the needle in his neck.

Sasuke supported her as they walked back to the Sand Village, though he suddenly seemed to her like he was the one that needed supporting. He stumbled in the sand and Sakura removed her good arm from his shoulders.

“I’m good. But are you okay?” she asked, noticing his strenuous breathing for the first time.

“Yes,” he fibbed, and Sakura knew it was a lie the minute he clutched his head to support it.

Redirecting her chakra back to her healed hand, Sakura immediately sought out Sasuke’s brow with her fingertips. He moaned with relief as green chakra lighted over it, but he instantly pushed her hand away. “Heal yourself.”

“What happened?” she responded, ignoring his demand. She found his forehead again. “There’s nothing I can do if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“I took two chakra pills. I’ll be fine though. I just need rest.” He removed her hand again.

Sakura inhaled sharply at the confession. “Why did you do that?”

“I had already depleted my chakra reserves when I found out you weren’t in the village. I panicked.”

“Overdosing on chakra pills is one thing,” she scolded, “but using them recklessly to overexert your Rinnegan is another. No matter how much chakra you have, you have limits with the Rinnegan.”

“It was my only choice,” he defended sharply, obviously masking his embarrassment with annoyance.

Sakura placed her glowing palm over his eyes, now certain of the source of his discomfort. Sasuke made to move her hand away once more, but she fussed like a mother when he tried. “Let me have my way, or we’ll be here longer.”

Sasuke released a small laugh that sounded like another scoff. Only Team 7 could tell the difference between Sasuke’s derisiveness and his sense of humor.  Sakura couldn’t believe he had the energy to laugh. But then something changed in the air around them and Sasuke grew very serious as he inhaled—the type of inhale someone made before having something important to say.

Sasuke finally managed to grab her fingers and he tugged them away after Sakura was satisfied with his treatment. But he didn’t let go. Instead, he held them for a moment that suggested tenderness. It was different from how their hands had brushed so many times before, like how they rested them against each other as they watched Suna’s desert sunset. This time, it was more like how Sasuke had held her hand between them in the medicine preparation room.

Finally working up the courage, Sasuke looked down at her feet and said, “I’m sorry.”

Sakura stared at the firm hold his fingers had on hers in wonder. And the truly amazing part was that he stillwasn’t letting go. “For what?” she whispered, not knowing what else to say for fear of him moving away.

“For leaving you behind in Suna. For leaving in anger. For not being there and letting this happen.”

Sakura didn’t let him continue. “Sasuke,” she began, catching his guilty eyes with her own. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I hope I have proved that to you, today. Please don’t burden yourself with worry for me. I can carry my own burdens and some. You already have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Sasuke searched her eyes with his. Sakura knew this was a rare occasion. Not many people would see the Uchiha open, unguarded, with care etched in every feature of his expression.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said suddenly, still holding her fingers tightly, and Sakura felt the whole world suddenly still around them. Even the desert wind seemed to stop. Was this the Sasuke she had always known was inside, no matter how roughly he displayed himself to the world?

“I’m sorry for what happened,” Sakura interrupted, afraid for another impending denial of her feelings. She knew what was coming and she didn’t want this small moment to end. “I won’t do that again.”

He paused and Sakura wondered if he was unsettled by the open acknowledgement of her stollen kiss.

He sighed and Sakura’s stomach dropped. She felt him hesitate, saw it in his face. But he resolved himself, declaring, “I came to a conclusion while I was away, and I have to say this while I have the nerve.”

Sakura nodded, ready for disappointment. She was more afraid of what he would say next than she had ever felt going toe-to-toe with her enemies just moments ago.

“Can it be enough for us to care for one another?” he asked, desperation cloaked with mock annoyance on his breath. “Can it just be enough for us to be friends as long as we are in each other’s lives sometimes? Can it be enough for us to be united in the same goal?”

Sakura’s heart sank and unhappiness hit her like the wave she was expecting. Tears threatened to brim her eyelids, but Sakura swallowed them down. Would he ever not be this thickheaded and stubborn? Would he ever let them be what they could be? Whether or not Sakura was simply high on victory or if she was genuinely losing her meekness in Sasuke’s presence, Sakura wasn’t sure.

She removed her hand from his. “Is it enough for you?” she finally asked, taking a step away from him. But he caught her fingers again, pulling her back gently to face him.

“Is that a no?” he asked emotionlessly, but Sakura saw the struggle in his eyes.

“When the answer becomes ‘yes’ for you, I will accept it as mine as well.” She pulled away, firmly this time. He couldn’t respond. Sakura knew why: he wanted to put this on her; he was always putting it back on her, afraid “because of her,” hesitant “because of her.” These were his excuses, but Sakura wouldn’t give him an out this time. It was his turn to choose.

They both knew that it was far too late for Sasuke to pretend he didn’t love her in the same way that Sakura loved him. But Sakura had learned that people love in many ways and not all people wanted to express that love romantically. Kissing Sasuke had been a mistake. She hated to call it that, but it was the truth of it. She didn’t want to steal from him what he wasn’t ready to give—what he wasn’t at peace with. It was his turn; he now knew where she stood.

………………………………..

When they finally made it back to the Hidden Sand Village, Kankuro was there to intercept them just as Sasuke had expected he would. The puppet-wielding ninja was beside himself with worry at seeing Sakura’s injuries, insisting that Sakura promptly return to the hospital. Sakura had insisted she tend to her own wounds back in their lodgings so she could rest. She immediately requested to see Isao, but Kankuro insisted she get some rest first.

It wasn’t until Sasuke insisted that he have an audience with him and Gaara, that he left Sakura to her own desires. As they parted, Sasuke tried to say something or grab her eyes with his, but she didn’t look at him. Not even once. And Sasuke ran his hand exhaustedly through his hair. He couldn’t think about them right now. A conference with the Kazekage would be the perfect distraction.

Gaara, miraculously, had returned before he and Sakura had, and Sasuke wondered just how fast news could travel. Sasuke privately joked with himself that the desert shared its secrets with the Kazekage. The wind and sand must speak to him if he found out things so quickly. It was a hypothesis that could explain a lot at least.

Sasuke shook his head as he followed Kankuro into the Kazekage’s office. He must be getting delirious from the effects of the chakra pills.

“Sasuke,” came Gaara’s raspy acknowledgement when the Uchiha stepped into the room. Gaara was surprisingly alone, which relieved Sasuke. He thought he would have to face Gaara with the “support” of his council. It would be easier to speak of recent events if only Gaara and Kankuro were present.

Sasuke nodded respectfully despite his feelings of resentment toward the two men at the moment for having let Sakura be kidnapped under their watch. As a ninja that was a part of this unpredictable shinobi world, Sasuke knew his anger was unjustified, but he wanted to be mad at anyone and everyone right now. 99% of his own anger was directed at himself, because Sasuke knew that he was more responsible for what happened than the Kazekage and his brother were. The Kazekage had been trying to be proactive and prevent something like this from happening. It just didn’t turn out that way.

The Kazekage seemed to share Sasuke concern for discreetness, because he cloaked the room in sand as he had done the first day of Sasuke arrival. It filled every crevice, thickening to soundproof the room.

Sasuke opened the portal into Kaguya’s central dimension without further delay. He walked into the vortex, not surprised the group remained exactly where he had left them. The only difference was that they were conscious, a fact that slightly irked the Uchiha.

One by one, he grabbed each ninja, tossing them forward into the Kazekage’s domain. Hisa clutched at her dead counterpart, holding onto the deceased brute. Sasuke found grim satisfaction in Mako’s subdued, yielding persona. Being present before the Kazekage was far more terrifying than being stuck in a desolate dimension.

But the individual that held both Sasuke and the Kazekage’s attention was the wraith-like individual that bled darkness from a small spot on his neck. It was his only injury.

Gaara carefully considered him, crossing his arms and surveying him emotionlessly as he did most enemies that he regarded.

Darkness suddenly began to ooze from the man’s eye sockets and Sasuke’s temper suddenly flared. He looked to Gaara, and the ninja nodded his permission.

“Only demons don’t seem to know when they’re in the presence of other demons. Shall I show you hell?”

Sasuke’s eye suddenly began to bleed as he formed the tiger seal for fire release. “Amaterasu!”

The black flames clung to the phantom, incinerating what Sasuke realized was dark masses of sinewing, vaporized flesh. The phantom hissed. Then screamed, then began to plead for mercy. Hisa began to cry and Mako turned his face away from their leader.

Gaara came up beside Sasuke to speak to the wraith as he writhed. Sasuke released the Amaterasu and the flames receded.

The Kazekage crouched, an arm on his knee. “From one demon to another, I urge you to leave your shadows behind in hell and step out into the light. Only demons desire war. And war breeds more demons.”

Sasuke clutched his eye in silent suffering, and Gaara dismissed him. “I’ll handle the rest. I’ll let you know what we find out.”

Sasuke nodded, not waiting for any further excuses to depart. He had delivered them into the Kazekage’s care. But what those ninja didn’t know was that Sakura’s mercy held Sasuke more confined than it did the Kazekage, a demon just as he had said, whose territory had been breached.

……………………

Sakura was finishing binding her tender left hand in medical bandaging, using up the last of her burn solvent that she had created at Suna’s hospital, when Sasuke walked in.

He opened the door, caught her eyes with his, and tried to hide the bloody track down his face from her with his hand. She was on her feet instantly, pulling him to the bed that he had staked his claim on.

She felt his forehead and it was hot, too hot. He had done it this time. She sighed, summoning the small reserve of chakra behind the diamond mark on her forehead.

She expected Sasuke to scold her for using what little she had left on him, but he didn’t seem to notice in his extreme exhaustion. “Thank you,” he whispered, and Sakura retreated to fetch water for him.

He gulped it greedily and Sakura helped him shrug out of his outer layer of clothing. Sand fell from his hair and clothes in the same way hers had earlier. “I’m better now,” he whispered, the first words spoken between them since their disagreement in the desert.

Sakura nodded, making to move away, but he grabbed her hand for the third time that day.

“Don’t be angry,” he begged, his exhaustion making him suddenly careless to conceal his true intentions with fake displeasure and irritation.

“Why do you think I am angry?” she asked emotionlessly.

“I just want what’s best for you. I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered in defeat. This side of Sasuke startled Sakura. He was becoming more undefended, open with emotions in a way she had never seen him before. Was it because he didn’t have anything to hide anymore? Was he past his denials and his pretending?

“I know,” she squeezed his hand back. “But your concerns are groundless.”

“Tell me how,” he pleaded.

She sat beside him on his bed, and he tilted his ear to her, never removing his hand from hers. She took a breath and told him the truth. Told him everything he needed to know. “I do not love you sacrificially, Sasuke. I do not choose you knowing that my life or happiness could be forfeit by doing so. I choose you because I can keep up with you. Because something like your absence wouldn’t be enough to determine my permanent happiness. I will choose to go on, content with only the thought that I know you are out there somewhere loving me if that is all that I have in the moment.”

She took a breath and continued before he could respond. “I am strong enough to handle whatever comes my way as a result of loving you. And I have absolutely no doubts in my feelings, my happiness, and what I am willing to compromise to be with the person I love most.”

Sakura reached tenderly to turn his face to hers and their eyes met. She touched his forehead in the same way he had done to her many times before. “That person is you,” she reassured him, offering him a sincere smile as she removed her hand from his forehead.

Then Sasuke leaned forward. Very close to her, and Sakura bit her lip to keep from reaching for his with her own. “Is all of that true?” he requested again, suddenly breathless. And Sakura knew later that it was just to be sure before what came next.

“Yes,” she breathed. And she didn’t have to reach for him, because he was suddenly reaching for her. His hand found her chin and Sakura waited for his choice. She waited for him to move. And he did.

“Then my answer is no; it’s not enough for me either.” When his lips carefully parted her own, Sakura knew without a doubt that he had decided to find some way possible for them, a path where he could choose her, too.

[kishillaa]

SSM21 Day 24: Fairytale

"I really don't think I should go, Ino." Sakura, sprawling on her bed, before her was her revision book she more often than not study at when she's not busy running around the hospital for her seemingly never ending shift.

Ino is sitting on the chair of her study, wearing a camisole and short pants. Her baby blue eyes are thick with pleading emotion, "You don't have to be there long. Just until you have to go for your shift. You know I need you there. And plus, you have to go out once in a while. Till when are you planning to only stay indoor during your free time, which is rarely I might add."

"This isn't a fairytale for me to be leisurely go around and enjoy parties, Ino. I would really like the comfort of our home. My room." She said, gesturing to her room.

Ino crossed her hands over her chest and look pointedly at her bestfriend, "This isn't about a fairytale or not. You've gotta get out of this confined place once in a while. What comfort are you looking for over your books?"

Sakura push her book away a little and turn around to look at her bestfriend slash housemate. She and Ino has been bestfriends since kindergarten, while she pursue her study in medical school, Ino went on to take a major on psychology, and when she finished her study, she decided that modelling is her thing.

She's tried to be at every of her show for support but lately, she noticed that Ino has something up her sleeve. After her show that Sakura attend, she will introduce a fine young man and ditch her with him.

Sakura sighs, it might be a huge coincident that there's always a guy to introduce. Tonight though, she really couldn't go. She has a midnight shift, which started at 11. Ino's show starts at 8 and end around midnight. She has to prepare to work at least an hour prior so she could be there on time.

Mentally do the math, she thought maybe she can go home early, 9 something or 10 maybe. So she heaves another defeated sigh as Ino squeals, running towards her wardrobe to retrieve a dress for Sakura to wear.

3 hours later, Sakura found herself seated on a fancy chair facing the stage for a fashion show. It was a party like fashion show, where the show will be held during a formal dinner party.

Ino was flawless and beautiful as always, walking on the stage, styling her modelling dress and poses for pictures.

"That was great, Ino!" She exclaimed as her bestfriend approached her, "I don't understand why you were so nervous. You were perfect earlier, like you always did."

Ino giggles as she spoke, "Thanks, Sakura. But Mikoto Uchiha is my idol. To modelling her own collection she designed herself is an honor, and I was afraid I messed it up. You know how I am when I got nervous."

Sakura put her hand on Ino's shoulder in reassuring manner, "You worried for nothing, then."

Ino beamed at her, "You're the best! Anyway, I met this guy before I came here. His name is Sai and he asked if I want a drink. Do you mind if I–" She pause to smile sheepishly at her pink haired bestfriend.

Sakura rolls her eyes. Well, at least she isn't trying to hook her up with someone, "Alright, I need to head home soon, anyway."

Ino scoffs and shakes her pointing finger in Sakura's face, "Live up a little, will you? It's still early, why don't you court a few beautiful men here before you go back to that dreaded real life of yours. I'll suggest you live this great and amazing fairytale just for a moment." Ino walks away with one hand raises up for a goodbye.

Sakura lets out a snort at her bestfriend. "Fairytale my ass." She murmurs and glances at her wrist watch which she didn't often wear because of her job and decide that she'll kill a little of her time here before make her way home.

As she put the elegant cup on the tip of her mouth, her eyes caught a sight of a man, looking rather ravishingly good, standing, leaning against the wall, away from other people. His eyes train upon his iPhone, and as if sensing her eyeing him from afar, he lifts up his head and their eyes met.

Sakura feels like her breath stuck in her throat as she stares at that man's eyes himself, so devilishly handsome. She almost satisfy as his eyes moves to roam over her body – thank Ino for styling her in this pretty long dress that hug her body perfectly – and grateful that he looks up at her with a look that only meant he's interested.

Without further ado, Sakura place the glass in her hold on the table, rise herself up her seat and slowly, walk over his direction.

As she reaches him, she stopped a few steps away. Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Want a company?" And to that, ladies and gentlemen, Sakura hope the ground swallow her whole. What a lame thing to say for a good looking guy.

She almost stunt when the devil himself look amused before he nodded, "Sure."

Sakura grins up at him and move to stand beside him, leaning together against the wall as she cross her hands over her chest, "This kind of thing aren't really my forte." She told.

"That makes the two of us." She heard him mutters.

She looks at him, "Why come here then?"

"Mikoto is my mother."

Sakura's eyes almost bulged from its socket, "Mikoto? Like Mikoto Uchiha, the one hosting this party and designed those dresses?"

The guy, the handsome handsome guy lift up one eyebrow, "Yes. In fact, I wonder why you didn't recognise me yet."

Sakura chuckles lightly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Uchiha. But I don't know anything about you, or your mother, or your family. I heard my bestfriend talked about it, but never really care to know more. I came because she was one of your mother's model."

From her peripheral view, she saw him nodded, "I'm Sasuke, by the way." He said, as if detest the way she addressed him as Mr. Uchiha.

Sakura turns her body to face him, and pull out her hand, "Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

Her smiles, wide, bright and beautiful display before him and Sasuke couldn't help but hold her delicate hand in his, firmly shake it once, "It's a pleasure meeting you, Sasuke–kun." She was hesitant, as she add the honorific.

"The pleasure is all mine, Sakura."

Her name that roll out of his mouth molded through his tongue makes Sakura's heart skip a beat. Never has she ever heard her name sounded so sinfully good.

They didn't spoke after that, watching over people dancing through the ball room with the slow dance song. "You know," Sasuke heard Sakura spoke, gaining his attention to look over her, "I don't usually do this, but let's dance."

She thought he's going to decline her right away, but didn't startle when his hand is offered before her. Smiling up at him, Sakura slid her hand over his. He grips it with such gentleness and he leads them to the dance floor.

As they dance follow the tune of the song, he spoke. "You're not bad."

Sakura lets out a shy giggle and murmurs her thanks before she responded, "I was a cheerleader back in high school."

"I see."

"How about you? Do you do any sport?"

"I was in football team."

"That makes sense. What do you do now?"

He has the amused smile on his face that makes Sakura tilted her head to the side, "What?"

"You really don't know me."

"Should I?"

There is a light rise and fall of his shoulder, "I guess you don't really have to. My father own a law firm. I worked under him?"

"A lawyer then?"

A nod, "How about you?"

"Guess." She said, cheekily grins at him.

He do a once over at Sakura before he said, "A model."

That makes her snort, "Thank you for finding me that appealing. But no, I am not."

"A hint?"

"That will be too easy."

"Alright, I'll guess randomly. A teacher?"

A head shake from Sakura.

"Another lawyer?"

She chuckles, "I was interested in that when I was in school, but I found it too intense."

"A no then. I really think you'd make a nice model."

"I'm not really interested in those. I'm a residence in Konoha Hospital."

A surprise raised eyebrow, "A doctor. Surgeon?"

"Right." Sakura turn the hand that's over his neck to look at her watch. She sighs when it shows its a little over 10.

"In fact, I need to go now. My shift starts in an hour."

"Really?" That was definitely a disappointment in his tone.

Sakura let our a giggle and poke her finger on his chest, "I have a day off two days from now. Around seven in the evening at The Yakiniku?"

Sasuke lift an eyebrow teasingly, "Is it a date?"

"It's definitely a date. I need to go now. See you in two days." She pat a hand on his chest, and walk away.

That man, that beautiful, handsome and angelic face man, is probably the closest fairytale she has ever indulged herself in.

[19lungs]

Naruto will always have a target on his back.

Sasuke has a vague concept of hypothermia, but nothing past that. He knows when someone’s lips are more purple and blue than a bruise, but their body is no longer shaking, it’s a bad sign. He presses two fingers against the pulse in Naruto’s throat, moving around until he can finally feel the dull lob of a pulse.

There's a chance his pulse will slow down in a few minutes now that Naruto isn’t being drained for everything he’s worth, but that won’t help the lifeless state of Naruto’s skin, deadly pale.

Naruto’s heart is close to giving out.

He doesn’t have medic chakra. In a recent impassioned fit with Sakura, over Naruto’s kidnapping and Sasuke’s inability to keep a cool head, she snapped how this wasn’t nearly her first time. She seethed about the Akatsuki, about Pain, about the time she held Naruto’s heart in her hand and pumped it with her bare, bloody fingers to keep him alive, and how Sasuke wasn’t there for any of it.

The only time Sasuke had shoved his hand through Naruto’s chest—

He could try to use a low level chidori to restart Naruto’s heart as a last resort. Chidori isn’t designed to save the life it’s piercing.

The ceiling crumbles, iced rocks are tumbling and shattering in the underground cavern in the rural part of the Land of Snow, where Naruto has been held for weeks now. Sasuke has to move fast. He has to do something to help stabilize Naruto before moving him or else he’s going to die and electrocuting his heart is not a promising last resort.

“Naruto,” he calls to him. There’s an urgency in his voice, despite trying to keep ii calm. “Look at me. Naruto.”

Naruto doesn’t open his eyes.

Sasuke grits his teeth. He’s never tried Sharingan on an unconscious person and everything he knows about his eyes has been through practice. There were never scripts or scrolls on Sharingan,  but words passed down from generation to generation — fathers who brought their sons to battlefields to cause enough distress to awaken their eyes under the belief it was the only way, older brothers who tell their little brothers they have to kill their best friend, buzzwords like godly and cursed.

It’s never been an issue before now. It’s never been an issue not to know how the Sharingan actually works and what limits it may or may not possess when it has always been plenty strong enough unchecked on the battlefield. Sasuke intimately knows that it can overpower, yet knows nothing of its ability for how it can save a life.

He gently pulls Naruto’s eyelids open. Only the whites and veins show; his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Sasuke wipes his hands on his pants to get off the grime and blood coating his fingertips, pulling one eyelid open, and carefully, uses his other set of fingers to roll one of Naruto’s eyes forward.

The connection between them clicks in an instant. He would be surprised any other time — that Sharingan can work on the unconscious.

Fear would work, Sasuke thinks, to force Naruto’s heart rate up, but it might be too forceful. It might just kill what’s left of his heart’s effort and give out. Fear is just the only emotion Sasuke has ever pulled forward from another person. It’s all he’s practiced, and therefore, it’s all he’s ever known. Fear it’s just opening the gateway, and the individual will fill it with images, sounds, feelings of fear throughout their life. When Itachi had used it on him, Sasuke had seen Itachi gouging out his eyeballs. When Sasuke used it on Danzo, Danzo saw Itachi.

He has to hope it’s the same for other emotions too.

Something quieter, something softer, but still makes the heart flutter.

Anticipation.

It comes without needing to dig for it.

Sasuke breathes out, holding onto that feeling, chasing it down inside of Naruto like a fox down a rabbithole. Maybe this is why there are no scripts or scrolls on Sharingan when it’s so deeply connected to the psyche. To feelings. To thoughts. To pieces of humanity more abstract than the chemicals in a brain.

Fear inside of people is different. He doesn’t need to chase it. It’s like dark water right at the edge, all it takes is a little weight for it to spill.

It takes him a second to catch it, but when he does—

It’s him.

Sasuke almost reroutes, he must have gone down the wrong path, and he doesn’t have the time to make a mistake—

It’s him again.

Sasuke.

Sasuke laying in the grass beside Naruto and Sasuke remembers this. After a few rounds of sparring, they were taking a break, and Sasuke had sat down and leaned back to watch Naruto look over the edge of the mountain ledge. He remembers watching Naruto close his eyes, watching as the strong winds ran through his hair and through his clothes, like it belonged to him and he belonged to it, and when Naruto had opened his eyes and noticed Sasuke staring—

Naruto’s heart flutters.

In his chest, it picks up pace. Sasuke hesitates at the direction this is going, at what bubbles so quickly and prominently to the surface. Things that Sasuke isn’t supposed to see, but Naruto can’t afford Sasuke to hesitate. His life depends on it.

So Sasuke doesn’t.

The way his hands move and Naruto watches without Sasuke having ever realized, every smile, few and far in between they are, Naruto holds them close, and Sasuke can feel that too, as well as he can feel his heart rate jump at the unfolding memories; the times they’ve pinned each other down, Sasuke playfully taunting him, Sasuke touching him—

No. This isn’t a memory, not entirely, it’s a memory of a fantasy, and Naruto’s heartbeat remembers it—

All it takes is for the thrum of Naruto’s heart to feel a little stronger than before, before Sasuke opens a portal and pulls them both inside.

It took Sasuke several attempts to figure out how Obito used these dimensions so effectively to essentially teleport. Obito could open a portal right above someone’s shoulder without being a single inch off. Several attempts that could have ended far worse than it did — ending up in the Mizukage’s headquarters, another time at the bottom of a lake, and another in the secret scroll room of Amegakure — and it hadn’t been until Sasuke forced Naruto and Shikamaru into helping that they learned it had nothing to do with coordinates and how the space in Kaguya’s dimensions correlated with their world. It was a simpler concept, to Sasuke’s demise. He would have done better with coordinates.

You just had to imagine where you wanted to be.

Sasuke’s imagination is a little lackluster, and at the most, existent but never highly specific.

It’s never an issue if he’s conjuring to open a portal somewhere that he’s been before, but that’s because it’s a memory. He can’t use a memory right now. He specifically needs to get Naruto warm, submerged in warmth, and get his body temperature back up, and he can’t go too far, because while the concept of teleportation is simpler one might imagine, it sill has a toll.

The same amount of chakra it would require to travel that distance, except it hits all at once opposed to the days it would take on foot, and then some.

On his already depleted chakra.

Submerged in warmth and all the distance they can without killing him is an idea but it’s not specific. Which is why when Sasuke opens another portal open with Rinnegan, Naruto in his arms, they don’t land somewhere ideal like the nearest hot springs, where no one else would get involved — no one should get involved, these people are dangerous and will be tracking them — but the hot springs are exposed and open, and Sasuke can’ quite help that in his list of mental requirements while opening the portal, Naruto’s safety comes as a priority.

They land in the bathtub of the Kazekage’s brother.

Kankuro’s hand is still on the doorknob, his other hand occupied with a cross stitch, eyes wide with surprise. He is, in fact, bare ass naked.

“Hah?” Kankuro voices. He takes one look at the two figures, before grabbing his pants draped over the sink. He storms out of the bathroom, shinobi instinct kicking in without fault. “We need some medics in here! Hey, you— you punk, get a medic!”

Sasuke maneuvers his hand to wrap around Naruto’s chest, to keep him from slumping into the water. It’s still running. The faucet. The bath is hot and full with the space of two bodies, and Sasuke doesn’t process a goddamn thing except moving far enough back against the back of the tub, giving Naruo as much room as possible to submerge his body in the heat.

It occurs to him there’s likely some type of rewarming shock someone can go into — forced from one extremity to the other — that protocol may require a slower transition once the hypothermia has reached past a certain point. He doesn’t know how plausible it is. He doesn’t know if holding someone’s body in hot water is dangerous at whichever stage of hypothermia Naruto is in, but the alternative has to be worse. Naruto is built for impact—

A little shock won’t kill him.

Sasuke tells himself rather desperately, unaware of how quickly the water turns a bright shade of red, a lucid mixture of Naruto’s blood and his own. He finds Naruto’s pulse again, skin wet and sticky, pressing against his throat. It’s still there, he’s still alive.

[i-would-have-come-for-you]

A Marriage of convenience

The art does not belong to me. All credits go to @cyantasim for the beautiful work.

Chapter 2

Hinata Hyuga was not stupid.

So when she came home to find Sasuke Uchiha in her house, talking to her father privately, she knew something was wrong.

Neji was also there, strangely. Hinata was anxious. She was pacing in the garden, waiting for their private meeting to be over so she could ask what the hell was Uchiha Sasuke doing in the Hyuga compounds?

“Lady Hinata, you must calm down. It is merely clan business.” Ko, her care taker since she was a child, advised her.

“I just-It’s unsuaul.” She stumbled for words to express what she thought. She did not stutter anymore. No. she’d outgrown that phase along with the shyness.

She’d expressed her feelings to Naruto and she’d been understanding when he’d told her he could only be friends. She was okay with the fact that he was engaged to Sakura Haruno, her close friend now.

Since the war, everyone wanted to rebuild. Together. That’s why people did not hesitate to celebrate small things and small mercies either.

The war had been cruel. But that was 3 years ago. Hinata was a 19 year old now, strong and ready to take over her clan as head.

She’d become Jonin and then ANBU along with a few of her old classmates. Naruto was training to become Hokage under Kakashi’s wing. Sakura was the head of the Konoha Hospital. Ino had decided to become a Jounin teacher along with managing her flower shop.

And Sasuke…he’d left Konoha for a journey as atonement of his sins. He’d come back a few months ago after 3 years. Hinata had been one to welcome him back along with his friends as she felt bad because everyone was wary of him.

He’d flashed her a look of intrigue before resuming his mask of cold indifference. She sighed. She’d drive herself crazy, over thinking this.

She decided to shower and change to calm herself. She showered and changed into comfortable clothing before deciding to read the mission report for her previous mission before presenting it to the Hokage today.

She knew it would be dinner time soon so she walked downstairs, clad in her T-shirt and yoga pants. As she reached the lower floor, she almost bumped into Uchiha Sasuke. She stopped herself just in time.

She looked up at his face which was weary but showed no hint of any emotion. Hinata just stared at him for a moment. “Uh-I’m sorry.” She told him softly.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before walking off, not gracing her with a response. What the-?

She saw Neji, white as chalk come out of her father’s study. “Neji nii? What’s wrong?” she asked him carefully.

He looked at her and almost freaked out. “Nothing.” He breathed out heavily “Nothing at all. Please excuse me.”

He walked off. She wondered was wrong with him. Her father did not come out of the study at all. Hinata shrugged it off, determined to ask why Sasuke was here later.

For now, she had dinner to eat since she hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Hinata had just returned from presenting the Hokage her mission report. The Hokage had praised her good work.

She was still smiling from that, relishing the praise. She’d been happy with her performance on the mission. Her mind tracked back to when she was a young Genin. She’d been weak.

She remembered her father’s mission before most of her missions.

Try not to be a burden for anyone else.

That was always great encouragement, she thought bitterly. It was no use thinking back on that now. Once she was clan leader, she would surely change the ways of the Hyuga. She’d make sure there was no more resentment between the two branches.

She just finished taking off her shoes when the servant informed her that her father wanted to speak to her in his study.

It was something regarding Sasuke’s visit yesterday, Hinata was sure. She walked to her father’s study and knocked softly.

“Come in.” his voice rang out.

She entered and closed the door behind her. He stood besides the window in the room. As if anxious. Which was surely not possible.

“Good evening father.” She greeted.

“Good evening Hinata.” He said. She waited for him to say more.

“You called me here. What is the matter?” she got straight to the point as her father disliked beating around the bush.

“Hinata…I have some news for you and I hope you will take it well.”

Hinata’s heart beat faster. She had a feeling whatever the news was…it was not going to be very pleasant for her.

“What…?” she could not manage anymore words. Hiashi looked at her gravely, as if announcing her death.

“Uchiha Sasuke visited yesterday as I am sure you know. He presented me with a blood contract, sealing your engagement to him.”

Hinata’s breath was knocked out of her body as her father calmly informed her of this. “It was a marriage contract. Between you and Uchiha Sasuke.”

Hinata still could not grasp what he was saying. “The engagement was arranged by me and the Uchiha head Fugaku. It must be fulifilled.”

“No…” she breathed out.

“I’m afraid that is the arrangement. You will be married to Uchiha Sasuke with in the week.” He said it like he was not ripping her life apart right there and then. Like it was a good thing. Like it was routine. Maybe for him, ripping apart lives was not a big deal.

“You can’t do this to me.” She said angrily.

“It is for the best.” He told her.

“You can’t do this to me.” She said through gritted teeth this time. Hiashi sighed, like she was a child, stubbornly asking for a toy she could not have.

“I cannot break a blood contract. And besides, it is a beneficial match.” He said, eyeing her carefully. Her eyes burned with tears.

“You can’t rip my life apart just like that! What about my life? My ambitions. I don’t want to be a breeding mare for him!”

Hiashi flinched at this. He could not help but notice how alike she looked to her mother. It sent a pang through him. Clan before family, he reminded himself.

“Hinata…I expect you to understand.” He told her slowly.

“NO! You’re destroying my life and you expect me to UNDERSTAND?!” she said, raising her voice in front of him for the first time. Her tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Hinata…”

“NO! What about being clan head? I was trained for that all my life. I endured taunts from you, snide remarks from the elders, beatings from Neji only to become clan head and change this clan. What about that?!”

“Neji will be clan head.” He told her softly.

She stopped dead. Her breathing became very slow for a second. Neji. Clan head. Her mind wrapped around the fact that she was so replaceable.

“You…you think I’m so useless that you can replace me in a minute?” she whispered out. Hiashi’s head throbbed.

“It’s not like that. You need to understand…”

“That I’m going to be Uchiha’s breed mare, you’re selling me off, appointing Neji as the clan head and getting rid of me for good.”

“I trained all my life for naught. For this. Only to be married off. You never loved me, it hurt but it was okay. If it meant it would not happen to another under my watch, it was fine. This…death would be better than this.”

Her voice was chocked with tears and Hiashi felt something inside him break. He urged his demeanor not to break. He was clan head dammit.

“Yes.” He forced out.

She looked out and smiled without mirth. “I see.”

“You are expected to be married this week.” He informed her.

He looked at her, as she broke from the inside. He hated that he could do nothing about it. That he was the reason she was always hurting.

“After I’m sold to the Uchiha to be his whore” he flinched at her words for she was never one to use crude language “Do not expect me to visit. I will leave this compound, this clan and your lives forever. No coming back. If anyone tries to seal my Byakugan, I will kill them”

“And since you never played the role of a father anyways, what’s the use of the title alone? You are no father of mine Hyuga Hiashi. I hate you. You didn’t deserve my mother and you certainly don’t deserve me. Good bye.”

She walked outside, slamming the door shut, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Hiashi sat down on his chair, unable to support himself. He looked at the portrait of his wife, who looked as young as Hinata.

She’d always been like her mother, he mused. He’d lost Hana and now he’d lost Hinata for good too.

Hinata wiped her tears as she walked outside. She hated Hiashi. She hated him. She hated Uchiha Sasuke for barging into her life when it was finally becoming better.

She hated him. She walked to her room as her world collapsed around her.

________

“WHAT?!”

Hinata flinched at the volume of Ino and Sakura’s combined voices. She nodded wearily, not wanting to look at them.

“Your father is marrying you off to Sasuke?” Tenten asked, astonished as well.

“That’s what he told me.” She said bitterly.

“What about being clan head and changing the Hyuga?” Sakura asked softly, knowing it was her friend’s dream.

“Apparently marrying me off is better for me so Neji is going to be head while I will bear children for Uchiha Sasuke.” Hinata spat out.

Ino’s blue eyes filled with tears. “Hinata…I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.” She said, hugging her blue haifred friend.

“Ino…life is not fair. Who knows, maybe I even deserve being treated like nothing all my life.” Hinata shrugged sadly. At least her friends knew how she felt.

“Don’t say that.” Tenten scolded almost harshly “You deserve all the best things in life Hinata.”

Hinata chuckled bitterly. “That’s why I really am getting the best things.” Sakura had never seen her friend so down and it made her extremely mad at Hiashi.

“Hinata, I’ll go and kick your father’s ass if I have to. You won’t marry Sasuke if you don’t want to. You will become clan leader.” She said, taking Hinata’s hand.

Hinata shook her head. “He’s not my father anymore. I have cut ties with my clan and I will not force any bonds once I am married.”

“You’re actually accepting this ridiculousness?” Ino asked, angrily. Hinata shrugged.

“I am.”

“Hinata this is crazy.” Tenten said. Hinata did not say anything, staring ahead. She got up instead. “I should go tell the Hokage. I might need a few holidays for the preparations.”

“Hinata please-don’t. think about it. Don’t throw away your while life because of your asshole father.” Sakura urged her.

“Sakura, Ino, Tenten…it’s alright. Things will work out, I am sure.” She lied to them and herself “But more importantly…you’ll attend the wedding, right?”

Ino forced a smile and the others nodded glumly. “Of course.” Tenten said.

“You’ll regret coming to shop with us.” Ino said, grinning despite the fire burning in her heart for Hinata. Hinata let out a genuine smile.

“I am sure I will. I’ll see you tomorrow for shopping then. Good bye.”

She was gone in a flash, leaving her fuming friends who cursed Hiashi collectively, feeling bad for Hinata.

______

Sasuke was training by himself in a secluded area of the outskirts of Konoha when he felt Naruto’s chakra flash nearby. He stopped and looked around.

Naruto appeared in front of him in a flash. He grabbed Sasuke roughly by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the tree.

Sasuke could shake off his hold but he wanted to know what had caused Naruto to be frustrated this time. “What is it now Dobe? I told you I did not steal your ramen coupons.”

Naruto’s glare did not fade. “Sasuke…what is this rumor about you and Hinata getting married?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. That. He shook off Naruto’s hold and turned his back on him. “So you finally heard?”

Naruto growled. “Is it true?” he asked instead. Sasuke nodded.

“How could you, you bastard?!” Naruto yelled, lunging at him. Sasuke dodged his lunge and stood a distance away, an eyebrow arched perfectly.

“She wanted to be clan head! She had a life. How could you?!”

“Well her father did not really object. Plus the blood contract helped.” Sasuke shrugged. “What do you care?”

“I care because she’s my friend and Sakura told me she’s really messed up about this.”

“That is none of my concern.” Sasuke shrugged.

Naruto’s brows furrowed together as he aimed a punch at Sasuke. “Do you really want to go now?” Sasuke asked, grabbing his hand.

Naruto’s kick was the only answer. Sasuke sighed before the spar began.

____

And so Hinata got married to Sasuke by the end of the week. Sasuke offered her any room to sleep in. He noticed her surprise.

“Am I not your breeding mare Uchiha-san?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in a mocking gesture. He did not waver as he said.

“No. You are my wife, not a common whore. After all I did go through the trouble of marrying you.”

“You’re not going to bed me then?” he noticed there was a hint of relief in her voice which almost made him smirk at her fear of sharing a bed with him.

“I am not going to rape you, if that is what your indirect question means. If we sleep together, ever, it will be because we want to…not because of obligation.” He doubted it though. And he knew she did too.

He walked off, tired. She watched his retreating back with a slight admiration. But hate burned inside her. Why could he not be a complete demon to her so she’d hate him? Why did he say this? Why did he behave nicely?

She’d thought he was a sex-crazed, power hungry, obsessed and crazy bastard.

She cut the sex-crazed off the list.

As she lay in the unexpectedly soft bed in the room across from his, sleep engulfed her. She dreamt of demons, Uchihas and darkness.

________

Remember, sharing is caring. Reblog to spread the story :D

I'm going to be making a taglist for everyone who wants to be notified when I update the story so if you want to be added, please tell me.

[aliceinreverselondon]

You Really Got Me – part 2: First Impressions (Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

(note: part 1)

“Will you finally tell us what she is, Kakashi sensei?”

Sakura’s question came before they even reached the elevator which meant she lasted a good two minutes before demanding answers. Letting out a long sigh, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. He sure hoped she would soon grow out of this slightly annoying habit of hers. Especially since Naruto was the same, but there was no chance he would change in the near future.

But he really did promise them to explain what exactly happened so he couldn’t back out now. Surprisingly, Sakura had hit the nail right on the head with her question. If he wanted to explain who you were, he had to begin with what you were. When it came to how well you knew each other, though, he would have to be careful not to give away too many personal details. No one needs nosy kids in their life.

As he pushed the button to close the door of the elevator, Kakashi let out a thoughtful hum. “Well, Y/N is a phantom. Do you know about them?” While Sakura and Naruto both shook their heads, Sasuke remained silent as usual. But this time it could be because he had already heard about her kind, as one could expect from a kid who grew up in the Uchiha Clan. “They are considered a type of tricksters, although they’re a lot more powerful as adults than your average trickster. Because of their unique abilities and backgrounds, phantoms are members of an organization that operates worldwide. It’s a lot like ANBU, except they’re independent of governments and only answer to one person.”

“So she’s an Alpha?” Sasuke asked, sounding slightly surprised for some reason. When he received a quick nod in response, he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the metal wall. “I thought they were more… serious.”

Kakashi shrugged and didn’t even try to hold back a short chuckle. “They’re not robots, they have different personalities. Y/N is… a wild one,” he added with a grin under the mask.

“Wait, what is an Alpha?” Naruto wondered out loud as his eyes scanned the faces of people around him, waiting to see who was ready to provide an answer.

“Are they the phantoms or the members of the organization?”

“Both, actually,” Kakashi replied as he glanced over at the girl. “Phantoms that aren’t good enough or simply refuse to be members of the organization are executed, this is why the two are the one and the same at the end of the day. Alpha is a nickname some gave them because you can say they are on top of the food chain. They usually work alone but every now and then they ask for the help of… specialists, humans or other supernatural creatures who have abilities or knowledge they need for the job. Those people, especially those who become regular aides, are called Betas,” he explained, this time looking at Naruto as he spoke.

The four of them left the building and Kakashi began to think about what else he should tell them about you. Your abilities? No, it would be better if you gave them a demonstration. How you met? Definitely not, his reaction to Sasuke’s question regarding your personality gave away more than enough already. To avoid further questions from the kids, he eventually decided to pull out his book and read on the rest of the trip to the restaurant.

For his luck Sakura and Naruto discussed this between themselves, occasionally trying to get some information out of Sasuke now that he wasn’t paying much attention to them. As long as they left him alone, Kakashi was okay with that. Especially because he wanted to think about the upcoming dinner with you. He wished it was just the two of you, though. After what he had done, he really wanted to make it up to you somehow. Well, maybe you could meet later to make this happen, once these three went to sleep.

Oh, how he loved and hated at the same time what you did to him. You were like a drug he just couldn’t get out of his system. But, to be honest, he had truly missed this high he was experiencing now thanks to you. He may have forgotten to call you but it didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about you once. In fact, every time he read one of the Make Out books, he couldn’t help but think about the two of you. Strangely enough, this was by far the most stable relationship he had ever had. Okay, not like he had so many other relationships in the past to compare it to but… It was still different. And special.

“You took your time, guys.”

When Kakashi looked up, his eyes fell on you as you watched them with a wide grin on your face. Tilting his head to the side for a moment, he put away his book and glanced at his watch. “You said fifteen minutes. It’s only been ten.”

“Duh, I thought you were ninjas, not a group of elderly people who went on a nice evening stroll,” you told him with a roll of your eyes.

He really wanted to laugh because he missed your stupid sense of humor, but it would’ve probably ended with him kissing you. And he wouldn’t have stopped at a quick kiss on the lips. Oh, no. If it was just the two of you, you would have skipped dinner altogether. But his mind was wandering too far again. He had to stop, damn it. “Very funny,” was all he said in the end.

“Is that blood?” Sasuke suddenly spoke up, pointing at your shirt.

“What?” You looked down and noticed the bloodstain on your chest. While you quickly zipped your red jacket to cover it up, you flashed a reassuring smile at the kids. “Don’t worry, it’s not mine.”

All three of them. All three of the kids opened their mouths at the exact same time, probably to ask for details, but Kakashi was fast enough to stop them with a pointed look. You had said it yourself back on the rooftop: there was something you quickly had to take care of. Knowing you, it was most probably an assassination and he didn’t want to talk about things like this tonight. Was it too much to ask for? Was a normal, delightful evening too much to ask for? Just one damn night.

After clearing his throat, Kakashi spoke up. “So we were about to get something to eat, right? Naruto, I’m sure you’re starving as always.”

But Naruto hesitated and scratched the back of his head as he flashed a sheepish grin at him. “Actually, as weird as it might sound, I have so many questions that I can’t even think about food right now.”

“Shoot.”

Were you seriously planning to answer his questions? “Y/N, come on,” he tried with a sigh.

“Don’t come on me. If he has questions, let him ask them.”

“We can do that inside.”

He had no luck because you clearly weren’t about to go inside anytime soon. Shaking his head, Kakashi pulled out his book and leaned against the wall of the restaurant. At least he had time to read a little more while the four of you talked. He already had a bad feeling about this conversation but for now, he decided to only listen and keep his opinion to himself. There was no need to interrupt you, he could do that if something went wrong. Which, knowing you, was highly likely.

“What kind of missions do you go on?

“Kakashi told you a few things about me, didn’t he? Well, covert missions, assassinations, manhunts… Usually, we go after supernatural creatures, but there are times when we assist in different cases too, like hostage situations. Since it’s really hard to kill us, we often help out when the situation is too dangerous for humans.”

“Cool. So what can you do?”

“Alpha’s are supposed to be powerful, right?” Kakashi looked up from his book and turned to Sasuke. Back when he had told the team about you, Sasuke didn’t seem very convinced about you being an Alpha. Sadly, he already knew where the kid was going with this, and he also knew perfectly well how you would react. But maybe he was wrong. “I can’t take you seriously enough to believe you’re one.”

“Excuse me?!”

Yes, this is exactly how he had expected you to react. “Oh, no, here we go,” he whispered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

You took a threatening step toward Sasuke who didn’t even flinch at first. “You wanna see powerful?”

But when your eyes turned black, all three took a few cautious steps back to build some distance. “Y/N, please, just let it go,” Kakashi told you as he put a hand on your shoulder.

“No, no, no, if he wants to see what I can do, fine, I’ll show him. And I know just the place,” you explained hurriedly. At least your eyes were back to normal which meant you managed to calm down a bit already. That was good. He didn’t need more drama out on the street. You pulled out your phone and quickly dialed someone’s number. “Hey, Kisuke, I’d like to ask for a favor. Can I use your underground training facility tonight? I need to teach some stupid brat a lesson… No, I don’t want to kick his ass, but he pretty much called me weak so I nearly threw hands with a thirteen years old kid… Cool, thanks, we’ll be there soon.” Once you ended the call, you turned to the kids and said, “Alright, we’ll order food and eat there. Let’s go, my car’s just around the corner.”

Note: Wow, I wasn’t expecting so many of you to like the pilot. But here’s part 2, I hope you’re not disappointed 😳

tag: @spn-obession​

[i-simp-for-gintoki]

Shikamaru with an Uchiha!S/o

“I saw that you did a Yamanaka!s/o for that anon, it was great! Can I ask for another one with Shikamaru, but this time with a Uchiha!s/o? Like, idk, if Sasuke had a twin sister and she stayed on the village, but she's a shinobi too? And she uses a sword like her brother, and some people of the village look at her suspiciously because of what her brother did? Thank you!!!” -anon

This came out kinda way longer then i meant it too be and wasn’t 100% focused on you and shikamaru so im sorry about that. 

Oh b o y

Where do i even start?

Being an uchiha, especially directly related to sasuke did not make you look good what so ever

You two were close at one point, inseparable even, but once your elder brother slaughtered your whole clan, you both kinda drifted a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, sasuke still cared for you and vice versa but he was much more cold and closed off about his feelings

No more “lets train to impress nii-san, y/n-chan” type of shit anymore

You still tried to remain a bit positive, and be nice to others unlike your brother

You didn’t agree with wanting to kill Itachi, because what good would that bring? How would killing someone because they killed solve anything?

During the first few years of school, shikamaru might not care much for you

Just another classmate in his eyes

Might even have a few negative thoughts in the back of his mind since you guys are twins

He never cared for sasuke since he’s never anything but an ass to people

And when he’s not he’s acting like a cocky shit

He thought you guys acted the same but that proved to not be the case when he saw you outside of class once

He was out getting some dango at a new place with choji and thats where he saw you

He didn’t really want to greet you but much to his surprise you greeted them with a smile

Even offered some of your dango and choji was extremely grateful for that

You guys held a pleasant conversation and ever since then have hung out at the dango place after school

After you guys became official shinobi, you didn’t have time to hang out every day but you did when you had the chance

You once got shikamaru to wear his headband actually on his head instead of his arm and boy did he look stupidly handsome

During some point in the chunnin exams, you noticed your brother’s desire for power has grown an alarming amount

It was no longer “lets train and ask our sensei’s to give us jutsu” but “I will do anything and everything in order to gain more strength”

It honestly scared you and so you went to shikamaru and ranted about it

He acted annoyed that you went on and on about someone he didn’t care for, but did truly listen to your words

“Don’t worry, its just his teenage angst faze kicking in.” “...maybe”  “I’m pretty sure everyone gets it, it’ll pass” “Even you?” “my emo faze lasted three whole minutes as i watched choji eat the food i was looking forward to all day”

Sasuke basically stopped showing emotions to you after the exam and it really saddened you

He basically treated you as someone he lived with

Not family or friend but like “oh thats my room mate i guess”

You were out with shikamaru when sasuke ran off to find naruto, he didn’t bother to explain and you honestly didn’t care

He wants to brawl with the loud blonde? Go for it

What you didn’t know is that he would run into Itachi

Or that itachi joined some terrorist group

You didn’t hear this news until later on when your sensei sat you down and explained the situation

shikamaru cheered you up as best as he could

when the Nara became chunin, instead of sitting besides sasuke all day who was recovering from a mission, you hung out with him

Sasuke wasnt that injured anyways and he may or may not have told you to quit worrying about him

called him handsome and he basically turned into a tomato 

got some bbq with his friends and when ino started commented about minding your weight and looks and stuff you kinda became slightly insecure in the moment

he cheered you and choji up by making a few jokes

you gave him a peck on the cheek and dude he had such a dumb smile on his face

ah man ive written too much and havent even reached shippuden yet im sorrryyy

lets speed threw this then

when sasuke left the village you were distraught but he did his best to cheer you up

reassured you he and his team will bring him back

you wanted in the mission and he was hesitant about it

you were a damn good kunoichi and you also had the sharingan too so that could help 

he eventually agrees

when yall fail the mission you cry because your emo duck-bitch of a twin didnt even bother to say good bye

Shikamaru does his best to make you feel better but he feels so guilty

he sincerely apologizes and chokes up a bit when hes talking about how he failed the mission and broke his promise on getting him back

you hug him and say its okay

from then on you guys get closer than ever

You dont remember exactly when but you got a sword, almost like a katana 

you learn how to use it and love it

Add some fire or lightning to it, man you feel like a bad ass

you carry it everywhere with you

little do you know you basically chose the same sword as sasu-gay

by the time shippuden starts, shikamaru awkwardly asks you out and you agree

as much as shikamaru loves you, the village doesnt think to well of you

your eldest brother slaughtered your clan and joined a terrorist group

and now your twin goes rouge and is proceeding to head down a darker path with orochimaru

they probably expect you to do something similar

some people even think that you only stayed in the village so you can give them intel and sell out the leaf’s secrets

basically the village cares for you as much as Tobirama did for the uchiha

not too much. 

in fact if you were gone they could finally be free of any uchiha

If your bothered by those rumors or things people say, shikamaru can’t really do anything to stop them

But he can do his best to take your mind off it

Might get you some dango and say to go cloud watching, or nap under some tree to let you relax

But remember this isn’t a one way relationship, you do stuff for shikamaru as well

When he was feeling stressed (though he didn’t really show it) about planning the next chunnin event, you gave him a massage and just let him relax

You got him his favorite food and took him to his favorite hill

He doesn’t really rant or talk a lot about his problems

He’s too lazy too and doesn’t feel like its that important

You make it clear to him that every opinion he has matters

You two some times go on little small lunch dates

Ino and choji are always somewhere in the background watching

Ino probably comments that you got the uchiha good looks and with out thinking shikamaru just agrees

Definitely became embarrassed when ino squealed and shook him around

Ah man there is actually to much drama around sasuke and itachi in shippuden and im lazy so lets forget about that 

I think shikamaru with an uchiha!s/o would probably be an 8/10 experience depending on how angsty you get

[kayparker20]

Inner Turmoil

Chapter 1 - His Guilt, Her Yearning

FFN | AO3

Sakura waited with Naruto for Kakashi. He was always late. She smiled as she shook her head and sighed.

"It's been 20 minutes now! He's never this late." Naruto groaned, his impatience more than apparent.

She nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

"Hey… Sakura." He remembered something Hinata had told him. Her teal eyes turned to face him. "Hinata mentioned something to me, and don't be mad at her, because I'm happy for you!" He beamed suddenly and she raised an eyebrow.

The messy head blonde looked around them before speaking and even kept a hushed tone. "She told me that you and Kakashi… Had a moment, you could say." He giggled mischievously at the finish of his statement.

Sakura's heart sank at the reminder. "I guess you could call it that…" She sighed. "We were drunk. He cut it off before it got…" She turned away as her cheeks tinted pink at the memories surfacing in her mind.

"I've seen the way you look at him lately, Sakura." Naruto's voice was tender, and he placed a hand over hers on the bar of Ichiraku's. "And don't fool yourself into thinking it was just lust. Kakashi may be a closet pervert, but he'd never hurt you."

Sakura looked up at Naruto sky blue eyes, which were filled with seriousness. "Thank you, Naruto."

"You should tell him. He'll never tell you how he feels first. Especially with how closed off he is…" Naruto laughed. "And don't forget, it would probably be considered scandalous. A former sensei developed feelings for one of his students he taught who is 14 years younger than himself."

Sakura's face only darkened in the now cherry tint, but remembered the comfortableness the other jounin seemed to have that night. "I don't think it seems as scandalous to at least other ninja…" She said quietly, and then told the whole story of that night to him.

"Sakura, go find him. Really! You shouldn't give up before it even starts! I'm gonna go find Hinata. She's probably training with Hanabi!" His eyes lit up at the thought of her.

"Wait… Does it even shock you? At all? And today is the day Sasuke left, of all days to think about this..."

"Sakura, it makes me happy to see you finally able to move on. It will hurt us forever, but we have to stop letting it stop our lives, you know?" He grinned sadly. "I still will get him to come back one day because he's our best friend. But that won't change because your feelings have."

She nodded. "I guess you're right."

"And besides, if there's anyone I would ever believe you're safe with, its our old, porn reading sensei!" And with that he strode off toward the Hyuga complex.

She walked through the village, having a decent idea where she would find Kakashi, especially on a day like today.

Her stomach twisted with nervousness. Ever since he touched her with such need, and expressed such… Protectiveness, but also possessiveness over her, the thought of him gave her butterflies. She's had feelings for him for awhile now. She knew she loved him, but really, never thought he would love her. Some of the reasons Naruto brought up rang through her mind. Did the age really matter if she was an adult now, twenty years old? She'd been a ninja for seven years.

Even though Kakashi was closed off and flippant; Indifferent most times, they had moments where he was tender towards her. And he had saved her from Sasuke. The memory caused an ache in her chest, all those motions happening so fast around her. Mixed feelings bubbling up, regret she hesitated. Regret she even thought of killing him. Grateful Kakashi had been there. Her heart swelled at the fact that he had followed her, knowing her well enough to know what she had been doing.

She looked up at the sky and smiled at how beautiful it was. She was coming onto the memorial now, and she could see the silhouette of the man she loved so much now, but was scared of being rejected. Seeing him, it seemed impossible to even start the conversation of that night. They had been going on like it never happened. She was glad he didn't distance himself, but she hated that it was almost forgotten. Did he wish for her touch at night like she wished for his?

Approaching him, but not close enough to be sensed just yet, she stopped to stare at the somber man, his head hung low. She found him like that near the memorial stone often.

The sun was becoming visible along the horizon, reminding her it was a shock Naruto had even woke up for such an early breakfast. The sky was swirling with orange, blue, and pink hues. A breeze came and went, just light enough to rustle his clothing. It was a beautiful scene, stark in comparison to figure of silver haired nin standing within it.

I should've done something more for Sasuke, I was supposed to help him.

Silver strands fell loosely around the seasoned ninja's hitai-ate as his gaze fell from the sky and back to the memorial stone. It stood there as it always did, solemn and low. Too many of his own already engraved into the black rock, the reason he came here in all of his free time. How long before the list grows? Will his name be there before his younger genin he trained? If that's what he wants to call it, anyway. Will it be his fault that their names are there?

"What have I actually done for them?" He scoffed out loud. "Can they really defend themselves from Sasuke if they had to?"

I failed them, just like Rin and Obito.

The copy nin gently ran his hand across those two names on the memorial stone. His eyes slid close as he grieved once more silently, feeling the survivor's guilt all over again. The guilt of not being able to love her like Obito had loved Rin; like Rin had loved himself. No matter how many times he came here to make sure at least someone remembers them, it never went away. He sat staring at the memorial stone forever; Only time knows how much time he has spent in this spot.

This pain never goes away, it only dulls. It worsens, having a set of guilt for each person in his life.

What of Naruto? Sometimes I wonder if they purposely put the son of the fourth hokage on the team of his student. However, he has run off, and found a different sensei. Little to the young ninja's knowledge, he was taught his own father's jutsu, by his father's sensei, that Jiraiya. It's kind of beautiful, but shadowed in sadness. His shoulders hunched over. Maybe it's more fitting, considering how much they have in common. But he got through to Naruto better. My own sensei, his father. What would he think of me? Barely able to get them to even work together as genin, let alone giving them any new skills. I taught Sasuke one jutsu and he tried to use it on a comrade, his own teammate.

He scoffed. "They had been doing so well until those days during their chunin exams, that stupid curse mark from Orochimaru. All those missions, I really thought they had finally learned to be a team." He mused aloud somberly. "But Sasuke… His pride and revenge were still too much. One taste of power, and that was it took to remind him. Not to mention that encounter he had with Itachi going after the Nine Tails, and shrugging him off..."

And as for Sakura… He looked up at the trees, her own namesake blooming at this time of year. He shook his head. He taught her nothing really. He had tried to offer her comfort in those times, but after Sasuke was gone, she had known things weren't going to be okay. And he wasn't exactly good at comfort anyway. But that was when she really started to grow. After those five came back, all nearly dead besides that Nara kid from Asuma's squad, something in her changed, and she stopped being helpless. She always had the knowledge and the chakra control especially, but she was still a typical girl until then.

She went under the wing of the fifth hokage, soon becoming one of Konoha's strongest medic nin, and not just in her chakra. That girl packs a punch these days and he was glad he was never the one in front of it, apart from the second bell test. None of those skills were by his doing however. Offhandedly, the thought of her brought on a more recent memory, one with a tad of shame and regret, as well as longing but he tried to shake it away. He couldn't think of that right now, there was enough things to torture his conscience in front of him on a black stone.

But those thoughts addled his mind still. The feel of her in his arms, so intimately. He refused to drink since that night a couple weeks ago. Stupid, stupid, how could he have let that happen. However, it seemed like it hadn't changed things between them, and he was beyond grateful. He couldn't imagine losing her, even though he really kept her at arms length, just barely letting her graze the surface of his guard.

The thought of losing her, of her rejection, is what kept him from exposing that he had some kind of affection for her. Not to mention the shame that really came with it. She was so young compared to him, and so innocent still. She had seen some, but nothing like the darkness he had. And… For goodness sake, he used to be her sensei. The inappropriateness, even if neither her nor Naruto had referred to him as such for some time to mention her heart is our for Sasuke, even after everything he was sure that hadn't changed. He shook his head of all thoughts related to feeling anything besides camaraderie or friendship for the pink haired kunoichi. Besides, really he'd already failed her, nor he or Naruto have been successful in bringing back the man she loves so much…

The pain felt fresh as ever, but really it had been five years ago that Sasuke left. The ninja who were genin at the time, are now all roughly 19 or 20. He still held the burden, feeling it was his fault. He remembered the talk they had, having tied Sasuke to a tree with wire. He really thought he had gotten through to him that night. He should have watched him more closely. He should have been there when he was leaving instead of Sakura. He should have gone after him before it was too late. He should have been there for Naruto and Sakura after everything.

His thoughts stood still as he continued to look at the names on the stone. He was always filled with regret, for those living and dead. For such a strong, infamous ninja, he had lost so much, made so many mistakes. Like killing Run with his own chidori, granted it was really suicide, he'll never forget his own jutsu killed his best friend, after promising the Uchiha to take care of her. Like teaching Sasuke the chidori jutsu. Neglecting Sakura and Naruto during the days of Team Seven. For favoring him. He felt he had been a joke of sensei.

Naruto and Sakura never blamed him for Sasuke the way he blames himself. But he blamed himself for everything didn't he?

Just then, he sensed someone's presence, interrupting his reverie. He didn't bother to look behind him. The soft steps told him exactly who it was, as well as the soft scent of jasmine being carried on the breeze. She often knew where to find him, of course really anyone did.

She was closer now, just behind him at his left side. She delicately placed her right palm on his left shoulder, her slender finger tips gripping the fabrics of his vest.

"Kakashi, you missed breakfast…" The feminine voice rang in his ears as he saw pink strands blow into his view.

He slowly raised his right hand to lay over her left. This kind of touch was normal for them, even as it was platonic, or so they told themselves. But this time he wanted more than that. He wanted her close to him, in his arms. "I know…" He sighed.

Lifting his head to look at the aqua hues filled with concern, he gently squeezed her hand. "Today is the day he left…"

"I know…" She squeezed his hand back. "We all know. But it wasn't your fault. He won't stop, not until he kills Itachi… Not until he feels like he has avenged his family." He still kept silent.

Sakura's mind wandered a bit then. She was really trying to get the courage to tell a different man that she loved him, on the day the man she used to love had left her. She shook her head, there was nothing wrong with moving on, this day didn't change anything for Sasuke, so why should it for her…

She watched Kakashi closely for a moment. He looked haunted, like he normally did when she found him here, if she could find anything emotion that wasn't hidden by his mask. But over the years you learn how to find it other ways, like the way his hair is hanging off to the side instead of spiked upwards, or how he looks at the ground and the cheery sarcasm is gone.

She shifted her gaze to the names on the memorial now. She only knew the third hokage and her teammate's mentor, Jiraiya. Her heart clenched for the hokage, and then for Jiraiya who everyone held dear, especially Naruto and Tsunade. She was thankful in that moment to still have Kakashi, Iruka, and Tsunade alive. She recognized other names, such as the fourth hokage, Naruto's father.

"Do you think they're disappointed in me…?" Kakashi spoke softly now.

She glanced at him a moment, taken aback by the question. He never opened up like this. It was sort of odd, but she smiled slightly. How could anyone ever be disappointed in him, the great Copy Ninja, son of the White Fang, who has copied over a thousand jutsu, and saved many lives including her own.

"No, I don't. There's nothing you've done they could look down on." She chuckled a tiny bit. "Except for maybe those dirty little books you enjoy reading, however I'm sure Jiraiya would be far from disappointed."

His eye creased a bit at the mention of the orange binded books, now forever coveted for more than their content. He reached out his free hand, knowing exactly where the sage's name was engraved and grazed his fingertips over the writing.

"And before you say it, you never failed Naruto and I. You made us tough, and made us see past our judgements of each other. Or, rather my thoughts of how much an idiot he was. You made us learn to work together, as a team. So I believe the fourth, who was your sensei if I remember correctly, would be very proud of you."

Why was he talking about things? He never talked about things, he just buried it in his thoughts at the memorial. He moved away a moment. The pain resurfacing at the thought of being close with someone again, being able to experience more and more of that pain. But really, he wanted to be close with her. It should just so… Painful. Painful to let someone in, to let someone become worth enough to him to destroy him is they left or died…

What if she didn't want this? Or, nothing more than this rather? He couldn't lose her by scaring her away with his feelings... But she made it so easy to talk, to be him, she never expected anything else. She made it so easy to love her without realizing it before it was too late... Was it really worth the risk?

As he shuffled away, she watched him. He seemed closed back up, just as he usually was. Indifferent. Her hand felt cold now, where his touch had been. Something in her sank a little.

"How does your eye feel today?" She asked softly, changing the subject. She didn't want their interaction to end yet. She watched him closely, trying to read into what might be going through his mind, he almost looked scared as he backed off, but what could he have been scared of?

Kakashi turned his gaze back to her, dropping his hand from the stone. "It's felt better…" He admitted.

Her and Tsunade know of the pain he goes through daily from the sharingan, after the mission he overused it. It's gotten worse since then. It's more difficult to use it now. Tsunade had only just healed it, upon her direct order, last week. He hated hospitals. He even disliked being healed, the feeling of someone else's chakra seeming rather intimate in his opinion. He didn't feel his eye needed to be healed often, as it wasn't fixed, just relief. But Tsunade insisted that he needs to be at full capacity and that pain only wears down ninja over time. There was no arguing with the medic sannin. But whenever it was Sakura who offered the kind gesture, he never tried to argue. There was no point with arguing with her either, but he didn't mind the intimacy with her he supposed. Just one more he was slowly letting the walls down around her.

"Come on, let me heal it." Sakura urged, taking a step closer to him again.

"Let's go back to my place." He motioned around, noting the sun was fully up now, and daylight was out fully. "You know how the light causes discomfort to it…"

She nodded and they fell into step walking back to his apartment. The village went on about their daily lives, some gazing with respect at any passing ninja. It didn't take long to get to the jounin's small apartment. He shuffled for his keys and unlocked the bolt, the click being audible in the comfortable silence.

They had passed Asuma and Kurenai on the way. They watched with interest and she fought down the blush as her and Kurenai made eye contact, and the brown hair kunoichi smiled encouragingly at her. Oh no, they know… Of course they know. It wasn't like she hadn't been an open book that night! Asuma seemed to be watching Kakashi intently like he was trying to relay some sort of message, but he hadn't been looking at the dark haired man to notice. They passed on without further acknowledgement.

She'd seen his room a few times in the past. But not since a couple weeks ago, the memory causing her cheeks to flush slightly pink.

"Make yourself at home, I'll start some coffee." He strode inside with her following close behind.

She stepped inside and took in the surroundings once again. It was such a simple apartment. A kitchen and living room, only separated by the change of old worn tile or stringy red carpet on the floor. There was a faded loveseat in the middle of the living room, with a wooden coffee table placed in front of it. By the window on the far side of the living room, stood a short book shelf with his Icha-Icha novels as well as some other literature. On top of the shelf, two frames were poised, Team Minato and Team Seven. She strode over to them, taking the one of Team Seven in her hands, as she always did when she came here.

Her hair was still long here, Naruto and Sasuke on either of her with Kakashi behind them. The two boys were glaring at each other while she smiled happily. Kakashi has his signature eye crease, a hand on each of the boys' heads. She loved this picture so much, having her own copy at her house. Naruto had one too. Sometimes she wondered if Sasuke still had his somewhere. A sad smile spread across his lips.

Kakashi watched her intently. The pink haired kunoichi always went straight for that photo whenever she came to his place, the few times she had. Over the years, the way she stared at it would change.

She used to hold it so tight in her fingers, he feared the glass pane would break, and he slowly slid it from her grasp and set it back on the shelf. That was the first time he ever embraced her. She was 15. She sobbed into his shoulder. Naruto was there and he wrapped his arms around them as well. His face buried into her hair, and he could tell by the rise of the genin's shoulders, he had been crying with her. He whispered his promise to bring Sasuke back once again then. Kakashi was never the comforting type, but they seemed to just appreciate him being there. They were only supposed to be in his apartment a moment that day, he just wanted the next volume of his series. However, they stood there like that a long time in that moment.

She had looked at it haunted. When she was still in the shock of Sasuke trying to kill her, multiple times. He remembered that all too vividly, her being saved by team seven multiple times. But that had passed, and she now just held the picture with somber acceptance as she does now.

He walked over, two cups of coffee in his hands and sat on the couch, gently placing them on the coffee table. Hearing the cup land softly on the wood, she set the frame down. She moved to sit next to him on the loveseat, taking the warm cup between her fingers.

Memories, less tragic ones, slinked back to his consciousness. They were tinged with the effects of a little too much sake, and a tad of regret. Still since that night, he would still notice her even more than before. Even now, she had her long, toned legs crossed. Her medic skirt splayed about her thighs, the shorts under them tight to her skin. The curve of her lips around the rim of the coffee cup as she took a sip. The way her short hair just barely brushed her neck, which he remembered the skin there being soft and sweet tasting. Or becoming intoxicated by the scent of her jasmine perfume. He still remembers the touch of her slender fingers against his bare skin.

He hated that he noticed it, that he couldn't stop noticing it. It felt wrong, he had been her teacher just seven years ago, give or take. He was fourteen years older than her. Why didn't none of that stop him from noticing the way she licked the coffee off her lips? Or secretly love when she healed him, instead of Tsunade. He felt like a creep. Just added to the list of things he hated himself for…

"Are you ready?" She set the half empty cup of coffee down now. She had noticed his intense gaze, and it was a little unsettling.

"Hn." He shifted to face her, and slowly slid his headband off his head, exposing the sharingan that was stuck activated. He closed his blood red eye as she gently placed her hand over his eye, watching her with his charcoal one. He could sense the chakra building up in her palm, her hand started to glow with the aqua aura of her healing chakra. And the intimacy he felt as her chakra flowed into him, reminded him once again of the last time they were both on his couch, and he let it replay in his memory, chastising himself that he should have never thought about it again.

Her eyes slid closed as she concentrated on the damage she could repair. He instantly began to feel the relief, the tenseness in his shoulders relaxing somewhat. He was more than thankful for her in that moment.

As she finished her task, her mind wandered back to the way he had been gazing at her earlier. Her cheeks dusted pink once again, remembering that night. The protectiveness that it had started with, and the feel of his lips on hers that it ended with.

They never talked about it, and she had only ever told Hinata about it, until this morning when she told Naruto. Hinata was the only one who knew much of her personal things anymore, after becoming close when Naruto finally noticed the Hyuuga's affection for him. The memory was coming back to her vividly now.

That night had started out as just a night out with Ino, the blonde trying to distract herself from her broken heart, having found out that Shikamaru and Temari were together now. Ino ended up getting shit faced, and calling Choji crying. The Akimichi nin came to pick her up, holding her tightly as they left. It had made Sakura smile, thinking Ino was rather oblivious to the feelings everyone knew he had for her.

Sakura stayed at the club, sipping the warm sake. She was already here, may as well enjoy it right? She scanned for someone she might know. She didn't see anyone in eyesight, feeling too lazy to get up and check around the corner of the club, where she knew some jounin lounged there at times, she remained at the bar. She was fine, until some guy decided to pester her.

"I'm flattered, but not interested, sorry." She said dismissively.

"Oh, of course. The kunoichi always play hard to get." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I love a good game."

Sakura glared at him. "Get lost." She kept her voice a tad bit harsher than before, but she was getting nervous.

"Why? Because I'm not a shinobi? You think you're better than me?"

She straightened her shoulders. "No. I'm just simply here for a drink, and nothing else. Please, just leave me be." She stood from the bar, and began walking towards that jounin corner.

Maybe Anko or Kurenai are here tonight. They frequent here, usually with Gai, Asuma and Genma. Sometimes Kakashi is even with them.

Her heart fluttered at the thought of her former sensei. The feeling of safeness she had always felt around becoming something she needed at the moment. She picked up her pace.

"You really think I'll let you get away so easily?" His voice sounded dark now, sending a nervous shiver up her spine.

"I said leave me alone!" She hissed at him, turning that corner and making eye contact with Kurenai, giving her pleading eyes. She rushed over to them, noticing the silver hair nin who faced away from her.

"How about you come with me?" His voice still sounded dark, low with intentions she wasn't welcome to.

The silver haired nin she so dearly wanted to be near turned his head slightly at the sound of that statement, she was just getting to the end of the sofa they were sitting at, a space next to him open. The man was close behind Sakura, trying to grasp her wrist. He could feel the trepidation radiating off of his former student.

"If you lay a finger on her, you're gonna find all ten incapable." Kakashi hissed out, taking another sip of his now third careen of sake. Sakura was just in arms reach, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to sit in the empty space next to him, wrapping his arm around her possessively.

"Ah, so she's yours?"

None of the jounin said a word. Sakura pressed into his side, finding comfort in the protection, not caring how it was shown at this moment. She could smell the sake on his breath, just as much as she could taste it on hers.

"I told you to leave me alone." She spoke defiantly and laid her head on Kakashi's shoulder for good measure.

He scoffed and finally gave up on his pursuit.

Kakashi's arm didn't move from around her waist, nor did he shy away from their close proximity. She glanced up at him, the expression on his face unreadable.

"I'm glad you came this way, Sakura…" Kurenai said, breaking the silence.

She met the red eyed female's gaze and nodded. "I was at the bar. I came here with Ino…" She paused and moved her gaze to Asuma. "She's torn up about Shikamaru… But she drank too much and cried. Called Choji and he came right away to get her. I should have just left with them…" She took a deep breath, releasing the tension she had been holding in her body. "I came this way from the bar when he started bothering me, hoping at least one of you was here."

Genma chuckled. "Well, I'm always here, blossom." He winked, the senbon in his mouth bouncing with his flirtation.

"Oh yes, run from one creepy flirt into the arms of another! What a saviour you'd have been." Anko teased and hit Genma on the shoulder.

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed, thankful for the other ninja.

She looked over at Kakashi once again, this time his exposed eye was on her, and she met his gaze. "Thank you, Kakashi."

He nodded, and his hand began to gently rub her hip ever so slightly. No one else seemed to notice. She didn't dare move. She suddenly realized she couldn't remember the last time she had been so… Close to someone else. She felt warm where his arm held around her form. She'd never been this close to him, being able to feel how solid his torso was or how rough his fingertips were against exposed skin. He smelled like the forest, which was kind of intoxicating. She was beginning to think maybe she also had too much to drink, despite her very sober feelings for him, she never dared to expose them.

Kakashi offered his careen, and she took just one more sip of the alcohol. She felt his gaze on her as she did so, and it made her feel hot all over.

Asuma watched them discreetly. Taking notice how they didn't move away to a more 'appropriate' distance once Sakura's assailant was gone. When was the last time Kakashi had a woman at his side? Sakura was the same age as Ino, looking just as much a woman as his beloved Kurenai now. Even he had noticed how attractive the kunoichi of the upcoming generation had become. He wondered if her former sensei did too, or if it was just the effect of the sake in his system. He chuckled to himself and looked over at Kurenai, who had a small smile playing on her lips.

"Feeling safer now, Sakura?" Genma said in a sultry voice.

Her eyes widened a moment. Of course she felt safer, what's he getting at? That's not abnormal is it, or am I just obvious... Like always.

"Well, wouldn't you feel safe in Hatake's arms? I know I would…" Anko raised an eyebrow and Sakura cheeks grew hot with a blush. Genma just smirked.

So they do notice…

"Leave the girl alone. Anyone would feel safe in the presence of their sensei." Kurenai spoke matter of factly, though Sakura could tell she almost seemed to intentionally come to her rescue from further embarrassment.

Sakura was thankful for the comment but also embarrassed by it as she turned even more red and just hoped it wasn't too repulsive to have feelings for your sensei.

"Oh come on, what is it between our age and your squads'? 13-14 years? That's not so bad in shinobi terms." Genma drawled out. Asuma laughed lightly at the remark.

Kurenai sighed but sent a reassuring look towards Sakura.

Kakashi didn't seem phased, his hand still gently rubbing her hip.

"I should probably get home soon…" Sakura mumbled to no one in particular. She stood, Kakashi's hand slipping away from her hip, and her body feeling cold from where his touch now vanished.

She took one step and stumbled, catching herself on the table between them all. She went to take another and her leg seemed to lose all its strength. Just as she realized she was falling, a strong arm wrapped around her waist tight and held her upright again.

She looked to see Kakashi, his eye was creased so he must have been smiling at her. Her heart thudded a little bit harder in her chest.

Did she really drink that much?

"How about I take you home?" Kakashi said with a deep tone she couldn't place.

"I'd appreciate that a lot…" She smiled timidly, somewhat embarrassed at her drunken state, among the fact that she was almost certain everyone knew she loved him now.

He gently picked her up, one arm around her back and the other tucked under her knees. She lazily wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. The man from earlier caught the sight and growled. "Not interested, huh?" He scoffed.

With the flick of his tongue, Genma sent his senbon in her assailant's direction, landing it right next to the man's drink on his table. His angry gaze met Genma's indifferent one.

"She wasn't interested in you. Hatake on the other hand…" He smiled widely now. "You never had a chance. And if it wouldn't have been him, it would have been me." He added snidely. Anko and the rest of the group laughed. "Kunoichi need men that are a challenge, and you're not even close to such a man. Too simple... And too creepy."

Sakura gazed up at Kakashi at Genma's words. She began to wonder what he looked like under that damned mask, wanting to know even more now than before. Her bet still ran that he was handsome under that pesky fabric. That made him a challenge from the start…

Oh what was she thinking. He's just taking her home… And he doesn't see her like that. Her cheeks turned red again, her mind wandering now. She always cared about Kakashi, appreciated him. He has been there for her and always protected her… She felt safe with him.

Her fingers slowly found their way into the hair at the back of his neck and just kept twisting her fingers in the shortish strands of silver. He kept everyone so closed out… He would never. He cared for her as his student, his comrade… She was so much younger, she knew it would never work, but it didn't stop her. She was used to unrequited feelings…

And then her heart sank, as memories came rushing through. Feeling alone all over again and cold, she focused on the places her body was in contact with Kakashi's. The warmth and closeness of it.

"Kakashi…"

She felt his throat vibrate with the noise he made in acknowledgement.

"I don't want to be alone…" Her voice trembled ever so slightly. His grip on her tightened.

"You won't be." and then he turned in the opposite direction of her house.

Those words echoed in her mind once more. She smiled. She hated being alone, which was part of the reason she always found herself in his company. Even after that night, things didn't seem to change. It went on like it didn't happen, but she thought of it often… How she wanted more than this companionship from him. Beginning to wonder if he was just too drunk like she was, or if it was real desire slipping past his guard that was fractured by alcohol, and halted by what he felt was right.

They were staring into each other's eyes now but nothing was being said. His hand slowly reached out to her, landing on her hip, but still nothing was said.

Kakashi walked purposely to his apartment and when he got there, he set her on the couch gently, and sat next to her. She was watching him and he liked it.

He shouldn't feel this way. But the way that man had been trying to harass her, woke something in him. He always cared about her, hell he was beginning to think he might love her as unacceptable as it would have been and how out of reach of an idea that Sakura of all people would look any other way than Sasuke... But the thought of someone else having her angered him in that moment. And she never shyed away from him once the moment was over. She didn't flinch away from his touch on her hip. And she looked so damn hot when she blushed. And when she said she didn't want to be alone... He couldn't stand to take her home where she would be exactly that.

She almost seemed to welcome his touch, as he thought back on the moments.

He felt the couch shift and he looked at her just as her side made contact with his again, and slid his arm around her waist, holding her tight to him, just as he had at the club. She laid her hand on his thigh, lightly, timidly.

He began to wonder what she was thinking. She was drunk, maybe it wasn't what she really wanted.h=

"Its funny; How Ino begged to go out tonight, and I went happily, always ready to help a friend…" She sighed. "But now I'm the one who's sad…" Her lower lip twitched slightly. "Choji was so...tender towards her. I swear, she's so oblivious. We all have known he's loved her since we've been 12, but she was so infatuated with Sasuke, and then Shikamaru." The mention of the Uchiha's name shook over her lips. "No one has ever looked at me the way Choji did her tonight. Or the way Naruto gazes at Hinata… Even Neji at Tenten." Her eyes stung with tears now and she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I've had too much to drink…"

She went to move away, beginning to situate a pillow to lay her head on. Just as she started to feel cold again from his touch leaving her body, his hand gripped her wrist.

"Sakura…" His voice came out soft and low. His other hand came up to gingerly touch her cheek and turned her to face him.

He wanted to kiss her… To make her feel cared for. Even loved…

Anything to send away those terrible feelings she was feeling.

She's drunk. This is wrong. He let go of her wrist. "It won't always be like this…" He tried to say something comforting.

Their eyes locked, her aqua hues staring into his single exposed one. She reached up and slid off his headband, now looking into his sharingan.

She could see something in him but she couldn't tell what it was. It seemed like he was holding something back, and she wanted to know what it was. Her wrist where his hold on her had been seemed to feel a chill as he let his grasp loose.

She brought her hand up to his face, and curled her finger tips around the edge of his mask slowly.

He tensed, just a little bit, and set his hands on her hips lightly. "You should get some sleep…" He stated flatly. He broke their gaze and looked to the side. He wouldn't take advantage of her.

She made no response to his comment. A few moments passed, and then she slowly slid the mask down his face. As it hung around his neck, her fingers gingerly traced the scar that went through his eye. He closed his eye at her gentle touch.

"If I wasn't drunk, I could make that less obvious for you…" She whispered softly.

He shook his head. "Rin tried but I want it to be there…" He spoke in a whisper. She understood, knowing how and why the scar existed.

The rest of his face was pale like the rest of his body, a slight line of color difference around the areas the mask didn't cover, as it was exposed to the sun, but it was still pale. He had clear skin and a strong jawline. His lips were thin and light in colour.

Handsome, just as she always thought.

He could feel her scrutinizing his now exposed face, the first time she's ever seen it. It made him feel a little self-conscious but he didn't let that on as he let her stare. He met her eyes once again, and this time, she came forward and kissed him.

His hands gripped her hips tighter, he didn't respond right away. The kiss was soft, her lips were soft and timid in their motion. He slowly responded to the kiss, keeping the gentleness she began with. She relaxed as soon as he tilted his head, and moved a little closer to him.

He shifted them, laying her back against the couch and hovering over her slim, but toned body. The silver haired nin slipped his hands up just barely into her red shirt, resting them on her sides. The feel of his calloused skin and the leather of his gloves made her shiver slightly. She tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him closer.

He was kissing her back, and her head was spinning. His body felt so fitting to hers as it pressed her against the couch. His tongue swiped her bottom lip and she gasped in surprise, and moaned as his tongue found hers and swirled around it.

Kakashi could feel her chest rise and fall against his chest as her breathing quickened. Her toned legs were on either side of him, he hooked his fingers under one of her knees and moved it to wrap around his waist. Her hands were in his hair and her scent filled his presence. He pressed a little more urgent into the kiss, and she moaned, the noise snapping him out of the arousal.

Instantly Kakashi's warmth vanished from all around her and she whimpered, and opened her eyes to look at him confused. "Is something…"

"You're drunk. That was wrong of me. I'm sorry, I…" He spoke fast and with sudden sobriety. "You can take the bedroom, I'll sleep on the couch."

She wanted to protest that she was perfectly okay with what had happened, that she wanted it, and wanted more. But he gently grabbed her hand and led her to the room. "If you want to change into something more comfortable, go ahead. Clothes are in the dresser."

And he left her in his bedroom to sleep on the couch.

She remembered waking up, having slipped on one of shirts, deciding that was the closest she'd probably get to his touch ever again…

She stared at him with curiosity in her expression now. He had just been looking at her, his hand resting lightly on her hips.

She's fully sober now. He still wished for her. To hold her and cherish her. To protect her. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her. He brought his other hand to rest gingerly on her cheek, and she almost immediately turned into his touch.

She still wasn't shying away from him. Her gazed seared into him with the wonder of what was happening.

He'd never open up like this, but she made things better. She was able to give him comfort no one else ever did. He couldn't bring himself to even address that night, even now. He still regretted the alcohol, letting himself kiss her, even for just a few moments, while she was intoxicated and emotionally vulnerable. But now, he just needed it, even as he hated noticing she was grown now. Hated that he was so much older than her and felt this kind of desire. Even if she was an adult now, it still seemed inappropriate. But did any of that matter if she felt it too? He had to know if she wanted it too, the same way she seemed to want him that night…

"I remember the last time we were on this couch together…" Her breath was a little shaky. "I wasn't that drunk. Drunk enough to stumble, but I still knew what I wanted. That I still want you." She stated matter of factly. Her hand reached out to his face, and she slowly, cautiously slid her finger tips into the top of his mask. He made no motion to stop her. "I understand why you stopped it… It even made me respect you even more than I already do." She smiled and began to pull the mask down. "But it still hurt a little. I wondered if it was only the alcohol that had made you want me…"

He shook his head, still holding her gaze, and his grip on her hip tightened.

"I cried to Hinata about it… But she insisted that it wasn't it." The mask was hanging around his neck. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and began to lay back on the couch. "You told me it wouldn't always be like this… I wouldn't always feel alone." Her hand moved into his hair and he moved to hover over her again, and pressed his forehead to hers.

"You haven't been alone for a long time, Sakura…" He breathed out low, his lips almost touching hers. "It just felt… wrong. For me, your former sensei, to feel the way I do…"

"Kakashi...?" He could feel her chest moving up and down with her heavy breathing again.

"I always cared about you. And I've...loved you for some time now." That word felt foreign, sounded foreign, but he knew he did. He brought his hand to the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair. "It wasn't until that night that I thought you would ever want me.." He mused softly. "We were both drunk and I wanted you so much… But I didn't want to take advantage of you…" He sighed. "I feel guilt and shame for how far it did go."

"Please… Don't. I want this. I want you." Her voice shook a little as she spoke those words.

He placed his lips over hers gently, gripping her hair just a little tighter. She made a sound of contentment before moving her lips against his, pulling him closer. She needed to feel his body against hers. Her hands tugged at his hair and she turned her head, deepening the kiss, feeling the heat spread through her body just like it had that night under his intense gaze.

He pulled away and looked at her deep in the eyes. "Sakura…" He slid his hand under her shirt, this time pulling it up.

"Kakashi, please…" She whined. She pulled the zipper of his vest down and shrugged it off his shoulders.

"I know." He smiled and lifted her shirt over her head.

She'd never get over being able to see his full smile, the curve of his lips seemed so precious.

He left hot kisses down her jawline and neck and she tilted her head back to give him better access. His hair tickled her skin as he moved. Her breathing was becoming ragged. She slid her hands under his shirt, running her slender fingers across his toned abdomen, feeling the scars that rose a bit off his torso as she ran them up his body. He shivered, her touch felt like electricity surging through him.

As much as she wanted this, a small fear began to creep up on her. She needed to tell him…

"Kakashi, I've never…" She started and he slowly halted and he met her eyes, understanding what she was about to tell him.

Of course, she hadn't. The only other person she ever seemed to have eyes for was Sasuke, and obviously that never went anywhere for them…

He pecked her lips as she slid his shirt off. He stood up and lifted her off the couch into his arms, holding her tight to him, the faded black garment forgotten on the floor. He carried her to his room and laid her delicately over his shuriken covers. He kissed her, deep and slow. It made her heart melt. His tongue swiped across her lips and she parted them for him.

He was being so passionate yet so gentle at the same time.

And it was really happening. He wasn't going to stop, and leave her alone in his bed this time. Even though his foresty scent engulfing her in his covers that night had been comforting, she had wished she could have at least been in his arms that night. And now, she was going to get it all, she thought as his lips were trailing down her body again and she was panting.

Kakashi's thoughts were wild. He wasn't just going to lie with her, but he was going to be her first, and hopefully only. It only made him feel like it was wrong all over again, only for a moment. The love reflecting in those hues casting away any doubts he had about them. If she wanted this, wanted him then he wasn't ever letting her slip away from him.

He didn't care that she used to be his student, or that she had grown up before his eyes. He didn't care that he was fourteen years older. As long as it was she wanted, what would make her happy, that's what he cared about.

And there was no denying she wanted him as she panted, whispers of his name filling the air in his bedroom. Her body pressing into everything he did.

"Kakashi…" It was going to drive him crazy.

"Say it." He said in a hushed tone. He looked up at her. "Tell me this isn't just about being alone…"

It suddenly nagged at him still, even when he was enjoying this. That fear to open up, just to lose someone again. It'd kill him if he finally gave in, for her to be gone later. To never be at his side.

Understanding crossed her features. She sat up and held his face in her hands. "I love you, Kakashi Hatake. I've loved you since I realized who has been there for me since those two nearly killed each other." Tears filled her eyes. "I've loved you since you held me in your living room the first time I ever came here, and clung to that picture and cried, and you held me." Her eyes were sparkling. "I've known I loved you since you saved me from Sasuke…" She kissed him hard, her hands moving up into his hair and pulling hard. He moaned into her mouth and gripped her hips.

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered against his lips, and it was all he needed to finally completely let the wall down to her.

His hands trailed up her form once again, finding his calloused fingers wrapped around both her breasts, before he started to tear away the wrappings, kissing the skin as it was exposed to him. She gasped and threw her head back against the mattress, her pink tresses splaying across the covers.

He took one of her now hardened buds into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the skin. His hands moved in a gentle caress to grip that pesky little skirt and the shorts underneath and slid them both off in one motion.

And now he felt her hands leaving his hair, trailing down his bare torso, leaving fire on his skin in their chasteness, and just like her slender fingers had curled around the edge of his mask, they did the same around the waistband of his pants. They were just a little hesitant now, and he gave her peck on the lips to encourage her further.

"Is the bold medic getting flustered now?" He smirked slightly at the blush that stained her cheeks deeply now, much like that night when Genma teased her.

Sakura tightened her grip before closing her eyes and jerking the fabric away from the silver haired man that she finally had him to herself. No amount of nervousness was going to ruin that. She gulped as she peeked between then, finally seeing the hardness that she had felt against her leg a couple times. She bit her lip, noting the size. Not that she had really seen and paid attention to any other, he just seemed a little bit more… Gifted.

Kakashi chuckled deep in his chest, finding the way she ground her bottom lip between her teeth upon seeing himself a little sexy and adorable all at once. "Don't worry, I'll be slow… Gentle." He kissed her softly and she reciprocated instantly.

He pulled away lightly. "You're really gonna like what's coming next if you've never been with anyone at all." His voice sounded like honey to her. He began kissing, and nipping every so often down her body and suddenly she started gathering where he was heading when he didn't stop at her chest… Or her hips. He was on his knees in front of the bed now, and lazily slung her legs over his shoulders, gripped her hips and pulled her body towards him.

"Oh my god, Kakashi!" She moaned and squirmed slightly as she felt his hot, wet tongue glide between her lips, and circle the tip expertly around her clit. He did it again, delving a little deeper, and sucking when he reached the bundle of nerves again. Her body was starting to gleam with sweat.

She'd heard how much a treat this could be from Ino, but she never could have imagined this. She squirmed and moaned low as he continued the motions, so slow and intentional.

"Kakashi… More. Please." She pleaded with him. Her legs were wrapped tight around his shoulders now, pressing him to her core, and she was thankful he didn't seem to mind at all.

He decided the only response needed was to oblige, and he trailed his fingers delicately over the pale skin of her right thigh, inching them closer and closer to her entrance. He slid in one digit slowly, testing, instantly he felt himself harden more at how soaked she was already. She was dripping with need, and it was all for him. She moaned a bit and didn't seem to feel any discomfort. He added another, still she seemed in perfect pleasure, just moaning and writhing on his bed as he still continued to use his tongue against her. He spread his fingers inside her and her back arched off the bed but it was pure ecstasy that fell from her lips. He smirked and decided to stop to raise up just a bit, enough to talk, but enough that his breath still breezed over her sensitiveness.

"It would seem you're no stranger to these feelings…" He spoke in a low, accusing tone. And there it was, that heat again on her face.

"I… " Damn him. "Sometimes I just need… Relief." She looked away, refusing to make eye contact as her cheeks burned scarlet now.

"Well, you're plenty loose enough and wet enough." He said flippantly now, and stood up from his knees, pushing her more into the bed. He crawled onto the mattress, making himself comfortable between her legs, his knees digging into the mattress, wrinkling the shuriken covers further than she had with her writhing.

Suddenly all her muscles tensed, gathering that she was about to lose her innocence to him. She wanted this, but it didn't make slight fear completely dissipate.

Hinata said she didn't feel a thing when Naruto took her. But Ino said it was agony when Choji did and it took minutes to pass. Tenten said it only stung for a moment with Neji. Temari never talked about what it had been like with Shikamaru. So many mixed reviews, how was she to know what to expect. Then she glanced back down, remembering his size. Perhaps it was silly to even question. There's no way Kakashi wouldn't hurt at least a little.

He watched her gaze, wondering what was flying through that pink little head of hers. He watched her gaze shift back down again, and her hips squirmed a bit. He gripped them gently and leaned to whisper softly in her ear.

He was trying to push away the fact he was about to strip the very innocence he lectured her so much to hide years prior.

"This is probably going to hurt… And if you want me to stop at any point." He kissed her cheek, pecked her lips. "Don't be scared to tell me to."

She nodded and brought her arms to link around his neck. He laid his forehead against hers, and slowly moved his hips forward into hers, pressing the tip of his length just against her entrance. They both moaned low.

When was the last time he had been with someone, even though they had all been one night stands. No strings attached.

It was obvious this was going to be different, it was going to feel different. It was going to be so much better.

He slid his arms up under her form so that he was hugging her close to him. She sighed happily, before he pressed on a little further, just enough to break that barrier. Her body tensed, her legs squeezed his hips and her eyes knit shut. A small whimper escaped her lips, but she moved her hips into his.

This was more straining than he expected it to be. He wanted all of her, now. But he couldn't do that, not yet. This had to be tender. He pressed a little further, half of him inside her now. Her face still looked a little pained, but she gasped and her mouth hung open now.

Sakura was taking deep breaths, bearing it. It wasn't so bad, but it was definitely there. But the more he moved, the more the pleasure came, and pain subsided. She was beyond appreciative for his sincerity in this moment, but she could feel in the tenseness of his muscles it was difficult for him to hold back.

He moved further again, and there was nothing but pure ecstasy this time.

"Oh, Kakashi…" She unlinked her fingers from each other, just to dig them into his back. She arched her back into him, and swiftly thrusts her hips upward into his, and he gasped, his full length in her now.

"Sakura…" The strain in his voice couldn't be held back anymore. He bit down on his lip hard. That one swift motion, the way his name sounded coming from her in such tones. It was becoming too much.

She looked up at him, and every bit of innocence that had been in those eyes had fled from them, and now they were dark and seductive. She flicked her tongue over her lips, wetting the chapped skin from her panting.

"Kakashi, I need you…" She leaned up and began kissing his jawline, and down his neck. She bit the crook of his shoulder that met his neck and snapped whatever restraint he had.

In one fluid motion, he pulled his hips back and slammed back into her. The nails only dug deeper into the skin of his shoulder, her moans getting louder.

"No, Sakura, I need you." His voice was low and husky against her ear, and then he slammed his hips into hers again and she was too far gone in pleasure to reply. She wrapped her legs around his waist, linking her ankles. She pulled him deeper into her.

He couldn't have ever imagined it would have ever ended up like this. She was just as needy as him, and he wondered if she would be just as aggressive as time went on.

He swiftly brought his head down and bit down on her collarbone, and sucked the pale skin, with full intention to leave red and purple with the bruise of his needs. He could feel the stinging pain of where she had bit him and it only urged him on more.

"Kakashi, I..!" She felt her whole body start to tremble, her eyes squeezed shut tight and she buried her face in his shoulder, her hands flat against the muscles of his back. Her legs shook.

"Shit!" Her lover hissed into her hair, stroking the strands lightly. He could feel her tightening around him as she was climaxing and he wasn't going to last much longer.

She felt his body tighten, his toned arm that still held her tight against his body as he let out a low groan and she felt warmth between her legs as they climaxed. She fell back, the copy nin following, collapsing on her chest, his breathing laboured.

It may as well have been his first because he vaguely remembered it had been years now, and was slightly disappointed in himself for lasting so short. But she seemed exhausted anyway.

"I love you…" He murmured, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

She was still reeling from her first full orgasm but the precious words rang through her reverie and she beamed with joy.

"I love you too…" And she brought her hand to his head, her fingers twirling in the strands lightly. His breathing was steadying now. She placed a kiss on the top his head.

She couldn't believe it. She was in his bed, naked in his arms after making love, after losing her virginity to him.

Everything felt right in the world. She couldn't give a damn what anyone would ever think, because she was happy. And so was he.

Kakashi hummed contently at the motions of her fingers in his hair. Nothing could have ever made him happier than this morning. Peering over at the clock on his night stand, it was 11:30am now. Just as he was deciding right here and right now in her embrace, his resting between her breasts would be the perfect time for a nap, there was a light knock on the door, and then it opened. Sakura tensed and brought the blankets up over them, but seemed more in fear of being seen naked, rather than being seen in his bed. Once she felt she was covered, her body relaxed.

Kakashi groaned at whoever it was. "Go away."

The timbre of Asuma's voice came through the doorway. "Hey old friend, we need talk, because I know your self loathing will keep you from ever dealing with it."

Kakashi's eyebrow raised at what he could be referring to. Curious, he remained silent. Sakura's face was turning a slight pink, like she knew what it was.

"That Haruno girl has eyes for y-" His figure appeared through the door, and his eyes found the sight of the famous copy nin tangled up with the hokage's apprentice.

Sakura's face was deep red now.

Kakashi smirked slightly. "Oh believe me, I know." Kakashi said in his usual flippant tone. And turned to plant a kiss on Sakura's burning cheek.

"Well, Kurenai will be pleased to hear that you didn't even need a nudge." Asuma laughed.

[saskaykun]

Taka’s members’ bond with Sasuke. (For Taka team’s stans, this one’s for you.)

I don't think there's any point in introducing the Taka team again.

But as today's point is to prove the link as a point of complementarity with Sasuke. I'm going to take a look at the personal lives of each of them. 

Ps: sorry for the typos, english is not my mother tongue.

SUIGETSU:

We are going to start with Suigetsu, like Sasuke, Suigetsu had a big brother, pretty strong and skilled because Mangetsu was the only one of the 7 swordsmen of the mist to master the 7 swords of Kiri. Suigetsu's dream was to become as strong as his big brother to enter the 7 swordsmen assassins club, whom he admired a lot, but Mangetsu died rather prematurely while protecting his little brother Suigetsu. Suigetsu trained hard to barely match half of his big brother's sword skills. He also comes from a known clan from the village of Kiri, the clan Hozūki, and owns a Kekkei Genkai, which allows him to liquefy his body from flesh to water. Pretty handy for a swordsman, isn't it?  No blade can pierce his body. That's also why Orochimaru was interested in him and kept him prisoner in his laboratories for so many years. Doesn't that remind you of Sasuke? The story of the big brother to be surpassed in abilities, even though he was so admired by the little one? Sasuke had to kill Itachi because he had to avenge his clan, Suigetsu had to become much better than Mangetsu because he promised him before Mangetsu died, that he would take back the title of "Kijin no Sairai" - "the second coming of the demon" (as far as my translation is concerned), so he got it into his head to collect all the swords from Kiri village, in order to take back his brother's inheritance. It's rather cute when you think about it. Suigetsu, in spite of appearances, is not a deeply evil person even if he spent most of his life training to become an assassin. Of all the times he made fun of Karin for her feelings towards Sasuke and Karin hit him, he never twisted back once. Suigetsu doesn't have a family anymore, like Sasuke, he's the last survivor of his clan. Moreover, I wanted to add that Suigetsu, sometimes appears like a coward but is actually very competent, and he is certainly a better swordsman than Sasuke. At the same age, (at 16 years old) Suigetsu had already done 2 - D rank missions, 33 - C rank missions - 40 - B rank missions, 13 - A rank missions and finally 4 - S rank missions originally reserved for jônin, can he be considered as such?

KARIN:

What do we know about Karin?

At first, not much is said, except that she is a very competent sensory ninja, that Sasuke, with Suigetsu came personally to look for. He chose her, among many other competent ninjas. He acknowledged her as the best in her field. That's a canon fact. 

Another true thing, Sasuke, who came personally to pick her up, confessed that he needed her to reach his goal.

"I need you, Karin", really happened. 

He wasn't forced to do it, on the contrary, Suigetsu, who wasn't a big fan of Karin, spent his time dissuading Sasuke from going to pick her up and take her on the team, but Sasuke insisted.

They saved each other's lives several times. Karin healed him with her "Heal Bite" and he during their fight against Killer Bee, awakened a new power from his Mangekyō Sharingan: Kagutsuchi. He was able to extinguish the flames of the Amaterasu that had touched Karin. His face, scared of losing his teammate, proves how much Sasuke cares about his Taka teammates but especially about Karin. After I will not go on betting that he cares about her, romantically or just friendly because that's not the point and nothing in the manga proves that he did it romantically or kindly, I just want to emphasize this point: he was willing to die, and put Juugo's and Suigetsu's lives in danger in order to save Karin.

We learn a little more about Karin, during the Edotensei scene with Itachi and Sasuke against Kabuto. Kabuto then talks about Taka team members and reveals to Sasuke that Karin is indeed part of the Uzumaki clan, like Naruto, and that's why she has a huge chakra cluster. She regenerates quickly her own wounds but she can help others to regenerate and heal themselves by sharing her chakra, by biting her because it's the fastest way: in fact, the injured person drinks Karin's chakra and regenerates herself/himself in a few moments.

Besides the fact that Karin was used by Sasuke to locate Itachi through her powerful chakra and to warn him of his possible enemies, and of course to heal him in case he would be seriously wounded, she is not an exceptional ninja in combat, she must even very often be saved either by Sasuke or by Suigetsu. Sasuke knew that very well. He was never shocked that Karin might be a weight for them in their adventures. He chose her by himself, nobody forced Karin to be there and decided to protect her.

The scene where Sasuke "sacrifices" Karin to kill Danzō is totally a scene to be taken with extenuating circumstances. Sasuke finally being in front of the person who ruined his life, who ordered the massacre of the Uchiha clan, he couldn't do otherwise, he was forced by all means to kill him. Karin being in his field of action because she wanted to help him, was also pierced by Sasuke's chidori blade. Don't forget though, that he didn't really sacrifice her because she didn't die, since he didn't aim at Karin's vital points.

I still want to thank Sakura for helping Karin with her medical ninjutsu, she is still part of Karin's healing process, without Sakura's intervention, she might have had a hard time healing this time.

I also wanted to point out, on the scene following Karin's famous "sacrifice":

Karin thus finds herself on the ground, dying slowly, Obito then proposes to Sasuke to finish her off, properly because she knows too much about their plan. Sasuke doesn't even take the time to answer him. During this scene, Sasuke takes an exceptional time to load his chidori, giving Team 7 time to arrive on the scene, another proof that deep down he really didn't want to kill her. It is finally on Sakura that Sasuke decides to use his chidori, and not on Karin. Karin then dissuades him... but Sakura is really not far from being killed this time by Sasuke.

This scene is powerful, but it shows the total disinterest of Team 7 in the eyes of Sasuke, at least the disinterest he has in Sakura's life. Sakura being a burden, and considering her as the enemy, had to be eliminated as soon as possible. He was also never afraid to confront Kakashi. The only one for which he has doubts, a certain apprehension that he tries indirectly to hide, remains definitely for Naruto, but again, he does not hesitate to threaten him if Naruto still chases after him.

To finish with Karin, she is part of the Uzumaki clan, one of the oldest clans in the Shinobi world, and derived from the Senju clan, there are not many members of the clan left, at least to our knowledge except Karin, Naruto and Nagato. At the end of the war, only Karin and Naruto remain. She shares this fact with Sasuke. She also had lost her entire family during the previous war, her mother was used for medical purposes, literally having her chakra sucked until her death. She became an orphan at a very young age, left to live on her own, abused by others until she met Orochimaru. She has no one left.When she meets Sasuke, she falls in love with him for his beauty, he is pretty handsome, but as a sensory ninja, she found that he has a beautiful and attractive chakra, she realized right away that Sasuke is not as bad as he pretends to be. She took a close interest in him, and I think the interest was mutual.

JŪGO:

Jūgo, is certainly the only member where we are poorly with information about him.

Jūgo is a deeply kind and loving boy but is possessed by a heavy weight that overwhelms him: the cursed seal. He is the first holder of the cursed seal, it is with his DNA that Orochimaru started his experiments. The poor man, being unable to control his murderous impulses, preferred to die rather than to leave his cell when Sasuke, Suigetsu and Karin came to get him. Sasuke promised to hold him, Jūgo, usually not confident, agrees to come with them because Kimimaro had acknowledged Sasuke. Jūgo, in addition to his incredible physical strength when possessed by the cursed seal, is able to communicate with the birds. Sasuke uses Jūgo through this ability so that his birds can locate the Akatsukis' hideout and that he can create a map from the information transmitted by these birds. Also, Jūgo is an orphan, and since Kimimaro died, he was literally alone in the world. He has no known family, and his affiliation to a particular clan is unknown. Another peculiarity that Sasuke shares with his teammates.

I consider Jūgo as Sasuke/Suigetsu/Karin’s big brother. He took care of them. There also is a scene where he puts Sasuke in his futon after having treated him and bandaged him, because Sasuke had fallen asleep sitting, from exhaustion.

This boy is soooooo cute and gentle. His bipolar side contrasts enormously. His murderous personality with his soft and wise side.

                 Well, Sasuke's plan was perfect and well thought out.

 To answer the question I was asked, "What do they do as Team Taka, besides help Sasuke enter into darkness?"

I, for one, don't hold Team Taka members responsible for Sasuke's entry into the darkness. Far from it. Sasuke was motivated by his hatred for killing Itachi, and after the final battle with his brother, motivated by revenge for those who led to his downfall. Don't get me wrong, I always feel that when it comes to Sasuke, the people who interact with him are responsible for his actions. No, Sasuke most certainly suffers from PTSD, living in unresolved grief since the death of his family, in hatred and constant pain, doesn't need anyone to think for him. He's an intelligent boy, he knows his purpose, he knows he would sacrifice himself to restore honor to those he has lost. His goal was just that. I sincerely think that deep down Sasuke wanted to change the Shinobi world, build new foundations, and achieve peace, so that what he experienced would never happen again, but it was a kind of pipe dream because he really thought he would die in his next confrontation with Naruto. He expected no less.

It really pisses me off that people think that Sasuke is acting according to the actions of others. I don't remember hearing Suigetsu, Karin or Jugo suggest a plan of action to kill someone or do something. He was the leader of this team. The others were acting on his behalf and not the other way around. He was the one who came to find them, he was the one who surrounded himself with these shinobis to help him achieve his goal. You let yourself be influenced by Naruto “talk no jutsu” in Gaiden who dares to tell the Taka team to mind their own business when he himself spent years to mind Sasuke's business, without even understanding the reason for his actions.

Gaiden makes the Taka team look like the villains who helped Sasuke carry out the actions of his hatred, but look closer, they did nothing so exceptional except help him find Itachi and obey Akatsuki's orders to attack Killer B.

It even seems to me that the Taka team were, in the end, the only ones who listened sincerely to Sasuke, to meet his expectations, to try to understand him. 

A non-canon fact unfortunately, in a novel about Sasuke, after Itachi's death, Sasuke makes a kind of pilgrimage to learn more about his brother, during his Akatsuki period, and then meets two brothers, who were preparing drops for Itachi's eyes, and they make him think about him and Itachi when they were kids. ... I'm going to skip over the real story of this novel, although it's very well written for a non-canon novel, and we find Sasuke on his scene, by the sea, where he desperately lets go of all his pain in a torrent of tears, and decides to rename Hebi team into Taka team.

Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo were present during one of the worst moments of Sasuke's life: Itachi's death and thus the mourning of his older brother.

In spite of Itachi's terrible actions and choices to raise Sasuke's power, Sasuke still considers him as his beloved older brother who sacrificed himself for a village that never gave them the chance to live, properly...

Again, as I already said in another post, I truly think that all the people close to Sasuke tried to control his choices and his life, without asking his opinion.

Itachi made it clear that he tried to trace Sasuke's life from his childhood to what he became and finally disappointed to have failed... but what the hell did he expect?

Naruto, who absolutely wants Sasuke to go back to Konoha, but why? He knew very well that the people in Konoha would bully him for his actions, when he was already bullied enough to be an Uchiha in Konoha. So Naruto claims to know what's best for Sasuke. What?!

Sakura... is Sakura.

Kakashi and Jiraya tried to dissuade Sakura and Naruto from desperately pursuing a guy who clearly wanted to get the hell out of this village: Sasuke is not worth it.

Decidedly, Sasuke doesn't get much grace from people. Between those who think he's a sulky, who always makes moods because he has some problems in his life and those who judge him without knowing a second of his existence and his journey, he's really badly surrounded.

The Taka team is the only one that hasn't gone into the details and is following Sasuke, even before he decides to explain to them the reasons for this gathering.

I like their complicity. I like their dynamics. They help each other.

Team Taka is the one that Sasuke chose on his own, Team 7 is the one that was imposed on him. Don't forget that.

At least, I didn’t even use your post, but thank you again @justsasuke​ ! It was kind of you :)

                Ps: I found this pic very cute. They are all awesome. 

[rinneganwritings]

Never Far Away; Chapter Two: Between the Lines

Word Count: 3,324

Summary: Yumiko returns home from a mission hoping for a nice day off.

Warnings: None

Chapter One

All Yumiko wants to do is get back to her house and fall into her bed. The mission she’d been sent on by the Hokage wasn’t difficult by any means, but it had been long. The young woman was the niece of a feudal lord from The Land of Wind. She was supposed to be a diplomat, but Yumiko got the feeling the girl was more interested in meeting boys than anything else. Still, her safety was a high priority. A fact that Yumiko was rudely reminded of when a group of thieves attacked them. Yumiko had to fight them off by herself, since the diplomat’s personal guards proved to be useless. She wasn’t seriously hurt, but her ribs did feel a little bruised from one of them managing to land a pretty strong kick.

The gates of Konoha come into view. Relief washes over her. Coming home after a long mission always has such a strong calming effect on her. She feels her shoulders relax as she walks through them. The streets were already filled with life. Children too young to be at the academy were running around playing. The markets were already filling up. In the distance, she hears someone yelling at Naruto. She smiles to herself and makes a mental note to get all the details from him about all the mischief he got into when she was gone.

She passes the street where her house is, which sends a pang of longing in her aching muscles. The Hokage would need his briefing before she could rest so she heads towards his office. Luckily, it wouldn’t take all that long.

When she gets there, he’s already waiting for her. Danzo ushers her inside his office. The man gives her a strange look that makes her uncomfortable. It’s the same scrutinizing look he always gives her when they’re in the same room. Hiruzen is sitting behind his desk looking over paperwork. She bows as she enters the room, then kneels in front of him.

“Good to see you’ve made it back,” he says. “I trust there wasn’t too much trouble?”

“I had to dispose of a group of thieves who attempted to rob the Feudal Lord’s niece,” Yumiko sighs as she remembers the whole exchange again. The Feudal Lord’s niece had spent the whole time crying, then spent the rest of the trip gripping onto Yumiko’s arm. “Other than that, no problems.”

“Very good, Yumiko,” Hiruzen signs off on the report she’d given him before dismissing her. “Get some much-needed rest.”

Yumiko bows before leaving the office. She’s relieved he didn’t have many questions for her. Then again, there wasn’t much to say about the mission. Overall it had gone exactly as expected.

She wonders as she walks back onto the street if Iruka has gotten word of her being home yet. She gets the answer when she arrives at her house to find him sitting on her porch. Iruka flashes her a bright smile as he stands to meet her halfway up the path. Without hesitation, he wraps her up in a hug. She winces slightly but returns the affection anyway.

“Don’t you have students?” she asks as they step away to look each other over. His eyebrows furrow when he realizes she’s wrapped her midsection.

“I released them early when I figured out you got home,” he eyes the bandages. “Do you need to get looked over?”

She shrugs, “They’re just bruised.”

He raises an eyebrow, “Yumiko…”

“Listen, I’ve had bruised ribs tons of times. I know exactly what they feel like.”

This doesn’t seem to put him any more at ease, but he drops the subject anyway. Instead, he follows her into her house, kicking off his sandals on the way.

“Can you start some tea while I take a shower?” she asks him as she drops her bags in the entryway.

“Of course.”

As she strolls down the hallway, she frowns at the distinct lack of Tamako. Usually this time of day the house smells of the perfume she’d put on that day, but there’s nothing today. She’d sent word to Tamako that she’d be coming home today, and usually, they spend time together when Yumiko gets home from a solo mission.

She tries to push her worries to the side as she goes to the bathroom and starts the shower. Maybe Tamako forgot. She had been a bit somber lately, so much so that Yumiko felt guilty for leaving. She assumes Tamako has gone off to train or something.

The warm water is soothing on her warm muscles, and it feels nice to bathe in her own shower. As she cleans herself, she wonders if Tamako missed her arrival on purpose. Maybe she was still mad about Yumiko leaving to start with. They’d gotten into a fight right before she left. Tamako lamented about the possibility of them finding Itachi and getting the answers about why he’d killed his clan. It was a conversation they’d had many times before, but for some reason, it had struck a different chord in Yumiko. She’d lost her patience. Demanded that Tamako forget about Itachi. She feels a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower.

She pulls on a pair of loose-fitting black pants and a gray sweatshirt. Iruka already has the tea set out on the kitchen table when she enters the room. She sits down across from him with a deep sigh. He pours her a cup and passes it to her.

“Did you see Tamako today?” she asks him.

“Actually, come to think of it I haven’t,” Iruka furrows his brows. “I checked up on her yesterday but I haven’t seen her since.”

Yumiko narrows her eyes at him as she thinks. A moment of concern flashes across his face, wondering if he’d done something wrong.

“I wonder if anyone else has seen her,” Yumiko says before sipping her tea.

“What’s going on?”

“Something feels off,” Yumiko wants to explain better, but she’s never been great with describing these things. She just always seems to know when something is going on with Tamako.

She goes to retrieve a pair of sandals from her closet, deciding they should go look around.

Iruka watches her slip the sandals on her feet, “Are we going somewhere?” “I just want to make sure I’m wrong about this.”

“About what?”

“I think she’s gone.”

The first place she goes is the training grounds. She finds Ezume and Akina there training, no Tamako. They run over to Yumiko when they see her. Akina hugs her and begins asking questions about the mission. However, she shushes up when she notices that Iruka is with Yumiko.

“Oh, you have Iruka-sensei with you?” she wiggles her eyebrows. Yumiko playfully pushes her.

“Have either of you seen Tamako today?” she asks, Ezume instantly pays attention to the mention of Tamako.

“I haven’t,” Akina shrugs.

“She was with Sasuke for a while yesterday,” Ezume offers.

“Okay, you two split up and go ask around,” she tells them. “Me and Iruka will head to Sasuke’s house to see if she’s there.”

“Is something wrong?” Ezume asks with concern painting his blue eyes.

“I hope not,” Yumiko sighs.

Yumiko and Iruka begin walking towards the outskirts of the village where the Uchiha clan used to live. Now only Sasuke remains. Tamako has always spent a good bit of time with Sasuke, and Yumiko has given whatever help he needs as far as being a young child being on his own. Sasuke never asked for much, but the girls always tried to be there for him anyway. Considering how much his mother did for Yumiko and Tamako after they lost their parents, Yumiko always figured it was the least they could do.

“Why would Tamako run away?” Iruka asked as they walk.

“There’s only one reason I can think of,” Yumiko shakes her head. She doesn’t want to believe this.

“Itachi,” Iruka finishes for her.

They find Sasuke sitting at the dock, looking into the water. He’s lost in thought, but the slight tilting of his head indicates he senses their presence.

“Is this why class was cut short, Iruka-sensei?”

“Have you seen Tamako today?” Yumiko asks before Iruka has a chance to say anything.

“I saw her yesterday,” he shrugs. “It’s not my job to keep up with her.”

“Sasuke, this is important. Very important,” Yumiko growls. “Did she say anything weird yesterday?”

“Tamako is always weird.”

“Damn it,” Yumiko groans. “It’s looking worse and worse by the second.”

For the first time, Sasuke softened a little, “Did something happen?”

“I don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Iruka says, trying to keep everything calm.

“I think she’s run away,” Yumiko tells Sasuke.

Iruka groans, “Why’d you have to tell him that?”

“She’s run away?” Sasuke raises an eyebrow. “You don’t think she would try to find Itachi?”

Yumiko nods slowly, “That’s exactly what I think.”

Sasuke’s fist balls up tightly, “She wouldn’t do that. That’s stupid.”

“Sasuke, I’ll find out what’s going.”

“So Itachi has done it,” he growls. “He’s taken everyone from me.”

“It’s okay,” Iruka says. “Yumiko is gonna get to the bottom of this.”

“You couldn’t even tell she was going to run away,” Sasuke rolls his eyes.

“Listen Sasuke, I’m doing my best.”

He just looks down, refusing to make eye contact with her. Yumiko turns to leave. Iruka hesitates for a moment before following her. They meet Ezume and Akina on their way back towards the village. Both of them are wearing concerned expressions as they report the same lack of information. Yumiko has to accept that the worst may truly be what they’re dealing with now.

For the second time, she finds herself standing in the Hokage’s office. Instead of being impatient and exhausted, her nerves are now standing at attention. Her mind is struggling to come up with what to say to the Hokage about the situation. Hiruzen listens intently as she talks him through the day. He only shows any reaction when she suggests that Tamako has run off to find Itachi. He folds his hands on the desk in front of him.

“Are Ezume and Akina prepared to take on a mission like this?” he asks her.

“I believe so,” Yumiko answers.

Hiruzen sighs, “It’s been years since anyone in the village has had contact with Itachi. We can only assume he’s grown more powerful in his absence. It may be a good idea for another to add another jounin to your team. Temporarily of course.”

Already her mind is going through anyone she thinks would be willing to go. Guy is the first she thinks of. She knows he’s a bit much at times, but she also knows there’s nobody more dependable in times of crisis than Guy. They have been on missions together, and it worked. She also knows he’s busy with his own team. Kurenai would be a less potentially annoying choice. Not to mention, Yumiko is almost certain that Kurenai’s proficiency with genjutsu could come in handy.

She decides that whichever one she runs into first is who she’d recruit. Her feet are already twitching to get started. Still, etiquette dictates that she waits to be dismissed. Tamako did always hate when Yumiko disregarded the proper etiquette.

“I have some ideas about who could suit the mission,” she says.

“As do I,” the Hokage tilts his head towards her.

“Yes, of course,” she nods.

“Gather the rest of your team and be back here within the hour.”

“Yes, Lord Hokage,” she bows her head before finally standing to leave. She pushes past Danzo to get out the door.

Akina and Ezume are sitting on the edge of her front porch when she walks up. Iruka leans against one of the wooden beams beside them. As they spot her walking towards them, the two chunin jump up quickly to meet her.

“What did he say?” the two ask in almost perfect unison.

“He is allowing the two of you to join me in finding her,” she sighs. “We will have another jounin joining us.”

Iruka follows them, “Who?”

“I’m not sure yet,” she shrugs. “I’m sure whoever he chooses will be more than capable.”

“Ezume, Akina, go gather your things. Meet me at the Hokage’s office within the hour,” she dismisses them.

“You always sound so strict when you address them,” Iruka teases her as she walks past him to go into her house. “No wonder they’re afraid of you.”

She flashes him a quick glare before walking past him. He follows her into the house.

“Tamako wasn’t afraid of me,” Yumiko says absently as she walks past her sister’s room.

I’ll find you, Tamako. Like it or not. I’m coming.

Iruka leans against the door frame of her bedroom as she’s putting together yet another pack, this time for possibly the toughest mission she’s ever taken.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Iruka asks her cautiously. He knows in times like this it can be easy to push her buttons. Yumiko has never handled feeling vulnerable with much grace.

“I failed,” she says quietly.

“What do you mean?”

She sits on the bed, her golden eyes stare at him with tears brimming them. Iruka is surprised to see her crying, and he quickly moves across the room and sits beside her. His arm wraps around her shoulders, he feels her sobs shudder underneath him.

“My parents trusted me to keep her safe,” she leans forward to cup her face in her hands. “I couldn’t even do that.”

“Hey, hey,” Iruka pulls her closer to him. “Don’t do this to yourself.”

She takes a steadying breath, “You’re right. It’s not helping.”

As quickly as she’d broken down, she puts herself back together. She gives Iruka a pat on the back before standing up. It was time to get started.

Akina and Ezume are waiting outside the Hokage’s office already when Yumiko and Iruka show up. Akina is chewing anxiously on her lip while Ezume is doing his best to seem calm. They’ve always been nervous when interacting with the Hokage. Danzo opens the door to usher the group inside.

“I’m glad to see you wasted no time,” Hiruzen says to her. “As discussed I’ve already chosen the fourth member of your team. He should be arriving soon.”

Please be Guy, please be Guy.

“While we’re waiting, does your team know the situation?” Hiruzen asks

“They know Tamako has run away, and we can only assume it’s to join Itachi Uchiha,” Yumiko says. Saying the words out loud still brings a bitter taste to her mouth.

Akina lets out a surprised squeak when Kakashi Hatake appears beside her with a small puff of dust.

“You’re late,” Hiruzen lightly scolds him.

Kakashi sighs, “Sorry about that. I was, uh, helping an old lady with her groceries.”

Yumiko opens her mouth to say something, but Hiruzen begins speaking again before she can say anything.

“I believe Kakashi will be the most suited for this team. He has the most knowledge on Itachi Uchiha. Combined with your knowledge of your sister, I���m sure you will both make quick work of finding Tamako.”

“My lord, there must be someone else,” Yumiko begins. “I mean, I can think of plenty of others-”

“You defy the Hokage?” Danzo steps forward with a stern look at Yumiko.

“I’m not defying anyone,” Yumiko crosses her arms. “This is a very important mission and I-”

“The decision has been made,” Hiruzen silences her sternly.

Akina and Ezume are filled with questions. Akina begins rattling them off, forgetting herself without Tamako here to keep her in check.

“Is it true he has the sharingan? Does he really have a chin like a butt and that’s why he wears the mask?” Akina begins, Kakashi looks down at her.

He raises an eyebrow at the girl’s questions, “Do you always have such terrible manners?”

“Don’t talk to her that way,” Yumiko warns him.

The energy in the room changes. Iruka steps forward to grab Yumiko by the arm in an attempt to calm her down, but immediately pulls it away when he receives a slight shock.

Hiruzen holds up a hand to silence everyone. When the static in the air doesn’t dissipate, he slams his fist on the table. Yumiko regains her composure with a deep breath. It’s difficult, but she forces herself to smile. Like it or not, Kakashi was technically her comrade. And although she wouldn’t admit it, Hiruzen was right. Kakashi might just be the best choice. There’s likely not a better jounin in the whole village, and the thought puts a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Kakashi,” Yumiko sighs. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’m ready when you are,” he nods.

“Thank you, Lord Hokage for your cooperation. I apologize for my outburst,” she bows. Akina and Ezume follow suit. Iruka nods his approval to Yumiko as he moves to follow her out the door.

They all walk in silence towards the gates of the city. Yumiko feels uneasiness in her stomach. She sneaks a quick peek over at Kakashi walking beside her, his eyes fixed on his book as walks. Iruka stops at the gates, and she pauses as well to say goodbye. The other three members go a bit past them to give them some space.

“Be careful,” Iruka sighs.

“Of course,” she smirks. He gives her a quick hug, a weak smile on his lips when they pull away. She looks back at him over her shoulder before she and the rest of the team started down the road. He waves before going back into the village.

“So, Kakashi-sensei, are you going to be in charge now too?” Akina asks as the team begins filing out of the room.

“Not exactly,” Kakashi answers without looking at her.

“Do we have to listen to him?” Ezume asks Yumiko, eyeing Kakashi curiously.

“He is your superior,” Yumiko says quietly.

Once they get on the road, her mind is elsewhere. She tries to imagine how Tamako would move along this road. Where would she stop? Where is she going? This mission is going to be difficult enough on its own, but now she has to work with Kakashi Hatake.

Their paths crossed occasionally, but she mostly tried to avoid him. The last time she remembers even speaking to him was that night. When the Nine-Tail Fox attacked the village, they were both angry about having to stay behind while the older shinobi went to fight the fox. While everyone else seemed relieved to be far away from the action, they’d both been trying to find a way to get out to where the trouble really was.

That was the night her parents died, the death of heroes. They died for the village like so many others.

Being with Kakashi on this mission wasn’t going to make it any easier. She knows deep down that she should trust Hokage's judgment. He would never make a decision like this without an abundance of good reasoning.

The more she thinks about everything that’d transpired in just a few hours, the more frustrated she becomes. Her fists are tightly curled as they walk, and it’s only when Akina loudly clears her throat that Yumiko comes out of her thoughts.

“Yumiko-sensei, you’re doing that thing again.”

Yumiko looks down to see the yellow flashes of static energy curling between her fingers. Her skin has taken on a light yellow glow as her chakra emitted static energy in the form of a cloak. It was something she lost control of at times when she felt too strongly.

“Perhaps you need to take a minute to calm down,” Kakashi suggests.

Yumiko releases her fist, and the static energy starts disappearing from around her.

“I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”