#bad ninken art

[nejigirl5]

| New Friends |

Kiba Inuzuka x Fem!Reader

Plot: Y/n is studying under Hana to become a vet and meets Kiba (they become good friends). 

Warnings: Slightly suggestive commentary (because it’s Kiba lol), One small mention of animal abuse (very light), Fluffy!, Just cute cause why not. 

WC:3383

A/n: All my other fanfictions seem to revolve around night and people being tired, so I thought I would try doing something different (finally). Kiba is such a fun character and is so underrated, and I thought this would be an interesting change of pace for his birthday piece! 

Everyone in the village knew about Hana Inuzuka, one of the top (if not the best) veterinarians in the country. Praised for her talents, especially by the teachers of the course charged with educating young medical shinobi in the art of veterinary medical ninjutsu. It was every students dream to train under her, some going as far as to lie about getting special instruction on ninken by her just for popularity. And so when the opportunity arose, how could Y/n say no?

A lecture on chakra control taught by Hana had occurred surprisingly, maybe the only lesson that all members of the class concentrated on in all of their years of studying. Chakra control was the most important skill for a medical shinobi of any kind to have, regardless of whether they were working on humans or various other animals who could be injured in combat. Mastering it was essential, though having natural talent was always helpful, and so Hana focused on evaluating their skills as they practiced on fish.

Though Y/n was not the best in the class, far from it really, it was easy to tell that she was different from the others. She was the only one that truly cared about the animals, not the prestige that came with the job. Whether it was the sweat pooling on her forehead or the expressions on her face as she grunted, truly motivated on bringing the fish back to life, it was clear in her eyes that it was the creature's wellbeing the mattered, not just the urge to complete the task, something that Hana had rarely seen in anyone, never before in a class of students.

As much as Hana loved helping animals, there was something that her mother, Tsume, had mentioned that stuck in her head. "Not that dogs aren't great, but you have to be social sometimes. Really make an impact for the future." She had told her, recalling the memory of Hana's father. 'It wouldn't be that bad to make some new friends? Or at least, meet new people.' she kept thinking in her free time, up to doing the lecture. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to pass on her skills, to give back to a course that she had taken as well, and 'really make an impact for the future.'

Seeing as her skills were still quite lacking, Y/n was of course shocked with Hana stopped her in the hallway while she was picking up her bag. The person who was even more surprised was, of course, the stuck up, top of the class student. A girl, who seemed to somehow get top marks in just about anything and everything, and was convinced that sucking up to Hana would get her some form of special treatment, actually stating that she was her student on multiple occasions. Y/n didn't want to get on her bad side, so she endured with the berading treatment that she received from her and the rest of the classmates throughout the years, choosing to just go along with her stories.

"Hana!" She yelled, practically skipping down the hall to reach the two of them. "Umm... who are you?" Hana asked, slightly irritated at her manner. "Y'know, it's me! Your student?" The girl replied, wearing a confused expression. "Can you leave us? I don't know you and I am trying to talk to someone else." Hana stated, turning back to face Y/n. The girl was livid, and noticeably embarrassed as she stormed away, muttering something about how Hana was probably telling Y/n to leave the program to her friends.

"Ugh. So anyways, I noticed you performed quite well in class..." Hana started, rolling her eyes in the girl's direction. "Me? No... she's a much better medical ninja than I am." Y/n insisted. If anything, she just wanted to go home to practice the exercises Hana had shown in the lecture, part of her having almost believed what the girl had said. "I think there are some things you could do to perfect your technique, though." She continued, having zero patience for self belittlement. "I take care of some animals at my home. I was thinking... I could show you some things?" She inquired, hoping she didn't come on too strong. Most of her interactions had been with hyperactive Kiba when it came to younger people, her experiences being yelling and sarcasm directed at them so a calm attitude was quite strange to do. "Are you sure you want me?" Y/n mumbled, watching as Hana nodded. "How about you come by tomorrow afternoon?" She instructed. "Sure!" Y/n replied enthusiastically, both of them leaving shortly after.

On the way home, it was Y/n that was practically skipping, and who could blame her? Actually getting some recognition for her efforts felt more exhilarating than she had thought it would be, even though she was years into her training. She was the most hard working, but sat in the back and spent time alone, people never having really cared about her education. Immediately after arriving home, she spent her time studying her books on medical ninjutsu and practicing her technique, still hyped up from the conversation hours before. Learning from someone like Hana was the ticket to starting up a successful career, knowing how to perform high level jutsu not taught in classes and general programs.

-

The morning came after a short night, one Y/n had forced herself to sleep through so she wouldn't be tired and could take the most detailed and accurate notes possible, it being a one time shot and all. Though the first hours of her day were quite simple and ordinary, Y/n, who was fairly independent, usually didn't have much to spend her time on in the afternoon further than plain studying, and so the afternoon felt strange and rushed. Packing up her things and preparing to go over to the Inuzuka household, she placed her books, notebooks, pens, and dried beef for a snack in her bag before finally leaving.

When she got to the entrance of the household, she was greeted by Hana, who took her through the kitchen to the back where she preferred to work. Tsume, who was washing dishes, of course greeted Y/n, smiling seeing Hana finally think about moving a different direction with her career. The setup within the room was simple, a small, cute dog with an injured paw laying on the table whimpering softly. It was these scenes, animals that were curled up in alleyways, abused by their owners, that made Y/n want to pursue the career path she was on.

Hana fed the puppy some snacks, as she started to speak and start the process. "Basically, you have to be able to detect what is wrong with the animal if it is hard to tell just by looking." the instruction was very helpful, of course, Y/n taking notes about diagnosis and preparing the animal for major and minor procedures. The clammer from the drawers of metal tools was loud enough for Y/n to miss the sound of the front door opening, and a loud "I'm home!" coming from the recent occupant. What was noticeable was the great big furball named 'Akamaru' that came barrelling into the room, tackling Y/n from the chair she was sitting in and licking her face.

"Akamaru! Off!" A male voice yelled, Akamaru's face now buried into Y/n's bag, grabbing the pack of dried beef in his teeth. "Oh... Sorry..." He mumbled, Y/n sitting up hazily, facing away from the man, the entire encounter being a blur. "And Akamaru's sorry too." He said, rubbing the dog's ears before leading him out.

"Oh sorry, that was my stupid brother. Are you okay?" Hana asked, before continuing on with her lesson, not really minding the occurrence seeing as it was Akamaru, of course. After covering the entire procedure, having removed some thorns from the dog's paw and then wrapped and bandaged it with different healing ointments applied to hurry up her recovery, Y/n's notebook was entirely full, and her stomach entirely empty.

Her face overtook with embarrassment as the sound of her stomach echoed through the room, Hana seemingly unfazed and focused. "Are you hungry? I could get you something." She asked, though Y/n declined, instead opting to reach to her dried beef of the ground, not knowing Akamaru had snatched it. At further inspection of the package, she noticed the large bite marks, them going fully through the plastic and into the meat, contaminating it. But the lesson was going to be over soon, so she decided to wait to get home to eat.

With the end of the operation coming near, it was only time to make sure the puppy could walk and do necessary functions until she healed, so Y/n started to pack up her bag, meat still in hand. "I should give this to that puppy..." She thought, as it would be wasteful to just throw it out. As far as she could tell, the door hadn't opened again, so Akamaru and his owner were probably still in the house. "That was an amazing lesson. Thank you so much for this!" Y/n stated, being further excited about learning veterinary medical ninjutsu in the future. "That was only a minor injury, and the very basics of it. Would you like to come back again... maybe tomorrow? I could show you some techniques and you could practice." She asked, Y/n nodded, excitedly. Hana, of course, felt proud of the day as well. Teaching, though a new endeavor, was something that she wanted to get more of a hang on, and this was a great opportunity for both of them.

Hana continued working, having more patients to tend to. Y/n, however started her search through the house, peeking into the doors as she moved along the hallway. Suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind her, the male in the entryway of a room she had already checked. "Looking for something?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Oh... I was just looking for... Akamaru? The dog?" She replied nervously, kind of embarrassed seeing as she didn't notice his presence, and finally having a good look at him. He was tall, obviously muscular wearing a tight fitting jacket with scruffy, messy brown hair poofing up from his headband. It was clear he was Hana's brother, the red symbol of the Inuzuka's clear on his cheeks.

"Oh." He mumbled, before whistling. "Oy! Akamaru!" He yelled when the dog didn't come the first time, before Akamaru came to sit by his feet. "I thought Akamaru might want this... since it's inedible..." She whispered, him only able to understand it due to his above-average hearing. "Oh yeah, sure! Sorry 'bout that..." He apologized, taking the meat out of her hand like he had no shame whatsoever. Akamaru barked at the taste of the beef as he chewed. "We have some snacks... though we're out of dried meat. You want something?" He asked, pointing to the kitchen.

"Yeah you're taking too long. Come on..." He said, snatching her wrist and jerking her forward as he rushed to the kitchen, skidding along the floor. "So you're one of my sisters friends? I didn't know Hana had any!" He shouted, searching the cabinets for something to eat. "Students, actually." Y/n corrected him, still dazed for being jerked around. "Big sis teaches? Hmm... I didn't know that." He muttered, biting into a granola bar and handing one to Y/n. "Yeah... me either." She said clutching her bag that was slung over her shoulder. "Well... thank you, but I have to get going. Bye..." She said, heading out the door. "Kiba. It's, Kiba." He replied, watching her leave. "Bye... Kiba."

It was probably weird for him to keep thinking about someone he had just met, Tsume shocked at the interest that her son was taking to Y/n. Kiba, who had never once really cared about the work Hana was doing, continued to ask questions about what they were focusing on, and the things she taught to Y/n. "If you really want to know, she's a student training to go into my field. She's got a lot of promise, and great chakra control." Hana responded to Kiba's nagging, just trying to eat her dinner. "And... she's coming over again tomorrow, if that matters at all to you." She rolled her eyes. "Oh... great..." He whispered.

-

For most of Y/n's afternoons, she spent them at the Inuzuka household, both training under Hana officially as well as being her assistant during procedures and operations. What even Hana thought was strange, was how ever since the first few weeks of her training, her usual attentiveness had gone amiss and it often seemed that she was overly focused on the work session ending. It was confusing at first, of course, though after hearing the chatter from outside the household of what sounded like Kiba and Y/n, Hana could only laugh understanding their situation even farther than the two of them understood.

-

"Bye Hana!" Y/n called, hurrying off with her bag thrown over her arm like usual. "Hey Y/n!" Kiba called from his room, joining her in the hall as they had done many times before. "You want to see Akamaru's new jutsu? He's been working on a new version of dynamic marking!" He tried to convince, but to no avail. "The last time he demonstrated the original version, it hit me too! I'll pass." Y/n shook her head. "But... Please..? - Or we could just hang out..." He pouted. "Fine... fine... how 'bout both?" She smiled and he smirked back. "Sounds great to me!"

"Looks like Kiba's got his first girlfriend." Hana smirked, seeing the two of them race each other to the forest outside. "She's a good one, y'know." Tsume responded, noting how she always cleared her plate and had good table manners when she stayed for dinner. "It's funny how close they've become." Hana noted, Tsume laughing. "She really cares about him. I mean, what did you expect? You brought a girl who's only slightly younger than Kiba to our house, and thought that they wouldn't come to like each other?" She rolled her eyes. "Eh... Well fine..." It was funny how close they had gotten after only a few months of knowing each other. Y/n finally found a friend that appreciated her fully, and Kiba found the same. There was no reason for them to compare themselves to each other, something that Kiba found occurred whenever he was with Shino and Naruto.

Flashback

"Akamaru really adores you, y'know that?" He said, sitting on his bed with Akamaru on his lap, staring over a Y/n who was on the opposite corner. "I don't know about that..." She muttered, clearly focused on something else. "He does! Probably more than you do to him." He laughed. "Oh I seriously doubt that!" Y/n crawled over to sit next to Kiba, petting Akamaru and shaking her head. "Akamaru is my best friend!" She smiled teasingly. "I thought I was your best friend!" Kiba responded, acting shocked, letting out an exaggerated gasp. "Fine... you can be my best friend too." She laughed.

"You're a vet like my sister... why don't you have an animal companion?" He asked, slightly overlapping his hand with hers, only the tips of their fingers touching. She quickly pulled away, choosing to rub behind Akamaru's ears, slightly flustered from the gesture, though presuming it was an accident. "I guess my parents never let me have a pet as a kid... I mean most of us do have animals, but I never really connected with any." She shrugged. "Well... do you want one? Y'know, you could have a ninken or something! Something cool, like you!" She jokingly punched Kiba. "Be careful with what you say, Kiba." Y/n warned.

He took her out into the rest of the house, them watching the outside through the window, while Tsume was making dinner in the kitchen and Hana was still working. "These are the Haimaru triplets... Hana's dogs, like you've probably seen." He started, continuing to drag her around like normal. "And this is Kuromaru... my mom's dog." He pointed. "Maybe having my own animal isn't really my thing..." Y/n said, not really being able to envision herself with her own dog. "Well you got Akamaru and me! I can be your puppy, woof!" He joked. "Aren't you going to pet your puppy?" He asked, getting on his hands and knees. "You're such a bratty little dog... aren't you Kiba." She muttered, running her fingers through his hair. It was much softer than it appeared, not being scruffy at all, and instead free of tangles and well-conditioned. Y/n's hand started moving to scratch behind his ears.

"What are you guys doing?" Tsume asked, observing them from the kitchen. Y/n immediately pulled her hand back, Kiba blushing slightly and standing up, looking away from Tsume who was laughing. "Yeah, Kiba is a bratty little dog." Hana joked, walking through the kitchen to get dinner. "Well, once you're done with... that... you two can join us for dinner!" Tsume called. "Sorry..." Kiba muttered, both of them rushing to the kitchen. "It's okay, Kiba." Y/n smiled.

Flashback Over

"Kiba! You always win!" Y/n yelled, chasing after him. "Well then try harder!" He shouted back, starting to run backwards just to rub it in. "Aah!" He screamed, bumping into a tree and falling down a steep cut off of the land at the edge of the forest. "Kiba! Kiba!" Y/n ran faster, worried. "Hah. Got you!" He yelled, sitting, perfectly fine on a log, watching for Y/n's reaction. "You... you jerk." She glared at him, crossing her arms. "No need to be embarrassed, I'm an award winning actor." He joked, patting part of the log next to him.

She jumped down, sitting where he instructed, but started to scoot farther away from him, which he noticed of course. "I'm sorry, okay? But I thought this would be a good place to chat. Plus, you ran faster, eh?" He said, nudging her on the shoulder. "Yeah... but you tricked me!" She pouted, upset. "I really... I really thought something had happened to you, you know?" She frowned, a sudden feeling of shock rippling through her as she felt his arm wrap around her. "I know... I'm sorry! I won't do it again... promise..." He assured her, right as Akamaru finally made it to the spot after doing his business.

"See? Akamaru knows I'm sorry..." He says, doing puppy eyes along with Akamaru. "Using my best friend against me... how cruel." Y/n snarled. "Right? Akamaru says... Mommy... please... forgive dad." Y/n looked up at him in shock, a light red covering her face. Kiba just smirked. "Mom?" She asked to a nodding Kiba. "You're like his mom, and I'm like his dad!" He said cheerily. "Unless... you were thinking something else... hm?" He looked down at her suspiciously, with a large grin plastered over his face.

"In all seriousness..." He mumbled, retracting his arm and avoiding eye contact, nerves finally getting to him. He reached his arm back behind his head, scratching his back whilst continuing. "It's been great hanging out with you all these days! Y'know?" Y/n nodded in agreement, not knowing what he was insinuating. "But I can't help but... feel like maybe we were meant to be more... more than friends..." He whispered, Y/n not catching all of it. "Okay I'm just going to say it. I like you, Y/n... and if you don't feel the same way, that's totally fine... it's just I thought you should know." He looked away.

"Kiba... you bratty puppy." She smiled. "I thought you were going to say you didn't want to be friends anymore!" Y/n brought her hands to his head, scratching behind his ears lovingly like she would do for Akamaru. "I like you too, dummy." Kiba grinned, him leaning into her face, the two almost about to collide.

"Hey! Lovebirds!" A loud voice came from above. They immediately separated, scooting to opposite sides of the log. "Akamaru left his business outside and you didn't pick it up! Disgusting..." Hana stated, rolling her eyes. As soon as she turned to walk away, the sound of quiet giggles filled her ears. "Finally..." She mumbled, excited to tell Tsume.

A/n: Requests are open... please... :)

[velvetgoldminecherry]

Kakashi Week 2022 Day 1: Nukenin & Senses

Thanks to @kakashiweek for all their support. Hope you enjoy this story that basically is based on a headcanon of mine, in which the Hatake clan is extremely related to wolves and like them, it’s members have highly developed senses. And you know how animals can feel that bad things are going to happen? Well, Hatake clan also has that sixth sense, which becomes a nightmare if you’re not trained to control it, because you can feel too much..

I hope you enjoyed it. By the way, english isn’t my first lenguage, so forgive me if they’re mistakes.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoneGirl199999

Blood Legacy

Fifteen years ago...

A shinobi with silver hair runs in a hurry over the rooftops and in the shade of trees, nowadays it isn't safe to walk the streets if he wants to return home in one piece. It's been hard times since father came back from that mission. It all began with the nasty looks, then with the civilian's rumors, some time later the disrespect from other shinobis, the stores that wouldn't accept them, finally the loneliness and the abuses from everyone.

Kakashi used to be able to escape from his abusers, but some times there were too many of them. On those occasions, his father would heal his wounds, while blaming himself and mumbling apologies, for then locked himself and cry, praying that his son wouldn't listen to him.

Another year passed and Kakashi became a legal adult at the age of five, after getting graduated from the Academy, and he was taken as the aprentice of Shibi Aburame. One of the few shinobis who still treated him like a human. He was taught in the art of war. He was sent to infiltration missions, even tho he was only a genin. But he was born a shinobi, and he had a debt to pay to the village. He was the son of Sakumo Hatake and his inheritance made him a pretty good weapon to use during war times.

So the silver boy became an adult at the age of five. Not because of his special abilities, not because he had been taken to assassination misions before he knew how to walk, but because what happened that curse bloody day.

He woke up with the feeling that something bad was going to happen. The ninken knew it too. Throughout the day, the growing anxiety made him believe that he would lose his mind. Every little detail told him something bad was coming, the worst of all was that no one else noticed the nauseating smell of fear and failure in the air. No one else noticed the unusual humidity, the strange earth movements, the anguised song of birds, the bitter taste of miso soup...

He smelled the blood ten kilometers before arriving home. Desesperation invaded the small creature, who forgot the first thing he learned in his first day at the Academy: "A shinobi never shows any feeling", he runs faster but when he enters the house is too late. 

That was the first time Kakashi hated with all his beign the inheritance of his clan. He smelled his father's suicide before it happened, he felt it, he heard it, he tasted and later... He saw it. Some years later he was asigned to a genin team. Even tho he alredy was a chunin who had been on war missions. It seemed that the old Lord Hokage thought the experience would help him healed his wounds and realize that the mission and the rules weren't as important as his people.

Said the one bastard who let Danzo and the villagers killed the great White Fang of Konoha, because of a failed mission. The one who allowed the other villages and clans to masacrate his whole clan, the one who allowed a boy to be treated like scum just because of his fathers mistakes and let another to murder his family to protect the damn village.

So Kakashi became part of team 7, while he was sent to missions out from Konoha to pay his father's mistakes, to suffer the punishment, to suffer from his Hatake legacy, which became stronger as he did. He would come back home smelling the blood of all the victims in his own skin, no matter how many times he washed himself, until his own blood appeared... 

He hated it.

He hated it how Obito, Rin and Minato sensei reached his inner wolf and domesticated it, he hated how the smell of Rin's perfume made him feel like he was in home, how the sensation of them being near to him made him felt like he had founded a new pack, how the touch of their hands would bring him back to earth when the sensations of everything became to much to bear. How Obito's voice would enchant him and made him feel like everything was okay and how much it hurted to know that Obito only had eyes for Rin. But even those little details, in those moments his Hatake legacy turned almost acceptable. But happiness didn't last that much, neither did his new founded peace with his bloodlines, because it was that damn curse of his extinct clan the one who told him that Obito would die, even before he knew it, it was the one that made him knew he would kill Rin with his chidori. His bloodline curse was the one who aknowledge him about the Kyubi's attack, that Minato and Kushina would die, that one of his kohais would end with his entire own clan...

He wasn't able to know what was going to happen, he couldn't read the future. But he always knew what was going to happen.

How much longer was he going to take it?

With the secrets of his clan destroyed by those who feared the power of the Great Wolf, without a single scroll to read, a relative to ask, Kakashi was destined to suffer the curse of his hypersensitivity. It was a perfect weapon for war and at some point in his life he would have been happy about it but... Did it really make sense now? Was it worth all the pain and sickness that took over his body after each fight? Was it worth how he lost more and more his sanity smelling the blood, feeling the terror of the fallen when it cracked their heads or burst their chests?

The only thing his curse couldn't predict was that he would end taking the Hound mask and in a trance-like state, crawl to the ROOT facility, where the next morning there would be a butcher shop, where the main course was the head of Lord Danzo, hunging with a look of terror from the ceiling beams. Beside him on the ground, a scroll addressed to the Hokage, with all the interesting things Danzo told him some minutes before his dead.

Everyone would knew what their precious Hokage and elders did. They would knew who the real scum was 

After that he would walk away protected by the shadows, with a broken legacy he had sworn to protect, now turned into trash. He walked away until the rooftops turned to ants and the smells and sounds of Konoha disappeared, he walked away until the forests surrounding the village disappeared and he walked away until he crossed the borders of the Valley of the End.

When he stopped to catch his breath, Fire Country was already a long way off. It was then that he understood everything he had done, it was when he looked at his hands full of blood, his ANBU uniform splattered with viscera and noticed the pieces of cartilage entangled in his hair sticky with blood when he realized what he had done. When he understood he wouldn’t came back to Konoha.

After all the he did to clear his father’s name, after all the sacrifice he made to be considered a hero, to be loved again, after promising his dad he would protect his dearest people he just got so thirsty for revenge and screwed everything. They would put a price to his head, the golden child who was expected to became stronger than the White Fang and the Great Sannin... Turned into a traitor.

Itachi became a nukenin for the sake of Konoha, he became one because he wanted Konoha to suffer like he and his beloved ones did.

It had been a long time since Konoha had been his home, surprisingly having failed as a shinobi didn't hurt anymore. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember wanting to become one of his own free will... But the faces of his cute kohai and his eternal rival hadn't stopped following him. He had failed them, he had ruined the last bonds he had.

He alredy could feel Gai's tears and his heart breaking when he heard the news... This time his Hatake gift wasn't necessary, because he felt the same way Gai did, even when he never sayed it out loud, Gai was his only reason to live and his most precious beign. Gai was the love of his life, Gai did everything for him, and he just took it and then ran away, breaking his heart...

Kakashi hadn't cried in a long time, but Gai was the only thing that still made him human. Kakashi never deserved him, he realized too late how much he loved him, that he wasn't able to thank Gai for always being by his side. He was nothing but scum that took the lives of others and then ran away leaving everything destroyed around him. He fell to his knees and slammed his fists against a rock, barely feeling his knuckles break. The faces of Gai, Tenzo, Obito, Rin, Minato and his father appeared again and again, completely disappointed in him and hurt in a way he couldn't describe. But even now, he wasn't even sure those tears were his. Because only one of his eyes shed tears.

Obito’s eyes was the only thing that made him human. And he spoiled it.

The village coulg go to hell, they never cared about him, about his dad's pain and sacrifice. They didn't give a shit of anything. He wanted to burn everything, let his inner wolf free and tear every damn neck of Konoha apart. But he wouldn't, it was the last thing he could do to honor the sacrifice of his father and his team. The last thing he could do for Gain and Tenzo.

It wasn't long before they came looking for him, he smelled them months before they knew who he was. He knew Itachi was among them, he knew there was no point in refusing. He was a lone wolf who had lost his pack deep in the woods, a creature with the breath of death, blood and gore soaking his fur. A wolf that hid stealthily, ready to attack, too scared and hurt by the world.

That's why he joined Akatsuki, he had no other reason to exist, he didn't need them, he didn't share their goals. But the Hatake Clan's gift was what their leader needed to capture the tailed beasts, and Kakashi knew no other life than serving as a weapon. So he cut his hitai ate and put on his cloak and ring. He fulfilled the missions without real motivation. 

He gained power during his years in Akatsuki, so his blood curse got stronger, turning every single battle into a nightmare. The smell of iron, dead, fear. The mist of desperation and pain. The sound of kunais, shurikens and katanas colliding with each other, the agony screams and the bodies falling into the ground, blood rivers impregnating his nose for days...

How much will he has to live like this? How more days will he spend nights washing himself trying to remove the horrible stink that impregnates his skin? How much will his punishment last? How badly will his heart break before he collapses from the sensations and finally dies forgotten like a mangy dog? How much he’ll have to deal with Akatsuki? When will the rage od the Great Wolf and his ancestors will end?

When will the curse end?

[aemoglobin]

i spent today drawing a torso ref for naruto oc instead of doing artfight attacks lol

Inuzuka Nene (19); her ninken is a big fluffy white gorl named Mashiro

Nene's casual outfit for in-village missions and general day-to-day activities & training (the gloves only come off at home). other than that she wears the standard chuunin outfit for outside missions. her headband is worn around her forehead.

she's part of my Liars!verse (starring Miku of the Leaf) and she's one of the love interests...even though the fl is charmingly dense </3

important physical traits that don't show in my art because i'm bad at drawing: Nene has a Roman (?? i don't know what it's called) nose (beautiful), her eyebrows are very thick (like APH England but cuter), and she has sleepy eyes (like Makoto from Free!). she's short and stocky with boobs to match but they're being restrained by a shinobi-grade sports bra lol. her nails are closer to claws and she tries to keep them in that sweet spot of not too long to get caught on things but long enough to deal damage.

Nene is a bit of an outlier for Inuzuka members in that she does a lot more thinking before acting, so she's a little bit quieter, but not by much and the difference in demeanor is only really noticeable when she's around other clan members. like most Inuzuka girls she shows her affection physically, mostly with lots of hugs and punches and headpats. she was Miku's classmate at the Academy and her first female friend. they keep in touch even after team assignments and all of the

if i knew how to draw dogs, Mashiro would be based on a Samoyed (but not an actual samoyed bc i don't think they have that type of dog breed typing in Naruto...). she is fluffy and healing and loves to get belly rubs. the kind of dog who hates all non-Inuzuka men <3

[witch-weeb]

"This was a lot easier when you were a kid, pup."

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Some Other Guy

(Cover art by @kankuroplease​)

@kankuroplease​ & @lemony-snickers​ & me have teamed up for offer you a fic + cover art in exchange for a donation to help the people in Ukraine!! More Info here.

Another donation fic I finished this week!! It was my first time writing KakaIru and I had a lot of fun. Thank you very much for being kind and donating @okanother​!! (Look at how pretty the pic is, with the ninken socks! Amazing)

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi / Umino Iruka

Rating G

6533 words

Ao3 Link [x]

Iruka’s adoptive son Naruto joins the gymnastics club in his school, which Iruka thinks is a great idea if it weren’t for the methods of the teacher...

Naruto tapped with the chopsticks against his half eaten bowl of rice, the sound clinging each time he hit it like a drum set. Tak Tak- Clang Clang. The hunger that he had proclaimed so huge had long vanished, but he knew he was not allowed to leave the table if he didn’t finish the amount he put into his bowl. After all, Iruka had only made so much because Naruto had whined that the usual amount was not enough. He was just too hungry, he had said. Now he had finished with half the bowl still left and instead used his pent up energy to annoy, as so often. Tak-Tak- Clang Clang.

“Could you maybe not?”Iruka said, trying to concentrate on the news item he was reading on his phone. Naruto tabbed his feet in unison with his chopsticks and looked up: “Can I please go, Iruka.” He pulled the name apart as if he was trying to spell it. I-ru-ka. Naruto only did that when he was trying to be cheeky, when he was trying to push Iruka’s buttons. Though they were not too far apart in age, Iruka had raised Naruto like his own child since he’d turned 18 and now at 26 he was also the official legal guardian of the young boy. Naruto accepted this without issue and called Iruka “Dad” most of the time. At least in those times in which he didn’t try to be mean for the sole reason of being dismissed from the dinner table.

Iruka sighed and put his phone away, his eyes wandering over Naruto’s tapping leg. “Have you gone to Judo lately?” he asked, knowing full well that Naruto did not visit his judo practice anymore. For a while it had been all he could ever talk and think about, learning a nice martial art, but after he had enrolled in actual judo classes the fire had died down pretty quickly. It was how Naruto was, too much energy to sit still at the dinner table and eat the food made for him, but too easily bored to stick with one sports activity that might have helped him let out some steam. Iruka had tried to get the boy interested in so many different things so far and Naruto had quit each of them after a few months. “No”, Naruto said truthfully. “I want to quit.” He tabbed the sticks against the bowl again. Tak-Tak. At least he was not lying about it.

“You should try to find a club to join after school, something that keeps you busy in the afternoons”, Iruka mentioned for what must have been the hundredth time. Naruto wasn’t very popular in school and often just returned home right after it, which was a bad choice in his fathers eyes. He should interact with his classmates more, is what Iruka thought, and he would eventually get to know them better and they him. “I don’t want to”, Naruto replied like a machine, as he always did when the topic was brought up. “The other kids don’t want me there”, he said and Iruka scratched his head. “Well, if you can’t sit still at the table I will have to see if I can find you a different sports club to join. Is there something new that has caught your eye?” Naruto looked up, the blue eyes darting through his guardian. “Not at this point, thank you Iruka.” The double first name call. Iruka sighed: “You are free to go, I’ll pack you the rest as a bento next morning.”

#

The next day Iruka ran to the shop in his normal morning routine. He liked jogging right after getting up and in this way was able to get groceries for Naruto before school, before the streets were waking up and full of others. Iruka himself was a teacher, not at Naruto's school, so he had to go out as early as him and often come home late. Groceries needed to be done before. He wiped of sweat off his brow and entered the Kombini, walking through to the vegetable isle trying to decide which new healthy dish he should torture his son with when he heard the arguing a line down. “Why can’t you just be quiet for a second and listen?''the voice of a man said, clearly angry. “It’s really childish how you behave sometimes, Sasuke.”

Iruka turned around to see the source of the argument. Not far from him stood a man, not much older than him, maybe in his early 30ties, hair already greyed out, but long at the back of his head. He was talking to a student in Naruto’s age. The boy stood in front of him, face defiant, arms crossed, pulling a face. “You can’t tell me anything”, he replied. The older man rolled his eyes in annoyance and let out an angry growl. “I don’t want to deal with this right now”, he said, turning away from the boy, “Why don’t you finish your groceries on your own and calm down a little before you come talk to me again.” He fished out a book from his jacket pocket and to Iruka’s complete shock actually started walking toward the Kombini’s exit. The boy was left standing in the way, utterly dumbfounded and angry. He turned on his heels and disappeared between the shelves.

Well some people just didn’t deserve to be parents, Iruka thought, shaking his head. Clearly that man was an idiot for letting a young boy run errands for his own food. Iruka would have never reacted this way. No matter how bratty Naruto got, how often he called him by his first name, Iruka would never abandon him. He couldn’t. Iruka took the eggplant from the display and put it into his basket, relieved that he didn’t have unpleasant people like that around his son.

#

Naruto came home the next day later than usual, having only texted quickly that Iruka shouldn’t wait with dinner. Iruka worried just a little, but had dinner on his own and enjoyed watching a television show he liked for a change. Naruto came back around eight, when it just started darkening outside, skin sweaty and stinking, the sports bag strung over his shoulder. “I found an after school club to join”, he said before Iruka could ask anything. Naruto took off his shoes and entered the apartment, the smell of it all making Iruka frown. “Why the face, dad?” the boy said, opening the bag to let even more stunk out. “I thought you wanted me to join a club.”

“No, I do, I do, but could you please shower first before you smell up our whole apartment”, Iruka replied, ushering his son towards the bathroom with a few directed shoves. Naruto went, not without moaning about being very hungry and closed the door behind him. Iruka went back to the kitchen to warm up the food he’d already prepared earlier and smiled to himself. Naruto had called him “Dad” again. Everything was back to normal.

Turned out Naruto had joined the gymnastics club of his school. Not something Iruka would have thought of, but his son spoke so highly of it, that it seemed like the perfect place for him. He had been dragged there by his classmate Sakura, a girl he kind of had a childish crush on and actually kind of enjoyed himself. “The others were much better than me”, he said, gesturing wildly around with his chopsticks, leaving noodles everywhere on the ground, “but they did not make fun of me!” It made Iruka smile to hear that, at last, Naruto was finally finding his place at the school.

“There is this boy that's a bit annoying,” Naruto continued, stuffing his mouth with food. “He is a know-it-all- can-do-everything type and everyone always stares at him. The teacher is really cool though.” Iruka put his head on his flat hand and watched the boy happily. He was glad that Naruto was finally having fun at school. “Well I hope you will continue having as much fun”, Iruka said after Naruto finally took a moment to chew the amount of food he had thrown down his throat. One could only hope that this positive uptrend would continue and that in time he’d have real, close friends to turn to. God knows he needed it.

#

Naruto started staying away from dinner three nights a week. Iruka made dinner for himself on those days, sitting and correcting papers or watching tv. What had been nice when it had been one evening started to make him feel lonely, if only just a little. He’d gotten so used to having Naruto around, the noise in the house, that it seemed painfully quiet without him. It was good that the boy had somewhere to go, it was vital that he had friends to hang out with, a life outside of his adoptive father, but Iruka’s life had over the years been adjusted to Naruto alone and so he didn’t know what to do when the boy wasn’t around for longer periods. Maybe it was time to start a hobby.

“Maybe you should try to go on dates again,” Naruto said casually during dinner about three weeks since he started gymnastics. He had just finished a long story about his training, about the teacher, who’s name was apparently Hatake, how he had strictly, but nicely advised him to do a turn on the rings differently.  How the wonderboy, named Sasuke, the one Naruto didn’t like, had done it perfectly on the first try. How much Naruto hated that. All while Iruka’s eyes had blurred out and looked out of the window. His ears had perked up a little when he had heard the name Sasuke, recognizing it from the other day in the supermarket and felt again the sting of pity for the boy, but then he had zone out again.  It was bad manners not to listen to your child when it was speaking to you, but he couldn’t help himself. He had been a little bored in the evening alone at home and had just run through the options in his mind about what to avoid boredom the next time Naruto was out.

Iruka spit out the water in his mouth and choked a little: “What?” Naruto shrugged his shoulders and put his empty bowl away. He had actually finished the amount of food he had asked for, which happened regularly lately. Training left him hungry and tired out, which also reduced the nervous chop stick tapping. “I mean you dated someone while I was younger right? Before I moved here full time” the boy said, “And since I’ve been here you’ve mostly been hanging around the apartment with me. Now you could go out if you like, but you still just sit here.” Wow, his twelve year old son had just stabbed him right through the back. Right at this dinner table. “I am fine by myself, thank you very much,” Iruka shot back, trying to hide his embarrassment. Naruto just shrugged once more and mercifully dropped the subject.

“We have a competition next saturday”, the boy said instead, “Parents are welcome to come watch us. The others in the team don’t really believe that I can score high points because my performance is still base level, but they’ll see.” The frown disappeared from Iruka’s eyes. Naruto always felt the need to prove himself somehow, to show not only his adoptive father but the world that he was worth the time. Iruka had already, a long time ago, decided that Naruto was worth his time, but the memo must have been left unread. “I’ll of course come by to cheer you on”, he said, taking the bowls away from underneath Naruto. The boy looked up and grinned. “Don’t embarrass me old man”, he said and left the dinner table. Old man? Iruka was only 26 and young people already called him old. Old and alone on most days of the evening. Maybe Naruto had a point, maybe he should start dating again, Iruka thought. He cleaned the kitchen and agonised over the idea of downloading a dating app.

#

The gym of the school was packed with people, the stands were completely full so that people had to move up to sit closer next to each other. In his mostly private school Iruka wasn’t used to so many students and relatives, especially not in one place and the noise felt overwhelming. Naruto had gone ahead, talked about warm up and extra training and so he was nowhere to be seen when Iruka took his place. It wasn’t a very good one, right at the bottom of the stands, where you couldn’t see the entire gym well enough and were mostly greeted with the backs of the teams. The punishment he had to deal with because he had arrived relatively late. The bench in front of him was completely empty and since all teams but the home team were forming groups around each other Iruka guessed that Naruto’s school was the only one missing.

He was right. Only about 10 mins to the beginning of the competition the boys and girls exited the dressing room. Naruto all the way at the front, a grin painted across his face. He was waving his arms in front of a girl that had pink dyed hair and seemingly demonstrated a move he had learned. The girl did not seem remotely interested in his exhaustive storytelling. Well, If she didn't like his dorky side, then she didn’t deserve him anyway, Iruka thought, pouting a little at what he saw. Behind the children emerged their teacher, a tall, slender but muscular man that Iruka recognised immediately from a few weeks ago. The grey white wild hair of the man who had so rudely screamed at his son in the supermarket. He was Hatake-san, the teacher Naruto spoke so highly of? Iruka had a hard time believing this to be true.

The children sat down in front of him and Iruka patted Naruto on the shoulder with a long reach of his arm. “Hi! I made it”, he said and Naruto’s eyes lit up. “Dad, oh, I’m so excited, everyone is watching today and I will make them notice me and then everybody will like -” the boy began but his teacher cut him off. “Shh, I said before a competition you should concentrate, remember?” His voice was raspy low, sounding a little annoyed. Naruto’s head darted forward immediately, sitting up straight as if a major in the army had just scolded him. Iruka looked at the teacher with a disapproving frown but the other man looked sternly forward without seeming to care much.

Naruto was wrong, this competition was not the one where he could show his new found talent. He fell from the parallel bars several times, but got back up immediately, a smile on his face. It was how he’d always been, impossible to shake up or get down. At least not publicly. Naruto was more of a private breakdown person. Iruka was happy with what he saw though, the boy seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. Hatake-san however did not spare one word of encouragement for him. “You let go too early.” and “You just don’t have the strength to pull this one off, Naruto, I told you” which caused Iruka to feel warm anger at his core. What was he thinking? This was a twelve year old child who had just started training about two months ago, of course he wasn’t good enough yet! His teacher should have told him to keep going, that he did a good job.

“I think you did very well, Naruto”, Iruka said loudly from the stands, earning a look and a raised eyebrow from Hatake. “You are giving your best and having fun”, Iruka continued. “That is all that matters.” Hatake scoffed, but did not dignify the words with a further reply. Iruka felt steadfast on his first impression of the other man. He seemed like an old, deeply unfriendly, unsupportive man, who had no business teaching children. But unfortunately nowadays everyone could get a teaching position if they just knew a little about the subject. Times were dire. This guy probably didn't even learn the right pedagogy for children and now just drilled them until they gave out results.

It was obvious once Iruka could watch Sasuke, the guy Naruto disliked so much, the boy Iruka had seen Hatake with. Sasuke was good, he was very good. Nothing seemed to evade him or go wrong. He easily took the lead. And even though he had been near perfect, Hatake had nothing good to say to him. “Sloppy hand movement there. If you grabbed it wrong you could have fallen and the figure wouldn't have counted” the man said, voice vibrating in his chest. “You don’t say”, Sasuke snapped back. Well weren’t they a charming pair.

Their team didn’t make the top three in the men's category, but the girls did get second place and a little trophy. Sasuke got the medals in most of the solo categories, but Naruto almost made it to third place on the Rings. He clearly had the strength to do well at the sport someday, even though he was still a little young. The parents were finally allowed on the field and Iruka told him just that: “You are so good at this, I think you might have found your calling!” Naruto rubbed his hand behind his head: “Thanks, Dad.” Iruka went on: “The rings seem to be your best discipline, i say you focus on what your strengths are more than easy out your weaknesses.”

“Wrong”, a voice behind them said. Iruka turned around, a nerve twitching aggressively over his eyebrow. “You disagree with me, Hatake-san?” he said, trying not to growl too much. The other man took a deep breath and fished the book out of his pocket that Iruka had seen him reading in the supermarket. Now that he could see it closer he could read the title. It was a smutty romance. He was reading it in public. In front of children. As if this man couldn’t get any less sympathetic. “Naruto needs to work on weaknesses too. There are solo competitions for sure, but gymnastics is a team game as much as it is a solo game and Naruto needs to be ready to get points for his school in all areas,'' Hatake sighed, “Right now he is just not good enough. I told him not to take part today, but he didn’t want to hear.”

“Maybe he would be better if he wouldn’t constantly be criticised for simply trying “ Iruka shot back, the anger from earlier back. “I don't think he would improve if I wouldn’t point out mistakes”, the other man said without any infliction of emotion. “Yeah I am sure putting down a literal child is going to help with that. More than words of encouragement.” Iruka had his principles as a teacher and it always baffled him that other people didn’t share them. What were they thinking putting children down? They were growing and developing and deserved support, not unnecessary criticism. “I think I know what’s best for my students, don’t you think?”, Kakashi asked, eyes barely lifted over the pages of the book. Iruka pulled Naruto closer and moved towards the exit of the gym: “I know my son better than you do. In all regards.” They left.

#

“I don’t want you to talk to sensei like that”, Naruto said in the car ride home, crossing his arms in front of his chest in anger. “You don’t think he insulted you?” Iruka replied, trying to calm himself down to speak in his usual demeanour. He was still riled up from the earlier encounter, especially now that his son was for some reason mad at him, and not his good for nothing unfriendly teacher. “No!” the boy said. “He is very good. I told you he is strict and you liked it when I told you about it.” Of course, when Naruto had mentioned that their coach was sometimes a little strict to them, Iruka had approved of it just because sometimes young people needed a little strict lecture. But to put them down like this? It was not the same. “That was before I’ve seen it”, Iruka said honestly, hitting the gas to pull over a light that was turning red.

Naruto grabbed the side door handle as he was thrown to the side. “You embarrassed me. I was doing so well there and you had to stand there and behave…. Behave like.. My mother.” Naruto said the last word so disgusted that it sounded almost like he was spitting it out. “I am your father, '' Iruka replied, a little hurt by what he was insinuating. “I’ll always protect you from people that don’t mean the best for you. That is what you and I signed up for when I adopted you.” The boy looked out of the window and Iruka could see his pout mirrored in the glass. “You don’t get anything, Iruka”, Naruto said. When they arrived home the boy ate his dinner without a further word, stomped to the bath and then to the room and threw his door shut.

Iruka felt angry and sorry at the same time, unsure if he should apologise for something he didn’t feel he did wrong. Maybe this whole thing was a puberty problem. Maybe Naruto was just lashing out at him because he was trying to find his own way in life. Young boys after all sometimes liked to hang on to strong male role models. Iruka sighed as he did the dishes, the worries eating at him. Who knew, maybe it was time for him to get dating again, if Naruto would from now on spend less and less time with him. He took his phone and downloaded a dating app for himself. Not because he really felt like he needed to date, but it couldn’t hurt either. After all, what could go wrong?

#

It was so embarrassing. Iruka didn’t dare look up or look around him. His coffeecup was long since empty, the bottom of it staring at him like it was mocking him. It had been absolutely insane to decide to date again, especially over the internet, but the recent days had been exhausting with Naruto tip toeing around him like a time bomb he didn’t want to get to close to. Plus Naruto had started saying “Iruka” exclusively again, the name always like a bite on his lips. It was like an insult and hurt more than any real insult could have ever. So Iruka decided to go on a date. What could go wrong, right? What could go wrong? Maybe he’d meet someone. All casual, all good. So he had talked to this guy who’d been just two years younger, real handsome, but Iruka had forgotten to mention that he was raising a twelve year old. After he had clarified the situation in the morning the guy had insisted that their date was still on, but now that Iruka was here for an hour, he had to admit: he had been stood up.

Even worse. Hatake was there. He’d been there the entire time, sitting in a corner of the cafe typing away on a laptop, sipping on his own oversized Latte. They had exchanged a friendly nod but they had both frowned when they looked away. Clearly he felt the animosity as much as Iruka did. So now Iruka was here sitting watching his cup and also had to deal with the fact that this man, this idiot, this stranger would be in the know that Iruka was a guy that was being stood up when he tried to date. Could there be anything more embarrassing? He wanted to sink into the earth. Nothing had gone well recently. He couldn’t even get a promotion at work because he was too busy outside of school hours taking care of Naruto so that he couldn’t organise after school activities for his own students. Truly, Iruka’s life was terribly miserable.

“Damn, don't make that face,”  a voice said suddenly. Iruka looked away from the empty bottom of his cup and stared right into the grey eyes of Hatake, who was now dropping his laptop right onto the table. “Hatake-san”, Iruka tried to greet as friendly as he possibly could through pressed teeth. “What brings you here?” The other man really had unnaturally long hair. It was hanging in streaks over his eyes and long on the back and somehow the white of it didn’t make him look too pale. “Oh, come on, you must  know how pathetic you look sitting here checking your phone every two minutes”, Hatake said, rolling his eyes a little. “I- I - that’s not– I’m just -  I- '' Iruka stuttered around, trying out several excuse sentences that stayed stuck in his throat. He had nothing to say that wouldn’t immediately be noticed as a lie. 

“I got stood up”, Iruka mumbled, finally giving up on coming up with an excuse that made any sense. Hatake nodded knowingly and then shrugged: “Happens.” Iruka felt himself shift, the anger ready to boil inside of him again, but then the other man continued speaking: “I mean, has happened to me before. I assume you tried a dating app?” Iruka looked up: “Yes. I think he ran away when I told him about Naruto.”

“Ah, yes, nothing like having a twelve year old kid to look after to kill the mood,” Hatake said in this way again as if he knew what he was talking about. “Oh, yeah I have noticed that you don’t like children very much”, Iruka spat a little more aggressively than he had wanted to. Hatake blinked as if he was surprised by such a negative reaction towards him. “No I meant because I’m looking after Sasuke sometimes.” Iruka made an “Oh” sound and then “Sorry” but his opposite leaned forward, a little closer. His eyes looked straight into those of Iruka and the greys lit up with the light from the sunlight beaming in from the outside. It made them soft somehow and looked good on him. “You think I don’t like children?” the other man said, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“I- I mean, Hatake-san-” Iruka started, moving away from his opposite who was decidedly too close. “Kakashi”, the man said, now leaning back himself. “I’m Hatake Kakashi, but we are around the same age I guess so don’t treat me so formally. It makes me feel old. And I’m already grey enough for that.” Iruka looked back down to his hands and then back up: “I’m Umino Iruka- and Naruto called me old man recently. How humiliating.” Kakashi laughed: “We are ancient to them. I notice it all the time. ‘Kakashi-sensei, you can still do that flip? Are you sure your back can handle it?’ I used to be a good gymnast and now I’m treated like a senior.”

“When I told my students I look after a twelve year old boy they said that I look like someone who would do that, which made me wonder what they were trying to tell me with that” Iruka said, now laughing himself. “Oh, you are teacher Iruka-san?” Kakashi asked, sounding genuinely interested. “Yes, at a private school downtown, though. Not as big as the one Naruto and you are in”, Iruka tapped his finger onto the table, now feeling much more at ease in the conversation. Kakashi nodded with acknowledgement and made a little face. “Private school huh, I guess they pay well” he mulled without looking at his opposite. Iruka watched his face move. He had a very handsome facial shape, with a squared jaw and a beauty mark right next to his mouth. Somehow Iruka hadn’t noticed that before. Kakashi must be swarming with dates. 

“Well, it is important to me that you know that I do not hate kids,” Kakashi said suddenly, ripping Iruka out of his thought process. “I do think sometimes one needs to be tough on them for them to learn, to grow beyond what they think they can do. I understand that parents like you don’t really get that, because you want to keep your children safe from failure. But I am ensuring they are saved from failure by training them properly, by pointing out when they messed up. It is not out of hate.” Iruka looked away from his face. “I think Naruto is great. He has been fitting in quite well, even if he is a little boastful. But he needs to be less reckless if he wants to avoid major injuries, so I can’t praise him for his performance on the rings. His hands are not gripping right and he could be hurt.” Iruka hated that this all made sense.

“I guess I can understand that”, Iruka said, now locking eyes with Kakashi’s grey ones again. “I just have been looking after Naruto even before he was officially my son and he’s had it hard, so I’m easily annoyed when he gets mistreated in my eyes”, he explained, fiddling with his fingers around the empty cup again. “I see now you just have his best interest in mind, so I apologise if I was a little too - well, much before.” Iruka waited for a second for Kakashi to reply, but it didn’t happen. Instead the other man smiled a quiet, but wide smile that made his beauty mark dance on his cheek. Iruka stared for a moment, not long, but long enough to miss Kakashi’s reply. “Uh, can you repeat that?” he asked, a little flustered. “I said that I thought of you as just another annoying Dad and that I guess you are, but not as annoying as others”, Kakashi grinned.

Iruka laughed a little embarrassed to be caught with his thoughts somewhere else. He tried to deflect immediately: “So, you look after Sasuke sometimes?” This had been a good question to ask because Kakashi apparently liked talking about his guardianship of Sasuke, an orphan who had lost his parents in a terrible incident. He seemed excited about the growth of the boy, even if he was a little bratty sometimes and needed to calm down with his competitiveness. Iruka was reminded of the scene he had seen in the supermarket just a few weeks ago and felt even more ashamed about how he had judged it. Sasuke seemed like an interesting boy and very different when described by Kakashi’s mouth than Naruto’s. Their rivalry was clearly both sided, at least according to their teacher’s retellings of training. 

Before they both knew it, three hours had passed and they had emptied two more cups of coffee. Kakashi’s laptop was collecting dust on the table, closed hastily when he moved tables and then left and forgotten. It was Iruka who finally looked at his phone and felt the shiver at his back. It was almost dinnertime. “I-I’m sorry Kakashi-san”, Iruka said apologetically. “I think I need to go home to make dinner.” He didn’t feel like going right now, wanted to continue talking to the other man, but duty called. Kakashi nodded, looking at his watch and back up: “That’s right, yes, it’s late. Well I enjoyed the good company.” The compliment made Iruka blush involuntarily. “W-Well I’m glad we got to know each other a little better”, he stuttered as a reply. “Likewise”, Kakashi smiled and offered his hand in goodbye.

#

“Hi Naruto, how was your training?” Iruka waved to his son who was rolling his eyes in response. “I told you that you don’t have to come around to pick me up everytime”, Naruto growled in response, the gym bag slung over his shoulder in embarrassment. For the last two weeks Iruka had picked up Naruto from practice every two days to bring him and Sakura home safely. The boy had from the start not wanted any of it, said that it was embarrassing and out of the question, but Iruka had insisted: For safety. “That’s bullshit,” Naruto had said right away, as always pointing out lies immediately when they were spoken, a skill he’d always been very good at. Truth was of course that Iruka wanted to see Kakashi again and that picking up Naruto gave him ten to fifteen minutes every few days to do so and exchange some words. Why he felt the need to do that he did not really know.

Naruto did though: “I don’t want you to embarrass me in front of my classmates just because you have a crush.” They had just dropped off Sakura at her parents house and pulled the car back onto the road. Iruka had thought of his cover story very well, and had called Sakura's parents to ask them if he could bring her home when he also picked up Naruto. The Haruno’s were surprised by the proposition and said that Sakura was old enough to go by herself, but they hadn’t said no, so Iruka had told Naruto that she was the reason he was coming by so often. A perfect excuse. Except for the fact that Naruto had seen right through it. “W-what do you even mean?”, Iruka said, almost hitting the gas a bit too hard. 

“You have a crush on Kakashi-sensei. I don’t know when it happened, but it’s definitely there now”, Naruto explained, his voice bored. “I don’t know where you’d get that idea”, Iruka stuttered in reply. He wasn’t even sure that was true. Sure he had wanted to see Kakashi again, but only because he liked talking to him. Because they got along well. But Iruka hadn’t tried dating again after the one he’d had in the cafe and that one ended with Kakashi and him hanging out, getting to know each other. If one wanted to be honest about it, one could assume Kakashi had been Iruka’s date. Naruto had heard about the disaster the date had been, that Iruka had been stood up, but he had not been told that his teacher was there instead. “Everybody says so”, Naruto tapped his fingers against the window. “All the others in gymnastics are annoying me about it.”

“Uh-” Iruka made as a reply, heart beating hard against his chest. How could something that he wasn’t even sure was there in the first place be visible to literal children? He turned the wheel harshly into their street. “Well”, Naruto continued, still talking in this “by the way” fashion as if nothing bored him more, “Sasuke says Sensei talks about you when they are together. He says ‘I didn’t even know Idiot Naruto had a father, I thought it’s just someone he forced to buy him ramen, but now I hear the name all the time. As if ‘Iruka’ isn’t the most boring name one could have.’ Idiot Sasuke. Calling me an idiot, like a true idiot.” Iruka stopped the car, eyes staring over the wheel through the window in shock: “Is this true?” Naruto was already half out the door: “Yes Sasuke is an idiot. I’ve told you.” Iruka half absently opened the door of his car: “No, I mean, if Kakashi-san really-” The words got stuck in his throat on the way out. Naruto threw his door close with a deep sigh: “Just- Just do something about this, because I want to go back to normal.”

#

Iruka did nothing. He did not start using his dating app again. He did not stop picking up Naruto from practice and the boy kept complaining about it. At nights he would lie awake thinking of the exchanges he’d had with Kakashi. The time he had come in a little earlier than necessary and seen him do a quick flip over the mattresses in front of his students. The way the muscles had moved while he did, the way his eyes had smiled when he had seen Iruka watch him. Sasuke had mentioned that Kakashi talked about Iruka when they were together. The children had said they looked like they had a crush on each other. Maybe they had a point? Iruka surely had one, now that he had time to be honest with himself. Maybe from the first time they had met each other, but surely after their time in the cafe. Iruka turned from side to side, sleepless for hours, asking himself if it would be alright to ask out a teacher of his son. When he fell asleep he dreamed of Kakashi’s wide, quiet smile.

Ultimately, his son made the decision for him. A few days later when Iruka had once again ignored Naruto’s pleas to stop picking him up from school, the boy dropped his bag to his feet in anger and stomped his feet like he had when he was much younger. “Enough”, he said loudly and walked over to Kakashi to pull him by the hand towards Iruka. “I’m so tired of this and I want this to end”, the boy said, pointing from Iruka to Kakashi and back. Turning to his sensei: “Please go out with my Dad. I know how it sounds to ask for something like that. Desperate. But I am desperate. Just- you can dump him after, you know? Just go out with him once.”  Iruka wanted to jump and pull Naruto by the sleeve, face red from chin to ears. He did not dare look up into Kakashi’s eyes. Twelve year olds truly were monsters. There was silence for a second. Then: “Alright.”

Iruka’s eyes darted up, finding Kakashi’s opposites in grey. Had he just heard correctly? “W-What?”, Iruka felt stupidly childish stuttering for something like that, but his heartbeat made his pulse race and his tongue nervous. “I can go out with your dad, Naruto”, Kakashi said, addressing the boy, but his eyes stayed fixed on Iruka. “Thank God!” Naruto said out loud and he wasn’t the only one. Sakura said: “Finally!” and even Sasuke let out a breathed: “Good.” Iruka looked around, trying to look everywhere but Kakashi. Kakashi stepped forward quietly, but loud enough to get Iruka to look back into his face. “How about we go back to the place we met last time,” Kakashi asked, the friendly smile back on his face. Iruka could feel his knees weaken at the look of it, the mirror of an image he had replayed in his mind so many times over the last few weeks. “S-Sure” Iruka replied. Then: “Right now?”

“I’m sure Naruto can find his own way home”, Kakashi grinned, “He’s been saying he can for the last four weeks when you came by to watch me.” Iruka squirmed. “I-I did not-” He couldn’t finish because Naruto pushed him forward to the exit: “Just go, Dad, go.” Iruka did, stepping forward to Kakashi’s side. His attention was too set on Kakashi to realise that Naruto had, after so many weeks, called him Dad again.

[lemony-snickers]

lemony scribbles

fluffy content for everybody!

fics (one- and two-shots):

sleep tight (some v. mild suggestive content, gn!reader)

worth the wait (fluffy af, no warnings, gn!reader)

sweet treat (domestic fluff, gn!reader)

meet and greet (fem!reader, fluff, kakashi’s ninken)

stray (gn!reader, tw animal abuse, semi-sequel to meet & greet)

help (gn!reader, tw depression)

just another day (gn!reader, tw depression, tw anxiety, hurt/comfort)

take a break (gn!reader; emotional hurt/comfort, supportive friend fic)

perspective (gn!reader, emotional comfort)

the art of persistence (fem!reader, RATED M for ref to past sexual trauma, comfort fic)

deeper than the skin (gn!reader, soft fluffy domestic goodness)

three minutes (fem!reader; tw pregnancy)

unwanted gaze (fem!reader; tw stalking, harassment)

hindsight is 20/20 (gn!reader)

soft prompt drabble responses (short one-shots, gn!reader, includes a few other pairings, but mostly kakashi/reader)

lean on me (civilian reader, gn!reader, fluff and comfort no warnings)

she’ll be home (fem!reader, fluff & angst, songfic)

you and kakashi share a day off (gn!reader, brief suggestive language)

kakashi has more than one mole (gn!reader)

cats & dogs (kakashi & pakkun bonding)

a gift (implied fem!reader, wedding day fic, tw death mention)

lost together (gn!reader, fluff)

the aftermath (gn!reader, fluff, cuddling)

the pseudonym (fem!reader, humor, suggestive content)

cursed (gn!reader, songfic, angst)

to die. to sleep. to dream.  (kakashi introspection)

netflix & chilly (no pronouns used; kakashi has poor taste in movies)

the bodyguard (masc!reader, humor, fluff)

what you sow (fem!reader, parenthood)

worse & better (gn!reader, angst, song fic)

epistaxis (fem!reader, arranged marriage, suggestive content)

identity (transmasc!reader tw transphobia)

just a kiss (fem!reader, mild suggestive content)

every year (kakashi bday fic, gn!reader)

l’après-midi d’un loup (first person pov, faerie tale au, blood and injury, shapeshifting)

“i’ve got you” prompt ficlet (fem!oc)

“i have so much love for you i almost don’t know what to do with it” prompt ficlet (kakaobi, obito lives au)

“could you please come and get me” prompt ficlet (gn!reader, tw alcohol, tw sakumo’s suicide mention)

headcanons:

kakashi’s mole

kakashi & cuddling

kakashi & cuddling, part two

kakashi & his wife the hokage

kakashi & conflict avoidance

kakashi & asking yamato to make a ring

kakashi & an s/o who visits sakumo’s grave

kakashi & baths

kakashi & a sick partner

kakashi & summoning the ninken to keep his partner company

kakashi & listening to his partner read after a long day

kakashi & a game of “steal the hounds”

kakashi & reading to his partner

kakashi & how his partner knows it’s a bad day

kakashi & his social battery, part one

kakashi & his social battery, part two (with a partner)

vampire!kakashi

enemies to lovers

kakashi dates naruto’s mother figure

kakashi & an adopted daughter

kakashi & a partner with a migraine

kakashi dates someone whose father figure is jiraiya

kakashi & chidori scars (gn! reader, based on artwork)

kakashi & leaving konoha

[lunaticpuppetmaster]

  My contribute for Konoha Simps server collab! 

Trying to do both drabble and an art was a poor decidion as i am a lil bit late. 

Special Thanks to @pfreadsandwrites who beta-readed this drabble!

Title: Lost and Found.

Pairing: Kiba Inuzuka x OC (Tsubasa Yuki)

Summary: Everyone knows that everything you lose will end up in your soulmates possesions. Some people go crazy trying to find their destined one with practically no information. Tsubasa was never interested in finding hers and there is a chance she would never be able to.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, hurt/comfort

Word count: 6907

   When the first symptoms of the family curse appeared, Tsubasa already knew she was doomed. The sickness was rare and there wasn’t much information about it in the Yuki clan library even before the genocide, while after it…  well, no information survived. To be honest she did not have much hope at the beginning when her ice-natured chakra just only started to act like a parasite, eating her body and breaking thin bones.

But her sensei had. Mei had always been protective of her pupils, acting like a big sister even after the trio passed the chunin exam. So, when the worst happened, she used all her resources in order to save one of them. Unfortunately, even Kirigakure medics famous for their body knowledge were unsuccessful. The only hope was the best medic alive, Tsunade-hime herself.

Tsubasa did not know how she convinced Tsunade to help or what she promised to her (probably rare Kiri herbs), but the sannin agreed to work on her case. She didn’t promise a cure. To the girl’s pleasure, unlike her sensei, the 5th hokage was rational and she stated right from the start that the chances of recovery were very low and more likely she would just extend the Yuki girl’s agony. It was hurtful, but honest. Tsubasa always respected honesty… and her sensei. She had no other choice, but to promise Mei that she will fight till the end even though she did not want to.

“Maybe you will find your soulmate there,”- said Mei before her departure.

Mei was one of those people who always wanted to find their soulmate, however that was not the reason why she said it. She appreciated different manifestations of love: between friends, parental, sisterly and etc. She also knew that Tsubasa was a pessimist and even the love of people who were close to her was not enough to restore her will to live. At least if she were deeply in love with her soulmate, Mei hoped that Tsubasa could finally find the strength to fight.

Soulmates were always a bone of contention between different social groups: commoners, nobility and shinobi. Especially the last one. Missions and loyalty towards the village must be a number one priority for a ninja. But with soulmates everything became much harder.

Still even the biggest soulmate deniers tried their best to ‘lose things’. Even though little was known about soulmates nature, over the years people were able to learn a couple of useful things:

1 - Every item you lose will end up in your soulmate’s possessions.

2 - You cannot send a letter or any kind of writing this way.

3 - You cannot just throw away a random thing in the air or leave it intentionally on a park bench. So, you must really lose the thing to make it reach your soulmate.

The world was never peaceful. Neither for commoners nor shinobi, so desire to help for so called “true one” was understandable. People tried to tie various useful items with slim strings to their clothes like meds and water. When it came to shinobi they usually tied small scrolls to their bags or jackets hoping that during fights the thread would be cut or ripped and the item lost. Such scrolls were usually filled with food, kunais or ninja pills. Supplies that suddenly appeared managed to save some shinobi on the verge of death more than once. So even soulmate deniers had an opinion that it was practical to help the soulmate and very rude to ignore it. Help for help, life for life, nothing more. Tsubasa was one such person.

Of course, every skilled shinobi could tell from which village the lost item appeared.

Yuki’s soulmate for example was from Konoha. Her teammate Hiroto recognized a specific plant in a found ninja pill. So, she had some chances to run into him during her stay.

But Tsubasa did not want a soulmate. She did not need some stranger. She wanted to stay in Kiri and spend her last days with people she loved with all her heart and soul. Hadn’t she suffered enough? It didn’t look like it.

This was how she ended up in Konoha; or rather in a spare room of Yamanaka-hime’s house. Although Tsunade made efforts, in Yuki’s opinion, she clearly did not have an intention to heal her, but to collect information about how the disease proceeds under various factors, in order to save other unfortunate ones… Tsubasa could tell it from her students. Tsunade put her under the care of somewhat inexperienced newbies, ones who could crawl into her head and feel the patient’s condition themselves. Tsubasa did not blame her for that. She would be happy if her death could help someone. The girl rather felt sorry for distracting Ino from her more important patients. The hime herself was cheerful and sunny person, but in moments that required professionalism she could turn cold and focused with the flick of a finger. “She would be a perfect clan leader one day,” Tsubasa thought.

To be honest Yamanaka’s jutsu was useful for more than just therapy. When they first met, Yuki just simply let Ino read her mind and see her past. It was much faster and easier, plus all the secret information she knew as an ANBU was sealed. In order to get it, they would have had to use much stronger and more traumatic jutsu (and of course torture). Moreover, she was going to die soon, so did it really matter how many people knew her story?

Though when Tsubasa saw the girl’s blank face after reading her mind, she felt guilty. The blonde stayed silent for a few seconds before giving her a hug. She did not need words to say that she will do her best.

    Ino was easy to befriend. She also was good at distracting from negative thoughts. Between her regular Tsunade checkups and preparations for missions (It was important to monitor the development of the disease in the field, and all missions would be related to information gathering about the Yuki clan) they were chatting, watching movies and sometimes working in the flower shop. Thanks to Tsubasa’s honey-coloured hair most people mistook her as a distant relative of Yamanaka, so no one asked questions.

Once they ended up talking about soulmates. It started when Ino found some spilled ink on her carpet one day. Hime did not know much about her soulmate except he was really… an artistic type. Through the years she collected various brushes, pencils, erasers and doodles. Once she even found a whole sketchbook (unfortunately half torn)! But there was one thing that made her upset. He never “lost” anything to help her like the majority did.

“Maybe he is from a strict ninja family or a specific ANBU team”, she said with a sad smile.

If Ino’s soulmate was artistic, Tsubasa’s was… quite “special”. Because only a “special” person would end up losing a 6-kilo bag of dog food. Even now, after seven years Tsubasa sometimes wondered ‘how?’.. It was not a pen or a trinket which could be easily left on an academy desk, but a giant bag of dog food! No, he was a good soulmate who was “losing” supplies for her (that once saved her teammate’s life) unlike Ino’s, but still… Even when the blonde heard about it, she could not believe it and then started to laugh hysterically. After such silly small talks Tsubasa felt like she wasn’t fully alone in this foreign village. It almost felt like she had found a friend.

Unlike the other forced teammate.

Every village had a system of having at least 3 people in a team. Moreover, Tsubasa was suffering from her disease and Ino concentrated on helping her. They needed another member.

Tsubasa did not like him from the start. He was loud, narcissistic, clingy and insolent. The kunoichi was easily fed up with his behaviour. She spat out what exactly she thought of him to his face before going back to the Yamanaka estate. Only when she was alone in her room, she understood all her stupidity. She shouldn’t have acted so idiotic and lose her cool. It was essential for a ninja. She also understood why he was chosen among all of the shinobi. As a member of the Inuzuka clan he had a ninken who was already big enough to carry a man. It would be useful in case she became unconscious due to the illness. But she could not help it. A lot of bad things were going on in her life. She felt useless and helpless since she was banned from using her ice chakra. Mei also banned her from using anything that would hide her emotions. She thought that Tsubasa finally needed to learn how to speak and deal with new people. Babysitting was not helpful, so she wanted to try something more radical. Tsubasa understood, but understanding wasn’t enough to cope with the stress. Now she was sitting in the corner of her room shivering. Usually, she would take her father’s mask – the only thing left after his death- and put the cold material close to her forehead thinking what he would say or do. She couldn’t do it any longer. Some of her belongings and a mask were lost during a powerful chakra release at the beginning of the disease.

A few minutes passed before she started to feel better. A sudden knock on the door took her out of thoughts. Tsubasa went to open it thinking it would be Ino. Unfortunately, it was him. The cause for today’s bad mood and their third teammate – Kiba Inuzuka himself. She sighed and looked at him through the door, hiding most of her body behind it. The young man in front of her hesitated and looked a little bit strange or uncertain.

”Listen, I came here to apologise.“

Tsubasa raised her brow. Surely she should have been the one to apologise?. Plus, the boy looked like someone who would rather make a bunch of excuses and snap back than accept he was wrong.

“Well, I shouldn’t have invaded your personal space in the first place.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away. Judging by his behavior, the girl started to understand what actually made his behavior change.“And …uhm, Ino told me about your case so…”

“Showed you,” said Yuki her guess as a statement.

”She d-did not show me much!”

”That’s okay. I don’t mind and Ino knows that.”

“Anyway, I want to start on a clean slate. Here, take it. It’s a half mask and a bottle of blue paint so you can customize it with your clan symbol.”

”Actually…”

“I know that you are not allowed to use anything to hide your emotions, but it is a half mask and I made the holes for eyes bigger so your emotions will be perfectly visible. This is not technically breaking the rule and you will definitely feel better due to your um… well, habit. Just enjoy it, okay? I have to go now, bye!

“W-wait! I cannot…”

But the boy already left, forcing the girl to accept.

After that, though the relationship between the trio smoothed out, it was far from perfect. Tsubasa preferred to act more as a solo player despite her health condition, Kiba was still too loud and tried to act like the leader he never was and Ino … Ino tried not to go crazy in this whole mess called a team. However, overall, their missions were rather calm. Perhaps the three of them needed time to get used to each other before they could accept the others’ faults and learn to compromise. The tension completely disappeared at rest time, when tired teenagers passed time by talking to each other. Often they talked about soulmates. Someone was consulting with others about what would be more useful to seal in a tie-down scroll, the other one was looking through a travel bag for new supplies (or accidentally dropped useless things), another was thinking about loud who their soulmate might be. On one of such days, all of a sudden Tsubasa discovered earrings in a sealed scroll. They were simple and consisted of three deep blue feathers each. The girl looked at them in surprise, not knowing how to react. But, on the contrary, Ino reacted too happily.

“These are so cute! And they match your eye color! Quite a nice present for a soulmate that has never seen you.”

“This must have been a mistake.”

“It was in a scroll. How could this be a mistake? Looks like your soulmate really wishes to meet you and…”

“I don’t need a soulmate, Ino! Like, I don’t believe in perfect matches made by spiritual forces or some sort. I never wanted to have him in the first place! I have a dream to achieve, a family in Kiri. No way if I survive, I will leave it all behind because of some questionable romance! That’s ridiculous!”

Ino sighed and Kiba remained silent. The conversation came to an end. But not the attention from Tsubasa’s soulmate or their mission.

One of those days, when all sorts of cute things and sweets instead of standard ammunition began to show up in Tsubasa’s scrolls more and more, their group stumbled upon really strong opponents. The longer the battle continued the more obvious it became that they were not going to win. Unless Tsubasa broke the rule and used her clan’s abilities. Mei’s order, both as sensei and as Mizukage, always stood above many moral principles for Yuki, but now it was a completely different case. Neither Ino nor Kiba with the sweetest and bravest Akamaru should have been involved in this from the very beginning. They were not supposed to die or risk their lives because of some terminally ill girl from another village and a questionable contract between their Kages. They must live, survive and Tsubasa made up her mind. At first, she managed to eliminate a couple of ninjas and slightly injure the rest using the element of surprise. She was incredibly lucky, because the disoriented opponents were much easier to finish off for Kiba and Ino. Tsubasa by this moment had already lost her eyesight from the tension and saw the battlefield only as a set of white and light gray colors. She lost her breath and her strength to stand upright. But it was nothing compared to the pain that washed over her seconds later.

     The kunoichi screamed in pain as she felt blood filling her mouth and an ice crust covering her internal organs. She fell on the cold dusty ground, heart-rendering screams leaving her lips with the blood pulsing her temples, ice needles tearing the muscles of her arms and legs. It seemed like nothing existed except for the all-consuming pain. Through the wall of never-ending white noise, she heard the sounds of Ino’s commands and Akamaru’s frightened barking. This was the last thing she felt before passing out.

Tsubasa woke up with a heavy head and pain all over her body. She listened to her senses before opening her eyes… and it would have been better not to listen to them. Someone brazenly pressed her close to their body and sniffed into the ear. When she opened her eyes the girl immediately screamed. In general, it was a completely normal reaction when you find yourself half-dressed in the arms of an equally half-dressed man. Of course, given that she was half-asleep, her only response was a stream of unpleasant curses and swearing. At first Kiba, who was still sleepy, was happy that the girl woke up, but soon joined the exchange of curses until a joyful, but terribly tired Ino ran up to them, immediately trying to interrupt the catfight and change the topic. Kiba waved his hand resentfully and went off in an unknown direction. Ino stayed with Tsubasa alone.

“Sit down and drink this.”

“Okay, but can I ask you a question first? What the hell happened here?”

”Your disease went out of control. I could barely suppress it. This time it was… too strong. Not like before. When I was finally able to improve your condition, you were still unconscious, your temperature dropped to terribly low levels, and some ice crystals did not disappear. We didn’t risk taking you back to the village in such poor condition. At first, we tried to wrap you up warm, but that didn’t help. Your clothes were quickly soaked by the cold coming from you and it only aggravated your condition. Then we decided that we would warm you one by one with the heat of our bodies. Well, Akamaru too.

Tsubasa howled in embarrassment and Ino sighed.

“Don’t worry. I think Kiba understands what the situation looked like for you. Or he will understand. He is a hot-head, you know, and he needs some time to calm down. But he will.”

”Still, that doesn’t change the fact that I snapped at him twice for literally nothing, especially the last time when I should have said ‘thank you for trying to save my dumb ass’. I feel terrible.”

The blonde girl patted her dejected friend on the shoulder and then said, “ Drink the medicine or, I swear to God, you will regret that you woke up.

The group’s return journey took place in silence. Despite the fact that Tsubasa apologized to Kiba and he accepted the apology, the kunoichi was still tormented by her conscience. She needed to apologize to him properly. Stealing a glance at the still visible ice crystals on her hand, a thought flashed through her: “While I can still do it.”

Night is definitely a wonderful and mysterious time of the day. Too bad that not everyone can enjoy its beauty, but there are also some who would be glad to miss it. For example, some unfortunate souls from the Inuzuka clan. It just so happened that a heightened sense of smell was not the only animal trait some clan members shared. Heightened hearing, too. In battle it was somewhat useful while in everyday life - irritating. During the day, in a mixture of noises, it did not cause much discomfort, but at night, when all the sounds disappeared, a can kicked by a drunk felt like a hit in the head. It is not surprising that such “lucky” clan members often suffered from insomnia and generally lived in the rhythm of night owls, which was very difficult for the shinobi world, where everyone was entirely early birds.

So was Kiba. However, tonight it felt different. His day was active and the sounds on the street did not disturb him, still he could not sleep. It seemed that the whole atmosphere of the house became more and more oppressive with every second spent inside, and the inner desire to walk through the village at night became stronger with every minute. He just wanted to go outside and run. He did not know where, but somewhere, where it was important for him to be now. In the end, when he accepted the fact that he obviously would not sleep today, the young man called his faithful dog and quietly left the house. The night was calm and fresh from the recent rain. Perhaps even too much, but it did not bother Kiba. He gladly wandered through old village streets, breathing in deeply the cold night air until he found himself near the playground. Or better to say, found someone.

Tsubasa sat on the swing all hunched up, almost motionless like a statue, and although this time her face wasn’t hidden by a mask, but her honey hair, Kiba knew that the girl was clearly not radiating joy.

“May I sit?,” he asked. Tsubasa didn’t even flinch.

“Yes.”

Kiba looked at the girl. When they first met, she was strong, cold and impenetrable. A true warrior. But now things were different. As a shinobi, he was not afraid to die on the battlefield, surrounded by dead and, possibly, even rotting bodies. But seeing a person fade like this, when they were unable to do anything about their state, when they burned out like a candle, turning with every second into a pale copy of their former self is what really scared him. At first, he didn’t care much what would happen to Yuki, but now, when her life glimmered on a candle stub, saving her was important. Either she will survive, and he will get rid of animal all-consuming fear, or her pale face, disfigured by illness, in the tongues of the funeral flame will haunt him till the end of his days.

Akamaru rested his head on Tsubasa’s lap. Still lost in her heavy thoughts, Yuki let her hands go of the swing chain and started to mechanically stroke and scratch the ninken behind the ears.

”Hey Tsu, I know that you are that type of shinobi who tries to follow the code perfectly. But we are not made of steel. You are not made of steel. You are feeling bad and tired. It’s unlikely that I will hear something that Ino did not show me or did not hear from you. Sharing pain as a shinobi is hard, but it’s even harder to keep your cool when you are on the verge of being broken by your own emotions. Even though I talk too much, anything you tell me tonight will stay here, I promise. So, tell me what’s eating you.

”You’re right. I am tired. I am weak, although I’ve tried to prove myself otherwise for my whole goddamn life. Even when I felt bad and thought that everything was lost, I clung to a few good things that I had. What does not kill makes us stronger, and the world, even drowning in war and blood, is still too beautiful to give up, especially the little things that everyone forgets. That’s what my father taught me. My path has never been covered with rose petals. Well.., for most people, actually. Still, I didn’t stop fighting for the people I love. Only when the clan curse showed itself… I was really scared. I felt completely helpless. And after the recent events… Fuck all my experience, knowledge and even more ranks. I am useless. I… I must accept the truth. I will die soon Kiba and I do not want to die here.”

Her previously smooth and still voice started to crack. Her shoulders shivered slightly.

“You, Ino and your friends are wonderful people and in general I like Konoha, but it will never be my home, and you will never replace my family. I hate to break promises, but I really don’t want to keep the one I gave to sensei and friends. I just want to give up and go back to Kiri. I miss them so much and want to see them one last time. Besides there is also one thing that bothers me…”

Mei was not that wrong when she said that Tsubasa might fall in love in Konoha. She actually did, but not with the soulmate destined by the stars. She fell in love with an eccentric, slightly arrogant and silly boy who may have not really known her, but still tried to help. Simply because he did not lose faith in her or their team, because he acted friendly with her and could cheer her up even in her darkest moments. For the fact that he could knock on the window at one in the morning and invite her into the forest to look at the fireflies. Just like that. It wasn’t like love at first sight, or a long courtship. With each passing day her feelings grew stronger washing over her like waves. Unfortunately, there were few “BUTs” that Tsubasa could not ignore:

She was from another village and even though there were many bad things in the hidden Mist, she was not going to betray it or move anywhere. She promised herself to help Sensei make the village a better place, and she was not going to give up on her dream either. Kiba was also too loyal to his family and friends. He would never leave them for some Kirigakure girl.

Moreover, Tsubasa felt guilty about her soulmate. Yes, she never saw him, but that did not stop him from taking care of her and obviously dreaming about their meeting. It would be wrong just not to care about his feelings.

Most importantly, that applied to both Kiba and the unknown “true one” - she was dying. She was a weak sick girl who had a month left to live at best. Of course, she could confess her feelings to the boy next to her right now, feel loved and die with a drop of happiness… But was it fair for Kiba who would have to live with this burden until the end of his days? Definitely not. She couldn’t do that to him. That’s why she would rather stay silent, burn out from her feelings, because at least she would not let him suffer.

“I just don’t know what to do… I feel lost.”

She lifted her head, blue feathers of her earnings blowing in the wind. Her face was emotionless and her body calm, yet uncontrollable tears were streaming down her face.

The boy took her freezing hand and pulled her into a hug. Tsubasa bit her lip, burying her face in his shoulder and soaking his jacket with tears.

”You lost only because you gave up right away as soon as you found out about your diagnosis! Stop thinking about the fucking disease! Focus on something else! Not on the loved ones, since it causes you so much pain. Focus on your dreams! On your soulmate!”

“Why are you so obsessed with the idea of soulmates?”

“Why are you so disgusted with the idea itself?”

She let his hand go and exhaled. There was no trace of her emotional outburst except for her bloodshot eyes. Tsubasa grabbed the swing chains, thinking for a second.

“I do not believe in fairy tales about gods, who loved each other and were separated, that blessed all mortal couples with a secret connection, in revenge to the rest of the pantheon. Why did everyone suddenly start to think that it was a love connection? What if that bond means a strong friendship? And how can finding lost things help my soulmate find me or specifically, my body? The only variant I see is where you tattoo the coordinates on your hand and lose it in battle. An ‘excellent’ plan! Moreover, where are the guarantees that soulmate couples will be happy? Give me one example.”

”Ino’s parents are soulmates.”

Both of them suddenly turned silent.

”As far as I know, Mrs. Yamanaka did not even know our language when she arrived here. She was from another country, with completely different customs, still she risked going into the unknown. And I don’t know any stronger couple.”

“The way you talk about it… Your parents aren’t soulmates either, are they?”

He nodded.

”Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother. In fact, my father left when I was one year old, so she and my sister raised me. But… My mother is a very difficult person. As far as I can remember, it was always important for her to be the first and she never cared about the feelings of others. This is good for a warrior, but not for a family member. She could easily say things that will hurt you, including the ones she said on purpose, as a joke in order to please her ego. When you tried to talk to her about this and ask her to tone it down a little, she pretended to listen at first, but soon forgot about it. As for my father, he was not from our clan, not even from our village. He was a stranger and ended up being at the very bottom of the clan’s hierarchy. My sister said that he could stand a lot of things, but not the betrayal and disregard towards him from his once loved one. Of course, this was not the only reason he left. After that, looking at how Ino’s parents perfectly understand each other and always try to find a compromise, on how strong their union is… I want the same kind of family. Yes, I can act like my mother, be short tempered and impulsive. I think you noticed it when we first met. I admit I behaved horribly, but with people close to me, whom I don’t want to lose, I try to control myself and work on it.”

“That’s… amazing Kiba. And despite the fact that you mostly act like a jerk -” he snorted and a small smile formed on her lips- “I have to admit that after knowing you better, I have respect for you. You don’t try to please everyone. You give all of yourself and your warmth only to the ones that are close to you. Only to those who, in your opinion, deserve it, disregarding the rest. This is right. I share the same point of view. But since you really want to find your soulmate, have you ever thought that you might end up being the one to leave your home? Are you ready for such a sacrifice yourself?”

Kiba fell silent. At first it seemed that he was deep in thought, but in reality, everything was different. He was frightened and listened to the silence of the night trying to find out if someone was eavesdropping on them. For a moment, the girl even thought that he used ninjutsu to sniff out strangers and make sure that there were no one near them.

As white as a sheet, he took her hand and ‘wrote’ his answer on the inside of her palm with a finger:

“Yes”

She glanced at him. His actions spoke louder than words.

“Your father is dead, isn’t he?”

”Were you born in a clan or joined it later, you cannot leave it.”

”I understand. After all, in Kiri, a lot is happening inside our clans too.”

They both sat in uncomfortable silence.

“When you said that my parents are not soulmates, you also said “either”. So..?”

“You heard right. You know that before Terumi-sama, Kirigakure was overflowing with nepotism and bribery? Well, people were willing to do anything to move up the career ladder. My mother really wanted a higher position in ANBU, so she made my father fall in love with her and convinced him that she was his soulmate. As you understand, it was also important for my father to find ‘the true one’ but when he realized that he was fooled it was already too late. He comforted himself with the fact that he seemed to love my mother even without that spiritual bond, plus he loved me with all his heart and soul. But in fact, the love between my parents was one-sided… and because of the special treatment to the Yuki clan, my father was never at home. So… when you start looking for your destined one, please be careful, okay? I do not want the same fate for you or for anyone else.”

Okay, let’s change the topic” - he waved his hands in a playful defensive gesture “You mentioned that you have a dream. So, what kind of dream?”

“Well, you chose a bad one to distract me, because my dream is deeply connected with my family. You know about the genocide of the Yuki clan?”

“Mmm, sorry, to be honest, not really. Only that when the Uchiha clan was massacred, the elders whispered with each other that it could be the same case as it was with your clan, where it was the Kage’s order or some sort.”

“The Yuki clan was once considered to be one of the most powerful clans in the village of the Hidden Mist. And of course, quite dangerous, especially for the past Mizukage, or rather, for the one who controlled him. So, one night, the entire main branch was killed and the clan’s library burned down. The Yuki clan was officially made part of a lower caste. Some clan members managed to escape, while others were often sent on dangerous and suicidal missions. Now from the once large clan, only 30-40 people remain in Kiri, and most of them are elders and children. For comparison, grandfather Naoki had four children, the same age as my father, and only one daughter remained alive. As you know, my frightened and repressed clan avoided communicating with each other. In fact, in my childhood, it was as if the clan did not exist at all. Childhood in Kiri was not easy, but the other children at least had a clan, a large family that stood up for them. I wanted it too. I wanted to be a part of a clan and before my illness I dreamed of reviving the Yuki clan, regaining lost knowledge and finding all the relatives lost around the world, whom, as far as I heard, were not liked by both ninjas and civilians. But now after that illness… I must find every single Yuki alive to make sure that no one will be alone while fighting the family curse and that no one will go through the same pain as me, giving them a chance to be cured. And I will do it, no matter what… If I survive, of course…”

“It’s … A great dream to achieve-,” he scratched his head not knowing what to say- “And I am sure you will! Just don’t be so pessimistic! “

”I am realistic.”

“Pessimistic.”

“Realistic!”

“OK, OK!” he chuckled.“Looks like only realists like you, who talk about how bad and terrible everything will be, turn out to be chuunins.”

“What? Kiba, I don’t��� urgh forget it! Arguing with you on any topic is simply useless when you are stubborn as a mule.”

“Said another mule!”

She laughed. Warmly and sincerely, for the first time this evening, and perhaps since they returned from that ill-fated mission.

”By the way, if your life in the hidden mist was so bad why do you hate the idea of moving to another place? Like here, to Konoha?”

“First of all, my life in Kiri is perfect now. Secondly, when people will learn that I am from the hidden mist they will hate me. The only thing that saves me now is that commoners think I am a distant relative of Ino.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You never heard why Kiri women are hated so much?”

“No.”

“Well let me tell you,” she grinned sinisterly. “One year, in our village, due to hunger, disease and war, there were practically no men left. Then the women decided to fill this gap by stealing men from other villages. But then they questioned themselves, how to transport healthy and adult shinobi without harming them? This is how the world-famous art of Kirigakure ANBU was born, thanks to which we can immobilize even the most powerful warrior,” she chuckled as a senbon she used in some missions appeared from nowhere, - “With the combination of many factors, but still. Well, those poor souls who ended up in Kiri … they essentially had no choice, but to marry ladies there if they wanted to live.”

“Are you joking?!”

“I’m not! In fact, my great-grandfather was kidnapped from the village hidden in the Stone. So, be careful Inuzuka Kiba! Who knows, maybe my illness is just a part of a secret mission and I’m actually here to pick up suitable candidates… And you might end up being one of them! You may turn out to be a good third husband for me, you know?”

He laughed.

“Oh really? Well, I would die to see how you would try to steal me with such an amazing guard as Akamaru!”

“Oh darling,” she grinned and hugged the huge white dog,” I would find a way to make that adorable boy my partner in crime! “

Akamaru happily barked in agreement and both teenagers burst into laughter, almost falling off the swing.

“By the way,” she said after a small pause, “I have to admit that fireflies are much more beautiful in Konoha. Thank you for letting me enjoy such beauty…”

He bit his lip and took her hand in his. The Ice crystals were still showing from her bandage returned them both to the dreadful reality.

“You will survive Tsu, I promise you, and you will see many more fireflies. Not only these.”

She looked at him with a faded, crooked smile. A smile that only gravely ill and very tired people have. Kiba returned her a look and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest, skipping a beat.

“Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep.”

”I’ll keep it! You will see. We are close to finding the ancient temple of the Yuki clan, and there definitely should be information on how to cure you. And after the next mission is completed, we will go to a grill bar! In the land of water there are only sea creatures and practically no normal beef. I cannot let you go back to Kiri without letting you know all the delights of good meat.”

She chuckled.

“If you say so.”

But there would be no grill bar or any next time. They found information about the temple location, but at the cost of everything else. The disease turned out to be unstoppable at this point. Luckily, they managed to reach it in time and save Tsubasa’s life.

Three months had passed since her miraculous recovery. Representatives of the Mist village appeared in Konoha the next day and took the girl with them, not allowing her even to say goodbye to her new friends. Still, their paths will cross in the future.

Upon returning to Kiri, Tsubasa began to communicate a lot with Ino through letters, which made the Mizukage almost ecstatic. She hoped that friendship with the clan princess would turn into a possible strong political tie in the future. One way or another, Mei was going to make her children, if not a future Mizukage, then those on whom the village could rely. Sometimes Mei was so happy about the benefits that Tsubasa had a feeling that her illness and departure to Konoha were part of Sensei’s plan to improve relationships with the village from the very beginning. However, she thought it was too weird and silly to be true.

She also sent letters to Kiba. Feelings for him that suddenly flared up in her heart were not planning to disappear, but she still had no intention of getting into his personal life. He wanted to find his soulmate, and she respected that wish. This was the least she could do for him. “Besides,” she thought while drinking peach tea in the evenings and remembering how he was trying to warm her drastically freezing body on their trip to the temple, “it is unlikely that we would have succeeded even if there would be no soulmate. We are too loyal and attached to our villages and clans. None of us would move to another village for the sake of other. Only a soulmate had such privilege.“

Therefore, she was happy to be his friend at least, send the boxes of tangerines and dried seafood snacks on special occasions, help with advice on everyday problems that all teenagers went through, regardless of which shinobi village they were born in, and just talk about all sorts of nonsense.

At six am, there was a loud knock on the door. Tsubasa was just getting ready for the training and she had no idea who would need to see her at such an early hour (her teammates were waiting for her at the training field, so it could not be them).

A familiar figure was standing outside of the door. Tired from the road, a little nervous, but smiling. Holding a medium-sized flat box under his arm.

“Kiba? What are you doing here, especially this early?!”

“There were reasons,” he said giving her a box, “may i come in?”

“Of course, you can, I’ll make you some tea and something to eat for you two.”

The girl moved away to the side, letting the boy and his dog into the apartment. Akamaru immediately stretched and laid himself on the carpet of the living room, while Kiba took a seat in the kitchen.

“So, what’s the reason you came here?”

“Open the box,” he said with a smile.

Tsubasa raised her eyebrows skeptically. She put the box on the table, thin fingers gripping the blue lid and pulling it up. Her father’s mask with its cold material was staring right into the girl from the inside. Frozen in complete shock, looking at the once-lost thing dear to her heart, she did not notice how Kiba approached her from behind.

“I just felt lost,” he said in a soft voice, while tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Their faces were only a few inches apart, “And desperately wanted to be found.”

[myaekingheart]

5, 11, 15 for the fanfic ask list homie 💙

[Fic Writer Ask Game]

So I had all of these answers written out already and then tumblr fucking ate the entire thing so I had to rewrite everything asdfghjkl;

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

I have a lot but I’m gonna try to keep this relatively short. Little word mix-ups can really irk me, like especially definitely vs defiantly because in cases like that, it drastically changes the meaning of a sentence. I also can’t stand when people don’t change paragraphs when a new character speaks because it’s just plain confusing. Repeating the same word in the same paragraph without a purpose can also get really tiresome. Also over-describing a character’s appearance, but that can be situational. I just think it’s oftentimes so much more effective to describe aspects of a character’s appearance through interaction rather than one big wall of text. I think my biggest pet peeve, though, is the balance between originality and canonicity. I want to be supportive of writers pursuing all the wacky and wonderful ideas they have but I find it really hard to read stories that just completely defy the rules set by canon without establishing these changes from the get-go. Like I would be really angry if I was reading a Shippuden-era story where Yamato, while on a mission with Team 7, randomly woke up in the middle of the night with byakugan (and this wasn’t a dream or hallucination of some sort) because Orochimaru had implanted Hyuga cells into him twenty five years ago and there was zero indication or even foreshadowing of this until that moment. It would just feel like a cheap trick for shock value to me and leave a really bad taste in my mouth, personally. But I might just be biased because I try really hard to ground my own stories in a sense of realism and establish elements early on so that when big changes do happen, it doesn’t feel like I’m blind-siding my readers and if they are shocked, then they can go back in previous chapters and catch the foreshadowing leading up to it. I don’t want to say that any of these things would have a huge effect on whether or not I decide to read something, but it’s definitely going to influence/dampen my enjoyment of something if any of these are just consistently present in a story. I could admittedly be a little hypocritical though because I’m sure I’ve been guilty of doing these exact same things from time to time in my own writing, so take this with a grain of salt I guess? 

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

I typically try to focus on the substance of the plot, any themes/motifs/symbolism, or just a song I may have been inspired by. Sometimes I get lazy with titles, like the first chapter of my fic is just “A Girlfriend for Kakashi” and it’s a pretty straightforward summary of what goes down (Naruto and Sakura try to set Kakashi up on a bunch of blind dates to get him a girlfriend). Other times, I try to go the manga chapter/anime episode route with explosive titles like “Ninken Ninja Art: Cockblock Jutsu!” I think my favorites, however, are the more poetic titles like “Exalting the Comrade in Arms” and “A Lullaby for Surrender.” Things that sort of capture the mood of that chapter (or story) while also not giving everything away. Plus they just sound pretty. 

15. Tell the author your favorite fic of theirs. What’s your (the author’s) favorite fic you’ve written?

I think my favorite fic just honestly has to be The Scarecrow and The Bell. It’s the longest and most developed story I’ve ever written, fanfiction or otherwise, and I don’t think I’ll ever not be proud of it. It lives in my brain rent free 24/7, I’m just so damn passionate about it. I feel like it’s a really character-driven story with such a heavy emphasis on the intimate, gritty, imperfect relationship between Kakashi and Rei, which is also incredibly rewarding to write about like their interactions just come so naturally to me and I get really giddy when I think about the story I’m trying to tell for them and all of the ideas for what’s to come for them. I don’t know, this story just makes me really happy and I love it to pieces. 

[bouncyirwin]

Bouncy’s Masterpost

 I'll admit that I made this list purely out of boredom. I compiled all my work from 2018 here (FF.net, AO3 and Tumblr), in other words: the good, the bad and the ugly. I’ll probably update this again by December.

Order: from oldest to newest.

January 2018

[1] Resolutions | 6,649 Words | T | KakaSaku

In which Sakura realises it isn't too late to find happiness and lets go. 

Snippet:

She'd never quite paid attention to it before, but Kakashi had really kind eyes. It made her wonder how such dark depths could ever hold so much warmth— Sasuke's were always hard, emotionless. Like staring into a void. Cold.

[2] Coming Home (to you) | 4,050 Words | T | KakaSaku | fanart

Sakura had always been a part of Kakashi’s thoughts, even in her absence.

Snippet: 

I know I tried to escape the hospital, but I think it’s kinda a given with me. Chaining me to a bed in the Hokage’s office is a bit extreme….

I really miss having you doing the ass-kicking.

This is beyond humiliating.

I hope you come back soon or else you might just find yourself a copy ninja short.

- Kakashi.

[3] When You Awake | 4,270 | M | KakaSaku | Fanart 1 | Fanart 2

Through a haze of confusion and a killer hungover, Sakura discovers she’s in Kakashi’s bed. 

Snippet: 

He was shirtless— why was he shirtless?

As if in a trance, her gaze slid down to her own body and a fresh wave of embarrassment assaulted her when she realised his lack of shirt was because she was wearing it. Without looking up at him, Sakura asked very slowly, "Kakashi… why am I… wearing your shirt?"

[4] Chance Meetings | 1,810 Words | T | ShisuiSaku

Shisui flirts with Sakura in front of an angry Team 7.

Snippet:

"Dinner with you?" Sakura asked, surprised but not unpleasantly so.

Shisui laughed, she was just too cute. "Well yeah, that's what I'm hoping."

Another glare intensified, this one coming from the blond boy. He looked ready to march to Sakura's side and throttle Shisui, but the firm grip of Kakashi Hatake kept him in place.

"Like… like a date?" Sakura inquired, her cheeks slightly darker now.

May 2018 

[5] Daylight | 1,335 | T | IronStrange [Marvel]

Tony had nothing, and then he had everything.

Snippet:

“Strange, I thought we agreed the balcony bedroom is mine?” Tony swept into his bedroom with a hint of the dramatic flair he used to possess before the world reminded him everything was temporary and painful, voice lightly reprimanding but not holding any real heat.

Stephen looked up from the thick book he was reading, his hair drifting lightly in that infuriatingly captivating way of his. “It seems my room has been taken over. I had to relocate.”

[6] At Your Mercy | 3,006 Words | M | StevexOC [Marvel]

In which Steve Rogers and Valerie discover that sometimes need trumps rationality.

Snippet:

“I wasn’t jerking off.” He finally said. Valerie startled, her mouth nearly dropping open, not having expected those words from him at that moment.

Instinctively she glanced around to make sure no one overheard Steve. When she noticed no eavesdroppers, she pressed, “really?”

June 2018

[7] Rainstorm | 2,990 Words | T | KakaSaku 

Life-threatening injuries always end in a confession. 

Snippet:

His eyes traced over the skies outside, dragging his gaze from the windows and over to her so that their eyes met again. She waited, wanting to look away from his intense depths of charcoal but finding herself unable to. He was at once as loud as a storm and as quiet as the night. “The last time I assigned a simple mission to a large group of people, they were ambushed and three of them died. First I thought, there’s safety in numbers, lesser chances of things going wrong. Instead, it got them noticed and tracked by a group of missing nin.”

[8] You Only Live Twice | 3,319 Words | T | KakaSaku

Kakashi’s ninken sure love to meddle, but at least their heart’s in the right place this time.

Snippet:

"We just think it'll be a good idea if you looked after him, y'know," Pakkun mumbled, trying to lace his voice with as much innocence and conviction as possible. "He tends to neglect his health and we can't boss him around cause he's the boss."

Sakura huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, sure, leave it to me. That baka, I'll show him."

Soon afterwards Sakura set on her way back to the hospital and Pakkun turned to nod to his fellow ninken. "Step one, check."

[9] Recipe For Disaster | 1,858 Words | T | Multiple [Marvel]

Peter Parker did what Nick Fury failed to. He unwittingly brought together a group of remarkable people.

[or, a silly marvel group chat fic that no one asked for]

Snippet:

Dp: I’m Dp

Tony Stark: What’s Dp stand for

Dp: Take a wild guess

Tony Stark: Double penetration?

Spideyboi: oHMYGOD

Spideyboi: MR STARK

Tony Stark: he did say a ‘wild’ guess

July 2018 

[10] The Story Of Another Us | 19,155 Words | M | KakaSaku

Kakashi and Sakura were at the brunt of the Fourth Shinobi World War, only to be thrust into the ruins of the Third.

Snippet:

"Don't put words in my mouth, Kakashi," Sakumo chided, some anger colouring his voice. "That wasn't what I asked."

Realising that whatever tactic he was using against Sakumo wasn't working, Kakashi's shoulders deflated. He looked so helpless to do anything but endure the interrogation that Sakumo almost took pity on him. But not quite. He needed to satiate his curiosity first.

Kakashi had turned back to the stove, breaking eye contact and reaching to stir the contents in the pan. And then he said something that had Sakumo's jaw drop open. "I love her."

[11] 3 A.M | 2,345 Words | M | KakaSaku

Our Drunk OTP are fantastic wedding planners. 

Snippet:

“A bet is a bet, darling.” She purred against the white sleeve of his dress shirt.

He’d looked magnificent tonight, especially as he’d gotten more drunk and lost the tie, rolling his sleeves up to expose his lean elbows and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt.

“What d’you want for a refund?” He tilted his face to bury his nose in her hair, inhaling her deeply and in a way that made Sakura’s stomach twist.

Nuzzling closer to his body warmth, Sakura voiced what she’d been thinking since the moment he’d lost the bet. She tilted her head back, bringing their faces closer together as she murmured, “I want to top tonight.”

[12] Cravings | 3,823 Words | M | KakaSaku

When you mix alcohol and pent-up frustration, things are bound to go somewhere. Phone sex. 

Snippet:

It was a selfie of him and Genma at some club, drinks in hand with the caption of ‘you’re missing out xx’.

Sakura took a second to appreciate the wild mess that was his hair and the flexing tendons in his neck. The first two buttons of his plaid shirt were unbuttoned to expose some toned skin, his sleeves rolled up over his lean arms. He had his tongue stuck between his sharp teeth and Sakura wanted to die as all her frustration rushed back into her. All because of one photo.

Sakura: fuck u

How could he do this to her so effortlessly?! His reply came faster than she’d expected and she looked down at her screen with raised eyebrows.

September 2018 

[13] Distractions, Confusions and a Hot Professor | 4,324 Words | M | KakaSaku

Professor Hatake and Ms Haruno are dragged into the midst of the newest rumour circulating the University of Konoha. 

Snippet:

“Hey Sakura, have you seen the new cute professor yet?”

Sakura looked up from sorting the piles of books in front of her to raise a curious eyebrow at her colleague. Tenten grinned leaning over the desk to peer at Sakura. “He’d already made Hyuuga faint and all he did was smile at her.”

October 2018 

[14] Knock Knock, Let The Devil In | 7,617 | M | KakaSakuShika

Kakashi had always appreciated Shikamaru's ability to turn any situation in his favour. He just never expected to become a willing target to his whims.

Snippet:

Kakashi quietly slipped into their shared room and immediately froze in his steps. Perhaps it had been a mistake to return quite so early— he hadn’t even paused to ponder if those two had any plans.

They’d said they weren’t dating but Kakashi now wondered why he hadn’t interpreted that shared look for its implications. They weren’t dating alright, but they sure were close.

November 2018

[15] Nocturnal Activities | 3,761 | M | KakaSaku

Actions have always spoken louder than words.

Bonus - Art

[x], [x], [x], [x]