#i was completely fine until i had a sudden compulsion to self harm so i straight up Did which is absolutely stupid

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

broke my streak at seventeen-nearly-eighteen days clean and don't even feel better as a result

[contrclfreak1]

In The Dark Of The Night┃Caroline & Giovanni

@italianstalliongio

It had been over ten minutes that Caroline had been waiting for Enzo. Not that she'd be counting. With her arms crossed over her chest she couldn't help but remember the joke he'd made about seducing a random girl at the event. Sure, they were only friends - but still, it was rude to just up and ditch her. Huffing loudly to herself she moved through the crowds, trying to find the dark haired man to give him a piece of her mind.

Giovanni was hungry. He’d managed to find himself alone with his own thoughts. Rebekah was nowhere to be seen, neither was Lexi. After he had bumped into an old friend, Giovanni needed a little pick me up. A blonde caught his eye from across the room. He always said he had a thing for blondes. The male moved toward her, making sure that their paths were to collide. The vampire bumped into the blonde, before then stumbling back. His hands came to rest on her shoulders. “Oh, gosh.. I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He spoke, flashing her a charming smile. His gaze was already focused on the pulsating vein in her neck, almost as if was taunting him.

The sudden collision had Caroline jumping back in surprise, blue eyes wide as she looked over at the masked man. "No, no, it was my fault, really. I should of been looking where I was going." she said with an apologetic smile, moving to adjust a blonde lock that had fallen out of place. "it's just so hard to find people when everyone is wearing these masks, you know?" an awkward laugh slipped from her lips, very aware of the mans attractiveness, even behind a mask it was easy to tell.

A smile then crossed the male’s lips as the blonde spoke. “No harm done.” Giovanni smiled, licking his lips as he eyed her. She’d do nicely. All he had to do now was to find a way to get her out of there, preferably without using compulsion. With it being a founders event, he knew there would be certain people around who would be investing vervain. He didn’t want to risk running into one of those people. “Well, perhaps I can help you look? Two pairs of eyes are better than one after all.” Another kind smile then returned to his lips.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” She said honestly, eyes wide as she looked at him. “He’s probably a little shorter than you, dark hair and an english accent. His names Enzo.” She added, the smile still on his lips. “I’m pretty sure he’s just found another girl to flirt with and gotten bored of me, but I just want to check he hasn’t got himself lost in this mansion.” the blonde gestured around the place with a laugh. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine someone getting lost in a place like this.

“Oh, I know Enzo, we actually met a little while back. Strange guy.” Giovanni chuckled lightly, smirking to himself. He wondered for a moment if the blonde knew who her so called friend was. “I’m sure he’s fine, try not to worry too much. Maybe we should check the gardens first?” Giovanni pointed to the back door, flashing her yet another smile. The gardens would be private enough for what he had in mind. Plus, it was dark outside now, so the two would be able to slip away unnoticed.

Caroline couldn’t help but grin at that, relieved it would be easier to find Enzo with someone else that knew him. “You’re not wrong, he’s pretty weird. But he’s fun to hang out with, when he’s not ditching me.” Her eyes rolled at her last comment, nodding at his suggestion. “Good idea. The crowds are a bit much for anyone.” She took the lead, heels clicking against the hard floor as she opened the door, making her way outside first.  It was practically pitch black outside, difficult to see anything but the faint outlines of bushes in the garden.

As the blonde agreed to his idea on checking the gardens for her lost friend, Giovanni couldn’t help but smile. Luckily, the mask he wore hid the veins that were beginning to darken beneath his eyes, his bloodlust already starting to get the better of him. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air as the exited, Giovanni managed to gain a slight shred of self control back. The male shut the door behind the both of them, hoping to block out the sound of the screams that were going to come from the woman. Though, the music and the bustle of the crowd would likely hide it anyway. Watching as the blonde began to move out into the darkness, the veins beneath his eyes reappeared, fangs following suit. He stalked toward the woman, pearly white teeth glinting in the moonlight. “You know.. I always did admire how NAIVE humans can be.” The male hissed, eyeing the woman, tongue running over his teeth as he stalked closer to her, choosing to keep his mask on. “I always have said that I had a thing for blondes, they just taste oh so SWEET.” Giovanni wanted to scare the girl, he lived for the thrill of the chase. “This is the part where you run.” He lunged toward her, snarling aggressively.

As the silence of the night began to settle in Caroline couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. Something...didn’t feel right. Turning her heart fell to the pit of her stomach, eyes widening at the sight of the mans fangs. His eyes....they looked hellish, a colour she’d never seen before. “Oh my god....” she breathed, heart racing as she tried to take a couple of steps back from the stranger, fear running through her veins. It was like on the full moon...whatever he was, he wasn’t human. And he was dangerous. His words had her turning in her heels, grabbing the edges of her dress so she could lift the skirt constricting her feet from running. Adrenaline pumped through the blonde as she ran as fast as she could, a scream from the girl piercing the silence of the night.

Giovanni watched as the girl began to run, her screams echoing out into the night. His face contorted into that of a monstrous animal. He watched her run for a moment, calmly walking along behind her, his blood lust guiding him. The male used his enhanced speed to catch up with her, appearing in front of her. “Don’t be afraid sweetheart, it’ll only hurt for a second..” He murmured as he stalked toward her.

It didn’t seem possible, every inch of her body screaming to try and get back inside, to survive - and yet she knew he blocked her way back to the event going on, to the safety of people. His sudden appearance in front of her  had Caroline taking in a sharp intake of breath, body flinching, so much so that the dress she wore caught on a nearby bush, the thin fabric tearing ever so slightly. Staring the man down she tried her best to keep her breathing slow, failing as her chest rose and fell sporadically, watching as he moved closer. Gritting her teeth the teenagers hand balled into a fist, throwing as much strength as she had behind it as she struck the side of the mans face, trying to buy herself some kind of time.

Giovanni smirked as he saw the panic riddling her face. He could hear the pounding of her heart, her blood pumping through her veins. He wanted every single drop. A snarl then passed his lips as he drawled closer to her. A brow raised as her fist connected with his jaw. He growled, stretching out his jaw for a moment before then snatching her wrist, pulling her closer. “She’s feisty. I love a challenge.” Fangs exposed, the male glowered at her. Without another moment of hesitation, Giovanni sunk his teeth into the side of her neck, taking a deep drink. As soon as the metallic taste of her blood hit his tongue he held the girl closer, drinking deeper. He felt SO hungry. He didn’t want to stop.

Oh god. Panic riddled the girl as her punch did little to nothing to affect the creature standing in front of her. Not that she'd been hopeful, but still. A loud cry came from the blonde as he grabbed her wrist, feeling nothing but the tears rolling down her cheeks and the cold brushing against her skin before his fangs pierced into her skin, pain overwhelming her as her body froze in shock.

Giovanni carried on indulging, taking more and more of her blood as groans of pleasure slipped from his mouth. In that moment, the vampire didn’t care whether she lived or died, he just had to satiate his hunger. He clutched onto her weakening body, before then taking a breath, tipping his head back and allowing her blood to disappear down his throat with a roar. He then snapped his gaze back down to the woman in his grasp. “No.” The colour had drained from her face, and he began to panic. “No no no, NO” Giovanni had been having blackouts for quite some time. Lexi had been helping him, of course, but it was proving more difficult than the last few times this had happened. “I’m so sorry. I- I can fix this.” Giovanni lifted his wrist to his lips, teeth piercing the skin to draw his own blood. “Drink. You need to drink. It’ll heal you.” The male spoke placing his wrist to her mouth, his heart RACING from the sheer panic he felt in that moment.

The more he fed the dizzier Caroline felt, her body struggling to even keep itself upright as she felt herself grow weaker and weaker, eyes closing as struggled to keep conscious. Everything was black, the mans voice distorted in her ears until she felt skin against her lips. Trying to push away her body was too feeble to even move, gagging at the vile taste of blood filling her mouth and trickling down her throat, unable to do anything but swallow. A hand moved upwards to feebly hit against his arm, trying to get him to loosen his grip, to stop whatever this was.

Giovanni was in a complete state of panic, he’d messed up once again. He just hoped he hadn’t been too late to feed her his blood. The male didn’t want her death on his hands. “I’m trying to help you!” He shouted as the woman tried to fight him off. His heart pounded heavily against his chest as he continued to feed her his blood. Once he was sure that she’d had enough, he dropped her hand. Looking her over one last time, the male then disappeared back to the party, leaving her alone to recover from his vicious attack.

Caroline flinched at his yelling, tears rolling down her cheeks as she took a gulp, trying not to gag on the taste on blood in her mouth. As he moved back she gasped loudly, struggling to catch her breath as she tried to understand what was happening. But as quick as the attack had been, he was gone, leaving the blonde shaking, tears mixing with the blood smeared on her face.

[vegetacide]

Whump●tober - Isolation

Veg-notables:  ::crawls out from under a rock..clears throat as if nothing happened::  

Little late getting this one out due to...life...food...irritating biological need to sleep.. All that fun stuff.  

@gumnut-logic  - KOALA!!! 

Thunderheads, you guys are a riot.  I love reading your reactions to the crazy sh!t I’m putting these guys through.  I can almost feel the laser beams pointing at my forehead.. Tee he he.. Can defo feel the assault’mallows.. ::bounces one of  @gumnut-logic head::

Obligatory whumptober stuff: @whumptober2019 @la-vie-en-whump

Blanket warning:  stuff happens..  O.o; 

Characters:  Scott, Gordon/Penny, Colonel Casey 

Whumptober - TaG’verse

Previous post can be found HERE

7. Isolation

Enjoy…

oOo

Gordon scowled at the transparent 3-D rendering of his Godmother and resisted the compulsion to swear. Foul language wouldn’t get him anywhere with the formidable woman except disapproval from all those sitting within ear shot and a disconnected call. 

“Look,”  Gordon beseeched. “We need Scott back here.  Things aren’t looking good.”

“I understand the urgency,”  The commanding voice of the Colonel softened. “But this is out of my hands. He nearly beat a man to death and we can’t just ignore that.”

“Colonel,” Gordon voice raised as he pushed up from his chair, winced at a twinge in his back.  Fucking plastic torture device. A look from the attending at the nurses station had him gritting his teeth with frustration  “That so called man, has landed my brother in the ICU with a tube shoved down his throat to keep him alive.  At least Scott left that piece of shit still breathing. Which is more than I can say for Virgil. One of ours is rapping on death’s door. You’ll have to excuse us if we don’d give a royal flying fuck what the GDF wants right now.”  

The colonel visage soured as anger sparked in her gaze.  “No organization is an island, Gordon.”  

Gordon eye twitched,  well technically iR’s home base was an island…if the day hadn’t been so ‘arse over teakettle’ as Penny had occasion to say,  he would comment on that little tidbit.  Right now though, it wouldn't get them anywhere

“There are rules in place that have to be adhered to.” She went on. ”Laws, international ones put in place by the World Union that are not kindly suggestions no matter who the individual is or what the cause. He crossed, unauthorized into Canadian airspace without their foreknowledge or direct invitation and attacked someone on their soil. A dual citizen at that.  Yes, it was with provocation but it doesn’t excuse his actions or the handful of laws that he decided didn’t apply to him.”

“Really, with everything we have done? The lives we’ve saved? This is the response we’re gonna to get?”  His voice took on a pleading edge and he looked away.  “Aunty Val,  Virgil is dying.”

The authoritative posture dropped away from his Aunt with the utterance of those three words.. The sternness and anger evaporating to be replaced with the woman they had spent so much time with as children.  “Gordy,”  Her voice underlaid with a fount of  emotions. “I am doing everything I can. This is coming down from the top brass and the odds are stacked.”

Gordon’s expression must have revealed something the seasoned GDF colonel didn’t like because she sighed and gave a brief nod.  “I’ll call in a few markers. Shake some tree and see what falls out.

“Thank you,”  And his gratitude was real. His eyes held hers a moment before skittering away. A hand reaching up to dash away at his face before turning back. 

“I can’t promise anything.  If you have any options on your side I suggest you try them.” Her brow rose pointedly and it took Gordon a moment to understand what she meant.

As realization dawned, he tipped his head in a nod.  “I understand.  Thank you.”  

8-8-8

Scott's pensive stare drilled holes in cold grey, unadorned walls of the interrogation room.  He'd lost track of how long ago he'd been accompanied into this friendly little corner of GDF territory and shifted his weight on the hard, metal chair. Enough time for his legs to go numb from disuse.

The bright overhead panel lighting was unforgiving as it drove a spike through his brain when he rolled his head on his protesting neck. The tension unrelenting with the stark, searing luminescence frying his retinas. 

‘Note to self,’ he thought wearily. ‘Lights suck.’  

He wanted to yell and scream at the GDF to let him out but he knew it was pointless.  He was well aware of how this worked. Making a person 'sweat it out' was an old tactic. One he went through counter intelligence training for back in his military days.  A brief in-counter but one that was necessary prior to a rather sketchy mission that had a very small success rate. 

Let the suspect sit and stew so you could use their mental exhaustion against them.  Throw them off balance.  Then when they reached the point of critical mass, grill them hard.   

His stare shifted to the two way glass.  He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing himself crack.  He was too proud for that.  And his energies were best used elsewhere on other things.  Like getting back to his family...to Virgil.  

The image of the prone figure that flashed through his mind pulled Scott up short and he schooled his features. If he let himself go down that rabbit hole again he was done for.

It was his own actions that put him here and he would have to live with it. It didn’t stop him from yearning to be elsewhere.  Being cut off and not knowing how his family was fairing was slowly killing him but he’d made the decision,  against the colonel’s direct order not to intervene in their ongoing investigation.  

He hadn’t had a choice though.  As Virgil’s status got worse.. as he’d had to watch his family suffer along side...as he’d seen the look of despair pass over his sister, heard the sudden catch in her voice...his decision had been made.  

His family wouldn’t lose anyone else. Attend another funeral, bury another Tracy.   Not if he had anything to say about it.

Time had been short and a plan had been hastily thrown together.  One that avoided putting anyone else in harm's way bar himself.  

Now, thanks to him, the GDF had an illegal bio-weapon manufacturer under lock and key. The makings of a firm case against a criminal organization they hadn’t even known existed and a pocket ace up their sleeve to help them locate everyone involved… once he regained consciousness.  

And Scott had the intel he had hoped would help his brother.  Along with some he wished he didn’t.  

Closing his eyes against the unforgiving light,  he rubbed the bridge of his nose.  Irked as the cuffs that were secured to the metal table, which in turn was bolted to the floor, pulled at his wrist and forced  him lean forward to accomplish the task.

Doubt clouded his mind, made him second guess his every move. Question how things could have been differently and if they had been, would it have made a difference?  Would Virgil be safe? Or would it have just happened to one of his other siblings.   

He didn’t know.  

What he did know was that a greedy individual had panicked when things had gotten too hot. An unsanctioned, hidden bio-engineering lab had been rigged and to cover his ass when the top of the whole thing was about to be blown wide open, this scum had calmly flicked a switch.

No care given to human life.  To his brother’s life. 

A gas filled lab had been remotely unlocked to the smoldering remains just inches outside the door and his brother’s life was now dangling over a precipice with no way back.

Clenched fist came down hard on the metal table just as the interrogation room door opened.

8-8-8

 Gordon braced his hands on his knees and arched his back in the small hope that the crazy knot of muscles would loosen up.  He knew the likelihood of that happening was next to non existent without a muscle relaxant, heating pads and his bed but it was worth a try.

The hand that started rubbing slow circles from the base of his spine up to his shoulders made elicited a grunt of appreciation.  

“Thanks.”

“Darling, you need to get some sleep.” Penny’s voice was filled with worry and he looked over his shoulder at her.

She was perfect. In every aspect of the word.  From her finely boned, aristocratic face, to her intricately twisted champagne blonde halo of hair.  To the slender curves that held so much strength, right down to her Louis Vuitton clad feet.  Every inch of her was perfect and Gordon was goner from the moment he laid eyes on her.  

He didn’t deserve her and would never be able to even touch her regalness and intelligence but for some completely ridiculous reason she loved him.

And right now, he would forever be in her debt.  

“I’ll get some shut eye once Scott gets here until then it’s not going to happen.”

Penelope knew a set mind when she met one and she nodded her understanding.  “In any event, let me get you something.  You are a twisted knot of muscles and I can imagine it is dreadfully comfortable.”

Gordon’s lip tweaked up a bit in a soft smile and he shook his head.  “I’m okay, Penny. I need to wait to hear back from my contact at W.A.S.P.  They owe me one but I’m not sure it’s going to be enough.  If I take something now I’m going to be a useless pile of mush on the floor.”

“Well, that would certainly be something to see.” 

“I’m sure it would.  The hospital staff would be able to mop me up into a bucket.”

Penny lightly nudged his shoulder with her own and her hand continued its circuitous route over his seizing back. 

Gordon dragged in a breath as her ministrations melted some of the tightness, his head lolling forward in the quiet din of their private waiting room. He was flagging in a bad way and he knew he needed to get back up to his feet if he wanted to stay this side of dream land.  Besides the last thing his back needed was for him to fall asleep in one of these God forsaken chairs.  

Giving his head a shake to dislodge the cobwebs he caught the time on the old school analog wall clock..  He wanted to see his Virg but Kayo was in with him.  The idea of interrupting that intimacy was not something that he found very appealing. He would give her five more minutes  than he would offer her a break.  

Calculating if he had enough time to grab a coffee from the little shop the next floor down he patted his pocked down for spare credits. 

He was about to turn to Penny to see if she wanted anything when a sudden disturbance in the hallway had his head coming up sharply.   Frowning, he forced his back to unbend and pushed to his feet.  

Stepping out into the corridor, he was met with pandemonium as hospital staff raced passed.  The alarm blaring somewhere down by the nurses station made his heart skip a beat but it was  his sagging sister being escorted from a very busy and familiar room that had his lungs refusing to work.   

“Oh god...no…”

oOo

Next post can be found HERE

The Master List of prompts can be found HERE

[kuriquinn]

Can you write about team 7 going through puberty 😆

The Springtime of Our Lives

Disclaimer & Other Warnings

Author’s Note: I completely forgot I had started this one. Maybe because it’s not finished? (Another story that started out short and then became a three-parter, haha!) Anyhow, here’s the beginning of this prompt, the next two will be forthcoming…hopefully within the week? We’ll see how I’m feeling :P

Part I: Flowering Time

The latestmission is a complete snafu.

Team 7 is sentout to help watch a shepherd’s flock after he and his entire family come downwith a debilitating flu. It’s lambing season, when thieves and predators stalkthe herd, and so the Hokage saw fit to send a genin squad to keep an eye out.

It should havebeen a simple mission, something which Naruto complained loudly about the wholeway there. It turns out, though, that watching sheep is more difficult thanexpected, and not for the difficulties common sense might suggest. In fact,sheep have an innate genius for self-inflicted harm. The beasts are too stunnedto file through an open gate, but apparently have an inventive talent forgetting themselves killed.

Sakura and therest of her team spend three days following the woolly demons to keep them fromwandering off high bluffs, choking themselves on low-hanging branches or treeroots, and poisoning themselves on toxic plants. They almost lost one todrowning, and at some point, Naruto came up with the bright idea to scare theminto running into their pen, instead starting a stampede.

And then therewas the wolf.

Everything just wentbad after that, Sakura thinks with a wince.

Everythinghurts, from her eyelids to her breasts.

Not thatthey’re really breasts. She canbarely see them when she examines herself in the mirror at night, wishingjealously for the same chest growth-spurt that Ino has already experienced. Still,they ache enough to make their existence known. Almost as much as the stabbingpains in her abdomen.

I swear, if I caughtsome bacteria or bug while tramping through the mud and sheep crap, I am goingto kill Kakashi.

All Sakurawants to do right now is curl up in her bed and sleep.

Somehow,everything is rubbing her the wrong way right now. Her hands sting hotly,sweat-covered and yet chapped, and there’s a blister blooming beneath the ball ofher left foot. Every crevice of her feels too hot and damp and chafing. It’s as if she’s far too bigfor herself, and she is far more conscious of the smell of her body than shewould like.

I need a shower like right now, she decides vehemently, and wonderingin silent horror if her teammates can smell her.

Almost themoment this fear rises up, Naruto calls her name suddenly.

“Oi! Sakura, you’rebleeding. Why didn’t you say you were hurt?”

Their littletravelling quartet come to a stop. Everyone is looking at her in curiousconcern, while Sakura blinks at the sudden attention. Her other two teammatesfollow the line of Naruto’s gaze, and Sakura can do nothing but follow theircue, glancing down to see what everyone is staring at.

A red-brownstain spreads across her tunic several inches beneath her navel.  

She isconfused, because she hasn’t noticed any wound to cause the blood. Going overtheir adventures that morning, she doesn’t recall any instance that could haveinjured her in such a way. She glances over at Kakashi, whose sharp eyesexamine her with experienced gravity, and then peeks at Sasuke, who seems asconfused as she is. His eyes flit over her with a curtness that doesn’t quitehide concern, and then they widen with something close to realisation.

A beat later,his cheeks go red; she can’t understand his look before it snaps away.

“Ah,” Kakashisays quietly, like this is something he was expecting.  

Later, Sakurawill be embarrassed at the several moments it takes for the small, blossomingstain of red-brown to make sense, and the additional time it takes for thesignificance of its location to set in. When it does, she experiences a jolt toher heart and the tingling sensation of her cheeks losing blood. Consciousnessof her body’s various sensations all rush back to her then, the cramping painthroughout her pelvic area, the damp sensation between her legs and up acrossher tailbone, the vague nausea—

She’s nevergone through it before, but she knows without doubt what it is.

It’s herperiod.

Sakura isfinally menstruating after waiting on it for ages, and she didn’t notice because the aches and pains of theirmission masked it. She experiences a bizarre compulsion to laugh at that—

Hah! And Ino doesn’teven have hers yet! She’s gonna be so jealous that I’m awoman first, Shannaro!

—beforeanother realisation crashes into her.

She’s gottenher monthly bleeding in front of her three teammates.

Her three male teammates.

Two of whomare the absolute last people she would want to know about this, because one isthe boy she’s utterly in love with and the other one is Naruto.

Sakura yelpsand vaults into the tree-lined path, away from them and ignoring the shouts forher to return.

She doesn’tstop until she finds a shaded bush off in the distance, where she candiscreetly try to deal with the problem. A swath of bandages in her med kitserve as a makeshift pad within her underwear to stop some of the flow, but herclothing remains saturated. There’s no scrubbing the blood from the front orback of her tunic.

Why? Why? WHY?!

She knocks herhead against a nearby tree, as if that will keep the hot blush from her cheeks.Tears gather in her eyes, as much out of mortification as her growing awarenessof just how much her abdomen hurts.

Several yardsaway and out of view, she hears a familiar cough and cringes.

“Will you bealright, Sakura?” Kakashi asks, calm as usual. He’s very good at keeping anyinflexion out of his words, but she saw his eyes before she fled. He is notcomfortable with this.

“I…I’ll befine. I’ll be right back,” she sniffs, hoping she can keep from crying; that’sall she needs right now is to have puffy eyes on top of this! What would Sasukesay?!

“Sakura, youhave nothing to be ashamed of,” Kakashi goes on, and she winces, expecting himto transition into an awkward talk about the ‘mysteries of her body’ the wayher mother did. “Have you gone through this before?”

“…No,” shewhispers.

“Do you needme to explain…?”

“No!” sheyells that before she can stop herself, and then in a quieter voice she adds,“I know what to do. My…my mother told me. And we…we had a class.”

“Alright.” Hesounds relieved. “Then you also know that you have to report to the hospitalwhen we get back to the village? All shinobi must be on some form of birthcontrol for field missions once they…once the time is right.”

“I know that,”she retorts, tone short as she hugs her elbows to herself in embarrassment. She just wants to be done with this!

“This is notsomething to be ashamed of, Sakura,” Kakashi tells her gently, and she realisesshe spoke out loud.

She clenchesher eyes shut, humiliated.

“I know, Iknow! the miracle of life and now I’m a woman and all that! I already know allthat, Kakashi-sensei, so please—”

“It’s not justthat,” he interrupts. “Think of it as your body’s way of conditioning you.”

Sakura pausesat this, having never had it put that way to her before.

The woman whotaught her and the other girls about the menstrual cycle explained it in softterms such as ‘moon time’ or visits from ‘Little Miss Strawberry’, a time ofher body weeping because it had no child. That it was a sign of a woman’sweakness that needed to be overcome by ignoring both the pain and crudeness ofit.

Her ears perkup. “Conditioning? Like training?”

“Exactly,”Kakashi says.

Sakura pauses,and then cautiously comes out from behind her hiding space to consider herinstructor. He is lingering against a tree, casual and unimposing, and keepinga respectful distance.

“What do youmean?” Sakura asks, taking a tentative step forward, though the bushes stillobscure her lower body.

“You arecapable of handling greater discomfort than either Sasuke or even Naruto willever be able to do,” Kakashi tells her. “Considering the pain both of them havehad in their lives already, that’s rather substantial.”

Wait, what?

“As kunoichi,you’re expected to meet all the same standards as male shinobi—and that’s whileenduring a regular pain that men never can,” he continues. “That makes youstronger in many ways.  And that’s noteven referring to those women who choose to become mothers. They’re in acategory of their own. That magnitude of strength was never meant to be asource of shame; if it was, it would not have been a function necessary tohuman survival.” He cocks his head, meeting her gaze. “Don’t you think?”

“I-I…”

Sakura’sthoughts stagger together at that, because it makes the kind of obvious sensethat she feels silly for not considering earlier. If she hadn’t had peopletelling her from childhood that this was the sort of thing she had to hide orbe worried about others knowing, she might have reacted to its occurrence withmere curiosity. Or shrugged at it as a quirk of the female human body.

Even hermother, in her sympathetic way, told Sakura that it was a woman’s task toensure no man knew if she was undergoing her ‘flowering time’.

“Men areuncomfortable about this sort of thing,” Mama informed her when Sakura was theage to start asking questions. “So, it’s better to only talk about thesematters with other women around.”

Girls atschool always talked about accidentally bleeding through their clothes with thesame severity of losing control of their bladder in public.

One of those things Ican control; the other, I can’t.

The notion isone she suddenly understands that not many people—even other women—are able tomake.

“Well?”

Kakashi isstill watching her face, the gleam in his eye suggesting he’s watching her cometo her important conclusion and glad that she has.

“Yes,” Sakuraagrees, and it feels almost like something invisible or intangible has settledirreversibly into place. “That makes sense.”

“I thought so,too,” he agrees. “I’ll tell my girlfriend that she’s incredibly smart.”

Sakura snortsat this. “Right. As if I’d believe youhave a girlfriend.”

“I do.”

“No offense,Kakashi-sensei, but no one who reads as much porn out in the open could get agirlfriend,” Sakura tells him. “Women have standards.”

Kakashi’s wideeyes suggest he is gaping at her, and then he sighs loudly.

“No respect…,”he sighs in a long-suffering voice, and glances up at the sky to judge thetime. “Anyhow, it’s getting late. We can either sit here in this bush forever,or we can get up and go home. I’m open to both, but personally I’d suggest thelatter, because at some point we’re all going to get hungry. And between youand me, I don’t trust Naruto not to try to kill and cannibalise Sasuke.”

“As if Sasukewould let him,” Sakura sniffs, automatically coming to the defense of theUchiha boy. Kakashi’s eyes crinkle a bit at that, and Sakura can’t help her owntiny smile. Then she exhales and steels herself: if she can handle walking backinto Konoha with blood seeping through her clothes, she can do anything.

This is not something to be embarrassed about.

Besides, maybeeveryone will just think I was wounded on the mission, she adds insomething too false for hope. It’s very obvious where her bleeding is comingfrom, so she’s not especially confident about that possibility. Come on! Just suck it up and go!

Of course, asusual, it’s easier to brave in her head than it is outside.

Kakashiperhaps notices her hesitation, because he suddenly shrugs out of his flakjacket; a red spiral tattoo stands out starkly against the pale skin of hisbicep. Before she can comprehend his puzzling action, he pulls it inside-out bythe sleeves until only the dark-blue interior shows and holds it out to her.

“Your choice,if you want,” he tells her, and Sakura gratefully accepts.

I’ll be brave aboutbleeding through my clothes some other day, she decides as she wraps the jacket around herwaist; the sleeves hang across her front in a way to obscure the stain there. Just…not today…

She feelsthat, considering the misadventures with the sheep, she is totally justified innot feeling very confident right now.

“Let’s go,”she says at last, fighting against the nervous tremble in her voice as shestands up.

She tries notto feel so very conscious of the feeling of her thighs rubbing and the waddedpad of linen between her legs.

Sakura tiptoesout from behind the bush and heads back to the road where Sasuke and Naruto arewaiting. They’re loitering noticeably, and when she gets within three feet ofthem, the three preteens look at each other and then quickly look away.

Kakashireturns and says, “Let’s get going, kids,” and heads onward. In uncomfortablesilence, his students follow him.

While theycontinue their walk, Naruto sneaks glances at her, oddly tense. Sakura suspectsKakashi explained to him what was going on before he came looking for her. Theblond boy looks unsure if he’s grossed out or intimidated or in awe of her, andso has settled for rude staring.

As if he has any business staring at me?!

Sakura isabout to reach over and punch him for it, when he swivels suddenly and demandsof Kakashi, “Hey, Kakashi-sensei, did that tattoo hurt? I wanted to get one forbecoming a genin, but the stupid old man doing the tattoos said it hurt toomuch for kids. I told him I could take it, but he didn’t believe me. Maybe ifyou put in a good word for me…?”

The babble islouder and more noticeable than usual, the way forced conversation tends to be,but it’s a step back to normal. Sakura relaxes a bit, glad that Naruto isn’tgoing to be his usual tone-deaf self and start asking a bunch of embarrassingquestions.

It’s hard tobe completely at ease, though, especially as Sasuke doesn’t even look at her.That makes her already shaky confidence waver. What if this embarrasses him somuch he can never look at her again without remembering her bleeding throughher clothing?

But then whileNaruto starts to describe the tattoo he wants (a robot fighting a giantlizard), Sasuke suddenly speaks: “Ginger.”

“Huh?” Sakurasays for wont of anything intelligent to say.

“Ginger tea,”he clarifies, not looking at her but, is she imagining it, or is the back ofhis neck red. “My father always made my mother ginger tea when she was… Iteases the pain.”

“I…yeah, mymother says that, too,” Sakura replies shyly, cheeks warming once more. It’s sorare that he talks about his family, that she almost forgets what he’s makingreference to.

“It’s alsoeasier to find than something like dark chocolate if we get assigned a longmission away,” he continues. “We should all stock up.”

He quickenshis pace then, putting distance between them and an effective end to any furtherpossible conversation.

But the restof Sakura warms at that. Though she knows he is simply taking this all in hisusual logical stride—a member of his team experiencing monthly bouts of paincould affect their mission—it’s still a show of Sasuke’s concern.

It almostmakes up for him having witnessed the most embarrassing moment in her entire life.

Almost.

つづく

Hopefully you enjoyed it!

I wasoriginally going to have this be a short one-shot with each of our team members goingthrough a different, humorous challenge. But while I was writing Sakura’s bit,I started to move away from the humour theme and started to tap into an annoyanceI’ve always had about how people talk about girls going through puberty. Womenare shamed about their periods from long before they even have them,conditioned to hide them and feel guilty when they accidentally bleed throughtheir clothes or are too pained by cramps to go outside. And heavens forbid theyeven mention it within the hearing of a man, for goddess sake, hissensibilities! *gasp*

So, this fic sort ofevolved into a three-parter dealing with the not-so-fun bits of puberty in amore informative, open-manner. If you want to see me write the funny side ofpuberty, check out Walk a Mile. I’llbe dealing with it there. For this 3-parter, though I’ll examine the emotional andphysical toll it can take on kids going through these changes, especially in amixed-group setting. That’s not to say there won’t be any humour, but that’s not going to be the focus. I hope that’sokay, since the prompt didn’t specifically require humour…

Anyhow, that’s my long-ass postscript. Until next time!

(Next Chapter)