#sasuke and naruto show us what happens if they had been able to care for each other

[colorisbyshe]

This post is just making me think of the actually very sloppy yet SO well done use of parallels in Naruto.

Like, the parallels in Naruto are always, always heavy handed.

Naruto is Jiraiya. Sasuke is Orochimaru. Sakura is Tsunade.

Naruto is Hashimada. Naruto is Madara.

In that one scene, Naruto is Haku. Sasuke is Zabuza.

Sometimes, Sasuke is Kakashi but also Naruto is Minato... who was Kakashi’s mentor. (Despite Sasuke being Zabuza who was Haku’s mentor/abuser.) Sasuke is Kakashi but Naruto is never really Obito (except for when he is) but Sakura is kind of Rin.

And I could go on, really. Just with paralles with Naruto and Sasuke (and sometimes Sakura) to other characters and other character relationships.

But, the thing is... none of these parallels ever really make sense besides maybe Hashimada/Madara. These parallels are largely surface level. Except for one thing... all of these people and relationships ended tragically, dooming Sasuke and Naruto from the start. Fate said you are Team 7, you are Senju and Uchiha, you are born into enemy lines but Sasuke and Naruto are proof of that fate being defied.

Their bond, their love, their trauma bonding endured what those before them couldn’t. Their bond healed wounds that weren’t even theirs and gave redemption to people long gone. They are liberation from the cycle of despair.

They have broken the chains their ancestors, teachers, and enemies have put onto them. Their love is greater than any bondage put onto them.

And... that’s how you accidentally write one of the best love stories of all time

[ghoste-catte]

I'm on my hands and knees asking you about your favorite gaalee moments (spin offs count bc why wouldn't they)

Anon ... I'm sorry I took a while to answer this for you, but it's because you activated my trap card. But without further ado ... here are my top 10 GaaLee moments.

(My 10th pick and rationale beneath the cut)

The Drop Kick So, I feel like we don't talk about this kick often enough. Because this is actually the first time anyone draws blood on Gaara (we see the scratch on his face once his head pops back up). As much time as was given in canon to Gaara's reaction to Sasuke drawing his blood, I don't really understand why Lee being the first to cut him wasn't as big a deal.

The Primary Lotus This is ... probably the first time Gaara's been touched hand-to-body in years. I've written a few times (and shout out to @egregiousderp for their hand in this headcanon) about how this was probably the first approximation of a hug that Gaara had since Yashamaru. He replaces himself with a sand clone halfway down, but for the initial drop, that's just Lee holding him.

The Rescue I wasn't able to find my favorite screenshot from this moment, which is the one where Gaara's sand is rushing to save Lee and it kind of looks like a heart, but anyway, I just love this pivot. The fact that Gaara uses the very weapon he used to crush Lee's dreams to save him. The way Lee still tries to be an equal partner in this fight despite his injuries. The "I don't hold a grudge!"

The Talk This moment means a lot to me. It's a deep conversation to have, and it's one that happens on two levels that I think aren't fully addressed by the narrative. Of course, on the surface, they're talking about Kimimaro and Orochimaru, but the subtext goes something like: Gaara: Even if people love me, I'm still a monster. All they would need to do is be desperate and lonely enough, and I might seem like a good choice. Lee: The fact that people love you proves you're not a monster! Obviously Gaara gets the final word in this conversation, but I do like to think it sinks in later on and influences their relationship in the future.

The Walk Home I hate that we only get to see this in flashbacks in filler episodes (although we do get to see it twice from two different perspectives!)

But I love this moment because of the way that Gaara chooses to carry Lee: he slings him over his shoulder with one arm. If you go back and watch Gaara and his siblings returning to Suna after his fight with Naruto, that's exactly the way first Kankuro, and then Temari, carry him when he's wounded.

This moment is during that time where Gaara's still learning how to be a person and not a weapon, and the fact that he chooses to carry Lee with such care … it feels relationship-defining.

6. The Eighth Gate That flashback that Gaara has to Gai and Lee's relationship shows that he's really internalized the defining impact Lee had on his life. The genuine care and concern that he looks at Lee with in that moment despite Lee's stubborn insistence that he won't be sad makes my heart ache for the both of them.

7. The Retreat If you've ever read one of my fics that's set during the war and notice that I mention Gaara carrying Lee around on his sand, this is what I'm talking about. I love that Lee sees the sand as an unequivocal source of safety instead of threat at this point (to the point of entrusting it to carry Gai-sensei in his frail state). And I love that this seems to be Gaara's default way of pulling Lee out of danger ... it's at least the second time he's done it, after all:

8. Gaara-kun! This was one of The Moments for me. We as a ship had been speculating so long about the degree of intimacy of Lee and Gaara's relationship. We'd spent, I think, a decade at this point writing fics where Lee called Gaara "Kazekage-sama". Then the Perfect Day for a Wedding arc dropped, and here's Lee calling Gaara "Gaara-kun" just like he does the rest of his friends ... wind was blown into the ship's sails on this day.

9. The Double Date Gaara and Lee go on a double date with Tenten and Kankuro to Ichiraku Ramen. This is canon. 'Nuff said.

And now, for number 10 ... drumroll please ...

10. The ILY I know, I know - those handsigns don't mean the same in JSL as they do in ASL. But my little hard-of-hearing heart can't help but see Lee shooting double "I love you"s at Gaara in this moment. And even if he's not, the starry eyes and blushy cheeks say it all. This is flirting, y'all.

[littlemonstert-blog]

Explaining What I Shouldn't have to...

My Aynalsis

People act like this explanation came out of nowhere when it was literally right in our faces.

Since there only so many panels I can add i might even do a mini part 2

Yes Naruto reasoning for his crush on Sakura was because his rivalry with Sasuke.

Let's started from the beginning where the author set of the dyanmic between team 7.

This is how

Had it from the very beginning

"Sakura a cute girl i like alot" like this is it. So basically from the start from what we know she's cute. That's it

then introduce sasuke already we seen they already know each other.

People tend to "call cap" like there isn't a whole ass chapter explaining the ONLY reason why he even liked her in the first place. Chapter 3

" All I want is for you to acknowledge me." Naruto really took this up as a competion to go out of his way to make Sakura dislike Sasuke.

He did in certain ways at time saw sakura a trophy in a competion.

How did people take this seriously. A immature boy who grew up without parental guidance.

Chunnin Exams

Chapter 37

For somebody who as a crush on Sakura he much more worried about Sasuke having the attention then rather Lee who's blowing kissing & asking her out on a date.

"Always Sasuke"

Forest of Death

Chapter 57

Don't even get me started on the forest of death that the real kicker for me.

in the dream sequence we finally get to see how Naruto wants to one up Sasuke & Sakura as the trophy

And when Naruto wakes up not asking about her injuries but... about her hair.

Chapter 74

Ya' know this could been a true moment between the two, but Naruto doesn't really care. Always turns to be comedic relief nothing to take seriously.

(This is how sum up there 'moments" could have been romantic but ends up as a joke because the author never takes them seriously.)

Naruto vs Gaara

Chapter 129

'What are we suppose to do?"... Now, thats not something you say when the girl you like is in danger of dying.

It took Sasuke throughout this chapter to remind him to do something.

In contrast with other characters there's no questioning what to do. Naruto does two things; will get super mad and go berserk if you mess with Sasuke or Hinata regardless of what point you read in the story

After the Tsunade arc

chapter 172

Now, people say he was sad because how Sakura ran up to. No form this panel Naruto sees that Sasuke was at peace that why we get that "sasuke..you..." he's been through then decides to leave.

If naruto was all that upset about it we would have gotten a flashback to the scene. But then here we are again with Naruto & Iruka eating more concered if Sasuke will become a chunin chapter 172

Then went back to see sasuke smiling as if nothing happened

Even after this to prove my statement he still wants to check on Sasuke & his wellbeing chapter 173

The promise

chapter 183

Seen people say Naruto was truly heartbroken during this. Which is not true Naruto always knew Sakura has feelings for Sasuke. If it was that they would have had a flashback to the hospital scene. In truth Naruto understands her too and is hurt because he cares about Sasuke leaving too.

After Pein Arc

In this scene it just shows us how they just incompatible they are. Never being able to console each other ( other then when it comes to sasuke) when it comes down to it. Naruto needs cheering up to & I understand Sakura needs it as well because Tsuande is her teacher.

Naruto never paied attention when Sakura has been feeling down unless it possibly about Sasuke.

If it isn't Team 7 mission related or Sasuke what do they honestly talk about? I've never see them bond about anything else. When it comes down to it there friendship has always been rocky.

The kage summit arc

The Promise

Chapter 457

What we've all been waiting for

Here we have it brought up again the conversation between Naruto & Sai

Couldn't keep his promises... Not only did he not answer the question we have the next time when it's brought up again.

Chapter 470

"Doesn't matter about the promise." I want to save Sasuke for my own sake."

Naruto telling her it doesn't matter if there a promise between them and if he never made he still chase after Sasuke....

Then what the hell is it then? This just tells us that his "feelings" for Sakura are shallow as hell and fading.

After this it's never brought up again. Normally if the girl you love did a fake confession like this be heartbroken & could never see them again.

But, Naruto acted as if this nothing ever happen. It's never brought up again.

If he really wanted Sakura wouldn't he have ask his mother advice/tips on this?

Looking back

Chapter 693

you have Sakura confess again right in front of Naruto & he isn't even fazed nor cares by it.

Chapter 691

At the end Naruto still doesn't even mention her to his father at the end.

At the end of it Naruto still doesn't know a damn thing about romance or girls. Why would he? Honestly an orphan at birth will be ignorant to certain situations. Just look at how long it took for Naruto to understand Sasuke.

but the question is when did Naruto start to grow up & mature?

I'd say it the time Jiraya died that when he truly grew up & matured.

May revise when I feel like it.

[panharmonium]

sometimes (always) i sit around and think about how kakashi, specifically, is the one who sails in at the last moment to stop sasuke from using chidori to kill the only two people he’s ever been able to call his friends.

it’s more than just a teacher showing up to protect students in danger.  it matters that it’s kakashi, specifically, who grabs sasuke’s lightning-swathed wrist and forcibly wrenches him away from making the worst mistakes of his life.  it matters that it’s kakashi, specifically, who stops sasuke from having to live with the kind of agonizing regret that kakashi himself, blameless though he was, has been tortured by for years.  

kakashi, in his capacity as a jonin leader, has always been defined by the declaration he makes to himself at the end of the anbu arc - “whatever happens, i can’t allow a tragedy like that to occur again with a new generation of shinobi.”  everything he does is done with the explicitly articulated goal of never letting another child suffer the same way he did, or die in the same horrifying, senseless way as his own friends and family.  stopping sasuke from killing naruto and sakura isn’t just about preventing yet another needless death; it’s about preventing the creation of another young person who can’t sleep at night because all they dream about is their burning hand buried in their friend’s chest.  the protective action is multi-directional, springing from the same selfless roots as everything else kakashi does: i don’t want anyone else to go through what i went through.  i don’t want anyone else to live the life i lived.  

kakashi knows full well what’s it’s like to live with the knowledge that you killed someone you cared about, and even though what happened in his case wasn’t his fault, it almost destroyed him.  if sasuke deliberately murders one of his friends - kakashi knows it’s something he won’t ever be able to come back from.  that kind of mistake is a hole sasuke won’t be able to climb out of.  and even though sasuke left the leaf village a long time ago, kakashi, particularly at the beginning of 214, is still trying to preserve an avenue of return for him.  he’s still trying to save sasuke from doing something unthinkable, something that can never be undone.  

i often think back to what naruto says to gaara, way back at the end of the chunin exams arc, when gaara asks “why would you do this for anyone but yourself?” - and what naruto says in response is “because they saved me from myself.”  that’s what kakashi is doing for sasuke in these scenes, even if sasuke doesn’t acknowledge it yet.  kakashi isn’t just protecting naruto and sakura from sasuke; he’s protecting sasuke from his own worst impulses.  at the most catastrophic of moments, kakashi averts disaster and arrests sasuke’s most self-destructive urges, stopping him from making a mistake he can’t take back, from doing something he’ll regret for the rest of his life.  and if sasuke ever does make it back to the light some day, it’ll be not only because of how deeply his friends believed that he could make it home, but because of how hard his teacher fought to keep him from destroying himself before he had the slightest chance of getting there.

[bmo-galaxy]

Okay but what if they kissed?

But just imagine that Naruto and Sasuke kiss at the end. An honest to god, square on the lips, absolutely intentional kiss. A kiss they choose, a kiss on purpose, a kiss that isn't comic relief or shock value. A kiss to explain what drove Naruto forward all these years. The kind of kiss that shows that even now, even after it all, they choose each other and came back to each other and never, ever forgot. A kiss that’s a promise and a fresh start. 

Just imagine, if you will, for a moment that Sasuke tells him to shut up and Naruto peels himself from the rock, turning with fire in those blue eyes. The same way they burn before a fight, prepared and focused. Those blue eyes have always been Sasuke’s undoing, reflecting only the earnest truth. Every one of Naruto’s emotions is broadcast in those vast oceans. A strong, steady hand shoots out to fist in Sasuke’s shirt and raven is sure he's about to get headbutted again. Naruto wretches him up and leans real close and Sasuke is waiting for the crack and the pain. A pain that never comes.

The kiss isn't soft or sweet or sentimental. Its all sharp edges and teeth and desperation. A peak into Naruto’s soul, a glimpse at his pain, a taste of his anger. Just as quickly as it starts, the kiss is over. Naruto pulls away with a gasp, sapphire eyes fluttering open. All the fierceness and fury deflates from Naruto and the blonde’s shoulders sag. His fist is still gripping Sasuke’s shirt, but it loosens until it sits flat against the Uchiha’s chest, right over his heart. Eyes falling closed, Naruto basks in the steady beat against his palm. You’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive and you’re here.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to do that," Naruto admits this in a husky whisper before he can stop himself. Disbelief colors his tone and the blonde shakes his head like he can't believe this is happening. “This is like a dream,” he continues, still quiet and heartfelt. A part of the blonde is embarrassed and wishes he would shut up, but Naruto is just too tired. Mind, body, soul; every bit of him is exhausted, but more than anything, Naruto is weak with relief. Leaving his tongue loose and his inhibitions lowered. 

Sasuke struggles for words, struggles to breathe, struggles to understand. Where was the strike, the anger, the hatred for everything Sasuke has done? Why does Naruto look so fucking happy? Bloodied, mangled, black and blue and beaten. Sasuke will never apologize for his actions, standing by hatred for the Leaf and his dedication to his late brother. Naruto, though... 

Naruto, who followed him to the ends of the earth. Naruto, who never gave up on him, even when everyone around him did. Naruto, who stood up to him over and over, proudly proclaiming to be his friend every single time. Naruto, who was prepared to lose his dream, his home, his life; and was prepared to do so smiling, just happy to have a future with Sasuke. 

Why, Naruto? Sasuke implores silently, watching happy tears streak down the blonde’s cheeks. Why, why, why, why--

"Why?" Is all that Sasuke can think and all he can get past his lips. The one great mystery: why would someone like Naruto, now surrounded by love and praise, chase after Sasuke so relentlessly, the one person determined to cut their ties entirely? Naruto looks up at him with sparkling, vast blue eyes that don't hide anything. A clear, cloudless sky. Every corner of Naruto is laid bare in front of Sasuke, who resists the urge to turn away. Those damn blue eyes have always been Sasuke’s undoing, the one thing consistently able to shakes Sasuke’s resolve and fill him with yearning. 

"Don't make me repeat myself, you know why," Naruto chuckles, bashful and blushing now. He scratches his cheek and glances away. "I figure that made it pretty obvious."

Sasuke almost smiles, almost relents his intense stare, because he does know. Far as he tried to run from the truth, he does know why Naruto did all of that. Just like he knows why he was never truly able to sever their connection. Sasuke needs to hear it though, needs to hear the truth he's known for years and years. Why would Naruto do any of it other than-- than-- than--

"Why, Naruto?" And the blonde can tell that the raven is asking about much more than the kiss. Sasuke is asking about everything and Naruto only has one answer for that question. Naruto’s flush darkens, the anticipation and passion and intensity in Sasuke’s gaze is setting the blonde on fire. A wild, uncontainable hope flares in the fox’s chest, seeing all of his own desires reflected in Sasuke’s eyes. 

And Naruto would swallow thickly and say the three words he's always held in his heart, always believed in, always protected against anything.

"I love you," Naruto whispers and Sasuke’s heart stops, time stops, everything stops. There’s only Naruto and his burning sapphire eyes. "I love you, Sasuke. That’s why. That’s-- That’s always been why."

It’s the answer Sasuke expects and knows is coming but somehow still knocks the breath from the raven. There it is, the undeniable truth neither had ever uttered out loud. The truth Sasuke hid from. The truth Naruto never let disappear. Against all odds and by some miracle, Naruto loves him. 

Naruto loves me, Naruto loves me, Naruto loves me.

"I love you," Sasuke says like a prayer, whispered on the edge of his breath. Uttering the confession makes him feel faintly lightheaded and a breathless chuckle slips from his lips. "I'm sorry it took so long."

Naruto laughs, high and clear and beautiful. A pure sound that kisses Sasuke’s ears and soothes his soul. For a second, in this moment, everything feels alright. Naruto punches his shoulder gently, a fond and affection gesture that’s nothing like the blows they traded an hour ago. 

“I really must have rocked your shit for you to be apologizing to me,” the orange ninja teases, smiling brightly. Sasuke rolls his eyes at the comment, shaking his head slowly. Everything is different but nothing has changed. This is still comfortable, familiar, soothing. As if no time has passed at all. 

“I’ll make one exception, don’t get used to it,” he needles back. Naruto copies his eyeroll and fights down a giggle. There’s a beat of silence, a moment to bask in the glow. Everything they need is here and even though wounds ache, neither is rushing to locate their comrades. They’ll find us eventually, they both think silently, content to enjoy their moment alone. Naruto scoots a little nearer and Sasuke leans a little closer. One shaking, hesitant arm reaches out to wrap around Sasuke’s waist. The raven haired nin stills initially, survival instinct telling him to run run run before he gets hurt, or overtaken, or killed.

Naruto doesn't hurt him though. Despite everything, in spite of everything, Naruto never hurts Sasuke. Naruto is safe, gentle warmth. Even his heaviest blows somehow felt like a fond caress. Naruto is just good, plain and simple. So, the raven relaxes into the embrace and wraps his arm around Naruto too. The embrace is awkward and sticky, both are covered in grime and sweat and blood, but they don't care. Trembling fingers cling desperately. Tear streaked faces press into necks and shoulders. Their last and first embrace, a new dawn breaking over them. Naruto’s mouth finds Sasuke’s ear and the blonde’s voice warms and deepens with all of his love and gratitude and relief.

"Welcome home, Sasuke."

A sob rises, rises, rises in Sasuke’s chest but he swallows hard to keep it down. It’s easy to remember the last person to say those words to him, easy to imagine his mother in the kitchen as he leaves for school. Everything has been darkness from that day, broken up by brief, startling moments of light. Moments with Naruto, working as a three man team and growing together. The dawn has broken and the warmth of Naruto’s sun is a beacon in the shadows, a breath of hope and fresh air after a long winter underground. 

"I'm home," Sasuke replies because it’s true. Naruto is home. Not his first one, but certainly his last. 

[kakaxhi]

Visiting Their S/O at the Hospital (hcs)

I didn't think I'd be doing requests so soon on this blog haha

Characters: Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha Warnings: mentions of minor injuries Word Count: 1.1k

• This man will be panicking as soon as he hears the word that you've been hurt. • He's lost so much already and the last thing he wants is to hear he's losing the one person who's brought him so much happiness. • Kakashi is relieved to hear you'll make a full recovery, the situation looking for then it was. • He's thankful for the privacy the two of you are given once the nurses leave. • He pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, sitting in a chair beside your bed. • His gloved gently takes yours as he waits for you to wake up. • By the time you do, Kakashi is fast asleep in his chair; Icha Icha book opened across his lap. • The sight alone is enough to bring a smile to your face. • You call out to him, your voice barely above a whisper from not using it for so long. • You squeeze his hand, enough to pull him out of sleep. • Kakashi wakes with a jolt, blinking rapidly at the harsh lights. • Tears threaten to spill when he sees you're awake. • He leans over you, pulling his mask down to give you a proper kiss. • "I thought I lost you." • You placed your hand on his cheek, thumb gently running over the scar. • "I promised I'd come back to you, didn't I? A few cuts and bruises are worth it if it means being able to be in your arms again." • Kakashi let out a soft laugh, a stray tear falling. • "Have I mentioned how much I love you?" • "I love you too, 'Kashi." • Kakashi visited you everyday until you were allowed to leave • And even when you home, he didn't let you out of his sight for another couple of days • Just enough to reassure himself you truly were okay

• Oh, Naruto. • This poor baby is going to be so worried. • He has it all planned to meet you at the gates to welcome you home with open arms, most likely take you to Ichiraku's for a lunch date. • He's so happy to finally see since you've been gone for a week; your mission taking longer then usual. • It's only when Sakura finds him his mood changes. • "Sakura, are you coming to see [Y/N] home too?" • "That's why I came to find you, Naruto. [Y/N]'s in the hospital." • Naruto is quiet most of the way there. • The only time he really speaks up is to ask Sakura if she knows anything about what happened. • "Unfortunately, the team [Y/N] brought along was outnumbered. No one could've anticipated it. I don't know the extent of any injuries though." • Naruto could only nod, he was hopeful things weren't actually too bad. • Nothing could've prepared Naruto for when he actually saw you. • He's see his fair share of injures comrades, been through worse himself but this is you, he's ready to go out and find the people that put you in here. • Sakura watches as Naruto pulls a chair beside your bed, hands trembling as he held your hand. • "I'll let you two be alone, if you need anything-" • "Thanks, Sakura." • Naruto gave her his signature smile with a thumbs up, but the tears streaming down his cheeks made it falter. • Naruto barely heard the door click closed before he broke down. • He knows a ninja is supposed to show control over their emotions, but something broke inside him as he looked over your injuries. • "I'd do anything if it meant we could switch places." • "Don't be silly, Naruto." • He sat up straight, watching as your eyes slowly opened. • His hand gently held yours, careful of your bandages. • "This isn't the welcoming home I expected, but I'm glad you're here." • "Glad to see you still have your sense of humor." • You smiled, running your hand over his cheek. • "I'm just glad I got to wake up to such a handsome face." • Naruto's cheeks burned a bright red, a smile tugging at his lips. • The conversations between you flowed easily, before Naruto noticed you were getting tired. • "Get some rest, I'll be by tomorrow with Ichiraku's." • He turned to leave, only stopping when you grabbed his hand. • "Wait, Naruto. Can you stay a little longer? Just until I fall asleep." • "I'll stay here all night if you want me too, believe it!"

• Sasuke never stayed too long when he visited you during the day. • It wasn't because he didn't care, but just the opposite. • The people who put you here were still on the run, and he checked everyday to see if there was something he could do to help or check in and see if they were found. • Each day you'd ask whatever friend was visiting you if Sasuke had been by only to be met with the same answer. • "He was by this morning, he'll be here tomorrow." • Each time they could see how discouraged you were you always seemed to miss him. • Thankfully, Naruto was one of your closest friends, and he made sure to keep your spirits up. • "Don't worry, I'll let Sasuke know how much you want to see him. I'll bring him here myself if I have too." • Sasuke grumbled to himself, hating for being late to see you that morning. • He stopped at the flower shop, pink tinting his cheeks when he saw Ino at the counter. • He was thankful she didn't bother saying anything, just a small message to say hello to you. • He quickly made his way to your room, surprised to see you sitting up in bed. • "Hey, you're up. Good morning." • He placed the flowers on the table beside you, replacing the ones from the day before. • "I wanted to actually see you today." • "I'm sorry, I know I should be here. I've been helping out with finding those ninja that put you here." • Your features softened, no one told you that's where he was during the day. • "Sasuke, you didn't have to do all that." • He only shrugged, sitting besides you as he held your hand in his own. • "I didn't have to, I wanted to. I already lost so much, I couldn't bear the thought of you being in here." • "And I appreciate you trying to help, but really, all I wanted was you to be here." • All Sasuke could do was nod, realizing he should've been by your side instead of plotting. • He sighed, turning toward you as he gently tapped two fingers against your forehead. • "Just don't scare me like that again, okay?"

[nejibaby]

Deja Vu

Pairing: Neji x Fem!Uchiha Reader

Summary: Hyuga Hiashi does not approve of your relationship with Neji.

implied established relationship. implied that neji has plans marrying.

Word Count: 2.8k

Memories - Part 1 | Deja Vu - Part 2

A/N: gotta say it started out cute but then bam angst sjdjdens i’m sorry i’m dramatic sumtyms 🤧 please let me know your thoughts 🥺

The Sharingan never forgets.

That’s among one of the few things that’s drilled into your mind as a child born in the Uchiha clan. Before you had even awakened your Sharingan, your late brother, Shishui, had already taught you this.

At a young age, you’ve always thought it was a blessing, especially to a shinobi like you. With the ability of the Sharingan to discern movements and to retain its information better than any other dojutsu, it enables you to progress faster than children your age.

Outside the shinobi life, however, it’s not really that useful, so it’s expected for you not to activate it at all. You don’t need to remember minor details of everyday life after all. But on some of your days off — on special days — although very rarely, you unconsciously activate your Sharingan when you’re with Neji.

It goes without saying that before the war, you’ve already gained quite a bit of control over the use of the Sharingan. You’re able to activate and deactivate it at will, although sometimes your emotions get the better of you and it messes your control. After the war, however, you’ve become adept at controlling both your emotions and your Sharingan, maybe even better than Sasuke.

But whenever Neji surprises you with affectionate gestures, you get so overwhelmed that you just can't control your body, and by extension, your dojutsu too.

No matter how hard you try, you’re unable to stop the blood rushing to your face. You’re unable to calm the violent thumping of your heart. You’re unable to get rid of the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You’re unable to prevent the Sharingan from activating. Especially on the rare occasions that he kisses the back of your hand tenderly after he walks you home, or when he kisses your lips before he leaves for a mission.

Neji isn’t good at romantic gestures, and so he keeps it to a bare minimum. But when he does these things, it always takes you by surprise.

He wouldn’t admit it, but he likes your cute reactions to his unpredictable acts. There’s always this short moment where your mind goes blank and your Sharingan manifests itself. This reassures him of your feelings for him because he knows he’s the only one who’ll be able to pull such a reaction from you. Not that he’s ever doubted you. You’ve always been so vocal about your feelings for him, after all.

On the flip side, while it embarrasses you that you can’t control your Sharingan when you’re with Neji, you like the way they activate themselves at those moments, as they’re able to help you remember the details of its aftermath — like the way Neji would always look down on the floor first before he meets your eyes, his cheeks tinted pink, and with the slightest upturn of his lips, almost as if he, himself, wasn’t expecting the onslaught of emotions that was brought about by his own actions. In mere seconds, you have all these memorized before he pulls away, and you play it over and over again in your mind until you’re branded with a new memory.

But the Sharingan is a curse as much as it is a blessing.

It’s a curse because it reminds you of the cruelty of the world. It doesn’t allow you to forget the scene of the Uchiha clan district after the massacre, even after knowing the true reason why it had to be done. It lets you remember the way you almost lost Neji from the Ten Tails’ attack during the war in his attempt to protect Naruto and Hinata.

And when Sasuke implanted Shisui’s eye to you, which he retrieved from Danzo before he annihilated him, the Sharingan lets you relive all his memories and experiences, and it paints you a picture of how unfair the world actually is, even more so to an Uchiha like you.

The unfair reality is further proven by an unexpected knock on your door a couple of weeks ago.

Hiashi. Hyuga Hiashi. The head of the Hyuga clan. Neji’s uncle.

He came to you with a deal, a proposition of sorts, but really it was just a threat in disguise as an offer.

“Leave Neji or else I’ll make sure he won’t be able to break free from his cage” is what he basically implied.

But to be precise, his words were, “The Hyuga clan is considering Neji to be the next heir, which would result in abolition of the main and branch family system altogether. Naturally, if he becomes the head of the clan, his curse seal will be removed, along with all the other branch family members’. However, there’s no telling if there’s going to be a change if he doesn’t get the position.

“You might have been keeping your relationship with him on the down-low, but the elders of the Hyuga clan know of it.

“To put it bluntly, we do not wish to be associated with the Uchiha in any way — so much that even disowning Neji has been put out there as an option, just in case — especially after what Sasuke pulled off after defeating the goddess.

“Moreover, if you were to bear a child together, there’s no telling what will happen to their kekkei genkai. It would be ideal to have him marry into the clan and follow tradition in order to preserve the Byakugan.

“I suppose you know where I’m going with this. It would be in his best interest if you call off whatever you have with him. Although this wouldn’t be a deal if there is nothing in it for you, right? Supposing Neji’s bright future is not enough for you, we are willing to arrange allowances of sorts.”

But before he could spout anything more, you cut him off by asking, “Does he know about this?”

“Not yet. But we’ll let him know soon enough.”

“Don’t. Keep it that way. I’ll handle this,” you told him, not caring if you didn’t sound respectful to a prominent figure such as himself. “I don’t need anything from your clan. All I want and need is for Neji to live a life that he deserves; a life that he was robbed off.”

Hiashi glared at you, offended by your words, but he didn't comment on it. Rather, he stared you down. His hardened expression morphing into suspicion the longer he looked at you; clearly he didn’t trust you. “How will you handle it?”

The only response he got from you is an intense stare with your Sharingan, and that alone was enough for him.

It’s frustrating to not have a choice, even when it comes to love, but in hindsight, you should’ve expected this. For all the troubles your ancestors caused in the past, it’s only natural for you to be this unfortunate.

Whatever blessing the Uchihas receive, it’s always paired with some type of misery. That’s just how it is, that’s how it would probably always be.

There’s no denying that in the end, it always, always hurts. But then again, you’re no stranger to pain and loss. And so is Neji. So surely, this would be for the best, at least that’s what you tell yourself over and over again in hopes that it will strengthen your resolve.

After all, Neji deserves a life where he doesn’t have to fear dying by the hands of the main branch family. He deserves a life where he can make choices of his own, without being tied down by his curse seal or his clan in general. And if leaving him means he’ll have all this and more, so be it.

As much as it is painful, it is hard, partly because of your waning resolve but especially because it’s Neji, who’s known for being an awfully perceptive shinobi. He’s almost never caught off guard, all the more when he’s with you, as he’s always keen on keeping you safe. Hence, you have to be meticulous and methodical.

The Sharingan’s ability to cast genjutsu is particularly harder to use against Hyugas due to their ability to see and sense the chakra concentrating by the eyes, enabling them to counter or avoid it entirely. Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami technique would’ve been quite useful, except you’re unable to use it yet because of the events prior to the war. Thus, you’ll have to rely on your own skills.

If timed right and casted properly, the genjutsu of the Sharingan has the ability to remove memories. To be precise, it can trick his mind into “forgetting” memories. But with years and years of memories between you and Neji, you know that you’ll have to cast it over and over again before everything will be completely wiped out.

You take advantage of the moments where Neji gives you affection, as you deem it the most subtle way to cast genjutsu on him without suspicion.

Although you have to admit, in the beginning you’ve been selfish, only removing memories of you and him that weren’t important — like the times he would accompany you in doing mundane tasks, or the times you both just lounge around after tiring missions. And because those are only minor memories, Neji is oblivious to the loss.

It gets exceptionally harder to cast the genjutsu once you’ve started erasing the major events in your relationship — the first date, the first kiss, the first time he held your hand, and the first time he introduced you as the love of his life. Until eventually, the affectionate acts dwindle down, and the only way you can use the Sharingan around him is when you ask him to train with you.

It’s only natural that the longer this goes on, the further you drift apart, and the more you lose him.

And it’s scary and painful because unlike Sasuke, Konoha has always been your home, but more specifically because of Neji. In fact, you can argue that Neji has always felt like home more than the village itself. You can walk the streets of Konoha but all it will ever scream is Neji’s name, and all it will ever show you is the memories you shared with him on every corner of the place.

The fact that you have to walk the streets without him is terrifying and foreign, and the only way you can avoid it altogether is by taking more and more missions, either the ones involving far away places or high rank missions that require every single bit of your concentration. Sometimes you even tag along to Sasuke’s expeditions to escape not only Neji’s overwhelming presence in the village, but also the thoughts of him.

It’s tiring and it’s heavy. But you’ve accepted the fact that you’re going to carry alone the memories for the two of you.

But this doesn’t go unnoticed by your friends, though they were quick to assume that things just didn’t work out between the two of you, and that you called your relationship off.

Ino is the first person to voice out her concern and her curiosity as she claimed it’s weird not seeing you hang out with Neji anymore.

“That’s just how it is, I suppose,” you shrug, trying to act nonchalant about everything despite the ache in your chest and the slight quiver of your voice.

She doesn’t comment further, thinking you probably didn’t want to talk about it.

But one day, when the whole clique — except for you and Sasuke — was hanging out, Ino can tell there was something wrong when Sakura asked if Neji remembered the time when you almost fell off a tree but he was there to catch you, and he furrowed his brows, saying he doesn’t recall that at all.

Break up or not, it’s highly unlikely for Neji to forget. Regardless of how minor something is, he always seems to remember them, especially when it involves you. And while he could’ve just been deflecting, there would’ve been no point in him denying that he remembers that occasion. Besides, Neji is blatantly honest, it’s one thing that you can count on when it comes to him, so really, how come he couldn’t remember that scenario at all?

This prompted Ino to observe Neji further out of concern and suspicion. She’d often find herself casually mentioning you and the feats you’ve both been through, but time and time again, Neji would tell her he has no recollection of those.

Ino wants to do something, anything really, just to clear her mind of suspicions, but she’s afraid she’s overstepping and interfering.

Neji takes notice of this. But even before that, he feels as though there’s something wrong, like something’s missing, but he doesn’t know what it is, and he doesn’t know what to do about it.

After all, genjutsu might’ve tricked his mind, but his heart is an entirely different case.

It comes as a surprise to Ino when Neji comes to visit her in Yamanaka’s flower shop, looking at your favorite flowers without a clue why.

With Ino being the only one who seems to be willing to talk about you with him, it’s her who he seeks out. That, and he thinks the Yamanaka’s mind jutsus could be of help.

Ino doesn’t hesitate to help after Neji asks for it. When she goes to explore Neji’s consciousness, the first thing that she senses is your chakra. The further she prods, the more she realizes that it’s you who have been tampering with his memories. Then she realizes that it’s genjutsu that you’ve used on him, and she quickly breaks him out of it.

You know instantly when the jutsu breaks, feeling as if there was a string that snapped, and it immediately renders you frozen.

Fear grips you as you think about how Neji would feel after his memories come back. Will he be able to tell it was you who did it? Will he be mad at you? Will you tell him the reason why you did it? Will he even listen?

But if he’d stop talking to you altogether… then that would still be a win, right? Because that’s what Hiashi wants, that’s what his clan wants. That’s the only condition for them to give back Neji’s freedom.

But is it worth it?

Is this what you want?

Is this what Neji would want?

You’d like to believe so. And that’s the last thought you have as the rogue shinobi you’re supposed to capture stabs a kunai deep into your gut.

Of all the times the genjutsu could have broken, it just had to be when you were facing a highly skilled ninja. It’s once again a reminder that life is unfair, but this time, it’s your choices that lead you to this.

Deja vu. That’s how you feel when you wake up after escaping death’s clutches once again.

You blink once, twice, and then you look around your surroundings. You’re back in Konoha’s hospital, but this time you don’t wake up to a sleeping Neji by your bed.

You’re alone, and you feel hollow.

But then the door to your room opens abruptly and you almost jump in surprise.

Your breath hitches as you find the familiar lavender eyes staring back at you.

He calls your name to you softly, as if in a trance, and you feel your heart stutter at how perfect your name sounds on his lips.

Before you know it, he’s by your side, gently holding your hands. With an untrained eye, it would seem that his face is void of any emotion, but from your years of experience with him, you can clearly point out the sadness in his eyes.

You break the silence by saying, “I’m sorry, Neji.”

“For what exactly?”

You look away in shame. “For trying to erase your memories of us.”

“Why’d you do it then?”

“Because…” you bite your lip. “That’s what’s best for you,” your voice cracks. “I’m not… We couldn’t— no — we shouldn’t be together.”

Neji gathers his thoughts, and it takes a couple of minutes before he speaks up. “The Sharingan may not be able to forget, but the Byakugan sees everything.”

And you understand what he’s trying to say: he can see through the lies you feed yourself.

Neji sighs, and it gets your attention. You peek at him, and only then have you noticed the bags under his eyes and the way his shoulders are slightly slumped.

He has always looked composed no matter the situation, but now he’s different.

“You used to tell me everything,” he says dejectedly.

The way he says it and the way he pleads with his eyes breaks something in you and you spill everything to him.

You’re crying and stuttering and you aren’t sure if you’re making sense. But Neji always, always understands you.

And by the end of your piece, you’re wrapped securely in his arms.

“You’re alright,” he comforts you. “We’re alright.”

“But Hiashi—”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

here’s some really good ideas sent on anon for part 3!

<If you have ideas too, feel free to send them in because i love receiving them 🥰 I’ll be linking them here too!>

[fanfictionismyescape]

I’m too late

Here’s a sad sasuke story. Poor guy really has it tough sometimes. 

I honestly don’t know what the angsty sad BS speaking to me an such a deep level. Oh well. Please enjoy!

Summary:  Sasuke was called back to the village when Sakura was fatally injured. Tasked with the decision to keep her alive with machines or let her go peacefully Sasuke tells Naruto about how pathetic of a husband he is and that he is too late to make things right.

"I'm sorry Sasuke…" Tsunade said as she tried looking anywhere other than at the man who was breaking into pieces right before her very eyes. "I-I'll leave you two alone. Whatever your decision is you won't be going through this alone." She told him as she turned around and walked away. 'We all will be going through this together.' The woman thought as she quietly closed the door.

As she walked away her heart felt heavier and heavier with every step. How can she call herself a Sanin when she couldn't even save her own student? Did she grow weaker in the past few years of retirement or was Sakura doomed the moment that poisoned blade pierced her skin? No... Sakura was the only one who would've been able to create the antidote. Tsunade was never the kunoichi Sakura was. Even in her prime…

As Tsunade turned the corner she saw the handful of people who were waiting for news. She could see a variety of different emotions on their faces. Some held hope for a positive outcome, some showed fear and others knew that no matter how many hours or days Tsunade worked on Sakura even she couldn't save their beloved friend. All Tsunade could manage was a solemn head shake. That did it. The ones who hoped for a better outcome fell to pieces and those who knew didn't show much of a reaction. They just seemed numb.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked. He couldn't believe this was happening he sent Sakura on a B class mission for her first one in a decade, to get her used to being in the field again. He blamed himself.

Tsunade sighed. "He is inside with her. I told him he had two options, he could decide to take her off life support or continue with care but I told him that the likelihood that Sakura would ever wake up is slim to none. Her whole system is being kept alive by the machines. It's just..." She was about to continue but she couldn't she was exhausted both physically and mentally. Working on Sakura for the past seventy-two hours took a lot out of her. Tsunade collapsed on the chair in the hallway. "I advised him that Sakura wouldn't want to be kept alive like this. Just seeing her in that state kills me…" She said slumping her shoulders, looking at the floor.

After a few moments of silence, save for the quiet tears and sighs Tsunade looked up expecting Naruto to go off on one of his passionate rants about not giving up but she could not see the blonde anywhere.

"He went to see Sasuke." Kakashi said quietly.

"Ah." She said in response.

In Sakura's room.

Sasuke was stuck, almost frozen. He's been in a trance for the past few days, ever since Naruto sent him an emergency summoning that said he was needed back and that Sakura was injured during a mission. When the Uchiha returned he expected to be greatest by his wife admonishing him for worrying and coming back when she was perfectly fine but that wasn't the case. When he returned he was ordered to go to the hospital immediately. He couldn't believe it when Shizune told him that Sakura was poisoned and they may not be able to find an antidote for her in time. He scoffed and pushed behind her and into his wife's room. What he saw shattered his being. There on the bed was his wife who looked so pale that he couldn't distinguish her skin from the bed spread of the hospital. He didn't know what to think. His first instinct was to go into avenger mode and demand to know who did this to his wife. To his Sakura. When Naruto told him that the attacker was dealt with Sasuke powerless. He didn't know how to replace his feelings. He tried to help but he had no talent in medicine. He felt utterly useless.

With each passing day Sasuke felt like his soul was getting weaker and weaker along with his wife's. He always held on to the belief that Sakura wouldn't give up, that she would keep her promise to never leave him alone. But I guess this is his punishment. He left her behind so many times but he never left her for good. He never died on her.

A few minutes after Tsunade told him that there was nothing more they could do for his wife Sasuke let the past few days of overwhelming emotion hit him all at once.

"Why…" He asked softly as he fell to his knees beside his wife's bed and held onto her cold hands. "Tch, I thought you said you would walk this path with me forever. How can you keep that promise if you die and leave me here?" He said out loud as he gritted his teeth as if she could hear him.

"Sasuke?" A voice called out to him.

The man didn't need to look up to know who it was.

Sasuke waited a moment before speaking out. "What do I do Naruto…"

It was quiet for a moment before he heard a noise beside him as Naruto grabbed a chair from the window and brought it closer to his best friends.

"I don't know…" He answered as he sat down. It was the truth. He didn't know. If it was up to him he would never pull the plug. He'd do everything to help whatever part of Sakura there was left but he wasn't her husband. He didn't have the same connection to her as Sasuke did. It wasn't his choice to bare. All he could do was lend a shoulder, act as a crutch for whatever decision the man made.

"I can't tell you what to do. You're her husband. You know parts of her that nobody else does. I'm just here so that you don't have to be alone."

Silence wafted into the room.

"Pfft."

"Hahahaha!"

"S-Sasuke… What the hell is so funny!" Naruto yelled. Crap this is it. The man finally cracked. (Again)

"Look at me…" He started trying to regain some composure. "Fourteen years of being married and I am finally playing the part of a concerned husband. Just when I have to decide whether or not to say goodbye to my wife forever… I'm such an idiot." Sasuke said with a self-deprecating smile. His voice was so soft and emotional that Naruto cringed. "I couldn't even show this level of care to my wife when she was here. What right do I have now when she's dying…"

"Sasuke…"

"Tch, I messed up Naruto… I did everything wrong. I spent more time looking for an invisible enemy when I should've been looking after my family… Why did it have to take losing Sakura to figure that out…"

"We all make mistakes, notice things too late…" Naruto said after a few moments of silence.

"It doesn't mean that we love a person any less if we are a bit late."

"I think I am a bit more than a bit late…" Sasuke scoffed.

"Sakura might not wake up Sasuke." Naruto started but had to stop because of the knot in his throat. "But Sarada is still here. She will need you more now than ever if things don't turn out right… She will need her dad and you will need her. She's the one thing that will always connect Sakura to you no matter how many years may pass…"

"N-Naruto is right…" A quiet voice spoke out from somewhere in the room. The voice sounded strained and foreign to the men. They both looked towards the door but found no one. They then looked back at each other Sasuke was about to ask what was that but when he noticed Naruto's face of utter shock looking passed him Sasuke turned around.

If Sasuke was ever speechless before this would take the cake. There on the bed she has been laying on for the past few days Sakura was staring right back at Sasuke.

"S-Sakura?" Naruto spoke.

When Sakura heard her best friend call her name she gave him the best attempt of a smile she could in her weakened state.

"H-Hai Naruto."

"S-Sakura…" Sasuke drawled out.

"H-Hi Sasuke." She said and then coughed. "Y-You shouldn't have worried so much to come home. As you see I'm fine." She smiled.

Sasuke was so stunned by what she said he couldn't think of anything else to say besides his usual greeting whenever he came home. "Tadaima." He said smiling and laughing with so much emotion as he leaned his forehead against her own.

"O-Okaeri Anata." She responded with a smile.

After recovering from the shock of seeing Sakura raise from the dead Naruto ran out to tell the others that Sakura woke up. Once hearing this Tsunade rushed passed Naruto, knocking him over and into Sakura's room but stopped short when she saw that Sasuke and Sakura was engaged in the purest embrace and act of love she's ever seen. Sakura was wrapped up in Sasuke's arms and Sasuke was holding onto Sakura was if letting go would mean losing her.

Not wanting to impose Tsunade quietly shut the door closed and stepped into the hall way.

"Well done Sakura…" She smiled. Knowing that the only was the pinkette could've woken up by herself was if Sakura willed herself to wake up. The old woman had a feeling she knew why Sakura decided to come back and she had a feeling it had to do with a certain raven-haired Uchiha.

[sneezemonster15]

I am new to Naruto fandom. Even newer to SNS fandom. I observed the shipping wars, and frankly, participated in it a couple of times. Just to see what it's all about. And I have come to one conclusion.

It's bonkers how far one will go to convince oneself about one's shipping whether it makes sense or not. At the end of the day, it becomes not really about the content itself, but one's comprehension and understanding of content. Which helps me understand why SS, NH, or NS stans exist. Their projection (which it certainly is) almost seems delusional and definitely inconsistent with the content itself.

When I first started watching Naruto, I wasn't aware of Naruto fandom. I am a cinephile and I am used to analysing content involuntarily while I am watching it. I wasn't expecting much from Naruto, I definitely underestimated it and wasn't expecting any emotional impact given it was shonen and I am very hard to please (yes, I am a film elitist). But as I kept watching it, I had to grudgingly change my opinion. By the time I reached Shippuden, I could tell that I was almost fevered with excitement and looking forward to more emotional impact.

I didn't watch it with any romantic lens, I was mostly interested in the fighting sequences initially. Hell, that's all I was expecting from a shonen show about ninjas. But at the end of vote 1, I was like, hmmm. What?? This was so emotionally wracking. Are they really just rivals, or friends? Now, I am a fully fledged cinephile and have watched a lot (a. Lot.) of LGBTQ films, given my interest in shows about emotional and sexual repression. And throughout my first watch of the first part, I kept picking up on the subtle sns moments without actively thinking about them. I was really into the story and wanted to see what will happen next. But at the end of vote 1, I had to stop and think, wait what, are they in love with each other? They are definitely not just friends. Or rivals. The language of their interaction in vote 1 is so fraught with underlying currents of repressed emotions that it just made the cinephile in me ask, what am I watching exactly? Like isn't it shonen (I am also relatively new to anime/manga) where gay relationships are a strict nono? Like why does it have all the tropes of repressed homosexuality in men, just like all the films I had seen. The way Naruto and Sasuke constantly gravitate to each other, their interactions at times feel like a borderline attempt at just staying close to each other, their violent, strong feelings and devotion for each other (land of waves arc) and then denial of those feelings (after the land of waves arc), their contant physical fights for no apparent reason, Sasuke goading Naruto for no apparent reason especially when Sasuke is not the type to talk without reason which had been made abundantly clear. Sometimes, it literally felt like he was flirting with Naruto (during the chuunin exams) while rejecting Sakura. Sasuke constantly appears to be caring and attentive towards Naruto while treating Sakura like trash. This was even acknowledged by Naruto who asks Sasuke to be nicer to Sakura. But Sasuke doesn't even think about it. He instead flirts (?) with Naruto. It made me think, why did the writer choose to do that? Why make it clear that in hierarchy, Sasuke keeps Naruto much higher than Sakura, so early in the show (when there hasn't been so much development either, we were mostly shown how they keep fighting and arguing with each other)? If they are supposed to just be comrades or friends, why pinpoint this? Why use this trope at all if it's about friendship, especially in a show that can't include a gay relationship.

And this kept happening consistently. The writer made the interaction between Sasuke and Naruto to be major turning points in the plot. Vote 1 fight made it clear to me that there was something more going on, but I didn't want to be presumptuous, so I kept it on the side and kept watching.

After watching Shippuden, I was convinced that none of it, was accidental. The writer painstakingly wrote a gay love story and was even obvious about it in a very clever way. Like he fucking got away with writing a gay love story in shonen. I know Naruto is basically a kids' show meant for entertainment purposes, but it touched so many important, dark and adult themes. I knew that it would be difficult for the writer to actually give a proper conclusion to these themes because they really aren't that black and white or even appropriate for children. So I wasn't surprised that he couldn't actually show peace being achieved after the war arc or slavery abolished in Hyuuga clan.

But one thing I was sure of. He wanted to show a gay love story, maybe out of a twisted sense of humor, I don't know. But that's what he did. He could not have made it clearer. He flagrantly used all the related tropes, visuals, sound, dialogues, hell the story. The fucking story...

He was so shrewd about it too. He made it so that people can take away whatever they wanted to take away from it as long as there was some plausible deniability about things that weren't made clear in the show itself. That fucking minx! But he knew that anyone who watches shit carefully, will be able to see what he actually did. He knew that at least some of us will be able to connect the dots. He went out of his way to make sure we connect the dots. There is no other way to explain why Sasuke repeatedly kept asking Naruto why he cared for him so much. There's no other way to explain why he concluded everything with the dialogue where Naruto explains that he hurts when Sasuke does. There's no other way to explain why that affected Sasuke to such an extent. Kishimoto went out of his way, like seriously, to tell the audience that they are Not just 'friends'. He basically used this friend thing with so much saturation and intent in such a twisted way that he made it into something else entirely. In that sense, the concept of 'friend' changed its meaning. Like you can try, but you can't change my mind about it.

Whether I approve it or not, but my takeaway from content depends mostly on the content itself. I do believe that more often than not, the simplest explanation is the right one. And this applies to the phenomenon of Naruto as well. Of course, as a viewer, I can't ignore that my suspension of belief relies on my own understanding of the external world and how I perceive visual language. But that is something that happens anyway, in tandem with consuming the content, while I was pretty much consistently objective about it.

I believe I have a pretty good understanding of how cinematic language works, and I know every creative or narrative choice has a reason and meaning behind it. Absolutely None of it is random. Cinematic language may not be universal in terms of styles, but all the styles definitely have a common ground. And any creator worth his salt knows it, he knows how his content will be perceived and what it is exactly that he wants to show or say. Do not delude yourself that it was accidental or on a whim.

I know for a fact that Kishomoto wanted to show a gay love story. I know for a fact that he wanted to show that Sasuke has feelings for Naruto and he knows it. He also wanted to show that Sasuke not only had feelings for Naruto but also knew that he couldn't show them openly. He wanted to show that Naruto has feelings for Sasuke as well but is confused and naive, like he is about so many other things. He wanted to show us that Sasuke is not into Sakura, that he doesn't even respect her. Any enthusiast of visual/cinematic language and narrative can tell all the above things without going into headcanon or deluded explanations (like SS, NH stans), with just on the basis of content they consumed.

At the end of the day, I don't ship SNS because it's in my head. I was forced to see and believe SNS by the creator. Not forced literally but forced to notice and acknowledge the emphasis and meaning of the twisted/manipulative ways of the creator.

Kishimoto, hats off to you, you sly bastard. You succeeded in trolling people endlessly, you had a lot of fun pitting people against each other, didn't you? Hahahahaha. Well, I call your bluff/or non bluff in this case since you obviously knew what you were doing.

[captnjacksparrow]

I just got into the fandom and I love it so much. However, there are parts where I just cringe. I’m going to be completely honest when I say I can’t see SS being a thing, a healthy one at that. A rumor said that Sasuke always had feelings for Sakura but he didn’t know how to show them because hatred blinded him. I just... find it utterly bullshit. Hell, even I do ship narusasu, I tried to be open minded and not fall too far off canon or the characters. I don’t understand how Sasuke had those feelings for her when all he did was shown the opposite and it felt genuine. He seem always annoyed and pushes her away. She kept forcing her feelings on him when he makes it clear that he’s not interested. I don’t hate the ship because it’s not my ship but because it’s extremely toxic. It feels one-sided (Sakura’s side) more than anything and it’s makes it hard to believe he had those feelings for her. I mean, on the second episode of season five, she confessed and poured out her heart and he blew it off. I cringed hard and was beyond disappointed because she’s making it about herself. That’s literally how I feel about their damn “relationship”. She made it about her and her only. When he’s hurting, it’s about her. It’s so annoying and it makes me see how self-centered Sakura. When she said she understood Sasuke, I wanted to scream (I nearly did but my family is sleeping and I don’t need a lecture.) She doesn’t know Jackshit about Sasuke besides he’s the only survivor of his decease clan, he’s a loner who cares only about himself, and he’s attractive. She’s just like every other fangirl expect she’s on his team. I’m trying my best not to hate her but Damn she’s really pushing it. Anything that annoyed me was that she made it seem like they were dating, again making it about herself and her feelings. She sent Naruto to get Sasuke for her benefits, so she can keep him. Again, disregarding Sasuke’s feelings and what he wanted. Naruto should’ve said “I’ll bring him back because HE wants too, to keep HIM safe, not for you.” I just can’t with this ship. I’m still wondering why the hell is it even a thing? Also find it beyond pitiful how she stayed with Sasuke in Boruto when he left for 12-13 years?! No note. No checking up. Nothing. Hell, Sarada doesn’t know how her own father looks like or the truth of her mother. Both of them were miserable and I find it absolutely ridiculous when SS shippers still say “they’re in love” or they’re OTP. If that’s what true love looks like (good thing it’s not), then I’d die single. I can’t be the only one who thinks this ship is just as bad as Harley Quinn x Joker.

First off, Thanks for this lovely ask @larrycherry04 ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I've always wanted to write about this and your ask is the perfect timing.

Disclaimer: SS shippers, Sakura fans!!! Don’t read  this post!!

Me being an SNS shipper, I am just going to write this from a non-SNS perspective. Meaning, I am going to consider Naruto and Sasuke are just friends or rivals. 

Bear with my lengthy answer.

Where do I even begin?

A rumor said that Sasuke always had feelings for Sakura but he didn’t know how to show them because hatred blinded him.

I think this rumor is from a light novel called Akatsuki Hiden or whatever shit. But for me, it looks like a pathetic attempt to convince those horny women shippers who would pay any money to read a romance which mirrors their own love life where they desire an ‘unreachable & handsome’ man who has this ‘cool & overbearing’ aura and carries this ‘bad boy badass’ vibe. They would do anything to get the attention from this boy. Until this point is where the reality ends. 

What they really wants to happen and fantasize is somehow that handsome man, one day, will look only them and recognize their love and becomes a ‘soft’ guy who would bring the heavens for them and treats her like a princess. That fantasy led them to buy these novels and believe everything while completely disregarding the canon material. And those novels are aimed at these type of women.

You must have been wondering now, ‘I have seen these type of shit somewhere’!!!!!

That’s right.

50 Shades of Grey, Twilight, Beauty and the Beast, 100′s of K-Drama, C-Drama follow this shit romance trope and it’s regrettably fucking popular. 

In other words, Don’t believe anything apart from the canonic resources. 

Let’s dissect the canon materials about SS.

TEAM 7 

This is how it all started

Does anyone see anything positive here???? 

Well, I am not.

Sakura wanted to impress Sasuke. Since, Naruto always picks fight with Sasuke, she badmouthed Naruto in the hopes that Sasuke will recognize some common ground with her which may develop into a friendship. But she shot her own foot. 

[Regardless, I hated her here and she never redeemed herself, for her being completely insensitive & oblivious towards Sasuke’s life, the boy she loves]

Technically, Sasuke should have said ‘You’re Annoying’ towards Naruto for kissing him before the class and tying him up later. Here, Sakura is simply badmouthing another guy. He, somehow, find this very annoying than anything Naruto did earlier. 

Sasuke always had feelings for Sakura but he didn’t know how to show them because hatred blinded him.

Am definitely not seeing any feelings here.  

ZABUZA ARC

Alright, much later, somehow Sasuke started to integrate into team 7 and started to see them as a Family. No denial here. He started to care about everyone in his team at some point. Which was evident from the way he thought to himself, ‘That was Sakura’s voice... What is Kakashi doing?’

But does it means he hopelessly fell in love with her??? Nope. 

It’s just a team camaraderie where he was worried about his teammate. If he has special feelings towards her, he should have said ‘I must go save Sakura’ or something along the line. 

But, later in that episode, he went on to die for Naruto and even at his dying moments he didn’t think about Sakura or Team 7. It was all about someone else.

Even seconds before falling into Naruto’s arms, Sasuke was smiling with no regrets. 

It was funny very later that after he got up from his temporary death, rather than consoling her like ‘Sakura, Don’t cry. Am alright’ or anything, he was asking ‘Where’s Naruto?’. LOL.

Even much later, when Sakura was asking him about a date, he bluntly said ‘I refuse’.

So, you’re telling me, throughout this arc, a boy blinded with hatred can able to pout, play childish games, train and die for a boy but when it comes to Sakura he can’t show his feelings???

Sorry, I don’t see romance here. Not in this arc.

Whether you agree or not, every parent has their favorite child, every child has their favorite parent. Even within your family, you always have a special person.

For Sasuke, Itachi was that person in his real family. Sakura was not that person in his Team 7 family. It was Naruto.

CHUNIN EXAMS ARC

This arc is where those SS shippers celebrates a lot and I know why. Remember earlier I talked about that shitty 50 Shades of Grey romantic trope??? The following scene vaguely falls under that pattern.

A guy loses his control because of a cursed seal and beats up the guys who hurt one of his teammates which happens to be a girl and calms down after seeing the girl. 

That Infamous back hug. 

I understand why SS people lose their mind with that scene. And I don’t blame them. I am going to throw their own proof at them.

So, this First databook, tells us that he finally sees both Naruto and Sakura as comrades and his heart softens from the path of revenge, a little bit.

Definitely, Sakura’s tears or love towards him stopped his rampage. But nothing says about whether Sasuke loves her back.  

Much later, Sasuke also stops his cursed seal on his own after thinking about worried Sakura and a screaming Naruto (Who don’t know about this seal thingy at that time). 

Well, whatever. That databook has another funny fact, that too in the same page. 

LOL. Weird!!!! This accidental kiss unravels Sasuke’s heart ❤️❤️???? 🤣🤣🤣

So, influencing Sasuke’s heart can be attributed to both his teammates,according to this databook. Atleast upto this arc. There are no special feelings for Sakura alone, guys. 

Proof?

If Sasuke really considers her in a romantic light (this is after that back hug), he doesn’t have to do this at all. Believe me, Love is all about subconsciously or purposefully enjoying or feeling little touches. Those touches can be through eyes, memories or physical. Sakura is delighted with his touch because she loves him but Sasuke just see her as a comrade and keeping his distance but this time very politely.

If Kishi really likes these couple, he doesn’t have to make this scene at all. It’s not just this one instance, he rejected her twice very bluntly before this saying ‘Don’t cling to me!!!’, ‘Sakura, you’re heavy!!!’. 

If you say her back hug is a token of romance, then I can say ‘this’ kiss is also a token of romance. You can’t ignore one while keeping the other.

Anyways, at the end of the arc, Orochimaru is the best judge to identify who can change Sasuke’s heart. And that person is not Sakura.

DEPARTURE

she confessed and poured out her heart and he blew it off. I cringed hard and was beyond disappointed because she’s making it about herself. That’s literally how I feel about their damn “relationship”. She made it about her and her only. When he’s hurting, it’s about her. It’s so annoying and it makes me see how self-centered Sakura. When she said she understood Sasuke, I wanted to scream (I nearly did but my family is sleeping and I don’t need a lecture.) She doesn’t know Jackshit about Sasuke besides he’s the only survivor of his decease clan, he’s a loner who cares only about himself, and he’s attractive.

You know what, Larry??? You are 1000% right. 

But, atleast, I thought she was genuine in the first part of the proposal, like saying ‘Revenge is not good’.....bla bla.. Because, Revenge will never satisfy a person completely and I agree. Then she took a 180 degree by saying ‘Take me with you, Sasuke-Kun. I’ll make you happy’. This is where I lost it entirely. ‘Alright Bitch, So you really don’t care about his revenge or health. As long as you have the chance to get inside his pants, you are okay with it. So you are okay with Sasuke going to Orochimaru as long as you are with him..... Fucking Shit!!!!’  This is not okay at all. 

How did Sasuke respond?

“Why should I have to tell you anything”

“I’m telling you to keep your nose out of my business”

“Stop bothering me over everything I do”

Ummm..... where I come from, this screams ‘Irritation’ to me. Added to it, throughout the whole conversation he never saw her face. There was evidently no pain or anything from his face. On top the cake, here comes the cherry

“You really are...annoying”

This is where he saw her face throughout that painful confession before knocking her out. Umm... When you love someone or atleast feel for someone, you will look in their eyes and speak some farewell words before you leave. Or atleast show some pain??? There’s visibly nothing from Sasuke’s face. 

Alright, I know what SS wankers will pull out here. That Databook 2 with some vague words. I am going to throw this at them. 

Again, like I acknowledged before, he considers her as a comrade and part of a family. So, her existence also eased his loneliness. But you have to look at the word choice here. “The one that filled his lonely existence was Sakura”. It’s not the ‘Only’ person. Before he left he said ‘Thanks’. Meaning, Thanks for all these days. That’s all between us. 

This piece was about the Team 7 picture. So he acknowledges, he was not alone during his genin days because of his companions and Kakashi (so it’s not just Sakura to ease his loneliness). Whatever he said to Sakura was real. 

So can we safely confirm “You’re annoying” is real????

But what’s really interesting is the way Sasuke projects himself before Naruto. I am going to refrain myself from attaching all those rollercoaster of emotions flowed throughout the fight in VoTE 1. Otherwise, it will become an SNS post. 

However, this particular scene caught my attention.

Ummm.... Initially Sasuke walks without looking at Naruto. Then he looks back and answers him. 

Naruto was pretty much asking the same question as Sakura. “Why does it come to this?”

But Sasuke pauses and surprised for a moment and asks him pretty much “Why do you care about me?”

Why couldn’t Sasuke do the same with Sakura???? Kishi can pretty much make a panel or two rather than making some insulting panels.

Anyways, If they throw the databook, then I can also throw the same.

Alright, can someone explain the highlighted sentence for me???? Because I want to confirm whether I have a blurry vision.

Here, Sasuke is trying to punctuate Naruto as a different person from the rest of his companions. ‘his companions as well as that with Naruto’, I mean, Come on!!!! Naruto is also one of your companions along with Sakura. Why differentiate????

‘The village, companions, Naruto,....’ . Again....He is differentiating his home (village), companions (his friends), and Naruto. So who is Naruto for him? What is the need to make exception for Naruto? It’s very clear he is placing Naruto at a high pedestal for some unknown reasons.

Before this Databook dissection, remember I said something about saying Goodbye, ‘ When you love someone or at least feel for someone, you will look into that person’s eyes and speak some farewell words before you leave‘

Sasuke is doing exactly that here in this scene without saying anything.

Am sorry SS shippers, you can scream all you want about Sasuke knocked her out and left her on the bench. But there was no emotional distraught when he left her. Sasuke seemingly spent a longer time staring at Naruto than looking at Sakura when she confessed. 

OROCHIMARU HIDEOUT

Well, there is nothing I can say about here for SS. He pretty much saw her and said, “Sakura, huh?”.. And that’s all. He didn’t give two shits about her. 

His attention was completely on someone else. 

UNDER THE BRIDGE

She sent Naruto to get Sasuke for her benefits, so she can keep him. Again, disregarding Sasuke’s feelings and what he wanted. Naruto should’ve said “I’ll bring him back because HE wants too, to keep HIM safe, not for you.”

Naruto pretty much said the same thing in this arc, Larry. Naruto, in part 1, was happy for Sakura feeling the same about Sasuke as him, that is ‘To bring him back’. And also sad that his crush really loves someone else. But after Sakura gave up on Sasuke and faking her confession, Naruto decided, ‘Alright, I want to save him personally. I don’t care about our promise anymore”. 

This is where, SS ship goes into a crazy ride and it’s not a positive one.

Sasuke was on a rampage. He lost the ability to differentiate between his friends and foes. He stabbed Karin. And when he find her alive, he was about to Chidori her. 

And then comes the pink princess, full of lies and deceit. And Sasuke being impatient and disgusted with her lies, he does this

Well, in part 1, she had a degree of power to change his heart. But not here. He, instead, got riled up more and even tried to kill her without a warning and that too by not looking at her face. Pathetic!!!!

This scene screams ‘Trust issues’ from both sides. 

Did it stop here???

Fucking Shit!!!!!! Is there any people who still ship this nonsense?. If you are a Sakura fan, you should hate her for the lack of trust and backstabbing the person she loves, 

If you are a Sasuke fan, errrrmmm.....I have nothing to say. You know what to do. 

There is nothing positive here, that can make me ship them. He is killing her like a Mosquito.

If you truly loved someone in the past, even in your darkest moments, you will be honest and you cannot fake before that person.   

Proof??

Here, Sasuke had a clear resolve to kill his brother, Itachi. He lived for this moment for about 8 years and immersed himself in Darkness for 3 years with Orochimaru. He could have run away, dodge or look away from Itachi. But Sasuke simply couldn’t!!! You know why?? Sasuke loved Itachi once more than anything in this world. At this moment, he is letting all those defense loose and embracing the moment and see what Itachi was about to do. Because somewhere in his heart he trusts Itachi. 

But killing Sakura doesn’t make Sasuke feel anything. She is just another victim like Danzo or Karin or all those Samurais or a fucking mosquito!!!!

So you are telling me that Sasuke had feelings for her but kept it hidden all along and still tried to kill her like a pest???

Give me a fucking break!!!!

And you all know, who changed Sasuke’s heart here in this scene. It was not Sakura. There’s absolutely no reason for Sasuke to listen to that person and what’s more, Sasuke even made a promise (despite being in darkness, he had it in his heart to listen to that person) to destroy Konoha only after killing that person .. 

WAR ARC

Well, this is the arc where Sakura behaves like a rabid dog on heat waiting for Sasuke and shamelessly trying to wag her tails. But Sasuke didn’t give two shits about her, not once or twice but multiple times.

MOMENT 1

An explosion was about to kill the whole shinobi alliance and this dude wants to save Jugo, his companion and Naruto, the person who will challenge his Revolution, his rival and the one whom he wants to kill. Why only Naruto??? Why not Naruto and Sakura???

Pink cherry Queen doesn’t even crossed Sasuke’s mind.  Because he already threw her away in part 1. 

MOMENT 2

Alright Bitch!!! The entire shinobi alliance was dying on the other side of the battlefield. And this asshole is doing a clownshow before Madara just to get inside Sasuke’s pants????

I mean, Come On!!!! 

Well, if Sasuke truly likes her, he should be the one to have catched her or atleast should have asked her, ‘are you alright??’ 

I am sorry, where are the romantic feelings???

MOMENT 3

ROFLLLL🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

For the first time, Kishimoto is trolling those Sakutards through Sasuke’s words, what we, readers were right about all along. He is calling her useless here. And still these fake feminazis trying to ship her with him???

Don’t you guys have any self respect??? If so, this should be the moment to jump out of this trash ship.

MOMENT 4

Geez!!! You are still on this ship????? 

He clearly doesn’t want to save her at all. The hawk can clearly lift 3 people. Sasuke is not even making an effort here. 

And you are still yapping that he is blinded by darkness??? 

MOMENT 5

This is the moment SS calls it as ‘eyesmex’... While in reality, he was just looking at her and silently thanking her for helping him out. Do you know what is a real ‘eyesmex’??? I will attach it at the end.

If you guys pull this as true love, then he should have stayed in the same love till the end. But Sasuke has other ideas. 

This is the one of the funniest thing in this arc. LOLLLLL

Instead of being relieved that Sakura was saved, Sasuke was wondering about Kakashi’s Susanoo.....and Sharingan. 

Do people still think he cares about her????

MOMENT 6

Am cackling here, while dissecting the sorry state of this ship guys 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!!! If something good happens to me because of SS , it’s just the way you guys are making me laugh by making a clown out of yourself!!!!

Do you guys know something? There was a man named Itachi. Before massacring his clan, the very first person he killed was his ‘supposed’ Girlfriend, named Izumi. I wouldn’t say Itachi loved her like a lover boy. It was just one sided on her part. He just talks to her when he finds a spare time and considers her a good friend. 

Do you know how he killed her? 

By putting her in a ‘Tsukuyomi’. And what kind of Tsukuyomi, you ask?

Can you see how he fulfilled her dreams gracefully before he was going to kill her???

Why didn’t Sasuke do this???? Why particularly select a murdering genjutsu????

MOMENT 7

He said it, finally.

He don’t love her at all. There was no hidden feelings. He admitted from his own mouth. 

One day later, after the final VoTE battle ends.... After exchanging some intense feelings and even crying tears of happiness with Naruto....

Sasuke tells Sakura, ‘Sorry’....

Ummm.... That’s all???

All those negative shits happened before cannot be solved by just simply saying ‘Sorry’ and ‘Thank you’. If someone has an ounce of self-respect, they should know this is not OKAY at all...🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️

Am Sorry, but Sasuke was just being politely blunt, kind of insincere towards Sakura and turned his attention somewhere else in a matter of minutes. He was not even bothered by Sakura’s tears here. Instead staring at someone on his left. Remember I talked about touching the person physically and visually?

Sasuke is subconsciously or purposefully touching someone on his left through his eyes. Definitely it’s not Sakura. You know who it is. Remember SStards’ infamous ‘eyesmex’... I seriously believe this is a perfect example of ‘eyesmex’.

All these intense looks and feeling pain still doesn’t serve Sakura, even after pulled out of darkness. If there is a moment, where SS wants to shine, then this is where it should be. He should have told her, how he missed her all along, how he felt about hurting her, should have wiped her tears and some corny shit. But instead, Sasuke went for a long ass monologue for his friend and talking about sharing his pain. 

What about your kween’s pain???? 

You don’t have to ship SNS. But you should know where Sasuke’s priorities are. 

It’s not Sakura. 

Sasuke said ‘Sorry’ to Karin too. ‘Thank you’ to Kakashi as well. 

And what’s even more pathetic is, still Sakura wants to get inside Sasuke’s pants by accompanying him. Bitch, you can help your village, console your best friend Ino who lost her father, try to surpass Tsunade, improve your skills or whatever... Why bother him???

So, if you really think ‘Thank you’ as a token of love, then I can’t help it but term Sakura as a rabid dog who waits for her master to come home and throw some bones whenever he finds time. Your standards for a romantic love is piss poor and you will suffer just like Sakura in Boruto with just emptiness. All Sasuke did was poke her forehead just like Itachi which symbolizes keeping someone at a distance. He also said the same words to her just like Itachi said to him many times ‘Mata kondo da’ meaning ‘Maybe next time’. And we all knew that next time never came for Sasuke. 

Now all we see is a Sasuke as an absentee father in Boruto for which I don’t blame him. He was never a marriage material in the first place. Sakura and the Manga Editors forced him and she is paying for it. 

Hell, Sarada doesn’t know how her own father looks like or the truth of her mother. Both of them were miserable and I find it absolutely ridiculous when SS shippers still say “they’re in love” or they’re OTP.

All I want to say to SS shippers is, Your Ship Has Sailed Already. You cannot expect Sasuke to go lovey dovey towards Sakura with a 12 year old daughter around and for fuck’s sake, this is not a romance manga, it’s a battle manga. So stop dreaming about this kind of non-existential romance and pull yourself altogether.

[animeyanderelover]

I have been reading your blog for the past few days and I absolutely love it! Is it okay if I request Modern S/o from a Modern World with Yandere! Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, since we have already have Hashirama and the other 2 with Mordern S/o, also take your time!

So many modern reader😂. I didn’t try to get too much into detail with how they would share a darling since I got a request about that as well.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, delusional thoughts, possessiveness, obsessiveness, vicious behavior, violence, kidnapping

modern s/o

🍜💙🌸Due to Sasuke needing a lot of time when falling for someone, you most likely appeared during the Team 7 days, when all three of them were still genin. They most likely discovered you together with Kakashi one day on a mission, finding a young you all by yourself and looking obviously flabbergasted and shocked when being found by them.

🍜💙🌸And they of course helped you, realizing that you were lost and their Sensei offering you to lead you home if you would tell them where you lived. You on the other hand just stared back and forth between him, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke before muttering something from if you were dreaming, pinching yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming and that this was reality. After painfully discovering that this was indeed real you wanted to be 100% sure, asking if they were Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

🍜💙🌸Whilst you might have known Kakashi as the famous copy cat, they were all surprised when you knew the names of his pupils. You were pretty far away from their village, making the possibility that you knew them from there very little. It led to Kakashi suddenly getting a weird feeling, his intuition telling him that something wasn’t right here. So he asked you once again from where you were, leading to you explaining yourself. And knowing that they would most likely not believe you without proof, you also used your phone, showing them that you weren’t lying.

🍜💙🌸You were like this brought with them together to the Village, Kakashi deciding that you wouldn’t be safe all out there on your own and if someone would find out about you, you could become very dangerous for them. And just like that you were introduced to the Third Hokage who you showed your proof as well, amusing him greatly that in his old life he was still able to witness something like this. A dimension traveler, how utterly fascinating.

🍜💙🌸But he understood why Kakashi had brought you with him. You had explained after all that in your world their whole story was all written down as a “Manga” and could also be watched as an “Anime”. In short, you knew what would happen in the next few years, knowing what abilities someone would possess in the future and what secrets there were. It made you very valuable and if people like Orochimaru would find out about you, you were doomed. And they would be as well if Orochimaru would find a way to press everything you could possibly offer out of him.

🍜💙🌸So you were most likely given a apartment, most likely near Naruto, and were given permission to live in the village. It was also decided that Kakashi should teach you a bit how to fight, also finding out whether you possessed chakra or not. This was made a secret between you, the Third Hokage and Team 7, all promising to not tell anyone.

🍜💙🌸It should come to no one’s surprise that Team 7 naturally grew closer to you overtime since they had found you and were one of the very few who knew about this secret. So they became quickly your best friends.

🍜And Naruto was the first one who developed some more unhealthy feelings for you, openly displaying his big crush on you and making it obvious for everyone that he liked you. For the reason that you never seemed to make fun of him and always cheered him on, not thinking of him as a monster like many others or just an annoying little brat. Much more on the contrary, you always told him that he would be very strong one day. And you had to know it the best. Since you two lived directly next to each other, sleepovers and just spending every evening time together became somewhat a normality to you two, allowing Naruto to grow closer to you. His obsessive tendencies grew stronger due to the fact that you were from another world and he often begged you to tell him more about your world, listening in awe whenever you did tell him.

💙Surprised by who became Yandere next? I’ll explain later on to why not Sakura. Let’s face it, Sasuke was most likely annoyed when first finding you which might have changed quite a bit after finding out who exactly you were. He knew that you weren’t allowed to talk about it, but it did happen quite a few times that he asked you direct questions about his future and you just told him that he would later on become one of the most powerful shinobi which led to Sasuke hanging out more around you, hoping to squeeze something more out of you. What powers exactly would he gain? Would he meet his brother? How could he reach that point of being one of the strongest ninja to exist? Sasuke would keep it more subtle with his feelings even though his possessiveness was most likely triggered due to knowing that Naruto liked you as well, leading often to snarky comments from him when Naruto was all over you.

🌸Sakura was at first just your best friend for a rather simple reason. At that time she still had a crush on Sasuke and also saw that Naruto liked you a lot. And she cared for Naruto a lot, leading to her being glad that he had finally someone who seemed to understand and support him and she became a huge Naruto x (y/n) shipper. Sasuke is a lot more subtle with his signs that he likes you, but Sakura is very observant when it comes to those she’s close and will notice the way Sasuke keeps looking jealous and annoyed whenever Naruto tugs you away or tries to show off in front of you or the way he seems to tolerate you more than others. Even the way he displays a bit more softness with you which will lead her to feel a bit more conflicted, realizing that you are stuck in a love triangle. But different than with Ino she won’t suddenly start disliking you since she also sees that you keep pushing Sasuke away, most likely because you know that Sakura likes him and take that into reconsideration. You also support her just like Naruto all the time, knowing that she’ll later on become one of the strongest kunoichi to exist.

🍜💙🌸After Tsunade was made the next Hokage, she and Tsunade were informed about your secret as well in order to be able to keep in mind that you were somewhat of a special case.

🍜💙When Sasuke left the Leaf Village he might or might not have tried to take you with him, but since I need you here so Sakura can form her obsession, he failed. Even if he would have managed to take you out of the village, we all know that the with Naruto robbed him temporarily all his power, giving you the chance to free yourself and run. The fight between those two would be in general a lot more vicious than it would have been without you. Sasuke had pent-up frustration inside of him due to the fact that Naruto had gotten so strong, him fearing that Naruto might be one day able to beat him. Not only that, but Naruto also liked you a lot, more than a lot and this poured only even more gasoline in his fire since Sasuke had only you left. And now that blonde idiot was starting to become stronger and the strongest wins always in the end. He despised the thought that he could lose to Naruto. And our sunshine boy was mad as well that Sasuke had dared to kidnap you.

💙And so there is a chance that due to Sasuke’s betrayal another person found out, Orochimaru. He most likely sensed during the Chunin Exams that something about you was different. You didn’t participate or anything, but he kept an eye on you because Sasuke was really close to you and what better way to get his hands on Sasuke than blackmailing him and manipulating him with the one he loves dearly? I can even see him as someone who lit the hatred for Naruto inside of him when he noticed Sasuke’s growing jealousy. Would he seriously let such a weakling like Naruto get his darling? And with Orochimaru finding out this situation will become a bit twisted since Orochimaru will form an obsession with you as well for pure egotistical reasons. He wants to know all the secret and just now a mystery bigger than everything else he witnessed in his life so far was offered to him. So he would be all up for kidnapping you as soon as the chance is there.

🍜If we go with the theory that Sasuke did manage to kidnap you, but you were saved, Naruto would afterwards be so incredibly apologetic and feel guilty for not coming to rescue you sooner, adding even more pressure and misery onto him next to the fact that he already didn’t manage to save Sasuke. But he was also incredibly glad that you were now back, due to the shock most likely clinging terribly onto you afterwards and not leaving you alone until he left with Jiraiya, giving you into Sakura’s care for the time being.

🌸Do you remember my Naruto and Sakura sharing a darling post? It would be exactly the same to that. Sakura spent the next few years training with Tsunade and also dedicating a lot of her time with you. And it was during these years that she started developing feelings for you. The betrayal of Sasuke hurt her a lot and she also felt terrible for what you had to endure due to Sasuke’s selfish act, you were her best friend after all. You could say that after this she finally opened her eyes a bit, realizing that Sasuke wasn’t the perfect man she had always pictured in her head. It was somewhat of a wake-up call, and suddenly she realized how kind you had been to her all this time, making her feel appreciated, a feeling she hadn’t experienced so far that often. She grew very close to you and when realizing her feelings she was totally embarrassed as well as ashamed since everyone knew about you and Naruto. You were unofficially together at this point. It gave her a lot of mood swings since at one day she was on cloud nine and the next felt like hiding in a hole out of shame.

🍜🌸When Naruto came back, Sakura most likely told him about her feelings, a big sign of how close her bond with him was. And whilst Naruto was at first a bit conflicted about this, he and Sakura came eventually to the terms of sharing.

💙Sasuke on the other hand trained in order to kill his brother and get rid of Naruto with the ultimate end goal of finally getting you back in his clutches. He had started feeling incredibly lonely without you, the emptiness inside of him really getting to him. If we do go with the scenario where Orochimaru ended up finding the truth out about you, he would want to meet you as well. Not only are you interesting for him because you’re the person Sasuke’s in love with, but you’re also a dimension traveler. He does try to ask Sasuke a bit out about you, but whenever Sasuke shoots him this glare it’s obvious to him that he won’t talk. If Sasuke does manage to kidnap you, he wouldn’t let Orochimaru touch you without losing it. He knows how Orochimaru ticks and is just disgusted by this. Would be really pissed off the moment he finds out that Sakura is now in love with you too. He used to be annoyed by her because she was in love with him, now he’s mad that she loves you and shares with Naruto.

🍜💙🌸Sharing a darling is not necessarily easy for Sasuke as long as he isn’t really close to that person or it isn’t his brother. All free of them most likely started sharing after the war was over and Sasuke was forgiven his crimes. It would settle for quite the turbulent relationship because Naruto and Sasuke would constantly get into fights and it’ll be yours and Sakura’s job to separate them. More to that when I start the sharing a darling post. I don’t want to only repeat myself.

🍜💙🌸All three of them wouldn’t travel with you back to your world if there should be a chance. I do think that Naruto and Sakura would display a certain degree of curiosity in it whilst Sasuke would be more annoyed about it. But all of them would still stay in their world since all of them are dedicated to something in their world. That also means all of them will stop you if you should try to escape them by fleeing back into your world.

[leportraitducadavre]

Naruto re-read VI

Chapters covered: 28-34 (fourth volume of the manga)

Site used: https://manga4life.com/manga/Naruto (official translation of the manga)

Disclaimer: This is intended as a list and simple observations of the topics that particularly interested me in the aforementioned chapters, in that sense, do not expect a linear -or totally deep- analysis.

Tumblr’s update doesn’t allow me to attach more than 10 pictures, therefore, many of them will be LINKED. Apologies.

34) The presentation of the three main characters has changed,

Before Sakura was presented solely on the basis of her crush on Sasuke and her dislike of Naruto, now, she's granted the title of “the brightest of Naruto’s classmates”. Her apprehension to Naruto has been erased, but her crush still remains an important definition of her character. Naruto and Sasuke’s presentations are intrinsically the same -different wording.

35) Kekkei Genkai are feared -therefore, those who possess them are prosecuted/killed. The idea is introduced by Haku in Chapter 29. While what he says is solely linked to Mist -Konoha had two clans with kekkei genkai (now, one), the weariness towards those with such bloodlines might be “universal”. Tobirama’s reason for discriminating against the Uchiha was because of how their doujutsu developed and evolved, and nothing of his weariness was overcome by those who came after him. Kakashi is particularly accepted because he has the Sharingan but not the blood/chakra of an Uchiha, he’s not part of the bloodline.

Furthermore, Sasuke is directly mentioned in the exchange, and Naruto links Haku’s words with Sasuke’s goal: To kill someone (Itachi who killed his clan by the fear it installed in the power-ups: they were accused and punished for controlling the Kyuubi without a shred of single evidence, Itachi even canonically states later on that there’s “no hope for this clan”, meaning, those who carry the bloodline).

36) Iruka is the person Naruto cares for the most, at this point, he might even be more important to Naruto than Konoha itself. That notion is cemented (but it might be a lie of Kakashi), in chapter 34, where Kakashi states that Iruka is Naruto’s hero.

37) An interesting point to make: Kakashi states that Konoha (therefore, he), knows about Zabuza’s attempt to coup and kill the current Mizukage -alongside his wish to raise funds to do another coup. Therefore, Konoha must be aware of the bloodline cleansing that is happening in Mist, a genocide on such a large scale can’t be kept secret that long -furthermore, there’s no indication that the murders are happening quietly either since those who possess kekkei genkai are pushed to hide their bloodline.

Meaning: Kakashi and Konoha claim to fight for “the right thing”, but they do nothing -nor military, nor diplomatically, to stop such massacres; they are still pretty much in touch with the Mizukage that carried out/ordered such killings. Kakashi downgrading Zabuza for working for Gato is absolutely comical because not only is he working for an authoritarian regime but also downgrades someone that (even as despicable he is), is actually trying to do something.

Kakashi (and probably Konoha), can’t differentiate between a person’s ambitions from their ideals, they might seem equal on the surface, but their intrinsically different -which is one of the reasons Kakashi would never stand against Konoha, he can’t differentiate between the two. One means an individualistic goal, the other one is founded on the possibility of a communal achievement.

38) Sakura recites one of the shinobi rules -those were written by Tobirama. Kakashi and Naruto were judging Inari’s cowardliness with the perspective and internalization of the same rule Sakura is now reciting. Inari is a civilian and can’t be judged by those premises; Naruto is excused by his age and experience. Kakashi isn’t. While I’m on it, that same rule seems to be the one Sakumo broke and the reason why he was shunned away; it seems to be also the rule Danzo took by heart, essentially proving that Konoha (and Hiruzen) aren’t opposed to that mindset. Hiruzen creates a feeling of loyalty and magnifies it in order to exploit it - while Danzo decides to erase all perception from an individual, merely making his soldiers live to achieve a particular goal.

39) Naruto’s speech to Zabuza (here and here) about the way shinobi apparently need to be emotionless in order to complete every mission or becoming strong is a direct contradiction to the rule introduced by Sakura herself. The way Kishimoto wrote those scenes means that their clash of ideals is on purpose, even Zabuza admits that shinobi are human beings and they aren’t able to completely erase their feelings (yes, that also contradicts the Curse of Hatred that is later on introduced).

40) Kakashi knows the problem of the belief system that puts value on shinobi's lives and yet decides to endure it (1, 2). (I won’t go in detail here because there’s a full meta on Kakashi and his character coming).

41) Sasuke literally rejects Sakura when she asks him to go out on a date.

Then, in the next chapter when she tries to ask him out again (albeit not that directly as in Wave), he tells her that she’s even in worse condition than Naruto.

Furthermore, Sasuke acknowledges that she’s trying to flirt with him and rejects her regardless -meaning, he’s showing no romantic interest (she might not know that it wasn’t Naruto who tried to kiss her back in chapter 3, but she is more than aware that Sasuke knows about her intentions and still continually rejects her, her insistence is unrequited).

42) Since her value is tied to Sasuke’s perception of her (as we mentioned before), she gets particularly violent towards Naruto. Now, I’m linking the panel where she actually punches him because he hinted that they were sentimentally involved, but she previously displayed verbal aggression towards Naruto for no real reason other than being rejected (and downgraded) by Sasuke.

(PREVIOUS POST) - (NEXT POST)

[kakashifanrp]

- Going Between Dimensions -

Part 10 - It won’t work

Kakashi Hatake x Reader/Y/N 

Masterlist

It had been a week since you saw the wolf during the meditation. As frustrating as it was, it had gone downhill from there. Your purple cloak would not come out, and you couldn't connect with the Chakra that connected you with the beast at all. You let out a frustrated sigh as you got up. "I will take the dishes" You muttered, knowing Kakashi was half asleep on a branch close by.

You grabbed the bucket and walked the few meters to the river, hoping a small break would help the mood. You sat down as you started to clean the dishes from the breakfast earlier. You had given up trying the small talk with the shinobi.. The most responses you got was on day one, now it was just a command here and there before he went on reading or whatever else he did.

Your eyes scanned the eria a bit as you couldn't help but smile at how beautiful it really was here. The peaceful sound of the running river helped lighten the mood. At least when it almost looked like it was covered in glitter by how the sun reflected in it. You dried off the bowls as you thought about the wolf's words. "two moons collide...no balance... Ugh.. Why making it soo damn hard?" you scoffed. "what does it mean.." Those thoughts and words had been eating at you for a long time now.. It was hard to figure out what it was supposed to mean.. And how could you solve something you didn't know where to start looking..

With a heavy sigh you placed the clean dishes in the basket and got ready to go back. Ears perked when a sound of a branch snapping from the other side of the river, making you turn and look over. Most likely it was another animal again, there were alot of wildlife around here. As you looked up, your eyes widen as you saw the red eyes in the shadows. The body was frozen in place, as your eyes was directly aligned with the red ones in front of you. You screamed out as the eyes changed into the familliar red with a three tags shuriken around the pupil, the same eyes that had haunted your nightmares for soo many years.

Kakashi heard the scream, making him react quickly. He jumped from the branch and ran thowards the river, too see what was going on. He stopped as he saw you laying there, next to the clean dishes.. He couldn't sence anyone around as he hurried over to check on you. "passed out.." his brows narrowed as he scanned the eria once more. He gave the air a quick sniff with his nose, before quickly taking out his kunai. He knew that scent all too well. "I know you are here, Itachi!" Kakashi kept his guard up as he looked around.

"soo you are the one guarding this Jinchuriki?" Itachi stepped out from the shadows across the river. Kakashi made sure not to look into his eyes, he learned the hard lesson a few weeks back. "Why are you here?" He asked, demanding a answer. "as defensive as always.." Itachi answered unimpressed. "she will not do for us, her Tailed beast is not from this world, but it seems like you allready knew?"

Kakashi thighten his grip on his kunai, opening his sharingan eye.. Ready for any attack. "What did you do to her..." It didn't look like Itachi was gonna make any moves, but that still didn't calm him down. "I showed my gratitude, no more, no less" Itachi answered plainly, before he dissolved into bats and dissapeared. The scent dissapeared and Kakashi put the kunai away. He turned and looked down at you, before lifting you up and carried you back to the cabin.

He carefully placed you down on the bed and started to pack when he had made sure you were ok. It was time to leave, and that quickly... He knew if Itachi came back he would have a hard time taking him on alone.. Which was not a good thing right now, at least when there was no backup anywhere near you, and you being unconsious.

You let out a groan as you started to wake up again. Your head was pounding making you lift your hand to put pressure on your forhead. "Take it easy.." Kakashi's voice even thought it was low, sounded like full blown speakers to your ears, making you flinch. You remembered the eyes in the shadows, making your own snap open. "I said easy" He muttered next to you. "W.. What... Happened?" You asked carefully, noticing you were back in the cabin. "Nothing to worry about.. But we need to go.." You looked over at him, a bit confused as you saw he was allready packed up.

"You looks like it is something to worry about" you looked up at his face.. "I will explain later.. Are you able to walk?" You just nodded and carefully got up. You bit your thumb and did the signs. "summoning jutsu" you said carefully, summoning Mirai, before carefully putting the bags on him again. You lean on your wolf as everything got packed up and ready. "Lay down on my back, Y/N.. No need to push it too hard" Mirai nosed you, making you nod as you layed down on his back as they started to walk.

You hoped Kakashi would start to explain, but a hour had passed and he had said nada soo far. "are you gonna tell me what happened or not?" you looked over at him carefully, noticing he was still on alert. "Itachi Uchiha.. That is what happened back there" Kakashi looked over at you, giving you a look that said it all. "wait.. Itachi is back?" It was a shock, You thought Itachi didn't stay this close after he went to the village last time. "Was he looking for Naruto?"

"No... He said he showed you his gratitude.." The way Kakashi said it told you he wanted to know if you knew what it was about. "gratitude..." you whispered, just getting a nod from Kakashi. "Can it be about Sasuke..." your brows lifted slightly as you thought about it. "Itachi was the Anbu being guard the night before the massacre.. Helping me with my training.." you paused a secound. "He made me promise something.." you sat up a bit, careful not to hurt Mirai. "it makes sense now.."

"what makes sense?" Kakashi looked over, wanting to know aswell. "He made me promise to look after Sasuke if anything happened... But I never put two and two togheter before now" Kakashi put both of his hands back in his pockets. "does anyone know?" he asked after a bit, making you shake your head. "No, I never thought it had something to do with the massacre..." you mumbled. Somehow you have had a good enough relationships with the Uchiha's, being Obito's best friend when you were younger.

"I always thought it was something he said because I used to babysit from time to time.. It was not uncommon that I was over at the Uchihas side of town.." Kakashi just nodded, knowing what you were reffering too. "When we get back, you go straight home to rest.. I take the information to Lady Tsunade" he said plainly. The rest of the trip were silent. When you both got back to the village at night Mirai took you home to rest as Kakashi went to see if he could see the Hokage right away.

Luckily for him Tsunade had not went to bed yet, as she was up late filing paperwork. He knocked at the door and walked inside. "what are you doing back allready?" The blond asked as she looked up from the pile of papers on her desk. "We ran into Itachi Uchiha again.. And the training is not going as we thought" Tsunade slammed her fist in the desk. "are they after her aswell?" The look in her eyes roared of anger. "no, He had all uppertunity to do so, but did nothing to take her.. I don't know what happened exactly.. She was passed out when I found her" He admitted nervously

"You let her go on her own!" She stood up, making Kakashi nervous. "No, no.." he answered nervously. "She was a few meters from me, doing the dishes in the river... Then she screamed and I found her passed out... Most likely she was caught in his Genjitsu" he explained calmly. "He knows about her, since he used to work as a guard for her back then.. But he claimed he came by to show his gratitude..." Kakashi explained. "Apperantly it had to do with Sasuke.. Itachi had apperantly asked her to watch out for Him the day before the massacre"

"and what does that mean? Showing his gratitude?" Tsunade looked at him. "I am not sure, neither is Y/N" He answered honestly. "and about her training?" Tsunade sat back down, leaning her head on her folded hands. "The first day during meditation she suddenly got in full panic.. Claiming she spoke with a wolf. The wolf told Y/N she is not ready, and since two moons are coliding there will be no balance.. After that she has not been able to use the tail beast cloak.. " Tsunade nodded slowly." I see.. We have alot to figure out then.. And make sure to solve that methaphor"

Kakashi nodded and sighed. "The seal is gone, and the tail beast is taking back the controll.. It will be alot of work" it was true, it seems like the tailed one wanted to put up a fight. "But training outside the village will not be safe, not after knowing they know about her... The best I can do is the old training grounds" kakashi looked at her, knowing this was not a good idea for him personally, but he was left with no choice. "Then use the old grounds. See if it can help to gain back controll... I summon her for a breef tomorrow" Tsunade dismissed him, making Kakashi nod before leaving.

He was not looking forward to go back there, not after what happened that night. Hopefully it would not go as Jirayia said.. That would only damage her training and safety doing soo

[kissmekakashi]

Hey anti sasusaku. Did you know that Sasuke is damaged, he is a mess and he needs someone dedicated to him. Sakura has always been there for him. Sakura filled his lonely existence with love. She loved him no matter what and he appreciated that. She was one of his dear precious persons and she meant a lot to him.

Sakura’s love has always been shown to be an enduring, selfless and nurturing love, the type that Sasuke needed, craved but rejected. Sakura is also a medical ninja so that fits. She is caricatured to be the lover of the series. Her dreams are about love, she is traditionally feminine. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a phenomenal woman but she’s also a traditional Japanese woman. Sakura’s character is also shown to be a devoted character.  She had and has to deal with so much. She has to be Sasuke’s rock.

This doesn’t mean that Sasuke doesn’t contribute to this relationship.

Sasuke is the only person who can make her feel on top of the world. He is her prince charming. She wants his love, his recognition and she wants to be with him and Sasuke gave that to Sakura after the war ended. he gave that to Sakura when he is mentally stable already.

SasuSaku have a really intense and mature relationship more than any of the hetero or even homo ships in Naruto.

*cracks knuckles* Okay

Please be prepared, this is going to be a long one.

Hello Anon. Did you know that almost everything that you said about Sakura and Sasuke's equation is extremely one sided? She wants the love and relationship of a man who on multiple occasions called her annoying?

Keeping that in mind, all of what you wrote was all about what Sakura felt and wanted out of her relationship with Sasuke - an idealistic world. None of it was felt or reciprocated by Sasuke.

This is also the same man who tried to kill her? One of them being a horrible gennjustu.

Sakura was crushing on a classic pretty boy, which is understandable and common but did she know a thing about him? Did she know that he was orphaned before making an off handed comment like this? And for someone who you claim to love so much, to the point where you are ready to turn your back on your village and for a pretty long time too, how can you not know this?

She may have "loved" him, and I am using the term "loved" very lightly here because I think she had an obsessive crush on him but he couldn't give rat's furry butt about her feelings. I am not saying he didn't recognize as a team mate, because he did, and for a brief moment in time, before Itachi's resurfacing, he had started feeling a little better.

But better did not mean that he fell in love with Sakura. In fact, the only person he considered close to him till now, as we can see in Boruto, is Naruto. Kakashi was his sensei so he had that basic respect for him and Sakura was a team mate and maybe a friend at best but nothing more.

In the multiple recaps and monologues that Sasuke has ever made about his lonely existence, the ONLY person who he kept and yearned to keep by his side ( and did too) was Naruto. In order to become truly alone, it was not Sakura who needed to be killed. It was Naruto. He mentioned this in both, VotE1 and VotE2. You see who fills his lonely existence in the multiple OC and EC too.

For Sakura, a pretty competent medic nin, to push herself on Sasuke, constantly, demanding a romantic relationship despite his multiple rejections feels odd, in fact, it's toxic. And he maintained that rejection throughout the series. That's not good on either parties.

When someone is mentally unwell, the last thing they need is a pushy person who wished to pursue a romantic relationship with them, irrespective of what happens or how many ever times said person has been rejected.

BTW this is the same Sakura who doesn't know if Sasuke wore glasses and their date lasted 2 minutes in Boruto. If Sasuke cared that much, there wouldn't be so many panels showing Sakura's constant disappointment in the distant nature and apathetic way Sasuke treats her. And it has been proven on multiple occasions that when it comes to emotions, Sasuke is the farthest from cold. In fact he burns intensely, like fire.

Despite having a child with the woman who was supposedly his rock, he never contacted her. For 12 years. 12 YEARS. And its not that he wasn't capable of contacting because he did keep in touch with Naruto as, once again, proven by canon. If you think your partner disappearing on you for 12 years after you have given birth to their child is "giving them the world" then I guess yeah, he did.

Sasuke and Sakura couldn't be further away from mature. Examples of mature relationship include Ino and Sai, Shikamaru and Temari, Naruto and Sasuke ( they feel INTENSELY for each other), Minato and Kushina. To some extent Fugaku and Mikoto too.

I hope I was able to answer you well. I am not trying to convert you or whatever, I cannot be bothered about who ships what ship. You do you. But these are my reasons (with facts) as to why I feel that SasuSaku is a toxic relationship that ideally, should have never happened but since it is canon, its a horrible one.

[panharmonium]

there’s a flashback to this sequence during an S9 episode focused on sasuke’s impending crisis, and after i watched it, i had to go back and gif the original, because the way the flashback differs from the actual scene above is really interesting.

the above is how the scene plays out in reality.  sasuke and sakura watch as naruto begs kakashi to teach him the chidori, and kakashi, after initially declining, humors naruto, even though he’s perfectly aware naruto won’t be able to do it.  it’s very clear to us as the audience that a) naruto can’t master this technique, b) kakashi knows naruto won’t be able to master this technique, and c) kakashi is only letting naruto try it in order to make him realize that he can’t do it, because naruto is the kind of kid who won’t listen to words and only learns through experience.

however.  in the flashback to this same conversation, what sasuke is shown to be watching looks like this:

which is, first of all, completely disconnected from reality.  and second of all, it’s fascinating, because it shows how wildly sasuke’s perception of the world has been distorted by his internal turmoil.  

when i watched the episode containing this memory in S9, i remember thinking to myself, ‘that...felt weird.  i don’t remember that happening,’ which is why i went back to check the original.  and the truth is that it didn’t happen like that.  the original scene is so...benign.  kakashi and naruto aren’t goofing off at all.  kakashi is just standing there, doing his normal tired teacher routine.  he’s not laughing.  he’s not even smiling.  he certainly isn’t prancing off into the sunset arm-in-arm with naruto, having the time of his life.  and yet when we see this again in the episode that’s focused on sasuke’s growing struggle, it looks completely different.  it looks like kakashi and naruto are happily skipping away without a care in the world, having a grand old time, oblivious to anyone and everything else.  

this is relevant to sasuke’s later confrontation with kakashi, because sasuke, in that moment, says, “all the laughter.  every one of you is laughing.  itachi sacrificed his life, but you’re still laughing, cackling together like fools - you’re just ignorant of everything!”  this distorted flashback of naruto and kakashi is such a clear illustration of how warped sasuke’s perception has become.  there are ways in which what he says is true, of course - everybody in the village IS ignorant of what really happened to itachi; there is literally no way anyone could possibly know the truth (and, importantly, no way they can be blamed for NOT knowing) - but there are also ways in which sasuke’s perception of the world has been severely distorted by his anger and his pain.  he’s not seeing things the way they actually are.  this whole barrel-of-laughs, partners-in-idiocy, best-friends-forever moment between naruto and kakashi never happened.  kakashi never treated naruto like this.  in reality, kakashi spends virtually zero one-on-one time with naruto in shonen jump (FAR less one-on-one time than he spends with sasuke, in fact) and when they are onscreen together, they're not gleeful or goofy or attached at the hip.  but sasuke’s mind right now can only focus on how much he’s hurting, and so it creates a false narrative for him where everybody was hurting him, all the time, which isn’t remotely the case, but is very much how he feels.

the crux of the matter here is that sasuke needs everybody to be culpable.  if he acknowledges that they aren’t culpable, it means he’s not justified in taking the actions he feels desperately compelled to take.  and he has been so unwell for so long that his own mind has become an unreliable narrator by now, interpreting events in ways that don’t accurately reflect reality, even if his skewed perceptions do accurately reflect how much pain he’s in (and, particularly, how wronged he truly has been, even if he’s projecting the blame for that onto people who had nothing to do with it).

[dianapana]

SH Day 12- ANBU Black Ops

@sasuhinamonth

たえる Part 2 (taeru=to endure)

Part 1

Rated M, Ninja Universe that underwent some changes (you’ll see that I use major events in the canon world but there is a lot of history that’s altered), OOC (major OOC for Hinata especially)

Warning: self-harm, mental health, sexual harassment, trauma

Hello, dears, I play quite a bit with chronology in this chapter, I hope it's all easy to understand. I made moth things be during summer so around the time of the girl SH month which is why in all the cases you'll see Sasuke is 1year older than Hina, since his bday is in July and hers in December. I hope you enjoy, ~Love Dia

Sasuke, age 23

I think it’s fair for me to say that I’ve been through a lot, not many things shake me anymore and all the things that have made me worried in the past years have had something in common, they were all somehow related to Hinata. I remember when I woke up after the war, I was chained to a hospital bed, placed under a jutsu that blocked my chakra, I was missing a limb and I was on the verge of insanity once more. The only thing that calmed me down was her image. Even without my chakra I searched for hers. She too was in the hospital; I found her signature light purple chakra but it was so faint and small I almost missed it. Seeing her like that made me crazy with worry, once everyone left my room, I broke all the chains and dragged myself to her room despite the pain. I hadn’t thought of her as fragile since our reunion when she was 15. I could barely stand to see her that way, and even if I wanted to stay and watch over her for longer, I could feel Naruto’s chakra getting closer, which meant I had to leave. For the following weeks I could only go and see her late at night, for there was always someone in her room, Naruto, her father, her sister, some sort of nurse or medic. I recovered under a month, yet I stayed until she woke up.

I was the only one in the room when her eyes opened, she looked confused and for a moment I was sure she had amnesia and would not remember me, us. But for the briefest moment her eyes rested upon my figure and recognition was there, relief was there, gratitude, affection and many other nuances that I can never seem to read or fully comprehend reflected in her eyes. I took her hand and kissed the back of it, allowing myself a small selfish gesture before leaving the room to inform the medics she woke up. Sakura gave me a strange, questioning look when I told her Hinata had woken up, but I didn’t care about subtlety at that second, I just wanted them to check her for any issues, I wanted her to be physically fine.

She didn’t have many memories of the war when she was first questioned, but they came back in waves and waves. I could tell that the questions overwhelmed her, much like the people that littered around, there were over 10 visitors in her tiny hospital room, from her father to Naruto, Kiba and many others. I just watched the whole situation from outside her window. I noticed her looking around, searching for someone that wasn’t there. No, it wasn’t me, she knew I wouldn’t be there when other people were, I knew exactly who she was searching for, that’s why I wanted to be close by. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, I knew things would take a turn for the worse soon enough. I saw it, the exact moment the fog raised off of her memories, the moment in which reality hit her, the moment in which the remaining light in her eyes died.

She asked for Neji, Naruto cringed, her father was the one to inform her of his passing. She asked when the funeral was going to be and silence fell onto the room. Sakura tried to slowly explain that the war ended two months ago and all the dead were already long buried. Hinata cried, she cried for her fallen cousin, she cried for missing his funeral, she cried for herself. They all gave her hugs and condolences, they reassured her that none of that was her fault. They all expected her to mourn and soon enough bounce back to the façade she always kept around the people in the village. They were unaware of the emotional depth her sadness could reach. I knew their expectations would never be met, I could tell that the headspace she was in was similar to the night I found her on the forest floor, she had the same look in her eyes as when she constantly begged me to let her die. Knowing all of that, I expected her to make certain choices, yet, despite knowing what was to come, I was unable to help, there wasn’t a single moment in which she was alone for a week to come. And when it all happened, I panicked at the notion of her death and responded wrongly to her actions.

I wasn’t watching her when she attempted to kill herself, I was with Tsunade who kept insisting that I accept their fake arm. I was in the midst of refusing once more, when I could feel a commotion in her room, I left without a word and ran there. The image that was in front of me wasn’t surprising but it was just as heart-breaking. Hinata’s bed was covered in blood, her left wrist was being treated by Sakura but you could still see the long and slim-cut along her wrist, Naruto was holding her other arm trying to put pressure on her wrist to stop the bleeding. It scared me, the amount of blood on herself and the bed, her light-headedness and indifference indicated that she had been bleeding for a long time. She waited for a moment in which I wasn’t there either, she wanted to escape me too. Had Naruto and Sakura been late they might have found her corpse instead. I left the room to calm myself down, I couldn’t cause a commotion. I tried my best to come up with kind and comforting words to tell her later when I would return to her room, but when I did, the image that greeted me, her arms strapped to the bed, made me lose my composure. I screamed at her, I can’t even recall what I said but I know it was very inappropriate, she laughed, she cried. Trying to comfort her with only one arm was difficult, that was the very first moment when I even considered accepting Tsunade’s offer, but in the end I didn’t. I spent every night that followed with her, after the initial shock I was able to recall the words I meant to give her, I knew they weren’t going to miraculously fix everything but I felt that she needed them nonetheless.

She apologized for considering that path and acting on her thoughts. I undid her chains and pulled her to my lap as she talked. “The moment my eyes moved past Naruto’s shoulders and I saw you in the door frame I regretted my choice, I wished I could undo it if only to never have to see that look on your face” I placed my face into her hair and just breathed her in. “I think I understand a little better now…what you felt when Itachi died, when you found out the truth. Our situations aren’t the same but I remember how…” she stopped, searching for the perfect word.

“Crazy? Unhinged? Mad?” I provided, but she frowned and shook her head.

“No, no, none of those…how anguished, sorrowful, wretched you were at the time. You come to me in a very agitated state, I was scared and concerned but couldn’t grasp that feeling. Now I do” If I’m honest I don’t remember how felt at the time, I don’t remember many things about that period of my life, all I know is that I wanted to give up, I thought I had made only wrong choices in my life, but I saw her and I remembered that even I could save someone.

After a few more nights she assured me that she was now mentally stable, her sadness was still very much present, but she had not had any self-harming thoughts. The decision to leave the village was very difficult at the time, but Hinata assured me that she enjoyed our routine and wished to continue it. I left but our correspondence was much more frequent than before the war, I would write her every other day and she’d reply as soon as my messages reached her. It took a bit over 3 months for her to resume her work as an ANBU, and a bit over 8 months in total to convince Kakashi to promote her to ANBU Black Ops. Her missions became more difficult and longer, she even had a mission in Amegakure that lasted half a year. When she first sent me the message informing me of the location of her mission it reminded me of our first encounter after I left the village. Our encounter that summer isn’t a memory I think of fondly, I was cruel, I was insane, I abused my knowledge of her trauma. Whenever I remember my actions, I want to go back and rewind the time, I want to apologize to 15-year-old Hinata, she was meek and fragile and I broke a part of her. She was doing her best to survive and to keep going and I was a huge obstacle in her recovery. When my feelings for her started changing I was always self-conscious whether they were genuine or not, wasn’t I using her? Wasn’t I just feeling guilty?

Hinata, age 15

I am nervous as I pack my bag for this mission, it is my first solo mission ever. 6 months after I became a Jonin and Tsunade finally trusts me enough to allow me to go alone in a mission. The destination is Amegakure and the mission is supposed to last for about to 3 weeks. The difficulty level of the mission is only B which I’d be pretty annoyed at, but the distance factor and the solo factor make up for it so, I am equally nervous and excited. When I told Neji about the mission he was concerned but didn’t show it much for my sake. Instead, he congratulated me and we had a small picnic in the outer skirt of the Hyuuga estate as celebration.

Now I am looking through my dresser for appropriate clothes for the rain to pack, I have to look for another set of kunais just in case and prepare myself a couple of bentos to have on hand. Slowly, the closer the night before my departure gets the less anxious I am, excitement seems to be the winning sentiment.

The morning of, I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and am unable to sleep longer. By the time I am fully dressed and ready to go it’s only 5:00 a.m. and the sun is barely raising, but I decide that it is light enough outside for me to leave. As always whenever I pass through the forest there’s a chill going through my veins and my enthusiasm is a bit dampened, I actively try and avoid that specific place even if it means it will add to the journey time. On the schedule, Tsunade gave me I’m meant to spend 8 days on the road to the village, approximately 4 or 5 days into the village and 8 more days back.

The mission itself isn’t supposed to be that difficult all I need to do is meet with different people in the village give them the scrolls Tsunade gave me and wait for their replies. All in all, there should be no fighting, I’m mostly a messenger but the large amount of people that need contacting made it impossible for a summon raven to deliver the scrolls. My adrenaline rush of being on my own, experiencing what freedom feels like made me speed up during the journey, I took less stops and didn’t even spend the night in one of the Inns I was supposed to. Thus, not only did I depart earlier than planned but I arrived into the village almost a day and a half ahead of the schedule. Since it’s still barely past noon I decide to start the mission a day early and I am able to cover a fifth of the task on the first day.

People usually when talking about Amegakure call it gloomy and depressing, but I enjoy walking around in the rain, the temperature isn’t too high despite it being the middle of a heatwave everywhere else, the smell and sounds of rain also add to its charm. The Inn I’m supposed to stay at for the duration of my mission is on the outside of the village, it is away from the noise of the centre, but not far out enough to say it isn’t part of the village at all. Walking into my room I sit down and finally grasp that I am days away from Konoha, I am alone. The realization makes me emotional; I hadn’t realized how much I needed to be on my own, how good it would feel to put distance between me and everything that Konoha entailed.

Sitting alone in the dark, only with the occasional lightning brightening up my room, I make a decision, I promise myself to only ever come on solo missions. I’ve endured years of discomfort so I deserved to feel this way, if only during missions. I take a shower and go to bed, I’m not as physically tired as I thought I would be after the journey and that worries me. I don’t want the nightmare to come and ruin my mood, but I close my eyes nonetheless.

It feels like barely a second passed when I open my eyes and see the cool light coming from outside. The sun is hidden behind the clouds of rain, but its light still pushes through to an extent. I had no dreams, no nightmares. I rested well and I feel better than I did in many years. I walk barefoot onto the cold wooden floor and I open the window, not caring that the rain is getting both me and the floor wet. I close my eyes and feel immensely liberated, the heavy chains that dragged me down at all times disappeared. Nobody here knows me and I don’t know them, I am but a face in the crowd, this anonymity offers me the independence I never knew before.

I complete the mission in under 3 days. I feel faster, stronger, happier here. It feels like I can do anything and everything. I have about 3 days I can waste in the village, under normal circumstances I’d return immediately to Konoha to get another mission and the cycle would repeat. But I decide to stay here for a while longer, I want to enjoy this feeling to the best of my ability. The day right after completing the mission I simply stay inside and sleep almost the whole day. I’m recharging my batteries which have been on low for 3 years now. I forgot what being well-rested felt like.

The following day I decide to wander around some more. The mission had me walk all over the village’s centre so, I decide to check out its outskirt more. I go and eat delicious food at a small booth owned by an older couple. Due to its relatively small scale Amegakure’s buildings are much much higher than those from Konoha so I climb on top of one that I deem to be among the highest and sit there, in the rain just watching the busy streets, looking over all the sky-high buildings and enjoying the feeling of being unrestrained by people’s gazes and expectations. For the smallest second, I feel someone’s gaze on me but I discard it as being the locals looking at the strange outsider that’s standing in the rain. I refuse to let my mood be dampened, not when I am just as high as this building is.

I return to the Inn and decide to take a shower, tomorrow is going to be my last day here and I feel like time is moving far too fast. I’m rinsing my hair when I get the same feeling as before, like someone is watching me. Before I can dismiss it again, I hear steps behind me, my mind goes blank. I’m suddenly turned around by a powerful hand, before closing my eyes I see a pair of black dead, unfeeling, cold, cruel, scary, scary, scary, scary eyes. I close my eyes and clench my jaw; I can feel tears trailing down my face. I’m hyperventilating, I can’t move, I’m weak, I’m small. I whimper when I feel his hand touching the scar right above my pelvis. The touch transports me back to when I’m 12 and on the ground, my legs no longer support me, the only reason why I’m still standing is because the man is holding my arm in an iron grip. The moment passes and his hand is gone allowing me to fall to my knees and then onto my butt. I have no idea how long I stay there in a trance. When I’m finally able to regain strength in my limbs to feel and make small movements I notice the shower water is freezing cold despite it being set to warm. I turn it off and walk into the room, there’s no trace of the man anymore, he didn’t do anything beyond touching my arm and my scar. Maybe he was simply created by my brain, yea no one was here, how could they be, why would they be.

I can feel myself slipping into hysteria as laughter bubbles up into my throat. I look around the room again searching for proof again and I sigh in relief when I find none. I’m finally calm enough to get dressed but I make the mistake of looking in the mirror. There’s a handprint on my arm where he gripped me. The print is red and turning a weird purple colour in places and yellow in others. He was here. He was real. I take small breaths in order to calm myself, I am fine, I am here, I can’t even picture the face of the man that was here, I try to force myself to forget the handprint, it was just a dream, another nightmare.

I pack my things and leave that very night despite being tired physically, mentally and emotionally. I don’t want to return to Konoha, and I can’t stay here, I don’t know where to go. The freedom I felt before gave me an amazing sense of accomplishment, but now it is a source of unease. I feel lost and like I do not belong anywhere. I feel insignificant. I feel lonely. I close my eyes and just sit on the floor outside of the village, waiting for something or someone to come get me. But nothing happens and the weather is turning cold despite the summer so I pick myself up and start walking wherever the road will take me.

I don’t remember the journey back home, I can’t even tell in how many days I completed it, I didn’t stop at all, I just ran. I ran from the man, the past, I ran from my weak self. I thought myself to be strong now that I am a Jonin, but I froze and was unable to do anything all the same. I need to be more than I am, I need to be stronger, braver, untouchable, more perceptive.

I hate myself for hesitating to enter the Konoha, I hate myself for hesitating to take on a new mission when Tsunade offers it. I hate myself when I have to walk through the halls of the Hyuuga compound, I hate myself when I hide from Neji. I hate myself when I walk into my room and burst into tears. I hate myself for getting my hope that high in Ame only to have them all crash and burn. I hate that I feel more broken today than I did 3 weeks ago.

Sasuke, age 16

I’ve been in a weird mood since a week ago when I saw Hyuuga in the Village Hidden in Rain. I hadn’t heard or seen anything related to Konoha since I left during the Chunnin exam. She was my first contact with it. Hinata Hyuuga, I remember her name clearly, she holds a special meaning to me, she is a life I saved. I saved her back before I was caught up in any business with Orochimaru, when I still thought following Kakashi was the right path to take, back when I was stupid and naïve. I hadn’t thought of her since that moment, but when my eyes fell onto her, I felt proud that she survived, but I also felt the need, the urge to utterly crush her beneath my feet. Her life belongs to me; I saved her so, I have every right to destroy her.

I could tell she was uncomfortable with me there, I felt her flinch as I traced the scar above her pelvis, I heard her whimper when I turned around, and I saw from the corner of my eye, as her legs have in and she fell to the floor. She looked small and pathetic and I felt strong in comparison.

However, now, days later I feel…guilt. I feel as if I used something against her that I shouldn’t have. At the time her image was blurry and not something I paid attention to, but I can clearly see it now whenever I close my eyes. He white skin had almost no imperfections besides the three scars, her eyes were shut tight, her face was red and wet, at the time I gloated at the thought that the water droplets were tears, now I’m hoping they were from the shower. Her long dark hair was wet and clinging to her body. She did her best to hide from me with her hands, with her position slightly bent. She was helpless, she didn’t even try to stop me, she didn’t scream or fight back, she froze in place and allowed me to do whatever I wanted. At the time that too made me feel powerful, I deluded myself into thinking that my presence as Sasuke Uchiha made her cower in fear. Now that I am analysing things once more, I realize it was her trauma that rendered her powerless, it was my presence that caused her fear, but she wasn’t scared of me, Sasuke, but rather of me, a male; she didn’t see me as an individual but as the image of the man that hurt her in the past.

Realizing that in her mind I was equal to that disgusting piece of trash makes me livid. I clench my jaw, pick up the first thing I see, a jar of whatever substance from one of Orochimaru’s labs and I throw it to the wall. The green liquid escapes its container and slowly eats away at the wall and ground, the sizzling noise and putrid smell don’t even bother me. I’m angry at her, I want to find her and scream in her face that I’m not that man. I wanna shake her until she understands. I am mad at her, at myself. Kabuto comes in and curses, he drags me out and talks under his breath, his presence adds to my anger.

“What do you want?” I ask him, I’m looking down at him. I grew taller these past few weeks, taller than him. I want him to pick a fight, I want a reason to smash his face in. The image of his bloody face as he lays unconscious on the ground would bring me the satisfaction I need. He looks mockingly at me, that’s enough to start a fight.

Less than 20 minutes later the fight is over, he’s not unconscious, he’s still standing, more precisely, walking away. But he is bleeding and so am I. The fight didn’t help. I still feel angry, but my anger is slowly being overshadowed by guilt.

The sudden urge to find her and apologize overcomes me, but I dismiss it. She’s long gone…I checked. The two of us won’t meet anytime soon and even if we do, I’ll never apologize, not to her, not to someone that…weak…

Hinata age 22

After sleeping in until 11 after all, I wake up to Sasuke’s face next to mine, I feel at ease, I feel happy. I cup his face and place a kiss over his closed eyelids. I feel his change in breath when he wakes up but his eyes remain closed. His arm comes around my waist and pulls me closer to him, slowly he opens his eyes and offers me a lazy smirk. For a while I forget that we’re in Konoha, I forget everything about people trying to control me. All my worries just disappear with his presence.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks and brushes my bangs out of my eyes. ‘You’ I want to say, but I decide to be selfish instead. I sit up and he does too, I move towards him and place myself on his lap, we are chest to chest, face-to-face. “I am unsure how long they’ll make me stay here. This... sensei job…they could stretch it for months, who knows.” I hate that that’s true, I hate that they’re trying to cage me into the village. “it’s difficult being here for an indefinite period of time, especially since I don’t have out missions to look forward to. So…” I stop talking, rethinking what I’m about to ask, wondering if it’s worth it, but he looks at me with no judgement, he’s waiting patiently. “So…I was thinking. Maybe being here in Konoha would be better…if you were here as well” Part of me initially regrets the words and wants to take them back.

“You want me to stay here until you can go back to your normal missions” he didn’t formulate it as a question so I didn’t reply, mostly because I didn’t trust myself not to say no, to act like it was a joke, so I stay silent. “Ok, I will” his hand is on my wrist and it’s slowly moving up under my tank top. “You should already know that anything you ask of me, I’ll do Hinata” I do know that, but this was something that I had been afraid to ask for a while. Would staying in Konoha be better with him here? It must be.

We talk some more about his stay in Konoha and then proceed to eat a late breakfast. “I passed by the cottage outside of Amegakure on my way to Konoha” that cottage will forever represent my safe space, all my memories in it are out-of-this-world happy. The cottage itself is pretty much outside every territory of every village, it belongs to nobody, yet that’s the place I feel I belong in. I stayed there for my thirst or fourth mission as an ANBU, as usual Sasuke met up with me and we live together there for months. Sasuke and I worked together for most of my missions, we completed them faster than it was estimated they would take and we spent the remaining of the time just being together outside of all the rules of everyone. That was the place in which after much deliberation and inner-fights I decided to put my trust in him. By then we had already expressed our feelings verbally and with actions such as kisses and hugs, but I wanted to move past that because I craved that closeness with someone, I wanted a stronger bond between us, but also out of spite, I wanted to prove that I was able to enjoy sex. I wanted to prove that what had happened no longer affected me. Out first time was a bit awkward, we were both virgins, Sasuke was overly conscious of making me feel comfortable and I just wanted it to be done with so our desired speed didn’t match, but it happened and it was fine. The second and third time around it was much better and now we reached a point in which intimacy with him doesn’t scare me in the least, I love it and it makes me feel amazing. I am aware that I’m not fully over the incident, the close proximity of strange men that I don’t know still bothers me at times, however, I am much stronger and able to protect myself, I am just...wary.

I end my train of thoughts by going back to the memory of our first time and it makes me giggle a little. Sasuke asks me with his eyes what I’m laughing about and my reply is only a smirk, I see the wheels spinning in his brain and the connections being made. I love that after so many years we’re able to just understand each other in this manner. He gets up from his chair and walks around the table to place his hand on the nape of my neck. “I can show you how much I’ve improved since than” he whispers and bends down to kiss me. I smile against his lips and loop my arms around his neck allowing him to pick me up.

I must have fallen asleep again because I am woken up this time by Naruto loudly knocking on my door. He left me alone yesterday because Sasuke was around but I guess even his long-lost best friend can’t keep his attention off of me for more than 24 hours. I look next to me and my heart hurts because Sasuke isn’t there. I tell myself it’s because he felt Naruto so he left, but I still don’t like that.

Naruto keep knocking on the door and I’m sure he’s about to tear it down if I don’t open it soon so I walk to it in my pjs with my hair a mess. When I open the door, he stops in his tracks. “Oh…” his eyes linger onto the scar on my shoulder, he has an obsession with it I’ve noticed. Does he believe that’s my biggest scar…if only he knew. “I didn’t know you were sleeping, I’m sorry”

“After yesterday’s mission the kids have the day off so I wanted to rest” I don’t assure him that it is ok even though I know that’s the polite thing to do. I am bitter and annoyed that Sasuke isn’t there. For a split moment when I woke up, I thought I had imagined his presence.

“I just wanted to bring these to you.” He says and presents me with a pile of papers. “I know you were given them before when Kakashi assigned you as their sensei” hah, like it was Kakashi’s idea. Hokage-sama wouldn’t have pushed me into being a sensei from a Black Ops and we all know that. I know Naruto pulled all of the strings to get me here, however, Kakashi-san is also to blame for allowing all of this to happen “but I think you should really read them well, you said you have a free day today. I can stay here with you and read them together”

I look at him and his easy-going smile. On normal days I’d try and be nice, but all I want to do today is spend my time in peace. “I heard Uchiha-san is back. Are you sure you want to spend the day with me reading about some kids rather than catch up with him?” I feel sorry for guiding Naruto towards Sasuke, but I know Sasuke and if he’s one thing, he’s good at not being found.

Upon hearing Sasuke’s name Naruto’s smile brightened to the extent that it actually hurt my eyes. “I already saw and talked to him today” He left before Naruto came here, was it before we ate? After? When did they meet? “We talked and agreed to go on a mission together this week” He’s leaving after I asked him to stay “We went to Kakashi and already got all the info, so I’ll spend a lot of time together with him and find out all about what he’s been up to in these years and I ---” Naruto keeps talking but I feel suffocated.