Crack Pairings Anonymous

crack_pairings @ 2008-09-03T18:05:00

2008-09-03T16:13:13Z

This is my very first fanfic.

Title: Unworthy
Genre: Romance/General
Rating: T
Pairing: IbiTayu (Ibiki x Tayuya)

Note: Tayuya is 18 in this fic.

i just want to make a clean escape

2008-08-20T17:27:36Z

i just want to make a clean escape
deidara/sakura. pg. 217.
Those clenched fists, sweat dripping down a neck pale and glistening, green eyes like signals sent to ward off demons.
for rika, who gave me this random pairing. i actually hate deidara, but i like this fic? idk.

( no obstacle for you )

[FIC] in·ter·ac·tion 2

2008-08-10T20:08:12Z

Title: in·ter·ac·tion 2
Last: in·ter·ac·tion 1
Pairings/Characters: Yamato x Kiba, Raidou + Zabuza, Gai + Zabuza, Hanabi + Hiashi, Deidara + Karin, Hanabi + Yamato, Anko x Kurenai, Hiashi x Neji, Hayate + Shizune, Rin + Itachi (and Mikoto), Kakashi x Deidara, Itachi + Kankurou, Kisame + Sasuke, Gai + Gaara, Itachi + Kabuto, Gaara x Kankurou, Ibiki + Kakashi, Kurenai (+ Jiraiya)
Ratings: G to PG-13
Warnings: Some incest, implied underage relationships

( Perhaps Deidara has had to much too drink - when he gets dizzy and slips on the dance floor and is enfolded in someone’s arms, he looks up to see a pirate; he must have said his observations aloud, because the man chuckles in his ear and offers him a ride home (Deidara agrees, for once leaving Sasori to his own devices). )

[FIC] Visionary

2008-08-09T06:29:12Z

Visionary
Title: Visionary
Fic-Type: One-shot
Pairing: ItaSasu
Rating: PG-13-R
Summary: To possess foresight far beyond most has the potential to lead to inexplicable dealings.
Quick Note: One-shot request I had done for a friend.

Visionary

By: Jae (Dirtyangel, The Original Dirtyangel)

Original Archive Date: August 5, 2008
Originally Archived: FF(.)net

Edited Edition

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated at such and belong to the author, Jae (Dirtyangel).

Overall Rating: M (R)

Warnings: This fiction contains: Spoilers, Shonen-ai (homosexuality)

—.&.&.—

Preface

Once upon a time I had told myself that I would never write a story such as this one, but apparently that time was long ago and long forgotten. Alas, I have come to see the day where I have written an Itachi x Sasuke work of fiction, but I have gladly done so for one of the sweetest friends that I know, dejikouchan. As she had requested I had wracked my brain for the best possible scenerio for a canon ItaSasu that I could imagine as well the hottest one (there was much emphasis on that). So for her, I have scrumaged up what little free time I had to write this as a thank you for keeping me company all those late nights at school into the wee hours of the morning while we had slaved away on our thesis animation projects. I hope that you enjoy it, my dear.

A/N: Funny enough, this had been written before Chap. 409 of the manga. The current version you are reading is also the editted version of a very risque ItaSasu fic. There are only mild implications located here so even avid NaruSasu fangirl as myself can enjoy. :) Also, know that you are reading a un-beta'd version.

—.&.&.—

He watched with mild interest as the man known as Uchiha Madara shrugged aside Suigetsu’s massive blade as if it were a toy. It didn’t surprise him how easily his teammate was slighted. Suigetsu was never one for strategy nor was he patient. Sasuke knew it would be his undoing one day.

"At any rate, Akatsuki is currently lacking in numbers and capabilities," Madara continued with his previous thought.

Suigetsu scowled petulantly at both Sasuke and the two older ninja from his spot atop the table. Neither parties were too concerned with him, however. To Sasuke, Suigetsu’s plans were inconsequential to his own. He only required the other boy’s skills and nothing more.

"Tailed-beasts?" Sasuke spoke up upon hearing the words.

As if on cue, Karin began to comment, but Sasuke interrupted before she got far. He did not have time for one of her pseudo-intellectual tangents on something she more than likely did not fully understand. It was a quality about her that Sasuke was not particularly fond of but tolerated. Not this time. He prompted Madara to go on; and although Karin looked extremely put out by Sasuke’s actions, she kept quiet.

Sasuke had first heard of the tailed-creatures during his time with Orochimaru. The Sannin had occasionally discussed the topic with Kabuto when he would reference Akatsuki. Though, he had never made any mention of the jinchuuriki or the tailed-beasts to Sasuke directly unless it was to make a snide remark about the dobe. Those incidents were mostly attempts to throw Sasuke off balance, but they had failed repeatedly. Nevertheless, they had never left Sasuke in the best of moods afterwards.

Madara explained his offer further while Sasuke listened intently. The other Uchiha spoke of how these chakra-based creatures had once been the wards of the First Hokage. Sasuke mentally snorted. It sounded so typical of Konoha. The village had always been known to have a plethora of resources available to them. It was one of the major reasons why Orochimaru had tried so hard to overrun it and also why he couldn’t. Madara continued on; but Sasuke had begun to only half listen. Unlike, his teacher, Sasuke would not fail in his own endeavors. Regardless of how resourceful Konoha was or could be he would crush it into the very earth it stood for what was done to his family. Orochimaru’s weakness was his lack of true focus when faced with his greed for power. Nothing would deter Sasuke from his goal.

"So you haven’t captured the nine-tails yet..."

"Akatsuki will take care of Naruto," Madara’s tone caused Sasuke to raise a brow, "Hawk will collect the eight-tails."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not pushing the issue. Madara’s adamancy about keeping Hawk (and Sasuke) away from the Kyuubi and Naruto was suspect, but not important to him at the moment. Until he came to a full assessment of the leader of Akatsuki, he would allow a few things to pass. The moment he was more secure of Hawk’s new situation he would make his move.

"Fine," Sasuke said, rising from his seat. "We’ll concede to that arrangement."

He glanced at the other members of Hawk.

"If there’s nothing else you need to go over," Sasuke looked back at Madara, "we’re done here."

His dismal was forward and bordering disrespectful, but he didn’t care. Accepting an alliance with Akatsuki in no way made him a subordinate. Sasuke moved from the long table they had conferenced and walked off the portico. Madara said nothing to him as he left, only watched, while Kisame kept a furitive, sharp-toothed grin on his face. Karin glanced after Sasuke and then back at the two Akatsuki members. She frowned before following behind him, Juugo doing the same, and then a smirking Suigetsu.

"I don’t trust either of those two," Karin said when they had gotten some distance between them and the portico.

"This is not a matter of trust," Sasuke replied, "It’s about how useful they will be to us."

As they traveled out of the grand area of irregular stone fixtures and columns and deeper into Akatsuki’s stronghold, Sasuke wondered how many times his brother had taken that path. What had been going through Itachi’s mind then? Had he thought about how useful Akatsuki would be to him? Or had he contemplated whether Sasuke was too far beyond his help the longer he had stayed with Orochimaru? Still, Sasuke had to control his conditioned reaction of denial. A slight crease etched its way across the skin of his forehead. Everything he had believed for the past seven years had been a lie; a masterly construed plan by his older brother to keep Sasuke from the truth about their family.

"Niether of them are worth trusting," Sasuke continued. He stopped as they came to a fork in the path. He turned to his team and hardened his expression.

"What matters is the information and resources they can provide us with so we can reach our goal."

Karin appeared as if she wanted to say something, but at Sasuke’s look, she thought better of it. Juugo shifted uneasily behind her, keeping his gaze averted. Suigetsu was the only one seemingly unfazed by the dark-haired ninja’s menacing demeanor. The scenario wasn’t uncommon.

"Whatever," Suigetsu said. He had replaced his sword onto his back and crossed his arms. "I could care less about what goes down. As I said, all I want is Samehada."

Sasuke eyed him momentarily before turning around and moving toward the passage to his right.

"As long as you stick to my plans, you’ll have it," he finished, leaving his teammates behind.

The remaining members of Hawk watched their leader go with varying degrees of worry. None of them really knew what Sasuke had in mind with the new direction he had decided the team should take. Yet Sasuke was an exceptional ninja and they did know how thorough he was with the execution of his plans, so they would continue to follow him. There was already an unspoken agreement amongst them all—even though Sasuke would never admit to it—they did have a bond as a team and it meant something.

"He’s almost as bitchy as Orochimaru was," Suigetsu said off-handedly.

Karin threw him a scathing glare and huffed indignantly. "A little ingrate such as yourself couldn’t possibly understand Sasuke’s train of thought."

"Tch, what? And you can?" Suigetsu grinned wryly.

He was barely within the konouichi’s reach when she lashed out at him. Suigetsu stumbled back a few steps, but easily recovered with a broad grin. Regardless of the usual pain he incurred from mocking Karin, he found a great deal of amusement from it. Sasuke often gave him numerous dark looks for causing trouble but Suigestu felt it kept him on his toes.

"Face it," Suigetsu said, sidestepping a kick to the crotch, "Konoha is just filled with a bunch of psychos."

—.&.&.—

The door he stood before was as nondescript as all the other chamber doors throughout Akatsuki’s lair. To any observer the structure appeared to be nothing but an extension of the surrounding wall, and though Madara had confirmed that a room did lie beyond it, a part of Sasuke remained skeptical. The reason behind his interest for that door in particular lay in the fact that it belonged to Itachi’s chamber. Despite his own warring feelings and the actuality of what he had learned, his brother had always been very important to him and his need for closure was testimony to that.

Itachi was dead. Whether by his hands or not, his older sibling was gone, the last remnant of his family. The verity of it was catching up to Sasuke.

He peered at what seemed to be a normal stone wall for another minute before activating his Sharingan. It was then that he could make out the complex genjutsu that had been placed upon the door. An intricate trackway of chakra paths ran throughout the entire expanse of the of the passage wall, most likely connecting to other chakra networks within the hideout. The area Sasuke stood before had a higher concentration of chakra paths than the others which formed the crude silhouette of an arched doorway. Sasuke lifted a hand to touch a particular spot within the web of glowing blues. The slightest amount of resistance met the palm of his hand before it eased away and the chakra paths began to disentangle.

Slowly, the stone façade slunk back to reveal the aged, wooden surface of the chamber door. Without hesitation, Sasuke deactivated his blood inheritance; took hold of the door handle; and pushed it open. The dank, heavy scent of must, earth, and stone assaulted his nostrils as he stepped into the room. It was an odor that could be found throughout the whole underground refuge in different measures of intensity. Sasuke was used to the smell, as the room he had occupied while training with Orochimaru had been no different. Besides those earthy scents, there was the lingering aroma of something charred and smoky. Sasuke couldn’t directly identify it as incense but it was close.

He moved farther into the chamber, closing the door behind him. The space was sparsely furnished aside from a lone futon that laid a few meters ahead of him and the crate and chest that flanked it. This had been where Itachi had slept and taken refuge for the last few years of his life. The thought flitted through Sasuke’s mind. The places that both he and Itachi had dwelled for the past two or more years had been a far cry from what their home in Konoha had been. However, a missing-nin did not need the frivolities of domestic life. No ninja did. Those who felt the need for them only chased a fantasy of what their lives lacked: Normalcy.

Sasuke approached the futon, diverting to the side where the crate was stationed. The only light source in the room—an oil lamp—stood solemnly atop the crate. Its flame flickered minutely within the glass but continued to burn brightly. The dark-haired ninja eyed it curiously. On closer inspection, Sasuke noticed a small piece of paper marked with a familiar seal soaking within the lamp’s oil. It was what kept the lamp’s perpetual flame going.

This simple technique had been developed by the Uchiha clan many generations back. By using the natural properties within the oil to maintain the flow of chakra fused into the seal it was possible to keep a flame alight. Sasuke could tell that the one before him would need to be replaced soon. The jutsu was never meant to last more than a few weeks.

He glanced over at the chest on the other side of the futon. Sasuke suspected that a genjutsu had been placed upon it but he would worry about it later. His eyes slid back to the lamp. Why, he asked himself, why, why, why...

"Why!" Sasuke slammed a fist down beside the lamp. The object rattled hazardously from the force of the abrupt action while his clenched hand trembled inadmissibly. Sasuke stared wide-eyed at his fisted fingers. He hadn’t realized that he had begun to voice his inner mantra.

The teen unclenched his hand and stood straighter, gathering his composure once again. A heavy sense of betrayal hung tenaciously over his heart but what was done was done. He couldn’t bring his family back nor could he bring Itachi back. He couldn’t ask his brother all the questions he asked himself. And just like that fateful night many years ago, he couldn’t properly say goodbye. Sasuke would exact his revenge for those very reasons, leaving behind no doubt or question of what the Uchiha clan was truly capable of.

"You were such a liar, aniki," Sasuke whispered, almost reverently. He reached for the lamp glass and lifted it carefully.

"I’ll never forgive you for it; but you are one half of myself and I will avenge you because of that."

Sasuke placed his index finger and thumb to hover on either side of the flame.

"Rest in peace, brother," he extinguished the flame with a waft of chakra and the room was cloaked in darkness. He felt something very similar happen to his soul.

The room was silent all around him except for the soft huffs of his own breath. He inhaled deeply and released it, still catching the underlying scent of something scorched. Sasuke mused that perhaps it had been the seal since he had not seen nor smelt one since he had lived in Konoha. He turned away from the crate. Although it was pitch black, he had already memorized the path to the door. He began to make his way toward it.

"My dear, foolish little brother," the words drifted through the chamber like a foreign zephyr.

Sasuke whirled around just as the extinguished flame sparked back to life. A long shadow was cast upon the wall beside the crate and lamp while a cloaked arm rose up and lean, manicured fingers gripped onto the glass fixture that Sasuke had removed. The apparition lifted the fixture and replaced it over the burning flame of the lamp. Sasuke tensed, narrowing his eyes. With the subtlest of motions he slid his hand toward his katana.

"I’m disappointed that you’re here, Sasuke," the figure continued to whisper, "You were never supposed to come this far."

Sasuke removed his gaze from those mysterious fingers and placed it upon the shrouded face of the stranger. The moment he took in the man’s pale complexion and dark features he realized how careless he had been. A genjutsu, he scowled.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Sasuke spoke calmly. It was in stark contrast to the prickles of anxiety he felt fluttering within his stomach.

The entity bearing his brother’s face gave him a precursory glance before moving its hand back to its side.

"Is that what you believe, Sasuke?" the being asked.

It took a step forward, away from the wall and crate. The movement was almost imperceptible much like Itachi’s motions had been; and Sasuke glowered at it with an increased intensity. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge for him to break the illusion, but it both disturbed and angered him to think that a member of Akatsuki would be so brazen as to mock him in such a manner. Who were they to him? He wouldn’t tolerate something like this, and he would make sure that the perpetrator knew that as well.

With a flick of his wrist, Sasuke summoned a kunai from the seal hidden under his right armguard. The weapon materialized in the palm of his hand seconds before he artfully flipped it and sent in flying toward his target in one fluid movement. A solid thud sounded through the room as the knife embedded into the wall behind where the figure should have been. Sasuke blinked his eyes closed only to reopen them with his Sharingan. His right hand grabbed ahold of the hilt of his katana, lifting it from its sheath.

It was then that a heavy grip clamped onto the wrist of that hand and stilled his movements.

"There is no need for you to be so brash, Sasuke," Itachi’s deep baritone voice whispered into the teen’s ear; "This is simply a message I have left behind in the case that you were foolish enough to be lured in by Madara."

"And I’m to believe this is truly something devised by my brother because?" Sasuke challenged.

His eyes were already darting around the space searching for the focal point of the genjutsu. By disrupting that he could dispel the technique. In a few moments his scrutiny directed his sight toward the lamp that continued to hold its flame. Sasuke grimaced, irate with his own inattentiveness.

"With all that you’ve most likely learned by now, why couldn’t it be?" his brother’s voice said again.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at the doppelganger to assess it. It had made a sensible point. Madara had informed him of all the lengths that Itachi had gone through simply to keep Sasuke away from what had really happened with their family. There was nothing offsetting the possibility of his brother doing something such as this to relay a message to him. Itachi had after all beaten Sasuke to exhaustion just to free him of Orochimaru’s curse.

The younger nin clenched his left hand to refrain himself from disregarding that reasoning and continuing with his task. He would attempt to listen. It was the least he could do.

"Fine," he said.

Sasuke’s wrist was released and the man behind him backed away gracefully. It walked smoothly around him before stopping directly in front of Sasuke. The teen stared pointedly at the floor, refusing to look up into the figure’s face. He didn’t want to peer up into something that was dishearteningly fake. His patience did, however, grow thin when he heard the distinctive huff of a chuckle. Sasuke growled warningly under his breath.

"Don’t worry yourself too much, little brother," Itachi said (because Sasuke somehow couldn’t bring himself to keep thinking this apparition was anything but something of Itachi).

"This is an olfactory genjutsu. You’ve been breathing in the chakra residue since you had entered the room. It will not dispel until it is finished."

I see, so that smell...Sasuke concluded. Rarely had he come across sensory based genjutsu such as that one. It was yet another display from Itachi’s proverbial bag of tricks. Sasuke re-sheathed his katana with more force that necessary. The terse clip sound that was made helped to distract him from the mild rouse of jealousy that had slithered through him. Sasuke felt as if he were nine years-old again, trying to catch up to an older brother who always remained just out of reach. He quickly dismissed the feeling. It wasn’t something he had time for.

"What is it that you need to say?" Sasuke asked.

Another huff of air came from the form before him.

"Don’t sound so put out, little brother," Itachi shifted his body toward the chest on the other side of the futon. Sasuke looked over in that direction as well.

"What has been mine, will most definitely be yours."

He glanced up into the other man’s face at that comment. Sasuke found Itachi’s calm, cool gaze staring back at him and—for the first time in many years—it did not hold the Sharingan. He felt compelled to relinquish his own Sharingan. The harsh crimson color instinctively slunk back into the natural ebony hue of Sasuke’s eyes.

"Listen to me carefully, Sasuke," his brother said, "everything I have done up until now has been to secure something better for you. Do not be disillusioned by what Madara might tell you. The result will not be something you will be proud of."

Itachi had turned back to face Sasuke fully.

"My methods may have been harsh, but without them you would have never reached this point."

"How do you know that?" the indignant murmur flew from Sasuke’s mouth before he could stop himself.

The longer he stood there listening to the illusion the more it felt as if he were speaking directly to his brother. He felt the need to protest Itachi’s logic. It was something he had never gotten the chance to do before. It was something he should have gotten the chance to do.

"How could you have wanted something like that!" Sasuke said again.

"Then, which would you have preferred, Sasuke? A family hell-bent on starting a civil war that would have destroyed the only home you knew and killed countless people; or a traitorous madman of a brother who had disgraced your once proud family?"

The words were said so plainly that they gave Sasuke pause. He gaped at Itachi with a look of bemusement and wariness. What could he say to such a statement? Even now, in death, his brother continued to highlight Sasuke’s ignorance. The teen had always hated it. Though, in hindsight, he had realized that that was Itachi’s way of encouraging him toward a better answer or solution.

"I would have preferred," Sasuke began. His brows furrowed deeper as he focused on his brother’s face. There’s only one thing I would have preferred, his inner voice stated.

"-to not have been left alone," Sasuke said.

That had been what he had truly wanted all this time. If he had not been abandoned to the waste of their clan’s image, he would have coped better. Things would have eventually been all right. In that single admittance, an indescribable emotion manifested itself in Sasuke. It couldn’t be defined by any singular feeling but a surplus of them. Sasuke felt anger, embarrassment, fearfulness, excitement, anxiety, loss, happiness, and strangely, acceptance. All topped off with a sense of shame for having experienced all that at once. Those words he had uttered where an acknowledgement of what he’d pushed aside for most of his young life.

The stoicism that dominated Itachi’s stare slowly dissolved from his eyes, causing Sasuke to stubbornly force back the embarrassed blush that crept across his skin. Sasuke glared, thin-lipped, and turned his whole body away as the illusion moved closer. This was very foolish of him, to act so shamefully. He had been deceived into nothing more than a hallucination and had no place in feeling this way.

"I know, Sasuke," the figure spoke gently behind him.

A soothing hand settled on Sasuke’s left shoulder unexpectedly. The touch made him tense, and all the more aware that this was a portion of his brother he was speaking to. Sasuke knew that a great deal of chakra had to have been poured into that technique over a considerable amount of time for it to have been able to sustain itself for so long without its original creator. It made him wonder if Itachi had known what an impact something such as that would have had on Sasuke. Or perhaps his brother had had his own desire to convey to the teen what he couldn’t while he was alive. The more he thought about it, the more confused and anxious he became.

"I had always considered how you would have really felt," Itachi stood mere centimeters from him. "And I know it is something you will never forgive me for."

"So what is this? Some kind of apology?" Sasuke whispered bitterly. Would he be able to accept it if it was?

"No."

The young ninja felt as if something had struck him in the gut. He scowled at the thatch work of stone beneath his feet. What had he expected from Itachi, he should have known. But the hand on his shoulder gripped him tighter than before and warm breath hovered by his right ear.

"This is my goodbye, little brother," Itachi said. "If you are seeing this illusion, things have forgone any apology I could ever give."

Just as suddenly as the cloaked figure had appeared to him, Sasuke felt the tepid sensation of a tear catch the corner of his mouth. There was only one, unlike the many he had cried after speaking with Madara the first time. Regardless, he felt just as heartbroken as he did then, including the slew of emotions he felt now. Sasuke thought to himself that this might have been the reason he had disregard all and any emotion, because if he had heeded them they would have overwhelmed him. What he experienced standing there in Itachi’s chamber seemed amplified by a thousand-fold.

It was the hand that staunchly staid on his shoulder that kept Sasuke grounded. He found it both surreal and reassuring as rarely had Itachi ever touched him when he was alive. Physical contact had been scarce in the Uchiha clan but Sasuke could remember how his mother had hugged him lovingly...or how Itachi had fondly flicked his forehead.

"Sasuke," Itachi spoke in the same airy voice from before. It flowed over him and in him and through him.

Sasuke had never heard Itachi’s voice in such a way before. It calmed him and made him feel secure.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked..

"Only what is left to be said with words," his brother softly whispered into his ear.

Itachi’s hand gripped him again but the touch was accented by something new; a massaging movement that kneaded the muscles of his shoulder and pushed them into a more yielding state. It caused Sasuke to shudder involuntarily and his stomach to flutter nervously. The voice of reason that dwelled in the far reaches of his mind spoke fervidly of how Sasuke should not for one second let his guard down. He had agreed to listen to what the wraith had to say but the way he relented to its words and influence were unconscionable. You’re no longer in control of this situation, Sasuke berated himself.

That thought jarred him out of the daze that he had fallen into under the slow persuasion of Itachi’s hand. Regaining his composure, Sasuke found a second hand that had been slipped upon his right forearm. An unexplainable heat spread along his back where the entity’s body touched him. Everything about the man appeared equivocally real and solid. Sasuke contemplated just how potent the genjutsu was.

"What are you doing?" the teen asked, pulling away quickly as if burned. He backed away a few steps and brought a hand back to the hilt of his katana.

Itachi stared at him, curious and amused.

"Are you afraid of me, little brother?"

Sasuke scowled at the being and held his weapon more firmly.

"I’m anything but," he said. "Don’t take me for a fool to fall so easily to a technique as powerful as this."

At that, Itachi’s eyes lit up with what Sasuke could only describe as realization and he laughed. It was neither a maniacal sound nor a sinister one, just a rich and genuinely lighthearted timbre. Sasuke stared at him in shock.

"This is not entirely what you think, Sasuke," Itachi said with a small smile. It was odd to see such an easy expression on his face.

"I am not the one facilitating this genjutsu, little brother. You are. It is impossible for me to do so, as I am sure you are aware of my current state of being."

"What are you talking about?" a tinge of uncertainty entered Sasuke’s voice.

Itachi glanced over his shoulder and Sasuke followed his line of vision. They both looked at the still lit lamp that sat on the crate. Its flame continued to burn steadfastly without a flicker or dimming.

"The residue given off by that lamp was no more that a form of stimulation. It is too weak of a technique to generate anything significant as a genjustsu," Itachi looked back at Sasuke. "What you are looking at is a remnant of what I—Itachi has left with you along with Amaterasu. It can do no more than relay a message to you. Your Sharingan is what has cast this illusion."

"What..." Sasuke said in disbelief.

A shadow loomed over him suddenly and Itachi was in front of him, standing only a hair’s width from him. Sasuke, stunned into immobility, could do nothing more than look up at him with an unwelcomed fear that made him angrier with himself, but it was rendered irrelevant.

"Mangekyou is a powerful technique, Sasuke, that even the Uchiha have not fully mastered."

Itachi’s hands were on him again, one on his shoulder while the fingers of the other flicked his forehead; "Do not fear it, little brother, and do not fear me."

Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat at Itachi’s husky tone. The strong feelings of anxiety and excitement were welling up within him again. He was still angry but more confused than ever and lost at what to do. How he could disperse something that he himself had initiated unwittingly and what more was it that Itachi wanted to communicate to him that required no words. Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion of what and he grew even more nervous. But why? he wondered.

"What is it that you want from me."

"For you to be stronger than myself, Sasuke. All I have wanted was for you to be safe and to persist to be the second half of myself that I have always loved," Itachi answered.

Sasuke couldn’t look into Itachi’s eyes any longer. The unfathomable amount of love and devotion that he found in his brother’s expression seemed to crush his very soul. How could he have spent most of his life hating someone like this? Why did he have to?

"Itachi," Sasuke found himself whispering uselessly.

It didn’t matter as his brother seemed to understand and petted Sasuke’s hair affectionately. All the degrees on emotion that the man was capable of were so contrary to what he had showed Sasuke in life. It made Sasuke wish fiercely that things had not gone the way they had and it fortified his conviction to avenge his brother.

"I’m sorry, Itachi," the boy said into the dark material of Itachi’s cloak. "But I will destroy each and every one of them for what they have done to you and our family."

The petting stopped and Itachi sighed quietly. "No matter, I am confident you will make the right decision, Sasuke."

Nothing else was said between them and Sasuke knew there was nothing left that could be said.

—.&.o.o.&.—

fin

—.&.o.o.&.—

Generators

2008-08-07T22:42:52Z

Keitorin's Generators (main page)

The Naruto ones:

Pairing, Rating and Prompt(s)
Pairing, Rating, Time Limit and Prompt(s)
Pairing + Theme (1 sentence challenge)

Other fandoms:

Get Backers, Kyou Kara Maou, Death Note, Bleach

Other Generators: Story Title Generator, Kink/Trope/Cliche Generator (NSFW), Theme/Word(s) [1] [3], Letters Generator

x-posting to other Naruto communities.

[FIC] in·ter·ac·tion

2008-08-06T18:51:34Z

Title: in·ter·ac·tion
Pairings/Characters: Kiba x Hanabi, Sakura x Kankurou, Orochimaru x Konan, Shizune + Suigetsu, Jiraiya + Sai, Raidou x Genma, Ebisu x Tobi, Deidara + Kabuto, Sasuke x Juugo, Minato + Sai, Jiraiya + Hizashi, Kakashi + Gaara, Pein + Jiraiya
Ratings: G to PG-13
Summaries: Various

( “Please, give me money! I’ll do anything”, Shizune begs down on her knees, clutching at the hem of Suigetsu’s pants; he makes an annoyed sound in the back of his throat and grumbles something along the lines of ‘always the crazy ones’, drops a few coins on the ground and leaves, just as Tsunade starts running her way with debt collectors in hot pursuit behind her. )

short and sweet are the words we speak

2008-06-27T03:10:39Z

short and sweet are the words we speak
ino/sakura. pg. 211.
Eyes slip shut, soft shimmering images played on dark screens through dark hours.
written for the pinkcrack drabble-a-thon.

( and when we break, we'll wait for our miracle )

xposted to sakuraxino pinkcrack naruto_yuri crack_pairings chuunin

SAKURA SHIPS DRABBLE-A-THON

2008-06-26T15:55:51Z

SAKURA SHIPS DRABBLE-A-THON

The goal is to get at least one drabble for every Sakura ship.
And we do mean EVERY.
Come over to pinkcrack and join in the drabble-a-thon.

barricades reduce themselves to rubble at the sight

2008-06-08T05:22:49Z

barricades reduce themselves to rubble at the sight
ino/sakura. pg. 395.
Catapults and pickaxes can't tear down the divide that hides her inner self. A whisper can.

( but i won't let it die, i won't let it die )

xposted to crack_pairings sakuraxino pigxforehead naruto_yuri

compress yourself down to the size of diamonds that reflect her eyes

2008-06-04T02:06:22Z

compress yourself down to the size of diamonds that reflect her eyes
ino/sakura. pg. 287.
The insides of her cheeks are cut and bleeding, wounds left by the things she doesn't say.

( everything is not what it seems )

xposted to sakuraxino pigxforehead naruto_yuri crack_pairings

[Fanfic] Before Sunrise

2008-04-23T09:46:28Z

Title: Before Sunrise
Pairing: Kakashi/Itachi
Summary: It seemed as if they were honestly living on borrowed time. Perhaps Itachi's lied far too much and maybe Kakashi's honestly just tired.
Rating: PG-13

( "Can I kiss you, Itachi-san?" )

A little NejiTem

2008-04-01T16:31:58Z

H...hi!

This is my first post here - and my first post in a livejournal community, period - so watch me botch this up big time! I apologize in advance for breaking various rules and I plead ignorance and imbecility in my defense. *bg*

Title: Via Media
Genre: Humour/Romance
Summary: “I bet you’re a vegetarian,” said Temari, and she plucked at a nearby plant. “Here’s a leaf for you, try not to choke.” ...It all went downhill from there.

( One road. Two bunkhouses. Three weeks of border patrol. Neji x Temari. )

Fanfic : Drastic Measures

2008-02-27T13:04:27Z

Title: Drastic Measures
Pairing: Naruto/Minato
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Falling in love with your father? Not exactly the best thing that could happen with you. It'll be a journey full of stress and heartbreak. That's the norm anyway. But then, Naruto's never been normal at all, nor has his father been normal, too.
Note/s: Er, humorous and AU approach to NaruMina. Positively no drama at all. I think. Or, wait. Come to think of it... Never mind then~ Written for kaikouken/Kai-puu/Mommy.

( Hot blond/e love? Yes~ ♥ )

Fan Fic: And For The Last Time...!

2008-02-07T02:22:43Z

And For The Last Time...!
^{It's Called 'VA-LEN-TINES'!}
Characters/Pairings: Tobi x Sakura
Rating: T/PG-13
Genre: Humor/Romance
Status/Chapter: Complete
Word Count: 994
Warnings: First Attempt at Fluff, course language, implications (more like shoved down your throat) of death.
Summary: Obviously, Social Affairs had always been a bit of an obstacle for Tobi; luckily, he has help.

( she had the gut feeling that somewhere else out there on campus Deidara and Konan where sipping tea from little heart shaped cups )

FanFic : Incandescence [CHAPTER III]

2008-01-05T21:33:03Z

Dedicate this chapter to wine and coffee and all of its whimsical tastiness. ♥

Title: Incandescence
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T
Pairing: DeiIno
Summary: The method he chose to fulfill his mission was to acquaint himself with a certain artistic female.

(Twenty-six.)

Index:
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II

Fan Fic: How to Beat Around the Bush

2008-01-02T23:04:46Z

Notes: Second installment of my Shika/Hina 30_kisses. I hope you will enjoy this.
Title: How to Beat Around the Bush
Pairing: Nara Shikamaru/Hyuuga Hinata
Theme: #30: Kiss
Rating: PG/K+
Disclaimer: I do not own rights to Naruto anime/manga, characters included

Pale lavender eyes slowly opened, flesh eyelids fluttered, eyelashes quivered; as the young Hyuuga woman attempted to regain some level of conscious control over mind and body.

Hinata blinked as she caught sight of the beige stone pathway of the sidewalk pass underneath her at an off kilter slow pace; yet her feet weren’t moving.

Instead, Hinata found her limbs…no her entire body was resting against the back of another person- arms fitted loosely around a strong neck and her legs were cupped underneath her pant-covered thighs, by bowed arms, supported by bent elbows-.

Fighting back a gasp, so as to not to alert the person carrying her, Hinata closed her eyes again, purposefully shutting out the sensation of sight while the young woman’s face turned a dark shade of red.

‘This is the second time I’ve fainted in front of someone.’ Hinata inwardly whimpered.

After almost four years since her first Chuunin exam, Hinata expected to be further along in her progress. She desired to be stronger, to be less of an emotional pushover, and attempted to strive toward having a better control over her emotions: namely to stop herself from fainting in front of people in the middle of a crowded street.

“Hey…”

Hinata bit back a small ‘eep!’ of surprise as she felt the ‘person’ underneath and upright of herself shift, the rustle of plastic bags coming from somewhere, as shoulders shrugged backward.

“Are you awake back there?”

It took Hinata only a moment to place the voice- only to find herself wishing that some random stranger had picked up off the ground and was giving her a piggy-back ride in Shikamaru’s place.

“U-um…yes?” Hinata replied her voice trembling a little-which made her cringe- and gave an unsure question in response rather than a firm answer.

“Good, then could you do me a big favor by getting off my back?” Shikamaru asked her, his tone of voice clearly conveying the degree of ‘put out’ the Nara was by this predicament.

Quick to comply, Hinata gingerly unfolded her arms and slipped her legs out from the young man’s arms, slowly easing herself down to the ground.

Grateful to finally be standing on her own two feet once more, Hinata breathed a small sigh of relief. Short, yet hurried footsteps quickly brought the young Hyuuga woman up to speed with her companion, but though they walked side by side, neither one dared to glance over at the other.

‘He…he kissed me…’ Hinata recalled, combating back the beginning of a pink blush growing along the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Hinata tried to stop the embarrassed reaction before it spread to her neck and turned dark enough to be noticed; but the heiress soon found her efforts resulting in a complete waste, since her lack of sight caused the girl to accidentally walk right into Shikamaru’s back.

There was a ‘jolt’ of swiftly moving limbs, two surprised not-quite audible exclamations as both teens quickly jerked apart a good two feet; jittery nerves and honed shinobi reflexes did wonders for awkward encounters.

“S-sorry Shikamaru…I…I should have been looking w-where I was going!” Hinata said, again her face turning red, though this time she was unable to stop it. After her verbal apology the young woman bent at the waist, partly to further express her regret, partly to hide her expression behind long raven-indigo hair.

Since Hinata didn’t dare to lift her eyes above ground level, she missed seeing Shikamaru blush as well; maybe if Hinata had seen for herself that Shikamaru was just a nervous as she felt, then perhaps her anxiety would have ebbed a little.

“No it’s…” Shikamaru coughed once to clear his throat, “It’s okay Hinata…” he mumbled, his voice was followed up by the sound of crinkling plastic.

After hearing that sound again Hinata slowly inched her pale eyes a few inches further to see that Shikamaru was carrying not only the two grocery laden bags he had earlier on in the afternoon, but he also had a third fitted around his right wrist. It was the very bag Hinata remembered carrying before her fainting spell.

‘So…he carried me and all three grocery bags?’ Hinata wondered. Now while carrying another person was no big feat to a shinobi- in fact carrying a comrade while running at top speed and dodging flying weapons was simply a day in the life-; Hinata couldn’t help but feel guilty that her actions had complicated things for Shikamaru.

“A-ah…here let me take that, Shikamaru…” Hinata said as she suddenly stood up and moved to grab the bag.

Startled, Shikamaru pulled back a little, leaving Hinata’s hand to grasp only air.

Hinata, surprised by Shikamaru’s reaction, slowly allowed her gaze to lift from staring at her sandals to look up over the young man’s green Chuunin vest, over broad shoulders, until finally she was looking him in the eye.

It was at this moment that Hinata wished she had Neji’s ‘gift’ of being able to read people’s expressions through their eyes. Her cousin could do it so seamlessly and easily that Hinata often wondered if what people where thinking and feeling were all but written in their eyes as clearly as words inked on a scroll.

But, whether Neji’s gift came from training or natural talent with the Byakuguan, Hinata wasn’t sure.

The young woman only knew that she lacked said gift, since Shikamaru’s gaze was unreadable to her.

For one long awkward moment the two teenagers simply stared at each other, neither one moving to speak or even so much as wiggle a toe to start of their short journey back to Kurenai-sensei’s apartment.

So many, many questions she wanted to ask Shikamaru: namely what on earth possessed him to kiss her?

It wouldn’t have been an unreasonable inquiry, Hinata assumed.

After all she had told Shikamaru that while she held him close as a dear friend, a romantic relationship between them wouldn’t work out. Not when she was in love with someone else, namely Naruto-kun. That had been weeks ago and Shikamaru took her decline with dignity; he hadn’t asked why, didn’t whine for her to give him a chance, he just shrugged his shoulders, said ‘okay then’ before walking off.

‘So why?’ Hinata wondered to herself, yet the words refused to formulate into a coherent mesh of sounds compromised of words and vocal cords in motion.

Finally, Shikamaru was the first to look away and…was it Hinata’s mistake or was Shikamaru’s face stained with a touch of red?

Before she could be bold enough to lean forward to get a closer look Shikamaru held up all three grocery bags, “I’ve got them all Hinata, let’s just get these back to Kurenai-sensei’s place before the meat starts to go bad.”

Hinata gave a slow and reluctant nod in response. It made sense that they hurried; the oppressive summer heat would spoil the meat if they held off for too much longer.

‘Chouji-kun also might start to get impatient with us, since he’s the one who has to cook for everyone tonight.’ Hinata wondered, though she had never seen the plump and mostly cheerful Akimichi act put off or angry.

Shikamaru, however, told her about the rare occasions where his best friend had gotten angry. And from what she had been told, an angry Chouji was not a pretty sight.

Slowly, Hinata’s pale lavender eyes blinked as the girl started to realize something. Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and herself had formed some sort of mismatched, yet oddly comfortable, family unit…or at least something close to it.

‘It’s strange…’ Hinata thought as she looked up to steal a glance at Shikamaru, who seemed to be lost in thought since he hadn’t said another word to her since after claiming the groceries as his burden to bear.

‘A few months ago, we barely knew anything about each other, but now…it feels like I’ve known Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji almost as long as I’ve known Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, and Shino.’ Hinata mused quietly to herself.

By all rights, such bonds should have been impossible what with Kiba and Ino fighting with each other, along with the fact that Team 8 and Team 10 never worked together on missions, nor did they train together often when all six of them were Genin.

But strangely enough…it worked. Hinata put it down to the fact that all six of them had a common goal: to look out for Kurenai-sensei and to help out as the time drew closer to her having the baby.

Yet…sometimes it felt more than that, or at least between her and Shikamaru it was like that. Hinata wasn’t sure if Ino and Kiba felt closer to one another by bickering, nor was she certain that Shino and Chouji had heart-to-heart chats when no one was looking…

Despite herself, Hinata found that last thought amusing. At first is started as a quivering smile; the expression would full form only to slowly retreat back, as if Hinata was simply waiting to be given permission to grin.

But the more she thought about Shino and Chouji sitting down, maybe with cups of tea in front of them, to talk about their day, about their teammates, their goals…oh no, the smile broke as Hinata felt a giggle escape parted lips.

She knew it shouldn’t be funny.

Shino was a good friend and like an older brother to Hinata, and Chouji was very kind and sweet- not to mention a very good cook- but it just wouldn’t stop because out of all her and Shikamaru’s circle of friends, Shino and Chouji seemed even more ill matched than Ino and Kiba.

And Hinata found that she couldn’t stop thinking about it anymore than she could stop smiling.

Soon the quiet giggles and shoulder shivers were replaced by a short bark of laughter.

Hinata’s brief, if odd, sense of humor died a quick and painless death as Shikamaru turned his head; apparently he had heard her laugh

“Uh…” Hinata began lowering her head, “S-sorry…” she muttered, though didn’t quite give an explanation as to why she had laughed, nor why the Hyuuga heiress thought it was befitting to apology for it.

Shikamaru looked at her for another minute, a look that was part bemusement and part…something Hinata couldn’t quite place on the young man’s face before he turned again to look at the sidewalk ahead of them.

Awkward silence settled in between them yet again. Hinata tried to swallow while at the same time keeping her steps in time with Shikamaru’s longer, if slower, strides.

‘He must think that I’m crazy…’ Hinata wondered while allowing herself to bodily sink into her shoulders. But, once again Hinata reminded herself of the kiss.

No, if anything he was crazy.

For who in their right mind kissed someone who had already turned them down once…

A short gasp escaped Hinata, though the young woman quickly tried to stopper it by placing hands over her mouth. When Shikamaru didn’t turn to look over at her, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief in between her fingers, meanwhile her heart slowly started to sink inside her chest as Hinata realized something.

‘He’s just like me…’ Hinata thought as her gaze fell back down to look at the scuffling of her sandals.

‘If I had the chance to kiss Naruto…even if he didn’t feel the same…I would…have taken that chance too.’

Hinata felt her face turned red for the fourth…no fifth time since she had awoken from her fainting spell.

‘Or…maybe not. I don’t think I could be that brave, not yet. I…need more time.’ Hinata thought, but even as the young woman held out hope that one day soon that her love for Naruto-kun would be realized; the heiress was not blind to that fact that she had spent four years waiting.

Waiting for Naruto to notice.

Waiting for him to come back from training.

And now she was waiting for courage to suddenly up and blossom like a flower that lived without water, without sunlight, and even without a planted seed to grow from.

Sometimes, Hinata wondered what would happen if she stopped ‘waiting’ and actually did something. So time and time again she tried to take action, but always ended up either passing out or stammering her way out of a situation that would involve boldness from her.

Hinata looked to Shikamaru again, though this time her glance was shyer and had all intentions of being sneaky, but she was quickly caught or rather she first caught Shikamaru staring back at her.

‘Now’s my chance…’ Hinata thought, her lips parted to say something…anything really to Shikamaru; but no words came to her.

For his part Shikamaru turned his head enough so that it looked like he hadn’t just been caught blatantly staring at his companion.

Silence invaded once more.

“Uh…I…” Hinata began, yet stopped herself the moment she had Shikamaru’s attention.

“Hn? Did you say something?” he asked, a dark eyebrow arched questioningly.

Quickly Hinata shook her head from side to side, “No…”

“Oh,” Shikamaru said simply, yet Hinata could tell that there was a touch of disappointment in his tone. Their walk was coming to an end since both teens could see Kurenai-sensei’s apartment building. Shikamaru fiddled with the bag handles and reached into his pant’s pocket to get out a key, while to his right Hinata still struggled with what she couldn’t, but wanted to, say.

“Ah ha, here we are, “Shikamaru said as he pulled out a small copper key.

“I really should get a key ring for this or something. It would save me the trouble of having to dig it out of my pocket every single time…”

His words were simple small talk that seemed to simply float through Hinata’s right ear than waft out the other. Obviously, Shikamaru was trying in vain to fill the void created by their awkward pauses and lapses into silence.

It was for the sake of appearance. Hinata could understand that Shikamaru wanted to act like everything was normal, for if their respective teammates or Kurenai-sensei caught on that something was odd between the two of them; the uncomfortable questions wouldn’t stop until one or the other spilled the beans.

‘We should talk though. We need to talk about why he kissed me and…how it can’t happen again.’ Hinata thought to herself as they both entered the building; but again her thoughts couldn’t express themselves in words.

Their sandals scuffled up the staircase leading to the third floor. Hinata could feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

‘We need to talk now before we get to Kurenai-sensei’s apartment.’ Hinata thought. While Shikamaru could remain cool and unfazed, Hinata knew that every expression would be written on her face.

Embarrassment. Confusion. And uncertainty. All of it would be laid out clearly for anyone with eyes to see that something had happened. So now, Hinata realized, was the time to clear the air before anyone else had to know what happened earlier that afternoon.

By the fourth set of stairs, Hinata decided to get it over with. A pale hand trembled slightly, reaching forward to grasp the fabric of Shikamaru’s flak jacket; but before she could attempt to either pull back or force her hand to move forward Shikamaru suddenly stopped a step above her.

Hand left to gracelessly hang in mid-air; Hinata slowly blinked wide eyes as she watched Shikamaru’s shoulders sag heavily under the weight of an exhaled sigh.

“I guess...you expect me to apologize for kissing you, right?” Shikamaru asked, his back turned to her so Hinata found that she couldn’t even make a futile attempt to read the young man’s expression as he spoke.

Pulling her hand back to rest against her chest, Hinata bit her bottom lip before quietly responding, “M-maybe…not so much as an apology, but a-an explanation would be nice.”

Shikamaru’s shoulders shrugged backward, “I don’t have an explanation for you. I kissed you because…well because I felt like it.”

Hinata felt her jaw grow slack, she was so stunned in fact that the heiress almost missed the fact that Shikamaru was trying to escape her by climbing the next step.

Without thinking Hinata lunged forward, her right hand gripping a tight hold on Shikamaru’s jacket, causing the taller boy to become a little unbalanced since his right foot was a mere inch from connecting with the next step.

For one terrible moment the two of them wobbled to find balance again, before Shikamaru’s foot firmly planted itself on the step.

Once their balancing act was over, Hinata found herself blurting out, “T-that’s not good enough! There has to be some reason…y-you don’t just kiss people for no reason at all…”

Another sigh followed by Shikamaru muttering under his breath, “Troublesome woman...” then in a more audible tone of voice he replied, “I do have a reason for kissing you, but you don’t want to hear it.”

Fingers clenched into fabric for a moment before Hinata gingerly released her hold on Shikamaru. For a second, they stood with Shikamaru’s back to her, but then Hinata squared her shoulders and moved to walk around Shikamaru.

Hinata watched Shikamaru’s dark eyes blink as she took to stand on a step above him.

In her mind Hinata thought of a good comeback to Shikamaru’s statement: ‘Try me. Tell me’. But again, Hinata couldn’t find it within her to be that bold as to demand an answer from Shikamaru.

Instead, Hinata found herself silently standing above him, trying to figure out Shikamaru, or rather to understand his motives for giving her an unwanted kiss.

For where Hinata once found herself staring down at the young man, with a decent span of distance between them, suddenly the gap was closed as Shikamaru leaned in.

Pale lavender eyes found themselves staring directly into sleepy-looking dark brown eyes. Their noses just barely touched, lips mere inches from one another.

It distinctly felt like de ja vu to Hinata.

‘Is…is he gong to try to kiss me again?” Hinata wondered, yet didn’t dare to close her eyes.

The moment passed and instead of feeling a kiss being pressed against her mouth, Hinata flinches a little as warm air touched her lips following Shikamaru’s sigh.

“Troublesome…” he grumbled before moving to walk around her.

Stunned, Hinata found she could only stand in silence and watch Shikamaru walk up the remaining steps to Kurenai-sensei’s apartment.

‘He was going to kiss me…right?’ Hinata asked herself again, only to stubbornly shake her head.

In the forefront of her mind Hinata thought that whether Shikamaru wanted to kiss her again or not didn’t matter. It didn’t matter, whether he liked her or not, because... well she was in love with Naruto. And no one kiss, or several in fact, from Shikamaru was going to change her feelings towards Naruto-kun.

“That kiss didn’t mean anything…” Hinata whispered to herself as she followed several feet behind Shikamaru, “It doesn’t count…It doesn’t matter.”

But secretly, Hinata knew the one kiss between them was already starting to bring about a change in Shikamaru…and in her.

Hinata just wasn’t sure if she liked these ‘changes’ or not.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: I know that this wasn’t very romantic, but let’s face facts people, Hinata and Shikamaru while a crack pairing has to be taken slowly in order for it to be even semi-plausible, so I’ll have to take this rather odd relationship in slow stages, so please be patient with me, m’kay? Thanks for reading! Later!

Fan Fic: How to Steal A Kiss: Shika/Hina 30_kisses Claim

2007-12-19T15:56:04Z

Title: How to Steal a Kiss
Pairing: Nara Shikamaru/Hyuuga Hinata
Theme used: 1- Look over Here
Rating: K+/PG
Warning(s): Shippuden spoilers

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Naruto anime/manga series in any shape, form, or fashion.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Troublesome…” the dark haired man muttered under his breath as Shikamaru caught sight of what, or rather who, occupied his shopping companion’s full attention.

To his left, a young woman with pale lavender eyes and a blush of dark pink crawling along her skin, was watching the loudest and most unpredictable shinobi of their year, and perhaps ever, attempting to impress a girl with bubblegum pink hair.

The conversation between them forgotten, Shikamaru watched Hinata, who in turn watched Naruto, as they walked.

In a matter of seconds, Hinata went from being so actively engaged in what he, Shikamaru, had to say; to quietly watching and stalking Naruto.

So, in a sense, Naruto had stolen Shikamaru’s spotlight, just by being himself.

It was a bother, troublesome…and more than a bit frustrating.

Shikamaru knew himself to not be the type of guy who went out on a limb to get a girl’s attention- Lee pretty much had that market cornered. In fact, Shikamaru kept telling himself he was only sixteen, which meant he was too young to entangle himself in a relationship.

But over the past six months, as Team 8 and Team 10 stepped up to help Kurenai-sensei as her pregnancy advanced, Shikamaru found himself unwittingly falling for the shy and soft-spoken heiress.

Life for Shikamaru abruptly turned on its ears after Asuma died. Now all of sudden he had a solemn promise to keep to Kurenai and her unborn baby. And he was also placed as a squadron leader in Ninju Shotai, which meant he was essentially taking Asuma’s place.

Months of following orders barked by a hormonal and pregnant woman, combined with the stress of formulating plans, being gone at odd intervals to check out informants who had information on the movements of the Akatsuki and other dangerous missions; Shikamaru knew it was little wonder for him to be as frazzled and frayed as he found himself to be.

Hinata though, whether she knew or not, seemed to be the calm in whatever storms arose in Shikamaru’s life.

She was stable, quiet, and serene. Over time, Hinata became someone Shikamaru felt comfortable enough to vent, more like complain to, without having to worry of being snapped at or worse, hit, for saying what was on his mind.

And, maybe to a lesser extent, Hinata felt comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to shyly admit she was ‘in love’ with someone else and to say how ‘sorry’ she was that she couldn’t return his feelings.

Shikamaru snorted, his fingers unconsciously grasping the plastic holds of the grocery bags tighter, all the while him and Hinata’s feet carried them closer and closer to Naruto and Sakura.

‘Figures…’ Shikamaru mussed to himself, ‘The one girl I can tolerate is hung up on someone who isn’t Sasuke.’

Shikamaru figured that if Hinata were a fan girl of Sasuke, then at least he would have a chance. After all a defected nin could not hold the fickle attention of a girl for a long length of time, if he wasn’t there, right?

But since Hinata had a crush on Naruto, who was there constantly, more often than not in the girl’s face, Shikamaru knew he didn’t stand a chance.

A small whimper escaped the girl to his left; the noise drew Shikamaru out of his thoughts, causing him to look down at Hinata.

The young woman had her head lowered, her blush having advanced into a deep blood red, yet her eyes were glued more to the ground then they were to Naruto.

Looking up and back to Naruto and Sakura, Shikamaru’s dark eyes widened as he saw Sakura holding on tightly to Naruto’s right wrist.

To him, and anyone else, it looked like Sakura was abusing the poor boy by dragging him off to gods only knew where.

But maybe to Hinata, the gesture must have looked to be more romantic and accepting than it really was.
Whatever the reason, Shikamaru soon found himself with a depressed Hyuuga on his hands.

Craning his neck up, Shikamaru searched in vain for Naruto. If the blond-haired boy was still around and he could get him to come over and talk to them, then maybe Hinata would perk up, even if just marginally so.

“I…I should have known…”

At those words, Shikamaru found himself frozen in place.

‘God, please tell me that she’s not crying.’ Shikamaru said himself. He hated being around crying women. Tears were usually followed by punches, and when a woman started swinging fists around someone- namely him- was bound to get hurt.

However instead preparing himself for flight, should rage get confused with sorrow, Shikamaru felt his heart clench painfully inside his chest.

“I…I…mean Naruto-kun has liked S-Sakura-san for years…” Hinata said, her quiet voice becoming softer and more inaudible with each word.

Shikamaru internally squirmed. He didn’t like this. When Naruto was around Hinata would brighten up, but she would also refuse to talk to anyone else as she followed the blond around with her eyes. But when he was away, or rather his female team/crush dragged him away; it was like the light inside Hinata was suddenly extinguished.

Yet what bothered Shikamaru the most was that Hinata’s sudden change in mood was affecting him too. There was this nagging feeling stirring inside of him. This ‘feeling’ whispered crazy ideas into his ears, words of comfort he could say to Hinata, and suggested actions that would draw attention to himself and comfort her at the same time.

And this ‘need’ to comfort the crying girl was frighteningly strong, since Hinata’s emotions had some inexplicable influence over what he was feeling.

‘If being in love is this much of an emotional roller coaster, I would like to get off now, please?’ Shikamaru thought his gaze momentarily turned to a cloudless sky.

After a moment of thought, the young man heaved a heavy sigh.

Shikamaru knew what had to be done, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like it any less.

“Oi, Naruto…Sakura. Over here!” Shikamaru called out, his hand raised and waving to get the teens attention.

Shikamaru heard a gasp escaped Hinata, as small fists moved quickly to brush away tears before the girl dared to lift her head.

Within seconds, two heads decorated with pink and blond hair weaved their way through the crowd. Naruto was the first to arrive, his dark blue eyes suddenly lit up as a broad smile took well over half of his face.

“Hinata-chan! It’s good to see you!” Naruto said with honest enthusiasm, the kind that made Shikamaru tired just thinking about it.

“U-um…it’s good to see you too N-Naruto-kun,” the shy girl muttered, her eyes once again drawn to look at her sandals.

Yet despite her shyness, Shikamaru could see a small pleased smile curling on Hinata’s lips.

However Shikamaru found his good deed refused to award him warm-feel-good-fuzzies. Instead the green eyed monster paid him a visit, chomping down on his insides.

“Good afternoon Shikamaru,” Sakura greeted while Naruto and Hinata chattered on, well Naruto talked and Hinata just listened and blushed.

Shikamaru gave a curt nod in response, yet didn’t bother to muster up a verbal greeting.

Sakura’s dark jade eyes narrowed, hands placed on her hips, “What’s wrong with you?” she asked shortly.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, usually he only heard women get snippy at him after he said something, not when he just nodded.

“Nothing.” Shikamaru returned quickly.

Perhaps too quickly since green eyes looked from him to Hinata, Naruto, then back to him before a pink eye brow rose inquisitively, almost as if Sakura was slowly catching on to something.

Then, Sakura reached over to grasp Naruto by the collar of his shirt, “Come on, you. We’re already running late.”

“Ah, but Sakura-chan, you know that Kakashi-sensei only told us to be at the training ground early so that he can make us wait again!”

“You never know, today might be different. Good bye Shikamaru…Hinata, it was good to see you two again.” Sakura added before she walked away, taking her teammate with her.

Once the members of Team 7 left, Shikamaru dared to look over to Hinata, only to be momentarily stunned.

Hinata’s smile was so soft, pure, and sweet looking; as if she had been waiting all day just to have Naruto to say hello before allowing herself to fully and confidently smile.

Internal conflict started again. On one hand, Shikamaru found himself captivated by Hinata’s smile; he had never seen such an expression on her face before. And where he felt miserable when Hinata started crying, now his heart drummed loudly inside its ribcage, making his ears and face turn red.

But, on the other hand, Naruto had caused this reaction.

Shikamaru unconsciously licked dry lips. He wanted to steal Hinata’s attention back, but keep the smile, just the way it was.

Then an idea…or rather a crazy impulse came to him. At first Shikamaru scoffed at the notion. He wasn’t about to take such a risk.

No, never.

But then Hinata turned to him, her radiant smile fading just a little as she said to him, “Thank you for calling Naruto and Sakura over, Shikamaru-kun.”

Though she didn’t say it, Shikamaru could read it in her smile.

He had made her happy. Well technically seeing Naruto and talking to him made her happy; but if hadn’t been for him, Hinata would still be mopping about.

Shikamaru figured that he deserved a reward and so came back that ‘crazy’ notion.

“Your welcome, but I don’t really need your thanks Hinata.”

Pale eyes blinked once…then twice as Hinata puzzled over his statement, “You don’t?” she questioned.

‘Now. Do it now!’ Shikamaru snapped at himself, forcing his body to move quickly before he lost the nerve and the chance.

Hinata gasped as Shikamaru suddenly grabbed her right arm, drawing her close.

Wide eyes darted around as the young woman wondered what was happening. Yet, Hinata wasn’t given much time to think since at that moment Shikamaru suddenly moved in to enclose on the personal space in between them.

In a panic, Hinata closed her eyes tightly. But, Hinata did open her eyes again as she suddenly felt…something touch her lips.

Once her eyes were open, Hinata found herself staring at Shikamaru’s nose; his eyes closed as his mouth gave her lips one short kiss before he pulled back.

“I think that I’ll take that as my ‘thank you’ instead.” Shikamaru said with a small smirk.

For one second, Shikamaru felt so suave, cool, and…adult-like. Rather than giving into the inner coward by ignoring his crush on Hinata, he finally took bold action.

Kissing Hinata, Shikamaru realized, made him feel good…really good and if given half a chance, maybe he wouldn’t mind doing it again. And the green-eyed beast of jealousy was temporarily quelled, so Shikamaru’s chest felt lighter and he wasn’t sending mental death threats to a innocent, if oblivious, Naruto.

However, things quickly went to hell when Hinata started swaying on her feet.

“Hinata…are you okay?” Shikamaru asked, only to jump back half a foot when the girl suddenly collapsed at his feet in a dead faint.

Wide dark eyes stared down at the unconscious girl then looked to the heavy food bags he was carrying, not to mention the meat, canned goods, and bread that had spilled out of Hinata’s bag once she fainted.

Sighing to himself once, Shikamaru looked back up to the sky.

A large expanse of blue without a single cloud in sight.

“…Troublesome.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: Kind of awkward I know, but I don’t plan on stopping this storyline with just a one-shot, so we’ll get to see Hinata’s point of view when it comes to her reaction to the kiss and of course the aftermath.

Thanks for reading!

FanFic : Incandescence [CHAPTER II]

2007-12-09T19:46:03Z

It was supposed to be posted last night, but the power died. :(

Title: Incandescence
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T
Pairing: DeiIno
Summary: The method he chose to fulfill his mission was to acquaint himself with a certain artistic female.

("It's okay,")

Index:
CHAPTER I

[Fic] Discordia

2007-12-07T20:12:36Z

Title: Discordia
Author: Winter Ashby (rosweldrmr)
Disclaimer: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Rating: M (for language)
Summary: Kiba was flat on his back, a warm body on top of him, straddling him, a cold metal blade to his throat and silky black hair falling over his face. (Kiba & Hanabi) Unrequited Kiba & Hinata
Authors Notes: This is in response to the 10 themed challenge from crack_challenge at LJ. I know this is a little different from a themed fic (it is all one continuous story, not segments) but I choose to use the prompts as more of a guide to model my plot around rather than sections needed to be completed. So this chapter (there will only be 2) has half the themes. They are (in order): Downpour, Solitude, Chance Meeting, Sarcastic, and Cold Hands. The last 5 themes will be in the next chapter (which I will have done very soon.)

*This fic has quite a bit of unrequited Kiba/Hinata and Team 8 interaction. Even Akamaru makes a prominent appearance.

FanFic : Incandescence

2007-11-17T20:09:50Z

I wanted to challenge myself with a multichapter fic. 8D

Title: Incandescence
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T
Pairing: DeiIno
Summary: The method he chose to fulfill his mission was to acquaint himself with a certain artistic female.

Comments and reviews from you guys would be so much ♥♥♥~

(... burning.)

FanFic [with illustration] : Untitled

2007-09-29T16:05:12Z

Title: Untitled
Pairing: DeiKona
Prompt: Time
Summary: After the destruction, there stood a flower.
Preview:

Konan knew where she wanted to go.

crack_pairings @ 2007-09-04T00:19:00

2007-09-04T05:20:54Z

Long time no see!

This is your crack_pairings mod, elatedsushi formerly known as miharu_chan. I know I've been largely absent (attending to silly things like work and school). Lately, I got to thinking about the community and came to an idea. But, I need to know what you guys think of it. Keep in mind this is just me tossing an idea up into the air. As of right now, nothing will change.

Would you guys want to expand crack_pairings ? Have it been a community, not only for Naruto, but other anime as well? I will admit, I had thought about expanding it to all fandoms (t.v., books, etc), but I then I had realized that it would be to big of an expansion. Also, with expanding the community, some changes would have to be made. An example would be that members would have to utilize the lovely tag system LJ has, to make it easier to navigate through the posts. Some of the rules would have to change a little, but I don't foresee anything drastic. And depending on how fast the community grows, whether or not we'd need more mods.

Now, I've created a nifty little poll here, to see what you guys think. If you want to elaborate on what you think, make a comment and make sure you put what answer you picked.

View Poll: #1049749

FanArt FTW!

2007-09-02T21:09:42Z

Dedicated this to just_naturally I dunno. Fellow cracked!Fan I guess... XD
Click teh preview:

fanart

2007-08-23T18:30:05Z

hanabi/kiba fanart (and a rock lee sketch)

the preview pic is the link :)

Icons

2007-07-26T12:54:57Z

There are all fanarts from DeviantArt (or a DeviantArtist's other site). I haven't altered these pictures, just cropped them. All the credit goes to the original artists. Link for each art work can be found by clicking on the number of the icon.

(8) Snape/Lily [Harry Potter]
(2) Harry/Luna [Harry Potter]
(1) Draco [Harry Potter]
(1) Albus Severus [Harry Potter]
(1) Danny Phantom
(1) Vegeta/Bulma [DBZ]
(4) Various/Sakura [Naruto]
(9) Sakura [Naruto]
(1) Neji [Naruto]
(1) Hyuuga Hanabi [Naruto]
(1) Sanosuke [Kenshin]
(1) Hisagi [Bleach]

Samples:

Samples	Samples	Samples

The rest can be found here