#inlife

                                                               --  @inlife    

𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 the gravity of their existence & vision lacks reception to anything . his eyes display nothing , yet he feels his world spinning , the ceilings collapsing , & the walls closing in on him . his breathing increases & there's a backdrop of continued metronome beeping faster & faster with every moment that tears into his psyche . 

reality creeps in like a lingering demon from his past & dammit it all , it looks like he's alive . he can't move a muscle , & he dares not even try . he has no idea how long it's been since he'd released the reanimation jutsu , nor why it is that he still draws breath . he is bitter & resentful in this moment  .  .  .  he was supposed to have met the ruin that would subdue his endless suffering . it's all for naught . it's all for naught . could he not , even in his moments' most suffering , be the martyr damned by sin's consequence ?

it's not long after he wakes that a person meets his side , the needle in his hand causing mild discomfort & the smell of sanitization overwhelms his senses . the setting of the hospital clicks in his mind . he's putting pieces together , dissecting his present with each moment's passing & he feels a cold hand touch his wrist . the sensation sends goosebumps up his arms . he flinches , once , twice , & as she speaks , begins to recognize the medical - nin as one who stood at naruto's side , always fighting for sasuke , never wavering . he's shocked for awhile ; everything is still processing .

silence permeates the tension in the air that has since blossomed into extreme discomfort & upon further analysis of the room in which he lays , he hears his younger brother speak from the corner . in the fluctuations of their voices , he hears both hope & concern .

much has passed since he's awoken , but he's certain his strength will never return to what it once was . him & sasuke have been working to recover some semblance of a relationship since the trauma of their individual burdens , shared & also , completely their own . he sits in his apartment ( devoid of much , save for the kitchen , where he spends a bulk of his time now , developing his favorite hobby ) & his brother finds himself , along with sakura , seated politely at his dining room table . 

itachi makes his way over to join them , limping , as slippers slide against wood flooring . it's the new year , so after doing his best to clean everything in his living space , he thought he'd invite them over to share some toshikoshi soba . he's glad they came , yet cannot help but feel a pang of guilt & an emptiness within his chest at the thought of a genuine family dinner .

after finding a seat among the two , the hours grow shorter with each one's passing . they've begun opening up to each other , offering sibling - like jabs , & polite sorts of teasing . itachi is still awkward with sakura , but he does his best to make her feel included . ( he never once blamed her for saving his life , despite the resentment he feels for living ) .

laughing is hard for him , often resulting in a dry cough & a subtle , yet bearable , pain in his chest . he makes sure not to do it often , so , at times , it comes across as though he's unreceptive to playful banter , or menial jokes . 

& speaking of jokes , it takes several hours before itachi saunters to his living room , noticing , as he attempts to grab a bottle of sake , an unfamiliar jar that sits upon his lamp table , with what feels like a hand written label attached . he stretches his fingers across the inked paper , feeling for the characters without making a sound .

" いきりいんきゃ* "  it reads .

ah . so this is what's become of him . he supposes its well deserved .

though , you'd think after the slaughter of everyone you've ever loved ( with one exception ) you'd deserve far less than a holiday dinner & a douchebag jar .

he silently places ten - thousand yen within it , & offers the two a knowing smile before sliding it toward them .

i want to sit here, with you. to feel wanted, needed in this world. to run, through all seasons in a year, to face my fear, as a little girl smile and return... home, to you.

Garden Bench, 2015

          she’d only come out this far to gather more ingredients -- surely , she didn’t have on schedule today to interrupt someones’ training session! But still , she cannot look away , so much power , so much control , she wishes that she would be able to have that. Knuckles turn white as she grips onto her cane , ignoring the mindless banter that came from the voice that she could only hear inside her head.   The demon that shared a body with her , they were not happy today ,  maybe it was the heat. But she finds herself spacing out as well! 

       “    o-oh! i’m sorry! i didn’t meant to interrupt! you’re so strong!     “   she didn’t get out much , so what should she even say? 

@inlife​ asked:   plots please!!

kimimaro & sakura.

do you remember that period of time in the early aughts where kimisaku was a Thing? that’s the bullshit i’m on.

she’s a doctor, he’s ill. i love a dynamic like this for kimimaro, where he needs someone and is forced to open up. sakura is a good person for him to interact with because she’s stubborn, takes no shit, but also is sweet enough to have him coming back for more… eventually. he doesn’t trust a lot of people, but he actually REALLY trusts doctors, so he’s more willing to listen to her than 97% of the population.

they can be in any setting:  kimimaro winds up in konoha against his will and is studied by sakura and tsunade in exchange for room, board, and parole; sakura is kidnapped and taken to otogakure to treat him at orochimaru’s behest;  etcetera. there’s so much along those lines we can play with.

additionally, my take on the kaguya clan aligns them more closely to kaguya-hime’s clan in both ability and worldview, so their aesthetic would be moon and earth, which i’m a sucker for. she is a giver of life, and he is a harbinger of destruction.  just like his otsutsuki blood gives him an affinity for the bijuu and jinchuuriki, i think it would make sense for him to have a natural attraction to mokuton / life-based abilities, and, perhaps, a weakness for them as well.

haku & sakura.

these two have great duo potential.  haku is a field surgeon ( among other things ) and sakura is a combat medic.  haku typically fights at middle to tlong range; sakura is a close range fighter. they both fill a niche for the other and when working together would become a force to be reckoned with. also, they’d just be funny as fuck together, because sakura’s judgmental and haku is a mischief enabler. 

plotwise i don’t have anything majorly specific, but i always imagined haku taking a guiding role with sakura in their konoha-bound verse. it’s clear that genin sakura is woefully underprepared for shinobi life not because of a lack of ability, but because she’s simply not kakashi’s priority. he’s trying to do right by minato’s son and keep an eye on sasuke, and unfortunately sakura is canonically placed on the team to be nothing more than a buffer to keep the boys in line. 

haku, however, would see the very real danger this poses to sakura, and her team.  sakura needs to be taken seriously so she takes being a shinobi seriously.  she has a lot of latent talent that is being ignored because she isn’t from one of the top ten konoha clans. she is fueled by love for her teammates and a natural competitiveness and ambition that haku would foster in her. haku acting as a mentor or older sibling figure to her would help her tremendously, and it would help haku feel more aligned with konoha, and begin the hard work of expanding their social circle.

senjuro & sakura.

senjuro could use some positive reinforcement and kindness. that is all. 

utakata & sakura.

The child peers up at the stranger; she doesn’t know why the woman has approached her.  Maybe it’s because she’s very small, and very alone, in a public park.  Maybe it’s because she’s been staring at her, so that she can draw her in the sketchbook in her lap.  It’s a good likeness, despite it all; a bit off, as would be expected from a girl so young, but still.  Good.

Ib wishes drawing felt like something nice, like a choice she was making, instead of the only desperate thing that makes the — gallery survivable.  It still follows her, like it lives in their chest, if Ib can’t get it out she’ll die die die die.  There are roses surrounding the drawing of the stranger.  Ib hates roses.  Ib loves roses.  They live in her chest, too.

❛     if anyone who criticizes my way of life were to come forward , i’d turn around & kill every single one of their loved ones , so that they , too , can grasp what it’s like  .  .  .  to experience this hatred of mine .   ❜