#maitiests

Sweat was already trickling down his face, his hands slick and slippery as he muttered numbers under his breath while doing push ups on the pillars in the garden. "91… 92… 93… 94… 95…" he counted, already out of breath, trying to finally break the 100 mark today. He was so close, but he could already feel his whole body trembling and his muscles twitching from the exertion, while his breathing was also labored from exhaustion.

"96… 97… 98… 99…" he continued counting, slower and slower, more and more strained.

"Come oooooon…" he cursed between gritted teeth as he struggled to have himself up one last time. His eyes were squeezed shut. But no matter how hard he tried, it was no use. Senryu was so close to reaching 100 reps, but just before the finish line, his body began to sway and his arms gave way, shaking and trembling. Senryu's eyes snapped open as he realized he had failed once more, while he tumbled down the pillars, landing with a thud on the ground.

"Ouch..." he grumbled pressing his head against his forehead as the birds flew overhead, probably calling him an idiot and laughed at him. His chest rose and fell heavily, and Senryu didn't know what hurt more: his legs from the squats, his arms from the push-ups, his chest, where his heart pounded wildly as if it would burst, his head, which he had hit on the pillar during his fall, or his pride for not even being able to do 100 push ups?

the violently protective sentence starters. / accepting!

"because they tried to hurt you," his voice was blunt and cold as usual, standing ahead of lee with arms folded. sand ghosts back into his gourd — he wondered if such a sight was frightening for lee, still. however, there was little time to think about that now — the enemy, crushed into bone-dust and torn apart muscle, now rested in that gourd alongside… every other person gaara had killed.

that was the reality of his sand — he could never rid the smell of death from those grains.

"…" then comes chilling silence, after gaara gave his answer. he tries to find soothing words, but alas, was not a soothing person.

ㅤA Rubik's Cube resting on top of Itachi's desk should have surprised a total of zero persons; what with his penchant for intellectual pursuits, having such an object for a quick killing of time whenever needed was well-fitting. And one wouldn't be wrong to assume so. Thing was... much like two things could be true at the same time, so could one single object have two uses. A literal one and a metaphorical one, in this case; a way to, indeed, spend a few minutes doing nothing and, also, a sort of inspiration. That cube could be solved, which meant [or, at least, he hoped so] that other puzzles could, as well; puzzles having to do with people, rather than colorful geometric forms.

knock knock knock

ㅤAs if on cue. His gaze moved from the cube to the clock on the wall and, given the time, it must be Lee. The two of them had agreed it would be a good idea to spend an afternoon together before leaving for the mission, to go over the details together and also to start knowing each other's quirks a bit better. Best to start solving this puzzle, then. Moving the cube a bit to the side, near the pile of reports from his team that had been approved and were to be sent to the Hokage, Itachi called out to the younger shinobi in a mostly neutral tone.

"I've known them all their lives, and to send them out into the world as genins...I feel like I've lost more than I've gained." Iruka admitted, a tad wistful.

There will always be new students to teach, but that isn't the point. So, of course, he worries, worries until he's sick to his stomach. The world isn't as kind as his classroom. Even when he loses his temper, the worst they face is discipline.

[  hug  ]  sender  pulls  receiver  into  a  tentative  hug  that  tightens  like  it’s  been  waiting  years | @maitiests

One thing about Gai is that he will never skimp on hugs; and none of that side-hug or bridge hug nonsense. They might not have had much when Gai was young, but still he was always rich with affection and care from his father. Gai always believed that he can never show too much affection, or give too much praise.

He tucks Lee’s head under his chin and brings a hand to pat the back of his head.

“Welcome home, Lee,” Gai says, his voice strong and warm. “You did well!”

so many things have happened since that chūnin exam. they have lost many in orochimaru's attack, including the third, and instating the fifth hadn't meant that the shinobis rotation were spontaneously corrected – which iruka, himself, had known; given the academy's emergency shut-down right after and the various impromptu mission he'd had to take following that period. of course, things had long settled down now ...

still, he wonders.

❛⠀it's been a while. are you signing your team up for the chūnin exams once more ? ❜

and there was a moment of silence — it was always a moment of awkwardness, when he came to see maito lee. gaara was never good at conveying emotion — always either showing too little, or overflowing with too much.

but there was guilt there, still. he wondered… if lee could see that, feel that, know that.

gaara knew he was out of control, back in those days. it didn't even matter if he advanced in the exams or not — back then, he just wanted him to suffer; to die in complete, unyielding pain. it was a shadow cast on his heart, and even now, there was a part of him that was—

— scared.

"…" he can hardly find the words to confront, but he tries.

His  birthday?  No,  that  couldn't  be  right.  His  birthday  wasn't  until  July;  it  was  still  June     …     wasn't  it?      When  was  the  last  time  he'd  even  checked  his  calendar?  Let  alone  flip  the  page  to  the  correct  month—He  was  a  busy  man,  but  Baki  was  able  to  memorize  most  of  his  schedule  without  writing  it  down.      (It  didn't  help  that  he  practically  lived  at  the  Kazekage  office  these  days;  if  anyone  needed  him,  he  was  always  there.)  It  also  didn't  help  that  most  of  these  new  recruits,  these  fresh  faces,  didn't  know  his  birthday.  They  probably  assumed  he  popped  out  of  a  pod  fully  grown  and  ready  for  battle.  They  found  him  propped  up,  sleeping  in  uniform  enough  times  for  that  to  seem  true. 

Blinking  down  at  the  bundle  of  scrolls,  Baki  took  them  without  hesitation.  Gai  had  carried  them  all  the  way  from  the  Leaf,  and  Baki  assumed  that  the  gesture  meant  very  much  to  him.  It  meant  something  to  Baki,  too.  Since  his  mother's  passing,  he  couldn't  remember  anyone  getting  him  an  actual  gift.  It  almost  felt  unnatural  and  heavy  in  his  hands. 

“Thank  you.  I'd  actually  forgotten  it  was  today."