Untitled

[mimiblargh]

Naruto 498: Mom’s Red Hair;

[minaa-munch]

A Misunderstanding

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The misunderstanding begins at the gates of the Land of Tea, beneath a sky the pale blue of watered silk.

The road has spent the better part of the afternoon winding through steep green hills, where tea bushes march down the slopes in clipped, orderly rows and workers in broad straw hats move between them with baskets strapped to their backs. The air smells of wet earth, woodsmoke and crushed leaves: sharp, clean and faintly bitter on the tongue.

Kakashi walks beside Minato with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking profoundly unimpressed by the beauty of the countryside. At fourteen, he has already mastered the particular expression of a shinobi who suspects scenery is merely an ambush with better lighting.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Minato asks.

Kakashi’s visible eye travels over the hills, the distant river and the tiled estate rising beyond a pale stone wall.

“There are archers on the eastern roof.”

Minato glances at him. “Try not to assess our hosts as potential enemies before we meet them.”

“I assessed the bridge too.”

“Of course you did.”

“It has structural weaknesses.”

The estate gates swing open before Minato can explain that diplomacy generally requires observing things other than how efficiently they might be destroyed.

Minister Daichi comes down the broad front steps to greet them, wrapped in green silk embroidered with gold tea leaves. He is a cheerful, round-faced man with the expansive manner of someone who has never once doubted that a room will welcome him. Behind him, officials, guards and household attendants wait in precise rows while an elderly woman in plum coloured robes watches from the veranda with the bright-eyed concentration of a person already assembling several rumors.

Daichi bows deeply.

“Lord Fourth. The Land of Tea is honoured by your presence.”

Minato returns the bow and gestures toward Kakashi.

“This is Kakashi---”

“Your son,” Daichi finishes warmly.

Minato pauses. Kakashi looks up at him.

There is no resemblance between them that could survive even modest scrutiny. Minato is fair haired, blue eyed and currently wearing the patient smile of a man trying to prevent an international incident before tea. Kakashi has silver hair, one dark eye and the wary posture of a child who has already counted every weapon in the courtyard.

The only trait they visibly share is a habit of checking exits upon entering unfamiliar places, which shinobi generally do not consider hereditary.

“How admirable,” Daichi continues, clasping his hands. “The Hokage brings his heir to witness the work of governance.”

Minato falters, “He is actually---”

“A great honour, Lord Kakashi,” says one of the officials.

Kakashi’s eye sharpens. Minato (unfortunately) knows that look. He has seen it before bell tests, minor thefts and every occasion upon which Obito has made the catastrophic mistake of saying, You wouldn’t dare.

Kakashi inclines his head with grave courtesy.

“The honour is mine.”

Minato turns slowly toward him.

Daichi beams. “Such composure. Just like his father.”

Kakashi is already standing a fraction straighter, as though he has spent his entire life preparing to inherit a country he learned existed yesterday.

“He is my student,” Minato manages.

Daichi’s expression softens.

“How fortunate,” he says. “For both of you.”

And that is how Kakashi becomes his son before they have crossed the courtyard.

The title follows him indoors with astonishing efficiency. A servant escorts Lord Kakashi to the room adjoining Minato’s. Another arrives carrying a ceremonial sash reserved for the immediate family of visiting dignitaries: deep green silk woven with silver branches, soft enough to gleam whenever Kakashi moves.

He allows the attendant to fasten it around his waist with the solemn dignity of a clan heir being dressed for his first council session.

Minato leans against the doorway.

“You are enjoying this.”

“It would be discourteous to reject a local custom.”

“You rejected a medal last month.”

“The ribbon was orange.”

“That was not the official reason.”

“It should have been.”

The attendant presses her lips together, though her shoulders tremble.

“Lord Kakashi will be seated beside his father at tonight’s banquet,” she says.

Kakashi inclines his head as if this has always been the natural order of the world. Once she leaves, Minato folds his arms.

“Lord Kakashi?”

“I didn't invent the title.”

“You accepted it with suspicious speed.”

“I was being diplomatic.”

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The banquet hall opens onto the river, its paper screens folded back to admit the evening breeze. Lanterns sway beneath the dark beams, casting warm gold over low lacquered tables crowded with grilled fish, glossy rice, pickled vegetables and little cakes shaped like tea blossoms.

Kakashi is seated at Minato’s right on a cushion noticeably finer than those assigned to the actual escort detail. Lady Hana, Daichi’s wife, takes one look at him and decides that the Hokage has been starving his only child.

“You are much too thin,” she says, placing a generous piece of river fish on his plate.

Kakashi lowers his eye with exquisite modesty.

Minato narrows his.

“Don't encourage her.”

Lady Hana adds candied plums. Kakashi accepts them with the subdued fortitude of an orphan finally encountering competent guardianship.

The effect upon their hosts is immediate. Lady Hana begins asking how often he trains, whether he sleeps enough and why his father permits him to look so tired.

Minato reaches for his tea.

“He always looks like that.”

Kakashi turns toward her. “He says that instead of addressing the problem.”

Minato nearly inhales his drink. Lady Hana gives him a reproachful look.

“Kakashi.”

“He works late as well,” Kakashi continues.

“You are changing the subject.”

“He forgets meals.”

“I do not forget meals.”

“You once ate cold rice over a patrol report at midnight.”

“That was dinner.”

“That was despair with chopsticks.”

Daichi laughs so loudly that one of the attendants startles. Lady Hana immediately orders additional food sent to Minato’s room.

The conversation shifts toward trade, but Kakashi has already understood the tactical advantages of filial status. He answers every question politely, speaks only when addressed and permits the assembled officials to interpret his silence as extraordinary discipline rather than the careful calculation of how many sweets he can acquire before Minato intervenes.

“Have you inherited your father’s speed?” Daichi asks.

“No,” Kakashi says. “Only his paperwork.”

Minato sets down his cup.

“You have never completed my paperwork.”

“I have watched you suffer through it.”

“That is not inheritance.”

“It has shaped me.”

Lady Hana laughs and gives him another rice cake. From there, Kakashi begins testing the outer limits of family privilege.

He asks whether the Hokage’s son may visit the private gardens.

A guide appears.

He asks whether young dignitaries are traditionally shown the tea vaults.

A curator is summoned.

He asks whether ceremonial desserts may be sampled before formal service.

An entire tray arrives.

“Kakashi,” Minato murmurs as the third honey dumpling disappears behind the mask, “you are exploiting a misunderstanding.”

“I am participating in the local culture.”

“You asked three separate officials whether visiting families receive gifts.”

“I wanted reliable information.”

“You are extorting a sovereign territory.”

Kakashi considers this with appropriate seriousness.

“Politely.”

The rumors begin by breakfast. One servant believes Kakashi was adopted after a heroic battlefield incident. Another insists the Hatake are a distant branch of the Namikaze line whose children are born silver haired as a protective adaptation.

By noon, the elderly woman from the veranda has developed an elaborate theory that Kakashi’s hair is simply in the process of becoming blond like his father’s.

“He is only fourteen,” she explains to Lady Hana behind a painted screen, unaware that Kakashi is standing on the other side. “These transformations take time.”

Kakashi touches his hair thoughtfully while Minato pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Do not.”

“I said nothing.”

“You were considering it.”

“I was wondering how long the process usually takes.”

“Never.”

The elderly courtier continues. “Perhaps by sixteen.”

Kakashi looks at Minato. “That gives us two years.”

By afternoon, the story has acquired several more respectable details. The mask is now a traditional Namikaze coming-of-age garment. Kakashi’s dark eye is expected to turn blue once his chakra settles. His silver hair is evidence of delayed paternal colouring.

One adviser, who has clearly never met a shinobi child before, asks whether Minato was also this quiet at fourteen.

“No,” Kakashi says. “He was probably exhausting.”

Minato looks at him.

“You have no evidence.”

“I have met you.”

Minato makes three separate attempts to correct the household. Each fails because Daichi wants to discuss tariffs, Lady Hana wants Kakashi to eat another bowl of rice, and an elderly official urgently wishes to explain that Lord Kakashi’s blond transformation may begin at the roots.

Meanwhile, the gifts arrive before the formal negotiations begin. A lacquered tea box sits outside Kakashi’s room beside carved chopsticks, a folded silk haori and enough imported sweets to compromise Obito’s moral character from several hundred miles away.

Kakashi crouches beside them with the quiet satisfaction of a hunter who has successfully stalked ceremonial hospitality.

“This is excessive,” Minato says.

“The Land of Tea is generous.”

“You manipulated an entire household.”

“They acted voluntarily.”

“You implied I do not feed you.”

Kakashi lifts the lid of the tea box. “You work late.”

“I don't neglect you.”

Kakashi’s hand stills against the polished wood. The humor thins between them so suddenly that even the sound of the river below seems to sharpen.

Minato had said it lightly. The words land with more weight than intended. Kakashi does not look up. He begins sorting the sweets into two neat piles, precise and deliberate, as though the distribution of candied fruit has become a matter of national security.

“I know,” he says quietly.

Minato lowers himself onto the veranda beside him. Kakashi pushes the smaller pile across the boards.

“Your share.”

Minato looks down. “Why is mine smaller?”

“You have an adult salary.”

“I am also apparently your father.”

Kakashi considers this, then transfers one sweet to Minato’s pile.

“Parental allowance.”

Minato takes another.

“That one was mine.”

“You inherited my generosity.”

Kakashi stares at him for a beat before a small huff escapes behind the mask. It is not quite a laugh, but Minato has known him long enough to count it.

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Later that morning, Daichi announces that the household painter would be honoured to commemorate the visit with a portrait.

Minato tries to decline but Kakashi is already following the attendant into the garden.

The painter places them beneath a flowering plum tree beside the river, where the branches bend beneath clouds of pale blossoms. Petals drift over the grass and catch against Minato’s white cloak, along Kakashi’s shoulders and in the sharp silver spikes of his hair.

The painter studies them with mounting dissatisfaction.

“Lord Kakashi,” he says, “stand nearer your father.”

Kakashi moves half a step.

“Nearer.”

Another half-step brings his shoulder against Minato’s arm. The contact is slight, but Kakashi stiffens beneath it. In an instant, the jōnin, the prodigy and the opportunistic young dignitary all fall away, leaving a fourteen year old boy who does not quite know what to do when affection is offered publicly and without cost.

Minato shifts just enough for their shoulders to settle together more naturally.

The painter beams. “Perfect. Though I imagine the resemblance will be clearer once the young lord’s hair completes its transformation.”

Kakashi’s eye curves. Minato looks toward the branches overhead for patience.

“Do you have an estimate?” Kakashi asks.

“Perhaps sixteen,” the painter says confidently.

“I’ll inform my team.”

The moment survives because Minato laughs, helpless and warm, and after a second Kakashi’s shoulder relaxes against his arm.

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During the negotiations, Kakashi sits at Minato’s right hand with the green sash still wrapped around his waist. The mischief recedes beneath his attention. He studies the maps, tracks every figure and listens to the advisers with the calm focus he usually reserves for battle plans.

When one official proposes that Konoha assume responsibility for protecting the southern trade road without receiving authority over local patrol routes, Kakashi writes a sentence and slides it beneath Minato’s hand.

They want us blamed for failures they will not let us prevent.

Minato reads it once then proposes a counter-measure.

The revised agreement grants Konoha joint authority over the route and divides the cost of additional patrols between both parties. Daichi resists, bargains, sighs dramatically and finally signs with the grave expression of a man who has lost money but retained his dignity.

When the ink dries, he turns toward Kakashi.

“You have served your father well, Lord Kakashi.”

Kakashi opens his mouth, perhaps to offer another clever answer but Minato speaks first.

“He always does.”

Kakashi goes very quiet.

There is ample room for correction.

Neither of them uses it.

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By the time they leave the Land of Tea, the estate has agreed upon several immutable facts: Lord Kakashi is Minato’s son; the fact was probably concealed for security reasons; silver hair is a temporary Namikaze adolescent condition; and all future correspondence should be addressed to the Hokage and his esteemed heir.

The elderly courtier personally assures Kakashi that she expects the blond to come in beautifully.

“I’ll remain vigilant,” he tells her.

Minato walks faster.

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Obito and Rin are waiting at Konoha’s gates when they return. The late sun has turned the village walls honey-gold, and the road is crowded with shinobi returning from patrol, merchants dragging handcarts and children chasing one another between the adults.

Obito spots the sash first.

“What are you wearing?”

“Diplomatic attire,” Kakashi replies.

Rin notices the lacquered box under his arm. “Did they give you presents?”

“Kakashi was mistaken for my son,” Minato explains.

Obito stares.

“For the whole mission?”

“There was no appropriate opportunity to correct them,” Kakashi says.

“You were gone for four days!”

“The schedule was crowded.”

Obito peers into the box and catches sight of the sweets. His outrage deepens into something nearly spiritual.

“You got gifts because they thought you were Hokage-sensei’s son?”

“Lord Kakashi,” Kakashi corrects.

Rin covers her mouth.

“That is cheating!”

“It is diplomacy.”

“You’re not even his family!”

The words leave Obito before he has time to examine them.

Kakashi stops. The movement is small, but the air around them seems to still. The gate noise carries on - the calls of vendors, the clatter of sandals against stone, the rattle of wheels - but for a moment it feels distant.

Obito’s face changes at once and Rin's smile fades. Minato steps forward and rests his hand against the back of Kakashi’s head.

The gesture is brief and familiar, gentle enough not to become a spectacle.

“He is,” Minato says.

Kakashi goes perfectly still beneath his palm. Then, because there are limits to how much tenderness he can endure in a public roadway, he ducks away and begins walking into the village with suspicious speed.

“He also abused the misunderstanding shamelessly,” Minato adds.

“I upheld Konoha’s diplomatic interests,” Kakashi calls back.

“You asked for ceremonial sweets.”

“They were offered.”

Obito tears after him, demanding a share. Rin follows at a calmer pace, rolling her eyes once, and Minato watches the three of them disappear into the evening crowd.

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The finished portrait arrives three weeks later.

Kakashi examines it in Minato’s office with the severe professional scrutiny of a man evaluating enemy intelligence. The painter has captured the river, the drifting blossoms and the precise moment Kakashi’s shoulder rests against Minato’s arm.

“They made you too tall,” Kakashi says.

“That is perspective.”

“My hair looks strange.”

“Your hair always looks like that.”

“It's the shiny kind of silver.”

Minato looks at him. “Was it supposed to be blond by now?”

Kakashi’s eye curves.

The larger portrait remains in Minato’s office.

A smaller copy appears in Kakashi’s apartment soon afterward, resting beside the folded green sash and the lacquered tea box.

No one asks where he got it.

No one asks why he keeps it.

[minaa-munch]

A Misunderstanding: The Aftermath

A/N: I have no excuse :|

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The rumor returns from the Land of Tea before Minato does.

It arrives folded inside official correspondence, stamped with three seals and addressed in an elegant hand to the Fourth Hokage and his esteemed heir, Lord Kakashi. By the time the portrait follows - a tasteful rendering of Minato and Kakashi beneath a plum tree, standing shoulder to shoulder while pale blossoms drift around them - the misunderstanding has already rooted itself in Konoha’s markets, where facts are generally treated as the less entertaining cousins of gossip.

The first merchant to act upon it is an elderly woman who sells grilled rice cakes near the mission office.

Kakashi stops at her stall on the way home from training, damp from the afternoon heat and carrying a packet of replacement wire beneath one arm. The air above the brazier is sweet with soy glaze and smoke. Cicadas scream from the trees with the exhausted fury of creatures personally offended by summer.

The woman takes one look at him, then at the official parcel bearing the Hokage’s seal.

Her face brightens.

“Lord Kakashi.”

Kakashi pauses. He has been called many things in his fourteen years. Prodigy. Jōnin. White Fang’s son. A menace (usually by Obito). Lord Kakashi remains new enough to be interesting.

“Yes?”

She selects the largest rice cake from the grill and wraps it in paper.

“For the Hokage’s boy.”

Kakashi looks at the rice cake.

Then at her.

There is, technically, a moment in which the truth might still be rescued.

Naturally, it passes.

“How much?” he asks.

“Family rate.”

The family rate, Kakashi discovers, is free. He accepts the rice cake with the solemnity of a diplomat receiving tribute. The woman beams after him as he walks away, smoke curling beneath the awning and the parcel tucked securely beneath his arm.

Kakashi takes one bite.

He stops. The glaze is still warm, crisp at the edges and sticky enough to catch against his mask. Behind him, coins clink into a wooden box. The market moves around the stall in its usual bright disorder: vegetables arranged beneath damp cloths, sandals striking stone, merchants calling over one another as if volume were a recognized form of competitive advantage.

Kakashi looks back at the woman.

“Does the family rate apply to sweet bean dumplings?”

She gives him two.

That is how it begins. The market rumor does not spread in a straight line. It drifts, pauses to improve itself, then doubles back wearing better clothes.

Someone sees the Land of Tea portrait displayed briefly in the Hokage Tower. Someone else recognizes the green ceremonial sash Kakashi continues to wear because, according to him, silk is durable and refusing foreign gifts retroactively would be discourteous. A clerk remembers that the Land of Tea addressed him as Minato’s heir. A baker points out that Kakashi already enters the Hokage’s home without knocking.

By the end of the week, the market has reached a version of events satisfying enough to require no further evidence.

The Fourth Hokage has adopted Hatake Kakashi in secret. The secrecy is necessary because of foreign assassins, clan politics, Kakashi’s inheritance, Minato’s modesty, or all four at once. Nobody agrees upon the details. This does not impede certainty.

Kakashi does nothing to encourage the story. He merely begins buying his mission supplies in the market rather than from the quartermaster. The blacksmith near the eastern wall services his kunai at what he calls the household rate. A tea seller quietly adds an extra cup to his order. The baker slips sesame buns into his bag with the instruction that one is for his father.

Minato receives none of these buns.

This is not selfishness. Kakashi simply considers it unwise to burden the Hokage with the administrative consequences of every civilian misunderstanding.

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The arrangement remains elegant, discreet and economically favorable until Obito sees the third skewer.

They have spent the afternoon training beside the river, where the heat sits heavily over the water and the grass has been flattened beneath several hours of avoidable violence. Rin kneels at the bank washing dust and dried mud from her hands. Minato has already left for the tower after a messenger hawk arrived with a summons from the council, abandoning his students with strict instructions to go home, eat properly and avoid creating further work for the village.

Obito and Kakashi interpret the second instruction differently.

The yakitori stall stands beneath a faded awning near the market road, fragrant with charcoal, rendered fat and the sweet-dark sauce bubbling in a shallow pan. Obito orders two skewers. Kakashi orders two.

The vendor gives Kakashi three - it is done casually, with the smooth confidence of a transaction already understood by both parties.

Obito notices. His gaze follows the third skewer from the grill to the paper wrapper, then from the wrapper to Kakashi’s hand.

Kakashi, who has survived ambushes involving fewer warning signs, turns away and takes a bite.

“What,” Obito asks, “was that?”

Kakashi chews.

“Chicken.”

“We ordered the same amount.”

“Yes.”

“You have three.”

Kakashi looks down at the skewers, adopting the expression of a man surprised by an unexplained abundance.

“So I do.”

The vendor leans over the counter with a hearty grin. “Family privilege.”

Rin reaches them just as Obito’s entire face rearranges itself around betrayal.

“What family?”

The vendor blinks, glancing toward Kakashi.

“The Hokage’s.”

A dog begins barking farther down the road. Several pigeons rise from a roof. Kakashi finishes the first skewer with the composure of a shinobi who has decided that denying the evidence would only prolong the investigation.

Obito turns slowly toward him.

“You knew.”

“I became aware of the misunderstanding.”

“When?”

Kakashi considers the question.

“The exact moment is difficult to establish.”

“How long have you been getting free food?”

“Not all of it is free.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“Some merchants provide reductions rather than complete exemptions.”

Rin stares at him. “You have categories?”

“For accounting purposes.”

Obito’s voice drops into the dangerous calm that usually precedes either a speech or an explosion.

“You let the whole market think you’re Hokage-sensei’s son.”

Kakashi pulls the second skewer from its wrapping. “I never made that claim.”

“You didn’t correct them.”

“There was rarely an appropriate opening.”

Rin’s eyes narrow with the severity of a medic confronting an injury caused by stupidity.

“Kakashi.”

“The merchants were busy.”

“They were giving you things.”

“It would have been rude to interrupt.”

Obito looks toward the vendor, whose expression has begun to acquire uncertainty.

“I’m the other son.”

The uncertainty vanishes. The vendor’s brows lift. His gaze moves from Obito’s Uchiha crest to Kakashi’s silver hair, then back again. For one fragile second, reason appears prepared to intervene.

Obito folds his arms.

“Hokage-sensei believes in building bridges between clans.”

The vendor exhales in understanding.

“Ah.”

There is no defensible reason for ah to sound so convinced. A third skewer lands in Obito’s hand.

Kakashi stops chewing.

“You lied.”

Obito bites into the chicken with righteous satisfaction. “I corrected an inequality.”

“You invented a relationship.”

“You established the precedent.”

“I was assigned it by foreign officials.”

“And I was assigned it by me.”

Rin steps between them before the discussion becomes physical.

“This is politically questionable.”

Both boys look at her. Rin draws herself up, aware that she is addressing two people who have independently decided that discounted grilled meat constitutes a matter of civil rights.

“People cannot start giving you privileges because they think you’re related to the Hokage. That is how dynasties happen.”

Obito nods vigorously. “Exactly.”

Rin’s expression softens in relief.

“The privileges should apply equally.”

Her relief dies.

Kakashi looks Obito up and down. “You are visibly Uchiha.”

“That makes it politically meaningful.”

“It makes it genetically implausible.”

“Adoption exists.”

“So do standards.”

“You got adopted because you stood near Sensei in a painting looking sad and expensive!”

“It was a formal diplomatic portrait.”

“You wore a sash.”

Kakashi glances down at the green silk tied neatly around his waist.

“It matches my uniform.”

Rin presses two fingers between her brows.

The market shifts around them, warm and noisy and entirely too attentive. Two women examining radishes have stopped speaking. The fishmonger is leaning conspicuously toward the road. Information in Konoha travels fastest when everyone involved pretends not to listen.

Rin lowers her voice, “You both need to stop before this gets worse.”

A shadow falls across the road. The confectioner from the shop opposite has emerged carrying a lacquered box tied with a pink cord. She is a small, soft-faced woman with sugar on one sleeve and the quietly determined expression of someone about to interfere in another family’s affairs.

“You're Rin, right? Who is always with the Hokage?”

Rin turns to find the woman pushing the box into her hands.

“For the Hokage’s adoptive daughter.”

The lid is warm beneath Rin’s fingers. Through its narrow seams comes the fragrance of plum paste, toasted rice flour and sugar.

Obito looks at her. Kakashi looks at her. Rin looks into the box.

Six seasonal sweets rest inside, shaped into tiny flowers and dusted with flecks of gold. Their petals have been painted in shades of pink and white, each one too pretty to eat without first contemplating the impermanence of beauty.

Rin’s political principles suddenly encounter material conditions.

“She is also his student,” the confectioner adds warmly. “And every household needs a sensible daughter.”

Rin clears her throat.

“Accepting a gift does not necessarily indicate support for hereditary government.”

Kakashi inclines his head. “A sophisticated distinction.”

Obito tentatively reaches towards the box but Rin closes the lid on his fingers.

^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/

The rumor no longer drifts after that.

It acquires legs.

By the following morning, Kakashi is the Hokage’s solemn eldest son, Obito the younger son brought into the household as a gesture of reconciliation toward the Uchiha, and Rin the practical daughter expected to prevent both boys from destroying the administration.

The stories grow more coherent with every retelling. Kakashi has been kept secret for his own protection. Obito is being trained as a future ambassador to his clan. Rin will become chief medic, adviser and, according to one grocer, “the one who understands money.”

The three of them move through the market beneath a new and deeply profitable social order. Kakashi receives a reduction on wire, senbon and blade oil. Obito is awarded buns, fruit and one small paper fan after demanding equal sibling recognition with enough confidence to make the merchant doubt his own family records. Rin continues objecting in principle while accepting discounted medical texts on the grounds that literacy should never be made to suffer for politics.

They are leaving the bookseller when Gai lands in front of them.

He arrives in a burst of green cloth and dust, one fist planted against the stones, sunlight flashing from his teeth with sufficient force to alarm a nearby horse.

“Kakashi!”

Gai rises, every line of him trembling with moral purpose.

“I have heard a terrible rumor!”

“That narrows nothing.”

“You are allowing the citizens of Konoha to believe you are the son of the Hokage!”

Obito shifts the bun behind his back while Rin adjusts the medical text beneath her arm.

Kakashi’s expression remains placid. “I haven't told anyone that.”

“You have benefited from silence!”

“The village often rewards silence.”

“This silence lacks youth!”

The declaration carries across the market. Heads turn. A vegetable seller openly abandons the pretense of arranging cabbages.

Gai plants both fists upon his hips.

“Truth must blaze forth like the dawn! You must correct every merchant immediately and return all improperly obtained goods.”

Obito’s face falls at the suggestion. Rin looks down at the box of sweets.

Kakashi studies Gai for a long moment.

Then he reaches into his bag and withdraws a paper packet. The warm scent of candied chestnuts unfurls between them.

Gai’s eyes flick downward.

Kakashi holds the packet loosely.

“It would be wasteful to return food after purchase.”

“You didn't purchase it.”

“A semantic distinction.”

“A moral one!”

“Have you eaten lunch?”

Gai’s expression changes.

“Physical deprivation cannot weaken the flames of integrity!”

His stomach growls loudly in rebuke. Obito hears it, then turns away and bites his fist.

Kakashi opens the packet. Sugar has crystallized along the chestnuts, catching the afternoon light. He offers one.

Gai looks at it as though Kakashi has presented him with the final temptation in a sacred trial.

“It is not youthful to bribe a rival.”

“It is less youthful to faint in public.”

“I would never faint.”

“Then you can eat standing.”

Gai accepts one chestnut.

Kakashi offers the packet again.

Gai takes another.

“I remain opposed,” he says, with reduced force.

“Of course you do.”

“I will not spread the rumor.”

“No one requested that.”

“I will merely refrain from correcting it until I have gathered all relevant facts.”

Obito brightens. “You can be a cousin.”

Gai nearly chokes.

“No,” Kakashi says immediately.

The refusal is so sharp that Gai looks wounded.

“My bond with you is one of eternal rivalry.”

“That does not qualify you for discounts.”

“It is certainly more youthful than blood.”

Rin takes one of the chestnuts before the argument can expand. “You’re already taking the bribe.”

“I am preserving evidence.”

“You've eaten most of the evidence.”

“A true shinobi internalizes his investigation.”

By the time they leave the market, Gai has acquired a paper cone of roasted nuts, two oranges from a woman who thinks he is “the energetic cousin,” and a discount token for new sandals after demonstrating the condition of his current pair with unrequested intensity.

The four of them walk toward the Hokage Tower beneath the sinking sun.

The day’s heat has begun lifting from the stones. Shopkeepers light lanterns beneath their awnings one by one, their glow turning the street gold at the edges. Kakashi carries the mission supplies. Obito carries food he claims represents compensation for delayed recognition. Rin carries her sweets and continues explaining that temporary participation in an informal gift economy does not amount to endorsement of a dynasty.

Gai carries the oranges.

“It remains dishonest,” he says.

Obito bites into a bun. “Then give back the sandals coupon, beast face.”

Gai clutches the token to his chest.

“My current sandals are a danger to public safety.”

“Convenient.”

“You cannot place convenience above youthful truth!”

“You placed it above the truth three shops ago!”

“That was before the soles began separating.”

Kakashi walks ahead of them, his green sash moving softly against his uniform. Rin notices and begins laughing first, quietly enough that it catches Obito by surprise. He laughs too, mouth still full. Gai protests the attack upon his integrity until his own indignation collapses beneath it.

For several minutes, they are simply four children walking home through the evening market with too many sweets and no supervision.

The rumor follows at a respectful distance.

^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/

Minato learns of his family the next morning.

He has spent the first hours of daylight in a council meeting concerning border tariffs, grain reserves and a dispute between two merchants who have both claimed exclusive rights to sell commemorative Fourth Hokage tea sets. By the time he escapes the tower, his shoulders ache beneath the white cloak and his breakfast has become a memory of something Kushina threatened him with before he left.

He crosses the market in search of food.

People bow more warmly than usual, which is fairly common. Minato is still new enough to the office that the village has not yet agreed upon how much familiarity is appropriate. Some civilians bow too deeply. Others slap him on the shoulder as if he has won a difficult sporting event.

An elderly woman selling rice cakes smiles at him with particular tenderness.

“You must be very proud.”

Minato pauses.

“Of...the tariff agreement?”

She laughs. He smiles because politicians learn early that admitting confusion only encourages explanation.

At the bakery, the owner places four sesame buns into his bag despite charging him for two.

“For the children.”

Minato looks into the bag.

“What children?”

The baker’s expression softens.

“Of course.”

Minato leaves with six buns.

At the weapons stall, he finds Kakashi inspecting a newly serviced kunai. Obito is beside him eating something glazed with sugar. Rin holds a stack of medical texts against her chest. Gai stands nearby in brand-new sandals, lifting each foot experimentally with the grave concentration of a shinobi testing a forbidden technique.

All four children go still when they see him.

Minato looks at Kakashi. Kakashi looks at Minato.

Minato’s gaze drops to the green sash around Kakashi’s waist, the bag of discounted weapons in his hand, and the small wooden token stamped with the words Hokage Household Rate.

He turns to Obito. Obito attempts to hide a bun behind his back. This fails because there are three more sticking out of his vest.

Rin lifts her chin while Gai salutes.

“Good morning, Father of a Youthful triad!”

Silence ripples outward. Three merchants are watching from doorways. The rice-cake woman has clasped both hands beneath her chin.

“Kakashi,” Minato says carefully. “Why does Gai think I am his father?”

“I do not,” Gai says. “I am a cousin.”

“That did not improve the question.”

Kakashi shifts the kunai between his fingers.

“There has been a minor civilian misunderstanding.”

“How minor?”

Obito gestures at the market. “It’s fairly established.”

Rin steps forward with the expression of someone prepared to present a carefully researched defense.

“The rumor began after the Land of Tea correspondence arrived. Kakashi failed to correct it.”

“There was no natural opening,” Kakashi replies.

“You had a week.”

“The market is very busy.”

“Then Obito declared himself your second son,” Rin continues.

“For equality,” Obito says.

“And I was subsequently identified as your daughter.”

Minato looks at the books in her arms. Rin tightens her hold on them.

“The discount supports medical education.”

Minato turns back to Kakashi. Kakashi remains calm. He has faced foreign assassins with less composure.

“How much of the village believes this?”

Kakashi glances past him. Kushina is approaching through the market with a grocery basket over one arm. A vegetable seller hurries out and adds three tomatoes, a bunch of scallions and a small squash without accepting payment.

“For your lovely family,” she says.

Kushina looks from the basket to the four children standing beside Minato.

Understanding dawns and a grin spreads across her face slowly.

Minato recognizes that smile. It usually means an existing problem has found a more dangerous ally.

“We have a family discount?” she asks.

Obito nods enthusiastically.

“On almost everything.”

“Books too,” Rin says.

“Weapons maintenance,” Kakashi adds.

“Sandals,” Gai says, lifting one foot.

Kushina peers into her grocery basket, then at the children.

“We’re keeping them 'ttebane.”

Minato turns toward her. “The vegetables?”

“The children.”

Obito raises both fists while Rin looks pleased despite herself. Gai begins to declare the arrangement youthful with a nod and Kakashi checks the receipt.

Minato stands in the middle of the market, surrounded by merchants who believe he has created a carefully balanced household alliance from three clan heirs and one unusually persistent rival. The absurdity should make correction easy.

Instead, he sees the way people are smiling.

The village has spent years watching children return from war to houses that no longer contain enough voices. The rumor has pleased them because it offers a tidier ending: the young Hokage gathering his students close, Kushina feeding them, damaged families folding together rather than remaining politely broken.

It is inaccurate.

It is also, Minato thinks as Obito attempts to steal one of Rin’s sweets and Gai defends her box with a produce basket, perhaps not entirely false.

Kakashi notices the hesitation.

“Correcting the record now may create unnecessary instability,” he says.

Minato looks down at him.

“You've been waiting to say that, haven't you?”

“Yes.”

Obito swallows the stolen sweet. “It could damage public confidence.”

“In what?”

“Our family.”

“We are not a political dynasty.”

Rin adjusts her books. “That distinction may be less important to civilians than the appearance of domestic continuity.”

Minato stares at her.

She colors slightly. “The bookseller said it.”

Gai plants one hand upon his chest.

“I remain ethically opposed to rumor. However, the bonds formed through shared discounts are undeniably youthful.”

Minato looks at the four of them, then at Kushina, who has already begun negotiating a reduced price on rice.

“We have monetized kinship,” he says faintly.

Kakashi glances at the receipt in his hand.

“Efficiently.”

^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/----^/

That evening, Kushina sets six bowls around the table.

Minato notices this only after everyone has sat down.

Obito and Gai argue over whether cousins receive equal portions. Rin divides the remaining sweets according to a system she insists is medically appropriate. Kakashi sits beside the open window, his new kunai laid within reach and the Land of Tea sash folded neatly over the back of his chair.

Outside, the rumor continues through Konoha, embellished from doorway to doorway.

Inside, Kushina ladles soup into each bowl as though there has never been any question of space.

Minato looks around the table.

“Just so we are clear,” he says, “there will be no succession dispute.”

Obito points his chopsticks at Kakashi. “Tell that to the heir.”

“I have no interest in the office,” Kakashi replies.

“You took the discount.”

“That was fiscal, not political.”

Rin sighs. “This is why dynasties are dangerous.”

Kushina takes the moment to slip some dumplings into their bowls. Everyone quiets down to eat.

The story moving through the market is not true.

Then again, truth is not always the same thing as fact.

Sometimes it is a table with too many bowls, a door that opens without knocking, and a discount nobody has the political courage to surrender.

@konohagakurekakashi @three-tailsblossom

[docmcarter]

It’s happy alternative reality that we deserved, guys :’’’3 There is also a bonus of how lil naruto sees all of his nee-chans and nii-chans ahaha

Keep reading

[minaa-munch]

For a month an ink smeared face was observed dashing around the village. Often seen tongue sticking out and brow furrowed in pure concentration as they scratched out something in a little notebook though hissing like a feral cat when anyone tried to see what they were doing. To them this project they were pouring so much into had to be perfect. All consumed as they devoured books, ran to and from the edges of the village, and asking various sources for assistance until it was satisfyingly finished. -

All that handwork culminating into a parchment filled with rough sketches of various plants with each named, where they were observed in the village, if they should be touched or left alone, and the consequences if not; the death ones had a funny little face with x’s for eyes. At the bottom a little note in crisp but childish handwriting saying this wasn’t a complete reference, but it might help keep him out of trouble in the future. -

Then all that diligence was neatly folded up with a few wildflowers before Reni went scampering up to that bright blonde man and handed the bundle off before taking off in a fit of giggles not sticking around to be interrogated about it.

Minato has been on the receiving end of many things in his life: Kunai. Explosive tags. Mission scrolls. Threats from enemy shinobi delivered with varying degrees of theatrical conviction. Inoichi’s unsolicited advice. Kushina’s occasionally solicited advice, usually issued at a volume that suggested the entire village might benefit from hearing it too.

He has, however, never been ambushed by a bundle of parchment and wildflowers.

It happens just outside the academy grounds, in the gold-warm slant of late afternoon. Minato has barely finished speaking with one of the instructors when a small shape darts toward him from the side path, feet quick against the packed earth, laughter already escaping in bright, breathless bursts.

He turns just in time to see an ink-smudged face, fierce eyes, and a pair of hands thrusting something up at him with all the urgency of a mission handoff.

“For you!”

Minato accepts it automatically.

“Ah,” he says, because one should always say something when unexpectedly entrusted with classified wildflowers. “Thank you---”

The child is already gone with the particular speed of someone who has planned the delivery but absolutely not the conversation after it. A ribbon flashes around the corner. A giggle trails after her, then disappears into the noise of the academy yard.

Minato is left standing with a folded parchment in his hands and several wildflowers tucked beneath a loop of twine.

The instructor beside him looks at the bundle.

Then at Minato.

Then at the corner where the child vanished.

“Do I want to know?” they ask.

“I’m not sure yet,” Minato replies. The flowers are small and slightly crushed from being held too tightly. Their stems have been wrapped with the same care one might give to binding a wound; yellow, white, purple. Common roadside blooms, but chosen with attention rather than decoration. He studies them for a moment, then smiles despite himself.

No thorns. No suspicious sap. No crow-dipper. He has the distinct sense that this is intentional.

Minato carries the bundle to a bench beneath the old persimmon tree before opening it. The academy is loud around him: students arguing over the rules of a game that seems to have very few rules, an instructor calling someone down from a wall, the dry scrape of practice kunai against wood. Afternoon light filters through the leaves overhead and falls in shifting patterns across the parchment as he unfolds it.

Then unfolds it again. And again.

By the time it lies fully open across his lap, Minato is staring at a document that has clearly required more fieldwork than several official reconnaissance reports he has read this month.

The parchment is covered edge to edge in sketches; rough, urgent drawings made by someone far more concerned with survival than elegance. Leaves are circled. Stems are marked. Berries are rendered with ominous emphasis. Dangerous parts have been underlined, boxed in, or accompanied by arrows sharp enough to look accusatory.

Each plant has a name, and each name is followed by where it was observed in the village, whether it should be touched or left alone, and what might happen to a person foolish enough to ignore the warning.

Minato recognizes crow-dipper immediately, as it has been drawn with particular severity.

CROW-DIPPER Seen: academy west fence, north training field, drainage ditch after rain Touch: NO Consequence: swelling, burning, shame

Underneath, in smaller handwriting:

Already explained once.

Minato presses his lips together. It does not help; a laugh escapes him anyway, quiet and helpless, and he has to cover it with his hand because the note has been written with such grave disappointment that laughing feels disrespectful.

He reads on.

FALSE MINT Seen: behind library, shady rocks Touch: no Consequence: rash, itching, regret Note: smells nice because it is lying

MOONSEED CREEPER Seen: old wall, east side Touch: maybe Eat: NO Consequence: poison, stomach pain, possible death

Beside that entry is a little face with x’s for eyes.

Minato stares at it for a long moment. Then, very carefully, he turns the parchment to catch the light better. There are more faces beside the more dangerous entries. Small, dramatic, occasionally lopsided faces with x’s for eyes and tongues sticking out. One has what appears to be a tiny grave marker next to it. Another has lines around it, perhaps to indicate spiritual departure, or perhaps simply emphasis. It is difficult to tell.

The guide continues: Blistervine. Widow’s lace. Redcap mushroom. Silvergrass. Bitterroot. Foxglove. A creeping plant near the memorial path that has been labeled beautiful but rude. A cluster of berries near the outer wall that receives three separate warnings, one of which reads, in impressively crisp handwriting:

Do not “just check.”

Minato lowers the parchment slightly and looks out over the academy yard.

The child who gave it to him is nowhere in sight.

Still, he can picture her with startling clarity: ink on her cheek, notebook clutched close, brow furrowed as if the world itself has presented her with an error she intends to correct by force of concentration.

His amusement softens. At the bottom of the parchment, beneath the final row of sketches, there is a note.

The handwriting is careful. Childish, yes, but deliberate. Each character has been placed with effort, the way children write when the message matters enough to slow their hand.

This is not a complete reference. Konoha has many dangerous plants and some might be missing. But it might help keep you out of trouble in the future.

A pause. Then:

The flowers are safe.

Minato’s fingers still on the edge of the page. For a while, he simply sits there with the parchment across his lap, listening to the ordinary noise of the academy.

There is something tender and terrible about being cared for by a child. It lands somewhere deep in him, warm and bright and unexpectedly painful.

But children in Konoha learn danger so early. They learn to identify poison, to watch hands, to count exits, to notice which adults are bleeding and which ones are pretending not to. They learn that love can look like warning someone away from a plant that burns.

And this child - this very small, very serious child - has spent who knows how long making him a guide. Because once, he had touched something dangerous, and she had decided that was unacceptable.

Minato bows his head over the parchment and smiles.

“Thank you,” he says softly, though she is no longer there to hear it.

Then he folds the guide back up with the same care he would give a treaty document. More care, perhaps. Treaties rarely come with hand-drawn death faces.

The wildflowers he tucks into the front of his vest, stems angled safely away from the fabric.

He spends the walk back to the Hokage Tower trying very hard not to look too pleased.

This effort fails almost immediately. Jiraiya notices before Minato has even crossed the room.

His teacher is sprawled by the window in a way that suggests he has never respected furniture in his life. Hiruzen sits behind his desk, pipe in hand, half-buried in paperwork. Both men look up when Minato enters.

Jiraiya’s eyes go straight to the flowers.

Slowly, his face brightens.

“Oh,” he says. “This looks interesting.”

“It is not,” Minato says at once.

“Then why do you have flowers in your vest?”

“They were entrusted to me.”

“By whom?”

“A concerned citizen.”

Hiruzen’s brows lift over his pipe. “A concerned citizen?”

Minato considers lying - he is very good at lying when the mission requires it.

Unfortunately, this is not a mission, and Jiraiya already looks delighted.

“A student from the academy,” Minato admits.

Jiraiya sits up. “You got flowers from an academy student?”

“I received a field guide.”

“A field guide.”

“To dangerous village plants.”

There is a brief silence. Then Jiraiya’s grin spreads with horrifying speed.

Minato points at him. “No.”

“I haven’t said anything.”

“You are about to.”

“I am about to say several things.”

“Hokage sama,” Minato says, turning to Hiruzen, “I would like to request formal protection.”

“Denied,” Hiruzen says mildly. “Show me the field guide.”

Minato hesitates. It is not classified, exactly. But it feels private in the way important children’s things are private. Not secret, but entrusted. There is a difference.

Still, Hiruzen’s expression has softened with genuine curiosity, and Jiraiya, for all his playful jabs, knows better than to mock sincerity when it has come from someone small.

Minato unfolds the parchment across the desk. Jiraiya automatically leans over it while Hiruzen takes his pipe from his mouth. He reads the first entry and the corner of his mouth twitches.

“Shame,” he murmurs.

Jiraiya makes a sound like a cough strangled by laughter.

Minato closes his eyes. “It was listed as a consequence.”

“Was it accurate?”

“Regrettably.”

Jiraiya bends closer. “Already explained once,” he reads aloud, and then he does laugh, loud enough that someone in the hall pauses outside the door. “Brat, you’ve been medically supervised by a child.”

“She was correct.”

“That makes it better.”

“It does, actually.”

Hiruzen continues reading, his amusement settling into something quieter. He traces one finger near the edge of the parchment, careful not to smudge the ink. His gaze pauses at the final note.

The room grows gentler.

“This is good work,” he says.

Minato nods. “Yes.”

“Thorough.”

“Very.”

“Practical.”

“Extremely.”

Jiraiya’s smile has changed too, though he would deny it under questioning. “Kid has good instincts.”

“She does,” Minato says.

“And good taste. Clearly likes hopeless cases.”

“I’m choosing to ignore that.”

“You shouldn’t. Ignoring warnings is how you ended up with a plant guide.”

Minato refolds the parchment before Jiraiya can read any more entries aloud. “I have learned my lesson.”

“Have you?”

“Yes.”

“What lesson?”

Minato looks at the flowers tucked into his vest. Then at the folded guide in his hands.

He thinks of ink-smudged cheeks, small hands, careful warnings, and a giggle vanishing around the academy corner before gratitude could catch it.

“Don’t touch crow-dipper,” he says.

Jiraiya groans. Hiruzen chuckles into his pipe.

But Minato keeps the guide. He takes it home that evening and places it on his desk beside unfinished seal designs and mission notes. The flowers go into a cup of water near the window. They are slightly bent, and one petal has torn, but they brighten the room anyway.

For several days afterward, Minato consults the parchment whenever he crosses the academy grounds.

This is partly because the guide is useful. It is also because, on the third day, he spots a familiar ink-smudged face watching him from behind the persimmon tree.

Minato notices the moment her eyes flick to his hands.

He very deliberately stops in front of a patch of crow-dipper and looks at the plant.

Then at the guide. Then back at the plant.

He then takes three careful steps away from it. From behind the tree comes a small, violently suppressed giggle.

Minato does not turn.

He only smiles down at the parchment and continues walking, safe from crow-dipper, suspicious berries, and the terrible shame of disappointing his smallest field expert.

@inkpots-n-sass

[frog-thief]

dress warmer ⊂( ´ ▽ ` )⊃

[quipquipquip]

For havecrayonswilltravel, perpetualcalamity, and miscella: Steve and Damian keep in contact. A continuation of this.

Commander Rogers,  I’m sorry if you believe this letter to be distastefully tardy. I wasn’t going to write one at all, but Pennyworth (my manservant) insisted that I should send you a “thank you” card. The selection of “thank you” cards I found was unsatisfactory, so I made this one myself. You mentioned that you were an artist, so I believe that you’ll appreciate my use of color. (I have a large collection of crayons.) 

I did not want to send you this, because I still resent that you suggested I order from the children’s menu at IHOP. I still find the cutesy acronym and whipped cream smile that came with my pancakes offensive on a personal level. But after I thoroughly researched your name, Googled you, I felt compelled to keep contact. You did not tell me that you are a decorated war veteran, as well as a high-ranking officer. These are things that should have come up in the course of our conversation.

Additionally, your Wikipedia entry contains an error that you may want to have your people correct. It says that you were born in 1917, which would make you nearly a hundred years old. If it is your actual birthdate, you must reveal to me how you’ve gained usage of a Lazarus Pit.

I have included one (1) drawing of a cat I saw earlier this week. Its vacuous expression and markings reminded me of you. Do you like cats? I would appreciate your professional assessment of my artistic skill. Furthermore, I would appreciate it if you would continue to keep our meeting to yourself. My father is a very rich and very busy man. He need not know. 

Again, you have my condolences on the passing of your friend, Mr. Barnes.

Sincerely,  Damian Wayne 

Damian,

It’s good to hear from you. I have to say, I was surprised by your letter. I know you probably get told all the time that you have great penmanship and a large vocabulary, but I’m still very impressed. Are you sure that your birthday isn’t a typo?I can’t remember the last time I met such an intelligent young man. Your father must be very proud to call you his son.

I hate to date myself, but that Wikipedia entry is right. I was born in New York City on the 4th of July, 1917. Just before America threw herself into World War II, I volunteered to be a test subject in a program that aimed to turn skinny, sick men into the strong soldiers that our country needed. The project failed to produce an army, but it did work on me. I fought as Captain America until the end of the war. I only gave up the name recently, to a man worthy of it. The shield has found its way back to me, sadly. I’m surprised that a young man as educated as you are hadn’t heard about that. It’s rare that I meet anyone who doesn’t know me as Captain first and Steve second.

You show a whole lot of talent, guts, ingenuity, and potential, Damian. I taped your drawing up on my desk, and every time I look at it, I can’t help but smile. In my professional opinion, I think that it’s obvious that you both love art and love animals. You can’t hide passion. Stick with it, okay?

I’m glad that we met. I was having a real tough time, so making a new friend did my heart good. I’d like to get to know you better, if you wouldn’t mind being my penpal. Do you have a favorite subject in school? Any hobbies, aside from art? And have you heard back from your friend Grayson? I’ll bet he’d appreciate a letter from you just as much as I have.

I’ve included one (1) picture of a cat I saw on my morning run. It reminded me of you. I won’t tell your father about the bar ordeal, hand to heart.

Hoping to hear back from you soon, Commander Steve Rogers

[senjutsunade]

The morning is cold enough that the training posts look offended.

Tsunade is out in the field anyway, hair tied back, sleeves rolled, knuckles already red from the bite of winter air. She throws a punch at the log, hears the satisfying thunk, and then - because the universe enjoys comedy - feels a sharp, deep ache pull through her lower abdomen like someone has hooked a finger into a muscle and tugged.

She pauses.

Breathes through her nose.

“Stupid… body,” she mutters, low and vicious, and plants her fist against her hip as if that will intimidate it into behaving.

It does not.

The ache rolls again. Her lower back answers with a familiar, cranky complaint. Her shoulders feel heavy. Her joints feel… louder than usual.

Tsunade exhales, long-suffering.

“Why,” she says to no one, “do I feel like I fought a war in my sleep?”

Behind her, very small footsteps stop.

Minato is on the edge of the training field, a scroll under his arm, flak jacket crisp, hair a sunburst against the gray morning. He’s been headed for the far posts - he always is, because he likes quiet corners and clear angles.

He freezes like a deer who has just heard a twig snap.

Keep reading

[vyinter]

seokhui this is why she used to beat you up

[ashortstoryaboutlove]

How do I love Like Flowers in Sand? Let me count the ways:

Jang Dong Yoon’s Kim Baek Du is adorable. I want to squish his cheeks and put choice bits of food in his bowl.

The childhood background is sweet and relevant.

There is some great humor in the character interactions. Baek Du is often at the heart of it bc he’s such a himbo but he’s a himbo with a heart of gold (see bullet point 1).

I really enjoy all of the ssireum parts, even though I know nothing about the sport. It’s like how much I liked the fencing bits of 25 21.

The small town setting is perfect. These people gossip like there’s no tomorrow and are all up in each other’s business, but they still care about each other.

The mystery has got me hooked. And it isn’t just some flashy mystery tacked onto the story for interest—it’s deeply connected to the community and the characters’ lives and I really like that. It’s just the right amount of suspense for me (I just finished episode 8 fwiw).

It is a crime that this show isn’t getting more attention. I admit it seemed slow at first but it’s one of my favorite currently airing shows I’m watching right now (and I’m watching a lot of them). I look forward to it every week.

The trailer at top doesn’t do the show justice, either.

[vyinter]

this is taking me OUT

[bareums]

Gaus Electronics (2022) || Ep 1

[eventually--darling]

is this a fucking strangers from hell reference

[koreandragon]

baek ma tan is so unserious i’m so obsessed with him. he’s like “dear father, hope my letter finds you well. i know you’re busy hoarding your wealth and setting up drones to spy on me but i wanted to tell you that today i took the bus to work to experience the life of an average office worker and to show you i can get by without my family’s support” and the camera cuts to wide shot of him sitting on a totally empty private bus that his chauffeur is driving

[eventually--darling]

💀💀💀

[naritakyouji]

If you want to be the main character of a drama, just memorize the famous lines and apply them.

Gaus Electronics (2022) / Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

[hanjwons]

Why don’t you talk it out with Na Rae? I’ll get dumped.