An arranged marriage between two unlikely people in Iwagakure evolves to a love story neither of them were expecting, or how a (very) eccentric apothecary becomes her husband’s reason for living when he known in Edo Japan as the legendary shinobi Gabimaru the Hollow.
Otherwise known as the prequel to Hell’s Paradise that no one was expecting~.
he is an extremely loyal partner and won’t even consider entertaining anyone who tries to flirt with him or convince him to leave you. he even goes as far as repeatedly referring to himself as ‘a taken man’ just to drive the point home as much as possible
more of a listener than a talker and is more than happy to sit down and listen to you vent and gush and rant about whatever is on your mind — in fact it’s his favourite way to relax after a long day of being ‘the hollow’ (or of working in general after he gets home and gets pardoned)
doesn’t use pet names for the most part, but will very occasionally call you something like ‘sweetheart’ if he’s in an exceptionally sentimental mood for whatever reason — e.g. when he was finally able to get home to you as a free man after weeks spent apart
you’re the only one who can genuinely make him smile or laugh and he adores you for it — it’s why he’s so protective over you, because you’re the light of his life and he can’t bear the thought of losing you
he’s a very chaste kisser and while he won’t do it himself, he will usually indulge you if you happen to be a lip chaser — just not (for long) when he actually has to be somewhere very soon
if there are any chores around the house that you just cannot stand for whatever reason, gabimaru will pick them in a heartbeat — and you don’t even have to tell him that you hate taking out the bins or doing the washing up, he’s perceptive enough to notice on his own and he’ll do them for you without a word
sagiri
her favourite place to kiss you is your hands — your palms, your fingertips, your knuckles, your wrists, etc. — and she tends to stick to pretty brief and chaste kisses both in public and in private (she has an image and a reputation to uphold, after all)
sagiri tends to stick to more traditional pet names when talking to you in private — like ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’, ‘dear’, ‘my love’, and so on — but when around others she usually just calls you your first name
very encouraging and supportive of you as she knows what it’s like to pursue a lifestyle that those around you don’t think you’re suited to — and even when she can’t physically be by your side in the moment she makes it abundantly clear before and after just how immensely proud she is of you
she has a very traditional approach to courting and dating you, which involves taking things very slowly compared to how others her age might do things — so unless you want to wait a few months for your first kiss, you’ll need to be the one to initiate (which will catch her off guard and fluster her, but she’ll appreciate and enjoy nonetheless)
she will occasionally try her hand at joking around and making puns in order to get you to laugh — and while she’s not as naturally humorous as shion is, she’s still pretty good at it
sagiri is probably one of the best people to go to when you’re feeling upset or low for whatever reason as she excels at offering assurance, comfort, and even advice sometimes — and as her lover she’s never going to turn you away if you come to her for anything like that
shion
loves to make you laugh and will take any and every chance to joke around with you — sometimes about his blindness, and occasionally about things unrelated to it (though the jokes themselves are equally corny in that same endearing sort of way)
trusts you immensely and doesn’t get jealous, but can tell when you’re starting to feel threatened and uncomfortable and will step in to remove you from a situation without hesitation if he needs to
after returning home from the island, he will occasionally enlist nurugai’s help in choosing and preparing gifts from you — using her as his eyes to help pick the most brightly coloured flowers or the clothes with the nicest pattern (situations where he knows roughly what he’s looking for but could use a bit of extra help just to make sure he gets the perfect thing for you)
touches your face and hands a lot to the point where it’s more of a habit than a conscious thing he does — it started out as him just casually learning and memorising your features and just being affectionate but after the ordeal he faced on the island he finds himself reaching for you more often than not
he talked about you a lot to others in the expedition party (after the ordeal with the tensen when he felt he could trust them, that is) and his loyalty towards and fondness for you was something that he and gabimaru bonded over (in their own way)
loyal to a fault and would throw himself onto his own blade before he let you get hurt on his watch
yuzuriha
she never stops flirting with you no matter how long you two have been together — in fact she seems to get better and better at pushing your buttons and flustering you with each week that goes by. she also flirted with you a lot before you were an item, but back then it was difficult to tell whether or not she was being genuine because of her history…
self care dates are an absolute must, especially when she comes back from that island or when she’s been out all day working and has overused her technique to the point where she feels all exhausted and gross — in other words, she loves it when you pamper her and she enjoys being able to do the same to you
you are the only person she’d put her life on the line to protect — as well as someone she is absolutely terrified of losing (even if she usually plays it off or pretends that she doesn’t have this fear at all when pressed by others)
whenever you’re injured or sick, yuzuriha becomes both very doting and very stern about your recovery — or, rather, stern by her usual standards. she’ll still keep you entertained and in a good mood, but she’s also not going to let you get away with not taking your medicine or missing a checkup because she absolutely refuses to take any chances with you or your health
she doesn’t talk openly about her family, but she has stated a few times (in quiet, solemn, private moments) that she believes her sister would have loved you
very appreciative of any compliments or praise you send her way — and while words of affirmation isn’t her main love language it’s definitely up there for her
ᯓ★ˎˊ˗ husband!gabimaru headcanons
gabimaru x reader, fluff .✦ ݁˖ see a/n at end.
husband!gabimaru, who’s a ruthless and “hollow” killer who doesn’t feel anything for anyone, but he treats you like you’re precious, like you matter.
husband!gabimaru, who doesn’t understand his own emotions or love in general, but he’ll always try for you. you’re the exception to him and he’ll try his best.
husband!gabimaru, who comes home covered in blood and scars every night, but is surprised when you don’t look at him with disgust or belittlement, but instead with love and worry for him as your gentle hands tend to his wounds.
husband!gabimaru, who blushes apprehensively when your hand even grazes his. he’s not used to having someone touch him like that, especially in a way that’s so tender. when you kiss him, he doesn’t make a scene about it (when he’s really internally panicking on the inside), but he just sits there comfortably as a pink hue slowly starts to creep onto his face.
husband!gabimaru, who would do anything for you. he’d quite literally kill for you if that meant he could be with you for eternity.
husband!gabimaru, who finds it incomprehensible that he’s in love with you, like he can’t believe that he really cares about someone this much. he always thought something like love was out of the cards for him, until he found you. the thought of loving and being loved just felt so impossible to him.
husband!gabimaru, who would try to force his way back to you from shinsenkyo or die trying. as soon as he thinks about you, you instantly become his motivation for trying to return. the truth is, he needs you more than he thought.
husband!gabimaru, who just craves to be loved. loved by you.
a/n: i KNOW that gabimaru is with yui dw i’m their no1 supporter, but i js had a lot of ideas for ts while listening to adrianne lenker and thought it would be cute ☹️ anyways just something light and fluffy xx IM SO SORRY for disappearing for like a month btw, i’ve been really busy with my personal life recently and haven’t had time to focus on writing as this is just a side hobby for me, but the least i could do was headcanons. more soon tho!!
you were young and innocent, just learning to live life for the first time. and then all of a sudden- you were married off to a ninja from your village that your father was fond of. it was only reasonable for you to be wary, but it was soon pacified by the very shinobi whom you thought was scary.
⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧
a few weeks after your marriage, you have finally built a good understanding about your husband. yes, he has taken lives--but it was something he was taught to do and the only thing he knows of. everything he was, his job is the reason.
he was innocent in a lot of things so you had to be patient, letting him learn not only proper table manners, but also how opening up to another was a way to get closer, in hopes of making your time together less bothersome and more comfortable.
when the stars and moon replace the sun, you wait for gabimaru to go back home. you're done with household chores by then, opting to create some handiworks instead.
a few crafts after, the screech of the door announced his arrival. you look up from your work, gaze meeting his.
"tadaima," his voice was low, still unsure, still not used to the words you requested he utter every time he comes back.
"okaerinasai, gabimaru-san," you replied with a smile. "shall we eat our dinner now?"
"mhm," he curtly replied. he removed his shoes and washed his hands while you removed the food covers and re-heat the soup.
"were you on the road for long today?"
he sat down on the side opposite of you, making himself comfortable as you put food on his plate. "yes, we took sometime. we were hired by a village from another city."
"how was the city? is the scenery better than ours?" you excitedly asked, hoping to hear some story from him.
"i think you'd also find their lantern lights beautiful. they release them on the river at night where it floats down the stream carefully. since you like watching the clouds drift whenever the sky is bright, it might remind you of that."
he had such a soft and genuine smile, you probably would have let it slide. only that you noticed an essential thing.
"i'd like to know what you think." you raised your brows, prompting him to speak further. "so, did you find it to your liking?"
he nodded with cheeks full of rice. he promptly replied after swallowing the food down. "that might be a bit hard to answer. if you like it, then i do like it. do you think you'd like it there, y/n-san? but we'd have to go there first. should we go on the weekend?"
you released a sigh before a pout formed on your lips. you set down your utensils and bowl with a clank.
"gabimaru." he looked at you, eyes all rounded. "you can have your own thoughts that doesn't involve me. if you hate or like something that contradicts mine, that's okay. i'd still appreciate them anyway."
his eyes darted down the bowl on his hands before slowly nodding. "you told me that before. thank you for accepting who i am, the things i am or am not, the things i like or don't. but-" he looked back at you, holding your gaze- "it makes me feel good whenever i see you smile. that's why i said i like whatever you like."
the trees rustle outside your home, cicadas playing their familiar tune. your heartbeat was steadily rising, knocking continuously against your chest.
"y/n-san?"
you were just learning to live life yourself. it hasn't been easy, but you were navigating it with him, your husband. now it seems like you will also come to learn how to love with him.
you weren't thinking about it, you just reached across the table, kissing his cheeks.
"w-what... w-what are you doing, y/n-san?"
his hands were fluttering on his sides, unsure of what to do. meanwhile, you were giggling in delight.
"i'm kissing my husband because he always makes me smile."
Summary: In which the night before leaves you traumatized and causes your emotionally constipated/emotionally reserved friend to seek you out.
Warnings: Purposely vague descriptions ahead ( no names are mentioned besides yours ). Reader killed someone and is negatively reeling from it. Blood is mentioned but nothing seriously descriptive. All that said, read at your own risk!
A/N: I got the idea to write this after scrolling through @creativepromptsforwriting's sideblog and finding this prompt. I plan to tag characters who come to mind, but this is really an open drabble so feel free to imagine whomever you see fits! :D
Tagging: @nursedflowers and @saioratral
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The high-pitched screech that bounced off the walls was a sound one would typically associate with tea at it's boiling point or maybe a hotpot screaming to be eaten. One thing that certainly would not have come to mind was a running faucet—specifically one that ran water so hot that it made even the durable metal cry out in pain.
The incessant shrieking, as annoying as it was, didn't faze the girl who sat before the sink. It was as if the noise was never there...which actually wouldn't be that far off from the truth.
In reality, she couldn't hear a thing aside from the same bloodcurdling screams.
Her hands worked as if they were trying to create a fire. They slide together at blinding speed, rubbing against one another so hard that a few more minutes of it would surely cause a tear in the skin of her palms.
Part of her wished that would actually happen.
A knock on the door sounds followed by the mellow hum of her friend's voice as he called from the other side, "Y/n. Are you still in there? It's me."
Heavy silence replaces her much needed answer, and if it weren't for the faint sound of running water, he would've been none the wiser in assuming she wasn't in there. Since that wasn't the case, however, he had no other choice but to try again.
"Y/n," He calls only for the same result. He then tries a third time, "Y/n!"
Silence. He sighs. Guess he has no other choice.
"Forgive the intrusion," With that gentle request serving as a small warning, he takes his time to twist the knob, giving her more than enough time to make herself presentable if need be as he swung the door open at a turtle's pace and peered inside.
As he suspected, she was standing at the sink, her back facing the door and preventing him from seeing what she was doing—not that he needed to. The steam, the running water, the uncomfortable sound of her hands sloshing together and sounding like two blades clashing...it all gave him an inkling of what was happening.
But how long has she been doing this for? He was almost to scared to ask. Almost.
"You've been in here for a while now," He said, and unlike his usual tone, his voice was dipped in uncharacteristic gentleness and sounded rather withheld. It was as if he was being held at swordpoint, and even then, it was surprising to hear him sound that way.
Maybe if she was paying attention she would've heard it and teased him about it. Possibly cracked a joke or two about him finally growing soft enough to warm up to her after all these years.
But instead he received silence and that scared him more than any enemy he's has faced in his lifetime.
"Hey," He called out again, but this time more sternly. He also didn't give her nearly as much time to answer. Not that she likely would.
"You can stop now. I doubt your hands are that dirty.." He's slow with his steps, closing the distance bit by bit, "Hell, by now, your hands are probably cleaner than mine."
She doesn't move, flinch, or do anything that would acknowledge that his words had reached her. It was as if she was in a trance, put under a spell of some kind or was a victim to some hypnotism caused by unknown means.
In a sense, what was happening right now was kinda like that.
In the matter of a minute or so, he's close enough to reach out for her delicate wrist. He does just that, but not too long after he snatches his hand away. He then paused, looking at his hand before looking back up at her with horrid shock gleaming off his hues.
This water was hot. Really hot. Hotter than any water boiled for food or tea.. He's surprised that the droplets don't just evaporate as soon as they leave the faucet.
"You don't feel that?" He leans in, getting closer to her face as his brows furrow, "Does that not hurt?"
He already knew the answer—of course it did—but the fact that she wouldn't answer him struck a nerve and in the end he finds himself grabbing her roughly by the wrist and snatching her away from that molten lava altogether.
He shuts off the water quickly after that, putting the annoying whistling it produced to an abrupt end. It seemed only then that the trance she was put under was broken and she was finally able to think and move for herself again.
As he lets go of her wrist, she finds herself opening her palms and staring down at them. She stares for a long while. Just opening and closing her palms repeatedly and rubbing her fingertips together, as if she was examining a foreign object.
The skin of her palms looked as if she had ran them across a rough surface for an hour; puffy with an angry hue of red to them.
They were a deep shade, just like... She clenches her teeth. He's quick to notice.
"If this is about the other day.." He began, his words dying in his throat as he watched as she flinched away at his very words.
He knew this would happen in the end. He tried to warn them all but nobody wanted to listen to reason. They sent this fragile glasswork into that cage of knives and sharp fangs without a care in the world and left him with the job of mending anything that was broken back together.
It truly irked him. More than something like this usually would.
"If... If you were in my shoes yesterday.." She began slowly and quietly, and despite her voice sounding like a mouse's squeak and a part of his blood boiling at the sound of it, he bit his tongue and held back his snapping comment.
Right now was not the time to be reckless. Too hard of a hit—or any pressure at all really—would cause his dear friend to shatter into a million pieces and he can't have that. How would he be able to fix her up in that condition?
"If you were me last night, if... If you had your weapon to that person's throat. ...If they begged you through their sobs and reduced to a blubbering mess...going on and on about how they needed to live.." She pauses, whether that was because she noticed how her voice grew more and more unsteady with every word she spoke or the fact that her hands had begun to tremble was unknown to even her. It seemed that at this point she was unsure of, well, everything.
And at that point, her friend saw no better of a time than to take a risk and speak his mind.
"If you plan to continue on to ask me if I would've still killed them than let me spare us both the time; I would in a heartbeat."
She laughs at him, her giggle sounding like a sick bird trying to sing. It should be comforting to here despite it's raspiness. After all, despite it not sounding exactly like her usual laughter, it's a miracle she's able to laugh at all. He should be sighing out of relief that she still seems to be gripping onto her sanity enough to find humor in such a dank situation.
But he couldn't, and all because of the simple fact that he had grown used to her sounding so full of life. It was truly a pity.
"I suppose that was a silly question of me to ask you of all people."
In all this time, he's noticed she hasn't looked up from her hands once. It was unnerving to see her like this, but there was nothing he could truly do about it. He could direct her attention elsewhere, sure, but that wouldn't stop the swarming of her thoughts or reduce her heightened awareness of what was once staining her hands and forearms. And, it surely wouldn't halt the constant loop of that incident from playing in her mind—that moment of her taking a life with her own hands, in a quite grotesque way at that.
Her mind was stained just like her skin and just like how she couldn't truly rid herself of the grimy feeling of blood sticking to her skin no matter how hard she scrubbed, he couldn't wipe her mind of what happened. They were both truly powerless.
But he had to do something. Now that they've gotten her foot out of the door, she has to walk through it. There's no backing out of this, she knew this when she went on that mission yesterday. There was no way but forward. He knew that better than anyone.
"Nevermind what happened, come on," He slides his hand up her arm, over her shoulder, and dips down to the upper part of her back where he gently pushes her in the direction of the door, all as he tells her, "You should get off your feet and actually rest. You'll need it for tomorrow.."
For the first time that night, she glances up at him. It was for a mere moment, but that quick second was all he needed. Her eyes..were like a starless sky; completely devoid of it's usually glimmer of life. It was as if he was staring at a solider who's spent the last decade at war.
Truly astounding how such a look was formed just after a single night.
Wordlessly, she allows him to push her in the direction of the door as if she weighed nothing. She walked slowly, and as she did she looked back down at her clean, reddened hands. Her eyes sinking even more as she does.
She finds herself wondering if the blood she felt would ever go away—if it were possible that her palms would be capable of ever being truly clean again—and that led her to softly murmur to the only one she could think of turning to; her companion and partner in crime, him.
"Does it.. Does this ever get better?" She asks to which she receives probably the heaviest sigh she's ever heard in her life. It tells her all she needs to know but does little to quell the turmoil in her heart. It has her questioning if she'll be able to handle the path forward. If she'll reach the end or go insane halfway through.
Whatever happens, she finds herself praying that she'll be able to walk this path hand in hand with someone who's treaded this gravel before.
..And it so happens that a person like that is leading her to her bedroom right now. How convenient.
Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx
Can I please request anything for Gabimaru from Hell’s Paradise? Headcanons for things you do together, or if he met them on the island, or how marriage would be (seeing as his whole motivations his spouse). Any tiny breadcrumbs are fine 😊
✎ Lovely Paradise [General Gabimaru Headcanons]
🤎𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Gabimaru the Hallow x GN!Reader | 🌙𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fluff, 2nd Person | 🖊️𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 362 Words | ✏️𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Not Edited! | ❌𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Hell’s Paradise spoilers kinda ish. (Mainly Season 1 cause I haven’t finished Season 2)
🍁𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: The ins and outs of yours and Gabimaru’s relationship together.
👻𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐬: Thank you for the request anon! I’m sorry if Gabi is OOC but I do hope you enjoy it!
“I am afraid that if I open myself I will not stop pouring.” — Jamie Oliveira, ‘Erosion’
-> 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐮
I feel like yall meet in the process of picking who goes to the island
You’re also a criminal, I’m thinking assassin or hit person of some kind
When on the island as people start dropping like flies you and your Sagiri stumble upon Gabimaru and his group
That’s how you two officially meet and start to interact with each other
While you all find the perfect time to enact your plan on the Tensen I can see yall sparring together and having light conversation while taking breaks
Yay bonding! :D
You can tell Gabi has a hard time expressing his feelings with him repressing them
So you’re slow with how you express your own feelings when you realize you’re growing fond of him
Once you two ARE together I bet he asks you to marry him in a very cozy way if that makes sense
Like I don’t see him being super flashy or extravagant when asking
I think he’s straightforward, gently and almost shyly holds your hand before holding a ring out (idk why but I like the thought of it being a ring he crafted) and just quietly asks you to marry him
I just imagine him trying to be all nonchalant about it but his body language is nervous and he’s quiet cause he feels shy about it AH IDK WHY THIS SOUNDS SO CUTE
Yalls wedding is traditional cause of time period but I think small with whoever you both are closest with
Small. Cozy. Intimate. Perfect.
Since his whole motivation in what feels like everything is his wife and marriage I want he does everything in his power to make sure you’re safe and happy
He comes off as cold but he has the biggest soft spot for you
I can imagine him coming back with little things for you whenever he’s out doing work
Flowers you like or just a random item he thought you would like
I think what he would like and expect from the marriage is just you loving him unconditionally
Just seeing past the front he puts, being kind and expressing the love you have for him and your life together