#taoreshi

[motherofsharingan]

”So, I have this intrusive thought that I’m not sure I should ask,” Mikoto started, as she peered up at Jin, and her eyes flickered to the beautiful patterns on his wings then back to his face. An intrusive thought is an intrusive thought, luckily it’s not an action - yet.

@taoreshi

[lvyeshou]

"Is life really so meaningless to you that you'd rather choose how to die rather than how you live?" -Iruka (taoreshi)

@taoreshi happy birthday iruka <3

Gai doesn't understand the issue.

He is no stranger to Iruka's tough nature; nobody is. Even before he had visited the academy to observe his students, he had come across the instructor berating a student in public, even when off-duty on a weekend, insisting they make right to the storeowner they had been rude to, or clean up the mess they had made. Then, when Iruka had so graciously granted him access into the classrooms, Gai had seen first-hand the kind of authority Iruka wields with just a look.

It had warmed him to see the fervour of the teacher, just a few years younger than Gai, and how he had taken all the boisterous energy of his adolescence and channelled it into his love for his students. Gai admired him. Gai wanted to be like him.

This is the first time that Iruka's ire has been directed towards him, and ... it's different.

Gai frowns. "I think you are misunderstanding me. Life isn't meaningless to me. In fact--"

"--You just said that a shinobi's life is measured by his manner of death." Iruka's tone is frosty, a challenge in his gaze.

"Yes, but--"

"--Why do you glorify death?"

Gai sucks in a breath through his teeth. A breeze threads through the noren, and catches on the underside of the papers before them; his hand shoots out to anchor them down before they're taken by the breeze, and both their gazes land on the title of the document again: Statement of Funerary Arrangements and Final Directives of Maito Gai.

Apparently impatient, Iruka breaks the silence. "Are the people around you not worth living for?"

His head snaps up to stare at Iruka as his face twists. "It's not that," Gai says. He gathers the document in his hands again, and he has to restrain himself from gripping too tightly, from letting the tension in his arm show. There is something unpleasant and ugly gnawing in his belly, wanting to rear his head. "It's just..."

He's staring at the document again. This is meant to be a good thing. It's meant to be useful. It's meant to help, and to make things smoother when the time comes. When. "Everyone dies, Iruka. And if I have the power to make that inevitable moment a useful one -- a final act of love and devotion, then I'm taking that opportunity."

Gai reaches for Iruka's hand across the table, to cover it, to envelope it in his warmth and hope it might convey even the slightest shadow of his sincerity, but Iruka moves. He places both his hands on the edge of the table, as if about to stand, but he turns toward Gai.

To Gai, the expression in Iruka's face is unreadable. There is a tension in his jaw that screams restraint, a downturn in his lip that scoffs distaste, a furrow in his eyebrows speaking anger, and watery eyes that--that...

"I don't want you dying for me, Gai."

Then he does stand, and Gai follows his gaze with the upward tilt of his chin, lips parted as his mind works overtime to figure out how to get across to a furious Iruka -- an Iruka he's never been on the receiving end of till now. He's trying to explain that he cares for Iruka. He's said that to him already a couple dozen times by now, of course, but saying is one thing and doing is another, isn't it?

But something's not giving.

He tries again, because he always does. Slowly, this time. "I told you... everyone dies eventually. I will die, and so will you. All I'm doing is making sure my life is given for a worthy cause and not simply thrown away like... like so many of our comrades. Is it so bad to want my life — and my death — to count for something?"

It's the longest Iruka has let him speak in the past ten minutes, and it surprises Gai how uncomfortable that makes him. As if Iruka's given up.

When Iruka speaks, his voice is low and quiet, but sure. "You're so afraid of not mattering... that you think staking your life and death on one moment of sacrifice makes you revered. ... You matter because you breathe, Gai."

"Iruka, that's--"

"--I can't help you with your suicide." Iruka's chair stammers against the floor as he pushes it away, wresting Gai's hand off, and he leaves without a glance back.

[howlingthunder]

(x) @taoreshi

Kakashi rarely let himself drink too much, because it would result on this. Despite hating the moniker 'Cold blooded Kakashi' with all of his being, it was useful, especially when the enemy heard it. If it helped him protect his teammates, so be it. And laying on your teammate's lap face down like a cat, arm looped around his waist, and legs curled up to the side, basking on the affection, did not match 'cold blooded'.

It didn't match 'Friend Killer', either, did it?.

Well, that one name could die. He wouldn't complain.

And honestly, he couldn't bring himself to care about his reputation right now. He was warm under the blanket, and happy under Tenzo's affection.

"Am I making your legs numb?" he asked, hoping the answer would be a resounding 'no'. He really didn't want to move away from the man's lap, although he was sure they could find an arrangement.

[divinidy]

continued / @taoreshi

There are beats of social silence as feet shuffle quickly after the ANBU Commander and up the stairs. Even the fierce and proud doctor needed to take a moment to gather his thoughts, which was none, on whether the warlord had any allergies at all. Why would he? It's Uchiha Madara. How would someone with any allergies survive between the ancient and the modern world, with such drastically distinct biomes between them? That he breathed after Tsunade-sama's surgery with modern anesthesia and equipment should be telling enough of his resilience.

❛ No. ❜ Could honestly go unheard of in the midst of harsh footsteps.

In a ward much too spacious for one man, Madara was not resting on the bed at all. Instead, he had somehow managed to untangle whatever wires, and moved them along with their contraptions to the only window in the room.

Curled up on a couch that no one uses, rays of sun fell soft upon porcelain features. A noble remnant of an imperial dynasty. His eyes closed, and he could nap here in this position, pressing on some wires here and there, if not for the abrupt entrance of his handler and the previous two doctors. Madara thought they were gone for the day … Surprise does colour his bright countenance, yet guiltless arrogance swam in his eyes, and he moved not an inch from his spot.

❛ What the hell are you doing ? ❜ Shock and confusion dictated the doctors' next steps. How did Madara get from here to there, with all these machines hooked to him? No, they must return him to his proper place immediately.

[kikaichuno]

The journey to Konoha had felt more challenging than usual for Isana this time around. She wondered if it was related to the colourful moth currently resting on her shoulder; after their communication earlier, she was left feeling a little nauseated and worn out.

Still, she didn't give it too much thought. She was excited to see Shino again! And to show him her new... friend? The moth had told her its name was Jin, but other than that, Isana was still confused what the true purpose of it reaching out to her was. She was curious to see if maybe Shino could communicate with it, like he could with other bugs. Maybe he could tell her Jin's true intentions.

When she approached their agreed upon meeitng-spot, her face lit up as she saw him already waiting. Speeding up slightly, Isana greeted him with a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm glad you're already here." Usually she would go in for a kiss when seeing him, but with the moth on her shoulder, she feared the angle would get awkward. Or squish it somehow! Isana glanced from Shino to Jin. "Look, isn't this guy so pretty? It's been following me for a little while. I was kind of glad it came all the way here with me because..."

She leaned in to whisper, as if the last part was a secret: "He talked to me earlier. Strange, right?"

Isana looked at Shino eagerly, as if immediately expecting some kind of explanation. She hoped he found this as interesting as she did! A cool moth that could talk would be just his thing, right?

Isana arrives today and Shino has been restless and eager to meet her again. Not only did he give his bedroom a make-over, he even brought extra food to cook for a third person in the house. The downside; his father will be here this whole time... It's okay. It won't be awkward! Hopefully.

Aside from how Shino groomed himself to smell nice and have soft, clean hair, he's wearing his usual clothes to meet up with Isana. He arrived early, just in case, and spent the free time to communicate with the insects around the area. Once he senses Isana's chakra signature, and sees her approaching, Shino straightens up.

The closer she gets, the more he sees and senses.

"Isa- ... na..." Eyebrows raised, Shino's head slowly pivots to face the moth, recognizing it immediately and swallowing back the sudden urge to blurt out an obscene 'what the fuck?'. "Yes... Very strange, indeed..." Why is Jin on Isana's shoulder? What is going on?

Shino raises a brow. Should he be unimpressed? Worried? That his dear friend and summon, Jin, decided to meet Isana without him doing a proper introduction? Shino crossed his arms over his chest, deciding on being offended.

"Huiyan Jingyi." Shino's tone is deep and serious, ready to chastise his moth friend. "What are you doing on Isana? I am disappointed. The reason is because I was hoping to introduce her to you but instead, you went ahead and did it without my knowing." How rude.

@isana-kagetsu @taoreshi

[kiigan]

@taoreshi/Kisame said: "Ho.. Word is that Konan underestimated just how wicked a drink the zealot can make. Just how much sleep did you get last night playing nurse?"

The hideout is small and word clearly travels fast.

ㅤOr... well. It wasn't like any of them had tried too hard to keep the celebration a secret, anyway. It didn't surprise him that his partner noticed the little ordeal and - it also did not surprise him that there's subtle care to be found in the otherwise blunt words. They worked in subtleties, the two of them, as much as they worked in vehemence. Always depending on the context. It put the semblance of a smile on Itachi's lips, currently entertained with something as mundane as folding his clothes; one shirt on top of the other, all of them perfectly pristine. All the glamor in this criminal life, and still they had to do their own laundry.

ㅤ«Are you asking with the intention of scolding me? Because I can easily lie,» was the cheeky reply given, mirth shimmering in the crimson of his irises. In reality, no, he did not get much sleep at all, but it was not to be blamed on poor Konan; still regretting all her life choices at this point, more likely than not. Rather, because that was pretty much the life of a chronic insomniac. «Or did you come to complain because I should have been playing nurse for you, instead?»

[thetoaddaddy]

"You still love me, don't you?~" 🧪 -Orochimaru (taoreshi) :}

“….” Jiraiya folds his arms across his chest. “I do. I wish I didn’t have to say it right now to your face.”

@taoreshi

[koi-nin]

@taoreshi || cont (from your old blog)

Umi kept his head turned slightly, angled just over his shoulder to show he was listening as he washed the tools and his hands clean of blood. The man looked exhausted, but Umi decided not to try and encourage him to get some sleep. He'd fall asleep on his own at some point.

The young man might never have felt the wariness and anger that the shinobi was dealing with, but he'd seen it. He had a decent understanding of how to handle it. Going along with things was a fair start. The stranger likely wouldn't believe him but it wasn't like he was going to run off to tell someone as soon as he fell asleep.

The threat was met with a solemn nod. The boy wouldn't be touched, not a single hair on his head. With Zabuza's injuries taken care of, Umi quietly busied himself with little things around the hut, putting this or that away, making note of things to restock, tending to the fire… acting like the shinobi's tired eyes weren't drilling holes in his skull.

He was sitting by the fire when Zabuza's frame shifted just enough to say that he'd actually fallen asleep. Only then did Umi rest a hand to his own chest, letting himself shiver despite the warm night. That was terrifying. It still was.

But he'd keep his word. He'd not lay a hand on either of them. The shinobi and the boy were safe here, so long as Umi had anything to say about it. When Zabuza awoke, it would be to a sea breeze and the scent of something cooking wafting in from outside.