Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Biwa Juuzou/Unnamed Hiramekarei Wielder
Characters: Biwa Juuzou, Unnamed Hiramekarei Wielder, Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shuu | Seven Swordsmen of the Mist (Naruto), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Puberty, First Love, Kiri is a trashfire with pretensions of functionality, Warnings May Change, Slow Burn, Rating May Change, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, References to war and famine, References to Sexwork, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Past Tense
Summary:
Pretend for a moment you’re Juzō. Or don’t; he barely wants to be him, some days. But suppose you do: you're going through puberty as a child soldier in your shitty hometown and trying to make yourself something you’re not, because you can just see the shape of it: the kind of shinobi that people respect, a member of the Seven, someone with a future. Focus on that. Really focus, because you want it, if you’re Juzō. You want it so bad it aches. And try not to think too long or too hard about your teammate (and his teeth, the way he snaps them when you’re irritating), or why you did anything you did on that last mission (that dumbstruck look when your gazes locked, the way the blood striped his skin. Because you can forget that, surely) or the way his cheek dimples when he smiles. Yes. That's manageable, isn’t it? Juzō told himself so, and all he had to do to get there was shut down his mind and shut up the overthinking and move like a shinobi was supposed to. Really. For sure.
He told himself all that, and he still ended up going. He was doing it for the squad. He was doing it to shut up the voices in his head. He was doing it to shove away the memory of blood on Jun’s mouth. Whatever he needed to sell himself on things.
Why yes I am back from a long drought having latched onto a guy who exists in one episode of the anime filler. But wait! I also conned myself into latching onto a guy who exists in 3 screenshots as well. It's really hard to write Kiri as a complete depressing shithole given the IRL situation right now, so I am... not doing that. For my own sanity. In the interim, have Juzo being a goddamn mess.
this fic is in many ways @kisskisame’s fault. enjoy the clowns, hun, thanks for yapping with me
