My favorite in-progress multi-chapter fics focused on the Kakashi/Sakura pairing--the ones that make me squeal and giggle when an update notification appears in my Inbox! Some are completed stories with regular update schedules, and others I'm still desperately hoping will one day return to continue--but think are worth reading, complete or not.
This list is a work-in-progress, with new additions added as I read. All stories sourced from AO3 unless otherwise noted.
Current list count: 8 stories.
-> Mission x Papa by HokageHotake
Rating: M / Words: 20k+
Her dad had tried to kill her. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been on purpose, or that he hadn’t even recognized her. That truth cut deeper than the blade he’d almost driven through her heart. But Sarada wasn’t one to dwell (too much). If her father wasn’t willing to be the man of the family, she’d find someone else who was.
Or, Sarada sets out to set her mom up with the finest bachelor in Konoha. And if the lucky guy also happens to make a great new papa? Well, that’s just killing two birds with one kunai.
I absolutely ADORE this story. Told entirely from Sarada's perspective, it follows her trying to get Kakashi to teach her how to use her newly activated Sharingan while also contemplating him as a romantic prospect for her mom, while ALSO trying to deal with the realization that her father doesn't know her at all and has functionally abandoned her. Extremely well written and well paced, with fantastic characterization. The developing relationship between Sarada and Kakashi is extremely compelling, and the third-person perspective on Kakashi and Sakura's relationship is riveting. I straight up run for AO3 when new updates are posted.
-> Recalibration by comeonreginald
Rating: M / Words: 44.3k+
Pain destroyed Konoha, Nagato brought it back. Everyone else moves on. Kakashi and Sakura don’t.
While the village rebuilds, they struggle to move forward. They might not know how to heal themselves. But they might learn how to heal each other.
For me, Naruto peaked at the Pain arc, and I've always been intrigued by the possibilities of the post-Pain rebuilding efforts we never really got to see--and man does this fic deliver on it! Intriguing politics, tender interpersonal relationship dynamics, hurting and healing and friendship that deepens with the mutual ache of a shared pain. There are so many compelling quiet moments and painfully tender gestures, fragile hearts struggling to find solid ground... GOD I'm so invested.
-> Silver Redemption by JHatake
Rating: E / Words: 64k+
Five years ago, a stolen kiss shattered certainties and built walls between Kakashi, the Sixth Hokage, and Sakura Haruno, the woman who left the village in search of answers.
Now, she returns, bearing more than just memories: a secret that promises to transform both their lives.
With Konoha’s winter as a witness, long-buried feelings resurface, testing the boundaries between reason and desire. In the shadow of an uncertain destiny, they must face the weight of their choices in a journey of second chances, scars, and hope.
My understanding is that this story is complete, this is a translation of it from another language; and let me say--holy shit. The translation is incredible. I'm not sure I ever would have realized had the author not said so in the notes. As a native English speaker, I find myself repeatedly impressed by turns of phrase or word choice or description.
Impressive bilingualism aside, this is one of those stories with the kind of granular attention to emotional detail, nuance, and character motivation that really just freaking hits you and sticks with you hours after reading the latest chapter. I was initially skeptical of the premise--of a simple kiss fueling so much emotional angst; but as the story progressed and motivations were explored, I was like. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Damn. This hits.
And omg the yearning. The devotion. The unresolved sexual tension. The conflict between desire and obligation and responsibility. ?Compelling and page turning; and also, at times, totally unhinged in the best possible way.
-> open me up (tell me you like me) by bluecatcups
Rating: M / Words: 11.7k+
Tsunade’s gaze turns to Kakashi, her eyes narrowing.
“Why are you late?” She glares.
He blinks at her.
“Didn’t wake up.”
Tsuande picks up an ornate paperweight, hefts it in her hand, and then flings it at his head.
Kakashi steps neatly out of the way and spins to watch it fly into the wall with a loud slam.
Sakura’s jaw is hanging wide open.
“Sakura,” Tsunade purrs, her eyes flashing with something feline, “meet your new team partner, Kakashi Hatake.”
A same age AU that hits you right in the feels. Kakashi and Sakura are assigned to work together to lead Team 7 - composed of Naruto, Sasuke, and Tenzou, all three of whom are Not Okay. Though it takes them a while to work together and they constantly butt heads trying to get the kids moving down the right path , once they do find common ground... oh man. The dynamics are compelling and heart-wrenching, characterizing Kakashi and Sakura very differently from one another and yet demonstrating the ways they complement each other beautifully. A really satisfying found family team 7 story with a twist, and a slow-build romance between Kakashi and Sakura that will leave you squealing and rooting for them to kiss already.
-> Fortune Smiles Softest by Thisismyescapefrompain
Rating: NR / Words: 25.9k+
Sakura has always had a good sense for timing.
Not enough to explain. Not enough to rely on completely. Just enough that things tend to go a little more smoothly when she follows it—whether that means stepping left instead of right, waiting instead of acting, or trusting what settles when she lays cards and stones out in front of her.
Most people don’t take it seriously. Kakashi notices.
A Sakura-centric Fortune Teller!Sakura AU that is really compelling in its world building and presentation, despite the author's insistence in the notes its "just vibes". Takes place while they're genin but under vastly different circumstances the full extent of which hasn't yet been fully made clear in the story (i.e. Tsunade is already Hokage, and Sakura has mednin training already under her belt). But it's all very compelling! Sakura and Kakashi have a really cute sort of challenging, bickering relationship that's nonetheless built on trust and respect and creates a really interesting dynamic--and in particular, its interesting to see how Kakashi incorporates her abilities into the team 7 dynamic, and how he challenges her to think outside of how she's used to interpreting her abilities.
-> The Healing Slugs Sage by BrazilianWriter
Rating: E / Words: 139k+
The war has come to an end. Madara won. In a world destroyed by his power, a dying Obito uses his last strength to give the last other person alive the chance to continue living.
Or: Six years after the fall of the resistance, Sakura is sent to an alternative universe to save her life. A universe in which everyone she knew is not dead anymore, with the exception of Tsunade Senju, who never existed and, therefore, never created medical ninjutsu. A universe in which medicine is almost fifty years behind, ninjas die like flies and Sakura is the only one who knows how to cure them.
The premise of this fic is really interesting, and if you like bamf Sakura this one is for you. It is definitely Sakura-centric, with a very slow-boil romance. Tons of interesting world building and relationship development. Long chapters, though updates are extremely sporadic.
-> A Guide to Icha Icha Neighbors by thereddqueen
Rating: E / Words: 53.1k+
She moved to escape the trauma. She didn’t expect to live next to it. By it, being defined as a man with perfect beach hair, defined abs, and a tendency to be ruthlessly annoying at all hours of the day and night. After burning out as one of the top trauma surgeons in the city, Sakura Haruno escapes to a quiet beach town hoping to rebuild her life and her sanity. A new job. A fresh start. No more blood or broken hearts. But the mysterious man next door who is just too cocky, mysterious, and always in black might just unravel the peace she's worked so hard to find.
Sakura suffers burnout as an ER surgeon and moves to a beach town to find some peace at a small, local clinic; but she also finds she has a hot new neighbor! Features surfer!Kakashi, beach vibes, a mysterious military past, interesting worldbuilding, and tender romance. Very cozy, sweet, and fun!
-> Trapdoors In The Dark by thepiedsniper
Rating: NR / Words: 107.3k+
Sakura gets abducted shortly after Team Seven passes the bell test, falling into a dark void of endless grey stone where time passes differently compared to the outside. She must learn to navigate her new life "Inside" if she is ever going to stay sane enough to escape.
Kakashi loses one of his genin shortly after they pass the bell test, and the clock to find her is running out faster than he realises.
This fic has some really dark and heavy themes, but the world building is fascinating and its exploration of Kamui and Obito's psychology and motivations are also really interesting. Mostly follows the major canon plot beats, but with new contexts and some plot tweaks. Sakura is aged-up and battle-hardened, fighting on multiple fronts--to escape her captor, to save her friends likewise trapped on the "Inside", to keep Danzo at bay... all the while Kakashi struggles to come to grips with a willful adult Sakura keeping secrets from him when months ago she'd been a shy 12 year old--all while Danzo breathes down his neck eager to get his hands on this strange girl with limitless possibilities.
Nothing slapped my shit back into place like someone pointing out that the "genius gifted child with so much potential who got burnout and mental illness" is just the nerd equivalent to the jock "could have been a pro at sportsball if it wasn't for the injury".
so prefacing this with the fact that I know that the fun is sorta taken out of this by me translating, but not everyone will have the energy to look it up themselves, so I figured I'd help out.
Morse code: AEEEEE FELL DOWN AND TROKE MY PENIT TODAY YEOWCE OUCH YOUCH!!!! SENT FROM MY TELEGRAPH
some people are responding to this like its a joke and im going to assume u are the type of people to say "its only a 3 minute walk" when i tell them the nearest bench is too far away
i think all quiet on the western front and the lord of the rings are in direct conversation with each other, as in theyre the retelling of the same war with one saying here’s what happened, we all died, and it did not matter at all and another going hush little boy, of course we won, of course your friends came back
someone should remake lord of the rings as a grandfather telling a fantasy story to his grand child with flashbacks to world war one showing the dead boys and men the characters were based on. grandpa why didn’t they just fly. because they didn’t. they didn’t.
I will never get over how Tolkien & Lewis took the horrors of war and spun them into fantasy.
Shivering in the trenches dreaming of cozy hobbit holes, shaking as bombs pockmark a forest and imagining each shallow mud-filled crater contains a new world—that maybe there are still as many beautiful things in the universe as there are bombs—that maybe the world is bigger than this moment and this ugliness and one day this will be a peaceful forest again full of small ponds.
I mean look at these photos of the shell craters in Sanctuary Woods, near Ypres Belgium and tell me it’s not the Wood Between The Worlds:
Ooh! Spot the industrial safety device! The worker has to press a 'stab the cheese' button with both hands. This is because if they're doing that, neither of their hands can be within the cheese stabbing zone.
they probably cant love me back in a human or even mammalian sense, but my goldfish with their smooth pea-sized brain have learned to trust that i will make them better when they are sick. i feel like crying about this often
Maybe Princess the tarantula never had anything resembling what we as humans know as emotions, but she still came out of her burrow and up to the glass when we’d talk to her and used to stare at the drawing I’d tape to her terrarium. Maybe she couldn’t even comprehend what we were, but she knew we were there to take care of her. And even if she never showed that sort of curiosity or trust we’d still love her.
Idk if Munchie the praying mantis felt love for me, but I do know he trusted me enough to climb onto my hand when offered and was comfortable with allowing me to carry him places despite me being absolutely massive in comparison to him. So that's close enough in my book.
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