Untitled Avengers drabble (2015-09-26)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Bennet’s in the middle of inputting data–and he’s going to be honest, he really enjoys it, it’s soothing–when the small television they have running as background noise suddenly changes from soap operas to BREAKING NEWS.

It’s… it’s basically a war zone. In New York. With aliens and superheroes and–“Dr. Ross? I think you need to see this,”–a giant green rage monster.

Her mouth twists, no doubt a confusing jumble of concern and elation whirling about in her mind, “Tell the university we’re taking a sabbatical, Bennet,” she says, and he immediately has his email open, drafting a sorry-not-sorry-we’re-leaving-for-a-while, “We’re going to Manhattan.”

—

He and Riley were like brothers, so it stands to reason that Riley’s little shit of a protege would translate as something like a stubborn punk of a nephew.

“‘Sup Uncle Sam?” Bingley says with that combination of infuriating smile and raised eyebrow that Sam knows always both amused and pissed of Riley, “You mind if I stay for a few days?”

Sam rolls his eyes at the complete lack of heads up, but lets the kid come in anyway. Later, when Captain America and the Black Widow appear on his doorstep he’s both proud and worried at how easily Bingley steps up to offer help.

Family sticks together, after all.

—

The thing about the Avengers Tower is that it’s still a skyscraper. It’s massive. And maybe Tony Stark is accustomed to living opulently, but an entire floor for one person? That’s kind of ridiculous.

Okay, sure, Thor literally lived in a space castle, so he’s probably used to even more luxury. But as far as Darcy can tell, he’s accepting close quarter living as a given for Midguardian culture. And considering his two instances of Earth living were 1) Puente Antiguo, in which Jane lived in an RV and 2) London. Enough said.

So it’s not unexpected that the Avengers each invite other people to live on their designated floors. Hawkeye brings an absolutely adorable dog and a teenage girl who also, confusingly, answers to the name Hawkeye. The Captain has his own avian-themed not-sidekick, and no doubt his frozen BFF will be brought in, too, whenever they actually find him.

Thor invites Jane, who invites Darcy; no surprise there.

What is a surprise is, a few days after moving in, after Darcy’s unpacked all of her stuff and decides to explore her new home, she bumps into her siblings.

~

A/N: Oooh, switching from DC to Marvel. Whaaaaaaat? No worries, I love all my children equally. 😛

Here’s a quickly thrown together drabble based on this Fake Fic Summary, in which Darcy is a triplet with Bennet (as played by Jesse Eisenberg) as her brother and Bingley (as played by Kristen Stewart) as her agender sibling.

To be honest, I’m still not sure if I want Bingley to be attached to Sam Wilson’s story line or James Rhodes’. I mean, either way, Bingley is in the Air Force, but I’m not too sure what route I want to take for this. If I were to continue this.

Untitled DCU drabble (2015-09-25)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N1: Apparently I want to continue the story from this drabble? So you should probably check that out, first.

~

The problem is, they can’t find the woman after running the test. She has effectively disappeared and in a city like Gotham, even with all of the Oracle’s cameras, a single person isn’t going to be so easily found.

Especially when they don’t even have a real name to base their search on.

“Fiona Hill,” Tim murmurs, as he pulls up every single trace of his Caroline Hill identity. Her fake school and employment records, every time he used the alias for a mission, the lease under her name that serves as one of his Nests, “Why would she use that one?”

Why not Alvin Draper, Tim’s most frequently used alias? Why not Timothy Drake-Wayne, officially linked to the Wayne family and thus the Wayne manor?

Why not just Tim?

—

As it is, they don’t find her so much as she comes to them. Again.

It takes an embarrassingly long time for Tim to recognize one of the members of the Kord Industries team as the woman who might very well be his only living blood relative in the entire world. It’s doubly embarrassing because she’s not even wearing contacts or a wig–barring a change of clothes, she looks the exact same as when she came to the Manor.

Tim doesn’t quite stumble in his speech, but maybe the sentence he’s currently saying gets a little mangled on it’s way out, because the woman–his sister–gives a small, sideways smile. Amused, but fond.

Tim focuses on wrapping up his presentation as quickly as possible.

—

When the meeting is done–both sides having come to an agreement for their inter-company collaboration–the KI team begins to leave and Tim can’t just let her go without… He can’t.

“Mr. Kord,” he calls out, internally cringing at the volume of his voice.

The man turns around, bemused expression on his face, “You can call me Ted,” he says. Because… Tim’s been calling him Ted for years now. When he doesn’t call him Blue Beetle, of course.

“Right, yes, sorry about that,” and Tim does not blush. But it’s a very near thing.

“No harm done,” Ted waves off, before asking, “So what can I do for you, Tim?”

Tim wants to ask about her. He needs to know who she is. But when he opens his mouth, nothing comes out.

—

The problem is, it’s not just curiosity or a personal matter. She’s a security risk–she knows Batman and the Waynes are connected, she knows enough about Caroline Hill to make a not entirely phony claim–she knows something. Maybe not everything, but she knows enough.

And if Tim can’t resolve the situation, Bruce is going to take care of the perceived threat his way.

So, why can’t he just say anything?

“Sir,” and for the third time, the woman is the one to approach. She holds out a tablet for Ted’s perusal.

“Thank you, Esther,” he says absentmindedly, nearly completely lost to the screen before he remembers he was in the middle of a conversation. “Ah, Esther, you know Timothy Drake-Wayne. Tim, this is Esther Kelvin,”

“A pleasure to meet you,” she says, offering her hand out.

And Tim takes it, “Likewise.”

~

A/N2: Here’s a hint: Esther Kelvin is not her real name either.

Gotta be honest, I still have no idea wtf this is. I’m in a strange state of mind considering my sleep schedule is fucked to all hell, and I’ve been binge-reading DCU fic as well as the crossover!reincarnation ideas that have been cropping up in the Dreaming of Sunshine forum.

I’m not saying this is Shikako Nara reincarnated into the DC universe, but I got so many odd reluctantly fond sister vibes throughout each iteration of crossover!reincarnation that I guess it spilled over.

I should probably find a title for this series if I’m going to continue it, though…

A Tale of Two Kingdoms, part 1/11 (2015-08-15) [1]

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

Magic is a delicate topic on the Isle, as much as something can be considered delicate in such a place. It’s true that the worst villains, the most powerful ones, were so successful due to magic. Curses and shapeshifting and mind control, as impressive now as they were decades ago. But magic is also the reason why everyone is trapped on an island in the middle of the ocean with no way to escape.

Magic is a double-edged blade, has always been one, and while usually villains don’t care about the collateral damage when using magic… In this case… well.

Four determined magicians shatter the barrier around the Isle; but they also manage to tear a hole in something along the ocean floor. And there are things bigger and badder on the other side.

—

Auradon first learns of the kaiju when one comes up off the coast of Charmington and proceeds to decimate the town.

It takes a while to understand the situation, to call for help, to get effective aid. By the time Fairy Godmother arrives, wand in hand to wave the problem away, over one thousand people have been killed.

The once beautiful resort town empties within the week, a rubble strewn graveyard.

—

Magic has gotten them into this mess. The ambitions of one sorcerer and three witches, the sacrifice of one boy’s life. Jafar, Maleficent, Grimhilde, and Ursula, the Isle’s foremost magicians. Uri, who would have been a sea wizard had he been born underwater, with tentacles instead of legs.

“That bastard was my best friend,” Jemma says, a pirate who has been land-locked her entire life, “He was going to send storms after my enemies, and I would throw all the prettiest prisoners overboard just for him.”

It’s as close to a declaration of love as they get on the Isle. Carlos understands that this is an act of trust, of desperation.

“Build me something to avenge him,” Jemma demands, because she cannot ask. Cannot ask Carlos to build something to save them all.

Magic got them into this mess. Science is going to have to get them out.

—

The kaiju are not from the Isle. The kaiju are getting bigger and stronger. The kaiju can learn.

Soon, Fairy Godmother’s magic can no longer contain them, can no longer destroy them, can no longer stall them.

The coasts are no longer premium real estate, the nobles and royalty move inland–not that titles mean much anymore.

Futilely, Auradon sticks to what they know, they attempt to contain that which they fear. They begin to build the Wall.

—

The Isle of the Lost is less tempting a target for the kaiju, but they are still conveniently right next to the tear. There is no more barrier around the Isle, but there are also no more barges from Auradon.

Many islanders make confused, fearful noises, surely the heroes won’t leave them to die? But they are villains, and the kids of villains, what do heroes care for their lives?

“Are we Auradon? Scurrying around in fear whenever things get tough? Do we run and hide behind barriers like those spineless sea-slugs? No!” Jemma Hook shouts, standing atop a tin roof, every inch a brave captain her father only pretended to be, “We fight!”

Even villains know that in the face of a greater force, cooperation is key to survival. Carlos is given whatever he needs.

—

Auradon no longer cares about what happens to the Isle of the Lost. They are too busy trying to survive. Many citizens escape inland, to other kingdoms and nations and entirely, if they can. But not all can, not all choose to.

The royal family will not leave, not while there is still someone under their protection that remains. They were once the kingdom to which others sought refuge, besieged by their respective villains. But this time, the enemy is not a single megalomaniac whose pride will ultimately be their downfall, it is not something that can be outsmarted or outlasted.

The Wall means nothing to the kaiju and, soon enough, distance from the ocean will mean nothing to them either.

—

The first jaeger is an ugly thing, cobbled together from defunct ships and old automobile parts. Carlos still has it painted red and white and black. It is ten times the size of the tallest building on the Isle, and still smaller than the most recent kaiju sighted.

“If anyone is going to captain this crocodile killer,” Jemma says, back straight and chin up despite the suicide mission it entails, or maybe because of it, “It’ll be me.”

That first jaeger is named Jolly Roger. Despite being a prototype, it holds up remarkably well against the kaiju. The same cannot be said of it’s captain.

After the Jolly Roger’s fourth battle, Jemma has to be helped out of the cockpit, blood streaming from both nostrils. She waves it away as no big deal.

It takes three more battles for Carlos to realize that it’s not enough, One jaeger is not enough. One captain is not enough.

—

This is not a story about the heroes defeating the villains. This is not a story about villains’ kids realizing their potential for heroism. This is not a story about good versus evil and the unlikely places both can grow. This is not a story about a boy defying both nature and nurture to save the world. 

This is a story about survival.

~

A/N: WHY WOULD I DO THIS TO MYSELF?

Uh, so… here was my thought process. I gave some sample prompts here, a little jokingly but then it stuck in my head, then I happened to see this post regarding how socioeconomic levels in Pacific Rim works and how the poorest would be most grateful for the jaeger program, than I saw Kristen Stewart’s recent cover of Nylon– 

image

–and while I don’t actually fancast her as Captain Hook’s daughter, I definitely fancast her outfit. So… yeah.

Unsure if I actually want to continue this or not. And, I know, there’s such a distinct lack of the actual canon characters that it’s weirding me out too. The next part would definitely have more of the movie-canon characters, but I do have some non-movie characters I want to play around with a bit before that, and then there would be an eventual Ben as one of the last Auradon, decides to help with the jaeger program. He’s drift compatible with Mal, but it would maybe still be Benlos? I dunno. Maybe both?

This was just bugging me while I was trying to write Ain’t No Rest, and I figured if I didn’t get this out, it wouldn’t leave me be. This one’s probably only three parts max, so if it wouldn’t take long for me to get the entirety scraped out of my head. I dunno, we’ll see.

(Also, it’s my birthday today. Hooray me!)

EDIT: NOW WITH TITLE: “A TALE OF TWO KINGDOMS”

[okay, so this isn’t my post for 2015-09-24, but this is what I spent tonight/this morning’s failure of an attempt to sleep wondering about.

After seeing a different picture from Kristen Stewart’s Nylon photo shoot–

image

My brain basically just decided. Yep, that’s Jemma Hook for sure. Specifically, Jemma Hook on the rare occasions where she’s relaxed–aka, hanging out with Uri.

So now I’m wondering. WHO WOULD MAKE A GOOD URI?]

Dreaming of S(tories), a DoS remix drabble (2015-09-23)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

It takes a while, for the people of Sand to see Shikako as anything more than the personification of Konoha’s overbearing meddling. And an insulting one at that–a single little girl? Not even a full team. Then again, no doubt if Konoha had sent a full team, they’d be accused of being overly hostile.

Ugh, politics.

But after that, they grow to be–not accustomed, and definitely not fond–resigned to her presence… It varies by generation.

The Nara clan jutsu traditionally aren’t seen as much of a threat in the Land of Wind, the scorching sun and mostly flat environment creating a distinct lack of shadows. During the shinobi world wars, members of the Nara clan were utilized more in the north–against Lightning or Stone–the mountainous landscape providing advantageous, rocky outcroppings.

Simply put, the Nara don’t have much of a reputation in the Land of Wind, not historically anyway, and the elderly generation don’t know what to make of her. Minus Ebizo-jii-sama, of course, who mostly views her as a decent opponent in Igo who also provides unintended entertainment.

Those of active mission-taking age, are very aware of who she is and what she can do. Even if she hadn’t made a pretty damn impressive showing against their Kazekage during the Chuunin Exams which essentially gave Gaara the position, she’s in the bingo books. And as Konoha’s allies, Sand gets a more accurate portrayal of her skills than, say, Rock’s version.

On top of that, Shikako has no qualms about training where others can see her. She frequently spars against Kankurou who is practically slated to take over the Puppet Corps in a few years, and he’s almost as bad as Kiba when it comes to loudly retelling what he calls ‘Sparky moments’. Like that time she blew up an attempted kidnapper’s head.

God, she’s never going to live that down.

The kids, though, even the ones who aren’t all that much younger than she is, they think she’s… fascinating. Though she attributes that more towards her status as a novelty than anything else. What’s odd, though, is how it started.

The first time wasn’t an accident, but it certainly wasn’t planned, either. Unlike the Sand siblings’ second trip to Konoha, she wasn’t placed in the academy as an assistant teacher. If it weren’t for the fact that the children actively seek her out, Shikako wouldn’t even have the opportunity to interact with them. And now?

“Heh, looks school’s done for today,” Kankurou laughs, Karasu pulling back, blades retreating into it’s wooden interior. Likewise, she sheathes her practice tanto, cringing at the near inaudible scraping noise that let’s her know that sand has gotten in. She’ll have to clean the both sword and sheathe properly before she goes to bed tonight.

Along the demarcated edges of the training grounds, a huddle of maybe ten or so Academy-aged kids await. She waves at them, a little flattered and a lot embarrassed when they cheer enthusiastically back.

“Don’t keep your adoring audience waiting, Sparky,” Kankurou jokes, replacing a wrapped up Karasu on his back.

“You’re not going to join us?” Shikako asks, slyly, “They’ll be your fellow puppeteers soon, shouldn’t you go impress them now while they’re still young?”

“Ugh, no way, I did my time. I don’t want to hang around a bunch of brats. And plus, it’s your fancy shadow stuff they want to see,” he grumbles before, effectively, fleeing and leaving her to the mercies of the tiny horde of tiny bunraku ninja-to-be.

“Nee-san,” one of them calls out, waving her arms and likewise making her small practice puppet wave it’s arms in sync. Her peers are engaging their own practice puppets in mock fights, very similar to the spar she and Kankurou just ended. It takes hardly anything at all to do the same with a modified Shadow Gathering Technique. And anyway, it’s good practice for her. The kids ooh and ah at the way the shadows seem to spring to life.

“Nee-san,” the ringleader repeats, equally amazed, but trying to stay on track, “You said today you’d do one of your stories.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Shikako replies, channeling her inner Kakashi, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather Akako and the Wolf?” One of the other kids brightens in obvious excitement. He had been the one absolutely enamored by last week’s Little Red Riding Hood adaptation, one that Shikako thinks the Inuzuka would approve of considering it has the little girl and the wolf team up against the big bad hunter. Already, the little boy has modified his practice puppet into one resembling a four-legged creature in contrast to the others’ humanoid shapes.

“You already showed us that one!” The little girl says, “We want to hear about the Ikioi-en!” and around her the other kids nod and chatter in agreement.

Shikako tries not to look too baffled, but clearly something slips because another kid mentions, “Kankurou-sama said you were there when the Dead Wastes became the Ikioi-en.”

At that, she has two immediate reactions: Oh. That mission.

And then: not hanging around a bunch of brats her ass.

“It’s a pretty long story,” she tries to demur, though in her head she’s already trying to figure out the best way to arrange it both for age-appropriateness and maximum entertainment.

“The best ones are,” the ringleader says magnanimously, “You can do Act One today and then the other Acts later.”

“Oh, I can?” Shikako asks, pointedly, tone teasing, which causes the little girl to flush.

“Please, Nee-san,” she amends, which sends the rest of them into a wave of pleading.

Shikako can’t help the chuckle that escapes, and she gives in easily enough. Though she does exaggeratedly examine the sky, as if calculating, “We’ll have to go to the east side of the administrative building,” she says sagely, and the kids follow after her and nod to each other. She grins when she hears their high voices speculating about the decision–obviously since the sun sets in the west, the east side of the building would have bigger shadows. And everyone knows that the administrative building is the tallest in the village.

In truth, though, she almost always does her shadow shows near the administrative building. She knows Gaara enjoys the children being close by, even if, for the most part, they’re still too frightened to approach him directly. Sometimes, she thinks he enjoys the stories, too.

Then, sensing Kankurou’s chakra next to Gaara’s bright and steady presence, she muffles a laugh. She guesses they both do, though why Kankurou bothered with subterfuge escapes her–she already knows he’s a theatre nerd.

~

A/N: Strange ending, I admit. Also, longer than I thought it would be even when I cut a section out (I was considering doing a thing with Shikadai and his Aunt Shikako but… mreh).

I figure that even though the Gelel mission is S-ranked for her/Konoha, it’s pretty common knowledge in the Land of Wind since they were literally being invaded by an outside force and then a major part of their country got revitalized mysteriously. At the very least, they’d have to explain why a place called the Dead Wastes now no longer matches such a description.

Ain’t No Rest, part 7/? (2015-09-22)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Ben has no idea what the hell he is doing. Stopping a prisoner from getting harassed, sure, okay. Offering his own home as a place to stay? What.

“What am I doing?” Ben exhales, hands tightening their grip around the steering wheel. It’s six in the morning, the sun peaking over the horizon, and the roads are beginning to fill with other cars–early commuters, or morning deliveries and the like.

Carlos, who got a few hours of sleep in the holding cell, is nonetheless dozing in the passenger seat, head lolled back against the window. With his hair drying out into fluffy tufts, he doesn’t look like a threat to Ben who, even running on fumes, is a highly trained Knight.

Then again, it wasn’t Cruella de Vil’s physical prowess which made her so fearsome.

It’s very possible that Ben might die today.

“Fuck it, I’m too tired.”

Ben pulls in to his assigned parking spot, thankfully not stolen by anyone–though, really, who would that early in the morning. He hesitates for a few moments, unsure exactly how to wake up his passenger, before reminding himself that he is in fact a fully trained Knight and probably has several inches and several pounds worth of muscle on Carlos. There’s nothing to be worried about.

As it is, when Ben gently nudges his shoulder, Carlos’ reflexive flailing does manage to smack Ben in the eye. He ends up banging his own head into the window, though, so the two of them spend the next couple of minutes moaning in pain.

“Ow, okay, well. We’re here,” Ben says, inanely, rubbing gently at his eye. Oh god, he’s so tired.

Carlos says nothing in response, but follows Ben to his apartment easily enough, yawning all the way.

Ben’s apartment is on the third floor which, normally, means an invigorating walk up the stairs but at the moment is a gruesome climb that has both he and Carlos dragging their feet, nearly misstepping, and tripping on multiple occasions.

“Welcome to my apartment,” Ben says around a yawn, scrounging for the dregs of manners buried deep beneath the heavy weariness. Carlos, too, looks just as ready to go back to sleep.

Until Ben opens the door, that is; at which point Carlos screams and throws himself backwards until he hits the wall of the hallway with a loud bang.

Alert now, Ben scans his apartments for threats, sees nothing, looks again for anything even remotely scary, and only sees his apartment. Kind of messy, but not too bad.

Oh, and Dude who, being so small kind of just… walked below Ben’s line of sight to leave the apartment and sniff in interest at Carlos. Carlos who appears to be scrabbling at the walls in an attempt to climb out of reach.

Confused, but strangely, a little charmed, Ben reaches out to lift Dude up and away. “It’s just Dude. He won’t hurt you. He’s my dog,” It might be more accurate to say, he was a stray dog that wandered the campus of Ben’s high school until Ben decided to just take him home after graduation.

Carlos does not look at all reassured.

“Have you… not seen a dog before?”

“There aren’t any on the Isle. Mom says–” Carlos starts, only to cut himself off with a shuttered expression. Probably deciding it’s for the best not to bring up his mother, cop killer, around someone who works in law enforcement.

“Well, I don’t know what you’ve been told. But this particular dog is friendly. He’s just curious. Here, do you want to pet him? He likes it when you scratch behind his ears.” Ben says, carefully stepping closer so Carlos can reach easily.

It seems to work, Dude licks playfully at Carlos arm and the boy smiles back. Ben can feel the brief rush of alertness fade away, back to the persistent sleepiness.

“Okay, let’s get you settled inside, so all three of us can hopefully get some rest,” he says, about to lower Dude to the ground but deciding instead to hold him out to Carlos. Tentatively, Carlos reaches out, and Dude transfers easily between them.

Dude stays in Carlos arms the entirety of the quick tour–guest bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room–and when Ben retreats to his room, no more self-appointed obligations in sight, he sees Carlos set Dude gently into his doggy bed in the living room, only for the dog to hop back out and follow Carlos to the guest bedroom.

Well, they do say dogs are a good judge of character.

~

A/N: ARGH, okay, okay. I don’t know why this series is so frustrating to me. BUT I’M GOING TO DO THIS… BELIEVE IT.

I have maybe been reading too many Naruto fanfic. But is there really such a thing as too many?

Becoming a Legend: Or, How Fuinjutsu Helped TenTen Make Friends (2015-09-21)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N1: Just a heads up, this is a TenTen drabble based on the fanfiction Dreaming of Sunshine which isn’t all that different from the canon!Naruto world except for how it’s better. Seriously, go read it.

~

When Shikako asks TenTen if she has a moment, TenTen nods and goes along. She thinks that maybe they’ll spar, but instead Shikako wanders to one of the lesser used parks and sits at a table, gesturing for TenTen to do the same.

Shikako looks at her carefully, pauses as if scanning the area, then pulls up one of her sleeves. All along her arms are seals, and TenTen knows that she put seals on herself but it’s startling to see in person just how many. From what TenTen can tell, not all of it is only resistance seals.

Shikako gestures at a small mark, maybe the size of her thumb nail, a simple yet strange symbol–an uneven triangle with extending tails on the bottom right corner.

“This is a storage seal,” Shikako says, a polite gesture from a fuinjutsu expert who can blow up people’s heads with a single touch. With a little application of chakra, a small poof of smoke reveals an odd three-pronged kunai.

Tentatively, Shikako sets it on the picnic table between them, and when TenTen looks closer she can see that there are seals on the kunai.

“This is–” she gasps out, almost slapping her hand over the blade to keep it hidden. As if someone might see them, as if Shikako’s ever advancing sensor skills wouldn’t know if someone was nearby.

“I know that the advice I gave you before pushed you to be more lethal not less, and you’re looking for another way… I think this might help you with that. And, to be honest, you might have a better time with this.”

TenTen is too amazed by the existence of the Yondaime’s Hiraishin kunai in front of her very eyes to fully grasp what Shikako says, but there’s still something bugging her… Perhaps the confusion shows on her face because Shikako just smiles and says, “You should ask Haku how he met my team.”

TenTen wrinkles her nose, the Mist ambassador?

She remembers fighting against him in the second round of the Chuunin exams. It had been frustrating to fight someone who not only had throwing accuracy almost as good as she did but with an unmatchable bloodline and near impossible speed on top of that. He had been like a combination of her and her teammates rolled into one very polite and very pretty person.

“Or you could ask Sasuke about our first C-rank mission,” Shikako says wryly, smile somehow both a little sly and apologetic, knowing TenTen’s experience with him as a temporary teammate.

Mist ambassador it is.

—

While TenTen appreciates Shikako’s help, she thinks that they just really don’t understand each other very much at all. It’s not a bad thing, they like each other and they are friends, but it’s as if their thought processes are completely perpendicular to one another. It shows in their sealing, too.

Shikako’s approach to fuinjutsu is, frankly, completely baffling to TenTen. There are symbols that don’t make sense, which TenTen has never seen before, and even Shikako’s attempts to explain just don’t work. Similarly, TenTen’s attempts to teach her the Infinite Pocket (as she’s taken to calling the non-collapsing storage space she developed) have failed miserably.

“I guess Hammerspace just isn’t meant for me,” Shikako shrugs, honestly not upset with being unable to use something she had helped develop, “It suits your style more, anyway. Most of the things I use I only have one of.”

And maybe that’s why it’s TenTen who is the one to reverse engineer the Hiraishin, not Shikako. Because while Shikako circumvents normal thought processes–coming up with strange ideas or having epiphanies and working towards that–TenTen is the kind of person who gets inspired by those who have come before, eagerly learning as much as she can then… tweaking things until it suits her.

—

Not all of TenTen’s sealing ideas come from Shikako. Ino, during one of the kunoichi meetings which still occur even if not everyone can come, is the one that remarks– “That must be tiring”– after a spar has left a majority of TenTen’s arsenal scattered around the training field.

“It’s too bad there’s no way to just… summon them back to your pocket when you’re done fighting,” Ino says, even as she helps pick them up.

“Careful,” Sakura teases–and TenTen still kind of feels ambivalent towards her because, on the one hand, she’s very nice and knowledgeable and helpful, but on the other hand she is literally living TenTen’s childhood dream of being a kunoichi just like Tsunade-sama and that stings–“You’re starting to sound like Shikamaru,” she says which makes Ino flinch exaggeratedly.

“Being on a team with him is ruining me! Next thing you know I’ll be flopped over on the ground and wasting my time cloud watching!”

And even though the topic strays, it was a pretty good idea. So TenTen dabbles–some kind of summoning seal for her weapons. Something small that could easily be engraved on, but detailed enough to be effective.

Her first attempt goes… not disastrously, since no one was injured in the process… but that’s probably due more to Neji’s quick reflexes and Kaiten than any success of her own.

She does get it eventually, and in the end her Infinite Pocket really does match it’s name.

—

During one of their more typical meetings, less sparring, more discussion of medical techniques, Sakura brings up the seals in some of the more advanced hospital rooms and the fuinjutsu class which is plaguing her.

“It’s not the seals that are the problem,” she moans, hands fisted in her bright pink hair, “I have those memorized, but it’s a little frustrating because everything has to be so perfectly placed and it’s not like these can be used in the field and I want to be a field medic.”

Except, TenTen thinks, why not? The seals being field usable, that is.

The project that ensues, an attempt to make a surgery room on the field is… well… it works better at finally breaking the tension between her and Sakura–and she had always thought it was a one sided-thing, before, hadn’t realized that Sakura might be jealous of her being “a real kunoichi” and not just “a civilian who knows how to use chakra”–than the actual goal, but learning about medical seals and the things which hospitals need did open up some more options for her.

Like a sanitation seal tag–a modified flashbang tag that emits ultraviolet light instead–which doesn’t exactly sound impressive, but which Sakura assures her is actually extremely amazing and would significantly improve field medicine.

Or the anesthesia seals which function similarly to knock out tags without the necessity of skin contact–sure it’s slower and it requires multiple to work–but with TenTen’s expertise being a barrage of thrown weapons that is literally not a problem for her.

The collaboration with Sakura gets her thinking about other possibilities, and looking at the other two members of the study group, TenTen realizes she still has more to learn. Though, for Hinata and Yakumo, maybe she should be the one to take initiative for this.

~

A/N2: I wrote this last night in my continuously failing quest to sleep at a normal time. Uh… Yeah, as the ending implies, there is supposed to be some TenTen and Hinata interaction, as well as TenTen and Yakumo interaction, but I kind of just… stopped. So maybe I’ll come back to this or maybe I won’t. Also, maybe actually write the Haku and TenTen interaction as well? Who knows.

edit: Now on ao3 as part of the Dreaming One Shots collection here

HAVE SOME DRABBLE-SPECIFIC BRAINSTORMING/RANTING UNDER THE CUT.

So, SQ mentioned some facts/headcanons she has for TenTen in the forum, confirmed that Shikako is never going to learn the Hiraishin in Chapter 81, and in Chapter 94 had Shikako literally think “Maybe we had been trying to help TenTen the wrong way – suggesting ways to be more and more lethal. Maybe what she needed was a way to be less.”

And basically my brain is like… perfect precision but doesn’t want to be lethal. Who else in Naruto has perfect precision without having a dojutsu? HAKU. WHO IS ALIVE IN DOS. Hence, she should learn from him. But, he also has super epic speed. In a field of his own making. How can she replicate that? MOTHER-FREAKING HIRAISHIN!

But then I began to think more and even if that does seem like a perfect one to one match up, well, people are strange and complicated and they aren’t so easily interchangeable. So this is supposed to be TenTen sort of discovering her own style and self by befriending people.

Anyway, the interaction with Haku and TenTen wouldn’t be so much TenTen copying his style of non-lethal perfect precision take down (though maybe that’s what Shikako had in mind, in a sort of well-intended but ham-handed effort to help) so much as it is to get her to open up to other people and learn from them. He was, after all, the one who gave Naruto the whole “precious person” spiel, I’m sure he has other tidbits of wisdom floating about in his beautiful head.

In DoS, TenTen seems pretty settled with sticking only to her teammates, but she likes to be invited to things (sparring with Shikako, the kunoichi study group, Ino’s party). I figure she’s not necessarily anti-social as it is, she just doesn’t know how to reach out. Which, with Hinata and Yakumo, as previously said, she would have to be the one to do the reaching out.

I’m a little unsure how TenTen might collaborate with Hinata, exactly, considering she has Neji. But then again, Neji has only recently been less of a total tool so maybe TenTen figures if she wants to ask questions about the limits of the Byakugan or whatever Hinata would be the better bet. Or maybe… Hinata’s modified Heavenly Palm defense as TenTen taking a step towards barrier seals?

Then with Yakumo, I guess probably a connection between her painting genjutsu and seals. I’ve noticed recently that Shikako has been using genjutsu less–and with so much on her mind, the stray thought that she had of genjutsu-seals has likely fallen to the wayside. Simply put, in the face of the impending doom of Akatsuki, Danzo, Madara, and Kaguya, genjutsu-seals aren’t likely going to help. Maybe genjutsu-breaking seals but… I dunno, Shikako’s focused on getting herself to S-rank levels. So with TenTen… not that she’s stealing Shikako’s ideas–because I’m pretty sure Shikako never actually mentioned it out loud–but rather TenTen trying to engage with other girls her age in the only way she knows how.

Ain’t No Rest, part 6/? (2015-09-20)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

“I hate this,” Jay says, quietly but forcefully. It feels wrong to be missing one of their gang, to have deliberately left behind one of their gang. Especially Carlos.

“He’ll be safe there,” Evie insists, though she reaches out and grips at Jay’s vest. She doesn’t like it either, having Carlos somewhere else, out of arm’s reach.

Mal lets them have that moment–she’s worried about Carlos, too, the way an alpha would be about one of her pack, not the same as the other two do–before saying, “It’s for the best,” concluding the matter. No more bringing it up, if they don’t focus on the goal then leaving Carlos behind will have been for naught.

Evie purses her lips and Jay’s expression twists into a scowl, but they fall into line obediently. Mal doesn’t mean to be so harsh, but she doesn’t gentle her tone. They’re all a little on edge considering what they’re running from, and for all the the least of Auradon is still better than that on the Isle, hiding out in a cramped, seedy motel room is less than what they would prefer.

Mal’s already done a cleaning spell on the room–twice–but she’s still hesitant to use the bed. Evie had nearly shrieked when she opened the door to the bathroom.

“Lamp first,” Jay decides, not out of any personal desire but out of experience–in comparison to the other items, the lamp is the easiest. Currently held in the Agrabah embassy, the theft of the lamp would have to be handled within house–the Agrabah embassy doesn’t have to and wouldn’t report the theft to Auradon authorities. The lamp is easy to transport without being magically connected to a particular person and, beyond historical value, it doesn’t have much importance over all. Stealing it would only be a scare for the embassy security, retrieval of the lamp would be a very low priority.

“We’ll need to do some recon in person,” Evie says, fingering the edges of her magic mirror which is currently displaying the blueprints of the embassy, “They have a ward of some kind that prevents me from looking inside the building, though as soon as someone steps outside I can get information on them. I should be able to give you a full roster on the staff within a few days.”

“And any big events that are being held at the embassy–galas, press conferences, whatever,” Mal adds, drawing out a larger copy of the blueprints on several sheets of paper, to better map out the heist.

“Like a ball?” Evie asks, voice soft and wondering–not completely over that childhood dream.

“More people means more potential witnesses,” Jay warns, doesn’t quite argue, “And the security increases.”

“But it also means a built in distraction and a greater cover–with so many people, even if the theft is discovered there are too many witnesses,” Mal contradicts, “It was just an idea,” she concedes, “since we don’t know what security is actually like, it may be better to do it some other way. We’ll keep our options open.”

~

A/N: I wanted to progress on this story, but I realize this part is very ~expository dialogue~ heavy.

Dreaming of S(isters, the long lost past edition), a DoS remix drabbled (2015-09-19)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

She had a sister, Before. She hardly ever thinks about Before, but she occasionally remembers her sister. It aches to think of her and she tries not to think too much of the past–the past of an entirely different world–but it’s a bittersweet kind of pain.

They were close–she knows not all siblings are, though she personally hasn’t had that experience–but a sister is different than a twin brother, even if they had similar personalities, which they don’t, and she misses it sometimes.

With Shikamaru, well, before she used to make fun of the use of twin bonds in media. Or at least the myth that there was a supernatural reason for twins to be so close as to know what the other was thinking–as opposed to that just being a natural consequence of literally sharing the first two decades of your life together.

But there is something between twins that isn’t the same as with non-twin siblings–with Shikamaru she doesn’t have to say things to communicate with him. It isn’t quite on the level of being one mind in two bodies, but rather two hands working in tandem for a common goal. She doesn’t have to explain herself… or, well, she used to not have to explain herself. And because she never had to, she finds it difficult to start.

But with her sister… This wouldn’t have been a problem Before. Because she and her sister were the kind of close where they told each other everything. Even the embarrassing stuff that the other wishes they hadn’t heard; it was easy.

Her sister had been sibling and best friend all at once and Shikako knows that she has Shikamaru now–has Ino and Sakura, has Naruto and Sasuke, and all of the Konoha Twelve–but it’s not the same and she misses her. The sister from a world to which she can’t return.

The sand cocoon around her withdraws, and Shikako blinks her eyes open to the dim, star-and-moonlit office of the Kazekage and said Kazekage’s vaguely dismayed face.

“This isn’t working,” Gaara says, voice low, brow furrowed and staring–he always stares, “You’re crying.”

“I- Sorry,” she stutters, because she doesn’t want him to get the wrong idea. It’s not–she’s not crying because of him it’s just that. She wipes at her face, tears quickly absorbed by her sleeves, “I don’t know what. I just-”

“Stay here,” he says and it’s not a demand but it’s not quite a request either. She could leave, he wouldn’t be angry if she did, but he expects her to stay.

So she does. Sitting on the couch lined up along the wall. She thinks about the difference between Gaara’s office and Tsunade-sama’s, how Tsunade’s hardly has much besides her desk and chair and some shelves while Gaara’s has that plus a couch and additional chairs and a low table. It’s welcoming, and maybe from the outset it doesn’t really match him, but it makes sense. Because he wants people to be comfortable around him. He wants to show his people that he can be more than just a weapon.

He comes back with a tea tray, sets it on the low table as he seats himself across from her.

He stares, and she pats at her face one last time to make sure she’s caught every tear. Something inside of her curls up, curls away, and she hates it because she knows Gaara is going to ask her what’s wrong and she won’t be able to tell him because for all that they’ve grown close she hasn’t told anyone about being reborn and she hates that he’ll just be another person who she has to keep secrets from.

Instead he says, “For the longest time, I thought Shukaku was my mother.”

She freezes. She knew that, knows that, but it’s one thing to remember his crazed screaming as a child and to hear him confess it so calmly.

“It was… the only person, the only being that couldn’t leave me and I thought that meant it couldn’t betray me either…” and he talks. He talks as if–no, he does acknowledge she’s there, he’s obviously talking to her–but he talks as if he doesn’t expect her to say anything back. Because he doesn’t need her to; he doesn’t need her to be his emotional support because this is for her benefit, this is for her comfort.

It’s not the same–a deceiving bijuu pretending to be his mother is not the same as a sister she will never be able to speak to again–but it helps. He is literally sympathizing with her. He lost someone, too, and even if it wasn’t the truth, he can never go back to the way things were either.

And… it helps. It’s not the nonverbal connection she has with Shikamaru, not the effortless exchange she had with her sister, but it’s intimacy and vulnerability. And it works.

~

A/N: I WAS STUCK AT A PARTY FOR LIKE… 8 HOURS AND PEOPLE KEPT TALKING TO ME AND WHEN I RELOCATED MYSELF TO EMPTY ROOMS PEOPLE WOULD SUDDENLY APPEAR AND TALK TO ME AND I’M JUST LIKE… WHYYYYYYYYY?

Ahem, anyway. More DoS feels. The reason why this title is S(isters, the long lost past edition) is that I would like to do a S(isters, the bright shining future edition) which features some Temari. So… yeah.