Tag: anonymous

I once had this weird dream, where Shikako & Co. are on a haunted house mission. Turns out there’s an actual ghost taking people away into a parallel space, so Shikako starts panicking when she starts feeling chakra signatures just disappearing, one by one. Haha, I really can’t remember further than that, but I’d love to see if this can be extended?

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

A/N: I’m a bit late for your prompt, anon, because I considered it for few days and slept on it as well–which seemed to be in the spirit of it–and this is what my own weird dream shook out, so I hope you enjoy!

~

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

Three kunai headed her way, she darts to the side.

Where is she? What’s happening?

More kunai follow. Trace the flight path. Keep moving.

Across the way is a smudge of color against the stark white room. Pink and brown and red. TenTen?

Ah, a spar, that makes sense.

She should pay attention.

TenTen isn’t saying anything, but that makes sense. Neither of them are particularly chatty.

She unfurls a scroll–a serious spar then.

“Earth Style: Earth Wall!” she calls out, chakra flaring, but nothing happens. The strange smooth floor is unchanged.

Where are they? Something is happening.

Shikako makes the sign for a timeout, but TenTen keeps going. She tries again with a forfeit sign, “Stop!”

That fails, too.

TenTen releases her armory, Shikako drops her resistance seals and runs.

Something is wrong.

They aren’t sparring, they’re fighting.

To the death, apparently.

—

Shikako wins. TenTen loses.

Which means TenTen dies.

Except.

Something is happening.

Shikako rushes over because, despite the fight, they are friends and she is so confused. In her arms, TenTen–still so strangely silent–begins to disintegrate.

“I didn’t mean to,” she says as particles of TenTen fade away into the expanse of the room, “I don’t understand.”

Before the body disappears completely, Shikako has one last thought:

Something is wrong.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

She’s on her knees in an impossible room, so empty and endless.

What was she doing?

There is a noise, like gears in a machine, and a doorway opens in front of her. Stairs.

There’s nothing for her here, and so she leaves.

Behind her, that same noise, the impossible room seals itself shut. Gone to the void like it never existed.

Upwards, onwards.

The stairs are smooth, white, surrounded by a void. They spiral up and up, unconnected steps of not stone and not metal.

A few more steps and the stairs just stop, nothing ahead but more darkness.

She extends a hand forward, meets resistance, and a noise like gears in a machine opens a doorway in front of her.

Another impossible room.

She looks back, there’s nothing there.

She goes in.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

Dodges out of the way of a chakra covered hand aimed at her heart.

“Neji?” She asks, startled, bewildered.

He doesn’t answer, but the silence makes sense. He isn’t particularly talkative.

But what is going on?

That was definitely a killing blow.

Of course he’d want to kill her, she thinks, she did just kill [||||||||||||||]…

… what was she doing?

He makes another move–no doubt as lethal as the last–and somehow Shikako knows better than to try and reason with him.

Taijutsu is out of the question, she would surely lose (would surely die?) but she’s always been better at a distance.

—

This time (was there any other time?) Shikako watches silently as Neji dissipates. In comparison to the room, even his white clothes and pale skin stand out, the black of his hair a long tail of defiance.

Even then, the room wins out. And she watches in mute horror as he fades away.

Something is wrong.

She feels like she had that thought before.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

A noise. Then a doorway. Then a curving set of stairs.

Upwards, onwards. There is nothing for her here.

The stairs are continuous, spiraling for eternity. If she looks up, she can see the helix continue.

But if she looks ahead, there are only a few steps in front of her. A new one being added for each one she advances.

What a strange place. How did she get here?

The stairs come to a halt, impossibly, nothing in front of her.

And yet.

She reaches out. A noise. Then a doorway. Then an impossible room.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

She knows immediately that the creature in front of her is not Lee. Oh it looks like him, its green and orange outfit almost blinding in this stark emptiness, but it is not him.

Never mind that it is trying to kick her head off her shoulders, clearly trying to kill her. She knows this is not him because its face is blank and empty.

If this were a spar, Lee would be smiling. If this were a death match, he would be angry.

The real Lee would be furious at her for killing [|||||||] and [||||||||||||||]…

… why does she think Lee should be angry at her?

No matter. This obviously isn’t Lee, which means that she has nothing stopping her from going all out.

It is faster than her, like the real Lee, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve still.

—

She doesn’t feel remorse as this not-Lee creature fades away. Particles and pigments disappearing as if it were never there.

If it were really him, then she would. She would be sick and horrified at herself.

But it is not him, she is sure of it.

Something is happening.

A certainty that has been building ever since she fought [||||||||||||||] and [|||||||], cemented further after her fight with [||||||]…

… something is wrong.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

A doorway is open ahead of her, an impossible exit from an impossible space. Stairs leading upwards and onwards.

She stays put.

“I don’t understand,” she says, looking around, “This doesn’t make sense.”

Nothing changes.

“What’s happening?” she asks, instead.

Nothing changes.

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

A doorway is open ahead of her, an impossible exit from an impossible place. Stairs leading upwards and onwards.

She leaves the room.

There is nothing here.

—

After an uncountable number of stairs, steps spiraling for an eternity upwards and yet never complete ahead of her, Shikako stops.

The steps appearing for every one she advances also stop.

“No,” she says.

“Something is wrong,” she says.

She stays put.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

She is on a set of stairs, smooth and pale and impossible like starlight. They spiral upwards and onwards in the void.

On the step in front of her is a little ink bird, black like defiance.

It hops about and flutters its wings but doesn’t make a noise.

She picks it up and sets it on her shoulder.

She begins climbing the stairs until she can no longer, the steps ending at an invisible wall.

She reaches out, meeting resistance, before a noise like gears in a machine sounds off.

A doorway opens.

Shikako walks through.

—

In this room empty of anything, with smooth floors that are not stone and stark walls she cannot perceive, only Shikako and the ink bird exist.

No matter how far she walks, there is no end. An impossible room.

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

Immediately rolls out of the way of a swarm of tiny creatures.

The ink bird remains on her shoulder, but it tugs on her hair, impatiently. Frantic.

Scared?

Something is wrong.

Across the room is Shino. Or a creature that looks like Shino. It hasn’t moved and it hasn’t spoken and maybe that isn’t unlike the real Shino, but she learned her lesson with [||||||]…

… the swarm attacks her again, and she backs away, confused.

The swarm of creatures, dark against the starkness of the room, somehow feel strange. Wrong.

They are not like her ink bird, a different sort of defiance. They are not like real kikaichu either.

These aren’t kikaichu and that isn’t Shino.

Which means she won’t feel guilty when she destroys them all.

—

The room is immaculate despite the battle.

The creatures that were not Shino and his kikaichu disappear, as if they never existed.

The ink bird on her shoulder remains. Now that she has the time and space to give it attention, it has stopped its antics.

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

A black blur whizzes past her face. Reflexively, she ducks to the side, but nothing follows.

Bizarrely, it didn’t come from behind her, it came from her shoulder.

An ink bird flies ahead of her, a single point of defiance in this impossible room.

It flutters its wings and hops about, as if waiting, impatiently.

A noise. A doorway. Stairs.

The bird flies ahead, upwards and onwards.

Shikako follows.

—

Upwards and onwards, Shikako follows the bird. Against the void, it is difficult to see, but there is only one direction for it to go.

After an eternity it stops, landing on a step made of starlight. Waiting impatiently.

When she reaches the top step, it flutters to her shoulder.

Together they watch as a doorway appears.

Together they walk through.

—

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

The chakra covered hand aimed at her heart almost seems familiar. As does the movement to get out of the way.

A creature that looks like Hinata stares at her blankly, before moving to attack once more.

If it were really Hinata, Shikako would hesitate.

If it were really Hinata, they wouldn’t be fighting.

The ink bird on her shoulder tugs at her hair.

But none of them (none of who?) were really themselves.

In comparison to [||||||]…

… no matter.

This creature that is not Hinata is trying to kill her.

There is no hesitation.

—

It is not Hinata, but Shikako still looks away as it dies silently.

Something is wrong.

She does not feel horror, nor remorse, but there is still a sense of familiarity.

Of exhaustion.

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

She cannot remember how long she has been in this room, but it feels like a very long time.

A noise. A doorway. Stairs.

The ink bird on her shoulder flies ahead and she follows.

There is nothing good for her here.

—

The stairs are a helix continuing upwards and onwards.

Even with the little ink bird, it feels as if she is alone. A small, insignificant existence against the impossibility of this place.

Void and starlight and a spiral to eternity.

Where is she? How did she get here?

Something is happening.

What is happening?

Something wrong.

—

At the last step, the ink bird stops and waits for her.

It hops and flutters and, when she catches up, flies to perch on her shoulder.

A noise. A doorway. An impossible room.

She doesn’t enter.

The ink bird tugs at her hair.

As she steps through, she thinks:

Haven’t I done this before?

—

Next (after what?) is Kiba. Or not-Kiba as the case may be.

“You’ve gotten shoddy,” Shikako says to the creature that is not Kiba, as it swipes a clawed hand at her face.

“Where is Akamaru?” she asks, dodging and weaving away.

The ink bird on her shoulder tugs at her hair. Impatient and frantic and not-scared.

Probably.

If it were scared, it would fly away, wouldn’t it?

“You’re not even trying!” Shikako shouts at it. Something is wrong.

“You don’t even know how an Inuzuka fights!”

Without their ninken, Inuzuka are half of themselves. It’s part of the reason why they can’t be ANBU, too loyal and honest to a fault.

The creature that is not Kiba stops.

So does she.

A noise, like gears in a machine, and a doorway opens behind it.

The ink bird leaves her shoulder and flies past the not-Kiba creature. It remains still.

Shikako circles around it, confused, but follows after the ink bird to the stairs.

As she begins to climb, she looks back.

The doorway is closing, but she can still see the not-Kiba creature standing perfectly still in that impossible room.

—

“That’s not how that usually goes,” she calls ahead to the ink bird.

It stops and lands on a step, waiting for her to catch up.

“The other fights. Before not-Kiba. The ones I had with [|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||]…

”… why did that happen? I remember Kiba. Because I didn’t kill the creature that looked like him?“

The ink bird hops and flutters.

“Why can’t you be more useful?” she shouts.

Shikako blinks. Dark then light.

She is on starlight stairs in an eternal void.

She is not alone.

“Sai?”

~

A/N2: This is longer than I thought it would be so here’s part one for now, and I should have part two up tomorrow.

But I suppose I ought to explain a little bit. I considered your prompt, anon, and I pondered the idea of the haunted house and I figured that DoS already covered it in a literal sense with the whole chameleon summons castle thing, and a more Scooby Doo interpretation with the Land of Birds. But I liked the idea of Shikako losing people and went a slightly more cerebral route a la Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories.

In part because my brain went Shikako & Co. is Konoha Thirteen… Organization Thirteen? And then, hey wait, Sai was with her on both the chameleon castle mission and the Land of Birds mission. Does that make Sai Namine? Yes, yes it does.

NejiKako is so good for the soul.<3 (Can we make some crazy shipping names for these DOS ships akin to the Pokemon fandom's ship names? Like, Sweet Sunshine for NaruKako, etc etc (that was so bad, i'm so bad at this haha))

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

jacksgreysays:

image

😀 Thanks! My multi-shipping heart greatly appreciates the exercise, so…

I both do and don’t enjoy particularly flowery ship names–because on the one hand, it’s a nice way to describe your ship and it tends to also create and easy aspect that explains why shippers would ship such a thing. But on the other, unless you have a massive glossary explaining which is which, it’s really freaking hard to figure out what ship you are reading and for some people who are not multi-shippers, that can be a disaster. I mean, even as a multi-shipper, I like to know going into a story what I’m reading you know? Yu-Gi-Oh was so difficult for me to navigate, I swear to god.

That being said, I always figured that the “Sunshine” moniker was for Naruto. (And I kind of assume that Shikako is Stars and Sasuke is Moon just to complete the set of celestial bodies). So “Caged Sunshine” would translate to me as more of a Neji/Naruto ship? And “Sweet Sunshine” would be… Anko/Naruto?

I guess for this story, I’d want something that not only reflects the Shikako/Neji ship but also the fact that it’s Hana’s POV? Maybe some kind of scent/smell pun…

edit: Ooh, just spotted it now! @the-grand-gemini​ suggested “Hide and Seek” I think I’m going to tweak it a bit and make it “Hiding and Seeking.” Thanks for the suggestion 😀

Ooh, okay. See I always interpreted the title as Shikako’s POV of Naruto (the series) which is about Naruto the character, so “Sunshine” is Naruto and “Dreaming” is Shikako. So with Neji as the “Caged Bird” I’d probably do something like: 

“Caged Sunshine” is Neji/Naruto because what a relationship between them would be built on is, most likely, the whole “we both of seals and our lives suck but Naruto has remained optimistic/determined and Neji wants to do the same” so the Cage is in reference to their seals and the Sunshine is, yes, reference to Naruto but also the change Naruto’s Therapy-no-jutsu had in Neji’s life.

Shikako/Neji I’d flip it around and do “Dreams of Flight” or something like that since, as I interpret a Shikako/Neji relationship, it would be about the both of them ‘breaking free’ of expectations and oppression. I don’t think there would ever be a Shikako/Neji relationship where, unless Neji specifically asked her not to for some reason, Shikako wouldn’t eventually work on trying to remove the Caged Bird seal. It’s less about accepting the hand they’ve been dealt and more about saying, “no, fuck you, I’m not going to follow your rules.”

So Dreams is reference to Shikako, but also to the hope that Neji would have to change his fate, and Flight is both a freedom thing and about how a relationship between the two of them is more… I don’t know how to say this… verb-y? than some of my interpretations for other ships. Like there’s a sense of, they’re both going to achieve great heights together, or they’re going to plummet to the ground.

This is way more thought than I put into some of my other titles. If I could retroactively rename Dreaming of S(omething) without it being a total pain of tag hunting, I probably would. I mean I hadn’t consciously acknowledged this is what I do, but now that I think of it, I suppose this explains the more recent series like “Waking Up Starstruck” (Naruto/Shikako) and “Stars Also Dream” (Yoshino-centric but with the theme that Yoshino is more like her daughter, or vice versa, than anyone realizes).

I’m not really sure, actually. I just know that Dreaming of S(omething) was my first DoS recursive fic series and I had no idea I was going to be so prolific. I definitely had no idea that I would have actual series as opposed to a cluster of possible chapter responses, and that I should probably give more thought to my titles. It’s why I have Dreaming One Shots as a catch-all. I mean, much like my fics themselves, the titles I kind of don’t know what I’m doing up until the very last bit–and even then, as with Hiding and Seeking, I’ll post something and then title it later.

I would definitely rename Dreaming of S(omething) to reflect that it is a Shikako/Gaara series as opposed to any kind of DoS recursive fic… and while I do like Down Every Road–because it’s a reference to a song that I think fits Shikako/Sasuke perfectly, and it also gives a bit of a hint that each chapter is a different AU–it’s not Shikako/Sasuke specific from the name. Like, any series of AUs for a specific ship in any fandom could probably use the title Down Every Road.

Waking Up Starstruck I chose specifically to flip around Dreaming of Sunshine–because where DoS is Shikako’s POV of Naruto’s story, I thought it’d be nice if Waking Up Starstruck was Naruto’s POV of Shikako’s post-canon story. So Waking [Naruto] Up Starstruck [Shikako] was meant to be a contrast to Dreaming [Shikako] of Sunshine [Naruto]. And there’s a little bit about that particular title that just feels like… Naruto suddenly realizes he sees Shikako in a romantic way. As opposed to Sasuke who already knows he loves Shikako even if he can’t quite differentiate between romantic and platonic.

I mean, there’s a difference between fic titles and ship names, so it’s not a one-to-one thing. I wouldn’t change Down Every Road, but I don’t have that little thrill of pride as I do when I think about Waking Up Starstruck and Stars Also Dream. Then again, Hiding and Seeking works really well for the Hana!POV Shikako/Neji ficlets even though that doesn’t include any of the theoretic ship name, so I don’t really know what I’m trying to say here.

Can I ask for more Shikako/Haku winter olympics – yuri on ice and the deadly cold weather have it on my mind

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Coat and scarf and gloves, coffee thermos at the ready; it seems odd to be so dressed up indoors, to feel the chill of the ice but not see the open air of the track. This view isn’t so bad, though.

Not many people can say they’ve had a private show with four time gold medalist winner Haku Yuki.

At this time the rink is empty, everything silent but the scrape of blades against ice, lights dimmed low to the barest minimum. Haku’s practice clothes are dark and plain, but he still shines despite it all, enchanting.

Shikako knows how to skate but in comparison to her friends, Sasuke in speed skating and Naruto in ice hockey, she always figured it was simply a matter of needs must. Ice skating as a winter athlete was the same as knowing how to swim–functional, necessary. Nothing as beautiful as this.

During her musing, Haku’s routine has drifted closer to where she stands by the wall, coming to a sharp stop, snow spraying from the force of it.

He smiles at her, gives a little bow, and reaches for the thermos. Shikako, in turn, laughs, hands it over, and gives muffled applause, sound dulled by the fabric of her gloves.

It’s paltry compared to the kind of acclamation he’s received before, even in this very same rink–hundreds of his fans cheering his name and millions more watching him at home–and yet the smile he gives her is honest and appreciative.

“That was fantastic,” she says taking the thermos back, walking along side him as he skates toward the exit.

“It’ll look better with the music playing,” Haku says, extending an arm to gesture at the great expanse of ice that is his stage. “Zabuza-sama says my song choice is too sentimental, but he also says this is my best routine yet, so…” he drifts off, one hand at the wall, the other reaching out as he steps out of the rink.

Used to the way Naruto and Sasuke are when they come off the ice–as if having to remember how to walk instead of skate, the few seconds transition between ice and ground–she takes his hand, steadying him and supporting him through to the bleachers.

But even as he sits, he doesn’t let go, tugs lightly as if to say, sit next to me.

She does so, joined hands between them, looking at the rink where, in a few days time, Haku will win his fifth gold medal.

“Thank you, Shikako,” he says, and she knows he doesn’t mean just for this morning, this moment.

~

A/N: I have only ever been ice skating the once and it was over ten years ago so… winter sports are not really my thing (and while I am hyped up about Yuri on Ice I have yet to actually watch it). Hopefully this is acceptable.

NejiKako is so good for the soul.<3 (Can we make some crazy shipping names for these DOS ships akin to the Pokemon fandom's ship names? Like, Sweet Sunshine for NaruKako, etc etc (that was so bad, i'm so bad at this haha))

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

image

😀 Thanks! My multi-shipping heart greatly appreciates the exercise, so…

I both do and don’t enjoy particularly flowery ship names–because on the one hand, it’s a nice way to describe your ship and it tends to also create and easy aspect that explains why shippers would ship such a thing. But on the other, unless you have a massive glossary explaining which is which, it’s really freaking hard to figure out what ship you are reading and for some people who are not multi-shippers, that can be a disaster. I mean, even as a multi-shipper, I like to know going into a story what I’m reading you know? Yu-Gi-Oh was so difficult for me to navigate, I swear to god.

That being said, I always figured that the “Sunshine” moniker was for Naruto. (And I kind of assume that Shikako is Stars and Sasuke is Moon just to complete the set of celestial bodies). So “Caged Sunshine” would translate to me as more of a Neji/Naruto ship? And “Sweet Sunshine” would be… Anko/Naruto?

I guess for this story, I’d want something that not only reflects the Shikako/Neji ship but also the fact that it’s Hana’s POV? Maybe some kind of scent/smell pun…

edit: Ooh, just spotted it now! @the-grand-gemini​ suggested “Hide and Seek” I think I’m going to tweak it a bit and make it “Hiding and Seeking.” Thanks for the suggestion 😀

Ooh, okay. See I always interpreted the title as Shikako’s POV of Naruto (the series) which is about Naruto the character, so “Sunshine” is Naruto and “Dreaming” is Shikako. So with Neji as the “Caged Bird” I’d probably do something like: 

“Caged Sunshine” is Neji/Naruto because what a relationship between them would be built on is, most likely, the whole “we both of seals and our lives suck but Naruto has remained optimistic/determined and Neji wants to do the same” so the Cage is in reference to their seals and the Sunshine is, yes, reference to Naruto but also the change Naruto’s Therapy-no-jutsu had in Neji’s life.

Shikako/Neji I’d flip it around and do “Dreams of Flight” or something like that since, as I interpret a Shikako/Neji relationship, it would be about the both of them ‘breaking free’ of expectations and oppression. I don’t think there would ever be a Shikako/Neji relationship where, unless Neji specifically asked her not to for some reason, Shikako wouldn’t eventually work on trying to remove the Caged Bird seal. It’s less about accepting the hand they’ve been dealt and more about saying, “no, fuck you, I’m not going to follow your rules.”

So Dreams is reference to Shikako, but also to the hope that Neji would have to change his fate, and Flight is both a freedom thing and about how a relationship between the two of them is more… I don’t know how to say this… verb-y? than some of my interpretations for other ships. Like there’s a sense of, they’re both going to achieve great heights together, or they’re going to plummet to the ground.

This is way more thought than I put into some of my other titles. If I could retroactively rename Dreaming of S(omething) without it being a total pain of tag hunting, I probably would. I mean I hadn’t consciously acknowledged this is what I do, but now that I think of it, I suppose this explains the more recent series like “Waking Up Starstruck” (Naruto/Shikako) and “Stars Also Dream” (Yoshino-centric but with the theme that Yoshino is more like her daughter, or vice versa, than anyone realizes).

NejiKako is so good for the soul.<3 (Can we make some crazy shipping names for these DOS ships akin to the Pokemon fandom's ship names? Like, Sweet Sunshine for NaruKako, etc etc (that was so bad, i'm so bad at this haha))

jacksgreysonLeave a comment
image

😀 Thanks! My multi-shipping heart greatly appreciates the exercise, so…

I both do and don’t enjoy particularly flowery ship names–because on the one hand, it’s a nice way to describe your ship and it tends to also create and easy aspect that explains why shippers would ship such a thing. But on the other, unless you have a massive glossary explaining which is which, it’s really freaking hard to figure out what ship you are reading and for some people who are not multi-shippers, that can be a disaster. I mean, even as a multi-shipper, I like to know going into a story what I’m reading you know? Yu-Gi-Oh was so difficult for me to navigate, I swear to god.

That being said, I always figured that the “Sunshine” moniker was for Naruto. (And I kind of assume that Shikako is Stars and Sasuke is Moon just to complete the set of celestial bodies). So “Caged Sunshine” would translate to me as more of a Neji/Naruto ship? And “Sweet Sunshine” would be… Anko/Naruto?

I guess for this story, I’d want something that not only reflects the Shikako/Neji ship but also the fact that it’s Hana’s POV? Maybe some kind of scent/smell pun…

edit: Ooh, just spotted it now! @the-grand-gemini​ suggested “Hide and Seek” I think I’m going to tweak it a bit and make it “Hiding and Seeking.” Thanks for the suggestion 😀

Can I have some Shikako/Neiji?? (I’ll try to be general) umm.. how about them just being intimidating together? With their genius, and long hair and (probably) great legs.

jacksgreysonLeave a comment
image

Thanks! The actual culmination to a relationship is still key scenes away, but here are a few more snippets from this ‘verse that I can squeeze into my thirty minute break:

jacksgreysays:

Ooh, okay, so let’s see… there’s a specific direction I want to go for this, and it’s not necessarily Shikako/Neji as much as it is building a foundation for the ship.

So it’s canon!DoS ‘verse and playing up on the Sensor Squad thing–because I think this would be the most likely way Shikako and Neji end up on a team together. And for some reason, I kind of want it to be from Hana’s POV.

Like, Hana wants to make the jump from chuunin to jounin (and *fingers crossed* become the jounin sensei for Hanabi, Chiyako, and Ranmaru) and the best way to do that (outside of wartime, that is) is to prove you can handle leadership in really bizarre missions.

And, well. Tsume knows which set of people has the most bizarre missions.

It makes sense, I think, because Neji and Shikako are both part of the newest crop of the Sensory Squad and even though Shikako is higher ranked than Hana, the age difference and lack of experience means she wouldn’t chafe under Hana as team leader. (And, probably, not being in charge is a relief to her).

It’s also not as if Neji has a set team to run with (not like Team Eight) and for a complete sensor team you would want a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka, and a chakra sensor of some sort. So maybe not only is the Sensor Squad a roster for individuals, but there are also semi-permanent teams so that for those who weren’t on a genin team together they can develop rapport.

Anyway here’s a little of what I’ve got for that:

What a mess they must look like, the three of them standing around awkwardly, uncertain. Well, perhaps not Neji–Hyuuga’s don’t really do awkward so much as displeased, perhaps the heiress is closest but even that’s more shy than ungainly–but she and Shikako definitely carry his share.

Zou, bored, head butts her thigh, and Hana shakes herself out of it. She’s going to be a jounin, she can’t be deterred by such a minor thing.

As if sensing Hana’s resolve, Shikako’s posture straightens out as well, the three of them now standing less like a group of children told to play nice together and more like a proper team.

“We’re a little too familiar with each other to need introductions,” Hana starts, “but we don’t exactly know how each other works, and I know better than to suggest sparring.”

Against the Hyuuga prodigy, there’s exactly one way a taijutsu-only spar would work. But given the scale of Shikako’s other abilities and Hana’s own Haimaru-bolstered attacks, there’s no other option that wouldn’t end up someone hospitalized. Which isn’t exactly the best way to get the Jounin Commander’s attention–good attention, anyway.

“What are you suggesting then?” Neji asks, almost bracing himself. Well, his jounin-sensei was Gai, he’s probably had to deal with a lot of non-sparring exercises.

Hana smiles, all teeth, and brings out a bright red ball. She can feel the slight breeze of Mitaru’s tail wagging, can hear the way Sanji shifts onto all fours.

“Let’s play a game.”

—

For most people, the Haimaru Brothers are identical. And, well, that’s not exactly a surprise–they are from the same litter, after all, and most people don’t have the benefit of a Inuzuka’s keen sense of smell. Even then, sometimes Hana’s mum gets them mixed up, though usually she’ll cover that up by picking up two by the scruff of their necks and having Kuromaru pick up the third just to remind them that in comparison to the Alphas, they are still just puppies. Kiba and Akamaru don’t particularly care about differentiating them, they just start annoying whichever one is closest.

But the Haimaru Brothers have been Hana’s partners for years: she raised them since they were actually puppies, and named them all. (Granted, she was four at the time and not terribly prepared for the responsibility, so it’s no surprise that they ended up with the names they did.)

Mitaru is the excitable one, easily distracted, but the best sniffer because of it. Sanji is an old soul in a young body, calm and logical and, if she’s going to be honest, kind of lazy. Oh, he won’t shirk his duties, but he’s definitely the kind of dog who would rather lounge in a sunbeam than run around in the grass. Zou is the most aggressive, usually the one who joins a fight first, and the one who gets into the most trouble with Kuromaru and mum.

(Yes, they’re all named three.)

Some of their personalities are reflected in their bodies: Zou has a bulkier front to better support his attacks. Mitaru is leaner, faster than his brothers, constantly moving around. Sanji… could probably stand to lose a few pounds, but his fur is always the neatest so at least there’s that. But those are all such minute differences that to even the Byakugan the Haimaru brothers look identical. She’s not sure how they fare chakra-wise, but most chakra sensors’ focus on differences in human chakra signatures, not animals.

So for her new team’s introductory exercise, they’re going to play a game called Three Dog Monte.

… and I would continue, except it is approaching midnight and I have to get up early in the morning :/ Clearly I’d follow through with a Hana POV of how Shikako and Neji kind of blossom into a terrifying set of shinobi with long hair and (literal) killer legs, while she remains oblivious to the fact that she, too, also falls under that categorization. And she kinda watches fondly and amused at how Shikako and Neji (maybe literally) dance around each other and their feelings.

Anyway, if you like it, anon, let me know? I might have time to write more of it tomorrow *fingers crossed* schedule permitting.

If ever Hana had doubts about the rumors surrounding Shikako’s tendency for strange missions, they would be soundly corrected after they receive their first mission.

“Catching Tora the cat?” Shikako asks incredulously. Beside her, Neji not so stealthily shudders–ah, even prodigies hate that cat.

Her partners growl at the name, but settle down easily enough with quick pats to the head.

“That’s D-rank,” Neji says, with a tone less scornful and almost hopeful, “Shouldn’t a genin team be doing this?”

Hana sighs, she had the same reaction, “Normally, yes,” she says, because she is team captain and she can’t complain about missions–that’d be setting a poor example, “Except normally Tora the cat isn’t in the Forest of Death.”

Shikako flinches, laughs nervously to cover it up and says, unconvincingly, “Ah, yeah. Fond memories about that place.”

Neji actually turns his head to look at her, which is the Hyuuga equivalent of staring open-mouthed in astonishment.

It’s definitely a reference to the Chuunin Exams last year, but considering those Exams included an invasion, the resurrection of two Hokage, the death of another, and a jinchuuriki Hana’s not surprised that she doesn’t know that particular story.

“Let’s get a move on,” Hana says instead, “The sooner we find that damn cat the better.”

—

Of course, Tora has somehow embedded itself into a colony of giant tigers.

Three exploded trees later, the sudden appearance of a hippopotamus, and a literal rendition of catching a tiger by it’s tail, Team Hana presents a grumpy Tora to the Fire Daimyo’s wife.

Shikako is covered in mud, two of the Haimaru brothers have bald patches, and Neji’s shirt sports four greenish stains of questionable origins. But the Fire Lady is suitably impressed and pleased by the unspoiled condition of her beloved beleaguered cat.

Hana waits until the Fire Lady has left and immediately bursts out laughing. After a moment, Shikako joins in and Neji, maybe, has a smile curling on the side of his mouth. Well, even if this mission didn’t earn her experience toward jounin status, she can definitely say she’s having fun.

—

Weekly training sessions are put into place–not including missions, of course–and so every Thursday Team Hana gets together and plays far more games than a pair of chuunin and a special jounin probably ought to.

She confesses as much to her teammates, she doesn’t want to make it seem like she’s patronizing them, but a lot of her ideas for team building do revolve around what a trio of genin might like.

“I enjoy it,” Shikako reassures her, “Kakashi-sensei and I made a game when I first joined the Sensory Squad to help me hone this ability, so I look forward to these sessions,” she says.

After a moment’s pause, Neji adds, “They’re not unappreciated,” which is high praise from a Hyuuga indeed.

—

It’s another few weeks–another three missions–before Hana begins to notice something going on between her two teammates. It’s nothing major, and Hana might not have caught it at all if it weren’t for that Thursday when, with Shikako out on a mission, it was just Neji, her, and the Haimaru brothers.

It’s when she’s breaking the news to Neji–she’s captain, after all, and should be the one to keep track of her team–that something just clicks. Hyuuga’s are near inscrutable, of course, but that just means their rare emoting is all the more noticeable.

Sanji, ever observant and the brother most well-versed in human interaction, walks over to Neji’s side and leans heavily against his leg comfortingly. Fifty kilograms of dog causes him to stumble for a moment, but he indulges the affectionate gesture stoically and doesn’t even brush away the dark gray fur clinging to his clothes.

… yeah, so still no actual Shikako/Neji, but it’s building slowly I may get back to this at another time. What should I call this ‘verse?

edit: This ‘verse is now called “Hiding and Seeking” courtesy of @the-grand-gemini

Can I have some Shikako/Neiji?? (I’ll try to be general) umm.. how about them just being intimidating together? With their genius, and long hair and (probably) great legs.

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Ooh, okay, so let’s see… there’s a specific direction I want to go for this, and it’s not necessarily Shikako/Neji as much as it is building a foundation for the ship.

So it’s canon!DoS ‘verse and playing up on the Sensor Squad thing–because I think this would be the most likely way Shikako and Neji end up on a team together. And for some reason, I kind of want it to be from Hana’s POV.

Like, Hana wants to make the jump from chuunin to jounin (and *fingers crossed* become the jounin sensei for Hanabi, Chiyako, and Ranmaru) and the best way to do that (outside of wartime, that is) is to prove you can handle leadership in really bizarre missions.

And, well. Tsume knows which set of people has the most bizarre missions.

It makes sense, I think, because Neji and Shikako are both part of the newest crop of the Sensory Squad and even though Shikako is higher ranked than Hana, the age difference and lack of experience means she wouldn’t chafe under Hana as team leader. (And, probably, not being in charge is a relief to her).

It’s also not as if Neji has a set team to run with (not like Team Eight) and for a complete sensor team you would want a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka, and a chakra sensor of some sort. So maybe not only is the Sensor Squad a roster for individuals, but there are also semi-permanent teams so that for those who weren’t on a genin team together they can develop rapport.

Anyway here’s a little of what I’ve got for that:

What a mess they must look like, the three of them standing around awkwardly, uncertain. Well, perhaps not Neji–Hyuuga’s don’t really do awkward so much as displeased, perhaps the heiress is closest but even that’s more shy than ungainly–but she and Shikako definitely carry his share.

Zou, bored, head butts her thigh, and Hana shakes herself out of it. She’s going to be a jounin, she can’t be deterred by such a minor thing.

As if sensing Hana’s resolve, Shikako’s posture straightens out as well, the three of them now standing less like a group of children told to play nice together and more like a proper team.

“We’re a little too familiar with each other to need introductions,” Hana starts, “but we don’t exactly know how each other works, and I know better than to suggest sparring.”

Against the Hyuuga prodigy, there’s exactly one way a taijutsu-only spar would work. But given the scale of Shikako’s other abilities and Hana’s own Haimaru-bolstered attacks, there’s no other option that wouldn’t end up someone hospitalized. Which isn’t exactly the best way to get the Jounin Commander’s attention–good attention, anyway.

“What are you suggesting then?” Neji asks, almost bracing himself. Well, his jounin-sensei was Gai, he’s probably had to deal with a lot of non-sparring exercises.

Hana smiles, all teeth, and brings out a bright red ball. She can feel the slight breeze of Mitaru’s tail wagging, can hear the way Sanji shifts onto all fours.

“Let’s play a game.”

—

For most people, the Haimaru Brothers are identical. And, well, that’s not exactly a surprise–they are from the same litter, after all, and most people don’t have the benefit of a Inuzuka’s keen sense of smell. Even then, sometimes Hana’s mum gets them mixed up, though usually she’ll cover that up by picking up two by the scruff of their necks and having Kuromaru pick up the third just to remind them that in comparison to the Alphas, they are still just puppies. Kiba and Akamaru don’t particularly care about differentiating them, they just start annoying whichever one is closest.

But the Haimaru Brothers have been Hana’s partners for years: she raised them since they were actually puppies, and named them all. (Granted, she was four at the time and not terribly prepared for the responsibility, so it’s no surprise that they ended up with the names they did.)

Mitaru is the excitable one, easily distracted, but the best sniffer because of it. Sanji is an old soul in a young body, calm and logical and, if she’s going to be honest, kind of lazy. Oh, he won’t shirk his duties, but he’s definitely the kind of dog who would rather lounge in a sunbeam than run around in the grass. Zou is the most aggressive, usually the one who joins a fight first, and the one who gets into the most trouble with Kuromaru and mum.

(Yes, they’re all named three.)

Some of their personalities are reflected in their bodies: Zou has a bulkier front to better support his attacks. Mitaru is leaner, faster than his brothers, constantly moving around. Sanji… could probably stand to lose a few pounds, but his fur is always the neatest so at least there’s that. But those are all such minute differences that to even the Byakugan the Haimaru brothers look identical. She’s not sure how they fare chakra-wise, but most chakra sensors’ focus on differences in human chakra signatures, not animals.

So for her new team’s introductory exercise, they’re going to play a game called Three Dog Monte.

… and I would continue, except it is approaching midnight and I have to get up early in the morning :/ Clearly I’d follow through with a Hana POV of how Shikako and Neji kind of blossom into a terrifying set of shinobi with long hair and (literal) killer legs, while she remains oblivious to the fact that she, too, also falls under that categorization. And she kinda watches fondly and amused at how Shikako and Neji (maybe literally) dance around each other and their feelings.

Anyway, if you like it, anon, let me know? I might have time to write more of it tomorrow *fingers crossed* schedule permitting.

Rockstar!AU thoughts: If Shikako has any musical inclination, it’s something classical/doesn’t mesh well with the Sand Trio/that she does solely as a hobby and isn’t looking at professionally. Admittedly, I’m in love with Lindsey Stirling’s ‘Shadows’ so this might influence this headcanon. (Or she plays Smooth Criminal on traditional instruments.) XD

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

jacksgreysays:

I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Silver Queen in even the most roundabout way, but I always assumed that–as a character–Shikako would view extensive musical training as impractical. Like, sure, she can read music and maybe she has some minimal training (in both canon DoS due to kunoichi classes, and in the rockstar!AU, because I feel like most parents at some point try to get their children to play an instrument for a few years and if it sticks then they continue and if it doesn’t they let it go) but, as you said, it’s at most a hobby for her.

I don’t know of many instruments that haven’t been adopted into indie/alternative rock, though. I know of several pop songs that have violin now, if not also piano or cello or banjo or ukulele. Hehe, I just had the thought that what if she played something like trombone or tuba.

I think of the twins, Shikamaru has more musical talent. He also probably doesn’t do it as more than a hobby, but if needed he could just break out a guitar and do a quick acoustic cover of a popular song with little prompting. Shikako is more interested in translating notes into their exact frequencies and playing around with crystals.

Oh, yeah! That definitely makes sense–how could I forget that :/

So I guess both twins are not particularly gifted with music?

In this softer world without shinobi and bijuu, I suppose there’s no reason for Karura to have been pressured into turning her youngest child into a jinchuuriki and thus there are no/reduced complications to the birthing process. So, probably, Karura is alive. And the musical one.

I like the idea that she and her brother probably run a music store or a school teaching music (most likely piano), and that the sand siblings all grew up around music. It’s kind of how they learned to express themselves/communicate which also explains why they still have a strained relationship with Rasa because their father is not all that good at music. He appreciates it but it’s kind of… does not compute (which I guess means that the sand siblings may very well continue the tradition of musicians falling in love with people who can’t music at all).

But Rasa is very successful in his chosen field of business (the gold dust thing might be mining? jewelry? hm…) so there’s an additional layer of, not only can he not connect that well with his children but none of them chose to join the family business so it’s just… mrgh. He’s proud of them, but he does not understand them.

Which I think means the Sand Trio’s parents would approve highly of Shikako? Rasa thinks she’s a practical and level-headed young woman (he has no idea of how bizarre engineers can really be) and that she’s definitely heading places and thank god his youngest child has found someone because the other two were loud enough but Gaara was the kind of child who would silently sit somewhere and be accidentally left behind (no, Rasa did not leave Gaara in a grocery store on accident. Twice.) Karura, on the other hand, is absolutely delighted by Shikako and the fantastic music she inspires in all of her children.

Yoshino and Shikaku aren’t easily starstruck or judgmental, so when Shikako brings Gaara home for the first time, Yoshino is mostly worried about dietary restrictions and whether or not she needs to lecture her son into behaving. Shikaku is just: my daughter’s relationship means my daughter’s rules, but most importantly does he play shogi?

I kind of like the idea that this is after the Sand Trio’s big debut, which means a few enterprising paparazzi try to trespass and take pictures of Gaara (and Shikako), and that’s mostly what Gaara is worried about except Yoshino just smiles calmly and says, “Don’t worry about it: it’s mating season and the deer are free range.” 

Getting caught for trespassing is the least of these paparazzi’s concerns.

Rockstar!AU thoughts: If Shikako has any musical inclination, it’s something classical/doesn’t mesh well with the Sand Trio/that she does solely as a hobby and isn’t looking at professionally. Admittedly, I’m in love with Lindsey Stirling’s ‘Shadows’ so this might influence this headcanon. (Or she plays Smooth Criminal on traditional instruments.) XD

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Silver Queen in even the most roundabout way, but I always assumed that–as a character–Shikako would view extensive musical training as impractical. Like, sure, she can read music and maybe she has some minimal training (in both canon DoS due to kunoichi classes, and in the rockstar!AU, because I feel like most parents at some point try to get their children to play an instrument for a few years and if it sticks then they continue and if it doesn’t they let it go) but, as you said, it’s at most a hobby for her.

I don’t know of many instruments that haven’t been adopted into indie/alternative rock, though. I know of several pop songs that have violin now, if not also piano or cello or banjo or ukulele. Hehe, I just had the thought that what if she played something like trombone or tuba.

I think of the twins, Shikamaru has more musical talent. He also probably doesn’t do it as more than a hobby, but if needed he could just break out a guitar and do a quick acoustic cover of a popular song with little prompting. Shikako is more interested in translating notes into their exact frequencies and playing around with crystals.

ooohhh your dragon rider!team 7 au sounds so fascinating?? what sorts of dragons would they ride? what would they even do as dragon riders??

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

Ooh, okay, okay. So there’s some differences between the Temeraire style versus the How To Train Your Dragon style of dragon riding, and I feel like in order to best translate the Naruto world, I’d have to pull bits and pieces from each.

So in HTTYD, the dragons are more like pets–cats/dogs/birds–with roughly the same level of intelligence. Maybe the bigger ones (the Queen and the Alphas/Bewilderbeasts) are a little more intelligent but, over all, they’re animals. Amazing, magical animals yes, but animals all the same.

In Temeraire, the dragons are sentient (if not sapient–because they are a different species and would have different way of thinking/prioritizing) and they’re massive. The majority of the dragons in HTTYD would be in the courier or light combat classification, and Temeraire has an additional two larger classes of middleweight and heavyweight.

Maybe the Queen and Alphas/Bewilderbeasts are middleweights? But the heavyweights are like ships–they have captains and flight crews of up to forty people as well as a ground crew and they can straight up carry smaller dragons easily. The larger the dragon, the longer the lifespan and dragon’s captaincies tend to be passed down in a family for multiple generations.

And while Temeraire style dragons don’t quite have a telepathic bond with their captains there’s a little bit of a… imprinting process? Like, if newly hatched dragons don’t imprint on a person, they go feral and won’t ever take a captain. And while captaincies can and will eventually be transferred it’s not as good as the original imprinted captain. (I think? It’s been a while since I read any Temeraire stuff)

Probably, the bijuu are the only heavyweights that exist in this dragon rider AU. The problem is, though, that I’m pretty sure the Uchiha clan would at least have had some light combat dragons that Sasuke would have inherited–if not middleweight–and those also require crews (but probably smaller, about ten people). Unless Itachi killed them all? But how would that even… hrm…

Okay so if we want Team Seven to have similar relationships in this AU as what they have in canon, then they either need to be part of the same dragon’s flight crew OR they are each captains of different dragons who are part of the same flight formation. On the one hand, Naruto really ought to be captain of Kyuubi and Sasuke ought to be captain of at least one if not multiple Uchiha clan dragons, but it would be weird for Shikako (from a “clan of ground walkers”) to be captain of her own dragon as well.

So maybe… maybe the Uchiha only had the one middleweight–for the clan head’s line–and a bunch of light combat/couriers. So Itachi could have killed his father, inherited the family dragon, and killed all the light combat/couriers leaving Sasuke without a dragon to captain. Then the Kyuubi, who had not liked Kushina and won’t even give Naruto the time of day, is hibernating away. The threat of his existence is enough to deter the other countries from invading, but it’s true that they can’t utilize his full potential until Naruto can convince him to fight on Konoha’s behalf.

So Team Seven is the crew of Pakkun, the Hatake clan’s middleweight (and maybe the other dog summons are Pakkun’s ground crew?). The other members of Pakkun’s flight formation are Ningame carrying Team Gai, Enma (who Asuma has a strained relationship with) carryin Team Ten, and… Akamaru carrying Team Eight?

Yeah, so, Enma is the oldest dragon and has loudly stated that he prefers Hiruzen–his first captain–to Asuma so there’s that drama. Pakkun and Ningame are about the same age and imprinted on their respective captains at about the same time. Akamaru is the youngest and only recently imprinted on Kiba–so while they have enough potential to be combat ready, and Kiba is technically Akamaru’s captain, Kurenai is captain of the crew. Hinata might or might not inherit her father’s dragon–or, like in canon, it might end up with Hanabi.

Erm, well, most likely because battle styles are different, flight formations aren’t used very frequently so the different Teams are independent of each other.

In Temeraire, this is during the Regency Era so Britain is at war–hence flight formations and flight crews. While I’m reluctant to say there’s full-blown war going on in the Elemental Nations, it’s very likely that the Air Force is meant to maintain the territories/borders. Akatsuki is probably trying to instigate full blown war in order to capture the bijuu (as per canon) although this time they’re actually doing it to take over the world not to do a giant genjutsu or summon an alien princess monster.

So they’re starting a world war as a distraction for some heists and murders to take over the world? … yeah. That sounds about right. And, hey, this actually makes Nagato’s Uzumaki heritage important rather than just some bullshit throwaway thing that wasn’t explored at all! 😀

So Shukaku is near feral. Technically Gaara is his captain, but only technically–Karura was his captain before and, as per canon, died in childbirth, and Shukaku is so pissed off and bitter and basically Shukaku and Gaara have a worse relationship than Enma and Asuma, not even bringing up how Shukaku is at least twice as big and powerful as Enma.

The Nibi and Hachibi are, again, as per canon, pretty well behaved and captained by Yugito and Killer B. Professional, if not intimate. Sanbi has already been stolen and is captained by Kisame. Akatsuki’s threat is due to that they probably have a way to rewrite dragon imprinting/brainwash them like Drago and the Bewilderbeast in HTTYD2. Etc. etc.

I like the idea that Waterfall has Nanabi–the sole heavyweight not owned by the Big Five–and no middleweights whatsoever. Only couriers and light combat class. So there’s just this massive sparkly dragon surrounded by tiny dragons.

I feel like the jinchuuriki who are missing nin wouldn’t translate all that well because how do you lose track of a 50 ton dragon? And their forty person crew. It’s not like being a single jinchuuriki where it’s just like I, an individual, will leave the village in the middle of the night and hide from hunter nin. A bijuu leaving would be like a battleship just sailing away and no one being able to find it–not only would the entire crew have to agree, the captain and bijuu would have to as well and continuously hide?

… Actually… I guess that’s not too out there if they focus more on threats than subtlety. “I am leaving now, if you try to make me and my captain stay I will attack you and I am the most powerful dragon in your military” instead of “Lalala, I’m a massive dragon disappearing in the night, no one can find meeeeee.”

And a lot of the adventure is Team Seven flying around, stumbling across the Akatsuki conspiracy, and trying to convince the other countries to listen/trying to convince the missing captains to join the efforts to stop Akatsuki/trying to convince Kyuubi to accept Naruto as his captain.

Ultimate big bad in this AU would be Pein aka Nagato, I think, because I don’t know how an Obito-Madara storyline would work, much less the Zetsu-Kaguya and Indra-Ashura nonsense. LET THE UZUMAKI NAME BE RELEVANT!