Ino and Sakura
Mrs and Mrs Yamanaka-Haruno
Tag: naruto
Word Prompts (I25): Introduction
Konran Uzumaki – Counterpoise
(Spiral in, storm out.)
She wears wire in her hair, braids of red and metal winding round and round her head. Pins blunt against her scalp, sharp points outward, everything hidden under a bandana rigged to blow.
Uzushio’s legacy, beneath dark cloth.
—
Kiyoshi Utsugi – (In)Difference
(Neutrality brings peace.)
Lightning thrums under her skin, running along her nerves, writhing. Wind at her fingertips, whipping at her cheek, waiting to be unleashed.
Conscious clear, target in sight: shoot.
—
Tetsuki Kaiza – Trailblazers / Externality / Iron Will
(Fate worse than death.)
The first time around she is furious-regretful-afraid-satisfied, at least, she will be swiftly avenged.
The second time she is desperate: she doesn’t want to go, doesn’t want to do this again, doesn’t want this curse.
By the third she is hollowed out and resigned.
—
Aomi (Inuzuka) – B*tch Please
(Humanity is beastly.)
The rage in her has nothing to do with the fangs in her mouth or the growl in her lungs. She dreams of hunting intangible things–justice, strength, the future–plans like shaky ground beneath her paws.
Truth and loyalty require sacrifice.
—
Windy Strife – Into Thin Air
(Steps ahead, left behind.)
The suit sits heavy on her shoulders, fabric stiff and blue still new. The bow, long carried, doesn’t quite match but it fits perfectly in his hand.
Zie is a weapon, forged and honed, then and now.
—
Reyniero Chason – Running Backwards
(Battle fiercely for the king.)
There are no options, train on the track, future written down and read in the past. And yet, here I am, poised to defy the fate put on him.
If anyone is the spare, it’s me.
—
Branton Evans – Growing Strong (Burning Bright)
(Thorns, sparks, and silver linings.)
He knows much about regret, had felt it even as he continued to walk away, needing to follow through. Time doesn’t always heal, sometimes it erodes instead.
Nevertheless, things can still be salvaged.
—
Haru Kuwabara – (En)Closure
(Winning might be everything.)
Go is a battle, is a conversation, is life–according to her grandfather anyway. But she knows death, so she knows that despite all the drama, go is just a game.
But against gods and murderers and the stark face of justice, it’s a nice thought.
—
Ember Ketchum – A Year With The Moon
(Knowledge is double edged.)
Sight beyond does not make her immune, does not make her anything but a liability. Her entire existence is a dilemma and now, it seems, she has made the wrong choice.
Behind a glowing wall in her mind, she watches herself attack her brother.
~
A/N: Surprisingly, the word prompt is relevant to the writing! Except for the last one, each section is basically a motto + three sentence fic (or four sentence fic) summarizing my various OCs. Almost like little trailers for the different series… (The last one isn’t because I realized that Ash having a twin during the first Pokemon movie, ie the one featuring Mewtwo, would have the potential for EPIC FEELS).
Basically, after my weird breakdown/rant/fit of low self-esteem that I had yesterday I kind of wanted to make up for that. Sorry, again, @to-someplace-else, it wasn’t your fault, I go through moods, I hope you (and other readers) enjoy this.
Post Word Count: 422, TOTAL Word Count: 10860
So… last day of November. Unsurprisingly, did not meet the NaNo quota but that’s okay because a lot of my posts this month (like this one) were three sentence fic and for some reason I wrote a lot of poetry…
Untitled (2016-11-29)
We were us, once, in the beginning. Not two, but halves of a whole, a set, together.
But now you are you and I am me and we are not always us. Now, sometimes, when you say we you don’t mean you and me. You mean you and them.
Them: a group without me. But not necessarily without you.
Once, that never crossed our minds.
Our and we and us. Oh, how things have changed.
—
Love is a choice. Blood is a fact. Affection is a feeling.
So is attraction.
Some choices are made for us, guided down this path. Family means coexisting, cooperation–love makes that easier, paves the way. Choices, function, together.
Affection makes love easy, too.
Attraction might… but it also might not.
—
Attraction starts in the eyes (the ears, the fingertips), settles in the heart, then lays siege to the mind.
I’ve seen it in the faces of people around you, the ones who lean toward you helplessly, flowers toward the sun.
Attraction is a force, magnets and gravity, unstoppable and universal.
Except, it seems, not for you.
—
I am not above attraction. Not that it is something lowly. It simply is, whether it is actually simple.
Like with other people, I can feel attraction. The curve of a smile, the sound of a voice, the heat between skin on skin.
In this, I am part of them. In this, we means me but not you.
In this, attraction is what sets us apart.
~
A/N: … I was trying a thing for filling this prompt, but it… kinda didn’t work as I wanted. So that prompt is still un-filled, but I didn’t want to just delete this… and, well, since it’s so vague as to be anyone, I guess this isn’t really DoS recursive fanfiction either? Urgh…
Post Word Count: 247, Running Word Count: 10438
Stars Also Dream, 9/? (2016-11-23)
The first part of the journey is a hesitant, careful maneuvering of eight sentients in a ship meant for significantly less people. It certainly doesn’t help that they’re all strangers…
… and that four of them were, until recently, incarcerated by two others’ village.
And so, for the beginning of the journey, the small clusters stay separate for the most part: the smuggler captain and his Wookie XO grouchily trying to ignore their passengers, the royal droids conferring to each other in binary beeping and scandalized tones, the Jedi Master training the young Force sensitive, and you talking Santa-kun through his first off planet mission.
On the surface, he appears to take everything in stride, but you can’t help but notice his increasingly frazzled expression and how he keeps disrupting his chakra as if to shake off a genjutsu.
Well, you can hardly blame him–no doubt his definition of a long distance mission was vastly different when he woke up. Thankfully, he is a quick study, especially with such unassailable evidence, and you are confident that he will do his clan and village proud.
Now it’s time for you to do the same.
—
Master Kenobi has not lied to you–this, you can be sure of–but you’re also certain that he hasn’t told you the entire truth either. There are some things that The Negotiator is keeping close to his chest and you can respect that.
But you’re not going to just sit to the side and wait for things to happen around you.
Santa-kun does what Yamanakas in strange situations do best–adapt and extract information and cause distractions–involving himself in the most pertinent conversation and leaving you free to do some reconnaissance of your own.
He does have relevant questions for Master Kenobi, and for all that Santa-kun will never be able to use the Force, it’s beneficial for him to learn the theory behind it alongside young Luke.
Young Luke. A Force sensitive boy the same age as the fall of the Republic with the last name Skywalker.
You may have run away from your past, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten it: the last Force sensitive Skywalker left a significant change on the galaxy.
You know Master Kenobi must be training this one to put the matter to rights.
—
You’ve forgotten how frustrating protocol droids could be–or perhaps this one in particular is especially aggravating–not that there was much need to interact with them in the Jedi Order.
The R2 unit, on the other hand, you’re pretty sure would be an information gold mine if he weren’t so damned suspicious. Then again, you are best friends with Ibiki, so it’s not like this is entirely unfamiliar.
It’s true that the planet you’ve made your home is behind in terms of technology than the rest of the galaxy–whatever made it near invisible and the perfect sanctuary, also isolating it–and as a Jedi padawan, tech was never a high priority in your training, but these droids are quite old and… almost familiar.
You shake off the feeling. After all, droids aren’t connected to the Force.
With some cajoling, the R2 unit plays the princess’ message and, with hardly any prompting, the protocol droid goes on in length about what happened to them afterwards. It matches what Master Kenobi has said, true, but you think the R2 unit has more to add to the story.
“What about Luke?” you try asking, getting a resentful whistle and a whole load of empty chatter for your effort.
“What about Anakin Skywalker’s child?” you try again, rephrasing the question–the protocol droid seems honestly confused, but the R2 unit beeps in what you’ve learned to interpret as shock.
It’s confirmation, but not quite what you were expecting. Not completely.
“What about Anakin’s… children?” you ask once more, enjoying the way the R2 unit’s light blink at being caught out, right before a world ends.
—
All of Alderaan screams, billions of voice crying out one last time before being extinguished.
The death of a planet in a matter of moments.
~
A/N: … DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNN
Post Word Count: 673, Running Word Count: 8584
Dreaming of S(oulmates), (2016-11-21)
one: red string of fate (ABTSF-15.2)
It’s a good thing soulmates are the only one who can see their shared string, Shikako thinks, staring blankly at the ethereal red thread tied around her pinky.
Otherwise, it’d be such a point of weakness for any shinobi.
“Soulmate,” says Gaara, voice raspy but still perfectly audible–of course, she sighs internally, ignoring the gasps around her, it only works if the soulmates keep quiet about it.
—
two: inkblot skin
Shikamaru is the first to see it–actually, for nearly a decade, he is the only one to see it–the dark ink on his sister’s face where before there was empty skin.
They are young, but not so young as to be naive.
From then on, both Nara twins wear headbands on their brows: one out of solidarity, one to hide love.
—
three: shared dreams
Perhaps they did, when they were children, but childhood dreams are easily forgotten after time and tragedy.
Gaara doesn’t sleep, and so he doesn’t dream.
For many years Shikako just assumes she doesn’t have a soulmate.
—
four: death clock
She chose the path of the ninja because there was no other choice–Shikako could never abandon her friends, her family, to the fate that loomed ahead.
(And also, maybe, because the timer on her arm only had a decade left; her soulmate had to be a ninja, too.)
Gaara’s timer had always been at zero.
—
five: shared injuries
Gaara knows pain: it’s followed him ever since he could remember, even if it’s never been firsthand. Rebellious chakra system to small scrapes and bruises, his soulmate’s medical history blossoming onto his own flesh.
Sasuke’s chidori breaks through the shell of sand; in the audience Shikako starts bleeding.
—
six: colorful eyes
Shikako can’t see shades of green.
Ino thinks she’s lucky, having a soulmate with such a beautiful eye color, but it’s pretty inconvenient considering they live in a forest.
… Almost as inconvenient as living in a desert and not being able to see shades of brown.
—
seven: first words
“It was just a misunderstanding. It was nice to meet you,” says the soul mark around Gaara’s bicep in hasty, slanted letters.
What mild words from the soulmate of a monster.
—
eight: polygraph skin
“I’m sorry for any trouble he caused,” an obvious lie, given Gaara’s complete lack of interest.
Elsewhere and elsewhen, Shikako would let it go, give a platitude of her own, and get the hell out of range–but here and now, his words are accompanied by a stinging sensation and the appearance of neat, blocky writing on the back of her hand.
“No you’re not,” she blurts out, less confrontational and more absolutely baffled.
—
nine: countdown to contact
The Nara twins grow up knowing that they’ll meet their soulmates within days of each other, probably when they’re genin.
The Sand Siblings grow up knowing the same.
Too bad they’re on opposite sides of an invasion when it happens.
~
A/N: Fill for this anon: three sentence fic with different Shikaara soulmate AUs!
In case I wasn’t concise enough (though I hope I was) the AUs are the following:
1. soulmates are connected by an intangible red thread around their pinkies (visible only to the parties involved in this version)
2. whatever is written on one soulmate’s skin appears on the other
3. pretty self explanatory… presumably soulmates dream at the same time or dreamscape is outside of time–I liked this one better than the one dreams what the other sees while awake and vice versa
4. a timer on your body counting down to when your soulmate is going to die–luckily for Shikako, Gaara gets better. Luckily(?) for Gaara, Shikako’s a reincarnation and so technically already dead(?)… regardless, she gets better, too.
5. also self explanatory, I think… I feel like the Gaara of this world would be vastly different having grown up with Shikako’s pain, but I don’t know how
6. a person can’t see shades of whatever their soulmate’s eye color is until they actually meet. I’m a little unsure how this works with people who are soulmates with a Hyuuga, though…
7-9. Chapter Sixteen of DoS was very helpful. 7 is the “traditional” first words soulmates say to each other is their soul mark. 8 is less traditional, in that whenever soulmates lie to each other it shows up on their skin. 9 is also also self explanatory.
Post Word Count: 415, Running Word Count: 7304
Heathens Outside And Ready, a different Team Seven ficlet (2016-11-18)
Shikako is the first to leave.
Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say she never came back to begin with, walking from battlefield to traveler’s roads to places in need of exploration.
Warrior to wanderer, seamless.
—
First she is invited to Wind Country, as friend and scholar both, to research the remains of the Gelel Empire.
She is invited to a great many places after that–Snow Country, Land of Birds, Land of the Moon–retracing her own steps and the steps of civilizations long gone.
Alone, she wanders, aimless.
—
Sasuke is next–eagerly shaking off the limits and legacies from Konoha.
The tangled, dusty, and sticky cobwebs of the past brushed away to make way for the future, for a new Uchiha clan.
It’s time for Sasuke to follow his own path.
—
He catches up to her in the high stony mountains of Lightning Country, or maybe in the marshy lowlands in the Land of Tea, or perhaps its the small island of Wave atop the bridge bearing the name of their missing teammate.
Regardless, they are reunited, the hawk and the deer.
Paths are better when walked together.
—
Naruto is last, only because he spends so long resisting the call, trying to fit into a role never written for him.
Before, with Ero-sennin, traveling was training, was a mission, was an obstacle to overcome so that he could finally come back home to Konoha.
Except home isn’t Konoha, it never was: home is his friends.
—
He looks wan in the beginning, pale and tired, lifeless–that blazing spirit drained out of him in a way that war couldn’t dampen.
They wait for him in the ruins of Uzushio, a place as vibrant as the people it once was home to.
But it’s not theirs, a mere waypoint, a rest stop to revitalize and reconnect and ready themselves for the journey of their lives.
—
Kakashi enjoys a rare moment of calm, quiet solitude.
The Hokage’s hat is a heavier burden than he thought–certainly not one that he ever wanted–and it’s time to pass it down.
Sakura is more than capable, having spent the years learning at his shoulder; maybe Kakashi can join his other students for an adventure.
~
A/N: Fill for the two anon who wanted platonic wanderlust!Team Seven as nomadic badasses with a little bit of Kakashi and Sakura. Seven sets of three sentence fic makes twenty one–hence the title!
Post Word Count: 365, Running Word Count: 6728
Into Thin Air x Naruto ficlet (2016-11-17)
“Fuyu-san,” a voice says, young and hesitant and easily ignored.
Windy isn’t interested in getting involved. Isn’t interested in anything.
“Fuyu-san,” the voice repeats, coming closer, not catching the hint at all.
Zie sighs, shaking out of hir stupor, turning to face her… nephew.
Coloring and spiky hair aside, Naruto doesn’t look much like her brother. Face rounder, skin darker, and while the furrowing of his brows isn’t too far off, it doesn’t suit Naruto’s face.
“U-intaa-san?” Naruto tries, accent stumbling over the pronunciation of Windy’s Turk name.
“Fuyu is okay,” zie assures, hir own accent no doubt odd to his ears. Winter was trained to understand Wutaian, but there didn’t seem to be much use in teaching him how to speak it–no one would believe any version of Windy to be of Wutaian heritage.
And the language of the Elemental Nations isn’t quite Wutaian… not anymore.
Naruto still looks hesitant, and for all that Windy is miserable that doesn’t mean he deserves to be.
She smiles, or tries to, and Naruto gives a shaky smile in return.
Once, Winter was the best actor of the Turks, capable of charming anyone; oh, how the mighty have fallen. (Once, Windy remembers being stabbed through the chest, eyes closing for what should have been the final time.)
“Naruto here, why?” zie asks, gesturing to the sparsely furnished room that is all zie has in this strange place (time).
“Food!” Naruto says with a truer grin, “Ramen!” he clarifies, a little unnecessarily.
Ever since the old man–Ho-ka-ge, zie has to remember–gave them an apartment for two, it seems as if every other meal is ramen. She’d worry about malnutrition, if she cared at all.
Naruto waits, reaching toward her but not touching, letting her decide.
He deserves better than a distant relative who can’t speak properly and needs to be taken care of and doesn’t do anything. He deserves better than Windy.
But fate has never been kind to Strifes, and they’re all each other has.
Zie takes his hand.
—
Winter’s suit is packed away, too sharp and too cruel for this world of color and brightness. Instead, Windy wears borrowed clothes–ironically enough, it’s still a dark blue uniform.
Though without the green combat vest and the strange metal plate with the symbol of Ko-no-ha, the uniform looks more like pajamas or sweats. Regardless, Naruto beams when she emerges from her room, and rattles off a sentence too quick for her to understand.
Zie thinks maybe it was a compliment, or an attempt at one, something about looking like a shinobi.
Shinobi, Windy understands, is what the military call themselves. Ninja is the term civilians use.
On their way to the ramen stand, Windy catches flickers of movement in hir peripheral vision–black cloaks and bone white masks–and wonders what those hidden guards are called.
Naruto continues to chatter, heedless of whether zie is understanding, much less responding. His facial expressions and wild hand gestures are far more engaging than his words, from what zie can interpret he’s talking about fighting someone who is grumpy.
As they near the ramen stand, Naruto calls out, a greeting to his team.
Windy tries not to freeze in place.
Sephiroth, the silver hair warns her. Murderer, run away, Sephiroth.
Hir steps do not falter.
Naruto rushes ahead to take a seat beside his female teammate, splitting his time between fawning over her and ordering a bowl, which somehow leaves the only free seat next to his teacher.
He does not do Windy the discourtesy of turning around and watching, but she can still sense a vibe of attentiveness as she meets the challenge.
“Miso please,” Windy says to Ichiraku-san, and waits for the other shoe to drop.
~
A/N: Uuum… my brain is still mostly in Naruto mode, but I stumbled on some FFVII stuff and I ended up with this?
Oh, snap! It’s been over a year since I touched the Into Thin Air tag.
So… uh, have some depressed and paranoid and traumatized Windy Strife?
Post Word Count: 619, Running Word Count: 6363
Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con, a Team Seven ficlet (2016-11-16)
When asked, Nara stares blankly at them, silent and unimpressed, Uzumaki laughs, grin wide and sharp, while Uchiha closes his eyes as if their questions were of no concern.
Hatake is the only one that talks, but they almost wish he had kept his mouth shut instead.
After all, when trying to confirm the number of enemies, hearing a noncommittal answer is less than reassuring.
—
“There are only four Lucky Sevens,” one of the captors say, brash and absolutely wrong.
Kakashi smiles, pointedly–somehow still obvious through the mask they’ve oddly let him keep–enough that the man notices and stutters out, “A-aren’t there?”
“Well, if you say so, the other three must not be very lucky then.”
—
“Their comms have been destroyed,” Sai says bluntly, smile on his face; he once read that smiling could help soften bad news.
Yamato sighs, face palming, while Sakura barely resists doing the same–she’s only here to temporarily help the team, auxiliary member only, and yet…
Once this matter is cleared up, she promises to never complain about Anko-sensei’s choice of jobs again.
—
Their jailers are not so stupid as to keep them in the same cells, but that doesn’t make very much difference.
There’s a pipe running along the corner of Shikako’s cell, up and through the wall–she doesn’t have her gear with her, but demolition isn’t the goal right now.
The clinking of handcuffs against the pipe is answered with more clinking from beyond the wall.
—
Sakura is more used to following after Anko-sensei’s trail of destruction, her students near invisible in comparison, or enjoying the absolute silence of Yakumo’s technological illusions.
Just walking up and talking her way into a place is not a method she’s comfortable with, but it appears to be working.
“I’m Agent Tenzo, this is my partner Sai, and our trainee,” Yamato says with way more confidence than she’s ever seen from him, “we’re here to follow up on the explosion on the docks.”
—
Naruto’s restraints are over the top–elbow to fingertips behind his back–they see his muscles, the breadth of his shoulders, and think he’s the fighter on the team.
They are wrong.
He snickers, even as he curls up and tears at the hem of his trousers with his teeth, lock pick at the ready.
—
Yamato looks around, steadily getting more worried and angry at what he sees:
The flaming wreckage of crates and warped metal of shipping containers aren’t a surprise, but there are bullet casings littering the grounds like shiny deadly confetti.
Kakashi-senpai doesn’t use guns, and neither does his team.
—
Sasuke knocks his handcuffs against the pipe in a repetitive sequence, resigned to waiting for one of his teammates to get him.
Normally, he’d be all for fighting his way out, even with his hands tied behind his back, but normally he doesn’t have a gunshot wound sending spikes of pain with every breath.
Well, better him than his teammates.
—
The comms have been destroyed, but that doesn’t mean the secret hidden trackers have.
Of course, Sai’s not supposed to have trackers on the team–Naruto has explained it’s a violation of privacy or something irrelevant like that–but this just proves him right.
With Yamato-taichou distracted by the authorities and Sakura by the blood on the ground, Sai takes out his tablet and finds the rest of the team.
—
Kakashi contemplates the nature of life, twirling his set of handcuffs around one finger and waiting patiently.
He could just break out and go find his adorable students on his own, but he’s meant to be a teacher now and how will they learn if he does everything for them?
He waits another twelve minutes and is rewarded by the sounds of gangsters screaming.
—
The three of them get to the warehouse district in time to hear screaming and gunfire and, unsurprisingly, explosions.
The local authorities are trailing after them by a good ten minutes, nowhere near as fearless behind the wheel as Sai–though Yamato and Sakura would prefer if he had a little bit more fear, clutching at the oh shit handles with white-knuckled hands–so they have until then to clear out their wayward teammates and frame the gangsters.
No problem.
~
A/N: Fill for this anon; I tried to do some kind of three sentence fic non-powered criminal!AU because this rant, but I didn’t flesh it out enough, I think, so it’s kinda…
Post Word Count: 697, Running Word Count: 5744
Breaking The Shackle, a Shikako/Neji fic (2016-11-13)
aka, Shikako and Neji’s Revolutionary Crusade of Fuinjutsu and Great Justice
—
She’ll admit it wasn’t a particularly noble beginning–certainly not on her end–it wasn’t outrage at injustice, or empathy for the oppressed.
It wasn’t even the opposite: scheming to overthrow the largest and most powerful clan in Konoha, or gain the allegiance of over a hundred people with a blood limit.
It was just curiosity… and not a small amount of ego. Riding the high of her own ability.
Because if she could outmaneuver Danzo, could best Orochimaru in sealing, could survive battle against a literal goddess–
(could defy death over and over again)
–what were the Hyuuga clan’s laws to her?
—
TenTen is a fuinjutsu master in her own right, though with a different specialty and style.
She’s been friends and teammates with Neji for so many years, as close to family as she’s ever known–she has nearly as much a stake in his freedom as he himself does.
But she is an orphan without a last name; the Byakugan has great worth to Konoha.
—
Neji has long since changed his view on fate.
Or, at least, his relationship to it.
He still thinks fate exists, but who is he to say what it might be? Who is he to say who will fail and who will succeed?
Lee has long since surpassed the predictions a younger, brattier Neji had once made for him. So, too, has his cousin grown into her potential despite his pessimistic bullying.
He has watched, time and time again, as his friends and his village have defied the odds–rejected what should have been their fated ends–and lived despite everything against them.
But perhaps that is fate. Perhaps fate is kinder than he thought. Beneath his forehead protector is a curse, but perhaps fate will be kind to him this once.
But if its not–if fate is not kind–then he will do as he has been taught and fight against it with all he has.
—
Sai has a scar on his tongue, a remnant of the seal of secrecy that all ROOT members once had.
Given the placement and size, it’s not noticeable at all–more importantly, it doesn’t hinder his ability to speak.
Sai has a scar on his tongue, a remnant of Shikako’s attempts to remove the ROOT seal of secrecy.
—
Shikako has many secrets, some of which she shares and some of which she will keep beyond her last breath.
One of them is simply this: she did nothing to save Neji’s life.
Oh, she never put him in harms way, always had his back in battle–she treated him the way she treated all of her friends and allies.
She would’ve died for him, if such a thing had been necessary, but she never went out of her way to save his life. Never warned him of his future, never even hinted at the possibility.
She did nothing.
And yet, somehow, he still lives.
She doesn’t know if this is some kind of apology that only she’ll understand, belated and inexplicable as it may be. Doesn’t know if this is out of guilt or some sense of debt…
But she thinks: late though it may be, she should do something.
—
Lee remembers the first time he actively noticed Shikako–surrounded by carnage and flames, the bodies of her enemies lying at her feet.
It’s the kind of first impression that lingers, on which every interaction after that is influenced by.
No matter how approachable and helpful she is after that, Lee will always remember that at Shikako’s core is ruthlessness and efficiency.
—
It’s not as if Neji thinks Hinata will renege on her vow to change the Hyuuga clan–she is not that cruel, not like he used to be–nor does he think Hanabi, if she is to be head instead, will do the same.
But he thinks Hiashi-oji-sama must have once thought the same for his twin, for his twin’s son, and yet Neji still bears the brand.
He knows that the Main Family is more than just his uncle and his two cousins. The Hyuuga Clan is expansive, numbering in the hundreds.
While the Main Family is a small percentage of that, it is still a few dozen. A few dozen who can inflict pain or death on the Branch Family at whim.
The Hyuuga Clan Elders won’t let their elitism be taken away so easily.
Promises are nice, but actions are better.
—
Kakashi figured that if ever one of his students and Gai’s students got together it would be the end of the world. He was only a few months off, really.
Hm, is it too early to joke about that?
—
The aged scrolls Hanabi passed along to them have been much appreciated, necessary for Shikako’s endless notes working out different permutations and removal methods. But there is a time for theory and there is a time to put said theory into practice.
Neji removes his forehead protector, hands trembling minutely. Shikako takes a moment to marvel at how green the seal is, before berating herself.
She looks away, to give him the chance to compose himself, and when she looks back it’s to a Neji with closed eyes, sitting with resigned patience.
One way or another, this will end his world as he knows it.
Closed eyes doesn’t mean vulnerability for a Hyuuga, not truly, but she can appreciate the gesture for what it is.
Absolution. Faith. Trust.
~
A/N: For @cadalie who wanted that revolutionary Shikako/Neji vs Hyuuga Clan fic and got… this.
I tried to make it less feels based, but lets be honest here, isn’t that my wheelhouse?
Unsure if this is Shikako/Neji proper or more pre-Shikako/Neji…
Also, unimaginative title is unimaginative.
Post Word Count: 907, Running Word Count: 4874
Ask Box Three Sentence Fic, 15/? (2016-11-09)
(1 – anonymous – Shikako/Itachi, Death and the Maiden?… I don’t know this movie/play if that’s what you’re asking for, so here’s a more literal interpretation)
Itachi Uchiha is a dead man walking, the countdown on his life swift and guaranteed: the only question is whether it will be his eyes, his lungs, or his brother that kills him.
As it turns out–it’s none of the above.
“Your time is up,” says the Shinigami, reaching a hand toward him, and the last thing that Itachi thinks is that it looks remarkably like his brother’s teammate.
—
(2 – anonymous – Shikako/Gaara, soulmate!AU?, red string of fate)
It’s a good thing soulmates are the only one who can see their shared string, Shikako thinks, staring blankly at the ethereal red thread tied around her pinky.
Otherwise, it’d be such a point of weakness for any shinobi.
“Soulmate,” says Gaara, voice raspy but still perfectly audible–of course, she sighs internally, ignoring the gasps around her, it only works if the soulmates keep quiet about it.
—
(3 – anonymous – Shikako/Sasuke, Avatar the Last Airbender!AU)
Shikako literally stumbles upon him, tripping over his bedroll and legs–needless to say, it’s a less than graceful start.
His first instinct is to summon a flame which, given the dark night, would have been smart if he weren’t literally in the middle of Earth Kingdom territory.
In seconds, she has him encased in rock… but the resignation in his eyes makes her release him.
—
(4 – anonymous – Kakashi & Team Seven, Next Gen DoS, changes for the better)
Kakashi can’t forget the way his students looked after everything: bleeding and drained, war weary in a way he never wanted for them…
But at least they were alive–and alive meant they could heal, even if it took time and distance and the possibility of spiraling apart completely.
Now, decades later, smiling at his honorary grandchildren, he thinks that they’ve all turned out alright.
—
(5 – anonymous, canon!Team Ten & DoS!Ino, the differences between the two Ino)
Ino is released after a short meeting with her father-but-not, deemed a non threat but still in need of monitoring–who better to monitor Ino than herself and her team-but-not?
Chouji is a welcome, familiar sight, but it’s a shock to see herself without slit pupils, to see Shikamaru with both arms still, and at first she begins to feel a little bit jealous…
… until the topic moves onto how she ended up in this dimension.
Forget jealousy, Ino can’t wait until Shikako brings her home.
~
A/N: So this is the last one for now, I’ll come back to this someday but I think I’m done. It was fun and I really appreciate everyone who participated 🙂
Post Word Count: 340, Running Word Count: 3114
JackSGreyson Says 