maybe not necessarily in dos canon, but in your aus focusing on their relationships, it is easy to interpret their relationship as “more than friendship, but not less than romantic, just something different” (and there i would talk about alterous attraction but i haven’t really explored that term myself a lot more) (2/2)
Oh! I did not know about the term alterous, but I think that’s how I interpret Shikaara–as an ambiguous mix between platonic and romantic. Of course, not in canon but in a canon adjacent AU such as Dreaming of S(omething).
I think Naruto and Shikako are very platonic. Even in my post-series Waking Up Starstruck (which is my attempt to do a Narukako ship) it’s still not all that romantic. And not even because of my interpretation of Shikako as aro/demi, but because I cannot for the life of me understand Naruto’s character. He and I just are not simpatico. I love him but I do not understand him. I don’t know if they would even have a QPR or maintain their less intense friendship.
Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship is too steeped in canon for me to disentangle (SasuNaru was one of my “Baby’s First Ships”) so I don’t know if they would have a QPR or a romantic relationship… But I do think Naruto and Haku would have a fantastic QPR in a canon adjacent AU, so at least I know him that much, right?
Let’s see, who else…
As Ino’s co-spouses, Sakura and Sai are not romantic with each other, but they do develop a sweet QPR which is very nice for their triad marriage.
I imagine Team Gai are not romantically interested in each other, but they are the closest thing they all have to family which would easily translate to QPRs. Especially when they’re older and their personalities have matured.
Actually, yeah, if I’m not restricting myself to canon. Then in a canon adjacent AU, that Kiba+Shikako QPR would definitely exist.
Oh, in the Team Medic!AU (Team One with Sakura, Youbirin, and Jiro passed with a combat medic jounin sensei)–or, at least, the How To Adult Properly series based on it–Team One definitely have QPR because they have no boundaries with each other.
I don’t know who else, this is a big question. There are so many characters that’s like an infinite number of combinations so…
But I do appreciate your question, so thanks for asking, anon 🙂
Lee, learning that Art isn’t about quantity or speed–there’s no competition in art–it’s about getting in touch with your emotions. Which is his JAM. Neji somehow despite all the paint flying around, remaining perfectly spotless. TenTen taking on Naruto’s challenge for most interesting methods to paint with a FLURRY OF PAINT COVERED WEAPONRY.
Now I’m not saying TenTen invents the Naruto world’s equivalent of paintball, but I’m also not NOT saying that.
Gai, unsurprisingly, is uncannily talented. At heart he is a True Artist. Martial arts, painting, singing, etc. He possibly teaches or shows up during kunoichi classes as a prime example of the “nine in one” ultimate kunoichi?
But yes. Colour Time. I’m sure everyone makes a cameo in Colour Time at some point or another. Unsurprisingly, Yakumo is a recurring guest. Possibly Kino-chan and his genin team are the most frequently recurring team as well.
There is no easy path to becoming a kunoichi; no open doors or vacant spots.
Or, how every woman creates her place.
So this would, obviously, be character studies for the ladies of DoS (or, even just canon Naruto seeing as how poorly treated they are) and their struggles to become the women and kunoichi that they are.
Unsure if I’d just stick to the Konoha Thirteen ladies or include some of the adults. But seeing as how I’m probably not going to write it anyway, I guess I might as well go into what I’d write for all of them.
So Tsunade, Yoshino, Kurenai, Anko, TenTen, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Shikako? Maybe not Shikako. DoS is already from her POV and we already see her struggles so…
For Tsunade I’d probably go in depth about how she was the first combat medic. How, when she began studying medicine, everyone was kind of relieved? That the princess would be staying behind and healing in the village. Except, no… this princess wants to go out on the field. This princess wants to be on the front lines. She’s going to punch everything.
I wonder if Mokuton is actually a bloodline or a Hashirama-unique ability. Because if it is a bloodline, then Tsunade not having it would add to the whole–oh no, just stay in the village, you’re not as powerful as your grandfather–and her literally creating a super strength technique is a rebellion against that.
Yoshino… well… I suppose all my feels for Yoshino are in my Stars Also Dream series (never mind that it’s a Star Wars fusion/crossover) though otherwise as a non-clan kunoichi there’d be a lot of overlap with TenTen and Sakura’s stories.
Kurenai… there’s something to be said about a kunoichi who is so completely the typical kunoichi but still becomes a jounin. And, don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of love for women who defy gender norms and this applies to kunoichi as well. But there’s part of me that’s viciously pleased to see a woman excel not despite but through the gender norms. And I suppose this might apply to Shizune, too what with the poisons and barrier seals and all.
The difference between special jounin and jounin doesn’t seem like much, but I imagine for Kurenai it was huge. I have the feeling that she might have fallen into that trap that Shikako side-stepped. Genjutsu was her specialty and so she accepted a promotion to special jounin because of it early on (it explains why she’s only recently become a jounin even though she became a chuunin at fourteen I think?). And then she had to become even more of a master of genjutsu in order to make that leap between ranks. And it may very well have been something that people told her to give up on. Or tried to “help” her by telling her to expand her repertoire–essentially mimic Tsunade and get a combat specific talent to complement her genjutsu–but that’s not who Kurenai is. Of course she can fight, but she’s not going to stray from who she is just for a promotion.
Anko’s would be very much so a post-Orochimaru thing for her. She’s trying to be a good and loyal Konoha soldier but no one fucking trusts her anymore. No one wants her on their team, no one wants her for their mission, for a long time she can’t handle classified information. She can’t do shit. But of course she’s going to still try. Of course she is. If she gives up, if she defects, then that bastard wins. It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks of her, she’s Anko Mitarashi, certified badass, she doesn’t need anyone else’s approval but her own.
I have a lot of TenTen feels but I don’t know if they’re cliche or not for a TenTen character study. It’s a lot about how she’s clawing her way up. Her pinpoint accuracy isn’t a natural talent, not a bloodline. It’s something she worked hard at. It’s something she suffered calluses for, scrapes and cuts and nicks. TenTen was running errands for the blacksmith and learning about different alloys alongside furtive, hesitant attempts to memorize flower types and their meanings. The girls were taught calligraphy to better go undercover and blend in with nobility, but TenTen forced herself to choke it down because it would help with fuinjutsu. She’s not good at the typical feminine arts, no matter how much she tries she’ll never be the next Tsunade, but she can be the first TenTen.
DoS Sakura is definitely different from canon Sakura so a character study of her would be different, too. But it’s still hard to shake the Tsunade parallels–I mean, they exist in DoS still as well so–especially since she’s a medic in training who wants to one day be a field medic and is learning a super strength technique to do so.
DoS Ino I would do post Sasuke Retrieval arc because I have a feeling that her being so adamant about Shikamaru not quitting as a shinobi might be a parallel to him doing the same for her. I think, maybe, Inoichi and the other Yamanaka clan members probably meant well? When they said she didn’t have to be a shinobi anymore. That she could retire. That after such a traumatic experience, it’d be understandable. And she was, maybe, considering it. If Orochimaru was influencing her, he’d want her to get stronger. Want her to insinuate herself even further into Konoha. Turn her into a sleeper cell. Retiring would mean she’s not a risk to her village. But retiring would also mean giving up, giving in, and she won’t let Team Ten go on without her.
Aaaand Hinata… it’s gotta be about her clan. Her awful, terrible clan. Man they’re the worst. THE WOOOOOORST. I mean… do I even need to write what this would be about? This is basically canon Hinata’s character arc (or what isn’t built around Naruto, anyway).
I guess I could add Shizune and Yakumo… but I don’t really know enough about either of them?
A/N: I had originally thought of a crack version of this after a frankly bizarre dream, but the more I thought about it the more it worked pretty well for a… less cracky version, so the “summary” as much as it can be called such is for the less cracky but I’ll talk about both.
~
Sailor Shinobi
Fighting evil by moonlight Winning love by daylight Never running from a real fight She is the one named… … Hyuuga Hinata?
Luna has been waiting a long time for the reincarnation of the moon princess, watching the village of warriors grow around the destined location of her rebirth.
Finally she’s found her–as well as the reincarnated guardians, fortunately enough. Now, if only they’d stop sending her back to the Fire Daimyo’s wife.
So cracky version: I was on the topic of Sailor Moon and Dreaming of Sunshine because, well, canonically mentioned. And for some reason my brain was like… is Sasuke Sailor Moon?
Because, see, the Uchiha are the ones connected with the Neko-baa. And Tsukuyomi is related to the moon. And Sailor Moon’s colors are the same as the Uchiha colors.
And you can’t tell me Naruto wouldn’t make a fabulous Sailor Venus in that orange seifuku. (With Shikako as Tuxedo Mask, of course, because of that one art by AngelsFallBeforeUs).
While the idea of Sasuke and Naruto in seifuku with Shikako in a caped tuxedo is absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t really figure out which of the other boys were which scout. And the more I thought about it the more I thought… wouldn’t it work better with Hinata as Sailor Moon?
The Otsutsuki subplot bewilders me, but from what I understand it’s a clan of moon aliens? And they have the Byakugan as well? And the idea of Hinata being timid out of costume and confident in costume just gives me very strong Miraculous Ladybug vibes that I greatly appreciate.
To be honest, picturing Hanabi as Mini Moon really solidified it for me even though I know Chibiusa is Usagi’s daughter from the future. As for the actual scouts there’s Sakura as Mercury, Ino as Venus, Shikako as Mars, and TenTen as Jupiter. Maaaybe Yakumo as Saturn, Anko as Uranus, Isaribi as Neptune, and Kurenai as Pluto??
I don’t know who would have the honor of Tuxedo Mask, though. Do any of the boys have the panache for it? I mean, I know for parallelism sake, it ought to be Naruto. But would Naruto really engage in the secret identity thing? I don’t think so.
As for the plot, well, the fake fic summary does have it concurrently with being shinobi in the DoS ‘verse–though that wouldn’t be very practical, seeing as how shinobi don’t exactly have normal bed times–as opposed to a more “real world” scenario… hm. Maybe Luna/Tora has some kind of teleporting ability? Which, yes, explains why she keeps escaping so damn often, but also maybe the evil things the Sailor Shinobi are supposed to fight are on the ruins of the moon kingdom as opposed to invading the “Earth.”
I dunno.
I do REALLY love the idea of the Sailor Shinobi throwing around sparkling beautiful attacks and smacking down the Akatsuki.
-_-
*intense sigh of embarrassment*
Picture under the cut.
I should have been sleeping but I was not, which will perhaps explain how bizarre some of my decisions are once I do look at this again after going to sleep…
I know, the colors don’t match the planets, and there’s a very limited color scheme, and they don’t have uniform… uniforms. But I think its representative of the characters?
Also, I’m not saying Shikako gamed the system to get the least flouncy and most practical outfit… but she is genre savvy, so…
A/N: I had originally thought of a crack version of this after a frankly bizarre dream, but the more I thought about it the more it worked pretty well for a… less cracky version, so the “summary” as much as it can be called such is for the less cracky but I’ll talk about both.
~
Sailor Shinobi
Fighting evil by moonlight Winning love by daylight Never running from a real fight She is the one named… … Hyuuga Hinata?
Luna has been waiting a long time for the reincarnation of the moon princess, watching the village of warriors grow around the destined location of her rebirth.
Finally she’s found her–as well as the reincarnated guardians, fortunately enough. Now, if only they’d stop sending her back to the Fire Daimyo’s wife.
So cracky version: I was on the topic of Sailor Moon and Dreaming of Sunshine because, well, canonically mentioned. And for some reason my brain was like… is Sasuke Sailor Moon?
Because, see, the Uchiha are the ones connected with the Neko-baa. And Tsukuyomi is related to the moon. And Sailor Moon’s colors are the same as the Uchiha colors.
And you can’t tell me Naruto wouldn’t make a fabulous Sailor Venus in that orange seifuku. (With Shikako as Tuxedo Mask, of course, because of that one art by AngelsFallBeforeUs).
While the idea of Sasuke and Naruto in seifuku with Shikako in a caped tuxedo is absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t really figure out which of the other boys were which scout. And the more I thought about it the more I thought… wouldn’t it work better with Hinata as Sailor Moon?
The Otsutsuki subplot bewilders me, but from what I understand it’s a clan of moon aliens? And they have the Byakugan as well? And the idea of Hinata being timid out of costume and confident in costume just gives me very strong Miraculous Ladybug vibes that I greatly appreciate.
To be honest, picturing Hanabi as Mini Moon really solidified it for me even though I know Chibiusa is Usagi’s daughter from the future. As for the actual scouts there’s Sakura as Mercury, Ino as Venus, Shikako as Mars, and TenTen as Jupiter. Maaaybe Yakumo as Saturn, Anko as Uranus, Isaribi as Neptune, and Kurenai as Pluto??
I don’t know who would have the honor of Tuxedo Mask, though. Do any of the boys have the panache for it? I mean, I know for parallelism sake, it ought to be Naruto. But would Naruto really engage in the secret identity thing? I don’t think so.
As for the plot, well, the fake fic summary does have it concurrently with being shinobi in the DoS ‘verse–though that wouldn’t be very practical, seeing as how shinobi don’t exactly have normal bed times–as opposed to a more “real world” scenario… hm. Maybe Luna/Tora has some kind of teleporting ability? Which, yes, explains why she keeps escaping so damn often, but also maybe the evil things the Sailor Shinobi are supposed to fight are on the ruins of the moon kingdom as opposed to invading the “Earth.”
I dunno.
I do REALLY love the idea of the Sailor Shinobi throwing around sparkling beautiful attacks and smacking down the Akatsuki.
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.
Okay, let’s see, I don’t particularly want to assign different Elemental Nations to different regions, so let’s pull Pokemon from all generations, if that’s okay?
First off, single type teams just do not work because if Kakashi is any single type he would be Electric and there aren’t enough Electric-type dogs to make a full team. And I feel like him having dogs is more important than him having Electric type so he’s one of the Elite Four, but here that’s not a type thing:
Pakkun is most likely a Herdier/Stoutland–he was Kakashi’s starter, given to him by his father (a former Elite Four member himself) and, even though he doesn’t usually fight, his experience and knowledge is valuable.
Other members of Kakashi’s team includes Granbull, Mightyena, Furfrou, Lycanroc, and Houndoom. (Supposedly, Kakashi also has the Legendary Raikou, but surely that’s just a rumor.) Heck yeah, it’s an all dog team!
The Nara clan are known for their herds of Sawsbuck, and all Nara children’s starters are Deerling. Shikako’s second Pokemon was a Growlithe which has evolved into a massive Arcanine that likes cuddling. The rest of her team includes: Sableye (who can now turn into Mega Sableye due to the Sablenite found in the Gelel Shrine?) and maaaaaaybe Onix, Staryu, and Voltorb?
The Uchiha clans, likewise, used to give their children Fletchlings–even though there was no longer a clan to formally do so when Sasuke became of age, the Talonflame flocks stuck around and one Fletchling joined him on his journey. Other members of Sasuke’s team are possibly: Lunatone, Hawlucha, Cubone, Luxio, and Bisharp?
It’s said that, if one should be powerful enough to live for over one thousand years, that a Ninetails can rival even a Legendary Pokemon and develop psychic powers. Of course, that’s just a story. There’s been no sighting of such a mythical creature in generations, and how would a human possibly control such a powerful Pokemon before the creation of Master Balls? Naruto’s team includes: Politoed, Scrafty, Solrock, Mimikyu, Sudowoodo, and Emolga.
Probably the shinobi of this world are more like the Pokemon Ranger trainer class or police officers in that the Leagues/Villages of each respective area are in charge of making sure wild Pokemon and people are safe. The ones that end up on elite jounin-led teams are Ace Trainers.
Akatsuki are the bad guys, with some Oto and Ame sprinkled in for grunts, and the Kages are the Champions? And the other jounin sensei are the other Elite Four. So the coming of age for the Konoha Twelve is the first time that all of the Elite Four have training teams. And, like in canon, Team Seven’s missions are incredibly weird–it’s almost like they see Legendary Pokemon every other time they leave the village.
There’s no real plot, though, just fusing canon into a Pokemon world and replacing jutsu with Pokemon.
(Sorry this is so messy, anon, I’m having trouble organizing my thoughts for this. But if you’re curious about my choice in Pokemon for I can totally explain if you’d like?)
I think, if I were to write this, it would be more of a Naruto-style society except where Pokemon replaces chakra. Like, the shinobi are the full out teams of six battlers while the civilian are the same as people in Pokemon games who aren’t trainers but do own one or two Pokemon as pets. Then nobility is probably more about the pedigrees and possibly participate in the pageant-like competitions.
So there are still clans and such, and like in canon, being part of a clan is a head start–clan kids grow up around Pokemon their whole lives, while civilian kids don’t get their starter until after they graduate from the Academy? Hm… that’s a pretty big disparity. Maybe it’s something like… you’re legally only allowed to own two Pokemon unless you’re a League certified Trainer then you can get up to six.
So they’re not just thrown together with a strange Pokemon and two other kids on a team with an Elite Four and expected to roll with it. So students of the Academy do have one or two Pokemon, but they have to graduate to get more. Which makes more sense?
Okay, Pokemon team breakdowns:
Kakashi’s is fairly obvious, I think. There were some other dogs that I was considering, such as Manectric and Smeargle and Arcanine, but Arcanine went to Shikako because it fit super perfectly and I feel like Manectric and Smeargle are both too… cartoony. Also, I’m pretty sure if anyone owns a Smeargle it’s Sai.
The Nara with the Deerling and Sawsbuck herds were a must. And their medicine would no doubt be even more elevated by harvesting from a Grass type deers that also change every season. Arcanine, I’ll admit, is mostly because of the fantastic art by kristinaxx0 but the more I thought about it, the more it just kind of fit? Growlithe must be very common in Land of Fire, and no doubt Shikako stumbled on a lost Growlith puppy that just followed her everywhere.
Sableye as Dark/Ghost works pretty well for Shikako even before the Gelel arc leading to the stone and Shikako’s first in-world death. Reincarnated Nara, anyone? I’m less sure about the following three, but given her Earth nature and penchant for GIANT PILLARS OF STONE, I figured Onix would work quite well. And, well, as @to-someplace-else said, Voltorb? ~Self Destruct~
Staryu, I admit, is more to match up with the boys’ Solrock and Lunatone. DoS is Shikako’s story but there’s always going to be this back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke. So her star isn’t really part of the sun and moon of her teammates, but it still fits a little and I quite like that.
The Uchiha’s crest is a fan and their family jutsu are Fire natured and then the whole hawk contract, so even though it’s not as one to one as the Nara and the Sawsbuck, I think Talonflame works best. Lunatone I’ve already explained above. Hawlucha I think he gets later on, if not the last one he gets, because I kind of wanted to represent his time skip changes in DoS–hawk contract and ANBU and to reflect the fact that he is the taijutsu specialist among Team Seven.
Cubone is just, I mean, pretty obvious right? A reflection of his past as the last (loyal) Uchiha. Luxio is a bit of a mix to show–hm, how do I say this–what he inherited from the living. That is, the Chidori from Kakashi and coming to terms with the Itachi of the past and present via the Neko-baa and pawprint mission. Bisharp is… the way I’d express it, he would have had a Pawniard in canon or DoS but in DoS it evolves into Bisharp during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc and in canon it doesn’t until post time-skip. It’s a representation of Sasuke’s life choices, basically.
Politoed and all of it’s line, besides being the same as Naruto’s summoning contract, also has the Uzumaki swirl which *clenches fist* doesn’t drown me in Uzushio feels at all, nope, none here. Scrafty I think emulates Naruto pre-graduation, all mischief and anger and brawling. Solrock explained above.
I honestly think Naruto would empathize quite a bit with Mimikyu. Lonely but trying to make friends, disguising itself to be more approachable. Yeah, I think Naruto would love Mimikyu and vice versa. Sudowoodo kind of is a more light-hearted side of the trickster and disguise expert that Naruto was way in the beginning before canon just dropped that idea. But something that looks like a tree but isn’t? And look at how happy it is! And ~Konoha~
Emolga I’m least sure about, but I wanted a small non-bird Flying type and I also just like the idea of Emolga just chilling on Naruto’s head one second and then being all up in someone’s grill the next.
A huge list of Pokemon that I was considering but didn’t make the cut or didn’t fit one team member in particular under the cut:
Ahaha, yeah, the Absol as a herald of disaster just feels right for Team Seven as a whole. 🙂
I don’t know if Lee would have an Eevee, but I do like the idea of Team Gai each having one of the Tyrogue line. Not as their starter, but probably a gift Gai gave them when they became his team? So Hitmonlee for Lee, Hitmonchan for TenTen, and Hitmontop for Neji.
Lee’s team would be only Normal and Fighting type to reflect his taijutsu-only ways, whereas TenTen probably has some Steel types and Neji has some Psychic. Which also kind of goes with the whole “Neji always wins against Lee even though Lee is faster than god” given the type weaknesses.
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.
Every year on his birthday (or, rather, the day Mum found him) Kareru’s aunts and uncles hold a tournament.
Supposedly it’s to see who his favorite is–he knows better than to actually answer that question–but Kareru thinks it’s just an excuse to hang out with each other. Or maybe “excuse” is the wrong word, it makes it sound like a bad thing; maybe “reason” would be better.
Every year on his birthday all the people he loves gather together and there’s nothing bad about that.
—
“I’m thinking about growing my hair out,” Kareru says, tugging on the red strands that brush against his ears. He is the Uzumaki clan head, a recent genin, and simultaneously thirteen years old and somewhere in his forties. Maybe fifties.
“Oh, yeah?” Mirai asks, pulling on her own long dark locks. They curl around her fingers and cling like little tendrils–to her fingers and, from the leaves and twigs in her hair, everything else, “I’ve been thinking of cutting mine.”
“I’ll do it if you do,” Kareru promises, reaching out with his pinky extended.
Mirai blinks at him before smiling, matches him and intertwines their pinkies.
Kareru will remember this moment for the rest of his life.
—
People expect a lot from him, he knows, even people he’s never met.
He’s a bit famous–not to be vain–given who his parents are and the circumstances of his birth (or, rather, finding). And not to mention, he’s been communally raised by a group of shinobi who can individually be called impressive and collectively be considered overkill.
He has a good foundation to build from, the best foundation it could be said–again, not to be vain–and so he knows that the expectations on him aren’t entirely unfair.
He’s not going to be the Sage of Six Paths come again. He’s not going to be the Uzukage, resurrecting–figuratively, of course–the fallen village of Uzushio. He’s not going to single-handedly revolutionize the field of fuinjutsu and usher in an era of prosperity and peace on top of the already prosperous and peaceful existence the world is currently enjoying.
Kareru won’t live up to everybody’s expectations, certainly not those expectations, but it’s nice to think that people think he can. The fact that people think that of him, even if those are exaggerations and extremes, is only because in some way they believe in him.
And even if he doesn’t know what he wants to do yet, it’s still nice to be believed in.
—
Baa-chan teaches him how to cook, how to lie with a smile, and how to flip backwards into a one handed handstand and kick someone in the face all in one smooth movement.
Surprisingly, all three things save his life. Even more surprisingly, it’s all during the same mission.
TenTen-oba… er, that is, TenTen-sensei, stares at him, hands on her hips, with an expression he’s seen her give Mum before: confused, but reluctantly impressed.
“We’re not even Team Seven,” she says, as she signals for Mirai to tie up the prisoner and Shachi to secure the perimeter, “I didn’t think this would be a problem,” she sounds even a little bit irritated–but her hands are gentle when she checks the stab wound on his shoulder, and so he knows she’s mostly just worried.
“Sorry,” he says, hissing in pain as she tugs the kunai out, and sticks a healing tag on the wound. One of her inventions together with Sakura-oba–translating the Mystical Palm jutsu into seals–something he’s been meaning to ask her to teach him.
“Don’t apologize,” Mirai says, having finished tying up the prisoner thoroughly and with a knockout tag to boot, “It’s not your fault,” she says pointedly in Shachi’s direction, who looks away with reddening cheeks.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” TenTen-sensei says, helping Kareru to his feet once the healing tag has run its course, “Although I’m sure your father will tell me otherwise.”
Kareru doesn’t know what TenTen-sensei and Tou-chan have against each other–something to do with how much of a bastard he was as a genin, Dad will say–but he has long since learned how to capitalize on it.
“I won’t tell him if you teach me the healing tag,” he says with a wide grin. He can fix the hole in his shirt and wash away the blood easily, it’s the lying that will be difficult: Tou-chan does have the Sharingan, after all, and he has years of interpreting Mum’s carefully crafted understatements.
But Baa-chan did teach him how to lie with a smile and that’s one thing Kareru learned better than Mum.
—
Mum isn’t around a lot–traveling and researching and (though he knows he’s not supposed to know) maintaining her part of Konoha’s extensive spy network–which makes the time she is around all the more precious.
“Kareru!” she calls out, before he can get within five feet of her. He knows he’ll never really be able to sneak up on her–her sensor abilities and his chakra capacity making the very idea impossible–but he likes to try anyway. She’s not angry or annoyed by it, gladly accepting the hug he gives her and even tolerating the way he lifts her off the ground for a moment.
She’s still taller than him–which some part of him is relieved by, never mind that he’s outgrown both of his dads–but she’s thin in his arms, light and easy to carry. He wonders if she’s been eating enough out on the road all alone, and he finds the thought infinitely sad.
This is a part of growing up.
—
When he was a toddler, Kareru got to be Hokage for a day.
Not really, of course. It was mostly Kaka-jii-chan letting him play with the Hokage’s hat and draw on no doubt terribly important documents, but it’s one of Kareru’s earliest memories. The view from the Hokage’s desk as shinobi come and bow and speak and leave, the entire village spreading out from the tower like ripples from a fallen object.
It’s a nice memory, but Kareru knows he doesn’t want it to happen again. He loves Konoha, it’s his home even if he wasn’t born here, but Hokage for one day is enough for him.
~
A/N: A bunch of random snippets in Kareru’s life because, I dunno, I didn’t have much direction here, @captainlibrarynerdstuff. But it was fun to write nonetheless and I think I’m getting a better idea of what Kareru is like as a person.
Also, because I say so, Shachi is Shachi Umino aka Iruka’s nonexistent child with… I dunno? Someone? I dunno. I built an entire backstory for Shachi even though he’s hardly in this, but basically he ends up having the Mokuton because I say so… but also because I head canon that Iruka is somehow related to the Senju (which is why he looks so goddamn much like Hashirama, I know it’s mostly same face art from Kishimoto, but let me have this) via his mother and then I had to come up with a Senju line so it’s probably something like…
Shachi Umino, son of Iruka Umino, son of Kohari Umino nee Senju, cousin of Tsunade Senju via Harigane Senju (who I made up) who is siblings with one of Tsunade’s parents (who don’t exist at all?!) and thus child of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki. So Shachi is the great great grandson of Hashirama and Mito.
Basically, TenTen’s team have super prestigious pedigrees and she’s the long-suffering herder of these overpowered cats. She thought she’d avoid the craziness by it being Team Nine instead of Team Seven, but then she remembers that she was Team Nine and her team had Gai, Lee, and Neji so… (she doesn’t realize that someone who can create Hammerspace as a teenager should also be considered impressive, but she likes the idea that she’s normal too much to abandon it).
I love him but I do not understand him. I don’t know if they would even have a QPR or maintain their less intense friendship.
JackSGreyson Says 