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Part 1 of Shinobi Isekai! Extended Universe
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2019-11-11
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2023-05-06
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63/?
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Shinobi Isekai!

Chapter 54: 1st Anniversary Special!

Chapter Text

Hello all!

I can't believe I actually made it this far. I have a bad habit of starting fics, losing motivation after maybe ten chapters, and then just deleting them from the internet. When I started this one, I kinda figured it would be similar. It was born of equal parts inspiration and procrastination, lol, as I was supposed to be writing an essay when the first chapter went up. You guys latched onto it, though! You asked for more and I couldn't bear to disappoint, and now we're here! Over 100k words and a year later! Yowza! I am agog. This fic (and the other two that spawned from it, lol) are such a big part of my life now, and I'm glad I actually stuck this one through! 

Now, I told y'all that this fic wouldn't be updating in November because I'm doing something else for NaNoWriMo, and that's still true! But, because it's the 1st Anniversary, I thought I'd share some things about this fic! 

This whole thing started from this image:

I've looked everywhere for the model's name and information so I could share it with you, but, alas, it's been swallowed by the internet. If you know it, please share!

This is the picture that started it all! I was also really into isekai fanfics, manga, and light novels at the time (lol, I still am) so I had all these ideas swirling in my brain. I thought, hey, maybe I can do one, too! And I did!

When designing Hanako, obviously I was influenced by Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender. His tattoos were the only ones in my head when I first started writing. Now, though, I've done more research into traditional and ancient Japanese tattooing. Minor nudity warning for the image below. Nothing shows, but just in case.

These tattoos are based on clay figurines from the Jomon period and were done by the artist Taku Oshima. Here's a link to a website with more information

Hanako's tattoos are more like this, now, in my head. I have no idea how to verbally describe them, lol, so hopefully this helps you picture them!

I had a lot of ideas surrounding these tattoos! They, and the lovely lady above, were literally the only things in my head when I started writing, lol. I knew they were gonna be seals—because what else would they be?—but for what? That was the question. Initially, I thought I'd maybe stick something in them. Something sinister and alive! It was gonna be a spider. Like, she was gonna have spider summons. It was gonna be a whole thing. But, as long time readers will remember, I used to be rather interactive in my writing process. I asked who you wanted her to end up with, and you picked Kakashi. So, the spiders were tabled. She still uses thread in combat, but that's as far as my original idea goes. Some of those elements are currently being incorporated into Round Three, though, so it's not a total loss. 

Hanako, herself, is based on the Korean actress Park Bo Young. (If you haven't watched Strong Girl Bong Soon you must!)

 

^^These two pictures, especially, capture what I struggle to describe, lol^^

She has a youthful face and often play quite childlike characters, but she is also very capable as a serious, emotional actress! I love her to bits!

  

Lol, that's enough background, I guess. I asked on Tumblr if you guys had any questions or AU ideas you'd want to see me answer and explore here, but I only got one or two replies. I had a specific request for a look at what might have been if Hanako was taken in by the Sarutobi, as I originally planned. 

Below this cut are a bunch of snippets for that other, might have been, universe! It goes from Chapter 2 to  Chapter 14.


"You look just like my grandpa!"

Hiruzen looked down at the little girl in shock, an expression she mirrored with much greater intensity. In fact, she looked rather scandalized by the notion, black eyes wide and mouth agape.

He chuckled around the stem of his pipe. “Do I really?”

The child was anything but amused. Her face crumpled with the weight of grief, tears bringing unfortunate light to her otherwise abyssal eyes.

“I don’t understand,” she began to chant lowly to herself, her hands coming up to cover her ears as though she could block out the reality before her. “I don’t understand.”

Hiruzen stepped out from behind his desk, kneeling in front of the girl with a protest from his joints and placing his hands on her narrow shoulders. “It’s alright, my dear. I understand this is difficult for you, and under different circumstances I would encourage you to take all the time you need before speaking with us. However, your circumstances are rather special. We need to hurry if we are to catch the men who killed your mother. I hope you can forgive our insensitivity.”

She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes. “So you are interrogating me.”

Oho. How interesting. How old was she again? Five? Hmm, if things went well, then he’d have to keep an eye on her.

***

Danzo scowled at him, the expression too familiar to have any bite.

“You’re mad, Hiruzen,” his old friend scolded. “That child is a disaster waiting to happen. The seal on her mind is just the first sign of trouble to come. Give her to me.” Ah. There it was. “Her seal will be useless with one of my own in place.”

True. He had a point. He always did. It was why Hiruzen had such a hard time denying him, even when his heart ached to comply. He looked down at his hand, remembering her soft, shaky grip as Yamanaka-kun examined—well, attempted to examine—her mind.

“I’m lonely, old friend,” he said with a sigh. “My eldest son greets me as his Kage, not his father, and my youngest fled the village as soon as he was able. If I were to foster a child from a clan, there would be accusations of favoritism, and I couldn’t bear to take in an orphan, not while Naruto is still on his own. This child has no ties to anyone, will give no advantage to any one family or bring attention to the boy. Besides,” he smiled slightly. “Biwako will finally stop pestering the boys for grandchildren.”

Danzo’s sour expression didn’t change, but he did sigh and Hiruzen knew he won.

“Very well, old friend. Have it your way.”

“Oh, I plan to.”

***

Biwako accepted the child without asking a single question. The girl was still rather hesitant, and he pretended not to notice the twist to her mouth when he insisted she call him ojii-san. If he truly resembled her actual grandfather so closely, then she would adjust. Hikari, his eldest son, had nothing to say about the addition to the family, greeting Hanako politely in passing but little else. Still, the heavy tension that filled their home was somewhat lessened, as Biwako now had someone to focus on other than her still unmarried son. The girl, for her part, was receptive of the Sarutobi matriarch’s care, and quickly became the older woman’s shadow, learning all the things a wife should know. Most girls her age were far less receptive of such things, Hiruzen knew from many conversations with Yamanaka-kun, but Hanako seemed content to be molded into a traditional bride.

Well, that suited him just fine. He and Biwako never had any daughters, so they could not strengthen their ties to other clans through marriage the way they might have wished to. With a young, fairly attractive ward, though, that deficiency could be countered. Really, the girl was a godsend.

Enrolling her in the academy proved a little more difficult than anticipated, since the poor thing couldn’t actually read. No matter. Hiruzen called upon Ebisu, the newly promoted special jounin eager to prove his abilities as a private tutor. Who better to spur on his career than the Hokage’s ward?

To everyone’s immense pleasure and surprise, the girl was a quick study, learning to read with startling fluency in more than enough time to enter the academy. She even managed to skip two grades, though she expressed disappointment that she couldn’t start from the beginning. Everyone assured her that it was no issue, students of proper skill skipped all the time, and she relented.

Though, Hiruzen was starting to suspect she never truly relented in anything, just quieted her protests and took action, instead. While slightly vexing, sneaking around the Hokage of all people was good training for a shinobi, so he allowed it.

Her relationship with Naruto, however…

He was tempted to nip it in the bud. He’d even taken her aside to try and explain, in very roundabout terms, why she should leave him alone. She calmly and directly refuted his every argument, looking up at him with those bottomless eyes and foisting all the judgement of decades upon his shoulders.

Sometimes, he swore she was older than she looked.

So, his two wards became friends. That was fine. If it gave him a way to provide better for Naruto without inviting the scorn of the village, then that was an added bonus. Hanako, Naruto, and Yamanaka-kun’s little Ino-chan became a rather tightknit group, actually, and Hiruzen had a feeling he’d accidentally allowed a new faction to bloom right beneath his nose. Oh well.

***

He had just finished a meeting when Ebisu brought a weeping Hanako to his office, speaking rapidly about seals and light and insects. Only after calming both teacher and student did he learn that the intricate tattoos covering her body were actually a storage seal and she’d accidentally sealed an innocent insect away when she activated it for the first time. A little encouragement and the feat was repeated in a dazzling display of light and the poor thing rescued. Hanako was too soft hearted to be a shinobi, he knew, but with such a Hiden literally written in her skin, there was nothing else she could be. Still, a seal specialist was rarely deployed to combat zones…

He brought home one of Tobirama-sensei’s scrolls that night.

***

The mess with the Uchiha was a tragedy, to be sure, and one he wished he could have avoided. Alas, the village came first, even before her people. The Uchiha could not have been allowed to proceed as they were. While unfortunate, their demise was unavoidable.

His heart weighed heavy in his chest as he walked the glaringly white halls of the hospital. There should be one survivor, and he would be remiss if he didn’t at least show his face in the beginning.

“Ah, Hokage-sama! We didn’t expect you!” The harried nurse bowed in greeting before continuing, her words no less confusing. “We sent word to the Sarutobi compound, but we didn’t realize you would come yourself! She’s stable, for now, and has been a great help in keeping the Uchiha boy calm. We’ve put them in the same room and intend to keep them together until a Yamanaka clears them for separation.”

Hiruzen held up a hand. “I’m sorry, my dear, but I’m afraid I don’t understand. Who is with the boy?”

The nurse looked at him with open mouthed surprise. “Why, it’s Hanako-chan, sir! Didn’t they tell you?”

A chill hand gripped his aging heart, tightening as the poor nurse explained the situation to him. Why? Why was Hanako at the Uchiha compound tonight of all nights? As far as he knew she had no friends in the clan, no interactions with them outside of the academy. So why?

He stepped into the room where the children were being kept. Rather than sit in her own bed, his ward was wrapped around Uchiha Sasuke, her arms holding the older boy’s head to her chest. She was whispering to him, things Hiruzen couldn’t hear, and she didn’t stop even when she noticed him. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he saw blame in the inky black depths of her eyes, but that was impossible.

Impossible.

***

“I must say,” he said over dinner, savoring the unique way Hanako flavored fish. “Your essay was my favorite.”

His ward looked up at him as she placed a larger piece of fish on Biwako’s plate, receiving praise for her attentiveness. “Oh? It wasn’t anything special.”

“I beg to differ. No one’s ever thought to say that kunoichi training was, how did you put it? Ah, yes, ‘pointlessly gendered’.”

Hanako blushed under Biwako’s sudden scrutiny. “Well, it is. Men are sent undercover, too, right? Why shouldn’t boys be taught the customs of other nations? Or a trade to help them blend in? It doesn’t make sense.” She stuffed her mouth full of vegetables, no doubt to spare herself from answering any questions.

Hiruzen chuckled. “You’re right, my dear, and I’m glad you thought to say it. If that were the only thing in your essay, I would be only too proud to choose it as this year’s winner.”

She wilted. Ah, so she did know what she was doing when she wrote what she did about the shinobi council and generational influence on village politics. Who was he kidding. Of course, she did. She was entirely too clever for her own good.

“Naturally, such a good deed cannot go unpunished.” Both the women at his table looked to him, then. “Now, now, let an old man have his fun. You’ll go to the office with me tomorrow and find out then.”

Biwako, well used to his antics, only shook her head and changed to subject. “Yona, Hikari’s girlfriend, has been seen buying spicy tonkatsu nearly everyday for a month. I swear that girl is pregnant!”


Tada! What did you think? Things would have been different, sure, but not completely inrecognizeable. I like the way things have gone, so thank you so much for the input that shaped the story into what it is today! There's a little more information about the essay, too, since I know it bothered some of you that I didn't actually go into it. I wanted to, and I even had a scene planned with Konohamaru where he revealed the change in academy curriculum, but he didn't end up meeting Gaara in my version of the Chunin Exams, so ╮( ̄ω ̄;)╭

Another request I got was to write about Sai! I actually wanted to write about him during the Chunin Exams, too! He's actually gonna play a pretty big role come Shippuden, hint hint, so, I'm gonna say this next scene is Shinobi Isekai Canon! It happened during the month between the preliminaries and the finals!


The village was unusually loud, today. It was always a little too noisy for his tastes, too many people packed into too little space, but today was especially bad. It was probably because of the influx of foreigners, dignitaries and civilians alike coming to see the spectacle called the Chunin Exams. Pop up stalls of foreign goods were taking over the marketplace, filling the air with a cacophony of new smells mixing together in the most unpleasant of ways.

Still, the bright new colors and strange fashions were incredibly eye catching. He couldn’t help but bring out his ink and try to capture them on paper. His art also provided the perfect cover, allowing him to watch the comings and goings of the Kumo and Suna merchants from his vantage point on the hill without drawing any unnecessary suspicion. He was one of many agents tasked with keeping an eye on their movements, but his youth and skills allowed him to be more open about it and thus get closer to his subjects.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

He was glad that he was dipping his brush, or else the jolt that ran through him might have ruined the piece he was working on. Turning, he pulled his lips into a smile, something he knew put most people at ease. The person who’d startled him was one of the Konoha shinobi Danzo-sama wanted watched. She was an immigrant who’d managed to insinuate herself into a founding clan and had made too many powerful connections to be ignored. In her hands was an embroidery hoop, white fabric pulled taut and already marked by brightly colored threads.

He wanted to say no. To turn the masked genin away, but he knew that would only call attention to himself and Danzo would likely appreciate a report with her in it.

“Of course,” he said, adding a lilt to his voice that should indicate happiness. “Be my guest.”

She nodded her thanks and took a seat beside him, busying herself with her embroidery. She didn’t speak again, seemingly content to sit and work as he did the same. That suited him fine, and he returned to his painting.

The sun was setting in the sky before she turned to him. Normally, he would have changed location several times in a day, but with her beside him he felt it best to remain. Her eyes, as black as his ink, looked over his shoulder at his painting. She sighed.

“You’re incredibly talented. The only thing I cam do with ink is seals.”

He already knew that. It was what marked her as a dangerous shinobi despite her apparent inability—and unwillingness, of all things—to fight physically. Still, he smiled at the compliment and looked at her embroidery for something to praise in turn, because that was how compliments worked. It wasn’t a long search. Somehow, she’d managed to perfectly capture a river scene, the individual leaves on every tree stitched to perfection. How many different colors had she used to achieve such photorealism? His own work was stylized and black and white, besides, so this kind of minute detail wasn’t something he practiced often, but he suddenly wanted to.

“Do you like it?”

Ah, his smile had slipped. As he was putting it back on, the younger girl freed the piece of fabric free of the hoop. The air tingled slightly as she used her chakra, their proximity letting him feel it. The creases in the cloth disappeared, leaving the beautifully embroidered square pristine. She offered it to him with both hands, black eyes closed in a smile—a real one, not like the one he had put on.

“Here. You can have it.”

He took it, because it would be rude not to and being rude would only help people remember him. The silk was soft against his calloused skin, the many colors of the thread shining in the light of the setting sun.

“It was nice working beside you, senpai.”

Ah. He hadn’t even said thank you. She was already walking away, though, and he wasn’t sure how to close the gap between them without accidentally breaking one of Danzo’s orders.

When he delivered his report, he did not mention the girl, her gifted handkerchief burning like a coal in his pocket.  


Tada! I'm the God of this Universe, so I say this happened, lol. So mote it be!

This ends the Anniversay Special! I hope you liked it. I am so, so, so grateful for all of you! You made this possible! I probably would have deleted this story before chapter 10 if you hadn't engaged with it the way you have. This story exists because of you! 

Thank you!