[Fic] Sky on Fire: Walk Through Shadow -- Chapter 08/END

[skylar_inari]

Title: Walk Through Shadow
Chapter: Sadako
Author/Artist: Killaurey
Word Count: 5,566
Summary: Sidestory to Slow Burn. [Shikamaru centric] While Ino is off in Kumogakure for the Chuunin Exams, Shikamaru's nightmares worsen and his control over his shadow unravels. Getting it together again means facing his worst enemy-himself

Comments

[hungrytiger11]

This whole story was brilliant on a number of levels. I'm glad the mystery of Sadako was finally answered. You did well, leaving clues and ideas, but having the reveal build on those clues to something more was well done. In a way it makes me sad to think that Shikamaru/Odd-Shikamaru will one day wake up in the temple- dead. And I'm beyond curious about Yoshino now (was she Nara before marriage, what were her fights with Shikaku like and what grudge?) Loved the bit about Shikaku getting two teams. It was a little detail that made things seem very real and very much a bit form a war-era.

Shikamaru's growth is beleivable and yet still he's 14. I'm very much interested to see him react to Chouji, Ino and even Sakura and the others who went to the Chuunin exams, as they too will have grown so much. Very different and yet the same people.

[skylar_inari]

Thank you very much! Wrapping up Sadako's mystery in this chapter took longer than I thought it would, but I think it turned out better than I'd planned. (Originally, I had thought to leave her more mysterious and not answer so much about her, other than the fact that, yes, she was a shadow of someone who no longer lived.) It's very sad to think of Shikamaru being left behind as the world goes on, at least to me, but sometimes things happen that are sad

[hungrytiger11]

I'd never noticed that Shikaku is older than the others! Fascinating! Now I'm curious as to whether the first team were also members of those three clans. I do hope you one day choose to tell Yoshino, Shikaku and the others' story, though, of course, they are such background characters....

[skylar_inari]

I don't know about canon having Shikaku's first team (or even if he had a first team, it could be a snafu on Kishi's part) being another Ino-Shika-Cho configuration, but I do know that in my personal canon... it wasn't.

Because it seems rather cruel to stick two teams together who've recently lost members with people from the same clan, you know? Like a stab in the gut because clan members will have known each other and their skills will be similar and... ow.

As for telling their story... maybe. I've got notes, but I'm trying to focus on the main thread of the story first before going back to tell what happened before. XD

[rushin_doll]

Hey, it's me, and my tradition of way late comments! Huzzah for tradition!

Anyway! I thought this was an excellent wrap-up for the story. Loose ends tied off, and in interesting ways. I think there's something especially interesting about Shikaku having given up his chance to walk through shadow. A sort of break between the path of the father and the path of the son. I don't know if you'll do anything with that later or not, but it's interesting regardless.

The end bit with the carpentry is also pretty interesting. In large part, I think, because it represents a fairly significant shift for Shikamaru in terms of motivation and work. Not that he can't come up with a reason that he's just saving himself trouble in the future, but it doesn't feel like that's what he's really doing here. A moment of growth, or something.

Anyway, yay! I rather enjoyed it!

Write-me-more!
Ana

[skylar_inari]

Hurrah for tradition!

Hee! <3 I honestly don't know if I'll go anywhere with that either. It probably depends on how things decide to fall out on their own. But yeah, it's definitely something about them that's different.

You're right and you're the only one that's commented on that. If asked or confronted about it, he'd make up an excuse for the work he's doing, but the truth of it is: he's doing it because he wants to.

YAY!

Am totally writing more!