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Heliocentrism — a Dreaming of Sunshine recursive collection, Storytellers' Speakeasy
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Published:
2025-09-12
Completed:
2025-09-22
Words:
17,364
Chapters:
6/6
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122
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The Uchiha Massacre

Summary:

The bloody aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre still haunts Nara Shikako. She knows it must have been her fault in some way, even if she doesn't have proof yet. Graduating top of her class, she is put on a team she really didn't want to be on.

Notes:

Hi! 💙

I did mention (often, to those who wanted to listen and weren't bored of my chatter), that I wanted to write more Dreaming of Sunshine Recursive stuff.

It was very fun to write this one, and I can only hope you enjoy the reading part as much as I did writing it. 💙

So here, have some edgy Shikako, as a treat. 💙

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: The Eye That Opens In Grief

Summary:

Shikako gets put on a team.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter I

The Eye That Opens In Grief


Home

She didn’t want this day at all.

The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but Shikako could sense her mother working downstairs. She hadn’t yet opened her eyes, but her mind was already racing.

The dream hadn’t been a nightmare, but it had been heavy, and still weighted on her like a pile of stones, even when she couldn’t recall anything specific.

It was still dark outside. Had to have been, with how early her alarm usually ran. Still, there would be no way she could fall back asleep.

Might as well.

She sat up in the bed and opened her eyes.

The shadows of the room swirled.

The human mind was good at facial recognition. Too good, sometimes. Even when she could, with trained precision, sense exactly how empty the house was… Shikamaru still wasn’t home - it would be just her and mom. 

And yet, knowing with an absolute certainty that there was no one nearby, she could almost make out a familiar face in the darkest shadows. As if someone was watching her.

When she’d started the academy, it used to unsettle her. She would use her own chakra to light the room up, to banish the half-formed visions from the sleep-deprived brain.

Now, it was almost… comforting, in a weird way.

The Nara had put so much of their chakra and themselves into the shadows around them… who was it to say that there couldn’t be a lingering echo recorded in them.

Shadows are a reflection.

Shikako reached out with her own shadow.

Kasuga had advised her against forming a habit out of it, multiple times in fact, but Shikako knew it was what her father used to do all the time. It had to have been.

She closed her eyes, and drank in the feeling of being home, right through the shadows connecting her to the household.

It was still there. Her father must have spent countless hours idly connecting his shadow to the surrounding ones, even while in the safety of their home. Here, the shadows were so familiar, so full of him that it couldn’t help but calm her down.

Home.

When Shikako opened her eyes again, a part of her anxiety for the day had melted away. The shadows of the room were sharper, too. Maybe one day, letting her negative emotions seep into the surrounding shadows would leave a more negative imprint, but for now, the familial feeling of her relatives was much stronger, still.

One day at a time, she reminded herself, and headed down to help mom with breakfast. 

Shikamaru didn’t show up for breakfast.

 

Teamwork

Could have trained a little longer, a part of her whispered. She was way too early as it was. Would be a bad idea to go overboard, she reminded herself, always leave something for an emergency.

She stepped up to the little security checkpoint. No one was in line before her, especially today. Most academy students showed up minutes before the actual lessons. Not her.

A couple of people stood on duty at the entrance, and she knew one of them. Nara Saidai, a young Chunin, clearly recognized her in turn. “Shikako-chan,” he greeted her warmly.

She produced her ID card, and passed it to him to check. Didn’t say anything to either of the two uniformed men. Kept her expression as neutral as possible.

Saidai took only a quick glance, showed the ID to his partner for an even shorter look, and then returned it back to her.

A part of her wanted to say something. Shikako snatched the card back and hid it. It would have been dumb. Someone had to do the job. It wasn’t Saidai’s fault that he was a Nara Chunin when the recruitment drive had been announced. As far as she knew, he hadn’t volunteered.

It still stung.

“Hope you get a good team,” Saidai offered politely, not the least insulted by her dismissive attitude. It somehow made her feel worse.

Shikako swallowed the instinctive reaction to lash out. “Thanks,” she managed, trying to hide all of the swirling mess inside her head, and pushed into the Academy.

She was one of the first ones there.

Shikako settled into the back row, reserving a couple of sets with two kunai on her sides. She knew the team she wanted to get. However, it was all but certain that it wouldn’t work out like she wanted.

There was nothing to be done.

She took out a book and started reading.

Eventually, the other academy students started slowly filtering in, one by one. 

She ignored them. They all were happy to leave her alone.

All but one.

“Hey, Shikako!” Naruto shouted much louder than was necessary, and waved at her.

She lifted her eyes to catch the orange clad boy’s face, only because she knew ignoring him completely would be worse on her ears. Naruto was sporting a wide grin, like he always did these days. A brand new Konoha headband shone on his forehead.

Shikako signed and returned to her book.

Naruto spent a few seconds staring at her. She could feel his gaze drilling into her. Even trying to focus on the reading, she could imagine how well Naruto would mimic a wounded deer, just to get her to look at him. She really wasn’t in the mood for it.

Eventually, he gave up, and bounced off to sit by Sasuke.

Choji was first to claim the reserved spot. He sat on her left side, patted her shoulder twice and settled in to wait. Shikako grunted a health-hearted greeting. It was nice knowing Choji was here, and had her back.

Ino showed up only with the very last wave of students. She arrived together with Sakura, spent a little longer, idly chatting with her in between the rows, and then the two split up.

Ino climbed up to the last row and sat down flanking Shikako, on the opposite side from Choiji.

“Bad morning?” Ino asked, seeing right through Shikako’s moodiness.

“Yeah,” Shikako grunted and lifted her eyes up a smidge.

The silence shared with Ino and Choji was… comfortable.

Meanwhile, Sakura went to sit next to Naruto, who lit up extra bright from Sakura’s attention. Soon, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were engaged in a friendly conversation. Naruto said something silly that had Sakura barely holding in her laughter. Sasuke didn’t bother. His laugh was quiet and short, but the reserved smirk that followed proved it was very much genuine.

They will make a good team, Shikako knew. They had made a great team in the original story, when they started as a disjointed mess, but now? The three had grown closer little by little, especially in the last couple of years. Did I cause that too? Or did it happen despite the mess I created?

“Still holding a grudge?” Ino prodded carefully at Shikako, noticing her looking at the trio.

“No,” Shikako lied, “not really.”

Ino gave Shikako a look.

Shikako pretended she didn’t get it.

Theirs and Sakura’s friendship had shattered right after the Uchiha Massacre. Sakura didn’t seem to get how things had changed - because for a civilian girl, it was just another classified incident. Sakura hadn’t known anyone who died personally, and at eight years old, it clearly didn’t seem as real to her.

In the argument that arose from that first conversation after the Massacre, Shikako might have said some things she later regretted voicing out loud, but it didn't mean they weren't true. Still, it had reduced Sakura to tears and broken their friendship.

Ino managed to close the rift between her and Sakura after a few months.

However, despite Ino’s best efforts, Shikako never bothered to reach out on her part, even when Sakura tried to stay polite and friendly with her at Ino’s insistence. It was dumb, and more than a little childish, but Shikako didn't have time for social games. She really didn’t care what Sakura thought of her, after all.

Ino sighed and dropped the topic.

Shikako clenched her firsts under the table. “They’re splitting us up,” she whispered.

“Or they aren’t,” Ino protested just as quietly. “Ino-Shika-Cho is too good to pass by.”

“They are. No Ino-Shika-Cho this year,” Choiji said, dejected. “Mother visited the Hyuuga compound yesterday night. She told me. I’m probably going to be on a team with Hinata, unless the Hokage changes his mind. Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga and Uchiha.”

“No,” Ino breathed out a heavy breath. “Wait. All four noble clans in a team? Is that why?”

“Oh, it’s definitely that,” Shikako confirmed with a grunt.

“You knew too?” Ino hissed at Shikako. “Did Shikamaru tell you?”

“Shikamaru doesn’t tell me shit,” Shikako barked back, and instantly regretted the way she lashed out at her friend. “Sorry. He… I hardly see him these days. I just listen to what the Hokage says,” she added as a way of explanation. “He talks a lot about strengthening the unity between the noble clans in particular. It makes sense he’d form teams based on his politics.”

“Feh,” Ino grumbled, and turned to Choji. “Did your mom know if you’re getting an Aburame or Uchiha se-”

“Congratulations, graduates,” their academy teacher, Uchiha Nakano, said formally, interrupting Ino and anyone else still chattering. She looked a little bored, but still projected a proud facade. Even Shikako, if asked, would have had to begrudgingly admit that the woman was a much better instructor than Mizuki had ever been, ever since she replaced him a couple years ago. “Starting today, you are all Shinobi of Konoha…”

Shikako scanned everyone once more, only partially listening. Iruka-sensei, who was still officially their class’ primary teacher, stood a little to the side, looking relaxed. Like everything these days to do with the Uchiha, giving away the graduation speech to the assistant teacher had to have been a decision born of politics. 

Worst of all, it looked as if Nakano honestly believed what she was talking about. Unity. Shikako bit down on the bubbling rage and anxiety.

Why do they get to pretend-

She didn’t finish the thought. The speech was over, and the team assignments would follow. She needed to tune back in and actually listen. This was uncharted territory.

Iruka stepped forward. “Team one will be Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Kiba Inuzuka,” he began.

Naruto let out a dramatic, disappointed groan over losing Sakura. Iruka didn’t even bother saying anything to calm him down. Instead, he waited for a little bit until Naruto did so on his own.

Sakura glanced towards the end of the class, offering Ino a hesitant smile.

Ino’s team had to have been some sort of a cruel snub against the Yamanaka. Making a team with two kunoichi, one of whom was a civilian-born and adding the theoretically weakest student in the class… wasn’t a promising arrangement.

Shikako knew she shouldn’t have expected team placements to be based on rankings. The old informal rule of two best students getting put into the same team as the class’ dead-last would have landed her with Kiba and Sasuke. She wouldn’t have minded Kiba too much, but there was no way in hell anyone sane would think to put her on the same team with Sasuke.

Ino had gotten a short end of the stick, which meant Shikako might be given a weaker team as well. After all, only Choji had to have mattered in the eyes of the Hokage. She guessed Choji, Sasuke and Hinata getting an Aburame sensei was the most likely option, but with the way things were going off the rails… nothing was certain.

Shikako continued keeping track of team assignments, as more and more potential teammates were assigned to different teams, diminishing the choices of her potential teammates. Suzu Yobirin, maybe?

“Team six,” Iruka continued. “Choji Akimichi, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame.”

Choji’s definitely getting an Uchiha sensei, Shikako realized, and wondered who that would be. Someone well known, obviously. The team would have to show good progress to become as big as the gesture implied it to be.

“Team seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Namikaze, Shikako Nara.” Naruto cheered at Sasuke, and then snapped his attention to Shikako and offered her an extra sweet, pleading smile.

“No,” Shikako breathed out, unable to conjure up any fake encouragement. This was bad.

The world in her mind tilted on its axis. It was all wrong. On a team with Sasuke! Who in their right mind…

She squeezed her fists, so strongly that it hurt. She tried to not glare a hole into Sasuke’s back. Who could be the sensei for this team seven? Uchiha Shisui, maybe, to rub salt on the wound?

Shikako kept spiraling until the very end of the team assignments.

"Alright.” Uchiha Nakano stepped up to conclude, moments after Iruka announced the final team. “Return here right after lunch and your Jounin instructors will come meet you in this classroom.”  She smiled a reserved, but self assured smile. “Good luck and make us proud.”

“Shikako-chan, Shikako-chan,” Naruto was there in Shikako’s face, all extra sweet, almost the second they were dismissed. “Me and Sasuke were planning to go to Ichiraku’s, do you wanna come with us? Since we’re a team now?”

“No,” Shikako said. Looked at Ino and Choji who were also a little uncertain. Thought about it. “Sorry, Naruto. I made plans with Ino and Choji,” she lied. “I’ll be here after lunch.”

“Alright! See you soon, Shikako-chan!” Naruto finished in his sweet voice and bounded off to drag sasuke away.

Ino and Choji looked at Shikako.

Shikako shook her head. “Go, have lunch with your teams,” she added as soon as Naruto was somewhat out of the earshot. “I know your mom must have packed extra to share, Choji,” she encouraged.

“Are you sure you are fine with eating alone?” Ino asked.

“It’s fine,” Shikako nodded. “I’ll manage.”

Then, after quickly wolfing down a quality ration bar, Shikako spent most of the rest of the long lunch period demolishing an academy training dummy with her bare hands.

It wasn’t very productive training, but it felt a little satisfying, especially when she imagined Itachi's face in place of the training dummy’s empty one.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed. 💙

If you have questions... good! The following chapters will explain more!

The chapters won't be very long, and they're all already drafted. Some need more editing than others. I... shouldn't be adding whole scenes into what I have, but I also have no idea how busy my schedule will end up being.

I'll post the next one when it's done cooking in the editing stage.