Note: For unknown reasons, this ficlet insisted on happening in the world of Tides and Undertow, which goes AU from the manga right after the Rescue Gaara arc. (A brief summary of the AU is available here.) I haven't written any of "Leaves," the first proper sequel, but I did write Troy in Reverse, aka the opening of "Sparks" (the second sequel), wherein Team 7 kill Orochimaru and Kabuto, and then go try to do something about Akatsuki. This ficlet is set a couple days after that fight.
Susan requires less explanation, but it's probably best to be on the safe side. So! She is post-TLB, and has dug up the green and yellow rings to go traveling between worlds now that she's lost her ties to England. The bow is not her Gift, just something she picked up along the way.
Summary: The wilds of Sound Country are the next best thing to the middle of nowhere. Travelers are few and far between. Unexpected meetings are thus narratively inevitable. (1,450 words)
(Apologies to
[AO3 crosspost!]
( An Alternate Solution to the Problem of Madara )
I still kind of want to write my other idea for this prompt, which is basically "Five Times Uzumaki Naruto Opened a Door Into Cair Paravel," but that wants to be a longer story than I feel like writing at this particular moment, so I'm going to sit on it and see what happens. :-)