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"Guardian" ch. 16 final version
Dec. 22nd, 2015 12:01 pmThe slightly revised final version is now up on AO3!
Chapter Sixteen: In which Naga and Suisen demonstrate how not to dance with a partner, Yukiko and Seichi discuss assassination and dead relatives, and, to the author's relief, Kakashi's interrogation skills end up irrelevant to the plot. (4,450 words)
I realize it's been over three and a half years since ch. 15, and I apologize for that extended hiatus. As a quick reminder, "The Guardian in Spite of Herself" is a sequel to The Way of the Apartment Manager, an AU novel in which, when Naruto moves into an apartment at far too young an age, he doesn't wind up completely alone but instead forms a family of choice with Ayakawa Yukiko, the mostly-retired ninja who owns and managers the building; in the process, he inspires her to reclaim her old dreams and change her life.
"Guardian" begins about a year after the end of "Apartment Manager," when Yukiko gets saddled with another problem child in the immediate aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. Then things get complicated -- not least by the introduction of three other POV characters, two separate missions, an attempted social revolution in a neighboring country, and Akatsuki.
Chapter 15 left off with Naga, Kakashi, and their traveling companions about to be ambushed in Volcano Country. Chapter 16 picks up directly from that cliffhanger.
Chapter Sixteen: In which Naga and Suisen demonstrate how not to dance with a partner, Yukiko and Seichi discuss assassination and dead relatives, and, to the author's relief, Kakashi's interrogation skills end up irrelevant to the plot. (4,450 words)
I realize it's been over three and a half years since ch. 15, and I apologize for that extended hiatus. As a quick reminder, "The Guardian in Spite of Herself" is a sequel to The Way of the Apartment Manager, an AU novel in which, when Naruto moves into an apartment at far too young an age, he doesn't wind up completely alone but instead forms a family of choice with Ayakawa Yukiko, the mostly-retired ninja who owns and managers the building; in the process, he inspires her to reclaim her old dreams and change her life.
"Guardian" begins about a year after the end of "Apartment Manager," when Yukiko gets saddled with another problem child in the immediate aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. Then things get complicated -- not least by the introduction of three other POV characters, two separate missions, an attempted social revolution in a neighboring country, and Akatsuki.
Chapter 15 left off with Naga, Kakashi, and their traveling companions about to be ambushed in Volcano Country. Chapter 16 picks up directly from that cliffhanger.
