This was from the new DoS Crossover Plotting topic (the other thread was getting a bit big) and caught me during my commute yesterday. Sorta links to the summons ficlet too. Not entirely convinced of Shikako's portrayal near the end... Thoughts on that?

-/-/-

Shikako is scouting the area round their campsite when it happens. That sound. That sound that once upon a time came from nearly every TV set in Britain. A whooshing and a wailing sound that told everyone that the Doctor was here. But this isn't Britain, and it isn't a TV show. This is the outskirts of Konoha's exclusion zone and she is on a routine (C-ranked) patrol. Geeze, what is it with Team 7 luck? Even muted by Team 8, she is still attracting trouble. The Doctor up against Shinobi idealology? A time-traveller in the hands of Shinobi? She can't think of a single way this would end well.

She takes a second to check her chakra and confirm that no, this is not a genjutsu, and then diverts from her circuit almost immediately. She won't have long. The Doctor might not register on her chakra senses but her hearing isn't the sharpest out of her squad. That claim lies with Kiba. Not to mention what Hinata would make of the Tardis... Oh god Shino. She knew his habit of tagging his teammate's with his bugs. He would know she was deviating now. They'd be conferring and turning their attention to her and...

Shikako tumbles into the clearing just as a rake thin figure with messy hair steps out of his iconic blue box. Behind her, she can feel the chakra of her fellow patrol members beginning to move in her direction and grimaces. Worse, her faithful, ever hungry, summons are stirring. She doesn't have to look down to know that her own shadow is in completely the wrong position for the current time of day. It'll be too much to hope the Doctor doesn't notice...

"Oh hello there!"

She blinks at the cheerful grin and the big coat, worn over sneakers. There is something to be said for meeting a childhood icon and it takes her half a second to shake off the feeling. "You shouldn't be here."

He tilts his head to stare at her, eyes sharpening as the grin doesn't leave his face. "I shouldn't?"

"No. You really really shouldn't."

She does her best to keep her body language subtle. As it is, she hopes and prays that Hinata isn't reading their lips. It's something that still takes the Hyuuga concentration and if she's busy evaluating the situation for her team then she won't have that concentration to spare. Probably. Either way, he needs to leave now. And not just because otherwise she will have awkward questions to answer.

"Well maybe I..." He pauses, blinks at her shadow, and pulls out his screwdriver and points it at her. "There's something up with-"

Her teammates' chakra spikes in a way that means they are preparing for trouble. Kiba is slipping to the side, and Shino's chakra is churning in a way that means he is increasing his stock of bugs rapidly. Her team is ready for a fight, and she is out of time. She lunges at the Doctor, knocking him back into the Tardis. The Doctor doesn't push her off, just rolls them around so that he's sitting on top of her, still pointing that damn screwdriver in her direction. She wriggles beneath him and glances around for something to replace with, all the while cursing Jiraya for the direction her thoughts take. And puberty. She curses puberty too.

"Hold still a second, I could swear you have... but no... they aren't like..."

Shikako stills and groans in resignation as Team 8 burst into the clearing, each ninja gathering chakra in preperation for a jutsu, their killing intent rippling outward. The Tardis seems to take this as a threat and slams its doors shut, startling the Doctor. Something slams into the doors and they rattle. Shikako is vaguely impressed, or she would be, if she wasn't watching the Tardis' central column light up.

The Doctor's standing up now, shouting at the Tardis for taking him away from such an interesting puzzle. She's lying on the floor cursing her luck and wondering how she is ever going to explain this. If Shikamaru had calmed down recently, this is going to bring those issues old right back up... And how exactly is she going to explain this? Maybe come tumbling out of the box that appears seconds after it left? Although the Doctor isn't exactly known for his excellent Tardis driving skills. Hadn't there once been a joke about him bumping into the 60s? She shuddered and pushed herself up right. It was enough to catch his attention.

Spinning around and grinning at her, the Doctor clapped his hands once. "Right so... Names. I'm the Doctor, but you already knew that. Of much more interest is who you are..?"

"I'm Shikako. Look I don't want to be rude but I need to be back there. Now. Preferably before my twin finds out I was kidnapped. Again."

"You get kidnapped a lot then?"

"No... I'm just... Good at finding trouble. I... I think that's something we have in common?"

"Yep! You've heard of me then?"

She stares at him, at the bright grin, the loose stance and her summons whisper to her of the Oncoming Storm. They remind her that appearances are deceiving, of a time they had a whole world to play in, of a forest made of books. It isn't a reminder she needs. Not really. She may have forgotten the details of his story but some characters are just too big to forget completely.

"Yeah, I've heard of you. Why were you on my world anyway?"

The Doctor tilts his head, the grin softening even as his eyes flicker. The Doctor isn't as good at hiding his thoughts as she might have thought. "Your world?"

"Well, I share it with a lot of other people, but yeah, for the purposes of this conversation, my world, my home."

The Doctor shrugs. "No idea. Got a little turned around in the Luen Nebula. Very pretty around there - but cold." He claps his hands. "So, do you know what's up with your shadow? I thought... But then that wouldn't make sense."

Shikako shrugs. "Do you know where we are now?"

He looks at her. And it's a look that says 'I'm watching you' and 'I know your hiding things' and 'I will learn all your secrets'. Then he glances at a nearby screen and the look is replaced by his 'Don't mind me' grin. He's almost as good as Kakashi-sensei at throwing off suspicion. It's easy to see why his enemies are always under estimating him. If she didn't have her summons whispering to her of everything he's done, if she didn't know he was a hero and one of the most dangerous men in the universe... It would have been easy to dismiss him as harmless herself.

"Earth. Early 2010s."

"What?"

"Where we are. You just asked right? Lost in your head a little bit? Anything to do with those interesting parasites?

She managed a rueful smile that was a little more fake than she'd have preferred. "Yeah. So. Earth. Can we go have a look around?"

"You don't want to go home?"

She considers the question. She does... But... Being here now, even if it isn't her Earth... She closes her eyes briefly to hold back the grief. No. Not quite grief. Acceptance and... Resignation? Nostalgia? She might not remember her family that well anymore; she might barely remember her old life. She might not even consider this home, not really, not anymore, but she was torn away so quickly and she's here now. It would be nice to say goodbye to a Earth. Even if it wasn't hers.

"I do, but a day to explore wouldn't hurt right?"

A day to say goodbye.

He examines her thoughtfully, before nodding, the grin softer, more subdued. "Nah, it'd probably be fine." His smile widens, "Could even be exciting, Miss Finder of Trouble!"

Shikako's lips twitch in a grin. "It could."

The Doctor's smiling properly now, but there is still that spark in his eyes. "Well. Let's see where exactly the Old Girl has bought us then."