video | un: ramenkage

[thinhammer]

[ There’s a lot of important posts going up on the network lately. So much so that Naruto has been kind of apprehensive about posting this. He can't really articulate as well as everyone else and while he wishes he could say something useful about everything that's happening, he's kind of overwhelmed by it all and just taking it as it comes. His issue is determinedly unimportant, but desperation has got the better of him. So here he is. Hi, he's new. Be nice. ]

So uh, I was wonderin' if one of you could help me with something…

[ His usually whiskered but now strangely bare cheeks (thanks cloaking device) are slightly pink as he scrunches up his face. He looks… kind of embarrassed to be asking something like this so openly, because it’s like admitting inferiority, but this kind of stuff just isn’t his forte. ]

I dunno what to tell people when they ask what I do, or where I come from, or anythin' like that.

[ Coming up with an entire backstory? All by himself? Surely you jest. The most he’s managed is dressing his clones differently and calling them his brothers, any more creative than that and you’re asking a little too much of him. He’s entirely new to this community and finding a place in it is hard enough without also having to find a place in this random world too. ]

An old lady asked me why I wasn't in school, an' when I told her I stopped goin' to school when I was thirteen she didn't take it well, so I dunno what I'm supposed to say, y'know. In my world I'm a shinobi, is there anythin' like that here?

Comments

video;

[daimeinashi]

[ah....he should've thought of this when Naruto got here.]

There is, [i.e. military and police] but people will still be upset if we claim it.

[Apparently being a professional fighter under 18 is distressing to these people. He still doesn't really get it tbh.]

It was suggested to me to pose as an "exchange student" from a country called "Japan."

[thinhammer]

What, why would they get upset? An' what's wrong with not bein' at school anyway? I learned everything I have to already.

[ He has no idea if Sai will know the answers to this but it's more a kind of why in general than a why with intention to get answers. He thinks it's dumb so the reason will probably also be dumb. ]

[daimeinashi]

I do not particularly understand it, but some civilian societies believe people under the age of eighteen should not engage in combat.

[Asher practically looked like he was going to throw up when he found out Sai was sixteen.]

On this planet, they are expected to attend school until that time, as well.

[Why? Beats the hell out of him.]

It might be useful for our mission for you to attend, however. Being a student offers access to various places with relative ease. I have found that "I am doing an assignment for school" is also an excellent excuse to ask people questions.

[thinhammer]

[ Groooooooss. Naruto scrunches up his nose just that extra bit more. School till you're sixteen??? How do kids in this world get anything done if they're busy with school all the time??? Madness. ]

I don't wanna go to school.

[ He says, like a kid who probably should be in school. ]

They can't teach me nothin' I can't already find out by myself.

makes a thing up, shhh

[daimeinashi]

[That was honestly Sai's question, too. What on earth do civilian children do for eighteen years? If they're not training for combat, he can't understand how those other subjects could possibly take so long to learn.]

You can purchase ramen at the cafeteria every Wednesday.

[He doesn't even try to give a reasoned argument for why school could be a useful endeavor, even Sai can pick up when a task is entirely futile. So, cheating it is.]

video | un: Sasaki

[ex_adept136]

[Excuse him while he glances around first to ensure he's quite alone. Awfully weird to be seen talking to oneself, and he wouldn't want to draw unwanted attention]

Shinobi were a part of Japanese history in centuries past, but it's a tradition that's fallen to antiquity now. People would think it strange if you claimed to be a ninja, as they'd call it here.

[Fortunately this world is enough like his own for the basics to apply, and he finds himself grateful for that much. He pauses with a hum as he considers, though]

You could say you're in the foreign exchange program, which is when a student is sent to study abroad. I wouldn't recommend telling people you don't attend school at all, though another option is to say that you're home-schooled, meaning one of your parents oversees your education instead of public schooling.

[thinhammer]

[ It's probably a good thing he hasn't told any random guys on the street that he's a shinobi, then... Well, unless you count a guy in the store a few days ago but he seemed to take it okay; he just laughed like Naruto had told him a funny joke. ]

Ggguuh, there's nothin' else? [ He kind of had his heart set on pretending to be something cool. Pretending to still be in school does not sound cool. ] Everyone around here treats me like I'm a kid, y'know. Tellin' me not to do dangerous things or even not to run fast.. I don't get it. I'm sixteen, y'know.

[ex_adept136]

They'll tell you not to be reckless even at my age. It's just how people are here.

[He offers a helpless shrug in the face of this. Much as it might feel limiting to some, Haise feels some level of comfort in it. But then, he'd always longed for that normalcy because he never quite had it]

But regardless of appearances, the reality is that we're here to help these people. Maybe they don't know it, but we do, right?

[It's some sort of silver lining. At least among themselves they can be as they are, for the most part]

[thinhammer]

Well.. yeah, people tell me not to do that where I'm from too, but.. [ People have never told him off for weilding blades or running up walls. Maybe people here are just... boring. Naruto smears a hand over his face like he's trying to wipe away his distaste and make it look more agreeable. It doesn't work, but he does give a defeated sigh. ]

I guess. I just wish it didn't have to be a secret, y'know. So that, if someone needs me, I can run in and then they'll know straight away that it's gonna be okay.

video; un. flameo hotman!

[twinkle_toes]

I don't know what a shinobi is, but maybe you could tell her you worked on a farm or something? That's why a lot of kids don't go to school where I come from.

[Or because they're too busy being the Avatar but he's pretty sure that whole shebang doesn't exist here either, from the way people keep telling him not to use his bending.

Aang's own blue tattoos are missing, and his bald head's covered in a shock of short black hair.]

[thinhammer]

Ya don't know what a shinobi is?? [ He asks like the kid doesn't know the sky is blue; like it's the most obvious thing in the world because.. well, to him it is. ] We're the people who protect our country and the people in it back home. There's loads of us and we all have different techniques and trainin' but we all basically do the same thing. Go on missions and stuff, y'know. [ He sniffs, shrugs. ] Save cats from trees or go find secret treasure or look after important people while they travel.. Or sometimes we get to save people and stop wars from happenin'. Like me. 'Cos I'm gonna be Hokage one day, y'know, and that means I'll be the strongest ninja in my village!

[ Fist pump. Future Hero of the Leaf speaking, nice to meet you. His grin is horrifically pure and sweet, like he's immediately comforted simply by reminding himself of his inevitable (probably) future. But then his expression changes to consideration. ]

Huh... Workin' on a farm could work.. I'd need a big hat though.

[ He's only ever seen rice farmers, so.. that's all he's picturing. For a guy who can and has travelled across countries in a handful of days he's.. depressingly uncultured. ]

[twinkle_toes]

[HMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Aang gives the description a good whirl in his head, face scrunching as he tries to come up with the nearest comparison.]

So.....like police officers? Or people in the royal army?

[(he tried ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)]

[thinhammer]

An army, kinda, yeah!! [ More like exactly. They're the main source of protection and force for their respective leaders, so yeah. Pretty much exactly an army. Of mostly children. Yep.

But it's fine, he understands the concept of the word 'army' to mean a lot of people fighting and being heroes, so is totally fine being part of one - even if it's a different world's definition of one. ]

Like I said, there's a lot of us, y'know.

Video; un: uchiha

[beginanew]

You could ignore them and walk away.

[He's staring like he's bored, before he adds:]

Also I got some ramen, do you want it?

[thinhammer]

Sa-

[ He was gonna scream at him for giving useless advice but now he's just going to scream because Sasuke said the magic word. ]

Ramen?! Where'd you get ramen?!

[beginanew]

Doesn't really matter where I got it from, the point is I have some instant ramen and I hate it, so do you want them or not?

[thinhammer]

[ But Sasuke... He wants to know where you got the ramen from so he can get more when he inevitably eats it all in one sitting. ]

...Eh, dumbass, why's it gotta be a secret... Fine, fine!

[ Mumble mumble, grumble grumble. Is he suspicious? Maybe. Does that mean he'll refuse the ramen? Hell no. ]

I want it! I want it, okay? I searched all over for some but didn't find anythin'.

audio | un: Princess

[assent]

I see that some people have already responded, but it is also possible to say that you are an "up and coming rising star"! If you can perfect your skills into a sort of show, it may be possible to pass yourself off as a magician or something similar. That way, you would not need to conceal yourself quite as much.

[ Also she just really wants to see what he can do ... sorry, Naruto.

She also has a habit of coming up with elaborate plans so this can only end well. Surely. ]

[thinhammer]

[ This is his favourite idea by far and IMMEDIATELY he's on board, grin sliding onto his face like a whip-crack. ]

I'm already half way there, y'know! [ He's gonna be the hokage, he's a hero, yadda yadda. ] But- But I dunno what a magician is. Are they like the festival people who swallow swords and tell fortunes and stuff?

[assent]

Sorpresa! You are?! [ She sounds so shocked... ] Then I would be delighted to see some time when you are free. [ Well, it beats being stuck indoors slaving over test tubes and samples. ] But that is it exactly! They perform tricks for entertainment.

[thinhammer]

[ God, don't tempt him. He will show you right now, princess. He will literally drop everything he's doing and sprint across rooftops and/or up walls if it means he gets to show off to somebody, and those actions aren't even his most flashy tricks. ]

Aah, if no-one in this world has seen any kinda ninja before, then they'll definitely be impressed by Naruto Uzumaki, y'know! [ He thumbs himself in the chest. ] They'd be impressed even if they had, I can do all sorts of stuff. Clones, turn myself into stuff like logs or even girls, make big balls of chakra that cut through stuff-- I can even use sage chakra now, and my eyes go all crazy, like a big orange frog! [ He's painfully new to that last one, forgive him the excitement he's showing. ]

video; un: steelsamayarai

[feytality]

You should tell them you're a celebrity from another country! No one will ever question anything you do after that! Even if you do really crazy stuff.

[thinhammer]

Ohhhh- like I don't get how things work around here?

[ He nods, familiar with that much if Gaara's infrequent visits from his home village to the Leaf were anything to go by. ]

That makes sense. Maybe I can be a hokage-- or, uh, whatever a hokage would be in this world..

[feytality]

Plus, everyone will think you're famous. You might even get free stuff.

[Maya kind of wishes she'd used it when she started going to school...]

What's a hokage, though?

[thinhammer]

[ He likes free stuff. He hopes the free stuff is edible. Free edible stuff is the best kind of free stuff. ]

The hokage is the strongest ninja in my village! They get to sit at the hokage's desk, and keep everythin' safe and organised, and tell all the other shinobi what to do.. an' they're the first person ya go to if somethin' is wrong, y'know! [ He puffs up his chest, just a little. Just a little that it's incredibly noticeable that he's doing it. ] I'm gonna be hokage one day. They're gonna put my face on the mountain with the other past hokage and I'm gonna be the best one the village has ever seen!