futurology | video | un: ramenkage

Entry tags:

video | un: ramenkage

[ 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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Where I come from, some people don't do things because they think they're right, unfortunately. One of the prisoners I occasionally question posed as a priest for quite some time, and took in orphaned children...and he ate them. [Sorry Naruto, this is a horrible illustration of his point, but] It was far beyond what was necessary for his survival, and he's never been at all regretful over it in all the time I've known him.

[And that spans some years now. He's been detained far longer than that, thanks to the efforts of men who came before his time. Much as Haise doesn't want to paint such a terribly grim picture, he does think it purposeful to define what sorts of individuals he doesn't consider worthy of second chances.

Someone who redefines predator certainly fits the bill, in his eyes]

He was detained in the hope that he might have useful information. [Generally speaking, he finds talking to Haise agreeable, if only for his earnest nature apparently having some appeal] Acting up, or taking an action you consider just, seem like worlds apart from that to someone like me.

[ Naruto is visibly taken aback by that; it's clear in the way his eyes widen, his mouth gapes just a little, the way the color drains from him. He's usually so full of such varied expression, but fear looks weird on him. Monsters like that don't exist in his world, he's certain. Sure, Zabuza massacred his entire class and rampaged as a missing-nin for years, and Kyuubi destroyed the village and countless lives within it, and Itachi murdered his entire clan, but.. They didn't eat children.

It's a valuable lesson for Naruto to learn, though, even if right now he doesn't feel like it's doing anything positive for him, and while he's disgusted he also does his best to understand. ]

He's just doin' it because he can, then? [ Reasons try to bubble up inside him but he ignores them. ] 'Cos he's got the power to, so it feels good for him to let that out... That's sick.

[ He shakes his head. It's so hard for him to imagine anything like that happening, even more so his personal reaction to it, but.. ]

Still, I wouldn't wanna kill him. I'd want to show him I'm better than that, y'know. That he's gotta live with what he's done, even if he says he's not sorry for it.. [ A pause. ] Maybe my world would be better if we had some kinda organisation like you have, y'know. It might mean we'd have less people gettin' caught up in revenge or killed..

Sorry to say something like that so plainly.

[And Haise is genuinely remorseful, but he does hope that Naruto will be careful. Other worlds may be far different from what either of them has experienced, and so they have to keep their wits about them. It's fine to be merciful, but it shouldn't end with somebody getting stabbed in the back for their troubles.

He doesn't want someone so kind to be subjected to that, if he hasn't dealt with such things already. Perhaps he has, and simply wasn't marked by the experience, but that's all the more reason to hope for better for him]

For some ghouls, humans are like animals, I suppose. Despite how similar our mental faculties are, and despite how we can speak to one another... I think that lends itself in part to the worse natures of some.

[It's easier to say that than to try and parse a response to the notion of the CCG's presence being an ideal one in a world like Naruto's. A police force, certainly, could be a positive influence with the right leadership. But the CCG isn't so benevolent as he's letting his associate believe. He simply doesn't want to visit the complicated nature of that truth on him, on top of the rest.

Perhaps that's wrong, but the notion of damaging that optimism is not one he relishes]

Maybe one day you can create an organization like that. A force that can contain those who endanger others without destroying them. If it can be done in my world [and at least this much is true] surely it can be done in others.

[Without the grim reality underneath...]

[ He can kind of understand that. He's heard bad guys before refer to targets as prey, and perhaps that makes it easier for them to do what they do, but Naruto couldn't ever imagine it being easy. In his whole ninja career he's never actually put anyone down with his own hands, he's never subdued anyone or taken anything away from anyone, and he's never once missed the opportunity to understand the enemies he faces. He wonders, idly, if that's a strange way to think. Somewhere in the back of his consciousness, something rumbles. ]

Yeah. [ Naruto grins, like a breath of fresh air shifting the shroud from over their suddenly so serious conversation. He doesn't usually like to dwell on negative things, so it's a lot easier for him to smile and nod and to focus on the latter half of what Haise said. ] I'm gonna make sure of it. I'm gonna be hokage one day, y'know. That means I'll have the last say with what goes on in my village, so I'll make it happen.

[ Optimism sure does flow like a river with this one. ]

Hokage huh...

[Now that's a title he's not familiar with. It would depend on how it's written of course, but the only thing he comes up with off the top of his head is firelight, which can't be correct. Haise assumes that it's a position of authority based on what Naruto's got to say about it, though]

I'm sure you'll be able to. Mindset's a big part of getting anything done.

[At the least, Naruto seems firm in his beliefs]

Yeah! [ Naruto beams like Haise just gave him the sweetest kind of compliment. Being Hokage is indeed a position of authority; one reserved for the strongest, most intelligent and tactically advanced ninja in the Leaf Village... so Naruto has a way to go. Deep down he probably knows that, but he's still just as confident as he ever could be despite how few people back home actually believe his claims. ] I've been tellin' 'em all for years that one day Naruto Uzumaki is gonna be Hokage, and it's gonna be my face on the mountain, but it's nothin' if I don't believe in myself and believe I can prove it.

[ A pause. His voice goes a little quieter, more tender perhaps. ]

And I wanna make sure I look after everyone in the village, y'know.. Make sure everythin' goes smoothly. Keep the bad guys in check and keep the villagers safe, like what you do. [ Usually he dodges the idea of authority but as he's still considering, in his own naive way, that Haise is basically a fair minded police officer, he's a little more open to the idea.

He blinks then, suddenly. ]

Oi, I don't know your name.

It sounds to me like you'd make a good leader.

[Haise has only had to determine who would lead a squad of four, for his part. And after a fashion he's led that group as their mentor, but being responsible for a whole village is something else entirely. Naruto's heart seems big enough for all those people, and it sounds to him like he's passionate about that pursuit, so surely he'll manage to achieve his goal.

He has to wonder about having one's face on a mountain, though. Do they have something like America's Mt. Rushmore?

But he's knocked from that curious line of thought by the reminder that he hasn't given his name. And for that, he flashes a bashful smile]

Ah, how rude of me. Haise Sasaki, pleased to meet you.

[ Mt. Rushmore is pretty accurate, honestly, though their mountain is updated with each new leader the village gets, rather than being made and left and finally becoming a tourist attraction or whatever. But, details. ]

Yeah, good to meet you, too! I'm Naruto Uzumaki. [ Yes, Naruto, you mentioned that back there. Literally a few moments ago. ] Have you been here for a while, then? Can I contact ya if I ever have a question about somethin' around here? You seem pretty smart about all kinds of things, is all.

[ He's got Sai, of course, and a few other people he can talk to... but shinobi training has taught him that contacts can prove highly important when a person finds themselves in a setting they've never been in before, so Naruto wants to make as many as he can. He also, quietly, doesn't like the idea of being alone here. ]

Others have been here even longer than me, at least a few, but... I've been with ALASTAIR for about a year now.

[And what a very curious thing to say. Haise would've never thought that his tenure with this organization would span so long, much less that he'd contemplate staying. But over time he's come to evaluate, and consider whether it might be viable in the end.

Strange what the passage of time can bring]

Having said that, I'd be happy to field any questions you've got. I love reading, so I know a decent variety, and I'm not against helping you find an answer if I don't know either.

[ A year is like forever to this kid who thinks a few hours is a long time, so his eyes kind of widen at that. He assumed he'd be able to go home after a little while so it's weird; he's super loyal to his village, and the idea of basically abandoning it for more than a few months like he first assumed is... Yeah, best not to think too hard on that till he's by himself. Maybe he'll settle into it one day, like Haise apparently has, even if right now that seems borderline impossible. ]

Heh, thanks. [ He scratches one of his hidden whiskers. ] I've read a few scrolls, like.. to learn jutsu and stuff, but I've only read a couple of proper books.

[ Not his bag, being a practical guy and all. ]

But I did read one pretty recently, that my sensei wrote ages ago, about a ninja who wanted to stop the cycle of revenge an' hatred in his world. The main character had my name, y'know.

Sounds like he managed some foreshadowing.

[At least, it would appear that way to Haise. It's strange to think that someone could anticipate that 'ages ago' when Naruto is quite young. That just makes him wonder how long ago, but he supposes that's not the important thing. At least it means there are some things that Naruto is interested in reading, and if so that's something they can make use of in the future]

For my part, I read all sorts of things. I enjoy learning, but also exploring what other people have created.

[Leaving their own little marks on the world, unique unto themselves. But more than that, he liked getting absorbed into a story and following it along, thinking about what leads to certain character motivations or authorial decisions, because he's a nerd like that.

Your new senpai is a nerd, Naruto. So sorry...]

Fore-wha-? [ He doesn't know what that means, but if he did he'd still deny it. He was named after the character in the book in the hopes he'd turn out like that, after all, not the other way around. ]

Hhhm, maybe someday I'll find it again, so you can read it too! Everyone says it's a boring book compared to the other stuff he wrote-- [ Mostly because the other stuff the author wrote was... ahem... a little more grown up (as in it's almost entirely erotic literature) and because most of the people who read it were already familiar enough with shinobi lifestyle that reading a book about it came off kind of anti-climactic.. ] But I liked it.

[ His enjoyment was probably also influenced by the emotional connection he had to the author and his very recent death, but.. details. ]

I'd be happy to, if you ever happen across it. [Goodness knows familiar things sometimes just crop up by grace of ALASTAIR, at times. He's not even sure of the rhyme or reason of it] It sounds plenty interesting to me.

[But then, Haise is a voracious reader and most anything with a plot that isn't entirely bleak and hopeless would be of interest to him. Perhaps ironically, he would be the one to consider that erotica far less interesting, if only because there's less to really think about]

Yeah? [ He hums in thought, but he's excited by even that much confirmation. ] It's set in my world, so I guess it'd be cool for you to see how what I think a ninja is and what you've been taught are different, huh?

[ He grins, actually kind of deeply hopeful that he does chance upon the book one day. It's almost a part of him now, being so connected to the author and the main character.. so it would be nice to share it with someone interested. ]

Admittedly, that would be interesting... Ninja are just part of history, in my world.

[And no doubt it's very different. What he's seen Sai do certainly doesn't resemble what he knows of shinobi, which he supposes makes enough sense when they're from entirely different worlds. Ghouls seem quite different in other versions of Earth and beyond, too]

But more than that, it's got a connection with someone I know, right?

[Now that's particularly interesting]

[ Naruto's eyes widen a bit, and he's not entirely sure if he should be saying thanks or like.. feel embarrassed or what.. But he supposes that Haise's line of thinking is similar to his line of thinking when he'd wanted to read the book to get closer to Jiraiya. Though.. he isn't Haise's father figure or mentor, so.. that doesn't make much sense.

He shakes his head free of theories, but can't disguise the little flush at the tops of his ears even as he chuckles and scratches his whisker marks. ]

Yeah.. I guess it does! I'll be sure to let ya know if I ever find it!

[He sure was first in line to read a certain journalist's self-claimed magnum opus about breaking and entering, so he'll be ready if this book ever does pop up. Haise has always been keen to read just about anything he could get his hands on, and knowing it's personally connected to people he knows just adds a certain something to it.

So he'll wait patiently for the possibility. Believe it, Naruto]

I'll look forward to it.

[Said with a cheerful smile, because that's just how he rolls]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video | un: ramenkage

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject