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[thinhammer]

[ The feed opens with the uncomfortably close view of a tan nose and one dark nostril, and then the owner leans back to reveal more of his face; bright blue eyes, messy blonde hair, three whisker shaped marks down both of his cheeks... He gives the camera a stumped look. ] Uhh- [ Just as he opens his mouth to speak, the feed suddenly swishes upwards to grace the network with the view of his ceiling, and after crying out a loud "Come on!" hands appear to rearrange his set up. For a brief moment there's a flash of some upside down instant noodle cup that he was obviously using as a stand, and then the feed is focused on his face again. ]

Alright, are ya done now, little box? If I gotta prop you up one more time I'm gonna throw you out the window, so you better behave, y'know! [ Enough talking to the device, Naruto, talk to the network instead. ] Hey. I'm.... Naruto. [ He squints and scratches his face; he's not used to talking to boxes, so it's an understatement to say he's a little awkward about this exchange. ] ...In Konoha we use birds to send messages -- like, carrier hawks and stuff -- but even then I usually just find whoever I wanna talk to if I have to tell 'em somethin'.... and I've never even seen one of these things- [ He gestures at the camera; waving his hand blindly at the screen. ] -before, so uh.. this is kinda weird.

[ He sighs like his words are apology he's reluctant to give, and then settles his arms folded behind his head to assume a thinking pose. He's been told to introduce himself to the network using this little magic box, but... where to begin? His story is a long one, and despite usually being so intent on sharing it with others, now he finds himself little lost for words. After all, these people won't know what a Hokage is, or what an honor it is to be a Leaf ninja... They might not even know what a ninja is! ]

I come from the Land of Fire. I know you guys don't know where that is 'cause it doesn't exist anywhere near Am-ri-ka... [ An excellent attempt, Naruto, but it might have been better if your attempt had sounded anything like the word it was intended to. ]... but I've been told it's kinda like your Japan? Anyways, I'm a ninja of the Leaf village there, and one day I'm gonna be the leader of that village. Just as soon as I get back home and straighten everythin' out. I got some promises to keep.

[ He pauses for a second, then his face splits in a grin. He can't help it. How can he be sad when he's thinking of home and all the faces that will be so happy to see him when he gets back? ] It's still kinda hard to believe this isn't genjutsu, y'know. Except genjutsu is usually pretty awful, and this place isn't so bad. I got a job and stuff to do, and one of my team mates even lives close by! [ A look flashes across his face, a twitch playing at the corner of his mouth... then his voice grows firm and his eyes sparkle with defiance. ] It'd be better if all my friends were here, but that's okay. I'll be back with 'em soon.

In the mean time, I guess we're all in this together, so if anyone ever needs me, I'll be around y'know!

Comments

[rathercommon]

For what?

[thinhammer]

[ Somehow he wasn't actually expecting her to ask that, so he pauses for a second or two. ]

Ahh- It's a long story. [ It really is; one that still kind of hurts in his face area. ]

[rathercommon]

I've got time.

[thinhammer]

[ Time? Man, Kitty, you'll need more than time to be able to understand this one. But you're Sai's friend, and Naruto is nothing if not honest, so he scrunches up his face to think about where to start. ]

...I have this friend. [ That's as good a start as any. ] He used to be my team-mate, but he got kinda lost and ended up leavin' our village to join up with some pretty nasty guys instead... I made the promise of a lifetime to I'd bring him back, and thats what I've been tryin' to do all this time. Only he keeps gettin' further and further away, and fallin' even more, and when it feels like I've caught up he just skips ahead of me.

[ Frustration has him balling his fists, and he keeps his eye contact determinedly away from the feed, directing it somewhere offside instead. His words start off slow and careful - like he's deciding each word before he speaks it - but as his explanation goes on, his pace starts to pick up and his words become more frazzled. ]

... He kidnapped a pretty important guy from one of the other villages in my world. A jinchuuriki, like me. [ Yeah, she probably won't have any idea what that means, Naruto. Try again. ] ...A, uh, big guy with a whole lot of power- [ Better. ] -for this group called the Akatsuki, who were plannin' to use the power of all nine jinchuuriki to start a war. Then-- and then we got a new Hokage, and he put out orders for Sasuke to be found and killed, and then some shinobi from the kidnapped Jinchuuriki's village came and started hasslin' the people of the leaf. I told 'em that I'd spill if they stopped bothering my friends, but... when it came to it, I couldn't do it. I couldn't betray my friend, I couldn't give up on him like that, not without hearin' his explanation--! All they wanted was to kill him, and all killing him would do is start the revenge circle all over again, y'know? They kill Sasuke, someone who cares about Sasuke kills them, then their village retaliates... It'd be endless! But they were really broken up about losin' their master, and I'd just lost mine, so I knew what it felt like to be frustrated and angry... So I told 'em they could take it out on me. [ A deep breath, then he wipes the back of his hand over the whisker scars on his cheek as if he can still feel the swelling there. ]

She punched me for hours, y'know. Or at least that's how it felt. It stopped hurtin' after a while, and I just got numb to it. Eventually she got tired of punchin' me, and her knuckles were all bloody from my face, but I still wouldn't tell her anythin'... She was gonna hit me again. Sai got in her way. He held her fist back and stopped her, and at first I thought he was mad at her, but.. He was mad at me. Real mad. It's the first time I'd ever seen him that mad. He couldn't understand why I still cared about Sasuke so much when all he's done is hurt me...

[ A moment of silence spirals, and then he suddenly straightens up as though he's just woken up from a doze. He grins bright. ] But it's okay. We talked, Sai patched me up. It's all alright now.

[rathercommon]

[ Well, if there's one way into Kitty's heart, it's repudiating a cycle of revenge. She goes quiet for a moment, thinking about all of that. Finally, she offers this: ]

That was terribly brave. What you did.

[ It doesn't add anything to his story, or form really a proper response to it - but what he did was so, so brave. And so even if it's not worth much, she at least wants to give some kind words, some indicating of just how lovely a thing it was that he did. ]

Your friend - What do you mean, when you said that he got lost?

[thinhammer]

[ He feels kind of worn out by his outburst of information, and slumps slightly where he sits, but nevertheless he's just as engaged with the conversation. When she calls him brave - he can't help it - he blushes, and a lopsided grin pulls at his face as he turns it away just the teensiest bit. He's pretty modest when it comes to stuff he did off the bat, but... compliments always make him happy.

Her question cuts his glee short, however, and makes him scrunch up his face in thought again. ]

He, uh... [ That's a really tough question.. ] Well, his brother killed his entire clan, and ever since he was all caught up with gettin' revenge by killin' him. Then this evil guy targeted him and told him he'd give him the power to do it if he left the leaf, and he went crazy at just the idea... So, that's what he did.

[rathercommon]

[ A noise of understanding - and of pity. That's difficult. A sad and difficult sort of thing. ]

And that's why you still care for him? Because he's just lost his way.

[thinhammer]

Yeah! [ Oh man, she gets it! That's a bigger relief than he can put into words. His enthusiasm comes rushing back in an overwhelming wave that has him balling his fists. ] Yeah, he's just lost, y'know! The Sasuke I know wouldn't have fallen this far if there'd been more people around to help him.. but he shut us out an' kept to himself, so it was hard, but instead of just leavin' him to it, we shoulda just tried harder!

[ A beat. ]

I know if I'd tried harder he wouldn't have had to shoulder all that burden by himself. We coulda shared it. I coulda helped.

[ And another. ]

That's what I'll tell him when I bring him home.

[rathercommon]

Do you have other people who agree with you? Who are helping you to...bring him back?

[thinhammer]

I uh.. used to. But he's done some real bad stuff lately, and he's got really powerful. The last time one of my friends tried to save him, he nearly killed her. If I didn't arrive just in time to jump in the way, she...

[ He scratches one of the whiskers on his cheek as he trails off. That was a difficult time for everyone involved. One that still hurts his heart to think about. ]

... I don't want any more people to get hurt. It's my promise to keep. I'm the only one who can bring him home now.

[rathercommon]

[ A little hmm of acknowledgment. Honestly - privately - she thinks that whoever this friend is, he seems utterly gone. There's a point where you've got to cut your losses and think about the big picture. Friend or not, if someone's out there trying to start a war...Kitty would cut someone like that down. The life of one person stacked up against the lives of thousands? There's no question in her mind.

But, well...That's not her right to decide, is it. And she's sure besides that he's heard more than his fair share of people trying to shout him down. She's not going to add her voice to that chorus. She'll just extend a bit of sympathy. ]

I'm sorry. That must be really miserable.

[thinhammer]

Yeah..

[ He's momentarily downcast, looking at the floor with a hard to place expression until suddenly he straightens up like an electric current had gone coursing through the underside of his chair, and an embarrassed flush starts to creep across his cheeks. ]

I, uh-- Sorry! [ He looks back up at her and scratches awkwardly at the back of his head, offering her an apologetic smile. ] I.. got kinda carried away there, huh....

[rathercommon]

[ In response, she shakes her head firmly. ]

No. I asked, and I wanted the information. Thank you for sharing it.

not here

[daimeinashi]

[But he's totally creepin'. Ninja McBlankfacerson is interested in this story too.]