maskormenace | video

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Hey! Does anyone know how to set off fireworks?

[ No context, no explanation, that's all you're getting unless you ask. It's early in the morning, but for once Naruto is wide awake; bright eyed and bushy tailed and full to bursting with animated ideas of what he's planning. Luckily for Naruto (unluckily for everyone else) Naruto isn't all that familiar with the community at large and therefore this request may appear quite a normal one.. There's just the small detail of Naruto's reckless personality that might ring alarm bells, and the fact that he hasn't an ounce of common sense. The way he's staring intently and excitedly into the camera might also be a little unsettling. ]

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[ He's equal parts interested and dubious. He's pretty much content with seeing what comes of it at this point, inhibitions be damned. ]

Heh, yeah, you got that right! It's the best part, seein' them burst and sparkle and stuff. I love 'em... I didn't think you were a showy guy, though, you seem kinda boring on the outside.

[ Naruto............ ]

[You poor, sweet naive child.]

Well, fear is a play performed by our emotions and our responses, designed by our shadows.

It stands to reason I enjoy putting on a show.

[ There he goes getting creepy again. Naruto squints though Crane can't see it; it's still pretty audible in his voice. ]

I thought ya only did all that stuff to watch it and, like.. I dunno. Work out what it means or whatever in that weird doctor head 'a yours..

Well, I don't recall saying that's not part of it...

[He is a man who loves his work!]

But if.. if you're the one puttin' on the show, then... then ain't it you bein' scared?

[ His brain hurts. He shakes his head as if that will clear it any, then laughs. His expression change is like emotional whiplash, how does he do it. ]

Hehe.. What are you scared of, huh, Crane? Got some monsters under your bed, huh? [ He giggles like he just told a light-hearted joke. ]

[He clicks his tongue in his cheek. Then wets his bottom lip before he says calmly.]

I killed my monsters a long time ago. You could understand what that feels like, you know. If you can kill the monster inside your heart.

[Is he talking about Kurama or not? Hmn.]

[ Oookay, the joke is done and Naruto is feeling much less silly. He feels kind of cold instead. ]

I already faced off with mine, the negative part of me. [ Hugged him by a waterfall till he exploded, actually. ] I don't have any monsters left.

[Finally. Finally. This feels better.]

I see. How nice for you. Perhaps you'll share with me how it feels?

[You're speaking bullshit, kid.]

Didn't ya just say you got rid of yours, too? You should know how it feels already.

[ Maybe he's learning, maybe he's just sore. ]

Our circumstances are different. So are our monsters. Likewise, so are our experiences. I'm asking you to describe yours.

[Don't be so rude.]

[ A long pause, then... ] My monster was me. All the hate and fear I felt because of what I'd been through, everythin' that havin' Kyuubey's weight pushin' down on me made me feel.. it was all of that, the true side of me. I had to overcome it to move on, and I tried to beat him down with force but I couldn't.. Only once I saw how Octopops didn't let anythin' get him down or hold him back did I finally get it. Even when people are mean to Octopops, even when they try to kill him he doesn't turn on 'em or seek revenge or anythin' he just takes it in his stride and carries on being the best he can be all because he has faith in the people who believe in him. And it's the same for me, y'know. The people in my village believe in me, and I have to believe in the me they believe in. I had to let the negative part of me become the Naruto Uzumaki who saved the leaf village, the guy who everyone trusts to protect them.

[ Another pause. He'd been livid with Crane when he'd heard about what he'd done.. and even moreso when he'd heard his reasons. Now, thinking back to his mentor and fellow jinchuuriki, he almost feels guilty for letting himself get carried away with rage. ]

.. I don't think you really overcame your monsters, y'know. You might not have to face 'em anymore, but they're still there, I can tell. [ Kyuubey can tell. ]

[Hold up, wait, what?]

... Octopops?

[Is that some secret language of Konoha's youth?]

Anyway, I'm fascinated to learn you understand me better than I understand myself. And with your rustic education, at that. Thank you for enlightening me to something I never could have imagined.

[So much scorn. Oh wow.]

Yeah, Octopops! [ He says like that makes it any clearer. ] He's a jinchuuriki, like me! 'Cept he's got the eight tails, and I got nine.

[ He bats a hand, not picking up on Crane's scorn in the slightest, though Kyuubey stirs in response. ]

Ah, it's alright. Don't sweat it. I just kinda get it, y'know, how it feels to have people not treat you right. It ain't gonna be forever, though.

[Right.

He speaks softly with a clipped tone. Meanwhile, he's swallowing the urge to punch this boy through time and space.]

No it's not. It might end sooner than you think.

[But not for the positive reasons you're thinking of, child!]

Far be it from me to interrupt, but if you value your life, you won't buy from him.

[ You don't just commission a psychopath like Crane to build your explosives. What in God's name is the matter with you, boy? ]

He's a murderer who draws entertainment from the fear and pain of others. This is not the man you want to be building your bombs.

[ For a moment Naruto is mostly uncomfortable hearing this - he knows Crane has done bad things, but he's adamant that it doesn't make him a bad person... There's something good in there underneath all the blackness, Naruto is sure of it. ] They're not bombs, y'know, just fireworks. [ He says, as if that makes his idea completely harmless. In all honesty Naruto hadn't even considered his own mortality in any of this... not that he ever does.

A word catches him out, though, and he goes from defensive to.. worried. ]

... Murderer?

[ Let's be honest: d'Artagnan has no experience of fireworks. To him, they're just another form of explosion. ]

In his hands, you won't be able to trust what they are.

He's the man behind the attack at the swear-in, some months ago. He designed a chemical that made whoever breathed it see terrible things. It caused mass panic, multiple deaths, many more injuries.

These crimes are widely known. Don't take my word for it; ask anyone who's been here during the last six months. We all know what he is.

[ He's been told of what happened at that particular swear in - albeit a little delayed as by the time he was informed he'd already made firm contact with Crane again - but hearing it a second time doesn't make it go down any easier. It puts him in an uncomfortable position to say the least; that much is visible with the way he kind of squirms where he sits. ]

I get it, I know what he did was messed up and I'm not forgivin' him for that. That stuff hurt my friends too, y'know. [ He hadn't been told there was murder, though. That kinda worries him a little more than he'd like to admit. He needs to do some thinking on this. ] He's not gonna put anyone else in danger, not as long as I can help it. [ He pauses, looks like he's trying to pick his words carefully. ] I.. didn't know there was actually killin' is all.

People died that day. If you didn't know it then, you do now.

[ If d'Artagnan has noticed Naruto's discomfort, it doesn't mean him stop or ease up. Possibly, discomfort is what he was searching for. ]

This isn't about forgiving Crane. It's about trusting him to sell you something of his own invention, when you've seen the kind of thing he invents.

I'm warning you to take care. Remember who it is you're dealing with.

I ain't dumb, I'll be careful, okay? [ Which is probably his way of saying thanks for the warning, but his manners aren't exactly top-notch. ]

I'm just givin' him a chance. Everyone deserves that. No-one's gonna get anywhere treatin' him like dirt, it's probably just gonna end up with more disasters.

[ D'Artagnan's skin is too thick to worry about manners. He's too busy worrying about Naruto's future health. ]

Giving him a chance to mend his ways isn't the same as buying actual explosives that he's made.

Just be careful, that's all I ask. None of us can afford to forget what he's done.

Jeez, gramps, if I did buy 'em I wouldn't go puttin' anyone in danger is what I'm sayin'! He's probably gonna make me pay way too much even if I did want 'em. And I'm not convinced he won't make 'em weird just to mess with me, he's that kinda guy.

[ He's talking like Crane is planning to pull a harmless prank on him. He wafts his hands. ]

I won't, I won't, I swear. [ He taps the plate on his headband; apparently his equivalent of crossing his heart. ]

[ D'Artagnan lets out a frustrated sigh, and thins his mouth at that gramps comment. He doesn't say anything, though. ]

Thank you, that's all I ask.

[ Pointing at the screen. ]

Just take care of yourself. Otherwise, enjoy playing with gunpowder. Try not to blow up anything that won't grow back.

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video | 004

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private; video; threadjack

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i'm super late and super sorry

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