VIDEO | 001

[likeahurricane]

[ The transmission begins on a wobble, focusing on a skyline that's distinctly sideways. Veering away from this a moment later, it comes to a shaky halt on a young man's dirt streaked face. He has wide blue eyes and three marks to each cheek and is that a twig in his hair? Best not to ask. In any case, he looks somewhere between harassed and

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[betrayedblade]

[Video]

[He stares for a moment quietly before blinking once and then calmly speaking.]

Naruto, I presume?

[likeahurricane]

Uh. Yeah! That's me! [ And this person knows his name. How does this person know his name? It doesn't exactly occur to him that the multi-worlds thing might not just apply to him. Naruto squints at the screen. ]

Do I know you?

[betrayedblade]

We never met.

[He offers a small smile.]

But you look an awful lot like your father.

[likeahurricane]

[ All the staring ever, as he processes that. ] My dad? You know-- You know my dad?!

[ His brain, it catches up. ] You talked to him?! Hey, is he here?! Have you seen him here?!

[betrayedblade]

Minato Uzumaki. [pause] Uzumaki Minato? Ah, it is different the way you say it, that much I remember.

I have not seen him here, unfortunately, no. We met in another place. He was a very dear friend of mine.

[likeahurricane]

[ Still processing. ] I-- Yeah, I remember that. Some people say it different. It don't matter to me, a name's a name, y'know? That's his. Minato. You... [ This is literally the last thing he was expecting.

One step at a time, Uzumaki. ] I'm glad. That he had friends. Hah. Of course he did! [ The grin is still relieved though. ] What's your name? Any friend of my dad's is a friend of mine.

[betrayedblade]

He had many friends and a few protégés as well. He was quite popular in the city. [Him and Giovanni, between the two of them, practically adopted the entire younger population in Discedo. It was grand.]

I am Giovanni Auditore. It is good to hear you say that--I can't very well let you wander about the city without some supervision to keep you safe. Minato would never forgive me if something happened to you. [Oh, he's teasing. Mostly. (You can tell by the smile.)]

[likeahurricane]

He was? [ If Naruto looks like he's settling down for a chat, it's because he kind of ...is. ] Mn. It figures! Sounds just like him too. Did you know him long? [ Did? Do? Past or present tense? Minato is still alive, right?

This is confusing. Naruto shakes it off a little and nods, testing the name. ] Gio-vanni. Your given name first, right? Ah? [ A beat. He grins, not minding the tease either way, even if he's uncertain on how to take the statement. ] I see how it is! Seems like you're a pretty good friend then, Giovanni! Hey, you been here long?

[betrayedblade]

For about a year we inhabited the same city. [Giovanni hesitates over his statement but then:] He gave me one of his kunai... [One of those neat teleporting ones? So that Minato could get to him quickly if ever needed.]

That is correct. [The grin is infectious. He nods.] From the beginning, I believe though it is hard to say for certain. At least with the first wave of current residents here. [Hopefully this hadn't happened before on a rinse and repeat cycle over the centuries...]

[likeahurricane]

That's a long time. [ He looks surprised to hear it. A whole year. He's a little envious, truth be told. It's far longer than what he got. ] Kunai... Oh, I know! It had three points, right? Instead of one! Yeah, he used those for his Hiraishin technique.

[ A head tilt. If Minato gave him one of his kunai, then he was definitely a good friend. ] You've been here longer than anyone else I've talked to so far, it sounds like. You know how many weeks that is? Or, is it months? Man, was this place always so dark? It's kinda gloomy. Even so, I guess it means you know this place pretty well, right? [ Rambling away on automatic. He does that, but looks intent on those questions. ]

[betrayedblade]

[He nods.] He only had a few with him so he gave a couple out to certain people. He always wanted to be there for everyone...

Coming upon about a month if my calculations are right. [Which, they always are. Extreme banker skills ftw.] I have not seen the sun since coming here. It is unfortunate. [Personally, he copes by being used to night operations and setting a distinct schedule for himself to keep up. It's working, more or less.] I have become as familiar with it as I possibly can. The park is a recent addition but fairly straight-forward as far as parks go. [Now that the fiasco is over with anyway.]

[likeahurricane]

Yeah, he did. [ A little melancholy at that. Naruto sobers slightly. ] What kinda place were you guys trapped in? Was it a good place?

[ ...if he was handing out his kunai, then maybe not. He blinks then. ] A month isn't so bad. No, scratch that. If it's dark all the time, then a month stinks. How does anything grow here? [ Does anything grow here? Dammit, Naruto likes plants and green things. He likes the sun, even. He already misses it. ] Wait, 'recent addition'? You mean it wasn't there when you got here?

[betrayedblade]

It was... [He hesitates over the answer. It was not a good place. But neither had it turned out so bad for some of them, all things considered.] The people there made it worth the experience. I am not unhappy to have been brought there to meet people such as your father. And I believe he felt the same. [In fact, he was pretty sure he heard Minato say as much at least once.]

I am not sure, but the trees in the park seem to be fine. [Which was curious. But then again they had only just recently shown up. He hoped they didn't wither and die... in a non-winter-y kind of way.] Exactly. Only the first district of the city was accessible but then one day the park simply...came out of nowhere. Literally. I must have passed by that area more than a dozen times and yet I never saw the outline of trees in the places beyond where I could go. It is very strange.

[likeahurricane]

The place was kinda crappy, huh? [ The smile he offers is brief, but colored with understanding. It's a guess, but only because he has said similarly of Ukiyo himself. The place sucked, but the people? They made it worth it. ] I think I understand what you mean. No regrets.

Maybe they don't need the sun. Or something else helps them to grow. [ Thoughtfully. The idea fo places appearing out of nowhere gives him a moment of pause. ] Could be Genjutsu. Uh, an illusion technique. People think this is all they can see an' stuff, but there's more that they can't. Even so, it sounds weird. Mn. Was the park the only thing that just kinda, showed up like that?