[Naruto sits up suddenly, as if waking from a nightmare, a familiar voice fading into the back of his mind and blue eyes wide, alert, searching
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[WELL that is plenty enough to catch Rin's attention, if she weren't determined about getting back on track with greeting newcomers anyway.]
Iruka-san? Kakashi-san?
[Open and curious, this response, just frank surprise, but then she gets herself in order and smoothens her expression.]
Ah, if we are thinking about the same people, I know them! They were here before, but sadly they are not now. Uhm, can you please try to calm down? I'll explain everything to you.
[Slowly lifts his head to look at the object laying on the ground a few feet away, caught somewhere between not caring and surprised to hear a voice coming from it.]
[Not just the voice, but the admission that whoever belonged to this voice also knew his Iruka-sensei and hisKakashi-sensei.]
[Even though he'd rather be stay right where he is, he manages to crawl over to the strange object and sit cross-legged next to it. He's almost afraid to pick it up, but he does anyways, poking at the image.]
[She smiles at him now, to connect and to hopefully seem at least a little welcoming and reassuring.]
My name is Asano Rin. Nice to meet you.
[A short pause, then:]
To explain your situation. You're now in a world called Kannagara, which is, yes, an entirely different world than the one you come from. You're not alone in this; there are people from all sorts of parallel worlds trapped here for the time being.
[And there she halts, giving him time to digest this first information.]
[The word is strange and unfamiliar and he can't recall ever seeing Kannagara on any map he's seen. Not that he paid much attention to the details of a map other than how to get from point A to point B. And even then...his thought stops there and he repeats the word:]
Trapped.
[He rubs his arm across his face and looks around at his surroundings.]
[This poor kid looks scared. In fact, it manages to surprise a smile out of Touya, a rare gentler expression on his face that would normally only be directed at certain special people.
He just doesn't want to scare the kid more, that's all. Right.]
Hey, calm down. I don't think there's anyone by those names here anymore, but there's no need to panic. Just breathe for a minute, and then tell me your name, okay?
But Ero-sennin...and I don't know where I am...and Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei and Konoha are gone and...and...
[And why is he talking to a strange voice coming from a strange device in a strange place?]
[Blinking back the tears, he lifts his head and stares at the object.]
[A slow, deep breath and he starts slowly...]
My name...is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a Konoha shinobi. And I'm not in the mood for any games so if you're responsible for bringing me here I suggest you take me back before I kick your ass!
[He slams a fist against the ground next to the object, ignoring the tears that continue to fall. He's angry, but even more than anger he feels completely lost. He doesn't know what to do with this pain of losing someone. It feels like it's consuming him.]
[Blink. Blink. This kid is younger than him, Touya is pretty sure.]
I'm certainly not responsible for bringing you here. We're all in the same situation, so I'm sorry there's nothing I can do, but I do have a place you can stay, if that helps.
[And it's the first time he's really truly missed his little apartment and everything that makes it home despite having been alone in it for so long. Before he met Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei and...everyone...]
It's not much, but it's mine. I just...want to go home.
[Blue eyes blink back the surprise just before he's overwhelmed with rage at being told by a stranger to cool it. He picks up the strange object and starts screaming at it as if it were a real person.]
[Not really, but he wasn't thinking too clearly at the moment with so much weighing him down. And shouting and being angry was far easier than dealing with his pain.]
And it's gotten me pretty far in this wor-GAH! Where the hell am I!?
[Loud, blond, rude, blue eyes... and asking for Iruka.
Raikou can only stare in disbelief for a long moment, because how many times in the month he'd spent traveling with Iruka, had his friend told him stories about the boy he thought of as a brother back home? How many times had he listened to Iruka as his friend told him about his own regrets and the wealth of pride his mentor had for the young ninja?
Too many to count and none of it mattered in this moment, beyond the fact that while he had failed in helping Iruka... he could still reach a hand out to protect what was precious to a man that had reached a hand out to him.
That's the reason why he smiles a muted yet welcome smile and flicks on the video.]
...Would you be Naruto-kun, by chance?
[A beat.]
We've never met, but I've heard quite a bit about you from someone we both knew. Are you alright? Not injured or anything, right?
[There's a moment when his heart skips a beat and hope fills the empty space Jiraiya left behind. He instantly lifts his head and rushes to pick up the strange object, staring with red-rimmed eyes at an unfamiliar face. Despite not knowing this person the hope remains because this person knows his name.]
You know me? You know my name?
[And he smiles a broken smile at the thought that maybe this person can help him get home, one hadn wiping at the tears on his face while the other grips the grass he's sitting on. An anchor just in case his hope is shattered.]
[Fingers dig into the soil, all hope slowly disappearing along with his broken smile as he mumbles:]
My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
[The confusion he feels is hidden behind stormy blue eyes filled with heartache. All that time he's been on a mission to find Sasuke Iruka had been here? But that doesn't make sense. Someone would have told him if Iruka-sensei had gone missing.]
[He's been pissed at the gods a lot, lately, if he's honest with himself. Not with his Goddess, specifically, but with THE GODS as a whole, as that external unknown entity that even after living int he Celestial Plains, he can't fully grasp the whole of.
Right now, he's quite pissed at them. And very, very sad. Because this person... had arrived at just the wrong time.
Have a teenage boy looking at you with very wide mournful eyes.]
I'm afraid you just missed Iruka-san, but... we'll do our best to help you.
[His heart is pounding now, confusion and shock and hope all abundantly clear in the way he hurries over to the strange object and stares down at the unfamiliar face.]
Tell me where he is! I have to find him!
[Iruka-sensei will know what to do. He knew what to say just a moment ago on the bench outside the store. A moment ago...when everything was the way it should be...except...Jiraiya...Ero-sennin...is gone.]
Please.
[He's never been the type to beg for anything. But at the moment he doesn't care.]
[That sense of loss that he's been battling since he heard the news that his teacher was dead overwhelms him again, threatening to suck him into the frightening void of darkness he's always fighting. That place inside of him where he hates the village and villagers and being a jinchuuriki. Where the demon he's carrying inside of him lurks and feeds off his pain and fear and rage.]
[He covers his face, hiding the tears and muffling the sobs and all he can think about is what he's lost.]
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Iruka-san? Kakashi-san?
[Open and curious, this response, just frank surprise, but then she gets herself in order and smoothens her expression.]
Ah, if we are thinking about the same people, I know them! They were here before, but sadly they are not now. Uhm, can you please try to calm down? I'll explain everything to you.
Reply
[Not just the voice, but the admission that whoever belonged to this voice also knew his Iruka-sensei and hisKakashi-sensei.]
[Even though he'd rather be stay right where he is, he manages to crawl over to the strange object and sit cross-legged next to it. He's almost afraid to pick it up, but he does anyways, poking at the image.]
Who are you?
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My name is Asano Rin. Nice to meet you.
[A short pause, then:]
To explain your situation. You're now in a world called Kannagara, which is, yes, an entirely different world than the one you come from. You're not alone in this; there are people from all sorts of parallel worlds trapped here for the time being.
[And there she halts, giving him time to digest this first information.]
Reply
[The word is strange and unfamiliar and he can't recall ever seeing Kannagara on any map he's seen. Not that he paid much attention to the details of a map other than how to get from point A to point B. And even then...his thought stops there and he repeats the word:]
Trapped.
[He rubs his arm across his face and looks around at his surroundings.]
So this is a prison?
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He just doesn't want to scare the kid more, that's all. Right.]
Hey, calm down. I don't think there's anyone by those names here anymore, but there's no need to panic. Just breathe for a minute, and then tell me your name, okay?
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[And why is he talking to a strange voice coming from a strange device in a strange place?]
[Blinking back the tears, he lifts his head and stares at the object.]
[A slow, deep breath and he starts slowly...]
My name...is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a Konoha shinobi. And I'm not in the mood for any games so if you're responsible for bringing me here I suggest you take me back before I kick your ass!
[He slams a fist against the ground next to the object, ignoring the tears that continue to fall. He's angry, but even more than anger he feels completely lost. He doesn't know what to do with this pain of losing someone. It feels like it's consuming him.]
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[Blink. Blink. This kid is younger than him, Touya is pretty sure.]
I'm certainly not responsible for bringing you here. We're all in the same situation, so I'm sorry there's nothing I can do, but I do have a place you can stay, if that helps.
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[And it's the first time he's really truly missed his little apartment and everything that makes it home despite having been alone in it for so long. Before he met Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei and...everyone...]
It's not much, but it's mine. I just...want to go home.
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Who the hell are you!?
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[Not really, but he wasn't thinking too clearly at the moment with so much weighing him down. And shouting and being angry was far easier than dealing with his pain.]
And it's gotten me pretty far in this wor-GAH! Where the hell am I!?
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Raikou can only stare in disbelief for a long moment, because how many times in the month he'd spent traveling with Iruka, had his friend told him stories about the boy he thought of as a brother back home? How many times had he listened to Iruka as his friend told him about his own regrets and the wealth of pride his mentor had for the young ninja?
Too many to count and none of it mattered in this moment, beyond the fact that while he had failed in helping Iruka... he could still reach a hand out to protect what was precious to a man that had reached a hand out to him.
That's the reason why he smiles a muted yet welcome smile and flicks on the video.]
...Would you be Naruto-kun, by chance?
[A beat.]
We've never met, but I've heard quite a bit about you from someone we both knew. Are you alright? Not injured or anything, right?
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You know me? You know my name?
[And he smiles a broken smile at the thought that maybe this person can help him get home, one hadn wiping at the tears on his face while the other grips the grass he's sitting on. An anchor just in case his hope is shattered.]
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[A beat before he sighed and added gently:] Before the gods here sent him back to his world.
But he spoke of you to me often, and fondly, and you fit the description. So am I right? Are you Naruto?
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[Fingers dig into the soil, all hope slowly disappearing along with his broken smile as he mumbles:]
My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
[The confusion he feels is hidden behind stormy blue eyes filled with heartache. All that time he's been on a mission to find Sasuke Iruka had been here? But that doesn't make sense. Someone would have told him if Iruka-sensei had gone missing.]
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Right now, he's quite pissed at them. And very, very sad. Because this person... had arrived at just the wrong time.
Have a teenage boy looking at you with very wide mournful eyes.]
I'm afraid you just missed Iruka-san, but... we'll do our best to help you.
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Iruka-sensei? He was here?
[His heart is pounding now, confusion and shock and hope all abundantly clear in the way he hurries over to the strange object and stares down at the unfamiliar face.]
Tell me where he is! I have to find him!
[Iruka-sensei will know what to do. He knew what to say just a moment ago on the bench outside the store. A moment ago...when everything was the way it should be...except...Jiraiya...Ero-sennin...is gone.]
Please.
[He's never been the type to beg for anything. But at the moment he doesn't care.]
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[Gau's tone is soft, regretful.]
He was really close friends with my lover, but... the gods sent him home. And it's probably a good thing, in his case, but...
[He won't explain all that, not now. Won't talk about how this boy's teacher went through hell, literally.]
I'm sorry he can't be here for you now.
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[He covers his face, hiding the tears and muffling the sobs and all he can think about is what he's lost.]
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