[His mouth opens, but he doesn't answer. Instead, he closes it and is silent for a long time. His brows furrow gently at the center.]
I thought... it was because he was stronger than me. He's... such an idiot about everything. He has so many weaknesses. I never understood how... he could suddenly be so much stronger than me when we did anything. When we fought.
But... that isn't it. I'm jealous that... he has something I don't.
The spirit that drives him. The one that never gives up--on his dream, on his friends. The one that understands... other people. The one that wants to make our village into one which doesn't treat those like he had been treated.
[This was a well thought-out answer and for a moment Beauty simply processes that. In a way...it sounds very strangely familiar. It sounds incredibly familiar in a way that he knows, that went unspoken in his own world but that makes him slightly homesick for the mortal world he left behind.
That sort of relationship is familiar, but simply from the other side of things. He folds his hands into his lap.]
Do you believe it's impossible to find a similar drive? Not the exact same spirit, but one like it. One that lets you work freely to work alongside him.
[Slowly, idly, he reaches up to rub the bottom edge of his face. The finger trail up; he brushes them over the rough lines of stitches in the eye he still hasn’t covered yet with anything but fringe.]
When I came here, I would have mocked you for that. Working together with Naruto... Our goals never aligned. Not even when I left... He was going to stop me, and I was going to kill my last friend so I could free myself of those bonds... and destroy our village, rebuild it.
But...
[The hand lowers.] I think now... Even if I don’t fully agree... If I don’t think what he wants will work... I’m tired of... running and ruining, and the two of those idiots... never giving up.
[Did. Did Sasuke get character development? This is a lot and yet somehow it feels right, Beauty allowing him to reach that conclusion on his own before he nods again.]
...I've come to find that those with opposing senses work best together. [A tad amused, a tad nostalgic.] While my best friend never wanted to destroy a village, he made it very difficult to be friends in the first place. I later found out it was because he was jealous of me despite not knowing the full situation. In the end, we created something beautiful and it would not run nearly as smoothly without him, despite the fact we rarely see eye to eye on my ideas.
I think even if you don't fully agree, the bond that you share will be what strengthens you and allows you to find your own spirit that motivates you.
[Blame Merriment and one Great Value Naruto, Senri Nito. Maybe Yu, too.]
I... don’t care about what I was promised anymore. I realized... if I wanted that, I could do it myself. The power to destroy Konoha completely and reform the ninja world. All I need is myself...
Naruto...
I’m going back whether I’m with the god who wins or not. He has to prove... he has what it takes to be Hokage. If he can’t defeat me, he doesn’t deserve to lead our village. I may die in the process, but... it doesn’t matter. As long as someone can bring peace to our home.
A very noble sacrifice, Sasuke-kun. [Oh. A name-change. Beauty contemplates this again.] ...it takes a great amount of strength to overpower someone, but I think it takes an even greater amount to be willing to admit defeat should the time come. Being a part of the bigger picture may be troubling for some, but I think looking at it is the most important part.
And that is why, perhaps, you've done well in this game so far. [What?] You've come to find others here that you'll work with even if you don't agree with them, yes? Because it means someone will reach the ultimate goal you seek.
[Brows together, he lifts his head and peers at Beauty. Yeah, what?]
The others... I thought they would get in my way. And maybe they did, maybe they do. But they wanted so badly to make this work without the fighting I’ve seen so much of. I still don’t think it will turn out how they want. We’ve lost others and two gods.
But... there isn’t any other option left. They wouldn’t give up, no matter what I said.
I wish and hope that it will turn out with a more peaceful ending than what we've seen so far, but I do think being a bit realistic will not hurt us. This week we shouldn't see the loss of more gods, but even with how peaceful the wings are, and how mostly inoffensive Love and Indulgence are, I fear people won't stop anyhow.
It's a matter of how we proceed from there, whether we choose to go it alone or if we rely on others. Perhaps it's time you've fully accepted that people don't wish to see you play this game on your own.
[There's a pause then.] Despite the stakes being as high as they are, people in this game should never feel loneliness. Understanding of one another may be what saves us in the end.
[There's nothing he can argue. He's resigned to sliding his hand up and rubbing the curve of the back of his neck at the hairline, a frowning glare on his face. It isn't directed at Beauty, but at the floor by his feet.
Damn... He's so tired of being hounded with this "work together" business from all angles. He thought he left that when he exited his home plane and came here. And now... there's still annoying, orange do-gooders in every dimension.]
Your "friend"... [The hand slips down, and he lifts his head.] How did you learn to work together?
Well. Truthfully, I think we only learned because I kept bothering him. [A little embarrassed laugh.] I had just moved to Japan, and we were in the same class. He volunteered to show me the campus and I started to ask him more about the country and to act as a tour guide and to take me places to see what I wanted to see and do as I wished to do.
I think it took him quite some time to understand that we could be friends without having political gain attached to it. And eventually he became very angry with me after assuming that I wasn't fighting hard enough for what I wanted. I had to make it clear it was the other way around, and I don't believe anyone's ever said that to him before.
We benefit from one another, really. He runs numbers, balances finances, and acts as my right hand on the business end of things while making sure my ideas are realistic enough to execute. I allow him to explore new ideas and experience new things.
We learned to work together upon realizing we each had something the other didn't, and coming together to use those qualities and make something beautiful.
closes my eyes very slowly why did i have to be right
[Well, if anything, this definitely, strangely, shuts Sasuke up. It doesn't really look like he's been slapped, but... he's stunned? Frozen by remembrance and then realization.
Shit...
Thinking about mocking Naruto for wasting time coming after him instead of training to be able to become Hokage... He can't believe how much embarrassment he has for his... old self. All this time...
Finally, he shifts.] That's all. [When he pushes up, he turns away, but his face winces down through the middle anyway.]
Beauty just...kind of stares for a moment before instinct kicks in and he catches him, sort of? Sasuke what in the hell. He'll just casually drag this passed out body to the couch then and wonder what cursed him this week.
...this was not his fault and nobody can say otherwise, thank you.]
[It's FINE!! It's very fine. It's so fine that he just
has nothing at all to say when he's being taken to the couch. He winces again, a little longer this time, and when he tries to push Beauty away so he can get back up, it's way too weak for someone like Sasuke. Hm.
The only telling factor is probably that his skin feels like it's on fire.]
[What the fuck is happening. That's really alarming and he just kind of hovers for a moment.]
...would you like to explain or shall we just pretend it's nothing and I fetch a fan? [This is half-dry and also half-worried. Please don't die in his room.]
[With no energy to sit completely up, he turns to his side to drape over the edge of the couch.] Ray... [This is stupid. He didn’t have time to put it off, though.] Shut up.
It’s... probably infected. I have a fever. [He closes his eyes.] Just... go away and let me... rest.
[Stupid idiot ninja. He should kick him out, frankly, but...he considers some things and relents instead. It'd be unfair to turn away someone who's clearly in bad shape.]
What did you do? [The tone's quiet, because what's infected...]
[Please kick him out and let him die? It’s save everyone a lot of trouble.]
The stitches... Stop asking... questions. [Ugh. He feels atrocious and didn’t realize until it got so bad. Now he’s set back.] I didn’t have... time to waste... resting.
So what you're saying is you were foolish and I should be fetching Ray instead. I suppose I can summon him in that case. [And he'll step out completely.]
I don't know if he'll listen to me if I do a reverse summons...[He's mulling that over to himself i.e. I am not sure if you pulled Jan somewhere else to deal with Sasuke's stupid ass or if Beauty actually should use his brain here.
There's a moment though where he snaps his fingers and sets up a fan though to blow air and try to cool him off though.]
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I thought... it was because he was stronger than me. He's... such an idiot about everything. He has so many weaknesses. I never understood how... he could suddenly be so much stronger than me when we did anything. When we fought.
But... that isn't it. I'm jealous that... he has something I don't.
The spirit that drives him. The one that never gives up--on his dream, on his friends. The one that understands... other people. The one that wants to make our village into one which doesn't treat those like he had been treated.
no subject
That sort of relationship is familiar, but simply from the other side of things. He folds his hands into his lap.]
Do you believe it's impossible to find a similar drive? Not the exact same spirit, but one like it. One that lets you work freely to work alongside him.
no subject
[Slowly, idly, he reaches up to rub the bottom edge of his face. The finger trail up; he brushes them over the rough lines of stitches in the eye he still hasn’t covered yet with anything but fringe.]
When I came here, I would have mocked you for that. Working together with Naruto... Our goals never aligned. Not even when I left... He was going to stop me, and I was going to kill my last friend so I could free myself of those bonds... and destroy our village, rebuild it.
But...
[The hand lowers.] I think now... Even if I don’t fully agree... If I don’t think what he wants will work... I’m tired of... running and ruining, and the two of those idiots... never giving up.
no subject
...I've come to find that those with opposing senses work best together. [A tad amused, a tad nostalgic.] While my best friend never wanted to destroy a village, he made it very difficult to be friends in the first place. I later found out it was because he was jealous of me despite not knowing the full situation. In the end, we created something beautiful and it would not run nearly as smoothly without him, despite the fact we rarely see eye to eye on my ideas.
I think even if you don't fully agree, the bond that you share will be what strengthens you and allows you to find your own spirit that motivates you.
no subject
I... don’t care about what I was promised anymore. I realized... if I wanted that, I could do it myself. The power to destroy Konoha completely and reform the ninja world. All I need is myself...
Naruto...
I’m going back whether I’m with the god who wins or not. He has to prove... he has what it takes to be Hokage. If he can’t defeat me, he doesn’t deserve to lead our village. I may die in the process, but... it doesn’t matter. As long as someone can bring peace to our home.
no subject
And that is why, perhaps, you've done well in this game so far. [What?] You've come to find others here that you'll work with even if you don't agree with them, yes? Because it means someone will reach the ultimate goal you seek.
no subject
The others... I thought they would get in my way. And maybe they did, maybe they do. But they wanted so badly to make this work without the fighting I’ve seen so much of. I still don’t think it will turn out how they want. We’ve lost others and two gods.
But... there isn’t any other option left. They wouldn’t give up, no matter what I said.
no subject
It's a matter of how we proceed from there, whether we choose to go it alone or if we rely on others. Perhaps it's time you've fully accepted that people don't wish to see you play this game on your own.
[There's a pause then.] Despite the stakes being as high as they are, people in this game should never feel loneliness. Understanding of one another may be what saves us in the end.
no subject
[There's nothing he can argue. He's resigned to sliding his hand up and rubbing the curve of the back of his neck at the hairline, a frowning glare on his face. It isn't directed at Beauty, but at the floor by his feet.
Damn... He's so tired of being hounded with this "work together" business from all angles. He thought he left that when he exited his home plane and came here. And now... there's still annoying, orange do-gooders in every dimension.]
Your "friend"... [The hand slips down, and he lifts his head.] How did you learn to work together?
no subject
I think it took him quite some time to understand that we could be friends without having political gain attached to it. And eventually he became very angry with me after assuming that I wasn't fighting hard enough for what I wanted. I had to make it clear it was the other way around, and I don't believe anyone's ever said that to him before.
We benefit from one another, really. He runs numbers, balances finances, and acts as my right hand on the business end of things while making sure my ideas are realistic enough to execute. I allow him to explore new ideas and experience new things.
We learned to work together upon realizing we each had something the other didn't, and coming together to use those qualities and make something beautiful.
closes my eyes very slowly why did i have to be right
Shit...
Thinking about mocking Naruto for wasting time coming after him instead of training to be able to become Hokage... He can't believe how much embarrassment he has for his... old self. All this time...
Finally, he shifts.] That's all. [When he pushes up, he turns away, but his face winces down through the middle anyway.]
sparkles slowly but with feeling
That's all? [BUT WHY SENRI'S SWEATER????]
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I was... just... [He moves forward, but it's oddly shuffled, maybe a little off.] ...following...
[And then he passes out. ????]
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Well that's unfortunate. Hm.
Beauty just...kind of stares for a moment before instinct kicks in and he catches him, sort of? Sasuke what in the hell. He'll just casually drag this passed out body to the couch then and wonder what cursed him this week.
...this was not his fault and nobody can say otherwise, thank you.]
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has nothing at all to say when he's being taken to the couch. He winces again, a little longer this time, and when he tries to push Beauty away so he can get back up, it's way too weak for someone like Sasuke. Hm.
The only telling factor is probably that his skin feels like it's on fire.]
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...would you like to explain or shall we just pretend it's nothing and I fetch a fan? [This is half-dry and also half-worried. Please don't die in his room.]
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[With no energy to sit completely up, he turns to his side to drape over the edge of the couch.] Ray... [This is stupid. He didn’t have time to put it off, though.] Shut up.
It’s... probably infected. I have a fever. [He closes his eyes.] Just... go away and let me... rest.
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What did you do? [The tone's quiet, because what's infected...]
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The stitches... Stop asking... questions. [Ugh. He feels atrocious and didn’t realize until it got so bad. Now he’s set back.] I didn’t have... time to waste... resting.
Ray has... first aid.
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So what you're saying is you were foolish and I should be fetching Ray instead. I suppose I can summon him in that case. [And he'll step out completely.]
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Quietly, he grunts, trying for a growl which fails. It’s fine. Ray will fix him.]
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There's a moment though where he snaps his fingers and sets up a fan though to blow air and try to cool him off though.]