awashlogs | Event Ten.

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Event Ten.

Little Willie, mean as hell,
Pushed his sister in a well.
Mother said, while drawing water,
"My, it's hard to raise a daughter."

t's pretty dark and miserable down in the well. The cavernous area feels much larger than a well should be, bodies milling about in the darkness and knee deep, frigid water. So you're here -- and you're not alone, and the only way out appears to be the thin circle of sunlight from above, the opening of the well.

(And elsewhere, in the Town, everyone's waking up to gifts of various usefulness, but hopefully they remember to check the well today even so!)

What now?

Welcome to Awash's tenth event log, and the intro log for this month, everyone! All new characters have found themselves waking in the well in the middle of the Town. Hopefully they can get a hand out! For more information, please go here!

Meanwhile, the current characters have some new gifts.

If there are any questions, please ask them here, and have fun! Thank you!

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More than likely. [Sasuke doesn't sound put-out by Yuu's resistance for advice. He hadn't taken much advice when he was Yuu's age either.] He reminds me a lot of my friend's son, Boruto.

But he seems to think a great deal of you. Your words hold more weight than anyone else's words. It's how families are.

I know.

[It's quiet, short, and it's because he 1. doesn't like admitting gushy things like this in the first place, but 2. doesn't feel comfortable when other people become aware of them. It's too much danger to everyone else when he puts worth in them. His life is exhausting, and he's trying to protect what he can.]

I won't let him die. [If he can help it. This side of him, at least.]

[For a quiet moment, Sasuke regards Guren with sympathy. Having kids changes a lot of things, and he never thought about most of it until... well, getting kids, the next generation.]

I believe you.

I don't think anyone here would let him die either. [While he doesn't exactly smile, his expression is an attempt at reassurance.] I have a daughter. Not here--as far as I can tell. Sarada.

I understand.

There's no one here by that name yet, at least.

[No one who looks like him, really, either.]

But you're right. We'll all look out for each other. You'll help too, won't you?

Good. [He would take care of them if they were here, Sarada and Sakura. But he prefers for them to be at home, safe. Naruto will protect them there, and this he trusts.

Carefully, fluidly, Sasuke finally rises up to his feet. The bit of wind catches him, whipping the end of the cloak, the collar of it, his hair. The empty sleeve, never pinned, catches the wind, too, but Sasuke doesn't seem bothered.] I'll do what I can.

This place interferes with the destination of my portals. I'll have to see what else it has done.

[Guren doesn't stare. He glances, for a second, and then looks forward off the roof again, but he's very aware of Sasuke standing there, that empty sleeve, and everything else.]

This place interferes with a lot. You can create portals?

I can with the rinnegan. [His head turns to look at Guren, and the wind pulls the dark hair away from his face for once. His left eye is perpetually in a state of strange purple stretching from corner to corner, broken up by several swirling lines.] It's an eye technique which allows me access to the Six Paths.

[This makes no sense to Guren maybe, but it's okay.]

The portals don't lead anywhere but back to this place. They're unstable when passing through and give illusions after using them.

[This makes Little sense, it's true. He's thinking about Buddhism here? Reincarnation? But this doesn't make sense, still.]

Then stop trying to use them before you end up hurting yourself. The magic surrounding this place isn't like any normal illusion spell. [He does use the word genjutsu for illusion, specifically,] It's beyond what I've seen.

[Aw, Guren cares!! Sorry, but he'll keep trying the portals here and there, even if it wears him out, even if he succumbs to awful visions as a repercussion.]

You know genjutsu. [Interesting. Maybe he doesn't have to be quite as descriptive as he thinks. Sort of.

Guren isn't very far off with the relation to Buddhism. The Six Paths are based on it, on reincarnation. He could probably revive the dead... but here, it wouldn't turn out anywhere near like it should, and he's never attempted it before.]

I have an immunity to genjutsu. It is one of the techniques my clan were known for. If this place can create genjutsu even in those with immunity, what else has it done?

[An immunity, huh. He immediately wants to see that immunity do anything against Goshi's spells, which work even on noble vampires, but that makes him homesick again, and he immediately wipes it away. This place is still entirely different.]

From what it seems... if you have any sort of ability that gets in the way of whatever this little game is, then consider it screwed with. I can see through most illusions myself, but I've still gotten caught up in spells here now and then.

I can't tell how it works, either. Any of it. [He's normally OP perceptive, so this is very annoying??]

[Sasuke will accept this duel of the illusions.]

Hm.

[It's difficult to consider he may be at more of a disadvantage than he believed, even if he doesn't mind getting stronger. In the face of this, Sasuke still doesn't appear to be thwarted. Determined, more than anything.]

We'll figure it out in time. Do you all have a leader?

No. [He says that first, and then, with a heavy pause, kind of shrugs his hand into the air.]

I'm the closest thing we have to one, leading the defense force. I'm just trying to keep everyone safe and working together.

[The only thing this gets is a small nod. Whether Sasuke agrees or disagrees, he makes no indication in expression.]

Tell me about the defense force. I've noticed a lot of children here, so I'm sure you have a good number participating. [It doesn't really sound like he's ragging Guren for it, though? Ninja children in school are still ninja children in school.] Has it helped?

I think so.

[He places his hand back on his hip.] Friendship and camaraderie are the best thing you can have in a situation like this. It's encouraging them all to get to know each other better, and they all feel like they have someone to look up to, in a way, with me being there.

It's a pain, but it's something solid that this town needs.

Sounds like the Academy. [The good ol' days.] I'm obligated to tell you what I'm sure you've heard a hundred times: you should be careful.

With the kids and with being a leader. Neither are easy.

You shouldn't forget you have friends here, too. Don't you? Make sure you ask them for help when you need it. Not even a leader can do everything alone.

I know. This isn't my first time.

[And, stubbornly, he will continue to rely on people selectively and cause worry when it comes to himself... The last thing he wants is to burden others, so there are times when he can't help it, but otherwise...!! Even Guren's dad couldn't stop him.]

Speaking from experience?

[SMH, Guren. Sasuke will strangle him, it's fine.]

The leader of our village is the biggest loser I know.

Even if he can make more than a hundred shadow clones, he still can't do everything a Hokage needs to do by himself. He can't even find the time to spend with his own family.

[Sasuke is standing in the thinnest glass house throwing stones, but listen. Naruto chose the Hokage life.]

A Hokage protects the people of Konoha, but without others, the Hokage won't be able to do anything at all.

[Guren just smirks at that, letting a quiet laugh slip out.]

In other words, you're just the backseat driver. [He's teasing. He knows he speaks the truth.]

It's not just the army I have a high position in. I became the leader of my clan when I was 16, too. [yay,] I'm not saying I'm great at it or anything. I'm just saying I've heard it all before. My friends won't shut up about relying on them. I get it.

[Those particular friends just...aren't here...]

The people of the village try to call me the Shadow of the Hokage. [As if he's agreeing with the "backseat driver" bit.] But I don't care for titles.

[Gently, his head tilts at Guren, and he studies the other man quietly at the specific use of the word clan. And then, just as quietly, he looks back out over the town. His face is soft around the edges, but the expression is more solemn than joyful.] Everyone needs at least one friend. [It's simple advice which sounds strangely cryptic.]

I don't think you could call what I was a leader of my clan. I was simply the only one left of it, in the end. A seven year old orphan is no leader.

[Yeah, he says clan because he was born into a weird cult, the life.]

I'm sorry to hear that. [But he leaves it as simple as that, because he's not about to dig into someone's childhood when it's that dark. At least, not now. He wouldn't want some stranger to do that, either. He feels responsible for his own father's death, too, and a good chunk of them, if not all of them... Who knows if any are alive, I sure don't.

Anyway, he got the answer. That "Hokage" was his family, along with whoever he married and his daughter. And now, he can stay silent just out of respect for bringing up his dead other-family. Woops.]

[When Sasuke glances back and nods faintly in acknowledgment of the sympathy, it seems as if he must have reconciled some time of another with the baggage strapped to the back of what he has said.

There's no anger or bitterness in his expression even for someone missing one arm, someone being the sole heir to the clan name, the clan secrets, the clan title.]

It was a long time ago.

That doesn't change anything. I know that.

[It doesn't make pain go away. The distance made by time is something, but it's never been enough. At least not for Guren.]

Anyway, these rooftops aren't all the most stable, so we should probably give them a break. [Even if Guren's honestly slender, he doubts it's a good idea for two of them to be up here at any given moment for extended periods of time.]

I have to go check on that idiot, too, if he's running around sharing his life story with everyone.

[Though he doesn’t say anything in response to the understanding, Sasuke does search Guren’s face briefly. If he finds whatever he’s looking for or not, he makes no indication.]

You’re going to have your hands full. I know that.

[In a way, it makes him miss Boruto even if he hasn’t spent a large amount of time with the boy. Yuu reminded him of Boruto anyway... or Naruto at the very least.] Here. [This time, Sasuke doesn’t throw it. He offers the shuriken back out between his fingers.] He wanted me to teach him. I told him he had to retrieve this from you and return it to me first.

You’ll keep him on his toes, I hope.

[Once Guren takes it, without so much as a word, Sasuke blurs then disappears. Guren can track him—not teleportion but insanely fast movements. Sasuke goes from the roof to the ground in a matter of seconds, running and jumping to Guren, of course. At the bottom, he waits on Guren to descend despite the likelihood they’ll part ways.]

[Guren makes a face at the shuriken, but reaches out to take it with a sigh. He watches Sasuke move like that, then simply hops off the roof himself, lazily and with no real rush. They are about to part ways, but—]

You just made him an even bigger pain in the ass. Thanks a lot. [It's not as digging as it sounds.]

Call it an exercise in bonding. It isn’t about how strong or fast he is, or about his skills. It’s about cooperation. All he has to do is ask you nicely for it.

[A partial smirk finds its way to his face, surprisingly. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy when there’s no resting bitch face.]

My team and I spent a long time giving our teacher a hard time. The other teachers claimed he had never passed a team he taught, not one. But, in the end, he passed us. Three of the dumbest he probably ever had.

I guess I’m returning the favor.

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