oh, wade in the sonic joy

[confidenceman]

First Rome, and then fucking bees. Darrow had seemed calm and reasonable in the beginning, but these days, Sawyer's starting to feel like he's been dropped on the island all over again, without a single reliable way to predict how his way is going to go. The only thing he's noticed about this place is that it, much like the islands that came before, seems to enjoy putting people through the ringer without actually killing very many of them.

He's wondering how long that will hold, and whether or not it's something he can rely on.

The gun range is always an option for him to get in his practice, but Sawyer finds himself heading out into the forest instead today, far away from any known living areas and within grounds where hunting is permitted. He has a license.

It's one of the first things he worked towards after he initially arrived.

His goal isn't to hunt game, however. Instead, there's a silhouette of a man set up on a tree trunk far into the distance, a pistol in Sawyer's hand, and he's working on making sure that he can get the first shot to count. It's not as good as a moving target, but until he can find a better answer, it'll have to do.

A shot rings out, echoing in the distance, and Sawyer approaches to find the hole directly in the center of the figure's forehead.

Could be worse.

Comments

[outfoxy]

"Ne," Naruto calls out flatly from where he'd crawled, tucked silently and out of the way on a nearby tree-branch to watch the man with curious blue eyes, alert and wary He'd come when he'd heard the bright bang noise of the gun the man was firing. Guns were still largely a mystery to Naruto. Not what they could do, and why. Guns fired projectiles at people; the why, was because, as it was at home, not everyone in Darrow is capable of utilizing their chakra to create the same effect.

The target the man was aiming at ... isn't shaped like an animal, so he's not hunting for food. Maybe he needs the practice to protect himself, but what makes Naruto as wary as he is, is the simple fact that he's been shooting the target right between the eyes. That's not a shot meant for wounding, although he supposes, fairly, maybe it's still self-defense. It's a big maybe, but maybes happen.

"What are you practicing so hard for?"

[confidenceman]

The voice comes out of nowhere, startling Sawyer and nearly sending him tripping over his feet.

"Jesus Christ," he bites out, eyes wide and alarmed before he breathes a sigh of relief upon finding a young man, little more than a boy, and forcing his gun hand down. He's not sure how a kid managed to get so close to him without Sawyer taking notice; then again, there are a lot of things in Darrow outside of his understanding. And a hell of a lot more skilled than he's used to dealing with, too.

He stares at the man, and at the flecks of black on his cheeks, wondering what their significance might be.

"You ever hear of givin' someone a warning before you approach them? Especially when they've got a gun in their hands?" Sawyer asks, flicking the safety of the weapon on. "And I'm practicin' for the same goddamn reason why everyone else in this place should be practicin'. 'Cause there are a hell of a lot of threats out in this world."

[outfoxy]

"Sorry," Naruto apologizes, unapologetically, before deciding to venture out of the tree. He drops quietly to the ground before closing the distance, blue eyes questioning the weapon in the other man's hands, although it's plainly lowered. Still, a gun is pretty easy to understand once it's explained to you, and Naruto doesn't expect any great surprises from it. It has a trigger, pulling it makes bullets come out of the muzzle.

It's still strange to think about.

"Threats shaped like people," he observes of the target, but doesn't make any apparent move to judge. Naruto can't truthfully imagine other kinds of great threats. In the end, everything came down to someone or another's ideology. Everything really awful, anyway. Everything that you could do anything about. "Uzumaki Naruto," he offers, softening the set of his shoulders.

"I was just headed out to check around the outlying areas of this place again."

[confidenceman]

It's just a kid. It's a kid wearing orange, wearing some kind of funky plate on his forehead, and showing no decent level of fear at the sight of a gun. Something tells Sawyer it's not because the kid's been desensitized to guns, either. More likely a lack of experience than anything else.

He breathes, shaking his head with a slight frown. He's not really in the mind to add yet another person onto the list of those he looks out for in the city. He can only realistically spread his net so far.

"Threats shaped like people. What else am I gonna draw if I can't even tell who's all in charge of this place?" he asks, raising a brow. "I know how to fight people. If it's somethin' else, I'm probably screwed to begin with."

He rubs at his nose, slightly runny in the cold, with his sleeve.

"Name's Sawyer."

[outfoxy]

Closing the distance further, Naruto holds out a hand, palm sideways, for shaking. He neither trusts nor distrusts Sawyer particularly, but he understands the sentiment the guy's communicating. Although Naruto has no fear of any opponent, people-shaped or otherwise, he definitely understands that you can only expect a threat that you can conceive of.

And that you understood.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he offered. "I've been here for a few months. Nothing really bad has happened to me yet, but I've listened to people talk about some of the stuff that's happened to them since they were here. I don't know if a gun or whatever is going to do a whole lot, but it's better than not having a gun at all. And if you're going to have one, you might as well know how to use it properly."

[confidenceman]

"That's a lotta syllables. What d'you want me to call you?" Sawyer asks, giving the kid's hand a skeptical raise of his brow before accepting and offering him a firm, steady handshake. Doesn't really mean that he trusts the kid any better than he did a minute ago, but if there's something about a handshake that the kid feels comforted by, then why not?

"And I know how to use a gun," he adds, rolling his eyes with a sigh between his teeth. "But if I don't get my practice in, then my aim gets worse. If you aren't gonna use a gun, then what are you going to use?"

He looks the kid over. The blond hair and blue eyes throws him a little, but other than that, kid looks pretty Asian.

"Kung fu?"

[outfoxy]

"Taijutsu," Naruto corrects, "Taijutsu datteba." He's heard the term kung fu before in Darrow, but it isn't entirely correct, as far as Naruto knows, and not a term that came from home, so he isn't sure it applies. Not completely. He folds his arms petulantly over his chest, certain that he's fine, and will remain fine, without a gun. "And ninjutsu. I'm a ninja. Naruto is my name, it's fine if you just call me by that. It's only three syllables, so if you have trouble with that, you're worse than I am."

[confidenceman]

"It's all kung fu to me," Sawyer says with a raise of his brow, shaking his head. He doesn't have much of a head for remembering details that have nothing to do with his work. Wouldn't be able to tell the difference between one fighting type and the other.

More importantly, though, this Naruto kid is claiming to be some kind of ninja. While wearing orange. And looking like he's about fifteen in age.

"So I guess you play a lotta video games, Nintendo?"

[outfoxy]

"Ech," Naruto says, clearly disgusted by Sawyer's lack of enthusiasm, but also too lazy to do anything about it. Naruto\s never been that picky about the details, as long as someone has the general gist.

"I don't know what video games are. And it's Naruto. Naruto." He's starting to understand a little why Jiraiya had found him so obnoxious all those years ago. People ought to at least try to remember your name.

"Where'd you learn to use a gun? A lot of people around here have them. Not all of them are crooks ... but most of them are," he says, a little surveying He's been shot at twice now, both times by gang members. In Naruto's country, they would have been carrying swords.

[confidenceman]

"I learned to use a gun 'cause it was the only thing my daddy ever taught me," Sawyer says wryly, though he lowers the weapon, turning the safety on and tucking it away. The kid's got some kind of cartoon impression of guns, as far as Sawyer can tell. Maybe that's what happens in worlds that rely on ninja and bushido or whatever the hell it is that they align themselves to.

"There are worse things to be than a crook," he adds, moving to lean up against the tree, fishing in his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter.

[outfoxy]

“Like what kind of things?” Naruto asks, curious. It isn’t that he doesn’t have an idea of what’s out there worse than crooks -- that starts at Danzo and ends at Obito -- but he wants to know what Sawyer’s response will be. What he’s going to add to the list himself. It’ll tell Naruto more about Sawyer than almost anything else he can think to ask.

He does want to know more.

[confidenceman]

"Thought that one would be an easy answer," Sawyer says, arching a brow in surprise. Really, is this kid trying to suggest that he doesn't know how to weigh money against someone's life? Or that he thinks Sawyer's some kind of guy who might feel differently than the majority of the people in town?

"Those who hurt other people. I'd say livin' creatures, but hell, I'm most concerned about the people. Folks who hurt others of their kind are the worst. 'specially those who ain't as well-equipped to take care of themselves."

[outfoxy]

Ask a stupid question, get a detailed answer. It's worked out for Naruto in the past and, he supposes, it still works out in Darrow. He's met people of all flavors of morality -- and had to do his own calculus to try to decide where folks stood. There was trash, maybe, but there was always worse trash, and even worse trash than that.

But not everyone's sliding scale was exactly the same. He considers Sawyer. He has no arguments with what the guy's said. So he doesn't bother confirming that he believes everything about Sayer's statement is what he sees as true.

"So are you from Darrow, or not? You don't seem like a person that's from around here." Naruto can't even put a finger on why.

[confidenceman]

"Ain't from around here, no. If I were, maybe I'd already have figured out whatever I wanted to do to cope with all the shit that runs free around here, but," Sawyer takes a deep breath and sighs heavily, shaking his head. He doesn't feel dejected most of the time while in the city. If nothing else, that streak of self-preservation inside of him keeps him active and alert when shit goes down.

It's only when he looks retrospectively that everything feels half as daunting as it does.

"I'm originally from the United States, like most folks from outta town. Spent some time on a tropical island. Then I wound up here. More leapfrogging than I would have preferred."