confidenceman | oh, wade in the sonic joy

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.

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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."

"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?"

"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."

"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?"

"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.

"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.

“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.

"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."

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.

"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."

oh, wade in the sonic joy

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