[if he was out of his depth before, he's floating out in space now. because - ]
.... I think you're right, in some ways.
[that's the problem, when the truth gets blurry - and he thinks it's even funnier that someone like him is having trouble discerning the line between reality and injured, emotional fabrication.]
I wanted to find who hurt Shiks, and maybe removing one of Love's followers instead of thinning out the lesser gods was a bad call. As long as we participate in their trials and in their game, we're just as guilty as anyone else.
[ . . . . ]
But I'm not pretending to be sorry. I am sorry. It doesn't make anything better - but I don't know what will. So it's why I asked if you're going to talk to gods, if you want someone else making appeals.... because I don't know what to do to -
.... you don't need my help, but I want to offer it.
[he still expects sasuke to hate it, but at least he said it.]
I didn't need anyone's help before, and I don't need it now. After Indulgence, you're not of any use to me. [It sounds like he's trying to be harsh, but really, he just sounds tired and empty. Not looking at Senri like he would look at someone otherwise is probably not helping his case.] If you think I'll hesitate to get rid of you that's your own stupidity.
[he doesn't say it out loud, but he thinks for someone who constantly accuses senri of lying, senri thinks that sasuke is trenched in a pit of really aggressive untruths]
[instead he shakes his head and sighs, gaze fall into the pool]
Look, this game will only get harder for you if you try to go it alone. I asked Merriment for advice and he said that it's better played with more information, which you can get faster if you don't shut everyone out.
I don't hate you, and I don't want to see you dead. And seeing you like this makes me worried - so please eat something, at some point.
[JUST!! DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET THE LAST WORD ABOUT THAT, SENRI!]
And a pain. [Both of his fists ball. It's too familiar for comfort. He hates hearing the words of someone he knows coming out of someone else's mouth. Even here, he can't escape.] I don't need to make friends to get information. [He's a ninja!! Surely, that's the best way.]
Why do you keep trying to help someone who's an enemy?
and he blinks like he's surprised by that last question, because he is? he doesn't even hesitate this time, he just tries to explain, clear as day.]
You're not my enemy. And I'm not yours either, for the record.
We could even be on the same team for all we know. You're a jerk, but you already know I don't like seeing people hurt. I'm not trying to trick you into trusting me, so just stop being dumb about it.
Being a team means nothing to me. [sorry, he defected from team 7...] You're an opponent, even if we happened to be similarly aligned. I doubt we are. [Because... gestures at all of Senri.]
Stop taking care of everyone you feel sorry for. It'll get you killed.
Stop putting words in my mouth - what do you think I'm stopping you from? Leaving you alone?
[because to be honest it's one thing when senri leaves takaomi alone - they make each other mad in a way that sasuke hasn't even touched.
but as far as senri can tell, sasuke isolates. he tries to cut off everyone else, even when he's losing. his family left him behind, and instead of clinging onto anything, he's setting everything on fire.
senri doesn't get it.]
What are you hoping to accomplish with that? More self-injury and recklessness?
[It's no surprise Sasuke looks extremely offended at being--well, called out. Senri wouldn't know about his unbridled anger, the one that literally blinded him from using too much of the sharingan. Whatever it took, it didn't matter.
The ones who had to pay would.]
You don't know anything. [STOP NARUTO-ING HIM] Stick to your stage plays. [Stay out of his lane, he's trying to turbo!!!!] I know what I'm doing.
That's the problem - I don't think you do. If I thought you had this handled, and you were going to head for an ending that'd actually make you happy instead of just vaguely less murderous, I wouldn't care!
[sasuke being happy is... such a faraway goal.....]
You're a ninja, so I get that you're stronger than me - but your people skills and emotional stability are way off. Are you seriously content like this....?
That's why you're an idiot. I'm not playing this game to be happy. [It isn't... about making himself happy. Not this, not his end goal especially.] There's no happiness in the darkness of my future.
I'm doing this for something completely different. And I don't care what I have to do to get there.
[senri actually takes a second to think about how sasuke is what takaomi's emo songs are made out of because holy fuck this is not what he expected when he made rice balls and came to see him]
What? You know it doesn't have to be like that, right?
I don't know what it is that you want - but the gods can give anything. They literally brought us here and are about to make their entire world - and your goal is something imperfect that still leaves you alone and miserable?
[wow senri who said he's miserable what gave you that impression]
I'm aware they can give anything. What I asked for wasn't just nothing. [He asked!! for a lot!!
But he does look insulted (again) at Senri trying to dunk on his desires, as if being alone and miserable aren't things he thinks he's fine with.] Just shut up. [If he wasn't looking Senri's way before, he sure is now! He's ready to FITE!] You aren't looking at the bigger picture, idiot! This isn't about me.
This is about helping a god make a world that's equal. One that's fair and safe for everyone! Creating a world like that isn't simple.
[i'm so sorry he's this way, he's fired up]
None of the Kages ever knew how to do it correctly. They were too busy thinking about themselves, about their own "happiness"! They used whoever they wanted to obtain it. They talked peace and then created wars in the ninja world between innocent people!
I'm not going to let that happen--not to a world here, and not back home.
[the funny thing is that senri was trying to hold back for the first half of this conversation. because it has been a long fucking day, and for the last bulk of the trial, the only thing that he felt was sad and hopeless. and when he feels that way, he doesn't like being provoked.
but then sasuke was fucking impossible.
and the more he says, the more it pokes at the part of senri that gets angry.]
How can you be so awful when you have such a noble goal - when we want the same thing?!
[admittedly it was not senri's exact reason for coming here but.]
Who told you that you have to run yourself into the ground just to be able to get what you're working for? What's your problem on relying on other people?
Something that perfect isn't sustainable with just one person trying to make it all work.
[He just stares at Senri in disbelief. The same thing? No. Certainly not. Not by a long shot. Him and Senri? Nope. Senri wants to get this kind of world the wrong way. The same way the Kages did. The same way Naruto does.
He won't stand for it.]
I told you other people get in the way. You'll end up trying to please everyone. You'll hurt others to make some happy. You'll hurt some to make others happy. It's pointless. I've seen it fail before.
The only way to create a perfect world is to become a leader who endures the darkness and hate themselves.
i can't believe you held a gun to my head and made me do this
[Listen. He's a ninja. He's super skilled, even depowered? He was almost as much of a prodigy as his brother?
But the push is unexpected when he's so focused on arguing the hell out Senri, and he actually unfurls to try to catch himself. Just to... go over into the water.
Alas, he's skilled, remember, and he isn't going alone. A hand snaps back to grab Senri by the arm and the clothes, tight, thinking Senri may be sentinel enough to keep him from going into the water. They probably just both end up in there anyway.
He breaks the surface with a gasp and a hard glare. He looks like a wet cat, angry, hair momentarily flat.] What are you doing, dumbass?! [He wishes he had his ninjutsu... He'd suck Senri up in a vortex and smash him against the wall.
Instead, he slaps his palm against the water and splashes.]
anyway that's valid because senri deserves that for pushing the ninja into the pool? he's actually been pretty shitty so he deserves a lot of this. since there is no actual canon evidence that senri knows how to fucking swim he's probably thrown off pretty bad but suddenly getting pulled into the water which leaves sasuke yelling at
no one
because senri is still underwater and not close enough to the edge of the pool to flail a hand up to grab it
Sasuke pauses, glancing down through the water. Is this some kind of joke? This fucking moron is hanging out underwater, trying to, like, grab his leg or something? Trying to scare him?] Cut it the hell out!
I'm not playing your games. [Stage actor?
But Senri still doesn't come up? Concerning.] Nito! [For fuck's sake. He takes a big inhale and drops down below the surface. He'll be able to see if Senri is being a jack-- holy shit
SENRI IS DROWNING
Without thinking, he sweeps his arms and powers down. He isn't exactly nice when he grabs a fistful of Senri's hair to pull up, but the water thankfully makes it less painful. He grabs more of Senri after, the clothes, the shoulders and arms, and he turns to power back up and haul Senri halfway over the edge.]
it's a little funny that senri's thought was 'I wanted to see Shiks again, but not like this' and he wonders if it's karma.
He was flailing around a little uselessly as he was sinking down into the pool, and he thinks a lot about how if this is the way he goes out, and this is how Takaomi has to find his body, and if Sasuke managed to get in trouble for it even though Senri totally started it - ah, that's pretty unforgivable.
it's pretty fucking rude but he also totally didn't expect sasuke to actually help him out, though he absolutely clings on the second that he can
and when he gets thrown back over the edge, he's coughing grossly and trying to get his lungs to work but also - ]
[Thank God. Sasuke was one hundred percent not about to give Senri CPR if Senri had actually been dying. He's also not a medical ninja, that's Sakura's shtick!]
Why are you by the water if you can't swim, moron?!
[This is so stupid. Sasuke grabs Senri by the legs and shoves him further out of the pool and rolling off on the side, hopefully not over the rice balls, but even if so... whatever. Senri should be glad there was no death.]
You should have just left me alone. Are you trying to frame me?
[Palming the side of the pool, he hauls his own self straight up and out onto a leg and a knee. Sorry, I don't want to type that he has on a thin, grayish-purple shirt and it clings to his not even appropriately ripped ninja body because it's see-through, so let's just say he's WET and be done with it.]
[senri is luckily too close to death to be gay right now?]
Why would I - [ugh his throat hurts] Aahhh, I just nearly drowned, shut up with your stupid questions right now!!
[MORE GROSS COUGHING and just trying to get his hair out of his face??? he does not roll onto the rice balls out of SPITE but also reaches to grab one of the cherry tomatoes he brought over to weakly throw at sasuke because he's annoyed and hasn't learned his lesson
he tries to sit up and winces because senri is a weak bitch baby normie and shakes his head]
I was just making a point on how you can't do things alone, don't make me say it again....!!
[YOU END UP LIKE SENRI WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM]
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.... I think you're right, in some ways.
[that's the problem, when the truth gets blurry - and he thinks it's even funnier that someone like him is having trouble discerning the line between reality and injured, emotional fabrication.]
I wanted to find who hurt Shiks, and maybe removing one of Love's followers instead of thinning out the lesser gods was a bad call. As long as we participate in their trials and in their game, we're just as guilty as anyone else.
[ . . . . ]
But I'm not pretending to be sorry. I am sorry. It doesn't make anything better - but I don't know what will. So it's why I asked if you're going to talk to gods, if you want someone else making appeals.... because I don't know what to do to -
.... you don't need my help, but I want to offer it.
[he still expects sasuke to hate it, but at least he said it.]
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I didn't need anyone's help before, and I don't need it now. After Indulgence, you're not of any use to me. [It sounds like he's trying to be harsh, but really, he just sounds tired and empty. Not looking at Senri like he would look at someone otherwise is probably not helping his case.] If you think I'll hesitate to get rid of you that's your own stupidity.
[sasuke hates it, yeah!!!!!!!!!!]
[1/2]
You're just so rude....
[he doesn't say it out loud, but he thinks for someone who constantly accuses senri of lying, senri thinks that sasuke is trenched in a pit of really aggressive untruths]
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Look, this game will only get harder for you if you try to go it alone. I asked Merriment for advice and he said that it's better played with more information, which you can get faster if you don't shut everyone out.
I don't hate you, and I don't want to see you dead. And seeing you like this makes me worried - so please eat something, at some point.
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[JUST!! DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET THE LAST WORD ABOUT THAT, SENRI!]
And a pain. [Both of his fists ball. It's too familiar for comfort. He hates hearing the words of someone he knows coming out of someone else's mouth. Even here, he can't escape.] I don't need to make friends to get information. [He's a ninja!! Surely, that's the best way.]
Why do you keep trying to help someone who's an enemy?
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and he blinks like he's surprised by that last question, because he is? he doesn't even hesitate this time, he just tries to explain, clear as day.]
You're not my enemy. And I'm not yours either, for the record.
We could even be on the same team for all we know. You're a jerk, but you already know I don't like seeing people hurt. I'm not trying to trick you into trusting me, so just stop being dumb about it.
[tall order here]
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Stop taking care of everyone you feel sorry for. It'll get you killed.
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also sasuke: stop doing this, it'll get you killed
senri: ???????????????????????]
Why are you so determined to burn every bridge you cross?
[WHY IS SASUKE LIKE THIS]
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Bonds hold you back. You won't ever accomplish what you set out to do with others getting in the way. Just like you.
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[because to be honest it's one thing when senri leaves takaomi alone - they make each other mad in a way that sasuke hasn't even touched.
but as far as senri can tell, sasuke isolates. he tries to cut off everyone else, even when he's losing. his family left him behind, and instead of clinging onto anything, he's setting everything on fire.
senri doesn't get it.]
What are you hoping to accomplish with that? More self-injury and recklessness?
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The ones who had to pay would.]
You don't know anything. [STOP NARUTO-ING HIM] Stick to your stage plays. [Stay out of his lane, he's trying to turbo!!!!] I know what I'm doing.
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[sasuke being happy is... such a faraway goal.....]
You're a ninja, so I get that you're stronger than me - but your people skills and emotional stability are way off. Are you seriously content like this....?
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I'm doing this for something completely different. And I don't care what I have to do to get there.
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What? You know it doesn't have to be like that, right?
I don't know what it is that you want - but the gods can give anything. They literally brought us here and are about to make their entire world - and your goal is something imperfect that still leaves you alone and miserable?
[wow senri who said he's miserable what gave you that impression]
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But he does look insulted (again) at Senri trying to dunk on his desires, as if being alone and miserable aren't things he thinks he's fine with.] Just shut up. [If he wasn't looking Senri's way before, he sure is now! He's ready to FITE!] You aren't looking at the bigger picture, idiot! This isn't about me.
This is about helping a god make a world that's equal. One that's fair and safe for everyone! Creating a world like that isn't simple.
[i'm so sorry he's this way, he's fired up]
None of the Kages ever knew how to do it correctly. They were too busy thinking about themselves, about their own "happiness"! They used whoever they wanted to obtain it. They talked peace and then created wars in the ninja world between innocent people!
I'm not going to let that happen--not to a world here, and not back home.
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but then sasuke was fucking impossible.
and the more he says, the more it pokes at the part of senri that gets angry.]
How can you be so awful when you have such a noble goal - when we want the same thing?!
[admittedly it was not senri's exact reason for coming here but.]
Who told you that you have to run yourself into the ground just to be able to get what you're working for? What's your problem on relying on other people?
Something that perfect isn't sustainable with just one person trying to make it all work.
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He won't stand for it.]
I told you other people get in the way. You'll end up trying to please everyone. You'll hurt others to make some happy. You'll hurt some to make others happy. It's pointless. I've seen it fail before.
The only way to create a perfect world is to become a leader who endures the darkness and hate themselves.
i can't believe you held a gun to my head and made me do this
that's it
that's the tag]
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... you need to cool off.
You have a good idea and I want you to do it.
But you can't seclude yourself just because you're afraid to build connections with people in order to make the world you want.
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But the push is unexpected when he's so focused on arguing the hell out Senri, and he actually unfurls to try to catch himself. Just to... go over into the water.
Alas, he's skilled, remember, and he isn't going alone. A hand snaps back to grab Senri by the arm and the clothes, tight, thinking Senri may be sentinel enough to keep him from going into the water. They probably just both end up in there anyway.
He breaks the surface with a gasp and a hard glare. He looks like a wet cat, angry, hair momentarily flat.] What are you doing, dumbass?! [He wishes he had his ninjutsu... He'd suck Senri up in a vortex and smash him against the wall.
Instead, he slaps his palm against the water and splashes.]
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redoes the entire tag
anyway that's valid because senri deserves that for pushing the ninja into the pool? he's actually been pretty shitty so he deserves a lot of this. since there is no actual canon evidence that senri knows how to fucking swim he's probably thrown off pretty bad but suddenly getting pulled into the water which leaves sasuke yelling at
no one
because senri is still underwater and not close enough to the edge of the pool to flail a hand up to grab it
Senri Nito is dead.]no subject
SENRI DID NOT COME BACK UP.
Sasuke pauses, glancing down through the water. Is this some kind of joke? This fucking moron is hanging out underwater, trying to, like, grab his leg or something? Trying to scare him?] Cut it the hell out!
I'm not playing your games. [Stage actor?
But Senri still doesn't come up? Concerning.] Nito! [For fuck's sake. He takes a big inhale and drops down below the surface. He'll be able to see if Senri is being a jack-- holy shit
SENRI IS DROWNING
Without thinking, he sweeps his arms and powers down. He isn't exactly nice when he grabs a fistful of Senri's hair to pull up, but the water thankfully makes it less painful. He grabs more of Senri after, the clothes, the shoulders and arms, and he turns to power back up and haul Senri halfway over the edge.]
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it's a little funny that senri's thought was 'I wanted to see Shiks again, but not like this' and he wonders if it's karma.
He was flailing around a little uselessly as he was sinking down into the pool, and he thinks a lot about how if this is the way he goes out, and this is how Takaomi has to find his body, and if Sasuke managed to get in trouble for it even though Senri totally started it - ah, that's pretty unforgivable.
it's pretty fucking rude but he also totally didn't expect sasuke to actually help him out, though he absolutely clings on the second that he can
and when he gets thrown back over the edge, he's coughing grossly and trying to get his lungs to work but also - ]
Sorry - sorry, sorry.
[more gross coughing]
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Why are you by the water if you can't swim, moron?!
[This is so stupid. Sasuke grabs Senri by the legs and shoves him further out of the pool and rolling off on the side, hopefully not over the rice balls, but even if so... whatever. Senri should be glad there was no death.]
You should have just left me alone. Are you trying to frame me?
[Palming the side of the pool, he hauls his own self straight up and out onto a leg and a knee. Sorry, I don't want to type that he has on a thin, grayish-purple shirt and it clings to his not even appropriately ripped ninja body because it's see-through, so let's just say he's WET and be done with it.]
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Why would I - [ugh his throat hurts] Aahhh, I just nearly drowned, shut up with your stupid questions right now!!
[MORE GROSS COUGHING and just trying to get his hair out of his face??? he does not roll onto the rice balls out of SPITE but also reaches to grab one of the cherry tomatoes he brought over to weakly throw at sasuke because he's annoyed and hasn't learned his lesson
he tries to sit up and winces because senri is a
weak bitch babynormie and shakes his head]I was just making a point on how you can't do things alone, don't make me say it again....!!
[YOU END UP LIKE SENRI WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM]
this tag is just bc dana taunted me ALSO HE ONLY HAS ONE ARM I FORGOT
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