maskormenacelogs | closed | do you want to see the world

Entry tags:

closed | do you want to see the world

WHO: lapis lazuli & naruto uzumaki.
WHERE: heropa.
WHEN: nov 14.
WHAT: naruto and lapis discover that mini golf isnt all it's cracked up to be.
WARNINGS: disappointment. and golf. but also bonding! adorable bonding!

[ He'd polished his kunai for this? Okay, so he'd gone into it pretty blind in the first place; on the whim of some gathering he'd seen across the street as he'd been running past and he knew right from the start that he was taking a chance... but he never thought it would crash and burn this badly.

He props his golf club on the ground and rests his arm on it as he leans in to the rules board, squinting from the jovially and colourfully written instructions to the large but shoddily constructed scaly snake-with-arms monster thing at the end that looked way better from a distance than it did close up and back again. He's trying to figure out where it all went wrong. He takes a closer look at these 'rules'. Whoever heard of rules when it came to training, huh???? ]

Hit the ball into the-.... hmmm. No touchin' the sculptures-- whaaat? Eh, no kickin'.... good behaviour... No usin' the clubs as weapons?! What the hell is-..

[ The kids already circulating the field with their parents all look like they're having a blast. They also all look about half Naruto's age and-- well, he's not sure how old Lapis is, but he doesn't think she's going to be too impressed. He chews his cheek, scratches his whiskers with a finger, then turns to his companion. ]

I thought this was gonna be way better than it sounds, y'know.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He very much regrets telling her to beat that after she's successfully beaten that. So much for impressing her. He wasn't counting her swings, but he's pretty sure she beat him, and with a wince he turns to the little stone path leading to the next patch of grass. ]

Alright, don't think you're gonna be so lucky twice though. [ Definitely beginners luck. For sure. He just showed her how to do it! This time he'll be so fast she wont have time to steal his technique!!! He's forgotten entirely about the monster at the end, and is instead determined to best her on these swings alone.

After a quick pace around his next obstacle, he stands poised once more. This time the ball needs to go over the hill rather than under it, and Naruto isn't an idiot; he knows he needs to apply a little more power to his swing to get it up the incline but not so much that it misses the hole or hits the fence. Two rather impressive hits later, he's close to getting it into the goal and decides to strike up a conversation. ]

So, you get up to much while I was gone, huh? [ Tap and swing and- damn it.... ]

[hm, a hill. she wonders if the secret here is that rather than getting the ball over the hill, you need to get it through instead..? it's something to try when her turn comes around, at least.

in the meantime Lapis watches Naruto go, still with that analytical intensity. it's a distraction that she'd be glad for it she were a little more aware of the impact her words had on people, because once again her answer is anything but cheerful.]

Everyone left.

[Gaara, Naruto, Tara...everyone she'd made a tentative bond with had vanished over (to a gem) a short span of time. was there really anything more interesting than that?

...oh, wait, there totally was. she adds it on to the reply after a moment's contemplation.]

And I met some chickens.

Hey, not everyone left. [ Case and point, he's standing right here doing a little victory dance as the ball falls into the hole with a satisfying series of clacks. ] I mean, I left, but I came back y'know. It's sad, and lonely, but it doesn't last forever.

[ He supposes the friend she'd been hoping to find, the one he'd offered to help her look for, had never turned up. He could understand that feeling, at least. Lonliness is something he's intimately familiar with, but pining for someone who is too far out of reach is a close second to that. He gives her a winning smile regardless as he paces back to the start so she can take her turn, and gives her a friendly little nudge. ]

Like the chickens! You got new friends right there, huh? Hahaha!

Animals don't make friends.

[Lapis, please...please, just for a second be a little better at understanding jokes.

after giving Naruto what is probably a familiar flat stare by now, she turns her attention back to the golf course. alright, time to see if her theory's right. a nearby sprinkler begins to shudder as she crouches to place her ball on the tee - as she stands again a small spurt of water shoots out of it and snakes over to envelope the golf ball. she's going to need a little more firepower for this, after all.

once she's sussed out the optimal path one last time, Lapis gives another elegant whack with the club; the water-powered ball screams out and powers right through the little hill, just the way she'd intended.

...absolutely nothing else happens. Lapis even waits a moment or two to be certain, but all she gets for her trouble is an uncertain look from a parent who'd just noticed the hole in the second course. with a small sigh, she wanders over to finish up her turn.]

[ Yeaaaah, by now he's getting pretty used to that flat look. It's stopped making him feel awkward and has started being just... default to him. Which is to say, he's cool with it. It's like the look Sai gives him when he says something particularly out there or emotional, or the look Sasuke used to respond to all of his ideas with. But it also manages to be all Lapis, too. Somehow that familiarity is comforting to Naruto. ]

Hey, that ain't true. I made friends with plenty of animals. [ He pauses. ] Well, mostly the frogs. The ostrich was a douchebag.

[ He watches as the little ball goes shooting through the hill, and instead of reacting as one probably should at this blatant golf course vandalism, he crows like Lapis just scored the equivalent of a golf-touchdown. ]

Aw, you used your water thingie! Why didn't I think of that, huh?!

[the sudden cheering startles Lapis, and she completely whiffs her next swing as her gaze snaps over to look at Naruto with mild concern. she is really not used to getting positive feedback for anything she does, let alone something so minor.]

I'm just trying to find the secrets, that's all.

[which is her way of saying that he probably didn't think of that because he was too excited about smacking the ball around. which was also fine - it's not like she's been getting very far with her strategy.]

[ Instead of walking around like all the other polite golf-players Naruto just saunters all over the grass as he makes his way over and sits like a massive orange frog - legs propped up, hands between them - on the small hill to peer at her as she works on finishing her turn. ]

Secrets? Oh- oh man, yeah, why didn't I think of that? Can't take everythin' at face value, right? Everything probably goes way deeper... especially if we're gonna fight a monster at the end of all this... [ He cranes his head around to seek out their next challenge and gives another loud shout of joy when it catches his eye. ] Look! The next one has a windmill! D'ya think it's booby trapped?

[this time she finishes up before even trying to answer Naruto - see, look, she's learning! only after the ball drops into the hole with a mildly satisfying little reverberation does she look up and over at the apparatus he's talking about.]

I don't think they really need to make it any more dangerous than it already is. [she tilts her head to look at him sidelong, uncertain in her assessment.] It's a weapon, isn't it?

[that's why it's got blades, right? ...right?]

Nah, windmills are for-- [ He pauses. ] Well, I'm not really sure what windmills are for, but they aren't weapons. They're just buildings that catch the wind, and the wind makes their spin-things spin.

[ Eloquent. He seems content with his description, but he's gentle about it's application. They're both aliens here (though some more literally than others) and it's not her fault she's never seen a windmill before. ]

They're actually pretty nice to watch, but I bet this one's special and I bet it's gonna like.. stand up, or attack us or somethin'! We better be ready. [ And he stands to weild his golf club like a bō staff. ]

[a structure built solely for making the flaps on it spin in the breeze? humans really were completely unfathomably creatures.

Lapis gives the thing one last puzzled glance before deciding she might as well take the first swing if it's going to turn hostile at some point. it was only polite, right? at the very least she should be the one to set it off - and so she carefully drops her ball onto the tee, assuming that'll be enough to trigger it.

...nothing happens.]

Shouldn't it be starting soon?

[ Naruto watches with his golf club brandished right up until the moment that Lapis drops the ball. The wind picks up a little and the blades twitch slightly and Naruto raises his club---!!!! But then, nothing happens.

He frowns, and shrugs when Lapis speaks up, tottering across the grass to frog-squat again as he peers at the building from a safe distance. ]

Maybe we gotta get closer to it... [ He looks a little closer, then gasps and points! ] There! It's got a little tunnel under it! Maybe the thing that sets it off is in there!

I'll check.

[since they are competing, and like hell she's going to waste a stroke just to do something that doesn't actually work. Lapis marches up past Naruto until she's face to face with the windmill before dropping to her knees so she can press her face up against the hole.]

Hmm...

[it doesn't really look like there's anything in here. maybe if she sends a little water inside to check the upper mechanisms?]

[ Naruto edges around to the other side, and peers through the little hole and sees her face, but nothing else. That alone is enough to make him giggle despite the apparent seriousness of their situation, and he grins and waves a little at her before straightening up and patting the windmill on it's sails. ]

Doesn't look like this thing is booby trapped, y'know. It was a good guess, though. Maybe it's a decoy, huh?

[that smile and wave is met with nothing but a completely flat gaze alongside absolutely no motion to return the gesture. well, at least he's used to that sort of thing from Lapis by now.

having completed her exploration of the windmill to a satisfying degree, she daintily gets up off her knees. there's a small hesitation in her posture, punctuated by the smoothing out of her skirt, before she confesses a growing fear she's had during this entire endeavor.]

I think we might be overestimating the humans.

[the species which Naruto has briefly taken leave of, apparently. clearly he doesn't count because he's at least as enthusiastic about training as any common gem would be.]

Overestimatin'? [ He repeats, and for a moment it's unclear whether he's questioning her reason or questioning the definition of the word. He's been confused over simpler things before. He looks around then, at the humans surrounding them and at the few other golf contraptions sitting out on the little grass courses. ]

Ya mean this? [ He wafts a hand at the windmill. ] So it's not a recon thing? [ Oh look at his little shounen heart breaking. ]

I'm pretty sure it's just...stuff.

[stuff sitting in a field, with a bunch of holes at random places for no real reason. Lapis actually feels sort of bad saying it, because wow does he look upset about it, but she can't find any other explanation for the complete lack of danger so far.

after all, they're being pretty thorough in her opinion. surely between the two of them they should have triggered something by now.]

Oh.

[ He thinks back to the rules, considers the height restriction and the 'no clubs as weapons' rule, and with each thought he sees more and more clarity in Lapis' estimation, that perhaps maybe all these structures are just.... stuff. Like she said.

His shoulders sag a bit, and he looks mournfully around at the course as it continues. The little clown car and the house, and the bridge over a dip with running water flowing through it... his eyes follow the path chronologically until he spots the very last hole with a huge 13 emblazoned on it's flag, and his expression comes alive once more. ]

That doesn't look like just stuff to me, y'know! Come on!!! [ And he grabs her by the hand, stomping across the courses in reckless abandon as he makes a diagonal beeline straight for the final hole, the gigantic T-Rex that had caught his attention in the first place. ] These might not be anythin' serious, but you gotta admit this is cool.

[ His face shows just how excited he is about this, and it just goes to show how deep his sunshine aura really runs. He looks at her with sparkling eyes and a massive grin. ] Let's do this last one, huh?

What-

[she doesn't have time to get out more than the very beginnings of a question as she suddenly finds herself pulled along with the sort of insistence that has Lapis too overwhelmed to combat.

when they reach the final hole and its dinosaur guardian, she can't help but give Naruto a hesitant look. this was kind of interesting in a bizarre sort of way, but Lapis isn't really sure if she'd got so far as to call it cool. baffling, maybe.]

I...I guess?

[this is normally the part where she gives up and leaves, but she supposes it would be fine to do one more? probably?? humans were confusing.]

[ He hasn't actually let her hand go yet, so he gives her a little encouraging tug closer till they're both standing directly in front of the rusted green behemoth. ]

Y'know, you're probably winnin' by this point. [ It's rare that Naruto ever admits defeat, but the moments when he does are poignant. He thinks this is one of those times ]. Why don't ya take it?

[ He's seen the flyers and the loud claims of the posters outside - the glittering boast that the monster waiting at the end moves and roars when he's beaten, and Naruto is SO THERE for that. He lets go of her hand, moves behind her and pushes her shoulders, grinning. Then he leans in close. ] Try to get it in one, yeah? I bet ya can do it.

[she looks back at him, lips pursed in consternation. she's still not really certain about the whole thing - but more importantly, she's not really used to people simply letting her win. allowing Lapis to catch a break is apparently that the entire universe seems bent on fighting tooth and nail to prevent.]

...alright.

[she make do it, can't she? it's just a dumb human game. Lapis totters forward, propelled by Naruto's gentle nudge, before her shoulders straighten and she locks herself down into a tight focus. she could do this.

the ball is placed carefully onto the tee and for a moment or two Lapis is motionless, eyes sharply scanning the surroundings. she wanted the absolute optimal shot to take, down to the amount of power she put into her swing. there was only one chance at this, and she refused to blow it.

her windup is as graceful as ever, as is the quietly confident way the club collides with the ball. her posture is tense as she watches it speed forward, bouncing off at calculated angles until-]

I did it!

[she can't help it - she lets out a startled yell as the ball slots neatly into the hole. thankfully it's lost as the metal monster in front of them starts creaking to life with a tinny (but quite loud) roar.]

[ Naruto's eyes light up as he watches Lapis' progress. She hits with such fine-tuned concentration and control - the kind of skill even Naruto knows he'll never be capable of - and leans in close by her shoulder as it nears the hole----

As soon as it lands, he whoops and looks to the dinosaur for it's reaction.

The dinosaur does not disappoint. ]

YES! [ As it raises it's kinda pathetic little arms in a juddery and creaky motion and makes that loud sound of defeat Naruto looks as though Lapis has just titled him future Hokage herself, and he mimics the monster with an energetic raise of his own arms in a victory pose before he looks to his friend. ]

Well done, y'know! I knew ya could do it!

[she almost follows suit by raising her arms, but stops halfway and settles for crossing the daintily behind her back. Lapis can't help her smile as she rocks on the balls of her feet and regards both Naruto and the defeated dino.]

It really wasn't that hard.

[and it wasn't, in the context of everything she's done in her existence. but she's still pretty damn pleased about it.]

Are ya kiddin' me right now? I'm a ninja an' I couldn't get that in there in one shot! You managed it without even breakin' a sweat, on the final challenge!

[ The best part is he's not even playing it up for her sake - why would he? He genuinely thinks Lapis is great, and damn it he'll tell her as much as often as the thought strikes him. He's honest in his amazement, and that much should be clear from the waving of his arms as he raves about her golf talent. ]

For someone who's never played before, ya got a natural thing for it, y'know!

[ok first of all Naruto she has no idea what a ninja even is. but mostly Lapis is just genuinely baffled by his enthusiasm on her behalf; even thousands of years ago, before the war, no one had ever been excited about her accomplishments. success was expected, not celebrated. there was nothing worth noting in achieving her goals.]

You just have to think about it a little bit. You could probably do it with some practice.

[if it was that easy then he'd be able to ace it no problem, right? after all, he was her friend.

(her very loud and mystifying friend)]

[ Naruto shakes his head at that. ] Yanno, I think I'm just too heavy-handed -- [ That's what Sakura had called him once, right? ] -- for all of this stuff. [ Is this the same knuckle-head who boasts so often about being the best; about aspiring to be Hokage some day? Because that loud-mouth wouldn't typically be caught dead admitting to not being the best at something... Though there's an affectionate look in his eyes. Evidently he trusts Lapis enough to not go spreading around this particular weakness. Maybe he really has grown... ]

It's for smart people like you, I think. Careful, graceful people, y'know? [ He can think of a few of his own people who are similar, he thinks they'd be good at this golf thing too. He shrugs then, an almost shy look on his face. ] I think I'm better off on the sidelines, y'know. Supportin' you! [ He's not just a pest of a child anymore - the newly born war in his home world has taught him that he can't be the best at everything, that sometimes he has to let others support him so that he can support them in turn. ]

[she seems to consider this information carefully, turning it over in her mind with a little more seriousness than it really warrants. that's not a surprise - Lapis takes nearly everything too seriously - but the conclusion she reaches certainly is.

Naruto is right, probably. everything she's seen of him tells her that he struggles with finesses and delicacy, that tightly calculated angles will never be his strong point. and whereas she'd normally accept that and move on...that doesn't feel right, this time.]

...gems are made for different jobs. They can't do what another gem can for the most part, but that doesn't mean they're allowed to step back from a mission.

[she tilts her head to the side, regarding Naruto now. it's hard to tell why until she opens her mouth again.]

You'd probably be a quartz.

[she says it like the implications are completely obvious, as is the way she holds out her club for him to carry. listen, she is newer than the greenest little baby tree in the world to being supportive and positive of people. you have got to work with her here.]

[ Naruto takes her club as if it's part of the gift she's given him by calling him a quartz... Not that he knows the first thing about what that entails. ]

Yeah? [ He prompts excitedly, trying to gauge a little more information about that particular tidbit. ] And what's a quartz do? Are they big and powerful, like me?

[ It's kind of endearing how excited he is to be accepted like this by her; not only has Naruto very rarely been accepted by anyone, but being accepted by Lapis is on it's own pretty astonishing. She can be pretty prickly at times, and he likes her a lot, so this extension of her own culture to him is as close to definite acceptance as he's got so far, and he's ecstatic about it. ]

[it's endearing and more than a little sad, at least to Lapis. this was a world that she no longer had any place in, a culture that had shifted radically without her; she really had no reason to be sharing it with anyone. she'd severed her connection with Homeworld long ago.

and yet she keeps talking, pushing past the melancholy in her own heart for reasons she couldn't possibly quantify.]

They're high-ranking soldiers. They fight on the front lines and act as bodyguards for the diamonds wherever they go.

[she tilts her head in the other direction, mentally calculating something.]

...they're a lot taller than you are.

[ At that he kind of visibly stumbles, like her words were a physical arrow through his heart, but he soon recovers into a kind of desperate reassurance: ] Hey, I'm still growin' so one day I'll be way taller, y'know! You shoulda seen how small I used to be, even Sakura was taller than me.

[ Not that she knows who Sakura is, but.... He's just a little taller than Lapis as it is, and notices that only when he straightens up properly again. ]

I'm still good at protectin' people, and I'll still be really good at supporting you if you ever need me to. [ He straightens a little more and jabs his puffed out chest with a thumb. ]

I know.

[that there's still the possibility of him being taller, or that he'd be a reliable pillar to lean on should she ever allow herself to be vulnerable? it's impossible to tell, although whichever it is has Lapis flashing a rare smile.]

But you asked, so I told you.

[...well, maybe she's smiling about that instead. she's a little blue girl full of mysteries.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

closed | do you want to see the world

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i didnt forget you i just sucked this month

well i got my revenge with xmas gifts so it's all fine

it was PERFECT are you kidding. he doesnt know what they are but he loves them.

she doesn't know what they are either so they're in good company

zooms in a million years late

minigolf has been waiting 4 u

im glad he didnt escape before we got a chance to kick his butt

that would've been an affront to justice

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

hiatus ate me but i still love these two

no hiatus can stop their stupidity

no subject

no subject