maskormenacelogs | and i come on like a freak show takes the stage

[It's the third or fourth time since Minato's started school that gym class dodge ball has ended this way: just him against Sai on the opposing team for a good ten minutes, before Sai finally pegs him with a foam ball or catches one of his own, and wins. Minato isn't exactly competitive, so he doesn't mind.

But today is the first time he hangs back long enough to walk with Sai to the locker room, looking thoughtful.] I don't think we've met, [he says politely.] I'm Minato Arisato. You're very good at dodge ball.

[Sai tilts his head, giving Minato a practiced smile.]

Hello, my name is Sai.

And it's not particularly difficult. Once I got used to the size, shape, and weight of the ball [ha ha, balls...], the rest was rather straightforward.

[Oh wait, wait, one of his books said that if you receive a compliment, you're supposed to give one in return. Okay, okay he's got this. He's got this.]

You've got decent reflexes yourself--though your aim could use some practice.

[nAILED IT????]

Edited (better icon) 2015-03-15 06:06 (UTC)

[Minato's unbothered. He shrugs slightly.] I don't usually use ranged weapons.

Do you have a lot of practice with them?

[He's been around plenty of sports enthusiasts and Sai's attitude isn't similar to that at all, which leaves him with the experience with weapons explanation.]

[Good job, Minato, that's better than most people manage to figure out about him right off the bat; they usually just assume he's a weirdo and brush it off at that.]

Quite a bit, yes.

[What with shuriken and kunai being such standard shinobi weapons and all. A beat, then:]

Loosen your wrist more when you throw the ball.

I'll try that, thank you.

[He will. And then have a speculative head tilt.]

Sai-san, where did you learn ranged weapons?

Just Sai is fine.

[The book says no honorifics mean you get closer faster!!!]

And it's a standard part of training where I'm from. I'm a shinobi. Or ninja, if you prefer.

[Yup. Your new frand is an actual legit ninja.]

[Well okay, Minato doesn't especially care about honorifics, so he just tilts his head again.]

That's cool. I've never met one before-- I think they've died out in Japan. All the fighting I've done, I didn't really have any formal training.

Japan is where you come from, then?

[It's funny he asks that since it does sound like he's speaking Japanese. `_`]

Your skills aren't bad at all for being self-taught; the agility and quick reaction time make up for what you lack in finesse, and those details can easily be honed.

[cONGRATS MINATO you're like the first non-soldier type he's been impressed by???]

That's right. [And Sai is certainly a Japanese name... Oh well.

They've reached the locker rooms by now. Everyone else has already changed and left, but Minato doesn't really care if he's late for class and started unhurriedly and placidly stripping in order to change out of his gym clothes. It's still weird to him that there isn't a school uniform in American high schools.]

I've had a lot of practice. And maybe Sai-san would be willing to tutor me, [he says lightly, in what, from Minato, is an unmistakably friendly tone.]

[Meanwhile Sai isn't likely to be late unless they stay here through the next bell, so he's in no hurry to get moving either. He blinks once as Minato uses the honorific again, and then decides the other teen would just rather keep them. And Sai's still terrible at nicknames, so he'll just...have to find another way to reduce the emotional barriers, he supposes!!!!]

I wouldn't mind training with you if you wanted, Minato-san.

[Just be ready for him to throw kunai knives at you instead of balls.......]

[Koromaru is an attentive dog. He's also protective of the child he's been brought here with, so it's Koromaru who notices the man watching them from the roof. He doesn't think too much of it, until he realizes the man keeps watching, and by this point Ken's noticed the attention, too, and he looks up, searching for the source of the strange feeling at the back of his head, and...]

Ah.

[There he is.]

Um... excuse me. What are you [watching us for] doing up there?

[Really, he could have just disappeared the moment the dog noticed him. He's perfectly capable. But even with his training and reflexes, he's not had to use them for several months now, not to any degree like what he's used to. Even someone like him will grow a little more lax when they know they won't be attacked all of a sudden, or out of the blue.

So he doesn't move when he catches the attention of the dog, or even of the boy. He just sits there, working on his sketch of this particular stretch of the town. It's only when he's addressed directly that he responds.]

Mm, observing, I suppose. It's a nice spot to watch people go by.

Observing?

[He looks around. Well, this is a pretty busy street. Not so much that you can't tell people apart, but enough passed by that there would always be something to watch.]

... Do you do this often?

Hmm, somewhat, yes.

[Other times he holes up in the library or trains, but it's not something he does infrequently.]

[Observing. He never considered it. He didn't pay attention to a lot in the last two years, whether it be himself or other people. It hadn't mattered. Was there an advantage to that?

He peers at him.]

... Do you mind if I join?

I don't.

[About three beats of silence later:]

Will you need assistance getting up to the roof?

No.

[He's crouching now to pick Koromaru up in his arms, then taking a few steps back.]

I got it.

[And he kicks off, feet slapping the ground once to jump, easily clearing the height of a nearby tree, then landing on the building a few feet away from Sai. He only stumbles a little bit under the added weight of the dog.]

[Oh--even with that mild stumble, that wasn't bad. He's gotten so used to living among civilians these days that he's mildly surprised when someone in his age range is capable of the things that were standard back home.

He sets his brush down and looks over at the younger boy, before putting on a smile.

...It's his standard practiced false one, but at least he's learning to use them at appropriate times???]

My name is Sai.

[It's certainly not standard for Ken or anybody from his world. Except maybe Aigis, but she's a robot. He returns a polite smile of his own, bowing his head slightly in greeting.]

Hello, Sai-san. My name is Ken Amada. And this is Koromaru.

Just Sai will be fine, the honorific isn't necessary.

[will he sink with the ship of his misinterpreted advice from a self-help book on communication he read back in Konoha like six months ago, yes he sure fucking will.]

It's nice to meet both of you.

Edited 2015-04-20 00:59 (UTC)

[No honorifics? Ken hesitates at that; aside from this guy being older than him, making dropping the honorific a rude thing, it's just not something Ken does. He's dropped it on maybe three people here, and one of them is the dog from home.]

Um... well, I'd rather keep it anyway. It's kind of a habit, unless it bothers you. Nice to meet you, too.

[...:|a the book didn't say what to do if the other person refused. And he's still so bad at nicknames....ah well. He'll have to find a new book to help him with this later.]

Not at all, that's quite alright, Ken-san.

[There's not a lot of nicknames you can do with "Ken," at least. Unless you made it longer. Ken-Ken, for one, from a bear in the future he hasn't met yet.]

Sorry about that. Do you do this sort of thing a lot, Sai-san?

[Unfortunately, Sai's brand of nicknames for Ken would be more along the lines of "shorty" or "pipsqueak" or something similarly unfortunate, because nobody taught this boy the difference between honest and rude.]

Which sort of thing do you mean?

[Sitting on rooftops, watching people, drawing, talking ....there's a lot of options here okay.]

[That would be very rude. Ken would not appreciate that at all, but it hasn't been said so he just continues the conversation.]

Well, watching people, I guess. Observing.

One doesn't really ever stop observing others, but in regards to doing so to the exclusion of all else, or while drawing...yes, fairly frequently, I suppose.

Oh I see.

[He... approaches, then sits, a polite distance from Sai, out of his way but close enough to converse.]

What sorts of stuff do you see?

and i come on like a freak show takes the stage

dodgeball bonding ❖ minato & sai

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curses, typos.

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...quietly makes things up

always

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omg i thought i tagged this already i'm sorry!!!

roof creeping ❖ ken and sai

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i hope this is enough to reply to crai he's so taciturn

not a worry!!!

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