Cosmos Quest (Naruto/Lupin III)

[hunter09]

That went well all them feels.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Well, he's always been a still-waters-run-deep kind of guy. Like a friend of mine always says, "Don't trust a man who never drinks; there's something about himself he wants to hide."

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As someone who doesn't drink himself I'm unsure how to take this....

But seriously, I've never had anything alcoholic that I didn't have to choke down.

In a way, Sasuke's lucky; he doesn't have predilection towards chemical dependency, he just inherited the family yandere-ism.

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Here's hoping Itachi remains his primary target for a while. That yandere directed towards us....hoo boy.

Although having an attack dog that kicks itself up to Defcon 1 when it perceives a threat to the best thing still in its life could be immensely entertaining pointed at the right targets. Immensely tragic in other scenarios.

Gotta say, this is probably the only circumstance under which Sasuke'd voluntarily move back into the Compound. Well done Guile, swingin' that.

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[FurikoMaru]

As someone who doesn't drink himself I'm unsure how to take this....

But seriously, I've never had anything alcoholic that I didn't have to choke down.

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The friend in question is, as you can undoubtedly guess, Irish. XD I wouldn't take her completely seriously.

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That gif always cracks me up. 'Cause in context, he's applauding a terrible mistake in order to save face.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

The friend in question is, as you can undoubtedly guess, Irish. XD I wouldn't take her completely seriously.

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Surprised, I am not.

That gif always cracks me up. 'Cause in context, he's applauding a terrible mistake in order to save face.

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I really need to watch that movie sometime.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

....Oh unholy crap, imagine if Sasuke had been around for the Sorato incident. Even if he hears about it we'll probably see some sparks fly and emotions rise.


Anyway vote, let's not air or tantalize people with Sasuke's dirty laundry. Especially when Ami will be all over Sasuke to mother and fix him

[X] "Mmm...take a rain check on that Ami?"
[X] "Hey, I'm not gonna leave you in the dark indefinitely. The two of us talked, we hit on an idea, but everything's not ironed out yet. I'm pretty optimistic, but let me get back to you on this later. If I'm right you'll thank me. Just trust me a bit."


Bleagh. I am not happy with this but am too tired to think of better. I think we've got enough crd with Ami to ask her to give us a day to sort things out, if need be remind her of Jiraiya's autograph. If we're right, she'll be even more grateful to us than she was before. If we're wrong and Sasuke has hang-ups in the morning, don't dash her hopes.

And I don't feel great about announcing Sasuke's moment of vulnerability. I don't THINk Ami would take advantage of the fact that Sasuke's a lot more emotionally available when drunk, for good and ill, but it doesn't seem like something Sasuke would be happy about people knowing. It becoming the new gossip material via our team, including Kiba, would be Bad.

 

[Jiven]

Well, I will sit back and enjoy dem feels.

With a beer.

 

[Selias]

[X] Oh, Sakkun was just proposing to me. I turned him down, of course. How do you feel about moving in with him, by the way?

 

[overmind]

[X] "Mmm...take a rain check on that Ami?"
[X] "Hey, I'm not gonna leave you in the dark indefinitely. The two of us talked, we hit on an idea, but everything's not ironed out yet. I'm pretty optimistic, but let me get back to you on this later. If I'm right you'll thank me. Just trust me a bit."

 

[iamnuff]

[X] "Mmm...take a rain check on that Ami?"
[X] "Hey, I'm not gonna leave you in the dark indefinitely. The two of us talked, we hit on an idea, but everything's not ironed out yet. I'm pretty optimistic, but let me get back to you on this later. If I'm right you'll thank me. Just trust me a bit."

 

[LightMage]

[X] "Mmm...take a rain check on that Ami?"
[X] "Hey, I'm not gonna leave you in the dark indefinitely. The two of us talked, we hit on an idea, but everything's not ironed out yet. I'm pretty optimistic, but let me get back to you on this later. If I'm right you'll thank me. Just trust me a bit."

On the topic of the GIF, what movie is that from?

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

So does anyone have some ideas on how to improve that write-in? Cause I took my best crack at it last night, but I feel like it could definitely be better.

 

[FurikoMaru]

On the topic of the GIF, what movie is that from?

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Citizen Kane.

[X] So what's the use in going home until the break of day?

Hm. Yeah, you don't really wanna go blabbing about this in front of Kiba and Akamaru.

"Tell ya later," you tell Ami. "Promise."

Her eyes narrow, but she nods and goes back to her meal.

"What, did he need secret Yamanaka hair-care tips or something?" Kiba asks, snickering.

"If anyone needs them, it's him," you joke. "Nah, he just had a little too much to drink, that's all."

Ami looks up, frown deepening. "You didn't send him home alone, did you?"

"No, no!" you say hastily, "I dumped him on the couch at my place. My mom's keeping an eye on him."

She breathes a sigh of relief. "Good. That's good. I don't like the thought of him walking back to his apartment by himself this late at night."

You, Kiba and Asuma share a raised eyebrow, then look back at Ami. She blushes and glares.

"I know it doesn't make any sense, I just feel better knowing he isn't on his own!"

"Sasuke has an apartment?" Kiba asks. He jerks his head in your direction. "Didn't he move in with Ino after his parents died?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Ami says archly. "The future Head of the Uchiha clan can't be adopted by the Yamanaka; how would it look?" Something occurs to her and she shoots you a slightly panicked look. "Nobody saw you, did they?"

"Aside from one or two cats and another guy who was just as drunk as he was, no," you say, a bit flustered, wondering how 'tell you later' suddenly became 'tell you now'.

Ami slumps in relief again. "Thank heavens. The last thing he needs is a reputation as a drunkard." Her eyes flick sharply in Kiba's direction.

He raises his barbecue sauce-covered hands defensively. "Not a word, I promise. Chill out."

"Depending on where he intends to go in his career path, you could be very much mistaken, Ami," Asuma puts in, slurping his soba. "ANBU is always on the lookout for boozehounds. They give special precedence to those with multiple deceased loved ones and friends."

Mercifully, the desserts arrive, sparing you another one of Ami's disapproving rants.

=

"He asked you to marry him, didn't he?" Menka asks when the two of you part ways with the others.

You boggle at Menka. "Can you speak into the microphone, talking cat? I'm not sure the spies and the rabid fangirls at the back can hear you." True, at this point the fact that Menka isn't a normal cat is an open secret among your friends, but it'd be nice to think that at least your enemies don't know yet.

He sighs, and twitches his whiskers. "Did you give him an answer?"

"I... kind of said no," you admit awkwardly, "but after I got a very meandering explanation out of him it didn't even sound like what he's looking for is a wife at all. So I suggested we become roomies, him and Ami and Shika-chan and me. And you," you add, sensing another philosophical debate brewing about what constitutes a 'pet' and what constitutes a 'roommate'.

"In an apartment that size?" Menka looks skeptical as only a cat can.

"No, 'course not, I figured we could all find a new place."

A nice yellow house with a walled garden and a big tree, or a farmhouse on a hill...

"Anyway, let's not get carried away," you say, shaking your head to clear it. "He may feel differently about the whole thing when he wakes up."

=

The next morning (10:30? What the hell?!), you come downstairs to find Sasuke gone.

"He said to tell you he thanks you for what you did," Mom says as you make yourself some toast, "and he'd like to apologize again for what he said last night."

"Which part?" you ask, with some trepidation.

Mom smiles. "I'm not sure he knows himself. I'm sure he'll tell you in person when next you see him; he was quite adamant that he'd made a mistake of some kind."

You swing by his apartment before training, but it appears he went straight to meet up with his team when he left your house.

"Good~ morning, everybody," you trill as you arrive among your own team.

"It's noon," Kiba grumbles.

"It's 11:45. Still technically the morning."

"Every generation has one," Asuma mutters, before clearing his throat. "Now that you're all here, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. In a month, the chuunin exams will take place here in Konoha, and if all of you show significant improvement in the next thirty days, I'll nominate you for participation."

Your mouth drops open, and Kiba's follows close behind.

"Really?" Ami asks excitedly. "Oh, sensei, you think we're ready?"

"I'm not ready," you protest weakly, fully cognizant of the fact that you had to get in a lucky shot to defeat a taijutsu school dropout one-on-one. "Ami, people die in those exams, you know that, right?"

"Honestly, Ino, you're such a worrywart," she says, waving away your concerns, oblivious to your stunned expression. "If Asuma-sensei says we can handle it, we can!"

"Sensei," Kiba says, "are you really sure about this? I mean, not that I don't want to, but we haven't even been a team for six months yet; isn't it a bit soon to be trying to get promoted?"

Asuma's grin is a trifle vicious. "We'll see in thirty days, won't we?"

Ami nods, beaming. "What do we have to do, sensei?"

"We aren't going to get any say in this, are we?" you ask Kiba.

"Welcome to my life," he says, resigned.

=

After training (and hearing about the wonderful new bruises you're going to get over the next thirty days, give or take), you decide to check in on Sasuke:

[X] Alone

[X] With someone else (who?)

 

[Vindictus]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Menka. He's sort of in on the 'Secret' already, so it doesn't matter too much if you let him watch the soap opera your life is becoming.

 

[Selias]

Not sure who to train with. Honestly, if we can't improve our taijutsu or tessenjutsu enough, I'd say we should opt out of this.

 

[FurikoMaru]

Not sure who to train with. Honestly, if we can't improve our taijutsu or tessenjutsu enough, I'd say we should opt out of this.

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That's not what's up for a vote right now. Don't worry, Asuma has some training lined up for you; you'll only be voting on what to do with your free time.

 

[Selias]

That's not what's up for a vote right now. Don't worry, Asuma has some training lined up for you; you'll only be voting on what to do with your free time.

Click to shrink...

Whoops. Guess I should have read more carefully.

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Ami.

 

[Jack Trade]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Menka. He's sort of in on the 'Secret' already, so it doesn't matter too much if you let him watch the soap opera your life is becoming.

 

[iamnuff]

[X] alone.

we can bring the others in later, but Sasuke probably feels pretty shit about what he said yesterday, he doesn't need an audience while he tries to apologise.

 

[Jiven]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Ami.

 

[hunter09]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Menka. He's sort of in on the 'Secret' already, so it doesn't matter too much if you let him watch the soap opera your life is becoming.

 

[Guile]

[X] Go with Ami. Sasuke's delicate man-pride might need soothing, but Ami is some weird combination retainer/devoted wife/team mom so she can handle it.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Menka. He's sort of in on the 'Secret' already, so it doesn't matter too much if you let him watch the soap opera your life is becoming.

Because if possible, Sasuke extending the offer to Ami would mean a lot more to her. Especially if we can sell Sasuke on it and point out that Ami was fretting and worrying about him. Let him know that she worried about him going home ALONE. This seems like a good chance to get them to connect more, but it needs to be Sasuke reaching out instead of jus tolerating Ami's company for our sake. No reason we can't do some behind the scenes work to make it happen though.

 

[Selias]

[X] With someone else
-->[X] Menka. He's sort of in on the 'Secret' already, so it doesn't matter too much if you let him watch the soap opera your life is becoming.

Because if possible, Sasuke extending the offer to Ami would mean a lot more to her. Especially if we can sell Sasuke on it and point out that Ami was fretting and worrying about him. Let him know that she worried about him going home ALONE. This seems like a good chance to get them to connect more, but it needs to be Sasuke reaching out instead of jus tolerating Ami's company for our sake. No reason we can't do some behind the scenes work to make it happen though.

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It's also possible that it will take a week for us (IRL) to get everyone living together, and I really don't want to be working on this for that long.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

It's also possible that it will take a week for us (IRL) to get everyone living together, and I really don't want to be working on this for that long.

Click to shrink...

We go, we talk to Sasuke, we see if he's still game. If he is, we start spreading the word. Handle Ami first. I do not think this will take very long as long as we don't screw it up by making Sasuke second guess himself.

Honestly, this should not be too hard. I just don't think bringing Ami along as we probe Sasuke is a smart idea because it may make him skittish and clam up. If Ami puts things together and gets too excited it may cause problems. Make sure we do this right, cause it's a really good opportunity.

I'd probably vote alone if I thought it had a good chance of winning to ensure Sasuke opens up so we can slide this through smoothyl.

 

[FurikoMaru]

[X] Sunday Morning Comin' Down

Sasuke practically yanks the door off its hinges when he sees it's you knocking.

"Ino, I am so sorry, I don't know why the hell I said that, it was weird and wrong and-"

"- not a bad idea at all," Menka says mildly, "from a political standpoint."

The pair of you stare at him, aghast.

"I think we should continue this conversation inside," you say.

When the door is safely shut, you pick your feline friend up by the scruff of his neck and demand, "What the hell are you on about?"

"Ow! Use your head, Ino," Menka protests, struggling in your grip, "and put me down!"

"That can be arranged," you declare through gritted teeth, setting him down on the couch. "Spill."

"You have cousins who can inherit the headship in your stead," he explains, "and it'd demonstrate the Uchiha haven't lost any prestige, even-"

"Look, I don't care about politics!" Sasuke interrupts. "Ino's my friend." He crosses his arms, and frowns at you. "You told him?"

"He guessed," you say, shrugging. "And don't worry, no one who wasn't blitzed out of their skull saw us walking home. You aren't going to hear any lame cracks floating around town about Sharingan beer goggles." From anyone but me, you add silently.

He sighs. "Well, that's something."

"... have you thought about my proposal?" you ask gingerly.

Sasuke hesitates, then nods, his mouth a thin, determined line that reminds you of someone. With a jolt, you realize it's the same look you used to see on his father from time to time. He looks so little like the man otherwise it's kind of an eerie point of commonality.

"If you're still interested..." he says.

"What, you think I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't mean it?" You grin. "You really do worry about the wrong things, Sakkun. I was about to ask if it was really fine to have everyone with you."

His nod is more assured now. "It is. I think I have just the place for us."

"What?!" You do an involuntary double-take. "You found a place in one day? I was going to suggest starting our house-hunt tonight. How'd you get a four-bedroom house on no notice?"

"The same way I got this apartment," he says calmly. "I own it."

Light dawns.

"... oi, Sakkun..." You aren't sure what to say. "... are you sure? You haven't been back there in years..."

"So I'm probably going to need your help to get it fixed up," he says, a small smirk turning up the corners of his mouth. After a moment your own follows suit.

"People are going to talk," Menka points out. "And I mean a lot. Not now, but once you're older, if you're all still living together, there's no way the rest of the village isn't going to assume the Last Uchiha has built himself a harem."

"Let them talk," Sasuke says scornfully. "They already gossip about me and Ino, that's half the reason I asked her to marry me."

"... your solution to rumours about us being involved was to propose?" you ask in disbelief. "I gotta ask, man, were your ancestors aliens? 'Cause Uchiha logic makes no sense on Earth."

"Want to help me inspect the mothership?" he asks, pulling out a set of old keys.

=

Sasuke's childhood home is in remarkably good condition for having been abandoned six years; as far as major problems go, the power and water just need to be turned back on and a few pipes need cleaning or replacing.

The bad news is, there are plenty of minor but expensive problems that need fixing. Civilian kids have been using the Uchiha District as a courage-testing ground for years now, and god knows how many teenagers have shacked up in the Clan Head's house. The whole place needs scrubbing from top to bottom, half the appliances don't work any more, the woodwork needs re-sanding, all the shoji and tatami need to be replaced, the garden needs heavy-duty weeding, and the walls need repainting. All of the walls; you've learned more about your fellow villagers' sexual hangups in the past ten minutes than you ever wanted to know.

How do you want to get this place cleaned up? You're going to be too busy training to handle it, and Sasuke gets that competitive gleam in his eye when you mention the exams, so he's probably a lost cause too.

[X] Hire a bunch of genin out of your B-rank pay.

[X] Get Sasuke to hire a bunch of genin; it's his house, after all.

[X] Put the moving-in plan on the back burner until after the exams are over. It can wait.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Niiiiiiice.

Honestly I'd rather everyone who lives here put up some cash just so it's a group effort. Same with moving in, everyone helps each other get their stuff packed and moved. The point is to get Sasuke socialized, it's a good start.

Ami not being around for Sasuke's first sentence is good, she'd freak about Sasuke proposing to Ino, but I'd definitely have liked Shika and Ami around to inspect the compound.

 

[Guile]

>"Use your head Ino!" "That can be arranged,"
Haha, by means of a headbutt?

>"People are going to talk," Menka points out. "And I mean a lot. Not now, but once you're older, if you're all still living together, there's no way the rest of the village isn't going to assume the Last Uchiha has built himself a harem."
Including Shika-chan? Well, he is pretty...

Ami not being around for Sasuke's first sentence is good, she'd freak about Sasuke proposing to Ino, but I'd definitely have liked Shika and Ami around to inspect the compound.

Click to shrink...

Didn't Ami peg that Sakkun proposed somehow? First sentence after we got back.

[X] Split the bill, and swipe enough coin from Shika-chan to make it split three ways. He's not going to care enough to contest it, and we'll just explain things while we start moving his stuff. I figure he's immobile enough to count as furniture himself.

This ought to be good. And if the flagship idea works out, we can expand the plan to include other rookies renting from Sakkun later. I still want to patch things up with Chouji a bit.

 

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

Didn't Ami peg that Sakkun proposed somehow? First sentence after we got back.

Click to shrink...

No, Menka did. Ami would have blown a gasket if she knew.

 

[Selias]

[X] Split the cost for a bunch of genin between yourself, Sasuke, and Ami (if she moves in as well).

 

[iamnuff]

>"Use your head Ino!" "That can be arranged,"
Haha, by means of a headbutt?

Click to shrink...

pretty sure she was talking about this part.

"Ow! Use your head, Ino," Menka protests, struggling in your grip, "and put me down!"

Click to shrink...