Starring:
Atsuro, Fuuta
Date: May 8, 2012
Summary:
While crossing the Great River Bridge Fuuta comes across a man attracting more attention than him. The egotistical chuunin rushes in to find a way to grab the spot light. Incidentally a leaf shinobi had business with the main attraction. Now they both cooperate and conflict to save the life a desperate man.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Jackasses"
Great River Bridge
The Great River Bridge is a large spectacle and is bound to attract the attention of many tourists. However today there was a special event taking place. Yes today all the usual passerby's stopped and were held captive by on man's dramatic lamentation. He stood on the side of the bridge looking as though he planned to jump. He was planning to end his life and if unhindered he would most likely go through with it. But then along came a young man's whose ego couldn't stand the fact that he himself wasn't the center of attention.
"Ore Sanjou!" Fuuta screamed but at most he got a few glances and was written off quite easily. Fuuta growled "What has everyone's undivided attention so firmly grasped that they can't even pay the GREAT Yoko Fuutama a mere moment?" the young chuunin asked as he waltzed up to the crowd. It was midday and cloudy with hardly any wind. The man on the edge wore a blue shirt with grey jeans and a white bandana. He looks down at the plummet of certain death he's about to take. "This is the answer. The answer to my problems. I will escape this pain." He proclaimed. Fuuta rolled his eyes getting a look at the man. 'Pushing him off wouldn't help any…..so I guess I'll just have to darken this star so that these people can notice the greater shine emanating from me.' He thinks. Fuuta suddenly appears at the man's side which startled him back from the edge. "Well hello there."
Well, there's always shenanigans going on up at the Great River Bridge, and they often need a ninja to resolve them. This is the first time Atsuro's been called upon to stop a jumper, however. He's been assigned this mission less because of is psychological knowledge and more because he was available and fast, but he figures that at the very least he'll probably be able to grab him if he actually does try to jump.
He and his nin-dog companion, Taizen, arrive just in time to be totally screwed over by the gigantic crowd. He makes a few attempts at getting through semi-politely, but after thirty seconds and limited progress, he switches to more forceful tactics. "Outta my way!" he calls, and starts shoving his way through the crowd, Taizen following in his wake. Soon enough he's made his way to the front of the crowd. "Wait!" he calls, then stops dead. "Hold on, there's two of you?" He looks between the man in the blue shirt and Fuuta. He shares a glance with Taizen, who also seems dismayed, though not to the same degree. "Dammit," Atsuro mutters.
"Who the donkey are you!?" remarks the man to Fuuta. Fuuta blinks and points to himself "Who me?" he asked. Suddenly a man and his canine companion burst through the crowd. Fuuta turns his head studying the man. The fang markings on the cheeks and the chuunin vest told Fuuta much. The young man sighed and rubbed his head 'Ok ok…minor setback but nothing I can't handle.' The jumper curled up and began to freak out, can't blame him really. "What is this? What are you people doing here!?" Fuuta ignored the man as he spotted something a lot more interesting. A bag, rather full, one could tell from its puffy appearance.
The young chuunin's eyes go to Atsuro "Uh…he's the jumper. Not me. I'm…well that's not important to you right now is it?" he asked motioning to the jumper with his head. The man stands, quivering but standing nonetheless. "I don't have time for this. I've got to remedy my life." He says moving for the edge. Fuuta chuckles "What's the rush? You've got all the time in the world go ahead laze about before ending it all. Not like you'll live to regret it." He states
Uhhhhh… Well, now. Atsuro sure wishes they'd sent someone better at negotiating than him! "Don't jump," he says awkwardly, "What about your family? They'd be devastated if they lost you!" Wow, he's really bad at this. He takes a step towards the two of them, figuring that he's probably going to have to grab the guy sooner or later. He glances at Fuuta. "It seems /sorta/ important, since you're talking to him and all," Atsuro says sardonically, "What're you doing, exactly?"
Taizen, meanwhile, has moved up somewhat more than Atsuro. He's probably the better choice for grabbing the man if he jumps. Less noticeable, and his weight (of which there is a lot) could come in handy.
Fuuta decides to pretend he didn't hear Atsuro's valid statement and avert his attention to his dog then back to the man's bag. There is a look of thought upon his face. The jumper mean while turns to Atsuro lashing out at him "Family!? What family!? My wife left me. She took my only child. I have nothing. No one would morn my passing." He states turning back to the edge. He moves closer. Fuuta meanwhile moved over to the bag that he'd been eyeing for quite some time. "When I lost my business I lost everything. All that's left is for me to bring some closure to the twisted fairytale." He states. Fuuta nods "Yep ya got a point there." He says messing with the bag. He glances to Atsuro "Sad day right? I think you should let him jump. He thinks he'd be happier. Don't take that away from him too." The jumper grew irritated with Fuuta the most of the two shinobi "You know nothing you ignorant…what…what are you doing?" He asked as he turned back to see Fuuta messing with the bag.
Hey, Atsuro thinks he might have something here. "What about your kid?" he asks, "I grew up without a father." He's tempted to say his father committed suicide too, but that might seem just a little /too/ coincidental. Better to stick with the truth for now. "It affects me every day of my life. You really want your kid to never see you again?" While the man's back is turned, Atsuro inches closer to him. Closer, closer… "Your business?" he asks, "I know the world is unfair like that, but there must have been more to life than your business."
He feels like he's doing reasonably semi-non-terribly, but Fuuta's managed to distract him again. "You're not really helping, you know," he says, "Actually, what /are/ you doing?"
Fuuta looks at each of the questioning men. He gestures from Atsuro to the jumper "Hang on a moment this isn't about me….yet. Uh…..anyway yeah. Your kid……live or die for them….or whatever. Your call." Atsuro's words seem to reach the man causing him to pause for a moment. "My child. Haruhi. A father like me is as good as having a dead father." He stated. "Sometimes it's better to not know. Let your imagination delight you in your ignorance. The truth can be so cruel to children especially." Fuuta seems to have evaded the scrutiny of the jumper, the shinobi however might pry more….that is unless the jumper were to get his attention. "But you're right life is cruel. I can't take it. The prejudice, the unfairness…the mockery. I'd rather have death's glorious evenhanded embrace take me now." He notes. Fuuta blinks "Depressing stuff. So then. Since you're relinquishing your life does that mean you'll also be relinquishing your possessions?" Fuuta speaks up. He closes the bag he was rummaging through "I ask because you've got some rather useful items in this bag. Wouldn't want them to go to waste ya know?" he says with a smirk.
Atsuro frowns at Fuuta. "You're kinda a jackass, you know? I mean, even more than me." He turns his attentions back to the jumper. "Hey now, I speak from experience," he says, "Better to suck and be there." He pauses. "What's so bad about you?" he asks, "Why would the kid be better off without you?" Geez, he really hopes he's not going to regret this. "And just think about it. Not a lot of people realize how bad things are. You're one of the few who do know. It's not too late to build a better world, we just need people like you to help us."
He glances over to Fuuta with a look on his face that says something to the effect of 'Seriously?' He shakes his head. "No, he'll still be needing those."
Fuuta shrugs at Atsuro "Jackass? Hardly. Well not me. You, perhaps. I wouldn't know." He notes. The jumper scowls at Fuuta and looks like he's going to lose it until Atsuro speaks further. "That's a dream. A fantasy. Nothing more than pretty words to get you up in the morning. I lost everything. My family lived like vermin and my wife couldn't take it anymore. A poor man has no future. No power. He can't protect or provide for anyone. Especially not his own daughter." Fuuta's question brings the jumper's attention back. "What the? You heartless…go ahead take it. I don't need it." He says. Fuuta nods "Right on." The you young chuunin rises with the bag "Oh. Well you won't be needing this I guess. Neither will I." Fuuta says reaching into the bag and pulling out a frame. "Here you take it since you're the only one here who cares about his life." Fuuta says to Atsuro. He tossed the frame at Atsuro before tossing the bag over his shoulder. "Cute little thing isn't she?" he says. The jumper looks to the frame thrown at Atsuro "Hey wait! What is that?" If Atsuro caught it and looked upon it he would see the image of a big eyed white haired young girl. She was smiling on what looks to be her father's (the jumper's) shoulders.
Atsuro shakes his head. "I know jackasses better than anyone else. You can trust me on this one." He just kinda frowns as the other man talks about his life, and then has his little exchange with Fuuta. "I don't think you're going to win this argument. Seriously." He catches the frame. "Gee," he says, "Than— " He stops as he takes a closer look at the frame and sees just what the picture is. Well, /this/ could be pretty helpful. He turns it to face the jumper. "It's your daughter, isn't it?" he asks, "She looks pretty happy for somebody who's… living like a vermin, to use your words. Do you really want to take that away from her?" C'mon, c'mon…!
"Trust you? How? You're not even a jackass." Fuuta asked pitching a smile towards Atsuro. The jumper looks to be a bit shocked once the picture is revealed to him. He shoots a glare towards Fuuta and the bag. "I forgot that was in there." Fuuta cants his head to the side "Look if it's all the same to you, hurry up. You're drawing a lot of attention. Widely used bridge ya know? Jump or get out of here." Fuuta remarks harshly. "Shut up. I'd have jumped already if you hadn't frightened me like that!" the man shouted at Fuuta. "I frightened a man who had already given up on life?" the young chuunin remarks.
The jumper kept quiet after Fuuta's harsh retort. Atsuro's words were taken into consideration but it seemed like the jumper only wished to cling to his despair. "I'll let that be the last happy memory she has of her dead beat father." He said turning back around to face the edge. Fuuta groaned feeling rather annoyed by all of this. "Before you take a dive I was just curious. What's the point of packing all this crap if you're going to kill yourself." Fuuta taps his foot "You're too cowardly to take your own life. That's why you're doing it in such an over the top fashion. You're not purely depressed you're scared. You're running. " Fuuta stares at the man. "If you were purely depressed then the 'miracle worker' over there wouldn't have much merit. But you're just frightened…too afraid to face your daughter and wife?" He turns to Atsuro and starts making his way towards him "On second thought gimme that back. Maybe if I break it he'll wake up and get on with this." Fuuta asks.
The man was silent until Fuuta threatened to break the picture. He stepped away from the edge quickly and shouted "STOP!" his eyes became watery. "Please…don't…" he started to beg. "You're right….I'm scared. But what can I do? What do I do? How can I face them? What do I have to offer them?" he asks. Fuuta blinks and looks to Atsuro "You're up jackass." He smirks.
"I hear that from a lot of people," Atsuro says, shaking his head at Fuuta, "Doesn't mean I'm not." But from there, he backs off a little. It seems like Fuuta's actually managing to convince him. Somehow. He keeps a firm hold on the picture, but luckily it seems like Fuuta didn't want it anyway. He gives Fuuta a smirk of his own when told he's up, but it's just a little grudging. "We should talk later," he tells Fuuta, then steps toward the jumper.
"You have plenty to offer them," he says, "It sounds to me like your wife left because she didn't think you could provide for her and your daughter. But you were able to provide for them once, and you should be able to do it again. Look, my 'dad' didn't even try, and he could have provided everything we needed. Even if you're /terrible/, ten percent of one is better than zero percent of a thou— oh God, I'm using math now!?" Taizen barks something at him. Possibly advice. "Yeah!" says Atsuro, "The worst that could happen is you can't provide for them again. That's pretty bad, but you won't have hurt them, right? So it's worth a try."
The jumper rubs his head clearly overwhelmed by all he was taking in. Fuuta looked on to him uninterestedly just waiting for him to speak. The young chuunin managed to keep a straight face during Atsuro's speech. "Good lord don't tell me the canine is more adept…." he mutters so softly to himself as the dog assisted Atsuro when he lost his train of thought. His patience appears to be wearing out and he makes it know by increasing the speed of his tapping foot. Finally the jumper spoke "Enough damnit. I just want it all to go back to the way it was." Fuuta sighs "Didn't you hear the guy? You're gonna have to put up some effort. Ideally more effort and commitment than you had when you tried to kill yourself…." Fuuta noted. The man actually smiled softly. "It's worth a try eh?" he repeats softly. Fuuta takes the bag off his shoulder and tossed it at the man's feet. "Yeah. You're gonna need that though."
The jumper revealed his name to be Kotaru, a merchant in furs and hides who got robbed for all he had. As he struggled to get back on his feet his wife left him with their daughter with the hopes of finding more suitable living conditions. He would take the picture from Atsuro and return it to the confines of his bag. He bows in apology to all, including Fuuta and Atsuro. Before he departed he turned around to ask Fuuta a question. "Hey, you're a bit of a jackass but I guess I should thank you. How did you know this was my bag?" he asked. Fuuta folds his arms "How did I know you weren't really gonna jump?" Kotaru smiled and waved "Thanks. And thank you Leaf Shinobi for keeping my hope alive." with that Kotaru departs. Fuuta blinks "Glad that's over…now then all eyes should be on me- oh…oh come on." he curses as the crowd hand long dispersed and people resuming going about their day.
Atsuro shoots a glance over to Fuuta when he hears muttering, but he doesn't comment. In fact, he seems to approve when Fuuta explains things for Kotaru, and the lack of interruption is respectful now, rather than grudging. His response to the merchant's thanks is insincere modesty. "Well," he says, shrugging and grinning in a rather self-satisfied way, "Someone had to. Good luck, man." He watches Kotaru head off, then shares a smile with Taizen.
Fuuta's annoyance grabs their attention, however. At least two pairs of eyes are on him now. "You did it because you want people to look at you?" he asks, "Seriously? Come on, tell me. Are you just kinda a dick, or did you actually want to help him?" He pauses. "Either way, I guess you're surprisingly… not awful, for a Mist nin. Thanks, I guess."
Fuuta looks back to Atsuro and his dog before sighing. "Actually it's a lot simpler than that. Fact is a great man doesn't allow others to suffer in his presence." he says. "In any case you did well…even if you did have a little help." he looks to the dog. Fuuta folds his arms "I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part but you're welcome." Fuuta yawns "It's time I should be heading back.
Fuuta begins to walk off but does look over his shoulder "Mind if I leave you with some food for thought? Animals don't like jackasses. They smell bad." he remarks glancing towards Taizen. "I doubt they could tolerate the smell for long." he notes before tossing a wayward hand up bidding farewell. "Until next time Leaf Shinobi."
