...Sunlit Structures; Sparkling Sandcastles
The ground shook with every step he took.
His strong feet sank into the golden sand, but he was a ninja. Such a thing was not enough to slow down his stride.
In the distance, he saw ships in the turquoise sea. The cloudless blue sky was a sight to behold as well. It was the first time that he had come here, Ino's marriage aside. But he hadn't seen much of the place, then. And it was a beautiful place.
He saw a beautiful white tower in the distance and his sharp eyes had allowed him to take in all of its glory. That tower was a true marvel of design and craftsmanship, a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of its builders.
The sheer beauty of it and its grandeur were overwhelming, and he found himself unable to tear his gaze away from its exquisite form, even from afar.
Still, the summer swelter was harsh, especially for a strong, healthy man like he was. So he removed his shirt.
Akimichi Chōji saw a woman give him an amazed look. He knew this look well.
A healthy body composition ranged from 90% lean tissue and 10% body fat to 70% lean tissue and 30% body fat. Ninja's body fat typically ranged from 8% to 22%.
The Akimichi clan had no time for such calculations. Mass was mass.
Muscle was something they had in spades, and the same thing went for fat. And most people were entirely too unused to such a thing. He had been so self-conscious as a kid, too. He would have wondered if she was mocking him.
But that…
That was a long time ago.
The look she gave him? It was the pure fascination that came from seeing a massive man, one who carried his weight so well.
Chōji gave her a soft smile and she blushed.
He continued to stride forward, following his friend Sasuke. Who had dressed for war.
…
"Uzu… Naruto-san…?" Chōji blinked.
The man looked different. Older, shorter. He had cut his hair. Also… what was he doing with Sasuke's wife…? Like her husband, she too had cut her hair. They seemed embarrassed, too. No wonder.
Sasuke understood it, right away. Chōji saw it in his eyes. That could go bad quickly.
"Let's not jump to conclusions yet, Sasuke!" Chōji tried, with false cheer. Kage buttoned his shirt up and Hinata looked mortified. Chōji was, too. He had seen a glassed village before. If these two decided to go at it… "I'm sure it's jus—"
"Don't." Sasuke scowled. "They're not the people I'm looking for."
He was still a bit green in the face.
"But—"
"Don't." Sasuke repeated, holding up a hand in the air. "Just… don't say anything. Please."
…
"Other dimensions…?" Chōji blinked.
"I know it's a lot to take in." Sasuke nodded. "I should have told you about Toru's shit earlier—"
"Shikamaru was right!" Chōji beamed. "I knew it."
"…I guess he would be." Sasuke just said.
Chōji just nodded in amazement.
"There must be wonders out there—"
"No." Sasuke shook his head. "No, not really. It's mostly the sort of…" He hesitated. "The sort of shit…"
"…Like before you mean?" Chōji wisely didn't rub salt in the wound.
"…Yeah. Like before." Sasuke nodded slowly.
There was silence.
"What do you think he called us for, then…?" Chōji asked. "It's been a while since I last saw him."
Sasuke shrugged. "It's Toru." He slowly let out. "It could be anything. Naruto snapping again… tearing the fabric of the world apart… Sakura insulting him."
…
"Sand castles." Sasuke said dryly.
Toru beamed at him. "Bro!"
"Don't."
"Why are you so frowny…? That's unlike you, really." Toru said.
"You called me over to help you build sand castles." Sasuke repeated.
Toru shrugged unashamedly. "Not only — but everyone knows you're likely the best at it, chakra or not." He slipped in. Sasuke prepared to tell him he wasn't foolish enough to fall for it. "Also, your brothers are here."
Sasuke paused. "If you mean you and fucking Naruto—"
"No, I meant your younger brothers." Toru shook his head.
…He could feel their presence now, actually. Coming from an impressive hole where… an older version of him was digging.
"Toru…" Sasuke said slowly. "What the fuck are you guys doing?"
"Digging." Toru said.
Chōji squinted, trying to make sense of this. "Why did you need me here…?"
"Bro!" Toru grinned. "It's been too long!"
"Chōji?!" Ino exclaimed in delight. "What are you doing here? Come in, come in!"
"Just passing by — In the hole?" Chōji laughed. "I'm much too large for all of us to fit in!"
"Of course!" Ino grinned. "We'll—"
"We'll make it larger." Yoisen finished.
Ino glared at her.
Toru made a specific sign at Chōji with his left hand. Both Sasuke and he understood the meaning of it immediately.
Sasuke let out a long sigh.
Chōji nodded in understanding. He would need a shovel, first.
…
"Move over." Sasuke called from the top of the hole they were standing in.
The sun's light was blinding. Still, his shadow and voice made it clear who he was.
"Go away, old man." Sakura growled. "Nobody wants you here."
Sasuke looked taken aback by the vehemence of her words.
"…It's the wrong Sasuke." Hanabi laughed.
"…Oh." Sakura blinked. "I guess you can come, then."
Naruto sighed.
"They get Chōji… And we get… Itachi's brother." Naruto said. "The day started out so nicely, too…"
Sasuke elbowed him out of the way. Naruto threw muddy sand in his eyes in retaliation.
"You motherfucker—"
"Really, pushing your good ol' brother?" Naruto laughed.
Soon, they were trying to wrestle each other's face into the muddy sand, without using chakra. Sakura cheered them on, either of them. Hanabi was definitely paying attention, now.
Idly, Sasuke wondered when Naruto had grown so damn big…? Perhaps that spar could wait a bit longer, too.
Karin grumbled and continued to dig. She wouldn't put it past Toru to have sent Sasuke here for exactly this reason. To destroy their team spirit.
…
"There are three Sasuke now." Hanabi frowned.
"So…?" One of them — the one she found acceptable — asked.
"So that's too many."
Sasuke glared at her.
"Hanabi, I don't think—" Karin began. Hanabi reached into her own Mindspace and pulled a smooth stone out. Karin sighed.
"Henceforth…" Hanabi called in a firm voice. "He shall be known as—"
"Jinsuke." Sakura decided. Chakra flowed from the stone into the air.
Hanabi stared. "…You don't even know which one we were talking about."
"I assumed it was the older one." Sakura laughed.
Hanabi grunted. Which meant it was the case.
"…What the hell did you do?" Sasuke asked.
"She renamed him." Karin sighed. "In our world, at least."
"Why Jinsuke…?" Hanabi asked.
"Easier to remember — also his name, Sasuke, comes from the Third's father... or something. Well that guy had a dickish older brother."
Sasuke looked particularly unimpressed with them. "Are you idiots for real…? That's my counterpart, out there. Just name him Amaterasu, or—"
"How's that for a godly feat, number five?" Hanabi grinned.
"…Not bad, not bad." Sakura admitted.
…
"There are three Sasuke here, now." Uchiha Naruto said.
"So what…?" His brother grunted. Naruto talked too much and that meant they were wasting time they could be using to prepare for the castle-building.
"I'm confused. Are all of them my brothers?"
"Not me." The older one — the one with a single arm said — grunting.
"But—" Uchiha Naruto tried.
Then he thought about it. For some reason, he felt as though there were only two Sasuke around, now. But he still knew the older one to be… To have been a Sasuke.
At some point.
Maybe.
"Huh." Uchiha Naruto blinked. Then he shrugged and continued to dig.
Jinsuke just nodded.
"That's not how you're supposed to hold a shovel, Sarada." He said.
She whirled upon him. "I know what you're trying to do, old man." She snapped.
"…What?" Jinsuke squinted. Teenagers were complicated, and Sarada especially. Then again, her mother had been a peculiar one.
"You're trying to fix me." She said sharply, as she stabbed down into the heavy sands. "Trying to arrange my life. Like I'm something to take care of. Well, guess what. I'm no one's dog! Go bother someone else, like Boruto!"
"Hey." Boruto frowned. "What did I do?"
Jinsuke stared. He finally understood.
He had gone through a similar phase at around her age. He shook his head — he had seen so much of his wife Sakura in her… that he had forgotten that she was his daughter, too.
He put a hand on her shoulder.
"…Are you jealous of Boruto's power?" Jinsuke asked gently.
Sarada tried to stab him with the shovel.
…
"Ah." Hanabi nodded to herself. "Team Jinsuke is tearing at the seams."
Sakura chuckled loudly. "No shit. He's in it, and so is my disciple. There was no way she wouldn't try to put him in his place."
Sasuke's Uchiha solidarity pricked up. "…What did you say to her, exactly?"
"I had nothing to do with it, actually." She admitted, shaking her head.
Sasuke used the opportunity to push Naruto's head into the sandy wall. Naruto swapped positions with him and he found himself eating sand. The blond man's chuckle was positively grating.
"Break this link!" Sasuke growled. "Break it, I say!"
Naruto tutted. "Ask Jinsuke and he'll tell you how much of an error breaking his bonds was."
Sasuke spat sand into his eyes. Naruto laughed, even as Sakura tripped him right after.
Karin continued to dig, chuckling helplessly.
…
"We should go faster." Ino said.
Yoisen gave her a strange look. Both of them were covered in sweat.
"I don't think we can go any faster, without chakra." She said.
"Oh, why thank you. I just really wanted to get this hole dug before the sun actually started to set, but I guess some people just don't take their commitments as seriously as others."
"It's barely twelve." Yoisen said. "We would go faster if we actually worked together, though. This hole would be the best on the beach."
Chōji snickered, muttering 'best hole on the beach' back to himself and Akemi elbowed him. He winced.
"…I knew we should have gone for the wet t-shirt contest." Toru shook his head ruefully. Chōji laughed.
Akemi gave them a bland look and Toru winced.
"…I meant that—"
"Both your cousin and our darling Emperor would make you look like a Tier 1 goober." She said.
"Take it back." Toru growled. "Also, Naruto, perhaps. Sasuke…"
"I won't take it back." Akemi shook her head.
On the other side of the hole, Ino rolled her eyes, likely at one of Yoisen's latest comments. "—excuse me? I've been digging just as hard as you have."
"As hard, perhaps… but as it is now, you are slowing me down."
Ino's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Are you serious right now? You're the one who suggested we split in the first place, and now you're blaming me for not being fast enough?"
Yoisen shrugged. "It is on me, I assumed you had more experience—"
"You would know about such things."
"Are you calling me old?"
"No." Ino said evenly. "I'm calling you ancient."
Yoisen smiled — more of a smirk, really. "That is fair. It is impressive how confident you are. I wish I had that kind of self-assurance when I was just… starting out."
"You think I don't understand what a cognitive bias is?" Ino grunted. "I'll be better than you at this, eventually."
"I am simply saying that it takes time to… figure a few things out. Even when we are talking about sand castles. Still, it is a long road, one full of challenges." Yoisen smiled flatly. "I suppose you will manage. Eventually."
Ino glared at her in disbelief. "…You're talking about challenges…? You?" She shook her head. "Something like a married man?!"
"What are you implying…?"
"Do you think I'm blind?" Ino grunted. "I read that damnable letter. And I saw that picture!"
"Ah, that." Yoisen looked away. "It was an honest mistake. I believe I might have read into things too much."
Ino chuckled angrily. "You think?"
"I thought you would be ready."
"Ready…?" Ino repeated. "Do you think this is a matter of being ready?!"
Chōji looked in between Toru and Akemi.
"Please do your thing." Toru muttered, digging sadly. "They're cramping my style."
"Look…" Chōji winced. "I'd love to help... but I'm not sure I even understand what I'm dealing with. There's more context than usual, there. Baggage, too."
"Naruto made a mess of things." Akemi supplied. "Again."
"I thought they all married each other and that—" Chōji began.
"It's complicated." Toru cut him off. "And Ino doesn't take well to potential threats."
Chōji raised an eyebrow. "…What the hell have you guys been doing over the last months, exactly?"
Toru frowned. "Months…?" Then he blinked. "Ah, yeah. True."
…
"Eat my Extermination Stinger-Shovel technique!" Uchiha Naruto roared, stabbing his shovel down.
The young Sasuke chuckled derisively. "This is a stupid name."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto grunted back. "What would you call it…?"
"…I wouldn't call it anything."
"Be honest."
"…Fiery Sand Slide jutsu." Sasuke muttered.
The young Naruto chortled. "This makes no sense. Do you see fire anywhere close?"
There was now fire in Sasuke's eyes, actually. Which might count. Sarada bonked him over the head.
"Don't." She said.
"Don't tell me what to do." He growled, in a manner that was eerily similar… to her own. Sarada blinked.
The child had muttered something about 'that man,' earlier on, and the young Naruto had assured him that they would get him, in a few year's time.
Did he hate her father…?
And did she…?
"Sarada." Boruto cut off what would undoubtedly have been a very confused inner monologue about her dad. Or perhaps he had heard some of her thoughts, too. She wasn't exactly — "Focus." He said.
She grumbled and continued to dig.
"The civilians are catching up." Mitsuki said, voice as even as ever. His skin on the other hand, seemed to be a pretty unhealthy shade of red.
"…You should use sunscreen." Boruto said. "I'm sure Old Man Sas—… Sas… Jinsuke has some." Then he frowned.
Jinsuke frowned, too. He checked for a genjutsu, but he resumed digging.
"It is sun training." Mitsuki said. "Father said we should really get started with that, so I decided to take the initiative."
"You're going to get heatstroke." Jinsuke warned him. "And I'd rather not explain that to Orochimaru."
"He was your Master, wasn't he…?" Boruto asked.
"That man wasn't, Boruto." Jinsuke almost snapped. "He taught me a few jutsu. That is it."
Boruto frowned.
"…Isn't that what a master is…?"
"You guys have masters?" Uchiha Naruto asked, blinking. He also stopped digging. "Where can I find one? My big bros barely got any time for me and Shisui is…" He frowned.
"In space?" Boruto tried. "I've heard."
"No, I meant to say flaky."
"Ah."
Young Sasuke just nodded in shared understanding. That guy was not exactly as cool as he remembered him being from… back then.
…
Sakura, Hanabi and Karin worked as a finely oiled machine.
The sounds the shovels made came in rhythm, almost musical in their nature. They laughed, joked, and flirted with each other, hair flying around them as they dug. It seemed almost effortless, though it was belied by their glistening bodies.
Not that Sasuke noticed such things. He was happily married. Also, he was carefully looking away from them. Especially if the three of them decided to wrestle each other again.
He and Naruto alternated between working just as efficiently as the three did…
And flinging shit at each other.
Not literally of course, that was something only the worst of Konohamaru's summons would stoop down to. Also, Sasuke's son, Jiraiya.
The Raikage brought them drinks, at some point.
Which was something that still felt strange. Also, Naruto's son was apparently doing his best to drool into Sasuke's hair, from the top of the hole. In spite of the same woman's best efforts. He wasn't sure how that worked, but he was pretty certain that Naruto was encouraging this sort of behavior, too.
"It's deep enough." Sasuke said. "We should stop digging."
"Does that sound more convincing to my sister, maybe?" Hanabi asked. Sakura elbowed her, but she was cackling all the same.
Sasuke sighed.
"The hole's not done. We need more sand for later." Karin stated.
"Yup." Naruto said, wiping more sweat off his brow.
In any case, Sasuke began hauling the sand away.
A few holes away, some of the civilians began wetting the sand they had dug out.
"Ah." Naruto said, noticing them. "I think we should stop digging the hole now."
Sasuke growled.
The other groups likely followed and they were soon doing the same thing.
…
Ino was on the verge of finding Yoisen convincing.
Perhaps it was thanks to Chōji's easy words.
Perhaps she was convincing. She had this annoying manner to her, the sort of thing that reminded her a bit too much of Academy teachers who thought they knew better just because they were older. Or her mother, maybe. As though Ino were making a Great Tree out of a sapling.
"We are going to need to get the sand both wet and very compact inside a big container, first." She said.
"Like the one you likely sleep in…?" Ino muttered.
"There are creatures who sleep in coffins, but I am not one of them." Yoisen said.
Chōji intervened smoothly. "Really…?" He asked with wide eyes. His curiosity almost sounded honest.
Toru breathed out in relief.
"Yes." Yoisen nodded. "They are called vanpaia. They are nightly creatures that feed on humans."
"…Uh. Okay." Chōji said.
"I have killed plenty of them, now." Yoisen continued. "A man named Dio, a woman named Gyokuro…" She rattled off a few more names.
Chōji nodded slowly. He didn't mean to make it sound encouraging, but old habits die hard.
"Fire generally works best on them." Yoisen explained. "Like on most things, really. Should you find yourself facing one of their numbers, I would suggest coating your weapon with Fire, the old-fashioned way."
Chōji nodded politely.
"…Or you could always wait for daylight and kill them when they are at their weakest." She finished. "They cannot survive it, depending on the world we're talking about."
"Thank you." Chōji said. He wanted to change topics.
Ino managed to keep a grudging noise in the back of her throat. Chōji considered it progress.
"This is so damn inefficient." Toru moaned piteously, digging a water pit, this time. "Do civvies really do things like this…? By hand? No chakra…? Just raw-dogging life?"
"Yes." Akemi said dryly. "Non-chakra-user." She corrected, as an afterthought.
"They have done so for thousands of years." Yoisen supplied.
Ino forced herself not to snap. "Are you a sand sculptor now?"
"Hardly."
"Then why should I—"
"We're going to need more water." Yoisen ignored her. "Buckets of them, in fact."
"I could have said as much."
Yoisen continued. "Dry sand won't do much of anything, but wet sand will hold a shape when the water drains away. The idea is to get enough water into the sand to sculpt it before too much water drains away and the sand sets into shape. We're going to need to step on it to build a strong base. "
Chōji appeared, almost out of nowhere. "Let me do it."
Toru smiled gratefully, and considered helping them. Then he reconsidered and knew better.
"I'm going to go and get water from the sea." He said.
"...Me too." Akemi followed.
The two of them hurried away.
"—for real? Have you gone senile?" Ino asked, behind them.
"Are you not supposed to be the mind expert…?" Yoisen asked flatly. "I thought you'd be able to tell me."
Toru hurried even more.
…
Chōji noticed they were tense, the two of them.
It didn't take an expert, but he knew that Toru thought he was one. Or perhaps the Uchiha simply didn't feel like dealing with this himself. Which would be understandable.
Dragging him in, on the other hand…
"Hey guys." Chōji said, cutting off some thinly veiled insult. "Why don't we take a break and grab something to eat and drink? I think we could all use a little refreshment right now."
Ino looked a little surprised, and the woman named Yoisen looked as though she were considering it.
"No." Ino shook her head, and perhaps it had something to do with it. "There are castles to build."
Chōji looked dubious.
"…If you say so."
The three of them made a strong pile of sand, wet it and Chōji pressed his weight down on it. He stood there for a while.
Once the sand was compact enough, they made a large enclosure, filled it and repeated the same process, with Chōji compacting the sand into a large rectangular base.
He hoped that for as long as he kept them busy, they wouldn't fight.
Chōji stepped away to gather more sand from the hole.
"Naruto's team is doing well, too." Yoisen noted. "He's pretty good at improvising, it seems."
Ino couldn't help but feel a tinge of irritation when Yoisen mentioned him. She tried to push it down, but the bitterness spread through her gut like wildfire. "What of it?" She asked tightly.
"He fancies himself a bit of a tinker." Yoisen said fondly. "I do not believe he, nor previous incarnations... ever built a castle by himself, least of all out of sand."
Ino gritted her teeth. "So what?"
Yoisen stared at her for a long moment. "Quit looking for reasons to be upset." She said.
Ino's chest was full of fire. "Reasons to be upset…?" She demanded. "I have plenty. How about I give you one…?"
"Please, do so." Yoisen smiled. It was sharp and full of derision.
"Do you think you know everything?" Ino spat.
There was silence.
"...You're indulging a whim." Yoisen said. "If it's about jealousy, I assure you—"
"It's not that I'm jealous."
"Of course not." Yoisen said politely.
Ino glared at her. "I think." She said slowly. "That you misunderstand the situation. And your position here."
Yoisen's eyes were flat. She stared at her in chilly silence.
"No. I believe I know." Yoisen said coldly, pushing hair out of her face. "I know my place well." She added, sounding somewhat bitter.
"And you hate it." Ino said, eyes hard. "That you know you have to win me over before my dear husband would even consider—"
Silence.
"Ah, so we get to the heart of it." Yoisen said flatly. "Why don't we talk about what's really going on? You're worried. Insecure. Because you believe he and I have history." She crossed her arms. "Rest assured—"
"You are delusional. And you have hope that he will love you some day, don't you?" Ino bit back, just as crisply. "I would suggest you continue waiting on the sidelines."
For an instant, Yoisen's eyes smoldered with something hot and angry.
"An… interesting take." She said slowly.
"Sure. Try and hide your temper." Ino made a derisive noise. "Continue to pretend you're above all of this, like we're just your pets. That's what you did best."
Yoisen shook her head. "Of course not. I wouldn't consider you as a pet." She smiled thinly. "A pet has enough common sense not to bite a helping hand."
Their conversation continued to spiral downward. They said things they probably should not have said, tempers searing hot, and burning all the way through.
When Chōji came back, there was fire.
Metaphorical fire… as well as the more literal sort.
…
Toru pursed his lips.
He still didn't get what it was about Naruto that made him the center of so much damn drama. In any case, he erected a barrier around the vicinity.
…
Naruto watched the two women hurling fireballs at each other and winced.
It had sounded pretty fun on the paper, a good way to fuck Toru up. Perhaps he had underestimated Yoisen's own worst traits. Why had he thought that preparation would be enough to circumvent the entire problem, again…?
Ah, yes. Hubris.
Naruto really had thought Ino and Yoisen could get over their little disagreement. Like he and Sasuke did. He shook his head and narrowly dodged Sasuke's "accidental" elbow strike to his ribs.
In any case, he made sure to warn the civilians that there was no real danger, and yes the fireballs were contained, and yes the sandcastle contest was still ongoing.
Naruto scratched his chin. He dropped the shovel, began heading there… and saw Chōji intervene. There was a lot of gesturing, soothing motions and words. He saw Ino say something that was undoubtedly proud and angry and filled with poison. Yoisen's temper burned just as hot and she said words that probably were just as terrible, only more honeyed. If that.
Chōji smiled easily — though there was pain in his eyes — and tried to get them to shake hands. It didn't go so well.
But they resumed working together.
Well, there were no fireballs, so Naruto shrugged. It was a conversation for later, then. Naruto saw Toru glaring at him tiredly. He just waved back cheekily.
Sakura made Sasuke stand on sand. It looked vaguely demeaning, as it always did, when she made someone do something.
"They will go for a castle." Naruto said. "Or a big structure, in any case."
"Why are you so convinced?" Sasuke asked.
"It's Ino and Yoisen."
"They're not the only ones on the team." Sasuke remarked.
"Yeah, but they're the most hard-headed." Karin said.
"Do you know… that woman well, then?" Sasuke squinted. Because he definitely remembered some things about her. Days when the Sage was still alive. Days when he wasn't.
"Not that much." Karin admitted. "But I know Ino."
"Whatever." Sasuke muttered. "Let's go for something smaller, then. That way we can focus more on the details."
Naruto frowned. "Are you our leader, now?"
"Let's go for a small one?" Hanabi asked, over the sound of Sasuke grinding his teeth together.
"Yes." Naruto nodded sagely. "Let us."
…
Toru had to admit the first few towers the women had built were impressive.
Well, Ino and Yoisen, mainly. He and Akemi were working on erecting gold walls around it. And a moat, perhaps. A decorative one, not just one to keep the rising sea from destroying their build. If the two women didn't get into yet another fight about whether Oizumi or Komono architecture was the way to go about things.
Yes, perhaps they could line the walls with decorations once they were done. He could create a few jewels when no one was looking and scatter them around, and pretend that he had simply found them around…
Then windows. Yes. He would make windows. Then gates and fences. Then perhaps a cosmic horror around it to earn them some style points — the others would likely go for something much more boring.
More boring—
Blink.
Toru stared at Boruto and Jinsuke's group.
They had apparently built a small rocky hill… and a throne. One which Sarada was currently standing next to, arms crossed imperiously. In front of the hill was a large rectangular hole. Jinsuke was on his knees in front of it, looking distinctly unimpressed.
Sarada lifted her hand high up in the air.
Uchiha Naruto and the young Sasuke raised their shovels to the air in response. Nacchan did so, as well. Boruto and Mitsuki did the same, hesitantly. Jinsuke looked even more unimpressed than before. At what Toru imagined to be Sarada's signal, the older man let the two children bind his good hand behind his back.
Sarada nodded again.
Uchiha Naruto kicked Jinsuke down the hole.
The man grunted, but let himself fall — perhaps it was some strange way of making it up to Sarada. The teenagers and the children raised their shovels up to the air in triumph.
"…What the hell…?" Toru muttered. And also there was something weird—
…Someone had used the Namer.
Toru decided it was not his problem and went back to his small, wooden shovel. The one he used for detailing.
He heard Chōji speak.
"You should've heard all the nice stuff Naruto was saying about you while you were gone, last time." Toru heard him say to Ino.
Ino preened. "Of course he would — and so would I. He's my dear husband."
Toru smiled to himself.
…
All of the teams gathered on the beach continued to build upon their foundations.
The civilians focused more on smaller structures; perhaps they were feeling tired from their lack of chakra, perhaps they just weren't megalomaniacs as about half the shinobi on the beach seemed to be.
Yugito hummed a song, sunglasses firmly set on her face. That way, Sakura would likely not be able to give her shit if she ever so happened to be giving her lover's sweaty body the occasional glance. A slightly larger than usual Matatabi kept an eye on her son, who was napping in the shadow of a beach umbrella. Jinchūriki baby tales or not, she found it safer to simply not let him stay in direct sunlight.
There were shouts. One, angry; the others, victorious. Sasuke and Sakura threw Naruto into the air, and out of the hole. He flipped through the air and landed on his ass.
"I meant to do that." He said to no one, standing up and dusting himself.
"I'm sure." Yugito muttered to herself, almost sure he could hear her.
In any case, he kicked sand down the hole and heard two identical sounds of protest. He chuckled darkly. Yugito sighed.
Naruto moved to the castle building site, and he resumed his methodical work, with his small shovel.
Things calmed down a bit after the Jinsuke incident. No one from their group felt like answering any of the questions they were asked, and the man himself… least of all.
The spectators began to gather around the beach. Yugito herself stayed where she was, lazily lounging on a long chair. She watched them do so. The crowd was making a whole lot of noise, as they moved from one castle to the next. There were about a dozen constructions.
The "competitors" wrapped up the whole thing.
Yugito watched her lover putting the finishing touches on the group's castle. She also saw him argue with Sakura, Hanabi and Sasuke about it, in this order.
And then someone called the contest's end. There were protest, groans — some of them were definitely coming from Ino and Akemi's group. Matatabi fielded Yūshirō's latest attempt at rolling down from his makeshift bed.
"Tools out!" A woman's voice repeated. That was definitely Tanabe Mai's stern tone.
And there she was, along with Anko. Kaitaro and his newest assistant were still missing, though. Yugito hoped for the woman's sake that Toru was exaggerating again.
Anko pulled a whistle out of nowhere.
"Alright!" The very pregnant woman announced, grinning. "Time to lay down the law!"
"To judge." Mai corrected.
"Yes." Anko nodded. "Exactly."
She moved closer to the first of the civilian castles. So did the contestants.
"…How are we supposed to trust you to be impartial?" Naruto asked dubiously.
"Funny that you ask." Anko smiled. "But don't worry. I'm not going to give you any extra points just because we're teacher-siblings."
"…I was more worried about the opposite, actually."
"Nonsense!" Anko grinned.
The first one to be judged was an elaborate carving of a Kami.
Anko stared at it. "…I've never been one for religion, but—"
"That shouldn't matter!" One of the builders complained.
"It doesn't." She shook her head. "But the face's busted."
"It's not."
"Who's it supposed to be…?"
The man hesitated. "Kamiyonanayo." He said.
"See?" Anko shrugged. "I would never have guessed."
She didn't give an overt rating, but moved on to the next building in line.
"Welcome to Umi…?" She asked aloud. That's what the kanji read, at least.
"Yes." A woman nodded, smiling. "We've had plenty of newcomers, recently, and so I figured—"
"A laudable intention." Anko nodded proudly. "Go see Kaitaro, he will give you social points."
"…What are social points?" She frowned.
"Go ask him."
Ino gave her a dubious look. "You should really stop joking around with that."
"Who says I'm joking…?" Anko muttered. She moved to the next. "Oh, a drip sand castle. Very nice."
"Thank you, Anko-sama." The owners nodded.
Karin frowned. "No, but for real. Who made you the final judge…?"
Anko blinked. "Who should I have asked for permission, exactly…? Mai's here anyway."
Mai nodded, very seriously. She was taking notes about each of the castles, in complete silence.
"Ooooh!" Anko beamed. "That's Ajamizu castle, isn't it…? How did you do this in mere hours…? Mei would love it."
A woman beamed. That's the region she came from.
It was very nicely built. Toru felt a brief spasm of jealousy course through his spine. His eye roamed over the realer-than-life reproduction, trying to find anything wrong with it.
Anko paused.
"…Okay, who made this snake-dragon thing?" She asked, voice booming.
Nobody answered.
Mai pointed a man out. He winced. "Yeah… we did." He admitted.
"I love it!" Anko gave him a thumbs up. "And the details! The fangs, the scales…! Snakes will never go out of fashion — except if you're one of these weirdos wearing snake-skin pants, then I have nothing to say to you." She drew closer. "Well. Are you?" She asked quietly.
"No, Anko-sama." He whispered.
"Thought so!" She laughed, clapping his shoulder.
Anko moved to the next one. Toru recognized it right away.
"Whoever made this read too many of that guy's comics." Anko said, pointing at Toru. "And sure… imitation is the best form of flattery and all… but I know nobody else would do this willingly. So that's your group's." She said. "Congrats Toru — I know I'm not supposed to say it already, but you lost."
Toru stared at her. "It's not ours." He said dryly.
Still, he observed the structure and had trouble believing someone had liked his stupid comics enough to…
He sniffled a bit, because sand had found its way into his nostrils. They deserved autographs, whoever they were. Akemi patted his back.
Anko blinked. "Who's enough of an ass-lick—"
"I liked the comics." A man said hesitantly. "We all did, actually."
"Huh…" Anko shrugged. "The more you know. Good job on that, then."
"But you said—"
"Take the compliment, shinobi."
He was not a ninja.
Anko moved on.
There was a curved castle, which must have been a pain in the ass to build without it collapsing.
And…
"It's illuminated, too?" Anko asked in disbelief, when the proud owners turned the light on.
Toru winced, as though he was in pain. 'Incredible,' he thought. His fist clenched in admiring envy. They were true artists, the people behind that. He tried to act nonchalant. Akemi chuckled.
Anko moved on.
"…The Valley of the End… and what seems to be a grandiose palace overlooking it." Anko said dryly. "I don't think I have to ask who did this one."
Silence.
"We didn't have the time to build the sex swing, but it would have gone to the right of it, there." Karin said, pointing at the area next to the palace.
"Look closer, Anko." Naruto said, shaking his head. "That's not the Valley of the End—"
"It's Naruto and I facing off." Sasuke finished.
Anko stared. "…Well, whoever's facing that huge Madara lookalike has been defaced. Literally."
"What?!" Sasuke whirled around. "Who did this…?"
Sakura looked away. Naruto shrugged. "I'm sure that whoever it was, they just meant to slip in a message about the faceless nature of conflict, or something."
Anko looked distinctly unimpressed. "Nice work on the palace, though."
"Thank you." Hanabi and Karin echoed. They had made sure to keep Sakura away from it.
"Though I'm really not sure about the message… Are the small cramped houses downstairs, far under the palace, supposed to be the people…?" Anko asked.
Karin winced. "We didn't have time to finish, so Hanabi had to rush."
Hanabi blinked. "…Rush?"
Staring at their castle, Toru didn't feel envy. He crossed his arms and knew his team would win. He gave Naruto a wink.
Anko looked at the next building.
A single tower, surrounded by walls. Somewhat nice, but nothing that really got her attention.
Anko moved on to the next.
She stared without saying anything. There was nothing but a well-made throne and a monstrosity, a few meters behind it. Something that couldn't be called a castle.
Jinsuke stared impassibly. Nacchan winced.
"Naruto fell into it." Young Sasuke explained.
"Because you pushed me." Uchiha Naruto growled.
"You tried to push me first."
Sarada shook her head. She had known that the two would be a problem, so she and her boys had focused their attention on the throne.
Toru took a closer look. He noticed the elegance of it, then. It was a well-made thing. Anko realized it, too. "That's… pretty nice, as far as thrones go." She said quietly. Toru frowned. If he lost to Boruto…
"What do you think, Toru?" Naruto asked.
"…It's alright." He croaked. Akemi barely managed to hide a chuckle.
Boruto gave them a questioning look.
Anko continued to walk.
Puzzled, she looked down. The castle, or perhaps the palace, had many several curving corridors and round rooms. It was also… "Really nice." Anko said.
Toru withheld a smirk. He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke, but they just gave him shrugs. No matter.
Their build used architecture techniques from all over the world. The castle was built upon a square foundation, with incredible detailing on the walls, intricate staircases and a beautiful spire at the center. There was a moat surrounding it. Windows made out of superheated sand, too. It looked fit to be the center of an empire. Darkened sand covered the buildings' tops in beautiful roofs.
Toru nodded to himself proudly. Inviting Chōji had been one of his best ideas, as of recently. That he had managed to get these two to work together was testament to the man's greatness.
Victory was so close.
Yoisen and Ino shared a brief look, and for a second, Toru thought he could see some sort of tentative respect in their eyes.
The group — well, most of them — exchanged high fives.
Anko and Mai walked away.
…
There was a sudden hush, and people started talking at once.
Toru clapped Naruto's back, stronger than it needed to be. Naruto glared back.
"Don't be mad about losing, man." Toru said, grinning.
"The results haven't even been announced yet." Naruto grunted.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have let Sakura deface your own." Ino said evenly.
"Who defaced what?" Naruto asked, shrugging. "I meant what I said. The faceless Sas—… statue is about the nature of war." Behind him, Sasuke growled.
"And I wouldn't do that, besides." Sakura shook her head.
"Certainly not." Akemi muttered.
Anko and Mai were making the last adjustments to the latter's list.
"Alright." Anko said. "Everyone, shut up!"
The babble died away, as the contestants waited with bated breath.
"Thank you all for participating in this big, impromptu... thing—" Anko began. "I barely learned about it in time to come—"
Naruto growled.
"In any case, we have reached a decision." Anko continued. "Because I know some of you are sensitive, we are only going to announce the best three."
There was a storm of protest.
Anko rolled her eyes. "We'll put the rest of the losers on display later on, if you insist."
They stilled again.
"In third place…"
The silence thickened.
"Ajamizu castle!" Anko announced. There was cheering and people banging shovels. Also, some looked disappointed already. Either because they had been part of the team and expected to rank higher… or because they had not and simply thought that the reproduction had been better than theirs.
In any case, Toru applauded, as well as the rest of them. He felt his gut clench.
"In second place… The illuminated, curved castle!" Anko announced.
There were enormous cheers, glowing looks. Toru released a breath and pumped his fist. This had been their biggest competition.
Naruto gave Sasuke a bemused look. "I wouldn't have said ours was better than this one, but well…"
Sasuke, in spite of himself, chuckled. "I think we might have lost."
Hanabi shook her head. "I never lose."
"They didn't announce the winner, in any case." Karin added. "But… I wouldn't hold my breath."
Sakura was reading something. Karin gave her an exasperated, amused look. No wonder they had messed up.
Toru waited.
"And in first place…" Anko began.
Toru's stomach leaped — and the rest of his team leaned forward too.
Anko picked up on their anticipation. "We hesitated a lot about this one. Now, as I understand it, there were two main contenders."
There were pained groans.
"Yes, yes… I'm getting to it." Anko said. "There were plenty of great ones, and something truly special to be said about this palace that blends different styles together."
Toru waited. That was theirs. He gazed upon it fondly.
"But…" Anko began.
Toru whirled around. Did she have anything negative to say…?
"There's no coherence—" Anko said.
"What!"
Tanabe Mai nodded.
"It is as though two competing visions had been fighting for dominance… and none of the two managed to give the other enough room to shine." Mai concluded.
"No—" Toru began. "No."
It was the truth, but still. He settled for glaring at both Ino and Yoisen, who glared back at him. Chōji winced.
"And cohesion, as well as a clear theme must be taken into account." Anko said.
Toru made a sad little sound. Akemi, in spite of her laughing fit, patted his back.
"The winner of the Sand Castle contest is…" Mai said.
Toru didn't want to hear it.
"The snake-dragon castle!" Anko called over the storm.
"Bullshit." Toru whispered — he didn't want to offend the builders, because it was pretty nice.
The civilians roared their victory, cheering, fist pumping… hip-thrusting in a way that made Toru grind his teeth.
Still, he clapped his hands, like everyone else did. Toru saw Naruto and Karin exchange a bemused look, and Sakura and Hanabi were likely talking shit about Anko's taste. Sasuke just gave him an accusing look. 'You brought me here for this shit,' he seemed to say.
Toru grit his teeth, didn't glare at Ino and Yoisen again… and continued to clap. Once more, he found himself wondering if Akatsuki still had open spots… somewhere.
They threw a party.
Toru seemed determined to make it the best party of his life — or at least, he was drinking enough to make it look like his last. Yoisen slipped out casually, when Naruto wasn't looking.
And what a party it was. Food, as far as the eye could see, so much of it that it looked as though the table was straining. Meat, fish, and colorful vegetables that made Chōji's mouth water. Cake, pie and tarts too.
And music and drinks, of course. Songs that he knew, songs that he didn't. And these Umi people drank enough to make Chōji wonder if someone was actually going to do something stupid. They didn't disappoint.
Well, Toru, in particular, didn't.
His drunken antics that evening would be enough to make Akemi cringe for the next few weeks… and for most of them to laugh until there were tears in their eyes. They laughed, a lot. Until their ribs felt as though they were hurting.
They continued to sway drunkenly on the lakeshore, to dance and sing until some of them passed out here and there.
It was a good day.
img: EQfTZ8C png
"A Letter From Home / Why Ino Hates"
Last one that was done, and I really should replace that tablet...