31_days | [July 20] [Naruto] Tell It Aslant

Title: Tell It Aslant
Day/Theme: July 20/to give birth to a dancing star
Series: Naruto
Characters: Jiraiya, Naruto
Rating: G

Naruto © Kishimoto Masashi, et al.

"Books like that wouldn't bring the writer much profit, unless he wins awards for them, or something." Jiraiya slid further into the hot water, humming with enjoyment. He showed no intention of even going near the fence that separated the women's section from theirs, an attitude which Naruto found doubly suspicious. "High literature gets reviewed - it doesn't get read, meaning hardly anyone buys it."

Naruto recalled one of the few novels he had had to review for lit class, and how the first page alone had bored him to tears. "I can imagine why."

"I'm not very good at that write-to-educate stuff. But give readers a story they can enjoy - that I can do."

"So your books do have stories in them."

There was a muffled burst of feminine laughter from the other side. Jiraiya gave the fence a once-over before eyeing Naruto sourly through the steam. "As a matter of fact, yes, they do have stories in them, with plots, sub-plots, and some character development, too."

"And that's why people are willing to pay money for your books," Naruto said, grinning, "and read them over and over, like Kakashi-sensei does."

Jiraiya leveled a finger at him. "Precisely. It might not happen on the first reading, but they will come to appreciate any book of mine for its story. And no matter what, they're still going to have a good time."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered; the warmth was beginning to seep into his bones, a pleasant distraction. "By the way, if your books should ever win an award - I wonder what the thing would look like."

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A/N: I can write forever (probably already am) about Naruto's opinion on Jiraiya's writing.