intraspective | Room 504, Monday Evening

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Room 504, Monday Evening

Ino had made it through the day. Between getting back, going to class, and talking to Tyler-sensei, she’d figured that whatever Hinata-chan said that she’d totally done her quota of being around and putting her schedule back on normal sort of tracks.

Of course, that’s when she made it back to her room, showered and wriggled into her jammies that Ino realized, depressingly, that she wasn’t sleepy. Making a phone call killed all of thirty seconds, and then she pulled out several gardening magazines and tried to start planning for Tyler-sensei’s flowers. Maybe she would go the love note route, just to make him facepalm.

Her door was left open, as a matter of course.

[Door and post are open! ETA: Anything mission related, beyond it happening, is NFB please!]

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"Very," she said, beaming. "Which totally needs to be taught a lesson, you know. Before it completely forgets what we did to it the first time 'round. I was trying to think if there was a way to, like, hang it. You know, in the air, or something. Make a dramatic statement when we were done with it."

"You know how to tie a noose?"

It was a very casual question, really. If Ino didn't know how, Reno certainly did.

"Not that well," she admitted ruefully. "Learnt how years ago, never used it, so if you're offering a refresher course or something I'd love you forever."

She hummed. "And I get to buy knives for it," she said, almost dreamily. "Because that way I don't have to worry about my kunai giving the game away if we want to leave a few knives stuck in."

"Tell you what, you teach me how to not kill a flower, and I'll teach you how to tie a noose and I'll spring for the knives, yo."

Buying weapons was fun.

And useful, all things considered. And probably wouldn't raise too many eyebrows after last week, for that matter.

Weapons were in the top three of most awesome things to buy ever, really.

"I think that's a deal," she said, offering her hand so they could shake on it. "And I'll make sure you got seeds to get better at not killing, yeah." Ino hummed. "Totally going to be watching you anyway."

Ino knew he had more experience at torture and stuff than she did. So she'd watch and learn and revel in the learning from someone who didn't mind.

"I think I'll consider myself lucky if I can get somethin' easy to grow," Reno decided, hesitating for a moment before shrugging and shaking her hand. He wasn't going to drag it to his mouth and start gnawing on it, he was fine. "What's easy? Beans? They make kids grow beans or somethin' around here, don't they?"

She noted the hesitation, but didn't comment on it.

"Beans are easy," she said agreeably. "And you can get pole beans that're a better use of space, if that's limited, or the bush ones if space isn't such an issue. Their big thing is that they need warmth. They don't like it when it gets cooler. But they grow quick, and have a long harvesting period."

Harvesting.

They were talking about food. Growing food, so that people could eat.

"How much soil they need to be able to grow all the way?"

This was suddenly very important, okay?

"You plant the seeds about an inch, inch and a half deep or thereabouts, most exact depends on the type of bean but they're all around that," she rattled off with the ease of someone who has known this for ages. "Pole beans you plant 'bout six to eight inches apart, bush beans four to six inches apart and if it's super humid you've got to make them further apart so they can breathe better. A meter or so apart if you've got them on four-set wigwam--it's a kinda pole tower thing, to hold them up."

"An' how much water do they need? And sun?"

Look, he wasn't adverse to digging up some dead chick's flower bed so that starving people in Edge could eat. Beans! Gardening! Having some kind of useful function. Reno could handle that. And the notion made him want to freak out less than he currently was.

"They need 'bout an inch of water a week, a bit more when they haven't come out of the ground yet, if you're not sure, go for less--less is better than more for them. Sun, if it doesn't get too too hot, plant them where they get the full benefit of it, if it's a super hot area, plant them in partial shade."

Ino glanced at him. "Do you want me to write down a bunch of this, so you've got it all in writing later?"

That was a somewhat enthusiastic nod.

"Yes. Please, yo. You kinda lost me back at 'inch of water.'" Reno? Green thumb? Not at all. "What other veggies are easy to grow, you know?"

She made a bit of an amused face at that.

"I'll have a bunch written up for you then," Ino promised. "In easy-to-understand words. Radishes are really easy, so carrots are pretty good the first year, but the second year if you're not careful they'll get a lot of issues. Peas. Potatoes. Onions if you start them early enough. Lettuce and summer squash. There's quite a bit of fairly easy ones. Vegetables are way easier than fruit to grow for the most part, though tomatoes aren't bad either, if it's hot enough."

Mental notes were failing him. He was too tired and too hungry to be able to keep it all straight.

"Make me a list? And before I graduate, I'll get seeds."

"I'll make a list, more than one even," she promised him. She'd have to include pH types, how to test the soil, how much water for each, what was needed to start...

"And you'll have plenty to keep busy with, that's good for a load of people. You can set things up that while first year are a lot of work for little reward, start giving out a lot better second year too."

"Hey, if it means that people are eatin' in the long run, I'm all for it. I bet the people around Edge are willin' to try, too."

A pause.

"Know of anything that works good in a desert where there ain't no life left in the dirt? Or any way to work with that? Dry, polluted sand?"

She tugged on her hair thoughtfully. "I can think of a few things that might work," Ino said slowly, "but there'd be a lot of transplanting the first few years. Let me think 'bout it a bit?"

"Sure." Reno nodded a little. "If sand don't work, then gimmie some kinda idea how much dirt we should look into haulin' into Edge, or if there's some way to grow things, like... without dirt. Hydro... Word. That?"

Ponics, Reno.

"I mean, there are options, yeah? Just gotta find 'em."

"Hydroponics," she said, smiling. "That could work too. How're you guys for water there?"

Ino looked at him, blue eyes steady and confident. "There's always options, Reno."

"Water situation's pretty shitty, too. But, I dunno. Make it work usin' a bit of all of it, or somethin', that might be good, right?" He tried a small smile back. Smiling actually felt kind of good, didn't it? "There's always options, yo. Thanks, Ino."

He held up the chocolate bar in a bit of a salute.

"You lemmie know how that love letter of yours goes, huh?"

"I'll make a copy of it for you," she informed him. "And you'll be totally the first to hear when I get in and find Mr. Needs to Learn a Lesson. If it's in a box, I'll probably drag it out of there myself, if it's not, you're getting called in for rhino carrying duty, you know."

Cheerful silly stuff that was more than a touch morbid. Good enough to make him smile.

Him thanking her made her twitch a bit, but she kept smiling. "Anytime, you."

He stood up and stretched, nodding to her.

"I probably better get goin', anyhow. Still gotta tie up a lotta... loose ends, or whatever, after this week. Don't let any rhinos eat you in the meantime, yo."

She nodded.

"I'll deal with any rogue rhinos with every bit of caution needed," Ino said. "And, hey, loose ends or not I'm always glad of your company."

If he needed it.

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Room 504, Monday Evening

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