This is just a test pilot. If people like it and review, I plan on continuing along with this. If not, I'll leave this as a oneshot. Even though it starts with Ino, it'll include most of the characters. Also note that I've changed the setting of the story to Tokyo, and it is in present time. Pairings I anticipate in the future if this continues are: InoxNaruto (brief), KakashixSakura, KabutoxSakura, SakuraxSasuke, etc. =D anyways, enjoy!
The way I've created the chapter titles is like this. The file numbers each represent a different character, and so when you see a certain character's number you'll know that that chapter is in their point of view. You'll figure out in the first few chapters which character has which number.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to Kishimoto. I've based the plot of my story off of Kamui, which is by Shingo Nanami.
File 00:Prologue: Perfect World
Close your eyes and just imagine a perfect, peaceful world. That's what I do when I feel as if I can't go on. Life's obstacles tend to stop everyone every once in awhile, so all of us need some sort of motivation. Most of my friends always ask me how I can remain so optimistic, and daydreaming is really my only remedy. Sometimes I sit on the small roof of my apartment and let my sighing thoughts run wild. There are so many things I wish I had answers to. Most days, I just think. I've definitely figured out that life is controversial enough to ponder about for days and days on end without reaching a conclusion. Still, my partial theory is that good, evil, and most facts we read are just based on perspective, and therefore not true at all. A person should find their own ideals, I think, and not trust in everything your superiors tell you. Sometimes, just sometimes, I dream of the past, dream of my dead family, and wish I could return to such a time. Anything would be better then the world I live in now, but no matter. I've got to look ahead of me and make my way through life. There's no sense in spending time being depressed about it, right?
Today is just another typical morning for me. I'm lolling about in bed, still daydreaming of course, when all of a sudden it strikes me that I'm going to be late for school. Damn it, I can't afford to be late again! I'll get punished severely… I tear out of bed and make my way to my closet. Of course, today of all days is when I can't seem to find any clean uniforms. Since I'm really pressed for time, I just toss on the set of rumpled, smelly uniform clothes that I wore yesterday. Whatever, it's not like anyone really cares. I dash into my apartment's tiny kitchen and shove a piece of toast down my throat in record time. I grab my satchel and take one last look around the apartment. Having no one to say goodbye to, I just turn off the lights and rush into the streets of Tokyo. If you have no clue of whats been going on here, you'd be surprised at what Tokyo looks like today. It's nothing like it was three years ago. Nonetheless, the streets are crowded with more people then in the past. I think its mainly because the city has become a whole lot smaller. Hmm...the past. I'm so immersed in my thoughts that I bump into a random passerby. The tall blond man gives me a dirty look, but I run off. I'm really to late to worry about that. Besides, its not likely I'll ever see that man again anyways.
Finally, I round the corner of the street I'm on and make it into the main road of the city. I can see my school from the distance, and against the limited Tokyo skyline I'll admit that it looks pretty magnificent. I attend the ever so important Konoha academy. And I really mean important, I'm not being sarcastic. It's extremely large, and has a tall, architecturally tasteful tower at the center. The tower is home to an extensive research facility. On all of the sides of the research facility it is surrounded by buildings that actually have the appearance of a normal school. These are the wings in which classes take place. Before I reach the school's metal entrance gate, I trek up four flights of long, white stairs. The bell rings before I can reach the top of the stairs, and I start to feel the panic well up inside of me. I've got to get there! I push myself to run even faster, past the gate, and I can feel my legs pumping beneath me as I run into the second wing of the buildings. Finally, I'm outside my plain classroom door. I cautiously open the door, sweat coating my brow. As soon as the door is fully open I'm blasted with the loud chitchat and laughter coming from all of my classmates. I breathe a sigh of relief-obviously my instructor isn't here yet. I settle down with some of my friends, Shikamaru and Chouji. From across the room I spy some of my other pals, Temari and Tenten. They're busy gossiping with each other, and so naturally they haven't noticed my prescence yet. Their uniforms are immaculate and neat, and now that I really look at them I'll admit that they're kind of cute. I can only wonder if my messy uniform looks good on me. I set my attention back onto a persistent Chouji.
Just as I'm getting comfortable and Chouji starts telling me a hilarious joke, the door opens again and in walks our instructor, Iruka. He gives us all disapproving glares. He said we should have much better behavior, and that our classroom was so loud China could have heard us. I roll my eyes behind Iruka-sensei's back. He's a fairly nice guy, and normally when he scolds us he's about as intimidating as a cute, cuddly penguin. But when he gets angry, he's really someone to watch out for. I swear, I still shiver whenever I think of the last time he went beserk. Right now he's saying something about one of the research facility's advances, and I really can't be bothered to pay attention to him. Time to find my little dreamland…
Suddenly a deafening shrill cuts through my senses. And no, it isn't the class bell. As soon as we hear it, all of us get out of our seats and leave the room, with Iruka following closely behind us. We hurry into the briefing room and prepare ourselves. Here, they distribute armor, connector sets, and guns. All of my fellow classmates, whom were so loud and excited previously, are now silent and grim. I guess anyone would be, considering where we're going. Once everyone's ready, we march out of the building. We reach the door leading outside of our wing, and pause. As soon as the doors open, instead of the sunshine I had seen when I had been running in, all I see is darkness. The air is filled with the tortured screams of the monstrosities known as atanan. Atanan, if you're wondering, are embodiments of spirits that have been tormented by pain and chaos we've faced. They've only started appearing since about three years ago.
I bet that by now, you're dying to figure out what exactly happened three years ago. Well, it isn't a pleasant story and I have no idea if I'll even be able to get it all right. I missed the details, after all. In a nutshell, Japan was struck by what we call the Grand Sinker. Most of the southern islands sunk, and the rest of Japan, including Tokyo, was struck my massive tsunamis. Only a little bit of what used to be Tokyo is still standing, and in fact, it isn't even supposed to be called Tokyo anymore. We're now to refer to it as EDEN. I find it funny, really. This place is anything but a paradise. Anyways, the name is really a bunch of acronyms someone in the research facility came up with. Who knows, maybe they had a purpose for naming Tokyo what they did. Regardless of names and whatnot, with the government of Japan destroyed, peacekeeping falls to us students and the research facility. We're more then meets the eye, you see.
Needless to say, my parents were both killed. Much of the population perished, and I was lucky I happened to be up north on the day of the disaster. I had gone on a short trip with my friend Shikamaru. We're both art enthusiasts, and there had been an exhibit we'd been dying to see. We had been in the lobby of a tiny hotel when the ground began to quake. Furniture slid, glass shattered, and part of the building actually collapsed. Shikamaru and I were shaken, but we received only cuts and bruises. As soon as we realized that no large aftershock was coming, we boarded a train back to Tokyo. The train stopped short of the city, and we had to exit. We were told that there were no more tracks on which the train could move. We descended from the train, and as soon as we caught sight of the city we were shocked silent. Never could we have imagined the devastation we would find. I went home that day, with no home or family to come back to.
Naturally, all humans strive to find peace and companionship. For the first few months after the disaster, I was completely alone. Sometimes I felt as if I were dead inside, and I had no hope or future goals. I sat amidst the ruins of my old home, and I made no move to fix it up. And that was how I remained until Konoha academy showed up at my doorstep. They brought me comfort, and promised me so many brilliant things. I realized, that day, that the only way I would be able go on was by living closely connected to others. If a person is a part of the world they live in, they'll not lose touch with reality as easily. I submitted myself to them and let them change me. I would discover later that this place isn't everything that they were cracked up to be. As a whole, the institution is like a coin: its got two completely different sides to it. From one side I get comfort, friendship, and a place to belong. From the other I am forced to watch blood dirty my hands forever. And I'm still not taking the research facility's 'experiments' into account... Most times I feel like the horrors committed by the academy are enough to outweigh their good side. Nonetheless, I'm thankful to them. They'd fixed me, just as was able to fix my previously destroyed apartment. And so I remain here, trapped by both government policy and my gratitude.
My hands are shaking badly. I really should stop thinking so hard, especially when everybody else is already out the door of the wing. As I walk out, I take steadying breaths. For some reason, today of all days, the door that I pass by catches my attention. Now that I think about it (though I really shouldn't be thinking during an operation), it really is quite ironic. Just this morning, I'd walked into my 'school' as a normal student. I exit through the same door to my realm of horror as a faceless, worthless soldier. I spot the atanan and then my classmates whom are already in battle. As soon as my gun is ready, I jump into the bloody fray. I see blood, way too much blood. Its thick stench causes my throat to close up and makes me gag. I see a student whom I do not recognize wail as she reaches a fallen friend, and I'm reminded that most of us soldiers are only sixteen. We're much to young to be doing this. I take in deep breaths, and close my eyes for a split second. I force emotions out of my system, and once again I'm somewhat ready to kill. Even with my body on autopilot I can barely keep myself from crying or shaking. I shoot, slaughter, and kill the atanan alongside my classmates. As I watch them, and I can tell that some have the same fear that I do. However, when I look into the eyes of most of the others, I see no fear and no mercy. It makes me sicker then I already am. As the last monster finally falls, the battle comes to a screeching halt and I instantly feel better. My name is Ino Yamanaka, and this is the place I live in. I close my eyes and try to imagine a perfect, peaceful world.
And there you have it, folks! Ino is number 00. So, like it? Hate it? Drop me a review and tell me ^^.