Hey guys, JMA here with a new fanfic. This time it's a Gamer fic. I actually have RallenXIII to thank for inspiration and his help in writing this. You should read his fic: Story of a Fuinjutsu Master, it's really good. Anyway, hope you enjoy and reviews make me happy so please send one my way. I wasn't even planning on posting today but since it'd Friday the 13th, I couldn't help myself
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor The Gamer, not even do I own my inspiration. That belongs to God.
Naruto Uzumaki, the orange jumpsuit wearing blonde and blue eyed twelve year old boy, is currently running through a forest with a large green tinted scroll in his right arm. He eventually stops at a clearing, looks around and grins before opening the scroll.
"When I learn a technique from here, they'll have to pass me and I'll be one step closer to becoming Hokage."
Inside the scroll, he sees multiple jutsu. Jutsu ranging from the Multi Shadow Clone, that he immediately ignores as it's a Clone Jutsu, to jutsu like the Impure World Resurection. That one sent a shiver down his spine just by looking at it. He scrolls down, ignoring everything else until he comes to the bottom of the scroll. A jutsu that seemed like a contract more than anything else. Having scrolled through most of the scroll, he decides to look at the contract.
The Gamer
An ability not for the faint-hearted. Once you sign this contract in blood, your life will turn into that of a video game character.
"A video game character? What's that?"
Everyday events turn into quests that make you stronger just by doing them. Great pain, like breaking an arm that usually cripples, can merely be shrugged off and a good night's sleep can restore you back to 100% from even chakra exhaustion.
"Wait what? That's awesome! I'm definitely signing." He says excitedly and in a Naruto classic move, he ignores the rest of the contract and goes straight to the bottom. Unfortunately, he forgets the most important detail.
"How do I make myself bleed?" He looks around frustratedly in a frantic motion, trying to find something to cut himself with. Luckily, he hears a clanging sound coming from his pocket. Hopeful, he dugs into his pockets and finds a kunai. Elated, he cuts his thumb, too excited to really feel it. He uses it to sign the contract. Initially nothing happens, so he groans.
"WHO IN THE HELL WROTE A PRANK IN THE-"
His rant is interrupted when his eyes roll to the back of his head and he falls, unconsious.
*
Regaining consiousness, he feels his body on the floor and pushes himself up, grumbling the whole way. Now up, he takes a look around to find himself in a black abyss of some sort. Curious, he shouts out:
"Hello! Is anybody there?"
Almost as if to answer his call, a light engulfs him. In terms of actual shine, it's pretty dim but going from total darkness to light requires some adjustment. Blinking, he opens his eyes to see himself back in the Leaf Village time barely passed. Indigant, he starts another rant:
"WHAT THE HELL! THAT JUTSU DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! WHY I OUTTA-"
Alas, the boy's never able to finish his rants as he's interrupted by a blur rushing past him. The blur is soon followed by a crowd villagers screaming with pitchforks and all kinds of primitive weapons. Recognising the telltale signs of a mob, he chases after them, remembering his own experiences with mobs. He catches up relatively easily but his eyes widen and he skids to a stop when he sees who they're chasing.
"That's... me. But I'm right here. What's going on?!"
Now enraged at the events. Now that he's closer, he can hear their screams clearly.
"Monster!"
"Demon!"
"Come back here so you can pay for killing our families!"
The mob is chasing another him, even if it's an imposter, with pitchforks screaming insults at him for existing. This is just like that time. Just thinking about it shakes him up but he ignores it in favour of saving the boy- him- whatever. His wasted time allows the mob to gain on him. Determination coming off of Naruto in waves, he rushes to the boy and manages to get to him before the mob does, filling him with hope.
"I'm not gonna let that happen to anyone else!"
Only to have that hope taken away and replaced with despair as he completely goes through the boy as the mob manages to catch him. Desperate to stop them, he tries to push them away, only to go through them as well. Tears shining in his eyes at his apparent helplessness, Naruto keeps trying anyway and in his efforts, he sees that his imposter is younger. Naruto's features were there in the boy, only younger. Almost the same age he was when he.. was.. attacked...
"No way..."
It all fits, in a sickening way. The mob, their cruel insults, his younger imposter's form, even the place that it happened in. He could never forget this horrible day. Recognition in his eyes as he realises what happened. Somehow, this contract brought these memories. Even now the younger blonde's cries of help could be heard amidst the jeers of the mob.
"Who would help you, monster?"
The worst thing, the thing that actually brings Naruto to tears is that they were right. No one helped him that night. Not even he who actually wants to help can. With a tearful expression, he is forced to bear the pain of watching this. After watching for what felt like hours, the memories finally fade and the setting changes to some kind of sewer with a cage. He gets up from his knees, when did he even fall, and takes a look around. Emotionally drained, he discovers the true size with an apathic expression. A gigantic cage.
"Impressive isn't it?"
He turns to find the source of the voice: a pale old man with purple eyes wearing a white kimono. When Naruto doesn't respond, he continues:
"So tell me young one, now that you've been reminded on how cruel the Hidden Leaf is to you, how do you feel?"
Naruto clenches his fists, scowl immediately showing: "That was YOU!? YOU SHOWED ME THOSE MEMORIES!?"
"I did." He responds calmly. "And how do you feel?"
"PISSED BEYOND COMPARISON!" He screams as he charges the mysterious old man, fists cocked back. The old man stares at Naruto and he suddenly freezes mid charge. He starts struggling, trying to get out of this invisible hold. "Ugh! Let me go!"
"Your anger is not with me, young one, but the Hidden Leaf."
Naruto's struggling lessens as he contemplates the old man's words, calming down and eventually stopping. "You're right."
"What if I told you I could give you the power to destroy the Hidden Leaf?"
"I-" He stops, considering the situation. No one in the Leaf likes him. His classmates think he's a loser, the village thinks he's a monster. He could destroy them and bring an end to his suffering. A flash of the Ichiraku family stops him there. Could he kill them? Of course not! They're just trying to survive, just like him. They gave him service and paid for it with a lack of customers. The only reason they're still open is for him. That's when he makes his decision.
"I'd change the system!"
"Oh?" The old man questions with a raised eyebrow. "And how would you do that, young one?"
"By becoming Hokage!" He responds without missing a beat, determination etched across his face.
The old man smiles. "This boy is worthy is he not, Kurama?"
"Kurama?"
The room, especially around the inside of the cage brightens, revealing a gigantic red fox with nine tails laying down with one slited eye open. Its apathic expression clear on its face. "Hmph."
"Woah! It's massive!" For the first time since he appeared, an emotion other then determination appears in his face, wonder.
A sweatdrop appears on the fox's face. "Is this boy really worthy?"
The old man chuckles. "He is." Turning his attention to Naruto, he becomes serious and his body gets a golden glow. "Naruto Uzumaki, you are worthy of the power of The Gamer." Raising his right hand, Naruto suddenly glows in a white aura before it dissipates. "My son Kurama will help you with this ability as well as his own."
"Son?"
The fox interjects. "Yes boy. We, the Tailed Beasts are the creations of The Sage of Six Paths, so therefore we are considered his children."
"Haha, you can't be one of the Tailed Beasts, even I know that. The only one with nine tails is.. the.. Nine Tailed.. Fox Demon... " Realisation suddenly etches across his face, which is then replaced by fear. "You're the Nine Tailed Fox?! You're supposed to be dead! Even I know that! What are you doing here? Where is here anyway?" The questions came thick and fast as the blonde boy starts losing his mind.(Heh, he's losing his mind in his mindscape).
"Calm down, young Naruto, and let him explain."
His fear immediately shuts him up. This old man just looked like he was there for show, but suddenly his eyes seem that much more menacing, especially with the giant fox behind him.
"O-ok." He answers meekly, not wanting to get on the old man's bad side. The Tailed Beast merely sighs before answering:
"Brat, I am the Nine Tailed Fox. No, I'm not dead. No mere human can kill a Tailed Beast, not even our creator himself, much less your pathetic Fourth Hokage."
"Hey!" Naruto shouts indignantly, insulted at the fox's demeaning of the Fourth Hokage, his hero. "The Fourth was a hero!"
"Silence!" The Nine Tails'voice booms, shutting Naruto up. "Of course you would think so. You have a biased view considering he's your father."
"W-what?" Obvious shock is present on his face. His hero was his dad? Impossible. "That's not possible... " His voice was almost a whisper at this point.
"It is possible brat and I, more than anyone else can prove this seeing as I've known you since your conception."
"Conception?" At this, a excasperated sigh escapes the fox's mouth.
"Never mind 'The Talk' now." The old man interjects with a slight blush on his pale face. "Explain his status as your jinchuriki, Kurama."
"Jinchuriki? And why does he call you Kurama, fox?"
"STOP INTERRUPTING AND LISTEN!" The fox gives a clearly irritated glare on Naruto, shutting him up for hopefully the final time. "A jinchuriki is a human who has a Tailed Beast inside him. Like for example, I am sealed inside you, making you a jinchuriki."
"So, let's say I believe you, against all odds, about everything. That would make it so that my OWN father, and hero in my books, essentially cursed me to a life of pain, suffering and loneliness!" He spits out, getting angrier with each word. "WHERE WAS MY MOTHER WHILE ALL OF THIS WAS HAPPENING?"
"Dying." The old man interjects calmly, making him stop his rage. When he gives no response the old man continues: "Giving birth to you, along with the extraction, brought her to death's door. I'm surprised she wasn't dead on the spot. Must be that Uzumaki vitality."
Taking all this in was hard enough to hear for him, let alone process. His dad turned out to be his hero who happened to have cursed him. His mother is dead, probably his fault as well if what he's hearing is correct.
"I-I need to think about this. How do I get out of here?"
"You still need to hear more. I haven't even explained your new abilities."
"I can hear it later. I need to go."
"This is your mindscape, brat." The fox explains in a halfheartedly, almost understanding tone. "Just think of waking up."
"Thanks." The blonde mutters halfheartedly. He can't even bring himself to hate the fox at this point. He thinks of waking up and disappears from the mindscape, leaving them alone. The old man sighs and chastises.
"Was that wise, Kurama?""The brat needed time to think about this.""It seems you respect young Naruto now." The old man points out with a smile. "It's unlike you."
"Anyone you choose to be worthy of this power has to be respected. Now, explain this power to me, Father."
The old man's smile becomes brighter as he explains the power of The Gamer to the fox while Naruto is thinking on his own about his findings.
End of PrologueAnd that's it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. No Gamer aspects yet, that's next chapter's worries. (Sighs) Here's to mental stress and hoping the next chapter's done by next week.JMA out