A/N
So, this is something that's been on my mind for some time now, and I figured, why not?
Rating may or may not change, which goes for the title as well.
*EDIT* The completed chapter is now up and some things have been changed, though I still apologize for any typos and grammatical errors there may be.
Chapter finished: 7/17 - 2014
R and R~! Hope you like it ^^
Arc I: Tutorial (part I)
Today was the day.
It had finally fucking arrived.
My Naruto game.
I squealed in happiness, bouncing in place as my dad opened the box using a knife. I would normally be doing it, but apparently my dear daddy doesn't trust me with a knife (or maybe it was just because I had tried opening it with my nails...). Which was a load of bull, if you ask me, because I had never cut myself, but whatever, I finally had my game!
People normally didn't associate me with games, because I was, well - for lack of a better word -, girly. I had long, painted nails - this time they were silver, glittering -, because I detested having short nails (how the hell was I supposed to scratch where it itched with short fucking nails!); I loved all things shiny and glittery, along with gemstones and jewelry, which is funny because I rarely wore anything other than my ear piercings and my ever faithful necklace; I liked fancy dresses, though I never wore them; I always had make-up on when I went outside; I liked singing; I wore high heels on a daily bases, which is kinda stupid since I was near the 5'8 mark (172,5cm), but hey, I blame the blonde hair.
I don't think it helped that I never said I liked games... Meh, they never asked. Seriously though, that was how it was with most things, if you didn't ask me about it, then the chance of me actually telling you on my own was one in a million. I just wasn't the sharing kind of person.
I wasn't really a people person either. My social life was nonexistent (people called me antisocial - I absolutely despised that term -, I called it lack of want), which I was fine with, I had basically made it that way myself - most people just weren't interesting and I had never felt a need to be with others. My family was enough for me.
I found books interesting, the world they presented to me, and games and manga and anime - basically anything that would take me any from this world. Sure, I still hung out with some of my friends every now and then, it's not like I despise human beings, but I would always end up drained of energy and my mind sluggish.
Oh the woes of being an introvert.
RIIIIIIIPPPP!
My dad opened the brown box and I immediately bounced over, grinning like a loon. "Love ya, daddy! Thank you~!" I kissed his cheek, and snatch the box and ran to my room.
You know, most people I've met usually think I'm this mature seventeen-year-old - I think it's the clothes -, but truthfully, I'm rather childish. I mean, I annoy my brother because it's fun (don't all younger siblings do that?), and I, seriously I might add, argued with him whether or not unicorns were real.
I won, by the way, even if he would never admit it. So my unicorns ended up living three places; up on Olympus, Alaska, and in the Bermuda Triangle, but those are flesh eating, which is why all those boats go missing.
And no, I don't actually believe in unicorns, it's just fun shooting down every logical thought my brother has.
I bounded into my room, closing the door behind me with my foot, and dumped myself on my lovingly, big bed (man I loved that bed). Sitting cross legged, I emptied my package onto the bed, which was pushed into a corner. My room was longer than it was wide, so my bed was practically framed by walls on three sides, which I was more than okay with. I always had nightmares as little, and I would, time again and again, wake up crying and screaming bloody murder.
There's a reason I hate jump-scares with a passion, you know.
I remember once, I was maybe four at that time, when I dreamed - I think it was a mummy - whispering in my ear. After that I always slept with the cover over my ear and on my side, so both ears were hidden. With each nightmare I had, I would always find something new to do, until there wasn't any more I could do. It's gotten better as the years passed, I don't have to cover my ears anymore, I don't even have nightmares anymore, but I'm still not comfortable sleeping with my back to my door.
Perhaps that's why I can never seem to fall asleep and always wake up in the middle of the night.
Wow that's depressing.
I set the box onto my floor and picked up the manual, giving it a dry look. 'Dude, I've read 1/2 Prince and The Gamer, I know how this shit works.'
Offhandedly, I threw it away to join the box.
I picked up a headset with some kind of glasses attached to it - pretty cool if you ask me. I set it aside gently and took the game in my hands and opened it. I turned on my tv and PS3, quickly connecting the headset to the console, and put it on. I stuck the game in and waited eagerly.
Slowly, way too slowly, the console read the disc and I selected it on the screen.
The world around me faded and darkened, words I had seen way too many times popped into my field of vision, right in front of my nose.
NEW LIFE
LOAD LIFE
EXTRAS
OPTIONS
HELP
All the words were fat and glowing, except LOAD LIFE, which was faded out. But that was normal when you were just starting a new game for the first time. I reached forward and touched the surface of OPTIONS. The words shifted and new ones appeared.
DIFFICULTY [NORMAL]
TUTORIAL [OFF]
LANGUAGE [ENGLISH]
"Fuck that, I'm playing on easy." That way, I could be freaking badass, and maybe not die so much. I huffed. You'd think with all the games I've played that I wouldn't die so easily, but nooooooooo, they just love torturing me! The bastards.
Yes yes, I know, I'm a pansy. Don't judge me.
Clicking a few times here and there, I was soon ready to go. I grinned at the words, for no reason other than I could, happy I was finally going to start playing.
DIFFICULTY [EASY]
TUTORIAL [ON]
LANGUAGE [ENGLISH]
I went back to the start menu and clicked NEW LIFE, chuckling darkly. "Let's go make a character~"
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a small apartment. It was cosy, but nothing overly nice looking, and the color scheme was warm - something I was secretly grateful for.
I blinked, and gripped at my face and head. No headset.
A blue screen popped up into my vision and I heard an odd ping!
MISSION ALERT
Tutorial part I: Go Explore Town!
Every ninja must know their town like the back of their hand, so go explore!
To complete this mission you have to visit all the places written below.
Konoha Library 0/1
Yamanaka Flowers 0/1
Hokage Tower 0/1
Hokage Monument 0/1
Konoha Hot Springs 0/1
Konoha Hospital 0/1
Ichiraku's Ramen 0/1
Forty-Fourth Training Ground 0/1
Training Ground Seven 0/1
Academy 0/1
Completion award:
EXP. 150
5000 Ryo
Will you accept?
[Yes] [No]
I grinned - this was just way too cool - and touched [Yes]. The alert glowed, then disappeared in a shifting sort of way. I said, "[Menu]."
The world slowed down, coming to a complete pause, drained of all color, it became dull and blurred. At first, it was as though mist had surrounded me, because the longer away I tried to look the more blurred it became. Words lit up in front of me, like with the start menu, completely visible, glowing slightly through the haze.
Resume
Save Life
Load Life
Options
Help
Log Out
I touched [Help] and waited as the words disappeared and a screen popped up. I already new what the other options meant, so I skipped the explanation on them and jumped straight to something called [Commands], which showed me and explained the different voice commands I could make.
I went back and clicked [Resume]. "[Character Info]." Like pure magic, a screen with my stats showed up.
Name: Liv
Title: Genin
Level: 1
Rank: Genin
EXP: 0.00%
Health: 100
Chakra: 100
Dexterity: 0
Strength: 0
Endurance: 0
Chakra: 0
Control: 0
Luck: 0
Points: 15
I clicked the little question mark at the top right corner. Besides the stats box, another, smaller, box appeared explaining the different stats. I knew what most of them did, so I didn't read those, and I got the feeling that [Chakra] was basically - basically, don't take my word for it - like WIS in the MMORPGs, so that only left [Control].
[Control] determines how much control you have over your chakra. The stat [Chakra] goes hand-in-hand with [Control], for example, if you have 10 points in each of the two stats you have perfect chakra control. If you have more points in [Control] than in [Chakra], you still have perfect control, however if the amount of points in [Chakra] is higher than [Control], your control lessens the bigger the gap becomes.
I closed the help box and tapped my chin, thinking. "Hmmm, where to put you."
I could at least put two in each, that way they were all pretty even, which left me with three points to dispose off. I loved speed with a vengeance, so I put one point in [Dexterity] and the last two in [Chakra] because I figured it would be easier to get my [Control] up, than the other way around.
And I just wanted a lot of chakra.
I stood up from my spot on the floor, looking around. I was in a small living room, which was separated from the kitchen by a counter. There was a sofa pushed to the far wall on the left of the kitchen counter, a hall between the two, and a coffee table in front of the sofa. A love-seat stood with its back to the kitchen, directly in front of the end of the coffee table and TV. The floor was wooden and a rug laid in the hall by the kitchen, a door on either side of the hall - I was guessing it lead to the bedroom and bathroom respectively, so I didn't check.
I wanted to get out and play Dora the Explorer ASAP!
I went the opposite way of the hall, to the right of the kitchen, and out into a little entry where I proceeded to walk out the front door. I closed the door, but stopped abruptly when I forgot I didn't have anything to lock it with.
I thought like the good little explorer I am.
I quickly said the command, which would open up [Inventory / Equipment]. Two screens popped up. The right screen was a bunch of boxes lined up, along with a little wallet in the bottom right corner with a big, fat zero. I pouted at that.
I was poor. Scheisse.
On the left screen was a mini me, small boxes placed around and on the body to indicate what could be placed in them, so I guessed that was the [Equipment] side. It was a bit weird how well it actually looked like me, but smaller. I mean, it even had the same short haircut as I do. Though, it shall be said, it was the twelve-year-old version of me.
Yeah, I get to go through puberty again!
Dammit.
Mini me's attire was the same as my own (surprise surprise), and the correct boxes were filled with each individual piece of clothing. I wore a dark grey, zip up hoodie with three-quarter sleeves, and a turtle-necked mesh shirt that had no sleeves. Over the mesh shirt, I wore a cropped, dark red t-shirt, which hung off of my shoulders, and on my legs I had a pair of snug camo-pants. Lastly, I had dark shinobi sandals and fingerless gloves, along with the usual pouch and shuriken holster.
Most importantly, my dark red forehead protector was tied securely around my upper left arm.
Looking back to my [Inventory], I found a box with a single key in it. I touched it, and like water, the surface rippled as I stuck my hand in and pulled out a key.
I had to bit my lip to keep in the squeal of utter glee. I locked the front door to my apartment (I am never gonna get tired of saying that) and pushed the key back into its box, then closed the two screens.
When making my ninja at the start of the game, I had decided going with my own looks - it would be too weird prancing around as anyone else, and I just knew I would scream at the mirror if I found someone else looking back at me -, the standard background - I came from a island far, far, far away and was sent here to learn of their ninja ways - and that I wanted to be a civilian...
Erh, scratch that, I didn't really have a choice since all the clans were locked, but, you know, I like to pretend that I did.
Even then, if I could have chosen a clan, I'm pretty sure it would have been Nara, Yamanaka or Huuyga - I'm leaning more towards Nara (I just love shadow manipulation). I would have never, in a million years, chosen Uchiha, no way in hell am I going to be Sasu-chan's long lost twin sister, who he's willing to throw his "cool guy" act away for, Sasuki.
Fuck. No.
One brother was fine, thank you.
I was on the third floor, so once I made my way down, I started wandering aimlessly around town. The sun wasn't that high up in the sky, so it must've still been morning, but even then the streets were bustling with life. Booth owners waved in costumers, shops brimmed with people and it was oddly relaxing - walking through the mass. I even found a few shops I wanted to visit, once I had money that is.
The food shops almost made me hungry though, and I was starting to crave dango even though I'd never tried any.
But I noticed that all the people around me had words above their heads. Most of them said something along the lines of 'Shop Owner', 'Merchant', or simply 'Citizen', these were the ones that were only level 1 - a rare and far in between level 2 could also be seen. There weren't a lot of ninjas around from what I could see, but the ones I did see were all much higher in level, and each had the common title of 'Genin', 'Chunin' or 'Jonin'.
I looked at my reflection in a shop window. Light skinned, and freckled face and arms, I had never done well in the sun, because I didn't get a tan - I got freckles and easily burned. Wavy locks of golden blonde sat atop my head in a long pixie cut, which I was on my way to growing out - I missed long hair, believe it or not - so the hair at the back of my head was a bit longer than the rest, and blue and green eyes stared back at me, ever the calm neutral expression.
Above my head, like everyone else, rested the fateful words.
Genin
Lv. 1 Liv
'Aww, I'm the same level as a citizen~!' With a sigh, I went back to my exploring.
The little mini map in the top right corner of my vision was put to good use - I'd probably be wandering around like a headless chicken without it -, but even then, I was pretty sure I could've found Yamanaka Flowers by smell alone.
When I went inside I heard a familiar ping! and misty text appeared before me.
Yamanaka Flowers 1/1 *Completed*
"Can I help you?"
I blinked - the misty text vanished -, the blond haired man, who stood behind the counter, was looking at me calmly. His hair was long and pulled into a ponytail, his eyes were a mix of blue/green, and he had this weird gentleman aura about him. I couldn't really remember his name, but I didn't even have to because of the words that floated over his head.
Head of the Yamanaka Clan
Lv. ? Yamanaka Inoichi
I smiled, briefly rocking back and forth on my feet before I went over to a collection of tiger lilies, carefully petting the petals. "No thanks, I was just looking 'round town to get familiar with it."
I had always liked pretty things, like flowers and jewels, which was funny because you'd think I'd like butterflies then, but in truth, I found them creepy. Pretty from afar, but they seriously give me the creeps up close. They reminded me way too much of daddy-longlegs.
Yergh.
He hummed. "You new?" At my nod he continued, briefly looking at my hitai-ate, "Well, I'm Yamanaka Inoichi, owner of Yamanaka Flowers."
"Nice to meet you, Yamanaka-san. I'm Liv."
"Inoichi is fine." He said, smiling. "And if you ever have any questions, just come and ask me, alright?"
I grinned at him. "Sure." I left the store shortly after, unable to keep myself occupied and entertained for long. I thanked him for his kindness and started wandering aimlessly around yet again.
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
Ping!
Academy 1/1 *Completed*
Ding-! Ding-!
*Mission completed*
I grinned, glad I was finally done.
Nothing really happened as I wandered, besides me walking into a couple or five people (I put the full blame on them), but that was besides the point. I had, however, promised myself I'd visit most of the places again - the hot springs at least once a week -, for various reasons.
I had borrowed some books from the library, so I would be coming there pretty soon. Most of them were about genjutsu, but I did find a couple on medical ninjutsu. Nothing much, but enough to get started.
I had decided I wanted to focus first and foremost on genjutsu, as I found psychology and the mind interesting, and secondly on medical ninjutsu, because it was handy as fuck and I didn't want to be a burden to whoever I was with.
Ichiruka's Ramen, well, I'd be trying their ramen one of these days, and the Forest of Death was all I had ever hoped it to be.
It. Was. Awesome.
It had it all! The dense greenery, the killer predators, the high trees, the perfect spots for traps, the best hiding places. I would be making a treehouse there if it so killed me, which, you know, it probably would... and to quote one sassy little Uchiha: whatever.
Who cares if I die! I want my badass treehouse! Think about all the things I could-
Ping!
MISSION ALERT
Tutorial part II: Chakra Control is for the Smart!
Chakra control is your best friend, so make sure you have the greatest control you can have!
To complete this mission you have to raise your [Control] stat by two points, via the leaf exercise.
If you are in doubt, go ask Umino Iruka for help at the Academy.
Points 0/2
Completion award:
EXP. 200
2000 Ryo
Will you accept?
[Yes] [No]
"Do you even need to ask?" I touched that fine little [Yes] box. "It's a good thing I found the Academy last though, makes it easier for me." And with that, I went into the big building.
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
I now hated children.
Not that I adored them before - there was nothing wrong with them, I just found it difficult to understand the little rascals - but I at least liked them when they were practically helpless and over the age of six.
Perhaps I'm biased, I hadn't met a lot of children, but who cares.
These three were the spawn of the devil himself, I swear on Pein and all his piercings.
Honorable grandson my ass.
"Argh! Monster girl!"
And that would be me, apparently.
I felt my eye twitch and pivoted on my heels, turning around to look down at the trio. Konohamaru stood, pointing at me, with a fearful look on his face, mouth open in shock. His two friends, girly and snot nose, stood on either side of him, the girl - 'Moegi' said the letters over her head - was slightly hiding behind the small boy as the droopy eyed boy - Udon - raised his long sleeves in front of himself.
I raised an eyebrow. "Cute." The word left in a curt and dry manner, sarcasm dripping from the simple four lettered word. "And you are...?"
In the most obnoxious voice I had ever heard come out of a kids' mouth, Konohamaru said, "Who are you, you giant?!"
"It's Liv, you little pipsqueak."
"I'm not little!"
I snorted - like a fucking lady - and smiled lopsidedly down at him, crossing my arms loosely under my chest. "And I'm the daimyo of the Fire Country."
Konohamaru growled, clenching his tiny fists. "Do you know who I am?!"
I smiled sweetly. "Sure, you're a brat."
"I am the grandson of the Third Hokage!" He said with a cocky smirk on his face.
"I don't care if your mother was the one who invented buttered toast, you're still a little twit."
He faltered, stumbling over his own feet as if I'd hit him. "Wha? You-?!"
"Konohamaru!" Moegi ran to his side, and whispered incoherent things in his ear, shooting me a look now and then.
'Urgh, I should probably just leave before they get any good ideas.' I deflated and cried inwardly. 'But I can't find my way around here~!'
Konohamaru's face changed from shocked to gleeful then determined in a mere split second, it was kinda scary to be honest. Grabbing Udon, the three formed a tight circle, whispering in hushed tones.
Then Konohamaru suddenly twirled around, a little lopsided smirk in place, and threw something on the ground. Automatically, I held my arms up, covering my face as smoke bombs exploded one after the other. Pink, blue and yellow smoke covered the whole hall, and I waved my hand in front of my face to get rid of some of it and took a step or two back. I couldn't see much of anything, but I could hear coughing.
"I think we used a little too much gunpowder, you guys." The smoke slowly cleared, and revealed the trio of the devil's spawn, hacking and coughing.
Truly, it was as sad and pitiful in "real" life as it was in the anime. Unimpressed, I gave them a flat look, turned around and continued down the hall, away from them.
"Hey! You can't just walk away like that!" Konohamaru yelled.
"Sure I can. I'm doing it right now, in fact."
Moegi ran over in front of me - blocking my path - giving me this sad, sad look that was supposed to make me feel all guilty, but nuh-uh honey, tough luck, because this lady right here had used that look way too many times to count - I was now immune to it. "B-but we need to practice!"
I frowned, tilting my head to the side. "Practice for what?" Sometimes I hated being curious.
"For when we met Naruto!" Udon said, sniffling.
"Yeah! Now come on!" I didn't get any other warning as all three of the little demons started pulling me into a deserted room. At least I'm sure they won't try anything funny.
Hopefully.
Did I ever mention how much I hate children right now?
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
I sighed. "Are we done yet?"
"No! One last time!"
And so, the three stood in front of me as Moegi stepped forward, smiling cheekily with her mouth closed and eyes blinking innocently at me. "I'm Moegi, the sexiest konoichi in preschool~! Check me out~!" Then she did her little pose-y thingy, all cute and stuff.
Next up was snot nose. "I love algebra! Call me Udon!" He then did his weird ass pose with his arms in front of him.
"And I'm the number one ninja in the village! Konohamaru!" One fist on his hip and the other arm up in that pose you do when showing of your biceps (except, he didn't have any...), he looked determined. "And when we're all together..."
"We're the Konohamaru Ninja Squat!" They stood besides each other as their goggles reflected the light in that typical fashion.
I stared.
"So?" Konohamaru said, smirking. "Awesome, right?"
"Sure..." I settled on saying. "Just make sure to experiment with the amount of gunpowder you use." I proceeded to stand up from the chair I was sitting on and stretch my back, arms in the air, arching. I relaxed after hearing a satisfying pop! and rolled my shoulders. "Ah~ that was nice. Anyway, you know where I can find Umino Iruka?"
"Iruka-sensei?" Moegi said, questioningly. "Sure! We can take you to him!" She giggled, and once again I was being pulled by three kids.
"Come on, monster girl! Use those long legs of yours to something!"
I didn't have the energy to reprimand Konohamaru for calling me a monster (yet again) and decided that letting them drag me would be less troublesome, then going against it. My lips twitched upward as I shook my head. "Sure, sure."
They led me out of the room and down the hall, past a multitude of doors, some of which were open so I could see the students inside along with the teacher at the front.
"Erh, shouldn't you be in class, right now." I asked.
Konohamaru grinned as the other two laughed. "Sensei is busy trying to get away from the angry mob of women." He snickered.
I raised an eyebrow, bemused, but didn't ask.
Continuing down the hall, they turned a couple of times, left and right, and finally stopped in front of what must've been the teacher's lounge.
"Iruka-sensei should be in there." Konohamaru said, pointing at the door. "See ya later, monster girl!" The three of them ran away, waving back at me.
Moegi giggled, arm in the air. "Bye, Liv-san~!"
"Bye." Udon quietly said, sniffling twice.
I gave them a two finger wave, smiling as I did so. They honestly were rather annoying, but they had their moments.
Knocking thrice on the door, I opened it. "'Scuse me, is Umino Iruka here?"
"Ah, that would be me." The scarred chunin said, standing up from where he was seated. He looked me over as I stepped inside the room. "I suppose you're the newcomer I need to help? Hokage-sama has told me all about it."
"Yup." I smiled. "I'm Liv. It's nice to meet you, Iruka-san."
He smiled back at me, kindly. "Let me just grab a few things."
I nodded my head as he went across the room, rummaging through the things laying around on the table before he took four scrolls with him. Three of them were the same size, thin enough for me to wrap my index finger and thumb around, and had all blue ends and white middles but with different symbols on the white. The fourth, however, was twice their size and had red ends with a black middle and a white symbol.
He walked back over to me and gave a smile. "Let's go then."
Iruka showed me out of the Academy building, and took me to the training field behind it. Tree stubs stood around, serving as target practice if the red rings were anything to go by.
"Alright." Iruka clapped his hands together, turning on his feet to face me. "Before we start, I need to tell you some things. In a week exactly, you'll have to come back here at 8 o'clock so you can be placed on a team with all the other genin graduates. In the time frame that we have, we need to get you started on your training, therefore I need to give you these," he lifted the scrolls up and handed them to me. "These scrolls explains the three academy jutsu that you'll have to learn, while the biggest is on taijutsu."
I nodded.
"Do you know what chakra is?" He then asked.
"Er, yeah, it's made when you combine physical and spiritual energy, right?" I elaborated at his urgings, putting the scrolls on the ground by my feet.
He nodded. "Do you know how to draw on it?"
"No..."
"Then that is where we'll start. First, sit down,"
I did as he said, sitting cross legged, and he gave me a leaf.
"This is called the Leaf Concentration Exercise. All you have to do is place it on you forehead and concentrate on it so it sticks." He pointed at his own forehead as if to underline the point. "It's easier if you tilt your head back at first as you start of."
"Well, I need to get back but if you need any help you know where to find me." Iruka began to walk off, hands in his pockets. When he nearly reached the building, he suddenly turned around and yelled, "Oh yeah! If you see a little boy with a long scarf called Konohamaru, could you bring him back to me?"
The world slowed down and ever familiar words appeared before me.
MISSION ALERT
Iruka's Mission: Find Konohamaru!
Oh no! Konohamaru seems to have gotten in trouble! Wonder what he did this time~
To complete this mission you have to find Konohamaru and bring him back to Iruka.
Completion award:
EXP. 200
Will you accept?
[Yes] [No]
I clicked [Yes] and the world sped up again, coming back to life. Iruka seemed to still be waiting for a responds, so I said, "Sure!" Then added as an afterthought, "But what did he do?"
A tick mark appeared on Iruka's forehead, his eyebrow twitched, as pink tinted his cheeks. "He somehow got his sensei to peek at the women in the hot springs."
I snickered. "Seriously?" At the glare from the chunin I shrunk back. "I should probably get started on this, so..."
Leave a little review and tell me what you think ^^ anything I need to change, or just things you'd like to happen, anything is welcome!
Scheisse - German, means 'shit'.