Title: Demon Investigator
Disclaimer: I own nothing from either series.
Author's note: This is a reincarnated into another world type of fic. I intend to keep everyone in character (important to me). This is also a crossover between Naruto and Megami Tensei. Never heard of it? Good. My intention is to hopefully draw more attention to an amazing, but underappreciated series of games. There is NO NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MEGAMI TENSEI BEFORE YOU READ THIS. You may have heard of Persona which is a Megami Tensei spin-off. Anyway, this is my first fanfiction so please be gentle. I've written many things, but never have I written fiction so please leave some feedback! On to…THE STORY!
Full summary: A man wakes in the boundary between two worlds with an otherworldly being offering a strange device to him. He is offered a "choice" to accept the strange device and save the Naruto universe, consequentially saving his own in the process, or letting both universes get deleted. "Find all sources of demonic energy in this world. Demons will be the cause of all your future strife. Find them and destroy them…Demon Tamer." Slight the Gamer crossover/MegaTen crossover (don't need to know what this is). NO HAREM. Will be pairings, but they are not a focus.
Chapter 1: And Now, the Game Begins
'It was so fast.' Nathan thought. 'One minute I was alive and happy and the next I died. Or maybe I'm not dead? I can't really remember…but if I'm not dead, where am I? No, I definitely died. I remember getting shot and bleeding out.' Someone was trying to break into his car. 'Wait, it was someone else's car.' It all started flooding back. Someone was trying to steal a car with another person still in it. Things started to get violent and Nathan heroically tried to save the person in the car, a stranger. Despite his efforts, or maybe because of them, the situation escalated. The man pulled a gun out and…well. 'Am I really remembering this right? That doesn't sound like me at all.'
Nathan was 20-year-old human that seemed to embody normal and uninteresting qualities. Strangely, once he decided to step up, people often took what he said to heart. He seemed to be something of a natural leader. However, he preferred to be nondescript. Never did he stand out in any meaningful way and he found most of his pleasure in life came from very basic things like playing video games, reading books, and even simply drinking good tea. Some would call him boring, but he found that this was the way he most enjoyed his life. He had short blue hair, that was messy as usual, and plain glasses he got after his eyes deteriorated from too much reading. According to him, his only notable features are his above average height and his blue hair.
'So where am I and why am I here? How did it end up this way?' he wondered to himself. To be honest he often wanted to be a hero…he didn't exactly expect to die when he finally manned up. He stood (or floated?) in what seemed to be a white void that stretched on forever. But that was not at all what was most interesting about this place. What was most interesting was the being inside this strange place. Not himself of course, but a truly beautiful, ethereal being with 2 large white wings that each seemed bigger than he was. Black nails and long black hair. 'What is she...?'
"I am the angel Gabriel and thou art here because thou art the Lord's chosen." The strange being spoke in a less calm way than he expected. "Thou had better think twice before debasing thine self again. The Lord would never choose a normal human to do His will."
"Can you read my mind…?" Nathan asked suddenly uncomfortable. "Wait, you're an angel? As in God's angel? God is real?"
"Thou are ignorant of God's love. Enough to doubt His existence. Pitiful." Gabriel looked genuinely sad at that. "Thou will repent for this egregious sin by repenting in thine next life. In the world thou will recognize as the world of 'Naruto.'"
"Next life!? Wait…Naruto!? Isn't that just a fictional world?" Nathan shouted half panicked. Mind still reeling from new information. "And…you mean reincarnation, right? You can do that?"
"Yes, ignorant one. Nothing is beyond His power" Gabriel said. "Thou art His chosen and thou will save the…" Gabriel paused. "Heh sorry kid. I got tired of talking like that. I realized this ruse isn't really necessary anyway." Her face scrunched up in a way that ruined the previous illusion of an angelic nature. "I was just messing with you because I enjoy tricking people but, well, I figure you'll have a rough enough time without my adding to it. Sorry bout' that." As she said this her demeanor changed into one that was amused, almost playful.
Tears of frustration began gathering in Nathan's eyes. "Seriously?" he asked in a tone that gave away his feelings of betrayal, his tone rising in his anger. "I died today right? I don't need someone toying with my emotions right now! Are you getting a kick out of this!? MY LIFE ISN'T A JOKE!" He finished shouting in a way he never had before.
Immediately, "Gabriel's" face dropped into a scowl. "I'm not an archangel kid, but I can still think you out of existence," she said harshly. And terrifyingly enough, Nathan believed she was honest about that if nothing else.
"So, I guess that business about the Naruto world was a joke too," he half asked, half stated. "What are you going to do with me now?"
Going right back to amused, she said, "Actually, I was completely honest about that." She reached into the air, towards nothing it seemed until her hand began vanishing in the air. It seemed like she was reaching into a place that was invisible to him. "I have a mission for you…" she said going from joyful to serious as she retracted her hand. She pulled out a strange metal gauntlet with a screen on it. "Take this gauntlet and put it on. If you do, you will accept the responsibility of protecting the Naruto universe…and your own."
Nathan looked on in shock, "You can't be serious." He shook his head, "You can't expect me to believe what you say now. You've been flipping from one emotion to the next this whole time." He tried to pick his words carefully, "No matter what you say, I'll never know if I should believe you."
"I won't just tell you what will happen if you do nothing, I'll show you the future," she assured with a smile on her face that he couldn't decipher. "Actually, the reason I did this whole ridiculous façade is because I was told to and I thought it might be fun. Besides, I could have kept lying and you would have been none the wiser." Her face turned to what seemed to be a genuinely warm expression. "I won't lie anymore kid, I promise, and I can't break promises. Literally. Despite what you may think, I'm not your enemy. I'm here to help you."
Just like that, faster than he could perceive, she was standing right in front of him. Her hands were already on his head and before he could react, the world was black. He was suddenly in the small town he used to live in. Everything was so different now though. Not in the way that a lot of time had passed, but in the way that it looked like a disaster had rolled through it seconds ago. No, it looked like an apocalypse. He looked to where buildings should be, but instead of familiar structures he only saw rubble and fire. Feeling sick, he asked himself, 'Where's my house? Where's my family?' He swiftly found himself standing in front of it…or at least where it used to be. 'The entire neighborhood is gone!'
Then, he was shown a series of places he had been to in the past or maybe he was showing them to himself by thinking about them. All of them, from New York City to his favorite bookstore, were completely decimated. 'How? What happened? What could have done this?'
Suddenly he was transported to a version of New York that looked much less devastated. Soldiers and tanks lined the street he was on and an attack helicopter flew overhead. The men were mostly crouched behind cars, as they pointed their guns in the same direction…waiting. They all seemed to be training their weapons on a purple swirling portal on the side of a building. 'There must be at least 5 tanks here and 20 or so soldiers,' He thought with some surprise. He had never seen a battlefield in his life.
"This was one of the first battles at the start of the invasion." Without him noticing, 'Gabriel' had appeared beside him. "The military tried to, or will try to, assess just how screwed they are."
As she said this, a…monster appeared. He didn't know what else to call it. A 15-foot hulking monster with long black hair and razor-sharp teeth. Wearing a fur tunic, it had a necklace with human skulls on it and a bag full of human limbs strapped to it's waist. It carried a massive meat cleaver in its right hand, and it had a glare that sent chills down Nathan's spine, even though he was sure it couldn't see him.
It gave an eerie, dumb smile at the soldiers. Every soldier's hands were shaking as sweat poured down their faces. A man, who must be the commander, shouted "OPEN Fi-" and suddenly, it sprinted at a speed that can only be called inhuman towards the nearest soldier, grabbing him by the head and lifting him into the air with complete ease. The soldier screamed and twisted in his grasp. "HELP! SOMEONE! AHHHH!" He screamed as the monster crushed his head without effort. The monster then simply ripped into his arm with his teeth and began eating it.
"HUMAN GOOD. ME PREFER WOMEN THOUGH. CHILDREN TOO. BOTH TASTIER" The monster said in a deep booming voice that reverberated across the street turned battlefield.
Every soldier was too stunned to react. Not even a single bullet was fired yet. "That thing talks…" one soldier breathed out baffled. "It killed him…in an instant," another said with obvious fear in his trembling voice. The commander stood tall and shouted at the top of his lungs, "FIIIRE!" Almost before the word came out every soldier was firing at once. The tanks shot all 5 shells at once causing deafening blasts. A hail of bullets pierced the resulting smoke and continued until the smoke had nearly cleared. "HOLD FIRE!" the commander shouted. To his horror, he realized they had just vaporized whatever soldiers were standing around the monster. "At least their sacrifice will be remembered," he said under his breath. But as the smoke cleared, the monster still stood there. Scratching it's head and looking only slightly damaged it said, "HUMANS DONE NOW? THAT HURT. ANNOYING. MOSTLY BIG THINGS METAL THINGS." It almost seemed to vanish in its speed appearing before a group of soldiers and cutting through them with a single swing. Immediately, the soldiers opened fire again but this time it was rampaging through the soldiers preventing the tanks from firing on it, though it seemed to be by complete accident. It leapt forward chasing a tank, leaving it clear of people. The tank in front of it fired immediately hitting the monster dead center causing it to let out an inhuman cry. Abruptly, the monster's cleaver carved through the tank like butter causing yet another explosion.
The commander panicked, "ALL TANKS, HELO, SOLDIERS KILL THAT DAMN THING! THROW EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AT IT" A massive storm of bullets, missiles, and tank shells rained down on one location at the same time. Pieces of concrete and shrapnel flew everywhere as the monster was pelted with every weapon the soldiers had.
Eventually, the smoke had cleared once again, and the monster lay dying in a crater that was once part of a street. "URGH. HOW THIS…HAPPEN?" the monster asked as he drew his last breath.
The commander looked relived. "God it's over. Finally."
Another soldier said shakily, "S-s-Sir! Look!"
The commander couldn't believe his eyes as hope drained from him. "No. No way."
Nathan was just as dumbfounded. Walking out of the portal was an army of those…things. At least 50 of them. "WHERE HE GO? HE ALWAYS RUNNING OFF WITHOUT US."
…..
….
And just like that, just as quickly as the vivid vision began, it had ended. Nathan was on the floor sweating and gasping for air. "What the hell was that!?" He stood up unsteadily. "What was that thing!? Do they end the world?" Never having seen a battlefield, he was still shaking and in a cold sweat.
He daresay she looked sympathetic. "They hardly ended the world. And besides, this isn't a matter of whether the world ends…it's a matter of whether the universe ends. No, both universes are in danger of ending."
After taking time to compose himself, Nathan asked, "Well then, what were they? You never told me. And what ends the universe?"
She takes a deep breath and levels a serious look at him, "Those were called Ogres. They were demons, and not even particularly strong ones. The world will end in an event simply called 'the invasion.' The Naruto world that is. That universe is where this all begins. After the fall of the second world, both universes will be deleted to prevent this catastrophe from spreading. The only thing worse than that is…if whatever is behind this is too strong, then deleting the universe it's in won't do anything. It's amazing that humanity is being given this chance at all."
"I…believe you," Nathan said much to her shock. "If I'm really the only one then…" Yuuya grabbed his gauntlet with a look that was equal parts fear and determination, "I'll do anything. To save myself, to save my family, to save everyone. I can't let the future I saw happen to everything I've ever cared about." Another look of doubt crossed his face, "But really, why me? And I mean me specifically. I'm sure there are other people who would do this. Other people who would do it better even. A fighter? A soldier?"
"Honestly?" she asked with a shrug. "I'm not so sure. You'd have to ask someone else. Someone reeeal high up on the food chain." A smile returns to her lips, "So? Are you going to take the gauntlet…hero?" As she asks once again, extending it towards him for the first time.
He hesitated, he thought about many things. 'Will I be able to change anything? Really? Does this thing give me superpowers or something? Will I ever see my family again if I take it? I guess I wouldn't if I didn't take it too…' Before he even realized it, he had already taken the gauntlet from her hand. 'Why did I…it's just like before with that women. I acted without thinking.' To his fascination, the gauntlet lit up without doing anything besides touching it. He proceeded to slip it onto his hand like a glove.
"USER FOUND. REGISTERING DATA."
'Huh? What's that voice?'
(NAME)
LVL 1
TITLE: HUMAN (NO BENEFIT)
SKILLS: NONE (LIMIT 3)
PASSIVES: NONE (LIMIT 3)
COMMAND SKILL (LIMIT 1)
Apps: NONE
AFFINITY:
PHYS-NORMAL
GUN-NORMAL
FIRE-NORMAL
FORCE-NORMAL
ICE-NORMAL
ELEC-NORMAL
BLESS-NORMAL
CURSE-NORMAL
STATS:
STRENGTH
DEXTERITY
MAGIC
VITALITY
AGILITY
Nathan looked at all the menus in front of him in disbelief. "It's like…an rpg."
'Gabriel' said, "it's kind of dumb if you ask me, " with a shrug. "Still, it really reacted to you. That settles it, you're a hero! You shouldn't be so down on yourself. Calling yourself normal and all that. You died trying to protect someone right? And you took the gauntlet with the burden of protecting 2 universes without thinking. The reason for that is…you're a hero." She said it with such certainty. "It's time to save the universe hero. I'll send you on your way just aft-."
"Wait!" Nathan shouted. "I don't know your name yet. Your real one."
...
She looked genuinely surprised again before bursting into laughter, her good humor returning. "Hahahaha! You're a strange guy. I guess you can call me…Ko. And you know, you never told me your name either."
Now it was his turn to be surprised. "Huh. Yeah I guess your right. My name is…" he paused when she held a finger up to his lips.
"I don't mean the name you had. You have to enter a name into the gauntlet right? So then, what's your name? For the new you. Try to pick a Japanese name by the way. You'll look pretty stupid running around with an American name in Konoha. "
He paused and thought it over.
"So? Are you going to take the gauntlet…hero?"
Before he realized it, he had already grabbed the gauntlet from her hands
'Why did I…it's just like before with that women. I acted without thinking.'
"you took the gauntlet with the burden of protecting 2 universes without thinking. The reason for that is…you're a hero."
"what's your name? For the new you."
"Well?" she asked. "What is it?"
"My name is…YUUYA! YUUYA HIROSE."
"Username Registered: YUUYA HIROSE"
"…Huh? Where did you get that from?" Ko asked baffled. "And why did you yell like that all of a sudden? You freaked me out…"
Suddenly, he felt bashful. "Well, Hirose was the only Japanese name I could think of with 'hero' in it. Also, I started yelling because I've always sort of admired people who wear their heart on their sleeve and put their all into things…I guess you could say I'm trying to channel my ideal hero…or something, " he said scratching his cheek looking somewhat proud.
Ko looked a lot less put off then before, but now she looked kind of like she was pitying him. "Uh 'Hirose' only sounds like it has 'hero' in it."
"What!?" Nathan, or rather Yuuya, looked devastated. "It's already registered though, right?…I guess that's my name now."
"Oh, wait a second!" Ko said unexpectedly. " I never gave you your mission! That was super close! I don't know what I would have done," she said apparently realizing she'd almost screwed up.
'is she trying to make me feel better? I really can't get a read on her at all,' He complained to himself. 'I guess I do kind of feel better though.'
"Listen closely you have to find all sources of demonic energy in this world. Demons will be the cause of all your future strife. Find those demons and destroy them…Demon Tamer."
"QUEST ACCEPTED"
MAIN QUEST: STOP THE INVASION!
Yuuya looked taken aback. "Demon Tamer?" He asked confusedly.
"You'll figure it out hero. That device is loaded with all kinds of info. Some stuff even I don't know, just don't expect to be able to access that information freely. Investigate anything that reeks of demonic hi jinks okay? Good luck, Yuuya."
'Hold on, when did she stop calling "kid"? And…is that respect I hear?'
Ko smirked, "Heh. Don't get cocky hero."
Yuuya smiled sheepishly. "I guess I forgot you can hear my thoughts in here. I'll do my best Ko. Thank you," he said before he was transported by her her command.
Ko was left in an empty void again with nothing but her thoughts. A melancholy atmoshphere seemed to take hold in Yuuya's abscense. 'You have no idea what's ahead of you. The "game" starts now.'
END OF CHAPTER 1
Phew. That was tough. Hopefully it's alright for my first foray into fiction. Let me know what you think! That was the first action scene I ever wrote (yes really) so let me know how it is!
Author's Note: Things were left intentionally vague in certain ways. Don't worry, I'll explain just what demons are, where they come from, what Ko is, and just exactly what demons have to do with Naruto's world. Yuuya may have been too quick to trust Ko, especially after the trick she pulled, but as we'll soon find out that's just in his nature.
Hope you enjoyed!