Chapter 1: Preparing for the Game
As the game of the seven nightmares was about to begin, six nightmares are prepared as they heard that Kabuto brought someone for the game. They were Yoku, Ikari, Netami, Taidana, Kuzuri, and Joyoku.
Yoku is a slender man with black, sleeveless shirt and long pants and his hair is black medium hair. He also has a greedy personality for money and women.
Ikari is a silent, but a dependent man and he wears a samurai uniform: his top is gray while his hakama is black, and his hair tied as a ponytail, but his bangs covers his right eye. He also has a katana around his waist. He leans on the wall as he ignored the four nightmares' gossips about Kabuto brought someone for the seven stages of nightmares.
Netami is a young girl clad in a short gray Chinese blouse and short pants and her green hair tied as Chinese buns. She was playing with her ninja tools as she practices for her stage and became excited as Kabuto brought someone for the nightmares' game.
Taidana is a lazy young boy clad in a big gray Chinese jacket and long black pants. He was sleeping while sitting against the wall near Ikari. He is the second one and doesn't talk with his comrades by some point as they talked about Kabuto brought someone for their game.
Kuzuri is fat and boned guy with spiky black hair clad in black shirt and pants as he's eating some onigiri.
Joyoku is a beautiful lady clad in a black Chinese dress with a red rose as her texture and her black hair is long behind her waist. She wondered about what kind of a human the Kabuto brought for the nightmares' game.
"It's been a while that Kabuto-san brought someone for our game." remarked Joyoku as she knew that they didn't kill the next human in nightmares ever since. "I wonder who's the next one."
"Who knows... but," replied Yoku. "I'll find out who's the next challenger for our game. I'm ready for anything."
"Idiot, you don't know about who's next for our game," explained Netami.
Yoku became angry as Netami explained about the new challenger for their game. "What did you say, Netami? And also... how can you tell?" he asked in anger.
"Simple. Your greedy personality is always about money and women, but you can't tell a human's appearance if it's a man or a woman." Netami answered.
"That's enough, Netami. You're pushing Yoku too hard." said Joyoku.
"Whose side are you on, Joyoku?" angered Yoku.
While the three nightmares argued each other, Ikari saw the door opens and it was Kabuto. "Kabuto Yakushi."
Netami saw Kabuto came in and towards him to ask who's the next human for their nightmares' game. "Hey, Kabuto! Who's next? Who's next?"
He knew that Netami wondered about who is the next human for their nightmares' game and answers, "You'll find out once it's your turn, Netami."
"Hey, no fair! I want to know!" Netami whined as she really want to know who's the next one.
"Relax, Netami. All you have to do is to wait for your turn," explained Joyoku. "By the way... what happen to our leader just now?"
"That's right. He seems not talkative when we talked with him although he is the leader of the seven nightmares." Netami realized. "And also... he is still just the puppet leader while Megami-sama wasn't with us after she chose us when we were Orochimaru's test subjects."
"Well, he is the eighth nightmare unlike us." answered Kuzuri while eating his onigiri.
"Kuzuri, talk after you finishes eating your onigiri." replied Joyoku.
Ikari wondered about Kabuto as he became suspicous towards him when he didn't answer to Netami about the new challenger.
"That feeling... Something's not right." Ikari thought as he realized.
"Kabuto Yakushi, we need to talk just in case..." he said as he began to realize about the new challenger for the nightmares' game. "in private."
Kabuto realized that Ikari became suspicious towards him and had no choice, but to talk with him alone. "All right." he answered honestly.
Ikari and Kabuto left and the four nightmares became confused except for Taidana, who was still asleep as always.
"What's with Ikari?" asked Netami.
"Don't know," replied Yoku. "But... I have a bad feeling that Ikari knew what's going on."
After Ikari left his comrades and went with Kabuto in the hallway, he began to talk about the next person for the game of seven nightmares. "Kabuto Yakushi... the next person is... someone you interested in?" he asked.
Kabuto knew that Ikari has a sharp sense towards him as he knew that he was hiding something, which it was Yume after all. "So you knew. You seems impatient because you're tired of waiting for the next game ever since Orochimaru-sama gave up this place, Ikari." he explained.
"That girl, Yume Yukisaki, the Hyuga clan's ally from Konohagakure. Give me one true reason, Kabuto Yakushi. Why did you kidnap her?" inquired Ikari, knowing that it was a kunoichi from Konoha and Kabuto kidnapped her before the beginning of the game.
"Is this question important to you?" he replied.
"Answer my question first, Kabuto Yakushi." Ikari asked once again.
Kabuto knew that Ikari wanted to know about his dearest Yume very impatiently. "A silent, but a dependent man like you wants to know about my dearest Yume. My reason is that I enticed my dearest's feelings into emotionless feelings just in case in order to begin the game." he explained.
"Your dearest's feelings?" Ikari inquired about Yume's feelings that already became emotionless after Kabuto entices her and she became unconscious after hearing about seven nightmares. "That's your reason to entice a girl's feelings became emotionless in order to make the nightmares' game to begin?"
"That's correct. Any questions just in case?" answered Kabuto.
Ikari wondered about the puppet leader that he wasn't here when Netami, Joyoku, and Kuzuri mentioned about him. "Where's Ryoji?" he asked. "I know that he is leader, but a puppet while Megami-sama wasn't here just now."
Kabuto knew that Ikari wondered about Ryoji's current location and answers, "He's on a secret mission that I requested him when the game started."
Ikari realized that Ryoji went on his secret mission alone while the game already begun for him and his five comrades.
"A secret mission? I believe that I don't want to know about his mission from you although it already started right now, Kabuto Yakushi." he replied, knowing that game was only for seven stages for the challenger, Yume Yukisaki. He went back to his comrades after his short and private talk with Kabuto.
"I shouldn't be impatient just now... even the beginning of the game," Ikari thought as he keep walking to return to his comrades as the game has begun. "However... something isn't right about this game after three years ago. It seems new unlike the former games that we killed challengers in their dreams as nightmares when they failed to survive."
Meanwhile, an older boy with a red, long, and spikey hair, clad in a black sleeveless shirt with a symbol of a red dragon on the back and long black pants with his red chakrams around his waist, black fingerless gloves, and black sandals, Ryoji, stands between the cliffs and realizes that the game of the seven nightmares has begun while he was on a secret mission, requested from Kabuto.
"Protect the challenger, huh?" he remarked as he realized that game was already begun just now. "But... who is the challenger for the game?"
He remembered that Kabuto told him about his next mission, but it's a secret. It happened before he left and the beginning of the game.
"A secret mission?" he asked.
"Yes. This time, you're going alone while the six of them are preparing for the next game," Kabuto remarked. "Protect the challenger."
"Protect the challenger? Why would I do that?" he asked in confusion when Kabuto told him to protect the challenger for the new game.
"Just because... if you fail to protect the challenger, the game will completely end and the challenger would die easily," answered Kabuto. "You're the puppet leader of Megami's six nightmares, Ryoji, and you don't get along with them as the puppet leader while she wasn't here."
"What's the point getting along with Megami's comrades? Killing challengers during a game causes their dreams into nightmares," replied Ryoji. "Of course, I'm the puppet leader and the eighth nightmare entitled by Megami completely, but I had enough with killing challengers."
"I understand, but I told you about the mission. Protect the challenger is priority to complete the game, Ryoji." Kabuto explained.
"Priority? If protecting the challenger is priority, then who's the challenger?" Ryoji asked as he began to wonder about the new challenger.
Kabuto knew that the challenger was Yume all the time when Ryoji asked his question to him. "You'll find out when the game is about to start." he answered.
Ryoji received a mystery answer from Kabuto and knew that he had to find out who's the challenger when the game is about to begin. After his confused talk with Kabuto, he left before the game has started.
After he remembered about his secret mission to protect a challenger, he knew that he would protect the challenger as he find out who.
"Guess I have no choice, huh? Well, I have to find who's the challenger and then... protect the challenger until the end of the game." Ryoji wondered about protecting the challenger until the end of the game. He began to start his journey to search and protect the challenger from harm.
