Chapter Finished: 10/28 - 2014
Totally wondering if anyone would be nice enough to beta this for me, since english isn't my first langaugue and i tend to over look things. Please?
Uh uh! I made a drawing! :D It's of Liv's ninja CLOTHES! Go to my profile and click on the link to my DeviantArt account if you want to see it.
Arc I: Tutorial (part IV)
The first thing I did, when I logged in the next day, was checking my missions. I would most likely forget something if I didn't - I had a bad habit of doing that, especially with my homework (heh, sorry, mom) -, so I was glad one of the voice commands was a mission log.
MISSION LOG
Active missions: 2
Rank S
Rank A
Rank B
Rank C
Rank D
Rank E (2)
Completed missions: 4
I clicked on [Rank E] since that was the only one with missions in it, and the screen shifted and changed.
MISSION LOG
Active missions: 2
RANK E
Delivery mission: Delivery Coming Through!
Tutorial part III: The Academy Jutsu!
Completed missions: 3
Well the delivery mission seemed pretty damn easy, so that shouldn't take too long. What I was worried about, however, was how quickly I could get my jutsu leveled up. Maybe I could walk around with the [Transformation Jutsu]. Would that even level it up? I could always find out, I guess.
Alrighty, time to do something practical! Which basically meant I had decided to look in the last scroll Iruka had given me, the one about taijutsu.
I unrolled it on the low coffee table in my apartment (nope, still not tired of saying it), which I had woken up in when I logged in for the day. The thick scroll laid out before me, with what I could only guess was different techniques, considering the ink drawings besides them.
I tried out the kata written in the scroll, feeling positively foolish and stupid all the while, though I soon enough got into the rhythm of things. The kicks weren't too difficult to do, and having long legs helped a lot, but I was having a bit of problems with the correct way of punching.
Inhaling deeply, I took my stance, fists on either side of me. I exhaled, and inhaled again. Then, as the air left my lunges through my lips for the second time, I puched at the air in front of me, finally satisfied with the way it-
Gong~
"Gah!" I yelped, flailing my arms around in mock Kung fu style, as I felt my heartbeat speed up.
You have learned the skill [Academy Taijutsu]. It has been added to your list of skills.
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
I delivered the letter quickly, no trouble there, and went to the Forest of Death.
The place was as looming and dark (and pure awesome) as the last time I saw it, no change there, but this time I got the chance to get a closer look. I went over to the big metal gate, wrapped in chains and locks, which was at least four times my hieght.
I could just climb over, couldn't I?
I gave it a try, but soon discovered that it was a lot harder then I had at first thought. The seals that were on hindered my movement, and there was nothing good to step on. I puffed a breath of air out between my lips, narrowing my eyes for a split second. Perhaps... I could tree walk? The problem then, was just that I had to learn it first, but I reconded it was worth a try.
If Sakura could do it, then so could I.
With newfound determination, I hopped down from the gate and took a deep breath. I could basically do this two ways; just run head on first; or use my brain and laying on my back and stick my feet to the fence gate...
Seemed like a no-brained to me-
I ran straight for the fence, chakra concentrated in my feet.
-Buuuuut you only do these kind of things once, right?
One foot touching the iron gate, I kicked up, hoping my momentum would help me in my quest for the top (alas, it was only natural that I utterly failed). The moment I began to slow down, however, I began to panic, which in turn made me loose my footing. Screaming pitifully all the way and flailing my arms in an attempt to fly, I came crashing down, landing smack dap on my poor head.
The little red bar in my vision, indicating my health, lost a little bit of itself.
"Urgh..." With spirals for eyes, I could feel a big bump forming already.
Alright, so maybe I didn't think that through as much as I'd like to think. Sighing, I slowly stood, shaking the spirals away in quick jerks, and took a couple of steps back.
Of course, I didn't just go, "Oh well, guess that doesn't work." No, because that'd be admitting defeat and I was not about to let a fucking tree get the better of me. So I tried again, this time with quite the amount of chakra, but the moment both of my feet touched the trunk of the tree, I shot off.
"Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!"
I skidded across the ground, letting out pain filled yelps every time I bounced, before finally landing on my front. And so began the pain filled session where I try to learn how to climb a fence without the use of my hands.
Ooowwwww~
For the record, I may, or may not, have cried a couple of times when I landed on my bump again... and again... and again (that shit hurts!). I was really starting to hate Sasuke for unreasonable reasons, which was okay becuase I had some pretty good ones - according to myself - too, but do tell me how the hell he managed to righten himself before planting his face in the ground. Because I couldn't!
(I also may, or may not, have punched a few trees now and then... At least it gave my [Academy Taijutsu] skill some EXP..)
The most annoying thing, however, was that I somehow managed to dent the gate from continually using too much chakra, so when ever I stepped in that specific place I'd loose my footing and either fall or greet the gate with my face.
I even got my head stuck between two metal poles at one point.
The only good thing that came out of all that pain - besides being able to now walk up things vertically - was having my stat, [Control], raise itself by one point.
Standing on top of the gate (world!) like the badass konoichi I am, I hopped down, grinning like a loon.
Time to explore Indiana Jones style!
Congrats! You have discovered the Forest of Death!
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
My [Stealth] went up surprisingly quickly (almost doubling), my time spent exploring the Forest of Death and collecting samples of its many herbs and plants, therefore I decided to venture further into the vast greenery. I had at one point, tried to see if my clones would be able to explore and widen the map along with me, but I should have been able to guess the answer for myself, it turned out as a negative. Didn't stop me from training my [Clone Jutsu] though, so I managed to raise that to a level two.
A terrifying roar ripped throughout the forest, sending chills down my spine.
There was just that little problem that probably most, if not all, of the inhabitants could slash me to ribbons if they so wished to. So yeah, I would be in deep shit if I was attacked.
I reached out and collected the small sample of basil by my feet, glad I had listen to my mom when she had told me about the different herbs we grew ourselves - I could recognize it by smell alone now, along with a few others. I placed it in my [Inventory], beside all the other herbs I had collected.
Mentally thinking of the [Notebook] command, it popped up before me in an instant.
NOTEBOOK
Jutsu List
Skills
Herbal Encyclopedia
The first time I had used it, [Herbal Encyclopedia] hadn't been a part of my options, but as I collected herbs it had added itself to the list, so I figured it could happen with other things as well - I just didn't know what. My encyclopedia wasn't that good as I was just starting out, but even though the names of the herbs were clear (most of the time), its effects were still unknown. I guessed I'd have to figure them out by myself some way, preferably without dying though.
A rustle came from my left and I stilled all movement, slowing my breathing down as I closed [Notebook]. Then, tantalizingly slow, came a paw out through the bushes followed by a leg, and head, and then the body of a giant tiger. I carefully took out a kunai, un-crouching and getting into a fighting pose, just as the large animal pounced...
[Stealth] has reached level 8!
My eyes were filled with the unusually bright words as I heard a roar, I threw my arms out in front of me on instinct, and a numb feeling soon ran throughout my body. Then, everything turned black while white noise filled my ears like a constant and annoying tune. I looked around for the tiger, but instead found two words that mocked my very existence:
GAME OVER
"Fuck!"
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
I had to do everything over again... Level my [Stealth] back up, along with my [Clone Jutsu], collect all the herbs, learn how to tree-climb, deliver that fucking letter(!)...
And I did do all those things, with a permanent scowl on my face, that is. I really needed to remember saving more, actually I just needed to remember saving. But getting my face slashed to ribbons surpringly didn't scare me away, though I don't recommend it, unless you actually don't like the way you look, because, trust me, there is no amount of plastic surgery that'll ever make you look the same again.
The letter had been the last thing I did, because I was not going back into that forest (besides just before, but that was a minor detail) until I was stronger. Period.
It wasn't fun dying.
Walking through the shopping district of Konoha, I had been on the lookout for various shops, but as I had now bought everything I needed, I was heading home so I could train my jutsu (I really didn't want a repeat of the Spring Bingo Fiasco). My death had given me thought to what I was in dire need of - weapons, potions, the like - and I had immidately went hunting. Pills (truthfully, I could only afford one) to replenish my health now filled my [Inventory] along with other necessities for a ninja to be.
The 9500ryo I had scrambled together were now back down to a pityful 100ryo, and the fact that I was contemplating getting an actual weapon, though I wasn't too sure, didn't make it any better. For now, I guess I'd wait and see.
The walk back to my apartment wasn't long, since I ran most of the way, and I quickly fetched my keys out of my [Inventory]. I walked up the apartment building's walls, reaching the third floor easily, and crawled over the railing. The way up to the different levels were open, meaning there was no more walls from the moment you stepped outside of your own little apartment, which made wall-walking a lot harder, but I managed.
"ARGH! NOT AGAIN!"
I blinked. Wasn't me.
Peering around for the source of noise, I didn't find any.
"Please, please, please, please be in the other pocket!"
I leaned over the railing, gazing down at the floor below, and found the source to be a certain blond haired, bewhiskered kid.
Ultimate Prankster
Lv. 5 Uzumaki Naruto
I tilted my head to the side, peering curiously down at my fellow blond. A green leaf symbol floated besides the text over his head. "Something wrong?"
He didn't turn around, too busy patting his pockets, then persona, and next the ground by his feet in an attempt to find whatever he had lost. "I can't find my keys!" He gripped his hair, groaning in frustration. "Argh! I know I had them eairlier today!"
I carefully lowered myself down to the second level, landing with a soft thud as my feet hit the ground. "Want me to help you find them?"
Naruto looked up, surprise flitting across his features. "You would?" He asked carefully, licking his lips in what I guessed to be nervousness.
Smiling slightly, I nodded. "I wouldn't have asked otherwise."
He rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Heh, I guess you wouldn't. Thanks."
At his words, a screen popped up right in front of my nose, making me go crossed-eyed trying to read it.
MISSION ALERT
Naruto's Mission: What Has Been Lost Must Be Found!
Awwww~ Has wittle Naru-kun lost his keys? Well I guess it's already decided, becuase not even criminals can say no to that face.
To complete this mission you have to find Naruto's keys and bring them back to him.
Completion award:
EXP. 200
One bowl of ramen at Ichiruka's Ramen.
There did't seem to be an option to accept or not, but then again, I was the one to suggest it, so I guess that made perfect sense. I closed the box, unpausing the world, and said, "Let's get going then."
Naruto followed me back down (I used the stairs, of course), a permanent grin on his face. He briefly looked at my forehead protector, excitement lighting his eyes up. "Wha! You're a ninja, too!" He said as he pointed at the obvious give away.
I grinned playfully. "What gave it away?"
"Heh heh," As if a lightbulb went off, Naruto perked up, stopping in front of me. "Then... d'you think we could spar together sometime? I-I mean, I kinda have to get better so I can show that no good Uchiha who's the best and so I can become Hokage someday, but you don't have to if you don't want too!" He rambled off, waving his hands in front of him.
I almost deadpanned. If I hadn't wanted to help him from the start before, I certainly did now, because who could say no to that? Not me, that's who.
I smiled lopsidedly. "I'd love, too."
"Re-really?!" He sounded surprised, wide blue eyes staring at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. I wasn't however - surprised that is. His reaction made perfect sense if you thought about his childhood and all the times he'd been rejected so harshly.
"Sure." I shrugged. "I'd always love to be able to spar with you. It'll be good training for when I finally get to leave with a genin team."
He stopped short, gaping up at me. "What?! You're the same age as me?!"
I bit back a laugh. "If that's twelve, then yes."
"Bu, Bu-but you're nearly 9 inches taller than me!"
Holding my hands up in the universal sign of 'I mean no harm, please don't kill me', I said, "I have tall parents."
It didn't lessen his pout one bit.
"So where did you last remember having your keys?" I asked, trying a) to narrow down the searched area, b) get back to the reason we were even walking around in the first place, and c) get his mind off of the previous conversation.
"Umm, well," he scratched his cheek sheepishly, "last I remember having them I was down in the sewers training."
I blinked owlishly. "You... train in the sewers?"
He grinned bashfully. "Yeah, it's good place to train your aim."
I frowned, not quite understanding, but shrugged it off. If it was important I'd find out later. "Then I guess we'll just head for the sewers..."
Naruto stretched his arms behind him, folding them behind his head, as we headed to where he last had his keys. "So what's your name, by the way? I forgot to ask earlier."
I smiled. "Liv. Nice to meet you...?"
He grinned. "I'm Naruto! And one day, I'm gonna be the Hokage!"
"Cool, bet you know some pretty awesome jutsu then." I couldn't help it, I grinned with him.
His eyes brightened. "Yeah! There's this one jutsu I know, called Shadow Clone Jutsu! It's so cool! I even used it to defeat a jonin once!"
(Somewhere, I was sure Ebisu sneezed.)
I made a sound in the back of my throat. "I've heard of that. Has a rather funny extra effect though."
"'Extra effect'?" He tilted his head at me, like a puppy.
I was really messing things up by telling him this, but holy scheisse think of all the things that could be evaded! Of all the things that could be changed if I did so! I had honestly made up my mind about the matter a long time ago, so I don't even know why I was debating this.
"The clones' experiences during their existence will transfer over to the user once they dispersed."
"Wha- Really!?"
A smirk spread across my lips as I nodded, and I started to hum a Christmas tune from last year.
~(^+^~) ~(^+^)~ (~^+^)~
I saved before I jumped down the manhole (I had learned my lesson, thank you), and landed with a splash in the dark and dank sewer.
Congrats! You have discovered Konoha Sewers!
The only light was the natural sunlight that entered through the manhole and from the dingy, old bulbs sat on the walls, which would randomly blink out sometimes.
Splash. Naruto had landed besides me.
I wrinkled my nose. It stank like, like, well like any sewer would, but hell, I hadn't expected it to be so bad, and apparently I wasn't the only one. Naruto clapped a hand over his nose, which was most likely a lot more sensitive than mine because of the Kyuubi, moaning. "Man! I forgot how bad the smell was!"
The sound of multiple squeaks drew my attention away from the the hyper blond. Small, beady eyes slunk around at the edge of the area the lightbulb reached, staying just out of range. I narrowed my eyes at the small creatures, hand hovering over a kunai if things turned ugly, but...
A rather big rat darted into the light, sniffing the air as it rose to its hind legs.
I sighed, relaxing again. "It's just a rat."
Naruto slowly backed away from it, eyes looking behind him every now and then. "Erm, you might want to get back here."
"Why?" I looked at him in confusion. "It's not like it can hurt me-"
Karma decided to show its ugly face. The rat bit my leg.
"Ow!" On reflex I kicked out, hitting the rat which then squeaked loudly and ran back into the dark. To be honest it didn't actually hurt getting bitten - it was more of a reflex than anything saying it. Here, in the game, pain was replaced with an uncomfortable feeling - a bit like when your leg has been asleep and starts prickling and tickling in that weird way -, instead of something that actually hurts the player.
I scowled at where the rat had dissapeared, grumbling under my breath. "Stupid fucking rat."
And then the weirdest thing happened.
Larger than normal rats, more than I would have ever wanted to see (didn't even want to see one), flooded into the light of the bulb, completely trapping us against the dead-end that we had started in.
I backed away, standing besides Naruto, and stage whispered, "So erh, any good ideas?"
"We kill as many as we can."
"Yeah well, I kind of figured, but how do you expect us to do that? There's at least 20 of 'em!"
Alright, so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but they kept moving. They weaved in and out between each other like worms slicked with oil, it was fucking annoying!
"We throw shuriken and kunai at them. Keep them at a distance, because if they get too close they'll jump you at once."
It was at that moment I figured Naruto wasn't as stupid as I had first thought, or how the manga/anime portraited him. He could actually be quite smart, if given and allowed the chance.
I smiled, despite the situation, and said, "Alright, Naru-kun."
He grinned in response. "Let's kick some rat ass!"
I took out two shuriken and threw them at some rats that had been edging closer. The first shuriken completely missed its target, hitting the wall next to me instead, while the other didn't hit the rat I had intended, but because they were so close to each other, hit one to the far right.
Gong~
You have learned the skill [Shurikenjutsu]. It has been added to your list of skills.
The rat I had hit, still wasn't dead but I could see it's name - Lv. 1 Rat - and a red health bar under that, which had lost a little more than a third. I took out two more shuriken, and threw them at the rat. One hit the rat I wanted, the other hit a second. Both let out high pitched squeaks.
Naruto was doing far better than me, as far as I could see. Every weapon he threw hit their intended target, while not one survived, and apparently the rats knew better than to get too close to him.
I, on the other hand, had to kick away one that got too close, which turned out to be the rat I had been trying to hit the last couple of times. It hit the wall with a thumb and a squeak, finally dead as its health reached zero.
EXP. 50
100 Ryo
The words floated up from the fading corpse, and I immediately threw two new shuriken, finally hitting what I wanted dead on.
EXP. 50
100 Ryo
Ching-a-ling~!
You leveled up!
Unfortunately, at the current moment, I didn't have time to deposit my new stat points or celebrate my growing to level 3 (take that Konohamaru!). I continued to throw shuriken, and at times kunai, at the rats. I got to kill another five before they finally seemed to be thinning down, there was a lot more space to move about and I even found a way to use my [Substitution Jutsu] once in a while to move to another area. My [Shurikenjutsu] skill managed to rise a level, so I at least didn't suck as bad as I did before, same with substitution.
Then suddenly- "There!" Naruto sprang into gear, pointing at a chihuahua sized rat with patches of fur missing. It was running away from us. "My keys! That nasty rat has it in its mouth!"
'Opjective found.' I thought with a toothy grin, and said out loud, "Then let's go after it!"
I proceeded to substitute with one of the rats at the edge of the group and ran after the chihuahua-rat, wet splashes following in my wake. Naruto ran up next to me. "How many are after us." I asked.
He shrugged. "Eight, maybe five. We're quickly losing them though, so they shouldn't be a problem before we stop."
A lightbulb then appeared over my head. "Why don't you just use your shadow clones?"
"Tried that once," but before I could say anything he added with a grimace, "There wasn't enough space."
I guess there was just some things you learned the hard way.
We turned a corner, me nearly slipping on the wet ground but Naruto steadied me just in time, and shoot down the sewer hall. Naruto jumped, throwing a kunai in front of the rat with his keys, so to force it to stop and turn around.
It did.
I quickly threw a kunai at the hideous rat, hitting its side. It squeaked and a health bar appeared above it, a little chip taken of it, though this time a blue bar - for chakra - appeared as well.
Lv. 5 Sickly Rat
And it was sickly alright. Missing patches of fur, you could see old cuts that had been infected and skin peeling off. It looked rabid, saliva dripping from its fangs as it snarled at us, key dangling from its mouth.
I readied for an attack and Naruto did the same, both of us holding kunai.
Then something bit me in the ankle, and I cried out in surprise and slashed at whatever was at my feet, but two forces slammed into my back. One of them bit my shoulder, while the other scratched my back and I fell to the ground, losing my kunai in the process. Besides me I saw Naruto with two rats on his back and a third by his feet, which he quickly kicked away and killed. I could still feel the two rats on my back and rolled over, throwing them off me. Standing with hurried movements, I reached for the fallen kunai only for the Sickly Rat to quickly dig its fangs into my hand.
The blue bar above its head dropped.
I landed a well deserved kick in its side.
The edges of my vision turned purple.
Almost tantalizing, my health ebbed away with each second that passed.
"Liv!" Naruto shouted, killing another one of the rats. "Liv, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I said and stomped one of the rats, killing it. "It'll go away in a minute or two."
EXP. 25
100 Ryo
I killed the last rat that attacked me, while Naruto got rid of his and began attacking the Sickly Rat on his own. Rummaging in my hip pouch I took out the only [Regular Red Pill] I had and popped it into my mouth and chewed. It healed 50 HP, which would hopefully be enough to hold out until the poison stopped. I mean, it was only a low level monster which had bitten me, so it shouldn't last too long.
It would suck to die again.
Health mostly regained, I jumped in to help Naruto and threw a shuriken at the damaged Sickly Rat.
EXP. 130
450 Ryo
I blinked. "Well... That was anticlimactic..." I walked over and picked up the keys, grinning. What looked like fangs laid next to it and when I picked them up and placed them in my [Inventory] they showed up with the label [Poisoned Fangs].
I went back to Naruto, who was giving the dark sewer a puzzled look. "S'matter?"
"I keep hearing snuffling and scratching coming from that sewer hall."
Furrowing my brow I listen. But nothing ever came and I was about to say so when I finally heard the first squeak.
And with that came more.
Only one look at Naruto's face told me all I had to know.
We hightailed it out of there as quickly as our legs could carry us.
