Bethany woke up on a bed, she didn't know where she was, but she was definitely not in the forest anymore. Looking around the room, she thought it was very nice. She was lying on a large queen sized bed with the softest blankets and sheets she'd ever felt. Moving around, she felt the bed shift beneath her. 'Wait a minute, this is a water bed' she thought. Bethany sighed in satisfaction, she hadn't laid on a water bed in years. The young red-head stared up at the ceiling, it was painted with light blue and pink and gold clouds, just like the sky at dawn.
Slowly sitting up, Bethany saw the rest of the room was large and decorated in the same way as the ceiling. She blinked, 'Where am I?' she wondered, looking around nervously. Suddenly the door opened. Bethany gasped, and shot around, only to sigh in relief as she saw the Hokage walk into the room with a tray in his hands, "oh good, you're awake" he said, smiling at her. Bethany watched as he placed the tray down in front of her. Hot chocolate, along with cheesy scrambled eggs on toast. Just looking at it made her mouth water. That's when she realised that her energy levels were really low. She was starving! "Hokage-Sama, how long was I out?" she asked, immediately taking a bite of toast. Damn, how can virtual food taste so good?!
"About three days" Hiruzen said, causing Bethany to choke on her scrambled eggs. Three days?! What the hell! "how could I have been out for three days Dattebene!?" she exclaimed, looking at the Hokage with wide eyes. She became frantic, "what happened to Mito-Sama? Are the others alright? where are they? Where am I?!" she exclaimed hurriedly. Hiruzen held up his hand, "in order, Mito-Sama is fine, but she's going to be sleeping for a long while yet, your friends have been brought into the village and are fine, they're here in this house waiting for you, and as for your final question, you're all in the Senju clan compound, as it is technically also the Uzumaki clan compound, and will be living here from now on" Bethany simply stared at the old man in complete shock.
"But I thought Mito-Sama was nearing the end of her life, that's why I had to become the Kyuubi's new Jinchuriki?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. The Sandamine frowned, "that's the strange thing, during the transfer, it seems that some of your chakra and life force was sent to Mito-Sama, while the Kyuubi was sealed inside you" he explained. Bethany blinked, "So I got the fox, and Mito-Sama got some of my life?" Hiruzen nodded, "freaky" Bethany shivered slightly. Hiruzen took a breath, "There is one more thing I want to discuss with you before I take you to see your friends, Kushina-Chan" he said, as the young red-head finished her food and sipped on her Hot chocolate. Bethany nodded, waiting for him to speak. The Sandamine smiled softly, "you see, the Ninja Academy is starting soon, and I was wondering if you would like to enter?" he asked.
Bethany furrowed her eyebrows, "what about the others?" she asked. The third nodded his head, "of course, I will be asking them as well, but while the opportunity presents itself, would you like to be a Kunoichi of the Leaf?" he asked seriously. The young girl lowered her head in thought for a few moments, before she looked up again, eyes blazing, "Hai, Hokage-Sama, I would very much like to join the Academy" she said, no uncertainty what-so-ever. Hiruzen smiled when he saw the flames light in her eyes. Only just got to the Leaf Village, and already she possessed the will of fire. This girl would defiantly go far in the ninja world, he was sure of it.
ŅŴŔ
Bethany was led to a room by the Hokage, who left once he was sure she was fine. She took a deep breath. What would the others think now? Would they hate her once they knew what she held? She was sure her father wouldn't. Oh well, she would just have to wing it. Pushing open the door, Bethany waited for a reaction. Her father rushed at her, enveloping her in his arms, "I was so worried about you, are you alright?" he asked, his voice muffled by her hair and clothes. Bethany nodded, as the others surrounded them. "Yes, I'm fine, don't worry" she said softly, as the door closed with a small 'click'. Paul smiled, "that's a relief" Just then, the Orochimaru character spoke up: "Kushina-Chan, what happened to you?" he asked worriedly.
Bethany looked around at the other players. Well, they were all in the same boat here, and if they were going to be working together to clear this game, then she may as well tell them now, otherwise it might cause problems later if they found out about the Nine Tails on their own. She gestured for them to listen closely, then explained about the Uzumaki bloodline, the Kyuubi, about how they all thought Mito-Sama was going to die, but didn't, and finally, about how she became the second Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox in the game.
Almost everyone was shocked speechless. They'd had no idea something like this was going to happen. "But, why didn't you tell us?" asked the character who looked like Kakashi. Bethany sighed "well, at first, I wasn't sure if it was even going to happen, 'ttebane, then when the Third told me that day when I went to ask him about houses for us all, well, I was shocked, to say the least," Bethany paused, clenching her fist, "I was angry, and upset that I was nothing more than a weapon to these people, a human sacrifice, I didn't have any say in it at all!" slamming her fist on the tables surface, she choked through the tears that had very recently welled up in her eyes: "I hadn't even come close to becoming a ninja yet, and my life was already forfeit, damn it!" Bethany sat there for a moment, sobbing helplessly. Everyone just stared in sadness, at their strong and powerful leader, reduced to a sobbing, broken mass in the chair.
Bethany dried her eyes, "but there's no use dwelling on it, I'm a Jinchuriki now, and there's nothing I can do to change that, honestly, I started this game knowing that I would probably have to become the Nine Tails Jinchuriki host sooner or later, but still, I didn't expect such a shock, and I certainly didn't think this would happen so early into the game" she sighed and looked up, "oh well, I have to get on with my life and we have finish this game as soon as possible, once we do, we can all go back to our lives," Bethany stared each and every one of the 26 in the eyes, her expression a mixture between determination and- fear. Never before had anyone seen Bethany so afraid in the game, except for Mito- and it made them feel a little- stronger for some reason. Perhaps because it showed that the red-head was still human, and had weaknesses, just like them. But unlike them, she was able to overcome those weaknesses, and become stronger for it.
That determination to fight through her fears, gave the others the same will and strength. As Bethany looked around at the faces of those around her, she noticed, with a great deal of joy and pride that the people who had been afraid and unsure before, now had new spark's in their eyes. It was not quite the will of fire, at least, not just yet, but those sparks were the beginnings of a great strength that hope would soon be born from. Yes, they would get free, she was sure of it.
ŅŴŔ
Two days after she'd become Kurama's new Jinchuriki, Bethany was in the Senju clans dojo. To keep people from coming into the room unwanted, there was a seal on the door. Opening her menu, the young girl went to her items list, and clicked on the icon that read: Item 1, Item type: weapon, subcategory weapon type: Gunbai, weapon quality: excellent. As she clicked on the War Fan, a summoning circle appeared on the floor. Bethany shrugged, for all the people who didn't know that this was a game, she guessed that just having the sword appear out of thin air wouldn't make much sense. Well, for a ninja world at least.
The red-head pressed her hand to the jutsu circle, "summoning Jutsu!" she called. There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared, there was her Gunbai, looking just as awesome as before and ready to go. "Huh, who knew using items was so complicated?" Bethany grinned, but man was it a cool looking weapon! The little girl thought for a moment, then stood with her legs apart, in a low crouch. She started with the Gunbai held out the way Kirito held his from Sword Art Online. Then she brought it forwards in a horizontal slash. A few more quick slashes, paries, and blocks, and the girl thought that she was getting the hang of the way to fight with her new War Fan.
Self-teaching herself with this was working out to be pretty easy, she wondered if her Daddy would end up creating a special style of fighting for his Tachi. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The Gunbai vanished in a puff of smoke, and Bethany went and opened the door. Paul stood there, looking sheepish, "hey, can I come in, I wanted to practice with my Tachi" Bethany nodded, and stepped aside to allow her father into the room. Once the door was closed, Paul looked a little confused, "um," he looked around, then rubbed the back of his head, looking at Bethany. The red-head smiled, "here, I'll show you how to get it". She then explained the process she went through, showing her father how to find the weapons that were stored in his item menu. Once Paul had summoned his Tachi, Bethany sat down to watch him train and to get some rest.
After a few minutes, there was another knock at the door. Bethany sighed in slight frustration, what was with everyone coming to the dojo today? Paul released his summoning, and his sword disappeared. The young Uzumaki stood up and walked over to the sliding wooden door. Upon opening it, she saw Minato standing there. He looked up when the door opened and smiled at her, "hey, I just wanted to let you guys know that lunch is almost ready" he said. Bethany nodded, and she and her father followed after the blond boy.
ŅŴŔ
As the 26 all sat around the large table in the dining room of the Senju-Clan compound, Bethany spoke up above the chatter of the others, "excuse me everyone, I have something to say," almost instantly, all noise ceased. Despite only having been in the game for six days, the 26 comp winners all knew that when Kushina had something to say, you listened. Bethany took a deep breath, "the Hokage has told me that he has arranged for me to enter into the Ninja Academy, and has requested that I ask all of you whether you would like to as well," she paused to allow this to sink in, then continued speaking, "I won't assume anything, so I'll ask you now, do any of you want to enter the Ninja Academy?" Bethany's question was met with silence at first, then a flurry of 'yes's' and, 'of course's'. The young Uzumaki smiled.
"Alright then, I'll go tell the Sandamine, and in two day's time, we'll all enter the Ninja Academy" Bethany nodded. They would all become outstanding Shinobi and Kunoichi of Konoha, she was sure of it.
To Be Continued