Huh, never thought this day would come but here we are. Just one of my many Naruto drafts yet, this was one was the only one I felt semi-okay about uploading.
For the record, there will be no bashing or anything, just your standard nihilistic semi-narcissistic OC getting thrown in a world where a bunch of people try and stab each other with knives.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Welcome, to the Game.
Dark gold eyes blinked slowly, near owlishly as they trailed up to translucent letters.
"What... game?" He murmured, voice dry and cracked as the letters dissipated to a fine golden mist.
The Game, enjoy yourself Gamer!
"What is this?" The small child muttered, slowly sitting up as his thin blanket pooled in his lap. "The last thing I remember is..." A brief flicker of realization was the veritable switch being flipped as overwhelming sadness flooded over the boy's face.
"Blowing out my brains."
Silence filled the spartan room as the boy stared down at the grey blanket dimly, gold orbs catching sight of his small childish hand.
"I'm... small?" He paused at the sound of his own voice. "Ahhh." He tested the noise, brow pinching at the noise returned. "I've become a child?"
Thank you for choosing Reincarnation Central Services.
"Reincarnation?" The boy muttered, voice in disbelief as he stared at the teal translucent letters. Several pregnant moments of silence followed the muttered word, the wood room silent.
The boy numbly watched rays of sun shine through the window, ever so microscopic particles of dust grazing through the air under the light.
"Is this the cost of not being religious?" He questioned to the air, golden orbs sliding up to stare at a beige ceiling. "Well, I suppose hell isn't exactly what I thought it'd be."
Synopsis: The Tale of Uzumaki Akarā.
Born to Uzumaki Hana and Uzumaki Ryōta, Uzumaki Akarā is one of the few remaining pureblood Uzumaki's of the new age. Two years following his birth, the Kyūbi was unleashed upon his village.
In the ensuing conflict, both Uzumaki Hana and Uzumaki Ryōta lost their lives in battling the strongest Bijū. Due to his lineage and slightly matured chakra, the Yondaime Hokage chose to seal the Kyūbi within Akarā.
Now, ten years later he is graduating from the Academy of Konoha, with the strongest creature in existence sealed within him and his entire career before him; how will he proceed?
The Game, will now begin.
Akarā stared at the text for several long moments, not entirely sure what to think of what he was reading.
"So... reincarnation is me taking over some orphan's body? With... the strongest creature in existence sealed within me?" The boy stilled as a feeling of twisting and churning ran through him, something that was followed by his vision going dark.
Brown eyes fluttered open to a field that made him still. His head snapped to the side, ignoring the fluttering wheat as he stared down at his far larger body.
His hand combed over his own face, feeling each crease and dip as he sighed in relief, head thudding against the ground beneath him.
With a hand braced against the ground, the fully grown man rose easily as he stood to his full height.
Rich brown orbs swiveled as his gaze swept over the field of wheat around him, nothing but nature for as far as the eye could see as the man looked before him.
"It was all... a dream."
"Then why, am I here?" The man stilled as a voice deeper and darker than any thought possible rolled through the air, the feeling of hot breath wafting over the man.
He turned slowly, his gaze and neck having to crane up to take in the full sight before him as he became ever so momentarily paralyzed with sheer unadulterated fear.
Dark crimson met rich brown as sharp teeth pulled into a vulpine grin, the creature well over two stories tall as it stood on its haunches before the man. What should be paws were splayed into long clawed fingers, morbidly reminiscent of hands and far more terrifying than any simple beast paw known to nature. Nine long tails swished through the air behind it, blood orange fur ever so slightly tussled by the wind as its aura washed over the man like a noxious gas. Sweat dribbled down his brow and he felt the terror, rage, and fear that the aura invoked within him.
Despite never having seen or even heard of the creature before, only one word could come to his mind as he stared at the sharp, sickening grin.
"Kyūbi."
The word was quiet, almost so silent it was lost in the wind as the man whispered it out. The beast's grin seemed to broaden even moreso as it practically loomed over the man.
"Your fear is pungent, Human." The beast lowered itself to the point it's maw was practically inches from the man as he stared in blatant fear. The large vulpine took a deep sniff. "And it's absolutely... delicious."
With a snap, the creature's maw opened; the stench of rancid breath and a smell only identifiable as death wafting from its wide jowls. All too fast, the only thing that he could do was stare in macabre fascination as it lurched forward and its mouth took away all light.
A dull ringing filled the field, breaking him from his stupor of fear and death as his eyes slowly reopened. A faint, translucent blue barrier surrounded him, the sharp canines of the beast grinding against it to no avail.
He stared transfixed, still ramrod straight at the sight of those sword length teeth mere feet away from mincing him to nothing but thin ribbons and splintered bones, an inhuman fear clutching his heart with a grip colder than the deepest pits of the arctic. The fox slowly detached its jaw, flexing it slowly as its slit orbs stared into the brown ones of its prey.
"What is this? You are not my jailor."
Understanding rung through the man as he glanced down, a tag of paper stuck to his chest with black lines drawn on it that he could somehow understand as saying 'Seal'.
He gulped down his inhibitions. "I am." He found his voice as his eyes panned up, meeting the beast's eye.
It scoffed in derision. "Spare me your games Weakling, I would know the face of my prison." Before the man could react, its long arm drew back and sharp claws arched through the air for him. He flinched, eyes shutting once more only for that same dull ringing to sound.
Brown orbs slid open to reveal the fox clenching and unclenching its fist, he was unmoved. The man took a shuddering breath even as the demon growled lowly.
"Trickery? Where are your eyes Uchiha?" The beast spat, sheer venom and loathing in it's tone as it growled at the man.
He blinked at the question. "Uchiha?" The man returned, brow knit at the foreign word. "My new name is Uzumaki Akarā, not Uchiha."
"New?" The beast questioned, claws digging fissures in the ground wide enough to bury full grown men as its massive hate-filled eyes bore down upon him. Waves of malice and terror flooded the man, his body contorting in unadulterated fear. "Answer me!"
The man suddenly hunched over, bile rising up as he fell to his knees, the sight of the discolored liquid purging from his system as his retching sounded through the clearing, matting down the wheat at his feet. The mountainous fox scoffed in disgust, sneering down at the human before it.
"Pathetic, I've not yet done anything to you and yet, you cannot even stand in my presence." It growled, eyes taking in the scenery. "Answer me, Human."
The man gagged one last time, breath coming out in pants and short breaths as he ran the back of his wrist over his mouth. He stood on lame legs, knees weak as he gave a shuddery breath. Another cough force its way from his lips as he rose to his full height, meeting the fox's gaze with a frustrated glare.
"I've been reincarnated." The beast narrowed its eyes at him. "My real name is Joe Franklin, I am not of this world."
It scoffed. "Your lies are pitiful Human, I know of very few reincarnations and you are certainly not one." Kyūbi rumbled, long claw trekking through the field of wheat like it was a plow. "Leave me, I will not entertain these games."
In but a moment, the air shifted around him and the man was propelled backwards, his eyes widening in astonishment and fear as he raced towards the ground. Upon his impact, his eyes snapped open and they were once more golden, his surroundings having once more grown bland and plain.
He sat up, breathing heavily as a heat clung to him as though it were Summer. His head fell in his hands and he couldn't help but notice how everything felt so wrong.
New Mission
Testing the Waters
Take your Genin test and become a shinobi of Konoha.
Bonus: ?
Rewards: 1,000 XP, title of Genin, 'The Academy Three'
Bonus: ?
Failure: Another year at the Academy of Konoha.
Rank: C
Accept?
The boy rose his head to view the writing before him, the faint buzz of a translucent light echoing in his ears from their presence. They bobbed ever so faintly in the air before him, seemingly made of old pixels and odd glass as they glowed a dull translucent orange. His hand edged forwards as his fingers extended, tapping the bottom word and as though it was ending a spell, it all came undone; the words shattering into a fine golden dust that dissipated before impacting his bed.
Akarā's head sunk into the pillow beneath him. "It really is... a game." He mumbled, faint recollection of playing a few games akin to this with his brother rising to the forefront of his memories. His hand buried itself in his hair and every small detail only further pounded in the realization that he was not the same; from the thickness of his hair to the unwrinkled skin of his forehead, everything was off and wrong.
A trill sounded and his head rose once more, golden words shimmering into existence before him.
New Attribute(s)
Gamer's Vision
The Gamer can now see things that are unique to the Game that others cannot see.
Gamer's Body
Rest and food can regenerate the Gamer's HP and CP at different rates depending on the food and relative missing core points.
New Perk(s)
Gamer's Mind(Level 1)
Can be used to slow time, giving the Gamer the ability to think through his actions more and use that to his advantage. (To the outside, the Gamer simply moves faster than usual)
Cost: 50 CP
Effect: 2 seconds slowed by 50%
Akarā furrows his brow at the influx of information as they once more became nothing but golden dust in the air and then nothing but atoms. He heaved a sigh and pinched his thigh, absent-mindedly fiddling with the blanket as his mind worked more and more on these things.
The information continued to bounce around in his skull and he wasn't sure he even wanted to understand it.
A weight made itself apparent in the boy's pocket as he glanced down, noticing the slightly rectangular bulge in his shorts. He withdrew the shape, a relatively thin book.
His features twisted. "Exchanging my life for a child's, this was not my intention. Whichever divine being is hearing me and in charge of fucking with me, this was all for naught."
Akarā tossed the book aside, not noticing as it dissipated into simple particles as he walked to the side, nearing the window. He promptly slid it open, glancing down to notice he was easily three stories high in an apartment complex. A familiar feeling of nerves alongside an eerie calm trickled through his chest, the pros and cons of his decision quickly weighed as he listlessly stared down at the people going about their day.
He scoffed as he remembered the Kyūbi once more, its sheer malice and power alongside its hatred and willingness to kill him; the fact that it was within him was only more twisted. His gut pulled in guilt at the thought of the boy who had occupied this body before him, the boy who had had a whole life before him only to have some meddling god rip it all out from under his feet.
His decision was easy. "Well, I hope you find some other poor bastard to do this for you." The preteen muttered before pushing himself out of the window sill, head angled down as his eyes fluttered shut.
Nothing ever goes as planned.
Gold eyes shot open in pain as a hand slammed into his chest. "Ah!" The boy gasped as a strong force threw him back into the apartment, groaning as his head jerked against the ground. His breath left in hurried pants as adrenaline flooded his veins and his limbs tensed in expectation.
"That is more than enough of that."
Gold orbs snapped open at the voice, widening to their fullest at the sight of the balding man dressed in a white toga before him.
"Dad?" He whispered, astonishment in his voice and his features as he beheld the man before him.
The man gave a thin smile. "No, this is simply the form I've chosen to speak to you with." The man admitted, blinking once as his eyes became pools of blinding white light. Joe's brief elation sapped away as though he were a jug with a hole poked in the bottom; his emotions raged at the realization.
Joe felt no small amount of disappointment. "So, you're the God that put me here?" The man gave a nod, staring down at the boy with a series of emotions despite not being able to physically convey them.
"I am, though I am not a God; I am simply omnipotent." The man corrected lightly. "All God's are omnipotent but not all omnipotent's are Gods."
Joe scoffed. "Whatever. Just let me get out of this, I didn't end one life just to start another one."
"I chose you for this for a specific reason, you were not simply a random name I have reincarnated."
"Then-" The mans hand raised and any words were cut from the boy like cloth from a bolt of linen. Akarā felt anger settle in his bones at having had his voice taken away, his glare full of rage and wroth.
"You are one of a select few souls I chose to watch, a soul that has given me grief as one of your kind's creators. So, I have chosen reincarnation for you in this particular world. So that you may find what it is you lacked in your past world."
"A life?" The boy asked sardonically, rising to his feet to sneer at the being before him.
"Love."
The one word brought silence to the room as the two stared at one another, one with building turmoil and another with sympathetic indifference. Joe's fists clenched and his arms shook at just how tightly he was gripping his hands, his rage bubbling just beneath the surface of his skin.
"So you put me in an orphan!?" The boy hissed, swinging his arms about viciously. "In some lonely apartment in a made up world with a monster inside of me?!"
"It is because you've never attained it, that you would not know why you are in the ideal position to garner love. Love is something gained, not something given."
Joe snarled at the words, molten rage building in his veins. "Well, I refuse. I'd sooner die now than live a life of disappointment."
The man's eyes were sympathetic.
It infuriated Akarā.
"If you choose to kill yourself or warp events to end in your death, I will simply return and stop it once more." The boy's nostrils flared with indignation as he glared at the being.
"As if you'll be here every-"
"For you, I will." The boy was once more silenced by the being as it regarded him easily. "As one of your creator's, it is my fullest desire to see you all experience Love. To experience everything that we have created to make your life content. That, is my goal."
"I refuse." The boy spat, anger and pain flooding his face as he glared up at the being. "I refuse to be your lab rat so that you can feel better! There is nothing in the world for me, whether it be my world or this fake one!" Hot lances of fury and pain speared through Joe's chest as he felt his breathing quicken and his rage simmer at the face of sympathy before him.
A deafening silence ensued, the being doing nothing but staring down at the boy in a mixture of thought and pity.
"Very well." The being broke the silence. "I will instead, make you this acquiescence. If, you manage to bring peace to this world and stop all conflict; I shall release you from this realm."
Joe felt his rage bubble and pop like magma just beneath the earth's crust, unaware of the dangerous shade of brightness entering his golden orbs. His rage called forth power, his features twisting into something carnal as his hairs stood on edge and seemed to electrify. His eyes became dark and hooded, the sheen of sanguine prominent in its vibrancy as they glared up at the being with an agony and fury only found in the most pitiful of souls.
"World Peace?" He hissed, unnoticing of the way his teeth elongated and sharpened. "JUST FOR MY FREEDOM?!" Akarā's roar was followed by his red hot pupils slitting down the middle, his primal rage bubbling past the surface in the form of corrosive crimson chakra that pushed past the skin and encapsulated the boy in its embrace; it stoked his rage and his wroth, letting it roar in the flames of its own malevolent embrace.
The being was unbothered. "Yes. Or, you could simply find love and live your life as a common man. The choice is yours, but do note; suicide is not one of your choices."
And as easily as he had appeared, the being disappeared, leaving only rage and turmoil in his wake.
Akarā shook with his fury as his vibrant sanguine eyes directed their glare down to the floorboards as something within him cried to vent his rage, to decimate all in his rage until nothing but ash and ruin was left after he razed all before him to the ground. It whispered sweet promises of redemption and justification for his anger, honeyed words of promising limitless power so long as he funneled it into all those who dared breathe the same air as he.
However, the temptations did not take hold.
Joe stared down at his hand, eyeing the clawed fingers and the bubbling red aura that encompassed him to the point of him not being able to tell whose arm it was that he stared down upon. Before his eyes, the aura lessened and thinned as it slowly evaporated into the air around him.
The being had worn his father's skin. "That... bastard." He growled, anger already sapping away and leaving him drained of both energy and emotion. His nails had returned to their simple state and his eyes had long since became golden once more, the boy no different than he was upon his waking up.
A dim flash of words appeared in the center of his vision, drawing a withering glare from Akarā as he stared through the translucent letters.
Get ready and go to the Academy
"World Peace for my own freedom huh?" Akarā muttered, remembering the power and fear that the Kyūbi had invoked within him. "It's not like I have a choice, not unless I can get assassinated on my first day."
Silence answered him.
"Fine, I'll play this cursed game."
Please, enjoy your stay.
Wait for your assigned Sensei
Akarā rose his brow as a faint golden outline of a woman appeared through the far wall of the classroom, she seemed to be walking through the building and yet he had a sort of x-ray vision to see her; he garnered that she was to be his sensei and that this was his 'Gamer's Vision' to allow him to see her. He watched her idly with there being nothing better to do in the classroom.
The boy was sat alone in the class of loud preteens, many chittering about being taken to a Genin team or being chosen by a high-class Jōnin.
One common thread was their complete avoidance of the redhead in the back of the class though, the class laid out akin to a lecture hall with elevated seating and desks with Akarā at the highest level.
Most were sat in threes or more as they familiarized themselves with their teams, except for Akarā. The redhead idly glanced down near the bottom of the rows, a girl with blind eyes and a boy with a yellow marking on his right cheek and a pup in his lap. They were to be his team, something evident by the occasional glance they shot at him as well as the fact they were the only other people not in a team of three. He shrugged off any care for their acceptance, well aware that children would be children; though if they were aware of demon within him, he could understand their avoidance.
He nearly winced at the recollection that the Kyūbi had waged a one-sided siege of the village and had, apparently, killed a great many shinobi in the ensuing chaos and practically left most of the populace with a nigh phobic level fear of the tailed beast.
Yet another hurdle he'd have to clear to attain world peace.
"Team 2?" Akarā ripped his listless gaze from his two teammates and dragged it to the woman stood in the door, the golden outline nearly disappearing as she stood before him with nothing obscuring his sight of her, she was pretty in an obscure way and he found himself pausing at the hushed mutters as the other graduating students kept staring at the woman in open awe.
His lips twisted at the realization he was more than likely being taught by someone famous.
Joe idly noted her hair was several shades lighter than his own despite being under the same part of the color wheel; walking down the steps as he thought on their similarities. He briefly pondered whether it was logical for someone in a militaristic profession to have long loose hair before dismissing the thought, he knew little of this world and there might be some sort of Geneva Convention type laws in place about that sort of thing.
Her eyes lingered on him just long enough for him to notice. "C'mon!" The woman flashed a bright grin before the three were left following her out of the class, two several steps behind the solitary teammate.
Akarā scratched his cheek, not used to the long stares and whispers following him. He began to understand why the boy's closet was full of neutral colored clothing that covered his body.
Even now, the boy was covered in a hooded grey tracksuit and baggy cargo pants of the same color, headband present around his forehead. He had ignored the small stack of identical gaiter face masks in the closet though, he could understand now why the boy donned them all the time. He absent-mindedly pondered to himself that the likelihood of the populace knowing of the Kyūbi being within him seemed rather high.
He'd seen weirdos at school and even they didn't get ostracized this severely.
The quad of people carved through the building and eventually made it out of the large Academy, the red-haired woman turning to them with that same bright grin.
Joe found himself wondering if he'd ever met someone this happy in his true life.
"Try and keep up!" She declared with that same exuberance, flexing her arm before leaping away, leaving the three wide eyed as she leapt into the forest.
Do not lose track of your Sensei
Akarā scoffed. "What is this, a tutorial?" The boy muttered, surprising the other two moments before he ran off after the woman.
The spirit of a man pushed his legs as hard as he could, running the top speed of this child as he did so. He spotted a curtain of red tresses as he ran, stepping over and vaulting tree roots and limbs as the forest continued to get denser. Despite the fact he was pushing this body to the limit, it didn't even so much as making his breathing burn as he felt the same as he had when walking earlier.
Her amethyst gaze met his gold. "Oh ho, you're not too bad-ttebane!" She exclaimed, drawing narrowed eyes from the boy as she glanced further back. "But you're leaving your teammates behind."
Akarā ignored her words, continuing to follow her as she shrugged before taking a sharp right. He cursed slightly, kicking up grass as he stopped to sprint in the other direction.
He could barely see her now, the green of her vest and clothing near indiscernible from the brush and thickery as he pushed himself as hard as he could. His leg muscles began to sting and he did his best to ignore the feeling, disregarding the burning in his calves as he refused to fail his first mission.
His calves were beginning to convey their displeasure through a few pulsing throbs and Akarā frowned at how quickly he'd become hurt.
"It's odd, not having stamina." He muttered under his breath, not feeling the slightest winded from the brisk minute long run. He saw her leap again and narrowed his eyes.
The boy leapt at a tree, landing horizontally on the thick trunk and rocketing in the opposite direction he'd been running and his sensei had once more entered his line of sight. Joe twitched as the feeling of all these supernatural occurrences began filtering through his body like water in a beaver dam, all of it making sense and fitting despite him having no knowledge of it. Chakra and all of its oddities began falling into place as though it were an odd puzzle and the ability to manipulate it seemed to be at the forefront of his mind.
She spared a glance back at him and her grin merely broadened before taking a big leap forward and launching herself forward through the foliage of the forest. He nearly sighed in relief as her gold outline landed before simply standing there, waiting for him to join her.
Akarā burst from the tree line and into the clearing, noticing the river to their right and the large stumps on the other end from where he stood.
"Pretty fit little dude aren't ya?" She grinned, shoulders lifting ever so slightly with her breath as Akarā tilted his head at her question; not sure how to respond. After all, he couldn't exactly say that he essentially had bottomless lungs; the science of which was still very lost on him. However, the science of reincarnation, omnipotent beings, chakra, and alternate universes was also lost on him.
In the end he shrugged. "I like running."
She nodded slowly. "Well, just what I'd expect from my little cousin!"
"Cousin?" Akarā saw virtually no similarity between them except for the slight hair connection. She blinked herself before giving her brightest grin as of yet.
"I'm Uzumaki Kushina, the bestest Uzumaki around-ttebane! Most of the time you'll call me Kushina-sensei, but you can call me cousin too." Akarā hummed, not sure what to think of having family. He thought about asking her about the Kyūbi and her thoughts on it but decided not to, it didn't seem like the kind of conversation you have after just meeting someone.
He just gave her a small nod. "It's nice to meet you, Cousin." She grinned even moreso at his words, the moment broken by the sound of panting and heaving as the two other students entered the area.
Akarā turned, noticing their bent forms and sweating faces. He didn't doubt that he'd be much the same had this been his old life.
"Hehe, sorry, sometimes I get a bit caught up in my run." The woman apologized, sheepishly scratching the back of her head as the students stared at the two Uzumaki with withered glares.
"It's fine... Kushina-sama." The girl got out, doing her best to stand and grin weakly.
Kushina grinned. "That's the spirit!" The woman cheered, fists on her hips as Akarā returned his attention to her. "Now, you three have got your brand new shiny headbands, but that doesn't mean you're Genin yet!"
Joe watched the dog boy snap his head up. "What?" The other boy spoke up, face twisted in confusion as he slowly started to get his breathing back to normal. "Why not? We took the exam!"
To Joe, that shout was unwarranted. "Hothead." Akarā remarked, confused with himself on why he'd said that out loud. The dim realization that he didn't appear to have full control over his body yet was followed by a sharp glare from the dog boy.
Kushina raised her hands. "Now, now, no fighting." The woman declared. "No being annoying either."
Joe hissed as she cuffed him, meeting her grin with a glower as he rubbed the back of his head slowly. Despite the pain behind it, he didn't think he lost any actual HP; he'd have to figure out what quantified as actual damage per point in this world.
"As I was saying, you've gotta take my test to see if you're really Genin." She declared, fists on her hips as her lips pulled into a sharp grin.
Joe got an odd feeling at the way she had phrased that. "What test?"
"It's great that you asked!" She turned around, giving a sharp whistle to the opposite forest.
Maybe one second passed before the trees rustled and a ball of orange and yellow burst out. Gold eyes narrowed at the sight of the short boy decked in shorts and a hoodie who had sped across the clearing like it was breathing. He too seemed to have bottomless lungs with the way he wasn't even breathing harder than usual; it concerned Joe no small amount.
"Now, this here is my son." She placed a hand on his blond spikes, spikes that seemed impossibly held up considering her hand manipulated his hair in a way that would have been impossible if it was gelled. "He quite likes to... run off."
The boy seemed indignant at the words. "I don't run off, I go to go-" Her hand tightened on the blonde's skull, the boys hands shooting up. "Hey, hey, not cool, not cool!"
"Most of the time," The woman casually ignored her son's flailing. "It takes a team of about three Jōnin to run him down and catch him."
The blind girl huffed. "That's our test? Catch the Yondaime's son?" Akarā stilled at the words, eyes going from the woman that is his sensei and the boy beside her.
The title of the man who sealed the monster within him echoed in his ears as he stared at the boy. The Yondaime was the husband of his sensei and had put the Kyūbi inside of him, having married his relatives and he highly doubted that any of this was a coincidence.
He had questions.
Kushina smiled easily. "Yep, good luck! Naru-chan, you've got ten seconds." The blonde pouted, rubbing at his head as Akarā's eyes narrowed.
"You need to be nicer to your kid.." The boy mumbled, turning to run. Joe had to slow him down; if he had insane stamina too, a ten second lead would be practically impossible to make up.
"Naruto, the Yondaime is weaker than the Sandaime." Akarā blurted out, making the boy stop in his tracks as he turned to the taller boy. The blonde was predictably indignant and his features were twisted in the beginnings of an argument.
"Dad's totally the-"
"He's stalling you Naru-chan." The blonde's eyes widened before dashing away at his mother's words, dipping into the treeline just as the timer clicked. She gave Joe a small grin even as he scowled at the woman for having ruined his advantage. "You have one hour."
The trio didn't hesitate in running off, Akarā pulling ahead in speed as they ran headfirst into the forest that encapsulated them. The golden outline of Naruto had grown small with the distance and he came to the realization that he had been correct in thinking the blonde would be hard to catch.
Jump through the tree branches to catch up to your target
Akarā narrowed his eyes at the message, not sure how to do that but having seen it done several times now. The boy leapt into a squat before launching himself up... and up.
He cleared the leaves of the trees with a gasp as he sailed over the trees in their entirety, gravity starting to have it's effect as he began to once more fall to the ground.
The redhead winced, landing through the roof of leaves and breaking back down into the forest proper.
He hissed at the scratches he'd attained from the branches and twigs before he looked down, a scant few feet away from landing on a branch.
Gold orbs widened briefly before his feet planted on the branch, the wood cracking slightly under the strain of his chakra. He gave a small gasp of relief that he didn't just break his ankles thanks to the mystical energy lining his body.
The boy once more pushed off, leaping from the branch with only one foot and landing on the next branch. He shakily landed, near slipping off before he was pushing off through the air once more.
It was slowly becoming more natural, almost akin to trying to run on ice in dress shoes.
Joe still lamented that day.
The golden outline was far, no doubt the blonde having been using the tree running trick since the start.
"The Yondaime's son." Akarā murmured, pushing deep through the forest as thick grew thicker. "Maybe the Yondaime has answers for me." He so far knew nothing about the man other than he likely looked like Naruto due to the blonde looking very little like his mother and that the man had been able to beat and restrain the strongest creature in this existence. Akarā nearly shuddered at the memory of the Kyūbi's palpable power and the thought of a single man being able to overcome that...
What a monster.
He shook free of the thoughts as his red hair bounced and the boy twisted around a trunk, the golden outline slowly becoming larger as he got closer.
Naruto burst from overhead. "Dad's the best-ttebayo!" Gold eyes widened slightly as the boy darted past him, grinning all the while before running through the trees.
Akarā slammed to a stop on the next branch, the golden outline still the other direction from the blonde he'd just seen. His heart pumped faster at how close that Naruto had been to hitting him just now.
His brow furrowed. "A fake?" He murmured, not truly wrapping his head around it. He shook his head and pursued the outline regardless, disregarding the blonde he'd passed.
New Attribute
Tree Running
The capability to balance yourself through trees and other odd terrain, a skill all ninja are reliant on.
"Hm." The boy hummed, pushing off and continuing, not even seeing his teammates so far. "They were tired." He muttered, still surprised at not having any stamina limitations. "To be fair, I doubt I'd have lasted too long at this age either. And still..." His calves had once more begun to twinge and burn after the prolonged run that had proved to be less arduous with the sudden help of the blue energy coursing through him.
He caught sight of a sliver of orange and zeroed in on it, wide blue eyes meeting half-lidded gold in a brief glance.
Naruto blanched. "Oh c'mon! I thought I shook you!" The boy took off as Akarā fell into pursuit, both boys leaping from tree limb to tree limb. "Hey, Mom said we're related!"
Joe saw no point in not trying to further distract the excitable blonde. "I guess we are."
"That's cool, I've never had a cousin before! Heads up Cousin!"
Gold eyes barely widened in time as a large log came flying through the air. His arms snapped up to guard his face as the solid wood slammed into him. He could practically feel his bones creaking at the impact of the large tree log with his forearms.
Akarā was sent back, falling and crashing through the air before a heave left him upon impact with the ground.
-70 HP
The boy grasped at his chest briefly, dully noting that seventy seemed like a significant amount.
"Heh, gotta keep your eyes up-ttebayo!" Akarā huffed from the ground, gold eyes glaring into blue as Naruto wore a cheeky expression.
Akarā snapped up to his feet and Naruto gave a yelp at the sudden movement before leaping away, Akarā landing on the branch the boy had just occupied a moment later.
Naruto's snicker was loud. "Too slow! Ah!" The blonde ducked, the dog of Akarā's male teammate flying over his head. "Not cool!" The blonde leapt over a low tackle from the dog boy himself and crawled up the tree like he was a monkey. Akarā found his incredulity rising at the sight of the blonde crawling away and noticed that his seemingly blind teammate was stood on the ground watching them.
The blonde leapt away and the redhead himself dashed after the son of the Yondaime, his teammates teammates running after them both as they blitzed through the Spring air. Now that it was three on one, Akarā had the feeling he could get a bit more reckless with his actions and ways of chasing Naruto.
The older Uzumaki narrowed his eyes at the back of the blonde's head, noticing the boy was slower than them but still outrunning them.
Another two leaps followed before golden eyes caught sight of the cracks and splinters in the wood where the blonde would push off from, gaining fast propulsion in his leaps.
"Is that the CP?" Akarā questioned, words barely louder than a breath as he stared at the cracked footprints on each branch. Naruto practically flew away with the power behind that leap and Joe scowled, well aware of the fact that he'd have to get a handle on whatever it was his new cousin was doing.
He nearly sighed aloud at the realization he'd have to learn a new trick with this chakra that he knew nothing about merely a few hours after waking up here.
Joe presumed it was some type of inner feeling thing so mid-leap, he practically tried to force himself to crap as his foot landed on that branch. He was then left screaming as he ripped through the air faster than ever before, the orange outline becoming closer and closer on his map and he was actually able to see the blonde.
Far too quickly.
Naruto turned at his scream, wide blue eyes seeing his approach. "Oioioi-" Akarā slammed into Naruto with the force of a mule kick and sent them both careening to the side, thudding into three branches that cut away at his skin and clothes like sharp wires.
-100 HP
Both were left groaning on the ground and Joe was more than well aware of the fact that an accumulated 170 HP lost is more than likely dangerous for his health. He'd need to sleep or eat soon.
Akarā was the first to his knees, groaning at the pain tingling in his chest and limbs.
"Ya know Cousin," His gaze fell on Naruto who was still wincing in pain but smiling broadly. "I think you're not too shabby. I'm still way better though!"
Akarā quirked a brow. "Where's your headband then?" The boy promptly fell into sadness. That had been one of the few things that Joe'd been able to glean today; headbands marked someone being a ninja/shinobi. Apparently the words were synonymous with one another.
The blonde kicked the ground even as he stood. "Kaa-chan and Tou-san won't let me graduate early; they say it's bad for my health." He did air quotes for the latter sentence, drawing a raised brow from Joe who was still rubbing at the phantom pain in his chest. "It's totally not fair! They graduated early, why can't I?"
Joe didn't see the need to alert the boy of his mother behind him.
Her hand promptly clenched on his head in a vice-grip, Naruto's whines and loud protests ignored. "Because, you ungrateful little ball of energy; we were in a time of war!" She roared in his ear, making even Akarā wince at the loud noise before Naruto was plucked from his feet and sent flying into a tree.
Joe did not feel like commenting on the fact she was so willing to potentially kill her son; the boy now sat, hopefully, unconscious at the base of the tree he was thrown at.
"Now! I believe a congratulations are in order!" Kushina chirped, Akarā becoming aware of the fact his new 'teammates' were just on his other side. "However, you all displayed some pretty major flaws which is expected of fresh Genin. Hikari, you were too reliant on your senses and not enough on your own common sense." The dog boy grunted, clearly upset but not willing to verbalize it. "Mako, you can have the fastest little pokes in the world but if you can't catch your opponent; you'll never get to use those hands." The blind girl nodded, seemingly very willing to take advice from the red-haired woman and Joe pondered whether or not he should be seeing her as a venerable figure as well. "And Akarā, you went complete lone wolf and if this were a real scenario; you would have probably been lead into a dozen traps by how you just ran in their blind."
Joe felt a bit indignant at the fact that his 'problems' were more nitpicking and whinging than anything. If he cared, he'd argue but as it was... there was more important things to do than get into an argument with a woman who clearly had him beat in every regard. Besides, this was his first day, he didn't have those veteran paranoia instincts to check every corner for some hidden enemy lurking in the shadows.
To be fair though, he'd probably need that.
"But!" The woman resumed, beaming at the trio before her. "Very well done regardless, with time I can easily see you all becoming shinobi I'm quite proud of! Now, let's go truly meet each other over some well-earned food."
Joe wasn't sure if he even had to ever eat. Maybe the game erased that need? That would lead down the road of him being nothing other than some machine with a small moral compass...
He ripped himself from those thoughts as he felt his stomach clench in hunger, a welcome feeling.
"RAMEN!"
Naruto was awake.
Mission (Testing the Waters) Completed!
Rewards: 1,000 XP, Title of Genin, 'The Academy Three'
Bonus: Catch Naruto in the first ten minutes (✔)
Bonus Reward: 600 XP, Reputation gain with Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Kushina
Level Up!
2 Unused Statistic Points
5 Unused Perk Points
Joe could not fight back the sigh if he wanted, head lolling at the floating text. He lamented the fact he'd thought that he was getting the hang of everything to do with his new life.
"What, do you not like ramen too ya jerk!?"
Joe was sat at a weird restaurant where they cooked the meat themselves, Naruto had been told off by Kushina before they'd gotten here though so it was just the four of them. Though, Joe was not really a part of their conversations or mood; more focused on his new capabilities.
After some rather deep searching, he'd discovered several things. The main of which being that he had no real idea how video games like this worked but he had a vague idea that his was weird. He knew that most games had things like inventory, missions, boss fights, and cool weapons with stats.
None of those things had he encountered.
So far, all he'd been able to discern was a simple layout of himself in the form of a glowing pamphlet that no one else could see, at least that's the consensus he'd gotten to.
One one page had been a picture of him alongside a few things that cleared a lot up.
Name: Uzumaki Akarā
Title: Kyūbi Jinchūriki
Strength: 11
Endurance: 6
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 12
Personally, he felt as though there should be more than the bare basics but he wouldn't know if that was the norm or not for games. Those had been the ones for the Statistic points he'd gotten, both of which had gone into Intelligence since he figured he'd be doing an absolute metric ton of reading up on lots of stuff about this new world.
So far, he'd gotten the gist that they were in a city full of shinobi ninjas and normal people. This world was immensely behind technologically and yet, it wasn't. They had a few things like wireless radio but it seemed that advanced forms of weaponry eluded them.
Ironic for a society that seemed to be centered around military.
He'd learned that he was the lowest rank and that there were three, that the faces of their past leaders were on the mountain, that the Yondaime was the fourth leader, that the Hokage was the strongest supposedly, and that there were other cities with similar structuring.
Also, everyone seemed to look at him as though he were going to leap at them and bite out their throats. There were several possibilities but the logical one was that everyone was aware of the Kyūbi and that he housed it.
In which case, he understood entirely. That thing had been immensely terrifying even when he learned that he was practically immune to it. Something like the strongest creature in existence had that kind of effect.
And then of course, there was that other page.
Tree Running - Level 1
Gamer's Mind - Level 1
Gamer's Body
Gamer's Vision
He'd entirely forgotten about that Gamer's Mind thing if he were being honest. If it had been on his mind, he'd have used it to dodge that damn log to the chest. He wasn't entirely sure whether or not that ability slowed time or just slowed everything around him.
Probably best to test that sometime.
He let himself focus and glanced to the side to Mako, who was not blind after all, and noticed how she was practically as far away from him as she could get on the diner bench. Which, wasn't far since he was the one sat at the edge and her near the wall so it was sort of an awkward wall lean thing.
Even she was blatantly afraid of him for the Kyūbi, though no one said anything and that part was odd. He felt as though if he were so openly prosecuted someone would be ballsy enough to call him a name, spit at him, something. But no, everyone just sort of looked at him like a bomb ready to blow.
Joe paused as his mind went back to that synopsis from before, recalling the words it had used to describe the Kyūbi.
'strongest creature in existence'
'strongest Bijū.'
His eyes narrowed as his focus honed in on that one word, Bijū. If it were the strongest Bijū, clearly there were more of its kind. Massive foxes capable of carnage and destruction throughout the world. He needed answers for his questions, the question was who to go to for them.
Joe nearly slapped himself in the face as he came to realization that the one who knew how to trap it in an infant will undoubtedly know about the rest of its kind.
"Kushina-sensei." Their eyes turned to Akarā who'd not spoken the entire time. The Pomeranian sized dog in Hakari's lap did its best to glower at him.
Kushina simply grinned. "Thought you fell asleep on us."
"Can I speak to your husband?" She blinked, it was apparent that that was not what she had been expecting him to ask. Joe realized that she no doubt expected an addition to their conversation but he did not have one; he didn't even know what they had been talking about.
The woman snapped her chopsticks at him. "And what've you got to talk to him about that you can't talk to me about eh?" She seemed to take playful offense to his words but her quirked brow showed her intrigue in what the Jinchūriki wanted.
"I want to ask him about the Kyūbi."
Judging from the ways his teammates' breath hitched and Kushina's eyes widened slightly, that was not a common topic. His eyes panned around the restaurant that had come to a halt, many pairs of eyes focused on Akarā and a silence that could rival the aftermath of Pompeii.
Kushina broke it by slapping down a wad of bills, her grin returning as though nothing had changed. "Sorry about this you two, but we've gotta bail; meet back up at the same training ground, 7:00 sharp!"
Akarā could not have stopped her from grabbing his shoulder if he wanted, the next moment they were gone in a blur that made his vision twirl and his usually lead-lined stomach to clench. The feeling of the ground becoming solid once more beneath him almost had his knees buckling, almost.
He did his best to shake himself of the disorientation and stood upright, becoming aware of the sight of the blonde man sat behind the large desk blinking at the two of them.
He looked nothing like his bust on the mountain.
Though he could definitely see the resemblance between the man and his son, the same hair and eyes with everything else being entirely different. Joe'd been correct in that regard, though the man before him was far more pretty than he'd been expecting.
Kushina sat on the edge of the desk. "So, Akarā. Why do you want to ask Minato about the Kyūbi?"
The reaction from the blonde man was instantaneous, his face tightening and turning grave in a nigh frightening flip of emotions and expressions and those wide blue eyes had narrowed to sharp azure crystals.
Joe shivered slightly.
He was rather sure that the best policy here was honesty. "I wanted to know about it and all the Bijū."
"But why?" The youthful voice did not match with the man currently staring him down.
"It's inside me, isn't that enough?" Kushina flinched and even Minato seemed surprised by the words. Joe felt confusion flood through him, wondering if he'd gotten it all wrong and that not everyone knew it was inside of him. He then denied that line of thinking, Minato put it there.
The Yondaime steepled his fingers before himself. "Who told you?"
"Kyūbi."
That, was clearly not the answer he had been ready for and Minato recoiled sharply, leaning back in his chair as he did so. Kushina was glaring at Minato rather heatedly and Minato, to his credit, simply stared at the desk. Joe got the impression he'd opened quite the can of worms on them.
Kushina turned to him, seemingly conflicted about something. "What do you want to know?"
Akarā nearly salivated at getting some answers. "How many of the Bijū are there?"
"Nine, each having one more tail than the last."
"Is that why the Kyūbi is the strongest? Because it has the most tails?"
"Their tails are a symbol of their power, kinda. But, yeah."
"Are there others like me?"
"Yes, Jinchūrikis are a necessity to keep the balance."
Akarā furrowed his brow at the words. "Then who was the Kyūbi Jinchūriki before me?"
"I was."
Akarā blinked at that, caught violently off-guard by the admission. Joe idly realized just how much that explained in means of why she was his teacher amongst other things. His mouth worked up and down for several moments as he tried to make sense of that information. If it was in her, and she didn't die, then they must have let it out which led to a great many people dying.
"Then... why is it in me?" They exchanged a look that would almost certainly lead to a very tense atmosphere; and then it would lead to arguments and him ending up on the bad side of the man capable of subduing the Kyūbi. "Actually, I don't care."
Now it was their turn to be caught off-guard, both blinking at Akarā and Joe couldn't help but wonder how the actual Akarā would have gone about this. Probably meekly if his wardrobe suggested anyhthing.
Minato seemed the first to come to terms with what he heard. "You... don't?"
Akarā shook his head. "It will just make me angry won't it?" Kushina winced, as guilty an admission as she could give. "So why do I need to know?"
"That's... very mature." Minato said finally, pinching his chin as he stared at Akarā.
"Are there any other Jinchūriki in Konoha?"
"No, the Kyūbi is the only Bijū in Konoha's possession."
"You talk about them like they're not alive; like they're tools." Minato seemed a bit too calm at that accusation. "Which means their power can be used."
"Akarā." Kushina seemed very tense. "Don't try and take the Kyūbi's power. Me and my predecessor both tried; you can't control it, it's too powerful." He wanted to bash his skull into the desk. They kept a living creature confined at all times, never wanting to use its power? What was the point of keeping it around then?
"The Kyūbi's a sentient creature, it has to want something in exchange for its power."
"Akarā." This time it was Minato who called him, his face also equally stern. "You are not to attempt any sort of accord, deal, trade, or even trying to control the Kyūbi without myself and Kushina there." Joe felt that was rather unfair. "And I'm ordering this as your Kage."
Joe was sure his anger showed on his face but he didn't care, the realization that the power of the creature could be harnessed had been clear to him ever since he first experienced it when the being met him this morning. He remembered the temptations as well as the addicting power that consumed him.
How could he possibly attain world peace without that level of power?
Akarā glowered at his Kage before giving a nod and leaving, the door thudding shut with a tad more force behind it than someone who left happy; leaving the husband and wife to sit in that tense silence that had not left since Akarā's entry.
"A bit of warning next time please, Kushina." She shot the man a narrowed look and he rolled his eyes. "Kakashi."
The large window to the Hokage's left slid open, a silver-haired man poking his head in; nigh all of his face covered and despite that, his loose smile was apparent.
The man stepped through the sill, standing tall. "My team failed Sensei." He remarked, fingering the spine of a book that Kushina found pertinent to glare at. "I take it I'm to follow our resident ticking time bomb and make sure he doesn't blow?"
Minato shook his head in what seemed a mixture of mirth and exasperation at the young adult's antics. "Yes, please. If he tries to meditate, stop him."
"And when he tries to sleep?" The man asked, quirking a brow at his leader who heaved a sigh.
"Pray he fears my mandate."
Akarā let out a satisfied hum, tucking the book back into place on its shelf in the public library.
It was the shinobi only one, apparently there was a difference between the two libraries, and he'd found a book called 'Shinobi National History 101' which seemed made for his exact scenario. He'd learned that there were indeed several other countries, called lands in this world, alongside the other big four ninja villages as well as smaller ones in each land.
There had been three wars where the third war had subsequently ended when the Yondaime killed a thousand men in less than a minute; which was quite possibly the most terrifying thing he'd ever heard of considering the man did not have a gun, bombs, nukes, tanks, or even control over wood which was apparently a thing.
There had been practically nothing about the Bijū outside of the fact that one of the founders of Konoha, Senju Hashirama, had restrained all nine of them and pawned them off like it was an estate sale.
He couldn't fathom the kind of power used to control not just the Kyūbi but a conjoined forty-five tails worth of power.
Which seemed like a lot.
Unfortunately, there was no fathomable way for Akarā to get said power since it was a bloodline thing and only those of his line could possess it; which none had and Akarā was not even a part of his bloodline.
He'd also learned of the power dynamic in the world, with the Daimyō leading the land and the Kage leading the shinobi village of that land, assuming the land was one of the big five.
He even learned that Konoha was practically the indisputable strongest since it had won every war it had ever entered, something that led to it being the most prosperous village.
However, none of this really helped.
At the moment, he needed to bring a peace to the entire world somehow.
He could, of course, deduce several things that might be seen as helpful. Such as how Minato had soundly beat back an entire army and had not pursued war, instead settling in Konoha for peace which meant that the man himself likely craved peace instead of conflict. However, Minato seemed content with doing nothing to bring about this peace, more of a temporary stalemate until the other nations mustered up a force they thought strong enough to take on Minato and Konoha.
Joe'd also come to the conclusion that it was not common knowledge that Kushina had been the Jinchūriki before him since he had seen practically nothing but reverence for the woman throughout the village over the course of their short walk. Though, to be fair, it wasn't so much he'd noticed it as much as heard a few greetings along with the honorable honorific.
There was another big problem though: he had no idea how to bring about peace.
He was well aware of the appeasement strategy and was very well aware of the ramifications that it had, leading to the only real choice being might makes right. Which made sense since practically half of the world were warriors in some form or another.
Oh, and the chakra came in many forms. That had been rather explanatory.
At the moment, his only real fragment of a plan was adopting an Earth diplomacy and making a U.N of sorts. Joe groaned silently as he thought about how wrong that plan was; what with the livelihood of over half the world practically entirely reliant on conflict and peace bringing with it a substantial pay cut.
In the end, he simply shrugged before walking to his apartment.
He'd figure out the intricacies of world peace after he figured out how to have the might to enforce it.
"Kyūbi."
His leg was bouncing to try and trick the fear that those red eyes induced, that sanguine glare piercing through Joe sharper than any blade or jutsu, another thing he'd discovered, could do. The Bijū itself was sat on its haunches, glaring down at him with no small amount of wicked intent.
It huffed a large breath that rustled the wheat around him. "You still pretend with this farce?" It muttered, looming closer slowly. "Just like the rest of your kind, acting superior when your life isn't in danger but when it is; you squeal like pigs."
Joe did his best to ignore the sheer hatred in the fox's voice as its teeth bared in an open snarl, the low guttural growl grating on his ears akin to a mortar and pestle. He took a deep breath to try and trick the nerves inside him, once more affirming to himself that the fox could not harm him.
Dark brown orbs met burning ruby easily. "Since you're inside me, what happens to you if I die?" Its lip curled at him but he could see a twisted delight in its gaze.
"I'll gain my freedom before burning everything you care about to ash."
Joe refrained from commenting on the fact that he didn't care about anything in this world; so far it seemed rather terrible with the exception of Naruto and Kushina.
"You are the strongest being in this world but you're trapped here, with nothing to do and no one to attack except me."
His own death flashed before his eyes and Joe winced at the sight of seeing himself skewered on its claws, feeling the palpable bloodlust in the air as the Kyūbi's claws raked through the fertile soil.
Its breath was rancid. "A month, a year, ten years, a hundred years..." Its maw was mere feet away from Joe, its glare envisioning his death tenfold. "It is nothing to me, in the end I will be the one victorious as I have always been."
"But here you are, trapped in human after human." Kyūbi's nose curled in a snarl as its rancid breath wafted over him like a sea breeze. "As I told you, I have been reincarnated. I do not want to be in this world, I just want to be dead."
"Then die."
Joe shook his head at the suggestion. "My reincarnator has prohibited it, I've already tried and he stops me every time. He gave me an ultimatum; if I bring about world peace I may leave."
The large fox scoffed in amusement, rising to sit upright once more. "Then you will stay here forever."
"I don't understand this world." Joe admitted, now sat with his legs crossed. "It raises children happily to become murderers but they do not want me to access the ultimate power to end all potential conflict..." He trailed off, staring into the distant wheat with a foggy look in his eye.
"If you think I would simply give you my power, you are more idiotic than any human before you!"
"I offer a trade." Joe rebuked, craning his neck to meet its glare. "Share with me your power, then when I achieve peace I will gladly kill myself and allow you your freedom."
"Your lies are pitiful." Joe narrowed his gaze at the realization the fox thought he was lying. "Not only will you never gain peace, but no human would kill themselves so simply, allowing me to kill everyone and destroy everything."
"I am not lying. I want to die more than anything else in both this world and my last world. I do not know how I will get peace, but I will. I don't care about anything in this world, it's entirely fictional and made up."
"It is as I said, you are more idiotic than any human before you."
With a blast of air, Joe felt himself being propelled from his own mind before waking up in a cold sweat. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed into it, glaring at the ceiling above him.
Fully Rested
He pushed himself from the bed, the cold tingle of the wood floor welcoming to his too warm body. Akarā stood, meandering deeper into the apartment and shrugging on his clothing before sparing a lasting glance at the stack of gaiters. He tugged it up, the feel of the fabric tight on his skin brought an odd comfort while he slipped out of the apartment. He did not care that the moon was high in the sky nor that there was a cold bite in the air that nipped away the warmth in his limbs.
It was serene and calming in a way, the steady night life of a shinobi village was more akin to how he expected a small town's nightlife to be like. He wouldn't know of course, having lived in L.A nearly his whole life.
The apartment complex he was in appeared to be near the center of the village if the large mountain was any indication, so there was a somewhat active amount of people milling about but nothing too raucous. No raving druggies or bumbling drunks, he snorted at the thought of a drunk shinobi.
Not so many people looked at him so late at night, most were more focused on themselves which was fine by him.
After all, his hood was down and that very distinct crimson hair was on full display. He'd had rather long hair in his actual life so he didn't care for the somewhat shaggy hair, more annoyed than anything that he'd have to go through the process of growing it out.
The dull roar of a nearby bar reached his ears, the warm light shining through its windows as as its patrons went about enjoying their night.
He peered in as he passed, seeing well over two dozen people filling the cozy bar in a sea of glinting headbands; a shinobi bar fully occupied. He pressed on, putting the thought of drunk warriors out of his mind and peered at the great many lanterns that lined the street in an odd fashion he was not familiar with whatsoever.
He chalked it up to the Asian basis that this world had, walking down the street simply as the cool air continued to comfort him, wrapping him in the embrace of stagnant air. He fiddled with a loose string at the hem of his sleeve, the hoodie old and worn in; the once dark grey had become faded and a lighter color. His breath was ever so visible, condensing the air into a light fog with every exhale.
A loose grin cracked his face as he made it down the street, the feeling of the mask on his lips having grown warm with the moisture of his breath; golden orbs slid up slowly and spied the sign with a rather infamous symbol upon it.
He pushed his hands into his hoodie pouch, absent-mindedly thumbing the bills in said pouch as he pushed the door open with his foot; the jingle of the bell overhead an idle comfort that shared its feature with his true world.
Akarā shrugged off his hood, golden eyes meeting the dark ones of the cashier. "Bit late for a kid like... you." The man's lip curled as he recognized Akarā and Joe was half-tempted to just roll his eyes. "What?" The man growled, uncaring of his blatant derision and Joe was equally uncaring of this village's hatred towards the Kyūbi; he could understand why it existed.
"Pack of smokes and a lighter." The man continued to sneer down at Akarā, his gaze flickering between the headband and his eyes. "I have ID if you need..."
The man scoffed, slapping down a pack of the coffin nails. "Forty ryō." The man put a little wood lighter beside it. "Fifty ryō." Joe might not know the conversion rate yet, but he got the feeling he was being scammed.
He thumbed the bills again. "Got any metal ones?" The man grunted, taking away the flimsy lighter and shoving down a packaged metal one.
"Eighty ryō." Akarā rolled his eyes but complied, withdrawing several twenties and a few tens. The man swiped the bills quickly. "Tch, hope you choke and die on the damn things."
Akarā scoffed. "Here's hoping." He slid the pack and lighter off the counter, tearing through the thin cardboard packaging for the lighter as he moved from the store. The bell of the door jingled behind him as he moved into the street, discarding the box into a can beside the door even as he opened the top of the pack.
He tugged his mask down and felt the familiar comfort resting on his lips, the lighter flicking open on his thumb.
"You know, Kushina really hates cigarettes."
Akarā paused mid-movement, eyeing the tall man beside him with gravity-defying hair; the man even had one of his eyes covered and his own mask identical to Akarā's own. A low scoff escaped the youth as the lighter ignited, the stick igniting and swiftly burning as he inhaled.
The smoke burned at his throat comfortably, his eyes nearly shutting at the familiar pleasure of the smoke in his mouth before he blew it out just as swiftly. The smell filled his nostrils and he turned his gaze to the man beside him, a book held in one hand and his eye on Akarā.
"Pretty sure she can't exactly stop me." The tall man shrugged, thumbing a new page despite not even appearing to read it. "Want one?"
"I don't partake."
The redhead shrugged. "Name's Akarā, though I take it you already know that."
"Indeed I do; Hatake Kakashi." Akarā slowly nodded, extending a hand for the other ninja to shake and he was taken on his offer after a pause. He took another drag as the man let his hand go.
Akarā let his back hit the cold stone of the store wall. "So, you know Kushina well?" He was probing and the older man could clearly tell. Akarā forced down a cough that only ended with an even louder cough as he choked on the smoke. Kakashi pretended it didn't happen.
"Well enough."
"You know the Yondaime?"
"You could say that."
"I take it that you're keeping an eye on me then?"
"You could say that."
Akarā snorted in a mixture of amusement and disbelief, eyeing the high moon as he let the smoke trail from his mouth. "It's probably three in the morning, the hell are you doing still watching me?"
The man gave a smile that closed his eye. "I do my job very well."
Akarā gave a slow nod. "So, if I let out a bunch of Kyūbi chakra you'd put me down?"
The man didn't bat an eye. "Faster than you could blink." Akarā cracked a wry grin at the instant response, taking another long drag of the cancer stick. "You seem different, Akarā-chan." The redhead quirked a brow at the honorific but waved the Jōnin on to continue. "Well, to try and put this nicely, your shadow isn't making you jump as much as it used to." Akarā shrugged.
"What can I say? The headband changed me." The tall man let out a long hum that conveyed blatant disbelief but neither of them acknowledged it. "Shouldn't you be asleep? Probably got something big to do for the Yondaime don't ya?"
"Meh, I'd argue that ensuring the Kyūbi's potential escape is rather big."
Golden eyes rolled. "You're all so deathly terrified of the thing, why not just put it in some kid and bury him in the ocean?" Kakashi, to his credit, merely raised a brow at the morbid thought process.
"Considering the fact that then it will be somewhere we can't fight it nor seal it? I'd say there's enough reason." Akarā grunted, acknowledging that Kakashi had a point as he tapped off the dead end of the smoke. "So, Akarā-chan, have you learned your lesson and promise to be a good boy?"
"What's my lesson?"
"To not bite off more than you can chew."
"I'd say it's pretty ironic that the people who stuck a monster in me without a care now wanna throw a bitch fit just because I want to use the thing they gave me."
Kakashi blinked agonizingly slow after the statement as his book snapped shut. The smoke from Akarā's cig gently dragged itself between them even as a rather pregnant silence ensued.
"Rather... interesting, vocabulary there Akarā-chan. One might even consider it slander against the Hokage"
Akarā flinched at the not-so-subtle threat and took another drag from the coffin nail, pulling his gaze from Kakashi.
"Maybe he deserves to be slandered, killing a thousand men in one minute, putting monsters in infants; where's it end? Where does he stop being the good guy and start being a dangerous man?"
The feeling of an iron-like vice clamping on his shoulder nearly had his knees buckling as he fought back the urge to hiss in pain.
"He ended a war by killing those thousand men, stopping the future deaths of thousands more; one infant's life being changed in exchange for him saving countless lives here in Konoha. He's a good man and your boss, remember that."
Akarā shrugged off the grip, moving away and choosing not to pursue the argument with a philosophical debate of biased perceptions of right and wrong. Kakashi watched him leave before disappearing in a blur of movement and leaves, Akarā giving a sigh as he was once more alone, stomping the cigarette beneath his heel as he tugged back up his gaiter and stuffed his hands in his hoodie pouch.
"Tomorrow's a new day."
First Naruto thing I've uploaded in quite a while, let me know how I did I guess.