Granted it was aimed at 6 and 7 year olds, but the first year Academy classes were a major disappointment to me. I wasn't expecting training like they did back during the Warring Clans Era where you were basically given a kunai and thrust into the battlefield from the moment you would walk and talk. But this was so watered-down from any real degree of what I considered training that it was pathetic.
On the plus side, I got to see Naruto and Chouji everyday, and of course Shikamaru but we lived together so that didn't count. Naruto often came over to do homework and just chill with me and Shikamaru after school, and Yoshino had no issue with cooking for an extra mouth. Naruto stuck to me like glue, for the most part. He was determined to keep close to his first real friend.
Our first free Sunday, I was meditating, just trying to still my mind and body, when it felt like I crossed some mental tipping point. Then, like a veil being lifted, I felt my chakra for the first time.
[Quest Complete! Unlock Your Chakra! 500 EXP!]
[Level Up!]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 7
EXP: 200/700
HP: 3500/3500
SP: 140/140
CP: 555/555
Attributes:
STR: 15
DEX: 13
VIT: 35
INT: 23
WIS: 18
LUK: -95
Available Attribute points: 10
"Yatta!" I cried. I did some quick deductions. My Chakra Points was the average of my Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom times 10. Made sense, since chakra was a mix of Yin and Yang and those stats described my body and mind. Vitality was more my life force itself instead of my body's energy, and Luck was just an ephemeral quality that decided how the universe felt about me.
I debated how to allocate my Attribute points. Well, Vitality was still my highest priority. But that negative Luck stat… I didn't want to die before I became effectively invincible because I walked under a falling piano or something. I figured it would be worth at least getting it to a neutral 0. Decision made, I allocated 5 stats to Vitality, 2 to Wisdom (which was harder to train than Intelligence), and 3 to Luck.
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 7
EXP: 200/700
HP: 4000/4000
SP: 140/140
CP: 177.5/177.5
Attributes:
STR: 15
DEX: 13
VIT: 40
INT: 23
WIS: 20
LUK: -92
Available Attribute points: 0
That done, I rushed to the backyard to grab a leaf off a bush. Then I dropped into the lotus position, stuck it to my forehead, and tried to focus my newfound chakra to that spot.
[New Skill Created!]
[Leaf Concentration Exercise (Active) Level: 1
Use your chakra to stick a leaf to your skin. Passively increases chakra control and efficiency by 1%. Scales with level. Active use costs 1 CP/sec/leaf.]
Ah. Doing the math, I could maintain the Leaf Concentration Exercise with one leaf for a little under 3 minutes. Though I was leery of draining my chakra all the way to 0. Best case scenario, chakra exhaustion. Worst case scenario, death. I resolved to maintain the exercise until my Chakra Points reached 10 and then let them recharge before restarting.
I maintained the exercise for almost 180 seconds until I called it quits. It occurred to me that I had been a bit reckless rushing into a chakra control exercise without an adult's supervision. I rushed to Shikaku's office.
"What is it, Kichirou?" he asked once he let me in.
I grinned and held the leaf to my forehead. It stayed put when I let go.
His eyes widened. "You've unlocked your chakra already? And you've already figured out the Leaf Concentration Exercise?"
"I read about it in a book," I said. I actually had, but I'd mostly relied on my meta knowledge to know how it worked. "I was meditating and then whoosh! I felt this blue fire under my skin. I just had to try it out! Sorry for not getting you right away."
"You could have hurt yourself, kid. Don't rush into anything ninja-related without an adult to make sure you don't do anything dangerous," Shikaku scolded. Then his stern expression vanished. "That being said, congrats. I didn't unlock my chakra until I was 9."
I showed off my new trick to Shikamaru, and he just muttered 'troublesome' and went back to cloud watching. I noticed from counting and measuring that my CP regen rate was my INT/min. At an Intelligence of 23 points, I recovered 23 Chakra Points a minute. Which meant it would take me almost 10 minutes to go from near empty to a full tank of chakra. That was forever in a real ninja fight. But the only surefire way I knew to level up Intelligence was playing strategy games, reading philosophy and other subjects that forced me to think and change how I saw the world, and using Attribute points. By comparison, grinding Strength and Dexterity was as simple as working out in my room overnight. I only slept when I was mentally fried and needed a quick breather. Otherwise, while others slept, I was putting my nose to the grindstone.
The next day, I showed the Leaf Concentration Exercise (which I had leveled all the way to Level 6 overnight, for the record) to Naruto. He gaped and then resolved to be the next to unlock his chakra out of the whole class. I believed him, actually. He had so much chakra it was practically leaking out of him between his Uzumaki heritage and Kurama's Yang half inside him. A good half hour of honest meditation and he'd get the trick, I was sure.
And sure enough, when I managed to get Naruto to sit still and seriously attempt meditating at the Nara house after school, he literally flared with blue fire I knew was chakra so intense it was visible. I used Observe on him
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Title: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 5
EXP: 200/500
HP: 750/750
SP: 125/125
CP: 9000/9000
Attributes:
STR: 15
DEX: 10
VIT: 75
INT: 4
WIS: 7
LUK: ?
Okay, what the fuck? His CP was literally 1000 times the average of his Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom. Must be a perk, either from being an Uzumaki or a Jinchuuriki, possibly both. And damn, son, that Vitality stat. Definitely an Uzumaki-based Perk. They were known for two things after all: Fuinjutsu and longevity.
"Wow! I feel awesome! Like I could jump to the top of the Hokage Monument!" Naruto gasped.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You're not an ordinary human anymore, but you're still just a little kid. Let's get Shikaku-ojisan," I recommended.
Shikaku congratulated Naruto on his accomplishment, which made him all but go 'aw, shucks' and melt. Then Shikaku offered Naruto a leaf and explained how he was to focus his chakra to his forehead to make the leaf stick to it.
And that's where we ran into a problem. The leaf was repelled like a magnet from Naruto's skin. "Eh? What'd I do wrong?" Naruto asked.
"That kind of repulsion usually means you focused too much chakra to that spot. Use less," Shikaku coached.
Naruto tried 4 more times, getting the same result each time. "Ahh, come on! I'm using the smallest amount I can but it's still too much!" Naruto whined.
"According to my Observe, you literally have over 50x as much chakra as I do," I pointed out. "Your chakra control must naturally be so low you can't bring a small enough amount to use on the leaf properly," I argued logically.
"So what do I do?" Naruto asked, frustrated at his lack of progress.
I turned to Shikaku. "Are there any chakra control exercises that burn through reserves and don't require quite as much precision?"
Shikaku thought about it. "Well, it feels like running before you can walk, but there's always the Tree Walking Exercise."
Shikaku took us to a healthy old tree in his backyard and demonstrated the ability of almost every ninja to spit in the face of gravity. Naruto had stars in his eyes, and I too was rather impressed. Under Shikaku's supervision, we both tried it. I recommended to Naruto that he try to get his foot to stick to the tree in the first place and try walking up a step at a time instead of just sprinting at the tree and hoping for the best. I focused chakra to my feet, much more than I used for the Leaf Concentration Exercise, and laid it on the tree.
[New Skill Created!]
[Tree Walking Exercise (Active) Level: 1
Use your chakra to stick to a vertical or horizontal surface. Passively increases chakra control and efficiency by 1%. Scales with level. Active cost of 10 CP/sec.]
Okay, with my puny reserves, I could do this for less than 20 seconds. Naruto could manage it for almost a quarter hour. Shikaku was right, I'd focus on the Leaf Concentration Exercise. But Naruto, by dint of being a freaking Energizer bunny of chakra, could use this exercise until he had good enough control to use the Leaf Concentration Exercise.
I stayed on my grind, doing the laughably easy homework for the Academy, hanging out with my friends and doing light training during daylight hours, and then working myself to the bone in the privacy of my room from dusk to dawn.
There wasn't a Quest list that I could find, so I didn't know what rewards I could get for certain actions. I sort of just went with my gut. One night, when Shikaku offered to treat me and Naruto to Ramen Ichiraku, I exploited Gamer's Body to actually beat him at an eating contest. And that's how I cracked Level 10 and got a new Perk and Curse in one stroke.
[Quest Complete! Slay the Ramen King! Beat Naruto in a Ramen Eating Contest! 1500 EXP, Glutton Perk, Eating Rival Curse.]
[Level Up!]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 10
EXP: 50/1000
HP: 500/500
SP: 185/185
CP: 235/235
Attributes:
STR: 21
DEX: 16
VIT: 50
INT: 30
WIS: 27
LUK: -86
Available Attribute points: 10
Available Perk points: 1
[Perk: Glutton
Restorative effects of food items increase by 50% when HP is below 30%]
[Curse: Eating Rival
Every time you eat with your Eating Rival (Uzumaki Naruto), it is a contest. A loss will result in a deduction of 5 LUK points.]
Oh, come on! Now I had to outeat Naruto whenever we went out together? My only chance of winning was if he had to pay for himself and I exploited the fact he barely had two ryo to rub together. But Luck was already my dump stat, I didn't want to be even further in the red when it came to that. Now, what the hell were Perk points?
I thought 'Perks' with weight and got an option screen. Most of them were grayed out due to me not meeting an Attribute requirement or finishing a certain Quest first. But from what I could tell, Perk points would let me select the Perk of my choice. I saw one I just knew I had to have, it complimented my Nara's Intellect Perk perfectly.
[Perk: Overflowing Yang
You have an overactive Yang energy. Gain +2 STR, +1 DEX, and +1 VIT with each level.]
Now every Attribute but Luck would naturally increase with each level even before I allocated points. And if there was a Perk for that, I'd get it with the next Perk point, whenever I received one.
I decided how to level and regarded my 'Status' screen.
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 10
EXP: 50/1000
HP: 5500/5500
SP: 185/185
CP: 240/240
Attributes:
STR: 21
DEX: 16
VIT: 55
INT: 30
WIS: 29
LUK: -83
Available Attribute points: 0
Available Perk points: 0
The next major event of note was the Mid-Year Exams. It was kind of a Big Deal, this would be the first time we could see class rankings and get a definitive idea of where each of us were in the pecking order. We did a 3 hour test on everything we'd covered so far that year, then went to the training yard and did AMRAP tests for each major exercise and a timed quarter-mile lap.
The Exams were on Thursday and the results were announced Saturday. "Class Rankings:" Maeda-sensei announced, making us all go silent. "In 5th place… Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto restrained himself from shouting "Dattebayo!" at the top of his lungs by the skin of his teeth, but he was practically vibrating with glee and excitement.
"In 4th place: Kiba Inuzuka. In 3rd place: Hyuuga Hinata. In 2nd place: Uchiha Sasuke. And in 1st place: Nara Kichirou. Now, I will hand out individualized reports on your test scores so you can see where you excelled and where you can improve."
I blinked in shock as I got my report. Naruto nudged me with his shoulder. "What's with the face? You're smart, and you work 3x as hard at training as anyone in this room besides me. Of course you're top of the class!"
"I honestly didn't expect this," I said. It kind of hurt my head, the idea that I, a foreign soul to this world, could beat the natives at their own game. Sure I had the Gamer power, and yeah, I had the knowledge of Madara and Kaguya as final bosses to motivate me to 'git gud' ASAP, but still… wow.
After handing out the reports, we went over what we'd be learning the next semester and the large review packet to do over winter vacation to make sure we didn't forget everything we'd just done on the Exam. Then the lunch bell rang, and we were free to go if we felt like eating elsewhere.
Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji and I were walking away towards the Akimichi Clan Compound to hang out at Chouji's house for the afternoon. Then I distinctly heard "Wait! Kichirou-san!"
I turned and blinked. Uchiha Sasuke had run up to me. "May I help you, Sasuke-san?" I asked politely.
"Um… I was hoping you'd let me read your exam report. I want to see where you beat me so I know what to work on for the Final Exams at the end of the year," Sasuke asked, looking like he felt awkward.
"Sure thing," I agreed easily. I didn't define myself by arbitrary rankings based off of test scores. Arbitrary number values in my 'Status' screen, that was another matter.
Sasuke took out his own report and looked between them. "Ah, I see. You scored higher than me in everything but History, and you got more reps in every exercise even though I beat you at the quarter mile."
"History is my weak point and you're pretty fast," I nodded in confirmation. "Just up your muscle conditioning and dedicate another hour or two to flash cards and studying other subjects and you're golden."
"You don't seem threatened by me knowing exactly what to work on to beat you as the top of the class," Sasuke noted with a moue of confusion.
"Sasuke, test scores in the Academy mean jack squat in the long run. You know Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Fourth Hokage's sensei, one of the most famous and powerful shinobi Konoha has ever produced? He was Dead Last of his graduating class. Some people don't apply themselves in school, some just learn better through experience than book learning. Nobody can predict how your life will turn out until the day you die and your story ends. Go ahead and take top of the class. I'll still end up the best shinobi in history if I have my way," I explained.
"You seem rather… ambitious for a Nara," Sasuke said delicately.
"Well, my parents' house fell on top of me during the Kyuubi Attack. Maybe I have a special kind of brain damage that makes me the Determinator," I chuckled.
"Oh, that's awful!" Sasuke gasped.
"Eh, it's in the past," I shrugged. "Anyway, nice talking to you, Sasuke-san. If you ever want to chat and compare notes about training, you can always sit with us at lunch."
"I'd like that. I… don't really have many real friends. I have people I hang out with, but they seem to care more about Uchiha Sasuke than just Sasuke, know what I mean?" Sasuke said, looking very vulnerable and reminding me he was just 7. Which was the age he was during the Uchiha Massacre… fuck me running, I needed to become this kid's support system quick. Before he got mind raped by his loving but misguided older brother and succumbed to the Curse of Hatred.
I waved Sasuke off and then continued the trip to Chouji's house. Naruto was oddly subdued. While Shikamaru and Chouji went to pick out a movie to watch and get snacks for us all, I turned to him. "Okay, why are you upset? I can tell when you're upset, Naruto."
"Your parents were killed in the Kyuubi Attack," Naruto said dully.
"Yeah, so?" I shrugged, not seeing the big deal.
"I'm… I'm the Jinchuuriki. That means your parents' murderer is inside me," Naruto said in growing horror.
I saw where this was going and I did not like it. "Okay, stop with the misplaced guilt. I don't blame you. I don't even really blame the Kyuubi."
"How can you not? Kichirou, it killed both our parents!" Naruto said, getting really worked up.
"It's a Bijuu, a living force of nature. Do you blame an avalanche or tsunami for killing someone? No, that's just the way it works. It acted on its nature… and for the record, I don't like calling it 'it'. I haven't met them, I don't know whether they identify as male, female, or something else. You can't apply human morals to a Bijuu, Naruto, the Kyuubi is fundamentally not human. They are something else entirely, playing by their own rules, and you can't judge them for their actions the way you'd judge a human," I explained my stance.
"Huh," Naruto mused.
At that moment, Chouji came back with bowls of popcorn, potato chips, and pretzels while Shikamaru picked the 'least troublesome' movie that was suitable for our age group. We settled in for a fun afternoon with friends, and I hoped I stopped Naruto from developing an irrational dislike or outright hatred of Kurama.
We enjoyed our 10 days off, and on a Tuesday went in for the second semester of the year. To my intense discomfort, a Kichirou fanclub seemed to have formed with a few civilian girls and even a couple boys. I was pretty sure the guys were just having GAR moments aimed at me instead of being into yaoi, but you never knew. Naruto laughed his ass off when one girl came up to me at lunch and 'confessed' her 'undying love'. I let her down as gently as I could think to do, but she still ran away in tears.
After class, we went back to my and Shikamaru's house. I was playing Shogi with Shikamaru while doing the Leaf Concentration Exercise with 4 leaves. There was a knock on the door, and Yoshino went to answer. "Boys? Did you invite Uchiha Sasuke to come over?" she called from the door.
"He has an open invitation!" I called.
Sasuke came up to us where we were chilling in the living room that opened to the backyard. Not that the doors were open, it was January after all. "Um… hi," Sasuke greeted with an adorable blush. Ooh, I just wanted to chew his cheeks like taffy… okay, do self-reflection to see if I have a shota fetish.
"What brings you over? Not that we mind, just wondering," I posed, even as I moved a piece. "Check," I told Shikamaru.
"Wait, what?! How'd I miss that?" Shikamaru gaped at the board before going into his thinking pose.
"I told my parents how I got an offer to join your 'study group' and they encouraged me to spend as much time with you as possible. To be honest, I just wanted an excuse not to be stuck in the house. Things have been a bit… tense at home. I don't know why," Sasuke said, plopping down on a couch next to where Naruto and Chouji were playing with a couple handheld video game consoles that Shikaku had gotten us as Christmas presents. And why a world without Christianity still celebrated Christmas, I did not understand. I think it was more about the Winter Solstice, but we still had a decorated tree and everything. Now that I think about it, Santa Claus was kind of a ninja with the sneaking into homes and his information gathering. And I was dedicating way too much mental energy to this train of thought.
"Well, feel free to chill with us. We tend to alternate between an hour of relaxing and an hour of training until dinner or leaving to go home," I explained to the Uchiha. In my own mind, I knew the 'tension' at home was from the Uchiha Clan gearing up for their ill-advised coup attempt. All I knew about the Uchiha Massacre was Sasuke's age at the time and the fact there hadn't been snow on the ground. It could happen as early as March.
Curious, I used Observe on Sasuke.
Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Title: The Spare of the Uchiha Clan
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 9
EXP: 475/900
HP: 140/140
SP: 170/170
CP: 460/460
Attributes:
STR: 15
DEX: 19
VIT: 14
INT: 25
WIS: 33
LUK: 12
Hmm, double the Chakra Points he should have, must be a Perk. I wondered what level I'd have to get Observe to in order to read a person's Perks and Curses or what Skills they had. And yikes, that title was a serious burn. Is that honestly how Fugaku saw Sasuke? The spare if Itachi died on a mission or something? I would not mourn the man.
I turned back to the Shogi board as Shikamaru moved himself out of check, but the match was a foregone conclusion. I'd read a number of Shogi manuals (they were all over the place, this was the Nara Clan Compound after all), and I could see I'd beat him in 3 moves no matter what he did. Shikamaru was a typical Nara, satisfied to rest on natural talent and never try to refine his style beyond experience over time.
Sasuke joined our 'study group', but we all knew it was just a group of bros hanging out and squeezing in training to feel productive. Sasuke never invited us to his house, and I appreciated it. You must be able to cut the tension in the Uchiha District with a dull kunai as the coup came closer and closer. I got to meet Itachi when he picked Sasuke up from the Academy one day, and I didn't even try to Observe him. I had the bone-deep certainty I'd fail like I had with Hiruzen. He seemed so… normal. Even knowing he was a phenomenal prodigy and capable of atrocities in the name of protecting Sasuke, he struck me as an ordinary guy. Real mellow vibes.
Sure enough, in April, a couple weeks after my 8th birthday, Sasuke missed class and every other Uchiha student in the Academy was absent as well. Rumors ran rife, but Hiruzen was keeping a tight lid on it. But I had meta knowledge.
I went to the hospital. I distracted the receptionist and used Observe on the registry of patients in front of her, getting me a mental copy. I found the room where Sasuke was resting and left the entrance area. I walked around the outside until I found the window for Sasuke's room. I girded myself, then used Tree Walking to run up the wall and reach the window. I forced it open and hopped into the room.
An ANBU was in front of me before my feet touched the floor. "Visitors are not permitted. Hokage's orders," she said in a flat voice.
"Then I'm committing treason. I'm here for my friend. Either toss me out or stand aside," I said, staring her down.
"Kichirou?" asked the broken voice of my friend.
The ANBU hesitated. Maybe she had a younger sibling or even a kid of her own. But she ended up moving aside and I went to hop on the bed where Sasuke was tucked in. I maneuvered myself next to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Cry. You've been hurt, and you need to cry. If you don't, the pain will take root and fester inside you," I said solemnly.
Sasuke made a keening sound and then he was clinging to me and giving great heaving sobs. "He… killed… them! Itachi-nii… killed… everyone! How could he do that? HOW?!" my friend wailed.
I sighed. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted," I intoned heavily.
"What?" Sasuke asked, confused and upset.
"I found it in the writings of a Nara Clan Head from the Warring Clans Era. It's an observation of the nature of the world. To say that nothing is true is to recognize that you can never really know if anything is real, that you're seeing the same things that another person is, that the world is the same shape. If nothing is true, that doesn't mean everything's a lie, but it does mean that nothing is absolute. There are no rules, the world is fragile, and you can't count on anything as a given. To say that everything is permitted is to recognize that anyone can do anything, whether glorious or tragic. The Fourth Hokage can stop the Kyuubi. Itachi can slaughter his whole family. We are the architects of our actions, and the only thing in your way of pursuing a path is fear of the consequences.
"I wish I could say that the world is a place where a brother can't massacre his whole family. But I can't. Sasuke, he did it because he could and he chose to. If you want to know his reasoning, you'll have to ask him that yourself one day," I said gently, rubbing his back and combing my other hand through his hair.
"He said… he did it to 'test his ability'," Sasuke said, his nose snotting up as the tears just kept coming.
"Do you believe that?" I asked softly.
"I don't know what I believe anymore. I used to think he was a hero. Now… he killed Okaa-san and Otou-san! He made me watch!" Sasuke buried his face in my shirt and just convulsed with sobs.
[Quest Complete! Shoulder to Cry On! Be There For Uchiha Sasuke After The Massacre! 2000 EXP, Good Listener Perk, +1 All Attributes.]
[Level Up!]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 12
EXP: 300/1200
HP: 560/560
SP: 185/185
CP: 235/235
Attributes:
STR: 25
DEX: 19
VIT: 56
INT: 35
WIS: 30
LUK: -82
Available Attribute points: 20
Available Perk points: 1
[Perk: Good Listener
Friends and allies are 50% more likely to process trauma and emotions healthily if they talk to you.]
Sweet, but not the time, dumb Game. My baby bro needed comfort.
When Sasuke cried himself to sleep, I opened the 'Perks' page. I reviewed the list, and settled on one that was essential. Plus, I was the Gamer after all.
[Perk: Minimap (I)
Know your general location and the position of those around you for 100 yards in every direction.]
I tucked Sasuke into his bed. Then I turned to Hiruzen, who'd been waiting silently and unnoticed by Sasuke by the door. "I regret nothing," I told him plainly.
"I'd be insulted if you did," Hiruzen huffed. "Though I am curious how you knew he was here and managed to track him down."
"I'm a Sensor. Maybe it's an expansion of Observe, I don't know. I just had a 'feeling' where he was and followed it here," I said. And hey, now that I had the Minimap, I wasn't even lying.
"Such a tragic turn of fate," Hiruzen sighed, looking like he'd aged 20 years, and he was no spring chicken to start with.
I looked down at Sasuke. I stroked his cheek with a finger, and he relaxed a little in his sleep. "One day, when he's ready, you need to tell him why Itachi did it," I said.
"What do you mean, Kichirou?" Hiruzen asked, a master actor delivering a perfect line.
"Itachi was ANBU, they do compulsory psych evals every month with a Yamanaka. Either Itachi spontaneously went off the deep end and decided to kill the whole clan except Sasuke, you knew this was coming and chose not to stop Itachi… or you ordered it yourself. I won't ask why, that's not my place. You're the Hokage, and heavy is the head that wears that hat. But Sasuke needs to know. He's got the goddamn right to know," I said, not looking at Hiruzen. So I missed his look of awe and then shrewd assessment.
"You're extremely perceptive, Kichirou. You connect dots that most aren't even aware exist," Hiruzen told me.
"I Observe. It's not just the name of my power, it's my whole nature. I take in the world, as much of it as I can absorb, and try to make sense of it in my head. Sometimes I draw the wrong conclusion, in which case I edit my process and hope for better results next time," I shrugged. "You should let Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji visit him tomorrow."
"After he agrees to therapy with a grief counselor," Hiruzen countered.
"You expect him to open up to a stranger about this shit? Maybe after a week or two, but let us start to piece him back together before you have a pro start manhandling his psyche," I scoffed. Besides, my Good Listener Perk would do half the job anyway.
"It's been quite a while since I've dealt with this level of insolence… it's rather refreshing," Hiruzen chuckled.
I patted Sasuke on the cheek and then turned to leave. "When he's ready," I repeated to Hiruzen.
"What if he never is?" Hiruzen countered.
"What if he hears it from an enemy who twists it in the worst way possible?" I fired back.
Hiruzen sighed. "Very well. When he becomes Genin."
"Works for me," I nodded before exiting out the door. I found my way back to the Nara Clan Compound and dealt with a semi-panicking Naruto and Yoshino.
We visited Sasuke every day after the Academy, and he slowly opened up. He described every detail of that night: walking through the Uchiha District filled with blood and corpses of his family, finding Itachi standing over their dead mother and father, his speech about how it was all to test his mettle, the Tsukuyomi mind rape, Itachi's parting words that Sasuke would have to hate and live in an unsightly manner until one day he was a suitable challenge for Itachi and they would fight to the death.
"Fuck. That. Noise." Naruto said after Sasuke finally managed to get the final words out. "Sasuke, Itachi just murdered your whole family! Why in the world would you do a single thing he told you to do? I'd do the exact opposite just to spite him!"
"But… it's true. Unless I use the power of hate and get my own Mangekyo Sharingan, I'll never be a match for him. They're so powerful…" Sasuke said in horror and awe.
"Alone, maybe. But who says you have to go after him alone?" I posed. "We'll all be there with you once we're all kickass Jonin and we'll outnumber and outmatch him until he's begging for mercy."
"NO!" Sasuke denied. "This is my burden to bear! He's MY brother, I have to be the one to do it!"
"Says who?" Chouji questioned, drawing Sasuke up short. "Because that's what you really want? Or because that's what he practically brainwashed you to do after one of the most powerful Genjutsu in the world ravaged your brain?"
"Don't play his game, Sasuke," Shikamaru spoke up. "There's a reason they say 'he who seeks vengeance should dig two graves'. If you obsess and dedicate your whole life to his death, then he wins. Even if you kill him, you'll lose your whole reason for living. He'll take you with him in the end. If you really want to beat him, then fight for justice, not revenge."
"What's the difference?" Sasuke asked harshly.
"Revenge is about making yourself feel better, and it rarely works. Justice is about stopping a bad person from doing more bad things," I told him. "If you follow the path of vengeance, you'll sink to his level and do unspeakable things in the name of killing him, and in the end you'll still be miserable. If you follow the path of justice, you can get power the right way, get friends and allies like us to back you up, and we'll outmatch him so bad we'll take him alive and he can stand trial for his crimes. Which sounds better, Sasuke?"
Sasuke burst into tears. "I love you guys! You're my real brothers!"
"Bro hug time!" I called lightly, and we all gathered in a cuddle pile centered on the sniffling Sasuke.
Sasuke was allowed to come back to the Academy a week after the Massacre, much subdued but functional. He'd agreed to talk to the Yamanaka Hiruzen recommended. Everyone tried to crowd him and offer condolences, but Naruto basically threatened everyone to leave Sasuke the fuck alone until he was ready to deal with their bullshit. His words, not mine. Maeda-sensei gave him a detention he'd actually earned, but Naruto didn't seem to mind.
A month and a half after the Massacre, it was the Final Exams for our first year in the Academy. It was twice as hard as the Mid-Year Exams, since it covered all the material from the first semester on top of all the new stuff we'd learned in the second half of the year. The physical part was pretty much the same, only everyone in our group of bros did even better than we had a mere 6 months ago. When we were released for the day, we went to the Nara house.
"We need a sister," I declared after a couple hours of them vegging out and me reading. "There's only boys in this group, we're a dozen years and some testosterone away from being a civilian frat. I say we invite one of the girls from class to join."
"Not a fangirl," Sasuke said definitively.
"Duh, that goes without saying," I rolled my eyes.
"That rules out almost every girl in class, though," Chouji chuckled after a bite of marshmallow. "Even with the Clan Heiresses, Ino's into Sasuke and Hinata is into Naruto."
"Eh? The hell are you talking about?!" Naruto gaped.
"Troublesome… you honestly didn't notice?" Shikamaru sighed, giving Naruto a look that clearly translated is 'why am I friends with this moron?'
"Hinata likes me? Like, in a boy-girl way?" Naruto asked like this was more mind-blowing than the secret of the Kyuubi or his parentage.
"She stares at you during class, she blushes whenever you look her way, and she actually faints if you talk or pay any real attention to her. Classic shy damsel," I sighed. "Did you do anything particularly heroic for her while we weren't looking?"
"Oh, remember when you were home with a cold in February? I was on a swing in the park and she was getting bullied by these 3 jerks. I kicked their asses and she gave me this weird look, then I just walked back home," Naruto recalled.
"In other words, her knight in shining armor rode to her rescue. Damn, no wonder she's got it so bad," Sasuke chuckled. It was weaker than it would have been before, but he was slowly recovering from the massive scar Itachi had left on his psyche.
The next day, when we were just doing pointless revision to have an excuse to be in school and not free at home waiting for the results, I approached Hinata where she was sitting by herself in the corner of the cafeteria. "Hey, Hinata-san. Come sit with me and my friends."
"O-o-oh! U-um," she said, poking her index fingers together in a nervous gesture.
"I'm not taking no for an answer," I said implacably.
"O-ok," she agreed quietly. I led her to our usual table.
"Bozos, Hinata. Hinata, the bozos. Don't let our test scores fool you, we're all idiots. As the ringleader, I can't decide whether that means I'm the most or least idiotic of us all," I declared before unpacking my bento.
"H-h-hello," she said, looking like she was trying to hide inside her coat. Hard to believe that there was a total yamato nadeshiko hiding inside her that would rule the village alongside Naruto.
"Hey, hey, Hinata-chan! You're a Hyuuga, right? So you've got the Byakugan?" Naruto asked excitedly. He'd decided to keep pretending he didn't know about her crush, but I'm sure his mischievous nature would lead to him teasing her without her realizing it.
"Y-yes, N-n-naruto-kun," she managed in a squeak. She was swiftly turning vermillion as Naruto kept looking directly at her.
"That's so cool! I read a book about Doujutsu, and there was a whole chapter on Byakugan. It sounds amazing! What's it like being able to see through walls? To see people's insides? To see in a circle all around you?" Naruto all but gushed.
"U-u-um… I don't know. I-I've never known anything else," Hinata stuttered out.
"Good thing Jiraiya of the Sannin isn't a Hyuuga," I commented.
They all looked at me oddly. "Why would you say that, Kichirou?" Chouji asked, at a loss.
"You'd be amazed what is written in the journals of former Nara Clan Heads. Shikamaru's grandfather wrote about how Jiraiya is a self-proclaimed super pervert. He has the record for being caught peeping on the women's side of the hot springs. Also the record for most hospital trips after being beaten up by kunoichi he peeped on. If he had the Byakugan, he'd just leer at every woman in his range from a mile away," I pointed out.
"H-h-how uncouth," Hinata said with distaste.
"Though now that it's out there, I have to ask… how do you stop from accidentally catching people changing or going to the bathroom or having sex or stuff in the Hyuuga Clan Compound?" I asked Hinata.
She turned so red I worried she'd popped a blood vessel. "We… we are raised to acknowledge and accept there is no privacy in the compound. By the n-nature of their work, the guards see everything. We all just learn to l-l-live with it," Hinata admitted.
"So, Hinata, how do you think you did on the Final Exams?" Shikamaru asked, opening his eyes from where he'd been half-napping the whole time.
She looked down. "I… I tried my very best. But I'm sure I won't even make the Top 5."
"Why not? You were in 3rd place at the Mid-Year Exams," Naruto pointed out.
"I'm sure others in class have surpassed me since. No matter how hard I try, I am fated to fail," she sighed dejectedly.
Jeez, did Neji have his Fate complex already and shove it down her throat at home? "Well, with that attitude, that'll prove true," I told her.
"P-pardon?" Hinata blinked those lilac eyes up at me.
"If you think you're going to fail, you're going to fail. If you think you'll succeed… well, it's not a guarantee, but you're much more likely than if you go in convinced you'll do poorly. Besides, there's a big difference between being the best and being your best. Believe in yourself, give it your all, and let the chips fall where they may. The only person you should have to impress is yourself," I advised her.
"O-oh… I never thought of it t-that way," she said, almost to herself.
"You just need to have faith you can do it, Hinata-chan! And if you don't have any, I'll believe for you! I have faith in you, Hinata-chan!" Naruto beamed his million watt smile at her.
Poor girl didn't have a chance. Her eyes rolled back up in her head and I caught her as she fell like a puppet with their strings cut.
"Naruto uses Talk Jutsu on Hinata. It's super-effective," I said sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked.
"If you have to ask, then nevermind," I rolled my eyes. I kept a first aid kid in a small storage scroll I carried at all times, always be prepared and all that. I unsealed it and grabbed the smelling salts. Holding my breath, I broke them under Hinata's nose. She gasped and came back to consciousness.
"S-s-sorry," she managed when she realized she'd passed out.
"No big deal," I shrugged, deciding not to comment on her fainting tendency around Naruto. "So, Hinata, do you have any siblings? We're all only children ourselves."
"Oh, y-yes! Hanabi-chan, she's 3 years younger than me. Okaa-sama died giving birth to her, and I miss her, but I love Hanabi. She was walking before she was a year old, she's very bright. Otou-sama has high hopes for her," Hinata said fondly, her whole face lighting up as she talked about her baby sister.
We talked for the rest of lunch, slowly coaxing Hinata out of her shell. Naruto didn't make her faint again, though crimson blushes were still achieved. Then it was back to the purgatory of school after the Finals.
In the courtyard, we bid Hinata farewell as she went with a Branch House Hyuuga that was obviously her bodyguard. I think his name was Ko, but don't quote me on that.
The next day, we got the results of the Finals. In the Top 5, in ascending order, were Aburame Shino, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and me, Nara Kichirou.
[Quest Complete! Top Of The Class! Achieve 1st Place in First Year Finals! +2500 EXP, Prodigy Perk, +5 All Attributes.]
[New Curse Acquired: Crapshoot]
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 14
EXP: 700/1400
HP: 710/710
SP: 295/295
CP: 360/360
Attributes:
STR: 33
DEX: 26
VIT: 71
INT: 45
WIS: 40
LUK: -77
Available Attribute points: 20
Available Perk points: 1
[Perk: Prodigy
All Skills and Attributes level up 10% faster.]
[Curse: Crapshoot
Your luck is now locked at -77. There is a random possibility of it mutating to 777 or -777 for a single instance.]
Well, okay then. Sweet, sweet EXP and Attribute points, and the Prodigy Perk would increase my gains significantly in the long run. As for that Curse… well, I now had a slim chance of striking extremely lucky or extremely unlucky, with a set standard of just mostly unlucky.
I distributed my Attribute points. Now that Luck was locked by the Crapshoot Curse, I didn't have to worry about it anymore. Then I found and selected the Perk I wanted.
Status
Name: Nara Kichirou
Title: The Gamer
Occupation: Academy Student (Konoha)
Level: 14
EXP: 700/1400
HP: 810/810
SP: 295/295
CP: 385/385
Attributes:
STR: 33
DEX: 26
VIT: 81
INT: 50
WIS: 45
LUK: -77
Available Attribute points: 0
Available Perk points: 0
[Perk: Ambidextrous
You are equally strong and balanced using either hand for a task.]
Figured it would come in handy. I returned my focus to the room, and listened as Maeda-sensei gave us our summer homework and then wished us a pleasant vacation before we came back for our second year at the Academy.
Only 4 more years until canon started. I needed to pick up the pace.