Chapter 1: New Life In a Dating Sim
The loud bang of a gunshot and the searing pain in my head was the last thing I remembered. It was the work of an instant, my life did not flash before my eyes nor did I reach the level of clarity that those who faced death achieved, I merely ceased to think and was gone from the mortal world.
Then the world came to life again and my senses flared at the arrival of a new stimulus. The pain of the sudden change was nearly unbearable, but somehow I was able to feel that I was in no real pain but rather discomfort at the change.
"I died."
Unknowingly, I voiced out what I was thinking. My words came as the realization of what exactly had happened to me dawned on me. I had died in the blink of an eye from a stray bullet to the back of my skull.
The thought was disturbing to think about, after all, I lived in a good neighborhood, so things like shootouts were not common at all. In fact, I only assumed that the bullet that killed me was a stray bullet since I have no enemies that would be willing to go as far as to kill me.
"So what now?" I asked to the dark void around me.
There was nothing to be seen anywhere around me but an inky black void. Even the ground below me was so dark to the point that I was unable to see where exactly I was stepping.
Still, I did not panic or even feel a sense of loss at the fact that I was seemingly separated from the life I had known. It was more apt to say that I felt strangely at ease in that void of nothing.
I wasn't religious enough to go to mass every Sunday, but I did believe in a higher power so for a moment I thought that perhaps this was some kind of afterlife.
"No, this isn't the afterlife you are thinking about," a new neutral voice spoke out as if reading my thoughts.
Spinning my head to the source of the words, my eyes stumbled upon a humanoid figure covered up with a white sheet like some third-rate Halloween costume.
It was so out of place in the void that I thought that this was some type of joke and I wasn't actually dead, but the thing's next words broke that illusion.
"You are mistaken if you think that you are still alive," its voice called out again, it held both the qualities of a male and a female voice so it was impossible to pin down its gender, "As for where you currently are, you are in a place between reality and dreams, or more precisely you are in the gap where I have made my domain."
Between reality and dreams? What is going on?
I felt a million questions come to my brain, but before I was able to speak out, the figure began to slowly walk towards me in eerie silence. Even though it looked sort of silly with a sheet over its body, a deep sense of fear settled into my skin at his approach.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but things will go faster if you shut up while I explain things to you," it said while coming to a stop directly in front of me, "Occasionally some wandering souls will stumble their way into this gap while they travel to the afterlife. When this happens they succumb to this endless void unless I fish them out with my own power."
Did I get lost on the way to the afterlife? Then what will happen to me now?
"I use these souls as opportunities to run my systems so I can get precious data. That means that each soul I get I send into a place of my choosing with a system I created to have them test things out and generate valuable insights to improve my power. If the souls are unable to adapt to the system or the world I send them to, then I simply throw them back into the void where they will experience nothing for the rest of eternity," it warned without any malice in its voice, "Though, if they feed me decent data then I sent them out again in another experiment, and they enjoy the pleasures of being alive again and again, do you understand?"
Surprisingly, I did understand what I was being told. In fact, this was a very common writing troupe that I was keenly aware of.
"So, just to be clear, you will be sending me into a world with a system at my disposal to test out for you? What kind of system are you talking about?" I asked in order to make sure that we were on the same page.
"That varies, but it's usually a system that allows a user to exploit the leverage granted by the authority of my power to become strong through a leveling system, though this is just one type of system," it answered in the same neutral voice from before.
It's what I thought. Rather doesn't this beat the afterlife? Who wouldn't want to go to another world with the power of the gamer? That sounds like the best thing that could ever happen to me.
Though I did not live a life of misery, I was no stranger to the appeal of an escape fantasy and the type of story that I had in mind was a particular favorite of mine, there was no chance I would refuse.
Clearly sensing my thoughts, the figure continued talking, "Well, it's not like you had a choice in the first place. Rather than a normal world, you will be sent to a fictitious world recreated from world memory, and to have the best setting to test out the system you will be sent to the final stages of this particular world story."
"Wait, what? The final stages? What do you mean?" I asked as I felt the wind leave my sails.
"I am sending you to a rather dangerous world, but since this particular system is not exactly geared for fighting like my other projects, I will send you to the end when most of the fighting is over," it explained as it began to form a sphere of light just ahead of itself.
"What? No fighting? But then what exactly am I supposed to do there?" I exclaimed with visible confusion.
The thing did not stop generating the sphere of light and soon it was big enough to swallow a human whole, "Just do what you think the system wants, and remember that if you do not produce viable data I will send you to the void."
In the next moment, the sphere of light pulled me in with irresistible might and the dark void around me was lit in a white hue as it began to disappear and soon was replaced with a brand new world.
The first thing I noticed beyond the vast forest in front of me was the slow breeze that carried the scents of flowers and rain. It was a strange experience for someone like me who had never left the city, but I didn't linger too much on the thought and moved on to inspect my strange situation.
Things had happened rather quickly and so I was understandably still somewhat confused.
One moment I was walking out of my home, the next I was told I was being sent to a fictional world to test out a system. And finally, here I was, in a whole new world.
It was a lot to take in but strangely I did not feel like freaking out at all, even though I could tell I was no longer in my body. I was just calm.
Then text popped out in front of my vision.
Figured this was coming. Wait, what?
[Welcome to the Dating System!]
[WARNING: As the first tester of this system we expect you to run into issues with the interface. We will work quickly to remedy this.]
[The Dating System will allow you to live life as though it was a dating sim. The basic goal of the system is to capture heroines and it will help you achieve this through its support system. Follow the tutorial below.]
[Heroines have difficulty ratings that represent how difficult they are to capture from D to S and to compensate for this, higher-rated heroines give more rewards for progress.]
[Upgrade stats to have a better chance with interactions and overall skills. The opportunity to upgrade stats will present itself in accordance with the player's efforts.]
[Certain actions and events will award Love Points, a currency the player can use to purchase items and upgrades in the Love Shop.]
[Most of the system's functions are intuitive, but to help the player a utility feature has been implemented. You can freely look at your own stats and status as well as any other individual. This will show how well-liked you are and hints at a heroine's progression.]
[Inventory has been granted as part of the system.]
[Many other mechanics are awaiting you for a more appropriate time, please have fun!]
That's what it meant when he said it wasn't suitable for fighting… it's a dating sim.
And suddenly, I feel like I remembered everything. I know where I am.
Information was flooding my brain, and I realized what exactly I was doing and who I was. Or at least who I had become.
My name was Yu Arasho, a 19-year-old male, and I was a sealing expert from the Land of Spring. I was heading to the Village Hidden in the Leaf a few months after the end of the Fourth Ninja War for a job.
All of which meant… I'm in the Naruto universe.
It was then that I was fully able to merge with the memories of my new body and I turned around to see the vast city that was unknowingly just behind me. I had been traveling for a while but I was finally at my destination.
It was the Village Hidden in the Leaf.
I remembered had traveled quite far for this job since the pay was going to be good, however now that I was a new consciousness in this body, I wasn't as excited as the real Yu Arasho.
Unfortunately, my dream of fighting monsters as I leveled up an overpowered class was still just a dream, but I couldn't argue too much either.
It beats being dead.
I sighed internally as I finished the short walk to the entrance of the village. I carefully observed the travelers that walked by me, heading to the entrance. Their olden attire was eye-catching to me, as I had not seen such clothing outside of cosplay or old Japanese photos.
Though I did luck out as I was wearing black pants and a long sleeve grey shirt, something I was already used to. If I wake up wearing a kimono like some of the other travelers around me, I would be slightly troubled with the unusual clothing.
Lost in my thoughts as I continued walking, I reached the gate and was prompted by a rather lazy ninja, "Identification."
On autopilot, I reached for my bag and pulled out some papers I instinctively knew were a form of ID.
One glance later, I was allowed to pass through the great gates of the village and was met with a bustling city.
Shops were busy trying to divert people into their doors, children played around in the streets with joyous laughter, and adults walked around with purpose. It was definitely a carefree place if I had ever seen one.
Nobody seemed to look at me aside from the occasional glance that outsiders got, and I suppose I was glad that I looked relatively normal.
From what I managed to see in reflections on windows, I had short black hair, an athletic build, white skin from a life in the snow, and a decent bone structure.
As for where I was headed, the Hokage building, I felt a small sense of excitement at the possibility of meeting any characters from the show.
I wasn't the biggest Naruto fan, but I'd watched the whole show so naturally, I was excited to meet some of the people in the village.
After a decent walk into the center of the village, I was soon upon the large circular building that I keenly remembered from the show.
Walking into the place I found a reception room filled with seated individuals. It made sense that what was equivalent to a city hall would be filled like this on any given day, still, I did not want to wait in line forever.
Hesitantly, I approached the receptionist, who was busy writing something on some papers on her desk.
"Excuse me, I was called here for a job? I'm unfamiliar with the village so I am not sure how to proceed," I said to the receptionist who didn't bother to look up.
"Here's a number, we'll call you," she said with clear annoyance.
Rolling my eyes at her attitude, I grabbed the small tag with the number 43 on it.
Even in another world, you can't run away from lines.
Still, this time should be useful to think about what I'm doing.
So far, I had been acting out on the innate memory that I had from my new body. It was weird to be so aware of the history of a total stranger, but different from being told the story of someone, it was like I had lived through those memories.
Perhaps it was the biological brain of my host that was supplying me the information, or perhaps it was the system making things easier for me. Either way, I was thankful for the help.
Let's check out my stats I guess.
Willing the information to appear, I was relieved to see it worked as I intended and soon a new screen was displayed before me.
[Name: Yu Arasho]
Physical Charm: 5/50
Emotional Charm: 3/50
Trustworthiness: 4/50
Creativity: 2/50
Kindness: 6/50
Charisma: 3/50
Luck: 5/50
[NOTE: Stats are used to facilitate interactions with the world and especially the heroines. Some stats will help you be more attractive physically like Physical Charm while others will help you be more persuasive like Silver Tongue. Finding out how to level up these stats is a part of the system.
Some actions and choices will become available when high enough stats are reached so don't neglect any of them. Some heroines have stat requirements before you can even start their capture.]
Stats that definitely belonged in a dating sims game were shown on the screen.
This is really becoming more and more like a game, but it's a dating sim and I'm in the Naruto world then the heroines could only be characters from the show, right? Still, it doesn't seem like the system is helping me out too much. Maybe I'm missing something.
Minutes soon turned into hours of waiting as the number of people in the room dwindled down.
Luckily I had arrived in the morning so there was still plenty of sunlight outside.
"Number 43."
Leaving my thoughts as the number on my tag was called, I walked up and headed down a hall to my left where I had seen everyone else head after they had their numbers called.
Walking down the busy hallway, I was soon in front of what I recognized as the Hokage office.
I don't remember much after the war since I never got around to watching the sequel, but I do recall that Tsunade had stayed as Hokage for a whole year after the war. According to the memories of this body, it has only been a few months since.
My light knock on the door was met with a soft voice that sounded too timid to be Tsunade, "Come in."
Doing as the voice asked, I opened the door and walked into the large I laid eyes on both Tsunade and Shizune.
I managed to only glance at Tsunade's excessively large breasts and I pat myself on the back for my restrain. I did not consider myself a pervert, and I was somewhat mentally preparing myself for them, but seeing them in real life was completely different from the show. It didn't help that her shirt had such a large cleavage window.
Shizune on the other hand was still a beauty, but she was definitely more on the normal side of things. Either way, I was beginning to see a pattern when it came to women in this world.
"Excuse me, my name is Yu Arasho, I am here about a sealing network rework job? I received a letter from your office not too long ago," I began to speak but was quickly interrupted by Tsunade, who seemed to be in work mode.
"I was told you arrived here hours ago, why are you just getting here now?"
Her tone was not accusatory, but almost as though she was accusing me of having a bad work ethic for being late. Still, I had done nothing wrong so I did not falter under her scrutiny.
"You are correct that I arrived here in the morning, and I came to your office directly from the gate," I explained while maintaining eye contact, "However, there were plenty of people in line before me and my number tag was just called. I couldn't have arrived here quicker even if I wanted to."
She quirked her eyebrow at my response, but she quickly dropped her glare and adopted a much softer tone as she responded, "I apologize for the mixup, I asked for you to be led directly to my office when you arrived but it seemed that our receptionist neglected my orders. I'll have a word about her plunder after our meeting, sorry about making you wait all this time."
I understood the situation now, though it seemed that the problem was caused by the rude receptionist down the hall. I was made to wait for seemingly no reason, and while it was annoying, I could not lose my temper here. Rather, I could use this to look good.
That was how these types of games tended to work, after all, so let's put my theory to the test.
"No, it's partially my fault as well since I failed to properly identify myself at reception. I wasn't aware that you were waiting for me, so it's my fault for not communicating to her what I was here for," I used the most sincere tone I could muster.
[+1 Emotional Charm, +1 Kindness, +1 Tsunade Trust, +1 Shizune Trust]
Bingo!
When the system mentioned ways to upgrade stats, this was exactly what I was thinking about. However, that last stat point is not in my own stat menu, which means…
I quickly willed the system to show me Tsunade's stat menu, which I was once again thankful to see it intuitively respond without me having to think of some kind of activation word or phrase.
[Tsunade Senju]
[She is famed as the world's strongest kunoichi and its greatest medical-nin. The repeated loss of her loved ones caused Tsunade to later abandon the life of a shinobi for many years. Now, however, she has received a new outlook on life and is more responsive to happiness.]
[Status]
Stance: Neutral
Love: 0
Trust: 6
Lust: 0
[Requirements]
Physical Charm: 20
Emotional Charm: 30
Kindness: 35
Charisma: 40
[Effects]
[New Outlook: Small chance to double any stat gain]
[Difficulty Rating: A]
I took the new information with a grain of salt as I did not yet understand everything completely, but I more or less understood that it was too early to try capturing Tsunade.
"I'm happy to hear you feel that way, either way, I must talk with her but I'll consider your words and give her some leniency," she smiled as she responded.
It seemed that she responded to my kindness, not surprising as one of her stat requirements was kindness.
And she seemed to have a little trust in me from the get-go.
"Let's get down to business," she moved on, likely wanting to make up for lost time, "I want to contract you for a year to rework select parts of the seal security in the village."
Here it was. My job.
From what I recall from my body's memories, my job was to design seals for security. That meant hours of hard work creating designs that suited the specifications of my clients, and I was really good at it.
I suppose that's why the village had called me from so far. It did seem to be doing a lot of construction and new seals were likely in order.
"I will provide you with a salary as well as give you a home while you remain in the village," she continued with her lucrative offer, "every week I'll give you a location and you'll work on the seals there until you finish roughly a year from now."
Frankly, I had no desire to haggle with prices and even if I didn't think that her offer was fair, I could tell I was meant to stay here anyway. I had no reason to refuse.
"Well asking me to stay away from home is quite the job offer, but I would be remiss to not take this job," I said with a smile, "I would be more than happy to accept."
Tsunade smiled at my words and continued explaining my role in the village.
After half an hour of talking about the specifics she was looking for in seals, it seemed that our meeting was nearing its end.
"You can start work at your pace, as long as you meet my deadlines," she said, "I'll have my assistant Shizune check up on you and be your guide while you get acquainted with the village."
I merely nodded at her words and shifted my gaze to Shizune.
She returned the smile I gave her and gave me a small bow.
"Then please excuse me, thank you for this opportunity," I bid my farewell and headed outside.
I didn't go far though as Shizune had asked me to wait for her as she would be taking me to my new house as part of her duty as my guide.
I began to use this time to find some direction.
I was getting too carried away simply doing what Yu Arasho was meant to be doing. I needed to start using the system to its full potential because I was not on vacation. It was easy to forget as I got lost in the fictional world of Naruto, but I was here for a job.
If I didn't perform well then I would be discarded into the void, a fate I would do everything to avoid.
I needed to find my first target. Obviously, Tsunade was out of my league as she had an A rating and the stat requirements were pretty high. There was no way she would be a good first target.
So that left the question, where were the beginner targets? In a game, you usually began with low-level mobs, so there had to be an equivalent here as well.
That reminds me.
Willing a new screen to appear, I was greeted by the Love Shop I was told about.
[Welcome to the Love Shop!]
[As part of the first tester bonus, we have awarded you with 10,000 Love Points to start you off! The Love Shop features items that rotate on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis so check it out every day!]
[Daily]
[Ruby: Could make a beautiful gift for someone. +2 Love for a given target. (500 LP)]
[Red Ribbon: Increase the likelihood of a chance encounter with a given target. +70% chance to meet given target. (500 LP)]
[Luck Charm: 1-day boost to Luck. +10 Luck. (500 LP)]
[Weekly]
[Universal Gift: The perfect gift for anyone. +10 Love. (2,000 LP)]
[Fate Date: Increases the chances of going on a date with a given target. +50% chance for the target to agree to a date. (2,000 LP)]
[Lust Arrow: The arrow of an incubus. +10 Lust to any given target. (3,000 LP)]
[Monthly]
[Lust Demon: (Permanent Upgrade) Adds +2 Lust to any Lust stat gain. (5,000 LP)]
[Love Demon: (Permanent Upgrade) Adds +2 Love to any Love stat gain. (5,000 LP)]
[Stat Raise: (Permanent Upgrade) Increases stat level cap. Increases stat maximum by 15 points. (10,000 LP)]
The monthly items seemed to be the most cost-effective, but at the start of a game, it's better to go for cheaper items that provide a decent boost while leaving enough money for anything else that could occur.
I'll buy something when I need it, I guess.
"Ready to go?"
A soothing voice called out to me.
Looking up I spotted the smiling face of Shizune. Her allure was not lost on me and I decided to give her stats a quick peek.
[Shizune Kato]
[Shizune is always level-headed, practical, and a rational thinker. As a result, she is the one who tends to stress over details and to think with her heart. She often gets worked up over any irrational decision Tsunade makes. Has been in service to Tsunade since she was a young teen, meaning that she has not had a chance to live out her own life.]
[Status]
Stance: Neutral
Love: 0
Trust: 7
Lust: 0
[Requirements]
Physical Charm: 5
Emotional Charm: 15
Creativity: 10
Kindness: 15
Charisma: 10
[Effects]
[Missed Childhood: More susceptible to enjoy and be open to experiences she missed out on]
[Difficulty Rating: C]
Considerably easier than Tsunade, but still the rating should go down to D, so let's pick another target for now.
"Please show me the way," I said while approaching her.
Now that we were so close to each other I could not help but notice how short she was, though perhaps it was that my new body was taller than my old body.
She beamed with palpable joy as she pointed out some of the shops along the way to my new home, "That there is Yamanaka Flowers, which has been in the village since the First Hokage, and that there is-"
I merely nodded at her words every once in a while to let her know I was paying attention to her ramblings, but she didn't seem to mind my silence much as she continued to show off her village with pride.
[+1 Emotional Charm, +1 Shizune Trust]
I was happy to be rewarded for essentially doing nothing, even if it was only a few stat points.
"So what do you think of the village so far?"
The sudden question brought me out of my thoughts in a flash. I was honestly caught off guard as I was not expecting her to ask for any of my input, but she seemed to notice she was the only one talking and was letting me turn her tour into a proper conversation.
"It's very different from the Land of Spring, but I must admit that it has a very powerful homely feeling to it. I have only been here a few hours but I already feel like I've known this place for a long time," I said while smiling at the joke only I could have understood, "Besides, all the women I've seen in the Village Hidden in the Leaf have been perfect beauties, so it's hard not to see the charm."
She continued to smile and nod at the praise I gave to the village until my words settled and a small tint of red appeared on her ears, "Oh, now you're just teasing me! Her tone however matched the wide smile that bloomed on her face at my compliment.
"Not at all, Shizune," I did not relent, "I am really hoping that I get the chance to get to know you better outside a work environment."
Seeing her squirm slightly at my advances was igniting a flame inside me, but I did not want to push too far as I did not meet the requirements to start her capture, and I didn't know what mechanics the system would use to prevent me from going forward with her. In the worst-case scenario, I would be locked away from her route.
[+1 Shizune Love, +2 Shizune Lust]
She managed to gather her thoughts as she finally replied with a much calmer, but still timid tone, "I am rather busy with my work duties, so I can't say that such a thing would be possible."
Her answer was not a no, but it was not a yes either.
It worked for me either way as I was not yet targetting her.
"Oh, we finally arrived," she said surprised that she was so lost in thought to miss our arrival, "This is where you'll be staying."
I looked at the small house in front of us and was happy to see that it was a sizeable house with a more modern feel than some of the other houses we had walked past.
Walking ahead of me, Shizune used a set of keys to unlock the front door and peeked in as if to check that everything was in order. Testing the lights, she was satisfied with her inspection and turned back to me as she placed a key on my open hand.
"This is your house key, I will keep a spare just in case you misplace yours but rest assured that I will not use it unless it's an emergency," she explained with a serious face.
I did not like that someone else had a key to my living space, but I did understand that this wasn't exactly my home so I did not complain. Besides, if I had understood Shizune's character correctly, I was sure that she would not abuse the keys so I paid it no mind.
"Thank you, Shizune."
She nodded at my words and took a step back as she got ready to leave, "I know you must be tired after your trip so I will leave you now, but if you need anything please be sure to come to me. I will be in the Hokage building or the hospital most of the time," she said while I gave her a silent nod, "See you tomorrow in the morning."
"Of course."
With that, she was gone and I entered what would be my new living space for a year.
It was furnished with essentials so I was happy that I would not have to spend any money setting this place up. To think Tsunade would go so far for my services, though I guess I am downplaying the importance of seals and how rare seal masters are.
I set down my traveling gear and headed for the shower. I needed to be presentable for the first part of my plan and seeing as how I had just finished a rather long trip, I could tell I could use a hot shower.
Luckily the restroom was not too different from what I am used to and I had a pleasant but quick wash. It's hard to tell how much technology there is in the Naruto universe, but I guess things are just convenient for the sake of storytelling.
Putting on a set of fresh clothes, I got some money and prepared to head out with a destination in mind.
I doubted that any random woman would count as a heroine, and I was sure that only named characters in the show would count. In that case, there was someone who I just knew would be a capture target, and if my intuition was correct, she would be an easier target.
Walking down the streets of the village was always something amazing to a person who had only seen this place in the show. It was jarring to see everything in real life, and I could not help but have that excitement pour out onto my face.
Even as the sun was beginning to set the streets were only beginning to show more life in the night. That was natural, as all cities tended to show real-life only when the sun was gone.
Soon I saw the familiar ramen shop I was looking for, Ichiraku Ramen.
Walking into the open-air stall I was happily surprised to see it was empty, and behind the counter was a rather bored Ayame.
[Ayame Koziko]
[Ayame has grown up side by side with her father's ramen stand, and due to this, has focused her life on inheriting the store. She is kind and shows a passion for the culinary arts.]
[Status]
Stance: Neutral
Love: 0
Trust: 1
Lust: 0
[Requirements]
Physical Charm: 5
Kindness: 5
[Effects]
[Missed Childhood: More susceptible to enjoy and be open to experiences she missed out on]
[Difficulty Rating: D]
I smiled at the newfound opportunity.
"Welcome to Ichiraku, what will you be having?"
She called out with a happy, but professional tone.
Taking a seat, I looked up to see their menu but decided to leave it to the expert, "I'm new around here so I'm not sure what's good yet, can you recommend something to me?"
Seeing her fake customer-ready smile turn into a genuine smile was a good sign for me.
"New in town? Leave it to me!"
She turned around and quickly began to fiddle with the kitchen while I waited and hoped she would not get more customers.
My plan was to get Ayame as my first target, and just as I predicted, she had really low capture stats. I hated to think of a person as practice, but that's what she would be for now.
Not wanting to spend the wait time in silence, I began a conversation, "So you're the owner or you just work here?"
She hummed at my question as though she was thinking of an answer, "Both, I guess."
"Oh a mystery with my meal, I love the service here already," I joked with clear sarcasm, which earned me a small chuckle.
"I'm the daughter of the owner, but my dad rarely comes to the shop nowadays so I have taken the leadership role here for a while," she clarified, "He's getting a bit old so I think he's testing the waters of retirement."
Works for me, he would only get in my way.
"Must be nice," I continued as I began to smell a savory aroma from Ayame, "Getting to lay back and relax while your daughter takes care of business, can't wait to get old."
She finally turned to look at me directly as she brought me a rather large bowl of ramen, "Don't get too far ahead of yourself, you're still pretty young from what I see."
"Smells wonderful, are you the best ramen shop in town?" I teased.
"You know it! Give it a try and let me know what you think," she said with a toothy grin.
Taking her up on her offer, I picked up the chopsticks on my right, which my body instinctively knew to use, and had a taste.
"Delicious," and it was no lie, "This ramen is probably the best I've had."
[+1 Ayame Love, +2 Ayame Trust]
"I'm happy you think so," her smile seemed strained at my words despite her tone.
Taking a closer look at the state of the stall, I saw a rather clean environment, not that I was expecting there to be a mess, but it was unusually clean. Perhaps Ayame was keeping the counter spotless after every customer but there didn't even seem to be some condensation that you would expect to see from hot ramen bowls on the stand.
Trying my luck I decided to probe at her condition, "Sorry for asking about this, but are you not seeing too many customers lately?"
The small widening of her eyes was all I needed to understand that I had hit the nail in the head.
I wasn't sure how well business was going on in the ramen stall since I only remember Naruto and his friends eating here, but I suppose that business wasn't doing so great after the war. It was understandable, after all, people looked to be very busy all over the village. The sales of shops like these would dwindle during a period like this.
"Is it that obvious?" Her voice was tenser than before, clearly, this was a sore subject, "Since my dad has left things to me, I noticed that fewer and fewer customers have been coming to the store, and even my regulars are rarely seen here these days."
I took another bite out of my meal as I listened to her troubles. It must be awful to have your family business start to lose customers as soon as you begin to take over, and it's natural to assume that the decline in sales is due to her inexperience. However, I could tell that this wasn't the case at all. She simply took over at a bad time.
I had a few ideas to turn things around, but the advice of a stranger was not too valuable. I would need to get more of her trust to help her out.
"Well, I can't see why you aren't doing better," I said as I stopped eating and looked her in the eye, "Delicious food and a beautiful chef, what more could people ask for?"
I made sure to deliver my compliment as a mere observation, without the tone that usually comes with flirting. I wanted her to believe I was being honest rather than looking for a date, though I was.
[+1 Ayame Lust, +1 Ayame Love, +1 Ayame Trust]
"I know right?" Her face brightened as she accepted my compliment with ease, "Maybe I'm just hitting my stride right now."
I ended my meal as she finished talking, and handed by bowl back to her. Luckily, no other customers had walked in and the sun was beginning to set.
"The name is Yu, sorry about the late introduction but I had my mind on food after my long journey," I said as she started to clean the bowl in the kitchen.
"Ayame," she replied while facing away from me, "Come from far away?"
"Yes, I came here for business and I'll be staying here for a long while," I continued, "Though for now I was just looking for some place to relax, luckily I found this shop."
She turned and smiled at me, "Finding Ichiraku on your first day here is very lucky, perhaps you want to try your hand at the lottery? Though you'd have to share your winnings with me of course."
"I'll remember that," I joked, "so when do you close up shop?"
She quirked an eyebrow at my question, "Did you want to know the shop schedule? We'll be open for a few more hours, though we open after 12."
I shook my head at her serious answer, "No, I just wanted to know when you were free for some drinks, I would really appreciate having someone show me the good drinking places in town. Unless you are busy after work?"
My question seemed to take her for a loop, and I couldn't help but think that she was not used to having people flirt with her. It was strange to have a beautiful girl like her be inexperienced with this type of thing, especially back in my old world, but things were different in a fictional setting. Because Kishimoto did not create such a background for her, she did not experience things that would be normal for the average person. Author oversight that works in a story, but becomes awkward when turned into reality.
"Oh, uh," she stumbled to reply, "I don't really know about that."
She looked uncomfortable with my question, not in the sense that she was weirded out by me, but as if she was unprepared for such a development.
I wasn't going to give up so easily however, "I'll owe you one, I promise," I replied with a smile, "If you show me a good spot, I'll even come for ramen every day for a week, good deal no?"
I could not help but find her loss for words to be cute, but I did not drop my smile nor lose eye contact as I continued to wait for her answer.
"The store won't close for a few hours…" she trailed off looking at the empty stand, "But I don't think I'll see more customers today, so I suppose I can take off early today. I do deserve a break every once in a while."
She started off timid but excitement grew in her voice at the thought of having some fun for a change, "Happy to hear it!"
Ayame seemed to gain new life as she began to close up shop just in time for the neon lights of bars to illuminate the dark streets of the village. Stepping out of the stand, I waited for Ayame to step out while she took off her white bandana and let her long, brown hair loose.
She seemed to have lost some steam now that she was actually outside her shop and in front of me, embarrassment clearly on her face, "Hey, I know I agreed to take you to a fun drinking spot, but I don't really go out much, so don't expect too much alright?"
She was trying to lower my expectations since she didn't look like much of a drinker, but I wasn't much of a drinker myself so I naturally was more interested in her rather than a bar. Did she not understand that?
"Don't worry about that, Ayame," I reassured her, "That was mainly just an excuse to get to talk to you some more, you know that right?"
My direct approach seemed to have a good effect on her as her cheeks were painted with a small redness, "Oh! Yes, I knew that."
[+2 Ayame Lust, +3 Ayame Love]
[Date Initiated with Ayame!]
[A date is an event that can be triggered with a heroine and is an opportunity to earn Love Points along with stat bonuses depending on your performance. Be sure to try your best to give your date the best time possible!]
A short walk filled with small talk later, we arrived at a small but lively bar near the center of the village. It was filled with laughter from patrons who seemed to be enjoying their time with sake. Unlike the bars I frequented, this one did not have the same sense of depression that came from people drinking away their sorrows and instead held a palpably joyous atmosphere. It was surprisingly good for a casual date.
Taking a seat in a booth after we ordered some drinks, we began to chat about our lives.
"So you are here to create new security seals for the village? Isn't that a pretty good job?" She asked as she took another sip from her drink.
I matched her drinking with a sip and answered without bragging, "Honestly it is pretty good, but it's my first job this big, though I do have enough confidence to pull it off. And you? How was it growing up in a ramen shop?"
I had learned in my life that most people liked to talk about themselves and have people accept them, that was true for the people of this world, or so I hoped.
"It's been great, really great," she took another sip, "I was able to meet new people every day and feed them good food too. Seeing their smiles after trying out my ramen was always a treat, so I can't complain at all."
Her words were not lies, I could tell that much, but she wasn't being completely honest either. For once, I had never seen her with friends on the show, and there was no way that a young woman like her did not feel like she was missing out on life with her attention constantly going to Ichiraku.
"Sounds pretty fun, but what do you do for fun? I got to know what people do to waste time around here if I will be a whole year here," I asked. I needed her to see me as an outlet for the time she had missed out on, but first I needed her to know that there was more to life than running a ramen shop.
"For fun? Well I-, uh I always like to…" She paused as she tried to get her thoughts straight, and failed. She was beginning to notice how much of her time was spent working at her shop, "I actually don't really remember when was the last time I actually did anything like going out, though I do enjoy going shopping sometimes, does that count?"
I gave her a light laugh, "I guess that does count, but honestly I can't believe you don't go out more. I really am glad that I asked you out for drinks now, you need to spend some time away from the store to relax."
She smiled at my words, "I am having fun, so thanks, I guess," her cheeks grew red from a delicate combination of the alcohol and my attention, but she quickly grew shy at her own words and suddenly blurted out, "But I mainly did it so that I could get more business from you, alright?"
"Oh, and here I thought you actually liked talking to me," I added with a fake hurt tone, "So I'm just being swindled?"
"Yeah, I'm sure you're real hurt," she smiled at my antics, "You aren't a bad drinking partner, alright? That's all I'll give you."
Noticing that we both had finished our drinks, I decided it was time to cut our small date short. I could possibly stay longer, but it was better to leave with her wanting more of my company than risk overstaying, "Good, so I guess that means we can go out for another drink another time?"
"Obviously," she stood up as she noticed that our time together was coming to an end, "Don't forget that you owe me a week of business though."
"I won't," I walked next to her as we headed out of the small bar, "It's not too late, but want me to walk you home?"
"No, thanks for offering but my dad would freak out if he saw me walking with a boy at night," she replied with embarrassment.
"Oh that's cute, but be safe on your way home, alright? See you tomorrow," I said goodbye as we stepped outside the bar. Ayame nodded enthusiastically as she walked out into the night, a noticeable jump in her step.
[Date Complete!]
[Dating Grade: B]
[+5 Ayame Love, +5 Ayame Lust, +5 Ayame Trust, +3 Emotional Charm, +3 Trustworthiness, +3 Charisma, +500 Love Points]
Taking a quick glance at the new pop-up I decided to head home for the night to rest my body. I wasn't mentally tired, but my body definitely was from my long journey.
I had gotten a pretty good idea of how the system was meant to work, and how dates went down, but there was still a lot I needed to learn. I was sure that there was an explanation for what stats did exactly, and I still needed to learn how to level up some of the other stats I hadn't seen yet.
Satisfied with a date on my first day, I headed to bed.
Ω
AN: I had an idea for a dating sims game for a system story and couldn't get it out of my head. Glad I was able to get something written down to scratch that itch, and I'll post the next chapter sometime soon. I also want to put it out there that I honestly winged most of the chapter so read it with that in mind. Grammarly is my editor so blame that if you catch some errors. Lastly, I had to rewrite the whole chapter from 3rd person to 1st person because I thought that it was a better perspective for this type of story.
Those disclaimers aside, I hope you enjoyed it.
