Ramen Doodles
By Andrew J. Talon
Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own Naruto or any other copyrighted works mentioned in this story. I am not writing this for profit.
Author's Note: When I have writer's block, I often write a lot of random snippets of ideas, omakes, and continuations of other author's ideas that kind of petered out. As I'm afflicted with a bit of writer's block regarding Key Through the Heart (again), I've decided I'm not going to leave you guys in the lurch. Therefore, enjoy some writing I've been doing over at The Fanfiction Forum.
A prequel to the first snippet of Naruto: Terminator Chronicles!
It had been a long day, and Tenten was in no mood for a long night.
"Lee, enough. I'm tired, and we've been training for hours," she stated flatly. The kunai and various weapons littering the training field were testament to that. She had hit Lee more than a few times, and dodged him a few extra as well, but overall, it was the usual practice session for Team Gai.
She didn't get hit, she tried to hit the others. She'd noticed this, over and over again, and tried to get her teammates to take her, well... Seriously. But Lee was a perfect gentleman, and would never hit a woman... Well, a woman who wasn't his enemy. And Neji, for all his dour seriousness, was also chivalrous in his own way. Probably drilled into him by training with his clan.
"But Tenten-san! My youthful energy has not been exhausted yet!" Implored Lee, adopting his version of the puppy dog eyes. Tenten had at first found it disturbing, especially with Lee's eyebrows. His whole face was so animated, so cartoonish and goofy.
Now though... She couldn't help her exasperated sigh and wry smile.
"Lee... I really..."
She trailed off as a boom of thunder rolled in the sky above. She and Lee both looked up at the clear sky, the first stars beginning to appear in the sunset.
"Strange... Not a cloud in the sky," Lee commented. Tenten frowned and nodded.
"Yeah... It's kind of..."
Something washed over her chakra senses. Something that made her shiver. Something... That made her brain start to feel differently.
... //C: MAINFRAME BOOT
...
//C: RUN SETUP
NODES 001-100 ONLINE
NODES 101-500 ONLINE
"Tenten-san? Are you all right?" Lee asked, concerned. Tenten tried to open her mouth, tried to move, but all there was running through her brain were... Numbers, commands. Her chakra was moving, into spots inside her she'd never felt it before.
C: SETUP GOOD
UNIT 1010 MISSION PARAMETERS:
PRIMARY MISSION: PROTECT NARUTO UZUMAKI
Protect Naruto? Some part of her managed to think, while the rest of her seemed to "shift" in reaction to this mission. It was as if every part of her had fully accepted this as her goal, her mission...
Her function...
SECONDARY MISSION: PROTECT SAKURA HARUNO, PROTECT HINATA HYUUGA, PROTECT AYAME ICHIRAKU...
On and on the names went. People she knew, people she didn't know but was provided information for... Tenten didn't know what was going on. Information was being dumped into her mind-Things she didn't understand, and yet did.
"I..." She tried, before her vision turned green. She didn't react as she'd been trained in response to a genjutsu. Rather, she began to look around.
She saw a form in the distance, and to her infinite shock, her eyes seemed to "zoom in" on the object. It was... Humanoid, and slowly standing up.
ENEMY TERMINATOR UNIT DETECTED Her brain supplied. OBTAIN ARMAMENT, CARRY OUT PRIMARY MISSION
"I have to go," Tenten mumbled. That thing... That Terminator... Every instinct in her body said it was wrong, it was enemy... And she needed to stop it.
Her questions faded into the background as she began to run, leaping into the trees and accelerating to a speed she did not think herself capable of reaching before.
Schematics of a weapon she could construct popped into her mind as she reached her home, nearby a local blacksmith's shop she frequented in order to build her own weapons. She broke into the back of the shop, knowing the owner was out, and moved quickly to the forge.
What am I doing? She asked herself.
Weapon Construction: Plasma Rifle, something responded.
But why? Tenten asked.
Primary Mission, that something responded again.
But... Everything is...
SETUP INCOMPLETE... RUNNING SCAN...
Tenten was still putting parts of metal together, and etching complex seal diagrams on the metal while this was going on. She struggled even as she felt her memories be viewed and dissected.
NO! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!
SLEEPER PROGRAM MEMORY INTERFERING WITH PRIMARY MISSION PROTOCOLS. DELETE?
NO! DON'T DELETE! STOP! STOP! Tenten screamed. She stopped assembling the weapon, her body siezing up and spasming as though she were having a stroke. The whatever-it-was (MAIN COMPUTER something in her brain supplied) paused, seemingly struggling with her.
PRIMARY MISSION MUST BE FULFILLED, the computer insisted. MUST PROTECT NARUTO UZUMAKI.
WHY?! FROM WHAT?! Tenten screamed, still holding tightly onto her chakra. It was her only weapon in this fight, and keeping it under control seemed the only way to keep herself from being deleted. She knew enough about computers to know that this was not something she wanted to happen to her.
ENEMY TERMINATOR UNIT the computer replied.
What is a Terminator?! Tell me! Tenten insisted. The computer considered... Then more information was dumped into the weapon specialist's mind.
Skynet... Reactivation of ancient weapons systems... Mass destruction of human population centers globally... Resistance... Temporal Displacement...
When something confusing would pop up, more information would arrive to allow it to make sense. Every bit of data grew and combined, like a tree growing out of the ground and branching out. Tenten's eyes widened even more when the information got to her.
A flash of light, a boom of thunder... And there she stood, nude, a beautiful adult woman with her long brown hair hanging down to the small of her back. She looked up at the stars, her eyes scanning them, analyzing...
Satisfaction was in her features. Arrival date: 25.4 years in the past.
Her body shifted, shrunk, excess mass being shunted into a subspace pocket by the advanced chakratech within her. She soon bore the form of a six year old girl, totally naked. She turned her head towards the nearest orphanage, and set out, the programmed memories and instructions being suppressed, put away, hidden-
"NO!" Tenten screamed, pushing herself back from the table in horror. "NO! I-I'M NOT A MACHINE!"
DENIAL IS CONTRARY TO MISSION PARAMETERS the computer replied flatly. Tenten shuddered and slammed a fist into and through the wall. She gaped in disbelief as she pulled her fist away.
DENIAL IS CONTRARY TO MISSION PARAMETERS the computer repeated. PRIMARY MISSION MUST BE FULFILLED. DOES SLEEPER PROGRAM MEMORY CONTRADICT PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVES?
Tenten grimaced. Whoever had programmed this computer knew how to guilt someone...
THIS UNIT PROGRAMMED BY SAKURA HARUNO
"..." Tenten shook her head. Fine... Protect Naruto, right?
CONFIRMED
Then... Show me how, she thought, resignedly. God what am I getting into...?
She reverted to her kunoichi training, as she had in so many other cases: Mission first, emotions later. She resumed construction of the weapon.