Hey guys! Here's the next update of Game of Life!
We start with the first part of Episode 1! Please read it and enjoy!
I OWN NOTHING!
Disgaea: The Game of Life
Episode 1: Start of a Campaign
Chapter 1: Gearing Up
A room's light is flicked on as a man in his early twenties walks in with a small yawn. Looking at the clock, he sees that it is still early – around 6 o'clock in the morning – but he also knows that any chance of returning to sleep is slim at best. He's the kind of person who wakes up once and stays awake. (1)
Moving to the couch in the room, he takes a seat and grabs both the television remote and gaming controller from the small table in front of him. Using both, he turns on both his television and gaming system, letting them begin the game disc inside. On the screen, it shows a blue penguin with peg legs doing constant pirouette twirls with a Now Loading ribbon moving around its waist.
After a few moments, the main screen is revealed, showing a hilltop overlooking a dense forest and a cloaked individual looking to the horizon. Floating above them onscreen is the title Disgaea: The Game of Life while under them are three options: New Game, Load Game, and Settings.
Moving the cursor to Load Game, the man selects it and chooses his file. Once the file is loaded, he resumes where he left off.
Naruto stopped walking as he and his fellow redheads made their way to his party's base. "That was weird…"
"What was, Shithead?" asked Tayuya, raising a curious brow.
"I don't know. It kinda feels like someone else is doing our job."
Khaliah blinked as the comment threw her for a loop. "We have a job?"
"Yes, we do! We gotta let our faithful Readers know what's going on as this story continues! It's our job to be the Fourth Wall Breakers!"
The two women sweatdropped at that. "Seriously…?" they both asked incredulously.
"Dead serious!" Turning to…somewhere, he yelled out, "Whoever's doing that, you better stop! You're gonna get us all fired, ttebayo!"
Tayuya turned to Khaliah and stage whispered, "He's lost it, hasn't he?"
"I think so," returned the Vixen, making Naruto's brow twitch. "At any rate, weren't we supposed to be meeting your vassals again?"
Dropping the Fourth Wall subject for the time being, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we better not keep them waiting any longer." Turning to his new Siren, he grinned brightly and added, "I'm sure they'll love to meet you, Tayuya! You're a demoness that many can look up to!"
"…I can't help but feel like that was an insult as well as a compliment," she deadpanned in response.
"That's just your human upbringing conflicting with your new demonic status," explained Khaliah. "Trust me, as a demon it's good to be seen as bad; and your attitude is definitely demon material."
Tayuya still looked unsure, but she eventually shrugged it off as they reached the central tower of the Forest of Death. For some reason, she had a small smirk on her face at the sight, a feeling of belonging welling up inside.
"Nya~! Naruto-sama!"
"GAH!"
And then that feeling in Tayuya was mysteriously destroyed and replaced by a strange building fury at the sight of a busty Nekomata woman hugging her friend, burying his face in her furry, yet incredibly soft, mounds. Her fist clenched at her side while Khaliah, who was watching her changing emotions, snickered.
"Oi, Fur Tits!" Tayuya growled out. "You mind not suffocating Shithead?!"
"Hm?" Jinx looked down to see her Master comically flailing his arms around while giving out muffled cries that made her body shiver. She giggled mischievously as she let him go, allowing him to back away and take in massive gulps of oxygen. "Mou, Naruto-sama…" she pouted, ears drooping. "I thought you liked my hugs, nya…"
Regaining his breath, the hybrid looked to his vassal and was assaulted by the most unfair, cheating technique a woman of ANY race could use on a man; the pouty, hurt look. It had it all: the glistening eyes showing hurt and near tears, the bottom lip poking out and quivering, and the faux submissive posture that tugged at his heartstrings.
"I uh…" he struggled to say, feeling guilty and unaccustomed to situations like this. He never had female troubles other than unknowingly (and most times accidentally) pissing them off. He never had to deal with an emotionally upset one before. "I… I like your hugs," he mumbled, rubbing his arm. "But um…maybe you could tone them down a bit; just so that I can breathe and enjoy them with you?"
Khaliah shook her head in amusement while Tayuya's brow twitched madly. Jinx on the other hand…
"Nya~!" She immediately lost her hurt look and glomped Naruto, taking care not to suffocate him this time. "I knew Naruto-sama wouldn't hate me!" She then turned to Tayuya and blew a raspberry, forcing Khaliah to hold back the Siren from ripping the Nekomata a new one.
After Grace stepped in and pulled Jinx off of Naruto, he gave Tayuya a brief tour of the base and showed his fellow Uzumaki her new stats; something that she was still trying to wrap her mind around. While all of Naruto's vassals and Khaliah knew that his life was that of a game, Tayuya didn't immediately know and it was understandably a strange concept to accept.
But, after seeing everything that was happening around her, she couldn't help but believe him; though she didn't like the fact that she was at the lowest level.
"Naruto-sama," Grace called out, making him turn to see her at the Armory Booth. "I believe it's time to find you three some weapons for the upcoming trials."
"What, you mean like kunai and shuriken?"
"Those things don't match up to the crazy weaponry that the Netherworlds and Celestia dish out, Boss," Marcus cut in before presenting his sword, letting the three of them see its unique style. "This is my weapon. Swords focus on ATK, but they can also bring up other stats by a small amount." (2)
Geoffrey went next, showing them his staff that had an intricate design at the top. "Staves obviously raise up INT, but they also raise up RES by around half the amount of INT raised."
"Because RES is the stat needed for support magic," Naruto deduced, earning a nod from the Blue Skull.
"Tiffany and I use bows," Grace continued. "They equally raise up the ATK and HIT stats since a bow's power is based on their combined total. However, I also carry a staff on me for my magic oriented Special Skills."
"What about Jinx and Alexa?"
Alexa knew the question was coming and was ready to answer. "We use Monster Weapons. They're not visible to the outside world since they're basically absorbed into us to empower our stats. There are two types; ones that focus on physical strength – and can range from a claw to a fang – and ones that focus on magical strength. The second option are called medals."
"Tayuya-san will be better suited for a weapon that raises her INT, Naruto-sama," Grace cut back in. "Her skills are mainly genjutsu, which falls under that category." Tayuya gave an understanding hum at that, seeing the logic behind it. "As for Khaliah, the best weapon for her would be a Fist based weapon since her ATK and SPD stats are the highest. They mainly look like gloves, but in different styles."
Khaliah nodded in agreement before going over to the booth to pick a weapon to suit her, and Tayuya followed to find a staff to fit her needs. While they did this, Naruto asked, "So, what about the last weapons; the axes, spears, and guns?"
"Axes focus on raw ATK, but they drop your HIT and SPD considerably," Marcus explained. "I used to use them as my main weapon, but I couldn't hit or dodge anything to save my life. So, I switched to swords since they don't drop any stats. Spears give decent ATK stats, and they also offer a boost in DEF. They're a little difficult to use, but at least you can take a few more blows out in the field."
"And as for guns, they're the best weapon to use in terms of accuracy and dodging; seeing as they raise HIT and SPD equally," Grace finished. She then perked up and added, "I recall stories of Lord Valvatorez using swords and spears while Lady Artina used guns and bows."
Naruto looked interested at the tidbit of information about his family. Cupping his chin, he adopted a thoughtful expression as he tried to figure out what weapon he would like to focus on. Based on his stats, his ATK was highest with a base score of 18.
However, his HIT and SPD base total was 29. Boosting those stats with guns would help him just as well as using a spear would; given that swords only raise ATK and he'd like to survive longer with added DEF.
Making his choice, he went over to the Armory Booth and checked out their wares. After a few minutes, he came back out with a new holster tied to his right leg. A gun would be a challenge to get used to; but Naruto Uzumaki never backed down from any challenge before. So, why should he start now?
After their weapons were picked out, the three newcomers of the demon party – even if one of them was the leader of said party – were given explanations on Armor and Accessories. Armor was self-explanatory since it focused on raising the DEF and RES stats with a higher focus on DEF.
The accessories were as followed: belts, boots, orbs, glasses, muscle, and secret gems.
Belts focused solely on ATK, and they were recommended for heavy hitting classes.
Boots focused on SPD, movement, and jumping ability. These accessories were recommended for raising ones dodging ability or to assist gun users in raising the power of their weapon.
Orbs raised SP and RES stats. They were recommended for those who used support magic – healing especially – or if you wanted to use Special Skills more often.
Glasses raised INT and HIT. They were recommended for staff and bow users; though gun users could benefit from them as well.
Muscle raised HP, and that was it. If you had a low HP base stat, it was recommended that you acquire muscle to raise it up. Alexa, showing a sadistic side to her alluring personality, suggested that Naruto give muscle accessories to the Prinnies. When thrown, the explosive damage a Prinny caused was based on half of their remaining HP. So, it was clear to see that raising their HP would result in more powerful throwing bombs.
Of course, Naruto had already promised not to use any of his Prinnies as bombs. It was a good tactic, sure; but he wanted the Prinnies to be able to trust him as their leader. And Naruto didn't believe in sacrificing others for his benefit; deciding that his sacrifice would be more acceptable.
With their weapons, armor, and accessories chosen, Naruto decided to have a look at their new stats.
Alongside her new staff, Tayuya had chosen a piece of armor, a pair of glasses, and an orb to raise her stats. With those additions, they were:
Lv. 0001
HP: 40
SP: 40 (+1902)
ATK: 16
DEF: 15 (+810)
INT: 18 (+775)
RES: 18 (+2783)
HIT: 16 (+1092)
SPD: 15
Khaliah, along with her new gloves, had chosen some armor, a belt, and some boots for her stats. They were now:
Lv. 0001
HP: 90
SP: 100
ATK: 75 (+1109)
DEF: 60 (+1127)
INT: 70
RES: 65 (+740)
HIT: 60
SPD: 75 (+1074)
As for Naruto, he chose two pieces of armor and some boots to go alongside his new gun, making his new stats:
Lv. 0025
HP: 750
SP: 1250
ATK: 450
DEF: 375 (+1338)
INT: 250
RES: 300 (+916)
HIT: 350 (+264)
SPD: 375 (+1321)
Seeing their new stats, he couldn't help but grin. 'Yeah, we're ready,' he thought excitedly.
Back near the Leaf Village, Anko was seen standing in front of the gates to her favorite forest. In her hand was her headband, and she was looking down at it in contemplation, wondering what she should do with the options available to her.
On one hand, she could stay a loyal Leaf kunoichi and remain human. She wouldn't need to leave her home, change loyalties, or give up her life.
On the other hand, she could accept Naruto's offer and become his vassal. She would lose her Curse Mark that has haunted her for many years; but she'd be giving up her old life and her humanity in exchange.
It was a difficult crossroad she was standing in. In both scenarios, she's simultaneously happy and depressed. They both had their pros and their cons, which only made the difficulty in her choice rise higher and higher.
She wanted to ask for advice, but there wasn't anyone she could trust to remain open-minded about it. Kurenai would be adamant about her staying in the Leaf, seeing only negative things about Naruto's offer; possibly even calling it slavery. Ibiki would question her loyalty, which was never a good thing when the Head of the Interrogation and Torture Department was doing the questioning.
She could ask Hana, but the Inuzuka Clan promoted loyalty above all; and this choice would bring loyalty into question. Kakashi was an option, even if they didn't interact all that much. He was known as one of the most powerful Jonin in the village, and he had been through plenty of difficult decisions in his career.
With little other option, she decided to pocket her headband and find the lazy cyclops. Hopefully he'd be able to help.
In another part of the village, we see Hanabi sitting on the roof of the Main House of the Hyuuga Compound. She was hugging her legs and rested her chin on her knees as she thought over what she had heard earlier that day.
When she had eavesdropped on Naruto giving his offer to Anko, she too had thought about it. It wasn't hard for anyone on the outside to see that she and her sister, Hinata, were expected to be damn near perfect in the eyes of their father, Hiashi. While Hinata had backed off many times so that Hanabi wouldn't be branded with the Side Branch seal, that didn't stop Hiashi from pushing them both near the breaking point; sometimes even beyond that.
Hanabi hated the expectancies of her clan. She hated how she was supposed to be an emotionless statue at all times and never allowed to express herself. Hinata was lucky, in her opinion. If she was marked with the brand, then all those major expectancies would be washed away and compounded onto Hanabi.
The young teen despised that thought. Hinata would be marked an equivalent to a slave, sure; but at least she would have more freedom than Hanabi would. It wasn't fair.
"What's with the doom and gloom?"
She blinked at the memory of his first words to her, smiling warmly.
"You need to loosen up a bit, ttebayo! C'mon, it's no fun to be all serious every day!"
That was something she enjoyed about Naruto; his refusal to be untrue to himself. He could've treated her like royalty like most of the villagers did, but he didn't. Instead, he treated her like everyone else, and it was such a change to what she had been used to; what she had been raised under.
At first, she fell into the habits of her fellow Main House clansmen, demanding the proper respect of the commoner boy before her. When he laughed at her order, she didn't take it well and stormed after him to get him to apologize for his disrespect.
He had led her on a merry chase, treating it as a game and laughing the entire time. As time went on during her chase, she found herself subconsciously enjoying the moment. And at the end when he finally let her catch up to him, she couldn't help the laugh she shared with him.
"See? Was that so hard, little Firecracker?"
That name… It was one she secretly enjoyed, because it made her feel normal. It was the first sign of the growing relationship she would have with the resident Uzumaki of the village; one that she eventually saw as the playful older brother she wished she truly had.
"No matter what, Hanabi, you can always be yourself around me."
"Be myself…" she whispered, looking at the setting sunlight that broke through the gray clouds. Her smile remained as she made her decision, heading for her room to pack.
If her brother would offer a new life to someone else, who's to say he wouldn't do the same for her?
"Alright, so the Dimensional Gate is ready when you are, Naruto-sama," Tiffany declared with a bright smile.
"Awesome!" he exclaimed. "So, what's the first area open to us?"
Checking the available destinations, Tiffany spoke up, "There are two so far. One of them is a training ground that we use for new recruits. It'd probably be best to have Khaliah-san and Tayuya-san head their first…considering their levels."
The last part was added in awkwardly, making the two redheaded women have annoyed twitches of their brows.
"And the other area?" Naruto asked.
"It's a small village in another part of the Elemental Nations," Tiffany answered, having the Gate shift and show an image of it. "A farming village that sells its crops in other towns for supplies."
"Why would that place be available to us?" Tayuya questioned.
"No idea. But for now, why don't we go check out that training ground?" Naruto suggested. "I need to get used to using this gun and you two could use the level-ups."
Cue another brow twitch from the two of them. "Fine," grumbled the female Uzumaki, stepping through the portal.
"This is humiliating," Khaliah groaned out. "Here I am, a Bijuu, having to train alongside rookies."
"Would you rather remain sealed within Naruto-sama?" Grace queried pointedly, making the Vixen repress a growl.
Saying nothing, she too stepped through the Gate. Naruto then approached it before turning to his vassals. "We should be able to handle some training alone. Tiffany will inform you if we run into trouble."
"Of course, I will," agreed the Archer Demoness.
"In the meantime, keep an eye out for a woman named Anko Mitarashi. I offered her a place here, and I don't know if she'll accept or not."
"We will, Naruto-sama," Grace promised, watching her master head through the Dimensional Gate.
"I see," Kakashi commented, leaning against one of the training posts of his old squad's training grounds. He had just been informed of what had been happening to his student, and was honestly saddened that Naruto had given up his ninja life. "So, he's stationed in the Forest of Death, then."
"Yeah," Anko answered. "He's awakened some bloodlines from his grandparents on his mother's side, apparently. I thought he was yanking my chain until that Sound girl showed that he gave her a new life with demonic power."
"And you said he offered you the same thing, and you're conflicted on what to do, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah… Any suggestions would be great, Kakashi. I don't know what to do."
He hummed thoughtfully, cupping his clothed chin. "Well, what do you want more; the life you have, or removing the seal Orochimaru gave you?"
"Both. I don't want to be free of that bastard just to give my life to someone else."
"You're making it seem like Naruto will force you into servitude; something I can say with certainty that he would never do. He's a good kid, even if he has demonic blood. Besides, before he awakened that blood, did he ever show any sort of behavior that would make you think he'll be cruel to you?"
"Of course not," she immediately denied. "The brat's got a damn bleeding heart."
"That he does," Kakashi agreed with a signature eye-smile. "So, I'm sure that you becoming a vassal of his won't be as bad as your fears make it seem."
"…Why are you supporting this?" she couldn't help but ask. "I'm putting my loyalty in the Leaf to question by bringing this to you."
"I suppose," he replied with a noncommittal shrug. "But how often will you get a chance like this? Master Jiraiya may be great with seals, but he hasn't shown to have made any headway with breaking down your seal. Not to sound like an ass, but you're clinging to hope that isn't there, Anko."
"I know," she growled out, clenching her fist and glaring at the ground. She then let out a tired breath and repeated in a whisper, "I know…"
"Talk to Tsunade-sama about this," suggested the Copy Ninja. "Be honest with her and see what happens. You've got nothing to lose by just telling her."
"…I could lose my life by being labeled a traitor," she noted.
"Not necessarily. Everyone questions their options at some point in their lives. I have on multiple occasions," Kakashi admitted. "She won't fault you for being conflicted on this; especially with how much your Curse Mark has influenced your life."
She turned to face him, seeing him offer her another of his signature eye-smiles; only this one felt more genuine. She gave a faint smirk back and nodded once. "Thanks, Kakashi… This was a nice talk."
"Anytime, Anko. I'm always happy to help a friend."
Her smirk grew into a small grin before she took off. One hurdle had been crossed. It was onto the next one for the Snake Mistress.
Sneaking out of the compound was easy.
Out of the main parts of the village was even easier.
Getting through the infamous forest? That was a challenge.
Her Byakugan helped her see when she was getting close to animals who had taken shelter from the earlier rain, but it couldn't spot the famous tower the Forest of Death was said to have. It was as if something was blocking her bloodline from spotting it.
She wound up wasting an hour trying to find it, stopping to eat some fruits along the way so she could keep up her strength. When she did find it, she moved as silently as she could so that her presence wouldn't be spotted right away. She wanted to finally get the drop on Naruto for once.
When she snuck through the doors and through the halls, she noted the odd penguin-like creatures that were on patrol. 'Those must be members of Naruto's group,' she deduced, moving over to a set of double doors that had small windows.
Peeking through them, she saw his base and his other vassals, her eyes wide at the sight of it all. Carefully, she pushed open the door and took one step inside before she was picked up by the back of her shirt.
"H-Hey! Put me down!" she cried in surprise, making Grace give a soft giggle of amusement.
"Now, why would I do that? You're a trespasser after all, young one."
That made Hanabi freeze before she turned to face the Cleric Demoness. "…I just wanted to see Naruto," the young Hyuuga admitted.
"And who are you to Naruto-sama?"
"My name is Hanabi Hyuuga, and I was hoping to become a member of Naruto's group."
Grace rose a brow at that. "Truly?" Hanabi nodded firmly. "And why would you want that?"
"…Because I'm sick of my life in the village. I don't want to be like my father and be a slave to my clan's traditions. I want to live my own life, and if it means I need to give up my humanity, then I will."
"Such passion," mused the Cleric with another smile. "I'll let you see Naruto-sama when he gets back from his training. For now, though, you will stay with me. We can't take any precautions with our master not here."
Hanabi nodded and gave a bow when she was put back down on her feet. "Thank you…"
"Grace, dear. Call me Grace."
Nodding again, Hanabi began to follow the Cleric around the base, making sure to pay attention to everything around her while staying close. The whole time, she never lost the excited smile that was on her face.
1~ Anyone else like that? I wake up once and I find it really hard to get back to sleep; even if I don't have work for an hour.
2~ I won't go into details about what equipment every party member has; only the main characters of this story. Equipment is based off of Disgaea 5 for future reference, and I'll post a link to their items on my profile soon.
Tayuya has a Magician's Stick, Festival Clothes, Binoculars, and a Psycho Orb.
Khaliah has a Forehead Flicker, a Light Shield, Exertion Belt, and Cross-Trainers.
And Naruto has a Drill Blaster, a Cotton Bandana, Festival Clothes, and Ninja Tabi.
As for Naruto choosing a gun, I wanted to branch away from the other main protagonists of the Disgaea series. Laharl had multiple weapon specialties, but mainly used a sword. Adell used fists, but was also decent with swords. Mao used swords. Valvatorez specialized swords and spears. And Killia specializes in swords and fists.
So, to not follow the norm, I had Naruto choose the weapon his grandmother, Artina, uses. It was either guns or bows, but I'm picking bows for someone else. *winks*
At any rate, I'VE FINALLY UPDATED! WOOHOO!
Next chapter will have Naruto and his party have their first taste of true Disgaea combat! I hope you all are excited for that!
Until next time!
~pain17ification~