Here is the second chapter. It's a bit of a slow chapter, but still necessary to show Naruto's progression and flesh out a few more of the gaming mechanics. Next chapter has a bit more fun and action.
I will warm you that this chapter skips around a bit. I really don't feel like writing much about days where little happens, so I'm just jumping to each important event with a summary to explain what happened between them. It might make the timeline a bit difficult to follow, but I'm doing my best.
FemIssei: A bit of mixed feelings regarding this. Some of you were a bit creeped out by the thought, and I actually understand. I felt similarly when I first thought it. I'm glad though that some of you like the idea. Itsuko will make an appearance this chapter, and hopefully it will be enough to answer some of the questions you had about her.
After his first day living in a video game Naruto got something of a routine going. He now woke up earlier than necessary to go on a run. He would then leave for school while still in his workout clothes, simple shorts and a t-shirt. His mother wasn't happy about him leaving so early, but she did support his newfound work ethic so she would wake up and make breakfast for him before he left. Naruto would then use the showers in the boy's locker room at Kuoh, since their family had an outhouse as their only bathroom. His parents washed using a sponge and the sink. After showering, Naruto would stow his workout clothes in a locker and dress in his uniform.
School would then start. Not really much of a change except he focused much more on the lessons than before. He even took notes! When lunch finally rolled around Naruto would quickly devour his lunch, with ramen quickly becoming the usual. Packaged ramen was cheap, and Naruto had always had a taste for ramen. It didn't have much nutrition and packaged ramen wasn't nearly as good as freshly made ramen, but it was better than nothing. He would then use the remaining time during lunch to review his notes and start any homework.
After school he'd exercise in the sports field after changing into his workout clothes. He followed the track coach's recommendation and did calisthenics followed by long distance running. For two hours he'd go as much as he could. While the club members still didn't like his presence, the coach did actually offer Naruto a spot on the team as a long distance runner. He declined, but it was a good indication of what level Naruto's stamina was already on. His Body skill had also gained a few levels, so it was constantly improving.
Naruto would then head home. While Naruto didn't go looking for trouble, it seemed to invariably find him. Naruto was accosted by thugs several times, although never as much as that first day. It didn't happen every day, but still often enough that Naruto wasn't surprised when they showed up. Naruto rarely used Berserker Mode during these fights. The anger and sadism Naruto gained when using it was slightly off-putting. In Berserker Mode Naruto wouldn't stop till the person had at least several broken bones. A bit more serious than Naruto wanted a street fight to be, so he only used it when a thug pissed him off particularly bad.
Let it be known that Naruto hated being called a 'son-of-a-bitch'.
These fights had allowed Naruto to gain a few more levels. Two in Brawler, and one in Berserker Mode.
When Naruto got home he would start working with his dad on fixing up the house. They were doing the 'repairs' available in the house catalogue, with his father teaching him how. The first day they replaced several old pipes for the kitchen sink that were old and covered in mold (yuck!). The second day they tore down sections of the walls that had mold on the inside, and the next day replaced them with new drywall. Next Naruto spread grass seeds in front of their house to eventually start growing a lawn. Next they focused on the roof after a rainy day revealed multiple leaks in their roof. They followed them to their sources, and would then replace the faulty roofing areas.
Naruto actually had a good time. Not only was Naruto able to spend quality time with his father, but he was also learning valuable skills. Things that would no doubt help him in the future when he wanted to improve his home, not to mention were helping to make their house at least slightly more tolerable. Naruto had gained two levels in Handyman, but the quest was still ongoing.
After learning from his father Naruto would go to his room and start studying. It was annoying, but necessary. Although Naruto had to admit that he quit early on some nights to get an hour or two more sleep. Waking up so early everyday was difficult.
This schedule only lasted a week though. Then something happened which forced Naruto to reconsider.
His mother collapsed, and was bedridden for a few days. See, Naruto had forgotten that early warning that she would become sicker if overworked. It hit Naruto right where it hurt when he realized that was exactly what he had been doing. She had been waking up early to make him breakfast. It also turned out that his mother had been the one washing and repairing his school uniform from when damage was done to it during his fights. Naruto had wondered, but he had simply thought it was part of the game. When you go to your base you are healed and everything. Nope, apparently his mother had been staying up late to wash them and sew any tears that had formed.
Naruto felt like a total jackass when his father had informed him of that in a disapproving voice, which led to the next event.
"I already said it was alright, Naruto. You can stop apologizing," Naruto's mother told him from where she was laying down. Naruto's parents' room wasn't much better than his own. The room and closet were a little bit larger. Their bed had a frame, although the mattress was just two singles pushed up next to each other. They also had a single dresser. Naruto's mother was currently lying in bed covered in blankets. She was looking a little bit pale, and was clearly lacking in energy.
"I just feel like such an asshole. Because of me you are sick again," Naruto raged as he paced before her bed irritably.
"Watch your language, young man," she immediately snapped in response. Even that slight bit of energy seemed to drain her though, as she immediately closed her eyes. She then spoke up in a tired voice, "And hush about this being your fault. I might be fragile, but I'm still your mother. I'm meant to support you in your endeavors. So if that means waking up a bit early to make sure you eat breakfast then I'm fine with that."
"Well I'm not. Not if it means you are bedridden," Naruto growled out.
"It isn't your concern," she insisted. Naruto had inherited his stubborn nature from his mother, so this was a meeting between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Looking at Naruto steadily, she told Naruto, "You should just keep focusing on your schoolwork. That's more important. One of your teachers even called me. She said she was impressed with the effort you have started putting in, and that she hoped it would continue."
"Really?" Naruto had not known that, and couldn't help but be surprised by it. It had just been a week. Was there really that much of a difference in his behavior? Shaking his head, Naruto discarded that thought and said, "Doesn't matter. I'm not risking your health for anything, Okaa-san."
She let out a sigh in response. She then looked at Naruto after a moment's thought and started, "How about this? I'll teach you to sew and to wash clothes. That way you can fix your own uniform, since I still don't approve of your fighting." She ended with a chiding look at Naruto.
Naruto ignored the look and thought about the offer. Nodding, he looked back at her and replied, "Okay, but how about you also teach me to cook? That way you won't have to wake up early to make me breakfast."
"I don't need you taking over my job in this house, Naruto," she said while rolling her eyes. "I'll teach you to cook, and even to clean if you want, but it won't be needed. I'll be up and about in two days."
Naruto just shrugged as he claimed, "Better if I can do some stuff around the house when needed."
"As long as your main focus in on school."
Become a Housewife-Your mother needs help around the house. Learn to be a housewife from her. C-Rank.
Naruto shrugged and stood as he retorted, "I'll keep studying, if that is what you mean, but even now I don't think academics is my main focus. I prefer exercising."
"That's because you are a meathead, just like your father," his mother grumbled.
"Maybe, but you know you love us," Naruto quipped as he left the room.
"Never denied it. Still doesn't mean I like every aspect of you two," she called back as he left her room.
As soon as he left Naruto walked over to his father. He then demanded in a no nonsense tone, "Have you and mom been having lunch?"
"What?"
"Have you and mom been having lunch?" Naruto repeated slowly.
Naruto really wasn't sure why he hadn't considered it before. Naruto himself hadn't been given a bento or money to buy a lunch yet for some reason he had never considered if his parents had lunch themselves. This game was messing with his mind. It was just like with his uniform. He had been writing off many odd or unexplainable occurrences as simply part of the game. This was a rude wakeup call that was making Naruto question almost everything he had noticed but shrugged off.
Naruto's father just sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he admitted, "Money is tight, right now. We've had to cut expense where we could."
Naruto just sighed. He then reached into a pocket and pulled out his wallet. He then took out what bills were inside as he stated, "Here's a bit."
Naruto's father furrowed his eyebrows as he demanded, "Where did you get that money?"
Naruto shrugged as he confessed in a forcibly nonchalant voice, "I might sometimes go through the pockets of any thugs that attack me."
"Okay, I'll pretend I didn't hear that," was the reply after a moment's pause. He then looked at Naruto and claimed bluntly, "Naruto, I'm not taking your money."
"Yes, you are," Naruto ordered forcefully, actually grabbing is father's hand and putting the money in it. He then clarified, "I'll end up making more. Buy more food."
Naruto's father looked like he was going to protest, but the look in Naruto's eyes stopped him. As stated before, Naruto inherited his stubbornness from his mother. His father was actually rather submissive in personality, despite his size and military history. So he just sighed and nodded, pocketing the money.
Satisfied, Naruto started towards his room.
After that Naruto had to change his routine so that he could start learning from his mother. He did this by jogging home after school instead of walking. Jogging allowed Naruto to avoid most of the thugs, so less time was wasted dealing with them. He then did the work with his dad first. Afterwards was when Naruto started learning from his mother.
The first two days Naruto learned how to sew. It was the only thing his mother could teach him as she was still bedridden. The next day he cleaned the entire house, and Naruto swore that his mother took a perverse pleasure in making him clean every inch of the house. The final day she tried to teach him how to make a simple meal…Emphasis on tried. It turned out Naruto did not belong anywhere near a stove. His mother saw his pitiful attempt to cook and outright declared she wouldn't even try to teach him anymore.
Possibly because of that, Housewife became the first skill set he was able to expand. Housewife turned into three new skills. Sewing, Cleaning, and Cooking. Both Sewing and Cleaning had two levels in them, but Cooking had zero.
His schedule had seemingly gone back to schedule afterwards, except with Naruto washing and repairing his own uniform instead of his mother. That didn't last long though as just two days later, two weeks since Naruto started working with his father, they ran out of things that they could fix about their house with what they had available. He was also allowed to expand his Handyman skill, showing it was likely planned that way. Handyman turned into Landscaping and Duct Tape. It also opened up a new skill set, Craftsmen. Duct Tape, which was basically a skill on repairing most odds-and-ends, had three levels and Landscaping had one.
This had left Naruto with several hours of free time, so Naruto had been forced to find something else to fill that time. Something productive. While their work had improved their home slightly, it was still in a dismal state. Naruto was determined to remedy that, even if it was only a small bit.
Naruto eventually decided to start doing jobs. More like chores really. Basically Naruto just gave a hand to people when it looked like they needed one.
Although it was not as easy as it should have been, much to Naruto's annoyance. Naruto's reputation and looks worked against him once again. It appeared that the vast majority of people near Naruto believed badly of him. Naruto offering to help move some boxes just made them suspicious that he was planning to filch something from those boxes. He actually had to convince people to let him help them. That's just messed up!
Oh well, at least he got something out of it. It apparently counted as training his Speech skill. Naruto had already leveled up a few times in Speech, and he was hopeful he would soon be able to expand the skill.
Not to mention there were more conventional rewards from doing the jobs, the game actually counted them as D-Rank quests. Usually the person would give Naruto some money as a reward. Little more than pocket change, but it still helped. Not to mention it was a steadier income than 'looting' defeated thugs. Naruto would also oftentimes be given…odder rewards. Odds and ends that Naruto could only assume was an aspect of the game. Naruto simply couldn't believe a person would regularly give someone nails as a reward for helping them with a chore. That was much more a game reward. One guy even gave Naruto a box of random pipes. Pipes! If Naruto wasn't aiming to build his house a bathroom then he would have been rather baffled on what to do with a box of pipes. Eventually Naruto had actually come to appreciate these random rewards. He did need materials for when he finally decided to build a bathroom after all, so he had started stockpiling it all.
These quests also started giving Naruto reputation gains with the employer and the community as a whole. It was only a small amount, like the money and material rewards, but it slowly added up. Naruto was hopeful his reputation would improve over time. Naruto really didn't want to spend the rest of his high school career being treated like a delinquent.
Although the quests where he only received a larger reputation rewards kind of sucked. Naruto had to eat after all.
"What are you reading now?!"
Naruto was currently at school. It was lunch at the moment. Most of the students in the classroom had filed out to eat outside, leaving only a few students. They had all moved as far from Naruto as possible, but he had grown used to it. He instead took the time to read a book. At least until he was interrupted.
Naruto looked up when that question was asked in an exasperated voice. He then turned his head to look at the speaker. It was Itsuko. She was standing next to Naruto with her arms crossed and an annoyed frown on her face.
She then continued in frustration, "What is up with you, Naruto? Whenever I see you anymore you either have your face in a book or are doing laps in the field. It's kind of freaking me out, to be honest."
Naruto just shrugged as he replied, "Just filling up my day. I got tired of doing nothing."
"If you wanted to do something, you should have at least chosen to do something fun. Like peeking!" Itsuko commented as she sat down in the seat next to him. She then scoffed and gestured as she continued, "Instead you doing decide to bury your head in school books. I don't know you anymore. What did you do with the real Naruto, imposter?!"
Naruto rolled his eyes at her words and instead held out the book as he told her, "Not a school book."
Itsuko raised an eyebrow and leaned forward to look at the book. She then exclaimed in confusion, "A book about construction? Why are you reading something like that?"
Naruto put the book back on his desk as he stated casually, "I just think it could be useful. I'm thinking about working in construction after school. I don't have the money to pay tuition for a university, and I'm not smart enough to get a scholarship. Construction seems like a decent career option, so I checked this book out of the library."
That was a lie. Naruto had no intention of going into construction. While he was skeptical about his ability to go to a university, construction wasn't a much better option. This whole game thing was enough to make it clear to Naruto that he could do better than that. While he had no definitive plans, Naruto doubted his final destination would be something as ordinary as a job in construction. Naruto just said that because most high school kids didn't study construction with the intent of making additions to their homes. This was far less suspicious.
While it was clear Itsuko believed him, it was equally clear she found the idea displeasing. She grimaced as she commented, "Construction? Career option? We're in high school. You shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that!"
"Our teachers would disagree," Naruto remarked drily as he returned to reading the instruction book on construction.
Itsuko just pouted at his response, annoyed by his attitude. She watched him for several seconds before questioning, "What's up with the reading glasses? I know you don't need glasses. I've never seen someone with sharper eyes than you."
Naruto removed the glasses as he claimed rather awkwardly, "I don't really know. They just help. I read faster when I wear them."
His words were true. These glasses were actually one of the few items he had found that had a benefit.
Common Reading Glasses-Eye wear-Low Quality-A pair of ordinary reading glasses-Condition: 2/2, 10% increased reading speed.
Naruto had randomly found them one day on the ground in the park. He wasn't sure how they worked. As Itsuko had claimed, Naruto had perfect eye sight. Far better than most people. Reading glasses should change nothing, but Naruto could read faster with them on. Naruto had just been forced to accept it as a game thing.
Naruto had started taking them to school with him. He needed as much help as possible when trying to learn from reading material. His dyslexia already made it hard enough to learn from books. Naruto was simply a person that learned best from seeing and doing something. Books just didn't agree with him. Academics was the skill that was improving the slowest. Since he really needed to train his Craftsmen skill if he wanted to improve his house, hence the book on construction, then he needed all the help he could get.
On the matter of items, Naruto had also found out something useful. It turned out that items could be improved through multiple methods. Not only deliberate upgrades, but also just by wearing and using them frequently. The game just sort of…altered reality to make them better, although sometimes there were logical reasons behind the improvement.
Like Naruto's modified academy uniform.
Naruto's Modified Kuoh Uniform-Full Outfit-Low Quality-The modified Kuoh Academy uniform of Maeda Naruto, wearable only by him. Worn in many fights, it has been painstakingly repaired by both Maeda Ayumu and Naruto himself-Condition: 8/8, Defense: +1, Attractiveness: +8, and +5% reputation gains.
The overall condition of the outfit had improved from the number of times Naruto or his mother had repaired it. The school uniforms were not well stitched together. By having the weak points in the outfit tear and then have those weak points be stitched together better, the entire outfit had lost several of its weak points. Thus the entire outfit became more damage resistant.
The reason behind the reputation gain was less clear. Naruto figured it was because people had gotten used to seeing Naruto wearing it. He had also been doing jobs in that outfit. While people were still weary of Naruto, they were slowly warming up to him. They were no longer thinking of him as a delinquent…as much. That must be enough for the game to add the benefit.
Naruto had also improved his workout clothes. They were originally of minimal quality, and thus conferred no benefits. Now they were-
Worn Workout Clothes-Full Outfit-Low Quality-A loose and nonrestrictive outfit well suited to exercising in-Condition: 3/3, 5% increased stamina.
Not a lot, but it was still something. Especially since it was just workout clothes. Who knows how much better they could become over time?
Too bad Naruto couldn't tell anyone about it. It was one of the downsides of your life being a video game. The awesome video game aspects of your life needed to be kept a secret, which was why Naruto had to come up with lame excuses whenever something was brought up about it.
"Whatever," Itsuko muttered, clearly skeptical. She then looked at Naruto and continued, "You should put the book down for a while and hang out with me after school."
"Sorry, can't. Got stuff to do," Naruto answered automatically.
The response didn't please Itsuko. She grabbed the book and pushed it down on the desk as she growled out forcibly, "No, you don't." Taking a few breaths to calm down, she then continued with a small frown, "I really don't know what's up with you lately, Naruto. I haven't pried as you deserve some privacy, but I'm going to be completely clear right now. We haven't done anything together for weeks. So, as my friend, you are going to hang out with me after school. No arguing! Case closed! The discussion is done! Understand?"
Naruto leaned back slightly from Itsuko, rather shocked by her words. Not to mention the force behind them. Itsuko was not a commanding type of person. She was certainly determined when it came to topics she was passionate about, like perverted topics, but she was never commanding. She never really gave orders. So her basically ordering Naruto to hang out with her was very out of character.
Naruto was tempted to argue back out of principal. Naruto was stubborn, sometimes even obstinate. He was somewhat laid back usually, and was capable of acquiescing to requests. However, he did not do well with orders. Itsuko knew this though, so the fact that she ordered him regardless forced Naruto to consider her words.
Naruto actually hadn't hung out with Itsuko in a while. Unusual, since Itsuko was basically his only friend. They were by no means attached at the hips, but at least once a week the two would hang out. Play games at Itsuko's or go to the movies. They hadn't done anything since this whole game business started. Around four weeks or so. Naruto's days had simply been too busy. He had lacked the time to even consider the change in his lifestyle.
That was obviously not the case for Itsuko. Naruto could easily see how things might have appeared from Itsuko's perspective now that he thought about it. Her friend suddenly starts exercising and studying furiously. He always says he's too busy to hang out. It was like he had up and changed overnight. No wonder she thought he was acting weird. She had no explanation for his change in behavior. It wasn't like he had told her his life had suddenly turned into a video game.
The first few days after his life changed had been far harder than Naruto had put on. It wasn't easy for a kid to suddenly develop a jam-packed schedule and then follow through on it. Having little to no free time had hit Naruto rather hard. It was only because of the game that he did persevere. He hadn't taken any breaks as he had feared he was on a slippery slope. If he had cracked then the whole thing would have come down, game or no game.
It was different now. Naruto had gotten used to his new schedule. It still wasn't easy, but he was adapting to it. While it wasn't correct to think all his difficulties were behind him, Naruto figured he could take a break.
"Alright," Naruto admitted with a nod. Meeting Itsuko's eyes he continued, "I guess I really have been a bad friend these last few weeks. I'm still busy, but I guess I can skip my run after school to hang out with you…How about we go see a movie?"
"No way. A movie is too boring," Itsuko immediately claimed. She then smirked as she continued, "No, you owe me for the number of times you've blown me off. After school, you will finally go peeking with me."
"What is up with your desire for me to go peeking with you?" Naruto asked while shaking his head in exasperation.
"Peeking rocks, and everything is better with company," Itsuko declared immediately. She then added sheepishly, "And while I am friendly with Matsuda and Motohama, they are perverts of the highest level so I usually need to keep an eye on them when they get too excited."
"At least you understand that," Naruto grumbled. He had actually long had a worry for Itsuko due to her friendship with those two. Naruto didn't like them. Not only because they were perverts, most guys their age were, but because of their complete lack of control over those urges. Naruto could see them doing something unforgiveable if they got excited enough and had the opportunity.
"The point is I'd like to peek with someone I can trust completely, i.e. you," Itsuko continued without responding to Naruto's words. She then smirked mischievously as she added, "Plus, I enjoy the idea of making you less of a prude. If I could get you to peek just once I know you'd lose that ridiculous self-control you have."
"Well good thing I'm not going peeking with you then," Naruto commented drily, unamused by her statement.
Itsuko just leaned forward with a Cheshire grin and declared, "You owe me, Naruto. Four weeks you ignored me. That is worth at least one peeping session."
Oh, so that was her game. This was no longer a conversation. This was a negotiation. How much would Naruto give in exchange for her forgiving him?
At least Naruto was ready for this. He's been training his Speech skill. Leaning back and crossing his arms, Naruto told her bluntly, "We go to the movies. I'll buy you popcorn."
"Peeking," Itsuko insisted.
Naruto rolled his eyes before countering, "We'll go to the movies, and I'll go to your house this Sunday. We'll play video games of your choosing. Not giving you any more than that."
Itsuko now crossed her arms as she stated once again, "Peeking."
"No!" Naruto answered bluntly. "If you want me to go peeking with you, you need more than just guilt to convince me."
That caused Itsuko to think. After several moments of intense thought she finally nodded and informed him, "Alright. I'll show you something that will no doubt make it worth it. Something I've never even shown Motohama and Matsuda, and boy would they want to see it if they knew about it. Even you won't be able to resist this, Naruto."
Naruto looked at her skeptically. He could always tell when Itsuko was lying, and it appeared she was telling the truth. Naruto couldn't help but be curious. Guilt wasn't enough to force Naruto to peep, but guilt and curiosity…
"I know I'm going to regret this…but okay. I'll do it," Naruto reluctantly stated as he put his face in his hands in shame.
Itsuko immediately threw her hands in the air and cheered, "Alright. Meet me right after school. We'll have to wait two hours for clubs to finish, but it will be worth it."
"Yeah, yeah. Just go. Leave me to stew in my shame," Naruto grunted out with his head lowered.
"Trust me, you won't be saying that afterwards," a smirking Itsuko claimed as she turned and walked away.
Once she left Naruto's self-lamentation was interrupted. He looked up to see a message floating before him.
Expand Speech
Yes or no?
That cheered Naruto up at least a small bit. He immediately accepted mentally. The message disappeared, and Naruto quickly pulled out his journal. While Naruto was able to call up his skills mentally, reading a lot of floating words was rather disorientating. The journal was better if Naruto didn't need to be discreet.
Opening up his journal, Naruto immediately turned to his skills. He quickly saw that Speech had split up into four separate skills. Persuasion, Intimidation, Seduction, and Mercantilism. The Persuasion option was flashing, so Naruto picked it.
Persuasion
A charisma skill. This is a skill related to your ability to use words and actions to convince others to act according to your wishes.
Not anything unexpected there. Naruto looked to see that he already had four levels in the skill, but the most surprising part was that those four were enough for Naruto to come to a split in the skill tree. A major branch. The first one he's reached. He had to choose one path to take. Naruto touched the split to bring up-
Major Branch!
You have reached a major branching point. You must choose which path to take.
The left path is the Persuasion: Negotiation path. This path focuses on maximizing your capabilities in negotiation. You shall be able to forge deals and compromises, all the while receiving more and giving less. You shall also receive more materialistic rewards for quests. This is the path of a skilled negotiator, convincing diplomat, and shrewd businessman.
The right path is the Persuasion: Heart-to-Heart path. This path focuses on your ability to feel empathy towards and understand others. This ability makes it easier to form a connection with the heart of another. This allows you to more easily influence that person's morals, beliefs, ideals, etc. This is the path of a caring friend, forgiving enemy, and selfless savior.
Which shall you choose?
Naruto stopped. That was a very difficult choice. Guess that was what he should have been expecting. If it wasn't a difficult choice, then it wouldn't be a major branch. Naruto quickly reread it before sitting back to thoroughly consider the choice before him.
The Negotiator path had several clear advantages. It would especially help Naruto currently. Naruto was currently short on resources of any kind, just buying the movie ticket and popcorn if Itsuko had accepted going to the movies would have drained Naruto's funds to the point he wouldn't be able to have lunch for a day or two. Most of the money Naruto got from his jobs was given to his father, with Naruto only keeping enough for his lunches. So the increased materialistic rewards of this path would certainly be useful. The ability to negotiate would also be useful in almost any career Naruto could pursue.
The Heart-to-Heart path was a bit more uncertain. It was more…emotionally focused than the negotiator path. It was less about talking and more about connecting. Naruto wasn't sure if he knew how to do that, much less could actually manage it in real life. There was little clear use for this path.
On the other hand part of it spoke to him. Naruto was a person without many friends. So the ability to form a connection with another was something he wanted greatly. This path also seemed more fitting for a 'hero'. Since Naruto's life was now a video game, he was the protagonist. Naruto preferred the games where he was playing as a good guy and hero. Kind of childish, but it was a guilty pleasure of Naruto's. As a kid he had dreamed of being the kind of hero from fairy tales. Reality had kind of brought down that dream, but this game had rekindled it somewhat.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The Negotiator path was the smarter choice with clear applications both in the short term and long term, but the Heart-to-Heart simply spoke to Naruto. It might not have as clear a use as the Negotiator path, but part of Naruto felt it had greater potential. So Naruto mentally chose the Heart-to-Heart path. The Negotiator path faded away completely to show it was lost.
Wondering whether or not he had made a mistake, Naruto closed the Persuasion skill. He then chose Intimidation. He immediately choked in disbelief.
Intimidation
A charisma skill. The art of 'convincing' someone to do something through the threat of some kind of harm.
That wasn't unexpected, but what was surprising was that Naruto had over ten levels in Intimidation! What the hell?! He never intimidated anyone! Naruto quickly focused back on the skill and saw a perk.
Naturally Intimidating
Due to multiple reasons, you are perceived as intimidating by those around you. Immediate 10 levels in Intimidation.
Fuck! What sort of perk was that? Well at least Naruto had an explanation on why everyone was scared of him. Naruto still didn't agree though. Why did being tall and blonde mean he was intimidating? Totally unfair!
With a depressed sigh, Naruto left Intimidation and opened Seduction.
Seduction
A charisma skill. The art of manipulating someone through appearance, sexuality, pleasure, or charms.
Once again, not a surprise. Naruto had zero levels in Seduction. Also unsurprising. Naruto had never had a girlfriend, and had failed pretty badly back in middle school when he had tried to get one. He did see a perk though.
Overwhelming Sexuality
You naturally exude an intense sexual aura. There is a high probability that anything you do or say will be taken with a sexual connotation by the people around you. There is also a high probability that people around you with the appropriate sexual orientation will be sexually attracted to you.
Okay, that just confused Naruto. Intense sexual aura? What does that even mean? Naruto had never considered himself particularly handsome or anything. Eye-catching, certainly. Good-looking to people who preferred his type of looks, possibly. Handsome, never. Naruto was no Kiba Yuuto. He had long since accepted that. Which was why this confused Naruto so much. Maybe it wasn't about looks, but pheromones or something.
That was Naruto's best guess, but he eventually decided to just shove it to the back of his mind and ignore it for now.
Naruto then opened Mercantilism.
Mercantilism
A charisma skill. This skill relates to your capability to buy and sell items.
Naruto had a single level in this skill, and no perks. At least here wasn't anything surprising or confusing about this skill. Three was enough for one day. With that thought he closed the journal back up.
The end-of-lunch bell thankfully rung before Naruto could restart his book on construction. It might be necessary for Naruto, but it still made his head hurt. It had some surprisingly long and complex words in there. Maybe he should get a simpler one? Either way Naruto decided to just wait for the class to begin.
"That was…wow!"
Those words were the words that fell out of Naruto's mouth as he slowly walked down the street. His eyes were currently glazed over and his mind was clearly in a daze. Anyone could see that Naruto had just witnessed something life changing.
And at his side was Itsuko. She had a self-satisfied smile on her face, clearly pleased by Naruto's reaction. She then spoke up in a singsong voice, "I told you it would be worth it."
"I never realized Murayama and Katase were…I mean, I knew they were incredibly close but not…in that way," Naruto remarked in a stumbling voice, still rather out of it. Just thinking of the scene he had witnessed was enough to distract him somewhat.
"You've got another nosebleed, Naruto," Itsuko told him in a teasing voice.
"Crap," Naruto grunted out as he used his sleeve to wipe at the blood leaking from his nose.
Itsuko laughed before telling him jokingly, "A reaction from the controlled Maeda Naruto. Should I start fearing the end of the world is nigh?"
Naruto immediately shot her a dirty look in response as he told her bluntly, "I may be able to control myself, but I am a straight male teenager. Even I have my breaking point."
And watching his two very pretty classmates lezzing out was so far beyond that breaking point it wasn't even funny.
Naruto dearly hoped the media feature of the game had saved it. Naruto didn't even care right now about propriety. He wanted to remember that scene for the rest of his life.
"So you are straight?" Itsuko asked. She quickly added in a mocking voice, "Because I was starting to wonder."
"Haha, you're hilarious," Naruto deadpanned with a twitching eyebrow.
"I know," Itsuko replied smugly. Looking at Naruto, she elbowed him in the ribs as well continued, "Well, aren't you going to thank me?"
"Thank you? What for?"
"For letting you see that glorious event," Itsuko immediately answered. "And don't even try to claim you didn't love it, and didn't try to imprint it into your memory."
Naruto just rolled his eyebrows before admitting, "I wasn't going to claim that. As I said, I'm a straight male who has his limits. You successfully pushed me beyond my limits. Congratulation, Itsuko."
Itsuko immediately threw her hand into the air and whooped. She then threw an arm around Naruto's shoulders as she declared in delight, "Yes. I did it. Now it's only a matter of time. Perversion is a slippery slope, Naruto, and you've started sliding. It's inevitable now. You shall soon join me in the pit of debauchery and sin."
"God, I hope not," Naruto grumbled.
"You won't be saying that when your inner pervert takes over," Itsuko declared with a certainty that frankly worried Naruto.
Naruto decided to just move on and commented wistfully, "Now as amazing as the idea, and sight, of Murayama and Katase doing it is, I am slightly disappointed. Both of them are so pretty. I know both of them are more likely to run away screaming then to hold a conversation with me, but it is still disappointing that the two are lesbians."
"Since when have you been so lacking in confidence?" Itsuko asked with a raised eyebrow. She didn't wait for an answer before informing him, "And I never said they were lesbians. They're just bisexuals."
"Really?"
"Definitely. Those two talk about boys, and their asses, far too much to be lesbians," Itsuko claimed with a confident nod. She then added with a grin, "I'll definitely be encouraging my harem king to seduce them and add them to his harem, when I find him of course."
"And we're back to the harems," Naruto commented with a sigh. He then raised a hand to his temple as he told her firmly, "I know it will make no difference, but I still feel the need to say it. You will not end up part of a harem, Itsuko!"
"Yes, I will," she replied with so much certainty it might as well have been fact.
"No, you won't. Harems are wrong and do not happen in this day and age," Naruto stated while pinching the brow of his nose.
"Harems are not wrong," Itsuko insisted. "As long as the females all agree to share there is no reason a harem would be wrong."
"What about fairness or equality?" Naruto retorted.
Itsuko just grunted in annoyance as she countered, "Please, life is not fair or equal. Everyone is different. Some people are taller, smarter, stronger, friendlier, more athletic. People are different, but people refuse to accept that. Instead they emphasize treating everyone the same. The reality of the situation is that 99% of guys aren't man enough to have their own harem, so they gang up on the 1% who can out of jealousy. That isn't fair."
"Sure, whatever you say," Naruto mumbled, not convinced. Thinking for a moment, Naruto suggested, "As a matter of fairness the women in the harem should be allowed to sleep with other men as well."
"No! Firstly, if the women were allowed to be with other men then it wouldn't be a harem, but an open relationship," Itsuko immediately protested. She then continued passionately, "And such a thing would ruin the very essence of a harem. The very point of a harem isn't, in fact, the men or women composing that harem, but the person who created that harem. A harem is a living triumph of a person's true strength. A real harem king doesn't gain his harem through trivial things like looks, money, or sexual prowess. While those things are always a benefit, something else is most important. A true harem king is a person with a personality that allows them to enchant many different partners, and the force of will necessary to then control those partners. Understand? The very thing that makes a true harem king is that man's ability to create and control a harem despite the inherent unfairness."
Naruto just stared at her in a deadpan. Finally he confessed, "Well, if nothing else, I admire your passion about this."
"True harems are beautiful. The purest examples of love overcoming the obstacles. It is simply the propaganda of a cruel, monogamous society that prevents others from seeing that," Itsuko proclaimed like she was speaking a great truth.
Naruto finally just shrugged as he said cheekily, "I'm sure a few others would agree with you. After all, there must be a few other people in the world with the same brain condition as you."
Itsuko just shot him a dirty look and stuck her tongue out at him. She then quipped, "Well I'm infectious, and you will eventually see things from my opinion. Just you wait and see, Naruto."
"…You just admitted you're a disease," Naruto grumbled out with his head lowered. Knowing he wouldn't be able to extract any shame from Itsuko, Naruto just moved on by asking, "So when do you plan on finally getting a boyfriend? I'm sure Matsuda or Motohama would be more than eager, and then you could work together to find…others like you."
"Ew, no," Itsuko instinctively replied. She blushed and tried to explain awkwardly "I mean…Motohama and Matsuda are my friends, but…Those two are too selfish to get their own harems, so they're not my type."
"Too selfish to have their own harems? Isn't having a harem inherently selfish?" Naruto questioned skeptically, hiding his relief that Itsuko didn't plan on dating Motohama or Matsuda. It could not be emphasized enough. Naruto did not like those two.
"Haven't you been listening to anything I have been saying, Naruto?" Itsuko grumbled in annoyance.
"Not really," Naruto answered immediately, taking pleasure out of the annoyed twitch Itsuko gave at his words.
"Then listen up because this is the last time I'll explain it…Today. Selfishness is not bad. Everyone is selfish to some degree. Otherwise we'd only take what we needed to survive. The pursuit of something greater is what has driven humanity past mere survival. The vast majority of people push themselves for selfish reasons. Most students study so they can get into a good school and have a good future. People date so they can find someone to have sex and children with. They try to make money so they can live luxuriously. Selfish, but not necessarily bad. While I'm sure there are some selfless people out there, they are vastly outnumbered by us selfish people," Itsuko argued passionately. "What is really important is balance. Selfishness must also be tempered by selflessness. I have high demands of my eventual partner, but they are tempered by the fact that I am willing to share. So a true harem king must similarly temper his selfishness with kindness and caring. A harem king must be selfish to form and then control his harem. That selfishness in his love life must then be balanced in the other aspect of his and his harem's life. He must support them emotionally, be encouraging of them professionally, protect them physically, and believe in them spiritually. It is through these positive traits that the harem king could still be called a good person despite their selfish love life."
Naruto has to admit he was impressed. That was actually a rational and well-reasoned argument. Naruto still didn't believe harems were realistic in almost any way, but he couldn't deny Itsuko had obviously put a lot of thought and heart into the idea.
Itsuko then continued by telling him, "It is for those reasons that Matsuda and Motohama won't end up with harems. They are too selfish. I admire the fact that they are upfront with their desires, but I am not blind to their faults. They want harems purely for selfish reasons. They are guided purely by their own wants. I hope they'll mature over time, but even then I doubt they'll be truly good people. Simply mediocre ones. So a harem will always be out of their reach, although it might be possible for them to attract several gold-diggers if they somehow end up rich. Not only is such a thing unlikely though, but I absolutely refuse to call something like that a harem. A harem built on superficial things like money or looks is lacking in my opinion. As I said before, the very point of a true harem is the person at the center who had the personality necessary to create that harem. A harem built around a person through other means is no true harem. Merely a crude imitation."
"Okay, whatever," Naruto grumbled, growing tired of this topic. It was simply something Naruto and Itsuko would likely never be able to agree on.
"You simply haven't seen enough breasts yet. You are still too prude to see the truth of my words," Itsuko insisted.
"Keep telling yourself that, Itsuko," Naruto said as he turned and started walking away from her. He then added softly to himself, "Doesn't make it true."
Itsuko still heard him though, and she wasn't going to take that lying down. She quickly called out mischievously, "So I guess that means you don't want me to tell you when Murayama and Katase always hook up."
Now that caused Naruto to come to a halt. His head was lowered as he remained silent for a short time. Finally he whispered shamefully, "…I don't mean that."
"Knew it," Itsuko said with a smirk. She then walked away as she called back to Naruto, "It's a slippery slope, Naruto. I'll be seeing you in the pit in no time."
Naruto knew going peeking with Itsuko was just going to bring him trouble. Damn it!
Naruto placed the box he was carrying onto the stack he had built over the last hour. He then called out, "Tsuchi-san, I'm done."
"Already?" Was the response. The speaker soon joined Naruto. Mr. Tsuchi was a middle aged man whose tan made it clear he spent a lot of time outside. Looking at the many boxes Naruto had stacked in his storage area he commented in an impressed voice, "Only took you an hour. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're young. Don't have a bad back, like me."
"Yeah, probably should avoid stressing your back carrying heavy boxes like this," Naruto said.
"Haha. I wish I could, but sometimes I got no choice. Makes me thankful you showed up," he claimed happily, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. He then started walking as he added, "Now let's go to the shop proper so I can give you your reward."
Naruto just nodded and followed after the man. Naruto had come here after leaving Itsuko. Mr. Tsuchi was one of his more regular customers, as in Naruto often did chores for him. He owned a landscaping store. Today Naruto had moved a new shipment of product from a truck to his storage area. Fertilizer, gardening equipment, decorative stones, etc. The heavy stuff the man didn't want to move himself due to his bad back.
"You really saved me today, Naruto. I would have been forced to ice my back all night if I had to move all that," Mr. Tsuchi claimed while clapping Naruto once again on the shoulder. "You know what, I was wrong about you. Despite your looks, you're a pretty good kid."
"…Did you really have to add the 'despite your looks' part?" Naruto asked in a deadpan.
Naruto had been having this conversation several times in the past week. While his constant D-rank quests had done little to change the opinions of most people concerning him, it had seemingly made an impression on the people he was actually helping. His more regular customers were starting to come around, and were telling him such. It was good for Naruto…Except every single one felt it necessary to comment on his looks in the process.
Seriously?! Naruto was tall and blonde! Why did that automatically mean he was intimidating?!
Naruto finally just let it go with a sigh as he replied, "Well, thanks…I guess."
The two finally entered the main part of his store. It was a typical landscaping and gardening store. There was everything a person would need to spruce up their yards.
"Didn't you say you were building a garden a few weeks ago?" Mr. Tsuchi asked.
"Yeah. My mom said that she wished we had a garden, so I've been using the things you've been giving me to build one," Naruto answered with a shrug. It was actually a quest that had come about from a comment his mother had made.
Momma's Garden-Your mother wishes she had a garden. Build one for her. C-Rank.
It was this quest that had caused Naruto to work so often for Mr. Tsuchi. His customers usually gave him rewards based on their professions, so he was the one to give him gardening stuff. Naruto hoped that completing this quest would improve his mother's health a small bit. While she had improved slightly after Naruto started giving his father money and repairing his own clothes, it was only enough that she didn't get worse. He actually wanted her to get better. While there was little actual reason a garden would improve her health, Naruto hoped it was a matter of 'mind over matter'. A garden would make her happy, so maybe her body would react to that. If not the game might just warp reality to make it happen, as it seemed to do occasionally. The reward might be something entirely different, but Naruto still hoped since this was one of the few quests he had gotten related to his mother.
"Then I know the perfect reward," Mr. Tsuchi crowed triumphantly. He picked something up before then showing it to Naruto. It was a rack, holding small plants in pots six inches by six inches. The rack looked to be two feet by two feet, and was double layered. With the size of the pots, the rack held a total of thirty-two plants. Mr. Tsuchi patted it as he explained, "This is a basic garden plant set. The starting point of any garden. Nothing rare or fancy, but the standard plants a person should have in their gardens. It's yours."
"Isn't it a bit much?" Naruto asked hesitantly. While Naruto had received plants before from the man, the most he had received before was four at once. Thirty-two was a large upgrade.
"Nah. You're a good kid. I owe you for coming around to help me so often. Go finish that garden, and I hope your mother enjoys it," Mr. Tsuchi told him, waving off Naruto's worries.
Naruto immediately grinned and picked the rack of plants up. He then called out as he left the store, "Thanks a lot, Tsuchi-san. I'll go and plant them immediately."
Mr. Tsuchi replied, but Naruto didn't really hear. He was enthusiastic about getting home, and was moving in a hurry. It wasn't every day that Naruto completed a C-Rank quest. While still one of the lower ranks as far as quests go, it was the highest Naruto had completed yet. Naruto was eager for chance to finish his third.
Naruto was thankful he wasn't accosted by any thugs on his way home. Naruto was basically helpless holding the rack as he was. While he could have placed it down, Naruto knew most thugs weren't above breaking it just to get some revenge on Naruto. He wasn't going to risk it, since this was the largest reward he had ever gotten for a D-rank quest.
Finally reaching his home, Naruto didn't enter immediately. Instead he circled around to the area where he was building the garden. It was a small lot of dirt Naruto had enclosed with some stone boundary markings. Three feet by ten feet, it was a small garden. It was also only currently occupied by eleven plants.
Naruto quickly placed the rack of plants down. He then turned and walked away towards a nearby tarp that was clearly covering something. Naruto quickly pulled the tarp away to reveal what lay beneath. Piles of wood sorted by size and color, nails, cans of paint, an assortment of tools, pipes, screws, etc. This was Naruto's stockpile. With nowhere to place the numerous supplies he picked up, Naruto had eventually just put it all together and covered it with a tarp. It was the best he could do currently. Maybe he would build a shed after he built his bathroom…Food for thought.
Naruto put that thought away in favor of grabbing what he needed. A thick pair of gardening gloves, some dirty overalls, a watering pail, and a hand shovel. Properly suited up and tools in hand, Naruto went back to the garden. He then got on his knees and started working.
It was actually rather quick work. Naruto had already ploughed the dirt in the garden, so it was easy to plant the plants. Scoop, place, cover. Rinse and repeat. Naruto didn't know how to properly arrange a garden or anything so he just placed them in three rows with a standard distance between all the plants. It was the best he could do.
Only twenty minutes later Naruto stood up to review his work. The little garden was now filled. The plants were small and the distance between each one meant there was a fair bit of bare dirt remaining, but Naruto was sure that would change in a few weeks as the plants grew. Naruto knew even then the garden wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, but he didn't care at the moment. He'd think about expanding and improving it later, when he had more free time to learn more about gardening.
"Oh, you finished it?"
Naruto looked up to see his mother peeking out the door at the garden. She quickly stood and moved her wheelchair outside. She then sat back in it to look at the small garden comfortably.
Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. While he was satisfied with his work, he was less sure whether his mother would accept his rather mediocre garden. He quickly commented anxiously, "Yeah. It's not a lot, but-"
"It's lovely," his mother interrupted immediately. She then flashed him a smile as she pointed out, "It would have been unfair to expect more considering you've never gardened before. The mere knowledge that you put in enough work to build a garden is enough for me."
That made Naruto blush slightly. He broke eye contact to look away as he continued scratching the back of his head. Finally he just mumbled, "I should be going in now."
Naruto heard his mother giggle from his act of embarrassment, which only made Naruto blush more. He quickly took off the gloves and overalls, placing them back in his stockpile. He then moved and entered his house.
Naruto sat at the table. He took a quick look at his uniform. Despite his wearing gloves and overalls when gardening, they had gotten a bit of dirt on them. Naruto would need to wash them before tomorrow. But first-
Naruto pulled out his journal. Opening it to his skill page, he focused in on his Body skill.
Expand Body
Yes or no?
Naruto had leveled up Body when he was moving the boxes, and finally reached the point where he could expand the skill. It was probably the skill Naruto had wanted to expand the most. Naruto preferred games that had some action, and he secretly hoped his life would start getting more action in it. Thugs simply weren't cutting it much anymore. While the domestic skills he had been training were useful, they weren't exactly the most exciting activities. Body might be the skill most related to physical challenges, so hopefully expanding it would make things more exciting. He hadn't been able to expand it at the time as he had been busy, but now he had no such impediment.
Naruto quickly expanded the skill. It immediately split into five different skills. Strength, Speed, Durability, Stamina, and Flexibility. They were rather self-explanatory skills. Naruto quickly opened and checked his levels in them. Stamina was by far his highest skill, his highest skill entirely. Next was Durability, with Strength a few levels lower. Speed was quite a bit down, with Flexibility even lower.
So Stamina was the highest not only because Naruto had been focused on training it this entire time, but also because his Uzumaki Body perk improved his Stamina the most. Durability was improved by both Uzumaki Body and Large. Strength as well, although less so with Uzumaki Body. Both Speed and Flexibility were improved by Uzumaki Body, but only that.
So Naruto was a big guy with stamina to spare. What a shocker.
"What are you looking at, son?"
Naruto looked up to see his father enter the room. Naruto quickly closed the journal and removed it from the table. While Naruto wasn't sure whether someone else could read the journal he wasn't going to take chances. He then answered nonchalantly, "Just checking some notes. A bit early for me to start studying, but I'm not sure what else to do now that I've finished Okaa-san's garden…Is there anything that needs fixing, Otou-san?"
"Plenty," was the automatic reply, but Naruto's father than added with a sigh, "Unfortunately, we don't have the supplies necessary to fix any of it."
"Did you check my little stockpile outside?"
"Nah. I'll leave that alone. You've gathered that stuff, and I assume there is a reason for that."
"True," Naruto admitted to his father before explaining, "I'm hoping to gather enough to build a bathroom."
"A bathroom would definitely be useful. I might be satisfied with the bare necessities, but the luxury of a hot shower is always welcome," Naruto's father confessed wistfully.
"Yeah. It's kind of awkward to use the shower at school," Naruto stated in agreement. Naruto then shrugged as he announced, "Not much for me to do then besides study. I guess I could exercise for a bit. I skipped my session after school to hang out with Itsuko for a bit."
"You hung out with, Itsuko. Good. Can't neglect your friends," his father lectured. He then looked at Naruto seriously as he questioned, "Why are you exercising so much recently though? Not that I'm complaining, but I just don't understand. What is the point?"
Naruto paused for several seconds to think up a satisfactory answer before answering rather awkwardly, "I just got…restless. I really didn't have anything to do, so I just decided to start filling up my time with anything that was available. Studying, exercising, fighting, working. Exercising and fighting are just the two I enjoy the most and am best at."
"Ah, now that I understand. I was the same way," Naruto father commented nostalgically. He then met Naruto's eyes as he continued, "If you want I could help."
That caught Naruto interest. Tilting his head in confusion, Naruto asked, "What do you mean by help?"
His father now smirked as he explained, "What you are doing is too wild. Fighting thugs when they pop up. Exercising on your own. I can teach you how to really train. I learned hand-to-hand combat in the army. I can teach you how to actually fight, not the stupid delinquent crap you currently use. I can also help you train in the mornings, the sort of things we did in the army."
"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise, not expecting that. His father had always been a rather passive man, in Naruto's experience. He knew he had once served in the U.S. Special Forces, but Naruto had figured he had long since left that part of his life behind. It was a way he had dealt with his PTSD. He had moved on. For his father to now offer to bring that stuff back up wasn't something Naruto had ever thought would happen. Naruto quickly asked in concern, "Are you sure? I thought you were…sensitive about your time in the army?"
"I wouldn't have offered it otherwise," his father quickly claimed. "Don't expect me to teach you about guns or explosives, but some hand-to-hand is fine. Maybe even some small weapons if you impress me."
"Sweet. Can't refuse that," Naruto immediately said with a grin.
His father gave a small smile before telling him, "Go get into some better workout clothes. We'll do a little spar, just enough for me to get a sense of your fighting style and your physical capabilities."
Naruto nodded and quickly went to his room. He removed his clothes and put them in a pile to wash later. He then put on his usual workout gear. He then moved back into the kitchen. His father wasn't there, but he quickly reappeared a minute later wearing his own set of workout clothes. Unlike Naruto orange shorts and white t-shirt, his father was wearing black cargo pants and a tight black wife beater.
Naruto couldn't deny feeling a bit intimidated by his father at that moment. Standing five foot eleven in Japan, Naruto was not used to looking up at people. His father had six inches on him though. His father was also noticeably well-muscled. Despite his recent spurt of exercise, Naruto had focused on long distance running. He had lost a bit of the excess weight he had been carrying, but hadn't exactly put on much muscle. Compared to his father's form, Naruto was downright lanky. It was a…new experience for Naruto to be the smaller and weaker person.
Naruto quickly shook off that thought though. He had Uzumaki Body, which was basically a cheat when it came to physical abilities. Not to mention the game caused everything to be put into question.
Naruto's father motioned for him to follow. Naruto did just that. They went outside to Naruto's stockpile. His father removed the tarp and then placed it on the ground. He then stepped onto it as he explained, "Not much. Won't act as much of a cushion, but it will hopefully prevent you from getting too dirty. Your mother will probably be annoyed enough with your bruises, so I don't want to add onto it by covering you in dirt."
"Confident about this, huh?" Naruto deadpanned.
His father just smirked and replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders, "Of course, when you are my opponent."
That caused Naruto's eye to start twitching. Smiling stiffly, Naruto got into his fighting stance and replied, "Well I can't just stand here and let that pass, can I?"
His father just smirked. Without even getting into a fighting stance he gestured for Naruto to bring it on as he ordered, "Well it's your move, Naruto."
Insulted by his father's relaxed stance, Naruto quickly closed the distance and threw a punch. Only a few seconds later Naruto felt his back slam into the ground. A dazed Naruto stared up into the sky. It took a good ten seconds for Naruto to work out what just happened.
Naruto had thrown a punch. His father had leaned out of the way and used the knife edge of his hand to push it out further and unbalance Naruto. His other hand then delivered a palm thrust to the ribs under his extended arm. He had then stepped forward so he was just a slight bit behind Naruto and to his side, having grabbed and raised Naruto's chin at the same time. Naruto had been forced to take a step back to balance himself, except his father's leg had already been positioned to trip Naruto. The end result of which was Naruto slamming into the ground.
His father had used Naruto's dazed state to crouch down beside him. Patting Naruto on the stomach he told him in a joking voice, "Loved the passion…Hated everything else you did."
Naruto couldn't just let that pass. Naruto shot up with a growl and charged his father.
…The end result was exactly the same. This time Naruto was thrown with a hip toss. This time Naruto skipped right past the dazed phase to get back up and attack again.
Catching his punch, his father twisted it till Naruto's back was forcibly arched backwards. Still holding onto his arm, he then swept the back of Naruto's legs out from under him. Naruto would have probably broken his neck if not for his father maneuvering him in midair to instead land on his shoulder. His father then remarked in a smug voice, "I can do this all day, Naruto."
His father then proved exactly that by literally throwing Naruto's ass around for the next two hours.
Naruto growled out in pain as his face was pressed into the ground with a knee digging into his back, holding him down. Naruto struggled fruitlessly to escape, which only resulted in his father putting more weight on his knee. Naruto finally just went limp, waiting for his father to let go so the process could be repeated.
This time his father patted him on the back as he got off and announced, "I think that's enough for tonight. The sun is setting."
"…Alright," Naruto finally replied, in no mood to argue by that point. Two hours of getting his ass handed to him was plenty for one night.
Naruto rolled onto his back to find his father once again crouched beside him. His father then claimed in a lecturing tone, "Well, you're definitely my son. That's my stamina and tenacity all right. Unfortunately, that's offset by multiple problems. Your fighting style is crap, your footwork is horrendous, you telegraph all your moves, and you aren't nearly as strong as you think you are. Maybe compared to delinquents who spend their days sitting around smoking you are strong, but compared to me…"
…Yeah, Naruto could see his point. Naruto felt like a child banging at the leg of an adult during the match. Naruto was overpowered in every aspect.
Naruto really felt like hitting himself right about now, but he was sore enough as it was. Naruto had assumed his Uzumaki Body would give him an edge, but he had realized something during the spar. Since Uzumaki Body was due to Naruto being an 'Uzumaki', then he had to have gotten that blood from one side of his family tree. Since Uzumaki was a Japanese name, Naruto had assumed it would have come from his mother's side. The side with Asian blood. For some reason his mother had just never inherited it. Now Naruto realized that it was likely his father had it as well.
They were just too similar. His father had even pointed out that Naruto had his stamina, the thing that Uzumaki Body enhanced the most. It also fit his father's history. His father was an orphan, and never knew his real name. Naruto still didn't have an explanation for why his father, who wasn't Japanese or even Asian, could be an Uzumaki, but Naruto decided to just ignore that inconsistency for now.
The revelation also made it clear why Naruto had been manhandled to the degree he was. His father had all of Naruto's advantages, and more. He was larger, more physically fit, more skilled, and more experienced. Naruto didn't have a single advantage going in.
Clearly the game wasn't in the mood to help him either.
Berserker Mode might have given him a slight advantage, but…no. No way was Naruto going to go all sadist on his father. That was just wrong on so many levels, even if Naruto suspected his father could have still handled him.
"You…are actually pretty badass, Otou-san," Naruto finally managed to get out, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath. Even his stamina had been stressed by the beating.
"I know," his father answered with a smirk. He was only slightly sweating from the exertion of the spar, showcasing his superior stamina. He then told Naruto, "Don't worry though, Naruto. I'm sure I can help raise your own level of badassery. Firstly we'll need to put some muscle on those bones of yours. I'll also need to teach you the basics of punching, kicking, blocking, and combinations. Then we can focus on a bit more advanced stuff like angles of attack, leverage, footwork, throws, and submission holds. Finally, if you impress me, I can teach you how to attack with and defend from small weapons."
"Looking forward to it," Naruto groaned out, already feeling the pain.
"Good. I'll be going in now. Don't stay out too long. It will be dark soon," his father said as he stood up and started walking away, leaving Naruto to recover at his own pace.
Which Naruto gratefully used. He also took the time to think about his ass-kicking. It wasn't Naruto's first time losing a fight. Naruto had gone through multiple stages of his life. As a young kid he had actually been rather shy due to often being teased for his looks. He had become far more reckless and outgoing after Irina, his only other friend at the time besides Itsuko, had moved away. He had been beaten up multiple times during this stage of his life. Naruto had been too full of piss and vinegar at the time to let himself be bullied, and had often fought back. He had often been sent to the school nurse or gone home beaten up when he had thought it a good idea to fight back against a group of bullies. Naruto had mellowed out just a few months before starting high school. While his looks had still attracted bullies and thugs, and Naruto still fought back, he had become far more cautious in his approach to dealing with them. Naruto hadn't hesitated to use 'strategic retreats' when he was outnumbered or outmatched by too much. Unlike before when he would have fought to the bitter end. Naruto had regained some of that energy and purpose since the game started, but he had been lucky in the sense that he had reached a point where few of the people he interacted with could beat him.
Although there were a few who potentially could. Naruto had a power level of 6 when the game had started. In the four weeks or so since Naruto had increased it to 9. While Naruto hadn't 'scouted' the school, he had found several patterns emerging. Members of sports clubs ended to be higher. Most of the aces tended to be 8 or 9's. The clubs that translated to fighting tended to be even higher. Naruto was pretty sure there were three or four 10's in kendo club. Naruto's father was by far the highest Naruto had seen yet. He had been 14 when the game had started, but he had since increased to 15. Naruto assumed the increase was due to him now eating lunch, giving him more energy.
Naruto still questioned the power system. He could see twenty being reached by Olympic athletes or champion fighters, but what about the upper four-fifths of the scale? Was it just pointless?
Naruto was once again forced to put those questions in the back of his head for now. He should instead focusing on increasing his own power level. Hopefully training with his father would increase it faster than it had been.
Naruto had been hoping for a bit more action in his life after all.
Oh, and Naruto had the media recording of Katase and Murayama to look forward to…Oh yeah! That thought was enough for Naruto to get off the ground and head back in. Lesbian action was a great motivator.
There it is. As I said at the beginning, this chapter was unfortunately focused on fleshing out a few more of the game mechanics. Providing a few examples of what was talked about the previous chapter. So a bit of a slow chapter, but next chapter is when Naruto really starts entering the supernatural world. So hopefully it will be a more exciting chapter.
Itsuko: You got to find out a little bit more about Itsuko. How her friendship with Naruto tends to work, and the specifics of her perversion. Kind of got carried away with her speech about harems, but it did serve a purpose. Not only for defining her own opinions, but also revealing Naruto's. There are hints in that conversation about some future troubles Naruto will be having. I also hope I made it clear Naruto and Itsuko current relationship. They are not dating or crushing on each other. They are close, childhood friends. Itsuko is set on ending up part of a harem, and Naruto find it unrealistic. He is looking elsewhere for romance options.
Naruto's parents: I'm not good at OC's. I know that. These are two very important OC's in this story, even if they won't be playing a huge role. I tried to flesh them out a bit more this chapter, but I doubt I did too good of a job. So I'm looking for some suggestions by you readers. Any hobbies or interests of the parents that you can think of that might make them more realistic and entertaining to read?
Base: My idea of Naruto improving his home base was one of the things I particularly liked, and I'm glad some of you agreed. While it is a more long term thing, I'd appreciate any fun ideas as to what Naruto could do with his house.