Author Message: Not sure when next chapter will be out, rewriting chapters from Ninth Demonic does save time but even so changes do take time to make it flow just right. Hope to hear what you all think of this version. If you spot any issues spelling wise just PM me about it.
WORD STYLE
(Past)
Thoughts
{Billboard/signs}
[Tv/Intercom]
SHOUTING
TwIsTeD
Beasts Speak
Chapter 2
ROOM 601
(Alright. Then, take a break while I prepare the game. You guys will have most likely quite a while. Rooms are already assigned so anyone who wishes to participate in the game, go to the dorms through that gate.)
"Viole...who is that guy?" Thought Naruto in wonder as he sat on the side of his bed in thought.
Kokuō: He appeared to have a lot on his mind.
"He may not be Lucky up till now."
Gyūki: Why is it that whenever you speak you need to say the word Luck Chōmei?
Chōmei: No reason...luck...
"Maybe he's in need of a friend?"
Matatabi: At this point, it could be anything Saiken but if you could tell he was lying Naruto, maybe there's something he's searching for when climbing the Tower.
Naruto just frowns when he thinks of Viole's expression.
"I can't stop thinking, he's just really sad, like his entire existence is in question..." It was after he muttered this that he heard a door slide open and turned to see Yihwa exiting from it, having removed her blue dress all the while quite annoyed.
"It can't be true, it must be a lie!" Her complaining continued while sitting on her bed. "There's no way that regular is a FUG, no one would be that stupid to have it printed on their clothing."
"Maybe he said that so people would stay away from him..." He said, offering an idea that she frowns at.
"That sounds stupid." This only gets him to pout which causes her face to get slightly red before she coughs into her fist. "But it's not possible, FUG could be using him as a hostage and that's his way of keeping people away, after all, FUG is a despicable organization."
As she said that, her eyes slightly widened at recalling something, and looks at Naruto.
"What?"
"You said your reason for climbing the Tower was so you would be able to create a bigger family than the Ten Greats, why that?" When he heard that, his eyes momentarily widened as a dark room came to mind yet before his mind could drift more towards it, in a puff of smoke a Nine-Tailed miniature Fox appeared out of smoke on Naruto's lap, taking Yihwa by surprise as it glared at her.
"None of your damn business Big Boobs." Almost immediately she glares at the fox and abruptly stands up, a fiery aura emitting from her body as Naruto starts panicking.
"What did you just say?!" She demanded as the Fox stuck its paw out towards her.
"Your words, not mine genius, maybe if you stop bringing your body into conversations you might be able to make some decent friends." This just shocks her as her face turns red due to him being completely red yet her hands turn into fists.
"Hey, I have my reasons! Almost all the time random Testers hit on me and leer at my body!" She shouted just as another puff of smoke happened and her eyes widened at seeing the flame Cat appear around Naruto's feet.
"Maybe instead of immediately assuming others want you sexually, how about getting to know the person first, it's very rude to just assume he's like the rest."
It was after saying that she finally sighed and did a half bow.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, and to answer your question..." His thoughts drifted to a dark room as he felt his back shoulder ache and touched it as Matatabi rubbed against his leg. "I've always wanted one, just a big family...after all, my last one is gone."
This caused her eyes to widen seeing the sad smile as he scratched Kurama's head just before he and Matatabi disappeared by smoke.
"So what's your reason for climbing?"
"I'm a member of the Yeon Family, it's only natural I climb."
"You're by yourself, have you climbed with anyone else?"
"No, I've always climbed by myself, without help from anyone, including my own family."
"How about climbing with me then?"
At this point, her eyes widen in surprise and she turns to look at Naruto who was now smiling at her brightly.
"If we climb together I'm sure it'll be fun, after all, I'm also climbing alone." Hearing his words she gets flustered and crosses her arms while looking away.
"I'll think about it..." She said, her cheeks tinting red which Naruto smiled more and did a fist pump action just as she turned and he immediately acted normal.
"Cool." He said nervously.
Beasts: Smooth.
"Put a pocket in it you all!"
"So, are you an Anima Position user?"
"Anima?"
"Wait, are you telling me you've never heard about that Position?!" She looks at him in disbelief and he sweats.
Kokuō: Repeat after me, Naruto.
"No I have, just been a while since I heard it...the special Position Anima, is not something that can be taught but a natural talent, the Lo Po Bia Family are the most known for this skill but it's not tied directly to them. We Anima users subjugating-" He stops talking when she raises a hand.
"No need to explain, just checking though it's weird, you sounded like you were reading off a script." Her words caused Naruto to sweat once again.
Kokuō: It did, but it was the most informative.
Chōmei: You're lucky that she didn't catch on.
Shukaku: He can just flip her skirt, that will surely take her mind off it.
Matatabi: Naruto don't listen to him, you will be slapped.
Son Gokū: Or Roasted.
Gyūki: The burning kind or wording kind?
Son Gokū: Yes.
"So, how many Shinheuh have you tamed?" Her question caused him to scratch his cheek.
"I didn't exactly tame them, I know it's natural to do so but I treat them as my friends, they are not my tools at all." This surprises her at his words.
Shukaku: I see you smiling Kurama.
Kurama: Shut it, Shukaku!
Suddenly their door opened, causing them to both turn to find Prince in just swim trunks, looking quite annoyed.
"I FOUND YOU TWO!" With a shout, he points accusingly at Naruto who points at himself. "You thought you could get some alone time with my girl, I bet you're weak, and using that beast of yours was the only way you got such a high score!" Naruto starts to sweat just as Yihwa stands in front of him just after Naruto stands up to diffuse the situation.
"Enough, we are sharing a room that was assigned, you can't blame him for that." She crosses her arms and frowns at him. "Besides why would you care who I share a room with? You lost your own game so there's nothing between us now, right? You're nasty, and I don't want to be associated with you anymore. So why don't-" Naruto suddenly walked past her and extended a hand to him.
"Wanna climb the Tower with us?" This immediately got her to look at him like he was crazy along with Prince who realized something and glared at Naruto.
"Wait, you two are going to climb the Tower together?!" His demand surprised Naruto who realized what he said and glanced at Yihwa who was glaring at him.
"W-Well, she didn't-" Prince suddenly pokes his chest, his glare not easing.
"I'm gonna crush you when the next part of the Test happens, got that weakling!" He said to Naruto and Yihwa glares at Prince.
"Will you stop calling him Weak just because you lost your own game, what are you gonna call that Viole guy weak to his face as well?" Her words merely get a laugh out of him as a childish idea comes to mind.
"You didn't come to the bathhouse with everyone, it's obvious you're hiding something under that shirt!" This got his eyes to widen and he immediately looked away. "I see your eyes, c'mon and take that shirt off, coward!"
Kurama: Give him an ass whooping his mother never gave him.
Matatabi: That's it, I'm coming out and setting him on fire!
The Beasts started getting angry till Naruto finally spoke.
"Fine, but after I show you I'm not hiding anything, you need to leave." His words shocked the Beasts inside him while Yihwa was surprised.
"Fine!" Prince said, smirking as he could imagine his body being something undesirable until he started taking off his upper clothes, Prince's jaw dropped including Yihwa whose face turned red.
"Happy?" He asked, revealing an athletic body with muscles in all the right places including a six-pack that would have caused Yihwa to start drooling until she saw something on his back that stopped her.
"THIS ISN'T OVER!" Prince shouts as he soon runs out with the door shutting behind him, leaving Naruto to sigh as he starts putting on his shirt when he stops and turns to the wide-eyed Yihwa.
"You saw it, didn't you?" He asks after putting the shirt back on and turns to her with discomfort all over his face. "I'm guessing you have questions-"
"Don't bother telling me if you don't want to." She sits back down on her bed much to his surprise. "It's obvious that makes you uncomfortable, I don't care if you don't want to talk about it so relax." Her words surprised Naruto yet he smiled in the end happily while Yihwa was stuck between a rock and a hard place, her face was turned away to prevent him from seeing her red blushing face.
"If I don't think about what I saw on his back, my mind will drift over to his delicious athletic bod-Oh god, now I'm the one interested in another's body!" She thought in dismay, becoming what she accused others of.
[BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!]
The sudden sound caused her to jolt, unlike Naruto whose eyes shot open as he immediately got out of bed, he turned and picked up the remote that was causing the sound, and with a click, it stopped just as Yihwa got out of bed to join his side where the device had the word 'Call' on the front of it.
[Beep. Starting now...the exam...will begin.]
This caused their eyes to widen with surprise as Love continued.
[The name of the exam is...]
*lock*
*lock*
*lock*
["The room that can be trusted". From now on...don't trust anybody. You're all teammates...and enemies at the same time. All you can trust...is your room. The challenge is as follows, secure eight teammates and seven rooms. This is your first step, using your remote please choose a Gatekeeper and a Leader who will represent each room. For the leader, it's their job to either recruit teammates or steal other rooms. Any additional teammates and rooms captured, are transferred to the Leader of that team. Gatekeepers, you are the protectors of your rooms. Rooms can only be taken from the Gatekeeper of that room. Once a room is captured, leaders can then transfer ownership to their teammates and appoint a new gatekeeper to that room. Leaders, it's forbidden for you to also be Gatekeepers. To recruit Teammates, insert the Leaders connector into slot one on the remote. You must then insert another player's connector into the second slot and press the blue button, which will confirm you as teammates. When you're taking a room, insert the new owner's receiver into slot one on the remote and insert the gatekeepers into slot 2, after that press the red button to claim the room. Remotes can be used to lock and unlock their designated rooms. You must not leave your room with the remote, it must stay with the Gatekeeper at all times, also one member of the team must be in a room at all times. The 7th room you have to acquire must be Room 608. You cannot win without taking it. To confirm, a team that acquires at least eight members and seven rooms which includes room 608 is declared the winner. You can only take room 608 when you have at least 8 teammates and 6 rooms. This applies to everyone except FUG. You have a specific task ahead of you. Your connector is here with me, if you want it come and get it. If you take your connector from me and insert it in your remote before your room is taken, you win. In addition, you will also win if there are fewer than eight test takers remaining as a result of conflict. Now begin!]
Hearing all that, Yihwa simply smiled in understanding while she spoke.
"A test as simple—" She stops to see Naruto staring at the remote and in thought.
"Wait..."Disbelief appears on her face. "did you not get any of that?!" What she got as a response was the remote being tossed to her which she catches while Naruto heads for the door.
"No, I did, if it's a game of making allies, I'll go on ahead-" He was cut off by the Yeon member suddenly getting in front of him in a hurry to block his way while gripping the remote.
"I can't let you go... Naruto." This gets a confused expression. "You're not the best choice going by yourself, I can just tell you'll- " She stops talking to see Naruto smile.
"Don't worry, I won't fail so please trust me. I'll show you I can be a great teammate you can rely on." This surprises her but her cheeks turn slightly red as she crosses her arms and turns away.
"Fine, I'll be the Gatekeeper and you'll be the Leader. I'm putting my trust in you so don't you dare let me down." She warns him and the blonde nods with a smile.
"I won't let you down." He told her as she pressed the remote and the door opened for him and his eyes widened at seeing Prince standing at the doorway with a Needle in hand.
"I CHALLANGE YOU NARU-" He was cut off by Naruto jumping over him using his head as leverage as if he were playing leapfrog.
"I'LL CHAT LATER!" He tells Prince as he is running down the hall, angering Prince at easily being ignored while Yihwa is surprised at his reaction speed.
After losing Prince, he was running down a hallway in a hurry, one guy in mind to join their team, Wangnan. That was but the blonde ended up stopping at a corner when he heard voices and peaks, spotting one silver-haired guy leaning to the door and speaking to someone inside.
"Why did you come into the Tower? You're just a child..." Hearing him ask that, Naruto remains silent and listens to the conversation.
"Mom and Dad said I could be a great person if I came into the Tower. So they told me I had to go...then, why are you here?"
Naruto peaks out a little more and he saw the man's face which caused his eyes to widen at the deep sadness in his eyes.
"I want to be a Great Man. Yes... I wanted to be someone with the Power to protect his own Baby." As he heard those words, a memory came to mind of someone in his arms.
(Live on, my brother, don't let the fire fade... chase your dreams hard, don't be afraid... in this world, we're all intertwined... carry our spirits, let our legends shine.)
"Bee..." After he mutters that he walks out, gaining the man's attention.
"Hello, are you looking for teammates, I'm on Yihwa's team." Hearing that, the man was surprised but his eyes narrowed suspiciously as Naruto walked forward and stopped in front of him.
"Hey Miseng it's Naruto, are you also looking for teammates?"
"Goseng told me not to open the door for anyone." She said from behind the door which Naruto nodded before they heard another voice, Naruto looked down the hallway as Arkraptor turned, both seeing the lady with the gold rings.
"So you two were also targeting that Kid too? How about a truce, let's join sides and wait for the other girl to return-" She was cut off as Arkraptor's weapon released a small beam past the lady, angering her.
"I knew it, you're a scumbag. An owner of an Orphanage helping unfortunate kids shouldn't be wearing such ugly rings." At that point, Naruto's gaze turns cold at seeing the lady smirk.
"There are just tools in the end." That was all she said and extended her fist, her ring unleashing fire at them, Arkraptor goes to block when Naruto gets in front of him just as the attack hits.
"Fools-" She stops talking at seeing the fire dissipate just as Arkraptor runs out, stabbing her hand and grabbing her face to prevent her from screaming yet her eyes were wide in confusion till she saw it, hanging on Naruto's right shoulder was a red-furred and green-skinned monkey.
"I hate Humans like you, using the weak who cannot defend themselves, disgusting creatures." Spoke Son Gokū while she had fear in her eyes.
The lady was bound and gagged left hanging upside down as punishment with Naruto sitting in front of Arkraptor waiting, both turning at the arrival of Wangnan and Goseng.
"Yo."
"Sup."
"I'm guessing Miseng kicked you out, Poor Daddy." Wangnan said, smirking in amusement which annoyed Arkraptor.
"It's none of your business so get lost."
The two proceed to have a back and forth that turns into an argument which Naruto and Goseng just watch before she asks to be let in and the door opens, they all enter as Miseng hugs Goseng happily. During the entire hug, Goseng praised Miseng for not opening the door.
"She made the right choice not opening doors to scary old men."
"This old man will kill you!" They started having a back-and-forth again till Goseng spoke up to tell them that they needed to work together before Viole arrived.
"He won't do anything." When Naruto said that they looked at him to see he was thinking about something. "He isn't that kind of person."
"You joking right?" Wangnan asked only for Arkraptor to cut in.
"I'm with Naruto, I'm pretty sure he's gonna fight the Test Administrator, we all have our reasons even the most foolish ones." He said and Wangnan frowned before he took a deep breath and smiled.
"WE GOT THIS! LETS GO! LETS GO! LETS FIGHT!" He shouts gaining stares until Miseng starts doing the same thing, followed by Naruto which becomes cringy.
"You can do it!"
Matatabi: Now he's got Saiken doing it.
Shukaku: You can do it!
Kurama: Dammit Shukaku, don't encourage him!
"Alright, with Viole gone to fight the Proctor, this is the best time to steal rooms and get teammates, and I've got the perfect plan!"
"I doubt it." Arkraptor mutters.
"You've gotta be kidding me." The man mutters at seeing ten minutes later they were in another room, staring at the lady bound and her teammate as well.
"Told you it would work."
"You're just lucky!"
Wangnan just smiles as he steals the room using their USB connector for their device while next to him is his floating pocket.
[It's done, other room secure.]
Came the voice of Horyang from another room that was claimed.
"Ahahahahaha great! 6 rooms down! Now it's time to steal Viole's room before he gets back!" Wangnan said almost dancing yet Naruto shook his head.
"We need to go back to my room so you can add Yihwa, then we will have enough." Naruto said to the fellow blonde who realized it and laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, forgot about that. I'll go contact Nia to give him a heads up on what's happening, I'm sure he must be lonely in his room." Wangnan said as he sat on the bed and used his pocket to contact Nia.
"Hey my lovely Nia, is our room safe?" He asks the pocket, waiting for a response with a smile.
[Yes dear.]
Came a mocking response that wasn't Nia's voice, startling Wangnan which Naruto noticed.
[The traitor Nia is safe here. But I'm not sure of what will happen to this room.]
Naruto remains silent and stares at the despair on Wangnan's face.
"How...how come..." Wangnan was now shaking in clear shock.
[How? Nia opened the door for me of course. Your lovely Nia opened it for me, can't you hear?]
"DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME LURKER!" He screamed at the pocket while Naruto and Arkraptor looked at each other.
[It's true...sorry Wangnan. I lied to you...]
As he heard those words, Wangnan looked like his whole world collapsed.
"What do you mean, Nia?! That's gotta be a lie, right!" He asked, almost begging.
[It's true...]
At that point, Lurker spoke again.
[How dense are you stupid customer? The restaurant he works for is one of ours. Didn't I tell you? We know what you eat and drink. My loan company is in charge of many restaurants in the area. When you make an order, your pocket code remains. So if we get a runner, we trace his purchases and catch him. His restaurant is one of ours. We've been partners for a long time. It's not a coincidence that we came together that day. It was all to get you in our trap. He gave you the coupon to track you if you tried to hide. In other words, you've been tricked by us.]
"How... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! HOW COULD YOU! HOW!" He screams with anger just as Nia responds again.
[I know I can't even ask you to forgive me but there's someone I need to protect. When I first came to this floor, I failed the test, I was weak and useless. Those who had come up the Tower with me had betrayed me, they stole my money and my weapon. I was saved by an old lady, who's the owner of the restaurant I work at.]
Naruto sat down on a bedside, gaining Arkraptor's attention to see the sad look on his face.
[After that, I decided to forget about the Test and I lived with her, helping her run the restaurant. I couldn't go up anymore, but I was so happy to work with her. But...the gangs in the area kept making life harder for her and the old lady borrowed money from them...and they started to threaten her. To pay off that debt, she went to the company owner and we started working together. I took this test...because they promised to erase all the debt if I eliminated other regulars. Actually, after spending time with you...I got the strength to try to go up the Tower once more. As for that, I might be changing, becoming someone else...but I can't leave Grandma... I finally met someone who trusts me...and I'm betraying you...I guess I must've been too bad...so I'm being punished now. I'm sorry...]
Wangnan said nothing but looked at the pocket in clear shock and sorrow with Arkraptor simply closing his eyes and turning away while Naruto simply stared at the ground.
[I'm sorry...sorry...sorry...sorry... I was really...really a bad boy... (sniff)... Wangnan, you're such a good person and the rest of you are so good but... I was such a bad boy...because of me, you can't go up the Tower... I'm sorry Wangnan, I'm so sorry.]
"Nia stop, you just fought to protect what's yours. It's ok, don't cry, baby. If I fail, I can take the test again. I think it's great that you've already got something to protect. Maybe you've already found the real you. Without going up the Tower. Now I'm not your mentor anymore. Congrats, Nia...you're a good boy." He shows a sad smile on his face and Naruto stares at him.
[Sorry Wangnan.]
[Geez this sob story is just annoying. I completely forgot to mention it but her debt, there's no way it'll be erased.]
This caused all three of their eyes to widen.
[But I did everything you asked for.]
[You did but just before you took the test with us, your Granny decided to move all the debt on herself and cut all ties to you, so that when she killed herself you wouldn't owe a single point though we still needed you so we didn't say anything.]
[What... Grannys...]
[Oh and I'm quitting that company I'm a part of, the owner's son is just stupid so I'm planning to kill him, and I'll be the Leader going up.]
[So...so...what...Granny is...why did I even...]
[Well, you served your purpose, you've betrayed your teammates to save someone already dead but as for the debt, I never transferred it to her only but I knew what she was planning so I transferred all of it to you instead, no getting out of that debt even through death.]
[I'LL KILL YOU!]
A struggle was heard and something snapping was heard as Nia's scream was heard.
"NIA!" Wangnan screamed. "NIA CAN YOU HEAR ME?! STOP IT LURKER, NIA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU ANYMORE!"
[I don't care, I was going to kill him anyway. We already have eight teammates and five rooms. Lady Yeon has been possessed by my teammate and my stupid boss is locked in his room waiting for his remote to be stolen. Once we have it we will take Viole's room. Now be quiet as I remove this Piggy.]
"NO, LURKER! PLEASE!" Wangnan screams as tears form in his eyes before Naruto finally speaks as a hand is over his face.
"Lurker was it..." Naruto suddenly asked as his features started to change, hair becoming more wild, his eyes turning red and teeth protruding from his lips. "If anything happens to him, I will kill you." He said in an incredibly cold tone as he stood up.
[Empty threat, you just-]
"Even if I fail the test, I'll pass the next one, I'll go to the next floor, I'll find you and rip your body apart limb by limb..." Naruto's tone grew darker as Arkraptor and Wangnan stared in shock at his change.
[You think a threat like that will work on me-]
"ItS nOt A tHrEaT. WhAtS sToPpInG mE fRoM fInDiNg YoU aNd KiLlInG yOu?" His voice was changing, sounding like nine other voices intersected with his own just as the communication abruptly ended, ending the call as Arkraptor and Wangnan stared at Naruto who grabbed his face.
"WaNgNaN..." His body starts steaming and his features start returning to normal showing tired eyes as he looks at his shocked teammate before he sits down on the edge of the bed. "I put the fear of death in him, if he is someone who values his satisfaction above others he most likely won't kill Nia for the time being, he knows how strong I am from the test scores... Wangnan, Viole isn't a bad guy..." It was after hearing that Wangnan immediately run out of the room in a hurry.
"Where are you going, hey Wangnan!" Arkraptor shouts but he doesn't reply, leading the man to turn towards Naruto in concern yet his eyes widen seeing droplets of liquid falling from his chin, despite his face being concealed it was obvious to the man what was happening.
"Just...just give me a moment..." He mutters as he grits his teeth and his hand starts shaking.
Kurama: You know what to do, you don't have time to cry.
Kokuō: Kurama!
Matatabi: He needs a moment, you can't just expect him to-
Kurama: He doesn't have a moment, he needs to move now. You asked that girl to trust you, didn't you? Say it, your Vow.
It was after hearing those words, Naruto gets up after rubbing his eyes to reveal determination that surprised Arkraptor.
"I don't quit. I don't run. I never go back on my word...that's my way." He said and turned to Arkraptor.
"Let's go, we need to save Nia and Yihwa."
xxxxxCHAPTER ENDxxxxx