"They're dead, aren't they." It's not a question, but if it was the expression on his face would be the answer. "I am Seika."
"I am sorry for your loss." The scroll is passed into my hands and I nod.
"Thank you, Shinobi-san. Excuse me." The door closes and I walk back to the lounge before sitting down on the floor.
Dead. Two people I have never known, dead because I pushed a button. Faint memories of this body's life held two people above everything. Two people who cared unconditionally despite the quiet non-person they raised. A body that was little more than a puppet going through the motions of the most meaningless existence until it's soul, me, could be put in it.
Two days ago, I died. Two days ago, I was floating in a void reading seemingly meaningless text and pushing buttons. Two days ago I woke up again replacing the puppet, the same moment her parents died.
I've killed two people, and for what?
[Sacrificial Doll]
|Rare Item|
A simple doll made of straw and twine, this doll can be substituted for any kind of sacrifice, after which it vanishes. Works for human sacrifice, wealth sacrifice, sacrificing a part of yourself or even a part of your soul. Restock Timer: 10 Days
It stings, when it should hurt a lot more, but then I've had two days to come to terms with a few simple, stupid, facts. One, I'm alive again. Two, this is the Naruto world, which simply isn't safe. Between ninja conspiracies to end the world, walking WMDs, mad scientists, kidnapping, torture... So many child soldiers... And that's just what I can remember. A crater of Konoha, everyone dead, if not for one abused boy managing to convince the man who killed everyone to-
Nothing has changed. I can't take the risk that canon plays out, not that narrow string of events that only just leads to victory. I have meta-knowledge. I have myself. And apparently I have an alarmingly coherent hallucination I can see whenever I want that can change reality.
Whoever you are, this 'culmination of decades of work' that attached itself to me better actually work, because it's an edge I am dearly in need of.
But it's not the only one. Step one, get some actual ninja training. In this world, you are a ninja, or you're chaff. Little more than background decoration to be destroyed or whatever. I had hoped that I could get some training from my new parents, they would have loved to see their miracle of a daughter suddenly take interest in... anything. Too bad.
Too bad, move on, what other options do I have?
---
"The Hokage will see you now." I give a nod to the woman who could probably kill everyone I've ever known on Earth and walk though the door.
It was surprisingly easy to get an appointment, but then I have just recently suffered a loss and perhaps that is all that is needed to soften his heart. Or he looks forwards to the distractions people provide from all the paperwork.
His expression tells me that it's the former, and I think he's expecting rage or sorrow, to be attacked for letting two of his ninja die and leaving a girl with no-
"Hokage-Sama." I give a polite bow. "I would like to request the chance to undergo shinobi training. I understand that I am far too old to-"
He holds up his hand, and I don't think that's what he was expecting of me. "Shima-san, are you not angry with me?"
That's about what I expected. "I... Was, for a few moments, however..." Take a breath, focus. "Being a Shinobi is a dangerous profession. They-" Choke up, just a little, but remain composed. "-understood that. Yet they..."
He nods slowly. "You seek revenge."
I swallow. "I do. However, I am aware that I am... not capable enough to do so myself. Not in my current state, or indeed, ever. That does not mean I cannot help, even in the small ways." Clench fist, but remain composed, sell the image of a woman grieving but determined. "I have not led a productive life, Hokage-sama. I would dare say I have been a drain on they- on this villages resources. And with two shinobi no longer capable of serving, or supporting their families, it would be irresponsible of me to not..." Stop, close my eyes, take a deep breath, then open them again. "If you would perfer, we might think of this as a employment problem that I, as I have..."
"What are you willing to do?"
"Anything." I swallow. "Be it study, follow a genin, attend the academy with children, I will suffer any humiliation, I will work day and night to push myself to the bare minimum of acceptance. Anything to earn the right to stand before the memorial stones."
"You don't need to earn that right, Seika-san." He murmurs. "It is open to all who have lost."
"Forgive me, Hokage-Sama, but you are incorrect." I level my gaze at him, hoping my intensity is selling. "Not when I am barred from entry by my shame."
Stop. Breathe. Break away from the painful memories I am presenting.
Then go in for the kill. "I have little funds. I have little talent. There is little I can offer in return even if I do succeed." Drop to my knees, then bow. "Please. I beg you. Give me a chance to atone. To live up to the hopes and dreams they held for me, that they will never see me reach."
Crying helps. All I have to do is tap into my very real loss, my death on Earth, and all the right emotions come out. Two days of them being held back helps too. But it's not a card I want to play often.
"Seika-san." He speaks, and I think I have him. "I will make arrangements for a trial period. The next class graduates in two months. If you can pass that, you will have earned your rank of Genin."
I rise, determination on my face. "There is no if, Hokage-Sama. I will pass." Two months to learn what takes the kids years, I can do that, right? "I will pass."
He nods, before sliding over a bit of paperwork. "Please, take a look at this."
I get off the floor and walk two steps, uncertain, before looking down. My expression goes numb and cold, an even more genuine flash of emotions that I need to cover up somehow.
"This is what killed them, isn't it?"
He nods, and I am safe, for now. "Pass, and I will place you on the team analysing and investigating this matter."
I nod, and swallow. "It's a summon. Or a modifed animal. Who was controling it?" I read the text. "Them? Dissolves into smoke? A jutsu then?"
"You have more talent than you believe, Shima-san." He states. "Your parents were sent to investigate the sudden destruction of one of our allies minor villages."
"And they didn't report back." My throat is clogged, staring at the drawing of the thing that killed them.
The black ink captures the black form of the monster perfectly. The problems of this world? A crisis, but at least I had canon to guide me part of the way. Not so anymore. I will need to amplify my training even more.
The Creatures of Grimm have come to the world of Naruto.
---
Close the door. Lock it. Go to bed. Cry. All a mask to hide my actual emotions.
Grimm. That immediately makes most of my limited meta-knowledge useless. Events will veer wildly from canon far sooner than I could ever change things. Worse yet, my meta-knowledge of RWBY is completely useless, unless I want to walk up to the Hokage and tell him everything, immediately putting me in the deeply uncomfortable spot of 'watched intently' or 'caputred and harvested for information'.
Not that I expected to come out of that meeting without some level of suspicion, he almost certainly picked up that I recognised the Grimm, unless I got really, really lucky and he had lowered his guard enough... Not helpful. What is helpful is that I am now going to get shinobi training, and that's all I needed from that meeting. A pass, even if it's not a perfectly successful one.
That's enough, especially as survival just became a lot harder. Remnant, with it's Dust and automatic weapons, machines and huntsmen, was pushed back to just 4 major cities. The ninja might be far more common than huntsmen, but they have a lot more land and people to cover. A whole lot more, made all the more worse by how not nice this world is. Suffering, fears, paranoia, poverty, the Grimm will be drawn to settlements like flies, forcing the ninja into a defensive and direct combat war. Great for people like Naruto himself, but he's literally a walking WMD.
Against the average ninja, who doesn't even have aura, they'll be cut down eventually. Get tired. Slow down. Run out of chakra. I bet Remnant has melee weapons built into every gun because of the simple problem of running out of ammo against the endless hordes.
Are they endless though? Are we dealing with a random teleportation of a group, a portal, or some Grimm blood falling down somewhere and constantly making more? How much? How many? What are the numbers here? The report, and the Hokage, didn't say, they don't know.
Nor do I. All I can do is train, get better, and hone what advantages I have to fight back and survive the coming storm, be it Grimm or Pain... Did Pain summon Grimm into the world? Why? How might be the better question. Or is it more random eyeball powers... This isn't helping.
At a thought, my interface opens up, and I pull up the list of curses that I took while in the void. The funny button that gives a curse and a gold ticket doesn't seem so funny now.
[Neat Freak]
|Severity 3|
You are bound by compulsion to be neat, making you very uncomfortable when you are dirty and slightly decreasing your energy recovery and output when you are dirty.
|Resolve: Achieve Adept level Discipline or a trait that increases your mental resiliance.|
[Orphan]
|Severity 4|
Your parents were killed in a car crash. Doesn't matter who they were, they just were. At the least the parents who were supposed to raise you anyway.
|Resolve: One and done deal.|
[Weakness of Metal]
|Severity 9|
"From the moment I understood the weakness of metal, it disgusted me. I craved the ever-changing nature of flesh." Your body naturally and violently rejects any augmentations and implants you try to add to it. Even adding a metal tooth would cause your flesh and body to reject it violently.
|Resolve: Acquire 3 or more augment items from the gacha, or acquire 3 or more traits that contradict the curse|
[Masochist]
|Severity 10|
You like pain a bit too much, receiving pleasure from it being inflicted on you. This may lead you to seek out dangerous situations to punish yourself. You thrive on being hurt and punished.
|Resolve: Achieve Expert level Discipline or an elite or higher rank trait that increases your mental resiliance.|
[Neat Freak], that explains why I have been cleaning up the house for the past two days. [Orphan]... Well. [Weakness of Metal], does that apply to metalic implants or every implant, because if I'm remembering correctly then there's a lot of eyeball swapping in Naruto. Finally, [Masochist], and that's probably going to be helpful while I'm doing physical training, but I'll have to keep myself in check.
Now, I got 2 Platinum tickets and a Gold ticket as a starting bonus, plus another 4 Gold tickets for the curses. That gives me 7 effects.
[Confessors Light]
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to create a spotlight that shines down from the sky, anyone caught in the spotlight is compelled to say the truth to whatever questions they are asked, and the user is immune to this effect.
[Chaos Response]
|Elite Trait|
Your existence is chaos as defined by the chaos gacha, automatically causing feedback to whatever tries to peek into your existence. Future seeing gets scrambled and incoherent, abilities that try to read into you will malfunction and trying to read your mind will cause them a great headache at best.
[Greater Headpat]
|Rare Trait|
You were born with hands made for patting the heads of all that is cute. Targets feel much more pleasure from you petting their heads, giving a comforting and comfortable feeling when you do, maybe even arousal if they are kinky. This also helps dispel negative mental effects and build affection. Even the most frigid emo won't be able to fight the power of your palms.
[Superconductor]
|Elite Trait|
Your body is a funnel and connection for lightning. All Lightning-based abilities are more potent, cost less energy to use, and are easier to master. In addition, you can ground lightning and electricity, absorbing a portion of their energy as you do so.
[Adept Interfacing]
|Rare Skill|
You are one dextrous fellow with slippery fingers. You can easily pick the most mundane locks, empty people's pockets without them noticing, perform magic tricks(performance, not actual magic), feel your way around the kinks in mechanics, and all around have some very dextrous fingers best at knowing their way around things, few barriers can keep you out, good luck keeping you in jail.
[Sacrificial Doll]
|Rare Item|
A simple doll made of straw and twine, this doll can be substituted for any kind of sacrifice, after which it vanishes. Works for human sacrifice, wealth sacrifice, sacrificing a part of yourself or even a part of your soul. Restock Timer: 10 Days
[Renamon]
|Uncommon Familiar|
Digimon - Renamon is a strong beastman like Fox digimon with formidable physical abilities, with a focus on speed and agility. Renamon is skilled in Ninjutsu, whether that is using it in tandem with unarmed strikes using her claws cloaked in flame or performing basic ninja spells with it.
On one hand, [Chaos Response] will help me keep my secrets. On the other hand, the instant a ninja finds out I have secrets and a good defense against getting them out of me, I'll have a target on my back so bright my clothes will catch fire.
[Greater Headpat] almost seems useless until I remember Sasuke. If I can prevent him from leaving the village (and maybe getting eaten by Grimm), get him on my side, then he'll be a valuable defense. Naruto as well. Given that I'm going to be attending the academy, that puts me in the perfect position to have two ninja jesus figures defend me. All it would take is some extra food for Naruto, and for Sasuke, well, I know exactly what it's like to lose everyone overnight.
[Superconductor] will work with lightning jutsu, so I guess I'm a lightning type. A flat buff to 1/5th of all basic ninja techniques, and a decent if not flat out immunity to them isn't something to scoff at.
[Interfacing] is obvously useful for a ninja, and with the dex bonus alone is another major advantage I can use.
[Sacrifical Doll]... doesn't seem all that useful. The only sacrifical magic I can remember is bringing the dead back to life as zombies, and something to do with the death god. Then again, I don't know Naruto's power system, maybe I can substiute some high level jutsu costs with a doll or something. That will need exploration.
Finally, the familiar, [Renamon]. The rules the system creator laid down said that they modified it so that getting familiar tickets would instead give familiar tokens to spend in a familiar shop, albeit at a massively reduced efficency. But in turn, the familiars are both created loyal, knowing who and what they are, morally okay with the whole messy complicated thing of being created, and that the tokens can be used to upgrade existing familiars.
Sort of the same as the pity system here, where melting down tickets give pity points to spend on rerolls, new tickets, and other stuff, at a massive relative cost to just rolling the ticket.
Change page, look at the rules... And Familiars are stored in familiar space where they are fed, healed, and can be summoned with a thought. Hm, useful, but probably not good for the whole 'ninja' thing, they'll ask a lot of questions.
Or not? If I pose her, them, as a familiar contract that I've somehow signed, with some clauses being no information, maybe I can pass her off as a summon? Maybe? I don't know, that will have to wait.
Not what I asked.
She's quiet for a moment.
Oh thank god, or whoever made the gacha. I don't want an army of slaves- when did I plan of getting an army of Renamons? Wait, can I? There doesn't seem to be any upper limit on how many familiars I can have, though the cost of buying them- can Digimon breed? Is that too immoral?
Uhg, that's a mess, time to do something else.