Re: Canon-Fire: Naruto Reincarnation Quest (Naruto/?)
And now it's time for Furiko's special
Losing Option Showcase! Exotic locales*! Fabulous prizes**!
[X] Sekai de, ichiban ohime-sama...
How strange. The red-haired woman kneeling before you seems to have chains of some sort growing out of her back - a Stand?
Whatever they are, they seem to be holding the beast at bay with relative ease, despite her injuries. She must be a person of considerable strength.
"Today... I realized two things," her male companion says - in Japanese; surprising, considering the brilliant blond of his hair. "The masked man who attacked you... he will bring catastrophe upon us."
Masked man? Oh. Of course. He handled you rather roughly earlier. You'll have to remember to rebuke him for that when you're a more appropriate height - no one throws you across a room and gets away with it.
"And this child is the one who will stop him! As the host, she will clear the way to the future."
Some things never change. How gratifying to know that even in unfamiliar circumstances such as these, you still have devoted servants.
"Have faith in this child! After all, she is our daughter!"
-Shiki Fujin!-
The man folds his hands over one another in a complex series of signs, and suddenly, an imposing figure with a long mane of shaggy white hair and a demonic visage appears behind him.
How curious...
The man goes on to say that he'll 'seal' something of the woman's - her chakras? Are those not specific to the body they inhabit? - inside your body, along with the snarling beast she has chained down. She'll emerge somehow when the time is right and teach you to tame the beast.
You don't entirely understand what he means by that, but you can't say you're pleased to hear you're to be re-purposed as a living coffin.
The lady is equally outraged. "You're talking about our daughter, Minato! This burden is mine, not hers! And why the Shiki Fujin...? Just so I can see her for a few minutes when she grows up?! That's no reason to throw your life away! Naruto needs at least one of us!" Her voice cracks with bitterness. "So why? To preserve the balance between the bijuu? For our country? Our village?"
The young man - Minato, you suppose - is silent for a moment. Finally he answers, "Abandoning one's nation, one's village... that's the same as abandoning one's child. As someone whose country was destroyed, you should understand that best, shouldn't you?"
If you had a finer control of your muscles, you would smile mockingly.
Ah. The noble patriot. Loyal to the point of sacrificing a daughter - what an admirable man my 'father' is.
He looks pensive. "Even if I were to live, I could never compare to you. Even if just for a short time, there is something you can give her as her mother that I never could... that is a mother's role."
You think of a beautiful but terribly thin blonde woman with tired eyes smiling at you from across a worn kitchen table.
"I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing it for Naruto." Minato's eyes are hard, determined. "I am willing to die for my daughter. That is my role as her father."
... hmph. Fine words-
The Stand, or whatever the apparition may be, reaches through Minato's stomach. A massive hand snaked with dark tattoos shoots out across the small clearing and grabs hold of the bound beast. It roars impotently.
"Seal!"
Abruptly, the hand snaps back, and brings what you would swear is the animal's soul with it. With a force that staggers the blond man, the ectoplasmic force slams into his body, forming an intricate tattoo on his abdomen.
Your eyes widen.
The beast has shrunk to not even a third of its original size.
It is a crude technique when compared with Pucci's Whitesnake, but nonetheless impressive. You had thought the young priest's Stand unique.
The blond man lifts you into his arms, panting from the effort, and places you on a low pedestal. You are to receive the smaller portion with some ceremony, it seems.
Suddenly, the woman begins coughing up blood. Minato leaps to his lover's side, but it's too late; you can hear the chains slackening.
With a mighty roar, a sharp claw descends, aimed directly at your head.
-THE WORLD-
The single second you manage to maintain your realm of stopped time stretches on like an aeon in your head.
You see a tiny golden fist reach out to punch aside the beast's clawed finger and fall short.
You see death approach you once more, and you feel the fear take you in its icy grip as it always does in the end.
Nononononono...!
It approaches, and there is nothing to be done to avoid it. You are too small, too weak, and too pathetic.
You see two people rushing to aid their baby girl at speeds a normal human could never match.
But most shockingly, you see Minato
seeing you.
Hope ignites in his eyes.
Time continues.
A drop of blood rolls down the claw, and drips onto your throat.
You stare up at the dying young couple.
Someone arrives in a puff of smoke and is handed a key, but you pay it no mind. Your eyes are fixed on the face of the young woman as she tries to smile reassuringly down at you.
"Kushina..." Minato draws a shuddering breath. "If you have anything to tell her, now's the time..."
Slowly, calmly weighing her words before she speaks, Kushina gives what can only be described as true motherly advice. It begins homespun and simple (eat heartily, respect your teachers, get enough sleep), but gradually gains steam, and soon she's speaking of specifics.
"I never was much good at it myself, but... study hard... and practise your ninjutsu..."
Ninjutsu? So, then... I have been born into a family of assassins.
"And... as for men... don't let boys pick on you just because they're cool... stand up for yourself! And... don't fall for a weirdo! Find a good man, like your father."
A good man, like my father. You can honestly say you have never thought of those words in that order, ever.
"And... speaking of vices... don't let Jiraiya-sensei get away with anything. Someone's... gotta keep him in line..."
She pours out her heart to you; how sorry she is to have to die and leave you alone, and how much she loves you.
"Naruto..." Minato says, smiling, "as your father... I'll just second everything your chatty mom said."
-Hakke Fuuin!-
For the first time since these events began, you cry aloud.
This power...! Did you dismiss the creature too readily?
You are exhilarated. Can it be...?
-THE WORLD-
Tick.
Tick.
Yes.
Tick.
Tick.
Yes.
Tick.
Tick.
Yes.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Time continues.
You scream in triumph.
Full power. Time stop at full power on the day of my birth!
This world and all who live in it shall be mine!
Minato... no. Father. And Mother. I will not forget what you have done for me this day. I, Naruto, shall repay you by honouring your final request.
=
"Let's start with you, then. Name, likes and dislikes, dreams, go."
"Uzumaki Naruto. I have both many likes and dislikes, and many dreams. But, primarily, for now... my goal is to kill a certain man."
=
As you lie there, apparently helpless, an old man in a white hat and robes reaches down to pick you up.
[X] Have The World punch him. You didn't survive one kidnapping attempt today just to be snatched up the second your parents die.
[X] He's an authority figure and you're a baby. Look harmless and adorable and you'll be all set.
[X] Write in.
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* The woods outside Konoha are exotic, right?
** Well, fabulous prize, singular, anyway.
Incidentally, if there's a turnaround and Dio wins, do you guys prefer ZA WARUDO for memetic appeal, or THE WORLD for accuracy? I prefer the former because I think it sounds more grandiose, but I can definitely see how it would be lame as hell.