Chapter 3
Naruko sat meditating at the edge of the cliff Jiraiya had thrown her off of when she first learned how to access Kyuubi's chakra. Her face was marred with creases as she tried to concentrate.
This was the eighth life since she'd spoken with Iruka and she was nearing her wit's end. She'd put herself in every life-threatening situation she could think of. The only time she managed to unlock her chakra was when she threw herself off the cliff she was currently sitting in front of, but she couldn't do anything with it before she had been impaled on the spikes at the bottom.
She could feel the chakra within her, she knew it was there and she knew she could access it if she practiced enough. The only problem was she died of chakra exhaustion every time she got close to being able to use it. But she wasn't rushing it this time. Instead of training until she passed out, she paced herself. Today was the third day of this life, and today was going to be the day, she could feel it.
"Naruko!" So startled at the sudden sound, Naruko actually managed to throw herself forward, off the cliff.
A familiar pink fairy flitted in front of her face as she tried once again to conjure her chakra and summon a toad to get her out of her current predicament. Alas, it was to no avail. Down, down, down she fell, and with a blink she was back at the new game menu.
"What the hell Naruko? You've been in the simulation for a dozen lives. How is it that you haven't even managed to make it to the first day back at the Academy?"
"I was this close to unlocking my chakra that time! I almost had it, if you hadn't scared me and made me jump off that cliff I woulda done it too. And where the hell have you been? I've been here busting my ass trying to save the world and you have been absolutely no help." Naruko sat firmly on the void and crossed her invisible arms.
"Have you taken the tutorial?"
"I told you I don't need the tutorial, I just need to figure out how to access my chakra. Then I can kick Sasuke's butt and make him realize that being a broody avenging bastard isn't good for anyone and mission accomplished, world saved!" A moment later Naruko gasped in realization, "Wait, does the tutorial teach me how to access my chakra again?"
"Why don't you take the tutorial," she spoke these words in a slow drawn-out cadence as she flew toward the tutorial button, "and find out for yourself!" the pink fairy yelled.
"Well, why didn't you tell me this is how I unlock my chakra in the first place? Ow! Stop flicking me." Naruko rubbed her forehead.
"I told you to take the tutorial before you started your first life, but oh no I know how to play video games, I don't need a tutorial. So I gave you your focus and went about my business. It's not my job to hold your hand through this mess, you're going to need to figure things out for yourself, which is why. you need. the tutorial!"
Naruko threw her hands up in front of her face "Ok, ok, I'll do the tutorial." She started to reach for the tutorial but stopped short, "What did you mean by you gave me my focus? I haven't been able to focus on anything different than normal."
"The necklace I gave you, it's how you focus and control the game mechanics—"
"Oh, that thing? It didn't work so I threw it away."
"Naruko, please tell me you don't mean that."
"What? I tried to activate it like you said, but nothing happened so I took it off and threw it over my shoulder or something. Shouldn't you be more focused on me doing the tutorial?" Naruko followed through on what she was saying and started navigating to the tutorial.
"No stop! Don't do the tutorial!" Tamiko flew up in front of the screen blocking as much of it as she could with her tiny body.
"First you won't get off my back about me ignoring the tutorial, now when I try to do it you stop me. What gives? Are you messing with me or something?"
"Naruko, that crystal controls the entire ‘game' world. Anyone who gets their hands on it can do things that only you are supposed to be able to do. It's the most powerful object in existence and you threw it away."
"I'll just get it when I spawn in again, won't I?"
"No Naruko, to have the kind of control over the game that it has, it has to exist outside the normal reset behavior of the rest of the world. Wherever it was when you died, that's where it will be until someone picks it up."
"Well that's no problem, I'll just go back to Training Ground Three when I spawn back in."
Tamiko floated down slowly into a cross-legged position, she breathed deeply into her hands, "Yeah, go. Do that. I just hope it's still there."
Naruko stood in the center of Training Ground Three, scratching her head, "I was standing right here and I got really frustrated with the stupid thing not working and I threw it... over there." She pointed in a random direction. "But I already looked over there. Are you sure that it'd be where I left it?"
"Only if no one came by and picked up the glowing chakra crystal! This is what I was trying to explain to you Naruko. Why do you never listen?" Tamiko started pacing circles in the air, "Someone must have picked it up. This is bad, this is so bad. Kami-sama is going to smite me. No worse, they'll fire me. I can't go back to job hunting, it took me a century to find this gig."
Naruko stood staring as the fairy had a mental breakdown, "Well the sky's still blue and gravity still goes down, so whatever you're afraid of happening hasn't happened yet. We just need to find the guy who took the necklace and everything will be fine. I'll just go ask Gramps for help, see if he can give me any good leads."
“Good morning Naruko. You’re up quite early. What brings you to my office?” The Hokage asked as Naruko entered his office.
Naruko looked at the clock, it read 6:03 am. She grimaced, “Sorry Gramps. I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“That’s quite alright Naruko. I’ve been getting up at 5 in the morning ever since I was a genin.”
“Yeah, I know! That’s why I have my alarm set for 5 am every day!” Saratobi smiled at the young child. He saw a lot of potential in the girl, but first, she must master discipline.
“So what can I do for you this morning Naruko-chan?” He leaned back in his chair and took a few puffs from his pipe, preparing himself for whatever the request might be. Things with Naruko were rarely simple.
“I lost a chakra crystal and I was hoping someone might have turned it into the shinobi lost and found.” Naruko shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting with her fingers. She knew this was a long shot. Even if the person who found the crystal had turned it in, the shinobi lost and found was, as the name suggested, for shinobi only.
The Hokage furrowed his brow in concern. Chakra crystals were not exactly common. He could only wonder at where Naruko may have acquired such a thing. However she had gotten it, it was important for her to get it back.
"I see," he said thoughtfully. "Well, I can certainly inquire about it for you. But you must understand that the shinobi lost and found is not accessible to civilians. Only trained ninjas are allowed to enter."
Naruko's face fell at the Hokage's words. She knew this already, of course, but it was still disappointing to hear it confirmed. She had been hoping for a miracle, some stroke of luck that would allow her to retrieve her crystal without having to track it down by hand.
“I understand gramps,” she said glumly. “It was a long shot anyway.”
The Hokage sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for the girl. He knew how frustrating it could be to feel like you were powerless to change your circumstances. But he also knew that part of being a ninja was learning to adapt to difficult situations, to find creative solutions to seemingly impossible problems.
“Remember, shinobi are not just defined by their strength or skill. They are also defined by their honesty and integrity. If someone did find your crystal and kept it for themselves, they would be betraying those values. So even if we don’t find it, take comfort in knowing that you’re following the right path.”
Naruko nodded, taking in the Hokage's words. She knew he was right. As a ninja, she had to hold herself to a higher standard, to always do what was right, even when it was difficult.
"Thank you, Gramps," she said, her voice soft but sincere. "I'll keep that in mind."
The Hokage smiled at her, a twinkle in his eye. "I have faith in you, Naruko. I know you'll do what's right."
With that, Naruko bowed respectfully and turned to leave the Hokage's office.
Tamiko fluttered over, “So does this mean we’re giving up on the lost and found?”
Naruko shook her head and rubbed her hands together. “Not at all.” She let out a sinister laugh… well sinister for a child. “I broke into the Hokage tower to steal the forbidden scroll without jutsu when I was 18. I’m sure I can do it again to the much less well-guarded lost and found.”
Tamiko fluttered away with a huff. “I sincerely hope this crystal is in this ‘lost and found’ and we’re not just wasting our time.”
That night Naruko wore a suit made out of trash bags and she snuck into the Hokage tower. Ducking past reception, she made her way to the shinobi library. Curling up into a ball whenever she heard someone approaching. The shinobi there all ignoring the bag of trash muttering “That’s not my job.” to themselves. Finally, she made her way back behind the librarian's desk to the small cardboard box labeled “Lost and Found”. In there she found a couple of custom painted kunai, a hitai-ate, a book, and… a chakra crystal. “Yatta! We got it Tamiko!” she shouted, all thoughts of stealth going out the window at her success.
The few shinobi that were there working late heads turned towards Naruko. “You really put your foot in it this time, eh Naruko?” Tamiko couldn’t help but taunt her. “Quick, mold some chakra and say pause!”
“I can’t mold chakra yet you stupid fairy! That’s why I was practicing near that cliff's edge.” Naruko spat back.
“Just try or you’re going to be in serious trouble! The guards are coming.” Tamiko pointed to emphasize her point.
“Ah! Pause!” The hand holding the crystal shooting out towards the guards as if to ward them off. Immediately after Naruko said the word the whole world froze.
Tamiko straightened her skirt, “There, see? There was no need to panic.”
“I was only panicking because you were panicking!” Naruko took a minute and looked around the room. “So everything is frozen except for me?”
“Yes. As would be explained in the tutorial, when you pause the world everything remains exactly where it was except for you. You’ll be able to walk around but you can’t move anything else.”
“The tutorial! Right. I was going to do that wasn’t I?” Naruko scratched her head as she looked down at the chakra crystal in her hand. “How do I get back to the tutorial from here? I mean, you know… without dying?”
For the umpteenth time, Tamiko wondered what sort of terrible thing she must have done to be saddled with this duty. It wasn't that she didn't take her responsibilities seriously - on the contrary, she was known for her diligence and dedication to Kami-sama’s orders. But this seemed like a particularly cruel and arduous task, one that could easily have been assigned to someone else. “Concentrate on the crystal and say menu.”
Naruko did as instructed and found a huge bright blue screen appearing out of the crystal. Taking a minute to explore the options she finally found one labeled Main Menu. Figuring that’s the one that would lead her back to where she could take the tutorial. A large popup sprung up from the screen. “Are you sure? All unsaved data will be lost.”
Naruko turned to Tamiko to ask, “What does it mean unsaved data?”
“I thought you said you’ve played video games before. Haven’t you ever saved a game halfway through?” She bit back sarcastically. Something had put her in a bad mood and it was showing.
“So you mean I can save and return to where I was before?”
With a sigh Tamiko composed herself, “Yes Naruko, you can save your progress so you don’t always have to wake up at the start of your academy progress.”
Naruko nodded to herself, choosing not to save this version of events she clicked continue and in a split second she was back at the Main Menu screen. This time, instead of ignoring the tutorial, she was excited for it. Especially after learning that she could stop time whenever she wanted. What other secrets were there to unlock?