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Game of the Year: A Naruto Quest

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The first option is actually very useful, in terms of communicating to Kurenai and the team.

Saying we're Rookie tells them something they already know, and saying we can't cook is lame and doesn't communicate much. Saying that we've already killed before, though, is something personal and also lets Kurenai know that we won't have as many problems with assassination as the average genin.

This could be important, since developing mental maturity (or at least the ability to function as a good ninja, which includes killing at some point) is the larger part of the jounin sensei's role and she should know where we are at wrt to that.
 
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FourmyleOfCeres said:
@Vesvius Part two.
Part One can be found Here.
This morning's tea makes yesterday distant.

The next tea rotation had come. Last week's adventure fed into this weeks, the honey being the easiest to use. But the herbs from the Nara were going to be important today. First it was the Inuzuka. In a way, you both loved and dreaded this.

The Inuzuka clan had their own way of doing things, one different from any of the other clans, major or minor. The reason was that they were in their own way closest to you. It was farther back in their history, of course, but it was right there in the name. One of eight families blessed by the Inugami. One of eight samurai clans, to be precise. Their life had changed and drifted, but at heart they were still loyal and fierce protectors.

Everything your mother had told you about her home country was twisted and made profane by them. The worst of the samurai, the ones who were like wild dogs, kept in check only by the collars of their masters. And yet, they were still civilized, perhaps more so. They lived so much, knew so much. It wasn't that they were less human or less formal than anyone else. It was that they were more human.

The lived in a constant state of information overload, and only made it worse when they were using their control of their bodies. Though their tea time was less ritualized than others, it was still important. Tea was a sort of spiritual refreshment, an elixir of clarity and wakeful tranquility. Which was not to say the meeting was ever tranquil.

They did not take honey, for to them love and scandal are the best sweetners of tea. After all, they could smell who had been with whom, and they were curious by nature. Which meant that your not-a-relationship with Hana and Kiba's closeness with your mother were ever-green topics. You'd come to accept that your blush and ire were the price for the mushrooms they collected from the forest.

Their tea of choice was a plainer one. The Straight Valley, a black that was dried in a more rapid manner than others. It was done in a wok over resinous pine, and the smoke mingled naturally. It was never force smoked, no matter if that was becoming more popular. It was fruity, but not overly sweet, resembling in someways dried lychee.

There were imitators, of course, that used actual lychee juice to give their black teas that flavor. Which was fair, because not everyone could handle the rest of it. The pine smoke impregnated the leaves, and gave it all a warming flavor. It was like drinking a campfire, really. A soothing, warming experience. The perfect thing to gather around after a long shift or just to relax with.

You took your mushrooms and put them away in your pack, to be dried later. It was always cheapest to get from the foragers than the shop keepers, and you doubted the Nara would mind.

The Yamanaka Clan was next, and while you had many friends there, there was the issue of Inoichi himself. You had hoped that spending time with him and the others without any expectation of your best friend being there would cool his temper and allow him to warm up to you. Had hoped. You no longer had such illusions.

Inoichi himself felt that the thirst for tea is never far from one's craving for beauty. And what other beauty would a man your age be seeking than his princess? This left the whole affair rather frosty despite the steam of the cups and the joy of the sweets. If he spoke, it would only be a pleasant word or two; and tea became something less of a social occasion and more of a meditation.

That suited your just fin, in truth. The cup bought you a few minutes' peace among the constant battles of life. Kasai relaxed along side you, when she could. Whether she believed as her husband did, you knew not. But you knew that all of you resorted to only using words when you could no longer communicate by gesture and mood alone. Considering that the Yamanaka were known for their ability to read people, with or without their clan techniques, this meant speech had become rare indeed.

The Downy Tips from the Great Gate were your choice here. It originated from a border town and was traditionally served to dignitaries. The young hairy buds were harvested for it, and they became wiry when processed. They were strong enough for two infusions, and this often meant that you stayed here the second longest. The tea itself came out a wonderful vermilion, with a smokey flavor and little of the floral scent that surrounded the shop itself. It tasted almost of roast chestnuts, to be honest. What it was known for, however, was fostering open communication and opening hearts. If only it allowed Inoichi to see that you had no designs on his daughter.

They provided the snacks, gelatinous things covered in powdered sugar. They were sweetened with extracts from various flowers and fruits, and were the culmination of cooperation between the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans. The bones from the Akimichi's meals and restaurants were boiled to become the gelatin, the flowers the Yamanaka grew added the flavor, and spices and herbs from the Nara tempered it all. It was a symbol of their synergy, and a reminder that you would not and could not intrude on it.

Which you accepted, and understood when Inoichi had asked you to deliver a box to your mother after graduation. This did not stop you from purchasing edible flowers and flowers for tea from them. And the occasional box of those sweets.

The last group you visited was not a clan, at least not by birth. The Academy Teachers were as dear to you as any family, and deserved as much as anyone could give. You knew what terrors kids could be, you had just been one of those terrors. The tea you brought for them was not intended to ingratiate. It was field medicine for the mind and soul.

You chose a pure Mountain Tea for the teachers, in part because there were so many of them that something more distinct would be sure to irritate someone. Crisp, clean green leaves with more of a sparkling flavor than the common one they'd get for themselves. It was a bit pricier, but it was also suitable for many infusions. This little secret let you get through much of the staff without your pocket-book sobbing.

The snacks were whatever the teachers brought for themselves and whatever you had grabbed on your wanderings. They had joked that you were rushing to become a professor as soon as you graduated, and you'd dodged by saying that learning should not stop simply because school had come to an end.

The fact that you were no longer a student meant that they were more open about their gripes, and this in turn gave you insight into the village and the little pieces of politics that you would have to be aware of in the future. You also picked up tips and tricks here and there. Some on saving money, some on saving time.

Once you'd finished, it was time to head home again, and prepare for next week. The part of the rotation you most dreaded...

Okay, there's a detail here that I absolutely have to explain. Why are the Inuzuka clan related, albeit distantly, to Samurai? Because, they are! The Inuzuka clan are named after one of the eight "Dog Samurai" from Nansō Satomi Hakkenden. The main characters are all half brothers all descended from a dog spirit and the shogun's daughter. So uh... The Inuzuka are also descended from the Bastard Son of Samurai. Yeah.

The Nansō Satomi Hakkenden is one of those things that doesn't need explanation over there, every decade there's an adaptation or two of it. You can find a translation to English in progress if you look. You can also find an Anime Adaption, though I don't know if it's streaming anywhere(legally).

(Edited to clarify things a little)
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Very nicely done. Take 70 XP and canon.
Katsuragi said:
More excellence, and more desire for tea...

@Vesvius -

300 to manipulation.
70 to travel.
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Heard!
Katsuragi said:
@Vesvius

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Katsuragi said:
@Vesvius

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Nice and mildly disturbing! Take 250 for both of them.
KnightofTempest said:
@Vesvius I made a thing!

The Prank

Naruto was practically vibrating with Anticipation. Today was the day. He hadn't pranked Satomura since that thing with the Fan way back at the start of the Year, and that had only turned out like it did because the fan was a family heirloom. He figured that so long as he didn't mess with Daisuke's Fan or Sword he would be able to prank the Pretty Boy without too many consequences.

Oh, he'd thought long and hard about how to get Satomura back for being such an arrogant Prick. Really, the guy was almost as bad as the Teme, and Satomura didn't even have the excuse of being an Uchiha to cover for his bad attitude! Naruto was struck with a bit of brilliance last night. What did Satomura put the most effort into on a day to day basis? Obviously his looks! The Guy was like the Definition of Bishounen, he could probably be mistaken for a girl if looked at from far enough away!

So Naruto had done the legwork, found out where Satomura lived, what places he frequented, what times he was out and about. He'd been trailing Satomura for about a week now, using his stealth and Henge to best effect. People often looked down on Naruto's Skills because he usually skipped lessons or did things his own way, like with Taijutsu, where he used a combination of improvisation and outlasting his opponents to see him through the day. In actuality, Naruto was highly skilled at Stealth, Trapmaking, and Henge. He had to be to pull off so many pranks and consistently escape ANBU pursuit. He was sure Satomura hadn't noticed him.

That night, while Satomura was out doing evening training and his mom was out doing. . .whatever it was rich ladies do at night to pass the time, Naruto Snuck into Daisuke's House using the spare key he had observed being placed in the bottom of a water feature in his back garden. The hiding place would have fooled a lot of people, but Naruto had been observing Daisuke for about a week and a half now.

Entering the Satomura Household from the back garden, Naruto crept to Daisuke's Bathroom. He had to be quick about this, he wouldn't have much time if Daisuke came back from Evening Training with the weird bushybrows taijutsu sensei he had and his team. Spotting his target, Naruto quickly poured out Daisuke's Shampoo down the drain and filled the Bottle with a concoction of his own design that would remove Daisuke's Hair. It was the beginning of the Marking Period so Daisuke should grow it back in time for the end. It was just a little harmless prank. Satomura couldn't be mad at him for that, right?

When he was done here, he quickly exited the Satomura House the same way he entered, relocking the back door and placing the Key back in the bottom of the Water Feature in the Back Garden. Daisuke should be none the wiser and tomorrow he would be bald in class. Naruto couldn't wait. . .

XXXX

The Next Day however, Daisuke walked into class with his hair still intact and Naruto couldn't believe it. He had a grimace on his face the entire day all the way up until Taijutsu Sparring, where he had been paired up with Daisuke. The pair made the seal of conflict before the Match Started and it looked like Daisuke was glaring Daggers at Naruto.

"I Know you were in my house, you replaced my Shampoo." Intoned Daisuke, dangerously.

Naruto Gulped at the tone and said, "You look fine, it was just a harmless prank."

"Naruto, what is one of the three Ninjutsu we learn at the Academy?" Asked Daisuke, still in that low tone.

"Henge? You're Under Henge?" Asked Naruto.

"My Reserves and Control are good enough that I can keep this up until I go home. You on the other hand. . .Well it's time for you to take your medicine." Intoned Daisuke.

Naruto gulped, "H-hey, can't we talk this out?" He asked.

"This is for your own good Naruto, you need to learn to pick your targets." Replied Daisuke.

Daisuke beat Naruto six ways from Sunday in that spar, using techniques taught to him by Maito Gai. Naruto was so sore for about a day afterwards that he thought he would never recover. Of course, he did eventually, but there was one thing for damn certain.

Naruto would never prank Satomura Daisuke ever again. . .
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Nice job! Way to get in on the Omake game! Take 50 XP and canon.
Katsuragi said:
@Vesvius

Appologies for errors. Composed on cellphone.

Seperate post for threadmark reasons.

"Kurenai huh?" Anko muses. "Yeah, that's a pretty good match. Lucky kid too."

Manami sips on her mixed drink. "How so?"

"She's a dedicated teacher at heart. If she wasn't so skilled, she'd have wound up teaching at the academy. They don't stick our elite behind desks though, so she's been chomping at the bit to be officially recognized as an elite so she could take on a team."

Manami smiles lightly. "That does sound like an excellent jounin for my boy to get...but it sounds like she's new to her rank?"

Anko snorts. "I forget some common sense stuff is lost on you because you're not a ninja. She's an elite. Best of the best. You know I'm a certified badass, right?"

A nod from the mother in the room. "Kurenai could kick my ass all up and down the village without breaking a sweat, and that's without her specialty. Even with a freshly minted one, there's no elite jounin that doesn't make enemies that hear there name piss themselves a bit."

Sip. "Her specialty?"

Anko grins. "Oh, yeah. Kurenai is the genjutsu mistress of the villiage. Full on recognized master, no one's better at it than her, full stop. Genjutsu was never a major focus of the village. The Uchiha dominated the field innately because of that Sharingan of theirs, but she's had a natural talent with it since she was a kid and she's pushed it to the limit. Reminds me of your kid a bit there."

Manami blinked in surprise for once. "With the kind of training he did, I assumed he was more the hit them type?"

Another snort from Anko. "Yeah, sure. That's where he's been working his butt of the hardest. But I've seen his exam scores and looked over records. He's already developed and trained up an original genjutsu. In the academy. So yeah, he's got that sword and he trains with it near every day, and he's had personal training from Gai on taijutsu. So it's no wonder he's amazing in a scrap for his age. But that skill with illusions? That's natural talent if I've ever seen it."

Manami placed her glass down. "So he'll be staying out of direct fights and disabling enemies with illusions?"

Anko shook her head with a smirk. "Maybe if he'd had a different mentor growing up. No, your boy is almost certainly going to be focusing on disabling and disorienting with his skills so he can hit them with his fists or stick them with the pointy end. He's a brawler at heart. Anything else he does is supplemental to that."

Dai's mother nods at that. "Sounds more like him" she murmurs.

"Boy is going to be a terror, I tell you. Give him a few years and I wouldn't want to be on the other side from him. Won't know which was is up or my ass from a hole in the ground while he's sticking me with that sword of his..."

"Mmm. It does sound effective, and safer than just being a straight brawler..."

"Kids gonna be alright, Manami. With his skills, drive, and natural talent, he's going to go far. Wouldn't be surprised if he makes chuunin at the exams in a few months. Got money riding on it, in fact."

"Oh?" A quirked eyebrow. "Well, that sounds like something I must get in on. Say 100,000 on my boy?"

Anko grins. "Sure. I'll put it in for you."

"Also, I don't suppose I could meet this Kurenai?"

Anko shrugs. "Well duh. Of course you can. She's a good friend of mine. I can drag her out the next time we go drinking.

Manami smiles at that. "Excellent."
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Good stuff! Take 60 XP and canon.
RedV said:
[X] Write-In : I'm sexy and I know it

We should emphasize our most important trait, right?

requesting approval @Vesvius
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No.
Vermeer said:
[X] My favorite animal is the turtle.

Good @Vesvius ?
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Sure.
Student of Zelretch said:
@Vesvius would
[] I am technically the heir to a country.

Work as a write in?
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But he's not. Change it to 'was almost heir to a country' or something similar and sure.

fictionfan said:
@Vesvius
[x]I only sleep 2 hours a night.
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Yeah, I could get behind that. Approved.
 
[X] I have a strange relationship with training dummies and can summon them to aid me in battle.
 
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Vermeer said:
You know, when I introduce myself to new people, I like to tell them about the time I killed a man in 'Nam. It really gets the friendship going
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We're not meeting civilians. We're meeting co-workers, at a job where killing is part of the job description.

Saying that we have killed before (and so Kurenai doesn't need to be as worried about our mental state when we kill a bandit or whatever) is job relevant info.
 
[x] I have a strange relationship with training dummies and can summon them to aid me in battle.
 
Katsuragi said:
I don't think we've done anything to derail it all together, so provided we don't wind up being there and somehow throwing a wrench into it, which team do you think is getting caught up in wave?
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Still team 7's because Naruto's outburst had some influence in getting them that particular C rank mission. Other genin wouldn't complaint to the Hokage directly and thus influence the outcome in a similar way i think. Moving onto a different point I feel that one of the big reasons for Hinata's placement on team 7 in this quest stems from a psychological bonding reason rather than ripples caused by Daisuke. In the manga/anime Naruto and Sasuke were shown to be 'lonely' and together managed to create a strong rivalry and enduring, emotional relationship but Sakura Haruno could also be seen as 'lonely' and could fit into the group dynamics that way. In the canon timeline Sakura only had one strong friend (Ino) who became a rival before the genin placements due to shared attraction to Sasuke, thus feeling lonely and apart from others her age. In this timeline Sakura has more friends that just Ino and thus doesn't come off as 'lonely' and less suitable to team placement with Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata, in spite of her family and clan prestige, is still 'lonely' in this timeline due to her shyness and insecurities; she can resonate and be resonated with moreso that someone like Sakura who will have peers and friends she can relate to outside of team 7 which is something Naruto and Sasuke would struggle to do.

Onto Daisuke's team or team 11 a possible psychological reason to create this particular genin team of Daisuke, Kiba and Mariko is to have some of their similar psychological traits come to the forefront and be tested in a team environment - namely that all three possess strong, willful personalities that drive them to defend their goals and themselves against others when at crossroads. Daisuke doesn't lead his friends but takes pride in being a good shinobi and strong role model, Mariko comes across as competitive and wearing her heart on her sleeves, and Kiba from the canon timeline (mostly unchanged in this one too) is very cocky and arrogant about his abilities as a shinobi and has strong views on peer hierarchy (before he gets beat by Naruto). This is just my view however at it is still early days as to how and why team 11 was comprised as it has been. There is still plenty to find out about and understand anyway.
 
Vermeer said:
You know, when I introduce myself to new people, I like to tell them about the time I killed a man in 'Nam. It really gets the friendship going
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I like to talk about the fact that there are three canceled death certificates with my name on them. Because there's nothing better than "I've been dead four times I can recall, and a doctor witnessed three of them" to make people feel like they're not gonna be judged!

[] I can't cook at all.
Despite him being the Tea Master, this seems like the most inviting, friendly option. That said, I don't want to choose it because it might win, and I hate being on the right side of history.

[x]I only sleep 2 hours a night.

Also, @Vesvius I need the rough In Game Date for the Third Part(... and Fire the Teacher.) because uh... Hyuuga are traditionalist as hell and that's going to decide things from which part of the compound they're using(I think they have like, eight Rooms Specifically For Tea according to one of the official maps) to what they're eating, as well as what kind of tea, if he's bringing the tea... and so on. Hell, it'll even decide what time of day he's hitting the compound.
 
EVA-Saiyajin said:
I'll take your word for it, and thank you for your service.

That said, this isn't our world. You do realize we've been groomed as a child soldier, for one?
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I was being sarcastic. Making a point about how ridiculous it sounds to people. You will notice how tame the rest of our team's interesting facts were? We are totally not going to fit in with this kind of intro.
RedV said:
We're not meeting civilians. We're meeting co-workers, at a job where killing is part of the job description.

Saying that we have killed before (and so Kurenai doesn't need to be as worried about our mental state when we kill a bandit or whatever) is job relevant info.
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Dude there is a time and a place. This is introduction time, not read off our CV as to why we are qualified. She will test us in a few minutes. She will figure out our seriousness then.
 
Vesvius said:
Very nicely done. Take 70 XP and canon.

Heard!



Nice and mildly disturbing! Take 250 for both of them.

Nice job! Way to get in on the Omake game! Take 50 XP and canon.

Good stuff! Take 60 XP and canon.

No.

Sure.

But he's not. Change it to 'was almost heir to a country' or something similar and sure.


Yeah, I could get behind that. Approved.
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Please put it into Strength
 
[X] I killed a man at 5 years old.
Adhoc vote count started by InquiQual on Nov 14, 2018 at 11:16 AM, finished with 286 posts and 185 votes.
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[x] I have a strange relationship with training dummies and can summon them to aid me in battle.
 
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