Naruto Pseudo-FI: The Whirling Iron

[Xanah]

Naruto SI: The Whirling Iron

Chapter 1: Graduation




The Elemental Nations, a land of eternal war and hate, condemned to this black cycle of malice by a blasphemous visitor from beyond. Born from these sins was the mighty energy known as Chakra, the blessed marriage between the essences of Body and Mind.

Today, the vast majority of the warriors who use Chakra are known as Ninjas or Shinobi. However, other orders of Chakra-users do exist within these lands, ones not as driven by spite. This is the story of one such order, the Samurai.

More specifically, this is the story of Uzumaki Chika, a young girl as she graduates as a private, their equivalent of genin, in the heart of Tetsu no Kuni, and hopes to contribute in bringing peace to the bloodstained land.

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"-- And Squad Bara will consist of Privates Uzumaki Chika, Kaneko Yuki and Akemi Hikaru under Captain Shimizu Nozomi! Report to the Rose Dojo for further instructions! Directions have been provided in your graduation pack!"

The declaration gets my full attention. Finally, it's my turn to be part of a team! It reminds me of shinobi squads, but I've learned in this life that we samurai do things a bit differently. For instance, I don't bear a forehead protector as they do in Konoha, Suna and the others. Instead, I wear armor, a light version of the usual, intended for genin, er, privates like us. For now, its plates are just in whites and grays, but maybe I could have it personalized later on? I've seen colorful ones around here, some of which are basically wearable works of art. Reminds me of a certain fictional space warrior culture.

As for my new teammates… well, I don't know them very well. We sparred, we worked in group projects, we got along civilly, and that's about it. Yuki reminds me of a certain huntress, though. Even has the polarity to go with it. Our new sensei, meanwhile… she's a well-known sculptor, but the best part is that she's reputed for her weapons of choice, an axe and mace that are said to break through any defenses. Reminds me of those special swords over in Kiri.

Anyway, it's time I report to the dojo. Opening my graduation pack, I find team profiles, some tools, a bundle of senbon (those are actually bo shuriken), a first-aid kit, some money, and maps. I'll look at the other stuff later. For now, I take a map and close the pack. Carrying it with me, I exit the classroom. Hm, where is the Rose Dojo…?

Clearly marked on my map is a cross indicating the Rose Dojo, and it looks to be… Wait, that's Sōryū, a famous teahouse around here, but where's the dojo? Maybe it has a dojo area? Or maybe it's a dojo in disguise? On a side note, the name still reminds me of a certain aircraft carrier.

Before I can investigate further, I hear a gentle voice call out from behind me. "Oh, Uzumaki-san, have you found the dojo yet?"

Turning around, I see Yuki, her long locks a pale pink compared to my crimson ones, her fern green eyes a contrast to my amber. "I believe so," I reply, nodding, "But it's right where Sōryū is. Maybe it's also a dojo?" I'm not so good at looking underneath the underneath, but it looks like a possibility to me.

Peering at her own map, she sticks her tongue out in concentration. "Hm… You're right, how strange… I wonder if Akemi-san knows more? His family takes care of the Cherry Blossom Dojo when it's not in use."

"We could ask," I suggest, "Or we could go to the Rose one and find out."

"No need, Uzumaki-san, Kaneko-san, I'm here." Indeed, that's the ever-affable Hikaru now, the blond among us. "The dojos are concealed within normal businesses, it leads back to the Warring Clan Era where us samurai were regarded as cheap bandits for hire, so we'd hide our bases so that we didn't incur the wrath of any ninja who survived our missions."

That's interesting to know. "Makes sense. Shinobi aren't the only ones who can hide," I reply. "Let's get going?"

Nodding, Hikaru joined you and Yuki in walking towards the exit. "Oh, I hope you both like Tea, it's a bit of an unspoken rule that Privates work at the business that house their dojos, at least until they're promoted, then you're free to quit, although most stay anyway."

Tilting her head, Yuki tapped her cheek in thought. "Working at a famous teahouse during our off-time? Yes, I think that will be quite nice."

I nod as I continue to accompany the two. "It's okay. I like tea." More than coffee, anyway.

Putting his hands behind his head, Hikaru sighed. "At least we're Squad Bara, I hear the Lotus dojo is… not somewhere you want to work."

"How so?" I inquire. That doesn't sound good. Terrible working conditions? Horrible boss?

Waving off my concerns, he shrugs. "It's not a bad place, it's just that if we didn't have samurai licenses we wouldn't be allowed in there at our age. You know Starburst, the Cabaret Club?"
Covering her mouth, Yuki gasps in shock. "Oh my… ! They make privates work there?!"

"...Goodness, it's that kind of place?" I ask, shocked. If it's really the kind that'd look at home in a red light district, it'd be shuddering to think about.

Slumping, the blond nods glumly. "Exactly, General Mifune is trying to fix it, but he's having more luck raising the graduation age than he is moving the Lotus dojo."

Bringing her hands back down, Yuki asks hopefully. "Is that why there hasn't been a Squad Hasu since the General took office?"

"Could be," I concur, nodding. If so, it means he's trying to take steps anyway.

Snapping his fingers, he points at Yuki, the pep suddenly back in his stride. "Yep, General Mifune promised to not let any more kids enter that line of work. He says we're not ninja, so we don't need to work with the dark side of humanity to get our missions done."

"That's good," I remark, momentarily reminded of a certain someone in Konoha, who is all too willing to do just that.

Arriving at Sōryū, you find a middle aged woman with dark purple, curly hair in a bob at the counter. "Oh hello, are you the new help? I'm Tachibana Tomoe, the boss here."

"Yes, we are," I reply, nodding. "My name is Uzumaki Chika. Nice to meet you."

Bowing deeply as a sign of respect, Yuki returns the greeting. "Yes, my name is Kaneko Yuki, we'll be in your care from today onwards, please take care of us Tachibana-sensei."

Rolling his eyes at us and waving at our new civilian boss, Hikaru chuckles. "Maa maa, why'd you two have to be so formal? It's only Tomoe-san. Got any new blends?"

Chuckling, Tomoe bops Hikaru on the head with a hand towel. "Oh hush you! You only want to see Akio."

Blushing, Hikaru waves the laughing lady off. "Wh-What?! N-No! Can't a guy talk to a woman without wanting to see her daughter?"

I chuckle at that. "Someone has a cruuuush?" I teasingly ask. Who knew?

Returning to her teapots while still laughing, the tea matron nods. "Oh like you wouldn't believe. Those two have been smitten since day one, but neither of them have the guts to make it official."

Seemingly melting, Yuki coos at the blond samurai. "Aw! That's so cute! It's just like in my books!"

Trying to push Yuki off, Hikaru's face was only getting redder and redder. "Ack! No! It's not like that! Guuuuuys!"

"That's what they all saaaaay~" I remark, a wink in my eye. It's totally like that.

Standing in front of five coloured teapots, red, blue, green, yellow and purple from left to right, Tomoe eyes you all critically and then takes the blue, green and purple pots off the stove, gathering several jars, cartons and tubs, as well as three cups, she sets about her craft.

First, she pours just over two-thirds of the middle cup from the blue pot; she then adds a thin, but generous layer of milk from a white carton, next, from a jar with the label 25%, she adds three teaspoons of sugar, and finally fills the rest of it with what seems to be melted dark chocolate from a glass bottle. Mixing it all together until it becomes a nice, frothy light brown, she passes it to me.

For the second cup, she pours a generous helping of the purple tea, then she grabs a juicer and orange and starts squeezing the fresh orange juice into the cup, to top it off, she grabs a sprig of thyme, places it on top of the concoction and passes it to Hikaru.

The last cup is, by far, the simplest; nearly fill the cup from the green pot and then three heaping tablespoons of cream and 100% sugar, each. This overly sweet beverage goes to Yuki.

Lightly blowing on the surface of the milk tea to cool it off a bit, I carefully take a sip of it. Mmm, yummy…

When similar expressions of contentment come from the other two, Tomoe smiles while leaning on the counter. "Still got it. I always make it a point to make new workers their perfect cup of tea, on the house, without asking."

My gratitude could be seen on my face. "Thank you very much."

"Think nothing of it, Chika-chan, hopefully one day you'll be able to do the same for customers." Tomoe is positively beaming at my praise.

"Mhm, this is the best one yet Tomoe-san." Hikaru gives a thumbs up as he drinks.

Nearly inhaling her tea, Yuki can't help but gush. "Wow! This is so light and fluffy! It's amazing Tachibana-sensei!"

Before Tomoe has a chance to reply, the shop bell rings, and as you all turn to greet the new customer, you realize your tea break is over.

Shimizu Nozomi has arrived.

[Chapter 1 End]

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Author's Notes: So, this is a late birthday present for @UbeOne, possibly my oldest friend on this site and the one who got me into roleplaying properly.

In honour of that fact, I decided to set up a one-man, or one-woman in this case, game, where I'm the GM and she gets to play around in the world.

When I asked her what kind of game she wanted, she proposed an interesting idea; an SI game using the setting's Jumpchain as a framework for her character sheet, however, this is not a full Jumpchain, it is purely contained within the current setting and we merely used the Jump to design Squad Bara.

Agreeing to the idea, Ube picked out a few settings and we eventually settled on Naruto, but Ube wanted to try something a bit more original, so me being me, I dove for the Samurai, thus here we are.

Note that FI rules do not apply, she has seen Naruto, so feel free to discuss to your heart's content.

Now, a few words from the birthday girl;

Salutations! This is UbeOne, and I've played in several of Xalgeon's RPs. The jumpchain doc looked interesting, so I thought, why not try a character build from it? Rehashing canon areas has already been done in other fics, so, why not try something unexplored? Among the nations, the Land of Iron and its samurai were the least fleshed out, so we felt like setting the story there, breaking new ground. And yes, Xal being a fan of samurai and Japanese swords was a factor, too.

Here's hoping that just as we enjoy writing the adventure, you would also enjoy reading about it. See you in the succeeding chapters!

Oh, here's the link to my sheet.

And the link to the jump doc itself.