[丂ㄒ卂尺ㄒ!]
Dying from laughter wasn't such a bad way to go. At least that's what Nana Tachikawa mused as darkness surrounded her. The video she'd been watching at the time wasn't even that funny. But like most, her ending had came before she was ready. She had things left to do just like everyone else. Ideas. Goals. Like finally redeeming enough points on her Nintendo Account to get Animal Crossing for free. Thirty measly points left to go, dammit!
Yet here she was. No longer the average B student who was neither underachieving or overachieving. To the her now, the past life she left behind seemed like a ten hour un-skippable ad she'd had to sit through.
And who was she now, you may be asking?
Not a mob character. Not even a background character, which would have been fine for Nana.
↩ She stepped into the role of Nikko Utsuri; a descendant of "Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto", or "Heavenly Princess Ichikishima." Along with that title came a whole horde of abilities and expectations. (More on that later) The Utsuri Clan Nikko hailed from had a particular kekkei genkai called Jikan henkō no Justsu, or better known as the Time Altering Jutsu. As the name suggests, it could alter time, either by slowing it down or speeding it up. It was limited by her chakra as well as a perimeter of control. It was revered by many and sought after by all the major ninja villages. As a result, the entire clan had been exterminated--well, everyone but Nikko and her ailing grandmother Hana.
Enough about that for now.
In her previous life, Nana Tachikawa wasn't what one would consider an Otaku, nor was she a weeb. But Nana remembered seeing Naruto reruns on the television from time to time. As a consequence, she had only a vague recollection of what actually happened in the story. The last thing Nana recalled in the show had been the appearance of Jiraiya, whom had begun to train Naruto among time spent 'researching'. Furthermore, she had a strange attraction to the cold blooded Gaara.
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Nikko's eyes peered around the room in which she found herself. It appeared to be some sort of traditional Japanese room with tatami mats for a floor, and a futon nestled closely to a sliding door. From what she could see, the sliding door led into a large garden.
[What the hell? This isn't my room--not at all! Where am I?]
The shock was great for Nikko, aka Nana. She had just been laughing at a cat scared of a cucumber moments earlier in the comfort of her room--so what the hell gives? "Ara...I'm dead, aren't I?" She huffed a little. Her chest hurt which made talking difficult, as though she'd not taken a breath in quite some time. Looking down at the tatami floor below Nikko saw a ornamented tea cup which had been dropped, droplets dotting here and there. There was also moisture on the edge of her mouth and she swiped, smelling something faintly acidic. "What the...is this..? Tea? Poison? It must be..."
So it appeared the old owner of this body had been poisoned to death. What a mysterious way to go, Nikko mused. Who done it? Why? The questions piled up one after another. No matter. She would figure this out!
"What should I do..?"
Her mind was fuzzy, but a recollection began to surface. The previous Nikko's life then filtered into her brain and images booted one after another, as though multiple tabs on a browser and they'd all loaded at once, lagging the computer. Here's what she gathered:
A fourteen year old prodigy.
The last of Utsuri Clan-- and owner of a powerful and feared jutsu. The Time Altering Jutsu, which granted the user control of a area of space. It was a powerful and also dangerous kekkai genkai. Because of it's advantage in war, the Utsuri Clan had been sought after heavily. Either to use, or to be killed out of fear. Which led to where Nikko was now: Sunagakure. The current Kazekage had inherited the control over the Utsuri, as Nikko's ancestors had been bought by the first Kazekage.
The Clan Symbol: (An hourglass)
The Hand Sign needed to use the Time Altering Jutsu was: ×, =, |-
The Clan had a home built around a Tea Garden. Nikko had been raised here, isolated from most of the village of Sunagakure.
The Tea Garden was massive, well taken care of by the Utsuri Clan for many years. The roji bridge led to the traditional home where Nikko stayed with her Governess
The main house was where Nikko lived. The rest of the Utsuri Clan had lived in separate homes around the perimeter of the Clan's territory. Among which were many different sized houses, none of them in use now, however.
Many had tried to assassinate the small her growing up. Her parents passed away when she was but two years old in the 3rd Great Ninja War. Instead of parents, Nikko Utsuri had a governess who'd taught her basic etiquette and mannerisms befitting that of a royal. And judging from her current outfit, she was well taken care of. An expensive kimono of light purple to match the sparkling eyes she now had, tiny lotus flowers of pink and white graduated from the long flowing sleeves and decorated the bottom of the kimono. White socks and wooden sandals completed the outfit.
Curiosity had Nikko searching for some way to see her reflection.
"Looking for a mirror, Hime-sama?"
The voice had come from nowhere.
Upon hearing the Google Assistant voice, Nikko looked around and saw above her head a floating light. The light soon afterwards transformed into three beautiful blue monarch butterflies. They darted around her head excitedly before one rested on the tip of her nose. "Nana-chan, we are your Guide. Please, call us Aponi..."
It was a little strange and even mildly creepy to hear butterflies talking like her Android mobile, but Nikko adapted quickly. "Aponi huh? Alllrighty then. So, care to explain why the hell I'm in the world of Naruto?"
All three Aponi floated around her head in a circle as gold dust floated down. Some of which annoyed her eyes. Aponi spoke: "You died, and at the same time so did Nikko Utsuri. We've been waiting for you.."
"Waiting? Like what? Am I the chosen one or something?"
"We have chosen you, so in a manner of speaking, yes. You are the one in the body of our precious Hime-sama...please, take over her role."
Of all things she'd not expected that. "Take over? You mean, be the Princess or something? 'Cause I'm really not into all that..no offense. You've got the wrong gal...I'd just die anyway--"
Like, what did they expect from someone who'd literally laughed so hard they died? [C'mon, man.]
Aponi angrily darted up and down. "We are your guide! Please, if you don't fulfill your role as Hime-sama, then the cycle will repeat!"
"Cycle?"
"Yes. The curse of the Utsuri Clan...! Until the Princess has a good ending, there will be nothing but [bad endings]! Please! We beg of you, don't let Hime-sama down!"
"Okay...so let me get this straight. I'm here all 'cause you guys need someone to not die? For...uhh, the curse crap to break or whatever?"
Aponi sparkled before dulling. "Yes. Although...your mannerisms are so far from Hime-sama..." they dropped to a murmur, "...did we choose an idiot?"
"Hey! I'm standing right here!"
*Knock Knock*
The door slid open before Nikko could even respond. Aponi rest on her shoulders. They whispered, "Regular humans cannot see us. Do not worry."
The face was none other than Nikko's Governess. She stood at attention and looked severe, like the elderly women who would smack one's hand for trying to eat a cookie before dinner. Her graying hair was pulled back in a tight bun, so wore a form fitting dress of pale blue, and typical shinobi sandals. The lines on her face were pronounced as an angry look gathered. "Lady Nikko-san! You're late for the Tea Ceremony! Lord Kazekage has been expecting you for some time now!"
[Well shit.]
Aponi glittered gold and whispered, "This is Governess Gale...she's got a nasty temper. It would be better not to get on her bad side. She's known for unusual punishments."
A memory loaded in Nikko's mind: After an evening spent playing outdoors among the gardens as a child, Nikko had been late to dinner. Despite being surrounded by shinobi who were hired for Nikko's protection, the Governess had been ripe with anger and severe in chastisement. The child had been forced to play her biwa until falling asleep--outside mind you, in the winter months.
Governess Gale was waiting for Nikko to respond. "Oh...yeah, right. I remember that...uhm, what are we waiting for?"
"Why are you speaking like a country bumpkin?" Gale leaned in and put a hand to her forehead, "Are you ill?"
Aponi fluttered by her cheek. "Tell her yes. You aren't feeling so well. Try to avoid the Ceremony!"
"Wha..?" Nikko hissed lowly.
"Just trust me. There's probably a [bad ending] waiting if you go! Think of something!"
A [bad ending] already? Didn't she just have one, with the whole poisoned tea cup? Jeez. Talk about overkill.
"Er--I'm sorry, Governess Gale, I actually feel a bit off..."
The lame and flimsy excuse rolled off her Governess' shoulders and hit the floor limply. "Nonsense! This is a special event! All the highest ranking shinobi will be there from Sunagakure. You, as the only Utsuri member capable, are expected to attend! I won't take no for an answer!"
Aponi sighed. "Hime-sama, your deception skills are nil."
Nikko put a hand to her forehead and feigned fainting. "Oh no...the room...it's uhm, totally spinning..."
The Governess yanked her hand down and pulled a wooden stick from nowhere, smacking the faker over the head. "Stop that at once! Go straighten your hair and make haste."
Aponi fluttered away to the sliding door leading towards the gardens. "The water here is clear, Hime-sama. Please use it to straighten your appearance. I will do my best to aid you tonight. Do not fret! The great Aponi will be by your side."
Gale left and Nikko sighed before clacking to the waters edge. She peered over, seeing the reflection which gazed back at her:
Eyes of amethyst rimmed with many lashes, highlighted with geisha red eyeshadow. Green hair that shimmered in the light and reached to the back of her thighs. Pale skin with a dusting of healthy pink on the cheeks as though blushing. Tiny red painted lips.
[Holy crap! I'm freaking gorgeous! Hell yeah!]
Nikko felt like she'd won the lottery. She was speechless staring at the jade beauty in the water. Turning this way and that, Nikko couldn't detect even one flaw. Dying really wasn't so bad, after all. Especially waking up in the body of this beauty queen. Her breasts were a good size, too. Lucky! Already her mind was churning with thoughts of the lecherous sort.
"Hime-sama...your hair, remember?"
After sorting out her hair situation, Nikko remembered Aponi's words earlier. "Hey, you mentioned something about a curse. What's that all about again?"
The three blue Aponi butterflies split to land on rocks in the water and they explained: "The first Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto fell in love with a monk. They kept their forbidden love a secret, until Ichikishima's father Raijin found out. He grew angry and slew the monk, but not before cursing him to never find peace. Ichikishima-sama used her divine power of good fortune to turn her lovers curse into a blessing, but it was a double sword. While she had set his soul free from imprisonment, Ichikishima-sama sacrificed her own to do so. She took on the curse, to which her father Raijin was aggrieved to learn. After much mourning, Raijin put another curse, this time on his daughter. He cursed all of her descendants to never find peace unless they found their one true love. But because the first curse was still in place, this caused an unbalance in nature, creating [bad endings] for the descendants of Ichikishima-sama. Only when the spirit of Ichikishima-sama found happiness in life, avoiding her [bad endings], could she be free from the curse and move on the the afterlife."
Nikko absorbed this information slowly. It was a lot to take in, after all. And somehow this was now her fate. Had it not been enough to die by laughing? "So..in other words, I have to find my love?" Nikko assessed. Aponi glittered gold. "Yes, Hime-sama. But in order to do so you must avoid the bad endings! As you know, the previous Hime-sama failed in this...so, using the remnants of her spirit, we went to the other realm to find a replacement. So that she may rest once and for all!"
"Huh. Well...whatever, then. I guess I don't have much choice in this anyways. So tell me, who are you supposed to be anyway?"
"We are the good left behind with Ichikishima-sama's spirit."
"So, does that mean you're super strong and mystical? Do you have special powers? Wait, do I? I mean, other than the Time Altering Jutsu?" Nikko questioned.
Aponi fluttered their wings as though laughing. "Let us not be late Hime-sama. The Kazekage waits."
"Crap. Fine. Let's go, then."