"Hnnn..."
I sat there at my bed, most probably looking like a fool as I tried to concentrate on forcing the energy inside me to move.
"What are you trying to do, Amai?" Rei asked, probably wondering what the hell I was attempting.
I opened my eyes and looked at him, deadpan. "Trying to become a machine of pure destruction and evil, capable of shattering the entire world with a single spell."
He couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're funny, Amai," Rei continued. "Do you wanna come play with us? We're going to play ninja outside."
Oh lord. Socialization.
I have no trouble talking to children, but I genuinely do not want to go outside. In true gamer fashion, I am Marie! She who doesn't know what grass or even the light of day are!
"Uh, sorry," I awkwardly stroked my nape. "I don't really feel like it today, and just want to stay inside for now."
He stood still where he was, slightly disappointed. His smile quickly returned, though.
"That's fine. We'll be outside if you change your mind and want to play with us!"
With that, he practically bolted out of the room.
I awkwardly bid him goodbye with the wave of my hand, and returned to what I was doing.
...Should I have said yes? I don't mind having friends, but frankly, I'm just not in the mood.
Let's be honest. I'm never in the mood to talk to people, and much less run around like an hyperactive monkey using small branches on the ground as pretend kunais. It sounds fun for some, definitely fun for children, but I don't want to do that.
I'd die of shame if I did.
Still, the guilt clings to me. I shouldn't have rejected Rei like that, especially since he's apparently this girl's friend.
Going down the lone wolf route in this world didn't seem like a very good idea. That'd make my life unnecessarily difficult, and even though I'm not some kind of messiah like Naruto, connections would probably be very helpful in the long term.
Not to mention, I don't know how much talent I could possibly have. Yet another reason why having reliable allies could help.
Should I really, thoooough?
Naw, screw that for now. I'd rather stay a NEET for a bit longer. Socializing is exhausting, and I doubt befriending a bunch of children will suddenly grant me some god-tier power boost.
Hm? I feel like something's cracking. Perhaps if I focus on that one sweet spot, I'll be able to unlock my chakra?
Come on, come on... Just a little more of a push, and then...!
Pop.
Huh. It's kind of weird, to be honest with you. It felt like a bubble surrounding the energy had just popped.
And now, it was completely mine to control—I had become the Avatar, commanding all four elements! I shall master all of them in order to restore balance to the world!
…As if. This stupid thing was doing whatever it wanted, and I had little to no control over where it went.
Figures, I have no previous training or have even attempted any kind of technique yet, like the thing about holding a leaf on your forehead with your chakra.
Who could've thought my life as a shut-in would actually pay off in the end? All that binging, all those fillers, and all that checking of the wiki out of pure curiosity—it was for this moment and this moment alone!
I'll try it all later—be it sticking leaves to my forehead, walking on trees and water, all the basic stuff. Then, I'll move on to the more advanced ones, such as, uh... Oh dear lord, I know all the basic ones, but not the ones that come after. Medical ninjutsu training, maybe? Then chakra threads, chakra flow—yeah, all that good stuff.
I wonder if this is considered fast for a child, or even usual. It was the first completely foreign thing I felt before the pain kicked in, so I knew something was off about this body from the very beginning. I assume people don't even notice this feeling, and just think it's something natural.
They probably don't even learn about it until they start attending the Academy, or if they're from a clan that trains their kids early.
Then, the door opened. Just great.
Rei peeked his head inside, "Come join us to play ninja Amai, pretty pleasee! It'll be fun, I swear!"
Good heavens, some of them are so damn stubborn. This is why I hate kids.
"I-I really don't—"
He walked into the room, and cut me off before I could finish. Don't drag me along, you little...!
"Amai, pleeease!" he tugged onto my sleeve. "We need one more person to make it fair!" he asked, giving me the look.
No, don't look at me with those begging eyes! I swear, I can't!
"You don't have to do anything crazy! Just be the villain!" He clung to my sleeve like his life depended on it. "Every ninja game needs a super strong villain!"
"A villain?"
It's one of those ridiculous games. I'm definitely losing my dignity and throwing my pride away if I agree to this.
But... if I refuse, this kid is just going to keep pestering me until I give in anyway.
"Yeah, doing cool imaginary jutsu like ninjas while we try to stop you!" Rei beamed, his eyes somehow... twinkling? How do you do that?!
I stared, speechless and trying to process how the hell one could even manage to do that.
"...Fine."
"Awesome! Come on, everyone's waiting outside!"
I'm going to regret this, I just know it.
--------
This is embarrassing. So embarrassing. Both my pride and dignity are gone.
I didn't want to admit it either, but this is actually kind of fun. Three boys were playing dead, laying on the ground as Rei stood in front of me with some random stick we found on the ground earlier.
"Oh ho, you're approaching me?" I exclaimed, my arms stretched outward as if I was preparing for some grand showdown.
"Instead of running away, you're coming right to me? Even though your dear companion, Daichi, figured out the secret to my ultimate jutsu, like a student scrambling to finish the problems on an exam until the last moments before the chime?"
Not to toot my own horn, but putting aside the fact that I'm basically using stolen lines, I think I'm a pretty good actress.
"I can't defeat you without getting closer, villain." Rei said with a determined grin, raising his stick like a sword.
"Hoh, then come as close as you like." I said, kneeling down to pick up another random stick.
Then, we began taking a few steps toward each other, menacingly.
Without any more words, we both began to charge, sticks raised. Then, we clashed. Over and over and over again, with the skill of a lobotomized circus monkey.
I didn't care if we were bad at it, though. It was fun pretending to be some kind of swordswoman with sticks—I had always done it as a child before, but of course, I didn't have anyone to play with.
Makes me wonder if Kenjutsu is actually worth learning. Since chakra exists, maybe I can use it in some way to replicate the cool moves I saw before?
Stuff like the quickdraw, or that trick where you sheathe and unsheathe your sword to slice through objects before they even know what hit them.
Or, or! Better yet, ranged slashing attacks! Those were my favorite to watch. Like Zoro's 360 Pound Phoenix, or just that type of attack in general—where a single swing sends out a shockwave capable of cutting down enemies from afar.
Sounds like a plan for the future.
"Hey, let us play with the sticks next! That looks really fun!" Daichi said, getting back up from the ground.
That woke me up to reality and made me realize how stupid I was being while doing this.
Yeah, this will probably be one of the last times I ever do something this embarrassing.
The academy is still about a year away, so I've got plenty of time to prepare.
...Right?