Chương 2: Inner Conflicts
"I-I recognize all of them." I stammered, almost overwhelmed by the unbelievable sight in front of me. Like Rito said it was like watching characters from a multicrossover story duking it out, except it was real and not an animation. I was actually having some trouble following their movements, and the noise produced by their clashing was almost deafening. Was this what a real battle was like? "Which ones do you recognize Rito?"
"Sasuke and Ranma. I mean, who has never heard of Naruto and Ranma 1/2?" He scratched his head. "Though it has been years since I last read manga in general, so I don't really remember the details..."
"I also recognize Killua from Hunter X Hunter, Yukari was very fond of that manga. Well, of all shonen ones to be honest." Minato mused.
"Sorry, manga in my world were quite different so I can't help you here." Rin shrugged. "The introduction of real gods and devils must have caused, what was the expression, butterfly changes?"
"Alright, so some of the people present here were fictional characters in other worlds too, not just mine." I didn't know why, it seemed almost arbitrary, but it wasn't a mystery I was keen to investigate right now. "In terms of raw power the two in the air are the strongest, but the others all have special abilities that will hurt a lot if they hit, so trying to subdue them by force is definitely out of the question."
"That may not be as much of a problem as you think." Tsuna suddenly said, eyes locked on the fighters. "It happens very quickly, but all six of them heal back from whatever damage they suffer. Not only it happens the same way for everyone, but although they concealed it to different degrees they all were surprised the first time it happened. At such it may be a property of this world rather than an ability they possessed before coming here."
I blinked in surprise. "Like, this is a world where only souls or minds can enter and none of us has a physical body, so we can't really hurt each other?" It wasn't an entirely foreign concept, I remembered seeing it used in various media. But... "What about abilities that affect the mind or soul?"
"I have considered it." Tsuna nodded. "Do you remember if any of those people have such an ability?"
Sasuke. He has the Sharingan after all, and if like the others he died after living to old age then he must have a crapton of skills and experience using those hax eyes... But then, why is he fighting Killua with Raiton instead of using a Genjutsu? Tsukuyomi would put the young killer out of commission very quickly, and family of super-assassins or not I doubted the white-haired boy had a hard-counter to such a powerful illusion. Yes the world of Hunter X Hunter is pretty crazy, but so is the one of Naruto.
Maybe there just was something I wasn't seeing yet? Some kind of detail in the background?
There was also Riku to consider: he had a Keyblade, and from what I remembered of the games it was implied that he followed Sora to wherever they ended up after the third game. Probably some kind of wacky adventure or several of them. The point is, going by the lore a Keyblade is crazy powerful so if Riku had the time to master his own he is bound to have a lot of special abilities that affect the Heart, which in context is likely something close to either the mind or the soul, maybe both.
"One for sure, and another is very likely to have one such ability." I answered slowly. "But then, why haven't they used them yet? If they have noticed their regeneration and still insist on using attacks of a physical nature..."
"Are they fighting just because they can?" Minato finished, a disgruntled look on his face. "How wonderful, we're dealing with battle maniacs."
"Oh, I wouldn't say it's the case for all of them." Tsuna tossed a brief glance at Laharl and Ranma. I was sure he didn't need his Hyper Intuition to pick up on it. "But there's definitely that, and maybe testing their suddenly rejuvenated bodies." He opened and closed his right hand a few times. "While I miss my height, I can say being young again is definitely a good feeling."
"Guys we're getting off tracks here." Rito warned us. "Lee, why don't you start with Ranma? Of those I know he's the one more likely to see reason."
That was true: Ranma was a bit of a jerk, true, but he also had a lot of honor and would never attack someone who isn't even defending himself. Riku was a bit more of a grey area, I knew he matured greatly during the various games, but outside of his friends he always acted a bit cold. Still, compared to the pair of demons and the one of assassins they certainly were the best choice to start with.
That said, I wasn't above preparing some insurance. "I'll start with him and his opponent, Riku. Tsuna, could you come with me in case things go south?"
"Of course. I have a lot of experience as a peacemaker after all, and even if right now said role is more suited to be played by you I hope you'll accept an old man's wisdom." He said with a grin that didn't quite fit his boyish features. Uh, I needed to remind myself that despite their young looks those were my favorite characters after they became old men: it was a bit disquieting, but I felt like I could rely on them even more.
"Good, we have a plan. Go for it, us normies will wait here until the ultra-violence is over and we can talk like normal people." Rito nodded several times, eyes closed and arms crossed while sitting cross-legged. Minato and Rin quickly imitated him.
I narrowed my eyes. "...Weren't you the kind of guys who'd jump into the fray even if there's realistically no way for you to make a difference if it mean helping a friend?"
"Of course I will! When you're in danger!" Rito waved a hand while smiling.
"I will shout encouragements. I have gotten very good at it." Minato proudly stated.
"Don't worry: everything will be alright." Rin said with a polite smile.
Those guys! They were among my favorite characters, the least they could do was giving me a thumb-up and telling me a cool one-liner like 'Don't worry: leave it to me', not toss me to the wolves!
I felt a hand on my shoulder, which belonged to none other than Tsuna. "They have their own pride: don't begrudge them for it." He told me with a kind, understanding tone. It took me a few seconds to understand what he meant, but then I realized that Rito, Minato and Rin had something in common: they spent the majority of their lives along people much stronger than themselves, and were forced to come to terms with the fact they couldn't directly help those people when there was a need to fight.
And it was odd in hindsight but at that moment I could really understand what was like, not just on an intellectual level. As if my capacity to empathize with others just shot through the roof... maybe it was because they were in one form of another all idols of my childhood days and I knew what they went through.
Or maybe Tsuna was just doing something with his Sky Flames. Could be either way. It was useful, yes, but in the future I would have to set down some hard rules concerning the use of mind-affecting powers, especially when the target was myself.
I sighed. "Let's, let's just go." I rolled my shoulders before approaching the martial artist and the dimensional traveler, the tiny mafia boss on my heels. What was the best way to approach it? Obviously body language played a big part, it wouldn't do to give the impression I was looking for a fight. I guessed acting natural was the best choice, it worked the previous times I had to play peacemaker in my old life. The part I had to be careful with was my words: showing I knew about topics Ranma and Riku considered private would upset them, at least until I had the time to properly explain how I knew about them. Before I discovered I could show Rito my memories, but I didn't know if I could do the same with the others.
Well, if I could I knew exactly what to show them in case things started to escalate.
"U-Uhm!" I began, stopping at what I judged to be a safe distance: close enough to be heard, but distant enough that Tsuna would be able to react. How I knew it? Because Tsuna started slowing down when we approached i, and I could take a hint. Seeing I was ignored I slightly raised my voice. "Please, can you stop fighting?! You saw it, we can't hurt each other! This is not a trap! If you want answers I have... some..." Finally Ranma and Riku jumped away from each other before stopping, looking at me with neutral stares. "But not all... Sorry?"
There were a few moments of silence before Ranma snorted. "Well, an incomplete explanation is better than none at all." He folded together his fingers before stretching his arms above his head. "Beside that was the best workout I had in years, so I'm actually in a good mood."
Riku snorted, Keyblade resting on his right shoulder. Now that I was close I could see he looked like he did in Kingdom Hearts III, and his Keyblade was the Braveheart. AKA, the giant pin tumbler lock key. "You enjoyed it."
"Aren't denying it. This the first time I fought someone using a giant key as a weapon, it was a novel experience." He put a hand on his chin and assumed a thinking pose. "Well, unless you include that guy from Sendai but they were smaller, had an actual edge and he used them like shurikens."
And now I was reminded that everything in Ranma's world could be turned into a martial art. Everything.
"Sounds like a loon." Riku raised an eyebrow before turning to me and Tsuna. "So, do you have names or should I call you Glasses and Shorty?"
Glasses? But I didn't wear gla-my hand, which instinctively came up to me face at the comment, stopped when the tips of my fingers touched the unmistakable metal frame of a pair of glasses perched on my nose. It wasn't blurry at the edges of my vision so my sight didn't worsen and those glasses were probably just ornamental, but what really threw me off was realizing the skin color of my own hand was much darker than it should be. "My name is Lee." I replied to Riku in a distracted tone before looking down at myself for the first time since I arrived in this strange world: black shoes, black pants and a white shirt. All normal things I owned, except for the black coat with a fur-lined collar and orange-bronze linings covering my upper body: that, I never owned.
But I once used it for a certain design.
"And I'm Tsunayoshi, but you can call Tsuna for short." The brown-haired boy then added under his breath. "Really missing my height."
"Give us a few moments please." I told Riku and Ranma before leaving towards the mafia boss and whispering. "Tsuna this is important, please quickly tell me my hair and eyes color!"
One of his eyebrows slightly raised in response, but he nonetheless answered. "You have orange eyes and silver hair."
That confirmed it: I had my old voice, but looked like the character I once made for the mmo Mabinogi. Why I had no idea, but it sounded like the kind of things a bored ROB would do.
Or, since I sure as hell didn't have the powers of my Mabinogi character, I had this appearance simply because deep down I thought looking like my character would be really cool and my inner world granted my wish.
Right. Important conversation later, fashion reasons later. "I already know who you two are, Riku and Ranma Saotome, but how I do would sound unbelievable to you without proof and I'm not really able to provide them at the moment. But rest assured I am too a victim of an unexpected occurrence." I explained. "Just to confirm if is this is indeed a recurring theme: did you also found yourself here after peacefully dying of old age, back in the body of your younger selves?"
"Peacefully my ass, it was winter and my back hurt like a motherfucker." Ranma grumbled, making me raise both eyebrows in response. "What? The method to live as long as the old bat and the old pervert did would have turned me into a midget like them, so I refused to go through with it. I had my dignity, you know?"
More like narcissism, but I was expecting as such from Ranma Saotome: 'Jerk with a Heart of Gold' was a trope made for him, even if every now and then he needed a good walloping to put him back on the right track. I wondered how reaching adulthood and then old age changed him.
"...Yes, I ended here after dying of old age. That's all I will say about the matter." Riku said with a tone that suggested he considered the matter closed. "I suppose this is not the afterlife? Because I don't see Hades anywhere, and I know that hot-head would not miss the chance to brag despite being unable to do anything else."
That's right, Hades from Kingdom Hearts was the Lord of the Dead and ruler of the Greek Underworld. Him being able to meet and talk with the souls of dead people made sense, and so was him being able to travel to different afterlives, although I supposed his strength outside of his own realm was limited.
"No. Well, I hope it's not the afterlife." I shook my head. "It's just a hypothesis for now, but this place seems to be an inner world inside my soul. I'm the only one that didn't arrive here after dying, though I must point out I have absolutely no idea how I ended here. I actually woke up a few hours ago in the younger body of one of the other people present... Uuh I know that sounds bad but I didn't do it intentionally. We talked and came to an understanding! He's alright with it, honest!" I looked down in embarrassment, one hand rubbing the top of my head. "Uhm... We think this is the result of a time or dimensional travel mishap...?"
"Mmmh..." Ranma was rubbing his chin. "I met my fair share of body-snatching spirits in the past and you don't give off the same feeling as them, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, Lee-san. Just don't start kidnapping people or suddenly pulling out marriage contracts, alright?"
Both Riku and Tsuna blinked. "Marriage contracts?"
The martial artist shrugged. "Pops was a bastard."
"Aah." Tsuna nodded in understanding. How was the relation between him and his father, Iemitsu? I didn't remember that part very well.
"Once again I'm surrounded by the crazy and the absurd." Riku massaged the space between his eyebrows. Just what happened during the time he disappeared along Sora? "Fine, I'll also give you the benefit of the doubt for now. My Keyblade is picking up some strange stuff, and I need to see more to make sense of it."
"What kind of... strange stuff?" I asked, but all I got in return was silence. Guess he had not completely warmed up to us, which was understandable. Still: I was not Sora or Kairi, but I was confident that, given time, I could gain some trust from Riku.
"So, what now?" Ranma questioned, one hand in his pocket and the other hanging freely. "In case you haven't noticed we weren't the only ones fighting." He jabbed a thumb towards the other two battles. "Those guys are intense: anything we need to know about?"
"Those flying are demons. Well, a demon and a devil." I specified. "The other two are a ninja and an assassin. Oh, but they're all good guys ar heart... If you look deep enough. The only exception is the giant pervert: you can see it immediately if you just ignore his passionate speeches about boobs."
There was absolute silence (beside the distant sounds of fighting) for a few seconds before both Riku and Ranma facepalmed. "This is painfully familiar."
"Same here."
====
After that I took the time to introduce Riku and Ranma to the others before approaching what I judged to be the most difficult task ahead.
Persuading Sasuke Uchiha and Killua Zoldyck to be reasonable people and listen to common sense.
Alright, so maybe I was blowing it out of proportion: they weren't the fanon versions of themselves (God I hoped they weren't), and surely not two-dimensional characters, otherwise I would hear a long-winded speech about revenge and hate and... well, and everything else that makes the Naruto fandom such a shithole with just a few hidden gems.
Yes I had bad experiences with shitty Naruto fanfics. Sue me.
Thing is, I knew very well both of them were taught how to kill and fight to the death since a young age. Killua started hating killing, especially after meeting Gon, but he never hesitated doing it if he thought it was necessary. In Sasuke's case, I guessed he reminded Killua too much of a fellow assassin so all it would take were a few badly chosen words to start hostilities. Same with Sasuke, who most likely thought Killua was a fellow ninja.
Which left me with the monumental task of de-escalating things and persuading the two paranoid boys their logical suspicions and suppositions were wrong.
Yay. Ganbatte me, you can do it.
"Having doubts?" Tsuna asked with an understanding tone, to which I could only answer with an awkward nod. Nonetheless the kind smile on his lips and his following words managed to put me more at ease. "Among us you're the one with the best chances to do it, and we'll be right beside you to help in any way we can."
Ah, so it was true: the Sky envelops and accepts everything. I didn't know what I would do to be able to do the same.
BA-THUMP
I stiffened, a gesture that was imitated by the other six guys. "You too?"
"A second heartbeat? Yes." Tsuna tapped his chest with an intrigued expression. "Mister Riku, if I understood it right you're an expert of Hearts. Is there anything you would like to share?"
The silver-haired boy was silent, switching his gaze between his chest and the Keyblade in his hand. Then, finally, he spoke. "Our Hearts. The Hearts of everyone here and even those four other jokers... they're connected. There should be no bond or memory tying them together, but they're linked all the same."
"For Heart, you mean the soul?" Minato asked.
"No. Where I came from a living being is composed of three parts: the Body, the Heart and the Soul." He explained. "To put it simply the Soul is the will, the Hearts the emotions and the Body the vessel to hold them. Research into it caused a lot of problems so I don't have definite answers beside what I learned during my travels, but I know our Hearts are connected in a way I only saw in close-bound friends before."
Crossing his arms he tapped a finger on his lips while giving me a penetrating look, though there was no hostility in it. "Whatever's going on here is strange but not malicious. And you seem to be the linchpin of it, Lee."
"Me?" I pointed a finger at myself in disbelief. "I know about what's going on even less than you, how can I be the cause? Alright I admit there are a few holes in my memories, but I have never been able to do something like this before. Hell, I once thought magic and other supernatural stuff was just fiction."
"I'm not saying you're the cause of this all, merely that it's centered around you." He shook his head. "But let's wait before everyone have calmed down and is on board before making theories. Time may flow differently within the soul, but if you fainted in the middle of a park there's no telling what may happen to you if we waste too much time."
Like what? Someone finding me and calling an ambulance, which ends up worrying Mikan and Rito's parents? A stray dog pissing on me?
....
"Let's get going already."
====
Since my first approach towards Riku and Ranma worked I thought to replicate it for Sasuke and Killua.
Except the moment I mentioned I had answers Sasuke disengaged from Killua and shot towards our group without letting me finish. There was a blur and before I knew it I had a blade made out of electricity worryingly close to my neck, while what I assumed were Shadow Clones were keeping Tsuna and the others busy. "Start talking." The Sasuke holding me at sword-point said with a voice cold enough to freeze water. "Lie to me and I'll show you immortality means nothing if you can still feel pain." As if stressing his point a few sparks jumped out of his sword and fell on my collarbone. I winced by reflex.
Except... there was no pain?
Sasuke twitched, his free hand coming up to rest on his own collarbone as if he was the one being hit. Eyes widening in surprise he jumped away while dismissing his clones, allowing me to look down at my shoulder and see there was no damage: no burnt skin, no damaged clothes, nothing.
What the hell?! Had Sasuke Uchiha just attacked me? That hurt a little, despite his flaws I actually liked Sasuke so being threatened with violence by one of my favorite anime characters was quite shocking. Alright I understood why he was so much on edge, but what kind of prick threaten the messenger waving the metaphorical white flag?
Then I remembered that Sasuke Uchiha is a prick and everything made sense. I was not Naruto, Kakashi or Sakura but suddenly I felt the urge to smack some sense into his thick head.
"Tch, so the feeling of pain is redirected back at the attacker?" Sasuke swore under his breath, hands forming a seal as his eyes switch to the red of the Sharingan. "Then I-"
"WILL YOU CALM THE FUCK DOWN AND LISTEN!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, surprising even myself at the strength behind my voice. "I came to help you and this is what I get? Where are your manners? Did you lose them while going all 'Lone Wanderer' through Kaguya's dimensions or do you think it's okay to be as rude as you want if you're the strongest person around? Well I have big news for you, Sasuke Uchiha!" A distant part of my mind was equally amused and befuddled by the shocked look on the ninja's face, and if he was still a child and just got caught doing something naughty be his father. "Bad boys get punished!"
Before I could properly reflect on the consequences of my actions I summoned every memory of every Naruto Yaoi doujinshi I have ever read and, just like I did with Rito, willed the whole lot of them to go into Sasuke's mind!
I'm a horrible person and yet I had no regrets~!
Sasuke's face shifted through a multitude of expressions, many of which I never saw before, faster than the speed of sound as the color of his skin turned first deadly pale, then purple and finally green. The incredible spectacle came to an end when he slapped both hands over his mouth and jumped behind a broken pillar, which was followed by loud sounds of retching.
I really, really had no regrets~!
"Wow." Ranma commented. "What did you do to him?"
"Filled his head with yaoi doujinshi starring him." My grin widened when the others all winced at the same time.
"That was evil. Like, really evil. I approve." Killua commented as he finally approached us, having so far watched the whole thing from a distance. "So, I assume you want to gather everyone present in order to search together for the cause of our current predicament?"
"Pretty much, yeah." I nodded. "And before you ask: no, I don't think this is the afterlife."
"Given I expected to burn in Hell for eternity after kicking the bucket I'm not complaining." Killua shrugged before perking up. "You wouldn't happen to have chocolate or some other sweet, do you?"
"Sorry, no."
"Damn. So this may be Hell after all."
Right, Killua had a massive sweet tooth. And also some kind of gambling problem... I thought so at least: it happened only once to my knowledge, I don't have eidetic memory.
"Have you peasants finished doing peasant things?!" A loud, boatful voice exclaimed from above. Looking up I saw Laharl was hovering above us, both ends of his scarf working as wings. Beside that he looked exactly like he did in Hour of Darkness, and in his right hand he was holding... was that the Yoshitsuna?! Holy shit! That was endgame equipment!
"Actually we were planning to approach you after getting those two onboard." Tsuna explained. A glance to the side revealed Issei hasn't moved, though I could felt his gaze on us. "But it seems our intervention is not necessary anymore."
"I got tired of waiting! If the plot would not come to the great Laharl, then I have no choice but to go there myself and beat it half to death as punishment for showing disrespect! Ahahahahaha!!" The young Overlord laughed after declaring something in the unreasonable logic only an ego as big as the moon could follow.
"Right, the plot." I slapped a hand on my face. I kind of forgot Disgaea characters don't just break the fourth wall, they perform parkour all over it. "Laharl, do you mind fetching the red armored guy you were fighting until now? We'll do the same with the last dude and then gather everyone together so we can share what we know."
"Nobody can order me, the Overlord, around!" He declared imperiously, crossing his arms as the Yoshitsuna vanished into motes of light. "However, just this once I'll be magnanimous and offer you an helping hand. Don't expect this to be a regular thing!" He warned before flying towards Issei."
"That guy thinks too highly of himself for my tastes." Ranma commented.
"What was that expression...? Ah, right." Riku tilted his head towards Ranma. "The pot calling the kettle back."
"Hey! I resent that! I'll have you know each and every one of my boasts is fully justified!"
I had the feeling I would have to get used to those guys butting heads on a daily basis. It couldn't be helped I supposed, their personalities were just too strong to do otherwise.
Together with Tsuna and Killua, who has decided to tag along on his own accord, I approached the place where Sasuke was still puking, though by that point it was mostly dry heaving. "You... You're a sick monster..." He gasped when he saw us.
"You know, that's funny coming from you." I raised an eyebrow. "In case you're wondering I didn't make those comics, I just read them: I don't have that much imagination." Nor could I draw like a professional manga artist, but that was beside the point. "And it's not even all the material I have-"
"No. Just, just no." What was showing up on Sasuke's face was less a grimace and more a rictus of unending, mind-scarring horror. "I'll listen to what you have to say if you promise to never do that again."
"Mmh... Alright then: you have a deal!" I grinned, already planning a few ways to bypass that promise, and extended a hand. "Name's Lee."
He looked me up and down, silently mouthing something about 'eyebrows' before reluctantly taking my hand. "Sasuke Uchiha, but you already know it."
I was shaking hands with Sasuke Uchiha! Weeee!!!
====
"Before we begin let me ask something!" Issei began once we were all gathered together. He was wearing the Kuoh school uniform, Boosted Gear encasing his left hand. There were also tears around his eyes, though I couldn't fathom why. "What did I do to deserve going to Hell?!" A small pause. "Beside being a Devil, I mean?"
I blinked in confusion. "Why do you think this is Hell?"
"Are you kidding me? Have you looked around?" He waved his arms. "There are nothing but dudes in this place, without even a single chick in sight! What can this be but Hell?"
...Why was I not surprised? I stared at Issei for a few seconds, making sure to express my current thoughts on the matter with an appropriately blank look, before facepalming.
"Let me guess." Ranma pointed a thumb at Issei while looking at me. "Is he a moron?"
"More like an idiot." Killua added.
"Hey! My reasoning is perfectly valid!"
"In which universe? Because it's sure as heck not this one."
"Look, can we just calm down for a moment? Arguing will get us nowhere." I sighed before trying to appear as serious as I could. "So, to recap: all of you ended up here after dying of old age. The only exception is me, which initially woke up in the body of Rito-" I pointed at the brown-haired boy, who nodded. "-Without any explanation or memory to explain it. Not only that, I currently am in the past of his world, though it could also be an alternate dimension. We all came from different worlds. All of you are considered fictional characters in my world, and in some of the other worlds too. This is explained by the multiverse theory, which infers everything that can possibly happen does so somewhere. If you don't fully get it think of it as a series of bizarre and improbable coincidences happening for real."
"That's dumb. This is obviously a multicrossover story." Laharl declared before holding out an open palm. "You're clearly incompetent, so hand over the role of Protagonist to me! I'll make a much better use out of it than you!"
"...And what make you think I'm the protagonist?" Riku had said I was the linchpin of everything, but to say I was the protagonist was a bit of a stretch. And beside, if this really followed the most common tropes where was my MC-tier special ability, uh?
"Simple!" He pointed a finger at me. "Your special ability!"
...
.... "Come again?"
"What, don't you even know how to access your Status Screen? Be grateful: I, the great Laharl, will show you how! Ahahahahaha!!" After laughing again Laharl raised a hand, grabbing something and flipping it around.
And just like that I could see a translucent blue screen in front of me.
[Name: Lee
Title: In The Shadows Of Giants I Walk
Level: [REDACTED]
Skills:
[Utopia Di Anima Leggendaria] Through #%##%%###%% and the intercession of #$()#*$#%#% you have awakened a power that surpass fantasy itself.
...Uh.
====
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