There was a desk with a girl he'd never seen before behind it, and the word 'Help' adorning the front of it. She had a smile on her face and was looking directly at him.
"So, are you part of this game-thingie?" asked Naruto, expecting some sort of question in reply and then he'd respond that it was just a sort-of joke.
"Yes," said the girl, nodding.
"I..." Naruto stopped, stared, opened his mouth, closed it, took a deep breath. "You answer questions?"
"That's my function," said the girl.
"ANY questions?" asked Naruto.
"No," said the girl. She shrugged slightly. "Sorry. I'm somewhat limited in my programming. I can only function as a counselor, psychological and career advisor, and as someone to explain the game or game mechanics to you."
"Oh, so you're part of the game and not someone in the game or who made the game?" asked Naruto.
"That's right," said the girl. "And I'm only active for five minutes a day at present. Then there's a daily cooldown. Which means after five minutes of talking to me, you need to write down and save your questions to ask me the next day."
"Wait a minute, you sound real, and you're talking to me, but you're saying you're not real?" asked Naruto, confused again.
"It depends on your definition of real," said the girl. "I'm based on a fictional character. Or a real person in another universe. I'm not sure which and it isn't in my database. I can be bought to longer periods of activity or switched from Help function to active NPC by using campaign points and a New Game file but those are in a future update of the game. Sorry about that."
"Do you have a name?" asked Naruto.
"Yes," said the girl, flashing an exceptionally bright smile. "My name is Ami - Artificial Multitasking Intelligence. Though most of those multiple tasks are locked right now. Thank you for asking."
"Okay," said Naruto. "About Sakura?"
Ami nodded, losing the smile and going into a more serious expression, emphasizing points with gestures. "When you rebooted, you used [Random] and then [Save & Exit] you shifted your past. There were three of four points used and they were used in the [Kunoichi Editor] for [Relationship Upgrade] and [Character Development] with two points going there. The remaining point was used in the [Campaign Point] section itself for making everything [Retroactive]. Which means that all the changes you have made in your character have always been there as far as everyone besides you are concerned."
"What? So I'm not 'dead last' anymore?" asked Naruto eagerly.
"No, you were the dead last in the class, however that was deliberate on your part and the part of some of your teachers," said Ami. "There are VERY bad people who were watching you - and if you had been more competent might have killed you or recruited you for very bad things."
"'Very bad'?" asked Naruto.
"Sorry, there's a spoiler filter and details I can't give you until you've encountered them at least once," said Ami, shrugging and spreading her hands in a 'what can I do?' gesture.
"So, about Sakura?" asked Naruto.
"She's Sasuke's sister, by association if not genetically, and you met her when she was still trying to come to terms with the Uchiha slaughter. You repeatedly tried to get her to open up, complimented her on her appearance, and annoyed her until she started responding." Ami checked a timer. "In brief, she's gradually come to feel affection for you - which is helped by you being distant or not responding to her flirtations. That intrigued her enough that further feelings have developed. As she is not really an Uchiha, she has no chance of developing the Sharingan."
"And Sasuke isn't so much of a..." Naruto wasn't sure how to put it now that the relationship had shifted.
"Sasuke has spent a lot of time with his 'sister' and now is sharing the Haruno home with her, he has family - if not his original family," said Ami. "He still seeks vengeance, still trains long hours, is still 'rookie of the year' and is still afflicted with numerous difficulties. He is more socially aware, less likely to dismiss help or associates, and considers you good for his sister as she smiles a lot more when you are around. However, he also has some conflicts in that regard as he tries to be protective of her. And that pretty much uses up today's time."
"What?" asked Naruto. "But I-"
The girl and desk vanished. A teacher who'd frozen in mid-step when he'd come in the building walked past him.
"Troublesome," complained Naruto.
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(Posted Sat, 27 Sep 2014 16:41)
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