Naruto talked to people, which was basically Sakura's method except louder and less attempting to be subtle.
Hinata flashed her Byakugan from their rooftop location. On her fourth such, some girl appeared out of nowhere to complain about spies and her lacking in something called a familia to complain to.
Sasuke didn't talk to anyone, just observed and listened in on conversations.
"What's a 'main character'?" asked Sakura after the third person she'd questioned had commented on her hair color making her an OBVIOUS main character.
"Dunno," said Naruto. "Who goes first?"
"Hinata," said Sakura and Sasuke.
"Eep," started out Hinata, who recovered after a nervous glance at Naruto. "Uhm. There are gods and goddesses around here who apparently sponsor groups like a sort-of extended team. Those teams are called familia and they really don't like being spied on. Or at least the one that confronted me didn't."
"One confronted you?" asked Sasuke.
"Her name was 'Loki' and apparently she's very unhappy about my Byakugan observing her," appended Hinata. "She could tell I was using it and could track me."
"Some sort of sensory jutsu then," said Sasuke. "What else?"
"There's an odd thing that way," said Hinata as she pointed towards the center of the city. "Space is folded like some storage areas are, so it's bigger on the inside. It is enclosed with wards and armed guards. It goes deep underground and I'm not sure..."
"Not sure about what?" prodded Sasuke.
"I think it's sort of alive," said Hinata.
"That would be the dungeon," provided Sakura, taking over. "The dungeon is multiple levels - all of which are inhabited by monsters. Each monster has a 'core' - a magic stone that is used for commerce and for making special items like the lamps here. Guarding the dungeon and going into the dungeon to slay the monsters and collect the stones is the job of the various Guilds or familia - I'm not sure what the difference is."
Naruto spoke up. "The gods and goddesses, that's what they call themselves anyway, are the heads of these family-thingies. The Guilds are mainly the same thing, except guilds can have multiple 'family' in them. So, I'm guessing, a family-thing is like a specific team and a Guild is like a squad formed of multiple teams."
"Okay, you mean 'division' but I get that," admitted Sakura.
"The city's name is Orario. The world is called Gekai. These 'gods-sorta' also write these thingies on the backs of their familia. I think it was called a 'falna' or something like that. It's a powerup or blessing and it also tells people how strong you are - and them Guilds keep records about the whole thing. I think that's called 'excelia' or excel-something at least. Apparently there's bandits and stuff around the city, and sometimes people contact the Guilds and then there's missions to clear stuff like that up," said Naruto.
"How did you find all that out?" asked Sakura.
"They sell ramen here, I talked to the guys, said I was new in town," said Naruto. "Why?"
"We were supposed to keep that secret!" stated Sakura.
"Why?" asked Naruto. "Apparently new people come here all the time."
"Because we're ninja, dobe," said Sasuke. "Still. If we can trust that information, it's useful."
"What did you learn, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura, sure that this was going to be more awesome than anything Naruto could figure out.
"There's a great trade in those crystals that come from the dungeon, even shards of them are apparently quite useful," said Sasuke. "Getting them means we have a way of supporting ourselves here."
"Then, since we have no immediate way back," summed up Sakura, "we should choose a familia and possibly a Guild - signing up but putting in a caveat about returning home when we find a way?"
"A carrot?" asked Naruto. Whack! "Ow! Sakura-chan!"
"A condition to a contract," said Sasuke, frowning. "It's a way to get stronger, gather resources and information, while keeping a way to get home as a goal. Let's do it."
"Which of these groups to approach though?" asked Sakura.
Naruto spoke up, surprising two of them. "That 'Low-key' gal is in one of the big ones. The smallest I heard about was someone named 'Hestia' - apparently only one guy in it but she's looking for more."
"How do you know that?" asked Sakura. Naruto - good at information gathering? Unthinkable! Though she HAD been trying to pose as someone who already was established.
"Hestia was at the ramen bar," said Naruto. "We talked. She could apparently tell a lot about me without me saying much at all."
"You didn't tell her we were from another world, did you?" asked Sakura, ready to berate him for giving away ninja secrets.
"No, I just said a 'small farming town' and she could tell I was lying but just accepted it," said Naruto with a shrug. "What's the problem? It ain't like we know enough about this place to fake being natives."
Sakura was silent as that had been just what she had been trying to do.
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(Posted Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:46)
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