Play To Win || Naruto Fanfic

Encounter

Tamako could admit a lot of things, she's honest to herself and those around her. Cruel when needed, gentle when called. It's almost in her nature to pity anything. To the horror stories of the Elemental Nations to the little bird who quite didn't fly high enough.

She eyed the clipboard on her lap, reading the words carefully. It was a psychology check-box. She was worried for her mental health recently, and while [Gamer's Mind] kept her calm and collected, she's been feeling deader and deader on the inside. Good acts made her feel warm, horrible acts did not make her cold. So what exactly is wrong with her?

Being a murderer, well duh. That's her job.

Possibility of sociopathy, well that's something she's been off putting for awhile. Nothing a little white-lie couldn't hurt. What matters is that her motive is for the greater good of everyone.

Repeat violator the law, pervasive in lying and deception, physical aggressive, well all of these attributes is something required in her particular line of work. Reckless disregard for safety of self. Well, all of this just sounds like a normal shinobi.

Yeah, if she got hurt, she could heal herself or sleep it off.  Not many could just sleep off with a nearly severed arm, tourniquet it and wake up fully rested and healed.

Consistent irresponsibility in work and family environments.

Well, she did technically quit her job as a Suna kunoichi and she cut off all of her 'family' and friends, her only companionship being missing-nins alike.

And especially.

Lack of remorse.

This, was what she was worried about. Back then, every murder she committed as a Shinobi of Suna was justified. Bandits ravaged the countryside and needed to put down, missing-nin were hazards and she was protecting the village with each slice, each drop of blood. But after losing that idea of what she was protecting, each murder felt more and more unjustified. She needed EXP, that's true, but was it right to cut down enemies for the sake of numbers that only she can conceptualize? Every time she killed someone she didn't really feel anything. Just the normal "Oh they needed to disappear for the sake of plot"

And despite all that, she still doesn't feel any guilt. 

Sure if she hurt someone she's close to, she feels something. The death of Itachi, the insanity of Sasuke, the stress of Kakashi. But the thing is, if she met Kaii or Aneko, she wouldn't hesitate to end their life. They weren't present in canon, their conversations with her were lackluster and she quickly quit ties after her promotion of chunin. 

But if she was told to end Ino's life, she hesitates, she thinks. She'd feel remorse.

But what if that's only because they are important in the plot?

Oh well.

. . .

From her little own little personal grape-vine, she watched in vivid detail as Gaara attacked Deidara at Sunagakure, sacrificing himself to shield his city from an impressive bomb that honestly shouldn't be in the hands of a nineteen-year old, but what can you do about it?

It came to her as a surprise when Pein summoned her to a discrete location, one just a little ways off from Sunagakure and deep into the heart of Kusa. By a lake marked by massive red torii gate. There's a boulder with a simple paper seal in the middle. The boulder seemed to mechanized with the correct chakra sequence, making the user move it at will. 

She slowly signed through the correct sequence, and the boulder moved aside with enough space for the younger girl to squeeze in. She's early, of course she is. This is the first time in awhile since Pein had summoned her, and she knew exactly for what.