jackpot_kun

[Smells Like Teen Spirit]—❈—03:: PRT Negotiations [I]

It was Saturday morning, the morning after we (or rather Mom) spoke to Hannah, the PRT liaison, and we were ready to go meet the woman at the agreed location.

Well, I was ready, Mom was occupied with some unknown business in her room, her back to the open door.

I walk up behind her, peering over the top of her head without needing to stretch to see what she’s up to.

She’s on the phone, replying to a text from her boss, from the looks of it.

“Keep staring over my ...

[Smells Like Teen Spirit]—❈—02:: Phonecalls

This is the list of Aiden's powers:This is the list of Aiden's powers:

Captain America Physiology

Precisely what it says on the tin; the strength, endurance, durability, and agility of the most iconic of the MCU super soldiers.

—❈—

Spider-Man Regeneration

The healing factor of Spidey Parker. Nowhere near badass enough to go from 0-100 in sixty seconds max like a certain smart-mouthed merc or his best frenemy, the...

[Smells Like Teen Spirit]—❈—01:: You're A Parahuman, Aiden

This is what Aiden (Musa) looks like:This is what Aiden (Musa) looks like:

PS: this chapter and the following ones occur BEFORE the events of the prologue.

—❈——❈——❈—

“Mom, for the last time,” I say, a little exasperated, “I don’t want to join The Protectorate. Hell, I don’t even want to be a cape.”

“...

[Smells Like Teen Spirit]—❈—00:: The (potential) New Teammate

Carlos (Aegis)

“I can’t believe they got all of us to show up on a school day just so we can woo some guy with cold feet,” Dennis said, slumping heavily onto the couch and drawing an irritated side-eye from Missy, its sole occupant.

“Well, he said he wants to get to know the team before signing up so…” Carlos shrugged.

“I just can’t believe Piggot actually agreed to it,” Chris said. “I mean, none of us got to meet the team befo...

New Story Alert! (Smells Like Teen Spirit [A Worm Fanfic])

Aiden Whitaker does not want to be a cape, and he sure as shit does not want to join The Protectorate.

As a matter of fact, Aiden believes (and not exactly incorrectly) that they're a bunch of idiots who spend more time looking cool than actually fixing anything.

Unfortunately for Aiden though, he has powers, quite a lot of it in fact, and as much as I hate to invoke the cliché, with great powers do come great responsibility.

Too bad for everyone in The Protectorate t...

[GUtW]—❈—61:: Round of Eight [II]

I am going to finish this story. And I will do it without another hiatus. I swear it.

—❈—

Sakura laughs again. “And that’s why you’re funny, Kurotsuchi,” she says. “You think you’re special.”

Sakura holds out a hand, and with a sound like the jet turbines of Caleb’s world turning on, a ball of controlled chaos bigger than her head forms over it.

“You’re not.”

—❈—

Hiruzen Sarutobi

If H...

[GUtW]—❈—60:: Round of Eight [I]

“Remember,” Kakashi tells us that morning before we leave for the arena, “there are only eight contestants left, so there’s actually a chance that you might be matched up against each other now—”

And hadn’t it been a surprise to learn that they don’t match teammates against each other in the tournament until the third round.

I mean, it makes sense when you think about it, so much so that I’m a little disappointed in myself for not realizing it before now, but all...

[GUtW]—❈—59:: Three of Eight

I am going to finish this story. And I am going to do it without another hiatus. I swear it.

—❈—

Sakura is being called ‘The Skywalker’ now.

The announcer had bestowed her the moniker after a decisive win in her second match just a few hours ago, and already the name seems to be catching on (though mostly among children, for now).

Sakura Haruno, The Skywalker.

Fortunately, Sakura likes the moniker, almost as much as Naruto likes the ‘...

Update.

I'm sorry it took me so long to give you an update, and well, here it is:

I'm sick.

Nothing life threatening, but it is a bitch nonetheless, and productivity in all matters has consequently plummeted.

I should be fine in about a week or two, at which point we shall resume our regularly scheduled programming.

I wish you all the best until then.

Love ya.

[GUtW]—❈—58:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [VI]

Once again, Temari fights after Naruto, and once again, her performance is overshadowed by the blonde’s.

Only this time, it’s worse.

After the spectacular display of will and hardheadedness put on by Naruto and Karui in their match, there is simply little that Temari can do to not appear like a less entertaining copy of the blonde.

Consequently, when, during her match, she repeats what is obviously her favoured tactic and blows away her opponent with one swing of her gia...

[GUtW]—❈—57:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [V]

On the screen, the next match, which has already half-begun here in the loge is announced:

Naruto Uzumaki (Leaf) vs. Karui (Cloud)

“Alright,” Naruto shouts excitedly, but I grab his wrist before he can run off.

“Don’t forget why we’re here,” I say.

“Huh?” The blonde blinks at me.

I barely restrain from pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. “The plan, Naruto. Shock and awe.”

“Oh, right.”

“Did you seriously fo...

[GUtW]—❈—56:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [IV]

A/N: so... I'm back.

I apologize for the delay, truly, but my family changed houses. Things kinda went haywire after that.delay, truly, but my family changed houses. Things kinda went haywire after that.

I'm settled in now though, so there should be no more problems.

—❈—

Akatsuchi (Stone) vs. Makoto Sakihana (Leaf)

Akatsuchi’s second fight is more like his first, with his opponent (yet another skilled Leaf-nin) trying everything he can...

[GUtW]—❈—55:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [III]

…and then the sealed package that I’d thought was Kankuro’s body this entire time (because what else could it be?) opens, and a giant centipede with a red, metal carapace and scythes for legs crawls out.

“What the fuck is that?” Sakura asks.

—❈—

I can’t help but agree with Sakura’s sentiment; what the fuck is that?

Where’s Kankuro?

Is this another one of the things that’s different from the story? Even if it is it still d...

[GUtW]—❈—54:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [II]

…Kaoru says the words that seals the match: “I surrender.”

And just like that, Kurotsuchi becomes the first, and likely only person in the tournament to win a fight before it even begins.

—❈—

The names for the next match come up:

Dosu Kinuta (Sound)  vs. Kankuro (Sand)

“Kick his ass, Dosu,” Naruto cheers as the contestants exit.

The blonde gets more than one strange look for his actions, not least of all from the Sound-nin he�...

[GUtW]—❈—53:: Sixteen Down: Sixteen To Go [I]

There had been about forty people in the contestant’s loge the day before yesterday, today there are less than twenty-five; as a result, the room is sparser, with a lot more empty space than there’d been, and it is evident that, for some more than others, the presence of that space (and the people who used to fill them) is keenly felt.

The reason for this situation is mostly because, while The Chūnin Exams may be a contest of individual ability, virtually everyone who made it in di...

[GUtW]—❈—52:: Public Relations

Our plan for The Chūnin Exam is to be memorable, to make a name for ourselves, and to stamp the memory of our faces into the minds and hearts of the masses, and while it's a bit early to know whether or not we've succeeded, I will say that we're doing well so far.

Everywhere we go in town, it seems like everyone recognises us; the Leaf rookies who made such great displays in the first round, Team Seven.

To my and Sakura's great irritation, and the blonde idiot's eternal pleasure,...

[GUtW]—❈—51:: Round One: Fight! [IV]

Naruto grins. "I'm gonna blow you away," he says.

The gong rings, and just like he said, Naruto blows him away.

To be honest, it can hardly even be called a fight.

—❈—

Sakura's match is the sixteenth and final match of the day, and before it there are a few noteworthy ones.

Temari's match for instance, which lasts about as long as Naruto's (the shortest match so far) did, before she, much like Naruto, blew away her opponent with her huge fan.

Of cours...

[GUtW]—❈—50:: Round One: Fight! [III]

"Congratulations, Sasuke," Sakura says, looking at me with starry eyes. "I knew you could do it."

"Meh, he wasn't that impressive," Naruto says. "After my fight no one will even remember his."

Sure thing, Naruto. Keep telling that to yourself.

The next names are called; looks like it's Kankuro's turn.

—❈—

Myself and my teammates included, ten of the contestants are Leaf-nin; a number that makes sense since, as the hosting village, we had more entrants in th...

[GUtW]—❈—49:: Round One: Fight! [II]

Sasuke Uchiha (Leaf) vs Kami Neko (Cloud)

"Good luck, Sasuke," Sakura says as I rise.

"Kick his ass!" Naruto yells much too loudly.

"Remember," Kakashi adds, lone eye peering into both of mine, "the whole point of standing out is to stand out."

I nod. Really only to Kakashi, but I don't stop my teammates from thinking it's for them too.

Together with the Cloud-nin I'm fighting, I exit the loge and a Leaf chūnin leads us to a sequestered little elevator ...

[GUtW]—❈—48:: Round One: Fight [I]

So I made some changes to the last chapter (again). You don't have to reread it if you don't want to, I don't think, but it is about six hundred words longer now so... Yeah.

—❈—

The first match lasts fifteen minutes, dragging on for so long because of how evenly matched the opponents are.

The fight is hardly dull though, both because of the effort both fighters are putting in, and because the announcer gives the pro-wrestling commentators from Caleb's world a run for t...

[GUtW]—❈—47:: Prelude to Combat

The Phoenix arena, a twenty thousand seat architectural marvel that likely contains more fuinjutsu script than mortar, is built into and across the wide crater of the dormant Mount Phoenix, and is where the matches for The Chūnin Exam are held.

It was built some fifty or so years ago, with significant help from Hidden Whirlpool, and, as one would expect from a structure that seats twenty thousand, it is massive.

Caleb's memories likens the amphitheatre to the Colosseum o...

[GUtW]—❈—46:: Phoenix Palace City

Phoenix Palace City is a city of 1.5 million people, and is so named for the palace of The Fire Daimyō located at its heart, The Phoenix Palace, which is itself named for the small mountain it sits on, Mount Phoenix, a long dormant volcano, and one of the 84 volcanic mountains dotting The Land of Fire, eleven of which are active.

Fire has the most volcanic mountains in The Continent by far, and it is these mountains that has given the territory its name of Fire, even though much of its...

[GUtW]—❈—45:: Race to the Finish Line

I am so sorry for the delay. I have no excuse. I suck.

—❈—

Sakura Haruno

At 03:00 a.m., on the morning after her idiot teammate and that Cloud-nin almost caused an international incident, Sakura, Sasuke, and said idiot teammate sat in a hall with the eighty-two other contestants of The Chūnin Exams.

From the little information Kakashi had given them yesterday, before promptly disappearing to who knew where, Sakura knew that they...

[GUtW]—❈—44:: Meeting the Competition

The Chūnin Exams begin in a border town called Haven, and we spend half the day after our little get together at The Blunt Kunai getting to it.

Well, Kakashi does, since we get to 'ride' there unconscious and sealed in an incarceration scroll.

The reason for the scroll is because the exam starts tomorrow, and Haven is hundreds of kilometers away from The Leaf.

Now, while we could run that distance in a day, at the speeds we would need to maintain to manage it, even...

[GUtW]—❈—43:: Downtime

I wake up in my bedroom at home.

What the hell? I wonder sitting up in bed.

How am I here? The last I remember I was being trained to unconsciousness by Kakashi as a sendoff 'present' in that ANBU facility he took me to.

Did he seriously sneak me back home after that?

How would he even have managed that?

Better, question: why bother? Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to simply let me rest off my exhaustion at the facility like I've done the last two week...

[GUtW]—❈—42.1:: Interlude:: Carrot and Stick

And we learn what's happened to Ken and Kei.

PS: I wrote quite a bit of this chapter half asleep, so please don't judge if you see something weird.

—❈—

Shiro Fuji (alias: Ken Ishimura)

Two Weeks Ago

Ken Ishimura, once known long ago as Shiro of the Fuji clan of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, awoke to find himself unrestrained and nestled in a comfortable leat...

[GUtW]—❈—42:: A Creep and A Busybody

Train. Eat. Sleep.

Train. Eat. Sleep.

Train. Eat. Sleep.

This is my life now.

The days have lost all meaning, blurred together, and time only matters now to keep track of my schedule; when to train, when to eat, when to sleep.

It is a neverending cycle; six hours of training, twenty minutes to eat or use the bathroom if I have to, and two hours of rest.

A normal person wouldn't last three days doing this before they crash hard, not with the intensity of the...

[GUtW]—❈—41:: Did Somebody Order A Training Montage?

Sakura Haruno

"The rasengan works by layering eighty concentric spheres of chakra and spinning them in opposing directions," Kakashi said, displaying the technique on his outstretched right palm."The rasengan works by layering eighty concentric spheres of chakra and spinning them in opposing directions," Kakashi said, displaying the technique on his outstretched right palm.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Eighty?" she asked.

"Eighty," Kakashi agreed...

[GUtW]—❈—40:: A Kunoichi's Resolve

I honestly don't know if I quite like how this chapter came out, but it is what it is.

I'm sorry if it doesn't appeal to you.

—❈—

Sakura Haruno

"Wakey wakey, Sakura," the voice of Kakashi Hatake pierced through the lifting veil of unconsciousness blanketing Sakura's mind.

"Wha— how…" she opened her eyes and took in her sensei squatting beside her where she laid in a narrow c...

[GUtW]—❈—39:: Statues and Cuffs

Not needing to make two trips, since I was already home when Kakashi told us to pack and I only needed to do that and come straight here, I reach Serenity Park before either of my teammates.

Or my sensei.

Serenity Park is… serene; a smallish space for relaxation with a handful of trees, lots of green, low-cut grass, and a tiny pond in the middle.

Comfortable, wooden benches are scattered around the park, and by one of them is the statue of the sannin Kakashi had told us to...