Jack woke up bright and early. The soreness in his body started to rear its ugly head, but he pushed through to properly get up and out of bed. He yawned and stretched his arms out, heading towards the bathroom that should be open still. The time was 6 AM, and the children should still be asleep for another hour or so.
As he looked into the mirror as he was brushing his teeth, he couldn’t help but notice that his body seemed to lose some pudge and gained some muscle definition. He was happy about this because he had added a couple of activities to his new routine.
It had been a week since he had managed to achieve his rock throwing feat. Two weeks since he had been transported to this world. During the week from his successful attempt to use his Chakra and throw the rock, he added two new activities to his day which were physical exercise and mental discipline. He would stretch in the morning, have breakfast with the Munchkins family, and then go for a run in the time he had before his work. Then, depending on when his work started, he would either go to work or try to meditate at the town square on a bench.
He would then get a small chicken ramen bowl at Tanaka Ramen for lunch. He would then get to work, do that for 4 hours, and proceed with his real training. Jack had realized earlier in the week that he may have jumped the gun too soon. In Naruto, most Chakra users (because Ninjas weren’t the only ones to use Chakra, they were just the focus of the show) have trained extensively both their body and mind to properly utilize Chakra. This was because Chakra was made up of two things, the power of the body (or yang) and the power of the spirit/mind (or yin).
Now, perhaps this new energy wasn’t exactly the same as the Chakra from Naruto, but Jack is almost certain that there is a mental aspect to his Chakra. Training his body is just good sense as he’ll need it to be strong enough to not use whatever Chakra he had except for emergencies. That is, to say, if he ever gets into a fight. His body needs to be able to do the acrobatics and maneuvers necessary to get himself out of pickles, and if it also helps in strengthening his Chakra, then that’s just a bonus.
As for the mental aspect, Jack has noticed that he could use his Chakra in an intensely emotional situation like when he fought for his life in the river and lifting the metal cabinet off of Larry. However, it requires mental focus during times of calm like when he lifted the boulder. This suggested that his Chakra had a mental aspect that changes with your state of mind. He also noticed that his body was stronger when he lifted the metal cabinet off of Larry, since it easily weighed somewhere around 500 or 600 pounds, while the rock he lifted weighed somewhere around 200 pounds. This means that intense emotions can make you stronger while calm focus lets you have more control.
After brushing his teeth, Jack took a shower, but a quick one, since he didn’t want to be lingering in the warm water. After drying and clothing his body, he went out to help with breakfast. There he saw the two other adults of the house getting ready with their jobs, too.
“Hello, Disi, Larry. Nice morning, isn’t it?” Jack greeted them. Larry was sitting at the table, his button up shirt, tie, jeans and work boots already on. He was reading a newspaper, the Maya Journal, and Jack could see the frontpage headline. “New Drug to Turn You Fuzzy!” Jack was curious about this, but focused on making conversation with them both first. “Mhm. Very cool today, at least the paper says so.” Larry distractedly said, still reading his paper.
Disi, working over the stove, just gave a “Yes sir, but I’m cooking.” over her shoulder. Jack took a look at the time, 6:21 AM. The kids will wake up in just 9 minutes, just enough time for Jack to learn about what was happening from Larry before the kids came in and made everything loud.
Jack sat at the table, and asked Larry, “Whatcha reading?” That got Larry to focus on Jack, not the question, but “It’s ‘What are you reading?’, not whatcha. We’re not trying to sound like bumbling idiots.” Larry sat up straight, and flipped back to the front page. “Sorry,” Jack said in an apologetic tone of voice. “What are you reading?” Jack was still trying to get used to talking properly.
Larry was reading the front page again. “I was reading about this new drug that some big pharmacy made. Apparently, some people want to be more like the World King and his royal family. The company made a drug that turns you into what they call an ‘Animal Man’. I think the King just hired the pharmacy to try and spread government propaganda.”
Ah, yes, the World King. That was somewhat shocking for Jack, who came from America and didn’t believe in monarchy. Everytime he thought of a king or queen, he thought about how most of them were either inbred, disconnected from the common people, and believed themselves to be divine or just better than a lowly peasant.
To put it in a single line, he detested monarchies. Yet, he couldn't help but admire the World King’s genius move of being a dog man. He was just too cute and fluffy for any normal person to think suspicious thoughts about him.
“Really?” Asked Jack, “That’s surprising news. I didn’t think our technology was that advanced, yet!” Larry was already turning to a different page in his newspaper, checking some other article. “Yes, and Capsule Corp has made some new breakthrough, apparently.” Larry said, still engrossed in his newspaper. “Although, they won’t say what… I bet it’s just some kind of metal that’ll ‘run out all of the transportation businesses.’ Like anyone will ever make trains obsolete.”
Jack could kind of understand that. The trains that went through Maya looked like the same kind of trains that he had in his own world. Even with planes and semi-trucks, the train can pull more material than any other vehicle, not counting the cargo ship. To Jack, trains will always be needed.
Speaking of Capsule Corp, Jack could’ve sworn he heard about it somewhere. It was definitely familiar…
But he couldn’t think of where he heard it, so he just shrugged his shoulders and moved on!
“Nice. Are the comics funny today, or…” Jack asked, he was also kind of hoping for a small peek at it, so he tried to maneuver himself to look at it. Larry noticed, and moved it for both of them to read.
As they were reading, the clock struck 6:30, and Jack could hear the alarms in both the boys’ and Merci’s rooms sound through the walls. Seconds later, they turned off. The two men ignored this and went back to reading. Disi, on the other hand, was finishing up her cooking. “Breakfast is ready!” She shouted for the whole house to hear. Both Jack and Larry scooched back into their place as a plate of eggs and bacon was put in front of them.
Disi looked at the hallway leading to her children’s rooms, and only saw Merci sleepily coming down the hall. Disi’s face turned into an angry, stern frown. She looked back at the clock, 6:35. She turned back to the hallway. No boys. “I said, breakfast is ready!” She shouted once more down the hall, Merci having already passed her by to not take the full brunt.
Half a minute passed, and not a single sign that showed the boys were awake. Disi tsked to herself. She stormed down the hallway, and opened the door to Irah’s and Tate’s room with a mighty heave. Jack could only hear, “Get up, you lazy bums! It’s a school day! Now, get up and eat or you won’t get food till lunch!” The sound of two little boys jumping at attention and scrambling for breakfast was heard by all. Man, what a voice! It sounded like she was talking right beside him.
As the two boys went to sit at the table, Jack looked around at the family that took him in. Disi and Larry were comfortable with his presence here, and Merci was a perfect little angel as always. Only Irah and Tate didn’t seem to like him being there at all. However, despite that, it felt like he was getting closer and closer to calling this family his own.
Line Break Here
Jack smelled the ramen being made in the back, a “Welcome!” said to him from Taro. He sat down at the same seat he’s been sitting at for the last two weeks. “Same thing?” Taro asks him, and Jack nodded in response. As Taro went into the back, Jack thought about his new dilemma.
His meditations in the mornings aren’t going very well. He always tries to meditate at the town square on a public bench, but every time he is distracted by something around him. He knew he should’ve tried to find a quieter spot than the actual town square filled with people and work happening, but the only other quiet place to meditate is in the woods. If he used that, he would only have enough time to meditate for 10 to 15 minutes before he had to walk his way to work.
His town square meditation had distractions, but at least he could meditate for at least 45 minutes straight. Plus, it was near his areas of work, such as the landscaping area/workshop and the train station. The bench was where he decided his morning runs would end, and it took 3 to 4 minutes to get to his work compared to the 20 minutes of traveling from the woods to work.
Jack was trying to see if there was any other way to train his mind in the mornings, but the only other way was the local library. Studying may help him in focusing, but just setting himself up for it takes at least 15 minutes. Especially when he didn’t know what to study from the library’s almost 500 books of non-fiction education. Each book had a different subject and most of them required that the reader know basics about the history of the world. He decided that studying required its own day of the week so he can just focus on that when needed.
Jack snapped out of his thoughts when Taro stepped out of the back with a large bowl of steaming ramen. Jack figured that it was for someone else since he didn’t order a large. Imagine his surprise when Taro stopped in front of Jack and set the bowl in front of him.
“Wa-wait,” Jack stuttered in confusion, “I didn’t order this. It isn’t my usual…” Taro smiled at Jack. “It is alright,” Taro reassured, “I made you a large bowl as thanks for staying a loyal customer.” He rubbed the back of his head and glanced to the side. His voice sounded quiet and grateful when he said, “And for choosing to continue eating my cooking, even when you could’ve had my brother’s.” Jack went to ask about the bill, but Taro cut him off with, “Don’t worry, I billed you as a small chicken bowl. I would’ve made it free, but my father would find out and get mad at me.”
Jack watched as Taro left for the kitchen again, gratitude in his heart for this family and their generosity. Jack picked up the chopsticks that came with the bowl, and began to eat.
His first bite showed that something else was put into the bowl. His mouth was on fire. Jack almost spat it out before he steeled his resolve and began to chew. The fire that was on his tongue began to spread as he chewed his bite, but Jack went as quick as he could and swallowed once he could.
He picked up the glass of cold water on his table and drank down the icy goodness, yet the fire still persisted after he drank the whole glass. Jack panted quite hard as he felt his face warm up and the fire begin to spread through his nostrils.
He thought that Taro spiked his meal with some kind of spice like wasabi or a chili pepper, but then rescinded on the Taro thought when he looked up and saw Daigo peeking in from the kitchen doorway. His mouth was covered by his hand, yet his shoulders were shaking like he was laughing. Jack realized that Taro didn’t spike it, Daigo did.
He didn’t know why Daigo did it, but it was clear to him that Daigo expected Jack to do something to make a scene, and get Taro in trouble with his father. Whether it was for the fact that Taro gave him a large when he was charged a small, or for losing a returning customer from a “mistake” at changing the recipe. Either way, causing a scene here would just hurt Taro more than Daigo.
Jack, still feeling fire in his mouth, tried to drink his glass once more, but only got a sip from it. He had already drained the glass dry for the first try, and only had the extra water thanks to the melting ice. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall of the restaurant, and started to feel dread when it showed 11:45.
A small chicken bowl didn’t take him but 4 or 5 minutes to consume along with the complimentary glass of water. It took more than a minute just to deal with the first bite of this spiked, large bowl. If he doesn't speed up, he’ll be late for work! Perhaps others didn’t mind being late for work by 30 minutes or more, but Jack prided himself in never being late for a single workday. Even if he didn’t put too much effort into his work, at least he was punctual.
Jack had a choice to make, either don’t eat the entire bowl and starve for the rest of the day, while also hurting Taro and the family patriarch’s pride. Or, he could eat it all right now and just inform Taro later tomorrow.
He made his decision. He picked up his chopsticks, and he began to eat. Each bite he made burned his mouth like a straw house soaked in gasoline and then caught on fire from a lightning bug. Yet, the heat wouldn’t go away even when he put an ice cube in his mouth. As if his insides were bathed in lit napalm.
After seeing that he had eaten through a quarter of the solids in the bowl, he looked up at the time once more to see just how much he had left. It was 11:50, his work started at noon, and it took 5 minutes to get there from the restaurant.
Jack was in despair at the fact that he would be late for the first time in his life. His perfect streak of showing up on time to anywhere was about to be broken because of… what? Some kind of sibling rivalry? No, it couldn’t be a rivalry. Daigo was objectively better in every way, so it could only be a cruelty that Daigo had for his brother. Maybe he saw Taro as lesser, or maybe even as not part of the family. Either way, Daigo was trying to hurt his brother.
Jack couldn’t accept this, not one bit. So he once more steeled his resolve, put his head down and began to focus. His focus? Making this bowl empty. He picked up his chopsticks and began wolfing down the noodles like he saw Naruto do. The heat came back with a vengeance, but Jack ignored it and still kept eating. A loud slurp was heard as he just swallowed the noodles without a single chew. Then, once he was done with them, the chicken went in. Then the vegetables went down. Lastly, he picked up the bowl and poured it down his gullet.
He didn’t once breath during this part, he just kept swallowing. He felt like a sink for napalm. Once he had finished the entire bowl, he panted for air and took another glance at where he last saw Daigo. He saw that both Taro and his brother were in a heated argument, and Taro had some kind of bottle in his hand. It looks like they didn’t notice him finishing up. Jack took the glass of ice cubes, put as many in his mouth as he could, and slammed the payment down on the counter.
He ignored the world around him and took a look at the clock. 11:57 AM. If he ran right now, he could make it to work just before he was late. Jack did precisely that.
He ignored the pain in his mouth, throat, airway, and stomach area. He just booked it for his work with his cheeks puffed with ice.
It was going to be a long shift.
Line Break Here
You know what, he was right. That was his longest shift he had ever had. He had to focus so hard on his manners and work that he outright ignored the war going on inside him. Yet, every heartbeat would just cause the pain to flare up and try to remind him of the food he ate.
However, Jack just kept working. His face was sweating like it was raining in his little station reception area, but he kept his professional facade on all throughout it. He also thinks he saw some of the customers look disgusted at the amount of sweat running down his face, but that was fine. He had made it through the shift and was heading for his little “training ground”. That being, the same small clearing that he lifted that rock in.
He came here everyday for the past week to train his body. The stretches and runs in the morning were just so he could warm up for the day. Of course, he also does stretches before his serious training here in his training ground, but it was just one of the only things he remembers about exercising.
He did push ups, sit ups, squats, sprinting, and that one exercise that has you moving forward by getting down on one knee then switching to the other without using your arms. He also did a set of 20 burpees, otherwise known as killing the soul by those who use it, everyday. He hasn’t really gone beyond twenty on push ups and burpees because his arms and chest were his weakest areas. His legs, on the other hand, were strong enough that he could do a set of 50 or 60 squats and 30 of those kneeling exercises per leg.
His body was certainly more in shape than it was a week ago, and he could tell that it’ll keep working for the next few months. However, if he keeps this pace of improvement up til next year, he’ll need to get some actual, professional-grade exercise machines or gear. There’s only so much your body can improve when using your body weight alone, especially with a supernatural force like Chakra. This is only a problem for later, though.
After doing 3 rotations of each set, Jack works on his “Chakra Enhancement” technique. He does this by trying to call upon his chakra without doing any exercise, then doing an exercise, and then trying to push it farther by lifting and throwing the same first boulder he lifted as far as he could.
Admittedly, his improvement with Chakra Enhancement was there, but it was very slow going. And he didn’t know if it was because he was getting better at the technique or because he now has a stronger body. Jack was starting to think that learning the depths of this new power system was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
“Today is different, though.” Jack muttered his thoughts to himself. “I seem stronger than yesterday, by a good bit, too.” He was referring to what he had done for his Chakra Enhancement training today. Unlike yesterday, where each activation took at least 10 seconds of total concentration just to properly move his Chakra to the correct place, it now took 9 seconds of a large amount of concentration. That was not an insignificant amount.
Just a week ago, it took 12 seconds of total concentration, and his technique wouldn’t even activate almost 30% of the time! He had managed to get it up to around 90% chance of activation yesterday, but it still required total concentration on the “Entertainer” to activate it. A single drop of focus going anywhere else, and his Chakra just went back to its idle form.
Today, though, he had thoughts about the pain in his stomach while activating his technique, and it still activated 100% of the time! Not only that, but he could keep it on for longer as well! There were only small improvements of duration over the past week, with it only staying active for 4 seconds on the first day before running out of Chakra. Two days ago, it went up to around 5 seconds. Today it was 7 seconds.
His “reserve” and “regeneration” of Chakra also seemed to be a bit better, too. At the start he could only do it just around 17 times before something in him told him to stop. Like his soul was telling him to not pull a muscle. Then he managed up to 18 on the third day and 19 yesterday. Today he managed to refill his Chakra a total of 23 times before he had to stop.
He couldn’t figure out what changed, though… He has done everything the same for the past week. The only thing that changed today was… the spicy bowl of ramen…
But, it couldn’t be that… Spice couldn’t possibly have any relation with Chakra! Even in Naruto, the most that food had ever entered the canon was food pills and soldier pills. Nothing else showed that- “That’s not true either, though.” Jack said aloud in realization.
There was this one episode in filler Naruto, before the protagonist went on his trip. Naruto and Lee met an older lady who created such a spicy food that it almost acted like alcohol to Lee. Yet, instead of making him drunk, it just increased blood flow and gave Lee a new “mode” of fighting.
“Surely, that can’t be it, though.” He talked to himself. He didn’t think such food could enhance his body to the point that his Chakra grew both bigger and replenished more. It would really mess with his theory that his new energy was like Chakra from Naruto in that it had both a mental and physical aspect. If it was purely physical, then he should’ve also noticed a noticeable jump in his exercising before using Chakra, since his blood flow would’ve risen to increase the power of the body.
Yet, he was still on the same steady rate of progress as he had been throughout the week. “So,” Jack let his head roll back and closed his eyes, thinking on what else could explain the power increase. “If the spice didn’t enhance my physical aspects, then it must’ve increased my mental aspects. How though? How does spice increase the mind? I’ve never heard of such…” Jack’s eyes flew open as a memory surfaced. “Wait, there is one place that I remember that increases mental aspects.
“Persona.” He said the name in academic relief.
Persona was a game series that Jack had played growing up. His first Persona game was Persona 4 Golden, and in it, the protagonist could increase parts of his social stats through certain activities. One of them was eating a gigantic bowl of meat that would increase your “Courage” stat. Persona 5 had something similar with a giant burger that got bigger as you completely ate the smaller versions. It also called some of its stats differently, such as “Courage” being “Guts”.
Persona 5 was what Jack remembered most of, because it had cool, ninja like protagonists you could play as. “Okay, Guts was one of them. Knowledge was another. I think Kindness was there, too. The last two were… Motorics? No, Proficiency, and Charm.” Jack had a huge grin on his face, as his excitement and giddiness rose through his mind. Finally, he had something he could measure his “mentality” with to improve his Chakra.
His happiness was growing so big that he threw his hands above his head and shouted, “Yeeeeaaaaah! I’m gonna be a ninjaaaaa! Wooooooo- Urghk!”
Jack doubled over, his guts churning and roiling as he could feel the spice moving through him. Still, his happiness couldn’t be doused with just that, as his small smile and even smaller “yay” he emitted could attest.
Still, Jack waddled his way out of the forest and to the nearest public toilet before he could soil his pants, as his prairie dog was showing.
Line Break Here
Taro’s POV
Taro couldn’t believe his brother did that! Actually, no, he could. His brother never did like how Taro was still considered the heir to father’s business, even though he was lesser in skill, had no wife or kids at the age of 29, and still kept trying to mess with the recipes and how the restaurant was runned.
Still, for Daigo to go and swap the mild spice for habanero flakes for a repeat and loyal customer. He should know not to mess with the customers by now…
Hopefully Jack wasn’t mad at Taro. Even though he had tasted one of his “revised recipes”, Jack still thought that Taro was a very good cook. He forgave Taro for such an awful bowl and said that it “wasn’t bad, just not for me.” He could tell, though. Jack was just trying to soften the blow.
He didn’t know why he kept trying to change the recipe, either! It was like an urge to try and make something new and great of himself for the generations to come. Although, he hasn’t really had the best time trying to create those generations. His first girlfriend was back in high school, when he was still learning to create ramen noodles. They had dated casually, but also in secret. His dad didn’t want him dating in school and to focus on his studies and the family business.
They both met when he was in sophomore year, or Year 2 of 4 of high school. She had just been a freshman, someone who had just entered high school. They had spent a good four years dating. They dated even when he graduated high school while she was in senior year. However, they mutually broke it off when she wanted to go to the South University in South City, while he wanted to stay and continue his family’s business.
He kind of regretted not going with her, as he felt very stifled throughout the years in his family’s small kitchen. His second girlfriend was a very brief relationship. She was a traveler who went from town-to-town trying to “find herself”. Taro was just doing his routine day of helping run his family’s shop when he met her. He was 23 and she was 25 when they met. She and him became a “couple” on the same hour they met.
It only lasted a week, but he felt like he was a rockstar with her. Every morning was a giddy reunion, followed by him skipping work to stay with her the rest of the day. Every night, his father would get on his case for getting with someone who “made my son lose focus”. He and his father argued for the entire week, every night worse than the last.
Taro and his girlfriend went all over the town. Walking through the woods, partying and, at one point, just staying with her at the inn all day. His 23 year old self had never felt so free, but he always thought she would stay with him and marry him. He would work the restaurant all day, and then have fun with her at night. Maybe even have a nice family, too. Her response to that broke him.
“No, this was a fun time, but you and I can leave together if you want. We won’t be married, but we’ll stay ‘buddies’ throughout our travels.” This happened on the sixth day, and really shook his view of their relationship. Yet, he still wanted to be with her. That night, he told his father this, and his father was despondent. He looked like his own son said he was dead. Yet, his father just told him “If you want to be with her, that’s fine. You have my permission to leave… Just, remember to come back every now and then. Please?”
That “Please” shook him to the core. The amount of times his father has ever said please to either brother that they could remember could be counted on one hand for each. Taro went to bed that night, unsure if his choice was the correct one.
The next day, as he met his girlfriend at her inn where she was just getting done packing up, he had made up his mind. He wasn’t going with her. She just smiled sadly, and told him that it was fine. He wasn’t the first to accept her invitation, and probably won’t be the last. He wasn’t going to lie, her not caring about their relationship really hurt him deeply. He tried his best not to show it, and just gave her a smile and a kiss goodbye.
As he watched her leave the parking lot of the inn, with her blonde hair fluttering from the wind, he wondered if he would ever see her again. So far, not one bit. He hasn’t seen her blue eyes, nor her cute face, or that flowing straight hair in over 6 years. He missed her quite a bit. Especially with that cute name she had, Ruby.
Taro snapped out of his reminiscing as he noticed Jack coming back. His shame and guilt rose from within as he remembered how Jack had gotten such a horrible meal. He immediately bowed as low as he could and said, “Please, forgive me, Jack.” “U-uh, It’s alright, uh, Taro. Please, you don’t need to bow.” Taro did not rise, instead he said, “I cannot. I was the one who made your meal, and made the mistake of not checking my spices. Even if I didn’t intentionally put them in there, I am still the one at fault. Please forgive me, and this establishment, for what you had to suffer through.”
Taro felt a hand on his shoulder, lightly pushing him up. “Come on, man. I already know that Daigo did it. Please, stop apologizing, and look at me.” Taro, hesitantly, straightened himself up at the order. Jack was just looking at him flatly, with maybe a hint of annoyance. Ack! It appears that Taro inconvenienced Jack once again. Truly, he was the worst cook to ever exist.
Jack let out a small sigh, before giving Taro an… embarrassed smile? “Look, Taro,” Jack began, ”this is a bit embarrassing to ask, but can you give me the same thing as yesterday to make up for it?” Taro was surprised that such a simple request was all he asked for. Yet, he nodded and said, “Alright, one large chicken bowl, with no habanero, for free.” As he turned away to begin on it, he heard Jack say, “W-wait.” He turned back, wondering if he wanted more to his order.
Jack’s smile and face showed discomfort, “Could-could you put that spice back into the bowl? I-I really,” he swallowed, “I really liked it.”
Taro just stared at Jack with incomprehension. “... Eh?”