He nodded slowly, confirming his own thought process to the other two. "<strong>I think so yes, but I don't think the game captured our minds. The AI in charge of actually running the game is mirrored off a human mind, with similar pathways to a caring mother. It....simulates emotions, caring for the players. I can't believe it would have gone rouge and tried to hijack our minds. If it thought players were in danger though..." He hesitated again, saying, "If our real bodies really are brain dead, then the AI could have created an..."image" of our neural patterns. The downside is, by doing so our...."souls" would be part of the game data, so no one outside would risk tampering with those images. However, our headsets directly interact with our IRL bodies, so it SHOULD be able to overlay our images with our brains, and "bring us back to life", so to speak. The catch is, because our subconciouss's are so attached to this world, leaving it would cause our minds to unravel, since it thinks we're dying, the neural pattern would degrade and disintegrate. IE, Die in the game, die in real life."</strong><br/><br/>He shrugged then, saying with a faintly confused voice, "<strong> Though of course, I can't verify this is true, and if people knew, they'd freak out, and probably lock down. Better that they get angry, think it was intentional, so they have a driving force to get out. The only ones who can help us are US. It also explains why they can't patch in a quest to put us all to max level. Even if we did, with OP gear, we'd still not have the experience to actually USE those levels. The final boss would probably kill us all."</strong><br/><br/>At Ayaka's second question, he smiled, and bowed low.<strong>"I would appreciate both of your help greatly. Having a dedicated team that can work together would make our chances Much better! I have an in game House.....well, more of a mansion hidden on the outskirts of the Village. I'll show you where its located, and add you as inhabitants. That way we can quick travel into and out of the home and Konoha at will."</strong>He hesitated, then said in a slow voice, "<strong> Though that brings up the question of, do we want to stay with a small group, or try to bring in others? The more people we bring into this, the harder its going to be to level. Some dungeons have a player cap of 3, so a larger group wouldn't even be able to run the event."</strong>(IE, since we couldn't get more players in, you are welcome to run a second character if you want, or any NPC's  as well! However, new "characters" won't be introduced to the group until after the Dev meeting. I'll say when this happens!!!)<br/><br/>A sudden beeping announced that there was yet ANOTHER message for Hakuro, and he forwarded it to the girls without second thought. The message read as such. To all Developers. An Emergency meeting will be held on the roof of every Kage mansion  in each of the 5 villages. All Developers please come to discuss the future of the game, and our involvement.<br/><br/>He glanced at the girls, and shrugged, saying "<strong> Well, I have to go, and if you want to come with, you both are welcome to attend. We're a team, meaning I'll keep no secrets from either of you. After the meeting, I'll show you the mansion and get you the entry scrolls." [\b]<br/><br/>(In 10 minutes)<br/><br/>As they made their way through Konoha, it looked like a warzone. Players were dumbstruck, tired, some looked like they were just in shock, sitting on the ground crying, or eyes blank with fear. Too many were paralyzed, with too few trying to take action, or be proactive. Hakuro looked more and more angry as they made their way through this, knowing the players couldn't be blamed for their reactions, but....crying...shock wouldn't change things. Maybe there was something the Dev's could do.<br/><br/>At the top of the Kage's mansion was a group of 6 players, with several more more coming up as the meeting continued. The girls got several hard looks, like they didn't belong, but those that did dropped any challenging looks once Hakuro locked eyes with them for more then a few seconds. <br/><br/>A Ninja who looked almost Exactly like the Raikage from the show clapped his hands, ending the mutterings among the group. "Alright, thanks for coming all." He sighed, saying, "Things look bad, not just for the players, but for us Devs too. Some players have already started harrassing some dev's who were showing their status." He indicated the golden headband, before glancing at Hakuro. This guy was NOT one of the people who had been giving Akane and Ayaka hard looks. "Hakuro, you have two with you I don't recognize. Can they be trusted here?" The feeling was that this was a man who was blunt, honest, and extremely straightforward. Hakuro nodded from where he was leaning against a pillar, saying simply, <strong>"We're a team. I'd trust either of them with my life...which seems the like the norm now Z."</strong> Z nodded, and from that point on treated the girls as if they were fellow devs. "Alright then. So, we all saw the message, anyone know what's going on? Again, Hakuro. You were involved in a little bit of everything. You know what's up?" Hakuro nodded, and launched into a rather technical discussion with the other devs, though thanks to his earlier talks the girls understood he was explaining his theory to the others. In summary, it took around a half hour, but the other devs agreed that they were likely just "copies" of themselves, though if they could be put back in their bodies, it should be fine. Z shook his head, then motioned to the Village. "Alright, Crazy, but we never knew this could happen. So the question is, what do we do about the players. We have a responsibility to the players to help them forward." <br/><br/>It was here that another developer stepped forward. She was...Severe looking, tall with straight, luxurious long black hair, and dressed in a copy of Tsunade's outfit. "This is a question of Government." She looked at Z, who motioned her to continue. "I'm...Lilly. Anyways, the players I saw were shell shocked. Broken. We need something to focus them onward. If the theory is correct, then we have to rescue ourselves. For those that can't fight, we can set up support systems. From farmers, to crafters, even to summoners. Combat isn't the only way forward. However that leads to the idea of, once again, some form of Government. I don't think the in game system will work here. I propose we create a massive clan, labeled simply as "Konoha", with players responsible to a "Leader" who then reports on up the tree, until we get to a council of sorts. Since we know the game the best, I would also propose that the Council be us Developers." The group now had a group of about ten, with the last arrival being a woman with odd looking hands, green eyes, and six fingers on each hand. She also stared openly at Hakuro, almost with a hostile intent. Akane and Ayaka also received glares from this women, though they seemed oddly....muted, like they were not the focus of her irritation. <br/><br/>Hakuro noticed, and sighed with a rather long suffering sigh, muttering lowly, "<strong> Oh great, she's going to be trouble...."</strong> before stepping forward. "<strong> You all know me, and I agree with Lilith's judgement, however, I would also argue that we, as devs, know the game, but Players could very well have IRL skills that would allow them to excel in a government setting. We should also recruit an equal number of players, with skills to match however many Devs there are on the council. This will also prevent players from feeling they're being controlled by us. I'd also send this to the other Villages as well, to see if they want to implement the same method."</strong><br/><br/>Z nodded, saying simply, "Good call. Alright, so those of us who have been involved with any of the crafting classes, meet up and discuss. Those who want to be part of the council, Talk to me in the next 2 days." He said slowly, then snapped his fingers as if remembering, "Aw yeah, so those who want to be on the council, we need to have rules and such set up for behavior. We need to protect our people, from thieves, rapists and all of the above. Just because its a game, that's no excuse." He nodded, then motioned to everyone. "Alright, dismissed."<br/><br/>There was some light discussion, but the woman with pale green eyes stalked forward, before slowly, and deliberately planting herself in front of Hakuro, and then slapping him. Hard. He stumbled back, growling and catching her hand before she could slap him again, at which point her other hand planted itself into his breadbasket, dropping him to the ground. <br/><br/>(Reference Pic https://spng.pngfind.com/pngs/s/234-2346003_red-hair-anime-boy-ninja-anime-female-ninja.png )<br/><br/>She snarled, her face a brilliant red, "THAT'S what you get for Last time!!!!" She bristled, almost Hissing in embarrassed anger. As a bit of a side note, she muttered to the two girls, "I hope this Pervert hasn't done anything to you two yet. I'm Hikari, and the Last time this looser and I sparred, he blew my top off in front of Everyone watching." She made as if to Kick Hakuro, who promptly leapt off the ground, and out of the way, showing he wasn't as hurt as he appeared. <strong>"That wasn't on purpose! I used a Fire Jutsu, and YOU, like a dumbass, tried to block it with your stupid new chakra shield. I told you it would protect your LP, Life Points, NOT your clothing!"</strong> She sniffed, "You should have known better anyways." <br/><br/>He rolled his eyes, motioning to the Woman. <strong>"This is Hikari, as mentioned. She's also by far the largest pervert on the Dev squad. She' has the longest tally of "people slept with in VR."</strong> He leapt up to avoid a ferocious kick by the Woman, Hair bristling with anger. "That's none of your Business!" He shot back, "It is when you get drunk and Brag about it!"</strong><br/><br/>Apparently Hikari was.....a handful. Another Shinobi, this one with long red hair tied in a ponytail, with a cross shaped scar on his left cheek, and a katana at his side came up, eyeing Hikari carefully. "Hakuro, c'mon you'll scare the newcomers. I'm Kenshin, a pleasure." He bowed formally. Hakuro sighed, saying,<strong>"Kenshin's a reliable sort, if you need help, he's the one to turn too. Just be careful. When he gets drunk he likes to recite poetry to anyone who'll listen."</strong>Kenshin smiled at Hakuro, shrugging. "A warrior is expected to master some of the more gentle arts, as well as the art of War." Hakuro made a face,<strong>"And quoting platitudes and proverbs, though he does that all the time."</strong><br/><br/>(If you want to talk to other characters, or interact with current ones, or introduce your own new characters, here's the place to do it! Kenshin might make appearances here and there, Hikari will probably be a regular.)<br/><br/>(on a side note, I have no idea how the colors got messed up in the post. Apologizes!)