Chapter 8 the library

"Thank you for those introductions. Now I suggest we take a stroll and let Hélène and William tell us all about this manga", suggested Anna, continuing in her self-appointed role as head of the harem.

So out they went, strolling through the maze of alleys that is Konoha. Hélène began to tell the story of young Naruto, hero of the manga that bore his name. Although Hélène and William had much to commend them, they were clearly not good storytellers.

"Stop! What you're saying is just incomprehensible," said Anna.

"It seemed perfectly clear to me," said William.

"Do you think it's clear when you talk about a villain being manipulated by another villain who was manipulated by another villain who was manipulated by the big villain?" says Karine.

_"Honestly, I've interviewed criminals who were lying and easier to understand," _commented Charlotte.

"I thought Mr Hamon's explanations were very good and as detailed as always," said Hanna.

"It's because you know the work that you say that" said Nicole.

"Hélène, that's exactly the problem, they're too detailed and we get lost in unimportant details" says Elisa.

"I think we'll stop explaining now. Hélène and William were trying to think how to sum up the work in a short, synthetic way. In the meantime, let's keep exploring," says Anna.

"Or instead of talking about the work, we could talk about the theme characters we've been assigned," suggested Nicole.

"Good idea Nicole, so if I remember correctly your characters are Shikamaru, Tsunade and Ino" said Hélène.

_"If I've understood correctly, Ino is blonde and that's why I became blonde," _commented Nicole.

_"Indeed," _replied Hélène.

"That means it's highly likely that we'll be able to inherit our characters' physical characteristics," commented Charlotte.

"Let's start with that. William, Hélène to describe in a few words the characters assigned to Nicole. We'll see if we can use this information," said Anna, who touched her rabbit ears as if to check they were still there.

"Okay. So Shikamaru is a young man with black hair and no particular physical characteristics. He's mostly defined by his great intelligence and mastery of shadows." said Hélène.

"The looks, Hélène. Stick to physical appearance," says Anna.

"Ino is a young blonde woman with long hair and a lock that usually hides her right eye. Otherwise, her eyes are blue or green, I couldn't really tell. What do you think, Mr. Hamon?" asked Hélène.

"I think it's more green," replied William.

"Please stay on topic and avoid getting bogged down in details," said Anna, who was beginning to lose patience.

"Well, there's Tsunade and she's..." Hélène didn't finish her sentence, blushing so much she looked like she was going to faint.

"What's the matter with you? Don't you know this work by heart anymore?" Marion commented sarcastically.

"It's not that. It's rather that Tsunade's main physical characteristic is her enormous breasts," said William.

"Now that's interesting information. Given the eroticism of this show, we can be sure that one of Nicole's future transformations will be an increase in the size of her breasts." said Anna.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Are there any other characters with significant sexual attributes?" asked Iris.

"The only other character I can think of is Hinata, who has even bigger breasts than Tsunade," replied William, while Hélène blushed even harder.

_"Let's stop with the descriptions, I don't think there's much point in learning the hair color of the rest of the characters. Unless any of you particularly care about hair color?" _asked Anna.

With no answer, they continued their stroll. Eventually, they came to an imposing building with the word 'Library' emblazoned on the front.

"Do you think...?" asked Nicole.

"I'm not making wild assumptions. I'm basing it on evidence. It says 'Library'. We need information. We're going in," said Anna.

_"But what if it's a trap?" _asked Elisa.

"She doesn't need to trap us. She already has us at her mercy. And if it's a trap, at least we'll be together," said Charlotte.

They entered the building cautiously. No one was making the slightest noise, which would have been almost comical considering they were in a library.

"Hello and welcome to the Konoha Library. May I help you?" they heard as they entered.

A woman in front of them was instantly recognized by William, Anna, Marion and Elisa.

_"Lady Galadriel?" _exclaimed William, who was the quickest to speak.

_"No, William, it must be Nezoko who's changed his appearance," _commented Anna.

"Neither one nor the other. I'm an employee hired by the host of this show to fill the role of librarian. For ease of scripting vis-à-vis the audience you can call me Galadriel." said the librarian with a smile so genuine that William found it hard to believe it wasn't sincere.

"Where are we? What is this place?" asked Elisa.

"As I said, this is the library, one of the few places that will appear in every round. In the library you can find all the information on the theme of the round you want. For example, you'll find all the volumes of the Naruto manga, as well as the sequel Boruto. You've also got DVDs and a TV so you can watch all the episodes if you like. You even have the films and games based on this work" replied Galadriel.

"So here we can learn all the information about this work that we don't know," said Karine.

_"Exactly," _replied Galadriel.

So, they ventured into the library. Anna picked up volume 1 of the Naruto manga and began reading. Elisa and Karine followed suit, each taking a copy of Volume 1. Hélène, Nicole and Charlotte settled themselves on a sofa and began watching episode 1 of the anime.

William watched everyone settle in and look for information, but surprisingly there was one who hadn't pounced on this storehouse of information.

_"Iris, aren't you going to read or watch the anime with the others?" _asked William.

"Uh, how can I put this? I don't really like getting information like that. I'm more of a field woman. I like to get my information by observing or doing interviews." replied Iris.

_"I see." _replied William.

"What are you going to do then? Because I think they're going to be busy all afternoon at least," asked William.

"I thought I'd keep exploring this place, which I'm sure still holds an infinite number of secrets. All that's left is to discover them," said Iris enthusiastically.

"I remind you that this is a library. Please go outside and have a chat" said Galadriel with a broad smile that nevertheless gave William the creeps.

William and Iris quickly went outside, not wanting to be scolded by the elf.

"I really don't want to see her get upset," laughed William. The situation was truly beyond his wildest dreams.

"So we're going exploring?" Iris asked.

"I'll follow you," replied William.

Iris then grabbed William's hand and started running in one direction. The direction didn't matter. All that mattered was her excitement. After a few minutes, however, she must have been out of breath, because she stopped. She was breathing heavily.

_"Are you all, right?" _asked William, who was also catching his breath. It had probably been weeks since he'd run like this. It must be said that he didn't really have any reason to.

_"I'm fine. I got carried away. I should have run slower," _replied Iris, who was still smiling. William had never seen her without that smile. He hoped she could keep it up. This show would undoubtedly make things difficult for everyone. And even the most optimistic and cheerful of them might find it hard to keep smiling. Iris had to notice his glum expression.

_"Are you all, right? What's on your mind?" _asked Iris, taking out her notepad and pencil.

"The interview already? I didn't think you'd be asking me for one every day," replied William to create a diversion. There was no need for him to worry this young woman with these thoughts. She was entitled to continue smiling in all innocence.

"No, it's not an interview. I'll save the interview with you for later, when you've had a chance to experience a bit more of this show", said Iris.

Experience a little more of the show? as if he had a choice. He was improvising as he went along.

"Why don't we walk around a little more slowly? it would give us a chance to appreciate the scenery where we are." proposed William.

"That's fine by me. Do you have a particular destination in mind?" asked Iris.

Of course, he had somewhere he'd like to see. It took them a good 30 minutes to get there. The fact that they didn't know the way probably explained why it had taken them so long. The view was sublime. From here, you could see the whole village.

"It's really magnificent!" said Iris.

"Yes, Konoha is really beautiful. I used to dream of standing here and looking at it when I was a kid. I never imagined I'd one day be able to stand on the Hokage cliff in Konoha," says William.

"Do you think you're ready for this show? I can see you're worried about it," asked Iris.

_"What do you want me to say? I'll do my best like everyone else. That's all we're limited to, after all. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone for a while," _asked William.

"Yes, of course," replied Iris, before slipping away.

William sat there on the cliff, inches from the void. The view was truly breathtaking. He couldn't stop thinking about it, without coming up with a satisfactory solution.

"It may sound a bit crazy, but I don't see why it wouldn't work," William said aloud as he stood alone.

"Nezoko, I imagine you're listening. I'm not sure why you wouldn't. If this really is a TV show, then we're being watched all the time," said William.

Only silence answered him.

"No comment. I don't mind talking to myself. I was going to suggest that you make a deal with me, but I suppose I can go straight to the threats." said William.

He waited a moment, but there was no answer. He sighed. It made sense if Nezoko knew him as well as she claimed, then she must have known he was bluffing. But was he really bluffing?

"You know Nezoko, the day before yesterday I'd never been in a dangerous situation before. I'd never really come so close to ****. It makes you reconsider things. What matters and what doesn't? All this to say that you obviously won't react without proof," said William, before looking back at Konoha.

"You know I think it's funny that you assign the character of Minato. Konoha's most short-lived Hokage. It's not that he was incompetent, far from it. He just chose to sacrifice himself for what was dear to him. His family, his loved ones, his values, his village," William explained.

He took a deep breath and said:

"All that to say, I'm also willing to do what I have to do to protect what's important to me."

He jumped and fell.