18 Chapter 16: Return from Kiri

So a lot of you were not entirely surprised Danzou was involved with what was happening in Kiri. And several of you enjoyed it.

Now, for those of you wanting to see Danzou punished for what he did, well…you'll have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully what happens will be satisfactory at the least.

In other news, I just finished the third year of my Harry Potter fanfics, and have decided to take a break from them. The reason being that I've been feeling a major urge to try my hand at a Beast Wars: Transformers fanfic. A friend introduced me to a trilogy of them that I was instantly hooked on, and it led to me feeling nostalgic and watching the entire series over again. So, in order to satisfy the rampaging plot bunny in my mind, I'll be starting said fanfic after this chapter has been posted.

Now, time to get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Ubisoft respectively.

Chapter 16

Return from Kiri

Konoha Hospital, Security Wing

A pair of black eyes slowly opened, blinking away blurriness as the owner of said eyes tried to focus on their surroundings. Slowly, the eyes wandered from the ceiling to the surrounding walls and machines, before closing again.

Kiseki Uchiha slowly tried to gather her wits, not sure why she felt so tired and sore all over. She slowly tried to raise one hand, but found that her arm was restrained by something. Slowly glancing down, she noticed restraints keeping her limbs secured to the bed.

In that instant, panic began to set in, and she began to struggle despite her body's protest. The machines began to beep frantically, registering the spike in her heartbeat and adrenaline. Almost instantly, the door opened and an ANBU entered, weapon drawn. When they saw Kiseki struggling, they sheathed their weapon. "Kiseki-san, please calm down," they said in a male voice.

Kiseki struggled more. "L-Let me out of here! LET ME OUT!" She yelled.

The ANBU moved forward to try and restrain her, as she kept trying to get free. Soon enough a nurse entered, and rushed over. "Kiseki-san, you need to calm down! You'll hurt yourself!" She said.

When Kiseki refused to listen, the nurse tried to ready a sedative and prepared to inject it into an IV bag connected to Kiseki, until the door opened and a powerful chakra presence flooded the room, freezing all occupants. "That's enough!" Sarutobi ordered, entering the room and still flaring his chakra. "ANBU, please return to your station. Nurse, remove the restraints," he ordered.

The nurse quickly did so, as Kiseki lay there, looking up at Sarutobi, whose face was currently blank. The nurse then left the room with the ANBU, as Sarutobi sighed, sitting down on the bed next to Kiseki's. "I'm afraid we have much to discuss, Kiseki Uchiha," he said quietly.

"L-Like what…the fact that my boy-…my fia-…that Itachi killed my father, while you slew the clan head and a couple other prominent members of the Uchiha clan?" She asked, still watching him. The fear was still there, but it was muted now, as Sarutobi saw some of the life leaving her eyes. He sighed quietly, rubbing his forehead.

"It's not that simple," he said, about to explain, only to be interrupted by her.

"I know it's not," she snapped, staring at him, before her voice grew softer, breaking a bit. "Itachi explained everything."

Flashback

Kiseki found herself kneeling in the middle of the backyard at the Uchiha clan head's home. In front of her she could see the tree she and Itachi had cuddled under not too long ago. Except the sky was blood red, and the ground and surroundings were black.

Suddenly, Itachi was standing before her, and she slowly looked up, tears streaming down her face. Itachi was watching her as well, tears falling from his own eyes. "Kiseki…I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"W-Why Itachi…why did you kill my father?" She whispered. "W-what happened?"

Itachi reached out to help her up, but she recoiled from him. Itachi flinched, before withdrawing his hand. "…your father was part of a group among the Uchiha who were planning a coup against the Hokage," he said, his voice becoming emotionless. "I've been passing information about the group's activities to the Hokage ever since my father told me about them, right after my promotion to ANBU Captain."

Kiseki'seyes widened. "W-What? A coup attempt? Why?!" She demanded, surging to her feet.

Itachi sighed, turning to the tree and walking over to it, gently placing a hand on its trunk. "There are elements within the Uchiha Clan who feel that there should be an Uchiha Hokage. In fact, it goes further than that. They feel that the Uchiha clan should rule this village. Our clan is the surviving clan out of the original village founders, since the Senju have almost completely died out. However, the majority of the clan was content with the way things were. Until the Kyuubi attack."

He turned to her as he continued. "Following the Kyuubi's attack, a rumor was started that the Sharingan was able to control the Kyuubi. People began to believe that an Uchiha was behind the Kyuubi's attack, and the people of this village began to treat our clan with mistrust, believing the clan was plotting a coup attempt."

"Which led to members of the clan plotting a coup to save the clan," Kiseki whispered, putting it together.

"That's how they would have portrayed it," Itachi said. "But in truth, they were simply interested in their own power and greed. The village never would have attacked the clan. Not unless the clan did so first."

Kiseki glared at him. "You don't know that! They could have killed us all! Look at what they did already!"

Itachi closed his eyes. "We did what we did in order to save the clan," Itachi said. "The third person you saw, in the hood. He was the one who fought to have only the conspirators killed. Other elements of Konoha wished to eradicate the entire clan, despite most being innocent of any true crime."

Kiseki kept glaring. "And what if you had been ordered to kill the entire clan? Would you have done it? Your brother…your mother…me?" She demanded.

Itachi looked away. "I…I don't know," he whispered softly.

Kiseki just looked at him, her eyes hard. "That's what I thought," she said.

Itachi quietly touched the tree trunk, looking at it. Slowly, he closed his eyes, before speaking softly to her. "I didn't want this…I wanted to have a family with you…grow old and enjoy life."

"Then why?! Why did you agree to do this? Why did you betray me?!" She snapped angrily at him.

Itachi just looked at her with eyes filled with sadness. "For the sake of you, the clan, and the village. I sacrificed my happiness, future, and soul, so that you and everyone else could have one," he said.

Kiseki just glared at him, before turning away. Itachi just sighed as he backed away. "I know nothing I can do will ever make up for what I've done Kiseki. But please believe me when I say I am truly sorry…and that I do love you. I wish you nothing but a truly long and happy life…farewell."

Flashback Ends

Sarutobi watched her intently. "So you know then why we did what we did. For the sake of the village."

Kiseki just looked at him with dead eyes. "That doesn't make it easier to accept," she said. "I saw my father's headless corpse sink to the ground, with…Itachi's sword covered in his blood. My clan was planning to betray Konoha, and Konoha had my father slaughtered by the man I loved. What in this village makes what you did acceptable?" She asked him.

The aged Hokage quietly rubbed his eyes. "I did not want things to end that way, Kiseki. While I went into that meeting expecting the worse…I truly wanted to resolve things peacefully. I asked Fugaku to stand down, to let us find another way. But he was set on his course. I did what needed to be done for the sake of the village Kiseki. To you that might not seem like much, but as Hokage…I bear the burden of protecting the village, and the people in it, even from themselves. Would you have preferred your entire clan slaughtered in the middle of the night? Every man, woman, and child? Or would you have preferred to see this village burning, innocent people slain as its shinobi fought each other for power and control?"

Kiseki opened her mouth to respond, only to stop, as she found herself reminded of when she posed a similar question to Itachi. And now, like him, she wasn't sure if she knew the answer to that question.

Sarutobi just sighed quietly. "Many people truly do not understand the burdens that come with the position of Hokage," he said. "There are times where we must make decisions that destroy our souls, in order to ensure that others may live in happiness and peace. A Hokage must be willing to make sacrifices and decisions that no one else might be willing to make, all for the sake of those they are sworn to lead and protect. Itachi…he would have been one of the greatest Hokage's ever, had this not happened" he said quietly.

Kiseki just looked down, trembling and wrapping her arms around herself. "W-What happens now?" She asked softly.

Sarutobi looked at her, giving her a sad smile. "You will remain here under observation, until you're deemed healthy enough to leave. After which, we'll discuss your future, about whether or not you wish to continue serving as a Konoha Shinobi. Please give the matter some thought, Kiseki-san," he said, as he turned to left. Stopping at the door, he glanced over his shoulder. "For what it's worth Kiseki-san…I'm sorry I could not save you from this heartbreak." He then left, as Kiseki glanced down, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Mizu no Kuni

Raphael sat in a tavern back in the port of Buru Jinkoukou. It had been three days since the assassination of what had now been confirmed as an agent of Danzou from Konoha. Mukei and his crew had stripped the warehouse clean of any resources and valuables, while Raphael and Yugito had taken all the documents as well as the body of the man Yugito had killed, which they had sealed into a storage scroll. That had left them with the question of what to do with their guest.

Ameyuri Ringo, as they learned from doing a little digging into the files, had been a member of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, an elite group of seven shinobi highly skilled in the use of seven unique swords or sword like weapons. The group though had slowly fallen into decay, following the defections of Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi. One by one, the remaining Seven Swordsmen fell, either due to combat, or as the case of Ameyuri, betrayal from within. In fact, Ameyuri had been the last of the current generation of Seven Swordsmen left in Kiri. That is before the Mizukage Yagura had ordered her silent and discreet execution in the hospital.

Yugito had gone through the trouble of dressing Ameyuri in some of her spare clothes, and they had taken her away from Sokonashi with them, since she obviously had no other place to go, at least currently.

A few hours later, after they had camped for the evening, Ameyuri had shown the first signs of awakening from her sedative induced slumber. That's when things had become interesting.

Flashback

Raphael was slowly sipping on a cup of coffee that some of Mukei's crew had made due to them having first night watch. The camp was peaceful, as the crew talked, joked, laughed, and a couple were singing. All was calm, and an air of joviality permeated the air.

That calmness was shattered by a female yell, and the sound of lighting crackling through the air. Raphael spun in time to see the two crewmembers watching over Ameyuri barely dodge out of the way of a bolt of lightning that originated from said woman, who was surging to her feet.

Almost immediately the crew was jumping to their feet, drawing weapons, until Yugito rushed over. "Wait! Calm down!" She shouted, only to have to dodge as Ameyuri launched a second bolt of lightning at her.

One of Mukei's crew rushed forward, trying to swing the flat blade of his sword to knock the Kiri kunoichi out, only for her to grab his hands and flip him over her, disarming him. She parried another man's slash, grabbing that sword and yanking it form him before spinning, facing the crew with both swords ready.

At that moment Mukei stepped forward, drawing his swords. "Everyone stand back," he said. "I've got this."

Ameyuri growled, her brown eyes flashing as she gritted her shark like teeth. "Damn bandit bastard! You won't use me!" She snapped, rushing him. Mukei raised his swords up, blocking her slashes, before countering with his own as Ameyuri danced back, only to stumble due to still feeling the after effects of the sedative.

The entire crew watched as the two engaged in a sword fight, steel flashing and the ring of metal hitting metal echoing through the camp.

Mukei leapt over a low slash, slashing downwards with both swords, causing Ameyuri to block with the other stolen sword. He pressed downwards, forcing her to bring the other blade up to keep his blades from pushing down on her. Mukei grunted, keeping her blades locked there. "We're not going to hurt you!" He said.

She sneered at him in response. "You think I fall for that?! You kidnapped me from the hospital in Kiri!"

At that moment, Yugito managed to grab her from behind, pinning her arms and forcing her to draw the swords. "We didn't kidnap you, we saved you from those who kidnapped you!" She said.

Ameyuri struggled in her grip. "Like I'll just believe you!" she snapped, until Raphael stepped forward.

"Believe this," he said, dropping a file in front of her. "A report filed by those who kidnapped you to their leader. In it, they stated your Mizukage was planning to have you poisoned under suspicions you were a traitor. Your kidnappers made it seem like you died in the hospital while they took you away, with the intent of having you sent to their leader for reconditioning into a loyal member of their organization."

Ameyrui glared at Raphael, before dropping her swords. Yugito slowly let her go, and she reached down, grabbing the file and opening it, her eyes scanning the contents. They widened, before narrowing as she looked up at Raphael. "Where's your proof?" she asked.

Raphael pulled out a scroll and unsealed the body of the dead shinobi Yugito had killed, with the man's mask removed. Ameyuri's eyes widened. "He's the doctor at the hospital! He came in to give me an immunizer shot or something, to prevent me from catching some sickness that was reportedly spreading through Kiri! Next thing I know I'm waking up here!"

"He's no doctor. He's a shinobi employed by a warmonger by the name of Danzou Shimura. He was acting as a weapons merchant, selling weapons to both Kiri and the Bloodline Rebels that he bought from Gato of Gato Industries. The girl and I behind you came here to take him out, with Mukei joining us to hurt Gato. We rescued you from them," he said as he resealed the body, and took the file form her.

Ameyuri's eyes widened as realization sank in. "W-wait…so…so the Mizukage ordered me killed?! Why?! I would never betray Kiri!" she said, stumbling back a bit before Yugito gently grabbed her shoulders to support her. "T-That little bastard," she whispered angrily. "I served him loyally and he stabbed me in the back, that paranoid little shit. I'll kill him…I'll fucking gut him," she said darkly, leaning against Yugito.

Yugito sighed, looking at the guys. "I'll take care of her," she said, leading Ameyuri over to the fire she had been laid out near when she was unconscious, where she quietly began to talk to her, telling her everything she could.

Flashback Ends

Since then, Ameyuri had simply quietly gone with the group, apparently lost and unsure what to do next. When they had arrived in Buru Jinkoukou, Yugito had taken her to get some clothes of her own, and to try and help her out.

Raphael's mind was taken off of his train of thought as Mukei sat down across from him. "So, what now for you and Neko?" The pirate captain asked, pouring some sake into a drinking dish for Raphael, and one for himself.

Raphael sighed. "We'll be heading back home, waiting for more information on Gato, or others like him. Though…that does raise a proposition I'd like to offer you and your crew," he said.

Mukei blinked at that. "Oh? And what is this proposition?"

"I'd like for us to work together. I could use an informant out here in the eastern islands and such, someone who can learn about potential problems and send the information my way. You could also send me any information you have on Gato, and I in turn will send you whatever information I dig up on Gato. And together, we can strike his industry from both land and sea," Raphael said.

Mukei sat back, holding his saucer up. "I have to say…I like this idea," he said, downing the saucer. "What kinds of information would you be looking for exactly?"

"Well, any information you might get on the Kiri Civil War. Or about slavers, criminal organizations, or corrupt leaders of towns or villages who are exploiting and enslaving their citizens. Things like that. These are problems that my organization likes to look into, see if they can be dealt with subtly, or are perhaps linked to larger conspiracies or organizations," Raphael said.

Mukei poured himself another saucer. "Aye, I think we can arrange that," he said, holding it up. "Then here's to our new partnership."

Raphael held his own up. "Agreement," he said, as they tinked their saucers together, then drank from them. "By the way…I think it's only fair I share my real name with you now, since we'll be working together. It's Raphael. Raphael Cortez."

Mukei grinned. "Rather strange name, friend."

"I come from a strange place," Raphael said, only to look up as Yugito and Ameyuri entered. Ameyuri was now wearing a pair of black hakama pants, with zori sandals, and a dull green long-sleeved top with fingerless gloves under the flared sleeves. Rounding out the outfit was a white scarf wrapped around her neck and a bandana she had tied around the top of her head. (1)

"Hello ladies," Mukei said with a grin. "Sit, share a drink with us."

"Not a fan of drinking," Yugito said as she sat down. Ameyuri however took a saucer, and downed it after Mukei poured her some. Mukei just grinned, pouring her another, as Yugito turned to Raphael. "So when are we heading home?" She asked.

Before Raphael could answer, Mukei interrupted. "As soon as my ship is ready to depart. It's the least I can do for the two of you, and the haul we took from those shinobi," he said. "We'll be getting four times the profit we would have on just the weapon shipment alone. I figure that's worth passage for the two of you."

Both Raphael and Yugito nodded in appreciation, before Mukei turned to Ameyuri. "So that just leaves you. What do you plan to do now?" He asked her.

Ameyuri looked at the drink saucer, before glancing up at him. "…I'm coming with you. As part of your crew," she said simply, downing the saucer.

Mukei blinked at that. "Well, I'm glad you asked so nicely," he said. "And why are you joining my crew?"

Ameyuri sat back. "I've got nowhere else to go. I can't go back to Kiri, they'll kill me. And I'm not joining the Bloodline Rebels. Yagura might have betrayed me, but I will not betray Kiri for his actions. And I have no desire to be like Zabuza Momochi or Kisame Hoshigaki, traitors to the village striking out on their own. So…I either join your crew, or I find another crew that'll take me on. And you can't tell me you couldn't use an extra pair of blades on your crew."

Mukei chuckled softly. "You're right…a pirate crew can always use an extra sword hand. But you'll need to do more then be fancy with a sword to earn your keep on my ship. You'll have to prove yourself an able sailor, or we'll have to push you off. Understood?" He said.

She nodded, grinning her shark like grin. "I enjoy a challenge," she said, holding out a hand. Mukei shook it, sealing the agreement.

Raphael smiled at this, raising his saucer. "Well then, here's to fair travels and good fortune to us all," he said. Mukei and Ameyuri joined him, as Yugito got a cup of water and did as well.

Konoha Academy, four days later

Hinata quietly listened to Kurenai sensei's lecture on the early shinobi clans, taking notes as she did so. She glanced to her left where Naruto was at, bent over his own piece of paper. But rather than taking notes, Naruto was drawing something. Hinata slowly leaned over, glancing at the illustrations, where she saw what looked like Assassin outfits and a few weapon designs.

Naruto saw her, and blushed a bit in embarrassment, hiding the pictures, causing her to look questioningly at him. "T-They're kind of private," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Naruto, Hinata! Pay attention please!" Kurenai's voice snapped them back to attention, as Kurenai was tapping her foot with her hands on her hips, watching them. Both blushed in embarrassment, as Kurenai went back to her lecture.

Hinata went back to writing notes, as she began to think about how things had changed after joining the Assassins.

One of the first things Anko had done was to teach her the creed, tenets, and ironies of the Assassins. She had explained them as best she could to Hinata, but told her it was understandable if she was confused and didn't understand what they meant. She told her how Raphael had admitted he truly didn't understand everything about them yet, and how his mentor, a man named Ezio Auditore, had told him that true understanding came with age and experience. Anko simply told Hinata to continue to think about what she had learned, ponder it, and with time, she would understand them.

Her physical training had also intensified. Before, she had been working on her taijutsu and chakra control exercises. Now though, the training included lessons in what Anko called 'free-running' and 'parkour', which was essentially being able to run from one point to another without pausing or breaking, leaping and vaulting over obstacles and climbing up walls. Anko and Naruto had taken her out to the rooftops of Konoha, to help train her in this. She had to admit…there was a thrill in rushing towards the edge of a roof and leap to the next one, or rush up a wall and leap off to another.

They also had begun training her in stealth, teaching her how to blend with a crowd, how to move in the open without drawing attention, and how to see opportune places to hide and break the sight line of pursuers or guards.

And lastly, Anko had begun teaching her about the hidden blades, the trademark tools and weapons of the Assassins. She had shown Hinata how the spring loaded blades worked, how to take them apart and put them together and repair and maintain them. And she had explained the various attachments and such that came with them. Hinata had been outfitted with a 'training' hidden blade, which featured a dull knife she couldn't accidentally cut herself on, so Anko could teach her the various styles of using the blade to stealthily end her enemies.

Hinata had to admit, her life seemed a lot better outside of the clan. She missed her mother and her sister Hanabi, but if she was honest…they were the only ones she missed. The rest of the clan never seemed to care about her, disliked her, or even hated her in the case of her cousin Neji. Within the clan, she was forced to meet their standards, to be the ideal heiress, to be the best at everything. And when she didn't meet their expectations, there was recriminations, disdain, insults, and on occasions, punishment.

Out here though, she felt…free. Anko, Naruto, Yugito, and Raphael, they all treated her like family. They trained her, but there were no harsh expectations. She was encouraged to do better, rather than criticized and put down for her failures. All in all, she felt better then she had in years. As weird as it might seem…she almost felt grateful at times for what her father did.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the school day. Hinata packed her notes and such away, and smiled at Naruto as they left together.

Outside, they found Anko grinning as she waited to pick them up. "Guess whose back?" She asked in a sing song voice, making Naruto's eyes widened.

"Raphael-sensei and Yugito nee-chan are back?" He asked, as Anko nodded.

"Yep. They stopped at the warehouse before heading to the Hokage's office. They told me to get you two and bring you back to the warehouse for a meeting after they were done," she said, ruffling Naruto's hair. She would have done the same to Hinata, except the girl currently had a bandana covering the top of her head.

Naruto just whined in annoyance. "Wwwhhyyy?" He groaned out as Anko laughed and Hinata giggled.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi slowly opened the file Raphael had left on his desk for him. "So, you took out the person selling weapons to both sides of the Kiri civil war," he said.

Raphael nodded. "Yugito successfully killed him, but unfortunately, his assistant escaped. However, what is far more disturbing is this," Raphael said, leaning over and flipping through the documents, finally reaching the one he wanted. "Read this."

Sarutobi slowly began to read the document, before his eyes narrowed as he reached the sender of the letter. "Danzou Shiumra," he said softly. "He was the one behind it all?"

"I would assume so. His men, under his orders, were buying the weapons from Gato and selling them to both sides in order to prolong the war. The question is why? What does he gain from it? And what is Gato gaining from this as well?" He asked. "He's trying to make inroads to the various shinobi villages, causing trouble and such."

Sarutobi sighed, sitting back. "I can't be sure on what Gato's motives are, but Danzou's are simple. This is his way of 'protecting' Konoha," he said simply. "Danzou is a man that believes the only way to keep Konoha safe is to destroy all our enemies. He would prolong the civil war in Kiri for the simple purpose of keeping the village weak and possibly destroying its power so it could never be a threat to Konoha. His intentions are noble, but his actions are monstrous."

Raphael clenched a fist in anger, as Yugito crossed her arms. "So what can we do about him?" She asked.

Sarutobi sighed, pulling out his pipe and slowly puffing on it. "…we must tread carefully, unfortunately. Danzou has many powerful connections and allies. And if this incident was any indications, he also still has his force of shinobi known as ROOT."

"Root?" Raphael asked, confused.

"They were a branch of Konoha's ANBU back during the previous Shinobi War. Danzou personally trained and led them on missions that required work behind enemy lines, but could not be officially recognized by Konoha. Danzou's training stripped them of their emotions, making them extremely deadly and ruthless. When the war ended however, there was no place for them. Without emotions, they had no dreams, goals, or wants. They could not truly function in normal society. So I disbanded the ROOT, not wishing to subject anymore of our shinobi to that kind of life. I ordered all of the ROOT shinobi to undergo counseling sessions to try and undo what Danzou did to them. Sadly, in many cases it was a hopeless cause, as the training was too ingrained into them. And now it seems that ROOT is not as disbanded as I thought," he said.

"Wait…Raphael-san, didn't that mask with the body say ROOT on it?" Yugito asked.

Raphael nodded. "It did. Wouldn't that be proof enough, with the letter, that Danzou is still operating his shinobi and is sending shinobi on missions without your knowledge and authorization?" Raphael asked.

Sarutobi quietly shook his head. "It's not that simple. If we present this to the Council and drag Danzou's actions into the public eye, he'll spin his actions to make them look patriotic. He wasn't taking any treasonous actions against Konoha, and as sickening as it is, his actions were benefitting Konoha. He has made powerful connections to several of the Civilian Council members, as well as the Hyuuga Clan and my own advisors. They'll more than likely support him. And while this letter and the corpse of the ROOT shinobi are powerful evidence, Danzou can spin it to someone planting those things to lead back to him, to throw us off from the 'true' enemy, as he'll put it. And even IF we did manage to convince the Council to vote against him, Danzou will have contingency plans put into place to facilitate either his escape or his rise to power through a coup in such an event. No…we cannot move against him. Not yet at least. We must tread lightly, and work to undermine his position, until we are in a position to remove him."

The assassin sighed and nodded in understanding, before turning to Yugito. "We should get going," he said to her softly, as Sarutobi used a jutsu to make copies of the information regarding Danzou, and handed the information back to Raphael. The pair nodded to him and left his office.

As they made their way through the Tower, Yugito glanced at Raphael. "What now? We can't just let this Danzou guy act on his own," she said.

"Unfortunately, that's all we can do now. We don't know enough about him or his operations. We'll quietly began gathering what information we can, and when the time comes, we'll deal with him if need be," he said. "Besides, we don't want to turn Konoha against us, so if we move against him, it'll either have to be a way that has Konoha supporting us, or in a way where they don't know it's us."

As the pair exited the Tower, neither of them noticed the woman approaching. But she noticed them, and her eyes widened, before narrowing at the sight of Raphael. Despite his hood being down, she recognized the crimson robe and cape.

Raphael blinked as he found his way blocked by a woman with long black hair, wearing a long-sleeved blue top and black short skirt with black shorts underneath. Said woman was glaring at him with black eyes narrowed. "Can I help you?" He asked, surprised and a bit wary."

"You…I need to speak to you," she said, her voice hard. "Training Ground 2, now."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are," Raphael said, slowly shifting one foot back and readying for a fight, while he could sense Yugito tensing behind him, her own hands drifting down to her sheathed katars.

The woman glanced at Yugito, before backing away slightly. "I'm Kiseki Uchiha. And I need to talk to you about Itachi."

Raphael's eyes widened, before he turned his head slightly to Yugito. "Go join the others. I'll be with you when I'm done," he said.

Yugito hesitantly nodded. "A-Alright," she said, heading off. Raphael turned back to Kiseki.

"Well Kiseki-san…shall we?" He asked, holding up one arm and indicating she should lead. Kiseki merely turned and started walking, with Raphael following her. As she had turned, he noticed the pair of tanto set into sheathes on the back of her waist, with the top one's hilt facing to her right, and the lower one facing left.

Around twenty minutes later, the pair was at the training ground. Kiseki turned to him, staring at him. "...you were part of the group that slaughtered my father and Fugaku-sama," she said.

Raphael sighed softly, shifting so he would be comfortable. "I was, yes," he said softly. "Do you want revenge against me for what I did?"

Kiseki studied him quietly, before slowly drawing her tanto, causing Raphael to tense. "Fight me," she said, settling into her stance.

Raphael warily watched her, before drawing his own sword in his left hand, standing in his own stance. "I thought you wanted to talk," he said.

"Why did you help kill a member of my clan?" She asked, before lunging forward, slashing with her left sword. Raphael blocked it, only to step back to dodge a slash from her other sword, trying to get close.

Raphael grunted as he dodged to one side to avoid a stab from both her tanto, before slashing down, forcing her to block with both blades. "It was two members of your clan. And I did it because they were part of the coup attempt." He stepped into her, shoving her back with his shoulder.

"What if their coup attempt was justified?" She grunted, retaking her stance and launching at him.

Raphael blocked one slash, ducked under another, and whirled to one side to avoid a downward slash. He took a few steps back, blade held at the ready. "I think you already know it wasn't. Otherwise you wouldn't be alive right now. Either Itachi-san or Hokage-sama would have seen to that."

Kiseki growled, her Sharingan blaring to life as she lunged at him, slashing both blades down at him. He blocked, only for her to pull back one of the blades and angrily slash upwards at him. He barely leaned back in time, the tip of her tanto coming within centimeters of his nose. He quickly back stepped as she pursued him. "What right did any of you have to decide that?! To decide to murder my father?!" She yelled.

Raphael managed to block another wild slash and grabbed her other hand, keeping her from attacking with that weapon. "What gave them the right to betray this village and endanger countless innocent lives?" He asked, shoving her back. "What right did they have to decide their needs were more important than the village they vowed to serve and protect? Answer me that," he said.

She yelled, lunging at him and swinging at him again. Raphael raised his sword to block, only for his eyes to widen as her blades, their force increased with her rage induced slashes, broke the blade of his sword, leaving him with a hilt and a couple inches of blade. Quickly tossing the blade aside, he quickly yanked the long knife from his belt, blocking another slash and deflecting it to one side, whirling around a stab and getting inside her guard, grabbing the extended arm and twisting her wrist, forcing her to drop the sword. She shoved him away and slashed downward at him, but he blocked with his knife, using his free hand to grip her arm and used her momentum to flip her over him and onto her back. Before she could react he dropped down, pinning her still armed hand with his knee while extending the hidden blade on his right arm, holding it to her throat.

"Do it, kill me!" she snarled angrily. "Go ahead and kill me!" She yelled.

Raphael blinked, looking at her face, at her eyes, before retracting the hidden blade. "No," he said softly. "Itachi-san loved and cared about you enough to spare your life and beg Hokage-sama to spare you. I will not take you away from him."

Kiseki was crying now, still glaring at him. "C-Coward! Bastard! You should have killed me! Y-You all should have killed me…w-why didn't he just kill me?" She began to sob as she lay there; all fight gone from her as her eyes returned to normal.

Raphael slowly stood up, sheathing his knife as he watched her. Sighing he sat down on the grass near her, as she kept crying.

Eventually, the sobs faded, but she still was shuddering, as she looked at him, her eyes puffy and red from her crying. "W-Why are you still here?" She whispered.

Raphael shrugged quietly. "You owe me for my sword," he said, pointing to the hilt and broken blade. "And…because you look like you need company right now."

Kiseki just blinked at him, before turning and laying so her back was to him. They remained like that for several minutes, before she finally spoke. "What do I do now?"

Raphael blinked at her. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"The man I love is gone…my father is dead at his hands…members of my clan tried to perform a coup on Konoha, and members of Konoha had those clan members executed. How do I move on? How do I…how do I live, knowing what my clan and village can do to each other?" She turned to look at him; her eyes showing how lost she felt. "I don't know what to do."

Raphael was about to answer, when a female voice spoke up from nearby. "You move on with your life," Anko said, stepping out from behind a tree. Raphael blinked and stood up, while Kiseki just lay there, looking at her.

"Anko, what are you doing here?" Raphael asked, while Anko just kept watching Kiseki.

"Yugito told us about what happened. I decided to come make sure you were okay. Looks like I missed quite a fight," she said, looking at the broken sword, before turning her gaze back to Kiseki. She approached the Uchiha, standing over her. "You know who am I, yes? My past?" She asked her.

When Kiseki slowly nodded, Anko leaned down. "So you know that I have some idea of what you're going through. The man I looked up to like a father, the man I thought I could trust and care for stabbed me in the back. He tricked me into abandoning the village, and almost becoming a missing nin. And ever since then, I've had to deal with the majority of the village treating me with disgust and mistrust. You know what happened to me a year after I came back to the village?"

When Kiseki shook her head, Anko closed her eyes, before speaking. "I tried to commit suicide by drinking poison. I couldn't handle everything…I couldn't take the pain anymore. So I got a vial of poison, and prepared to end it all. You wanna know what's funny though? I was sitting at my table, the vial in front of me, uncorked and ready. And yet…I couldn't. I just sat there, staring at it, trying to psych myself up to do it. And before I knew it…there was light coming through the window of my apartment. I looked up to see it was morning already, and I was seeing the sunrise. And in that moment…I felt it all melt away. All the pain, all the despair…I just felt…like things could be better. I realized that I couldn't live my life in the past. So I strove each day to look forward, to live my life day to day. And that's what I've been doing each day. Some days it's tough, others it's easy."

She looked down at Kiseki. "I can't say I know exactly what you're going through. But I can say that you need to look forward, and live for the future, rather than wallowing in the past. So…what will you do?" She asked, offering Kiseki her hand.

Kiseki stared at her hand, before slowly reaching out and taking it. She let Anko help her up to her feet, before looking to Raphael. "I…I'm sorry," she said softly.

Raphael shrugged. "Don't worry. You're not the first person to try and kill me. Just the most recent."

Kiseki smiled a bit weakly at that, glancing over at his broken sword. "I-I'm sorry about that too. I'll pay for it," she said.

"No need. I've got money to spare," he said, as he went to retrieve the hilt and blade.

Kiseki glanced at Anko for a moment, studying her appearance. "If…you don't mind me asking…w-who exactly are you? You're not a shinobi of Konoha, as you don't have a headband or our emblem anywhere on you?" She asked him, turning her attention back to him.

Raphael blinked in surprise at the question. "I'm Raphael Cortez, and as for what I do here…it's a bit complicated," he said.

"Are you the leader of some type of special group? Or perhaps Hokage-sama's personal assassin?" She asked, causing Raphael to tense.

"I'm not the latter," he said quietly. "Why do you say that?"

"Considering I first saw you rapidly killing two people in the middle of a smoke bomb, it's safe to assume you're skilled in taking people's lives," she said quietly. "Since you did so under the orders of Hokage-sama, I can't help but draw that conclusion. As for leading a group…you and Anko-san here are wearing similar emblems and equipment. As was that blonde haired woman you were with earlier."

Anko tutted softly, crossing her arms. "Curiosity can be dangerous," she said. "You sure you want to head down this path?"

Kiseki glanced at Anko, before shrugging quietly. "I don't know," she said. "…I guess…I guess I'm trying to do what you suggested. I'm just curious is all," she said quietly.

Anko mentally sighed, as she glanced at Raphael. Raphael looked at her, before letting out a sigh. "What I…or rather we do…is not something we can divulge freely," he said to her. "However…you already know more about us than anyone else we've interacted with, outside of Hokage-sama" he said. "You've seen what I do at least firsthand. That is information I do not like the idea of it getting out."

Kiseki quickly shook her head. "I-I would not speak about this to anyone. I swear."

Raphael smiled. "I have faith that you wouldn't. But…I feel that the best way to ensure that…is to offer you a choice."

Kiseki blinked as Raphael continued. "Your life has been thrown into chaos currently. You are confused, and unsure of where to turn to or what to do. Which is why…I'd like to offer you the chance to join our group."

"W-what? Why? Y-You don't know me," she said in surprise.

"True, I don't know you personally. But I do know you're in pain, and need help," he said. "I'm not asking you to decide this instant. Rather, I'd like to give you a chance to understand who and what we are. If you are interested, then please wait in the market square tomorrow at ten. Either I or Anko will be there to escort you to a safe location, where we can talk more. If you're not interested, we at least would still like to offer you our friendship and support in dealing with your problems. If you wish it," he said.

Kiseki looked at the pair of them. "I…I'll think on it," she said softly.

"Alright then," Raphael said, with a smile. "Sadly, we should be on our way. We've got something important to do this evening. Until tomorrow then, or whenever we next meet." He gave her a bow, before turning and heading off with Anko following.

Kiseki watched them go, biting her lip in thought, wondering what she should do. Slowly, she picked up her dual tanto and slipped them back into her sheathes, before heading off for her meeting with the Hokage.

That Night

Naruto, Hinata, and Anko stood in the ceremonial hall, Anko standing on the left side of the hall, with Hinata and Naruto on the right. Standing on the dais were Raphael and Yugito, who was wincing as Raphael used the ring tongs to burn the mark around her left ring finger.

Yugito's Assassin outfit consisted of a short sleeved robe that zipped up the front, and was dark purple in color. She had a black sash around her waist, over which went her supply belt with the assassin emblem as the belt buckle. The robe separated at the waist in front, trailing down along her legs to a little below her knees, and was separated into two coat tails in the back. Underneath her robe she wore a black long sleeved shirt and pants, with the fingerless gloves on her hands and black calf length boots with open toes on her feet. Completing the outfit was the hidden blade bracer on her left arm, as well as a reinforced leather pauldron on her left shoulder and her two katar's in their sheathes on her belt.

As Raphael released her finger, Yugito glanced down at the burn mark now circling the finger. She had convinced Matabi, the Nibi biju sealed inside her, not to heal the scar, as she wanted to keep it.

Raphael slowly set the tongs down, turning to the three standing before them. "We work in darkness, to serve the light. We are Assassins," he said.

The trio bowed slightly, placing their right hands over their hearts, as Raphael pointed to the ladder leading up to the roof. As Yugito began to climb it, Hinata couldn't help but feel nervous. What if she couldn't measure up? What if she failed and they cast her out? She glanced over at Naruto, who saw her glancing at him and smiled encouragingly at her. That smile strengthened Hinata's resolve. No, she wouldn't doubt herself. They believed in her, and so she would believe in herself. Silently, Hinata vowed that she'd prove their faith in her, and become an Assassin they would be proud of.

Well, finally got this chapter done. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work how I wanted to.

My intent was for Mukei and Kiseki to join the Assassin's ranks this chapter. And yet…as I worked out their parts, and wrote them…it just wasn't right. I couldn't see them realistically joining just like that. Mukei evolved in a way that I think he needs time to deal with his demons before he can consider joining. And Kiseki…after what she's been through, I realized my original plans for her joining just couldn't work. So instead, I had to go with what you all got here.

And what does this mean exactly for my fanfic? Not a whole lot, just means I might have to add in an extra chapter. We'll see what happens.

For now, I hope you all enjoy this, and if you're Beast Wars fans, I hope you'll check out the fanfic I plan to post next.

Thanks again to Bill Alain and Kyuubi123 for your work betaing this fanfic.

Until next time my faithful readers.

1. Her canon appearance, but minus the Kiri headband and weird cloth protrusions sticking up.