Captain's Quarters aboard the Normandy, Widow Nebula, Citadel Space, Year 2185

"Goddammit," Wade Shepard grumbled in displeasure as he cleaned the drink he accidently spilled on his off duty Cerberus uniform while he was searching the Net for Fox's background in his personal quarters. He felt wrong not being in his normal N7 skivvies, but the strawberry blonde had more troubling matters on his mind to worry about. Most of the matters revolved around his old Turian friend, Garrus, and the most recent addition to the crew, Naruto. Garrus had read the letter that was delivered to him via the blonde merc, but still didn't trust the spikey haired blonde, which led several other crew members to distrust Naruto as well. Namely Jacob and Miranda, the former being distrusting of Mercs in general while the latter was upset that the Illusive Man wouldn't cough up any information on the blonde.

In fact, the only three that seemed to stand up for the blonde were Mordin, Grunt, and Jack. If that wasn't surprising enough, Joker, the semi-crippled pilot of the Normandy, had talked to the blonde about upgrades, and came back with several top-notch internal security drones if the Normandy was ever boarded. Which Naruto assured would be unlikely.

"Commander Shepard," EDI's voice rang in his speakers. The reactivated Spectre (Special Operatives and Recon) Agent sighed before swiveling around in his chair to face the AI.

"What's up EDI?" Shepard asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You have an incoming message from the Human Council Ambassador, David Anderson," Shepard's eyebrow shot up upon hearing this and he nodded.

"Patch him through," Shepard said with a small smile. The small computer screen at Shepard's desk flickered for a moment before the face of an elderly dark skinned human appeared. Shepard gave the man a salute of respect.

"Ambassador Anderson," the commander greeted with a formal salute to his old commander, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Heh-heh, at ease, Shepard," Anderson replied with a smile, "I forgot to ask about the newest addition to your crew...You said Cerberus wasn't aware of his acceptance?"

"They are now, sir," Shepard replied with a shake of his head, "Naruto the Fox, I believe his name was."

"Naruto? Blonde, spikey hair, strange abilities to be in more than one place at a time?" Anderson asked before cupping his chin, "I...didn't know..."

"Sir? Did you know Naruto?" Shepard asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes...in fact, you both share a friend in Lieutenant Alenko..." Anderson said before shaking his head, "But they had a falling out...I wondered what happened to him. Where is he now?"

"Dr. Chakwas is giving him a once over," Shepard replied, earning a chuckle from the Ambassador. Confused, he then asked, "Something I said funny?"

"Oh...I highly doubt Chakwas is giving Naruto a medical check over," Anderson said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.


"To Shepard!" Naruto hiccupped out as he drank some more brandy, "May he lead us all to either victory, or a horrible, gruesome death!"

"Naruto, you simply must learn to watch what you say about the Commander," Chakwas scolded her longtime friend, "Now, tell me more about this Asari girl you met on Illium."

"Morgan..." Naruto sighed out with a smile before frowning, "Or was it Megan? Mallory? Ah, fuck it, she had an M name...Anyway, there I was, talking to my client about taking out some scum that worked for the Shadow Broker, and some beautiful Asari suddenly walks up to me and tries to charm me. Well, that doesn't work, as you know, because I'm..."

"Special, yes, I know," Chakwas chuckled out, "In more ways than one if I remember correctly."

"One time! One time I thought that the sink was a toilet!" Naruto shouted with narrowed eyes, making the doctor laugh, "Humph...Well, anyway, I turn to her and says, "Babe, I don't know what the fuck you're doing, but wait fifteen minutes and I'll come screw your mind" or something like that...She tells me she'll be at the bar and winks before sauntering over to a twenty year old Salarian visiting to try and sell his collection of old albums or something. I talks to my client, get paid front up and go through mental checklists to kill the target, right? I go to the Asari that came up to me before and she tries to charm me again, but still nothing. She seemed to get really pissed about that for some reason, but I brushed it off."

"Skip to the good part already," Chakwas said with irritation and a bit of drunken boredom lingering in her voice.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there, geez," he muttered before taking another swig of brandy, "So then she tells me to meet her at her apartment that night, which I do, but when I get there, she's fuckin duking it out with a damn Justicar!"

"No!" Chakwas said with wide eyes, "Holding her own?"

"Barely," Naruto scoffed, "Had I not tackled the Justicar, this is before I knew she was one mind you, she'd have been dead. So long story short, I tackled the Justicar, grabbed the Asari's arm, and got her out of there before the Justicar knew what hit her. Long story short: Best Asari sex in my life. This chick knew some things that I wasn't aware Asari could do!"

"My god!" Chakwas said with wide eyes before laughing, "That reminds me of my first experience with an Asari...ah, to be young."

"What're you talkin' about, Doc?" Naruto asked with wide eyes as he poured himself another glass, "You can't be older than thirty-five, forty tops."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere Naruto. It definitely won't get you a bottle of my prized Sake collection," Dr. Chakwas said with a smug smile. Naruto pouted.

"Aww...Please? One cup?" the blonde pleaded. Chakwas laughed as he continued to beg and plead for a bottle of sake while she poured herself some more brandy.


"Miranda," Jacob said as he entered her office, "We need to talk."

"If this is about getting answers from Naruto, don't bother Jacob," Miranda sighed as she went through Cerberus reports, "I've already tried hacking his personal computer-"

"He managed to keep you from hacking his computer?" Jacob asked with wide eyes. Miranda sent a glare the man's way.

"Don't insult me, Jacob," the raven haired woman said, "Of course I hacked it. The damn fool doesn't have anything there! He still writes reports! Hand written reports!"

"Whoa...talk about old school," Jacob muttered as he rubbed his chin, "So...What do we know about him?"

"Not much," the Cerberus second in command sighed out in dismay, "Unlike most of our crew, he's a ghost. Unless someone manages to break his shell and get him to talk, I don't think...Oh don't you dare think about it!"

"Sorry, sorry," Jacob replied, holding a hand up, "Maybe Shepard can get through to him..."

"Have you talked to Garrus about him?" Miranda asked. Before Jacob could reply, a small humming sound reached the ears of both Cerberus members and pressure along with heat was suddenly felt against their necks.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" two voices echoed in the room. The door hissed and Shepard sighed before crossing his arms.

"Thank you EDI," he said when a voice echoed back, "Of course, Commander."

"Now..." Shepard started, "What's going on here?"

"They're invading my privacy," the two Naruto clones said neutrally, "They have no right."

"If we're going to work together, we might as well get to know one another," Miranda calmly stated, while inwardly she was unnerved that the blonde could sneak into her room without her noticing it.

"Hm...true, but you already don't trust me because of prejudice and paranoia, my two least favorite things in the world," the Naruto holding Jacob in place grumbled, the Naruto threatening Miranda continued, "So, as you can see, sneaking around behind my back won't get you in my head any sooner than a bullet to the balls would."

"No," a voice in the hall said, and everyone turned to see a smirking Katsumi holding an envelope in her hand, "But these will. I wonder what's so important that you can't copy it to digital data, shall we find out?"

"Where did you get that?" the Naruto holding Miranda asked as the one holding Jacob vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Your room, small hidden safe," Katsumi said in an almost bored tone, "Really should think about changing your locks. Ramen? Really? You make it too easy, Naruto-kun."

"Alright, that's enough!" Shepard shouted, stepping in as Naruto's eyes turned cold and the blade against Miranda's neck sunk in, causing the genetically and biotic enhanced woman to gasp. Shepard looked at Naruto and narrowed his eyes, "Let her go. Now."

"Get that envelope for me and I will," the blonde growled, his eyes flashing red. Shepard nodded and looked at Katsumi, who slowly handed it over while secretly slipping a folded piece of paper into her sleeve. The Commander looked back at the blonde and said, "There. Now let her go."

"Yes sir," Naruto replied, releasing his hold on the woman and flickering to the commander's side with his hand held out, "If you don't mind..."

"Maybe I should hold onto them," Shepard mumbled, his unsure eyes giving the effect of the threat he was starting to speak, "For safe keeping."

"The Universe would be a hero less if you do," Naruto snarled before snatching the envelope from the commander's hand. He sent a meaningful glare to the two Cerberus biotics before turning and walking away, brushing past a unnerved Shepard. Katsumi stepped out of his way, both locked eyes for a millisecond, before she went off to her quarters on the observation deck.

As soon as she was in the elevator, she reached into her sleeve and pulled the folded note she had stolen out. Before she could read it, a small thump and a pain throughout her body alerted her to not being alone anymore. Katsumi gasped as she looked up to see Naruto looking down at her with hardened yellow eyes, his hands pinning her wrists above her head. To an outsider, it was a very promiscuous position they were in, with the blonde pushing his body against her own, their curves aligning almost perfectly.

"I thought you didn't steal from friends, Kat-chan?" he asked with a husky whisper. Katsumi felt a shiver go down her spine before recalling someone who she promised to love forever.

"You were my friend, Naruto-kun," Katsumi whispered back coyly, "But you didn't help him when he asked for it."

"I was busy, Kat-chan," Naruto growled, "He knew the risks. He went after it anyway, though. For you. Don't try this again, Kat-chan. I won't be as forgiving as I am now."

"And how are you-mph!" Katsumi's eyes widened as she felt his lips press against hers. Before it even registered in her mind just what was happening, his lips pulled back and he kissed her cheek before moving his mouth to her ear.

"He asked me to give you that when I could," Naruto whispered, "I've fulfilled my promise to him, but broken the one I made to you. I'm sorry, Kat-chan. I truly am."

Before Katsumi could reply, he vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving her alone in the elevator. Frustrated, sad, and confused, Katsumi slid down against the elevator's wall and hugged her legs to her chest. With tears rolling down her cheeks, the thief thought, I know Naruto-kun...but how can I forgive you after Omega? How can I forgive myself?


Naruto sighed as he placed the envelope back in his safe and changed the passcode. He sighed and went to his bed, falling onto his back as he thought about his day so far.

Kat-chan won't forgive me until she forgives herself, Naruto thought as he closed his eyes, And the longer it takes for her to forgive herself, the safer she'll be from the Reapers. Those Cerberus clowns are getting antsy, and Archangel, erm, Garrus needs assurance that Connor and Cherry are alive. Grunt, Jack, and Dr. Mordin seem ok with me, thankfully. It seems only Shepard is the one I don't have any information on. Well, aside from the basic hero speech of course.

Before he could fall into his thoughts once again, Shepard's voice echoed through his room, "Naruto, I need you for a mission. Double time!"


"This will get the job done," Mordin said as he handed the blonde clad in his mission attire (orange shirt with black swirl under black leather jacket with cargo pants and combat boots as well as an oxygen mask in his back pouch) a Hand-cannon pistol, "Large rounds, adaptable for any situation. Aim and pull the trigger. Should help more in a bad situation...probably."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbled as he took the cannon before giving it back, "No, too slow. I need something that I don't need precision to take someone down."

Grunt grunted and asked, "What? You a hit and run warrior? Cowardly..."

"No, I double tap," Naruto shot back with a grin before nudging the Krogan in the side, "Besides, if they ain't down, you get to take the kill."

Grunt chuckled and gave a small smile to the blonde before turning and grabbing something from the table. He tossed it to the blonde, who caught it and was shocked to see a Shuriken SMG. He checked the sights and aligned them to his liking before giving the Krogan and Salarian a smile back as he decided to take the pistol Mordin offered him.

"Thanks Doc, Grunt," he said with a nod as he holstered both weapons. He went past them to Shepard's side on the dropship, his eyes going wide as Miranda joined Shepard's left side, their eyes meeting with a glare.

"Let's go," Shepard ordered. As they sat, Naruto caught a glimpse of Katsumi watching from behind a corner and gave her a grin and thumbs up before climbing in the drop-ship. He sat across from Shepard and Miranda.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"The Illusive Man gave us heads up on a human colony in the Terminus Systems under attack by the Collectors," Miranda said, "The colony Horizon is currently under attack."

"You mean those Collector things are real?" Naruto asked with wide eyes, "Damn...Here I thought they were just monsters in the closet..."

"They're real all right," Shepard said with a light hint of aggravation in his voice, "But I think they're fighting for the Reapers."

"Which don't exist," Naruto snickered out, "Man, the Alliance sure doesn't like to check things out if they don't have to."

"Which is why we're going in," Shepard said with determination, "Stop goofing off, I need you at your best."

"You couldn't handle me at my best," Naruto smugly replied as he turned to lounge in his seat, "Wake me when we make it to Horizon. I gotta get some shut eye."


An hour later, Miranda kicked the blonde in the side as she started to leave the drop-ship, "Wake up!"

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, "Did we make it?"

"Yeah, but unfortunately we're going to meet the welcoming committee," Shepard said as he pulled his Victory Rifle out and primed it, "Miranda, flank left, Naruto take the right!"

"Right/Gotcha boss!" the two replied as they pulled their SMGs out and took cover behind some wall ruins. Three humanoid insect-like aliens landed a few meters from them and pulled their own variations of weapons out, firing blasts at Shepard. Naruto popped his head over and saw a Collector start to glow.

"Shepard...Join us...or die," The collector said.

"That is so wrong on every level!" Naruto shouted as he fought the shivers away before unloading scattered blasts that had little effect on the glowing being, "Hey, Shepard! This guy's got a beef with you!"

Shepard turned his attention away from the Collector Assassin he took out with a few scattered bursts and began firing at the glowing Collector.

"What the hell is that thing?" Miranda asked over the gunfire, "It has to have a Biotic Barrier or something!"

"We are Harbinger..." the glowing Collector said with monotone as it shot a round at the blonde shooting at him.

"Well, that answers that question..." Naruto grimly muttered as his SMG jammed and he fell behind cover. He tossed the gun away and dug around in his pockets for something while Shepard took action.

"Hit it with a warp blast!" Shepard ordered before switching to his shotgun, "Naruto, use your pistol to-"

"How about I just do this?" Naruto shouted back as he tied a tag around a sharp kunai he pulled from his right leg pouch. The tag had black ink on it and he grinned before tossing it directly at the Harbinger's revealed leg. The blade sunk deep into the wound and Naruto held two fingers up. Miranda and Shepard blinked at his actions, but couldn't stop to ask him about it.

"Kai!" he exclaimed before a large explosion evaporated where the Harbinger once was. Naruto smirked and stood, looking at his jammed SMG with a scowl.

"This is why I hate these things," he muttered before shaking his head. He walked to the nearest deceased Collector and activated his custom Omni-tool. Instead of the usual orange-yellow color most Omni-tools were, Naruto's was a light blue, and a small frog appeared on his wrist.

"Ohayo!" the frog greeted, "What can I do for you Naruto-sama?"

"Scan and report," Naruto instructed his VI Kichi, designed after the summoning toad he befriended millennia ago. The frog turned its attention to the carcass before wincing.

"Dead..." VI-Kichi said, "Collector, drone warrior. Not enough data to report. Gomen."

"It's all right," Naruto replied, giving the VI a smile, "Thanks anyway, Kichi."

"Bye!" the VI said before the Omni-tool turned off. No sooner had he turned his off did Miranda activate hers.

"I'll send the data back to the Normandy for investigation," she said before looking at Shepard, "We should hurry up, God knows how many lives are already lost to these...monsters..."

"Ma, so negative," Naruto waved off as he reached behind him and pulled a modified pair of brass knuckles set out before channeling some Wind Chakra through it. He grinned and spun the newly formed blades around in his hand several times before looking at an awed pair. He chuckled.

"Chakra blades," he said with a smirk, "One of a kind. I'll scout ahead. Tell ya what I find."

"Right, keep yourself safe," Shepard said as he picked a Collector's Particle Cannon up and tested the grip, "And don't do anything stupid."

"Too late to say that," Miranda muttered. Naruto turned around and quietly mocked her before leaping to the rooftops and beginning his scouting endeavor.


Tch, these guys are too organized, it makes it so simple to find the snipers, Naruto thought as he sliced the neck of a Collector Assassin with his blades, No imagination, just pure tactical bests...like they're a single mind...Oh god, it's like fighting Pein all over again, but ten times as worse!

No sooner did he think that did a beam of energy whizz by his ear. Naruto scowled and pulled his Hand Cannon out and unloaded a single round into the head of the opposing Collector Drone, attracting the attention of the Drone's teammates that were pulling a pod towards the west of the compound. He quickly leapt down and took them out with a combination of his old Hi no Ken taijutsu and his chakra blades.

"Damned bugs," he grunted before inspecting a nearby pod with a human female in it. She had blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, which made Naruto do a double check, before he sliced the pod open with his blade. Sure enough, the juices keeping the girl paralyzed spilled out and she sat up with a gasp. Naruto assisted her in getting out of the pod while simultaneously speaking into his mic, "Shepard! Ten clicks ahead, found a recovery team and took out four snipers already. I have a survivor, repeat, I have a survivor!"

"zzt...Ruto! Say-...zzt..." was the disrupted reply he received. Naruto scowled and looked at the deceased group of Collectors before looking at the girl. She was coughing as she knelt on the ground.

"You ok?" he asked with an arched brow of slight concern. The girl nodded before looking up and seeing his necklace, the sapphire eyes gleaming almost ominously. Her eyes widened with fear and she looked at his face.

"...F-Fox..." she gasped out, "Y-You...what are you...why are you...?"

"Relax, lady, I'm here to help," Naruto said as he knelt and used some Medi-Gel on her bruised arm, "I'm not on a job. Well, I am, but I'm not killing anything aside from those motherfuckers."

"D-did the Lieutenant call you in?" she struggled to ask before coughing harshly. Naruto lightly patted her back and helped her get the residue paralyzing agent out.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask my superior," the blonde man replied before looking at her, pushing the memory of a loudmouthed, stubborn, and flirty blonde he knew long ago to the back of his mind and asking, "What's your name?"

"Ino," she replied, making Naruto's eyes go wide, "Ino Shimura."

"Ok Ino," he said with a nod, still pushing the memories and pains away, "I'm going to ask you what happened, I need every detail you can remember."

"I was eating lunch with my friends when suddenly this swarm of bugs just flew in and attacked everyone!" Ino said, throwing her arms out, "People tried to run when we suddenly froze. Then those...things showed up. They took my friends and put them in those pods, and then they grabbed me and put me in the pod, and then...Oh god, where are my friends? Where's my mom and dad? Did you find them, too? What are they...WHAT ARE THEY?"

"Whoa, easy, easy," Naruto chided, placing his hands on the frantic teen's shoulders and looking her in the eyes, "Settle down. They're Collectors. Yes, Collectors. I'm sorry Ino but you're in the last pod in the area...I don't know if they got your parents or friends, but I'll find out and get them back if they do. I promise."

"O-Ok..." Ino said unsurely when an explosion suddenly rocked the air and they turned to see a beat up looking ship combined with a hive start to lift off. Naruto grinned when he heard his radio come to life.

"-uto? Naruto! Do you copy?" Shepard's voice asked. Naruto looked back at the girl with a grin and replied with, "Yes sir, Commander. What's your position, I'll come to you."

"We're at the communications/AA Gun area," Shepard replied. Naruto furrowed his brows before looking at the blonde girl.

"I know where that is! The Lieutenant came to make sure our AAs work after several colonies went missing," Ino shouted.

"Who was that?" Miranda asked over the comm. Naruto chuckled.

"My guide, Babe. I'll be there in a flash, Commander," he replied before turning around and crouching, "Get on my back and tell me where to go."

"Why do I need to get on your back?" Ino asked with a slight blush.

"It's either a piggyback ride or I carry you over my shoulder," the whiskered blonde replied with a smirk. Ino blushed even further and wrapped her arms around his neck as he hooked his under her legs. She practically glowed red when he said, "Hm, nice and firm. Not bad, Ms. Shimura."


"Where is he?" Miranda asked as she examined the Scion carcass that was near the comms array, "I thought he was only scouting the area, not on a vacation."

"I was doing no such thing!" Naruto countered as he landed from the roof with an awed and shaken blonde girl riding on his back, "As a matter of fact, I was saving a survivor and killing some Collectors!"

"You couldn't call to check in?" Shepard countered. Naruto gave him a look.

"You're the one that didn't check with EDI about communications being down," he countered as he let Ino drop to her feet before she collapsed to her knees, "Some leader...can't even keep an eye on one of his own teammates, just letting me run off like that."

"You offered to go!" Shepard shot back with confusion and irritation, "I tried to call you back, and then I tried to get some back up. Next time, stick with me!"

"Yeah, whatever Mom," Naruto scoffed out before he turned and offered Ino a hand to her feet, "Ino Shimura, meet the infamous Commander Wade Shepard. My boss."

"Z-O-M-G!" Ino squealed as she clasped her hands in front of her face, "You're, like, the Hero of the Citadel! I've heard almost every story Lt. Alenko had to tell about you! Were you really the first human Spectre Agent? Did Lt. Alenko save you from the Geth?"

"Whoa, back up now," Naruto said, holding his hands up before looking at Shepard, "You worked with Alenko? Kaidan Alenko?"

"Yes," A voice from behind Shepard said as a black haired man walked out from behind a grate with a sniper in hand, "And he's still just as much of a magnet for danger as when we first met."

"Kaidan/Alenko." Shepard and Naruto simultaneously greeted, the former with a smile while the latter's surprise dropped into a scowl.

"I just wish the rumors about you allied with Cerberus were just rumors," Kaidan said with a frown, "I thought we don't work for the bad guys, Shepard."

"Cerberus isn't my boss, Kaidan," Shepard replied with a small amount of sorrow as his smile also dropped into a frown, "They are doing something about the Collectors that the Alliance isn't, which is why I'm with them."

"They're terrorists!" Kaidan shot back, his eyes narrowing, "You remember what they did to those people!"

"Yes, and I don't like it," Shepard said, "But the Past is the Past."

"You're just going to let it go? After what they've done?" Kaidan asked with wide eyes before shaking his head, "I guess you are an easy forgiver."

"Too bad I'm not, Alenko," Naruto growled, interrupting Shepard before he could speak, "You owe me for that shot in the Hades nebula five years ago."

"You were trying to kill a Representative of one of Earth's colonies visiting the Citadel!" Kaidan said before grabbing his leg, which now had a chakra blade in it courtesy of the irritated blonde.

"Save it for the record books, Alenko!" the blonde snarled, "Your little 'heroic' act might have saved one life, but it cost the lives of several innocents, do you remember? That Biotic's rampage at that store? All over ONE FUCKING CREDIT? And I fucking warned you, too!"

"You mean the 'Reave Biotic' Nathaniel Jonas?" Miranda questioned with an arched brow.

"I told you I didn't know he was going to do that, Naruto-" Kaidan tried to explain himself but Naruto cut him off, "You did know, Alenko. Save your apologies for Karl Hiptan, Salarian, age 33; Shiva C'torr-Hiptan, Asari, age 321; and their son, Marque Hiptan, Salarian, age five."

Kaidan's head fell and Naruto continued, "Serena Marc, 45, human. Cite Dan, Borlan, 121. Neemor vas Fortuna, 16, Quarian. Dur'rick, 235, Krogan-"

"That's enough, Naruto!" Shepard barked, the two exchanging a glare before the blonde snorted and walked away. Shepard looked from the vacating blonde to the L2 Biotic and said, "Kaidan, that wasn't your fault-"

"It was my fault Shepard," Kaidan sighed out, "That was the day before he left the alliance. The day after he did, Nathaniel was found dead at the scene of the crime, his body dismembered like a beast, or a feral Krogan, got him."

"He was in the Alliance?" Shepard asked while Miranda began typing in several codes to her Omni-tool to gain access to the Alliance Network's Database. Kaidan nodded before looking at Shepard.

"Look, Wade," he said, "We've been through a lot. We're friends, even if you're with Cerberus...But Naruto and I...Never mind, he's always been kind of private about his life. I gotta go report this. You're sure that Cerberus had nothing to do with this?"

"Would I be with them if they did?" Shepard countered making Kaidan smile.

"That's true," the Biotic said with a nod, "Well, I'll write what I can. It was...nice to see you again, Commander."

"You too, Kaidan," the strawberry blonde replied as his friend walked away with the young Ino Shimura in tow, "You too."


"Shepard, I didn't know that Kaidan Alenko and The Fox had a previous relationship," the Illusive Man later said, "I wasn't even aware that The Fox was in the Alliance! Now, what about that Collector information?"

"I'll keep you posted," 'Shepard' said before he turned the receiver off. As soon as the lights returned, 'Shepard' looked at EDI and nodded.

"Returning security protocols to on," EDI replied as 'Shepard' burst into smoke and revealed a smirking Naruto in his place, "I don't think the Commander will approve of your impersonation, Naruto."

"It doesn't matter what he thinks, EDI," Naruto said with a smirk, "Because I'm sure he enjoys talking to the Illusive Man just as much as Joker likes to share his ship with you."

"Mr. Monroe fails to realize that we make an adapt team," EDI said, "And your response is rather logical. Commander Shepard often seems tense after speaking to the Illusive Man."

"It's cuz the guy freaks him out," Naruto said as he walked to the elevator, "More like the eyes do. What are they anyway? Cyber-implants?"

"Classified." EDI replied robotically before speaking somberly, "It seems that data has been locked from my 'consciousness'."

"Meh, you'll get through those firewalls sooner or later," the blonde said as he pressed the button for his deck, "Room Security Footage?"

"No Security Footage recorded," EDI informed him, "There are also no traces of any tampering with your additional cameras or your personal console. Mr. Monroe and I have been sure to monitor them occasionally and Grunt has them deactivated whenever he does his rounds, we have the Secondary Footage showing him doing so."

"Thanks EDI," Naruto said with a nod as he walked to his room, "Ya know, play your cards right and I might just leak more of your personality into VI-Kichi."

"As Dr. Chakwas has said to you, 'Flattery will get you nowhere,'" EDI replied, using a voice clip she recorded of the day before. Naruto nodded thankfully before sitting on his bed and pulling a vial of the fluids from Ino Shimura's pod out. He contemplating giving this and his recorded information to Mordin, but he had a feeling VI-Kichi had already uploaded the data to the Salarian geneticist.

"Yo, Naruto! Mordin wants to talk to you," Joker's voice rang out through the decks followed by EDI's computerized voice, "Commander, Jacob would like a word with you in the armory."

"Thanks Joker!" Naruto called back, leaving to the Salarian doctor's lab no sooner after his name was called.


Chapter 2 is complete. Sorry about the wait. READ AND REVIEW.