AN* Hello to all of you once again. this took a little longer then I thought it would but there was a lot to double check and go over. Now please enjoy and leave a review at the end, I am curious as to what you all think about this story.
The Guild
It was early evening when Zero heard the knock on the door and found Hinata standing there with a pack on her shoulders.
"I was informed that I would be joining you on your trip to The Guild to negotiate a treaty." Hinata remarked as Zero grabbed his own back that had been sitting by the door.
"That's right. There was another reason that I didn't tell the Hokage, which is because you have seen my face." Zero replied as he stepped out of the house and locked the door behind him.
"So you can take the cowl off and not have to worry about someone else telling the Hokage." Hinata summarized.
"Exactly. If we leave now we can be about halfway there by full dark." Zero noted. Hinata nodded her agreement with the plan as they made their way out of the village and south towards the waiting mercenaries. By the time they finally stopped it was too dark for Zero to keep going forward and he knew that trying to do so would be reckless.
"We can stop here." he said as he set his pack down.
"I can keep going." Hinata noted.
"I can't. I don't have eyes that let me see in the dark." Zero countered with a laugh as he sat on the ground, his back to one of the trees. Hinata only sighed as she shook her head at his remark and gathered some wood for the fire. Once they had the warmth of the small fire and had eaten some of their rations Hinata started to ask Zero about Shepard and his companions.
"So why wasn't your master with Shepard?"
"Either he was out on a job, or the message reached Shepard while he was out on one with the girls." Zero replied "Shepard has one of the largest groups in The Guild and thus the odds of my master being with him were slim."
"How many are members?"
"Nine of them, though there are quite a few that have moved on to do other things that Shepard keeps in contact with in case he needs the support."
"Have you met them all?"
"No, but I have met most of them." Zero replied as he went into his pack and pulled out a small sealing scroll, where he soon was unsealing a photo that he handed over to Hinata "This is one of the only photos that we had taken, when Shepard decided that he wanted us all to have something to remember us all by that wouldn't require an insane amount of mementos."
Hinata looked at the photo and took in all of the different faces of the people in it as Zero began explaining who each one was with a finger pointing to them in turn "You've already met Tali, Liara and Shepard but I can show you the rest and tell you who's with The Guild and who isn't. The big hulking brute in the back with the arms as thick as trees and the shaved head is Urdnot Wrex. He used to be a member but retired to go and rule over his clan. His replacement is called Urdnot Grunt, and while he isn't as big as Wrex he is just as strong and a bit faster. The tall woman standing next to Wrex is Samara. She's a Justicar, a fancy name for someone that is given free reign to track down criminals and kill them if they resist. She isn't part of The Guild but has a working relationship with Shepard and has a great deal of respect for him given his morals. The one on the other side of Wrex, with the silver hair and purple eyes is Garrus Vakarain. He's one of the few that can say that he's been with Shepard the longest. He's a master sniper and has the moniker Archangel, given the fact that he has a habit of tracking down crime syndicates and putting bullets in them. The woman standing next to him, with the shaved head, tattoos and giving the middle finger to the camera is Jack. She's a powerful bitch and has a temper to match, but if you get close enough to her you can tell that she is still a bitch and won't hesitate to rip you in half."
"You're joking." Hinata said in horror.
"Kind of." Zero admitted "She's powerful in the sense that she doesn't have any morals and won't hesitate to do what she wants when she wants. But if you can befriend her she will fight to the death to help you. Shepard was the first person to treat her like an actual person since she was really little, and hence why she stuck around with him and joined The Guild."
Hinata nodded at this and made a mental note to not piss this woman off.
"Anyways the last person in the back standing next to Samara is known as Legion. He's where I got the cloak thing just so you know. Only Shepard has seen him without it. He's a good shot with that sniper rifle of his and knows what he's doing in a fight but he generally stays out of things. He represents a group of people called the Geth. Not much known about them except that Tali's people despise them for driving them from their homeland centuries ago."
"Why did they do that?" Hinata asked.
"Not sure and I haven't asked. There are always stories like this and I doubt that I will ever learn all of them or begin setting them right. Tali and Legion do get along to a degree though." Zero remarked.
"Then there might be hope to bring peace between them." Hinata said.
"There's always hope." Zero nodded "Now onto the front row. You can see Shepard there in the middle, with Liara on his right. On his left is Miranda Lawson. Smart, powerful, and a stuck up bitch sometimes. She was part of an organization called Cerberus for awhile, but left to keep working with Shepard once she realized how much they went against her views on the world."
"Why were they called Cerberus?"
"No clue to be honest. Though there are myths about a giant three headed dog guarding the afterlife in some religions, hence the dog heads on the barrels of my gun." Zero explained nodding towards Cerberus "Continuing on, next to Liara is me."
"You're so young." Hinata gushed.
"This was taken not long after I joined them, so I was about 13 at the time." Zero nodded "And next to me is my master Thane Krios."
"He's not what I expected." Hinata admitted as she looked at the man.
"And that's why he's the best damn assassin in the world." Zero chuckled "He was originally on the Council of Ten but stepped down so Shepard could take over. He could get the job back at any time he wanted but he knows that each member brings something unique to the table that is needed to lead The Guild so that's why he remains at Tier 3 Rank 1."
"Tiers? Ranks?" Hinata frowned.
"The ranking system of The Guild is done in Tiers and then Ranks. Tier 1 is The First, he is the official leader of The Guild and is in charge of everything that goes on. Though most of the time he doesn't get involved unless he thinks it's important. Below him is Tier 2, and there are ten of them. They run the day to day operations and have access to most of The Guild's resources. There is very little that happens that they don't know about. After that is Tier 3 with 100 members, Tier 4 with 1000 members, Tier 5 with 10,000 members, Tier 6 with 100,000 members and Tier 7 with 1,000,000 members." Zero explained "I'm at Tier 4 Rank 2."
"So The Guild has over a million members in it?" Hinata asked in shock.
"More then that technically. There are a lot of smaller splinter groups that manage themselves but keep a member in The Guild to keep things friendly. If the entirety of The Guild were to go to war we would have an army numbering somewhere in the hundred millions." Zero elaborated as Hinata's jaw slackened slightly at the sheer size of the number "Anyways before we get even more sidetracked let me finish showing you everyone that way you can at least recognize them when you see them. The man with the dark skin next to Miranda is Jacob Taylor. Good guy, and a former Cerberus operative as well, though he left before Miranda did. Mainly due to the part that he only joined up with them to help stop a threat against some innocent civilians. Next to my master, the pale guy with the red hair shaped into those weird looking spikes is Mordin Solus. Insanely smart, I mean this guy makes a Nara look slow. Tends to ramble a bit but he is a great guy. Helped design a lot of the gear that Shepard's crew uses and helps The Guild to design weapons, armors, medicines, you name it odds are that he has some ideas on the matter."
"That's impressive.
"He is. Though again he rambles quite a bit, though he does have a very good singing voice." this got a chuckle from Hinata who couldn't really imagine such an odd looking man being a good singer "Then finally next to Jacob is Tali. That's just about everyone that works with Shepard now."
"That's quite a few people." Hinata admitted.
"There are more but Shepard had to leave them behind when he turned criminal and stole the Normandy."
"He stole his ship?!" Hinata gasped.
"Yeah..." Zero nodded "He didn't want it to come to that, but in the end he realized that his nation was going to fall due to the fact that the shadow organization had already corrupted a few key individuals that made it impossible for them to continue to fight."
"You mean..." Hinata trailed off.
"Yeah. There is a reason that I stuck with Shepard's crew for so many years. They are all technically criminals in their home nations due to the fact that they are now controlled by the shadow organization. When I first told Shepard that I hunted them he only looked at me and started to laugh before looking at my master and saying "This kid is definitely one of us." I didn't understand at the time but I later learned that all of them had lost something to the shadow organization just like I had, and they now help me however they can."
"Why don't they join you more often?" Hinata asked.
"They will when the time is right." Zero answered calmly "But for now they need to lay low, especially after the blow that they dealt to the shadow organization before I met them, before they lost their homes."
"What happened?"
"I'll let Shepard tell it. He knows all the details and cane explain it far better then I can." Zero sighed as he put the picture away, but not before taking one last look at it with a hidden smile.
The rest of the night was spent in a quiet companionable silence between them as they soon slept and awoke with the rising sun. They reached the port just after nine in the morning and found that the Normandy was already loaded up and they were just waiting for them.
"There you are Zero." Shepard remarked and then frowned when he saw Hinata "And you brought your girlfriend."
Hinata turned a shade of crimson at the remark as Zero replied "She is coming with us to work out a treaty with The Guild. Get us some more footholds here and let us start hunting down some of their rogue shinobi."
Shepard nodded and motioned for them to come aboard. Hinata was stunned at the size of the vessel and how it was possible for something made of so much metal to float. As her gaze took everything in she felt the ship start to move as they sailed away from the coast and out to open waters.
"How is it moving?" Hinata asked as Zero lowered his cowl and let his blond hair out into the light.
"The power source is below, near the bottom of the ship." He began as he then explained how it powered the entire ship including the propellers under the water that gave the ship it's forward momentum.
"Though that doesn't do it justice." Shepard chuckled as he walked over "The Normandy was the fastest ship in the Alliance Navy, able to outrun any frigate, destroyer and Dreadnought out there. Only boats fast enough to catch her are so lightly armed and armored that we can destroy them with ease."
"I heard from Zero that you had to steal the Normandy." Hinata noted.
"Had to be done." Shepard sighed "I didn't want to betray my home, but I didn't want everything that I had done to be for nothing. I had already spent two years fighting against the Shadow Organization and I wasn't going to let them win that easy."
"Two years?" Hinata repeated in shock.
"Yeah." Shepard shook his head "There's a lot to explain if you really want to understand why I had to steal the Normandy."
"Plenty of time to tell it." Zero remarked "It's going to take us a week to get to The Guild. Feel free to tell her if you want to, since I've heard it all before I'm going to go below deck."
With that Zero turned on his heel and was walking towards the door that led below the decks.
"Well since we have the time." Shepard nodded, his gaze locked on the cerulean waters "Best way to start is by explaining what my home was like. The Alliance is a group of nations that banded together to make a larger unified whole and keep control in their section of the world. The nations are Sol which is my home nation, Tuchanka where some of the most powerful warriors hail from, Thessia which is Liara's home nation and are renowned for their diplomats and their skill in Biotics, Kahje which is a nation that has a lush coastal region and a harsh desert just past that which supports two co-dependent tribes called the Hanar on the coast and the Drell in the desert, Sur'Kesh which is home to some of the most brilliant minds ever known and finally Palaven which is a more militaristic nation and generally fills the role of peacekeepers in our union.
Each of these nations are independent but also dependent on one another. And while we aren't much larger then some of our neighbors or more advanced then them we banded together to make it so we can live somewhat peacefully compared to other nations in our area. In order for this union to really work though each nation sends diplomats to an island city called the Citadel where they will discuss and make international laws for the Alliance as well as host other nations that would like to form alliances with us or broker trade. However with each nation still being sovereign to itself there would be a need for international peacekeepers, who wouldn't be bound by international borders or laws in any nation among the Alliance, as well as given diplomatic immunity so they could perform their duties as needed, no matter how bad they may appear at the time. They would only be answerable to the council of ambassadors and would thus be the perfect international police force, in theory at least.
The task force members are called Spectres and I was a member of this group for a time. Though my initiation was a trial by fire due to one of our members going rogue and trying to help the Shadow Organization take over. This was how I got the original Normandy and formed my first crew together, though of that group only Liara, Tali and Garrus remain. In the end we managed to stop him and we began preparing for the invasion that was sure to follow afterwards, but it wasn't as cut and dry as we thought it was going to be. The Shadow Organization had an entire sea faring nation under their command, one that was just slightly more advanced then we were, just enough to put us at a perfect disadvantage. They attacked the Normandy while we were out on patrol, hoping to kill me and weaken the resistance that they would face when they began the real invasion, and they almost succeeded.
I was luckily saved by a Cerberus vessel and they helped me recover. They didn't want the Shadow Organization taking over either it seemed and while I was recovering they built this Normandy and helped me gather a new crew to take down the Collectors, the sea faring nation I mentioned. Almost everyone I recruited from that group came with me to The Guild, with a few exceptions, and all of them have earned my trust a hundred times over. It was a tough campaign and in the end we committed something that was almost considered genocide. We wiped out the Collectors as they had returned to their island nation to prepare for their invasion of the Citadel. We launched our surprise attack and managed to trigger an explosion in their island's power source that wiped out all of them, and nearly killed us as we escaped.
In the end this bought us some time, and showed the Shadow Organization that they couldn't come at us with brute force. That was why they went with a completely different approach. They assassinated the original council members and then had their puppets take their place. Once they were in power they claimed that the Shadow Organization didn't exist and that it was just war mongering rumors and we could all see what was going to happen next. In the end I decided to do the only thing left, and stole the Normandy, taking my crew and those would crew the vessel with me. I left a few good people behind when I did this though, and they all promised that they would do what they could to stop the Shadow Organization but we all knew what was going to happen. In the end I joined The Guild at Thane's recommendation who was already a high ranking member at the time and from there he stepped down so I could take his place at the Council of Ten."
Hinata listened silently as Shepard explained his story, likely keeping it shortened to save time, but the expression on his face was one of sorrow and loss as he seemed to be remembering all of the good people that he had lost or had to leave behind in order to keep fighting against the Shadow Organization. This was when Hinata realized in full what kind of battle Zero had against the Shadow Organization and why he chose to work the way that he did, to avoid having that same type of look on his face one day.
"I have some questions." Hinata remarked.
"Go ahead and ask. Just don't be surprised if I ask a few of my own later." Shepard warned with a grin.
"What are biotics?"
"You could call them telekinetic abilities." Shepard explained "It's a power that many in our lands have developed and use them for combat and other things. The people of Thessia are all biotics and are some of the strongest that I have ever seen, though there are other nations that have a much lower count in biotic users then others."
"Is your own quarrel with the Shadow Organization the reason why you've helped Zero so much?"
"Partially." Shepard admitted "I mostly did it because of Thane. He saw something in him, something that he thought was important and I am inclined to agree. The prime example being that Zero is one of the youngest members of The Guild."
"I didn't know that." Hinata blinked.
"Well he joined when he was thirteen, and here we are three years later. If things in that meeting go like I think that they will he will likely be getting promoted and have access to better resources."
"Is there that much of a difference?"
"There is. Tier 3's have access to some of the more restricted files and are also allowed to be in touch with some of the more knowledgeable information brokers." Shepard nodded "It's been a slight wrinkle between him and Liara a few different times."
"Why's that?"
"Liara runs the largest and most well informed underground network. Started doing that after I almost died and finished it not long after we destroyed the Collectors. Anyway Zero has asked her a few different times for information, particular;y when he hits a dead end, but she always tells him that she isn't allowed to since he isn't ranked high enough yet." Shepard elaborated.
"I can imagine how that turned out." Hinata sighed "He's always been a stubborn one."
Shepard glanced at her with a raised eyebrow but decided to file that information away for a later discussion.
Down in the port side bar Zero was currently nursing his drink as he mulled over his course of action for what to do when he returned to the Elemental Nations.
"Little early to be drinking isn't it?" Liara asked as she walked in.
"Maybe, but it's fire in the afternoon somewhere." Zero replied as he sipped his sake "Impressed you managed to get sake on her."
"Joker thought it would be a nice change of pace and Edi didn't object." Liara said as she sat down next to him "I heard you brought someone with you."
"Yeah, Hinata Hyuga. She was at the battle."
"Why her?"
"Come on Liara, you know better then that." Zero chuckled as he looked at her "You want information you need to trade for it."
"I suppose I can simply ask her then." Liara grinned as Zero shot her a look.
"I'm not going to ask for anything crazy, just your personal opinion on a matter." Zero sighed.
"Fine, you first then I will answer your question." Liara agreed after a moment.
"Deal. I brought her at the order of the Hokage, my client. But I requested her because she has seen my face already. You know that the Village Hidden In The Leaves is my hometown, and people would recognize me if I went there without the cowl. She walked into my residence, saw me without it, and then realized that I was alive. I chose her to come along that way I minimize how many people see me from my hold home and that way minimize the risk of someone trying to force me to stay there once I'm finished."
"Though I take it she is trying." Liara mused.
"A few times but she respects my decisions each time." Zero nodded "My turn."
"Alright."
"Since you know just as much about the Shadow Organization's movements as I do I want your personal opinion on the matter. We just repelled their favorite tactic of divide and conquer, which means that they need to fall back to their secondary strategy. Problem is that they have a few of those that they have used in the past and it brings up the question of how and what they will do. The two most likely options are going to be to try and give a smaller more localized show of force against the Leave Village and thus demoralize them before the real assault, and then continue on as if their first plan had gone off without a hitch, or they are going to bring their full might to bear against the Elemental Nations and just crush them one after another, regardless of the losses." Zero explained.
Liara frowned in thought before speaking "Personally I think it's going to be the localized show of force. They have never liked to go for an all in bet before and now that they are this close to the finish line they are more likely to go with a lot of smaller bets to take them down piece by piece. However there is the chance that Kain wasn't the only one to be prepping a force against the Leaf Village."
"Maybe, but I didn't find any other leads for the Shadow Organization going to the Elemental Nations. Gato was it and he only brought Kain. So unless they have other merchants under their thumb then they would have had to be using their own ships and those would be spotted by harbors very quickly." Zero mused.
"It's a starting point." Liara agreed. Before more could be said the door opened revealing a woman standing there dressed in a silver full body suit with her hair a matching color and an orange visor over her face.
"Zero, if possible Commander Shepard would like to see you up on deck." Edi remarked.
"OK sure." Zero nodded as he got off the bar stool "Thanks for the talk Liara."
"Of course. I will come with you and see what Shepard wants." Liara remarked as she followed the young blond up to the deck where Shepard was waiting, minus his usual body armor and weapons.
"Zero, it's been awhile since we had a good spar. Let's see how you're holding up." Shepard remarked as he motioned for Zero to come and face him.
"Think you can keep up old man?" Zero laughed as he leapt the railing and removed his cloak, body armor and weapons.
"I'll manage." Shepard chuckled as they prepared to fight.
"Will they be OK?" Hinata asked as she stopped by Liara.
"They'll be fine." Liara promised "Shepard and Thane do this with him whenever he is gone for any length of time. They want to make sure that he is staying in peak condition."
"I see." Hinata nodded as Tali walked up.
"Twenty credits on Shepard." Tali stated with a chuckle when she saw the two about to fight
"I'm not taking that bet." Liara countered.
"How much is a credit compared to ryo?" Hinata asked.
"The conversion rate would come out to about 89 ryo." Tali said after a moment of thought.
"You're on." Hinata stated as she reached into one of her pockets and took out the amount of money specified. Tali only laughed as they focused on the two men who had finished stretching a bit and were now ready to spar.
Zero made the first move, moving quickly to get in a series of punches that Shepard moved back to avoid before side stepping and trying to grapple and use his larger mass against the younger man. Zero only ducked under the grab before sweeping Shepard's legs out and going for a quick punch aimed at his chest that knocked him back into a roll where he got back up with a grin on his face. Without hesitation Shepard moved forward, jabbing at the blond who deflected a few blows before his eyes widened when he saw the knee about to hit him and he knew that there was no way he could dodge it without putting him in a worse position. Tightening the muscles in his stomach he let the blow hit and then went slack around it so his head smashed into Shepard's, causing the commander to step back muttering curses as Zero moved back as well, shaking his head to clear his vision as he grinned at Shepard who returned the grin as they clashed again.
"He improved." Liara noted as she watched the two continue to exchange blows.
"Is it always this close?" Hinata asked.
"No Usually Shepard has the upper hand but I guess that my little fox got tired of always losing to Shepard." Tali chuckled "Just makes the wager more interesting."
"Until you lose." Hinata grinned. Tali only laughed at this before they saw Zero dodge a strike and land a powerful punch to Shepard's stomach that knocked him off balance and Zero wasted no time in pressing the advantage for all he was worth. Shepard only rolled with the blows, taking minimal damage before there was a glint in his eyes as he grabbed the next punch and pulled Zero into an arm lock.
"Give up?" Shepard asked.
"Bite me." Zero replied as he cringed in pain before forcing his body to drop and pull Shepard to the ground with him where he tried to break free of the arm lock but settled for using his legs to lock Shepard in place as well. The two stared at each other for a few moments before they started laughing and released their respective holds.
"You have been practicing." Shepard praised as he rubbed the forming bruise on his stomach from the last major punch Zero had landed.
"I take what you and Master say to heart." Zero replied as he massaged his sore arm "Didn't see that arm lock coming."
"That's why you didn't win." Shepard shrugged.
"So when are you going to start taking me seriously in these spars?" he asked, getting a look of shock from Hinata.
"When you finally manage to beat me like this. I'm not an N7 for nothing." He reminded the blond.
"I know. But the more I spar against you and Master the better I get."
"True as that is you need to know your limits and not push yourself too far. You are already way stronger then almost anyone you could name."
"Not in the Elemental Nations." Zero sighed "I am outclassed their since I know so little about how to use my chakra."
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked with a frown.
"I was only taught exercises that they thought would be useful to me. Henge, Substitution, wall and water walking as well. They never taught me anything more then that, always saying it wasn't needed and that I only had to be a master in these arts." Zero explained "They probably would have taught me those other things after I was reprogrammed."
Hinata frowned at this and decided to file the information away for later and see what she could do to help him.
"Well let's grab some lunch." Shepard said as he walked towards the ship, with Zero's stomach growling loud enough for the others to hear he thought that was a good idea.
The entire trip was quiet with clear weather that allowed Zero and Shepard to continue to spar on the decks when they were bored, allowing for different bets from the various crew members, particularly the helmsman Jeff "Joker" Morue. Hinata was friendly with the man who rarely left the bridge due to the fact that his legs were crippled.
"It's fine. Put me at the helm of any ship and I can make her dance. Just don't ask me to dance or you'll hear my bones snapping." He had laughed when he had showed her the controls and how he worked the Normandy.
By the afternoon of the third day they approached a rather large island that was home to The Guild. It looked like a mountain was growing out of the water with it's rocky shores that went straight into mountainous terrain. Spread out along the rocky faces of the island were caves that were large enough for ships to sail right into the inner workings of the island.
"Only ships can get here?" Hinata asked.
"Pretty much." Zero nodded "This island is easily defensible due to the fact that we can close the cave entrances at any time and we have large supplies of food and fresh water, easily enough to feed the entire Guild and all of the supporting members for more then six months."
"That's incredible."
"The Guild hasn't always been favored by various governments and we have been attacked by several different navies a few different times. What helps is the fact that we are so well armed and prepared for trouble that they often decide that we are too tough a nut to crack and give up before we really have to start righting them off." Zero explained as they approached the mouth of one of the caves "There are hundreds of docking points but right now we are heading for the private docking point for Shepard since he is a member of the Council of Ten."
"Closer to the meeting point?"
"That and it's much faster to disembark when you don't have to wait a few hours to be checked in along with the general masses." Zero added. Once they were docked and disembarking Shepard nodded for the two of them to follow him as they walked through the caves, lit by lanterns at set intervals that gave the cave system plenty of light. After a few minutes of walking through the various passage ways they arrived outside of a door where a man was standing. He was taller than Shepard by a few inches with long white hair that almost reached the floor. He wore all black and had a sword that was almost as long as he was tall.
"Ah, Shepard. I see you managed to locate Zero." He nodded as he walked over and smiled at Zero "It is good to see you again my young friend."
"A pleasure to see you as well Sephiroth." Zero nodded "Allow me to introduce Hinata Hyuga of The Village Hidden In The Leaves. She was sent by their leader to broker a treaty between them and The Guild."
"Ah. It is a pleasure to meet you my dear." Sephiroth nodded to her as Hinata nodded back "You will of course have to forgive us, but we need to settle matters with Zero first before we start working out the details of this treaty."
"Of course." Hinata replied "I will be remaining here with Zero until he is to leave."
"Plenty of time then. Shepard, let us prepare for the meeting."
"Right. You two wait out here. We will call for you when we are ready to see you." Shepard said as he walked into the meeting room. Zero only nodded as he took a seat at one of the benches where Hinata sat next to him and waited for him to speak first.
"That was Sephiroth, Tier 2 Rank 1. He is in charge of the Council of Ten, and is a mater swordsman and mage."
"Mage?" Hinata frowned.
"Think ninjutsu without the need for hand signs. Instead you study books and scrolls for a few years until you gain an understanding of the spell and then you can cast it with a few spoken words that will trigger the spell. He is a dangerous man and I consider it luck that I befriended him."
"How did you do that?"
"Killed his father." Zero stated as he saw Hinata's eyes widen at this "Well not directly. His father was the lead scientist that brought me back to life, and brought about his death. Sephiroth despised his father what he did to his mother and for committing experiments on him while he was still in the womb. Only reason he knew who his father was is because his mother showed him photos of the man. He is actually a lot older then you would think, mainly due to those experiments."
"So who else is on the council?" Hinata asked after a moment of letting that information sink in.
"You'll see them as they go in. There is only one door into the room and we are sitting right in front of it." Zero explained as the sound of metal boots striking the stone floor resounded down the hallway. A moment later they saw the man approaching the doors, they were as tall as Shepard and were dressed in full armor that had spikes in various lengths with all of them curved upward or inward depending on where they were. The armor was a gray color with a fiery red color under it, giving it a very demonic appearance as the person walked into the room.
"That was Dovahkiin. Means Dragon Born in the old tongue of his land. He is a skilled mage, knowing dozens of different spells and is also a master weapon user. Give him swords, axes, knives maces, bows and he can use them and likely kill you in a few dozen ways." Zero explained "No one knows if Dovahkiin is a guy or a girl since they always wear that armor but no one denies that Dovahkiin will kick your teeth in if they so much as think that you deserve it. I was actually there when he beat his predecessor to be Tier 2 Rank 2. Used a strange magic that had him shouting at the person as different things happened. First one set the guy on fire and sent him flying back a few feet. Second one seemed to speed him up but I think that he managed to slow time down as he struck. Final one seemed to enhance his weapon that he used to take the guy's head."
"That's kind of terrifying." Hinata remarked.
"No kidding. Master said that if he ever had to kill him he would shoot him with a sniper rifle from a few miles away." Zero chuckled as the next person approached. He was as tall as Sephiroth with short blond hair and scar on one side of his face. He was dressed in a long gray coat over clothing that a pastor would wear.
"That is Father Alexander Anderson, also known as The Paladin. He represents a never religion that has come about in the last few centuries, though I don't know too much about it. I do know that he was experimented on so he has an extreme healing ability. I mean I've seen his arm get shot off and it just grew right back. Was creepy as hell. Personally I don't interact with him very much since every time I do he is always asking me if I went to heaven and saw his God. Gets annoying after awhile."
"Is he a strong fighter?"
"Has to be to be part of the council. He's good with blades though he prefers bayonets for close quarters as well as using them as throwing weapons. He's a tough one but he has a good heart behind all of that is always willing to invite you to come and pray with him, though he doesn't care much for other religions. The Guild made it very clear he was not to shove his beliefs onto anyone else. He's at Rank 4 due to the fact that he is next to impossible to kill and he is pretty good with tactics as well."
"So who is she?" Hinata asked nodding towards a blond haired woman wearing black and red leather armor with a knife at her hip. As she walked towards the door she shot Zero a glare that only got a smirk in turn.
"That is Astrid, representative of the Dark Brotherhood, a league of assassins that has ties with us. She is ranked number five. She doesn't like me much since she got shown up by Master years ago."
"What happened?"
"I'll let Master tell about it." Zero answered "She's good with blades and poisons, and is the second best assassin in The Guild. The woman walking up now, that's Edea. Powerful sorceress." The woman was a dark haired beauty wearing a black dress that had a large raised section on the back that provided a dark backdrop for her pale features.
"Sorceress?"
"Same thing as a mage really, except she has focused her entire life onto the craft and she knows some crazy powerful spells. Only person that can match her in sheer magical power is Sephiroth and even then if the duel is just magic based she might beat him." Zero added "She's number six."
There was a brief lull before they saw the next man walking towards the door, a shriveled old man with a katana at his side.
"That is Nurarihyon, like the monster back home. He is a master swordsman and has instructed a lot of members here on it's finer points. He also has a special magic that can either allow him to disappear from your senses entirely or to still be there but your attacks pass right through him like he's a phantom. He's number seven though he says that he is just holding this position until his grandson is ready to take over fro him." Zero nodded towards the Nurarihyon who nodded back as he entered the room as well, just as the next members approached "The two blondes walking this way are Samus Aran and Anya Stroud, numbers eight and nine respectively." Samus wore an all blue jumpsuit with a pistol at her left hip and her long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Any was almost her opposite with her short cropped dirty blonde hair, a than top and fatigues, while on her back was a rifle that had a sereated chain going inside of the gun.
"Bot of them are very dangerous and I personally would never want to go toe to toe with them without massive preparations. There are some rumors that Samus is actually in possession of some very advanced tech and only uses it on special jobs but I don't put much faith in that. Anya on the other hand is a war vet who fought against an invading nation for years and to the point where both sides were essentially wiped out. She's one of the few survivors of that war and with the rest of her unit off doing their own thing." Zero explained as he nodded his respect towards the two woman. Samus only ignored him while Anya nodded back with a small smile as she walked into the meeting room as the last person came jogging out of the hallway. He was dressed in a black suit with an orange tie and his brown hair was unruly and standing off of his head in a crazy fashion. On his hands were a pair of metal gloves with two giant gems in them while on his left hand middle finger was a large ring.
"Finally we have Tsunayoshi Sawada, number ten in that little group. He's also the tenth head of the Vongola mafia family that keeps the peace in a few different countries. They cut deals with the Shadow Organization to try and make it easier on their people but they have no love for them either. Those gloves of his are his weapon and it's said that he can manipulate some kind of magical fire and use it to fly, but I think that's just a rumor personally."
As Tsunayoshi ran into the room Hinata spoke "They are all so different."
"Have to be. Each of them brings something unique to the table and gives insight to various issues. It's why The First doesn't run things really since he would be to biased depending on his roots. These ten hold their position by being the best of the best and they know that they can lose it if they aren't careful, so all of them train diligently and make sure that they can stay in their spots to keep The Guild safe from those that use it and abuse our purpose." Zero explained. Hinata only nodded as this as they sat in silence while they waited to be called in. After close to an hour of waiting the doors opened and they were called inside. In the room was an almost round table with only a small opening fro someone to walk into the center and be seen by everyone. Zero calmly stopped at the center of the room where Sephiroth began to speak.
"Zero, Tier 4 Rank 2. You have been summoned here for your annual review. I understand at this time you are under the employ of one of the shinobi villages in your former homeland. Is there anything to add to that account that we should be aware of?"
"There is." Zero nodded "The first of which is that the leader of the village, the Hokage, has sent one of his shinobi here to negotiate a deal with us so that we may have a firmer foothold in the Elemental Nations, for the purpose of hunting down rogue shinobi." this was met with muttering from around the room which Zero let continue for a few moments before he resumed speaking "The second is that I have been hired for the foreseeable future to help defend Fire Country and by extension the entirety of the Elemental Nations from the threat of the Shadow Organization that has already conquered the rest of the world."
"Is that wise to oppose them?" Edea asked with a frown on her face at the thought of angering such a powerful group.
"While my quest is personal I am at the service of the village I am working for. Should they seek to make a formal complain of the matter there are plenty of laws that can be used to explain this and if that does not work than write me off and keep The Guild alive and well." Zero stated calmly getting a few murmur of assent at the idea.
"And how is this arrangement established?" Astrid asked.
"I work on a mission by mission basis, meaning I am paid for my services as any other shinobi would be. As per our rules one tenth of my total earnings will be sent back here to pay for the expenses that are incurred by my membership."
"That's more then we would normally get." Tsunayoshi noted.
"Only if I were to be getting those jobs through The Guild. Since I am getting them through my client The Guild is due a larger sum of money as per the standing agreement in Article 11, Section 3, Paragraph 8." Zero list off shocking a few of the members with his knowledge of those facts. The members were soon talking quietly among themselves before Sephiroth spoke.
"Very well then. I move that Zero be promoted to a Rank more fitting of his abilities and knowledge. All in favor?"
"Aye." Shepard said immediately.
"Aye." Anderson said with a nod.
"Aye." Tsunayoshi agreed.
"Aye." Anya stated.
"Aye."Nurarihyon chime in. There was a moment of silence before Sephiroth nodded.
"Very well then. The motion passes. Zero will be promoted to a new rank." Sephiroth stated "Now which on would be more fitting for him then?"
"Rank 77." Dovahkiin said, their voice reverberating through their helmet and ensuring that no one could tell their gender "The man at that rank is due for a demotion due to his lack of achievement in his latest jobs and his wasteful spending as well."
"You mean Mercer Fray?" Astrid asked with a frown.
"Indeed. The man is a braggart and has not done a single job worthy of his rank in years." Dovahkiin nodded "If Zero is to be promoted then let him be put there and settle two issues at once."
"77 is a good placement for him." Shepard agreed "It's a higher rank and will allow him the respect that his abilities have earned while not putting him so high as to make him arrogant."
"All in favor of this?" Sephiroth asked and was met with unanimous agreement "Very well. Summon Mercer Fray at once so we may inform him of this and he may decide on whether he will simply step down or fight for his position."
A runner was soon out the door and heading to find the man.
"While we wait, perhaps we can begin discussing this treaty, get the starting of it done." Anderson offered "No sense in sitting around and wasting the Good Lord's light."
"Very well. Madam, if you would step forward." Sephiroth said as Hinata now moved into the center of the circle and Zero stepped off to the side to allow her the floor.
"Thank you." Hinata said with a slight bow "Lord Hokage sends his regards and while he has his own personal doubts about your organization, Zero has worked with us in good standing and he has decided that a partnership of sorts would be mutually beneficial."
"How would this work exactly?" Astrid asked with a frown.
"The Guild would be allowed access to the resources that the various villages use to track and rate the various rogue shinobi across the Elemental Nations. You would be allowed to track down these various men and woman at your own leisure and collect the bounties on them from the Hidden Leaf Village, for the time being."
"Why only that one village?" Samus asked "There are five great shinobi villages and many smaller ones. Why not allow us to to go to the nearest one and collect the bounty there?"
"We cannot speak for the other villages recognizing this. We could try and have the Hidden Sand Village join in on this agreement but we make no guarantees that this would be possible." Hinata replied.
"And what is the standard rate of these rogues?" Sephiroth asked.
"That depends on their skill level, rank upon defection from their home, and what they have done since they have left. For example, a chunin from the Hidden Cloud Village who was average in abilities upon his defection and has some small notoriety in the more rural areas of Lightning Country would only have a bounty of a few thousand ryo, where as a renowned jonin with a very expansive skill set and a flee on sight order in one of more countries may have a bounty ranging from single digit millions to the higher end of the double digits depending on how many counties he is feared in and if the flee on sight order was issued during war time or peace time." Hinata elaborated, and various members of the council were nodding at the explanation.
"We would have access to the information regarding these traitors?" Anderson asked.
"Yes, though I cannot promise that we will always have the best information on the matter. Generally the best information on these rogues comes from their home village as they will have known the target and can give a better grasp on their skill set."
"I see." Anderson nodded "This would help establish a better foothold for us in those god forsaken lands."
"Anderson." Shepard warned.
"I didn't mean anything by it." he said, holding up his hands in a placating manner "I was just saying that this would help The Guild."
"Agreed, but the problem that I see in the matter is transportation and lodging." Anya pointed out "We have only a handful of bases and all of them are on the western coast."
"A problem that would need to be remedied before we could really begin." Tsunayoshi nodded "Miss Hinata, would we be allowed to purchase property in Fire Country for the use of The Guild?"
"As long as you pay for it and pay the land taxes to the Daimyou then there is no reason as to why you could not, but the Hokage would have to give his approval."
"We would need to send someone to examine these various places." Edea stated.
"Why not Zero?" Astrid asked with a sneer aimed at the young man "It's not like he has anything better to do there."
"The lad is working for the local leader, he will have plenty of work to do on his own!"Nurarihyon snapped, causing Astrid to jump at the tone he had taken, and only had used a handful of times "Don't take your petty rivalry of the lad's teacher out on him or we will have words Astrid."
Astrid glared at the older man before Shepard spoke up "I can easily take my crew and examine these various places."
"Why you?" Anya asked "There are plenty of others that we could send."
"I'll be heading there to take Zero back to Fire Country to begin with." Shepard replied "No need to keep him from his work by adding weeks of travel time onto it. And since I am the most recently removed from the military I know how to choose good defensible buildings that will be able to handle anything that these shinobi could throw at us."
"I see no reason against this, but Fire Country is larger than you should be handling on your own." Sephiroth stated "I would prefer if a second member of this council accompanied you."
"Then I'll go." Any offered "All of my work has been handled for now and I share a similar military background with Shepard."
"Very well then. You will have the authorization to finalize the agreement with Lord Hokage." Sephiroth nodded.
"Understood." Shepard and Anya replied.
"We thank you for this opportunity Miss Hinata and we hope that our partnership will be beneficial to both of our groups." Sephiroth smiled as Hinata nodded her head to the man again as the doors were opened and a man walked in. He was dressed in black leathers and from where Hinata was standing she could tell that he had been drinking, and recently if the smell was anything to go by. At his sides were a sword and a dagger, clearly meant to be shown off from the golden metals that were used in the pommels.
You summoned me?" He asked, a sneer in his voice.
"We have." Dovahkiin stated coldly "Due to your lack of achievement and poor performance on your jobs over the past few years we have deemed you unworthy of your position."
"What?!" Mercer Fray roared.
"SILENCE!" Dovahkiin shouted, causing the room to shake as they all felt the magic that would be released if Mercer did not shut his mouth. Once a moment had passed Dovahkii continued "It has been decided that Zero will be taking your position."
"I invoke the old laws!" Mercer shouted now "By right of combat I can keep my position!"
"It is your right." Nurarihyon nodded "But do you really think that wise? Just take the demotion with some dignity."
"No." Mercer snapped "If this little shit wants my spot he can take it from my cold dead fingers."
"If that is what you wish." Zero shrugged " Where and when?"
"Tomorrow morning in the arena. I want everyone to see your shame when I kill you." Mercer sneered before storming off. The council all traded looks before nodding for Zero and Hinata to leave.
"Do you think you can beat him?" Hinata asked.
"He's arrogant and holding on by the skin of his teeth. Makes him dangerous but he is no Vincent Valentine or Kain the Dragoon. That spot is mine."