Jump City Assassin

by Shinobi of Greed

My name is Naruto Namikaze. Eleven years ago my father and sister were killed before my very eyes. Since then I've trained with an elite group, honing my skills in hopes of finding justice for my sister and father. But to avenge my family I have to become something else, someone else. I am the Black Fox!

3. Chapter 3 A Small Setback

Chapter 3. A Small Setback

All five Titans rushed towards Naruto in their own way. Beast Boy shifted into a rhino and started to charge at the blond, while Raven and Starfire flew overhead. Robin shot a grappling line into a building and started to swing in the blond's direction, while Cyborg pointed his cannon arm forward and started to sprint.

Naruto, not wanting to get overwhelmed by five superhero teenagers. Decided to shift the odds in his favor by tossing dozens of smoke bombs around himself and the Titans.

The area was instantly filled with smoke, causing all five heroes to freeze in place. The three boys on the ground were completely blinded by the smoke, while the only thing Raven and Starfire could see was a large cloud of smoke.

Robin squinted his eyes and tried to see his surroundings. He couldn't see much of anything, as it was dark outside and the smoke only made the situation worse.

However, as Robin felt a hard punch to his kidneys, he flinched and tried to hit his assailant with a spin kick. Though Robin merely hit air and caused the smoke to move a little.

Robin was then hit with a hard punch to the stomach, followed by someone grabbing his head and slamming it into their kneecap. Causing the Boy Wonder to stagger backward and almost lose his footing.

"Where is he!" Robin shouted, grabbing his collapsible staff and striking a defensive pose.

Cyborg's robotic eye started to glow red. "I'm not picking him up on my thermal vision!" The teen shouted in surprise. "Wait I see something on the-..."

Cyborg cried in pain, while three arrows buried into his body. Two in his robotic leg, rendering it useless. While the third lodged into his arm.

"Cyborg!" Robin cried in worry, trying to locate his friend. "Beast Boy, clear this smoke now!"

Beast Boy quickly shifted into a pterodactyl and started to flap his large green wings. Doing so to clear the smoke in a rapid and effective way. Though as the smoke cleared, the Titans were able to see their downed comrade, allowing them to see where the arrows impacted his body.

"Cyborg!" Starfire shouted in fear, flying down to her friend and inspecting the arrows in his body. Each arrow was actually lodged in a part of his body that was still human. "You are hurt and need help."

"I'm fine Star, that guy is making an escape!" Cyborg groaned in anguish, pointing to the rooftop across from them.

Robin growled and looked up to Natuto, who was looking over his shoulder and down at the Titans while his back was turned to them.

"Starfire, you stay here with Cyborg. Raven, Beast Boy, you two are with me!" Robin ordered while chasing after the blond assassin.

Beast Boy nodded and morphed into a flacon, then at blazing speeds he flew after Naruto. Raven gave her two friends one look before taking off into the sky as well.

Naruto looked back and saw the remaining Titans fast approaching on his heel. Then to make matters worse, Naruto was running out of rooftops to run across. So to avoid any more unnecessary conflict, Naruto grabbed his bow and drew back an arrow, which he fiddled with for a quick moment.

Turning around, the blond displayed his impressive archery skills and shot the arrow into the sky towards Raven and Beast Boy. The arrow appeared as it missed its mark, as it flew between Raven and Beast Boy. Though the arrow wasn't meant to make contact, it's true purpose was to carry the flash bomb into the sky and between the teens.

"Beast Boy look out!" Raven shouted as she shielded herself, but it was too late.

The bomb went off and blinded the green skinned hero, causing his transform to drop and his body to fall and crash into Robin. The two boys rolled across the rooftop and lost distance on Naruto.

Raven hovered over her downed team, but as she watched Naruto slowly disappear, she decided to continue her chase.

"That's four down, which leaves me with the only predicament in this situation." Naruto mumbled looking in the distance to the edge of the rooftop. "Let's see how good she is."

Raven watched with shock as Naruto took a dive off the building, which lead to the busy streets down below. However, she caught a glimpse of an arrow with a line attached strike a building. Said line, allowed Naruto to swing across the street and onto another building.

"He's insane." Raven mumbled in surprise, slowly following after Naruto.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and found Raven closing in, so he decided to stop and make his stand.

"Mom always said the girls would chase me down, but this is getting a little old." Naruto spoke up, as he grabbed an arrow and pointed it at Raven. "So why don't you let me take off beautiful?"

Raven floated down to the rooftop and narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me that." She ordered, her hands surrounded by black aura.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto replied in a clam voice, his hands releasing his bow string, causing an arrow to fly towards the dark haired hero.

Raven didn't budge an inch, instead she used her powers to suspend the arrow in the air. "Whatever, I don't care what you call me. Either way I'm stopping you tonight."

Naruto placed his bow away and crossed his arms. "I've done nothing." The blond protested.

"You've killed people." The hero pointed out, as she allowed the arrow to fall harmlessly on the ground.

"Collateral damage." Naruto replied offhandedly. "Besides, it's not like they were model citizens. They were scum that I cleansed in the name of my mission."

"You have your way of seeing things and I have mine, but after what you did to my friends." Raven floated into the air and her eyes started to glow. "I'm not letting you escape."

"Actually you will." Naruto replied smoothly, holding a small vial up for Raven to see. "The arrows I used on your friend were laced with a very deadly poison. One that if not properly treated within the next five minutes will kill him."

"You're lying." Raven replied, not buying into what the blond assassin was saying.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I could very well be lying, but ask yourself this. Why would I lie?"

"You're criminally insane." Raven answered without skipping a beat. "It's what your type of people do. I've fought enough villains to know that your kind is prone to lying and cheating."

Naruto started to laugh, causing the device he used to conceal his voice to make his laughter sound deep and darker than usual. As his laughter rose, Naruto held his hands out wide.

"That's the thing beautiful, I'm not one of those little villains you fight against. I'm an assassin, I may lie, cheat and steal. Though when I talk about taking someone's life, I'm very serious." Naruto then tossed the vial high into the air. "So decided, your friends life verse my capture."

Raven snatched the vial from the air with her powers, then slowly floated it towards herself. "Even if you are telling the truth, Cyborg is half machine. Regular poisons wouldn't have the same effect on his robotic enhanced body."

"That could be true, but half robot or not. Your little friend still has his human organs, and this particular poison is one that eats away at the victims heart. So I would make a guess that he still needs that heart to live." Naruto explained in a cold tone. "You have two minutes by the way."

Raven clutched the vial in her hand. "I will capture you."

Naruto smirked and started to walk away. "And I will take you on a date beautiful."

Raven scowled as she gripped tightly onto the vial in hand. She didn't like the mysterious assassin at all, in fact she could feel his emotions and what she felt didn't please her. Anger, hatred and other negative emotions flooded the blond's mind, but there was something else buried deep down. An emotion Naruto tried to mask, but Raven could feel it.

"I can sense your emotions, you have no intentions of killing me or my friends." Raven began as she floated onto the ground. "So why are you killing people?"

Naruto stopped for a moment, but did not turn around. "You're not my target, simple as that." The blond answered before walking off.

"I can also sense that you are broken, I can sense it deep down." Raven added in, making Naruto stop once more. "You have so much anger and hatred inside you, but deep down there is this overwhelming sadness. Is that why you kill, to fill that void?"

"I kill for the injustice done to a small boy and his family. I kill because a prison does not stop monsters, only death can place an end to a villainous reign." Naruto turned around and clutched his fists. "I kill because it's all I know, I'm an assassin and a lost soul. However, that is something I'm perfectly capable of living with."

"What is your name?" Raven asked, her voice slightly depressed by what the blond had said.

"I won't tell you my name, but I'll give the the name my master knows me by; Thaealab." Naruto answered in a slightly shaken voice, still emotional by his earlier response.

"Well Thaealab, I don't think you're lost only misguided." Raven began, surprising Naruto with her sudden sympathy. "Hopefully one day, you'll find someone to save you. And hopefully they do before it's too late."

"It's already to late for me." Naruto replied in a cold voice. "Tell your team if they interfere with my mission again, I won't be merciful. I will go for the kill."

Raven nodded and turned away, her body changing to an astral projection of a raven. One that took off into the sky to go give aid to Cyborg.

Naruto watched Raven fly off and jerked around, once again the blond assassin's night didn't go as planned. Though as Naruto made his way back home, one thought lingered in his mind. Was he really that far gone in his own darkness?

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(Later at the Titans Tower)

Robin stomped into the living room of the tower with an angry scowl on his face. As he entered the room, Cyborg who was leaning onto Starfire and Beast Boy for support followed shortly. To Naruto's word, he did in fact poison the teen, so he was still recovering. After Cyborg was helped onto the large black couch, Raven entered the room with a slightly down expression.

For some reason, the half demon teenager keep thinking of the mystery assassin she knew as Thaealab. He was a killer and placed the life of her friend in danger, but for some reason she couldn't stop thinking about him. She blamed these thoughts for her inability to stop and capture Naruto, but she knew that she was lying to herself. Really Raven had no idea why she couldn't get Naruto out of her head.

Though Raven was quickly taken out of her thoughts and jerked back to reality. As the voice of her displeased leader spoke towards her.

"I can't believe you had him and you allowed him to just walk away!" Robin shouted in rage, while he paced the floor in front of Raven. "What were you thinking?"

Raven glared at the Boy Wonder with an icy glare. "I was thinking that I would save my friend's life, which I managed to accomplish. So he got away, this isn't the first time we lost the bad guy and I'm certain it won't be the last. But mark my words Robin, I will stop him from killing."

Robin didn't seem pleased with Raven's response, instead he got into her face and growled. "That's the best you have to say? We are heroes and the safety of this city comes before our own!" Robin yelled out earning the eyes of his other teammates. "Just think Raven, you let a killer walk free. How much longer till he kills again? Sure he's only killed drug dealers and criminals, but what happens when he kills a young mother or a small child? Those lives would be on you!"

"Back off Robin." Raven warned, her own anger slightly rising.

"Friends please stop the fighting." Starfire begged as she flew in between the two teens. "Raven is right, if she didn't come to Cyborg's aid, our friend wouldn't be with us right now. So please let's focus on how we can stop this man, not fight each other."

"Yeah Star is right Robin." Beast Boy agreed as he stood beside his best friend Cyborg. "We are a team, so we have to look out for one another. Just because he got away tonight don't mean we won't catch him. In fact now we know most of his tricks, so next time we can be ready."

"That's not it, none of you are understanding the situation!" Robin shouted in frustration, as he slowly walked over to the computer. "This guy is in our city, killing the people we are suppose to protect and he beat us without any powers or help."

Cyborg grunted and stood up, causing Starfire to gasp.

"Friend Cyborg, you still need to recover." The alien princess pointed out with worry in her voice.

"I'm fine Star, but listen Robin. This guy kicked our asses that's a given, we can't sugar coat it. What we can do is get ready for next time." Cyborg then looked over to Raven. "Raven you were up against him by yourself, did you get any important information?"

Raven walked over to a stool and took a seat, turning away from her team, Raven locked her fingers and leaned over a table. "I learned a few things from my encounter." She slowly admitted, memories of her prior encounter flooding back to her. "Starting off we now know he is on a mission to find and kill someone in Jump City. My assumption is this person is some criminal, that's why he is hunting down and interrogating various criminals."

"So technically he is a good guy if he leaves the innocent people alone." Beast Boy pointed out.

"No." Robin cut in sharply. "He's a criminal and a murderer. What else did you find out Raven?"

Raven sighed. "He mentioned a few important things, one being that he is an assassin. Another was that he had a master, I'm unclear if his mission was given to him by this master. Though we now know he has a mentor."

"Could he be working under Slade?" Cyborg asked causing everyone to look down. "I mean it's been a few months since the incident, he could have taken a new apprentice."

Beast Boy zoned out, his mind drifting to the precious person which he has lost. Robin looking over to his friend, noticed this and decided to try and help his friend.

"No this guy doesn't work for Slade. There is a few things that set the two apart, Slade is a mercenary while this unknown guy in an assassin. Another thing is their fighting styles, you all remember when I had to work for Slade. During that time I learned his fighting style and again it's nothing like this assassin." Robin walked over and started typing on their computer. "His uniform, fighting style, I know I've seen it all somewhere before."

Starfire flew over to Robin. "Have you fought this assassin before?"

"I don't know, but I can't shake the feeling that I have." Robin answered as he continued to type. "Raven what else did you find out?"

"He gave me a name to call him, he said it wasn't his real name. Though this was the name his master gave him." Raven began as her team looked to her. "He said to call him Thaealab."

"The a la- Raven what did you just say?" Cyborg asked as he struggled with pronouncing the name.

"Thaealab." She answered again. "I have no clue what it means."

"I found it!" Robin spoke up, looking down to his computer. "Thaealab, the name is Arabic for fox."

"So we have an assassin who is in Jump Cuty to kill some person and his name is literally fox. Man why can't we just have a normal week?" Beast Boy whined as he fell onto their couch.

"We are heroes Beast Boy, this is normal for us." Robin pointed out, looking over to Raven. "Do you have anymore important information?"

"Yeah, he said if we interfere with his mission again. He will kill us." Raven answered, causing all the Titans besides Robin to sweat a little.

"I see." Robin began as he started to type again. "You should all get some rest, I'm gonna keep looking into this guy. Then tomorrow we are going to start training to take him on."

Beast Boy gave a salute. "Understood captain!" The boy joked before walking out of the room.

Starfire flew beside Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't stay up too late, you need your rest as well."

Robin nodded and Starfire went off to her own room. Cyborg started to stretch and walk to his own room.

"I'm gonna go run some system diagnoses, make sure that freak didn't do too much damage." Cyborg explained as he left the room, leaving Raven and Robin alone.

Raven sighed and started to stand, but the voice of Robin stopped her.

"Wait Raven, I wanted to apologize. I know you did what you believed was best. I just hate the feeling of loosing to a criminal. It really eats away at me." Robin explained in a low voice.

"It's fine Robin." Raven replied, her thoughts going back to Naruto again. "I just can't help to wonder why he is here, what he wants and what he is doing."

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(With Naruto)

Naruto wasn't upset, no his anger was far beyond that. He was absolutely pissed and he was taking his anger out on a training dummy in his secret base of operations.

"Stupid Teen Titans!" Naruto shouted as he began to beat the training dummy relentlessly.

He wasn't in his League of Assassins uniform anymore, instead he was shirtless with a pair of black sweats.

"I was so close to finding Mizuki!"

Naruto growled as he started to strike the dummy harder.

Naruto brought his right hand back, and then while releasing a loud yell. The blond assassin punched through the dummy and broke it into pieces.

"What in the hell am I gonna do now?" Naruto grumbled, kicking the broken dummy to the side.

Sighing in frustration, Naruto walked over to a large bulletin-board. Tapping his fingers on a news clipping he started to talk to himself.

"The GCPD Ball." Naruto began, touching the news report of the terrorist attack. His hands trailing across a red line which was attached to eight different pictures, these were the gunmen who attacked the GCPD Ball.

Each man had a red X across their picture, but James King. The man which Naruto killed, he had another red line that lead to the name Mizuki Sato. This is where Naruto's hunt for justice ends.

"This is all I have." Naruto growled in rage, pulling a phone out of his pocket. "This phone had important information I needed. Though that Boy Blunder managed to completely ruin it."

Naruto slammed the broken phone onto a metal table. Then as he started to pace the room, Naruto began to mess with his long blond locks.

"Think to yourself Naruto, there has to be a way to fix this issue." The blond began as his mind started to race. "The good in all this, is that Mizuki is unaware I am hunting him. The bad part is I don't know where he is or what he looks like. Then I can't forget the Teen Titans, they have already proved to be a thorn in my side once."

Naruto stopped and placed his hands onto the table he placed the phone. "Think what to do next!" The blond shouted as he closed his eyes and started to think.

Naruto growled and punched the table, creating a small dent. Though after a moment he stopped and started to take deep breaths. "Calm yourself, Ra's always said to keep your composure. After all you don't want to be forced to repair everything you break... That's it!"

Naruto grabbed the phone and started to look it over. "If I can find someone to repair this phone, I can get the information I need!" The blond smirked happily,as he looked up. "Father, Mito, I promise I will find who is responsible for your deaths."

Happy with his new plan, even though it was a minor setback. Naruto walked towards the elevator of his HQ, his thoughts now moving towards the Teen Titans. "That's one problem down, but I still have five more to solve."

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(The next morning)

Naruto ended up sleeping longer than usual, instead of his normal five in the morning workout routine. The blond ended up sleeping in till seven and starting his workout then. Today he trained with more vigor than usual, his determination to find Mizuki allowed him to push himself even harder.

Though Naruto was also fueled by his desire to grow stronger than the Teen Titans. During their last encounter, he used the element of surprise and their desire to protect each other to his advantage. Though he figured they wouldn't fall into the same trick twice, so Naruto would have to be able to beat them five on one.

The blond debated on starting to train his powers, but in all honesty Naruto didn't know how to start his training. So for now, he focused on sharpening his skills.

Soon Naruto found himself inside the elevator that lead up to his store. He had a towel wrapped around his neck, and he was sweating all over.

"That was a good training session, but I really need a shower." The blond noted, as he stretched out his slightly sore muscles.

The elevator made a ding and he walked into his makeshift office. Though as he made his way over to the stairs. He could hear the faint knocking at the door to his store. Not even properly thinking, the blond assassin made his way over to the door. As he unlocked the door, the blond was met face to face with someone he never dreamed he would see.

Shaking his head and recomposing himself, Naruto looked slightly down at Raven. Who was standing across from him, a large blush across her face as she looked him over.

"Can I help you?" Naruto asked in a confused voice, hoping the Titans didn't figure out who he was.

Raven's mind was in overdrive, never had she seen a male that she found so attractive. She was completely absorbed by his deep blue eyes and his long golden locks. It also helped that Naruto was shirtless, sweaty and absolutely shredded.

"Um books." The purple haired hero mumbled, as she couldn't mutter a proper sentence in the presence of Naruto.

Naruto acted confused for a moment, but then it donned upon him. He ran a book store, one that he has completely neglected the past few days.

"You wanted to come check out my store?" Naruto finally spoke up, causing Raven to slowly nod. "Well in that case please come in."

Naruto cursed his luck as he allowed Raven to come inside, out of all the people in Jump City why did she have to visit his store. Truly some force in the world was against him.

Though as Raven walked into the blond's store, she was slightly impressed. Besides the store being completely empty of customers, it was filled to the brim with books.

"So help yourself." Naruto chuckled nervously as he held his hands out.

Raven stared at Naruto for a second, her eyes glued onto his body. This caused the blond to feel a little uneasy.

"Um are you ok?" Naruto asked as he folded his arms.

Raven shook herself out of her daze and recomposed herself. "Sorry I got distracted." The hero admitted, as she casually walked over to a book stand. Then as she opened up a random book, she glanced at Naruto and watched him walk behind the counter.

Naruto balled his fists and looked down, he was going over the last few days in his head. Wondering if there was any chance he slipped up and allowed the Titans to figure out who he was.

'Damnit Naruto, think! There is no way she knows who you are. If so, she wouldn't come here alone, would she? No, you're too good to slip up and get caught this quick.' Naruto thought to himself as he looked over to Raven. 'But if that's the case, why does she keep looking at me?'

Raven noticed Naruto looking back at her, so she quickly buried her head into the book she had picked up.

'Okay, she is definitely watching me, but why?' Naruto thought as he looked down and caught his own reflection. Finally noticing what was catching the young woman's eye. 'I forgot I'm not wearing a shirt.'

Smiling to himself, Naruto decided to have a small bit of mischief. So with a spring in his step, the blond assassin strolled over to Raven.

"Excuse me, you look as if you need some assistance." Naruto spoke, leaning against the bookshelf Raven was standing by.

Raven moved her eyes over the blond and bit her lip. Normally she was cool and calm, but this unnamed bookstore owner was getting the best of her.

"I... I'm fine." Raven stammered out with a large blush, forcing her to conceal her face with the book in hand. "I like your store."

"Is that all you like?" Naruto asked with a small smirk, causing Raven'a face to go further into the book.

There was a moment of silence between the two, though after a moment Raven looked up.

"For now." The teen answered in a blank voice. "Busy place you have here, sorry I didn't get your name." Raven stopped and waited for Naruto to give his name.

"It's only polite to give your name before asking others, but I don't think there is a person in Jump City who doesn't know you, Raven." Naruto replied in a calm and causal tone. "Though my name is Naruto Quinn."

Raven nodded and continued to read, trying her hardest to avoid looking at the attractive blond. Naruto easily picked up on this and started to inwardly laugh.

"So tell me, what brings one of the famous Teen Titans to my store? As you can see I'm normally booming with business, so I would assume you've certainly heard of my store from somewhere." Naruto began, being very sarcastic about the last part.

Raven sighed and closed the book in her hands. "If we are going to do this, could you at least put a shirt on?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'll be right back." Though as Naruto walked away, he turned around and gave Raven a wink. "Don't go stealing anything while I'm gone beautiful."

Raven turned a deep shade of red from the blond's comment. She didn't know why, but the way he spoke to her felt familiar. Though even stranger was that she enjoyed the way he spoke to her. It was almost refreshing to have someone leaving her speechless. It was almost like he didn't care she was Raven from the Teen Titans, he treated her like another girl that wondered into his store.

Raven was so taken up in the way Naruto looked and the way he treated her. She was completely blinded by the giveaway signs of who he truly was.

"So." The voice of Naruto began, grabbing Raven's attention. As he was clearly walking into the main part of the store, a new skin tight black shirt hugging his torso. "What brings you to my store?"

Raven looked at the blond with a confused gaze. "I like books and this is a bookstore." She answered back, her voice holding a little more confidence. "It's pretty self explanatory as to why I'm here."

Naruto nodded and took a seat on a small wooden stool. "Fair point, it's just I've only been in business for a few days and you're my first customer." The blond explained as he cocked a smirk. "It's weird having your first customer being a famous hero."

"I see, so are you from around here? You're pretty young to running a bookstore." Raven noted as she walked over and took a seat.

Naruto waved his hand around. "I grew up in a small orphanage of sorts. It housed people from all over, so when I finally left I wanted to go out and see the world." The blond explained, twisting his words around to tell both the truth and a lie. "As to the being young part, you're correct. Though I had some money saved up, so I thought why not buy a bookstore."

Raven didn't act very impressed and if she was, she didn't show it. "Sounds interesting, though if you wanted to see the world. Why come down and buy a bookstore in Jump City?"

Naruto leaned over with a grin. "Well besides the booming business opportunity, I hear there is a lot of beautiful girls in Jump City."

Raven blushed and looked onto the floor. "I see." She mumbled in a low voice.

Naruto laughed and moved back away from Raven. "So Raven, I have a question." Naruto began grabbing her full attention.

"And that is?" Raven replied, not wanting to be left in suspense.

Naruto started to chuckle nervously and rub the back of his head. "Well when I was moving into my new apartment, I dropped my phone and completely broke it. So I was wondering if you knew where any repair shops were. I had a lot of important information I don't want to lose."

"Yeah there is one four blocks down from your store." Raven answered, slightly bummed about what his question was about.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much Raven." The blond thanked, happy that he could now fix the phone her teammate destroyed.

"No problem, but I answered a question for you. So why don't you do me the curtesy as well." Raven replied, her voice calm and collected.

"Ask away." Naruto spoke happily.

"Why were you shirtless earlier?" She asked, a slight blush appearing on her face.

Naruto made an O shape with his mouth and started to snicker. "Sorry about that, I live above the store and every morning I workout to stay in shape. Normally I don't have customers, so when I opened the door I didn't even think what I was doing."

"I see, so maybe next time I stop by you'll have a shirt on." Raven replied with a smirk, trying to get one over the blond.

Naruto leaned over and gave Raven a wink. "No promises, after all you looked at my body more than you did my books." The blond assassin retorted in a low voice.

Raven felt her heartbeat pick up as Naruto slowly got closer. Though the sudden beeping of her communicator going off made her stand up and pull the device out.

"Raven trouble in the downtown district meet us there now!" The voice of Robin shouted through the com.

Raven looked slightly depressed as she looked over to Naruto. "Sorry duty calls, I'll stop by again another day... I like talking to you." Raven admitted with a small smile, turning around and walking towards the exit.

Naruto smiled wide and for a second forgetting everything about who he and Raven were. In the moment right now, they were just two young teens. "Alright I'll see you around Beautiful."

As the door to his store closed, Naruto's face took a complete shift. He went from a flirty teenager to a serious assassin in one go.

"Time for a shower, then I'm going to get that stupid phone fixed." Naruto mumbled, as he walked over and locked the door to his store.

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(Few hours later)

Naruto was casually strolling down the busy streets of Jump City. He was dressed in a plain pair of jeans and a large black hoodie; which he had pulled over to somewhat conceal his face. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his hoodie and he was fiddling with the broken phone in his hands.

As he passed by the dozens of citizens going about there daily lives. He was unaware of the two people shadowing his movements. Soon one individual picked up his speed and closed in behind Naruto.

Being an assassin, Naruto felt as if he was being followed. Though taking a glance on the reflection of a window he passed. He judged his followers to be of no threat. Quickly he found a sharp object held to his back and he smirked.

"Take a small detour into that alley to your right." A voice ordered in a low tone, slowly poking his knife into Naruto's back.

Naruto had to hold back his laughter. "Alright just don't hurt me." He whispered, trying his hardest to pretend helpless.

The man lead Naruto into the ally and as the two were out of sight. The man pushed Naruto forward, causing the blond to stagger forward and almost fall over. Though this was just a front Naruto played to appear weak.

"Alright kid, wallet, jewelry and anything else valuable. Hand it over, or this will get ugly." The mugger ordered, as the second man walked over to his side.

Seeing the two men trying to rob him, Naruto couldn't hold his laughter back any longer.

"Wow you two might be the stupidest most unlucky guys in all Jump City!" Naruto declared as he started to sway back and fourth in his laughter. "I mean there is what, hundreds of people that pass by you. And you decide to rob me."

Naruto folded his hands together and pointed to the two muggers. "Alright listen, here is your one chance. Walk away now and we can put this all behind us."

The two men looked between each other, then as they nodded. Both charged at Naruto with knifes in hand.

Naruto shook his head. "Can't say I didn't warn you." The blond mumbled as he rolled around one of the muggers. Then in one swift move he broke the man's arm and shoved the knife into his throat.

The second man looked to his partner with wide eyes. Then before he could even mumble a proper sentence, a blond blur grabbed the man's arm and made him shove his knife into his own neck.

"So easy it was boring." Naruto mumbled as he walked over the two dead men. "At least I killed them without getting my finger prints on their weapons."

Naruto stepped out of the alleyway and walked into the streets. As he did, he perfectly blended into the passing by citizens. Going back to his task and acting like nothing even happened.

Eventually Naruto made his way towards the repair shop that Raven told him about. He looked up to the name of the shop and smirked.

"Repairs for Idiots, cute name." Naruto mumbled as he approached the door.

Opening the door, a ding went off signaling a customer had entered the store. Naruto looked around and noticed dozens of electronic devices spread throughout the store. He also took note that the store wasn't very busy, in fact there was only one other person inside the room.

A male teenager around Naruto's age, he was dressed in the store uniform and he looked rather unhappy with his job. His long black hair was tied up into a ponytail; which resembled the top of a pineapple.

"Welcome to Repairs for Idiots, we fix things because you're a moron." The male greeted with little enthusiasm. "I'm Shikamaru, how can I help you?"

Naruto strolled over to the counter with a small smile. "Nice slogan." The blond began as he placed the broken phone onto the counter. "Names Naruto Quinn, and I need you to fix something for me."

"Oh that's surprising, see I thought you'd come into a electronic repair shop for a cup of coffee." Shikamaru replied sarcastically, while picking the cell phone up. "Boy is that a load off my shoulder."

"Funny." Naruto mumbled as he folded his arms. "A friend told me you could fix that phone for me, I have a lot of important data I don't want to lose."

Shikamaru held the phone up and started to look over it. He quickly ran his fingers around the entry point where Robin's projectiles had did the most damage. "What, did the phone owe you money or something?" The lazy teen asked, glancing down to Naruto. "Because it looks like you stabbed the thing."

Naruto rubbed his head and chuckled nervously. "You see I got drunk and woke up with a knife dug into my phone." The blond lied, hoping the black haired repairman would buy the lie.

"Little young to be drinking, guess that's what your dumbass gets." Shikamaru replied with a small yawn.

"Not very friendly service." Naruto pointed out with a small smirk, even though he really didn't care. He just wanted the phone fixed.

"Yeah, well I couldn't care less about this stupid job." Shikamaru replied as he sat the phone down. "But let's get down to business, I can't fix the phone. You managed to completely ruin a majority of the phone. Though you're in luck, as the memory card inside is unharmed. So give me a few days and I'll swap the card into a replacement phone. That way you can at least recover your data."

Naruto nodded and pulled his wallet out. "How much do I owe you and when will you be done?"

Shikamaru sighed and started to stretch. "Well it's a lot of extra work for me, so labor and everything id say about..."

"Would this cover it?" Naruto asked as he placed five hundred dollars on the table without flinching.

Shikamaru was surprised. "More than enough."

Naruto smiled. "Good then keep the change, it will motivate you to work harder. I need the information off my phone as quickly as possible."

Shikamaru took the cash and nodded. "Come back this time tomorrow, I should have everything ready for you."

"Good." Naruto replied as he turned around and started to leave.

Shikamaru watched the blond exit the store, but before Naruto left. The lazy teen noticed blood on the back of Naruto's hoodie.

"He didn't look hurt and he payed with five hundred dollars like it was five cents. There is something off about this guy." Shikamaru mumbled as he looked to the phone on the counter. "And I bet this phone will help me figure that out."

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(At Naruto's apartment)

Naruto walked slowly into his living room and grabbed the remote to his TV. Then as he plopped down on the couch, he flicked the device on.

"Let's see if there is anything good on." Naruto mumbled as he changed the TV to the local news network.

Holding back a small smile, Naruto read the headlines flashing across the TV. Which read, 'Two Men Found Dead in Back Alley.'

"Hmm wonder if they have anything pinning me to their deaths." Naruto spoke to himself as he turned the volume up.

"So far there is no suspects or clues to the murders of these two men." Naruto smiled as he heard the news anchor talk. "However, many are speculating it was caused by Jump City's newest killer who has been killing criminals on the docks."

Naruto leaned back and placed his hands over his head. "They wouldn't be wrong."

"The police chief said the men killed tonight were convicted criminals. So it would fit the Black Hood's MO, to kill these men. As he has only killed criminals so far."

"The Black Hood? That is the stupidest most cliche thing I've ever heard!" Naruto growled in frustration.

"The police urge anyone with information linked with these killings to please come forward. And if you see of know anything of the Black Hood, the police ask you send all information to them. As they feel he is a major threat to this city."

Naruto snorted. "Stupid police, they are ignorant to the fact that I'm making this city safer. Killing evil men is better than locking them away. After all how many times has Uncle Bruce had to lock up his enemies, only for them to break out and cause more harm."

Naruto turned the TV off and stood up. "Regardless, I have to be more careful from now on. I'm no longer a nameless assassin killing for his mission. I now have the police and Teen Titans after me, while also being in the eye of the public."

Naruto walked over to his window and peered outside. Sighing to himself, he looked up to the bright full moon. Then as he let his eyes wonder for a moment, he looked over to the Titan's Tower. His mind going to Raven and their conversation, which he did enjoy, and part of him wanted to keep spending time with the girl.

Though he knew, the more they were around each other. The bigger the risk of Raven discovering who he really is. However, Naruto was taken from his thoughts about Raven, as he noticed a figure on a rooftop across him. Said person was dressed in all black, so he was hard to spot, but Naruto was a highly trained assassin.

So spotting someone in the darkness would be easy for him, especially if the person wasn't hidden very well. Which the person watching him wasn't, so it made Naruto wonder just who was watching him and why.

"He's not very good at concealing himself." Naruto mused, as he smiled and waved at the person watching him.

Said person stiffened up, before turning around and running away. Needless to say, Naruto only had one thought running through his head mind.

"Someone is watching me, so that must mean they suspect who I really am." Naruto spoke to himself as he walked away from the window. "Just when I thought things couldn't get any better. I get another problem to add to my growing list."

Chapter End

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Well here is chapter 3 and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as I did writing it. Also know it's known that Shika is now apart of this story in some way. Though don't expect me to add any more Naruto characters. I may down the line, but for now it's just Shikamaru. Also Shika will have an important role in the story and I have a question I will ask you the readers.

Should Shikamaru have a pairing? For example here is a few ideas.

Shikamaru and Starfire (sorry Robin)

Shikamaru and Jinx (not my favorite idea, but could work)

Shikamaru and Batgirl (I will be adding more DC characters in future arcs, told you this story would be long)

Shikamaru and mystery character that I will be adding much later (she is a DC character though)

Or Shikamaru and random suggestion.