A/N: again, the standard disclaimer about owning neither franchise. Anyways, for this edition of Fireknife's reviews of whatever the heck he feels like, I'll talk about my current addiction: crack cocaine. Or its internet equivalent, and no I don't mean porn you horny bastards, get your minds out of the collective gutter. is the single most addictive site that I have ever found. It's a wiki that deals with all the things that occur in fiction, proving once and for all that nothing is original. It's a great help for writers, as it gives you some ideas of what tends to work- what kind of tropes good shows/novels/whatever include, and what doesn't. It's got a section dealing with fanfiction that really exemplifies a lot of the problems I've seen with fanfiction over the course of my perusal of this site, and the reading of it is partially my inspiration for putting this thing down on digital-paper instead of letting it stew in my head like I have for the past 18 years of my life. It's also a great site to read, as many things on it are genuinely hilarious or otherwise entertaining. Let me know if anyone else gets addicted, or if you read the site yourself.

Ch. 7

As it turned out, it was a piece of cake. (A/N: did I fool you?) Infiltrating the facility had been fairly easy- Takeshi knew several elemental jutsus beyond his fire abilities, and control of earth sufficient to tunnel was one of them. It was a slow technique, but perfect for infiltration. You attacked where your enemy least expected it. Usually, that meant beneath their feet. Using his heat-sense, he was even able to pick an empty room for his entry point. Using the skills honed by long practice at the academy, he was able to find a computer terminal and access a map of the facility. Noting probable locations of cameras, he made his way to the prison and looked around. No actual guards, and the camera had an easy blind spot to slip past. Child's play. Uzumaki, the loudest ninja he knew, could have done it. The fact that he had thought of Naruto made him chuckle when he came upon the sleeping prisoner. The red clothes he wore were almost as obnoxious as the orange...things...that Naruto never took off. Hardly a fitting appearance for a ninja. Getting this idiot out of the facility would be a similar headache. However, he gained nothing by standing there gaping at this kid's crazy clothes. He walked over and reached through the bars, placing a hand over Lloyd's mouth. The boy's eyes instantly snapped open, but his cry was muffled by Takeshi's hand, just as the ninja had predicted.

Putting his other hand to his mouth, Takeshi proceeded to activate his bloodline limit and produce a jet of white-hot flame. Lloyd immediately backed up, too dumbstruck to say anything, his eyes wide with fear. Takeshi rolled his own eyes and began to cut through the bars, giving Lloyd a deadpan look as he did so. Lloyd took a breath, looking like he was prepared to say something, but Takeshi again put his hand to his mouth. Finishing cutting through one section, he began another. In little time, there was a hole big enough for Lloyd to climb out of. He immediately did so, watching as Takeshi continued to indicate that he remain silent as Takeshi began to weld the bars back into place. It was a quick, shoddy job, but it would pass a casual inspection. Upon finishing, he turned to Lloyd, who was looking on with interest, and began to speak in a low, quiet voice.

"Alright, genius, let's get you out of here. I'm Takeshi, here with Colette, Genis, Raine, and Kratos. Come on and stay quiet if you want to live."

With that, he set off, using his senses to scan the area and ensuring that no guards had appeared. None did show up. Though it took some effort to guide Lloyd without setting off the cameras, they made it back to the tunnel without incident. Takeshi closed it up behind him as he walked, though there was no hiding the hole in the floor, and led Lloyd out to safety. Upon meeting with the remainder of the group, Colette immediately began to gush over Lloyd. Takeshi tuned this out, instead snapping off a faux salute and a lazy grin to the rest.

"Mission: successful."

The group headed back to the hotel, elated with Takeshi's success. The entire way back, Lloyd was badgering Takeshi with questions about how exactly he did what he did. Takeshi gave the same basic explanation he did for the rest of the group, careful not to reveal any secrets. Unfortunately, Genis butted in.

"I've heard a lot about ninja. Aren't you guys pretty much assassins?"

The question was bluntly phrased, and Genis looked slightly angry. Takeshi guessed that anti-ninja propaganda had gotten to this one.

"I won't mince words with you. Yes, we can be. I've had two assassination missions in my career. However, we're also protectors, warriors, healers, and just about anything you can think of. Hell, I'm here protecting you and I just busted your buddy out of jail. How 'bout a little gratitude?"

"Yeah yeah, thanks. But I read that you guys kill anyone who stands in your way!"

"Well you should be glad that I'm on your side then." He sighed. "I can't speak for all shinobi. Some of us do like to kill people just for fun. I'm sure there are people around here who are like that as well. But killing tends to be a very inefficient way to solve problems. It's what we do, but we try to avoid it. And most ninja, or at least all the ones I've associated with, have standards. We won't go after civilians or the like, and we'll try to subdue our foes without killing them. And sometimes assassinations are justified. Life is messy, people die."

Genis looked at him. "I guess that makes sense..."

Takeshi looked at him critically.

"Come to think of it, what are you two smurfs doing here anyways?

(A/N: I have no idea when you can expect updates. I don't have any sort of schedule when I write, but I do want to get this thing out fully completed- I've got ideas for scenes from across the game, but if it really peters out, I've got a convenient way to end it.)