AN: Response to review from Griff: Thank you for enjoying the story, and as I mentioned before, Naruto's time between his 'revival' and ME2 will be explained as we go. As a not-really-an-answer answer to keep you satisfied; Kakashi indulged himself in Jiraiya's books to keep from dwelling on the harsh realities of his lifestyle, perhaps this will help you understand that mercenaries do the same. Some really enjoy their jobs, these are the insane ones, but others (like our blonde hero) enjoy life to escape the realities.
Normandy's Armory, Widow Nebula, Year 2185
"You wanted to talk, Jacob?" Shepard asked as the doors to the armory hissed open and the Commander walked in. The dark skinned biotic looked up from his spot at the armory's computer with a slightly distressed look on his face.
"It's...nothing important Commander," Jacob said, standing and walking over to examine a rifle on the assembling table, "Just a personal issue."
"It has to be something if you wanted to talk about it," Shepard countered as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, "Besides, if it affects my crew's morale, I need to know about it."
"You're a real piece of work, Commander," Jacob chuckled out with a shake of his head as he set the rifle down and looked at his superior, "But, I get your point. Look, it's a past issue resurfaced and I don't know if it's legitimately important but on the off-chance it is-"
"Jacob, you're part of my crew and if I can help in anyway, just ask," Shepard said with a shake of his head, "Now spill it. What's bugging you?"
"Right to the chase," the Cerberus biotic said as he looked evenly at the Spectre, "Ok, look. My dad was an Alliance First Officer on a ship that went missing about fifteen years ago. He taught me everything that I know today."
"Let me take a shot in the dark: You got information providing a location for your father's vessel and now you wanna check it out, right?" Shepard asked. Jacob snorted and crossed his arms.
"Were you a detective in a past life or something?" he asked the strawberry blonde, earning a shrug in response, "Yeah, someone sent me the location of the VI-issued distress beacon of my father's ship."
"Is it legitimate?" Shepard asked the Cerberus Biotic.
"I've run it through several checks to signals and codes imbedded in my father's previous messages..." he said with a nod before heavily sighing, "And...they match."
"Shouldn't we leave this to the Alliance?" asked the Spectre.
Jacob snorted in displeasure, "If I left anything to the Alliance, I would be dead by now. I gotta do this on my own, see my father with my own eyes; whether he's dead or alive."
"That's understandable, Jacob," Shepard said with a nod, "Give me the coordinates and I'll get you there."
"You don't have to do that, Commander," the man said while rubbing his neck, "I could handle it on my own and be back before you make the jump."
"If it concerns my crew, it concerns me, Jacob," Shepard said with a small grin, "Keep trying to back me out of things and I'll keep hitting you with that cheesy line."
"Heh, you make a good argument, Shepard," the biotic replied before grinning back, "Alright. Here, these are the coordinates of the VI's distress beacon. I've gotta make some quick personal calls..."
"Say no more," Shepard said, taking the offered small datapad and walking out of the Armory and towards the Lab to check on Naruto and Mordin. He was confused as to why the Salarian Doctor would want to talk to the blonde assassin, but as he thought about that, he thought about how the blonde refused to talk to the Yeoman, Kelly Chambers, who acted as the ship's personal psychiatrist.
"If I'm gonna share my problems with anybody, it's going to be some drunken jackass I'll kill in a fight, or the next chick I wake up next to with a hangover. No fucking mind-doctor of yours is gonna get in my head, Shepard!" Naruto had said after storming into Shepard's personal quarters after receiving a third request to talk from Yeoman Chambers. The blonde exploded into smoke immediately afterwards, the technique he called Ka-gay Boo-shin was starting to get on the Spectre's nerves, and had caused the strawberry blonde to wonder about his choice in accepting Naruto's help.
"...Need to hurry. Excuse you," Mordin Solus said as Naruto sneezed. The Salarian offered him a tissue while continuing, "Shepard has enough problems. Believe you are more...open-minded to my work, anyway."
"Thanks Doc," the blonde replied, taking the offered tissue with a nod and blowing his nose before continuing, "But I wouldn't count Shepard out so fast. Guy's pretty decent, so Joker's said anyway, and he gives off the vibe of a man you can count on."
"Indeed," Mordin said, "But has past issues with many unnecessary deaths, could be nuisance to my problem."
"I see your point," Naruto mumbled, tossing the used tissue in the trash and then placing his germ-free hand on his chin. They both looked at the door when the doors opened and the man they had been discussing walked in. Naruto blinked before grinning and looking back at the Salarian.
"Well, well, well..." Naruto said with a grin, "Looks like you could ask him yourself. If he turns you down, you know where to find me."
"I do. Thank you, Fox," Mordin said with a small smile. The blonde grinned and walked out towards the CIC, hearing the Salarian begin to explain his problem to Shepard. Naruto dropped his smile as he entered the CIC and a red-headed woman stood before him with her arms crossed, two Cerberus grunts standing behind her with rifles ready. The blonde sighed and crossed his arms.
"So..." Naruto began, "Shepard finally gave you the 'Go Ahead' then?"
"No," a female voice with a slightly British accent said from his left, making Naruto turn and blink as Miranda continued, "I did, though."
"You don't run the ship, Babe," the blonde mercenary shot back with narrowed eyes, "And unless Shepard orders it...nah, fuck that. Even if he ordered it, I'd probably kill these two saps the kind Yeoman here would try to restrain me with and shove em into the airlock. The amount of time it would take depends on them."
"You have a very dark sense of humor," Kelly said, speaking with a frown on her face, "You've seen many things, haven't you?"
"Sweetheart, that's an understatement that would take hours to correct," Naruto snorted out, looking back at her with his yellow eyes before he frowned, "Don't examine me!"
"You're very solitary," Kelly noted, "But you still let a small select few in...EDI, Joker, Mordin, Grunt, Jack..."
"Nobody asked you," Naruto growled as he started to walk around her when one of the Cerberus grunts grabbed his shoulder. Naruto reached over and grabbed the wrist of the offending arm before twisting around and driving his other elbow into the gut of the grunt. The other man hesitated and Naruto grinned at him as the attempting detainer dropped to his knees and held his gut while coughing heavily.
"You want some too, Chuckles?" he asked the man with a sadistic grin. Receiving silence as an answer, Naruto snorted again and began to turn when a cloth covered his mouth and nose. The blonde's yellow eyes widened as he inhaled before they slowly shut, his last conscious thought being, Chlorophyll...should've seen it...coming...damn...
Naruto awoke strapped to a chair in the medical bay, his head throbbing slightly as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. He glanced to his left and frowned when he saw Chakwas and Kelly smiling slightly at him.
"Traitor..." he grumbled to the doctor, earning a laugh from the woman, before he glanced at the redheaded girl and smirked, "You could've told me you're into bondage and playing Doctor before tying me up in a medical chair."
"Flirting won't get you out of this, Naruto," Chakwas said before looking at a blushing young psychologist, "Don't mind him, it's one of his defenses."
"O-Of course," Kelly replied before coughing and clearing her throat, the blush still faintly visible on her cheeks, "Now, I want you to tell me about your life after your term in The Alliance. I know you worked with Lt. Alenko before he and Commander Shepard were even acquainted, maybe you could start with how you had a falling out?"
"Babe told ya that?" Naruto asked with an arched brow, "Don't answer. Tch, Jack was right, she is a Cheerleader. Or a Girl Scout...Hey, Chakwas, is there any woman on this ship not into roleplaying?"
Dr. Chakwas shook her head and stood, looking over her shoulder as she left, "Don't let his words deceive you, Ms. Chambers. He'll open up in time."
"TRAITOR!" Naruto hollered as the doors hissed shut. He gritted his teeth before looking at Kelly with dismay.
"Fine, I'll talk..." he grumbled. The Yeoman smiled slightly and sat back in her chair.
"Start with the day after you left the Alliance, the day that Biotic was killed," Kelly said, opening an electronic notepad. The blonde sighed before closing his eyes and opening them, his eyes becoming cerulean blue. Kelly gasped as she saw resonating sadness, loneliness, and intense hatred within them.
"The day I...returned to my roots," Naruto began before chuckling darkly, "How about I just skip to when I killed him?"
Kelly swallowed and looked at her chart, "T-The reports don't name the killer."
"Fuck the reports! I didn't kill him expertly and leave evidence, or I wouldn't be here right now!" the blonde snarled, making the Yeoman jump in her seat, "I killed him that night, when everyone thought I was packing in my room. It was my Kage Bunshin-"
"Your duplicate ability?" Kelly asked, earning an annoyed glare from the man.
"No, that's my turtle's name," he snapped back, "Yes! God, can I please continue without interruption?"
"S-Sorry," Kelly stuttered out. The now blue eyed shinobi muttered under his breath before shaking his head.
"Anyway," he continued, "My Kage Bunshin was packing for me while I was doing more...practical things with my time. Like finding the holding cell the Alliance put that baka of a biotic. Oh I found him, eventually...It cost three Turbian C-Sec members their lives, and I do feel bad about them. Only slightly, though."
"O-Ok," the redheaded Yeoman quietly said before taking a calming breath and looking at the blonde, "What about your childhood? Did you ever have a problem with your parents?"
Naruto's eyes squeezed shut and he turned away before looking back and making Kelly gasp again at the intense red boring into her gaze.
"Release me. This interview is over." He growled, the red eyes with the four-stared pupils becoming very intimidating to the Yeoman. Kelly gulped and wrote a quick sub-note on her pad before pressing the release button.
No faster than a second later, the redheaded woman was against the wall, struggling against the grip on her throat. Naruto's eyes were narrowed and glaring into hers, making her regret her decision about asking him of his parents. The blonde merc kept his glare before releasing her throat and letting her drop to her knees. Kelly rubbed her neck and froze when the boots of the violent merc appeared in her line of sight.
"Yeoman..." he started making her slowly look up at him, "You've crossed the line. This is my only warning. Stay away from me, and my past. Am I understood, Chambers?"
"Y-Yes sir," Kelly whimpered out. The blonde grinned and snapped his fingers.
"She's waking up!" Miranda announced to the gathered crew as Kelly slowly sat up and held her head, "Yeoman Chambers, are you ok?"
"w-What happened?" Kelly asked as she looked around. The two men that had been chosen to assist her in forcefully interviewing the mercenary known as Naruto were assisting her to her feet and a concerned pair of yellow eyes came into her line of vision.
"You just suddenly passed out," Naruto said, putting his hand against her head, "She has a slight fever. Better take her down to the Doc."
"But I...we...I...it was a dream?" Kelly whispered out. Naruto frowned again and looked at Miranda.
"Fainting and fevers? Those are signs of overworking her mind if I'm right," he informed her, "Tell Chakwas I think she's just exhausted. Give her a day off to rest in the med bay."
"I'll leave that to the doctor, thank you very much," Miranda said with a frown before helping Kelly walk to the elevator. The surrounding group dispersed just as a smile came over the merc's face. He chuckled and walked towards the cockpit.
"Man, I love genjutsu," the blonde quietly said with a smile as his eyes flashed red. The blonde strolled into the cockpit and collapsed in the chair belonging to the co-pilot that was never assigned to this ship. A grinning man with a beard looked over at him.
"Geez, took ya long enough," Joker said. Naruto glanced at the pilot with a grin of his own.
"Hey, blame the genius 'Illusive Man' that put Chambers on this ship," he countered before going into a thinking pose, "I think there might have been an alternative reason for Chambers' recruitment...one for a more...sensual reason, perhaps?"
"Dirty-dirty, Mr. Fox," Joker chuckled out before scowling as another block came onto his view screen, "Goddamn it...You sorry excuse for a virus! Stop sending me conformation requests!"
"Mr. Monroe, we wouldn't be interfacing in a negative manner if you'd please stop acting without discussing it with me first," The blue orb said as it popped up. Naruto snickered.
"You two are like an old married Salarian couple," the blonde said with a grin, "EDI, knock it off with the emails, they're disruptive."
"I beg to differ, Naruto," The AI countered, reappearing on his right, "I find them to be informative on a different manner...plus, it persuades Mr. Monroe to talk to me. Now, if only I can get him to stop with the oil..."
"What's wrong with a little decorating?" Joker countered, earning a laugh from the merc. The two were continuously chastised by the AI for their carefree and bitter humorous ways. In response, Naruto spewed a bit of sludge from his throat at the AI, making EDI actually sputter while Joker broke down laughing, tears pouring from his eyes.
Later, Naruto found himself called to the Comms Room, where he found Shepard, Miranda, Grunt, Kasumi, Mordin, Jacob, Jack and of course, Garrus waiting for him. The Turian watched him with a suspicious eye and Jacob with a narrowed glare, the latter also reaching to his neck, showing he hadn't forgotten Naruto's actions. Naruto ignored Jacob's gesture, but he took note of it. He crossed his arms and jumped to the ceiling, sitting on it comfortably and disturbing a few watching him as he defied the laws of physics.
"So what's up, Shepard?" Naruto asked, voicing everyone's thoughts in the room, "There a smoking hot princess that needs to be saved, cuz if so, I have dibs."
Shepard allowed a small smile to grace his face, not denying the blonde's wit kept tense moments low while aboard the ship (unless he was the cause of course), before he spoke, "Well, since you offered, then you can assist Kasumi."
Naruto blinked and looked at the thief, who looked away from his gaze, a small blush on her features, before he looked back at the Spectre with a grin, "The boss is ordering me to take Kat-chan on a date? Epic win!"
"Yeah, well, while you're having all the fun, Miranda and I are going to help Jacob with some personal issues in the Alpha Draconis System," the Commander of the Cerberus ship said, "I want everyone else to keep on their toes while I'm off ship. We're still at 'War' people, even if the Alliance or the Council won't acknowledge it. Be safe, be careful, and above all, don't die."
"You remind me of one of my old teachers," Naruto chuckled out before dropping to the ground and landing next to a startled Kasumi. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and grinned at her, "So what's the problem, Kat-chan?"
"Stop calling me that," Kasumi muttered as she slipped out of his grip and left the Comms Room. Naruto looked back at Shepard with a smirk.
"She digs me," he joked, making Grunt and Jack chuckle, before he turned and followed the thief. As soon as he left the Comms Room he made a mad dash for the elevator, barely catching it with his hand and entered it with Kasumi. The thief stepped to the side and hugged her arms in an effort to make herself smaller as she stood in the corner.
Naruto leaned on the other wall before banging on it twice with his fist. EDI popped up in the elevator and the blonde merc looked at her, "Shut it down. No audio on the camera."
"Done, need anything else?" EDI asked, earning a shake of the head as a response. The AIs image vanished and Naruto looked at Kasumi.
"You're going after Hock, aren't you?" he asked quietly. Kasumi remained silent and so he continued, "I'm not going to lie and jump into this blindly, Kat-chan-"
"Stop...Stop calling me that," Kasumi mumbled. Naruto sighed and rested his head against the wall.
"Keiji really did ask me to take care of you, Kat-chan," the blonde said, earning her attention, "He wanted you to have something."
Naruto reached into his jacket and tossed a small rectangular device to her. The hooded thief blinked as she coughed it before examining it in her hands, finding a red button on the bottom. She pressed the button and a holographic Asian man appeared before her. His smile kind and loving nearly caused her to break out in tears, she did however gasp and covered her mouth with one hand.
"Kasumi...If you're watching this without me, then I've been killed and Naruto managed to give you the two things I asked him to. If you're watching this and I'm next to you, then we must be really, really drunk off our asses," the man said with a grin, making Kasumi fight the pain as she released a small laugh. The man sighed before becoming serious, "Kasumi...Naruto told me how you met. It was before you had met me and only a few days before our arranged heist. You need to move on from being ashamed, Kasumi. You can forgive yourself and move on or you could always join some stranger with a couple of drinks while feeling sorry for yourself *chuckles*. I'll support your choice; I always have and always will. I love you, Kasumi."
"I love you too, Keiji-kun..." Kasumi whispered as a lone tear trailed down her cheek and she looked back at the blonde, only to find a lone falling leaf in his place. A moment later, the elevator started up again and the master thief squeezed the small device in her hands before watching the video again.
I should have given that to her during our first interaction, Naruto mused as he watched from his makeshift chair as Kasumi entered the shuttle bay. She wiped furiously at her eyes before beaming a smile up to Naruto, who was sitting on a box labeled, "CAUTION: Dangerous Chemicals!"
"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Kasumi quietly thanked him. Naruto grinned back and his eyes shut, giving him a foxy appearance and making the thief blush.
"No problem, Kat-chan," he said with a grin before his smile turned predatory, "Let's go get that son of a Rachni, shall we?"
"Hai," Kasumi said with a nod. The two entered the spare shuttle that was in the bay, Naruto grimacing when he looked in the back and saw a suit.
"You're not really planning an undercover heist are you?" Naruto asked "That's so cliché!"
"Who's the master thief here?" Kasumi shot back, making the yellow eyed merc grumble about 'Not Fair'. The thief giggled, her laugh not seeming as withdrawn as it was before, before starting the engines and taking to the empty space above the planet Bekenstein. Reluctantly, Naruto climbed into the back and sealed his current clothes into his shoulder before he began pulling the fancy formal outfit on.
"Don't think I can't see you looking in the mirror, Kat-chan!" Naruto said with a smirk when he glanced up and caught her watching him. The thief blushed and looked straight ahead, ignoring the grunts and groans coming from the blonde.
"I-I was making sure you didn't rip it!" Kasumi shouted back, her face glowing with a faint pink tint.
"Yeah, sure, that's what they all say," Naruto grumbled as he climbed back into the front of the shuttle, "So, who's the Hack got covering his scrawny ass this time?"
Kasumi looked at him for a moment before smiling and looking ahead, "You should wear formal wear more often."
"Is that an offer?" the blonde shot back with a small grin. Kasumi couldn't resist grinning back and replying, "Maybe...if you're good."
"I'll be good," Naruto chuckled out before crossing his arms, "So what's the plan?"
"Well, you to go in alone while I take the security out and we'd meet up in the vault," Kasumi replied, "where a lovely statue of the late Saren will be waiting, stocked with several weapons of our choice and some extra armor."
"Tch, armor-shmarmor," Naruto scoffed off with a wave of his hand as she descended the vehicle towards Donovan Hock's private manor. Rather, one of Donovan Hock's many private manors. Naruto looked at Kasumi as they docked and a chauffeur walked up to them.
"My cover?" he asked.
"Solomon Gunn," Kasumi shot back as the cockpit opened and the two exited, Naruto walking ahead of Kasumi and subtly casting a genjutsu over her. He was greeted personally by a man in his mid-forties, straight and narrow black hair and an artist's goatee on his head and cold grey eyes crinkled as he smiled to the newcomer.
"Ah, welcome, welcome," the man said, "I am Donovan Hock, Esquire." Naruto resisted rolling his eyes as Hock continued, "I'm so elated you could make it Mr..."
"Gunn. Solomon Gunn," Naruto replied, taking a friendly approach as he offered the man his hand. Hock glanced down at the hand as though it was a second head before looking up at Naruto expectantly. Naruto retracted his offered hand, coughing to clear the awkwardness, before gesturing to the statue coming up on his left.
"My gift to you," he said, "A statue of the late Saren, rouge Spectre, and a former colleague of yours if I'm correct."
"Herm, perhaps," was the rich-man's reply before one of his servants walked up to him, "Yes Marik?"
"Deepest apologies, sirs, but the statue isn't registering clear on the internal scan," the servant replied, activating his bio-ware and scanning the statue again. Naruto and Kasumi waited through the tense moment, the former releasing a small breath through his nose when Marik looked back up and smiled, "All clear. I'll just wheel it to the vault."
"Please do," Hock said with a nod before smiling and patting Naruto at the shoulder, "Come Mr. Gunn! Join in the festivities."
"Gladly!" Naruto replied with a smile as they entered the building and Kasumi activated her cloaking device, following back behind them.
"Shit...that's one mess I wouldn't wanna clean up," Jacob said as he, Miranda and Shepard walked towards a wrecked Alliance cruiser, partially beached on the shore of the planet Aeia, "So this is it...The MSV Hugo Gernsback."
"Probably looked better when it was docked," Shepard commented, holstering his sidearm, "There's the VI that sent the distress signal. Shall we?"
"Yeah..." Jacob said, walking towards it and collapsing his shotgun before placing it on his back. As they approached the VI, Jacob spoke, "Hey! What's the purpose of this Unit?"
"VI purpose r-reactivated to s-s-send out distress b-b-beacon, ten days, fifteen hours, and seven minu-minu-minutes ago," the VI replied. Shepard crossed his arms.
"Two weeks? That's a bit recent, isn't it?" he asked the VI, "When did the crash occur."
"Crash of MSV Hugo Gernsback occurred ten years, three months, two weeks, six days, and seventeen hours ago," the VI recited.
"And the rescue message was only just sent out?" Miranda commented. Jacob scowled.
"That's not right," the biotic mumbled before addressing the VI, "Who activated the beacon?"
"Acting Captain Ronald Taylor activated the beacon," the machine replied. Jacob seemed confused by this.
"But...My father wasn't the Captain. He wasn't even the next in line for the job," he said, before shaking his head, "Let's investigate the wreckage before we go any further. I wanna make sure we don't miss anything."
"It's your show, Jacob," Shepard said, gesturing to the makeshift bridge connecting the land to the ship wreckage. The biotic nodded thankfully and led the three of them towards the wrecked ship. The team all watched their step as they crossed the rusted-metallic bridge. Miranda scowled upon stepping into the ship.
"Well...this makes things quite difficult, doesn't it?" she asked when they all noticed the stripped walls and broken screens of various computer modules nearly a decade old. Jacob sighed and rubbed his neck.
"This is going to suck..." the biotic groaned out before following his commander's example and going to one of the broken screens.
AN: To be Continued...Sorry about the shortness, I'll try to make the next chapter longer. PEACE.
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