Orphans Chapter 2:
"" – Dialogue
'' – Thinking
?
July 24th, 2013
10:30 PM Local Time
Cassandra
"So… Who do you think is gonna win the Ballon d'Or this year?" A heavily armored man asked in a hushed tone to his equally armored ally.
"Is that even a question? Obviously, Messi." His partner said, his multi-lensed headgear and black facemask hiding the incredulous look that resided on his face.
"Obviously?!" The original man said shouting in a whisper. "Ronaldo has been nothing short of legendary this year and you're saying Messi?" He questioned.
While the two guards continued to bicker about their favored footballers, neither noticed a discreet black shape slip by. The guards were the first of many layers of security of a mansion that was anything but typical.
The main house was in the center of a plot of land that stretched at least an acre in every direction around it. Most of the land was covered in trees, an error from a security standpoint but a boon in terms of style. The tree line was broken by a large, smooth stone, beige-colored fence that was topped with constantly electrified barbed wire. Also lining the fence were top of the line cameras with refresh rates that would make filmmakers salivate. To finish off the outer security were guard checkpoints, one on each wall, that guarded driveways for the owner's many vehicles to pass through.
None of this proved a problem for Cassandra, though.
Getting in was easy. A reliable hacker could make the camera footage loop, making sneaking up to the east checkpoint child's play. When she arrived, the guards were having a heated discussion in a language she didn't understand. This taking their attention away meant that she probably could have walked straight by them, and they wouldn't have noticed.
Not taking this risk, she tapped a dial on the back of her right glove and activated a device within her suit. Said device was made for the specific model of night vision goggles the guards were using, effectively rendering her invisible to the guards.
Once she was past them, the forest was the easiest part as she navigated it by leaping from tree to tree. The forest was littered with all sorts of traps from disorienting mines and beartraps to tripwires and lasers. None of these bothered her up in the branches, though.
Another looped camera trivialized the run up to the building to nothing more than a slightly longer 40-yard dash. While spiked boots and clawed gloves transformed the mansion walls into a light climbing exercise.
Soon, she arrived at her target. The master bedroom window was well-maintained, opening without even the smallest creak, allowing the assassin to enter with nary a sound.
The room was ornate with gold, rose-gold and every other variation of regal colors inhabiting it, with photos and paintings of various styles covering every wall. The paintings appeared to be of random people and landscapes, but the photos were more intimate.
Family portraits. Children's birthday parties. A wedding.
These were the kinds of scenes captured in the photos. As Cassandra made her way over to the bed that was many times larger than her own cot, she was greeted with a heartwarming image.
Her target, a strong-jawed man with well-kept greying brown hair, was snuggled up with a woman of similar features. Judging by the photos, they were a married couple with a beautiful family and enough financial resources that they would want for nothing.
The guards outside and numerous defense mechanisms told another story, however.
Carefully making her way to the bed, Cassandra pulled a syringe and vial from her black utility belt. Drawing the blue liquid into the syringe, she quickly and efficiently injected the wife with it.
Tranquilizer. She wouldn't wake up even if a volcano erupted now.
With that done, Cassandra drew her blade. He skill enabling her to do so without so much as a sound. Lining the point up with the man's jugular, the teen paused. Casting one last look at the largest of the family portraits hanging above the bed, she momentarily imagined what life would be like as one of this man's children.
Living a life of luxury. Surrounded by guards, fences, and cameras. Being provided for and shielded from the world's horrors-one which she was about to commit.
Then her blade descended.
Infinity Island, Caribbean Sea
July 25th, 2013
9:00 AM EST
Back in her room, Cassandra stood at attention. She was still in her mission gear, having just returned and was currently waiting to debrief.
Her mission gear included a skin-tight armored bodysuit that was black on the chest and arms but grey everywhere else. A helmet was also included that covered the entire head with more skin-tight armored material. The only notable feature of the headgear were the red lenses that served as the eyes; there were three on the left eye and one on the right. Finishing the outfit was a sleek, black-sheathed blade that rested on her back-the very same used to end her last target's life.
Cassandra wasn't left to wait long as the sliding door in front of her opened to reveal her commanding officer.
The woman was tall and slender, forcing Cassandra to look up if she wanted to meet her eyes. She had shoulder-length raven colored hair that was straighter and more well-kept than Cassandra's own. She was dressed in a crimson bodysuit with a diamond-shaped hole exposing her sternum as well as some cleavage. The legs of said bodysuit were black, leading down to short, lethally sharp heels that were the same color. The woman had a paler skin tone than Cassandra but possessed eyes of the same brown and eerily similar shape to her own.
This was her commanding officer as well as a higher up in the League of Shadows.
She was Sandra Wu-San, also known as Lady Shiva, the world's most dangerous woman.
The woman responsible for every single scar on her body.
As well as her mother.
Suppressing the complicated feelings that came with looking at her, Cassandra focused.
"Another flawless performance." Sandra praised. "Take off your mask, I wish to see my daughter's face." she commanded.
Cassandra did as she was told, pulling off her mask and returning to her previous stance, mask clenched in her hands as they returned behind her.
"I have just one critique." Lady Shiva said as she drew a large Dao that rested upon her back and set it against Cassandra's neck in the blink of an eye. She lined it up scarily close to the large scare that already rested on her jugular.
Cassandra didn't so much as blink.
"You hesitated just before the kill." Lady Shiva specified, locking eyes with her daughter. Not a shred of emotion was to be found in her eyes, she looked upon Cassandra as if she were worth less than yesterday's trash. "Hear me now and hear me well. Never hesitate again. I will not have my bloodline showing any such weakness." She said to Cassandra's emotionless face.
"Nod if you understand." She ordered.
Cassandra nodded without hesitation.
"Good." Sandra said as she sheathed her Dao. "Other than that, it was a job well done. Be ready for another mission later in the week." The woman said coolly as she turned and left the teen.
Finally, being left alone, Cassandra let herself drop from her stance. Placing her mask down on a makeshift nightstand, she sat on her bed, her expression contemplative.
She thought about the moment she'd hesitated. The visions she'd seen about a happier life. One with a loving mother instead of one who ruthlessly trained her. One with a father who existed in the first place. One where she'd even be able to think about boys. One where she'd be able to speak?
Exhaling deeply, she placed her sword within reach a laid down on her cot.
Dreams were best saved for sleeping.
-Orphans-
Gotham City
July 25th, 2013
10:00 PM EST
Naruto
Naruto once again found himself in the Batcave. This time, he was joined only by Batman and Alfred as he made a few important decisions.
"This might seem premature, but it's better that we get this out of the way sooner rather than later." Batman said, handing him a tablet with a suit design screen.
The screen was pretty simple, having a default template for a superhero costume loaded up with buttons surrounding it that added or removed certain features. The default template was a simple black armored bodysuit that formed the base of the Bat family's suits.
After a quick confirmational rundown of the controls by Alfred, Naruto got to work. After fiddling with the tablet for a minute, Naruto reached a snag.
"If I want to design some of my own stuff, can I?" Naruto asked, making particular reference to the logo on the chest area. The bat wasn't a symbol he felt comfortable carrying.
"Of course, sir. There should be a drawing app on there that you can use to draw what you want, and I should be able to commission it from a friend." Alfred answered promptly.
"Awesome!" Naruto said in satisfaction as he was shown the app in question.
"What did you have in mind?" Alfred asked.
"You'll see." Naruto answered with a mischievous grin on his face.
A few minutes passed as Naruto fiddled with the tablet. Electronic drawing was a foreign experience to him, but adaptability was one of his biggest strengths. Giving his work a once over and giving a nod of approval, he handed the tablet back to Alfred.
"This is doable." Batman said, looking at the screen over Alfred's shoulder.
The suit in question bore the standard black body suit with armored padding that the bat family wore but with some modifications. First, the shoulder pads and arms of the suit were a dark orange as well as the kneepads and outer parts of the legs. The collarbone area of the suit also bore the orange coloring. In the center of the chest there was a red outline of a spiral, denoting it as Naruto's chosen symbol.
The head piece was the most interesting, though.
Naruto's headpiece was a dark orange domino mask that had a black band going around the back of his head. The interesting part came from two ear-like structures that stuck out from the temple area towards the back of his head. They almost appeared to be rabbit ears standing on end.
And for his name?
"Kitsune?" Batman asked.
Naruto nodded.
He'd noticed something off since he came to this new world.
The fox was missing.
He presumed it was at some point while he was falling through dimensions, but the fox seemed to have torn its way out of him. A part of him briefly wondered if the extreme pain he'd felt was more from that or transferring dimensions, but he shrugged it off.
Assuming that everyone he's talked to wasn't pulling the most elaborate prank on him, the fox wasn't in this world. Otherwise, he'd have probably been thoroughly questioned about his involvement with a massive chakra beast arriving with him.
That being said, he just couldn't forget the creature.
His childhood had been ruined by the beast. He was isolated, shunned, ignored, yelled at, beaten, and a multitude of other offenses just for hosting the burden.
He'd probably been called 'Kitsune' more times than his own name.
Thus, when proposed to come up with a name, Naruto immediately arrived at that one out of pure familiarity. He'd shelved it though, as there had to be other things he'd prefer to be called.
Hokage was a name he wanted to be called, but it didn't feel right. It was a title to be earned, not one for a kid like him to claim just because no one else here possessed it.
He briefly considered taking on the moniker of his idol, The Fourth Hokage, but frowned upon that as well. The Yellow Flash, while fitting for his blonde hair, was once again just him taking someone else's hard-earned title.
Then, he had a thought.
Kitsune was a name that he'd always hated due to the chakra beast's influence and the villager's ire.
But that didn't have to be the case.
If he used the name, he could come up with his own definition-his own meaning for the name. This could be the start of a new beginning for him.
Naruto Uzumaki wasn't gonna let his past shackle him anymore.
"It's a name with a lot of history behind it." Naruto said wistfully as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't suppose it would have anything to do with those." Alfred said, gesturing to his cheeks.
This just got a chuckle out of Naruto as he mindlessly scratched his whisker marks. The only indicator left of his former tenant.
A new adventure was about to begin!
Chapter 2 End
A/N: Kitsune is here to save the day!
When he's not pulling pranks on Batman
In this chapter, I wanted to give a first look at what kind of work Cass does and a little insight into what she really wants out of life.
I contrasted this both with the man's life she took as well as Naruto's sudden gaining of the very things she wants. Hopefully you guys can see the basic setup of the story forming here.
This rounded out to about 2100 words, and I'd say that'll be the average length of chapters depending on the story arcs going forward.
Next, I'm probably gonna have a short time skip so Cass can get some more missions under her belt and Naruto can get more acquainted with the world and more importantly English.
Next time: Naruto learns the woes of school and Cass gets a new job! What could possibly go wrong?
*Hint: it's orange.
See you all next time!
-Mango G
P.S: Thank you for all the feedback! I had a few worries going into this story and you all assuaged them with your reviews.