I don't own Cyborg 009, this is a fanfiction only.

I ran as fast I could back to the hangar, I saw how the base was tearing itself apart, and the rubble was making it hard for the ship we planned to use to make an escape. I stood at the very tip of the front section of the ship's outer hull.

I used one Jutsu my teacher taught me long ago. The massive ball of spinning chakra was just large enough to destroy the rubble and create a big enough hole that the ship finally began to pick up speed. I jumped into one of the hatches at it opened.

I was surprised to see 003 smiling as I got in. "009 thank you for playing along. It should make my life a lot easier without those two competing over who get's to try to woe me. How did you figure I wanted you to help me with that little problem?"

I looked at the blonde beauty and I smiled, "I am a Ninja, it is rather simple for me to read your body language, and the fact that they didn't even notice you holding Ivan, well that means they were focused on you. There is also the benefit that when my eyes are active I can read a person's mind by looking into their eyes. Ivan is not the only one that can read minds."

I decided to play with her mind a bit, I stepped closer to her than she expected. "You know I am not lying when I say I could be very interested in getting to know you better."

She laughed and gave a quick kiss on my cheek, she then moved her head close to mine and I thought she was going to do something to my ear. I heard from some of my old ninja friends that girls sometimes bite their boyfriend's ear.

"How about you learn a bit about me, and then you decide if you really want to pursue a relationship with me. Just for being honest, here is a free bit of information about me. I might look like this, but I am a lot older than I look."

I didn't understand why would that matter so much, from the way she held 001 I could tell she was a very nice, caring, and considerate person. From the way she acted, I could tell she hates perverts with a passion and doesn't like other to decide things for her.

I guess if I wish to earn her heart, I will just have to work at it. Everything I have seen so far has been to my liking, I guess I should really make myself useful. I went to see if the professor needed anything.

He was reading something and I could tell it was something that worried him. "Something the matter Professor?" He looked at me with a shocked look on his face.

"I guess I should be worried, if not suspicious of you Joe. I just printed a copy of a communication between Black Ghost and his field commanders. It says all of us, including the cyborgs from 001 to 008 are expendable and have permission to kill on sight except for you. You are to be captured and taken alive and unharmed to him."

"I know that you wouldn't do something to harm 003, even these old eyes can see that you care about her a great deal to help her with her little play to discourage 002 and 007. I just left wondering why does Black Ghost want you captured instead of killed? What makes you different than all of us?"

I wanted to keep this a secret for as long as I could but the Professor would have serious trust issues if I choose to withhold this secret. I knew that it would cause a rift between us that we might actually not survive and I also knew that was my father's intent by doing this.

"Very well Doctor Gilmore, you want the answer to that, but first I ask you to keep this between us and that means for the fly on the wall to keep his mouth shut, are we clear on this 007?"

007 flew down to the floor and turned back into his regular form. "I was here to check on the doctor, he seemed a bit worried after he pointed out that captured communication, but I can keep a secret Joe, you don't need to worry about me."

In a different time, I would have killed him just to make certain, I guess I am changing somehow and I don't know why. "The one that we call Black Ghost is someone that has some ties with me. He is the traitor who butchered my entire clan. Only he and I remain and that is because he is my father."

I sat down and looked at them both, "My Hokage's last order was to hunt down this man and make him pay for his betrayal of our village and his murder. If you think I will side with Black Ghost, you are absolutely wrong. If this gets out and I am told to leave."

I got up and began to walk towards the exit of the room. "If the others think I can not be trusted, and I am asked to leave or even if they try to kill me, I will leave and you will never hear from me again, but make no mistake. I will complete my mission, I will hunt that traitor down and I will end his life if it's the last thing I do."

007 pretended to clear his throat, "Even though he is your father?" I didn't think there was a need to answer that, but since I was revealing one secret might as well as do it completely. "Yes, even if he is my father. I am a ninja and have been given a mission. I will kill him no matter who he is."

I stepped outside the room and decided to go towards the engine room, I needed something to keep my mind busy and I was hearing this horrible sound coming from the engine room.

It turns out that the enemy planted several explosives in the engine room. I was able to remove them all and place them all in a storage scroll. I placed the scroll in a rear torpedo tube and fired.

Just like I guessed there was a submarine following us, and as soon as the storage scroll hit the enemy sub, the bombs inside came out and they went off destroying the enemy sub completely.

I found some place to sleep and decided that after everything that happened so far, I could really use a nap.

I woke up as someone was putting something on me, I saw that it was 003 and she was putting a blanket over me. "Sorry that I woke you up, I thought that you might catch a cold sleeping like that so I tried putting a blanket on you. Since you are awake, mind if we talk about some things that been bothering me?"

I took off the blanket and folded it. I placed it on the deck so that she may have a comfortable place for her to sit. "I am just guessing but I think this has something to do with who my father is."

She nodded her head as she sat down on the folded blanket. "It has something to do with that, I can't very well deny it. It also has to do with something that came to me as you answered 007. Hope you don't mind me asking about this."

I smiled and sat down on the deck, "I don't really mind, the only thing I mind is that I don't have anything to offer you in a way of a drink. You can ask me anything you want, and as long as I can answer it. Just keep in mind some things I can't answer just because I am not supposed to as a ninja."

"You really have no problem with hunting down and killing your own father?" I guess I should have expected that to be the first question. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. As soon as I finished I looked at her.

"No, I don't have any trouble, problem or reason to hesitate. He is my father, but after what he did, he is a mass murder and a traitor to my leader, clan, and village. I have never failed a mission, and I am not planning to fail this one, just because the mission target is my father."

I saw that she was having trouble dealing with this answer so I decided to tell her a little more about my childhood, maybe that would help her better understand.

"Francoise I see that this is a bit confusing, but after I tell you about my childhood maybe that will help you understand why I think the way I do. My training began when I was first able to walk. One tenth of all the kids that were born the same year I was died before they reach the age of eight."

She was watching me like I had described something horrible, "At the age of eight begins out skills, and combat training. Some of us have already killed at that age and by the time we graduate from the academy every single one of us was a proficient, skilled and able killer."

"All this before we reach our fifteen birthday, a ninja doesn't waste time in play or having fun. Not even birthday parties, celebrations of any kind. We were doing missions or training and that was every single day. We had no holidays, no vacations and if we spent a prolonged time resting it was because we were in the hospital."

"So believe me, I have no problem at all killing that traitor. Killing and combat are as common to me as breathing. I can do it without much of a second thought. Now you probably think I am some sort of monster, and you want nothing to do with me. I did it to defend my people, and my village."

I looked at the deck and began shaking my head, "Not that it did any good in the end, I am the last of my clan, as far as I know my village is gone and for the first moment in my entire life I never felt as alone as I do now."

I don't know when she got off the blanket, or even when she moved where I was, but I as I finished telling her this I felt her wrap her arms around my neck and lean on my back. "That is not true Joe, you aren't alone. We are here with you, it's just too horrible to think that you would have to kill your own father."

"At the very least I am here Joe, you need to talk with someone. I am always willing to talk with you about anything." She got up and left me thinking about what that truly meant for me. I heard her close the hatch and I looked at where she had been seated.

I couldn't figure out why my heart felt like I ran a marathon, why was I feeling so moved by a single act of kindness. I lost all the people I ever cared about and here in the guts of this stolen ship I find myself becoming more and more attracted to a woman I barely know. I mean I have known her for less than a week.

I decided that I might as well take a short nap, and as I woke up I heard the ship coming to a halt and it sounded like we had docked. I walked up to the place everyone had been and saw that I was the last person on board the ship still.

I didn't like this one bit, 'I don't know why but this could be a trap. Damn it! I should have figured the bastard had a way to recall the ship. That whole hidden bomb ploy was to lower our guard!'

I came out of the ship and saw that the place was dark, but thanks to my chakra I could see perfectly well. I jumped from the hatch to the dock and began to look around. 'I need to find the others and need to plan a way to get them to safety. There is no way in hell I am letting him her Francoise and the others!'

I began to look at all the obvious places until I felt someone behind me.

"So you must be Joe, the others told me you were taking a nap, the young lady was quite clear that she didn't want you disturbed. You don't need to worry, the others and my friend are up on my house. Now stop glaring at me 007 I am not your enemy, in fact, I am more of a friend to you than you realize."

"Who are you old man?" I saw him beginning to laugh hard. "I am Doctor Kozumi, a friend of your friend Doctor Gilmore. But if you want to know my other title, I suppose you can call me a former Kazekage, does that help you relax Joe?"

"Why would a Kage live out alone and not in the village?" He laughed and simply said he wanted to retire at a place he could fish, and live a nice quiet life, something he was quick to remark he would never have in any of the hidden villages.

I would love to tell him that he was wrong, but even I knew better than to say that out loud. "So tell me Jounin of the Village Hidden in Edo, what is your current mission? How can this old Kage help you achieve it?"

I looked at him and tried to be as serious as possible, "Help my friends, that is more than enough." We both walked out of the dock and into an elevator. He began to tell me the dock was built beneath his house, which for security reasons was built to look quite modest.