บท 2: Chapter 2: Adjusting
Well I am really….wow, I'm just really happy how so many people are already enjoying this fanfic. I mean, this is an idea that just….oh this past year or two, I really wanted to write this one, and I'm just….I'm glad you all like it.
Hopefully, I won't go and ruin an awesome start with lame following chapters. Guess we'll see, won't we?
Anyways, I mentioned this at the start of my Harry Potter Year 3 fanfic, but lovinaelita has a NaruHina fanfic challenge/request for anyone interested in taking it. Though he requests that anyone who does Pm him be ready to actually complete it. So if you're itching to write a NaruHina fanfic, but don't quite have an idea of your own yet, give him a PM.
Also, big thank you to mattwilson83 for not only drawing the picture I'm using for this story's cover, but also giving me permission to use it. Thank you matt!
So, with that business complete, it's time to get on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and Ubisoft.
Chapter 2
Adjusting
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead as he walked down a corridor in the ANBU Headquarters. He had been at home with his family, enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet, when an ANBU had appeared and delivered the news. A small group of drunken men had cornered Naruto Uzumaki and tried to attack him, only to be stopped by Chuunin Anko Mitarashi. When the mob moved to attack her as well, an unknown assailant attacked them using nothing but an unknown form of taijutsu. When an ANBU patrol moved to arrest him, he nearly escaped using impressive free running and parkour skills. However, he had eventually been knocked out, restrained, and brought here.
Sarutobi quietly looked over a scroll detailing what had been learned so far about this individual. The person wore some type of robe with leather based armor and hood, and carried numerous weapons. Sarutobi glanced at a part of the report, detailing what had been removed from the captive.
"The assailant carries numerous weapons, almost all of which seem to be light and maneuverable. These weapons include:
1 sword of unknown design and origin
1 dagger of unknown design and origin
1 crossbow with quiver of 25 bolts
1 pouch containing 2 smoke bombs
1 pouch containing 10 unknown small metal balls and 10 small paper tubes filled with black powder. Possibly explosives.
1 belt containing 20 small throwing knives of unknown design and origin
2 bracers containing retractable blades. Right hand bracer also contains a hollow needle containing poison, some type of dart launching system, and an apparatus of unknown capabilities.
Tactical Analysis: Due to the light weight of the weapons and armor removed from individual, as well as the nature of quite of few of the weapons and items removed, assailant is possibly a non-ninja trained assassin. A scan of the assailant by a Hyuuga has confirmed that assailant has chakra coils of sufficient size to be a ninja, but that no evidence of any type of training or control of chakra is present."
Sarutobi sighed again at that. This man seemed to be an assassin of some type. But where he was from, and what was his target were the questions.
Another question though was bothering him. If this man was an assassin, why did he blow his cover to protect Naruto and Anko? Why did he use non-lethal force against those civilians, when he could have easily dispatched them and left? Sarutobi shook his head as he approached the secure room where the man was being held. Outside stood two ANBU, rigid and at attention. Sarutobi nodded to them both, and one of them opened the door.
The room inside was lit by only a single lamp hanging above a table. Sitting on one side was an imposing figure dressed in a grey uniform with a black overcoat and gloves. Over his head he wore a Konoha headband like a bandana, hiding the numerous burns and scars that decorated his head. This was Ibiki Morino, Konoha's head interrogator.
Sitting across from him was the assailant. The figure was still wearing the robe, minus the armor and with the hood down. This revealed a young man, probably seventeen or eighteen. He had tanned skin, with the beginnings of a beard growing in. His brown hair was shoulder length, but pulled back into a ponytail. His brown eyes were looking up, watching Sarutobi.
Ibiki slowly stood up and walked over to Sarutobi, before whispering quietly to him. "Hokage-sama, I haven't been able to get anything out of him. I'm tempted to bring a Yamanaka in to do a mind dive, if we can't get any answers from him."
Sarutobi nodded quietly. "Call Inoichi in. While you do that, I'll see if I can't get through to him."
Ibiki nodded and headed out the door. As he did, one of the ANBU moved inside to act as a guard in case the prisoner did anything.
Sarutobi slowly sat down, watching the young man in front of him. The man grinned at him. "So, what can I do for you, senor?" He asked.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked.
Raphael just smiled. "Pay it no mind. But I have to ask, is this how people who rescue damsels in distress and young kids are treated? If so, I'll have to remember not to do it again. Or at least, not get caught," he said in a joking voice.
Sarutobi let out a sigh. "I do not wish to waste time with jokes," he said simply. "The only reason you are not being interrogated and tortured for information is because you were protecting one of my shinobi, and a child being unfairly abused. That can be changed quickly. Now tell me, who is your target here in Konoha?"
The smile faded form Raphael's face and eyes, and he sighed. "Very well. I have no idea where I am," he said simply. "I did not come here to your village on purpose. One minute I'm in an underground chamber under a city. The next I'm falling into the woods outside your village. I was trying to get my bearings and locate some information when I ran into the mob problem," he said simply, sitting back.
Sarutobi eyed him. "You expect me to believe that you just appeared suddenly? From out of nowhere?"
Raphael shrugged. "I expect you to believe nothing. Accept my story or don't. All I care about is not dying or being imprisoned if I can avoid it."
Sarutobi sat back. "Then please, tell me your story," he said simply.
Raphael tilted his head back in thought for a moment, before finally speaking. "My name is Raphael Cortez. I was born in a country called...hmmm….what's the word again? Ah yes, Supein (Spain)." (1)
Sarutobi blinked at that. "I've never heard of such a country," he said.
Raphael shrugged. "That is not entirely surprising I suppose. Cathay has been pretty much closed off to outsiders for centuries, hasn't it?" He asked. (2)
Sarutobi blinked. "Cathay…..what is Cathay?"
Raphael raised an eyebrow. "This is. This country, or rather this area is known as Cathay to my people. Although, if I remember correctly, your people call it Nippon, or Nihon, yes?"
Sarutobi just stared at him. "This country is called Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire). I have never heard it referred to as Nippon," he said.
Raphael's eyes widened at that. "I….okay, I think I can maybe clear things up," he said. "May I see a map of the world? Please?"
Sarutobi just sighed and signaled the ANBU inside the room. That ANBU went to the door and talked to the one outside, who nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later he was back with a map.
The ANBU inside the room took it and laid it on the table, weighting the corners down. Raphael took one look and his heart stopped beating.
He knew that maps of the Cathay region were still fairly raw and inaccurate, so the difference between a European map of the region and a native map of the region would probably be quite different. But what he saw here was far too different to simply be a lack of knowledge of the area. It could only mean one thing.
Slowly, Raphael slumped back into his chair, just staring at the map. Then he slowly looked up at Sarutobi. "…I think there is something very wrong here," he said simply.
Sarutobi leaned forward. "What is wrong is that someone with a lot of assassin weapons attacked civilians in my village. Now I want to know how you got into my village, and why," he said his voice dead serious.
Raphael looked up at him. "…I don't know, alright? I don't know. As I said, I was in a tomb underneath a cathedral, and then there was an explosion of energy and some type of….hole or vortex that sucked me in. And then I'm suddenly falling into the woods outside your village! That's all I know!" He shouted.
Sarutobi watched him. "I see. And what proof do you have exactly of this…..vortex that brought you here?"
Raphael growled. "I don't have any. How can I prove a giant rip in the air dropped me here into your village?!"
The ANBU tensed at Raphael's yelling and grabbed the ninjato strapped to his back, but was stopped by a raised hand from Sarutobi. Sarutobi watched Raphael, who was looking at the map again. His body seemed to be radiating an aura of defeat.
At that moment, the door opened and Ibiki entered with a man wearing black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. He also wore black sandals with what appeared to be cloth or tape around the ankles, gauntlets over his forearms, and a green flak vest with numerous pockets. Over this he wore a red sleeveless coat. The man had long blond hair in a high ponytail, and black headband with the metal plate and emblem Raphael had seen around town.
Sarutobi looked up. "Inoichi-san, thank you for coming," he said, getting up. The now named Inoichi bowed.
"Ibiki-san said you needed me to do a mind dive?" He asked his leader. Sarutobi nodded.
"Indeed. I'm afraid that so far, my conversation has not turned up anything concrete. I need to know the truth." The Hokage turned back to Raphael, who looked up.
"Memories? How is he going to see my memories?" He asked.
Nobody answered. Instead, Inoichi began to make strange symbols with his hands. Raphael blinked, before suddenly he went rigid as he felt like something was entering his body. He slumped over, eyes half closed and glassed over. At the same time, Inoichi's body had slumped over, with Ibiki catching him and putting him in a chair.
Sarutobi sighed as he watched the young man. "I'm not sure exactly what to make of him Ibiki. So far, it almost sounds like he was….transported here from somewhere else. Like a summoning jutsu almost. While I find it highly ridiculous, I'm still wondering if he wasn't somehow summoned here."
Ibiki turned to look at his leader. "If that is the case Hokage-sama, the real question is who or what summoned him here. I do not doubt though that he is not from any of the major shinobi villages. His weapons and clothing match nothing we've seen before from the other nations. And you would think if he was an assassin, he would be trained in ninjutsu and such. According to the Hyuuga who scanned him, he basically has none of the signs of being trained in the use of chakra."
Sarutobi nodded. "This is all just too strange to understand."
It was at that moment that Inoichi's body jerked, revealing he was back. His eyes shot opened and he gasped, panting heavily. Raphael jerked as well, looking up. "What the hell was that?!" He demanded.
Inoichi ignored him as he turned to Sarutobi and Ibiki. "Hokage-sama…you're not going to believe what I have to tell you," he said.
The Rusty Kunai, Konoha
The Rusty Kunai was one of those types of bars that catered to shinobi. While there were bars that catered to civilians and shinobi, those serving as ninjas of Konoha couldn't talk as freely, since civilians and possible spies were about. Shinobi bars though were a lot safer. The staff always was retired shinobi, whether they were the few who made it to old age, or were suffering from a physical or mental trauma that kept them from active duty.
One of the patrons of this particular establishment tonight was Kurenai Yuuhi, a chuunin in service to Konoha. The nineteen year old kunoichi was dressed in a crimson body suit with no sleeves and the standard military green flak jacket. Her headband was tied around her forehead, with her long curly raven hair flowing past her shoulders. Her ruby red eyes stared down at the cup of sake before her, before she drank it.
She didn't notice the presence behind her till they sat down on the stool next to her at the bar. She sighed as she glanced over to her right, seeing her probably closest friend. "Finally get off duty Anko?" She asked in a slightly tired and slurred voice, indicating she was starting to feel the sake she had been drinking for the past hour.
Anko Mitarashi grinned. "Awww don't be like that Nai-chan! I got a good excuse!" She said.
Kurenai just sighed, as she signaled the bartender, ordering a round of sake for Anko. When she got her drink, Anko gulped it down and grinned. "Good stuff. Thanks Kurenai!"
Kurenai just grunted, as Anko pouted. "C'mon, liven up a bit."
Kurenai just glanced at Anko, who sighed. It had been like this every year for five years now. On October 10th, Kurenai would find a bar and get drunk. She did it to try and numb the pain and memories of what happened this night five years ago. Her father had died while fighting the Kyuubi no Kitsune, a giant chakra entity of hatred and destruction, when it attacked Konoha.
Kurenai looked down at her cup and filled it again. "So what happened?" She asked, sipping it.
Anko grinned. "Well I was out patrolling the festival, keeping people from getting out of control. And I found this group of drunken idiots causing problems. Now when I stepped in, I think you can guess how they reacted," she said.
Kurenai just quietly nodded. Anko Mitarashi was strongly disliked within the village. The sad thing was, she didn't do anything to earn it. But when you're apprenticed to one of the greatest traitors of the village, people don't care about that anymore. Only one other person in all of Konoha received more hate and disdain then Anko.
Anko just smiled. "So anyways, it looked like they were going to attack me. When out of nowhere, this guy wearing this weird hooded robe thing or whatever came flying in, and just takes these guys apart! I mean he took them all down in less than twenty seconds! And the last guy he totally made him pee his pants!" she broke into giggles, as she took another drink from her own sake cup and filled it back up. "And then the ANBU came in since he was attacking civilians, and he totally gave them the slip! Whoever that guy was, he was pretty good."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her. "You're complimenting someone who broke the law and escaped from justice?" She asked.
Anko pouted. "Well he was arrested eventually. But c'mon, the guy came in, saved my butt, and totally took those ass-holes down. I can't admire that?"
Kurenai just grunted. "So you're late because you had to be debriefed on the whole thing, right?" When Anko nodded, Kurenai looked back at her drink. "So what were those drunkards doing in the first place?"
Anko hesitated a bit, before answering. "They were….well…they were about to attack Naruto Uzumaki."
Kurenai tensed a bit, her drink partway to her lips. After a few moments, she finally drank it. "That brat, huh?" she asked, staring at the bar.
Anko sighed, but before she could respond, Kurenai kept speaking. "Maybe you should have let them have their fun," she said.
Anko froze at that. She had never heard Kurenai talk like that before. "Kurenai….he's only five years old. He's just a little kid. I'm supposed to let a bunch of drunken assholes beat him up?"
Kurenai shrugged. "Everyone needs to take care of their grief someway," she said.
Anko just narrowed her eyes. "And what if it had been family or friends of the victims of Orochimaru's experiments? Should I just let them take care of their grief by beating me up?"
Kurenai looked at her. "It's not the same Anko."
Anko just growled as she got up. "You know damn well it is the same Kurenai. I'm right behind Naruto on this village's shit list. You need to wake up and realize that Naruto isn't the reason you're dad's dead. He's just the scapegoat everyone likes to use when they're not using me." She turned and stormed away.
Kurenai tried to stop her, but Anko was gone. Sighing, Kurenai slumped on her barstool. She glanced at her cup of sake, before leaving it with money for her drinks as she started to head for home. She would need to talk to Anko in the morning, if the snake wielding chuunin would even listen to her. 'Maybe drinking on the anniversary of my dad's death isn't such a great idea,' she thought as she stumbled home.
ANBU Interrogation Room
Sarutobi was rubbing his wrinkled forehead as he finished listening to Inoichi's report. They had moved outside the interrogation room for now. "I'm really too old for this. So you're telling me he is from another world?" He asked Inoichi.
Inoichi shook his head. "Not just another world, Hokage-sama. He's from another reality, another realm of existence. I saw everything he remembered. The people where he came from have no chakra or inner energy. None whatsoever. Even civilians here have very basic chakra coils. They might not be able to access their chakra, but they still have it. But in his world, chakra does not exist."
Ibiki glanced through the observation window into the room, where Raphael was glaring in their general direction. He hadn't taken kindly to having the sanctity of his mind violated. "And what is his role exactly?"
Inoichi nodded. "He is an Assassin. And I don't just mean he's a person who goes around killing people. He is part of a Brotherhood of Assassins. From what I could understand of his memories, his order works entirely by itself, with no connections, backing or funding from any village. They claim they are safe guarding the future and freedom of mankind, fighting against some mysterious shadow group. I believe he calls them….Templars. Apparently these Templars are trying to bring about world peace by enslaving people and taking away their free will. And the Assassins are stopping them."
Sarutobi just shook his head. "And you're certain these memories are authentic?" He asked.
Inoichi nodded. "Believe me Hokage-sama, I checked; double checked and triple checked his mind. There were no signs of these being false memories that he created, or that were implanted into him. These memories are 100% purely his own memories."
"Then how is it he has chakra? You said yourself according to his memories they aren't supposed to have chakra," Ibiki said.
Inoichi sighed. "I can't be sure. It might have to do with what brought him here. As he told you Hokage-sama, he was in an underground tomb, stopping one of these Templar from acquiring ancient and powerful relics. There was a fight, and he slew the man. But during the fighting, the relics were activated, and their energy ripped open a hole that swallowed him up. His memories are mostly blank during his time in this hole or vortex, except for the memory of excruciating pain. Then he crashed into a pond, in Training Ground 14 I believe. It's possible that whatever chaotic energy was in the vortex transplanted chakra into him before it spat him out."
Sarutobi watched Raphael carefully. "And we have no way of sending him back," he said. "Whatever sent him here is not something we can re-produce. In essence, he is stuck here," he said quietly. "Ripped away from everything he knows, and cast into a world full of unknown dangers and secrets."
Ibiki glanced at him. "Hokage-sama…perhaps we can give him a home here then. Put him to use. He is obviously skilled at what he does, despite his age. With training in how to use his chakra, he could make a powerful asset."
Sarutobi glanced at Ibiki. After a few moments, he quietly nodded. "Perhaps…perhaps," he said, before entering the room.
Raphael just looked at him. "So what now? Are you going to lock me away?" He asked his voice emotionless.
Sarutobi shook his head. "No. I wish to make you an offer," he said. "Whatever it was that brought you here, it is not something we can undo. We don't know how to send you back home. But if you wish, we're willing to help you settle into this world."
Raphael scoffed. "And what exactly would I do? I'm the only one of my kind here."
Sarutobi smiled. "Not quite. You may be the only one of your Order here, but you are not the only one trained to kill people stealthily. In fact, every shinobi under my command is expected to do such a thing one day, if they haven't already. We are ninja. It is our job, sometimes, to assassinate people. If you like, I'd be willing to offer you a job here in Konoha."
Raphael looked at him. "…so what is it you'd want me to do exactly?" he asked. "Become your personal assassin? Take down targets who threaten this village and your rule? I will not become some cold blood enforcer, if that is what you are asking," he said.
Sarutobi sighed. "I am not asking that of you. Konoha tries to be more diplomatic and peaceful. Or at least, as much as we can in this world. I would need you to assassinate people, yes. But generally it would be those who are threats to the safety of the people in this village, whether inside or out. I would ask you to take down those would bring war and harm to the people I lead and protect. Is that too much to ask for?"
Raphael looked down a bit, before sighing. "I need time to think about. Everything that has happened…my entire world has been turned upside down."
Sarutobi nodded. "I understand, Raphael-san. I will have you escorted to someplace more comfortable, where you may think about it. However, your weapons and armor will remain in custody for now, and you'll have an ANBU stationed outside your room." He quietly stood up. "When you make your decision, please inform the guard outside your room. He will escort you to me. Good night, Raphael-san."
Sarutobi exited the room, leaving Raphael to stare at the table. He barely looked up when one of the masked figures, similar to those he had encountered earlier, removed the shackles from his arms. His body seemed to move on auto-pilot as he was led to the upper levels of the ANBU Headquarters, where rooms for VIP prisoners were kept. Raphael was led into a two room apartment, with a couch that folded out into a bed. The second room was the bathroom. Raphael nodded to the guard after he was shown how the couch/bed worked, and quietly laid down, as the guard exited the room and took up his post.
As he lay there, Raphael's mind was going a mile a minute. His entire world had pretty much been destroyed. He was stuck in a world he knew nothing about, without any foreseeable way of getting home. What was he going to do? What could he do?
He began to think about that. Currently, he knew nothing about this world; other then it seemed remarkably similar to Japan. At least, what he could remember of Japan from what his friend Tsuiseki had told him. He had no real skills beyond those of an assassin or a thief. And quite honestly, he didn't want to go back to picking pockets again. Not unless it was part of a mission.
The more Raphael thought about it, the more he realized the inescapable truth. That he was going to have to make do with what he had. And currently what he had was an offer from someone willing to utilize his skills.
He closed his eyes, sighing. Perhaps….perhaps he could work for this village. At least for a while. He slowly drifted off to sleep.
Next Morning
Raphael groaned quietly as sunlight coming through a barred window landed on his face, waking him up. He slowly got up, mumbling softly, before glancing at the window. It was always one of his favorite times of the day, watching the sun rise each morning. He slowly walked over to the window, and held one of the bars, as he watched the sun slowly rise up.
Letting out a sigh, he turned as the door opened and one of the masked guards entered with a tray of food. "Breakfast," he said simply, setting it down on the couch/bed.
Raphael nodded as he came over. "Thank you," he said. "…..may I ask when your leader is available to speak to?"
The ANBU looked at him through the mask. "I'll send a message to him. He'll send for you when he's ready," he said, as he left.
Raphael quietly began to eat, and quietly prayed that the old leader was willing to accept the conditions he had.
A few hours later, Sarutobi was in his office, when his secretary buzzed him. "Hokage-sama, the ANBU is here with Raphael-san."
"Very good. Send them in please," he said.
The door soon opened and in entered Raphael with his ANBU escort. Sarutobi smiled. "It is good to see you Raphael-san. Please sit."
Raphael nodded and did so, before speaking. "I've thought about your offer. And I'm willing to perhaps offer you my services. If you agree to some conditions I have," he said.
Sarutobi sat back. "Let me hear them."
Raphael sighed. "I'll agree to work for Konoha. But I will not accept assignments for targets that I do not consider legitimate targets. If you ask me to target a war mongering noble who is trying to spread war and chaos, I'll do it. Or a weapons merchant who is supplying bandits and other such shady or illegal groups, I'll do it. Or someone who intends ill against this village or people in general, I'll do it. But I will not target someone who is not doing wrong. One of the tenets I follow is 'Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent'. That means that if you ask me to kill someone simply because you disagree with them, or because it will expand Konoha's power, or because you receive a mission for taking out such a target, I won't do it as it goes against my principles and beliefs."
Sarutobi nodded. "I can agree to that. I highly doubt I would order such an assassination anyways."
"Secondly, I wish for your permission to perhaps begin building a new Brotherhood here in Konoha, and eventually expand it out to other villages. By recruiting other Assassins, we can start to hand out assassination missions to those in other villages, instead of having to travel there myself. I also ask that any recruits I might draw in be allowed the same conditions I am asking for."
Sarutobi thought about it. "It will depend on who you recruit to your cause. But I think for now, I can agree to this condition, provided I am allowed to make exceptions based on recruits you choose."
Raphael nodded. "Agreed. Next, I will only answer to you or whoever your replacement maybe. I will not answer to anyone else unless you put them in charge of me. Agreed?"
Sarutobi gave him a nod of confirmation, and Raphael continued. "Lastly, I want your word that if Konoha should violate my conditions that I have set, or that it becomes corrupt, me and those I may have recruited from this village are free to leave, or are free to take out those who are responsible for the violation or corruption."
Sarutobi hesitated. "That is a steep order," he said. "But then again, if such a thing were to occur, it would likely be because I am no longer Hokage. I will write a document up now, and we shall sign it."
He began to write the contract up, before signing it. Raphael bit his lip though. "I…..I'm afraid I can't read your language," he said.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "I see. Well that does raise a problem, as you have no idea what I wrote here, do you?" He asked. "We'll have to rectify that problem and swiftly. For now though, I give you my solemn vow that what I have written here will not entrap you in any way, shape, or form."
Raphael hesitantly took it, and signed his name. "I will wish to see this document once I have learned to read your language." He said.
Sarutobi nodded. "I'll make you a copy so you can have it at all times. For now though, we shall see about proper accommodations, as well lessons in reading and this world," he said. "I also would also like to offer you the chance of learning some of our skills and abilities. You possess the means to do so, though it will take time and effort."
Raphael nodded. "I thank you for that," he said, as Sarutobi finished making a copy of the contract, which they both again signed, and he handed to Raphael. He then signaled the ANBU to come forward. When the operative did, he handed him a note.
"Please escort Raphael-san to the apartment complex at this address, and give the owner this note," he said. The ANBU nodded. "Afterwards, please retrieve Raphael-san's equipment and have it brought to his apartment."
The ANBU bowed. "As you command, Hokage-sama," he said, before waiting for Raphael. Raphael bowed his head in thanks to the aged Hokage, before following the ANBU out.
Sarutobi sat back, thinking for a moment. Raphael could possibly be exactly what he needed for a mission he had planned, but could never execute. But as he was, the young man wouldn't make it. Not yet at least. He sighed as he pulled out a small stack of papers, which listed which shinobi were currently available. He had a C-ranked mission for one of them. Finding the one he wanted, he buzzed his secretary and told her to send out a call for said shinobi.
Meanwhile, Raphael found himself standing outside the door of his new home. The ANBU had taken him to the apartment and spoke to the owner, who after reading the note handed Raphael a key with a symbol on it. After some searching, Raphael found a matching symbol on one of the doors. He quietly unlocked it, and entered.
His eyes widened as he slowly looked around. It was a strange looking place, at least to him. It had three rooms, consisting of a living/dining room, a kitchen, and a bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. But the items in the bathroom and kitchen confused him. There was a large construct in the kitchen that was cold inside. And a basin with a strange protrusion out of which came water. There appeared to be oven, but there was no room to build a fire to cook food in.
The bathroom was equally strange. While he recognized the bathtub and the sink for what they were, he was fascinated by how they both had strange metallic protrusions that seemed to hold water in them. He was also curious about the strange ceramic bowl object that seemed to have a pool of water in it that was sucked into the bowels of said bowl when he pressed a metal lever. What on earth was it? And where was the chamber pot for when he needed to relieve himself?
His musings were interrupted by knocking at the front door. He went towards it and opened it, finding the ANBU operative from before. "Yes?" He asked.
The ANBU held out a large bag to him. "Your equipment," he said simply.
Raphel's eyes widened. "Oh yes! Thank you," he said, taking the bag.
"Hokage-sama also wished for me to inform you that he is sending someone to teach you the basic things you need to know. You can expect them here in the next hour or two to begin your lessons," the ANBU said, before disappearing.
Raphael just blinked, before shrugging and closing his front door. He went to the bedroom, where he set the bag on the bed and immediately began trying to find a way to open it. After some experimentation, he found a small metal strip he could pull on, which seemed to run along two metal strips. When he pulled it one way, the strips came apart and opened the bag. When he pulled it the other way, it closed.
"Fascinating," he whispered, as he played with it a few times. Finally having enough, he began to remove his items from the bag and started to check them over for damage or missing supplies.
While he was doing this, a somewhat angry figure was heading in his direction, mumbling under her breath. "I can't believe I'm being assigned such a stupid and mundane task! Damn it Hokage-sama, what did I do to deserve this?"
Anko Mitarashi was very pissed off, and with good reason. Her only friend had verbally stabbed her in the back last night. And when she had tried to sleep, her next door neighbors had kept her up all night with arguing and then make up sex. And this morning she had been called in to meet the Hokage. She had thought she was going to get a decent mission.
Instead, she had been told she was going to tutor someone. On things like reading and history! She wasn't a teacher! She was a chuunin! A damn chuunin kunoichi!
She just grumbled as she headed to the address she was given. Surprisingly enough, it was in her apartment complex, though on a higher floor. That would make things easier.
She headed up to the apartment door and took a deep breath. "Time to get this over with," she said, before knocking.
A couple minutes later the door opened and she looked up, only for her eyes to widen. Because standing before her was the guy who rescued her from last night.
Raphael blinked as he looked at her. "Hey wait….you're the girl from last night!"
Anko pointed at him. "You're the guy who took out those civilians! What are you doing here?"
Raphael looked at her. "Well, I live here now. And I'm waiting for a tutor. And I'm guessing you're the tutor?"
She just nodded a bit. "Y-Yeah….can I ask what is going on?"
Raphael sighed as he moved to the side so she could enter. "It's a long story," he said.
Anko entered as she glanced at him. "I've got lots of time it seems."
Raphael closed his eyes, before indicating the couch that had come with the apartment. "Sit down then….and I'll try to explain. You probably won't believe me."
Anko grinned. "Try me. I've heard everything," she said.
Oh how wrong she was.
And done. Sorry for the lack of action here. I actually had planned to write out Raphael's first assassination this chapter, but the more I wrote, the more it seemed like it was better to hold it for the next chapter.
So, Raphael is getting settled into Konoha. And he has the lovely Anko to be his guide. Boy is that going to cause some chaos.
I hope you all liked this chapter, and as I said, there will be Assassin style action next chapter, when Raphael takes on his first target. Hope you all will stick around to see who it is.
1. Okay, I'm using Google translate here, so please don't sue me if I got this wrong. I just honestly can't find any really good translation sights, so I'm forced to stick with what I can find. I also have a wonderful pair of betas named Bill Alain and Kyuubi123 to help me. Sorry for forgetting to mention you guys! I am horrible. *Sad face*
2. Marquis Black told me that during this time period, Japan would probably be referred to as Cathay by Europeans.
Please review! I would greatly enjoy it.
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