"Assassin's Creed: Elf Song"

By cdc100

Summary: As a child, Kaede is adopted, and now has a loving family. However, when her new father is kidnapped, she must learn the ways of the Assassins in order to save him.

Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or PlayStation.

Chapter One

"What She Always Wanted"

A man in a white hooded coat sat crouched on a rooftop, silently surveying his surroundings. It was a dark night in the Kamakura area of Japan. He had just arrived here after a long, grueling trip aboard an airplane. The man began to get impatient, but suppressed it. He knew that as soon as he lost his patience, the enemy would win. He silently reassured himself that his target would be there soon.

After a few moments of waiting, he heard static in his earpiece, followed by a familiar voice. He pressed his hand to his ear, to better hear the imminent message.

"We have movement," said the voice.

With that message, the hooded man took a look around, and found a man in a black suit rounding a corner, followed by two large, muscular men. The hooded man stayed crouched and moved back away from the edge of the roof. As he moved further, he raised his stance. He looked ahead toward the end of the alley, and found a perfect place to strike. He took a deep breath, and walked back a few paces, then ran forward and propelled himself toward the next rooftop. He repeated the action a few times, until he found himself on a low rooftop. The hooded figure then hopped off the roof, landing into a bush. He let the three men pass by his hiding place before jumping out, and creeping to the corner of the house. He watched them walk a few steps before creeping up behind one of the man's bodyguards and bringing the sides of his hands into the sides of his neck, felling him instantly. The other bodyguard began to turn before the hooded man brought a fist against his temple, and sent his other fist into contact with his solar plexus, flooring him as well. Then the hooded man jumped onto the bodyguards' charge, and flicked his wrist, revealing a hidden blade beneath his wristband. He placed the tip threateningly against the man's throat, getting a gasp of fear.

The hooded man flicked his wrist again, withdrawing his blade within its confines.

"Sleep now," he said, flicking his middle finger and spraying a gray fume out of his wristband.

Within seconds, his target was slumped on the ground, unconscious. The hooded man slung his victim over his shoulder, and discreetly made his way through the back alleys of the area, ducking into hiding spots when needed, until he found his objective. He knocked twice on the back door of an abandoned restaurant. A shadowy figure answered the door, and welcomed the new visitor inside. As the door shut behind them, the figure spoke.

"Were there any problems?" asked the figure.

"He had two guards," said the hooded man. "But they went down easily."

"What of your watcher?" the figure asked.

"He told me he would see to any liabilities when he knew I had captured our objective. And I have," said the hooded man.

The figure then led his guest downstairs, each of them carrying one end of their prisoner. The figure gestured to a table in the center of the basement, where the only source of light shined down from a dim lamp on the ceiling. The two men set the unconscious man on the table face up, and began strapping him down.

"What do we do now?" asked the man in the hood.

"Leave him to us," said the figure. "He will tell us what the enemy's plans in this country are before long. Meet up with your supervisor. We will contact you when we have extracted the information."

The hooded man bowed and made his way back to the stairs.

"Godspeed, Dumont," he called over his shoulder.

"Safe travels, Halcón," called the figure.

"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted," they chorused.

With that, the man known as Halcón exited the building, and disappeared down a dark alley adjacent to it.

A little girl woke up gasping for breath in the middle of the night… She still felt unbelievably hot and her blankets were caked with her sweat. She looked around her room, seeing that nothing had changed.

She looked back up at the top bunk in resignation, realizing that yet another grueling day awaited her in the morning. She was determined to put off that day for as long as she could. Feeling weak, she got up out of bed. Taking it easy, she made her way outside and left the grounds of the orphanage. It wasn't long before she collapsed on the ground. She lay there for only a few moments. What difference would it make? Nobody would come looking for her no matter how long she lay there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched yip. She looked up to see a small visitor. She now lay face to face with a small brown dog with patches of white on its fur. It panted slightly, looking at her curiously. The girl smiled at it.

"Are you worried about me?" she asked.

The little dog let out a small bark, as if in acknowledgement.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm not lonely."

The girl felt tears begin to well in her eyes, and she buried her face in her arms, not wanting her guest to see.

"I'm not…"

The little dog came toward her and started nuzzling her hair. She looked up at it once again, and started to pet it. She liked the feel of its fur against her hand. After a few minutes of rubbing the dog, she got up and started to walk back towards the orphanage. She could hear the padding of paws behind her as she walked. She looked behind her to see the dog following her.

"No," she said, causing the dog to stop walking.

"Please, don't follow me," she said. "If you do…"

The little girl shuddered.

"I don't even want to think about that."

The dog whined a little. The girl smiled a sad smile and bent down to pet it again.

"I'll bring you some food tomorrow, okay?" she asked.

The dog barked again. And the girl got up and walked away. As she came back into the orphanage, she went into the bathroom. She turned on the sink and let the water run for a little bit before cupping her hands and splashing the collected water onto her face. Turning off the water, she looked in the mirror. Looking back at her was the soaked face of a little girl with shoulder length reddish-pink hair, pale skin, blood red eyes, and two small bony protrusions sticking out of either side of her head. She covered the things with her hands.

"I wish I was never born with these things…No…I wish I was never born at all…"

She lowered her head and slowly padded out of the bathroom and back to her room, where she lay down once again to go back to sleep. However, looking up at the top bunk, she noticed something that wasn't there before.

A handprint.

The sight unnerved the girl, but she decided that even if something was wrong, nobody would come to her aid. So, she lay back, closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

The next day, the girl woke up, and put on her clothes. She dressed in a short-sleeved button-up shirt, and a short red skirt. After she finished putting on her clothes, she looked at herself in a small mirror inside her closet.

"Okay…Just get this day over with."

She breathed in once, and exhaled slowly.

"You can do this," she said.

With that, she picked up her bag and left her room to go to class.

She sat through her first three classes of the day, not really paying attention to her teachers. Her mind was only focused on the students in the classrooms who were pointing at her and muttering about her under their breath. Relief came for her when lunchtime came around.

The girl rushed out of the classroom, and crashed into something which caused her to fall backwards. She shook her head once and opened her eyes to see what she'd run into. A man in a black suit with a light blue shirt was walking by her classroom. He had medium-length black hair and green eyes. The man bent down and extended a hand.

"Sorry about that, sweetheart," he said. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked at the hand, but then scooted back a couple of inches before getting up and dusting herself off.

"I'm fine," she said, casting her eyes down to the ground.

"Are you sure?" asked the man.

"Come along, Mr. Martino," said another voice.

The man looked up to see a much older man addressing him. The girl recognized him as the school's headmaster.

"I'm sure she's starving and anxious to get to lunch," he said.

With a slight frown, Mr. Martino followed the headmaster down the hall, looking back to the girl and giving her a smile and a thumbs-up.

The girl was puzzled. Nobody, not even an adult, had looked at her like that and smiled unless they were being mean. What was with this guy?

She decided not to dwell on it any longer and went to the lunchroom. She brought her bag with her to a table, which was empty. She left the bag in its spot and went to the lunch line. She was only able to get her food as the other children were filing out of the lunch room. By the time it was her turn, all the good food had been taken, and so she resigned herself to picking up an apple and a carton of milk and going back to her seat. Before leaving, however, she remembered the little dog and grabbed half a sandwich. At her table, she could see three boys laughing at something.

As she got closer, she could see what they were laughing at. Her bag now sat on the table, covered in milk. From the smell of it, it must have been a sour batch.

"What happened to your bag?" one of the boys, who she knew as Tomoo, asked. "It's all covered in milk. It smells gross."

He and the other boys started to laugh again. Another boy nudged the girl's shoulder.

"He asked you a question, freak," he said.

The little nudge caused the girl to fall to the floor with a yelp. Once she hit the floor, the boys laughed again.

"You know," said Tomoo, "I heard that they found you all alone in a field. I bet your parents abandoned you because of those freaky horns on your head."

As she tried to get up, the girl felt something crook around her ankle and pull upwards, causing her to fall back down. The boys broke up in cruel laughter once again, and started jumping up and down in glee.

"You must be some kind of monster or something," said Tomoo, "because you're definitely not a human. You're so weird, even the teachers think you're creepy!"

The laughter stopped suddenly. The girl didn't see it, but a tall shadow was suddenly cast over the three boys. They looked behind them and stood face-to-face with the same man that the girl had met earlier. However, the boys weren't lucky enough to see his friendly side.

"You know, if I wanted anyone to even think of adopting me, I wouldn't dance around like an idiot and pick on other kids," said Mr. Martino.

"Shit," said Tomoo. It was then that everyone heard a door open on the side of the room in which the girl fell over. A girl around their age opened the door and yelled out of the room.

"Teacher! Tomoo's picking on people again!" she yelled.

"Shit! Let's get out of here!" yelled Tomoo, leading his group out of the room at a run.

The new girl yelled after them.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on a girl!"

Closing the door, the new arrival came toward the man and the horned girl. Mr. Martino helped the horned girl to her feet as the other girl looked at her bag.

"Aw. There's milk all over your bag. That boy is so mean," she said.

Mr. Martino said nothing, but the horned girl spoke to nobody in particular.

"Everyone here is unhappy," she said.

"What?" asked the newest girl.

"And since they're unhappy, they're probably looking for someone worse off than they are," said the horned girl, picking up her bag.

As she left the room, the other girl walked after her.

"Hey, wait!" she yelled.

Mr. Martino didn't follow, but merely looked after them in thought.

The horned girl was about to go towards her next class when the other girl came up to her and took her hand.

"Hey, come on," she said, leading her to the bathroom.

When they got there, the girl took a wet paper towel and sponged off the horned girl's bag.

"It should be all right when it dries off," said the girl, wringing out the paper towel in the sink, and handing the bag back to the horned girl.

"You know, you don't have to be alone all the time," she said, smiling a friendly smile at the horned girl. "If you ever have a problem, you can always tell me anything. Whatever you need, I'm there for you."

The horned girl looked at the ground, unsure what to say about this revelation, but finally just nodded. The other girl handed her bag back to her and left the bathroom.

Before the horned girl knew it, all of the day's classes had ended. On her way back to her room, she kept her eyes lowered, hoping not to run into anybody else. However, she was disappointed, as she once again crashed into a large leg. She looked up to see Mr. Martino once again.

"Sorry…" was all she could say, in a very small, meek voice.

"No, that's my fault," said the man, with a chuckle, stooping to help her up again. "I should wear a bell somewhere. Are you okay?"

The girl looked down again as she was addressed.

"I'm fine," she said.

Mr. Martino put his hand under her chin and lifted up.

"Your principal's been showing me around the school, and I've seen you every so often," he said. "You always seem so sad."

"Don't worry about me," said the girl in a small but forceful, almost defiant tone. "I don't need it."

The man chuckled.

"You seem like you can take care of yourself," he said. "But that doesn't mean you have to put up with a bunch of hurtful things."

The girl looked up at him, with a sad expression.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Just to make a cute little girl's day a little better. And maybe learn that girl's name."

The girl looked down again.

"Are "freak" and "monster" not good enough?" she asked.

The man's smile disappeared.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Because I don't see a freak or a monster here."

The girl closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"It's Kaede," she said. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Martino," she said.

The man smiled once again and took her hand in his.

"Let me take you back to your room. I have a few minutes before I have to leave," he said.

Kaede allowed herself to be led by this very odd man back to her room. He stopped outside her door and as she opened it, he waved to her.

"I'll be back again tomorrow," he said. "I'll come visit you."

Kaede smiled slightly; something she hadn't done forever. As Mr. Martino walked away, she closed her door and started to work on her assignments for the day.

By the time she was finished it was nightfall. Remembering her promise to one of her new friends, she picked up her lunch bag and carried it with her. She carefully exited her room and went down the hallway to the exit of the school. She then slowly and carefully made her way back to where she came the other night. There, waiting for her, was the little dog. It yelped happily when she came into view. She immediately fished out the half sandwich from her bag and placed it on the ground. The little pup padded forward, and sniffed it before diving into it.

"You were hungry, weren't you?" asked Kaede.

The little dog continued to eat as Kaede spoke.

"I'm so glad I found you," she said with a smile. "I don't know how much longer I can last in this place."

When it was done eating, the little puppy nuzzled up against Kaede's hand and whined.

"I'm really sorry. I don't have anything else for you to eat," she said.

As if to accentuate her statement, a loud rumble came from her stomach. She chuckled humorlessly.

"I guess half a lunch isn't enough for either of us," she said.

She got up to leave, and pointed in the direction of the orphanage.

"No matter how hungry you get, don't go over there. The people there will be mean to you, too."

The dog looked up at her and barked once.

"If I were stronger, I could protect you," she said. "If I were only a little stronger…"

The dog seemed to understand somehow, and so Kaede left it and went back to her room. Upon arrival, she got into her pajamas and climbed into bed.

That night, she dreamed. There she sat, with no clothes, in the fetal position. She closed her eyes and reached her hands forward.

I feel something, she thought. Something's…changing inside of me.

She felt something come out of her back...

Kaede woke up with a start, gasping for breath again, and her blankets once again caked in her sweat. As she calmed down, she looked up at the top bunk. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

More handprints.

She turned on her light, and looking around her room, saw handprints everywhere. The sight unnerved her, but she resolved to deal with it later. It was morning, and she needed to be getting to class.

As she sat through class, her mind wasn't on either the teacher or the other students as it normally was. All she could think about was the puppy. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to keep feeding it scraps forever. It needed to start having full meals or it wouldn't last long.

How? How am I going to make sure it eats?

She mulled it over for a little while and remembered something.

The girl!

It wasn't her first choice. She wasn't entirely trusting of the girl, but what choice did she have? Confide in a girl she'd never met before or let her only friend in the entire world starve? That was no choice at all.

So, when her classes came to a break, she went and found the girl in an empty room, reading a book. Hesitantly, she approached the girl. She didn't say anything to her, but when the girl turned the page, she noticed Kaede out of the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kaede looked away from the girl and answered.

"I… have a problem."

She sat down across from the girl and explained her situation.

"No way! You have a dog?" the girl asked, smiling.

Kaede shushed her.

"Sorry," said the girl in a hushed tone. "If Tomoo and his friends find the dog, they'll torture him, won't they?"

The girl smiled again.

"Don't worry! I can share my lunch with him, too! I'll make sure I have leftovers!"

Kaede then led the girl outside, both of them carrying food with them. Finding the dog, they set down their food and watched him eat.

"Wow! He's cute!" said the girl.

"Don't tell anyone about this," said Kaede.

"Okay! I'm not going to tell anyone!" replied the girl. "You can trust me!"

Kaede was still hesitant.

"Yeah…" she trailed off.

She and the girl made their way back to the orphanage so that they could continue class.

When classes finally ended for the day, Kaede decided to hang out in one of the empty rooms again. As she fidgeted her feet back and forth, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Hey freak," said the snide voice of Tomoo.

Kaede defiantly turned her attention to the brat.

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you?" he asked, sneering at her. "Well, you're not smart enough."

It was then that Kaede heard a whimper come from outside the room. Her eyes widened as she recognized the whimper of her dog. And to further terrify her, in came Tomoo's two lackeys; one holding the innocent puppy. The trio finally succeeded in doing what they tried to do since they learned of Kaede's existence: getting a rise out of her.

She jumped out of her seat and ran toward the boy holding the puppy.

"You jerks!" she exclaimed.

As she reached them, one of Tomoo's friends pulled her into a full Nelson.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Tomoo and the remaining boy laughed.

"Let me go!" Kaede exclaimed, struggling. "Stop it!"

Kaede's eyes reflected the fear that laced her heart. Tomoo leaned in close to Kaede and spoke.

"I've never seen you this upset before," he said. "You must really like the dog!"

The boy holding the dog shook it up and down.

"He's right," he said. "You don't laugh. You don't cry. You're really creepy!"

Tomoo inched closer to Kaede.

"Okay, cry," he said, in a threatening voice. "Cry and start begging. If you don't, I'll make sure the puppy does the crying for you!"

Tomoo suddenly recoiled with pain. Kaede had kicked him in the gut. The smile disappeared from his face.

"That was…dumb," he said. He then said, over his shoulder, "Hey! Kick the dog and teach her a lesson!"

Kaede screamed again.

"No!"

The boy holding the dog tossed it up a little ways and kicked him in mid-air, sending the dog flying, while whimpering, into the opposite wall.

Kaede was beyond terrified now. She struggled more fervently as Tomoo smiled again.

"This is way better than anything we can think of doing to her," he said.

He grabbed a vase on a nearby table, and dumped the flowers out of it.

"Keep holding him down," he said to his friend.

Kaede looked down at the dog in terror, willing him to know how sorry she was that she couldn't save him. All of the commotion was interrupted by the door sliding open, and the girl that Kaede met the previous day coming into the room.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Stop it!"

"What's wrong?" asked Tomoo, still holding the vase. "You're the one who told us about the stupid dog."

Kaede was shocked. She looked over at her "friend."

The girl stuttered.

"Because-…because-…I didn't know you were gonna do this!"

The girl looked over at Kaede and covered her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled. "I didn't mean to tell them!"

As Kaede saw the girl more closely, though…she noticed a disturbing sight on her face.

A faint smile.

"Oh well," said Tomoo.

He brought the vase up. As he brought it down, Kaede looked away and expected to hear a dull WHACK! But the sound never came. She opened her eyes and was relieved.

Mr. Martino had come into the room, and before Tomoo could attack the dog, caught the vase. Mr. Martino looked down at Tomoo with a piercing glare. Tomoo looked up and was terrified to see the man standing over him. Mr. Martino pried the vase from Tomoo's hand, grabbed him by the hair, brought him to his feet and whacked him on the head with it.

As he released his grip on Tomoo's hair, the boy fell to the floor, rubbing his head where the vase had hit him.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" asked Mr. Martino.

Mr. Martino then turned his attention to the boy holding the dog.

"Let him go," he said.

The boy didn't need it said twice.

"Now get out of here," demanded the man. With that, the three brats ran out of the room. The girl joined them, and looked back at Kaede with a big glare before leaving the room completely.

Upon being released, Kaede ran over to the dog and pulled it to her, rubbing the spot where it had been kicked. The dog licked Kaede's face a couple of times.

Mr. Martino bent down to Kaede's level and smiled at her again.

"Who's this little fella?" he asked, gesturing to the dog.

Kaede looked back up at Mr. Martino with tears in her eyes, causing him to frown again.

"He's the only true friend I've made here," she said. "And I almost lost him."

She hugged the little animal closer to her.

Mr. Martino reached a hand out to pet the dog, which responded by licking it.

"What's his name?" he asked.

Kaede looked down sadly.

"He… doesn't have one," she said.

"Oh, come on," said Mr. Martino. "Every puppy's got to have a name."

Kaede looked down for a minute, considering what Mr. Martino said. She thought for a moment, and then came up with a name.

"Gendo," she said. "His name is Gendo."

Mr. Martino continued to pet the puppy.

"Nice to meet you, Gendo," he said. "You've got a really brave owner here. Yes you do."

The dog barked happily in response.

Kaede merely looked up at the stranger.

"Brave?" she asked.

"Yes," said Mr. Martino. "You were very brave to stand up to those kids."

"But you saved him," said Kaede. "I couldn't do anything. They almost…"

The girl spilled tears from her eyes and pulled the dog tighter to her. The dog whimpered again and licked her face more.

"Everything's okay now, Kaede. They can't hurt you or Gendo now."

Kaede shook her head.

"They'll come back," she said. "They'll find him. And they'll kill him."

Mr. Martino patted her head and lifted her chin up to see him.

"Sir," she said. "Would you…"

Mr. Martino tilted his head.

"Would I what?" he asked.

Kaede simply held Gendo up.

"Would you please take him?" she asked. "He needs a good home. He needs someone to love him."

Mr. Martino frowned a bit.

"But he already has someone to love him," he said.

"But I can't protect him forever. Please?" she asked.

Mr. Martino picked up Kaede and hoisted her to her feet.

"Sure, I'll take him with me. There's just something we have to do first."

The man pulled Kaede to her feet, and they left the room and started to walk down the hall, going slow enough that Gendo could follow them.

After a short while, the trio reached the front desk. Mr. Martino rang the bell and waited for someone to come.

In a moment, a tall and skinny woman at around her mid-twenties came to the front desk and smiled at Mr. Martino.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Martino," she said. "How may I help you?"

Mr. Martino smiled back.

"I believe I have found the child I'd like to adopt," he said.

Kaede's eyes widened. Had she heard what she thought she heard?

The woman smiled again.

"Truly?"

"Yep," said Mr. Martino.

"Well, who is the little dear?" she asked.

Mr. Martino looked back at Kaede and gestured for her to come forward.

"Come here, sweetie," he said.

Kaede inched forward, Gendo following close behind. The woman looked over the desk, down at Kaede, and frowned slightly.

"This one?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Mr. Martino.

The woman chortled a little.

"Well, surely there must be another child who's piqued your interest? I could bring up a face book for you-" she started, but was interrupted by Mr. Martino.

"No," he said.

Kaede looked at Mr. Martino and found that his expression had changed. He seemed to know what everyone in the orphanage, including the teachers, thought of her…and he was not buying into it.

"Look, miss," he said. "I've been here for two days and met almost every child this orphanage has on its shoulders. And this girl is the best-behaved one I've seen, by far."

The woman flinched a bit when Mr. Martino got a little too close to her. However, she smiled and nodded.

"Very well…I'll draw up the documents, and we'll finalize it later."

Mr. Martino smiled again.

"Thank you," he said.

He walked away from the desk and smiled in Kaede's direction.

"Come along, Kaede. You too, Gendo."

Kaede followed Mr. Martino, and in turn, Gendo followed her. Kaede was still trying to wrap her mind about what happened. Nobody had ever expressed interest in her before unless they were trying to use her for something. That traitor girl was living proof.

After a few minutes of thinking about it, Kaede stopped, and so did Gendo, causing Mr. Martino to look back.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Kaede.

Mr. Martino looked puzzled.

"Why what?" he asked.

Kaede looked at him warily.

"Why do you want me?" she asked. "What do you want?"

Mr. Martino bent down so that he was face to face with her again.

"I came to this orphanage for two reasons," he said. "First, I had heard that this orphanage could really use some money to help with its costs. And second, because I've always wanted a child of my very own. I meant what I said back there to that mean lady. You're the best-behaved kid I've seen here."

Kaede shook her head.

"But look at me. I'm so…different."

Mr. Martino laughed.

"So am I," he said. "You just can't see it."

Kaede looked at the ground.

"Hey," said Mr. Martino. "Everything will be okay. Listen, if you don't want to go with me, I'll understand. But could you think about it for a while?"

Kaede looked at the man, and didn't seem to sense any trickery from him. So, she simply nodded her head.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay, good," said Mr. Martino. "Now, come on. I need to talk to your Principal."

Kaede and her dog followed close behind Mr. Martino as he made his way to the principal's office.

The entire time that they were in the room, Kaede was quiet, and thinking, not paying attention to the occasional stare that she got from the principal. She kept thinking about Mr. Martino's offer, and what it could mean for her and Gendo.

"Well, Kaede," said Mr. Martino, interrupting her thoughts. "Let's get going. Your principal has just told me I can go ahead and take you to dinner."

Kaede looked over at the principal and gave a slight bow.

"Thank you, sir."

The principal bowed back, and watched as Mr. Martino exited the room with Kaede and Gendo in tow.

"Mr. Martino?" asked Kaede.

"Yes, Kaede? What is it?" he asked.

"Do you…still want to adopt me?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," he said. "But I'm not going to force either you or Gendo to come with me."

Kaede nodded her head. She tugged on his pant leg, signaling him to look down.

"I've decided…I can't stand this place anymore," she said. "Please take us out of here. You don't have to keep us. Just please don't make us stay here another minute."

Mr. Martino bent down and pulled Kaede into a hug.

"I'll take you with me when I go," he said. "You don't have to stay here any longer."

Kaede smiled a small smile at hearing this, but it instantly disappeared.

"We'll go grab dinner, and then we'll come back," said Mr. Martino. "You can pack your things, and we'll leave."

He let Kaede go and began to walk. She and Gendo followed him out to the school's parking lot, where a red car waited for them, which Kaede thought looked really cool.

"Put on the seatbelt when you get in," he said.

With that, the three got into the car. Kaede fastened her seatbelt and held Gendo on her lap.

The three weren't in the car for more than five minutes before they arrived at a small eating place. Gendo made to get out with them, but Mr. Martino held him back.

"Sorry, Gendo. You can't come in with us. We'll bring some food out with us, okay?"

It was easy to tell that Gendo was disappointed. Kaede was, too, but she knew that Mr. Martino was right.

As they came into the restaurant, Kaede covered her horns as well as she could. She had never felt more alien in her life. They weren't in a very high-class place, but she had never been outside the orphanage before. But she was sure that the reaction from the people in this place would be almost the same as from the people in the orphanage.

She and Mr. Martino took a booth table. It wasn't until sitting down that Mr. Martino noticed Kaede's behavior.

"Kaede? What are you doing?" he asked.

Kaede jumped at his words, having been too focused on keeping her horns covered. Slowly, she removed her hands from her head and placed them in her lap.

The two said nothing for a while, until their server came to the table.

"Good evening, Mr. Martino," she said.

"Good evening, Koyomi," said Mr. Martino.

Koyomi looked at Kaede and smiled.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"This is Kaede," said Mr. Martino. "We met at the orphanage I toured yesterday."

"She's adorable," said Koyomi, causing Kaede to blush.

"Well, Koyomi, I think I'll have my usual," said Mr. Martino. "Do you feel like anything, Kaede?"

Kaede looked down at the table and spoke softly.

"N-no…anything's fine," she said.

Mr. Martino shook his head a little.

"Koyomi, could you get Kaede some of that chocolate cheesecake I had the other day?" he asked.

"Sure thing, sir," she said, walking from the table with their menus.

Kaede and Mr. Martino sat in silence until Mr. Martino decided to break it.

"You've been really quiet," he said. "Is something wrong?"

Kaede stayed stock still, still looking at the table, as she spoke.

"Nobody's ever said that about me," said Kaede.

"That you're quiet?" asked Mr. Martino.

"No…that I'm adorable," said Kaede. "All I've ever been called was weird, or creepy, or ugly."

Mr. Martino shook his head.

"Those things on your head… they're real, aren't they?" he asked.

Kaede merely nodded her head, and was about to cover them with her hands.

"Don't do that," said Mr. Martino.

"Why?" she asked. "They're ugly. I wish I never had them."

"Personally, I think they look really cute," said Mr. Martino.

This earned a blush from Kaede yet again.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Doing what?" asked Mr. Martino.

"Being so nice to me. Nobody's ever been this nice to me. Called me cute, taken me out to dinner, and been friendly with me…why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because when I saw you, I decided that that needed to change," said Mr. Martino. "No child deserves to grow up without a family. I decided, since I wanted a child, and you looked like you needed a family, you would be the best choice. I also picked you because, as I said, you are the best-behaved child I saw at that orphanage."

Kaede nodded, seeming to understand.

"That's enough serious talk, though," said Mr. Martino. "I brought you here so we could have fun, and eat something delicious, and that's just what we're going to do."

Kaede smiled a bit.

"Mr. Martino," said a perky voice. "I've brought your dishes."

She set a plate of rice with chicken in orange sauce in front of Mr. Martino, and a small plate with a slice of chocolate cheesecake in front of Kaede.

"Everything looks great, Koyomi," said Mr. Martino. "Before you go, though, there's something I need to ask."

"What's that?" asked Koyomi.

"Do you have any scraps in the kitchen? We have a puppy with us, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to come in."

Koyomi smiled and looked at Kaede.

"Her puppy, I take it?" she asked, rhetorically. "I'll see what I can find, Mr. Martino."

"Thanks," said Mr. Martino. "Dig in, Kaede."

For a while, the two just sat and ate. Truthfully, Kaede thought that the cake was delicious, and she actually giggled a little bit at how fast her stepfather-to-be was knocking back his chicken and rice.

Koyomi came back with their bill and a small plastic bag full of trimmed meat scraps.

"Here you are, Mr. Martino," she said, handing him both. "Just bring it to the front when you're done."

"Will do, Koyomi," he said. "Thanks."

"Thank you for coming in," she said. "As always, your patronage is appreciated. And feel free to bring this little sweetheart back anytime."

Kaede was beginning to think that there must be fire inside her at how many times she had blushed today.

As Koyomi walked away, Mr. Martino picked up the bill and scraps, and gestured for Kaede to come along as he paid the bill. After they had paid, they went back to the car, and found a really grumpy-looking Gendo waiting for them.

"What?" said Mr. Martino. "I told you we'd bring you back some food."

He opened the bag and pulled out a juicy looking trim, and held it out to the dog, who accepted it readily, seemingly forgiving them for leaving him out in the car.

"So, what now?" asked Kaede.

"Now, we go back to the orphanage and grab your things," said Mr. Martino.

"We won't be there very long," she said.

"Why's that?" asked Mr. Martino."

"I don't have that many things," she said. "I…never got any gifts, and some of my things actually got taken by other kids."

Mr. Martino heaved a sigh.

"Well, that's all going to change," he said. "We'll leave Gendo in the car again, since we won't be there long, and while I'm signing your papers, you can go start packing your things."

Kaede nodded as Mr. Martino continued to drive.

When they got to the parking lot, the two jumped out of the car.

"Hurry in!" said Mr. Martino, smiling. "The sooner we get done, the sooner we can leave."

Kaede ran through the school to her room, and pulled out what few things she had as Mr. Martino went to the front office to finish off what remained of her paperwork. Shortly after he had finished, he went down to Kaede's room and started helping her pack her things. As she said, they weren't in there very long. They brought all her stuff out, and it all easily fit in Mr. Martino's trunk. After everything was loaded, they got back in the car, and started down the driveway of the orphanage once again.

Tears started to form in Kaede's eyes, which Mr. Martino noticed after a couple of seconds.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede wiped her eyes.

"I'm just…happy."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Kaede looked out the window for a few seconds before speaking again.

"So, what do I call you?" she asked. "Do I still call you Mr. Martino?"

"I never asked you to call me that to begin with. If you like, you can call me Joe."

Kaede nodded.

"Okay, then…Joe," she said.

Joe smiled as they got to the main road, and they drove into the city. It wasn't long before they parked in front of a medium-sized building, with several floors.

"Let's get inside," said Joe, grabbing hold of Kaede's luggage from the trunk, and allowing her to take Gendo out of the car.

As they walked in the door, the three were greeted by several of the hotel staff.

"Good evening, Mr. Martino," they all said.

As he went by, he nodded and smiled to them. He led Kaede and Gendo to the front desk, and spoke to the attendant.

"Koji, could you go ahead and have a second key to my room made and sent to me?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Mr. Martino," said the attendant. "I'll have one of the room service people bring it up."

"Thanks, Koji," said Joe.

He then led Kaede to the elevator, and the three rode up to the fifth floor, where they got off, and Joe let them into a good sized room with two beds. Inside the room was a kennel big enough for a puppy to stay in comfortably.

Kaede put Gendo down and looked around.

"Well, is there anything you'd like to do, Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede shook her head.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm… still thinking about this whole thing. Me being adopted. I never thought it would happen. It's just so big."

Joe ruffled her hair.

"I know. But don't worry. You'll get used to it," he said.

Kaede shuffled her feet.

"Would it be okay…if I just went to bed?" she asked.

Joe smiled and giggled.

"You know, I was afraid that whatever kid I ended up having would never want to go to bed," he said. "I kind of feel bad that I worried so much. Sure, you can go to bed."

Kaede dug into her luggage and pulled out some pajamas, went to the bathroom and changed. She came out and climbed into the bed. She pulled the covers over herself, but then Joe came over and pulled them over her a little tighter, and tucked her in. He fluffed her pillow and ruffled her hair again before walking away from the bed.

Kaede was now re-thinking her decision to go to sleep. She looked at Joe with pleading eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm scared now…scared that I'm going to wake up and have this all be a dream…that I'll be back at the orphanage tomorrow," said Kaede.

With a smile, Joe got ready and climbed into his own bed next to hers.

"Both Gendo and I will be here when you wake up," he said. "I promise."

Saying this, he turned off the light beside his bed, and lay down.

Kaede decided that even if she did wake up back at the orphanage, at least she would have had a really good dream for once. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

To Be Continued.

A/N: WHOO! That was a long one. Sorry I've been gone so long, everybody. Hopefully this will send the message that I'm still writing. But I do want to apologize for not updating any of my stories first. I wanted to try and get at least some of my ideas down for this story and posted before I do anything else. But I want to promise you guys, even though this doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast, there will be plenty of action in this story later on, and you can definitely expect to see both of our favorite Assassins in the story. Catch you guys later!