Sword of Destiny (NarutoxFateStayNight)
Disclaimer: This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.
"Talking" – Thought/Implication – (Scenario) – Important – [Special-Language-Tag]
=[Prologue]=
Dried and broken twigs were tossed into the small campfire by a strong gauntleted hand. The added fuel by the seated man caused the flames to soar, crackle and flicker while being bathed in the moonlight that was trickling through the swaying branches of towering trees. The chilling wind of the night hissed and streamed around the small clearly from beyond the moderate dense forest, avoiding an unneeded contest against the wavering heat surrounding its two occupants.
An instinctive gasp came from the half-naked young man, who was lying flatly on his back. His blue eyes snapped open as he pressed his hand onto his bandaged chest, trying to sedate the rapid thumping of his energetic heart. The murky and cloudy sky beyond the tree lines managed to be within his focus for a fraction of a second before he rolled his head to the side and watched the dancing flames instead.
[I'm still alive, somehow,] he muttered softly and gave a breath of relief while brushing back the obscuring golden strands of hair from his eyes. He then rubbed the cracked metal plate around his forehead with a small smile. [How did I get here? Last thing I remembered was falling out of the sky…]
"I see you're conscious," the old man said and made his presence known. "It is remarkable you could recover after a fall from such height. Perhaps the Good Lord sent you here to end this trouble time? If that was truly the case, then why do you bleed?"
The blond did not response as he tried to make out what he was hearing. It was an unfamiliar language.
The older man stroked his trimmed whitebeard with a smile. "Maybe you were made mortal so that we could relate just like His Son centuries ago? Should I treat you like as a mortal then?"
[What did you say? I don't understand,] the young man said with a light headshake and pulled himself into an upright seated position. Ignoring the pulsing pain throughout his body, he looked down his chest and slid a couple of fingers across the thin cloth wrapping. He pulled against the tattered fabric lightly and eyed the older man. [… Hey old man, did you fix me up?]
"Yes. I wasn't sure if it was necessary," the man replied after a brief pause. He didn't understand what the blond had said, but he didn't need to when seeing the gesture. "This is rather difficult. Do you not know the common tongue?"
Hearing the unexpected long reply, the blond slanted his head and gave an awkward stare. [Damn it, I didn't understand any of that. I think he said yes or something from the nod. What kind of language is he speaking? What should I do? Where the hell am I anyway?]
The old man frowned, trying to figure out what kind of tongue the blond was using. When nothing came to his experienced mind, he pondered about his previous assumption. The youth did fall out of the sky, producing an impressive crater upon impact. Any ordinary man would have died in such case.
Perhaps I will know in due time, he thought and examined the blond until the flames of the campfire dimmed.
While the blond was still debating with himself in his native language, the old man broke branches he picked up around him into smaller pieces and threw them into the flames. The fire reciprocated by intensifying its illumination and temperature, spitting out sparks and embers with crackling sounds.
"It has been a while since I carried someone this far," he claimed and rubbed his aching shoulder before tightening the leather strap that held his shoulder guard together. The worn out chainmail jingled when he did. He then checked his trusted long sword by his side before smiling at the curious blond. "It looks like I won't get any sleep tonight, and you don't look like you're eager to go anywhere either. Maybe we could keep each other company… you probably don't understand what I'm saying."
[I have no clue what you just said, but whatever,] the blond responded with a headshake while lifting both of his open palms before his eyes.
He clenched them into fists repeatedly. When he felt nothing appeared out of place, he tensed his arms, allowing the life energy to flow through the inner channels toward his palms. The air above his hand shimmered before wind began to swirl into a distorted sphere, producing a loud screeching noise. The technique ended abruptly as he crouched over and grunted in agonizing pain.
"Impressive," the old man acknowledged, seeing the magic that was performed. "I guess you are some sort of sorcerer from a faraway land then? That would make much more sense."
[Shit… that really hurts,] the blond cursed loudly. He took a significant amount of time to straighten his posture and foolishly attempted to perform the technique again. The second attempt met with the same result, only more intense aftereffect.
[What's going on? Why didn't it work?]
"I don't know what you're trying to do besides hurting yourself, but you should wait until your injuries are healed first," the old man suggested after seeing the third fail attempt.
The blond did not understand the given advice. After a dozen more failures, he was panting with exhaustion. [It's not working… Maybe there's something wrong with my pathways?]
He examined each arm carefully, pressing and sliding a couple fingers along the surface toward where he thought the intersecting nodes would be. Discomfort was registered as he applied a small amount of pressure upon those spots. He frowned and stopped doing anything further, lest he wanted to torture himself. While it was not visible on the surface, the damage to his energy coil was extensive.
[Shit… what should I do? I'm not a medic-nin,] he muttered lowly.
"Have you learnt what you needed?" The old man decided to ask when seeing the blond staring blankly at the flames minutes later. His question only met with silence, so he decided to do the same.
Fortunately, there was a language that everyone knew no matter what world they came from. The old man chuckled as he heard the grumbling sound from the blond. Placing his hand into the small pouch bounded around his waist, he took out a loaf of bread and some dried meat. He offered it to the blond without uttering a single word.
[Ummm… thanks, old man.] The small amount of food he was given did not fill his belly, but it was enough for him to immediately like the man if he didn't before. [I wish you could understand me…]
A spark of inspiration made the blond patted his waist, searching for something. He found that most of his gears were missing. Only two working scrolls and a Kunai remained. Gripping the weapon tightly, he started carving up the hardened ground to illustrate something.
The old man watched the blond worked with interest. Before long, as complicate picture was displayed before him. He raised a brow, trying to figure what it was. They were obviously depiction of buildings, but were they were in all drawn in different sizes and shapes.
The blond pointed at his artwork with a smile. [This is my village… the village of hidden leafs, at least this is what it used to look like that.]
"Ah… that's one way to converse, but you're making it too complicated," the old man said and examined the pile of branches he had collected for the night. He flipped through them, searching for one to his liking. When it was found, he used it to draw a circle with a few lines spreading outward. He pointed at the simplistic picture with the held stick and said: "Sun."
[Sun?] The blond questioned when seeing the picture.
"Sun," the old man repeated.
"San? Sunn…" the blond coughed, clearing his throat. "Sun?"
The old man nodded with approval when the blond got the word correctly. He repeated dozens of times with various simple objects that came to his mind, in which the blond recited after him. Eventually, he pointed at himself. "Ector"
The blond blinked, examining carefully where the finger was directed. [His armor is called Ector? No… that didn't seem right. Maybe… his name is.]
With a smile, the blond pointed at his chest. "Naruto."
Ector nodded, realizing the blond was intelligence. He took a moment to think to himself and what to do about the blond. "I supposed I'm not in a hurry. They can do fine without me for a while. It will be good training for them as well, and I am more curious of where you came from, Naruto."
[Huh… okay, I think he said my name at the end… unless Naruto meant something in their language like in mine… fishcake or maelstrom? Nah, that can't be,] Naruto mumbled, trying to understand what the rest of the comment was. [Damn it… I need to learn this language or I'm going to look really stupid.]
A few days went by in a blink of an eye as the blond memorized and understood most of the basic speeches. It was enough to speak with uneducated peasants, but that was not the most interesting thing the old Knight had seen.
Ector was more than impressed when the blond demonstrated that he could hunt down the wild beasts that roamed the forest with little difficulty. The agility and capability the youth had showed was of a highly trained person. "To able to move like this when you're still injured. I'm a bit afraid of what you can do when fully healed."
Naruto blinked at the man, raising a brow while shifting the kill around on his shoulder. He understood some of the words, but sadly, it was not enough to understand the context they were used. He shrugged and patted his bandaged chest. "Is Injured. Hurt."
Ector chuckled. "Yes, you are."
They spent the rest of the day skinning the kills for skin, pelt and ration while trying to hold a proper conversation. It was slow and tedious, but enough for Ector to understand a gist of where the blond had come from.
"I already know the answer, but I wanted to ask anyway to make sure. Do you have a home to go to?"
"Home," Naruto muttered, letting the word rolled on his tongue. He had a detailed glance at the surrounding area, noticing a few villagers chopping down some trees taxingly with a dulled axe. If this was still his world, such a mundane task would be accomplished in seconds. His eyes saddened as he rubbed his damaged forehead protector. "Home… gone."
"… I understand," Ector said. "I supposed if I leave you now, you will not know where to go or what to do. As you are currently, you could easily make a name for yourself in this lawless place, but that is a double edge sword, I'm afraid."
[Slow down, old man. You talk too much and too fast. Did you say something about a sword?]
"Sword?" Naruto asked before pulling out his Kunai from his waist and holding it like a blade. "Want… one."
Ector examined the blond and smiled. He drew his fine steel from it scabbard and flipped it around so that he was holding the blade end. He pointed the handle at the blond. "Show me."
Naruto shrugged and took the weapon in one hand. He swung the balanced steel around him like a novice while feeling its weight, perfectly distributed along the blade, in his hand. After a few more swings, slashing the air, he returned his attention to the old man. "Mine?"
"Hahaha…" Ector laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Only a Knight may hold such a blade. If you were, I might give it to you."
"Knight?"
"It is a title that must be earned through hard work and dedication," Ector said before frowning. "There are too many that do not deserve it. Maybe that will change in the future."
Naruto was interested even though he didn't understand most of the words the old man had said. He felt being a Knight was an acknowledgement in this place just like being a Shinobi back home. "I want… to be Knight."
"A Knight… yes, I'm sure you can be one of the most renounced Knight through the land," Ector claimed and placed his hand on the blond's shoulder. "Since you do not have a home to go to, then come with me. I will teach you how to be the sword of justice, and one day, you will help bring the peace back to this land."
Naruto accepted even though he wasn't sure what he was accepting to. Since there wasn't anything else he wanted to do, he might as well follow the old man across the country. On the way, he saw some of the most gruesome scenes that the world had to offer. Gravel streets and dirt roads were painted in bloody red. Buildings were torched with many reduced to rubbles. Corpses, young and old, were pinned into walls of their homes brutally without a single shred of clothing on them.
"This is the current state of my homeland," Ecktor said while Naruto looked around the sacked town, feeling nauseating at the decaying stench riding the wind. "Not long ago, there was a mighty empire that was thought to be indestructible by all. That wasn't true of course. Nothing can last forever, but at least for a time, such an empire provided safety and stability. My only wish is to see such day come again."
Naruto didn't utter a single word while he stared at a corpse of a child nearby. The little girl must have died of shock since there were no puncture wounds on her body. The only bloodstain he could see was around her legs, which were bended awkwardly to the side.
"Come," Ecktor requested before Naruto could investigate the corpse further. "Whoever did this is probably long gone, and we shouldn't stay here."
Naruto did a headshake. "I want… funi… burial."
"It's better to leave them be, Naruto," Ector advised, scanning the area. "Diseases have killed more people than any invading army could ever have, so you shouldn't touch their corpses as they are. The best we could do is burn their body from afar, but it has been damped lately."
Pursing his lips, Naruto gave a nod as he deciphered the words. Even in the Elemental Nations, corpses were left scattered around until it decomposed fully so this was nothing new. He was about to leave the scene, but the dead eyes of the girl flashed in his mind.
"Can't… leave," he mumbled. Clenching his fist tightly, he faced the corpse once more. Even knowing that he should not use any technique during the healing period, he did it anyway. A small flaming sphere rammed into the corpse, ripping it apart and turning it into ash. The ashen remains rode the wind while he gripped his right arm tightly.
"Let me see," Ector said and checked the arm while the owner winced in pain. "You should not have done that. Did you not say your magical pathways are being healed even if very slowly? If you keep channeling power through them while they are healing, you will lose the use of this arm permanently."
"I'm sorry… I wanted to … for her."
Ector did not wish to scold the blond further since he could do that later. "I understand what you're feeling, but doing something like this will not be beneficial to you or anyone else in the end. Please think carefully next time. Do you understand?"
"Yes..."
"I hope you really do. It would be a great loss to lose the usage of your sword hand over something small like this. Having compassion is good, but do not allow it control you. I don't think we should be detouring anymore."
Naruto nodded in understanding and followed the older man away from the desolated place. It took almost a week to reach their final destination, which was a small village surrounded by farmland. There were dozens of peasants working in each field while there were kids roaming the graveled street. There were a few guards, watching the surrounding for any sign of marauders in their wooden towers.
"Father," a brown-haired man called out from the nearby field. He did not look like a farmer from the tunic he adorned and the sword holstered in his belt. "I was worried when you didn't return for days, but it seems my fear was unfounded. I do hope your journey was pleasant."
"As pleasant as it could be," Ector responded with a frown. The entire country was completely fractured with each pieces controlled by a different Lords. "I will tell you more when we get home. No, what were you doing in the field? Are you slacking off again?"
"Huh? No, I was just helping some villagers out with their task of plantation," he replied.
Naruto looked around and noticed there were only young girls from the field the man came from.
"I see… I will accept that for now," Ector said before motioning Naruto to him. "This is Naruto. I think he will make a good sparring partner, and Naruto, this is my only son, Kay."
"What? You can't be serious," Kay said, jabbing his finger at the Naruto. "Does he even know how to hold a blade, let alone use it?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man as he understood the gist of what was said. "I'm… strong."
"Eh…? Why do you speak like that?" Kay questioned.
"Naruto is from another land. He only learned how to speak our tongue in the last few weeks. It is already impressive that he managed to grasp this much understanding. He's a very fast learner if he put his mind to it," Ector said before forming a smile. "In fact, I can say for sure that if you slack off too much, Naruto will surpass you in swordsmanship in a matter of months."
"Surpass me?" Kay snorted. "Maybe he can reach my level in a decade, but then I will be so far out of his league!"
"I will… soon," Naruto said confidently while tapping his chest.
"Perhaps. By the way, where's your sister?" Ector asked. "Shouldn't she be with you?"
"Probably somewhere in the field, practicing by herself as usual," Kay said while staring at Naruto, who stared back at the taller man without flinching. "You want to have a match right now?"
"A match," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his right arm in discomfort. He was in no position to do so, but something like that had never stopped him before. "I –
"Brother, why do you pick on someone weaker than you?" A voice nearby called out, acquiring their attentions. "Such action is not honorable."
Naruto saw the pale blond-haired girl with sharp green eyes approaching them. If the old man didn't stated she was a girl moment ago, he would have assumed her to be male from the manly attire she'd adorned.
"Father, I'm glad you are home and safe," she greeted her father, who nodded.
"This is –
"Naruto… my name is Naruto," Naruto greeted as he outstretched his hand toward her. He pondered why he did so since the gesture wasn't required as far as he'd observed. He felt a bit foolish standing there like that as Kay stared at him with a raised brow from the side.
"Arturia," Arturia greeted in stride, taking his hand before he could retreat it. It was the first time he felt her touch and captured her genuine smile.
Author Notes:
Just a note, every character right now is speaking old-English, but I don't write it like that. It's confusing and annoying just to decipher from your end so I keep it simple. Those that followed me already know the pairing so I won't say anything about it.