"Must I seriously wear this?" Kakashi asked as he lifted his arms and looked at the blue and white haori that Okita had crammed into his arms and forced him to wear.
"Yes! It looks really good on you!" Okita promised with a happy expression. "That is traditional garb! You gotta keep up with the theme of this patrol, you know?"
"Theme? You just wanted to see me in this outfit." Kakashi deadpanned, causing the girl to giggle.
"Maybe." They turned the corner and came across a large open space the size of a football stadium with numerous weapons lined the walls, ranging from swords to bronze claymores. They weren't noble phantasms, but he could only guess by the slight wear on most of them that servants occasionally used them.
"This is the training grounds! We usually leave it vacant at night, but you can sometimes find the occasional servant practicing here." Okita said as she swept her arm out for emphasis. "It also has a built in training simulator that spawns the occasional threats we face during singularities. They usually range from a dragon, to a demon, to a soldier, to a gargoyle."
"You mean this place keeps monsters lying around somewhere for training?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah... No. That would be cooler, but the doctor said it was too dangerous the last time we brought a demon with us from a singularity from some place called Africa. All of the enemies in the simulator are actually computerized. You'll take damage from them and the like, but it'll all heal when the training stops and you'll usually just feel a bit tired afterwards."
"Are we allowed to use this place at night?" Kakashi asked as he watched the numerous training golems roam around the field. "Any servant fighting would certainly wake everyone up."
"There is a boundary field around the area to seal in noise. I believe Medea was the one who installed that when people began complaining about hearing something along the lines of 'Gay Bulge!' Every night." Okita shrugged.
"Gay... Bulge?" Kakashi thought. "Man... This place is weird."
"Ehehe... Probably a Lancer Class servant. You think he wears yoga pants, or a full on bodysuit?"
"Let's not think about that." Kakashi thought with a sick look as an image flashed in his head. Suddenly, the two of them jumped as a red latter took the head off of a nearby golem as it strolled up and down on its predetermined path. Soon, other golems began falling as more red lasers were shoot and a giddy laugh resonated from the far end of the field.
"And who might that be?" Kakashi asked as he peaked out of the entrance to see a young girl about Okita's age shooting wildly from a terminal with a giddy look on her face. Behind her, a pile of guns lay in a disorderly fashion as she threw her guns behind her and summoned new ones to her hand.
Okita's cheeks puffed out in annoyance. "That's Oda Nobunaga. She usually visits the training grounds at night so she can unwind to her hearts content. She's pretty weird, though. I mean, don't you think summoning all those guns and then discarding them is weird?"
Kakashi shrugged. "A little it, I guess. You got some beef with her or something?"
"More or less. We're friends for the most part, but we do tend to get into some heated rivalries." Okita grumbled. She remembered the day when the two of them had been summoned during a Japanese festival Chaldea was hosting. The two of them ended up eating most of the Dango and had one remaining for the both of them.
Needless to say, a fight had immediately erupted in the cafeteria and several poor golems had been destroyed in collateral damage. Afterwards, the two of them received a scolding from their master and were forced to repair the damage they had caused by hand. It was either that or be deprived of Dango for a month.
As Okita sulked as she thought about that day, Kakashi just simply smiled in amusement. Truly, these two were just like Naruto and Sasuke when they were younger. Always fighting over something completely stupid, yet were friends all the same.
Speaking of Naruto and Sasuke, he should really give them a call. He was pretty sure that he remembered the number to their old phones. Though, he wasn't sure if they kept them after he died. Knowing them, though, they were probably still alive somewhere right now. The two of them were too damn stubborn to just die. Especially the circumstances surrounding them at the time.
"Well then. How about we go say hi?" Kakashi said with a smile as he began walking towards the terminal.
"E-eh? W-wait!" Okita protested as Kakashi grabbed her collar and began dragging her towards the Demon Archer, who stopped her firing when she saw them approach.
"Hm? Okita? What are you doing here? You know I have the grounds reserved for another hour, right?" Oda asked with a confused look before her eyes suddenly landed on Kakashi. "Hoh? What have we here? A newbie?"
Kakashi just simply smiled. "You could say that."
"Oda! Show some respect! The person you're talking to is none other than the great Kakashi Hatake! He was just summoned just a while ago!" Okita chastised with a nervous look.
Oda's eyes widened in surprised and she was suddenly down on the ground faster than a Hirashin. "T-terribly sorry, Lord Hokage! I didn't know that it was you!" She shuffled her feet nervously. "Eto... Where is your hokage garb? Did Okita force you into that ridiculous Haori so she can go on a patrol?" She glared at Okita, who was twiddling her fingers nervously.
"There is no need to bow, Miss Nobunaga." Kakashi chuckled lightheartedly. "From what I can tell, we are both fellow rulers are we not? In that case, you can just call me Kakashi. I've never really liked being referred by that title so much."
"Eh?! You mean you're just letting her off the hook just like that, Kakashi-Sempai? I thought Japanese leaders weren't supposed to tolerate things like that!" Okita asked with a confused expression while Oda flinched nervously.
"Sempai?" Kakashi thought. "Where did that come from?"
"Well, you are older than her. A few generations I would guess."
"I suppose so. Ah man... she reminds me of cute little Hinata during the Chunin exams! They were all so young back then."
"Hinata? Whose that?"
"Ah... She was Naruto's wife."
"Oh okay tha- WHAT?! THE KID ACTUALLY GOT MARRIED?!"
"Yes, now quiet down. I'll tell you about it later." Kakashi thought with a serious tone. Coughing into his mouth, he addressed the question Okita had presented him with. "Eh? I don't recall punishing someone for not calling me Hokage. Why?"
"Oh..." She glanced at Okita out of the corner of her eye. "No reason."
Kakashi blinked. "Okay? Anyway, why don't we continue? I still haven't seen this Salon de Marie you keep talking about."
"Salon de Marie? The cafe?" Oda blinked as she looked up from her kneeling position. "I can show you where it is! Okita still hasn't gotten used to the layout of the building yet and has a terrible sense of direction! I'd be much better than her as a guide!"
"Nani?! Are you trying to steal Kakashi-Sempai?!" Okita asked with a glare as Oda smirked.
"No, I'm just telling him who the better choice is between the two of us. Though, I doubt he needed anyone to tell him."
"Says the warlord who died because of a measly insurrection!"
"Says the little warrior who died in bed and not on the field of battle."
"Why you little-"
"Enough, you two."
The two girls froze up as they felt the command wash over them. Looking over to Kakashi, they found him staring at them with some kind of look in his eyes. Whether it was amusement, annoyance, or some other kind of feeling, they couldn't really tell with that mask he wore.
"You're quarreling over petty things." Kakashi said as he stepped forward, making the two pale in horror before they felt his hands placed on both of their heads. "I don't really know both of your backgrounds, but you obviously know each other. Whether you were friends or enemies doesn't matter right now. You're both heroes of humanity. Act like it."
"S-sorry, Kakashi-Sempai..." Okita mumbled apologetically, grateful that she didn't receive a major scolding.
"Y-you have my apologies as well." Oda muttered, shrinking in on herself. She found it embarrassing. Her, Japan's most feared warlord, brought to her knees so casually by a head rub! She wanted to pull away, but her body didn't seem to respond. It just... Felt really good.
"Now then, why don't you two show me this cafe you two speak of? I could certainly go for some coffee." Kakashi suggested with a smile as he removed his hands, causing the two to straighten up.
"H-hai! Right this way!" The two of them squeaked at the same time, pausing to glance at each other momentarily before heading off down another corridor. Kakashi chuckled to himself as he followed after them. It seems they'll still keep going at each other for the time being. Fine by him. It has been a long time since he acted like a teacher.
Salon de Marie was the golden hangout area for servants and staff members alike. The entire area had been converted into a Royal Cafe ever since Marie Antoniette complained that Chaldea was too plain and common for her tastes; a trait common amongst the Servants who had been kings or queens during life.
As such, they set to work in remodeling an entire area just so the complaints would stop. Thanks to the work of Berserkers, magecraft, and a few sticks of dynamite that they somehow had in the storage room, they managed to clear out an area big enough for Marie's tastes.
They then put the casters in charge of design and helped complete the inside of the structure. Surprisingly, Gilgamesh himself even donated some furniture that he pulled out of the Gate of Babylon. When asked about his rare case of generosity, he said:
"Hmph, I wish to put you mongrels in my debt. Besides, I have hundreds more from where those came from."
Such are the words of the King.
Of course, the furniture and atmosphere weren't the only reason why people loved the place. It was the divine dishes of the Chef himself that made people flock in groups to the cafe during their free time.
The chef in charge was an Archer class servant. Those that knew him, however, called him Emiya to differentiate him from the rest of the Archers. They all knew he hated being called that, but he couldn't come up with any other alternatives for anyone to call him.
As of now, the salon was mostly empty except for several of the cleaner golems that have been constructed to clean up after hours when everyone went to bed. Of course, the cafe still remained open for servants who chose to stay up at night.
Which just so happened to include a certain French Saint.
"You know, it's rare to see you up this late." Marie Antoniette pointed out as she took a seat at a table, sitting opposite of one of her closest friends.
"Ah... I just didn't feel like going to sleep right now." Jeanne replied with a small smile as she looked up from her magazine. "Perhaps it's because I didn't do much today?"
"We both know that's not true. I've known you long enough to at least know that." Marie said seriously, causing Jeanne's smile to drop as she was shot down. "Are you still thinking about him?"
Jeanne remained silent, opting to resume staring back at her catalog.
Marie sighed. "Look Jeanne, I get that this guy sounds important and all, but he's not here. It's like you said, right? Your Grail war happened in an entirely different time than this one. I'm not trying to get you depressed, but I'm your friend. It's my job to tell you this."
Jeanne pursed her lips. "And I thank you for that, but I can't help but think about those times. They're important memories to me. I doubt I could just forget about them that easily."
The two remained silent at that. It was a known fact in Chaldea that Jeanne was among one of the most popular servants due to her wonderful personality. Even those that had fought against her in their past grail wars have admitted that she was pretty awesome to hang around with. But there were few that knew about the side she keeps hidden. While she never really went into details about it, it didn't take long for them to figure out.
"Do you honestly believe his word? Most men tend to make promises that they can't keep."
"I'm sure of it. No matter how long it takes, here or not, I'm sure we will meet again someday." Jeanne replied with a tone conveyed with absolute faith.
Marie just sighed. "How romantic. I wish my husband had been like that."
Jeanne chuckled in response. Marie always had been a sucker for love stories and the like. Especially the ones that end tragically like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. She understood the appeal behind it, but she could never really enjoy it. Perhaps it was just the weird way Shakespear's writing was.
The two of them suddenly jumped in surprise as the door to the cafe was flung open, causing the sound to reverberate through the entire area as it bounced off the walls.
"Can't anyone just open the door normally for once?" Marie grumbled while Jeanne looked on curiously as Oda and Okita strolled through the doors with an unfamiliar man behind them. A newly summoned servant, perhaps?
"And this is the cafe we were talking about!" Oda proclaimed loudly in her usual indoor voice, though one would confuse it with an outdoor one if people didn't know her.
"Can't you be quiet? People are trying to sleep you know?" Okita mumbled while the white haired man behind them chuckled in amusement.
"It's useless trying to tell her." The man said, looking around the room before sighting a public coffee machine. "Why don't you two take a seat? I'm going to fix myself up some coffee."
"Got it, Sempai!" Okita saluted as the man walked away to get himself a drink. "He's so cool..."
"As expected of one who held the title of hokage." Oda nodded in agreement before she noticed Jeanne and Marie sitting at the nearby table. "Ah! It's Jeanne and the queen!"
"Must you honestly be so loud?" Marie grumbled while Jeanne just smiled in greeting.
"Hello you two. Are you escorting a new servant?" Jeanne asked as the two Japanese servants nodded and quickly scooted over to their table.
"Yes! And you won't believe who he is!" Okita whispered with a giddy face as she leaned in closer, igniting the two servant's curiosity. "He's one of the leaders of the legendary hidden leaf! Kakashi Hatake, the 6th hokage!"
"Hokage?" Jeanne's eyes widened in surprise. If that was true, then this man held the same title Naruto had before him!
Marie glanced at Jeanne out of the corner of her eye, having seen how she perked up. "I do not know what that means, honestly. I barely know anything about Japan."
"Well, it's not really Japan." Jeanne said, recalling what Naruto told her during their time together. "He said that it wasn't just Japan. It was the entirety of Asia that made up some place called the Elemental Nations. Japan just so happens to be the place where they were most well known after it split off from the mainland." She paused for a moment when she realized that all three servants were staring at her intently. "Er... what is it?"
"You said 'he'." Okita noted as her eyes narrowed. "Who exactly are you talking about?"
Jeanne froze up for a second, realizing her mistake. "Uh... Well..."
"Do you know someone from there perhaps? A past grail war?" Okita asked curiously. Seeing Jeanne flinch, her eyes widened and her face split into a grin. "You do know someone! Who did you meet? The Legendary medical ninja?"
"Actually, it was Na-" Oda began
"Or maybe... the Hidden Leaf's Green Beast?!"
"Okita, it was Nar-"
"OR MAYBE THE KAZEKAGE GAARA?!"
"DAMN IT, OKITA!"
"ENOUGH!"
The two Japanese effectively went quiet immediately as Marie stood up and slammed both of her hands on the table. Standing up, the french queen pointed her finger accusingly at the two servants, who shrank in on themselves at the look of annoyance in her eyes.
"Can't you two just be quiet for even a moment?! It's the middle of the night, and those poor hardworking Magi are trying to get some sleep for crying out loud! If you two can't keep your voices down to a normal level, then I'll throw both of you in the brig by myself!" She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "And stop asking such personal questions! What Jeanne did during the grail war is none of your business!"
The former queen of France panted heavily while Okita and Oda clung together in complete fear. They have always somehow managed to annoy her time and time again, but this was the first time that they had ever seen her royally pissed. Compared to the war they had experienced in the past, this seemed like a completely different level.
"Marie-chan is scary..." Okita muttered.
"I don't want to go to the brig..." Oda whimpered.
"Ah... Take it easy on them, Marie. They're just like children." Jeanne said with a small giggle as she watched the two servants huddle in amusement. "And I suppose I could tell them a little bit about my past."
Marie frowned. "Are you sure? You know these two are terrible at keeping secrets, right?"
"I'm sure they'll keep quiet about this one. Isn't that right, girls?"
"Yes! The two of us will keep it to ourselves! Promise!" The girls squeaked in reply. For people who had been war, with one of them being the prime instigator, they really were quite childish. It almost made some of them wonder if that was why Japan was split up.
"You two aren't causing trouble again, are you?" Kakashi asked as he appeared at the table, causing everyone to jump in surprise.
"Eep! Kakashi-Sempai! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Okita and Oda yelped at the same time as they turned to find Kakashi holding a cup of coffee for himself.
Kakashi blinked. "Eh? But I thought you would notice I was there. I mean, I didn't even bother to cover up my footsteps." He shrugged and turned towards Jeanne and Marie. "And who may you two ladies be?"
"Marie Antoniette." Marie introduced herself first before gesturing to Jeanne. "And she's my friend Jeanne d'arc."
"A pleasure to meet you." Jeanne said curtly as she stood up and raised her right hand for a shake with Kakashi.
"You as well, Maiden of Orleans." Kakashi responded with an eye smile. Her legend may have come after his time, but it seems that basic information and knowledge have been downloaded into his mind upon recognition of her name. Presumably, it was something that all servants had to get an understanding on other heroic spirits.
"Mou... Kakashi-Sempai... You didn't get us any coffee." Oda mumbled as he sat besides them, realizing that he only had one cup.
"Coffee sounds good." Okita said as she licked her lips.
"Hm? The two of you didn't ask. Besides, you guys are old enough to go get some yourself." Kakashi said as he pointed towards the coffee machine.
"Plus you two don't really need it." He left out.
The two girls just grumbled as they stood up and left to go get themselves a drink. As soon as they left, Marie flopped back down onto her seat with a tired sigh and a rub of her head as she felt a migraine come along.
"Finally... Peace and quiet." She muttered before she stood up. "I'm going back to my room. I can't deal with this any longer. Goodnight Jeanne, Kakashi."
"Goodnight." Jeanne said with a smile while kakashi just gave a small salute as she walked off.
"It's quiet for now at least." Kakashi chuckled as he saw Okita and Oda already begin to fight over the coffee machine before he turned towards Jeanne. "So you met with Naruto eh?"
Jeanne blinked in surprise. "How did-"
"I know? I heard. Oda has a pretty loud voice, after all. And there is only one shinobi I know whose name starts with 'Naru'." Kakashi said with an eye smile. "With that said, I'm surprised you even got to meet him. Ever since he became a god, he left the place and became reclusive. He rarely showed up anywhere and I only saw him for the last time on my deathbed. I can only assume that he was drawn out by a grail war, hm?"
Jeanne stared at him, surprise still evident on her face before she shook her head and composed herself. "W-well, it was totally on accident. I was the Ruler-class servant who was summoned to oversee the Grail war. Due to circumstances, I was compelled to summon a servant by the Grail to help me deal officiate."
"And let me guess; you ended pulling Naruto from wherever he was?" Kakashi asked with a deadpan, already used to Naruto's stupid luck at always getting pulled into trouble. Especially if there was a woman involved. He was glad that Hinata never minded if he hung around girls and were attracted to them since she always wished for him to be happy because of her worldly love, but Naruto's luck with them was absurd. Dare he say it, he may be jealous.
"Yeah..." Jeanne twiddled her fingers shyly. "How do you know all this?"
"I'm his teacher. Well, one of them that is." Kakashi said, earning wide eyes from Jeanne as he began stirring his coffee.
"You're his teacher?"
"Yep. I was put in charge of him during his early days as a Shinobi." He chuckled a bit as he recalled a very young Naruto. "He was the ditz amongst kids his age. Not only was he absolute trash when it came to being a Shinobi, he was a loud brat as well. It wasn't until he got older that he managed to mature a bit."
"Hehe... He did say something like that once." Jeanne smiled.
"Then he must have cared for you quite deeply. He's often uncomfortable about talking about it with others." He drummed his fingers against the table. "So what happened during the war? I hope Naruto wasn't trouble for you."
"Not at all, actually. He was a big help and I am glad to have met him." She leaned back in her chair in thought. "Well... The entirety of it is kinda complicated to explain, but let's just say that the Grail was corrupted and could spell the end of the world should it be released. A servant killed all of the others by summoning other servants using another source of power. Just when they managed to get their hands on the Grail, Naruto showed up and killed all of them in a spectacular fashion before taking the grail for himself." She chuckled. "Some of the servants are still traumatized about that incident to this day."
"I could only assume." Kakashi smirked. "Then I presume he blew up the Grail?"
Jeanne shrugged. "I do not know. Last I saw of him, he disappeared along with the Grail into thin air. After that, I returned back to the throne of heroes with my role fulfilled. I can only hope in my heart that he didn't die."
The two of them sat there in silence, with Oda and Okita's verbal fighting going on in the background. From what he could tell, she certainly missed him and still thought about him to this day. That happened with all of the girls Naruto has saved during his Shinobi career, so he was no stranger to that.
"You still miss him, huh?"
Jeanne smiled sadly. "Yes. We have gotten quite close during the war and it was sad for us to part ways. Still, I believe we will meet up again one day. I just know it."
"He probably promised her that."
"I don't doubt that. He always makes all of these promises, but he still somehow manages to keep them. I'm surprised he managed not to break a single one of those promises he made. As his teacher, I have to make sure he doesn't stop now."
"Do you know if there is a phone anywhere?" Kakashi asked suddenly. Jeanne looked at him in surprise before pointing out into the hallway.
"There's a station outside that has a bunch of public phones. Why would you need it, though? The entirety of the outside world has been destroyed so I doubt there is anyone left to call." She asked with a frown.
"No reason. Thanks for telling me." Kakashi said with a smile as he stood up and jogged off.
"Wait!" Jeanne called after him. "You didn't finish your cof-"
She froze as she eyed an empty coffee cup that recently smelled of coffee.
"When did he..." She stared at the empty cup with an amazed expression. "I didn't even see him drink!"
Many who knew him would say that there was divine work being done to prevent people from seeing his face.
Somewhere in another place and time, a blonde haired man sat on top of an icy glacier as he stared at a massive golden cup that was frozen in the ice. He sat there idly with his eyes close, meditating in peace as cold wind whipped past his ears.
It has been quite a long time since he had gotten hold of the cup. The grail war was an adventure that had long since moved into the back of his mind. He barely remembered the servants, masters, and who the hell he was fighting.
But he still remembered the saint's face pretty clearly.
He opened his eyes and looked up. He sometimes wondered what she was doing now. Across multiple worlds, he knew she could be anywhere. He traveled through them sometimes himself. For now, however, he didn't feel like doing that. He still had 58 years to go before he felt like going back to Gaia again.
Suddenly, the silence was broken as he felt something vibrate in his right pants pocket. Checking to see what it was, he pulled out the old phone he had during his time in the hidden leaf. An old momento of a long distant age. During his adult life, the technology had improved to the point that phones using electricity and chakra were able to work just as fine as the phones of today.
The most advanced phones that the shinobi developed could utilize radio dishes to connect with one another. Though they had another method of carrying messages by using their own chakra for a much more effective connection as Chakra can travel all around the world akin to light in its most basic state.
His eyes narrowed as he eyed the contact. It was a number he didn't even recognize, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that someone managed to contact him in this dimension that was sitting outside of the time axis. There was no way anyone should have been able to contact him.
His eyes widened as he felt the Chakra that coursed through his phone. It was Six Paths Chakra, something only he should posses. He couldn't mistake such a powerful chakra signature for anything else in the world.
The Six Path's Chakra was the most powerful chakra signature known to man. Even with the Sage's body destroyed, his chakra never left the world and he was said to have traversed through many places. It was akin to the second magic in that it was powerful enough to traverse through worlds like the sage was said to have done, but he couldn't think of anyone else who could have this.
Well, Sasuke did, but he would contact him directly instead of using a phone.
Activating the rinnegan as soon as the phone stopped ringing, he watched as the blue wisp of chakra left the phone and began moving away into the sky. Sighing, Naruto stood up and cracked his knuckles as he brought a truth seeking ball to his hand.
He may not know who it was that managed to contact him, but he was going to find out. He couldn't allow someone to casually use such a chakra without seeing who exactly it was.
"Man... No rest for the weary I suppose." Naruto muttered as he channeled chakra to his legs and launched upwards. Slicing with the black rod, he tore a hole straight into the point where the Chakra vanished, following after the trail to see where it led.