Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be picking up from last chapter as Naruto and Rin, along with Luvia and Miyu, meet up with Artoria but see Mordred is missing. So, without further ado.
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Naruto and Rin, along with Luvia and Miyu, went to meet back up with Artoria and Mordred, or as Luvia knew them as "Miso" and "Elise".
"So, I take it that Miso and Elise are going to be participating in the Tournament." Luvia said, while keeping things vague to ensure that should someone unaware of the Moonlit overhear them, they won't learn about the Holy Grail War.
"Yep, and don't worry, they're very strong combatants." Naruto said, knowing that Mordred and Artoria are two of the stronger Servants in the upcoming Holy Grail War.
"Doesn't matter, they still won't be enough to defeat my sister." Stated Miyu, making Luvia sigh at her sister's attitude.
"Sorry about Miyu's attitude, she's really a sweet and kind girl. But aside from myself and Shirouko, she acts this way with everyone else." Said Luvia, knowing with what Miyu's been through, she didn't really like or care for anyone outside of her and Shirouko.
"She knows Shirouko?" Questioned Rin, intrigued at this information, as she's never heard any mention of Miyu nor seen her with Shirouko before.
"Yes. Shirouko saved her life during the fire that devastated Fuyuki at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. With them having been saved and taken to the hospital by a man named Kiritsugu, with him having adopted Shirouko while my family adopted Miyu. With Miyu having come to see Shirouko as an older sister." Luvia replied, surprising Naruto and Rin at hearing this, along with interested at the name of the man who saved them.
"Kiritsugu? As in Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer? He's the one that saved Shirouko and Miyu?" Naruto asked, wanting confirmation that it's the same Kiritsugu, while also being glad that despite his reputation and actions, his hero was a good person deep down.
"…Yes, he is the same Kiritsugu. Given he was a participant in the Fourth Holy Grail War, he'd been near the epicenter of the fire and was able to find Shirouko and Miyu." Luvia reluctantly revealed, knowing how Shirouko and Miyu would be seen if their connection to the Magus Killer was exposed.
"Well, I suppose you were right." Rin said, looking at Naruto upon seeing he was right, that Shirouko is Kiritsugu's daughter.
"Wait, what?" Luvia said, looking between the two, wondering what that meant.
"I suspected that Shirouko could be the Magus Killer's daughter, given they both have the same last name. And I figured that Shirouko could also be a great ally in the Grail War, whether she's a Master or not, if she'd been trained by Kiritsugu." Replied Naruto, surprising Luvia that they'd want Shirouko to join them in the Grail War.
"You suspected that she was the Magus Killers daughter, but still considered her as an ally?" Questioned Luvia, surprised and relieved to hear this, that they already suspected of Shirouko being Kiritsugu's daughter, but didn't care.
"Yeah, since like I said, if she was trained then she'd be a great ally. Though if we know about Shirouko being his adopted daughter, who else could know?" Naruto asked, concerned that others could have already figured out who Shirouko is, and target her.
"Thankfully, no. Since outside of me, Miyu, our late parents, you two, and I'm guessing Miso and Elise, no one else knows that Shirouko is the adopted daughter of the Magus Killer. Given that after the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu left the Moonlit World, allowing Shirouko to hide the fact she's his daughter in plain sight." Luvia replied, much to their relief.
"Good, that's good." Stated Rin, relieved that no one else has figured it out, something she worried about and how it'd effect Sakura if she lost Shirouko.
But with the Fifth Holy Grail War coming up soon, it might not be long until other Masters begin arriving, Masters that may be able to put the pieces together. Which would put a target on Shirouko's back, either from those with a grudge against Kiritsugu or wanting to prevent the rise of another Magus Killer.
It wasn't long before they met back up with Artoria, only to see that Mordred wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Elise, where's Miso?" Rin asked with frown, knowing it wouldn't be good for either of them to go off on their own, where they could be attacked by enemy Masters and Servants.
"She stormed off after we had a…disagreement." Replied Artoria, with Naruto not being amused by this.
"A disagreement?" Repeated Naruto.
"She was making accusations, and got angry when my answers weren't to her liking. She then left before things could escalate further." Artoria said, making Naruto mentally curse.
'Damnit! Why did I think it'd be good to leave them alone, together?!' Naruto thought, seeing that in hindsight, leaving both Knights alone together was going to end badly, with them only being lucky that they didn't really start fighting.
"I'll go find her and make sure she's alright." Said Naruto, knowing that Mordred will likely still be angry over whatever happened between her and Artoria, so it'd be better if only he went to find her.
Luckily, it didn't take long for Naruto to find Mordred, thanks to their bond as Master and Servant, finding her at Fuyuki Central Park. Though the moment Naruto stepped foot into the park, he stumbled as he was hit with a massive wave of negative emotions.
'Wh-what the…what the hell? What was that?' Naruto thought, feeling dizzy at the sheer…negativity he was feeling emanating from this place, as if the entire park was full of hate, spite, and grudges.
It actually started making Naruto feel sick at how powerful the negative emotions were.
'This…this must have been where it happened…the fire from the Fourth Holy Grail War.' Thought Naruto, looking around the barren park, before spotting Mordred sitting on a bench and brooding.
The Saber-class Servant was brooding over the anger and hurt she was feeling at once again being rejected and pushed away by her father. Though just like in her original life, Mordred was hiding the hurt she felt so well, that she's only seeing it as more anger.
"Hey Mordred. Uh…it's probably a stupid question but, are you alright?" Naruto asked, managing to push past the negative emotions and approach his Servant, only for Mordred to glare at him coldly.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell away from me right now." Retorted Mordred, not interested in anything he had to say, along with being affected by the grudges and strong negative feelings in the park, due to her emotional state and status as a Servant.
With Naruto frowning at her words, but didn't make a move to leave, not wanting leave her alone here and like the way she is.
"I'm not sure what exactly happened between you and Artoria, but I am here if you want to talk." Naruto said, only for Mordred to get up and glare at him.
"No! I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you! And don't ever say that name around me again if you value your pathetic life!" Mordred shouted, angry that he wouldn't leave her alone and that he'd mention her father.
"Okay, you don't have to talk to me. But if you want, you can simply say what's bothering you and I'll just listen, if that'll help." Replied Naruto, wanting to help her, which only seemed to anger Mordred further.
"You wanna help?! Then hold still!" Said Mordred before slamming her fist into Naruto's face, sending him flying back, with the Uzumaki grunting at the hit before he quickly rolled out of the way, when Mordred tried stomping her foot on top of him.
"If you wanna fight Mordred then fine, but don't expect me to attack you." Naruto stated, willing to let Mordred attack him if it'd help her vent her frustration, but he wasn't going to hit her back.
"Why not?! You always seem to enjoy provoking me, ever since summoning me to fight in this damn war! And you said you could fight or was that just more talk, that's all you seem to do is talk, talk, and talk! Never knowing when to shut up, because I just had to be stuck with you as a Master!" Mordred yelled, kicking her leg out at Naruto, who blocked it and moved back as the Servant continued advancing on him.
Naruto grunting as he blocked another punch from Mordred as he began using Reinforcement on himself to block most of her attacks.
"And it's not just that I'm stuck dealing with you! No, you had to go and make an alliance with the Master of that bastard King of Knights! Even daring to get in my way when I was going to put her back in the damn ground! You even apologized and hesitated when Assassin came to kill you, as if you don't even realize that's the whole fucking point of this war, to kill the enemies and win! But instead, you just want to make friends with everyone, like you don't even care to try!" Shouted Mordred, throwing her fist forward, with Naruto blocking it again with his arms before she then slammed her foot into his stomach knocking him back.
"And I'm expected to fight in this damn Grail War when I didn't even choose to be summoned to be anyone's Servant! To just keep being traded around as a weapon for other people to use and then tossed aside when I'm no longer useful! First the witch, then the King of Knights, and now you! That's why I even exist at all, to be a weapon used by others! And no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I'm always rejected when I'm no longer useful! That's why you want this damn alliance so badly, everyone always running to serve their precious King!" Mordred screamed as she sent Naruto flying back with a powerful punch to the face.
Groaning at the hit, Naruto got up and looked at Mordred before seeing the tears of rage and anger streaming down her face. Though he could tell that there was also a hint of sadness and hurt in them. Seeing that behind her power and attitude, Mordred was still just a teenage girl that simply wanted to be accepted by her father and be seen as more than what she was created to be.
While the only thing she ever really knew was fighting and killing her enemies.
So, when Mordred rushed him again, Naruto was ready and dodged her next attack, before getting behind the Knight and slamming his elbow into the back of her head, sending her stumbling back.
"Okay, if you want to fight that badly, then I'll give you a fight." Stated Naruto, seeing that Mordred may need this to help her vent her anger.
And it may also help them bond and understand each other better.
Mordred didn't respond to his words merely scowling as she turned and rushed Naruto again, throwing another punch at him, which the Uzumaki ducked under. Before he quickly had to raise his arms above his head, blocking an axe kick from Mordred. With Naruto then pushing his arms up, sending Mordred stumbling back from being knocked off balance.
The Saber-class Servant then grunting in pain when Naruto slammed his fist into her stomach, making her double over from the wind being knocked out of her. Only for her to recover just as quickly and immediately lifted her head up right into Naruto's face, knocking him back this time.
'Damnit! She really hits hard.' Naruto thought, feeling the impact actually broke his nose, before he began using some Healing to fix it.
Before he had to use Flash Air to trade places with a nearby log, when Mordred jumped up and brought her fist down on him, only for her to hit the log and shatter it. With Naruto reappearing behind her and kicked Mordred's legs out from under her, before punching her in the face, sending her flying back where she crashed into a tree.
"I told I could handle myself." Naruto stated, as Mordred got up and glared at him, before holding out her hand as she summoned Clarent.
"Let's see how you handle this, then!" Shouted Mordred, charging Naruto and bringing her sword down on him, making Naruto's eyes widen that she's now using her sword.
Mentally cursing, Naruto reached into his belt bag, which was actually a Mystic Code that he commissioned to use as a storage space. Along with reinforcing it with his family's Runes and Magecraft to make it better and stronger. Though it had a limited amount of space, with it still being big enough to store his katana inside, should he need a weapon.
With Naruto pulling it out and using Reinforcement to strengthen the blade, just as Mordred's sword clashed against it, with his own blade thankfully holding. Before he managed to push Mordred back to get some distance between them, knowing the fight just got more difficult.
Though as the Master and Servant fought, their fighting had also gotten the attention of Rin, Artoria, Luvia, and Miyu. Who had arrived after sensing the Magecraft being used and the power being released, with them being greeted to the sight of Naruto and Mordred fighting each other.
"What are they doing?!" Rin said in disbelief that they were fighting each other.
"It's obvious, she's betrayed us and is now trying to kill him." Stated Artoria, believing Mordred was betraying them and went to stop her as she was about to summon Excalibur, only for Luvia to stop her.
"Wait, she isn't betraying any of you. Look at the way they're fighting, Naruto isn't really trying to hurt Miso and she isn't aiming to kill, only to injure. This may just be Naruto helping her to blow off some steam and vent any frustration she has. Plus, this place may also be affecting her." Luvia said, looking around the park and sensing the negative feelings and grudges it held, something Artoria soon felt now that it was brought to her attention.
'This place…' Artoria thought, looking around with wide eyes, feeling it was familiar to her, before she soon realized that this was where the Fourth Holy Grail War ended, making her wonder what exactly happened after she was forced to destroy the Grail.
"If…if they aren't really trying to kill each other, then let's just get a Boundary Field up, so nobody else shows up and sees anything they shouldn't. And let's at least be ready to jump in and stop them, if things begin to escalate." Said Rin, with Luvia nodding in agreement before the three Magi got to work on setting up a Boundary Field, ensuring that no one could stumble upon the fighting and expose them.
Though unknown to them, the fight had already drawn the attention of a few spectators.
With one of them being Jeanne, who had sensed the fighting and quickly went to see what was happening, and intervene if she needed to. The Ruler-class Servant also being accompanied by two cloak wearing Servants, these two being the guards she summoned to ensure the rules of the Grail War were followed. With the two she summoned being of the Rider and Lancer Servant Classes.
"Master, shouldn't we intervene before things escalate? As what will happen if one of them ends up killing the other?" Questioned Rider, wanting to intervene in the fight and stop it before things got out of hand.
"As much as I'd like for us to put an end to this, we can't interfere. While it is a fight between a Master and a Servant, it's also not in a direct violation of the rules, so we can only observe if things escalate." Jeanne replied, also wanting to stop this, but knew she couldn't without breaking the rules she's meant to enforce.
"Then at least let us go and stop them! We're only regular Servants, so we can intervene without worry. And if nothings done, they could both end up killing each other!" Lancer said urgently, being the one who wanted to go and put an end to the fighting, only for Jeanne to shake her head.
"Neither of you can interfere either. You may not be Rulers like me, I still summoned you both, so you'll have to follow the same rules I do. Meaning, we only interfere if the rules of the Holy Grail War are being broken." Said Jeanne, knowing how her Servants felt, but there's nothing they could do.
"Well I don't like those rules very much, if it'll just get people hurt." Rider stated, not liking that they couldn't do anything.
"This isn't right." Muttered Lancer, looking at the fighting pair, wanting nothing more than to jump in and stop them.
"I know neither of you like it, I don't like it either. But I believe that neither of the two will go far enough to truly hurt or kill each other." Jeanne said, seeing the way Naruto and Mordred were fighting and felt that they wouldn't go too far.
While another spectator to the fight was Caren, who'd been alerted by Jack after she got the information she wanted on where Shirou's base was and relaying it to her. Before she then summoned Jack back to her and now has her on standby, ready to assist Naruto if he needed it. Even more interested in forming an alliance with the Uzumaki at seeing how well he could fight. Especially since both she and Jack have taken a shine to him as well, along with her growing interest in him.
It didn't hurt that it'd also give Caren more chances to mess with and irritate Rin, as well.
Back with the fight, Naruto sent Mordred flying with a blast of wind, before swinging his sword and sending a wave of flames at her. With the Servant jumping through the flames and bringing her sword down on him, with Naruto using Flash Air again to switch with another log. Only for Mordred to be ready for him to attack her from behind, this time, and quickly turned around.
"Crimson Lightning!" Mordred shouted, swinging her sword launching a blast of red lightning at Naruto, sending him crashing through a tree.
Naruto groaning at the attack, still being able to feel the pain from it, despite using Reinforcement and Earth Magecraft to strengthen his body. But more than that, he's also starting to feel tired and drained of energy, despite how much Magical Energy and stamina he had.
'Doesn't help that she's much stronger than she'd normally be, if she was summoned by a different Master.' Naruto thought while getting up, knowing Mordred's parameters were also higher than normal thanks to the Magical Energy she gets from him.
But looking at his Servant, he could see that he was starting to get through to her, seeing she didn't seem as angry as she was when he first arrived.
Though Naruto quickly placed his hand on the tree he crashed through, transmuting it into several wooden spears when Mordred charged him again, before she was forced to jump back to avoid being hit them. Leading to Naruto jumping over her and swinging his sword at her, only for the Servant to quickly turn and block his strike. Something Naruto counted on as he then pressed down on Clarent forcing it down, before immediately forcing it up and knocking it out of Mordred's hands.
Then before Mordred could react, Naruto pulled her into a tight embrace, much to her anger as she kicked at him to let go.
"Let me go! Let me go! Let me fucking go!" Mordred shouted kicking, punching, clawing, and even biting at Naruto to force him to let go, with the Knight also headbutting him several times, only for the Uzumaki to not budge.
"I'm not letting go Mordred, no matter what you do, I'm not letting go." Said Naruto, refusing to let her go.
"Why?! Everyone else has done it before! Why the hell would you be any different?! You only summoned me to win this damn war for you! You didn't even mean to summon me, I'm just the one unlucky enough to have to deal with you!" Retorted Mordred as she continued to fight against his hold.
"Yeah, I intended to summon a Servant to win the Grail War, but I'm glad I summoned you Mordred. And not just because of how powerful you are, but because I like having you around, even when I first summoned you I was happy to have you as my Servant. You act like your own person, rather than just doing whatever I say like other Servants would, that makes you special; along with getting to know you and about your life. It's why I came after you, because I was worried about you Mordred, and wanted to make sure you were alright." Said Naruto, while feeling Mordred's attacks starting to slow down as he spoke.
"I know you're angry at everyone in your life, your parents for turning their backs on you, the other Knights for being able to experience being human and live their lives, as well as everyone else that pushed you away. But I'm not going to do that Mordred, I'm not going to push you away or reject you. You can hate me and attack me as much as you want, but I'm not going to push you away, I'll always be here when you need someone." Naruto said as Mordred's attacks finally stop, with the Knight feeling her legs give out beneath as she started crying, with Naruto kneeling down and holding Mordred.
With Mordred soon looking at Naruto and seeing the state he was in from her attacks.
"Why? Why would you go this far for me? Even after I did all that?" Mordred asked, wanting to know why Naruto would let himself be hurt just to help her.
"Because you're more than just a Servant to me, Mordred. You're my friend and like I said, no matter what, I'll never push you away." Replied Naruto, smiling at her, much to Mordred's shock.
"And I know you must be angry at having to be part of this Holy Grail War and working with Artoria, given your past with her. But it's going to be alright, since you're much stronger than you know and will be able to take down any Servants we fight. And whether we win or lose, I'll be glad that I still got the best Servant and friend I could have asked for. And I know you don't like it, so if you want, I'll stop putting "chan" at the end of your name and class, if you want me to stop." Said Naruto, not wanting to upset Mordred anymore if she wants him to stop calling her that, only for the Saber-class Servant to shake her head.
"N-no! I-if you want…y-you can still call me, Mordred-chan and S-Saber-chan, if you want to. B-but only if…only if I can call you by your name, instead of Master." Mordred said, wanting to Naruto still call her by those nicknames, as long as she can call him by his name.
"Yeah, you can and you didn't need to ask either." Naruto replied, smiling at her, which Mordred hesitantly returned.
Though their attention turned to Rin, Artoria, Luvia, and Miyu when they ran up to them, seeing that the fighting had come to an end.
"Thank goodness, you both are alright." Rin said, relieved that they're both fine and stopped fighting.
"We were starting to get worried that things were going to go too far. But we're glad to see you're alright, Naruto." Said Luvia also relieved that Naruto was fine, and wasn't too injured from the fight.
"…I still think you're kind of annoying." Stated Miyu with her tone being less cold, gaining some respect and admiration for Naruto at how far he was willing to go for his Servant.
While Artoria looked at the two silent, with many thoughts running through her mind at what she'd seen and heard.
'He's…so different.' Artoria thought, looking at Naruto and comparing him to Kiritsugu, seeing how different they are in how they acted and the lengths the former would go to for his Servant.
Before she then looked at Mordred and felt guilt and self-loathing, the same feelings she felt for turning her away before. Having turned Mordred away, as that's what she believed was the best for her kingdom, that she couldn't let Mordred have the throne without playing into her sister's hands and causing a disaster. But now saw just how deeply that rejection has taken a toll on her, what it drove her to do.
And the biggest being her own regrets and failures as a King, how she destroyed her own kingdom because she strived to be the perfect King. Something that cost her, her humanity and resulted in her being unable to truly understand what it meant to be human.
While Caren, Jack, Jeanne, Rider, and Lancer were relieved to see the fight end with no one dying, before taking their leaves.
But Mordred, Artoria, Rin, Luvia, and Miyu soon became worried when Naruto suddenly passed out, only to sigh in relief at seeing he was still alive and fine. With it only being a result of his injuries and the strain he suffered from the fight. Which lowered Mordred's mood along with feel guilty at being reason for this.
'I did this. I…I'm sorry, Naruto.' Mordred thought, before she picked him up and looked at the others.
"Let's go." Mordred said, with the other girls nodding before they made their way back to the Tohsaka Residence.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see a confrontation between Naruto and Mordred in Fuyuki Central Park, with Mordred being affected by the negative feelings and grudges in the park, leading to a fight between them as the Servant lets out all her emotional baggage on what she's feeling, with Naruto fighting back to help her vent. With Rin, Artoria, Luvia, and Miyu soon arriving and setting up a Boundary Field so no one would show up and see what's happening. While Jeanne and her Servants took notice of the fight, along with Caren and Jack. Finally Naruto manages to get through to Mordred who he sees as a friend rather than just a Servant and refuses to push her away or leave her when she needs someone, leading to them growing closer, while Artoria reflects on how different Naruto is from Kiritsugu as well as her past failings. So, review if you liked go away if you didn't.
Storm out