Fox Tails and Whirlpools

by Cosmic Sky

All she wanted was an extra life with her beloved and all he wanted was a chance to spend more time with her. Against all odds the moon answered them and now Hakuno and Tamamo find themselves in a new world quite different from their own. After countless challenges as Master and Servant and husband and wife why don't they give parenthood in a world of ninjas a try?

27. Chapter 25-Omagatoki Pt4

Hey, everyone. Finally, this arc that's spanned the last several months in real-world time will be coming to an end with this chapter. Rather fitting, it'll be the fourth part of this Ōma Arc which marks the definitive death of the old world as the ninja cast has known it. It'll be ending with a bang and some tears as a certain stand-off will take place. Sadly, it's taken much longer than I would have wanted it to, but here we are. Enjoy the chapter!

三o-◁≡=⊳ ⊲=≡▷-o 三

I do not own anything.

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Fox Tails and Whirlpools

Chapter 25 - Ōmagatoki Pt.4

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The pain in his side had dulled, but Hakuno knew that wasn't to be taken for granted. If he could get a second to breathe, then he could use his powers to fully heal the wound and he'd be at maybe seventy-percent fighting power instead of the fifty-percent he was currently at. Alas, he didn't have that second, each one was being devoted to keeping himself alive and trying to pinpoint an opening to counterattack.

As a rule of thumb, Lancers were rarely easy opponents, they usually hit hard and fast; he'd learned that firsthand. Now, a Lancer empowered by divine strength that also left them in constant pain to the point they were constantly screaming at the top of their lungs? Even that one wasn't exactly new to Hakuno, but even that didn't make dealing with the berserk Lancer any easier to deal with.

Reading his attacks was difficult, especially with the pain in his lower abdomen. Celtchar's attacks were wild and ferocious, more driven by pain and primal instinct than any degree of skill. No, that wasn't entirely true, there was still a little bit of the seasoned combat skill there, though not much of it. It was compensated by the raw power Celtchar had, power that would be more than enough to put Hakuno down if he took too many direct blows. So he did his utmost best to make sure he didn't take any of those hits while searching for an opening to land some of his own.

Celtchar's maniac attacks left many openings for Hakuno to exploit, but they all came with a risk of a counterattack, he couldn't take them without putting himself at risk. Normally, he would have taken that risk, but his intuition told him to wait. Or maybe that was just the pain in his abdomen begging him not to invite more pain back into his body so soon. Frankly, Hakuno was inclined to agree.

But he couldn't keep dodging forever, he didn't have the time to.

"Lunar Style," He whispered, jumping out of the way as Celtchar's spear crashed into the ground in front of him, the impact crater resembling an artillery shell exploding. His nose wrinkled at the combination of smoke and poison that rimmed the impact crater. "Silver Arms!" Silver-lined blue light exploded in each of his palms, shaping themselves into concrete shapes. The two shapes were brought together as the poisoned spear tip shot out toward him; its path being deflected thanks to the twin single-edged hard-light blades the teenager now held in his hands. Deflect the attack wasn't easy, but Hakuno managed it. With a roar, he deflected the spear to the side, his body spinning to Celtchar's right and his blades coming down atop his exposed back. His two hard-light blades cut into the Servant's hardened flesh spewing blood, at least for the first several seconds. The blood transformed into blackish flames that jetted out toward the male brunette. Narrow-eyed, he jammed his two swords into the Lancer's back, causing him to howl in pain.

Hakuno jumped back, ten feet to be precise. His eyes glowed blue, sending the signal to the hard-light blades. They promptly exploded in a burst of silvery light and blue fire. Celtchar's screams of pain grew louder as he fell forward.

Rearing his fist back, Hakuno amassed energy into his arm; his eyes scanned the downed Servant's body. He saw past the spiritual body that he possessed to what lay within - what was accelerating those spiriton particles and sending them into a frenzy. The mystical orb sat right alongside the Servant's spiritual core, the former having infected it with flaming tendrils that were spreading to the rest of the body. "Lunar Style-Argent Shock!" Shouted the seventeen-year-old as he bolted toward his target, appearing as little more than a blur.

Celtchar's instincts flared up, literally in the case of the flames coursing through him. Spit and blood flying from his lips, he twisted his body about, swinging his massive lance with him.

All he hit was air.

Hakuno lay in a crouch to the Servant's left. His right fist, a mass of crackling moonlight, slammed into his opponent's left side abdomen. Unlike his previous battle, there was push back, but he'd prepared for that. The blue lions across his body glowed as his fist pushed forward, his power beating back the divine flames flowing through Celtchar. He destabilized the Lancer's Servant body just as he'd hoped. That was his right fist, he still had his left hand, which had been gathering strength. His blood pumping, he thrust his left hand forward, directly toward the divine orb that was empowering Celtchar.

It was like sticking his hand through Jell-O mixed with oil, a rather revolting mix, but one he powered through. Almost there! Thought the teen as his fingers began to close around the flaming orb that had driven Celtchar berserk.

He could feel the heat of the flames scorching his fingers as he bore down on it. His fingers were mere inches from closing around it.

But then the orb decided it had other ideas.

Boom!

"Fuck!" He screamed, feeling his hands being scorched by the cursed divine flames that were now pushing his hand back, and scorching it at the same time. In spite of that, he still attempted to force his hand forward, to close it around the orb so he could remove it. Gnashing his teeth, he tried harder, diverting as much of his power into his left arm as he could. "Dammit, Celtchar, I'm trying to help you here! Work with me!"

"I…I…ARRRGGGHH!" The momentary destabilization his attack had induced ended. Hakuno yelped and cursed as his left arm was pushed back, smoke coiling from the burnt flesh. In that same timespan, the Servant twirled his street light excuse of lance, then swept it in front of him.

WHOOOOSSHHH!

Hundreds of trees were blown away along with the upper layer of the ground. Hakuno himself was hurled backwards by the immense force, the burns on his left arm stinging from the shock wave that had propelled him backwards. Through it, he never lost sight of his target, which lunged at him with his sizzling spear ready to once again drive it into his chest. Really, it was impossible to miss, what with being a mass of black and gold flames and a pair of murderous eyes screaming to the high heavens.

THUNNNK!

Celtchar was temporarily too hyped up on the divine power burning through his system to realize his attack had missed. It took his frenzied but still barely functioning combat instincts to alert him to the incoming attack. Snarling, he whipped his spear up, blocking the barrage of light bolts that were about to slam into him from his right side. He swung it again deflecting more of the projectiles while at the same time searching for their source. More of the projectiles came, the destruction of each one producing a burst of light that further obscured the raging Servant's vision. Had he been more focused, he'd have been able to "see" through them, but thanks to the power coursing through him, all he did was roar in rage at the loss of sight of his target. He had to find out where his target had gone and attack, the rage building within him commanded him to do so.

THUNK!

Suddenly, Celtchar's mind was no longer filled to the brim with rage, it was now filled with pain. Another scream exploded from his lungs into the night sky. That's actually what he was looking up at, a black sky filled with stars. Some of them were flashing, and getting closer.

The Servant tried to move, but his burning body couldn't. For a brief moment, the burning agony within him seemed to cool down; it was just a prelude to the barrage of coldness and pain that followed as countless beams of light slammed into him like concentrated rain. His wailing figure was lost amidst the barrage of silvery arrows.

Several meters away, floating in the sky was the arrows' sender. Hakuno kept his focus entirely on the downed Servant whom he was pelting with twenty arrows a second. "No better training like real experience!" A certain Archer clad in red had once told him while in the midst of one of their "practice" sessions, which happened to involve hostile programs trying to hunt them down and delete them in the most painful way possible. The experience had actually been…pretty useful. His vision was that of targeting scopes, locked onto the lone figure beneath him, a scan of that figure's strength at the corner of his vision. His attacks were dealing damage, whittling Celtchar down bit by bit. To knock him down though, he was going to need something stronger.

He could have gone with another crystalline arrow like the one he'd used to knock him down in the first place. He'd gotten better had creating them and holding them. Hakuno could have done that…but his curiosity and desire to experiment got the best of him. Or at least it did before he detected another surge of power from his lance-wielding opponent.

In a heartbeat, he dismissed his bow and made a flurry of hand signs. An aura of silvery light engulfed the brown-haired teenager, whose eyes glowed with their familiar blue and silver shine. "Lunar Style-Mare Angius!" The aura around him magnified, changing from light to a seemingly mass of swirling water; the water began to take shape. Several glowing eyes appeared amidst the churning water, then came the roars. Each one shaking the night sky itself. At the final hand sign, Hakuno thrust his hands out, both his arms covered in glowing blue Tron-lines that glowed brighter as the multiple shapes surged forth at a single target.

Staggered, Celtchar rose to his feet and looked up, several long shadows looming over his body and his surroundings. He counted eight serpents coming at him, each the length of a river and their jaws large enough to swallow a house. Said jaws were jagged and hard, resembling ice more than water like the rest of their bodies. Each one glittering in such a beautiful way that Celtchar might have been awe-struck by their beauty if he weren't filled with the agony of pain and adrenaline of battle. Instinct kicked in, causing him to rear his spear back, the poisoned tip howling. In spite of the dozens of arrows embedded in him, he swung his spear forward, the tip creating a flaming arc that collided with the first serpent. Even as it melted, it still continued to barrel at him. Celtchar couldn't wait for its complete destruction as he switched to another snake that was coming in from his left. By the time it began to melt, the lunar creature's jaws had already enclosed around him. The other snakes followed suit, even the formerly melted one, its head already reforming by the time it made impact.

One snake after another piled upon the berserk Servant, whose scream of pain was lost amidst their roars and the resulting explosion of water and light that ensued. Silvery droplets of water fluttered amidst the cloud of white smoke that rose from the impact crater. Hakuno could see through it clearly - he saw the still standing albeit hunched over figure of his target.

Said target looked at him with tired but vengeful eyes, eyes that literally caught fire a heartbeat later.

A ferocious roar ripped through the night, blowing away the smoke. It revealed the partially frozen and staggered, but still very much standing form of Celtchar. His eyes were ablaze with golden light that locked in on Hakuno, the rest of his body followed suit. The Servant's right arm was reared back then thrown forward, launching his spear with the speed and force of a ballistic missile aimed straight at Hakuno.

Even with his accelerated vision, Hakuno could see the spear coming to his face. He saw the poisoned tip heading straight for his chest, and it would pierce it if he didn't act fast. Beneath his pants, the blue lines pulsed and shined, the glow fully exposed around his ankle and leg. Arcs of blue lightning crackled around the limb which became enveloped in bright blue and white light. A grimace on his face, he swung his left leg up; Hakuno winced as his leg made contact with the spear. The resulting sonic boom born from the collision made Hakuno feel like his ears were going to fall off, his leg felt like it was going to explode.

The results though were well worth it. Hakuno watched as Celtchar launched himself at him from the ground while his spear literally twirled past him. He reached out and grabbed it, pouring all of his strength into his muscles.

Fury colored the faces of the two combatants, albeit in different ways. The Lancer's was fiery and feral, little more than a beast out for blood. Hakuno's was as cold and hard as the ice he wielded. As his opponent drew closer, he placed both his hands on the Servant's spear.

THUNNNKK!

Clouds parted as the Lancer was smacked aside with his own weapon, smashing into and through the ground like a meteorite. In spite of the ringing in his arms, Hakuno focused his power on the newly acquired spear in his possession. He couldn't hold it for long, but he could make sure Celtchar couldn't kill him with it. His lunar aura flared up and his teeth gnashed as he poured all his power into the ancient weapon in his hand. A noticeable layer of silvery ice spread from his hands to cover the shaft of the weapon, but, of course, the tip proved the hardest. It was his power against ancient Celtic magic, and even that sorcery was keeping at bay a far stronger power. Still, Hakuno tried, sweat forming on his brow from the effort. At the moment, that's all he focused on, not the village still under threat a few miles to his seven o'clock, which housed his wife and son and several others he'd come to care about, nor the downed Servant whose weapon he'd just stolen and used to brain him. Hakuno had been around enough warriors to know what he'd just done wasn't just a death warrant, it was a one-way ticket to hell in the most painful way imaginable.

But Celtchar was going to have to do it with his bare hands.

A heart-stopping snapping sound echoed across the sky as the tip of the spear froze, albeit not as much as the rest of the weapon. Seeing the deed was done, Hakuno threw it away and dived straight for Celtchar. Their eyes locked, they both knew that this fight had gotten even more personal, and from there it was only going to get bloodier.

The teenager managed to avoid Celtchar's first punch, deftly twirling to the side and delivering a powerful spin kick to his right side. He responded with a wild haymaker that Hakuno just narrowly dodged; Hakuno didn't dodge the knee strike that caught him in the gut. From there, two more of Celtchar's blows came, each one leaving him feeling like he'd just been run over by a stampede of bulls. Were he a normal human, his bones would have broken in seconds, thankfully, Hakuno wasn't a normal human by any stretch of the imagination. Blood trinkled from his lips as he watched Celtchar's fist come flying at him from his right side, a flaming fist that would burn his face off as much as break it. He brought his fist-no, his fingers up, hitting the Servant's underside wrist. His knuckles jetted upward, connecting with the arm, a jet of blue light shot upward from the other side as the arm seized up. Celtchar gasped, feeling the paralysis of his left arm. Eyes hard and brimming with quiet anger, Hakuno seized the larger man's arm then twisted, his own muscles bulging as he commanded the Corona within him to grant him strength; it did. The Irish Servant was slammed into the ground with his arm in a judo-style lock - it wouldn't hold for long.

Silvery light crackling around his fist, Hakuno brought his right hand down atop the Servant's backside, particularly at the base of his spine. Naturally, Celtchar roared, black flames jetting out from his body, though Hakuno held on knowing too much was at stake. Unfortunately, his target had a bit more strength in him than he'd predicted. With a roar, Celtchar broke his hold, seizing Hakuno by the scuff of his shirt then slamming him into the ground. Then came the punches that ended with his body making a nice-sized crater in the ground. Luckily, Hakuno caught the next punch, even if it did make his arm groan in agony. Thinking fast, he raised his left leg and pressed it against the Servant's abdomen.

"Silver Point Smash," he growled through clenched teeth. "Point Break!" The gathered energy detonated in a powerful explosion that knocked the Servant back. Seizing on the opportunity, Hakuno jumped back, his left arm feeling like it was about to fall off. In spite of that, he forced more power into it, by now practically the entire limb was glowing with silver ethereal light. Some of that light began to take shape into a blade, one that grew to a staggering seven-feet. "Silver Arms-Silvercaliber!" His feet dug into the ground, Hakuno swung the light-composed sword, the blade leaving a trail of silver glitter in its wake.

It caught Celtchar in the side, his divine flames seemingly shrieking away in fear as the moon-based energy tore into his body. Blood spewed from the wound that was left across his stomach. For a second, he stumbled, his legs seemingly shaking as he began to lose strength. Hakuno took a stance with the tip of his blade aimed directly at his foe's chest; the tip itself seemed to glow brighter as the air around Hakuno began to rapidly chilly, forming frost around him.

"Toukanya!" Shouted the brown-haired teenager.

Foom!

A layer of ice spread along the ground as the empowered human sprinted toward his target, becoming a silvery-blue blur. He slammed into the staggered Servant, who let out a pained gasp as the energy sword ripped through his body, the tip coming out the other end. From the point of impact, frost quickly began to spread through the rest of his body, the divine flames losing their twisted glow. Slowly, the divine power within the Irish Servant was being beaten back by its divine opposite.

This was shown by the clarity that returned to his eyes as he looked down at his human adversary. "Kishi…nami, y-you…gotta…do it. Do it! Kill me! I'd rather die than be under…that bitch's…thumb! Get this blasted orb back to your Caster, it's hers anyway!"

"Trying here!" The teen grunted, feeling the pain of his wounds catching up to him. It was glaringly obvious he didn't have it in him to keep dragging this out, not to mention he had to get back to the village. It felt like if he gnashed his teeth anymore, they would start cracking, but doing so helped him concentrate, which he desperately needed to do. The light blade in his hands shined brighter, its radiance practically illuminating the rest of the forest. When he swiped the blade about, he'd cut down every tree in a potential twenty-meter radius. They would make useful firewood if they weren't frozen.

Feeling the surging power, Celtchar felt nothing but relief. He'd felt pain before, pain so great that death was the only freedom from it. Such pain had been his end, wrought from his own cursed spear which lay several meters away, sealed away by the boy's power. In the haze of clarity he'd fallen into, he laughed and smiled. Just like I thought, you're a pretty golden egg! You're as impressive as Cú Chulainn and Scáthach proclaimed you were!

A part of him wondered what would happen if things had been different. Settling down in this village, serving as one of its warriors…living a life instead of just fighting battle to battle, it would have been…interesting, refreshing even. But that wasn't the way things had gone, so there was no use in lamenting it, especially as he was about to die.

"…No…no! You will not fall here! I refuse! Celtchar mac Uthechar, you will fight until you slay Hakuno Kishinami! I command you!"

To his dread, the fire came back, and it came back hard. A scream rose in his throat and blenched out of his mouth, alerting Hakuno. That alertness was further heightened as he felt the surge of power that came next - black and gold flames erupted from the orb within him, rushing through the rest of his body like lava. His right arm shot out, a Celtic rune; Hakuno instantly recognized it. His ears rung as he heard the unmistakable sound of ice cracking.

I guess I still have a long way to go! He was already jumping back, desperate to get out of range of the attack that was sure to come. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the spear he'd previously sealed barrel its way through the forest back into its owner's hand. The layer of ice he'd covered it with was gone, especially at the tip, which glowed with an ominous red and purple light.

Taking hold of the weapon, Celtchar twirled it so the tip was facing downward. "Lúin Celtchair!"

Crimson light over the road then turned into the purple glow, which the grounds shattered outward like glass. Inscribed on them were runes, runes that held the true power of the spear in check. That true power erupted forth as a burst of searing-hot flames that rapidly expanded outward. Hakuno had already jumped back a good ten meters, he needed to move back even further.

The pillar of fire rose into the sky, twisting and searing the air; all the frost that had been built up from the Master's attacks melted away as the power of the Celtic spear was unleashed. That same power was condensed and fired off in the form of several arc-shaped blasts aimed at Hakuno.

His sword gone, Hakuno went for defense. Throwing his right arm out, he projected a glass-like barrier while jumping out of the way of the attacks. Each one continued onward into the forest, exploding in bursts of fire. It seemed the landscape destruction wasn't just going to continue - it was going to escalate. A larger and stronger vertical slash came his way; it was practically the size of Konoha's front gate. That made it somewhat simple to avoid, on paper at least.

Hakuno's first impulse would sidestep the attack, but he knew better than that. One slash rapidly became many as a flurry of fiery slashes ensued. His legs glowing, Hakuno jumped, a good thirty feet into the air, even then, he felt the heat of the attacks passing beneath his feet. It was like dangling himself over molten lava, which he actually had done before. Another torrent of molten flames came shooting out at him, in the form of the spear itself. Strengthening his barrier, Hakuno shifted his body to the right, just enough so that he wasn't running through. But the smoldering heat of the unsealed spear reddened his defensive construct. It shattered when the elongated spear suddenly served to the right, smacking into him. Hakuno howled as he felt his hands and arms burn from the attack, crashing into the ground at high speed actually felt like a love tap compared to that.

Boom!

Celtchar was already running at full speed toward the impact sight before the smoke from the explosion had begun to clear. Now that his spear had been unsealed, the only way this would end was with death. His spear was practically pulling him in the direction of the downed human, as it always did upon drawing blood. Rearing his arm back, he plunged the spear into the ground where the human teen supposedly lay. Another burst of fire erupted from the impact site, upon catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Celtchar dragged the spear along the ground, sending forth a destructive wave of fire.

The light of the flames illuminated the blood-soaked face of the Victor of the Moon. It was contrasted by the bright blue Tron-lines that spread along his face and illuminated his eyes. Even in the face of the bloodthirsty spear, his determination didn't waver. His hands gripped a pair of newly forged swords, both of which rose to meet the flaming spear. He had to pump quite a large amount of energy into each light blade, but it necessary to stand against the cursed spear that now thirsted for his blood. It wasn't for the first time he'd felt such immense bloodlust, least of all from a mystical weapon.

KLANG!

It was like metal meeting metal, even though the two weapons in question were more energy than matter. That was certainly the case for Hakuno's twin swords, two masses of moonlight shaped into blades to fend off the spear of the crazed Lancer. Gone was the weapon's singular oval-shaped blade. To go along with its now released state, it was more jagged, a sharpened point with two prongs on either side, all illuminated through the haze of blistering fire that was the weapon's element. The flames were cursed flames, the likes of which would continue to burn even if they were doused in arctic waters. Now, mystic was such as the kind he could produce would dim them, if not extinguish them in great enough. He just needed the time to summon them.

Suddenly, the weapon pulsated, its bloodlust flaring up as it caught a whiff of Hakuno's own. The teenager's muscles again bulged as he forced the spear upward, leaving the abdomen of both him and his opponent exposed. Thanks to the Luna Corona, Hakuno was faster in taking advantage of the exposure. What looked like one kick to the naked eye was actual six, each one powerful enough to knock the air out of the Celtic Servant. His grip on his lance momentarily faltered, which caused the spear to seethe with rage. While it raged, Hakuno made his move.

Sliding to the side, Hakuno sharpened both of his blades, their lunar glow increasing and blue sparks dancing around the edges.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Celtchar's eye twitched in involuntary pain. Those moonlight blades hurt, part of it was due to the fact that the power of sun had been involuntarily forced into his body, which felt like it was on the verge of breaking down. It would break down at this rate; Celtchar wanted Hakuno to speed that process along! Screw dignity, he just wanted to die!

Unfortunately, the witch who'd forced this power upon him wasn't ready for him to call it quits, even with his right arm and leg crippled and a rather painful side wound. He didn't even have the strength to scream as the divine flames surged through his body forcing it to move, albeit they couldn't move his right side given the damage done to it.

SWOOSH!

At last, the spear tasted blood, and what may as well have been divine blood at that. Hakuno winced, though he wanted to scream. It seemed fitting that he'd taken the Lancer's right arm so he retaliated by taking his. His shoulder howled in pain at the bloody gash that ran up it, the flames were eating away at his flesh like poison. As with the wound to his abdomen, he could heal it, but only if he had time. He didn't as Celtchar's spear was literally howling for more blood, and he was more than willing to feed it. The teenager was back on the defensive, albeit he could tell his adversary's moves were a bit sluggish. He was almost at the end of his rope, but so too was Hakuno.

Instead of being aimed at him, Celtchar directed the tip of his spear to the ground. Cursing, he activated Khonsu and moved back. It was easier to do thanks to the fact that practically every tree in a mile radius of their fight had been cleared away. Hakuno hoped that nobody had grown attached to this part of the forest; at least they weren't fighting in the village.

He huffed as another pillar of fire shot upward, with it came a heatwave that made him feel like the blood and sweat on his face would evaporate.

It was only a prelude to what came next - an even greater blast of heat along with an overpowering sense of dread. An all-too-familiar sense of dread ran up Hakuno's spine as his eyes locked in on the center. Celtchar had his spear held in his still operatable left hand, reared back with a swirl of fire and magic energy dancing around the blade. Hakuno knew what was coming next.

If I gun it, I might be able to outrun it, even with this wound! If I do, he'll follow me…but then I'll just have to walk even further to get back to the village, not to mention I still don't know if there are any demons waiting around. On top of all of that, I'm just prolonging this, I have to end this! Now! Thought the blue-eyed teen with his left hand atop his wound. The pain had thankfully begun to recede, but it was still very much there. His arm was getting numb and if he took another hit, he'd lose the use of it entirely.

…Stand. Take…a…stand.

In spite of the swirling mass of fiery death several meters from him, Hakuno laughed. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Here I was thinking you were going to suggest some stupidly technical like running away." As if in response, the Corona in his chest vibrated, as did the Regalia on his left ring finger. Tamamo, Thought the teenager, rising to his feet with a look of determination in his shining eyes. I'm looking forward to getting another scolding from you for this. Hopefully, you'll be willing to accept my apology…once I come up with one good enough for this. The smiling face of his fox-eared beloved made him feel light as air as it always did. He felt light as air, yet he also felt as strong as a mountain, stronger even; Hakuno felt like the sky could come crashing down on him and he'd have the strength to hold it up like Atlas and Hercules themselves. It was so irrational that it could have been dismissed as fear-induced delusions. But that's how Hakuno felt.

And he was intent on using that power surging through him.

Yet again, the moonlight flared around the exhausted teen, its epicenter lay in the crystalline cube half the size in his chest. Its outline glowed brightly through his body, which surged with power as evident by the numerous geometric lines running through it. The celestial brilliance stood in sharp contrast to the mass of fire and dread that lay directly across from him in the form of Celtchar. A wretched beast-like growl emitted from his spear, it was rather appropriate for a weapon with a literal bloodlust. Its owner seemingly mirrored the weapon's state…but upon closer examination, one could have seen the shadows underneath his eyes.

He was tired, just like Hakuno, but he wasn't allowed to rest. He was a Servant, by his own admission, he was a spear to be used to slash and pierce until either his enemy was dead or he was again.

The mass of dread and fire condensed around the spear, becoming entirely outlined in solid red fire that was held tightly in the Irishman's hands. "Lúin Celtchair!"

As expected, the ground cracked, spider-web cracks fanning out in all directions for dozens of feet as the Lancer launched his weapon forward.

It was hard to place the animal-a wolf, a bear, a mountain lion, some horrible combination of all the woodland predators? It didn't matter, it was the cry of a bloodthirsty beast nonetheless. The beast roared as it beelined straight for Hakuno, who held out both his hands in front of him.

"Lunar Style," He'd started. Gone were the honey-brown eyes of the kind and amicable youth man, they were now completely blue with the outer rims glowing silver. They shined like the moon, whose power he was channeling from the core of his body outward. By his command, that moonlight shaped itself into a definite shape in front of him. "Getsuyōbi!"

The lúin's demonic glow was heavily contrasted by the brilliant shine of the circular barrier that manifested in front of its target. Though it appeared to be ice, it possessed a fortitude over a thousand times stronger, after all, it took the demonic spear's attack head-on.

BOOM!

Flames exploded outward in one direction, furiously burning away at everything they could in substitution for being unable to penetrate the mystical barrier. Said barrier was holding, even as cracks formed in it. The ground shattered, simultaneously freezing and burning as layer after layer of earth was blown apart from the two forces. Neither would budge, especially in the case of the shield which had now ballooned into a bubble that encircled Hakuno. His feet dug into the earth just as his opponent's, his eyes faced forward at the crimson dart attempting to penetrate his shield and spear his heart.

He could see it even as his vision grew dimmer.

The Lúin of Celtchar, or as it was known in its native tongue - the Lúin Celtchair, was a cursed spear. It was like Gáe Bolg, albeit thankfully weaker as it couldn't bend causality to the same extent. But that didn't mean that it wasn't as fearsome a weapon as its legend made it out to be.

Hakuno saw the curse's manifestation - a bloody red spear seeking to pierce his heart to satisfy its bloodlust. It tore at his barrier with everything it had to get to him.

KRRR-AAAK!

He could feel his feet sliding backwards.

I did not…

KRAA-AAK!

Get reborn…just to let my new life…end here! Memories and faces flashed through his mind, faces of friends, comrades, enemies, all people he'd made promises to. The last two took prominence over the others - he saw glorious mane of bubblegum-pink hair topped with a pair of tawny fox ears. A face was turned a golden-yellow-eyes crackled with affection and lips pulled back into a loving smile. A set of blond spikes sat atop a whisker-cheeked face that beamed at him with love.

"RAAAAAAHH!" Fingers curled, lines blazed bright just as the crystalline core inside of him flared up yet again. Frost exploded outward like exhaust fumes; the flames he'd been fighting died out almost immediately. The crimson bolt that had been attempting to drill its way toward him came to a stop, instantly freezing over. Blood pouring down his lips and his nose, Hakuno roared again, thrusting his arms out further.

THOOOM!

Celtchar could practically feel the throbbing in his arm as if it were reacting to the deflection of his spear. He didn't even try to track where his weapon had been reflected; in a way, he was too mesmerized by what it was that had deflected his Noble Phantasm.

With this momentary clarity, he knew he was staring at sorcery on par with that of the Age of Gods in which he lived in. It was quite a sight, a defensive barrier the size of a house crafted by Elatha himself. Such power was enough to deflect his cursed spear. The power condensed into an orb which was held between the hands of the brown-haired teenager. Whitish-blue swirls danced around the sphere-pure energy contained in a stabilized form.

"Lunar Style-Tsukiretsu!" Shouted the Victor of Moon, hurling the orb at the Celtic Servant. It traveled with the same speed as all of his attacks, maybe a little faster. The silver and blue-colored sphere left light in its wake as it soared toward its target, slamming into him before he could react. His feet left the ground as he flew backwards; he made it near twenty feet before Hakuno's attack detonated.

Boom!

Radiant was a word that could have been used to describe the explosion, a giant churning burst of light and icy dust that sent gale-force winds ripping through the forests outside of the Leaf Village. Tremors too as the earth shook from the force of the energy-based attack.

Hakuno…Kishinami…I…thank you.

Puddles of blood dotted the ground around him as he struggled to stay on his feet. The surge of power from the Corona had pushed his body as far as it could go, it was now warning him that pushing himself further would likely result in him crossing a line there was no coming back from. He could already hear Tamamo shouting in his ear not to do it. Hakuno kept his eyes on the smoke cloud borne from his attack, half-waiting for it to be blown away by Celtchar who readied himself for another attack. Seconds turned into minutes in which that didn't happen, not even a predatory growl to serve as proof of life. Though his eyes hurt, Hakuno focused his vision to see across the distance that separated him and Celtchar.

The Lancer was lying flat on his back, unmoving and his spiritual body slowly breaking down. That was good news in itself. What made it better was spotting the small orb that had rolled up several feet from him. Seeing it caused Hakuno to sigh in relief. Then the exhaustion fully slammed into him, practically bringing him to his knees.

Practically everything hurt, but his arms especially ached. Through hazy vision, he watched the various blue lines begin retracting now that he was no longer pushing himself to peak power. At this point, Hakuno felt like lifting a stick would require his utmost strength.

Which was exactly what he called up as he began the long walk toward Celtchar's downed form. Yes, he was defeated, but the object that had sent him on this murderous rampage still remained and he needed to collect it. He didn't dare think what would happen if the divine orb was left in Vitch's hands. If he could get his hands on it, then their strategic situation might change for the better, hell, it was possible that they could prevent another attack like the one that just took place from happening again. Closing his eyes, he attempted to focus what little strength he had left into his legs so he could activate Khonsu. Luckily, his legs seemed able to withstand the power surge which he prepared to make use of. Sucking in a breath, he did just that.

The effects of his exhaustion became immediate, normally, he'd have been able to get there before the spatial distortion finished swallowing up Celtchar and the orb. Shock and horror colored the teen's face as he watched them become drawn into the spatial distortion that appeared above them.

"I must say, you do live up to your reputation, Hakuno Kishinami. Savor your victory tonight, hahaha, you've earned it." Spoke a deep male voice from within the black hole.

Desperate, Hakuno threw his hand out, throwing himself the last few feet. Celtchar and the bead vanished into thin air, leaving him sliding across the cold charred ground. The pain was the sugar on top to his already battered body. "D-D-Dammit all!" He cursed as he attempted to push himself upward only to feel his arms wobble. The truth was in the dirt he stared at - he was at the end of his rope unless he got another energy boost, which was highly unlikely. Not unless he made a call. T-Tamamo…Tamamo…Naruto… His vision grew darker as exhaustion coiled around him then sunk its fangs in. Hakuno was powerless to fight off its venom; his face hit the dirt once more and his eyes slid shut.

三o-◁≡=⊳ ⊲=≡▷-o 三

There the Master laid, a lone figure amidst a miles' wide patch of the scorched and frozen earth. Little remained of the trees and bushes that once littered the area. It was indeed a battle-borne scar on the forests outside of the Hidden Leaf Village, a dreaded reminder of the night it fell under attack by forces literally outside of this world.

"Damn…Hakuno Kishinami, you really are deserving of the crown befitting the strongest Master." Anyone who knew Izō Okada knew that he didn't give out compliments easily…especially compliments such as this. The battle he had just seen warranted such praise. It wasn't often one saw a human go head-to-head against a Servant a win, albeit there were a handful who were capable of doing so. Humans back in their world. Hakuno had always been one by virtue of having probably the biggest pair of balls anyone had ever met. As he'd just witnessed, not only did he have the balls, he had the strength to go with them.

When Okada had arrived at the outskirts of the village, he saw Hakuno was battling a Servant, a Lancer, that was clearly hyped up on some kind of external power. One look at the wicked flames consuming him and the Manslayer knew that Vitch had cursed him with the power of the sun. Unlike Tamamo's beneficial fire, Vitch's granted power at the cost of sanity and free will. Though Okada was more than happy to take up the challenge of fighting such a monster, he knew that Hakuno's moon-based powers were a better fit. Just as fire had water, the sun had the moon to counter it. On top of that…keeping the demons off his back while he fought the Lancer counted as helping him as his Master had ordered, right?

Evidently, he'd made the right decision. He'd chased the demons off, got to witness a good fight which ended with his human ally winning, and all it'd cost was a mile or two of forest which could be regrown in a year's time! Everything had worked out!

As much as Okada wanted to get back to the Uchiha District to finish the job, he heard this voice nagging at him that he couldn't just leave Hakuno lying in the dirt. What happened if someone came along and snatched him away or ended his life? In his state, he was in no condition to resist.

The Assassin's feet trod across the ground, alternating between feeling scorched dirt and frozen dirt, same thing with the smell. It was the smell of battle. "When you wake up, maybe I'll ask you about that kenjutsu you've developed. Seems all that time spent around the likes of Hijikata, Roland, and Munisai rubbed off on you, Kishinami." Scouring the area, he deduced that it was far enough out of sight that he could sleep off the rest of the night. By the time he awoke, the fighting would be over and it'd be time for people like him to play their part. Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a small paper talisman that he led down beside the unconscious teen. The Bounded Field was subpar at best, but it'd keep any lingering hands away from Hakuno until the Anbu could recover him.

Feeling he'd done his part, the Meiji-era Servant took off back toward the village. A vicious grin spread across his face, watching the battle between Master and Servant had excited him. He was now eager to get back to his original mission - the extermination of the Uchiha Clan. Surely a clan of warriors as strong as them with their Sharingan wouldn't fall to a pack of low-level oni such as the ones who'd invaded the village. Certainly not Wicked-Eyed Fugaku! No, his head would be Okada's before the sun rose!

三o-◁≡=⊳ ⊲=≡▷-o 三

In stark contrast to the fierce battle that had just ensued, calmness swept over the clearing. It made it easier for Hakuno to sleep; when he would awake, the first thing he'd do is to bolt in the direction of the village, which still danced with the lights of battle. The battle was ending, the invaders quickly finding themselves losing ground to the prey they once thought would be easy pickings. Oh, how the tables had turned.

Hakuno wouldn't be there to see the rest of the battle, he'd have to hear about it from word of mouth. For now, he was dead to the world.

Others, however, were still quite active.

The figure that emerged from the tree line locked eyes on the downed human and began to walk towards him. Her pace was that of a leisure stroll, heedless of the devastation around her or the battle still going on in the village. That was her original target, but the teenaged human had caught her attention. She'd heard the sound of his battle and felt the arctic yet comforting and even warm feel of his chakra. It wasn't like that of his opponent's, malicious and cold. Upon catching a whiff of them, she recognized both. By either fate or chance, she'd arrived as the battle had ended.

Though unconscious, Hakuno Kishinami had once again beaten the odds and triumphed. She expected nothing less from him.

"As usual, you've left quite a mess in your wake." The figure mused, a faint hint of amusement in her voice. Moonlight shined upon her dusty-brown cloak which obscured her body, save for a few prominent features. From beneath the rim of her hoodie, a pair of pale scarlet-red eyes examined the comatose teen. Sticking out from her back were a pair of hilts, sword hilts. She reached forward revealing a gauntlet-covered hand, she used it to brush away a few strands of blood-soaked hair from his face. "And you're a mess yourself, Tamamo's going to fuss at you for days while you recover. I see some things never change."

Her attention remained focused on Hakuno as distant explosions light up the village skyline. She could still hear them, in fact, her hearing was so acute she could make out the scenes from the sounds alone. The demons were on the run, having discovered the humans of this world were a great deal stronger than they appeared. This world…the humans that populated it were indeed strong in varying ways, perhaps even surpassing the humanity that existed during the Age of Gods, all thanks to this world's version of sorcery called ninjutsu.

Apparently, Vitch had underestimated that power…and her other original self. Again.

"Vitch…" The woman growled, having caught the treacherous Alter Ego's scent. Her red eyes glowed, the round pupils transforming into feral slits as malicious power surged through her body. Finally, her vengeance was at hand. A stray moan, on the other hand, stopped that. Looking down, some of the smoldering anger faded as she recognized the slow regeneration that was occurring at her feet. The slight power surge she'd released had shattered the Bounded Field that protected the teenager, leaving him utterly defenseless. "…I suppose I can't just leave you here, Hakuno. No…that's not what he would have wanted." Moving her hand to the shoulder, she rolled the unconscious boy over so he was lying on his backside. A bloody wound stretched from the top of his shoulder down to his lower right side. It'd been a miracle the attack hadn't severed his right arm.

Without a word, the cloaked figure reached across her back to one of the hilts on her back. She drew one of her two swords and held it above the battered teenager. Nary a word more, she brought the weapon down.

---

Hyūga Compound, 7:51 PM…

"T-T-There's a monster in the compound!"

Hinata Hyūga was seconds away from asking if the danger had passed. Evidently not.

"Shhh, it'll be okay, honey." Her mother whispered.

If it weren't for her mother, Hinata knew she would have gone insane or suffered a complete breakdown. Really, this was turning into a horrible Sunday night. At the very least when she'd been kidnapped that night three years ago, she'd been asleep; this time she was awake to witness the horror second by second, minute by minute. Needless to say, this was infinitely worse. Hinata wished there was a cloak somewhere in this underground bunker; it was almost as old as the village itself, and it showed. Several times at the start of this mayhem, Hinata feared it would come down atop them. Given the occupants were children like her, women, and elderly…it would be an abysmal end that would haunt the Hyūga for years, provided the clan survived this.

Looking up at her mother, Hinata found it in herself to believe they would survive this. She always felt that way when she looked at her mother. Her pale-white eyes so like her own, yet so different from hers. Whereas timidity consumed her, fortitude defined her mother's eyes, just like her father's. But unlike her father's, hers always softened when they looked at her, just as they did now. The more she stared into her mother's eyes, the more comforted she felt. Once more, the spark of hope flickered within her.

Having revitalized her daughter, Hitomi Hyūga looked back toward the door. Two seals had been placed on it, strong enough to keep most entities from entering, but those seals were old, almost twenty years old to be precise, not to mention they were made for keeping out humans. Could some of these monsters have had the power to tear through the seals? It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it was one that she knew everyone in the bunker had.

Could they afford to wait for such a possibility?

"Hisashi, I-"

"No, Hitomi! Please, I'm begging you! Stay down there, in the bunker! Stay there with our daughter! At least one of us needs to be there for Hinata!" Her husband had defiantly shouted while grabbing her by the hands. To most onlookers, Hisashi Hyūga was a very stoic man; indeed, he was, but beneath that stoicism lay a man who deeply cared for his family. Especially his wife and his daughter, whom he was more than willing to give his life for. While Hitomi found that admirable, she was always concerned about him actually doing it. "I promise, Hitomi, I will return to you and Hinata, but please, I need you two to be alive when this is over with!"

"Hisashi, you better be keeping your promise." Whispered the indigo-haired kunoichi. No sooner had she said the words was she cursing herself as a contradictory thought took root in her head. To say that the idea was ridiculous would have been an understatement. Still, Hitomi couldn't banish it from her mind, not even when she looked down to her daughter, who ironically fueled the idea. "Hinata..." she started, leaning down to look her daughter in the eye.

"Y-Yes? M-M-Mother…y-you're…you're going to go out there, a-a-aren't you?" She whispered, having been closely watching her face. In truth, Hinata was more observant and smarter than most of the clan gave her credit for, even Hitomi was sometimes surprised by her daughter's observatory abilities without her Byakugan.

Hitomi's heart twisted itself into a knot. "Only to protect you and everyone else here." It pained her to see her daughter on the verge of tears, yet she gave a slight nod showing her reluctant acceptance of her mother's decision. She believed in her, believed in her ability to fight off whatever had invaded their home and come back alive. Taking hold of both her daughter's hands, Hitomi whispered, "Hinata, I promise you, I will come back."

Another tremor shook the bunker, causing everyone to jump. Normally, Hinata would have, but thanks to her mother's grip, she didn't. The fear was still there, but it had been smothered over by the faith she had in her mother, the strongest and kindest woman in the world in her eyes. "You promise?" The little girl repeated to which her mother nodded. Hinata threw herself into her embrace, tightly hugging her and being hugged back.

Fervent whispers were directed toward Hitomi as she stood up. While yes, she was a kunoichi, jonin at that, she was still the wife of the clan's leader, its matriarch. If something happened to her…well, no one wanted to actually say it even though it was now dancing about in their heads. Their fears were very real, but Hitomi was determined. She communicated as such to the guards, who were no doubt the most vocal in protesting her decision; they still accepted it as they stepped aside. At least one would go with her to help ensure her safety.

The doors slid open and through it stepped Hitomi Hyūga, her Byakugan immediately activating. She scanned ahead of her then looked upward. Her eyes widened. "Wait a moment…t-t-that chakra…"

Fear and curiosity dwelling within her, Hinata quelled the former and attempted to focus her ears so she could listen. Looking ahead, she saw her mother had turned to the guards with a less than pleased expression on her face.

"You said there was a demon in the compound!" The first lady of the Hyūga Clan hissed.

"Lady Hitomi, it is a demon!" One of the guards shot back. "It's only natural that tonight of all night to-"

"He's killing them, dammit! And he's not a demon! Yes, he has one sealed within him-"

"Whose power he is now using, Hitomi!" Chastised one of the elders who was close to the door. "Surely you can sense it, the demon's power is leaking out of him, consuming him!"

"I can see it with my own eyes, he isn't being consumed by it, he's using it to save our home!" Her mother shot back.

Hinata was filled with questions, but she felt like the answer was somehow staring her in the face. In a flash, a whisker-marked face popped into her mind causing her heart to race. N-Naruto? N-N-Naruto is out there…fighting? A mixture of excitement and worry swelled up within the young girl. Much like her mother, she felt fear for her blond-haired classmate, yet from what she'd heard her say, Naruto was apparently succeeding in slaying these monsters. How was that possible? A slightly awed voice told her that given who she was thinking of, it was something she'd best see for herself. But doing so would be mean-

Boom!

Yet again, the bunker shook, more so this time since the door was open. It allowed the occupants inside to see the hallway itself shake and hear the sounds of battle. Admittedly, several jumped in fear, especially as they heard what sounded like the growling of some beast. A handful of them recognized the sound quite well - it was the growl of a fox. The sound was enough to cause some to flee deeper into the bunker.

But not Hinata, who felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. All this talk about foxes, it was pointing her mind more toward Naruto, who she was now certain was somewhere in the compound. That stirred something within her.

"Quickly, everyone out of the-" Hitomi shouted only for her words to come too late.

All eyes looked up to the ceiling, which had bulged seconds before giving way. A giant mass of green skin red skin crashed through it, slamming into the floor like a dumbbell. Luckily, the Hyūga members were all able to scramble out of the way; they kept their distance from the sudden intruder. As the smoke cleared, it became evident that said intruder wasn't going to be getting back up.

The six-foot demon was dead, its eyes frozen up as it stared upward, its jaw hung up with several teeth seemingly broken. Blood began to pool out from beneath the oni's broken form, which began to shimmer as if it were made out of mist.

"W-W-What?" Stammered one of the guards.

Hitomi could only blink in slack-jawed shock at what had just happened. She had a feeling if she hadn't decided to go investigate, things might have turned out a little differently. Namely someone might have gotten crushed underneath that monster's literal dead weight. "What in the…?" She whispered, feeling an urge to come closer to examine it. "Everyone, stay back!"

Right before the eyes of the shocked civilians, the demon's body began to evaporate into a haze of violet and black-colored miasma. As it did so, a rather foul stench rose up and assaulted their noses. The desire to leave the bunker and taste fresh air burned within them, especially the younger ones such as Hinata. Out of sheer reflex, she hurried past the doors of the bunker into the hallway where the air was a little fresher.

Looking between the hole and where the corpse lay, Hitomi came to a decision. "Are there any other places we can go to for shelter?"

One look at the hole and it was obvious that this so-called bunker was compromised, more so given the smell that now lingered in the room from the dead demon, its body had completely faded away leaving only bloodstains behind. No one was eager to see if the smell could attract more of its kind.

Hinata found herself by her mother's side as the group moved down the hallway that they'd previously been ushered down. To her, it felt like it'd been hours ago, a testament to how the flow of time had become distorted inside the bunker. She didn't say it, but Hinata was happy to be free of it, even if she and her family was now at risk as they moved through the compound in the middle of an invasion. The occasional rumble shook the ceiling and the floor, causing everyone to jump as they ran, or in the case of some attempted to run. Some of the elders were doing their best, but age had clearly caught up to them, leaving feeble as twigs. For Hinata, her focus was splint, while she kept her eyes forward while keeping pace with her mother, she continuously wondered what was happening beyond the compound's walls. Was Naruto still out there, was he still fighting?

As they passed one of the courtyards, she was struck by how…serene it looked. It looked untouched by the pandemonium that had seized the rest of the village and its people. At least that's how it looked for the first few seconds.

The demon hit the ground with the force of a boulder, the tremor enough to actually knock some off their feet. Were it not for her mother's hand, Hinata would have been one of them. In seconds, Hitomi had ducked down and wrapped her body around her, shielding her from the short shock wave that followed the impact.

Poking her head out, Hinata saw the demon wasn't dead as the last one - it was already on its hands and knees. Her small nose was hit by the smell of fresh blood, which poured down from the monster's arms and stomach into a small series of puddles on the ground. More gushed out of its mouth as it gasped for breath.

"Dammit, nobody said…this job would be so fucking hard! They're just humans!" He gurgled. Raising his head, he spied the set of Hyūga Clan members frozen in fear several yards from him. By pure chance, his discolored red eyes found Hinata's, causing the young girl to flinch. The demon grinned, "I could use a little snack…it'll help turn the tables!" Muscles tensing, the battered oni launched itself at the group, arms spread out and jaws hanging open as if he planned on snapping up one of the humans in a single bite. Which was entirely possible, especially with the young such as Hinata.

Fear seizing her in a vice grip, the little girl clung to her mother, who held her in turn, shielding her with her body.

"Not on my watch, ugly!" Boomed a young voice that caused all the Hyūga's collective hearts to skip a beat.

For the oni, there was only a brief acknowledgment of surprise. The little human who'd launched himself at it was simply moving that fast courtesy of the improvised catapult technique he and his fox familiar had came up with. What was most impressive about the move was that the little human showed little fear in being launched from the familiar's tail at breakneck speeds; he was either very brave or very stupid, or very pissed. Or some combination of the three. It didn't really matter for the demon, who locked eyes with the blue-eyed child seconds before his yari penetrated his skull, ramming through his brain and killing him in seconds. The spear continued to travel downward until it hit the ground, digging into it like an anchor. Unfortunately for the young Jinchūriki who wielded it, that was a problem.

Naruto's grin of triumph quickly morphed into a frown of confusion as he felt the shaft of his spear bending in his hands. He looked from the skewered demon back behind him, finding looks of horror and confusion amongst the people he'd just saved. He immediately noticed they all had the same pale eyes as a certain classmate that he knew. Said classmate had poked her head out and was looking straight at him. "Hina-"

Newton's Third Law cut him off, and sent him flying forward, his grip on his spear shaft lost. A childish wail echoed as he sailed through the air.

"N-Naruto!" Panic and concern exploded within the Byakugan princess as she watched her classmate and savior tumble across the ground like a dust weed. Without thinking, she broke away from her mother's arms and jogged toward him. "N-N-Naruto, are you alright?" She called, running around the demon's corpse.

Mere seconds later and another entity descended from the sky, though this one wasn't a demon. It was a fox, one with brilliant orange-red fur that glistening like fire, especially at the tail. Hinata temporarily stopped as the fox looked at her, then it turned its gaze to the downed blond. Her heart pounding, she turned to look at her classmate, who'd managed to get himself up on his knees. Amazingly, his head hadn't cracked open, he just had a set of swirls in his eyes with a flock of birds flying over his head.

"That…was not I pictured things going." He mumbled. The fox reached over licked his face, seemingly snapping him out of his gaze. "Ah, oh, hey, Kyukon. Don't worry, it's not your fault! Guess I went-Hinata? Hinata, you alright? Did I get him?"

By this point, Hitomi had jogged over and stood over the group. "N-N-Naruto?" She called, catching the boy's attention. Kami, he really IS the spitting image of Minato, but with Kushina's personality! Looking back at the deceased creature, she took note of how its body had begun to disintegrate, leaving behind only a skeleton. "Yes, Naruto, you…apparently got him."

Rising to his feet, the young boy shook his hands to regain feeling in them. His clothes were torn and smeared with blood, blood that was undoubtedly demonic. In spite of that, his eyes were hard and sharp, like a battle-tested blade. To say that it was stunning to the two Hyūgas would have been an understatement. For the elder Hyūga, it was surreal to think that this was the same prankster who enjoyed raising so much hell around the village; then again, considering who this prankster's biological father was, perhaps it wasn't so surprising. For her daughter who had no such knowledge…her fascination with the blond only grew as she watched him set his eyes on his spear.

"W-W-Wait, y-your head!" She called.

"I'm fine!" Naruto waved off.

"Not until I take a look at you!" Hitomi declared, putting her hand in front of the boy. "I can tell you've been running yourself ragged and you took a pretty nasty fall, so I'm going to heal you as best I can. I'm no medical ninja, but I can do what I can."

Naruto looked ready to protest-he was about to protest, but then he saw the look in her eyes. His jaw immediately clenched shut. In the month that he'd been adopted, he'd come to learn and recognize emotions and expressions that he previously had no knowledge of. One of the latter was the look that the Hyūga matriarch was giving him - it was the same sort of look his mother would give him. It was the same look that she'd given him minutes earlier when she'd freed herself - that look of stern care that told him to sit still and simply obey, primarily so he didn't wound up killing himself. Someone caring about him in such a way…he was still getting used to it in big and small ways.

His gaze shifted from the senior Hyūga to her daughter, whom he knew much better. The similarities between Hinata and her mother were rather striking. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he looked to the older woman and realized that when they were adults, this was what Hinata would look like. Admittedly, a part of him didn't think that was a bad thing, quite the opposite though. At the moment though, Hinata was looking at him in open-mouthed awe; the feeling made him feel surprisingly good. "Hey, Hinata, are you okay? That monster didn't get to you or anything, did he?" The little boy asked.

His words seemingly caught her off-guard as the little Hyūga nearly jumped at the sound of his voice. "M-Me? I-I-I'm fine. N-N-Naruto, w-w-what about you? H-How did you…have you been?"

"Yeah, I've been at this for the last hour. Wait, as it been an hour?" His question was directed toward the fox familiar, who stood passively at his side. Having dimmed the Hyūgas not a threat, it'd disregarded almost all of them save for the mother-daughter duo. In response to its rider's question, the fox shook its head, showing it'd been keeping track of time in spite of the duo's adventures. "Huh, well, I've been doing it for the last half hour then."

"By yourself?" Hitomi questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Naruto, where are your par-?" Yet again, the universe chose to show instead of telling. Far if far off in the distance, a series of explosions lit up the sky. She could hear faint but very distinctive feminine yelps of pain; they sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Regardless, she knew that Tamamo-no-Mae Kishinami was involved in the fight, and based on the bursts of golden flames, she had to have been winning. "If we make it to the morning, something tells me I'm going to be juicing on the coffee to get through." Muttered the blue-haired woman before turning her attention back to the young Jinchūriki and her daughter. "Hinata," she spoke. "I know you're worried about Naruto, but I need you to go with the others to safety."

"B-But…" Muttered the heiress.

"Don't worry, Hinata, I'll be fine. It's not like I'm alone, I've had Kyukon with me and together we've kicked all kinds of demon butt!" In support of his statement, the fox gave a positive-sounding yelp. Without missing a beat, it trotted over to the corpse where the blonde's spear still lay embedded in the skull. Biting into the shaft, but not hard enough to break it, the fox yanked the spear out then carried it back over to its owner, heedless of the gawking stares of the Hyūga spectators.

"What in the Buddha's name is this?" One such spectator muttered, struggling to comprehend the scene in front of him. This boy had been a likely accessory to the manner's destruction yet here he was being treated like a hero! It was insanity!

In spite of her mother's words, Hinata remained at Naruto's side while she healed him. She couldn't bring herself to move, not even when one of the guards walked over and attempted to get her to move. Part of her paralysis was due to the strange fox that he'd apparently been riding; the creature occasionally looked at her with what seemed to be curiosity in its eyes. Somewhere inside, Hinata felt an urge to reach out and touch it, but kept that urge in check. Now wasn't the time.

"Alright, you're…good to go." Saying the words was like chewing wet cement in her mouth. Every fiber in Hitomi's body was screaming for her to take Naruto with her and Hinata to safety. He was just a boy, he shouldn't have been out here fighting monsters the size of trees. And yet, one look at him and Hitomi realized the child had been doing that, and was still alive. He was either incredibly lucky or more skilled than anyone had originally given him credit for. She suspected his adoptive parents might have played a hand in that. "Naruto," Hitomi started, taking him by the hands. They were gripping his yari like a seasoned warrior, something that unsettled the adult kunoichi. "Please, be careful."

"I will, Mrs. Hyūga." He proclaimed, looking ready to mount his orange-furred companion. What stopped him was the creature's own pointing to his left. Blinking, he looked over to see Hinata was staring at him, her eyes glistened with the same worry as her mother's. Wow, they're…really worried about me.

While the rest are still scared shitless of you. Hmph, hurry up and go! You've wasted enough time here, runt.

Yeah, yeah, I'm going, but I gotta do this first. The young boy shot back at the gruff voice. Even though it'd accepted his actions, it was still rather pushy. Focusing his attention on Hinata, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. The pale-eyed girl jumped, as did the audience that they had (which Naruto paid no mind to). "Hinata, don't worry, I'll be fine. Sure, I may get a little banged up, but I promise, when the sun comes up, I'll be there to greet it! Just make sure that you're there too, alright? You're one of the nicest people in class and it'd really suck without you there!" Mounting the familiar, Naruto gently kicked the animal in the shins, giving the order to take flight once more. "See you guys in the morning!"

All eyes were on the young Uzumaki and his fox familiar that rode off into the sky, almost like some mystical warrior torn from an ancient fable. That's actually what this entire night had honestly felt like.

Several were in the mood for a drink, especially after witnessing the "demon brat" crash land into their courtyard, receive treatment by the clan matriarch, then fly off like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Was this going to become a common occurrence from now on?

"Rash and bold as Kushina…but when he gets that look in his eyes, he's just like Minato." Hitomi whispered, looking at the fleeting figure with a faint smile on her face.

"Kushina…and Minato?" Repeated her daughter, causing Hitomi to look down and realize she'd spoken maybe too loudly. "Mommy, are those the names of-"

"Lady Hitomi..." The guard hushed, a somewhat frantic look on his sweat-covered face.

Hinata had seen the way her mother's eyes widened at her words and the response it'd induced in others. She'd just let a secret slip, and now she was privy to it, even though she didn't know what that secret was. But she knew it pertained to Naruto; her concern for him still weighed in her mind as she was back at her mother's side as they were all being ushered down the hallway to a new safe zone. Whenever she could, she looked out to the night sky, her heart beating just a little faster as she imagined Naruto and his fox mount racing along with it, slaying demons and monsters where they could. Naruto, she thought, closing her eyes and muttering a silent prayer to whatever deities existed in this world. Please, be safe. Please…y-you said you'd be there when the sun rose…so…please, do that. Please, stay alive!

三o-◁≡=⊳ ⊲=≡▷-o 三

Skies of Konoha, 8:03 PM…

Seconds before her kick shattered Vitch's guard, Tamamo saw her nose twitch followed by the fear in her eyes. The fear wasn't borne from her, though Tamamo had installed a great deal of that since she'd gotten her second wind. Vitch hadn't been able to land anything more than glancing blows on her, while she'd been able to gradually pummel her into a corner, leaving her the bloodied mess that she was now.

But apparently, something new had invoked terror within the villainous Alter Ego. Tamamo's curiosity over what it was caused her to lessen the power of her kick, which merely pushed Vitch back several feet instead of sending her flying as she originally intended. The flames that burned at her heels were flickering like dying embers; she wouldn't be able to stay afloat for long, and at this height, it'd be a long fall to the ground. Should it come to that, Tamamo would "catch her" before she could hit it.

"Finally running out of steam, Vitch? Ready to call it a night?" Inquired the long-haired Caster, her pink hair fanning out behind her in the night wind. "Wasn't tonight supposed to have been your great victory?"

"S-Shut the hell up! It would have been if you hadn't screwed it up, you condescending bitch!" Vitch shot back, attempting to muster up her power while fear continued to tighten its grip on her.

"Eh, not, this wouldn't be happening if you hadn't underestimated your opposition, like you always tend to. Really…that flaw's going to get you killed one day. Or night." Her words caused the fear in Vitch to be replaced by smearing hot anger that was focused entirely on her. Tamamo relished in being its recipient while she had up her right hand. The flawless skin was dotted with her "sister's" blood. "I hope you've had fun over these last few weeks, because your existence has come to an end. You'll be the second of the Alter Egos I've absorbed. With you gone, I'll have one less headache to worry about."

Vitch bore her fangs at her, "You're acting so high and mighty, moments ago you were ready to give up and let all of this end! It would have if it wasn't for that stupid human!"

No sooner had she spoken the words was Tamamo upon her, right arm reared back and glowing with solar flames that illuminated her face, adorned with a cold sneer. "You love that same human…but he is mine."

The flaming claw came down fast, heading straight for Vitch's face. As they'd illuminated Tamamo's cold disdain for her other self, they now illuminated the raw fear on Vitch's.

"LADY VITCH!"

Cursing, Tamamo redirected her attack downward instead of forward. The solar energy cleaved straight through the monstrous centipede that was fast approaching from the ground. Its death yell echoed as her attack bisected the creature from the head downward. The fused demon was only the first of many, all propelling themselves by whatever power they had left toward the Caster. She snorted in dismissal at the unified attack; it was a poor attempt on her Alter Ego's part to save her life. Tamamo flattened her right arm down while extending her left in the direction of her fleeing counterpart. From both palms exploding rays of burning hot sunlight. For the demons below, death was instantaneous, their flesh, bones, and souls being incinerated in seconds. Vitch managed to twist her body out of the way so all the blast did was singe her black skin-tight suit. Eyes narrowed, Tamamo solved the problem by making the blast bigger.

No sooner had the Assassin screamed were Tamamo soaring after her, the Servant's gold-oriented dress and pink hair waving in the night air. Her slitted pupils were locked in on the falling Assassin. This is it! I can end so much here and now!

From the ground, another demon rose to intercept her. In a heartbeat, Tamamo recognized it to be Kane-dōji, one of Shuten-dōji's four chief lieutenants. Doubtlessly, the infamous oni had seen better days - his legendary unbreakable body was broken and cracked in several places. Upon closer examination, Tamamo realized that the metal demon's body was dotted in fist-marks! There was a shinobi in the village who'd managed to break the demon's body with their bare hands!

"Get the hell out of my way, you oversized tin can!" For the briefest moment, Kane-dōji's eyes widened in fear at the sight of the giant, blazing fox claw that appeared alongside the Caster's right arm. The slaw was swiped at him, and with a resounding boom, he went soaring in the opposite direction. He screamed in agony as his iron body was crushed and burned at the same time. "Vitch! Call up as many of your minions as you want, they won't stop me!" Tamamo's voice boomed through the night sky like thunder. In both of her hands ignited golden fireballs, she threw them at her target.

Fear once more consumed the villainess' face as the attacks sped toward her. She was already tittering on the brink, any more direct hits and she was going down for the count. Once that happened, her sister would be able to absorb her and all of her plans would vanish like smoke.

Tamamo Vitch was afraid, she'd felt afraid ever since the Original Tamamo had broken free of her Noble Phantasm. In retrospect, that's probably when she should have sounded the retreat, but as her other self had stated, she'd underestimated her enemies.

This time though, something told Vitch that the mistake was going to cost her more dearly.

T-T-There's only one way I can survive this! I need the Mikuratana Bead! It was literally life-or-death, for her. Vitch had drawn great amusement from forcing the bead into Celtchar's body and watching him surge with power while breaking down, but now she needed it to save herself. Calling out to it, she demanded its presence. She saw it lying dormant within the thoroughly beaten Celtic Lancer. Without a moment's hesitation, Vitch reached out and tore the divine orb from the weakened Servant. In her hands, it manifested; immediately, she poured her divine power into it while mentally reciting the incantation needed to put up a spell.

The two fireballs came soaring at Vitch like missiles. If they scored a direct hit, then they'd be the end of her.

That was if the third attack didn't get her first. It was possibly scarier, what with being an arc-shaped blast of energy over fifteen-feet in length and carrying with it an unapologetic aura of pure malice. She could practically hear it screaming for her blood!

"Father, save me!" Shouted the panic-stricken Assassin, clenching onto the bead. It glowed a bright translucent blue, the kanji for "heaven" flashing brightly on its surface. The barrier manifested just in time to block the two-pronged attack, but the attacks were more than enough to shatter it while sending Vitch rocketing backwards.

"VITCH!"

Tamamo-no-Mae truly felt her heart skip a beat as the feminine voice screamed her Alter Ego's name in pure hatred. Immediately, Tamamo recognized it, and fully understood the fear that had seized her Assassin counterpart earlier. She was also infinitely grateful that such hatred wasn't directed at her.

The winged specter had its focus entirely on Vitch, whose reaction was appropriate for one who had an angel of death coming straight for them. As it flew toward her, the air seemed to grow three times hotter, hot enough that even Tamamo took notice of it, though it wouldn't affect her. What was making her sweat and terrifying Vitch was the raw scorn that it had with it. She watched in awe as the meteor of hatred traveled vertically toward her sister. It was a strange mixture of euphoria and disappointment. Odds were if the angel's sword made contact, there'd be nothing left of Vitch…except some scraps of her essence which Tamamo could still absorb. It was an either-or situation for her; granted, she'd lose the gratification of killing her hated Alter Ego with her own hands.

As she watched the figure rear back her sword, Tamamo concluded that her personal ego was second to the greater good - this wasn't just about her.

Wretched energy twisted and encircled the broadsword forming a bloody-red cone of swirling destruction flanked by green lightning. It was undoubtedly an attack befitting of the Anti-Army qualification, perhaps even verging on Anti-Fortress. "GRIM BAL-"

WHOOOSH!

It was a miniature black hole opening out of nowhere; both Servants were caught off-guard by it, especially the sword-wielder who noticed that it was sucking her hated target into it. She heard the Caster cry out to her in caution, but she ignored it for her rage was burning too great to be quenched with mere words. Vitch practically threw herself into the swirling distortion in a bid to get away from her. Slitted pupils already burning with anger violently exploded. With a roar, the woman brought her sword down, not even bothering to finish the True Name release of her Noble Phantasm.

Tamamo threw up her mirror, a mystical barrier spreading around her to protect her from the backlash of the resulting sword beam. She looked up through her mirror and sleeves to watch the massive cyclone of hate-tinted ether, magical power from the Age of Gods, shot off into the night sky. It was a roaring blast of fiery energy that would have obliterated her counterpart in a heartbeat…and everything else in a three-mile radius in front of her. For that reason, Tamamo was grateful that they were hundreds of feet above the village and the blast had been aimed skyward instead of down. She knew that she and her Master were going to have a lot of explaining to do when this was over with, no need to throw in more horrendous collateral damage into the mix.

Sadly, this mess wasn't over with, not yet. Vitch had retreated, but some of her demons likely still lingered. They'd all likely be dead within the next half hour if they didn't flee for their lives.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Tamamo patiently waited for the aura of hatred surrounding the Avenger to die down. Trying to talk to her while she was still in the midst of her rage would only result in an unnecessary brawl in the sky. Such was the nature of dealing with an Avenger.

Several seconds passed during which she watched the pale-haired woman's breathing slowly but steadily begin to calm. Without looking up to her, she spoke to the foxy Caster. "Hakuno is alive and well, I tended to him before I came for her."

Tamamo nearly let her power give out and allowed herself to fall straight to the ground, a sigh of relief bursting from her lips. "Thank you, on my honor as-"

"Save it for later," the swordswoman snarled. "Vitch is still in the area, I'm going after her." Toxic green ether leaked from the jewel embedded in the hilt of the maiden's greatsword, a testament to the still simmering wrath within her. "This village is your home, right? Stay here and defend it."

That was not a statement one ever would have thought would have come out of an Avenger's mouth, especially since they were still coming off of a rage-borne power surge. Regardless, it was the truth. "All I ask is that you…try to keep the destruction of the village to a minimum."

"No promises," She growled, her growl being more feral thanks to the draconic transformation that had gripped her. Said transformation had granted her giant scaled and leathery wings. Again, Tamamo was grateful they were up in the sky and not closer to the ground. Seeing such a figure displaying such terror-inspiring power might have been more than what some of the villagers could handle after all of this. "Word of advice, I'd do something about the far western portion of the village. It's a smoldering mass of animosity that's giving me a nice power boost."

Following in the direction of her pointed finger, Tamamo's eyes widened as she recognized the area the Avenger was talking about. Her spiritual heart skipped a beat as she immediately took off in that direction. The Avenger watched her go with nary a word, she was busy concentrating trying to pinpoint her target's location. A puff of fire exited from her lips once she did.

With a flap of her draconic wings, the vengeance-obsessed widow took off, gone as quickly as she'd arrived.

三o-◁≡=⊳ ⊲=≡▷-o 三

Uchiha District, 7:59 PM…

Sasuke felt like if he accepted the demonic invasion was over, the universe would respond by telling him it wasn't, namely in the form of a big scary oni that he couldn't take down. In fairness, he'd take down a few, five in fact on his way back home.

His lungs and feet hurt, yet he pushed himself onward, the image of his parents' and brother's faces burning in his mind. He had to make sure that they were safe, even though he knew he had no power to protect them, it was their job to protect him. Sasuke loved his parents and brother…but he couldn't deny there were times he hated being the youngest and weakest. His mother always told him to be patient, that as he grows up, he'd get stronger, then he'd be able to protect the people important to him.

Would that strength allow him to protect them from this?

It looked like a tornado had ripped through his home, tearing away chunks of buildings and the earth and then depositing them wherever. Sasuke's nose continuously burned from the smell of smoke and blood, especially blood. The air itself seemed to thicken with pollution the more he pushed onward, which forced him to walk through greater scenes of carnage. He wasn't his father, he'd never seen a real battlefield before, but as he continued further and further down the path home, he realized that he now had seen one. And the battlefield was his own home to boot.

Fear nearly choked the life out of him as he came upon a massive smoldering crater almost a quarter of a mile from the district gate. It looked like a bomb had gone off incinerating everything in the blast radius, leaving behind burnt black earth.

"H-Hello? I-Is anyone there? Please, anyone?" He literally had to force the words out of his mouth for it felt like his lungs were constricting with each breath. Was it from the unearthly pressure plaguing his home or was it simply due to the fact he'd ran and fought his way to get here? His clothes lay in tethers from jumping, running, and squeezing his way through while trying to keep himself alive. For a weapon, all he had was a lone kunai caked with blood. In the last half hour, he'd gotten more combat and survival training than he had since the school year started. Normally, he'd have been proud of such a thing, but his mind was elsewhere.

He was alone as far as living went.

As happy as he was at the fact that the monsters who'd attacked his village lay demons around him, Sasuke couldn't shake the dreadful question nagging at him - why was it so quiet if they'd all been killed. While he ran, he looked around him, taking note of the fact that some of the demons had been cut, shredded, and most importantly - burnt to a crisp. They were all tell-tale signs that his clansmen had fought back and succeeded in killing them.

So why the hell was it he was seeing so many Uchiha corpses along the way?

He didn't want to look at them, but an invisible hand forced him to do so. His eyesight…Sasuke knew he'd awoken his Sharingan, which would have been something he'd be excited about if he wasn't using it to examine how his clansmen had been killed. Some had been…cleaved in half, cut to pieces. Sasuke looked at them and deduced that someone had come at them with a sword, one that had cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Somehow, Sasuke kept from vomiting at the sight and pushed on, though he could feel his stomach churning like a whirlpool.

Quiet? Why the hell is it so quiet? T-T-The clan…t-t-there must be some survivors! Mom! Dad! Itachi!

It was surreal how in spite of the damage, he still recognized enough landmarks to find his way home. He'd already passed Uchiha Senbei, its owners nowhere to be found which was either a blessing or more cause for concern. Uncle Teyaki and Aunty Uruchi were seniors with next to no fighting ability, surely they'd been sheltered away with the rest of the noncombatants. As for the combatants…they lay dead around him. Sasuke shivered when he found himself stepping over puddles of drying blood…and corpses that had long since gone cold. The closer he got to his family home, the more he noticed the corpses were…cleaner in a way. They hadn't been torn apart, they'd been cut once, that one cut being all that was needed to end their life.

If Sasuke had to venture a guess, he'd believe they'd been assassinated.

The ugly seed within him began to sprout as he saw his family's manor come into view. Unlike many other buildings in the area, it was relatively untouched. That scared Sasuke more than it comforted him. The fact that when he opened the door, there were bloodstains on the floor only intensified the feeling.

"M-M-Mom? D-D-Dad? A-A-Are you in there?" Called out the young Uchiha, as usual, silence greeted him. All he could hear was the crackling of fire, the howl of the wind, and the ever-growing frantic beating of his heart. Common sense was screaming for him to turn back, but what was there to turn back to? "I-I-I'm coming in." He whispered, his voice seemingly dying in the hallway. Sasuke's first step sent a resounding creak through the entire house. "M-M-Mom? D-Dad?" He called out again, and again he got only silence. Now, he knew what it felt like to have the urge to flee from his own house. As much as he wanted to flee, he felt an almost magnetic pull that drew him deeper into the house. Looking down at the blood trail, he felt an immediate temptation to follow it…but if he did, what would he find at the end of it?

"…Sasuke."

Heart racing, he looked straight ahead. "I-I-Itachi? Itachi, where are you? Are mom and dad okay?" Before he knew it, his feet were pounding against the wooden floorboards. Supercharged by the voice, he completely ignored the explosion that made the sky beyond the ceiling seemingly rumble. Instinct and his brother's voice had guided him toward the living room where he hoped he'd find his family. "Itachi, what's going on? What's hap-"

His prayer was answered - Sasuke found his family.

Lying on her stomach, her head facing forward, was his mother, lying atop of her was his father. Both of them were dead as evident by the pool of blood that they laid in. Itachi stood behind them.

Sasuke watched as his older brother flickered his sword to the side, fresh pints of blood staining the floor.

"Ah, it seems I made it back here just in time. How fitting that the weakest Uchiha is the last one left." His cool and detached voice sounded. The look on his face, a face surprisingly free of blood…it was so…empty.

He could see but he was unable to comprehend what it was he was looking at. Sasuke could smell the blood, yet he instinctively struggled to reject the stench. "I-It…achi…Ita…chi…w-w-what…w-w-what…" Whatever strength Sasuke had been using to push himself gave out bringing him to his knees. "W-What…w-w-what…w-what…what is this?"

Expressionless as the moon shined outside, Itachi responded, "This is me severing the chains that bind me. I've freed myself."

"F-F-Freed yourself?" Sasuke repeated. "W-W-What…what are you talking about? What is this?! Mom and dad are…are…" His eyes swelling up with tears, he looked between his parents' corpses and the sword in his brother's hands. It too was smeared in blood…including fresh blood that he'd splattered across the floor. "I-I-Itachi…d-d-did you…p-please, t-t-tell me you've been possessed. T-Tell me one of those demons-"

"They got in my way…albeit some of them provided suitable cover. Hm, no, perhaps it's more appropriate to say they added to it - my liberation and my examination. My examination to see how far my abilities could go." Looking down at the bodies of his slain parents, Itachi kept his expression as blank as possible…even as his heart cried out in agony. "Just so you know, father put up quite a fight, using his Mangekyō Sharingan and his Susanoo. I'm sure you passed the crater by the gate. That was us…his attempt to stop me. He wasn't strong enough…and neither was anyone else."

"S-S-Stop, you…Itachi…" Something was gripping his heart, something hot and toxic. "Itachi…Itachi…why? Why…why…WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS?!"

Behind his mask of stoicism, the Anbu member was taken back. His brother's eyes were blood-red with a single tomoe in each one. Finally, Sasuke had awoken his Sharingan. Itachi wasn't surprised, situations like this were often what pushed Uchiha to awaken their Sharingan. Were the circumstances different, he'd have been proud of him, and he knows their parents would have been proud of him as well. Within his brother's eyes, there was no fear, even though tears had collected in his eyes and were sliding down his cheeks. That's where the sorrow was, in his eyes, there was only anger.

Burning hot anger that aimed solely on him.

…Good, he's one step of the way there. Mournfully thought the older sibling. "To test the limits of my abilities, Sasuke."

"What the hell does that mean!?" Roared the academy student. Upon closer examination, one might have found his Sharingan were not merely red…they were actually beginning to glow. "S-S-So what, y-you…y-you…you killed everyone f-for target practice! Including the demons! Itachi, they're attacking everyone in the village! Everyone!"

"…You say that like I'm supposed to care." Coldly retorted the teenage shinobi. Sasuke's expression further crumbled as he searched his brother's face for any sign of decent, anything to disprove the notion of this murderous monster as his once-beloved older brother. He searched and searched…but he found none. "Sasuke…bonds, be they to family, friends, or homelands…they're limits, restraints. In order to achieve my full power, I have chosen to break them and achieve the power that comes with such liberation.

"Your…full power? W-W-What are you…talking about? I-Itachi, this is our family!" Sasuke whimpered.

"What better tests for my strength than our very own clan, often regarded as the strongest in the Leaf? The demons that attacked, well, they simply added to the challenge; in the end, they fell like the rest of our clan." As he expected, his words did little to whittle away the horror and shock in his younger brother's eyes, they fed it. That's exactly what he wanted. "With this, I have taken one more step to-"

"HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND!" It was an interesting paradox: the distance between them was so little, quite easy for a rage-filled youth such as Sasuke to cross it, but to Itachi, his movements were still slow enough to be caught.

Still, Itachi found his brother's reaction ideal. Sasuke was gathering the tools he would need to kill him, they just needed to be refined.

As quickly as he'd taken off, Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. His Sharingan eyes were locked with his brother's, which had taken on a new exotic form. The moment he'd laid eyes on them, Sasuke's mind was yanked out of the real world and into a nightmarish one of Itachi's personal design.

"Oh, Sasuke…I wish that were the truth." With his little brother trapped in the Tsukuyomi, he could finally let his stoicism fall. Guilt consumed the Anbu ninja as he looked down to the bodies of his parents…the parents he'd slain after telling him that they loved him. After he'd promised them to protect Sasuke, who started screaming as he was bombarded by illusions. No, memories. "Remember them, Sasuke, think of them every time you think of me. It's going to have to be you…you're the only one who can make me pay for them. Please."

His lamentation was drowned out by his younger brother's pain-filled screams, they echoed throughout the empty house. They were the death screams of whatever innocence Sasuke likely had left. Itachi's attention was pulled away as he sensed raw killing intent that put him on immediate alert. Acting on sheer impulse, he reached forward, grabbed Sasuke, and jumped back.

"TEN! CHUUU!"

SWOOOSH!

Raw air pressure cleaved through the wall and space right in front of the deceased leaders of the Uchiha Clan. Still holding his screaming little brother, Itachi looked up, his body already bracing for another battle.

A lone red eye stared at him from beneath a kasa, though the face was seemingly solid black, Itachi could tell that the entity was smiling. Then it wasn't.

"Huh? Hey, hey, what the hell is this!?" Stabbing his sword into the floor, the shadowy swordsman, clearly not a demon but Itachi wasn't quite sure it was human. His eyes widened as the entity reached forward and grabbed his father's corpse by the neck, hoisting it up. "No, no! No, you can't be dead! Dammit, dammit all! I was the one who was supposed to-!"

KLANG!

"It was you, wasn't it? Dammit, you robbed me of my glory, you little brat!" The specter-like entity snarled. Some credit had to be given to the Manslayer, he was the sole recipient of the look of absolute hatred on his face. Quite a rare sight. Unfortunately, an equally venomous expression covered the swordsman's, as evident by his own red eyes flashing along with his sword. "I should have started with you then worked my way down!"

Forgotten about on the ground, Sasuke continued to twist and scream, clenching at his head while his brother and the hitokiri engaged in a deadly sword fight that spilled back out into the house backyard. It was the sound of their blades that helped him wake up. His tear-stricken eyes opened as his ears ringing with the sound of steel clashing. First, he looked at his parents' corpses, the flame of anger reigniting inside of him. Biting his lip, he began to push himself up, taking one step after another toward the sound disturbance. At the edge of the hole, he saw them, his brother and a shadowy figure doing clashing swords with one another. Sasuke's Sharingan blazed with fury while a red aura began to thicken around him.

"It…achi…Itachi…" he seethed, his voice having an unusual echo. His fingers formed a familiar set of hand signs. Each one sent a pulse of malicious energy surging through him. "Fire Style…Fireball Jutsu!"

Sensing the incoming attack, the two killers turned in unison toward the academy student, and promptly went slack-jawed. Speeding their way was a fireball the size of a boulder, its heat incinerating the ground as it flew toward them. As it did, the two fighters could sense the demonic taint in it.

Both combatants jumped out of the way, though Sasuke only went after one of them.

"ITACHI!" Shouted the young Uchiha, he'd picked up his kunai and was now coming at his brother with every intention of using it.

"Not yet, Sasuke." Remarked the older Uchiha. He rushed forward, appearing in front of Sasuke and uppercutting him into the air knocking the kunai out of his hands. "You don't have enough hatred in your heart to take me down!" Seizing on the opportunity, he grabbed his little brother and threw him to the side onto the street. Itachi hoped that would keep him down and out of the battle's way.

No sooner had he tossed him away was the Manslayer on him again, their swords clashing. Itachi's arm rung from the impact and his feet slid back. In terms of pure strength, the Assassin had the advantage. Even worse, his sword was stronger than Itachi's, even with the chakra he put into it. If he wanted any chance to win, he was seriously going to try, but at the moment his objective wasn't to win. He had to slip away, something that this mad samurai wasn't going to let him do easily.

But a small part of Itachi realized he didn't want to flee, not yet.

This so-called Manslayer had attacked the village, blatantly attempted to murder his father with countless civilians including his own brother in the crossfire, broke into his home, and then had the nerve to complain when he found him dead as if he were a child finding his favorite toy broken.

Simmering anger began to grip Itachi. It almost felt like the same twisted maleficence that that cursed sword had filled him with before his parents were able to separate him from it and seal it away. The sword had flooded him with wrath…but it'd also called out to the anger that lay buried within him. What was left of it was bubbling upward, fueled anew by this latest disaster.

That anger granted him the strength to fend off the Assassin and launch himself into a furious stream of attacks that the swordsman parried. His red eye glowed with bloody enthusiasm at the prospect of a challenge.

KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!

He knows about my Tsukuyomi! Since this man had been sent to assassinate him and the rest of the Uchiha, it was rather inevitable that he'd know about one of the clan's most dangerous techniques. Doubly so given it'd make his single-driven mind crack like an egg. With the rapid speed of his slashes and the hood of his hat, Itachi couldn't lock eyes with him long enough for Tsukuyomi to activate. He rolled it out as a viable option.

KAH-KLING!

The teenager's arms shook as he parried the overhead slash that would have split him in half. Swerving around, he saw the Assassin appear on the opposite end of the ruined street several yards from him. Even Itachi had to admit, Izō Okada looked rather ominous in this form, a literal personification of death that struck fear into the hearts of the citizens of Meiji Japan.

"They told me you'd be the toughest target after your father, guess the intel was a bit faulty since you're standing here while he's departed for the next world." Mused the hitokiri with a hiss. "I'll send you to meet him and your mother!"

Itachi wasn't looking at the charging Servant, he was looking at what lay between the two of them.

Karma was already at work punishing him. There, on his hands and knees with blood pouring from his lips rose Sasuke. His Sharingan was deactivated and the tears were pouring freely from his eyes as he looked at him.

"Itachi…why? Just…why?" He whimpered as he looked up to him.

He'd hardened his heart hours before this nightmare began, he'd hardened it again after he'd been freed of that accursed sword and healed by his parents, whom he'd then slain at their request, he'd hardened his heart so he could do what needed to be done to save the village and his little brother. The latter looked up to him with such broken eyes that cracked the firmness of his heart.

How…how had it come to this? Itachi mentally wailed as he looked between Sasuke and the incoming attacker. Every cell in his body screamed for him to move to protect the former, to be the big brother Sasuke had always believed him to be. Did he still have that right?

No, he didn't, he lost that right the moment he chose to accept this mission and forsake the entire clan save for Sasuke. And if he didn't act fast, he was going to lose him truly, leaving him as the last Uchiha.

Boom!

Just as his body was beginning to act, a sudden mass of gold and orange streaked across the street, Sasuke disappearing in its flaming path. Both Servant and human were frozen in awe at the sudden intrusion, neither knowing what to make of it. The source of their freeze quickly transformed from awe to terror as the flames died down enough to reveal the figure that had just arrived.

Sasuke lay unconscious in the arms of Tamamo-no-Mae, her gaze moving between the two men. She was not pleased in the slightest, especially as she looked at her fellow Servant. The black specter shivered as he took note of the Caster's three tails - she was in the position to access all the power her Servant existence afforded her, and then some.

"What," she snarled, looking ready to incinerate Okada on the spot. "Are you two doing!" Itachi flinched as her golden eyes swerved toward him. Tamamo seemed to realize that the devastation that had befallen the Uchiha District was not all in part thanks to demons. With her sharp sense of smell, she probably detected the stench of human blood on him.

Shaking himself free of free, Okada shot back, "I'm doing my job! I was given a mission to exterminate the Uchiha before they attempt to overthrow the village!"

Tamamo glared at him, waiting for the lie to unravel, but it didn't. While Izō Okada was annoying as hell, when he told the truth or committed to something, his backbone became harder than steel. Dread dawned on her as she realized he was telling the truth, or what he believed to be the truth. Slowly, she looked at her left where Itachi Uchiha stood.

"…I've made my decision." He simply said in response to the fox woman's gaze. "I have chosen the path of absolute power, tell Sasuke that. If he seeks to make me pay for what I've done here tonight…tell him he'll have to meet me on that path. If a weakling like him is capable of doing so."

…He's…lying. Realized the pink-haired woman. Sasuke writhed and twisted in her arms, alerting her to the malice still festering within him. Tendrils of black and red demonic energy were swirling around his childish form, demanding her urgent attention. Glittering light illuminated from her left hand which she held against the little boy's chest, driving the tendrils away.

Okada saw his opportunity and took it. His path free, he dashed toward the seemingly rogue ninja. "Now, your head, Itachi Uchiha, it's mine!"

Alertness seizing him, Itachi readied himself for battle, but there was no need to. To the astonishment of all present, a set of thick tree-like roots shot up out of the ground. The Assassin was caught completely off-guard as his sword impacted into the roots, and there it remained, stuck.

"Psst, now's a good time to high-tail it out of here. Madara and Vitch are in a bit of a tight spot so we're calling it a night." Whispered a somewhat high-pitched voice. "Jump in, it'll be fun!"

"Damn, what the hell is this!? Reminds me of that druid's roots!" Shouted the hitokiri as he found himself attempting to pull his sword free from the tree roots. They were infused with chakra which didn't make them hard to cut, it made them hard for him to remove his sword. While he toiled away, he realized his prey was escaping. "Hey, Caster! Do something! He's getting away!"

"I'm busy!" She shouted back while bathing the academy student in her arms in healing light.

"Gah, forget the kid! We've got bigger-!" Calling forth all his strength, he pulled his blade free and cut down the roots in one sweep. The two Servants looked ahead to see Itachi Uchiha about to walk into what seemed to be a massive flower bud that had also sprung from the earth. Okada took off towards him knowing what it was, but his path was impeded by numerous tree roots that appeared in his way. "Fuck! Don't you dare run away from me!" He shouted to no avail.

Not a word came from the black-haired ninja as he disappeared into the open bud. It sealed shut after him, then literally submerged itself back into the ground. Okada stared slack-jawed as the massive flower began to pull itself back beneath the earth, leaving a massive hole in its wake. He felt an immediate temptation to attempt to follow it, but common sense kicked in telling him it was futile.

"Dammit! He got away! Hey, you could have-" The words died in the Assassin's throat as he took in the full scoop of Tamamo-no-Mae's glare. It was now aimed solely at him. Cold sweat broke out across his darkened form as he found himself standing before a being with the power to kill him in a heartbeat. Given the night they'd experienced…he wouldn't have put it past her to try, just as she likely wouldn't put a potential assassination attempt on her life past him, or an attempt on the boy in her arms. "Urgh, how's the…kid?"

"He will live, and he'll do so as a human being instead of a revenge-driven demon." She spat.

"Eh, I'm not so sure about that last part. Once he wakes up and sees what his brother-"

"And you! Okada, how could you do this!?" Roared the Caster.

"I told you, I had orders!" Retorted the Assassin.

"From who?! Who in the village would have ordered you to commit genocide on-"

"Lord Danzō and the village elders, that's who! They trusted me to do what needed to be done to protect the village!" He shouted back.

"And here we stand in the aftermath of an attack-"

"That one of your damn Alter Egos help orchestrate! Don't act like I'm the only guilty party here, especially since you let that bastard brother of his get away!"

With every second, the two Servants came closer and closer to physically trading blows with one another. It seemed inevitable without their Masters there to restrain either of them. One might say the setting was perfect-the decimated remains of the village's strongest clan, now a giant graveyard. It definitely had the silence of one. From that silence, one could deduce that the last living Uchiha lay in the Caster's arms, sound asleep and detached from the chaos of the night. Tamamo looked down at the said child, then to the house that lay across from her.

"…It wasn't me, Itachi Uchiha did it himself." Loath as she was to admit it…she could detect the genuine sorrow in Okada's voice. Now that the rush of battle had passed, he was making it clear his displeasure went beyond merely having his prized kill stolen from him.

"If he hadn't done it…would you have?" Sorrowfully asked the foxy Caster.

"…Yes."

Upon observation, one would have thought this would have been the point where the fight broke out. Tamamo's face twisted into one of absolute grief while Okada said nothing, only bowing his head in silence in preparation for what came next.

The fox's ears ruffled as they picked up footsteps coming their way, multiple footsteps. Looking back, they saw the approaching forms of Anbu.

"Mrs. Kishinami," the lead Anbu, a man in a tan cloak and white and red-lined mask spoke. Behind him stood his entourage. "What…what happened here?"

Her gaze shifted to Okada, who surprisingly met it with a glare of his own. With a frustrated sigh, she turned back to the Anbu captain. "A tragedy, one we will have to dissect in the morning. How is the village? Have all the demons fled?"

"Apparently, yes. We're currently scouring the village as we speak." There was a pause as several Anbu shuffled about with nervousness in their step. "Your son's been taken to the hospital along with your husband. Both are injured but alive." Almost immediately afterward, he and the rest of his men braced themselves for the blowback.

So did Okada who made ready to run for his life.

Tamamo's expression darkened…then softened as she let out a sigh of partial relief and frustration. "…Then the threat has passed and it's time for us to heal ourselves, starting with the wounded. Including him."

Several Anbu dispersed and began looking around…but not the commander, who soberingly stared at the Servant and the child in her hands. His gaze flickered over to the Assassin, who flickered out of existence in a shadowy flash. It was useless attempting to question him, at least now. "Is he…all that's left?"

"…Judging by the fact that he's all I could find, yes. This is the last child of the Uchiha Clan and the now orphaned son of a friend of mine." Who now lies dead in that house. Bitterly noted the Caster. She'd failed…she'd failed her village and the friends she'd made in this new village. "I'm taking him to the hospital myself."

Her glare made it clear that there was no arguing with her…not that it was an argument that one had a chance of winning. "The Hokage will expect a report from you afterward."

"I know." She solemnly answered.

The Anbu stepped back as the fox-eared woman took off in a burst of golden flames, leaving behind a trail of embers in her wake. They illuminated the desolation of the once-great Uchiha District. As Tamamo ran, she took to the skies, her eyes quietly scanning the wreckage around her while her ears and sixth sense were open. They picked up nothing out of the ordinary, no sounds of battle or surges of mana signaling a Servant's presence. Nothing when it came to demons as well save for their lingering stench that hung over the village. It would be dispelled by dawn, when the full scope of the damage done to the Hidden Leaf could be seen. But that was still hours away.

A whimper brought her attention back down. Sasuke was free of the demonic taint that had been attracted to his distress and anger, but he was still very much wounded, physically and emotionally. He squirmed in her hands, his brow knitting in a way that told Tamamo he was having a nightmare. Instinctively, she put a hand over his forehead; he immediately began to calm down somewhat.

Dawn was still hours away, but neither she nor the rest of the village was helpless. They could act, and act they did.

Leaving more golden embers in her wake as she continued toward Konoha Hospital, where she'd find the two other people she'd sworn to look after. She would protect them, along with everyone else in the village, including the young orphan in her arms.

---

And so ends the Ōmagatoki Arc, I didn't plan on it to end up close to a year in real-world time, but that's how things ended up turning out. Ironically, in-story, it's only lasted just little over an hour. Then again, it's writing big events like that which I'm strangely attracted to. It's amazing (and frankly a little scary) how one's whole life can change in such a short span of time, that's going to be the sentiment some characters wrestle with over the next few chapters. As many of you can expect, those chapters are going to deal with fallout…and setting the stage for the next big events in this story (one of which I'm sure you can guess at).

The first portion of this chapter featured Hakuno's second Servant fight, and really his second true fight altogether…and it yet again ended with a post-victory collapse. Yes, Hakuno is strong enough to fight Servants and win…but that victory is the kind you scratch and claw for, walking away with battle scars of the physical and mental kind. Not all of his fights will be like this, but Hakuno's still got a long way to go before he's able to go through these kinds of fights in succession. He did take a step closer to that goal this fight, which I'll admit was meant to invoke clashes with Lancers throughout the series, they tend to show up as the first enemy Servant in Fate stories. Hakuno got to show off some more jutsu that I'll be breaking down.

Mare Angius is Latin for "Sea of Serpents, and it is based on yet another lunar mare. As the name would imply, it shapes lunar energy, this time in the form of ice and water, into a multitude of giant snakes that are launched at the target. Anything they come into contact with will instantly freeze and that includes having its strength drained. As with several of Hakuno's moves, this technique is stronger when used under the moon, especially a full moon.

Silvercaliber, as you no doubt guessed, is an incredibly puny spin on Excalibur, which the move is based on. It's a stronger variant of Hakuno's baseline sword moves, crafting a bigger and stronger sword out of moonlight.

Toukanya is Japanese for "Tenth Day Moon". It is a sword technique in the form of a high-speed thrust.

Getsuyōbi is a Japanese phrase for Monday or "Moon Day" in the Japanese calendar system. The calendar system was brought to Japan around 800 AD alongside the Buddhist calendar system, its purpose being astrological until the late 1800s. Just like the Latin system, each day corresponds to a planetary body in the solar system, Monday linking to the moon (and Sunday to the sun). The technique itself creates a barrier of moonlight that not only deflects attacks, but literally defuses its energy. This move will be Hakuno's equivalent of Rho Aias, growing in strength over time until it falls into the Narutoverse's category of "Ultimate Defense".

Tsukiretsu means "Moon Burst", it's an energy-sphere attack that wouldn't look out of place in a Dragon Ball Z (Super) fight, which is where the move came from. Its power varies depending on how much strength Hakuno puts into it; in the case of this chapter, it had power one-third of a Tailed Beast Bomb, which was enough to end the fight.

Elatha was a king of the Fomorians of Irish mythology. According to surviving records, he might have been either a sun or moon god, Celtchar's comparison leaning toward the latter.

A kasa is a term used to refer to several Japanese traditional hats, including the straw hats you'll often see travelers and samurai wearing in your typical feudal-era anime/jidaigeki movie. Personally, I've always been a fan of them.

For any hoping that Fugaku and Mikoto would live…I'm sorry, but their time alive in this story has ended. The Uchiha Massacre is a major defining event for both Sasuke and Itachi. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to show its entirety in these last few chapters, but I plan on doing so through flashbacks of the two afformed characters, and having some fun in doing so since the Uchiha Brothers will view things through different lenses. On the subject of the brothers, Itachi is full-on going to be attempting suicide by cop as he tried in canon…and it run into many complications as it did in canon.

A new Servant somewhat debuted this chapter, it's first Avenger who'll become a regular amongst the cast in the future. Based on her description, I'm sure you can guess her identity, but nothing official will be solidified until next chapter where the aftermath of the Ōmagatoki is shown. There's going to be a lot to unpack next chapter, starting with a certain scene I wanted to include in this chapter but couldn't, so until next time, which will also see a peak at other villages and the first of their reactions.

Speaking of next chapter, it will include a Servant sheet for Celtchar, who got to use his Noble Phantasm…and had it stopped by a magic barrier. I'll admit, originally when I conceived the scene, the parallels didn't dawn on me until a few days after I'd conceived the scene. It'll be one of the few things I wanted to show this chapter but couldn't since it already had enough content packed in.

Until next chapter, stay safe and healthy, everyone!