Okay, then he's the first real chapter of this story. Hope you all enjoy it.

I do not own anything.

POISON DOVE & MAELSTROM FOX

Chapter 1-Introductions and Explanations

So far this was turning out be one of the strangest days of Naruto's life, and he liked to think he'd led a colorfully life so far, all things considered. What started out as a routine training exercise had become something completely different? And he wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain it to Pervy Sage when he got back. Whenever that was, for all Naruto knew he was out doing "research" for another one of his so-called novels. Truth be told, he actually dreaded him coming back as he had no idea how he was going to explain the black-dressed woman before him. Speaking of said woman, she perhaps the most beautiful and terrifying girl he'd ever seen in his life, and that beat out a lot of women.

He'd never seen hair as long as hers', hell, it actually touched and dragged along the ground. Were it not for his previous run-ins with the likes of Sakura and Ino he'd have asked her point-blank if she ever bothered to cut it or give it some thought. That, and Shizune had told him never to talk about a woman's hair unless it was as a compliment. Besides that, there was her outfit. It was…weird, undoubtedly the weirdest dress he'd ever seen. From the gold accents he guessed it must have been some kind of royal gown, though he's not the one would have considered outlandish made in his personal opinion. Combined with the hair and he was tempted to say she was trying to get people to call her out on her appearance. Given her sharp pointy ears and eyes, Naruto felt she didn't need them. It was odd, looking into the snake-like silts he felt reminded of Orochimaru's reptilian pupils and felt a similar feeling of danger coming from her, though not quite as much.

Glancing down at the back of his hand, he cautiously screeched at the red marks to see if they were paint or indeed real. Once second his hand as fine, then there was a brief burning sensation, and the next he was holding out his hand to the strange woman. "So…uh, what are these?"

"They are Command Seals." She answered in a haughty voice that reminded him a little too much of Tsunade. "They are proof of your status as a Master and what binds me to you as Master and Servant."

"You keep saying that Master and Servant stuff, what is? What is this stuff?"

There was a short growl and a shadow over the woman's face before she managed to get her emotions back under control. "I am going to explain this one last time, try to listen. I am a Servant, a being called forth from the Throne of Heroes to act as your personal familiar in the battle for the Holy Grail, an object of great power coveted by many. As an Assassin think of me as your shadow, that which will follow you and strike down those that oppose swiftly and quietly." It was almost amazing how easily the boy fell for her half-truth, or at least how enticed by her words he became. True, he was technically her Master, but that could be worked around. I am not going to spend this entire war at the beck and call of a novice like this. There must be somewhere more skilled around, perhaps I can persuade them to become my new Master.

"Um, okay, Assassin, does uh, that Scroll belong to you?"

"What scroll?"

Following the direction of his fingers, Semiramis noticed for the first time the somewhat massive Scroll lying in the almost five feet from her. She recognized the colors as her own immediately. Every fiber in her body told her that something was amiss, it wasn't just in the relatively clean air which was overwhelming devoid of mana but in the earth itself. It was…almost overflowing with natural energy. Even passively, she mentally shut her eyes and felt an absurd amount of energy running beneath her. Looking at the scroll she walked towards it with her Master, "Naruto" watching her carefully. Up close, she spotted the folded note beneath it. A drop of sweat began to form on her flawless skin as she reached for the note and carefully unfolded it. To her surprise, it was written in her native Assyrian tongue.

Dearest Semiramis,

As you can probably guess by closing your eyes and focusing this world you've been summoned to is not your own, nor is it mine. It is a world of shinobi, ninjas, powerful ninjas at that whose might can rival and even exceed that of Heroic Spirits such as yourself. Rather than mana this world runs on a power known as "chakra" it is far more abundant and easier to gather, not to mention this new world has FAR less restrictions on it than those that we know of. This world is not sentient, there is no Counter Force or such so when you summon your garden know you will be able to do so and keep it active for as long as you like.

There is no Holy Grail War being fought, you have been summoned solely to stand beside that young man with whiskers on his face. Watch him, protect him, guide him. He may not look like much, but believe me, he will do many great things and bring joy and redemption to many people, yourself included.

P.S. To make sure you're properly equipped, I took the liberty of doing some shopping for you. Don't worry, the scroll and its contents are specifically linked to you so that only you may open it and use it. Use your garden well and let the fruits you harvest be ripe.

Sincerely, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

Semiramis didn't know rather to laugh, cry, or scream after finishing reading the letter. To confirm she read it over again, and then again, and then again. Each time she felt her eyes growing wider and wider and the hole in her heart grow bigger. Unknowingly, her teeth began granting together as evidence of her building rage. Her fingers curled into hooks as her head fell. Every second that passed the air grew thinner and thinner, or maybe that was just her. Whatever it was it manifested as a bubbling aura of foul green and violet smoke that exploded from the ground around her, throwing Naruto back and keeping him pinned to the ground in absolute horror. Throwing her head back she roared to the heavens cursing Zelretch and the gods, her mother especially; in her rage-filled mind she couldn't help but believe she'd had some unseen hand in this if only to make her suffer. A torrent of curses in her native tongue spew forth like water from a fountain. She couldn't remember the last time she was this angry, arguably only when she was allowed to mourn the death of her first husband.

Unknown to the black-haired Servant, her new Master was watching the entire drama with wide fearfully eyes. He'd seen mood swings like this with Granny Tsunade and Sakura thus he knew to keep his distance. Except with they merely punched him or any surrounding thing when they got angry, not summon a cloud of toxic gas that made his nostrils burn and his eyes water. One unconscious whiff and he could have sworn he'd inhaled poison, sending him scrambling towards the river. Splashing water against his face, he half-hoped the illusion would be dispelled and he'd find himself staring at an empty blue sky. His continued hearing and sense of smell told him the dream was far from over, and his life was probably still at stack.

"Uh, uhm, Miss Assassin, can you…uh cool it down a little? Please?" The patch of green grass that the mysterious woman had stood upon was now a lifeless black circle of earth that grew wider and wider by the second. The air grew fouler as the toxic pillar continued to grow; in seconds it had succeeded anything he'd ever seen Shizune produce. "Hey! Hey! Whatever that letter says I'm sorry, but could you please stop!"

By some miracle the blonde's words penetrated the literal wall of rage and spite. Quickly Semiramis looked downwards to find Naruto standing against her, unlike the many who'd seen her in anger he showed little fear. Immediately, she respected that. The aura of venomous power died down leaving her standing cross-armed in the dead patch of grass. "Very well…Master."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he fell back on his bottom wiping a layer of sweat off his cheeks. He might have spoken too soon. "Ya' know, you don't have to keep calling me Master. Just call me Naruto. I told you, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?"

Semiramis wasn't quite sure why but the carefree smile on the whiskered boy's face was a little…unnerving. His eyes shined with honesty and keen interest, almost too much of it. "I told you, I am Assassin."

"Uh, no offense but that sounds more like a title. What's your real name?"

Heh, so he's a bit smarter than he looks. I guess he won't be an entirely useless puppet. Feinting a cough to gather her breath, she moved some strands of hair behind one of her pointed ears in an attempt to regain her air of regality. "You ask me what is my True Name, as your Servant I shall tell it to you. Remember it well." Locking eyes, she blasted him with the full force of her invisible power. "My name is Semiramis, daughter of the goddess Derketo, Wise Queen of Assyria, and builder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World." One little white lie mixed in with the truth, he wouldn't notice, and in the long run it wouldn't matter.

Naruto stared at the woman now identified as Semiramis with a slight agape mouth and large eyes. He was half-tempted to call her bluff, but one look told him this woman wasn't lying. Surely the likes of Kakashi, Sakura, or Pervy Sage would have called her out on lying, but Naruto couldn't do that. Maybe it was the way she was dressed or the sheer aura of unfiltered power and authority that radiated from her. Without a doubt she was completely different from Tsunade, who he admittedly didn't think much of when he first saw her, maybe the booze had something to do with that. Semiramis, she looked like a queen and carried herself like one, even he could see that.

That in mind he spared a glance at her palm, repressing a shiver at how her palms were dominated by golden spikes he was sure could punch holes in him if he got on the woman's bad side. "So, um, Semiramis, could you tell me about this Holy Grail War and Throne of Heroes place? I kinda lost." Sitting cross legged, he stared at her openly showing his willingness to listen.

It's not like you need to know any of it since there's no war being fought…and you'll likely never see it. She wished they were in a room with chair or tables, something where they could discuss things like civilized people. Still, compared to where they could have be she supposed an open field was better than nothing. Fixing her dress, she settled into the grass sitting on her knees. "The Holy Grail War is a battle consisting of seven magi who summon seven Servants, being such as myself from the Throne of Heroes. The Throne is an alternate dimension housing the souls of my world's greatest and most respected heroes, mostly." She couldn't hold back the wicked snicker upon finishing the statement. Another white little lie that her buffoon of a Master wouldn't realize and wouldn't lose sleep over. "We Servants are aren't the genuine articles, we are merely copies of the originals."

"Like shadow clones?" He interrupted having kept up so far.

"Shadow…clones?" Semiramis questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, shadow clones! Here, I'll show you!" Making that hand sign again, Semiramis felt a surge of energy then there were two puffs of smoke beside him. Once the smoke dispersed, two more Narutos completely identical to the one sitting stood before her. "See? Just like shadow clone!" They said in unison.

"Y-Y-Yes, something similar to that." She answered, a little startled. So this world does have magecraft. Hm, I wonder how good this child is, his…mana supply is vast for one his age. That explains the extra surge in power I've felt since being summoned. "Continuing, we Servants are summoned as familiars at the beck and call of these seven Masters to do battle with one another until only one pair remains."

"What?!" The middle Naruto exclaimed falling back a little. "You mean you guys are called from this Throne of Heroes place just so you can kill each other? That's sick!"

"Clearly you haven't seen the world much, this is a standard affair in my world." Semiramis calmly retorted, realizing she'd been settled with an overly idealistic Master. It was another headache she'd have to learn to work with. "We are Servants, magical familiars meant to do battle to the death. Besides, we're not even technically alive so there's little harm-" Naruto's quick intake of breath cut her off. His face had now become caked in a thin layer of fear as had his clones. All three were now looking at her with shaky eyes. "What is it now, Master?"

The all-too obvious jab completely flew over the blonde's head as his mind was filled with a more pressing issue. "W-W-W-Wh-Wha-Whadda m-m-m-mean y-you Servants a-aren't technically alive?"

"We are spirits, magically familiars. Though we do possess physical bodies, we're still spiritual bodies held together by magic."

"GHOST! YOU'RE A FREAKIN' GHOST!" Naruto screamed, scrambling backwards while his clones literally poofed out of existence in fear. Now there was a good ten feet or so separating them.

Once again, Semiramis felt her eyes twitch and the desire to scream became prominent. Zelretch, I'm going to find you, and when I do I will make you pay for this. The urge to hang her head and scream was beaten back; seeing the trembling form of her Master gave Semiramis an idea. Flashing the blond a wicked smile that turned her enchanting face into that of a nightmare. "Yes, Master, we Servants are akin to ghosts. Many of us died centuries ago, I myself am well over two-thousand years old by my world's estimates. See, we Servants are able to maintain our physical form by feeding off the magical power of our Masters…or we can sustain ourselves by finding more…alternative means of substance."

In that one sentence alone, Naruto already had an idea of what "alternative means" was. Regardless, his mouth moved on its own. "Wh…What kind of…alternative means?"

Grinning with a smile fit for a demon, she answered him, "Souls, human souls can be quite good substance for us Servants to maintain our forms and powers."

The babbling of the water became the sole source of sound between the newly formed pair. Naruto continuously stared at Semiramis with wide fearful eyes. He'd gone from viewing her with awe to now unfiltered terror. For her part Semiramis enjoyed the fear that welled up in his eyes, and it provided her ample cover to examine him. Focusing her mind's eye, she saw it-a powerful dark lump of energy buried in the boy's stomach. To get a closer look she'd have to physically touch and examine him, but that part could come later. Studying it from afar, she realized part of it was actually coming from Naruto. As she's suspected the child had a rather large pool of mana, enough to properly sustain her provided she didn't get to reckless. Briefly glancing back at her scroll, she wondered if he was strong enough to allow her to summon her beautiful garden.

All these questions could be answered another time. She supposed it was important for her to win over her new Master's trust. Foolish as he was he was strong enough to keep her supplied and that made him useful until she could find a way to free herself. "Be at ease, my young Master. Luckily your mana supply seems strong enough to sustain me so I'll refrain from preying on civilians."

That statement seemed to put his mind mostly at ease, though his face showed confusion instead of fear. "Er, what's mana, and what do you mean I have a lot of it. Do you mean chakra?"

"How about you explain a little something me before you proceed further with this game of twenty questions." One of the positives to having a social inapt Master such as this Semiramis could float her royal status and receive little to no push back for it. It'd been far too long since she had the opportunity to do so. "How about you answer some questions for me, like for example where exactly I am and what it is you're doing here."

In a somewhat startling turnaround, Naruto moved back towards her coming within touching distance. "You're in the Land of Fire, that much I can tell ya. You will have to ask Pervy Sage where exactly because I don't have a clue where we are. Probably on our way to some hot springs resort so he can do more peeping." Since he'd said it with a sideways sneer, Naruto completely missed the dark look that fell over Semiramis' face at the word "peeping". If he had he might have rethought his words, if only for his beloved mentor's sake. Alas, when he looked back Semiramis gave a nod to continue. "See there are five countries: the Land of Fire which we're in, the Land of Wind, Land of Water, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning. Each country has a hidden village, this is mine." With his thumb he proudly pointed to the swirl symbol engraved on his headband. "Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, home of Ichiraku Ramen, the cooked ramen in the world."

Semiramis squinted to get a better view of the headband's symbol. Keeping her eyes carefully locked on Naruto, she reached out with her fingers to poke the shiny metal. As she did so, she noticed Naruto's entire body tense-he was on guard. This headband must be pretty important to him. Hm, perhaps I'll let him keep it. "This Hidden Leaf village, tell me-"

"I think it's better if I do the explaining from here on out, Naruto's not the sharpest kunai you'll run into." Said a masculine voice that made Naruto's brow twitched.

What happened next was far from what master and student were expecting.

First, Naruto felt as if his entire body had been seized by an invisible force that hurled him out of the way. His startled cry fell on deaf ears as Semiramis swung her left hand out, a blackish-gray iron chain materializing around it and ready to strike at the white-haired man that appeared where the blonde had formerly been sitting. To his credit, Jiraiya reacted quickly enough in holding up his hands in a show of peace, but Semiramis knew better. If she made a move he'd react, and with her Master so close she couldn't risk it so she decided try diplomacy.

"It took a while to finally come out of shadows, then again, given your appearance it's quite understandable." The ancient queen cracked, causing the blond to burst into laughter. "You heard almost all of our conversation so I'm assuming I don't have to waste my time repeating everything I just said."

"Why, maybe I'd like to hear it all again despite how ridiculous it sounds." Jiraiya leered, crossing both his arms while shooting her a too cocky smile. It fell from his lips the second he felt the ground beneath his feet crack, with impressive speed he jumped backwards as another chain broken through the grass and hovered before him as if it were a live creature. "That's quite a neat little trick you've got there."

The arrival of Naruto's so-called master had at least given her the chance to test out some of her abilities. At the very least she could manifest her chains, those would be sufficient enough weapons until she could begin manufacturing her beloved poisons. One look at the white-haired man told her she was going to be needing them in the future, if only to serve as a threat.

Sighing in annoyance, Naruto chose then to step in to save his perverted mentor. Though he'd seen him punched through more walls than he could count something told him what Semiramis planned on doing to him was going to make Tsunade's punishments look like a feather tap. "Hey, Semiramis, you can cool it down a little. Trust me, pervy sage is the guy to talk to if you want info on geography and all that. He may be weird as hell, but he's smarter than he looks."

"That's a fine way to talk about the man who agreed to take you on a training trip to teach you new and powerful jutsu out of the goodness of his heart?" The old sage proclaimed before feinting emotional pain. "Honestly, and after all I've done for you."

Naruto wasn't having it. "You mean like using my hard-earned money to party with girls and peeking on-uhm! Lemhgo!"

Jiraiya kept his hands clapped over his student's mouth while shooting worrying looks Semiramis' way. What he saw did not put his mind at ease. "N-Now, now, Naruto! Let's not go talking about stuff like this in front of your new lady friend! B-Besides, based on what I hear she's going to be our new traveling companion. Ahem, that is unless you different plans, Semiramis, right?" Despite having only hearing it once, he spoke her name with near perfect fluidity.

Semiramis was almost impressed, almost. It appeared like with her Master there was more to this old fool than meets the eye. "Well, unless the Command Seals on that boy's hands change I'm pretty much stuck to him, not to mention after hearing my explanation I feel you're not going to let me roam free, are you, sage of perversion." Still with a hand clapped over his mouth, Naruto exploded into another fit of laughter while Jiraiya comically hung his head. Just from this short interaction, she'd gathered enough information about this man to know he was a man who lived by his lust. Keeping her mounting dread hidden behind a calm mask, she watched as he fell to the ground muttering how his reputation had been roamed yet again. If you're like this on a daily basis then I doubt you have much of a reputation to speak of. "So, are you going to show some gentlemanly edict and explain where I am, or am I going to have to pay the nearest village a visit?"

Both men looked at her showing they weren't sure rather to take her statement as a joke or a threat. Naruto's look was more puzzling while his teacher's was harder. Clearly, he was picking up on the hints she was dropping faster than her Master. That was both good and bad, good because it meant someone in this group had a brain, and bad because it would make Naruto difficult to manipulate as she saw fit. That said, it at least gave her a challenge in gaining her freedom. With no Holy Grail to be fought over that meant she wouldn't have to worry about battling other Servants, in other words she was free to her own devices. All she had to do was find someway to remove the Command Seals on the boy's hand and she was set.

Yes, it was only a matter of sweet time, and Semiramis was nothing if not patient.

It took little over an hour to come upon a suitable village for the newly formed trio to stay at for the night. Just before leaving, Semiramis had sent out a few of her familiars in another test-run of her powers. Naruto had predictably expressed shock that she knew the "Summoning Jutsu" as well before she explained to him what familiars were. It was only the beginning of what she felt was going to be a long slung until she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Just another on the long list of indignities, she was going to have suffer through.

Even before they made it to the village, her doves had gathered enough information for her to come to a successful hypothesis on the world she'd been summoned to. First off, it greatly resembled that of feudal Japan from the architecture and surroundings alone. Her doves had told her of spotting kanji, ever written language being written down in Japanese letters. She suspected if she sent her doves out further they'd similarly bring back reports of eastern-style castles and fortifications. All of her suspicions were finally confirmed when they arrived in the nearest town which reminded her somewhat of small villages in her own home country.

Once they found a suitable inn to spend the night Semiramis re-materialized. It was only after seeing her dissolve into light particles then reappear, did she think he finally grasped the fact that she wasn't human and indeed was a spirit. At least this time, he didn't panic or scoot over to the opposite end of the room in slight fear of her. Semiramis supposed she should have enjoyed that fear while it lasted. Jiraiya was far more suspicious, immediately questioning her on what the limits of her abilities were. To satisfy his interest she explained to him Presence Concealment.

"Pretty snazzy ability, fitting for someone who fits into this…Assassin class you called it?"

"But of course. Each of the seven classes come with what are called Class Skills that are almost required for a Heroic Spirit." The black-haired woman proudly proclaimed. "My Presence Concealment is C+ so I can conceal myself well enough when need be."

"Huh-uh, now what other Class Skills do you possess." Jiraiya inferred, causing her to shoot him a quick glare. "He, I may be old but I've played a few RPGs in my time."

"You mean the kind where-"

"The kind where the student listens to his wise and respected teacher and doesn't interrupt him." Jiraiya growled, shooting the young man a sharp glare completely with gnashing teeth. In the time the short glaring match ensued, Semiramis rolled her eyes and questioned rather or not she'd been cursed by some higher power. "Anyway, you said one of the Class Skills, how many do you 'Assassins' possess?"

"The Assassin class possesses only Presence Concealment, our title is Silent Killer after all, but," crossing her legs, she shot the two males a wicked smirk that sent chills down their spines. "I'm a bit…different from other Assassins."

"Different how?" Naruto questioned from his position on the bed.

Holding up her fingers, Semiramis concentrated her mind. On one hand she was attempting to answer their question, and on the other she wanted to see how far she could push her powers. Right before the eyes of the two ninja a small glass vial manifested out of thin air, a bright green liquid snuggly contained within it and capped off by a cork. Turning it around Semiramis examined the vial, positive grunts rolling off her sealed lips.

"Uh, mind sharing with the two of us?"

"Would you like a drink, Master?" Semiramis spoke, offering him the vial.

"Sit." The humor in Jiraiya's voice completely vanished as he stared at the vial before reaching out with his hand. Watching carefully as Semiramis handed him the vial, he looked it over then uncorked it and holding it up to his nose. "Ah, I see you specialize in poison, is that some time of Class Skill as well?"

Snapping her fingers, she caused the vial and cork to disappear in particles of gold and black light. If she had to guess if she wanted to she could re-summon them with a whim. "No, that was Item Construction, a Skill belonging to the Caster Class, Heroic Spirits of sorcery and magic."

"Wait, so you're a sorceress too, like casting spells and stuff? That's awesome!"

Another small burst of pride went off inside the Servant as she flipped her hair to the side. "Count yourself lucky for I am one of the few Servants possessing the Double Summon Skill, it allows me to hold attributes from another Class, in my case, the Caster Class."

"I see, so an assassin and a type of magician, quite a combo. Truly you must have been quite the fearsome warrior in life, Semiramis." There was something accusing in the way Jiraiya spoke to her and Semiramis knew what it was. He was gauging her reactions to see which ones elected the strongest response. Indeed, he was smarter than he looked.

"Fufu, I'd watch your tone, sage, from what your student tells me you live a rather dangerous and carefree life, you never know when a single slip up may cost you."

Originally, Naruto hadn't given much thought to how his teacher would react to his…Servant other than ogling over how pretty she was. Never in his wildest dreams did he think this would happen. The air in the hotel room had gone from fairly pleasant to outright suffocating. On another note, a part of him was somewhat glad to see the more serious side of his teacher coming out for something other than girls or his life being at stake.

You should probably recant that statement, brat. That woman IS dangerous, that fool of a sage seems to be the only one to realize that. Rumbled a deep voice from the corners of Naruto's mind.

Oh, how nice of you to drop by, what, you couldn't be bothered when I asked for some of your chakra earlier when I was practicing my Rasengan? He fired back pointedly.

I'm sorry, but who's the main one operating this meat suit?

Didn't you say that was going to be you one day? Naruto mentally scowled, remembering the Nine Tails' more verbal threats whenever they had one of their…discussions. Besides, what do you mean she's dangerous? I kind of already got that when I saw her turn all the grass around her into death weeds. Geeze, I'm almost scared to let her near my garden back home. The blonde's eyes widened as it was the first time in several weeks, he'd thought of his small well-maintained garden back in the village. Y-Y-You think it's being looked after? Oh man, what if they've all died without me being there to look after them?! What then?!

How about you figure that out after you get your answers checked out. The giant fox snorted.

Huh?

"Naruto!"

Snapping to attention, he found two sets of eyes somewhat uncomfortable glaring at him. "U-Uh, y-yeah?"

"Since Semiramis will be your…partner for foreseeable future, why don't you go into town and get her some clothes. Not that what she's wearing right now isn't impressive or worthy of praise." A sideways glance went Semiramis' way, causing her to scowl a little. "But it draws a little too much attention, especially if we run into trouble while traveling or when we return to the village. Why don't you go find her some more…suitable clothes?"

While the request was understandable, Naruto was having trouble processing the notion of him being the one assigned to go shopping for a woman of all people. "S-Sure, um, Semiramis, is there-"

"Just go out and find a fabric stand or something of the sort." Massaging her eyebrow, the ancient queen leaned on table feeling a migraine coming on. "Just simple clothing fabric will be enough for me, I'll handle it from there." He was smart enough not to press her any further and quickly put on his sandals. Naruto was almost out the door when Semiramis' sharp voice cut him off. From the tone alone he was almost too frightened to turn his head around to meet her eyes, but did so anyway. "Master, as your Servant I'm trusting you to put my well-being above your own. Please…don't make me think I've misplaced my trust."

Naruto had been on the receiving end of several rather grim and dark threats from females in his life, but the one he received from the long-haired Assyrian woman was without a doubt the scariest. Frantically nodding his head he stepped out then slammed the door shut, leaving his mentor and Servant alone in the hotel room illuminated by the light of the evening sun.

"Well, you certainly have a way with people. I take it you're not exactly big on the idea of being a 'Servant' are you?" Jiraiya spoke up, leaning back in his seat.

Finally alone and with her patience somewhat exhausted, Semiramis stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point. "It's not that, I just hate being summoned by an incompetent Master, and that boy is as incompetent as Masters come. A duck would be better than him."

"Hey now, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" He calmly retorted, knowing he had to take this carefully. "Can't you cut the kid some slack since you've only known him for less than a day?"

"If I 'cut people slack' I'd never have reigned for thirty years and earned the title 'Wise Queen'. That boy is a fool, but he holds a great power inside of him, a dangerous power that reminds me of a Phantasmal or even demonic beast."

Her words got an immediate reaction out of the old sage as evident by his suddenly sharp and focused eyes. "So…you saw it."

"If by 'it' you mean the near sentient mass of energy inside of him, then yes. I must admit, how he's able to walk around while carrying such a power with no clear side effects is somewhat baffling and intriguing." Lying her palms against the wooden table, the wise queen began to calmly drum her fingers along the brown wood. "I don't suppose you're willing to tell me what exactly it, or the boy is, are you?"

"Oh come on, Semiramis, we just met and already you're asking some pretty personal questions. I think things are moving just a little too…"

"…By all means sage, continue speaking, indulge me."

Casting one quick glance at the poison-tipped chain positioned mere inches from his left cheek, Jiraiya whistled in amusement. "Like I said earlier, neat trick. Anyways, I'm sorry, but what's inside of Naruto, it's a secret I can't go about telling. Not until I'm sure I can trust you…and something tells me that's going to take a while."

Again, Semiramis was quietly taken back by the sharp intelligence of this older pervert. Hm, I suppose as old and perverted as he may be there may be something beneath it all. I'll have to keep a close watch over this man. If I make any movements out of the ordinary he'll be the first to get in my way. Dematerializing the chain, Semiramis returned to lightly scrapping her nails and spike against the table. "Does the boy know of the power inside of him?"

The unmistakable shadow that fell over Jiraiya's face was enough of an answer for her, and then some. "Oh believe me, Naruto knows. That power is partial why we're so far from home, we're on a training mission, a three year long one that we're a few months into. Teaching him how to control that power is part of why we're out here. Since you're his…Servant was it, can I trust you to help us out a little?"

"And might I ask what's in it for me? You seem to be making the mistake because of those Command Seals I'm going to be that child's nanny." Dipping her palm nail into the table, she let the sharp crack of wood speak for her.

Figuring he needed a way to salvage the situation, Jiraiya quickly added onto his previous statement. "It'll help you in the long run, believe me. The more control Naruto has over that power, the more he'll be able to protect himself without having to rely on people like you and me. Besides, if that power inside of him falls into the wrong hands, believe me, you don't want to see the results."

"Again, you're speaking out of ignorance." She countered, narrowing her silt-like eyes. "I've seen many great and terrible things, I'm sure you old man can have trouble processing." He returned her glare with equal intensity almost earning the old man some respect in Semiramis' book. "Still, I'll…take your word for it. For the moment that child is my Master and my lifeline, and I have not intentions of disappearing back to the Throne of Heroes, even if there's no Holy Grail War to be fought."

It wasn't quickly something to get excited over but her words were enough for Jiraiya. "Okay then, with that settled would you mind going over some more things in detail for me. I was only able to hear so much in when Naruto summoned you and I'd like a clearer picture since you're going to be traveling with us."

"Acceptable, but I want some information from you. Despite your looks and habits, you seem to possess some knowledge I could use."

To answer her question, he sat up and went to one of the bags positioned near the kitchen walls. After going through them, he came back with three sets of Scrolls held tightly in his hands. Sitting back down, he laid them out over the table before her. "So, Semiramis, where would you like to begin your history lesson?" He said, wearing a too-wide for comfort grin.

Semiramis was again inserting her palm spike into the table. "How about with the death of the 'Pervy Sage of the Leaf', I believe that would be a good place to start."

During the two hours or so Naruto was gone, Semiramis had exchanged a healthy dosage of information with the toad sage. A world of shinobi, ninja, just as Zelretch had said, one that was far less constricting as evident by her brief tasting of her magical abilities throughout the day. Now having thorough knowledge of the new world she was marooned in, Semiramis concluded things weren't quite as bad as she feared. The world was simple enough to understand, countries vying for power, hidden villages which sat at the heart of these power struggles, and the energy of this world, the mana was called "chakra" and was far more abundant than mana back home. It at least made for the teaching of ninja magic, or ninjutsu easier and extremely widespread. She concluded this training mission may have had more positives than she originally thought. Traveling with the fool and his student would give her the chance to see what this world's warriors were capable of.

All of those were the thoughts of the Assyrian queen as she sat above the roof of the six-story inn, her Master and his master blissfully sleeping almost three stories below her. Naruto had done as instructed and brought her back clothes and fabrics he believed she would be able to make use of, and done a somewhat good job of doing so. By morning, she'd have a new set of clothes to help her blend in with this world of ninja.

High above her a fading crescent moon frowned down upon her. "Of all the places and of all the people, why me, you old fool? Couldn't you have picked another idiot to play along with your demented schemes and ideas? What made me so special?" It wouldn't have surprised her if the white-haired vampire was listening in on her right this minute. If he was, she had a few colorful words she wanted to say to him; the only reason she refrained from doing so was fear of waking up the inn occupants. She'd have to find outlet for her pent-up feelings. Perhaps tomorrow, when Naruto set out for another round of training.

"Can I trust you to help us out a little?"

"He may not look like much, but believe me, he will do many great things and bring joy and redemption to many people, yourself included."

Re-materializing within the hotel room, she gave no acknowledgement to the sleeping forms of Naruto and Jiraiya. Taking up the still-clothed bag of clothes she'd been given, Semiramis grunted. "What is it with men and their compulsion to pursue romance, and mettle in the romantic lives of others?"

Something inside her told Semiramis she could live for four-thousand years and participant in over a hundred Holy Grail Wars, yet the answer to that question would always elude her.

Well this chapter pretty much sets the ground work for what you can expect. No other Servants will be appearing in this story as the focus will remain on Semiramis and the relationships she forms with the Naruto cast. Obviously romance is going to be somewhere along the way, but there's going to be a few genuine friendships. She and Kurama will have a meeting in a few chapters where Jiriaya's plan to help Naruto control his chakra goes very, very wrong leaving Semiramis with a new impression of her young Master.