A/N: Shooting for a double update here, don't mind me~!

And yes, this is far, far shorter than I'd like. I'm trying to get the gears spinning here. I don't WANT to write preludes and interludes, but long chapters take time and a muse is a fickle thing. I'm still on bad shape from the accident, so my stamina ain't what it used to be.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been making the rounds for my "Unlikely" stories again.

Well, I say "I" but I'm not alone these days.Helps that I've got a team and a good support network to push me through. Alas, with the current state of my body, I don't have much in the way of stamina at the moment. Some chapters may be...a little shorter than I'd like, but you'll be seeing longer ones soon enough. Hell, I just dropped 15k+ for another story but that takes time.

Unlike our RWBY stories, which tend to average more than ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS PER CHAPTER these little tales...don't get much in the way of feedback. And we don't write well without feedback. Never have. Sad as that may sound, its the truth. Reviews -and the chance to talk with you all and share opinions, ideas, etc- serve as our payment these days.

So by all means, tell us what you think. Suggestions, ideas, even the odd critique here and there. We welcome it all.

Once again, we own no references, themes or memes. Nope. Not a one.

As ever, reviews feed my engine of creation, so keep at it~!

Multiple Servants are something to be afeared.

FEARED~!

"In case you didn't know, I'm a Rider. You're a Caster."

"Is this going somewhere...?"

"Class. Advantage."

~?

They Never Learn (Prelude)

One does not simply ambush a Rider.

Contrary to the last attempt on her life made by an unlucky Assassin, Hakuno felt this one coming a mile off and reacted accordingly. A poor magus she might be, but even she wasn't so naive as to miss an attack in broad daylight; much less one in the middle of the bloody hallway. What was this Servant, an amateur or something? She'd felt killing intent for the better part of an hour now, really. It was impossible to miss. With each step she took, so too did she feel the shadow grow closer. An attack was coming. It was only a matter of time.

'Keep walking.' Naruto's voice hummed in her ear. 'We've got this. Drake's gonna get you to safety.'

"Are you sure?" she whispered furiously. "You're still recovering."

He didn't reply. And the Servant struck.

"Honestly, you never learn!"

The blade passed through empty air as Naruto materialized beside her, bumped her out of the way by the hip, and caught her killer's wrist.

"You know." he hummed absently as the bones in her wrist began to creak, "I'm getting real tired of the sneak attacks. Hakuno would ask me to help you. Bring you over to our side. And I'll be honest," his hand wrenched hers down, producing an awful popping sound. "There's a part of me that wants to. This is war, after all. Its just...business. No need to get emotional about, this right?"

"Unfortunately," Kurama hissed on his shoulder. "You tried to kill the kid."

Blue blazed an unholy shade of red.

"I take that real personal."

Credit where it was due, the enemy Servant didn't hesitate. Rather than falter, they dropped the dagger -a strange, twisted thing that seemed to gleam in the low light- and snatched it up with their free hand. That twisted edge flashed out at Naruto's face, forcing him to constantly sway backward lest its find his right tapered tip make contact. His smile never once left his face.

"In case you didn't know," he sighed between swipes, "I'm a Rider. You're a Caster."

His opponent scowled. "Is this going somewhere...?"

"Class. Advantage."

An armored boot shot out and kicked the weapon free from their hand, sending it skittering across the floor. The Servant cried out and tried to dive after it, only to fold around his fist as rammed into her torso. A feminine gasp escaped the poor thing as she doubled over. In that moment, little Hakuno finally glimpsed her attacker as Naruto ripped the cowl free from their face and tore it asunder.

Someone yelped; moreso when Rider plucked them off their feet by the scruff of their neck.

"Let me go!" they whined, legs kicking in the air. "Brute! Barbarian! Heathen!"

Rider laughed. "Quite the tongue you've got there."

It didn't help as much as she though it would. Beneath those deep violet and black robes lurked a young woman with pretty features, bright eyes, and pale blue hair; a Caster by the look of her. There was something off about her, though. What kind of Caster wielded a dagger? Really, it didn't make any sense. The woman growled and manifested a staff in her right hand, only for Rider to disarm her yet again; a single swipe of his free hand broke her weapon and sent the shards slamming into the walls and ceiling.

"Might wanna step back, little squirrel." Drake materialized beside Hakuno, tugging her to safety. "He's in a foul mood."

And he was, Hakuno realized.

Even when Caster broke free and began using her spells, Rider didn't stop smiling.

Now that she knew what to look for she could see the signs in Naruto's face as he fought on; his grin was just little too brittle, and it didn't reach his eyes. Moreover, they kept shifting between sapphire and scarlet. Even little Kurama remained still on his shoulder; he'd barely uttered more than two sentences, when he was usually such a chatty little fellow. Perhaps they were still riled by Assassin's actions. Perhaps they'd simply had enough of being ambushed and taken advantage of. Who could say? Not her, certainly. It terrified her.

And so she watched him wade into her spellstorm, silently dreading what she'd created.

Watched, as he took injury after injury, uncaring for the holes she blasted in him, his missing eye, a ruined hand, the gaping hole in his chest. With each strike she felt her mana drain but Naruto kept coming, kept pulling more and more energy from her to heal. He could have dodged Caster's attacks, she knew that. Instead, he didn't. He was making a point. Anything you throw at me, I can recover from. Even now most of his injuries had simply ceased to exist altogether, leaving him to shrug off her every strike.

Caster, unfortunately, failed to see it. "Why won't you die?!"

"C'mon, Caster...does this ever work?"

Naruto stepped through the fire, body trailing flames. Face to face with his foe and sheathed in the dying heat of her spellfire, he looked like some demon out of the deepest, darkest pit. Caster had half an instant to balk -to realize her peril!- before a hand locked around her throat and wrenched her into a wall. In that moment, Naruto ceased to exist. He was simply...Rider.

"Hello, princess of Colchis." he hummed, holding Caster up once more. "Thought I recognized that dagger of yours. Your magic just confirmed it. You've been a bad girl."

"And you're an abomination!" she thrashed in his grasp, eyes wild. "You look like him, but you're not! You took everything from me!"

Beside her, Drake made a noise of confusion. Hakuno echoed it. Did they know one another? The Throne of Heroes was a mysterious thing, and so too was the Mooncell. But...this was good! Right?! Wasn't it? If they knew one another then maybe there was a chance that they could reconcile, take this chance to form an alliance with this "Caster" and her master. Everyone else seemed to be doing the same. Why not them?

"Me?" Blue eyes fluttered in a lazy blink, dashing that hope. "Lady, I don't even know who you are."

"My name is Medea!" She snarled, straining against him. "And you're an impostor! Fake! Fraud! How dare you wear his face! You sully his memory with every word you speak! I'll kill you!"

"No." Rider's face hardened. "You won't."

His fingers settled against the pit of Medea's stomach, cupping into a claw. Hakuno jolted forward, realizing what he was about to transpire, rather, what her Servant intended to do. Drake snapped out an arm to hold her back; then outright grabbed her when she tried to bull her way past it. She cast an anguished look at her Servant and received a slow shake of the head.

"This is war, kid." she said. "Its time you realized that."

"But he'll kill her!"

"And?" Drake arched an eyebrow. "She was about to do the same to you. War never changes."

A keening blue sphere snarled into Naruto's palm as he reared back. Caster saw it and thrashed against him anew, flailing and tearing at the arm holding her throat, to no avail; Rider's grip was ironclad and he wouldn't be denied; not here, not now, not ever. Hakuno shouted. Rider ignored her. His fingers clamped down, locking Medea in place even as the rasengan swung forward at her chest. She redoubled her efforts and flung up a fresh blaze of spellfire, only for it to part around him like so much water.

"Hello, Medea...

He drove it forward.

...and now...goodbye."

It was a good strike. Clean, even. Caster had no chance of escaping. Her mana was spent, her tools discarded and utterly out of reach. She was trapped against the wall, her body pinned, fingers scrabbling at the hand on her throat, legs kicking frantically against empty air. Bitter, angry water stung at her eyes. She squeezed them shut, sending twin tracks of tears pouring down her face.

"I don't want to die!"

Naruto's right arm veered wide.

Looking back, he couldn't quite explain it; one moment he'd been resigned to the act of killing her; the next, his body betrayed him. His rasengan guttered out, and his fingers clenched into a fist around it; tearing not into flesh and bone, but the wall beside her head. Medea squeaked as the plastered shattered, eyes snapping open again against the sudden sound.

"Oh, what the hell!" Kurama snarled. "Why did you stop?! You had her! Finish her off already!"

"Hush." Rider leaned in, pressing his forehead to Caster's. "What did you just say?"

She blinked rapidly, at a loss for what to say. "Excuse me?"

"Your words." he growled. "Repeat. Them."

...I don't want to die?"

There it was again. Five little words. He'd heard them somewhere before. Hadn't he? Yes? No? Maybe so? He wasn't sure. They'd never met before. He was certain of that-no, he knew it to be true. And yet when he tried to summon up another Rasengan, something deep inside of him clamped down, refusing to obey. Baffling. A whisper snarled in his ear. Home. Home. Home. Don't you dare hurt her!

"Just who are you?" he muttered.

A strange, fragile hope bloomed in Medea's eyes.

"Do you," she swallowed once. "Do you remember me?"

"Oh, what the hell." Drake flung up her arms and stormed off. "Nope! Screw this!"

Hakuno sputtered and stomped a foot as she stalked away in a huff. "Where are you going?!"

"To find some booze!" the other Rider barked back. "Whatever's going on here, I'm entirely too sober for it!"

A/N: Thought I was going to kill her, did you? Nah, couldn't bring myself to do it, because I knew it would make everyone cry.

Its heavily implied that Medea here knows another Naruto from a different incarnation. But which one? Himm... Naruto, you big softie!

Hopefully this conveys the message I want; chaos has descended upon this Grail War, and its anyone's game with multiple classes running aroun.

Remember. The Moon Cell has many Servants at its beck and call, and with the rules broken by Naruto and Drake, this has the possibility to get very ugly, very fast. Consider this, if you will. I teased it already, but I'd like you to imagine it. Multiple Masters. Multiple Servants. All of whom are crammed into a confined space with nowhere to go but through one another. Its like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. And when it does...well.

This is dangerously close to becoming a free-for-all already. But that also opens the possibility of alliances, no?

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

Potential ones at that!

(Previews)

Medea did not let go of his arm.

"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!"

Naruto stood up, snatched his severed arm off the ground, and reattached it with a wet pop.

"Pushups, situps, and plenty of juice. Lets see if YOU can regenerate once I tear you into pieces, yeah?"

"Daddy! Alice raised her arms. "Up!"

"Another one?!" Naruto clapped a hand over his face. "Drake, don't say it."

His fellow Rider grinned and planted one hand on her hip. Her smile said it all. "Lolicon."

"CEASE!"

"So whaddya say, blondie? From one ruler to another...lets be friends."

"Umu~!" Nero beamed. "I accept this truce."

"What about me?!" Tamamo sputtered.

"Oh, right. You're here."

R&R~! =D