Disclaimer - I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto

Naruto and Rin were both seated across from each other in the luxurious living room of the Tohsaka manor while Archer was standing right behind Rin. They were currently in the process of debating Naruto's request.

"Hah!? You want us to accompany you to Caster's hideout!?" Rin asked incredulously.

Naruto nodded, "Yep. I'm kinda scared that she'll end up attacking me."

Rin made a face like she was staring at a particularly stupid idiot, "Huh? Of course she'll end up attacking you if you attack..." Her voice trailed away as realization dawned on her face, "Oh... you don't plan to attack her, do you?"

Naruto grinned, "Nope. I need to negotiate with her, but without a Servant there, she'll probably just end up killing me out of anger."

Rin furrowed her brows, "You do realize that Archer can't take Caster and Assassin both at once, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Of course. I don't want Dragcher there to fight them both off, I want him there as a deterrent - or maybe an escape plan, if things get bad."

Rin frowned, "Even so... bringing Dragcher into that kind of situation is risky."

Archer's eye twitched violently "Oi, Rin. Since when did YOU start calling me 'Dragcher'? That means you also think that your Servant dresses in drag you know? Are you okay with that? Are you REALLY okay with that?"

Rin put up a hand, a speculative look on her face, "Quiet, Dragcher. I'm thinking."

Naruto looked up at Archer and left Rin to her thoughts, "Didn't that priest say that a Master usually summons a Servant based on some sort of connection or similarity?"

Archer's eye-twitching increased in pace, "...Yes, that is the general idea."

Naruto's face split into a wide, sadistically mischievous grin, "Oh ho ho, I wonder what caused Rin to summon you~?"

Archer growled, "If you're insinuate anything about our common connection being dresses..."

"But I just asked a simple question!" Naruto said in a faux-hurt voice, his face morphing into the perfect picture of innocence.

Archer rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Yes... of course you did..."

Naruto leaned closer as his wicked grin returned, "Oh~? Could it be that you're feeling conscious about something... Dragcher?"

Byakuya slipped into Archer's palm, "Alright, that's it. I'm stabbing this guy."

"Enough," Rin said calmly as her serious eyes locked with Naruto's, letting him know that joking time was now over, "Naruto... what are the chances of Caster attacking us after hearing your request?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered truthfully, "Honestly, my request is pretty absurd so I have no idea how Caster will react."

Rin rubbed her chin, "I don't like this. One wrong move, and I may end up losing Archer."

Archer's face now betrayed no emotion as he stayed silent.

Naruto clenched his fist and glared at it, as if he'd grasped all of his problems in that one fist,

"Yeah... it might be risky, but this is the only way I can think of to save Saber." He loosened his fist and looked at Rin in the eyes, "Besides, like I said, you still owe me right?"

Rin shot him a glare, "There's no way I'm going to go as far as to sacrifice Archer in order repay a debt."

"And I'm not asking you to," Naruto nodded, "If the situation devolves, then we'll just escape."

Rin let her mind race as she rapidly tapped her finger on the coffee table. A minute passed with only the ticking of the clock and Rin's tapping to keep the stoic Archer and the impatiently fidgeting Naruto company.

Finally, she turned back to look at Archer, "What do you think, Archer?"

"Do whatever you want, Rin." Archer said, "However, there is one thing that worries me: that Jellyfish-like being, as this idiot described it."

"What about it?" Rin asked.

"If his story is to be believed, that jellyfish-esque creature managed to visibly frighten Saber," Archer answered, "We can be sure of the fact that it wasn't a part of her past since she didn't give her Master any information on it before he rushed off to fight it, so that means that creature managed to scare Saber on first sight. What could have Saber noticed in that thing to make her so afraid?"

Rin nodded, "That's certainly true... even with someone talentless like Naruto as her Master, Saber was a fairly powerful Servant. I doubt another powerful Servant could have visibly frightened her."

"I don't think it was something Saber consciously noticed," Naruto recalled, "If she had noticed something that frightened even her, she would have told me about it."

"But she didn't..." Rin said, highlighting his point.

Naruto nodded, "Exactly. But the fact remains that she was still afraid, which makes absolutely no sense."

"No," Archer said, "There is one answer that checks all the boxes."

"And what answer is that?" Rin asked curiously.

"Her instincts." Archer revealed before turning to look at Naruto, "What were Saber's instincts ranked as?"

"Rank-A," Naruto gave away unhesitatingly, "Are you saying that Saber's instincts told her that the Shadow was overwhelmingly powerful? I guess that Shadow's presence was giving off a vibe of extreme despair and stuff, but I sensed it too and I wasn't as afraid as her."

"A Servant's instincts are different, especially if they are ranked A," Archer explained, "If a Servant possesses Rank-A instincts, then that means they possess near-precognition. Perhaps her instincts had already told her that she had absolutely no way to win against that jellyfish-esque thing."

"An enemy you have a 0% chance to defeat... I suppose that would frighten anyone," Rin mused,

"Or perhaps Saber had already met that Shadow once before and didn't tell you about it for some unknown reason," Archer added, "Another speculation could be that the Shadow is the natural enemy of all Servants. We can keep speculating, but the point remains that Saber - an extremely powerful Servant - was defeated by an unknown enemy. Not only that, but Saber is now in the enemy's hands."

"And you're saying that we have to deal with this problem sooner or later, correct?" Rin asked Archer.

Archer shrugged, "I am simply pointing out the facts."

Rin blinked before her face morphed into a teasing grin, "...You're a real softy inside, aren't you, Archer?"

"I am SIMPLY pointing out the facts," Archer repeated through a tense jaw.

"Yeah, Dragcher. Thanks for supporting me!" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth widened into a grin, "You really are an awesome guy!"

Archer turned to Rin, "I take back everything I said. We should just stab him."

Rin chuckled, "Sorry but you made an extremely good point, Dragcher. If Naruto's plan allows us to lower this Shadow's fighting potential by stealing Saber away, then we should help him. Who knows, we might even manage to get something like an idea of this Shadow's weakness by asking Saber. I mean, she's their Servant now, isn't she?"

"Meaning she may have may have noticed something about the Shadow while spending so much time around it," Naruto said, catching on to Rin's point.

Rin nodded, "Exactly."

Naruto jumped to his feet, "What are we waiting for then? Let's get going!"

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Just like that? You don't want to prepare or stock up on anything?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, don't worry about it, I already came prepared."

Rin shrugged, "If you say so. Give me a few minutes though, to grab everything I need."

"Sure."

"I'm getting shivers just climbing these stairs again," Naruto said as he, Archer (who was in his dematerialized state at the moment), and Rin made their way up to the Ryuudou shrine. He glanced at Rin's clothing; a red sweater, a short black skirt, and black stockings underneath, "By the way, aren't you cold in that?"

"No," Rin said as she panted slightly. Her gaze was fixed on the endless steps above her, "Now pay attention, we're about to arrive."

"Nah," Naruto shook his head, "we still have a ways to go."

Rin's head snapped to Naruto, a horrified expression on her face, "WHAT!? We've been climbing for, like five hours now!"

"More like two," Archer chimed.

Rin's eye twitched, "When the hell are we going to arrive!?"

"About twenty more minutes... I think," said Naruto.

Rin's face loosened, "Right... I guess you would know since you've been here before. I've been meaning to ask you actually, how do you expect us to escape if Caster turns hostile?"

"I'd say our best option is descending the mountain through the back," Naruto said, "Assassin will no doubt guard the front."

"The back..." Rin put a hand on her chin, "If I remember correctly, the back is packed with trees and there's even a small lake there."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Your point?"

"Will you even be able to escape Caster through all these obstacles?" Rin asked, "If the situation devolves, Archer will only be able to carry one person - ME - to safety. You'll be on your own, you know?"

Naruto smiled a nostalgic smile as he brushed his palm against the bark of one of the trees framing the endless stairs, "I wouldn't worry about the trees obstructing me."

Rin raised an eyebrow, but Naruto didn't elaborate.

Roughly ten more minute of climbing later, the massive gateway of Ryuudou temple and Assassin's figure in front of it came into view.

He stood there, unwavering, his purple robes blending into the darkness of the night. His abnormally long blade, resting on his shoulder, glinted with an eerie sheen as he silently gazed at the world in front of him, watching, waiting. And he was slightly smiling with a serene expression on his face, as if there was no where else he would rather be.

Naruto almost felt bad for disturbing this picture of tranquility.

Archer materialized and Assassin's smile widened as he caught sight of the trio.

"Oh! Saber's Master!" He greeted excitedly as they stopped a ways away from him.

Naruto raised his hand in greeting, "Yo."

"You're quite late, aren't you?" Assassin asked, almost like they were old friends. There was a slight twitch in his fingers, betraying his anticipation, "We were expecting you guys to attack last night! Although, this morning, my hag of a Master did say that she didn't expect you to be a problem anymore; so congratulations for completely destroying her expectations again."

"Ah no," Naruto said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't help but feel bad for letting the strange Servant down; the guy was just so earnest in his desires...

"We're not here to be trouble this time. We just want to talk with Caster right now."

Assassin raised an eyebrow, looking sort of disappointed, "Just talk?" He looked around a bit, "Come to think of it, where's Saber? I don't think she was the type to let her Master just wander off wherever he wants."

Naruto clenched his fists as he strained to smile, "Caster didn't tell you huh? The reason Caster thinks I won't be a problem anymore is because some guy forced Saber to become his Servant after defeating us."

Assassin blinked, "Oh." He slowly readied his blade, "Nevertheless, you know I can't let you pass, right?"

Naruto looked unfazed. Rather than prepare for battle, he cupped his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice and...

"OI CASTER! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" He yelled, causing Rin, who was right beside him, to yelp in surprise, "I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN THAT SHADOW TOO! I KNOW THAT'S NOT YOUR DOING, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THING'S MADE UP OF SOME SERIOUS MAGIC!" he glared at the massive gateway behind Assassin as his voice dropped into a quiet, conversational volume, "As a Caster, you're probably the only one who can unravel that magic of his, but with Saber on his side now..."

He trailed off, letting the unsaid point ring through the night.

Everyone stared at Naruto in stupefied silence as he waited, his posture betraying absolutely no tension. Suddenly, a swirl of black miasma appeared out of thin air between Naruto and Assassin. The phenomenon was as only large as Naruto's head and looked like a black mini-tornado, and the energy spun a little more before it faded away to reveal a shimmering orb; Caster's hooded face observed them from within it.

"Well, well, you wish to speak with me?" She smirked mockingly.

'Why is she so happy?' Kurama asked irritatedly.

'It's 'cause we came to her,' Naruto explained, 'She knows WE want something from HER, which means she already has the upper hand in this negotiation.'

"Well?" Naruto asked Caster, "Will you listen?"

Caster's face spun around the orb to face Assassin. "Let them through."

Assassin cocked his head to the side, a small, unconcerned, smile still nestled upon his face, "Just like that?"

Caster glared at him with disdain, "Do not question your orders, dog. Let them through."

Assassin, unfazed at her hostility, languidly raised his hands in a placating gesture,

"Right, right," he turned to the trio, "You heard the lady, you may pass."

Naruto gave Assassin a grin and a nod as he walked past him, flanked by both Archer and Rin. Rin kept a wary eye on Assassin as she passed him by.

"Careful in there!" Assassin called from behind them once they were almost out of the range of his voice, "You're about to negotiate with a fox!"

"Foxes really aren't that smart," Naruto called back, his voice betraying absolutely no worry, "Trust me, I'd know!"

'I will freakin' murder you.'

Naruto ignored him.

Instead, he focused on the smirking woman hovering above the ground a ways away from him. Her purple cloak lazily waved and billowed around her as her entire form was wrapped in an etherial, devilish aura of dark purple miasma.

Caster. Her face was almost entire concealed by her hood, so he could not make out her expression; however, the smirk that was visible on her face seemed to make the dark night only darker.

"Last time I could not kill you because, as weak as Archer is, he would still have taken that small opening to kill me. And I could not kill him because you would have summoned Saber in that split second opening I would have provided you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "And? I know all that already, why mention it now?"

Caster's smirk widened and the shadows seemed to bend around her, "Because in that situation I was in your mercy. Now, you are in mine. Not only that, but that incident also served to spark quite a... deep hatred for you inside me."

Naruto grimaced, "Seriously, lady. You're still pissed about that? Let it go already."

"It's barely been two days."

"A day too long, in my opinion."

Caster's smirk wavered, betraying her irritation. A horde of spears made of pure purple energy materialized behind her, "Perhaps I should just kill you now?" She asked tightly, "Your words certainly reek of the desire to be skewered..."

Naruto's eyes widened as he put up his hands in a placating gesture. Cold sweat ran down the back of his neck, "R-right, too far. Sorry."

Caster didn't dematerialize her spears.

"Speak."

Naruto nodded and put his hands down, "You've probably been keeping up with the current events, right?" He asked as means to start off.

"Yes, I saw all that happened last night," Caster drawled, "That does not explain why you have come to ME though. Do you perhaps wish for an alliance. If that is the case then I am afraid I must decline; fighting side by side with you grants me no advantage at all and I must admit, such an action would make me physically sick - even though it should be impossible for that to happen to a Servant."

Naruto's eye twitched, "No, I'm not here to ask you to fight alongside me; what I want from you is..." He fidgeted a bit and took a deep breath, "Your Noble Phantasm."

Caster floated there in stunned silence for a few seconds as she processed his words. Naruto would have been surprised if she hadn't reacted in a manner similar to this.

"...You wish to ASK me whether you can just TAKE my Noble Phantasm?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well, I think "borrow" would be a better word."

"...Die."

Without a single movement, Caster's spears rushed forward; ready to turn the trio into pincushions. Archer grabbed Rin by the waist and bent to leap away, but before he could, Naruto put a hand up and yelled,

"Wait, wait, wait! Just hear me out for a sec!"

The spears paused mid-flight.

"And what could you possibly say to convince me to "lend" you the ultimate crystallization of my legend."

"Come on!" Naruto said, "You saw how powerful that Shadow thing was, you saw how it defeated Saber. Now, with Saber on his side - y'know, one of your greatest weaknesses in this war - Zouken can easily defeat YOU."

""Defeated Saber?"" Caster's sneered, "Your statement is incorrect, boy. Saber did not lose due to that... as you call it, "Shadow's" power; she lost because she had to protect YOU."

Naruto flinched. Of course he'd already been aware of that fact, but to hear it so clearly verbalized...

Caster continued, smug satisfaction and sadism oozing from her words, "Had you not been there, Saber could have easily retreated away from harm. And, judging from that expression on your face, you are well aware of that fact."

Naruto's gaze shifted away.

"Although, I will admit that when that Shadow consumed Saber, it allowed me identify its magic and deduce its nature."

Naruto's head snapped up at her, "You know what that thing is?"

"Yes," Caster nodded apathetically, "You would be quite surprised to hear its true form... but that is a story for another time."

Naruto glared at her.

"Now, now, don't look at me like that," She mockingly chided. She mock-sighed as if she were dealing with a particularly troublesome child, "Very well, as a display of my generosity, let me tell you of its true nature."

Inside Naruto, Kurama narrowed his eyes, "She's going to tell you just like that?"

Naruto couldn't help but feel the same confusion and suspicion as Kurama.

Outside, Caster continued, "That "Shadow" of yours is an amalgamation of various magics, and its only desire is to consume magic. It seems that the Makiri Patriarch has limited control over it, but I wonder how long that will last..."

Naruto blinked, "Consume... magic?"

"Yes, consume magic. And it can extract magic by consuming almost any any person, citizens, mages... reanimated dead legends," Caster's chuckled maliciously at the visible shock on Naruto's face, "Oh yes... even Servants."

"You're saying... it consumed Saber?" Naruto asked, horrified.

Caster laughed a shrill, derisive laughter, "Fortunately for you, the Makiri patriarch has found use for Saber and corrupted her."

Naruto grit his teeth as white hot anger flooding his veins, 'She's toying with me...'

"What do you mean "corrupted her"?" Rin asked skeptically.

Caster's eyes bored into Naruto's, her amusement displayed for all to see, "The Makiri patriarch's dog has the ability to corrupt Servants by coming into contact with them, who are then binded to it. This means that they will have their negative emotions heightened, but will still follow its orders without hesitation. To add to matters, it is even capable of regenerating from any attack made by anyone, be they Servant or Master."

"An opponent like that..." Archer mused.

"It's a natural Servant-hunter..." Rin observed.

"That doesn't matter," Naruto growled, "I couldn't care less about the Shadow. My offer is to remove Saber from Zouken and that Shadow's control in exchange for you lending me the Rule Breaker."

"And how will you do that?" Caster asked challengingly, "Will you perhaps ask Archer to strike her in battle? Don't be a fool; even when you were her Master, Saber had the ability to easily defeat Archer. Now, with the Shadow as her Master, her magic reserves are constantly filled to the brim, meaning all her abilities are heightened. No, I will not lose my Noble Phantasm in some emotionally charged expedition such as this."

Naruto took a deep breath and funneled his raging emotions to one crucial point.

"I don't intend to leave this task to anyone else," he said, his cerulean eyes glowing against the night with fierce determination, "I'll be the one to strike Saber with the Rule Breaker."

The look in his eyes startled Caster into silence and she barely squashed the urge to recoil. In the distant corners of her mind, she noticed that she'd lost focus on her energy spears, leaving them to vanish into thin air.

She barked out a forceful laugh, straining through her surprise, "You? The person without any ability to use magic? Do you suppose you can convince Zouken to let you stab her? You-"

"No." Naruto interrupted, resolution and confidence radiating from his voice. He jabbed his thumb into his chest, "I'll face Saber in battle and strike her with the Rule Breaker, it's as simple as that."

Caster frowned "...Are you perhaps delusional?"

Naruto smirked, "Come on, I defeated you too, didn't I? That should already tell you that I excel at accomplishing the unexpected."

"That was a different situation," Caster said, "If Archer had not appeared, you would have easily lost."

"Yeah, but that time you were the one who attacked me" Naruto said, "But this time, I'll be the one to take the initiative. That way, I won't have to wait for any lucky saves since I'll already be prepared."

'What do you mean we could have easily lost because she was the one who attacked us?' Kurama's voice echoed inside Naruto, 'We could've easily escaped if we would've just washed Caster's control point away back then.'

'Even so, as soon as we entered the temple, we were stuck with no chance of escape,' Naruto said, 'Besides, it's best if we don't let her know the fact that we have a way to stop her magic... it might just end up proving to be the decisive factor in this negotiation.'

"...Do you really think you can win against Saber?" Caster finally asked after a period of silence, bringing Naruto out of his conversation with Kurama.

"Yes."

The word was said so unhesitatingly that Caster couldn't help but believe him, even if just slightly.

But even so, Caster would not bend so easily,

'It is true that if this blonde brat steals Saber away from the Makiri Patriarch, then I will be able to eliminate his pesky dog. However...' she scowled, 'there are two major problems with lending him my Rule Breaker...'

Inside Naruto, a conversation was taking place which paralleled Caster's thoughts.

'And those two major problems are...?' Kurama asked.

Naruto glared into Caster's hooded eyes, 'One: She's afraid that I'll lose, meaning that she'll lose the Rule Breaker forever...'

Caster returned his glare, her thoughts echoing his '...And two: I'm afraid that, with Saber on his side, this boy may turn out to be an even larger threat than the Makiri patriarch and his dog.'

Naruto grimaced inwardly, 'Simply put, it all depends on how much faith she has in my abilities; If she has too much faith, then she'll think that letting me "take" Saber back is a bad idea since I might get the power neededto finally defeat her. If she doesn't have ENOUGH faith in my abilities, then she'll think that lending me the Rule Breaker to her is also a bad idea since it could lead to her losing her Noble Phantasm.'

'So you need the perfect balance, eh?' Kurama asked, leaning on his propped up arm.

Naruto nodded inwardly, 'Exactly. The fact that I managed to outmaneuver her will probably give her faith in my abilities, but the fact that I fell under her magic spell will probably drop that faith down to a perfect balance.' He grinned a nervous grin inwardly as sweat moistened the palms of his hands, 'Come one, you hag! Hurry up and say yes! My image in your mind should be perfect for this scenario!'

Behind Naruto, Archer sighed as he took a subtle step in front of Rin.

He smiled sardonically, 'You lose.'

Back with Naruto, he was brought out of his thoughts when Caster opened her mouth and spoke, "The fact that you so easily succumbed to my magic..."

Every little action from her made him twitch, and she seemed to be speaking so slow that each word seemed to drag on for eternity. Finally, Caster announced her judgement, "...leads me to believe that lending you my Noble Phantasm will only lead... to disaster."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and alarm, 'What? Why!? Was the impact of me not being able to throw off her magic larger than I thought?'

"You will die here," Caster declared remorselessly.

Naruto tensed his legs as a new set of spears made of purple energy materialized behind Caster, "Wait! Just think about it-"

He was interrupted when the spears flew towards him, their forms blurring from the speed. Naruto barely had any time to register the movement before he scrambled to the side, narrowly avoiding the dangerous attack.

He snarled, "Would you just-!'

Suddenly, Caster froze, and her head snapped to the entrance of Ryuudou temple. Naruto noticed that Archer (who already had Rin in his arms) had done the same.

A feeling of pitch black hopelessness slowly permeated the air and burrowed its way deep inside of him. It caressed his heart with its gentle hands and gripped his body, locking it firmly in place.

'It's... here huh?' Naruto murmured to Kurama.

Not that he had any doubt.

'Probably...'

"Well..." Caster said, only the slightest hint of surprise showing on her hooded face, "I didn't expect them to attack so soon..."

Zouken slowly and deliberately walked up the endless stairs, An ominous 'Tok' rang out on each step as he used his wooden cane to balance himself. His eyes glinted with the light of amusement as the Shadow and and the Blackened Saber trailed behind him.

Finally, he came at a stop in front of the faux-Assassin.

"Oh? Do you wish to pass, honored elder?" The faux-Assassin asked with a small smile on his face.

Zouken smirked, "I will not ask you to move; it would be much appreciated if you simply stayed still instead."

The faux-Assassin shrugged, readying his abnormally long blade, "Sorry, honored elder, but no can do. I've been asked to guard the gate, so guard the gate I shall."

Zouken's smirk widened, "Pity."

"I have a final request, honored elder," the faux-Assassin said, making sure to keep the three of them in his sight.

Zouken raised a non-existent eyebrow, "'A final request'? Have you already realized that you will not survive the night?"

the faux-Assassin pointed his sword at the Shadow behind Zouken, "I can already tell that that thing is not something I can defeat. But still, at least indulge a dying warrior."

"Speak."

the faux-Assassin now pointed his sword at Saber, "I've been itching for a rematch with her, so you don't mind if I fight her first, right?"

Zouken smiled.

Ah, now he understood. This was "the pride of a warrior"; a concept which many ancient warriors held aloft. In some ways, it was their most vital ideal; it kept them from dropping their blades under even extreme pressure, it kept them from crumbling in defeat, it kept them from becoming senseless murderers in victory...

...And it kept them from fearing the possibility of death.

From how Zouken understood it, the logic went: "to die at the hands of an enemy you have acknowledged, would that be so bad?"

"Very well," Zouken agreed.

How foolish.

Naruto tensed again as Caster turned to him.

"The situation has changed," she declared.

The peaceful chirping of crickets belied the threat upon the temple's doorstep.

"...True," Naruto agreed hesitantly.

Caster seemed to be considering something.

"...Uzumaki Emiya Naruto..." Caster called in a strange, evaluating voice, almost as if she was unsure of whether her next choice was truly the best decision she could make. She conjured up a piece of paper out of thin air and showed it to Naruto. It was a rough map of Fuyuki city with a location marked on it.

"Memorize that location," she commanded, "If you manage to survive, then meet me there. Perhaps then I will lend you my Noble Phantasm."

With that she disappeared in a swirl of purple miasma.

"Wh-what is this feeling, Naruto?" Rin asked, her breath rapid and shallow. She was still being carried by Archer, "Is this coming from that Shadow thing you talked about?"

"No doubt about it," Archer said as the trio made their way to the opposite end of the temple, "This feeling... I can already tell that I can't win against that thing."

"Let's go," Naruto said, "We'll escape from the back."

"I sense another Servant - probably Saber," Archer informed, "In which case, we should probably split up. Staying together will only help them combine their powers to catch us.

Naruto nodded, "Good idea."

Suddenly, the ground shook and a loud CRASH greeted their ears from behind them. Naruto looked back and saw that a large chunk of the cement floor had been destroyed and Assassin was being held up by the Shadow's tentacles. Saber, who looked like all the emotion had been sucked out from her, was trailing behind Zouken and the Shadow.

There was a terrible look of shock and betrayal on Assassin face.

"Y-You promised..." He rasped pathetically at Zouken as his body was slowly absorbed by the Shadow's tentacles, "You said... that I could fight... Saber..."

Zouken broke out in an unrestrained cackle of amusement, "DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD ALLOW YOU SUCH A MERCY!? DON'T BE A FOOL!"

His eyes danced with malice as he calmed his laughter, "I would have enjoyed turning you into a real Assassin, but unfortunately, my Shadow needs large amounts of mana to survive. You will suffice."

Assassin feebly tried to reach for the smirking old man, "Y-you..."

"Die knowing that you did not even get to fulfill such a simple wish..." Zouken said with a taunting smirk.

Assassin had been almost completely absorbed by now, only a single eye remained,

"I..." Blood dribbled down his chin as his body slackened. He sighed and locked eyes with Saber's twin orbs of emotionless sulphur, "...really would have liked to... have battled you one last time..."

And then Sasaki Koujiro, the warrior who never truly existed in history, disappeared entirely into the Shadow; his echoing lament the final remnant of his short existence as a Servant.

Saber simply stood there, not moving an inch. There was no hint of any regret or mourning on her face. In fact, her face looked like a sheet of metal, unreadable and unpenetrable.

Zouken then turned to the three spectators. There was a vicious smirk on his face.

"Go!" Naruto hurriedly yelled, realizing the danger they were now in.

Archer did not need persuading. In a flash, he vaulted over the back wall of the temple and disappeared into the descending slope of woods.

"Destroy them," Zouken commanded.

The Shadow and Saber both rushed forward as Naruto clambered over the wall. The Shadow headed for him while Saber followed the direction Archer had headed. Both directions had been chosen carefully by the blonde and the Servant beforehand in order to avoid the lake sitting right behind the middle of Ryuudou temple by going around it.

in the middle of hopping over to the nearest tree branch, Naruto looked behind him out of the corner of his eye. Time seemed to slow as resolute cerulean met uncaring sulphur. In that single connection, Naruto tried to convey the entirety of his boundless determination.

'I'll definitely save you... I promise...'

Saber's sulphur orb dismissively turned away.

The trees flashed by and the scenery blurred around him as Archer hopped from tree to tree at a speed that was barely discernible as a red blur to normal humans. The wind pressed forcefully against his face and pushed his hair back while his cloak fluttered violently behind him. As he was a Servant, the blinding speeds did not impact his eyes as heavily as it would have a normal human's.

Rin had squeezed her eyes shut, and was trying to tighten herself up into a ball in Archer's arm. Clearly, the speed and wind were getting to her. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of slowing down for her. He could already sense a familiar presence catching up.

"Here she comes..."

"Who? Who's chasing us?" Rin asked.

Archer smirked slightly, "Your boyfriend's former Servant."

"Now's not the time to be making jokes, you dumbass!" Rin scolded, "Do you even have a plan!?"

"Of course; descend the mountain and escape... somehow."

"Oh... we're gonna die," Rin said faintly.

"I would worry more about your boyfriend, if I were you. He has no Servant to back him up, and he's got that Shadow chasing him."

"There's nothing more we can do for Naruto," Rin said gravely, "He's on his own out there. Besides, I don't think escaping Saber will be that easy either."

"You got that right," Archer said as he sensed Saber gaining on them.

He wasn't sure wether he would have been able to escape even without Rin in his arms, but the fact that he did have Rin in his arms hampered his ability to reach top speed, thereby only lowering their chances to escape.

This would prove troublesome.

"Come on! Is that all you've got?" Naruto looked back and taunted as he flew from tree to tree. His movements were smooth, and he flitted from tree to tree like a sparrow.

Ha! The feeling of flying through the air, the feeling of landing on a solid branch, the feeling of timing his jumps instinctively, the wind in his hair - how nostalgic they all were! He didn't know just how much he'd missed this until now!

The Shadow behind him was barely keeping up, even though nothing seemed to obstruct it. It slipped around the trees, shrubs, and plants like liquid, and then it easily reformed into one solid blob when nothing was in its way.

Naruto smirked.

When he'd arrived in this world, almost all of his abilities, skills, and powers had been suppressed deep inside of him. However, the world had only been able to suppress a grand total of ten years.

Meaning, all the years before that still remained.

Obviously, that did not mean much as he didn't really have any useful skills at that age, and any jutsu he had learned back then could not be used here since his chakra had also been suppressed.

However, there was one skill that he'd been using ever since he'd learned how to walk and jump as a child.

Tree-hopping.

Living in Konoha, tree-hopping was one of the most essential abilities to learn for an aspiring Shinobi, and Naruto could not remember a time when he wasn't an aspiring Shinobi. Constant tree-hopping had ingrained the skill into his body, and now, even after ten years of neglecting that skill, it easily came back to him like riding a bicycle.

"You're in my home turf, you jellyfish bastard!" Naruto laughed, "This is where I shine!"

The Shadow reached out with several tentacles, but Naruto maneuvered around them with profound ease.

"YOU HEAR THAT, ZOUKEN!?" He hollered into the sky, his face flushed with glee and adrenaline, "THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL CATCH ME IS IF I LET YOU CATCH ME!"

Rin face-palmed as she heard Naruto's excited voice echo through the forest,

"What is wrong with that guy?"

"I suspect there is more than one answer to that," Archer murmured.

A burst of magic suddenly greeted his senses, and before he could realize what was going on, Saber instantaneously appeared behind him, already in the middle of a swing. Archer clenched his teeth and pushed his his body to its absolute limits to leap away in time. The sword grazed the tiniest bit of his cloak, but otherwise, he escaped without harm.

Already predicting Saber's next move, Archer prepared his magic.

And sure enough, another burst of magic hit his senses, notifying him of her her second burst of speed. In a flash Archer created four swords behind him, all pointed at Saber; and a shockwave traveled through the air as a powerful CLANG rang out, followed by a dull 'thud' on the ground below.

Saber's armour had probably saved her from being skewered, but she had still lost her momentum against the swords and fallen to the forest ground.

Archer smirked as he leaped off another tree. His jumps were short, but frequent. He didn't want to jump too high in the air and let Saber target him there.

"Is she still chasing us?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," Archer grunted as he notic Saber's presence rapidly catching up again, "We need to find some way lose her, or we'll never escape."

He looked back for a second.

There she was, the King of Knights. The combination of the murderous aura rolling off her, the sinister black armour, and the emotionless sulphur eyes almost made it seem as the personification of death itself was hounding at their heels. Considering the situation, he wasn't sure if he was even that far off.

Rapidly, closer and closer she got. He had to do something or she would soon catch up.

The spark of an idea lit up in his brain and he opened his mouth slightly.

"I am the bone of my sword..."

Suddenly, more than twenty swords of different shapes and sizes all materialized behind him. Instantly after their conception, they rushed forward towards the blonde haired pursuer.

A massive explosion rang out as the multitude of swords collided with Saber's form.

A split second later, Saber emerged from the smoke absolutely unharmed. Unsurprising. The move had been too telegraphed, too obvious, too direct.

But it had accomplished its main goal. She had been stalled, even if for only a fraction of a second.

"Get ready, Rin," Archer said, preparing his magic.

"Wha-?"

Rin was cut off when another swarm of swords appeared behind Archer and shot off towards Saber. Only this time, as soon as they were sent, another volley of swords appeared and did the same.

Once again, Archer gave Saber no time to rest as he sent yet another volley in the instant the previous one was fired. Again and again and again he created and fired; A repeating cycle of endless production and attack.

Saber easily and forcefully cut through the barrage, her hands blurring as her blade turned into a whirling dance of death around her. However, the act of pushing through the horde of swords caused her to lose some of the precious time and speed that she needed to catch up to Archer.

Realizing this, Saber changed her strategy and swerved around the blades, only deflecting when necessary. Unfortunately for her, even the act of dodging itself caused her to lose time and speed. The problem was that this was not a matter of dodging only slightly. This was a veritable barrage of swords aimed towards her predicted path, and the fact that Saber was moving at such a high speed towards them only served to help Archer's attack by decreasing the time Saber had to comprehend the swords' flight paths and dodge.

Dodging efficiently was almost impossible under these conditions.

So she decided to not to. Instead, with a powerful leap that sounded like a mini sonic boom, she launched herself into the sky.

Archer didn't let up though, his swords glinted murderously as they continued to try and skewer Saber, even in the air.

"What are you doing, Archer!?" Rin yelled against the wind, "You're running out of magical energy at an extremely fast rate!"

"That's why I said, "get ready"," Archer said, "Provide me with more magical energy before I run out. This is the only way I can think of stalling her."

Saber raised her sword above her head, and a powerful aura emanated from her.

Archer's eyes widened as he recognized the implications of this. This was one of the only few memories he had left of when he had once been alive.

'Excalibur!? Can she really use it in mid-air!?'

If she used her Noble Phantasm now, there would be no way for them to escape.

Sweat dripped down Archer's brow as he forced his mind to work on overdrive and formed a haphazard plan in under seconds.

"Curl up into ball, Rin," He ordered hastily, "I'm going to throw you."

Rin's snapped wide open, "Wha-!?"

Without waiting for her to finish, Archer hurled Rin into the air ahead of him. His brow eyes blazed furiously as he used the next branch in his path to launch himself at Saber.

He smirked slightly inwardly. This was also a perfect chance disguised as dire situation. If he could get Saber while she was trying to fire Excalibur, then he could stop her from pursuing them permanently.

However, Saber did not conform to his predictions. She lowered her blade into a defensive stance and waited for him to come to her.

Archer grimaced as his mind took in her strange actions,

'She tricked me... she must've thought that blonde brat informed us about her Noble Phantasm to lure me to her!'

Archer streaked through the air and his twin blades, Kanshou and Byakuya, collided against Saber's Excalibur in a violent clash. The sound of metal against metal rang throughout the forest, and the Archer's muscles strained against the impact.

'Four moves... that's all I have before I run out of time to catch Rin, or else, she'll crash against the tree ahead of her and either die or become greviously injured,' he reminded himself as he spun over Excalibur and tried to strike Saber with his Kanshou in his right hand, 'No matter, I can easily escape from this clash in four moves!'

Saber tilted her blade so that Byakuya would slide down and dodged by pushing off it. Archer swung with Kanshou, but was once again met with an iron-clad block. He also tried to bring his feet on Saber at the same time in order to push off of her, however she was too fast and managed to deflect his legs with a sharp kick of her own.

Two

Archer swung Byakuya upwards while Saber was too busy blocking Kanshou, however she instantly spun her swords ninty degrees clockwise and pushed both blades away.

Three

In an instant after the block, Archer flicked his left hand and threw Byakuya at Saber. In the same moment, he created multiple swords around him and fired it at her, and just for good measure, he swung Kanshou back at her.

Saber dodged Byakuya with a tilt of her head, she angled her body to let her armour take the powerful blows of the blades, and she blocked the rest and Kanshou with Excalibur.

Archer smirked. True, the blades he'd created did not have enough momentum to do much to Saber's armour, however, multiple swords colliding with her, no matter how pathetically, still partially disoriented her. Archer took this chance to push off of her body by using his legs.

All of this occurred in under a second.

Four

He spotted Rin flying through the air as she approached his flight path. He'd calculated his push perfectly, and as such, would easily be able to catch her before she crashed against the tree.

Only, he'd pushed off for a fraction of a second before he heard the deadly whistle of Excalibur heading for his torso. He twisted his body and barely managed to push her descending blade towards his side with Kanshou. This had the unintended consequence of pushing him off his flight path.

Five

Saber was about to bring her deflected blade up and strike him with an upward swing, however, the sound of a blade cutting through the air and rapidly approaching her body from behind her, forced her to twist her body in an awkward position to dodge. Byakuya, attracted to its twin blade, Kanshou, had curved in the air like a boomerang and returned. Archer used this chance to push off the flat of her blade and corrected his course.

Six

It was too late though. He didn't have enough time to save her now. Not even his swords could reach her.

Rin flew through the air like a cannonball. She could barely keep her eyes open against the fierce pressure of the wind, and there was a powerful sinking feeling in her stomach. Through the watery whirlwind of green, brown, and black, Rin noticed a tree rapidly approaching her helpless, balled up body.

She grit her teeth and tried to rush through the chant for reinforcement magic. It probably wouldn't do much, but at least there'd be a higher chance for survival.

The tree approached closer and closer. Then time seemed to slow as she realized that she could make out the individual patterns on the brown bark, even through the tears produced by the wind.

Her eyes widened. This was it.

Only, it wasn't.

An orange blur collided her from the side, and the next thing she knew, she was moving in a different direction in the arms of someone else. Rin never thought she could be so grateful for the feeling of simple fabric, and she couldn't help but marvel at its softness for a second.

She looked up and Naruto's cheerful cerulean eyes greeted her.

He grinned, "Yo!"

Rin tried to speak, but she could only manage barely a stutter. Her mouth tasted like ash, her heart was pounding like a machine-gun in her chest, her palms were slick with sweat, and her breath was shallow and sporadic. The memory of her near-death experience was still too fresh in her mind.

"Wh-wha..."

Naruto's grin turned sly, "Guess now you owe me another one."

Somehow, his uncaring manner of dealing with this situation managed to calm her down somewhat. Her heart slowed its beats and her lungs relaxed.

She swallowed, "Wh-why're you here?"

"I heard explosions and the sounds of fighting so I came to check how you guys were doing," Naruto recalled, "I thought you guys had been caught or something!"

"W-we nearly were..."

Archer caught up and matched pace with them, "You okay, Rin?"

"I am now."

Archer turned to Naruto, "What're you doing here? Thought we agreed to split up."

Naruto shrugged, "Like I told Rin, I heard the explosions and sounds of fighting and came to check. Good thing I did."

"What about the Shadow?" Archer asked, noticing the distinct lack of the horrifying creature.

"Probably still on my trail. It couldn't keep up."

Rin furrowed her brow, "Couldn't keep up? Is it really that slow?"

"No," Archer answered, resting a curious eye on Naruto, "In fact, I can sense it approaching right now. Its speed is nothing to scoff at."

Naruto shot him an immodest smirk, "I'm just faster."

Archer looked positively befuddled for a second before he regained his impassive look, "...Is that so?"

Naruto nodded, a serious look overtaking his features, "Yep. That's why I'll carry Rin this time. You go stall Saber."

"Impossible," Rin instantly denied, her usual boldness swiftly flooding her body again, "If Archer stays to stall Saber, then he'll just be attacked by the Shadow too. There's no way Archer will last against Saber and the Shadow working together."

"The Shadow won't attack Archer," Naruto guaranteed, "For some reason, all of it's negative emotions are directed at me."

"Negative emotions?" Rin asked, "What are you talking about? How would you even be able to tell?"

"Just watch," Naruto said.

He swerved away from Archer and continued speeding away from him. Archer blinked confusedly before trying to follow the blonde boy. Like a game of tag, Naruto kept rushing away from the pursuing Archer.

"What are you doing!?" Archer asked, having to shout due to the wind scattering his voice. Annoyance clearly showed on his face.

"Check on the Shadow's presence!" Naruto yelled into the wind, swerving away again as soon as the Servant garbed in red got close, "What do you notice!?"

Archer's eyes widened in realization as Naruto came to his side and matched pace with him again.

"That Shadow... it was only chasing you. When you moved away, that thing changed its direction to only pursue you."

Naruto nodded, "Exactly. That thing doesn't care about anything around it. Right now, it's only focus is on me."

"How did you even know?" Rin asked, "You said that all of its negative emotions were directed at you. Did you find out by sensing its negative emotions or something?"

"Nah," Naruto said, technically not even lying as it had been Kurama who had sensed its negative emotions, "It was just gut instinct."

'You have GOT to stop making that stupid joke,' Kurama said from inside him.

Naruto grinned.

"Wh-wha- gut instinct!?" Rin sputtered, "How does that even make sense!?" She took a few breaths to calm herself, "Whatever, that doesn't matter for now. What matters is your stupid plan to have Archer stall Saber."

"I would hurry up if I were you," Archer said, the slightest hint of urgency in his voice, "Saber's rapidly catching up."

"Right," Rin said hurriedly, "What I mean is, what if Zouken just ordered the Shadow to chase you? If we leave Archer here, then Zouken may just change the order to attack Archer!"

"Then we'll bait him," Naruto said, "We'll have Archer engage Saber and we'll wait for the Shadow to catch up. We'll keep that thing chasing us by making Zouken think he can still get us. If, for some reason, the Shadow stops chasing us, Archer can easily sense it and decide to make his retreat."

Rin turned to her Servant, an unsure look in her eyes,

"Archer..."

Archer briefly glanced at her before fixing his gaze ahead again, "Rin, whatever you command, I will do. I will say this though, i truly do believe that this plan can help us escape."

Rin closed her eyes for a few seconds, before opening them to reveal aqua irises of resolution. They snapped to Archer,

"Retreat after five minutes."

Archer nodded before landing on a branch and halting. He descended to the forest floor and turned his back to them.

Naruto retreated a small ways away to the side and smoothly came to a stop himself. His heart pounded in his chest and his stomach felt as if it were tumbling around in a roller coaster. He clenched his fists slightly and peripherally noted that his hands were unusually cold and clammy.

Even though he was confident it would all work out, he still couldn't help but dread the appearance of Saber and the Shadow. If anything went wrong, they would all end up dying here. It was as simple as that.

"We're near the edge of the forest," Naruto whispered to Rin, "If we managed to gain enough distance between us and the Shadow, then we can blend in with the people in the city and force it to retreat."

The words 'run away' and 'blend in' were borderline excruciating for him to say, but, for now, he had no choice.

"No!" Rin hissed back, "If we do that, we'll put everyone there in danger!"

"I doubt that," Naruto responded, "Think about it, Zouken said that his Shadow needed large amounts of mana to survive, which is why he had it consume Saber. But he also said that he would have liked to have turned him into a REAL Assassin."

"So?"

"I don't know what he meant by turning him into a "real Assassin", but I DO know that he was forced to abandon his plans because he needed to feed the Shadow large amounts of mana. Thing is, with the amount of people in Fuyuki city, he could have easily gone on an indiscriminate rampage to suck up the magic of all the normal civilians. That probably would have been more than enough magic."

"I see... So you think that if didn't care about his Shadow being seen, then he would have just gone and sucked up all the magic he needs from the civilians in the city - especially since it seems like he had other plans for Assassin," Rin guessed.

Naruto nodded, "Exactly."

"...I don't know how much faith I can put in that speculation," Rin admitted reluctantly, "What if him not taking magic from civilians is just a final remnant of his morals?"

"He's not the type of person to easily give up what he wants," Naruto said confidently, "And what he wanted, was to do something to Assassin. He's definitely trying to hide the existence of the Shadow from the world."

Rin stayed silent, her doubts still showing on her face.

"Don't worry," Naruto reassured, "If it seems like it's about to attack the civilians, then we'll just draw its attention to us again. I definitely won't let it hurt any innocent people."

Rin sighed, "I suppose we don't really have a choice..."

Finally, Saber's form became visible from a distance, rapidly enlarging as she approached. She came to a stop on a branch a fair distance away from Archer. Even though her face and eyes were both blank, Naruto couldn't help but notice that rather than instantly attack, she had simply stared at Archer for a second, betraying her confusion at the trio's change in strategy.

As Saber too descended to the forest floor, a familiar feeling of despair and general hopelessness slowly wormed itself inside his very being, signifying the approaching Shadow.

"Get ready, it's coming," Naruto said to Rin, his voice hard.

"I know," Rin said a bit irritatedly, "I can feel it too."

Naruto tensed his muscles, but did not move yet. He had to wait until the Shadow was truly in visible range before taking off, otherwise, the risk of it chasing Archer instead was too high.

As if commanded through some sort of unseen signal, Saber rushed forward and tried to strike Archer with a left-to-right downward diagonal slash. Archer blocked the heavy blow, causing a loud CLANG to echo through the forest. They instantly disengaged before blurring into motion again; their blades clashing against each other repeatedly in a display of speed and skill that could barely be followed. The two fully bared their intent to kill, yet neither managed to score even a glancing blow so far.

Naruto's keen eyes noticed that while Saber generally just tried to out-perform her opponent, Archer fought in a much more nuanced manner. He let show false openings in his defense, and countered when his opponent took the bait.

Suddenly, the two Servants both retreated at the same time before Saber took the initiative and rushed in to strike Archer; once again, she fell for a false opening, and Archer snapped at her with Kanshou. Saber desperately dodged out of the way and struck the black short-sword with a particularly hard hit from a dangerous angle, completely snapping it from the middle.

Instantly, another Kanshou appeared in Archer's hands.

Naruto could almost taste Saber's hidden confusion as he chuckled.

He abruptly clamped down on his small display of amusement when he suddenly spotted the Shadow swiftly approaching. Without warning, he took off from Archer's position, making sure that he was first heading away from Archer from the side so as to make sure that the Shadow's trajectory would not have it colliding the Servant of the Bow.

The Shadow followed and Naruto smirked. Once he was sure that they were sufficiently far enough away from Archer, he changed his direction and headed towards the end of the forest.

Behind him, the Shadow tried its best to reach for the duo, however, Naruto once again proved to be too nimble for it - even with Rin in his arms; each tentacle reaching for him had been swiftly dodged and, in seconds, its tentacles couldn't even reach him any more.

Rin blinked as she noticed something, "The Shadow... its tentacles can expand even further than the distance we're away from it..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "So?"

"You idiot! Don't you get it?" Rin said, "That means that even though its tentacles can expand long enough to reach us, it's still not able to get us!"

"Are you saying that it doesn't want to get us?" Naruto asked, a tinge of apprehension in his voice.

Rin could understand his worry; if the Shadow wasn't truly trying to catch them, then that meant that Zouken had an unknown ulterior motive in mind for this chase.

Fortunately, Naruto was wrong.

"I would have thought the same if I was I your position, but, from what I can see, it's definitely trying to catch us. The true reason it can't get us even though it its tentacles can extend long enough, is because there's a negative correlation between its tentacles' length and speed!" She explained excitedly.

Naruto gave her a blank look, "...Huh?"

Rin sighed and explained dully, "The longer it extends its tentacles, the slower they get."

"Oh. Just say it like that then!"

Rin clicked her tongue disdainfully.

The Shadow's pursuing form gradually became smaller and smaller as Naruto continued to gain distance from it, until finally, it completely vanished into the darkness of the trees.

Another minute passed. Rin closed her eyes and called on her magical connection with Archer.

"Archer."

'I know,' Archer responded into her mind, 'I've already begun my retreat.'

The trees were now starting to thin out and the ground was evening out. The white glow of streetlights shone obscurely through the leaves, and Naruto chased it with fervor. He shot out of the woods and landed neatly on the empty pavement.

"Mount Enzou is on the edge of Miyami town," Rin said calmly as she looked around at the deserted streets, "I'd forgotten that... we'll have to move deeper into the city if we want to blend in with people." She glanced at the slumbering buildings, "Maybe we can hide out in one of the homes..."

Naruto shook his head as he propped Rin on her feet, "Nah, that thing can sense me. Remember when I showed you and Archer that the Shadow was locked on to only me? When I moved away from Archer, the Shadow chased me, but it still wasn't in visible range at the time-"

"-Which means that it can find you even if you're hiding..." Rin said as she rubbed her chin.

Naruto nodded, "We should split up. That thing will keep chasing me, so you can escape now."

Rin narrowed her eyes, "And how do YOU intend to escape?"

Naruto shrugged, "I was kinda thinking of just running to the city..."

"Do you really think you're fast enough?" Rin asked, her tone scathing, "You may be good at maneuvering on trees, but that thing will probably catch up to you in no time on pavement."

"I think-"

"I have a better idea," Rin interrupted, "Pick me back up, and I'll constantly apply reinforcement sorcery to your legs. This is my repayment for saving me from crashing into that tree back there."

Naruto blinked. Then he gave her a grateful grin.

"Thanks!"

Reinforcement sorcery did not work as Naruto had expected. He thought he would gain a constant speed boost to his running, but instead, it worked more like chakra powered jumps. Rin would chant something complicated, and Naruto would shoot forwards like a bullet in his next step before the magic would wear off and he would have to regain his balance and cope with the speed with the power of his normal un-reinforced legs... and repeat for basically fifteen minutes.

It was extremely disorienting and annoying, but it worked. A fourty minute trip had been reduced to fifteen, and the Shadow hadn't even been able to show its presence to them.

Not nearly as exciting as their escape down mount Enzou.

Once the noise of chatter and footsteps reached their ears, Naruto put Rin down and they ran the rest of the way normally. They quietly slipped into the crowd before sighing a in relief.

A cursory glance told them that no one had noticed anything unusual about them. Although, there were a few wrinkled noses from the people around them - probably due to the smell of sweat clinging to them.

Naruto winced as he forced himself to walk with the crowd without showing his fatigue. If he hadn't seen his arms attached to his body with his own eyes, he would've thought that they didn't even exist anymore. Carrying Rin for more than fifteen minutes took a huge toll on them.

Rin leaned close and muttered into his ears as inconspicuously as she could, "What'll you do if Zouken threatens to hold everyone here hostage?"

Naruto took a few seconds to process the question before his his eyes widened in alarm.

Noticing this, Rin sighed, "Like I thought...you didn't even think of that possibility, did you? Even if he doesn't want his Shadow to be known by the world, you were the one who said that he isn't one to easily give up on what he wants."

A horrible pang of guilt tore at Naruto's stomach.

"I..."

"Don't worry, at the very least, he won't get you," Rin said solemnly.

Naruto shot her a brief questioning look.

"Because if he threatens to hold civilians hostage..." Rin said gravely, "Then I'll stun you with a Gandr shot to stop you from giving yourself up."

Naruto's head whipped at her, "Rin! You-"

Rin stealthily pointed her hand at him, knowing that he knew of the red curse she could produce from it, "Keep walking and don't make a scene." She ordered, "The Shadow must be chasing you for a reason, and I can't afford to give it and Zouken anything more that could further increase their chances of winning."

"So you're going to sacrifice civilians?" Naruto hissed.

Rin nodded grimly, "Yes."

"Rin, you were the one who was worrying about the civilians in the first place!" Naruto whispered desperately, a clear note of panic in his voice, "Why-"

"I would have preferred not to involve civilians, but in the end, I'm still a magus," Rin said coldly, "If sacrificing civilians serves me best, then that's what I'll do."

"But-"

"Shut it and keep walking," Rin ordered, "If you don't, then I'll just stun you now."

Naruto grit his teeth and took a shaky step forward, hoping beyond anything else that Zouken wouldn't hold innocent people hostage. He glared at his arms as if doings would scare away the exhaustion, allowing him to fight back against Rin.

'Damnit...'

A few, tense minutes passed before a small sigh of relief from Rin greeted Naruto's ears.

"All right, his familiar's gone," Rin said, the tightness in her voice disappearing.

Naruto blinked, "You mean..."

Rin nodded with a grin on her face, "Yep, we've escaped!"

Naruto knew he should have been feeling jubilation, but all he felt was whiplash at Rin's sudden change in behavior.

A sudden, trembling rage invaded him, "Rin, you-"

"If you're about to yell something like, 'how could you even THINK about sacrificing innocent people!?' then don't bother," Rin said with an amused smirk, "I'll have you know that that was just an act to cover for your mistake."

The sudden anger left him just as suddenly and confusion took its place, leaving him standing there open-mouthed, "...Huh?

"I knew that Zouken's familiar was listening to us, so I acted as if I would stop you from going to him, even if he threatened innocent people, meaning he would have nothing to gain from such a course of action," Rin explained, "There's no such thing as holding back against innocent people in typical magus mentality, you know? If experimenting on an innocent person will help a magus achieve a breakthrough in their research, then that's exactly what they'll do. I bet on the fact that Zouken knew that, and made him believe that I'm the same."

Naruto stood still for a second before tension left his body and he laughed a tired laugh, "Y-you had me really scared for a second there, you know? I thought you were serious back there!"

Rin frowned, "Don't be so sure that I wasn't. I'm still a magus in the end; who knows what I would've actually done in that situation."

Naruto wasn't really sure what to say to that.

Different customs.

Different lifestyles.

Different rules.

Almost everything was different in this world, Naruto knew that. It had haunted him day after day after day. Of course, that also meant...

Different values.

How on earth could he have the right to tell Rin off when he himself had grown up in a completely different environment? How earth could he have the right to denounce an entire world based on his own morals and ideals?

True, he had also grown up in this world, complete with a child's mind again, but he'd never truly lived in this world, had he? He'd ignored everything, so what gave him a right to correct anything?

"Oi," Rin said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Naruto recalled the map Caster had shown him and nodded, "Yeah, I think it's just ahead."

The streets around them were truly deserted by now, and the duo only had their footsteps to accompany them.

"Where's Dragcher?" Naruto asked.

"In Spirit form. Since I wasn't in Saber's sights anymore, all he had to do was gain a bit of distance and dematerialize to escape."

Naruto nodded.

The duo walked a for a few more minutes before they came across a dilapidated warehouse. It was only about large enough to fit the main building of the Emiya residence inside it, and looked to have been abandoned for quite some time.

The two walked up to the warehouse and Naruto was about to enter through the door when Rin stopped him.

"Wait, we need a plan first."

Naruto could feel the exhaustion shutting down his body and mental capabilities, and he honestly just wanted to get this over with now.

"It's a warehouse," Naruto said, "Not much we can plan for here. Just materialize Dragcher and we'll go."

Archer materialized and Naruto opened the door with almost zero hesitancy.

The inside of the warehouse was completely empty, except for the two people waiting for them. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and moonlight spilled from the cracked windows lining the walls.

Curiously, all Naruto could smell was lavender. Probably Caster's doing.

Yes, one of the people waiting for them was Caster, her cloak waving behind her as lazily as always, and the other was surprisingly the prim and proper Kuzuki-sensei.

Naruto blinked, "...Kuzuki-sensei?"

Kuzuki-sensei nodded in greeting, "Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed, "Sorry, but I don't have the energy to act all surprised right now."

Evidently Rin disagreed.

"Kuzuki-sensei, you were Caster's Master all along!?"

Caster raised an authoritative hand, "Enough." She turned to Naruto, "I'm surprised... you actually managed to escape from Zouken and his dog..."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Let's just get onto the main point now; will you lend me your Noble Phantasm?"

Caster smirked, "...Very well."

Even in his exhausted state, Naruto couldn't help but grin and let out a small whoop in joy.

Finally, the Rule Breaker, the tool he needed to free Saber would be in his hands!

"However, if you truly intend to go up against Zouken's dog, then you must know something about it," Caster said seriously.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"'The Shadow', as you called it, it's true form is that of a person you know all too well," Caster said, "I believe her name is Sakura Matou."

Naruto wasn't exactly sure what he'd heard at first, but as he processed Caster's words, his vision started blurring, his stomach felt as if a jug of ice cubes had been dropped in there, and strange rushing sound overwhelmed his ears.

Vaguely, he heard the sound of surprised gasp beside him.

It felt as if two film were being played in front of his eyes, one of the Shadow, and one of Sakura. He tried to combine the film of the horrifying and petrifying Shadow whose very presence induced despair, and the film of the sweet and gentle Sakura whose very presence filled him with peace and familial affection; but he found that no matter what, the two films simply would not combine.

"Wh-what? How on earth...?"

He wanted to lash out and yell that she was lying, but every ounce of his logic protested.

What reason would she have to lie? After all, with Saber gone, Caster could easily take down the Shadow herself - especially now that Caster knew the Shadow's true nature. There was no reason for Caster to bait him into doing absolutely anything by telling him this, especially since she probably wanted her Noble Phantasm back.

Caster spoke, piercing his thoughts, "I have told you this because I have no doubt that the Makiri patriarch will reveal this to you at time most opportune to him. If that happened then I would no doubt lose my Noble Phantasm."

Through his fog of tumultuous emotions, Naruto locked onto a part of Caster's statement.

Noble Phantasm

"...Will it work?" He also whispered his question. There was no need to elaborate, Caster had probably predicted his reaction already.

"Only if you stab the main body," Caster said, "Slashing at the created appendages won't allow the magic of the Rule Breaker to take effect, but if you stab the main body then the contract between her and the grail's taint will be broken."

"The grail's... taint?"

Caster nodded, "The grail's taint is the most important factor allowing her to take the form of 'the Shadow'."

"How... how does Zouken control Sakura?" Rin asked. Her voice strangely sounded extraordinarily weak for some reason.

Caster smirked a smirk which made Naruto want to punch her in the teeth, "Unfortunately for you, the Makiri patriarch's main body is a worm and he has attached it to the Matou girl's heart; this means, killing the Makiri patriarch also means killing the Matou girl.

A faint 'No' left Rin's lips as she stumbled back.

'What a bitch...' Kurama noted, 'The only reason she told you brats anything was because she knew that there was nothing you could do.'

His words didn't make Naruto feel any better. But even so...

'Assuming she's telling the truth.'

He had to believe that her words were a lie.

'Why would she lie?' Kurama asked, 'She doesn't want to lose her Noble Phantasm, right?'

'Yeah... but that tidbit she told us about Zouken's main body being a worm and being attached to Sakura's heart won't affect my chances in defeating Sakura or Saber at all.'

He blinked. He'd already called the Shadow 'Sakura' with no hesitation at all.

"Whatever the case," Caster said, bringing the conversation back on topic, "The first step is making the Geis which binds your usage of my Noble Phantasm, brat."

"Focus Rin," Archer said, "This is an extremely critical stage."

Rin gave her Servant a shaky nod and slapped her own cheeks a few times to regain her calm state of mind and concentration.

Naruto took a step back, this was Rin and Archer's territory now.

"First of all, the main points must obviously be..." He heard Rin say before he tuned them out. Rin would give him the summary later.

Instead he plopped down on the floor and looked up at the moon through a broken window.

The moon reflected images of the Shadow, Zouken, and the corrupted Saber back at him.

He slowly raised his arm up at the giant silvery orb shining in the sky, as if reaching for it...

Just you wait...

And he clench his hand into a fist, as if he could grab it from here and extinguish its light.

Author's Note: So, uh, yeah. I finished this a lot later than I thought. I won't say much since I said everything I wanted to say in the 'I'm a What!?'s author's note, but basically, the gist of it is that I'm going to try to improve my pace from now on. No one should have to wait for four to five months just to read a chapter.

Moving on, I really think Caster could have done something about the Shadow in the VN if she'd simply gotten a chance to observe it even once, since, you know, she's a CASTER. That's why, I think Nasu made a very realistic and great decision to have Caster be defeated by the Shadow first in the Heavens Feel route.

Also, I don't know if Servants CAN actually lend Masters their Noble Phantasms, but I see no problems with it. Something like that happened in Apocrypha, right? I don't actually watch Apocrypha, but I think I read somewhere that a similar situation occurred.

Anyway, Next Chapter: Direct confrontation!

P.S. We've almost broken through the 1000 barrier in Follows! Do you guys know how giddy that makes me feel!? All of you guys are so awesome (not just the people who favorite, follow, and review, but also the people who just simply decide to even read this story)!