As promised here's the first tidbit of life for the Kishinami Clan and a look at two other Master-Servant teams.

I do not own anything.


FOX TAILS AND WHIRLPOOLS

Chapter 4 - Family of Three


"Alright then, as you all know the test you took last week has been graded and added to your score for the quarter. Your report cards will be handed out tomorrow so you've all been warned." Iruka proclaimed, resulting in a collective groan and shudder running through his students. It was the end of the winter term and beginning of spring semester, arguably the make it or break it point for most of the academy students. If students weren't motivated by this point then, he knew those children would be repeating their school year while their classmates moved on step closer to graduation.

Before his eyes, several broke out into cold sweat while others merely began chatting with their classmates. Of the latter group were those who knew they had little to fear as they'd studied hard and their efforts had been rewarded. Well, most of them anyway. Being his favorite student the scar-faced chunin couldn't help but fix his gaze on Naruto, who stood in his seat with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Though he was trying to look as cool as possible, the naked worry on his face was almost painful to see. Inwardly chuckling he stepped forward and began handing out the scored testing sheets, already knowing the silent and vocal curses that would go up along with shouts of triumph. As he made the rounds, he stole a peak at each student to gauge their reaction.

He slid Naruto's sheet onto his desk and slightly began counting down until the seconds to the inevitable eruption. Five…four…three…two…

"I…I did it. I…I did it! I passed! I finally passed a test! Iruka-sensei, I finally did it!" Exuberant the whisker-faced blond hurled himself onto the backside of his favorite teacher even right in front of his classmates and peers. "See, I did it!" He cried as the tan-skinned man tried in vain to pull his favorite pupil off and remain standing on his feet.

"Big whoop, the dead last finally passed a test, not like it's anything to get excited about." Spoke one Ino Yamanaka whose words were echoed around the classroom.

"Hey, considering who it is, small miracles." Countered Shikamaru Nara who took one look at his barely-passing score before folding up the paper and lying his head flat against the desk. Odds were Naruto's score was barely a point or two about his seventy, in other words Naruto had managed to climb up almost twenty points from his usual average. Not exactly something to be proud of, but for the village pariah it counted for something.

In the course of the next twenty seconds, he was proven dead wrong.

At the behest of his owner Akamaru made a quick grab for the blonde's testing sheet, said blond was still gripping his teacher in a heartfelt death grip Iruka had practically given up on fighting. Bringing it back his master Kiba Inuzuka gave the paper a passing glance, fully expecting to see a seventy or sixty-nine indicating a barely passing grade. What he got made the marked-boy's eyes go wide as saucers. "What the?! Ninety-six?! You got a ninety-six on the chakra control test?"

"WHAT?!" Screamed the whole of the academy class who now turned their attention to Naruto, who finally released Iruka. Quickly snatching up his test sheet, he re-checked the score written in red ink to make sure it was real.

Looking up a second later, he noticed the eyes of his entire class on him. Releasing a nervous chuckle, he held up the sheet with the score written on it for all to see. "Hehe, guess I finally proved you all wrong, didn't I?"

Like a pack of dogs after a bone they bounced on the blonde, several making half-hearted grabs at his testing sheet to see if it was real.

"No freakin' way!"

"You must have cheated, you have to have!"

"Hey! I studied hard!" Naruto fired back at the accusations.

"Studied hard my butt! You're an idiot! Idiots don't become smart overnight!"

As the ramble rouse continued, Iruka too stock of two dark-haired individuals who were maintaining their distance. The first was seated in the upper row, Hinata Hyūga. Shy as a mouse, the smile on her face told Iruka all he needed to know and made him smile in return. On the other side was Sasuke Uchiha, who was attempting to get a clear shot of Naruto. Continuously, he looked back at his own testing sheet then to Naruto with increasingly puzzled eyes. Finally, he decided to do something about it by getting out of his seat.

The children parted ways for the dark-haired Uchiha. Once he came into view, Naruto immediately put himself on guard seeing the somewhat cross look in his eyes. Sasuke held up his paper showing his ninety-eight percent score for Naruto to see. Rather than feeling offended and downtrodden like he usually did, he instead grinned.

"Two points behind, next time I'll beat you!" He proclaimed with a fire in his eyes.

"Yeah, sure, except even with that score you're still gonna fail the quarter." Came the boy's cool reply, causing Naruto's confidence to crack. "Good job though, you finally proved you can do more than just pull pranks."

"Um, uhhh, thanks for the compliment." The whisker-faced boy said suddenly, becoming aware of how close his classmates were to him. Suddenly the bravado vanished, revealing a shyness that had several females quietly giggling to themselves seeing this new side of Naruto Uzumaki. "Eh, guys, could you, um give me some space here, please?"

"Sure, right after you tell us how you managed to answer questions four through eight!" Shouted Kiba, jumping onto the table and grabbing Naruto's paper to compare it to his own.

Back at his desk, Iruka leaned back with a gracious smile tugging at his lips.

"Two weeks ago, he was the dead last and couldn't even fathom the basics of chakra control. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say someone transformed into Naruto and took the test for him." Mizuki muttered, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Then again, I hear that woman that took him in is a witch so, eh, who knows."

"It's Naruto, believe me." Chuckled Iruka, continuing to watch as more students crowded around Naruto in an attempt to get him to divulge the secrets of his success. "The wonders of having parents in the household."

"Noted," Mizuki laughed before his face turned serious. "Iruka, Naruto's still going to fail the quarter, at least he will if he doesn't do something about it."

While that was a distinct possibility, something told Iruka that wasn't the outcome that was going to play out. "Alright then, everyone, settle down! Class isn't over yet so don't get all that excited! We've still got some things to go over." Slowly but surely the crowd around Naruto dispersed, granting the young blond some peace and quiet. Quickly flashing the older male one final grin, he took his seat indicating he was ready to resume the school day. "As I said, in a few weeks the quarter will be ending. With that in mind, we're going to put everything you learned about chakra manipulation and control to the test in live exercises."

From then on class continued on without a hitch, granted several made veiled attempts to peak at Naruto or shot him sideways glances or glares. To the young jinchūriki's credit, he seemed to handle the attention quite well. Matter of fact, the boy remained oddly quiet and well-behaved for the rest of the afternoon. Iruka had an idea of what was running through his student's head, but as a teacher he couldn't openly play favorites. However, all bets were off once classes ended and he could approach him not as his instructor but as his friend. Iruka just hoped no one was around when he tried to do so or else he'd never hear the end of it.

The hands of the clock stationed above the chalkboard moved in a slow but steady pace until at least they fell upon the four and twelve that heralded the end of the school day. In near perfect unison, the entire class jumped from their seats. Several spoke of what they were going to do to celebrate the day's good fortune while others privately sulked or contemplated how they were going to explain their grades to their parents. The third group of students were the hardest to read, and the rarest.

Naruto was looking intently at his test sheet as if the secrets of his life were somehow encoded in the questions and answers. Nearly four seats to his left sat Sasuke, who was looking between the blond and his own testing sheet once again. Something in Iruka's teaching bones told him those two would be exchanging words in the near future, he could only help they were pleasant or at least encouraging words. Last of them was Hinata. The Hyūga heiress continuously shot short glances at Naruto who was far too engrossed with his own thinking to notice her. Iruka wasn't one for playing matchmaker, but he dearly hoped sometime in the future his favorite student wouldn't be as dense as he was now. That or Hinata worked to the courage herself to physical interact with the boy who saved her from bullies on their first day of school.

A heavy layer of chatter covered the children as many of them filed out of the classroom to their respective afternoon activities. Tomorrow he was fully expecting half of them to come in with sulking faces from the tongue lashing from their parents. Without a doubt it'd be a bitter scene that would paint almost the entire morning.

Naruto jumped from his seat as well, though instead of the door he headed directly for Iruka himself, a look of steady determination on his face. "Iruka-sensei, I know what you said about grades being all tallied up, but…is there any way I can…"

"Avoid failing the quarter?" He playfully asked, grinning at his theory being confirmed.

"Yeah, sure, the same way a pig has a chance of sprouting wings and flying to the moon!" Called Kiba, triggering a chorus of laughter from the other children.

Keeping his irritation in check, Naruto kept his focus on his instructor. "Well, in a few days we will have the physical examine where we put everything you've learned to use. That'll be the last grade of the quarter."

"But if he passes that he'll still fail, right sensei?" Chirped up Sakura Haruno.

By this point, it wouldn't have been a stretch to say Naruto's face had become desperate. "Look, talk to me tomorrow, we'll be holding some remedial lessons. If you take a few of those you may be able to raise your grade enough that you'll pass. That, and the when we do actual chakra control testing."

"I don't see why you're tell him, Iruka-sensei. It's not like it'll do him any good considering how much Naruto sucks at chakra control." Ino chimed in again, shooting the male blond a rather snobbish look. "At best he'll just fall and hit his head and there'll go all the brains he built up."

His limit finally reached, Naruto retaliated in a way Iruka had all but come to expect. "Hey! The brains in my head are there to stay, got it!"

"Right, just like you those two will stay when they realize how much trouble you are!"

Iruka acted quickly to stop Naruto from verbally or physically lashing out, though the enraged look on his face was enough to frighten some of his classmates into moving on. Mizuki shot his fellow teacher a sideways glance that told him he'd had enough for one day and took his leave, a stack of papers and files held tightly in the fold of his arm. Back in their seats, Sasuke and Hinata had watched the drama unfold with concerned eyes. Again, Iruka could see the Hyūga heiress looked like she wanted to speak, but her voice wouldn't work. While she remained idle, the youngest of the future Uchiha brothers got up and walked to Iruka's desk with keen interest shining in his eyes.

"Iruka-sensei, will these remedial lessons be open to everyone?" He asked.

"Yes, Sasuke, anyone who's willing to take time out of their day and put the effort in will be welcomed." Responded the chunin.

"Wait, how come you're coming too? It's not like you need the extra credit." Naruto grumbled.

"Maybe I want to, or maybe you're not the only one with parents he's trying to impress." The dark-haired boy shot back. While he didn't like the idea of competing with anyone else, considering it was the dead last of the class he didn't see how it could hurt. Granted, something in Sasuke's gut told him Naruto wouldn't be known as a slacker and clown for much longer. A lot could change between where they were now and where they would be come graduation. "You said you want me to take you seriously, so I'm doing that."

The previous insults that had darkened Naruto's mind immediately dissipated hearing that. Ever since the school year began he'd heard people go on about Sasuke and how much was expected of him so the idea of competing alongside him, having him look at Naruto as if he were worthy of his attention made his heart bounce in excitement.

"Um, N-Naruto, n-nice work on passing the written test."

"Uh? UH?!" Upon realizing someone was standing behind him, Iruka and Sasuke were treated to the sight of Naruto leaping almost ten feet into the air, nearly smacking his head against the classroom ceiling. Coming back down, he trembled in fear of the young blue-haired girl as if she were some unearthly spirit. "H-Hey! D-Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"She didn't really sneak up on you, you just didn't notice her." Sasuke stated, doing his best to contain his laughter.

For some reason, I'm sensing the beginnings of a future pattern. The scar-faced teacher mentally mused. "Hinata, would you like to come to the remedial lessons as well?"

Switching her gaze between the instructor and the puzzled Naruto, the young heiress began to twiddle her fingers. "U-U-Um, I-I'd love t-t-to, b-but I-I have t-training with my father. I-I have to be there." Whatever courage she built up exploded outwards as her pale eyes settled on Naruto. "G-Good luck, Naruto! I hope you pass the quarter!"

After watching her near sprint out of the classroom, Naruto turned back to his fellow males. "Um, she's a little weird."

"Takes one to know one." Sasuke finally said, allowing his laughter to burst outward. "See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei."

Getting to his feet, Naruto dusted off his legs. "See ya' tomorrow, Iruka-sensei! I promise, I'll be there for those remedial lessons! And I'll ace the rest of the school year, then I'll be on my way to becoming Hokage!"

With a wave, he saw the boy off leaving the tanned-skin man alone. He's changed so much in just two short weeks. Pretty incredibly, but if there's anyone who deserves it he does. Standing up straight, Iruka stretched his arms upwards realizing he now had an entire afternoon's worth of work to do. Stealing a glance at the window, he noticed how bright the evening sunset had become. It was quite beautiful considering winter was still little over a month away from ending. "Here's hoping to brighter days."


For the people of Konoha, it was somewhat natural to see Naruto Uzumaki racing through the streets. The reasons often varied from him seeking to escape his daily persecution or fleeing the jonin and Anbu dispatched after him in the aftermath of a successful prank. What they were not used to was the boy running about with a wide grin on his face born of excitement. An odd transformation had occurred within the Hidden Leaf Village over the past two weeks, one that many residents were still trying to come to grips with.

It took almost two days for word to spread that the "demon brat" had been adopted, and by mysterious pair that had aided said child in a wild chase throughout the village. Whispers and rumors ran rampant with everyone having an opinion or theory on what was afoot. Regardless, that didn't stop many from going to the new sweets shop that opened up nearly four days after the pair had set up shop in the village. Nor were many opposed to the thought of at the very least passing the boy as he worked at said shop, just as he was doing today.

Bursting through the front door, the blond announced his presence, "Dad! I'm back!"

Hakuno turned from the customer he'd just finished ringing up to greet his adoptive son. "Hey! She's back preparing another batch of anmitsu so go help her out."

"Got it!"

With a sideways glance, Hakuno watched him hurry behind the counter and disappear into the back kitchen where his Servant-turned-wife was busy preparing another afternoon's worth of food.

"It seems you two have adjusted well enough to things here in the village." Said the female customer.

"We've done our best." Hakuno chuckled. "Thank you, and please come again."

The woman smiled at him. "Oh, believe me, I will be. By the way, if you're interested I happen to own a liquor store not too far from here. Stop by anytime you're in the mood."

In light of everything he'd been through, Hakuno really shouldn't have reacted the way he did. Instead of playing it cool, his face visibly broke out into a blush. "I-I-I appreciate the t-th-thought. I-I'll drop by some time." This wasn't the first time this customer had sent him into a bit of a nervous fluster. Though they might have adjusted to the Hidden Leaf there were still a few things the Master-Servant pair were holding off on, alcohol was one of them. Over the course of their journey across the Moon Cell Hakuno had had several encounters with alcohol and liquor, and most of those encounters had ended with him having to ferry friends and allies onto a couch or bed, then pray his own drunken Servant didn't come after him. Plus, I now have a six-year-old I'm now responsible for. Who would have thought.

Said six-year-old came racing out of the back room less than a second later, two plates held up high in his little arms. It'd take a little practice, but Tamamo had done something he'd heard was near impossible - she'd gotten Naruto to focus. It took several tries but eventually Naruto had learned how carry multiple plates of freshly-cooked meals across the store to the delivery stand to the far left of the store. At first a majority of their customers weren't exactly pleased having their food delivered to them via the "demon brat" as they still called Naruto. That of course, changed when they felt a silent flood of killing intent from the back room where the fox-tailed Caster was hard at work preparing delicious dessert after dessert. Every one, civilian and shinobi, genin, chunin, and jonin, seemed able to take the hint and accepted the meal in silence. In so short a time, Hakuno out of the corner of his eye had watched the looks shot at his adoptive son go from venomous to curious and even relaxed.

It was amazing how so much could change in such a short amount of time. Two and a half weeks ago Hiruzen had showed them this place, Okura Sweets, as it used to be called. A semi-popular sweets shop that had stood for a good twenty years due to the business management and cooking skill of Taigo Okura. The fifty-eight-year-old man had looked the strange couple over from head to toe, muttering his every thought and opinion to Hiruzen. Hakuno didn't exactly blame him for being skeptical of leaving his prized shop in the care of two teenagers who'd showed up completely out of nowhere and raised quite a fuss in the village. As per usual Tamamo was there with her silver tongue and quick-wit, managing to put the old merchant's fears to ease and ensure a peaceful transfer of the business.

"She's done this before, hasn't she?" Hiruzen had whispered to him, watching Okura and Tamamo continue to hammer out the details almost completely blind to the world around them.

"More times than I can count, and half of those have gotten us out of trouble." And sometimes into deeper trouble. He'd responded fondly, looking back on those wild memories with a soft smile.

And that was how Okura Sweets became Fox Tail Sweets, a humble little shop near the heart of the village. In no time at all the first few customers had come through the door for whatever reason, and Tamamo had reawakened his cooking and management abilities to ensure they came back for more. And came back they did, in droves.

Having a brief break while the dozen or so customers continued to look around, Hakuno chose to step back and peak into the kitchen. "How're you doing in there, Tamamo?" He called.

"Just fine!" Came her peppy reply. Taking a quick sniff of the air, Hakuno's senses were treated to a storm of culinary smells and sensations that nearly had his mouth watering. Naruto wasn't the only one who had to work most days to restrain himself from indulging in the fox-eared woman's cooking. Then again, both of them were lucky enough to be treated to her food on a daily basis so he supposed it was just a matter of them being greedy.

At first, she'd been a little reluctant, but Tamamo had relented and decided the cooking skills she normally reserved for her loved ones would be used to serve anyone willing to pay good money for a plate of dangos, crepes, and dorayaki. Time had quickly shown it to be the right choice as evident by the full tables positioned to the far right of the store. They were lucky Okura had been thinking of expanding the shop before he decided to hand over the reigns as it left Hakuno with little physical work to do; however, he was a little disappointed at that part since it deprived him of another chance to test out his physical body.

All things considered, things have turned out pretty well, better than well. The brown-haired teen thought, turning his head to the window. "Gazi, Mr. Alscher, I'm doing like you guys said, living my life the best I can."


When the day ended, Tamamo felt a strange mixture of elation and slight sadness that had take her some time to work out. The first emotion was due to the fact she could finally spend time with her loved ones and was free to truly display her culinary craft in the safety and privacy of her home. On the other hand, in such a short window of time she'd grown accustomed to the feel of the back-room kitchen in which she prepared delectable and fresh treats to be consumed by the villagers of Konoha.

Removing her apron and hanging it up, she took a fine minute to examine the decent-sized back-room kitchen she'd turned into her private lair every day for the past two and a half weeks. In this room she'd revisited a part of herself she'd thought she buried and forgotten about, yet for all her attempted hiding and cowardice, she'd managed to rediscover some of that court girl that had captivated the emperor.

"Mother, would you be…proud of me?" Rarely did she look back upon her memories of her adoptive parents. Tamamo liked to think everything about cooking she learned from her mother and father, poor as dirt, but happy and providing for her up until the day she entered the royal court. Whenever she cooked, she always subconsciously looked to their example hoping just as she was always pleased with their meals her beloved would be satisfied with hers. Am I doing the right thing, or am I just being my normal selfish self?

"Hey, mom? Are you alright?"

Somewhere inside, Tamamo never thought she'd heard anyone call her that, though a part of her longed for the day a someone would. In an unexpected and roundabout way that wish had been fulfilled by this child who reminded her so painfully of her own rise and fall. "O-Oh, yes, I'm just fine, Naruto. I let my mind wander off."

Though young Naruto had an idea of what was running through Tamamo's mind, even if he knew next to nothing about her past. Smiling at her he walked up and gripped her hand, an action she returned by gripping his then planting a chaste kiss on his forehead. Hand-in-hand the pair walked out of the kitchen, Tamamo making sure all the lights such were turned off. After a few steps she saw her Master-turned husband waiting for her in front of the door, his all-too familiar pristine smile illuminated by the sunset. The pink-haired woman wished she had a camera so she could capture the moment and memorialize it for the rest of her life.

With Naruto in the center the family of three walked back to their home, paying no mind to the light chatter of the villagers they passed. Neither Hakuno nor Tamamo expected things to die down anytime soon, but this was better than having everyone watching them like hawks. They already had one annoying hawk paying too close attention to their every move.

"We got our tests back, and guess what? I passed!" Naruto exclaimed, practically jumping in their arms.

"Of course, you passed! You had my tutoring! Chakra, mana! It makes no difference, if it is energy of the mind, body, or earth I of course am the prime expert!" Shouted the Caster. It was true, in less than half an hour she'd ran through twelve books concerning the nature of chakra and was practically a full-blown expert. This information of course went into teaching her newly adopted son.

"Sounds like you're doing better than I did in school, much better." Hakuno chuckled.

"Come to think of it, dad, where did you go to school? Did you study at a ninja academy or a civilian school?"

"I…went to a place called Tsukumihara Academy, a civilian school."

"Did you have any friends there? What were the teachers like?"

Hakuno was well aware of the worried look his Servant was giving him. Keeping his eyes to the sunset, he answered, "It was a quiet but nice place. To be honest, I can hardly remember most days because they were just that boring. On the positive side, I had a few friends, friends who did more for me than I could ever imagine. In fact, Naruto, Tsukumihara is actually where I met Tamamo, or rather I met her again after being separated."

As expected, the foxy-woman took the bait. "Ah, yes! Naruto! It's a story I would happily tell you over a hundred times over! For my dear Hakuno it was a day like any other, but unknown to him or any others it was a day that would change many lives forever. For that day was the first of what would become many struggles against a hated foe of our homeland - the Sakura Five! A band of hideous, evil women hellbent on turning our world upside down!"

"Tamamo,"

"I arrived just in time to save your father from being manhandled by the biggest and most deluded of the five, Kingprotea!"

"King…what?," Naruto interrupted. The first time he heard the name Sakura, he instantly thought to his pink-haired classmate who he found somewhat cute. He tried to imagine five Sakuras, and for some reason when he did the future shinobi felt a shiver run up his spine. "Were they...monsters?"

"Yes, they were, and ugly monsters at that." The woman stated in an off-hand voice before slipping back into her melodramatic tone. "Along with that giant oaf of rotten seaweed I fought off the second of these five beasts, the elusive but oh-so slow Violet. It was a tough battle, but I fought them off and at least reunited with my dear love!"

"Tamamo,"

"It was a tender scene I hope one day you'll be able to share with a woman you love." She droned on placing a hand against her red cheek. It was obvious at this point any sense of logic had left the fox's brain. Not like there was ever much room in there for logic to begin with. "He threw himself into my arms, crying tears of joy at seeing me again after such a prolonged separation."

"Why were you two separated?" Naruto asked, now looking invested in his mother's story.

"Oh, so many reasons, I can tell you when you're older. The best reason I can give you is your father had drawn the attention several, petty, evil women."

"Tamamo,"

"These women wanted him for truly heinous reasons your innocent mind isn't ready to hear. In their misguided pursuit of him they did several villainous, awful things. Of course, in the end I defeated them all and thus the-ow! Master! That hurt!"

Still wide-eyed, Naruto watched Hakuno withdrew his fingers from Tamamo's forehead. His face was perhaps stoner than the Hokage faces. "Hey, dad, why did you hit mom? Did she do something bad?"

"Sort of, see, Naruto, when your mother…gets lost in one of her moods I have to step in and put her back on track." The teenager answered with a twitching smile. "As for the story, let's just say after your mom entered my life it was never the same. I'll tell you more one day."

"B-But who were the rest of the Sakura Five? What'd you do to make them come after you? How'd mom beat them?" Hakuno and Tamamo looked to each other, the latter realizing she might have just skipped a rock down the road for them to trip on at a later date. "What kind of monsters were they? The big scary kind like ogres?"

"Well," Hakuno began.

"We'll tell you when you're older and ready for those kinds of stories." Finished the pink-haired Anti-Hero. "In celebration of your achievement we'll be having an Indian delicacy, tandoori!"

"Awesome! Uh, what's tandoori though?"

"Indian-style barbecued chicken, you'll love it." Hakuno clarified.

Hearing the explanation, the blonde broke away from the two and raced down the pathway to their home. Laughing between each other, the pair continued on their current pace until they too came upon their home. Nearly a month in and the old home had been fixed up quite nicely thanks to Hakuno's efforts. Unable to resist Tamamo had chosen an objectively simply little add-on to finish sprucing up their home - a cartoonish fox-face emblazoned on the door Naruto bounced in front of.

As he watched his adoptive father turn the key, Naruto found the courage to finally tell his him of the latter half of the days' events. "Er, even though I passed, Iruka-sensei said there was still a chance I was gonna…fail the quarter. I can make up for it though! I'm going to take remedial lessons."

"Good, because if you weren't I'd be restricting ramen within this household for a week." Came Tamamo's sing-song voice as she waltzed into their home, leaving a stunned Naruto in the doorway with her brown-haired love.

Hakuno glanced downward to find a trembling Naruto looking at Tamamo as if she were a ghost. His mouth hung open with a gobbled mixture of words coming out of his mouth with little to no hope of being deciphered. The brown-haired Master; however, had seen the look and expression many times before. Closing the door behind him, he lowered himself down to his son's level. "Naruto, when it comes to the women in your life, they'll always have a clue what's running through your head, no matter how well you try to hide it. For that reason, just be open with them."

Still a little startled, the young blond looked to his father in wide-eyed awe. "How though? Can they read minds?"

"You'd think they could." He laughed. "No, it just means they really care about you, and one day, when you find someone special to you, you'll be able to do the same for them."

Naruto didn't quite understand what Hakuno said, but he was confident one day he would. After all, just a few weeks ago he could barely wrap his mind around how the flow of chakra worked, and even the makeup of chakra itself. If he could master that in a couple of days, how hard would it be with women?


In life the man known as Robin Hood had seen many terrible things, things that made one question the decency of humankind. He'd found it hard to go to sleep some nights, others he simply went to bed angry and scared, dreading the moment sunlight would awaken him to face another day or unknown threats and horrors. In the face of those horrors he did like a few animals - he burrowed deep and hid, waited the horror out until the danger had passed then emerge. Or, that's what he did forty-percent of the time. The other sixty he was out risking his life to stop such evil from finding good, innocent people who'd done nothing to deserve the pain and ruin inflicted upon them. Some days Robin hated himself for it, but at the end of the day that was who he was. And that was why he and his Master made such a working pair.

Gazsi "Gaz" Mokri was no stranger to tragedy, matter of fact, one could say it was in his blood. Hundreds of years before the twenty-first century his ancestors dyed the tan-colored rocky sand of their homeland red with the blood of their enemies, and sometimes each other. Conquest, religion, oil, power, the reasons varied, but the end result was always the same, always bodies going into the ground at best and crows feasting on corpses at worst. It was dark family legacy he'd rather calmly come to accept when his parents finally felt it was time to tell him. In head sight, it was the right move as it made his career as a resistance fighter easier to come to terms with. Like his ancestors before him, Gaz saw blood and bodies, enough of it that it was a miracle he was still able to eat meat when it was offered to him. He never liked what he saw, but he always found the strength to pick himself up and move on, and he could only hope that wouldn't change here in this new world.

"So…you…want to do the women and children, or is that my job?" The English Archer mused, shifting uncomfortably. The smell of blood was so all-consuming, they'd be lucky if they were able to move all the bodies without woodland predators coming by to snag an easy meal. As a druid Robin wasn't averse to such things, but he was still a human being, and these men and women lying at his feet deserved at least some form of respect.

Gazsi threw a hand over his head as he usual did when the thoughts swirling about in his head reached a critical point. His coppery-brown eyes swept across the small village they'd spent the last day heading towards, praying they'd be able to save in time. Alas, fate hadn't been on their side, nor the side of the villagers. "As much as I'd love to dump all the work on you, nope. We'll start with the kids and elderly, then work our way up."

Even if they were surrounded by mutilated bodies and broken-down homes, Robin cracked a smile. "And if they're in pieces?"

The Iranian Master had already taken his first steps forward when he answered. "You know the drill, just don't get too freaky with them."

Neither the Iranian nor Englishman believed life was fair, if there was a god in this new world then the utterly decimated village they'd come across was proof he or she was just as uncaring and cruel as the one that ruled their home world. In a dark, twisted way, that brought comfort to their hearts if only because it meant this strange new world wasn't that different from their own. Then again, that thought itself could have been called depressing.

Based on the aftermath they concluded the slaughter couldn't have lasted any more than ten minutes, nor had it been a while since the sixty or so villagers were murdered in cold blood. The near omnipresent pools of blood were illuminated by the dusky light of the sun penetrating through a layer of gray clouds. Not to mention as Gazsi and Robin quickly discovered, the blood on the remaining bodies was still fresh, oh so disgustingly fresh.

The villagers hadn't just been mutilated, they'd been eaten. Realizing that the two concluded the legendary predator of the forest had passed through, and they'd been too late to stop it. As his Master instructed, Robin used his druidic powers to stitch the bodies back together where he could so at least partially whole bodies could be placed into hastily dug graves. Stabbing his right fist into the ground, he sent a surge of natural magic into the earth causing an eight-foot mass of green vines to sprout forth. From its giant veins were several dozen window-sized thick green leaves the pair used to wrap up the bodies.

"Glad to see your druid magic still works." Gaz muttered, ripped off several leaves and watching in silent amazement as they were quickly replaced in a few short seconds.

"It doesn't just work, here I'd almost say it's been super-charged." Placing his hand flat against the ground, he took a moment to note the surging waves of natural energy beneath his fingers. It was crazy really, all Robin had to do was breath in and he felt his body begin to passively absorb energy, and the earth replenishing that energy at light-speed. Robin almost wished they'd encountered more than just half-ass bandits and wild animals so he could truly test out how powerful he was in this new world. An evening wind blew through the desolated village filling the English Servant's nostrils with the stench of blood and gore. As quickly as the boastful thoughts came to him, the gore-filled wind killed them.

Gaz said nothing at the statement, filing it away into the back of his mind for when it would be needed. No doubt when they encountered another Master-Servant team they'd need such an advantage.

It was after he'd wrapped up three more bodies did he feel the hairs on the back of his necks stand on end. Eyes wide and alert, he looked to Robin finding a similar alarmed expression on his face. Gazsi's mouth opened yet not a single word came out; the reason for that being red-haired Asian standing behind him. Though his hands were concealed in the folds of his sleeves, Gazsi knew in the span of a second one of those hands could form a fist that could be driven through his skull or chest, and he'd be alive just long enough to feel a split second of pure agony.

"It seems like you two, we arrived a moment too late." Stated the Demon Fist Master, heaving a sigh at the carnage before him. "You have my respect for at least tending to the dead."

"Respect from an assassin like you? Wow, you know this has been a wild day." Chuckled the legendary archer, heedlessly of the silencing glare his Master was shooting him.

"For the record, while I am a professional killer who's taken more lives than he can count, I do have a code. That code does not include the butchery of no-name men and women, much less children." Fired back Li Shuwen, giving his fellow Servant a glare telling him rather than his Master he'd be the one he'd go after if pressed. "Like you two, we were on the trail of that mad dog and his so-called Master. Unfortunately, they're crafter than they look."

"Well, what exactly did you expect? It's not like Stefano became one of the top ten most wanted criminals because of harmless hacking." It was moments like this another reason for the partnership between the resistance fighter and archer became apparent - both couldn't avoid making wise cracks, even at the people holding their lives in their hands.

Catching the attention of Team Mokri was clapping, the kind of amused clapping both men had come to loathe. Jointly their heads they found a figure approaching them. The closer it got, the more physical traits they could take in starting with the female figure. Her skin was a similar brown color to Gazsi's, only perhaps a shade lighter while her hair was just as curly as his and equally as curly with the exception it had been done up in a ponytail. The woman's coconut brown eyes went back and forth between the resistance fighter and archer, a smile slowly forming along her flawless face.

"Why am I not surprised you two managed to find trouble, really, I'd say it's practically a personal Skill for the both of you!"

"Hey, we went looking for trouble, but it took off without us leaving us here to clean up the aftermath." Gaz muttered, beginning to sweat a great deal due to the fact Li was still towering over him. One word from his Master and his life was over, and since this was a real world of flesh and blood there weren't going to be any redos. "Uh, Blanca, not that I'm not happy to see you here but-"

"Li, would you be kind enough to make some graves for these people? By my account there should be about seventy or so." The Spanish woman sighed, waving her hand. The redheaded martial artist silently nodded his head before literally disappearing in a flash of dust. Gazsi practically fell face forward into the dirt, a series of Iranian and Iraqi curses slipping from his mouth. "You know, I kinda wish I let that go on. It's been a while since I had a good laugh."

"Sorry, you want something funny, it isn't coming at my expense." Muttered the twenty-four year old male.

Neither the resistance fighter nor the archer questioned the bounty hunter joining them in their grim activities, they only took slight notice of the suddenly changes that had happened to her over the near two weeks they'd been transported to this new world. Immediately evident was the fact she'd switched out the clothing of the Moon Cell for local wear-black sandals that everyone in this world seemed to wear with a pair of dark blue pants and a kimono-like blouse held together by a red sash. What caught both men's attention though, was the red-lined scroll that hung attached to backside. Based on what they'd seen and learned so far this was a world inspired by ancient Japan, from there they'd easily been able to categorize a list of things to be weary of, and oversized scrolls were one of them.

As the three did the dirty deed of wrapping up the murdered villagers, Li Shuwen found a decent patch of earth to serve as a mass burial. As a man who was practically death's personal attendant coming upon a scene of massacre wasn't unusual for him. What was slightly unusual was using his superhuman strength to dig grave, scratch that, he wasn't digging graves, more like punching them into existence. A single moment of concentration followed by a quick jab and a small mountain of earth went flying. He repeated the process nearly a hundred times over in silence until all he was sure he'd made enough for all the villagers. It almost seemed as soon as he created the last grave, he heard the sound of footsteps and looked over to find Robin Hood carrying a body wrapped in green leafing in his arms.

The moment his eyes met with those of the archer, a silent agreement was made between the two. For the moment there would be a truce, there would be no more blood spilled in this village.

Night had fallen by the time group of four had finished their self-appointed duty. A football field's worthy of earthen dumps, a sight each of the four had seen in some way shape or form during their lifetimes. Blanca stepped forward before the mass grave clapping her hands together in silent prayer. Watching her, Gazsi shot an invisible look in his Servant's direction asking him if he were to join her. A somber look came across the orange-haired Archer's face, though he refrained from saying anything. Once more, he placed his hand flat against the soil and willed the earth to respond. Before the eyes of the three, a set of flowers sprouted from the burial mounds of each villager. Li Shuwen gave a wayward glance at the archer, yet he too said nothing, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself.

None of the group held much reservation about using one of the homes as their own for the night. If it was disrespectful then they'd deal with the karma later on. Before a fire in a living room they sat, Gazsi and Robin on one side while Blanca and Li sat on the other. The cackling fire illuminated all their faces while cooking the collection of skewered rabbits placed before the blaze.

"You've gotten awful good with those scrolls." Gaz spoke, motioning to the green scroll which she'd used to produce the mammals that were now cooking. He'd watched with keen eyes as she unrolled the scroll, revealing a set of Japanese writing then made an odd hand sign before slamming her palm downwards. In a few poofs of smoke appeared their dinner for the night.

"Hey, you either learn fast or die. You of all people should know that better than anyone." Was the Spanish woman's response. "So, you guys were looking for Hakuno and Tamamo, or were you tracking Stefano and B.B.?"

"A little bit of both, actually." The younger male answered, leaning back on his palms. "Truth is we've actually been trying to hook up with anyone while avoiding the likes of Kenelm and Ryma. As you can see, it hasn't exactly worked out."

"Don't suppose either of you would be kind enough to tell us if you've seen any of our merry band of misfits, have you?" Robin asked with a sweet smile, fully expecting to be given a sarcastic if not downright malicious answer.

"We encountered only two other Master-Servant pairs since arriving." Li spoke, somewhat surprising the two. "One of them there were Imre and Rhydderch who very much has the same goal as you two-finding Hakuno Kishinami and Tamamo. The other pair made an attempt on our lives, forcing us to act."

"So that's one team down already." Summarized the Iranian, hiking up his leg. "Do either of you have any idea how many of us were caught up in the warp?"

"Not a clue." Blanca answered in a sing-song voice. "We'd just made it past the outer rim when the core decided to send us on the interdimensional express here to wonderland." Reaching forward, she took a hold of one of the skewers and blew over it. "Gazsi, the warp enveloped everything from the inner sanctum outwards, or at least, that's what I think happened. You know what that means, right?"

"It means we get to repeat the Holy Grail War." Came Robin's laid-back voice followed by him physically reclining onto his back. "About fifty or so Masters and Servants being sent to an alternate world with little to no idea how to get back, oh and half the lot are crazy as cave bats. Among those number is a genocidal fox demon, a vengeance-obessed Greek goddess, a mad emperor, and the overgrown flea-bag that butchered these people and his serial-killer Master."

"Hmph, if I didn't know any better I'd say you sound scared, Archer of Sherwood." Li spoke in an unapologetically mocking tone. "Where has all that courage that allowed you to fight your way to the heart of the core while I was stuck on the outer rim? Is it that without the likes of Arash and Abhimanyu you no longer have the strength needed to push forward?"

Reaching back up, Robin took his skewer and replied in a voice completely devoid of malice or bravado, "As far as Archers go, let's be honest, I'm bottom of the barrel. Compared to those two, 'fraid I come up short."

Leaning forward, Gazsi spoke, "Out of curiosity, Blanca, you wouldn't happen to be interested in trading Servants, would ya'?"

"You realize I can poison you in your sleep, right, Master?" Countered the Englishman, taking more bites out of his skewer.

Looking to her Assassin Servant, Blanca broke out into laughter seeing the near blank-look on Li Shuwen's face. That alone cemented her answer to the proposal. "No dice, I'll stick with my red-headed death machine! As for you, come on, Robin! Shape up a little, sure you can't fire hundreds of arrows in a single burst, or a single arrow capable of blowing up a mountain top, or possess a stupidly powerful army-leveling attack, but you're resourceful! I'm sure you'll find a way to be useful!"

Rolling onto his side, the light skinned male gazed at his Master. "How come you can't be that supportive?"

"Cause last I checked, Hakuno's the one who had a ring on his finger." He stoically answered before turning his gaze back to Blanca and Li. Slowly the humor in his eyes evaporated, leaving behind a cold seriousness fit for the battlefield. "You two know we're going to try to hook back up with Hakuno and Tamamo after we've found and caught B.B. and Stefano. Moon Cell or not, we can't allow those two to go roam free. Should I expect any sneak attacks?"

Blanca and Li exchanged dry stares before looking back to the freedom fighter.

"Luigi's the one who took the contract on Tamamo's head, not us. We've got bigger fish to fry." Blanca waved off before focusing her eyes. "Just remember, here, we're all flesh and blood, for the likes of Stefano, B.B., Cyncus, and Caligula that's reason to be more sadistic than they already are."

"On another note, it's not like the pair have anything to worry about from him and Hassan." Stated the Demon Fist. Hearing that, Robin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to which the Chinese Servant scoffed. "Greater men than that cloak-wearing shadow-man have tried and failed to bring those two to Diyu, myself included. They will not fall for Cursed Blade's little sword trick, especially after already overcoming it twice."

Grinning, Gazsi took the opportunity knowing it might cost him an arm or an eye. "I'll make sure to tell Hakuno and Tamamo that when I see them. I'm sure they'll love to hear it."

The rest of the meal continued in silence until each of the four were full and ready to retire for the night. When morning came they'd go their separate ways and if their paths crossed again, well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it respectively.

After the fire was put out, Blanca and Li made their way across the street to the house adjacent of the one they'd dined in. A similar courtesy to Team Mokri that might or might not be repay in the future.

Without warning, Blanca froze in place before falling to her knees in a violent coughing fit. Her Assassin fell with her, wrapping his arm around her in a show of safety. Blanco coughed and hacked into her palms feeling as if she were about to expel her inwards in a violent upchuck. Li remained by her side until the coughing fit ended, his face showing visibly worry for the first time.

Blanca withdrew her hand to find her tanned skin had been stained red with blood. Seeing it, her mouth formed into a steely frown. "Heh, Scorn really put some work into that virus of hers, didn't she? We travel across dimensions and that stupid virus she cooked up is still active."

"Master, if this world is indeed based on that of the feudal era, then maybe we can…"

In spite of the lingering pain in her chest Blanca laughed, "You know, for a cold-blooded killer, you're awfully kind when you want to be, you know that?"

Quickly looking away, the Spanish woman caught the faint blush playing at the Chinaman's pale skin. "Regardless of the world, I am still your Servant and protecting you is part of my job." Perhaps to illustrate he helped her rise to her feet, never once letting go of her until he felt Blanca could stand on her own. "While passing through the last village I heard talk of a woman, a so-called 'slug princess' with miraculous healing powers."

Blanca wiped the already drying blood from her lips. She didn't like the idea of going off on a wild guess chase, but she didn't like the idea of dying a slow and miserable death via magic virus either. "Eh, tell me about it in the morning, for now, I need my beauty sleep."

In the desolate house where a couple might have lived, Gazsi turned over in his bed while Robin lay perched on a nearby couch. Both knew the other was awake.

"You think they're alright?" the human spoke.

"If the Moon Cell couldn't kill them, I doubt this place will. As much as I can't believe I'm saying this, Gaz, have a little faith in our fox and your barādar."

Reaching into his back pocket, the young adult pulled out the last photo their rag-tag team had taken before setting out for what they believed was the final battle. Center in the picture was Hakuno being hugged by an extremely exuberant Tamamo to his right. To his left, Gazsi himself leaning on his shoulder, a lazy smile contrasting to the Japanese's teen's gentle smile. Wherever you are, just be safe, and keep that fox of yours out of trouble. Thought the freedom fighter. He had no idea what dangers this world possessed, but he knew Hakuno already had enough people gunning for him and his Caster. This may have been a new world, but their old world wasn't done with them yet, not by a long shot.


First order of business, Naruto's intelligence. Given Tamamo's self-proclaimed title of "Good Wife and Wise Mother" I decided with her watching over him Naruto's intelligence would take a few steps upward. Though he's still something of a late bloomer having a former courtesan/witch mother can help remedy that. That said, he's still going to lag a little behind the more book-smart characters such as Sakura and Shikamaru.

The sweets shop-as stated this chapter Tamamo's at least willing to open a little of herself up if it means supporting her family. Plus, I sorta see cooking as being her stress revealer. The "family business" is going to get bigger as the Kishinami family grows in size and reputation.

Next chapter will be all about the other Master-Servant teams that made the trip. Remember what I said about certain characters not appearing as you know them.