Hey, everyone! Officially, this chapter is the first one of the fall so things will be starting off a tad bit light. Just a quick recap of the last chapter, things went off-script and Hakuno fought off a Master-Servant duo right outside the Hidden Leaf…and won! Now we've got fall-out and some foreshadowing for future disas-I mean plots. Enjoy!

I do not own anything.


Fox Tails and Whirlpools

Chapter 20 - Keep Yourself Alive


Her mother always told Karin that she was a curious person. She didn't think so, she was skittish and prone to running away, but there were times where she could see where her mother had a point. Karin did have a somewhat natural curiosity about things, especially things she'd never seen before.

The mysterious dark-skinned man who'd blown into her village with his "Servant" and saving them all had definitely grabbed her curiosity. Grabbed it hard and from the looks of things wasn't going to be letting go.

He wasn't the loudest snoring she'd ever heard, but it did echo throughout the office very much solidifying the drain the back-to-back operations had taken on him. Karin hadn't seen them all, but she'd seen the results; she'd seen tears of joy and relief and tears of sorrow as loved ones passed from this world. From what she'd gathered, the former outweighed the latter, if only by a slight margin. To her, that was nothing short of amazing. He healed so many people, and he did so without having to demean his own life force as her mother had to. Speaking of her, she'd never seen her so full of life and vigor. All it did wonders in driving away from the despair and sense of failure that lingered within Karin.

Ryūzetsu, thought the young redheaded girl with deep sorrow on her face. Was the pale-haired girl alive or dead? Had she escaped? Would she one day return to seek vengeance on the Hidden Grass Village for selling out her entire family to a pair of psychopaths to save the majority? If she did so, Karin didn't think she'd hold it against her, nor did she think she'd be able to raise a kunai blade against her shortly-known friend. She shuddered to think of that day coming, especially after the one she'd lived through had easily left her traumatized for life. It was only a miracle she'd escaped relatively unharmed, unlike hundreds of others around the village. Practically all of it could be owed to the brown-skinned doctor currently slumbering the evening away not ten feet from her.

He'd earned his right to a long rest after treating near half the village from pretty much every fatal injury imaginable. While he hadn't been able to save them all, Damon Wyss had certainly tried his hardest. That was enough to earn the village's gratitude. That, and his "Servant", Saber, was guarding the village against any other nasty "visitors" that decided to stop by.

After all that, Karin could say that the strange pair had grabbed her curiosity. Something within Karin nipped at her, telling her to learn more about them. Personally, she'd rather know more about Damon than "Saber", while he had saved her and Ryūzetsu's life, the man still came off as incredibly frightening, even when he wasn't fighting. In a word, he was cold.

Damon wasn't cold at all; he was bright and warm like a fireplace. Karin could sense that the moment she'd met him, when she'd flung herself into her mother's arms and he looked close to shedding tears of joy at the reunion.

Quietly, her eyes fell on the brown leather bag that lay at the far right side of his desk. In the midst of all his work, it'd ended up pushed to the side, so close to the edge it was practically in danger of falling off. It wasn't like Karin wanted to see all that lay within, maybe just a little peek that was all. Things immediately went south as she reached for it to push it over the table, only to miserably fail and watch as the bag fell to the ground, splattering folders and papers out onto the floor. Karin shrieked, then cursed herself in realizing she'd just made even more noise to awake the sleeping Master. Slamming her eyes shut, she waited for the inevitable reaction.

It never came.

Popping one eye open, she turned around and found Damon had stirred, but was asleep none the same. He was mumbling something about people named Tamamo and Kintoki. Karin waited another second before she began to move again.

She couldn't even begin to make sense of what had been written down on the documents, though some of the diagrams and pictures on them gave her a slight clue. There were human outlines, then outlines and skeletal structures of…creatures Karin didn't even know the name of. And something told her she didn't want to know the names of. What caught her mind though was the edges of a colored photograph that stuck out from the inside of the bag. Curiosity seizing her, she grabbed the corner of the page and pulled.

Karin had heard that Damon was searching for his brother, a man named Franklin. Looking at the photo, she realized that Franklin was his twin brother as he stood opposite the doctor, a tan-skinned woman between the two of them. The differences between the pair were rather obvious - Franklin's expression was one of a wide smile, one arm wrapped around the woman while the other was pumped in the air, a sleeveless undershirt with the number "24" printed upon it. Also, his hazel-colored eyes were brimming with life and joy in sharp contrast to the subdued but still noticeable smile on Damon's face. Standing beside Franklin was a massive, shirtless figure with golden hair and a pair of shades. He was flashing the "V for victory" sign. Karin quickly deduced this person to be Franklin's "Servant", just as Saber was Damon's.

She took an immediate liking to Franklin's Servant as just from the photo, she could tell the supernatural being was one of warmth and kindness.

Turning her eyes to the woman, the young redhead noted how both brothers had their arms wrapped around her shoulders, and she didn't seem to mind. The Wyss Brothers surpassed her in height by a few inches, her black hair tied back in a tight brand that reached all the way down to her waist. Like the rest of the group, even Munisai, she was smiling in joy at the camera.

Who is this woman? Wait a minute…could she be…is she Damon's-

"Ah, quite the nosey little maiden, aren't you? Can't quite say I'm surprised, that red hair of yours is a clear indicator of trouble." Came a gruff voice that caused Karin to quite literally jump a foot off the ground.

"A-AH!" A hand caught her by the scuff of her shirt. It didn't take much thinking to recognize the voice and place who it belonged to. Slowly, the young Uzumaki turned her head around and found herself staring at the whiskered face of Saber, aka, Shinmei Munisai. "I-I-I wasn't peeking! I swear! I was just-"

"I do not care what is it you were doing, just…be mindful of that photo." Declared the swordsman, his left hand holding fast to the photograph. His eyes weren't as harsh as they were before, but they were still pretty scary. "Now you know what Damon's brother looks like. Believe it or not, but he's bigger than my Master, but…his heart is pure, much like Damon's is." Concluded the veteran warrior with a steady sigh. All Karin could do was stare at the noticeable affection in the harden man's face.

A yawn reached the ears of the pair, causing them to turn back to the desk. The subject of their discussion had awoken. "Woah, you're showing your soft side. That makes this whole day even more worth it. Karin, congrats, you just saw a fraction of the softer side of the Unrivaled Under the Sun." Smiled the dark-skinned man, causing the redhead to blush.

Said man quickly dropped the little girl and vanished in an array of golden particles that completely mesmerized the Uzumaki girl. She mumbled an apology to the Master, who softly shrugged it off telling her he didn't mind the mess.

"Um, your…your brother looks just like you." Karin nervously said, unsure of how to broach the topic.

Damon laughed. "Twins usually do look alike, though past the looks sometimes they can be total opposites. Or at least, that's how it goes for my brother and myself. Fun fact, having twins is something of an on and off again trait of the Wyss Family, or shall I say, the Wyss bloodline. When me and my brother were born, my dad said that we pretty much ensured the family bloodline would go on strong. He told us both to not be shy and try for two sets of twins." That got a laugh out of the glasses-wearing girl. Telling one pair of twins apart could be difficult, but two pairs would likely leave the average person's brain in a scrambled state.

"That big guy by your brother," she began. "Is he…your brother's Servant?"

"Yep, we call him Kintaro. He's one of the Four Heavenly Kings, a group of four uber-strong warriors who served a legendary warrior named Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Unlike my Servant, Kintaro's a Berserker, one with a really cool ability. Wanna hear it?" Expectedly, the girl leaned forward, her interests peaked. Damon smiled while waving his left index finger, a light green glow emitting from the tip. "He can turn into one of those."

Spinning on her heel, the redhead yelped in shock as she found herself face-to-face with a holographic dragon hovering before her. Karin fell back, hitting Damon in the process, who laughed as he twirled his finger about causing the dragon to twist and turn. It released a cloud of illusionary fire before soaring to the ceiling and vanishing.

"He can turn into a dragon?! A real live dragon?! Dragons exist in your world!? That's so awesome!" Exclaimed the young Uzumaki, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. "You gotta let me meet him! Will he let me ride him? What color are his scales? Can he reach the top of the skies!"

"Tell you what, when I see him again, I'll ask him. Or you can ask himself, but I've got a warning for you. While Kintaro is one of the strongest guys you'll ever meet…" Leaning in close, he whispered into her ear. "He's kind of an idiot, which makes him a good match for my brother, who's kind of an idiot himself."

That too got a laugh out of the little girl, the foreign doctor joined her in laughter as well. The quiet office was now filled with the soft rumbling of laughter. It continued, on even as the stomachs of the two humans rumbled in unison. That caused a third voice to join them.

"Seems like I dropped by at just the right time." Giggled Momo Uzumaki, flashing her daughter a knowing look that caused her to blush. Upon seeing her, Damon tried to straighten up. Given his visibly cluttered state and ink imprints on his cheek, it was a failing attempt. "Damon, I know the village's willing to put out a feast for you…but how would you like to join me and Karin for dinner? And Saber as well?"

Clear enough to be seen, the mustached samurai appeared at the side of his chuckling Master, his form translucent. Naturally, his arms were crossed and he had a look of annoyance on his face.

"Um, I'd…it-"

"Please, I insist." Pressed the older Uzumaki. "Trust me, I can take a good look at you and tell the whole honor feast isn't really your thing."

"Plus," Karin pipped in with a smile. "My mom makes the best butajiru soup you've ever tried! Um, quick question, have you ever had butajiru?"

A moment of thoughtful silence encased the brown-skinned wizard. He looked up to the ceiling with a near mystified expression, a thin smile tugging at his lips before blossoming into a soft upward curve. "Actually, don't suppose I have. If I may, I look forward to sampling it at your hands, Ms. Momo."

"Please, just call me Momo." Waved off the older redhead.

Clean up after that went surprisingly fast. The lights were flipped off and everything was tucked away to be used again when dawn broke and Damon returned to work. Outside, the stars were out, serving as small but visible beacons of hope to the batter village. One was able to look up and see them without the glow of building fires, forest fires, or smoke columns. Only time would tell how long such peace would last.

It took the light of the stars shining on Karin for her to work up the courage to ask her next question. Though young, she'd learned quite well when to watch her words around her elders. The lesson hadn't been easy, or at all pleasant. "U-Um, M-Mr. Damon, i-if it's alright…um, who was that woman in the picture? Was she your…"

The blush that came to the doctor's cheeks was compounded by the sadness that flickered in his eyes. Momo caught it and immediately sympathized with the younger man. As she thought, the mysterious stranger had seen his fair share of grief. Still, he looked at the little girl with a gentle smile. "She was a…good friend, someone who helped me out when I lost my way. Her name was Sarnai," a humorous laugh slipped past his lips and his nose wrinkled. "In her native language, it meant 'rose'." His head fell back, as if he were recalling the sweet aroma of the woman who'd stolen his heart. "She's gone to a place that I…can't go to, not yet. In the meantime though, I've got people here I have to look after. Heh, sorry if that sounds a bit arrogant of me. I-I'm not trying to hype myself up or anything."

"Quite the contrary, hearing that proves that our village did indeed get lucky becoming a place for you to visit." Laughed Momo. "If I may, is one of these people you believe you have to look after your brother?"

"Naturally," laughed the African-American male. "Franklin's…well, trouble finds him like a dog finds a bone. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to pull his ass out of the fire…granted, he's helped pull mine out of the fire as well. That's part of being a family."

Karin decided then was the time to speak up. The strange doctor seemed lax enough, he was in a talkative mood to answer her questions. "If your brother's prone to getting into trouble, are you worried about him?"

"I am worried…but I've…I've had to acknowledge, realize that Franklin is old enough to handle himself." His walking came to a stop as his gaze turned skyward, where the stars hung above the heads of mere mortals such as himself. "Sarnai once told me something, something very important that I needed to hear. So long as you and the person you care about are still alive, so long as you both walk under the same sky, there's a chance you'll meet again," With a carefree smile he hadn't worn in months, he looked back down to the little redhead. "So keep yourself alive until you can meet that special someone again. It's not always easy, but doable. In fact, there's this one guy I know, a good friend, who's pretty good at surviving. In fact, I'd say he's the best."

"So does that mean you're not worried about him?" Questioned Karin.

"Not quite," Damon laughed. "He gets into trouble like you wouldn't believe, especially since his Servant is-"

"A harlot of the highest order." Came Munisai's voice. Given his unseen presence, his gruff words caused the young Uzumaki to jump and instinctively cling onto her mother, who quickly placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

The mother looked at the wizard with a growing smirk. "I take it that means this friend of yours has gotten good at getting himself out of trouble since it so often finds him?"

"Definitely! As Saber said…his Servant can be a…handful, comes with being a Japanese Heroic Spirit." Damon laughed. "Luckily, Hakuno's about as tough to keep down as they come. Whatever trouble Tamamo lands them in, they're able to find a way out, and guide others into doing so. Something tells me when I meet up with them, they'll have some stories to tell."

What Damon didn't say, what he didn't want to say, was rather or not the stories would be ones of joy or tales of horror and sorrow. Knowing the luck of his fellow Fox Catchers, it would likely be a mix.


Hakuno could tell it was night time before his eyes could even begin to flicker open. Immediately, he knew it was because of the Corona within him. It was a piece of the moon, and no matter the dimension, it would resonate with Earth's natural satellite if it existed. As he slowly clawed his way back to consciousness, his mind struggled to piece together his last moments before going under. It all came flowing back to him like an unblocked river.

Comstock.

Kabaiel.

The fight.

The victory.

The weak apology he muttered to Tamamo as his body finally gave out on him.

A chance to properly apologize presented itself as the first thing he noticed was her pink hair and foxy ears laying on his chest. He could feel Tamamo's breathing. He saw her ears twitch as he took his first breaths, alerting her to the fact he was now awake. They rose together, in unison just as partners were supposed to act.

He could tell Tamamo had been crying. Hakuno felt his heart twist itself into a painful knot as her golden-yellow eyes shimmered in relief.

"I'm sor-ooph!" In retrospect, he should have seen the hug coming, his Servant was perhaps the most physically affectionate person he knew. After a brief stint in the darkness, Hakuno was happy to be able to feel her warmth again. Without any other forethough, he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around her waist. Glistening tears touched the nape of his neck as he attempted to calm her down. "I'm so sorry, Tamamo."

"You'd…you'd…you'd better be!" Even if the anger wasn't anywhere close to biting, it was still very much there, mixed in with the sadness. Hakuno actually felt happy for hearing it. He deserved to be shouted at, yelled at, for the crazy stunt he pulled, especially from one of the two people it would have most affected. What felt like a lifetime ago, Tamamo would have tried to brush off her justified anger, saying that it didn't matter and that she was happy he was safe. She was happy he was alive and safe, but that didn't mean that the ordeal hadn't been trying. "I was…I was…do you have any idea how scared I was? How terrified I was when I felt that shock? That impulse? To know that not only weren't you there with me and Naruto, but that you were fighting? A Master and a Servant?" She pressed, pulling back and looking at him with eyes that glistened with unshed tears.

It wasn't like he hadn't fought Servants before, quite the contrary. He had fought Heroic, and Anti-Heroic, and Villainous, and outright Divine Spirits, and he'd either walked away or actually won.

But there's always been a cost. Hakuno had learned no one walked away from a battle entirely unscathed. The greater the battle, the greater the scars that would be left behind. Not all scars were physical; the worst scars were actually mental, spiritual.

He himself could attest to that dark fact.

Her hand rose to wipe away some of the tears that had begun to fall. A sad smile found its way to her face. "Still, that was a pretty impressive shikigami you made; it even managed to fool me of all people."

Hakuno couldn't fight back the laugh or the smile that graced his lips at her praise. At the very least, his body wasn't hurting like he'd just tried bench pressing a mountain. If anything, he just felt drained, but thanks to the presence of the woman before him, that problem was being remedied. "Well, I've lived and fought alongside a damn good magical teacher who's been kind enough to teach me a few tricks."

"Hehe, hearing that makes me wonder just how many of my tricks have you picked up, Hakuno." Laughed the Caster before more tears began to fall. "You know that you could have gotten yourself killed, right? Of all the rotten bastards to face, you had to run into Comstock first?"

"Well, you gotta admit, it's not unexpected," Wistfully replied the human. "Like Damon said, I'm the bone and danger's the dog that always finds me and gnaws me until I'm covered in drool and spit."

Tamamo's nose wrinkled at the comparison as it always did. "Then as I told you, it is my job to drive that mutt away, back into the foul hole that it crawled out of!" In spite of being canine herself, the foxy Caster never really did like dogs, common household dogs in particular. Given her history, could one blame her? "Besides, it's not like you're some decrepit piece of calcium to be munched on! You're so much more than that! You're…you're…gah! Now I've lost track of myself! Hakuno!" Cried the foxy-eared woman before latching her arms around him. "I'm your wife, your Servant! It's my job to protect you! How can I do that when you run off without telling me! What would have happened if you hadn't been able to beat them by yourself? What would have happened if they'd…they'd…" Peace had sunken its claws into her. After close to two years of near back-to-back fighting against every sort of enemy and threat imaginable, life in the shinobi world had been…quiet, peaceful. Though they knew danger still lurked outside of the village's walls, the odd couple had grown content with their ideal life, including raising a young orphan whose fate had been anything but kind, much like their own. "If you'd…you'd…what would have happened to me and Naruto? Did that ever cross your mind?"

It was a blow that Hakuno knew was coming, but it still hurt as evidence by his visible wince. If he perished, Tamamo could form a contract with someone else, perhaps the Hokage himself, but nothing would be the same. So long as she continued to exist, Naruto would be her charge, but the young blonde would have the eternal wound of losing another father. It was a wound that odds were would never properly heal. In the end, both of them would be broken, and it'd be his fault.

There was nothing else he could say, only hold the woman he loved in silenced.

"I'd…I'd ask for you to never do that again, but we both know that you will, won't you." Came her soft voice.

Another ping of guilt raced through the male brunette. "You…really know me well, huh?"

Pulling back a little, her slitted yet teary golden eyes stared into his honey brown. A smile blossomed along her flawless face. "I'm your wife, it is my duty to know you inside and out. Which is why the next time you get yourself into trouble, I'll be there, making sure not one finger is laid on you."

He could have just let it go there, but Hakuno found he couldn't. Tamamo gave a short gasp as he sat up, his hands gripping at her hips causing her breasts to squish against his chest. Her heart nearly exploded from the embrace they'd suddenly found themselves in. While no doubt she was still angry with him, she couldn't deny that their current positions…certainly lit the sensual flame within her. Tamamo could feel her tail beginning to sway about in her "arousal pattern" as he called it. Now that the flame had been lit, it was going to be hard to put out.

The human certainly wasn't helping smother it by looking at her with those focused yet warm and firm eyes. Eyes that had stared down gods and demons. "You know that I'll do everything in my power none of them harm you, Tamamo. I may be your Master, but I'm also your husband, and if I can protect you in any way…I will." And a voice that could quell even the stormiest of waves. It sent waves of sparks rolling up her spine, all of which she was sure Hakuno could feel.

She breathed out, a hot and ecstasy-laden breath that sent his nerves blazing as well. "You want to protect me, yet I vowed to always protect you. Hehe, seems we're at yet another contradiction, Hakuno." Rising up, she looked at him with lustful, predatory eyes. "But not one we can't work through. Next time…" Her hands spread along his chest, which rose and fell in a steady rhythm. "We do it together, that way, you won't hog all the fun to-"

"Dad!"

The voice of the young jinchūriki struck the couple like a bolt of lightning, shocking them to their core. Tamamo was the first to react, jumping off of her Master and lover like a frightened cat. Hakuno, meanwhile, bolted up, his eyes darting to the door where he found his adoptive son coming upon them. Seeing him up and about, Naruto bolted across the room, flinging himself into the Master's arms. Without hesitation, Hakuno wrapped his arms around the blond, quietly whispering soothing words to him. Though still red-faced, Tamamo took after her adoptive son and joined them, wrapping her arms around her husband as well.

"Well, he seems none the worse for wear." Mused the Third Hokage, a smile growing across his face at the joyful family reunion.

"Told you all that he'd be right as rain when he woke up." Declared Chandler, a thin smile pulling at his lips. "Compared to what the kid's been through in the past, this was practically a love tap."

Both the Hokage and chunin looked at the Frenchman with worried glances. They certainly didn't doubt Chandler's words as the man clearly knew quite a bit and had seen much. That said, neither Hiruzen nor Iruka were ready to let a far off dark cloud spoil the tender moment playing out before them. Relief flooded through the both of them when they heard the lively voices of the Regalia wielder and his Servant, they knew fortune had smiled upon them. In particular, the old Hokage was worried that yet another failure would be added to his already bleak record.

Seeing their presence, Hakuno lightly nudged his family aside so he could turn to fully face Hiruzen and Iruka. His head immediately fell into a familiar bow, one that the former had seen quite often in his tenure as Hokage. It was also one that one day he was sure he'd be showing to Naruto. "Lord Hokage, Mister Iruka, I'm sorry for the trouble I forced upon you two and the village."

"You gave us one hell of a scare, but everything turned out well enough so I don't think any apologies are necessary. If anything, you certainly made my weekend lively." Waved off the scar-faced teacher. "Plus, from what I hear, you stopped a possible threat to the village before it could get too close. Albeit you did it in a pretty reckless manner."

"Yeah," Hakuno nervously laughed. "It's a bit of a bad habit of mine."

"Which odds are you aren't going to be breaking any time soon, especially now that you've got a magical energy reactor inside of you." Chuckled the green-eyed Frenchman.

Tamamo's golden eyes became feral daggers that went straight for the adult Master. All he did was roll his eyes, even as a thin layer of murderous intent was directed his way. It wasn't the first, and surely it wasn't going to be the last time, especially given the subject of their talk probably wasn't going to be changing his ways any time soon. Which of course just meant that times weren't going to be boring. At least not for too long.

"Hey, dad, who were those people you were fighting? On the way here, I heard some weird things about them. Like one of them had wings or something, like a bird-man." Spoke Naruto, drawing the attention of the room. With the fear of losing his father-figure gone, his natural curiosity had taken root.

Just as Hakuno inhaled to answer, his French counterpart beat him to the punch. "He was a member of your parents' rogues gallery."

"Rogues gallery!?"

It was hard to tell which was more surprising, the fact that Naruto was suddenly shouting or the fact that he knew what a rogues gallery was.

Hakuno and Tamamo briefly looked to one another. Considering some of the reading material their adoptive son was interested in, the latter wasn't all that shocking.

The human moved to speak first. "Well, I-I don't know if I'd call what we have a rogues gallery-"

"Kenelm and Guan Yu, Alecto and Caligula, the Kogane-Hi, The Cross Bearers, the Ristovic Brothers, Luigi and Hassan of Cursed Blade, Arina and Astrape, Elise and Glaneon, the entire Harway Family, my former employers by the way, Wassily and Hromundar, Klava and Macha, Stefano and BB, definitely Ryma and Euryale, Sakagami and Suzuka, Rost'a and Orion, and last, but beating all the previously listed by a wide margin…the Tamamo Nine." Chandler finished with crossed arms and a bemused smirk on his face. "I can list more if anyone wants."

Tamamo considered how much trouble she'd get into for splitting the French Master down the middle. Sure, Okada would be mad at her, but his fury was nothing to be concerned about. The Hokage was another matter entirely, his ire was one she wasn't very eager to arouse after all he'd done for them. Neither was Iruka's, who was looking at the Frenchman then back at them with a mixture of awe and building horror. Lastly, she didn't want little Naruto to witness such a gruesome sight, no matter how brief it may have been.

Meanwhile, Hakuno heaved out a defeated sigh. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess it does sort of sound like we have a rogues gallery, doesn't it?"

"That's…awesome!" Again, Naruto shocked the occupants of the room, this time with his…jubilation over such a dark topic. One had to wonder just how massive a change had gone on in the young blond since being adopted and given a home. "That means you two are just like the heroes in my comics! Who's your archenemy? Which one is the wimpiest of the bunch? Is it possible I'll end up fighting them one day?"

"Absolutely not!" Almost all of the men jumped at the sudden shout of the pink-haired Caster. With a stern expression, she reached across the bed and grabbed her adoptive son by the shoulders, holding him against her chest. "Naruto, should you encounter any of those people, should you even hear their names, drop everything and run! Do not attempt to fight them, do not even speak to them, especially Suzuka!" The sheets themselves nearly caught fire from the blistering heat that erupted from the fox at the mention of her most reviled rival. For the two ninja, they could tell whoever this Suzuka was, she certainly wasn't high on Tamamo's favored list. "Do you understand?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, m-mom. But…can you still tell me about them? Or how you all beat them?" Nervously questioned the young jinchūriki. His mother's reaction had been far from what he'd been expecting and he wasn't sure about continuing the topic.

His fears proved unfounded as the Caster's demeanor immediately brightened. "Ah, now those are some stories I'd enjoy telling you. The only question is where to begin, in alphabetical order or in terms of greatness."

"Ahem, as interested as I am in hearing some of those tales, I'm afraid there are other matters to be discussed." Spoke the graying-haired ninja, catching everyone's attention. While he was still young, Naruto had grown quite good at reading the mood. His face fell seeing the topic was about to turn serious again, and there was a chance what was to be discussed was going to fly over his head. One day he probably would pick up on was the fact that his adoptive parents, the people who'd filled the hole in his heart, would be in continued danger.

Getting the drift, Hakuno looked between the Hokage and his former pursuer. "I take it Comstock's sitting in a cell?"

"You did a damn good number on him. I can take a few guesses why, but there's a child present thus I'm restraining myself." His words served to only arouse Naruto's still simmering curiosity. The questions building in his mouth were held back by his mother's soft touch, a silent indicator that now was the time to listen and not talk. "Anyways, once he's conscious again, we'll see what we can get out of him. He might have been alone, but we can't take any chances there's any more Executioners in the area."

"Pardon me for asking, but are these people really that driven to…find you two? I mean, at this point, they're practically risking a major incident, not to mention taking a big risk in infiltrating a village like the Hidden Leaf." Started Iruka.

"Such things would normally be of some concern, but for a…number of reasons, my husband and I have become high-priority targets for the Church." Tamamo began, clutching Naruto out of protective instinct. "Besides, the members of the Cross Bearer Unit are the most dedicated men and women they have working for them. Even worse, quite a number of them have a distaste for Asians, though that trait is somewhat common amongst western magi and the sort."

"Basically, when Comstock wakes up, don't be surprised if the first thing he does is start insulting everyone he meets. Or talking smack about the shinobi world as a whole." Explained Hakuno with a groan. He certainly wasn't envious of the doctors treating him or the wardens who'd no doubt be guarding him. "Anyways, getting him to talk won't be easy."

"Oh, that I am sure. Luckily, we have a man who's quite good at cracking those who claim to be unbreakable." Clarified the Third Hokage.

A near childish giggle escaped from Tamamo. This earned her a somewhat aside stare from the other males in the room, including her own son, who looked at her with naked puzzlement. "Oh, forgive me, Mister Sarutobi. Suppose that's just a bit of the sadist in me delighting in a foe's pain. Whoever this torturer of yours is, I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time breaking down that so-called holy's man's iron will until he's little more than a sobbing, broken mess begging for death!"

For Chandler, this had been expected, albeit he still felt slightly unease in knowing that had things been different, Tamamo could have been referring to him. Internally, he breathed out a sigh of relief in knowing he might have escaped a dark fate. Granted, he was still staring down a fixed life because of a divine curse he had no way of breaking, only holding off. As for Hiruzen and Iruka, the two men were, understandably, a bit unnerved by the cheerfulness in the Caster's voice. While there was sometimes a tad bit of joy at the thought of torturing a captured enemy, they could both see Tamamo was giddy at the coming pain. Not that either of them particularly felt sorry for the person it was going to be visited upon, but still. Both men silently filed the sight in the back of their minds as this side of the Caster was one they were sure they didn't want to be the target of. Iruka in particular took notes as he knew for a fact should Naruto be harmed in any way by anyone…well, he heard that some women could be "evil incarnate"; he had no desire to see Tamamo no Mae Kishinami prove that saying true.

In stark contrast o the two men, Hakuno gave a short laugh at his wife's declaration. Turning back to face the three men, his expression became serious. He now knew of the enemy Master, that left the question of the Servant whom he'd subdued. "I take it Kabaiel's-"

In the quiet serenity of his hospital room, the growl of his stomach stuck out like a sore thumb. Even if there'd been thunder and rain pounding away outside, his stomach's gluttonous growl still could have been heard, quite loudly at that. Caught completely off-guard, the brown-haired teen nervously laughed while the others, including his own wife and son, burst into laughter.

"Um, is the hospital cafeteria still serving food?"

"It is while I'm here!" Boldly declared the pink-haired shrine maiden.

"Me too!" Echoed her whisker-faced son. "Just wait, dad, mom and I will be back with a full-course meal for you!"

"And I'll take that as my cue to leave now, seeing that you're still alive and I can-gah!" Just as his stomach growled, Chandler's body decided to remind him that he too had a hunger that needed to be filled. He hunched over, his hand flying to his mouth; blood splattered against his palms a moment later. When he looked back up, he saw the visible concern on Hakuno's face. Chandler couldn't help but grin. "Relax, you gave me a year's worth of that healing water so I should be good. I just came down here to make sure when that runs out, I can get some more of it."

"You know, we really should start charging you for that." Remarked the Caster.

The Frenchman looked at her with a sly smirk. "Here I was thinking Gucci and Hime were the greedy ones. Anyways, try not to get yourself into another life-or-death situation until tomorrow."

"Say hi to Okada when you see him for me!" Called the bedridden Master.

"Try to keep him on a tight enough leash." Groaned Tamamo before looking at Hakuno with a smile. "Naruto and I will be right back, with dinner. It's not exactly as I would have liked it, but it seems we will be eating out together."

"Just in a hospital instead of a restaurant…or Ichiraku's." Added the young blond with a laugh.

"Pretty sure he just meant Ichiraku's, period." Whispered the teenage Master to the old Hokage as he watched his son, wife, and the academy instructor depart. That left the two of them to have a private discussion that both men knew had been building since the former had awoken. Hakuno briefly glanced outside the window, finding a clear night sky assailed by the colorful lights of the Hidden Leaf. Through the steel and plaster, he could make the glow of the moon. In about three days, it'd be a full moon. "So, I take it Kabaiel's Penalty Box is being kept under lock and key?"

"Yes, though regarding that, Chandler called it by a different name." Began the old ninja, taking a seat beside Hakuno's bed. "I believe he referred to it as a 'Peine Boîte'."

"Same thing, that's the French, original name, of them. The rest of us just call them Penalty Boxes." Now that he was fully awake, Hakuno was more aware of the lingering pain in his side, the same side that Kabaiel had ran a plasma-forged hook blade through. It hurt like hell, but he would heal, he was healing. No doubt thanks to the Luna Corona. Sucking in a breath, he held up his right hand, a series of light-blue sparks dancing across his fingertips before a shape manifested in his hands. It was a blacken cube with purple-tinted corners. It was no bigger the center of his palm. "I take it Chandler explained to you what Penalty Boxes are, right?"

"Yes, he gave me and the Anbu a rough skim of it. Apparently, you Masters use them to confine disobedient and unruly Servants. They're quite similar to sealing scrolls and urns." Answered the goateed man as he was handed the small black cube.

"Pretty much. As life on the Moon Cell progressed, more Masters began to appear and it became something of an issue when they had Servants that would either run wild or they'd sick them on anything they didn't like. To stop that, these were created, self-contained prisons that could hold a Servant," briefly, the male brunette grimaced. "Or most of them."

Hiruzen instantly picked up on his words. "They are not airtight, are they? How long will Comstock's Caster be sealed in that box that you placed him in?"

Shutting his eyes, Hakuno decided to take a gamble and call upon the Corona's power. He was beginning to feel he was leaning too much on light show demonstrations, but he wanted to get the point across. From his hand appeared several hard-light projections of Penalty Boxes, all whom bore different designs and varied in size. The largest was roughly the size of a basketball. "Since it was known that Servants are a wide and varied bunch in terms of power, several variations were created. Some specifically to hold certain types of Servants such as those bearing Divinity like Tamamo. The one I sealed Kabaiel in was one such one. Normally, it'll hold him for about a week or so, but since I beat the crap out of him as much as I could, it might be a bit longer. It'll take him a while to recover his power before he can attempt to break out of it."

"I must ask, how exactly do these prisons work?" Pressed the village leader. "You told me a Servant requires mana from a Master to sustain themselves, but I take it these boxes work on an alternate principle. Do they supply energy to the Servant so they may remain materialized?"

"Something like that. You could say when a Servant's sealed inside of a Penalty Box, it's more like they're going into stasis, which prevents them fading away. It's not exactly a fun experience, but if you want to keep your Servant hidden or safe, it's a good idea. Or, if you want to imprison them for insubordination or to keep them out of an enemy's hands. There's a lot of different ways Penalty Boxes can be modified, but at the end of the day, they're not completely airtight. Tamamo herself could escape from an average one in a day or two given her smarts."

"The way you say that makes me think certain Servants are incapable of such a feat." Hiruzen mused.

A brief smile formed on the younger male's face. "Well, kinda. If Chandler threw Okada in one, he'd pretty much be stuck in there. Breaking out of them takes either a lot of power, or the ability to decipher a periodic break in the dimensional prison, neither of which are easy." Flexing his fingers, he created a representation of a single box, one containing a glowing sphere inside of it. The sphere glowed with greater radiance as the box around it began to show cracks. "Sometimes, it takes all a Servant's power to escape from a Penalty Box, and that could sometimes leave them drained when they come out." His fingers flexed outward, causing the box to shatter, but as it did so, the light sphere began to flicker and dim. "Say the Servant inside has lost their Master upon release and they've just used up all of their mana. Without an immediate source, they'll immediately fade away. On the other hand," Hakuno's eyes sharpened into razors as he switched his gaze over to Hiruzen. "If a Master is slain while their Servant is inside a Penalty Box, the Servant will survive and upon release, can possibly form a new contract with a new Master thus allowing them to remain manifested."

His explanation was instantly understood, and the gravity of his words was absorbed. Hiruzen now looked tat the tiny box with a miniature of curiosity and dread. Every time he learned something new about the Master-Servant system, it seemed the problems that would appear in the future grew greater. And more complex.

"How many of those boxes do you have on you now?" He quietly asked.

"Not counting the one I used on Kabaiel, I've got eleven of them. Of those eleven, only three can hold anything like a High Servant, and for some of them, I can't even guarantee it'll hold them for any longer than three days. The rest of the boxes I have are good for mid to low-level Servants." Sorrow laced his eyes as he looked at the old ninja with a resolved frown. "Mister Sarutobi, I'm grateful for everything you've done for me and Tamamo, I'm grateful that you've allowed us to adopt Naruto…but…I'm not handing over any of the three divine-type boxes to you."

A hand was raised. "I knew that would be settled once you explained the finer details of these things to me. However, I fear once news of these devices spread, it may place her and the other Servants in great danger. From what you've described, these Penalty Boxes practically allow for ownership of a Servant to change hands in an instant. Speaking of which…is it possible that you can sever the connection between Comstock and Kabaiel?"

Hakuno's frown morphed into a smile. "A sly old monkey, aren't you?"

Placing the box back in his hands, the Third Hokage gave the boy a wink and a smile. "Well, I am a ninja, we wouldn't get far without a bit of deception and underhandedness here and there. In particular, if we can bolster our forces with more friendly Servants than I'm willing to bend whatever rules I must. Especially after what happened to the Hidden Grass Village."

Hakuno winced at the mention of the calamity that had befallen the minor village. Truthfully, he was quietly pondering when would Alecto and Caligula make their way to the Hidden Leaf for him and Tamamo. In a twisted way, he was hoping that the Basilone Family had slowed her down or perhaps stopped her. That said, he found his heart ached at the thought of the broken Greek woman dying at the hands of the criminal gangster he'd unintentionally set loose upon an unsuspecting world.

While the teenager wrestled with his thoughts, the older ninja observed him. Yes, this boy still possesses a gentle heart, one that accepts tragedy, but not welcomingly. In that instant, the war veteran made his decision. "I'll leave you to rest up for the night. This certainly has been an eventual day for you so you'll no doubt need your rest." As if to reinforce his decision, the young Master's stomach gave another, equally loud growl, causing the two men to laugh in amusement. "Regardless today, you stopped a potential threat to the village, for that, you have my thanks."

Shyly, the young Master looked downward. "It's just…I don't think this is the first time that something like this is going to happen. Someone coming to the village because they're after me and Tamamo. This time we got lucky, but next time…"

"We will deal with it as it unfolds." Answered the wrinkle-faced shinobi, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Besides, we ninja are those that endure struggle and hardship, no matter where it may come. It is part of what defines us. From what I have seen, you too are one such person, so I suppose that makes you and your wife a nice fit in our world, would it not?"

At that, the teenager laughed. If there was anyone whom he believed could adjust to this new world, one of ninja and far eastern lore, it was his Servant-wife. All things considered, they'd gotten incredibly lucky, yet another running trend of theirs. His thoughts were interrupted by another growl from his stomach.

"I don't think I've ever felt this hungry before." Muttered the teen.

"I believe that might have to do with the fact you fought a major battle and likely expanded what energy you had." Hiruzen inquired. "While you've been asleep, I must tell you, we've run some tests and such on you, specifically how the Corona affects your body."

"So fights tire me out. Damn, I can already see how that's going to become a problem in the future."

Not quite. Should you continue this trend, you will adapt, as you always do.

The teen's eyebrows rose, his hand flew to his center chest, a sudden glow coming from his chest. It didn't go unnoticed by the war veteran, though any words he had on the topic were put on the back burner as he heard a familiar set of footsteps coming closer. Looking to his right, he heard the wife and son of the teenager coming toward him; to his left, he felt a familiar presence. Giving Hakuno a light smile, the war veteran took his leave, waving to the approaching Tamamo and Naruto and Iruka. Moments later and he could hear the jubilant voices of the reunited family.

"How goes the patrol, Fugaku?" Asked the Sarutobi clan member.

"So far, all is quiet, but that's what worries me if I'm being honest, Lord Hokage." Answered the head of the Uchiha Clan. To say that the day had turned eventful was an understatement. The entire village had practically been placed on red alert, though from the looks of things, the order was proving to be less than necessary. Still, everyone knew not to let down their guard. "How's he doing?"

"Bouncing back, quite fast I believe. Granted, Tamamo used a bit of her witchcraft to heal him before we even got him into the hospital, and by then the doctors said he was more exhausted than anything. I must say, Hakuno's quite a remarkable young man." Noted the senior ninja, watching for his subordinate's reaction.

Surprisingly, Fugaku laughed. This was a rare thing, seeing Wicked Eyed Fugaku so much as chuckle. Then again, even the man himself needed a breather every now and then. "You wouldn't happen to be grooming him to one day take the hat from you, would you?"

An equally humorful laugh fell from Hiruzen's lips. "With a little more training, I believe the boy could one day do the job…but his heart wouldn't quite be in it. I can tell that he wishes to live a quiet and mundane life and I have no desire to rob him of that. Besides, I highly doubt Tamamo would tolerate me stealing away her husband. I'm sure you remember how Kushina was."

The dark-haired man groaned, his mind replaying the memories of more blissful and quiet days of the past. "Is it a fox thing, or is it something else?"

"Mikoto can be a bit grouchy when you're away from home for a while. If I remember right, isn't that how-"

"Ahem!" Grunted the Sharingan-user, his face sporting a shocking pink tint while his eyebrow twitched in irritation. He could understand his leader trying to lighten the mood, but he could have chosen a different subject topic. Preferably one could he could discuss with a straight face. "Lord Hokage, if you'll excuse me, I have some duties I must attending to. Should we find anything suspicious inside or outside the village's wall, we will handle it. So far, we've been able to…limit these incidents to one per day, but I wonder how long that trend will hold."

Hiruzen wondered that too. So far, they'd gotten incredibly lucky, but such luck couldn't last forever. Word was the Hidden Stone Village had a pair of Masters and Servants themselves, albeit there was little less beyond that. The Cloud and Sand Villages had bumped up their security, and were no doubt searching. As for the Hidden Mist, it had its own internal problems to deal with, the addition of these superhuman spirits and sorcerous humans who controlled them would not bode well for the Bloody Mist.

As he walked past a window opening to the sky, the war veteran breathed out a sigh, wishing he had his pipe with him. Something inside of him was ill at ease. He'd lost track of how many times he'd felt this feeling, but it always meant one thing - trouble was just around the corner. Truly, he wished he could have retired a year earlier.


"I'm disappointed."

Chandler's eyebrow rose, that was the limit of his reaction to his British counterpart's statement. There really wasn't much else to say or give beyond that. It wasn't like he and the Templar had anything of a personal relationship. They'd ran into each other three times, and tried to kill one another without knowing that much about one another. That was business for men in their line of work.

Even without the chakra restraints on him, Comstock wasn't going to be going anywhere or hurting him. Hell, he needed help just to walk; it was clear even talking hurt based on the continued wincing of the gray-haired man. Sadly, the pain wasn't going to stop him from running his mouth. That was perfectly fine to Chandler and the others, if he was in the mood to mouth off then he'd hopefully have enough breath to tell them what they wanted to. Provided he knew anything at all.

It's been a while since I've been in this position, albeit I won't be doing the interrogating. Thought the Frenchman, lacing his fingers together. "Disappointed in me? Let me take a wild guess, for associating with any of these people? Hate to break it to you, Comstock, but in case you haven't noticed, this world is based on that of far east Asia. Primarily Japan, though there's a continent that's modeled somewhat after China, and another I believe might have traits in common with Mongolia and-"

"It's a world full of vermin!" Spat the gray-haired Master, lurching off in spite of the shooting pain in his body. His eyes widen as the agony he'd slowly been healing from hitting him in full force. Particularly, his broken right arm flared up with pain. Biting words was all the Templar operative would be able to fire off, and those would only serve to land him in hotter water. "This world…is in need of cleansing, one that my fellow Templars and myself will happily execute." Sneered the bandaged and bound Master with a venomous glare.

The former Harway operative looked unimpressive. He felt unimpressed. "Bonne chance avec ça, saint homme. In the meantime, you have committed a very serious crime. Namely, you attacked this village."

"Oh, so they've accepted Kishinami and his bitch as one of their own? Why, oh why am I not surprised?" Snorted the Englishman. "Let me guess, she has them pay tribute to them for their protection? Perhaps all the village's sake and rice for her to feed her blight of a Master, hm?"

It wasn't like he and Hakuno were best of friends. The brown-haired Japanese Master had enough friends, as did his fox Servant. Some of them would have responded to the priding. Still, Chandler felt his arm twitch. A single punch across the face, that's all he would indulge in to silence the self-righteous bastard sitting across from him. Somehow, he held himself back from that. "I'd be a bit kinder if I were you. In fact, I'd be muttering a prayer of thanks to Kabaiel, he's the only reason you're still alive."

White-hot anger flashed in Comstock's red-tinted eyes. "Give me back my Servant! Now!"

The green-eyed Frenchman shrugged. "Show some good behavior and I think they might, otherwise for all you know, Kabaiel may end up with a new Master." As he expected, that got a physical rise out of the injured man. He snapped forward in his chair, teeth bared and his eyes brimming with murderous fury. I honestly wonder if anyone's changed since we got here. Looking around him, he noticed the Anbu guards had yet to make a move. They knew they didn't have to. Hakuno had done a thorough job in making sure Chandler wasn't going to be hurting anyone for a while. "Look, I came here as a matter of professional courtesy, from one European to another."

Comstock's eyes focused on Chandler's, his aura of malice condensing but not fading. "…Tell these animals to return my Servant and when I am freed, I'll consider sparing some of their heretic lives."

The dark-haired Master looked at his British counterpart with a drool stare, then he shrugged. "Très bien." His knuckles knocked against the hardwood table several times. "Ibuki, he's all yours! Have fun!"

As he stood up, the door opened and in stepped in a tall trench-coated man wearing a durag. Briefly, he looked at the European with a small smirk.

"Take your time, this guy's not particularly high on the pecking order, but do what you can." Spoke the French Master.

"Chandler, I'll kill you!" Barked the Englishman.

"Doubtful." He waved off turning back to face the bound man. "Comstock, here's a newsflash for you, I know you may think you're the one who's going to kill Hakuno and Tamamo…but you're not. You're not their archenemy, hell, you're just a blip on the radar." Chandler wasn't the type to kick a man when he was down, but for the imprisoned Templar, he could make an exception. "If anything, my money's on Kenelm and Guan Yu, they're the ones who they'll likely face at the end of this. As for you…" Choosing to let the thought linger, he once again turned his back from the now enraged Englishman, who was at risk of reopening his wounds as he roared in incited fury. Hey, Okada, how's the patrol going, anything unusual?

By unusual you mean something that shouldn't be? Like a lowly peasant like that guy defeating an opponent fit for a genius swordsman like me?

Quickly, the pair fell into their usual routine of half-hearted argument. Behind the human half of the pair, the Leaf's most exalted interrogator found himself beginning what he felt was going to be a long and highly entertaining night.

For Haines Comstock, it was the start of what was going to be one of his worst nights in the shinobi world.


Even before he reached the meeting place, Fugaku could tell this was going to be bad. Really, any time his clansmen called an "urgent meeting", it usually meant things were about to get worse. Fate was cruel as the village was in a very precarious position at the moment, no say nothing of the ninja world which was still reeling from the shock of what had happened to the Hidden Grass Village. Most nations were at a crossroads between tightening their borders while sending out scouts to find potential allies. While months had passed, Fugaku couldn't help but notice how…odd it was that Hakuno and Tamamo had landed just right outside the village, and right into Naruto's path.

Fugaku Uchiha wasn't a sentimental man, or at least he tried not to be. Sentimentality didn't do men in his position much good. Still, a part of him wanted to think that the powers that be decided to throw the orphaned boy a bone. In light of all things, he deserved it, plus the Kishinamis had shown themselves to be far better guardians than most others could have been. Hakuno had shown himself to be a good adoptive father, far better than Fugaku himself believed he could have been.

Upon passing the genjutsu barrier, he felt his insides tighten, for more reasons than one. All of his instincts told him what he was walking into was going to be nothing short of a nightmare. Sadly, the nightmare had begun seven years ago, when a madman claiming to be his clan's most famous scion returned to supposedly exact his revenge on the village. He'd half-succeeded in killing the Hokage and his wife, orphaning their son, and sending hundreds of villagers to the hereafter. Oh, and he'd placed a massive dark cloud over the Uchiha Clan, a cloud that Fugaku knew was filling with rain and would soon burst with lightning. Entering the moderately-sized hut, he realized that the burst had already happened. He'd simply missed it.

"Ah, you finally made it. This means we can finally get started." Spoke Yashiro, began taking a single step forward, arms crossed. If he had anything to say about Fugaku's visibly surprised face, then he kept the words to himself. "I suppose I should introduce who our…new associate is."

Said associate gave something of a humorless chuckle. "I believe what your man means to say is, meet your new 'weapon'. While I'm not really one for formality, I suppose I'll give it a shot this time. I've heard stories of you, Wicked Eye Fugaku. As far as potential lords go, I suppose you're not so bad, you're at least preferable to those Italian bastards who formerly held my leash." Reaching over, he took a swing of a full bottle of wine, not a glass or cup, a full bottle. Just from a single glance, Fugaku could tell it was some high-priced liquor.

The war veteran's mind jumped to a remark made by Chandler when he and Hakuno were listing some potential Servants for the village to be wary of. "Irish, dear Lord, be wary of the Irish. Not only are they all absolute battle maniacs, but they're drunks! Just set so much as a cup near them and I promise you, they'll be ringing your neck demanding more!" He had no idea why that particular discussion popped into his head, but the more he looked at the Servant seated at the table, surrounded by his clansmen, he began to understand. Hakuno had shown him rough images of what warriors from his world looked like. Being the type of person he was, Fugaku had memorized as many of the details as he could for when the inevitable clash came.

He was far more muscular than any of them, not to mention more visibly scarred, the most prominent one being a jagged branching line that ran across the bridge of his nose to his left cheek, which was paralleled by another smaller one on the bottom. The rest of his exposed upper body was quite similar, scars that Fugaku deduced must have came from beasts and men wielding weapons. Not all of his body was scarred, but it was marked in another way. His right biceps were rimmed with blue tribal tattoos whose meanings he couldn't even begin to decipher. Equally so, the left held similar markings stretching all the way up to his bare shoulder. Hanging around his neck were a number of necklaces made from a mixture of bone and gemstone, which glistened in the candle-lit lighting.

Having finished the entire bottle, the superhuman rather gentle placed it down on the table before standing up. Fugaku admittedly did a double-take. Of all the known heavy-hitters, he had to place the Cloud's current Raikage as perhaps the tallest and most imposing man in the land. That title had just been taken by this newcomer, who stood at an eye-popping six feet five, maybe even six-six, with all the muscle and scars one would expect of a veteran warrior. His inky-black hair possessed a certain shine to it unlike Fugaku's and those of his clan. They matched unsettlingly well with his bronze-colored eyes, eyes that zeroed on the clan leader; they were judging him, sizing him up.

"You're probably where the hell I come from...Well, you've heard of that little mess in the…what was it, Grass Village? I was with the Basilone Mafia." That short description caused Fugaku's heart to skip a beat. The Servant saw that and promptly let out a hearty laugh that boomed within the small cabin. Nobody else was laughing. "Relax! That was then, this is now! See, thanks to that little pigeon Kishinami swatted, my Master's gone, or shall I say, my previous Master."

That one statement caused all the dots to connect in Fugaku's head. A mental image of the scene played out before him, and as it did, silent anger swelled within him. For the first time, he turned to his fellow Uchiha, his glare icy and promising them a tongue lashing and perhaps more once the opportunity presented itself. For a response, Yashiro merely glared back at him, his face one of stony resolve. It appeared Fugaku wasn't going to have to look far to find the mastermind of this latest violation of his authority.

Actually, with the arrival of this giant of a man, he seriously wondered how much authority he had left.

Perhaps sensing his growing anger, the nameless Servant spoke up again, catching Fugaku's attention. "Though I'm not exactly a fan of coups, I'm a guy who happens to be good at destruction, and killing beasts. That foxy Caster, she's got a beast attribute which makes her vulnerable to my Beast Killer Skill."

"Beast Killer?" Repeated Fugaku, dread was blossoming inside of him, and he knew exactly why. It took a considerable amount of willpower to keep him from activating his Mangekyo Sharingan and burning Yashiro to a crisp on the spot.

"Yeah, Beast Killer, it's a Skill that ideal for fighting enemies that fall under the 'beast' category, including these Tailed Beasts that I've heard about." If Fugaku's heart didn't skip a beat before, it certainly did after hearing that. "Can't say I'm well-known, at least not when compared to the Hound of Ulster or Fionn, but I can still cause some gruesome enough carnage on my own. My claim to fame is killing beasts of various shapes and sizes, with this." Just as Tamamo and Okada were able to summon their weapons, so too was this newcomer. The weapon he summoned confirmed, or at least gave Fugaku an idea of what type of Servant this man was.

The lance was absolutely massive, which made it rather fitting for a tall man who wielded it. Its wooden shaft looked more like iron, colored and tattered wrappings running along with it. The tip, which was aimed at the ground, held the greatest number of wrappings, and even then, that wasn't enough to contend the raw heat that radiated from the sphere. It super-heated the entire room like a furnace blaze. Fugaku's mind instantly jumped to the black flames of his clan's Amaterasu for what he felt was both unbearable heat and heart-wrenching dread from the contained spear blade.

Again, his racing emotions didn't go unnoticed by the Lancer, who chuckled at his reaction, as well as those of the other coup planners. "This here is the Lúin of Celtchar, Celtchar being yours truly." He indicated with a jab of his thumb towards his face. "Worry not, the poisonous heat of this spear is potent enough it can even slay divinities, such as that rascal fox, though she is a wily one, I'll give her that. Depending on how this little coup you lot are planning turns out, I may get to take a crack at her before Orion, which is one bone I won't be so foolish as to pass up."

Fugaku faintly remembered hearing something about an Orion from Chandler, supposedly the greatest hunter of the foreigners' world. More dots connected causing Fugaku to realize something he hadn't thought of before - most of Tamamo's pursuers had to be beast killers, and that meant they could not only subdue her, but the Tailed Beasts - and by extension their jinchūriki.

At last, the picture was completed, and it was more horrific than Fugaku had dared imagine it to be.

"Now that you've heard all of that, Fugaku, we have some planning to do." Started Yashiro, heedless of the near murderous glare sent his way. "If we're going to strike, it's going to have to be within the next day or so, while Kishinami is still in the hospital and his Servant at his side so we can deal with them in a single shot. Afterwards, the rest of the village will fold."

Fugaku Uchiha had come to this late-night meeting expecting something bad as things had escalated to the point they could only move in one direction. What the last three minutes had told him was that they'd flown past a potential coup.

They were heading straight for an out and out disaster of gigantic proportions.

His fears were shared by his oldest son, who watched the unsettling meeting between the Uchiha Clan patriarch and the Irish Lancer.

From his hiding place amongst the trees, well hidden from the observing eyes of his father, clansmen, and hopefully the Lancer, Itachi Uchiha felt himself shiver with unbridled fear. What he'd just witnessed was something he'd quietly been dreading, for something he'd been praying wouldn't come to pass. But it had.

Sucking in a quick breath, his heart skipped a beat that caused an echoing silence throughout his whole body. A familiar seizure took hold of his body. Without missing a beat, he leaped off the branch and ran through the night, sweat pouring down his forehead. He had to run, he had to make it to safe territory so that the newcomer, this Celtchar, wouldn't be able to strike him down. He had to inform the Hokage, he had to inform the Kishinamis.

But most importantly, he had to make sure that his little brother was somewhere safe when the shit hit the fan.

In light of all that he'd witnessed, Itachi could only mutter one statement, "Fucking-"


"Shit." Sighed Hakuno Kishinami, finding himself in a familiar throne room, one the size of an auditorium. It was fittingly sized as the one who had called him to this dream-like realm was a giant of a woman, in every sense of the word. To be precise, she was a living force of nature, of the cosmos, that identified itself as female and presented herself as such.

No matter the species, females always had a tendency to be deadlier than the males. In the case of gods, that saying was frighteningly true.

And he'd done the stupid deed of angering one such goddess - who he also happened to make a promise to.

Flame-like tails swayed about in an angry dance while fingers drummed along the floor. Each thump was a miniature earthquake in themselves. Neither of them could compare to the burning gaze of the Shinto goddess who was glaring down at Hakuno with the intent to blast him into atoms, at best. Lips pulled back in a feral snarl, revealing sharpened canines that could put even the likes of Excalibur to shame with their gleam.

Finally, the goddess spoke, her voice one that could bring life and death in immense and spectacular fashions depending on the mood. "Bug."


Aaand cut! Pretty interesting place to leave things, huh? Three guys staring down three bad situations. I'm curious as to who do you all think has it worse, Fugaku, Itachi, or Hakuno? To shore up any confusion, the altered Uchiha Massacre, or shall I say, Incident, is coming up within…oh, a chapter or two. Does anyone know it? Only a handful, some of whom are actually giddy about it.

As it turns out, technically speaking, Naruto does have what you could call a rogues gallery, one even laid out on TV Tropes. Albeit, it's rather interesting in that Naruto himself never confronted some of them, plus, a third of said rogues were taken out by Sasuke, who himself had become a rogue. Just a little interesting thought of mine. As for this story, the Kishinami Clan is indeed going to have something of a rogues gallery since not EVERY villain/antagonist will be dealt with upon their first meeting. I find a story gets kind of dull that way, especially if you want to develop some personal relationships between heroes and villains which calls for repeated meetings. Naruto's pretty excited about the prospect, but only because he's young and hasn't quite gained a gallery of his own. Will that change in the future? That depends, if you go into an occupation that regularly pits you against a wide variety of people again and again, I do believe it's something you can get used to. Hakuno showed that when the topic was brought up.

The Penalty Box idea is lifted directly from Bleach in which the Espada had Caja Nejación which were used on insubordinate underlings. Given the tendencies of Servants to perform backstabbing as well as just being pains in the ass and the penchant for cruelty some Masters can show, the idea sort of clicked in my mind. Originally, they were going to go by their French title, Peine Boîte, but the English form rolls off of the tongue better. I'd like to think that Hakuno gave a pretty good enough description of how they work and how much of a game-changer they can be, but to give an example, a Servant like Artoria or Siegfried could escape a normal one if sealed, but they'd lose about 50% to 40% of their power in the process. For someone like Cu, who has access to his runes, he'd have an easier time, but the box would need to be modified to hold him and nullify his runes. As alluded, capturing a Caster is trickier since as you all probably know, sorcery and the like is their MO so it's easier for them to find the cracks in a PB to bust out…or crack one open thus freeing the Servant within.

So…who's the new Lancer in this? Another hero from Irish lore, Celtchar mac Uthechair, a lesser known but still fearsome warrior of the Ulster Cycle. As he stated, his claim to fame is beast-slaying, in fact his legend centers on him slaying three rather nasty ones thus giving him the Beast Killer Skill similar to Proto-Cu. He's not the only antagonistic Servant who's going to have this Skill meaning Tamamo's going to be in some trouble fighting him. Or so you all may think. Remember, being Lancer is suffering!

Sarnai, for those of you wondering, is a Mongolian name that means "rose" while butajiru, or called tonjiru is a type of Japanese soup made with pork, vegetables and flavored with miso. Speaking of which, it's a tad more varied in terms of what can be added to it in terms of normal miso soup.

Next chapter will pick up where this one leaves off-Hakuno once again staring death in the face, so nothing new.