Disclaimer: What? You don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft? I demand a refund!

No World of Warcraft, or Naruto, but we do have cheese.

Ooooo….cheese….?

Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!

It was twilight. The warm and breezy air kicked up a few leaves resting on the ground beside Sakura as she walked. The setting sun was to her back, nearly gone now. Despite the length of the day, she felt that she wasn't tired much at all. So she did not head back home, as she usually would. Instead, she found herself heading to a place that she had not been to in quite a while.

The bridge.

The very bridge where she, Naruto, and Sasuke had met their teacher, Kakashi, every morning; usually after a two or three hour wait. The bridge where she had cursed Naruto out every morning for trying to hit on her; gushed her feelings (which were now not nearly as simple) to Sasuke, only to be ignored completely; and railed (along with Naruto) at their perverted teacher for being late, as he always was, and stomaching his usually humorous, but totally unbelievable, excuse.

It was a bridge with so many memories attached to it. Memories of what seemed like a life that she had never lived. It felt like ages had gone by, since she had seen her teammates standing alongside her on the bridge, watching the rising sun, and simply reveling in the unsaid friendship that they had possessed. She knew that before the end, before Sasuke had met his brother again, that all of them had enjoyed it. They had all gotten so used to the feeling of being with each other that they hadn't been able to help being friends, even if none of them had ever said the word to each other.

But then…

No.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She had been down that road several times before since Sasuke's defection, and it always brought nothing but depression, and longing. Since, she had learned to stop thinking about those things, as best she could.

When she finally spotted the bridge, she felt a sudden surge of energy. She had always felt it, when seeing the bridge. At first it had been simply because Sasuke usually made it there before her, and so she would pick up her speed to get to enjoy a scant few minutes with him alone (which usually involved her trying to think of a coherent, cool, and enticing greeting, but that had always failed.) before Naruto came gallivanting in, yelling his loud, boisterous greetings to his two teammates, with their intended suffixes ("Sakura-chan!" and "Sasuke-teme!") and in varying degrees of heat.

But that was in the beginning. Soon after the Chuunin Exams, she had started getting the surge just because it would allow her to get to her teammates faster. At points, during those times, she would see just Sasuke, or even just Naruto, standing there. Even if it was just Naruto, she'd run to meet him.

She began to run. It was so ingrained into her that she didn't even stop to think until she had reached the bridge. The water beneath it seemed on fire as she stopped, in the middle, and suddenly realized what she had done. She heaved a sigh, and walked to the railing. Her eyes drifted up the river, until it met the horizon, where a blood-red ball of fire had crashed to the ground, and was slowly sinking into it, lighting the entire world on fire. It was beautiful, she saw, and it helped to distract her from her sudden feeling of melancholy.

But so enraptured was she that she forgot her ninja training, and when a voice beside her broke the silence, she jumped.

"Beautiful, hmmm?"

Sakura clutched her chest, gasping a little, and turned to look at her former teacher, Hatake Kakashi. His exposed eye, one that was coal-black, was fixated on the scene that her green ones had been on earlier.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she snapped, more than a little surprised to see her teacher, as well as slightly irritated for him to show up in the way he had. "You're back from your mission?"

He stared at the scene a little longer, not answering. Then, he turned and said, "Yep. Just got back. Did I scare you?"

She reddened a bit, knowing that there was an admonishment somewhere in the question for forgetting to be alert. "No."

His eye curved into a happy crescent, and he smiled beneath the mask. "Good."

They both turned back to the sunset, lapsing into silence. Sakura didn't feel like talking much, and she guessed that it had been some time since Kakashi had enjoyed a moment of peace like this. So she stayed silent for a while, and they basked in the final glowing moments that the sun remained in the above world. Finally, just as the fiery orb vanished, Sakura spoke.

"Naruto sent another message while you were gone."

Kakashi turned, blinking, to her. "Is that so? I was a little worried; he hadn't sent anything for some time, and it was leading me to believe something might have happened."

She smiled a little, remembering Gamakichi's words. "Well, something did, but he's still alive."

"Tell me," he said.

So she did. She told him everything that Naruto had done since his last message, as best as she could tell it. Kakashi was a good listener, and said nothing as she narrated. By the time she was finished, the sky was totally dark, and the last rays of the sun had faded into the blackness of the night. The moon was peaking over the horizon directly behind them, a bluish-white, in total opposite to the fiery colors of the sun.

When she finished, Kakashi chuckled a little. "He certainly did do a lot. I'm impressed. But somehow, I can't find the will to be surprised by any of it. I guess when dealing with Naruto, that's a good attitude to have."

Sakura chuckled. "You're right."

"How did the others take it?"

She recalled. "Pretty much the same as always. His deeds "stoked the fires of youth" according to Guy-sensei, and everyone has been training as hard as they can all day. The jounin, Tsunade-shishou, and Jiraiya-sama were all as surprised as ever, even if they didn't show it."

Kakashi nodded. "I'd figured. Even if he isn't the one speaking the words, his spirit seems to leak through them nonetheless. Even worlds apart, he's still has that ability to make everyone put their all into whatever they do."

Sakura just smiled, a nod or any word of agreement unnecessary. There was a short silence as Kakashi stared at the rising moon.

"Two summons, huh?" he said.

She peered at him. "Yes. Is that surprising?"

"A bit," he said. "because it's Naruto, it's less surprising; it's just uncommon."

She knew what he was talking about. After all, she was considered to be the smartest kunoichi of her year. "You mean that it's usually unnecessary, right?"

Kakashi nodded, turning and smiling at her through his mask. "Yes. Summon creatures have varying sizes and skills, just like normal shinobi. Usually, when you sign a summon contract, there is no need to sign another, because the creatures that you first learned to summon can be used in almost any situation. Whether surveillance, message delivering, cooking, or full-scale battle, a summon contract has a summon for nearly every situation."

Sakura nodded. All of it made sense. Her own teacher had told her, when she had begun learning the slug summons (much to her delight), that despite their look (and feel, she had thought, shuddering) slugs could do just about anything a ninja could ever have need of them. They could even heal.

"But," she said, catching on something Kakashi had said before. "You said that it's uncommon, but it has been done. What reason would there be to have two or more summons?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You can't tell me that?"

Sakura reddened a bit. "The scroll didn't say much beyond that it was unnecessary. You know how scrolls are."

Kakashi nodded. "Too true." Back when he had ever read scrolls, at least. The only thing on his reading list nowadays was a certain orange book that he absolutely refused to mention in front of his now super-strong former student.

"Well," he began. "The main reason why people would get more summons is simply because of variety of attack. Each summon contract has its own specializations in battle."

She caught on. "You mean like the slugs have their medical skills and attacks, right?"

He nodded. "Right. Toads have weapons specialties and water based attacks, as well as a few fire techniques invented by Jiraiya-sama. Snakes, the ones that Orochimaru use…"

The way he said it made it clear to her that soon Orochimaru wouldn't be the only one.

"…Specialize in evasion and powerful physical strikes, as well as a handful of poison type techniques. My own summons, dogs, specialize in tracking and ground based attacks. Each summon, despite being jacks-of-all-trades, still have their own specialties. That would be, in my mind, the only reason one would make more than one contract."

Sakura thought about his words for a moment. "Knowing Naruto, however, he probably did it because more is better in his mind, right?" She giggled a little at this.

He chuckled too. "Probably. That and if he refused this Sylvanas character might have done something unpleasant to him. But it isn't that hard to imagine hearing Naruto boasting to Sasuke about how cool he is for having two summons."

Sakura smiled, but only for a few seconds. She then turned and leaned backwards against the railing. The problem was, she could imagine them doing that. It reminded her so much of the past that the earlier feelings of depression came back. It must have hit Kakashi too, because he didn't speak for a while.

The moon was bright. It was nearly full, and glowed so bright and beautiful against the darkness of the sky that once again, Sakura temporarily forgot her thoughts and simply stared at the moon. It was so nice.

Then Kakashi spoke.

"How has your training been?"

Sakura looked over at him. "Good," she said, shortly.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's all? Good? Might my most eloquent former student elaborate a bit?"

She sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, working with Ino has been somewhat fun. Chouji is also a very good teammate, and has been weathering the little spats Ino and I have pretty well, considering. Asuma-sensei doesn't do much other than just coach us in teamwork, and take us out to lunch."

Kakashi nodded. "I heard you were working with Lee-kun. That true?"

Sakura nodded, smiling a little. "He's been helping me build my stamina and natural strength. Tsunade-sama's training requires that I have loads of stamina to spare, or else a lot of her most powerful techniques and skills are rather useless, like her monstrous strength. She's given me some medicine that helps speed up the process of building and storing stamina, but has in a sense just left me to Lee and Guy-sensei."

"You'll learn quite a bit from them, I assure you. If you start hearing their voices in your sleep, I suggest stopping, however."

Sakura giggled, only to find that Kakashi's face was absolutely serious. She guessed that he'd had some experience with that, then.

"The Chuunin Exams are coming up soon, are they not?"

She nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-shishou wants me to compete in them, that's why I joined Asuma-sensei's team."

He nodded. "I think you'll probably pass, this time. There won't be any threat of invasion, and you have grown quite a bit under Tsunade-sama's teachings."

She smiled. When he said it with that simple, matter-of-fact voice that only Kakashi could pull off, she had no doubt in her mind that she would just that. When Kakashi put his faith in something, it usually came out pretty well, or at least that is what she believed.

Sasuke didn't count.

"And your new technique?"

She shook her head a bit. "Still coming along." She looked a little crestfallen at the thought.

He shrugged. "It took me quite a while to develop Chidori, Sakura, so don't worry about it. You'll finish when you finish."

Sakura gave her former teacher a smile, but didn't respond for a moment. Once again there was silence.

This time, however, Sakura broke it.

"Naruto is…getting so strong."

Kakashi looked at her.

She continued. "Every time he sends us a new message, he's done something so amazing, and grown so much stronger than before. Every time he does it, no matter how hard I've worked, he seems leagues away from me, just like he and Sasuke always were. So I try harder and harder, but nothing ever seems to bridge the gap between us. I need to be strong, Kakashi-sensei…I need to be able to help when Naruto gets back. It was a promise."

Kakashi gave Sakura a warm smile from beneath his mask, his best attempt at looking reassuring with only thirty percent or so of his face exposed.

"You're being unfair to yourself, Sakura," he said, leaning forwards into Sakura's face. The girl took a step back, blinking.

"What?"

Kakashi scratched his chin, and stood up straight. "You can't compare your own training to what Naruto is doing. There is a big, extremely fundamental difference between the two methods you are him are taking to training. This difference is what is allowing Naruto to grow so fast."

"What difference is it?" she said, frowning.

He chuckled. "Well Miss Smartypants, it just so happens to be practical experience."

Sakura stared at him blankly for a second, not understanding. While that in itself was frustrating, the maddeningly smug look on Kakashi's face made it even more so. If she didn't really want to know, she'd have clobbered him by now. Especially for the Smartypants gibe, which she had heard quite often in her younger years.

Kakashi suddenly stopped smiling, and looked back towards the moon. "Naruto is getting tons of practical experience. That is to say, he is fighting life and death battles far more often than you are. He is being, in a sense, forced to learn everything faster. If he didn't, he'd die. Naruto flourishes under those situations. Notice that until he became a ninja, he was the dunce of the class. He was in all likelihood weaker than you. But once that added factor of danger, that risk that very few types of training can duplicate was added, Naruto began to soar. He made it to be equal with Sasuke in only a few months, when Sasuke had taken years of training in order to get that strong. Truthfully, even though he is risking his life so much, it is probably the best way for Naruto to learn.

"You learn differently. Given time and effort, you can solve any equation, and learn any technique. You learn with your mind, not your body. If you have the information, and the mechanics, you can learn a technique just as fast as Naruto. Of course, a little practical experience never hurt, so I suggest you do some missions to help that along. You are extremely smart, and that is your strength, Sakura. In that area, among others, you have already surpassed Naruto."

Sakura looked at him in slight surprise. It was probably the first praise that she had heard from Kakashi.

Kakashi continued. "The two of you learn quite differently, and excel in many different manners. The same was true of Sasuke. Imagine how hard it was for me to develop coherent training exercises for you. But like I said, you have already surpassed Naruto in one key element, something that he has only just begun to learn."

Sakura stared at him. "What is it?"

"Patience. Control. Fighting with a level head. As shinobi, we aren't brawlers, or samurai, who throw themselves headlong into battle. We strike at the opportune time, and work constantly to shape the battle before we actually fight it. I'm not saying that Naruto isn't an accomplished shinobi, because that would be an extremely foolish statement, all things considered. He has mastered many aspects, but unlike you, he has yet to learn some of the more basic ones. Patience, for example, doesn't seem to be in Naruto's vocabulary. He fights when he wants, not when he should. Like I said, he usually comes out okay in the end, but an important aspect of battle is knowing when to fight and when not to."

Sakura looked at Kakashi a while, silent. His words were all true, of course.

"But, as I said, he seems to be learning."

"He does?" she said, blinking.

Kakashi nodded. "In a way, yes. He is learning to rely on his own strength. From what you said, he only mentioned using the Kyuubi's chakra as a last resort. It seems that he is being forced to learn to think in battle, or else his emotions will consume him, and the creature's power will come, and overwhelm him."

Sakura shuddered. Though Naruto had indeed decreased his use of the Kyuubi's chakra, every time he did worried her to no end. He had only mentioned it in passing, but it made her wonder what the details of the fight were. It made her wonder what he had been feeling, as the demon's chakra took control.

"You're worried about him, I see." Kakashi was looking at her with his one black eye, which was uncharacteristically soft as it gazed at her.

Sakura nodded. "Ever since I learned what was causing him so much pain, I've been researching whatever I could about the Kyuubi. It's the most powerful of the bijuu, and has never before had a container. It makes me worry that Naruto won't be able to deal with it if something happens. What if the seal breaks? Would the people of that world be ready, or even able to help?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps, perhaps not. All I can say is that you have to trust Naruto. He'd find some way, I think, to deal with it if that ever happens. But, like I said, he's growing. Perhaps he won't allow it to happen. It seems to me like he's realized what may happen. I don't think he'd do anything to jeopardize himself; he has a promise to keep, after all."

Sakura nodded, smiling. The two lapsed into silence again. The moon seemed to shine even brighter, now. It was a fair distance into the sky, meaning it had been some time since they had started their talk. But neither seemed to mind. Kakashi and Sakura watched the moon, their eyes gleaming in its light. Sakura felt better. Kakashi had been able to sympathize, and help her get over her fears and troubles.

Then Kakashi spoke again. "Hmmm, this scene makes me think of a story I once heard."

"A story?" Sakura said, looking at him inquisitively.

He nodded. "It's called, ' The Battle of the Sun and Moon'. The story goes that long ago, the sun and the moon fought in a great battle. No one knows why, or where, only that they fought, and when they clashed, the moon, after a long and painful battle, emerged victorious. He glided across the sky, weak from his wounds, but still reveling in his triumph. But, to his surprise, he saw the sun rise again, and begin to pursue him. He did not look back, and instead continued forwards, with the sun following him all the way. No one knows why he did not stay and fight again. Perhaps the moon was jealous. Jealous that the light from the sun was brighter than his. Perhaps it was because the sun's light was the light that lit him, and he did not want to face the sun again. And that's how they would remain for quite a while.

"But, someday, the sun will catch up. Someday, the sun and the moon will meet in battle again. When they do, who knows who will emerge victorious?"

He lapsed into silence, letting the story sink in. It was only a second later that Sakura responded, humor and emotion evident in her voice.

"You're forgetting an important part, Kakashi-sensei."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Am I?"

"Yes. You forgot about the cherry tree and the scarecrow."

He blinked at her. "Ah, so I did. Why don't you tell me about them?"

So Sakura did. "Below them, as the sun chased the moon, a cherry blossom tree, full in bloom, and a scarecrow, watched them. The cherry tree had witnessed the fight between the sun and the moon, but had not been able to do anything. Now she could all but watch as the two raced across the sky in an unending chase. The scarecrow, too, could do nothing but watch, but, then again, that's all he could ever hope to do.

" ' I wish I could stop them,' the cherry tree said. ' I wish I could grow tall and strong, and when I got tall enough, and strong enough, I could catch them in my branches, and make them stop their meaningless battle.'

" ' I can do nothing but watch. It is their story, and their fight. I wish I could offer my help, perhaps my wisdom from watching the goings on in the world, and stay until the end,' said the scarecrow.

"And so the cherry blossom tree grew and grew and grew, and so tall did she grow that when the sun and moon met once more, she was there, to catch them in her branches, no matter who the victor was. And the scarecrow watched all of this, in the time before they met, he offered all the wisdom he could to them, for that was all he could do." She smiled as she finished, and looked back at Kakashi.

The man was silent for a moment, smiling a hidden smile beneath the mask.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

She blinked at him. "What?"

He winked at her. "That the sun is what causes trees to grow big and strong, hmm?"

She opened her mouth, got the meaning, and blushed a little. "Kakashi-sensei!" He laughed, while she glared at him hotly for a moment.

"Well," he said, standing up straight. "It's getting late, we should both get a bit of rest, hmm?"

Sakura nodded absently, taking a final, almost wistful look at the moon.

"You should be a storyteller, Kakashi-sensei," she said, grinning impishly at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "That so?"

She turned and walked way, throwing over her shoulder a broad grin. "Yeah, if waiting three hours is a part of the story, and a lame excuse is the climax!"

Kakashi opened his mouth to deliver what he believed was a stale, witty retort, but Sakura was already gone. The night seemed to swallow her, and suddenly Kakashi was alone in the darkness. Alone with the moon. He looked up at it, his eye lingering a moment on the glowing bright sphere.

"Hmmm… I hope you're ready…because somehow, when you meet him again, I have complete faith in the fact that it won't turn out as it did last time."

Then, he too was gone.

And the moon was alone.

Something was up.

That much, Benedictus knew.

It wasn't really anything new. Ever since the king's death, Benedictus had known that something was up, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what. He had placed this feeling on the back burner of his ancient mind, due to the more immediate and pressing matters that he faced in taking the position of regent. But it lingered, and whenever the chance arose, returned to the forefront of his mind.

Thankfully, especially now, he had little time to consider it. For everyday, fighting was breaking out in the streets of the city.

They were usually brief scuffles, started by members of the younger generation who had less informed and more passionate stances on the issues that faced the city and its people. It would usually be outside bars or taverns, and one or more of the instigators would be drunk.

But the fights escalated quite quickly, and by the time the city guard made it to the scene, they had the beginnings of riots. If the Stormwind guards were not some of the best trained and skilled warriors in the city, then the fights would have continued to grow. Thankfully, they had enough ability and discipline to break them up before they went too far.

But it got worse every day.

The people were angry. They were divided, too. There was such a stark division between the people now that Benedictus entertained the thought of naming the two sides.

There were those who supported the kingdom, and his regency. They were the older generations, and the members of the wealthier families that had been loyal to the kings of Stormwind since the city had been built and rebuilt. More than three-quarters of the Council, thankfully, fell into this category.

Of course, that didn't mean they agreed with everything he said, but it was far better, in his mind, than the alternatives.

The other faction was solely comprised of the younger generations, and even some of the mercantile class. They were those who opposed the kingdom, and had since Anduin's foolish venture against the Black Dragonflight. They were the ones who had originally supported the Scarlet Crusade, and hence followed a lot of the Crusade's supposed ideals on kindness and generosity. They believed in equality for all. They believed that the time of kings was dead, and that the time had come for the people to control the city.

He was not entirely sure what their aim was. They sought more rights and freedoms for the people, as well as a different system of trade that they were calling "free trade", in which the government could put no taxes on items flowing to and from the city (this was suggested by the merchants of the faction, clearly). They claimed they were sick of the kings, and felt that it should be they who chose the ruler of the city. They were the people, after all. They had the power.

The people were sheep, he thought glumly as he sat near the large wooden altar in the small chapel in the castle. Sheep who were trying to tell the shepherd that it was they who had the right to decide who herded them, and kept them together as a flock.

It wasn't that they didn't have a good idea, but as Benedictus had continually believed, he didn't believe they knew who could be good enough for them. What they proposed opened up so many chances for corruption and greed to take root that he couldn't even consider their words. He had been alive too long. What they were saying would not better the situation. It would worsen it.

Benedictus sighed a little, before standing and stretching his limbs. The chapel was empty save for him, as it usually was. In fact, the only ones who really had ever used the chapel were himself and Kira; but she was gone, and so he was alone with naught but his thoughts and memories. The place was soothing, but at the same time a little distracting. For several times he would find himself noticing things or places that brought up a specific memory from his time with the only surviving Wrynn. Not a day went by that he did not wonder where she was, or even if she was still alive. Adding the stress from managing a kingdom on top of that, and Benedictus didn't know if he could last much longer.

Kira's departure, along with her spirit and goodwill, had left something of a hole in Benedictus' heart. When she had been with him, in this place, listening to her as she described the details of her dream, Benedictus had felt like he was more than a mentor to the girl. He had felt like family. Her words, just like her mothers, and touched him in many ways, and had made him; a cynical, old, cranky fool, believe that the seemingly impossible dream that she had concocted was possible. She had had the power to do that.

Now, as he sat, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breath, and the distant pitter-patter of feet all around the castle, and dwelling on the dark state of the city that he had loved all his life, he felt the full weight of the nigh-impossibility of her dream.

Could people, people who couldn't even agree with each other, welcome an alliance with people and races that over the years, they had come to hate and fear as monsters?

Somehow, Benedictus didn't think so.

He gave a melancholy sigh. It would not do for him to continue this constant sulking. He decided to go for a walk. The exercise would do him good.

He left the chapel and meandered through the upper halls of the castle, giving nods and single words of greeting to all those he passed. Some were guards, who offered him salutes and tight-lipped smiles. Some were servants, who gave him kind smiles and slight bows. Thankfully, though, he encountered no nobles or anyone seeking his attention. That meant, given the fact that it was already several hours past noon, meant that today might be a day with no fighting.

He stopped inside the kitchens and sampled some of the food for that night's dinner. He was on great terms with the head chef, and so was able to pilfer a few things to snack on during his walk.

The chef gave him a salute and a sad smile as he left. Benedictus had always possessed an energy far beyond men his age were supposed to. But each day, he saw that Benedictus was slowly beginning to act more and more his proper age. It made him sad to think of what this conflict was doing to the old man.

Benedictus entered the great hall, just as he finished his pastries. Upon entering the hall, where all the Council meetings happened, he was suddenly (and sadly) reminded of a need to organize another meeting. There hadn't been one since Lady Prestor's absence, and he was eager to know her opinion on some of the matters that were befalling the city. He didn't believe they mattered (after all, she was a woman), but he wished to know them nonetheless. His suspicion of her was greater than what he had for most women.

He turned, intending to leave and locate her, and the rest of the council members, when the door opened and in came Captain Reinhardt Schaun.

"Ah, captain," Benedictus said, giving a slight nod to the bushy-bearded man. "It has been some time. How have you been?"

The man gave him a tired smile, and an equally tired salute. "As best as can be, Lord regent. I am thankful for the lull that this day has brought."

Benedictus nodded. "As am I." He suddenly had no desire to see Lady Prestor. He was as tired as he said he was, and so with a wave he said, "Sit with me, I am in need of conversation, no matter what kind."

The captain nodded. "That would be nice." He sat in a wooden chair near the door. Benedictus pulled another one over and sat in it, next to the red-haired soldier. He relaxed into the soft leather backing of the chair, and closed his eyes in silent contentment for a few seconds. Schaun mirrored this, and for a while, neither of them spoke a word.

"I am tired, captain," sighed Benedictus, suddenly.

Schaun nodded. "We all are. This conflict is taking much out of us; it is tearing the city in half, one could say."

"It is, isn't it?" said Benedictus. "And try as I a might, there is nothing I can do to stop it, or even alleviate it. You are doing the most work out of all of us, captain, you and your guardsmen. I commend you for all that you have done."

Schaun gave a hollow laugh. "I thank you for the praise, but what we are doing is not helping. We are doing naught but stopping people from fighting. That will not change their intent."

"Indeed, but you are preventing them from committing acts that they would not otherwise commit. It is far better than what I have done. Perhaps you should be regent, captain; you might be able to knock some sense into this senseless buffoonery."

Schaun looked sideways at the old man, and sweat dropped. "I am afraid I would do even less than you have, Lord regent. I am no good at politics as it is."

Benedictus chuckled. "Then we are alike in more ways that one, captain."

They both laughed a bit at that, before lapsing into a more comfortable silence.

"What do you think will be the outcome of this, captain?" Benedictus said, finally.

Schaun peered over at him again, and sighed. "My honest belief, Lord regent?"

Benedictus nodded. "Yes, as opposed to your dishonest one."

Schaun chuckled for a second then his face became stern and set; it was the face of a warrior, almost as if he were preparing for battle.

"I cannot foresee an end in sight."

Benedictus raised an eyebrow, so Schaun elaborated, stroking his deep red beard, his dark eyes shadowed. "This conflict cannot be easily resolved. I knew from the moment that it began, with the His Grace, King Anduin's death, that this would not be something that could be resolved with soldiers or time. The true problem runs very deep, and the wounds that were created over these past few years have already reopened. This, I think, has been a long time coming. It was the death of the king, as well as the Scarlet Crusade's influence that began it, but it had been brewing for much longer. This conflict is not so young. Perhaps it was even inevitable. And it is so deep that I don't think it can be resolved so quickly. And from what it appears, neither of us, perhaps no one in the entire council, has the ability to do that."

Benedictus regarded the man with the same impassive stare that had greeted Kira's tears. They were interesting words, and he found that they bore quite a bit of truth to them. He too was sure that this had been brewing for some time. It was escalating far too quickly, and the people were far too ready and involved for it to be a spur of the moment thing, caused by the death of one man. He knew only too well that it likely that same man who had given birth to it, or perhaps nurtured it in its infancy, even without knowing.

He gave another weary sigh, leaning back in his chair. "Your assessment matches mine to the 't', captain. This conflict can only be resolved by someone with a love deeper than ours for this city, and these people. One who is willing to give up everything for them. A king, or perhaps, a queen."

The other man stared forwards, his eyes solemn and dark. His face was as unreadable as Benedictus' had been just moments before.

"Perhaps, Lord regent, the time for kings and queens is past."

Benedictus stared at him a while, his face hardening into a mask. Schaun met his stare for a while, before shrugging.

"Who knows? The future isn't that cut and dry, as you yourself know. A lot of things can happen, especially to this city."

Benedictus once again didn't answer. He stroked his short beard, staring forwards with his raptor-like golden eyes.

"I have a question for you, captain."

Schaun turned to him, blinking in slight interest. "Oh?"

Benedictus snapped his golden gaze to the captain of the Stormwind Guard. "I wonder if the need arose, would you be able to fight alongside an orc?"

Schaun blinked in surprise, the question was so radically different from what they had been talking about that it made him pause for a second.

Benedictus continued. "Or perhaps a troll? A tauren? Even a Forsaken? If the lives of your country were at stake, would you be able to put aside all of your preconceived notions about them, all of your prejudices, or past experiences with them, and fight alongside them as a brother in arms? Tell me."

Schaun sat for a moment, and from the look of unease on his face, he seemed troubled by the question.

Benedictus instantly knew why. "Don't worry, this is no test of loyalty. It is simply an honest question, one that I have been deliberating myself for some time."

Schaun sighed a little in relief. Then he looked thoughtful for a second, before he answered.

"I would."

"Why?"

Schaun blinked at the rapid-fire response. He shook himself, and answered as best he could.

"If the need arose, and there was such an overwhelming enemy that there would be nothing else we could do, then I would. Lord regent, I have fought in many battles in the past. I have fought against orcs, and trolls, and tauren and Forsaken. I have seen that they can be brutal, monstrous, even downright horrifying. But at the same time, I have seen humans be the same. That leads me to believe that in some ways, we are not different.

"I have never been to an Orcish village, Lord regent, so I don't know exactly what they do there, but I can't honestly expect it to be much different from what goes on here. I heard that the orcs' leader, Thrall, even allied with Jaina Proudmoore, at times. If that lady, whom I never met, but have heard many good things about, would join with the leader of those people, than can I honestly say that they are truly evil? I think a lot of our hate is born from that unknown. Perhaps if we saw the other aspects of their lives, not just the battle, attitudes would be different.

"So, yes, Lord regent, I would fight alongside an orc, a troll, a tauren and even a Forsaken, if the need arose."

Benedictus looked at him a moment, and didn't say a word. His golden eyes seemed fixed on Schaun, almost as if he couldn't pull them away, and the old man was so still and silent that he appeared a statue.

Then he chuckled.

"Thank you, captain."

Perhaps her dream wasn't so impossible after all, the Archbishop mused. If men of power, men who had seen the terrors that the Horde had wrought like Schaun could view the world with such an open mind, then perhaps the people of this city could learn as well. The burden of uncertainty suddenly seemed not nearly so heavy, and Benedictus found himself feeling spry and young again.

He stood.

"I'd best be going, captain. There is a need to organize another meeting. I believe it is time that that serpentine hag, Lady Prestor, delivered some of her sage advice."

Something happened in the split second after Benedictus had finished his sentence. Something changed so abruptly in Schaun's eyes that Benedictus mentally frowned. There had been a flicker of something, deep within those dark depths. And, unless he had imagined it, the man's face had given the briefest of twitches. And unless he had really imagined it, the man's lip had curled slightly, exactly as he had finished saying Lady Prestor's name.

'Odd,' he thought.

"Good luck, Lord regent," the captain said, giving him a nod.

Benedictus returned it, and left.

Yes, he decided, as he headed towards the main entrance to tell the guards to send messages to the Council members, something was definitely up.

When he reached the entrance hall, he found it already occupied by a regal looking man clutching a scroll.

"Lord regent?" the man said, coming forwards.

Benedictus nodded. "Yes, what is it?"

"A message sir, delivered just now."

"From whom?" he asked, wondering what it could be. Perhaps it was a message from a Council member, or perhaps a missive from the chapel?

"The Argent Dawn, milord. The courier told me that the news might please you."

The last three days had been interesting.

They had been, in Naruto's opinion, neither bad, nor completely good. But they had kept him busy, as well as entertained. He had quickly come to learn that the Undercity was not much of a place for live humans.

For their part, Fen had explained that it was really never intended to house humans. Nobody, not even Sylvanas, had ever been able to predict that one day they'd be playing host to live humans somewhere other than the holding cells in the Apothecarium (one of the many "sectors" of the underground city, specializing in selling potions, herbs, elixirs and other such things). Still, the three humans that had lived in there for the past three days could all agree that they certainly needed to be able to adapt to certain situations.

For example, on the first day, Naruto got himself spectacularly lost. How he had gotten so deep into the miles of sewers that surrounded and made up the city still escaped Kira and Fen, who had spent the better part of the day looking for him. Tsuwabuki had been no help at all, refusing to enter the foul-smelling sewers, even if it was to search for her spirit partner. They had finally given up, and two hours later, Naruto had slouched in, reeking so much of the sewers that even the most hideous looking Forsaken would turn green when he passed. Fen had promptly pushed him into the green, gooey river ("It's perfectly safe, completely non-toxic, and washes right out, promise!" he had assured them).

As troublesome the first day had been, the second day proved to be much better. Naruto had managed to finally send off another message to his friends in Konoha, about everything that had happened since his last. This time Gamakichi had brought a pen and a pad of paper to right everything down, do to its length. He heard a little about what was going on there, too. Sakura was doing well with her training, according to Tsunade, and every time Naruto sent a message, she and the others would throw themselves headlong into training, twice as hard as before. It made Naruto grin, and eagerly anticipate how strong his friends were becoming.

And it also made him think of Sasuke.

And his promise.

He wondered, what at that moment, Sasuke was doing. He wondered what the person he considered his brother was going through in his training with Orochimaru, and how strong he was becoming. And how he was changing. It made him nervous. Would he be strong enough to defeat Sasuke the next time they met?

Yes.

He would not let Sasuke go again. He wouldn't let Orochimaru take Sasuke's body for his own, not when he possessed the power and the time to stop him. He would keep his promise to Sakura, no matter what.

So he trained a little that day, spending time mostly perfecting his new summoning technique. It, as he had told Kira a little later, had not gone as planned.

"It doesn't work?" Kira had said, blinking.

He shook his head, looking moody. "It works fine. Everything that comes out just tries to eat me. Or bludgeon me to death. Or poison me. Or freeze me. Or possess me. Or some combination of those. It's not fun."

"Talk to Sylvanas, maybe she could help," Kira offered.

Naruto scrunched up his face in a frown, but nodded anyways. He had never cared about asking for help from Jiraiya, so why not ask for help from the crazy old hag?

It turned out that not only did his asking not make the situation better, but also it seemed to amuse Sylvanas to no end.

"They're just not used to having a human master. Give it time," she had said, smirking at the young shinobi.

She had also taken the time to explain a little bit more about it. It was helpful, but not in the immediate sense.

"The true power of the Undead summon is not raw power, but rather in the sheer numbers you can summon with little cost to your chakra reserves. Alone, a single undead is night useless in direct combat. However, if you summon a horde, than they can easily become your most powerful asset. That is all I will say."

She had then questioned him a little about the Kyuubi. Naruto was slightly uncomfortable at the mention of the demon, because he had not spoken or heard from it since his fight with Varimathras. He told the Banshee Queen all he knew about it, which turned out to not be very much, before she dismissed him.

So Naruto had returned from the Royal Quarter, grumbling about annoying old hags who didn't tell him what he wanted, to find Kira, Kylia, Fen and Myrdraxxis waiting for him.

"We're going to lunch," said Fen, with a Forsaken grin. "Me and Myrdraxxis' favorite spot."

Fen had led them through the twisting tunnels, sometimes packed with Forsaken, other times completely deserted. He led them into the very heart of the city, where the massive column was, surrounded by many shops, twisting high up towards the surface. He led them up to the second level, where there appeared to be nothing but restaurants and bars. They walked along the road, near the ledge, dodging and weaving through throngs of Forsaken. The bars were all packed ("Not that it'll do much good," remarked Fen. "They'd have to be richer than a king to buy enough drinks to get one Forsaken inebriated.") And Kira remarked that they were indeed the best acting bar dwellers she had ever seen.

They finally reached a small dingy restaurant that Fen announced as the Rotting Mushroom, Home of the best tallarines in all of Lordaeron.

As they sat down, Naruto looked at Fen. "What's tallarines?"

Fen grinned at him. "My favorite food. Noodles, meat and spices."

At the word "noodles", Naruto perked up. That sounded an awful lot like…

"Ramen!" Naruto cheered happily as the server dropped several bowls of steaming hot noodles, which smelt heavenly, in front of him and his friends.

Fen immediately lifted his fork and began to shovel the noodles into his mouth, remarking, "What's ramen?"

Naruto was too busy eating to acknowledge the Forsaken's question. "This is great!" he said, lifting out a large chunk of what looked like beef. "What's the meat?"

"Human," said Myrdraxxis, popping a large chunk into his own mouth.

Naruto, Kira, and Kylia froze at the words. Kira had some of the meat along with the noodles dangling from her fork, which was mere inches from her mouth. Still shocked, she let the noodles slide back into the broth, her eyes as large as dinner plates. Kylia dropped hers in surprise, and Naruto spat his out, choking.

Then they noticed that Fen was laughing. So hard, in fact, that broth was dribbling from the hole where his nose used to be.

"Hahahahaha! You guys are so gullible! It's just a bit of beef with some artificial flavorings conjured up by the Royal Apothecary Society. Good one, Myr!"

The three humans relaxed, throwing annoyed glares at the normally silent rogue. Myrdraxxis, however, had no trace of emotion on his face.

"You think I'm kidding, Fen? I've had a craving for the past few days." He picked up a piece and bit into it quite theatrically. "Tender. It must be a little girl, yes?"

The Forsaken that had served them nodded as he passed buy, tipping his hat and shooting a wicked grin at the three humans, who had all gone white as ghosts. Fen, too, had dropped his fork, looking in abject astonishment at the bowl, and then at Myrdraxxis.

The server carried back one empty bowl, and four filled, with a little more than he had served.

It was only later that they discovered that Myrdraxxis had been kidding. Nobody, of course, laughed.

The third day was far better in comparison to the other two. During that day, Naruto did not get lost, or tricked into eating things that he did not believe he should eat. He spent the majority of the day training in the War Quarter in everything he could, especially his new summoning contract. He became quite the attraction, as whenever he summoned something, no matter how large or small, it would always try and attack him before he could say anything to it. He didn't dare try to summon anything bigger than a rat. He did not dwell on his use of the demon's chakra, and avoided using whatever techniques that would require him to dip into the demon's attacks. He worked a little on his Kaenhira and Shunsuigai techniques, too, the ones that needed the most perfecting. He had still not been able to use the Shunsuigai properly, and it was a little annoying to have the knowledge of something so powerful, yet be unable to use it.

He also spent a large amount of the time arguing with Tsuwabuki about what they should call the final attack they used on Mograine. Naruto had already named it halfway, Kasouken, but Tsuwabuki felt it should include her attack as well, as it wouldn't have been possible without her.

Naruto was in favor of the Naruto and Tsuwabuki Takedown with Kasouken, as it sounded exactly like it was. Tsuwabuki thought that sounded stupid, as no one in their right mind would name a technique after themselves. Naruto argued that he did, and Tsuwabuki simply responded that that proved it. She wanted to call it Fox Claw Slash and Burn.

Naruto eventually conceded that she was right, and that that did sound way cooler.

The entire War Quarter, who had born witness to this one-sided argument, had face-faulted at the admission.

Naruto had also passed Varimathras as he left the War Quarter. He hadn't seen the Dreadlord since he had been given the summoning contract. Varimathras didn't say a word as he passed, simply giving him a distrustful, spiteful glare. He had obviously not gotten over losing.

Meanwhile, Kira spent the day browsing the Apothecarium with Kylia. She was amazed by all the different potions and remedies that the Royal Apothecary Society had developed. Some of them did things that no jutsu she had ever been taught could do, and even did things that she didn't think were possible. There were cures for all sorts of afflictions that healers and priests in Stormwind had not yet discovered. It was amazing. The shopkeepers and brewers seemed rather wary of the girl, who asked them all sorts of questions on the compositions of certain potions or the brewing techniques for a certain type of antidote. She didn't buy anything though, so when she finally left for dinner at the end of the day, they all sighed in relief.

Kira resolved that she would return in due time, and buy as much as she could. It so happened that she no longer had any money to spare.

Due to the fact that she herself had spent so much time, and Kylia had stood with her, out of duty rather than interest, she led them through the Rogue's Quarter so that Kylia could look at some poisons and throwing knives. The sheer number of poisons they possessed astonished Kylia, and she was almost as eager as Kira to see what they were composed of and how they affected people. Kira had had to drag her away so that they didn't spend all night there.

That night they ate at the Rotting Mushroom, and listened to many of Fen's stories from when he was an ambassador. The Forsaken was quite upbeat, despite having spent his entire day in the gloomy, dark laboratories with the greasy alchemist Faranell.

He was just so happy that he had his job back.

The fourth day dawned (unbeknownst to most of the Undercity, them being underground and all), and a courier brought a message to the inn that the three humans were staying at, saying that Sylvanas wished to see them. After packing up, they headed down into the deeper parts of the city, using a route that they now knew by heart. When they entered the Royal Quarter, after bidding good morning to the guards, they discovered that Myrdraxxis and Fen were there as well. Faranell, the Master Apothecary, stood in the back, trying to look unnoticeable. His presence, however, was almost completely disregarded by the entering humans and fox.

Sylvanas sat in her throne, staring down at them pensively.

"Matthias is outside, waiting for you," she said, calmly. Noting their surprised reactions, she said, "I told you that you would simply wait until he returned, did I not? And I am told that you still have one more race to convince."

"Yes," Kira said, softly. "The Night Elves."

Sylvanas gave them a cold smile. "And they might prove to be the most difficult, or the easiest. There problems are far older and more deeper ingrained than mine. It will take far more of those gilded words you used on me, boy, to convince them. The older you are, it is said, the more stubborn you become. They do not enjoy change, and you are the very essence of it, brat. Be warned."

Naruto flashed her a grin. "Thanks, but I'm definitely gonna do it anyways."

She smirked at him. "Use my gift well, boy."

Fen and Myrdraxxis then approached. Fen clutched a small box, while Myrdraxxis a wrapped cloth. Fen stepped up to Kira and handed her the box, grinning.

"I heard you were admiring the things in the Apothecarium for quite a while yesterday. Take some of these, they'll definitely help you out."

Kira undid the clasp of the box, and opened it to find a series of small vials, filled with different color liquids and powders. She gasped, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Thank you!" she gushed, having seen just about everything she had intended to buy.

Fen flashed her a Forsaken grin. "Anything for a friend, you know?"

Myrdraxxis handed the wrapped cloth to Kylia. "You follow my path more closely than the others. Take this, it will help."

Kylia took the cloth, blinking, and slowly unwrapped it. She gasped as she revealed the contents, a glittering silver dagger with a heavily ornate hilt. He looked up to say her thanks, but Myrdraxxis had already turned and walked away.

He then stopped, and said over his shoulder, "The hilt contains a poison and an antidote. Use them well."

Kylia smiled widely and said her thanks anyways, even as he continued walking away.

"Perhaps you could escort them out, Fenritt, Myrdraxxis?" said Sylvanas, staring at the two Forsaken with her ivory eyes.

Fen and Myrdraxxis nodded, and without another word, left the Quarter, beckoning the four to follow them. They did, slowly, or at least three of them did.

Naruto stared straight back at Sylvanas for a while, not speaking, his eyes staring intensely into hers. It was as if he was trying to see her once again, to see if she truly meant what she had said. Earlier he had been forced to look through years of built up walls to see who she truly was. He had been forced to pierce the clouds that obscured her emotions, which made her the Banshee Queen, and not Sylvanas Windrunner.

Now, he saw that he did not need to see through anything. He saw Sylvanas Windrunner, sitting upon a throne, staring down at him with her true eyes.

He grinned, and then departed without a word.

Sylvanas sat in silence a moment, staring after the blonde boy, her expression as unreadable as ever. The silence was broken by Faranell.

"My lady…? Does this mean…I should stop work on the plague?"

Sylvanas continued to stare, but a smile had spread across her beautiful face.

"No. Continue work on it. After all, we shall need something to hold over the heads, when the time comes, won't we?"

As you suspected, this was only the beginning of the tale. Well, mostly. The beginning of my tale, at least. Now, dear readers, I shall leave you, for now at least. The author isn't letting me do scenes that I'm not in. Sadly.

It was fun, wasn't it?

But rest assured, the tale is far from over. You will see.

BOOM!

The doors to the Scarlet Cathedral burst open, an in walked a large group of men, all dressed in crimson armor, and bearing the tabard of the Crusade. Their faces were sullied with discolored blood, as were their unsheathed weapons. None of them, however, appeared wounded, simply out of breath.

They took note of the state of the Cathedral. Some cursed, staring in distaste at the signs of battle, disgusted at the sacrilege. Others simply noted in interest the spiral marks carved into the wall, and the huge patch of charred stone in the middle of the main aisle. Some went over and lit the candles to light the area, annoyed at the darkness. And still others remained ready and wary; for fear that more of the beasts they had encountered outside would appear.

Behind them, two figures walked in, and the entire group bowed to them. The first was a man, who stood at least a head taller than any of the others. He was dressed in plate armor of the deepest scarlet, and it was engraved with all sorts of runes and designs that made it appear of much better quality than the others. Sheathed across his back was a massive sword, which appeared almost as tall as he. A large helmet, also red, obscured his face with wing-like protrusions coming from the side.

The second was a woman.

Beautiful would not even begin to describe her. With hair so gold that the substance itself must have been named for it, and a figure so perfect that no sculptor could have duplicated, the woman was clearly the leader of the group. She wore a tight leather outfit, blood red, with a chain-mail skirt and a white and red tabard, bearing the Scarlet insignia.

The woman's eyes, so uniquely purple that no painter could do it justice, scanned the room. Her eyes fell on something near the back.

She strode across the room, causing the group to part, and stopped a little ways in front of the fallen form of High Inquisitor Whitemane. The former leader of the Scarlet Monastery lay crumpled on the ground, black marks from Kira's Shadow word winding around her still form. Her hair was splayed out on the ground like a soft, silk sheet, and seemed to shine like the moon. The woman in red stared down at all of this, her eyes taking in the scene.

She saw a sudden twitch, and then another movement.

Whitemane was alive.

The High Inquisitor opened her emerald eyes, her body twitching and moving spasmodically. She looked straight up at the woman, and seemed to freeze.

"Y-y-y-you…"

The woman said nothing in response; she simply lowered herself to the ground, reaching out a hand to caress Whitemane's face. Whitemane reached out and grasped the woman's hand, shaking madly, and tried to push it away.

"Y-y-y-y-you…t-t-t-t-took…"

The woman retracted her hand, letting Whitemane's fall limp. The High Inquisitor was struggling to get up, her green eyes clouded with weakness and near-death. The woman stared at her with a face of unimaginable beauty, frozen in a look of absolute serenity.

"Y-y-y-you…t-t-t-took…e-ever-everything…f-f-from…m-me…"

Whitemane's body was shaking uncontrollably now, almost as if she were having a seizure. The woman once again reached out, and touched her face. Whitemane stopped shaking for a moment, and her body seemed to relax.

The woman peered into Whitemane's eyes.

"What…a waste," she said, softly.

Whitemane's body seemed to jerk suddenly, and she lunged out with a hand, grasping the woman's shoulder. She began to shake madly again, and tears began to flow from her eyes.

"Don't worry," said the goddess among women. "The Holy Light will find a new vessel. You no longer matter."

She reached out, and touched Whitemane's forehead. There was a sudden spark of chakra, and the woman's hand glowed black for a second.

Whitemane stopped shaking, and went completely limp. She was dead.

The woman stood, and looked over her shoulder. "Slave!"

The giant of a man hurried over, falling to one knee as he stopped in front of her. "Mistress?" he rumbled, his voice deepened by the helmet he wore.

"Take your men and scour the enter monastery. Find any of those creatures we found outside and destroy them. Then search the surrounding area. We cannot let any escape. When you have finished, burn this place to the ground."

The man nodded. "Your word is law, mistress."

The woman didn't respond. She snapped her fingers instead.

Behind her, a figure appeared, dressed completely in red. "Milady, what dost thou need?"

"Return to Stratholme. The Grand Crusader needs to know of this."

"Thither shall I go, Your Holiness. May the Light be with thee," The Scarlet Ghost whispered, before vanishing as swiftly as he had arrived.

Without another word, Lady Demetria, the Scarlet Oracle, turned and left the Cathedral, without a look back at the fallen form of High Inquisitor Whitemane, whose tears were still wet, their meaning still a mystery to all.

I'm back! And the chapter is done! Yay!

It's a bit later than I would have wanted it out, but I needed some time to get back into the swing of things. I had no time to write in Ethiopia, even if it was long hand.

It was a blast.

If you ever get a chance to help out somewhere in that country, do it. It is the most beautiful, and friendliest country I have ever been to. It was a life-changing experience, to say the least. I plan on going back next year. I loved the kids at the orphanage too, and miss them already. I didn't get sick once, either, so I was able to completely enjoy it! I even watched the World Cup with ten thousand other Ethiopians. God, I loved it!

But that's enough gushing about my vacation. I hope to get back to writing much faster, and have the chapter out some time this week. It's the beginning of the Elf Arc.

I hope you guys enjoyed the Forsaken Arc, by the way. I certainly did.

As for this chapter, the little story that Kakashi and Sakura made up was something that I just thought up out of the blue. Does it sound like a folktale of a sorts? I just wanted to include it.

Well, that's it. Seeya all and it's good to be back and able to drink from the tap!

PS- Notice that I spelled Guy-sensei like an American. I heard somewhere that that was how it is really spelled, according to the data book or something. If it's wrong, please feel free to correct me by giving me a credible source.

General Grievous