Author's note: I first made the chapter resemble Full Metal Jacket...the scrapped the whole thing. It was way too dark full of cussing, degrading, and sexual comments. Then I wrote this. I like it much better.
I would like to make a personal note that I hate writing Killer's Bee's speech. I can't rap. (Then again, neither could he.)
Training area 44
It took awhile, but everyone recovered from their fits of laughter enough to free Naruto from the stump. He still looked ridiculous, but at least he was free.
Naruto rubbed his shoulders easing the tension he had developed in them from being tied up for several hours. "Thanks Kiba." Naruto said.
"I live to serve your majesty." Kiba said bowing. Causing snorts and cackles all around.
Naruto glared at the traitor. But Kiba was immune to Naruto's glare. Frankly, a giant pink bunny glaring is about as frightening as a kitten tangled up in yarn.
"Alright, settle down you guys," Kakashi said. "Asuma here has a little something to tell you guys."
Asuma took a drag from his cigarette. "I'd just like to say...Welcome to Hell."
All the jonin began grinning evilly, except Gai, who was just grinning creepily. Every genin except Lee felt a shiver of fear crawl up their spines.
Asuma took up the tone of a Drill Sergeant, "I'm Senior Drill Instructor Sarutobi Asuma, there are my fellow instructors Hayate Kakashi, Mitarashi Anko, Yūhi Kurenai and Maito Gai. For the next three weeks, we will be in charge of your training."
"Our mission is to make every last one of you into ninjas. At the academy, you were taught the barest bones of what it means to be a ninja. Ninja's are agents of stealth, sabotage, deception and assassination. So far, none of you have come even close to understand or demonstrating what it means to be a ninja. Until the end of camp you will obey all our orders without question as each of us are true ninja. When we are through with you, you will be as silent as mice, as swift as the wind, and as elusive as shadows." Asuma continued. "We will treat you with firmness, fairness, and respect, but only as long as you give us one hundred percent of effort. Hatake Kakashi will instruct you on what is expected of you this trip."
Kakashi then went on to explain on the basic rules of the trip. The girls would sleep in a separate area than the boys during the night, but they would all train during the day. Everyone was expected to help each other and not leave anyone behind. They were all warned that this was known as the Forest of Death for a reason. Between giant insects, man eating plants, and leftover traps from the years, there was plenty of chances that someone would be injured or die. Everyone was responsible for keeping an eye out for any potential dangers as well as any faltering in the ranks. Any signs of dehydration, exhaustion, or weakening were to be treated immediately.
The first week, the genin were informed would be a pure physical training. The next two weeks would involve mass training in various jutsus. Kurenai was in charge of teaching genjutsu, Gai was responsible for taijutsu, Kakashi was in charge of ninjutu, Anko was in charge of stealth and survival, and Asuma was in charge of team formations and tactics.
Naruto raised his hand, "Sir, what will Rider and Saber be doing? I saw them enter the forest during the night."
Anko smiled evilly, "Now, that would be telling."
The twelve genin were issued arm and leg weights that were to be worn throughout the duration of the training. Only Lee was given an entire vest of weights to slow him down as Gai had already given Lee a tremendous amount of physical training already.
"Oof," Naruto said, "What the hell are these? They're so small, yet they weigh a ton."
"Chakra infused weights," Gai informed him. "These weights are filled with chakra adding weight to them."
"Indeed Naruto-kun," Lee said nodding, "Though they may be small, each of them can weight up to a hundred pounds per bar."
'One hundred?' the rest of the genin thought.
Naruto pointed a finger at Lee, "How much do you train with normally?"
"Twenty pounds a bar." Lee said proudly.
Sakura analyzed the training weights. There were ten bars on each leg. 'Four hundred pounds! That's insane.'
Several of the genin looked upon Lee with new found respect.
'Troublesome,' Shikumaru thought. He'd rather have gone cloud watching instead of going on this stupid training camp. They had to be preparing the teams for the upcoming chunin exams. *Sigh* why did he always have to end up doing these sorts of things. All he wanted to do was be normal, find a normal wife, have two kids, and retire and play shogi in his old age.
Choji paled at the thought of a week of pure physical training. He had always been the last in the class when it came to physical aptitude. While he was much stronger than he looked, he had no endurance or speed. His clan abilities focused on power and altering their body mass. The more mass they had, the more they could stretch themselves.
Ino had finally realized that skipping dinner was a bad idea. There was no point dieting if she was going to train for a week straight. While she did want to learn new jutsus, she was not looking forward to three weeks without a decent shower. Good thing she brought her conditioner and skin cream with her.
Kiba was quivering with excitement. Three weeks of getting stronger, the thought made him want to jump for joy. He was already looking forward to seeing what his instructors would make them do. Of course, two hours later he would regret that attitude.
Shino looked on at the training area. His bugs were shuffling in fear of the environment. There were plenty of plants and animals that wanted to eat all his bugs. He would have to think of alternative jutsus for the camp least he lose his hive.
Hinata thought of three weeks near Naruto and began blushing once more. It seemed like a dream come true. Maybe she could build up enough confidence to tell Naruto how she felt about him.
Sasuke was satisfied. 'Finally, now we're getting some serious training in.' Saber was a good teacher for sparring matches, but he was unable to teach any other way. True, Sasuke had to admit his own taijutsu skills and dodging ability were now far superior to what they were before, but only so much could be taught through sparring. Kakashi had only worked on chakra control and had held back from teaching him any jutsus or using the Sharingan.
TenTen was busy wondering what Saber was going to do for the training. She was already used to insane training due to Gai and Lee's usual routines, but she had been hoping that Saber could give her more lessons on his style. He had promised to teach her how to properly use a bow the next time that they trained.
Neji was not pleased. Three weeks near Hinata seemed like hell. Truly, was he fated to forever be taunted by her existence? Because of her, his own father died. And just look at her little sister. Little Hanabi, the prodigy. When see was kidnapped, how long did it take them to find her? Had Kumo not failed so spectacularly to Saber, he might have had to have been the sacrifice for the main branch.
Finally, Naruto. Naruto just wanted to get out of the bunny outfit, but Saber had taken his stuff ahead. He knew that Saber and Rider were out there somewhere. He could close his eyes and point in the general direction of the two of them in the forest. Saber was probably still laughing at the humiliation that Naruto was feeling. Naruto had to think of the perfect prank to get back at Saber, but was coming up with nothing for the moment. Well, he'd think of something spectacular soon enough. He was the king of pranks for a reason.
"All right," Anko said after Kakashi had explained the rules, "Everyone. Follow me." Not one person missed her expression. She looked like a cat that had gotten into the cream and now had a bunch of mice cornered. Everyone, including Lee shuddered at the look. 'I have a bad feeling about this,' They all thought.
Kazekage's Residence
Gaara grabbed his bag silently and began heading off for the village entrance.
"Soon my child," The one tail whispered in his head. "Soon we shall crush them all in the ceremony."
"Yes Mother," Gaara said creepily. "Soon, soon I will be able to prove my existence against the best."
"No my child, my beloved Gaara," it whispered in his ears, "Let Berserker prove it. He is but an extension of our will."
"No," Gaara argued, "I need to prove my existence myself."
Mother raged within him, "Do not be foolish child, you cannot prove your existence to those who are dead. Let the dead fight the dead. Prove yourself on the living."
Gaara nodded, Mother was right. Mother was always right. Why prove himself on the dead ones. Let them fight their wars. There would be plenty of others to feed mother.
"Yes," Mother whispered, "There will be plenty of others. And when we win the ceremony, I will be able to see you again. My beloved child. Only I love you. Only I know your pain."
Gaara walked to the entrance to meet those who called themselves his siblings. Fools, there was only mother. Mother was everything.
Behind him, Berserker followed silently, but intimidating all who saw him. From his perfectly formed body that looked almost like gold to his twin yellow eyes cracked with red blood vessels betraying his madness. He wore his armor and weapons with him at all times prepared to decimate anyone on his Master's orders. He stood at six foot two without his helm, which added a foot from the plumage on top. That monster might have once been called handsome, but the madness killed that notion faster than the speed of thought.
Even the Kazekage was intimidated by the creature. It had appeared during the final assassination attempt of Gaara. Yashamaru had been assigned to kill the boy, but failed spectacularly. It was hard to determine how it had happened, but Yashamaru was found with his heart pierced and his limbs torn apart and his head smashed in. The doctors had determined that Yashamaru had been alive while his limbs were torn apart and his heart pierced and had died in extreme agony from head trauma.
Now, in Yashamaru's place, Berserker stood by Gaara's side. No-one but the Kazekage and his family even dared to go near the boy and his guard now. Not one person could figure out how Berserker showed up. All Gaara had said was, "Mother called him."
The vague answer did not ease the minds of anyone. Gaara had been a lonely child before that night. Now, now he was a bomb waiting to go off. Now, Gaara was the weapon the village had wanted, only to find out that they could not control the weapon. Cries for his death had intensified, but a few deaths by Gaara and Berserker stomped that notion out of their heads. Gaara alone was dangerous. With Berserker, they were unstoppable.
Which is why they were being sent to Konoha for the invasion. The two of them were instructed to kill as many as they wanted when the signal was given. Gaara had merely glared at the Kazekage for daring to tell him when he could or could not kill.
Baki, Temari, and Kankuro were all waiting at the canyon entrance.
"Gaara-sama," Baki said, inclining his head slightly, "We are ready to depart when you are."
Gaara continued forward without a pause, Berserker right behind him.
Baki turned to the two siblings, "We need to be at Konoha in a few weeks. Normally, we could be there in less than a week, but we have our orders."
The orders had been to rendezvous with the scouting parties to determine what kind of resistance was to be anticipated. If the resistance was too much, not likely, then they were to pull back and wait for another opportunity. In addition, they needed to go slower as Gaara was not one to move at any other pace but the one he set himself.
The rest of Team Baki nodded and followed their little brother into the desert.
Kumo
Yugito was irritated at the hold up. He three students, while packed, were no-where to be found. That meant they were either with Him. Which was incorrect as He was standing next to her, or they were with the idiot.
Yugito sighed, right now, she'd rather deal with Him than the idiot. Seriously, whoever introduce rap to him needed to be dragged out into the street and stabbed to death. While He had a terrible attitude and looked down on her tactics as infantile, at least he refrained from terrible rhymes.
"How long are you going to refrain from using my name?" He asked. "All I said was the truth of the matter. It would be best if you stayed out of the way and let me fight on my own."
She gritted her teeth. "I am not a pampered princess, I am an elite ninja of the Hidden in the Clouds Village, and I will not stand aside if someone is targeting my life. And I will most definitely not stand back and let a puffed up robin fight my battles for me."
He sighed, "And yet, I can defeat you in less than a half hour no matter how many times we fight. I warn you Master, I am the Strongest Servant, but I cannot be everywhere at once."
She ground her teeth together. Of course, he had to bring up those fights. No matter how much power she pulled out of the two tails, He was always a step ahead of her. Every trick she tried to pull, he evaded and used one on her.
And because of that, Ace was copying Him. Ace was now trying to fight exactly like him. Though he had a long way to go, Ace was still ignoring her training for his.
"You're being ridiculous kitten." the Two tails told her. "No human, not even the mightiest of men can compare to a Servant. If they are ever in danger, they can revert to spirit form and evade any human attacks. Only a Servant can fight a Servant equally."
"Shut up," she told her tenant.
"No kitten," the cat told her, "You need to listen. I can't have you getting us both killed from your pride. The odds of you running into another Servant is high in Konoha. Do not interfere between the battle that will unfold. Retreat from battle or capture the Master. Those are the only two things you can do when Servant's battle."
"Indeed," He concurred, "That is sound advice."
"Thank you," the cat said graciously. Yugito was still amazed that Servants and Demons could interact.
"Why Kitten? I told you he is the spirit of a dead hero. Is it so strange that a spirit can interact with a demon. He might even be albe to enter your mindscape if you ever wanted him to. All the mindscape is is nothing more than a melding of your mind, body, and soul."
'My mind? No way. Never.' Yugito rejected
The cat rolled it's eyes, "Not your mind, your mindscape. You know, my extravagant prison I'm in." The Cat said sarcastically.
'No way in hell.' Yugito thought
"If you two are done, might I suggest that you look up." He said.
Yugito stopped her internal conversation and looked up at his suggestion.
"Yugito, my little girl, you make my world swirl." Killer Bee called out. "It's always nice to see you. These chances are getting too few."
Yugito winced, he was always trying to seduce her with the lousiest rhymes she ever heard. Bee had once tried to serenade her with rap, but stopped after she nailed him with all the power of the Cat. Being sent flying a few hundred meters got the message across. No waking the kitty at one in the morning.
"Where are they Bee?" Yugito demanded.
"Who they? Can't say." Bee shrugged. "I hadn't seen anyone but my bro today"
Yugito held a hand over her eyes. "Great, that's just great. We need to leave in an hour and those three idiots are missing."
"They're over there." He pointed out.
Yugito turned her head to the left. There they were. "Where were you three? You know we have to leave to get to Konoha in time."
Naru looked down embarrassed, but Ace and Tamaki smiled heedless of future punishments.
"Ah, sorry sorry." Ace said, "It's just that my order was finished." Ace held out his new weapons for inspection.
Yugito glared at the weapons. They were exact copies of his weapons.
"Not a good idea Ace, take a look at her face." Killer bee warned. "For your continued health, I suggest you employ some stealth."
Ace looked up at his teacher's face and blanched. Yugito was furious. Ace knew he was in for a world of hurt for the three week journey.
"S-sensei," Naru said, "Please don't be angry at him. He does rather well with those weapons, and Archer-" Tamaki instantly placed his hands over her mouth. Using Archer's name around Yugito was taboo until further notice.
Yugito smiled, "What was that? I thought I heard you say something Naru. Yes, I think you said you and Ace would be carrying our things for the journey."
Ace and Naru nodded, knowing all too well what would happen if they argued.
"Watch your mouth or your lives all go south. That's my advise else you end up in a vice." Killer Bee rapped. "A woman's mood is tender, watch out else you end up in a fender. Watch Yugito's beautiful eyes, for they are just like the skies..." Bee suddenly pulled out a notebook in mid rap and began making notes muttering things like "Weather, feather, ice, spice..."
He looked at Killer Bee, "How does Lancer deal with his Master?"
Team Yugito shrugged and headed off leaving Bee behind to watch over the village.
Forest of Death
'Why did I think that this would be fun?' Kiba found himself asking. The twelve genin had just spent the last four hours running various obstacle courses set up on the edges of the forest. Between climbing various objects with massive weights on them, dodging projectiles, crawling through a minefield with small explosive tags, leaping over pits with sharpened swords, and so on, they were all tired.
Choji, unsurprisingly, was the first one to tire out, but the instructors kept pushing him forward with threats, praise, insults, and a bit of bribery. Somehow, Choji was still able to keep up after the rest even after these hours. Choji kept muttering something alone the lines of "All you can eat. All you can eat."
Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto were still in the lead for the course, but it was meaningless at this point as they were all slowing down from fatigue.
Kiba looked ahead at the next obstacle in the way. It was two poles in the held horizontally in air that they had to jump through. The problem was that there were near invisible strings in between the poles. If they tripped the strings, a dozen needles would come flying at them. It took superior control to keep from tripping the wires. At first, Kiba had been able to fly through this obstacle no problem. That had been about a dozen passes ago. After four hours, he was tiring out.
Kiba leaped, turning his body parallel to the ground. He should have been able to pass through a gap in the wires without incident. Not this time though.
His foot hit one of the strings sending a dozen needles at him. Kiba turned in mid air to dodge the attack, but one mean little bastard hit him in the ass.
"Ow!" Kiba yelled. It felt like a porcupine had nailed him. "Son of a bitch."
The rest of the genin fell silent and watched the trees. For the past few hours, anytime they made noise, the things would attack. They liked to refer to them as the terrors.
The attacks were one of two things. One of them was always preceded by a rattle of chains. Anko had said that it was an escaped creature left over from the rouge sannin Orochimaru. It looked like a large purple scaled monster with no eyes and smelled like a cross between a corpse and a reptile. Akumaru was always shivering from the scent of it.
They had been told that the creature reacted to sound and any noise would attract it. The genin had been told to cease all noise lest they end up the creature's prey. When that one arrived, trees were smashed as it made it's way though the area. The thing seemed to change it's size. It was the size of a carriage at first, but it would grow to the size of a house as time passed. It always seemed to leave before it was too big to fit. Like it had a limit to how long it could tay in one place. Kiba didn't care what the reason was, so long as it went away.
So far, no chains were rattled. That meant that the other attack was coming. The teams all dived into hiding. The purple monster was no problem as long as no-one breathed too loudly. This one was worse. Apparently, it was the curse of Anunka or something like that. Some warrior had died in this forest and his spirit haunted these grounds.
Everyone of the genin had scoffed at that, there were no such things as spirits or ghosts. Only Naruto for some reason remained quiet. The feeling that there were no ghosts died the instant they first saw it.
It was a monster that sprouted weapons from it's body and strange sword that seemed to inspire terror upon those who looked (1). It wore the armored mask and helm of a samurai. It's clothes were ragged from the weapons, which were all coated in blood. Every one of the genin had screamed at the ghost and fled like a flock of pigeons.
Anko had lead the ghost away, to which Kiba swore he would build a shrine to her. How anyone could face that ghost was beyond him. She had returned later with cuts across her arms and face and warned them to hide before the ghost found them. Everyone took it to heart, they saw how the ghost had cleaved completely through a tree. The training continued, but always with wary looks in the trees. Everyone began moving as silently as possible lest they bring the terrors back.
Shino tried to send a few bugs out as scouts, but the bugs were soon eaten by the various plants and wildlife. Akumaru tried to keep a nose out for potential attacks, but the monsters were good. They always seemed to come downwind or come too fast for more than a yip of warning. The genins had to rely on their speed, reflexes, and training to keep them safe.
Several genin had wanted to leave after the first attack, but the instructors had forbidden it.
"Ninja's will always end up fighting or evading dangerous things. Are you going to flee and abandon the mission every time you go into danger?" Kurenai whispered. That had shut them up. They knew higher ranked missions had increased danger, but they were all sick of D ranked missions.
Now the entire genin force and the jonin hid for a while waiting for death to pass over them. After a few minutes, the all clear was whispered by Kakashi and the training began anew.
Elsewhere in the forest.
Rider looked over at Saber's body. "Does it hurt?"
"More than I can describe, but it works." Shirou said, indicating his body. He had over Reinforced his body causing various blades to sprout out of his arms, legs, and back making him look like a walking monster. It was only due to Avalon strapped to his side and the Saber class natural healing ability that he was not dying from the swords. "How are you doing Rider?"
Rider shrugged, she had barely used Monstrous Strength altering her appearance. If she constantly used it, she would eventually turn into the legendary Gorgon. As it was, she made sure there was plenty of downtime between attacks before she went out and scared them all again.
Shirou smiled at the first time Anko came to check on him. It had been his suggestion that she come back looking battered, bruised, and a bit cut up.
Anko had smiled, leaned forward and kissed him. "I love when you're being dramatic."
"Taken remember?" Shirou said.
"Well then, she can come and stop me herself." Anko said . She lost her grin when she saw the pain cross his face. It had been a low blow, though she was unaware of it. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Don't worry about it, not your fault." Shirou said lamely.
Anko knew that something was up right then, "Spill it."
Shirou shook his head, "It's personal."
Rider took Anko in hand and lead her aside. "He's in mourning of sorts."
Anko suddenly put two and two together. "So...she's dead?"
Rider nodded, secretly amused at the opportunity in front of her. If Saber had been alive, she would never have interfered, but since he was a Servant, he would always return to the blond girl in the end.
Therefore, he was fair game as long as he was here.
Anko scratched her head, "Damn, that had to hurt."
Rider nodded, "But that means he's available now."
Anko grinned again. "True, very true."
Rider aided Anko in smudging herself and added some cuts to the face where there would be no scars as well as a few on the arms. Rider watched Anko head off to tell the genin about the 'Vengeful Spirit.'
"What did you just do?" Saber said in horror after hearing the two of them converse.
"Eavesdropping is a bad habit," Rider scolded slightly.
"So's messing with one's love life." Shirou countered.
"It's no big deal, you'll return to her in the end. For now, you're free. Enjoy." She said with a playful smile. With that, Rider dashed away from Saber before he planned something murderous.
Training grounds
It was lunch time and every one of the genin were looking forward to lunch. Many of them had packed some food for their first meal. Unfortunately, they hadn't heard about why food is forbidden in area 44.
Bugs,
Great Big, Killer, Bugs.
Not even Shino could control the ravenous appetites of the insects. They would have to wait for the swarms to leave before they could access their backpacks.
Sakura and Ino wanted to scream at the insects when others covered their mouths. Silence was golden for this training. Anko waltzed up to the twelve genin an took on a look of mock sympathy. "Aw, it looks like your going to have to find food out there." She was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
The twelve genin suppressed groans of agony and despair. Of course, nothing was going to be simple out here.
Anko led the team through roundabout trails and obstacles at a silent run showing where various types of food were. They found several half eaten or sliced up carcasses showing signs of the two horrors.
Kiba was able to find a dying deer that had the unfortunate luck of meeting the ghost. Shino and his bugs were able to find various fruits that were safe to eat with TenTen helping him collect it. Sakura had memorized the safe mushrooms and gathered them with Ino and Hinata. Choji located a few herb grasses for flavoring while Shikumaru tried his luck fishing while chewing on grass. Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji kept themselves busy keeping an eye out for any dangers. Once, one of Naruto's clones made noise and had to be sent off as a sacrifice to keep the enemy distracted.
The feedback from the Clone almost made Naruto vomit. The purple beast had eaten the clone in one bite.
After the food was collected, they all returned to camp and began cooking their own food. Every one of the genin looked on at the jonin with hatred. While they had to make do with improvised meals, they watched as the instructors were eating on what was obviously Saber's cooking. The intoxicating smell was driving Naruto, Sasuke, Choji, and Sakura nuts. Kiba had to hold back on drooling over the smell. Neji and Hinata had been exposed to Saber's cooking a few times when he came to visit and were wondering if there was anyway they could sneak some from the jonin.
Anko came over to rub it in to the genin's faces, "Mmm, mmm that Saber is a world class chef. Just look at this food. Grilled fish with lemon sauce and butter. Freshly baked bread and a leafy salad..." On and on she went describing the various foods they were eating. "So...what are you guys having?"
All the genin looked over at the badly cooked venison that was too stringy, the wrinkled fruit, the single tiny fish, and the plain mushrooms and scowled. This training mission sucked.
After the rushed meal, the genin were sent back to the course to complete more rounds. This time, two new obstacles had miraculously appeared. One of them was a barbed wire raised over a pit of mud with knives haning over the top. The other was a series of chains over a large pit of water. The genin were instructed to use a stick and crawl on their back with the stick keeping the wire off their faces. They had to swing across the chain links like Tarzan without falling in the water.
"Be careful," Anko said cheerfully, "There's large leeches in the water that'll suck you dry in seconds." The difficulty of the course was increasing as barbed wire and chains made noise if one was not careful. In addition, there was no place to hide under the barbed wire, so they had to pray that they could get the ghost to leave without seeing them if they were to make noise.
The jonin's were impressed by the absolute silence of the genin. Even loudmouth Naruto was silently moving through the course.
Asuma leaned next to Kakashi and whispered, "We should have the academy do something like this before they graduate. Look at the progress the fear is doing to them."
Kakashi nodded, "Saber and Rider really went all out with those henge. They look so real I want to run away from them."
Anko shook her head, "I don't think those were henge, they might be a form of Bloodline Limit. They were too real when I went to check on them."
The others all stopped to think about Rider's and Saber's forms. Rider's form looked too monstrous to be a Bloodline Limit, the whole thing was way too inhuman for them to comprehend. They hoped it was a powerful Genjutsu rather than the alternative. If that was a bloodline limit, it would be best not to think of what she could do. Rider was already known to have a bloodline limit with her eyes, though they all believed that it controlled people rather than turn them to stone.
Saber's...well, it was sort of like the extinct Kaguya clan that formed weapons with their bones.
"Maybe it's an advanced form of the Kaguya clan." Kakashi wondered. "The Sharingan is supposed to have several levels to it."
"I don't know," Gai said, "His swords didn't seem to come from his body when we sparred."
They all shrugged and went back to training the genin. They had enough to deal with as it was.
Night fell and the genins all headed for their sleeping bags. It was Naji who suggested that they have a rotating watch for danger. The others agreed that the idea was sound.
Good thing they did.
Naruto took first watch as he was still full of energy from the day. The others were more than grateful for the chance to sleep.
Naruto waited a bit and walked away from the rest. He picked up a rock and threw it into the woods. Saber came out and caught the rock.
"Now Master, was that necessary?" Saber said amused.
Naruto pointed at Saber, "What was the big idea, I nearly peed my pants the first time I saw you."
Shirou smiled, "That was the whole idea Master. Fear is a powerful tool and teacher."
Rider came out and smirked
Naruto pointed at Rider, "And you, how the hell did you do that? That big thing?"
"Master, that is one of my forms." Rider said. Naruto waited but Rider was unwilling to elaborate.
Shirou sighed, "What you were seeing was Rider reverting into the legendary gorgon. It was said she had snakes for hair and eyes that turned any man she saw into stone."
Naruto thought about the attacks and realized that her hair did almost look like snakes.
Rider held up a finger, "That was only a transitional stage. My gorgon form steals my sanity and reason for a time."
Shirou nodded, "If she had been in that form, there would have been no way for me to win."
Naruto nodded, "So I should expect an attack tonight?"
"Several Master," Shirou said grinning.
Naruto groaned, it was going to be a long night.
Naruto went back to the genins and waited till the end of his shift and went to wake Ino.
That night, Naruto dreamed.
It was a celebration at the temple. The sisters were the stars of the celebration it looked almost like a birthday party. Powerful beings were attending them. The two immortal sisters were laughing, joking, and mingling with the other powerful beings. Naruto watched as the two sisters laughed as a being that looked like the most beautiful naked woman ever ate a fire hot sweet. "Ohohoho, good one sister," one of the two said, "Aphrodite's expression was priceless."
"Damn you," Aphrodite screeched, "I'll get you for this."
One of the two leaned next to Aphrodite and whispered, "Not if you don't want us to tell your husband where you were two days ago."
Aphrodite inhaled and glared death, but made no more comments to the two.
Yes, the two sisters were the life of the party. No cup of ambrosia was empty, no wine cups half full. Yes, for these two, they fit in with the crowd shining brightly.
But not Rider.
In the corner, hiding in shadows, Rider stayed. The others were immortals, but she...she was mortal. Doomed to age and die, though much later than a human ever would. She was intimidated by the gods around her. They were so much more than she was. They were perfect, and she was cursed. So she stayed in the shadows while her sisters stayed in the light enjoying the party.
"Here now," a cool elegant voice said, "We can't have one of the hosts hiding."
Rider looked up at the source of the voice. It looked almost like a man. If a man had water for a beard, seaweed for hair, and scales on his legs. He wore a toga that seemed to ripple like waves. In his hands was a large golden trident that stirred the seas at his whim.
"Lord Poseidon," Rider bowed, "How is the party?"
Poseidon's laughter crashed like waves on a beach, "Hoho, delightful as ever little one. All the pranks will soon have Aphrodite and Athena pulling out their hair. Hera is keeping an eye on Zeus while Apollo and Diana have to keep on their toes. My own dour brother Hades is finally cracking a smile for the first time in a decade. But tell me, why do you not join your sisters little Medusa?"
Rider waved a hand over herself. "Because I am flawed."
"Nonsense, you're much more sensible than many of my relatives and several of my children. Have you heard of some of the latest schemes Bacchus came up with?" Poseidon may be known as the Earth Shaker when angry, but he could be like a lovable grandfather to his family.
Rider shook her head, "No, I am mortal. I am not like you Lord Poseidon. You will live throughout the ages, while I will soon fade and die"
Poseidon seemed to consider something. "Hold out you hand little Medusa."
Rider did as instructed, curious as to what was happening. Poseidon was known for his eccentrics. He was as temperamental as the sea. Raging one moment, calm the other.
Rider suddenly screamed in pain as her hand was impaled by the trident. The rest of the guests paused at what was happening.
Naruto saw the sisters dash to their own sister. The looks in their eyes promised death to the one that dared to harm their little sister.
"What have you done?" Stheno growled pulling Rider's hand free.
"You dare harm her here? In our temple?" Eurale snarled. "How dare you Lord Poseidon." She began tending to her sister's wound with strips of her dress. They were going to fight him. He may be an elder god, but here in their temple the were stronger. Here, they could take on Poseidon and several other gods and come out on top.
"I did no such thing," Poseidon said pointing to the puddle of blood on the floor. "I merely made her a gift."
Before their eyes, the blood began shifting. It formed into the shape of a winged horse and grew in size. When it was the size of a colt, it solidified. Naruto watched as the blood turned white and became a horse with the wings of a bird.
"Behold." Poseidon roared, the walls shaking from the power of his voice. "Pegasus, the steed of Medusa until the end of time. Let no man or god harm it lest they invoke my wrath."
The little thing took a few hesitant steps towards Rider. When it sneezed, Rider cried with joy and hugged it and kissed it. "Thank Lord Poseidon, this is a wonderful gift." A pegasus. There were a few other in the world. Formed by the will of Poseidon for various reasons. But this one, this one was hers
There was a loud applause from the group. It was a wondrous gift for the little wallflower. Rider had always held herself back from the parties since she first started growing a century all watched with amusement as Pegasus began trying to fly. It flopped a few times, but it soon was able to fly on its own accord.
Naruto watched as Rider was crying with happiness while the two sisters were hugging her with joy. All around them, the gods clapped and praised the beauty of Pegaus. But he noticed something, Poseidon was looking at Rider strangely, almost hungrily.
Naruto woke up with a shout, or he would have if Ino wasn't holding a hand over his mouth. All around him, the other genins were keeping quiet as chains rattled in the night. Off to the side, there was a mighty crash of noise as a tree was smashed to pulp by Rider's massive form.
Even knowing that Rider would never hurt them was little comfort. That form was just plain freaky. The others all huddled up shivering from both fear and the cold night while Rider rampaged for a while before vanishing.
The other looked at each other and wondered what they were going to do. Naruto beat them to the punch and went right back to sleep like a veteran trooper.
Sakura blinked at the unconscious Naruto. "How can he sleep at a time like this?"
Shikamaru yawned, "Because he's tired, as am I." With that, he laid down and fell fast asleep.
The others looked at each other and agreed that there really was nothing else they could do. Everyone but Hinata laid down to try to sleep while Hinata waited for the next attack.
The jonins all looked over at the genin.
"I would never have believed it if I didn't see it." Anko said, "They react like professionals when they think that they could die."
"Fear is a powerful motivator," Asuma adds. "The slightest noise could mean death to a ninja. With this, we teach them how to act silently without endangering them."
"A most youthful and inspired idea," Gai says proudly. "I can see true progress in Lee's stealth."
'It helps if he never goes on yelling about youth.' Kakashi thought.
"How long will we keep this up?" Kurenai asked.
"Saber said he would reveal the truth at the end of the week if they haven't figured it out before then." Anko answered.
Asuma snorted, "I bet they'll figure it out before the end of tomorrow."
"A thousand yen says they won't" Anko bet.
Kakashi thought about it, "Two days probably."
Kurenai bet that it would take five days while Gai bet it would take three. Anko bet that they would never figure it out. Saber's and Rider's disguises were too good to make the connection.
The four of them settled in to wait for the next wave of terror.
The dreams shift
Saber was on the bed with Ria tired from the long night of running away, planning their next move and the sex. Ria is now armed and wearing her armor once more.
They head out for a last stand. Today, either Berserker dies, or they die. Today, either Herakles is killed, or they are killed.
The forest is quiet. It is as if nature itself does not want to distract this duel.
"Emiya, you and Saber will distract her. I'll move in from the side and. Ambush them. We can't win this in a straight up fight."
Ria nods, "I agree, it is a sound plan."
Saber tries to argue with them. Rin's job is dangerous, she could be easily killed if the plan goes wrong, but Rin and Ria argue with him and win. Saber just can't win against the two of them.
Rin shows that she will kill Berserker with three of her precious gems.
"Hey, aren't you being stingy?" Saber breaks in relieving some of the tension building in the room.
"I agree." Ria says, "I should not be saying this, but I believe you should be generous enough to use half of your gems for the attack."
Rin looks aghast, "W-what? It's my business isn't it? Do you know how much these things cost?"
Ria and Saber just look at her, their faces protesting the cheapskate.
"Fine," Rin says in a huff, "I'll use half."
Ria and Saber suddenly begin to laugh. The whole scene is ridiculous. Here they are, preparing to fight to the death, and they are negotiating on the cost of an attack.
Rin suddenly glares at Saber and shuts him up. Naruto feels a shiver run up his spine. Saber's glare is scary, but Rin's glare is on a whole different level. It's clear who Saber learned to glare from.
Rin leaves the building and Ria and Saber follow. Ria is almost at the door when she stumbles. Saber is quick enough to grab her hand before she falls.
"Are you okay Saber?" he asks.
Ria is blushing. "No, nothing...it's just your hand..."
Saber realizes what she means, and they both stand there blushing with an awkward silence in between them. The air could not be more awkward if Berserker danced in like a ballerina wearing a pink tutu and a small crown declaring itself the sugar plum fairy.
'L-lets head on our Saber." he stutters. Hoping to kill the silence
"Y-your right. Lets hurry Shirou," She concurs.
They head out to a clearing and prepare. Rin heads off to hide while Ria and Saber prepare to meet Illya and her monster. The air becomes stifling. Saber feels as if the air is becoming heavier. He looks to the east and sees her. Illya.
"Fufufu, I found you onii-chan." Illya says like it was a game of hide and seek. For her it was in a morbid sense of way. For Illya, there is no concept of cruelty. She just is. Like an innocent child ripping the wings off birds not understanding that she is hurting them.
"I'm surprised Onii-chan. I thought you would keep running till the last second." Illya says looking around. "Mh? But where's Rin?"
"She ran off hours ago." Saber says. "Something about the church."
Illya smiles, "Liar. I'd know when she's have escaped my forest. She's still here somewhere."
"Maybe," Saber shrugs, "But she's not here."
"Mmmh, then I guess I'll have to hunt her down after I'm done with you Shirou." Illya states. She looks Ria over. "Ah, so she's recovered. I see, so that's why you stopped running." Illya's smile becomes predatory. "It's cute really. You still think you can beat my Berserker with your Saber. Too bad though. You're going to die here Saber."
"Illya, I'm going to ask you this once. Will you stop being a Master and stop this battle." Saber says seriously.
Illya shook her head, "As long as I have Berserker, I am the Master of Einzbern. I have to kill all other Masters and obtain the Holy Grail."
"I see...then I have to kill Berserker." Saber states. He will save her, he must. His ideal will not let him do otherwise.
The air freezes. The two Masters are set, their Servants are ready.
"No more playing around. Go mad Herakles." Illya orders. The monster roars. The earth shakes from the force of the roar. The trees shake and shiver dropping sticks and dead leaves everywhere. The monster seems to get bigger and deformed from Illya's command.
"No way," Ria says in disbelief. "You were just taking his reasoning away? He hasn't been using his abilities this whole time?" The monster had been strong before. Now, now it was a juggernaut.
"Go Berserker. Kill anything that nears you." Illya says.
It dashes forward, death is coming.
Ria charges forward and the two Servants clash.
It is a battle of titans. Berseker;s fury is lashing out with his massive blade fighting Ria. Unlike last time, Ria is nowhere near as strong as she was before. Before, she could hold her ground against the monster. Now? Now she has to evade attacks lest she be killed in an instant.
Berserker's attacks are like whirlwinds of death. No human could hope to go up against such attacks. Not even the swiftest of ninjas would last more than a second against the speed of the attacks. They are so fast, the mind cannot comprehend the number of blows exchanged in a minute. Hundred? Thousands? Too many, too fast. Saber is forced to evade, shunt attacks, or meet them all head on.
Sparks fly between exchanges of blows. Ria's armor is breaking from the sparks and near misses. She slowly being beaten down.
Naruto hold his breath. The battle is far different that the last time the two clashed. Back then, Ria had more power, more speed, more strength. Even wounded last time, she was better than she is now. It looks like it is only a matter of time. Ria is breathing heavily from the short time the two have clashed. Her movements are slowing and her blows are getting less powerful by the second. Rin had better hurry up and find an opening or Ria is finished. Saber can't stand by. He takes a branch and changes it. It becomes a bow, a crude one, but it works. He takes a stick and changes it into an arrow. Saber lets the arrow fly straight and true into the eye of Berserker...only for it to bounce off. The backup does nothing, Berserker does not even deign to notice the mosquito's bite.
Saber is frantic, he has to think up of something until Rin makes her move. Yet, all he can see is a sword. A sword that is not there. A sword that promises victory, but will not appear.
Ria is sent backwards, almost knocked off her feet. She lands, but is barely able to block the next attack. Ria is getting pushed back into the forest by Berserker's speed and power.
Time is slowing down for Saber. As each blow is exchanged between Ria and Berserker, he can feel his magic flowing through him. Stronger, more organized than before.
Ria barely dodges an attack and her armor is shattered. She uses the opening to charge in to try to kill Berseker.
She swings and the beast is blown backwards.
"Get back Saber!" Rin yells. Rin jumps down and throws several jewels at Berserker chanting "Neun, Acht, Seiben. Stil, schiebt Beschieben, Erschie Ssung."
Three giant icicles the size of spears flying forward smash into the monster's head at point blank range.
Yet, Berserker is inhumanly fast. The blow that should have hit his head only freezes his right arm solid.
The left arm shoots forward and snags Rin.
It begins squeezing, threatening to kill her. Rin's face is twisted in pain and agony. He ribs are cracking from the force exerted by the giant.
Rin pulls out four red gems and smiles, "Perfect" She slams them forward, unleashing a barrage of death at the monster's face. Beserker has no chance of dodging this one.
Blood. Blood flies everywhere as Berserker's head is hit. White smoke covers where the head should be.
Naruto breathes a sigh of relief. 'It's over. Nothing could survive that.'
"No way." Rin says in disbelief. The head, the head that should be gone is still there. It's raw and pink, but it's still there.
Illya begins laughing hysterically, like she just pulled off a major prank.
"To think, you were actually capable of killing Berserker once. Too bad though, he won't stay dead until he's been killed twelve times."
"Stock lives," Rin whispers in pain as the arm tightens around her.
Illya laughs even more. "Too bad Rin between you and your Servant, you killed him Seven times. You were so much fun. But now, it's time to die."
Saber is running forward.
Naruto has no idea what he's doing. Saber is doing something crazy again. Rin is dead. There is nothing that can be done.
"Trace on." Saber yells
He begins to imagine. The sword, he needs the sword.
Berserker roars it's defiance at Saber who yells back as he charges. "Let go of her you bastard"
Berserker's right arm may be froze, but he can still swing with it a bit.
Berserker raises it up, preparing to smash the impudent brat, but Ria jumps in the way.
Both of them are sent flying.
Rin screams in pain as the grip tightens around her.
Saber gets up and charge again. He won't back down. He won't his ideal will never let him stop. Broken and battered, his ideal will never let him rest.
He has to save everyone. He has to. It's all he's lived for.
In his hands, a sword is forming. The sword in his head. It won't go away. In fact, the image is getting clearer. It's becoming more solid in his hands.
"That's my..." Ria says in wonder watching her Master's suicidal charge.
Berserker raises his frozen arm.
This time...
This time the boy will die.
Naruto tries to close his eyes. It's going to happen again.
The giant blade swings down.
Then...the world shakes apart...
Naruto wakes up screaming. Hinata was supposed to cover his mouth when she shook him awake, but had fainted after she shook him.
The other genin look on in horror as the ghost turns to the source of the disturbance. It roars it's own voice, though not as earth shaking as Berserker's it still scares the twelve children.
Naruto sees the altered form of Saber and goes nuts. He's just seen Berserker about to kill Saber. He can still hear the roaring in his ears.
His blood is pumping a million miles an hour.
The roars, the terror, the need to live.
It's too much for him.
His body is going into overdrive.
Fight or Flight?
Fight or Flight?
Fight or Flight?
Neither... the answer is short... the only thing when something that wishes to harm you comes your way... the most basic and oldest mindset.
Kill!
He charges in. The others are taken aback by Naruto's reckless charge.
"Naruto!" Sakura yells.
Naruto is uncaring for unnecessary chatter. There is an enemy in front of him. It's kill or be killed. He pulls out his knife and summons fifty clones. He begins Orange Flash as fast as he can. As fast as he has ever gone.
The genin stare for a second at their mad comrade. Frozen by the suicidal tendencies of Dead Last. It is Sakura who suddenly makes the first move. She charges in screaming like a banshee drawing her own weapons and adding her strength to Orange Flash.
That did it. The long hours of exhaustion added in with pure terror broke something in them. When Sakura charged, the others were caught up in the rush and charged after her relentlessly attacking the ghost. Kiba and Akumaru used Fang over Fang adding in a new level of centrifuge to the attacks.
Shino released hundreds of bugs at the enemies. Choji rolled into the fray with Human Bullet Tank trying to roll over the enemy.
Neji and Hinata tried to land Gentle Fisted Juuken. Ino added her weapons to Orange Flash. Sasuke began firing Great Fireballs when he saw an opening. Lee launched himself thrusting and kicking as best he could against a monster that sprouted weapons out of his limbs.
Only Shikumaru held himself back from joining in. He had been suspicious about the true identity of the 'Ghost' since the beginning. Anko had said that Saber's role would be secret. Looking at the ghost it was wearing Saber's outfit. Granted, the whole thing was in shreds, but it was his outfit.
And the other one? The escaped experiment. There was no way that the village would have let that creature live. The forest had also seemed to innocent for the monsters. If they had been their long, the deer would have never been caught and the rest of the forest would have gone silent lest they bring the creatures to them.. The fact that they were new meant that it was probably Rider aiding Saber.
While Shikumaru was unable to figure out how she could change herself. It was obvious that their purpose was to frighten them and teach them the value of silence. Naruto had just ruined their plans when he woke up scared and attacked blindly. As Shikamaru watched, the ghost refrained from killing any of his comrades and scratched them at worst. Shikamaru watched as Saber clearly knocked Choji aside without hurting him. 'Troublesome.' he sighed and went to find his sleeping bag only to see Rider steal the last sleeping bag away from them.
'I see, distract us and make us flee to make the training harder and more difficult.' Shikamaru sighed even harder. This whole trip was too troublesome. He sat down to wait for Saber to fall back from the onslaught. Sure enough, the 'ghost' seemed to have had enough and dashed away.
"Yeah," Kiba yelled, "Run away you damn bastard, we're not scared anymore."
"Go find a grave and bury yourself," Ino added.
"Whoaaaa," Choji yelled.
Sasuke smirked while Sakura jumped for joy.
Naruto and his clones had all taken a back to back formation keeping an eye out for danger. He was breathing hard and kept glancing everywhere. It was clear that Naruto was in a form of panic and hyperventilating.
"Naruto, calm down." Sakura tried to reassure him. Only to hear chains rattle in the night.
Naruto and his clones all dashed in to the source of the noise. Adrenaline was pumping throughout his systems robing him of reason. He was fighting like a madman, no a berserker.
Shikamaru sighed. Naruto was trying way too hard. He'd get killed trying to fight like that. As he watched, the clones were all battered aside with ease and Naruto was sent flying. Shikamaru had had enough. It was time to end this troublesome episode and get some sleep.
He walked forward and looked at the misshapen creature. "That's enough Rider. None of us are going to get any sleep tonight as it is, so please leave." The others looked at him like he was crazy, but the purple beast hesitated, then fled.
"I see, so it was found out already." Asuma called out from behind them. All the genins looked over at their instructors standing on a branch behind them.
Asuma held out a hand to the other jonin and said "Pay up." The others pulled out their wallets and handed him some cash.
"Damn," Anko said, "I thought those brats would run scared all week."
"They might have," Kakashi said, "If Naruto wasn't the number one most surprising ninja."
"What kind of nightmare did he have to induce that?" Kurenai thought.
"Don't know," Anko said, "But it must have been a dozy."
Kakashi coughed, "It might be because of that."
The others took a second then realized what he was referring to.
"Yeah, that seems logical." Anko says. "I bet he has nightmares all the time because of that."
Every one of the genin were confused by the conversation.
"Sensei. What is that?" Sakura asked.
The jonin realized that they had been too loud.
"Top secret." Asuma said.
"None of your business," Anko added.
Saber came out with tattered clothes looking tired. "It seems that the Terror only lasted one day. Too bad, it was a good training device."
Rider stalked into the clearing looking like a cat that had just eaten the goldfish. "Too bad."
The others looked over at them while they inspected their unconscious master.
"Nothing broken, no real bruising. Looks like he passed out from a combination of shock and exhaustion." Saber said. The genin watched as Saber's clothes began repairing themselves.
He looked at what they were staring at. "Best clothing ever. Never had to buy another one yet."
Everyone but Rider face faulted.
Saber looked serious. "It seems we have much to discuss."
Author's note: So, tell me what you think of this chapter. Good, bad, uncaring? So we've now confirmed lancer is Killer Bee's so, the question is who has Caster? Is she good? Crazy? Tune in next time to find out...one of these chapters.
1. The sword refereed to earlier is the sword of El Cid Tizona. Instills fear upon unworthy opponents. Increases intimidation rank by one if wielded by a worthy man.
I'd like to thank L33t Horo as my Beta and all my loyal readers for bearing with me.