A Hero Amongst Shinobi

by eppelMax

At one point in time in another universe, I, Uzumaki Naruto wanted to become Hokage above all else. It was what I strived and trained to become. But here, I felt I had a greater calling. One that transcended above all else. It fueled my desires, my ambitions, my dreams; to become, not a Shinobi, but a Hero. Heavily AU.

6. Summer Days, a Dead Apostle Ancestor

Chapter 6

Summer Days, a Dead Apostle Ancestor

---

In the following weeks since its arrival in Konohagakure, the Demon of the Left Arm of Merem Solomon was a busy little rat scouring the entire village with the help of its local rodent community. It was relatively elementary for the King of Rats to gather power and influence with its royal status and an alien beauty that left its fellow kind enamored.

Over the course of its stay it had managed to infiltrate almost every single building that could have possibly existed in Konohagakure. It was utterly thorough in its zeal to gather information of its current location and sought the secrets that the government held.

No place was secure from Merem Solomon's left arm as the shinobi populace had simply ignored the multitudes of rats that scurried in their buildings at night rummaging through their files.

Who would suspect a single rat here and there would be gathering information? It was just a simple rodent that happened to be there and it was an inevitability that a stray critter would venture forth to find scraps of food or anything worthwhile in a building.

In record breaking time the King of Rats had successfully accomplished a feat no person could ever possibly achieve.

Crown took its time to leisurely process the information it was being given to by its loyal rodent subjects and kept a passive surveillance on Emiya Naruto.

Speaking of which, it hadn't been too long ago that it sensed the Emiya residence boundary field be powered down signaling an invite to the household.

The Left Arm had considered introducing itself to Naruto when he sensed the boundary field being powered down but just before he did. One of his rats had reported an anomaly that piqued its interest and decided to meet with the blonde magus later.

One of the rats that was investigating the mountain that had faces carved into it found a massive super cavern underneath it. Since then it had been sending rats in droves to scout the cave and the reports that it got back was rather unsettling.

As the rats would venture deeper into the underground system there was something malevolent emanating at the bottom of the cave. The furthest any rat had gone before it ran off in fear was reaching an enormous open area in the cavern that seemingly stretched on endlessly on all sides. The rodent that had reached it felt an indescribable amount of evil oozing out from the center, it was so much so that the rat felt like drowning itself by the corrupting presence.

From there Crown solidified its decision to explore the massive cavern by itself. It had questions that needed to be answered and whatever was coming from that area had its answers.

When the King of Rats descended it could feel the ridiculous amounts of prana running through the area. The air of the cavern was practically saturated with pure magical energy from the earth. That confirmed one thing, there was a major prana ley line that Konohagakure no Sato sat directly on top of.

The people that lived in the area had no idea that they were living on a spiritual land that magi would absolutely kill for to be able to practice their thaumaturgy. There were very few places in the world that had major ley lines that formed in an area let alone intersected at a point to be labeled as a spiritual land.

Travelling deeper into the caves it finally reached the massive cavity of darkness.

Malignant and malicious intent in the area was palpable you could almost cut it.

In here it was absolutely pitch black, but for a Dead Apostle Ancestor as himself it had no problem being able to see through it all.

If Crown was in its human form then it would've whistled at the sheer size of the place. By its own estimation the ginormous cavity of the cavern could fit an entire town in here that was several kilometers big. Maybe three or four kilometers, possibly more, it was stunning how gargantuan the place was.

Taking the first steps into the opening, Crown was immediately assaulted by a wave of vile and corrupt prana that was permeating through the open space. It was oppressive and filled with evil as it continued towards the center of the formation.

Along the way there were several small pools of stilled black mud that radiated curses.

"Interesting… what's this mud doing all the way on the other side of the world in a cave like this?"

Questions began filling Solomon's head at the excessive amount of mud that surrounded him. Without a doubt it was residue from the Holy Grail that was spewed forth in the form of a corrosive black mud. He had seen it once not too long ago and he would be a fool to not take notice.

As he neared the center of the massive cavern the level of prana increased tenfold. "Amazing, the only thing comparable to this would be… Fuyuki City. The amount of untapped and raw energy in here is simply staggering."

Finally reaching the center, it saw there was a rock formation that looked suspiciously like a pedestal that seemed to be the keystone of the ley line. It was here that the earth's latent energy had reached its absolute peak and where one could manipulate the prana flow in the ley line.

The King of Rats paused before transforming into its human form, he took the shape of an elderly man in priestly clothes with glasses.

"Better… now then let's see what we can learn from you shall we?"

Placing his hand onto the formation, Solomon concentrated and expanded his senses along with activating his magic circuits to poke at the ley line. Almost immediately he jerked his hand away from the rock almost as if it were scalding hot. It caused him to furrow his eyebrows as the cursory activation left him with many questions.

In the briefest of moments when his hand made contact with the wet stone, Merem Solomon was able to theorize several things from connecting with the planet's magical current.

The first and foremost was that he theorized that Konoha and Fuyuki City quite possibly shared the same ley line that fueled the Heaven's Feel ritual. The one Konoha sat upon, unknowingly, shared similarities in its nature with Fuyuki's.

The biggest evidence that supported his theory was the grail's residue in the form of black mud that pooled all around him. It was simply unmistakable, there was nothing in this world that could produce such a vile substance that corrupted anything that wasn't shielded from its curses.

Konohagakure no Sato and Fuyuki City were located on opposite ends of the planet from each other. It didn't make sense for a place devoid of thaumaturgy to suddenly have the remnants of the failed ritual to obtain the Third Magic appear out of nowhere.

The second and quite possibly the one that intrigued him the most was a second energy signature that came from the tainted ley line.

No, he shook his head. It more than intrigued him, it made him outright confused.

Something that bore similarities to Emiya Naruto had been spat out of the ley line.

Something had used the ley line as a track and rode it all the way over into this part of the world before being birthed unto the world.

Just the thought sent a cold chill down his spine of something being birthed from the veins of Gaia that powered the unholy artifact known as the Holy Grail. From his encounter with the Heaven's Feel ritual when he accompanied Naruto's merry band it left a lasting impression on him.

It was repugnant.

It was revolting.

It was simply put, pure evil.

On that night almost half a year ago, the Greater Grail attempted to bring forth something wicked unto the world.

Merem Solomon had believed Emiya Naruto was successful in preventing its birth. If he had never tailed Emiya back to his ancestral home, Crown wouldn't even begin to have suspect that there was something that survived the destruction of the Holy Grail.

In his mind, he couldn't help but think that it was foolish to believe that the Holy Grail System of Fuyuki was fully erased. He, who had lived for over a thousand years on this planet had made a mistake to not check on the validity of the Grail eradicated for good.

The taint in the ley line was so prevalent that even a third-rate magus would have been able to pick up on the corruption, but in his arrogance had not done so. His inaction had inadvertently allowed something to fester and manifest onto the physical realm of existence.

And whatever it was had, from what he could tell, bits and pieces of Emiya Naruto.

Taking a look at the massive chamber that he found himself in, the dead apostle couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the darkness.

What was once a simple search mission for Emiya Naruto; had given way to something much, much more complicated.

A grin eased its way onto the old man's face before a baritone laughter escaped from his chest. "Of course Emiya-kun… nothing is ever simple with you! In all my years of living I have never met a more interesting human than you."

The tides of change were coming to the place known as Konohagakure no Sato.

The people who lived here could not possibly be prepared for the events that were to come in the near future.

It was the only path.

With Emiya Naruto's arrival, he was its herald of change.

The future did not bode well for the ones who considered this place their home.

Something wicked this way comes.

---

It was a little over half past noon that Uchiha Sasuke found herself meandering about through the streets of Konoha's market district.

Today was one of the few and rare days that she would be able to get some time alone to herself. Daisuke had been hanging out last night with his jonin friends partying at their usual hangout so he would be out for the majority of the day allowing her some freedom.

The past few weeks after the first session had been hell for her and Team Seven. All over her body felt incredibly sore and fatigued from the constant workout and exercises that Kakashi and Naruto would impose on them.

At first she thought Kakashi a considerable taskmaster, but Naruto was a thousand times worse. The amount of arrows that could be fired from his bow was mind boggling, in fact she would freely admit that over the course of their training leading up to their trials they all developed an innate fear of arrows.

'I think I lost count after the third day of getting pelted by those stupid arrows.' Her coveted Sharingan, even at its second stage, couldn't keep track of the arrows that were launched from Naruto's black bow.

It spoke volumes of Naruto's abilities and strength. It was the thing that she needed to avenge her clan by killing her brother. But she found that her usual confidence and social skills seemed to completely break down whenever he was around.

There was always something that came up that stopped her from asking, usually in the form of Daisuke, or that whenever there was a moment she would clamber up and shrink before Naruto. She sighed, 'There's just… something about him that seems so untouchable. I don't get how Sakura is able to talk to him so… casually and… easily too.'

It frustrated Sasuke. For her, Sakura was that one individual from her graduating class that kept her head low and rarely spoke unless spoken too. 'God… even Hinata of all people talks more than her! Her and Naruto just… they just click so easily! How the hell does that even happen?!'

The developing relationship between Sakura and Naruto was a noticeable one that even a blind man would be able to take notice. Over the weeks she had caught the two casually hanging out with each other in various places. They led from the local tea house, to Naruto visiting the hospital whenever Sakura was at work, to both of them volunteering at the orphanage, and just walking around town with each other.

The raven haired girl's hands balled up into fists as she walked. A frown formed on her face as she thought about the two.

She was envious.

No.

There was another aspect to what Sasuke Uchiha was feeling.

She was also jealous.

Uchiha Sasuke envied the attention that Naruto gave to her teammate and in-turn she was jealous of Sakura being more liked than her.

It was irritating really.

How did Haruno Sakura, some no name orphan, manage to befriend Naruto so easily?

Why did those two hit it off so easily?

What made Sakura so much more preferable to talk and hang out with than her?

Ohhh~ maybe it's because you came off as some haughty bitch when you introduced yourself?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed that her consciousness. It was that damnable voice of reason rearing its ugly head again.

Mmm~ Sasukee-chaaaan you know I'm right.

She could practically picture the smug grin that was formed inside her head.

As much as she didn't want to admit that it was right but…. It was right.

Their very first meeting she came off as someone that was highly conceited, egotistical, vain, and arrogant. Something that obviously didn't sit well with Naruto's type of personality.

But after their first training she had a begrudging respect for those who wielded a considerable amount of strength and Naruto had it in spades. The overwhelming dominance he had asserted cowed any thoughts about him being weak of any sorts.

His strength was unquestionable.

Uzumaki Naruto had everything that she needed to grow as a shinobi and achieve her goal of avenging her clan.

Too bad she didn't know that Naruto was a magi and no longer associated himself with the shinobi arts.

Her stomach rumbled. "Maybe some lunch first? Then if I hurry up I can find him… hopefully… and not mess this up." But knowing her luck, she felt like there was a high chance that at some point she was going to shoot herself in the foot again.

Taking a moment to look around to see which street she wandered off to, Sasuke sighted a familiar ramen restaurant bar. "Mmm – ramen doesn't sound so bad I guess."

Moving the flaps of Ichiraku Ramen, the owners greeted their new customer warmly. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! Please have a seat!"

The chef's voice was tuned out as she stared the person's back in front of her. There was no way that she was this lucky.

Sasuke gasped in disbelief at her luck.

Huh?

---

The sound of someone gasping behind me was more than enough reason to turn around and have a look. Pausing from eating, what was possibly my ninth miso ramen bowl, I take a look and the person standing there staring at me was enough cause for me to raise an eyebrow in reaction to her.

It was Uchiha Sasuke.

Snorting a bit of air through my nose, I close my eyes before opening up one and giving a smirk to her.

"Afternoon Uchiha-san," I greeted her.

No response except for her averting her gaze from me and a light blush growing on her cheeks before she sat down next to me.

'Oh please, why are you even blushing? That was nowhere close to flirting.' I couldn't help but let loose a small huff while rolling my eyes. 'What an idiot geez.'

"Just one bowl of pork tomato ramen please," the girl next to me ordered quietly.

"One tomato ramen with pork coming right up!"

How rude. She didn't even bother to greet me in return.

Whatever, not like I cared much anyways.

I turn my attention back to my half-finished bowl with gusto. Honestly? It's been ages since I've had ramen and Ichiraku's proved itself to be one of the best.

Hmm… I'd probably rank this little restaurant near the same level as the Copenhagen in the Shinto district of Fuyuki City.

Glancing at the neatly stacked bowls in front of me, I made a note to add in a few extra exercises tomorrow to burn off all this excess fat and calories that I'm taking in right now. This couldn't possibly be healthy for me with the amount that I've eaten so far.

"How…"

Her voice grabs my attention. A bored glance in that direction is my response.

"How what?"

"How… did you become so… strong?"

What a strange thing to ask all of a sudden. Should I respond seriously or mess with her just to gauge a reaction?

The girl was staring intently at me like how she would always do whenever I was training them. 'Alright then… let's see how well you take this.'

I steeled my face and tried to look as serious as possible.

"Do you really want to know how I became so strong?"

Oh dear lord, I sounded absolutely ridiculous right now. Rin would smack the ever living prana out of me if she was here.

"Yes! I mean… y-yes."

That sudden eager and jump for my answer was hook, line, and sinker. Poor girl.

Straightening up my posture and leaning forward for effect, I listed out the most ridiculous and basic regimen I could come up with on the spot.

"Every day from sun up and sun down I would do…"

I paused for effect.

This made her anticipate my answer even more, she almost seemed excited at the prospect of uncovering some secret of mine.

Poor, poor girl.

"One hundred push-ups. One hundred sit-ups. One hundred squats, and a ten kilometer run. Every. Single. Day. And of course eating three meals a day without ever using the air conditioner!"

"Huh?" Was her intelligent response. "Every… single… day?"

I wanted to smack my face at how gullible she was being right now. Honestly, I'm amazed at my self-control at not busting a gut and laughing in her face right now, but I had to go on and finish it.

"YES! Every. Single. Day."

She blinked a couple times. Maybe she caught wind that I was bullshitting to her face? Maybe she saw right through everything and couldn't believe the boldface lie I told her? Maybe –

"Of course!" She pounded her first into an open hand as if finally getting it. "I haven't been training as hard as you and that's how you've become so strong! The discipline and sheer will to continue your training day in and day out with no rest must be strenuous on both the mind and body!"

What?

N-No…

O-Oh no….

No way was she this foolish to actually believe in such a ridiculous and mundane workout.

That look on her face said otherwise and at how she rambled on at finally making some headway to becoming stronger.

"Thank you! You're an absolute genius! I can't thank you enough for sharing your secrets to me!"

Ohhh the absolute inhumanity at this situation.

That's it. I couldn't hold it in anymore. My hand met my face in an audible smack.

"No you moron!" I interrupt her. I couldn't bare it anymore this was just all sorts of cringe. Normally I'd find it amusing but how she was gushing to me felt so wrong.

"W-what?"

"I'm kidding!" My finger poked her forehead. "You dumb moronic idiot! How could you actually believe such a stupid training program?!" I kept poking at her all the while.

"I – You- I mean – I –"

She was stumbling over her words with every poke.

"You're supposed to be a kunoichi," I drily state with another poke. "How do you expect to get strong if you couldn't even see through the bullshit I was spewing out?"

Poke.

"I expected better from you of all people since you have Kakashi as your teacher."

She tried swatting my offending hand away to no avail. Poke.

"First basic rule he teaches you. Always look underneath the underneath."

Poke!

Sasuke's face started brightening up into a spectacular shade of red, especially at the spot that I came jabbing my finger at.

Why was she blushing of all things seriously?

'Maybe she's one of those masochists and likes pain?' My hand stops midway to her forehead causing her to miss.

Poke.

"W-Would you quit with the poking I get it already!"

"See? All you had to do was just ask you moron."

"Really?"

Her answer came in the form of me flicking her in the forehead.

"You liar…" she rubbed her forehead. "Geez…"

Phew, well at least that broke the silence and got her to talk.

"So what brings you to this part of the town?" I didn't notice it at the time, but her shadow wasn't here either. "And uh… where's your ball and chain?"

"I… was just spending some time to myself walking around and he's sleeping right now."

I made a face. Who the hell sleeps this late? Even Rin, who absolutely hated the mornings, was a fairly early riser even if she stayed to the dead of night working on a project.

Eh – I shrugged, it wasn't my problem anyways.

"I'm surprised," a snort came from me. "You two are almost inseparable, like you're conjoined twins or something. Kind of weird if you ask me, but to each their own I suppose."

"Y-Yeah… I guess…"

Ok, thing's went from slightly ok to really weird and awkward.

Nice going Emiya.

Well time to do what I'm best at and jump ship. I stacked the empty bowl along with the others and waved for my check.

The check that I received made me wince and reminded me how much I ate. Everything totaled out around 13,500 Yen. This was one of the reasons why I preferred preparing my own food, but then again the ramen was almost perfect. Given if time I think I could probably imitate it if not make it even better.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Sasuke called out to me as she hurriedly finished her bowl and haphazardly slapped down a couple notes to pay for her bill.

"Uh –"

Honestly this girl was confusing, when I first met her she was a total… bitch I guess for lack of better terms. But after the bridge mission, she completely mellowed out.

"Home I guess? I have a couple-"

"CanIcomewithyou?!"

What?

"Say again?"

"I mean… um… will you train me?"

Uh…

"I already am?"

No seriously, I already was training them six days a week with the seventh being their day off to recover.

"NO! I mean training me personally, like one-on-one!"

She was stepping into my comfort zone which caused me to lean back. What was wrong with this girl?

There wasn't much for me to actually teach her first off. The abilities that I used were exclusive to me and only me without counting reinforcement. My projection skills were also tailored to me because of the reality marble that I held.

I had little knowledge of Ninjutsu in terms of actually putting it into application. While I still had chakra coursing through me and being pumped out. All of it was being converted into Od which was then mixed with Prana to finally make Magical Energy. I was an incredibly unique case, probably the only one in the world, which could properly use both chakra and magical energy.

Although I tend to lean heavily on thaumaturgy and not so much on Ninjutsu.

I had a shinobi's body, but the soul of a magus. I do my best to separate myself from the shinobi way of life and matters. It was a personal statement if anything really and it spoke volumes.

Uzumaki Naruto had abandoned his roots to become Emiya Naruto.

Emiya Kiritsugu was a magus, so it would only make sense for the son to follow in his father's footsteps.

"Look I'm sorry to say, but I wouldn't really be able to teach you much of anything."

"What do you mean? You have plenty to teach! I've seen your power and abilities! You're so… so strong and-"

I raised a hand to interrupt her.

"Let me put it in simpler terms for you then: I am an utter failure in the shinobi arts."

"It doesn't matter!"

I quickly thought up another excuse which was sort of true. "My house is dirty and I have to clean it today."

"Then I can help you clean your house!"

She was adamant in having me train her. 'Sorta reminds me of… well me when I'm thick-headed and stubborn as a bull. Still am, but that's beside the point.'

"I'm a busy person and I have a lot of things to do. I'm already training you guys, isn't that enough? Besides I'd rather not have your boyfriend hound the hell out of me. You won't believe how much restraint I have to not bash his head in every time he opens his mouth."

"I can fit your schedule and make it work! Daisuke doesn't have to know. Who cares alright? I need to get stronger! Please!"

God bless this girl's soul. What the hell did the Root record and spat out that made the being known as Uchiha Sasuke?

I scratch my head trying to find any other excuses to come up with.

"I'm a horrible teacher, I wouldn't be able to teach you any Ninjutsu."

Which was true. I wasn't even joking about that, the total amount of shinobi techniques that I could utilize was a grand total of three. Kage Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi.

And you could probably knock out Henge and Kawarimi for the fact that I barely use them at all. Same with the clone technique, except that it carried the same principle as my tracing in a way so it was easier for me to perform.

Other than that I didn't bother with anything else that was shinobi related.

I only had with me the bare essentials of what constitutes a ninja. I was more tuned for magecraft and even then you could say I was an utter failure.

Reinforcement and Gradation Air was the only two magecraft arts that I excelled in. 'Man… the look on her face when I told her that those were the only two things I was good at was priceless.' Needless to say Tohsaka Rin grilled into me about other and higher applications of thaumaturgy.

There was a caveat to only excelling in the two most basic and mundane areas of magecraft. With utmost confidence and surety, I can safely say that I am the only person in the entire world who can project a Noble Phantasm in its full form.

That was the thing that I could pride myself in at being best at.

"It doesn't matter! Anything helps please! I-I beg of you to teach me!"

My face cringes before my shoulders slumped and I let loose an audible sigh.

"Alright fine! Have it your way!" I throw my hands into the air in exasperation. There wasn't going to be a way out of this unless I just dipped out, but she knew where I lived so it would be pointless to do so.

Sasuke's face brightened up and for once I actually noticed a genuine smile from her. Not some haughty, arrogant smile or a bitch-y one.

A real honest to god smile.

"BUT!" Time to lay down some rules. "Not a word to anyone about this. If I get bugged by your friends or your boyfriend, I'll drop your training in a heartbeat and wipe your mind." Ok I was bluffing really, I wasn't as proficient as Tohsaka and it was all a big bluff, but I had to put the fear of god into her somehow. "I'll only be able to help you with physical attributes such as combat and swordsmanship, so if you don't like it then you can leave whenever. Doesn't matter to me. Lastly, training will start at 6 A.M. Monday through Friday."

It was ridiculous of me to put such outrageous rules, but it would prove whether she was dedicated or not.

"When can we start?"

Which she pretty much proved right on the spot…

Well since she's so eager to start, might as well now.

"Now."

"W-wait now? But I have to-"

I shrugged, "Then I guess that means I'm not training you."

"NO! I mean… ugh fine let's just go. I'll deal with it when I get back."

I had a sneaking suspicion she was referring to her boyfriend, but hey – that's not my problem now is it?

---

"Sorry about the mess around the house," I said as we walked into my house.

She looked around and saw that it was mostly spotless. "You're a liar."

I slid the door open to the living room which revealed a bunch of scrolls, books, and paper strewn about the table.

"This is still pretty clean…" she said walking in. "Is… that a summons by a ministry head?" Sasuke picked up a bright red scroll on the table.

I deftly swipe it out of her hands in an annoyed fashion. "Didn't anyone teach you, not to go picking up other people's stuff?" As soon as it was in my hands, I chucked it to the corner of the room that also had a pile of red scrolls and immediately forgetting about it.

"Uh… that's pretty important you know."

"And?"

"You… you have a whole pile of them."

"And?"

"You're going to get in trouble."

"And?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah – that's right. I don't care. If someone wants to meet me so bad they can come and knock on my door. I'm so glad that you've taken interest in my responsibilities and wellbeing, but I'm fairly certain that you'd like to get to training. So shall we?"

Her cheeks flushed and simply nodded.

'Ugh – please for the love of all that is thaumaturgy, I hope this girl doesn't start developing some weird crush on me.' How the hell do I get myself into these types of situations?

"And here we have the dojo," I slid the door open and allowed her in first.

There were a lot of memories in which I held dear in this place. It was the place where Kiritsugu started my training and where I was first exposed to thaumaturgy. In a way, it was where it all began.

Where I made the first steps to becoming a magus. To become strong just like Kiritsugu was.

The dojo was fairly sizeable so it would allow us some room to move around in and observe her sword techniques.

"I don't have much to teach except for my abilities with a sword. Like I said to you all, I'm not much of a teacher so the way in which I impart lessons and skills to you will be unconventional."

We were sitting across from each other and as usual she was staring intently at me. God that's so weird, I'm going to have to get her to stop doing that. Those onyx eyes seriously unnerved me with how they tried piercing into my soul.

"So, going forward we'll start off with a couple of duels. Just so I can get a feel for your style alright?" Grabbing two shinai from the rack I toss one over to her and we both assume our respective stances.

Already from the beginning I notice several mistakes.

Weight was distributed incorrectly.

Foot placement needed work, it was causing her to be slightly off centered.

Her grip on the handle was too tight.

Her hands were too close together.

Her form was too tense, too tightly wound up.

For our first bout it would only take three moves to land a hit on her.

A crucial aspect of sword fighting was playing mind games. The ability to get into your opponents head would pave the way for one to emerge as victor. They ranged from feints, false blows, and leaving openings to lure your enemy's attacks to predict where they would strike for next.

In fact, Archer's whole style focused on leaving crucial openings to bait an opponent. As long as he knew where they were going to strike next, he would always hold an advantage over his opponent. In fact, it was because of that style that it allowed him to survive against Lancer, a superior opponent that outclassed him in many combat abilities.

I let the silence between us grow a little longer, it was beginning to unnerve her. Good. She was over-anticipating for the coming blow.

It was going to cause her to slip.

Barely lifting up my left foot, Sasuke sprung to action and immediately went into a guarded position.

Smart, but unwise.

She expected for me to try and reach in by stepping in forward, but that wasn't the case. With her taking the bait, I planted my left food back onto the floor and stepped forward with my right foot.

I swung at the same time causing her to block with her sword, but I expected it to happen. Sasuke made the mistake of thinking that I was aiming for her body when I was actually going for her sword.

First move.

Her eyes widened at the staggering blow that came from me causing her sword to simply bounce off of mine, leaving her open.

Second move.

My stance shifts forward and I go for her neck. She flinched ready for the sharp pain, but it never came as I stopped just before I hit her.

"So what went wrong?"

"I- I wasn't strong enough when I tried blocking-"

I conked her in the head with my sword.

"No you idiot, not everything is about strength sheesh. Now tell me again, what was wrong?"

"I… don't know?"

Oh this poor soul, for some genius she was a real idiot. Was this really the so-called prodigy and last hope of the Uchiha Clan? My tongue clicked in distaste at how unknowledgeable she was with swordplay. Whoever taught her basic sword fighting was going to have my sword ram straight up their ass.

"C'mon you, put that prodigy level intelligence of yours at work. I'm not going to hold your hand and walk you through everything."

"I think my stance was off and… well maybe my grip was too tight? Also could be my grip was a little too close together so when you hit my blade it made me stumble a bit so that could also factor in how things played out." She rattled off trying to think of what was wrong.

Good, that meant she was acknowledging herself and the mistakes instead of covering it under the guise of not being "strong".

Sasuke got three out of the five mistakes that I observed before we fought.

"You got most of them right, but there's also two other things. Your weight wasn't distributed correctly causing you to be too heavy on one side instead of the other when you tried meeting my strike. The other thing is that you're too tense. Relax your body a little bit, but not too much or else you won't be able to react in time."

Her head nods in confirmation.

"There's one thing I can fix for you right now. Get back into your normal stance."

Walking up to her I began setting her into a proper form for her to work off of. I poked my sword here and there all over her body. A little bit of height adjustment here. Bending the knees a bit there. Separating the feet and straightening out her back here. I was all over her critiquing and changing her form to what I would think that suited her type of style.

Uchiha Sasuke was the type of person that liked to get in up and personal to an opponent. She preferred flashy plays with her sword and fast movement. She also liked switching in between from using her jutsu and quickly swapping out with her sword. A combo move type of person really.

So I modeled it after Kojirou Sasaki's style. It was rough, but from here on out it would be up to Sasuke to expand upon it and mature from there.

"There. You feel a bit more comfortable and confident with this stance now?"

"Y-Yeah, it feels a lot more solid than the one I was taught from."

'I wonder… who taught her? Should I bother even asking? Ah screw it, might as well so that on the off chance I do come across them I can break a sword over their head for being inept.'

"Do you mind sating my curiosity for just one moment?"

"Uh… sure?"

"Who taught you?"

"One of Daisuke's friends helped me out, he gave me a few pointers about sword fighting… why?"

"Nah – unimportant. Don't worry about it." Well I guess that narrowed it down a bit. If I find someone that's hanging around with Daisuke and is carrying around a sword, I was going to have some choice words to say to him at how utterly inept he is.

Maybe give him the good ol' Tohsaka Rin routine to break him down.

No one ever survived an onslaught of insults from her, she was the best there is at dismantling a person's self-confidence and self-esteem.

No one.

"O…kay?"

"Anyways, let's resume the lesson shall we?"

We both slip into our forms, time to see how well she adapts to some changes that I made to her stance. This time I want to see how well she performs in a protracted fight. Since I've been training them, I've never allowed them to actually get more than a couple hits in before I sent them sprawling to the ground.

I'll give her five strikes before I make a move on her.

Her body moves, it feints to the right before changing directions and going to the left. I ignore the bait and hold fast.

She throws a wide right swing to my head. In response I deftly tap the underside of the blade causing it to miss.

First strike.

Correcting the path, she brings it back down for a left swing. I stepped forward with my left foot into the attack and knock it up high with an underhand slice.

Second strike.

This time she tries crashing her practice sword with an overhead swing, but with how I last positioned my blade, it would be blocked and our swords clash. A resounding knock of wood reverberated in the dojo.

Third strike.

'Damn she's got some strength in there.'

The blow actually made my arms tremble a bit. Impressive.

Immediately backing off, she goes for me intentionally exposed right side of my torso. Sadly the girl wasn't fast enough to beat me to it. I successfully block her attack and swat her blade away from me.

Fourth strike.

Sasuke kept her composure, to my utter surprise she actually took a step back but kept in range of me.

What was she doing?

I see her let out a breath of air as if concentrating before settling into a familiar stance, held her sword and twisted her body as if preparing for something.

Wait a god damn minute. Is she attempting to do Tsubame Gaeshi?

She is.

I couldn't help but stare in bewilderment.

Uchiha Sasuke was attempting to perform the intrinsic skill of Kojirou Sasaki.

I'd actually be a little worried if she was able to momentarily tap into the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, but obviously since she didn't know a lick of thaumaturgy I was safe.

In all honesty it was highly amusing that she was copying from a faker. 'Hmm… so what does that make her then? A fake-faker? Or a copy-faker?'

I'll let her make that first swing just to see what'll come out of this.

The first strike came from the left. A wide swing that I could easily block in my sleep, but then came another blade over my head that was quickly followed by a third blade coming from my right!

Oh shit. Did Sasuke somehow defied all logic and sense, and somehow manage to recreate the technique? Most importantly how did she do an ass pull of out nowhere?!

I'm the one that does the ass pulling out of nowhere on people! Not the other way around!

How dare she try and copy something from me with her red eyes-

WAIT.

WAIT JUST ONE DAMN MOMENT.

HER EYES.

RED EYES.

UCHIHA.

SHARINGAN BLOODLINE.

GENJUTSU.

Emiya Naruto you are an absolute moronic idiot that got dropped on his head as a baby.

A small burst of prana through my body quickly dispelled the illusion leaving only one blade that was coming in from the left. Apparently she hadn't realized I broke through the genjutsu as I parried her attack easily catching her off guard. Wasting no time I stepped into her guard and smacked my blade onto her chest causing it to crumple to the ground.

Fifth strike.

"Not bad… honestly not bad Sasuke. If your illusion and swing was a tad bit faster you would've actually landed a hit on me, so it looks like you need a bit more work on it."

I had to give her credit to being that brazen enough to attempt a poor man's version of that technique. While she couldn't even begin to understand the mechanics and concepts behind it, she attempted to recreate it with an illusion to make it appear as if three blades had simultaneously been swung at three different directions. It was to buy time for the real blade to come in from one of the three directions.

"I'm not sure what compelled you to even attempt that, but then again I've done stupider things in life than that."

"Really? Like what?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I deliberately took a blow from a massive axe-sword that was wielded by a heroic spirit which consequently gouged out my entire midsection to save someone?"

"Uh…?" She didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't blame her really, no one in their right mind would try to do that.

Except I did.

"You don't need to answer that." I held a hand out for her to grab from the floor and just like the first training I did with them at Wave she hesitated. "Oh you moron, I'm just trying to help you up." My hand grabbed hers and pulled her up. "Geez what is wrong with you huh?"

As usual I conked her head.

"Ouch! Will you stop hitting me in the head? I'll probably end up have brain damage at the end of this."

"Maybe you should try dodging or oh… I don't know? Blocking? Sheesh. You'd think they'd learn by now."

Sasuke didn't give a response as she nursed her head.

"Anyways, you're picking up on things fairly quickly. Nice follow through on your strikes, that determination of yours to commit to a strike is noticeable, and surprisingly has a lot of strength behind it. A lot of sword fighting is built of intuition and instincts which builds over time." I point my sword at her. "It is up to you to hone that craft of yours and sharpen it."

That girl in front of me was a slippery one. It was subtle in how she wove her genjutsu onto me during the fight. If it weren't for how blatant the illusion was with her trying to copy Tsubame Gaeshi, she might've actually gotten a hit in.

Maybe…

Sort of?

Eh – not really I would've dodged it either way.

The shinai wasn't long enough so I could've simply stepped back and let it miss. Or simply duck underneath to the right and swung from down under to disable her. There was a fatal flaw in the technique in that if you didn't have the Monohoshi-Zao with you to enact the technique then its effectiveness would be halved if not diminished to a considerable amount.

Either way, she was getting better at sword fighting quick.

"BUT. There's still a lot of things that you need to improve on. You're telegraphing your next strike along with unnecessary and wasteful movements. Your eyes, arms, and feet gives off too much information on when you'll be attacking. Although that's another thing that comes with time in which you'll learn how to stop showing what your next move is going to be."

Even though there was a lot of good there was an equal amount of bad that came with the complete package. Uchiha Sasuke was still relatively new to swordsmanship and it showed, but as always with a point in the right direction would allow her to go fairly far.

But that wasn't going to be for a long while so until then I'll just enjoy bashing her head in, in a one-sided duel that's under the guise of training.

Hey – I have to have some fun once in a while and I never labelled myself as a saint.

It was going to be fairly interesting training her at the very least.

"Alright you, let's go again. We'll stop when you can barely get up anymore."

And so Uchiha Sasuke groaned at the ensuing onslaught.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this teaching thing.

---

It would be almost towards the evening that their impromptu training session finally finished.

There on the polished wooden floor of the dojo lied one Uchiha Sasuke panting and soaked with sweat. Her body was sore and littered with bruises from the continuous bouts with her new personal teacher whose name she knew as Uzumaki Naruto.

Not too far from her, the blonde haired man stood there vigilantly like a knight as he watched the girl on the ground suck in air greedily and groan at the pain that was spread all over her.

A small smile found its way on his face as he took in the sight.

"We'll call it here for the day. You've done admirably well for your first lesson. If you're still up for it, then I'll be waiting for you at 6 AM Monday through Friday. If you don't show up then I'll simply take that as you giving up and no longer wish to continue training under me."

Her hand shook as she raised it off the ground in acknowledgement.

From her spot on the ground she took note of how Naruto hadn't even broke a single sweat from training her, in fact he didn't even look winded at all. 'How… the hell. What is this guy made out of?'

The smile the raven haired girl saw was slowly turning into a frown. 'Did… I do something wrong? Should I ask?' He looked awfully melancholic and dejected all of a sudden, as if he was being reminded of something.

What Sasuke didn't know was that she, unknowingly, was in the same exact position as he was when he was being trained by another person. That years ago, he was being trained by a girl that eclipsed over him in strength and speed. That he was being taught to survive against heroes and villains that etched their names into history. Immortalized by tales and stories that were told to children when they went to sleep.

And as soon as it came, it was gone.

"You're dismissed for the day. Get some rest. I'm fairly confident you can find the way out yourself right?"

The overly worked body of hers groaned in protest at getting up. Nonetheless the girl powered through it and racked her practice sword in its respective spot. As a sign of begrudging respect and to stay on Naruto's good side she bowed deeply.

"T-Thank you for today's lesson… master."

When she came back up, what greeted her was Naruto's face twisted in mild disgust.

"How about… not calling me master ok?" he blanched.

"Yes sensei!"

He rolled his eyes, "Egh… I guess that's somewhat better. Now get going you, I have to clean this dojo up for tomorrow." He looked around before complaining. "Sheesh why'd she have to sweat so much? It's all over the wooden floor and now I have to wax it again."

Sasuke blushed in embarrassment. It seemed like the man was simply talking to himself as she was already at the door. 'Geez what a guy… it's like he doesn't have a filter for what comes out of his mouth. Doesn't he know he shouldn't insult a girl like that?'

But she held her tongue and left his residence with a hastened pace.

It was around six in the evening and seeing how she hadn't bothered to leave a note in the apartment that was shared with Daisuke, she was guaranteed to receive an earful by him.

Her shoulders slumped and her walk slowed before she let loose a loud sigh. 'Might as well take my time, no sense in rushing to get nagged on.'

---

"Where the hell have you been all day Sasuke?!" roared Daisuke.

Sasuke didn't even bother holding back her sigh.

"What part of, I was training by myself, do you not understand?"

"But all day and by yourself? I was around town and asked everyone if they've seen you, but not a single person saw you today!"

Daisuke was determined to get the real answer out of her, but Sasuke refused to budge and kept to her story.

"Yes I was training all day! By myself! Is it so wrong of me to just have some time to myself?"

"Yes! I mean no! It's not wrong! But it's so suspicious of you to just up and disappear!"

The girl was taken aback from the accusation levied against her. "Are you suggesting that I'm going behind your back and cheating on you?" It was absurd and hypocritical of him say that to her. She who had been unwaveringly loyal and faithful to him was be questioned for perceived deception.

The thought to rub it in his face that she had indeed been training, and technically hanging out, with Naruto was tempting. It was fleeting really, but she remembered the agreement. No mentioning about it at all or else he'd drop everything. With great self-control, she squashed the feeling in her head and buried it.

"No! Not anything like that for fuck sakes! You're putting words into my mouth! That's so fucking wrong of you to do that, what is wrong with you Sasuke?!"

She was tired. She was sore. Her body hurt all over, as Naruto was a harsh teacher. He rarely pulled back on his swings and let her bare the full force of a sword striking down her. As of now all she wanted was to relax and have some peace and quiet to herself after a long day of getting her ass kicked and served on a silver platter.

"Look… I'm exhausted and my body is aching after my workout. I really pushed myself extra hard today, so I just wanna take a nice long hot shower and relax." She gave a tired sigh to all of this. 'I really don't want to deal with this right now, please just back off.'

"Aww baby come on, I'm sorry for acting like a total dick." He came up close to hold her. "Please forgive me, you know me and my mind. I can't help but think stuff sometimes when I'm not around. You know I love you right?"

The man holding her was kissing and buttering her up. It was wrong. It was bad. It was like flipping a switch, he changed personalities on the spot and was now caring and affectionate because he didn't want to lose her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a voice screaming at her at how wrong this was. He was only appeasing and play with her emotions. That he was manipulating her to stay with him and only doing it to ensure her faithfulness towards him.

It screamed that everything was a lie. The voice in her head repeatedly yelled at how much of a hypocrite that man was. That he was a twisted person to poke and press at her buttons to get a desired effect.

Sasuke and her inner consciousness both knew that he had cheated on her multiple times already. It was blatant, even if he thought he was being covert and secret about it. The parties that they went to with his friends whenever they became drunk was obvious enough. Particularly when she was left alone and he was nowhere to be found.

But…

Why couldn't she pull away?

No, the better question was why didn't she pull away?

The voice that screamed to get away was squashed by her need of someone that cared for her in anyway. Even if he cheated, at least he came back in the end.

That was all that mattered right?

It was a weak argument.

A pathetic one.

Put it simply, Sasuke was scared of moving out of her comfort zone. Why tread onto that dark and unknown path when she had one that was known and lit for her to walk on? Who else could she turn to for comfort and warmth when she was alone?

And then that voice came slithering back in. Whispering softly into the back of her mind.

But... Sasuke-chan, you do have another option. The way it said it, you could assume there was a smile that followed along the statement.

The girl knew who that voice was referring to. After all Sasuke had just finished training with him less than an hour ago. But the question was could she do it? Her teammate, Sakura, appeared to be smitten with Naruto.

You're an Uchiha. You can take and claim whatever you please. You needn't care for what anyone else feels or thinks. He is fair game in the end~.

Would she even attempt to? No, it was more like could she even do that to Sakura? Her pink haired teammate who had been nothing but kind and caring to her?

Yes. Yes you can!

It would hurt her teammate though. Sakura was a considerate and kindhearted person. And for her to tear it all up even after her pink haired squad mate helped her with traumatic experiences would be monstrous. It was a vile thing to do.

But do you really care in the end? After all you need this more than her Sasuke-chan~.

She did.

She did care for her teammate. Sakura had cared for her when she was at her weakest point, her all time low after the bridge ordeal.

You're making a mistake.

Uchiha Sasuke knew she was making a mistake.

"C'mon, go clean up. Our friends will be waiting for us at our usual hangout spot." He took her protracted silence as acceptance when it was far from it. The girl that he held onto didn't return his embrace, but had paid no mind to it. He was confident that he still had her heart.

While her subconscious voice had failed to influence her decision it had managed to lay a seed for her to mull over.

The idea had taken its place in her head.

The man known to her as Uzumaki Naruto was a viable, if not ideal, candidate to be with.

As she made her way to the bathroom to clean up for the night, her mind would replay the question over and over from here on out.

Would she stomp over the friendship that she had with Haruno Sakura to selfishly take Naruto for herself?

Who knows?

---

I gave a loud yawn that broke the silence in the living room.

"I'm starting to miss that TV back in Fuyuki. The whole quiet and silent thing going on in the house is starting to become a drag."

Seriously that TV was the best thing to have ever been made in the existence of man-kind. While I mostly liked to watch the news, from time to time whenever it came on I loved watching the F-1 Grand Prix motor race.

Flipping through the book that I was casually reading through I was reminded of that time where I had asked Tohsaka to record a major F-1 race for me when I was out and wouldn't be able to watch it.

"All she had to do was just power it on and press the record button." I scoffed to myself. "Yeah, yeah. No problem at all, she tells me. Pfft. Then she goes and records that ridiculous show White Moon Princess – Phantasm Moon of all things." (1)

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "The show was in the competing time slot too."

"Ah… those were some good times weren't they?" I said to myself.

I would do just about anything to be able to live in those simpler times. A huffed out a bit of air before shutting the book in front of me. It was time for a break anyways with dinner coming up soon.

Just as I was about to head into the kitchen a series of heavy, raucous knocks banged against my door repeatedly. "Who the hell?" They became louder with each passing second. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Jesus Christ hold the phone I'm coming!"

Seriously who the hell was banging on my door like a madman? I have half a mind to knock whoever it is up the side of their head. They better have damn good reason bashing their fists into the door.

"I SAID I'M COMING HOLD YOUR HORSES FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

Unlocking the door I slid it open furiously with an annoyed expression.

"What the hell is your prob-"

I stopped midsentence of what I was saying as I lost my words because of who was standing in front of me.

"Oh shit."

They smirked in response. "Oh shit indeed Naru-chan!"

In the doorway stood one Mitarashi Anko along with Kakashi.

"Uh…" Nothing was coming up for me to say.

"Kaka-kun here told me that you've been back for quite some time now and yet you haven't even tried to say hi or anything to your big sister that took care of you!" The way she said it sounded so sweet yet insincere.

My face cringed in return. It was true. I've been putting off meeting with Anko and Gai for no particular reason. The excuse I had was that I was swarmed with research, but that's a paper thin alibi at best.

I was so screwed.

"You are so screwed."

Oh boy.

I glared at Kakashi as if asking him the silent question of why he brought Anko along. The white haired man next to her tried looking apologetic. Keyword tried.

"Kakashi. I hate your guts."

I said it just before Anko punched me right in my chest that sent me flying back into the hallway of the house.

---

"Mmm! Naru-chan!" Anko called to me. "Your cooking is even better than before! This makes up for you hurting my fist aaaand not saying hi to me since coming back home!"

"How is it my fault that you punched me?!"

"You provoked me of course!"

My eyes rolled before I went back to my dinner. I wasn't going to bother trying to argue with another person that was on the same wavelength as Kakashi. They were two peas in a pod I swear.

For tonight's dinner I went with something easy and quick. A Chaliapin Steak Don that had rice mixed with little bits of pickled plum paste, beef sirloin, pan fried onions, and a red wine and soy sauce topping. (2)

And from how much they were eating with gusto, I can proudly say that my dish went above and beyond their expectations.

"I got all the relevant information you need Naruto." He was already finished with his food and placed a thick folder that seemed to be neatly organized.

'How nice of him to actually be considerate for once.'

Wait – Anko was sitting right next to him. My eyes narrowed at him. Why was he talking about this right next to her?

"Ahem. I think you mean Anko got all the relevant information."

"Kakashi spill it, now. I told you this needed to be kept private."

He simply shrugged of all things. "I was almost finished compiling all the necessary documents and reports before Anko got curious and started snooping around. Considering she was also a student of Orochimaru I figured why not?"

Did I not stress to him how important this was that it must be kept under wraps at all cost?

"Of all the bone headed things, I told you this needed to be kept secret! This is beyond you and Anko! If word gets out and someone picked up on it then there'd be too many prying eyes and ears!"

I was peeved if not a little pissed.

"Whoa, whoa hey there now. What do you mean by beyond me and Kakashi? Kakashi is an elite jonin that's a candidate for the Hokage position and I co-lead the Intelligence Department. So I'm pretty sure there's nothing beyond us brat."

Anko was so wrong due to ignorance. It wasn't her fault at all though. The things they could be stepping into was a whole different realm for them. Completely foreign on all accounts with subjects and matters they had zero knowledge in.

In the Shinobi System those two were undoubtedly one of the strongest in it, but compared to one under the Thaumaturgical System of the Moonlit World they were fodder at best.

It was frustrating at how determined they were to bud into a world they couldn't even begin to comprehend let alone understand. There were multiple things such as the Dead Apostle Ancestors, the Swirl of the Root, Gaia and Alaya, the Reverse Side of the World, and most importantly the Counter Force of the World.

I couldn't even imagine trying to explain to them the principles of True Magic.

They had no reason to bother with the greater world. I didn't want them to. Like the saying goes that ignorance is bliss rings true.

"Naruto," Kakashi's voice was sharp. "What are you so desperately trying to hide and keep us out of? Anko has just as much right to know why you're trying to find information on Orochimaru. I'm not too fond of being kept in the dark so I'd like some answers right about now."

Rubbing the side of my head I couldn't help but let out a frustrated groan. They were waiting for me to answer them from what I can tell by the ensuing silence. Should I really expose them to the world of magi? I mean I sort of already did with Kakashi and his students, but they probably think it's just some weird summoning technique.

Plus I wasn't going to be staying here for much longer once my research has been completed. There were problems that had been put on hold overseas back at the Mage's Association… even more so in Fuyuki City.

Emiya Naruto had ran from his problems and stumbled into more in his hometown.

"Naru-chan…" it was Anko. Her voice was unusually soft and she was tapping into that big sister persona of hers that she had when she'd look after me. "Please… you've been gone for so long and changed so much. We're just concerned about you. Kakashi might not say it, but he cares about you more so than you think."

"For over four years you disappeared and almost half of that you dropped off the face of the earth completely. Naruto… there's people, no, friends who consider you family that you left behind. Don't forget you've built bonds here in your home."

Ugh – they were pulling this card either unknowingly or intentionally and god damn was it working. I know they mean well, but is it wrong of me wanting to keep them ignorant so they didn't get hurt?

For some it had been over four if not five years since they've last seen me.

They simply wanted to know what happened since then. They wanted to know how I've grown up and how different I was now. But most importantly they wanted to know what I've been up to.

I'll tell them what they want to hear and… omit several things. There'll be several important things that I'll leave out. Basically a half-truth really, but they didn't need to know that now did they?

I sighed loudly and rubbed my forehead in defeat. "Promise me… promise me that whatever I say or answer you won't go running out of the house screaming your head ok?"

The Mage Association was going to kill me.

The Holy Church was going to kill me.

And several others were going to kill me for being so reckless.

If they found out that is.

"You have our word. Right Kakashi?"

"Yes – you have my word Naruto."

I took a sip from my drink to prepare myself. My right arm started to act up again of all times. It nearly crushed the cup but I set it down quickly enough to hide it. Hopefully they didn't catch it.

"I guess to start things off…" I took a breath to calm myself. "I have…"

They leaned forward.

"I have a secret that I haven't told you- I'm a Magi."

Huh?

---

The Demon of the Left Arm, Crown, made its way to Emiya Naruto's residence in the cover of the night with haste. It had spent the better part of the entire day investigating the caverns underneath the Hokage Mountain. The information it had been able to uncover necessitated its meeting with Emiya immediately no matter what.

With ease the King of Rats entered the house and made its way to the living room.

'Looks like Emiya-kun has friends hmm? Let's see what he's talking about shall we?'

"I have a secret that I haven't told you- I'm a Magi."

'Ah – it seems I just made it in time. Careful Emiya-kun… you shouldn't spill too much now.'

It was paramount that thaumaturgy was kept secret to the public, particularly those that lived here.

A thought crossed its mind. Maybe it should intervene and control what can and can't be said? If Emiya believed the other two that were in the room with him was safe to talk about magi business then maybe it would be ok to be a little lenient on the rules? Although it did seem like they were about to have a heart-to-heart moment so maybe it wasn't a good idea?

And then it remembered.

The King of Rats was effectively the representative of Merem Solomon, a Dead Apostle Ancestor. They were one and the same thing. 'Besides I usually deal with the social matters for me anyways.'

Dead Apostle Ancestors such as himself that had lived for thousands of years ascended beyond mere simple human pleasantries. They damn well did as they pleased.

And so it was decided.

Merem Solomon was going to crash the party and formally introduce itself.

It quickly found a way into the ceiling above the dining room before opening it up to get a view below it. The rat hopped down and landed on the table with a soft thud surprising everyone seated at the table.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

---

Everyone at the table froze at the sight of a rat wearing a crown on its head landing on the middle of the table. My jaw was unhinged as I stared on while Kakashi and Anko had both jumped out of their seats with their weapons out.

And then it spoke.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Of all the time and places that it had chosen to make itself known to me. It decided now would be the perfect time to do so.

The rat turned towards me. "Good evening Emiya-kun! I must say you are a rather difficult person to track! You gave me quite the challenge trying to find you but with time and patience I was able to find you!"

I groaned and covered my face with my hands. This was going to hell in a hand basket fast.

"What the hell?"

Merem turned around. "Oh! In my excitement I almost forgot that you had guests Emiya-kun! Would you mind introducing me to them?"

"Kakashi. Anko. This is Merem Solomon. Merem. This is Kakashi and Anko." There short, sweet and simple.

"Aww… no fanfare? No titles? Nothing? How awfully drab of you Emiya-kun." It sounded disappointed in its squeaky voice. "Then I'll do it myself – ahem." The crowned rat stood on its hind legs and bowed.

You know if there was a circus act for rats Crown would be its star for sure.

"I am Merem Solomon or in your language Solomon Merem. I represent as a special Inquisitor of the Holy Church and mediator of the Mage's Association as well as being the number twenty of The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. Nice to meet you all!"

SMACK!

My hand met my face as hard it could.

He did it. He dropped the god damn bomb in one fell swoop.

What happened to tact? What happened to being cautious and keeping secrets? Merem… what the hell are you doing?!

"And does that mean you're rather high up?" asked Anko.

"And what is a Dead Apostle Ancestor?" followed Kakashi.

Oh Alaya please kill me right now. Please just show up and let me sign that god damn contract of yours to turn me into a heroic spirit. Anything but this right now please!

"Hmm," it tilted its head cutely. "Indeed. I'm at the top of the pecking order. And as for what a Dead Apostle Ancestor is? Well I'm an undead vampire of course!"

SMACK!

The other hand came up to smack my face. 'How is this being secret? How in the world is this being covert? He's breaking so many rules!'

Emiya Naruto forgot one important fact about the small aristocrat cadre of vampires: they marched to their own tune.

All I was going to do was give them some half-truths, a tweaked explanation on magecraft, and a heavily edited version of what I've been up to for the past couple of years since I've been gone.

"Does Naruto have any association with the two organizations?" It was Kakashi. Of course it was Kakashi. He of all people would be zealous enough to find out more about me.

"Oh yes indeed! Emiya-kun here is a well-known enforcer and executor for both the Mage's Association and Church respectively!"

That's it. I'm done for. He threw everything I had prepared out the window and burned it to the ground.

"Crown," I seethed. "What are you doing?!"

"Answering questions obviously." He said it as if it was simplest thing in the world.

"Well you're answering too much! You're endangering both the association and Church!"

It took a moment before it finally realized why I was so concerned. "Ohhh – you're simply worried that I'm giving out too much information huh? Don't worry about that my boy. I hold all the cards here so it doesn't matter what I give out."

"What? Wait… Solomon… you didn't… did you?!"

Please say it isn't so Crown.

Please!

"Infiltrate and find out every dirty little secret Konoha held? What you take me to be a fool to idly sit around and babysit you? Emiya-kun you insult me greatly!"

I'm dead.

Konoha was going to put me on a god damn operating table and dissect me open like a lab experiment.

"Did… you just say you infiltrated all of Konoha?" Anko asked shakily.

"Oh yes! You Shinobi have some interesting defense and security mechanisms… for a human that is."

Kakashi and Anko looked at each other. There was a pause after his statement and I didn't like how the two jonins in front of me were sliding into an offensive posture. Just before they were about to spring into action they were frozen in place.

"Ah – I'm sorry, but it seemed like you were about to start a fight. I'm afraid I can't let you do that. So how about we all sit down and talk things out shall we?"

Crown had easily enthralled them easily submitting their wills to his. They were no longer in control of their bodies.

"Merem you're making things so much worse…" my voice was muffled from how my face was covered in my hands. I couldn't bear to look at the scene unfolding before me.

The two jonins looked like they were trying to fight it but it was no use. It was a small taste of what a dead apostle ancestor could do.

"Now when I let go, you won't attempt to attack me ok?" he was speaking to them as if they were children. "I'll be happy to answer more questions as it's only fair since I know so much about you all and yet you know very little of me or Emiya-kun. Blink once for yes. Blink twice for no." Crown turned towards me. "By the way if they blink twice I'll be wiping their minds."

"Yes. Because that'll make everything so much better," I rolled my eyes.

Both of them blinked once.

Thank the Root for small favors.

"That was…"

"Strange? Weird? Other worldly?" finished Crown. "Enthrallment is fairly easy to use on individuals who have not been exposed to thaumaturgy. If I tried using it on Emiya-kun here, he'll simply shrug it off with annoyance." At that he tried the same thing on me in which I picked him up and dangled him over my teapot. "Ah… Emiya-kun could you not leave me over a pot of hot tea? It's rather uncomfortable and it's messing up my silky smooth white coat." I simply moved him closer to the heat.

"What do you want an apology?"

A little closer.

"How rude!"

A lot closer now.

"Okay! Okay! I apologize for exercising my powers now put me down this instant!"

I held him over it just a little longer before setting him down beside it.

"Kakashi. Anko. I'm sorry really… I didn't mean for it to be like this or rather… introduced you to what I've gotten myself in."

The sharingan wielder was having none of it. "You've got a lot of explaining to do Uzumaki Naruto."

I flinched.

"Uzumaki?" Merem tested out the name slowly. "Hmm… no. Sorry to say but Emiya-kun dropped that name years ago."

I flinched again.

"Wait-wait-wait. How about… we all go back to step one ok? We're getting ahead of ourselves and going all over the place with no structure or order. So… let's all calm down and start from the beginning ok?" It was Anko of all people that was trying to bring order. "As you already know I'm Mitarashi Anko and this is Hatake Kakashi. It's… a pleasure to meet you Solomon-san."

"Indeed it is! I have to say I'm quite excited at finally meeting you shinobi people that Emiya-kun would rarely talk about! We have much to discuss! As you said we should start from the beginning shall we?"

It was going to be a long night of answering a thousand questions.

---

And so for the rest of the night they effectively played twenty questions with Naruto giving them an introduction to the world of thaumaturgy and Magi, and what he had been up to for the past several years since he left.

The two Konoha shinobi felt as if they barely scratched the surface after hours of talking into the dead of the night. As they talked they picked up on subjects and topics that Naruto tended to skirt around or avoid altogether by bringing something else up.

It was an enlightening experience for the both of them. As the night grew, Kakashi couldn't shake off the feelings of hurt and sadness that welled up inside him. He had long come to the realization that this Naruto was an entirely different than the one he knew long ago, but not to this extent. It was disheartening if he were honest.

Surprisingly Naruto had been rather forthcoming with the questions that they gave him. Anko was more of personal question about his life in general while Kakashi had taken a more scholarly route trying to delve deeper into the world of Magi.

'While the terms and information seem important to Naruto it doesn't mean much when you don't know the weight behind them. Enforcer? Executor? Thaumaturgical Theory? Circuits? Mysteries? They didn't go far into them just skimming the surface of it.' He sighed as he tried processing all the information that was being dumped onto them. 'One thing for sure is that it's going to take some time trying to sort this all out. I should take this to the Hokage immediately and-'

"He already knows by the way."

The rat's squeaky tiny voice broke him from his thought. "Pardon me?"

"He already knows. That Hokage of yours. I took the time to search through his desk and found a curious little book written by one Emiya Kiritsugu. He's known for quite some time now."

Kakashi blinked, "Tell me… how many people know about this?"

"Mmm… a grand total of… four I believe. The leader of this village, his friend and now you two. I have to say they've been sitting on that information and have yet to do anything noteworthy. You'll be wasting your time really trying to talk about this to anyone else. My advice? Keep it to yourself."

"Crown…" started Naruto. "What'd I say about threatening them?"

"I am simply giving advice Emiya-kun! Nowhere did I even hint of threatening them!" it cutely crossed its arms and looked away. "Besides no one would believe them. Magic? Pssh. They'll automatically assume it's something about a card trick or pulling a rabbit of a hat."

"But Ninjutsu and magecraft do share some similarities though," noted Naruto.

"You're right! But it's the core of each system that makes them intrinsically different Emiya-kun! Remember. People like you," it pointed a paw towards Naruto, "must adhere to the boundaries emplaced by the Swirl of the Root. The people that live in these lands," its other little paw pointed to Kakashi and Anko. "Follow a completely separate and different foundational theorem compared to ours."

"Uh… you totally just lost me," spoke a confused Anko.

Everything that was being said was soaring over her head. The purple haired ninja was starting to feel the need for a stiff drink to digest everything that was being said.

"I think it's best if we… took a pause here for tonight and come back later." He turned to Naruto. "And don't think you're off the hook just yet Naruto."

The man in question simply scratched his head and sighed. He felt as if he was being chastised by an older sibling. "Yeah… again uh… sorry about tonight. Was just some misunderstanding and I got a little carried away about with some things."

"Mhm – suuure. I'll be back for more along with Anko and maybe Gai." He didn't buy it. That furious look Naruto had on his face when they started prying too much into his business gave it away. "Come on Anko let's go."

"Uh… right! Thanks for dinner Naru-chan! I'll be sure to be back for more and next time I'll be looking forward for some dango! Hopefully you'll be prepared!" She waved to them. "Goo~odnight~!"

"Y-Yeah… g-goodnight… you two…" Naruto's face cringed at how loudly Kakashi closed the door.

---

It was late in the night when Kakashi and Anko left the house. The streets of Konohagakure were unusually quiet at the moment as everyone was preparing for the Monday hustle and bustle. For several minutes neither one of them spoke to each other. It didn't matter too much as it allowed them to take in at what occurred at dinner.

"Kakashi… I hope you're not too mad at him… are you?" Anko broke the silence between them. But she didn't receive an immediate response to her question.

In a way, one could say that Mitarashi Anko represented as the soft and understanding elder sister to Emiya Naruto. While she certainly felt hurt that she wasn't trusted enough to be told personal details. Anko knew enough to let someone have their boundaries and sooner or later they'll come confessing.

Hatake Kakashi came in the form as the relaxed and carefree older brother that became stern and harsh if provoked. He was the one that enforced the rules and met out the punishments if need be. He was the one that usually had the final say in matters.

"I don't know. I started cooling off after he answered some questions our questions but… it just rubbed me the wrong way about the whole thing. He's just… so… so…"

"Different? Changed?"

"Yes… quite so…" his voice was quiet and soft.

"You know… I was excited to finally meet him after all these years. I expected to still see that kid with bright hopeful eyes and a face that seemed so innocent and honest. But when we sat down and ate. Everything that used to be there…. Just wasn't." She sounded glum and dejected. "He does his best to hide it. You've noticed right?"

Kakashi nodded. He had experienced it first hand on Team Seven's first day of training with Naruto. He reasoned and excused that it was simply because of fatigue but he saw through it easily.

"I'm impressed that he hides it so well. Being depressed and despondent that is. Whatever happened while he was gone must've crushed him… broken him… he looks as if he's seen and done too much. What do you think?"

What did he think? That was a good question that could only be answered by Naruto. Maybe a lost lover? Maybe he lost a group of friends on a mission? Maybe someone destroyed his dreams? There were so many possibilities he couldn't even bother narrowing it down.

"I really don't know…"

"And did you notice his right arm?"

"Yeah… I've noticed it for quite some time really. Makes me wonder if something happened to it; did it get cut off and replaced? Maybe he suffered some grievous injury and he hides it? Just… the more we try and find out about Naruto… the more questions keep popping up."

A pregnant pause befell them before they came across a fork in the road. It was here that they would part directions back to their respective homes.

"So… you're not mad anymore then right?"

"Not anymore after talking about it. Now it's just… concern." He chewed the inside of his mouth. "Makes me wonder if this is what Minato-sensei goes through at times when he dealt with me and my other teammates."

"We'll just have to be patient and slowly coax him out Kakashi. Whatever damaged him in the past… damaged him critically as a person."

The man simply hummed in response. He wasn't going to bother to get some reading time with his book. Tonight he was going straight to bed to mull things over.

"Goodnight Anko."

"Goodnight Kakashi."

---

"Well that was fairly entertaining! Don't you think so Emiya-kun?" No response. "Eh? Emiya-kun?"

Naruto was covering his face. "Merem… I hate you."

The boy sounded exhausted after the disorganized and chaotic conversation that just took place. "That... was just… the most jumbled up and cluttered discussion I've ever had." It was giving him a migraine just thinking about it. "And then… you had to enthrall them? I was about to stop them and then… oh god I'm so screwed."

The King of Rats didn't respond allowing him to continue.

"God this whole night went downhill so fast…"

"But it was an entertaining night don't forget that!"

He glared. "For you maybe. You know what? Why are you even here in the first place? Why did you follow me all the way to the other side of the world?"

"Because… you ran away from your responsibilities Emiya-kun. You ran away from a person that loves you. Did you know she too is hurting? Did you know that you hurt her by leaving?"

"I- I'm trying to conduct a mission! For the association and the Church!"

"Is that what you tell yourself at night when you go to bed Emiya-kun?"

Naruto's mouth felt awfully dry at Crown's counter. He looked away in shame. He couldn't even bother to make a response.

"Did you believe that you could come back out to this part of the world to play hero for these people? So that you could feel better about yourself maybe? That if you think you can save these people it'll be better in the end? Hmm Emiya-kun? Are you trying to find an early death by coming back here? Huh Emiya-kun? Answer me."

It was grilling into him harshly. He was met with no response.

"Emiya-kun. You need to accept that losses occurred that night in the caverns. You need to accept that you couldn't save her and-"

At the mere mention of her he stood up.

"You can stay at the house Solomon. I'll be going to bed now… goodnight." And just like that he left to head towards his bedroom.

Crown sighed loudly. "Well… that went as expected." It looked around the room. "And it seems like I was a tad too earnest in messing with that boy I forgot what I came here originally to tell him."

And then it shrugged.

The Dead Apostle could wait a few more days before it shared what it found underneath the mountain. They had time for now but first he would need to get through the damaged individual known as Emiya Naruto.

---

When Emiya Naruto crashed onto his bed that night, the entirety of his being felt like it was being weighed down by a thousand anchors. The words that Merem Solomon spoke to him stun deeply into his bleeding heart. It was akin to pouring salt into an open wound.

He wanted to say it was false.

He wanted to say they were lies.

But they were all true.

He left a grieving girl that also loved him back in the Clock Tower for selfish reasons. He hadn't bothered to ask or stay to heal. He had upped and left to go lose himself in a place where battles occurred daily.

A coward's way out one could say.

He dreamt again that night.

It was a dream of when he had first met her. When she had saved his life from a man that had already killed him once.

The thrust from his spear was of lightning. The man's spearhead thrust to pierce his heart once more.

But…

The lightning that tried to pierce him is repelled by the moonlight that saves me.

A resound clang resonates through the quiet area, a beautiful sound.

No – the sound before him was heavier than steel itself.

It's just that the knight was beautiful enough to turn it into a charming sound like a ringing bell.

"I ask of you. Are you my master?" Her voice lights up the darkness surrounding us.

"Servant Saber has come forth in response to your summons. From this time forward, my sword shall be with you and your fate is henceforth my fate. Now, our contract is complete."

Yes, the contract he had unknowingly made had been completed. When she chose him as her master he was sure that he swore to help her too.

Time stilled. The scene last less than a second.

But…

The boy was sure he'll remember that scene vividly when he's gone to hell.

Her face slightly turned.

Her vibrant green eyes looks at him as if peering into his soul, judging him.

The instant becomes an eternity.

The girl before the boy was garbed in armor and blue. Her stance, her demeanor, her manner was that of a king. Her golden hair shines unearthly in the moonlight as her hair and outfit swayed in the wind.

In that moment the boy known as Emiya Naruto became enchanted of his savior.

Of his Saber.

And so Emiya Naruto dreamt of memories long past wishing that he may live them once more again.

---

(1) Carnival Phantasm reference.

(2) Shokugeki no Soma recipe.

Author's Notes: So I'll apologize now for being rather late with this. I've been battling depression lately and trying to write this was a lot more difficult than I realized. Plus with university breathing down my neck I tend to not find that much time to myself. I have to admit that I feel a bit in over my head at this project that I've started. I'm a novice writer and it really shows at time when I'm just staring at my screen blankly not knowing what to do. Again I'm sorry for the tardiness of the update and the possible quality dip. I haven't been myself for the better part of 2016 and it's starting to bear down on me, but I'll try my best to provide a quality reading experience for you all to enjoy.

Some of you are wondering if this story is going to be dark or angst-y so I want to address that now. It won't be dark or anything like that all the time and it'll have its fun moments but at the same time be one of regret and sorrow. This story is mainly one where the main character has to find himself again with his ideals.

I won't spoil the ending, but I think it'll leave most of you satisfied when this story runs its course.

The goals for this chapter was to formally introduce the twentieth dead apostle ancestor, a deeper interaction between Naruto and Sasuke finally, the faltering relationship between Sasuke and Daisuke, finally meeting introducing Anko, and setting up the final characters for the Chunin Exams.

I hope you enjoyed this update! Please leave a review on what your thoughts/critiques are so that I may improve your reading experience and as an author! Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story and especially those who submit a review. I really appreciate every single one of you. Again, Thank You.

Word count before A/N: 14,813