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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Fate, or any other anime I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners…

7/27/23

Chapter 2

He had messed up.

He didn't know how, he didn't know where or when, but Naruto had figured out that he had, in fact, messed up.

Ryunosuke was supposed to be a master in this war; he knew this; he had seen the boy's hands to prove as such.

But then: why did he now have the boy's command seals? What was the deal with the servant? Just who had hired him to kill the young murderer?

Questions he needed answers to.

From what he could guess, when Naruto injected his mana into the murderer when he applied his seals to apprehend him, that created something akin to a connection. That connection then allowed for the seals to transfer over to his form when Ryunosuke.

But that still didn't explain the servant in question. He knew for a fact that the grail selected servants that reflected the master's mental state.

Ryunosuke was a deranged murderer, who killed for his own pleasure. He had expected the boy to summon a servant as such, like a berserker or a even deranged caster or rider.

But the servant he had summoned was many things—deranged wasn't one of the one of them.

So the question of how and why this servant was summoned.

The best he could surmise was that when he had sealed the boy's summoning circle out of fear of him summoning a powerful servant, he had tampered with the seal too much. This effectively made the seal connect with himself instead of Ryunosuke, allowing him to act as a sort of pseudo-master.

And when the original master died, the seals on the boy's wrist were then transferred over to him.

But that brought upon new questions. He knew, as a matter of fact, that he hadn't messed up with his sealing.

But if he had full confidence in his work, that meant that there was another variable at play.

It was said that in Fuyuki's Grail War, the grail had almost a mind of its own, able to think and make decisions with its near omniscience that not many people understood.

He just knew that damned grail had something to do with this!

An omnipotent wish was too powerful for one to have; it was too easy, and he didn't trust it one bit. He didn't trust the grail, the war, or even the seals.

He had tried to remove them, but even with all his knowledge of sealing, he realized that that course of action would be impossible, or at least very hard and way too time consuming. Deciding it wasn't worth the risk, he realized it was better to just keep them on for the time being.

But keeping the seals had one downside—a rather large thorn in his side.

With his contract complete, he had decided that it was best to get out of this godforsaken city. So he had to meet up with his employer, a middleman, or go between his usual clientele that wanted to hire him. Naruto retrieved another mission from the man within the city he was in—Shinjuku, to be exact.

A mission he had longed for in some time.

Earlier he had rented a standard hotel room that he would be staying in for a few days, with cash, so as not to leave any trails.

Retrieving the key he had been given within his pocket, he inserted it within the keyhole, as he turned it and twisted the knob.

Opening the door, he was met with the sight he had come to expect. A small, two-bed room barely large enough to walk through, as a bathroom was on the right.

This was a lower-quality motel, cheap enough that it didn't hurt his budget. It didn't matter to him, considering he doubted he would spend much time here, only renting this place as a way to sleep at night.

He saw the standard things in the room this price: water stains along the walls and ceiling. The lights were flickering, as the entire electrical system was shot. And if you looked close enough, you could see the slight red pigment in the cream-colored walls.

But then there was a sight he didn't expect to see, as a figure revealed itself as she stepped out of the bathroom, her hands interlocked at her back.

"Hello, husband, welcome home. Would you like dinner, a bath, or perhaps~" The fox woman put a finger to her cheek, as she held only one eye open.

"...Me~?" Tamamo questioned, as she looked at him seductively.

"Hello, Tamamo," the blonde greeted shortly, as he walked past the beautiful woman, not paying her any mind in the process.

Tamamo pouted, holding her hands at her sides. Couldn't the man at least acknowledge her statement?

Bouncing back, she asked her blonde master a question: "So how was your time away?" Tamamo inquired.

Naruto placed the bag he was carrying on his bed. "It was fine," he told her, uninterested, as he went to retrieve a new set of clothing from within his bag.

Removing his old shirt from his body, Tamamo blushed slightly as she stared at him.

Naruto was definitely well-built, with muscles that would send any girl over the edge, and she was no different, as the fox unconsciously began to licked her lips.

Unaware of the woman's thoughts, Naruto changed his shirt, as he continued with his statement. "I met up with my contact, Jiraiya, as he set me up with a new job," he told her, explaining what he had been doing in his time away from their shared hotel room.

Tamamo perked up at this information, as she went to open her mouth.

But Naruto shot her down. "No, you may not come with me," he told her resolutely, as the fox-girl's ears flopped down in disappointment, her tail doing much the same.

Naruto saw the girl's sadness, as he paid it no mind. And although he didn't have any reservations with the fox-demoness, he still didn't quite know the woman, nor did he trust her. As far as he was concerned, she was akin to a leech hanging by his side. Constantly sucking out a portion of his vast mana supply just to keep herself alive.

Admittedly, she was a very pretty leach, but a leach nonetheless.

"But… I'm worried for you," she told him in nearly a whisper; vulnerable.

Naruto still heard her, as he paused in his changing and stared at the girl for nearly five whole seconds.

"You shouldn't worry about me," he told her plainly.

And he was right, about how dangerous each of his missions was, plus the frequency with which he went on them. All in all, it wasn't a good combination, and if his mother knew if his actions, she'd definitely throw a fit, or at least mildly beat him to death.

It was better for her to not get her hopes up that he would come back.

But then again, that was if the woman in front of him even cared. For all he knew, this was all just an act. After all, she was one of Japan's most famous demons. Tamamo no doubt knew how to sway people with just the right words and actions.

Strangely enough, the smile the woman gave him seemed genuine, as she clutched her heart.

At this sight Naruto could not help but turn away.

It was getting late anyway; he had been out for far too long. Night was already upon them, as he went to crawl into bed.

Tamamo did the same; if only she hadn't tried to crawl into the same bed as him.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked slightly irritated, noticing the fox girl's actions.

"I'm going to bed," she told him, oblivious to Naruto's growing frustration with her.

This has happened every night since he met her; you'd think she'd get the hint.

Naruto only sighed tiredly. "Yeah, but why do you think I asked for a room with two beds? This one is mine," he told her.

Tamamo pouted. "But I wanted to sleep with you," she told him in a near whine.

And Naruto turned away. She was good; he would give her that, but even with her seductions, he resolved himself to not fall for them.

He wouldn't.

"Tamamo," he reiterated firmly.

"But—" the fox-girl tried to argue, but with one look she faltered, as she crawled off of his bed onto her own.

"Good," he told her, knowing she wouldn't try this stunt again for the night. As he soon lied down, and went off into blissful sleep, or that was his intent.

Of course, it wasn't meant to be…

XXX

"Naruto."

"… Naruto."

"Naruto!"

Naruto adjusted his eyes, blinking just a bit at the sight. He regained his concentration, even as noises sounded off in the distance, as he looked in front of him.

A similar man stood before him. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Although he seemed to be a little taller, and he was lacking any whisker marks adorning his cheeks.

And his father, of course, had been holding out his hand to give him something.

Naruto took the gun within his hand, a small pistol, larger than his very hands. "Father, are we under attack?" He questioned, getting straight to the point. There was no use wasting time.

Minato only nodded grimly. "We are," he told him grimly.

"By who?" Naruto asked, who would attack them so blatantly?

"I don't know," his father told him honestly. "... but I intend to find out."

"Let me help you," he offered, but his father only shook his head, placing a tanned hand across his boy's shoulder.

"Naruto, I need you to stay inside, where it's safe; you have to protect your mother," Minato told his son firmly.

And Naruto tried to protest, "But father—!" He tried to argue, but was quickly shot down.

"Naruto, I need you to do this; you're the only one who can," Minato told him, in a much sterner voice than Naruto had ever heard from his lips.

Before he sighed, even as the sounds got closer and closer. "Your mother, she needs your protection, a lot more than me, especially now," he told his son, as his lips snapped shut.

Naruto knew his father's words were true, even if he didn't want to admit it.

His father shouldered his own much larger gun, even as those monsters inched ever closer, the noises getting increasingly louder.

Minato turned frantically, gauging just how much time he and Naruto had left.

From what he could guess; wasn't long.

"Naruto, go!" He shouted; as his son's whole body froze.

Minato looked at him sympathetically; he was just 14. He was young by anyone's standard, and yet he had to deal with something like this… and what would follow after.

"Now! I'll be with you soon," Minato assured, the monsters getting closer.

That statement seemed to break Naruto free from his shock, as he made his decision.

The promise he made being memorized within his mind… Minato knew it was something he could keep, and truthfully, Naruto did as well.

But even still, he pushed on, running down the halls of his large home, rushing to meet his mother within the safest point of the house.

As the sounds of gunshots reached his ears… Naruto couldn't help but release a few stray tears from his eyes.

XXX

A gasp of breath tore itself from his throat.

Tamamo saw it all. Every gasp in pain, every tear that fell, every quiver of his lips, and every word he spoke.

She heard it all, watching in worry as he did so.

But even still, he continued to sleep, to rest. Although she could tell he didn't do any resting. It was as if he were in one big nightmare.

It was always like this, or it had been like this every time she had been with him.

And it tore her heart out each time she saw it.

She felt so helpless.

She was supposed to be his wife, after all, and she could tell he was suffering so much. It pained her… because she knew Naruto was in pain.

End Chapter.

What is genuine? What is not? And What forces are at play?

An: Short one, but this is supposed to be a bit of a short story. No 5k word minimum for me on this one.

I'm going to try to play around with Naruto and Tamamo being more human/complex characters with this one.

Strangely enough, my Tamamo just hit bond ten not too long ago.

Haven't posted in a few weeks, been too busy watching Evangelion (which I've taken a bit of inspiration from in this one) and playing Valorant with my friends.

And waiting for Nero-fest, I'm very poor on mats

:'(

(Hearing it's set for the 31st)

Noberon gang. Even with 11 ffn rolls he didn't come home, worse I've also gotten not one but two SSR spooks. Vlad, and waver (who is now Np2)

I am MYST!!!

Anyways, trying to put out another chapter for Phantom, one that is probably gonna be very long.