A/N: Hey, there!

Rise of the Beast Hero is coming along nicely. I've written several thousand words written already, but I want it to be longer/more polished. So here, have a multi holiday update while its still in the oven, as it were. Hope it makes ya smile. Happy early Fourth of July!

With this, I've updated FOUR different stories today. You can expect a massive update sometime tomorrow or Tuesday.

Not sure if anyone will be around to read tomorrow, since its the Fourth of July...

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

As ever, I own no references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to those far greater than I.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

Ironically, this was the rough draft of Shed No Grace on Me way back when; but it wound up being something very different.

Still, I felt it should at least see the light of day, even in the form it became.

Mind you, its very rough, but hey, I thought someone might like it.

Bear in mind! This is a Naruto who never met Melina or the rest...

"We're all spirits of a sort, When you think about it...

And there are so many with you...

So very many...

~Roderika.

One With Spirits

He'd come to visit again.

Roderika wasn't sure why she expected anything less; really.

After all the times he had returned for his rest, he'd always made an effort to see her.

Tarnished or no he was welcome in the Roundtable Hold all the same; for the Great Rune he wore granted him passage. She did not know whose it was, or where he'd gotten it from; only that it burned like an auburn star between his shoulders. Yes, she didn't rightly know for certain, but she'd heard the whispers. Some said he'd pried it from the hands of Malenia herself. To this day, she didn't know if he'd slain the woman or let her live. A great rune could be cast aside, after all. Supposedly this one allowed him to heal when he attacked his enemies. Not that she'd seen him do much in the way of attacking.

Not since they'd met; even then, he'd sent those wolves near her shack running with a single look.

Beasts avoided him. Spirits adored him. He gave his gifts freely. Such was her Naruto.

And Godrick...he'd slain him, come back to her, and given her his rune.

She could feel it now, beating above her breasts like a second heartbeat. Such a curious thing. Some might say such power was wasted upon her; that only a madman would willingly give such a gift to one so weak.

"Brought you some food."

Oops. This madman was standing before her now.

She flushed, having lost herself in her thoughts. "You're too kind."

Muted laughter rang through the hold. "Well, someone has to feed you and Hewg."

Master Hewg harrumphed and continued to hammer away at his anvil. "I keep telling you boy, I'm a Misbegotten. I don't need to-

A plate landed on said anvil.

-eat." he finished with a put upon sigh. "You never listen."

Everyone liked him. The spirits, even more so.

The spirits, they loved him. They followed him, even now.

Roderika often wondered if he could see them as she did, hear them.

So many spirits. Some of her world, others of his.

Even now she spied two lurking nearby; a woman with long red hair was always near him, smiling fondly. His mother. And with her a striking blond fellow who couldn't be anything other than his father. They rarely spoke. When they touched his shoulder he never seemed to notice. Every now and again the woman would look at her and just beam. T'was the sort of maternal smile that reminded Roderika of her own mother, little more than a faded memory in the back of her mind.

There were others, sometimes. A man with mismatching eyes and dark hair. He spoke to her sometimes. That one always seemed so sad.

Once she'd seen a great giant of a man with white hair and a painted face. He'd laughed so loudly that he'd startled her; then uttered a single word before fading away.

"Finally."

She'd not seen him since.

Light on the blond's body drew her eye. She saw its source and gasped.

There was another Great Rune near Naruto's neck now; she noticed it as he sat beside her, a bright brand humming a lively orange carved into his flesh. Of its origin, she was less certain. Regardless he seemed haler and heartier for it, so who was she to complain? He could claim as many great runes as he pleased; it would only make him stronger, and repairing the Elden Ring all the easier.

.

..

...still, curiosity gnawed her.

"Where," she swallowed a mouthful of venison, then coughed once to comport herself, "Where did you get that?"

"This?" Blue eyes crinkled in a smile as he set aside his own humble fare. "Some old horned geezer kept coming after me, so I hunted him down, kicked his ass, and took his sword." He touched a hand to the necklace now dangling around his neck. "Got a sweet talisman out of it, too."

Roderika squeaked, hands flying to her mouth.

Horned...geezer? Oh. Oh, dear. She could only think of one being who matched that description. He'd slain Morgott the Grace-Given, then. He'd been the capital. To the Erdtree. Which meant...!

"Why aren't you Elden Lord?"

He'd spoken loudly and at length of fixing this world; this realm, in dire need of repair. So why hadn't he?

"Well, I ran into a little problem," he admitted, looking away with a sheepish grin. "The tree wouldn't let me in. Kurama wanted to blast it to cinders, but I'm looking for a less...destructive way. One that doesn't hurt this world anymore than its already been hurt. Just haven't found it yet." when she looked askance at him, he reached out and took her hands in his. "Was wondering if you had any ideas."

Roderika was a simple girl. She knew where her skills lay; tuning and speaking to spirits, strengthening them, guiding them to greater purpose.

She most certainly didn't know how to burn the Erdtree. But his hands were so very warm in hers.

...is that a no, then?"

Roderika was silent for a long moment. Then she started to laugh. "You're an odd one, aren't you?"

"This from the girl with the jellyfish?"

"Her name is Aurelia." she chided him.

"Oh, I know." his head bobbed in a knowing nod. "She's the one what helped me kill the old coot. Poor Finlay got flattened; I was hoping you could give her some tender loving care."

Roderika looked past him. The poor Cleanrot yanked off her helm, looking positively aggrieved. T'would seem he had run her ragged.

That tore it. When Naruto started laughing again, she couldn't help but giggle with him.

Maybe...maybe things would be alright after would continue to serve him.

And so too would the spirits. Come what may. And perhaps one day...

...he might open his heart to her, as she had him.

A/N: Consider it, every spirit ash we get has its own personality, its own fighting style.

This fix expands on that and more, with our favorite spirit tuner no less.

There we have it. Another Request fulfilled for ya'll. =D

Do you want this to be a story? Yes? No? Maybe so?

Make yourselves heard!

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others.

If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.

No previews this time. I'm exhausteeeeed...

R&R~!