A/N: HA! Double Update!

Avenger's getting another one soon, but here be a fragment in the meantime. A scene that both happened and yet was left unseen. It didn't quite mesh with the chapter I had set up, so it found its way here. It DID occur, however, make no mistake.

*EDIT*

No reviews, eh? That makes me sad...

WARNING!

If you haven't read A Most Unlikely Exile, you'll be confused.

This is a fragment, a different ending given live in the most unlikely way.

There, now onto the show.

*bawls happily*

YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS!

Oh you magnificent glorious bastards, I don't' deserve you! You're the best! You know what you did! Thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuuuuuu! I don't know what I'd do without you and your kind words; the reviews are wind beneath my wings, they are life and happiness and keep me writing. As for the detractors...hmm. I suppose its time I addressed them.

Didn't I say that I had a plan for this series?

Instead I hobbled home from a double shift to get slapped with spam and such. Someone called it "over-saturation" but the truth is, I'm building a universe here. Rome wasn't built in a day-despite what Nero might say-but there won't be many more new stories if I have my way.

Now, then.

Lets address Berserker and Caster.

I haven't updated these two yet because the chapters. Are. LONG! We're talking an excess of ten thousand words and I want them to be just right! I'm not going to push out shoddy and rushed work, certainly not for those two! Don't even get me started on the sheer craziness of the others.

I've updated Saber, Lancer, Card, Rider, Master, Avenger, Collection-not to mention other genre-in the last few weeks and this is the thanks I get? Bah!

But since some people insist on spitting and cursing me at every opportunity...well!

Here. Another story. Out of spite for the trolls. Enjoy it. Have at ye.

Reviews are love. Reviews are life. Reviews make me strive.

As ever, this will be gone in two days if folks don't like it.

References are glorious and I own nothing~!

"There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

It is always darkest before dawn.

Trust in that light.

Hold to it.

Fight."

~?

Light

Was this death?

Hanging in a dark abyss devoid of any semblance of sound or light, she could only drift. And in drifting, she saw...nothing. Only shadow. She could feel her fingertips-handslikeiceohgodwhy-and her toes-toomuchtoomuch-but she saw none of them, only the sensation of being-paininmyribswhyamibleeding-accompanied by tattered thoughts, fleeting flickers of images she both could and could not deny. She felt...torn. Broken. As if her very soul had been shattered into so many pieces that she couldn't properly recall the moment of her death.

She remembered the pain.

Shadow and...flame.

Horrible teeth.

cannotbestopped-but

Bit by bit, moment after moment, she felt herself fading away. She felt...cold. Terribly, horribly cold.

The

She didn't want it to end this way. She wanted to see him again; because she'd held him back. Kept him from reaching his true potential. He'd been so preoccupied with protecting her that he hadn't been able to fight with all his might. If not for her, he could've raged across the island like the tempest he was. Instead he fell. Or did he flee? She didn't know. There was no way of knowing. Only the darkness of death and oblivion and nonono, she didn't want to die here, didn't want to go this way...

As she drowned in her misery, a voice spoke to her.

"Servant. You are needed."

Servant?

"Humanity is threatened. You are needed."

Humanity? What did humanity matter now? It was gone.

"Will you answer the call, Caster? Will you render aid?"

What aid could someone like her possibly give? What good was she?

She tried to lift her head, but she was tired, oh so tired...who was Caster? Was the voice speaking to her? Caster implied she was able to cast something. Magic. Jutsu, at the very least. No. Her only strength had been her words and her facade. Her skills with the sword-skills taught her by Naruto-were paltry by comparison. The only heroic thing she'd ever done in her life was die standing. The thought wrung a bitter chuckle from her despite her best efforts to remain silent.

Yet the voice, both a whisper in her ear and rolling thunder without, would not let her be.

"You stood your ground before a false god and despite your weakness, did not falter."

Did that count?

"You played your part true unto the end."

What part? She hadn't been able to do anything.

"A masterful actress, only ever showing you true face to one man."

One who was likely dead at that. All because of her.

"The world remembers, even if humanity does not."

What good had her sacrifice done her?

"Rise, Koyuki Kazahana."

She wasn't sure she wanted to anymore.

"Rise, daughter of snow and ruler of spring."

What did she want, then?

"Rise and take your rightful place among legends."

And then there was light.

It burst through the shadow like a pillar of lightning, scouring all before it. Shadows fled with a hiss, and she blinked wearily, squinting helplessly against it. There. In the light she glimpsed an arm. Hers. How quaint. She gazed at her fingers in quiet consternation. She remembered loosing this arm-and the rest of herself-to that abomination. So why was it still attached? The voice came on again, then.

"Rise. They are waiting for you. You have but to join them."

Something in her wanted that light. Longed for it.

She reached for the light...

(...0o0o0...)

...and opened her eyes.

She sucked in a breath without thinking; because she had lungs to breathe with again, a body to feel. Eyes from which she could see. She was alive and moving again and that was all that mattered. She could feel warm metal beneath the soles of her shoes, the bitter chill of death blasted so suddenly as if it had never been. She could move. Think. Feel. See.

What she saw took her breath away.

In place of the despairing dark in which she'd been swallowed, the freshly summoned Servant found herself standing in a massive sprawling chamber with a high ceiling. It looming luminescence offered a faint light for her sore and aching orbs to comprehend her new situation. Memories and information-readily supplied by the grail-thoughts not her own, all of it flooded her at once, catching the blackette off guard. On a certain lever Koyuki knew she could be frightened, but she couldn't bring herself to feel it. Or much of anything, really. And yet.

And yet...

"Oh, hello there!" a young man clad in a white uniform beamed back at her as the light faded. "You must be the new Servant. You're Caster, right?"

...yet?" she ventured hesitantly, dithering before him.

Caster took in dark hair and bright eyes, a firm-yet-youthful face that bespoke of honesty and hope. It almost reminded her of him. She saw the marks on his hand, felt the thin tether of energy binding her to him, to the facility itself, and almost smiled. Yes, he did remind of him. Almost as if-

With that stray thought, everything came rushing back.

She blinked rapidly.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

She didn't want to remember. Ignorance was bliss, as they say. Yet her mind betrayed her all the same and she found herself recalling her final hours. Naruto. The Beast. That foul, false creature attacking her beloved like a mad dog, watching the two of them rage across the country like a pair of demons; then that foul trick the latter used to gain the upper hand. When he hadn't been able to win alone, he'd brought an army down on her beloved's head. Even then he still might've won. She'd been a hostage. A danger. Despite all her resolve, she'd still been an unwitting handicap. Her presence had shackled him and because of her...because of her...!

She wanted to know.

She had to know.

Though the words threatened to choke her, she dared to speak them.

"I...is Naruto here?"

Ritsuka Fujimaru swore softly and planted a hand against his forehead. "Oh, not again. You're the third this week. Avenger's not going to be happy."

"Avenger...?"

"Look, I'm really sorry about this." her Master sighed. "He's not in a good mood at the moment, not after last time...

Last time? Caster-Koyuki!-tilted her head. She had no idea what he meant. And who was this Avenger? Judging by the young Master's strained expression she expected an explanation of some sort. Instead the young man all but reared back and pressed a button against the wall. A soft chime rang out, capturing her attention. Then came the voice, soft and nebulous, rising through the speakers overhead.

"Avenger, report to the summoning chamber, please."

Oh, but she would know. Quite shortly at that.

"Alright! So who's the newbie, kiddo?!"

Caster's world shattered apart.

She knew that voice.

Not a heartbeat later, an unfamiliar presence registered in her peripherals as the door opposite the chamber whooshed open. A scraggly mane of blond hair immediately caught her gaze, but the golden eyes beneath baffled her as did the dirty rags he wore At any rate, he did not seem to notice her, much less register her presence until he drew closer. It didn't look like him. Not truly. His presence was all wrong and he had neither a gauntlet nor a sword. And yet some tiny part of her soul held onto the vain hope that it might be him.

...Naruto?" she ventured the word weakly. "Is that you?"

Golden eyes widened upon her. Narrowed.

She didn't expect his response.

"Who are you?" he frowned.

Koyuki winced.

It hurt.

A/N: SURPRISE.

Now before you protest!

If bloody Shakespeare, with no magic and no martial prowess whatsoever can qualify for the Caster class, so too, can Koyuki. She fits nothing else so much as this. We've got Mata Hari as an Assassin for crying out loud and she can't even fight properly. But our stern snow princess casts words, not magic, not chakra, and while this iteration DOES have some semblance of sword training under her belt, she's not a combat type.

Really, the most she can do is inspire her allies and give them a boost...and a poignant one at that.

Exile!Naruto is going to be in for quite a surprise if he ever makes it to Chaldea. As things stand, this didn't mesh well with the draft I've written for the third chapter of A Most Unlikely Avenger, so in place of a chapter, this fragment was delegated here, to the collection. It DOES happen, we simply don't witness her summoning in the Avenger tale. Naturally she'll be able to tell the difference from Avenger to Exile off the bat. She's sharp like that.

And now she lives on in Chaldea. And there we have it.

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly...?

And enjoy a preview!

Someone's a softie.

Softie~!

Kudos if you get the reference.

Also! SPOILERS!

(Preview)

"Is this a freaking intervention?"

He lasted all of two seconds. And then:

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

...big brother?"

"I ain't never seen you before, kid."

Nursery Rhyme wavered in place, eyes wide.

Her lower lip trembled traitorously as he looked on.

No. She wouldn't dare. "B-B-But you promised me...you promised...

She was gonna. He saw the tears gather in her eyes a heartbeat too late.

"Ack?!" Naruto swore aloud as she burst into miserable sobs. "No no no! Don't cry! I'm sorry!"

R&R! =D