A/N: DICLAIMER!

I!

OWN!

NOTHING!

Now, if you're not familiar with Fate Extra/CCC/Extella/Extella Link, you're gonna be confused. This story aims to cover each of these games alongside other events. There, I've said it plain.

Demanding, aren't you guys?

I was content with what I'd written in the Fate universe but then people starting PM'ing me about Fate Extra. What's that, I thought? Is it any good, I thought? Long story short I ordered it online, waited a few days, then popped it into my dusty 'ol PSP last night It was a good game I thought, right up unti I encountered Alice...and had to kill her.

MISTAKES WERE MADE.

Needless to say I felt horrible...

Before anyone asks, I'm aware of Last Encore and its even more soul-wrenching than this. I've resolved not to finish watching that until I finish Extra and CCC. Before anyone asks, I may well write a less serious version of this in the future. For now, I hope you enjoy this.

As ever, reviews feed my engine of creation, so keep at it~!

"What are you?"

"Hmm...Rider, I guess?"

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"Sure it does. You're just not asking the right one."

~?

Ghost

Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events isn't it?

After all these trials, all these tribulations, after everything I'd said and done...I really didn't expect to die. I might've said as much, but to actually feel my life leaving me...its a chilling thing. Don't get me wrong; I'm not bitter about my loss; on the contrary, I just don't have it in me to hate someone. I gave it all I had. Every fiber of my being, every last drop of chakra. I shouldn't have any regrets. I'm sure Neji and Jiraiya probably didn't die with any in their hearts when their time came. And yet...

Yet here I am, bleeding out.

Killed by my best friend.

Dying.

Did I reach him with my words? Did I kill him, as he killed me? I don't know. Everything's gone black. We won, in a sense. Kaguya's gone, sealed away where humanity can never reach her. Ha. I can take some pride in that, at least. With Black Zetsu annihilated, there's no one left to try. So why do I feel so empty inside? I can feel someone holding my hand. Who? I can't see anyone. I can't hear anything.

Kurama? Are you there? Can you hear me? Anyone?

I don't want to die; not here...not like this.

I just need another chance, that's all.

I wasn't strong enough this time.

Next time I'll prove myself.

Next time...I won't fail.

Next time...I will...

(...Centuries Later...)

Was she really going to die here?

No.

Her body felt like lead, her limbs twisted and mangled by this, her most unseemly defeat. Her world had grown foggy, and her vision dim even the memory of her own name threatened to escape her, to slip away into the fog of forgetfulness should she allow it. No. Remember. Hakuno. Yes. That was her name. Hakuno Kishinami. The effigy may have broken her body, but it had not-could not-take her mind. She clung to them, grasping the words like a raft in the storm. Though wave upon wave of pain buffeted her, still she clung on.

I don't want to die.

She didn't want it to end like this. She'd tried so hard. Come so far. In the end...did it really matter? Of course it did! Some small part of her raged against her own powerlessness as the specter of death loomed over her, screaming her determination. Though her five senses threatened to rip themselves from her very body, though her every waking moment was naught but pain, still she

I exist! I want to live! I AM ALIVE!

To her great-but not unwelcome-disbelief, someone answered her silent plea.

"Hahaha! Yes! I like that resolve of yours! Very well!"

The sound of shattered glass rent her ears.

Light cut through the gloom.

Hakuno opened her eyes.

"You have called me!"

"Who...?"

Somehow she managed to move her battered body, to lift her aching head and witness the miracle taking place before her. Something was slowly rising up from the floor in the middle of the room, a solid figure taking shape from the aether. A human? No, its appearance was clearly humanoid but something was different about it. Strikingly so. An open black-orange coat draped down from broad shoulders, fluttering in an unseen breeze of their arrival. No, not a coat she realized, but rather part of a jumpsuit of some sort, garishly bright and black and so very orange. Who even wore that kind of attire?

Perhaps sensing her curiosity, the newcomer turned.

The weight of his regard threatened to suffocate her on the spot.

A gentle glow engulfed her torn frame, easing the pain, mending her wounds.

"So my first Master is a girl, huh?" his voice emerged as a low drawl between them, rubbing pleasantly against her ears. "Suppose I don't have much room to complain this time around. Still, just to be sure...I'll stick to the formalities, just this once."

In a sudden blur, he knelt before her.

"So, little squirrel, I ask of you...Are You My Master?"

Blue.

That was her first thought as she took her measure of him; striking azure orbs framed by whiskered cheeks and a scraggly mop of blond hair. A battered headband of some sort hung around his neck, its emblem so faded as to be rendered nearly unrecognizable, yet her gaze lingered on the emblem all the same. What was it? A leaf? Without thinking she reached for it, pale fingertips grasping against the worn metal. It proved surprisingly, impossibly warm to the touch, and for a moment, just a moment she glimpse an inscrutable expression etched into that whiskered visage.

What was a Master?

Hakuno couldn't claim to know.

Nor did she understand who she faced.

She couldn't be expected to know much of anything, really. If the world were a sea, then she was naught but a guppy taking her first swim. A mere minnow among sharks. The being before here was undoubtedly such a creature, someone who could crush her as surely as breathing. Even now the energy radiating from him threatened to crush her very spirit.

And yet...

There was a strange boldness to that gaze, a surety of purpose she found herself craving. It promised strength. Safety. She wanted that. Needed it. After the harrowing events of the last few hours she longed for safe harbor in the storm, for a moment of respite, if nothing else. She had but to say yes. To say no now would condemn her. Doom her as surely as death.

Words tumbled out of her of their own accord:

"I...yes."

Just like that, the strange sense of menace mysteriously abated.

Whiskered cheeks dimpled out at her in a lazy smile.

"Well said! Courage is the first step on the road to adventure." Satisfied by her response, the blond reached down and gently took her by the hand, helping her to her feet. "Up you go, then!"

"Wait, what are you-yeek!"

Pain blazed across her palm, not from his simple gesture of kindness, but what followed. When she dared to search for the source of this sudden searing of her synapses she found it readily. Her hand. A series of strange scarlet marks blazed up at her in the form of a twisted tattoo, pulsing in time with the beating of her head.

"Well, that proves it." Rider hummed. "You've got the Command Spells."

Alternating between baffled glances at her savior and her sudden subsequent marking, Hakuno could only stutter at the words.

"I don't...what...who are you?"

To her initial relief, her newfound ally actually replied...

...albeit not at all in the way she'd expected.

"Servant! Uzumaki Naruto!" he beamed, thrusting one arm forward and casting his head back to strike what he no doubt believed to be a gallant pose. "At your service!"

Silence reigned between Master and Servant.

Quietly, almost sheepishly, the whiskered warrior straightened his back.

...tch. How the hell does Ero-Senin pull that off?"

Despite herself, the brunette balked at him.

"What are you?" she repeated.

"Hmm...I'd say...Rider, I guess?" the blond frowned thoughtfully, thumbing his chin in consideration. "I don't feel like an Assassin. I don't have "that" so I ain't in the Archer class. Kinda feel sane so I can't be a Berserker. Caster? Hmm. No, would have more energy for that class at least. But this is a Holy Grail War, just not the sort I'm used to...

Hakuno felt her world began to spin as the Servant continued to ramble on.

Classes?

Holy Grail War?

"Can't be Saber or Lancer because...reasons." Pacing away, the blond spun and gave her a searching look. "Ruler? No, I wouldn't have a Master if I'd been summoned as that, and Avenger sure as hell isn't my forte, so...hmm! Yes! That settles it!" an emphatic nod followed this sudden statement, a declaration of such surety that she couldn't help but agree with him despite her own misgivings. "Gotta be a Rider! Lucky me~! This is the perfect class for yours truly!"

Hakuno felt her mouth twitch.

"That still doesn't answer my question."

Whiskered cheeks dimpled in a slight, faux smile.

"Of course it does. You're just not asking the right one-oh!"

As she looked on a tiny creature clamored out of Rider's jacket and up onto his shoulder.

At first Kishinami couldn't believe her eyes. The creature was small, to the point of fitting in one's palm. No larger than a puppy. T'was a frail-looking creature all things considered, red as blood, bearing nine tails of crimson fur behind its back. Crimson eyes regarded her with a keen interest, yet they lacked the subtle curiosity of their host. Its ears gave a sullen twitch as she weathered its gaze. Small. Tiny. Furry. Hakuno stiffened at the sight of it. Indeed, although her situation remained dire...

...she wanted to pet this creature.

Her fingers twitched longingly.

Naruto laughed.

"I wouldn't if I were you. This little guy's more than he seems." a stray finger rose, petting the crimson kitsune on the head and nearly being bitten for it. "He's my...partner, I guess you could say, and liable to snap at you if ya try. Shame, really. He's usually loads bigger than this."

She expected a squeak of some sort.

What followed utterly defied her expectations.

"Bite me, brat! How did I get dragged into this summoning?!"

Instead a surprisingly deep voice resonated from the tiny creature, emanating in a stray snarl. It was so utterly at odds with his appearance that Hakuno couldn't help but blink. Quite suddenly her once burning desire to pat that fuzzy little head found itself cooled by the waters of uncertainty.

"Hell if I know, Kurama!" came the lazy reply. "I didn't even think we could be summoned here!"

"Well clearly we were! You had something to do with this, didn't you?!"

"C'mon, now! Don't be like that! What could I have possible done to-

Before Rider could hope to finish, the little fox lunged at his head.

"I DEMAND RETRIBUTION!"

"WhyareyoubitingmefurballOHGODITSINTHEBONEINTHEBONE!"

Somehow, watching the two of them squabble-or flail in Naruto's case-lifted a great weight from her shoulders, one she hadn't even realized she'd been bearing. Perhaps she'd been wrong to think of him as a shark. Gazing at him now she could only think of him as a great, big, fluffy bear...if bears could be harmless. No, perhaps that was the wrong designation for him after all. Watching Rider bicker with his "partner" ignited a strange longing in her breast, one she couldn't quantify. It felt almost painful-

A sharp creaking noise plucked her from her reverie and jerked her back to reality.

"What...?"

As she turned to comprehend this sudden sound she beheld the battered effigy rising clumsily once more. Thought it had gone dormant with her defeat, the arrival of her "Servant" had stirred it back to life. It rose with strange, clunky movements, yet nevertheless its intent became terribly clear as that faceless gaze found hers.

Her hopes sank with its rise.

Death.

Memories of her previous defeat surged back to the fore, stifling all sense. She was no match for this creature. It had already bested her once; doubtlessly it would do so again. Her body betrayed her, shrinking back before the doll's stiff advance. She winced uncontrollably. To fight it alone would be folly; she would fall in a single blow, just as she had before. Sensing her fear, the creature advanced, its sightless gaze fixed upon her with frightful intensity, those spindly arms rising for a killing stroke.

"Ho? What's this? A puppet?"

Thus it came as something of a surprise when Rider strode past her.

Cocking his head inquisitively, the whiskered warrior regarded her foe with a hint of intrigue, and Kurama with him. Any hint of their argument had all but evaporated. Together they stood-well, Naruto did the standing and the little fox clung stubbornly to his shoulder, but still!-between her and that terrible, ghastly abomination. In the light its limber body almost seemed to warm and twist, every motion producing a harsh clicking sound. For all her prior courage, it was all Hakuno could do not to cower behind her new ally.

Said ally noticed immediately.

"Think it understands us?" Rider posited.

"Unlikely." Kurama rumbled. "I don't sense any real intelligence from it."

"Pity." that stern expression never wavered for a moment as they turned to face their shared foe. "Hey, scarecrow! I'd ask you to stand aside...but you can't understand us, can you?"

A menacing creak was the being's sole response.

Naruto bared his fangs in reply.

"As I thought. You're a doll, right? Seems you gave our Master here quite the fright earlier."

In spite of their words, the effigy still shuffled forward, one stiff step at a time. Did it understand? Hakuno almost wondered. It had dispatched her own effigy with ruthless efficiency earlier, thus it clearly knew the basics of combat that she had yet to grasp. Could it comprehend human speech? It certainly hadn't when she'd begged for mercy. Or was it merely cruel?

"So we don't have to feel bad about breaking you, then?"

With those words the air...changed.

Hakuno couldn't think of a better way to describe the phenomenon; in place of that once-affable smile the blond's expression turned steely and his shadow writhed into something hideous. Gone was that resolute surety, replaced by...well, she'd hesitate to call it an aura of bloodlust, but rather one of thinly restrained fury-better yet, wrath. Twin eyes the color of blood fell upon the twisted doll in silent scorn. No taunts came forth. No jabs followed. Only simple, righteous anger, focused upon a single point.

In the face of this sudden change, the effigy hesitated, if only for a moment before resuming its awkward march.

"Looks like its time for our debut, Kurama!"

"Don't boss me around!"

With a wordless cry, the effigy lunged...

...straight into the arms of death.

Rider's first punch barreled through spindly arms to eviscerate the doll's chest as though it were mere wood. The second took it a step further, sending shards of foreign material flying through the air to join the remnants of the first. No, not a punch, Hakuno realized. He hadn't even budged. Rather, his body simply seemed to blur. When it struggled to right itself and attack again, the effigy met the same fate. An unseen assault ripped into its body and cast it to the ground. Frantic, it cut out at his face with both legs as it tumbled away.

Here at last, Rider finally moved.

Storming forward, her Servant took the ineffectual kick straight to his torso and advanced, seizing the effigy by its mangled legs. Startled by what it viewed as a clean hit, the doll hesitated. This would prove to be its first-and last-mistake of the battle. Seizing it by one of its thin legs, Rider snapped his arm forward and spun, physically flinging the false creature face-first against the ground. Back. Forth. Laughter sprang from his lips as he batted the effigy to and fro, relentlessly crushing it into the floor without care.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Upon the fourth slam he release the effigy, allowing its warped torso to flounder away...or so it seemed. Rather than retreat, Rider advanced, raising an arm.

"Right then," he hummed aloud, "Thanks for being our guinea pig. Time to send you off in style."

A hand rose, and with a sudden rush of heat and light, cradled something that could only be described as a sphere within his palm. Swelling larger with each passing second, it proved almost painful to look at. Its purpose was simple, its objective nigh. With a thunderous cry its owner slid beneath a sweeping strike, crouching low and hard against the ground. For a fleeting instant, the effigy beheld that sphere as he leaped, that blue-white orb of death shooting down like a comet from on high.

Then he struck.

"Rasengan."

With that benign declaration this seemingly innocuous orb did what brute strength alone could not; boring forward to shatter all defenses. Caught unprepared the effigy could offer little in the way of a block; even then its meager guard was swiftly overwhelmed. With a keening hiss the snarling sphere roared down and obliterated its torso entirely. Its head followed shortly thereafter. Still Rider didn't relent, grinding his enemy against the ground until naught but a shattered shell remained.

Torn apart, the ruined doll collapsed into driftwood at their feet, cast aside like a broken toy.

It was quick.

Downright ruthless, even.

Just how agile was Rider, really?

Throughout it all, her "Servant" had barely moved.

"Hmmm...we're definitely weaker." Rider paused, considering his now-outstretched fist. "At our peak we would've taken that thing out with one punch."

"Don't you DARE use that reference." Kurama growled.

"Tch. Spoilsport. Never let me have any fun...

Striding past her, he gave the effigy's remains a harsh kick, obliterating them entirely.

"Well...I guess its to be expected." strong arms crossed behind his head. "With a novice Master we wouldn't be at full power right off the bat. Ah, well. Starting over's half the fun! At least we kept most of our speed!"

An outraged squawk greeted him. "Fun?! You call this fun?! You get a full-fledged body, yet I shrunk instead! How is this fair?!"

"Well we're here after all," here the blond's expression did turn contemplative. "Which means we've got another shot at life. Which means we can get our wish. All we have to do is win...in theory."

...when did you get this damned smart?"

"Eh, blame the grail, fuzzball."

"I'd rather blame YOU-

It was too much.

Though they pair continued to squabble Hakuno scarcely heard either of them. Less so, when that unseen voice began speaking again.

The heat radiating from her hand, stifled during the fight, chose that moment to return with the fury of a thousand suns. She'd been able to manage thus far on willpower alone, a heady rush of adrenaline and endorphins distracting her from the very real danger of exhaustion. With the danger past, the stress reached critical levels. All she'd seen, all she'd done, the promise of fresh battle and more bloodshed...when faced with so much in such a limited amount of time, her mind shut down. Too much stimuli in too short a time.

Quite simply put, Hakuno reached her limit.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Her world went black.

"Master?!"

A/N:...

Writing with one arm isn't fun.

Writing while in crippling PAIN isn't fun.

Writing when your heart is SHATTERED isn't fun either.

But I made a promise to you, old friend, and I aim to keep it. This one's for you, may you see bluer skies than I~!

*raises glass in a toast*

Well I promised a story with Naruto as a Rider class, so here it is. Yes, yes, yes; before anyone asks, this Naruto obviously ISN'T at his peak due to having little Hakuno as his Master. That'll change of course. This Naruto IS the Naruto from canon. The only difference? Sasuke killed him in his final battle. Thus he kept both arms and a good bit of his power. I don't want to hear cries of him being nerfed, like Saber and Caster, he essentially has to claw back his power. And now he's come to Fate Extra.

Going to write a less serious story of this in the future.

Now when I say future I mean...I dunno...tomorrow maybe?

Yes, I'm quite literally that riled up at the moment. My apologies.

How do I put this...Rani and Rin routes aside...

...this is going to be one hell of a ride.

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

Potential ones at that!

(Previews)

"You call her a helpless little chick...

Blue eyes burned red.

"But this little chick will rule the Moon Cell one day."

"...Rider?"

Hakuno cocked her head.

As ever, the jovial blond's smile never wavered.

"C'mon, why the long face, Master? Ask me anything you like, really! Ask away!"

...why is the entire room orange?" After a moment, this was the question she asked of him. "Its ugly."

Much to her surprise, Naruto tumbled off the chair with a startled squawk as though she'd actually struck him.

"Ack?! You wound me Master! Your words cut deep!" a hand rose, clutching at his heart. "I don't think I'll ever be whole again!"

Despite her best efforts, the brunette felt her worries ebbing away. Had that been his intention all along? She almost wondered about that...

"About that Red Saber...

"Hmm? I've got a good idea of who she is. No need to worry, I don't think she's our enemy. If anything...

Blue eyes twinkled with mild merriment.

"I'd say she's quite taken with you."

Hakuno absolutely sputtered.

"Hweh?!"

"Tch. What kind of weakass servant is this?"

Impossibly, the blond's smile grew.

"Go ahead. Keep digging, bub."

Drake audibly gulped.

"Ah, Shinji? Maybe-

"Kurama. BITE."

"WAAARGH!"

"Do you know WHY I answered when you called, Master?"

"No, why?"

A small, sad smile answered.

"Because we're alike. We're both losers."

"You're just a bit of data. There's nothing real about you."

Pitying eyes found him.

"Even so...I won't forsake her."

"You know, Tohsaka...you almost remind me of someone. Another Master "I" once had. She had your face, you know. But you're not her, and that's neither here nor there I suppose. The memories of "that" Naruto aren't my memories and "my" actions aren't "his." Still, for his sake, I'll repeat my offer. Back down. Right now."

"You won't get anywhere with that wishy-washy attitude. This is a war. People will die. You have to accept it."

"And who decided that?" Rider replied glibly. "Hmm?"

"What? The Moon Cell of course, that's-

"No."

"I beg your pardon?"

Blue eyes gleamed with resolve.

"The answer is obvious. WE decide such things."

R&R~! =D