IMPORTANT UPDATE: STORY WILL BE REWRITTEN

While I will technically be abandoning this story, the rewritten one will have the same BASIC plotline, just starting at a different point. If you want a reason for this, it's because this story strains my mind. The majority of the plotline actually came from me, not a mythos. Truth is, there is simply little to no information on Scáthach, so I've been panicking and coming up with random things and hoping that it all comes together. The rewritten story will start with Cú Chulainn since he has a story that I can base my plot off of. It also helps that I won't have to show too much character development for Scáthach or Aífe since they would have been alive for at least a couple hundred years. I will be using things that appear (or would appear) in this story, just either in flashbacks or brief mentions/explanations. Please bear with me. I hope this news doesn't upset anyone. If it does, I'd like to apologize.

Chapter 3

Lethra had returned home to an interesting sight.

Scáthach and Naruto were nowhere to be found. Granted, she had only looked until she saw Aífe, but that was still a little odd.

Aífe, on the other hand, looked completely out of sorts. She had a snarl carved into her face and her hands were twitching and covered in dried up blood. Had there not been a damp white cloth stuck up her nose, Lethra might have thought her daughter murdered someone.

"Aífe? Are you alright?" Lethra asked her daughter.

"Just fucking dandy. My nose spurts blood for twenty minutes straight and refuses to stop. On top of that, I can't seem to find Scáthach or Naruto. It's like they disappeared!" Aífe complained, her arms going ramrod straight at her sides.

That was odd. The two of them weren't known to vanish randomly. They usually could be found wandering the house or in their rooms working on something.

"Did you check their rooms?" Lethra questioned.

Aífe paused. "Well... no. But I checked everywhere else!"

[SIGH]

That was just like Aífe to forget to check their rooms. Even when angered or annoyed, Aífe still had the decency to keep personal rooms private. But if she wanted to find them, they would have to breach that privacy.

"Alright, Aífe. I'll go check Scáthach's room, you can go check Naruto's. Meet back here in around ten minutes, ok?"

"Right."

Aífe slowly jogged away in the direction of Naruto's room, her tense body starting to relax, while Lethra walked towards Scáthach's room, a headache starting to form. It was late at night when she had returned home, so the sky was dark and Lethra needed a candle to light her way. Árd-Greimne was currently out on important business and would be back the next morning.

Lethra walked through the kitchen and down the hall towards Scáthach's room. Upon arrival, she quietly placed her candle down on the ground next to the door, careful not to catch anything aflame. Her hand rested upon the door handle.

"So, how about it?"

[!]

Lethra froze, and her eyes widened.

That was Scáthach's voice. Considering that Scáthach had asked a question, there was only one conclusion. Scáthach wasn't alone in the room. Lethra's hand dropped from the door handle and she stepped back, eyes wide.

'Is Naruto with her? Are they... doing it?'

She could no longer hear their voices, the door muffled them too much. Lethra slowly stepped forward, and their voices got louder.

[STEP]

They were still muffled, but it was getting clearer the closer she got. She believed it was Naruto speaking right now...

[STEP]

Yes, it was Naruto. Lethra could distinguish his voice. However, she was still unable to hear exactly what the two were saying, she was still too far away. One more...

[STEP]

Despite the voices now had better quality, Lethra still was unable to make out exactly the words that were being said. Naruto had stopped speaking. Any second now, Scáthach would start. Lethra kneeled and pressed her ear against the door gently.

[PUSH]

Too hard! She almost gave herself away! Lethra eased up on the pressure and sat back a little. Scáthach had already started speaking! Lethra pressed her ear against the door to try and hear best what was being said. Lethra paid close attention and was just barely able to make out her daughter's words.

"... It wouldn't be right for me to continue to treat you as a child. I may have trained you, but you are my peer. Now, and to my best prediction, till forever. I will, therefore, treat you as my equal, as you are deserving. And it would be weird to have a romantic relationship with someone you treat as a child. I must have gotten carried away, so I'll extend my apologies. However, this should change nothing between us. It is only right that we are friends and peers..."

Lethra almost squealed in delight she could barely contain her excitement. From the sound of it, Naruto and Scáthach had started pursuing a relationship, and that meant one important thing.

'Grandchildren!'

Lethra refocused in on the conversation. Hopefully, she hadn't missed anything important...

"... While I respect your decision, I can't help but feel disappointed that despite that it will help prevent you from getting distracted, you don't want to engage in sex. However, I do not know your reasoning..."

That was Scáthach! So Naruto didn't want to have sex... disappointing and slightly confusing, but easily surmountable. All that Scáthach had to do was wait and let his lust fester inside of him. Keep yourself in his mind and problem solved. Any stupid reason he could come up with to say no will dissolve in his head as his lust took hold.

Lethra giggled to herself. 'How sly, daughter. Using battle as an excuse to expose him to the pleasures of sex... just as I taught you. Keep your pride and dignity just until you've tied the knot, and then you can fuck him all you want. But what I may have neglected to mention, is that you'll be the one exposed to extreme pleasure, daughter. It'd be interesting to see you the morning after...'

Lethra quietly left.

The Next Morning

Árd-Greimne had returned home early in the morning, around two and went immediately to bed. It had been a long and tiring town meeting where they had (Surprise!) gotten nothing done. He hadn't woken up until around eight, well after sunrise. He wasn't the last one up, though.

"Have you seen either Scáthach or Naruto, dear?" Lethra asked.

Having just woken up minutes earlier, Árd-Greimne wasn't fully part of the living world yet.

"Uhhhh...huuuun...heh?" Was his eloquent and well thought out response.

"I'll take that as a no," Lethra said. "Well, Aífe decided to go searching for Naruto, she should be back soon hopefully."

"Hello, mother."

[!]

"Scáthach! When did you wake up? I thought you were still in bed!" Lethra said to her daughter.

"There is no need to worry, Mother. I had accidentally slept in too late, and was just getting ready in my room," Scáthach explained.

A small, mischievous side of Lethra slid into her mind. With Árd-Greimne all but dead to the world, he wouldn't remember anything for the next twenty minutes, when he finally fully wakes up.

"Oh? Did you perhaps stay up late? With a certain someone...?" Lethra teased.

Scáthach showed no surprise and merely gave her mother a small smile. "You would be correct, Mother. Naruto and I talked in my room for a little bit, but I suppose you already knew that, didn't you?"

[!]

'She knew!?'

Scáthach merely sat at the table and began eating her breakfast with her Father, who was completely oblivious to the conversation at hand. Lethra was in partial shock. When she had been peeking in on the two of them, she was sure that they didn't notice her presence. Then again, Naruto's runes could do practically anything.

"Mother! I found Naruto!"

Aífe came running into the room with him, a smile on her face. Naruto looked like he barely had any time to clean himself up. His hair was wild and messy and, like Árd-Greimne, had a certain deadness in his eyes. But unlike Árd-Greimne, Naruto was completely conscious of the activity going on around him.

[YAWN]

"Hey..."

Lethra quietly giggled to herself. He was still pretty out of sorts, and it was pretty funny too see. Naruto sat down next to Scáthach and subconsciously pushed his chair closer to hers. Scáthach hid her smile at that, and Aífe had a hard time suppressing her glare.

Lethra decided to start up some scintillating conversation. "How'd everyone sleep last night?"

"I slept fine, Mother. Just a usual night's sleep," Aífe said.

"That's good," Lethra said. "How about you, Naruto?"

"Oh, uhh... I slept fine too," Replied Naruto.

Scáthach clicked her tongue and lightly scoffed, her lips twitching upwards.

"We had a great night's sleep mother," Scáthach said as she looped her arm into Naruto's and pressed said arm right between her breasts proactively. She detached from him after a few seconds and sent him a small, but no less victorious smirk.

Aífe slammed her hands against the table.

Scáthach's face became slightly impassive as her ruby orbs turned towards her sister in fake curiosity. Her hand went to Naruto's and slightly grasped it.

"I just remembered: You two forgot to get the training equipment I asked for. Now let's go and get the equipment—"

Scáthach had already started dragging him out of the house, their hands locked together.

Scáthach hummed softly. "If you really want it that much, then the two of us will get it for you, Aífe."

Aífe stood there, slack-jawed as the two of them left the building.

"But I was supposed to go too..."

[SNORE]

Árd-Greimne was asleep.

Outside, In Town

A little while after leaving home, Naruto and Scáthach split up to perform different áthach was going to get the training equipment that Aífe asked for, and Naruto... well, he was going to do whatever he wanted.

Naturally, Naruto went to a bar.

This wasn't because this was Ireland, but because the Irish always seemed to congregate at bars. Whether it be at night to get drunk and have fun, or in the middle of the day to simply meet up with friends. The owners didn't really mind that much, business was business after all.

Entering the bar, Naruto wasn't surprised to see it bustling with people. There were multiple groups sitting at tables simply chatting among themselves, and there was one large group where the people were being extremely loud as they sang random songs that they probably made up on the spot.

Walking up to the bar, Naruto simply sat down as a server approached him.

"Can I get you something?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, just one cider please."

The server nodded his consent and went off to go get Naruto's drink. As he sat, Naruto simply took the environment in. It was just a normal day with people singing at the bar and meeting friends. Naruto couldn't help but grin as he saw an extremely drunk man fall from on top of a table.

"Hey, you mind if I sit here?"

Naruto turned his head slightly to see a man. He was obviously a foreigner, as not only has Naruto never seen him before but he has also never seen his complexion. The man had hair like darkness, and it seemed to suck in light. His skin was so pale that Naruto was worried that simply stepping out into the sun would burn the man. And his eyes were pitch black, a color Naruto had never seen or heard of before. He gave off an otherworldly aura, one that Naruto couldn't help but be slightly suspicious of.

"I don't mind. Have a seat," Naruto said.

The man did so, but Naruto felt that he would have sat down no matter what his answer would have been.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Káto Kósmos. And you are?"

"Naruto."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, the only sound being the background noises of the bar.

"You're not from here, are you, Káto?"

Káto nodded in consent. "That would be correct. I assume my name gave myself away, didn't it?"

Naruto said nothing, and the man continued.

"Then again, your name isn't exactly domestic to this land, is it?"

Naruto shrugged. "My mother named me on her deathbed, so I'm told. I may not have chosen it myself, but a name is a name."

"I suppose..."

The server came back with Naruto's drink and took Káto's own order. Naruto took a small sip as Káto talked to the server.

'It's good.'

"Naruto, do you have any siblings? I myself have five. Two brothers and three sisters to be precise."

Naruto thought for a moment, "I was adopted around the age of ten, so while I would say I have two adopted sisters, we're more like very close friends and comrades."

"That's nice."

The server came back with Káto's drink, and he took a sip before looking back towards Naruto.

"My youngest brother can be a real prick. He views himself as self-entitled, and he can't stay faithful to his wife, who needs to grow some balls and leave him. I can't see the bastard changing his ways."

Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously. "You speak as if you hate your brother."

Káto turned to him, his eyes smoldering with black fire.

"I do."

Naruto took note of the unbridled hatred. Something so pure and hateful was not natural in humans. Deciding that the conversation had taken a turn towards its end, Naruto stood up, his cider finished in front of him. Alcohol never gave him the buzz people claimed it gave them, so downing multiple beverages had little effect on Naruto. Still, he only drank it in small amounts, as he didn't particularly like the aftertaste.

"Before you go, Naruto."

Naruto turned back towards Káto.

"Beware of the sun."

[!]

Naruto almost laughed the warning off. Had it not been for the man's serious tone of voice, or the blaze that had engulfed Káto's eyes, Naruto would have written him off as a crazy man. But Naruto could tell Káto's warning had at least some legitimacy if just a little.

Káto turned back to him, a dark, yet amused smile on his face.

"And if you meet a man named Zelretch, you'll want to be sure to stab him. Trust me, he'll be causing a lot of problems in the future."

With Scáthach

Morrígan could now finally fulfill her task.

In crow form, Morrígan had watched as the two, Scáthach and Naruto, split from each other and went their own separate ways. Scáthach seemed to have whispered something into the man's (Naruto's) ear before turning around and walking away with a small smile on her face. While the man hid his own facial expression well, Morrígan could tell he was refraining from doing something.

'It probably has to do with last night and their kissing. He's becoming more sexually confident around her, and more confident in general. Once they actually do the deed, he'll open up more sexually, and in turn, expose more of his true self. Although I can't imagine his true self being all too different from himself now. He'll probably be more open and confident, as well as less shy around people in general.'

But Naruto wasn't Morrígan's main target, Scáthach was. Morrígan's attention went back towards the female warrior as she flew ahead of her and landed in a back alleyway, alone, and transformed into her human form.

'I still can't believe I got all flustered just seeing them kiss. It has been a while though...'

Lost in thought, Morrígan almost bumped into Scáthach but stopped herself before she could. Morrígan simply stared apathetically towards Scáthach, who stared back, unwaveringly.

[COUGH]

A random person's cough snapped Morrígan out of her trance.

"Hello. It is nice to meet you. What might be your name?"

Morrígan decided to try the polite route. She could technically force Scáthach to obey, but willing participants were always better than unwilling ones.

The crimson-haired woman stared before answering.

"Scáhach," She said rather softly.

Of course, Morrígan already knew this, as she may or may not have stalked Árd-Greimne for a small period of his life. Under Dagda's orders of course. Morrígan had to blame it on Dagda.

Morrígan nodded towards Scáthach before introducing herself.

"Morrígan."

"I don't suppose I have the pleasure of meeting a goddess, do I?"

[…]

Morrígan probably should have come up with a fake name. Anyone native to this area would know of her, and most people were too afraid to try and either make fun of her or play as her.

Scáthach took Morrígan's silence as her response.

"What can I do for the Morrígan?"

Deciding not to beat around the bush, Morrígan got straight to the point.

"I need you to take over the Land of Shadows."

[?]

Confusion. That was it. Scáthach's face only showed confusion. She didn't care about a goddess talking to her or requesting something, only that Scáthach knew that the Land of Shadows did not need to be governed.

Frankly, that intimidated Morrígan.

She wasn't about to let that show on her face, but Morrígan wasn't completely sure that Scáthach was the best choice. Perhaps there was a less... volatile option. One that Morrígan could control into furthering her own agenda.

Before Morrígan could speak, Scáthach already had her answer. While seeing the small changes on Morrígan's face slightly affect Scáthach decision, it was nowhere near enough to change the final outcome.

"I don't see why not."

Around 10 Hours later

Home

"Are you sure about this Scáthach?" Lethra asked, a myriad of emotions swirling inside of her brain and her heart. Happy that her daughter was growing up and becoming a woman, sad that she was going to leave. Proud that she could take care of herself, distraught at the feeling of no longer being needed. Lethra both wanted and did not want what Scáthach was proposing yet had no way of vocalizing her feelings.

Scáthach, Aífe, and Lethra were currently in a sitting room. The walls were a dull light blue color as if clouds were covering it, and the seats were lavished in a bright purple, which symbolized their stance as high-class members of society. Árd-Greimne said that he had to go to the bathroom, so he was currently out of the room.

"Yes, I am."

Aífe stormed up to her. "Well, you're not going without me!"

Aífe wasn't going to simply let Scáthach 'run away' with Naruto. She wasn't about to give up, no matter how grim her chances seemed. If there was one thing Aífe refused to do, it was giving up. Besides, she could always seduce him later...

"Aífe..." Lethra pleaded.

Aífe shook her head. "No, mother. I'm not going to let Scáthach simply leave and never be seen again. She can be a pain sometimes, but she's my sister, and I wouldn't be able to bear not seeing her again. Besides, I'll make sure that she visits you and Father every so often."

Lethra, while sad that both of her daughters were leaving her, couldn't help but feel happy and proud. They were old enough to make their own decisions, and they didn't need her or Árd-Greimne babying them every step of the way. They were warriors, they didn't need her to be next to them all the time.

"I agree."

"Husband..." Lethra whispered.

Árd-Greimne had entered the room not long ago and had been there long enough to hear most of the conversation. Only now had he deemed it right to speak.

"Scáthach and Aífe are old enough to make their own decisions. And even if they don't end up visiting us, we will always be in their hearts, and them in our hearts," He said.

Aífe nodded. "Spoken perfectly, father. Well, we've got a big day tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed."

Before Aífe could move, she was engulfed in a hug.

Aífe smiled. "I love you too, Mother."

"I'll miss you... both of you," Lethra quietly said.

Scáthach smiled and embraced her mother along with Aífe. "We know. But it's late, and we can continue this tomorrow."

Lethra nodded tearfully, and she and Árd-Greimne went to bed, with Aífe and Scáthach following.

The Next Day

Shipyard

The Raven.

That was the name of their ship.

Ironically enough, Morrígan had no idea what the ship was called before seeing it. She claimed that it was her job to find the people, not the boat. While Morrígan was genuine in her confusion, she was still a goddess. Naruto, Aífe, and Scáthach couldn't help but wonder if Morrígan was telling the truth.

The Raven was a big ship, much bigger than what four people needed in order to sail to Dún-Scaíth, which was in Alba, or Scotland. When they had asked, Morrígan had said that they needed a big ship to fend off the sea monsters that lived in the area.

More specifically, the Coichenn and the Curruid.

Morrígan had explained to them that ships like the Raven were originally used to hunt sea monsters, and that sea monsters had learned over the years to avoid that kind of ship and target other ones.

Of course, if a sea monster did target their ship any of the four of them would be able to kill it with ease.

Except for the Coichenn and the Curruid.

Morrígan had hoped that they would only confront one of them and that after seeing that Morrígan was a goddess, they would back off. If they didn't, a fight was inevitable.

Relentless waves crashed upon the side of the boat, periodically swarming onto the deck, and then washing back off. The Raven rocked as the sea churned around it, the four passengers simply standing on the deck, unamused and uninterested. But while Aífe, Naruto, and Scáthach were waiting for anything to happen, Morrígan was preparing herself for the perceived unavoidable confrontation with one of the two legendary sea monsters.

Clouds gathered overhead; they were sailing straight into a storm. Where there is a storm, there are sea monsters. Morrígan had debated going around the storm, but she couldn't see a way around that wouldn't take days or weeks to complete. What worried Morrígan was the size of the storm. Bigger storms meant bigger sea monsters, and Morrígan did not want to deal with the necessary paperwork that was given when a god or goddess slew something important in the human realm.

Lightning flashed overhead as the torrential downpour rained from the heavens above. As if sensing Morrígan's mood, the other three prepared themselves for the inevitable confrontation, grabbing weapons and positioning themselves around the ship, waiting.

The sea lurched, and from it, a monster jumped free. It was as if they had traveled back to the prehistoric age; the sea monster greatly resembled some of the dinosaurs of old.

Its head swung towards Naruto, the spears it called teeth opening in anticipation of its new meal. Naruto simply stared and raised his hand, his mana gathering in preparation.

"Isa."

Winter itself gathered on the palm of his hand and spread towards the beast. Its movements became sluggish, and ice spread across its scales and into its body, freezing from inside out and from outside in. The monster had turned into a statue of ice. A spear stabbed through its neck, but the beast was already dead.

"Thanks for the help, Aífe."

Aífe nodded and went to get another spear. A hand rested on Naruto's shoulder. Scáthach was next to him and had been for a little while now, clearly prepared to kill the monster had Naruto chosen to do nothing.

"Thanks for the backup Scáthach," Naruto said.

Scáthach nodded. "I had faith in you, but one can never be too cautious, especially in the unknown."

"Well it's nice to know that you guys have my back," He said.

"Don't get used to it," Scáthach said.

"Don't worry. I won't."

The two of them stood there for a little while, simply staring out into the open water.

"You shouldn't have teased your mother earlier today, Scáthach," Naruto said. Scáthach didn't deign to give him a response, eyes looking out into the storm.

"I mean, I know why you did that last night—"

Scáthach interrupted him. "Do you really?" 'If his answer isn't something on the lines of "because I want you" then it's incorrect.'

Naruto nodded. He had come to the conclusion while it was happening and didn't particularly blame Scáthach for her actions. In fact, he probably would have done it if he was in Scáthach's position, but he wouldn't have been able to make his words as convincing.

"Then why did I do it? If you already know my reasoning, then this shouldn't be that hard of a question, will it?" Naruto slowly nodded.

"You did it to get Árd-Greimne off your back."

Scáthach was silent.

Her eyes narrowed. 'How did he come to that conclusion? All I remember is recognizing him as a peer and his unfortunate "no" to my request...speaking of which, I intend to rectify that.'

Naruto shook his head with a sigh. "I don't hold it against you. Fighting all of those suitors must have been mightily annoying. By tricking your mother into believing that you're in a relationship, she would eventually confront Árd-Greimne about it. I think we both know who would win that battle."

Scáthach continued to stare out at sea, but her mind was raging.

'How dense can one man be? I have practically spelled out my own desires and yet he gives me an excuse. His excuse. Is he rejecting the notion of the two of us together? Don't think I haven't noticed your gazes. A lady can only take so much before snapping, Naruto. But I think I've somehow gone beyond that point. The next chance I get, I am going to ride you until you loosen up that dense thing you call your head.'

Outwardly, Scáthach only looked at him. "So you don't know."

"What? But I just told you—"

"You told me your own thoughts, which don't resemble mine own. I don't know what's truly holding you back, but know this. I always get what I want eventually," Scáthach said.

'I'm not sure why you pull away. I know that you want me just as I want you, I've seen it in your eyes. You have known me for the better part of a decade, and I know that you know that I would never do something like last night unless I truly wanted it. He's acting like he can't accept sex—oh... I understand now. Looking back on it, that makes sense. But now that I know... let's just say kissing isn't enough. You are my man, I intend to make you feel my full love.'

Naruto, confused, moved to respond to her but was cut off before he could start talking.

"If you two are done, we should probably prepare for a bigger one now," Morrígan said. "We're entering the eye of the storm."

Scáthach sent Morrígan a smirk she knew would annoy the goddess but got little outward reaction. She sighed. Morrígan was no fun.

The boat lurched in the worst of the storm, before entering the calm eye, where the biggest monsters usually lay in wait.

Scáthach looked towards Naruto, who shared the same calm disposition that she herself possessed right now.

Morrígan's face hardened. "Prepare yourselves. Any minute now one of the legendary monsters will inevitably collide with us. Hopefully, they will leave us alone. But we must be prepared to fight."

The three of them nodded, and they stood at their positions on the ship and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The eye of the storm passed, and they were now in the thick of the rain and thunder.

They waited.

And waited.

And waited.

An hour passed. Scáthach looked at Naruto, a slight incredulous expression on her face as if asking when the confrontation would come. The storm noticeably lightened. They could see the end of the cloud line.

They still waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The storm passed, and the land was now barely in their sights. If they had a telescope, they would have been able to see the land in more detail. They could have asked Morrígan to go and scout, but she was a little preoccupied.

'How...? I knew that they lived in that area! How is it possible that we only encountered one minor sea monster? Where are the Coichenn and the Curruid? Something's not right...'

"I can't say I'm disappointed that you were wrong, Morrígan," Aífe snarked playfully.

"Whatever. Just get to the damn island already."

Dún-Scaíth

Their ship arrived at the Northern Shore, where they Morrígan promptly teleported the ship away.

"What?! Couldn't you have just teleported us here? Why'd we have to take a damn ship?!" Aífe complained.

"Dún-Scaíth has natural warding runes that only allow for guided teleportation. That is, you can only teleport here if you have a marker nearby," Morrígan explained.

"Why does this matter? We are here now. No use complaining about the past," Scáthach said. "Let's enter the fortress."

The Fortress of Shadows certainly lived up to its name.

With walls as black as obsidian, the fortress lay on a cliff overlooking the Northern and Western Shores. Like any classical fortress, It had four towers at its corners and a main building in the middle.

Morrígan nodded to the three of them. "Follow me."

They did so, and Morrígan led them inside of the looming fortress. Deciding that they could explore the keep later, Morrígan took them directly into the center building. They went down multiple spiraling staircases, coming into an underground part of the castle. Morrígan led them into an empty room, with only one door leading in, and that same door leading out.

Morrígan gestured towards the wall in front of them.

"The whole reason this fortress even exists is to protect this wall. For this wall holds the only portal into the Land of Shadows, which is only accessible without this portal to its ruling family."

Scáthach spoke. "And you want me to take over this place?"

Morrígan nodded.

"How do I start?"

"Simply walk into the wall," Morrígan said.

Scáthach did so, and walked towards the wall, and right through it. She was gone. Naruto followed, then Aífe, and Morrígan took up the rear. Upon exiting, Morrígan spoke.

"Welcome to the land of Shadows."

"Boo. This place sucks."

"Aífe, you should be more polite," Scáthach scolded.

"But it does! I mean, everything's so... dead."

As Aífe said, everything was dead. The Land of Shadows did not look like an extraterrestrial place, no, it looked like a winter nightmare with no snow. Trees hand no leaves and were bare of all bark. No grass grew on the ground. It was forever nighttime, and a crescent moon shone overhead. It was a scene from a horror movie.

"We should make haste towards the castle. I would rather not be caught up by a bunch of hungry wraiths. They are not particularly kind to their guests," Morrígan said.

The castle was not obsidian black, no, it was pitch black. It was as if a castle shaped hole had been ripped out of reality, a piece of the space-time continuum gone missing. It was an extravagant castle, with around ten floors at its highest, and must have had at least three underground floors.

"The castle is not far. It would do us good to walk and find the safest entrance," Morrígan said.

They walked towards the castle, watching their every step and the environment around them. In the unknown, anything was possible, and Morrígan's three companions would rather not die. The castle soon became larger and took up a good portion of the view.

"Naruto," Scáthach said.

Naruto looked towards her, eyes shining in curiosity.

Scáthach looked at him, a small frown marred her face. "Did you truly expect me to buy your lame excuse? I intend to get what I desire, and I know you want it too. There is no need to deny it."

'Am I truly that easy to read?'

"Hey! We're getting close to the castle, so pay attention!"

'Thank you, Aífe. I get to keep my head.'

"We'll continue this later," Scáthach said. 'You truly have to true reason to refuse. I mean to have you, and I know that you mean to have me. You will not escape me a second time. I'll not be content without you.'

Approaching the castle was a simple task. Entering was a whole nother demon entirely. The castle was surrounded by multiple swarms of wraiths or souls that felt unhappy with their deaths or want vengeance against someone that they could not achieve in life. Had anyone counted them, they would have numbered in the many hundred thousands, a number that would intimidate any warrior.

Morrígan sighed. "Well, we should probably find a secret entrance or an easy way inside.

Scáthach's spear flashed to her side and she strolled in the castle's direction. Aífe looked at her sister, already guessing her course of action.

"There is no need. I will wet this body of mine in the blood of my victims."

Morrígan looked unsure and sent a quick glance towards Naruto as if attempting to see how he felt about that. Morrígan was slightly surprised to see the same expectant look that Aífe had and a small smile.

'It's nice to see that some woman can fend for themselves. But this is like suicide. Wraiths are basically ghosts, I can't see how Scáthach wins a fight against thousands...'

Striding towards the crowd of wraiths, Scáthach brandished her spear. Her companions followed behind at a distance, looking relaxed and confident. But they were tense and ready to come to her aid, even though she knew it would be unneeded. The wraiths started noticing her.

"A human?"

"I haven't seen one in years... it makes my stomach rumble in hunger."

"No! It's mine to eat!"

Scáthach singled out that last wraith and her body relaxed, anticipating the upcoming boredom. The wraith lunged at her, fully intent on devouring her.

With a swing of her spear, its essence spilled onto the floor.

Whatever life that wraith may have had disappeared.

The crowd erupted.

End Chapter 3

That's chapter 3, I hope you enjoyed or at least found it readable.

Guest—Rest assured, I will cut Aífe some slack. I'll leave it at that.

Guest—You're making a very big assumption by assuming that this is simply an OC named Naruto. You read two chapters - barely enough to get the plot going - and have already made an assumption. Perhaps it is an OC, perhaps not. You don't know, and I'll leave it at that.

Guest (another guest who had a review I could answer. I'm starting to feel a trend...)—Thank for that criticism. If you have any suggestions for how I could improve character interactions, go ahead and fire them off. I'm always willing to improve my work.

LMaltez (not a guest!)—I actually hadn't thought about that... That's a great idea, and I could totally make it work. However, this was your idea, so if you don't want me to use it then I won't. Regardless, you opened my mind to new possibilities.