The Dream continues

Tap Tap Tap

Shirou's hands tightened around his swords. He stood protectively before both white haired women preparing to sell his life dearly to kill the Einzberns.

"Ojou-sama." Stella calls out as she descends the stairs. "It's time to go ho-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Shirou attacked, pushing her back up the stairs where she backed into Leysritt. The dark, cramped stairway was too narrow for her to properly use a Halberd, which worked perfectly for Shirou. If the walls were too narrow for an attack, he traced a different weapon in his had that could attack. Stella and Leysritt were pushed back by the assault, barely able to black the attacks they had no choice but to give ground and fall back.

Slowly, ever so slowly Shirou forced Stella and by proxy Leystritt back in the darkness. He could not afford to fail here, but he could not be reckless. The flight had drained him of his Reinforced stamina, but the night was long and there were many enemies left to fight.

"Please stop Emiya-san," Leysritt asked. "Master is furious"

No, he would not stop, not when he had control of the battle. The stairs, as dark and horrible as they are, are the best defense and offense he has here. Only one enemy at a time and they were all carrying weapons too large to use properly. Here, here in the dark he could win. The odds were slim, but he was used to it. The Grail War had slim odds for victory, and he won that. No, no stopping, no mercy, no quarter.

Kill or be Killed

That is how Magi fight.

Back and back he forced the two until he saw light coming down. Stella and Leysritt backed off to the opening to gain room, but Shirou did not follow. Only in the cramped darkness was he safe.

Safe, as if anything could truly be safe in this dark hell. Here where the orphans were sacrificed to ten years of suffering to feed a mad king for the ambitions of a fallen priest. If there was a site that needed burning, it was this place. Even with the bodies gone, the taint remained. He could feel it scratching at the edge of his awareness, but he had no time to concentrate on it. As he fell back from the entrance, he could make out the silhouettes of others preparing to descend.

Shirou backed into the darkness as quietly as he could. Any and advantages he could get were needed.

He wasn't expecting the spear to come at him.

Dodging to the left, he barely avoided being gutted like a pig. This creature before him was different than the other two. Faster, stronger, far more precise. It was like the creature could see in the dark. Unlike the other weapons, certain spears are extremely dangerous in tight quarters. One spearman could hold off hundreds of men on a staircase as narrow as this one. This trick was to carefully control the thrusts.

Backwards, back towards Illya Shirou was sent. If this was a tug of war, going up and down the stairs, then Shirou was losing quickly. Every time he tried to close in, he was pushed back. He couldn't counter the enemy's reach. The narrowness of the stairs and the tight spiral made it the perfect for spear wielders. Shirou mentally figured that he was about halfway down the stairs when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hello," the nun called from below. "What's going on up there?"

Shirou planted his foot on the ground and refused to move, willing himself into the likeness of a pillar or dam. He would not let the bystander get killed, this was his fight, and no innocents would get involved. The spear thrust towards him once more preparing to kill him. Shirou detraced one of the swords and grabbed the spear. He took the other sword and threw it at the enemy.

"Eaaaagh" the creature yelled in agony. Shirou figured he had nailed it in the dead center of the chest. The opponent relaxed the grip on the spear, which Shirou instantly gabbed and threw behind him. With an unarmed opponent in front of him, Shirou took a new sword and cleaved it's head off.

One down, eight to go.

Every muscle in his body wanted to rest. He was tired. He had been running on adrenaline and magic for too long. He could not keep this kind of fighting going on much longer. Yet, he must, or he would die and Illya would be left helpless.

"Please Emiya-san." the woman called up to him as she came to where he stood, "Why do you insist on violence?"

"They came, invading my home and plan on taking Illya away." Shirou answered trying to sense the enemy. The body in front of him should be able to throw off any opponents when they ran into it.

"I see..." she trailed off. While she may look it, Caren was fully capable of protecting herself as well as guard the relics of the church here. Anyone who got as high up as she had inevitably learned all about the heretical magi and their politics. "So why did you bring them here?"

Shirou shook his head ignoring that it was pitch black. "Had to run. Too many of them and too open a battlefield. Here, I have a chance."

"Emiya-san. I don't think you realize what you have just done here?" she admonished.

"Violated the sanctity of the church and brought my enemies after me, possibly leading to a war between the church and magi." Shirou summed up.

"Eh? Ah, yes, that too." Caren said,

"Too?"

"You damaged church property." she answered. "I will expect compensation for the floor." Was that amusement in her tone? No, couldn't be.

Shirou resisted the urge to smack his head. This was no time to worry about bills. Someone else was coming.

"Emiya Shirou." The voice called out. This time it was a young man's voice. A voice of a person born to privilege and power. Must be one of the two humans that were with the old man. "For the absconding of our property and the death of one of our combat Homunculus you will die."

Seriously, who talks like that these days. The Einzberns were all isolationists, but seriously, the guy sounded like a cliché villian.

"Ano," Caren called out to him. "What did he mean kidnapped?"

"My sister," Shirou said through clenched teeth.

"The homunculus is a product of Einzbern genius, not that I would expect a Arschgeige to understand that." the arrogant man said as he came down. Huh, seems that this one was planning on doing what a homunculus could not. In his hands, Shirou brought forth a new weapon, a Naginata (Pole sword) that belonged to the legendary warrior Saito Benkei. The one who holds it will continue to fight right up until he dies. The one who wields it will never stay down, constantly getting up to fight again until the fatal blow. While the stairs reduced the movement of the weapon, it was what Shirou needed in his tired state. Until he died, he would continue to fight.

Whatever Shirou planned on doing was crushed by the next move...

The lights turned on, well not lights exactly, it seemed that the Einzbern cast some sort of spell to see before attacking Shirou. Unfortunately, neither one expected to see such horrors before them. The walls, the ceiling, the floor. All of it was covered in dark red painted unholy icons and words. No, not paint, dried blood. Demons fed upon the souls of men. A man sacrificing his son on the direction of a beast. A man killing all firstborn in righteousness even as the countless bodies lay before him. Countless lives drowning in an ocean while on man on a rift laughed. To gaze upon them brought headaches and nausea.

So much Blood.

How many pints, no gallons did it take to cover the stair case? How long did it take to paint this monstrous abomination. This...this horror should never been revealed. It should have remained covered in the darkness.

"Stop!" Caren yelled, "You don't know what you are doing."

Shirou gritted his teeth and dashed forward. He had no time for distractions. He turned the corner and prepared to ram his Naginata into the Einzbern.

"Young Master!" a voice yelled out. A second combat homunculus grabbed the man and threw him backwards. Unfortunately for the artificial human, it was unable to protect itself from the Naginata thrust that pierced it's heart. The thing collapsed immediately dead as a door nail.

Two down, seven to go.

*Haff Haff* Shirou was tired, but the Naginata would not let him collapse. He could not move forward with the body in front of him without exposing himself. Instead, he went backwards. At least he was spared the gruesome scenes as the darkness returned. The startled magi had lost focus on his spell. A thought suddenly went through his mind. All his enemies had charged in the darkness heedless of traps. They had assumed, correctly, that he had no time for traps.

"Emiya-san," Caren said cautiously, "Please back off. Surely we can reason this out." Her tone was lost to the exhausted man however.

"Trace On." In his mind he saw several long, sharp blades. Sharp enough to cleave through flesh in an instant. The swords appeared in the walls at various heights, prepared to cleaved various anatomy from the enemy.

And just in time too.

Shirou fell back a bit, making as much noise as possible to lure the threat it.

"Aeiii" a new voice screamed. He could hear it tumble to the ground as a foot was cut off. Obviously, this one did not have the great night vision of the previous encounters. A defective model maybe? Doesn't matter.

"Master, beware the-" it had no time to finish before he drove his Naginata through it's head.

Three down, six to go.

He had no time to feel relief however, as the stairs suddenly shifted. What had once been stairs became

a slide sending him tumbling down to the bottom of the stairs crashing into Caren.

"Ow." Caren said mildly. Though why she wasn't screaming was beyond Shirou. She was covered in cuts all over her body. It looked like she had been run through a field of roses.

Shirou jumped off her and held his spear at the ready. There was no time to worry about the nun, the stairs had corrected themselves.

"This has gone on long enough." an old voice resounded.

Tap Tap Tap

Shirou knew he should go up the stairs, but his legs did not have the strength. While the Naginata kept him up, it did nothing to help his exhaustion. Beside him, Caren slowly picked herself up, breathing heavily from the pain she was in. She grabbed her red scarf and pulled it off.

Strange, maybe she was hot.

Soon, the Head of the Einzbern was at the foot of the steps looking at Shirou in disdain. "This has gone on long enough boy. You have cost me time and effort. Give me back the child and never speak of this day again lest you invite the full wrath of the Einzbern."

Shirou merely held his spear at the ready. He was tired, so very tired. Any excess movement would drain him of his last reserves and leave him like a puppet without strings. Talking was pointless, it would drain him too much for no gain.

"Brat." The head spat before raising his hand. His entire body glowed with his Crest. The sheer size of it was staggering if one had never seen Illya's before. Only a family with centuries, maybe even a millennia of history could have such a powerful and detailed Thaumaturgical Crest. With a a single word of power and a flash of light, Shirou was sent flying into the wall leaving an imprint upon it from impact.

"Gah," Shirou gasped as he spat out blood. Four, no five ribs were broken and his spine was on fire. Not since the Grail War had he endured such pain. Yet still, he did not fall.

"Jubstacheit von Einzbern," Caren said seriously. "Please cease this attack on the house of God lest you suffer the consequences. I will be unable to protect you if you go any further."

The old man smiled evilly. "Dumme Schlampe, you will not be the first administrator to die here on this land, nor will you be the last." With that, he turned his hand to her and muttered a short chant. All around Caren, a ring of stone shot up from the ground intending to kill her.

"Noli me Tangere" Caren chants. Instead, the red scarf wraps around her protecting her. Then the cloth wraps around Jubstacheit trapping him and preventing him from moving. Shirou saw the chance and dove into his mind for the perfect weapon.

Durandal, the sword of Roland. It holds three miracles and does not lose its sharpness even when its possessor's magical energy is depleted.

Miracles, just what he needed. In his right hand, free of the Naginata he traces the sword and drew his arm back just as the rest of the Einzbern homunculi descend the stairs. Whatever kept to the two humans from interfering is unknown, but they were probably following the Head's orders. Doesn't matter, they would have been unable to stop what happened next. With a mighty heave, filled with the last of his strength, Shirou threw the sword straight and true and cleaved the right arm off the old bastard.

Magdala, the red scarf of Caren was a Mystic Code that was able to restrain men, at the cost of rendering any physical attacks against the bound man or Magdala useless. However, against the might of Durandal the ability was negated with one miracle and nullified the protective ability of the Mystic Code.

"Aaarg." the old man yelled in pain. The Heir to the Einzbern family was in agony. He, who had participated in the Second Grail war facing heroes of old, had just lost his arm to an untrained unaffiliated magus. Were he not in agony, he would bellow in rage of the indignity.

Caren, on the other hand stood astonished as her Mystic Code was nullified. She gaped at the sword impaled on the wall behind the Einzbern Entourage. She who was an accomplished exorcist could feel the holiness of the blade. Only a few items beneath the Vatican City could compare to that weapon. The wheels in her head began spinning.

In the mean time...

"Master." Stella and Leysritt yelled out as they pulled their creator away. They could not risk the Head any further injury. He was over two hundred years old.

"Go," Shirou growled, "Go and do not come back." Truthfully, he wanted to kill the old man, but he had not power left besides standing. He could not move his arms any more. If they didn't leave soon, they would see him with his arms hanging. But...it seems that the two of them were far more concerned with the Head. The two grabbed him carefully and ran back up the stairs for the final time.

Seeing the three flee, the others fell back. Their job was to protect the Head, and they had failed. Without orders they ran back like dogs fearful of the one who had brought harm to the greatest of their family. Shirou gave a wary smile then collapsed on the ground panting as his spear vanished.

For the first time since the fight, Illya spoke up from her hiding place. "Onii-chan!" She dashed forward and cradled her brother's head on her lap. She was proud of him. He had faced one of the most powerful magus in the world and cut his arm off.

His arm! True, he had a great deal of help from the nun, but it didn't make the accomplishment any less than a miracle.

Illya gently placed Shirou's head down and went to pick up the appendage left on the ground in the haste to flee. The arm glowed for a minute as Prana was sent through the limb revealing part of the Einzbern Crest. Illya's smile suddenly became feral.

"With this, I can change my coining."

Whatever that meant, it seemed to be a good thing for Illya. She promptly skipped back to Shirou with that evil looking grin and gave Shirou the biggest hug she could.

"Arigato Onii-chan. This is the best present ever."

Shirou raised one arm and patted her head, "I'm glad Illya...I think..." It seemed that whatever was going on was beyond him, but then again, he looked like he was going to fall into a coma at any moment.

"I must thank you Emiya-san." Caren said standing up. She was covered in even more bleeding wounds, but seemed not to notice. "However, I must ask for restitution for what you have brought to this place."

Shirou looked at her questioningly even as his consciousness faded.

Caren smiled and asked, "Tell me, do you know what ghouls are?"

Naruto's House

Naruto woke up right as the first rays of light his his eyes. Saber had beaten that into his body, literally. He swore he saw a flash of purple on top of him as he woke up, but a quick look around revealed him to be alone. Huh, strange. For a second he could have sworn that he saw Rider's hair. Meh, doesn't matter anyway. Today was the day of the finals...and the possible invasion. Naruto popped out of bed and began stretching, it wouldn't do him any good to sprain something on such a momentous occasion. His first battle, hopefully he could do everything possible to help his village.

No, he was not going to seek glory in battle, his dreams had shown there was none to be found there. The Grail War had killed any such notion. Glory was for the living, death was all that was given to the dead. Perhaps others could glorify the dead, but it did nothing to those who passed on.

Well, unless one was a Epic Spirit, but that was a different story.

Naruto went to his wardrobe and stopped. He looked at his clothes and frowned. Orange. His favorite color, today it seemed wrong. Today, he would fight, not only to prove himself in the Exam, but to protect his village. Orange, the color of vitality, warm, and enthusiasm. It just seemed wrong today to wear it. If, if this day became a battle, he would not be able to look upon it with happiness. Today he could lose his friends, Ichiraku, Hokage-jiji, maybe even one of his Servants Rider or Saber. Could he go out there dressed in orange?

No, today called for something different. Ruffling through his clothes, he stopped at a different outfit. He had never worn it before, but it looked good. Trying it on, he found that it was slightly loose, but was comfortable and wouldn't hinder him in combat. Naruto looked himself in the mirror considering the impact.

His pants were pure black, like the color of the darkest night. They were so long that they came down to his feet. Rolling them up a bit fixed the issue, a quick walk and jumping showed that they were not going to roll down at any bad moment. He tugged at the material and found that it would be easy to slash it if he had to escape. His shirt on the other hand, was gray, about the same shade as Kakashi's hair. Naruto nodded, somber colors were a good idea to wear on this serious day. He then went to the closet and pulled out a jacket.

Unlike his usual bright orange, he pulled out a black vest that he had once pulled out of a trashcan. The coat had less pockets than he favorite jacket, but it still had plenty of places to put his scrolls, weapons, and assorted items. Naruto went back and looked himself over. With his back outer garments, he looked like he was loosely wearing vestments of mourning. Black, the color of dark and evil things and the color of funerals. He considered putting on a black bandanna on his head, but rejected it. He would not cover himself completely black. He would show the world as himself, a sober, cautious self today, but himself none the less. He would not hide his face or hair this day.

Naruto calmly came down the stairs and saw that several people were missing. The crazy red head woman and the old man were both gone. Naruto mentally groaned. While Aoko was as spiteful as Rin, Luvia, and Illya, the old man had been the one keeping the outsiders from going too far on him. Without his influence, it would fall to Rider and Saber to keep the scathing comments and scornful looks at bay.

Yet, one look at them and they were all serious. Deadly serious, they were clearly prepared for combat. It was clear that the girls were taking Saber's warning seriously.

Wait, hold, something was missing.

"Where's Saber?" Naruto asked worried. Breakfast was ready, but Saber was gone.

"Out," Rider answered. While Naruto was getting dressed he had told her he was going to complete one final part of his preparations.

Naruto focused his mind and felt his mental contract with Saber. Saber was in the direction of the center of the village. Well, it's not like that was a strange in of itself. True, he was always back home in time for breakfast, but this was the first time he wasn't there to serve the food.

"Master," Rider spoke up. "Your food is getting cold."

Naruto looked at his plate and realized that his omelet was getting cold fast. "Uh-oh. Not good." Naruto quickly dived into the food before his eggs became inedible. As soon as he finished eating, Rider indicated him to follow her. Leaving the others behind, Rider lead him to a deserted area of the Uchiha compound.

"What's going on Rider?" Naruto asked.

"Saber confirmed last night, there are hundreds of enemies surrounding the village." Rider answered.

Naruto's eyes widened, "How? How did the others not notice?"

"I do not know Master," Rider told him. "But they are here."

"Can you do anything about them?" Naruto asked.

Rider shook her head, "I am sorry Master, but the plan requires that I stay inside the village to activate my trump card." Rider noticed Naruto's dejected look. "Don't worry Master. This place has become a fortress with the various bounded fields and spells placed in the village. Victory is sure to be yours."

Victory. A bittersweet word. Where was the victory in the Grail Wars? The glory? The honor? No, there was none of that at the end of the war. In the end, what did Saber get out of the war? Peace? Ha, it lasted a year at most. Happiness? No, Ria was gone, far from his reach.

"Not victory," Naruto said seriously, all illusions of childhood destroyed. "I just want this to be over. I just want peace."

Rider hugged him tightly to her, "I'm sorry Master, but I cannot give that. Humans always want war. It is their nature." Inwardly Naruto winced. He had forgotten that Rider was not human, had never been human. Mortal? Yes. Human? Never. "Master, I am your shield and your spear. I am your weapon and the instrument of your will, but I cannot be everywhere at once. Your protection takes precedence."

Naruto looked at his left hand and gazed upon his command seals. Then firmly rejected it. He would not force his will upon Rider. He would not, could not stand breaking the bond of trust he and Rider shared like had had broken with Saber. Saber would probably be cold to him for the rest of the contract, but Rider, Rider was willing to give her existence to protect him. She trusted him to lead her well. He would not betray that trust.

But still...

"I'm going to end it." Naruto said. Rider looked on with concern. "I'm going to end that nature. Humans don't have to fight. We don't need to fight. We can be more than that. I'm going to end this endless cycle of war Rider. Are you with me?" He held out his hand to Rider.

"Till the end Master." Rider answered holding his hand. Inwardly, she doubted that it could ever happen. So long as there were two humans in existence, there would be conflict. There would be violence. She knew all too well that humans would always fight, always kill, always destroy. It was what made them humans. They lived off conflict. Wars brought new innovations to men. Wars brought new medicines and new ideas to men.

What was worse was that her Master carried a monster within him that desired naught but destruction and death. So long as that Demon remained in him, Naruto would be cursed with the hatred and scorn of men. However, if her Master was set on this course, then she would do the best she could to support him as long as she lived in this world.

"Now then," Naruto said once they had released hands, "Lets get going." He had one last thing to do before the exam. Side by side the two dashed out of the Uchiha compound.

Hyuga Residence

Hyuga Hiashi rubbed his eyes as he woke from his sleep. Over the last month, his clan had frantically done their best to identify what the strange areas and walls were made of that kept growing inside the village. No matter how good their eyes were, the Hyuga clan was unable to see what the boundaries were. Even the best of the clan could not make out more than ghost lines in the ground and apparitions that seemed to flicker in the corner of their eyes; and considering their eyes allowed them to see in 360 degrees, that was saying something strange. Many times during the past month members of his clan had sworn that they had seen ghosts strolling through the town. Whatever was happening to the village was driving many of the clan to the brink of hysteria.

Oddly enough, however, was that the children were not afraid of the ghosts when seen. Haruka, one of the branch house children kept saying that the ghosts were pretty and liked to dance (Rin and Luvia were actually in an argument). Himura, another of the branch house, had said that he saw several of the ghosts were rolling over each other like cats (again, Rin and Luvia in an argument). Probably the most ridiculous claim came from Hina, a child that had barely turned four. According to that child, she had been lead home by one of the ghosts when she was separated from her mother.

At the same time, a few of the clan had sworn they had seen a few strangers around town, but there were no confirmed sightings. In addition, said strangers had acted very different than that of spies or ninja. Ninja did not dance atop a fence. Only the Uchiha clan should have red eyes, but one member said that said dancer had red eyes and golden hair. Apparently, she was dancing for a man in a strange black outfit. Said pair had appeared thrice in random areas of the village. The Hokage had been notified, but there was no evidence of the two. In addition, A woman with bright red hair had been seen carrying a strange brown bag in hand and never let it leave her side. That one had appeared in three different sake bars and drank for hours without getting tipsy.

Sarutobi had been interested in that news as it might, on a very slim chance, be Tsunade-sama in disguise herself while she drank. Unfortunately, no one could get to the suspect in time to question her before she vanished. There had also been rumors of that woman being seen in the hot springs, but no word had been found to confirm that sighting.

On the other hand, there had been several sightings of a pair of women, one blond, one brunette, arguing over the stupidest things in the world. An example: the two were walking down the street when the brunette tripped. The blond made some sort of comment in a foreign and unrecognized language. The brunette clenched her teeth and fist, got up, then began pulling the blond's hair and made her own strange comments. Things escalated from there until the two ended up dragging their fight into an alley where they suddenly vanished. Said fights had occurred a recorded thirty six times over the past month. While foreign persons were deemed security risks, there was an unspoken agreement that the two of them would probably be fighting each other rather than anyone in the village if a war broke out. That, and they had a knack for vanishing in an instant before anyone could get to them.

Hiashi came out of his thoughts and saw that he had unconsciously dressed himself and was heading for the main hall for breakfast. Yet, as he strode forward, he heard a familiar sound in the background. With the smallest of smirks, unnoticeable for anyone but a few who knew him well, he headed for the dojo. Rather than use his Bloodline and waste energy, he opened the door slightly and saw a familiar sight.

There in the dojo, Hanabi was hard at work trying to create her new, and unique style of the using weapons. For a sparring partner, it appeared that Hinata had gotten up early today to help her train. It was clear that Hanabi was still a long ways away from becoming even competent with the new style, but considering how little time it had been since she had begun training, it was not surprising. Hanabi was only able to channel her chakra through her weapons an average of one in eight times. Her moves were easily evaded most of the time, and she left large gaps in her defense.

A few of the clan had taken Hiashi aside and asked him why he allowed his daughter to continue this style when she was already doing wonders in the traditional style. Hiashi had smiled and told them that she was destined to be more than a tradition, but a revolution. Through Hanabi, the clan would become stronger. Hanabi's flaws were expected when something new was tried, but all weapon masters were once clumsy.

The fact that Hanabi was already highly proficient in the clan's traditional style was another reason for Hanabi to learn a new technique. Too many of the clan relied upon the old ways when on missions. Hanabi would do what no enemy would expect and fight in new and unexpected ways. Many jonin had commented that the Hyuga's taijutsu was over-relied upon. Most other jonin learned multiple styles to change their rhythm. Hanabi was finding a new way for the clan to fight.

The conservatives were, of course, horrified that the old ways were being challenged, while the reformists were applauding Hanabi's initiative. Hiashi, of course, saw something else. Hanabi was fascinated with Saber's style. The way the man fought, it was like dancing. Flowing in and out of battle leading the enemy on and catching them in his routine. How could anyone not be fascinated by his style? It seemed to challenge anyone to try and out do him. It was a style that had to have been trained focusing on shock and awe. Anyone who could learn such a style like Saber's would need dozens of opponents before being taken down.

While Hiashi was no weapon's specialist, he could see the opening's in Saber's stances like any other experienced ninja. Only after fighting the man did he realize that the openings were there on purpose. Enemies would aim for the openings, only to be immediately countered by Saber. Incredibly risky, it relied upon the user of that mad style to be more skillful than any enemy. Speed and strength advantages were outdone by that style, but any opponent that was more skillful than Saber would overcome and kill him.

Yet, the fact that Saber was alive at his age indicated that either, he had never met anyone as skillful enough to kill him, or he another trump card in his hand. Facing Saber, it was probably a safe bet that it was a combination of both. Only a fool or an amateur went into battle without a trick up his sleeve. Hiashi never told anyone, but he was also a dead shot with chopsticks. He would never be defenseless at mealtimes. While he had always been rather weak with other projectiles, he had spent many years as a chunin secretly practicing his aim with one of the most inocuous items. Only his wife, may her spirit rest easy, knew about his small trick. While he had only needed to use it twice in his life, he was rather proud of it.

Hiashi quietly closed the door to the dojo and proceeded towards breakfast. Hanabi and Hinata would drag their exhausted bodies to breakfast soon enough.

Ah, youth.

Stadium

The crowd moved slowly into the stands around the arena. Lords and Ladies, Shinobi and Kunoichi, Bureaucrats and Diplomats, each of them moved to their seats eager to watch the young genin battle for honor, glory, and the pride of their village. Today the strengths of the participating villages would be judged. Today, potential clients would determine where they would send their mission requests. The various lords were all placing massive bets on their favorites. Fierce debates echoed through the stadium over who had a better chance of winning and how well the genin would perform.

Watching over them all in his private booth sat the old man and his two guards. He scratched his beard idly for the umpteenth time and held his pipe in his mouth. The old man had yet to take a puff the whole day, letting the guards know that the old man was tense. He never smoked when he was preparing for something big, and what could be bigger than the possible invasion of the village.

However, the village was ready. The civilians were all in safe locations celebrating a holiday enjoying free food and drink from several vendors like Ichiraku. The children were having a 'field trip' exploring the caves beneath the mountain. Said caves were actually safe houses for invasion, fully proviso for months of siege and guarded by several chunin and jonin. Armies of shinobi would die in those caves before the future of the village was harmed. Though, a few children were not being evacuated for various reasons. Hiashi had been unable to resist his youngest daughter's puppy eyes as she asked him to let her skip the 'field trip' and see the student of her idol in action.

The old man looks down on the field seeing eight of the genin assembled before the crowd standing at attention. The Subaku siblings, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara gaze at the crowd with looks varying from confident grins to indifferent looks. Neji stands as a proud Hyuga preparing to show the world what he is made of. Shikumaru is sighing thinking of how troublesome the whole thing is. As expected of the Nara clan, the only thing that can match their inherent lazy attitude when unmotivated is their intelligence. Shino stands as stoically as the best of his clan, never giving any indication of what he was feeling. Sakura looks eager to fight and prove that she, who did not come from a ninja clan, could stand as an equal, or better in today's matches. Naru shifts slightly nervous to stand in before the collection of rivals and potential enemies. Kumo had only sent a single dignitary to watch over today's matches. The Raikage would never have deigned to come to the village unless her entire team had somehow made it to the finals.

A shinobi stands at attention outside the booth waiting for the chance to deliver a message. With a short motion of the hand, the messenger comes forth and bows. "Hokage-sama. It is my deepest regret, but Sasuke still has not been found. Our Anbu teams have been looking around, but they've had no luck so far. Where ever Kakashi is training him, the man has hidden all signs of them."

The Hokage bows his head as if in thought for a moment. "I understand. Recall all teams, nothing can be done now."

"Yessir." the messenger acknowledges then leaves the booth.

The old man turns head nodding his head respectfully as the Kazekage enters the booth with his two guards. "Kazekage-dono."

"Hokage-dono." The Kazekage says with a nod before taking his seat next to his ally.

"How was the trip?" The Hokage asks. His words are friendly, he smiles gently, but there is the smallest bit of steel in his eyes unnoticeable to anyone.

"Uneventful." The Kazekage replies. Looking the old man over, "You seem...different today old friend."

The Hokage huffs slightly, "I'm feeling my age today. So much planning for today. So much paperwork back at the office." The old man shrugs, "Not getting any younger these days." The two Konoha guards looked at each other quickly then snapped back to attention. Whatever their leader was doing, it was none of their concern. If the 'Professor' wanted to act like this today, then who were they to question him.

"Oh?" The Kazekage says with interest, "Perhaps it is time to chose a Fifth Hokage soon then."

"Maybe, maybe not." The Hokage says then goes silent as he looks at the genin.

The Kazekage takes the hint and focused on the candidates for chunin. After a bit of looking around, his eyes first narrow, then relax, and a small, hidden, smirk rises to his lips beneath his mask. "Hmm, it seems that one of them is at least doing something smart. Haven't seen anyone get that prepared in years." Technically, the Uzumaki boy was well within his rights to modify the arena. There had been no rules against him making preparations. In fact, it was rather surprising how few genin figured out the loophole left intentionally in the chunin exams.

"True," The Hokage said softly, "But shinobi should always take any advantage they get."

The Kazekage nodded as he looked around the arena. The boy had done good work. Only an experienced shinobi would spot the setup, the genin had no idea what was in store for them.

"Well now," The old man said standing up, looking a bit weary and tired from the exertion of just getting up. He reviewed the speech he left on the desk after he had memorized it. In a loud voice, he called out, "Thank you everyone for attending Konoha's chunin selection exam. This exam will test our young aspirants to their limits and show us whether they are capable of leading their teams to battle. May they show us why they have been chosen as the best our villages' genin can offer. We will now start the main tournament matches between the ten participants." It was clear from the chattering below that the civilians and several shinobi were wondering if the old man had lost the ability to count. Only eight genin stood before the crowd. Ignoring the mutterings, the old man sat back down and waited watching with hawk eyes.

The genin on the field looked at each other and mentally checked to see that yes, there were only eight of the participants there.

"Um sensei?" Sakura asked the new proctor with a toothpick in his mouth. Sasuke and Naruto aren't here yet. What are you going to do?" Mentally, Inner Sakura was plotting various ways to torture the two of them. They had been given the chance to burn their names in the records as the second team in history to all pass the chunin exams on the first time. They had the chance for eternal bragging rights, and they were throwing it away.

"Let me worry about it." Genma Shiranui told her. He had no intention of tipping any of the genin off after what the brat had pulled off today. It was well within his rights, and showed a great deal of initiative. If it was known that an enemy was going to be at a certain place at a certain time, any shinobi worth his head plate should take advantage of the situation. Genma continued, "The arena here is different, but the rules are the same as the prelims. Fight until your opponent concedes defeat, is unable to fight, or until I say so. Got it?" The genin all made signs of acknowledgment. (Except Gaara)

"The first round will between Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto. Anyone not participating in the first round get out of the arena. He pointed to a waiting box to the side indicating where they should go.

It was there that Sakura and the rest saw Rider. She was standing there one hand on the balcony overlooking the arena. She had the smallest of smirks on her mouth. It was clear that she found something amusing in front of her. Which, considering who this was, that wasn't very surprising. The purple haired woman seemed to find humor in the strangest of places. Sakura was more concerned that, since Rider was here, then there was a good chance that Saber was as well. The only way to truly tell was if Saber was here as well. The two might separate one at a time from Naruto, but one would always be near Naruto at all times.

Sakura dashed up the stairs to the waiting area and stopped next to Rider. "Rider, where's Naruto?"

"Sah," Rider said in amusement, "Where could he be?"

Sakura turned back to the arena and tried to see if Naruto was hiding there. If so, he was doing a hell of a job hiding. "Seriously Rider, where is he? And where's Sasuke?"

Rider turned slightly to Sakura, "Sasuke has been gone this whole month. I believe that he went with Kakashi to train."

Sakura was unsure if she felt relieved that the laziest teacher with a chronic problem of being late to anything that did not involve Saber's cooking was training Sasuke. True, Kakashi was a jonin, ans supposedly one of the best in the village, but still...

Hey wait a minute. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she realized that Rider had only answered half her question. "Where's Naruto? He's going to be disqualified."

Behind her, the rest of the participants minus Neji had arrived at the waiting area. Each of them looked on curiously at the arena.

'Huh' Temari thought mildly impressed. 'Since the proctor isn't disqualifying him, then he must already be there. Smart kid.'

Down in the arena and in the arena stands, the various Hyuga watching activated their Byakugan figuring that Naruto must be hiding somewhere. Their Bloodline limit would be able to see where he was. As soon as they activated it, all members of the Hyuga family flinched at the sight in front of them. Neji immediately jumped to the right into a safe spot feeling a mixture of fear and awe.

Genma smirked a bit at Neji's reaction "The first fight is between Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto. First Fight, Begin." With that, he hopped off the ground and planted himself on the side of a wall. He had no intention of standing in the middle of a war zone.

As soon Genma announced the fight, the whole arena exploded. Explosive tags hidden in the ground blew up massive chunks of dirt and rock like a minefield. Neji had to jump from side to side to avoid the overcharged pieces of paper from injuring him. Mentally, he was glad of his impromptu training with TenTen. The ground was littered with explosive tags. In addition, the next part of Naruto's attack began.

From various parts of the arena, a hundred shadow clones burst from the ground and began attacking Neji at mid and close range fighting. Shuriken and kunai flew everywhere in the dust. From the spectators' perspective, the whole thing was hidden beneath the massive clouds of dirt in the air. Most shinobi and civilians had to make do with listening to the sounds of combat. Inzuka and Aburame clan members had to rely on the hidden techniques of their clan to gain a better understanding of the situation.

In the arena, Neji found himself hard pressed by the assault. Neji had known what to expect, but Naruto was so fast and had almost ambushed him completely. Grudgingly, Neji had to admit that Naruto's plan was good. Set up hundreds of explosive tags and hide a hundred clones in the arena before the exam began. Perhaps the dead last of the previous year had some potential after all. Neji dodged an attack from one Naruto and slapped it on the face causing it to burst into a puff of smoke.

'If it had been anyone other than me, they'd have been fighting blind.' Neji thought destroying two more clones. Neji focused his Byakugan outward looking for the original. Find the original, defeat him, then the clones will vanish. At least, that was what should happen. Scanning the enemy as he evaded attacks and countered, he found that there were four clones hanging back from the assault. Three of them were focusing on protecting the fourth. Neji smirked and dashed towards the four of them. With quick rapid strikes, he destroyed four clones to get to the bodyguards.

Jab Jab Jab

Within a second, all three of them were blown away.

Neji moved quickly towards the last Naruto preparing to cut off his chakra flow. His fingers flew towards the target with assured accuracy.

Clang

Only to slam into something metal. Neji blinked as he leaped out of the way of a barrage of projectiles from around him as other clones closed in on the Hyuga. Mentally, he figured that the next wave of attacks would be too much for him to evade. That left him with only one option.

Kaiten, the ultimate defense of the Hyuga clan. A technique he had learned by himself without the aide of other clan members. With a whirl of pure chakra, the projectiles were blown away sending them back at the clones dispersing them. With the force of wind generated by the attack, the dust was blown away revealing them to the crowd.

To the spectators, what they saw in the arena was Naruto and Neji facing each other in a one on one. Neji stood in his clan's traditional stance, palms outward one arm in front of Neji, the other behind him as he stood in a churned circle in the dirt. Naruto on the other hand, stood facing Neji with a square, curved, metal shield and a black mace. The shield was blue with the image of a white wolf adorning the center. All around them, craters of various sizes dotted the arena revealing the savagery of the fight. In addition, the arena's floor and walls were covered in weapons. It looked like a battlefield rather than a duel.

From Saber's hiding spot, he smiled seeing the two items he had Traced for Naruto. The shield belonged to Scipio Africanus, one of the most famous generals of Rome. The legendary general who defeated Hannibal and never known defeat had left behind a remarkable shield. So long as Rome did not fall, the shield would never break. Unfortunately, since Rome had fallen a long time ago, many times, the shield was now no longer anything more than a regular wooden shield with a small layer of steel covering the outside. It was the mark of a general that the shield had Steel rather than animal skins covering the outer part of the shield.

He recalled fondly how he had beheld the shield and felt the history behind it. Though it had lost all it's power over time, Shirou could feel the history, the glory, and the pride of the ancient Republic turned Empire. His fascination with that simple shield had lead him to study the shield until he had memorized it completely. Though he could not completely recreate it, and it did cost him three times as much as a blade would have to create it, the shield would serve Naruto well in this fight against an opponent that used his hands or cheap weapons to fight.

The mace on the other hand is known as Dastan, which could be translated as either 'story' or 'strong', belonged to the ancient Persian hero Rostam and killed the mad white elephant of king Manuchehr with one blow. The mace, though not famous outside of Iran, was known to bestow unnatural strength to whoever wielded it. Saber had given that to Naruto as it fit perfectly with his brawler style. Maces don't take all that long to become competent with, and this particular one would make Naruto have something like a D- rank in strength. Not bad for a human, not bad at all.

Hinata was doing her best not to blush ferociously seeing Naruto-kun fight. Neji was faster, stronger, far more experienced, and he was struggling against Naruto-kun. With Byakugan, she was able to see the preparations done before the exam, the traps, the clones, the weapon storage scrolls, everything. It was amazing to see all that work he had put in preparing the stage for his first fight. And now, he stood with such magnificent items.

The blue shield that seemed to defy the world and reject anyone trying to harm Naruto-kun, the mace that seemed to radiate power and confidence, the black clothes that...wait. Why was he wearing black? Where was his trademark orange? It had always seemed to be a cheerful color that defied anyone hurting him. No, looking at Naruto-kun's face, she could see it. There was no cheer in his face. No, he was serious.

Why? Neji may have a grudge against the Main Branch, but he hadn't hurt anyone. Well...other than her in the prelims, but he hadn't hurt her all that seriously. No, there had to be something else. Hinata thought back to the opening salvo of the exam. It had been hard and fast, attempting to end the battle quickly. Why? He was always full of energy. Something was going on.

Sakura was busy trying to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. The battle had started off with a hell of a bang. As soon as the explosions began, Sakura had immediately jumped back and grabbed several needles coated in various concoctions. While she would never admit it, she had been frightened when the tags went off. With the duct and smoke covering the arena, she had been surprised of the tactic that Naruto had created. He was keeping his moves as much a secret as possible from outsiders and thus having more options for the next round, if he advanced. When the smoke cleared, he was standing with a magnificent shield and a mace that seemed to scream power.

It wasn't fair.

Saber had clearly given Naruto that. Who else had such ancient weapons at their disposal to parcel out at their whim? Still...Saber said that he was Naruto's Servant, and there wasn't anything in the rules against giving Naruto those precious items, but still...

They were magnificent none the less.

Location unknown

'ow. Huh?' He thought. Where was he? Why was it dark? Why did his neck hurt like hell. He tried to rub his neck, only to feel that they were bound.

Not good.

They had taken him. Kidnapped him? No, they would have killed him rather than let him live and possibly escape. No, this was something else. Torture? Doubtful, he wouldn't talk even if they sawed his limbs off slowly. Shifting his hands, he found the rope had been tied strangely. It was tight, yet not. Shifting a bit, he found that it was a puzzle. It was designed to be broken out of, but slowly.

A delaying action. That's what it was. But who, and why? Interesting, he would get out of this, then he would see what was going on.

Minutes later, he freed his hands and quickly worked on his feet. These, unlike his hands, were tied properly. A few more minutes of work, and they were free as well. 'Hmm,' he thought, 'This is the strangest delaying trick I've ever seen.' He stood up and checked his small compartment. By the feel, it was wood. Simple enough. With a single swing of his fist, he had smashed the wood apart and focused on his environment.

'Gah!'

That's a lot of explosive tags. Strewn in strange patterns, the room was covered with lines of tags. Careless movements will cause them all to explode. A quick scan of the place revealed something worse, this was his room. Someone had gotten in, knocked him out, tied him up, placed him in a box, and bobby-trapped his room. Impressive really, still, they had made a mistake that he didn't have an escape route in his own room. He rolled his carpet up, only to freeze. There, another explosive tag was placed on the trap door.

Clearly someone did their research. Hmmm, this would take a bit of work.

Chunin Exams

Neji evaded and countered another batch of clones as he tried to get close to Naruto. Instead, any advance he made was lost when Naruto either leaped back or the close forced Neji to evade. The whole thing was getting irritating. Neji privately admitted he had nearly been done in when he ended up running on top of a covered pit trap chasing Naruto. Neji grudgingly had to admit that Naruto had done a hell of a job making this difficult. The main body always stay back, deflecting any attacks with his shield and sacrificing clones to tire him out.

Neji thought of what he could do if he could get into range for his secret move, 64-hands of Hakke. If he could seal Naruto's attacks, then he would win. The problem was, that shield was a good move to counter that attack; as it required him to hit flesh, or at least armor to do damage to his opponent. A shield, on the other hand would block any attacks he made. Normally, a ninja would never consider using a shield as it hampered the arm when it came down to using hand seals. Indeed, Naruto had yet to use his wind jutsu that he had learned in boot camp. Then again, he could just be exhausted after creating so many clones.

"Give it up Naruto." Neji said as he crushed two more of the clones leaving Naruto with twelve clones left of the army of one hundred. "it is your fate to lose today."

Naruto gazed at Neji with serious eyes. He could not afford to waste his energy or get too hurt for the battle today, if it came. Saber was convinced that the battle was coming, and Naruto differed to his greater experience. He thought back on his two Servants and smiled. "I have already entrusted my fate to others." With that, he charged forward shield held in front of him. All around Neji, the other clones dashed forward intending to finish the fight. Neji stared at Naruto as if asking him if he was an idiot before he activated Kaiten.

Sure enough, Naruto and the clones were sent spiraling. The clones bursting in a puff of smoke. Naruto, however, used his shield to protect him from the blow. Instead, he landed feet first unharmed. Naruto, as if in a rage, slammed his mace on the ground. Negi flinched in reflex as a massive wave of dust came flying from the blow. His Bloodline instantly shut off. Several of the older Shinobi swore that Naruto may have used the same legendary strength of Tsunade somehow when they saw the huge crater he had made.

Neji blinked his eyes and looked at his opponent in disapproval. "Admit you've lost Naruto. You have nothing left."

"Pfft." Naruto choked out, "Ah, aha, ahaha, Ahahahaha." Naruto was suddenly laughing his head off, as if he had head the funniest joke ever. "Seriously Neji, have you noticed something?"

Behind Neji, he could hear the crowd had suddenly gone silent. Like they were seeing something they couldn't believe. Neji mentally berated himself for shutting off his Byakugan when Naruto hit the ground. Activating his eyes, he saw that one Naruto remained. This one was at the edge of the arena and had just slammed his hand on the ground. Whatever he had said, was lost when there was a massive burst of smoke. In an instant, a giant orange toad with green warts appeared, this one was wearing a loin cloth, armored shoulder pads, and a spear. The toad stood about thirty feet tall on all fours

"Whoa. Who called me?" It asked.

"That would be me." the Naruto atop the toad answered proud of his summoning. "I need your help for the chunin exams."

"Ah, the new guy. You got it boss." The toad replied. The toad's mouth bulged in preparation of an attack. Neji instantly activated Kaiten knowing that this was going to end badly. The toad shout out a giant ball of water while yelling, "Water Release: GunShot" Though Kaiten blocked most of the effects, there was still a massive explosion. Many of the crowd shielded their faces from the jet of water.

Neji carefully got up from the attack and stared at the toad in awe. Not since the Fourth Hokage had anyone summoned a toad in Konoha. (Other than Jiraiya, but that's neither here nor there). Yet now, Naruto had somehow gotten a hold of the summoning contract for the Toads.

"You should give up Kid." The Toad told him. " I can keep this up all day."

Neji tried to think of any counters to that attack, but halted when he saw something. He barely dodged the attack as the Naruto with the shield and mace burst from the ground nearly clobbering him. In the midst of the attack, this Naruto had dug through the ground and tried to ambush him. Neji leaped away...only to halt. All around him, a hundred new clones appeared on the walls of the arena, armed to the teeth. Behind him, the Toad's mouth bulged again.

Neji saw what was about to happen. The Toad would counter his Kaiten with pure power. Then the clones would overwhelm him while he tried to recover. There was no way out. Only one thing to do.

Neji raised an arm and said, "I forfeit." There was nothing to gain in suicide attacks.

The clones all suddenly yelled, "Hell Yeah!" Drowning out the cheers and applause from the crowd.

The Kazekage turned to the Hokage, "It would appear that this Uzumaki is quite good. To think, there was someone who could summon toads here in the village."

The Hokage smiled slightly, "Our village has many surprises each year. He's still rough around the edges, but he'll become competent soon enough."

'Oh will he?' the Kazekage thought. He wasn't fooled for a minute. One look at the toad, then the boy's face with his blond hair and blue eyes. Only one man in the village could have fathered that boy. One detestable man that had killed hundreds of ninjas in the last Great Shinobi war. 'So, it seems that even death did not erase everything touched by that man.'

"Whoa, seriously?" Shikumaru asked, "I thought he was the lame-ass kind like me. Not a bad-ass kind."

Shino raised an eyebrow, "Bad-ass?"

Shikumaru and began explaining, "Yeah, look at what he was before. All he had was his kage-bushin and a few jutsu. All of them useless against a Hyuga. Instead, he brings out that big ass toad out there and beats the kid's ass."

Shino contemplated for a second, "Summoning contracts are heavily guarded secrets. Where did he get one?"

Shikumaru shrugged, "Who knows, but he's going to go far."

Temari and Kankuro had to admit, the match had been impressive. The only person who dared to stand up to Gaara besides their father had shown tremendous strategic and tactical skills. The vaunted Hyuga prodigy had barely been able to perform any significant moves before he was forced to concede defeat. The sheer amount of traps laid was staggering to them; and considering that they came from a village that had created legendary trap makers, this was saying something.

Temari found herself raising the boy even higher in her mind. The kid was clever to see a loop-hole she had not even considered and exploited it as much as possible. That took guts, smarts, and a great deal of gall. Did it never occur to the kid that he could be disqualified for setting up traps before the exam began?

Probably given what he had shown her before, but it was clear that he had been confident that he would not be removed from the exam. Yes, the boy was looking very good to her eyes. *Sigh* 'I hope he survives the battle. Suna could use guys like him. Maybe...maybe I could convince him to join once the battle ends.' It would be risky. Most likely, he would fight to the death to protect his village. 'I'll have to knock him out if he is to live. One strike on the neck, then drag him to a closet and tie him up quickly. It's the only way. With him in Suna, Gaara might not be able to go on a rampage anymore.'

At least Gaara was supposed to signal the start of the attack before he faced Naruto. As Far as Temari knew, the orders still stood that the battle would start at Gaara's signal as soon as he crushed the Uchiha kid...wherever he was.

"Yeah Naruto, you rock!" Sakura roared raising a fist in the air. She was elated. Naruto had just beaten one of the favorites to win in minutes. She could only feel joy as she saw the hundred clones yell out their victory. She shook her head, only the knucklehead could pull off something amazing like creating a hundred shadow clones with ease. He was going to become a one man army, she was sure of it.

Of course, her skills were not to be underestimated either. Her knowledge of poisons was enough for her to complete many assassination requests as well as paralyze or inflict agony on her opponents. Naruto had power, she had her brains and her skills. True comparing the two of them was like comparing an apple with a banana. Naruto was, usually, spontaneous, random, and making things up on the fly. Sakura favored planning everything out and preparing contingencies. Naruto was a strategist, she was a tactician.

Still, she wasn't going to be able to wow the crowd like Naruto had. The entire crowd was roaring their approval over the victory; and why shouldn't they? Naruto had created hundred of clones, showed how strong he was with his mace, and summoned a Toad.

A Toad, like the legendary Fourth Hokage and the Toad Sannin. That was too cool, and rather unfair in her opinion, but then, life wasn't fair, as her 'Sensei' Anko kept repeating. You took what you could and made do with what you got. It seemed that Naruto was given a great deal lately, but then, maybe it was karma catching up to him for having such a bad childhood. Many of the great leaders of the past had bad childhoods and became more for their struggles later in life.

Either way, Naruto had won, and she was enjoying seeing him wave to the crowd as his clones dispersed...only for him to turn to the Toad like he had heard something.

"What was that?" Naruto asked. He was sure that he misheard his summon.

The Toad smiled a bit and said, "I haven't been to Konoha since the Fourth summoned me. It was a real honor to be the first summoned by that guy. I must have just become a full fledged toad when the guy summoned me all of a sudden. Gave me one hell of a fright."

Naruto was in awe that this guy had met the Fourth Hokage. The man who could have been the greatest Hokage in the history of Konoha, and the guy who he might be related to. "Wow, that's so cool." Naruto said, "Ah, um, ah." It was hard to get the one thing he wanted to ask out.

"What is it kid?" The Toad asked with a smirk.

"Um, how well did you know the guy? Ah no, I um." Naruto wanted more, to ask him if he might be related to the Fourth

"Honestly, I only met him a few times, great guy though." The Toad admitted. "Still...you do look kind of like him now that I look at you. You related to him or something?"

I don't know." Naruto admitted. "I was going to look it up after I pass this exam."

"Well you're a dead ringer for him when he was younger kid. You're probably a cousin of him or something at least." The Toad looked up for a second then said, "Well... if that's all you need me for, then I'm going on home."

Naruto nodded then bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

The Toad laughed lightheartedly, "Oh ho, a polite one ain't ya. Well, If you need me again, give me a call. The names Gamakata. See ya." With that, the toad was encased in a puff of smoke and vanished.

Naruto turned to the crowd and bowed one more time before sealed away his mace and shield in a scroll then headed off towards the waiting area. Outwardly, he looked pleased with his victory. The crowd was sure that the boy was enjoying the limelight he had earned as the victor. However, that was far from the truth. Naruto had hoped that the sheer number of traps and his clones in the first barrage would have taken down Neji.

Instead, the Hyuga had forced him to show two trump cards. His weapons, and his summons. Even though his scrolls held various weapons, no two the same, it had still tipped off everyone around him that he had powerful items. True, the true strength of the weapons was lost to the crowd, but anyone, even the uneducated could tell that the two were powerful items. Naruto had only glanced at the weapons before he could tell that they were different, stronger, far more powerful than normal items.

Then there was the Toad summons. Like he needed anything else to make him stick out in combat. Toad summons were legendary, only the great heroes possessed the contract. Now, the others would be planning how best to attack and counter his trump cards.

As he reached the stairs, Naruto suddenly stopped. Something just occurred to him. Never before had he thought like this. A year ago, he would have laughed, jumped for joy, and ejoyed every second of the cheering. Now, he was focusing on the next battle instead of the praise.

What was happening to him? Something, something was very wrong.

Saber.

It had to be because of him. Saber had warned him that he would see horrific things, but he had never mentioned that they would influence him. The boy began feeling a slight shiver crawl up his spine. Yes, he was changing. For the better? Who could say.

So, if Saber was changing him, was Rider? The dreams had ended, but did her influence end? Would he begin craving the flesh of men? Would he go mad and kill those he cared about?

Oh Kami, ohkami ohkamohkamiohkamiohkami

Naruto didn't even notice that he was hyperventilating. All he could think about was the horrors that had been inflicted and were inflicted on his Servants. Rider was at his side at an instant.

"Master?" she asked in a panic. "Master? Please, get a hold of yourself."

She bent down to look into his eyes, and found Naruto's eyes had glazed over. He was focusing inward, blocking out all influence from the outside. "Master!" She called out louder shaking him. Seeing that he was not responding, she did the one thing left to her before blowing Saber's plan and begging for his help. She raised her hand and smacked her Master across the cheek. Sure enough, the oldest remedy for hysteria worked and Naruto returned to the real world.

"Ow!" Naruto yelled out as he held his cheek. "Eh? Rider?"

"Master, what happened?" Rider asked worried for her Master.

"Nothing," Naruto mumbled, "Just...thinking about the...em...battle."

Rider was sure that there was more to it than that, but it was not her place to prod. At least, not while he was awake. His dreams and subconscious were fair game as far as she was concerned. Something had spooked him greatly. Something had horrified her Master so much that he had cut himself off from the world to try to protect his mind. Whatever it was, she was going to find out, with or without his permission.

The Kazekage's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Uzumaki boy. "Hmm, wonder what spooked him so?" It had been strange to see the victor go from cheerful to suddenly terrified on the verge of hysteria. In response, the Hokage shrugged his shoulders.

"Countless reasons possible. None that matter right now." Looking over at the guards he question, "Where is Sasuke?"

The guard bowed and whispered, "He is still missing Hokage-sama." Below the box, the crowd began murmuring at the fact that Sasuke was missing too. The crowd was uncertain if the Uchiha was copying Naruto or if he really was missing. The Fight between the son of the Kazekage and the Last Uchiha had been the one match they had all been looking for. So why was the match not starting.

"Hmm..." the old man contemplated as he scratched his beard. He recalled the rule book he had poured over before coming to the Exam looking over all relevant materials. "Nothing we can do about it." He stood preparing to announce the fate of the match. The crowd looked at him in anticipation.

"Wait." The Kazekage said, seeing where this was going. The rules were very clear on this point. "Please wait a little longer before you make your decision."

One of the Konoha guards looked over at the leader of Suna. "I beg your pardon Kazekage-dono, but anyone who doesn't take punctuality seriously doesn't have what it takes to be a chunin no matter how good they are. Unless there is a good enough reason to convince the lords and shinobi to wait, then we should go on without him."

The Hokage kept his face impassive. He knew what he had to do, but before he could continue, the Kazekage sighed.

"I see, then I have a reason that is more than satisfactory for the wait. The majority of the shinobi and lords, including myself, are here mainly here because we wanted to see the next match."

"Um," the guard said gulping at the sheer scale of how favored the next match was.

The Kazekage continued, "He is an Uchiha clan, and we of Suna wish to see that our Gaara has the chance to fight him."

The Hokage turned back to the crowd that had gone silent. He bowed his head, thinking for a moment, then smiled. "Everyone, due to a certain factors, the match between Uchiha Sasuke and Subaku no Gaara will be delayed until the end of the first round. In the mean time, will Naru and Sakura please take your places in the arena."

The crowd began quietly gossiping between them as the Hokage took his seat again.

"Many thanks Hokage-dono. There is no better opponent to show off the strength of our village than the Uchiha boy. It is a great opportunity for us to show our strengths."

"Maybe," the Hokage said cryptically. "But count out the rest of the competitors. They may surprise you yet."

Sakura was relieved that Sasuke had dodged the bullet. 'Where is he?' Her inner self demanded to know as she descended the stairs. Sasuke had still not shown himself, and unlike Naruto, he was apparently not hiding, else they would have not delayed the match. Delay, yeah, it seemed that it was up to her to stretch things out. Finish too early, and her dream of having a team matching the Legendary Sannin would go out the window. The respect, the pride, the eternal bragging rights, gone forever if she wasn't careful.

'We both know who's blame for this.'

Kakashi was going to get what was coming if he didn't bring Sasuke back in time. Sakura looked at her opponent facing her. This, Naru, was looking pretty nervous. Understandable really, she was in enemy territory and only a flimsy diplomatic immunity kept her safe. Still, the girl had agreed to fight rather than forfeit and get home as fast as possible. Sakura had to admit, that took courage. Courage that she could only respond with by crushing as ruthlessly as she had been taught.

"Fighters ready?" The proctor asked.

Both girls nodded gripping their perspective weapons.

"Begin."

Author's note:

*bows low* apologies for taking so long with this, but college and clinicals do take up a great deal of time. (That and I got caught up reading other fanfics. Seriously, I blame the other guys for making such compelling stories.)

Yeah, sorry about the OC Toad, but I needed Naruto to summon something other than the largest powerful Toad or a useless child. So I added him in. He won't be making many appearances unless you guys want him to come back.

Reviews are wonderful, helpful things. Please, give me your suggestions, I can take it. Really, I can.