A little co-writing project between three people after talking quite a bit on discord. So, let us know what you guys think. This chapter has been edited.

So sit back, relax and enjoy

Prologue – The Eighth Master & Servant

(July 4th, New York City, USA; 1993)

An eighteen-year-old stared out the windows of his apartment, overlooking Time Square as the crowd began to get ready for the fireworks that were going to go off wildly later at the night. His hair was as if it had been kissed by the sun due to how bright his blonde hair was, his eyes were as blue as the ocean, and a trio of whiskered birthmarks on his cheeks making him look as if he were a fox.

This teenager was Naruto Uzumaki.

Not long after his final battle with Sasuke when they sealed Kaguya and undid the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Uchiha decided to fuck everything up and start a one-man revolution that more or less failed.

Why you might ask?

Well, their final attack wound up creating a disturbance in the ripples that made up their reality and they both fell through it and landed in a world that had actively tried to kill them.

Oh, Naruto survived thanks to his Six Paths Senjutsu that somehow brought him a connection to the world, or Gaia as it called itself, but Sasuke was not so lucky. The will of the planet, or the Counter Force as he learned later on as it was called, practically took the life of the Uchiha and left his corpse for dead.

It wasn't long after this, an odd red head found him and Sasuke's body and took him in to help him out…

"Yo, Naruto! Open up, it's me!"

Speaking of said red head, Naruto moved away from the windows over to the door, "I'm coming dammit, just hold on!" He was more annoyed than anything as opposed to being angry. Opening the door, he welcomed in his guest… and teacher of magecraft, "Yo, what's up, Aoko-sensei?" Naruto spoke with a bored tone.

Aoko Aozaki had found him and Sasuke's body, helping get him back to health after she explained a bit as to who she was. She wore a pair of white jeans, black & red sneakers, blue belt, and a gray hoodie with a bright blue shirt that had a unicorn on it.

Why she enjoyed that crap, was beyond Naruto. He chalked it up to watching My Little Pony or something similar in her toddler days.

"Wha!" Aoko exclaimed with mock shock on her face as she set a bag down on the table, "I come all this way to the states, kick some American Magi ass, get us some drinks for the night, just to see how my little foxy apprentice is doing and that's the reception I get?" Aoko pouted as she crossed her arms, "For shame, Naru… for shame…"

Naruto blew raspberry like a kid, seeing that Aoko did act like that sometimes if just to showcase that two can always play the game, "Whatever, so… can you tell me what this is?" He showed off the top of his right arm to showcase what looked like a red tattoo of a sword and six angelic wings spreading from it.

Aoko froze midway from unpacking the bag to see just what it was that Naruto had in his possession. She made her way over to Naruto as she took his arm, all the while taking in what her apprentice had been chosen to participate in, "Naruto… these are Command Seals."

The ninja-magus could only arch a brow before he spoke, "Command Seals? Wait…" His mind was trying to go through just what it was that he had learned from Aoko, ever since she offered him to become her student in magecraft, and then it hit him. The subjects of the True Magics came back to his head, "… these Command Seals… it's for the Heaven's Feel ritual, isn't it?" A battle where seven Magi and seven Heroes of the past would pair up and fight to the death in a battle royale for the Holy Grail.

The Fifth Magician nodded in acknowledgment, "The Fourth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki will take place in six months. And the Grail's decided to make you a Master in the ritual." Aoko let go of his arm before she took a step back to start drilling her student/friend, "So, what is your desire?"

Naruto furrowed his brows at the question. The question should be obvious, "Well… I guess it'd be to go back home." But even that was more of a pipe dream at this point. Aoko had explained the concept of parallel realities and dimensions, and that the flow of time, space and other various factors were a major component in traversing them through means that didn't require the Second Magic, "But even that's just something I can only dream of. I mean…" Naruto turned back to the windows as he stared outside to the world that he had made his home for a year now, "…could I even go back and pick up where I left off? Break it to Sakura that I broke my promise to her? Went back on my word that I'd bring Sasuke back alive?" There were a great many things he wanted to do then… still wanted to do, but alas he couldn't…

Aoko understood well enough of Naruto, having to try and pry him out of the shell he had when he first arrived here. A war against zombie and plant terrorist ninjas, leading to the resurrection of a goddess that the ninja called ancestor that wielded power very much like the First & Second Magics, it certainly was something she doubted many could go through unscathed, "Maybe, maybe not. But do you know what it is that the Grail gives the final Master & Servant?"

"No."

"A wish."

Not what he was expecting at all, "Are you shitting me?" In hindsight, that was something he should not have said in front of a girl. Especially when said girl bonked him on the head with a chop, "OWW! What was that for?!"

"For using language like that in front of a lady!"

"Oh please, you've heard worse!"

"My dear foxy apprentice has turned his back on the manners I taught him! Oh, fate, why are you so cruel?!" Aoko had mock tears streaming down her eyes as she turned her back to him while speaking to the heaven's themselves. Naruto just rolled his eyes before he felt another presence in his apartment.

Turning to said presence that was now pouring up a drink at the countertop, he knew who it was after meeting the troll juts once, "Zelretch…"

Indeed, Kischur Zelretch Schwinorg, the Second Magician or the Kaleidoscope as he was called at times, was an elderly man with gray hair and a fancy suit with cane that had a gem on the top of it, "Ninja brat. Enjoying your special 'alone time' with your teacher here?"

This fucking troll…

Aoko just looked to Zelretch with the stink eye before she calmed down and started speaking, "Well, I'd say good to see you again, although I'm not so sure I want you potentially poaching my student here." Aoko knew that Zelretch had a tendency to drive his student literally insane bar three from the three she knew of the 'Founding Families', and when Aoko told the man she had taken in a student from beyond their reality, Zelretch seemed to chuckle darkly with glee…

"Now, now that's not what I'm here for at all." He finished pouring up the drink before taking a sip and continuing on, "I'm actually here to provide some help, if your apprentice is willing to listen." He gained an amused smirk as the two master and apprentice looked to one another briefly before nodding in sync for him to go ahead, "Aha! I knew you'd concede! Very well then…" Clearing his throat, Zelretch gained a serious look on his face, something that he didn't do often, "… the Holy Grail war is indeed a war. A secret war concealed from the general population, with the aid of Holy Church to ensure its secrecy. And just as my colleague, Miss Aozaki stated, the prize for this war, is a wish. Your deepest desires will be made reality. From something as small as being able to get a few extra inches added your height or to even make the world your own playground."

Naruto's eyes widened, now realizing just why people killed one another for the Holy Grail, "Wow…"

"Oh~ yeah, people love trying to get in, but the Grail's picky about who's a Master." Zelretch glanced down at the Command Seals that Naruto had in his possession, "However, it certainly seemed to know just how unique you are and decided to make you one of the lucky seven in the world to try and get it."

Aoko looked to Naruto who held the Command Seals up to his face, gazing at the crystallized high magic that embedded itself into his body, wondering just what it is that he wanted. Naruto spoke aloud more to himself as opposed to the magicians, "Why me? Just what the hell is it that I'd even wish for…?"

"Perhaps going through with the ritual may reveal it to you, Naruto." Aoko spoke up. She knew that Naruto was trying to find something to do with his life, having been forced into a world that nearly robbed him of all his powers and skills accumulated through life. If the Grail was something that could help him find out what it is that he wanted, then maybe… just maybe… she could finally see a genuine smile on his face, unlike all those fake ones he would put up to try and ease her worry for him at times.

"…"

Gazing back out to the city, Naruto mulled everything over in his mind before turning back to Aoko & Zelretch with an answer, "What do I need to do?"

The old vampire wanted to fist pump in victory, but decided against it, and show himself to be even worse than Aoko. Rather instead, he let her take the lead from here before pulling out what he brought with him, "First off, you'll need to get a Catalyst to summon the Heroic Spirit of your choosing when it comes to begin the war. Although the earliest you can summon the Servant is a month until the war officially begins." Aoko explained to Naruto.

"Yeah, uhm… about those things…" Zelretch said while rubbing the back of his head, "…I actually might've snuck in and changed the system up a bit and brought with me a Catalyst."

Naruto grew confused, "Wait, shouldn't I choose which Servant I want to have fight alongside me?" He didn't want to wind up with a douchebag Servant that he'd but heads with constantly.

Aoko narrowed her eyes, "And just what is it that you've 'changed' in the Grail's system, eh?" Considering who she was talking to, she should've known the old vampire would do something to sate his curiosity… and amusement…

"I might've extended the time a Servant can be summoned before the war begins, along with making it so that only one Servant can do so and added in one extra Master slot."

"…"

"…"

"…"

An awkward silence filled the air as the master and apprentice merely stared at the Dead Apostle who had an amused expression on his face.

"You planned this didn't you?" Aoko said, breaking the silence.

"You have no proof!" Zelretch exclaimed happily before he pulled out a box and gestured for Naruto to take it, "And here's your Catalyst." Naruto took the box and opened it up to see that it was a broken… black visor of sorts?

"What the hell kinda legend used this in battle?" Naruto asked before a forlorn look came across Zelretch's face.

"Someone who honestly…" He breathed in deeply before exhaling, "…who did not deserve such a fate of eternal damnation… forced to constantly continue seeking the Grail, if but to never obtain it." He looked back to Naruto as he continued, "Someone that desperately needs a friend, having been cast down into the darkness with no one there for her at all to pull her out." He gave Naruto a steely look, "I think that you of all people can help her end her suffering."

Naruto returned the look before speaking, "If this person's suffering… then why me? What can I do for them?"

He got a toothy grin from his provider, "What is it that you told me, Aoko? That Naruto 'never gives up, and never gives in'? Then I think you won't give up on her one damned bit, unlike her previous Master who honestly had a good heart, didn't do a damned thing to save her from being destroyed by the darkness." He pointed to Naruto's heart, "But you… yes, you can help her more than anyone else ever could or dared to do so. So, Naruto. Will you give up on her if she decides to remain in darkness?"

That was what Zelretch was asking him. Naruto never once gave up on saving someone trapped in the darkness. Gaara, Nagato, Obito, Sasuke… He never gave up on any of them when they were trapped in the darkness of their beliefs and ideals, "Hell to the fucking no am I gonna abandon her. If she's suffering as much as you say she is, and if she was summoned before with a Master that gave up on her, then I'd say he sucked as not just a Master, but also as a human being if he decided to be that damned selfish. If he couldn't save one person that was close to him, then I guess he didn't deserve her as his servant." Naruto knew that with this battle, the Master and Servant needed to be in sync with one another, deepen their bond through not just creating good battle tactics and strategies, but to also get to know who they were in and out. To befriend and create a bond so strong and so unique that nothing could destroy it.

This Servant Zelretch was telling him to summon… was in desperate need of help if her previous Master had up and abandoned her. Naruto more than likely would beat his lights out if he ever met the person. Call him overly sensitive, but the ninja had a very particularly strong feeling about people with those kinds of pasts.

Zelretch closed his eyes as he smiled, "Then I'll take my leave. I hope that you both prevail in the coming war." He turned around to make his way out through the front door, but then stopped before turning back to face Naruto, "Oh, who am I kidding… Aoko, your student will prevail in saving her."

And with that, the centuries old vampire exited the apartment to leave the Fifth Magician and her student alone to begin the summoning later in the night, "Well, let's clear out some space, shall we?"

(1:54 AM)

The duo had cleared out the living room as Aoko finished with the summoning circle, "And~… there! Done!" Dusting her hands off, she looked to Naruto, "The rest if up to you, my apprentice." Aoko stepped out of the circle as he stared at the Catalyst before deciding to do something, "What're you doing? You don't have much time left before your peak minute hits."

Naruto traced his hands over the broken visor and felt something… evil lurking within it… the pulsating red lines within the visor showcased that it was the source of the corruption, but knew regardless he could not change the core of who he would be summoning, "I want to try something before I start the summoning. If I'm right, then the spirit I summon will be a bit more… social I guess is what I'm trying to say," Especially if they were going to be just as bullheaded as the previous people he met in life. Sitting down cross legged, Naruto began to go into his Six Paths Senjutsu mode before he touched the broken visor and channeled the energy into it, to eradicate the evil within it.

His fingertips began to bleed as the visor glowed an ominous red & black before it evaporated violently accompanied by a loud, inhuman screech that left the room. Aoko's eyes were wide in shock at what happened, not expecting that at all, though her apprentice needed some help up, "Here Naruto, take my hand. Are you alright?" She checked his hands to see that whatever evil he purged left a small scar on one of his fingers, before it began to heal.

Naruto waved it off before he placed the Catalyst opposite from him, "I'll be alright, but I think the Servant I summon will be a bit more open and make thing easier for us to get along." Taking up his stance, Naruto held out the hand that held the Command Seals out away from him and directed it towards the summoning circle, as he began the chant with the clock now striking 2…

Popping the cap off the bottle of mercury, Naruto started things off, "Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill! Repeat five times. But when each is filled, destroy it." The circle filled with the mercury as it began to glow green with the power pulsating through it.

"For the elements, silver & iron. For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Pacts. And for my great master, Aozaki. Raise the wall against the wind. Close the gates of the four directions. Come forth from the Crown and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom." The circle began to shine brightly as it started to blow the air around the occupants.

Naruto held his ground despite the minor injury from his fingers beginning to bleed again, "Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will & reason, then answer my summoning!"

Aoko saw that the light began to turn darker with the chant drawing to a close, and the Mana it gave off was overwhelming, "I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world! That I shall defeat all evil in the world!" The light now more akin to blacklight that one would see in clubs or late-night raves with people partying it out, but this felt different to her.

Naruto thrust his hand out as he metaphorically held his hand out for the Heroic Spirit to take his hand and come into the modern world, "Seventh Heaven, clad in the great words of power, come forth from the Circle of Binding, Guardian of the Scales!"

As the blacklight show began to die down, Naruto & Aoko were forced to rub their eyes and cough as the summoning felt… off, and the Servant Naruto had summoned, well…

It was a woman no doubt after what Zelretch said that stood around 5'2", however it was the deadly looking armor that he took notice of. Dyed in jet black it covered the entirety of her torso and back no doubt judging from the design, her shoulders were puffed up like royalty of old, her legs and feet were covered by the armor, with the feet more akin to heels than actually boots. The gauntlets she wore on her hands and arms were spiked and made her more like a dragon, if the aura she gave off was correct, but the visor she wore over her eyes was caught his attention. It gave off the appearance of one who refused to acknowledge the world around them, to focus solely on their goal whatever it may be. Her pale blonde hair was tied up in a bun with bangs hanging off the sides of the visor, that matched the pale skin tone that she had.

Naruto stood his ground all the while the young woman stared at him through the visor. She held her gauntleted hand up as she clenched it briefly before she exhaled… in comfort? Perhaps it was the evil that his Six Paths Senjutsu had eradicated from the Catalyst and in doing so worked to what he wanted? Either way, neither Naruto nor Aoko said a word to the Servant, simply allowing her to take her time and make the first move in their wordplay that would seal their pact, all the while Naruto's sixth sense as a Grail War Master kicked in and then he saw just how monstrous her stats and skills were…

Strength – A

Endurance – A+

Agility – B

Mana – A++~EX

Luck – A

Noble Phantasm – A++~EX

Magic Resistance – A

Riding – A

Charisma – E

Instinct – A

Mana Burst – A+

Double Summon – B

Blessings from the Ends of the World – A~EX

"My, my, my… Naruto. You've summoned a monster of a Servant for this Grail War."

Aoko had told him that a Servants parameters and skills were all based upon their respective Master, and Naruto knew that he was without a doubt one of the strongest people in this world, bar the upper echelons of the Mage's Association that included his teacher and Zelretch.

As Naruto calmly analyzed the Servant before him, he got a bad feeling from her. And his tenant didn't disagree, "Watch your ass Naruto, she's bad news."

Yes. Kurama had remained within Naruto, despite how the Counter Force had affected him. His ability to sense negative emotions did not waver, although he did have to say that the Servant was radiating it like crazy.

"I ask you…" The woman spoke up in a monotone voice that would've chilled anyone if they weren't Naruto and Aoko, "…are you worthy…" She took the visor off to gaze into Naruto's eyes, "…to be my Master?" If Naruto had a few words to describe her; seductive and deadly beauty is what would be accurate of those amber eyes that seemed to home into his soul, already seemingly claiming him as her own.

Naruto didn't back down from the obvious challenge inserted into her words, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki. And yes, I'm your Master." Even if he didn't trust this Servant, he wasn't going to abandon her, repulsed as he was by the negativity she gave off.

The servant narrowed her amber orbs at him, seeing any sign of weakness within him, but found none of it, "I am your Servant, Saber. Hence forth, my sword is yours. My body is your shield. My soul your tool. Our pact has now been sealed."

Unknown to her Master and teacher, the Grail had brought her forth into a year that was prior to what she knew would happen. The altered Arturia could see this as her final chance… and nothing would stand in her way… this Master was strong. Strong enough to overshadow all others. The Mana she was receiving was similar to the one that had forcibly enthralled her to that disgusting being, only that there was a slight difference between the two that she noticed through their pact. Nevertheless, this all but confirmed for her, that she would have victory in the end…

On this night, a night that would change the course of the Fourth Fuyuki Holy Grail war, was where an odd and unique bond was born… and the fate of a young Knight-King would change from the fate that was laid out for her…

From Seirra : Let us know what you guys think, ciao!

So, until we meet again, farewell