How does one give life to a legend? Is it through word of mouth of others, or is it from wonderous storytelling that invigorates and encourages both men and women to exceed past their human boundaries? More importantly, are such myths and fables even true? Alternatively, just tales from a bygone age made up by others to give hope to the discouraged, or drive those with less than savory ideals to do evil deeds.

As extraordinary as some of those accounts are, and as gripping as they may sound, some never reached their exact final outcome, becoming the criteria of morality and the will to overcome impossible odds. Others emphasize the bitterest of tragedies and ambivalence, shading the wickedness like a fine tipped marker highlighting life like a notebook. Whether a legend piques anyone's interest or a passing fancy, one truth remains: each story became a legend by those who refused to stand by and disappear into the annals of time as unacknowledged victors.

Here's a particular story of one young man's will and determination to become such a legend, even if he hasn't realized the invisible hands of fate that continue to transpose with a renewed destiny to the burdened youth.

To set the cosmos ablaze; or carry it into a new age, for the adolescent boy in question. Which hand will he play...?

Academy Grounds

Late Afternoon

Naruto Uzumaki had always been considered many things: hot-headed and dense but determined, though admittedly not the sharpest kunai in the holster. But it never stopped him from trying to do his best at whatever he set his mind to. Once the young man got inspiration for something, he would see it through until it was finished or die trying. While it took him longer to grasp certain aspects than others, it didn't stop him from giving it all he had to succeed, although, at times, the blond wished that doing paperwork and other activities weren't the only way to gain a headband of his own.

After flunking out of his promotion exam, which would elevate him from an academy hopeful into a full-fledged ninja, the 16-year-old moped around the school grounds in a depressive state mumbling or lamenting to himself in disappointment, still having trouble accepting that he couldn't graduate over a single Jutsu that was beyond his grasp of understanding. He eventfully settled down at his usual spot, a wooden swing that hung on an old casuarina tree in front of the very doors that had once made him feel welcomed.

'Unable to complete Bunshin exam, I am sorry Naruto, but that means you have failed.' The words of Iruka Umino echoed within his mind, taunting him about his most recent failure.

He could never honestly fathom how he could come so far and yet fallen so short of becoming what he had always wanted to be: a part of something. To be counted on as a fellow nin who would defend the village of his birth from hazards of all kinds. His dreams of being a praiseworthy shinobi once again dashed and shattered when the scarred nose Chunin had told him that after having failed more times than allowed, he was being dropped from the curriculum, despite the tricksters begging to be given another chance.

The older man did try to offer openings in apprenticeships within the village so that Naruto could earn a living; however the rebellious side of the whiskered teen's pride outright refused to hear any of it, and instead, he sped out of the classroom amidst all of the derisive laughter aimed at his back.

That very thought of having to kiss someone else's behind for a job left a bitter taste in his mouth; he knew the villagers would never grant him anything other than a swift kick in the pants out the nearest door while ridiculing him on how he was nothing but a failure. He had given everything he had, and even studying laboriously and had trained even harder for the test, yet it didn't matter in the end.

Naruto once again had nothing. His aspirations crushed, and his life problematical in its progression with the only door he knew slamming firmly in his face.

"It's that boy..." A young girl spoke softly, noticing the depressed teen sitting upon the swing.

"He failed once again; could you imagine how things would be if he somehow got a headband? I'm happy that the instructors within the academy keep such trash from contaminating our shinobi ranks!" An older woman stated quite happily.

"Maybe for once he'll take the hint that he isn't wanted here, and finally leave!" Another man remarked with mounting bitterness in agreement.

"It would be a breath of unsullied air if that 'boy' decided to disappear..." An unidentified voice drones within the environment among the chatter.

Undertones and murmurs continued in the backdrop, with the Jinchuriki no longer caring to listen in to the heated taunts and insults to his person.

At this point he finally realized a fundamental issue he was now faced with; what would the orange and black-clad teen do with the remainder of his life?

The answer would not come from the few that at times, may say a kind word to him, nor from his grandfather-like figure who would come and go from his life. It would be a nonnative he only talked to every once in a while who would give him an unusual kind of quest, a journey that would set him on a path filled with significance—a goal that would give him something to work towards, rather than sitting on his hands and whine to himself about how unfair life was.

With a profound sigh, the young man gets up from his perch on the swing and walked away from it all. No one could perceive that the hero's path was finally awakening and opening itself to him, to embrace him as one of its own, to be among men and women who fought and died for what they believed in, to be recognized more than just a youth with no importance to call his own.

Now... he just had to let his emotions out for a while, and reconsider his future.

Zelretch's Oddities

Kischur Schweinorg was considered many things during his life: Zelretch the wizard marshal, the old man of the jewels, and master of the Kaleidoscope among other flowery titles that had been bestowed upon him by his emulators. However, he would preferably have someone skip the pleasantries and cut to the chase without all the worship, and only be called Zelretch since everyone else couldn't ever get his actual name right.

As the immortal wizard vampire watched over vast parallel worlds and other dimensions in his eternal quest for entertainment and other amusements, his interest was caught by the disruption of an angry bijuu rampaging through one of the many worlds he observed. After focusing on this particular world, the Kaleidoscope was given a front row seat to witness the origin of something that would the commencement of a new legend. The sealing of a nine-tailed fox of great power within the body of a newborn baby after the boy's parents gave their lives to protect him, the old magus selected to provide this world his utmost observation, dismissing from his consideration the other alternate universes and other planetoids that were parallel to it.

He was an ageless man of venerable expertise; that experience gave him the eye to assess potential. The fact that Konoha shunned such a diamond in the rough for bigoted discernments would only make it easier to convince the boy to find objects of interest that he had hidden in the world, ones that would undoubtedly help the boy along the way if he so chooses to use them.

Out of all the corresponding worlds he had observed, with teenager becoming a villain, a deadbeat, the village savior, or something beyond excellent or evil altogether, this Naruto had all the characteristics and attributed that the mage wanted in a protégé. He wanted someone that wasn't intimidated to stand up for what he believed in but didn't merely walk the white line and tried to white knight everything in sight, the elder magus may enjoy the acts of chivalry at times. It would become redundant and boring with people trying to cling to such squeaky clean images without trying to get their hands dirty from time to time.

Dressed in a simple attire of a buttoned-up long-sleeve white cotton shirt, tan slacks, with wooden sandals fitted upon his feet, a corn straw hat sitting upon his head to complete his look. He picked a more laid-back attire that wouldn't draw much attention to himself, all things regarding; his marshal outfit would make him stick out like a sore thumb, compared to the farmers' getup he was currently wearing at the moment to blend in with the community of Konoha.

"Looks like he failed again." The old marvel mused to himself while looking through a sphere of magical energy that acted as a screen, showing him the boy's progress. "After he gets all his frustrations out within the woods, he should be well enough to be congenial afterward."

A broad grin graced the bearded face of the old man, while a twinkle of mischievousness shining in his eye. A sense of excitement surged through his being with him tapping his cane on the empty magical space to bring his 'shop' into the physical plane. The Kaleidoscope always appreciated a good account, and for him to be the chronicle narrative that pushed men and women into motion, habitually left him in an enthusiastic mood.

The idea of unleashing heroes upon another world wasn't a straightforward indication to take lightly. Although, the young Jinchuriki could learn a great deal from those who lived similar lives and how they overcame the same pitfalls the blond was going to discover himself in the future, to be a hero, sometimes you have to live the life of a hero with a fresh start to build your own tale. If the leaf village wasn't going to give the bidding champion a chance to prove himself and others wrong, why not merely travel the world and support those that would never refuse his hand of fellowship?

Zelretch was no fool though, and he knew that the very notion of dumping so much power within the hands of a young individual, who could quickly end up abusing it, was wholly unorthodox and very dangerous. However, the wizard marshal had full confidence in the reincarnated variant of Sakura Matou to be the boy's moral compass to keep him from falling into absolute obscurity.

He knew the black grail still resided within the girls' soul, and it did bring him moments of thoughtfulness about how Zoukens' misled work continued to exist beyond the man's death from such a long time ago. Even after numerous ages of time that had passed, with the said girl going from one lifetime to another, Sakura could never run from that blemish that stained her very being, forever stigmatizing her to the obscured ambitions of a mad man that had wanted to destroy and lay waste to everything.

She was a heroine in need of a hero herself, to break the chains that continued to chain her to the contaminated chalice that still held within - a seed wickedness of a world long gone.

With everything nearly completed, the eternal phenomenon just had to bide his time and allow an opportunity to knock on his door. "Now, all that is left is to put the finishing strokes on his little test and allow Sakura time to pacify him..." With a snap of his fingers, he faded away into nothingness as he teleported to the forest of death to finish his work.

Meanwhile...

(Sounds of flesh hitting against the wood)

"I can't believe that my future had to rest on one Jutsu I could never do right!" Naruto snarled to himself in anger while continuing to punch a tree trunk with all his might. "I kept telling Iruka that clone Jutsu was impossible for me to do – but, no! Let's keep Naruto from ever having a chance to have anything to call his own!" With each passing second, the intensity of his blows increased.

He hated the fact that one jutsu kept him from being a shinobi – the very same technique that after the graduation tests no one even used during their ninja career very often. Even the old kage had once told him explicitly, with only putting up a few fingers, the times he used that jutsu before being taught a more advanced and high-grade clone technique by his mentor.

It was that notion that continued to grind his gears, what was the point in learning something if it was just going to take up space, and never be used again outside of an infrequent circumstantial situation?

While the Jinchuriki continued to rant and rave to himself as he proceeded to unleash his bottled disappointments out on a defenseless tree, the small rustling of the nearby bushes was drowned out by the amount of noise emitting around the area from him punching and kicking the tree bark off.

"Poor Naruto..." The observer muttered while watching. "He tried so hard and studied every night to get past the exams, and something always hinders his way with him unable to pass."

Purple-colored eyes stared at him longingly, yearning to take away all of his inner turbulence. "I'll give him his time to get it all off his chest before we go home. I hate seeing him like this... He doesn't deserve all the excessively unfair treatment with how happy everyone was with him not graduating once again."

Sometime later...

Panting and sweating profusely, Naruto took a seat next to the now fallen tree, muttering to himself while pulling bits of wood and bark from his hands and fingers and fishing out splinters that got a little too deep in his palms with a homemade kunai. To the blonde, it was therapy; to others, it would be more of an act of fierceness that would cause alarm, as nobody had seen him truly upset about something. They had seen him laugh, pull pranks, or even make a fool of himself, but never had seen him upset to the point that he would try to bore a hole into something with his piercing blue stare.

He never saw himself as an irrational person, nor a person who wanted to cause wanton destruction. It would be through his friendship with Sakura Tohsaka, during his growing years, when she had started to urge him to find a way to let his bottled up emotions out. She always pushed him in studying or the occasional spar, but, it just wasn't enough at times when it came to him being naturally hot-headed, along with the frustration he felt at failing while giving something his all.

The difficulties of his daily life had always upset the shinobi hopeful, with him having minimal options to unleash the 'beast' so to speak, as everyone either shunned him or tried to avoid him at all costs. It wasn't like he could talk with his grandfather-like figure, who ran the village, since he was typically in meetings or doing enough paperwork to bury a horse. Iruka while one of the more neutral teachers he had met, always seemed to be too busy to converse outside of the few times he had treated Naruto to some ramen.

That left, once again, the reincarnated Matou as the one that generally had to instigate disputes to get Naruto to open up about what bothered him, instead of trying to hide what was hurting him. The cynical feelings he felt would build up to the point that he would begin to internally collapse from the stress he allowed to build from the inside.

(Tsk) "Stupid clone Jutsu… If it were up to me, it would've been outlawed a long time ago..." He sulked while fishing out a splinter of wood from his palm.

(Foliage rustling)

"Naruto, are you ready to go home yet?" A young girl called out to him affectionately as she slowly walked into the clearing.

"Yeah, Sakura, I'm better now," Naruto answered back much more kindly than he did before, directing his attention to the voice.

Sakura Tohsaka was a young girl around the age of 17 and had already graduated from the academy during one of Naruto's failed attempts. She stood about 5'1 at full height, had long dark purple hair that reached the middle of her back, nearly past her waist in length, with a bright red ribbon tied to one of her locks. With vibrant purpled color eyes and an extensively large bust, she was considered one of Konohagakure's sought-out young ladies with her warm disposition, and the girl-next-door kind of vibe she gave out that attracted a lot of people to her. She wore a light purple kimono decorated with pink flower petals, an orange obi-like sash neatly tied around her waist into a bow in the back. Fitted with short white socks, and the more traditional worn wooden sandals upon her feet, it complemented her attire well.

After walking out of the forage, she gave Naruto one of her warmest smiles. Her eyes practically shone with a loving warmth in the midday light, which caused the young man to soften his coarse mood and smile back at her. His childhood friend always knew just what to do when he was either sad, mad, or just in an unacceptable state. No matter what the village or the academy tried to do, she was always there with a kind smile, and at times, a word of reassurance that uplifted his disposition when he felt like he was at his lowest point.

After walking over to his spot next to the newly fallen tree, she knelt into the standard seiza sitting position in front of him, then reached over and placed her left hand on the side of his face in a motion of comfort and support.

"Is everything alright Whiskers?" Sakura asked in concern, using her favorite nickname for him.

Naruto looked away from her gaze for a moment, before mumbling under his breath.

"Pardon?" She questioned, tilting her head a little to the left.

A few quiet moments passed between them with Naruto unable to say anything.

He would have preferred to have something joyous to say, rather than having to reveal he once again failed to graduate. "I didn't pass Sakura..." Naruto belatedly spoke up with a faint, regret-filled tone, a look of humiliation starting to creep onto his face.

His deep blue eyes were almost wholly teared up by the dismay of the entire day that came rushing back like a rogue tidal wave crashing against a rocky cliff.

"I don't understand... Haven't I studied or trained hard enough? It seems the harder I try, the further away my dreams move from my grasp...No matter how hard I pursue after them; they slip through my fingers like I'm trying to hold onto a handful of sand," he mumbled, downtrodden while his overall mood soured once again.

Sakura knew this was the side of him that her longtime friend endeavored so hard to hide, that moment of vulnerability when his inner walls crumbled away and left just a boy who was exhausted of everything.

She also knew that while he tried to be loud and proud and act like nothing affected or bothered him, it was merely a mask he wore at times after being worn down by the years of rigid emotional and psychological treatment by his peers. Being despised and ostracized cuts deeply; it chips away at the most resolute of stances and breaks away the armor shrouding the heart. Even the hardiest of people find themselves deadened by those that continued to torment their presence with negativity.

Growing up alongside him through the years, from their earliest encounter while they lived in the same orphanage and being close friends ever since. She had started to realize the inherent conflicts he waged every day from the inside.

His eyes, however, had preserved the look of a warrior.

It was in those same eyes she came to understand the strife he went through; he was a soldier of suffering. He fought so much from within that his deep blues shined with a raw intensity of an anguished commitment, one that he bore upon his shoulders every day to keep others safe from harm. He merely wanted to be accepted and acknowledged like anyone else before or after him. Was a little hello or how are you today, really that difficult to say to the person whose body keeps an enraged chakra monster under padlock and key?

Leaning in, the purple-haired girl wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her chest to give him the warmest of hugs she could muster, while she rested her forehead against his. The oppressed teen always told himself he wouldn't shed any more tears, and the entire situation once again found a way to make him do so, with a hitch-like sound trying to escaping Naruto's lips. His hands balled tightly into fists, gripping the grass and soil in his unrelenting grasp.

Like an angel soothing a wounded soul, her voice merely a whisper, her words conveyed compassion and understanding along with her dedication always to help shoulder his struggles. "It's okay, Naruto; you never had to prove anything to me. No matter what, I'm always going to be right here with you... Don't think for a second that just because you didn't graduate, I'll leave you behind."

Even in the midst of a sea of obscurity, a small ray of sunlight can shine brightly to lead those that stumble around in the dark. If there is one thing that Sakura has shown time and time again to him, it is that she would never abandon him or cast him aside; it was an assurance the village outcast clung to with every fiber of his being.

Some people think being strong is not feeling any sorrow or affliction, but in reality, the most prominent of people are the ones that feel it, understand it, and accept it with all its shortcomings and imperfections.

Random Rooftop

Mizuki always considered himself much grander than the rank of Chunin. He always felt that he deserved much more than what he ever got for being 'loyal.' Everyone else he knew while growing up were either dead, a Jonin in some regard, or Anbu. Even that goody Iruka also made it to Jonin rank before taking a rank cut to be a permanent lecturer at the Shinobi Academy.

The grey-haired man always felt a measure of envious resentment in the fact that the class goofball had made it to a higher rank than he did—he also put in the work as well, damn it! Why did he always get held back by pointless rules and a chain of command that regularly made him feel that it only kissed the backside of peculiar people, while he was forced to be nothing more than an assistant tutor to a bunch of snot-nosed pupils?

A man of his stature should not be forced to endure stupid pranks and pre-teen and teen angst—like some babysitter to those wannabes who washed out of the program or quit altogether after their first big test by a Jonin instructor. It always left him in such a foul mood. He was a man of ambition—not some nursemaid to pamper the high-class clan heads and get nothing out of it, not even to receive a distinguished mention for his accomplishments.

With a Sneer-like scowl slowly appearing on his face at the thought of being nothing more than a bottom feeder with no future; everyone else could preach about the next generation and all that crap. What he wanted was glory, to have his name uttered to the end of time like so many others before him; the up-and-coming traitor Nin wasn't going to hang his hat on a mantle that had no value whatsoever. It was arduous enough to watch his so-called best friend bend over rearward readily every day, having to do the same himself just aggravated him to no end.

Pushing his senses out, Mizuki tried to pick up any traces of the tracksuit-wearing teen's presence after he saw the blond leave the academy in a hurry. He rushed from tiled roof to tiled roof, keeping his dark brown eyes focused on spotting anything out of the ordinary.

He could not afford to have Naruto get around his associate, Iruka, not when the fox brat could get him an item of importance; one that would grant him better ventures and rewards from his true master, Orochimaru. The snake master promised so much for the scroll of sealing, and Mizuki wasn't going to risk breaking the agreement with him by coming back empty-handed; his life would be forfeited to the crazed albino for his inadequacies.

The only lead he had was that Naruto tended to go somewhere within the forest when he usually failed at something or wanted to be alone.

'I need to find that punk to get the operation underway; he's the only one that could get inside the tower and get the scroll from that old codger of a kage. That war relic would never lay a finger on him,' Mizuki thought to himself, still scanning around the area from his spot on top of a roof. 'If I could've got my hands on that Tohsaka girl, finding him would have been easy; she always knows where he's at all times—even more so than Iruka!'

A roguish glint of ill-intent blazed within his eyes, out of the many ladies he had grown up with or been around, the luscious and tender Sakura was one he wouldn't mind possessing. Seventeen and already considered perfect wife material, and having a body that put her far beyond the everyday woman wasn't a bad bonus either, and she still had some time to mature...

Ill thoughts that danced within his mind's eye caused his scowl to turn into a pervese leer with the way his lips slowly curved upwards, the sudden motion could've caused any man or woman to feel uncomfortable or uneasy. 'Maybe Orochimaru wouldn't mind me taking my own little reward when I send the fox to the chopping block. After I subsequently frame him for the thief of the scroll and treason against Konoha, the poor girl would need someone to 'console her' once that loud-mouthed brat is out of the picture.'

The disloyal nin knew the purple-haired girl had the biggest crush on that ignorant kid, which would be all more fulfilling to be able to get one over on the nine-tails after it rampaged through his home and killed the majority of his family. The sweet irony in all of it was the fact that the girl would do anything for the teen, and the Chunin wouldn't put it past her to be willing to go to bed with him if the whiskered teen wanted her body.

'Too bad that despicable little fox never caught on with how much that girl treasures him. Maybe he'll watch from the afterlife as she squeals for him as I have my way with her...' Mizuki thought to himself with a husky like a purr. The idea of finally getting that girl alone and all to himself made his attire feel ten sizes too small with a heated flame stroked from his dirty thoughts blazing like a bonfire from within.

The traitorous nin knew, after today, everything was going to change for him. What he did not know was that it would not change in the way he thought it would, not knowing the supreme power that slept within the said girl. An abnormal monstrosity that still watched the world from the depths of Sakura's soul, awaiting to repay the debt to those that wronged the person that both personalities deemed the one they would not allow themselves to lose.

Sometimes, the greatest of apex predators put up fronts to look meek and harmless before they sink their fangs into you and split you wide open without sympathy or mercy.

Some would say it would be a fitting end to a person that was willing to betray everyone and everything, for the meager scrapes off the discarded dinner plate of power...

With one Shinobi awaiting in the wings to spring a trap that would send an innocent young man to a grim fate, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third fire shadow; takes a brief break from his daily grind of paperwork to check in on his surrogate grandson. After once again given the report that the Jinchuriki once again failed to pass his graduation exam.

"My boy, why does it seem like everything you try to do, always ends up going in a direction for failure?" The elder nin pondered to no one particular, while looking through a circular sphere of glass that showed the third fire shadow the bonding moment between the two young adults. "If it weren't for the young Tohsaka girl being your only friend, I wouldn't be surprised if you had started to lash out at others by now..." Finished with his viewing, he placed a large white cloth to cover the looking glass.

Picking up the sphere, he carefully put it away into a special compartment within his desk, then picking up his pen, once again starts to go through yet another pile of paperwork that would need his approval.

Signing his name on the dotted line at the bottom along with giving the Hokage seal of endorsement from a wooden rubber stamper, he placed the finished documents into the outgoing basket as his mind continued to reflect upon his surrogate grandson as he continued his work.

"16 years and no one has admittedly moved on, even after everything I have done to get people to understand. No one wanted to see the facts in front of them, even my delinquent of a student Jiraiya tried to explain in much simpler detail about the seal and how Naruto and the nine-tails are two different entities."

A sigh of disappointment escaped his lips as a look of melancholy overtook his aged features, he still remembered the near riot with the villagers and the three-day standoff. That was the indication that he should have sent Naruto elsewhere and allowed him a better childhood, then trying to force mourning individuals to mend each other's wounds.

He knew his favorite non-blooded grandson wasn't going to stand and take it on the chin anymore, nor those that lost family members to the Kyuubi were going to bend either. Throw in a neutral like Sakura and you had something that could quickly turn into a combustible situation. Honestly, the olden kage had lost count on how many times they had targeted the young girl with less than peaceful means.

The villagers knew the Jinchuriki was off limits, but sadly Sakura wasn't under that kind of protection, how that girl didn't break and push the boy away; he could only marvel at the mysteries of the young woman's courage.

"I need to quit being so stubborn and do the right thing. I tried pressing an issue to fix itself, and both parties are at a point where neither is going to forgive the other that easily... Maybe its time that I contact my wayward student and work something out? What everyone needs is time away from each other, and hopefully, one-day common ground can be found." The famed professor mused with him stopping in the middle of his work while a look of thoughtfulness crossed upon his aged face.

Back with Naruto and Sakura

"Thanks for being there for me, Sakura...although I wish at times I knew how you find me so quickly. Even Iruka has to put in work to find me. I doubt you even try very hard!" Naruto spoke with a small smile upon on his face in personal praise of his best friend's resourcefulness.

Blushing a little, she reached into her robes and pulled out a small rolled up scroll; a small poof later, a large bowl of hot steaming ramen appeared with a pair of chopsticks sitting on top of the container, which she then handed to him.

"To tell you the truth, Naruto, you aren't too hard to find once someone takes the time to recognize your habits and way of thinking. That's why Iruka is usually the only other person who can catch you; he tries to think like you to better plan his routes." She admitted quite nonchalance, giving him a cheeky simper.

To say it was so every day, and that he was not difficult to catch, caused the whiskered teen to emit an amused snort through his nose. There were Anbu and Jonins that got special bonuses added to their paychecks to attempt to corral him, or at least keep an eye on him as he would do escapades around the village. The blond trickster could easily recall the number of times some were willing to chase Tora the cat for the entire month than to try capturing him!

"Come now, Sakura, you can't say I'm such an easy catch! Nobody catches Naruto Uzumaki!" He declared with gusto, thumbing to himself in a confident, cocky sort of way, a fox-like grin developing his features.

Amidst Naruto's pride starting to fill with a lot of hot air, the purple-haired girl reached over and caressed his whiskers, which caused him to go into a contented trance with a small purr emitting from his lips. "Well, what do you know, I caught Naruto Uzumaki!" she states, positively bubbly.

"Sak-Sakura! Touching the whiskers is cheating!" Naruto cried out, with him giving her a feint betrayed look.

"What can I say? I learned from the very best," She said with a mirth-filled tone. "You have been an outstanding tutor~."

Sighing a little before smiling once again, Naruto couldn't help but admit to himself that he didn't mind her touching them. He just hated the weird feelings he would get at times from them, but admittedly he could easily just lay down and let someone rub his face all day. He always told himself he was a strong able man, not a house cat, even though at times he felt like one when his face got touched.

"Have you reflected on what we talked about last night while studying?" Asked the young Tohsaka in a way to get the ball rolling.

"If I didn't pass this time, should we think about leaving?" He replied, his bravado diminishing, while doubt starting to creep into his tone.

"Mhm..." Sakura hummed out with a nod.

He rubbed the back of his neck a little, a habit he normally does if he's nervous or unsure of something; it was an idea that had started to gain ground in his mind after he failed. Although with him dropped from the program, where would they go?

"After today, I guess it's something to consider because I doubt I'll be able to find a job without a lot of hassle. Do you have any ideas on that matter, Sakura?"

She tapped her chin a few times, a look of thoughtfulness on her face, before speaking once again. "We'll need to journey outside of fire country and try our luck in either another nation or a small village. If we remain here, then I can't see that we will get anywhere with how others continue to treat you, Naruto..."

A look of nervousness overtook the young man while he gave Sakura a crucial stare. Even now, she was sticking right beside him after everything that occurred over the years. After crewing on his bottom lip momentarily, he picked up the pair of chopsticks that were sitting on top of the large bowl and broke them apart, entwining them between his fingers before starting to eat the contents from within.

"If we're going to do this," Naruto said between slurps of noodles, "Then we will need supplies and a plan to fool the old man. He's always been resolute about me staying here."

"Supplies I know I can get for us; fooling the third Hokage will be something in your area of expertise, Naruto. Ever since you showed that advanced sexy jutsu of yours, he's become quite paranoid about what you could do to him that might give him a heart attack."

A mischievous grin covered Naruto's face at the recollection, before a deep blush dusted his cheeks when he remembered the fact that Sakura was the one that had helped him create that particular Jutsu. Even now he had trouble trying to keep his eyes from wander off when they would converse or hang out together. As some of the older guys in the village had said in passing, she was very gifted with feminine charms that could have given the roaming Sannin, Tsunade, a serious run for her money in her youth. Many started to wonder if the Tohsaka girl was related to the prickly-tempered physician in other ways than them having almost perfect bodies.

Swallowing a lump that felt like it was growing in his throat, he tried to ignore his traitorous mind that kept replaying that day. He tried with all his might to keep his thoughts clean, the mental images of her in various forms of undress with that warm smile and blush on her face started to take him on the nearest train to parts unknown.

Seeing the glazed expression and fierce blush upon his whiskered cheeks, it didn't take the young woman long to know what was dancing deep within his subconscious. Schooling her features and taking on a more stoic expression, she stared back at her friend that wasn't entirely there at the moment, before speaking.

"Naruto," Sakura said in a neutral tone at first, "you're picturing me naked again~," She finished teased him with a saucy wink.

Shaking his head a few times to bring himself back into reality, a sheepish smile spread upon his face as he rubbed the back of his head a little in inopportune humility.

"Eh, heh. Sorry about that, Sakura."

"What's to be sorry about whiskers? Once we leave, there's going to be times you will be seeing me exposed quite often, and hopefully, in more intimate circumstances."

He opened his mouth to say something; anything at all, before Sakura, placed a single finger upon his lips to quiet him, a look of yearning emanating from deep within her violet eyes.

"You know about my feelings, and I want 'us' to be able to move forward. I know your try to act like you don't recognize it, but, I know you, Naruto. You have been keeping me at arm's length out of fear of what could happen to me; I'm a big girl now. I want you to open up and embrace what's been growing between us over the years..."

"I know... It's... I'm..." He attempted to say something but was utterly tongue-tied when the young girl moved from her sitting position in front of him, and took a seat beside him, leaning her head on his left shoulder.

What could he say with so much guilt that bore down on his heart?

"I'll always be here, Naruto. Just try not to leave me waiting forever..." Her words, smooth but delicate, quickly pierced the Jinchiriki right in the heart.

Before Naruto could say anything else, an old voice suddenly interjected itself, causing both teens to recoil in surprise and fright with the way they jumped and ended up sprawled out on the ground. Much to the growing enjoyment of the incognito adorned magus.

"Aww, isn't it adorable! Now the only thing missing is some suggestive jazz music and a heated kissing scene between you two...!" Declared the magus in hiding, while making himself known, before sitting down not far from the spot where Naruto and Sakura use to be seated behind the log with a gruff like laugh emitting from his throat.

Zel...Zelretch?" Sakura said belatedly, between breaths, patting her chest to try to stop the feeling of her heart wanting to leap out of it while trying to pull herself off the ground into a sitting position.

"Old merch?! What the hell is wrong with you, creeping up on people!" Naruto retorted, considerably flushed and giving Zelretch a piercing, stare-like scowl, while pulling the large wooden bowl that was used to be filled with ramen off his head.

The old mage could only beam at the contradiction of the statement, considering both of them were trained to have a better awareness of their surroundings that was beyond an ordinary civilian.

"Two people that are trained to sneak up and one day assassinate other people, are going to get peeved at a simple trader sneaking up on them..." He droned out, letting the statement linger, his smirk never faltering at the slightest of the ambiguity.

With that said, they hastily turned their gaze from him, unable to look him in the eye out of embarrassment. Even being Shinobi in training, they were conditioned to be able to know when someone was nearing them. To let someone like Zelretch who was a noncombatant that close without picking up on his presence would've easily got them the brunt of jokes back at the academy.

"Well, now that I've had my fun, how about indulging this old man with listening to an intriguing story that I've been saving for you two for some time now! It is a legend about a vessel that could grant any wish he or she desired, that was nearly lost in time..." The wizard conversed with remarkable zeal. "And rumor has it. Its last known resting place is within a place you call the forest of death..."

With the astonishing surprise fading, with more so confusion taking it place: both young adults looked on as Zelretch went into storyteller mode. As he started to go into deeper into depth about the great vessel of power, a sense of deva ju overcame the reincarnated Matou, with her having a feeling- no, an urge; like she knew what it is and what powers it held.

While Naruto looked intrigued by the growing tale that was being told, Sakura could only observe with an ever increasing trepidation that something was going to happen, something from the past was coming back to greet her, and it wasn't going to be a kind reunion. Abrupt Imagines flashed in front of her vision of people and places she couldn't identify, as a silhouette of a red haired teen start to overlap the blond in a way that made the girls' head ache from the sudden strain.

One thought in mind repeated itself deeply like a mantra within her subconcious, Naruto was the one she wouldn't lose.

AND CUT!

A/N: Hello everyone, Alec-Origin here with my second attempt to write a Fate like story. I know some more likely been wondering what's been going on with me, lets just say between bad health and my muse disappearing on me. I been very hard pressed to be able to write anything, that hasn't entirely fell apart in my word doc.

I can say for a first chapter, it went as well as I could draft it, just have to see how it goes.

I also made a discord account, if anyone that might still be fan would like to speak about anything, or willing to help me bounce some ideas on how to keep myself motivated I always welcome helpful advise.

Review and let me know how this story went or if I need to make changes or adjustments.

As always, I'll see you in the next chapter!