Hey, bet you never thought you'd hear from me again but I'm back with a Christmas gift that's WAY overdue. I do apologize for being so late with this but things have been tricky between going to school and now studying for a major exam that will pretty much determine my future, I've been kind of overwhelmed.

Also I've broken out into youtube and currently do comic dubs, specific Overwatch ones where I play Hanzo. I currently have a dub on my youtube page and doing a few others for youtubers, specifically Crystal Blitz. My title is The Fan Without a Face, check out my channel as more will come though my channel is pretty small, channel/UC8Bqll0eJnZ75cZb9BBKorg

Also I've recently started editing stories and books professionally, so if anyone knows someone who needs an editor let me know.

One more thing been working on other stories, mainly Spiraling Shark with the Fifth Rider of Armageddon. Check that out when you get the chance.

Anyway no more delaying with this, here's the long awaited Fifth chapter of Red Rider. Hope you enjoy it

-Chapter Start-

The sounds of ravenous consumption and munching permeated through the fast food establishment, with many of the patrons and staff taking quick, odd glances at the two hooded figures, currently devouring the remains of Famine's previous meal, down to the last crumb. He swore some of them were even cheering them on.

The red horseman similarly just sat there, watching the massive pile of food shrink with each passing nanosecond, his eyes watching with shock as he casually sipped on a large soda he currently had in his hand, with one thought going through his mind, 'All those times people would stare at me when I ate ramen...Suddenly I'm starting to get where they were coming from.'

He continued to watch over the two gulp down entire portions, enough to feed the whole 3 factions, while quietly scanning them over and taking note of the peculiar sign they had been carrying.

"Have to say, it's not very often you see a pair of nuns begging for food on the side of the road. I mean I know you guys take a bunch of different vows regarding certain rules and conducts, but I'm pretty sure a being fed adequately is something you'd be entitled to." He commented

The girls quickly ceased mowing down all the food in sight before quickly lowering their heads to him, "Thank you for sharing your food with us. I feared we'd surely starved were it not for your kindness." The chestnut-colored twin tailed girl acclaimed

The blue haired one actually looked up at the Horseman with what familiarly looked like stars in her eyes, thankfully not much to the point resembling a fan girl. "Truly, we must be blessed by God's grace that he would deliver a savior upon us, thanks be to God." She loudly exclaimed in reverence, earning odd looks from onlookers.

Naruto felt a strong urge to chuckle at the irony of the comment but managed to hold his tongue, 'A God-given savior... the only way that statement could be any less accurate is if I was freaking Sirzechs or Azazel."

"Ah, don't worry about the food, my brother was in here not too long ago and decided to leave me without finishing everything he ordered. Didn't think it would be wise to let the food go to waste."

The twin tailed girl, however, merely shook her head as her eyes continued to glimmer like her companion. She abruptly stood up, surprising the other diners, "So much generosity and modesty, however, no matter what you say, such act of kindness cannot be overlooked." Then she started to pray, "Lord I ask you show the same kindness to this man as he has to us, AmeeeEEEEKK! Xenovia what was that for?!" She yelped as the blue haired girl quickly pulled on her twin tail.

"You're causing a scene Irina, what part of being discrete is so difficult for you to understand." The blue haired chided while taking a bite off a hamburger, completely disregarding the fact that she isn't so discreet either.

'…Is this how the exorcists are nowadays?' Naruto thought as he surveyed his surroundings and took note of how a mother was steering away the gaze of her child who was pointing at the girls. They probably thought they were some cosplayers or weirdos, he's not really sure which is better…

Turning her head, the— apparently— more mature of the two bowed her head again to Naruto, who continued to look a tad bit uncomfortable at the attention, "Please forgive my friend, she's very passionate about her beliefs and—" She took a bite off her 4th burger "—isn't very adept at restraining herself in public."

'Not like you are shinning example of etiquette either…' He inwardly thought, idly noting the way her cheeks were puffed out and her mouth was filled to brim with food that he wondered how she can even chew.

*Gulp*

…Never mind… she just gulps it down without chewing… it would've been impressive if it wasn't a bit disturbing…

Outwardly however, Naruto simply waved them off, "It's perfectly fine, being praised by a couple of holy women certainly isn't the worst thing in the world and there's nothing wrong with being passionate about something you are truly committed to."

With another smile he quietly sipped his drink for a moment before asking, "Anyway, back to my question, mind if I inquire as to why you two women of the church were apparently starving. While I'm not the most religious person, I'm pretty sure churches usually provide sufficient food to their followers."

His comment caused the two girls to quickly drop their heads in shame

It was Xenovia who answered first, "We were provided sufficient amount of this land's currency before our arrival, but a certain colleague of mine—" At this point Xenovia was more focused on Irina who shrunk down from her annoyed and accusative stare. "—foolishly wasted it all and thus we had to resort to begging for food... from pagan worshippers of all people…!"

Naruto blinked, "I see... mind if I ask as to what exactly you spent the money on?"

The horseman quickly found a rather peculiar painting now shoved in his face, with Xenovia letting out a huff, "My friend here, Irina, decided to purchase this ridiculous piece of third rate artwork from a scammer, after the salesman conned her into believing it had actual value."

Irina, however, quickly pulled the painting back and held onto it like an infant and pouted. "I keep telling you, Xenovia, this is a legitimate image of a holy saint masterfully weaved into the canvas by a passionate and inspired holy man!" Irina spoke. The sheer zeal and faith in her voice could've convinced Xenovia... If not for her following words, "That salesman said so!"

Xenovia then gave her a blank stare that said. "Are you serious?"

Irina huffed, "I know, with God as my witness, that this painting is, without a shadow of doubt, an artwork of true cultural and religious—"

"Yeah, that thing's fake." Naruto interrupted.

Irina's jaw snapped shut, her head slowly twisting in Naruto's direction, who was looking at the painting with an analytical gaze, "Hate to tell you Irina, but I know a thing or two about art and that piece you have there, is some random second hand painting, most likely made by some unknown art student or something. I can guarantee you that it isn't worth anything and is likely something people buy to cover up a hole in their walls..." at her devastated look, he added, "Sorry." Not that he was really.

The poor girl looked like her entire world had been shattered as if she was told that God was dead. Her lip quivering and tears forming in the corner of her eyes, while Xenovia's own eye was twitching along with her hand. In an instant, she grabbed the now identified useless painting and promptly carried it over to a nearby garbage can and proceeded to shoved it down as deep as possible or so she tried, unfortunately the painting was too large for the bin causing it to awkwardly hit the rim.

Her eyes twitched as the canvas refused to fit.

*Crack* the poor painting was snapped in half... *crack* it was snapped again... *crack* and again *crack* and again *crack* and again until it was only splinters and small pieces. That was a lot of repressed stuff going on

Not yet done making her point, she quickly grabbed a milkshake from somewhere and poured it all over the broken piece of wood as she glared at it as if it was one the most offensive thing in the world

Feeling a bit satisfied, she let out a calming breath, as she returned to her seat as if nothing had just transpired. Irina was still devastated by what she heard from Naruto who had to hold back his urge to laugh at their faces.

Xenovia closed her eyes and quietly pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself down, while Irina was now attempting to drown her sorrow in another milkshake.

Mirth still prevalent over his features, Naruto said. "Okay, now that we've gotten through that *cough* little matter, what you're doing here. I'm not exactly local to this area, but seeing a couple of foreign nuns here in the Far East is fairly unusual, especially given the fact that the only church I know of in this city is abandoned." Having enough entertainment, Naruto decided to switch to a more serious topic and it seemed to reinvigorate the pair somewhat, though Xenovia seemed somewhat hesitant to speak.

Irina on the other hand was almost happy to respond to their benefactor, "We've actually been tasked with a very important mission from the Church, specifically we need to find..."

She quickly shut herself up when Xenovia glared at her in a manner that basically translated to TMI with Xenovia turning her gaze to Naruto, "Again you must forgive my friend and myself as well, while we appreciate your kind gesture in rendering aid in our time of need, you must understand this is an important and private matter and something not meant to be shared openly to outsiders who don't share our views."

Naruto frowned lightly at the remark, true enough he didn't follow the Church's rather misguided beliefs, but that had more to do with the fact he actually knew more than them, about the truth of the war, and God himself along with the various other deities and he himself was actually mentioned in the Bible as one of the harbingers of Armageddon. So following the religion would seem pretty...odd and even heretical, to say the least. Of course that didn't mean he couldn't still have an opinion on the current matter.

"I think I get the idea, basically your church or perhaps God itself, essentially sent a pair of teenage girls to a far and foreign country they are very unfamiliar with, on some kind of secret mission with apparently a limited number of resources. Sounds a tad bit moronic don't you think?" He harshly asked.

Xenovia's eyes quickly narrowed at the remark, while Irina still showed herself to be the more vocal, "Please, sir, do not talk about the church in such manner. We knew there would be some risks involved when we came here and we accepted, Insisted even. Also, I actually grew up in this area, so it's not like we are completely unfamiliar." She reasoned.

'For a seemingly naive and klutzy girl, she seemed to be the more conversationally versed one... but...'

"That still doesn't change the fact that the church condoned sending a pair of underage girls to another country to do something that, frankly, the church should have handled themselves. It seems to me that they are having you do their dirty work and did so apparently, in accordance to God's will. Doesn't exactly give a lot of confidence to him does it?"

Irina prepared to fire back with another retort, but Xenovia, who was looking at Naruto with a pretty icy glare, beat her to the punch, "You aren't a normal civilian... I am not certain of who you are or whatever heretics you serve but whatever mission the church gives us is a mission from God himself and we have sworn to follow his word with no hesitation, no matter the risk or sacrifice. That is our decision and we follow it willingly until our dying day." by now, it was clear to them that he wasn't a normal civilian but someone who knew about the supernatural.

Naruto only smirked, though rather than amusement it was more along the lines of a mixture between mockery and cold disposition, "You know it's funny, I remember the last time fools blindly followed God's supposed words, a little thing happened called the Crusades and we all know how that little 'mission' from God went now don't we? Years of war and treachery."

Xenovia's glare quickly became frigid and Irina actually looked upset and disapproving at him, but Naruto easily stared the two down without so much as flinching, though without the sense of mockery. "Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that having strong faith in your religion is a bad thing, every person has the right to adhere to what beliefs they willingly choose. However, when people blindly allow that faith to guide their every decision... it will lead to zealotry and naivety, turning those religious institutes into little more than a glorified cult that opts to slaughter or enslave anyone who doesn't follow their beliefs. After all, how many times has religion been the cause of a war, genocide or some other form of strife and suffering?"

A loud bang resounded through the building, with many patrons looking in fear at the now seething Xenovia, whose fist had left a small but noticeable dent in the table, while the other's hand was clamped tightly around the wrapped package she had with her, which Naruto could easily see that it was radiating intense energy. Her eyes looking upon him with a look of pure murder.

"You have shown us kindness in a moment of our desperation and for that my partner and I are grateful. However, I will not stand by and allow you to heedlessly insult our beliefs or the slander the good name of God. Arrogance such as yours must be dealt with accordingly."

Naruto, however, only frowned and took a quick look at Irina who had a similar angry look on her own face, "So you want to strike me down simply because of the fact I spoke a few harsh yet truthful words about your beliefs. Yet another evidence of basically using your religion as justification for doing whatever you want. Hardly what I believe God intended for his followers to do."

He quietly got up from his seat, taking note of both girls tensing up at his sudden movement, "However, if you believe your cause is just and the words I spoke is enough of a crime to warrant violence then let us do this somewhere where we won't hurt anyone or cause needless destruction. There is a forest nearby where people scarcely, visit is that venue fine with you?" It wasn't a question or request as much as it was a statement as Naruto was already leaving the establishment

Without another word spoke, the two girls shared a glance and followed Naruto out the restaurant, neither aware of just what they'd allowed themselves to be dragged into.

-Scene Change-

'Well this is certainly turning into an interesting day. First I have an awkward encounter with Famine and now I'm in a sparring match with a pair of exorcists... Though thankfully at least these girls seem more pleasant than more boring company I've had to keep recently...'

Naruto's eyes peered at the two girls standing roughly fifty feet away from him, both having discarded their cloaks, revealing themselves to be clad in skin tight, black leather battle uniforms. Certainly appealing to the eyes, but the Horseman focused more on the weapons they each carried. Xenovia held a massive blade which resembled a claymore… no, more like a Zweihänder with an oddly-shaped 3-pronged blade and a guard akin to an axe. The blade itself also seemed to be releasing massive amounts of energy, almost roaring as it pulsed with raw power.

Meanwhile Irina, who at first didn't seem to have anything resembling a blade on hand, quickly pulled some kind of chain necklace off of her person, which in a flash of light shapeshifted into a Japanese Katana. Unlike Xenovia's sword, the energy from her blade wasn't nearly as concentrated or powerful, but more flexible and fluid, without a distinct shape or a feeling of firmness.

"Excalibur Destruction and Excalibur Mimic, two of the seven fragments forged from the legendary sword of King Arthur." Naruto looked over both blades with a keen eye, "You must be quite exceptional swordsmen if the church is willing to entrust you with two of their deadliest weapons."

Xenovia barely acknowledged the compliment, maintaining her emotionless front as she readied her sword, "I'm surprised you even know of these swords to begin with, the fact you're able to identify them at a single glance means you a quite deeply involved in the supernatural... You're clearly no ordinary individual..." She searched him for a look of awe or even a hint of fear that even high-class beings would show in presence of the legendary sword but only found amusement, she gritted her teeth.

Naruto merely chuckled at her attempt to intimidate him, reminding him of the little Gremory Girl, "Let's just say I've got an… expertise regarding weaponry. I also made it a point to study up on legendary weapons, those things pique my interest. Then there is also the fact that it pays to stay informed, after all one wouldn't know what the future holds."

Irina didn't seem nearly as impressed, "So he recognizes our swords… it doesn't matter, Xenovia. He spoke ill of God in our presence all while knowing our identities and for that he needs to pay."

Xenovia only nodded as the two prepared themselves for battle, Naruto only looked mildly interested, knowing that whatever they could throw at him wouldn't be enough. The pair looked at bit unnerved by the sheer lack or wariness or fear in their enemy.

"Now come on, I never actually said anything wrong about God himself or the church. All I said was that the thinking behind your missions was a little backwards. I'm pretty sure just about anyone would back me up on that if they thought about it for more than two seconds."

Xenovia tightened her grip on her sword, "As we had said earlier, we accepted the risks and are fully prepared to give our lives up in the name of God. If sacrifice and danger is the path we must follow, then we will walk it with wholeheartedly."

Irina nodded with stride, "Praise be to God."

"Amen." they both chanted.

That actually caused Naruto to frown, he raised his hands and then with a blur, he retrieved a pair of branches from a nearby tree "You say you're willing to throw your lives away for the sake of God and the Church. Your faith is commendably strong, that much is certain and having faith is hardly what I would call a mistake."

He gripped the 2 sticks, testing it reach and snapping of little stubs, making it less oddly shaped. "However, to let that faith blind you to the path you are willing to tread so carelessly to throw your life away was frankly idiotic. I feel that kind of belief system died out with the Crusades. Letting someone else's words rule your lives is a foolish way to go and if that is what God intends, then I don't see why anyone would follow him."

Both sword wielders actually found themselves dropping their guards somewhat at the display, actually questioning the man's sanity, Xenovia the more confused of the two.

"Does this man honestly think he can match the power of two of God's weapons with a pair of sticks? Is he mocking us?"

With a casual twirl of the sticks, Naruto pointed one of them at his would be opponents, shifting slightly into a loose stance as he readied himself, "Well what are you waiting for? If your faith in God is truly as strong as you say it is, then you should have no trouble fighting a man only armed with a pair of broken branches with the blades of the legendary Excalibur."

Irina, being the faster of the two, immediately charged forward towards Naruto with Excalibur Mimic raised, "Those who dare mock God, shall face his judgment."

Naruto shifted his body, barely out of the way of her slash, keeping his own weapons ready, but opting to simply see what skill the girl posed before doing anything else, easily dodging several swings and slashes that followed, much to the girl's frustration.

"Would you hold still? I can't punishment you if you keep dodging me like this!"

Naruto actually had to hold back a chuckle at the amount of conviction at which she spoke that line, "Wow, didn't peg you as the dominating type. Doesn't that go against your religion?"

"It doesn't." she replied almost automatically before her face lit up like a thermometer at Naruto's words, her stance quickly becoming much less refined. Though that was only until steam started coming out of her ears as she suddenly began attacking with a greater deal of ferocity. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH AN ACCUSATION?! I WOULD NEVER EVEN CONSIDER DOING SOMETHING AS VILE AS THAT!"

Naruto continued to laugh at her obvious frustration, "Come on now, everyone needs to relieve stress every now and again and I'm not going to judge you for it. Also, the black leather dominatrix outfit spoke otherwise."

Irina was now pretty much foaming at the mouth at his blatant wisecracks, continuing to swing even more wildly than before. Not helping the matter was the ease at which her opponent seemed to dodge her attacks. She quickly shifted to try and cut him down with another slash only for him to easily move out of the way and to add insult to injury, lightly smacked Irina in the back of the head, causing her to lose her balance and nearly fall forward.

The exorcist rubbed her sore head before glaring at her enemy in anger, "WILL YOU TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!?" Before attempting another wild, horizontal slash, only to find her opponent nowhere to be found. Her eyes promptly began scanning the area, her senses on alert as she tried all manner to find her adversary.

"You want me to take this more seriously...? Well I suppose if that's what you want, I'm more than willing to accommodate you."

Irina turned around to try and find Naruto, yet still couldn't spot him, yet she could feel his eyes trained on her from all directions, Xenovia similarly having her own guard up, keeping a close eye on the fight.

"Let's start this little spar by going over what I've pieced together from your overall fighting style, which frankly leaves a lot to be desired."

Irina actually twitched at the crack and got even more insulted when he implied that the fight hadn't started when she started attacking. She tried scanning for her opponent, but saw nothing.

She flinched as a finger lightly tapped her shoulder. "Found you!" Quickly reacting, she slashed in the direction, only to find she'd hit nothing but empty air.

"Your weapon indicates that you favor a more speed based style of combat, relying on combination of your agility along with swift and precise strikes to bring down your enemy. However, you are far too emotional in battle, you let your entire style become unbearably sloppy the second I made a single wisecrack. Imagine if I'd been a real enemy.

Two more hits struck Irina on the shoulder as she continued to try desperately to hit him or rather hit any hint of his presence, her movements began showing her desperation and paranoia was gnawing her mind. Xenovia meanwhile becoming increasingly impressed with how easily the man was dominating Irina in spite of her speed, and technique which is truthfully better than hers.

"And let's talk about Excalibur Mimic for a second. I don't deny that someone with a powerful weapon like that can be a force to be reckoned with but only if they know how to use it properly, something you clearly don't know how to do. Your sword is the blade of Mimicry, meaning it can shapeshift and give you an incredible range and extreme adaptability, potentially allowing you to manipulate the blade only limited by your imagination, just thinking of the possibilities such a blade can offer is staggering, you can turn it into a Zweihander then a mace next or even a spear depending on the situation...And yet..."

Irina didn't even have a chance to react as she found herself struck in the abdomen by a particularly strong strike, that sent her skirting across the grass before her body stuck against a tree. As she lurched, she didn't even get a chance to fall, as a sharp tugging sensation was felt on her scalp..

Her head turned and her eyes quickly widened as she looked and saw the source of her pain. Her twin tails, something she prided herself in, were currently pinned to the tree, one of the two makeshift weapons her opponent was using had embedded both into the tree by her hair bands. How a flimsy branch can pierce such a thick trunk, she didn't know. Before she could ponder upon it she felt another pressure on her body, specifically the throat.

"And thus we come to realizing my point."

Irina turned her eyes, without moving her head to avoid the pain of pulling out her hair, finding Naruto's other branch placed at her throat, pointing directly at her artery where a strike could be fatal. She knew that her opponent was faster than her, and based on how she was pushed quite far back earlier, possibly stronger than Xenovia, which means that he could easily pierce her throat and not even Xenovia would be able to stop him. Knowing that fact, her heart nearly stopped and her spine shivered as she caught her opponent's cold eyes. Naruto looking upon her with a calculating gaze that actually made the girl shrink, making her feel like she was back at the institute where she was suffering before Griselda's hellish and brutal tutelage, only 10 times worse. Never, did she think that a piece of wood could've been a threat to her life until now, and based on the look on the man's eyes, he could easily kill her at the slightest whim and she could not do anything about it.

"Had you utilized Excalibur Mimic's shapeshifting you could have reformed it into a long metal whip to cut down the trees around us to extend your range and hit me or even turn it into shorted blade so you won't be limited with the space and even use it for defense if need be, that weapon has few limits regarding shape and size, all you have to do is think. See what I'm getting at?" He grinned good-naturedly though his eyes contrasted it with it's frigidness.

She didn't respond, too frozen in fear to even think of formulating a reply.

"I said… SEE WHAT I'M GETTING AT?" Impossibly, his grin seemed to get larger and his eyes… her breath hitched… his eyes...

The young teen only nodded in response. It was pathetic, how subdued her stance was or how she shook and flinched at every perceived movement. Even Xenovia who was also frozen at the sudden situation was a bit surprised at sheer terror prevalent on her companion's feature..

Naruto then proceeded to pat her head as if she was some stray which caused the girl to jolt in response, "Good girl, just keep that in mind the next time you fight. May end up saving your life in a situation far less unforgiving than I am." He proceeded to remove the wooden weapon from her throat and he turned his attention to Xenovia.

"Now then, I believe it's your turn. Care to see how your Excalibur Destruction matches up to my deadly stick." He mockingly did a few skillful spins and twirls with the stick to add emphasis.

"Hey wait a minute, aren't you..." Irina who had her hair stuck in the tree began to complain

"YES?"

"Meep…" She could only mewl in fear as she shook her head in negative. 'Help me out of this tree' is what she wanted to say but to see his gaze at her with those eyes, the word got stuck on her throat

Now that Naruto's attention was back to Xenovia's, Irina only quietly moaned as she tried to pull the stick that currently had her leashed to the tree, but try as she might, it was wedged in good.

Without looking, Naruto commented, "Nope, you can stay there and watch for a bit. Keeping you pinned like that ensures you won't miss anything as I lecture the other brat. Think of this as extra credit training."

The girl's jaw dropped at his remark, and slumped downwards in defeat only to yelp in pain once she remembered she was currently pinned to a tree.

Xenovia steadily moved in a circle around her opponent, keeping her eyes glued to his so she could react quickly, "Just so you know, I won't fall for the same trick as Irina. Between the two of us I'm the better swordsman." While Irina had the advantage in speed and technique, it wasn't that overwhelming compared to Xenovia who also had more strength, stamina and experience. Those advantages were how she won most of their spars.

Irina muttered something lightly at the comment while Naruto merely chuckled at his opponent boast, "Oho, confident are we? Certainly, of the two weapons, Mimic may require more complexity and imagination, Excalibur Destruction, however, is one that needs more refined control and strength. Obviously they wouldn't give it to just anyone lacking in those areas. So compared to your companion you must be just as good or better… Of course, don't presume that simply because you are stronger than your friend, that you can still best me."

Tightening the grip on her weapon Xenovia geared up to make her attack, "He's certainly fast, I'll give him that but Excalibur Destruction has a wide attack range with enough strength that the trees would be more of an obstruction of vision than actual obastacle. so long as I see an opportunity, I'll quickly get in close and then I should be able to hit him even if he does move."

Promptly focusing energy into the blade, the exorcist made her way towards her opponent who was still spinning his own makeshift weapon, now opting to simply balance the piece of wood on his finger, yet it still spun like a helicopter blade.

With each step the blade began to glow brighter and brighter, "Just a few more steps and I'll be within striking distance then... I'll show him just how strong this sword really is. He will regret underestimating me!"

"Now!" Once she saw that Naruto was close enough to be in her attack range, she immediately leaped forward making sure that her reach was long that even if her opponent jumps back, he would still be at least gravely injured.

She smirked in victory as she swung her sword horizontally. "And now, taste the power of GOD'S WRATH!" She bellowed.

As the blade neared its target, Xenovia could only watch slowly in fascination as the stick Naruto had been spinning immediately stopped its rotation as Naruto firmly grasped it in his hand, looking her dead in the eyes with the same cold and disappointed look he'd given Irina. She could see the resemblance with her Guardian/mentor's faint yet arctic smile with equally frigid gaze which normally follows with a lesson with her longtime and frequent second mentor, Pain.

"Funny thing about Wrath is…" Naruto's voice shook her out of her thoughts. She looked in front and saw… nothing. "it makes your attacks sloppy, predictable and most importantly..." His voice trailed on as the panic and paranoia shook her within.

Before she could even look around, a sharp pain shot from her wrist all throughout her arm, causing her grip on the sword to weaken and the blade to slowly slip through her gradually numbing fingers.

"Easily—" a voice behind her said.

She would've looked behind but In that instance, the weapon which had been pulsing with massive amounts of holy energy, enough to slice through 5 meters of trees, had fallen towards the ground.

"—Exploitable."

To Xenovia's immense horror, a powerful light was released, as the energy unspent in the unfinished strike was discharged in the ground causing it to rupture and dirt to fly in every direction, Xenovia herself was flown backwards into a nearby tree.

The solid thud of her body hitting the hard oak resounded through the woods as Irina watched in shock. She muttered a light gasp of pain as she coughed small amounts of blood from the impact, with her eyes barely open she looked at Naruto. The old warrior looked upon the weapon his opponent had dropped with intrigue, as the blade was now sticking out in the middle of a crater one could fit a large dumpster or small car in.

"The problem you have with your weapon is that you rely too heavily on its destructive power and not enough on your own. You thought I was underestimating you but in the end you were just overestimating yourself. You could've safely contained that energy, however, in your haste and eagerness to strike me down immediately, disregarded your own safety and how to properly utilize your weapon. Even if I didn't disarm you midway slash, I would have ducked— which i did— therefore dodging the attack wholly, with it's range and destructive power overpassing me completely." He spoke as Xenovia looks up in silence.

He continued, "You wield a massive blade, which means the build-up speed of the attack is noticeably slower without the use of gravity to accelerate which is the standard strategy with heavy weapons such as yours. If you did a downward slash then even if it misses, it could have damaged me in the same way you were, being thrown back by the sheer destructive power you put in your own weapon. The reason I was able to defeat you here was because, while your sword was stronger, mine was quicker and more maneuverable. There is also the fact that since the start of our little lesson, I can already see the end result, I knew exactly where to strike on your arm to turn all that power against you and that was all that was needed to defeat you."

He knelt down to her level as Xenovia listened to his every word in daze, "You have a legendary weapon only a few has the honor to wield and yet you held on it as you had held on your faith, completely blind, controlled and guided by it. Take that away and all… even yourself would see how blind you truly are and that in and of itself is why you should never rely on a weapon alone."

He raised her chin with his fingers as he lectured, "You must be the master of your weapon, never allow the weapon to master you. Don't just follow it, hear it so that your may understand it. Don't just control it, work with it so that the sword may trust you as you would trust it. Do you understand?" He asked Xenovia with a smile to which she just dumbfoundedly nodded.

Both Xenovia and Irina couldn't even think straight, as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. The two of them had come to Japan armed with some of the strongest weapons in history, fully confident that they could handle any challenge that came their way, even the supposed Fallen Angel thief, after all they had eliminated their fair shares of those angels that fallen out of God's grace. But less than a few days there, this stranger, with nothing but a pair of ordinary sticks, managed to humiliate them despite their training, talent and more importantly the legendary Excaliburs the Church has bestowed upon them. More that that, he'd done so with such ease, and that was what truly unsettled the girls. They had fought against masters before, Griselda more than others and had been defeated by them many times. Yet there was something different about this man, from his posture, to the very aura he emitted. They wondered how they didn't pick that up from the first time they met. It wasn't magical power nor spiritual power. It was clear he possesses power beyond them to the point they couldn't even see the bottom of that endless pit of pure martial prowess… it wasn't a type of energy but more like an aura of experience and proficiency. it was as if he was on a completely different plane of existence from even their mentor's, top exorcists of the whole church from every branch and order.

"J-just who are you exactly?! You know more about combat then you let on, s-simply the fact you know what the Excalibur fragments are proves you're no ordinary man! so answer me just who are you?!" Xenovia stuttered out in demand.

Naruto merely looked at Xenovia with a casual glance, before looking at Excalibur Destruction. Without even hold back, he wrapped his hand around the blade and…

Irina and Xenovia's breathe hitched.

...like King Arthur before him, easily unsheathed the mighty sword from the earth, unburdened by it's weight or power, both girls only able to look upon the majestic sight in shock.

With a few test swings Naruto looked upon Xenovia, with a gaze that told her all she needed to know, "Let's just say I'm an... old soldier who's seen more combat than anyone ever should and I try my best to prevent pointless bloodshed if I can. And passing on a few bits of information as well, just to help from time to time." As he spoke he tossed the Excalibur back to Xenovia, who managed to catch the sword by it's handle as Naruto walked up to the two, focusing his gaze on Irina, who shrunk under his stare.

Without a word, he easily pulled his other makeshift sword from the tree, allowing Irina the freedom to fall to her knees and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Naruto promptly began walking away, neither girl able to get a single word out, thankfully Naruto was able to let out some parting words, "Don't be too discouraged, you are both perfectly capable swordsmen for your age— and trust me, i've seen worse, far, far worse. You can only grow from this experience, as you should. Every defeat is a lesson another step to attain victory, unless of course, when you either fail to learn from it or well... you die... Just remember what you learned here today."

He stopped walking for a second, with Xenovia actually attempting to stand and trying to find some words to say to the ancient warrior, yet couldn't. Her thoughts also quickly died as Naruto turned his head, revealing a bright and radiant smile on his face, completely contrasting his serious and cold demeanor from before.

"It was an honest pleasure meeting you girls, I've been having a somewhat tiring day and this was a pretty fun way to entertain myself. Hopefully we can have an actual fight after you've polished your skills some more to the point where you could actually hold your ground, I'd be happy to give you another lesson. Till then, Jaa ne."

In a single red flash he was gone, leaving the two girls frozen in place, unable to say a word to each other. Xenovia however, who had managed to stand up prior, now found her knees quaking and quickly returned to the ground, feeling as though a massive weight had been pressing down upon her. A mixture of fear and awe was pulsing through her body as her heart was beating faster, "Those eyes, it was like staring into an ancient text. Inherent wisdom and power beyond comprehension, hidden behind a simple visage."

Looking at the area in which the warrior once stood, Xenovia unintentionally tightened the grip of her sword, with its blade glowing brightly again, "Those were the eyes of a true master of the blade. One for whom the sword is not a weapon, but one with them, as if their very soul was that of swords. To receive even a praise from someone like that is a great honor."

Using her sword, the Exorcist managed to stand again, despite her legs still shaking, Irina similarly managing to rise again, "We will meet again and I will take your words to heart."

Quickly turning her attention to Irina and adopting a deadpan expression at the sight of her partner now gently stroking her hair as if it were an injured pet, "Sadly it seems Irina might have missed a little bit of your lesson... master." She quickly shook off any shame she might have been feeling and grabbed the pigtailed exorcist by the collar of her bodysuit.

"Eeeep! Hey! Xenovia, stop that, you're choking meeee….." Irina complained.

"We've spent too much time on this distraction, we need to start making real progress and gather some intel on the stolen excalibur fragments."

Irina quickly managed to pull herself free, pouting at Xenovia's violent display, "I know I know, but first can we stop by my old friend's house, you promised we'd do that back when we first got here."

"After what happened with the painting, you really expect me to let you guide us into another misadventure?"

"Hey! you made the promise before that happened and… that's not the point! Anyway this'll be different, I know for a fact Issei still lives in the same house as he did when we were still kids so we can't possibly get lost!"

"That ditzy and airheaded face could've fooled me…" She thought "And yet I'm still not even remotely confident in your directional abilities."

"Too bad, you promised me and swore to God you'd honor that promise, so we're going and that's that." Xenovia actually had to keep herself from swearing at the mention of that promise, while Irina smugly smiled at her apparent victory.

"If there was ever a time our most benevolent God would give me a chance to break a promise said in his name, this would probably be it." Xenovia thought as she asked her companion, "Does he even remember you?"

"Of course he will…" Irina pondered, "...Well probably…"

Xenovia paused, incredulous look on her face. "Probably?"

"...Well… when we were still children...I used to be more… erm… tomboyish…"

"What…?"

-Scene Change-

After his encounter with the two exorcists, the Horseman saw fit to remain in the woods for a few days, comfortable to sit and wait for Ophis's next order. He knew she'd come eventually, and until then he was content to simply sit and wait.

"Those girls really were a pleasant distraction... certainly more enjoyable than meeting with Famine… and that Gremory girl… Then again so was Custer's Last Stand, a brief bit of entertainment."

The Horseman casually made his way through the forest, taking in the quiet serenity of the nature that surrounded him, calming what little rage still resided within him. Yet there was still a lingering thought that he could not as easily quell

"It's only a matter of time before I have to step in again with little red. I can tell something big is going to happen… and Ophis is somehow involved..." He paused to take a glance through the trees that otherwise blocked his view of the town.

Since his arrival Naruto had been able to easily keep track of the numerous energy signatures present in the city. Most of them were nothing to brag about, with the Gremory girl being strong enough to be noticeable but still barely a spark, even her queen was stronger than her.

Currently, only a handful of people in the immediate area were of any significance. One of which was Azazel, whom the Horseman knew was too lazy and preoccupied with his own interests to cause trouble, while the other was a different story.

The Horseman decided to stop for a moment as he took a seat at a nearby tree branch, allowing himself to concentration his sensing abilities, and the energies quickly began to flare across the city like signal fires.

"Kokabiel…" An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. "I knew that blood-crazy bird couldn't keep his ass in the nest. And wouldn't you know it, Azazel is completely useless as usual, content on just watching his wayward underling trying to start something…..Why is it so hard for the Three Faction Leaders to keep their people in check? Zealots, traitors, warmongers..."

The Horseman continued to sit as he debated what course of action to take, seemingly unaware of a pair of eyes peering at him from the shadows… At least that's what the observer would have liked to say, if he didn't quickly feel Naruto's eyes trained directly upon, peering through all the obstacles around them.

"If that is your idea of being sneaky, you need to learn again. My sensory abilities are second to none, even when I'm not giving it my all, so trying to sneak up on me is pretty pointless."

"!"

The Rider sat up with a more serious and intimidating posture, all the while cracking the fingers in his right hand.

"While I'm not particularly bothered by your presence, I'm just not fond of being spied on, especially with all the crap I've had to deal with in the last couple of days."

"..." As if in conjunction with the whole forest, the spectator went silent

"Silence, huh...? Normally, people like you get drowned in a seas of weapons..."He quickly closed his hand into a fist, "However, I recently had an encounter with some people that actually put me in a better mood and lucky for you I'm not the type of guy who goes in guns blazing unless I have to. So instead…"

In a split second his fist was raised and before the observer could blink his hand proceeded to shift forms into what appeared to be orange smoke, which blew by the foliage the stalker hid behind.

The cloud quickly engulfed the plants and Naruto himself watched as they rapidly began to shrivel up and die. With a quick flick of the wrist his hand promptly returned to it's original shape, as he gazed into the smoke.

"That's Agent Orange encase you're wondering. Nice little chemical defoliant the US used during Vietnam. Cleared entire forests with the stuff and that's without giving it a little enhancement."

The unfortunate foliage that had been hit by the cloud, quickly withered and rotted instantly as the cloud hung over them. What few tree remained standing now resemble twigs, barely able to hold their miniscule weight, as the cloud slowly dissipated.

Naruto briefly looked over the destruction, with a hard gaze, "A weapon that, with enough quantity, would be capable of wiping out entire ecosystems in minutes. Not something I'm crazy about using, but it's good for playing hide and seek." His eyes quickly darted to another nearby tree where the spy had retreated to.

Of course, there were more useful or even more destructive way of rooting the rat out. But he opted for the quicker and more subtle method that didn't require making the landscape resemble the Western Front?

His hand quickly turned into its gaseous state, ready to fire again at his spy, "Now we can play this game of cat and mouse and end up with you being captured and more than a good chunk of these woods being destroyed. But, I'm pretty sure you don't want that anymore than I do, so let's be civil and talk… savvy?"

There was silence in the air, though he could tell the spy was plenty fazed by his little display if the rustling in the brush was anything to go by. A second later a black house cat with bright yellow eyes appeared out of the trees, meowing at his presence.

Said cat quickly jumped back in fright as a loud gunshot rang through the forest, with a scorched hole in the ground forming not three inches from where the feline had been standing.

"Yeah… a normal cat managing to avoid being gassed by jumping place to place in rapid succession... don't think you can fool me with that innocent little animal bull crap." Naruto currently held a smoking, red, flintlock in one hand, finger still on the trigger. "So how about you stop this extremely poor attempt as espionage, before I decide to test out the rest of the firearms from the 16th century."

The cat seemed all too willing to comply, her form quickly grew in size, standing on two feet and eventually formed into an extremely voluptuous woman clad in a black kimono with red highlights, a yellow obi sash and black sandals. Her eyes matched her original cat form, golden slitted eyes. Her long, wavy black hair fell on her shoulder and chest as her tail snaked it's way out from under the dress.

"My, my, and here I thought you warrior types believed in Chivalry. Pointing a weapon like that at a young innocent maiden like me, ufufu, how shameful."

She attempted to follow her comment with a seductive gaze, only for her tail and ears to stiffens at the sound of yet another explosion near her feet. The Horseman now holding a Blunderbuss in place of the original flintlock. She didn't even see him change his weapon...

"Yeah funny thing is... that whole chivalry concept? It pretty much died out with the Dark Ages. I don't give a shit what gender you are, you pull any kind of crap with me and I'll get medieval on you all the same, i'm not sexist regarding violence."

With another flick of the wrist his weapon retreated into his body, as he stared down the attempted seductress, "So did Ophis send you or are you just following me to test out the whole nine lives theory?"

The cat only offered a pout as her response, obviously not happy that her usual seduction shtick didn't work. "Ophis was right when she mentioned how trigger happy you are, you really need to loosen up, otherwise life isn't any fun." She leaned forward, showing her very generous bust as she smiled lasciviously. "I, for one, know something more fun to do with your big guns, purrr~"

The expression on Naruto's face could only be described as 'what the fuck?' before molding into one of disgust at the mention of Ophis. "Enough jokes, what does she want?"

Her frown turned into a pout as she shook off her playful demeanor, her expression became more serious, "Well, she heard about your little encounter with the Gremory girl earlier, while she thought it was satisfactory for the moment, she had hoped you'd be a little more brutal."

"I had her entire peerage assault her and threatened to blow her up with a mini nuclear bomb. What did Ophis want me to do, be like Caligula and force her to drink blood from one of her friend's skulls?"

The neko merely shrugged, "Well it doesn't really matter right now, since you've still got plenty of opportunities. In fact, according to one of our insiders she'll soon be coming to blows with a particularly powerful individual soon. Perfect chance to make an impression."

"You mean Kokabiel, Mr. I-won't-rest-until-my-wings-are-completely-drenched-in-the-blood-of-my-enemies. Yeah I'm aware of what he's up to, and it's no surprise he wants to stir up trouble. Guy's more blood hungry than Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler… combined. At least those guy had some goal or justification in mind, all Kokabiel wants in war is to curb his boredom."

"..."

The Horseman's face hardened along with his fist, taking a quick look into Kokabiel's motivation, "And I'm not gonna let the birdbrain rip this world apart simply because he doesn't have the forethought to get a hobby like normal people.

Kuroka just shrugged.

The Horseman sat up, turning his attention to the school, sensing the power clash that was soon to happen in the coming days. "So let me guess, Ophis is hoping I'll step in and maybe cause a little havoc, enough to get the Factions to completely zero in on me."

"That would be the desired result." She admitted.

With an annoyed sigh the Horseman stood up from where he'd been sitting, dusting himself off before cracking his neck to loosen himself out, "Guess I shouldn't complain too much about this. Might not be fond of Ophis but at least this time I'm taking a serious crack at someone who's been begging for a nice nuke between their eyes."

Without a word the Horseman quickly shifted into his red mist form and flew off towards the school.

-Chapter End-

Okay and there you have it. Naruto has met with the exorcists and now has his sights set on showing Kokabiel the true meaning of War. How will it go, well we'll find out eventually.

Can't promise when I'll update again as my schedule is pretty much study, study study, with some time to voice act and exercise, but I'll still try to make time.

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and Have a Merry Christmas. Please leave reviews and keep them Constructive. Things like death threats, insults and simply saying I suck will be ignored because of course they will be.

Agurra out.