"No!"
"Aw, come on, Naruto. What's the worst that's going to happen?"
"That stupid Gender-Swap Raygun (1) of yours says otherwise!"
Crossing his arms in defiance, Naruto Uzumaki held his ground against his perverted teacher. Laughing sheepishly, Azazel rubbed the back of his head as thoughts of his greatest invention came to mind. The Gender-Swap Raygun had been a product of his perverse mind, and boy did it come out great. Inspired by Naruto's very own... Unique illusions, Azazel had the brilliant idea of creating a weapon that would swap the gender of any individual, as the name suggested.
"Kokabiel was fine in the end!" Azazel replied, "He turned back into a man..."
The unconvincing statement did nothing as Naruto responded with a turned head. Running a hand through his blond bangs, Azazel gave the intransigent blond another pleading look. Sighing in defeat, the Governor General of Grigori decided to use a different form of persuasion. Unclasping his hands together and allowing a smirk to crawl onto his visage, Azazel untangled his crossed limbs and stood at his full height. A head taller than Naruto, the Fallen Angel's youthful countenance did little to hide his plan from Naruto.
"Why do you want me to attend Kuoh Academy in the first place?" Naruto asked with a raised brow, "Aren't their Fallen Angels already sniffing that place out for Sacred Gear wielders?"
"Exactly."
Spotting the confusion slowly materializing on Naruto's visage, Azazel pushed to explain.
"While I did send Raynare and her little group to look for a possible Longinus, I have reason to believe they are up to something else. The peace between the Three Factions right now is thin and fragile. I don't want Raynare and her group starting anything with the Devils," Azazel explained, "And that's where you come in. Besides, you need to get out more. Lavinia is going to scold you if she hears about her precious Na-kun turning into a hermit."
"I am not a hermit!" Naruto exclaimed, annoyance heavy in his voice, "And don't call me that!"
Though the mention of Lavinia had managed to persuade the blond somewhat. Lavinia Reni (2), a magician from the organization Grauzauberer or more commonly known as the wielder of the Absolute Demise (3), was someone Naruto feared above all. Having grown alongside the zealous woman, she had became quite an influential figure in his life. Perhaps the most. Her sisterly desires had shaped him, and disappointing her would have been quite a blow to his heart.
"She still wants me to go to school doesn't she?" Naruto groaned.
"Yup~"
Frowning at the giddy smile gracing Azazel's beaming visage, Naruto marched out of the Fallen Angel's laboratory, grumbling under his breath.
"Na-kun, such a good boy! Always listening to big sis Lavinia!"
"Screw you old man!"
"First day of school, and you're already late. Lavinia would be disappointed, Naruto."
Withholding a sharp remark, Naruto settled on a scalding glare as he furiously attempted to tie the black ribbon around the school uniform's collar. His previous attempts had resulted in the destruction of two ribbons. The amused, almost mocking, smile Azazel wore so well on his countenance was not helping in his current endeavor either. Moments later, like all of his previous attempts, Naruto's inability to complete the bow had resulted in a loud, audible rip.
"I don't have a choice in this, do I?" Naruto asked with a final sigh.
Ignoring his pleading eyes, Azazel, allowed his grin to widen to a full blown smile as he shook his head in response.
"Now remember, no matter what happens, don't use your Longinus. I don't need to remind you of what happened last time, do I?"
"It wasn't my fault! Vali started the fight!"
"Yes, yes, now move along Na-kun you're almost an hour late."
Releasing an amused chuckle, Azazel enjoyed the frustration shrouding Naruto. Azazel continued to smile regardless of the smoldering glare Naruto was sending him. The rather childish nickname gratitude of Lavinia had been a sore subject for the young man. Though he saw it as endearing to some degree, whenever Azazel or Vali used it, the mockery in their voices always managed to wound his pride.
Sona Shitori was not happy. As the President of the Student Council, it was her duty to help the students. Possessing a strict interpretation of the school guidelines and rules, awaiting a new student who was beyond late was something she could not smile about. Alone, standing outside of the school in the courtyard, Sona's anger was obvious in her bespectacled eyes. Purple eyes ablaze, the unknown High-Class Devil remained, determined to fulfill her duties as the President of the Student Council. Even though the new student was testing her patience quite well.
"Sorry I'm late!"
Opening her eyes, Sona found herself face to face with a whiskered youth. Possessing a patch of spiky, untamed blond hair, the presumably new student's eye catching appearance immediately brought forth a wave of questions. The ever so calculative Sona, keenly eyed the new student with her thoughts speeding by. Spotting the lack of a ribbon and the new student's unbuttoned shirt, Sona's annoyance only grew.
"You're an hour late... Uzumaki-san..." Sona muttered coolly.
"Sorry bout' that! I got lost!" Naruto replied sheepishly.
Apologizing with a sloppy bow, Naruto's nervous chuckle brought Sona right out of her questioning thoughts. Turning her heels and walking straight into the school, with Naruto swiftly moving to follow.
"And these would be the classrooms, Uzumaki-san."
Taking in his new environment, Naruto nodded his head in response to the comment. The school was quite large, with numerous buildings used to house students of all ages, from all three divisions of human education system, Primary, High-School, and College. With a number of clubs traditional to the Japanese school system, Naruto found himself quite bored with the prospect of lectures in his near future.
"Uzumaki-san, let us continue the tour. Once I have shown you the athletics center then you may participate in the classes assigned by the director." Sona said, directing the young man away from the silent hall.
"Oh-ah, sure." Naruto replied.
As Sona guided him out of the building and towards a much larger on located minutes way from the main building, Naruto's eyes slightly narrowed. Having already confirmed Sona's identity as a Devil, the blond had a sinking feeling she had a mutual suspicion of him as well. Though Sona hid cautious nature well enough behind her mask of sternness, Naruto spotted cracks in the imperfect mask. Their first meeting was a big give away. Sona had, been staring far too much, and the almost unquestionable amount of glances he received only strengthened his paranoia.
Sona on the other hand was quite paranoid of the prospect of the new student having some form, any form of knowledge regarding her identity as a Devil and as the sister of the ruling Satan, Leviathan. The fragments of restrained magical energy surrounding him easily separated him from the normal humans whom attended the co-ed school.
"Look out!"
Drawing the attention of them both, Naruto and Sona turned around and saw a speeding tennis ball rushing right at them. In seconds the ball bounded through the distance separating it from Sona. Normally, Sona would have avoided the ball easily, but, she was surrounded not only by students, but a possible unknown threat. Closing her eyes in preparation for the stinging contact, Sona's anxious wait ended with no pain etched across her visage.
Thup!
Cradled in Naruto's outstretched hand was the tennis ball, inches away from Sona's face. Eyes fluttering in shock, Sona stared at the ball and then moved onto Naruto, with surprise and suspicion oozing from her purple eyes. No normal human had such a fast reaction time. Not even the most athletic ones held the ability to eliminate the distance between them and catch the speeding ball in a matter of seconds, it was truthfully and simply impossible. While somewhat thankful for the stinging pain the ball would have caused, Sona was much more concerned on the youth's identity rather than the minor annoyance the ball would have caused.
"Sorry, Kaichou! We didn't mean it!"
Blinking away her thoughts, Sona waved off the apology with a faltering smile.
"Just don't do that again." Sona said, clearly thinking of another subject.
Naruto returned the ball with a toss, praying to whatever God was willing to listen that Sona did not ponder on his actions too much. From the small number of calculating gazes he had received in the past hour, Naruto had no doubt Sona would have already found something strange about him. Frankly, at this point, Naruto had no doubt Sona had already associated him with the supernatural world.
"Uzumaki-san, I thank you..." Sona began, a calculating look forming across her features, "That was most helpful..."
Mentally slapping himself for the blunder, Naruto cursed Azazel with all his might.
Chapter end
(1) Gender-Swap Raygun: It is an invention created by Azazel that possesses the ability to swap any individuals gender, it was later sealed due to its inappropriate capabilities.
(2) Lavinia Reni: A member of the organization Grauzauberer, a group apart of the Magicians Association. She is also the possessor of the Absolute Demise.
(3) Absolute Demise: A Low-Tier Longinus that allows the user to manipulate the element of Ice.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter. This is my first story so, please give me plenty of comments. I will take all forms of criticism, as I really need it since it is my first time on this site. I welcome messages as well... After I figure out how to use it that is. Please leave a review on what you think of it and thank you for reading.