AN: Just a short little something I whipped up. Might update later, depends on how interested everyone is. Inspired by Rifat's A Demon Misplaced. Definitely check him out if you haven't already.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto-verse, nor the Highschool DxD-verse.
Rias Gremory liked to write. Loved to, in fact, and amongst the thousands of words she'd written, curled up in one of the many secret rooms of the Gremory Estate, she liked to think it was her little secret. Nobody knew. Not Sona. Not her father, nor her mother. And definitely not her brother.
Not even Akeno, her sister in all but blood. She knew what kind of a tease the sadistic Queen was. To most, Akeno was the perfect woman. Peerless in her beauty. Exalted for her smile. But Rias knew the real Akeno, and the real Akeno would never let her live it down if she found out her King had a fascination for 18th century Gothic prose.
So no. Nobody knew. And Rias Gremory, the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess, would keep it this way. Because if anybody found out, so help them God.
-xxx-
On most days, Rias liked to think she enjoyed English class. It was slotted right between break and lunch, so there was something to look forward to coming in and out of the class. It was held in the best part of campus, otherwise known as the abortorium. And Kai-sensei, a bubbly new teacher that probably had between ten to twenty shots of caffeine every single morning, was simply amazing. She talked about language like it was a lily in a field of daffodils. A peerless star in the dead of night.
Rias loved the class, not only for its subject, but for its raw, human nature. Which, if she was being perfectly honest, was a little ironic considering she was a devil. But, that was the point. That's why she loved Japan.
Here, as a student of Kuoh Academy, she was no longer the sister of the legendary Crimson Satan. She was no longer the heir apparent of one of the great 72 Pillars. She was Rias Gremory. First year college student. One of the two Great Ladies of Kuoh. And most importantly, herself.
Rias hid a smile beneath her hands.
Now that was cool.
She'd have to turn it into something a little later tonight. A poem, maybe? A short ten-pager about a heroine who fled to find herself?
Before she could jot down the lines, a soft voice crackled in her ear. Her familiar, bringing along a message.
"Buchou." Ah, Koneko. She'd have recognized the monotonous voice anywhere. "The pervert smells like a dragon. Akeno-senpai and I confirmed the Fallen is still dating him. She'll probably make her move soon." There was a slight pause. "We should make ours too."
The message was short and blunt. Much like its speaker. Koneko was never one for flowery descriptions, that she knew. She got the job done, and that was all that mattered.
Rias felt her smile widen.
Her rook knew to plant a flyer on the boy. One Issei Hyodou. A massive pervert. A clumsy fool. And if intelligence was to be believed, the wielder of one of the thirteen Longinus.
Rias wasn't cruel, by any nature of the word. She just knew what she wanted.
In this case, what she wanted was power. Power to be free from the shackles of her family. Power to be from a horrible marriage contract. Power to be herself.
And if it took manipulating a simpleton to get this power, well, it was a win-win for them both. From what she knew about the boy, he liked boobs. The bigger the better. And what was the value of the flesh against an entire lifespan of freedom?
She nodded, pleased with herself.
Yes. With his power, she would be free.
Rias quickly jotted down a couple lines in her notebook, penciling them in as discretely as possible. A giddy feeling bounced about in her chest, filling her with the urge to write more. To create more. Finally. This was her chance to write her own script. This was her chance to control her own fate.
"Gremory-san?" Kai-sensei's voice only added fuel to the sun.
Rias stood and gave the woman a beatific smile. She loved it when Kai-sensei called on her.
"Yes, sensei?"
Kai-sensei smiled back and tapped the projector screen with her pointer. "It's your turn to read, Gremory-san. Would you like to start us on Dylan Thomas?"
And when Rias's eyes lit up, half the class swooned.
"I would love to."
She grabbed her textbook and flipped to the correct page. Viridian eyes the color of seafoam found the first line. She felt her smile grow wider. Dylan Thomas had written many poems in his life. But this, this was one of her favorites.
"Do not go gentle into that good night," she began, letting the words flow across her tongue. "Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
She paused for effect.
Poetry was always like this. With a rhythm, with a beat. It danced along like fingers over an instrument, and she was its mouthpiece. She took a deep breath and started again. "Though wise men at their end know dark is right-"
The door opened.
Rias looked up, a little annoyed that somebody had decided to interrupt her right before the best part. The smile fell from her lips almost as quickly as it had come.
"Ah, Uzumaki-kun!" Kai-sensei made her way to the front, beaming at the newcomer. "Do you have a pass from the-?"
"No," said the blonde.
Kai-sensei's smile faltered, and Rias glared.
On most days, she liked to think she enjoyed English class. Today was not one of those days.
-xxx-
Blue eyes stared blankly at the young woman saying his name. Kai-sensei, a transfer from a distant prefecture. He could tell she was left-handed, from the way she positioned herself and set up her desk. Basic shinobi training had taught him that. He could tell she was nervous. Basic shinobi training had taught him that too.
"Ano, Uzumaki-kun?" she asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly.
"Sorry," he said. "I'll go sit down."
Without waiting for a reply, Naruto spun on his heels and strode towards the back of the room. Half the class glared at the bags under his eyes. Half of him couldn't care less. And the other half, what used to be a titanic mass of chakra and shitty sarcasm, was hauntingly silent.
Naruto slid into his chair and pull out his notebook.
Just a few days ago, he'd gotten a letter that'd threatened expulsion if he missed more than a third of the school year. Unfortunately for him, that meant skipping school wasn't an option anymore.
He sighed.
If the situation didn't involve him, he might've even laughed.
Naruto Uzumaki, the Hero of the Hidden Leaf, brought to his knees by a single automated message. And all because he missed school.
It shouldn't have meant anything.
Not at all.
He could've kept going, living in his shitty apartment, with his shitty job at a shitty restaurant, all the while searching relentlessly for a way back. Should've, if he was being honest, not came to school in the first place because he needed to work on the seal that would take him home.
Heeding the student council's warning was to spit in the face of that hope. Actually coming here affirmed what he knew already.
He sighed again.
In retrospect, perhaps it really was a little funny. Because Naruto Uzumaki, the man who laughed at fate, had finally bent his neck. And now, it wasn't him doing the laughing.
-xxx-
Rias liked to consider herself a kind person. She helped old ladies cross the street. She tutored her fellow students in various subjects. She even donated to the local church (but only when they offered Girl Scout cookies in return).
She didn't think she was capable of despise, until she met Naruto Uzumaki.
They only shared one class together, and it only took one class for her to realize something. There was something very, very wrong with him.
It wasn't his mannerisms, for he was polite enough even though she knew he probably wasn't. It wasn't his abrasive delinquent looks, for he was handsome enough in a roguish kind of way. It wasn't the way he composed himself. Always slouching, never focused. She couldn't even hold that against him because he somehow passed every single test without a modicum of studying or try.
No, it was his eyes.
His hideous, blue eyes.
In them, she could see the spite he held for the world. She could see the raw anger and hatred that bubbled beneath the veneer of a regular human teenager. It was men like him that had brought the world to ruin in the past. Men who refused to let go of their bitterness. Men who contained their ire in their soul.
Something had happened to Naruto Uzumaki, and whatever happened had turned him into… this. A monster behind a mask. A devil wearing human skin.
It was funny, because she used to liken the word devil to a compliment.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
She watched as he slid into his chair with a practiced ease. She glared as he took out his notebook. He looked so disarming in the moment. So normal. And when she caught another glimpse of those horrible eyes, she fought down the urge to destroy him.
They reminded her of a certain somebody else. She clenched her fists, fingernails digging crescent shaped welts into previously unblemished skin. Grayfia would've admonished her; Rias couldn't bring herself to care right now.
Because Naruto Uzumaki and Riser Phenex both shared the same eyes.
Cruel. Vindictive.
And while Riser wore his intentions like a coat of armor, Naruto hid his behind the charm of an ordinary college student.
She wasn't sure which was worse.
-xxx-
The world hated him. Or at least, despised him enough to irk him at every turn.
He knew there were supernatural forces in this world as well; he could feel their energy. Thankfully, they ignored him for the most part. And the few unlucky creatures that sought to pick a fight never even had a chance before they found a kunai in their throat.
To the bigger fish, he was just another human.
To the small fry, however…
Naruto resisted the urge to sigh again.
He'd been sitting in the park, watching the sun set, when out of the blue, a couple walked by. That wasn't anything new, of course, except for the murderous intent the girl exuded. He watched as she whispered a few words into the boy's ears before two great wings unfurled from her back, as black as nightmare. It was a pitiful show of dominance. But to the boy, who she'd pinned against a water fountain with a spear of light, it was probably overwhelming.
He could smell blood, even from where he sat.
Underneath a great oak tree, his silhouette was overshadowed by its leaves and branches. He'd made sure to mask his energy. He made no move to interfere. It wasn't his place. It quite literally wasn't his world.
He watched as the lady with wings twirled about her spear of light. Incandescent and… pink? He watched as she gutted the boy like a fish, running her weapon through him like a hot knife through butter. He watched as he fell, limp and twitching into the fountain. Blood, the color of the distant sunset, inked into the surrounding waters.
He shook his head.
In another world, the Hero of the Hidden Leaf wouldn't have hesitated to interfere. In another world, the crow lady wouldn't have gotten past her third syllable before he ripped her apart with a well-placed Rasengan. In another world, that boy, whoever he was, wouldn't have died. But that was another world. Here, he was simply Naruto Uzumaki. Here, he couldn't bring himself to care.
He got up to make his leave.
He still had a seal to complete, after all.
Two steps in, and his senses were already screaming.
"Hello, human."
Naruto sighed.
The world didn't just hate him. It absolutely abhorred him.
He turned around, his face the perfect expression of boredom. Maybe if he appeared clueless, she would ignore him. If not…
The glowing tip of her spear found its way millimeters before his throat.
He fought down the urge to rip her limb from limb.
"Hello," he said.
The heat of her weapon singed the hairs on his neck. He leaned slightly back. The crow sneered, unholy wings flapping behind her.
"Do you have a death wish, or are you just that stupid?" Her voice was like oiled honey. Slick and cold and above all, wrong. It didn't belong to a face like that.
"Maybe both," he said.
The crow narrowed her eyes, an action that was almost too human. She pressed the spear closer to his neck; it stopped a hair's breadth away. He leaned back a little more. It really was uncomfortable.
"I am Raynare," she declared. "The Scourge of Dusk. And-"
"I don't care," he said. "Please, go away."
Raynare's eyes widened in anger. He saw her strike an eternity before she did.
Her grip would tighten on the spear. He saw her muscles tense. In a few seconds, her killing intent would saturate the air, telling him exactly where she would aim and how much force she'd put into the thrust. It would pierce his throat and end his life in one fell swoop. His death would be prolonged and painful, choking on blood and spit and singed sinew. He even saw her triumphant smile at the end of it all.
So when he snapped her spear like a twig, her expression was only vaguely satisfying. He smiled the only smile he couldn't fake. A bloodthirsty sneer.
"Raynare," he purred. "I probably won't remember you."
-xxx-
She came to him moments before he died.
It was his last wish: to see a beautiful woman, and Rias had every intention of granting it. She watched as the life faded from his eyes, watched as his heart stopped pumping and his chest fell one final time.
Finally.
She smiled.
Things were going according to plan.
She withdrew the necessary Evil Pieces and placed them on his chest. With this, she would harness his power for herself. With this, she would finally be free.
"Should we call the police?"
"No need, I'm-" She whirled around, her Power of Destruction flaring. Verdant eyes searched frantically for the source of the voice before landing on a familiar face. Then, they narrowed.
"Uzumaki," she growled.
"Hello," he said.
She glared at him, mind whirring. How? How? She had kept her senses up, raised barriers upon barriers that would alert her for any unfriendly forces. This moment was supposed to be the crowning of a month's worth of planning. And now, he was ruining it, just like he ruined everything else.
The blonde looked her over once. She fought down the urge to burn him alive.
"So, that's pretty cool," he gestured vaguely at her hands.
Rias clenched her fists, her glare never once leaving his form. She took a deep breath and forced a smile.
"Yes," she said. "It's the Power of Destruction. The birthright of my clan."
The blonde cocked his head.
"Right," he said. "I meant the chess pieces."
AN2: Leave a review please!
