So…yeah. I probably shouldn't be taking on another story right now, considering I have two other big-ticket items (check em out if you'd like), but I can't let this idea just rot away. Anyway, here's another Naruto DxD xover. I recently watched DxD BoRN and…well it's great and all (seriously I'd recommend it), but I feel the characters are becoming a bit one-dimensional. Don't get me wrong, the jealous Rias and the daddy-issue Akeno are magnificent! I just feel as though Koneko's issue was resolved far too quickly, the whole 'false-issei' 'controlled rias' thing was unnecessary, and Asia is far too plain (character-wise). So, I figure why the hell not just add a bit of negative depth to certain individuals while making Naruto into a bonafied badass!

Inspiration for this story comes from a Naruto DxD xover I read with a similar opening…I can't find it right now, but I'll be sure to credit the proper individual with the basis for my story.

I've been struggling with some personal issues recently (kinda depressed), and I figure a story might help me get my mind off of certain things. Damn OCD kicks my ass every now and then, but I always recover and have a good month or two before falling back into a week of suckage…ahem. Personal shit aside, this one's kinda for me. If you're looking for the next chapter of Blonde General…yeah I haven't even started that shit. I know where I'm going, but it's hard to put it to paper…imaginary paper. Regardless, thanks for reading my story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (neither the series or the character), nor do I own Highschool DxD. Both are the property of several large anime corporations and their respective creators. Please support the official release!

Ticking Away

23 seconds…that's how long it took him to die.

Harsh breathing, panted gasps crying out in silent terror, arid pleas for salvation dotted the seemingly silent moonlit park. The only other sound within his mind was that of a muted buzz, a quiet hum that barely registered to his ears. Honestly, it might as well have been a cacophonous banshee wail, for that's all he could do at the moment, listen.

Listen as the blood pounded away in his ears, a silent bump that slowly drained away, flowing from him as though it were following the rest of his blood. Oh yes, that's right, he also experienced pain…no he didn't feel pain, he heard it, saw it, tasted it. 'Felt' isn't quite the right word to describe the hell he currently lived. Every pained breath, every broken inhale, every rushed exhale, every slight movement of his eyes, every feint taste of his own blood, everything burned. Thousands of knives took up residence within his lungs; good God it was unimaginable!

A mocking voice broke the silence, he couldn't exactly register what was said, no the constant buzzing didn't exactly allow room for petty speech at the moment. If he had to guess, it was probably that incredibly sexy crow-lady that was talking…the lady that Hyoudo's girlfriend had transformed into. The bitch who stabbed the pervert. The snarky bitch who…

22 seconds

'…who killed me' he realized. 'I…I'm dying, aren't I?'

The realization numbed him, a blessing, but not one he'd be able to truly appreciate. The physical pain was gone, if only for a moment, but now a whole new hell had been laid bare before him. He, Uzumaki Naruto, the progeny of the late Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, was now dying.

'Help…' A silent plea for assistance, for a chance at recovery went unheard.

21 seconds

Uzumaki Naruto had been a bright young lad, if a bit rebellious. Born the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, two of the biggest names in corporate Japan, Naruto had been raised with a veritable silver spoon within his mouth…for all of three years. Following a horrendous malfunction with Kono Corp's (his parents' company) clean-energy reactor, Naruto found himself alone, his parent's having perished in a heroic bid to evacuate employees and stall the impending explosion. The fallout of the tragedy had been irreparable: with its founders dead and the destruction of a multi-billion-dollar venture, investors in Kono Corp. pulled out, ultimately bankrupting the company and forcing the board to sell it to a friendly, compatriot company.

The young Uzumaki himself suffered further tragedy. Being taken in by a seemingly-friendly uncle and aunt, Naruto's future appeared to be in good hands. Publicly at least.

Following the first two years and the final movement of his parent's fortune into the hands of his uncle Jiraiya and aunt Tsunade, Naruto's life went straight to hell. Both individuals pissed away the massive fortune, spending money on hookers, booze, and gambling. While his treatment did not massively alter, a gradual change occurred.

Most nights he cooked his own dinner, bathed himself, entertained himself (for the maid Shizune was attending to Tsunade's needs), and finally put himself to sleep. He alone contributed to his studies, finding a means of making it to school each and every day without the assistance of his 'family.' Prior to his ninth birthday, the fortune dried up, and the hammer dropped. Without going into needlessly gritty details, Naruto's life became much worse, having been forced to work as a veritable servant for his aunt and uncle. Tsunade frequently beat him, Jiraiya actively ridiculed and demeaned the lad, both actively sabotaged his attempts at attaining knowledge, forcing him to stay home regularly in order to serve them.

His eleventh birthday had been a blessing. Jiraiya had been in a car crash, he had been declared officially brain-dead the following day. Naruto found Tsunade two hours later, unconscious with an empty whiskey bottle in one hand and an overturned bottle of pills in the other. Her coma lasted four years.

Having been freed from the whims of his oppressors, Naruto, with the aid of the protective services agents that had been assigned to the lad, was able to establish a place of permanent residence, working diligently on his studies. He'd hoped to attend the illustrious Kuoh Academy one day, having learned of the acceptance of male students.

Oh how he wished he could take that decision back.

20…19…18…

The first year had been rather difficult. Due to the quiet nature he'd developed under the 'care' of Jiraiya and Tsunade, Naruto found himself socially inept, having an increasingly difficult time relating to his fellow students. His natural good looks didn't do him any favors amongst the male population; his inability to carry on a proper conversation and regular social faux pas scaring away the female populace.

It was only when he'd befriended a young Issei Hyoudo that things had started to turn around. While isolated due to his awkwardness, a shining beacon had eventually breached the veil of his solitude; Issei Hyoudo had knocked him on his ass, the pervert having been running from an irate kendo club. Following a quick apology and a poor attempt at hiding in a locker, Issei stood ready to receive his beating…only for an unlikely ally to reveal himself.

Naruto defended Issei, offering to take on his punishment. The kendo club promptly beat them both.

Bruised and battered, blue-eyes met brown, and a friendship formed.

The latter half of Naruto and Issei's first year was a wondrous time for the blonde. Having a friend allowed him to express himself and form an actual outward personality. While Issei did not receive as much as the blonde had within the relationship, he would not trade this newfound friendship for anything…

…well anything that wasn't female.

17…16

Naruto loved Issei, plain and simple. Finding in the brown-haired youth a brother of sorts. A fellow male who shared several passions and misfortunes, the leading of which pertained to their inability to woo the opposite sex. Issei was Naruto's brother in all but blood, a sentiment shared amongst the Hyoudo family which had taken to the Uzumaki. Naruto might as well have been a member of the unique household.

It was only natural that Naruto followed Issei on his date.

Sure, he was jealous, that went without saying. An incredibly cute girl had chosen Issei over him…granted Naruto had never seen the girl before (neither had Issei damnit!), but the fact remained: Issei had one-upped him. Still, Naruto had a bad feeling, an uneasy sensation had formed at the pit of his stomach. He didn't trust the girl, not completely. So, he decided to tail the couple on their date, both to cheer his 'brother' on and to make sure nothing went wrong.

Oh God how everything went wrong.

"Would you die for me?" Que an incredibly sexy transformation from a cute girl into a sexy crow-woman in latex S&M gear, some rambling about how the Hyoudo should blame God for something or another…really Naruto didn't exactly feel up to remembering it all at the moment, especially considering the giant-fucking-whole in his chest. No, the angel, crow, bitch—let's stick with bitch for now—the bitch's discourse wasn't exactly important.

Not after she pulled out a fucking light-spear!

Nothing prepared Naruto for that moment. He'd ran—damned if he didn't run—straight in the wrong direction. He should have fled, should have left Issei there to die…why the fuck hadn't he? It was as if there was something inside, some piece of genetic coding that refused to allow him to leave his friend.

So he ran. He flew. He tackled. He felt pain. Unimaginable pain.

15, 14, 13…

What did that bastard do? He stood there, looking at Naruto's very own gushing, broken body! Naruto was sure that the bitch had something snarky to say—she seemed the type to boast. Honestly, he didn't give a damn, as long as Issei got aw—

LEAVE IT TO THE DUMBASS TO GET HIS ASS KILLED STARING AT A PAIR OF TITS! Well, Naruto liked to think that Issei was staring at the bitch's breasts, a lingering sense of comedy actively denying his current situation. Digression aside, Issei was stabbed, the bitch mocked them (probably), she flew off, and now the two boys were dying.

Just as Naruto felt the darkness begin to creep into his vision, a flaring red luminescence revealed an angel to his bedraggled eyes. Red flowing hair, piercing emerald eyes, a figure that would put Aphrodite to shame…

Rias Gremory…

12…11

'Help.' Desperation, an unbelievable feeling of hope, perhaps relief of a beautiful final visage, whatever it was Naruto felt life return to him for the briefest of moments…

It lessened when the red-head turned to Issei first. It was selfish, something he normally would have kicked himself for, but Naruto wished she would have addressed him first. If could save them, then he was felt he deserved priority, considering he's had a giant hole in him a bit longer than his compatriot.

10…

Muted words, a flash of red, that was all Naruto could glean. With a tremendous effort, the Uzumaki shifted his head 180 degrees, eyes widening at what he found. The blood covered Issei lay there, unconscious, but sans a giant hole. A slight movement of his chest denoted that he was breathing, alive.

9…

Rias stood from a crouched position, turning in his direction. Hope filled Naruto's very being. He was saved, this woman—this angel—had saved Issei! She could save him too!

Sapphire met emerald.

Naruto's world crashed.

8…

"I'm sorry," her tone denoted sadness…but it didn't exactly reach her eyes. She was remorseful yes, but not overly so, that much Naruto could tell. "He…he used up all eight of my pawn pieces. I am not at liberty to waste any of the more powerful pieces." Naruto didn't know what the fuck she was talking about, but he could read between the lines. She could save him, but wouldn't…

Rather, she couldn't afford to "waste" whatever it was that saved Issei upon him.

7…

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep him safe." As terrible as it sounds, it really didn't make Naruto feel a bit better. Did he not deserve to live as well? Had he not thrown his life away just so that Issei might live? Had he not earned himself another chance, seeing as Issei wasted the one Naruto had died to give him?!

6…

Rias effortlessly picked up Issei, before vanishing in a flash of red. Naruto was alone, in the dark, covered in his own blood, bleeding out, silently pleading for Rias to return. To give him another chance.

'Somebody…please…save me.' A mute plea heard by no one.

5…

Fine…

4…

Fuck them.

3…

He didn't need them…didn't need their help. A tremendous effort resulted in Naruto rolling over, falling face-first into a dryer section of grass. A trickle of blood, stemming from the pool created by Issei trickled forth, crawling toward the blonde.

2…

Naruto extended his tongue. He didn't know why, but it felt right. It felt good. Darkness encroached upon his vision. The edges became covered in black; the abyss began to swallow him whole. Yet he soldiered on, fighting forth, refusing to accept death's embrace like a humble coward. He couldn't reach the blood, his arms unmoving, having succumb already, having betrayed him.

He didn't need them anyway; his tongue would do. He reached forth desperate…

1…

A slight wetness met his oral organ…

Uzumaki Naruto died…

He remained so for a total 76 seconds…

Once blue eyes opened once more, however, replacing the sapphire blue gaze of an innocent young man whose prime directive revolved around caring for his precious few friends was a red baleful glare. Darkness receded from his vision, limbs moved once more, blood began to flow again, however, instead of gushing forth from his body, the red viscous fluid flowed towards it. The hole within the chest of Uzumaki Naruto filled, absorbing the veritable torrent of blood until there remained no traces of its expulsion. The hole itself disappeared, having been replaced with the very skin and tissue that had once been absent.

Rising to his feet, Naruto gazed forward, his eyes seeing all but training on nothing. A grin split his face, an incredibly sharp row of razor-like teeth piercing the darkness with their resonant splendor. A slight crease split the white streak, a minor rugged exhale of breath escaping from the crevasse. Slowly the teeth moved further apart, the mouth in which they residing opening wider. A direct correlation could be found between the widening of the mouth and the increasing volume of the exhales—the laughter.

His head thrown back, his body wracked with terrible tremors, his eyes trained on the moon above, Uzumaki Naruto laughed. The excursion into darkness had been, enlightening to say the least. Now…now the fun could begin.

When Sona arrived to clean the mess left behind by the fallen angel and Rias Gremory's most recent acquisition, she was surprised to find only slightly singed ground…no blood whatsoever.

She narrowed her eyes before having her peerage fix the park up, never noticing the dark red eyes glaring at her from the shadows of the trees.

Yeah, so there it is guys. It's getting a bit late here, I'm tired. The ending is rushed. It sucks and needs editing…but damnit I really wanna post his one. Tell you what I'll repost the chapter after I edit it some…maybe.

I'm lazy and not feeling the greatest right now. I need to sleep to suppress some unhealthy thoughts so…yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed feel free to review.

Before I forget, the idea was inspired by: Naruto-Himejima Kurosaki's fic: Naruto DxD Kurama's heir. It's an interesting premise and I kinda wanted to roll with it. Anyway, hope you guys have a good night/day.

Thanks for reading!