"I'll go next" Kuroka said, taking the book from the current Devil King.
The first thing Naruto took in when the portal closed was the sight of many trees and some mountainous terrain. Turning around, he saw a manor fit for a noble vacation home and sighed.
"Do rich people, even devils, have to flaunt their wealth?" he asked, making Sirzechs sweatdrop and Grayfia raise a brow.
"True. That place IS freaking huge." Issie said.
"Uh, I didn't think the house was all that fancy when it was built," the redheaded Satan tried to reason.
Everyone shot the male redhead a look, making him cough self-consciously. "Please, continue reading."
"Sure thing, nya!" Kuroka said.
"Maybe it's just me then. I never had much money back home. Hell, my apartment was in one of the poorer districts." He shrugged and then turned back to his temporary host. "So, you said Red-chan and her Peerage were planning on training here to face Mr. Personality, right?"
"Precisely. Knowing my sister, she'll focus on her newest Pieces since they would need the most help. They should all be here in a moment or two."
Not even a minute after he said that, another couple of portals bearing the Gremory House crest appeared before Rias and her Peerage stepped through them. As soon as they saw the trio, the younger Gremory stepped forward. "Nii-sama, what are you doing here?"
Smiling, the man channeled his inner sis-con and hugged his sibling tightly, making her turn as red as their hair in embarrassment as he squeezed her. "Oh, Rias-tan! I've missed you so much! Why don't you visit your nii-sama?!"
Rais moaned and buried her face in her hands. Not again!
Sweatdropping, the blonde Uzumaki turned to the silverette [Queen] and asked, "Does this happen a lot?"
"Yes." Rias muttered into her hands, making her brother look embarrassed.
"Unfortunately," the woman sighed before she stepped forward and dragged her husband off of his sister by his cheek, stretching it painfully and making him struggle to get loose. "Sirzechs-sama, this is neither the time nor place for such foolish antics. Your sister is waiting for you to explain why we're here."
"Thank you Grayfia..." Rias muttered, looking up again.
She then let go of his cheek, and the Satan rubbed the mark that had begun to form there. "Spoilsport," he mumbled before a sharp look from his wife cowed him.
Shikamaru shuttered. This Grayfia woman was just like his mom. 'Wait...does that mean MOM'S a devil too...?' he wondered, paling at the thought. Would certainly explain a few things as far as the lazy chūnin was concerned!
He then cleared his throat and turned to his sister. "To answer your question, I'm here to drop off Naruto-san so that he may train with you and your Peerage."
"But, why would he train with us? He's not a devil, and he's not a part of my Peerage," Rias replied, though she mentally added, 'Unfortunately.'
Hinata glared. "What does that mean?!" she demanded.
"Ah, but he will be for the Rating Game," answered Sirzechs.
Ajuka pulled out his pen and pad of paper again, ready to take notes. Finally! That Evil Piece would be explained! He had to take notes on this!
"You see, there were a couple of experimental Pieces that Beelzebub made that allowed non-devils to temporarily join a Peerage for events such as Ratings Games.They wouldn't become full devils, and they'd only be classified as [Pawns], but it could help Peerages that have fewer members fill in their ranks for a single event. In this case, Naruto-san will temporarily become your [Pawn] for the Rating Game."
"That's brilliant!" Ajuka said, copying all that down so he could get to work on these "Temporary Pieces" himself. Then he saluted, "My respects to the other me!"
The younger devils were surprised by the ingenuity of the Temporary Piece and Akeno stepped forward. "Lucifer-sama, what happens to Uzumaki-kun when the Game ends?"
"The Piece disappears and nothing else happens. He doesn't become a devil and stays human."
"'Piece disappears...nothing else happens. Doesn't become a devil and stays human'...got it!" Ajuka repeated as he wrote.
The other leaders of the New Satan Faction chuckled, it was amusing seeing how excited Ajuka was. But needles to say, they understood why something like this would get him worked up as an inventor.
"Need to figure out how to do that with the Brave Saint cards, as well..." Archangel Michael said thoughtfully. It really was an incredible invention.
"Why wasn't something like this mentioned before, Lucifer-sama?" asked Kiba.
"Because it has only recently been perfected for use. This Rating Game will be used to help promote them so that other devils can utilize them; though Beelzebub expects compensation for each one made."
"Of course!" the Beelzebub said, nodding.
Rias was ecstatic! She now had another person to help her against Riser, and if he really was like Menma from the Hurricane Chronicles, then he'd mop the floor with the pompous prick!
"Gladly Rias! Just let me at him!" Naruto said, grinning.
Rias smiled at Naruto for that.
Turning to Naruto, she smiled brightly and bowed to him. "Thank you so much for doing this!"
The Uzumaki chuckled and shook his head. "Don't thank me. It was your brother's idea after all."
Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned to Sirzechs who smiled at her. "I may not have been able to act publicly, but that doesn't mean I won't help my sister in secret. All I did was play on Riser-san's pride."
He then blinked when he felt his sister hug him, without himself initiating it. Looking down, he saw her smiling warmly and heard her say, "Thank you, onii-chan."
"Wait...what was that last part?!" Sirzechs said, eyes wide and he grabbed the book and read it himself. Once he did, he dropped the book, numb with shock. "No way..." he said, then beamed.
"Here." Shino said, handing the book back to Kuroka. She took it back with a nod and resumed reading.
He smiled back and rubbed her head affectionately. "No problem, imouto."
Naruto, Rias's Peerage, and even Grayfia smiled at the scene before Rias pulled back. "So, Naruto-san will be training with us and take part in the game, and we have…"
"Two weeks," supplied the Satan.
"Two weeks… I can work with that." She then turned to her Peerage and said, "You all can go unpack inside. We'll start training in a moment."
They nodded and headed inside, though Akeno made sure to give Naruto a flirty wink
Hinata glared at Akeno.
that he didn't react to.
Hinata stopped glaring and nodded. Good. Naruto was HERS! No way were these hussies going to snatch him away!
Kurama, from the seal, palmed his muzzle and groaned. "He's as dense as Isobu's shell," he mumbled with a shake of his head.
"Huh? Who the heck is...?" Naruto said, only for an image of a familiar turtle to flash through his mind. "The three-Tails." he said.
"Naruto-san," began the Gremory heiress, "I want to talk to you for a moment before we start training with the others."
"Sure thing," replied the blonde before turning to Sirzechs and Grayfia. "Thanks for the lift and for explaining things to me. I hope you guys can figure a way for me to get back home."
"We'll do what we can, but this kind of research won't be easy. You'll need to be patient with us, Naruto-san," explained the elder Gremory. Naruto nodded in understanding and he turned to his sister. "Best of luck, Rias-tan. I really hope you win."
"I will," stated Rias confidently, giving a sideways glance at Naruto. "I know I will."
"You really think highly of Naruto's abilities." Sakura noted.
"And you don't?" Rias countered bluntly.
Sakura didn't comment. Rias had scored a hit there. Naruto had earned that respect from all of the Leaf by stopping Pain.
The man chuckled at his sister before he left with his [Queen] back to the underworld. Once they left, Naruto turned to his new host and asked, "So, what did you wanna talk about?"
The young woman took a deep breath and looked the blonde in the eye, making him frown in concern. "I want to show you something that might shock you, but I need to know if the theory I have about you is true…Menma-san."
His eyes widened slightly before they narrowed again sharply.
"So now I'm going to find out what's up." Naruto said.
Giving a slow nod, he followed her inside the manor.
A groan was heard and the last living Uchiha of the world opened his eyes blearily within a prison cell beneath the Hidden Leaf mountainside. A frown crossed his face as his vision felt off before his brows rose in shock and his left hand shot to his left eye.
Except, the eye wasn't there and an empty socket was all he felt.
Bastard got his!" everyone but Sakura cheered, she looked horrified.
In his shock, he also missed the visitor he had outside of his cell before a woman was heard clearing her throat. He turned to the source and his remaining eye met the furious honey colored eyes of Tsunade Senju.
"This is gonna end bad~!" Kuroka sing-songed, getting everyone to laugh while Sakura wanted to strangle the cat.
"Sasuke Uchiha…you are beyond lucky to be alive right now," she growled out as her fingers pressed hard into her crossed arms, showing her barely restrained rage. "As you have no doubt noticed, your left eye has been removed from you. What you don't know is that we took your right eye as well and replaced it with one from someone recently passed."
"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed.
At this, she held up a handheld mirror, letting the Uchiha see that his once onyx eye was now a dull brown color.
"Why didn't they give him the other eye, too?" Akeno asked. Everyone else shrugged.
He looked at his own reflection in shock as the Senju tossed the mirror at his feet.
"You really are an idiot. You had just been dismissed of everything charged against you because of Naruto, and what did you do?"
"He fucked up, that's what!" Inuzuka laughed.
He was silent, which made her clench her hands hard enough to crack the knuckles.
"ANSWER ME! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
He flinched at her roar and looked up at her face, seeing pure and unfiltered anger in her eyes. "…I got rid of him," answered Sasuke. "That's what I did. I took care of the one person who always stood in my way and tried to butt into things that didn't concern him."
"Gee...looking out for my best friend shouldn't be my concern?" Naruto said, glaring.
Her eyes narrowed at him and she asked calmly, "Does the friendship that you once had with Naruto and Sakura mean so little to you?"
"I severed those bonds long ago. I don't need them and I never did," stubbornly answered the Uchiha.
"Ugh...what an ASS!" Kuroka said as she paused in her reading, wrinkling her nose in disgust, getting nods and mutters of agreement from everyone besides Sakura, who was too shocked at what Sasuke was saying.
"Again, you're an idiot.
"Yes, yes he is." the angels, Fallen angels, and devils all agreed.
You're saying you didn't need them at all against Obito?
Huh? Who's Obito?" Naruto asked, to which he got no response but a shrug from his fellow ninjas.
How about against Madara? Kaguya and that Black Zetsu?"
"GAH! Dammit! Not again! Make it STOP!" Naruto moaned, gripping his head. Why was the fox getting so damn worked up?!
Each question made Sasuke clench his fists tighter and tighter. He knew what she was pointing out, but his pride wouldn't let him give her the satisfaction of admission.
"Arrogant bum." Azazel said.
Shaking her head, Tsunade turned around and made her way out of the visiting area outside of his cell. "Your chakra has been completely sealed off by the best sealers in all five of the Hidden Villages. You sent away a hero and a friend of all nations, Uchiha…and now you're going to rot in here for it." Turning back, she gave him a harsh look and finished, "I wonder how long you'll last as you slowly starve to death.
Sakura looked horrified that her mentor would do such a thing.
The great Uchiha Clan… What a waste, and how shamed your ancestors must be for spitting on any chance for redemption."
"Now THAT I'd like to see." Serafall said.
The door closed harshly, and the cell was left shrouded in shadows as Sasuke sat in solitude. No food, water, or bed were supplied to him. Sitting against one of the walls, he reached a hand up and traced the socket of his empty left eye.
He did nothing else as he finally got what he had sought after; the darkness…the cruel, lonely darkness.
"Yeesh...and this guy's your best friend?" Yuuto asked Naruto.
The other blond shrugged, "Long story." he said.
Naruto looked down at the table before him in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape. Before him rested a book; a book that had his picture on it along with Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and Kaguya.
"What the hell is this?" he whispered out as he turned the pages, seeing illustrations of the final fights of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"...That has gotta be weird..." Tenten said, getting nods of agreement all around.
"Wait...there's a FOURTH ninja war?!" Naruto said, horror struck.
"Eh, the author must have been going for drama when that book was made, something like that might not happen with us." Shikamaru said, knowing that they were supposed to keep the Fourth War secret from Naruto.
Naruto calmed down at that, seemed a reasonable explanation.
"…It's your story," answered Rias softly as she sat across from where he stood. "In that, you're known as Menma Uzumaki, the son of Minato Namikaze and-"
"Kushina Uzumaki," finished Naruto as he set the book down.
"...Kushina Uzumaki..." Naruto said, savoring the name. He grinned. Finally! He FINALLY knew his mom's name! He loved it!
"Yea, I know. I met my other self once before in an alternate reality from my own.
Naruto shrugged at the looks he was given, "Must not have happened yet." he said.
The only difference is that everyone from his version of my life was different in some manner or way. What does that have to do with this?" He shook the manga book for emphasis.
"Well, if he's you then that book is the last one of his story."
"But everyone else in the book is exactly how they are in my world!" argued Naruto. "Only my character has changes to them and that's my parents being alive!"
"Wait...WHAT?!" Naruto shouted. His jaw hanging. So this alternate him...Menma...he actually got to be with his parents?! LUCKY BASTARD!
He slammed the book down on a page where it showed Menma and his new wife, Hinata, posing for a photo alongside Minato and Kushina. Rias looked at the page in sad realization, knowing that this had to be nothing short of frustrating to the blonde before her.
"Your parents weren't alive in your life," she murmured. "I… I thought that-"
"OTHER ME! OTHER ME! BESIDES! HOW COULDN'T THE OTHER ME FREAK OUT OVER THIS?!" Naruto yelped, seeing the death look Sirzechs sent him.
"That what?" interrupted Naruto angrily. "That I was some kind of storybook character that you knew everything about? Well, sorry to say that I'm not Menma. I am Naruto; nobody else!"
"I'm not saying that you are!" Rias tried to reason. "I just wanted you to know why I know about you and your life!"
"But you don't know," firmly stated the Uzumaki as he stood over her, making her nervous. "You only know a character from some story… You don't know me."
With that, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him as Rias looked at the book on the table sadly. Slowly, she grabbed it and looked at the cover for a few moments.
'He's right,' she thought to herself, feeling ashamed. 'How could I be so stupid as to think that he was the same as Menma?' She scowled at the book, her hand trembling in her growing anger, and threw it across the room with an enraged shout before she buried her face in her hands. 'The one person who could help me…and I might have made him decide against it in the span of one hour. Smooth move, Rias… You're such an idiot…'
"You're not. Just made a mistake." Naruto said. Rias winced.
Removing her hands, she took a deep breath before she stood up and left the room. Walking down the halls, she saw that the man she had just angered was sitting on the grass outside the window.
Once she made it to where he was, she made sure to stand a few feet behind him. "Naruto-san, I never meant-"
"Why don't you take a seat?" he asked as he patted the ground next to him.
Huh?
"What's with you being so calm all of a sudden?"
Everyone, even Naruto, shrugged, though Sirzechs still glared at Naruto as he did.
She blinked in slight surprise at the request. But, she didn't want to waste the chance to patch things up between them, so she took his offer and sat down next to him. Silently, the two sat with Naruto's soft breathing and some birds being the only noise.
It was she who caved first. "I never meant to upset you when I showed you that book. I only wanted to see if you were Menma." She turned to him and saw that his eyes were still closed while hers held shame. "It was wrong of me to just assume that you were someone else when you are your own person. I'm sorry, Naruto."
"I really am." Rias told Naruto.
He was silent for a few more moments before he finally asked, "You know something?" She saw him open his eyes and, to her surprise, give a small smile. "You don't know about me personally, but you might know enough for this to work."
"For what to work?" she asked.
"A friendship," he answered simply making her look to him in shock. "I had friends back in my world, but they didn't really know me other than what they saw on the outside. They didn't know what I feared, what I loved, and what I had really experienced. And now, I meet a devil who read a story that was so much like my life that it could almost count as being with me throughout it."
"But didn't you just say...?"
"But it isn't your life," reminded Rias. "You said that yourself."
"It's close, though," he relented before he rubbed his head. "I may have overreacted back there since I thought you only saw me as some character and not myself." He turned to her and continued, "I can see in your eyes that you hate that too; not having an identity other than what you were born with. I'm guessing you were only known as the heiress, right?" She slowly nodded. "It was frustrating, wasn't it?"
"You can't begin to imagine..." Rias muttered.
She nodded again, looking down as she recalled her past. "Yes. I hated it, and I left home for it. Here, I'm just known as Rias and it makes me happy." She then looked back at him, and he saw the epiphany in her eyes. "I realize now I was doing the same thing that I hated to you."
Rias felt her jaw drop. Her other had actually made that mistake?! No wonder Naruto's other was so upset by it! She understood PERFECTLY why that would upset him!
Sirzechs calmed down. So he was apologizing and Naruto and his sister were making up? Good. Very good.
"And I forgive you for that," he stated with a warm smile. "Just don't assume anything about me anymore, okay?"
"Alright," she replied with a smile in return before she stuck out her hand. "How about we start over? I'm Rias Gremory. Nice to meet you."
His smile grew into a grin and he shook her hand. "Naruto Uzumaki. So, why don't we talk about Mr. Personality?"
A black cat walked through the sidewalks and alleyways of the city of Kuoh. It sniffed around and avoided the many humans that walked the busy streets when in reality it was using a different method of searching. One of its ears twitched as well as its tail before the cat smiled in a way that was too humanlike.
"Me again, huh?" Kuroka said, pausing in her reading again.
'Found you,' thought Kuroka as she leapt up to a building rooftop and gazed towards the mountains with her gleaming amber orbs. 'Wow! Their chakra levels are much stronger than I thought!
"No kidding." Kuroka said, agreeing with her other self, eyeing Naruto. Sheesh! What the HELL had that much chakra in it?! He was like a SUN of chakra for heck's sake! Not that she found anything wrong with that, quite the opposite, actually.
And…is that senjutsu?!'
"Yes it is." Naruto said.
The nekomata kept her smile at that. For too long she had believed herself unable to find anyone else who would be able to use the infamous natural energy known as senjutsu.
"Ah, you just weren't looking in the right places, besides...if they channel natural energy through their bodies, they'll be hard to find." Naruto said, making the black cat smile at him.
So, sensing another that could was beyond exciting to her.
"True." Kuroka said.
Focusing her demonic energy into her cat limbs, she disappeared in a blur in search of the source. 'I can't wait to see who you are. I hope you're a cute one, nya!"
Naruto blushed and Hinata glared.
"Kiba! Akamaru! ATTACK!" the Hyuga heiress ordered the canine duo.
"You do know they can't, right, nya?" Kuroka said gleefully, then eyed Naruto, "and about that other me's comment...yes, you're VERY cute!"
Naruto gulped and backed away from the cat-woman.
"Kuroka...just read." Koneko said.
The black cat nodded to her sister and she picked up the book again.
"So, he's from a family that has fire based powers and can recover from intensive attacks easily. Kinda arrogant to be named after the bird of legend, don't ya think?"
Naruto sighed. Back to his viewpoint, eh? Thank goodness!
Kuroka pouted.
Ravel, however, scowled at the jab at her family. They weren't all like Riser, damnit!
"Not the point," deadpanned Rias, though she couldn't help the smirk at his comment.
"Understandable." Rias said, nodding along with her other's amusement.
"Do you think you can take him? As much as I hate to admit it, I won't be able to by myself."
"You think I'd back down from this? C'mon, I took on people who were practically demigods!
"True." the leaf ninjas all said.
This guy will be easy!"
"That I'd like to see." Yuuto said, grinning.
"I'm glad you're so confident, but what about the rest of us? I was hoping you could help us out."
"Well there's an issue." Issei said.
The blonde cupped his chin in thought at the request. "Well, I think I could help. But I'm not much of a teacher to be honest. At most, I could point out some things that they could use to help."
"That's fine."
"That's good enough," assured Rias with a smile. "Just having you here helps more than you think."
Hinata glared at Rias again.
"You're assuming again," chided Naruto playfully, making her smack his arm lightly.
"You know what I mean!"
He laughed at the pout she had on her face, waving her off with one hand. "Yea, I know. Don't worry. We'll take down that bastard and end that marriage contract, Red-chan. Count on it!"
Rias smiled at Naruto. She liked how cheerful and confidant he was. It was hard not to feel that everything would be fine around him.
She smiled at his words, feeling her own confidence raising from them. "Okay, I'll go get the others and bring them out here. We'll go over training when we're all here."
"Got it," replied Naruto as Rias went inside. Once she was out of earshot, he went over to a tree and looked up, spotting a black cat on one of its branches. "Y'know, you're pretty lucky that Red-chan can't really sense chakra like I can."
Hinata groaned. NO! She glared at Kuroka, wishing she could kill the nekomata.
"I am lucky, nya!" replied the feline with a grin. "I get you all to myself for a moment!"
"Score!" Kuroka said, grinning.
"And what exactly did you want with me…?"
"Straight to the point, eh...? No fun, but then again, you are busy." Kuroka said with a shrug.
"Ah, of course! I'm Kuroka, nya! Nice to meet you!"
"Likewise, and I'm Naruto Uzumaki," replied the blonde with a smile. "So, I thought that chakra was a rare energy in this world?"
"Oh, it is. But you see, we nekomata can use it along with a few other neat things! Aren't we great?" she asked in a proud tone, though Naruto noted that it wasn't arrogant.
"Work hard to master it. We EARN the right to be proud...unlike that Sasuke guy." Kuroka said.
"Will you stop pausing in your reading to make comments?" Xenovia said, frowning.
"That is pretty cool. But you never really answered what you wanted with me, Kuroka."
"True, but I'll wait on that. You're pretty busy at the moment, nya."
"Huh...thank you for the consideration." Naruto said, making the cat-woman smile at him with a nod.
She stood up on her paws and jumped down from the tree, landing next to him. "Do me a favor though; don't tell anyone I was here."
"Why? Are you some kind of criminal?"
Every one of the Leaf ninja narrowed their eyes at Kuroka at that.
"Well, I am in the eyes of many devils. But I only did what needed to be done for my sister." She looked up at him with pleading in her feline eyes. "Please, just keep this quiet; especially from her."
"She feels like that little white haired girl that's with Rias," commented Kurama. "No doubt she's this Kuroka's sister."
'I see. I thought I felt something familiar from her.' He nodded to the black cat with a small smile. "I won't say anything; promise. Also, I'll keep an eye on your sister if you want."
Kuroka bowed her head deeply to Naruto, "Thank you! Thank you for that!"
"Please," urged Kuroka, making him nod again. "Thank you. Now, I'll come find you sometime tonight and talk to you. I'm not your enemy, Uzumaki-kun; trust me, nya."
"Odd thing for a criminal to say." Sakura said.
"HEY! You don't know what happened! Don't you DARE judge me! Besides, he's going out of his way to look after my family for me! Why SHOULD I give him a reason to call me an enemy?!" Kuroka snapped, glaring.
Sakura bit her lip, ashamed. That was honestly a fair thing to say.
Huffing, Kuroka resumed reading.
With that, she leapt off into the foliage of the surrounding woodlands; and just in time, for Rias was returning with her friends so that Naruto could oversee their training.
Akeno was known for two things by her friends: her flirtatious antics and her sadism.
"Yeah. No kidding...the lightning powers don't help with the second one." Issei said.
Akeno blushed and looked away.
It was something she had no issue with at all since she loved to tease others and make them uncomfortable.
"Guilty." Akeno said shamelessly.
But, what many didn't know was that this was mainly just an act.
Akeno winced. And to her surprise, so did Naruto.
In truth, Akeno Himejima was a very fragile girl. Her past heritage was a sore subject for her, and her past before she was taken in by the Gremory House was something that still brought her close to tears. But, she didn't let anyone in because they could prove to let her down just as he did.
Naruto glared at his friends, daring them to say anything to Akeno.
Azazel winced, he knew who the "he" in question actually was.
Her antics were just an emotional mask, one that Naruto easily saw through as he saw how she interacted with her friends. He knew about emotional masks since he had worn one himself for some time.
Naruto cringed at that.
He started out as a Jinchuriki, a human sacrifice that was used to hold and contain a Bijuu. Hiding the pain he felt was something he needed to do in order to get by as a child.
"Not...A...Word..." Naruto growled at everyone present, his body shaking.
So, in order to try and get to the root of her issue, he had left clones with the others while he personally went with the [Queen]. "Alright Akeno, let's see what you can do."
"Ara, I'll be sure to impress you, sensei," she said, adding a sultry undertone to the title she gave him.
Hinata took a deep breath. Akeno didn't mean any harm, she was just teasing. The Hyuga fought to keep that fact in mind.
"I'm a [Queen] Piece, but I suppose you could say that I'm more of a balanced [Bishop]. I prefer to utilize my magic in a fight, leaning more towards lightning, but I can still fight without it to a degree."
"Okay, show me your magic."
She nodded before she summoned forth her miko outfit and began to rain down bolts of electricity on a tree a few yards ahead of her. Naruto and Kurama watched how she used it, but the blonde also made sure to see the girl's expression as she used her magic.
"Why would he...?" Lee asked, confused.
To his concern, she seemed to be pouring negative emotions into it, as seen by the pent up anger and sorrow in her eyes. Most wouldn't look at her eyes when she attacked, being more focused on the lightning that was about to fry them.
"Duh." Inuzuka said.
It was definitely a red flag to him.
Akeno squirmed in her seat.
"Alright, that's enough," he said and she complied after one last bolt before quickly schooling her features. "For starters, you're skilled with your magic and I don't think we really need to work on it."
"Thank you," she replied with a smile.
"However, your source for your magic is concerning."
She barely stopped herself from flinching at his statement. "What do you mean? The source for all magic is our own reserves."
Akeno, unlike her counterpart, did flinch at that. So did Azazel.
"True; but that's not what I meant, and you know it." He gave her a serious look that made her avert her gaze. Sighing he took a seat on the grass and waved for her to do the same. "Akeno, you're pouring a lot of anger and sadness into your attack. It may give you focus, but it could seriously hamper you."
"What do you know?" she retorted, but her tone was much softer than she normally used. "I bet you don't have anything you hate."
"Not true," he countered. "There are plenty of things I hate. However, I don't use my hatred because I've seen what it does to people."
"Way too true." Naruto muttered.
Reaching over, he thumbed her cheek and wiped away a stray tear that was rolling down. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, seeing him give her a small smile of encouragement. "Don't let your anger control you, Akeno. It isn't worth it."
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking confused.
Sighing, he pulled his hand back – much to her disappointment – and said, "I once had a friend named Sasuke who gave into his hatred. In the end, he threw away every chance he had at happiness; he even killed the man he believed to be the source of his hatred. But it wasn't enough for him, and his anger at me for trying to stop him was what drove him into sending me away."
"Bastard." Tenten hissed, getting odd looks.
She looked to him in surprise while he looked down sadly. It showed in his expression that he was still hurting from the betrayal, and she couldn't help but wonder if she would one day hurt her friends in her anger.
Akeno looked horrified at the sheer idea of that.
She hugged her knees and looked to him sadly. "What should I do?"
He scooted over to her side, sitting down right next to her so that she could lean on him. "Talk to me. Why are you angry, Akeno?"
Taking a breath, the troubled young woman began her story. She had been born as the only child of Shuri Himejima, a well-known Shinto priestess, and Baraqiel, a fallen angel and one of the leaders of the fallen angel organization, Grigori.
Akeno winced at the mention of her father's name.
As a child, Akeno was close to her mother, and she fell into despair when she witnessed her mother's death. Her anger had stemmed from blaming her father for not being able to protect her mother. After the death of Shuri, she stayed with her mother's relatives before being kicked out due to her fallen blood.
It wasn't until she was ten that she traveled to Japan and spent a year and a half purifying evil spirits like her mother. One day though, she had saved a human that was in a contract with the Gremory House; something she had no knowledge of until it was too late.
"After that, I went into hiding because I thought that they would kill me," she continued.
"Because you were half fallen?" asked the blonde, making her nod.
Akeno shuttered and tried to curl up into a ball. She hated this memory!
"Yes… But then the Himejima Clan found me and tried to kill me because of my cursed blood." She was already crying as she continued and Naruto wrapped his arm around her for comfort. She leaned into him more as she continued through her tears, "My granduncle was going to finish me off before Rias found me. Since then, I've been serving the Gremory House, and I doubt I could ever repay them for saving my life."
"But you still hate your father," finished Naruto, which she nodded to. "You know, for a time I hated my father too. You see, he was the one who gave me what was once a burden and I ended up being seen as a living symbol of what had once nearly brought my home to ruin."
"Not my fault, y'know," grumbled Kurama.
"What does THAT mean?!" everyone from the Leaf Village shouted. Naruto shifted uncomfortably. He had heard about that masked guy being who caused the fox to rampage from that echo of his dad in his mindscape, but he wasn't ready to share it just yet.
'Oi! I'm trying to comfort someone here!' he mentally yelled back
"True. don't spoil the moment." Asia said.
before refocusing on Akeno. "He could've done something else, but he made me into a living sacrifice for our home. I won't lie; when I had finally met him, I punched him."
"What?! I was pissed!" Naruto defended, seeing the looks he was given.
"Why didn't you do more?" asked Akeno.
"Because I had finally understood the position he was in. He was a leader of our village, and he couldn't have asked for another family to sacrifice their own if he wasn't willing to do the same." He squeezed her shoulder gently as he continued, "I'm not saying that you need to forgive your father right away. All I'm saying is don't put all of your anger on him until you know the whole story."
"But what if I don't like what the whole story is?" she asked, slightly anxious.
She saw him give her a sad smile as he answered, "I honestly can't answer that. All I can tell you is that if you hold on to this anger you feel, you'll destroy yourself. I've seen far too many people do it already. I don't want to see another person give into their hatred and pain."
Azazal leaned in, his eyes wide. Silently rooting for Naruto as he helped his friend's daughter.
She was silent as she leaned against him. The whole time, her thoughts were running a mile a minute and she began to see what it was that the blonde human next to her was saying. It would be hard, but she would try to keep from falling into her hatred.
"How do I start?" she asked, turning to him just in time to see him smile brightly at her, causing her cheeks to flush warmly.
Standing her up and wiping her remaining tears, he said, "For starters, focus on that positive feeling you had when you were with your mother. You know what that is?" She shook her head and he smiled a bit softer. "It's love. Shuri loved you, Akeno, and you loved her more than anything. Focus on that; focus on that feeling of love and try your lightning again."
Akeno hitched her breath at that. Focus on her feelings for her mother and channel that through her powers?!
He then turned her around slowly, squeezing her shoulders gently, as he had her face another tree. She stared down at the tree and took a few breaths, each one bringing up another happy memory she had with her mother and making her smile brighter. After one last breath, she was smiling truer than she had ever done before and, with a happy tear rolling down her cheek, she summoned forth her lightning.
Naruto couldn't contain the grin on his face as he saw her magic strike down like a true flash of the heavens.
Seeing the next sentence, Kuroka went silent. Then she took a shaky breath and started reading again.
Koneko was not one for words, and everyone who knew her was aware of that fact. It was because of her silent nature that many people couldn't get a read on her. So, it was no surprise that the clone Naruto had left with the small girl was confused at how wary she was of him.
"Uh, Koneko?" he asked. "Everything okay?"
"…You're full of chakra," she answered after a small pause. "Chakra's dangerous."
At that, the leaf ninjas all looked upset.
"Well, yea I suppose it can be dangerous. But that's only when it's used in the wrong ways." He saw that she was staying quiet and sighed. "Look Koneko, you have nothing to fear about the chakra inside you. It's a part of you, so you control what it does."
The shinobi all looked at Naruto and nodded at his other's words, as did Kuroka.
"But…it made her crazy," retorted the young neko.
"You mean your sister, don't you?" he asked, making her widen her eyes in shock. "I don't know the story about her, but I do know that whatever she did couldn't have been done without a reason."
Koneko hitched her breath and gulped, her body shaking.
"Here," Ophis said, holding out a hand, "I'll read, Kuroka."
Nodding, the feline female handed the book to the Dragon Queen of the Void, who started reading.
She looked away and clenched her fists, making him frown sadly. "She left… Killed her [King] and ran away. Devils said it was because of her using chakra and…senjutsu."
"What?! Oh, that is bullshit!" Naruto snapped.
"Senjutsu?" asked Naruto. "Why would she go crazy if she was using natural energy?"
He saw her shuffle her feet nervously. "I…tried it once. It was scary." She hugged herself and continued, "So much…negativity."
"It doesn't feel like that!" Naruto snapped, glaring at the book.
"Negativity? Koneko, natural energy isn't full of negativity. It's supposed to be a positive energy that synchronizes with your own chakra." He stepped up to her and she looked up to see him looking into her eyes with concern. "Were you…angry when you were trying it?"
Naruto and Kuroka's eyes widened. Was she...OF COURSE!
She slowly nodded, unable to look away. "Yes… I was mad at her for leaving."
"I had no choice!" Kuroka whiled, "You think I WANTED to leave my sister?!"
"Then that's why you felt that negativity. Chakra is effected by your emotional state, Koneko. In your anger, when you tried to use senjutsu it latched onto that anger and intensified it. That's why it scared you so much."
Koneko blinked at that. So...that's what it was? She was sensing her own anger? Sheesh. Talk about something that would make her head spin.
She finally looked away, turning fully so that her back was to him. He saw that she was shaking slightly, and he stepped up before gently grabbing her shoulder.
"You won't go crazy, Koneko. So long as you control your emotions, you'll be just fine; I promise. I've used chakra my entire life. It's a part of me to the point where I depend on it to live. The only times I lost control were when I was feeling extreme anger." She turned her head to see him smiling at her. "If you need me to, I'll stop you from losing control. You have my word."
Kuroka shook all over and locked eyes with Naruto, her own starting to water. Naruto...he...he was...!
Her yellow eyes stared dead into his blue ones, seeing nothing but sincerity in them. Slowly, she nodded as she said, "Okay. But I want to see your chakra first."
He blinked at the request before smiling. "Alright. Stand back for a moment." Once she was back far enough, he mentally called out, 'Kurama?'
"Yea, I know. We'll stick to the Chakra Mode for now."
The blonde clone nodded before his form became enshrouded in a flickering gold energy
"Wait...golden?" Sakura said, "That's not right, it's red, I've seen it!"
Naruto shrugged. "Maybe I haven't gotten to the level where it's like that yet?" he said.
that had black markings on his torso. His eyes were a deep orange with slit pupils and two bangs shot upward in the form of horns.
"Ok...I know I haven't gotten to that level yet!" Naruto said, his eyes wide.
He flexed his implanted arm when he saw that the Sun Mark that Hagoromo gave him was visible and in a bright orange color on his palm.
"Wait...isn't Hagoromo the guy who gave Sasuke...?"
Naruto winced as he felt the fox getting worked up again.
Koneko was looking on in shock at how warm and protective his chakra was. It made her natural senses go into overdrive and she had to fight herself to stop from releasing her neko features.
"...Don't fight it, little sister. Trust me, this is how chakra is supposed to feel." Kuroka muttered.
He grinned at her and asked, "So, you ready to try out your own chakra?"
She nodded slowly as she still fought to keep herself calm. "Yes, I am."
Kuroka and Koneko both gulped.
"Good!" he replied with a smile as he dropped his Chakra Mode. He then had them sit across from one another and instructed, "Now, let's start with getting a feel for your chakra first. I want you to relax and sense it inside of you."
Nodding, she closed her eyes and took her first real steps in chakra control.
Naruto sat on the roof of the manor after he had finished eating dinner with the devils. He had to admit that they were impressive; though that Issei guy reminded him way too much of Jiraiya.
Naruto moaned. He was going to have to pay for this because of someone else! Dammit!
He even got motivated in the same way his old master did; using Naruko-chan to "ask" nicely.
"Who?"
"I refuse to answer. But needless to say, I had to spend a LOT of my training trying to get Jiraiya to actually focus on training me by having to constantly resort to inventing jutsu that were more and more lewd and perverted since it was the only way to get his attention! Not my fault!" Naruto muttered.
Sakura scowled, Dammit! Now she had to pay up on that bet with Tsunade! She'd bet that Naruto would have to constantly resort to inventing jutsu that were more and more lewd and perverted if he wanted Jiraiya to give a damn about actually teaching him!
But, while he was a shameless pervert,
"Understatement." Everyone in Rias' peerage said in unison, making Issei gulp as the kunoichi all glared and rubbed their knuckles. He was dead!
he still had an impressive dedication to Rias. At first he thought he was acting out of perverseness, but the young man surprised him.
"I won't do nothing when a friend of mine needs my help. That's not me and it never will be."
"...If you were that way all the time rather than a pervert, you'd have girls fighting over you all the time, you do know that, right?" Naruto asked.
Issei whimpered. DAMN! His own character was standing in his goal of becoming Harem King! Castrate him...castrate him now!
He smirked as he remembered Issei's words, being reminded of how he was for his own friends. Next was Asia, and she reminded him so much of Hinata that they could probably be the same person. She was a gentle soul who despised seeing anyone fight and she would rather see a peaceful solution than take up arms.
Hinata smiled at the former nun.
But, whereas Hinata fought and was a skilled kunoichi, Asia was a healer. She was afraid of hurting anyone else, even if they were her enemy, and it made him smile. So, he had her focus on aerobics and evasion. With the aerobics, she would be able to weave around attacks and wear down an attacker enough for someone else to come in and finish them off.
However, that didn't mean he was leaving her defenseless in case she was on her own. While different in many ways, devil magic was slightly similar to chakra and he was able to teach her how to use her own magic to push someone back. In a way, it was like a much weaker version of the Almighty Push that a Rinnegan user was capable of using
The leaf ninjas, recalling Pain, shuttered at the mention of the Rinnegan.
, and was able to help her defend from both enemies and attacks.
Rias smiled. He was even helping with Asia and finding her ways that wouldn't hurt someone, but still be used to defend herself? Good guy.
Akeno and Koneko were both already on a path that was beneficial to them, and he believed they just needed to keep at it for the rest of the two weeks. Kiba was pretty skilled with his Sacred Gear and [Knight] speed, but Naruto told him to work on his reaction time and reflexes. If he could act as fast as he could move, then he'd be that much more of force to be reckoned with.
Rias' Kiba looked interested at that.
"Nice night isn't it, nya?" asked a familiar voice, making him turn to see Kuroka sitting on the ledge next to him.
"Yea, it is," he answered, turning back to the moon. "Your reputation has done a number on your sister, y'know. She's afraid of using chakra and senjutsu."
Kuroka winced at that.
"I figured," she replied as she looked up with him. "I saw how you helped her, by the way. Thank you for that.
Kuroka bowed her head. Simply saying thank you? No. Those two words were nowhere near enough.
I was afraid that she would deny who she was for the rest of her life."
Kuroka flinched at that. She was frightened by that, all right.
"You'll have to talk to her at some point. She needs to know the truth from you and not from some rumors."
"I know..." Kuroka muttered softly.
"I know," sighed the neko. "I'm…still waiting for the right time."
"That time won't exist if you keep stalling." He then turned to her and offered, "If you want, I could help you talk to her after this Rating Game. I think she should focus on this for the moment."
Kuroka jerked up and stared at Naruto. He was willing to help her reconnect with the last family she had left?! But...he barely knew her!
"You'd do that?" she asked in surprise. "But why help someone you just met?"
He laughed at her question, holding his side as he did so. "You'd be surprised how many times I've actually done that! You are far from the first person I helped the same day I met them!"
She blinked at his response before she slowly smiled. His chakra felt so…warm and bright. It was like the sun she loved to bathe in so much, or a nice warm fire she could curl up next to.
Kuroka and Koneko nodded. His energy DID feel that way.
But then a thought came to her as she remembered something.
"You mentioned senjutsu. Can you use it?"
"Well, I am a trained sage." Naruto said.
"Yea, I can use it. I was trained by toads to harness the natural energy of the world."
"…Toads?" asked Kuroka with a sweatdrop.
"You're kidding, right?" Kuroka asked, to which the whiskered blond shook his head.
"Long story, but the point is that I can use it," stated the blonde. "Why do you ask?"
"Can you show me how you do it? We nekomata use the nature around us to enhance our attacks. How do you use it?"
Kuroka perked up at the question of her other self. This she was interested in hearing!
The Uzumaki didn't answer her. Instead, he took a breath and calmed himself. To her surprise, his energy faded and began to mix itself with the natural energies surrounding her. He was practically invisible to her even though he was sitting right next to her.
"What are you, blind?" Sakura asked.
Kuroka hissed like an angry alley cat. "Seeing as you're NOT a sensory-type, you wouldn't get it!"
When he opened his eyes, she saw that they were so similar to the animals he said taught him. They also had orange markings around the eyelids, giving them even more of a toad like appearance. "This is my Sage Mode. I take in the natural energy and mix it with my own natural chakra coils. It enhances both my body and my attacks while also giving me a much more heightened sense of awareness. I can feel the energy signatures of everyone within a few miles of my position."
"Impressive!" Kuroka said.
"Wow…" she breathed out, feeling the same thing Koneko was before. However, instead of fighting the feeling, Kuroka embraced it and let the feeling wash over her.
While this happened, she was unaware that she had lost focus on her transformation and returned to her natural form.
Kuroka blushed. But in defense of her other, the feel of Naruto's energy mixed in with Senjutsu would feel wonderful. She wondered if she could get him to do that here...
The blonde watching her couldn't help but blush at the beautiful woman now standing before him with her golden eyes clouded by the feeling of senjutsu.
He cut off the flow and released his Sage Mode, making her blink back into focus before pouting at him cutely. "Mou, did you have to stop? It felt so good, nya~!"
"I bet..." Kuroka pouted.
He blushed again at how her wording could be taken as he rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yea, sorry about that. I didn't know it would affect you so much."
"Why apologize for a good thing?!" Kuroka said to Naruto.
She smirked at him before striding over and draping her arms over and around his shoulders, enjoying the flustered blush on his face and the feel of his muscles pressing against her generous assets.
Hinata had to have most of the Leaf Eleven hold her down at that.
"Oh, I didn't mind at all, Naruto-kun," she commented, purring out his name as her twin tails swayed happily. "Your energy from both before and now are so addicting, though." She then leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You're intoxicating."
Naruto blushed and scooted back, not liking the way Kuroka was suddenly eyeing him.
His blush was as red as his mother's hair as he stood straight, too tense to do anything else. "O-Oh," he stuttered out. "T-Thanks, I guess."
Kuroka grinned deviously. A senjutsu user with his chakra levels, a real cutie, AND fun to tease?! Oh...she couldn't have hit a better jackpot!
She giggled at his flustered state before she pulled away, mentally berating herself for doing so. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I said that I wasn't your enemy, and I meant it. Besides, I owe you some answers, right?" He nodded as his blush calmed down. "Well for starters, I'm a criminal for killing my [King] that I was a [Bishop] for. He made a threat to use my sister against me when she was just a child and I acted first before I left her with the Gremory House."
Kuroka winced at that.
"And the rumors about you going crazy?" asked the blonde.
"Those were his surviving Peerage members that saw that I was using chakra and senjutsu to kill him. They spread the rumors to have me branded as a criminal and seen as crazy."
"I see… Well, I can tell right now that you're anything but crazy. Your chakra is very calm and you seem to be more intelligent than most."
"Thank you, nya!" Kuroka said.
"Thank you, nya!" she replied with a feline grin that hid the small blush she had from his praise.
No need to repeat yourself." Akeno teased.
"It's nice to have someone believe me about this. Now, the reason I'm here is to observe you for my boss."
"Observe me?" he asked with a chuckle. "Don't you need to be more discreet about observations?"
She pouted at him. "Kinda hard when the one you're observing can sense others just as easily as you can…"
"Hehe… True," he relented. "So, who's your boss?"
"Me." Ophis said.
"She's known as the Infinity Dragon Goddess, Ophis. She doesn't look like much to most people, but trust me when I say that she's strong; very strong. She has devils, fallen, some angels, and even some humans who are descended from legends on her side. All I know is that she wants to take down some other dragon who kicked her out of her own home."
Ophis paused in her reading and scowled, "Great Red..." she muttered darkly.
"I see. Well, if she's trying to recruit me, I'd prefer to talk to her personally. No offense to you, but I'd like to hear more from her about all of this."
Ophis nodded at that. He wanted to hear things straight from her before choosing if he wanted to join her? She could respect that.
"None taken. And I could tell her that you want to meet. She won't bring you in without some kind of compensation though, just so you know, nya."
"Of course I wouldn't."Ophis said with a firm nod.
He nodded, mentally wondering if this Ophis could be able to send him back home.
"I could. Very easily at that." Ophis said, causing Hinata to smile at the female dragon in human form.
"Well, I don't mind you watching me and dropping in from time to time. It's nice having another friend to talk to."
"Friend?" she asked as she tilted her head. "You consider me a friend?"
"Well, a potential one anyway. We have a bit in common and I'd like to swap more stories with you. This world's interesting and I'd like to learn more about it."
Kuroka smiled. She'd like that. And it would give her a reason to be where she could keep an eye on her little sister more. Win-win for her!
She smiled at his words and nodded. "Sure thing, nya! I'll be sure to stop by every now and then. For now though, I'll go talk to Ophis-sama." She then boldly kissed his whiskered cheek, making him flush brightly while she grinned. "See you around, Naruto-kun!"
"YOU BITCH!" Hinata screamed, and lunged at Kuroka, who leap over her and landed in Naruto's lap, holding his head to her bosom, "Deal with it! How's it MY fault he's a great guy!?"
Hinata got ready to attack again, but Ophis spoke up "If you don't relax, I won't send him back."
Hinata froze, horrified at that, then sat down, assuming the fetal position "I'll be good." she squeaked.
With that, she left Naruto alone on the rooftop rubbing his cheek with his blush still in place. "Man… What a woman…"
"You said it, kid!" agreed Kurama with a fanged grin.
Everyone looked at Naruto shocked while Kuroka beamed, overjoyed.
Rias laid back on her bed, completely bare for anyone to see if they entered her room.
There were a few stifled nose bleeds at that.
Her head rested over her hands as she looked up at the ceiling. Her thoughts revolved around the whiskered blonde who had agreed to help her and who had shown her what assumptions could lead to.
Issie growled at that.
She smiled at how much he had already done to help her Peerage prepare, and it had only been one afternoon of training! Riser wasn't going to know what hit him when the Game started!
"Ok...THAT I wanna see!" Azazel laughed.
But, a part of her wondered what would happen after the Game ended. Would Naruto leave? Would her brother succeed in being able to send him back to his home world?
Such thoughts made her frown. She had been begging for some kind of hero to help her, and when one comes he could leave just as easily as he arrived. She wanted to get to know him more, to deepen the friendship that he had offered her. And not only that, but a part of her wanted to bond with him on a deeper level than friendship. He was like her in many ways, and she felt some kind of kinship in the blonde ninja.
She blushed as she realized that she was already attracted to Naruto Uzumaki,
As Naruto and Rias blushed, Hinata snarled at that.
but it was hard not to be! He was just so charming in his own way and he was so confident in anything he set his mind to! She couldn't help but want to be beside him through his newest strides.
The Huyga girl had to begrudgingly nod in agreement to the female devil's words at that. After all, she was the same way.
Giggling softly to herself, she slowly fell asleep and began to dream of the blonde hero.
Akeno hugged a pillow as she smiled and laid on her own bed. Unknowingly like her [King], the [Queen] of Rias's Peerage was thinking about the Uzumaki. She giggled as she remembered how he had comforted her and made her remember the good times she had with her mother.
Azazel smiled, this was good. This was just what Akeno needed!
Her smile softened as she recalled the feeling of warmth when she focused on the love she had for her mother instead of the anger against her father.
Akeno smiled at that, her eyes starting to moisten.
In the span of just one afternoon, this strange and kind man had done more for her than anyone except the Gremory House and Rias.
She hugged her pillow tighter and smiled brighter at the smile he always seemed to have. It eased her and made her feel like she could do anything she set her mind to. Closing her eyes, she snuggled into the pillow, imagining herself in his arms once again and blushing in her sleep.
Hinata and Issei both growled at that.
"Naruto-kun…" she whispered as she slept.
Two weeks had come and gone, and Naruto spent each day making sure Rias and her Peerage were ready for anything. He trained them into the ground in such a way that Gai and Lee would've been proud to join in.
Neji and Tenten winced. Knowing what THAT would be like, while Lee looked disappointed that he hadn't gotten such intense training.
He had them work on team tactics, helped them hone their individual talents, and even helped Rias learn how to think on the fly.
The last couple of days were spent in mock battles with his clones acting as enemy Pieces, and the devils showed just how much they had learned from him. He couldn't help but grin at their progress. He may not have been much of a teacher, in his own opinion, but he liked to think that he had prepared them enough for the Rating Game.
"No doubt you have." Rias assured Naruto with a smile.
One thing he had noticed though was how much Rias and Akeno seemed to try in getting his attention. He would spend time with them of course, but it was new to him to be so sought out by two beautiful women.
Hinata nearly fainted at that. Issei cracked his knuckles.
Not only that, but Kuroka – whenever she visited – had taken to laying in his lap in both her cat form and her natural form. As a cat, she enjoyed the way his fingers brushed through her fur and found the sweet spots on her back and behind her ears.
Kuroka moaned. That HAD to feel good! Damn her other, lucky!
However, while she was in her natural form, she loved how his chakra would warm her body and send pleasant tingles through her.
"No fair that she gets that!" Kuroka pouted.
He blushed as he remembered how the nekomata woman would always leave him flustered with a kiss on the cheek every time she left. Though, he couldn't help but think he saw something in her eyes when she had left him last night.
Hinata clawed at her ears, she couldn't bare to hear this!
Tenten winced.
"Lucky bastard!" Kiba Inuzuka muttered, glaring at Naruto.
"Naruto-kun?" asked Rias. "You okay?"
"Huh?" he asked back, being broken from his thoughts. "Oh, yea I'm okay. So, are we ready to start?"
"Almost. Nii-sama is getting ready to have Grayfia start the Game. You have your party favors, right?"
The shinobi all grinned. Knowing what THAT could mean!
He grinned at her as he patted a scroll that was tied to his belt. "I wouldn't leave without them, Red-chan."
She blushed at the name, having come to enjoy it since it felt personal to her. Akeno pouted a little at her friend's blush before she stepped up to the blonde. "Any words of encouragement for us, Naruto-kun?" she asked as she stood close to him.
"Nothing much other than to watch your back and don't do anything reckless." He then grinned and thumbed his chest as he added, "That's my job."
Naruto's friends laughed at how true that was.
Akeno giggled at his last comment and smiled at the blonde warmly, making Rias's brow twitch. The two then locked eyes and Akeno smirked at her while an unseen spark locked between their eyes.
Silently, they both agreed to one thing; they weren't backing off so easily.
"All Peerage members get ready. The Rating Game between Riser Phenex-sama and Rias Gremory-sama is about to begin," announced Grayfia from a microphone.
"That's our cue," Rias said, breaking her gaze from Akeno to address her friends. "This is it, everyone. No matter what happens, I can't thank you enough for standing with me for this."
They all smiled and nodded to her while Naruto grinned with a thumbs up. She smiled back at them as they were all blinded by a brilliant flash of light. When it died down, they found themselves in the familiar sight of the Occult Research Clubroom. The lone human of the group, having absorbed the Temporary Piece before the Game started, grinned as he looked outside and saw the detail in the "battlefield" he would be fighting in with these devils.
"It's showtime!" Naruto grinned.
"Let the games begin!" he exclaimed before he grabbed his scroll and opened it, covering him and the others in a plume of smoke.
"That's the end of the chapter, Think that's enough for now?" Ophis asked.
