Their First

"Goodnight Naruto-kun, Robin-chan. Naruto be back early tomorrow morning alright and Robin I hope you like the books I picked out for you. Sayonara." Clover shouted as he waved at the two from the Library door.

"Night Clover-san I'll be back as soon as Ya open the door tomorrow morning." Naruto shouted back happily with his hands in his pockets.

"Arigato Clover-sensei I'm sure I'll love them." Robin shouted back as a small train of eight books with legs followed her. Three weeks ago she wouldn't have dared to use her powers so blatantly due to shame and fear of reprisal, but with Naruto nearby the villagers' willingness to berate her or try to start things had diminished.

"Eh Robin-Chan you mind if I walk home with Ya?" Naruto said nervously as his eyes darted back and forth as though he was an animal looking for predators.

"Not at all Naruto-kun, but why are you so nervous. Did the lesson go badly or did clover-sensei tell you something to make you on edge?" Robin asked as they made for her house.

"Nothing has me on edge Robin-Chan what makes you think I'm on edge cause I'm not." Naruto said a tad too quickly to be genuine.

"You're acting as though we're about to get jumped and although I appreciate it you usually let me walk myself home. Clover-sensei said something to you didn't he? Most likely with regards to the kids you've been "fighting", if you could even call it that." Robin said as she thought back on the wounds those three boys from a few weeks ago still had.

"In my defense they have been asking for, and if they're too dumb to learn not to pick a fight with a living mass of pure badass then it's their fault. Sides I fought them without my powers like a normal person and they were still all bitches about it especially those twerps from the other day." Naruto defended brightening a bit when he thought about the kids he'd beaten up and bringing a smile to Robin's face as she no doubt remembered the same.

"Naruto-kun that had to be the worst one of all." She said laughing as she remembered Naruto's most recent "fight" just a few days ago.

Naruto and Robin were sitting in a clearing as Robin read a book on the history of alabasta and Naruto stood in front of a tree punching it repeatedly.

The rhythmic monotony of punch punch punch was broken by the footsteps of a crowd of about 20 kids approaching them with the three kids Naruto had hurt a couple weeks ago leading them. The largest of the group, a boy who looked to be around 10 years old and who was the same boy whose wrist was baked by Naruto stepped forward and pointed at Naruto. "Hey demon boy, we're here to make you pay for what you did to us understand?" he shouted boldly evoking cheers from the crowd and grunts of approval from his two friends.

Naruto meanwhile didn't even acknowledge them and instead kept hitting the tree like he had been while Robin just kept reading.

The boy got a tick mark on his head and shouted at them again. "Hey you stupid demon I'm talking to you. I'm here to challenge you to a fight not watch you play paddy cake with a tree." The rest of the kids all started laughing at the joke before bracing themselves when Naruto turned back around.

"Hey Robin-chan, does this form look right to you? I'm not really sure how I should be throwing my punch and to be honest at this point I'm just trying to do it really hard." Naruto asked as his knuckles caught ablaze and burned away the bark stuck to them causing the boy and his friends to all gulp loudly.

"A…and t…that's another thing no using your crazy demon powers all right. Cause if you do then my mom will go ballistic and you'll be in huge trouble." The boy said again earning his generic chorus of yeas but not earning a rise out of Naruto.

"Hmmm it looks right to me just flex you fist right before you hit instead of all the way. There's a few sections on the library with things like that that you can look at once you learn to read but for now I guess just keep doing what you're doing and maybe imagine a person on the tree and try to hit different parts. Try to keep a nicer rhythm though. It gets hard to read if you start punching erratically." Robin said before looking back to her book and turning a page completely ignoring the crowd of children looking at them in irritation.

Naruto looked at his fists for a moment before walking back to the tree and cupping his chin in his hand as he looked at it with a thinking pose. Meanwhile the largest of the boys got tired of waiting and walked up behind Naruto before throwing a punch. Unfortunately for him at that moment Naruto took a step back towards Robin, allowing the blow to miss him and slam into the side of the painfully unyielding tree generating a pained whimper from the boy as he clutched his bruised hand. "Hey Robin-chan is it okay if I burn the tree a little bit. I want to put a person outline and it's the only thing I know how to write with?"

Robin laughed lightly and looked up and backward from her book at him "It's not my tree Naruto-kun, in fact the tree is the one you should really be asking. And besides, so long and you didn't go more than a centimeter it shouldn't hurt it."

Naruto nodded sagely and turned back towards the tree to come face to face with the three boys that headed the mob with the ring leader having recovered a bit. "Oh I thought you guys would have gotten tired of this by now. Do you still want to do this whole fight thing cause it won't end well."

The ringleader laughed and pointed at Naruto triumphantly. "The only reason you beat us before is cause you surprised and used your demon powers I'm not scared of you if you don't have them to back you up. Plus its twenty three against one so I'm not at all worried about odds and even then you're like half my size, I could take you in my…" he didn't have time to finish as a small fist buried itself into his gut and sent him to his knees.

"It's actually twenty three against two" Robin said with a frighteningly sweet smile as she stood next to Naruto.

The ringleader grunted from his spot on the ground before looking at his two friends and yelling at them "Don't just stand there fight them dammit."

The two rushed forward one each going after Robin and Naruto and both throwing sloppy right hooks at them.

Naruto ducked down under the punch and drove his right shoulder into the larger boys gut throwing both of them to the ground while Robin just leaned to her right as the punch passed harmlessly by. On the ground Naruto was about to start punching his kid in the face when a foot connected with his ribs and he rolled away looking back to see the ringleader helping the first kid off the ground. Robin meanwhile was still lazily moving out of the way of the second boy's punches until he finally over extended his arm and she grabbed his wrist before stabbing her index finger in the crook of his elbow and twisting it making the boy's arm seize up in pain. As the boy jerked his arm back in pain Robin got inside his guard and slammed the palm of her hand into his temple knocking the boy out before he hit the ground.

Naruto had gotten back up and lowered himself into a crude animal like fighting stance as he slowly circled the two boys who had themselves settled into their own brawler type stances. The two then repeated their earlier actions and ran at Naruto with cocked back right hooks which Naruto answered by ducking below the one on his left and bringing his interlocked fists onto the arch of the boys back, driving him straight into the ground and out of the fight.

During this however the other boy managed to turn around and deliver a blow to Naruto's face, knocking him back and making him spit a little bit of blood from a bit cheek. The boy looked at Naruto in triumph at finally drawing blood but said triumph was short lived as Naruto stood back up and cracked his right knuckle before charging at the boy and ducking under his guard to slam an uppercut into his stomach that managed to lift him up off the ground and send him flying into the group of on-looking children.

"I don't know if your fruit boosts your physical abilities or if it's all that moronic training you do, but that last punch didn't quite count as "normal person". Back on the subject though, was I right, did clover-sensei say something to get you so worried?" Robin asked, her smile receding slightly

Naruto put hands behind his head and let out a sigh as he started somehow walking with her while solely focusing on the sky

"Okay Clover-sensei time to get started with this whole reading thing. What's my first step?" Naruto asked still pumped up from his challenge to Robin.

"Well the very first thing you must do is make me a promise about a very serious matter." Clover said seriously

Naruto lost his excited demeanor and looked at Clover oddly "Um sure Clover-san whatever you need but why are you so serious all the sudden?"

"It's the matter of the children you have been getting into fights with. I know that they have all probably asked for it by antagonizing you or Robin but I would like you to cease directly behaving in such a way for two reasons. One, to uphold the reputation of this library given that you are now in a sense a student here. We are a group of learners and knowledge seekers and we don't need someone pathologically violent in our ranks. The second reason is the fact that those who have had run-ins with you are having difficulty healing and various people in the village don't like it. I'm aware of the odd amount of strength you have as well as the fact that you fight like an adult rather than a child 'rough housing' so I know that only time can help those wounded by you, but be aware that if you were weaker or you slept somewhere people could reach; you would likely be dead by now." Clover said remaining dead serious through the entire explanation.

At hearing the word dead Naruto broke out in a nervous sweat "C'mon Clover-san it can't be that bad…right?"

"I'm afraid that everything I said was fact. Which is why I'm quite grateful that Robin will likely move in with you. If your escapades continue she would likely become a scapegoat for the people's rage that doesn't have the power to light anything he wants on fire." Clover said very seriously

"What's that supposed to mean Clover-san?" Naruto asked nervously half of him knowing the answer and the other half fearing what it knew

"It means that Robin may be killed."

"Yea… um clover clover-san told me I can't fight anymore now that I'm a student of his, cause it would be bad for the library's image. He was really nice about it and said he understood that the other kids all start stuff with me but it won't make it any easier to ignore them."

"It would be good for you to learn some restraint before some truly stupid kid ends up permanently crippled." Robin said, momentarily entertaining the thought of Naruto splitting one of the bullies in half "And if it's that big a deal for you I can help, I'm used to dealing with this sort of stuff without mutilating people."

Hearing Robin say made Naruto stop walking eyes still fixed on the stars "That was something I never asked you about the day we met. Why the hell weren't you fighting back? I've seen your powers and I know how smart you are, hell I watched you practically dance around that asshole a couple days ago, if you really wanted to you could have beat all those kids to a bloody pulp but you were just sitting there taking it." He said before bringing his arms down and looking her in the eyes with a veil of fury behind his "What stopped you from fighting back!?"

This time it was Robin let out a sigh and looked up at the stars. It was no mystery to her that several of the fights were started based solely on comments someone made about her while Naruto was in earshot. Despite how grateful and she was to finally have someone willing to defend her she understood that violence and wave making would only hurt them in the future and despite the fact that she had allowed herself to indulge in violence with Naruto, she knew that it would come back to haunt them eventually. As her eyes focused on the innumerable pinpricks of light that dotted the night sky she focused on each one as she sifted through the words in her mind to find the right ones. Words to describe to someone as spirited and independent as Naruto why it was sometimes necessary to submit to the collective will in order to protect certain things.

"Understanding made me stop. I understood that of all the outcomes I could have forced that one ended up the least painful in the long run. Had I beaten those kids up it would have started a snowball with the adults leading to Roji. I didn't act because I understood that all the people I relied on for food, shelter and survival were on the side of the bullies. I'm not sure if you survived entirely on your own by stealing what you needed whenever you got hungry but I haven't. I've thought about it, but this island isn't large enough for me to always stay hidden and I can't leave until I finish what I need to. If I had acted out or fight back I would lose the only opportunity to become an archeologist like my mother and with it the only chance at my dream." She said solemnly before looking back down and smiling gently at Naruto "Sometimes defending the things that are precious to you isn't as grand as fighting an enemy or kicking a jerk's ass. Sometimes it's being able to deal with what is thrown at you without breaking down. Do you understand what I'm trying to say Naruto-kun?"

For a second he was about to protest about how fighting to defend you pride and honor mattered too until some words he heard a few hours earlier echoed through his mind

"…Robin may be killed."

Naruto softened when he remembered those words, whatever rage he had before the conversation gone like the winds of the calm belt. "I… yea Robin-chan I think I understand. I can understand the protection people thing but I still don't think that lying down and showing the world your soft belly will help. If someone threatens your dream then beat em up and it someone stronger comes then beat them up until they have no one left and you win. But then again I guess if push really comes to shove I might be willing to swallow my pride to protect what matters to me."

Robing turned around and wrapped him in a hug "I'm glad." She said before leaning in and whispering in his ear "If all the touchy feely stuff doesn't work I like to imagine myself eviscerating them and snapping their spines. Food for thought."

Naruto went comically wide eyed at Robin's last statement and was left stuttering when she walked off "My house is right here thanks for walking me home Naruto-kun."

"Um…yea…I…um…thanks for letting me walk with you semi-insane Robin-chan." Naruto stuttered out

"Insane is just a word used by fools to brand the inspired. Goodnight Naruto-kun" Robin said with her back to him as she walking through the light of the door, her trail of books following.

"Yea night Robin-chan."Naruto said as the door closed and he numbly walked back towards the tree of omniscience where his tree house dwelled, his thoughts too focused on the insanely inspired girl he had just walked home.

XxX

The following week passed by uneventfully or at least as uneventfully as possible for Naruto and Robin. True to his promise Naruto had refrained from fighting anyone despite no shortage in people looking to start things with him. The only real difficulty had been the urge to allow the kids to cook themselves trying to hit him as opposed to dodging out of the way of their blows.

Naruto had diligently been studying under Clover's tutelage and was confident that he would be able to prove his literacy today and unless Robin chose something outrageous he had faith he would pull through. Unfortunately it was Robin he was talking about and he had foolishly allowed her the right to choose the test book which is why he now found himself sitting in a seat near the larger orrery in the middle of the library sweating bullets as Robin casually perused a section of books that had titles three paragraphs long.

Naruto had hoped that the chance to get away from Roji would make Robin go easy on him and find a picture book or something fit for a normal child, but it seemed that her desire to win the bet was more important at the moment.

"Here we are, this is the perfect book to prove yourself with Naruto-kun." Robin said as she lugged a massive dust covered brown book back to him and slammed it on the table "just the first few paragraphs and I'll admit defeat."

Naruto gulped as he opened the books and his eyes widened in horror "Um Robin-chan don't you think that I could oh I don't know…PRACTICE ON SOMETHING FROM THIS CENTURY! Look at this think thing it looks like it's 200 years old." He said flipping through the pages and generating a dust cloud.

"Hmmm close, it's actually 242." Robin said with a smirk "When I said I wanted you to learn to read I meant read at my level or at least close. It won't help very much if you read foolish little picture books like every other kid in the village. Besides most of the words are phonetic so you'll do fine."

"Um if you say so. ehehem from the top A bri…ef in…tro…duct…ion to the in…trin…sic val…ues of His…tor…ic…al Rec…ord Keep…ing From the Twel…fth Cent…utry Chap…ter one. So how was that, I'm done now right?" Naruto said closing the book and smiling at Robin and she stared at him expressionlessly. "Ah c'mon Robin-chan that aint too bad for just a week, right?"

Robin scratched her chin and let out a long hmmm before she spoke "It's good enough for now…if that is… you can define what you just read. So long as you can understand it, speed won't matter and I'll consider this a win for you. Be grateful I lack the patience wait here as you struggle to try and read the first paragraph."

Naruto gulped and looked back down at the title page for a second racking his brains for answers "Ummm okay well A means one duh. Bri…ef I think means like short and quick. In…tro…duct…ion is like ummm meeting someone when you introduce yourself since they sound kinda the same. In…trin…sic is the…uh it's like when…oh I got it it's inside stuff like organs and stuff, yea like that. Okay val…ues is how much stuff is worth, His…tor…ic…al is stuff that's happened in the past, rec…ords are things that cool people break twel…fth is whats after eleven and century is a long time. Oh and Chap..ter is a part of a book. There pretty good huh, I'm a regular super genius now right?"

"Well it's honestly better than I expected it to be except for the actual reading which you are horrible at. But so long as you can sound out words and understand them decently you can improve. I'm actually amazed you knew what those words meant." Robin said with a slight grin before sighing "What a pity though. I was hoping to have you be my work slave for a couple months."

"Soooo that means I win right?" Naruto asked tuning out everything else Robin had said.

"Hmmmmmmm Hai Naruto-kun that means you win." Robin said with a laugh.

"WOOHOO! Now all I have to do is convince Roji-baka and then you can move in with me and we can train together" Naruto shouted as he jumped out of his seat and ran to the door before stopping and grabbing Robin's hand "C'mon Robin-chan we have to go convince Roji."

"Naruto I feel you are underestimating how hard this part will be. Roji won't listen to anything you or I say. How do you plan to convince her?" Robin said calmly, ignoring the fact that she was almost being dragged by Naruto towards her house.

Naruto turned around and smiled at her again managing to keep running straight "You worry too much Robin-chan. Mark my words I swear that Roji will let you go peacefully…even if I have to use force."

"Um there's an intrinsic flaw with your logic Naruto-kun." Robin said with a sweat drop.

"There's no time to discuss my insides. Right now we need to act." Naruto said valiantly not missing a step as he continued his charge.

"You still don't seem to understand how hard this will. Nothing you say to Roji will get her to agree, if only because she knows it would make me happy." Robin said ignoring Naruto's apparent misunderstanding of the word intrinsic.

"Nah you're just worrying too much Robin-chan. I'm sure that after we make a clear logical case Roji will understand." Naruto said happily as they neared the house.

"About that…" Robin muttered ominously.

XxX

"What do you mean no?" Naruto whined desperately staring up at the overweight red haired woman in front of him.

"I said no you little mongrel. However disgusting it might be keeping her around the house has made my life simpler. If she goes then I have to start doing housework again." Roji said angrily.

Naruto clenched his fists and felt smoke start radiating off his arms as he fought the urge to punch Roji in the face. Remembering what he had promised Robin and Clover about beating people up he hissed through clenched teeth "Please reconsider Roji-san. I know you don't like having "our kind" in your home so why would you pass an opportunity to let Robin-chan go?"

Roji scoffed at him "Because demon, if she's here then I don't have to work. The towns people don't hold it against me because they know that I hate her like they do and I get free labor out of it. Nothing short of a mob or Arma-freaking-geddon would make me get rid of such a useful work slave so you can give up trying. And don't get any ideas about just leaving without my consent. If I catch any wind of something like that then I'll have the entire village bearing down on you two like a pack of wolves understood. I have quite a bit of pull with people around here."

Naruto glared up at her furiously from under his bangs "Yes Roji-baka I understand perfectly. We're not done here and I promise you're going to regret this. C'mon Robin-chan let's go." He said as he and Robin turned to leave only for Roji to grab Robin's arm and pull her inside.

"Not so fast you little monster, you still have chores to do today so you can stay here." Roji said as she pulled Robin through the doorway inside the house

"Oba-san please let go of me. You're hurting my arm." Robin said with an odd amount of calm while Roji twisted her arm awkwardly.

"Oi let go of her BAKA-Roji." Naruto shouted as his arms became enveloped in a barely noticeable red haze.

"Listen up Demon. This thing" Roji said shaking Robin by her arm "is legally mine. She is under my roof and I am her legal guardian so I can treat her any way I see fit. Now get out of here before you do something you regret."

Naruto growled and felt his lips pulled back in a snarl as he prepared to burn Roji to a crisp however he was stopped by Robin whispering "Naruto-kun remember what I said. Fighting here won't prove anything and it won't help. For something like this I recommend a bit more finesse."

Naruto looked at her oddly before his eyes brightened in understanding and a devilish grin appeared on his face "Fine I'll leave. But know this Roji-baka, you have called down upon yourself a maelstrom of ill tidings and bad luck that your puny mortal mind cannot comprehend. I shall call forth a whirlwind of curses to befall you each more terrible and insidious than the last. I curse you Roji with a plague of bad luck that I shall only lift when my demands are met." Naruto said accenting his speech with over the top motions and hand gestures that would have looked to most people like a silly child acting foolish.

Roji however, since she and the other townsfolk believed he and Robin to be actual demons, was suddenly left ashen faced with fear at the prospect of Naruto's curse. Contemplating the various hexes and plagues the now angered demon could muster left her almost paralyzed with fear. She let go of Robin and fearfully locked eyes with Naruto who was still wearing his trademark evil grin "Y…you're lying aren't you little monster. T…there's no way you can actually do something like that."

Naruto and Robin both looked shocked for a moment that Roji actually bought such complete bullshit but quickly overcame their shock to keep the ruse going "oh I assure you Oba-san Naruto-kun's power is not to be trifled with." Robin said.

"That's right Ro-baka if you don't let Robin leave peacefully then I will rain misfortune down upon you like a tsunami." Naruto said raising his hands and bringing them down to simulate a large wave

Roji gulped at the display and backed into her house as she drew the door closed "I… I don't want to hear another w…word out of you demon. You're lying and it will take more than lies for me to give up my meal ticket." She said as she grabbed ahold of Robin again and pulled her inside with her. "C'mon runt you have dishes to clean."

Naruto cast his eyes to the ground dramatically before cackling maniacally at the sky "MWUHAHAHAHA very well Ro-baka. The die has been cast and soon you shall feel the infinite annoyance that is a non-lethal Naruto."

XxX

Roji leisurely walked through the market looking at all the new dresses that had just been brought in from the mainland. She had decided last night that she would get her daughter something to make up for all the shouting that the two demons had gotten into the night before and felt a dress would be the perfect gift especially considering she had to burn one after that girl wore it.

So here she was perusing the few window displays in the town's small market when her eye caught a beautiful yellow dress that would look perfect on her daughter. Roji walked up to it and looked more closely at the dress admiring the stitching and the sublet floral patterns on the straps. After setting her mind on getting the dress she was about to enter the shop when she noticed something odd in the reflection of the glass display window.

It looked to be some kind of round orange shape that was flying towards her from the roof of a building across the street.

When Roji turned around to look at it her world went dark and a loud POP was heard as a balloon filled with orange paint exploded in her face

"MWUHAHAHAHA this is but a taste Ro-baka. You have entered the gauntlet of the Demon king." Naruto shouted from his triumphant perch on the building, slingshot still in hand while several people on the street helped Roji get cleaned up. "By the time I'm done you won't be able to walk four feet without looking over your shoulder in pure terror MWUHAHAHAHA."

Roji got the paint out of her eyes and looked up at the blond staring down at her "GET DOWN HERE YOU LITTLE MONSTER!" she screamed as she threw a rock at him

Naruto smirked as the pebble flew through him "You know what you have to do to end the pain Ro-baka. Release my dear Robin-hime and I shall end your torture. Continue to resist and the consequences will get worse and worse. Now, I await your response, Naruto AWAAAYYYYYYY." He shouted as he ran towards the side of the build the crowd was in front of and jumped off looking as though he would fall into the arms of the people he had just called out.

Just after he began to descend from his initial jump everything from his waist down dissolved into a deep red gaseous haze and propelled him off into the sky like a rocket, leaving behind him a cloudy contour trail of rapidly fading red.

The people in the crowd were reacting to the display in a variety of ways ranging from shock and awe to anger and rage however the most extreme reactions were from two merchant sailors that were looking at the display with terror filled eyes.

"RUN TO THE SHIP MITCH THE DEMON HAS DECLARED WAR ON ANOTHER POOR SOD!" One of them screamed dropping the box he was carrying and running like a child.

"MOTHER OF GOD RALPH, TELL THE CAPTAIN TO RAISE ANCHOR AND SET SAIL IMMEDIATELY. THIS WHOLE ISLAND IS DEAD TO US" The other shouted as well running to catch up with his friend. "DEAD TO US!"

The remaining townspeople looked on with bewilderment at the actions of the two and simply chocked it up to the insane ramblings of psychopaths unaware that the island they hailed from, Naruto's old home, had many times been pranked into the dark ages when the boy grew truly bored.

XxX

"Roji-san are you all right?" a concerned woman asked as she and a few others helped her up and gave her a rag to wipe the paint from her face.

"Yea yea, I'm fine just a little shaken up." Roji growled as bits of the apparently quick drying paint flecked into her eyes. "I am going to make that demon pay of it's the last thing I do though."

The other townsfolk looked at one another worriedly, many beginning to take the reaction of the sailors to heart, and were beginning to worry about just what the child's declaration might mean. They were of course aware that the power he had was terrifying, a much purer expression of demonic power than the girl, who could only sprout limbs when and where she pleased. The boy had the power of burning air as far as they could tell, proven by the burns on a few children who had fought him and his ability to seemingly disintegrate anything thrown at him. One particular shop keeper had bravely tried to beat him with a steel pipe and it had simply passed through his head like a ghost. The second swing saw the pipe caught by the child and then promptly melted in its palm like wax near an open flame.

All of his terrifying power had always been something that was glared at and kept away, but if something Roji had done actually managed to anger him enough to declare "war" on her than most of the town wanted nothing to do with it.

An odd looking but well-dressed middle aged man with a round belly and an almost jolly green mustache and beard walked through the crowd and loudly cleared his throat to get Roji's and the crowd's attention before speaking. "ladies and gentlemen I think we all know what has to happen now. Miss Roji must give that little demon his 'Robin-hime' back. Surely there is no harm in relegating the both of them to the derelict tree house the boy lives in and we all know the only reason you might have to keep her in your home in that deep down you care for that demon. Frankly I don't see how we should have to be put in danger just because she won't give up the girl."

Murmurs of agreement rose up through the crowd as many people saw the wisdom in the old man's words. Many not counting Roji that is, who was already trying to work up an argument to protest his train of thought. "Now wait just a minute bub. I don't have any love for the thing that shares a roof with me but I'll be dammed if I'm going to simply give this new demon everything he asked for got it. We beat the first one this newcomer isn't any different." Roji said earning a small chorus of "YEA" from likeminded folks

"Oh but this one is different. He is a logia user, which makes him nigh immortal, he can't be hit like the girl can, why no he can't even be touched. If he were to go on a rampage he has the power to set fire to this entire town and we would be powerless to stop him. Even the marines often fear a confrontation with those who have tasted of a logia fruit so what hope do we have to 'beat' this demon as you put it. If he was pushed far enough or if the girl he obviously cares for is hurt then I have no doubt that he would burn the entire island to ash in revenge" The old man said leveling a glare at Roji that her at a loss for words.

Hearing him use the term rampage filled her thoughts with images of a real demon and actual hellfire consuming the town and her family instead of the village pariah she was used to. She and the town had always used the term jokingly to show that she was an outcast but hearing this apparently wise man's words conjured images of a hundred foot high demonic firestorm. She thought of Robin going to the boy and telling him about the years of neglect she had suffered and riling him up until he swooped down to the town and consumed it in a blaze of death. Looking around at the faces of the people in the group she saw that most of them agreed "I… I suppose that given what may happen it won't be such a big deal to let her go." Roji said with a defeated tone.

"Letting her go would be a good start, but I think that only a turnaround will undo what's been done. If the girl tells him enough stories of pain and sadness then boy may wish to rampage simply to get revenge. Demons will get very violent when they are mistreated, threatened or hungry. Though they have been known to protect those that get on their good side or give them food" He said making sure to eye a food vendor when he said the words hungry and food.

The vendors got the idea and one of them quickly hatched a plan to help earn himself a bit of public goodwill "If that is what it takes than I will make the sacrifice necessary to keep our town safe. I shall start leaving out food offerings to keep the demons content and well fed. Though it may drain my coffers a bit I'm more than willing to do so for the good of our fair city."

"Now wait a minute Touza I don't think that any one stall should have to bear such a burden. I will help you as well. With both our stalls we could muster a full meal, more than enough to keep them from causing trouble." Another stall owner said trying to earn his slice of the people's heart.

As the crowd began to brainstorm about ideas and a small splinter followed Roji home to tell Robin she could go, none of them noticed as the green haired man slinked away behind a building and began walking towards the tree of omniscience. As he walked he reached down the front of his shirt and pulled the full form of his beard from his shirt out along with a pillow, removing his apparent belly. He then reached behind his head and untied a few knots which then let the full form of his massive hairstyle take shape again.

When he reached the door he opened it up and was met by his good friend Roche "Hey Clover-san, how did the plan work?" Roche asked as he took the pillow from the professor and tossed it back on a chair.

Clover chuckled lightly as he grabbed a book off the wall and settled down on the couch. "Perfectly."

XxX

Robin had been working the entire time since she and Naruto had asked Roji to let her go. The new work load that Roji had whipped up was more taxing than she had been prepared for, mostly the lack of sleep.

In truth it was perhaps foolish for her to not show signs of weakness sooner for then Roji would have had the satisfaction of winning and it would have been done with. Instead Robin had outpaced any foolish task she gave her and was ready to move onto the next, which only made Roji mad enough to step up the difficulty till Robin snapped.

Wincing again as she felt another one of her hands whack itself with a hammer she reapplied her focus to the current task at hand. Roji had instructed her to dismantle, repair and repaint the fence around the house before she returned from the market or she would receive a beating. Robin was aware that the impossible deadline was due to the fact that she had used her devil fruit rather blatantly to beat the rest of Roji's tasks in a rather Naruto-esque show of prideful stupidity.

A tragic flaw that she had found in her devil fruits abilities was the fact that her body bore the strain of the flowered appendages as though they were still attached. What seemed like magic wonder hands catering to her every whim was actually her feeling the aches and tiredness of all the combined hands after a long day of work. Given the way Roji had been driving her without rest for the past two days Robin felt as though her arms were about to detach from their shoulder joints and fall off. For all the heart he had Naruto's little speech really hadn't helped Robin deal with Roji

She would need to find a way to speak with the Baka soon if she was to have any hope of getting out of Roji's clutches though, for despite all the bravado he spouted at heart Naruto wasn't a strategist. A tactician perhaps, but the line between strategy and tactics is what separates the winner and loser in a real war. Naruto's plan probably involves making Roji uncomfortable which will in turn only make Roji lash out at her more which truthfully doesn't help all that much.

Once she finished the fence and found Naruto she would tell him the proper way to deal with the situation, all she had to do was find him and…

"Hey Robin-hime, how's the fence building going?" Naruto said casually as he stuck his head in the middle of Robin's line of sight, somehow managing to appear in front of her out of thin air.

Where most would have jumped or leapt back in panic Robin simply smiled slightly at Naruto before a hand materialized out of his back and whacked him on the head. "So good to see you Naruto-kun. How have you been? I've been here working…a lot." She said sweetly while Naruto fell to the ground and clutched his head in a show of melodrama.

"Oi Robin-hime why did you hit me? I just got back from valiantly defending your honor against the evil Ro-baka-saurus with my mighty paint water balloons and this is how you thank me." he said point to a bump that had somehow managed to rapidly form.

"No, that's how I thank you for getting me stuck with a month's worth of work in just two days. I haven't stopped working since you maniacal laughter spree because Roji was mad at you and therefore me. And if what you just said was true then she's going to come walking up the road with a small mob and I'm probably going to get beaten up or worked half to death." Robin said with a sigh and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "When I said non-violent I actually meant subtle. You know subvert the townsfolk, discredit her in the public eye pressure her into your pocket, not dump paint on her until she gets pissed off and takes it out on me."

Naruto looked at Robin sadly as her and clovers word rang out in his head. His actions weren't helping at all and from the look of Robin she really had been getting worked into the ground in the last 48 hours. She had big bags under her eyes and looked about ready to collapse from a strong breeze with the disheveled look being accentuated by the small rips and tears in her dress. Even her other hands were working rather lethargically and despite his comedic performance the blow to his head had been rather gentle and weak. Naruto felt his gut twist with guilt and his hand clench as he looked at her in that sorry state and knew that he had made Roji so mad with his hijinks. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to stop and let Roji win. If Robin wanted subtle than subtle she would have "Don't worry Robin I have it all worked out now." He said perking himself up and smiling at her "I'll get Roji to let you leave and I'll do it without her knowing it's me. All I gotta do is get some wire, a bag of feathers, some sugar, a few firecrackers, a whale…"

Despite still feeling as though her muscles had been put through a wood chipper Robin smiled as she watched Naruto begin concocting some moronic hair brained plan to help her. The fact that he was trying meant a lot to her and even if he was going about it the wrong way it made her happy to have someone trying so hard to help. "Naruto before I tell you all the reasons that you won't be able to get a whale to beach itself on Roji why don't we try something a little more practical. I was thinking we could…" Robin said until she noticed the mod she predicted come into view "On second thought we can talk later right now you should leave okay. If Roji sees you we'll both get in more trouble."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw the approaching group before grunting out an affirmative "I'll be nearby, if they try something I'll stop them."

Robin laugh as she lightly shoved him towards some bushes "If it's a real issue then I'll handle it myself. You're not the only one with a powerful devil fruit you know. Now stay here till things calm down." Robin said as she pushed Naruto into the bush and went back to work on the fence as the crowd approached.

"Hello oba-san, townsfolk. The fence you requested I finish has not been completed yet and I will accept whatever punishment you have, but aside from that is there something I can help you all with?" she said as she mentally prepared herself for the worst.

When the crowd saw that Roji had been making her work Robin noticed that many of them became oddly pale and looked as though some eldritch abomination was going to swoop down and punish them for it. Some monstrous winged beast that would swoop down from the sky and begin slashing its way through the crowd severing heads and splitting bodies. But such a thing only occurred in her imagination and her daydreams what could possibly be making the people so panicky.

"Yes dem…I mean Robin, we have something we would like to make clear to you and you…friend." Roji said slightly nervously, an emotion that completely caught Robin off guard, though not as much as the next sentence. "I will allow you to leave this house and live where you please and several of the market stall owners have even agreed to begin leaving food out for you two to keep you at bay… I mean healthy and well fed. All we ask in return is that you stave off your demonic wrath and instead use it to protect us. I also wish to personally apologize for all the mistreatment that you have endured in my house and ask that you not hold it against me or my family. Gomen'nasai." She concluded before pressing her face into the dirt and bowing, an action that the rest of the town's people mirrored.

The action left Robin's mind, for the first time since she could remember, completely shut down and unable to process even the tiniest iota of information. 'R…R…Roji is…is bowing t…to m…m…me. Roji i…is b…bowing to me. This… this can't be happening. This all has to be some overly realistic dream I'm having. No force in the known universe is capable of causing this. This can't be real. Far too good to be true. Far far far too good to be true.' Robin thought as she tentatively walked towards the still bowing mob, aware that as she got closer they all panicked more. When she got close Robin decided to test the reality of the situation the same way she had been told to by Clover 'if you can feel something then there is no doubt it's there, of all the senses touch is almost impossible to fool' so naturally Robin decided to try something she had wanted to do since the first time Roji barked a command at her.

Robin stood inched from Roji's face, still pressed firmly into the dirt and reared her leg back. "Roji guess what?" Robin said, startling Roji into bending her head up just in time to see a bare foot smash into her nose "I hate you." The kick held an astonishing level of force for a girl Robin's size and easily flipped Roji backwards and into the air over the rest of the mob before landing on her back unconscious a good four yards away.

Just as one person in the crowd was about to stand up and retaliate he was pulled back into a bowing position by two others. "What the fuck are you doing we can't let that monster walk all over us." He whispered angrily.

The one on his right looked at him fearfully and simply motioned for him to look ahead. When the first man did so he instantly paled and began thinking of ways to thank the other two for no doubt saving his life for standing in the bushes near the house, now in plain view, was the demon boy himself looking at the scene with what had to be the smuggest look of satisfaction any of them had ever seen.

Naruto then walked out of the bushes triumphantly with his little five year old chest puffed out in victory. "See Robin-hime I told you I had it under control. I didn't even need to use the rest of my pran… I mean my plagues. Yep it seems that these people were smart enough to concede before I started unleashing my… um ooh I know, my demonic powers on them. Ooooooooh" Naruto said dissolving his arms into red tentacles of haze and waving it around in an attempt to mimic a ghost and earning a round of terrified cries from the villagers.

Robin still trying to connect the dots in her still short-circuited brain hadn't even heard Naruto and was staring intently at her foot. A foot that had just clocked Obaka-san hard enough to knock teeth out. A foot that had been waiting to do that for as far back as she could remember. Whatever Naruto had done he had managed to terrify the entire town into submission and he had apparently managed it without spilling a single drop of blood. Standing just to the left of her was a blond kid who for all intents and purposes should be categorized as one of the biggest morons she had ever met yet he had done what she only dreamed of. Out of nowhere some dunderhead demonic knight clad in a burning halo of armor had managed to make one of her oldest dreams come true.

Still filled with the adrenaline from the kick and her mind still stuck three steps in the past Robin did the only thing that she could think to do at that moment. She turned to Naruto and quickly kissed him on his cheek before hugging him with all the strength she had. The shock on his face was evident as his eyes widened almost enough tear his eyelids before his entire face went red as a cherry.

It wasn't perfect.

It wasn't amazing and picturesque.

It wasn't the kind of kiss a princess should give to her valiant knight after he fought against an evil dragon and a dark horde.

It was a brief and unexpected peck and thinking about how impulsive it had been Robin suddenly went redder than she had in her entire life.

But it had been their first, and there was plenty of room to improve from there.

~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 2 FIN~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading, please review if you would be so kind and feel free to pm me about anything.