Path to Perdition (NarutoxHigh-school-DXD)

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. All the characters' designs, called names and places mentioned belong to their respective owners.

Cool amount of feedbacks. Here's another chapter for you guys (and girls). Enjoy while it lasted.


=[Path to Perdition]=
1

Standing before the impassive golden-blond haired woman, Naruto felt like he had experienced a similar situation in the recent past. The sensation of déjà vu gave him pause. It was a shortest pause one could measure, but it was a moment of paralysis nonetheless. As soon as his mind finished recalling one of the fondest memories he had, a sly smile plastered upon his shadowy feature.

"Oh, I remember," Naruto said before hammering his fist into his palm. "Those bastards, they dare to copy my plan. I'm going to –

"Mother!" Kunou called out as she tried to touch her mother by outstretching her hands in midair. The tendrils wrapping around her waist, holding her up in the air, had prevented her from getting any closer to the person who had raised and loved her unconditionally.

"Ah, now is not the time," Naruto told himself lowly as he let his daughter down onto the ground. The dark tendrils retrieved themselves from her and submerged back into his being. His eyes then watched his daughter closely as she dashed towards her unresponsive mother. Her hands gripped and tugged on the kimono her mother was wearing.

"Mother!" Kunou cried out repeated, but her mother showed no response. "I'm Kunou. Can't you see me!?"

"She cannot at the moment, Kunou-hime," Naruto decided to step in. He placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. He gripped it gently. "Your mother is not conscious or in control of herself even though she appears to be so. She must be under some sort of charm or illusion, and even if I do something like this…" he raised the hand and slapped Yasaka across the face without any hesitation. "…she won't even feel it. See?"

"Father!" Kunou shouted in shock, fisting and throwing her hands upon the air. She could not believe her father just slapped her mother to demonstrate a point.

Naruto chuckled and scratched his cheek. The slap was a bit too far. He could poke her instead, but he wanted to make sure Yasaka was actually unconscious. If she wasn't, he sure she would retaliate – and then some more.

"Hehe, sorry, sorry, I should have done this instead," he apologized and planted his index finger on his wife's face. He slid it down her cheek as fine, dark particles latched onto her skin. He then ran his finger across the area between her lips and nose, giving her a cartoonish, black mustache.

"Father!" Kunou shouted in dismay once more.

"Ah, lightened up, little Kunou. If you don't, you're going to get wrinkle in a few years," Naruto said and retrieved his hand from his wife. He then poked his pouting daughter on the forehead before drawing a small circle.

Kunou fumed, puffing out her cheeks, glaring up at her father. And as soon her father removed his hand from her forehead, she rubbed it with expressed annoyance. She felt strange grainy substance grinding against her palms, thus she lowered her hands and stared at the dark grain that glued to her skin. They were dissolving right before her very eyes. That caused her to be alarmed. She looked up and made out a frown plastered on her father's face.

Seeing his daughter's questioning, worrying gaze, Naruto pursed his lips, turning the frown into a light smile. "I suppose we should head home now, Kunou-hime. I think you mother needs some rest after this whole ordeal. After that, we could go out to have a picnic, just the three of us. I know a great place on the moon, overviewing a beautiful blue and green planet."

"What about the people who have made mother this way?" Kunou questioned. She then blinked as she thought she must have misheard him. Did he actually say they were going to have a picnic on the moon? Was that even possible?

Naruto tilted his head to the side as if the question his daughter gave confused him. "What about them? Do you want me do something to them?"

Kunou nodded several times. "They've hurt mother!"

"No, not really," Naruto said as he lightly patted his daughter on the head. "Your mother is fine. She will snap out of it soon. Other than that, they hadn't done anything to her. Perhaps they will later, but that cannot be for certain. So given the evidence so far, what you said is not entirely true. Isn't that right?"

"But… they took mother," Kunou argued weakly.

"And we're taking her back right under their noses," Naruto responded with a childish grin. He had to give them credit for creating such an elaborate place in an artificial space. If it wasn't for his ability to lock onto anyone he had marked before, he would not be able to penetrate this place, at least not as easily, and snatch her back with impunity.

"But… but… they…" Kunou mumbled.

"Kunou," Naruto said in a sterner voice; a voice of a father lecturing his child. He crouched down and gripped his young daughter's shoulders before letting out a soft sigh. "If you have the ability to forgive others then do so. That is a mark of a great ruler, and you will be a ruler one day." He smiled and palmed one of her cheek while his blackened eyes gazed into her golden. "Although I could seek out those that are responsible, I rather spend that time with you and your mother."

Naruto inhaled deeply and wrapped his other hand around his daughter's fingers, gripping them gently and firmly. "So please tell me, would you like to spend your time with your father and mother instead of chasing down and punish those misguided few?"

A moment of silence reigned as the young golden-blond haired girl contemplated. She tugged her hand against her father's before finally speaking up. "Kunou wants to spend time with Otou-sama and Okaa-sama."

"Now, that's my Kunou," Naruto replied and pulled the daughter he had never able to see growing up into a deep and warm embrace.

He had no doubt that she was his daughter the moment he was given her name. He'd once told his wife that if they were blessed with a child, he would like to name that child after a certain friend, who had given its life so that they could have more time. She took it to heart, and all their children would have the prefix "Ku" in their name. That was her intention, but sadly, he cannot have any more children. His physical body had deteriorated to the point that only his essence remained, and that too would soon be scattered to the wind.

"Kunou-hime," Naruto whispered softly, feeling the warmness of his flesh and blood upon his spiritual body. "Are you happy to see me?"

Kunou nodded slowly. Her hands gripped him tightly. "Yes. Kunou always wanted to meet you, Otou-sama. Why haven't you come and see Kunou? Is it because Kunou did something bad?"

"No, Kunou is a good girl. There is a reason that Tou-san was unable to see Kunou sooner," Naruto said as he loosened his embrace, allowing him to capture his daughter's face. "I will tell you all about it one day, but for now, we should get out of here before anyone notice we're here."

Naruto then stood up and approached his unmoving wife. She simply stood there, completely oblivious to everything around her. He wrapped his left hand around her right and turned around to face the product of their love. He offered his other hand. "Let's go home, Kunou-chan."

"Yes, father," Kunou said happily as she took his hand. She expected to be teleport away immediately, but magical circle beneath them became visible by its eerie blue illumination. She blinked as her father appeared to be distraught.

"Really…?" Naruto said and sighed. It seemed like the ones who captured his wife was more resourceful than he had given them credit for. This place had become isolated, disconnected, thus preventing from locking onto any of his beacons in the Youkai capital. Unable to lock on, teleporting there would be too dangerous. While he would survive even if he materialized into solid matter, the same could not be said to the two most important people in his world. "It looks like we're got caught, Kunou-hime, so hold on tight."

Kunou was about to ask what that meant, but her father jerked his gripping hand, pulling her closer to him before using both hands to lift her up into the air. She was placed onto his shoulder. He then picked up her mother into a bridal style before dashing to the door and through it.

The rapid acceleration shocked Kunou into closing her eyes. Her hands gripped her father's head for the much needed support. Eventually, she opened her eyes to see what was going on around her. That was when she noticed several people running alongside her father.

"You guys are pretty nimble on your feet, huh," Naruto said as he examined the four people surrounding him. Despite him being handicapped, it was a still a feat to match his speed. He could have gone faster, but his daughter would not able to handle the increased wind pressure. "I would like to have a race with you lots without being weighted down right now, but she is pretty heavy you know. Certain part of her grew pretty impressively that it kind hard not to stare."

One of the four chasers, a beautiful young girl with blond-haired giggled as she got the memo. The other three, men, gave no comment even though they understood the comment. They were wondering what kind of demonic creature he was as he was trailing shadow behind him with each step. It was also hard to make out his appearance on the move.

"Wow… tough crowd," Naruto said as he leaped into the air. He spun around and saw the four did the same. He grinned as his body flexed and expelled four projectiles, one at each. They would not able to evade his attack while in midair.

The silver-haired one created a sword out of nowhere and slashed through the kunai. The huge, bulky man grabbed the kunai, completely ignoring the deadly edge. His hand was slashed by the wind blade, coating around the edge, but he show no discomfort. The blond-haired girl somehow evaded the kunai even though she was airborne while the last one, who held some kind of spear, slapped away the kunai with a single swing.

Naruto landed on the ground before the four did the same. He gave each one of them a glance before smiling. "We can stare at each other all day, but at least let's introduce each other. My name is Naruto, and this is my wife, Yasaka-chan." He flexed his head slightly. "And the cutest of all of us is my daughter, Kunou-chan."

"Umm… nice to meet you," Kunou said and lowered her head in an effort to give a bow. She almost fell of her father's shoulder in the attempt, causing the blond-haired girl to giggle.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kunou-hime," the blond-haired girl said and gave a bow. "Jeanne d'Arc is my full name, but you can call me Jeanne."

"I am Cao Cao, the descendant of the famous Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Something like that," Cao Cao introduced himself while he planted the end of his spear on the ground.

"Hmmm… I am Sig, the descendant of the Hero Siegfried. These guys call me Siegfried, so I guess you can too," Siegfried said. He then thumbed at his bulkier comrade. "The big one over here is Heracles. His name is self-explanatory."

Heracles did not speak.

"Cool. I wish I was a descendant of a well-known legend," Naruto said while he felt a bit disappointed inwardly. They had never heard of him since he had been asleep for the past twelve years, making no wave whatsoever. Maybe he should have let his past opponents live so they could spread his legend. "So which one you create a barrier around this place?"

"That would be Georg," Jeanne said.

"Alright, can you tell him to drop the barrier so we can get out of here," Naruto said. "This place is nice and all, but it feel so fake. I guess one of you created it."

"That would also be Georg," Jeanne added.

"So Georg did everything… you guys are so useless then," Naruto jested. "Maybe I should go talk to him as he seemed to be your leader. Maybe we could reach some kind of understanding."

Cao Cao – the actual leader – narrowed his eyes, trying to rack his mind, recalling any data pertaining on a person named Naruto. There were some odd rumors he heard years ago, but he couldn't remember it fully. He tapped his spear on the floor. "I don't know how you manage to get in here, but it seems that the barrier is effective. I will tell Georg to let you out, but Kyuubi leader must remain here."

"Otou-sama," Kunou uttered and tightened her grip on her father.

"Hey! She's mine, get your own wife," Naruto snorted, earning another giggle from Jeanne. He leered at the girl before turning returning his attention back to Cao Cao. "So what do a bunch of humans, Sacred Gear wielder no less, want with my wife? I know she's beautiful and all that, but she's not into having a groupie, you know."

This time, Siegfried coughed.

"Naruto was it? You must know that the existence of Kyoto itself is actually a large scale magical device, surrounded by –

Naruto rolled his eyes as his mind filled in the blank. "Let me guess, you want to use my wife to lure that dragon here?"

Cao cao was visibly surprised along with his three comrades. "Essentially yes. We are interested in the Great Red, and the only way to do so is through the usage of a dragon gate with the combine power of multiple dragons."

"Tell me about it," Naruto said as he looked down at his wife. She was still staring blankly at nothing. "So I guess you want to use her as a substitute by channeling all the magical energy through the ley line that spread out across Kyoto."

"Yes," Cao Cao confirmed as he raised his spear and placed it on his shoulder.

"You do know that would kill her right? Even though she is connected to the ley lines, she cannot handle all of its power flowing through her. It would destroy her body, her mind, her spirit," Naruto said as he recalled he had tried to do the same thing years ago. If he did not stopped, she would have died, and he would have still be the same person, whose hands stained with blood of so many.

Cao Cao did not say anything further as he tapped his spear on his shoulders. Heracles, Siegfried, and Jeanne remained steadfast. They weren't sure what kind of ability did this shadowy entity have, but from the speed he displayed thus far, he was a worthy opponent. In fact, Heracles wanted to test his heroic strength to the point that he was antsy.

"I suppose you will not stop," Naruto said after a moment. He must fight them and dissuade them that using a Kyuubi was a bad idea, but sadly, he was not as powerful as he was when he still had his physical body. He tilted his head back and looked up at his daughter, but dismissed the idea immediately.

"Kunou-hime," Naruto said.

"Yes, Otou-sama?"

"I need to put you down for a moment," Naruto said as a couple of tails surged from his body and lifted her off his shoulder. He placed his daughter on the ground to his side before gripping his wife. "Yasaka-chan. I'm borrowing you for a bit."

Everyone was a bit confused at the question. Their eyes widened when the shadowy being erupted into mist. The mist swirled and enveloped Yasaka before it faded away. For the next couple of seconds, every one blinked.

"Well… that was disappointing," Heracles said as he vanished from his spot.

"Stop, Heracles," Jeanne called out as the two-meter well-built man grabbed hold of the child.

"Let me go, you ogre!" Kunou called as her miko attire was used to hold her up. She sent a blast of fire fox right into Heracles' face, but the man remained unfazed.

"Did a bug just bite me?" Heracles said and shook his hand, causing Kunou to become nauseating. He was about to toss her into the air, but a powerful hand gripped his wrist. Before he could see who had done so, a powerful blow slammed into his jaw. The force was so powerful that it sent him flying across the city.

Kunou widened her eyes. "Mother!"

"No, Kunou-hime," Yasaka said as black lines spread across her body, turning into seemingly random pattern. She placed a hand on her daughter's head, patting it, while her other hand let the ripped arm fell on the earth.

The oddly familiar feeling told Kunou what she needed to know. "Otou… sama?"

Yasaka smiled and nodded. Her golden eyes flickered shade of black. "Yes, now sleep, Kunou-hime. I promise when you wake up again, Tou-san and Kaa-san will be by your side."

"Why do… Kunou need… to…" Kunou mumbled as she became drowsy. She fell asleep onto her mother's – no, father's – arms. It was odd, but somehow, her father had possessed her mother.

Naruto stroked his daughter while controlling his wife's body. She was sealed away in her own mind as he felt no resistance to his possession, but that was actually to his benefit. He did not even cock his head around when Heracles returned from wherever the man was sent to, thus not noticing that the giant of a man now had numerous protrusions all over his body nor the blood dripping off his torn shoulder.

The descendant of the mythical Greek hero roared as his aura glowed, forming into numerous missile-like objects. He was furious, and his fury blinded him. With a single shout, those missiles surged at the Kyuubi leader, slamming into her and enveloped the area in a titanic explosion.

Siegfried managed to break out of his shock and embraced for the impact. Cao Cao, who was surprised at the transformation moment ago, remained steadfast.

"Heracles, you idiot!" Jeanne shouted as she was blasted away by the generated shockwave.

"Damn it… now I have to somehow get a new arm," Heracles growled in annoyance. He then flinched when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around and saw the Kyuubi leader glaring at him. To her side was her daughter, wrapped in several of her tails protectively.

"You survive that? As expected of the strongest Youkai," Heracles said.

Naruto was not amused. This idiot just tried to blow him up along with his daughter. "I don't like who I was, but I will be that person once more," he said as he pointed at palm at the bulky man. "Nova…" fire fox materialized and swirled in front of it, condensing rapidly in a ball of fire. Its temperature spiked into the millions almost instantly. "… Rasenshuriken!"

Heracles would have wondered how a single sphere around the size of tennis ball could have vaporized his entire body along with several square kilometers of the city, but even if he knew the reason to why it was called a nova blast, it was moot point. He would never wonder about anything ever again.

– To be continued –


The story is fairly short, and it is not cliché. Naruto does not join Rias' group, in fact, he likely bitch slap her if he ever meet her. He is also somewhat indifferent to death. The reason for that will be stated later on, likely chapters closer to the true epilogue.