Rias Gremory was what one would call a bombshell.
Stacked.
Gorgeous in a word.
She, along with her best-friend and [Queen], made up what was known as the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy.
While she wasn't overly fond of the attention lavished onto her due to her beauty, it was something she had taken a small amount of pride in.
Other woman wished to be like her, men fell over themselves to please her. It was the natural order, something of a custom.
So when she walked past a tall, unruly haired blond, one that didn't even pay her a second glance, she couldn't help but take notice.
He hadn't even given her a once over!
While she wasn't offended by his lack of attention, quite the opposite in fact, it did...bring her up short.
"Akeno...who was that?" Rias asked her friend as they both stopped in the hall on their way to class.
"Oh? That was one of the new Groundsmen. Naruto Uzumaki I believe." Akeno spoke softly, her head tilted in concentration.
Rias couldn't help but find him familiar. Something about him was just...she didn't know. She felt like she had met him before. "I see...Naruto."
"Ufufuf is Boucho interested in older men?" Akeno teased from behind her hand, something that Rias scoffed at, not dignifying the question with a response.
"Come on, we aren't going to be late for class just because you want to make some stupid jokes."
"Yes Boucho."
-GEN-
Naruto had to bit back an annoyed sigh. It was his first day and damnit if it wasn't shaping up to be a bad one.
First some kid had gotten blood all over the Kendo Room floor mats, then someone got sick in the science room.
'I swear...if Lucifer didn't have Kari going here, I would have just let him kill me.' The blond lamented.
After so many years under ZaZa's thumb, and the years on the run before that, Kari hadn't had anything close to a normal childhood. Hiding out in abandoned buildings, stealing, and then being held captive?
Yeah no. She was about as well adjusted as he was to normal society, which is to say not at all.
When Sirzechs has offered her schooling at the academy, prefacing it with the fact it would keep her and Naruto close together, the two hadn't really been on board.
Naruto because he didn't think she would handle the environment well.
Kari because she didn't want to be separated from her dear brother for anything. Even an education.
In the end, Naruto had broken down and convinced his sister to attend, if for nothing else than his sake of mind.
He could only teach her so much from his own limited schooling at ZaZa's hands.
The two bedroom house Sirzechs had offered them hadn't hurt either.
Naruto just trudged his way to the main courtyard, bypassing several of the younger year classrooms. He paused by room 2-B to glance in on his sister. What he saw couldn't keep the grin off his face.
Perhaps he had been wrong.
Kari was chatting animatedly to a white haired girl that just seemed to nod along as she spoke, her yellow colored eyes staring at his sister intently.
"Maybe that redhead had a point.." Naruto mused to himself as he carried on.
"You said it yourself, neither of you have had the best of social lives, this would be a good chance for your sister to make friends."
"I don't need friends! I have Onii-sama!"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. It hadn't taken much from him to convince the girl to agree, but he was sure she would thank him for it later.
Suddenly, the radio on his belt decided to crackle to life.
"Uzumaki, I need you to head over to the track. Apparently some kids are tied up to the trees on the edge of the field."
Naruto just stopped as the message rang through his head.
Seriously? Was this the kind of crap he was gonna have to deal with every day?
"Shoulda just let him kill me..." The blond grumbled as he stalked off. It had almost been break time too.
-GEN-
Rias hummed to herself lightly as she filled out some requisition forms, her pen scratching along the pages almost absentmindedly. The door to the Occult Research Clubroom opened and caused her eyes to snap up.
It was that man, the blond from before. Both froze as they crossed eyes, and for a moment, a blood soaked man covered in bruises replaced the form of well to do groundskeeper.
Rias almost snapped her pen in half.
"The forsaken..." Rias whispered almost to herself, the blond was able to pick up on it however.
"...Gremory-san." Naruto bit back. He had hoped he wouldn't run into Lucifer's sister at all in his time here, but on the first day? What kind of bullshit luck..
"Why are you here?!" The redhead demanded, shooting to her feet. She was aware of the tournament rules, but to see the champion WORKING AS A GROUNDSKEEPER FOR HER SCHOOL WASN'T NORMAL!
Had ZaZa finally broke down and sent his best to assassinate Lord Lucifer's little sister?!
"...here." The blond mumbled, causing Rias to lean forward over her desk.
"What was that?" She asked, cupping a hand to her ear.
Naruto sighed and spoke quietly once more, "I...here." Being the only words the female devil caught.
"One more time." Rias egged on, she could almost make out...
"I work here."
Rias made a very valiant attempt to catch herself, truly.
Her face meeting her desk was her only reward.
"YOU WHAT?!"
-GEN-
"I see...that certainly sounds like my idiotic Nii-sama." Rias scoffed as she sat across from the elder blond situated on one of her glorious couches.
Seriously, they were ridiculously comfortable.
Naruto just used his hand to rub the back of his head, more annoyed than embarrassed. "100 years as a groundskeeper at your 'luxurious' academy. Though I should be grateful I suppose. He did allow my sister to attend free of charge."
Rias raised an eyebrow at that, this was the first she had heard of one angel being forced to fight in the underground tournament. To find out two had been held captive was both shocking and appalling.
While slavery wasn't explicitly banned in the underworld, it was heavily frowned upon. Disguised as it was with the peerage system.
Most families weren't like the Gremory Family. They treated those in their peerage more as servants than family members. It wasn't uncommon for high class devils to trick or even force other beings into servitude by either smooth words or swooping in when someone was at their end.
Death can be a very powerful motivator, and more often than not, it lead to individuals going rouge and becoming a Stray.
A sad thing indeed.
"I suppose I'll have to keep an eye out for her. Not many devils can claim to be friends with an angel."
Rias tried to make light of the situation. A joke really.
The knife that embedded into her ornamental let her know just how unappreciated the joke was.
"Let me make this clear Gremory-san. We aren't friends. I doubt we ever will be. Do not, under any circumstances, include my little sister in your plots or schemes." The way his voice came off sounded pleasant enough, but Rias only just suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine at the way he looked at her.
A part of her wanted to be offended that this man would assume she was going to use anyone to advance her own station, but she could also see where he was coming from.
'I suppose 5 years held against your will would make anyone cynical..'
"I didn't mean to imply any untoward actions. I'm sorry." Naruto just looked at the redhead, hand slowly relaxing around the grip of his knife. She seemed honest enough about it.
So had ZaZa.
"...I'll come fix your table later." The blond spoke as he stood and wretched the knife free, the gash it left clearly defined.
The door to the room opened and showed the form of the second year, Koneko Toujou. A slight girl of only 4 feet and some odd inches. Belatedly, Naruto recognized her as the girl his sister had been chatting animatedly with earlier.
Said sister that had walked in along side the girl.
"Nii-sama!" Naruto knew that tone. Knew that type of cry.
.0034 seconds was all he had to react and it wasn't long enough.
"Urk!" Was all Naruto could cry as a blonde blur slammed into his side and cast him end over end to the floor.
Kari for her part didn't care, her big brother was here! Lunch just got way better!
"What are you doing in here Big Brother! Shouldn't you be working? Is this a surprise party? How do you know Koneko-chan? Did you come to join me for lunch?" The girl fired off in that rapid way most 15 year old girls were known for.
Naruto heard approximately none of it, his world spinning as it was. Take a boot to the chest? No problem. Fist to the face? Spit out the tooth, keep going.
Tackle hugged by a 15 year old girl? T.K.O.
The blond was snapped out of his daze by the giggle of the lone redhead in the room. Something that grabbed the attention of both Uzumaki's.
"Well, your sister is certainly excitable." The Gremory spike as Koneko sat down beside her with a quiet 'Hello Boucho.'
"It seems Koneko-chan has gone out of her way to make a friend. I must thank you for that Uzumaki-chan. It's not often Koneko is friendly with...well anyone actually." The readhead rapped a finger to her chin in thought. Coming to mind, Rias was pretty sure this is the first time the Nekoshou has invited anyone to the clubroom. This girl must have struck a cord with the Neko.
"You must be Rias-san! Koneko-chan said you might be here! I apologize for rushing in so suddenly. I got excited.." Kari spoke as she hastily climbed to her feet, leaving her groaning brother in her wake. She lightly kicked his leg. "Nii-sama, you're embarrassing me."
Naruto just leaned up using his arm, a quirked eyebrow. He was pretty sure it was Kari's fault they wound up like that.
"Think nothing of it. Your brother was just regaling me with some stories of his and your shared past." Kari got nervous here. She was hoping to let the past stay dead and buried, start new and what not. If Rias knew, than Koneko might find out, and if Koneko found out than the school might find out then she would have to run away again and then Naruto-Nii might have to fight again and he could get hurt and-
"Kari." Her brother voice made a calm wash over her, her hyperventilating slowing to calm breathes. "This is Sirzech's sister. For all else that can be said about Devil's, she can be trusted, if only a little."
Kari gapped at her brothers words, not really sure how she should take them.
After a moments pause, the girl bowed, shocking the redhead and Neko, though Naruto just seemed a touch amused.
"Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to study here Rias-sama. Lucifer-sama informed me how many of the students you approved to join the high school curriculum directly."
Rias just waved a hand, dismissing the thanks. She usually just approved anyone that her brother sent her way, knowing he was doing so for a reason. But still, some praise on her diligent work was appreciated
"Seeing as how we've all become aquatinted, What's say we share some lunch? My treat." Rias spoke happily. While she was sure the new groundskeeper would try to find some hidden meaning in her actions, Koneko had gone out of her way to bring this girl to the clubroom. This was the first interaction outside the peerage or social gathering the young girl had ever been invested in.
No way in hell was she going to deny the Nekoshou that. Scary older brothers be damned.
"Can Nii-sama join us? He's been working all day I bet!" Kari asked excitedly, turning to her elder that was scratching his head, looking wholly uninterested in the idea.
"I would Kari, but I have to get-" "the food, yes your brother and I will go get the food." Rias interrupted, standing to her feet, ignoring both the younger Uzumaki's excited shouted, and the elders light glare.
"Come along Naruto-san, you wouldn't make a lady carry all of the food by herself would you?"
Naruto grumbled lightly as he trudged behind the redhead. He would have just left them to their own devices if not for two things.
Kari was once more in the lion's den.
And she would be on his case for days if he actually made the girl, devil or not, carry everything.
'Still don't understand where she got that sense of decency. Must be from mom and dad.'
-GEN-
Back in the ORC room, Koneko and Kari had taken to getting settled, and Koneko couldn't stop the words from tumbling from her lips.
"Lucifer-sama saved you as well?"
"..ah...yes. Nii-sama and I were...in trouble. Lucifer-sama took us into his home."
"...are you a supernatural being as well?" Koneko asked after a moment, memories of her own rescue coming to mind.
"Um! I haven't been able to manifest my wings yet, but Big Brother tells me not to worry about it. According to him I take more after our Mom than our Dad, what ever that means." The blonde replied a small smile on her face. She didn't remember her parents, not like her brother did. But she always took his word for it. She may have gotten their father's eyes and hair, but her attitude and personality was all mom according to Naruto.
"What Faction do you belong to?" The Nekoshou asked in curiosity. It may have sounded rude, considering it very well could have been a private matter, and not to mention Koneko's bland manner of speaking.
"Nii-sama says we belong to the Heaven Faction. I've never met another angel aside from Nii-sama, so I don't really know a lot more than what he tells me about the Factions." Kari spoke with a shrug.
Koneko just nodded at her words. She was familiar with those kind of circumstances, her sister's own betrayal still evident in her mind. She had yet to meet another Nekomata, much less a Nekoshou.
"Say can you help me with the assignment from History class? I still can't find the Shogun Mr. Takami was talking about." Kari asked out of the blue, no doubt that would have caused the Neko to trip had they been walking.
Even as Koneko absently nodded, she couldn't help but marvel at her fellow classmate. This girl had a rough life from what she could infer. She remember Naruto from the tournament, which meant Kari had to have been near by. Their parents were gone, most likely dead. Both Kari and Naruto were probably forced into some kind of contact for survival. Being saved by Sirzechs meant something must have gone wrong.
But she was so carefree. So...happy.
Part of Koneko thought it was an act, a brave face she put on.
But another part of her saw it as genuine. As if the girl really believed the world and everything wrong with it would somehow, some way, be fixed. Saved.
Utterly optimistic and bubbly, a perfect way to describe the younger Uzumaki Sibling.
Koneko couldn't help but wonder what that must be like. What that kind of faith must feel like.
'If she was more like her mother...I...I wish I could have met the woman.' Koneko thought to herself as she read through a text book with Kari.
It was odd to be drawn to someone so much after only knowing them for a day, and it terrified the Neko, but Kari just drew her in. She seemed so kind and trust worthy.
She couldn't help but want to protect that.
-GEN-
"I appreciate what your sister has done, believe it or not." Rias spoke as they neared the clubroom once more. The entire walk to the cafeteria Naruto had been shooting her loom after look, and finally, she decided to address it.
"What are you talking about?" The blond replied as he adjusted the bag in his arm. Standing in line had been annoying. One kid kept staring at his half folded sleeve. Rude.
"The reason I insisted Tom you both joining us. Koneko doesn't just...make friends. She doesn't really form attachments outside of the Peerage." Rias watched the ground as she walked, her mind in a far off memory.
Naruto just stayed silent as the girl gathered her thoughts.
"Koneko has had a trying life, it took weeks for her to even talk to ME. Kari-san seems to have gotten through to her in mere hours. It's quiet terrifying when I think about it." Rias spoke with a half laugh.
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle along. "Yeah, she's always sorta had this thing. Even the 'guards' ZaZa had around us seemed to fall for that trap. Sneaking her extra meals, helping her see me. She brings out the best in the worst of us I suppose. Our Mom was the same way." The blond spoke whimsically.
Rias gave off a silent hum, acknowledging the blond's words.
They walked in silence after that, each lost in their own thoughts. Both happy that someone in their family was making strides in starting anew.
-GEN-
A manila folder landed on the dark oak desk in front of a shadowed figure. Gloved hands were on display, and the navy blue of a business suit sleeves were visible as well, but nothing else could be determined.
It had all the makings of a cheesy spy movie.
"What is this?" A deep voice resounded throughout the room, one of the gloved hands dragging the folder into a better point of view.
"It seems Uzumaki has found a new backer." A female voice replied. The hands stopped flipping through the pages in the folder long enough to grant a pause, before continuing once more.
"That could be an issue. ZaZa may have thought of himself as clever, but it would have been easy enough to dispatch him should he get in the way of our plans. Who has taken the brat?" The deep voice replied, his hands dancing across a picture in the middle of the folder.
"From what we've gathered? Sirzechs Lucifer."
The hand froze, almost as if in shock, before purple eyes took in the form of the person who had dropped the folder on it's desk.
"That...is an issue." The voice spoke once more, a hint of a growl on it's tone.
"There is good news. The Uzumaki has taken up residence in Kouh. We have several agents there that can move in at your behest."
"Hmm...we'll wait for now," the voice spoke, his hands picking up the picture of Kari Uzumaki moving around the school yard of Kouh Academy. "If we move too soon we may tip our hand to the Factions, and I would rather avoid that if possible."
"Understood. Will there be anything else Sir?" The female spoke once more, already making her way to the door.
"Yes actually," The man replied, bringing the woman up short. "Find out more about the brother. I doubt Minato would leave either of his children without some form of protection. His sister may be the main goal, but I've seen some of his fights. Best to play on the side of caution."
"Yes Sir." The woman replied curtly, before vanishing from the room.
The man looked at the photo of Kari once more, studying it with his concentrically ringed eyes before tossing it back on top of the folder with little care.
He had been stalled for a few years, his operations may have been crippled by that bastard of a blond, but he would have his victory.
One way, or another.
A.N. Just a couple things here!
A.) Kari's lack of response at finding out Rias was a devil.
She has known Naruto as an angel, and watched him fight Devils for years, why try to make her shocked?
B.) Koneko's lack of response at finding out Kari is a supernatural being as well.
It's Koneko. Even when surprised, you'd get a better reaction from paint.
C.) Rias not immediately recognizing Naruto.
It was a stadium and they only crossed eyes for a moment, not to mention the announcement never gave Naruto's name. The second time they crossed paths she actually got to see his face. Simple.
D.) Rias and Naruto's interaction.
Rias is jus being her normal, overly nosy, intrinsically joking self.
Naruto, while not a racist, doesn't trust anyone really. Anyone even making jokes about trying to get one over on Kari will be met with force. That's kinda his whole core of being.
E.) Kari's age.
Yes she is fifteen, I messed up the wording in chapter two with her description and that may make it seem like there is a discrepancy.
To be clear. Kari is 15, Naruto is 19.
I think that's everything I need to explain, but if you have any other questions let me know!
Next for update will be No Good Deed, after that I'm hitting Chomping At The Bit again, so stay tuned for all!
DarkStar, Out.
