Author's rant: This update came a little bit late. Gomen nasai, minna-san *bow apologetically*
Chapter 6: The first meetings and the reappearance of the King
With a final stroke, Wataru let out a satisfying sigh as he put his violin, the Bloody Rose, back into the case and . All his family's members, comrades as well as his guests had already gone to sleep so he didn't have to worry about disturbing them. Looking at the cloudy night sky while sitting on the porch he was sitting at, Wataru drown down his tea and let out a small smile.
This moment... Thirteen years ago... It had been the day Wataru met his Yoko...
FLASHBACK
"Eh? Where is this place?"
A spiky blond hair child who was about 6 years old was confused and somewhat scared, which would be understandable. After all, it wasn't everyday that he would find himself in a huge dark sewer along with a large cage with a paper having a kanji of 'fuin' stuck on the cage, especially after receiving another beating from the villagers because they saw him as a monster's reincarnation.
"Hello? Anyone here?" said the child loudly as he looked around the sewer while receiving nothing but the echoes of his voice "I guess I'm alone in this place too... "
Before the boy's thought could go any further, he started hearing some strange sounds coming from behin the bars of the cage. As cautious as a small child could be, the child slowly approached the cage and recognized the sound that he was too familiar with
The sobbing sounds.
Before he realized, the small boy slowly went into the cage. After a minute following the sobbing sounds inside the huge cage, he finally found the source.
On the wet floor of the cage, a dark blond hair girl who was covered by a crimson fur blanket was lying on her side while sobbing uncontrolably. Her hair was messy as the boys could saw fade pink lines running from her puffy red eyes showing that this girl had been crying for a while. Cautiously approached the girl, the small boy gently shook her shoulder
"...Um... Ar... are you ok there, miss?" With a small wince, the girl turned her head to the boy and revealed 2 fox ears on the top of her head.
"Naruto?" asked the girl in no more than a whisper but enough for the boy to hear her as he widened his eyes.
'How did she know my name?!" thought Naruto in surprise but before he could figure out how she knew his name, she lunged at him at him and pulled him into her embrace. As Naruto's head was buried in her neck, the girl started crying her eyes out and despite the surprising situation, Naruto felt his heart bled for her as he awkwardly wrapped his small arms around her.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" the girl kept crying hysterically and repeating in her muffed voice "It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault..."
"It's okay now... Please stop crying..." said Naruto in his best soothing voice he could manage as he gently caressed her hair with his hands...
FLASHBACK END
Smiling fondly at the memory, Wataru drank the rest of his tea and put his cup down. He had been so surprised when he had learned that the crying girl had been the soul of Kyuubi no Kitsune, the strongest one of the nine bijuu. It had been the day he had learned that his former so-called-sisters had only got the empty cage why he had received the whole burden of a jinchuriki...
'Thinking about the past again, eh Naruto?' Sukouru's voice echoed inside Wataru's mind
'Is there any problem, fishcake?' said Wataru mentally as he poured himself another cup of tea
'Nah, not really. Just curious that when we will go back and beat the crap out of our former so-called-family'
'You're really obsessed with it, aren't you?'
'And you are not?'
'No' sighed Wataru as he drank his tea ' I hate them, I admit. And I am quite sure that I will never be able to forgive them. After all , there are faults that can never be fixed or made up. The more fixing and making it up people do, the worse the faults become. And I never like the idea of revenge. Don't you remember what our tou-san said? "Revenge will never give you the closure, it will only give you the seed of madness". '
"You got me there. Though you can't deny that the idea of a little payback is very appealing, no? The best punishment the feeling of regret maybe, no one will escape their own punishment!" smirked Sukouru in Wataru's mind "Not to mention those bastards from the Underworld. Ahh, just think about unleashing a few Enuma Elish here and there onto them make me feel so excited and hot..."
'Wow, my other self is a sadist' deadpanned Wataru 'Woe for me!'
"Coming from a closet super sadist like you..."
'What did you just say?'
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all"
'Good.' Said Wataru mentally as he cut off the mental link between him and Sukouru.
"You know, instead of standing there and ogling me, why don't you come here and have a seat?" said Wataru suddenly as he patted the porch without tearing his eyes from the sky. After a few second, sounds of slow moving footsteps could be heard and Wataru found Rias who was clad in a loose while yukata sat down next to him as he poured a cup of tea for her
"Can't sleep, eh?" asked Wataru as he offered the cup to Rias, which she gracefully accepted
"A little" said Rias as she took a sip from her lukewarm tea " And then I heard the violin sound so I come here"
"Ah, it seems my violin's sound disturbed you " bowed Wataru slightly "My apology, Rias-san"
"No, no, it's ok, Wataru-kun" said Rias as she waved her hand "Your violin skill is amazing, to be honest"
"Thank you for your compliment, Rias-san" nodded Wataru and a thick silence slowly emerged between them.
"So... Um... What are you doing here?" Rias finally decided to break the silence by continuing the conversation.
"Praticing violin and watching clouds" said Wataru indifferently and this confused Rias greatly
"Clouds? There is nothing special about them." Scowled Rias "They're just masses of gas floating aimlessly in the sky until they dissipate"
Chuckling at the redhead's reaction, Wataru took a sip from his tea and nodded his head toward the clouds that was floating above both of them
"I'm jealous with them. Weird, isn't it?" said Wataru softly as his usual tired smile plastered on his face. "They just float around, just be itself and enjoy its short existance to the fullest. A cloud has no burden, no rule can bind it and a cloud has no problem to deal with. That why I'm jealous. But still, watching them make me feel calm and clear my mind."
"I guess you're right, Wataru-kun" admitted Rias as she now started understanding his words, though the 'just be itself' part had the most effect on her. For years, people (from the Underworld) just kept seeing her as Rias Gremory, the younger sister of the Crimson Satan Sirzechs Lucifer and the heiress of the Gremory clan. She had never been saw as 'Rias', only be seen as her status as a 'Gremory'
"... Ne, Wataru-kun? What would you do if you were always seen as your status, not as your real self?" asked Rias suddenly. Usually, she would never asked someone who she had met for barely a week but with the kind and peaceful aura Wataru was emitting, Rias felt that she could trust him if she asked him this
Turning toward Rias as he raised his left eyebrow slightly, Wataru said with curiousity.
"What do you mean by that?"
"... I am a Gremory." Said Rias sadly
"...So? You hate it?" Asked Wataru as his interest now changed from the clouds to the redhead story
She shook her head and looked at the sky.
"No, I'm proud of it. But it's also something that is a burden to me. Everyone looks at me as 'Rias from the Gremory'. They don't look at me as 'Rias'. That's why I'm enjoying my life in the human world. They don't know that I'm a devil from the Gremory clan. Everyone looks at me as 'Rias'. I really like that feeling. I never felt something like that in the devil's society, and I never will. The only time I feel like myself is when I'm in the human world"
Letting out a sigh, Wataru turned his eyes back to the sky as he thought with some sympathy. Her problem was similar to his pastself's, though it was still much more easier than what he had endured in the past... Shaking his head to clear his thought, Wataru said softly
"... Years ago, there was a child..." this made Rias perked up and turned to Wataru "... People just kept seeing him as his status, not as himself. So he decided that he would prove himself and made people accept his existance. He kept trying harder and harder to make everyone see him as himself, not as his status. Despite failing so many, many time in his attempts, he kept standing up again and try again to prove himself and continue to walk on the path he chose with confidence. Everytime he met a very problematic situation, he just laughed at it and tried harder. In the end, he finally succeeded and made everyone around him accept him and respect him for his own accomplishment..."
As Rias froze in her place, Wataru continued with a small yet strange smile
"I'm not you , Rias-san so I don't understand your circumstance. But if you want to know my answer then I can only say this: work harder and try harder to prove that you are Rias, not 'Gremory'. If you fail then try again until you succeed; choose your path wisely and follow it till the end. If you can do that then I have no doubt that you will succeed just like the child I told you and your family will be proud of you as well as your accomplishment..."
Turning her head away shyly as she blushed while her heart started pounding in her chest, Rias said in a small voice
"You... you really think I can?"
"We may only know each other barely a week but I have faith in you, Rias-san. Honestly I don't understand why or how, but I just know that you can do it as Rias, not as a Gremory. " said Wataru softly with the same sincere smile that had been carved into her mind since the meeting in her clubroom.
"Than... thank you, Wataru-kun" Rias said her thank shyly as she started feeling the butterfly sensation in her stomach while her heart's pace now just gone wild as all her blood rushed to her face
"You're welcome, Rias-san" said Wataru as his sincere smile appeared one more time
"Papa?"
Suddenly, Emi's voice could be heard by Wataru and Rias as a few second later, Wataru's adopted daughter who was clad in a cute blue pyjama with her usual glovepuppets on her hands appeared. Quickly running to Wataru, she climbed onto his laps and snuggled into his chest
"Why do Papa leave Emi sleep alone? I don't want to sleep alone. I want to sleep with papa. But papa leave me to sleep alone. Papa is so mean! I want to hear papa sing lullaby for me" admonished the little girl cutely as she hugged her papa with her small arms.
"Papa is so sorry for being mean to you, Emi-chan." Said Wataru as he held his adopted daughter in his embrace "Now papa will gonna make it up for Emi-chan. You said you wanted to hear me sing lullaby, right? Ok, now close your eyes."
{ Play music: Kotoba no uta (The Song of Words) _ Rib }
Aru hi PAPA ga boku ni iimashita / One day, Papa said to me
"Ichinichi no hajimari no aisatsu wa / "The greetings you say in the morning
Kitto mainichi wo egao de sugoseru / They surely let you spend everyday smiling
Mahou no omajinai da" / Just like a magical, wonderful charm"
.
Aru hi MAMA ga boku ni iimashita / One day, Mama said to me
"Gohan wo taberu mae no aisatsu wa / "The words you say right before you eat,
Sotto shiawase wo kamishimeru tame no / They let you gently bite into happiness
Mahou no SUPAISU da yo" / A wonderful, magical spice"
.
Kotoba to kotoba ga meguriatte / All kind of words and phrases meet each other throughout the day
Kono sekai wo (kono sekai wo) tsukuriagete iru kara / Since they're what's helping to make the world a wonderful place
Hugging Emi-chan into his chest, Wataru gently rocked his adopted daughter in his embrace as he sang the lullaby in a powerful and slightly nasal yet smooth voice that could be described as 'cute yet cool' in Rias opinion.
"Ohayou" no kazu dake "oyasuminasai" / There's a "Good morning" and "Good night" we say
"Itadakimasu" no kazu dake "gochisousama" / "Let's eat" and "Thanks for the meal" as well
Ikutsu mono kotoba ga hibikiatte / Countless words ring out together
Ikutsu mono kotoba ga umareteru yo / And countless more words are born
.
Aru hi PAPA ga boku ni iimashita / One day, Papa said to me
"KENKA wo shita ato no aisatsu wa / "Those words we say to each other after an argument,
Itsudemo dareka to nakayoshi de irareru / To always together to one another
Mahou no aikotoba sa" / They're like a magical phrase that opens a door"
.
Aru hi MAMA ga boku ni iimashita / One day, Mama said to me
"O-uchi ni kaeru toki no aisatsu wa / "The greeting we say when we come back home
Tsukareta kokoro ni akari wo tomosu you na / They light up a tired heart
Mahou no SUICCHI na no yo" / A magical switch inside of us"
As the lullaby continued, Rias found herself lost in the melody of the song as her mind started playing a piece of her memory: A much younger version of Rias was running around and playing with her parents and her brother. It had been the first time she went to the human world and it was one of the happiest memories in her life. The song reminded her so much about her childhood and with Wataru's voice, the song just become more beautiful.
Kotoba to kotoba ga surechigatte / Words are also a part of our disagreement
Kizutsuitari (kizutsuitari) kanashimu koto mo aru kedo / But even though they cause us hurt and the sadness we feel
.
"Gomen ne" no kazu dake "gomennasai" / There's "I'm sorry" and also "Me, too" that is said
"Tadaima" no kazu dake "okaerinasai" / "I'm back" and "Welcome home" for it as well
Nanigenai kotoba wo kasaneatte / Countless carefree and effortless words pile together
Nanigenai mainichi tsukutteru yo / Helping to create the blissful carefree days that we enjoy
.
"Ohayou" no kazu dake "oyasuminasai" / There's a "Good morning" and "Good night" we say
"Itadakimasu" no kazu dake "gochisousama" / "Let's eat" and "Thanks for the meal" as well
Ikutsu mono kotoba ga hibikiatte / Countless words ring out together
Ikutsu mono egao ga umareteru yo / Giving birth to countless smiles each and everyday
.
"Arigatou" no kazu dake "arigatou" / A "Thank you" for each and every "Thank you"
{Stop music}
As the song finally come to its end, Rias was still in a daze. 'If I have a chance, I will make you become a part of my peerage and both of us along with Emi-chan will b... Nonononono! Bad Rias! Stop thinking like that!' blushed Rias as she shook her head furiously.
Not noticing Rias's reaction, Wataru slowly stood up as he picked his violin case up and held Emi-chan, who had curled up like a kitten as she was snoring quietly with a cute face, onto his arms and turned to Rias
"It's a little late now, Rias-san. You should go to sleep." Said Wataru as Rias was snapped out of her thought "Don't worry about the teapot and the cup. I will take care of it later. "
Covering her mouth with her right hand to hide the yawn, Rias nodded her head as she also slowly stood up. Though she had one thing to ask...
"... Hey, Wataru-kun... The boy in the story you told me... It was you, wasn't it?... " asked Rias as Wataru stopped dead on his track after hearing her question.
Without turning back to hide his bitter smile, Watru said simply
"... Good night, Rias-san... " and then he left, left behind a thoughtful Rias as she looked at his retreating form before letting out a sigh and return to her guest room.
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"You know, for someone who hate to lie, your lying skill is pretty good. I would immediately buy your story if I didn't know the truth" said Sukouru in a mocked tone as he re-opened the mental link between him and Wataru
'No, I didn't lie to her' said Wataru's mentally as he gently tugged Emi-chan in the bed.
"Yeah, right" said Sukouru sarcastically " 'In the end, he finally succeeded and made everyone around him accept him and respect him for his own accomplishment'. If you thought a smack to your face along with 'NO dinner for you' are signs of acception then I would say you are a masochist..."
Deciding to ignore his other self, Wataru cut off the mental link as he lied down next to his daughter and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be an important day and a good night sleep...
"Yo boss. Mission accomplished" said a cheerful Daiki as he appeared from his dull grey veil-liked barrier with a large folder in his hand
... On a second thought, he might need to stay up for a while
"This is all the information I can find about 'The Holy Sword Project'. " said Daiki with an unusual seriousness "It was quite a pain to find them but it's worth the time. Do you know that the head of this project, Valper Galilei, has met quite a big fish from Grigori recently? "
"Let me guess... Kobakiel..." Said Wataru coldly as he skimmed through the file and he found another surprise "Oh, Kiba Yuuto, huh?"
"Yep! Turn out, that blond bishounen was a survivor of that project. So what are you going to with this, boss?"
Letting out a sigh, Wataru closed the file as he frowned
"For now, we will do nothing... Even though I have a guess on what Kobakiel is planning, this is not the right time to act... By the way, did you and Yukari-chan handle the Gremory goons?"
"Already did" shrugged Daiki "Luckily, those goons haven't reported anything to Sirzechs if their memories aren't fake. And about the gap youkai, she said she went to see the Missing you understand what she meant?"
"No" said Wataru as he shook his head tiredly "But I believe that she won't bring any trouble to us"
Shaking his head, Daiki said resignedly
"Sometimes you're too trusting, Wataru. Ok, now the next part. You should take a look at this, got it from a secret chamber of Lortha Stolas, a member of the Stolas pillar and a member of Elder Devil Council of The Underworld" said Daiki as his voice turned serious while giving Wataru another folder
"... Crest Worms?" asked Wataru coldly as his eyes turned crimson when he read the file
"Unfortunately, yes." Said Daiki solemnly with a diggusted face "It uses the worms that can channel energy even when their host is no longer alive. According to the research so far, the Crest can only be passed down to someone outside of the bloodline, forcibly confers to one's body the capacity to use any kind of magic, even your Magecraft, Wataru. Crest Worms are not only capable of expanding one's natural magic reserves, but also capable of acting as artificial magic reserves after a certain incubation period is complete. Since they usually remain in a dormant state, the worms don't have that much direct influence over someone. However, once awakened by the activation of magic they will try to force the body to continuously produce magic energy in order to sustain themselves. When the host is a male, they consume their bone marrow and part of the brain after shattering the spine, making the host crippled in the process. When it is a female, they absorb the mental energy created after sexual stimulation is made through the nervous system. Usually worms don't consume the flesh of women, but the uterus is their favorite meals. The worms will also eat the placenta after giving its victim sexual pleasure strong enough to fry the nerves of the brain. And it may help reform the body of the host by devouring a human as long as the soul of the host still intact. But do you know how can that damn devil reach all these things in his research?"
"Experiments..." said Wataru as his Killing Intent started rising
"... on human, and a family no less." Finished Daiki coldly "The parents were used for experimenting while the child was devoured by her own father."
As Daiki finished his speech, the teperature was dropped a few degrees as Wataru stood up with a cruel smile
"Have you, by any chance, 'conveniently' set anything to trap that bastard once he get inside his chamber?"
"You know me better than anyone, Wataru." Smirked Daiki with an equal cruel smirk as a strange gun appeared in his right hand "Children are treasures of every world and I will never forgive anyone who dare to taint or destroy the treasures."
"Very good" smirked Wataru as the cruelty could easily be seen on his face. With a snap of his fingers, Wataru now was clad in his For Someone's Glory mutant form as his voice gradually became demonic "Daiki, please tell Yoko-chan and Aoko-chan that I need both of them to look after Emi-chan for a while, we have a devil to judge..."
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The moment Rias opened his eyes, she had hoped that she would see the sight of the guest room where she slept, not another dream but it seemed her hope had become a nought as she found herself along with Akeno, Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki.
"Here we go again." Sighed Sona as she said sarcastically "Welcome to the dream world... again... "
Despite her negative mood, Sona along with Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Tsubaki were looking around curiously as they found themselve standing in an empty room with a small cradle which contaied a crying infant. Looking into the cradle, the group was very surprised to see that the infant was no other than the infant named Naruto in the first dream.
But that wasn't the only surprise.
{Play music: Aerith's theme (Piano version)_Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack}
Suddenly, a sphere of light appeared next to the cradle which made Rias's group quickly stepped back on guard, totally forgot that they couldn't touch or be touched by anything in their dream. After a few second, their eyes widened when they saw the person stepping out from the sphere was none other than the goddess who had appeared in the wedding massacre, Minerva. This time, her shield and scepter were nowhere to be seen while the goddess herself was clad in a 1990s-styled white long dress; though it didn't make her become less beautiful and even made her looked more feminine.
With a great gentleness, Minerva slowly and gently scooped the infant up and hugged the infant into her embrace
"It's ok now, honey. It's ok." Said the goddess in a soothing voice as she gently caressed the infant's back and while mumbling angrily "To think that damn woman dare to forget about my Honey like that..."
After a few minutes, Naruto finally stopped crying as the infant looked at the Lifestream Goddess with his curious cerulean blue eyes. With a snap of her finger, a baby bottle which was full of milk appeared in Minerva's right hand and she started feeding him with the milk. Judging from how fast the infant drank his milk, he was very, very hungry...
Suddenly, the infant let out a belch and a merry giggle after he finished drinking his milk as he raised his small hands and held onto Minerva's pinky finger while some weird sounds escaped his mouth which sounded like the infant was trying to talk to the goddess
"... Haa... awawawa... ma... a ...a... ma...a... ma... ma... aa... ma... ma... mama..."
This brought a smile to Minerva's face as 2 small trails of tears escaped her eyelids. Putting the infant back to the cradle, Minerva started humming a gentle melody while gently rocking the cradle back and forth as the infant slowly fell into his sleep. After making sure that the infant was asleep, Minerva stood up and said in a sad and sorrow tone as her tears started running anew from her eyes.
"I'm sorry Naruto but my time in this world is up. I have to go now but please know this: I will always watching you and please, stay strong and live strong. I promise that one day, we will meet again..."
And then the scene changed before the last part could be heard by Rias's group
"... Good bye, my future husband..."
{Stop music}
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When the scene stopped changing, Rias and her companions now found themselves standing in the middle of a garden in front of of a luxury Japanese compound. Judging from the luxury compound, it could prove that the owner would be someone who was very rich or might be had a high status ...
"Tou-san! Can you please teach me how to do those cool shinobi technique?"
The group of devil was snapped out of their curiousity by a voice said in excitement. Turning their head to the source, they saw a small boy, about 5 or 6 years old, was about talking to a man that Rias, Akeno , Koneko and Sona recognized that was the 'Yondaime Hokage' in their previous dream. The child had wild spiky blond hair, blue eyes and three whisker-liked marks on each cheek as he was clad in a simple white shirt and black pant.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But I am busy with Hokage's responsibilities that need to be taken care of, and I have to teach Narumi and Natsumi..." said the Yondaime Hokage as the name 'Naruto' made Rias's and her companions's eyes widened while Naruto frowned at this
"You said you were busy. Just like kaa-san. But why can't you teach all three of us at the same time?" asked a confused Naruto as he said pleadingly "Please tou-san. Please teach me those cool shinobi technique!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I can't. I promise I will start teaching you when you're in the Academy. Now go to your room. I have works to do." Said the Yondaime Hokage as he went back to the compound and left a sad Naruto behind his back as the boy mumbled in a sad tone.
"B-but... but... why?..."
Before anyone of Rias's group could say anything, the scene started changing or more precisely, fast forwarding.
"Tou-san! Tou-san! Look at us! Look at us!We did it! We did it!"
When the scene around them finally stopped changing, Rias's group found themselves standing in what looked like a training ground of the same compound they had seen earlier. And on a tree, there were 2 redhead girls about 6 or 7 years old STANDING on a tree with their feet STUCK to the tree as the started walking on the tree in front of the surprising eyes of Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki!
"That's great, Narumi-chan, Natsumi-chan! I believe that you two will become great kunoichi just like your mother in no time!" said the blond hair Yondaime Hokage who was sitting on the porch as he praised the two redhead.
When both the redhead girl had finally had their feet on the ground, a redhead woman who Rias recognized was 'Kushina' in the previoius dream stepped out and stood on the porch as she said loudly
"Minato-koi! Narumi-chan! Natsumi-chan! It's time for lunch!" this quickly gained the cheers from the 2 girls as both of them quickly rushed to the compound as the Yondaime Hokage who now was identified as 'Minato' and Kushina quickly follow them
"Why didn't my kaa-san call me?" said a familiar sad voice as Rias's group turned around to find a little taller version of Naruto as he looked at the compound with a pair of sorrow eyes that a child like him should never have. Letting out a sigh, Naruto went to the kitchen as the group of she-devil unconciously followed after him. And what they saw made them frown.
In the kitchen, the four previous people were eating ramen while chatting merrily with Kushina, Narumi and Natsumi was eating in a very fast pace that made them looked like they were literally devouring it while the man named Hokage ate in a slower manner. Though that wasn't what made Rias's group frowned.
There were 5 people in the kitchen: Minato, Kushina, the two girls Narumi and Natsumi, and finally Naruto.
But there were only 4 chairs around the dining table, and all of them were occupied by Minato, Kushina, Narumi and Natsumi. In a corner of the kitchen room, Rias could see a broken chair lying there and judging from how old the broken chair looked, it had been lying in that corner for quite a time, might be not very long but clearly longer than a broken chair should stay in a house, especially a luxury compound liked this.
When Naruto came near the stove, Rias saw his shoulder slumped down as he stood there looking at the stove. With a ladle, Naruto slowly took something from a pot on the stove into a bowl on his hand. Curiously, Rias, Akeno and Sona approached Naruto only to find another surprise: In Naruto's bowl, there was no noodles, no topping, no meat or even fish, only the plain ramen soup water along with only a SINGLE slice of narutomaki (a type of kamaboko/Japanese fish cake), a piece of konbu (Japanese kelp), a slice of shiitake (a kind of mushroom used in making ramen soup) and few green onions! And judging from the empty pot, it seemed the ramen soup water, the slice of narutomaki, the piece of konbu and the slice of shiitake would be all Naruto would have for his lunch.
After drinking half of his soup, Naruto slowly chewed the slice of his narutomaki in order to savor its taste. His face turned sour when he tried to swallow the piece of konbu as quick as he could and finally, the slice of shiitake made his face become less unpleasant. After drinking the remain of his soup, a loud growl could be heard from his stomach, proving that his below modest lunch had done near to nothing to satisfy his stomach.
"Hey Narumi-nee, did your stomach just growl?" asked the redhead on the left
"No. It was yours, Natsumi-chan" shot back Narumi
"Actually..." said Naruto
"It was you, nee-san!" shouted Natsumi
"No! You!" shouted Narumi
"Actually it was..." Naruto tried to say again
"YOU!" shouted Natsumi hotly
"NO! YOU!" shouted Narumi
"IT WAS ME, OK!" shouted Naruto but again...
"YOU DID IT!"
"YOU DID!"
... his shout fell on deaf ears.
"BOTH OF YOU KEEP QUIET NOW!" shouted Kushina and that made both the red head girl finally stop as they glared at each other before continue to eat their ramen
Letting out a long sigh, Naruto brought his bowl to the sink and washed it before putting it back to the shelf and left the kitchen. Though when he walked pass Rias,s group, they heard him whispered
"Why do they keep not noticing me?"
And then the scene changed
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"Kaa-san, can you go with me to eat ramen?" When the scene stopped changing, Rias's group saw a hopeful Naruto who was looking at Kushina with hopeful eyes
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But I am busy here. I can't go with you" said Kushina tiredly with a very small hint of annoyance
"Please, kaa-san! Please! Please! Pleaseee!" said Naruto pleadingly
"Fine, you win" said Kushina resignedly and Naruto let out a victory cry as both of the left the compound with Rias's group followiong them closely under the afternoon sky
But when Naruto and Kushina arrived at a ramen bar named Ichiraku, a person who had long violet hair tied into a ponytail as she was clad in black clothing with a neko mask cover her face suddenly appeared in front of the pair as she said in a monotone voice
"Namikaze-sama, Hokage-sama said that you need to come to the Hokage's tower immediately" the part 'Namikaze' didn't escape
Letting out a sigh, Kushina looked at Naruto who was looking at her pleadingly and said
"Naruto-kun, can you please wait me in there? I promise that I will be back soon,ok?"
"Yes, kaa-san" said Naruto waith a disappointing voice and both Kushina and the neko masked person disappeared in 2 swirls of leaves in front of the surpriseing eyes of Rias's group. Letting out a sigh, Naruto slowly walked to a stool
"Welcome to Ichiraku's" said a brown hair girl who was about Naruto's age standing behind the ramen bar asked the blond hair boy cheerfully
"... Um... well, not yet... " stuttered Naruto "... Well... I am waiting for my kaa-san... so... so can I have orders after my kaa-san come?"
"Of course! Oh, and I'm Ayame, by the way. It's nice to meet you"
"I'm Nam... I mean I'm Naruto" stuttered the blond slightly before he said brightly "It's my pleasure to meet you, Ayame-san!"
"My pleasure, too Naruto-san. Well, I need to come back to work now" said the girl cheerfully "Call me when you want to make an order ok?"
Nodding his head in gratitute, Naruto rest his head on his folding arm on the bar as he started waiting.
One hour had pasted and the boy still kept waiting...
Another hour had pasted and the boy still kept waiting...
And one more hour had pasted but the boy still kept waiting under many hateful glares from other customers...
"Do you think that Kushina woman will come back?" asked Akeno as she looked at Naruto with concern. This child just reminded her too much about herself.
"I believe she will" said Rias with as much conviction as she could muster, though deep inside she doubted it
"Somehow I doubt it" said Sona somberly as her attention
"Ano... Naruto-san... Naruto-san... Wake up..." said the girl name Ayame as she gently shook the blond hair who had fallen asleep on the stool.
"Uhh... wahah..." said Naruto with a small yawn as he looked around confusingly "Where is everybody?"
"It's our closing time" said Ayame sadly. This made Naruto turned his eye to the outside to see it was the night sky. Letting out a sigh, Naruto turned back to Ayame and asked sadly
"Have you seen any redhead woman coming here?"
"... Um... No... I haven't... " said Ayame with a thoughtful face
A silence
"... I... I see... " said Naruto sadly as his stomach growled but before he could left the stool...
"Wait here" said Ayame as she left to the kitchen and a few minute latter, a hot bowl of shio (salt) ramen was put in front of Naruto
"It's yours" said Ayame happily "And no worry. This one is on me"
"B-b-but..." stuttered Naruto but Ayame cut him off
"I said 'no worry' so help yourself" said Ayame "I can't let a customer left with a hungry stomach"
Snapping his chopsticks, Naruto slowly ate his ramen, though when Rias looked at his face, she noticed 2 streams of tears were flowing on his face.
And then the scene changed.
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"It went this way!"
"Catch that damn demon fox!"
"Make him pay for what it had done!"
"Do not let the demon escape!"
When the scene stopped changing, Rias's group had expected to see Naruto again, not an angry mob that kept shouting about 'kill the demon fox' from an alley where they stood. 'If they had pitchforks and torchs, that mob would look like a mob coming from an old witch hunting movie' mused Rias.
When the mob fianlly left the scene, suddenly, one of carton box next to Tsubaki shuddered as it let out a groan which made Tsubaki jump in surprise. After a few more seconds, the carton box opened and an injured Naruto stepped out as he tiredly leaned against a wall. His body had so many wounds, gashes, cuts and bruises as the main color of his clothes now was blood red. On his right thigh was a kunai impaled in his thigh. Gritting his teeth, Naruto pulled out the kunai as he hissed in pain. Tearing his shirt apart, Naruto used it as bandages to cover his wounds for the time being. When he finally finished patching himself temporarily...
*BOOM!*
... the sound of thunders echoed thoughout the sky and a heavy rain started falling
"Rain? Just my lucky day.." cursed Naruto as he staggered out of the alley, totally unawared of the stalkers following, not that he could be awared of them anyway. After about 10 minutes of walking/staggering, a soaked Naruto finally arrived at the gate of his family's compound. As Naruto put his hand...
"Gah!"
... he quickly withdrew his hand back as he cried out in pain. Looking closely at his hand, Rias could see that there was smoke coming from his hand so she assumed that there was some kind of protection and the wound was the result...
"Kaa-san! Tou-san! Please open the door for me!" shouted the blond child as loud as he could
But there was nothing happen...
"Kaa-san! Tou-san! Anyone! Please open the door for me!" repeated Naruto tiredly only to receive the same result. Letting out a bitter laugh, Naruto turned back as he staggered away from thre gate.
"I am locked out... again..." said Naruto bitterly "It seems they 're not... really care... about me... Is it because... I am just... a worthless child ...?"
Staggering to a alley near there, Naruto tiredly sat down as he leaned onto a wall which had eaves above his head which only do next to nothing in sheltering the blond boy. Hugging his knees to his chest as he was shaking and cowering because of the cold of the rain, Naruto looked at the spot where Rias's group was standing with a pair of sad and lifeless eyes. And with a very sad, Naruto started singing quietly
"Nemutakute nemutakute zutto/ I feel so sleepy, I feel so sleepy,
Kono manma shibireru hodo nemuttara/ that I wish I could sleep to the point of becoming paralyzed,
Okite RINGO kajitte nemuru/ then get up, take a bite of an apple, and fall back to sleep.
Muishiki yosootte yurari/ While feigning unconsciousness,
VERANDA ni nobotte kaze ga fuite mo/ even if I wobbly get up to my balcony and stand in the wind,
Toberu hazu nai/ there's no way I'd be able to fly"
The voice... Even it was belonged to a child... It was too sad... too despair... The pain felt like a huge wave crashed into the shore only to come back and hit harder... Rias, Koneko, Sona, Tsubaki and especially Akeno couldn't understand how the child could keep his sanity intact with this kind of pain...
"Hello? Anyone in there?" Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard from the entrance which made Rias's group nearly jumped while Naruto jumped on his feet as he looked at the entrance of the alley with fear in his eyes.
And when Rias's group looked at the two newcomers standing at the entrance of the alley, they couldn't believe in their eyes when they finally recognized who they were.
Kurenai Otoya and Genesis Rhapsodos.
And then everything around Rias's group became blank...
(Chapter end)
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