Disclaimer: See chapter 01

Chapter 10: Adjustments Pt5, The First Rook, and Familiar Madness!

"Rule One for a Pawn!" Shalltear's voice snapped out as she thrust a strange syringe-like lance at Pyrrha's abdomen. "We get nothing special like the Knight's speed, the Bishop's reserves, or the Rook's strength, so we must work that much harder! We have to be that much better to prove that we are not the throw-aways so many think us to be!"

The small lolita vampire was outfitted in her casual everyday corset, dress, and hoop skirt. While she had admitted that she did have a specialized armour crafted just for her, she wouldn't need it for a sparring session slash training lesson with a brand new Pawn. And she was proving that her faith in her skills was not misplaced.

Not that Naruto, who was seated off to one side at Shalltear's request, ever doubted his father's peerage member. She had cost the old devil all eight of his pawn pieces, and she didn't even have a Sacred Gear which was the usual reason for such a high price. On top of that the blonde was quite well aware of the fact that Shalltear had been an active member of Gressen's team for centuries, and experience was always a key factor in any battle.

Experience was something that Naruto had no doubt the vampire possessed in spades.

Pyrrha was panting hard, sweat pouring off her brow in rivers. She chanced a glance at her shield and saw it was heavily dented, even cracked in some places. She grimaced internally as her attention returned to her new teacher. She recalled the Malachite woman mentioning that Pyrrha's weapons and armour wouldn't stand much of a chance against some of the things found in the Underworld, and this was just driving that home.

I guess I'll be looking into upgrading after all, she thought wryly as her opponent set herself for another charge.

"Now we'll see how you do under the effect of our Piece," Shalltear said once she had taken up her position. "Naruto-sama, if you would grant her the permission to Promote?"

Naruto nodded. He had gone over the basics of the Evil Pieces with Pyrrha earlier, explaining that either with his permission as King or when she was in what could be considered enemy territory she could change herself temporarily from Pawn setting to that of anything but another King.

"Permission granted."

Pyrrha felt something inside her open, like a closed door that suddenly unlocked. It was both an awe inspiring and mysterious sensation, and she wondered what she should do from there. She had to pick another Piece to Promote to, but which one?

"Second Rule of the Pawn, miss Nikos," Shalltear stated seriously, interrupting the redhead's thoughts, "is that you must never grasp for power beyond your ability to survive and control. Now as new as you are you must avoid trying to Promote to Queen. It has the same boosts as Knight, Bishop, and Rook all wrapped up in one, so it is definitely too much right now."

The young Pawn nodded in understanding. That made sense, if you tried to use too much it would obviously run rampant and hurt either you, that which you held dear, or both. She had seen it happen in her time in Sanctum, she had lost a few of her classmates to power-drain when they tried to go over their limit prematurely. The redhead could only surmise that it was a similar premise.

"So what should I change to? I assume you have a suggestion?" Pyrrha asked curiously, interested in the small vampire's opinion.

Shalltear smirked minutely in satisfaction. Finally a child with intelligence!

"Indeed," she almost purred, "You will wish to try the one other piece you feel fits you the best. One that resonates with your personality."

This would be a crucial moment for the young girl, Shalltear knew. If the girl chose wrong she would still get the power, but there was a hidden side to choosing correctly. All the vampire could do was watch as the girl thought for a minute and then squared her shoulders in preparation for her choice.

"Promotion: Rook!"

A well of power and strength fountained from beneath Pyrrha, shooting an almost orgasmic thrill through her. She couldn't even hear Shalltear's exclamation of satisfaction the feeling was so strong. It seemed to go on forever, but when it finally settled down Pyrrha felt filled with a sense of right.

Naruto's jaw dropped. He'd expected any number of things, but not this! His new Pawn was practically glowing with strength and power. He cast his startled gaze to an energetically dancing Shalltear.

"Shalltear," he said with a strained voice. "Explain. Please?"

The vampire settled down and took pity on her master. "It's really quite simple, Naruto-sama. Despite the fact that she was only recognized by two of your Pawns, there was always the chance that she could have been chosen by another Piece. By choosing the correct one she has shown to have a strong understanding of herself. The Rook is far more of a knight than the Knight is in many ways, especially in the personalities they resonate with."

She nodded at the still-ecstatic redhead, "I felt it immediately. She is much like me in that we emphasize the defense of our precious people above ourselves. The Rook is designed to protect. As a Pawn we change to fit our circumstances, but we never get quite the same strength out of a class we don't resonate with. By choosing the Rook she has understood herself as a protector, and will not suffer that same penalty."

Shalltear shrugged and threw him a wry grimace. "It's a hidden fact about the Pawn. The difference between a Promoted Pawn and the real Piece, be it knight or whatever, is usually minimal. This resonance thing? It only occurs with the correct Promotion if it also the first one attempted. If she had tried Knight or Bishop she never would have gained this resonance with the Rook later."

She made a face, "Or rather than a hidden fact, you could call it a glitch in the system. One that I don't doubt Ajuka-sama laughs at regularly."

Naruto facepalmed. He didn't doubt it either. Hell, he wouldn't put it past the man to have put that glitch in there on purpose just to give himself a laugh.

"So this is just a one-time thing?"

Shalltear shook her head. "No, my Lord. Since the girl chose the correct Promotion, she will always gain the full benefits of the Rook when she changes to it. She will, of course, still have the options of Knight, Bishop, or Queen, but none of them will grant her their full ability like the Rook will. Like I said, it's something of a glitch in the system, beyond that I'm not too sure about how it works."

She paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Mostly because I ceased to care beyond that."

Naruto facepalmed again.

The glow around Pyrrha finally died down and she sighed in contentment. "That was… incredible. What was that?"

Shalltear sighed resignedly, and gave the girl the same explanation she just gave Naruto. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to repeat herself, as she had forgotten that during the initial resonance Pyrrha wouldn't really be able to hear anything, but rather that she was annoyed at herself for forgetting that little fact. With an inward shrug, Shalltear guessed she was just caught up in the moment. It wasn't every day that she got to see another Pawn choose correctly after all.

Giving another sigh, the loli vampire gave a dismissive wave. "Alright, we'll go into a bit of practice before we call it for the day. We won't need you tomorrow, Naruto-sama, so it won't interfere with your routine with Sebas."

Naruto just nodded. He could have taken that badly, as an insult, but where would have been the point? It was a simple statement, and he did have a prior deal with Sebas.

XxXxXxXx

Tier Harribel was slightly nervous.

Scratch that. She was extremely nervous. She had purposely chosen this time to talk to the newest member of the peerage about a sensitive subject.

The formation of Naruto-sama's harem.

See? A very sensitive subject. One not to be brought up just willy-nilly in any place or time.

Thus had Tier waited until her Naruto-sama had begun his training with Sebas to speak to the teenage redhead. While she was certain Naruto-sama wouldn't mind her making a harem for him to help keep his hormones under control and in balance, it never hurt to take precautions.

Now she sat across from Pyrrha, sweating imperceptibly. "Nikos-san, do you have an idea as to why I wanted to speak with you?"

Pyrrha shook her head, "I'm afraid not."

Tier nodded slightly, "It is about your obvious attraction to Naruto-sama, and what you think we should do about it."

Pyrrha frowned, slightly worried and disturbed. She hoped this was not the woman's attempt at some form of intervention. "I don't know what you mean. Yes, I will admit I feel some attraction to Naruto, but I also know you are in some kind of relationship beyond being just the queen of his peerage. So I was just going to let it slide and maybe try to find another man..."

The blonde woman was already shaking her head. "That is not what I had in mind at all, Nikos-san."

The teen looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean, Tier? Please, just be straight about whatever it is that's on your mind."

Tier nodded, took a deep breath, and then plunged forward. "I mean to share Naruto-sama. With both you, and perhaps a few more women."

Pyrrha's expression morphed into pure shock. She barely managed to choke out a surprised, "W-what?"

The older woman looked at her with understanding, and said in a soft voice, "You are aware that there are differences between how we were changed into devils, and the method used on Naruto-sama, correct?" Seeing a cautious nod, Tier asked, "How much do you know?"

Pyrrha frowned, wondering what it had to do with anything. "Honestly not much. There was something about brain formatting, but I didn't quite manage to grasp it. I was still kind of reeling from being alive and everything else on top of that kind of allowed it to slip past me."

Tier nodded, "that is to be expected. I will explain as best I may. The Evil Pieces used on us automatically format our minds to be able to handle the natural pheromone production of a devil's body. Pheromones such as testosterone and estrogen, you understand?" Another cautious nod, "The ritual that Naruto-sama underwent does not do this, as such he is essentially a human in a devil's body. A body that is producing nearly three times the amount of hormones that his former human body did. Due to this his physical needs in the area of sexual interaction are greatly increased, and fighting them can cause him actual pain, both physical and mental."

Pyrrha's mouth formed a large O of understanding. "So you mean that he's pretty much constantly horny and needs sex often or it literally hurts him. Did he put you up to this?"

Tier leveled a piercing gaze at the girl that pinned her in place. "No, he did not. Yes, he requires more frequent release than a human would, but this is not his idea. Naruto-sama does not even know we are talking right now, and I am determined to have this finished before his sparring session with Sebas is done today. This is my plan, Nikos-san, and as much as I would like to have him all to myself, I know it isn't possible to keep up with him. Thus have I determined that a harem is quite possibly the only route I can take to help him keep his sanity."

The redhead's eyebrows shot up incredulously. "His sanity? What do you mean?"

"Do you know how long it took before Naruto-sama took me into his bed?"

Pyrrha shook her head, "No, though I doubt it was very long. You're a beautiful woman, Tier, so I'd guess it was at most a few weeks."

Tier was shaking head before the girl finished again. "Our first time was barely a few days ago, Nikos-san. Naruto-sama had been fighting his new hormones for nearly four months before he couldn't anymore. I know not what, but something occurred that finally bypassed his conscious level of control and forced him to seek me out."

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she flashed back to her conversation with Naruto the day she awoke. He had admitted to her, straight out, that his body and mind weren't in proper balance, and that even before she accepted his Pawn pieces he had found her attractive. As she thought about it, Pyrrha also recalled finding him to be more than merely attractive as well during their time in what he termed the In-Between. She recalled promising to herself that she wouldn't let herself lose out on a chance to be happy, and while she wasn't sure if she'd be happy with Naruto- either sharing him or alone –she also didn't want to not at least try. She certainly wouldn't be bedding him right away, though. She wasn't an easy girl like that, but she also wasn't really comfortable with sharing a bed intimately with another woman, Naruto's own presence be damned.

That thought brought up a strong question in the girl's mind.

Tier just watched as the younger female had her private thoughts. To be perfectly honest, she was having a few of her own. She wouldn't mind having Naruto-sama all to herself, but she wasn't blowing smoke when she said she wouldn't be able to keep up. One night, just one single night, had taught her that. And while Tier would readily admit to being a proud woman, she was also well aware of when one's pride had to be swallowed, and this was one of those times in her opinion.

Tier was startled out of her thoughts by Pyrrha asking, "Suppose I agree to this harem plan of yours, how many more were you thinking, and who?"

The blonde woman shook her head to clear it, returning to the conversation at hand. "Exactly who might join us, I'm uncertain. I had thought about inviting Albedo, but..."

Pyrrha grimaced and nodded. She'd only met the former Crow demon a few times, and while the woman was poised and beautiful, it was also impossible to miss the incredibly unsubtle advances that Albedo threw Naruto's way. Pyrrha was sure that if Albedo ever got laid by a man she was legitimately interested in, then the woman would undoubtedly become worse than a cat in heat. In point of fact Pyrrha's mind readily supplied the term nymphomaniac in regards to the queen of the late Gressen Asmodai.

"I had also considered that new maid, Kuroka I believe her name is? Unfortunately she is of the same sort of problem as Albedo."

The teen's grimace deepened, and she grunted in agreement. That black furred, two-tailed feline had somehow managed to make even the frumpiest of maid outfits into something sinfully sultry. In fact she seemed to flaunt it and had the nerve to flash as much skin as she could get away with, even going so far as to strip some pieces off whenever Naruto was around. In point of fact, it had been discovered recently by Rias, through her new friend Shirone, that Kuroka had dispensed with the wearing of underwear. Pyrrha just knew that if Kuroka ever managed to get into Naruto's bed nothing short of the apocalypse would likely get her out of it again.

"Shalltear was also a candidate, but she has shown absolutely no interest in that regard."

Pyrrha's eyebrow shot up. She had been under the impression that Naruto was practically adored by all of his people, but now that she thought about it Shalltear did seem a little distant with him during training yesterday.

"Of course Aayla was not forgotten either, but once again has shown no such inclinations. Indeed she seems to act more like one would expect of an older sister and mentor."

Pyrrha nodded. She'd seen the strange blue woman and Naruto interact a few times and they looked more like unrelated siblings than potential lovers.

"Naturally I excluded both young Rias and her new friend Shirone. Both are far too young for such things, and it was Naruto's own determination to avoid such a situation that finally drove him to me. I could not, in good conscience, honestly consider either of them. Perhaps in a few years when they have matured and are fully aware of the situation, but certainly not now."

The redheaded Pawn nodded again. At least there wouldn't be any kind of underage stuff going on. She grimaced slightly, at least not outside of the somewhat inappropriate flirting that Rias was already up to. She wouldn't put it past the girl to try and find a way into all of this once she was of legal age.

"I discarded the rest of the maids as well. Naruto-sama has indicated a desire for intelligence, ability, and a certain level independence. They most certainly would defer to his every whim."

Pyrrha frowned again, but thoughtfully. Tier was probably right about the maids. As long-time servants of the Asmodai they would undoubtedly let Naruto do anything to them he wished. That was not the kind of partner she instinctively knew Naruto would want.

Continuing, Tier said, "as to how many, besides ourselves I had thought that perhaps four more could be added easily enough without making it too crowded."

Pyrrha hummed a little. "So in total you're thinking six is a manageable number."(1)

Tier nodded, her firm stance somewhat marred by her familiar half-lidded expression. Those eyes of hers always made her look sleepily serious, as thought at any moment she could either fall asleep on you or start delivering a short lecture that would make you wish your grandmother had walked in on you masturbating instead and decided that it was the perfect time for a discussion about birds and bees. Then the eyes would sharpen and you'd get the uncomfortable sensation that a shark was eyeing you up for dinner, and any previous thoughts would be washed away in the knowledge that this woman was every bit as dangerous as her King in her own way.

Eight wannabe assassins had learned that lesson the hard way over the past few months as she familiarized herself with her new body and abilities to better protect her Naruto-sama. Each one now hid under their beds in the town jail if her name was so much as whispered in their hearing range. Kurama had been impressed enough to take a few notes for future reference, and possible implementation. She wasn't certain if Naruto-sama knew about them, but it didn't make much of a difference in any case. As far as Naruto was concerned, so long as it didn't hurt random innocents then he didn't mind if he was targeted.

Pyrrha thought about things a bit more. Sharing Naruto with five other women could prove complicated, but there was no reason to believe that others would be so swift to join Tier's little harem plan. There were probably few that would consent to such a sharing, and Pyrrha felt that she likely wouldn't have to deal with quite so many.

The redhead raised a finger and met Tier's gaze, "I will agree to a trial run on a few conditions, Tier."

The blonde frowned minutely. This was not unexpected, but it wasn't what she hoped for either. With a sigh she made a motion for the girl to continue.

"First, do not expect me to just jump straight into a sexual relationship with him. While I will agree to share him with you, and up to four others, I will not allow myself to be pushed into something I am not ready for."

Tier nodded. That was not unreasonable. Every relationship had to progress at its own pace, and Pyrrha was only seventeen after all. Plenty of time for the emotions to grow, and sex wasn't the only way to relieve that tension within Naruto-sama. Tier simply enjoyed the sex and the emotions it invoked within both her and her King.

"Second, I refuse to allow anyone into this harem if they do not honestly have romantic feelings for Naruto. Nymphomaniacs like Albedo and Kuroka are prime examples as to why. They'd never leave the bed and nothing would get done around here until Naruto's children were old enough to do it for him."

Another nod from the blonde woman. She agreed wholehearted on that point. Those two especially would gloat like no tomorrow and Tier had no intention of putting up with that. It would be worse than Grimmjow with a bad tooth.

Pyrrha returned the nod and held out her hand to shake on it.

Tier blinked in surprise that she didn't have a third condition- there was always a third condition, right? -then smiled gently and shook the girl's hand. They had an accord.

XxXxXxXx

Naruto woke a few weeks later to two female presences curled up on top of him. By the sensations that were swiftly becoming familiar readily identified the woman on his right as Tier, the other presence was familiar, but not intimately so it couldn't be either of his other usual bed mates. It had been a couple days now since he'd had either Yugao or Konan beside him waking up, and he had to wonder why they were distancing themselves. It was as if they were trying to draw an invisible line between him as a devil and themselves as humans, or hybrids in Konan's case. While it worried him a bit, if it was what they wanted he'd happily let them go their own way. Just so long as he retained the right to see the children every so often.

Normally he might have been worried about his lack of worry, but he didn't feel much like a father-to-be. He felt a great deal more like an expectant uncle or godfather, glad for Yugao and Konan, but ultimately untouched by the whole situation unless the ladies made it his concern. His still slightly sleepy mind chalked it up to his new devil instincts making an attempt to protect his human heart from the eventual fact that not only would he outlive the two women, but also the children they would birth in but a few short months.

Naruto shifted slightly, and froze when he cracked his left eye open. A mass of straight red hair of a shade he found very enticing blocked his view of the person's down-turned face, but that was immaterial as the hair color itself gave him a major clue as to was curled up using the left side of his chest as a pillow. There were only two redheads in the mansion that would have access to his private rooms.

Hell, there were only two redheads in the mansion, and while the body curled up on his left side felt quite… developed… it was too tall to be the younger red-haired girl. Which begged the question in Naruto's now wide awake mind…

What was Pyrrha doing sleeping in his bed? With him? More specifically with him and Tier?! Granted she wasn't naked like he and Tier were, instead having donned what looked to be a black and gold silk nightgown, but still!

His mind began running over the past few weeks at a feverish pace. Pyrrha had been spending more time with him than some of the others, save Tier herself, and asking him questions about himself. He'd been all too pleased that she seemed to want to know more about him, and he'd gladly answered her. She'd even been showing signs he recognized somewhat as being attracted to him, and he'd done nothing to rebuff her, though he wasn't certain that he'd encouraged her either.

Naruto silently admitted to himself that he had enjoyed her attention, even reveled in it to an extent. Much like Tier, Pyrrha was a strong, independent, and intelligent woman who seemed to know what she wanted. The icing to the cake that was Pyrrha Nikos was her natural beauty, which Naruto would fully admit had much to do with her vibrant red hair and friendly personality. He hadn't realized just how much he liked red hair on a woman until he'd met Pyrrha, though Rias had pretty much the exact same shade her age had relegated her away from an attractive status for the most part, that incident where he'd ended up with Tier notwithstanding.

The only real downside that he'd noted was that she seemed to view much of what occurred to her as simply part of her nebulous destiny. As if she had no real choice in the matter, but rather that she would just go along with she presumed was the path she must follow.

That was a train of thought Naruto was doing his utmost to break. Whenever she asked about his previous life in the Elemental Nations, he would purposely choose stories where he'd gone against the grain, against what people had thought him capable of, just to help shake her faith in Fate and Destiny. He barely stifled a chuckle at the memory of her reaction to how he first became a ninja, but it was incredibly funny to see her jaw drop like that.

In her defense it isn't every day that you learn your new boss/love interest was initially seen as little more than an unwanted failure.

Recalling their last conversation, he remembered it being about how he'd lost his right eye. That had been too close of a call in his opinion. While the knife hadn't touched his brain, the poisonous effect of the rust combined with actual poison had managed to damage the tear ducts of that eye. That event, more than much else, had driven home that his sword work was sub-par, the strange double-bladed sword he'd found when he was younger barely managing to keep his opponent off-balance enough to miss the critical strike. While the attack didn't cause a scar, he could never again create tears from that eye.

Naruto shuddered despite the warmth of both the blankets and the two women sharing his bed. He still wasn't certain if his right eye could cry or not, he was still experiencing and researching the extra effects of the ritual that changed him into a devil, but that attack had been far too close for his comfort. Even just recalling the event caused him to sometimes wince at just how close he'd come to death, no matter how blasé he might seem when talking about it. Jiraiya hadn't let him hear the end of it for a month.

His shudder woke his bedmates, however, as Tier leaned up and kissed his cheek, even as Pyrrha just shifted a little to look up at him. The two of them both had slightly worried expressions as the redhead asked what they both were thinking.

"What's wrong?"

"Just remembering," He hedged as his right hand unconsciously moved toward his eye.

Tier looked worried, while Pyrrha looked understanding. They had both heard the story of his lost eye, how the enemy hadn't even cared about Naruto so much as they had wanted to hurt his teacher, Jiraiya, for some kind of past sin. Considering it was Jiraiya this person was after, both women felt certain it had to do with either his spying activities or his perversions against women.

"Though I do have a question," Naruto said, looking at the redhead. "Why are you in my bed with us? Not that I'm complaining, but I am highly curious."

Pyrrha blushed and hid her face in his chest as she mumbled, "I'm trying something new."

The two blondes exchanged questioning glances. "Something new?"

She nodded without raising her face, "sleeping in the same bed with a man that I like as more than a friend."

Naruto blinked in shock, and partial giddiness, missing the self-satisfied smile curling the corners of Tier's lips.

"I'm sorry, I think I had some crazy in my ear," Naruto said, wiggling his left pinkie in his ear. "What's going on?"

"She said she's trying out sharing a bed with a man she likes romantically," Tier supplied helpfully. For once she was glad that the empathic bond didn't go both ways as she was having a hard enough time keeping her face and voice clear of the enjoyment she was feeling at his equal parts dismay and hope.

"What she said," Pyrrha mumbled from her position, her face still hidden in his chest.

"And you're alright with this, Tier-chan?" Naruto asked nervously. Let it not be said that Naruto didn't learn from the mistakes of others, namely Jiraiya and the many beatings that came the man's way when women found out they weren't the only ones in the elder shinobi's life.

"It was my idea, Naruto-sama."

He blinked. "What?"

"I said, it was my idea, Naruto-sama." Tier repeated, her smirk once again tugging at her lips. "Your heart is too big for just one woman to claim, and I know that I will not always be able to satisfy you. As a matter of fact, due to the empathic bond given me by my Piece, I can still feel your heavy amounts of lust barely held at bay. It will take more than just me to satiate your physical needs, and so I approached Miss Nikos about the possibility of sharing you."

"Suffice it to say," Pyrrha interrupted, still not raising her face, "that I agreed, under certain conditions. One being that you and I take our time to make sure it's what we both want, and not simply something forced upon us by outside, or inside, influences."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but didn't really look confused. "You mean the pseudo-soulbond?"

The redhead finally raised her gaze to meet his. "Yes. I don't know how much that may be affecting me."

Naruto released a breath of relief, and chuckled a little. "Yeah, I had a small conversation with my subconscious- don't give me that look!"

He gave her a halfhearted glare when her face scrunched up in disbelief. "I know how it sounds, but I'm no more crazy than I was before this whole devil business. There are times when I don't necessarily agree with myself, and my subconscious is a bit of an asshole, so I don't really like talking with him that much. However," his gaze softened a little, "the bond isn't doing much to us. It's more nudging us, making the things we like about each other stand out a little more, making us a bit more noticeable. Like highlighting a piece of text, if you will. We could, if we tried, ignore it."

Pyrrha blinked, that was it? She'd expected it to be… more. Maybe like an enforced love spell or something. But a small nudging? A nudging capable of being ignored?! She was flabbergasted.

Tier blinked, this was the first she heard of any kind of deeper-than-normal bonding between her lover and his new member. Of course, she hadn't exactly asked Naruto about his sudden deep attraction to the redhead, having considered it more of a private thing. She was his lover after all, not his wife. Though that idea was not unpleasant.

Pyrrha surprised herself by leaning up and kissing Naruto full on the mouth. Surprised him, too, but he returned it quickly enough. It ended too soon for his liking, but when he opened his eyes to see her again, Pyrrha had a radiant smile that took his breath away.

"Well," Pyrrha said breathlessly, "as long as I don't have to worry about that really being an issue, let's give this relationship all we've got, okay?"

Naruto nodded dumbly. Damn but she was beautiful, even more so when smiling. There was that small nudging he'd mentioned, but it was tiny in comparison to the breathless feeling that smile created in him. He couldn't stop his return smile, not even if he'd wanted to.

He leaned down. She leaned up. They met somewhere in the middle. Neither regretted it.

Tier looked on, a subtle feeling of recognizable jealousy rising within her that was ruthlessly squashed. Her plan was working. Her new King simply had too much love, both emotional and physical, for just one woman to try and monopolize it all. She knew it, and she knew that she'd get used to sharing him. Eventually. Pyrrha would be a good start.

XxXxXxXx

"Yo, Brat!"

Naruto was startled out of his practice with his blade as Kurama's voice interrupted him, nearly causing him to gouge his own foot with a low sweep. A yelp of panic and a quick jump to avoid the blade followed by coming to a complete stop upon landing completed the blonde's reaction. Turning to face a small viewing bubble that had Kurama's not-so-subtly snickering features displayed, Naruto gave the unrepentant kitsune a stern stare.

"Yes, partner?"

"As much as I enjoyed watching you nearly mutilate yourself, your mirror's doing its focusing act again."

"Alright, be right there."

Kurama's image smirked, "your new redhead's already here. Says she wants to see you help someone else."

Naruto blinked. "What about her bonding with her new Familiar?"

It took almost a month before Pyrrha was able to go after her own Familiar, and she had not disappointed. The redheaded warrior had returned with a large, magical variety of the nearly extinct red wolf.(2) Practically everywhere she went the wolf followed, seemingly imprinting upon her as its mother. Naruto wasn't certain exactly what was going on with the large canine, but he felt it would fight fiercely to protect Pyrrha and anyone else it saw as part of her pack.

Now, about eight days later, she wanted to go with Naruto on one of his so-called rescue missions? He shrugged it off.

"If she wants to come with, that's fine by me."

XxXxXxXx

She knew her world was doomed. They had done everything they could, and had failed. Wars continued to rage between countries, feuds of blood and tears that no man or woman could hope to stem the tide of. Least of all a failure like her.

The Goddess of Destruction now ran rampant, unchecked by any sort of fetter. Her counterpart, the Goddess of Peace was nowhere to be seen. The legendary Lehran's Medallion lay shattered in the now cold hands of the two girls thought to be able to restore it's mighty magical prison. Those two girls now dead through the foolishness brought on by mankind's need to fight and destroy and subjugate that which they did not know, and thus feared.

Now the red haired woman, a former knight and paladin of the Crimean Royal Army turned Mercenary, watching everything crumble around her to dust. Her hope had died only a few moments ago when the son of the last man she had loved was felled by a great black wyrm of a dragon. Neither the man nor his son had ever accepted her as more than a friend and comrade, but it had not changed that she had put both of them on pedestals. They had been her leaders, the only reason for her to get up in a day had been to aid them with all her strength. A strength that had finally failed the son as it had the man.

She sat still upon her heels, her loyal mount dying in the mud beside her, waiting for her death at the fangs and claws of the great black wyrm. She knew it was futile to fight it. She was nothing. Therefore there was nothing she could do for her world anymore. Her once pristine white armor covered in mud and blood, a fitting symbol in her mind of just how mired in war she and her world had become.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. Wars were supposed to be done with. Fear, Pain, Loss, all were supposed to have been left in the dust of history.

Looking to her left she saw the body of her slowly dying horse, her most loyal companion who had weathered the years with her through good times and bad. To her right she saw the cooling corpses of Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf. Three brothers with very different outlooks on battle, the reasons and attitudes for it. Behind her where the already decaying bodies of three armies, beorc and laguz(3) tribes and counties brought together to fight against a common enemy.

That enemy was even now bearing down on her, its enormous form looming menacingly over her. The great dragon looked at her, through her, and its head began to lower...

"So this is how you die, huh?"

And just like that, a young man's voice seemingly froze everything into place save for herself.

Titania whirled around at the unexpected voice so close to her, knocked out of her morose thoughts and instinctively reaching for her axe. They weren't very old, but then neither had Ike been when he rose to to command the Greil Mercenaries. A young man, maybe in his mid teens, with wild blonde hair, and wearing a strange charcoal colored outfit. His skin was weathered just enough to tell her that he spent a great deal of time outdoors, and there were three whisker-like markings on each of his cheeks. But it was his eyes that caught and held her attention.

Silver flecks on violet stood out with an understanding of pain so deep that Titania wanted to hug him and shield him from what life had already thrown at him. She was stopped, though, by the strength of purpose she saw behind that pain, a strength that took the pain and made itself stronger. They reminded her of her last two leaders, Greil and his son Ike. These were the eyes of someone who had seen despair and hopelessness, and had persevered.

The young man nodded around at the frozen scenery. "You know this is a dream, right? A nightmare born of your insecurities and fears about the potential outcome of this battle against the darkness."

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Titania demanded, her voice strong and strident, belying her surprise.

"Ah, I do apologize, my manners are always slipping." The young man swept into a rather flourished courtly bow. "I am Naruto Asmodai, head of the Asmodai house of Devils. With me is one of my people, Pyrrha Nikos."

Titania looked around and saw a young redheaded girl, maybe a few years older than the blonde, who likewise gave a small bow. Titania studied the girl intently for a moment. As a former member of the Crimean Royal Guard she had trained recruits, and with what she saw in this girl made Titania wish she'd found her years ago. Firm stance, but not rigid. Poised positioning to respond to any kind of threat, but not threatening herself. Tight grip upon that strange spear and shield, but flexible as well. Oh yes, to Titania's practiced this girl was exactly what any weapons instructor would wish for in a student.

The woman returned her attention to the blonde and waved a hand at the frozen surroundings. "You say this is not real? That it represents my insecurities and fears? If that's true, then where are we?"

Naruto smiled gently, "We are in your mind of course. Where else would we be? Specifically, we are witnessing your fear about the future of this world, Titania of the Greil Mercenaries."

Titania tensed minutely. "How do you know my name?"

The younger redhead behind him snorted in mirth. Seeing a questioning eyebrow from the woman, Pyrrha tried to explain. "I'm sorry, it's just that I could swear that was my first question about six or seven weeks ago."

Naruto's smile shifted to amusement, "It's usually at least among the first ones. It doesn't help matters when I just drop their names like that I suppose." He shifted his attention back to the rapidly annoyed-looking older redhead. "I'm sorry, it appears that you missed a part of my introduction. I will repeat: I am Naruto Asmodai, head of the Asmodai house of Devils."

Titania's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that you're the devil? The real one?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and sighed. "Not the Devil, a devil. There's quite a few of us, actually. Not as many as there used to be due to a particular war, but that's hardly relevant at the moment. I'm just the newest head of my particular family. Devils are a race, not a singular entity. Much like humans."

The woman stared at him in stupefaction. She stayed like for a few moments while her brain digested what he just told her. Finally she gulped and appeared to at least understand the situation a little better, and hope sprang into her eyes as she swung her gaze to the image of her horse.

"Then-"

"Your horse is not actually dead in the mud and muck of a battle you already won."

Her eyes flew back to him, "What?"

Naruto nodded and waved a hand at the scene around them. "This? This is not real, the battle is a couple days over in point of fact. You and your allies were successful in resealing the beast and evil back into that medallion. Your loyal mount is currently in the stables. A little worse for wear, but nothing that should hinder him going forward."

He gestured to a few of the bodies that actually had some definition to them, proof that it was merely a dream. "Those two girls are sleeping as well, rather adorably sharing the same bed like children. The blue haired young man you followed, is sitting down in the mess hall with a mug of something, still reeling from victory. Those three siblings are sprawled out and sleeping in the same room, the youngest between the other two. The rest of your general party is doing much the same, all sleeping off the near disaster."

Titania stared at him, eyes widening with each statement, and said, "You aren't anything like what I would have thought about a devil. I'd actually expect you to try and throw me deeper into despair."

Naruto sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping. "Yeah, that stereotype is fairly typical." He straightened up and met her gaze, "But lying to you at this point is useless. I don't come from this world of yours, I have methods of viewing other worlds, and with the fact that I want to recruit you to my service… well, a lie like that could be easily found out. Then I'd have a really pissed off woman with new knowledge and abilities after my hide. I'd rather avoid that, thank you very much."

Blinking occurred with the eyes of both redheads. Pyrrha hadn't even thought of that. He could have been lying to her, just to get her to go with him. Instead he'd told her the truth upfront, brought her into his inner circle, and now she shared his heart. She found herself falling a little more for this blonde teen. Sure, his stated motivations were less than noble or romantic, but he was only fourteen or fifteen. She could forgive him that. No matter the reasons or motivations, he had saved her life, and given her a new one. A new purpose. She'd thank and love him for that forever.

Titania on the other hand, blurted out her next thought in shock. "This is a job interview?"

Naruto grinned mischievously and said, "Pretty much."

"No offense, master Asmodai-"

"-Naruto."

"-master Naruto, then, but I'd prefer to have this kind of conversation not surrounded by this kind of imagery."

"As you wish. Then to assuage your fears, Pyrrha and I will await you in the stables, where your horse is."

"You aren't really here?"

"Yes and no. Your horse was worried for you and allowed us to tap into the bond you share with him to assist in bringing you out of this nightmare. We will see you soon."

With that statement the two teens faded from her sight, and Titania woke up shortly after. She felt reassured by the sudden ache in her ribs and the stone walls around her. She rose and dressed quickly in her leathers and armor, picking up her axe on the way out her door. There may not be a need for them, but she felt naked without them.

She arrived at the stables with little difficulty, her aching ribs supporting an idea of possible breaks and thus making breathing hard, even more so with her breastplate on. She met few people on her journey, the lateness of the night when she looked up at the moon telling her that most would be in bed, resting their injuries from the battle.

Resting, like she should be, but something propelled her toward this meeting. Titania had always trusted her instincts, and they told her this young man, this Naruto Asmodai, would at least be worth listening to.

And there he was, redheaded girl beside him, smiling gently as he brushed his hand along the neck of her white horse. That sight stopped Titania for a moment. As much as she listened to her instincts, she listened to her horse's just as much. He had been with her for many years, far longer than any other pairing of mount and rider outside of the wyverns. His instincts had saved her many times, and those he trusted to get within twenty feet of him were few indeed. Yet he allowed this young man to touch him, something usually reserved for children in their innocence.

Naruto faced her, his smile still gentle, but now it held an awe and reverence that she hadn't seen before even as his hand retracted from her horse. His voice when he spoke now held that same awe and reverence, "Welcome, Titania, your partner has graciously allowed my touch. Even should you refuse my offer, I will count this trip well worth the time and energy. It is not everyday that a devil like myself is allowed to touch a Celestial Charger after all."

Titania blinked, "A what?"

Naruto looked at her surprised. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew. He's what is known as a Celestial Charger, an otherwise mortal horse with blessed fae blood. They live ridiculously long, and are arguably as intelligent as any human. I say arguably, but I'm inclined to believe that they are smarter than most of humans."

"Are you saying that my horse is not a horse?"

"No, I'm saying that he's more than a horse. They are not known to give their loyalty to just anyone, which speaks highly of you."

"And of you, he allowed you to touch him."

Naruto shrugged, "Of necessity. I'm still learning, and to help you I needed to be in physical contact with him. So he made an allowance."

She faced her mount who was looking at with a wisdom she had come to know and expect, "Van?"(4)

The white head bobbed, but then surprisingly he nibbled on Naruto's sleeve in what was unmistakably an affectionate manner. Then he gave what suspiciously sounded like a snicker at the devil's expression of shock.

Naruto shot a wry grin at Titania, "Is he always like this? Proving people wrong for the fun of it?"

"Not really," she replied in bemusement. "Normally he's only this accepting of children. I remember having a dilly of a time getting him to accept me as his rider."

Her expression changed to one of thoughtfulness. "Though with the new information you've given me, I have to wonder if he didn't do that just to test me."

"It would be in keeping with what little I know of the breed," Naruto agreed.

"Little?"

He shrugged, "I'm still studying. Believe it or not, I was human before becoming a devil, so there's a great deal for me to learn still."

Titania blinked and looked over to the girl behind him, "Is that true? He was human?"

Pyrrha nodded, "His eyes used to be a cerulean blue from the pictures I've seen of him. And there was this gaudy faded orange jumpsuit," she eyed his current gray business suit with approval, "which I am quite glad to have not been personal witness to."

"Bite me," Naruto groused. "Why am I the only one to understand the greatness of orange?"

He sighed, "My fashion sense, or lack thereof, when I was younger aside, unfortunately Pyrrha's rather new to my little family. She never knew me as a human. As a matter of fact, I changed her into a devil about… eight weeks ago?"

He looked to Pyrrha and she made a so-so gesture with one hand. "About that. It hasn't quite been two months, so it sounds close enough."

Naruto shrugged again, "I lost track. I've only been at this devil business for about six months now, give or take, and there's been so much to learn..." He winced and held his head, "Okay, note to self: Kage Bunshin memory transfer works even in a different universe. Good to know. Ow."

He blinked, "secondary note: my devil ancestors were assholes. Grandmother especially, that whole Domination of Blood thing she got made her a real nut case."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, "this coming from the man who gained Domination of Time."

Titania looked lost, "excuse me, what are you talking about?"

Naruto waved it off, "In short, the most prominent families of devil-kind each have something that sets them apart. The head of the Asmodai family gains a power called 'Domination'. This ability changes from person to person, my devil blood comes from a man who 'Dominated Death', his mother was able to 'Dominate Blood', and so on and so on, et cetera. My ability is the Domination of the concept known as Time. Forward, backward, in the moment, theoretically I could do damn near anything within the realm of Time, but I've only had it for a couple months, so I'm still learning."

The woman's eyes widened, incredulity warring with stupefaction. Her voice was a tad strangled when she finally found it, "And you're telling me this without any kind of reservation, why?"

The blonde teen looked her in the eye, his sincerity showing in his gaze. "Because if I want you to trust me, and potentially join me, I believe it best to be straight with you from the get-go. I'm not looking for subservient soldiers, or slaves, I'm looking for partners and friends, people I can trust my life and secrets with."

Titania rocked back on her heels from his honesty. It was the kind of thing she liked having in her employers, but was incredibly rare to find. Greil was one of the last, his son continued that trend, but she was starting to feel like she was being leaned on too much. She didn't mind being relied on, but there were times that she had been put into untenable situations, surviving only because of her wits, experience, and her now revealed fae-blooded mount.

She closed her eyes and thought. Naruto and Pyrrha remained silent, waiting for her next move. Titania appreciated that, it proved a great deal about the young man's intentions. He was willing to wait, to be patient while she thought through everything. Her hand went unconsciously Van's mane, stroking his neck in a familiar action of reassurance.

Finally, after several minutes of quiet thought, Titania's eyes opened and focused on Naruto. "In the interest of saving a bit of time, and for the sake of argument, let's say I agreed to your job proposal. What would all be involved? You say you come from a different universe, a different realm, how could you take me with you?"

He raised his right hand and a something flickered into existence, floating in place. Titania eyed it warily. It looked like a heavily fortified tower on a mountaintop, all carved from some kind of deep red transparent material. She had no idea what it was, but she knew it was no ordinary piece of art.

"If you should accept, then this Rook, this Evil Piece- don't give me that look. I didn't make it, so I don't get to name it –will change you into a devil, much like myself. A few differences, but those are something that we could always get into later. The job description of a Rook is fairly simple: protect the King and Peerage."

He paused for a moment, and sighed at her expression of dismayed amusement. "Look, does the game of chess exist here?" She nodded, "alright, then. For reasons currently unknown to me these items- and the system they are used in – were based on that game. Obviously I possess the King piece, and all I know it does is to bind those who accept these other pieces into my service. From there it is entirely my purview as to how I treat my people. I am trying to create a group that are friends and partners and comrades-in-arms. As a Rook in this system, your abilities in physical strength and defense will become much greater in order to protect the King- me –and your fellow members- Pyrrha and the others- from things that would bring us harm."

Titania frowned. It wasn't really a bad deal, from what she could currently see.

"A few words of warning, though," Naruto continued, silently cursing himself for his need for honesty. There were times when a lie would probably serve his needs as much as the truth, but it just wasn't in him to bother unless lives were at stake. "To begin with; devils are not anywhere near the top of the supernatural food chain. Not exactly sure where we stand, but I'd bet on somewhere in the middle. Primarily because we have a couple problems, namely the elements of Holy and Light magic, and a distinct issue with sunlight. The first two can kill us, the last weakens us."

The woman blinked. Those were some pretty big problems, and doubtless could be used against them in the future.

"There is one way devil-kind is aware of currently around the problem of Light magic that I am aware of: have a large natural affinity, which is only possible for those of us who were once human."

Titania blinked again. So was that part of why these devils recruited humans? To try and gain some kind of advantage against one of their weaknesses? If so it wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but she highly doubted that many other devils were as upfront about it all as this Naruto.

Her thoughts were again interrupted by a sigh from the young man. She refocused just quickly enough to see him shrug off a nudge from the girl with a look of resignation.

"Alright, Pyrrha, I'll tell her that, too."

"Tell me what?"

Naruto gave her a wry grimace. "It's something no one who knows about it has a clue just how it came about. My Evil Pieces each gained a different ability. My Queen can feel my emotions from damn near any distance, my Bishop was matured a little in the way of her perception capability, my only Pawn- dear Pyrrha, here –has gained some of my physical endurance." He sighed again, "Somehow my Knight has managed to gain the natural human resistance I used to possess against both Holy Weapons and Light Magic so neither are instant death to her."

"Why keep it quiet?"

"Because not every devil is happy with the current state of things and may decide to try and restart an ancient war between us and every other biblical faction if they knew about that ability. Now I like a good fight as much the next guy, but war is pointless and leaves no true winner, only pain. And I have little doubt that my people would be forced into the front lines to try and become a vanguard."

His eyes hardened, surprising Titania with the strength of conviction hidden in his silver flecked orbs. "I refuse to allow my people to come to harm for another's greed, arrogance, and stupidity."

The woman studied Naruto in silence for a while, reading what she could of him and his character from their conversation so far and the way he held himself. Confident, yet with the uncertainty of youth. A powerful belief in those he calls friend, yet willing to sacrifice himself for them should the situation arise. A calm yet energetic demeanor, and an incredible self-anger for something that had happened in the not-so distant past. It was that anger that motivated him as much as his natural convictions, which worried Titania slightly, but not overmuch as she could see it was held at bay by a powerful will.

And there was a sense of lust, an incredibly strong lust that was also held back by that same will. It made Titania flush a little knowing that she was the source of such a reaction. Sure she had been called beautiful before, but mostly by drunkards looking for an easy lay. It did her feminine pride good to know that she was desirable by event this- thankfully sober –young man. He was too young for her personal tastes and sensibilities, but it was a nice feeling nonetheless.

Titania cleared her throat and said, "You realize of course that I have prior commitments to the Greil Mercenaries."

Naruto nodded, his expression understanding. "Naturally, but I have to wonder if you feel that you need to remain. Nightmare aside, I don't really see why my Rook piece would have singled you out for a chance at a new life. I set the spell to look for intelligence, but I also set it to look for a certain level of despair. People who needed, or felt like they needed, a new start. A new life."

The woman stared hard at him. So he admitted that he was pretty much preying upon those who had no hope left for their life, their world. He might mean well, but in the end that was what he was doing.

Though, she had to admit he'd read it fairly accurately. She felt like a crutch for the Greil Mercenaries, like they didn't so much need her as they just used her to soften up the bigger targets. She had been contemplating leaving and just traveling the world now that there was peace. But now this Naruto Asmodai appeared, and Van liked him enough to let the boy touch him, something even Ike and Mist hadn't been able to do.

Titania frowned a little at that thought. "What about Van? I can't just leave him, not after all we've been through."

Naruto shrugged, "if he consents you could take him as your Familiar. Basically an animal or spirit companion that helps you out in various ways. I have a rather large kitsune, just as an example. Kinda lazy, but he'd been trapped in a couple prisons for almost a hundred years so I think he's earned a bit of a vacation."

"Prisons? Plural?"

Naruto waved a hand, dismissing it as unimportant. "A long story for another time, and not really all mine to tell."

"Ah." Titania turned to Van. Through all of their years together she had come to trust his instincts as much as her own, and while hers said that this young man was on the level, she wanted a second opinion. "Alright, you, no more playing the dumb animal. What do you think? Should I take him up on his offer?"

Van snorted softly and nodded. He knew the measure of this young man better than most, his fae blood giving him a natural insight into Naruto's character. That and the fact that Van had scanned Naruto's mind while the young lad was helping his partner.

"And what of you? Would you want to come with me? As this whatever-it-was?"

"Familiar." Pyrrha said helpfully.

Titania nodded, "yes, that. Familiar."

Again Van nodded without hesitation. He'd waited most of two decades before he settled on Titania, he wasn't about to let her go on a new adventure without him!

Titania nodded again and faced Naruto. "Alright, how do we do this?"

Naruto grinned, "There are two ways, this first is the most commonly used: when the subject is either near death or just recently dead. That's not my preference, though I've made a couple exceptions. But since you are neither, we'll just go with option two… you take hold of this Piece, and voila! We'll wait around a little bit for you to come to, the process is a bit taxing apparently. Then we'll take you and Van through to my home, and when your new magic is strong enough to support the Familiar bond I'll walk you through it."

The woman nodded, "I'll want to leave behind a message so they don't go looking for me uselessly. Is that doable?"

"Of course. Unlike other universes I've been to this one seems willing to let me stick around for a bit." He raised his hand to stem the question he knew was coming, "I'll explain that one later. Suffice to say for the moment that many worlds do not take kindly to my presence and thus force me to leave."

Titania nodded. She'd get the full version later, she didn't doubt. Reaching out she took hold of the rook still floating above Naruto's hand and welcomed the burst of energy and the warm enveloping gold light.

She was going to start a new life, one with people who she could lean on just as much as she would be leaned on. She would be needed, she would need. She would be given, and she would give. She would be protected, and she would protect.

Titania, Rook of Naruto Asmodai.

XxXxXxXx – Ending Notes

1- Yes, six. Not too big, not too small, and it's honestly smaller than Hyoudou Issei's canon harem which included Rias Gremory, Himejima Akeno, Asia Argento, Xenovia, Rossweisse, Ravel Phenex, Tojou Koneko, Kuroka, LeFay Pendragon, and Irina Shido.

2- Red Wolf: The red wolf, also known as the Florida wolf or Mississippi Valley wolf, is a canid of unresolved taxonomic identity native to the eastern United States. It is generally, morphologically, an intermediate between the coyote and gray wolf, and is of a reddish, tawny color. The red wolf is a federally listed endangered species of the United States, and is protected by law. It has been listed by IUCN as a critically endangered species since 1996. ... This was taken from Wikipedia.

3- Beorc/Laguz: in the games Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn there are two general races; the humans (beorc) and the beast folk (laguz). The differences are rather academic in my personal opinion, aside from the obvious physical differences of course. I recommend playing the games to get a better idea.

4- Van: the horse does not actually have a name, but for the purposes of not only the conversation, but the fic as well, I had to give him something. In another Fire Emblem a pegasus had the name Titania, and was ridden by a woman called Vanessa. If you can't see where I got the name Van, then I think you may need to go back to school. Titania's mount isn't really anything special as far as the game story goes, it's just her horse, but I needed it to be something more, thus I dipped into D&D and borrowed the Celestial Charger… with a few tweaks.

Peerage (Familiar)

King – Naruto Asmodai (Kurama, Tiamat [waiting])

Queen – Tier Harribel (Undine)

Bishop – Rias Gremory (Magic Bat, Devil Bat)

Knight – Aayla Secura (Gryphon)

Rook – Titania (Celestial Charger)

Pawn – Pyrrha Nikos (Magic Red Wolf)

For those who are going to ask, at the end of this chapter approximately five and a half months have passed since Yugao and Konan have gotten pregnant, so there's at least another three and a half months to go on that score. And who knows? They might be late births, I know my siblings and I were all 10 months.

Second, this is where I diverge from the general canon events of some of the characters. This particular Titania is from a couple of games called Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. I say this so there is no confusion down the line with Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, as she also bears the name of Titania. And I own NONE of them…. :( Sad Face.

~Dreaming of the Phoenix