AN: Okay, for all the flamers out there, what part of "you are just adding to my review count" do you not understand? I'm certainly not going to stop writing my story just because you don't like it. As a matter of fact, it's right in the summary: "Don't like? Don't read." Now, shoo!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD

Chapter 10

Naruto sat back in one of the sofas in Tazuna's home. He could hardly believe he'd had a run in with the infamous Black Cat, Kuroka... It went nothing like he had thought it might. For one thing, it was surprisingly easy to get her cooperation. He didn't even really need to do anything, she actually offered to help of her own will, in return she wanted one thing. A child. Not necessarily his child, but merely a child, with a preference -read as "demand"- on the father being a powerful individual.

With that thought Naruto had offered up Zabuza.

That was two days ago, and no one had seen hide nor hair of either since they had returned to Tazuna's house. Zabuza and Kuroka had gone into one of the two guest rooms, locked the door, and set up silencing spells, multiple of them in layers. Naruto reflected that when he had thought about making a prank to get Zabuza a girlfriend of some sort, he hadn't imagined Kuroka in that spot.

He was broken from his thoughts as Tsunami entered the house with her day's bodyguard, Haku.

There was something of a surprise that lead to Haku and Tsunami spending inordinate amounts of time together. Apparently Tsunami's mother was originally from Mizu no Kuni, a member of Haku's own Yuki Clan. The woman -Tsurara, if Naruto remembered correctly- had left Mizu to try her hand at life elsewhere, long before the reign of Yagura, and had fallen for Tazuna. That last piece had more than a few disbelieving looks cast the old man's way, mostly from the females of the group who couldn't see what that woman obviously had.

He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of another door being flung open, this one from upstairs. Kuroka came gliding down as if she hadn't most likely been in two-day sex marathon, while Zabuza... came stumbling down the steps looking like he'd aged ten years. Naruto winced in sympathy, and fetched the man a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Zabuza didn't even offer a grunt of acknowledgment, just grabbed the cup and chugged the scalding hot liquid without complaint, even as he fell into the other sofa with Kuroka curling up beside him.

"Wow, must'a been good, huh?" Naruto teased the older man. All he got for his efforts was a glare and a silent demand for more coffee. A demand that Naruto fulfilled before retaking his original seat, with Haku immediately snuggling into his side, his arm falling reflexively around her shoulders.

The two couples just sat there for a time. One couple merely content in each other's presence, the other an oddly perfect blend of contentment and exhaustion. All the while, Tsunami bustled about in the kitchen, making more coffee and preparing for dinner.

'At least one of us has our priorities straight,' Naruto mused, watching Tsunami's hips sway back and forth from where he sat as she started cutting carrots, before returning his attention to the two across from him. He still felt a little railroaded by Kuroka's nonchalance. Wasn't it supposed to be difficult to convince criminals to your way of thinking? Oh right, she had the same opinion of Gato that everyone else did: slimeball.

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Flashback

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"Would you mind running that past me again? I think I've got crazy in my ear."Naruto's disbelieving voice was easily picked out in the small clearing he and Kuroka had removed themselves to.

An absolutely beautiful woman, in the adorable cat way, just looked back at him with a deadpan expression. "I said, I'll help you get rid of that disgusting pig of a human, nyah. All I want in return, is for a child from a strong male. It doesn't have to be yours, nyah, it just has to be a male in the S-class category. I'm even willing to swear Servitude, a life on the run got boring a while ago."

Naruto's mind whirled. She was serious, he could easily see that. But what kind of development was this?! An extremely difficult obstacle in their path was removable just like that? It was official: 'if I ever meet the real Lady of Luck, I'm-a gonna kiss her.'

Clearing his throat a little, Naruto gave voice to his offer. "Well I have two unattached males of the S-class in my Peerage, I suppose one of them will do?" Kuroka nodded, and Naruto breathes a sigh of relief. "I have one with me in the country at the moment, a real wild-card, Leviathan for a Familiar. Swordsman, so you can bet on some good muscles and stamina, specializes in the Water element, but I'm guessing that doesn't really matter too much?" He paused long enough to get her response: a shake of the head. "Alright, then I'll offer you Momochi Zabuza. Poor man's been on the run for a while himself, so he no doubt needs to get laid anyways."

Kuroka shrugged. She didn't care, as long as the man was strong, she could use him to help repopulate her nearly-extinct species. And swearing Servitude to this boy wouldn't be so bad, he was an Uzumaki and they were well-known for keeping their servants protected. With this she may even be able to see her little Shirone again...

Shaking her thoughts from her head, Kuroka kneeled in front of Naruto, hands formed into fists and crossed in front of her chest, head down in submission. "I, Kuroka, of the Nekoshou, do hereby swear upon my very essence, to Serve this man, Uzumaki Naruto, til my dying breath. Should I forsake this vow, may I be forever branded as a Heretic, the Unbound."*

The magic built up as she spoke, a glowing silver circle surrounding them. Now it was Naruto's turn. "I, Uzumaki Naruto, do hereby accept you, Kuroka, as my Servant. For so long as you Serve me shall I defend you, and see you prosper."

A flash of silver light covered the clearing, a crest appearing upon Kuroka's brow, indicating the success of the Oath.

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Flashback End

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When Naruto introduced Kuroka to Zabuza she jumped him and dragged him off. Naruto's only thought at the time was, 'I guess she finds him satisfactory?' The young man really didn't know what else to think, but he wasn't complaining. With that he had gained a powerful Servant. Granted he couldn't use her in Rating Games, or anything like that, but as a power symbol she was a very good person to have on his side.

She had killed her King, and no one knew why. Oh, there was speculation about the "Madness and Anger of the world" affecting her through Senjutsu, but that was obviously bullshit. If it had any kernel of truth, she would still be angry, Senjutsu was not the kind of energy to leave her kind's body. They were born able to wield it, or at least with the aptitude, and the more they did the more it flowed through them freely, without conscious thought. So, by lack of stupidity and fear clouding Naruto's thoughts, there must be a proper reason.

What that reason was, however, he really didn't need to know, nor did he care at this point. She was his... "property", he supposed would be the best description. He owned her, not unlike a piece of pottery, save that she she could -and probably would- ask questions before doing anything he told her to. With that in mind, Naruto figured he'd just keep her as a kind of status symbol, and adviser.

Clearing his thoughts, he realized that everyone else in the room was staring at him. 'Well, now I feel awkward...'

"So, Boss, not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason this firebrand suddenly decided to switch sides and have a lot of sex with me?" Zabuza's rough tenor was easily able to break the growing tension. That and his nonchalant attitude were enough to tell Naruto that it was just that; an attempt to get things rolling.

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Well, you see, Kuroka kinda despises Gato as much as the next person, and in return for her Service, everything she wanted could be boiled down to one thing: a mate to give her strong children. So... I offered you."

Zabuza blinked rapidly, Haku mirroring her mentor. "Wait... let me see if I have this right. She wanted a mate and children, and you gave her ME?!" The incredulous tone was so thick one could have cut it with a knife.

"Um, yes?" Naruto wasn't sure if Zabuza would be happy with the arrangement, but he hoped... His thoughts were once again derailed by by something that usually sent chills of fear down people's spines: Zabuza was laughing. Full-out, belly-busting laughter was erupting from the man, surprising enough to have Kuroka suddenly shifting forms to hide in Naruto's hair, peeking out warily.

It took several minutes before Zabuza managed to gain control of himself. Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, he fixed his young King with an amused smirk. "Kid, that's got to be the best prank you ever played. Now really, what did she want?"

"A child from a strong male."

Blinking ensued once more. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"You mean..."

"Yup, congratulations. you're a mated male with young on the way... most likely." Naruto couldn't keep a smirk of his own down any longer.

"Fuck." Zabuza seemed catatonic. Apparently "marriage", coupled with impending fatherhood was something of a shock to his system when dished out all at once like that.

-No, really?!-

Three sets of female sniggers could be heard alongside Naruto's, poor Zabuza, even Tsunami found it funny.

-What say we fast-forward and leave Zabuza some dignity?-

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Break

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Later that day, in the early evening after Tazuna and the girls returned, the devils gathered in the living room to plan out the attack on Gato. Kuroka was invaluable there, because they could afford to use magic now. Chakra was still out, apparently Gato had a few more shinobi on his pay roll, not very strong ones, but they were sensor-types, even if their range wasn't really impressive. However, that mattered little, as chakra and magic were completely different, and as such made those sensor-types pointless.

There came one small sticking point when the group learned of a pair of Stray Devils in the man's employ, though. Naruto wasn't concerned with property damage, or possible loss of life on behalf of the scum to side with Gato. No, he was concerned about the people held in Gato's "basement", waiting to be sold off as slaves, as at least one, but usually both, of those Strays was commonly guarding them.

The pair in question were former Pawns, so they weren't likely to be much trouble, but it was possible one of them had high magic resistance, or recognition abilities. This was not to say that Pawns were inherently weak, Naruto's own Pawns could attest to that, but many Devils used the Pawns as throw-away Pieces, wasting them on people who had no real ability. However, that was no guarantee that was the case here.

That particular fear was put to rest when Kuroka actually managed to name them: Harakiri Kujo and Harakiri Kanna. Husband and wife respectively, run-aways from their former King who listed them in the Underworld's version of the Elemental Nation's Bingo Book. Some skill with sword and magic, Low-Class, barely better than a civilian, but nothing noteworthy, at least that's what the book said. The entry was a few years old, and since they had survived this long they had to have something up their sleeves.

The thought gave Kuroka a pause when it was brought up. Apparently she felt something strong within the woman, something that could be used to give others cause for caution. What, exactly, she couldn't be sure, but she was willing to stake her reputation of it being a Sacred Gear, a Top-Tier one at that. Not necessarily a Longinus, one of the thirteen Gears said to be capable of killing a god, but maybe on the level of Dwrnwyn, definitely around or just below the level of the average True Holy Sword.*

Considering neither of the Harakiri's had any of the Holy/Light Attribute -as listed in the book-, they ruled out the possibility of a Holy Sword. That still left a great many things it could be, but at least it was bound to not be instantly lethal to one of them. ... Holy Swords were just plain not fair! Of Naruto's entire Peerage only Hinata had any amount of the Light Attribute, and that was only enough to use her own Sacred Gear, the bow Fail-not*, a Holy Artifact itself.

Either way it was a powerful item and Naruto couldn't help but wonder how this Harakiri Kanna got her hands on it. He supposed it was possible that the two had managed to kill the original owner, but for it to be that strong, said owner must have been unaware of it's presence. meaning they had performed a ceremony of some kind to remove the Sacred Gear, which most likely ended with the original owner's death, since -as far as Naruto knew- there was no way to remove a Gear without killing the host.

The only other clue they had to the item's identity was the sudden appearance and disappearance of a strange mask that exuded the feeling of cold. Naruto figured that if the item stuck around after the current wielder was dead, he'd give it to Haku, as a form of symmetry considering her Hyoton Kekkei Genkai. Well that and because she wasn't having a great deal of success with her natural Sacred Gear, Brisingamen, due to it being Fire elemental, and she wasn't.

The irony of an ice-wielding girl being in natural possession of a fire-type Gear was hardly lost on any of the Peerage. The surprise of that was only eclipsed when Kakashi had managed to score/retrieve another Sacred Gear, a spear known as Gae Bolg.* What he did with it, no one knew. A spear wasn't really a shinobi's type of weapon, but he probably made an exception. Naruto would have. Then there were the other Gears his people had collected over the years...

Seriously, what was with Lady Luck and Naruto's Peerage? They had retrieved more stolen Sacred Gears in their ten years of activity, than most devils saw outside another Peerage. It was nearly up to one Gear per member. Granted not all of them were insanely powerful, like Gae Bolg, but they each had their uses.

WAIT! He was getting off track again. The main point was that the enemy had a powerful Sacred Gear, and as such could not be underestimated. One of the few plus sides was that the Harakiri weren't interested in consuming mortals to boost their power, so no dealing with ass-ugly monstrosities. The down side to that, is that they would be dealing with people in full control of themselves.

Meh, it wouldn't really be any fun if it was the other way.

Naruto determined that breaking into groups of two would be the most effective, and since there were seven of them, one would stay behind to watch over the family. A round of Janken later determined that it would be Yugito sitting it out, a fact she wasn't very happy about. -Hey, no one likes playing babysitter-

The teams were made in such a way as to maximize efficiency, so there would be one "cloaked" member per team, leading up to Naruto and Haku as Infiltration Team One, whose job would be to see to the destruction of the Stray Devils in the basement and the safety of the captives. Infiltration Team Two would be Zabuza and Tsukiko, whose job was the elimination of Gato and all his thugs inside the manor itself. Leaving Hinata and Kuroka to be Overwatch Team, whose job was the elimination of the thugs and other assorted lowlifes on the walls and wandering the grounds.

Kuroka would hold a magical variation of Zabuza's Kirigakure no Jutsu over the compound, while Hinata would utilize her Byakugan in conjunction with her Sacred Gear to bring down the guards on the walls first, following that the Infiltration teams would enter, Zabuza and Tsukiko making their way through the building in search of Gato, while Naruto and Haku would go to the basement, dealing with all the trouble they found along the way.

Or at least that was the basic plan. Naruto knew that plans never really lasted beyond the first engagement with the enemy. Damn that Sun Tzu for writing that book! Naruto wished he could have reveled in ignorance, but no, he just had to read that "Art of War". They would just have to see how well it worked out.

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Break

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Naruto was working his way quietly through the mansion, Haku right behind him. So far everything was going according to plan, but he didn't dare hope that it would keep doing so. He hadn't needed to use more than his seaxe, quietly coming up from behind the few thugs and slitting their throats. Haku was more more kind, using senbon to hit pressure points along the spine for quick and painless deaths. But he wasn't Haku, and Naruto had no doubt that Zabuza was reveling in the wanton slaughter he was allowed.

Continuing their course along the projected route given by Kuroka, Naruto and Haku had only crossed paths with about seventeen hirelings, each one armed with some kind of weapon, from swords to large saws. However they were quickly coming up to the door leading to the basement, and both began to feel the barest hint of another devil's presence. It was subtle, only a devil that actually trained to recognize the difference would be able to tell it apart from that of a human. Needless to say, Naruto and Haku were two such devils, and only a few more moments would determine if the ones downstairs were of the same variety.

It seemed they were, as the Harakiri couple were seemingly waiting for them. The husband was a rather forgettable face with short brown hair and brown eyes, the only thing of note was an odd scar on his right cheek. His body type was fairly typical of reincarnated devils too, just enough muscle to prove he worked off the human excess, but not enough to denote anything more. He wore a simple set of black trousers, black sneakers, and black long-sleeved shirt. A standard-looking katana rested in it's sheathe, held in his left hand.

The wife, however, was anything but forgettable. In fact, she seemed to practically radiate a motherly aura. Her long black hair was tied up in a single bun, with two strands of hair trailing down the sides of her face, her bright blue eyes just barely visible through an odd white mask that held no noticeable features. She wore a red party dress, with the appropriate heels in a matching red, and long sleeve-like gloves. No weapon was visible, but that mask of hers was giving Naruto a chill, an odd sensation to be sure as it conflicted with that natural mother-like feeling.

It was distracting to say the least.

"Ah, so good to finally meet you, young Lord Uzumaki, correct?" Kujo's cultured tone was silk-smooth. He had no fear of this young man, why should he? Kujo and his wife had been reincarnated more than thirty years ago, they had experience this young devil wished he had.

Naruto snorted inwardly. 'So he's thinking I'm not a threat, huh? Well, let's not disabuse him of that notion just yet.' Naruto and Haku moved to within easy conversational distance of about twenty feet. Far enough to dodge any sudden pot shots, but near enough to levy their own if need be.

"Yes, that would be me. Uzumaki Naruto, current Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan, at your service." If Kujo wanted to play with formalities, Naruto would indulge him, for now.

"Perfect, you seem reasonable. There's no reason why we can't all get what we want, hm? We should be able to come to a mutually agreeable conclusion, correct?" His voice changed just slightly, nothing overtly noticeable, but there was now a hint of cajoling.

Naruto felt a sudden desire to at least hear the man out. 'So, a little Charm Magic, is it?' "Hm, that's somewhat debatable, Harakiri Kujo. You see, you abandoned your former King, and now I find you here, with your wife in possession of a Sacred Gear that she most certainly did not possess before your little vanishing act. I hope you understand my caution, and curiosity."

"Ah. Yes. The Gear..." Kujo seemed uncomfortable at the shift in the flow of conversation. It was as if he didn't expect another devil to know, and be able to counter, Charmspeak. "About that..."

Without warning Kujo struck, attempting a classic Iaido attack. Unfortunately for him, Naruto had six swordsmen -okay, three men, three women*- in his Peerage, and knew the tells of preparation for said technique, and thus parried the strike neatly with Dwrnwyn. At the same moment Haku and Kanna engaged in their own battle, seemingly one of ice-user versus ice-user.

Naruto saw the ice, and instantly could guess at the Sacred Gear. There was only one he knew of that wielded/created ice, and was on the level of a True Holy Sword: Absolute Demise*, one of the Thirteen Longinus. This thought enraged him.

Turning his furious gaze on Kujo, the older devil saw his imminent death in Naruto's burning blue orbs. "You son of a bitch! Absolute Demise?! That's supposed to be in the possession of a young girl! It was one of the few Longinus we devils knew where to find, and agreed to leave alone! If only because she was too young!"

Dwrnwyn responded to Naruto's rage, bursting into violet-black flames. Darkness Flame, the heat of which allowed Dwrnwyn to easily cut through the opponent's normal steel blade, following through and into the torso of Kujo himself. In moments all that was left was a blackened stain upon the floor, the only testimony that Harkiri Kujo ever existed.

The surprise of the moment allowed Haku to launch a pair of senbon into Kanna's throat, killing the woman slowly. Even as Naruto slowly approached her fallen form, blazing Dwrnwyn in hand, Harakiri Kanna was choking on her own blood. Kneeling next to the down woman, Naruto reached out and ripped the mask off her face.

Certain Gears could withstand the loss of a host for short period of time, the Longinus Gears were some of them. Naruto had ripped the mask off so he could see the face of the woman who would doom a young child, just to get power. Harakiri Kanna's face was once beautiful, but had becomed heavily scarred, and a permanent sneer was placed upon her lips. It seemed the motherly aura was another bit of Charm magic.

Standing, Naruto passed the Absolute Demise to Haku, and then thrust his blade down into the dying woman's chest. It was best that there would be no remnant of these two. Haku seemed to agree, even as she reverently placed the mask upon her her own face, replacing the Kiri Oi-nin mask she had worn previously.

The featureless white mask changed, gaining the image of a white leopard. It seemed as though Absolute Demise and Haku would become strong partners. Turning his attention to the rest of the basement, Naruto noticed a large, iron-bound door at the far end. Crossing over to it he simply took a better grip on Dwrnwyn, and struck the locks with the burning blade.

Now, normally this would be an extremely stupid idea, but that's with a normal sword. Dwrnwyn is anything but normal, and the Darkness Flames still burned hot as evidence of Naruto's anger. As a result the locking chains were easily destroyed and the door swung open on greased hinges.

The sight within only enraged Naruto further. Women, children, all female, and all in little more than rags, with obvious signs of abuse. The flames Dwrnwyn was producing flickered, before changing. From the violet flames of Darkness, they now burned a brilliant crimson red; the Demon Flame had awoken in response to Naruto's unmitigated rage.

Each Flame represented a certain aspect of the wielder. The first, the Mortal Flame, was simple and easily summoned, it attacked the body. The second, the Cold Flame, was more difficult, and attacked the mind. The third, the Darkness Flame, attacked the soul, obliterating a person from within.

The Demon Flame was the fifth*, it didn't attack any one aspect of it's target, it struck them all. With this Flame active upon his blade, Naruto turned and left the basement, gesturing briefly for Haku to stay and guard the captives. He had a pathetic excuse for a human to eradicate.

Slowly, methodically, Naruto went from room to room, looking for Gato. Finally finding him with Zabuza and Tsukiko about to kill him.

"No. This one deserves worse." Naruto's cold voice, filled with unfathomable rage, stopped his two servants in place. Neither had ever heard such emotion. They released Gato, who immediately dashed from the bed, looking to escape out the door, either unknowing or uncaring that Naruto was not his ally.

As the short man moved to pass him, Naruto shot his blade out and lodged it deep within Gato's leg, the Demon Flame springing eagerly from blade to flesh. Within Gato's mind a new sensation occurred; absolute fear. He was being forced to watch and experience all the pain and suffering of his former victims, every last one of them, and on top of that his flesh burned, a sickeningly sweet stench of roasting flesh, even as his soul was being burned as well.

This was the purpose of Demon Fire, torture and erase the existence of whomever it touched, it's only fuel the anger of it's wielder. By the time the Flame was finished with the little man, he was nothing more than a disgusting patch of burning goop upon the marble floor. No mercy, no exceptions, Gato was beyond dead, his soul burning for eternity in the pain and anguish of his victims.

Zabuza summed up the thoughts of himself and anyone else who would ever see that Flame again: "Oh, Fuck."

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Ending Notes

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Wow, I got a lot of notes here... So let's get started.

*Heretic, the Unbound. This is a magical crest that denotes a person who's word cannot be trusted, one who would destroy themselves -or others- just to get out of a situation. Not a person anyone wants to be associated with. As far as I know it does not actually exist, but for the purposes of this fic, it does.

*True Holy Sword: there are many swords listed throughout history as being "holy", or "divine". Excalibur, from the legend of King Arthur, is one such blade I would consider as a "True Holy Sword" as it was said to be forged by a deity (in DxD it was one of the Christian God's creations). However, any weapon forged by the hand of man that reached the status of Legendary, such as Ganjiang and Moye (Chinese Mythology), would be considered "holy" only because of it's association to a powerful figure of "justice" or attributed to being of the Light. So the seven Excaliburs of DxD would be considered Holy, but only once complete would I categorize it as "True". The Kusanagi no Tsurugi would be considered a "True Holy Sword". You could also say that the True Holy Swords are of Divine origin, and all others are in the "average/normal" category.

Side Note: Ganjiang and Moye are the same swords known as Kanshou and Bakuya from Type-Moon's Fate/Stay Night, used by the character Archer.

*Fail-not: the bow of Tristan from Arthurian Legend, it was said to never miss it's mark. For the purposes of this fic, that is it's actual ability. For those who wonder why use a normal longbow when Hinata has this, I say it's too cheap to use otherwise, besides just having it doesn't mean she'd be able to draw it. The normal bows were used to bring up her shoulders, arms, and back strength.

*Brisingamen: the necklace of the goddess Freyja (Norse Mythology). No known abilities, so I'm giving fire-based abilities as it contains the base term of 'brisingr', which means 'fire'.

*Gae Bolg: The spear of Cú Chulainn , also known as "the Spear of Mortal Pain/Death Spear" (Irish mythology). There are a number of ways to spell the name, I'm just picking one. I picked this weapon for Kakashi because it struck me as somewhat similar to his Chidori/Raikiri techniques, if only in the fact that they are all thrusting attacks.

*For those wondering, the sword-users are: Kakashi (White Light Chakra Blade), Hayate (katana), Zabuza (zanbato), Yugao (chokuto), Samui (tanto), and Kushina (longsword).

*Absolute Demise: as far as I have been able to discern there is no set form for this Gear, as such it is completely up to the author to determine what it looks like. I chose a featureless, white mask. Well, it was featureless.

*And we see the Fifth Flame, the Demon Fire! And a nasty thing it is too! Am I aware that none of you know what the Fourth Flame is? Of course, but each Flame has requirements, and Naruto hasn't unlocked number four yet.