Chapter 9
A/N : Hello guys. I apologize for a long update. I kinda suffered from a 'writer's block' for more than two weeks. And it didn't help that I became addicted to "Cytus". =)
So this is chapter 9 of 'The Maelstrom of Black Lightning'. I hope you'll enjoy this.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto, High School DxD and any elements that belongs to other anime. They all belong to their respective owners.
It's been a day since the Paimon group went to the Underworld and stirred up some trouble because of their actions.
Normally, they'll just move forward on their lives and continue their daily routine for the day which were mostly consisted of a short training session early in the morning before going to school, do things that a 'normal' student should do, meet the other members of the Occult Research Club until late in the afternoon, go home and prepare for dinner, another short training session and hit the bed.
But normalcy wasn't in the dictionary of the Paimon group.
When Naruto and Noella went back home, the two told the rest of the group of what else had transpired when the two stayed behind. The about the talk between the Head of the Phenex Household with his wife and daugther, which was about Ravel's Trade and a day off from their school, which didn't actually agreed by the other party, the Student Council President, Sona Sitri.
The others were excited about having a new member in the group and glad that they had a free day away from school after yesterday's event. So now, the group started to enjoy their free time after they finished their morning routine.
Noella was reading a book in the porch about the basics of Norse magics, which they got during their 'treasure hunt'.
Yakumo was reading a novel while sitting on her own rocking chair, enjoying her book silently.
Shikamaru was still sleeping soundly in his room. No one woke him up earlier because Naruto told them so.
Hinata and Fu were tending the garden in the backyard like they usually do.
Vivianne and Genevieve were sitting on the bench near the garden and talking about the things that happened last week.
And Shouko dragged Naruto to the basement of the house, where the training room was located to finish their talk two days ago.
It was really a perfect morning for them until a horrified girlish wail of pain echoed through out the Uzumaki residence that destroyed the peace that they all enjoyed.
"GYAAAH! SSSTTOOOOOOP! MY ARM DOESN'T SUPPOSED TO BEND THAT WAY, SHOOOOOUUUKOOOO!"
"COME BACK HERE, NARUTO PAIMON!" Shouko's enraged shout made the others sigh, already expected the outcome of their 'talk'.
"NOOOOOO! WHY ARE YOU THROWING THOSE FIREBALLS OF DEATH AT ME?! HEY, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU USING SENJUTSU NOW?! OOOOIIII, STOP WITH THOSE CLAWS OF YOURS!" They heard Naruto's scream of terror coming from the basement.
"STAY STILL AND STOP WARPING AWAY FROM MY ATTACKS YOU JERK! I STILL HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU FROM CUTTING MY CALL TWO DAYS AGO!"
"NO WAY I'M GONNA LET MYSELF HIT BY THOSE!"
"Noella-nee, is it okay for you to sit this one out?" Yakumo asked Noella without even sparing a glace on her.
"Naruto-kun can handle himself, Yakumo. And I'm pretty sure that he doesn't really understand why Shouko is furious at him." Noella released a tired sigh.
"I think he knows-" Yakumo stopped her sentence when a familiar flare of light flashed near Noella, startling them both by his unexpected appearance.
"N-Noella-chan, p-please save me." A terrified Naruto panted and rushed towards Noella's side.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM ME FOREVER, NARU-KUN!" Shouko's enraged voice became clearer, indicating that she's heading towards them.
"Hey, what's going on?" Vivianne arrived at the scene with Genevieve and saw the cowering Naruto hiding on an irritated Noella's back and the giggling Yakumo.
"F-fox d-demon. S-scary. H-help me." Naruto managed to stuttered out and flinched as he felt Shouko was getting nearer.
"Don't help him, Genevieve. He brought this to himself by being rude and inconsiderate to Shouko." Noella told Genevieve sternly before the girl could follow Naruto's desperate plea of help.
Genevieve looked at the pleading Naruto but steeled herself and gave a stiff nod to Noella.
"NOOOOOO! PLEASE DON'T-" Naruto stopped his cry of despair and slowly turned his head to the entrance of the living room and saw an enraged Shouko.
"WILL YOU JUST STAY PUT? I JUST WANTED TO KNOW YOUR ANSWER TO MY QUESTION BEFORE YOU CUT OFF THAT CALL!" Shouko stormed her way in and grabbed the terrified Naruto on his collar.
"Hahahahaha!" Yakumo and Vivianne laughed while Naruto was being forcefully dragged by Shouko into the sofa.
"Troublesome people, what's with all the racket?" Shikamaru lazily entered the living room and blinked several times when he saw the furious Shouko and a terrified Naruto.
"S-Shika. H-help me!" Naruto pleaded but shut his mouth after Shouko gave him a harsh glare.
"Troublesome blond. You're on your own." Shikamaru yawned and walked away from them, leaving the wide eyed Naruto and the amused Vivianne and Yakumo.
"NOOOOO! SHIKA YOU TRAITOROUS SLOTH!" Naruto cried in outrage to Shikamaru.
"Hey, what's happe-" A concerned Fu joined the fray and stopped talking as soon as she saw the situation.
"Oh~! So this is the continuation of Shouko's punishment to Naruto-kun?" Fu asked the occupants of the room excitedly. Everyone sweat dropped after seeing Fu shifted her mood instantly.
"Fu-san, you shouldn't be happy about this at all." Hinata chided from the energetic Fu.
"Fine! But we'll stay and watch how Naruto-kun will handle this." Fu relented and turned her eyes to the cause of disturbance in the Uzumaki residence.
"Hmpf! So what's your answer, Naru-kun?!" Shouko narrowed her eyes and asked Naruto.
"Erm.." Naruto was now squirmming under the intense golden eyes that were solely focused in him. "S-Shouko-chan, y-you're not like Rias, okay?" Naruto weakly said to the instigtator of his terror early in the morning.
"Damn it, Naru-kun! I know that! What I'm asking is what the hell do you think of me?" Shouko shouted in frustration and glared at Naruto with her teary eyes.
The other girls just kept their mouths shut and watch the confrontation intently. It was very unusual for Shouko to press a matter like this to Naruto and they're interested on how things will turn out.
"Erm, you're beautiful, sexy, clingy, energetic, temperamental, possessive when it comes to me which I don't understand, scary when angered, likes to give nicknames to other people which I think is cute and fun to be with." Naruto blurted out the lists of Shouko's qualities that popped out in his mind under the pressure of her intense eyes.
Shouko blinked owlishly then blushed after Naruto's words sunk in her brain. "R-really?" She managed to ask Naruto shyly.
"Um, yeah. So, can you please let me off the hook now?" Naruto asked the flusteted red head, hoping that the problem has been solved.
"NO! Now that everyone's here..." Shouko narrowed her eyes and took a quick glance to Noella, Yakumo, Vivianne and Genevieve then returned her eyes to the horrified looking Naruto. "Tell us what you think about those four." Shouko pointed to the four girls she checked just now one by one.
"EEH?!" Naruto was dumbfounded of Shouko's interrogation. He looked the mentioned girls and had different reactions on Shouko's curve ball.
Noella had no facial reactions at all but her menacing glare towards Shouko told them different story.
Yakumo was fidgeting her fingers and had a massive blush or in Naruto's eyes, she may be feeling sick.
Genevieve was pretty much the combination of Noella and Yakumo. Giving Shouko a harsh glare and having an atomic blush on her stoic face while fidgeting in embarrassment.
Vivianne was the most expressive of them all. She had a killer blush on her cheeks, which again mistaken by Naruto as a sickness while having a furious look on her face which confused him of why she was angry.
And Naruto stole a glance on the two girls that Shouko left out and saw the usual Hinata and the grinning Fu, which made him wondering on why the green haired girl was amused on his 'unfortunate' predicament.
"Damn it Naru-kun! Why the hell are you so dense to notice abou-" Shouko was tackled by Yakumo and soon followed by Vivianne to restrain Shouko.
"Damn it furball! Don't just indirectly tell Naruto our feelings for him!" Vivianne hissed lowly and clamped Shouko's mouth tightly with her hand.
"She's right, Shouko-chan! And don't forget that you aready pissed off Noella-nee big time!" Yakumo whispered to the struggling Shouko as she took a glance on the silent white haired magician.
"You know that we can hear you guys from down there, right?" Fu said nonchalantly to the three while Hinata nodded her head in agreement. Vivianne and Yakumo stiffened and loosened their hold to Shouko who took advantage of it and squirmed out and stood up immediately.
"W-what did you just say, Vivi-chan?" Naruto asked dumbly which proved Fu's statement just now. He really don't understand a thing about girls since he grew up without a mother figure and his father didn't teach him about the world's greatest mystery, a woman's heart because of his early demise. And it didn't help that his dad once told him that women were more complicated than the Uzumaki's Rune Magic. Thus, making Naruto not bothering to understand women at all.
Sure, his friends during his childhood were girls, but he was a child back then. And her surrogate elder sister was always affectionate to him and just thought of it as a form of her usual teasing by making him fluster in embarrassment. This results his own idiotic views on women.
"There's no more point in hiding it, damn it! Don't you guys get it? Naru-kun announced his return in the Underworld in a flashy way that earned the attentions of various influencial Households! They would definitely send him several marriage proposals because of the power that he displayed on that farce! Somewhere down the line, Naru-kun will definitely accept one of those proposals since he's dream is to revive the Paimon Household on it's former glory and to do that, he needed to have a wife to help him with his dream!" Shouko screamed her frustrations to everyone.
"That's the thing, Shouko. If someone would be on his side, it'll be the future Lady Paimon. And I don't think that having a mere reincarnated devil to take that role will definitely help on Naruto-kun's image in the future." Noella retorted to Shouko coldly. Genevieve and Vivianne flinched by Noella's frosty voice.
"Oi! Back it up! What are you guys talking about? I'm lost in here!" Naruto yelled to everyone after hearing the conversation turned into something serious.
"Oh for the love of!" Shouko screamed exasperately and crouched down into the sitting Naruto and quickly grabbed his head then smashed her lips to Naruto's.
The others dropped their jaws on shock by Shouko's bold move but Naruto himself was frozen at the unexpected kiss from Shouko. The kiss may be sudden and quick but Naruto felt that it was a soft and sweet before Shouko pulled herself away and stared directly on his cerculean eyes with her own golden orbs.
"SHOUKO-CHAN!" Yakumo snapped out from her reverie and screamed her lungs out while quickly separated the red head away from the shocked Naruto.
"Damn it furball! Don't you have any shame at all?!" Vivianne growled in fury and kicked Shouko in her mid section, forcing out all the air on Shouki's lungs. Shouko glared defiantly to Vivianne and saw Genevieve and Noella approaching her with fury in ther eyes.
"I DON'T CARE! I JUST..." Shouko started to cry and began shouting to everyone. "I-I...I LOVE NARU-KUN, OKAY?! IT HURTS THAT HE JUST SHRUGGED OFF ALL OF MY ADVANCES AND THINKING OF IT LIKE IT WAS IN MY NATURE OF BEING A KITSUNE!" Shouko broke down in tears in front of everyone.
The other girls widen their eyes on Shouko's outburst and just looked at her with understanding and pity in their eyes. If Genevieve was the most loyal and over protective one in the group when it comes to Naruto, Shouko was the one who grew attatched to Naruto the most in the group. They knew that for her, Naruto was the pillar that supports her very life right after she met Naruto for the first time and joined Naruto's peerage.
"It's so unfair! I know that devils practice polygamy in their society but how the hell will that happen if Naru-kun himself is blind enough to see our feelings for him?! " Shouko cried harder and slumped down in her knees and covered her face with her hands.
Everyone in the room just let their resident Kyuubi cry her heart out and turned their gazes to Naruto on how he reacted on Shouko's emotional outburst and were surprise to see the pained look in his face.
"I-I'm sorry, Shouko." Naruto said on an apologetic tone. "I didn't mean to hurt you by ignoring your advances on me. I-It's just that I really don't know a thing about a girl's feelings." Naruto said with a depressing tone. Everyone, including Shouko who stopped her crying after hearing Naruto's sincere apology and listened to him as he continued to talk. "No one taught me about that, 'ya know? All I did when I started to explore the Human World were training and searching for possible candidates for my peerage, not even once thought having a romantic interest in my life. So I didn't even bother to see you guys more than friends because I don't know what to do next." Naruto let out a self-deprecating smile on his lips and began again. "The only older female figure in my life is Tiamat, who constantly teased me in an affectionate manner. And that led me to believe that all of the girl's affectionate gestures towards me are just a way to tease me." Naruto chuckled to himself and roamed his eyes to everyone. "I know it's stupid for me to assume my own twisted view of women but I really don't know to deal about it."
"You're really an idiot, Naruto-kun." Fu immediately said, not waiting for the others to react first. "Tiamat's teasing is astronomically different from these five's affection towards you." Fu elaborated her words by pointing Shouko, Yakumo, Vivianne, Genevieve and Noella one by one.
"HUH?! W-wait! F-five?! Even Vivi-chan? And Noella-chan too?!" Naruto exclaimed and stood up in surprise and pointed to the red faced Vivianne and the stoic Noella.
"Duh? Why do you think that Shouko here-" Fu dramatically pointed the sobbing Shouko. "-is always antagonizing Vivianne and Noella?"
"Fu, that's enough. I think Naruto-kun gets it." Noella sighed and looked at the dumbfounded Naruto with a small smile on her face. "I guess that subtlety don't work on you. I should've known it from the very beginning since I was the one who met you first."
"W-wait. Let me get this straight. You-" Naruto pointed Noella. "Shouko-chan, Vivi-chan, Gene-chan and Yakumo-chan l-l-likes me?" Naruto asked everyone.
"And the Phenex girl too." Fu added, making Naruto groan and looked at everyone.
"Eh?! But why someone like me? And more importantly, since when?"
"Don't sell yourself short, Naruto-sama. You saved me me from my execution and gave another chance to live my life." Genevieve chided.
"But did it ever cross in your mind that I just did it because of my greed?" Naruto countered to Genevieve's words.
"But you didn't abuse us. You treated us like a family and gave some of our most cherished memories in our lives, Naruto-kun. You made it possible for all of us to meet each other and created bonds that we all treasured." Yakumo rebuked Naruto's words.
"Cheesy words but that's the truth, Naruto." Vivianne added with a bright smile on her face.
"I, I don't know guys. I don't know what to say. I like you all even with your own unique personalities and qualities but I don't really know what to do next." Naruto slumped down into the sofa.
"Just be yourself like usual, Naruto-kun. And maybe, ask somebody for an advice. It'll be helpful with your current problem." Hinata suggested to Naruto.
"O-okay. I think I'll just do that. I'll be gone for a bit and be sure to be home before dinner time. Please welcome Ra-chan later and brief her all about our group. And if possible, tell her about the reason that I'm out." Naruto stood up and looked to the girls around him. "And I'm really sorry for everything." Naruto teleported himself out of the room.
"Great. Just great! This will be pretty awkward later, thanks to your blabbering mouths!" Vivianne snarled to Fu and Shouko right after Naruto left them.
"I-I'm sorry, okay? It's just that I really couldn't take it after the stunt that Tiamat pulled off yesterday." Shouko hung her head low and started sobbing.
"Shouko-chan." Yakumo moved towards Shouko and embraced her in a comforting manner.
"I just hope that things will be better between you guys and Naruto-kun. He really needs to have a girl or girls in his case right now. He's getting more volatile than usual and I'm afraid that he'll do something that will get himself hurt if this continues." Hinata said to everyone.
Everyone nodded in understanding at Hinata's words. They knew that behind Naruto's happy-go-lucky face was an emotionally unstable Naruto. He sometimes lost himself in his bloodlust and turns himself into a ruthless monster that Noella had first witnessed in Portugal. And the whole group would do anything just to prevent Nauto from acting like that ever again.
*DING DONG*
The short grim atmosphere among the girls were broken by the ring of the doorbell.
"Troublesome. Will someone get that? I'm still eating in here!" They heard Shikamaru's shout from the dinning room.
"I think that's Phenex-san. I'll go and welcome her. Tell Shikamaru to hurry up and join us here. We have a new member to welcome." Noella told the others and walked towards the door.
"Sure thing, Noella-nee!" Yakumo's cheery voice was heard as she opened the door and looked outside the gate and saw a nervous looking Ravel Phenex in her casual attire with two suitcases on her side.
"Hello, Crowley-san." Ravel greeted with a strained smile on her features.
"Good morning Phenex-sama. Please come in." Noella greeted her back with her usual monotone voice as she opened the gate and motioned Ravel to follow her inside the house and took one of Ravel's suitcases.
"Please just call me Ravel, Crowley-san. After all, we do belong to the same group. And a friend of Naruto-kun is a friend of mine too." Ravel said to Noella as she entered the house and frowned a bit after sensing that someone was missing.
"Okay, Ravel. Please just call me Noella too." Noella said and raised her eyebrow after seeing Ravel frowned. "Is something wrong?" Noella stopped walking and stared at Ravel.
"I couldn't sense Naruto-kun in here. Did he go somewhere else?" Ravel questioned Noella.
"Yes. We will explain later about his absence right after I introduce you to the others." Noella answered and strode towards the living room where the others were waiting for them.
"Okay." Ravel followed the white haired magician.
As the two arrived in the living room, Ravel stared at the scene that was playing right in front of her with wide eyes and mouth agape. The girls were having a glaring contest, except for Hinata and Fu, who were trying to diffuse the situation by herself while the lone male of the group was dozing off on his seat.
"I just received our guest and you lots started to fight with each other again?" Noella said with a chilling voice that sent shivers to the others' spine.
"But Noella-nee! They're insisting that they should be the 'Alpha' of Naruto-kun's harem!" Yakumo rebuked and glared back again at the others.
Ravel's mind shut down right after she heard Yakumo's words and stared to others blankly, not sure of how she will react on it.
"Shut up and behave yourselves. We have a guest right here." Noella hissed at the girls who flinched from her cold voice and put down Ravel's luggage on the side. "Genevieve, I thought that you should've known better than anyone else about proper manners and right conduct. So why did you joined their petty argument?" Genevieve hung her head low in shame and didn't retort on Noella's scolding. "As for the 'Alpha' of Naruto-kun's harem, isn't that too soon to talk about? We still don't know what he'll decide after what happened earlier."
"What happened earlier, Noella-san?" Ravel asked Noella after snapping out from her reverie because of Noella's words.
"We'll explain it later after we introduce ourselves. It'll be easier to talk about it if we knew each other's name." Noella released a tired sigh and looked at Ravel. "Why don't you start, Ravel-san? And please hand over your suitcase. I'll put them on the side first."
"O-Okay." Ravel handed her suitcase to Noella and took a deep breath and looked to the others as she started introducing herself to them. "Hello everyone. I'm Ravel Phenex. The fourth child and the lone daugther of the Phenex Household. I was formerly my brother's Bishop but I asked my parents to Trade me to Naruto-kun. Please take care of me from now on." Ravel finished her introduction with a short bow.
"Hm, a Phenex that is skilled on their clan's specialty and from what he told me, you're talented in magic and good in tactics and strategies. You have a potential to surpass your brother, Riser, on a short time if you train hard enough. Not that it won't happen eventually though, especially if that troublesome blond is now your King." Shikamaru looked at Ravel with calculating eyes.
"Eh?" Ravel dropped her jaw in surprise by Shikamaru's unexpected assessment on her.
"Great, another troublesome blonde." Shikamaru groaned and ignored Vivianne's indignant shout. "I'm Shikamaru Nara, one of the troublesome blond's Pawn. Nice to meet you, Phenex-sama." Ravel just nodded stiffly and waited silently of the introductions of others.
"Heya! You probably heard about my flashy introduction yesterday but just for the formalities, I'm gonna introduce myself again." Yakumo said cheerfully and looked at Ravel. "I'm Yakumo Ose, one of Naruto-kun's Pawn."
"Hello Phenex-sama. I'm Hinaya Hyuuga. I'm also one of Naruto-kun's Pawn." Hinata said politely to Ravel.
"I'm Fu! Naruto-kun's Rook! Nice to meet 'ya!" Fu chirped as she waved her hand like a child.
"Vivianne Pendragon, descendant of Mordred, not Arthur's. Naruto's Knight." Vivianne followed Fu's introduction with her own.
"Greetings, Phenex-sama. My name is Genevieve du Lac. Naruto-kun's another Knight. A pleasure to meet you." Genevieve said formally and did a short bow after her introduction.
"Hi! I'm Shouko Akagi, a fellow Bishop and one of the girls of Naru-kun's upcoming harem!" Shouko proclaimed with her chest puffed proudly at her words.
"Shut it, Shouko." Noella warned Shouko with a dangerous edge on her voice. "You already knew about me so there's no point on introducing myself again, right? Just call us with our first names. After all, we're going to be together from now on." Noella said to the silent Ravel who just nodded in response to her inquiry.
"Erm, Noella-san." Ravel hesitantly called out Noella.
"Yes, Ravel?" Noella raised her delicate eyebrow and stared at Ravel with a questioning gaze.
"Where did Naruto-kun went? And what Yakumo-san and Shouko-san meant earlier with their words?" Ravel asked in a low voice and turned her gaze to Noella.
"About that, you better take a seat and make yourself comfortable first." Noella rubbed her forehead as she released a tired sigh and gestured Ravel to the sofa.
"Thank you, Noella-san." Ravel walked towards the sofa and took a seat. Yakumo and Shouko sat with her and sent their bright smiles to Ravel.
Seeing that Ravel already taken a seat, Noella took a deep breath to calm her nerves down at the upcoming headache she'll be facing thanks to Naruto's absence.
"For you to understand the whole picture of the story, let's begin on what happened on the day before we 'crashed' your brother's wedding..." Noella began from the start on how things escalated from a simple call into a confession of their feelings to Naruto.
Kuoh Academy
It was now close to lunch time and in the Student Council room, Naruto was now currently sitting while staring on the window with a troubled face. He just arrived in the room using his prized teleportation spell and sat down on one of the chairs in the room, waiting for Sona to arrive. After the shocking revelation that most of his peerage members had feelings for him (because of his obliviousness), he sought for someone to give him an advice at his current headache.
He went to Tiamat first but his surrogate elder sister just told him to accept the girls because they were genuinely in love with him. He asked her on how he should do that but only to be laughed by Tiamat and told him to figure it by himself before he was forcefully kicked out from her humble abode in the Familiar Forest.
So now, he was waiting for the second person he planned on asking an advice. He just hope that he'll get his answers immediately so that he could go home, fix the problem and probably blow off some steam in the training room on their house.
"Argh! I should have known that Tia-nee would say something like that!" Naruto groaned to himself and face palmed.
His ears perked up when he heard the school bell rang, indicating that the morning classes had just ended.
"I just hope that Sona can help me. If not, I'll go to Rias." Naruto said to no one. After a few minutes of silence, he turned his gaze to the door, sensing someone familiar behind it.
The door opened and Naruto saw Sona, together with her Queen, Tsubaki entered the room casually, unaware of Naruto's presence in the room.
"Yo, So-tan, Tsubaki." Naruto greeted the two with a huge smile plastered on his face.
The two widen their eyes in surprise on seeing Naruto sitting casually on a chair and looking at them with a big smile.
"What are you doing in here, Naruto?" Sona narrowed her eyes immediately and asked Naruto with her patent stern voice.
"I need to talk to you." Naruto's smile vanished instantly and stared at Sona with serious expression on his face.
"I take that it's really important?" Sona raised an eyebrow and head towards her seat.
"Yeah. And if possible, I want to talk about it privately. Do you mind? This won't take too long." Naruto said and continued to stare at Sona's violet eyes.
"Tsubaki, please go out for a moment and tell the others who will arrive that I have some business with Naruto. I'll call you in immediately after we're done." Sona said to Tsubaki and waited for her to leave the room.
"Yes kaichou." Tsubaki bowed to Naruto and Sona before leaving the room.
"Alright. Spill it, Naruto. It's pretty unusual for you to talk to me about something seriously." Sona said as her eyes narrowed into dangerous levels.
"Before that.." Naruto snapped his fingers and the whole room was enclosed by a small barrier. "There, that should do it."
Sona was now definitely curious and worried at the same time of what Naruto wanted to talk about with her after seeing the blond went as far as to erecting a simple barrier to make sure no one eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Sona, relax. I just want to ask some advice regarding a...certain issue of mine." Naruto reassured Sona with a smile.
"Advice? On what?" Sona adjusted her eye glasses and stared at the blond.
"Erm, how should I put it.." Naruto frowned a bit, unsure on how to start talking about his promblem. "Earlier in the morning, I kinda discovered that Noella-chan, Shouko,-chan, Yakumo-chan, Vivi-chan, Gene-chan and it seems Ra-chan too have feelings for me."
"And what's the problem with that?" Sona questioned Naruto again. But deep inside, she had mixed feelings of what Naruto just told her.
"You should probably know it, Sona. I'm clueless on what should I do next. Sure, I like them but I really don't know what to do. I don't want our friendship to be destroyed because of my cluelessness and lack of knowledge on how to deal with this. Should I accept and reciprocate their feelings? Or let them wait until I know what to do? Pretend to not knowing about their love for me and be a dense idiot? Please, tell me what to do." Naruto said confusingly.
"Are you an idiot?" Sona said harshly to Naruto. "You just said that you like them but you don't know what to do with them, right? So just accept them and let things go naturally! Just don't give them a false hope and play with their hearts unknowingly. You're stupid when it comes to girls after all." Sona continued but smiled at the end of her statement.
"Hey! I'm not stupid! I'm just slow on picking up when it comes to a woman's heart!" Naruto indignantly shouted at Sona.
"Sure, and I love to dress up as a magical girl." Sona rolled her eyes and smirked after seeing Naruto childishly pouting at her.
Naruto released a defeated sigh and smiled warmly at Sona. "Thanks for that, Sona. Your advice is better than Tia-nee's."
Sona's brows twitched dangerously at hearing Tiamat's name. "Oh? And what did that kiss-stealing Dragon King told you?"
"Kiss stealing?" Naruto asked in confusion but shrugged it off when he saw Sona's innocent smile that disturbed him. "She just told me to accept them and kicked me out from her home while laughing maniacally as usual."
"Stupid overgrown lizard." Sona mumbled under her breath but was heard by Naruto.
"Heh, are you per chance angry at Tia-nee? I kinda noticed that you pretty much burned a hole at the backof my head with your infamous glare after Tia-nee kissed me yesterday." Naruto joked at Sona and smirked when he saw a faint blush on Sona's face.
"Woah, you really are angry at her. It was just a kiss, Sona. It's not like it was my first." Naruto absentmindedly blurted out and quickly covered his mouth but the damage was already done.
"Just a kiss huh? Well, spill the beans Naruto. Who was your first kiss? After all, it was just a kiss." Sona asked the horrified Naruto with an amused face.
"H-hey! Why are you suddenly curious about it?" Naruto tried to divert the direction of the conversation lamely.
"Hm? We're friends, right? And I know that you still keeping a lot of secrets from me and Rias. We respect your privacy but this particular one seems to piqued my curiousity." Sona uncharacteristically smirked deviously at seeing Naruto's panicked face.
"O-oi, that only works between girls!"
"Just spill it."
Naruto groaned and sigh in defeat, knowing that Sona won't stop him from bugging about it.
"S-S-Se-Sera-nee." Naruto mumbled softly and turned his head away from Sona's view.
"WHHHAAAT?!" Sona dropped her jaws from shock and jumped from her seat. "HOW?! WHEN?!" Sona yelled at Naruto loudly. She totally didn't expect this revelation at all.
"I-It was an accident, Sona." Naruto shrunk on his seat and continued his explanation. "It happened during one of my visits on your estate. I was walking leisurely towards your library to meet you but on my way there, Sera-nee was running around on the hallways, searching for you like always." Naruto was now cursing his loud mouth inwardly as he felt Sona's glare intensified. "Argh! It's embarrassing to recount that day on details! To sum it up, she crashed on top of me and our lips met!" Naruto turned his head to Sona and threw his arms in the air exasperately.
The two stared with each other's eyes in silence for a minute before Sona sighed and slumped back on her chair.
"I'm sorry for onee-sama's clumsiness, Naruto." Sona said and pinched her nose and calmed herself down.
"Nah, what's done is done. I'm just glad that we are talking like this again after so many years. You're pretty good in your strict persona when you're with others." Naruto merely chuckled and stood up from his seat and stretched his bodies.
"Yeah. It's quite refreshing. So, how did onee-sama reacted on that incident?" Sona chuckled and asked Naruto.
"Eh? Hm, she just stood up immediately and apologized. Before I could do the same, she ran off somewhere else while muttering some incoherent words. And when I saw her again, she just acted like it never happened at all." Naruto said with a shrugged and dispelled the barrier on the room.
"I see. So what will you do now?" Sona switched back to her stern demeanor and asked Naruto.
"For now? Go home and face the girls. While I know that I'm not good when it comes to dealing with a girl's heart, I think I should accept their feelings and return them even if it'll be hard since they deserve it after all. And I like them too so I'll let things progress naturally." Naruto answered truthfully.
"Good for you then." Sona simply said and leaned her back on her chair.
"Thanks for your time. See you tomorrow, So-tan." Naruto waved his hand and teleported out from the room.
"Nara-san is definitely right. You are troublesome, Naruto." Sona chuckled lightly and turned her eyes on the door. "I know that all you can hear me so come in." Sona called out her peerage members.
The door opened immediately and the rest of the members of the Student Council entered with a mix of sheepish and nervous expression on their faces.
"So kaichou, what did you and Naruto-san talk about? It's very unusual for him to approach you directly like he did earlier." Tsubaki asked Sona out of curiosity. The others were interested as well and looked at their King.
"He just asked me for some advices about his peerage. Apparently, some of them confessed to him and he didn't know what to do. He's pretty stupid when it comes to things like that after all." Sona said nonchalantly as she took out her packed lunch and set them on her table.
"EEEEHHHH?!" Every one exclaimed in disbelief at the absurdness of what Sona just said.
"Since when did you became a 'Love Doctor', kaichou?" Tomoe asked Sona jokingly.
"I just told him to do the most logical thing. And please don't even joked about me being a 'Love Doctor', Tomoe." Sona deadpanned at Tomoe's words. "And let's have our lunch now, we'll be late for our classes if we keep up this talk."
"Yes kaichou!" Everyone chorused together and set their own packed lunch while chatting with the others.
'Let's see how things will develop at Naruto's unexpected revelation. I hope that mother and father will tell me their decision of what I said yesterday.'Sona thought as she started to eat her lunch with her group.
Uzumaki Residence
At the same time, or a little bit earlier on the Uzumaki residence, Naruto's peerage was now gathered themselves in the dinning room for lunch.
The explanation of Naruto's absence to Ravel took a little bit longer than they had expected since the new member of the group, Ravel herself had many questions on the people involved on the incident.
So after the tedious explanation/questions & answers about the incident, they decided to have their lunch before helping Ravel into setting her things up on the house and debrief her with everyone's important things to remember.
"So Ravel-chan, how did you and Naruto-kun met?" Yakumo asked Ravel out of the blue. The other girls were also curious and stared at Ravel with anticipation written on their faces. As for the lone male of the group, he only continued his pace on eating his food, not interested in the girls' conversation.
Ravel choked at the unexpected question thrown at her and wiped her mouth with a table napkin.
"Are you okay, Ravel-san?" Hinata asked in concern.
"Y-yes, Hinata-san." Ravel waved off Hinata's concern and looked at Yakumo. "I-it's better that you don't know about it, Ose-san."
"Eh?! Why? We're curious 'ya know! He rarely talks about his life when he was still in the Underworld to us." Shouko interjected on their conversation.
"He is?" Ravel raised a brow and sighed depressingly. "It seems that his wounds still haven't heal yet huh?"
"Damn straight. Naruto-" Vivianne's words were interrupted when a familiar flash of light illuminated the room.
"I'm what, Vivi-chan?" Naruto said with his usual fox-like grin.
"N-Naruto-kun?" Ravel snapped her head into Naruto's direction. Everyone in the room turned their heads at Naruto's direction and smiled at his arrival.
"Hi Ra-chan! I'm sorry for not being here earlier. I talked to some people about my...dilema earlier." Naruto sheepishly said and head towards a vacant chair beside Noella.
"Bah, we explained all of it to her so there's no problem with it. So, have you decided what to do now, Naruto-kun?" Fu said cheerfully while eating.
Everyone, except a certain lazy Pawn, unknowingly held their breaths and stared at Naruto who was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah. Good thing that I only talked to two persons about this just to get the answer I need." A red faced Naruto said shyly and turned his head away from the stares he got from the girls.
"Oh my gosh!" Fu gasped dramatically. "Naruto-kun is SHY and BLUSHING?! Is the world going to end?!" Fu shouted jokingly.
"FU-CHAN! I'M NOT BLUSHING, OKAY? IT MUST BE THE HEAT! YEAH, THE HEAT! AND I'M NOT SHY! I'M JUST HAVING TROUBLE ON HOW I WILL SAY THAT I FEEL THE SAME WAY WITH THEM!" Naruto yelled at the green haired girl.
*CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP*
Total silence reigned the dinning room. Everyone was frozen at Naruto's outburst.
"ARGH! See what you just made me do?!" Naruto groaned and braced himself for the reactions of the others.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Troublesome blond."
"YAHOO! I KNEW IT! NOW WE CAN HAVE SO MUCH TIME WITH EACH OTHER, NARU-KUN!"
"Fufufu. Glad that you made a decision already, Naruto-kun."
"YEY! NOW WE DON'T HAVE TO HOLD BACK ANYMORE!"
Fu, Shikamaru, Shouko, Hinata and Yakumo showed their reactions immediately while Vivianne, Genevieve and Ravel gaped at Naruto's words while having a furious blushes on their cheeks. As for Noella...
"Are you sure about this, Naruto-kun? Not that we mind it but we don't want you to force yourself with this." She asked Naruto softly.
"Nah, I'm okay with this. I like you guys 'ya know? I didn't realize about it until Fu-chan pointed it out for me. Just take care of me and please forgive me if I'll not gonna be a good b-boyfriend for you guys at the start. This is my first time on this." Naruto flashed a sincere smile on his red face.
"DIBS ON THE FIRST DATE WITH NARUTO-KUN!" Yakumo screamed and quickly moved beside Naruto and hugged his arm.
"NO WAY YOU BROCON! I'M GONNA BE THE FIRST ONE TO HAVE A DATE WITH HIM!" Vivianne yelled and grabbed Naruto's other arm reluctantly.
"H-HEY! IT SHOULD BE ME!" Genevieve yelled shyly, which was very out of her character.
"SUCK IT! I'M ALREADY AHEAD OF YOU GUYS! AFTER ALL, I KISSED NARU-KUN EARLIER!" Shouko boasted proudly, earning death glares from the others.
"Heh, it's just a kiss, you theiving fox." Noella smirked at Shouko.
"H-hey, please get along with each other, okay?" Naruto pleaded but was ignored.
"Ravel-san, aren't you gonna join them?" Hinata asked the silent Ravel.
"Troublesome women." Shikamaru groaned to himself and watched the bickering girls and the troubled Naruto amusingly.
"Hahaha! This is gold! It's better than those silly stories that my comrades in Avalon read!" Fu laughed heartily.
They didn't saw Ravel stood up from her seat. All of them only noticed her when she moved towards Naruto and quickly sat on his lap, facing the baffled Naruto and quickly embraced the blond in a tight hug and buried her face on the blind's chest which made everyone flabbergasted at her move.
"NOOOOO! DAMN YOU FIRE PEACOCK!" Shouko cried in outrage and quickly moved behind Naruto and hugged his head from behind and glared at Ravel's head.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, FURRY TOMATO?!" Ravel snapped her head and glared back at Shouko harshly.
"WAHAHAHA!" Yakumo and Vivianne laughed at Shouko's new nickname.
"Things will definitely be interesting from now on. Righ, Fu-san?" Hinata chuckled at the squabbling group and looked at the amused Fu.
"Yeah. Especially that we have a real life galge show on us every day." Fu smirked mischievously.
"O-OI, PLEASE STOP FIGHTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF MEEEEEEEE!" Naruto's scream echoed throughout the house.
And that's the beginning of the every day pandemonium that our blond hero will be facing from now on.
Unknown Location
"Nii-sama!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I was worrried at your sudden disappearance! After you left the house, nee-sama left the house too without saying anything at all. So I left the house and searched for you two. Who knows what the two of you will do without someone looking out for you!"
"Vivianne huh? She's fine. That I can assure you. She have some comrades now to watch her back. So what are your plans now that you found me?"
"I wish to go with you, Nii-sama!"
"Where I'll go will be dangerous. I wouldn't want you to join me if I could help it."
"I can take care of myself!"
"No. Instead of joining me, how about you go to where Vivianne is?"
"But I don't know where she is now! The last time that someone sighted her, she was traveling in China."
"That information was outdated. She and her group is currently in Japan. I'll go with you there because I want to meet someone there too, other than Vivianne."
"Really?! Thanks nii-sama! So who do you want to meet in there?"
"The one who manage to find the Excalibur Ruler first, the one they call Black Flare."
"He's there too?! I also want to meet him! He's really famous in the Magic Association because of his instantaneous teleportation spell and rune magic!"
"Don't worry, you'll meet him there. After all, Vivianne is with him."
"EH?!"
Kuoh Academy
Several days had past since Naruto had accepted the girls as his 'girlfriends' and the chaos followed by his decision. During those days, they returned to their daily routine with his second Bishop, Ravel with them. Those days were 'troublesome' as Shikamaru would say because Shouko became more open and aggressive with her advances to the blond while the others were still the same but became more open with Naruto when they were in their house.
And speaking of Ravel Phenex, she adjusted to her new life easily with the help of Naruto and the others. In school, she was assigned on the same class with Shouko, Yakumo and Koneko. Naruto was glad that Ravel had someone she knew in her class to help her on adjusting in her school life. But the grouo was amused when they heard that Ravel didn't get along well with Shouko and Koneko, though the two helped Ravel on her problems.
And as for the news of Naruto and the girls' relationship, it shocked the other members of the Occult Research Club, especially to Issei who cursed Naruto for being lucky to have a harem first than him. But they congratulated them and wished the best for their relationship.
However, there was something that made the group uncomfortable during the last few days. It was the animosity that Rias Knight, Kiba Yuuto gave to Naruto and Genevieve that infuriated Naruto and the rest. Noella told Naruto what exactly Kiba's reaction when he used Arondight during his fight with Riser and it baffled the blond. Naruto was curious of why Rias' Knight had a grudge on Holy Swords but he didn't want to stick his nose into others' lives. So Nauto told his peerage to do the same and ignore Kiba's ill intent on himself and Genevieve. They'll just deal with it when Rias herself will step on the fray.
And now, the Paimon group was relaxing on the club room with the rest of the club members after their classes had ended.
Naruto was sitting on the couch, with Ravel on his lap as the two drank the tea that Akeno had served them.
Shouko and Yakumo were doing their homework together with the help of Genevieve and Fu.
Shikamaru was sleeping on his personal space on the corner of the room.
Noella was checking the test papers of her students in silence while Vivianne and Hinata helped her on organizing the said papers.
Rias was on the room's shower like she always do.
Koneko sat across Naruto and Ravel, eating some sweets that she got from who knows where while Issei and Asia sat beside Koneko, talking about some stuff.
Akeno was preparing again for another set of tea for the others.
And Kiba was standing alone on the corner of the room, glaring at the Naruto and Genevieve from time to time.
"Hm? Gene-chan, did you feel that?" Naruto asked Genevieve after feeling a familiar presence entered the school campus. His inquiry made the others turned to him and looked at him with questioningly.
"Yes, Naruto-sama. And one of them is quite a powerful one too." Genevieve frowned and wondered why 'they' were here. It didn't even help her to calm her nerves down when she and Naruto felt three similar presences few days ago.
"Heh, it seems that something big will happen soon." Naruto hummed a tuned and ignored the baffled looks of the others.
"What will happen soon, Naruto-kun?" Rias asked as she got out of her personal shower.
"Hm? Something that will flip the mind of your annoying Knight." Naruto merely chuckled while outrightly ignoring Kiba's deadly glare and Rias' narrowed eyes.
"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Rias asked with a stern tone.
"Heh, I don't know if you just tolerate Kiba at his obvious animosity towards me and Genevieve or blind enough to see it, Rias." Naruto said coldly as he patted Ravel, telling her to sit on the couch for a moment which she did silently.
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and observed the confrontation between the two Kings.
"All I know is that.." Naruto stood up and tilted his head as he stared at Rias' eyes. "..he started to act like a bastard when he saw me using Genevieve's Holy Sword." Naruto said and turned his gaze to the murderous looking Kiba. "While I don't really care of you sending your pitiful killing intent on me, I don't appreciate it when you focus on Genevieve too. And it kinda make Ravel uncomfortable." Naruto quickly turned his eyes to the shocked Rias and raised a brow at her.
"Then I challenge you in a duel! Using your Holy Swords!" Kiba snarled at Naruto and Genevieve. Rias and her peerage gasped at their comrade's declaration while Naruto's peerage just narrowed their eyes at Kiba.
"Yuuto!" Rias' yelled at Kiba authoratively.
"How about...no. We don't want to indulge you with your childish game." Naruto shrugged off and sat back in the couch.
"Childish?! Then I'm gonna make you draw your sword!" Kiba summoned a demonic sword using his Sacred Gear and quickly moved towards Naruto with his sword raised.
*CLANG!*
But before anyone could react, Kiba's attack was blocked by Genevieve easily. But the former exorcist wasn't done yet. Genevieve tilted her sword, making Kiba's sword slide harmlessly on the side and quickly kicked Kiba in his gut that sent him crashing on the wall.
"GUAH!"
"Yuuto/Kiba!" The collective worried shouts of Rias and her group as they saw Kiba sent flying by Genevieve's vicious kick.
Kiba grunted in pain and tried to stood up but he saw Genevieve was already in front of him with her ominous dark blue sword raised, intending to end him. He could only close his eyes helplessly in horror as Arondight descended towards him.
"NOOOOO!"
*CLANG*
Everyone was surprised and sighed in relief when another person blocked Genevieve's death blow for Kiba.
"Damn it, Genevieve! Calm the hell down!" Vivianne shouted at Genevieve as she struggled on keeping Genevieve's sword at bay.
"No. He dared to attack Naruto-sama just because of his selfish reasons." Genevieve said emotionlessly as she applied more pressure on her sword.
"Naruto-kun, stop your Knight!" Rias growled as her eyes flashed in red because of her anger. The rest of her peerage tensed and were prepared to carry out any order that their King will give. However, they were confused that the rest of Naruto's peerage was not even bothered at the situation.
"Oh? Why should I stop Gene-chan from finishing what she started, Rias? Your Knight attacked me, a High Class Devil just because I didn't comply with his demand. And his attempt may have also harm Ravel, who is by my side, a High Class Devil too." Naruto said without his usual playfulness as he put his hand on Ravel to calm her down.
Rias could only gulped at Naruto's words. She knew that what Naruto said was true but her overprotectiveness on her servants clouded her mind for a second for not thinking of what she said to Naruto. If her Knight really did harm Naruto and Ravel unintentionally, she'll have the Phenex Household as her enemy and the Elder Council too. She doubt that even with her family's influence, Kiba will be spared from his punishment, which was an execution.
"Genevieve, Vivianne." Rias snapped out from her inner turmoil when she heard Naruto's steel laced voice.
"Put your swords away, we're all going home right now. My day is ruined thanks to someone's stupidity. And about what I said earlier, Rias will deal with the three guests that will come here later on since she's the one who manages this town." Naruto said as he motioned his peerage to ready themselves. All he recieved in response were collective nods of acknowledgement.
Genevieve and Vivianne stored away their own swords and walked away at the kneeling Kiba without sparing a single glance on him.
"What guests are you talking about, Naruto-kun?" Rias asked in an irritated voice. She always hated it when Naruto acted like this.
"Yeah. What are you talking about, Naruto-kun?" Ravel followed up curiously.
"You'll find out a little bit later. Right now, they're on their way here." Naruto replied as he summoned a transportation circle. His peerage did the same as they ignored the Gremory group but Vivianne looked straight at Rias and said something.
"Rias Gremory." Rias narrowed her eyes dangerously at the blond. "Keep your damn servant on leash. He's lucky that the others didn't attack him for his idiocy." Rias noticed that Yakumo and Shouko were glaring darkly at Kiba. "And for future reference, Naruto uses his sword on a fight in an unusual way. He knows swordsmanship but you can't call him a swordsman with the way he fights. So I advice that don't even attempt him to use a sword if you don't want to be one of his victims, Kiba Yuuto." Vivianne warned Kiba as the light engulfed her together with the others.
"Tsk." Kiba just clicked his tongue in annoyance of Vivianne's warning.
"Yuuto." Rias called out Kiba with a hint of anger and disappointment on her voice. "Why on earth did you attack Naruto-kun?"
"You should know it buchou. My goal is to avenge my fallen friends because of those accursed Holy Swords." Kiba stood up and glared defiantly at Rias.
"Kiba, what do you mean?" Issei asked Kiba worriedly. Kiba didn't even batted an eye on Issei while Rias, Akeno and Koneko narrowed their eyes at Kiba's answer.
"Guests." Koneko said as she felt three people outside the room.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
As on cue, someone knocked on the door. Rias gestured Akeno to welcome whoever they were and looked at the others, they immediately fix themselves to look presentable.
As Akeno opened the door, her eyes widen in shock as she saw that their guests were three female exorcists. Rias and Koneko were clearly surprised too at this unexpected guests. Issei and Asia were confused of why Rias was surprised at their guest but none of them noticed that Kiba was now seething in anger at seeing three people of the Church.
"Great. Another major headache. Just what I need after what happened earlier."Rias whined on her thoughts and motioned Akeno to let the exorcists enter the room.
Little did Rias know that this was the only prologue of the incoming storm for her and the other devils in Kuoh Academy will face.
Uzumaki Residence
"Damn that bitchy emo pretty boy! I should've put him into my strongest illusion in my arsenal!" An irritated Yakumo said out loud as she sat on her personal chair on the living room.
"I know, right? I mean, what the hell is wrong with him?" Vivianne agreed on the brunette.
Right after the group arrived on their residence, Naruto requested them to let Kiba's actions slide and just do whatever they want until it's dinner time. So all of them were now gathered in the living room and talking on what had transpired earlier.
"I don't care about that. What I want to know is what Naruto-kun and Genevieve meant earlier about the presences they felt." Noella said with a stern voice.
"Noella-san is right. What are you hiding from us, Naruto-kun?" Ravel asked the silent Naruto.
"Holy Swords. Three of them have entered this town few days ago. And earlier, four of them were at the school." Naruto said with a grave tone.
Everyone's eyes widen at Naruto's blunt answer and they were worried at this revelation.
"What do you think about this, Genevieve?" Vivianne asked the former exorcist.
"If the today's arrivals went on the school and talked to those High Class Devils on this area, I think they were here for a mission. And the three Holy Swords we felt few days ago is somewhat related to this." Genevieve said, not liking her hypothesis regarding the mission of those exorcists.
"So it's all about that troublesome Fragments again? What can you say about the other sword, Genevieve? We all know that the Church have only six of the Fragments." Shikamaru said his own conclsion of the whole picture of the situation and asked Genevieve about her opinion.
The others were shocked at knowing what Shikamaru meant when he said 'Fragments' as Genevieve nodded her head in agreement on Shikamaru's deduction.
"The Church have a some sort of a rule that if a Fragment is stolen or lost, a Fragment must retrive it back. And I think the other sword is Durandal. Before I was excommunicated, Ascalon still don't have a wielder, while Caliburn is possessed by Vivianne's cousin." Genevieve answered Shikamaru's inquiry.
"In short, an Excalibur Fragment is only one can take back another Excalibur Fragment? What an arrogance." Naruto snorted at Genevieve's words.
"What?! But what are those Excalibur Fragments are doing in here?!" Ravel exclaimed with a panicked voice.
"More importantly, 'if' they were stolen, who did it? And on what purpose?" Fu asked no one particular.
"This is getting nowhere. We still don't have enough information to jump into our conclusions." Hinata said with a grimace.
"Hinata-chan is right. Let's just stay vigilant and be alert at all times. If you were to go somewhere, go in pairs or group of three. Having threw Excalibur Fragments on loose in this town is very dangerous to us." Naruto said to everyone seriously. All of them nodded affirmatively at his words and knew how grave the situation was.
"So what do you plan now, Naruto-kun? All of the Excalibur Fragments are currently on this town." Fu asked Naruto with a knowing smirk on her face.
"What do you mean, Fu?" Vivianne asked the green haired girl.
"Vivianne, don't you get it? The Seven Fragments of the Excalibur are here on this town!" Fu said excitedly.
"Reforge the Excalibur? Pfft, it'll be hard. We don't know anything about alchemy." Vivianne snorted at Fu's idea.
"EH?! R-reforging the Excalibur? The Church will cry for our bloods if we take the Fragments from them!" Yakumo screamed hysterically at the reckless idea. The rest were hoping that Naruto wasn't planning to do Fu's outrageous idea.
"Please don't tell me that you're planning on it, Naruto-kun?" Ravel asked Naruto shakily in fear.
"Nah. It's tempting but I don't want to." Naruto chuckled lightly but the gleam of his eyes told them differently.
"Just don't do anything stupid, Naru-kun." Shouko chided at the blond with a small frown on her face.
*DING DONG*
"Noella-chan, please check who they are. If they are the exorcists, let them in." Naruto requested at Noella.
"Sure thing, Naruto-kun." Noella said and strode towards the door.
"Alright guys. Just don't be rude to our guests, okay? And let me and Noella do the talking. Don't blew up if they throw insults and threats at us. Understood?" Naruto said to the rest of his peerage. They just reluctantly nodded at his words and mentally prepared themselves at the upcoming meeting with the exorcists.
After a few seconds, Noella came back with Rias, Akeno and the three exorcists on tow. Seeing this, Naruto's peerage immediately moved behind him and stood silently.
"Ara? What's your business with me, soldiers of the Church?" Naruto asked immediately at the three teenage girls in tan cloak. "Oh my bad. Please sit down first." Naruto motioned towards the sofa across him. He then sent Rias and Akeno a grateful look and returned his attention to their guests.
The three exorcists accepted his offer and sat on the sofa. "Straight to the point eh? Good. This won't take long. Unlike what happened earlier." A girl with messy chin length blue hair with green fringe on the side of her hair said with a small smirk. She had yellow eyes, fair skin and carrying something wrapped with some clothing that radiates a small amount of holy power.
"Of course. Like your companion who loathes our presence, we don't want you guys staying in our home too. Those swords of yours are making some of us here uncomfortable." Naruto said lightly as he stole a glance on the other girl. She had a pair of pale lavender eyes and long light blond hair tied in a bow. She also carries something wrapped in a cloth but smaller and thinner compared to the first girl's luggage.
"Hehehe! Sorry about my friend." The last girl said cheerfully at Naruto. This one had long light brown hair tied in twin tails. She had bright violet eyes that kinda reminded Naruto of a certain Maou Shoujo, especially with her cheerfulness despite bring on their enemy's territory.
"Nah, it's fine. It's not the first time I met an exorcist that hates me because of what I am. So let's introduce ourselves then start your business with me, okay? I'm Naruto Paimon." Naruto waved off her apology and gestured the three to start talking.
"I'm Irina Shidou! This one is Xenovia." The newly named Irina said cheerfully and pointed at the blue haired girl. "And this one is Shion!" She then pointed the scowling girl.
"So it's really you." Genevieve spoke for the first time ever since the exorcists arrived. She stood far away from Naruto because of her past with the Church.
"G-G-Genevieve-sempai?! But how?!" Xenovia gasped in shock as well as her two companions.
"Long story. Just ask that glutton when you see him." Genevieve said dismissively and gave a nod to Naruto.
"I know you have many questions about her but we still have some business. So, is this about the three Holy Swords that Genevieve felt few days ago?" Naruto asked the three girls who stared at him with wide eyes.
"Yes. Few days ago, three of the Excalibur Fragments was stolen from the Church. And the trails about the culprit led us here." Xenovia said professionally.
"Hm. Let me guess. You three were sent here to retrieve the three Fragments. And you want us, Devils to stay out of the way on your mission. Am I right?" Naruto said as he tapped his chin and chuckling inside his head at the surprised looks of the exorcists.
"T-that's right. But how did you know?" Xenovia asked the blond, ignoring the baffled looks of Rias and Akeno.
"Hm? Deductions. Before you guys arrived here, me and my friends talked about your presence in this town. So, mind if I ask a question before we end this meeting?" Naruto asked Xenovia seiously.
"As long as it's reasonable."
"Who stole the Fragments?"
"It's Kokabiel of the Grigori."
Silence reigned for a few seconds after Naruto and Xenovia's casual game of question and answer.
"HAHAHAHAHAH! I like your style. But seriously, Kokabiel? This is really bad." Naruto laughed amusingly and asked the three exorcists. He just ignored the baffled looks he received from the others and focused his eyes on their guest.
"Bad? Are you gonna mock our beliefs like the Gremory did earlier?" Shion hissed at Naruto dangerously as she shrug off Rias' glare.
"Eh? No. Why should I? I don't give a damn if your mission will lead to your deaths. But seriously, Kokabiel is bad news. He's a Cadre-level Fallen Angel that survived the Great War." Naruto said nonchalantly.
Shion just huffed away as Naruto was on a deep thought. Rias and Akeno were surprised at how cold hearted Naruto's words were. Irina and Xenovia just kept their mouth shut and didn't react on the blond's words like his peerage was.
"Okay. Me and my friends won't bother you on your mission. But if any of you dared to attack one of us, I'll kill you without any hesitation. Got it?" Naruto said coldly and gave the three exorcists a hard look.
"G-Got it." Xenovia nodded hesitantly. She was intimidated a little bit at Naruto's cold eyes that directed at them.
"Good! Now, can you please leave? I think your guides have some business with me too." Naruto stood up and pointed at Rias and Akeno.
"You don't have to tell us what to do, devil " Shion spat out venomously and stood up immediately. Her two companions did the same and nodded at Naruto.
"It was nice doing business with you, Holy Sword wielders. Noella-chan will lead you out." Naruto said cheerfully, ignoring the stupefied looks he's receiving.
"Please follow me, I'll lead you out the premises as my King said." Noella said stoically and walked ahead towards the door. The three exorcists followed her silently, leaving Rias and Akeno with Naruto and his peerage.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Naruto asked Rias and Akeno bluntly, not caring that his peerage sat on anywhere they wanted as they listened to their conversation.
"I would like to apologize for Kiba's rash actions. He has some issues when it comes to Holy Swords." Rias said with a depressing sigh.
"It's fine. Just warn him that there will be no next time, Rias." Naruto responded, still on his 'business mode'.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Rias said with a grateful smile.
"Nah, So, may I know why Kiba despise Holy Swords?" Naruto waved off her thanks and asked Rias curiously. He saw Noella was now back and heading towards him. Naruto gestured her to sit beside him, to which she complied.
Rias and Akeno flinched a bit and the former released a sigh again and looked at Naruto with a sad face. "Have you heard of the Church's Holy Sword Project?"
Collective gasps were heard from Naruto's peerage except for Naruto and Shikamaru, who widen their eyes in realization ; Ravel, who looked at Naruto quizzically and Genevieve, who was now shaking because of her emotions.
"D-Don't tell me, he's a survivor of that accursed project?" Naruto asked shakily at Rias.
Rias and Akeno were now intrigued and at the same time, bothered at the reactions Naruto and his peerage.
"Yes."
And that was the last straw for Genevieve. She covered her face with both of her hands and started to cry hard, ignoring the fact that there were other people.
"Gene-chan!" Naruto immediately moved at Genevieve's side and hugged her tightly.
Everyone, except for Noella, was totally flabbergasted to see Genevieve broke down in front of everyone. The Genevieve they knew was silent, kind, strict and rarely projects her emotions.
"Naruto-kun, bring Genevieve to her room and comfort her there. I'll explain things here." Noella said to Naruto soflty.
"You don't need to say it." Naruto warped himself and Genevieve to her room for privacy.
"What the hell was that, Noella?! I haven't seen Genevieve break down like that!" Vivianne demanded answers from the stoic Noella.
"It's about the Holy Sword Project, isn't it?" Ravel stated with a worried look on her face.
"Ravel-san is right. During her time on the Church, Genevieve was tricked to be the prototype of the Holy Sword Project. After learning the inhuman experiments about the project, she started to doubt her faith in the Church. Her faith was utterly destroyed when she was ordered to lead an extermination of a small village that was 'rumored' on having contracts with devils. But in reality, there was none. Her comrades and the priests that joined the mission mercilessly killed innocents and raped women, even the children. And that lead to Genevieve's infamous exploit." Noella told them Genevieve's past with a solemn expression.
Everyone was shocked that Genevieve had such tragic experience on her short life. To carry a guilt of taking innocent lives indirectly with an emotional trauma of her experiences at such young age was heartbreaking.
"So that's the real reason of Genevieve's rampage. And I take that some of her fellow exorcist reported a false report and she was wrongly accused of treason?" Rias said her train of thoughts at Noella's story.
"Yes. Genevieve tried to escape her execution but the Church sent Dulio Gesualdo to end her. She fought him but it was futile. She was severly injured on that one sided fight. Their short battle was sensed by Naruto-kun and checked it out. He saw the beaten Genevieve and the hesitant Dulio. Naruto-kun, being a kind hearted idiot he is, confronted Dulio and fought him. But the two managed to compromised. Dulio proposed Naruto-kun to reincatnate Genevieve in order to save her. And the rest was history." Noella finished her half botch version of Genevieve's past.
"So that's why Genevieve-chan broke down. She still feeling guilty at the lives that ruined by the Holy Sword Project." Yakumo said sadly.
"Yes, she does. If it wasn't for Naruto-kun supporting her, Genevieve would've killed herself in guilt long time ago." Noella said solemnly and looked at Rias and Akeno.
"So tell your Knight this, Rias Gremory." Noella glared at Rias harshly. "He's not the only one who suffered at the hands of the bastards of the Church. So he shouldn't act like a spoiled brat around us like the world only moves for him. A sword is just a piece of metal used in killing. There's no point on hating it for being misused by a person."
"I understand. And again, I'm sorry for bringing up unpleasant memories for Genevieve-san." Rias said sincerely and bowed at the Paimon group.
"It's alright. You didn't know about her story so you couldn't avoid it. Do you still have something else to talk about?" Noella asked the Gremory heiress.
"No, that would be all." Rias answered as she summoned a transportation circle for her and Akeno.
Naruto's peerage only watched the two until they disappeared with a crimson light in silence.
"Troublesome. Glad that's over." Shikamaru yawned lazily and stood up.
"Tell me about it." Vivianne grunted on agreement and stretched her body.
"I hope Genevieve-san will be okay. She's really devastated when she heard about Gremory-sama's Knight." Hinata voiced out her concern.
"She'll be fine. Naruto-kun is with her right now. What I'm worried about is Kokabiel and the Excalibur Fragments. Those three will definitely die at Kokabiel's hands." Noella said seriously to the rest of the group.
"This will not just the problem between the Church and Kokabiel. We will surely be caught in the middle of this." Shikamaru said without his lazy demeanor.
"Bah, we'll be fine. This is not the first tine we got caught up in a big situation like this." Vivianne smirked confidently as she crossed her arms.
"E-EH?!" Ravel exclaimed at Vivianne's bold proclamation.
"YEAH!" Yakumo and Shouko high fived and smiled deviously at the prospect of another trouble ahead of them.
"Fufufu. Now I can test my new spears in a real fight!"
"Troublesome girls."
"Never a dull monent in this group. Right, Noella-san?"
"You just have to say it, Hinata."
Genevieve's Room
Right after Naruto teleported himself with Genevieve, Naruto could only embrace Genevieve and let the silver haird girl cry her heart out. Only Naruto and Noella knew the whole story of Genevieve's past in the Church and they kept it that way because Genevieve requested them to keep it a secret to the others.
But the past managed to haunt Genevieve again with Kiba's life story and possibly, the people of the Church.
The emotional barriers that she built up around her torn heart were easily destroyed earlier. So now, she was crying herself in guilt and heartache at Naruto's embrace.
"Shh. It was not your fault, Gene-chan. You were a victim yourself. Don't blame yourself at what they had done." Naruto said soothingly at the trembling Genevieve.
"B-But I'm still involved at their d-deaths." Genevieve managed to say between her cries.
"No. It was hisfault, Gene-chan. All of it. And if I see that son of a bitch, I'll send him to hell." Naruto hugged Genevieve tighter as he started to pat her head softly.
"B-But.." Genevieve was about to say anything but Naruto released her from his grasp but she was still on his arm's lenght.
"He'll die. Okay? I have a hunch that he's here. He's the only one we know that is obsessed with Holy Swords. Especially with Excalibur Fragments." Naruto wiped Genevieve's tears on her cheeks. "So don't drown yourself in guilt. He's the one behind Kiba and your sufferings. Besides, tears doesn't suit you." Naruto leaned towards Genevieve's face and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Wha-?" Genevieve blushed heavily in an instant and locked her teary eyes at Naruto's cerculean orbs.
"Rest easy for now, Gene-chan. You're emotionally exhausted from what happened earlier." Naruto was about to stood up but his hand was grabbed forcefully by Genevieve.
"W-Will you stay beside me? Even just for tonight?" Genevieve said with a pleading eyes.
"EH?" Naruto managed to let out from his lips dumbly and stared at Genevieve's face, which was his fatal mistake.
I mean, who can he refused Genevieve with the way she looked at him? Teary red eyes looking at him pleadingly, quivering lips and still trembling, making her look so weak and vunerable. So Naruto did the most logical thing he knew.
"Sure thing, Gene-chan." Naruto smiled softly and went back to bed. He laid down next to Genevieve without saying anything.
The two of them just laid down, face to face in silence until Genevieve decided to asked something.
"N-Naruto, c-can you h-hug me until I fall asleep?"
"S-Sure thing, Gene-chan." Naruto complied and pulled Genevieve in his arms and hugged her.
"T-Thanks a lot, Naruto." Genevieve snuggled closer to Naruto and enjoyed Naruto's warmth.
Naruto didn't say anything. Instead, he just tighten his embrace to Genevieve. They continued to stay like this for a few minutes until Genevieve asked something.
"Naruto, are we gonna be okay? I mean, there's a Cadre level Fallen Angel on the loose with three Excalibur Fragments. No matter how we dislike to intervene with those exorcists' mission, we'll be caught in the crossfire of their fight." Genevieve said as she raised her head to see Naruto's face.
"We'll be fine, Genevieve. I promise." Naruto smiled and looked at Genevieve straight to her eyes.
"Okay. I, no. We all believe in you." Genevieve said as she moved her body a bit for her head to reach Naruto's head.
"Thanks a-" Naruto widen his eyes in surprise as he felt something soft brushed against his lips.
"Fufufu. You don't know how long I always wanted to do that, Naruto." Genevieve didn't even wait for Naruto to react as she snuggled her face at Naruto's chest and closed her eyes with a happy smile on her lips.
"Damn, another girl managed to sneak a kiss on me. Am I that vunerable?"Naruto inwardly groaned to himself as he started to pat Genevieve's head. "Kokabiel, I don't know if Azazel knows your actions but I'll destroy you without any mercy if your schemes involve any of my friends. And Valper Galilei, pray to the deceased God that my hunch is wrong. If not, I'll kill you with the most painful way I know for making Gene-chan like this."Naruto sworn to himself as he slowly closed his eyes and let his drowsiness took over his consciousness.
And done! :)
I know that this chapter seems to have many plot holes and a bit rushed so please tell me what points should I improve.
Now in this chapter, the girls confronted Naruto about his denseness and it led to him accepting them as his 'girlfriends'. But this doesn't mean that they would act like it immediately. Naruto's relationship with each girls will progress as the story goes on.
And Naruto's future Rook has been revealed! The only hint about her is that, she is related to Vivianne.
And I decided to make a funny history between Naruto and Serafall through an accidental kiss. (Because I can't think of any good plots of making the Maou Shoujo part of Naruto's harem.)
And another character from Narutoverse appeared! I decided to add Shion to the mix because I need a third exorcist to bring the Excalibur Blessing on the scene. In this story, she hates Devils because of some bad history with them before she became an exorcist.
And last but not the least, Genevieve's past wounds and another part of her, which was only shown when she's alone with Naruto. There is nothing I can tell more about this because her character will develop on the next update.
So please R&R! Kirisakichii, out!