"Who thought this was a good idea?" Each word except for the last was punctuated with the sound of a smack and a small cloud of smoke. The lives of six clones had been lost to the agitated fists of Naruto Uzumaki. When the blond moved to punch the last clone, the being made the wise decision of dodging out of the way of the fist. His actions earned him a glare from his creator while the clone held his hands up in defense.
"Well, the clone was the one who told Lilith. And really, the clone is yo-" That clone's existence came to an end when Naruto's fist slammed into his face. The boy released a huff while the cloud of smoke dispersed around his fist before he turned his attention to his right where Ophis and Lilith stood to face each other.
"Mother." Ophis tilted her head to the side at Lilith's call. Her brow furrowed while she ran her eyes over her 'clone".
When Naruto had first told her that Cao Cao had created a copy of her using the power that he stole, she has been infuriated. The rage that had built up within her had been the some of the strongest she had ever felt. All she wanted was to eradicate everything at the fortress, including the bastardized copy of herself.
Yet, standing in front of her look alike, she didn't feel any of that rage. Her chest wasn't tight with anger. It sat loose and free in her 'daughter's' presence. It was a relatively new feeling, one introduced through her time with Naruto, yet it didn't feel awkward to the eternal dragon.
"...Daughter." She tested the word out with slight hesitation and found its sound to be somewhat freeing. A strange warmth began to form within her bosom while Lilith nodded at her.
"It is nice to meet you, mother. Our separation was puzzling but I admit it has made our reunion much sweeter." Ophis took immediate note of her daughter's verbosity. It was a stark contrast to her own way of speaking in as few words as possible. Inwardly, she was grateful for it. That small difference made it much easier to view the girl as a separate being.
"Father doesn't seem as thrilled." Lilith said while turning her head to look over at Naruto. The blond was looking over as well yet showed he was anything but enthusiastic.
"He's … had a long day." Ophis spoke while she watched the blond trudge his way toward them. Each taken step by him seemed to take a little out of his soul if the look on his face was anything. After several silent moments, he arrived where the dragon duo stood. He stood looking at Lilith for a short while before switching his attention over to Ophis.
"Are you okay to take us back?" His words sounded so tired coming from his mouth, she noted while nodding. Her razing of the fortress and the sudden introduction of Lilith had left her with a surprising amount of energy. She moved to summon a portal to transport the group of three back to Naruto's home but was stopped when a hand landed on her shoulder.
"Allow me, mother." Ophis raised an eyebrow after turning to see Lilith with her hand up. The two locked eyes for several moments before the dragon responded with a nod. She took a step away from her daughter while the girl raised her arms high into the air. She brought her two hands together in a clasped union before shutting her eyes.
Naruto and Ophis watched in silence while the girl stood with her outstretched arms. As the moments began to stretch on, the duo began to doubt the girl's ability to reproduce Ophis' technique. That doubt was swiftly wiped away when the girl started to pull her hands apart. With each separated inch, a rift began to take from. The observing duo watched with shocked interest while the girl, with her bare hands, tore a hole in the dimensional gap. The young finished off the action with a loud grunt while spreading her arms fully apart. The rift responded to her movement, spreading to nearly four times its original size. With the portal created, Lilith turned around to face her parents before giving a slight bow of her head.
"After you, mother and father."
Sirzechs was bored. And, oh boy, did it show. If anyone in the meeting room bothered to look his way, they would've seen the man idly forming a pyramid out of a piece of paper.
"The presence of the Greeks is alarming. As per the norm for past few months, they seem to congregate near Naruto Uzumaki's shop." Sirzechs glanced up at the mention of the blond's name. At the sight of Ajuka presenting with one of his tablets, the devil sighed before returning his attention back to his pyramid.
Naruto Uzumaki. The thought of the name made the man roll his eyes. Ever since the boy had come charging into his life, he had been nothing but trouble. And just when he thought all of the excitement had started to die down with the peace talks, the boy still managed to attract trouble.
"I say we confront them immediately!" Sirzechs mouthed the words of the devil representative in a childish manner while lifting the pyramid in his hands. In his own opinion, the devils were too quick to act. Their impatience had been the cause of a lot of strife in the past.
"When is this stupid meeting over?" The devil thought to himself while crushing the pyramid in his hands. He slouched his head and arms down onto the table while staring over at Ajuka. Despite the fact that the man's mouth was moving, Sirzechs wasn't hearing a single word being said.
His mind had left the meeting a long while ago.
"Sirzechs-sama." The man's ears perked up at the sound of a voice coming from behind him. He turned his head and felt his face light up in an instant at the sight of his beautiful wife. His eyes drank in her figure for several moments before meeting her eyes.
"Rias has requested your presence." The woman barely managed to get the words out of her mouth before her husband was up out of his seat. The man wrapped her up in a massive hug, lifting her off of her feet for a brief moment before throwing her into what used to be his seat. She managed to catch a brief glimpse of his back before he disappeared out of the doors of the room in a blur of red motion, leaving her alone to deal with the curious yet knowing looks of the remaining devils in the room.
"Rias?" Ajuka asked with a raised eyebrow. Grayfia gave a seldom nod in reply while fixing her outfit. Like so many times before, she would have to take responsibility for her husband.
What else was new?
Despite that the two were living together, Kuroka rarely got to have real personal moments with her sister. The fact that the girl was living with her boyfriend made it somewhat difficult, especially with how hectic the boy's life was. Though, whenever she could steal away the girl, she would gladly do so.
Whenever frustrated, I'm a hijack Delta
In the PJ's, my blend tape plays, bullets are stray
Kuroka let loose a sigh that was immediately drowned out by the two speakers playing from the opposite side of the room. While she did love her sister beyond belief, she had to question her interest in music. Of all things to have an ear for, the young Nekoshou was obsessed with American rap music. It was odd beyond belief, seeing the four foot something girl bobbing her head to the bass-heavy track and rampant cursing, yet that sight made her smile. Maybe it was because of how ridiculous it was or maybe it was because it was her sister. Either way, Kuroka had learned to embrace it.
"Konek-" Koneko's raised hand stopped her older sister from speaking. Kuroka rolled her eyes at the gesture as the girl's head bobbed away in a frenzy. The older Nekoshou was prepared to reach over and pause the music, an act that would unknowingly earn her the eternal ire of her sister, but stopped herself when a strong wind began to blow through the apartment. The odd thing about the wind was that not a single window in the room was open.
"Uhhh, Koneko…" Kuroka's words went ignored by her sister once more. The girl was too deep into the music to take notice of the anomaly taking place within the room, leaving Kuroka as the sole witness. The wind within the room grew stronger, enough to send to the locks of their hair blowing across their face. The former stray devil rose up to her feet, her eyes searching for the source of the wind while Koneko remained firmly planted on the ground, her head still bobbing along to the music. Even when the wind reached a point where it began to shift the furniture of the room, the girl remained ignorant to it all.
It became hard for the girl to ignore what was going on in the room when a portal appeared in the center of the room. Kuroka let loose a loud shriek at its appearance while Koneko stopped moving her head to look at the anomaly. Her eyes stayed transfixed on the thing as three figures came out of the portal. Two of the figures she recognized, one being her ragged boyfriend while the other being the dragon god that had been living under the same roof as her.
The other figure, though, Koneko wasn't familiar with. She was the last to exit the portal and with her entry into the living room, the portal faded from existence. The young girl made an immediate beeline to stand in between Naruto and Ophis. It was there that Koneko took notice of the similarities between the new girl and Ophis. The two might as well have been twins with how much they looked like each other.
"Hello Naru!" Kuroka shouted from behind the safety of the couch. At the sight of the Ophis look-alike, she knew that her peaceful morning had come to an end. Now was the time to try to avoid as much damage as she could.
The blond let out a grunt in response before trudging over to his couch. The group of four women watched him collapse onto the piece of furniture with a loud sigh before closing his eyes. With the boy seemingly out of commission for the moment, the group focused their attention inward.
"Ophis." Koneko decided it would be best to address the dragon first. With the way her boyfriend looked, she wasn't going to get many answers out of him, leaving the dragon as the next best source.
"Koneko." The dragon nodded in response. The two shared a brief look with one another before they both turned their attention to the dragon's clone. In the brief moment that they had taken their eyes off of her, the girl had managed to make her way away from Ophis over to the set of speakers. They had managed to survive the appearance of the portal and were still going strong with Koneko's music.
The Buddha monk's in your trunk, turn the bass up
Not stories by Aesop
"What is this?" Lilith mumbled to herself while standing inches away from the speakers. The loudness of the speakers sent her hair blowing across her face. She reached out an interested hand only to pull it back when a loud string of bass nearly pushed her away.
"That is rap music, the best kind of music." Lilith turned to see Koneko was now standing behind her. The two met eyes for a brief moment before the clone turned her attention back to the speakers.
"Rap?" Lilith muttered out.
"Do you like it?" Koneko managed to pick up on the girl's mumbling despite the loud music being played on inches away from her. Lilith said nothing at first. She seemed too entranced by the music in front of her to listen to the Nekoshou.
"Yes." The girl showed she was listening when she turned and belted out the single word. Koneko's face lit up at the response, her lips stretching into a small smile.
"Do you want to hear more?" The young dragon hesitated for a brief moment before nodding her head. Koneko did the same before clasping the girl's hand. Lilith didn't react to the sudden physical contact nor did she when the Nekoshou began to pull her toward the house's hallway.
"I have much to show you." Those were the last words Kuroka heard from her sister before the girl, along with Lilith, disappeared down the hallway. She heard a door open and close several seconds later, alerting her that the two had retreated into Naruto's room.
"...That was odd." Kuroka nodded at Ophis' words. Once again, her expectations had been swept away in the face of reality. She had expected violence at the sight of the three entering through the portal, but instead, she had her little sister time stolen away from her.
She couldn't help but huff at the thought. Just when she was beginning to really enjoy her alone time with Koneko, something else had to come swoop down and snatch her away. She couldn't even blame Naruto this time. The blond's soft snores alerted her to how unwilling he was to participate in any of this. Scanning over the boy now, she could see how exhausted he was. That was until Ophis crawling onto the same couch Naruto occupied.
"What are you doing?" Despite everything in her telling her not to, Kuroka couldn't help but voice the question when she saw the dragon set herself upon the boy's legs. Her unwillingness became cemented in her gut when Ophis turned an agitated eye over to her.
"I am talking to Naruto." She stated before moving her eyes back to Naruto. Once more, the need to question sprung up within the Nekoshou but this time she decided to wisely keep her mouth close. The look that the god sent her told her that was for the best.
"You could talk to me." Kuroka thought to herself but dared not say it out loud. The dragon had begun talking, leaving the woman to silently look on. A soft sigh slipped past her lips before she climbed back onto her previously occupied chair.
If no one was going to talk with her, she would at least listen.
He awoke to the soft pounding of music in the background, a light voice in the foreground and a numbness in his legs. He kept his eyes as the memories of his past 24 hours played through his mind. The thought of never opening his eyes was a prominent one.
"Maybe I'll go back to sleep." He thought to himself. He decided to test out his theory and kept his eyes close. He tried, he really did try, to drown out the pounding music and the voices yet he couldn't manage it. It pained him to do it but his eyes eventually pulled open, exposing him to the occupants of the room.
"What are you doing on my legs?" He noted how groggy his voice sounded and wondered how long he had been asleep. He hadn't planned on sleeping in the first, especially a sleep deep enough that Ophis could sit on top of his legs.
"I was talking." Naruto could only blink at the girl's response before letting out a sigh. His head dropped down onto the couch once again while his eyes came to a close.
"It's rather rude of you not to greet your guest." The ninja would have leaped up from the couch if it wasn't for the dragon sat on top of half of his body. Instead, his upper body shot upward, displacing the dragon onto the cushion next to him. He didn't pay that much mind. His attention was focused on the woman sat in his living room's chair.
"Natur-"
"Ah, ah, ah." The woman wagged her finger at him. The warmth of her voice was off balance by the condescending tone she used. To the blond, it felt as if he was a child getting reprimanded by his mother.
"Mother. Call me mother." Ophis let loose a loud scoff at this, drawing the woman's attention over to the dragon.
"Do you have something to say?" Once again, despite the sweetness in her voice, Naruto could sense nothing but malcontent within her voice. Her words begged for someone to act against her so she could smite them. Any person with a limited understanding of social cues would have been able to pick up on this
Ophis was not one of those people.
"You are disgusting. The years haven't changed that."
"And you have changed?" Gaea asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you believe you have since you now gallop around in the form of a child?"
"Better this than that horr-"
"Why are you in my house?" He had heard enough. He knew that allowing the two beings to speak would result in him sitting through what was the equal of two children fighting with one another.
She turned to face him with a smile. That smile sent shivers down his spine. It didn't speak bad intentions for him yet it didn't comfort him in any way.
"I came to congratulate you." She spoke while rising up to her feet. The movement made Naruto take notice that the woman had forgone wearing clothes … again.
"I had expected you to take care of Hades. I didn't expect you to kill the boy and take his weapon."
"I didn't mean to take the stupid scythe." Naruto mumbled to himself before clapping his hands together. In a puff of smoke, the scythe appeared in the air above of his. He reached up and snatched it before giving it the evil eye as he leaned back into the couch.
"No matter how much you try, it isn't going to go away. Death can be a bit clingy." She laughed at her words while crossing the distance between the two. The blond kept his eyes locked with her, even when she settled in front of him. A simple eye level glance would offer him a view that many gods and goddesses would love to have. "Once she likes you, she's not going away. I'm surprised you haven't noticed."
"Noticed what?" Naruto sat back upward at her words. The woman's smile spelled nothing but disaster for him as she stared down at him.
"Take a look at that little mark on your hand." His eyes widened for a brief moment before darting over to the palm of his right hand. The scythe rolled off of his lap onto the floor while he stared at the new addition on his skin.
The faint outline of the sun given to him by Hagoromo was still in place. That he was thankful for. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he didn't have the sage's power, especially with the chaos surrounding him. What he wasn't happy about was the faded scythe symbol that sat diagonally in the sun symbol.
"What…" The blond mumbled while moving his face closer to his hand. Gaea watched, barely managing to contain her laughter, while the boy examined his hand. She saw him go through several visible stages of emotion, each one more amusing than the last. First, he was incredulous. It was so strong in the blond, so much so that he was willing to attempt to shake his head in the hopes that the mark would disappear. When that didn't work, he turned to disbelief. Disbelief turned into anger which involved the blond attempting to furiously wipe away the mark with his free hand. When that didn't work, his anger turned into grief. She had to stop herself from reaching down and holding him with the way his face dropped. Finally, he settled onto acceptance. Grim acceptance but acceptance nonetheless.
"What is this?" Gaea cooed out at his languid tone before attempting to place herself onto his lip. Her attempt ended with her seated on the arm of the couch while clutching at her sore midsection. The blond wasn't having any of that at the moment.
"That's the mark of death." The primordial said after failing to find any sort of sympathy from Naruto. The look the boy sent her told her she would need to do a bit more explaining or more than her midsection would be hurting.
"I thought grumpy Osiris and his son explained thi-"
"How do you know they visited me?"
"Anyway, death isn't a simple scythe." Gaea ignored the boy's questioning, earning her a glare from him. She swept it away with a slow wave of her hand before continuing to speak.
"She's a bit more complicated than that. She's older than me and so much more stubborn. That mark means she's in you now. In to stay, I'm guessing."
"I don't want her to stay." The blond responded in disgust while staring at the mark. The last thing he needed was another person to deal with on a daily basis.
"Oh, she's staying. Until you die, of course. Which is pretty odd, considering the fact that she is Death itself. You would think she would enjoy that." Naruto shook his head at her words. This wasn't what he needed to hear after a nap.
This wasn't at all what he needed.
"Father." Speaking of things he didn't need at the moment, that single word nearly managed to send Naruto back to sleep. He instead managed to power through the feeling and turned toward the sound of the voice. The sight of Lilith standing next to his girlfriend was something he neither expected or wanted.
He offered up a wave in return, finding it too difficult to reply with his words. After all the hectic things that had been sprung upon the Nekoshou at random, one would think he would have nothing to worry about. Yet, even he knew that Lilith was a whole other level of craziness. The fact that the girl was dead set on referring to him as her father only made things more difficult.
"Who is this woman?" Lilith asked while moving her focus to Gaea. The two women locked eyes for a brief moment before the young dragon looked over at her 'father'. "Is she bothering you? Do you need me to remove her?"
"Hah." The goddess let loose a scoff while waving her hand at the girl. "That's adorable. You think you can remove me. I'll stay for as lo-"
The goddess' words came to an abrupt closure due to the presence of Lilith's fist in her chest. The young dragon was no longer stood by the side of the Nekoshou. Instead, she stood on the lap of her supposed father. The blond had the perfect view of Lilith ripping her hand out of the new cavity in the woman's chest, spilling chunks dirt and grass onto the couch. She threw the handful of dirt back into the wide-eyed woman's, her face a stone mask during it all. Her eyes filled with the venom her words would exude.
"If Father wills it, I will remove you far beyond the boundaries of this house. I will remove you from existence."
As Lilith and Gaea locked eyes, a weight fell upon his shoulders. He wanted to tear his hair out but the will to do so was lost upon him. Staring at the two supernatural beings, a voice spoke out to him. The voice, one he had been ignoring since his arrival in the world, begged for him to sit back. And for once, he decided to listen. So, with a sense of pleasant resignation and Lilith's feet planted in his lap, Naruto leaned back into the cushions of his couch and allowed the scene to evolve.
"You're bold." Gaea said while the new hole in her chest began to close up. The skin of her face moved in on itself, swallowing the specks of dirt Lilith had thrown onto her, before settling back into a smile.
"I am a simple defendant of my father." Lilith responded, causing the older being to laugh while rising up from her seat on the couch.
"A defendant that I do not have the time to deal with." Gaea let loose a sigh while cutting her eyes over to Naruto. The lines of her lips curved upward at his steady gaze. "You have other issues to deal with. I'll return."
The goddess shot the blond a quick wink before her body sunk into the wooden floorboards of her home. Within a matter of seconds, she was out of sight, leaving Naruto alone with the tenants of his home.
"I do not like that woman." Lilith stated out loud, earning a nod of agreement from Kuroka, Ophis and Koneko. Naruto was the only one who sat unmoving, his head leaned deep into the cushion of his couch while his eyes remained shut.
Silence - sweet and all-encompassing swept over the room. He loved it, though it was bittersweet in its nature. Sweet in the peace that came along with it. Bitter because he knew it would come to a crashing end.
It always did.
"Are you alright, Father?"
His eyes drifted open to take in the sight of Lilith's face above his own. At the sight of her chocolate-colored eyes filled with concern - concern for the man she considered a father in all his light - his lips lifted. His eyes became bright while his hand raised up to rest on the girl's head.
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired." The slight sparkle in her eyes made the action a bit more bearable.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
At least, that's what his fantasies told him. Reality decided to come smack him across the face when a tap on his shoulder grabbed his attention. A quick turn of his head brought him face to face with his girlfriend.
"You're a father now, eh?"
His mouth opened in an instant to explain himself - to somehow mitigate the chaos of the situation - but he stopped himself. The hint of amusement hit his ears. His eyes flew over Koneko's face, searching for any confusion, anger, disappointment and he found none. Nothing of that sort. Only a pair of curved lips and a raised eyebrow greeted him. Before he could question - he really wanted to question - Koneko surged forward to press her lips against his own. The kiss was short but it told the blond nearly everything he wanted, and needed, to know.
"Lilith told me what happened, I put together the rest. Talk later." She whispered to him before landing another swift kiss on his cheek.
"I've been with Aunt Koneko since we've arrived." Lilith's words brought his attention back to her. "She's taught me about so much, including rap."
"Rap?"
He knew of his girlfriend's obsession with the genre of music. He didn't know how the girl managed to push it on another person so soon. How long had he been asleep?
"Yes, rap. Ever-"
Her words came to a quick end when a knock echoed through the room. The room's collective attention moved toward the door at the sound. Before Naruto could move to stand up and answer it, Lilith pressed him down onto the couch.
"I will answer it, Father." She jumped off the couch and then walked over to the door. Her face was a mask of calm as she reached up and pulled open the door.
"Hel-
"Are you here to see mother or father?"
Out of all the greetings she expected, that hadn't been one of them. She was unaware of anyone in the house having had a child.
"Who is your mommy and daddy?" She said while bending down toward the young girl. As she drew closer, she had to admit to herself the similarities she saw in the girl and the dragon god, Ophis. It was odd.
"My father is Naruto Uzumaki and my mother is Ophis. Now, why are you here?"
She tried to respond. She did. Yet, the pure shock of the statement made her freeze. She tried to move. It took several seconds of strain but she managed it.
"Oh dear." That wasn't her proudest moment. She was used to being calm in times of turbulence but this was too much for her to handle with grace.
"You have wasted my time. Leave." That was the last she heard from the girl before the door was slammed in her face. She blinked once at the rude gesture. This was not going to the way she expected this to go.
She came here with a purpose, though. And that purpose beckoned her to reach out to rap on the door again. Before she could hit the second knock, the door swung open again, revealing the person she came to see.
"Naruto!" She beamed out.
"Gabriel." His response was much more sedated. His wild hair and narrowed eyes made it look as if he had just stumbled out of the bed.
"Do you mind if I come in?" He threw a hesitant glance back over his shoulder into his home before meeting her eyes.
"Sure." He slurred out before stepping outside. She flashed him yet another smile while moving inside of the house. That smile met a swift end when four set of eyes focused in on her.
"Ah, hello." The angel offered up a wave to the four women. She received two nods, one wave, and a single icy glare. She figured that was the best response she was going to get while Naruto guided her over to the sitting area.
"You can sit where I was." The boy's offer was greeted with a rapid shaking of her head while she held her hands up.
"No, no, no. I need to be standing for this." The angel said before sucking in a deep breath. Her eyes closed for a brief moment as the breath left her in one steady flow. They reopened, revealing the shining blue gems of her irises, as she directed her attention on Naruto.
"Naruto … I believe you are the Will of my Father."
AN: Yet another ridiculous chapter is gone. Things just keep getting more and more extreme for poor Naruto. This is only the beginning. Expect much more chaos for the boy as we sprint toward the finish line.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Review or PM me with any questions, concerns, comments, suggestions, etc!
Thank you to everyone who has continued to make this story what it is. Because of you all, this fic is now within the top 10 most favorited, followed and reviewed across ALL of Naruto's fanfiction. Add that on top of it being #2 in terms of favorites and follows for Naruto/DxD crossovers, I am honestly at a lost for words. You all have pushed this shoddy ship to such a high position. I thank every single person who has taken the time to read the fic. I greatly appreciate it all :D
I hope you all a great rest of the day.
