Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or DxD and I make no profits writing fanfics about them.
(AN): This took fucking FOREVER.
Bending over the polished marble sink, Naruto ran the tap and vigorously splashed his face with cool water. A tiny touch of hedge magic chilled the spray to the point of slush pellets, which was exactly what the redhead needed to keep himself awake.
"You should take a break."
"Can't." Naruto shot Ravel down curtly, studying his reflection in the mirror. Hefty dark bags hung under his eyes; the result of nearly a week of sleeplessness fueled only by determination, caffeine, and magic. "And neither can you."
Huffing slightly, Ravel conceded the point. Her own fatigue was masked by makeup and a splash of illusionism, otherwise she'd look just as drawn thin and haggard as Naruto did.
But what other choice did they have? Just because Rias was still shuffling around in a fugue of grief didn't mean her responsibilities were gone. They could have handled that easily enough with the rest of their inner circle pitching in when possible, but then their dear cousin decided to drop the other shoe.
Suddenly every business partner the Gremory clan had East of Seoul seemed to want to meet the clan's heir for a bit of wining and dining. Silas had none-too-subtly started arranging social gatherings in Naruto's name, and he had to attend or else admit his cousin was out of control.
Normally Naruto wasn't the sort of person to default to murderous violence, but Silas was making it pretty tempting. The brat hadn't even waited for Akeno to be cremated before deciding to try to capitalize on the grief and piss in their corn flakes.
"You could always get your mother to handle it."
Grimacing at the thought, Naruto checked to make sure his tie was still neat before turning to his fiancé. "I could. But what's it gonna cost me?" There was no doubt in his mind that Grayfia was perfectly capable of putting his ambitious cousin in his place or lightening the diplomatic load he was choking under, but that didn't mean he could afford to ask for her help.
If Naruto cracked under the pressure there was no doubt in his mind that his mother would pack them all up and send them back to Gehenna to recover from their loss. And while that would probably be a good thing in Rias' case, Naruto couldn't risk being sent home just yet.
Not when there was a war knocking on the door.
A war Naruto's family had a direct hand in starting.
Ravel pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated sigh before dismissing the conversation with a shake of her head. There wasn't any point to telling Naruto to step back and hand over the wheel to someone with more experience; not when they'd already had that same argument four times already. Once he dug his heels in it was almost impossible to change his mind.
Most of the time that worked out for him.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
It was only through monumental effort that Naruto kept himself from twitching. During one second he was bowed over the sink, hoping that some freezing water and some cold coffee would be enough to drag his strung-out mind through the next few hours. And then in the next second his grandfather was suddenly there, vibrant and standing strong and ready to carry the load.
The sight was so picture perfect that it fed the bitter burn behind Naruto's eyes.
"Nah it's cool." The younger redhead waved off the man's sudden appearance like it was nothing, even though a faint current of nausea had started to boil in his gut. "Chickenhawk here was just asking me what we should have for supper."
A distinctly unimpressed expression rippled across Ravel's features at both the lie and the little nickname. "Indeed." The blonde sneered nastily, stepping back to the doorway before giving her fiancé one last glare. "I'll go place an order for curry, heavy on the spice."
"What? No, don't do this to me!"
Zeoticus snorted with barely contained laughter, watching as Ravel flounced away before smirking at his grandson. "You do know you were asking for that one, right? Well, whatever. Let's find somewhere to chat that isn't beside the toilet." Then without missing a beat, the man turned and walked out.
Naruto stood by himself for a long minute, more than a little baffled by it all. His grandfather hadn't even sent a warning to let anyone know he was coming to Kyoto, then the Duke just popped up in the middle of the washroom; dropped a one-liner and sauntered off.
Maybe if Naruto wasn't feeling ten different kinds of angry at the man he'd find it a little funny.
Shaking his head to dismiss the downward spiral of negative thoughts he could practically feel begging to be born in the back of his skull, Naruto deliberately squared his shoulders. He forced his exhausted body into showing a front of strength, then stalked out into the halls after his errant guest.
So what if he was being a little paranoid? So what if he was treating Zeoticus more like a political opponent than his grandfather? Naruto had that right after the shitstorm of the past few days. Though perhaps saying he had that right wasn't the correct way to put it. Duty was much more accurate.
It was Naruto's duty to follow Zeoticus to a quiet lounge, keeping his cool regard on the man's back and his shaking fists in his pocket. It was Naruto's duty to sink down painfully straight in his chosen armchair when the Duke suggested that he take a seat because they had a lot of things to discuss.
Most of all, it was Naruto's duty to remember that even if Akeno would live again thanks to his Bishop's ridiculously overpowered Longinus, she had still died. The spectral taint of her blood was dripping from his hands.
His and his grandfather's.
They might not bear all the guilt but considering their plotting they still bore some of it. Enough to make Naruto smile with a sullen chill. "Well this is a nice mess we've gotten into, wouldn't you say?"
Zeoticus cocked an eyebrow at the poorly hidden bite in his grandson's voice, and rather than rise to the bait the Duke just leaned back in his own chair and considered his heir. The glitter in his gaze was utterly clinical, peeling back Naruto's façade layer by layer with the casual skill of an experienced manipulator.
He saw beneath the fortitude Naruto tried to display and found him wanting.
"I don't disagree with you." The older man broke the silence, letting all the sharp edges in his expression melt away. The politician had submerged once Zeoticus dismissed Naruto as a real opponent or necessary ally, leaving only a soft-spoken grandfather. "I came as soon as I could pass off my immediate obligations."
The temptation to spit out an annoyed 'Did you?' was powerful enough to make Naruto choke, but he suffocated the urge with sheer willpower. He managed to croak out a quiet thanks, even if he didn't feel like Zeoticus actually deserved it. The man was a damn Duke of Gehenna – if he'd really wanted to he could have been in Kyoto within hours after Akeno's remains were returned.
But Zeoticus had waited. He'd spent the days getting everything tidy and neat before moseying on in on his own time. Was his grandfather playing political games with the grief of his own descendants? Was he just so twisted by the centuries he'd lived that death didn't even bother Zeoticus anymore? Or was it just some bizarre devil sociopathy that Naruto couldn't understand?
The suspicion and anger compounded on his fatigue to the point that Naruto's temples began to throb with the stress. Things were already screwed up enough, did he really need to be dealing with people in his own household trying to fuck him over too?
Fate was a bitch, and she was fucking with him.
"Naruto!" Zeoticus' tenor cracked through the fugue floating over Naruto's brain like a whip, dragging him out of his thoughts and forcing the younger devil to meet his eyes. The light in his pale blue stare had darkened with concern, and when he spoke again each word was practically dripping with caution. "You haven't been sleeping."
It was a statement, not a question.
Thinning his lips, Naruto deflected that line of conversation with a shrug. If it hadn't been obvious from the thick racoon circles ringing his eyes, the fact that he was drifting and losing time mid-conversation when he couldn't afford to had to make it pretty damn obvious. But just because it was obvious didn't mean Naruto wanted to admit it. "So what do you need me to do?"
"Nothing."
Naruto reeled back in shock. "I – what?"
Exhaling slowly, Zeoticus folded his hands in his lap before fixing Naruto with an expression creased with sympathy. "Naruto, I can see how depressed and angry you all are. It's no secret, and I don't blame any of you. Someone you cared for has been murdered, and you're running down to the wire trying to hold everything together. Rias is even worse off."
Contrary to Zeoticus' intent, the attempt at compassion only fanned the embers of Naruto's rage. Maybe it was irrational but he was so damn tired of being the rational one who had to keep everything under control while everyone else got to screw around and fall to pieces. If Zeoticus hadn't been so determined to build the clan's power base, they wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with.
"So enough is enough. You and Rias are only children, and you have adults that are willing to help you. You need time to rest and grieve and heal. So that's what we'll give you. I'll handle the rest of this business in Kyoto, and I'll make sure Silas doesn't even think to cause you trouble for at least a hundred years." The older man's mouth twitched into a swiftly smothered smirk. "Venelana will find you some laid-back positions at home, and Grayfia will do some damage control with your reputation so you don't lose any face."
And just like that, the flame of fury burning in Naruto's chest was snuffed out, leaving him ten times more exhausted than he'd already been. Sure, he could try to deliberately make himself feel all offended and riled up, but what was even the point? He and Zeoticus weren't just standing in separate worlds, they were in entirely different universes.
They were like two ships passing in the night. He was so tired of fighting people that thought they knew what was best for him just to be able to do the right thing.
As far as Zeoticus was concerned everything that was happening in Japan was proceeding in accordance with some cold-blooded schedule. The death and suffering could be measured in bland numbers and none of it really mattered in the long run as long as the Gremory clan won.
In the clans' eyes; once Naruto managed to stick his cock in Kunou all was going to be right with the world. They'd have their puppet ruler ready to dance on her strings and it would only cost them a pittance.
Even Naruto had to admit that there was something elegant about that cool calculus. He was enough of a devil now to crave conquest and hunger for dominance. Naruto's first life hadn't been in Gehenna, but he'd lived there long enough to learn to think like them. He knew that peace was only ever temporary and war was just another tool of the state.
But even if Akeno's death was just an unfortunate loss for the clan, Naruto wasn't ready to live by that maxim. He couldn't put people on an altar and offer them up as acceptable sacrifices to generate a victory condition. He didn't have that much ice in his veins.
Not yet, and maybe not ever.
The human in him hadn't been completely burnt out. So, when Naruto looked out at Kyoto it wasn't with a sense of anticipation and triumph. Rather, it was with a soul full of a choking nostalgic despair. The casualties were already more than a human heart could bear, and they were going to get worse; but Naruto was willing to walk into that deeper darkness.
Someone had to accept the responsibility for it all.
Even if no one else in Gehenna was going to approve of it.
War, in Yasaka's experience, was a combination of heart-pumping adrenaline and mind-numbing boredom. The entire production alternated between a flurry of activity that demanded more time invested than was actually possible according to the laws of the universe; and a useless tepid nothingness.
Her day was quickly shaping up to be the latter. The bureaucracy of the Kyoto Court was efficient enough that Yasaka had very little need to micromanage, she'd already completed the diplomatic rounds with the various minor factions, and it would be several more weeks before the funeral rites for the now-deceased Himejima clan head. There was simply nothing to do with her time for the immediate future unless the kitsune wanted to just make up work for herself.
Thus resolved to a lazy and unproductive day, Yasaka couldn't be bothered with courtly finery and jewels. She didn't hate getting dolled up, but there were some benefits to just slipping on a hoodie and sweats.
Like being able to lounge in a fluffy pile of her own tails; watching American romcoms and stuffing her face with chocolate cake. And who could blame her? Even monarchs and dictators needed treats and hobbies, otherwise they tended to go off the rails and turn into drug-addled genocidal maniacs. Yasaka would know. She'd met more than a few.
"Okaa-sama?"
And just like that, Yasaka felt the lazy atmosphere turn sideways then crash and burn into a billion itty bitty pieces.
Kunou meant well - she truly did - and Yasaka knew it. Her daughter was earnest and intelligent and determined to do right by the youkai that had decided to put faith in their family. Most of the time that diligence translated into a dogged effort to complete half a dozen university degrees before the age of twenty.
Which was all well and good.
What wasn't all well and good was those few moments when Kunou decided that she knew more than she actually did. Those were the reckless minutes where Yasaka or her advisors were left scrambling in half a second to smooth over the innocent mistakes of the heiress. And this moment, with smears of dark icing on Yasaka's cheeks and baggy clothes hanging off her body while the Gremory brats stood in the doorway; was definitely one of Kunou's unfortunate gambles.
"Kunou." She greeted warmly, quickly deciding that the only route open to her right now was intimate informality. "Naruto. Rias. What brings you to see me today?" If she couldn't awe them from on high given her distinctly lacking wardrobe, Yasaka could at least pretend to be legitimately fond of them to the degree of letting her hair down.
There was a long silent minute where Naruto just stared, his mouth pursed and brows furrowed as he took in the sight of a casually attired Yasaka. "Alright then." He sputtered, looking at Kunou with something like amusement. "If you've got a few minutes?"
"Of course. Anything for a family friend." It was a platitude that Yasaka offered, discreetly dusting down the wrinkles in her navy hood with a hand.
In any other circumstance she wouldn't have given Naruto Gremory that much of a carte blanche, but the brat had for some spirit-forsaken reason decided to drag his aunt along with him. There was a faint hint of instability in that girl's teal eyes, and Yasaka had no intention of being the one to spark that fire.
No, she'd leave that mess for the Gremory boy. So calm and easy it was.
The redhead in question huffed quickly, shuffling his focus between the various women in the room. Naruto was the odd man out at a metaphorical table full of demons, constantly aware that at any moment they might demand a pound of flesh.
"Thank you." Naruto smiled, his mouth all sharp white teeth and pale lips. "I just wanted to keep you in the loop, give you a fair warning, et cetera." In another lifetime he'd probably be chuckling with good humor and trying to make friends, but this was not that life. Yasaka was barely interested in being his ally, and not at all in the possibility of being more than that.
"Is that so?"
Kunou finally cottoned on to the fact that the devils were dropping in for more than a standard deal. They were looking to bargain under the table, otherwise they wouldn't have leaned on the younger blonde to get them in as quickly as possible. Which meant it was time for her to fade into the background to observe and learn.
The sound of her daughter's small footsteps drifting away to the corner of the room drew a fraction of Yasaka's attention, but she didn't give the girl any more than that. Not only was it poor form in general to get so easily distracted when negotiating; the dark flame in Rias' eyes was only getting hotter by the second.
Yasaka had seen the girl fracture when she'd brought her news of her friend's death, and the passing days had only given the rot time to set in. The redhead might not explode today, but Yasaka wanted her daughter far out of mind when the girl did. Self-destruction was never pretty and the risk of collateral damage was always there.
"Well, do go on." The blonde woman prodded Naruto, shifting her attention back to the boy and brushing off the girl. "I'm all ears." And then just to inject some desperately needed levity into the stifling atmosphere, Yasaka gave a generous deliberate twitch of said furred appendages.
The plastic smile on Naruto's face grew just a hair more genuine. "Alright." He shrugged nonchalantly, exchanging an inscrutable glance with his aunt before dropping the bomb. "As of last night, I'm no longer the ambassador to Kyoto. The clan will be naming a new one fairly soon, but in the meantime my grandfather can be contacted directly for any diplomatic matters. I'll be moving up and on to some other personal endeavors."
"My congratulations." The priestess began carefully, studying the fake cheer on the boy's face and the stony blankness on the girl's. 'Moving up' certainly implied that Naruto was being promoted to some greater position, but Yasaka couldn't see why. His work as an ambassador had been adequate but not stellar, and his presence close at hand had practically ensured he'd have some access to Kunou for the clan's blatant bridal hunting.
If Zeoticus was willing to give up that kind of advantage and reward him so richly, the boy had to have done something. "What sort of personal ventures, if you wouldn't mind indulging a lovely woman's curiosity?"
Rias broke her silence for the first time, setting a hand on her nephew's shoulder in a presumably sisterly gesture. Unfortunately, the deep blue paint on her nails made it look more like a grasping witch's' claw. "We don't mind. We'll be remaining in the city for some time yet, so it's hardly going to be a secret."
Irritation flickered filtered through Naruto's mien as he was so boldly interrupted by his ally, but the younger redhead rallied against the shift in dynamics. "Exactly." he chuckled tightly, patting his aunt's knuckles in false solidarity. "We've decided to expand into contract work. Private security, freelance investigations, stuff like that."
Ah.
Yasaka blinked.
Curious.
Despite all of her strategizing Yasaka had to admit she could still be surprised, even by novices. She'd never expected the Gremory children to turn into soldiers of fortune and obliquely offer their services as mercenaries. It was strange and reckless and downright bizarre. What exactly were they trying to pull?
Or perhaps there was a more concerning possibility. What was Zeoticus aiming for? Yasaka could handle a few wild brats with little more than a snap of her fingers, if she even bothered to notice them in the first place. The schemes of the Duke of Gremory - or possibly even Sirzechs Lucifer – were an entirely different game.
Yasaka hummed lowly, letting her tails curl over her feet like furry serpents as she turned everything over in her mind. To believe or not to believe was the question of the hour.
Then she smiled.
It didn't really matter if Naruto was playing his own game or if he was dancing on the strings of his elders. Even if he was in truly in rebellion and not just pretending, they couldn't admit they'd actually lost control over their own heir. The clan would have to act like he was a deniable asset to save face, and the boy would too if he ever intended to go home.
There was no difference between the bluff and the double bluff here. Yasaka could play the game exactly the same way, because plausible deniability by its very nature left a crack in the middle for her to settle right into.
How delightful.
"In that case I wish you the best. Do be a dear and stay in touch, won't you? I know Kunou would get awfully lonely without a friend to play with."
Rain poured down from the heavens, drowning out the last traces of the sun's warmth and chilling the air until Tosca's every exhale was a small gout of mist.
"Hurry it up." She muttered rebelliously, hunching her shoulders and shuffling along the damp pavement. The light windbreaker she'd grabbed kept her dry, but at this point she'd literally killed to have something heavier to wear. "I'm freezing out here."
"I don't care what you want".
Valerie's voice was even chillier than the weather, frozen and drained of anything resembling human empathy. The blonde just had to be contrary to everyone and everything that didn't involve her supposedly perfect saviour's comfort.
It would almost be sad if it wasn't so repulsive.
Tosca could admit she might be a bit cold-blooded and focused, but there was a limit to her cruelty, and she knowingly turned back from obsession. She might be ready to sacrifice a few lower life forms when needed, but Tosca didn't kill everyone and everything that got in the way of her goals. She had a basic foundation of ethics and didn't move through life with any kind of distorted sort of solipsism informing her every thought process.
She wasn't Valerie.
The Bishop's only saving grace was that her targeted craziness could be redirected with relative ease. As long as someone with the Naruto stamp of approval was hanging around they could tell the dhampir what to do, and they could reasonably expect to be obeyed. Without that guidance the girl was well on her way to becoming a Galilei-tier monstrosity.
One that could murder the universe.
There was a certain clinical chill that Galilei and Valerie shared. Most people looked out upon reality and thought about what they could do to improve it, and those two took it to the limit. They discarded basic compassion just to meet that next milestone, and Tosca hated it.
Sometimes the price for knowledge shouldn't be paid.
"I don't care what you don't care about." Tosca growled curtly, shuffling closer to the walls of the alleyway they'd trekked down. "Just stop wasting everyone's time and move your ass." Maybe she should be making a stronger attempt to be polite, but after the absolute clusterfuck of the past week Tosca just couldn't muster up the effort to pretend to be nice.
But amiability was too much to expect. Valerie was filled up with nothing as far as Tosca was concerned. Her most desperate desire was a dark hungry blankness; one that could never be satisfied without a perfected world for Naruto to dream in.
That detached desire to have something to circle around and pick apart was the same thing Tosca had tried to escape when she'd turned her back to Galilei.
How hilariously pedantic her life was.
All Tosca wanted was to pretend that everything was going to be simple. She just wanted to find her way to whatever bland little hideaway Rias had managed to procure off the books, settle in with everyone else; and keep following the routine she'd gotten used to.
Instead she got forty-eight hours without sleep, the dankest weather that had hammered Japan in a month; and one of the most irrational imbeciles she'd ever laid eyes on placed in her care. It was enough to make her nostalgic for her years under Galilei.
Maybe he was a sadistic prick, but at the least he was a prick with greater things on the brain than Naruto's cock.
"Took you long enough." Sasuke's words cut through the night like a blade. The air was damp and dark, the sputtering streetlamps cast everything into inky shadows, but the cigarette flared between his lips like an orange star. ""You're late."
"Liar." Valerie chuckled in her peculiarly empty way as she barreled through the gates and towards the squat townhouse. "I'm right on time."
Silence hung in the air for a handful of heartbeats as Sasuke studied Valerie's expression, his eyebrows drawn down and his mouth taut with thought. "Of course you are." The Pawn concluded carefully, his dark gaze observant. "He's upstairs. We'll be right behind you."
Valerie didn't even bother to look back as she practically skipped up the stairwell, dismissing the other two from her mind instantly now that she was in the same building as her master.
"Well that was fun." Tosca muttered sarcastically once the blonde was out of earshot. "Definitely in my top ten list of most riveting evenings."
Humming with a note of mild amusement, Sasuke sucked in a final puff before dropping his cigarette to the ground and stamping out the embers. "If you say so." Then he led the way inside, locking the door behind them with a click of finality.
"You were the last." He clarified when Tosca cocked a questioning brow. "Naruto was almost ready to send out a search party."
It was almost a criticism, except for the fact that Sasuke didn't care to offer one and Tosca didn't care to receive one.
Rain and sweat dripped down the strands of Sasuke's hair, beading on the flyaway strands and glittering golden under the yellow shine of the ancient lightbulbs illuminating the entryway.
Tosca watched him go, shivering in her clammy jacket and wondering if it would be a mistake if she went directly to the washroom for a hot bath. Naruto wasn't the sort to care about procedure, and Rias was halfway catatonic at the best of times these days.
Peeling off her slick coat, Tosca steadied herself with one hand against the wall while she shook off her boots in a splatter of mud and moisture. "Welcome home." She muttered to herself, dismissing the flecks of grime that someone would have to scrub off the walls sooner or later. Maybe it would be her, but Tosca really doubted that.
Prettying the place up seemed more up Gasper's alley.
"Ah. You're here."
Rias' sudden appearance at the top of the staircase was a shock that demanded attention like a black hole demanded light. It wasn't that Tosca found Rias stupid or incapable, but rather that for the past week she'd assumed the young woman was little more than a catatonic puppet. Akeno's murder had destroyed Rias, and outside of a following basic orders the redhead had been dead to the world for days.
So to see Rias standing on her own two feet, her glare burning like a blue candle and the line of her jaw as taut as steel was enough for Tosca to straighten her spine.
Finally.
Naruto might be the one that made vague speeches that demanded their loyalty and their passion for prosperity, but it was Rias that gave them concrete expectations to work towards. Without her management they were all spinning in the wind, struggling towards minor milestones without a game plan for the big picture.
"So I am." Tosca agreed for lack of a better thing to say, trying to ignore her wet socks as she took the stairs two at a time. It took her both half a moment and half a lifetime to make her way to the top; she was shivering as she met Rias eye-to-eye. "But I still don't quite understand why all the cloak and dagger is necessary."
The laugh that tore out of Rias' throat was humor mingled with hatred, the high notes cresting with hysteria and the low notes drowning in contempt. "Of course you don't." she chuckled, wiping away a tear. "Why would you? Officially, we've met all our obligations here. Officially, we're supposed to be well on our way home to the next promotion with glowing praise from my father."
Leaning back slightly, Tosca wondered if it was too late to just cut her losses and go hide in a bathroom for a while. Rias was obviously struggling with some kind of daddy issues if the way she venomously spat out 'father' was any indication, and the Knight was hardly a certified therapist.
All this drama was very much something Sasuke was supposed to be handling, but she'd already stuck her foot in the door. Bracing herself for the possibility of something rather horrible involving blubbering and girlish tears, Tosca lifted her chin and made the obvious inquiry. "And unofficially?"
A dull thump echoed down the hall along with the sound of muffled voices, but Rias made no effort to get whoever it was to quiet down. Instead she simply gazed at Tosca with hawk-like focus, with the same predatory intensity that had once lit up Sasuke's Sharingan stare when they'd stood on opposite ends of the battlefield.
It was disconcerting.
Just a little bit.
"Unofficially I'm owed my pound of flesh, and I won't let him deny it to me. He certainly won't be glad if he tries, since I can make things very difficult for him."
Well, Tosca supposed, the redhead wasn't wrong. There weren't many things that could be inconvenient for a Duke of Gehenna but having to drag home his heirs kicking and screaming in front of the eyes of the realm was certainly up there.
(AN): 5100 for this one, and it took way longer than I wanted it to. Still, at least it's finally here.
I hope I adequately explained why exactly the peerages just decided to bail and run away from home without a word, and why it's a plan that is workable. Zeo et. all might be able to outright force 'the kids' to come home, but not without making life a challenge for everyone involved. Even if they abducted Naruto and Rias without being discovered, they now would have to functionally imprison them for an indefinite period since if they didn't there's always the possibility of another runaway – or worse, a publicly embarrassing incident.
I suppose I could have gone with another 'meeting' scene where Naruto just sits down and explains this to everybody, but that felt like pointless exposition that I can gloss over to get things moving.
Lastly, I just want to clarify something. I don't claim to be totally consistent since I do make mistakes, but what I'm going for her is limited third person points of view with unreliable narrators. This means that there will be times where a character asserts something that might not actually be objectively true (i.e. Sasuke being bitter and claiming Naruto is not familiar with death, or Yasaka coming across as sympathetic in the last chapter where from her own POV in this one she was just playing the politics game).