Hello readers, as you can probably guess this is a rewrite of my story Kitsune Rook, which is obviously following Naruto being thrust into the world of DxD, being transformed into a Yokai, specifically a kitsune as if the title didn't give that away, and 'enjoying' the adventures both with the DxD story line, Naruto Storyline and a few other added articles. Now the original was written in a short period of time on a whim. Then found and "proof read" rather poorly while slightly under the influence of alcohol and posted. So coupling the desire to change a few minor things, add a couple other minor things, and also fix as many of the ridiculous amount of typos as could be found within I have decided to rewrite it. So the new story is below.


Arc: Initiation
Chapter 1: A New Path

Kakashi

The top Jonin of Konoha's shinobi corps had never been more guilt stricken than he was at that moment. To him that was to be considered a lofty achievement. If the silver haired man were to be honest with himself he couldn't help but feel his whole life was marked with milestones made from the graves of all those he loved. If he allowed his mind time to wander it almost always dwelled on that fact. Dwelled on what he saw as a legacy of nothing but failure time and again.

As it was, he felt more guilt stricken with his most recent of milestones. He had once again failed Naruto. Over the last twelve years it seemed that was a recurring phrase in his mind. Sure he could go on and place all his shortcomings toward the boy prior to this one at the feet of the elder council or more specifically Danzo. He understood the elders and Danzo held no hatred for Naruto, in their own idiotic way they each thought they were protecting the boy and Konoha both by how they handled the political nightmare that could have been the both boy's heritage and status being publicly known.

Throughout Naruto's short life Kakashi had been forbidden from adopting him as an infant, forbidden from acting as his caretaker, forbidden from adopting him once again when he was removed from the abusive environment of the orphanage, forbidden from pledging himself and thereby the few remaining assets of the all but extinct Hatake clan to the Uzumaki clan which the civilian council also seemed to be trying to sweep under the rug enraging the former ANBU Captain even more. Despite all that though, all those failures, Kakashi had believed in the reassurance of Lord Third. The old Sarutobi had repeatedly consoled Kakashi when he was on the verge of snapping and telling how in the end it would all work out.

Sarutobi had proven himself to a degree. He made sure that Kakashi was the head of Naruto's security detail when not absolutely required for out of village missions with his team. He had allowed him to leave gifts and help him whenever he could get away with it. It felt good too when Naruto had briefly mentioned in an idle conversation about one ANBU he liked above the rest who seemed to go the extra yard, while Sasuke and Sakura had been more interested in why Naruto seemed to have his own ANBU guard detail like Sasuke had at that age, Kakashi had basked in the warmth of knowing his small gifts had helped the boy he saw as his little brother.

The old Hokage had also ensured Naruto was placed on his team despite the elders argument that too many VIP's were placed together. Kakashi had hoped that he could finally truly bond with Naruto then, until Danzo personally met with him. What annoyed him the most was that in the end he had been persuaded by Danzo's argument. Sasuke was more of a flight risk, so therefore needed to be Kakashi's main focus. He was to make him love Konoha, shower the brat with as much support and training as possible. Who gave a damn if the little traitor-in-the-making had earned it, Kakashi was to teach him even his own signature jutsu to give him a leg up in the exams.

That reminded him of another of his worst moments. That betrayed and pained look in Naruto's bright blue eyes when he had asked for training for the upcoming exam finals and Kakashi had seemingly brushed him off to train Sasuke instead. That look as those sky blues darkened with surprisingly well hidden emotion was nearly enough for him to grab a charge of insubordination and refuse the council and Lord Third's orders. Afterward he immediately went to the Third and all but begged him to help him find a solution. Again the old monkey came through by telling him about Jiraiya's presence at the hot springs. All it took was slipping that moron Ebisu the suggestion of training water walking at the hot springs and he just let Naruto's weirdly chivalrous personality lead him into confronting Jiraiya for peeping on the women there. Kid did not like perverts it seemed.

In Kakashi's humble opinion Jiraiya deserved every bit of the beating he got from those women Naruto alerted. Kakashi might respect Jiraiya for some things, but he would never forget how he all but abandoned Naruto to go gallivanting around the elemental nations rather than watching over the boy. The memories of seeing a sad and lonely Naruto fighting back tears in a cold and lonely apartment, or having to jump in to save him from yet another beating from biggoted villagers had long burned the bridge of Kakashi ever liking Jiraiya as more than a strong shinobi and decent author. Though perhaps part of that anger stemmed from Kakashi himself having no legal right to step in as Naruto's guardian.

If he had been less of a fool as a child and not refused Minato-sensei's offer of adoption out of pride, he would have legally been Naruto's older brother and could have actually stepped in.

Now though. It was far too late to make up for those old failures. The last moments of seeing Naruto would forever be carved into his mind's eye thanks to the Sharingan. He could see him as if he was still in front of him. The pale, bloody, and limp body that was Naruto Uzumaki, his student and charge, his brother in all but blood being lifted up by a masked stranger dressed clearly as a member of the Akatsuki.

It was obvious there had been a previous fight when Kakashi arrived to the Valley of the End. Kakashi had known things would be grim the moment he left Konoha after his two subordinates and the other Konoha shinobi. Sasuke had defected and Naruto along with several of his peers had been in pursuit. Kakashi made contact with the various young shinobi one by one. It was obvious the fight had been a running battle. For each one of the enemy defeated one of the young Konoha shinobi had been forced to remain behind, unable to catch up due to injuries. Two of them had been in critical condition when retrieved by medical-nin and another two would be in the hospital for a while still. The least injured was Shikamaru Nara the team leader with a simple broken finger, despite that he still had extreme chakra exhaustion and without proper supplements would have also died. With him being the least wounded of the team, it hadn't looked bright for the squad.

Upon arrival at the last battlefield, the one between Naruto and his formerly closest friend and comrade turned traitor, Kakashi had briefly frozen up. He hadn't been afraid, at least not for himself, however the amount of chakra expended in the area and the sheer darkness of it set the hairs on the back of his neck on end in worry for what had happened to his students. When he actually saw Naruto he had immediately set into action. Using a sealing scroll he had unsealed a medical kit and moved to help the blond, noticing the slashed headband nearby that no doubt had belonged to Sasuke signifying his status as breaking his vows to the village.

Before he could even reach the boy however he was forced into leaping backward to bring up a kunai in defense as his opponent seemed to simply appear before him in a swirl of the air. He had never seen anything like it, however the robes the man wore immediately identified him as an enemy. As if Naruto hadn't gone through enough that day with Sasuke's betrayal and his attempted murder. Now the gang of criminals that had been hunting Kakashi's student for the beast sealed within him at birth had again come to collect their quarry.

The Jonin moved in less than an instant and was stabbing his drawn blade through the man's heart with a single quick strike. At least he would have been, except his arm seemed to pass right through his enemy's chest as if they weren't even there. The shock was enough for Kakashi to pulse his chakra to try and dispel any illusion he was under before realizing he wasn't under one.

Intangibility was a truly terrifying ability to possess.

Speeding up his attacks believing that perhaps he could strike his unknown enemy before he activated his ability each time Kakashi failed to land a single blow. Still faster and faster he attacked grunting and howling with determination while his opponent seemed to stare boredly at him, as if taunting him. It was infuriating, the Jonin hadn't been so angry and frustrated since he found out Orochimaru had attacked his team in the chunin exams and he couldn't help them. He knew that if he couldn't stop the man he would take Naruto and Jiraiya had told him of the Akatsuki, of their plans to rip the burden from each of the Jinchuuriki killing them in the process in the most agonizing way.

The Toad Sannin had told him of a couple of other Jinchuuriki that had suffered the same fate and the ritual was evidently nothing but pure pain for the victim and carried on for days on end. Lasting longer the more powerful the jinchuuriki's sealed beast was. Naruto carried the most powerful of all of them

He refused to let the man take him away.

Still the man in the swirling mask took the boy anyway.

All Kakashi had been able to do in the end was scream in frustration and rage. That and try an experimental Jutsu. He noticed the similarity between the man's teleporting ability and his own recently discovered Kamui rather easily. He had hoped that they would somehow cancel one another or destabilize the warp and force his enemy to remain and distract him long enough for Kakashi to grab Naruto and make a break for it. Instead it only seemed to propel the pair through the closing portal faster.

The veteran ninja kicked himself for that. He should have known better. How stupid to use an untested jutsu in battle. With such high stakes as well. The amount of times he had lectured his team on that very same point whispered in his head as he slowly made his way back to Konoha, not even bothering to search for Sasuke further.

Now, a week since the incident at the Valley of the End and for the first time since his father's suicide when he was five, Kakashi entered his father's office and stared at the same blade the elder Hatake had used to take his own life. The last week had taken its toll on Kakashi. He was drunk and on the verge of losing it. His final student, with Naruto missing and Sasuke considered dead to him, Sakura was the only thing keeping him from the brink. The girl had once been a total brat, even more than Naruto could be. Still she had grown over the last several months on team seven and towards the end had been the one to comfort the boys when they were suffering from something. Especially Naruto. The two had initially had a poor relationship. Naruto had a crush on the girl and she had considered his interest annoying at best. By the time Sasuke had turned on the village though the pair had been like siblings.

He had seen it when he told her about what happened to Naruto and Sasuke. He half expected her to fly to the defense of her precious Sasuke-kun who she had pined after for as long as he could remember. Instead she wept for the boy who had become her closest friend over the last year. He had been forced to comfort her as she spewed her guilt at not treating Naruto as kindly as she should have. More surprising had been her sudden distaste for all things Uchiha let alone Sasuke. Sure there was still a conflicted emotion there. She had truly loved the boy, above even herself, despite how unhealthy her infatuation was. In the end though she knew that it was Naruto who had gone from being the deadlast loudmouth she once knew to arguably her best friend. On their missions together it had been Naruto after all, not Sasuke that comforted her when she made her first kill. It had been Naruto that had insisted on the burying of even their fallen enemies when possible much to her approval. It had been Naruto she watched win the hearts and minds of people from Snow Country to the Land of Waves.

Kakashi's first lesson to team seven had been simple. Those who abandoned the mission were trash, those who abandoned their comrades were worse than that. Sasuke was thus lower than trash, and because of him Naruto looked to be dead. If that was the case Sakura had confided in Kakashi that she didn't know if she could forgive him, and Kakashi had quickly learned the rest of their comrades, especially the other boys from the failed Uchiha Retrieval Mission shared that sentiment. Albeit to a much more vengeful and violent degree. It seemed Naruto had earned some truly loyal comrades without even realizing it.

So now several shinobi most notably the silver and pink haired teammates of Naruto were anguished wondering if the boy had truly perished and if not was he at least safe. They had no idea how much better his life seemed to be getting.


Naruto

He always hated this place.

His own mind. Was it okay to hate your own mind? Maybe that was unhealthy, Tsunade would know, Sakura might know as well, Ino would probably be the best person to ask being as her clan dealt with mind based Jutsu so often. Either way healthy or not he hated the mindscape he found himself in. He had learned at some point, he wasn't sure from where, probably from Ino actually, just listening to her talk, that a person's mindscape was influenced by their life. It was how they saw their world without being hidden behind the lies they tell themselves and others.

In that train of thought it seemed fitting that once in his mindscape he found himself within a world drowned in dark, dank, ankle deep water with aged and cracked black and grey walls made to look like some sort of sewer or desolate labyrinth. He didn't really understand why there were so many paths, he only ever followed the one path. The one that led him to his prisoner. The great and terrible Kyuubi Kitsune. The fearsome nine-tailed fox demon that had made his life a living hell for most of its short length.

"About time runt, I have desired to speak with you for a while now. Your continued resistance to meet with me, while unconscious annoys me." The growling voice reverberated through the hall.

"I was unconscious. Why would I want to visit you anyway Fox?" Naruto growled back, surprisingly unafraid of the towering beast before him.

"Tch, as bold and annoying as always. Just like your mother." The demon said, with a devious smirk hidden behind his feral looks as he began his manipulation of the boy. Honestly the fools of the runt's village had made the path easy for him by hiding not only the identity of his parents but his status as a container, and his true status as a clan heir from him. He would be using all of that to his own advantage.

"Oh just shut-up you stupi...Mother? What the hell do you mean mother?! How do you know my mother?!" Naruto was pressed to the bars, not afraid of the massive claws that his tenant could gleefully use to rip him apart with.

It was an expected reaction. Naruto had been alone for his entire life. The closest thing he had to a mother was the fifth Hokage Tsunade Senju, and he had only known her a few short months, most of which he had spent on missions or training. The Kyuubi knew precisely what he was doing by dropping that he knew his mother into the conversation.

Now that he had done it the kitsune was actually a little ashamed of it. Not trying to Manipulate Naruto of course, that was a given, it was the fact that it was too easy. Perhaps if the boy's instructors at the academy hadn't purposefully undercut him, or that horrid hag of a matron at the orphanage hadn't simply beaten him every time he tried to play with the other children his age, Naruto might have caught on to his manipulation. However thanks to his severely hampered social understanding the fact of the situation soared over the desperate blond's head just like it had when Mizuki had manipulated him roughly a year prior.

Kyuubi was even a little put off with the display. He knew the topic would set his jailor off. However to react in such a strong manner sent a shockwave through the mindscape that unintentionally activated the siphoning of portion of chakra as the boy unknowingly drew on it. In that brief instant he felt all of Naruto's emotions centered on the matter, the pure heart wrenching desperation was enough to briefly surprise even one such as the Kyuubi. More than that though it alarmed him to the possibilities of what could happen to him and proven what he had thought was occurring to his prison's body.

The seal the brat's father had placed on him had been made to facilitate the kyuubi's chakra overflowing into the boy whenever he needed it, but this was different. It had been ripped away from the kitsune forcefully. Violently even. Never before had something like that happened except when the damned Uzumaki had used their chains on him to subdue him or that bastard first Hokage had utilized his Kekkei Genkai to do the same. In the past he had pushed his Chakra out to influence his vessel and weaken the seal but now it was as if the seal had come for him.

In truth not even Kushina and Mito's seals had been able to do that. Only when in battle with the red haired witches and bound with their chains had that happened. Once sealed within them using his chakra had been difficult for them, and even when able had negatively affected their bodies. Kushina had looked as though she had been dunked in boiling water after using his potent chakra. That just further solidified his thoughts on the changes that had happened when they entered this place.

"Boy focus, I will tell you of her in time, even though I despise her memory, I'm not such a monster as you think I am. For now you need to learn about what happened since that accursed Uchiha caused you to fall unconscious after that final blow to your chest." Naruto seemed to calm down at the growling tone of the nine-tailed beast.

"Fine, but I'm going to hold you to that Kyuubi." Again the Kyuubi was a little surprised by the actions of his jailor. Usually it wouldn't be till the next time that they met that he would be able to discuss what he wanted. Kushina had been the same way. At least Mito had some proper respect for him.

"Do not make demands of me runt. Now shut your disgusting human mouth and listen." He inwardly smirked as Naruto seethed below him. It gave him extra amusement to know how important his precious smile was to his jailor. He worried over his dental hygiene like a woman worried over their hair. Though the fox begrudgingly admitted that the dazzling smile the boy had seemed worth it.

"You have been unconscious for a week, what's worse is many things have changed around us in your time asleep. The first is that you very nearly died. Don't hurry and thank me or anything. The Uchiha has tried to kill you, as I always knew he eventually would, what do you take from that whelp?" Kyuubi studied Naruto as he watched emotions run through the boy's bright blue eyes. Just like his father and mother he could hide his emotions with his mask of a happy idiot, perhaps even better than his parents could, but his eyes always told his secrets. They always told the truth of what he was actually feeling.

"Be grateful brat, had you not deflected the chidori strikes meant for your heart, and had I not chosen to heal you, you would have long since died. Had that red eyed brat hit what he was he was aiming for, not even I or that blonde bimbo you call a Hokage could have saved you in time." The boy snarled up at Kyuubi for the insult toward Tsunade but largely managed to keep his calm.

"Sadly for you when that scarecrow you call sensei came to get you another arrived as well. A member of the Akatsuki I presume." Kyuubi knew full well who it was. Well that is to say he had encountered him before when he had ripped him from Kushina's seal and took control of his mind to set him on Konoha. A man masquerading as Madara Uchiha. While the two were in fact similar, Madara's chakra was far darker and more vile than the man who had kidnapped Naruto.

"Kyuubi where are we? Are we at the Akatsuki base? Are they about to kill us? What's going on? We have to wake up now! We have to escape! We can't stay here!" Kyuubi rolled his eyes as Naruto began pacing while motioning frantically with his hands in front of his cage.

"Shut-up runt and sit down! You're insufferable!" He roared, shaking the bars of his cage as he did.

"No! You shut-up! How are you not worried right now? The Akatsuki are hunting me because of you y'know! This is your fault!" Naruto roared back, again somewhat surprising the massive fox with his tenacity. Surprise quickly turned to rage after that.

"My fault? You thankless little ant! I keep you alive and this is your thanks to me?!" Kyuubi slammed his hands into the bars separating the two and roared at his container.

"Shut-up! You and I both know you only heal me because you don't want to risk dying because of the seal put on me. Pervy sage told me all about it, he told me how this seal was different and that normally when a tailed beast dies they reform in a few years, but that my seal was crafted by the fourth Hokage with help from the God of Death himself at the cost of his own soul and that if I die I might just drag you along with me. The fact that you are suddenly so mortal terrifies you! So stop with the kind act we both know you are anything but!" Naruto screamed back. Yet again Kyuubi was a little shocked by the boy, though this time it was more due to the well thought out rebuttal that the boy had.

He had always known Naruto was more intelligent than he let be known. Always playing the fool to better hide behind his mask and protect himself from abuse. It hurt him to be ridiculed constantly but it hurt a lot less than beatings for being seen as the demon regaining its strength. Still though the boy was a primarily foolish child. There was little of the world he truly knew of, especially when it came to things his own village hid from him. It seemed perhaps this chain of events was forcing the boy to mature slightly and come out of his self imposed shell. He was still too emotional because of the situation though. Trying to come to terms with his best friend attempting to murder him, stabbing him in the back metaphoracally and in the chest literally. The fact that Kyuubi somehow knew his mother, that he nearly died, and that he was taken by the Akatsuki. Perhaps a different approach would yield better results for their current conversation and get things back on track.

"Kit you need to calm down and listen to me." He growled out more softly than ever before. Leaning down to peer at Naruto closely he pressed his face to the bars of his cage. The massive ruby orb Kyuubi had for an eye was as large as Naruto was tall.

The blond glared up at Kyuubi and for a brief moment the fox could nearly see his mother. He internally chuckled at the thought. He might have his father's blond hair and bright blue eyes, however his face, eye shape, and attitude was all Kushina Uzumaki, and as much as he hated being sealed away, he couldn't bring himself to hate his vessels, not fully. None but Mito had willingly had them sealed in them, and Kushina had even altered her seal to allow him to share in her senses when he wished, experiencing glimpses of the outside world again. That was something Minato had worked into the seal when he had crafted it all those years ago.

"What's with the new name?" Naruto asked, having calmed down enough to cross his arms and scowl at the giant tailed beast before him.

"For a fox a child is a kit." Kyuubi sighed. "That name is more fitting than ever before. I will come back to that later, for now though let me tell you this. We are no longer held prisoner by the Akatsuki, someone, or rather something has rescued us." Kyuubi explained, and Naruto let out a relieved sigh before slumping to the damp ground.

"However there are a few issues. We are not in Konoha, actually we are in a whole new dimension than before. Whenever the man who took us was fleeing, your teacher tried to capture him using some odd Jutsu, the two created some sort of distortion that caused us to wind up here. The people that saw a grown man in a suspicious mask carrying a severely injured child around by his throat immediately attacked him and sent him jumping back into our world leaving us behind. We are now stuck here, likely for good." Kyuubi watched the dread fill the boy's eyes and a small part of him, an infinitely tiny fraction of his being, felt sympathy for the child that had everything taken from him time and again at every point in his short life.

"That's not even all, so listen." The Kyuubi got his attention one more time. "This world's humans cannot use chakra, however another group of beings here can. For whatever reason, whether because of my chakra flowing into you to try and heal you, or simply because of our connection, you have been made to more closely resemble those beings. What I am saying is welcome to the Kitsune clan. You are now a nine tailed fox like me." Kyuubi nearly laughed when the boy's expression turned blank. He stood still as a statue trying to work through everything in his head.

'Well.' Kyuubi thought. 'That's his breaking point it seems. A few too many changes at once. I can't wait until he realizes the ones caring for him aren't human either and aren't chakra users either. This will be an enjoyable few days.'

"Get yourself together kit you are beginning to wake up. Be sure to thank these nice...people for saving your worthless life. If only they knew the headache they would get from doing that, maybe they would have let the Akatsuki keep you." Kyuubi faded into the darkness of his cell.

"You always have to have the last laugh don't you fox bastard!" Naruto grumbled as he snapped out of his funk.

"You are a fox bastard now too Kit!" The Kyuubi laughed from within the darkness of his cell. Actually laughed, well more of a chuckle but still Naruto had never heard him do anything but snarl, roar, and growl.

"Bastard."


Rias

The Crimson Haired Ruin Princess would be considered by most to be above watching over and caring for a boy that had more or less shown up on her family's doorstep out of thin air. In actuality though the Gremory clan were renowned for their kindness, compassion, and loving attitudes. That and something seemed to draw her to the younger teen. He was around Koneko's age maybe a little older or younger, though it was hard to tell he seemed muscular but thin and lean so telling what age he was at the start of puberty was impossible for her.

The last week had been rather stressful. The brief fight in her family garden between her brother, father, mother, and sister-in-law, and a strange masked man in a black and red cloak had seen the strange man that had been dragging the blond boy before her around sent packing back into whatever odd portal he used. Sirzechs had told her it was likely he had accidentally teleported into the garden while trying to take the boy with him. Her elder brother was usually right on these sorts of things. Whenever he dropped his facade of a care-free goofball and returned to the serious nature of the man who had earned his position as the de-facto leader of the four satans of the underworld. He really seemed to possess an inquisitive mind the likes of which were typically reserved for comic book characters and cheap mystery novels.

Rias still remembered seeing the horrible injuries the boy had when the masked man dropped him on the ground. Gaping holes in his chest and shoulder, a myriad of darkening bruises, broken bones, and smaller cuts and gashes. He looked like he had been tortured. She was nearly sick seeing the damage done to him. Grayfia had acted quickly and raced off with him to care for his wounds. She had later told Rias that he seemed to possess a powerful healing factor and would have possibly survived even without her help, though it would have taken much longer to recover. That was impressive in its own right. Rias had never seen someone recover from such injuries without magic or the bloodline of the Phenex clan. Still though when Grayfia, Sirzechs, and her parents had briefly glanced into his memories to try and figure out where he belonged they all seemed to become extremely uncomfortable. Sirzechs in particular seemed to be especially agitated and close to anger over something but she couldn't honestly tell what specifically.

They then told her about some of the things that they had learned. She could tell they were keeping things back, not really what it was but that there seemed to be much they kept back. At least Rias had learned his name. Naruto Uzumaki. They said he used chakra, which seemed obvious to her, he had nine tails and fox ears didn't he? It was obvious he was a kitsune yokai. However they wouldn't tell her much more than that. They also wouldn't let her be in the room alone with him. She either had to have her entire peerage with her or at least one of Sirzechs peerage or her parents with her when she was there.

At this moment her peerage was with her. They seemed almost as interested in the strange boy as she was. Koneko had shown more emotion in the last seven days than she had gotten out of her in the last five years. Perhaps that was expected though. Both were yokai after all, and both seemed to be hunted likely due to that fact. Rias knew the most coveted peerage members were those that held sacred gears or were young yokai. As much good as the peerage system did in replenishing the numbers of the devils, it still was a system that could be easily abused. She wouldn't be surprised if someone had attempted to kidnap and sell Naruto to a high class devil for a hefty sum. Naruto would likely gain a large amount too, nine-tailed kitsune were extremely rare, nearly as rare as the Nekoshuo like Koneko.

That thought briefly sparked anger within her. Koneko had become much like a little sister figure in her mind since they met, and the thought about Koneko going through that enraged her. Thankfully while a passionate person, she wasn't a slave to her emotions.

Turning her thoughts forcibly to better things she couldn't help but chuckle at the sleeping duo before her. Koneko had mentioned Naruto's chakra was very warm and protective and had simply crawled up close to him before contentedly dozing off beside him like they were lifetime friends. The girl had even relaxed to the point to reveal her cat-like yokai features as she slept. Rias had to fight the urge to squeal in delight at the cute scene of the two small yokai sleeping side by side. She didn't want to wake them up.

It didn't help that Akeno had found the pair purred in their sleep when you pet their ears. Rias had to bite her knuckle to keep herself from waking the pair up, her girlish squeal of joy replaced with small quiet squeaks as she looked out how adorable they were. Even Kiba chuckled at the scene.

Today the four of them had gathered together. Rias had been talking to each of them. She told them she intended to make Naruto a member of her peerage like they were. Koneko immediately agreed, she said his chakra was warm but didn't elaborate as to what that actually meant. Kiba and Akeno were a little more on the fence. Kiba felt that perhaps it would be better to get to know the boy first. The adults had seemed a little distraught over something when looking through his memories, and had them only interact with the sleeping yokai when an adult was nearby or they were all together. Despite Rias' mother Venelena saying everything was fine, the precautions being taken still sent up red flags for the young knight. Akeno had largely been won over by Rias and Koneko. Not to mention the adorable image of the rook interacting with the boy made her want to squeal nearly as much as Rias. Still, as Rias' queen and right hand of her peerage, she had to think of the safety of Rias first and foremost. If Naruto turned out to be a threat she would fry him with her lightning without thinking twice about it.

So the scene that the blond fox yokai awoke to was not what he expected. Sure Kyuubi had said that people had been caring for him, however he expected to wake up in some kind of hospital room, not and ornate bedroom with an exceptionally cute girl with cat ears on his left side, a beautiful crimson haired girl sitting beside the bed, and an equally beautiful ravenette sitting at a small table along the wall playing a board game with a very handsome blond boy.

What the hell?

These people were abnormally attractive, where the hell was he exactly that the people looked like they were about to start a modelling career. Ignoring that thought, Naruto kept his breathing even and watched them for a few moments. The white haired girl beside him was asleep, why she was in bed with him confused him. The redhead seemed to be staring at them as well, it was a bit creepy. Maybe she was guarding them? The other two repeatedly glanced their way but focused on their game.

Trying to think of what to do he nearly turned his head when the door suddenly opened and a pair of redheaded men and two women one a brunette and the other looking as though she could be Kakashi's much more attractive sister. Seriously these people all looked like they were inhuman with their flawless appearances. What the hell was going on?

"You can stop pretending now Naruto-kun." The younger of the two redheaded men said calmly while smiling at him. That caused a bit of a surprise to pass through the younger group. The white haired girl also woke up with the man's voice.

"What do you mean Onii-sama?" Rias asked Sirzechs as he told Naruto to stop pretending to sleep. Surely she would have noticed, Sirzechs and the others weren't even in the same room.

"I placed a seal on him that would alert us when he woke up." Sirzechs said answering both Rias's asked and unasked question. "The moment he regained consciousness we came to meet with him."

He smiled kindly at the blond boy who now was sitting up and staring wide eyes at the man. At least until his eyes narrowed at the mention of him putting a seal on him somewhere. His hand shot to where they had seen that curious pouch earlier, and again his eyes widened before he sprung from the bed and to the far wall, stumbling slightly when he landed. It seemed he had still yet to fully recover.

Rias was about to approach him and try and calm him down when she saw him bite his thumb and drag it across his inner arm before snatching the Kunai that appeared in a small poof of smoke. With that his eyes hardened from bright blue pools to chilling icy daggers that flicked back and forth across the room assessing the danger.

"It's alright Naruto-kun, you don't need to be afraid we are the ones who have been caring for you." Venelena said, trying her best to show him they meant no harm.

"Who are you and how do you know my name? No, first where is the seal you placed on me?" Naruto growled out quietly.

"Just calm down Naruto and we can explain." Sirzechs tried but Naruto simply glared at him.

"Explain and I can calm down, now where is it?" He fired back causing Sirzechs to chuckle slightly at the boy throwing his words back like that while tapping the back of his neck. Shocking the room a second Naruto appeared in a poof of smoke and moved behind the first before a faint glow appeared on the first neck and the second disappeared once again.

"Now answer my questions." Naruto said, quietly the growl gone but his defensive stance remaining. It struck some of them as odd to see a twelve year old acting like a paranoid warrior but the elder generation quickly overcame that and Sirzechs took a tentative step forward.

"Alright, where to start." Sirzechs asked himself mostly. By now Rias had gathered her peerage and pulled back behind her parents and Grayfia.

"My name, why do you know my name, why can I only sense chakra from the girl with white hair?" His eyes widened a bit with his second question, as it seemed that was mostly a question for himself than the group before him.

"Naruto-kun when Grayfia here healed you, we decided to try and figure out what had happened to cause you such terrible injuries. We looked at some of your memories." Naruto's eyes shot wide in fear at that. If they looked at his memories then they knew everything, the truth about his tenant, his innermost thoughts, everything. He suddenly felt at more of a disadvantage than when he fought Gaara.

His eyes seemed unfocused for a moment as if his mind was briefly somewhere else before he refocused and suddenly resealed the knife. That perked Sirzechs interest as to what had just changed so suddenly, for the moment though he was just glad the ice chips the boy sported for eyes had softened back into their deep calm blues. The group watched as if with a mind of their own his tails stopped twitching in agitation and seemed to wrap protectively around Naruto's thin small frame. It looked almost as if he was trying to comfort himself, though the brief flicker of surprise in his eyes at the sight of the tails amused the reigning Lucifer.

"I-I'm sorry, I overreacted. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I don't have much but if I can I will repay you however I can." A brief glint ran through Sirzechs' eyes as he glanced toward his sister and her peerage near the door of the room.

"I'm sure we will think of something Naruto-kun. In the meantime perhaps you would like a little bit of an explanation and introduction?" It was rhetorical but still Naruto nodded and smiled faintly as he offered him a chair.

"I'll start, I am Sirzechs Lucifer, formerly Gremory, this is my wife Grayfia Lucifuge, she is also the queen of my peerage. I know that term confuses you but I will explain it in a moment. This is my father Zeoticus Gremory patriarch of the Gremory clan, and my mother Venelena Gremory formerly of the Bael clan. As you can probably guess she is the matriarch of the Gremory." Sirzechs explained gesturing to each one as he introduced them, each of them greeted Naruto with a faint smile and head nod.

"Now, this here is my younger sister Rias Gremory," It would have been impossible to mistake which girl was Sirzechs' sister as Rias looked much like a younger female version of him. "The heiress to our family and clan, and this is her peerage. Her queen Akeno Himejima," He gestured toward the overly developed ravenette with purple eyes. "Her knight, Kiba Yuuto," He nodded to the blond boy who bowed his head with a small friendly smile. "And last but not least Koneko Toujou her rook." He pointed to the white haired girl who somehow no longer sported the cute white cat ears on her head.

"Its very nice to meet you all. Uhm, so what now?" He couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable, as much as he desired it, Naruto had little real social interaction to draw on in this situation. His closest situation would be with team seven and that usually consisted of Sakura talking non-stop, Kakashi pointedly ignoring them, and Sasuke responding in primarily grunts and scowls.

"Actually, perhaps it is best if you ate something, no doubt you are starving. I'm sure my parents and Grayfia would be happy to guide you to the dining room. You wouldn't mind would you all?" Sirzechs asked the others. Grayfia immediately nodded and walked over to Naruto and began guiding him away with the elder Gremory generation following close behind.

"Onii-sama, did you want to talk with us about something? I think we would like to stay near him to watch over him till he finishes recovering." Rias said wanting to stay near the interesting blond.

Sirzechs looked at her and remained silent for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face. He tucked his hand into his pocket inside his suit jacket and withdrew a unique looking rook piece from an apparent peerage set. The piece was obviously a rook but it was also obviously a mutation piece, something that was rare and usually only a single piece per set became a mutation. This specific piece twisted upward from it's base causing the column like lines to twist around the piece. At the top of the piece where the battlements would be instead the piece sported pointed blade like protrusions like miniaturized Kunai in shape.

"Rias summon your remaining rook piece." Blinking for a moment Rias did as commanded and held up her ordinary rook piece for her brother.

"Rias, your birthday is coming up anyway, so as part of your gift I'm exchanging your rook for this one." He took her rook and exchanged the mutated piece for it. Instantly the two pieces changed colors as the new Rook took on her crimson red.

"This rook is obviously a mutation piece Rias. It is arguably one of the most potent pieces I have seen come off the line. Ajuka told me that due to it's status it was worth more than twice a rook's usual pawn count though even he is unsure of it's true value. He did mention however that should someone that theoretically had a larger reserve of power than it's bearer willfully agree to be reincarnated with it, that it could succeed in doing such a thing. This is a gift to you Rias, an important one, so whether you use it today, tomorrow, or never is really up to you." Sirzechs stressed today and tomorrow when he spoke to such a degree that Rias' eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance and Akeno had to stifle her giggles at the embarrassing scene. As if it wasn't already obvious what he was trying to convey to her. Kiba even let loose a sheepish chuckle at the awkward scene while Koneko's flat stare seemed to somehow become even flatter than she previously had.

"Thank-you Onii-sama, I'll try to find someone worthy of it. I had thought more along the lines of a Bishop in all honesty being as kitsune yokai are known to use large amounts of magically or chakra based abilities so why a Rook?" Rias initially began with a bland tone before switching to one of confusion over her brother's choice in piece.

"Ah, well you will undoubtedly find that while our new friend has plenty of powerful abilities in regards to his chakra, he will undoubtedly fit best in the role of a rook. Trust me." He said with a mischievous grin at dangling information about her prospective peerage member before her. This of course caused her eyebrow to once again begin to twitch in annoyance.

"Very well, I'm sure you know best." She said through clenched teeth. She might be a very compassionate girl, but part of compassion was passion and Rias was still a practical princess who did not like being denied learning things about something that captured her interest.

"Excellent!" The Crimson Satan chirped. "Now let's go join our guest in the dining room. What do you say?" His mood had dropped all seriousness and returned to the usually overly happy manner Rias was used to when she had to deal with her brother.


Naruto

Naruto had come to one very important conclusion that would either help or hinder his new future in this world. The food was delicious, which was a damn good thing considering Kyuubi had reminded him once again that the chances of his ever getting back home were between not a chance and not a chance in hell. Shaking that thought from his head, Naruto returned his focus on the delicious food. Sure it was a fact that besides Ichiraku Naruto rarely got decent hot meals. Though Tsunami back in wave country had made delicious food as well. He had never had something like this though. It was a regular feast! Foods he couldn't even imagine, dishes he couldn't get enough of. So shoving everything in his mind to the side for now Naruto continued to dive in. It took several minutes before he realized he was being stared at.

Upon that realization he came to an abrupt stop and turned to look at the three that had led him into the room and gaggle of servants behind them all blinking owlishly at what they had just witnessed. A boy his size putting away as much food as he had would have shocked anyone. What was more surprising though was the speed at which he had done that. Still, while his manners definitely needed work, he didn't make a mess. Didn't spill a drop. Cleaned each plate he had like it was his last. Having watched the way he ate, like he would never see food again, sent the motherly instinct of both Grayfia and Venelena into overdrive as they recalled some of the memories they had seen from his childhood.

"Erm, Naruto-kun is it all to your liking?" Venelena asked trying to break the staring contest between their group and the boy. Naruto swallowed the mouthful of chicken he had and wiped his mouth roughly with a napkin. His bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle with joy the whole time.

"It's delicious! Some of these things I've never even seen before, and it's all so delicious and I've never been able to eat so much good food! Thank you Venelena-sama!" He blushed toward the end as he noticed the large stack of empty plates he had cleaned himself.

"I'm very glad you like it. Please eat till you are all full okay?" If it was possible the bright smile and sparkling eyes he had flashed her way earlier doubled in intensity as he dove back in for more.

With Naruto back to focusing on his meal it was no real surprise that when Sirzechs, Rias, and her peerage entered he missed them entirely. The new entries to the dining room came to a standstill in shock at the sight of the boy inhaling food on their arrival. So most of the dinner went on without much said. Zeoticus nearly began to try and teach Naruto some better meal time etiquette before the sudden stomp on his foot by his wife told him to wait until another time. Venelena couldn't help but remember the innumerable nights she had seen in Naruto's memory where he had been forced to go to sleep with an aching stomach still hungry from barely eating enough food to survive. It was expected that he would eat like it was his last meal. Perhaps subconsciously he thought it was.

Eventually the awkward meal came to a close, not that Naruto himself had actually noticed the awkwardness so embedded in his feast that he failed to pay attention to anything else. Now once again drowsy, Rias and most of the other female devils couldn't help but swoon slightly at the adorable sight of the tired little kitsune fighting to stay awake. The boy was nearly falling from his chair as he began to nod off.

"Naruto-kun, I need you to wake up, we have some important things to discuss." Sirzechs said gently as he nudged the tired boy. Naruto rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and nodded to the devil when he was back to being fully aware.

Sirzechs smiled again before raising an eyebrow with a questioning look toward Rias. After getting a nod to his silent question he stepped back and allowed the girl to step forward.

"Naruto, I know you are probably confused a little bit with what's going on, but I thought that maybe you would like to join my family?" With that Naruto's attention narrowed to the redheaded girl before him. Fully awake in an instant.

"Your family?" He asked, more than a little confused by what she was actually asking him about. However a thousand thoughts ran through his mind in that instant and his voice came out too quiet for the majority of the room to even catch.

"Erm, yes, you see we are devils and devils have a way of making others devils by binding them to themselves with these pieces." Rias explained as she summoned the unique rook piece into her hand and held it up for him to see. "You would become a devil too, and technically be my servant but you would be a part of my peerage, like a part of my family. You would live a really long time, thousands of years roughly, and you could be with us. I would do everything I can to take care of you and make sure you are happy just like with Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko." Naruto was dumbstruck briefly by that. She was asking him to become one of them. To become a part of her family. Noone had ever said anything even remotely like that to him before. The closest was Konohamaru and his friends calling him big brother.

"You should take the offer kit. There is no telling what the villagers would do to you even if you could get back to Konoha for not bringing that damned Uchiha." Naruto flinched slightly at the words of Kyuubi that filled his head. He ran his hand through his blond hair with a sigh.

'But what if they are actually waiting for me back home Kyuubi, I mean Kakashi-sensei tried to stop me from being taken right?' Naruto responded to the fox in his mind. His small list of precious people from Konoha flitting through his head.

"Don't be a fool, the people of Konoha only see you as a weapon and I will not have a member of the Kitsune clan, even one as unworthy as yourself be used in such a way." The Beast growled out. That thought hurt Naruto, but honestly he couldn't refute it. After all, hadn't that been awfully close to what Hokage-jiji had told him when he asked what he wanted to be the first time.

'Someone like you Naruto, can never not be a shinobi of the village. I'm sorry but you simply must become one.' The old raspy voice rang out in his head and Naruto bit his lip before clenching his eyes closed and taking a breath to clear his thoughts.

"Alright. I don't really think I can go home anyway." He said. 'At least not without being treated even more like dirt than the first time.' He thought somberly.

Rias smiled brightly and practically dragged him out of the room and toward another to perform the ritual. Naruto barely managed to get his feet under him so that her dragging him wasn't in the literal sense. Once they were in the small sitting room she had chosen to use Rias made him lay back on one of the couches before she placed the rook piece over his chest.

Internally Kyuubi grinned broadly. With this his new kit would be well on his way to becoming a power to be proud of. That thought caused the grin to slide off his face as a frustrated scowl graced his appearance instead. The odd new paternal feeling he seemed to have grown in regard to his jailor when the boy underwent his changes confused, worried, and annoyed him. Most of all though it intrigued him. He had never felt this way before, even with how small the emotion seemed it was still vibrant and new and the fox was surprised by his own eagerness to further explore it. He had to wonder what exactly caused such a change. The easiest assumption had to do with the fact that the boy was now more closely tied to him than before. When Naruto had been in Kushina's womb, his chakra had influenced the boy just as his mother and father's had leading to those whisker marks on his cheeks developing. Now though he had golden tails and ears with the tips bleeding to red, a red that matched his own fur color precisely. It was almost as if their brief blending had made Naruto into his…

Shaking off that though he decided to focus on the even newer changes occurring to his prison's body. The influx of power, small as it was compared to his own, caused the grin to return to his maw. The power was dark, though not evil, and like when they were brought to this world, Naruto's body changed slightly. He seemed to gain a second chakra network, except it didn't carry chakra and acted more like a simple reservoir of energy. He also seemed to now have wings. That was curious. The Kyuubi wondered idly what it would be like to fly, even if he would be experiencing it from inside his prison.

Noticing the changes seemed to be finishing, Kyuubi lay his head back down and drifted off to sleep. Things had gotten better and more interesting for his container than ever before. Perhaps it was time for a new start with the boy. Then again it was rather fun for the fox to rile the brat up and terrify him of his power by giving him nightmares of him losing control.

Really only time would eventually tell whether or not the boy would end up worth putting effort into guiding. If he was, the fox smirked at the possibilities in this new world. As they said the sky was the limit and now they could even fly so honestly the sky had already fallen to the wayside.


Tsunade

The picture on Tsunade's desk always seemed to follow her with its eyes. Drunk or sober the boy seemed to look at only her. That was enough to usually make her scoff and go about her business, but in her weaker moments Tsunade couldn't help but lock gazes with the little blond she had returned to Konoha for. No matter what some villagers believed or what even she had convinced herself of, the only reason she came back to this damned village had been him. Now three years later, she sat here staring at a photo of him that was already outdated when he went missing. It was frustrating that the only pictures that seemed to exist of him were either his registration photo, team picture, or the small handful of him enjoying time with the third Hokage.

'I wonder what he looks like now. Probably like a copy of Minato at that age.' She thought with a somber chuckle.

For the last three years Tsunade had put any and all effort she could spare into searching for Naruto. She had even gone so far as to announce his true heritage a year into the search to try and bolster the efforts of her shinobi looking for him. Though she still couldn't tell if she was disgusted or happy that that had actually worked for a time. The fervor they used to look for him after that was more akin to a pack of wolves hunting prey, nothing stood in their way. Still they had no clue where he was.

The only relatively good news for the situation was the fact that Naruto was most assuredly not dead. He remained unfaded on the toad summoner's contract meaning only that he was in fact still alive. Further backing that up was Jiraiya's inside man with the Akatsuki relaying the knowledge that some newer member of the group, a previously unknown member named Tobi had led the attempted capture and Kakashi's Kamui attack had somehow disrupted his teleport. When Tobi had arrived at the Akatsuki headquarters in Rain country he had been badly injured but the report said the injuries looked more from combat than from a failed jutsu.

That meant perhaps Naruto had been rescued by someone. Or had simply been captured by someone else. Either way he was indeed alive somewhere. The trick was just finding where. Reverse summoning him hadn't worked, and that meant either some sort of barrier was preventing them or he was so far that the chakra cost was simply too much to accomplish the task. That seemed ridiculous though as the elder toads could summon to and from practically everywhere on the planet. They had played once with the idea of using Kakashi's Kamui to try and follow Naruto's path, however that was quickly scrapped when they discovered his Kamui appeared to be a one way ticket at its current state. Until he mastered the ability no one would be using Kakashi's Kamui for anything and sadly that path was hitting a roadblock.

She was thankfully pulled from her thoughts on the boy by a soft knock on her door before the door was shoved open and Shizune stumbled in with the three irate elders following in behind her. Regaining her balance Shizune made her way around the desk to stand by Tsunade's side while straightening her disheveled clothing from the surprisingly rough old woman.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, they...refused to wait for me to notify you of their arrival." Shizune said with a glare toward the trio while being completely ignored.

"It's fine Shizune. What can I do for you honored elders today?" Tsunade asked with a sarcastic tone. Honestly the elders weren't horrible, well Danzo was pretty horrible, but Homura and Koharu were simply prone to over assert their opinions when Tsunade was making decisions. All three were well and truly loyal to the village, the only issue between herself and them was the conflicting definition of the village.

For Koharu and Homura, it was not too far departed from her own mentality. However they were simply too jaded in their old age. Too willing to sacrifice the one for the many. That wasn't to say they were heartless, again simply too jaded. They should have been retired a decade ago but their input was still needed from time to time as annoying as they could be.

Tsunade was a jaded individual herself. Naruto and Jiraiya had dragged her to the position of Hokage practically kicking and screaming. She still held on to her grandfather and granduncle's ideals of treating the village like a family. Her sensei had been Hiruzen Sarutobi after all and the man had reigned for so long as Hokage and kept to the ideal of the village as family for so long that entire generations had grown to adulthood seeing him as their own grandfather. In her own team's case he had practically replaced their fathers as well.

Danzo lastly was the paramount patriot. To him Konoha was an unassailable ideal, one which had to be protected by any means necessary no matter the sacrifices. Sadly his way of thinking had a major flaw in that he was more than willing to sacrifice everyone in the village to 'protect' the idea of the village over the people that composed it. His work with his ROOT program, taking children and turning them into emotionless drones or more fitting broken minds capable of performing any action if ordered to by him or the hokage. His foundation was supposed to be disbanded but everyone in the room knew that was not the case.

It was that reason why the three splits in ideology argued so often and so fervently. Thankfully only Tsunade had final say in matters concerning the village, and while she took her advisors' words into account she still did what she herself felt was best for the village as her role dictated.

"Tsunade, we have still yet to receive your decision regarding our proposed plan of action." Koharu said with a tired sigh knowing she was poking a bear. Tsunade's sudden flash of rage in her eyes confirmed that.

"Oh? Which proposed plan would that be elder Utatane?" Tsunade asked with a decent amount of heat in her voice.

"Come Tsunade, surely you grow tired of this game of back and forth. You know as well as we do that with Naruto Uzumaki's passing-" Homura said only to come up short at the sudden spike of killing intent.

"Don't let your emotions control you. You are a Hokage not a bratty little girl act like it." Danzo sneered almost completely unaffected by the overwhelming presence of the blonde woman nearby. After a few brief moments Tsuande's killing intent withdrew though her glare remained.

Homura sighed both in relief and annoyance. "Tsunade, do you think we take pleasure in this situation? While I cannot say any of us were close to the boy we did care for him. I remember when he was small and he would sit in Hiruzen's office to pass some of the time and Koharu and I would be answering all sorts of questions about what it was like being a shinobi."

Koharu smiled faintly. It was true, neither her or Homura had been particularly close to the boy like Hiruzen had, however they had cared. It was hard not to, if he hadn't been burdened as a Jinchuuriki and his family had survived she would have felt the need to pressure the boy's family into placing him into a different path for life. Shinobi were at the core mercenary killers and the thought of one such as Naruto doing that filled even her old heart with a bit of dread. Still Naruto was son of the most prolific shinobi and kunoichi in modern Konoha history, and heir to one of the greatest shinobi clans to have graced their world. On top of that he was a Jinchuuriki, in reality there was never going to be a choice in the matter Jinchuuriki or not he would have had to become a shinobi and rebuild his clan as was expected of one in his position.

"It doesn't matter now, what has happened has happened and as tragic a loss as it is we must move on. It has been three years, and Konoha has taken too many hits to it's image of superiority over the years. First the kyuubi attack, then Orochimaru's invasion and Hiruzen's death, then the loss of not only the last Uchiha clan heir, but the village jinchuuriki and heir to the Yellow Flash and Red Death. We cannot afford these kind of impacts against us. The weaker we seem the less missions we will pull and our economy will stagnate. It's imperative we reclaim our prestige." Danzo spoke with his usual monotone.

"What you three are suggesting could easily lead us into war. You know that correct? One we might not win if we are seen as the aggressors. As it stands our only allies are Suna, Kusa, and Taki and your plan would turn Taki against us." Tsunade commented.

"Perhaps, but we must try, besides from the way it sounds only the elders and village leader in Taki would defy us. The villagers treat their guardian worse than Konoha treated Naruto when he was here. It's to the point they have her living in a shack outside of their village's protection. From the sounds of it the young Head Jonin of Taki would see our side of things if we simply press the point that it would be better for her to live here in Konoha. He is the girl's elder brother after all, half siblings though they may be it seems they are close to one another." Koharu replied.

That got Tsunade to more begrudgingly support the idea. It would still be difficult to bargain with the leader of Taki, she knew that, but perhaps they were right. Pushing the point of giving the girl in question a better life in Konoha, where at least the illusion of obscurity would shield her from the ostracization and abuses of the public unlike in her home seemed to be a better option. A myriad of conflicting thoughts and emotions ran through her mind at the concept before slowly she turned her attention back to the elders before her.

"If we do this then the girl's burden must stay under wraps. I won't have them do to her what they did to Naruto, especially if our whole selling point is to save her from that treatment there." She relented with a sigh.

Nodding the three elders turned and left, leaving Tsunade with Shizune and the hidden ANBU as the only people remaining in the room. Turning to her apprentice Tsunade was on the verge of tears but nibbled at her lip looking at the girl she considered something between a younger sister and daughter.

"Perhaps they are right, Lady Tsunade. We can't find him and don't have any way to reach him if the worst case scenario is true. It may be time to move on." Shizune said, biting back her own faint sob at the thought of never seeing the little blond boy again.

"Perhaps." Tsuande said almost in a whisper. "Shizune, and you four, leave me, if I need you I will signal." The group all left, Shizune calmly walking out and the ANBU simply disappearing in a flicker of movement.

So Tsunade was left looking at the outdated photo of Naruto as she often was.


Kuoh

Kuoh academy was regarded as one of the premier educational institutions in Japan. It was a unique academy, playing host to grades from elementary to university ages. It's high standards and success rate of it's alumni had led the academy to become one of the most well respected schools not only in Japan but the world, and so it was from around the world that it's student body came.

That sort of image bred a slight feeling of arrogance or atleast a consciousness of the importance of image. So it was little surprise to most when the student body took that idea of one's image a step further and applied it to each other. In Kuoh academy appearance was imperative and those that stood out the most were even given epithets to reflect such a thing.

There were those on both ends of the spectrum of course. Thankfully the majority of those with the nicknames were well liked and respected. Arguably the highest on this totem pole was the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh. Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. Both girls and boys adored them. Both boys and girls lusted after them. None ever approached them though, except for their own clique of other well standing students. Kiba Yuuto the Prince of Kuoh was just as unapproachable as the two great ladies, though the majority of boys despised him largely out of jealousy while he was universally adored by his female schoolmates. Then there was of course the youngest two of the group. Considered the mascots for Kuoh academy. Koneko Toujou for the girls and Naruto Uzumaki for the boys. Though Naruto had gained his own separate personal nicknames beyond that of school mascot. Most were a bit too on the nose for his liking though and so Naruto 'punished' those that gave him his nicknames rather regularly.

His distaste for those nicknames was something his elders in the peerage loved to tease him with. Akeno especially. Despite his embarrassment at the teasing, it had brought them closer. In fact over the last three years Naruto's new family had become very tightly knit. While the Gremory Clan had largely welcomed Naruto and considered him close since his arrival, by now he was truly regarded as family. While they had once considered him with pity for his circumstance, they now saw him as a boy who had worked hard to give as much help to the Gremory family, and Rias' peerage especially, as he got in return. There was no denying the changes he had brought to the close knit group. Whether it was bringing Koneko out of her shell if even only to a degree. Sparring with Kiba to strengthen them both and work out some of their pent up rage at their pasts. Comforting Akeno about her past once they had confided in each other. Even just keeping Rias' mind off her looming betrothal to a certain Phoenix. He always went above and beyond for his new family.

That being said, for as much as Naruto had become a true gentleman worthy of bearing the mark of the Gremory Clan, he had a few glaring issues that placed undue stress on his King. That was of course his prankster nature. Especially when used for 'punishing' anyone he felt deserved it at Kuoh. At first it hadn't been so bad. A few jokes and the like here and there around the Gremory estate. She had even had a few laughs at her brother's expense thanks to Naruto. It was when he entered highschool though, and he met a certain trio it seemed to kick his need for pranks into overdrive.

Much like there were those with monikers at the top of the social food chain at Kuoh, there were those at the bottom as well. Specifically four of them, the Perverted Trio and their female counterpart the Perverted Witch. These four students somehow made it onto Naruto's 'list' without even needing to encounter one another. What Rias and the others didn't know was that Naruto had maybe been diverting some of his frustration at his absentee godfather from his childhood into the most similar individuals he had encountered. That and, whether the boy could understand the emotions behind it or not, he definitely disliked the way they looked at his friends in the peerage, and their sister peerage under Sona Sitri.

It was this pranking tendency of the young blond toward his perverse upper-classmen that had led Rias to her daily annoyance, forwarded to her via her old friend Sona. More paperwork. She really needed to curb the boy's creativity with some of these things. The bill for fixing the east wing's first floor bathrooms was far closer to the price of a brand new luxury car than could be reasonably explained. Then again seeing the three screaming perverts following the prank had been worth it. Almost anyway.

"Oh, hell he's corrupting me." Rias sighed out with an exasperated smile.

"Corrupting you, you say? Why Rias, you wouldn't happen to be having naughty thoughts about your cute little servant now would you?" A nearby Akeno teased causing the red head to roll her eyes.

"I think I'll leave such debauchery to you Akeno. I will forever fear for my dear Naruto whenever you finally act on one of your horrifying fantasies. Well him, Kiba, Koneko, Gaspar, Sona, Sona's Peerage, and the majority of the school's population. You really should try and limit yourself a bit. The things you mumble in your sleep." Rias said with a false shiver at the end getting a giggle from her closest friend.

"My, my, you are really playful today Rias. What's on your mind?" The ravenette asked as she plopped down on the edge of the desk to more comfortably chat with Rias.

In response she just smiled before sliding a page over to Akeno. As the other girl read through the report Rias couldn't keep her smug grin off her face as she watched Akeno's eyes slowly grow wider. When she finally turned her purple eyes back to her king and friend she stammered briefly before Rias lost it and openly laughed at her friend's face.

"Yep both in one try! I knew that they could do it, it's so exciting!" Rias exclaimed with a smile.

"It's wonderful, now with Koneko and Kiba both mid-class like Naruto and I, the only one not promoted yet would be Gasper." Akeno said. She was a bit stunned with how easily the knight and rook had passed the exam, but she knew they would in fact pass from the start. It just showed how much the peerage's extra training was paying off lately.

Sadly the joyous mood Rias had from learning of two of her peerage being promoted to mid-class dampened slightly at the mention of her troublesome bishop. All of her peerage members came with a selection of issues that affected them. All of them had suffered some form of abuse as a child, and all of them had also been nearly murdered by those abusers, or in Gasper and Kiba's case, successfully murdered by them. Thankfully there remained a brief window of time following death that a devil could resurrect someone into their peerage. Some other High-class Devils had taken to calling her peerage a band of rejects and misfits which angered her more than her peerage for some reason.

Gasper's past specifically had led to issues that kept him terrified of the world, only truly trusting Koneko, which stung Rias's pride slightly, as she was the one who had rescued him. Not that that really mattered but it did nag at her a bit. What worsened the situation was that Rias for all intents and purposes had a bleeding heart. She couldn't bring herself to force Gasper out when he both feared everything, and feared himself in interacting with everything.

Closing himself off had been intended as a temporary solution after all. The Dhampir had an extremely powerful sacred gear, but due to his trauma and his fear of himself he lacked hardly any control in activating and deactivating his ability. The shivering mess the boy devolved into at the mere mention of social interaction was enough to cause Rias to lock up in worry over him herself. Seeing one of her peerage members in so much fear or pain hurt her nearly as much.

A nudge from Akeno, who watched her with a sad smile, brought Rias back to the present. There was no reason to dwell on that which couldn't be helped today after all. Worrying over something wouldn't suddenly fix it.

"I had Naruto send some clones to gather party supplies for when the others get back." Rias said as she turned back to her paperwork.

The two girls were quiet for a while following that. Rias continued to work while Akeno stared, first at her friend, then after a sigh, out the window to the well kept school grounds. It really was a beautiful place to live. If she wanted, Akeno knew both she and Rias could make their bodies remain at the age they looked now. Just old enough to be considered women, but young enough to also be considered girls. They might even do that, if it wasn't for the literal mountain of pressure weighing down her redhead friend's shoulders.

Maybe a bit of good news could help alleviate that tension. Normally she would tell Naruto and he would tell Rias, as the boy just had a sense of cheer about him that doubled the effect of good news and dampened the effect of the bad. Still every bit could help right.

"Before she left Koneko told me that she sensed a sacred gear among one of the Perverted Trio the other day. Smelled like smoke and lizards, so something to do with Dragons." Akeno spoke quietly.

Rias stopped writing and stared at her work before glancing up at Akeno with a faint amount of surprise on her face. Would it be worth it to have one of those boys in her peerage. They were annoying. As a devil neither she nor Akeno were really all that bothered by the boy's perverse natures. A great many devils were rather prolific sleazes. It came with the territory after all. That being said the three boys took that nature to the extreme, to the point even she, a full blooded devil woman was annoyed and put off by their behaviour.

"Oh and that's not all." Akeno said this time with a coy grin on her face.

Rias focused on her friend's face, shaking thoughts of the perverts from her mind for a moment.

"I sensed an overdeveloped reserve of magic from that Kiryuu girl. The title Perverted Witch might be more on the nose than was intended." Akeno's grin grew into her naturally enticing smirk, something that came with being born a fallen angel.

"Well, it seems poor Naruto will be busy doing what he does best over the next few weeks." Rias said with a chuckle as she turned back to her work.

Akeno for her part smiled at faintly cheering her king up at the thought of new peerage members. Stepping out of the room and back to the Kitchenette they had installed for their clubroom earlier in the year, Akeno fought back the giggle when thinking of Naruto's reaction to being ordered to stalk the likes of the Perverted Trio for the next few weeks. As much progress as he had made to be a more mature gentleman under the tutelage of Venalena herself he still had rather childish pouting moments that Akeno found all too cute.

'Enough thought on that for now, what cake should I make for that party Rias wants to throw? Oh better than cake! Cupcakes!' Akeno thought as she began one of her favorite and surprisingly less lewd hobbies.


Alright So this is Chapter 1 of Kitsune Rook, attempt two. Obviously it has the original taking up a bit but also better sets up a move into more chapters. If it isn't obvious it will for quite a while follow the main story line of DXD before getting violently and gleefully derailed….hmm not sure if I like the use of gleefully there. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, more will come eventually. In the meantime though I am working on other projects along with this, and among them is one of my favorites, the Reading of Shadow of Fairy Tail by AmusedLight. That should be the next thing to come out. But well my attention is a fickle thing.