Well...this story is taking me out of my current comfort zone that I've made for myself so far on this site. But I wanted to do something different so I thought I'll give this story a go.
This is my first attempt at a Naruto fic so apologies if it ain't that good.
Right, so I had this idea sort of in my head for a while now. I had wanted to post a P5 and Naruto crossover earlier but P5R was coming out right round the corner so I ended up waiting to play it and check out what changes were made. (By the way, I love the game and the improvements they made to it. Even got one of my mates to give the game a try as his first persona game and he loves it.)
Checking out Naruto/Persona fics I was surprised how little there was out there. I assumed there would be a lot more considering how popular the games are. Although it seems that the release of Royal has breathed some new life back into this crossover for a bit.
Anyway, I am gonna try my hand at this with my pilot chapter. Hopeful people like it.
Set up is this, though I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. Naruto gets thrown into another world due to unforeseen consequences in a battle and then hijinks ensue. Most likely getting a harem along the way.
Nothing groundbreaking I know but hey, can't say I didn't warn you what was coming.
Warning: My spelling and grammar is bad, read at your own risk. (But you probably knew that)
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
Disclaimer - I don't own Persona or Naruto.
Chapter 1 - prologue
Naruto and Sasuke stared each other down for the briefest of moments as they caught their breath. The two of them had traded blows, blocking, and dodging strikes from both blade and fist. Yet neither of them had gained any ground. Their fight had been going for hours now and it was looking more and more like a stalemate. An outcome neither were willing to allow, even as they both laid in the broken crumbling remains of the valley. They would both keep on fighting until one of them emerged the victor.
"Is...is that all you've got? You'll die if you keep slacking like that, dope." Grunted Sasuke, as he struggled to pull himself up from the small crater he had been sucker-punched into. He had hesitated and it had cost him. A mistake he wouldn't make again.
"Shut up! There's no way I'm letting you kill me, bastard!" Naruto shouted at the downed avenger. His legs started to buckle, unable to support the strain of his own weight anymore. "Going along with this whole lone wolf shit again! Picking this place because you know what it means to both us...there's no way I'm leaving you alone!"
Why?
Why had it come to this?
They had beaten Obito, Madara, and a goddamn goddess together. Ruined Black Zetsu's plans and ended the war. They had won! They should have been celebrating and rebuilding, but instead, the two legends had found their blades now aimed at one another. With all the other great threats now gone, there was nothing left to keep them united against.
Their battle had been intense and the two had ended destroying most of the valley of the end in their clash.
Both of them refused to submit, their different ideals and visions for the future wouldn't allow them to give up.
Naruto wished things had gone differently as he gazed up at the crater he had smashed the bastard into after a last-second counter. He hoped that had finally incapacitated the Uchiha but knew better as the raven-haired teen started dragged himself back up.
But this fight was reaching its end and Naruto knew it.
He was running low on chakra and it was oblivious to the blonde that the same also applied for his opponent. Tried and beaten, they were running on fumes and both knew that their next attack would decide the victor.
"Heh...heh...heh heh…" Quite cold laughter escaped Sasuke's lips before rage overtook him. "Why...why won't you just give up and let me cut you down!"
"'Cuz...I'm your one and only friend."
The last Uchiha glared down at the blonde, the only person he could call a brother in all but blood. His fingers curled in a claw and then exploded with arcs of lightning giving off the sound of a thousand birds chirping.
He was so close. So close to his dream. But just like always there was one thing standing in his way. The damn dobe was always...
In. His. Way!
Sasuke knew he had to cut him down. He had to end this and dispose of the only remaining thing from his past.
"Friends...Bonds?...Don't give me that shit! I'll sever our bond and cut you down. In order to end the path I've walked so far...my only friend."
Naruto merely watched his friend with hidden sadness. After everything they had been through together, his rival still couldn't let go of his hatred. All he could was slowly raise his arm and hold out his hand to form a Rasengan.
Twin pools of sapphire meet mismatched eyes of red and purple.
And then...the two heroes leaped at each other and met up in mid-air as they charged their signature Jutsu.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
This was it.
There could only be one winner.
Their techniques clashed and the impact caused a powerful shock wave to expand outwards.
Both Naruto and Sasuke gritted their teeth as their attacks battled for dominance, grinding against each building up power the longer they stayed connected. Just like their last encounter in the Valley of the End the combined energy of their two attacks caused the start of a chain reaction as their powers mixed and flared up.
But instead of creating an orb of energy, the two had previously experienced, this time the pressure continued to rise between them until it finally reached a breaking point. A grand explosion erupted and the two found themselves unprepared as they were caught up in it.
The last thing Naruto saw was the shocked face of Sasuke before he was consumed by a blinding light.
(Dimensional gap, The rip in space and time…)
Everything became strange after that.
First, he felt pain, then weightlessness and followed by the sense of his body being squeezed through a tiny hole. He could no longer make any sense of his surroundings, the world around him became nothing but blurred colours that mixed together. It felt like the Jinchuuriki was viewing everything through a kaleidoscope.
'Wait happened?' Naruto felt himself floating in the void, travelling along in an invisible stream that carried on forever. 'Am I dead?'
Had he lost?
That was all he could pounder while adrift in the endless empty space around him.
'Kurama, what's going on? Where are we?' Naruto got no reply. 'Oi! Kurama! You there!? Answer me damn it!' Naruto cried out, he could really stand to hear the fox's familiar voice right about now.
Still no answer, though the Jinchuuriki could still sense the Bijuu within his seal - but for whatever reason couldn't contact the big furball. Perhaps the grumpy fox had fallen into a deep sleep to recover his strength or maybe it was just this intangible place that was messing with his ability to communicate with the nine-tails.
Either way, he was alone for now.
Left to float about endlessly in this forever shifting realm.
…
…
...
He floated around for an unknown amount of time. It was impossible to tell how long he had been stuck here. Years? Days? Hours? The blonde couldn't determine the length, but with each moment within this gap seemingly in-between space the isolation started to get to him.
Things started to get a bit dark for the blonde as he was left thinking of his failures. Wondering what happened to everyone back home.
If he wasn't dead, then a part of him began to wonder if death would have been a better alternative then this. To forever be trapped here with just his thoughts.
This torment carried on for who knows how long.
Until something different happened.
A butterfly… a freaking butterfly! - Appeared and fluttered right passed his face.
"...You are trapped."
His eyes locked onto the blue glowing bug.
Did...did it just talk to him?
"You are from another realm? A hero left to float endlessly in the space between worlds. This is truly an unjust fate...your future has taken from you." A soft male voice echoed as the butterfly moved around him. "But do not despair, there is a possibility of a new future for you. For a new fate. "
It flew away in front of him and then began to glow brighter, Naruto watched as the creature transformed into a blue coloured door. " I beg you, If you can hear my voice... you may be able to prevent the destruction of my world. I beg you, if you are keen, step through and enter."
Oddly, the faint sound of a piano could be heard playing. The soothing tune was coming from beyond the summoned doorway. It's pleasurable notes brought the blonde's mind to ease as he floated slowly towards the blue possible exit which may allow him to escape this place.
"Are you willing?" The voice asked before a blue light enveloped his vision.
A pair of deep blue eyes snapped open and a man bursted from his bed. His breath was quick, close to hyperventilating, and cold sweat rolled down his face and dropped onto his bare torso. A kunai was tightly gripped in his left hand, ready to strike at any possible threat. Seeing none, the adrenaline slowly left his system and his muscles relaxed.
"Damn it, not again."
"Nightmare?"
Nodding at the all too familiar disembodied voice. 'Yeah...did I wake you?'
"You randomly fired off a small burst of killer intent strong enough to psychologically damage any civilian if directed towards them. Of course that woke me from my nap. I thought you might have found something worthy to fight."
"Shit…" He laid back down on the big bed. Damn, it felt really empty without his usual sleeping companion. But knowing her, she was probably busy at work in meetings or something. 'Sorry about that, Kurama.'
"...what was it this time?" The fox tried hard to kill any concern that may have leaked out into his tone, couldn't let anyone think he was going soft now.
He had a reputation to uphold!
'Just my last moments back home...before we ended up here.'
"Tch, that was years ago now, Naruto! You've had more than enough time to grieve, quit dwelling on it!" The Bijuu scoffed, bearing his fangs inside the seal. "I can't have my host held back by the past,...you'll end up weak otherwise and I refuse to allow a weakling to use my power! So take care of yourself, brat!"
"Hahaha," Naruto could only laugh at Kurama's words of 'encouragement' meant to help. Hating to show that actually, he cared, the fox usually hit him with tough love and insults as a way to be supportive while still trying to protect his image.
'Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure not to go all depressed and emo on you, ya big furball.' Who did the fox think he was talking to here? He was Naruto Uzumaki, nothing was going to keep him down!
Grumbling something inaudible, the beast huffed and curled itself back up to go to sleep.
Still chuckling, he placed the small weapon down on his nightstand and glanced over at the digital clock to realize how early it was - Only 6:00AM- making him sigh. Damn it, he was wide awake now no chance of him drifting back to sleep.
After a few minutes, he decided to get up and start the day. No longer tensed, he stepped onto the cool but soft fabric of the carpet floor and headed towards the bathroom. Hoping in the shower and turning the temper onto a higher setting than usual, the hot water felt heavenly, and very soon he started to feel rejuvenated. All traces of drowsiness leaving him. He ended up staying under shower much longer than usual - a whole hour- trying to rid himself of the nightmares of his past. It had been three years now since he had ended up in this world and yet still pieces of his past would worm their way into his nightmares.
Enjoying the nice soak, his peace was soon ruined by the sound of his house phone going off in the living room. Naruto just sighed as it let the device continue ringing before the answering machine kicked and the caller left a message.
"Mr. Uzumaki, this is a reminder that your presence is requested later today at the Kirijo Group headquarters. Please make sure you attended."
…
…
...
"Man, ...can already tell that today is going to be exhausting." Naruto shook his head before jumping out of the shower to dry off.
Taking the moment to inspect the mirror he admired himself. He had let his hair grow quite long - his bangs nearly framed the sides of his face and covered most of his forehead - he had debated getting it cut short but the little icy redhead of his had made a mention of liking how it was, saying it complimented his looks as a handsome rogue, so he kept it. Plus, the hairstyle reminded him of his father so another reason to keep it long.
Going down, you could see a few negligible scars that littered his otherwise flawless physique - the worst by far being the ugly large fist-sized mark of damaged skin tissue on the right side of his chest. Then, if one's eyes travelled further south they would see the most glaring wound that the blonde possessed. Referring to the stump of his right arm, the limb he had lost in his final battle with Sasuke.
He hadn't just lost an arm that day.
He had lost everything, his life, his future, and ended up having to start all over again.
"What is it with me today with all this reminiscing." Naruto chuckled, as he carefully squirted some toothpaste on his toothbrush - a very hard thing to do with just one arm. "Maybe I'm going crazy."
Or perhaps it was because it had been two and a half weeks since he had last gotten laid and he was getting restless.
But yeah…
He was missing an arm now.
That was his life, to be forever missing a part of himself. When it happened it had hurt like a bitch but Kurama had done a good job at patching him up - some would say too good a job. He hadn't let himself get upset over the loss of the limb. Annoyed... sure but he refused to let something like this break him. What would have been crippling for anyone else was merely an inconvenience for Naruto. In the span of three painful years, he had learned to overcome his handicap and perform his actions exceptionally but still...he couldn't operate at the true highs of his full potential with a stump. At least, not without using the cloak to compensate.
But after all was said and done losing an arm had changed him. Perhaps for the better as it served to harden him and teach him discipline in having to now fight with one arm.
"Sucks that it can't grow it back."
"I told you back then," Oh, it seemed he's tenant had been eavesdropping. Naughty little fox. "My power is great but even it has its limits."
"You healed my lung just fine." The shinobi snarked while still looking at his reflection, he witnessed his lips curving up into a ghost of a smile.
"You do understand that repairing a pierced lung and growing back a limb are two vastly different things, don't you? I'm good but not that good." His partner shot back. "Besides you're doing more than alright without it. You'll be fine, not like there's anything of a substantial threat to us here in this world anyway...unfortunately."
"Ah, getting bored are we?"
"Bored of watching you take on such dull tasks unworthy of your skill to hunt down and fight such weaklings? Yes. But watching you mating with that ice empress? No." Kurama actually snickered. "I find it amusing that you're such a mama's boy that you're sleeping with someone that has a slight resemblance to her."
Naruto waved his arm around. "Oh, Shut up!"
That wasn't it at all! He had just gotten his father's attraction for people with red hair and just happened to find himself in bedding a woman with crimson locks similar to that of the red Hot-Blooded Habanero, honest!
"Whatever you say..."
"Kurama!"
His partner retreated with laughter at embarrassing him.
Dressing himself next, he went with an orange long-sleeved V-neck shirt under a black biker jacket and had some dress pants with a chain hanging out the left pocket. Slipping on some casual trainers - man, did it take him a while to adjust to the footwear of this world. They felt so much more restricting than shinobi sandals.
Getting dressed was a bit of a chore now due to lacking one arm but he got around it with time.
Stepping into the living room of his apartment, Naruto switched on the TV as he went about trying to find anything in his fridge that could function as a half-decent breakfast. 'I need to go shopping.' He realised, peering into the figure to see only half a carton of milk, two eggs, and a lettuce that looked faded and dull.
"Omelette it is I guess." He muttered before setting about cooking.
The stack of instant ramen cups on the shelf to his side tempted him. Managing to stay in control of his urges he didn't go for the easily made, and truthfully, unhealthy food. He was trying to beat his addiction to the stuff and 'expand his palette' as his...bedroom companion had recommended after she stayed the first night round his place and discovered his unhealthy diet.
Wasn't like he was at risk of anything! The whiskered man had been eating the stuff religiously growing up and never had any issues. Well… except for being really short for his age back then but that wasn't the point! That had nothing to with his diet at all, he was short growing up because he was short. Sometimes people are short okay!. And that issue had long been resolved anyway after he had hit his growth spurt.
Besides in his view, a better diet wasn't needed. He had even told his female colleague that his body was clearly different and didn't at all act on the same level as the people here. The stubborn redhead wouldn't listen.
"Yet another psychotic breakdown occurred yesterday evening in the region of Tokyo as a 44-year-old bus driver plowed into the sidewalk killing 11 people before crashing into a nearby clothing store. When police pulled the driver from the vehicle and questioned him, even he could not explain his actions."
He still found the public disclosure of information and the wide free access to all of it for anyone to consume so odd. Back home, all sorts of vital information was either guarded or controlled. Here it was spread freely without concern. Giving out knowledge such as the states of countries' economies, military strength, and if they were suffering from natural disasters or diseases. All of it was a clear security breach if he used the mindset of people back in the Elemental Nations.
He guessed that since this world wasn't one in constant war and had a state of fairly maintained peace that has lasted more than a couple years such liberties were allowed.
It all still just irked how differently this place operated compared to back home.
How easier life was here for people than that of constant warring lands of the Elemental Nations. At times he couldn't help but wonder if his home could have ever active the more quiet state that this world was experiencing.
Taking a seat, Naruto listened carefully to the news reporter as he ate his shoddy made breakfast. The reports had been coming out every week about some seemingly normal people suddenly having a drastic change in mental state and going berserk, committing crimes or causing accidents.
The cases of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns seemed to be increasing as time went on, affecting a lot of people all over Japan but in the city of Tokyo specifically the most. With the city being hit the worst. One would think that something strange was going down in Tokyo.
The breakdown cases had been going for years now, striking at random. It had hit people of classes of life, from bankers, lawyers, politicians all the way down to everyday workers. There didn't seem to be a pattern other than cases always resulting in either an accent or worse someone's death.
'What is causing it though?' Naruto pondered as the news report ended and moved on to showing some boring political crap.
"This country is rotting at its core! Left to ruin by the current government which is stuck in the past! We are sailing on a ship bound to crash and sink if we allow our leaders to carry on steering this country! So, I ask you! Vote for me, Sh-" The television broadcasting the passionate spokesman abruptly switched off.
Naruto sighed and dropped the remote on the sofa before pushing himself up and headed towards the door of his apartment.
"Errr...I hate politics."
Snow descended upon the city of Iwatodai, giving the pathways a small white layer that gave a satisfying crunch underfoot when stepped on. The streets were busy, filled with both adults and students from Gekkoukan high all rushing about into the stores looking at what gifts to buy for Christmas.
The hectic crowds of people were easy for Naruto to manoeuvre through as he silently sidesteps passed the faceless strangers with ease whilst remaining undetected. It was hardly a test of his skills, stealthing past the people here was even easier than the civilians back in the Elemental Nations. The population of this world was never used to dealing with trained killers walking among them as part of their everyday life.
Considering his foreign looks and the fact he was missing a limb, you would assume one person who had been able to at least spot him. But no, at best the people in their cars or out in the streets merely got just a simple glance of blonde hair at best before he disappeared from their viewing altogether, like a ghost.
Walking down a main street unnoticed by the bypasses, the blonde's steps came to a halt once reaching the building in front of him. A massive skyscraper stood proudly in the middle of the city, casting a shadow over it. The shinobi arched his head back just to see the very top of the building that proudly held the letters of 'Kirijo Group HQ' on its side.
This was the place where he was going to meet his 'employer'.
Blowing a big huff that became visible in the chilly air, the young man strode up into the building, dropping all attempts of remaining concealed.
Passing by the lobby he garnered snotty looks due to his casual attire from the businessmen in suits that didn't know him. The very, very few that were familiar with his actions and what his secret purpose was in the organisation stayed clear and didn't bother him as he boarded the elevator all by himself and had it take him to the top floor.
From there he calmly walked forwards with his hand in his pocket while the sleeve on his right just dangled loosely.
"Hello, Chihiro!" He greeted the secretary near the two large doors ahead of him. "How are you?"
The brown-haired woman looked up and Naruto could see the surprise behind those glasses at his greeting. She seemed always so shocked that he even remembered her name let alone said hi to her on his visits. He couldn't figure out why. The woman was nice and pleasant to him and so he also made it a habit to give a greeting back in kind, though she seemed to be a bit shy and timid at times.
That behaviour would often lead him to remember another girl who lacked self-confidence from his past and it always served to bring a small sting of pain to his heart.
"I'm well, Uzumaki-san, thank you for asking." She replied, unable to look him in the eye for long before quickly ushering him forward. "You can go right ahead, Uzumaki-san, she's already expecting you."
Nodding, the blonde did just that and entered the office of the current head of the Kirjo group. The room was big, even way larger than the office that the Hokage had back in Konoha. The room was a bit too dark for his taste, a bit of orange would really add something to the whole thing. He had suggested the idea but had been instantly shot down.
It appeared that even here his love for the colour orange was an acquired taste.
Walking further inside he's eyes spotted a giant mechanical clock built into the wall to the left of him, ticking away loudly. And to the right was a large portrait of a grizzled middle-aged man with an eye patch wearing a business suit. The artist had put a lot of detail into the man's hardened look which could effortlessly make lesser people tremble when caught in the painting's line of sight.
"Yo!" He greeted, throwing up his only hand casually.
"You're late…"
Naruto grinned at the cold harshness of the words that were aimed to make him uncomfortable and crumble. It hadn't worked the other dozen times in the past three years and both of them knew it wouldn't start working now. Why the woman still tried to keep the cold icy composure in front of him even now he'll never know.
Before him was a ridiculously sized wooden desk and sitting behind it with perfect posture was a breathtaking older woman.
Her face was smooth and beautiful. Naruto thought that if Jiraiya was still around the old man would have used her as inspiration for one of his books, maybe as a gentle princess from the land of Uzushiogakure or something just as close. The way she held herself, however, said she was anything but gentle. She wore a sinfully tight black catsuit with a thick white fur coat over her shoulders, it all served to give her an air of intimidation.
Her exotic features made her stand out from the vast sea of the average populous of Japan, with her red eyes that held a power of authority and strictness with them. Possibly relating to the woman's upbringing. Her long red wavy vivid hair at the back and fixed curls at the side was by far the most eye-catching quality she possessed, it was what had caught Naruto's attention immediately when he had first met the woman. Back when she had found him in the small crater he had made after literally dropping out the sky and crashing in this world.
"Sorry…" He chuckled, closing his eyes and scratching his head, emulating a habit of an old teacher of his did when they got called out. "I got-"
"Don't!" The woman yelled she didn't wish to have her patience tested by the man in a battle of wills - mostly because he always won.
The lame excuse had been used a hundred times now by him whenever showing up late. It wasn't funny then and now it was just tiresome. The whiskered blonde just said it to annoy her nowaday anyways while also finding amusement in the poor justification - as if there was some kind of inside joke at play that she wasn't privy to.
"Don't. Say. It!"
"...lost on the road of life."
She gave a look that could freeze the blood in a person's veins. It was that cold. Meanwhile, the Shinobi just had a stupid grin plastered on his face.
"Ouch! That's a mean glare, Mitsuru-chan~" Clutching at his heart, Naruto gave a feigned look of pain at the slightly older woman. "It's cutting at me deep within…AH! It hurts!"
Incredible, the look got even colder and the secretary outside would swear that the temperature just dropped a few degrees.
"Are you quite done?" She asked with an unamused mask at the man's silly antics at pretending to be hurt by her words. "Do you wish for me to execute you?"
Ha! Naruto wanted to laugh but was too busy putting on the over the top act. Like the redhead even had a chance to actually harm him, her so-called attempts at 'executions' in the past as a method to discipline him had all failed as the woman couldn't hope to hit him. Akihiko, that crazed training buff, had even asked him how he avoided the painful punishments and asked for lessons.
However, there was a reason for his antics other than just enjoying teasing the leader of the massive company, though that did play a big role in it still.
Even though her face remained impassive and her eyes kept their hardened edge to them while the woman was in what he liked to call her 'no-nonsense business mode'. Naruto saw a small, but still very much there, spark of amusement deep in those red orbs. And unbeknownst to Mitsuru, the corners of her lips would twitch every now and then when looking at him.
While it suited her and he liked it at times, Naruto couldn't stand the alluring red-head always acting cool, strict, and perfectly poised. She needed to relax, let loose and let her hair down at times, something that he can say with great pleasure happened a lot when the two of them were alone.
"I dunno...I may need a kiss first to make me feel better...after all, it's been a while since we-"
*SLASH*
A crimson tipped rapier came flying at his face with deadly accuracy, the needle-like weapon intent on taking out his eye. Naruto caught the tip of the blade in between two fingers in a flash, a show of speed and last-second reaction that would have been absurd for any normal person.
Mitsuru had shot up her chair when she launched the weapon - those eyes only promised pain but the faint tint of red from the blood rushing to her cheeks didn't escape Naruto's keen trained eyes, no matter how well the leader of the Kirijo group tried to hide it.
The reaction brought Naruto's joy, perhaps more than it should have.
Why did he love flirting with the woman?
Maybe the pervy sage's influence and corruption had needed time to take effect on him or maybe it was the fact that his libido had grown far larger growing up these past few years and with it, he's interested in the fair sex did as well. Or more likely, perhaps it was the lack of super-powerful crazed madman trying to seize control of the world in this realm, and while the semi-mundane life made him bored it had allowed for a lot of free time to discover the wonders of the female form.
'Now I can kinda see where that old perv was coming from after all this time…' If only Jiraiya had lived to see how far his godson had come in the art of woman and sex. Naruto was pretty sure the old geezer would cry tears of joy for embracing his more perverted side.
He had certainly noticed that his appreciation for the opposite sex had only risen since ending up on Earth, an interest that been thankfully mostly sated by the enticing stern woman in front of him. Only when they weren't on the clock however, the redhead liked to try and keep things professional between them while working. Something Naruto had never agreed or adhered to personally, after all where was the fun in that.
Taking a calming breath, Mitsuru looked dead in the eye. "Will you please cease messing around so that we can speak on why I called you here."
How such a powerful and dangerous individual could act like such a happy grinning idiot she'll never know. The man could really come across as some kind of halfwit or clown at times. But Mitsuru Kirijo knew better than to underestimate him or even more foolishly categorise the man before her as the fool he liked to portray himself as - she had seen enough of what he was capable of to know that was merely a front.
A wise man had once said that fools were harmless but beware of the man who plays the fool. For all his childish jokes, silly antics, and lack of manners, Naruto Uzumaki was no moron. Behind those kind blue orbs held a beast that was ready to be unleashed in a heartbeat.
Mitsuru was simply glad that the man wasn't malicious in nature, else not even her, the rest of the shadow operatives, and dare she say the world couldn't hope to beat him.
Hearing the request, which sounded more like a plea than anything, Naruto dropped his teasing smile and sighed. "And here I was hoping this meeting was going to be about pleasure rather than business."
"Maybe later…" She teased back with a rare smirk that Naruto couldn't help but find sinfully sexy.
Their relationship was odd and frankly not at all a normal one. Naruto wasn't sure what to even call what they were, it wasn't a standard committed relationship that was commonly found here but nor were they just 'friends with benefits' as the humans on earth called it. He knew that he genuinely enjoyed being with her and spending time with the youthful woman. And he definitely viewed Mitsuru as incredibly hot, with her killer figure and that crimson hair that always drew his gaze...NO he didn't have a redhead fetish!
It was also well known by him at this point that she felt the same with him in terms of finding him attractive. She definitely had loved his comparably godly stamina although the stubborn redhead who didn't like losing learned the hard way that she was never going to win a battle of endurance in the bedroom with him.
"Soooo...what's all this about?" The Shinobi asked, handing back the rapier as he walked past the desk.
Taking the weapon back with grace. "I'm sure you're aware about the Mental Shutdowns and Psychotic Breakdowns cases that have been plaguing this country recently?"
Nodding along. "Yeah, hard to escape it. Stuff is all the news is ever talking about consistently nowadays."
"Yes, well...I've been having some of my researchers look into it, and...they came back to me with some interesting findings."
Walking passed the desk and looking out the window behind it, Naruto gazed upon the snowy city below. It was looking like the coldest December in months.
"Shadows?" He asked, seeing no other reason for why she would have called him here if that wasn't the case.
"I fear so," She nodded grimly "...Our instruments have picked up what looks like signs of Shadow activity but that wasn't all…"
Looking back over to her, the blonde was now wondering what else she had found out while snooping about.
A thick file was then tossed his way.
Catching it with ease, he raised an eyebrow at the highly classified printed at the front.
"We discovered something...a kind of distortion...another world of sorts which has formed and now exists in parallel with ours." Just speaking of it gave Mitsuru's unpleasant memories of the Dark Hour. The event which had nearly killed all of mankind if it wasn't for her and the rest of S.E.E.S that had managed to prevent ruin from occurring years ago. Having to fight Nyx, the avatar of death and the harbinger of the Fall.
When Naruto heard of that story from her, and other Shadow Operatives members he had later met, the blonde found their past ordeals to be impressive. Drawing similarities with him and his friends fighting against Kaguya for their very survival. Kurama had been very annoyed to hear that he missed out on a chance to test his power on something apparently so powerful in the new world he found so boring.
It was certainly outstanding for them to achieve victory from his point of view considering none of them had any of the gruelling training or abilities he had - with how much weaker the humans were in this world physically compared to his homeland, Naruto's first assumptions would have been them being easily crushed and wiped out.
Thankfully, humanity here proved to be a resilient bunch.
"I believe that this distortion is somehow connected in some way to the Mental Shutdown and Psychotic Breakdown cases that have been targeting people but we're not sure how. " Mitsuru continued. "We've been theorising It could be a type of Shadow causing these cases or, perhaps worse, a person manipulating this other world to make these breakdowns occur."
"Damn…this is crazy." Naruto muttered while listening to the news and reading the details in the report.
A distorted realm that affected people in the real world. A place where Shadows could be thriving and where someone could potentially kill indiscriminately and get away with it. The whole thing sounded a lot like what Mitsuru had dealt with during her teenage years or like those incidents back in Inaba a few years ago before he ended here.
He had only heard about in passing due to joining the Ice Empress' secret little task force.
"This could be a real problem if it turns out true." There was no telling how many people could end dying or being affected if this was left unchecked. "But I doubt you called me over just to tell me this information."
"Your assumption would be correct…" His 'boss' nodded, still not facing him. "I would like for you to investigate this...other world, see if it is related to these breakdowns and put a stop to it once and for all." Mitsuru informed him as she pivoted on her chair to bring the blonde ninja back into view.
"Me? Really?" Groaning at the sudden proposal. "I just finished a couple Ops missions for you two weeks prior and another dozen more the month before that!" He whined, giving a childish pout.
Ignoring the sulking going on right in front of her, the man could be such a child at times. "I am aware of that and we're all very grateful for your services in undertaking such near impossible tasks for the Kirijo group and the rest of mankind." The woman crossed her arms under her ample bosom and gave the blonde man a knowing look. "In fact, I believe I've made you well aware of my gratitude for everything you've done many times now."
"Shit..." He felt his arousal start to stir as a faint blush rushed to his cheeks at the intermittent memories that came rushing to his mind "If you keep this up I dunno how long I'm gonna be able to stay professional during this meeting."
"Down boy." She told him with a hint of mischief.
Oh, Naruto was going to get her back for that later. After all, his 'boss' should know the 'consequences' for provoking him like that. Perhaps the red-head was actually secretly hoping for him to punish her later after this, despite her cool and proper mask in public the woman could be a real freak in the sheets.
But he was getting sidetracked now.
The head of the Kirijo group personally requesting him for what had to be a long and high stacked mission wasn't at all surprising.
It was without a doubt to everyone that Naruto was by far her most powerful agent within her organisation. Even lacking a persona the otherworldly blonde was the best Shadow Operative out of all the standing members. Even since the day Mitsuru had found him and managed to recruit him. The -at the time teenager - had outperformed everyone to an embarrassing degree. Naruto's superhuman strength, speed, and stamina made anything that could be considered a challenge to other agents to be a complete breeze for the Ninja.
It was completely unfair!
Being able to best Akihiko and Aigis in a sparring match like it was nothing while missing an arm. Hunt down Shadows with cold efficiency. Having the speed to more than keep up with a speeding vehicle. The skills to sneak in and out of heavily guarded locations undetected.
And Mitsuru could attest personally for Naruto's near unending endurance...even if thinking such things brought an embarrassed flush to her pale skin.
And all wasn't even taking into account the blonde's seemingly near magic-like powers!
Don't get Mitsuru even started on the clones, now that would have her breaking out in flush and have her resembling a tomato.
Easy to say that the once-powerful Shinobi found great success in the new line of work he signed up for and raised through the ranks quickly.
As the few short years went by and the blonde grew into a young adult he now stood as the very best of what the Shadow Operatives had at their disposal. Being sent on many missions all over the world solo and never once failing.
"You are the best agent I have by far," She frowned at what appeared as hesitation from the man. "If there's anyone I can trust to succeed in this task by themselves it would without a doubt be you, Naruto."
"While I like having my ego stroked - among many other things," He crudely joked with a wink. "You just wish to send me though? This seems pretty big. There no one else to send along with me?"
"Everyone else is either busy with other assignments or are no longer an active member."
It was true.
Akihiko was busy travelling the world getting up god knows what. Aigis and Labry were busy undertaking a different task. And with Yukari, Fuuka, Ken, and Iori all getting on and busy with their own lives it left little options for trusted agents to handle this mission by themselves. Mitsuru herself had to handle the burden of running and maintaining such a large business while dealing with other groups that would like nothing more than for the Kirijo Group to fail or fall into their hands.
Looking at the photo on her desk the redhead's stone set face softened up. The old picture showed a teenage Mitsuru surrounded by the rest of the members of S.E.E.S. An old memento of her friends and what they went through together. Her eyes dipped sadly though when looking at her father and the stoic blue-haired teen in the photo.
"So, will you take the mission or not?" She asked moments later after snapping out her brief lapse of sadness.
"…" Scratching his head, Naruto weighed the pros and cons of taking another mission which was no doubt going to be a long and not to mention high level one if it was being offered to him. While undertaking most of the tasks given to him were somewhat easy, it didn't cease the missions from becoming exhausting when taking on so many in such a short space of time.
Perhaps he had been mimicking Kakashi a little too much in drowning himself in missions to keep his mind distracted from...other things.
Then again, he was quite bored and doing a good deed that resulted in saving people's lives, and helping them out never failed to give him a warm feeling in his heart. Plus if he didn't take then there was no telling what might happen concerning these mental shutdown cases and how people would be negatively affected.
'Errr...what the hell, why not.'
Choice made, Naruto just sighed. "Fine...I'll take on the stupid mission and see it completed."
Him and his damn bleeding heart.
'Here's hoping this is the right decision.' He better be properly compensated for being given a mission out of nowhere like this. This had to count as working overtime or something for him.
What a bone-breaking boss he had. She was gonna end up riding him into the ground with this work!
Smiling, a pleased Mitsuru leaned back in her chair. "Très bien! I'm very glad to hear you accept." Crossing one of her long legs over the other caught Naruto's eye. The act was painfully slow and very suggestively as the whisked man had plenty of time to check out the woman's curvy thighs and black high heel boots. "I'll make sure you're probably rewarded for doing this for me~"
He took it back, best boss ever!
Looked like he was the one who was going to be riding her into the ground instead!
Somehow, Naruto swore he could hear the cries of Ero-Sennin's voice from the afterlife.
"Errr…" Scratching his head sheepishly and trying to remain professional, for now away. "Good to hear and all but err...what's next? I don't even know where to start this so-called investigation."
"Oh, don't worry about any of that. I've already got everything sorted for you ahead of time." Wait, she already knew that he would end up taking the case!? Damn scheming sexy woman!
"You'll be heading to Tokyo." A smug grin etched it's way onto her lips as she relayed the information. "For whatever reason, our scans showed that the distortion over is at its highest - along with the higher rate of mental shutdown cases over the two together can't be just a coincidence."
"You want me to find the root cause behind all this within the biggest city in Japan?" Naruto asked with a brow raised questionably at the red-head. "Kind of feels like you're asking me to find a needle in a haystack here, Mitsuru. Especially starting from scratch and nothing to work with, ya'know."
It wouldn't be impossible for him. But it would be a challenge and not to mention time-consuming.
"Oh, you won't be working with nothing," Mitsuru reassured him.
"I'm not?"
Still smiling. "You'll be posing as a special agent sent in to help with investigating the ongoing shutdown cases." An undercover gig? Naruto was already regretting agreeing to help with this mission after all. "The authorities haven't made any headway with the case at all these last months, they'll have no choice but to accept the assistance of someone who could solve it."
Not feeling thrilled by what he was hearing so far, Naruto simply shook his head and sighed."Pertaining to be some kind of detective and skulking about? I dunno...seems bothersome to me, Mitsuru."
"You won't be required to be around the authorities all the time, you'll just be a free agent not bound by the rules and only have to interact with them when you feel it's needed. Other than that you can do as you wish. "Besides it's not a lie, you are a special agent of sorts. Only one that specialises in exterminating Shadows." Mitsuru explained herself. It was true, technically being a Shadow operative would fall under being classed as a special agent of sorts.
"Plus this will allow you a lot of access to operate near the case with a compelling excuse and makes sure you'll have access to all their resources if you need it and be able to see what leads they managed to dig up so far." She reasoned back.
"I'm not too sure about...but if that's how you want it done and think that it will work then fine." He trusted the woman's opinion even if he didn't agree with it. "But if it all goes to shit it's on you."
"Noted," She said dryly with a blank face. "Also, I highly suggest looking into the special investigation unit over there. Some of the reports coming from within have been...odd concerning the mental shutdowns. It almost seems like the director has been lax or damn right dismissive conserving the cases. And the perfected record of his unit never losing a case for fifty years is suspicious, to say the least.
It almost seemed like the odds was being stacked in the SIU's favour in all the cases they took on. The impressive win streak that the current director had was certainly eyebrow-raising to those looking in. One might assume that there was some kind of foul play at work but there was no evidence to incriminate the unit or it's leader so people had to let their suspicions remain unspoken.
"Got ya! Head to Tokyo, pretend to be some fancy agent working in part with the police on the case, enter this other world, find out who or what is causing the mental shutdowns, and put a stop to it." Summing it up like that in such a small amount of words it almost made the whole task sound so easy.
Sadly, Naruto just knew that wasn't going to be the case with this mission.
He could feel it in his gut.
"That about it? Or did I miss anything?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.
"A lot of planning, details, and complexities but you have managed to grasp the bare-bones of it all so well done on that." Despite all his charm and power, it was clear and well known to both of them that the spiky blonde wasn't the sharpest tool in the shade when it came to certain things.
"Yosh!" He would have clapped his hands happily at the news if it weren't for his wound. "So...is our business concluded?"
A grin was growing on his face as he slowly started moving over towards her, Mitsuru unaware of his current motives didn't sense the danger lucking its way towards her.
"Yes." She told him with a relieved smile as she went to spine her chair back around to her desk. Knowing that her top agent was on the case, it left her little to worry about and it allowed the Kirijo head to get back to working on other matters.
"Good!"
Before she could even turn back to her work, Mitsuru found herself lifted up from her seat and held up in the air by one very strong single arm. The redhead most definitely didn't yelp, no matter if the only witness in the room would say otherwise.
"Naruto!" The normally composed woman yelled in a high pitched tone, this time failing altogether at hiding the blood rushing to her cheeks. "What are y-
"You said so yourself, Mitsuru. The business between us is now over and done with so..."She could feel his breath against her ear and the look in his eyes that he now possessed made a shiver jolt down her spine. The red-head felt like a small snow rabbit cornered by a big hungry fox. "It's time to move onto the pressure…"
Mitsuru swore that she heard a growl escape him at the end of his words.
Naruto looked ready to rip her clothes off and tear apart into a scrumptious meal. And knowing him well enough by now she wouldn't put it past him to do just so and take her right here on the desk.
"W-what...b-but we can't! Not now!" Despite the words leaving her mouth, arms snaked their way over his broad shoulders and looped around his neck to steady herself balancing on the single limb that had scooped her up. A heat was warming itself up in her loins - It was like Naruto had simply slipped a switch on her, "I-I...have other meetings planned for today!"
The dynamic between them had done a complete one-eighty!
No longer was she the boss and he was her agent.
Now, Mitsuru was just mere prey that stood before a beast with an insatiable hunger. Left with no choice but to submit to the man before her as his mere hungry gaze was enough to make her body feel hot. She knew what was to come next, hours upon hours of pleasure followed by exhaustion and aching.
Crying out in his name in-wait! Why was she even bothering trying to resist again?
"Reschedule them." Was all Naruto said to the excuse.
With only weak protests coming from the beautiful red-head in his hold the two disappeared in a bright yellow flash. Bringing them back to the bedroom in his apartment.
"They're sending who?"
The voice on the other end kept talking. With every word spoken, the SIU director brows furrowed further down into an ugly frown and his lips dropped into something which was starting to resemble a sneer. This was turning into an unpleasant phone call. Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he kept on listening. "Sir, I assure you that I have some of my best people here working on the case. We even already have Akechi-san here offering their skills to us. With all due respect sir, what could this special investigator possibly do to help?"
The voice went on and the director grip tightened the more he heard. Oh how he wished for nothing more than to hang up and pretend that this conversation had never occurred. His finger moved to his glasses and adjusted them. "I understand that progress has been slow, sir, but I honestly don't think this is at all necessary. We looking into several leads currently and frankly we don't some outsider coming in messing ever-"
More words which resulted in more rising annoyance, though with a brief spark of panic. "I-It's o-out of your control?" Did this mean that all this was happening due to someone high in power interfering?
"I see, very well, sir. I'll make the arrangements myself and have him work closely with one of my top prosecutors. He'll have our full cooperation." He couldn't hit the disconnect button faster if he tried. Letting the phone drop to the desk, the older gentleman allowed himself to take a deep breath to calm his nerves.
It allowed him time to take a moment to think about this unexpected hitch in the otherwise smoothly running plans that his superiors had set in motion.
This could possibly prove to be a problem.
Slowly, he raised from his office chair and gently stepped out from behind his chair. It seemed old age was starting to get to him. Gazing out of his window, he looked down at the bustling streets of Tokyo far below him on this snowy December night.
Mulling over his options on what to do with this unforeseen possible nuisance.
Denying them access was clearly out. Attempting to pull some strings to send them away or move them to a different case wouldn't work either - someone very high up had made it very, very clear that they wanted this...Uzumaki fellow to inveterate things and went to great effort to make sure that he wouldn't be turned away. Even his collaborators couldn't offer their assistance in this matter, even though they could do a great many things - this nuisance was sent through the works of the very institution they were trying to topple here.
One obvious solution came to mind.
But the director knew that doing so would undoubtedly bring heavy suspicion down upon him and his collaborators. Whoever had sent them would clearly then know something was afoot and send more people to investigate. Pulling off a hit like that would take planning and calculation, using all that effort to take a simple inconvenience was simply overkill.
Not to mention it would add more evidence to the pile that was steadily growing. It would become impossible to keep it all hidden any longer if they had dozens of investigators snooping around after one of their own had just been killed.
Slowing him down in red tape looked to be one of the only safe options. Keep this, Mr. Uzumaki, distracted with misinformation and false leads to stop him from uncovering anything damning.
'Yes, that could work... for a while.'
Still though, the director couldn't help but fear the worst.
If this man that they were sending over in less than a month somehow discovered what they were doing…
It could ruin everything!
Slowly walking back over to his desk, the director of SIU picked the phone where he had left it and dialed up a secret number that only a select few were privy too. He didn't want to bother the man but like it or not, his true employer deserved to know what was going on and that someone was being sent over.
Paranoia taking over him, he quickly shot his gaze around the room to make sure no one was listening in.
Believing it safe, he hit the connect button and the device rang. Going off several times before someone picked up.
"It's me." The director said to the receiver. Letting a small and tired sigh, he continued. "We...might have a problem."
Panting, Naruto allowed himself to fall onto his back with exhausted Mitsuru clinging to his body. They were both catching their breath, one more than the other, as well as having a layer of sweat covering their nude forms. Only a messy blanket sheet was the only thing hiding and protecting their naked bodies from the cold night.
The room reeked of sex and with the number of bouts he and the crimson-haired woman in grip had gone it was no surprise.
"Mhm~" A sigh of a woman that just achieved nirvana left Mitsuru's lips as she slumped forward on the hard chest of the blonde. Naruto especially enjoyed the feeling of her breasts being squished up against him and how her nipples rubbed along his skin with each haggard breath she took.
"Do you admit defeat?"
Amazing a single ruby red orb shot a look at him from under the sheet. "Never...I'm a Kirijo…" She managed to get out in between deep breaths, though the arrogant and high-mighty tone that the redhead was attempting failed due to the fact the woman looked ready to drift asleep on top of him.
"Oh?" A brow raised itself up at her words. "So you're saying you're up for another round then?"
…
…
…
Amusingly Naruto got his answer in the sound of faint snoring.
With her now messy red hair covering her face while her head rested on his chest, it seemed that Mitsuru had indeed ended up passing out from exhaustion after all. Not that the one-armed warrior could blame the woman. If they kept going like he suspected the stubborn red-head would then the end result would have been the Kirijo head needing to use the assistance of a wheelchair to get around for the week.
The woman could be too proud at times for her own good to know where to admit that she couldn't carry on. Still...it just made the sex between them even greater.
Naruto wasn't going to be shipped off to Tokyo for his mission until next month in mid-January. Giving him some time to enjoy the holidays here on earth known as Christmas and further enjoy his time with Kirijo heiress.
And he was definitely going to make the most of it when it came to his time with Mitsuru. There was no guarantee that he was going to see any action for a long time during this mission. Which meant he was going to get restless and hate sleeping alone in a bed again. Unless he found a woman, (or two) to warm his bed while he was staying out in the capital of Japan.
'Man...when did I start becoming such a pervert?'
He blamed Jiraiya and Kakashi.
Smirking down at the slumbering gorgeous woman in his arm, the Shinobi allowed himself to rest down the pillow and let out a yawn. Adjusting his hold on Mitsuru to make it more comfortable for them both, the blonde let unconsciousness take him.
This time he wasn't plagued by any nightmare from his past.
Over by the bedroom window, a familiar blue glowing butterfly fluttered over and rested itself on the glass. Watching over the otherworldly being, knowing that the blonde's time for their contract to fully form was fast approaching.
End
Well that's it.
Hopeful it was okay.
Apologies with honorifics if they were wrong, I'm not used to writing them at all so I may have fucked up there.
This chapter is set a few months before the start of persona 5 and, if continued, will lean further into the games timeline. With some plots bits either still happening or being completely derailed, whichever you or I prefer.
Naruto has been on earth for around three years now and has just recently turned 20. As said he's a Shadow operative working for Mitsuru Kirijo. (Best girl from Persona 3 IMO) Her design is based on what it was in the P4 arena game. He will mostly like have the ability of the wild card and have access to only a few personas.
Any ideas what beings from myth and legend he could have? Don't mind hearing suggestions.
I tried my hand at more fluff and stuff nearing lemon when it came to Naruto and Mitsuru interacting. I'm trying to experiment with it and see how I do when it comes to writing it that sort of thing. Not sure if people would like to more of that kind of stuff in future or just wish for me to stop it all together.
Dunno if Mitsuru will make a return later on in the story, depends if people will like to see her with Naruto more or something.
Moving on as for the more than likely harem you can the names listed in the summery to gain an idea who is going to be in it. There are others I'm thinking about as well but still undecided on. Shiho comes to mind, the poor girl deserved better than what she got. Others as well but there's no point in going crazy at this point before the story has even had a chance to grow.
Anyway, have a beautiful Duwang and I hope to see you next time.
But quick question - Female Akechi: Yay or nay?
Small preview clips of what's to come. (Might change, have mistakes or get scarped.) :
"You wished to see me, sir?"
The director looked over his from desk and regarded her for a brief moment before smiling kindly. It was always so odd for her to see the man partly responsible for keeping her stuck in her current profession with no way to progress. Passing her over for a promotion a dozen times and giving such rewards that she worked so hard to active over to her other less dedicated male colleagues.
"Yes, Nijjima-san," He nodded with a grin. "Please take a seat."
"What's this about?" She asked, seating down on the chair offered to her.
"Ah, well...your here because I wish to inform you that starting today you'll be going to be assigned a partner." The man's cured lips nearly dropped as he said that. "A... very special agent that you're going to be working very closely with for the foreseeable future.
Sae blinked.
And then blinked again.
And once more at the unexpected bomb that just been dropped on lap.
Trying to maintain her professionalism. "Excuse me?"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Ah! That must be him now."
"Hey mister!"
Naruto looked at the small yellow eyed boy and his car filled with random junk oddly.
Waving back slowly and giving an awkward smile.
"Hi…"
What the heck was a kid doing in this place!?
"Welcome, Naruto, to the Velvet room!" The man in suit bowed before staring right at the blonde with his blank expressionless mask that held only a butterfly wing design to it.
"Hello again...Philemon."
