PA: I actually split this chapter, the next part should be out in a day, maybe three at the most. I felt that ending it where it did was best because the next section is over 3k in itself.

That being said, I scrolled through the reviews and it seems like a lot of people are enjoying the guessing portion of who is who. There are of course a couple of people that seemed to forget what a peerage is meant to be, but hey, we can't win everything.

I've also had people questioning the pairings for this story a fair bit. I can honestly say, outside of Hanekawa and Seeks I have no clue. I am just writing characters and if they mesh together they get together if they don't they move on. We'll get to experience it together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or High School DxD, do Nekomata have human tongues or cat tongues?

Rias let out a groan as she stretched in bed. Her eyes slowly drifting to the naked form of Akeno who was still curled up next to her. The young heiress's thoughts were a stir. Her parents had apparently talked to Naruto Phenex last night and while he did not reject the idea, he said that it would need to be discussed with the heads of Phenex and Agares. That meant Seekvaira would likely get her say. That left her feeling strange. Last year she figured that Seekvaira would take her side and there would be nothing more to it.

The past week though had shown her that Seeks had changed. There was an air of power and grace around her now, not just that façade that she used to put on in public. The anime and LNs she partook in said that sex could change a woman, perhaps Seeks and Naruto had um, done the dirty? A brief image of Seekvaira intertwined in those muscular arms with her body craned in throes of pleasure entered her mind. She quickly shook the thought free. Seeks was a gossip at heart, she would have likely spoken about it.

Could it have been the addition of Naruto's Queen piece? It was not unheard of for an heir or heiress to become a Queen, her cousin had done so after all, but it was rare. Also, how would that work? Seeks had a peerage of her own, though no members were currently residing in it, in the future they could fight against one another. She doubted it would go well for Seeks. The Phenex were tough customers when it came to rating games. The Azure would be worse.

That was another thing she had been doing. Ever since Serafall had let it drop that there was an Azure she had been doing some research into the Phenex family. They were pretty different from a lot of other devils. Like, according to Lucifer's own accounts they were created by using portions of Lilith's DNA and melding it with the mythical Phoenix which gave them this strange hybrid, the Phenex. What did get her attention was that Naruto was not the first Azure, the previous one lived about twenty thousand years ago. To her that was a huge number. The scale of it really outweighed her perception of it.

She looked into this further, getting some of her brother's journals, this was of course before it was confirmed last night that it was Naruto. But the reason for 'The Azure' was slated to be the perfect ratio or formation of DNA in the body. The first Azure showed a higher concentration of demonic cells then normal. Most Devils only had one or two percent, he had nearly twenty. The notes were somewhat unclear, but apparently the Phenex had a higher than average amount of demonic cells, well higher is a bit of a stretch, they had nearly double that of a regular devil. The only one beating them out were the Bael, which she figured is where their Power of Destruction came from.

Demons.

Rias let out a sigh as she crawled from bed and got into the shower. Demons were an interesting topic for her. They got out of hand, even by Lucifer's standards so he locked them behind the Black Gate. For the average citizen they may as well never have existed. The military on the other hand is constantly sending people through to cull back the tides. It is said to be incredibly dangerous as even the air on the other side of the gate will try to strangle the life from you. Then again, every devil that has made it back has had a large boost in strength, magic, speed and durability. Her thoughts drifted to the oldest Phenex Brother, Ruval. From her understanding he had made a large number of sorties beyond the Black Gate, it might explain part of his strength. Able to stand in the top ten rankers of the games.

Each Pure blooded Devil is from birth constantly fighting an invisible battle against the Demonic energy inside of them. To control it, to repress it, to master it. For them, their body eventually creates a balance. The reincarnated didn't have this, it was one of the reasons that Stray Devils could become so monstrous. She had seen a handful that went too far, leaking corrosive substances or gaining incredibly strength at the loss of sanity. For the reincarnated, it is the power of the King piece, which their Evil Piece is linked to, that keeps that demonic energy in place.

Now, how did this work on a creature that has nearly ten times the amount of demonic cells in their body? She wasn't sure. Rias didn't know if anyone was sure. There was so little really known about the Azure, most had thought it to be a once off mutation. A second one of their kind lets them know it isn't. That it is possible to happen again and again.

The Demonic blood though, that was something that she was curious of. From everything she had read it was meant to make the host incredibly possessive and angry. Thinking back to Naruto last night; he didn't seem to give off either of those feelings. If anything it was Seeks that was the possessive one in that relationship.

So, where did that leave her, Rias? Exactly where she started, still arranged to be married to Riser, still trying to change the fact. She had figured her small research into the subject would be able to add fuel that her parents could use. Yes, she was against the idea of arranged marriage, but if she had to be used as breeding stock, well, she'd rather it be with someone she was at least lusting after. Riser was not that. Ruval would do, Naruto would be better.

Plus, with her brother taking the name Lucifer, she was the oldest eligible Gremory, why should she have to marry the youngest Phenex male? That didn't make too much sense to her, but then again her contract was made without her own input. Perhaps she should have been more involved in it, like Seekvaira.

She stepped out of the shower and towelled herself off as Akeno returned with breakfast. After a moment she put on some comfy clothes and sat back on her bed, watching as her Queen poured tea for them and divided the breakfast. "Did you sleep well, Rias?"

"I think so. I feel refreshed either way. We didn't speak on it much, but how did you find last night, that was your first non-Gremory big event, right?"

Rias watched as Akeno thought about it before smiling. "It was exciting. Maybe a little too much fire for my liking but it wasn't stifling hot like I expected. All the displays, all the music, all the people. Their outfits, their conversations it was all so different. I think if Lady Gremory hadn't had us attend practise balls I may have made a fool of myself."

The redhead gave a small giggle at that. "Mother is quite strict on making sure we are well prepared for the socialite life."

"I will have to thank her. Though I do believe I understand some of the allure around that Naruto Phenex after my dance with him last night."

Rias felt her brow twitch. That was something she wasn't too happy with. It wasn't Akeno's fault. It was just that every time Rias had the chance to one of them was dragged off to deal with something else. "Oh yeah?"

"It was fabulous, he made me feel like the princess I was born to be. I can understand why you enjoy the thought of a marriage to him. How was your dance with him, Rias?"

Her brow twitched a little harder. "You know I didn't get to."

"Oh, how silly of me, I must have forgotten."

"It's funny that." Rias glared at her Queen who just smiled wider and wider. This was one part of Akeno that she could do without. The Queen's constant need to tease her. "Now finish up, we've got to go say good morning to my parents before going to see the Nekoshou."

That was something she would have to thank her brother for. It was hard getting her to talk, and the young girl seemed downright frightened of anyone coming close to her. Though she had started eating properly, which was good. What had freaked her out at first was just how closely the girl resembled a younger Hanekawa. Though it would appear that the name meant nothing to this Nekoshou. Hanekawa was another resident in Rias' mind of late.

The words that cat had said had dug into her. She wasn't sure why, normally she would just brush them off. But it felt like Hanekawa was trying to tell her something without actually telling her anything. Why couldn't she just be straightforward?

Thankfully though the delicious breakfast in front of them was enough to distract her before they heading down to the main dinning area. Lord and Lady Gremory were seated next to one another as they were reading through the morning papers and slowly putting down their own breakfast.

"Good Morning, Mother, Father."

"Good Morning Lord and Lady Gremory."

The parents each give them a quick good morning and that was about to be it before Rias' father called out to her. "Rias, if you want to go forward with this change in contract, perhaps it might be helpful to think of a gift, from you, not us, for the Phenex on behalf of their promotion into the rank of Duke."

That was news. She turned and looked at her father who showed her the front page of the newspaper. There, the headline, 'The Phenex Rises into the Rank of Duke.' With a picture of the smiling family, the four siblings in the front with arms around one another. It was an odd dynamic now that she looked at it. Each of the siblings was so different from the other, but in this photo they could not appear anymore similar. This also meant that they would be all over the news the next couple of days.

That was good, it would give her time to figure something out, not only as a gift, but also to try and provide more arguments for her family to try and persuade the Phenex and Agares. "I'll keep that in mind when I go out today. Thank you for letting me know." With that she and Akeno moved further into the house. A gift of platitude, well, if she wanted to push things forward it would need to be a bit more than that; still it was something that she would need to think about. She actually didn't know a whole lot about the personality of the Phenex family, most of her interactions were trying to ignore they were there until just recently. She also couldn't address her gift to just a singular member or that could spur a conflict. It needed to be something generic but also something specific. Damn, her day had just gotten much busier.

xXx

Seekvaira slowly stirred in a bask of warmth. Opening her eyes she took in the sleeping face of Naruto. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, so defenceless. She wanted to punish him. Still their talk last night made her heart flutter, even now. He had said he loved her. Well that he believed he did, but that still counted right? She felt a weight shift behind her and slowly turned to see the golden eyes of Hanekawa watching her. She stiffened in shock for a moment before relaxing. "You scared me," she whispered.

"You're in my spot," the cat replied flatly.

"Doubtful. Naruto is my husband to be. Therefor this is my spot. The fact that I rent it to you when I am not around is a different story." She watched Hanekawa's nose scrunch up. It looked as though the cat didn't like that.

"Wake him up then."

That was a good question. How did she go about that? She could pinch his nose, but that would be a rather crude way to wake him. She could try to move around until he was disturbed enough, but again that seemed like too much effort for the result she wanted. Instead she leaned up and brought her lips to his, watching his eyes flicker under their lids before groggily opening. She blinked in shock, his eyes weren't blue? They were grey, almost clouded, there was a flash of brilliant red before that blue fire slowly took over and a sense of focus came into them. She would need to look into that, maybe bring it up with him, or perhaps Lady Phenex. "Good morning sleepy head."

He let out a small groan and tightened the grip around her waist. She lightly batted at his chest before he relented. "What time is it?"

"9:15, we're late," stated Hanekawa flatly.

Seeks watched as Naruto's eyes widened before he let go of her and sat up. "Fuck."

"What are we late for?" She felt the need to ask as she watched Naruto quickly clean himself with fire.

"Breakfast. Mum hates it when we're late."

Seekvaira gave a small nod and got out of bed. She went into the ensuite and washed her makeup from last night off before letting out a yawn and putting on some pants. She followed Naruto and Hanekawa down. Both of them were clothed, in semi-formal wear. She felt like she missed the memo and it only became more clear as they entered the dinning area. The main family of the Phenex were all there, along with their peerages. She spared a glance around the room. Naruto and Hanekawa were under dressed. Then she slowly looked at what she was wearing, a baggy Gundam t-shirt and a pair of joggers. Raven and Ravel were in full on formal wear with the boys in suits. The plates were all full and it seemed like everyone was waiting on them.

Naruto bashfully took his seat and Hanekawa took the one to his left leaving the one on his right open. Seeks was mortified and with the grace of a corpse undergoing rigour mortise moved into her seat and sat down while everyone watched her. "I'm sorry we're late. I overslept my lord and lady." She bowed her head deeply.

There was a small clearing of a throat from across the table and she looked up into the cold eyes of Lady Phenex. "A shame, and after how promising you were last night. Perhaps we should look at the Gremory girl after all."

Rulven gave a small nod as he adjusted the paper in his hands. "You're right as always my dear."

Ruval slowly shook his head. "To think I called you Sister."

Riser closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. "I'm glad I didn't get paired with a slouch like you Seekvaira."

Ravel looked at her before turning to Raven. "Mummy, can we trade her for Rias?"

"Of course sweetie"

"No!, Not Rias!" Seeks screamed out as she sat upright. She felt a stir next to her and looked down as Naruto slowly opened his eyes. They did that strange flash of different colours again but her heart slowly started to slow as he grabbed her hand.

"What did Rias do now?" His voice was dry, husky. With a sigh she lay back down next to him.

"Nothing, I just had a nightmare was all."

She saw him raise a brow. "What about?"

"It's silly."

"Not if you're worrying about it. I promise I won't laugh."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

She let out a small breath and cuddled into his chest. "I woke up and we were late for breakfast. I showed up what I am wearing now and everyone else was in formal wear. They all judged me and said you should be married to Rias instead."

"Oh shit."

She felt her heart sink. "Please don't, don't you dare."

Naruto though just cocked his head as she stared up at him. The confusion gave way to a little bit of humour showing on his face. "No, I forgot to put my order in last night so breakfast will be late. We don't do family breakfast or lunch, only dinner."

She let out the breath she'd been holding and relaxed in his arms. "You had me worried for a moment."

"We can go down if you want, but it'll mostly just be mum in her pyjamas getting her coffee and the paper while giving orders to the maids."

"No, I'm good. Breakfast here will be fine thank you." There was a small laugh from Naruto and she narrowed her eyes. "You said you wouldn't laugh."

"I'm not laughing at your nightmare. I just think it's cute how worked up you can get over the tiny things. You really think my family would care if you showed up under dressed to breakfast?"

"To be fair, I am fully under the impression that you are the most relaxed member of the Phenex family."

That caused him to burst out laughing. "No way, that's gotta be Ruval. I swear I've run into him like four or five times buck naked in the halls."

She stared at him blankly. "You're joking?"

"Not at all. I wouldn't go past room 405 in the morning unless you want to risk it; his queen isn't too much better. They aren't morning people. At least they've stopped having sex in the halls though," He must have seen the expression on her face as he laughed and held her a little tighter, "don't worry, Ravel is on the other end of the house. I at least wear pants when I leave my room."

"S-so all the times I've come here I could have gotten lost and run into, well, that?!"

"Oh yeah. I probably should have warned you about it earlier, but it never really came up. Anyway, breakfast? Does English with black coffee work?" She nodded dumbly at him. The Phenex family had always seemed so prim and proper but this was a new side of them. She watched him roll over and pick up a phone before order three English breakfasts, two with hot coffee and one with a saucer of milk before rolling back and stretching. "This is probably a shock, huh?"

"Just a little. It makes me feel silly for getting worried over nothing."

"Oh, no. Dinner is a big deal. We can't be late without a good reason and must be properly dressed. So, right mindset just wrong meal."

"Good to know." She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

He gave her a big hug and they laid there for a few moments. "Do you want to talk about what's happening with you and Rias?"

She frowned. He had a right to know, maybe. "I'm not sure. This could just be her throwing a fit and everyone going along with her whims again. You'd be surprised how often it happens."

"Probably not. The entire western wing of the house was pink for three months because Ravel wanted it that colour."

"That didn't happen, right?" The flat look she got from Naruto told her all she needed to. Ravel was a princess through and through. "Okay, um, putting that aside. Rias has a habit of trying to take anything I enjoy. Anime, my figures, my doll Patricia, hells I was the one that spotted Akeno first when we were on a little day trip to the human world." She watched him. Naruto appeared to be thinking something over for a few moments before giving a nod. "I know that it is silly, but I want to put an end to this. I don't want her to try and take you."

"That's not silly. We'll talk to mum later, she'll understand."

Seekvaira wasn't sure. "Will she? I mean, the Gremory were right, it would be a boon for the Underworld if something like that happened," she trailed a bit only to feel his grip on her tighten.

"I heard just how happy she was that you finally called her mother." Seeks was sure he could see her blush as she tried to hide her face, it was an accident. "She is very protective of her children. By blood or by marriage. You saw what she did to the Valac house right?" Seeks gave a nod. They were once pretty good trade partners with the Phenex, but then overnight they lost everything. "Yeah, they insulted Yubelluna saying it wasn't right that one of the most prominent families in the Underworld had one of their heirs running around with reincarnated trash as his queen." His grip on her tightened a little more before relaxing.

"The peerage system is not perfect. There is still the sense of pure blooded supremacy," she spoke softly. To her it did not make sense. There was Tannin for example, a perfect display of what Devils aim to be, yet as many devils as there that revered him there were just as many that treated him with scorn.

"Still, whether you like it or not, you are now under mum's protection, at least I think so."

That was a line. She had heard her parents talk about Raven in great detail and she hung on every detail. Raven was apparently born into one of the branch families that were deemed to serve the main family. It was her use of cunning, her talent with magic and her combat abilities that won her the eye of Rulven and started a long game of him trying to win her favour. It was, in a way, an uplifting tale that showed that your station was not locked at birth. Many have of course tried to push her down but like the phoenix that their clan is named from she rises again, stronger and more ferocious. For many young heiresses, Raven was something of a role model; Seekvaira would admit that she grew attached to the tale of Raven well before she met the woman. Now though, she lay in bed with a child from the very same woman who had called her daughter the night before. At this moment she felt giddy, this joy inside of her that wanted to escape. It took time and careful thought before she noticed why. For the first time, in a long, long time, she did not feel the pressing need to be perfect. She felt content. Letting out a small groan she pushed away from Naruto and smiled at him. "I think I'll be fine with that. Now what are your plans for the day?"

She saw him think about it before shrugging. "Hanekawa and I were probably going to do some training after breakfast with Ruval and Riser, then I was thinking of visiting Azazel to start work on our project together."

"Azazel, as in leader of the Grigori, Azazel?" He gave a small nod. "Is that safe?"

"Not really? But we need to foster a relationship with them if we want a better world, and I can't be asking people to take risks that I wont."

"I don't like it, but what else?"

"Then probably going to come home, run a debrief with mum over the conversation with Serafall and then maybe some late training before dinner, then a heavier session afterwards before heading to bed."

Seekvaira nodded and patted his chest twice. "Very well, I shall join you."

xXx

Naruto stretched himself out as he entered Azazel's labs in the Grigori base. It was no secret that the Fallen were kind of ahead when it came to the sciences, Ajuka and a small handful of devils were invested in them, but there was a much larger of Fallen that poured their time in the craft. It was also why it was kind of weird. He had expected the Fallen to be after his head because of all their kind his group had killed, but they actually seemed pretty thankful. Apparently he got rid of a group that only served to drag their image further through the mud. It made sense, he wouldn't be too bothered if clans like the Valac and the Amy were to be wiped out. Well, if the Maou called them into action to defend them, they would have to move he guessed, but he wouldn't be overly fond of the idea.

"Now, if you'll look on the left you will see a collection of biblical pieces that we are in the process of restoring," their guide said. She was young, only had a single pair of a wings, but she seemed pretty devoted to Azazel and had been singing his praises since they arrived. Naruto looked at the objects, honestly they kind of looked like rubbish to him. Seekvaira and Hanekawa both flinched at the mention of biblical items. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I'm not used to dealing with devils."

Seekvaira cleared her throat, "There is no problem, Miss Raynare. I do find the subject interesting, but yes, it does cause discomfort."

Hanekawa just stuck her tongue out at the relics. He'd have to tell her not to try and destroy them later.

"You don't appear bothered, Lord Naruto?"

"Ew, please don't call me a lord. As for the shinny heaven stuff, no. I'm pretty resistant to all of that."

"Really?" She stepped closer.

"Uh, yeah."

"That's fascinating!" He could nearly feel her breath on his face. He was sure if he looked down he'd see her breasts squished by that clipboard she was holding threatening to spill out of her dress, or he'd get a straight peer down into her cleavage.

There was a cough from nearby. "Miss Raynare, I believe you were leading us somewhere?"

Raynare stepped back and Naruto felt he could breath a little easier. He looked to Seekvaira and saw the muscles around her eyes had tightened. She was not terribly happy. He had noticed that she had become very possessive of late, after the conversation they shared earlier he understood, somewhat, why she was like that. He'd apologise to Raynare later, when Seeks wasn't around, and maybe try to reassure Seeks that she didn't need to feel threatened by every girl that approached him.

"Sorry, Lady Agares, it is just a devil that has resistance to, uh, how did you call them, 'shinny heaven stuff', would make for a most interesting case study. I am trying to put together a paper so I can move from apprentice to a full researcher."

"Ah, here you all are, oh, the young lady from Agares has decided to join us?"

Naruto was thankful for Azazel's sudden appearance. It seemed that Raynare hadn't really gotten the intent that Seeks was putting down and he didn't want to have jump between the two. Thankfully the Governor General's relaxed greeting caught the attention of the girls.

"I came to make sure everything went smoothly."

"Uh-huh, that's great and all, really, but today isn't anything big, just some minor tests and all that."

"I already tried explaining that, she isn't budging on the matter."

Azazel nodded and gave a stupid grin to Naruto. "Well, let's get started. Uh, Raynare come with us, I might need you to take notes."

"Of course my lord." No one said anything as she saluted so quickly she smacked her face with the clipboard and it scattered to the ground. Everyone's eyes followed it as it came to a gentle stop before looking back at her slowly increasing blush. Naruto had to give her credit, she was still holding the salute. Naruto walked forward and picked up the clipboard. There was all manner of hastily scribbled notes on it that he looked at for a moment.

"You, uh, can stop now Raynare," Azazel tried but the poor girl seemed frozen.

Naruto slowly walked over and held the clipboard out. "Want to hide behind this?" She nodded and quickly did just that.

"Nya-haha! Did you hear that thunk?"

Naruto watched the poor girl grow an even deeper shade of red as she tried to hide the entirety of her body behind that tiny clipboard. He actually felt bad for the girl. He lightly patted her back as he looked to Hanekawa who quickly stifled her laughter. "It's just a bad day, tomorrow will be better I'm sure."

"Mmhmm," she sniffled.

Oh fuck, she was reminding him of Ravel when she made a fool of herself. Naruto looked to Azazel who seemed lost, he quickly shook his hands of the situation, mimed he'd be in the next room and gave Naruto a thumbs up before leaving him. Naruto slowly let his mouth agape as Seekvaira did the same taking Hanekawa along with her. So Naruto was alone with a crying fallen angel. Well, they were not entirely alone. There were a handful of researchers working on the biblical stuff, who were now looking at him with question and concern. Naruto gave them each a wave and a smile. It wouldn't buy time for long. They'd start to ask questions and he knew that could only make the situation worse.

He watched as she crouched down to make herself even smaller. He knelt down beside her. "Raynare?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Do you study magic?" He hoped so, if there was a god out there listening to him, here he was, praying.

"Yeah?"

Oh shit, she spoke. "Do you want to see a trick?"

She lifted her head up and Naruto had to check, he just had to. Her eyes were a little puffy, inwardly he groaned. "Give me your hand?" He held his hand out and she slowly, tentatively put her hand in his. Putting all of his focus into their hands he created a flame that burst through her hand. He watched her puffy eyes flicker as she stared at it. "Doesn't hurt does it?" She shook her head. "Okay, I want you to put something metal in there."

She fiddled around and found a pen before slowly pushing the pen into the flame watching as it melted to liquid. She continued to move her hand forward as the pen vanished entirely but her hand didn't burn. "H-how?"

"I was hoping that you could help me figure that out, they seem to react to my emotions of an object, but it can be difficult to control at times. I was hoping you would be able to help out?" He was trying to be as soft as possible.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Like, really, really?"

Naruto gave another nod. "Yeah," oh, she hugged him. He took a breath in as he was knocked to the ground. He was glad that Seeks wasn't here. He didn't need to be explaining this. After a few moments she let go and sat back rubbing at her eyes a little. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay, also, you seem pretty affectionate, that's cool, just be careful with Seekvaira."

"Why, she seems so nice?"

How the hell did this one fall? She was way, way too nice. Azazel was a perverted dick, he understood that. But Raynare, he just couldn't see it. "She's my fiancée."

He saw Raynare scoot back and put a bit more distance between them. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."

"Like I said, I find it fine. Please don't beat yourself up over it. Please. It is just she gets worried about me."

Raynare gave a very strong nod. "Okay, I'll try to keep a respectful distance."

"Thanks," he let out a tired sigh. He'd get Azazel back for this. "Now, let's go catch up with the others. There is more testing and stuff to do yet." He spread his wings and kicked up back to his feet before offering her a hand onto her own.

She dusted herself off and readjusted her clothes into position before pulling a mirror out and checking her hair. She dabbed at her eyes a bit before closing the mirror and nodding. "Okay, well, if you will follow me we can catch the others in no time."

Well at least she seemed to get her perk back. With a renewed vigour she led him to Azazel and the others. They had gathered around a desk and tea had been served while they were waiting.

"Good to see you two caught up." Naruto gave the old perv a narrow stare and he quickly raised his hands in defence. "Okay, okay, joking aside. Today is just running a handful of tests. Oh, also, that piece of flame you gave me, Naruto?" The blond Phenex gave a slight nod as he drew closer. "Well I've been tinkering with it and it turns out that it is a pretty potent source of power."

"I could have told you that," Hanekawa cut in before sipping at the tea and burning her tongue.

"Well miss Hanekawa, do you know how it works?" the governor questioned but got a small shrug in response. "Neither, not yet anyway. Though I can say that I did make a discovery apart from that, this way, this way." Azazel flagged them over to a darker corner of the room where there was a containment cell of some kind. Naruto saw the others crowd around and he slowly drew closer. Each step made his blood boil. He tried to calm the fire that was kicking up a storm but it wouldn't. He saw what looked like a blob in the cell behind some form of protective material. As he stopped it lurched forward and tried to lash out. He felt the fire inside burst as everyone around him jumped away. "Okay, the reaction may have been more aggressive than I thought. Wait, why am I the only one on fire?"

Naruto could barely hear the ramblings of the fallen. There was something in him telling him to destroy this thing. It was dangerous. It needed to be burnt. He faintly registered someone grab his hand before his face was turned away. He looked down at Seekvaira and Hanekawa, they looked worried. They were talking but he couldn't hear them. He summoned everything he could just to pull away from the blob with a mighty roar. He could feel the fire inside roaring, but he could hear, he could see his hands shaking but he could hear his heart slowing, no longer feeding him a rush of blood. "Okay," he breathed out as the fire around his body slowly started to flicker out, "What the hell is that?" It was whispering, he could hear it, he couldn't make out what it was saying but he could hear it.

"That, Naruto, I have no idea, it seemed like something cool and it was all jiggly and stuff when I picked it up a hundred or so years ago but then it just stopped doing anything; that is until your flame was brought it, it suddenly picked itself back up, which is good, because I had actually considered it to be something of a dud. Which would have sucked because I spent a lot of money on that bio-hazard container for it. But as you see, and I guess felt, there appears to be some kind of connection or rather reaction between the two sources of energy."

"Lord Azazel," Seekvaira started, "You are telling me that you have a substance of unknown energy housed inside of a container and it has just been living here for years? What do you plan to do if it escapes?"

"Nuke the place. But if it will assure you, the only way for it to break out would be with outside help. From in there it is pretty much powerless."

"It isn't," Naruto called as he slowly stood, "and it's talking."

"That's impossible," Azazel laughed out, "It's just a blob." He watched Azazel walk over to a console and start flicking through some screens before his face went deathly pale. "Um, so it turns out that it might not be impossible."

"What is it saying?"

"I don't know, 'Language' isn't picking it up, but it sounds like it is saying your name."

Naruto nodded. "Can you play it out loud."

"Promise not to blow up my lab?"

"Azazel!"

"Fine, fine," they heard the tapping of keys before there was a high pitched screeching sound.

"We found you.

Hehe.

Uzumaki Naruto."

He knew the voice, he wasn't sure from where but it made him feel like a bucket of cold water had been dropped over him.

"A devil again?

How boring.

Wait until mother hears of this.

Uzumaki Naruto."

"See, not a lick of it makes sense," Azazel said with a sigh.

Naruto looked at him. "You don't understand it?"

"Don't die.

Don't die.

Please let us rip you, tear you.

Hehe.

Try not to die before we get you."

"Naruto, are you saying you do?" Seeks asked her face twisted into concern.

Hanekawa slowly raised her hand. "I can too."

"Oh. Who are these?

Did you make new friends?

Really?

After last time?

We wonder how they will taste.

Will they be sweet?

Will they scream?"

Naruto could feel his body tensing, the fire wanted to burn it, it wanted to burn everything. "Azazel turn it off." This thing, how did it know the name from his dreams? He hadn't told anyone the name Uzumaki. He clenched his fist as the final bit came through.

"Talk soon.

Bye, bye.

Uzumaki Naruto."

"Okay, there, we should be good," Azazel slowly approached him. "Are you okay?" Naruto gave a slow nod. "Now, I know that this is a little rushed, but I need to know what happened."

"Azazel can you not see this event has already taken it's toll. My husband needs time to, at the very least, collect his own thoughts."

"No Seeks, Azazel is right. I think this is a serious threat." Naruto turned his gaze to Hanekawa. "You said you could understand it?"

"Yeah…I didn't like what they were talking about, but we'll kick their ass, right?"

Naruto saw Azazel look over them all. "And Lady Agares, you can't understand it correct?"

"That is right."

"This doesn't make sense. I was thinking maybe Naruto's peerage could, but only himself and Hanekawa can. Anyway, it might be best if we lock this lab for now and finish our conversation in another location."

That was something that Naruto was pretty sure everyone agreed with. Azazel put the lab in lock down as the rest of the group headed over to a nearby lounge area. They were joined shortly after by Azazel who was now holding a pen and some paper. "Can you write down what they said? In a language from, I don't know, one that 'Language' works with."

Naruto gave a quick nod and wrote down the one sided conversation. He handed it back to Azazel who seemed to frown. After a few moments he showed it to Raynare and Seekvaira, both didn't seem too thrilled with the contents. "Okay, so I got a lot of questions," Azazel broke the silence.

"I'll bet."

"Who is Uzumaki Naruto, and why does this thing think you are him?"

Naruto frowned. "I think it's me. Well, it's a little complicated. It is recorded that the Azure has very vivid dreams, but I'm starting to think they are memories, not dreams. I can use a lot of the abilities I've used in the dreams. Some I am still working on, but it doesn't make sense. Angels, Devils, none of that exists in the dreams."

"Well, to be fair, to the modern humans we don't either. Unless they are in touch with the supernatural."

"People could control the elements, Azazel. Everyone had chakra. We could make storms in our palms and spew fire from our mouths. We could split waterfalls with her finger tips and sunder mountains with a fist."

"Yeah okay, that is pretty supernatural. Wait, control elements?"

"Yes. I can't now, but the me in my dreams could control air. Whenever I try it just, I don't know fizzles, like slips through my fingers."

Naruto looked up as Seeks slipped her hand into his. "So, it is possible that you are the reincarnation of this, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"I think so. But I don't know. I experience his memories I guess through dreams, and some of his techniques I can use. But that could just be, well, luck."

"I don't think so," Azazel spoke drawing eyes back to him, "Now, I don't have access to the books here my little trip out of heaven lost me a lot of resources, but I do remember the big guy tried a couple of different designs before he eventually made Eden. Actually, thinking on it, wait here a moment."

The group watched as Azazel vanished in a burst of dark light. Naruto slowly turned his eyes down to his hands. Was his mother right about him? Hell, was she still his mother? Then there was that creature, he knew the voice but he didn't have a name for it. He just knew that there were tens of thousands of them. There are flashes? His cutting through them ten at a time alongside some strange man trying to rap. "Are you okay?" His head snapped up to Seeks, her features were softer than normal.

"I don't know."

"It's a lot to take in, but we'll do it together," she paused and looked to the side, "the three of us, I guess."

"Lady Agares, I just want to apologise for my actions earlier. I was not aware that you and Naruto were an i-item."

"Thank you, miss Raynare, but I don't think this is really the time for that?"

"Oh, um. Something to relax. Tea, yes, I'll go make us some tea. I'll be right back." With that she left as well.

Hanekawa slowly drew closer, her lips had been pressed into a frown for a while now. "Does that mean I also come from that place?"

That was a good question, one that Naruto didn't have the answer to. "Maybe? I don't know."

"Could I know the old you?"

The old him. Was there a difference? He kind of hoped he wasn't just the construct of another person. "Maybe, I'm not sure how we would find out though."

At that moment Azazel popped back in holding a really big book, his clothes were in tatters and it looked like he'd been in a fight. "Okay, so I found it, also if anyone asks I was here the whole time."

"So where weren't you?"

"Oh, I definitely didn't just break into Lucifer's old vault that has been hidden away from the public."

"You do understand that we are Devils, Lord Azazel."

"Nah Seeks, it is fine, he just said he didn't do it."

"T-that, is not how it works Naruto."

"I'm pretty sure it is."

"No, you stay out of this Lord Azazel."

Naruto looked at her and saw her resolve falter. "I take it the book wasn't in use?"

"Not this one. The vault I went to was still sealed shut since Lucy kicked it. The security inside is still working though."

"Okay," Naruto nodded, "To make Seeks feel better about this then, can we have the artifact of our race's founder once you're done looking through it?"

"Sure, no probs. I have my own version that is probably a fair bit more detailed, just need Micky to let me take it back. Uh, one moment," he quickly started to flick through the pages, "Looking for drafts, drafts, oh, the first devil contract. Drafts, ah here we go: 'Father's creation failed. They were destroyed by creatures not of his creation. He plans to reset the world. Michael is trying to talk him out of it, but I figure it is for the best. I just want to grab a few things first. See First Contract.' Okay, back we go I guess."

Naruto had to admit, Azazel was taking this all pretty well, Seeks appeared to be completely freaking out, he felt kind of okay about it all. Then he saw the man stop flicking through pages as his lips pursed together. "Well shit."

"What is it?" He was nervous to ask, but he felt the need to.

"Uh, well. I think I figured it out and this is a colossal fuck up on everyone's part. Here, it's best if you read it."

Naruto took the heavy book into his arms and slowly read through the page. The contract was pretty detailed. "I made a deal with Lucifer to kill this Kaguya?"

"Yeah, the thing is though, the big dude hit reset. So she wasn't here. You weren't here. But if she ever started to come back, you would. Ain't the first time. You've already lost to her twice. Once before the contract, once after. Lucy was pretty true to his word, he is giving you the chance to kill her again and again, just not the power to."

"This…"

"So uh, yeah, welcome to being a cornerstone in Devil history?"

Naruto looked to Seekvaira who looked ready to faint. Hanekawa was doing about as well as him, stuck in a state of confusion while Azazel tried to make light of the situation. "Fuck I need some time to think

Azazel nodded in thought. "Well, I take it you aren't up for any more tests today?"

Naruto just glared at the older male before a poof of energy blew out between them and Raynare returned with a tray full of tea. "Um, sorry I took so long, also we didn't have any milk?" Naruto groaned. This was going to require a lot of explaining. "Is it because of the milk?"

PA: Yeah, I made young Raynare cute and adorable, what of it? I guess I'll keep it short as people are probs gonna be jumping around trying to figure out what this means. I should probably also finish up the second half of this chapter so yeah, see you next time Space Cowboy.