Note: With all the content in this chapter, this will be split in two and named Chapter 6A, with 6B being the finale. I apologize for the long wait. It's hard to figure out when a chapter should end. Originally it was supposed to be three chapters of content, but I don't like to make people wait too long.

Reviews are important, mainly to help improve and see what I can do to make the next chapter(s) good and improve on some things. Perhaps I also require beta-readers so that's something to think about. Though how to get beta-readers is something I don't know...

Reminder: In Part II Ch 1, there's been an extra scene added. It's small, but it involves Sona's birthday.

The reason why it's been taking longer to write is because of personal life stuff, coupled with re-edits of past chapters, mainly involving correction of words.


With some thinking, I've decided to eventually start working on Firebrand DX, a story involving several different short stories about certain characters, along with some of the short stories in the High School DxD series.

Some chapters will involve:

Sif's visit to the vet

Seekvaira experimenting on Sex Magic

Naruto's Team-Ups with Night Raid

Shirabi's Story

Chitose's Story

Chitose, Sella, and Leysritt's Duties in the Namikaze Residence

Naruto babysitting Millicas

How Maki became a Pawn

How Scáthach became a Knight

Xenovia getting into video games

Ritsuka and Mash Romance

Keito and Mary Romance

Akame's life with the Namikaze Family

Hoshikari vs. Shirabi Gozen

Naruto's Jobs as a Devil

Interactions between Rico Brzenska and Naruto

How Serafall met Naruto


Alright time to roll the ball forward. First, to answer some reviews or comment on them. There's also a new poll posted on my page. Feel free to check it out and vote.


Salty Coconut: Did I just see a Kobayashi-san Dragon Maid reference

A: I know what you mean. I didn't intend to make it a Kobayashi-san Dragon Maid reference. But now it's become a reference.


CrimsonStarBlade:

hello i'm CrimsonStarBlade and i went by AzureWarrior until i found out that someone already has an account with the same name, hence the name change.

any ways heres an idea, Have Naruto escort 1 of the 4 season (based off the seasons spring, summer, fall and winter) princesses to a specific location (your choice) only to be attacked by a mad magician called Scorge and that he already has the other 3 princesses (who each took a different route due to where they live) after destroying their escorts to capture them. Scorge's plan is to drain the 4 princesses of both their life-force and their magic at the same time so he could become the most powerful magician to ever exist. After Naruto defeats Scorge, he finishes escorting all 4 princesses to the specific location, and is forced to see the ceremony (a special dance that all 4 princesses do at the same time), only to find a barrier surround them (them as in the 4 princesses and Naruto) and the only way out is for Naruto to get the princesses pregnant (much to his horror/disbelief and Infernus's joy/disbelief) due to that only escorts can pull it off out of the trust that the princesses have in them (him due to Naruto being the only escort left). (note there is a chance that it will take more than one deletes/ extended extras chapters to pull off)

profile: Name: Scorge, occupation: Mad Magician, Age: 38, race: human (note: has eaten a stray bishop devil to illegally increase his magic reserves) looks: 5'8 tall, has 1 red eye (from stray bishop devil) 1 green eye (human), dark violet hair that reaches his neck, wears brown shirt and pants while shrouded in a green cloak, black sandals, weapon: a staff made from an ancient magical tree (greyish-brown), core of a fallen dragon (before they went extinct/in hiding) and a string of hair from Fenrir. Minions: Golems made of crystal, lava, ice, rock, and lightning. Minion's weakness: destroy their "hearts" (different colored rock thats inside them)death: in an attempt to escape Naruto (after losing his minions and left arm and right leg to him), he jumps out the window proclaiming that he shall have his revenge while laughing madly, failing to realize that he went out the wrong one that sends him to death via moat with spear-spikes in it.

A: I would consider this idea. However, to have something like Naruto needing to impregnate them is a strange thought. It's tempting, but I would have to make this a separate special and figure out everything, beginning with the 4 princesses. To put it short, it'd be the equivalent of a Naruto movie or special that may or may not be canon.


Guest: Seems good, but why make it naruto when there's nothing related to naruto other than character design and name?

A: Every universe in the multiverse is different from the original, seeing as how several fanfics involve some breaking out of character or appearing in a different setting or time. The focus is Naruto, but not one we're familiar with, same goes for some references and short appearances here and there. That was the idea, that every Naruto people write on FanFiction is their alternate take on him that breaks out of the canon mold in a way.


Archer Chef: Put Tohsaka , Saber , Medusa And rossweisse to the harem

A: I can't guarantee that everyone in the Fate series will make it. It's a 50/50 chance. Medusa, for her, I have something special in mind. Rossweisse, she's guaranteed a spot.


Guest

Will naruto learn how to use seals runes or bounded fields or will he learn about noble phantasm

A: He knows seals, along with runes. He is capable of making bounded fields, even a reality marble, he just has yet to do it. Naruto's not a Servant, why would he have a Noble Phantasm?


Guest

Why don't you have get to know the princesses first as a bodyguard before you get him to escort Them

A: Save this all for a future story that's FIREBRAND but separate.


Guest

What about something similar to fuinjutsu

A: Read the chapter where he fights Mr. Agares? Otherwise, will look into showcasing his other capabilities.


Yuki Riki

Is Rias will be in the harem to?

A: No.


Guest

I vote akeno in naruto's harem!

A: Naruto x Akeno pairings have been done too much. I feel it's a bit repetitive. However, that may change if given a valid reason.


Moeryz Azhar

I Vote For Himeragi Yukina In Naruto's Harem

A: No, she already has someone, that being Akatsuki Kojou.


Guest

Doesn't naruto have to beat sona in chess to get her part of his harem

A: I don't remember what chapter I wrote that. But if I did write that, things don't always go as planned. Plus, Naruto is a very capable chess player, I don't think he'd have trouble with winning a match or two against her.


Guest

Could u add joker from p5

A: No, not going to happen in the FIREBRANDverse.


OP4: Defiance by 雨宮 天

Kuoh Academy

"A murder at the park?"

"24 people murdered, one of them was a child. She was only 8." Naruto's eyes narrowed as Kirigiri continued speaking. "From the look of the scene, I can tell that they were here as an offering of sorts to attempt a summoning. There's a mysterious circle made of blood on the ground, one that doesn't match any of the occultic circles I'm familiar with."

"Blood Circle?... Could you hold on for a second?"

"Of course." Turning off the stone, Naruto calls Kotomi telepathically and tells her to check out the blood circle at the park in her pixie form and to not get caught before calling Kirigiri back. "I'll look into it, Detective Kirigiri."

"Thank you, I appreciate your help."

After School

Rooftop

(Naruto, Kotomi, Maki, Xenovia, Joichi, Ayano, and Moka)

After Shizune, Jiraiya, and the other parents left, Naruto had called the others to meet him at the rooftop, telling them it was their own private hideout, considering how only they, along with Koneko, came up here. Each of them had troubled looks on their faces when Kotomi came back a few minutes ago and revealed that the blood circle was one that summoned a Servant.

"I detected a faint but malicious trace of mana in the air, that of forbidden magic. It made my skin crawl a bit just feeling the atmosphere," said Kotomi.

"We may be up against a Servant of the Caster class," said Maki. "Whoever this Master and Servant duo are, to kill even a child...despicable."

"So what do you say?" Everyone looks at each other before looking back at Naruto and agreeing to go out and look for the Master and Servant in question.

"That's good to hear," said Naruto, a grateful smile on his face.

"Quick question," said Joichi. "Where's Hoshikari? Would've thought he'd be here." Naruto tells Joichi that the Fallen Angel was called to help out at the Black Dog BAR to fill in for a cook who got injured on the job. "Would've thought he'd want to join."

"Maybe next time," Naruto tells Joichi.

"Perhaps I should have Archer come with as well. I get the feeling we'll need to fight Servant with Servant," Moka suggests.

"I should bring Sif along as well," said Xenovia.

"Whoa hold up," said Joichi. "This is a bit late to ask, and it's not a part of the main conversation, but has Sif been to a vet yet?" Beads of sweat formed on Xenovia's forehead when Joichi asked the question.

"えっと(Etto)(Well)...I tried to bring him to the vet back in Italy but..."

"So he hasn't seen a veterinarian yet?" asked Naruto, the bluenette looking away in embarrassment. "That I can't let slide, Xenovia. He has to go. Today." The bluenette tells the Rook it wasn't going to be easy for her to bring him to one.

Namikaze Residence

As soon as he finished eating, Sif decided to go take a nap in the living room. Once he turned around, he saw Xenovia, Joichi, Moka, Kotomi, and Rinne blocking his path, Joichi holding a large pet cage.

"Sif, we love you, but you need to come with us. Do not make this hard for us," said Xenovia. Sif lets out a whimper in response.

Ueno Zoo

[Persona 3 OST - Afternoon Break]

Maki had a look of curiosity as she focused on the aye-ayes, a long-fingered lemur as Naruto stood behind her.

"To think these animals are endangered," said Maki, who considers going after poachers and hunters who don't care about the lives of the animals, only the hunt. The Agares Rook sweats a bit when the Pawn suggested it out loud, knowing full well she was capable of doing so.

"Or you can ask Seekvaira to organize a worldwide organization that is dedicated to the preservation of these endangered animals without being PETA." Looking at Naruto, Maki tells him her suggestion was better, adding that poachers don't always learn their lessons.

"They have to go," said Maki, moving her left finger across her neck, symbolizing a throat slit, making Naruto sweat a bit before he suggests they go see the pandas.

Seeing the two baby pandas having fun chasing one another, Maki's eyes lit up, Naruto looking relieved as the Pawn focused on the little bears, smiling as he watched her enjoy herself. Next, the two went to the petting zoo, where Maki was reluctant to pick up and pet one of the many rabbits, Naruto holding one in his hands, gently petting it. Noticing her hesitation, he asked her if she wanted to hold it.

"Are you sure?" Naruto nods yes as he presented the rabbit to her. Slowly but carefully, Maki took the rabbit into her hands, smiling as she pets the small animal in her hands. Their final stop was an aquarium, where Maki and Naruto marveled at the small fishes that swam freely in front of them.

[Music End]

"Kaito once asked me what I wanted to be if I ever went to college. I told him I wanted to be an animal biologist." Maki reveals. "I was put in a tight spot and just blurted out whatever came into my head. I was too embarrassed to tell him I had no idea what I wanted to do. Even now, I still don't know. There must be something more for me than just being an assassin or Seekvaira's Pawn. Stuff like kendo is more of a hobby to me."

"Finding something more than that takes time, Harumaki. My mother wanted to be a marine biologist. However, she couldn't stand being objectified by her employers and the male employees she worked with. Heck, she even wanted to be an MMA Fighter."

"MMA?"

"Yeah, a beautiful woman like my mom trying out for MMA. Eventually, during her second year at college, she found a passion for inventing, and let me tell you, she was horrible at it. But she loved it. Every mistake she made, she'd start over from scratch. Of the things between those three, being an inventor was the only one where she made a lot of mistakes. I think she wanted to do something that really challenged her and made her filled with passion. Marine Biology, MMA Fighting...They were easy for her."

"Something that really challenged her and gave her passion..." Maki tells Naruto he's given her something to consider before thanking him.

"If you need help with it, let me know." Maki nods her head in acknowledgment before telling the Agares Rook they should leave to get ready for tonight. "Besides, the Underworld Black Market has some supplies I need that are 75% off and I want to go there early."

"Underworld Black Market?"

"Yes. They have some rather interesting goods sold there every time I visit," said Maki. "The owner of the market is also an acquaintance of mine, who'll give me an extra 5% off. I also want you to make me a new gun with the materials I'm buying there."

"That so..."

With Hoshikari

Black Dog BAR

"Your fish curry, Miss." The woman thanks Tobio before taking a bite out of her meal. To her surprise, it was more delicious than the many times she ordered the dish. "Tell me, Did you improve upon this dish, or do you have a new chef make this dish?"

"It was made by Hoshikari Kato. He's filling in for one of the chefs," he told her, the woman telling him to tell Hoshikari it was delicious. Entering the kitchen, Tobio tells Hoshikari what the customer told him, the fallen angel focusing on his cooking as Elise smiles at him.

"I see...I'm glad she enjoyed it." Tobio tells him to keep up the good work before leaving the kitchen.

"She liked your dish. Isn't that nice?" asked Elise.

"Wasn't just me. You helped out as well." Blushing as she fidgets with her fingers, Elise told him she simply cut the vegetables, removed the monkfish's skin, and made the sauce. "Even so, it wouldn't have been finished without your help."

"That's good to hear..."

"I also hate to admit that I still have ways to go with cooking. I'm not nearly as good as I want to be." Getting an idea in mind, Elise suggests she gives him some advice for cooking, and that he could come to her place and learn from her.

"I'd have to talk to Shizune and Jiraiya about it before I could come to your place." This response pleased Elise, who felt she could take on the rest of the day in full spirits.

"Yosh, let's get back to it, shall we?" she said with a smile.

"Mmm..."

Night

Kuoh Academy

(Naruto, Kotomi, Maki, Rinne, Eu, Xenovia, Joichi, Ayano, Moka, Archer, and Sif)

Sif looked angry at his owner as Xenovia and the others met on top of the academy's rooftop, waiting on Naruto and Maki.

"Come on Sif, we're very sorry you had to go to the vet, but we did it because we love you and wanted to make sure you were healthy." Sif looks away from his owner as Xenovia tried to figure out what she could do to get Sif to like her again.

"That wolf has quite an attitude," said Joichi, Eu nodding in agreement.

"I'll make sure to give you twice the amount of food for dinner tomorrow." Sif does not budge, making Xenovia sweat. "...Oh, we can go for a walk after I come back from school!" Again, Sif does not budge. "Not even that!? Then..."

"What if Xenovia gave you ownership of Artorias' Sword to use in battle?" Sif's ear's moved a bit when Ayano said that. "You think you can give him his old master's sword?"

"O-Oh, of course! I will give you that sword. It's forever yours, Sif!" Turning to his owner to meet her gaze, Sif barks at her. This makes the bluenette happy as she hugs her pet and says, "I promise I won't betray your trust again, Sif!"

"How did you know that Sif would forgive her by giving him the sword?" asked Archer. Ayano tells her how something that once belonged to a previous owner of his would hold great importance to the pet. "Smart..." Following this, Naruto and Maki appear via Sling portal.

"Sorry we took a while. Maki wanted me to make a brand new Beretta for her, and I had to make some upgrades for Igneox. We also had some trouble getting out of the house since Akame wanted to come with."

"How did she take it?" Xenovia asked, the Agares Rook telling her how Akame didn't take it well and had a sad look on her face. "The downsides of being an older sibling..."

"So who's helping her with her homework?"

With Akame

Kuzuryu Mansion

"Thanks for letting me come here to study, Pekoyama-senpai..." said Akame, Pekoyama looking over her answers while the former focused on another assignment.

"Naruto-related problems?" Akame answers with a yes. "Want to tell me about it?"

"Naruto is having a study group with his...girlfriend and the others, but..." When Pekoyama asked if he didn't invite her to come, she told the Knight, "He said I couldn't come and...he didn't give me an answer for why, no matter how many time I asked him, only telling me that he'd make it up to me."

"That's mean of him to leave his cute sister out of his little group study," Pekoyama tells her, Akame nodding.

"I know he's one to make it up to me, but I don't like it. I can feel that there's something he's not telling me, all in the back of my head. Something like a study group shouldn't be so secretive unless there's something more to it than just studying. I just can't put my finger on it, and it's infuriating..." Pekoyama glanced at Akame as the latter focused on her schoolwork, showing worry towards her.

"Poor Akame. Naruto may be keeping secrets in order to keep her safe, but he doesn't know how it negatively affects her..."

With Naruto

"So she's at Pekoyama-senpai's..." said Joichi. "I take it Fujino's not joining us?"

"She wanted some time with her mother...Aside from hurting my sister's feelings, I also made some stuff on the side as well. Here, for you, JoJo." Naruto hands him a harness that would produce hard light wings that'd give him flight, along with a pair of gloves that allowed Naruto to share some of his power with him, allowing Joichi to increase his Stand's power, along with his own, by sharing his own power with him, though he lets him know it should only be used in times of emergencies.

"Naruto, I'm glad we're friends," said Joichi, putting on the harness and gloves as Naruto hands Xenovia a new leather jacket to replace the one he destroyed.

"You didn't have to, but thanks," said the bluenette, sounding thankful for it.

"With that out of the way, we should split into groups to cover more ground. I'll go with Joichi, Moka, Kotomi, and Rinne and cover South and West. Xenovia, you go with Sif and Archer and cover North. As for Ayano, you can go with Eu and Maki and cover East. If any of us find anything, let us know about it and we'll rendezvous with you."

"Wait, I can't come with you?" said Xenovia. Naruto assures her he'll find a way to make it up to her before he and his party leave, the bluenette and the others doing the same.

With Xenovia

So far their search was going nowhere. Why? There was something, or someone, who was tampering with the mana in the air. Archer suggests it was the work of the Master, with a chance that she wasn't working with just their Servant. At the same time, Xenovia bemoaned over not being in Naruto's group.

"Why didn't Naruto include me in his group?" she asked herself as her Servant counterpart and Sif followed from behind.

"Cheer up, Xenovia, I'm sure he did it because he had faith in your abilities," Archer assured her.

"You think so?" she asked the Servant, who remains adamant with her answer. "Funny...I'm being assured by Servant Me..." Archer tells her she never expected to assure her younger self. When asked how she knows how to talk about couples, Archer tells her she read books on it at Moka's home prior to getting her memories back.

"About eight books on it," Archer adds, just as a little girl asked her mom if she could pet Sif, grabbing Archer and Xenovia's attention.

"Of course you can pet him. He's a very nice wolf," Xenovia told the girl, who happily pets Sif's fur before leaving with her mom.

"Alright, back to-" Xenovia stops as Sif barks, turning to the right. "What? You smell blood?" she asked the wolf, Sif barking again. "And it's fresh..."

Alley

2 minutes ago

One of the four Yakuza members held an annoyed Ayumi at gunpoint as another held a knife to her throat.

"If you think you four can gang up on me, it's cute, but useless. You also made the mistake of threatening me when I'm in a VERY bad mood."

"Just shut up and let us-" Before the knife-wielding gangster could finish, he and his buddies found themselves impaled by a long metallic tail that had a long blade at the end of it (Code Vein Stinger Blood Veil). "What..." Ayumi's eyes gave off a red glow as the stinger absorbs their blood before the metallic weapon dispersed into a red-black cloud, the four Yakuzas dropping dead, just as Xenovia, Archer, and Sif arrived. Taking notice, Ayumi turns to them and says, "Well, I never expected to run into you three at this time."

"Dr. Karnstein? You're looking-"

"Pissed? I am very," she told them. "I was trailing a patient of mine out of worry when these four made the mistake of getting in my way, hoping for some nice piece of (sexual) action, only for me to do the penetrating."

"You were trailing a patient?" The nurse tells them how one of the victims murdered at the park was a patient of hers. "She was a very nice girl who was a day away from moving to the UK to attend her dream college. Now she can't do that."

"We're sorry to hear that," said Archer, telling her they were looking for a lead to the ones who committed those murders.

"You and I are in luck. The patient I was trailing was supposed to be on his way home for dinner after studying at the library, that's what his parents told me. To my surprise, I saw him walking somewhere in a trance-like state and attempted to snap him out of it, but as you know, I got side-tracked. Before those men got in the way, I managed to slip my spider familiar inside his pocket."

"You did!?" asked a happy Xenovia, knowing they now had a lead.

"Of course, have to take extra steps in case something went wrong. Also," To the bluenette's surprise, Ayumi's finger was connected to a red string that leads to her familiar. "if we follow this string, we'll not only find my patient but the murderers as well."

"We should let the others know," said Archer, the bluenette agreeing with her.

With Naruto

Several minutes ago

"The largest injury I've had during a mission...I was in charge of babysitting and guarding several kids of noble Devil status, having to fight off several stray devils and fallen angels. I got stabbed and shot at about around 80 times, but it didn't hurt. I was even shot in the face, with a powerful gun that was supposed to obliterate it, but it didn't, only destroying my right eye and burning off the skin. They fully regenerated right after." This surprised Joichi, Moka, Rinne, and Kotomi, the latter taking a ride in Naruto's pocket.

"Damn Naruto, in the face?" asked Joichi. "Did it hurt?"

"Wouldn't know. I mean, just before it fired, I was pissed enough to let Infernus take over, so I couldn't tell. Regenerating all that damage was a a breeze for him after it was fired," Naruto adds. "Seekvaira admonished me for scaring her and for not worrying about my own life. She was in a real panic when she heard about it from one of Millicas' friends."

"We can picture that," Moka adds. The group stops when they see Hoshikari saying goodnight to Elise before the latter went inside her micro-apartment complex. "Hoshikari?"

"Oh, Moka, and Naruto, Joichi, Kotomi, and Rinne..." The Agares Rook voiced how glad he was that the Fallen Angel was calling them by their first names as they approached him.

"You were walking Elise home, we see," said Naruto, asking him how that came to be. "She invited me to dinner, telling me she would pay, so I went with her, we talked, finished our food, and then came here."

"So oblivious..." was on everyone's thoughts as Hoshikari wondered why everyone was looking at him all surprised like that.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Naruto told the Fallen Angel.

"By the way, I've noticed a change in the mana in the air. Is something going on?" he asked, Naruto and Joichi filling him in on the details. "Hmm, a Caster-class Servant and its Master, huh. I may know something about it, or rather who is capable of such a feat." This surprised them as Naruto asked him what he knew.

"Back before we set our sights on Japan, my father and I were leading an assault on a base belonging to one of the members of the Old Satan Faction, Katerea Leviathan. She was a very talented Devil. It took months to find her base, due to the manipulation of all the air's mana making it difficult to locate her. After a month of searching, our spy group located it, before they were ultimately killed by Katerea of course. While we burned the whole place to the ground, she escaped, though not before I managed to draw some of her blood with my katana. My father had plans to make a homunculus of her, using the blood I required, but it never came to be, due to some last-minute change of plans. I believe that with the blood I still have from her, we can track her using blood magic, though it'd be quicker if we had a blood compass."

"A blood compass?" asked Joichi, raising a brow.

"Yes, it's a very expensive and useful piece of equipment used for tracking down a target or prey during a hunt, depending on the blood utilized. However, once 3 hours have passed, the blood used for the compass expires, requiring fresh blood from the target itself. It's a very difficult object to acquire, and the materials used to make it are very ex-"

"I have one," said Moka, getting everyone's attention, Naruto following it up with, "You what?"

"I have one, see?" said Moka, a blood compass appearing in her left hand.

"Perfect, we can track this Katerea down with that and beat the crap out of her," said Joichi. When asked if he wanted to come, Hoshikari tells Naruto, "I've been waiting for a new fight..."

With Ayano

"Can I ask you something, Ayano?" The white-haired girl hair tells her she can as she bites down on a hot dog, wanting to take a small break and order food from a stand. Eu silently followed them as she sipped on a double jumbo-sized soft drink.

"You make your living by killing Yakuza and taking their money. By now, you've amassed a pretty good fortune. Why not move to a house closer to Naruto's? You could even move in if you wanted."

"That sounds good, but I don't have plans to do just that. Back when Infernus had a body, I remember telling him how I'd eventually want to live on my own since he was way too protective over me. I mean, I can't stay with him forever," Ayano responds.

"So it's a matter of independence for you?" Ayano also adds that Infernus would crack the worst dad jokes of all time.

"I may love him, but I can't always tolerate him. So far, I'm doing well for myself. I save, manage, and spend money moderately, I pay my bills on time, I go to school, I can cook, and I can defend myself just fine. Although..."

"Although..."

"Oh, it's nothing, just second thoughts. Not going to act upon it whatsoever." Maki only smiles at the girl as she finished her hot dog. "How's that list of yours?"

"I managed to complete half of it," Maki told her. "It's only a matter of time before it's complete..." When asked how she felt about completing half of her list, Maki told her she was happy that she was doing something about it, but admits that part of her feels uneasy about completing it.

"Uneasy?"

"No comment..." Seeing Gozen's up ahead, Ayano stops her when she tells Maki she needed to make a quick stop at the shop to pick up some equipment she gave someone to upgrade.

"G-Gozen's!?"

Gozen's

Cleaning the front desk, Shirabi looks at the perfect shine coming from her hard work before deciding to close early. As she prepares to lock the door to the forge room and leave to do some investigating herself, she stops and turns to her left, locking eyes with Ayano.

"Oh, Ayano, here to check you pick up your equipment I..." Shirabi went speechless, forming a "serious" (Return of her "panicked" expression XD) expression on her face as Maki and Eu entered the shop, surprised looks on their faces.

"Shirabi?"

"I take it you two know her?" said Ayano, Maki telling the white-haired girl how Shirabi is a friend of theirs. "You didn't tell them, did you?"

"Tell us what?" asked Maki. Shirabi sighs as she revealed her oni horns to the Agares Pawn and Bishop. "You're an Oni?"

"Not just an Oni, she is a Servant of the Archer-class," Ayano revealed. "And her name's not Shirabi. Her true name is Tomoe Gozen." Shirabi silently nods to confirm it.

"Shino doesn't know about you being a Servant, does she?" Once more, Shirabi nods yes.

("Naruto's going to freak when he hears this") Eu writes, the Archer-class Servant looking surprised.

"Eh? Naruto? Does that mean he's-"

"A Devil? Yes," Maki interrupts. "In fact, he's Firebrand."

"FIREBRAND!?" Shirabi shouts. "Wait, so the reason why they broke up is because..." Maki nods, confirming Shirabi's answer. "I see..." Ayano fakes a cough to break the silence and get their attention.

"As much as I'd like you to share your story with them, Tomoe, my equipment?"

"Of course, Ayano. First, mind telling me what brings you, Maki, and Eu together?" After telling her their plans, Shirabi asked that she accompany them as she brings out Ayano's silver mask and an upgraded version of her boots.

"This Servant you're looking for goes by the name of Bluebeard." The Agares Pawn felt anxious as she recalled the fairy tale "Bluebeard" was inspired by.

"If that's who we're up against, it makes me wonder what sort of person is crazy enough to make him their Master..."

"I guess we'll find out when we ultimately confront them," said Ayano, just as Archer called for their help through telepathy.

Earlier

Aokigahara

"The Suicide Forest? They're hiding out here?"

"Makes for a perfect hideout, if I must say so myself," said Ayumi as she, Xenovia, Archer, and Sif walked through it. "The mana gathered here is heavy, making this the perfect place for mages to draw mana and manipulate it. That would explain why we couldn't locate them, no matter how much we focused."

"In a place like this..." Archer stops when she heard a squelch as she stepped on a puddle of blood. Looking down, to their horror, they see a shredded and partially devoured body belonging to a male student that went to Kawahara Academy. To Ayumi's anger, it was the patient she was trying to save, the spider familiar returning to her.

"If only those men didn't..." It didn't stop there as they noticed more bodies belonging to men, women and children alike.

"Unforgivable..." said Xenovia, clenching her teeth in anger as Sif growled at something slowly coming towards them, transforming into their fighting attire, with the exception of Sif and Ayumi, the former wielding Artorias' Sword in his mouth.

[Fate/Zero OST - Confrontation]

"This energy. There's no mistaking it, he's a Servant." The Servant in front of them was Bluebeard, also known as Gilles de Rais, an adult male with huge, rolling eyes and oily, glistening cheeks. He had a muscular build and was a fairly tall individual. His attire consisted of a luxurious robe of ancient design, with sanguineous scarlet patterns that adorned the pitch-black fabric. He donned an inky black cassock, and an evil aura reeled about it. In his left hand was a book made of flesh.

"How do you like this terrible spectacle? Does it not pain you? It does, doesn't it?"

"You despicable fiend...You'll pay for the lives you've stolen from them!" yelled Xenovia, taking out Durandal and running at Bluebeard, who summons a large tentacle from behind that swings at her. Xenovia swung her sword to quickly destroy it, the mage disappearing in front of her as he's now 24 feet away from them. Casting his magic, the corpses around them start violently convulsing before turning into sea fiends (Fate/Grand Order), starfish-like monsters the size of humans, if not bigger than.

[Music End]

[Fate/Zero OST - The Battle Is To The Strong]

"You even defile the bodies of the deceased and make them fight..." Archer said, gritting her teeth as she traced her twin swords and starts cutting down the fiends one by one, Sif blocking a surprise attack meant for the Servant before bisecting the fiend with his blade.

Ayumi takes a fiend and swings it around, knocking others that surrounded her as they went splat after getting knocked into several trees. She then threw the fiend she was holding into the air before her right hand transformed into a large hand with blades for claws and slicing it up with one swing of it, returning to normal after. With her stinger tail, she impaled five more fiends with it and discards them by making them turn into a puddle of flesh by whipping the metallic stinger downward. She forms a look of annoyance when the enemy Servant mass-produced the sea fiends using both his book and the mana from the forest.

"Xenovia, Archer, now would be a good time to call for some backup," Ayumi tells them, her left arm getting ensnared by a tentacle, which she uses to pull the fiend towards her before blowing it up with a concussive punch. Since Xenovia was busy chasing after Bluebeard, Archer had to make the call.

Through a sling portal, Naruto, Kotomi, Rinne, and Moka immediately arrive to help as Ayano, Maki, Eu, and Shirabi show up after, through a portal Ayano made with a swing of the blade in her right hand. Shirabi donned an attire fit for a samurai (Stage 1 Ascension), armed with a red-bladed katana. Bluebeard's eyes widened when he met her glaring eyes, recalling his defeat ten years ago. Though everyone was surprised by the Oni Servant's appearance, now wasn't the time to be distracted, deciding to talk to her about it after the battle.

"To think you, of all people, was summoned back into the living world. I, Archer Inferno, swear that we'll take you down, the same way Saber, Rider, Lancer, and I did over 10 years ago!" Gilles gestures his summoned fiends to attack Shirabi, who quickly dispatched 8 of them with a few swings of her sword before catching one fiend's tentacles in her left hand, pulling at it and throwing the monster at another one before kicking them towards a tree, making them splatter upon impact.

Sheathing her katana, Shirabi enters an iaido-style stance before drawing the sword, its crimson blade enveloped in flames as she moves forward in a straight line, cutting down twenty-eight fiends, re-sheathing the blade after. She and Moka then helped Xenovia chase after Bluebeard as the others repelled the increasing sea fiend horde.

Naruto twirls Igneox around in its long staff form, repelling five sea fiends and throws it, the weapon spinning around like a boomerang, destroying thirteen of them as Naruto kills a fourteenth fiend with a back kick and catching the weapon with his right hand when he's not looking. He then found himself up against a humanoid sea fiend seven times his size, providing a distraction that prevented him from going after Bluebeard. Though he defeats it within two hits, Bluebeard continued spawning them as Maki joined in and helped him.

"Any ideas on how to deal with this freaky bug-eyed mage?" asked Xenovia as Bluebeard evaded them and their attacks them by using a platform made of tentacles as a means of transport and evading them as he fires purple balls of magic at them and summoned large tentacles to take the hits meant for him. Shirabi tells them if they damage the book Gilles was holding, the fiends would stop spawning and dissipate.

"Then we'll make sure we cut up that book!" Xenovia tells her as Moka grabs a sea fiend, freezes it by absorbing the heat from it, and throws the frozen fiend at Bluebeard, who narrowly avoids it as it shatters upon hitting a tree.

With Hoshikari

On top of a cliff close to the forest, a tall bespectacled woman with a voluptuous figure watched the fight. She had tan skin, long brown hair tied into a bun with a headset, and purple eyes. She wore an extremely low-cut dress and it had a high slit which exposed a large portion of her breasts.

"Perhaps I should have Gilles wrap this up... Hear me, Caster! By order of Command Seal, I command you to-" Before she could finish, the woman felt a fist impact her right cheek as she's knocked to the ground by Joichi. Recovering, the woman avoids a swing from Hoshikari's blade. Maintaining distance from the two, her eyes widened when she took notice of Kokabiel's son, recalling how he cut down several of the Devils under her command, and how he gave her a cut on her back when she had her guard down, having almost killed Kokabiel that time.

"You're-"

"To think that you're the Master of Gilles de Rais, Katerea Leviathan. Though I shouldn't be surprised, given how ugly of a soul you both possess. I wonder, what brings someone as foul as you to Japan?" Though angry, Katerea's expression turns arrogant as she voiced how she was waiting for the day when she finally killed him, releasing power that, for Joichi, was surprisingly greater than Hoshikari's.

"Finally, I can avenge all those Devils you've killed. All my brothers and sisters, slaughtered by you. Unlike last time, there will be no openings for you to exploi-" Interrupting her, Hoshikari goes in for the kill as he horizontally swings his katana at her. Katerea erects a barrier that blocks it as she opens a hole through the barrier and fires a straight beam of magic from her hands. Hoshikari brings out his one wing and forms the feathers into steels blades before putting it in front of him, shielding him from the attack as it moves him back, his feet dragging on the ground before stopping. The metal wing turned bright orange-red from the heat before cooling down.

"HEARTBREAKER!" Joichi has his Stand shatter the barrier Katerea was in with a punch, surprising her before he kicked her in the stomach, just as Hoshikari appeared from above and swung his blade down at the pure-blooded devil under him. With her left hand, she erects a shield above her, her right erecting a shield in front as the one-winged Fallen Angel's sword hits it with a clang and Joichi's punch cracks the shield that keeps him from hitting her face.

"Lowly scum! she yelled as the ground under her cracks, yellow energy preparing to erupt from the ground.

"Shit!" said Joichi, he and Hoshikari moving away to avoid the radius of the large pillar of energy that surrounds Katerea. Examining her, Hoshikari noticed her power was rising.

Following her increased power, Katerea wasted no time as she launched eight blasts of black and dark yellow energy, in the shape of dragon heads, at the two, four for both of them. Joichi gets in front of the fallen angel as Heartbreaker throws a flurry of punches at them, destroying the energy blasts, though he notes that the attacks felt a bit heavy. Hoshikari puts his blade in front of him as he used a technique that allows his katana to absorb the blasts, its blade shattering when it becomes unable to contain it.

"Tch, the blade's still not strong enough to use it..." Hoshikari thought to himself as he created a red/black energy blade to replace the broken blade. "It seems that you've acquired some tremendous power. I wonder how that came to be..."

"The Old Satan Faction has made a powerful ally who will help us crush the New Satans, along with those who are foolish enough to side with their plans for peace. Now I will show you just who exactly you're up against!"

"That's enough Katerea..." The Pure-Blooded Devil stops when Creuserey Asmodeus appears and tells her to not waste her energy fighting lowly-beings like Joichi and Hoshikari and to call Gilles back. "Very well..." Just as Joichi attempts to swing at them, the two Old Satan Faction members disappear.

[Music End]

[FATE/STAY NIGHT [HEAVEN'S FEEL] I. PRESAGE FLOWER OST [DISC 1] - overpowered]

3 minutes ago

With Naruto

Unnamed Forest

Rinne swings a gluttonous sea fiend around, knocking away six of them before jumping into the air and performing a powerbomb on it, slamming it to the ground, forming a small crater.

"This is getting annoying..." she said, grabbing another fiend before ripping it in two and throwing the pieces at two others.

Ayumi summons several blades of different shapes and sizes to impale the eleven sea fiends that prepared to pounce on her.

Using Durandal's blade as a footing to boost herself, Moka launched herself towards Bluebeard and destroys a large tentacle meant to swat her away before she delivered a spinning kick to the Caster Servant's face, knocking him off his tentacled platform and onto the leafy ground. Before he could form a wall of tentacles, Naruto destroys part of the book he was carrying with a slug round from his shotgun. With the book partially destroyed, the sea fiends explode into a puddle of blood.

"Damn you...DAMNYOUDAMNYOUDAMNYOUDAMNYOU DAMN YOUUUUU!" As Bluebeard prepared to unleash his ultimate monster, he feels Katerea using a command seal to call him back to her. With a wave of his left hand, the puddles of blood burst into a mist of blood that blinds them, making his escape right after.

[Music End]

"Slippery bastard as always..." Shirabi tells herself as the blood mist dissipates, the enemy Servant nowhere to be found.

"He got away..." said Ayumi, sounding pissed as she punched a tree, toppling it as the others looked at her before looking down at the ground defeated, just as Joichi and Hoshikari arrived. "The Master of Caster got away?"

"She was far more powerful than she looked, surprising enough," said Hoshikari.

"I see..." The nurse thanks them for trying to help her take down Bluebeard, and that she was going to head straight home, visibly taking the deaths of the victims and her patient hard. Unknown to others, Eu, like the nurse, took it very hard as well, which didn't go unnoticed by Maki and Naruto. As the group takes a moment of silence, Kotomi's stomach growled, getting everyone's attention.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," she told them. "I skipped dinner to meet with everyone so..." Figuring they needed to get their spirits back up, they all decide to go eat dinner together.

Mapomine's Japan

(Naruto, Kotomi, Maki, Rinne, Eu, Xenovia, Hoshikari, Joichi, Ayano, Moka, Archer, Sif, and Shirabi)

Though Keito and Mary closed their restaurant at 3 pm on Fridays, they made an exception for Naruto and the others, with the promise that they pay and help clean up after. To get them started, Mary served them Mapo Tofu Burgers, a new order for their menu.

"Mapo Tofu Burgers?" Joichi and the others looked at the burgers in their hands as Mary told them to enjoy before going back to the kitchen. Taking a bite out of their orders, their eyes lit up as they quickly finish them before ordering more, increasing their morale a bit.

"Did you have to deal with the reality of not saving everybody?" Joichi asked Naruto, Maki answering for the Agares Rook, telling him how Naruto wasn't the only one, recalling her mistakes.

"I too, even back when I was at the Church," Xenovia adds. "It's heavy to know, and a burden we carry...But we just have to promise ourselves we can do better and that something like earlier does not happen again."

"Well said, Xenovia," said Shirabi, just as Mary comes back with more Mapo Tofu Burgers, the Oni Servant telling her they'll need more after they're done with the ones she served just now, the Assassin Servant nodding her head before leaving.

"Other than the defeat we just had, I am curious about you, Shirabi," said Joichi. "You're a Servant of the Archer-class. What's the story behind you and this Servant Katerea summoned? Who's your Master? How does Ayano know you? And what's the story behind your aunt and uncle?"

"For starters, I should reintroduce myself. I am Tomoe Gozen, a Servant of the Archer-class. I also go by Archer Inferno. Regarding how I know Bluebeard...I was a participating Servant in the last Holy Grail War, back in Fuyuki City ten years ago, under the service of Tokiomi Tohsaka. Originally he wanted to "roll" Gilgamesh, but, to HIS disappointment, he got me."

"Wait...Tokiomi?" said Keito. "He was my father's master."

"You're Kirei's son!?" yelled Shirabi, Keito nodding his head yes. "Oh...This is awkward..."

"Awkward?" Shirabi tells everyone how she served as Kirei's Servant after his Assassin Servant got killed by Iskandar, Tokiomi meeting his end at the hands of Kotomine, the latter forcefully transferring his master's command seals to him.

"Your father is a messed-up man," Shirabi adds, Keito agreeing with her before allowing her to continue her story. "As the Grail War reached its climax, I was forced to fight, and kill Iskandar, and I was forced to fight Saber while Kirei and this one guy, almost as scary as him, I think it was Kiritsugu...Yeah, that was his name, fought to the death. From there, this is where everything got out of hand."

"Out of hand?" asked Moka.

"Prior to the fight, Kirei managed to extract the Grail that was a part of some woman named Irisviel." Everyone's eyes widened when Irisviel's name was said. "When it came to the finale of our fight, I was on the verge of losing, but...To our shock, Kiritsugu chose to order Saber to destroy the Grail instead of asking her to win it."

"He destroyed the Grail?" Xenovia asked in disbelief. "Why would he destroy the chance to make a wish from it?"

"Beats me, though whatever the reason, I found out the hard way. As soon as the Grail was destroyed, it produced a strange black mud from it as Saber disappeared, her Master's command seals used up. I got swallowed up by the mud as it started a large conflagration that killed about 500 people and destroyed 134 buildings."

"I heard about that on the news," Joichi adds. "Yeah, my father and mother were on vacation in Fuyuki while I stayed in Kuoh Town with a sitter. They mentioned a fire when they got back..."

"What was it like in that mud?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously, it was very scary and gross to be in that mud. I thought I was going to die, even though I knew I was a Servant and that I'd simply return to the Throne of Heroes. But it never happened. Instead, I found myself butt naked, weak, and in the middle of all the destruction caused by the Grail. I also found out I no longer needed a Master to stay here."

"It sounds like you achieved incarnation," said Moka, Naruto, Archer, and Hoshikari coming with the same conclusion. "That mud gave you a new body."

"Yeah...After looking over the destruction, I looked for Kirei, finding him laughing like some madman. Seeing him act like that, I realized the Grail did grant a wish: A wish of fire...destruction...He even stated how the destruction brought him joy. Happiness into his life. I couldn't accept his views, so I...I killed Kirei, using a piece of broken rebar to do it." Keito's eyes looked surprised when she told everyone she killed the Namikaze Bishop's father. Naruto looked at Keito, thinking he'd get angry about it, but Keito seemed to take it well.

"Most people would get angry over this and vow to avenge their parent, but...my father...I could tell there was a darkness in him my mother, sister and I could always see, even as my mother passed away and...He and I were never really close. I don't think there was a chance for us to have a proper father and son relationship." Mary puts a hand on her boyfriend's left shoulder as he puts his right hand over hers. "Please, continue your story, Tomoe."

"I much prefer Shirabi. After killing Kirei, I looked for survivors, only managing to find two people." When Naruto asked if the two people were her aunt and uncle, she told him he was right on point. "After I saved them, I passed out. Next thing I knew, I was at a hospital. They brought me there and looked after me. When they asked if I had any family, I lied and said they died in the fire. Hearing this, they decided to take me in, having lost their daughter in the fire. After about two weeks of living with them, I told them the truth and...they were very accepting of me and still loved me anyway. Day after that, I started working at the shop they owned, taking over the role of forging from my uncle, and well...You all know the rest."

"So they know that you're a former Servant?" asked Maki, Shirabi nodding yes, with an "Mhmm" to go with it.

"Where did Shirabi come from?" asked a curious Kotomi.

"That? I...got it off an Otaku USA magazine I read during my time as a Servant and thought it sounded cool," said an embarrassed Shirabi. "My uncle and aunt are the only ones who call me Tomoe, though they call me Shirabi whenever I have friends over. To answer the earlier question about Bluebeard, he summoned a large Lovecraftian monster that would've killed many innocent people, along with several other things that involve exposing the existence of Servants and the Holy Grail War. I, along with Servants Iskandar, Artoria, and Diarmuid temporarily banded together and took him down. A shame we don't have those three with us. I'd settle for just Artoria since Xenovia can't properly use Durandal, a weapon that's supposed to be equal to Excalibur's power."

"I'm...still working on it with Servant Me," said a blushing Xenovia, who proceeds to eat another mapo tofu burger after as everyone looks at her.

"How Ayano knows me...She was busy killing Stray Devils while I was on my way home from working the shop. I fangirled over her weapons, figured I go ahead and update her suit design, which turned out amazing, and from there we made a working relationship, where she pays me to upgrade, maintain, and repair her equipment while introducing new ones. I even come along with her on nights where she goes out to kill Yakuzas, mainly to get back into fighting shape. I'm happy to say that I haven't lost it, even after 10 years of being home-schooled until I was ready to go to an actual academy. At least until tonight."

"If it's no trouble, Shirabi, we'd like your help with this Bluebeard if he ever shows up," Naruto told her, the incarnated Servant declining.

"If I do that, I'd be leaving Shino alone. I can't just leave her and not tell her anything every time there's a danger that needs to be stopped, no matter how much I'd love to help you guys. My friendship with her is top priority, even if it's selfish." Hearing her answer, they respect her decision to stay out of the fight as they wonder when Bluebeard was going to strike again, Eu still looking guilty. "If you see Bluebeard again, make sure you end him for me, 'kay?"

"We'll make sure of it," Naruto assured her.

"Before I forget, you think you can make me a new katana?" Hoshikari asked Shirabi, telling her his katana broke and that he needed a new one, preferably one that can store and channel energy without breaking.

Naruto, Kotomi, Maki, Rinne, Eu, Xenovia, Sif, and Hoshikari

On the way home

"Eu, you've been having this look of guilt on your face like Ayumi's. I didn't want to ask about it and make you uncomfortable so..."

"Naruto, perhaps we can answer that question," said Rinne. The reason why she feels guilty is because...she could've easily killed Bluebeard if she wanted to." Naruto, Xenovia, and Sif looked surprised, the former asking for an explanation.

"It mainly has to do something with her voice," Maki adds. "She always could speak. She's perfectly capable of it. But...That's what makes her dangerous."

"Dangerous?" asked Kotomi, Rinne continuing to explain the reason for her silence.

"Eu is part-Necromancer. With one simple word, which I cannot say, for her sake, Eu can kill a person in an instant, maybe more if within a certain distance from her. She dislikes saying it. Not only has she killed friends on accident, the power to kill with a single word, even write it, can put a strain on her."

"You're telling me, if she muttered one certain word, she could've killed Bluebeard?" Hoshikari asked, aware of what the word was. If she had said that word to him and Zellmon, they would've died before the fight even began "that time", back when Fujino wasn't part of Naruto's peerage. Eu looked down in shame as everyone looks at her. Smiling, Naruto puts a hand on her head.

"Eu...I'm sure that if everyone knew about this, they wouldn't hate you for it. A word like that, which could kill through your speaking, is not something one should use lightly. Don't feel bad about it, okay?" Feeling better, Eu wrote, "Thank You, Big Brother Naruto," to him, the Rook joking how Akame would be jealous if she saw her (Eu) call him Big Brother.

Namikaze Residence

Once everyone got home, they found Fujino and her mother sleeping soundly on the couch, Shizune putting a blanket over them as everyone, with the exception of Naruto, went straight to their rooms to get ready for bed.

"How was your study group?" asked Shizune, Naruto telling her it went well. "...Akame came home very moody. Any idea why?"

"I didn't bring her with me to study with the others," he told Shizune, telling him it was mean of him to do that.

"Make sure you include her next time."

"I'll make sure..." he said, saying goodnight to the woman before making his way to his room.

[Music Start]

[Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel Lost Butterfly OST - small talk, with my brother]

Walking through the hallway, he stops to see Akame preparing for bed. "Hey, Akame..." The red-eyed little sister turns to meet her brother's eyes as he apologized to her.

"It's fine..." she told him. "But..."

"But?" Akame just stared at Naruto as he wondered what she was thinking.

"Naruto, I know how smart you, Moka, Maki, and Xenovia are. Study sessions with all of you together should take about 1-2 hours to finish. Yet...I feel that there's more to it than that. Something else." Naruto tensed when Akame looked as though she was onto him and the others.

"For someone who's kept in the dark, Akame's senses are very sharp." Naruto agrees with Infernus as Akame continues speaking her mind.

"I still remember you telling me and Chelsea how you would never get into some shady business dealings or anything that would get you, or others, into trouble. You always come home safe to us. I can respect yours and the others' need to keep some secrets. Whatever secrets you're keeping from me, if it's something you can't tell others, at least trust me with them. You always can."

"..."

"Just give it some thought. I don't need to hear it now if you're not ready. I don't want to pressure you, or anyone." Naruto tells his sister he'll take what she told him to heart. "And next time you do a study group, let me come next time."

"I'll remember that."

[Music End]

Saturday (6/18)

Kuoh Academy

Hallways

"I may require your help later today, Namikaze," said Rias, Naruto noting how this was a first for him. When asked what sort of help she needed, she told him it involved another member of her peerage. "Another member?"

"Yes. Can you make time?"

"I believe so," he told her, Rias thanking him before leaving, just as Seekvaira walked in.

"Gremory-senpai asked me to help her with another member of her peerage after school," he informed his King.

"Oh, so she's letting him out, huh?" His interest piqued, Naruto asked her what she knew about it. "It's her first Bishop."

"Argento wasn't the first?" Seekvaira nods her head no before informing her Rook on the identity of Rias' first Bishop. His name was Gasper Vladi, and he was a Devil-Dhampir who could stop time using a Sacred Gear. "Stop time huh?"

"Yeah. I'm capable of moving through it, given my Time Manipulation Magic. You, I'm sure you can move through it as well, given your abilities," she tells Naruto, who asked her if she'd like to tag along. "Me?" The Agares King's heart started pounding. He was thinking of taking her with? Were they finally going to be alo-

"Just for assurance. I'm thinking of bringing Moka as well since this Gasper is part-vampire. I also plan to bring Xenovia, Fujino, and Ayano." Seekvaira looked disappointed when Naruto told her he was bringing others.

After School

Kuoh General Hospital

4:30 pm

"Thank you so much, Dr. Karnstein!" said a grateful 8-year old girl, just as Naruto came in with some medical equipment. With a smile, the nurse said bye to the girl as she left with her mother. Once they were gone, the nurse gives out a sigh before turning her attention towards the Rook with a smile.

"Thanks for helping me out these past two hours, Naruto. Since Shizune's in charge of a "teenager's left leg and arm surgery", she gave me all this work to complete by myself."

"I'm always happy to help...Job aside, how are you, Ayumi? You doing okay?" he asked, worry in his voice.

"Of course I am," she assured, sounding calm about it, surprising Naruto. "I've lost many patients before, in and out of the hospital. All those times I resorted to drinking heavily, even skipping work and devoting myself to the bottle. But...along the way, I learned to live with it and deal with these losses differently. If I lose 5 lives, I'll save twice, even three times the amount. After all, isn't that what a nurse does?"

"So then..."

[Persona 5 OST - Sweet]

"Oh? Were you worried for poor ole me?" Naruto turns red and looks away as the nurse got up from her chair. "This is cute. I thought you were only here just because I work for Shizune. To think there was more to it than that..." Within seconds, Naruto had his back against the wall as Ayumi slams her left hand against it. Usually, a move like this was for boys to use on a girl, but now...

"Tell me, honestly, did you worry? I want to hear it. A full confession."

"Y-...Yeah...I was very worried," he told her, not looking her straight in the eyes.

"Hmm...Such a good-spirited Devil you are, not that you already were good-spirited. I think I'm going to go for it." When asked what she was going to go for, as soon as Naruto turned to face her, Ayumi took that moment to quickly and boldly kiss him on the lips. Parting them, she comments on how nice his lips were, and that doing something so indecent in a hospital made it all worth it, backing away from the madly blushing Rook as she took her seat, Shizune coming in after.

"I'm back. Sorry I had to dump all that work on you, Ayumi," said an apologetic Shizune.

"Don't worry about it. There was some good that came out of it," she told Shizune, looking at Naruto, who turns around to face the wall. "Lots of happy smiles, and then some."

"Since we can get off work early, want to go get some oden?" Ayumi had a joyous look on her face as she told the woman how much she loved oden, knowing of a good place that served it.

"Naruto, want to join us?" Still red over the kiss Ayumi gave him, Naruto tells Shizune he was going to head out and meet with Seekvaira and that he'd be back at 9:30 pm. "Alright, see you at home then." Immediately, Naruto bolted out the door.

[Music End]

Occult Research Club Building

Hallway

Naruto, Seekvaira, Moka, Xenovia, Fujino, and Ayano

4:55 pm

"In this room lies my other Bishop," said Rias, her peerage and Naruto, with his entourage, stopping at the front of a door that had yellow tape that said, "KEEP OUT", on it.

"This Bishop's most likely to be pale as fuck and in desperate need of Vitamin D once we get a good look at him," Infernus notes.

"Due to proving our worth during the Kokabiel Incident, I've been permitted to remove the seal." Issei voiced how terrifying it must be for the Bishop to be locked in the room in front of them. "It's more like the kid's been living in here."

"This "Bishop" was given the option to be unsealed late at night and freely roam the old school building but refused," Akeno informed the newcomers, along with Naruto and his entourage.

"A real shut-in!" was what was on Naruto's mind.

"Despite being kept in this room, this one is actually the biggest earner among us," Akeno adds, to Issei's surprise. "Some Humans don't want direct contact with Devils."

"I tend to get a lot of those," Naruto admits, choosing so due to the hectic schedule he had, coupled with the missions he did for Sirzechs. Even Seekvaira had requests given to her by computer.

"I'm opening the door now," Rias told them, taking off the tape before opening the door.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" shouts the Bishop in the room.

"Hello. Good to see you're full of energy," said Rias, directing it towards the Bishop in the dark-filled room.

"WH-WH-WHY ARE YOU HEEEEERE?"

"Ara Ara, the seal's been undone. You can leave now. How about you come with us?" Akeno asked.

"NOOOOOOOO! I WANNA STAY HEEEEERE! I DON'T WANNA GO OUUUT! I DON'T LIKE PEEEOPLE!" Heading inside anyways, those who were unaware of the Bishop's existence finally got to see who it was. The Bishop had platinum blond hair and pinkish-violet eyes. Their hair was styled in a short bob cut with several small fringes over their forehead, and they had pointed ears.

"Nice! It's a girl! And a foreigner at that!" yelled a happily blushing Issei. "This is awesome! Our Bishops are a couple of blonde cuties!" Hearing this, Naruto, Infernus, Moka, Seekvaira, and Ayano burst out laughing uncontrollably, grabbing the others' attention.

"Issei, that's a dude!" Naruto told the Gremory Pawn, in-between laughs.

"No, no, no. That's a girl." Koneko confirms the Bishop's sex as a male, telling him how he was fond of cross-dressing, greatly shocking Issei. They stopped laughing once the Bishop asked who they were, Naruto and his group getting serious as Rias introduced them. "EEEK! SO MANY NEW PEOPLE!"

"Please won't you come with us?" asked Rias, reaching out to her Bishop. "There's no need to keep you sealed anymore."

"NOOOOOO! I CAN'T SURVIVE OUT IN THE WORLD! IT'S SCARYYYY! OUTSIDE IS SCARY! AND I KNOW I'LL JUST CAUSE TROUBLE IF YOU TAKE ME OUT!" This irked Issei, who grabs the Bishop and tells him, "C'mon. The President said we're going." Right after he said that the Bishop disappeared in a blink of an eye, now hiding underneath a desk, surprising everyone except Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Naruto, Seekvaira, and Ayano.

"Just now..."

"It seems that an explanation is in order," said Naruto. Looking at Gasper, he asked Rias if she had a large cardboard box.

Main Room

The Bishop found himself sitting in a cardboard box Naruto used, and decorated with a drawn "FOXHOUND" logo, to carry him in as he and the others listened to Rias explaining said Bishop's abilities.

"When he gets excited, he can momentarily stop time for everything in his field of vision. A work of his Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View. His name is Gasper Vladi, a first-year at the academy and a vampire with the ability to survive under the sunlight like Ms. Akashiya."

"The way we attained that ability is different but yeah..." Moka responds in a nonchalant manner.

"His tendency to use his Sacred Gear without meaning to is why he was sealed away," Rias continues. "His piece is a Mutation Piece. He's a rare talent whose Sacred Gear grows in power without his realization. There's a possibility he may even achieve a Balance Breaker one day."

"So that's why you need Naruto," said Seekvaira. "If Gasper can't control it, he could become quite a threat. You need someone, or many people, who can handle him and help control his powers."

"Yes."

"Well, if that's the case, we should begin by taking him outside," said Naruto, Gasper refusing, wishing the Sun would go away forever. "Gasper, you need this. You need to control this power of yours and learn to make friends."

"NO! THIS CARDBOARD IS ALL I NEED! THE AIR AND LIGHT OUTSIDE ARE THE WORST ENEMIES!" Just as he said that Moka lifts up the cardboard box, a red exclamation mark appearing above Gasper's head.

"But you're not an ordinary vampire," Moka adds. "And you can't be a box boy forever."

"She's right," said Xenovia, summoning Kanshou and Bakuya into her hands, Gasper fearing for his own life. "Now let us begin. I'll be the first to help you. After all, I know quite well how to handle vampires..." Moka sweats a bit, telling the bluenette, "The way you said it freaks me out just as much as it freaks out Gasper..." Gasper ran for his life as the Namikaze Knight chased after him, Ayano following Xenovia's example and taking out her weapons before Koneko and Fujino went along with the chase, garlic in hand.

"Guess we have our work cut out, huh Seekvaira?" Naruto asked her, the Agares King agreeing with him. As they and the others followed behind, Rias and Akeno leave to discuss the upcoming peace treaty, Kiba going with since Sirzechs was interested in hearing more about his Balance Breaker.

"YES, RUN, RUN! A SOUND MIND STARTS WITH A SOUND BODY!" Xenovia yelled out as she chased Gasper. As the others followed behind, Seekvaira gets a notification on her phone. Turning towards Naruto, she tells him they had to leave since she was meeting someone and to let Issei and the others handle the Bishop.

"Sorry Issei, but Seekvaira and I are going to head out," he told the Gremory Pawn.

"Eh!? You're leaving!? You just got here not too long ago!" Naruto tells Issei he should be fine since he had Xenovia, Moka, Fujino, and Ayano to help him and the others.

Agares Corp Building

Seekvaira's Office

5:41 pm

Opening the door to her office, Seekvaira and Naruto find Saori sleeping happily on the former's desk, piles of complete forms on her right. Approaching her, Naruto asked if she (Saori) was okay, noticing the bags on her eyes.

"Yeah, she's fine. She does this a lot." Once shaken awake, Saori rose up from her sleep and shouted, "IT'S RED!", weirding Naruto out.

"Hey Saori," said Seekvaira, getting her cousin's attention. "How's work?"

"Oh, hey Seekvaira. Work is excellent as usual. Business is booming, stocks have been raised by 3.8%, and the new projects have been green-lit," she told her, sounding proud before asking her who the "cute guy" was.

"He's Naruto Namikaze, my Rook."

"Hmmm, he definitely looks the part," said a curious Saori, feeling Naruto's body from head to toe and head again as Seekvaira asked her what she was doing, her face flushed. "Hmm...Hmm...Hmm..." Once she felt Naruto's crotch, Saori lets out an "Mmmm...", gently rubbing the area as an amorous smile forms on her lips.

"You think you can ask her to keep doing that? Pants off?" Infernus voiced his disappointment when Saori stopped feeling Naruto up. Looking at him, Saori told the blond, "I like you."

"Sa-Saori!" the Agares King shouts.

"Oh, are you scared that I might take him from you?" asked Seekvaira's cousin.

"No, I mean...I know he would never leave me for..." Seekvaira stops as she looks at her cousin and Naruto, both King and Rook sporting surprised looks on their faces.

"Leave me for..." Seekvaira dodges the subject by telling Saori she must be hungry, telling her they should go out and eat dinner before she went home for the night. "What should we do!? Pizza!? Omurice!? Udon!?"

Steak House Hama

6:19 pm

"Yahoo, it's steak! Beautiful and juicy steak!" Saori said out loud as Naruto looked at her.

"Your cousin really loves steak..." Looking at Seekvaira, he noticed her drooling a bit as she wondered what to order. "YOU TOO!?"

"Wow, girls these days are real meat lovers..."

"Really Infernus? A joke?" Infernus tells Naruto their faces tell it all.

With Akame

Kuzuryu Mansion

35 minutes ago

6:25 pm

Akame swung her shinai with quick ferocity and grace as Maki noted how much she learned in a short amount of time as Pekoyama watched in silence.

"She has already memorized my style and can effectively predict and parry my strikes, giving me almost no time to counter...If she keeps this up, she could eventually best Peko herself." Letting out a shout, Akame broke a surprised Maki's guard before swinging her shinai downward onto her head, winning the mock battle. Taking off their protective helmets, Maki praised her.

"Thanks," said Akame, bowing to Maki as Peko told them they should have dinner before they go back to training.

With Issei

Occult Research Club Building

Outside

6:45 pm

"Why are you here?" asked Issei, Azazel appearing out of nowhere to see him and the others as they ready themselves for a fight.

"Who's he?" asked Moka, Xenovia informing her of Azazel's identity.

"Relax, I'm just here to see your Holy Devil Sword-User," said Azazel, referring to Kiba. He voiced his disappointment when Issei told him he wasn't here before turning his attention towards Gasper.

"You, your Sacred Gear is a dangerous one that can go wild if its user isn't strong enough. The best course of action would be to make up for what he lacks with augmenting devices in the meantime, but Devil-side research on Sacred Gears hasn't progressed that far." Turning to Issei, he tells him, "The quickest way of helping your Bishop boost and get a hold of his power would require you have him drink the Red Dragon Emperor's blood...Oh, and I also suggest getting that Pawn of Sitri's to help out. His Sacred Gear can siphon off his extra power and keep his ability in check. Well, I'll let you young kids experiment yourselves. Before I go, I hear my White Dragon Emperor came to see you and Naruto."

"He did," Issei replied.

"Sorry about that. He's a weird guy. I don't want you thinking he's trying to start anything."

"You're one to talk. Don't you think that's hypocritical?" Issei asked, Azazel telling him, "Not really. This is just my hobby...of sorts." Turning around, hands in his pockets, Azazel left.

"Alright, Gasper, let's-" Turning around to look at Gasper, everyone's face paled when they found the Bishop missing.

"HE'S GONE!" Issei yelled in his mind, Moka telling the others Gasper must have gone back to his room, the group letting out a sigh in unison.

With Naruto

Steak House Hama

7:30 pm

"Ah, this was all so delicious," said Saori, feeling stuffed and unable to eat another bite, Seekvaira agreeing with her.

"108...They ate a total of 108 steaks..." Naruto said to himself, having witnessed the Agares girls' appetites. They may know their etiquettes, but when they're not acting prim and proper in front of royals, they were ravenous beasts to their hunger.

"We should come back here again," Saori suggests as Seekvaira paid for the bill, telling her to give it a month or two. "By the way, your mother stopped by today."

"Mother came by!?" Seekvaira yelled. Sulking, Seekvaira notes how she wasn't there to greet her, Naruto and Saori panicking a bit. "She took time off to visit, and I wasn't there..."

"S-Seekvaira..."

[Music Start]

[FATE/STAY NIGHT [HEAVEN'S FEEL] I. PRESAGE FLOWER OST - calm and quiet days]

On the way to Agares Mansion

7:45 pm

"Tell me, what's your mother like?" Naruto asked Seekvaira as the Rook walked her home.

"Like my father, she's a busy person," Seekvaira told her Rook. "A very nice cook I may add. I always looked forward to it every time...But after her father retired and I got older, she inherited grandpa's work and started focusing on it..." Sighing, Seekvaira tells Naruto, "I really miss her cooking..."

"Nothing ever beats a mother's cooking..." Smiling to himself, Naruto recalled his own mother's cooking, remembering how he once ate bowl after bowl of her ramen. His happy expression turned a little sad. He couldn't remember how the ramen tasted.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?" Naruto tells Seekvaira he was just trying to remember his own mother's cooking.

"Was she as good of a cook as mine?" Naruto responds by telling his King, "She could probably beat your mom's cooking."

"Is that so?" Seekvaira asked, smiling.

"Yeah...I have no doubt about it."

Namikaze Residence

8:00 pm

After saying goodnight to his King, Naruto arrived home, greeting Jiraiya before deciding to head up early to sleep after talking about their days a bit. Making his way up, he caught Chitose, who had lost her footing, with his left hand, catching a basket of his clean laundry in his right.

"G-Good evening, Naruto," said a flushed Chitose.

"You look tired," Naruto told his Rook, the small bags under her eyes making it known. Chitose tells Naruto how Irisviel and her husband had visited and taken Illya out for the night, along with Leysritt and Sella. "So you've been handling all the chores today, huh?"

"Y-Yes, I have..."

"You've done enough for tonight," Naruto told her. "I can take the basket up to my room. You should take a week off of house duties starting tomorrow.}

"V-Very well...Thank-" Chitose's sentence gets cut off as enervation takes over her body, falling asleep on him. Seeing her sleep, Naruto only smiled as he carried her along with his basket of laundry up to his room.

8:50 pm

Naruto's Room

Slowly opening her eyes, Chitose found herself lying on the blond's bed. Naruto was fast asleep, his back resting on the side of his bed. Getting up, she found herself dressed in a pink silk robe, and the basket she put the blond's clean laundry in was empty.

"He put away all the clothes in the basket, and he dressed me while I was asleep..." Making sure she didn't wake him, Chitose laid him on his bed, lying next to him after. "It's been over a month since you made me your Rook...You could've punished me or worse, yet you chose to make me yours..." Affectionately wrapping her arms around him, the Namikaze Rook fell asleep once more. Fifty minutes later, opening the door to Naruto's Room, Xenovia, having returned with the others from the Occult Research Club, wondered why, and how, Chitose got in bed with Naruto. Knowing she couldn't pry the maid's arms off the blond, Xenovia gives the two their space and goes to her own room to sleep, and "relieve herself".

[Music End]

Sunday (6/19)

11:45 am

Shizune went out with Akasha for the whole day, Xenovia was training with Archer and Moka at the Agares Mansion, Chitose left for Mayakojima for a one-week (paid) vacation, Hoshikari visited Shirabi's shop in hopes of creating a new katana he could wield, Akame, Maki, and Eu were invited to a trip to an onsen in Gunma by Pekoyama, Kotomi brought Sif out to see a dog show, and Jiraiya went to meet with his editor to discuss the next book he was working on. (Some of these may be explored in-depth in Deleted/Extended Extras Part 5 or Firebrand DX.2) The only ones who were home now were him, Fujino, and Ange. Instead of taking a break, the three were busy cleaning up the house, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, the works. After polishing the kitchen floor, Ange was about to head for the laundry room to check on the dryer when she hears the doorbell ring. Opening the door, Ange was met with Issei and Koneko, with Gasper in tow, the Gremory Bishop sitting inside a large cardboard box big enough for him and his handheld gaming devices to fit in.

"Are we at the right house?" asked Issei. "Are you his aunt-"

"Do I look like his aunt to you?" asked an annoyed Ange.

"Ignore him, Ange-san."

"Eh, you know her!?" Koneko tells Issei of her rank and how Rias and Seekvaira had a peerage meeting, along with a mock battle way before Issei, Naruto and Asia became Devils.

"While not as strong as me, she incorporates several gadgets and traps, besting me in a 1-on-1 fight."

"She bested you!?" Koneko simply nods yes at Issei, leaving him amazed.

"I'm surprised you remember our battle, Koneko," said Ange, sounding easygoing about it. "We weren't expecting any visitors today, especially from the Gremory peerage."

"We need Naruto's help with Gasper," said Koneko, letting her know how he just up and left with Seekvaira before he could help them with the Gremory Bishop.

"So you thought it best to bring him here?" asked Ange. "You brought him here without considering the danger you'd put Naruto's family in if Shizune, Jiraiya, or Akame were to see Gasper." Inside the cardboard box, Gasper felt hurt by Ange's words.

"What if he accidentally sets it off when they're present? Or worse..." Following this, the three heard Gasper crying inside the box, just as Naruto walked in on them.

"Issei? Koneko? What are..."

"So I'll just cause more trouble for others...I know I can't control my power...I can't get rid of it...It's a part of me..."

"Hey, you didn't have to say that," said Issei, sounding angry at the Agares Pawn.

"Ange." Turning around, she is told by Naruto to make some tea and coffee for them and their guests, letting her know he'll handle the three members of Rias' Peerage. Nodding, the Agares Pawn leaves for the kitchen.

"Sorry about her, Ange can be very straightforward with what she says. But she means well. She didn't mean any ill-will towards Gasper. She only said...whatever she said, I wasn't here, out of concern for my family."

"Didn't really sound that way," said Issei.

"Trust me on this. She means well, and I'm not just saying this to justify her words. But if your unsatisfied, I'll talk to her about it later and have her apologize." After giving it much thought, Issei relents.

Dining Room

12:15 pm

"Was there any progress to his training yesterday?" Naruto asked as Fujino listened on while setting the sandwiches down for everyone before sitting down. Ange was the only one not present, having lunch out on the backyard patio.

"Azazel showed up while you were gone and suggested I have him drink my blood, or have Saji-."

"Or have Saji connect his Absorption Line to Gasper to siphon off his power to keep it in check?" Naruto interrupts. Issei and Koneko looked surprised when the Agares Rook accurately explained the second part. "I thought the same thing. Let me guess, you couldn't contact him yesterday because he was busy, and you're here because he's unavailable today, so you figured to come here so I can fulfill the promise I made with Gremory-senpai?"

"You deduced our situation that fast?" Naruto tells Issei it wasn't hard to figure out.

"Now let me ask this: Why haven't you given him some of your blood?"

"You see...Gasper...doesn't like the taste of blood." Naruto and Fujino had deadpan expressions on their faces once Issei gave the former his answer.

"He's part-vampire, but he doesn't drink blood...That sure is a problem you have on your hands," Fujino told them. With a sigh, Naruto finished his sandwich before talking to Gasper.

"...I get it, you're scared of and hate your Sacred Gear. You can't help seeing people when they're frozen. Issei and I...We were just regular Humans before. We didn't have a Sacred Gear or a perverted flame demon inside of us. Then we died and became Devils with powers we can't even comprehend. Every time we use our powers, we feel that a part of ourselves is becoming something else. But we learned to live with it, move forward with what we've become and accept it, even if it takes a few steps here and there at times, each one becoming far more challenging than the last."

"How? When you know you could lose people you care about?" asked Gasper.

"Geez, way to bring the mood down," Naruto tells Gasper, making the Gremory Bishop sad. "It's true we risk losing those we care about, given our lives as Reincarnated Devils, but the best we can do is become strong, both in body and will, so we can protect those precious to us. To do that, you need help from those who care for you."

"Naruto?"

"Listen Issei, Koneko, I know you want to help Gasper, but you're doing it all wrong," he told them. "As members of the Gremory Peerage, you can't rely on another member of the peerage to solve your problems. It's good once in a while, but now is not one of them. Issei, as Gremory-senpai's Pawn, you, like Gasper, have yet to fully understand the powers you have. Therefore, as Gasper's senpai, you have to look out for him and support your King together."

"...I can't help but feel that talking is your greatest superpower," Issei told the blond.

"Don't ruin the mood I set up," Naruto told the Gremory Pawn. "Especially since Gasper is now out of his box." Issei and Koneko look surprised when they saw Gasper out of the box and sitting on a chair next to the former. "Issei, it's your turn to talk to Gasper."

"...Gasper, starting now and onward, let's help each other out so we can help Buchou. If anyone scares you, I'll be sure to kick their ass. After all, I've got a legendary dragon in me after all," Issei told his kouhai. "If what that Azazel guy said is true, drinking my blood might help you control your Sacred Gear better."

"It's too scary, for me, to drink blood from a living person. And I'm too scared of my own power. If it gets even stronger, I don't know how I'd..."

"Don't worry about it Gasper, with my help, you'll be controlling your powers in no time. Tell you the truth, I'm pretty jealous of your power, you know." Naruto and the others formed deadpan expressions on their faces, knowing where this was going.

"I'D HAVE A FIELD DAY IF I COULD STOP TIME! IT'D BE AN ALL-YOU-CAN-SQUEEZE BUFFET OF BUCHOU'S BOOBS...AH, I'D BE FINE WITH AKENO-SAN'S BOOBS TOO! OR EVEN JUST A PEEK AT HER PANTIES! ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES!" Koneko slowly prepares to beat Issei up, only for Naruto to stop her, seeing Gasper all happy for reasons he couldn't understand at the moment.

"N...No one's ever been jealous of me," said Gasper, the crossdressing Bishop giggling a bit. "And those are some really specific ideas...You're a funny guy, Issei-senpai." As Issei won Gasper over, mainly by telling the Bishop his perverted ambitions, Koneko would ready her fists, only for Fujino to use her telekinesis to lower them, Naruto telling her to let him speak since Gasper was starting to get motivated, even though he wanted to stop the Pawn himself.

"In fact..." Turning to Naruto, Issei tells him of a perverted plan he had in mind, the blond not liking where the conversation was going. "First, I store up some power."

"Hold on, I never agreed to be part of your perverted-"

"Then I transfer it to Gasper, and he stops time!"

"He's ignoring you," said Koneko.

"While time is stopped, I have my fill-"

"Fujino..." Before Issei knew it, he was sent flying out of the window behind him by Fujino's telekinesis.

"Na...Namikaze-san, why did you let her do that?" asked Gasper.

"No comment." Looking at the broken window Issei was thrown out of, Koneko turns to Fujino and gives her a thumbs up.

With Seekvaira

Agares Mansion

Courtyard

1:03 pm

Archer moved her head back to avoid a swing from Seekvaira's training axe before moving to her right to avoid a swing from Xenovia's shinai. This left her open to an attack from above by Moka, her right foot ready to come down on her head.

Smirking, Archer caught her Master's foot in her hands before throwing her at Xenovia, who catches her and throws her at the Servant as Seekvaira appears from behind and horizontally swings her training axe. Archer stops the wooden blade with her right hand and stops Moka's shoulder charge with her left. Letting go of the wooden weapon, Seekvaira sweeps the Servant off her feet with a kick before she and Moka grabbed her by the arms and held her down before Xenovia points the shinai at her chest.

"How did we do?" asked Xenovia. With a smile, Archer told them they worked great as a team. As Seekvaira picked up the training axe, Archer commended her skills with it as Moka pulls her up from the ground.

"Thanks, Archer." When asked who she learned her axe fighting from, Seekvaira reveals, in an embarrassing manner, that she learned it from watching movies.

"Do you have an axe you use?" Seekvaira tells Moka she did, but it was being improved upon by her mother.

"You should use weapons more often," Xenovia suggests, though Seekvaira declines. "Eh? Why?"

"I may be proficient with one, but I prefer my magic. The axe is mainly for emergencies and when I have little magic left to use," said Seekvaira. "Thanks for allowing me to spar with you girls a bit. I needed a good distraction."

"It's no trouble at all," Xenovia told her. "You were nice enough to allow us to train here."

"For a girl in love, I thought you'd be home with Naruto."

"True, but I love him enough to give him his space, even though I love to go out and have a date. Right now he's cleaning up the house with Fujino while everyone's out of the house. We have no classes tomorrow so I figured I'd do some training with Moka and Archer." Heading inside, the four stop when they see Sirzechs and Grayfia waiting for them.

"Sirzechs?"

"Seekvaira, do you have a moment? We need to discuss the details of the conference with you. Rias and Sona are waiting." Understanding, Seekvaira tells Moka, Xenovia, and Archer she was leaving and that they should plan a girls' night out sometime.

With Akame

Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma, Japan

"Thanks for inviting us, Peko," said a thankful Maki, stripping down alongside Eu and the Agares Knight. "The bath at Naruto's is nice, but this is a high-grade onsen."

"Perhaps you should ask Seekvaira to upgrade it, maybe add an open-air onsen," Peko suggests.

"And kill the feeling of soaking at an onsen like this after a whole hour of driving and walking? I don't think so," Maki told the Agares Knight. In the baths, Akame, having entered before Maki, Pekoyama, and Eu, soaks in the natural hot spring water, letting out a happy sigh, noting how warm it was as she closed her eyes and took in the quietness.

"So nice and warm, I can feel myself melting away..." Hearing a splash, Akame opened her eyes and saw Kurome staring at her, eyes widening in shock.

"You..."

"Me?" Akame looked at Kurome in wonder.

"To think that you'd come to me," she told her older sister, anger in her voice.

"I'm sorry, do I know you from somewhere?" This served to piss off Kurome, who raised her intent to kill. For reasons Akame couldn't understand, her body felt a bit chilly as she looked at the younger sister she couldn't remember.

"You...You don't know who I am?" Kurome thought to herself as she approached a confused Akame, who started backing away from her until she stopped at the edge of the bath. "You don't recognize your own little sister!? You forgot about me that easy after finding a new family!?"

"Unforgivable," she told the oblivious Akame. "You're unforgivable...Big Sister."

"What?" Did she hear it right? This girl, whom she's never met, called her Big Sister. Could she be mistaking her for someone who is nearly identical to her? Before Kurome could summon her Teigu, her right wrist gets grabbed by Ayano, who glares at the Neo-Jaeger and tells her to leave or face her.

"Tch..." Knowing she couldn't win against Ayano, she backs off and leaves, though not before glaring back at Akame.

"Are you okay?" she asked Akame, who looked at her and told her she was fine, thanking her with a smile, just as Maki, Pekoyama, and Eu arrived.

"Kagami-san?" What brings you here?" asked a surprised Pekoyama.

"Just taking time off for myself," she told them. As the Agares members talked amongst themselves, Akame turned to face the door leading in and out of the bath.

With Naruto

Namikaze Residence

Training Room

5:30 pm

"I am truly sorry for how I acted towards you, Gasper Vladi," said Ange, sounding apologetic about it as Gasper, Issei, and Koneko stood in front of her. "While I said it with concern for Naruto's family, it doesn't excuse me from the things I said that hurt your feelings."

"Thank you Ange-san. I appreciate it," Gasper told the Agares Pawn smiling at her before bowing.

"We should get going now," Issei told his fellow peerage members. "I'm supposed to meet Akeno somewhere. Where's Naruto? We should let him know that we're leaving."

Living Room

Naruto finished laying a blanket over a tired Fujino, who was laying on one of the couches after all the cleaning they had finished.

"You get some rest until dinner okay? Xenovia will be home soon. She's going to bring Moka and Archer over to cook."

"Thanks, Naruto," Fujino told the blond, smiling over how much care her "King" was giving her.

"Naruto." Turning around, Koneko told him she, Issei, and Gasper were leaving. "Thanks for allowing us to use your training room."

"No problem," he told her. Seeing a paper bag over Gasper's head, he asked them why he had it over his head. Issei tells him how he suggested he put it over his head since he was worried about looking at people. "That explains it."

*DING DONG!* Hearing the doorbell, Naruto heads over to open it. To his surprise, it was Akeno, who was wearing Miko attire. When Naruto turned around to face the Gremory Rook, an expression demanding an explanation on his face, Koneko tells her she told her where he lived, apologizing after.

"Oh sure, tell everyone at the academy where I live why don't you..."

"Good afternoon, Namikaze."

"Good afternoon to you, Himejima-senpai. You here for your fellow peerage members?" asked Naruto, crossing his arms in a calm manner.

"Still no reaction from him...I'm here for Issei, and for you." When asked why, Akeno told him she was supposed to greet someone where they were going, and they had asked to meet him. "Me?"

"Yes."

With Hoshikari

Gozen's

5:46 pm

Hoshikari looked at the katana Shirabi made with wonder in his eyes. The sword had a golden serrated blade, the black tsuba (handguard) was designed to look like four pairs of fallen angel wings, the handle was white with black diamond designs, and the panel was made of a transparent gem. The katana, along with its white sheath, rested in a basic metal case.

"Beautiful...I can feel the power it's emitting..." Reaching for it, Shirabi closed its case on him, the fallen angel looking annoyed as he looked her in the eyes.

"I said I would make you a katana, but I didn't say I'd do it for free. All of this was made with top-grade materials, all to satisfy your requirements," Shirabi does a hand gesture demanding she gets paid for her services, adding extra for allowing him to see her work.

"Seriously, you expect a friend to pay?" Shirabi tells Hoshikari even friends had to pay for her services.

"Ayano pays, Naruto pays, everyone who's my friend pays. Now that'll be 987,000 yen," she told him with a smile. Without saying a word, Hoshikari pays the girl.

"Pleasure to do business with you!" said Shirabi, happily handing the case to the annoyed fallen angel.

"This katana better be up to the task."

"It's definitely up to the task. If you want to be sure..." Her eyes glowing red and her horns showing, the smirking Shirabi tells Hoshikari, "How about you test it out in a fight against me? You don't need to pay for it."

"A fight against you?" Grinning with high anticipation, he accepts, wanting to see what she was capable of.

With Naruto

Unnamed Shrine

6:15 pm

"A shrine!?" Issei says out loud, recalling Rias telling him he had to avoid getting neat shrines and/or churches as he and Naruto followed Akeno. "Why are we here? Aren't shrines and churches bad for Devils?"

We should be fine. After all, a certain agreement has made it safe for Devils," Akeno assured Issei.

"Yeah, I don't feel anything," said Issei. "What about you, Naruto?"

"Doesn't really change anything. I never got any ill effects from them whenever I went with Shino, back when I was still dating her," Naruto tells them.

"You're a very strange case, Namikaze," said Akeno, sounding curious about him. "Perhaps there's something inside of you that's negating their effects, something that shouldn't be possible."

"Damn right! I bet that dragon inside of the pervert can't do the same."

"What was that!?" asked an angry and prideful Ddraig.

"You mad? Want to throw down?" Naruto and Issei tell the two to be quiet and get along, making the two silent.

"...Eat shit and die, Red Gecko." - Infernus

"Yes, fuck you." - Ddraig

"By the way you're dressed, do you live here, Himejima-senpai?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. This shrine is unmanned otherwise, so Rias secured it for me," Akeno responds, Naruto letting out a whistle after.

"Was it necessary to walk all the way to my house in that getup?" Naruto asked. "You must have been turning heads."

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not going to answer that," said Akeno, giggling after.

"You're quite a tease, Senpai," Naruto adds, his senpai thanking him.

"Is this the Red Dragon Emperor and Firebrand? They must be, given their auras." Stopping to turn around, the three are met by a handsome-looking man with long blond hair and green eyes. He had twelve gold angel wings growing from his back, he wore a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb, golden shoulder plates with a white sash and a golden halo set above his head.

"Pleased to meet you both. I am Michael, Leader of the Angels."

"HUUUUH!?" said Issei, shocked by his presence.

"Nice to meet you, Michael. We're honored to meet you," said Naruto, showing respect to him by bowing his head. "Also, I'm truly sorry for destroying part of a basilica during my first and second visit to Italy, and for taking Aestus Estus."

"I accept your apology, Naruto Namikaze," said Michael. "I should apologize to you as well. Takumi's actions were wrong, along with the murder of your teacher at the hands of Freed. If you want anything, feel free to ask."

"I'll think about that. Though are you sure you want to owe a Devil like me?"

"I'm sure. You can also keep the sword you took."

"Really?" asked Naruto. Michael tells him how it was meant to be a peace offering weapon for them anyways, along with another sword. "Another sword?" Entering the shrine, he presents Ascalon to them, which freaked Issei out.

"Ascalon, St. George's Sword," Naruto said in amazement, recalling the tale of St. George he read about as a kid, nerding out on seeing the real sword for the first time. "To think it's actually here in front of us."

"A special ritual has rendered it safe to use by you, Issei Hyoudou, a Devil with the power of a dragon," Michael told the Gremory Pawn. "But rather than you wielding it outright, we hope it will be absorbed by your Boosted Gear."

"Is that even possible?" asked Issei. Ddraig assures Issei it was by telling him, "As long as you will it, it can be done."

"We lost our God, the creator. The Devils lost their former Devil Kings, and the Fallen Angels also suffered heavy casualties. If the current, small-scale conflicts continue, we'll all face extinction. To say nothing of our fear of other factions. Other than the gift of two swords from us Angels to the Devils, we've also given to the Fallen Angel cause. In return, the Devils have donated to us a number of the rumored holy devil swords. When we learned that an enemy of our past, the Welsh Dragon, had found its way into you, we decided to gift Ascalon to you. For you will no doubt be targeted by King-class Dragons and the Vanishing Dragon from now on."

"That's a lot of weight you have in those words," said a heavily sweating Issei, Naruto putting an assuring hand on the Pawn's left shoulder.

"This seemed the perfect bit of assistance for you, "Rumored to be History's Weakest Dragon Vessel," said Michael, having a happy-go-lucky look on his face. Issei looked bothered by the title as Infernus laughed at him, annoying Ddraig. Naruto had to mentally tell Infernus to shut up.

"Can I really have it?" asked Issei.

"The Three Factions DID unite once in the past in order to defeat the Red and White Dragon. Those two interrupted our war and threw the battlefield into chaos. We would prefer to have the Red Dragon Emperor on the side of harmony. Very Japanese of us, no?"

"If he said so with a smile, it must be true," said Naruto.

"The final modifications to Ascalon were done here at this very shrine," Akeno assured. "Techniques from each faction were used." Cautiously, Issei grabbed the hilt of the sword with his left hand, his Sacred Gear forming around it as he concentrates, fusing the sword with it. Ascalon's blade comes out of his Sacred Gear, surprising the Gremory Pawn.

"With that, I must be off," said Michael. "I'll see you all at the conference."

"Wait, I need to ask you something," said Issei telling Michael the same thing. "I will gladly hear you out after the peace talks are finished." Once Michael had left, Akeno offered Naruto and Issei some tea, the two boys thanking her as they took their respective cups and sipped them.

"Did you work on the sword, Himejima-senpai?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, I performed the rituals to modify Ascalon here."

"You're amazing Akeno-san." Akeno thanks Issei for the compliment as the Gremory Pawn sipped his cup again before getting a notification from one of his clients, who was asking for a job to be done. "I have to go. I'll see you later, Akeno-san." After Issei left, Akeno found herself alone with the blond. She was both curious and nervous around Naruto. Not only did he have oddities that made him unique among Devils, he never showed any interest in her, or signs of it. Whenever she got a bit too close, he would gently push her aside/away. Between the Gremory Pawn and the Agares Rook, Naruto was the one she was curious of the most.

"I've never been alone with him before. I rarely even talk to him in and out of the academy. What should I ask him? Perhaps... How's the tea?" she asked him, shyly brushing her left band to the side.

"Tea? It's delicious. This is Bergamot, right?" When she said yes, Naruto told her it was his second favorite.

"Really?" asked Akeno, sounding surprised.

"Yeah." Silence took over them once more as Akeno wondered what else to talk about. "Hime-"

"YES!?" Naruto looked surprised for a bit before allowing the now-embarrassed Akeno to regain her composure. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes...I overheard Kokabiel say that you have the power of Baraqiel in you. Does that mean a Fallen Angel Commander is your father?" Akeno's eyes looked at Naruto with shock before she closed them and sighed, deciding to tell Naruto of her birth.

[Music Start]

[Goblin Slayer OST - 過去からの呼び声 / Call From The Past]

Akeno's mother was a Human shrine maiden who saved a wounded Baraqiel, forming a bond with him that led to her conception. As she told him her story, she pulled down her kimono, turning away from and showing Naruto her one Devil wing and one Fallen Angel wing. She couldn't understand why she was telling him this, but she felt comfortable telling her story to him.

"The corrupted wings covered in black feathers...I hated them so much I chose to become a Devil. But now, with the Fallen Angel wings I was born with and these Devil Wings as well, I'm an even more repulsive being," said Akeno, sadness in her voice as Naruto listened. "I suppose it's fitting though, for one with sullied blood flowing through her veins. Issei hates Fallen Angels since they killed both him and Asia-chan, and Kokabiel was the one who killed Akashiya. I don't imagine you have any positive feelings for them."

"...It's true that Issei hates Fallen Angels. I'm pretty mixed with them...But regardless of that, I'm sure that Issei will still like you and see you as someone he cares about. I didn't really know much about you until now, but I wouldn't hate you because you're part Fallen Angel. I'd still accept you." Naruto's answer was a shock to the Gremory Queen, who tells Naruto, "But I have Fallen Angel Blood in me. How are you okay with that?"

"So what if you're part Fallen Angel? Did you forget that Kokabiel's son lives with me? We were enemies training hard to kill each other not so long ago, but now we're pretty okay friends. As for you, you're still Himejima-senpai to me, regardless of what you are..." he told her. The Gremory Queen was silently shedding tears as she pulls her kimono up to cover herself after retracting her wings, Naruto getting up from where he was sitting to walk over to her and pat her on her left shoulder with his right hand.

"I have to go now. I'll see you later, Himejima-senpai," he told her, closing the door on the way out.

"I-I..."

[Music End]

Ten minutes later, Rias arrived to see how everything went with Michael, Akeno, now in a happy mood, telling her the meeting ended with no trouble at all.

"That's good to hear...Akeno, your eyes are a bit swollen, even puffy. Did something happen?" Realizing this, Akeno turned red, telling her King and friend, "Everything's okay, I assure you."

"...Tomorrow's a big day. The day all three factions get together to talk about peace."

With Hoshikari

Unnamed Bamboo Forest

Hoshikari looked a bit beaten and tired as Shirabi stood across from him, wielding her red-bladed katana.

"How's the katana?" Smiling, he told her she outdid herself with the katana, sounding satisfied. "Good."

"Had I fought you before I came across Naruto, I wouldn't have survived with the katana I had back then." Sheathing their katanas, the two approach each other before shaking hands. "I look forward to using this sword in a battle."

"If there is one."

"There's always going to be a battle. Peace and War are dependent on each other. Wars are waged to protect and achieve Peace, and Peace is rewarded and realized through War. Get rid of one of them, it upsets the balance. Even if the three factions achieve this peace, there will always be those who will stand against it." Hearing Hoshikari's views, Shirabi tells Hoshikari, "Why do I get a bad feeling that you're right?" Deciding to not dig into it, she then told him to make sure to not bring the war to her doorstep.

With Naruto

On the way home

7:27 pm

"How did it go with your editor?"

"Very well, though he suggested I put some conflict between the main lovers of the novel." Jiraiya's plan for the new book involved a male spy who worked for a society that served the public in the shadows and a female agent who was working for an organization that "serves justice", but was corrupt.

"I am having trouble with where to start."

"Where to start..." Remembering his experiences, Naruto suggests having the first chapter focus on how the female agent became part of the organization she worked for, and to make her oblivious of the organization's corruption. "I feel that the book should begin with the female agent, introducing her as the main character instead of the usual male."

"Oh, that's not bad!" Jiraiya told Naruto, sounding proud of him, Naruto smiling after. "I should come to you if I ever need some help brainstorming."

"Sounds good. I'd also ask Xenovia. She could think of something. Maybe..." Thinking about it, Jiraiya figured he'd give asking the bluenette a try. It'd help him get along with her since his godson was dating her.

Namikaze Residence

7:30 pm

Opening the door, Naruto and Jiraiya are welcomed home by Akame, who had returned with Maki and Eu from the spa an hour ago.

"Hoshikari, Kotomi, and Sif are home as well. They're getting dinner ready with Fujino. Xenovia will be home soon. Shizune's going to be home late.

"I should help make dinner."

"Sounds good. If it's no trouble, I'd like it if you brought it up to my studies. I have to get started on a first draft for the first chapter of my new book." Akame tells him she will before he leaves to his office.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" asked Naruto, walking with his sister to the kitchen.

"Yeah, although I had some trouble with one of the visitors there," Akame responds.

"With one of the visitors?"

"Yes. For some reason, she was angry with me. Also...she called me Big Sister."

"Kurome...She's here in Kuoh Town."

"It's strange. I don't know her, yet something about her..." Akame massaged the bridge of her nose, telling herself, "I'm thinking into this too much. For all I know, she could have been a student from junior high I never noticed. Or perhaps she just mistook me for someone else who looks like me."

"That could be it...If you met her again, what would you say to her?" asked Naruto.

"I would introduce myself of course, and try to understand her, whoever she may be...Though I doubt she'd take the time to listen."

"At first, maybe, but whoever she is...If you ever meet her again, take the time to reach her...She may listen to you. Just make sure you don't get hurt, okay?"

"I don't think violence will be involved, were I to meet her again, but if it does involve it, I'll make sure to be careful." Naruto only smiled at her before gently patting her on the head.

"...Akame...Your hair is a lot smoother than usual." Akame cheeks flushed as Naruto took time to pet her hair. "It feels nice."

"It's from some special soap I used while I was bathing there. Th-Thank you for noticing, Naruto."

"Perhaps I should go to Kusatsu and try it for myself."


To be continued in Part II Ch 6B