New Devil of The Gremory House

Life 21: Armistice

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"Okay, are you all ready?" Rias inquired calmly as she fixed her school outfit to look perfect. The rest of her peerage stood at the ready, preparing for their [King] to lead the way as the pure-blooded Devil nodded, "This is going to be a meeting of the leaders from the three factions and we are being graced with the chance to see it ourselves. So we need to be on our best behavior. Naruto, Issei, I'm talking to you two in particular. No outbursts, okay?"

"S-Sorry Buchou, I'll be more respectful this time." Issei apologized with a deep bow of his head.

"Do we really have to be called out?"

"Yes, because you two threw blame at Michael-sama the last time he was here." Rias nodded before narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend, "Plus Kurama told me how bad you are with authority and respecting leaders."

"Kurama told you?!" Naruto summoned his Sacred Gear and glared down at it angrily, "When the hell were you talking to Rias without me knowing?!"

[When you sleep. Rias and I try to strike up conversation over the sound of your rumbling, aggravating snoring. She told me a few interesting things about this world.]

"When did you start calling her Rias?! She was 'redhead girl' just a few days ago!"

[She deserves more respect than that.]

"Thank you Kurama." Rias graciously nodded to her new companion before the Sacred Gear vanished. She giggled at the frown that twisted Naruto's face before waving her hand, "We aren't colluding or planning anything behind your back. Stop panicking. And it was hard to wake you up when you looked so cute napping." She tapped his cheek before looking to another side of the room, "And are you two going to be okay while we're gone?"

"Absolutely Buchou! We have drinks and snacks and we aren't gonna be in a room filled with scary, unfamiliar people! It'll be great!" Gasper excitedly responded while comfortably seated in his cardboard box. The club had made a lot of strides handling Gasper's anxiety and agoraphobia, enough that they could get him out of the campus without much fuss. Of course that was if he was still at least wearing a paper bag over his head. But no matter how much they helped him, it was clear the young Dhampir felt safer in a cardboard box. The little blond boy beamed a smile at his competitor, "Get ready, Koneko-chan, you're gonna experience the full range of my skills!"

"Don't get a bloated head." Koneko casually responded as her fingers danced over the controller, "Keep boasting and you'll trip up at the important part."

"N-No I won't!"

"You always do."

"S-Stop saying that, Koneko-chan!"

"Stop sucking then."

"Well if you two are fine then we should get going." The peerage started out the door and made their way to the main building of the school where the meeting was being held. They headed up the stairwell and spotted the door slightly ajar with voices already conversing inside it.

Rias pulled the doors open and stepped inside to see the leaders and their entourages.

Sirzechs smiled and nodded to his little sister as Serafall beamed brightly and waved to her. Standing patiently behind them against the wall was Sona and her [Queen] Tsubaki. The two Sitri Devils nodded to their fellow Devils as they came to join their side. And standing directly behind Sirzechs' chair was his maid and [Queen] Grayfia, looking as calm and professional as ever.

Also sitting in his seat adjacent to the Maous was the Host of Heaven, Michael the Archangel. The radiant man looked over to the group of youths he had met with just the other day and gave them a kind smile and nod of his head. Standing protectively behind the Angel leader was a brunette with twin-tails and a sword secured to her waist. The young girl's eyes panned over to the Devils for an instant before focusing ahead once more.

And finally sitting on the other side of the room was the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, Azazel. The mix-haired man was lounging back in his seat, nursing a beer before his eyes peeked open to see the new arrival of Devils. They were also looking at him with mixed expressions, mostly spite and anger from Rias and Akeno. He smirked and sent them a quick nod before downing his beverage. And of course behind him was...

Vali.

The White Dragon Emperor opened his eyes from against the opposite wall and looked up towards those focused on him. He spotted Issei's nervous expression pointed his way and showed a coy smile before closing his eyes again and leaning against the wall.

Yep, just as charming as ever.

"You okay?" Naruto whispered to Xenovia when he saw the usually unflappable girl show a conflicted expression towards Michael's end of the room, "Something bothering you?"

"No just..." The blue-haired girl sighed and showed a sad smile, "That's right. You weren't here when I first arrived in this town. Remember how I was sent here on a mission to recover the pieces of Excalibur?" Naruto nodded as Xenovia looked over to the girl again, "She's the person I came with to find them. She was my partner, Irina Shidou. We...didn't leave on good terms when I was excommunicated and changed into a Devil. She thinks I betrayed her and the Church."

"Why don't you explain what happened?"

"That would mean telling her the truth. And Irina is even more devout than I am." Xenovia said sadly as she looked down, "If she heard what I knew, it would destroy her. So if she can stay devout and needs to be angry at me to do it, I don't think I mind."

She minded. He could tell clearly by the expression on her face that she cared a lot.

"So, if we're done with all the waiting and awkward silence, how about we get started?" Azazel was the first to speak up with a casual, jovial tone despite the place and circumstance, "Since this seems like the perfect occasion why don't we go around the room and introduce everyone, with one interesting fact about yourself."

...

If they didn't scowl, they were unamused. That was every expression aimed towards the Governor-General. Even Vali didn't find it funny.

"See? Now we're all peeved. That's way better than all the silent tension and worry that filled the air a second ago." He chuckled, "Man I'm good."

"Okay," Sirzechs sighed and took control of the situation before it could derail any further, "Before Azazel attempts and quite honestly fails to lighten up the situation any further, I would just like to thank you all for coming here today for this meeting. There's quite a lot to discuss so if we can get started, we can address everything of concern."

"Okey-dokey!"

"Of course."

"I warmed them up for you. You're welcome."

"Well then, I suppose if we want to start this meeting, we need to begin with the recent incident that happened just a few days prior with the Fallen Angel, Kokabiel, that made this necessary." The red-haired Lucifer looked over his shoulder, "Rias, Sona-kun, if you'd please."

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"H-How do you think things are going up there?"

"It's fine. They said their goal was peace. Hopefully by the end of it they'll have reached their goal."

"Y-Yeah, but think about all the movies and shows where groups come together for peace talks but things end badly!" The Dhampir started to tremble with the game controller shaking in his hands, "What if they get blown up?!"

"They would have noticed a bomb."

"What if someone gets sniped from across the street and it starts a war?!"

"We're in a barrier. No one is shooting anybody from across the street."

"What if they get invited to a wedding and then they go but they find out it was just a ploy to kill them all and the pregnant lady gets stabbed and Issei-senpai gets gutted and Buchou gets her throat cut and then they all die and I start crying under my covers again!"

"We seriously need to control what you're watching from overseas." Koneko said, "Calm down, Gya-kun. They have things under control. Lucifer-sama and Leviathan-sama are overseeing things with the Angel and Fallen Angel leaders. They'll protect Buchou and the others. Just stay calm and focus on something else. What else do you want to talk about?"

"Um..." Gasper titled his head in thought, "Oh! When did you start liking Naruto-senpai?"

The little [Rook] stilled and the game paused. Gasper nervously looked between his best friend and the screen several times before muttering, "K-Koneko-chan?"

"What did you say?"

"Y-Y-Your name."

"Before that."

"I-I asked when you started liking Naruto-senpai." Gasper elaborated, "I-I didn't notice it at first but you seem a lot happier when he's around you. You stick a little closer to his side. You're actually the one that strikes up a conversation with him, which is totally crazy considering you like to stay quiet! But I think the thing that tipped me off most was when he ruffled your hair and you actually leaned into his hand when he did it. Oh, you were so cute Koneko-chan! I couldn't handle..." Gasper paused and paled, "K-Koneko-chan, my character is already dead."

"I noticed."

"S-So you don't have to keep preforming a 999-hit combo on him."

"Looks like your character got off easier than you will." The white-haired girl landed the last hit and reduced Gasper's fighter to a fine mushy paste that splashed against the screen in the form of a grotesque K.O.

Gasper gulped, "I-I didn't even realize you could do that in Street Fighter."

"You can't. I can. I did. And I will if you bring this topic up again." Koneko said threateningly as her fellow freshman cowered and ducked into his box. With Gasper's vision now hampered by the space of his cardboard domain, Koneko finally let the light pink hue take over her cheeks. She pouted and placed her controller down, "Just forget about it, Gya-kun. It doesn't really mean anything in the long term. Whatever I think I'm feeling, it'll fade soon enough."

"N-No!" Gasper burst from his box and shook his head, "Don't talk like that, Koneko-chan! You have to try and give your feelings a shot! If you don't, you'll always regret it and feel unfulfilled! It's better to try and get rejected than never try at all!"

"How would you know?"

"I-I don't. But that's what all the anime say!"

"Of course they do." Koenko sighed, "Gya-kun, Naruto-senpai has Buchou. And I've seen the way they look at each other. How much she has done for him, and how much he would be willing to do for her. If I did have feelings - purely hypothetical feelings," She elaborated before she looked down with a slightly sad expression, "I'd rather they just disappear eventually than try and get shot down immediately."

"Y-Yeah, I guess it sounds harder when you put it like that." Gasper conceded before looking at his friends, "But you don't know that he would do that."

The little [Rook] squirmed in her seat as the conversation had made her suitably uncomfortable. Luckily a creaking sound got their attention and made Gasper squeak in fear, "W-What was that?"

"Maybe your wedding idea is actually going underway." The [Bishop] whimpered as Koneko was amused by his response, "But hopefully if that does happen then Buchou can return to us as a decaying corpse bent solely on revenge and retribution against those that had killed her."

"H-Huh?"

"Seriously Gya-kun, read more."

But suddenly the door to the clubroom violently blew open with a gust of fire rushing in. Gasper screamed and hid in his box as Koneko immediately jumped to her feet at the ready for whatever was coming. Was one of the factions actually taking the opportunity to attack during the treaty? However when the smoke vanished and she saw the figures within, she saw busty women in long robes standing on magic circles and with no discernible wings coming from their backs, "Humans?"

"That's is correct. We are humans, but not just any humans. Something much more." One of them spoke as they slowly floated in, "We are humans that deconstruct and reconstruct the structures of your Devil Magic and Holy Power to create magic all our own. We...are Magicians."

"Yeah, I figured that from the Magician cloaks and Magician magic you're using. Thanks for the long-winded explanation." Koneko stoically snarked before shooing them away, "I don't mean to be rude but if you don't mind we really need you to leave. You see we are in the middle of a very special function at the moment and you might ruin it-"

"We are here for the vampire." The Magician interrupted, "Don't bother trying to hide him as our sensors have already located him in this room. We require his awesome power, so if you would be so kind as to hand him over we shall be benevolent and let you go."

"I'm not trying to hide him. He's in the box." Koneko pointed to the cardboard box and the occupant inside it that squealed at the attention he was getting, "But I don't see why you would want him since he doesn't have a great power to use. He's actually kinda useless."

"K-Koneko-chan, I know I brought up a sore topic earlier but now you're just being spiteful."

"We don't expect you to understand how we can utilize him." The Magicians extended their hands, "Just hand him over."

"Okay, catch."

The Magicians immediately created magic circles to block against the couch thrown towards them at blinding speeds. The furniture shattered easily on impact but it was merely a distraction as Koneko went flying past the floating Magicians with the cardboard box rested on her shoulder. A few magic blasts followed after them as she sped down the hallway, "Are you okay, Gya-kun?"

"Y-Yeah, just a little rattled." He sounded much more frightened than he had said but he was doing his best to keep his fear contained before looking down, "What about you, Koneko-chan?"

"They hit me a few times but it's nothing I can't handle." The [Bishop] gasped and looked down to see the back of her shirt was burnt away and revealed a slightly burnt back as well. Koneko seemed to take it in stride as she looked out the window to see a huge squadron of Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels still littering the skies, "It doesn't look like anyone let them in to begin a surprise attack. Then who was it-"

"Koneko-chan!"

Koneko threw the box up and deftly avoided the magic blasts coming her way. She caught the box again and saw another squad of Magicians coming their way from the other end of the hall. She looked back and saw the other intruders making their way towards her before she headed for the stairs, "Hold on, Gya-kun."

"H-Hold on to - EYAAAAAAAAA!" Koneko leapt off the stairs and dropped through the middle of the stairwell that headed straight for the ground floor. Just before they hit the ground Koneko grabbed the bannister of the stairwell to halt their descent, tearing out the wood and then dropping down safely before sprinting for the door again. The Dhampir wined inside his box, "K-Koneko-chan, you really need to give a better warning than that. Koneko-chan?"

Gasper slowly peeked his head out when he noticed they had stopped moving and went pale when he saw another group of Magicians come phasing through the door to block their exit. He panicked and looked back to see the Magicians from earlier floating down from the staircase as well to block their way back.

They were surrounded.

"Now, shall you make the smart move, or will we have to hurt you both?"

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"Afterwards the pieces of Excalibur were returned to the Church, Kokabiel was detained, and the damages done to the school were fixed by the next day." Sona finished, "The injuries Rias Gremory and her peerage suffered as well as Xenovia Quarta who still worked for the Church at the time were healed over the course of the night and the matter was solved before it could escalate exponentially." The Sitri heiress bowed her head, "If you wish for any further details we may have skipped then you can read about them in our report."

Sirzechs nodded, "That'll be all girls. Thank you."

"So-tan, you were so good. You're such a great speaker." Serafall whispered loudly and gushed over her little sister's good work. Sona's cheeks brightened and her eyes twitched before she sighed and stepped back to the wall. Rias gave her friend an empathetic pat on the back before rejoining her peerage.

"So all jokes and jabbing aside, I think this should be plainly stated." Azazel said before giving a grateful nod to the young Devils, "Thank you for stopping Kokabiel's plans and putting him down before it was too late."

Rias' peeved expression never faltered as she continued to glare at the Governor-General. Azazel seem to just take it in stride and sit back in his chair, "You can be assured that he will be spending the next few millennia in lockup before anyone even considers letting him see sunlight again."

"While justice being dealt is good news to hear, the fact that you were in the town at the same time as Kokabiel attempted to attack it is quite suspicious."

"True we were in town at the same time, but for completely different reasons." Azazel calmly explained, "He was here to wipe out everyone and start a war between the three of us that would raze the planet and bring all of our homes into chaos. I was on vacation." He casually answered before peeking one eye open, "And also I had an interest in this town."

"That's another thing we need to bring up." Sirzechs stared down his fellow leader, "You abducted Naruto-kun from his living quarters and kept him locked away for a period of time. Care to explain that to us?"

Azazel shrugged, "I didn't mean to abduct or keep him away. I actually came to meet him so that we could talk. But things escalated when he started fighting." He held up his hands, "And as hard as it is to believe, he attacked first."

Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Issei looked at him accusingly as the others looked curious. The blond gulped and scratched his cheek as he refused to meet their eyes.

"I understand that isn't enough to clear me completely of blame, but I did return him to his peerage with a Sacred Gear. And I sent the Hakuryuukou to collect Kokabiel so he could be properly punished." Azazel pointed back to the young man behind him who made no effort to respond, "I wasn't here to assist Kokabiel with his master plan. I was here to meet the boy from another universe that had finally started to show some potential."

"Fine, but did you not think to check up on your subordinate while he plotted to destroy this town and stop him? Quite an oversight in my opinion."

"It wasn't like he was keeping me up-to-date about his plans and schemes." Azazel countered before an amused look crossed his face, "Plus if I remember correctly, I'm not the only person at this table where the accusation of oversight and negligence can be thrown." The expressions on the others faces fell before he sighed and sat up in his chair, "Let's face it and get to the matter at hand. Our stalemate has dragged on for far too long, and there are groups on every side that are becoming anxious. Cabals within the Church that scheme privately and prepare terrible experiments. Devils running away and abandoning their peerages to galavant and slay any enemy they desire. And even high ranking members of my own Grigori planning for full-scale war. Let's face it, this era of pseudo-peace is coming to an end."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"Make it official. Declare peace and unity between all of the factions once and for all." Azazel offered with skeptical and wary expressions between all of them. He sighed, "Okay, what is it this time?"

"That's a very large step to make so suddenly." Sirzechs answered, "Why are we bringing this prospect up only now?"

"Because it's only now when many of us have something to lose or other aspects we believe we need to focus on. I'm sure many of us have dug enough graves and had to say goodbye to too many of our comrades to want to do that anymore." The older members in the room showed complicated expressions, "God is dead. The legions of Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels that we used to command and fight with have been thinned out. The war we waged against each other so long ago has been lost to time. The only reason we still bother antagonizing each other or not give into peace is deep-seeded feelings of anger and distaste for the other sides. But when the alternative is a never-ending war, doesn't putting aside our differences and trying to change things for the better sound like the most rational move?"

Xenovia blinked in surprise and looked over in panic towards Irina. She expected her fellow swordswoman to look utterly broken by the fact she had just learned about God's death, but she just looked saddened and depressed. Had she already been told?

"You said now because 'only now do we have something to lose'?" Michael reiterated, "What did you mean?"

"That should be obvious." Azazel waved his hand around the room, "These kids." The leaders and younger generation watching around them all looked confused before the Fallen Angel continued, "This little maniac behind me loves nothing more than to fight and battle strong opponents. It's what he lives for. I'd call him an adrenaline junkie but even those people would say what he wants is just too crazy. Michael, that little lady behind you has probably completed a plethora of scary missions and objectives that would cause most grown men to mess themselves." Irina blushed at the wording while Michael gave a slight shrug of agreement, "And need I even mention what the young Devils have had to endure and stop just recently?"

"What's your point Azazel?"

"I mean they've already had to undergo great trials and troubles..." Azazel's eyes panned over the room before landing on a pair of blue orbs, "But none of their eyes look as heavy as his."

Naruto blinked in surprise as eyes turned to him. His eyes lowered as Azazel continued, "He told me before he came to our world, he had come from a war that had ravaged his land and people. It had only been going on for a few days, but the body count was already staggering and it would have only gotten worse. That's what war is. That's what we all know it to be. What he has experienced that none of the other kids here have is the effort of trying to do everything you can, the failure of realizing it wasn't enough, the compromise of doing what you could instead, and the loss that still followed it. If we don't do something, all of our children are going to start carrying the same burdens we did when we fought. Are any of you ready for that?" Sirzechs merely narrowed his eyes as Serafall and Michael both looked worried at the idea of their followers going through the same thing they did. Even Grayfia looked tempted at the offer of their fights no longer passing on to the next generation, "We have younger generations looking to us for guidance. A leading hand. We can keep letting them decide for themselves and allow the hate and spite continue to pass on. Or we can try something new. Something harder. Something we don't know will work, but had to be better than waiting for war."

The room went silent as they considered Azazel's proposal. Serafall asked, "What would we do after we made peace?"

Azazel just shrugged, "Anything. Whatever we want. I'm sure there's bound to be some kind of benefit if we stopped focusing on fighting each other and utilized our resources on other matters. Michael," He addressed the Archangel, "You can focus more on your followers and perfecting the Sacred Gear system. Let the devout and penitent do whatever it is the devout and penitent do. Serafall, with all the fighting done your little sister can focus on conceiving ways to avoid your overbearing and honestly kinda creepy obsession with her."

"Pfft! Shows what you know, Azazel-chan!" Serafall scoffed and laughed condescendingly, "So-tan adores me! She loves when I show her affection!"

What Serafall didn't see right behind her was the young Sitri Devil actually taking what he said into consideration.

"And think about the burden that would be lifted off your sister's shoulders, Sirzechs." Azazel offered before the man's smirk became just a little too coy, "I bet if we decided on peace she could finally get around to playing with her boy toy. With all the preparations we've had recently I'm sure there have been a few cases where things were getting all hot and steamy but they got interrupted before it got good. Maybe now they can finally go ahead and seal the deal."

"Hehehe." Sirzechs chuckled softly and shook his head, "That's quite a leap, Azazel. But Rias wouldn't try and do anything with Naruto-kun so early in their relationship. They've barely even started going out. Isn't that right Ri-"

When Sirzechs looked back it was to see his sister with a hand rubbing the bridge of her nose and a bright red color to her ears and cheeks. Naruto also looked guilty and stared up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact.

...

"There there, not all girls can be cute little babies like my So-tan forever." Serafall attempted and failed to console her frozen friend as Grayfia rolled her eyes.

Rias pulled her hand away from her face and glared at the Fallen Angel despite her embarrassed hue. She growled, "How did you know?"

"Two kids starting a relationship, one a member of a Devil clan renowned for their abundance of love and the other a hormonal teenage boy with a smoking hot girlfriend? This ain't a rom-com manga sweetie. You two aren't keeping it age appropriate for long, you're trying to go straight to red light district theater levels." He shrugged, "Plus your expressions gave it away. I've seen that hot and bothered look on girls who just want to jump bones. Plus the kid looks like the classic victim of excessive cockblock. Ha, I bet you got a nice pair of blue clackers down there, am I right?"

Naruto ground his teeth together and aimed his spiteful glare on the older man. But when he took a moment he looked around and saw members of the peerage looking at him and Rias. Except for Xenovia who was looking at his crotch curiously, "He's lying! In case everyone hasn't noticed he loves messing with people! I mean look how broken Sirzechs is!" He motioned to the Lucifer who still looked like he had crashed and failed to reboot properly, "We haven't done anything!"

[Well actually-]

Naruto swiped his arm down and forced his Sacred Gear to disappear, "Done. Nothing."

"Alright." Michael nodded, "In the interest of keeping sanity and perhaps stalling a complete mental breakdown from occurring," The redhead Maou finally seemed to be finding his composure again in time to rejoin the talk, "What does ending the war entail for you exactly, Azazel?"

"Tons of shit." He responded immediately, "I've got so many TV shows to catch up on that I'm never gonna get around to if I have to bother considering a war breaking out. Some experiments that I've had on the shelf for far too long. A couple of lady friends are expecting visits and dates from me soon." He wriggled his eyebrows for emphasis, "Plus this kid came to our world through the Dimensional Gap and a parallel world inhabited by ninjas! I'd be out of my fucking mind to not look into that a little more! Plus in case you haven't noticed yet the Two Heavenly Dragons have been in the same room with us this entire time and we haven't had to run for the hills to avoid a fight. If this isn't the age of miracles and new experiences I just don't know what is!"

"I almost forgot that we have both Heavenly Dragons here with us on such an auspicious occasion." Michael looked between the two young Longinus-wielders. Issei flinched at the attention while Vali didn't even looked bothered by the looks he got. The Archangel turned towards the silver-haired boy, "How about you, young man? What is your opinion on the war and peace effort?"

"Honestly, I really don't care about this." Vali bluntly stated with a cocksure smirk and a shrug of his shoulder, "All these talks of politics and futures are so dull I'm just barely staying awake. I'm only interested in fighting strong people. War. No war. Whatever helps me get around to fighting, I'll take it. The only reason I'm not trying to start a fight with anyone in this room right now is because Azazel asked me not to."

"And also with a very generous bribe of a delicious ramen recipe I found. Don't forget that."

"That too. So that's my opinion." Vali looked across the room and smirked when his target flinched under his gaze, "What about you, Issei Hyoudou? What's your stake in all this?"

"O-Oh wow, am I seriously being asked about whether we should continue a war or not?" The perverted brunette pointed at himself in disbelief before scratching the back of his head, "W-Well I mean if we can avoid war then I guess we should. It would be better if we weren't all fighting all the time, right?"

"The Sekiryuutei raises some good points. Peace is best. We get to do more fun things in peace. Issei Hyoudou, you know that if we were in a period of peace," Azazel smiled and started wriggling his fingers, "You can focus more on the ladies of your dreams and developing some techniques."

Issei's eyes widened before he started putting a finger between a hole he made with his thumb and index.

Azazel raised his eyebrows and started bouncing in his chair.

Issei giggled pervertedly and huffed like a panting dog.

Azazel smirked and slowly slid a hand down his fist and forearm before letting his hand spread out completely.

Everyone in the room watched in silence as the two acted out their silent fantasy. Naruto grimaced, "Someone. Anyone. Make them stop."

"Quite. Azazel?" Michael got the Fallen Angel's attention just as he started wildly flicking his tongue in between his index and middle fingers. The Archangel shook his head before turning to the mixed-haired man, "What you offered about peace is...intriguing. And I do agree with you that if we don't want this aggressive mindset to continue being passed down to the next generation, that we must work together for this peace. But as you suggested, there are groups within each faction that will take up a banner of war if they believe they are doing right by their people. What can we assure that my people, their people, and your people won't try to instigate another fight?"

"We work with each other." Azazel stated, "This peace isn't going to last if we simply say we'll stop fighting and do nothing else. We work together and do what we can to create bridges. Mend wounds. It's gonna be long and hard work we have ahead of us, don't expect any easy days in the future."

"Azazel-"

"Besides, how am I gonna get to do all the crap on my bucket list if I have to just trust shit doesn't go sideways?" He cackled and waved his hands, "No thank you."

Naruto sighed and shook his head, "And for a second there I almost thought he had good in him."

"Now now, don't be disheartened." Rias whispered, "Just let him talk and we can be rid of him-"

Suddenly the whole room felt a jolt of energy run through and rush over them like a powerful wave. Their eyes widened and their breath nearly stopped as the room took on a darker tint.

[UWAHHH!] Kurama yelled through the Sacred Gear that suddenly appeared on Naruto's arm. The fox coughed, [Ugh. Oh, that tingled. What the hell was that?]

"Well, I think we might just be in the middle of time suddenly coming to a halt." Azazel noted as he looked around to see several people in the room had been frozen completely in place. Out of all people gathered together for the meeting, only ten remained that could move in the sudden freeze. Yuuto, Xenovia, and Irina all had their swords drawn and glowing with aura powerful enough to protect them. Remote Looper, Boosted Gear, and Divine Dividing had all emerged on the bodies of their wielders in response to the sudden change. The leaders stood up and looked around, "Looks like only those of us with exceptional power are still able to move."

"Rias?!" Naruto yelled in panic as he looked to the woman that stood by his side. She was frozen mid-sentence and showed no reaction when he called her name and waved his hand over her eyes. She was really frozen. He closed his eyes and took a sharp breath before looking back at the leaders, "How did this happen? What's doing this?"

"Time is frozen. I have to imagine there's only one person capable of doing that here so effectively." Sirzechs said, "It's Gasper-kun. His Sacred Gear is causing this to happen."

"G-Gasper can't do this!" Issei argued, "He isn't strong enough!"

"Issei-kun is right." Yuuto nodded and lowered his Demonic Holy Sword to his side, "Gasper-kun barely had any control over his Sacred Gear even after all our training. He couldn't do this."

"Not consciously." Azazel spoke up, "But under circumstances. High stress. Even torture, his Sacred Gear could be capable of doing this."

The remaining members of the ORC looked horrified at the idea. Xenovia narrowed her eyes, "So Gasper and Koneko have both been apprehended by whoever did this."

"Magicians." Serafall said, "It was Magicians that are doing this."

"How do you know?"

She simply pointed out the window in response to their query. The remaining members of the meeting walked up and looked outside to see the same tint of red had encompassed the entire schoolyard they had cleared for the meeting. All the Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels put on guard duty outside had been rendered immobile by Gasper's freeze. And finally a massive magic circle had opened in the sky as nearly a hundred robed figures slowly came dropping out of it. They muttered some quiet spells before firing off blasts of magic that hit the prone guards in the air and teleported them far away from that place.

"See? Told you it was Magicians."

"And it looks like they've come to corner us during our meeting." Michael spoke, "They're sending all of our guards away and trapping us in a single location."

"An assassination attempt?"

"Probably." Azazel chuckled as a magic circle emerged just outside their window to defend them against the onslaught of magic attacks being hurdled at them, "And here we were thinking we had to worry about each other making a move like this."

"Never mind that shit!" Issei yelled and whipped his arm out to the chaos happening outside, "How the hell are we supposed to deal with this?!"

"If Rias wasn't frozen I'd suggest you could use Castling to go to Gasper-kun's side quicker and save him. But unfortunately that's an impossibility at the moment." Sirzechs said grimly, "We need to stop him now before his powers are enhanced further or he goes out of control. It's only a matter of time before his freeze ability affects us and if that happens then we'll have no way of defending ourselves."

"So he needs to be stopped, huh?" Vali finally spoke up and stood off the wall with the same bored expression on his face, "Well how about I just blow up the building he's being held in? Magicians are gone. Threat nullified. And you all are safe. Seems easy to me."

"No." Naruto shook his head, "That wouldn't work."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because the moment you try to hurt Gasper and Koneko, we kill you."

...

Vali looked between Naruto, Issei, Xenovia, and Yuuto. Their glares focused on him firmly and didn't move for an instant. He smiled, "Oh?"

"Vali. Be nice. You can't kill the subordinates of our hosts just because it's easy. You need to be a little more hospitable than that." Azazel turned to his charge before pointing out the window, "If you're feeling antsy and itching for a fight, why not go out there and take care of our uninvited guests. I'm sure there's some entertainment to be had in playing with them."

"Hmm." Vali hummed before shrugging and stepping up to the window, "Might as well. Might be interesting to see if these Magicians have anything prepared for capturing a Heavenly Dragon." The silver-haired man opened the window and stepped out before jumping off the windowsill. His Sacred Gear came popping out of his back, white and blue wings that sent him flying up into the sky.

The Magicians turned in the air, aiming their attacks on the single man that came jumping into the fray. For a moment they believed that he was simply suicidal and came out here to forfeit his life. But their confidence quickly withered away when they saw the young man become covered in a familiar shining white armor. The imposing figure shined like a radiant figure of destruction and absolute power, aura leaking off him in waves and wings spread out as energy seeped out of them.

[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker]

"T-The White Dragon Emperor!"

"How is he moving?!"

"Attack! Attack now!"

Magic attacks came flying in on the lone figure from every angle. Ice and fire and lightning and pure energy swarmed on the outnumbered armored man but they never reached him. The powerful attacks coming from every side were blocked by the magic circles that appeared and faded away the instant the Magicians' attacks were thwarted. Vali stayed floating in the same spot and watched the futile attempts to attack him fail against his defenses.

"Hehe, is this all you have to offer?" Vali' voice came out heavier and with enough boom to carry over the entire sky. It caused the Magicians around him to pause and shake in fear before he closed his eyes and sighed. He unfolded his arms, "Very well. Then I suppose it's my turn to attack."

Vali raised his hand and clenched his fist before slowly reopening it. Hovering just in the palm of his hand was a shimmering ball of light that threatened to burst at any second. The white-clad armor threw his hand up into the air and watched the ball burst into bolts of lightning that shot out in every direction. It ran through the plethora of Magicians that surrounded him and he watched as they fell. He felt more magic appear behind him and looked back to see even more Magicians slipping from the magic circle in the sky ready to fight him.

Good. More practice.

"H-He's..." Yuuto gulped, "He's so strong."

"Not just that. He's ruthless." Xenovia added as she watched from below as the figure clad in armor wiped out the Magicians that filled the sky with no effort at all. It was hard to believe this was a man that Issei had to match one day in battle. Because what she had seen of Issei when he had used this form, and what she was witnessing of Vali doing in his was like day and night.

"We should leave handling the Magicians to him for now. He can handle them while we figure out another course of action." Sirzechs said as he turned to the other leaders, "We have to figure out some way to reach Gasper-kun and get his power under control."

"Don't worry about that." They all looked over at Azazel as he leaned against the wall and looked out the window, "I gave the Sekiryuutei and ninja my special Sacred Gear bracelets. If they can get it on the Dhampir then it'll stop his Sacred Gear from going out of control and return everything to normal. We just have to trust them for now."

"Okay...and where are they exactly?"

Azazel pointed out the window. And when everyone looked outside it was just in time to see two figures slip past the defenses they had erected to protect the building and run straight into the storm of lightning and magic blasts that rained down from above.

"Naruto-senpai!" Issei screamed as he jumped and ducked from the magic attacks that threatened to reduce him to ash, "Couldn't we have come up with any idea better than this?!"

"Shut up and run! They need us right now!"

"Y-Yeah, but this seems like a really dumb way to rescue them!"

"I said shut up or you'll get zapped!"

"R-Right!"

Yuuto and Xenovia stared out the window and watched their comrades scream and dash across the field to the old building. Xenovia blinked a few times before looking at her fellow [Knight], "Wouldn't you and I have been better choices for getting their faster?"

"Yes," Yuuto shook his head, "But I doubt they're thinking straight with Koneko-chan and Gasper-kun's wellbeing on the line."

"So then, we'll leave the Magicians to Vali and the Dhampir situation to those two. And we can focus on more pressing matters." Azazel slipped his hands into his pockets and turned around to see what the other leaders had already determined was the next threat to focus on, "Like our uninvited guest."

"Ohohoho, and here I thought you wouldn't notice my presence." An orange magic circle appeared in the center of the room and another figure slowly started to emerge from out of it. A tall, dark-skinned woman with long brown hair and large breasts came to appear in the room alongside the powerful leaders of the world. But even with the influential figures standing before her she didn't seem intimidated in the slightest, "Although now that I think about it, it is better that I'm here. If we're talking about the fate of our races and you want a real Devil's opinion, then war and slaughter is the only true option."

"Katerea Leviathan." Sirzechs stepped forward, "Tell me, Katerea, what is a descendent of the original Leviathan Maou doing showing up here with us during such a convenient attack from an unknown group of terrorists."

"Well I thought that would be obvious," The pure-blooded Devil said with a vicious smile, "I came to kill the fake Maous that had tarnished the originals' names and assassinate the Host of Heaven and Governor-General while I was at it. I might as well since you all are so tightly packed together." The Devil flicked her head back before tapping her foot as the magic circle beneath her started to glow brightly, "Goodbye, fakers."

||||||||Devil||||||||

"What was that sound?"

"Probably the Devil from the Old Satan Faction finally making her move. Once she's done eradicating the leaders, we'll be done here. Then we can take this child for ourselves and see how to better utilize his powers than just an assassination attempt."

"N-No." Gasper muttered with a shaky voice, taking a moment to stop in his silent screaming to struggle against his captors. His eyes continued to shine in their red light as he thrashed around helplessly in the magic constraints that bound him in the air. He could feel his strength fading as his Sacred Gear was forcefully used to freeze the entire area. He closed his eyes but knew that wasn't going to stop the effect, "I-If Buchou and the others get hurt because-"

"It's too late to be worried about that, boy." One Magician said with a coy smile, "Your [King], peerage, and all the leaders are already dead. Your ability was perfect for stopping them in their tracks. Be proud, lad. You helped annihilate some of the strongest people in the world."

"Don't count on it." The Magicians scowled and Gasper looked over to where Koneko was being hung upside-down by magic constraints that drained her of her strength. She had scuff marks and her clothes were ripped from resisting the Magicians attacks as best she could, but even in her restraints she did not submit to her captors. She frowned, "If you think they're dead, they're not. And if you think you've won, you're screwed."

"Watch your mouth, little girl." One of the Magicians threatened while raising her hand and summoned lightning from her palm, "Unless you wish for another round of electrocution to shut you up."

"That's fine." Koneko stoically responded, "I'm bored just hanging here doing nothing."

"K-Koneko-chan stop! I don't want to hear you scream again!"

"It's fine, Gya-kun." Koneko reassured him, "We might get hurt now but the others will come help us soon. We just have to wait until then."

The Magicians looked between each other skeptically before taking a step closer to Koneko. She raised the electricity up towards the petite [Rook's] face, "Where in the world did you get such childish hopefulness and stubbornness?"

"Some people I know helped show me I should keep fighting as long as I am able."

"You must have some truly terrible influences."

"You have no idea."

Just before the hand could touch Koneko and send a shock through her body, the doors to the room came breaking off their hinges. The Magicians immediately turned to the sudden intruder and went on the defensive by summoning a myriad of spells. The terrorists narrowed their eyes as Koneko's softened and Gasper's started to water.

"And who the fuck are you people supposed to be?" Naruto snarled as he stood up in the doorway and clenched his fists with unbridled anger when he saw his juniors strung up on the other side of the room. He grit his teeth, "I swear if you hurt either of them, I will break every bone in your-"

"Silence."

A bolt of lightning shot right through Naruto's heart and silenced him in an instant. Gasper and Koneko felt their hope shatter in an instant as the Magicians cackled, "If you're going to attack from the front, you shouldn't waste your time talking and threatening us."

"Well said."

Naruto popped and filled the whole room with a wave of smoke. The Magicians coughed and swiped it out of their faces before they could choke anymore. But they were too distracted by the sudden smokescreen that they didn't see the figure through the cloud that came flying in. The blond [Pawn] dropped in between the Magicians and threw kicks out that rattled their brains and knocked them off their feet.

"You bastard-"

"Ddraig!"

[ASCALON]

Issei charged in as well, brandishing the new sword fused to his Sacred Gear and slashing several Magicians across the chest. The Red Dragon Emperor swung his sword down to the side and roared, "Don't you dare touch Gyasuke or Koneko-chan, you bitches!"

"Y-You - you damn Devils!" Only one Magician remained after the surprise attack from the two [Pawns]. She gathered her magic in her hand and threw it out as lightning arched from her fingertips, "Stop getting in our way!"

"You lost that chance when you forced them to get involved!" Naruto roared charging forward and taking the brunt of the lightning attack before popping in another burst of smoke. The Magician panicked and prepared her next spell but the smoke quickly circled in at a single point in the cloud. Naruto came rushing out with a blue orb in hand and slammed it into the spellcaster's stomach, "Rasengan!"

"GAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The Magician went flying into the wall violently and slammed against it on impact, a grinding circular pattern in the stomach of her robe before falling to the ground. The magical seals that bound Gasper and Koneko disappeared and left them falling to the ground. The young [Bishop] looked up with tears in his eyes as his voice cracked with relief, "S-Senpai!"

"Hold on Gasper!" Issei pulled out the bracelet Azazel had given him and prepared to secure it around Gasper's arm, "We'll get your Sacred Gear in check."

Koneko flinched as she sat up, an ache through her muscles from when she was shocked as her strength suddenly came back to her. She opened and closed her fists a few times until the phantom sting started to fade completely. She lowered her eyes and muttered, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them. I thought I could but I failed."

"What are you talking about? You both are safe. That's what's important. That's a win."

"But if it was you I bet you would have escaped."

"If it was me and I escaped - and that's a big if - then I probably would've broken just about everything possible in the process."

"I still failed."

"But did you give up?"

"Never."

Koneko felt the familiar palm gently fall on her head and give her a supporting pat. She looked up at his smile, "Then you should be proud of that. We're just glad you and Gasper are okay. Can you walk?"

She nodded, "I'm fine."

"Want me to carry you?"

"Shut up." She stood up and dusted herself down, hiding the pink flush on her pale cheeks, "Jerk."

"Naruto-senpai!" Gasper came running up to him with tears of joy in his eyes. Issei followed behind him as the Dhampir whimpered, "T-Thank you for coming to save me with Issei-senpai! Is everyone okay?! Did they get hurt because of me?! Tell me Buchou and the others are safe?!"

"They were fine the last time we saw them." Naruto said calmly to his panicking junior, "They had Sirzechs and the others watching out for them. We came here to grab you two."

"That was a good idea to distract them with the smoke." Issei praised Naruto before he quirked an eyebrow, "But do your clones seriously pop after only one hit?"

Naruto glared, "I didn't see you coming up with tactics to get in there."

"I know and I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea. But when you think about a clone army you think they should be as tough as you. If they can't even take one hit-"

"Look, how about when you come up with a cloning technique that lets you create copies en masse, get their information back to you upon destruction, and with enough durability to withstand multiple hits, then you can come and bitch to me about my clones!"

"Can you both stop bitching? Aren't we in the middle of a terrorist attack?" Koneko spoke up with a frown, getting both boys to grumble and hide their faces in shame for getting distracted, "Bigger picture."

"R-Right!" Issei slammed his fist into his hand, "We gotta get back to the others! Now!"

||||||||Devil||||||||

"-faster." Rias said before her eyes widened in shock when she noticed Naruto had disappeared from in front of her. Her confusion and concern were raised even further when she looked around to see the room and most of the school had been destroyed and left in a pile of rubble. She looked around to see her peerage, Sona, and Tsubaki just as confused as she was, "W-What happened?!"

"Oh, Rias, you're back. That means they were successful."

"O-Onii-sama!" Rias looked around at the barrier surrounding them being held up by Sirzechs, Serafall, Grayfia, and Michael. Yuuto, Xenovia, and Irina were nervously looking up in the air as explosions filled the sky and stray attacks flew down to bounce off their shield, "What is going on?!"

"A group of Magicians infiltrated the barrier and invaded the school." Yuuto explained, "They captured Gasper-kun and used his Scared Gear to stop time around us. Only a few of us were still able to move when it happened."

"Naruto and Issei went to go save Gasper and Koneko." Xenovia continued, "The White Dragon Emperor is up there destroying the Magician horde and the leaders are creating a barrier to protect us."

"And Azazel?"

They all pointed upwards as a massive explosion rang above them.

"Ahahahahaha! I'm surprised, Governor-General," The Leviathan cackled as she summoned dozens of magic circles with a single wave of her hand. Lightning and fire flew down like rain over the lone Fallen Angel as the Devil continued to laugh at him, "All this fighting and you haven't realized you're just wasting my time! Can't you see a useless effort when you're in the middle of one! My power, my lineage, and all of my attacks dwarf yours in comparison! You'd find peace faster just staying still and dying!"

Azazel chuckled to himself as he flew into the array of attacks falling down towards him. His cool and carefree demeanor remained even as he weaved his way through the countless attacks. He came out on the other side completely unscathed and dusted off his collar for good measure as he smiled at Katerea's irritated expression, "It's true. All the original Leviathan power is really shining through right now, Katerea. But I can't help but notice you have a little extra kick in your attacks. Did you get a little boost from someone else before coming here?"

Katerea aimed her death glare on the scruffy man after he had realized her secret. Her eye twitched but she found her composure again and simply laughed at the Fallen Angel leader, "I suppose I do have to praise your analytical abilities, if nothing else. I was sure that I could slaughter you and the rest with my basic powers, but I was persuaded to take a boost just in case." Katerea's eyes darkened as a powerful, menacing aura started to emanate from her form, "How does it feel? My already incomparable power enhanced by a snake from Ohpis itself."

"Ophis?" Azazel repeated, "And what stake does the Infinite Dragon God have in a meeting between the factions? Can't help but feel that this is really out of their playhouse to even bother thinking about. Might those silly little rumors and whispers about that 'Khaos Brigade' actually be true?"

"Yes it is!" Katerea cackled, "We of the Khaos Brigade are shaking the world from its structure! First the supposed leaders! Then every mythology following that stands in our way! Whomever stands in the way of our desires will meet a swift and brutal end! And that all starts with you!"

"All I needed to hear." Azazel reached into his suit and grabbed hold of something before pulling it out. Katerea froze in surprise as the Governor-General raised the golden dagger with the shining purple jewel up into the air. The object started to shine brightly as Azazel's mocking voice yelled out to the Devil, "Not happy with how things are? Starting a little rebellion with all the other naughty little boys and girls you can find? Are you really gonna kill everyone that disagrees with you until you get what you want? Well sorry to tell you, Ms. Leviathan, but I have to disagree, and I'm not going down so easily! You have a little boost? Enough to think you can wipe us all out? Well I like how things are right now! And if you think you can stop us, I'm gonna stop you with my Down Fall Dragon Spear!"

A bright golden light shined from the dagger and blinded everyone in the barrier. The light started to take shape around the Fallen Angel as the already tall and imposing man started to cut an even larger figure. His body was covered in a bright gold armor, with several purple crystals adorned over the body of the armor. Azazel's twelve wings stretched from the back of the armor and he had a massive Spear of Light already in hand. Everyone looked at him in surprise as his voice came out at a booming volume from the armor, "I know right. Pretty fucking badass if I do say so myself. Took a little work and it isn't gonna last for long, but man do I look awesome."

"W-What is that supposed to be?" Katerea chuckled with a nervous, scared tinge in her tone. She wasn't prepared for Azazel to pull out a secret weapon like that so close to the end of their attack. Katerea had expected to appear, scare and toy with the leaders and their little pets for awhile, before ending it all in one fell swoop. But she still had the boost from Ophis' snake, and she still had more than enough power to spare. She cackled, "I see you still love playing with Sacred Gears, don't you Governor-General? Well if you think-"

Azazel disappeared in a burst of speed and dug his fist into the Devil's stomach. Katerea's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she doubled over and spat up blood. She trembled in the air before weakly looking up to see Azazel's already raising his other arm in a fist, "You talk too much."

His fist came down on her back and sent her careening into the ground below. The Leviathan descendent slammed into the ground, immediately creating a crater around her body and webbing out in every direction. The beaten woman struggled on her hands and knees, her vision faltering as Azazel slowly lowered himself to the ground with folded arms, "You know the difference between you and I, Katerea? We may both be getting a boost in power, but damn do I make mine work for me."

"Y-You arrogant, bastard." The Devil woman seethed as she pushed herself up from the center of the crater, "You're smug and pompous attitude is making me sick, as if you can act like you've already won-"

"Considering you're saying that then maybe I really should cut back a little."

"But you think this is it?" Katerea waved her arm around to the last of the Magicians and Old Devil Faction that were being wiped out by Vali. Even beaten the woman continued to cackle like a hyena with a crazed look in her eyes, "I came here to kill all of you! And that's what I'm going to do! Any means necessary! You think Ophis' snakes are our only ace in the hole! The Khaos Brigade has a slew of monsters and demons you can't even begin to fathom! But I'll give you a sneak peek on how we plan to take down this world! Watch, and engrave it into your memories, as the last thing you ever see!"

Katerea slammed her hand into the ground and summoned a magic circle beneath her. Azazel watched in surprise as the circle started to expand and stretch in size until it slipped under his feet and continued out in every direction. Sirzechs and the others in their defensive barrier looked down from above as the intricate circle took up almost the entire campus in size. At the very center, Katerea laughed and cheered, "I win! I win!"

But the circle disappeared and nothing changed.

The Leviathan woman gawked and stared down in horror before she fell to her knees and started patting the ground desperately. Azazel titled his head, "Performance issues?"

"No! NO! YOU FUCKING TRAITORS! YOU TOLD ME THEY WERE READY! YOU TOLD ME THAT WAS THE CIRCLE I NEEDED!"

"Well it's clear you're pretty much broken, but I'm intrigued by this 'ace' you seemed so confident in." Azazel stepped forward, "If you tell us about them and the others members of your little group, I'll let you-"

"WRAAAAAHH!" Katerea's mind snapped and she threw her hands out, multiple arms sprouting out of her body and swarming around Azazel before taking hold of his arm. She gripped it tightly as the spare hands started to aim magic circles at her enemy at point-blank range, "HA! IF I'M GOING TO DIE, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!"

"No."

Azazel swung his hand down and sliced his arm off as it dropped to the floor. Katerea looked at it in shock before slowly looking down at the Spear of Light that pierced her chest. She toppled over dead as Azazel released his armor and grabbed the jewel from his broken dagger, "But you can have my arm. Consider it a parting gift." He slid the jewel into his pocket before turning around with a smirk, "Looks like you all made it just in time."

Gasper was cowering in fear behind Issei while Koneko and Naruto looked over at the woman lying in a pool of her own blood. The blond looked back at the Fallen Angel before pointing down, "So you, uh, need a little help with that? It's still bleeding."

"Like a lot." Koneko watched the stream of blood steadily pouring out of Azazel's missing limb.

"Oh yeah, gotta fix that." Azazel nonchalantly stated before continuing like nothing had changed, "Hey, looks like everyone else has finally come to join the party."

"Gasper! Koneko!" Rias called out as she came running over and quickly enveloped her [Bishop] and [Rook] in a hug. She looked over them quickly, "Gasper, have you been crying? Koneko, you looked tired! Did they hurt you? I swear I'll kill them-"

"I'm okay Buchou."

"M-Me too! It was scary, but Issei-senpai and Naruto-senpai saved us just in time!" Rias looked up at them with gratitude as both men simply smiled in return, "Buchou, I'm sorry my ability caused you so much worry."

"Stop talking like that. You're safe and sound. Everything else doesn't matter."

"I wouldn't say it doesn't matter, but it has been resolved." They looked back at Sirzechs as he looked around the area, "The Magicians have been dealt with, the freeze has come to an end, and Katerea has stopped."

"We did it!" Serafall cheered with joy, quickly jumping on a protesting Sona and giving her a tight hug, "Hooray for the good guys!"

"But there are still some questions to answer." Michael spoke up with narrowed eyes, "The Magicians breached our barrier. They are skilled, but I doubt they could have done something like that unless they knew the pattern and writing we used to enforce it. Plus they didn't break it down but slip through it, that requires even more skilled magic, to not only invade this space but leave us trapped in it."

"And there's the matter of the Gremory [Bishop] too." Azazel added, the boy in question flinching and cowering behind Rias as he continued, "I'm surprised they knew that he would be separated from the rest of us during the meeting, and that they could use that chance to capture him and use his power. Almost like they knew...like they were bing told..."

Azazel looked up to see Vali had disappeared from his place in the sky.

With a hefty sigh and rubbing the shoulder that now missed an arm, he looked at the other leaders, "You all should be careful. Considering this Khaos Brigade had members from every faction looking to overthrow the powers in charge, we might all have conspirators in our midst. Be on your guards. If you're not, you might lose your..." Azazel paused and looked down at his missing limb with a frown, "Shit, I lost an arm."

"About time that actually started to sink in."

"Seriously, this blows. There's gonna be a lot of ladies disappointed that I'm missing Lucky Lefty."

All of the students grimaced at the image he put in their heads.

"X-Xenovia?" The blue-haired girl looked back to see Irina standing just a few feet away from her. The twin-tailed girl looked very anxious speaking to her old partner and struggled to lift her eyes up from the ground but finally did to look at Xenovia, "C-Can I talk to you?"

"U-Um..." Xenovia was also sheepish getting to face her friend again after their icy departure just a few weeks earlier. She felt her hand go sweaty before a firm nudge to her arm pushed her forward. She looked back and saw Naruto encourage her with a small nod, "Yes Irina, I wanted to talk to you too."

The former partners stepped off to the side to speak. Naruto smiled as he saw the awkward girl try to mend her friendship with her friend.

[Still can't help but get involved, can you?]

No. No he could not.

||||||||Devil||||||||

Naruto groaned as he sat at his table and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, "I'm glad yesterday is over. That whole situation was so tense and stressful I think I lost sleep over it."

"Well it's over now, and I think you handled it very well." Rias complimented as she came over to seat beside him and eat her breakfast as well, "Considering how badly things could have turned out, it all finished rather peacefully."

"Never thought I'd get the chance to sit in on a peace treaty between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. Lucky me." The whiskered [Pawn] said with a chuckle before looking at his girlfriend, "What about you? How do you feel about the war coming to an end?"

Rias paused and lowered her chopsticks in thought. With a heavy sigh she shook her head, "I'm surprised, to be honest. I never believed that this war would come to an end. I was sure the stalemate would last for centuries even from now. But to be alive and present as it came to an end and made peace was just unbelievable. It for the best that we don't fight with the Angels and Fallen Angels anymore. Although..."

"You don't wanna think about working with Azazel from now on, do you?" Rias' frustrated pout was a clear enough answer as she huffed and crossed her arms. The young Gremory heiress threw her nose up in thought of Azazel staying in Kuoh for the foreseeable future. When it was decided that the town would be an important place for all three factions, Azazel offered to stay here and keep watch over it in case anything went wrong. Rias and Akeno were...less than enthused, "It can't be that bad."

"He's smug. He infuriates me with every word he says. He kidnapped you and made me worry for days! He keeps bring up our p-personal matters!" Rias blushed at that one before she snarled, "And not to mention bringing up his own! I didn't want to hear about how he lost his arm and can't do his patented Triple Shocker Maneuver anymore!"

"Yeah, I'm still working out the math on that one." Naruto scratched his head before smirking and poking her in the cheek. That elicited a cute squeak from the redhead as she jumped back and he smiled wider, "But we don't gotta worry about him right now. Just enjoy your breakfast and appreciate the silence." He looked back to see Rias looking at him quietly, "What is it?"

Her hands gently came up and cupped his face as she looked into his eyes. After a few seconds of silence a soft smile came to her face, "I think they're wrong. Your eyes don't look so heavy. Not as much as they used to be."

...

[Uh-oh, it happened again.]

"Shut up Kurama." Naruto snarled before smiling and leaning in towards Rias. She understood and leaned up as well-

"Yoo-hoo! Neighbors! You in there?"

Their eyes blanked and their faces paled when they heard the voice knock at the door.

No.

No no no no no no no no-

"Hey you two. Good morning." Azazel greeted them with a smile, "Glad to see you two are already awake. Some kids this day and age are still slumping around in their beds at a time like this."

"Why. Are. You. Here." Rias didn't ask so much as seethe every word out of her mouth. The redhead looked like she would burst into flames at any moment while speaking with the Fallen Angel.

"Oh, I just moved in last night. Since I'll be staying in Kuoh for now, I thought it would be appropriate to find a place to live. This place seemed cheap but..quaint?" Azazel shrugged, "The company is certainly pleasant though. That European guy is a great drinking buddy though. Didn't even stare at the missing lump." Azazel chuckled and patted the empty sleeve that hung from his shirt, "So what about you two? Any morning rituals still to get through?"

"..."

"..."

Azazel looked between the glowering teens before he blinked, "Oh shit, it happened again, didn't it? Wow, the universe must not want you two to ever get down and dirty! Haha, I guess even I'm just a tool in the great cosmic game. So Naruto, are you at purple or tyrian yet?"

"Azazel!" Rias growled, "What do you want?!"

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that Vali is picking a fight with Issei Hyoudou as we speak. I tried to contact him and make him stop before things escalate but it's pretty clear he isn't listening to me anymore. So...that's happening right now."

Rias pushed the Fallen Angel aside and ran into her room to get dressed. Naruto ran back in and grabbed his clothes to come as well. He felt a pit of dread fill his belly as he imagined how that ruthless kid was trying to pick a fight with Issei.

He tired to think of a way around it but it was useless. Issei...he had no chance.

"Struggling?" Azazel asked from his doorway, "If it helps a quick rub-the-chub usually does me good before something stressful."

"I hate you so much."

||||||||Devil||||||||

Done

I love Azazel so much.

He is by far one of my favorite characters from the original series. Cool. Badass. Sagely. Inventive. Funny. He's probably the only guy I can write for from all my stories that can be focused on achieving peace between all the warring sides while still being a total troll.

Oh, I forget how fun it is to write this story.

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