Disclaimer: I do not own the property of either Hazbin Hotel, or Naruto, both works are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, and Vivienne Medrano respectively.
Chapter 8: In The City
The moment he stepped through the front doors of the hotel his first thought was in how the sky over the city seemed to be a darker shade of red than it typically was, reminding once more of the unnatural world he was inhabiting.
The only source of comforting light other than the stars in the sky was that of the faint glow of Heaven off in the distance that greatly contrasted with the rest of the hellish landscape underneath it. It made him wonder if the reason why it was stationed under the very heads of sinners was to remind them in their perpetual faith of living in Hell for the remainder of their miserable existence until something of their own choosing ended the lives they lived.
Be it the violence that was committed on a daily basis, accidents, suicides, or victims from the hands of these Angels every year. Thinking of what Alastor told him in how things were run here made the ninja wonder if he were to stay here longer than a year.
"I shouldn't be thinking about it," He said in a low voice as he tucked between different alleyways as silent, and quickly as possible while making sure not to be spotted by unwanted viewers. "The last thing I want to think about is being unable to go back home"
Given that he had only been less than 15 minutes that he left the hotel, and the distance he covered with that time made for a pleasant thought of not sticking out like a sore thumb.
He stopped at the end of a rundown street that looked empty from both sides, though he could faintly hear the sound of moving bodies coming from some of the damaged buildings nearby. Running through some of these apartment complexes packed tightly against each other made him kinda worry about what type of people were living inside, as other than the ones he talked to back at the confines of the Happy Hotel told him not that he wouldn't meet anyone as friendly as they were.
Then again if this was the realm where Earth's worst were sent to was all he needed to keep his guard up at all times, but at least hoped that not all of them were as violent as some of the stories Vaggie told him about early in his arrival.
"Thankfully this henge would keep other sinners from having to notice a human running through here," He thought himself as he jumped on top of a dumpster bin, and latched onto one of the hanging letters of the fire escape, and proceeded to run all away to the top of the roof.
The disguise in question was not of a simple design that he mimicked from a creature that he once saw flying when out meditating on the roof after he was done swimming that resembled that of a bat. He was lucky that he was not spotted by the said creature, and made sure to remind himself not to be on the roof for too long to be seen by other sinners who could take flight.
Fortunately, that close call gave Naruto an idea of using a bit of genjutsu (Something that he never excelled at, but was enough to fool others) to shield his human appearance with something more devilish to avoid further detection.
The batting form seemed like the right decision as some of the other sinners he was able to see, while sticking to the shadows either shared a similar look or were unique in nature. He was a common choice to avoid attention, as the notion of a golden fox with nine tails would only get the human more unwanted eyes than he needed to.
"Sometimes a bland approach better for these types of situations"
That and if by chance someone were to look up they would just see a fellow sinner flying over the sky. As if that wasn't a common occurrence already.
The sight that greeted the blond took him back a little in having a closer look at the heart of the city as the multitude of skyscrapers now closer than the view on the roof of the hotel told him how truly immense this land was. Everything he saw was completely foreign to him as even the tallest building structure thought the Land of Fire paled in comparison to what Pandragram City had to offer.
A key stark difference was in the shape they were modeled after that seemed sleeker in design in comparison to some of the more traditional formats of Konoha. Most of the smaller ones were chalked up with a series of signs plastered all over them that all shared the simple message of cardinals' sins.
Booze, drugs, gambling, women, and other forms of vices that taints the soul from within. Even from where he was standing could he feel the waves of discomfort emanating from all four corners, that it seemed to almost wrap around him like a blank of curiosity. Almost as if he was trying to tempt him to join in on the "fun".
"No wonder no one ever wishes to better themselves" Staring at a flying blimp floating near one of the taller buildings with three huge xxx's stamped on either side."How could they ever shake off their addictions that fuel their sins if there always surrounded by them"
This truly was a city filled with sinful appetite. One that had no end in sight. This brought back memories of him growing up in the red-light districts back in the Hidden Leaf Village. He shuddered a bit in having to remember some of the awful things he saw while growing up.
Alone.
Shaking those negative thoughts from his mind, he chose to continue forward by jumping onto the next building's roof, then quickly running across another nearby complex by latching on a cable wire to travel to the other side of the street.
The deeper he got the more activity he witnessed as cars of all different designs roamed the roads without a care in the world of any bystanders unlucky enough to get out of harm's way in being run over. The dried blood that he took the note of while in the air, told him everything he needed to know in how common this was.
Landing with an audible thud on another rooftop, he realized he needed to transition once more to ground level as some of the taller complexes were beginning to close up around him.
"Besides, I need to take a break, and check that I am going the right way." He sat down on a chair that was propped up near the entrance of the roof, and leaned back to catch his breath, and took out the invite card from his pocket."Right now I may be at least in the center of the map, and only need to head northwest from here, and head for the right PO" He mentally patted himself on the back on where to go next, and couldn't wait to get moving again.
"..."
The silent breeze hitting his skin woke him to reality in what he just said about his current whereabouts.
"Am completely lost" The declaration only meant palming his forehead in not taking a map of the city from the hotel, before he left the hotel."Shouldn't have spent too much on the clothing.
As if his prayers were answered for him, the sound of a loud explosion from one of the skyscrapers closest followed by a loud yell broke him from his stupor and looked up to see a figure rapidly heading towards the roof he was sitting on.
"INCOMING!"
Before he could react the impact was both quick and deafening as a huge plume of smoke shrouded the area, engulfing the blonde from head to toe.
"Cough!"
Naruto waved much of the smoke, and dirt from his face as quickly as he could, while never losing track of who just landed a few feet away from him, waiting to see who just arrived. As the smoke disappeared he took notice of the figure, someone familiar.
"I should really work on my landings, and not use too much powder next time unless I want to blow myself sky-high"
The voice and manner of speaking told the ninja all he needed to know who this person was.
"Cherry….?"
The duplicate of the original could be seen lounging around in bed as he stared up at the ceiling in utter boredom as the sound of the ticking clock on the wall drove out any other sound in the room completely. His existence had already exceeded that of twenty minutes since his creator left in the room to venture off towards his personal goal.
His personal goal was to keep up appearances in case someone came knocking at the door. Though at the moment it seemed that not much activity was to be had as dinner was still hours away to be announced, Angel was still resting in his room, and the rest were busy doing their own business.
This left the clone to wait until the original came back to blink out. Though that meant having to wait out the time for the meantime crammed up in this room for that to happen.
"Click"
He turned to face the clock to see that the minute arrow slightly turned, marking a total of twenty-one minutes since the original left.
"It's gonna be a long while before he gets back," He said as he looked at the clock with the hopes of having it go faster.
It proved to be unsuccessful.
"Goddammit"
CRASH!
The loud sound of something breaking made the clone instinctively jump to his feet as he could hear the sound of tiny patterned feet skittering around.
"That came from the bathroom"
Quickly making his way towards the door leading towards the latrine, the unmistakable sound of squeaking voices became louder the closer he got, and once he reached the knob of the frame, whatever was making the noise seemed to be coming from a small critter.
"Probably either a rat, or mouse scurrying around in there," The duplicate said in a low voice as he turned the handle slowly, but quickly pushed the door open, hitting the on the switch in quick recession.
The dim illumination of the fluorescent light bulb sprayed the entire bathroom in a sickly glow that made the entire bathroom devoid of color, other than the palette of white. The specs of which made it seem as though it belonged to a hospital restroom in how sparse it was as if it was completely sterilized from top to bottom.
He looked upon the broken ceramic cup that was used to hold his owner's toothbrush littered the floor. Whatever caused it to fall down seemed to be gone, as well as the noises that he heard before opening the door.
The toothbrush was also gone.
"Sigh"
The clone let out the breath he had stored in from the precaution he made himself feel, as whatever was inside the bathroom looked as if it was gone, but knowing where he was staying did not mean that he wouldn't be too careful.
Either way, he needed to clean up the mess, before the original came back.
"Bet being out there is more fun than being locked up in here" Leaving the bathroom to get the broom and picker-up from the closet.
The endless night of Pentagram City, and what it had in store for was one of many vices it contained that lured its many denizens to commit themselves to live out their existences in total pleasure, and sinful activities.
Even at the cost of their own lives in the process.
Cherry on the other hand lived for the thrill of living life to the fullest, something that she made into a personal creed when she was alive. And even in death, it was something that she continued to live by.
Be it Heaven, or Hell, she would live life the way she saw fit without any forms of restrictions to weigh her down as it did back home.
Currently though freefalling toward the concrete floor, after botching the detonation of one of her explosives was not on her list of things to do today, but who would consider faulting the vixen for trying to blow up the top portion of a building.
Seeing that the ground was ever approaching with each passing moment, the female overlord quickly used the momentum of some of the falling debris to jump against to slow down the rate at which she was on.
"May not stop the pain once I land, but at least it won't hurt as much if I didn't try something at least," She thought as the closer she got, the more she could now see where she was about land, and even more who she saw where she was about to crash land, and who else was there.
Typically if she were in a position to safely land on her feet when falling from such a high she would probably have used someone as a cushion, but seeing that she was having such a good night before the botch explosive, maybe giving a heads up would be at least considerate enough.
"INCOMING!"
"CRASH!"
The impact though impactful took a bit of a strain on her legs that felt the brunt force of the landing that almost made her knees buckle underneath her. Thankfully her time in Hell helped to toughen her body up to sustain a heavy hit.
Though that still did not take away the pain she would feel.
"Okay, that is gonna sour in the morning" Rubbing the shins of her legs as they felt a bit numb, but she could at least put some weight on them to continue to walk.
"Cherry….?"
The sound of her name being called out interrupted her train of thought as she looked over her shoulder to see what appeared to be a brown fur bat standing there near the entrance of the roof looking at her as if he knew her.
"Yeah!, and who the hell is asking?" Muscles quickly tense, and hands filled with the familiar weight of some of her homemade grenades in preparation for a fight.
Seeing the intensity in her sole eye, Naruto quickly waved his hands in the air to clear the misunderstanding between them.
"Wait!" Quickly deactivating the henge."It's me Naruto"
"Foxy?" Now confused about what he was doing outside the hotel, and in the middle of Pentagram. "What in the world are you doing outside of the hotel?" Clipping back her bombs on the hooks of her vest."Don't you know how dangerous it is for you to be roaming the streets"
"That's why I have the disguise for" Activating the henge again to avoid any onlookers who may have heard the explosion from peeking in.
"Even so, it's too dangerous for a human to walk around these parts, what am I even saying, everywhere is dangerous for you to be in"
"I can take care of myself Cherry, I am no greenhorn when it comes to fending for myself, even when it comes to something that isn't human" A bit peeved at how some still did not believe that he could handle himself. He didn't survive this long by having others protecting him all the time.
"Trust me foxy, whatever you may have fought against in your own "world" pales in comparison in what these streets can ditch out" Crossing her arms under her bust, and her eye narrowed slightly from his statement."But then again am no one to judge others decisions when it comes to doing something reckless"
"I appreciate the concern, but I have my own reasons for being out here" Closing the distance between the two after a few steps.
"Which are?"
"Angel?"
Now sounding concerned over her best friend."What about Angel? Did something happen to him?"
"He was violently attacked by his boss, and had to drag his damaged body back to the hotel, where I found him in his room hurting all over" Seeing the horrified expression start to form on the cyclops face in hearing that."But don't worry, I was able to heal Angel the best that I could do, and right now is in good shape, and safely resting back the hotel"
This helped to lessen the worry in her face but could not stop the face of outrage from forming soon after.
"That fucking piece of shit pimp!" Pacing some odd steps while in her own stupor." I knew something like this was bound to happen any day now" Growing angrier in thinking how badly her friend was hurt by this moth bastard.
"Look, being this angry is not gonna help Angel get better any quicker, but I think getting more of a layout on Valentino in ridden him from Angel's life can greatly help him get better"
Her eye shot up hearing the overlord's name being mentioned by the blond.
"You know his name?"
"That, and who he works with" Meeting her gaze."I also know about Vox, and Velvet, two of his closest partners"
"Who told you this?" Curious how he came by this type of information."It couldn't have been Angel, could it?"
Shaking his head at her question he muttered a simple response. "It was Alastor who told me"
"Who?"
"..."
"The guy dressed up all in red with a microphone for a cane"
"Oh!" Smacking the right of her fist with her left palm."The radio demon"
"You never bothered to learn his name"
"Hey, we overlords tend not to get too chummy with each other, you know us being each other's competition, and why not" Shrugging her shoulders at the remark.
"You're an overlord too?" Surprised by the type of status the pink-haired one carried.
"You betcha ass I am!" Raising a thumb to herself."You'll find no better overlord throughout the Pride whose as dangerous as me"
"Alright, that's good to hear" Realizing that Cherry would have the information he'll need to figure out where to go."Then that means that you know where this place is" Handing her the invite card.
Cherry saw the card that she was giving, and it almost made her skin crawl with goosebumps in what it had to say.
"Why do you have this?"
"It was given to me by Alastor, is where I may find some answers on Valentino" Saying it with the utmost sincerity."I think is worth going there if it means helping our friend with"
"It's suicide" Cherry replied as she gave him back the card."You won't even make it past the front gates without sounding off the alarms.
"With your help maybe it won't be impossible if we team up we can increase our odds to prevent that from happening"
"Am not much of a stealthy type of blondie. Am more around the likes of blowing a hole through the wall type of girl" Crossing her arms together at the proposition.
"Is fine if you don't want to help, but can you at least guide me their" Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly."It seems that I kinda got myself lost trying to find the place"
"Kinda?"
"Look is obvious that I don't know my way around here, and with you being an overlord you may have a better idea where I need to go" Hoping at least that he could convince her to at least point at the direction he needed to go."You have at least some idea how to get there"
"Is not that I don't want to help you because I would do anything in my power to make the people that hurt Angel pay for what they did, especially from the likes like Valentino, but what your suggesting is breaking into a den that will jammed packed with other sinners ranging from other overlords, their foot soldiers, and if is a banquet held by Vox expect some of Hell's royalty to be in attendance"
"..."
"So when I say is suicide" Leveling a steel gaze at him. "It's damn near impossible to pull off"
"..."
The air around them was uneasy as the momentum that Naruto ran with since the moment he left the hotel was stagnant as he could not argue against the logic that Cherry hit him with. But then again it was nothing new from what he had been told countless times before.
"Am still going"
"For the luv of….Seriously?" Not believing what she just hearing.
"Yep" Staring off towards the building that was billowing out smoke from the earlier explosion "I am not gonna let the lack of directions stop me in my tracks"
"Why are you so adamant in helping Angel?" Confused in how willing he is to help the spider out."You barely even know him for a month, and here you are in the middle of a demon-infested city looking for the one place no sound person in the entire seven circles would ever dare go near unless they were either braindead or just plain old suicidal"
Taking a breath after saying her piece on the matter, before finishing it off with the last bit." I doubt your that willing to throw your life away, especially for the likes of someone like Angel, but am pretty sure he won't take too well that someone he can rely on other than me dies on him too soon"
"Well, that's the thing though if we don't do anything then something even worse is bound to happen to Angel, maybe even something that will mean the end for him" Looking back at her."Do you ever think about the possibility of Angel not being in your life because of something that you were too scared to do for his sake?"
"Who the hell do you think you are in asking me of all people if I don't care for his safety, I've thought of nothing more than to ram a quarter of a ton of explosives down Valentino's throat just for Angel to be free from that fucking contract he made with that shithead of an overlord" Her scrunching up to a fearsome scowl."Because that is something that I have been dealing with for decades now"
"Then why haven't you ever done something about it if you really call yourself such a friend to Angel, because from where I'm standing all am just hearing are excuses is how your just scared you're from actually doing anything "
"Then what makes your attempt to help him so different from what I've tried?" Looking at him sternly in the type of reply he would say.
"Because now it won't be just you having to deal with the brunt of the problem in helping Angel" He responded with conviction."Because now Angel won't have to go at it alone now he has the combined efforts of you, me, and people back at the hotel to aid him in his calls of dire help"
"..."
"This would be the perfect opportunity to let him know that he doesn't have to go down this path alone because if we don't do something about it, then I fear that something even worse may happen, due to our lack of cooperation to see this through"
"Dammit, this guy won't take no for an answer no matter what I tell him" Seeing that Naruto was still not willing to budge in giving up on his mission.
"So what do you say? Can I count on your help to lead me to the banquet?"
"Argh! Fine!" Rubbing the back of her head in annoyance."I'll help you get there"
"Thanks, Cherry" Relief that she was able to change her tune to help him with the directions."The sooner we get there the sooner we'll have a better chance in helping Angel with his problem"
"Yeah, yeah. You can thank me later for when we're not dead" Waving her hand in the air over the comment knowing of the possible danger ahead of them."I hope you are not too tired because I'll be a bit a trek from here to the party"
"You don't have to worry about that from me" Ramping up his body rearing to go."Because I feel rejuvenating now that you're here to help"
"Shesh blondie your way too positive for someone stuck in Hell"
"Sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad, and sticking to my principles helps me to keep me tethered while am here for the time being"
"Is just a first time for me, especially for a living person" Turning to the direction to where to head towards to."Either way, we better get going now"
"Let's go then"
The two then proceeded to go west from where they stood by vaulting over the next couple of rooftops closest to them in total silence with only the sounds of the sole of their feet hitting the hard pavement with the same purpose in both their minds in helping someone in need of saving.
"He shoots…..he scores!" Throwing his arms up in triumphed. "10 points"
We see the blonde clone once more in the confinement of the original room, passing the time through an ordeal of games to make the time go faster and to keep his mind preoccupied.
Makeshift darks, basketball, hangman, and crossword puzzles were all scarred throughout the room as a sign of what the clone had been doing for the past half-hour with only the clock on the wall telling him it was 6:15.
Overall not much what's happening to make the duplicate make his job any better.
"And….am bored again" Slumping back on the rolling chair looking up at the ceiling in total defeat at how utterly bored he was sitting still in the room without any sort of excitement to make this worth the wait.
"Do think that Hell would be this boring….." He drooled out as he slowly spun around watching the red and black colors of the mesh together while grabbing onto one of the makeshift darts he made with a few sticks of matchsticks wrapped together in rubber bands helping to strengthen the metal tip at the end."I am gonna dispel myself sooner than later if something doesn't have…..NOW!"
"SCREECH!"
The sound of a metal ping embedding itself against the wall accompanied by the sound of a loud shriek blessed the heart of a gleeful clone.
"Got yeah you little shit!" Jumping off the chair with a hop to his feet as he quickly made his way to the side of the wall that had a black playing card embedded to the wall wailing loudly in its struggle to free itself.
"Thought you were so quiet moving around the room thinking I wasn't paying attention, but guess what I was?" Grabbing one of the squealing playing cards and latching onto the pin on the opposite side to remove it from its spot on the wall."Can't get around my field of hearing with those metal points tip-tapping around the room" Bringing the card up to eye level though not too close as it attempted to take a bite from it as it continue to fight back from the duplicate grip.
"Screech!"
"Yeah yeah" Placing the card inside the clear view jar he got from the bathroom and putting the living piece of paper inside."Hate you too" Finishing it off by tightly closing the lid once he threw it inside.
The clone took the glass jar with the struggling creature and placed it directly on the mantle of the shelf as if it were a decorative piece, all while having a Cheshire grin on his face in his victory.
"Screech!"
"Scream all you want because no one gonna help you get out of that jar and as far as i'm concerned that's fine by me. Once my creator comes back he'll take your little ass back to Husk. So sit tight for a little while for that '' Sitting back on the rolling chair ecstatic in getting the rodent.
The clone of the original proceeded to go back to his earlier past time of using the darts he made to throw at the replica dark board that was made from a piece of paper with the symbols crudely drawn on it. But if the clone were to pay a little attention to where he left the card in its jar he could faintly hear the scrunching of the wall besides as little pattering noises could be heard behind the wall.
(Back with Naruto and Cherry)
The trek towards where the banquet was being held was mostly uneventful as both kept their heads low while running through multiple districts that were either filled with occupants going about their daily lives or if by chance empty to go through some of the buildings to take a quick shortcut.
Though reckless in his approach in not having first a clear idea of where he was heading towards as the direction that pointed to the celebration was somewhere West he was lucky enough to have encountered Angel's friend during one of her escapades of destruction.
He made a mental note in asking her when they weren't busy with what they were currently doing in what she was doing blowing up buildings in the city. But he was soon stopped in his tracks once he saw Cherry pause over the edge of a railing that cut off between a busy intersection of a road that led to a massive iron gate connected to a black and red adorning wall surrounding the entirety of the compound.
Of which spelled out, Heavenly Gardens
"Well, here we are. Pentagram's home for its riches swinging dicks"
"I would have thought that it would be more guarded given the type of people living here," Naruto remarked in how it looked kinda bare-boned in security as the wall itself looked easy enough for anyone to get over."Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Yep. Don't let the lack of guards fool you. They're probably at the party covering the grounds" She replied back while turning to look at him."This would probably be the best opportunity for us to sneak inside without having to worry about a pair of eyes keeping a lookout"
"Still…..though" Trailing his eyesight from one end of the entrance to both sides of the directing walls."It looks too easy to just waltz in"
"Hey if you knew that the place you wanted to break into was home to some of the city's most dangerous overlords and its riches guests then you probably have second thoughts about wanting to go in even less passing by it"
"Guess that makes some sense" Making sense of the type of logic of fear installed by an overlord's reputation."What about surveillance? Because I can't seem to spot them out"
"They're not posted outside of the wall. Like I said before, a den of overlords makes most not want to get on their bad side. Besides most of them are placed within the parameter of the houses"
Following her remark both were taken aback by the sound of fireworks springing to life across the crimson sky briefly illuminating the surrounding area. This definitely marked the start of the festivities.
"Looks like the party has started"
"Thanks again for the help Cherry but I think I can find the place by the sound of the fireworks. You don't have to follow after me I can take it from here"
"Am going with you"
"What?"
"I won't sit well with my conscious if you ended dying the moment I leave you alone to fend for yourself," She said as she checked to see how many grenades she had with her."Besides Angel would be pretty bummed out that someone he likes other than me gets killed trying to help him"
"Cherry you don't have to come with me if you don't want to. I already asked for too much in having you bring me here and now that I know where it is that am pretty confident-"
"Whiskers don't even try to convince me to do something that I already made up my mind to do. Because we both know that your still a newbie in what we sinners get up to as even the weakest of us can still deal some serious damage"
"Thanks, Cherry"
"Thank me once we were still alive after this" Now certain in how many explosives she had on hand."The moment we stepped through those front gates would mean a world of trouble if we end up getting caught"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"I'll act as a diversion by making a loud ruckus to catch their attention and you will use the chance to sneak right through"
"I was thinking on more on the likes of both us sneaking inside the facility instead of making too much noise"
"Sorry to break to yeah foxy but sneaking is not much of my forte and besides my face is too recognizable for me to sneak in without having someone pointing me out on the spot"
"Then I'll just disguise you with one of my henges to avoid suspicion"
"Like I said be-... Say what now?"
"I can make you a disguise by making you look like somebody else"
"Who did you have in mind?"
"Well you said that there guards out on patrol or if we're lucky we can blend in with catering crew to have a closer proximity with the crowds attending the party"
"Christ you really have a bag of tricks up your sleeve doncha yeah"
"Sometimes the best approach is not always the direct route but a more subtle one. I don't think it would do us both any good if we ended up causing too much of a ruckus in having the entire community on our tails if we went in their guns blazing"
"First time for me"
"Then I guess we're both in for something new today" Redirecting his gaze to the walled-up community as he heard the loud commotion of noise echo from some distance away signaling a huge crowd of people."Either way, I think we should cut the chatter until were safely inside"
"Alright then. Keep close to me and I'll lead us near enough to where the party is being held and then see if your disguise works once were there"
"Let's get going then"
The two troublemakers then departed from where they stood moments ago and proceeded to vault themselves off the south side of the wall and follow the directions made by Cheery to avoid the surveillance cameras to get to where they needed to go.
"Where the hell are you little pressed pieces of cardboard shits. Because the moment I find you am gonna have you all laminated to goddam hell"
This was clearly not the best of times for the foul-mouthed bartender who at the moment had his ear pressed tightly against the peeling wallpapered walls of the carpeted walls of the hotel in an attempt to hear out the small critters of playing cards roaming within the crevices of the hotel's borders.
"Christ, I just heard you moments ago. How the fuck did I lose track of you that quickly?!"
Yep. Not quite happy at the moment.
"Fuck!"
Not at all.
"Hello there Husk. Pray tell what you are doing, body pressed against like that?" Came the distinctive calling of a gentleman suitor.
"For the luv…." Cursing his luck to the very bottom of the seven rings in hearing the one voice from the last person he wanted to talk to."What do you want, Alastor?"
"Me?" Placing his hand to his chest as if oblivious to the question."Am just on my merry way to the kitchen get myself something of a drink to quench this mighty thirst of mine" Tapping his throat to emphasize his point.
"Why walk there?. I've known you to just will a drink to existence with a snap of a finger" The top-hated cat said as he moved along the wall with his ear still level against it hoping to still hear the
"Is good to stretch your legs once in a while. Keeping one's body in top shape guarantees a long life"
"Pfff! Good health. Sorry to break to yeah Al, but you're looking at a man who smoked a pack a day and drowned them down with a bottle of cheap beer and lived to be 75"
"And your point being?"
"Do drugs instead they'll make you live longer" The cat said as he continued to move his pawed hand along the wallpapered wall."On top of that it makes you feel like a million bucks"
"I was never one to partake in the wholesale of consuming drugs unless if were to cure me of an ailment that plagued me. But other than that I never really gave it much thought in injecting myself with illicit chemicals for such a short trip of ignorant bliss"
"That's why I said take a lot"
"Either way. Are you still looking for those playing cards of yours?" Walking slowly with his feline friend as he continued to spot them through the wall.
"How the hell did you know about that?" Stopping in his tracks and turning to look at the overlord."I didn't tell nobody about it." Not including the bit of asking Naruto to help him with his problem.
"Is hard not to make out the noises heard coming from the walls that are clearly not made by rats being made at odd hours, and it doesn't take much to put two-two together on you wandering around the hotel checking every nook and cranny for them"
"Fucking sleuth" Muttering under his breath on the spot on deduction.
"And giving that your the only one in the entire hotel who keeps a deck of cards on you at all times with your initials on them"
"Alright, Alright" Waving his hands in a protest to further deductions."I get it. You know about them, but have you at least seen them around?"
"Seen them. Well I have a couple of them in my possession with me"
"Then why didn't you just say that sooner" Not wanting to continue with this banter any longer with the red fiend."Hand them over"
"If I do then what's in it for me" Smiling at the scowl that gradually formed on Husk's face.
"..."
"Come on Husk. We both know you want them back" To state his point even further he held out his hand and with a glow of emerald green made set of six playing cards appeared out of thin air floating in the palm of his hand."
"..."
"Now don't sulk too much your you'll have that facial expression stuck to your fa-"
"Fuck it! I'll owe one big time in exchange for those cards" Attempting to swipe the cards from Alastor hand only to have his fur hand pass through the cards as if they were intangible."The hell?"
"Only if I choose to will it to existence can it have a physical shape"
"Please spare me this whole Confusious rhetoric because right now am not in the mood for it"
"Husk, I swear that sometimes is no fun at all in teasing you" Almost sounded as if he meant it but with the smile, he still had there was no room for debate on how genuine that was.
"Kiss my furry ass" Having his hand outreached with a grabbing motion to indicate his want for the cards.
"Tch Tch….Oh Husker my boy how in need you are of a good mouth washing from such grass language"
"Cards. Now." Teeth bared at the overlord indicating how serious he was now in wanting them back.
"Fine. Here are your precious cards" Levitating the cards up into the air, which were soon snatched as quickly the moment they were at eye level to Husk's face.
"Finally!"
"Just don't forget our little promise Husk"
"Yeah, yeah" Paying more attention to the cards that seemed to tremble pitifully after as a show in their fearfulness of being in the clutches of the red-clad sinner and now thankful in returning to their original owner."I won't forget"
"Good" Now happy that the transaction was now done with."Seeing that our little business dealing is done with am continuing off with my venture to the kitchen to acquire a cold beverage to quench my thirst"
"Al, just say you're going to go get a drink. Nobody likes having their ear chewed off by that type of talking. It bores everyone to death, and that's saying something because we're already are dead"
"..."
Husk, seeing that there was nothing else to keep him there, chose to leave at that and left to wander some other part of the hotel in search for the remainder of his deck of cards that were still unaccounted for. And even though he had help from the last person he wanted to owe a favor to, he would at least be happy to have some of his cards back in his possession once again.
Alastor on his just watched the feline sinner walk away until he could no longer be visible once he turned a corner at the end of the hall and was left standing there with his own thoughts over the comment that stuck with him from what Husk said.
A frown of an expression formed at the corner of his lips but one of which soon turned to a smile at what else he failed to say to Husker before he left.
"Maybe I should have relayed that part where a huge bulk of them was heading towards Naruto's room," He told himself as began to walk towards his destination, before stopping to turn back to where Husk left.
"...Fuck him"
"Oink"
"Hey now, I already gave your food to eat so there's no reason for you to be complaining about anything right now"
"Oooink"
"If it is not food then what is it then?"Angel asked as he looked at Nuggets lay pitifully on top of its pink-colored bed with its bowl of food in front him left still untouched.
The response he got back was just more sad whines from his pet. Something that was an ongoing issue between the two for the past 20 minutes.
Crouching slowly down to his knees, albeit a bit slow as he still felt some soreness in his legs, he placed a hand on Nuggets back and began to rub it in circles.
"Come on, can you please tell me what it is?" He asked again but this time with a more feeling as Angel never liked it when Nuggets was this sad.
He received once more a lack of response from the pig.
"What do you think if Naruto was here would that make you a bit happier?"
Nuggets as if on cue perked up with its head raised up to meet his owner's eyes with his own in silent communication.
"Oink!"
"Now that just hurts" Shoulders slightly dropping in who Nuggets preferred at the moment.
Knowing now who Nuggets wanted to see Angel had no choice but to oblige in his request. That and he wanted to talk with the blond a little more about the night of the accident to at least clear up some loose threads over the issue to avoid any careless actions on his behalf.
"Knowing his personality I don't count out the chance of him wanting to do something drastic" Picking up Nuggets by the midsection as he got up to stand."Ain't that right Nuggets?"
"Oink"
"Well let's go pay him a visit, shall we"
Though deep down he hoped that he could talk some sense into Naruto in changing his mind about the thing that happened to him with the altercation with Vox. Because the last thing he wanted was something happening over something relating to him.
"Nah, maybe I'm just overreacting to this whole thing. As if Naruto would something as reckless as tracking down Vox"
"..."
"Nah" Shaking his head from such thoughts."Just overthinking things again"
End of chapter 8
Felt like forever since the last update, but thankfully I got this one out before Thanksgiving. And giving is the holiday for giving to others. I felt that it was appropriate for just the right occasion. Wish I could have published this sooner, but once more school and work don't mix too well together. But with the time I have for myself in between, I write at least a couple of pages a day just to get one step closer to finishing a chapter.
So to begin with before anyone else gets a chance to comment on this, yes Naruto uses Genjutsu even though in the series he had been shown never quite able to master it as it was one of the jutsus he could never do. Something that could have been attributed to the Kyuubi inhabiting his body prevented him from channeling the chakra needed to control it. But now without Kuruma in the picture and with Naruto of wiser age, he could use it to disguise himself and others by warping the senses of others' perception of the environment.
Though the use of hedge is still canon in making Naruto look like somebody else.
This may be a bit of a stretch but feel free to comment on what you think about it.
Am also in the process of finishing the next chapter of Helluva Fox which I hope to publish by the end of this month, or by the beginning of December. As well as a new fic that is also in the works.
So until then, hope everyone has a safe and fun Thanksgiving with all your loved ones.
Also wanted to have a shout out to FestiveBoi for returning to both your Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss stories as they were the first ones that I read that got me to begin on the site back in June. Because even though I joined the site back in 2017, those two fics really gave me the motivation to make my own stories.