Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD. This is a non-profit-based work.

Note: Finished this chapter in record time, I think it took me two days to write all of this. Though it's a bit delayed, I would've published this like 5 hours earlier but my ISP decided to be an ass all day, so I've had no internet connection today.

Got a ton of motivation all of a sudden, so here it is, chapter 8. Things are starting to move along now that we're transitioning over from the start-up phase, though we aren't quite there yet.

Also, the pairing will remain Naruto x Kuroka, after some thorough thinking I think that works the best with my outline. If I had to incorporate other girls and give them equal attention, the story would take another ten chapters before we could get through the start-up.

And those of you who have read my story The Spiraling Empress will know I love taking my time when I need to. Pure Naruto stories are just not the same.

If y'all are interested in joining a community of readers and several talented authors, consider joining AizenTheGoat's Discord server.

QBzbm58Dn4

改行

-Chapter 8-

Plans in Motion.

改行

Naruto hummed to himself as he followed the silver-haired woman down the hallways he had, by now, gotten familiar with. Well, he had only been there once, but the place was grand enough that he wouldn't forget what he was looking at.

Though under normal circumstances when he didn't have a destination in mind, he'd probably have gotten lost.

Grayfia stopped at the door and did a small bow before motioning her hand toward the door, "Please enter when you're ready, he is expecting you."

The dark-haired boy gave a small nod of his head, "Thank you for the escort," He quickly said and entered the room as Grayfia left to attend to her duties.

As he closed the door behind him, he saw Sirzechs standing with his back against the door and staring out the window in the large room.

As Sirzech heard the door open and close, a small smile settled on his face and he turned around with a nod of his head, "It's good to see you Naruto, though I have to admit I'm surprised you requested to meet me this soon. Am I correct to assume you made contact with Kuroka again?"

Naruto smiled in return, "You'd be correct. I had actually just come back from meeting Rias' peerage yesterday, and there she was. Though she did come when I was naked, which was… odd."

Sirzechs raised a brow at the amount of information, "Do I want to know?" He asked with a joking tone.

With a sheepish chuckle Naruto waved his hands dismissively, "Oh no, it isn't anything like that. I was just using the hot spring when she paid me a visit. Thanks for that by the way, the house is amazing."

"I'm glad you found it pleasing, how is everything with the school, and Sona?" The red-haired man asked and took a seat on one of the couches again, and motioned for Naruto to sit as well, much like the last time.

The Sitri sat down in front of him and hummed a bit, "Well, Sona is alright. She's been a bit stressed in regards to a student at Kuoh, though I offered to help her out due to my brotherly duty."

Sirzechs chuckled with a pleased grin, "That's good to hear. Very well then, should we get to the matter at hand?"

Naruto cleared his throat and nodded his head in affirmative, "Yeah, it's pretty much what we expected was the case. Everything she said had practically lined up with our theory, so unless she's a really good liar, it's probably true."

The Super Devil cupped his chin with his fingers and paid close attention, "Walk me through it."

The younger devil leaned back in his seat and gathered his thoughts, "As was expected, she did it to protect her sister. Apparently, her former king was experimenting on his peerage and was about to do it to Koneko. Fearing for her sister's life, Kuroka killed him."

"Were the experiments extreme?" Sirzechs then asked.

Naruto nodded quickly, "I think so yeah, from what Kuroka told me, he was trying to create a super devil. If my theory is correct I think he may have been trying to create one to return power to the Old Satan faction, though I can't be sure and Kuroka didn't seem to know the reason behind it"

Sirzechs hummed with a thoughtful look, "I see. With this revealed I think it's safe to say she acted within her right as a sister to protect her sibling, experiments of that caliber could very well have killed her especially since she wasn't a reincarnated devil like her sister, and also a lot younger."

"She said she feared for her sister's life. While she was able to endure the experiments for Shirone's sake, she couldn't allow him to potentially kill her. Nor did he have the right to experiment on her since Shirone wasn't part of his peerage at any point," Naruto continued.

A relieved look crept onto Sirzechs face as he sat back in his seat and relaxed, "With all of this on the table, I think it's safe to assume your new friend is innocent. Her name is to be redeemed per our plan."

Naruto smiled widely at that, as he felt the relief washing over him. Part of him couldn't wait to tell Kuroka the news, "That's great!"

Sirzechs nodded, "Indeed it is. Mind if I ask you what you plan on doing next?"

With a thoughtful expression Naruto thought it over, "Well, I'd like to tell Rias about this. Maybe Sona too, since we can't clear Kuroka's name right away I figured that the least we could do was prepare Shirone for it, so it doesn't just come out of nowhere."

The Satan smiled, "I think that's a good plan. I'm happy to see you're taking every factor into consideration, I would've suggested this myself if you hadn't mentioned it."

Naruto chuckled, "I want to help them both, I think they deserve the chance to become close and happy again. Kuroka seems like a really nice person when she isn't trying to 'wear a mask', so I hope to get to know her better."

Sirzechs hummed at that and tilted his head with a question lingering in his mind, "Mind if I ask you a controversial question?"

"Go ahead," Naruto replied curiously.

The red-haired man closed his eyes for a brief second before opening them again, "What would you think about getting Kuroka into your own peerage? I realize this may be a sudden thing to do, but it's an ideal spot for her. I think it would be good for her, mentally, as well as a few other reasons."

Naruto's cheeks flushed a bit red as he scratched the back of his neck, "I sorta may have already asked her?"

Sirzechs blinked with a raised brow, "How did she reply?"

He shrugged in return, "She said she'll think about it, and considering what happened the last time, she isn't really open to joining just yet. Though she didn't refuse either, so I'll take that as a good sign."

"It's to be expected, her trauma from her former king is still there. You've only met twice so far, but since she didn't refuse right away I think it's a good sign as well." Sirzechs replied.

Naruto tilted his head curiously, "Could you elaborate on why you suggested it?"

"Certainly," Sirzechs answered swiftly, "I've seen a lot of people like you, and maybe even Kuroka; if what I've heard is correct. From what I can tell, you'd be an ideal place for her"

"Ideal place?" Naruto asked, confused.

Sirzechs nodded his head, "You're close to her sister, and you give your peerage a lot of freedom. Kuroka seems like the type of person that values the freedom to make her own choices. And besides, you want a sense of peace and justice for people that aren't as fortunate as high-class devils, you seek a kind of equalizing for the minority. All of that speaks a lot for what kind of person you are."

Naruto had to admit he was a bit flustered, it felt like he was getting a lot of compliments from one of the strongest beings, "Thanks… I think."

"You're also very kind and selfless, so I'm sure you two would become close and inseparable, given enough time. Hopefully, she'll seek you out again soon. I'd suggest making some conversation with her, and perhaps finding a middle ground in terms of a subject to talk about, so your relationship isn't entirely focused on this goal of ours." Sirzechs suggested.

The younger devil looked on with wide eyes. He was quite surprised that Sirzechs decided to give him this much advice on the matter, he seemed to genuinely want to help him in a lot of ways.

"I have another question, I hope you don't mind."

Sirzechs tilted his head and replied in a welcoming tone, "Ask away, no need to hold back."

Naruto took in a breath, "Why are you giving me this much advice and help? I don't mean any offense, I just feel like you're going out of your way a lot for me."

A series of chuckles filled the room, "That's your question? Very well, it's quite simple. We've met a handful of times, and you've always been a good friend of Rias'. You have infinite potential, are selfless, have a good sense of justice, and you put yourself in potential danger just to help others."

When Naruto didn't reply, Sirzechs just smiled, "You're the type of person that I'd want in my corner, I always think it's good to have friends you trust and value despite where their current place is. You may not be a highly influential figure just yet, but you have a lot of impact and influence on many of the devil heirs and heiresses. With your potential, you might even become a Satan one day."

A lot of things started to make sense at that moment. If Naruto had to be honest, he also had a similar thought process. He trusted Sirzechs and figured that if he could get a good friend out of him, he'd have a lot of options and a strong ally.

His sister would likely always be on his side, so if he could become equally close with Sirzechs, he'd be able to do a lot of things and reach new heights.

"I see, thanks for clarifying it. Though I'm not sure I could be a Satan. For lack of a better word, I'm complete dogshit at political dealings, I'd probably be cast out of office within a week, let alone all the paperwork that plagues the position." He chuckled sheepishly.

Sirzechs laughed for a moment and stood up, "Let's see about that when we get there. Now, I'll have to cut our meeting short as I have some matters that I need to attend to." He finished and extended his hand.

Naruto stood up and watched the hand for a moment before he reached out to shake it. He felt a small sense of deja vu, as he thought about the time they had saved Gaara back in the elemental nations and were about to depart from Suna.

"Thanks for all your help, I don't think I could've gotten anywhere remotely close to achieving all of this without you," Naruto smiled as he retracted his hand.

Sirzechs shook his head, "No. Thank you. You're doing a lot of things that many would like to say they could, but don't have the spine to go through with. Do you need me to call Grayfia so she can escort you back?"

Naruto shook his head as he walked toward the door, "No need, I'll find my way back on my own. I also need to pay a visit to a cousin of mine, I'll head back to Kuoh after that."

"I see," Sirzechs smiled, "Very well then, I wish you luck on your future plans. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to contact me personally, I think with our current standing you don't need to go through Rias to get in touch with me."

The younger devil nodded his head and waved, "I'll keep that in mind, good luck with the paperwork."

Sirzechs sweatdropped a bit with a small shake of his head as he closed the door behind the young Sitri.

改行

Naruto stretched with a small yawn as he made his way down the corridors of Lucifer's manor. The talk had gone the way he expected, so he was pleased with the progress he had made.

Though as he made his way down the hallway, he couldn't quite help but think that he should perhaps pay a visit to his parents soon. Or well, his father. As he was born to a mistress, he only really had contact with his biological father.

Their relationship had always been a bit strained since he still considered Minato and Kushina his parents. He couldn't blame the man for having tried to connect with him, since he himself was the one to blame after all.

As he had drowned in self-pity, Lord Sitri had always tried to make sure he was healthy and well.

When he had gotten older and somewhat accepted that he was no longer a Shinobi of Konoha, but a devil of the house of Sitri, he felt bad for the man. It wasn't his fault that the circumstances were this way, if anyone was to blame, he felt that it was himself.

He was the one that had trusted Sasuke to make the right choice in the end after all.

In the middle of getting lost on the road of life, something caught his attention. He grunted a bit with a slow blink, as the person he had spotted matched his curious glance.

In front of him stood a girl, who was a decent bit older than him, with long, pale greenish blonde hair, long slit pink eyes, and glasses. He grinned a bit as he threw his hand up in a wave, his mood suddenly changed.

It wasn't every day he met his favorite cousin after all. Sure he had aimed to go visit her but running into her like this was a good coincidence.

"If it isn't my favorite mecha geek of a cousin," He called out and jogged over.

Seekvaira gave a loud sigh as she shook her head at her luck, "Could you not at least pretend to be formal when I'm on duty, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and wrapped an arm around her shoulders with a big grin, "Come on, I know you love me. So how's it going? Lord Agares still having you run errands?"

She shook her head and pushed his arm off her, "Otou-sama is preparing me to become the next head of the house, and with our political infrastructure and responsibilities, yes, he has me working around the clock."

He hummed a bit, while she didn't sound exactly miserable about working overtime, she seemed just a tad bit stressed, "No time for mecha manga?"

Her cheeks flushed a bit pink as she grabbed her forehead, "Could we not discuss this here? What're you even doing here? I figured you had finally succumbed to the walls of your room since I hadn't seen you around."

With a painful grimace, he took a step back, "Always so mean to me, I'm starting to get the impression you don't like me."

"What gave you the impression that I ever did like you?" She retorted with a confident smirk.

Naruto shrugged, "Well considering you used to share your favorite manga with me when we were younger, and you even gave me mecha figures for my birthday-"

"Alright, alright, you're right. I don't hate you." She intervened.

He figured he'd take what he could get at that point, and just sighed, "And to answer your other question, I was here to meet with Sirzechs. Had some things to take care of, and I'm not around here much anymore because I moved to Kuoh."

"The town Rias is in?" She asked with a sense of curiosity.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, long story short, I need to get out more."

She raised a brow at him, "Figures."

Deciding to ignore her blunt reply, Naruto thought for a second before he snapped his fingers, "I got a question for you."

Seekvaira, who was about to continue on with her duties, looked back at him with a blank expression, "Well? What is it?"

Naruto smirked a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest, "What do you say we have some fun?"

Confused by the statement, she readjusted her glasses, "What're you implying?"

He grinned ear to ear, "Your peerage, my peerage, unofficial rating game. The winners get the clout and the loser buys the winners' manga for a week."

"You have a peerage? You? Forgive me for laughing, but that was the last surprise I'd expect to hear today."

Naruto rolled his eyes, as he felt like he had been beaten with that remark a ton lately, but in the end he figured they had their reason to, "Yes, yes I do."

"And why do you think a prize such as manga would want me to participate in an unofficial game?" She asked with a mild smirk.

He listened on and shrugged his shoulders, "This isn't about the manga, this is about the reputation. Also, the experience will help us with the official games in the future. The manga was just for fun, though I plan on going through with it even if I lose, and I don't go back on my word."

"Never knew you had that much interest in the manga, did you finally see the light?" She retorted with a bit more relaxed posture.

He threw his hands up in a dismissive manner, "I personally don't, but my… pawn, is a great fan. I'm sure he'd love to get into that mecha franchise you love so much."

Seekvaira remained quiet for a while before she smirked again and closed her eyes, her arms crossed under her chest as she opened her eyes again and pushed up her glasses, "I accept your challenge then, let's see who the best time user is."

Naruto mimicked her smirk and punched his fist against his palm, "When and where?"

She responded swiftly, "I'll have a free day in around a week's time, I will let you know in advance. A week's preparation and the game will take place in a neutral space. Sounds fair?"

"I'm game, I'd have taken you on even if you plotted on home-field advantage." He chuckled.

Seekvaira raised a brow at him, "You seem confident. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're cousins."

Naruto hummed in confusion, "I might be confident, but it has nothing to do with that. I just figured that if I win I'll get plus points and if I don't… Well, I'll know what to work on for the rematch."

She gave him a calculating look before she gave a nod of her head then, "Very well then, I'll see you then. I'll have to get back to my duties, so I'll take my leave. Good luck in the game, I'm looking forward to it." She finished, with what appeared to be a small smile.

"You actually just gave me a smile? You must really be stressed out." He called out in a teasing manner.

He could see her shake her head as she walked down the hallway, "You can see yourself out."

改行

As he returned to the human world that evening, he sighed at the sight of the stars above. The meeting had apparently gone on longer than he had thought since it was already dark outside.

He sighed as he looked around. He was still at the academy. Figuring he might as well walk home to clear his head a bit and mentally prepare for the rating game he had now challenged Seekvaira to, he started to make his way through the school grounds.

It didn't take him long to spot something that felt out of place though, because as he was walking with his head in the gutter, he spotted that the lights were on in one of the clubrooms that were located away from the building.

It was at this moment that a thought crossed his mind, 'Didn't Sona's friend say she was going to practice? I wonder if it's her. Why'd she still be here this late though?' He wondered with a raised brow and made his way over.

As he entered what he figured to be the kendo club, he was proven right in his assumptions about it being one Saeko Busujima that was still practicing to her heart's content.

He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms as he watched her work through her katas, wearing what he would assume to be the traditional set of clothing you'd wear during kendo tournaments. He had to admit she was skilled, one could compare her movements to dancing if she wasn't swinging a wooden bokken around in the air.

Each strike and dash was carried out with precision, she had even mastered the passive look on her face that wouldn't allow an opponent to sense her fatigue even if she was tired.

She was impressive. It made sense why Sona would assume he was looking at her as a possible peerage candidate.

A small smirk of amusement graced his lips as she spun around and thrust the weapon, coincidentally, toward him.

Her eyes widened a bit upon seeing him, as she hurriedly got out of her stands and put down the bokken with an apologetic bow of her head, "My apologies, I know it's way past the time that the guidelines allow."

Naruto blinked a bit as he started translating what she meant, 'She thinks I'm gonna scold her for being her past the allotted time? Well, I am hired by the school, so I guess that's fair to assume.' He thought to himself and chuckled a bit.

He shook his head quickly and waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it, I'm not a snitch. And I'm only the advisor for the Occult Research Club, so I don't really have a say in what you do. I won't tell." He said and did a motion of zipping his lips shut.

A small yet grateful smile lifted her face, "Thank you, I was just… getting in some practice while I still could."

Naruto frowned a bit, "You sure that's the reason?"

She blinked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

The dark-haired boy looked around the kendo club for a second to inspect the place, and it was just as he figured. It resembled a professional dojo almost down to every detail, with the exception of the real swords that typically decorated such places, "I don't mean to be rude, I've just heard that you have some troubles at home. I was just assuming that you were letting off a little steam, forgive me if I'm being meddlesome."

Saeko's face was filled with surprise as her lips fell into a thin line and her hands grasped the handle of the bokken tighter, "It is true. With my… father, in his current condition, I've had a lot of pent-up emotions."

He was still confused about her tone, she seemed way too formal, almost as if she was holding herself back. With a shake of his head, he raised a hand and waved at her, "Do you want to talk about it? It's not like I'm a teacher that'll scold you for speaking what's on your mind, could even say I have a duty of confidentiality."

The thin line that represented her lips twitched a bit as she squinted her eyes and looked down, "My father is very sick and I don't know what to do about it. I feel utterly useless. His condition doesn't seem to be getting better, and all I can do is make sure he's still breathing."

Naruto hummed and crouched down, intertwining his fingers as he closed his eyes, "What happened? You may feel better from talking about it, though I do understand if you'd rather not."

Saeko hesitated for a moment and gazed upon him with a calculative gaze, in the end, she knelt down in the middle of the floormat and placed the bokken in front of her, "A couple of weeks ago he started feeling worse, a week after that he passed out on the kitchen floor. The next thing I heard, an outbreak had happened at the kendo convention he had attended overseas."

"So he caught it there… I'm really sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do just let me know. A friend of Sona's is a friend of mine," Naruto replied in a gentle manner.

Her lips lifted a bit upward, "Thank you, I appreciate the gesture. However, unless you can turn back time… I can only hope he'll feel better eventually. Doctors are doing everything they can, but he just seems so weak."

Naruto had to fight the urge to facepalm at her remark. It was quite ironic really, she had said the one thing he was actually capable of doing. With his mastery over the element of time, he'd be able to reverse the time of the physical body if he knew the exact date of the convention.

It'd have been like he was never there to catch the disease.

"Time will have to tell, but I'm… praying for a speedy recovery," Naruto replied, whilst fighting away the tingling in the back of his mind for having mentioned praying.

She looked at him for a while after, not speaking a word. It was like she was inspecting him, with a calculative gaze that was almost starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

It took another minute or so before she stood up from her knelt down position, her fingers once again latched around the bokken's hilt as she walked toward a stand with identical tools.

His eyes followed her movements as she picked up an extra practice sword, and walked over to him. When she was just a few steps away he rose back to full height and watched as she held out the wooden sword.

She opened her fingers in an offering manner and held the sword up, "Would you join me for a practice match? You seem built for battle, which I find quite strange for a High School employee."

He sweatdropped at that, "I work out." Technically it wasn't a lie, but he couldn't exactly just flap out his wings and say, 'Well that's because I'm a Devil,' could he?

With a quick shake of his head, he made up his mind as he accepted the practice weapon and took off his jacket, wearing just a sleeveless white shirt beneath. Following her lead he entered the floormat and kicked off his shoes, "You'll have to excuse my poor form, I'm not that familiar with the rules."

She gave a small smile at his apology, "It'll be fine, as long as you don't hold back on your swings I'll adapt to it."

He had to fight the urge to grimace. If he didn't hold back he'd likely break her sword, arm, and the wall in half, "I'll try not to."

Saeko gave a nod of her head as she spread out her feet, grabbed the sword with both hands, and held up the dull wooden edge in front of her.

Naruto mimicked her stance and crouched down a bit, stretching out his fingers a bit to get a better grip before he nodded to indicate he was ready whenever she was.

What he saw next shocked him. It was as if something clicked in her eyes, the amount of self-restraint she had shown disappeared and she flew forward with a cry. He'd have imagined that it was the pent-up stress that was showing, but the look in her eyes was both dazzling and frightening.

As she swung toward his head, he lifted his bokken to block it. The crash of the wood meeting echoed through the room as he took a step sideways and slammed it toward her side.

The look in her eyes confused him, it was as if she was looking to hurt him.

She easily redirected his attempt and rushed forward, strike after strike, he dodged until he found himself at the edge of the mat.

With a raised brow he crashed the practice weapons together again and pushed her back, trying his best to keep his strength within that of a human.

She sneered and struck toward his head again, her eyes slightly wide in surprise as he swirled beneath her bokken and behind her.

He position himself to tap the bokken against her shoulder to win the first round, but his eyes widened in surprise when she without turning her head lifted her bokken above her and blocked it.

With a few quick moves, he slid back across the matt and narrowed his eyes. Under normal circumstances, most people shouldn't have been able to do that. Out of every possible access point she, without any method of guessing, blocked it flawlessly.

Almost like she could see him, she had angled her defense with the perfection of a kendo practitioner.

A theory started to form in his mind as she twirled around to reassume an offensive stance. The distance between them kept her from attacking him straight away.

It was a long shot, but something felt off about this.

Sona had said she was exceptional, and that Rias would likely have been interested in making her part of her peerage.

However, Rias' peerage consisted of exceptional people either with a sacred gear or someone with a background within the supernatural.

'Is it possible she has a gear that Sona didn't inform me of?' He wondered and figured there was no real way to tell. His sister and Rias might've had their suspicions based on observations from a spectator's point of view, but there was no real way to tell.

He figured there was only one way to figure it out. And he only had a theory so far about what it could be.

Her reaction time and perception of motion seemed to be the odd ones out. He had made a move to finish it, a bit too fast if he had to admit it. She had reacted faster than she should, and in a way that would likely not have been possible unless it was just a good guess.

So the one way to figure it out… was to push her beyond her human capabilities, and apologize afterward if he was proven wrong.

He could also just hypnotize her to forget that it had happened.

Devils had a lot of neat tricks. And finally being able to use Genjutsu was a plus.

Getting more serious, he took another stance and sped forward. The look of surprise in her eyes said it all as she lifted her bokken to block a barrage of swings and stabs, each move of his faster than the one that had come before.

Sweat started to roll down her forehead, her teeth gritted as she felt the raw power behind his bokken.

Questions filled her mind about where this sudden aggression and power came from but she focused her mind to keep up her guard and push him back.

The shadows of their figures moved around the room almost like blending blurs as they crashed bokkens together repeatedly. The crackles of the wood threatening to break filled the room.

Starting to get out of breath, she tried to move back on the offensive, but as she did she instantly found herself with the practice sword almost pressed against her face as she pushed back against him.

Her muscles twitched as she swirled beneath him and made a move to him over his arm, but without even turning his head she saw his bokken flick at her at speeds she could not fathom.

The wood hit against her wrist as she watched her sword fly out of her hand and against the matt, a look of pure surprise morphed onto her face as she bent down to pick the bokken up.

"You're extremely skilled. I don't think I've ever seen someone that isn't a pro move like you, your father must be very proud." He commented and put down his weapon, long ago having made the connection that her father must have trained her since he went to kendo conventions overseas.

Her eyes softened as her fingers neared the dropped bokken, "Thank you, I did not expect you to be this good. I was taken off guard-"

"However, your reaction time isn't human. You're much faster and flexible with your timings." He commented without turning his head but watching her from the corner of his eyes.

Her eyes widened in an instant as she gazed over her shoulder, the mere look on her face told the entire story. It was like he had suspected, she was hiding something. She looked like a kid that had just been caught red-handed with their fingers in the cookie jar.

"What… are you?" She asked slowly and stood to her feet, the bokken now back in her hand.

Naruto smirked a bit and finally turned around, resting the wooden weapon against his shoulder, "The human mind on average needs about eighty milli-seconds to observe before it can react, yet you had your block ready in half that time. Sometimes even faster. You're gifted, aren't you?"

She quickly took a step back, "Then what about you? You're not a practitioner. You claim to not know the rules, but you're both faster and stronger than me, you can counter, strike, and react, in even less time than I can. I'll ask again, what are you?"

He felt a sense of deja vu in regards to her remark about turning back time earlier, as he gave a smug smile, "What I am? I'm filled with time, you know."

In her mind, she had always known something was off. There had always been questions, occurrences, and situations she could not answer, but at this moment, it felt like she could really use some answers.

She gripped the bokken tightly and with a battle cry rushed forward to prove something for herself. With all the power and strength she could muster, she swung the wooden sword at his ribcage with enough force that'd break bones on an ordinary human.

Her eyes immediately widened. Instead of the sound of a grown man crying out in pain over his ribs being broken, all she heard was a soft thud. She immediately looked up and watched as the tip of her bokken was stopped by the mere touch of his finger.

"I guess we both had questions that we wanted to be answered in the end," He chuckled a bit and gathered a bit of his magic to splinter the wooden practice sword.

Saeko took a step back and watched the remains of her weapon on the floor, "You're not human… You're gifted, just like me!" She called out.

He had to admit he was surprised. He had expected her to be a bit more scared, but she seemed more curious than anything.

Naruto shook his head, "So you're saying that you aren't human? Not exactly... But before I show you more, I need you to... promise me not to freak out."

She remained quiet and just nodded her head.

The young devil sighed a bit and unfolded his wings, the shadow of his full figure cast on the wall behind him as he let down his bokken from his shoulder and spoke in a calm tone, "I'm a devil of the house of Sitri. So while I'm not gifted like you, I am, however, connected to the supernatural that gave you this ability, to begin with."

If her eyes could fall out of her skull, they would have. She instinctively took a step back as she watched the bat-like wings unfold from behind his back, "Why would a devil be an employee at our school? I don't… understand."

Naruto could sense her brain had gone into overdrive, and he quickly folded in his wings to appear more human again, "I know it's easier said than done but don't be scared. I may be a devil that's practically painted evil by society, but I promise I'm not here to twist your mind or anything like that."

She seemed to relax a bit, but she still didn't let her guard down. However, she was curious. Every time she thought she had been crazy, it suddenly made sense and he could give her answers!

"Then… what am I? Am I some kind of demon?" She asked in a slow tone.

Naruto tilted his head, "Why would you think that? You're as human as you can be, with the exception of a gift."

She frowned heavily and reached over to grab her arm with her free hand, "I have… always had a tendency to go for violence. I always loved the feeling of power, it made me feel strong, feel good even. I always thought that something was wrong with me, and being a demon would explain that."

He shook his head, "No, you're still not a demon. You're human, and you don't seem like a bad person. You're worried about your dad, sure we all have our quirks of personality and you may like having power, but it doesn't make you evil."

"What… or why am I gifted?" She asked.

Naruto hummed a bit and sat down on the floor mat, crossed his legs, and motioned for her to sit with him, which she did, "You're likely in the possession of what is called a sacred gear. Some humans are gifted with exceptional power, and yours is… connected to your senses I'd assume?"

She replied in a soft tone, "I think it's my eyes, I can… see, almost everything, it feels like that at least. When I get in this zone, there is so much I can't explain."

Naruto gathered his hands in his lap and smiled slightly, "Why don't you expand on that, in detail. I might know what it's called."

Saeko gave a small nod of her head. It was obvious she was still on edge with all these new things going through her mind, but she tried to concentrate on the present and the questions he might be able to answer, "I… Feel like I react much faster as I can… almost predict movement, and sometimes, it's like I'm outside of my body. It probably sounds strange."

He listened carefully to her words. When she said it had something to do with her eyes, he almost wanted the scream Sharingan right there for the sake of old times. However, he also thought might know something about it since he had read a bit up on visual gears.

After what had happened with the various version of Sharingan in his old world, he felt like he needed to be prepared for something similar to appear here.

"I guess what you mean is that you feel like you can detect movement much faster than what is humanly possible, and also that you at times, are able to watch yourself from a third person's point of view. A bit like in a video game, no?" He asked.

She gave a look of surprise, "So you know of it?"

Naruto gave a small nod, "Well, I've heard and read about it, yes. I think it was called the Tengan and is in fact a sacred gear. You may not be fully aware of how it's utilized, but if you get a better sense of your power and possibly magic output, you might be able to do it on command."

"Magic? I feel like I'm stuck in a dream. My friend's brother is a devil and has wings. I apparently have a blessed weapon in my eye, and can do god knows what with magic." She started speaking whilst grasping her head.

Naruto frowned a bit and reached over to place a hand on her shoulder, "I'm very real, but don't worry. As I said I won't hurt you, and devils aren't as bad as you may think. We're all individual entities, some are good, and some are bad. Some of us have great dreams and goals for a better future, while others should just go touch some grass."

She lowered her hand and lifted her face to look at him again. He seemed genuinely kind but was afraid to trust his word. The books and church always said the devil was a smooth talker, "Is it true that you can make a deal with the devil?"

He raised a brow, "Well that depends on what you mean, if you're talking about the 'in exchange for your soul I'll grant you invincible power' then no, not really. At least not with me."

A bit of hope left her eyes at that, "I see."

A smile graced his lips, "Were you hoping that I could heal your dad?"

She nodded her head slowly at that. While she wasn't proud to admit it, she felt desperate. Her mother had died early on in her life, so she barely had any memory of her. She only had her dad. She'd give anything to make sure he wasn't sick and on the verge of death.

Naruto hummed a bit, "I felt a sense of irony when you said something earlier. 'Unless you can turn back time' it almost made me laugh actually."

"Don't tell me you're some crazy devil that can magically turn back time," She sweatdropped and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

He waved his hands dismissively, "Yeah, I can't do that. However, what I said was true. I'm filled with time." He chuckled and extended a hand toward the splintered remains of the bokken he had destroyed earlier.

While he hadn't expected to use this as a metaphor for what he was capable of, he figured that it had all played into his hands. So with little effort, a blue sphere wrapped around the splinters, as they started to reassemble together to form a bokken again, just as good as new.

Saeko's eyes threatened to pop out of her head again as she watched what happened before her eyes. On instinct, she immediately grasped her formerly broken practice sword and inspected every inch of it.

"This is impossible, it was destroyed just a few seconds ago…" She mumbled out in disbelief.

He couldn't blame her for still trying to deny it. He would have too, after all. Instead, he decided to explain to her what had happened, "I'm half Sitri and half Agares, which are two devil houses by the way. The Agares have an affinity for time magic, and since I'm half Agares I was lucky enough to get it. So while I'm skilled with it, there is still a lot I can't do. For example, turn back time."

"My 'gift' doesn't seem so special in comparison to that," She joked lightly as a mental defense mechanism and put down the bokken in front of her on the floor mat.

Naruto shook his head, "I think it's equally powerful. From what I could understand, it can detect movement up to three hundred times the normal speed if mastered. And as you said you can see from a third person's view, if you train and master this power along with swordsmanship, you'd be an extremely talented woman one day."

Her cheeks flushed a mild pink from the compliment, and she chuckled a bit, "I appreciate the faith you have in me, but with my father ill I doubt I'd have the time to even try and figure out how to do it."

He cupped his hand thoughtfully, as Sona's words echoed in his mind. She had asked if he was interested in getting her into his peerage, and the more he got to know her and her personality, the more he was tempted. Not to mention she had a sacred gear she wanted to learn about.

While he thought she'd be interesting to have around, he felt a bigger sense of wanting to help her. Since it was pretty much his responsibility she got this knowledge.

"Do you want me to help and teach you?"

Saeko's breath hitched in her throat as she lifted her head, "You could do that?"

Naruto nodded, "If you become a member of my peerage, then I could. Oh and, before you ask, a peerage is essentially a way to reincarnate humans into half devils. We use this system due to a great war that happened a long long time ago, to replenish our numbers."

The conversation remained on that topic for a while, where Naruto explained in more detail what it meant to be part of a peerage. Even went as far as to mention Kurama and Veldora, and how all kinds of species could be turned.

It took her a while to mentally be able to comprehend the existence of Youkai and dragons, but she was starting to get drained of surprise at this rate.

In the end, he asked her if she wanted to become his knight in his service, and thus be able to be taught more about what it meant to have a sacred gear and be able to utilize it in combat.

"Was that all?" She asked with a loud sigh.

Naruto pondered over the question for a bit, "Well, aside from what I said, you'd be able to use your sacred gear in a whole new way. We devils have a thing called rating games, which is essentially peerage against peerage fights, where you could truly let your love for fighting loose."

A lot of it seemed amazing, however, one thing did keep her from saying yes, "I would say yes since it's a whole new world that has opened up for me, but I can't. My father needs me, and if I go away to fight other devils in what you call the Underworld, then I would not be able to do that."

He nodded his head slowly in understanding, "I understand you, I will not expect an answer immediately. Think about it, in case your dad gets better." He smiled and stood up and offered her a hand.

She got up on wobbly feet and nodded her head in gratitude, and started to put away all the training equipment.

There wasn't a word spoken for a while, she didn't even turn around to look at him as she gazed down at her hands. So many things were now within her grasp, and many others were taken out of them.

Her mind was like a river filled with questions, as she got answers to some, they gave birth to new wonders in her head. It had given her quite the headache, and she didn't know what to do about it.

She had been proven wrong, at least she hoped so, about devils being evil creatures.

If he was that evil, she doubted he'd sit down and walk her through it all and even reassure her that she wasn't a bad person. Even if she didn't quite believe it yet.

When she finally got around to switching off the lights to the clubroom, it had been quiet for way too long.

Though as she turned around to thank him for the clarifications, he was already gone. Her head was still filled with questions, but at least she had gotten answers to a few of them. Only the future would be able to show her what happened next at this rate.

改行

A bit longer chapter this time, some said the last one felt a bit short so I did a bit more this time to make up for it. I hope you liked it! I tried making the Saeko thing as natural as possible, but I didn't know how to go about it at first.

So far the only people that have been turned into devils are ones that are already aware of the supernatural, and we never really see their reaction and the like to the offer, so I tried going with something I felt was within his character.

Plus, as we see, devils can hypnotize humans into forgetting, so if she did go nuts from it he wouldn't exactly lose anything if he just made it so she didn't know it had happened.

Anyhow, things are starting to move along now that we're transitioning from the starting phase, we'll soon be at canon start.