Disclaimer: See chapter 01.
Chapter 08: Adjustment Pt4 - An Explanation, a New Family Bond?, and an Apology
Tiamat turned to the door of the office as Naruto returned with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about the wait, but something came up. Did you want to continue, or make another appointment?"
"Not a problem, your friend Konan has been keeping me company and telling me more about both you and your old world. I found the stories… interesting." The dragon smiled, "as such I believe we can pick up where we left off at without issue. Though I do have to ask why you feel a little off?"
The blonde smiled tiredly as he retook his seat, "Sharp senses, Tiamat. I'm what is known as a Kage Bunshin, or Shadow Clone. I am an otherwise perfect copy of the original Naruto that gets stuck with doing other things while he takes care of his newest peerage member, as is his tradition."
Tiamat raised an eyebrow, "Shadow Clone? That sounds useful, but aside from taking his place while he takes care of his new servant, which I do approve of him doing by the way, what good are you?"
The clone chuckled, "When I dispel all the experiences and memories I collected during that time are passed back to him. Essentially you could think of me as his extendable extra hand."
"Either way," he said with aplomb, "I believe it was your turn."
"Indeed it was," Tiamat said humorously, "but I'm not going to spill my secrets to just anyone."
"And on that note, I think I'll take to the hot baths, my back is finally starting to complain." Konan stated as she rose from the couch and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
"Well," Tiamat started with a small cough to clear her throat. "I was born along time ago, and let me remind you that it is impolite to ask a lady's age..."
XxXxXxXx
Pyrrha Nikos felt herself returning to her senses reluctantly, as though they just did not want to wake up. This was an extremely odd feeling for her, she had never before had a problem with waking up. In fact she was typically awake with the dawn, ready and willing to get her day started so she could experience it to the fullest. Yet this time her body seemed to rebel against the very idea of moving, so she did the only thing she could think of.
She focused on what she could feel and sense around her. Maybe if she had more information she could force her body to work properly.
The first thing to enter her notice was the softness of whatever she was lying on. Then the warmth she was wrapped up in hit her and she figured she was either in heaven or the absolute softest bed. The sensation of silken sheets running over body as she managed to shift a little restlessly informed her that the latter was the more likely option.
Why am I in a bed? She wondered, her mind still tired and groggy with sleep. Did someone save me from Cinder? Did we win? What about the Grimm horde?
The next thing to register with her, was the simple fact that she could actually feel the sheets covering her. Which meant to her now-rapidly-waking mind that she was completely naked underneath. That was most certainly not either how she preferred to sleep nor standard practice for any sort of hospice.
Why would I be naked? Surely someone could have just grabbed some of my spare clothes and put them on me? Nora knows where they are after all.
Third on her mental list was the feeling of her right hand being held by another. This fact brought her eyelids back under her control as they flew open so she could see who was there. Though the first thing she saw was a white overhang of some kind of sheer material that draped around the four posts of the bed she was occupying, in a dimly-lit room, that hardly stopped her eyes from panning downward to a mop of sleeping blonde hair.
Jaune?
Despite her first thought being of her first friend and team leader, she quickly realized that this hair did not belong to said friend. No, while both this young man and Jaune had naturally messy blonde locks, that was where the similarity ended. Jaune's hair was flat and reminded her somewhat of a kicked puppy when he was depressed. This young man, however, possessed spiky locks that partially defied gravity, and were of a sun-kissed variety as opposed to Jaune's more basic yellow.
Who is this… ?
As she asked herself that question the memories hit her with all the weight and subtlety of a freight train. Her death at Cinder Fall's hand, being stuck in that strange in-between place, Her meeting with the very man holding her hand as if she would vanish if he were to let go…
Naruto … Asmodai
Pyrrha felt a small smile form on her lips, and in the back of her mind she noted that pure instinctual reaction, merely without thought, seemed to be the answer to getting her body under control again. Idly she noted that the marks on his cheeks that loaned him a feral appeal while awake made him look a great deal like an adorable cub of some sort when sleeping… the tiny amount of drool escaping from his turned head didn't detract from the impression in the least.
He was in a low chair, either that or her bed was really high, his head resting on his right arm in his sleep. It was the hand of that arm that held her own, Pyrrha saw, and she felt a flush of warmth wash through her at the thought that he had stayed with her while she was unconscious. She blithely ignored the fact that she was naked beneath the sheets, doubting that anything untoward had happened if he was sleeping fully clothed in the same charcoal pinstriped suit she had last seen him in.
Besides, she felt lethargic, not sore or sticky. There was little chance that he had bothered to clean up after assaulting her unconscious body, so it stood to reason that she had been stripped and placed in the bed by someone else. Which was a profound relief to her, because while she admitted silently to having been attracted to him she wasn't the kind of girl who was comfortable with idea of a man seeing her naked body without her permission, whether she was unconscious at the time or not. So the idea that he might have had another woman see to her was a point in her good graces.
Oh good, my mind is clearing up. If I can think logically about his actions then I must be coming along fairly well... But why was I so muddled in the first place? Maybe Naruto can give me a few answers?
Pyrrha twisted to lie on her side, facing the blonde teen, and gently reached out with her free left hand to shake him awake. Her hand didn't quite make it, though, as his right hand suddenly let go of her to intercept her left, grasping it tightly at the wrist.
Is he really awake, just faking sleep?
A mumble of unintelligible words from the sleeping blonde dispelled that thought, even as Naruto's head rolled over to lay on his other arm, which she was just now noticing.
Okay, I really must have been out of it to miss that...
A small quirk to her lips changed the gentle smile to one of mischievous amusement as she alternated hands to attempt to prod her new… friend… awake, only have them batted away by the shuto(1) of his right hand unconsciously. The level of defensive training for that was rather mind-boggling, but Pyrrha couldn't help taking a certain amount of enjoyment in the game. Who would win? His sleeping mind protecting its current state, or her questing hands?
The game went on for a few minutes, Pyrrha's alternating hands getting no closer to the sleeping man, but not receiving any form of retaliatory strike in return. It looked to continue for even longer, the girl's frustration starting to win through, when she went for a double attack. Surely he couldn't stop two widely separate hands with only one, right?
Wrong! Pyrrha's mind supplied to her a few moments later when she found both wrists securely held in the grasp of his right hand. It didn't make sense, his hand wasn't really big enough to hold both of her wrists…
Okay, on closer inspection, he's grabbed them both at their narrowest, so yes, yes his hand is big enough… barely, but big enough. Damn delicate wrists!
"Pyrrha-chan, if you wanted me awake there was an easier method," Naruto's voice penetrated her thoughts, and her eyes swept to his face to note his own orbs were being held closed firmly.
Playing along, the redhead asked, "What could that have been?"
"Asking." Came Naruto's deadpan answer, his eyes still tightly shut.
Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow, "Why aren't you opening your eyes?"
"I know you're naked, Pyrrha-chan. I didn't think you'd want me to look," he answered honestly.
She looked down at herself and indeed her naked chest was on full display, which would have given him a perfect view of her breasts if he just opened his eyes. Pyrrha blushed heavily, and on a knee-jerk reaction tried to hide herself, only to tug uselessly at the hands still trapped in Naruto's grip. Her eyes widened, was he going to look now? Did she read his previous honourable intentions wrong? And why did the thought that he might, and could, take her here and now seem to excite her a little?
When he felt her try to pull away, he held for just a moment, his hormones screaming at him to push her down and take her, she was his now after all, his Pawn, his servant, and he had been holding back from the others that could sate his needs for so long now…
Naruto shook his head and forced his hand to release her wrists, then turned around on the chair and said firmly, "Pyrrha-chan, please cover yourself. There are clothes on the nightstand on the other side of the bed, then we can talk more."
She didn't move, her mind and heart racing.
He wet his suddenly dry lips when he didn't hear movement, "please, this is hard enough without the temptations of your beauty."
Pyrrha felt her body flush with even more heat at his admission of finding her beautiful. On top of that she felt a desire to show him everything anyway, just to see what he would do. She resolutely shoved the idea to the back of her mind, it just wasn't like her to do such a thing, and that fact alone managed to galvanize her body to clothe itself.
The clothing was fairly simple, plain white underwear, followed by gold-trimmed black slacks and long-sleeved button shirt, finished off with white socks and a pair of white loafers. Yet they all fit her perfectly, comfortably, as if tailored to her. To truly finish her look she found a black-gold-and-white hair tie to put her hair up her usual ponytail. It was only after she finished putting everything on that she realized the shirt was actually just sheer enough to see through to her white bra.
Surprisingly she didn't feel shame or any sort of real embarrassment, Rather she felt excited, Pyrrha knew she had a good body and this outfit seemed to enhance it without necessarily showing off more than she was comfortable with. The fact that first person to see her in this kind of thing would be a young man she was honestly becoming interested in just iced the cake in her opinion. Besides, it wasn't really that revealing when she thought back on some of the swimsuits she remembered seeing in her time at Sanctum in Mistral.
"Well, it's not what I'm used to, but I think I like it." Pyrrha said as she turned around.
Naruto turned as well, his silver-blue eyes glowing in the low light of the room, and despite feeling a sudden tightening of his pants he retained an even tone. "There's a reason for all of that," he gestured to a set of facing couches at the foot of the bed, "Why don't we sit there? I'll call one of the maids to bring something to eat and drink, and we can talk. I'd bet you're hungry, I know I am."
Dammit! I just know Albedo had a hand in this!
The redhead thought it over for a moment, then nodded and took a seat on one couch. She then watched her new friend move over to a set of double doors, open them, giving quiet instructions to someone in the hall, then close the door and take a seat on the couch across from her. He had a small rueful smile on his face.
"Something should be here shortly, why don't we get to some of your questions while we wait?" Naruto suggested.
Pyrrha nodded, "Alright, then I think my first questions would be: how long was I out, why was I naked, and where are my clothes?"
The rueful smile changed to a small grimace. "Ah, of course. Well to begin with, you have been out for two days-"
"Two days!" The girl interrupted, her eyes and mouth wide in shock.
Naruto nodded, "Yes. While not unheard of for newly transformed devils, it was a little worrying, as it meant that on some level you may have been fighting the change."
He raised an eyebrow at her, and she ducked her head in shame. "I suppose, if anything, I was probably more wondering why, if you could revive people, you couldn't just return me to life as a human."
He sighed and brought one hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. Valid question it may be, but how was it this one girl was poking so many holes in a system that had stood for some centuries already? As far as he knew no one else had had to answer these kinds of things! Why did he have to get the ones with working minds?
… Oh, right. That was one of the priorities I placed on my search system.
Dropping his hand, Naruto looked the young woman across from him dead in the eye to show her his honesty. "Why can we not simply revive people as humans? You'd probably be surprised that you are likely the first reincarnated devil to ask that question."
Pyrrha was indeed surprised. No one had asked before? Why not?
Naruto raised one hand palm forward to stop her from asking another question. "Now, oddly enough, all of your questions currently are linked. I'll add on the one I can see in your eyes, 'why hasn't anyone else asked?' to the list." He received a nod of acceptance, "That one is fairly simple: no one asked, because no one thought about it. It was just accepted doctrine, we can revive you as a devil, but not something else."
He paused for a moment as the door opened, a maid with long honey-blonde hair placed a tray of various drinks and sandwiches on a table between them and bowed herself out. Naruto then waved a hand to the tray, and waited for Pyrrha to help herself before continuing.
"If one thinks about it, it's fairly obvious why we can't just bring you back as humans if you die. All living things must come to an end, that end is referred to as 'death'. Trying to recreate that former life treads into what is commonly referred to as 'God's Territory'." He winced slightly, despite being a high-class devil by the system, he was still a devil and was thus hit by pain with the mention of God's name. He saw a similar reaction on the part of the redhead across from him.
"Ah, sorry about that. Due to devils being intrinsically creatures of shadow and darkness, the mention of the Almighty's name causes us pain as he is, quite literally, our anti-thesis, or bane if you will. This ties into why we cannot simply return humans to life, they are His chosen creation, they were given the Power of Free Will- and yes, I capitalized that -while devils are pretty much the remnants, the children, of the first one to truly oppose Him. Due to that opposition, we cannot tread into His domain to create life through any means save natural procreation. This, however, also led to a low birth rate for devil kind due to that very same opposing nature, or as a kind of reprimand toward the original Devil for screwing things up so badly."
He stopped to take a sip from his own cup, "Am I going too fast? Or is there something you need clarified?"
Pyrrha shook her head to gather her thoughts, "So basically, you are unable to create new human life because He won't let you?"
Naruto sweatdropped, "That's … an oversimplified version, but not wholly inaccurate. The fact remains that it is, simply put, not something we are permitted, and therefore we had to find a work-around." He held up his free hand and his King piece was projected as an image above it for a moment, "that is where the Evil Pieces come in."
He saw her deadpan stare and shrugged and dropped the projection, "I didn't name them, so don't blame me for how bad it sounds. Originally turning someone into a devil required a long, involved, and exceedingly powerful ritual. That is what was used to change me, if you were curious."
Her sudden gobsmacked expression caused Naruto to laugh a little. "Oh, yes, I wasn't born a devil any more than you were, Pyrrha-chan. I, too, was changed, but the method used on me was a bit… cruder. The Pieces have a few bonuses that I don't get, one of which is an auto-formatting of the brain to be able to deal with the increased hormone levels that devils produce. While we don't have a high birth rate, that has apparently not stopped us from getting it on with any number of creatures over our 'illustrious' history."
Pyrrha's blush made a fierce return, and then increased as she noticed the bulge in Naruto's pants as he obviously willed himself back into control.
XxXxXxXx – Meanwhile
Rias Gremory was bored out of her cotton-picking mind! She was watching what had previously been one of her favorite animes, only to discover that with the repeated watching it no longer held the same allure for her as it once did. She still loved things about the show, the animation style, the basic story line, and many of the characters and concepts, but ever since she had become Naruto-sama's Bishop it just seemed to become... lacklustre. Where once she could happily spend her entire day doing nothing but relax and watch her shows, she now found herself analyzing just about everything in them!
Truly this is my greatest hell. Rias thought to herself as she wandered the halls of the Asmodai Mansion. I wonder if this is how some geniuses feel? No real effort put into understanding a particular subject, instead just having that information practically handed to you on a silver platter, all wrapped up in a pretty bow called logic. As if it is simply natural to understand that subject, but without the ability to really put it into words of just how you know.
Rias sighed despondently, pausing to look out a window she was passing as she muttered to herself, "If that's how it is, I both sympathize and pity them."
"Pity who now?"
Rias turned around to see Naruto-sama's Knight, Aayla Secure she thought the name was, approaching her. For a brief moment Rias stared enviously at the way the older woman moved; lithe, subtle grace with a determination and self-assurance that the young redhead wanted desperately. Aayla may not have been the most well-endowed member of Naruto-sama's peerage- a brief flicker of Tier appeared in Rias' thoughts –but the unconscious confidence and the earnest way she spoke made the blue-skinned woman shine with a beauty that even other women would readily acknowledge as attractive.
Rias gave a wry grin at being caught unawares. "Geniuses, I can't help but wonder if the way I now view my animes is at all similar to how they simply seem to grasp whatever subject is thrust at them."
"Ah," a world of understanding was in that simple sound as Aayla sent the girl an approving smile. "I suppose that it is similar, if what I've heard of your new mental conditioning is accurate."
"If it clears it up any, my new ability seems to be based around logical conclusions on what I'm viewing." Rias explained, "taking in what I can see, and I already know of a person's character, and predicting a general line of events."
The twi'lek hummed in thought. "It sounds much like what one of my teachers used to do in battle. Magnus Tholme was one of the Jedi Order's best lightsaber masters, and he used to tell me that much of it dealt with observing his opponent and acting accordingly. He apparently was so good at this that he didn't even need the Force to help him predict many of the future events he became entangled in."
The ten year old redhead nodded, "Yes, that sounds pretty close. But with all the information that passes through my mind in an instant, there's just too much about it that remains vague for me to try really try to describe it much more."
Aayla nodded, "I do understand. I am the same way with my own lightsabers. In the heat of the moment, be it in battle or not, I am accustomed to trusting my instincts and Master Tholme often told me that I was naturally using what had taken him decades to learn."
She paused for a moment then smiled and laughed in fond memory. "He was quite put out with me for that, as I recall."
Rias giggled at the mental image of an old man with an aggrieved expression. Somehow she could just imagine it, the old teacher shaking his head in stunned disbelief as he watched Aayla manage something in minutes that had taken him such a long time to master.
"Of course, I was something of a brat when I was about your age," Aayla continued in a conspiratorial manner. "So I may have tried rubbing his face in it a little... then he promptly showed me how a master used the technique."
The twi'lek ran a hand over one of her lekku in a sheepish gesture, "I think I may still have the bruises."
Rias' giggle changed to an all-out laugh at the incongruous image of a bratty Aayla. It was just so different from the usual calm and professional, yet friendly, stance the woman had that Rias couldn't help herself. And somehow it made her feel so much better, as if by knowing that this utterly self-confident and capable woman was once not so perfect, Rias' sense of herself was corrected.
Soon enough Aayla's laugh had joined her young new friend's, and the two of them stood at the window giggling together. In Rias' mind it was a relief to know that even with her new ability from Naruto-sama she could most likely be either wrong or trounced- and she was effectively still a child -, while for Aayla it was a bonding moment as she hadn't had much chance to speak with the young girl.
Aayla, upon her awakening in her new room in the mansion, had pretty much just seamlessly slipped into a routine of training her body to its new speed, and training her mind to understand her new universe, which was apparently separated into multiple parallel dimensions. To add to that madness there was something of a cold war going on between three factions, one of which she now represented by default. She had shaken her head and wryly agreed with something her new King had told her; "somewhere in the middle" indeed!
Unknown to each other, both females shook themselves internally to reset their thoughts, yet they retained their good mood. Rias smiled widely at her fellow peerage member and gave her a quick hug.
"I think I'm going to find Naruto-sama and see what he's doing... and hope it's not more practise against Sebas," Rias said brightly, "but maybe later we could hang out some more and get to know each other better?"
Aayla smiled gently at the earnest girl and nodded, "I'd like that. Until later, Rias."
The young redhead gave Aayla another quick hug and then dashed off in a random direction.
Aayla figured it was probably a good thing that they had been in a junction point of hallways or the girl could have really hurt herself. With a shake of her head the twi'lek continued on to her original destination: the library. There was never truly an end to what you could learn.
XxXxXxXx
Naruto cleared his throat, "getting back on topic. You can see now why I could not just return you to your world as a human, yes?" Getting a hesitant nod, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, because I'm not really too far in my studies on devil history, and that's all I've got right now. As to your nakedness, that has to do with where we met, the in-between."
Pyrrha gained a confused look and Naruto hastened on. "The in-between is neither one world nor another, but quite literally the space between the worlds of a particular universe. Our in-between is called the Dimensional Gap, yours was just where your world's reaper of souls stashed people it wasn't supposed to deal with yet."
Her expression changed to one of distress, and a look of remembrance crossed her eyes as he nodded. "Yes, Pyrrha-chan, what I said was truth; you were dead in your world, before your time, but your body was reduced to ashes, there was nothing to use to reconstitute you. I was, once again quite literally, speaking with your soul. I held your soul as you unburdened yourself to me. The only reason you were clothed there, with weapons, was because your very soul recognized that outfit as appropriate to be wearing. As a result, though, when the Pawns were used they didn't have a physical body to change, so they had to pull in material from both your old world and myself to constitute a new body for your soul to inhabit. Which doesn't technically count toward creating life, as it's more of transmigrating the soul instead of outright creation of a new person."
He paused and put one finger to his chin as he said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if that contact with your soul had any other possible side effects, though, but I admit that I'm having a very difficult time forcing myself to not push you down and ravish you. Whether that's just due to the increased hormones that my brain isn't quite equipped to deal with yet, or the contact with your soul, I don't know."
Pyrrha blushed heavily, and tried to hide it behind her cup. Her hips squirmed almost imperceptibly as she felt the heat rush through her entire body.
If I understand it right, then at least part of these feelings could be artificial. He said it himself, he pretty much made a deal with my soul, which means that the bonding he spoke of at the time would be soul-deep. That could have the unintentional side effect of attracting me more strongly than normal.
When Pyrrha shared these thoughts, Naruto sat back in his couch and gave them a great deal of consideration. It was possible, more than possible, that by forming the contract with her disembodied soul it had created a kind of pseudo-soulbond between them. He would have to see if there was any kind of precedent for this situation in the histories.
He coughed into a fist and said nervously, "Well, let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just have to let this play out and get to know each other as we would normally otherwise, beginning as friends and seeing if there is more to go on from there. Sound good to you?"
Pyrrha smiled gently, it seemed her instincts weren't wrong after all. "Yes, that sounds fine, Naruto."
Naruto returned her smile, and felt another shot of lustful longing burst through him, He clamped it down and shoved it away. He would not force himself on any woman, he wasn't a rapist!
"Next question?"
"What about going back as I am?"
Naruto was shaking his head before she finished. "I'm not going to say it's impossible, but the moment you do something as a devil, such as call on your magic, the rejection phenomenon would begin and you'd be kicked right out."
"Rejection phenomenon?"
"Yes," he blew out an explosive breath. "Because we are devils, there are few worlds out there that will allow us to operate within them. Devils, as a real race, are fairly rare in the multi-verse, and as such have almost no support for their existence outside of this one. Demons and other forms of Yokai don't count, nor do people who are simply called devils because of their evil natures."
He shook his head, "getting back on track, as long as I didn't do anything with my powers as a devil, I could, theoretically, remain in another universe indefinitely. However, the moment I try to use my powers, such as attempting to reincarnate someone with a Piece, that universe will recognize me as an existence it doesn't support, and reject my presence."
Pyrrha frowned, "is that what I felt tugging at you at that time? It seemed like something was trying to drag you away, so I had to hold on tighter so you wouldn't leave me. And what about this world?"
Naruto nodded, "yes, that would most likely have been the rejection. I managed to hold on, but only because in the in-between the rejection is slower to grow in strength, and I was pushing it away myself. I wouldn't have lasted much longer, honestly. Despite the insane amount of magic I have, I'm still fairly unpractised with its use. But, now that your world knows me, I doubt I could return. As for this world, we're in a universe that pretty much accepts and supports all types of existence, so there's no rejection here."
Pyrrha blinked, "that's right, you said you're a new devil, too. How long have you been one?"
"About… four months."
The redhead sweatdropped. "Four months? And you can already 'push away' a rejection of your existence?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "yeah, the theory is relatively simple, it's the amount of power needed, and the skill to focus it while doing something else; like comforting a distraught teen girl."
Pyrrha tried to hide her increasing blush behind her cup again. Okay, he won that one hands down. There was nothing she could really say about how he saved her after all, especially when he was only marginally more acquainted with these abilities than she was.
Clearing her throat to try and steady her voice, Pyrrha moved on to her next question, "what about my armour weapons? As much as I would like some peace, I also take pride in my skills, and without my personal weapons I'll be of limited effectiveness."
Naruto hummed in thought, "that's a good point, but unfortunately our world doesn't have that kind of weapons technology, so building you a new variable weapon like what I saw you with is going to prove difficult."
He paused for a moment, then added thoughtfully, "Unless the Malachite sisters and Yugao were able to retrieve your weapons along with everything else I asked them to see about grabbing."
"Malachite sisters?" Pyrrha blinked, "Yugao? Who?"
"Ah, two of them are from your world as well," Naruto explained. "A set of twin sisters who dress in opposite colors of white/cyan and black/red, apparently they used to work as security for a night club. Surprisingly enough they were taken from your world a few centuries ago by my devil father and his wife, and were the only pieces the lady used in her life. Yet when the alert in the system I had set up went off, it showed your world pretty much as they remembered it when they left. Yugao is a human from my world that I sent along on a hunch."
There were others from her world? Wait, he asked them to get things?
"And the other things you asked them to get?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing much," Naruto dismissed with a wave of his hand. "The sisters had already told me about the variable weapons of your world, and when they confirmed that my pieces were reacting from within it I asked them to procure a few extra parts so I could get some of my people to look into the feasibility of reverse engineering them. Nothing major, of course, and if you wish I'll keep the technology strictly within the Asmodai household…?"
Pyrrha nodded gratefully in response to his implied question. While every good Hunter and Huntress carried the blueprints for their weapons in their heads for maintenance purposes, she didn't want to be the one to introduce a form of technology that another world wasn't ready for, even if it was just the ability to shift one compatible weapon into another.(2)Who could know the possible backlash such a thing could do? It may not be a very powerful thing, but the sheer versatility could change so much!
Naruto made a gesture of acceptance, "Very well, if they manage their task I will expend every effort to keep it within this house. And before you ask!" He said, holding his hand out in a stopping motion as he saw he mouth open, "I sent the sisters precisely because they were originally from your world. I'm still studying the effects of the rejection phenomenon, so I'm not entirely certain they couldn't return. As for sending Yugao, my hunch was that as a pure human she'd be the least likely to encounter rejection."
Pyrrha smiled and took a sip of her drink. "How long until you expect to hear something?"
He shrugged, "I don't rightly know. The Malachite sisters spent a few months in my world looking for me, and apparently years traversing other worlds trying to find someone to take up the mantle of Asmodai, so they have experience I lack. And Yugao is the cautious type... for the most part. Unless someone really pisses her off things should be fine."
Naruto smiled brightly, shifting subtly on his couch so as to not let Pyrrha see the still-very-much-there bulge in his pants. It was getting harder to stop himself, and he silently cursed his natural attraction to intelligent women. It seemed that his attraction to them was even stronger if they had red hair. That base combination was what first got him to really notice his old teammate, Haruno Sakura, and spend years as her personal punching bag.
Which in hindsight was hardly a healthy idea. In point of fact Naruto had to wonder if her didn't lose more than a few brain cells in the process. Considering that Sakura's preferred target was his head, he felt it may very well be a safe assumption.
Now he was sitting across from another red-haired, intelligent woman, and this one had a damn nice body to go with those smarts, plus the physical skills necessary to keep it in shape despite the fact that Naruto had as yet to see a fat devil. A quadruple whammy like that, compounded by the fact that she wasn't hitting him for his sometimes lecherous expressions and thoughts, was sending so much testosterone through his system he had to wonder if it hadn't completely replaced his blood.
I'm beginning to think I should have become an ascetic monk or something! I've been acquainted with Pyrrha for only a few days and I already want to rip her clothes off and ravage her until she can't move! Damned devil hormones! When will I become accustomed to these things?!
It was at that moment that the door opened, and in flew a redheaded ball of energy that latched right onto Pyrrha. A couple moments of blinking revealed the ball of energy to be Rias, who had Pyrrha's waist in a death-grip hug and was beaming a giant overjoyed smile up at the older redhead. Unfortunately for Naruto, Rias had not decided to go with her usual long dark blue skirt that she wore around the house to compliment her choice of black turtleneck sweater. Instead she had her sweater and a green-and-red plaid pleated mini-skirt. This meant that with her current awkward position of bending over Pyrrha's lap on her knees, that Rias' choice of lacy black panties was made abundantly obvious to the suffering Naruto, whose sight turned to the flash of nearly bare bottom as a matter of course.
The course being that he was a healthy, living, and extremely hormonal male, and he was going to instinctively look at any portion of the female anatomy he could get a glimpse of. The fact that Rias was hardly proportioned like the ten year-olds he was familiar with certainly did not help matters. He usually didn't see curves like hers until a girl was around fifteen, which meant that Rias shouldn't have them for another five years.
This meant that in essence Naruto was looking at a scene almost straight out of a hentai manga with lesbian sisters. With the consideration that the two females had pretty much the exact same shade of red for their hair, and a certain similarity of facial features, Naruto would almost have sworn that Pyrrha and Rias were some kind of long-lost siblings.
...Oh. My. Gawd.*Wince* This is sooo not helping keep my libido under control! I mean, I know she's only ten, but these damned hormones won't let me reason them away!
In that moment she was no longer the ten year old Rias. To his mind's eye-and probably his subconscious self was assisting-she was a sultry and nubile fifteen year old girl with all the right curves. It was sinful, it was perfect...
Then she spoke, her voice still the high pitch of a child, and reality came crashing back down on him.
"Yay! I've always wanted an older sister! And she looks the part, too!"
Pyrrha wasn't sure on what do, but a strangled "excuse me?" made it through her current surprised state.
Naruto's own words were rather strangled as he said, "Well it looks like I should let you two get acquainted. Good luck, Pyrrha-chan, and see ya!"
He needed to get away before he did something he would regret. He could barely believe that his body would react to the young Rias like that! Fleeing was the only option now.
"No! Wait! Naruto!" Pyrrha's pleas fell on deaf ears as Naruto vanished in a burst of gold light, leaving the two redheads alone.
Glancing down, Pyrrha nervously smiled, "So... I'm Pyrrha Nikos."
"I'm Rias Gremory, and now you can be my new big sister! We even have the same hair colour! It'll be awesome!" Rias replied in a chipper voice while grinning evilly internally. Double score! Flustered Naruto-sama into running away and made the newbie uncomfortable!
... Though with that hair I'd be surprised if Sirzechs-nii-sama doesn't claim her as family, too!
XxXxXxXx
Naruto was running, his magic stopping Time all around him so he could flee the temptations behind him. He wasn't thinking about where to go, just the need to get some place safe, somewhere to get rid of his problem.
He would later thank his asshole of a subconscious for directing his path.
XxXxXxXx
Tier was swimming. It had become something of a hobby of hers, and the multiple large indoor pools- of many different varieties -enabled her to indulge herself. At first it was the simple act of submerging her body in water that she had not summoned or controlled in any way, the sensation of the way she slipped through it.
The feeling was indescribable! The smoothness of the water caressing her form, washing away her troubles, few though they were.
Then it became a reprieve from some of the stronger emotions she would feel from Naruto-sama. The water acting to wash away her worries for him, and to cool her own ardour that was rising steadily by the day. The feelings she got through the one-way empathic bond, his lust, his love, his care, his determination. His fear, his anger, his sometimes barely-held-at-bay murderous intent; All of them were powerful and new to the former Hollow, and they quite often left her breathless in reaction.
Tier had no doubts that most of what she felt on a daily basis from him were due to his devil hormones trying to get his still half-human mind to submit to the desires of his body. But every time she thought he might let loose, that he might give in, she felt an unbending iron will force it all to recede. It was those moments more than anything that showed the former Espada that he was a man worth following. She knew that her old boss would have most likely indulged himself several times over if the urge ever hit him. So actively feeling her new leader's determination to never take what was not given freely, was inspiring to her.
Not that she wouldn't have given him her body if he'd asked. He just didn't ask, and she wasn't really the type of woman to offer herself as just a relief. She may not have the same thoughts about physical intimacy as a human might, but she had begun to feel the wish to be desired for more than just what her body could give. She was starting to wonder if there was anything about her as a person that would tempt a man like her King, because it was already to the point that she wouldn't mind sharing him if it meant being more than just his servant. She didn't even care if nothing really came of it, she just wanted...
Now, though, there was that new redheaded girl about his own age, and his lusts were skyrocketing, sometimes beyond what he had previously controlled, and it made the blonde woman rethink her ideas. Tier could only guess that the nearness of apparent age was the reason his hormones were hitting him so much harder since that girl was brought in, and the level of lust was almost unbearably strong. This was what had led to her current session in the pool.
Tier pulled herself up on the edge, then out of the water completely, letting the remainder of what clung to her form and swimsuit slide off. Her white backless one-piece was drenched to the point of near transparency and highlighted her spectacular figure with its deep V-line and full-neck collar. It was otherwise a simple racer's competition swimsuit, but she liked it; for two reasons. The first being that she was hardly body-shy, and knew that she had a highly desirable body, and as such she felt no need to really hide it. The second was that it fit her body like a glove, even going so far as to conform to the exact shape of her breasts without losing any of the material, as if it was made exclusively for her body.(3)
After exiting the pool, Tier went to one of the large jacuzzis and sat down to try and relax. Too bad it didn't seem to be helping her already overheating body. Though the heat was internal and caused by the feelings of lust she was receiving from, and unknowing for, Naruto, not the hot water.
Today's flashes seemed to be even more intense than yesterday's. Maybe the girl had woken up? Tier already knew from just being in the same room as her Naruto-sama that he found intelligence to be an incredible turn-on, and merely talking with a beautiful woman that showed a high level of intelligence would cause his lust to peak.
Her hands began to quest to her covered nipples and clit in an effort to relieve herself, maybe if she vented some of the lust she was feeling it would become easier to handle? It couldn't hurt to try it, though it would be her first attempt at such a thing...
A sudden burst of golden radiance surprised Tier momentarily. When she recognized Naruto, she relaxed minutely, forgetting for the moment just what she was wearing and what she was doing. Then she felt something off about him, the link between them, running straight from him to her, was sending her enough lust that before she knew what was happening she had her lips planted squarely on his.
When the two of them finally broke apart enough to breathe, Tier realized a few things that she hadn't noticed before. Namely that it felt good to be held tightly to a man's body like this, that he was the same height as she was, and that his touch was inflaming her new passions to levels she hadn't thought possible even with what she had been feeling from him over the past few months. Another thing she noticed was that his hands were firmly cupping her ass, and she was actually relishing the contact. Her own hands were cupped against his face, and her arms were trapped between their bodies.
Panting heavily Tier tied speaking, "Naruto-sama, wha-?"
He swiftly kissed her again, but this time she felt more than just lust in it. He pulled away after a few moments, "I'm sorry, Tier-chan. I don't know why I came here, I was trying for my room to cool off, but instead I saw you, in the pool, with your swimsuit askew and you obviously trying to relieve yourself, my mind blanked."
She smiled at him gently. Tier could hear in his voice the lust she could feel through the bond, it gave him a husky tone that sent shivers of anticipation up her spine, and she initiated the next kiss herself.
"It's perfectly fine, Naruto-sama. In fact, I was even thinking about you," she admitted as they came up for air again.
His eyes widened and hope blossomed inside him, "then, you don't mind if we...?"
"If my body can be of use to you, Naruto-sama, I want you to use it." Tier said softly, but sincerely enough to cause his member to twitch strongly. She didn't want to just be used for relief, but she didn't want her new master to drive himself into something rash because of her either. She would much rather have him use her, and perhaps have something form from that contact, than other possible bad ends to occur.
"I don't want to force you-"
"You are not." She said clearly, "I swore to myself when I accepted your queen piece, that I would do anything it took to see you rise and become a man worthy of following with all of my soul. Now you are troubled by these hormones and the lustful emotions they cause, so I gladly will let you use me-"
"You aren't a tool, Tier-chan!" Naruto interrupted, his lust momentarily taking a backseat to his indignation. "I don't want to use you like that! I don't want whatever may come of this kind of thing to be because of some kind of duty! It'd be different if you wanted it-"
She kissed him hard, silencing his protests. Idly she thought all of this interrupting each other was getting tiresome, but at least he wasn't trying to deny what she could feel he wanted when she was kissing him like this. And quite frankly, by this point she wanted it too much to stop either, but she realized that she would have to convince him of her genuine desire. After all, unlike her, he couldn't feel her emotions.
When she finally let him breathe again, Tier stated calmly, if a tad breathless, "I never once thought I was just a tool for you, Naruto-sama. You are the only man I would do this with." She blushed heavily, "Despite never having done something like this before, I do want it to be with you. You are my master, my King, but most importantly you have been my friend and companion when I was most in need. It is fitting that I allow you to be my first true experience in this matter, and I would honestly have it no other way."
Her hands moved to wrap around his neck loosely, "and if nothing comes of us doing this, then so be it. I will at least be able to say I gave it everything I have."
He nodded, his doubts silenced beneath her words, actions, and fresh wave of desire. This was a woman who knew what she wanted, and she said she wanted him. So he would give her what she wanted, after all he had promised to never betray her or leave her.
Both the old Uzumaki Naruto and the new Naruto Asmodai were men of their word.
Tier kissed him again, and this time she let her body do the thinking, her instinct to guide it, and just let herself revel in the feelings she both felt from herself and those she received from from her Naruto-sama. Joy, wonder, lust, embarrassment, hope, pride, fun... and she dared to believe that one emotion, hidden among the others yet overriding them, was even love. It was clear to her that he had a fair amount of practice, he seemed to delight in finding every way that existed to force pure pleasure from her body. If Tier was to be completely honest after everything was done, she would say that he could probably determine the reactions of her body better than she could. And when he took her, her mind was so enraptured in the emotions flowing through her that she never noticed the pain of losing her maidenhood, no matter if she even had one or not.
Days seemed to pass in Tier's wavering consciousness, filled with everything she evoked from her new lover, a man that she determined not to lose, for by the time they finished, she was certain that last hidden yet overriding emotion was his love. Love not just for her, but for all of his people, and she allowed herself to be swallowed up in the sensation of it all. She couldn't even tell if she was screaming or not.
In her soul, Tier knew she would never look back, never be with another man, and that she would do anything to make his days as filled with joy and contentment as he had filled hers. Even if she had to make him a harem of women to deal with his ungodly stamina in the bedroom. She had no intention of ever feeling empty, hollow, again.
For his own part Naruto felt fiercely the emotions he sent unknowingly to his queen, and a relief so profound he could not fathom its depths. She was hot and tight, and her skin was salty and delicious, her mouth likewise was a savoury flavor that permeated what little thought was left to him as he abandoned himself to his lusts and spent them on this wonderful creature in his arms. He was ignorant of everything but the pleasures he could feel himself and sense he gave to his partner.
It was an act that had been forbidden to Angels, this base yet utterly fulfilling thing. Perhaps that was part of the reason why the children of the original Lucifer chose to engage in it so wantonly in their history. Perhaps it was an unconscious effort to separate themselves from their Holy counterparts, the Angels who had God's love without question and basked in His presence eternally while the devils had only their very mortal desires.
Who could know? Not Naruto. He also didn't care at the moment. The pools, the other people in the mansion, the outside world, he registered nothing in his new desire to give back to the woman in his arms every bit of devotion she had shown him in the past few months, even if nothing else ever came of it.
And when they finished, just before slipping into the deep sleep of the sexually sated, Tier had one last thought occur to her oversexed mind.
Since when was there a bed in the pool area?
XxXxXxXx
"We'll have so much fun! We can have pillow fights, do eachother's make up, help choose eachother's outfits, braid eachother's hair Maybe even do some lesbian experiments."
Rias' energetic voice, and spontaneously rubbing head ground to a halt at a strangled noise from Pyrrha's throat. Looking up the young redhead saw her new fellow member of Naruto-sama's peerage turning as red as her hair. The absolutely comical expression of wide eyes and slightly repulsed expression on the older redhead reduced Rias to hysterical giggles.
"Oh! Your face! Your face! I couldn't resist!"
While Rias rolled on the floor laughing her as off, Pyrrha took the opportunity to realize she'd been pranked and to cool her blushes. She silently vowed vengeance upon the over-developed girl rolling on the floor, Pyrrha may not be much of a prankster by nature, but she'd be damned if she let the girl get away with this. Especially since she could almost swear she heard the moans of a woman in the throes of passion, which when combined with her body's reaction to Naruto just made her mind drop deeper into the gutter.
Needless to say, but Pyrrha had a very difficult time cooling off.
A knock at the door brought both of them back to reality.
Pyrrha cleared her throat and called out as firmly as she could, which she noted with pride only included a slight breaking of her voice, "Come in."
The door opened to admit someone that Pyrrha would not have considered possible. Female, definitely, but blue skin, and two tentacle-like things instead of hair. The newcomer was dressed in some kind of leather outfit that the redhead was certain would be useful while hunting, and sported a small smile.
"Rias, I thought I'd come find you, instead of waiting for later," the blue-skinned woman paused upon seeing Pyrrha. "Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized you were awake yet. You must be our new member. I am Aayla Secura, former Jedi Master of the Jedi Order of my world, now the Knight to my Master, Naruto Asmodai."
Aayla nudged Rias, who was still on the floor, with her foot. "Come now, young one, it is only polite to introduce yourself."
Rias raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think I haven't?"
Aayla just gave her a small knowing smile. Rias pouted, and sat up so she could cross her arms under her impressive bust, just so the look was completed properly. A stare down ensued.
"Oh, alright." The young girl finally capitulated, "I'm Rias Gremory, former heiress of the Gremory house of devils here in the Underworld, now I am the Bishop to Lord Naruto Asmodai."
Pyrrha smiled, and rose to shake hands with the strangely beautiful woman. "Pyrrha Nikos, formerly a First-year student of Beacon Academy in the world of Remnant, now the Pawn of my new friend, Naruto Asmodai."
"We know of you, Pyrrha Nikos," two new voices sounded out from the doorway. Turning their attention to the open door, Pyrrha saw two maids in opposing white/cyan and black/red colour schemes.
These must be the Malachite sisters that Naruto mentioned.
The one in white continued speaking, "You used to be called the Invincible Girl due to your undefeated streaks in the Mistral tournaments multiple years running. We are maids in the service of the Asmodai family, I am Melanie Malachite, and this is my twin sister, Militia."
Well, that confirms who they are, Pyrrha thought as she went to ask, "I thought Naruto had sent you two on a mission? He mentioned something about sending you two and a woman named Yugao?"
Militia nodded, "yes, and we have just recently completed our mission. Yugao has gone to show the proof of her labours to Lord Naruto, while we have come to finalize our portion."
The twins dropped two stacks of items on the couch recently vacated by their lord, and Pyrrha smiled widely. Her arms and armour, the very things she wore in that in-between realm as a soul, and a couple changes of clothes from what she could only guess came straight out of her room in Beacon.
"My weapons and armour."
Melanie nodded, "yes, this was our task. To find your weapons, and perhaps a copy of your armour for you to use in the battles to come. While the House of Asmodai is fairly peaceful, there are always chances for something to happen. Lord Naruto felt you should be properly prepared."
Militia picked up where her sister left off with a wry grin. "I'm just glad you kept a spare set of your armour in your room."
Pyrrha picked among the articles on the couch until she found something she normally didn't do without, her circlet. It was a simple bronze affair with some interesting curving designs to it, but it was all she had to remember her mother by. The sheer amount of sentimental value alone brought a tear of joy to her eye as she put it back in place on her head.
Melanie looked her over critically, and then glanced at the armour and weapons. "You might want to see about upgrading those. Bronze is a tough material, but there are things here that will quite easily shred it like wet tissues."
Pyrrha looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "I'll have to think about it."
Rias chose that moment to interrupt by wrapping one arm around each of the twins, and exclaiming with a wide smile, "Girl Night! You two are definitely coming!"
Melanie and Militia looked at the younger girl in horror, then said in concert, "No, please... Not again."
Pyrrha and Aayla just looked confused. It couldn't be that bad, right?
XxXxXxXx - Ending Notes
1- Shuto: while I am unsure about the spelling, this is the outside of your hand along the palm, directly along your hand from the base of your pinkie finger. It is possibly the toughest muscle in the human body and is used by martial art practitioners as the point of contact when using an open-hand defence. I am uncertain as to many other martial arts, but I know this is true in my own style of Isshin-Ryu karate.
2- Compatible weapons: I am going on the premise that the variable weapons have to be at least somewhat compatible in form to make changing work, A javelin-rifle-combo like Pyrrha's is relatively similar in weapon length, as an example. A scythe-sniper like Ruby's not-so-little toy is also fairly compatible due to the fact that a scythe has the shaft necessary to be used as a sniper's barrel... I realize this argument breaks down when introduced to something like Magnahild, Nora's weapon, but I ain't gonna be using that so *blows raspberry*!
3- Tier's swimsuit: … why do I think I have just inspired a new set of wet fantasies for many of my readers? Though as far as I'm aware this particular suit doesn't actually exist. More's the pity.
So, a harem has been decided on. Yes, yes, those of you who asked about it can go ahead and have your little victory dance now. No, none of you are going to guess how many or just who is all in it. Deal with it. It's going to remain small, and no, I won't be taking suggestions.
~Dreaming of the Phoenix