AN: It's been a long road to get here, and thanks for all the ideas… though the ones about the harem, I'm not changing. SIX women is more than enough, thank you. I'm not enlarging the harem just because someone wants Kuroka or someone else in there. Did that once, and got so much shit for it that it nearly killed my drive to write. Let me state it clearly: I know Kuroka's hot. I know Grayfia's hot. I know that pretty much every female in High School DxD is a freaking walking wet dream. NONE of that means I'm gonna be changing my mind.
Oh yes, Enjoy your Holidays!
On with the chapter!
Chapter 19: An Archangel Intervenes? A Time-skip and a Challenge?
Naruto stared at Gabriel for a long time. Long enough that the female archangel started to squirm in place rather cutely, seemingly trying to hide without jumping behind something. Finally she gave up and jumped behind the old man representing the Tokyo Magic Association.
"Grandpa Kono, he's scaring me!"
The old man just gave a laugh. "Now, now, little one, no need to be afraid. I'm sure he's just wondering what brings you here."
The other man seamlessly picked up the thread of conversation. "Yes. Speaking of presences, I fail to see the requested presence of Lady Tiamat."
Naruto finally peeled his eyes off Gabriel and turned his attention to the older man with a smile. "Well, we are early, yet. Plenty of time for my partner to arrive. Until then, why don't we find out the reason for Lady Gabriel's visit? If I'd have known in advance, I'd have prepared some cookies. I understand she rather likes those."
Gabriel's eyes lit up at the word cookies, then she pouted at the fact that he didn't have any. "Mou~! Meanie! I love cookies!"
Naruto gave her a sly glance, "Exactly my point, Lady."
Seeing her cute ploy failing, Gabriel sighed and stepped out from behind Konoemon with her hands on her hips. "You are too clever for your own good, Naruto-kun. That glib tongue of yours is going to get you into so much trouble one day."
Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt somewhere."
"Besides," a cultured female voice said from one side, "that glib tongue has gotten him out of trouble as well. Now if he could just learn to control it."
Naruto smirked as Tiamat joined the group. Her gait was smooth and almost sexual, her outfit a tight-fitting dark blue skirt suit with matching heels. If not for the spell of Hiding she'd have likely been causing traffic accidents with the stares she'd no doubt be garnering.
"Woe betide that day, Tiamat-dono," The young devil said with humor. "If I ever learn to control this tongue of mine I'm sure it will spell the end of all things."
"Not far off," Gabriel muttered to herself. Then she cleared her throat and let her arms cross under her considerable chest. "Actually, I'm here to facilitate a transfer of a few objects that Michael-nii-sama wants handed over. However, aside from Uriel, an archangel entering the Underworld is usually remarked on fairly heavily, and we would rather not create a potential restart of the wars over possible misunderstandings. This was simply too good of an opportunity to waste."
Naruto coughed into his hand, "You could have found me at school."
Gabriel just gave him an irrepressible smile, "This is more fun!"
Tiamat stepped forward to interject, "So what objects are you here to transfer, and to whom, Gabriel-dono?"
"What was it again..." the archangel wondered to herself playfully. "Oh, yes! A few pieces of Excalibur to show our cooperation with Elaine-sama's wishes."
Everyone else blinked, and said as one, "whut?"
"Yes! To show our willingness to assist in the recreation of one of the Original Four Holy Swords of this world, Michael has asked me to present four of the pieces we have in our possession to Artoria Lily Pendragon, Knight of Naruto Asmodai, as per the wish of Elaine-sama, the Lady of the Lake." Gabriel said proudly as she reached deep into her cleavage to produce a small box.
The men on the area coughed a little uncomfortably and looked elsewhere. Naruto felt several burning gazes on his back and he just knew that if he showed the least bit of interest in Gabriel's heavenly cleavage (heh, for once it's not merely praise for a woman's tits) he would be in a lot of trouble. And there was simply no way he was going to open that can of worms!
And no matter how much Kurama might enjoy his suffering, even the fox wasn't willing to do it for him.
… Just this once. The fox thought as he watched remotely from the Asmodai mansion.
Naruto cleared his throat, and glanced a little guiltily in the angel's direction. "Did you have to carry them in there?"
"Yes!" Gabriel confirmed. "A woman's breasts double as inter-dimensional storage!"
Naruto glanced disbelievingly at Tiamat, "Is that true?"
The dragon woman shrugged. "First time I'm hearing about it."
Gabriel pouted, "Mou~ you were supposed to agree with me, Tiamat-chan!"
"No," Tiamat said immediately. Not an ounce of hesitation or guilt was in her reply causing the angel to face-fault.
Gabriel sighed in defeat as she regained her footing. "Alright, serious time, I guess. Since Tiamat is such a killjoy. Here are four pieces of Excalibur. They are known as Rapidly, Destruction, Mimic, and Transparency. Of the other three pieces, Blessing has chosen a wielder, Nightmare is missing, and Ruler's whereabouts have been unknown for quite some time."
Lily stepped forward and held her hands out for the box. "In other words, 'here's what we've got, be happy with that'?"
Gabriel took a double take at Lily's new appearance, and smiled gently as she handed the box over. "I see the Lily of the Battlefield has finally blossomed. You are pretty much correct."
Lily smiled in return of the compliment as she quietly put the box away into her own cleavage, "Yes, I felt I needed a new look. As for those other three pieces, I suppose for now I'll give up on Blessing, but I think I know where the other two are. I just have to go get them."
Gabriel's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You know where Nightmare and Ruler are?"
Lily shrugged, "Not really difficult, but my familiar is capable of sniffing them out. One is in the hands of one of this world's descendants of your King Arthur, the other… well, that one's gathering dust and mold on an island in the Caribbean." She stopped to think for a moment, "We had suspicions about two other possible fragments, but they are obviously not correct if all the other pieces are accounted for. Though I now have new ideas about one of them."
The old Japanese man while giving stroking his beard. "One would be curious as to what you think that one might be."
"My old lance, Rhongomyniad," Lily stated baldly. "My familiar isn't so much sniffing out scent, as he is sensitive to powerful objects that contain what he calls the 'sense of me.' I can only assume he means that there's some trace of the presence of King Arthur left on them, and that's what he's following. If that's the case then the last item is probably my old dagger, Carnwennan."
The Japanese mages all began sputtering, until Eishun managed to say in surprise, "King Arthur was a woman?"
Naruto smiled, slung an arm around Lily's waist, drawing her closer, and replied smugly, "If you're surprised over this, I wonder how you'd react to knowing just how many women carved their names into history, only to be branded as men. Let's start with Lady Gabriel, Hmm?"
The mages coughed in embarrassment and looked away guiltily. They had actually managed to forget that fact for a moment.
"Well, I suppose we hadn't gotten around to introductions just yet," Naruto continued smoothly. "But yes, This woman was indeed known as King Arthur, and is now my Knight. Though I would have thought the name was something of a give-away."
"Ho-ho, we just thought she was another descendant," Konoemon admitted with a laugh.
The rest of the introductions didn't take very long, though there were a few chokes about Scarlet. Once again people were surprised to know that Pokémon actually existed. Somewhere out there. Blew their minds that many of the shows out there might just be based on what someone glimpsed through a thin veil between worlds.
"Well, as interesting as the history lesson was, especially for this old man," Konoemon said as he tried valiantly to change the subject, "Perhaps it would be best to get to the main topic of this meeting."
Tiamat lifted her head in acknowledgment of the point, and moved to a place beside Naruto. "As you wish, Konoemon-dono."
Naruto stood a little straighter as the members of his peerage spread out behind him. "Most of all, I wished to converse with the two of you over the disturbances caused between our two factions. While the Devil Faction is powerful, I am also acutely aware of the power other so-called lesser factions possess. Factions such as your Mages Association. I'm hoping to lower the amount of friction between us by coming to some mutually beneficial arrangements."
Konoemon stroked his beard as Eishun lit a cigarette. "Even though the frictions between us are already what could be called minimal?"
Naruto nodded firmly. "Japan has recently become my territory, almost exclusively as far as the rest of the Underworld is concerned. What few other interests remain for other devil houses are purely monetary investments, businesses for the most part. That having been said, I would rather have as few problems as I possibly can within my territory."
He coughed into a fist as he paused in thought for a moment. "Surprisingly, I have had absolutely no problems on the island of Sicily. In fact, the few mafia families that still exist there jumped right on board with my way of doing things. While I won't expect the same here, for obvious reasons, I'll admit that has made me somewhat hopeful."
"And those policies would be, what?" Eishun asked, his eyes hidden behind a glare off his glasses.
"Nothing big, really," Naruto replied easily. "I simply wish to be kept in the loop of important events that could have otherwise disastrous effects on my territory."
The mages all shared a glance, before Konoemon asked, "Such as a student of ours being the last true vampire, perhaps?"
Naruto blinked, so did Tiamat. "Ah, while that is interesting, if the student in question is no true threat, then I don't see it being relevant." Naruto paused to share a look of his own with Tiamat, then returned his gaze to the old mage, "Just out of curiosity, this student isn't a threat, right?"
Konoemon laughed, "Oh, not a whit. She's bound to the school under what's known as the Scholar's Hell curse. So long as she never graduates- and she's been avoiding such a thing for the last fifteen years -she's stuck."
Everyone other than the old man blinked in surprise, including his fellow mages.
"Is- is that really all that's keeping her there?" The man behind Konoemon asked blankly. Takahata, if Naruto remembered correctly.
Naruto took the opportunity to get a good look at him. Incredibly tall, definitely not Asian by any stretch of the imagination, with bright gray hair like Kakashi used to have, and a physique that put the young devil in mind of Maito Gai, Takahata Takamichi was no slouch. Somehow Naruto just knew he'd have to cheat to defeat this man as he was now.
The old man just laughed. "Her own pride keeps her from taking the easy way out."
Tanuki-Jiji! Was the thought shared by everyone else along with sweat drops.
Naruto coughed into his fist, "Yes, well, getting back on topic. I'm more worried about things that will either destroy people's lives, or out-right murder them."
Konoemon stroked his beard in thought. "In short, you would want us mages to work for you as informants in the magus community. And in return, what could we expect?"
"Aside from monetary grants, or extra protection, you mean?" Naruto with a grin. "It's fairly simple, really. The return would be calculated upon the value of the information presented."
"We're not asking for things like state secrets, or for a list of 'legal' mages in the country," Tiamat interjected, seeing frowns starting to form. "It would be more along the lines of, say, if you, Konoemon-dono, informed us of a renegade mage with the power to warp minds. Given this kind of information, we could then move to negate them, and your reward could be in the form of an artifact or a large donation to your school. It would be more akin to a trade."
"Of course, this would work both ways," Naruto said, smoothly reclaiming control of the conversation. "Should there be something like a new Stray Devil, you would likewise be informed. All the more so if it was known to have appetites that could be easily sated at a school. So perhaps you could call it a partnership, instead of a trade."
"And just why would it be termed that, if I might ask." The usually quiet Eishun questioned mildly.
"It's very simple, Eishun-dono," Naruto said calmly. "To facilitate easy communication I'd like to leave at least one of my people with each of you. Of course, you're welcome to reciprocate if you so wish. However, the person I would leave with you would have my full trust and authority in any matter that may arise. So in the event of something troublesome, you can just as easily ask them to assist you."
"And vice versa, should we send someone with you." Konoemon said sagely. "I'll admit my curiosity, jut whom would you send us?"
"I understand that Konoemon-dono is the headmaster of an all-girls school, as such I would most likely give you two people, one to teach and one to take classes. Titania and Yuki, for example." As he said their names the two stepped forward, "Titania has experience teaching from her time in her original country's military, and then again in a mercenary company. Yuki should be of an age where her transferring in to the middle school should pose no issues, and as such could act as extra protection there."
Konoemon laughed, "We do have a new student-teacher arriving to take control of a class in the coming term, so that could work out well."
Naruto grinned, it seemed to be going well. "As for Eishun-dono, I'm of the impression that you run your association from within a Shinto temple?" Eishun nodded, this was common enough knowledge. "Then for you I'd most likely assign my Knight, Aayla Secura."
As the woman in question stepped forward, Eishun frowned. "I have two questions," upon receiving a nod from Naruto, he continued. "First, why do I sense a strong illusion from her, and how do you propose she set foot in my headquarters? No offense, but devils aren't exactly welcome on Sacred Grounds."
Naruto's grin widened. Considering that Aayla currently looked like dark-skinned human woman with long white hair in casual jeans and blouse, and thus almost unnoticeable, Naruto had wondered if they would even notice her – despite her earlier introduction. "As to the first, that's because she's currently under an illusion spell to look human. The second, well, that's currently a secret, but you could be allowed to know depending on if you agree."
All mages present shared a wry grimace. Naruto knew that all mages, by dint of their very profession, were impossibly curious. Not only had he intrigued them- he hoped -he was now dangling a juicy little secret just out of their reach. They were both irritated and intrigued. They knew it. He knew it. They knew he knew. And they had to wonder just how many more secrets this young man possessed. But to get that information, they had to agree to his proposal.
They had never before felt more like horses being lead around by a carrot on a stick. They hated it. And they loved it. The intrigue was whetting their appetites. They had to know. And so-
- They agreed. The two sides of Japan's Mages Association became partners with Naruto Asmodai.
And promptly shit themselves when he dropped the bomb on them that his two Knights were fully capable of ignoring passive Holy effects.
Never mind the near fainting when Aayla revealed herself to be a Twi'lek from those old Star Wars movies.
For obvious reasons, Naruto couldn't stop grinning the rest of the day.
XxXxXxXx
A year passed from that meeting, and Naruto's daily life went relatively undisturbed. He trained his swordsmanship, continued to learn his shinobi skills, and worked closely with Gaara to learn just what it meant to be the master of the Asmodai house.
Oh, he also had some of those lessons with Elaine, and she found him frighteningly proficient with his Domination of Time. According to her, if he and Lily ever actually recovered the last three pieces of Excalibur, Elaine wasn't sure what more she could teach him.
The people he'd left with the two mage groups had fun, though. He wasn't sure if how he felt about that. On the one hand, it was less hassle for him, but on the other he was utterly bored with his continuing education under both devil and human teachers.
Rias was positively livid that all the interesting stuff happened without her.
Oh well.
Right now Naruto was looking over a document he wasn't expecting, yet probably should have. His seventeenth birthday having passed, he was now fair game as far as the Underworld was concerned. Fair game for what, you might ask.
Marriage Proposals. Hundreds of them daily, to the point he had to have a separate room for them. The amount was simply insane! The reasons were often even worse!
His eyes fell to the latest one he'd opened, from the Furfur family. Apparently they had no less than eighteen eligible daughters that were smitten with him for no reason what-so-ever! Each of them stating that they simply fell in love with his eyes (often being called green incorrectly), or they just wanted to run their fingers through his red hair (which was still yellow, thank you). Or any of a dozen other incorrect statements.
Finally, three letters later Naruto simply threw all of them out the window, then dropped a fireball on them. Watching the pile of disgusting letters burn, he cracked a happy smile. Which lasted for a grand total of thirty seconds.
Why? Because Sebas came through the office door with an envelope in one hand. And even just at a glance Naruto could see the marking of a ducal house on it.
Well, shit. He thought as he reluctantly accepted the envelope. Opening it, he read it with trepidation. It was from Duke Agares.
Double shit.
Now, some might be wondering why he would be forced to actually read this one. The answer is quite simple. Asmodai may be a King, but a Duke is literally only two steps down in authority, right below the Crown Prince- or Princess, as the case may be. On top of that, ducal houses were created by the siblings of previous Crown Princes. You know, the ones who didn't get the throne. So there is still a possibility for a claim to the throne to be made.
In short, a Duke could actually call out a King to a duel, and legitimately take the kingdom. It was that kind of political clout. And since Naruto had started to remind the devils of these rankings, he wasn't allowed to ignore them himself.
He could count his lucky stars that the letters he burned earlier were all from lower ranked houses.
The only thing going for him in this regard was the fact that he, Naruto, was not the King to which the Duchy of Agares was sworn to. By sheer technicality that honor fell to King Bael. (1)
King Bael, whose signature was also affixed to the bottom of this letter, showing his support.
Naruto stared at the letter for a minute longer, then let it drop to his desk as he sat heavily in his chair.
"Mother fucking son of a whoring bitch," He snarled. "Dammit all, Zekram, you just had to try and poke your nose into something that just does not concern you."
"Excuse me, sir, but what has Lord Bael done?" Sebas asked, with no trace of his thoughts on his face. His master wasn't one for expletives. That the young Master had resorted to it now meant that he had been told something that was truly worth being angry over.
"Oh, nothing much," Naruto said airily, one hand waving the air. "Just his attempt to get the House of Asmodai out my hands and into, and I quote: 'the proper hands of a true devil, one whose blood is not diluted by a human parent,' end quote."
"I see," was the butler's steady response. "How shall we kill him, my lord?"
Naruto snorted, "don't tempt me, Sebas. If I thought we could get away with it, I'd initiate it tonight. But no, he's not even doing it directly. Instead he's extolling the virtues, so to speak, of Seekvaira Agares, and recommending her to me rather heavily as a wife. He's not even doing it under his own seal, but going through the intermediary of Lord Agares by supporting the match."
Sebas raised an eloquent eyebrow, and Naruto explained. "Apparently, it's not so much the human blood he opposes, as its immediate claim upon the throne of Asmodai. He would rather see a quarter-human upon this throne, than a half-breed like me."
Sebas kept his eyebrow raised as he asked, "I repeat, Naruto-sama, how shall we kill him?"
Naruto's laughter barked out, "Hah! Seriously wish we could." He paused for a moment, "Oh, who am I kidding? I've got the best assassins of my old world working for me." His smile turned positively vicious, "get me Yugao and Mei."
"Oh," his thoughtful tone stopped Sebas partway out the door, "and send Rias to me. I could swear I heard something interesting from her recently."
XxXxXxXx
Nearly a week after the letter from Duke Agares arrived, Naruto sat in his office across from the venerable man and his admittedly beautiful daughter. Unfortunately, while the man was a venerable who survived the wars to date, his sheer lack of presence made even remembering his name difficult. Which, when coupled with his otherwise lack of identifiable features, made him perfect for either a thief or an assassin.
Naruto stared at the man longer. Lord Agares truly wasn't the kind of person who could be picked out of a crowd. Brown hair, brown eyes, nose not to thin or too long, ears right where they should be, no scars to remark on. The man had what was known in the darker circles as a face-shaped face. Neither one thing nor another, and impossible to describe with any certainty. He even dressed boringly, serviceable slacks and jacket of weathered black, and slightly rumpled dress shirt open at the top two buttons.
Put this man in a line up, and your eyes will just pass right over him. Naruto thought with a grudging amount of respect. Lord Agares had all the hallmarks that every thief and assassin wished to have. The only thing that gave him away to Naruto was his walk. The stride and mannerisms of a professional killer.
Likely leaked on purpose as a show of respect, Naruto thought snidely. Any true professional covers that up instinctively. He's practically broadcasting it. One assassin to another. Snob.
Then the blonde's attention shifted to the young woman. She simply had to get her looks from her mother. Long green-tinted blonde hair, pink irises, fair skin, aristocratic features, and a modest dress that revealed little to nothing, but she accented everything well. This young woman turned heads, he bet.
Forcing his eyes back to Lord Agares, Naruto inclined his head slightly in recognition of the man's tactics. Since the man himself had almost no presence, he used his daughter as further distraction. It was rather brilliant, honestly.
Lord Agares inclined his own head slightly, acknowledging having been caught, then sat forward a little more and allowed his presence to leak enough to keep the blonde man's attention. "Lord Asmodai, I take it you have perused the letter I sent you? I confess to being curious as to your response."
Naruto cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, I have indeed read it. However, I have no wish to join my house with another. Least of all at the behest of Zekram Bael. Speaking of whom, have you seen today's news?"
Without waiting for an answer, Naruto hit a button on a remote, and a television in a corner replayed a recording from earlier that morning.
"In headlines today, it has been confirmed that the original Head of the Bael family, Lord Zekram Bael, has passed away. Physicians the Underwold over are perplexed, as Lord Bael was seen to otherwise be in perfect health. Even the man's own family are stupefied, none having known that Lord Zekram was apparently deathly allergic to pickles. Reporters on the scene have more details."
Naruto hit another button, and the television turned off again. He then returned his attention to his two guests.
Lord Agares coughed uncomfortably, and sent a reproving look Naruto's way. "Not exactly subtle, Lord Asmodai."
"I wasn't trying to be subtle, Lord Agares," Naruto replied cheerfully. "Subtle would be more along the lines of knowing that your wife is currently taking a shower to clean off the dirt from her time in your home's flower beds. Subtle would be telling you that she will likely be there for the next half-hour. Subtle would be telling you that she uses rose-scented shampoo because it drives you wild in bed at night. Subtle would be telling you the exact rotations for your guards, which have been switched three times this past week. Subtle would be never having this conversation in the first place, and instead removing you from power quietly and making certain this letter of yours never saw the light of day."
Naruto's smile widened considerably at the aghast expression on Lord Agares' face. "If I wished to be subtle, Lord Agares, I would be subtle. This is me outright telling you to keep your nose out of my business. So sit back in your chair, and let's see if your daughter and I can't come to an agreement. Hm?"
Lord Agares flopped back into his seat, a defeated expression on his face. "Do as you will."
"Wonderful!" Naruto cheered with enthusiasm as he turned to the young woman whose face had blanched with every piece of information he had added to the list earlier. "Now, Miss Seekvaira Agares, shall we discuss this attempt of your father's to unite our two houses?"
The young lady in question glared at him with utter loathing. "I would rather wed Diadora Astaroth, than a scheming sack of excrement like you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, then calmly reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a rather large manila folder. He then silently passed it over to her.
Seekvaira looked at the folder warily. "And what is this?"
"Documents on the schemes of one Diadora Astaroth dating back to when he first met you in school." Naruto responded smoothly. "I make no apologies for what I am. I was raised to be an assassin, a weapon, a spy, and a tool. I scheme and plot, however, within rules. Diadora Astaroth does not."
The young woman flipped open the file and started reading, her loathing temporarily suspended. As she read she became pale or red-faced at the contents in turn. Finally, about a quarter way through, she shut the folder and slammed it on Naruto's desk in fury.
"If I didn't know him to be utterly demented, I wouldn't believe even half of what I read," Seekvaira declared, then let out an explosive breath as her figurative sails had the wind taken out of them. "BUT, I do know him. And at least five of those events in there I can remember with clarity. So perhaps you aren't as bad as him, perhaps all devils are schemers on one level or another, but I don't want this, dammit! Especially not with a man who would threaten my mother, no matter how he phrased it."
Naruto nodded, and quietly put the folder back in the drawer. "I can understand that, as even I would prefer to have married for love. However, your father has decided to link arms with the former Zekram Bael, and now you and I need to figure a way out of this legally. Unfortunately, despite the man's death, Zekram Bael's influence is not easily discarded."
"Where is this letter?" She demanded. Naruto quietly pulled it out and handed it over. As she read her expression continued to drop into despair. "This.. this is almost ironclad as it is."
"Almost." Naruto agreed. "Fortunately I have excellent retainers, and an even better library. On top of that I have Rias."
"What does the former heir of Gremory have to do with this?"
"Her? Not much," Naruto admitted. "It was her friendship with one Sona Sitri that gave me the final piece I needed."
"The heir of Sitri?" Seekvaira asked curiously.
"Yes, she has a standing prerequisite that any man hoping to gain her hand must beat her soundly in a chess match." Naruto smirked as he explained, "I've had my library searched, and it appears that there is a similar tradition for any member of the Pillars. We can simply challenge our way to freedom."
Seekvaira blinked, "meaning what, exactly?"
"It means that I can challenge you and your peerage to a Rating Game." He said succinctly. "Should I succeed, I can deny your father's attempt to make you my bride. Should I fail, I must acquiesce."
The woman blinked slowly. "You mean to put our fates in the hands of a Rating Game? One that I cannot simply forfeit or let you win?"
"Yup," Naruto relied with a grin.
"Are you insane?" She sounded almost conversational about it.
"No," he responded promptly. "Insanity is the repetition of an action with the expectation of a different result." His blue eyes bored seriously into hers. "I'll tell you now, that if I repeat an action, I invariably desire the same result."
There was silence between them for a minute, then Naruto asked, "Any further questions?"
Seekvaira just raised her chin in determination. "Just the When and Where of this Game."
Naruto nodded and rose, holding out his hand to her. "I'll get in touch with a neutral group to decide the particulars. The Sitri, perhaps. They have recently retrieved the prestige of their hospitals from the Astaroth. Should have everything done in the next week. I'll contact you then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Peerage to notify. Incidentally, would you like to even the numbers out? In the interest of fairness, and all that."
Seekvaira stood and grasped his hand in a firm grip. "Certainly. It will make for a more interesting match, I think. Though, no Familiars."
"Some people actually try that?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
Seekvaira nodded, then helped her father to stand. "Some devils like to try and get away with it when they have a particularly useful one," she glanced at the over sized fox sleeping on a couch to one side.
Naruto just laughed, "Don't worry about him. He prefers to sleep. Even if I were to bring him out, he'd probably just go right on back to sleep."
With that, Naruto held open the door for the two members of Agares, and closed it softly behind them.
"Dead man walking," Lord Agares whispered, as he followed his daughter out of the Asmodai mansion. "And I'm not talking about him. Vanya's never going to forgive me for this." (2)
Seekvaira's expression changed to one of thought as she followed Sebas on their way out. "I suppose that means I'll soon only have one parent. Oh well."
XxXxXxXx
"And that's how things stand at the moment." Naruto said as he finished outlying the situation to his peerage in the office. "Any questions?"
"Are you insane?" Rias asked, goggle-eyed.
"Nope," the blonde replied cheerfully. "I'm crazy, not insane. It's a fine line, but it's there."
"Do we know what she can bring against us?" Titania asked, her mind already trying to find any advantage.
"Hm." Naruto pulled out a files on Seekvaira and her peerage, passing them out.
"Let's see… Queen is an eastern dragon, chooses to look human. That could be trouble. Nature and Wind are his known attributes… Fun." Karma murmured with a grin.
"Kinda need to give them back intact, Karma," Naruto said drily. "Both physically and mentally."
Karma just grinned a bit more. "Oh, a challenge, huh?"
"First Bishop… Alexia Buné, of the former Buné family of dragon tamers." Taki continued, interrupting Karma before he could really get going, her voice contemplative. "Says she joined Seekvaira to improve herself, but nothing more."
Naruto shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, this is what I've got. All I know otherwise is that he family's reputation went down the proverbial drain a few years back, but I'm not sure why."
"We're not blaming you, Master." Yuki said gravely as she perused another member of the opposing team. "Second Bishop… we don't even have a name for him. We've just got that he's some kind of dragon hybrid that uses ice."
"Yeah, he's not gonna be fun," Naruto grimaced. "On the upside, you should see her only Knight at the moment."
"What's this?" Aayla exclaimed in disbelief. "a self-professed ninja? As a Knight? Just because he's got a sword he fashioned from dragon's teeth? Who does this guy think he's kidding?"
"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy showing him what it really means to be a shinobi," Taki chuckled darkly. Then she glanced at Naruto, "I am going to be in this match."
"Never thought otherwise," Naruto assured her.
"Oh, that's not fair," Pyrrha mumbled. "A dragon-Fallen hybrid for her only Rook? Specialized in strength, too yet, so the Rook just boosts her further."
"Yeah, of the entire Peerage, I think that Rook and the Queen are the biggest problems." Naruto admitted with a shrug. "Now, who wants in? Aside from Taki."
In the end the team to take the field against Seekvaira Agares was decided pretty quick.
XxXxXxXx - Ending Notes
Okay, wow. So, four of the seven fragments of Excalibur just fell into their hands. Three more to go, and those will be seen as well. … Eventually. Patience is key.
I'm sure everyone has noticed the flamboyant disregard this Naruto usually gives anything related to traditions. I'm also certain that some of you will bring this up in the comments… again. Allow me to put it simply: he's simply making use of something that will benefit him. It's called politics, double-dealing, and host of other names I don't feel like mentioning.
To top off my notes this time, I'm-a gonna tell y'all that the next chapter definitely will not be out until after New Years. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc. and Happy New Year.
(1) Bael: Another of the 72 Demon Lords of the Lesser Key of Solomon, holding the position of King. There is some question as to whether or not this name is simply another version for Baal.
(2) Vanya: Lady Agares has as yet to be named, so here's one for her until she gets one.
Peerage (World/Familiar):
King: Naruto Asmodai (Naruto/Kurama, Tiamat)
Queen: Tier Harribel (Bleach/Undine)
Bishop: Rias Gremory (DxD/Devil Bat, Magic Bat), Akitsu (Sekirei/Ice Bear)
Knight: Aayla Secura (Star Wars/Gryphon), Saber Lily (Fate Series/Arcanine)
Rook: Titania (Fire Emblem/Celestial Charger), Nonaka Yuki (Shinmai Maou/Moon Owl)
Pawn: Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY/Magic Wolf), Taki (Soul Calibur/Black Dragon), Scarlet the Arcanine (Pokémon), Akabane Karma (Assassination Classroom/Puck)