Hello and welcome to a brand new chapter, thanks for giving me your support, really, anyways now the poll is closed and you guys can see if your favorite female characters were chosen to participate more in the story, because after this chapter, the next one will be the last time I write about Konoha altogether I'll give it some kinda closure, hopefully a good one, anyways recently I got a call for a job interview, right now as I write I have to wait and maybe on Monday I'll receive some news about it if not, then I'll have to wait patiently the whole week for it.
Dear readers and followers, I'll just say thank you and hope you enjoy this brand new chapter, please don't get too desperate for new chapters, because inspiration comes to me in intervals, meaning in 2 hours I get like 3-4 paragraphs but then I don't get inspiration until the new paragraphs, so I do hope you guys are patient enough for each chapter :), and ok ok I'm sorry for the constant author notes, I assure they won't appear unless it is actually necessary, I erased the teaser for chapter 3 because it was unnecessary now anyways, enjoy.
J. Markel
A. A: Thank you, changed from 3 days to only 1 day, it works better with what I have in mind.
A. A: I wanted to let people know about my intentions, don't worry as I said up there I'll just do what I actually have on my mind but I'm taking into consideration the poll still.
Guest.
A. A: Yeah the dense pre-rrogative is actually a stupid thing that people came up with, one thing is being dense another is not knowing what actual love feelings are… anyways won't enter a discussion regarding that, hope you enjoy the new chapter.
nickclause
A. A: Generally speaking, when I post a teaser it means that the next day or at most the day after that day the chapter will be up, I post the teasers to make readers and people know that the chapter is nearly done and that I'm not leaving it aside at all.
Disclaimer:Refer to chapter 1 for disclaimer.
"Normal talking"
"Internal Thinking/talking"
'References or denotations'
"Summons/Bijuu/ Sealed entities talking"
"Summons/Bijuu/ Sealed entities thinking"
'Attacks/Spells/Jutsus'
"WHAT MAKES US STRONG"
Chapter 3: A messy situation.
* Last time on What Makes Us Strong *
'A. Music Suggestion: Battle cry – Imagine Dragons'
"I-I'm not that great-ttebayo" Naruto said after some seconds which only made Hinata giggle some more as they continued their jumping getting even farther away from civilization and from the place they once were in.
"Hi, my name is Kunou and I'm a Kitsune Yôkai, are you perhaps my Papa?" asked Kunou in such an innocent tone while her tails were swinging from side to side showing how excited she was to meet a new person, that made Yasaka blush and play with her fingers while she looked her daughter interact with the host of Kurama.
Sigh… "I wish I could assure you, that what you are saying is all true my dear daughter" Hiashi said looking at his youngest while he played with her long brown hair.
"But….. I can't…." He whispered softly getting the sleeping Hanabi closer to his chest and holding her softly but tightly while 3 lonely tears feel from his closed eyes inside the central Dōjō where they were seated in.
Sigh… "Ok I'll be blunt and say it, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and the one besides me is Hinata Hyūga" Naruto said pointing to himself then pointing to Hinata whom had her head still leaned on Naruto's shoulder, which somehow made Akeno, Koneko and Rias twitch a little like she was insulting them saying this is mine.
Sigh… "I see… well from my left to my right are Akeno Himejima, Rias Gremory, Koneko Tōjō, Kiba Yūto and Issei Hyōdō and been honest too, we are devils and we belong to the Devil faction" Rias said which made each member of her peerage look at her a little surprised because of the easy information she gave of each member.
* Now*
* 1:30 A. M., thirty meters from camping zone inside the forest *
"Ok, Now I'm really wondering if someone is really out there trying to get a piece of me or something like that, I mean, I don't care if it's against me I can take it no troubles, but getting my girlfriend and the person we saved involved in it, yeah, it's a big negative point in my opinion if you ask me and I promise when I find the one responsible for my shitty luck I'm gonna kick his or her ass to kingdom come and beyond!" Naruto thought to himself while he stood in the 'Frog Kumite' in front of Hinata whom was shielding an afraid looking Asia, he narrowed his eyes in concentration, then felt another devil appear by his side and taking a step back he saw the devil stumble in front of him with a fist extended, taking advantage of the situation Naruto enhanced his right palm with chakra and swung hard hitting the side of the metal plate on the devil which on contact made a hollow sound and a loud crack be heard all across the clearing of the forest they were in, everyone saw the devil get sent sailing away unconscious and disappear inside the forest.
"Hinata, how many left now?" Naruto asked without turning his head at all knowing that a false move could cost them dearly.
"There are ten devils left and of them all three look stronger than the rest that have been trying to capture us Naruto-kun" Hinata said holding Asia's head closer to her bosom, stopping her from watching all the fighting happening around them knowing that Naruto was thinking of way to escape.
Keeping her Byakugan activated she noticed how the devil that Naruto just knocked out disappeared the same way the Gremory group did about an hour or so ago.
Tch… "This is really a messy situation, I didn't think so many would appear to try and take us out" Naruto said looking around himself and thinking fast on how to get all of them out of here and maybe find residence in Kyoto wherever that place is, the plan to get more information with Rias and the other guys went to hell really fast, but maybe if they could lose track of these guys then they could make a run for it in the other direction.
"Can you please just stop all of this, we don't want to have to use more force than the necessary, we just want some answers from you" said one of the devils whom Naruto presumed to be the leader of this assault team that sprung up on them.
"You say that now, but what about earlier? Why just attack us without saying a thing?" Naruto said remembering the last hour how everything was quiet one moment to suddenly feel and see 20 or so more devils appear out of nowhere near the tent where Rias and their group were in.
He remembered how Rias and her friends came out to say something to the red haired guy that was accompanied by a silver haired woman and a black haired girl with a weird costume, only for all of them to disappear in a huge weird glowing symbol surrounded by a huge circle that appeared beneath their feet.
And yeah that's when things went to hell again, he was actually getting really frustrated with the surprise attacks springing on them so fast in such a short time, couldn't they have a little just a little time to rest and collect their ideas? Was it too much to ask? "Although I gotta admit that taking hostages in an unknown territory after arriving in said territory for only three minutes or so wasn't one of my most brilliant ideas, even though I followed the normal rules of infiltration, sheesh, can't a single thing go right for once in my life?!" He thought feeling really frustrated in that moment.
"Everyone stop" ordered the red haired male that resembled a male Rias whom Naruto just now confirmed was the leader, the red haired guy looked to be about 20 years old with shoulder length crimson red hair and blue-green eyes the same color as Rias, he was wearing some kind of armor that covered the upper part of his body while a long cape was covering his back and sides leaving it open to notice some kind of white suit which Naruto presumed was his battle gear, Naruto noticed that the order instantly made the mood around the clearing change from a really tense one to a not so tense one.
"Can we please have a normal conversation now? We only want some answers to our questions, nothing more nothing less" said the leader again trying to calm down the three humans in front of him knowing that things weren't progressing at all.
"Why should we answer to you? After all, you appear, transport Rias and the others to who knows where and then decide to attack me and involve the ones behind me even though one of them is still recovering from her injuries" asked Naruto never letting his defensive position go and narrowing his eyes remembering how everything happened.
"We received information that Rias-sama and the members of her peerage didn't appear for a whole day from a worried friend of hers, until we finally could sense where she really was and aid her" said the woman on the red haired man's right who Naruto noticed was wearing a large blue dress with long sleeves that resembled some kind of maid outfit that hugged her form perfectly, he noticed a white maid headband was over her head and her hair was a subtle grey color that flows all the way down to her back been held by a long braid on each side with small blue bows ending in twin braids, she had grey eyes and glossy red lipstick on her lips which made her look elegant yet subtle at the same time, overall she was a real beauty that would make Ino and Sakura grit their teeth in jealousy.
'Achoo!… Both Ino and Sakura suddenly sneeze loudly together inside the Onsen they were relaxing their muscles in that moment, both looked at each other wondering why they did it but didn't find an actual reason, shrugged it off and just continued relaxing knowing that they need to attend the envoys and the persons that came that day for the funeral.'
"How can I be sure that you aren't just trying to deceive us into false security? After all, Who makes the persons they are 'worried' about just suddenly disappear and order to attack everyone on sight and capture it for interrogation later?" Naruto said knowing that his plan was already done, but the devils in front of him didn't need to know that right?.
"Hey look at it our way ok?" Said the other female by the left's side of the red haired guy who Naruto noticed was a beautiful girl looking in her late teens with black hair tied into twin tails and violet eyes, she was wearing a really tiny skirt that only covered part of her legs, but if she bends down then one could see beneath her clothes, long pink stockings that covered until before it reached her mini-skirt, looking up he noticed she had another pink shirt that was really small that only covered just bellow her breast leaving her slim stomach and bellybutton be seen for everyone and finally she was holding some kind of wand on her glove covered hands, overall she looked childish with her outfit, although what got a sweatdrop come down the side of his face were the way out of place large breasts she had for her child-like appearance.
"And what would be that way?" asked Naruto with a little curiosity, although he still was prepared for anything.
Hehe… was the last thing Naruto heard from the child-like woman when suddenly everything around him felt really cold.
Gasp… "Naruto-kun!" Hinata said from behind the ice covered Naruto while she held a now intense shivering Asia closer, knowing that she couldn't let the girl go to help her boyfriend, she needed to get the young woman somewhere safe if they wanted to get out of this messy situation.
"Hey, now that he's out of the way grab the girls we need to interrogate them for information!" Said one of the seven devils left with such a lusty voice that made Hinata activate her Byakugan and start gathering chakra on her limbs knowing she won't just leave Naruto or the girl behind, wait seven she just noticed, weren't they ten just some seconds ago.
"There's no need for any more violence, we can just..." Grayfia tried to say looking to her right only to stop, which made Sirzechs and Serafall look at her in wonder, then look at the direction where she was looking at and take notice of the same thing as Hinata did.
Crack… crack… Everyone turned their heads in surprise to where the frozen Naruto was, they saw how the ice that was supposed to hold him in place was cracking and steam was coming from the cracks until finally the ice shattered with such force that four very big fragments of ice went sailing to where the rest of the devils where and hit four of them which made them pass out and seconds later disappeared in the same glowing circle leaving the only last three devils standing being the grey haired woman, the red haired guy and the black haired woman.
"Ok, that was not nice to do..." "I guess plan b will have to do" Said and thought Naruto to himself looking with a serious face in the direction of the three stronger devils, each devil noticed how the blonde guy had a little layer of orange energy that was bubbling around himself slowly and how the atmosphere around the clearing actually turned even tenser than before, preparing themselves for the fight that was gonna break each devil started gathering their magic knowing that things were serious now.
"ONII-SAMA/ ONEE-SAMA! PLEASE STOP THIS! THEY ARE NOT ENEMIES!" came the roaring voice of one Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri that appeared behind the last three devils with all their peerages together which got them surprised and made them turn around involuntarily.
"Now" Naruto thought to himself taking advantage of the situation making an appendage made of pure chakra appear behind himself he grabbed Hinata who was holding the distraught looking Asia and lifted them up.
"Well, thank you for the hospitality but I guess we'll have to make our meeting short, see you another time Rias I guess our meet and greet will have to be at another time, take care" Naruto said making all the devils stop and look around at them surprised when they saw Naruto take a huge leap and disappear in the night and forest like they never existed to begin with.
"Wait Naruto-kun!" Rias yelled lifting her right arm in the direction Naruto, Hinata and Asia disappeared into the night trying to stop them.
"ASIA!, Naruto wait leave her with us!" Yelled Issei in the same direction but to no avail.
"Hey don't worry about the girl she'll be alright with us" said Naruto appearing on the right side of everyone, making those that didn't know about his ability look at the clone surprised while it had 3 tied up and unconscious devils over his right shoulder while a big grin was on his face.
Rias, turned her head around to look at the clone and tried to say something, while everyone else only watched waiting expectantly.
"Sorry, I only have enough energy to leave these guys here for you to take care of, don't worry we'll be back after some things are solved and Rias, we'll need to discuss this thing about 'servants' that each devil has a right to 'own' " the clone said in a serious tone looking at each devil with such intensity that made them feel uncomfortable, after some seconds it dispersed in a cloud of smoke signifying the end of the discussion.
Rias could only watch worriedly the place where the clone once was, after some minutes she turned around and noticed that each member of her peerage had a worried expression on their face, looking around in the same direction she noticed Sona and her peerage were looking at her with a curious expression and her brother, sister-in-law and the Satan Serafall Leviathan were looking at her with an expectant look.
"I think, there's a lot we need to discuss right?" she said more for the Satan's and her sister-in-law than everyone else which prompted said devils to nod.
"Can we go back to the Academy?, this will take some time and everyone has to give their version of the story" she said and after some seconds a big magic transportation seal appeared beneath everyone, taking one last glance where Naruto, Hinata and Asia disappeared into the night she thought "Be careful".
-WMUS-
'A. Music Suggestion: Goodbye Forever – Naruto The Last OST'
It was looking as if the day itself was mocking them, it was raining so much that the persons around the site of the funeral could only sympathize with the day itself.
"Everyone gathered here, I'm very grateful each of you had made some time on your busy schedules to come for this sorrowful event, maybe in another time or if things didn't happen the way they did, then instead of this burial we could have had something different" Said one Iruka Umino keeping his face straight and trying hard not to cry.
"Naruto and Hinata were both my precious students, I… saw them grow up from been simple kids to be the incredible man and woman they became, they grew up in a harsh time, each had their amazing qualities and some little quirks to them that made each of them unique, I wish I could have at least saw them grow up some more and have kids of their own, because the majority here knows that they loved each other a lot, but they loved their village more than their own lives, that's why we still continue to be here today, I'm very grateful to all the presents here, I still remember the old days when Naruto would yell out to the world 'I will be the greatest Hokage the people have ever seen' " Iruka chuckled a little looking down to the ground while tears were starting to fall from his face, although thanks to the rain you couldn't know.
"I remember how Hinata would always follow him, supporting him from the distance never doubting he wouldn't fail because she saw him stand up all the time after a lot of failures is the reason she could stand up for herself, even though they never noticed it, each of them helped each other a lot" Iruka said looking up and looking at all the friends and persons that Naruto and Hinata met on their missions all around the elemental nations, persons from the land of Spring to the last corner of Iwa, he noticed Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were crying a lot but didn't voice their sorrow, he knew that after this things weren't going to be the same.
"On this sorrowful day, myself as a surrogate father for Naruto and Hiashi-sama as Hinata's father reached an ominous decision and we both decided that Naruto and Hinata would be buried together under the Uzumaki name, this is my final goodbye to my precious students, no… my precious son and daughter that I wish I could have seen grow up together, hope that wherever you both are you are supporting each other as you've done always" Iruka said finally leaving the front of the two coffins that rested behind himself, one could notice that each coffin was unique, but the most noticeable thing was that in each coffin on the cover there was an Uzumaki symbol which symbolized the burial of the persons as a family.
When Iruka left the podium the persons started giving their final respects one by one to each Uzumaki.
When it was time for the friends on the village, each of them had the same thoughts.
"I'm sorry for been so weak and not been able to help you, wish I could have stopped all of this, but nothing I did worked in the end"
creak… creak… creak… was the slow and deep sound that reverberated in each persons head even if the drops of rain hit the ground unforgiving, as the coffins slowly but surely disappeared from their sight every time the rope creaked a flashback of Naruto and Hinata came to their mind, how a bright attitude never wavered and kept moving forward, how a calm attitude was necessary for mediating and taking wise decisions, every time the rope creaked, the tears on each person started flowing more, knowing that this was life, nothing could be done, it was natural for each person.
"I just wish I could have helped you"
Was the last thought on everyone's mind when they heard the coffins hit the ground softly, but for them the sound was so hollow, so deep they couldn't stand it, everyone just looked on the ground not wanting to believe the sight of the Jônins throwing dirt to close the holes.
When the final shovel full of dirt was thrown it was like everything stopped, the Jônins put a double tombstone that contained the inscription.
'Here Lie Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, beloved son, daughter, friend, brother, sister.'
An inscription that everyone could see from where they stood, a sight that renewed the tears knowing that what was in front of them was the real thing, the real life, knowing they couldn't stop it no matter what they tried, finally after an hour or so the place where the tomb was looked so empty it was a hollow sight, because the rain made all the flowers the people left be washed away slowly until there were none at all.
As if noticing the final moment the rain started to stop slowly, a single ray of sun started to shine on the tombstone just where the inscription was, one final person appeared and walked to the tombstone and put a single orange dandelion on the tomb of Naruto and a single Lavender rose on the tomb of Hinata, turning away from the tomb, he walked away slowly and disappeared the same way he appeared, as if the wind carried him here.
Some distance away a person watched all this unfold, she shook her pink haired head slowly knowing nothing she said in that moment could stop the person from leaving again, right now it was time to mourn and let time heal, nothing more.
* Entrance to the cemetery *
"I'm not giving up like everyone else has done Onee-sama, Onii-sama, I assure you both that I will find a way to get you back, or help you anyway I can, that's a promise" was the thinking process of a young woman that looked to be about 15 years old, she has long brown hair that reached past her back and two long hair bangs in front that reached until just below her breast with a pink ribbon in each bang, she has white eyes with a little hint of lavender in them, she was wearing a formal black kimono used for funerals that sported the Uzumaki symbol in each part where the insignia of her clan was supposed to be.
After some minutes of continued contemplation she turned around and turning off her Byakugan started walking away slowly from the 'resting' place where her Onee-sama and Onii-sama were supposed to be buried in.
"Excuse me… are you perhaps Hanabi Hyūga?" she heard someone ask behind her, that made her stop and look behind to see the one that said her name.
"Yes, I'm Hanabi Hyūga, who are you?" she said noticing the two figures behind her.
"Well, we wanted to talk to you about some important things" said the voice slowly something that made the Hyūga a little suspicious of whom these persons were.
"Hey! Hanabi-chan!" She heard in the direction she was walking before, she turned around and looked at the person that called her name.
- Line Break -
"Hinata, Are you and the girl up there alright?" Asked Naruto in Kurama mode and looking to his right in the upper part where Hinata and Asia where sitting in the huge hand he made with his chakra, knowing that this state was alerting sensors and everyone that could use chakra, he actually wanted to attract the attention of the Yôkai faction, some time ago he asked Kurama if he sensed the chakra signatures of Yasaka and Kunou, which he confirmed, but first they needed to get far away from the devils, he didn't want to push his good luck for the moment.
"Yes Naruto-kun and we are really far away from the devils, I can't see them anymore with my Byakugan, I think we can stop and rest for now" Said Hinata noticing Naruto had been running non stop to get her and the girl away from the devils for an hour or so and knowing the girl needed to rest too.
"Ok we will stop on that clearing over there but after 15 minutes we will continue, we need to get someplace I know we can rest for some days at least, until we can gather our thoughts" Said Naruto as he appeared in the clearing not even seconds of mentioning it, he let Hinata and Asia down slowly.
Letting his power up go, Naruto took a seat in front of the lake that was in the clearing and started meditating while gathering natural chakra slowly.
Asia just stood in the place where the blonde haired man left her, not knowing what to actually say or do, she just looked around the clearing they were in, it was a beautiful clearing, trees surrounding a sparkling clear lake while some night animals started gathering slowly around the clearing where Naruto started to meditate, she noticed the black haired girl that was by her side got closer to where the blonde was and just kept looking at him as if she was in some sort of trance after some seconds Asia noticed that a lot of animals were gathering in front of where Naruto was if she remembered his name right, while Hinata if she remembered her name right, just kept looking at him without moving, after some second Asia got surprised when she saw Hinata kneel down and get even closer to where Naruto was with his eyes closed, Asia involuntarily took a step ahead wanting to actually see what was happening, what she saw got her surprised, she saw how Hinata lifted her right leg and straddled Naruto and put her arms around his neck, a little pink started dusting her cheeks, noticing the intimate position they were in, getting even closer she noticed how Hinata started kissing and nibbling Naruto's neck slowly, this in turn made her feel a little flustered and get the black jacket that was covering her even closer to her body suddenly feeling a little conscious of her state of clothing, she took another step ahead to get a better glance letting curiosity overpower her senses but never saw a twig just where her feet was gonna touch.
Crack… was the soft sound that was heard all across the clearing and because it was too quiet it was like it reverberated in her head for hours, this in turn made Hinata that was in her trance stiffen and look in the direction where Asia was, Hinata growled and glared hard in the direction of Asia while her Byakugan activated, this in turn made Asia stiffen and take a step back, feeling that if she took another step forward then something was going to happen, the staring between the two woman continued for about 5 more minutes neither of them moving a muscle, one because she was protecting what was her, while the other was frozen still in fear not knowing what to actually do.
Some seconds later like magic the tense atmosphere was broken when Hinata and Asia saw Naruto take a deep breath and release it slowly, when Hinata saw him open his eyes she didn't wait and started kissing Naruto hungrily while Asia only could continue watching not knowing what to actually do in that situation, some seconds into the kiss Hinata forced Naruto into the ground and kept kissing him harder and deeper while Asia could only watch on in embarrassment all this happen when she saw they were starting to rub each other making pleasured groans start to come out of the she couldn't help it.
Eep!… was the cute sound Asia let out while she covered her eyes and knelt down trying to cover and hide herself inside the big jacket she was wearing, this in turn made Naruto and Hinata freeze and slowly each of them turned their head to look in the direction where Asia was, Hinata on top of Naruto only narrowed her eyes, while Naruto gave Asia a sheepish grin like saying sorry.
Hehe… "Sorry about that" Naruto said in a tone that made Hinata and Asia stop what they were doing and look at him surprised.
"Well, with all that has been happening lately Hinata and I haven't had the proper time to introduce us to you, and for that I apologize" said Naruto still under Hinata, this in turn only made Hinata lay down on top of him and snuggle.
Uhm… "Hinata, can you stand up? We need to properly introduce ourselves to the girl" Naruto said trying to make Hinata stand, this in turn only made Hinata hug Naruto not letting go at all, cue sweatdrop from Naruto and Asia.
Ahm… "Anyways sorry for all the running around and for not providing much clothes for you to cover with" Naruto said as his right hand rubbed the back of his head while he was still laying down on the ground with Hinata on top of him and he looked in the direction where Asia was.
Asia only shook her head reassuring Naruto that it was ok, they continued to be in silence for two more minutes approximately neither person knowing what to actually say, Hinata meanwhile continued to snuggle closer to Naruto's body been in her own world.
"Thank you" She said bowing her head low thanking both Naruto and Hinata for helping her in all that mess that she didn't know how it sprung on them, this only made Naruto and Hinata look at her surprised.
"There's no need to thank us-ttebayo!" Naruto said flailing both his arms in front of him a little nervous and Hinata just looked at her curiously this time all her apparent rage for the girl gone, knowing that the girl maybe wasn't a bad person after all, while Asia kept her position her forehead touching the grass in front of her.
Standing up suddenly, Hinata walked where Asia was still bowing and looked at her with a contemplative look.
Naruto just looked on how Hinata suddenly stopped in front of Asia if he remembered her name right as if checking her, after some seconds Asia lifted her head slowly and noticing Hinata in front of her didn't move at all not knowing what to do.
Eep!… was the cute sound Naruto heard come from Asia when Hinata suddenly knelt down and hugged Asia very tight with such affection that it was as if he was looking at a mother and daughter hug, very cute and sexy mother and daughter if their state of clothing couldn't help it, which made him blush and turn his head to the side knowing that this was a little private moment.
Sniff… sniff… was the soft sound Naruto heard after some seconds, turning his head back around to look in the direction where both Asia and Hinata were hugging he noticed how Asia returned the hug with shaking hands as a few tears were escaping her eyes.
"Waah!… Waaah!…" was the sound heard all around the clearing as Asia cried out loud while she hugged Hinata tightly, Naruto turned around and stood up, he walked to where Hinata and Asia were and hugged them both knowing that Asia needed the support right now.
This scene continued on for at least 3 more minutes until Asia slowly but surely stopped crying while little trails of tears still continued to fall from her eyes.
Sniff… "Sorry" was all she said after all three of them separated and she rubbed her eyes trying to clean up her tears, both of them stopped her and rubbed her face slowly with a little smile on their faces.
"It's ok to cry when one feels pain, to let it go the moment you need it because it isn't good to let it all bottle up inside you" Hinata said while she rubbed Asia's head softly, which elicited a small giggle of appreciation be heard from her, this in turn made Naruto smile softly, but after some seconds his face turned serious and he looked around himself.
"Ok girls I think we need to keep moving, I talked to Kurama and we think that if we continue at the pace we are going, then we can be in Kyoto in the morning" Naruto said taking notice of each girl expression, after some seconds both Hinata and Asia nodded slowly.
"Don't worry I know a high standing person in Kyoto, she offered to hide us to let us gather our ideas until we can figure out how to proceed, I actually wanted to tell you this before Hinata but with the things as they were, well you know I had to take a quick decision" Naruto said looking at Hinata intently waiting for her answer.
"It's ok Naruto-kun I trust your judgment, I will go wherever you want us to go but I don't know about little Asia here" Hinata said looking at Asia intently waiting for her to give her opinion.
"I… I think it's ok, I can't remember anything besides dying in that church" Asia said trying hard to remember anything.
"Wait, you don't remember a group of devils going to that abandoned place rescue you?" Naruto asked a little concerned for her, thinking that maybe Rias and the others lied to him, remembering the information his clone gathered from the three captured devils about the 'peerage' system, that word made him really want to rip a new one to the guy or girl that came up with such a horrible idea in his mind.
"No, I'm sorry I don't remember anything, just feeling like my body hurt so much and asking for help from anyone to save me" Asia shook her head slowly, while Hinata hugged her tighter as she narrowed her eyes.
"But what about the devil called Issei Hyōdō? Do you remember him? He said he was your friend" Naruto asked now really wondering if things were as he thought, he didn't want to believe so, but if they actually went inside the church to try and force Asia to be on the peerage of Rias then they were going to have a really serious discussion when they meet up again, but first they'll need to find refuge in Kyoto, then the pieces could begin to fall into place in this unsolved puzzle.
"I'm sorry I don't know anyone with that name and if I had a friend then I wouldn't forget him or her because then that person would have been my first friend ever" Asia said shaking her head and whispered the last part trying to hide that fact, but Naruto and Hinata noticing and hearing this looked at each other and nodded affirmatively.
"Hey Asia-chan" Naruto asked making her look at him.
"Would you like us to be your first friends?" Hinata asked after Naruto which made Asia look at her with wide eyes, as little tears started to shine on her eyes again.
"Really?" Asia asked with a little tremble of her lips, which both Naruto and Hinata found cute, both nodded to her which made her smile very wide.
"I would like that a lot Naruto-kun, Hinata-san" Asia said as a few tears rolled down her cheeks which made both Naruto and Hinata hug her again.
"I promise I won't let them touch you at all Asia" both Naruto and Hinata thought together while they tightened their hold on Asia which made her feel a little flustered because of the affectionate gesture.
"Ok girls time to move, we need to reach Kyoto fast" Naruto said as the golden chakra of Kurama mode surrounded him again.
"Be ready, the ride till we reach there will be a little rough" Naruto said as an appendage of chakra held each girl on the upper part of each side of him.
"Ok Naruto-kun" both Hinata and Asia said together which made them look at each other a little surprised but after some seconds each of them sent each other a soft smile and nodded.
Yosh!… was the last sound heard in the clearing as a little cloud of dust was left behind where Naruto, Hinata and Asia were last seen.
- Line Break -
"There it is again, that powerful source of energy, moving fast" was the thought process of a young girl that was floating around a myriad of different colors around her, even thought her thinking process was that, she kept looking ahead at the big figure in the distance with an emotionless face.
"Kuroka…" was the only word she said and after some seconds a female figure appeared in a magic circle just beneath where she was floating standing at attention on the soft ground beneath her.
"You, search source of energy" was the only sentence the emotionless girl said as she continued staring in the direction where the big figure was, looking closer one could identify the big figure as a Great Dragon and it's color was a crimson one.
"Can I see how Shirone-chan is doing?" Nya…. Was the reply of the distinctive feminine voice as her twin black cat tails swayed from side to side feeling a little giddy at the prospect of seen how her beloved little sister was doing, although she too was intrigued about the incredible source of natural energy she sensed some time ago which made her ears twitch cutely.
The young girl floating in the upper part just kept looking at the great dragon in the distance while the young woman in the part below just waited patiently.
"Ok" Was the only word said, which prompted the other female figure in the surroundings to disappear in a magic circle some seconds later.
"Soon, Great Red, Very soon" were the words said by the only female floating in the void around her as she lifted her right arm and made a hand sign with her right hand as if shooting the great dragon and some seconds later she too disappeared.
"I'm apologize for taking so much time to report my findings Rizevim-sama, there were some things I needed to take care of in the house of Astaroth before coming here" said the figure that appeared and knelt in front of the mentioned person.
"Maybe I should just kill you for your transgression" said the devil sitting in front of him while a wide malicious smirk appeared on his face.
"Wait; I have interesting news and information Rizevim-sama!" said Diodora Astaroth desperately while he bowed his head touching the ground in front of him.
Oh… "And what would that be?" asked Rizevim a little intrigued on what the low pawn in front of him could had possibly found interesting.
"W-well something that is not of this world happened while I was waiting for my chance to enact a little plan of mine I had" started saying Diodora as he lifted his head slowly looking where Rizevim was holding a gold cup filled with wine as he kept the smirk on his face.
Oh… "I hope it is interesting as you put it to let you live to die another day" Said Rizevim while he took a sip of his cup slowly.
"I-It is" said Diodora while he smiled nervously at Rizevim knowing that he could live another day to fulfill his objectives about Asia.
- Line Break -
'A. Music Suggestion: What I've done – Linkin Park'
"Wait wait wait, so you are telling me, that this Naruto guy and his girlfriend Hinata appeared out of nowhere in a magic circle and knocked all of you out just because they wanted to interrogate all of you?" Asked one Sirzechs Lucifer with incredulity laced in his tone of voice as a single eyebrow was raised on his features, although after watching the same guy just knock out 17 of his most trusted devil guards of the devil army without breaking a sweat and even withstand Serafall's imprisonment ice spell, he didn't doubt his strength, but what actually made him even consider attacking them in the first place, because been honest, that his guards were knocked out was his own fault for letting his emotions take control of him and ordering to attack everything on sight to incapacitate and interrogate later.
"Well, i-it was kinda my fault sir, I apologize for it" said Issei bowing his head low while standing at attention, feeling very nervous in front of the boss of his boss, whom was apparently the big brother of his boss to boot, yeah, things weren't looking very good for him tonight.
"I see, so you are the new reincarnated pawn that took all of Rias-tan 8 pawn pieces and whom was just introduced to the devil world Hyōdō Issei-kun, am I right?" Sirzechs asked as he centered his gaze on the nervous looking reincarnated devil, this in turn made Issei stand even more rigid than he was before, he nodded nervously while a little trail of sweat ran down the side of his head.
"Care to put to rest some doubts I'm having right now?" said Sirzechs in such a jovial tone that made all the devils around him tense up knowing he wasn't messing around in that moment.
"Y-Yes sir" he said feeling really nervous.
"What were Rias and her peerage doing in an abandoned church, knowing that is forbidden land for us devils?" Sirzechs asked while he sipped from a wooden cup filled with hot tea that Akeno served to him some minutes ago, he crossed his right leg over his left one as he waited for Issei to explain everything.
"Onii-sama I.." Rias tried to say but was interrupted mid sentence by the raised left hand of her brother.
"Rias Gremory please allow your pawn Issei Hyōdō to explain, the moment I ask for your input into the conversation, then I shall ask for you to do so, Do I make myself clear?" Sirzechs asked knowing and having heard each version from each of the peerages and kings of each peerage in front of him, but something didn't quiet fit the puzzle that just appeared in front of him and he wanted the answers for it, he was worried about his little sister and this was his way of showing such affection to her, even if it mean being the mean big brother.
Rias for her part could only nod gravely as she rested her head against her interlaced hands in front of her, ironically, praying for nothing bad to happen.
"Sir, yes Sir! Rias-sama, Akeno-sama, Kiba-sempai and Koneko-sempai and myself were all in the church trying to rescue a friend!" Issei said never leaving his rigid posture.
"I see and I assume this friend you are talking about is the one named Asia that left with both Naruto-san and Hinata-san, am I right?" Sirzechs said as his semblance turned a little more serious.
"Sir, yes Sir! We were there to rescue her because she was kidnapped by the fallen angels that were hiding there in the first place, which elicited the start of a brawl between all of us and we won but we were too late and she was dead, that's when both Naruto and Hinata appeared and revived her" Issei said never taking notice how when he said the part about fallen angels hiding in devil territory Sirzechs, Grayfia and Serafall all narrowed their eyes knowing this was a bold move coming from Azazel, but the devils in front of them didn't need to know that, for her part Rias and Sona felt their body very heavy the moment the words left the mouth of Issei, and started sweating when both of them saw all of the ultimate-class devils in front of them narrow their eyes together.
"Sirzechs-sama if I may I can..." Sona tried to say to save somehow the messy situation they just got themselves involved in, but a sharp glance from her sister Serafall made her close her mouth and not say a thing.
"I see, I see, please answer honestly this girl called Asia, Is she a normal human or does she belong to any specific faction?" Sirzechs said as he let his right leg fall down and hit the floor softly while he crossed his left one over his right one and sipped the tea again slowly savoring it's calming flavor that he actually needed that moment.
Hearing the question Issei was debating with himself whether to answer honestly and say she was a nun or just try to lie to the powerful devils in front of him, seeing the serious face each devil had he just trashed the idea of lying, knowing that nothing good will come from it.
"Sir, she's a nun sir, to be more precise she's an excommunicated nun from the church" Issei said trying to save some face somehow.
"I see, Did she have any relationship with the fallen angels to begin with?" Sirzechs asked putting down his finished cup of tea on the little night stand right besides the couch he was sitting on with such a soft thud that actually reverberated really loud inside each king's head, crossing his arms over his chest he changed the position of his legs again waiting for the pawn to answer.
The question itself made Issei sweat and be even more nervous than before.
"Sir,..." Issei tried to say remembering how all the mess in the church started, how he met Asia and left her on the entrance of the church, to later find her in the night as she helped the maniac named Freed Sellzen and discover she was working with the fallen, to then later know what actually happened, how she got excommunicated and how she became the hostage of the fallen angels.
"Yes sir…" Issei said softly as he looked down knowing that if he tried to lie he would be discovered instantly.
"I see, I trust you did tell your pawn like how you told everyone else in your peerage how the balance of the three bible factions is hanging on a thread right now, am I correct Rias Gremory?" Sirzechs said looking at Rias who only nodded slowly not trusting her voice in that moment.
"Please answer properly Rias-sama" said Grayfia in such a cold tone that actually made all of the Kuoh devils in front shiver because of it.
"Sir, yes sir" was the soft replay that came from Rias as she looked up and answered knowing that things could get even messier if she didn't start acting as the king she was supposed to be.
"I see, well in that case I need to make some adjustments to your living here in Kuoh academy" Sirzechs said standing up with his arms crossed.
"Onii-sama please wait, I don't want to leave kuoh, I..." Rias tried to say but stopped mid sentence when she caught the sharp glance both Sirzechs and Grayfia sent her way.
"I never said I was going to return you to the underworld, I said there were going to be some adjustments in your living in Kuoh" said Sirzechs glancing at Serafall which made her slowly stand up too.
"Rias Gremory in first instance for the transgression of entering a holy place that belongs to the Biblical God faction you are hereby revoked of your duties as a guardian of Kuoh, all those duties now only solely fall on Sona-sitri from now on" Sirzechs said never letting his emotions get the better of him, knowing that what he was doing was for her own good.
"Second the actions of your peerage fall your shoulders..." Sirzechs tried to continue.
"Wait! It wasn't Buchô's fault! I was the one that forced everyone else to help me! I was the only one that came up with the Idea to save Asia in the first place!" Issei yelled trying to help Rias in any way he could knowing that everything was his fault to begin with, this in turn made everyone else in the room gasp while only Grayfia, Sirzechs and Serafall stood calm, although Grayfia narrowed her eyes in the direction of Issei.
"I see, regardless of that as I was saying, anything that a piece does, the actions it takes befall on the shoulder of it's king, meaning that even if you did all of this alone, that would've meant that Rias didn't control you at all and you were starting to become a stray devil, which will force us to eradicate you this instant" Sirzechs said as he started charging some magic, this made Issei open his eyes wide in fear not wanting to die just yet.
"Wait Onii-sama! I accept the punishment, he's not the one going stray, I knew his plan and continued along with it and made everyone else accept it too" Rias said holding back the tears that were trying to fall from her eyes but never giving in.
"In light of this new information then from this day forward for at least 3 months you and your whole peerage will have to go through re-education 3 days each week, and when the time ends you and your peerage will be tested in this particular subject" Sirzechs said never letting his serious face go.
"So, it is okay to let a living person die just because you don't want your petty war to re-start again!" Issei said as his sacred gear boosted gear appeared on his left hand and he started charging up.
"You are telling me that I should have let Asia die for something so petty as a simple WAR!" Issei yelled as the green gem on his sacred gear started pulsing violently thanks to his raging emotions in that moment.
"I WON'T!..." was the last thing Issei could say when he was knocked out by a chop to the back of his neck, when he fell down everyone saw Grayfia standing behind where he was.
"Sirzechs-sama I request to be able to educate this devil myself" Grayfia said in such a cold tone that actually made all the devils take a step back knowing that her education was actually short of brutal if anything.
"It's not because I don't believe in saving a friend, but because the safety of a whole faction, hundreds of people befall on the shoulders of each and every king of each peerage out there, and the actions taken this day could have sparked a war between the three great powers again, you do know this to the point, am I correct Rias Gremory?" Sirzechs said looking at his little sister sternly, whom could only nod as she looked down knowing the decisions she took that day were her own and not anyone else.
"As the Satan that rules over the underworld I feel compelled to take all these stern actions I'm taking right now, and as your big brother I actually feel disappointed thinking where I did go wrong and asking myself why?" he said sternly at first but finished saying slowly looking at Rias softly.
Haa… haa…"Why you ask!… haa… haa..." Rias asked as she could no longer hold in the tears of frustration she was feeling in that moment, everything, all her planning, just went to hell in a single instant, all because of an unknown variable that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and his girlfriend, the unknown variable named Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyūga, it felt like the time and space itself was conspiring against her to just watch her suffer and laugh at her suffering and she couldn't hold it anymore.
"ALL OF THIS! I DID ALL OF THIS BECAUSE OF THAT FUCKING STUPID MARRIAGE CONTRACT YOU AND FATHER ARE FORCING ME TO GO THROUGH! YOU KNOW IT ALREADY! SO DON'T JUST ASK ME SUDDENLY WHY!" she yelled out loud no longer been able to hold herself back, which only made everyone else in the room widen their eyes in surprise because of the outburst she was going through.
"I FUCKING DESPISE HIM! HE'S NO GOOD AT ALL! I HATE TO THINK THAT I'LL HAVE TO SPEND THE REST OF MY FUCKING DAYS BEEN WITH HIM! THE MERE THOUGHT OF HIM EVEN LOOKING AT ME IN ANY WAY FUCKING REPULSES ME! I CAN'T STAND HIM AT ALL! I DON'T LOVE HIM AT ALL! AND YOU ALL FUCKING KNOW IT! BUT EVEN THEN YOU ARE STILL FORCING ME TO MARRY HIM!" she kept yelling while a lot of her magic was starting to be seen surrounding her, this actually made Sirzechs widen his eyes because for the first time he felt he was seeing the real Rias and not the one that looked always prim and proper all the time.
"I don't want to… I can't stand it, to think that I'll be married to such a filthy devil such as him, all I want is to be able to choose whom I can marry" Rias said feeling very tired after her outburst as her tears fell, she fell on her knees no longer her legs been able to support her at all as she rubbed her eyes with both her hands effortlessly trying to clean her tears but knowing she wouldn't be able to.
When everyone awake on her peerage saw her fall on her knees they rushed to her side and hugged her tight which only made Rias cry even harder while she was being held by Akeno, Koneko and Kiba, each of them knowing that their king needed them in that moment.
Sirzechs could only watch this with a little frown on his face now really knowing what was going on his imouto's mind, but even then he had decisions to take, even if he felt like a bastard in that moment.
"I see, even then, as I was saying when time ends you and your peerage will be tested together, and if anyone of your peerage doesn't approve then that piece shall be removed and transferred to be Grayfia's, Do I make myself clear?" he said knowing this could spell real doom for his little imouto.
"And during that probation time you shall not be able to recruit more peerage members, if your peerage fails and you lose a minimum of 3 pieces then your recruitment rights will be revoked forever"
This in turn only made everyone else in the room that saw and heard all this transpire widen their eyes in surprise knowing that things were dead serious.
"W-Why?…" Rias asked with wide and teary eyes knowing that this punishment was really harsh for even her brother to put it on her, and things went to hell and beyond.
"Rias… this was no joking matter and you know it well, a new war could have sparked and we can't afford that, I'm sorry but this is what must be done, that's all I'm gonna say" he said in an apologetic tone knowing that he couldn't afford this time to be soft.
"Sona-sitri, there will be someone coming to help you in your new duties and keep an eye on everything that is gonna happen from now on, I'm sending her so be ready" Serafall said after some minutes knowing that the conversation and punishment between Rias and Sirzechs was done, but she had to find a way to punish her imouto, and this was the only way she could do it.
"No… please anyone but her!, you know she likes to control everything I do! please not her!" Sona said knowing her sister was punishing her too, not as harsh as Rias but even as bad, this only made Rias turn to her and smile apologetically knowing that really harsh times were coming onto both of them because of a wrong decision.
"Yes… The one horned devil Rem will be here in 3 days so be ready" Serafall said taking a no for an answer and showing how serious she was.
"I think it is time for us to leave Lucifer-sama, Leviathan-sama, I shall take this unruly piece with me for the start of his education" Grayfia said as she lifted the passed out Issei on her right shoulder and walked to where Sirzechs and Serafall were.
"See you then Rias-sama, Sona-sama, take care both of you and Rias-sama sorry about all of this" Grayfia said as she teleported both Satan's and herself out of the occult research club room.
When the Satan's left, Rias was seen still on the ground but this time she had a lost look on her face as she mumbled to herself repeatedly "anything but that please".
- Line Break -
The sun was appearing beautifully on the distance, some sun rays hitting the side of the face of both Asia and Hinata as they both felt their hair blow backwards because of the speed they were traveling at thanks to the running Naruto that was holding them both in the air in Kurama mode knowing that maybe they were closer to the part Naruto told them about Hinata activated her Byakugan and what she saw some distance ahead made her tilt her head in wonder noticing some people with weird animal parts sprouting from them, she was confused because she never thought she'd see more people with the same feature as the cat girl from before, although what got her tense were the weapons the persons were holding thinking that a confrontation was inevitable she turned her head and looked at Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, I think there's something going on, there are persons with animal features some distance ahead of us but they are holding weapons!" Hinata yelled from her position which made Asia turn her face to look at her surprised, because the only thing she could see around were trees, a lot of trees.
"I see, thanks Hinata, I think it's time we stop and walk to meet these persons" Naruto yelled back as he slowly stopped some distance short of meeting the Yôkai faction, some seconds later Naruto, Hinata and Asia all appeared in front of the Yôkai people walking slowly.
"Halt! State your business in reaching Yôkai territory" said one of the persons with animal features in front of them all who had a big axe in both hands, which made the three of them stop.
"We are here to see Yasaka-sama per her request" Naruto said taking a step ahead of Hinata and Asia, which made them both look at him surprised.
"And who are you human that Yasaka-sama herself would ask for your presence?" Asked the second guard readying his weapon, a long staff with a blade in the end.
"Kitsune-sennin" was the only phrase heard which made all Yôkais in front of them stiffen and sweat a little remembering the explicit orders their leader gave to them all when they heard that password, they thought that maybe, Kitsune-sennin would be coming later, because their leader told them so, not one day later after she told them all about it.
"How… how do we know it is true what you are speaking Kitsune-sama, I apologize for my rude question beforehand, but we gotta make sure you are who you claim to be" said the first guard now looking more nervous than before.
"That's easy to do actually, here" "Kurama" Naruto said and thought instantly transforming in Kurama mode and making the ethereal form of Kurama's head materialize all around himself, Hinata and Asia.
"Is this proof enough? I would like to not attract more unwanted attention than I've already done"
Naruto said in a commanding voice, this in turn made all the Yôkais in front of him drop their weapons and kneel.
"Yes, Kitsune-sama, I apologize for not believing you, please follow us, we will escort you directly to where Yasaka-sama and Kunou-sama are with all due haste" said the leader of the guards whom Naruto noticed resembled a lot a monkey wearing an armor.
"Ok and thank you for receiving us in such a short notice" said Naruto letting his form go, but unknowingly he attracted the attention of a black cat that was searching all around Kuoh town searching for clues about the powerful energy Ophis wanted her to find and bring to her, she had spent the whole night looking after her little sister Shirone when she came until sunrise so she actually missed the huge energy signature traveling to Kyoto, what? She loved her little sister more than she let be seen, sue her if you wish.
"I finally found you, but why are you going to the Yôkai faction?" Nya... was the sound the black cat let out in the end of her thoughts as a little magic circle appeared beneath her and transported her.
Wow… sorry guys, the funeral part actually was kinda hard to pull, and well about the part with Rias and the results of their actions, yeah, I Know I am too bland to depict it as it appeared on my head and well, I just recently broke up with my girlfriend, so yeah, it was kinda hard to write it, but anyways hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and well the Riser Arc is getting closer, the next chapter will be the one where you guys can see the characters you've chosen as your favorite remember your votes have made the story take the route that my head has already been working overdrive by it, oh by the way as it's been pointed out I guess I'll stop with the teasers altogether and just upload the chapter when it is done unless you actually like the teasers. Peace and Rickv out until next chapter, oh by the way I'm not doing this to bash Issei nor Rias nor anyone in the peerage, but because it was what I thought would actually have happened if something like this actually happened in the first place.