Hey everybody, so I learned something recently about writing in detail…it's a major pain in my ass. I mean, I'll sit there for ten minutes reading and rereading one stupid sentence wondering if it's good enough and whether or not it properly conveys what is happening in the story. I mean, I'm not a terrible writer when it comes to academic papers and the like, but DAMN this fiction writing is hard! Sorry, I just had to get that off of my chest, this chapter is proving to be a bit of a bitch to write. Don't get me wrong, the basic idea is pretty simple, but having to go through all the character actions, expressions, quotations, etc. all while trying to keep flow is just…annoying. Regardless, this chapter is here, in the flesh…er, pixels.
This chapter is probably not what you expected, hell it's not what I expected. If you're looking for the origin chapter…well that's coming in the next chapter after this one. This is more of an introduction to the Naruto character; it's meant to give everybody (myself included) a bit of a deeper understanding of the mental processes that occur and make up the ever more confounding enigma that is the mind of Uzumaki Naruto.
If you're looking for a time frame, this takes place before the preview.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Highschool DxD. The characters are not mine. The original premise is not mine. The only thing that is mine is any ocs that will die in this fic…that and the plot is kind of mine. BUT NOTHING ELSE!
Without further ado:
Forging an Axe
The abyss, a veritable sea of unyielding darkness, an impenetrable hold of solid nothingness, swallowing—consuming—all who were foolish enough to traverse its depths. There was no escape from the eternal darkness, there existed no being with enough raw power, enough force of will to tread through the abyss, unaffected by its humbling vastness. The maddening depth of existence could only feasibly serve a very specific purpose.
The abyss, in all its vast empty entirety, was as a prison cell.
A prison for what? There existed a mere five beings within the entirety of the known universe that knew the answer to such a question. Logically those individuals would serve as existences of unmatched power and knowledge; eternal beings whose prime attribute was divinity upon a scale of unquantifiable range. Such an illustrious conglomerate of superior constitution could only be comprised of the four greatest beings within all of creation:
God, the Singularity,
Ophis, the Wyrm spawned before Nothingness,
Great Red, the Strongest Existence,
Trihexa, the Strongest Opponent.
Yes, only these four beings of impossible power could possibly understand what exactly it was that lay dormant within the greatest prison. They who stood at the pinnacle of supremacy were privy to the purpose of the abyss, the perdition to which only the most dangerous of beings would ever be damned. Only these four could ever know…
So how was it that Uzumaki Naruto was also privy to such information?
Line break
The class was divided roughly into quarters. One quarter, comprised entirely of envious and/or rather bored males, gazed forward with glassy eyes, giving little to no attention to whatever it was that had sent their fairly handsome (a fact that was begrudgingly admitted by said faction) philosophical-literature teacher into such an animated fit of ranting .
The other three quarters, containing all of the class's females and the remaining males, were awestruck, paying acute attention to the "ranting" of the blond bespectacled adult at the front of the classroom. Some were awestruck by the devotion their professor illustrated regarding the subject with which he was currently enthralled. Others enjoyed the subject matter itself, finding great value within the opinion of a professional such as their new sensei. The rest of the girls just liked staring at the new eye candy.
"Seriously guys, the subject of perdition is just so fascinating!" Truth be told he was on a role, there was no way in hell he was going to give this up. "Dante paints such a gruesome, monstrous, vomit-inducing picture of hell. A place where only the vilest of demons and devils can live. A place reserved for the souls of those whom have affronted God himself."
A certain red-head sitting directly in front of blond felt a slight pain race through her head at the mention of her kind's natural enemy. Yet it barely registered to her, so enamored was she with her new sensei's enthralling speech.
"In most cases we now see the idea of the Underworld superimposed by the Judo-Christian hell. Something that I find a bit unfair. Speaking historically through a medium such as literature, we find that this idea of Hell and the Underworld being of the same constitution only comes into existence during the rise and ultimate domination of the Judo-Christian belief system. "
A lone hand raised during the blue-eyed professor's pause, a question was readily accepted by the Kuoh sensei.
"So Professor Uzumaki, what exactly is your definition of the Underworld and Hell? What's the difference?" Ah, a good question from…what was it again, Mimoto Asane?
"Excellent question Mimoto-san," Naruto's tone belied a genuine appreciation for the inquiring, something he had actually been trying to bait out of the students. "Truth be told," he scratched the back of his head, a light blush spread across his cheeks, he continued forward, somewhat bashfully, "I'm more of a hopeless romantic I guess."
"To me Hell and the Underworld are two entirely separate entities, serving two very different purposes." Naruto narrowed his eyes and gazed up at the ceiling yet appearing as though he wasn't actually seeing anything, belying a contemplative nature. "Hell, to me, is pretty much how Dante describes it, a nightmarish perdition reserved for the cretins who deserve eternal damnation…"
The resident devils of the class room felt slightly affronted by their sensei's viewpoint.
"However, I disagree with Dante's assessment of devils and the like."
Oh, never mind then.
"The Underworld serves as the home to devils and fallen angels."
Another hand raised, another question to happily answer.
"Sensei, why are evil beings like that given their own home? Shouldn't they be punishing the wicked?"
Agitation returned to the present devils.
Naruto himself gave a short laugh before bringing attention to the question, "Sure the majority of people view the devils and demons as inherently evil. Hell, literature throughout history has illustrated that viewpoint…but I can't help but disagree." Again the blonde grew contemplative, "I see devils and demons as beings who, while typically inclined to selfish desires and decisions, are actually not all that much different from humanity...hell they may not be all that different from angels and their fallen counterparts."
Once again, the new professor had floored the class with his ideals. While many of the students cast doubt on such ideas and others downright refused to accept such a viewpoint, a great deal of the students were awestruck at such a radical assumption.
Rias herself was floored by this man's theory, of course she found fault within it, but she did not outright deny the idea. A smile crept its way onto her face.
Perhaps this new school year would be more interesting than she had first imagined.
[Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrihng!]
"Ah damnit, just when it was getting good," Professor Uzumaki showed genuine remorse for the end of the period.
Truth be told the sentiment was mirrored by the majority of the class.
"Oh well, before you leave I'm sure you all will be disappointed to hear that I'm moving the paper's due date back until next Wednesday. I—uh—have had to make unexpected changes to my plans for this weekend so, go wild. "The class let out a collective sigh at the news, relieved to have been provided more procrastination time.
"Anyways, have a fun weekend guys, I'll be seeing you all next week!" His friendly disposition seemed just as genuine as his eagerness to provide these young minds with mental stimulation. There was little to no doubt among the students as to the reason the young professor came to school every day. He was a born teacher.
His optimistic views and quick, witty humor made him a favorite among the students at Kuoh Academy. Of course he was not without his faults. For one, he graded papers with scrutiny that was rather out of character for a kind individual such as himself. He certainly took his job seriously, weeding out any bullshit and/or ass-kissing that may have been present in any of the tests/papers he was grading.
"Uzumaki-sensei?"
Naruto jumped up from his desk, startled out of his test grading by one of his students.
He also tended to exhibit signs of tunnel vision, this was only augmented when in the midst of grading tests.
Having been startled out of his hunched stupor, Naruto quickly trained his eyes on the red haired beauty in front of him. Rias Gremory was one of the two most beautiful students at Kuoh Academy, displaying an impressive bust size, an immaculate pale complexion, a perfect ass that was only accentuated by the rather short skirt that made up the female student uniform, an hourglass figure further improved by perfect child-bearing hips, long toned legs, and, what really caught his eye, long beautiful red hair (one of his favorite colors) that contrasted favorably with beautiful aquamarine eyes.
"Ara ara buchou, I believe you startled Naruto-kun with your beauty."
From behind Rias, Akeno made herself known, displaying a small grin hidden behind a feminine hand. She gazed forth at the instructor in what seemed to be a lazy yet refined manner…well it would have been, had she not been accentuating her womanly features via her current bent over position. She was bent at the hits, back arched just so to give the blonde a view of an enticing amount of cleavage. Her form was exactly like that of her fellow "Great Lady's," the only difference being a larger bust (traded for a slightly smaller rump), and beautiful dark hair and eyes.
Shameless ogling aside, Naruto turned his attention to the red haired beauty addressing him. Giving a large bashful grin, Naruto scratched the back of his head, admittedly embarrassed by the small fright she had given him.
"Sorry about that Gremory-san, I just get super focused when grading." A blush of embarrassment made itself known on his face. "What can I do for you?"
"I can think of a few things."
Ignoring Akeno's shameless, inaudible musings, Rias made her purpose known to the admittedly "delicious (Akeno's words)" looking man in front of her.
"I was actually wondering if you had my test from last week graded."
That was another fault with the blonde teacher, his grading was extremely slow.
"Ah! I do actually, let me grab it really quickly."
The blonde made his way to his filing cabinet, leafing through his files, giving both beauties ample time to take in his rather appealing figure. He was of a rather athletic build, standing at an impressive six foot, two inches and bound with muscle. Of course he wasn't overly muscular, but more so than the average individual displaying the build of one who frequented the gym on a daily basis. His face was angular and slightly rugged, yet quite handsome, further enhanced by the six whisker marks adorning his cheeks and dampened only slightly by the wire rimmed glasses that sat atop his nose. There was little to no fat visible on his body, a trait displayed by this tight white dress shirt and black slacks.
Both girls displayed slight blushes when he bent over to grab a file from the bottom shelf.
Eye candy indeed.
Naruto felt slightly uncomfortable all of the sudden, turning his gaze on the other occupants of the room only to find them staring at the ceiling suspiciously. Shrugging at the passing feeling, the professor walked back towards his desk, papers in hand. Sitting back down, Naruto addressed the two before him.
"Let's take a look here shall we?" The blond flipped through the red marked document until he had reached the front. "Not bad. Not bad at all Rias-san." He felt the moment deserved a more familiar tone. "A very solid ninety-six. The highest in the class."
Akeno and Rias both widened their eyes, not at all surprised about Rias achieving the highest grade but rather the fact that it was not the hundred that had marked all of her tests and papers.
"Akeno-san, ninety-four. You tied with Sona-san and Tsubaki-san for second place. Good job you two!" Naruto's proud demeanor did nothing for the two shocked ladies as both bowed politely before silently leaving the room.
Naruto's proud smile and warm demeanor left with them.
"Giving all the pretty girls 'A's eh? I never took you as that kind of professor," an obscure whisper crawled into the Uzumaki's ear. A slight frown danced across his face.
"I believe," the blond professor's tone indicated irritation, laced with a slight hint of intimidation," that I explicitly informed everyone that under no circumstances were they to set foot within this school." He turned his head slightly, his piercing, icy, blue eyes stabbing the presence behind him, rooting them in place.
Naruto returned his gaze to the desk in which he sat, thoroughly grading the paper in front of him. "Now," the silhouette was startled at the break in the tension-laden silence, "what purpose do you have here?"
"Please forgive my-"
"Cut the shit and get to the point, Kabuto."
A fragment of the shrouded individual faded, revealing a particularly average bespectacled face framed by silver bangs. Kabuto's face retained a look of calm composure, however, his eyes belied a sense of fear and trepidation. "T-the homunculi have returned from secondary testing, sir," the silver-haired scientist cursed himself for the slip-up. Weakness meant expendability in their line of work, especially under an individual such as the blonde currently seated in front of him.
"This really isn't the place for this kind of conversation, Kabuto."
Said man visibly flinched, something he hoped his boss had not noticed. "Of course, sir. Please forgive me for my stupidity." Truth be told Kabuto would not have made this specific faux pa under any other circumstances, however, the nature of the news had him overexcited. His own pet project had proved valuable, perhaps even a boon for the organization once it had come to completion.
"Sir, perhaps later we could-"
A hand raised, halting all noise coming from the scientist's mouth.
"It's quite alright, Kabuto." Naruto swiveled in his chair, coming face to face with his utterly terrified subordinate. "Actually I've been dying to hear about your Homunculus program all day." A small smile lit up the blonde professor's face, something that could send a veritable tidal wave a relief to wash through even the most anxious of individuals.
The tension building within Kabuto suddenly tripled.
Oh Kami above, this was bad. If Naruto had taken a particular interest in something that meant he had immensely high expectations, something that had already cost Kabuto several valued and trusted colleagues. The scientist didn't even notice his superior's sudden vertical presence until he was nearly face to face with the man.
The seemingly jovial face suddenly appearing in front of him wasn't what made Kabuto jump, it was the cold blue eyes staring slightly down into his own, promising punishment for failure of even the slightest sort.
"Let's go then shall we?" A strong hand clasped upon Kabuto's shadow-clad shoulder, issuing slight pressure upon the appendage.
A quick smile, an attempt to regain a semblance of composure.
"Of course, sir."
Both men melted into the ground.
Meanwhile a second year student, Issei Hyoudo entered the class room.
"Ohayo Uzumaki-sensei! I'm here for the tutoring!" The brown haired, rather plain, young man smiled, this was one class he actually enjoyed. The teacher was just the coolest dude in the school, a master who could potentially help the boy outgrow his rather low-standing reputation.
"Ohayo Issei-kun, ready to learn?" the vision of Naruto smiled back waving an ethereal hand at his student.
Line Break
"Der Zweiten Welt was formed six years ago when founder and current Head of the Research and Development department and the Applied Sciences department, Uzumaki Naruto, accrued the necessary resources and enlisted the financing of…"
Uchiha Sasuke watched, bored out of his mind, as yet another group of voluntary test subjects and/or interns—truth be told the Uchiha couldn't tell the difference (nor did he care)—was led throughout the lower levels of the institute. Nervous faces and fascinated gazes swept across the surroundings taking in the various white-washed labs filled to the brim with scientists, prototype weaponry, and, for some reason, mysterious individuals garbed in a gray-brown uniform.
"Hn, noobs," the Uchiha snorted, glaring at the tour as it passed, not that he could be seen or heard. "I guess the cloaking feature works," the Uchiha, feeling that two hours of continuous testing was sufficient, proceeded to walk into the midst of the tour—mid tour guide speech mind you—and uncloaked, baffling all present. A smirk graced Sasuke's handsome face, the disapproving gaze of his superior was worth it.
"Damnit, Sasuke." Naruto sighed, stepping out of the shadows, Kabuto following right behind. Once again the tour was baffled, both at the seemingly instantaneous generation of individuals, and the identity of one of said individuals, the founder of Der Zweiten Welt, Uzumaki Naruto.
The Uzumaki in question ignored the baffled crowd, focusing his attention on scolding his most trusted compatriot. "I thought I told you to test the extent of the cloaking ability I installed in your Schatten Gear," the irritation in the blonde's voice was palpable.
Kabuto flinched.
Sasuke did not.
"I did test it," the presence of smugness in Sasuke's voice would have earned any other individual addressing the Uzumaki a swift "disappearance." However, Sasuke could easily get away with such.
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don't tell me you just turned it on and off…" an exasperation rung clear in his tone, "did you?"
Sasuke smirked.
"Nah, two hours."
To be honest, that was much better than Naruto was expecting. Perhaps he'd have Bikou test it out further in the field. The descendent of Wu-Kong was always willing to test experimental weaponry, just as long as he was allowed to keep a copy of the prototype when all was said and done.
"That's about the best I can expect I suppose," the blonde suddenly grinned savagely, a devious glint in his eye, "now all I need from you is the two hundred page report on the test."
The Uchiha paled, realizing not for the first time that his employer was a dick.
"Oh, and I'm gonna need that report in triplicate."
A completely sadistic asshole.
Grumbling the Uchiha trudged down the hall, his hunched form slowly disappearing in the distance. He got lost after his first right turn…
Sighing at his best friend's selective stupidity, Naruto turned his attention back to the bewildered Yakushi behind him. "Ah, I believe we were heading to your department." Naruto's demeanor changed once more, returning to the aloof, cold calculation that had set the scientist on constant edge.
"O-of course, sir! Right this way, sir!" Kabuto gestured before him, setting a moderate pace matched by his blonde superior.
A veritable maze of tunnels later, the two found themselves inside a rather cluttered office, serving as an observation deck over an empty large white-tiled gymnasium.
Kabuto, slightly embarrassed by the state of his office gave a quick apology to the blonde and moved to his desk, attempting to organize the files that left his office in disarray.
Naruto ignored the subordinate, instead choosing to stand before the glass connecting the overhanging office to the testing area below.
"Kabuto," the silver-haired young man nearly jumped out of his skin once again at his superior's voice.
"I'm sorry sir, what was that?"
Naruto sighed internally, finding Kabuto's increasingly anxious behavior annoying. "I asked if you could explain the test results."
Eyes widening in comprehension, the Yakushi quickly organized the test results before him, "I apologize for-"
"Enough with the apologies Kabuto. I assure you that it's alright," Naruto's tone was soothing, bringing peace to the scientist.
Having calmed down somewhat, Kabuto quickly composed himself, "Ah, anything specific sir or should I-"
"All of it, if you would?" Naruto's soft tone once again filled the man confidence.
"Of course sir. We tested the homunculi on a myriad of levels ranging from basic human social interactions to human-to-devil combat. All simulations read positive results."
"If you could go into specifics." The blonde interjected.
"Human social interactions obtained an 'A' rating, human-human combat: A, impersonation of living specimen: B, weapons combat: A, language adaptation: A, magic-based combat: B, combat adaptability: C, infiltration: B, Schatten Gear integration proved successful, overall combat prowess exceeded expectations. They were unable to wield the pieces of Excalibur we retrieved, however, that was to be expected. "
"All-in-all the homunculi have proven to be a successful venture. The investors will be happy to know that the first complete battalion will be ready for deployment within the year." Kabuto preened, practically glowing with pride.
"That is…impressive to say the least," Naruto was indeed impressed by the results of his subordinate's pet project. Kabuto felt elated, the praise from the man he viewed as an idol further empowering him, enhancing his sense of self-worth. Who knew, perhaps someday he would replace the Uchiha as Naruto's right-hand man.
"Thank you, sir! It means so mu-"
"Sasuke."
Pain. That was all Kabuto felt as the blade pierced his chest. Air fled from his lungs, refusing to be trapped within a corpse. Eyes flew open in surprise, realization was forgone, replaced by a sense of denial. This couldn't be happening. Blood wasn't pooling at his feet, pouring down form the pierced heart jutting slightly from his chest.
Kabuto fell to his knees, realization slowly creeping in. Betrayal would be the last thing Kabuto would feel in this life. Finally, like a great redwood cut clean through, the Yakushi fell. The cold white tile met his face, his glasses flew forward, bouncing across the tile before landing beside the shoes of Uzumaki Naruto, broken beyond all repair.
Sasuke sealed his blade of shadow, turning his attention to his blonde friend. "That was pretty cold you know."
The Uzumaki ignored him reaching into his pocket in order to pull out a rather outdated flip phone. "Mira-chan? Yes, it's Director Naruto. I'd like you to inform the board of the status of the Homunculus project. Yes, well it would appear as though there are several glaring flaws in the designs. Unfortunately these flaws cost the life of the project's director Yakushi Kabuto. In light of these events I'm shutting the project down. Thank you, Mira-chan."
Sasuke gazed down at the body of the Yakushi. "Poor bastard was dead from the moment he started working here."
"Sacrifice is the price of progress." Naruto's icy gaze was still cast towards the training area, once empty it was now filled to the brim with homunculi soldiers, each standing at attention waiting to be given specific form and programming.
"Besides, "the blonde turned to his compatriot, icy blue gaze piercing the Uchiha to his very soul, "the moment we started this organization we all signed our death certificate."
"It's only a matter of time until you and I are no longer of use."
Naruto stepped over Kabuto's form, moved passed his lieutenant, and proceeded to leave the room.
He had no time to lament over the loss of his comrades, there was work to be done.
End Chapter
So yeah, the ending is kinda rushed, but I really wanted to get it out there. The next chapter will be a bit of backstory I guess. Something I've been dreading…seriously this is gonna suck for me. It's going slow I know, but trust me, shit's going down in the chapter after the next one…I guess iunno the first few chapters are always exposition and plot development. So, get ready for that.
Regardless we have our first betrayal, it's gonna get better than that I assure you. The plans are forming. The Homunculi are gonna play a pretty big role, but it's not gonna be for a bit. Character development is also coming, I'm not gonna make Naruto strictly cold and calculating…I mean I am, but he's gonna be multi-dimensional, not a Bruce Willis character.
Next chapter is Naruto backstory and is gonna be long…probably. Iunno yet, it's two in the morning, I've got a headache, I wanna sleep really badly. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Please read and review!