Vt here and I still don't own Naruto or Highschool DxD.
Took me a while to write this chapter, but here it is.
On a quick note, either 'Kalawarner' or 'Karawarner' are acceptable versions of her name due to technical reasons.
"Sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck."
-Dalai Lama-
In a special hotel in Kuoh, three girls slept peacefully together in a near divine bed, one holding on to the other. Asia, Valerie and Kalawarner, a nun a vampire and a fallen angel.
On the previous day, Valerie had a simple awakening, at first she had thought that it was all just a dream and that everything was as usual, that the guards would come knocking at her door to check if she had ran, or to bring her for exams.
But instead of the usual guards, she met with a purple haired woman, Kalawarner. Which made her realize that it all did happen. Which made her realize and notice that it wasn't her room, it wasn't her bed and that her coffin wasn't even around. On one side she was sad, her family was most likely dead, and while she didn't harbor many feelings towards them, she didn't want them to die.
While on the other side, she was somewhat happy. Happy that she would get to see her brother once more.
Kalawarner then confirmed what she already knew, that she was a prisoner, that she couldn't leave the hotel and that she had to wait for him to 'set things up' for her to meet with her brother. Then she was explained that they were both on the same boat and that Kalawarner was in fact a 'slave' of his.
The two then talked about various things, ranging from what type of person Naruto is, to their living conditions before getting 'taken' by him. Which was when Asia arrived. The clumsy and innocent nun, that was completely unaware of the things that were going on around her.
It was hard not to like the girl, at first Kalawarner tried to keep somewhat of a distance, given what she and the others were going to do to her, but she was persistant and small talk came and went, when the fallen noticed her situation the three were casually talking like friends.
Naruto never returned that night, or he did and didn't announce his presence. They were all passing through a time of change in one way or another.
Said man was there leaning against the door of the room with his eyes closed, still like a statue, if he was breathing or not was impossible to tell. He just stood there. Seconds passed, then minutes and hours until they finally started to stir awake, first Kalawarner, then Valerie and finally Asia.
''Mmm~''Kalawarner moaned, stretching her arms a bit, ''This is so comfy.''
''Mhmm,'' Asia hummed in agreement.
''Just a few more minutess...'' Valerie whined, squeezing her eyes shut and hugging onto Asia.
Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing that Kalawarner saw was the golden strands of hair of her new friend Asia, reminding her of their sleepover and how they ended up in the same bed. They had just spent so much time talking and chatting in Valerie's room, that by the end of it theu decided to simply just sleep where they were.
A few seconds passed and the others also started opening their eyes.
"Urgh, what time is it?" Valerie asked, making herself semi-upright and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"It's eight." answered Naruto from the door while opening his eyes, alerting the three of his presence.
"Ah Naruto-san, good morning!" Asia said cheerfully upon seeing her first friend.
"Good morning to you too Asia." Naruto replied with a small smile, something that seemed completely alien to the other two. Kalawarner blinked three times to make sure what she was seeing was real.
Opening his hand, black dust accumulated on top of it and formed into a golden cup, Sephiroth Graal, and tossed it towards Valerie's lap, where it stayed for a second and then disappeared into her.
"Huh?" Valerie muttered dumbly, the gears in her head slowly getting up to speed.
"I already got in contact with the principal of life and obtained the information I wanted along with several other things. I don't need it anymore and I don't see a reason to hold onto it any longer." Naruto replied.
"Ownn, complicated words! Does Naruto-san and Valerie-san also use Sacred Gears?" Asia asked innocently, not in the least bothered or hurt that they hadn't told before.
Kalawarner's reaction was more of understanding as it now made sense why she felt that Valerie had something inside of her. Until the gears in her head started spinning, making her realize several things out of place, if that cup was her Sacred Gear, then how was she still alive, and why did she feel like there was something inside her before he returned it?
Valerie quickly thought about a reply, and was about to answer her, but Naruto beated her to it, "Yup, she has the Sephiroth Graal, one of the Longinous."
"Uwah, a Longinous!" Asia exclaimed in surprised, and then paused in thought. "Umm... What is a Longinous?"
If the two hadn't just woken up, they probably would have face-palmed, but instead they just simply sighed.
"They are a class of very powerful Sacred Gears capable of breaking the World's balance. Her's is the Holy Graal, or at least the closest thing to it." Naruto replied off-handedly.
"Closest thing?" Kalawarner asked with a raised brow.
"The original one shattered to pieces some time ago, it's fragments are scattered across the globe." Naruto answered, then paused for a few seconds, "I believe the Church has two fragments and I myself have two aswell... I should probably find where the others are."
"What about you Naruto-san, what's your Sacred Gear?" Asia asked innocently and Naruto turned away from and opened the door.
"Sorry but that's a secret, i'll tell you it someday, for now you three get ready. Breakfast will soon be here, so don't take too long." He said and left the room.
It took a full hour for all three to get ready, relatively quick taking certain things into consideration. In the living room was Naruto, on a dining table filled with foods of all sorts, cereals, juices, pancakes and things of the sorts.
Kalawarner and Valerie blinked owlishly, the whole treatment was odd for them, one being a slave while the other is a prisoner.
Asia was the first to go join him on the table, followed by Kalawarner and then Valerie.
"This is so wonderful Naruto-san, we must pray to the lord and thank him for this." Asia said and then started to pray. A habit that the other two were still getting used to. Valerie because as a dhamphir, holy things still bothered her, and Kalawarner for more personal reasons.
Her habits however didn't bother Naruto one bit besides the fact that she was praying for a creature that he had killed and devoured. As long as he was near, for her own good, her prayers wouldn't go to Michael and the system.
'I believe this is the first time in a while that you have eaten with friends right?' Naruto thought to himself as he staired at Asia, it was what he wanted to say, but his lips wouldn't move, probably because he already knew the answer to that. Her mind was crystal clear to him, he didn't even need to use his powers to see through her, because in the end... She is just like him.
Or at least like what he used to be, and what he would have became if circumstances allowed it.
Time had changed him, more than a thousand years of battles and destruction had shaped him into what he now is, but he had never forgotten the place he came from and most definitely the person he was.
Like the past him, she knows lonelyness, knows how it feels to be the one without a family, to have something inside that made people see anything, but who you are. A Holy Maiden, The Fox Boy, never Asia Argento or Naruto Uzumaki.
On top of the table in front of him, a red metallic bottle subtly appeared, so subtly that only Valerie noticed.
"Drink." he said/ordered while pushing the bottle towards Valerie.
She stared at it for a few seconds then glanced at him. He was eating the pancakes on his plate. Seeing no other choice, she brought the bottle near her face and took a whiff. Instantly her eyes widened and her fangs grew a larger.
It was blood, and boy was she thirsty.
Her body pretty much acted on it's own from then onwards, by the time she had regained her senses everybody was finishing their breakfast and she was with her lips nearly glued to a still full bottle with fresh blood, and strangely enough, she also was feeling full.
Removing her lips from the bottle and cleaning them with a napkin, she blinked, twice.
She was feeling great, in total bliss. She was full.
Being full was the closest a vampire could ever get to Nirvana. Such a thing was almost impossible to accomplish without committing genocide.
"Why?" She asked him and he blinked and sighed.
"Well you need to eat, and today you're all going to have a long day. I was thinking of making this place a little more homie, and you three are going to help me with the decoration. You two also will need to get new clothes, so we will work on that also." He pointed at both Valerie and Kalawarner at the end.
"Not that, I mean why this?" Valeire asked again, gesturing round, and while she wanted to a least seem a bit angry, her body wouldn't allow her due to the bliss she was feeling.
"Asia since we are all done with breakfast, can you go call roomservice to come clean up, it's that phone over there." He said and pointed towards the other side of the room. If they had paid better attention in the place, they probably would have known that there wasn't a phone there before, thankfully for Naruto, none of them were that much aware.
It was actually quite alarming, and he then knew that he would have to work their spatial awareness.
The nun, oblivious of the fact that he had basically shooed her away, nodded happily and went towards the phone.
Once she was off hearing range, Naruto turned towards Valerie once more.
"Okay look, I will only say this once: you're stay in here doesn't have to be a bad thing or an unpleasant experience. There is no need for anymore violence on my part, I have achieved what I wanted, and a bit more, so as long as you play nice, things will remain the same and you will get to meet your brother." He told her simply.
Valerie couldn't help but feel that there was a 'but' somewhere in there, however her time ended when Asia returned.
"They said they are on their way, Naruto-san." Asia told him once she arrived and he nodded.
"Thank you, Asia." He smiled at the girl and got up from the chair. "I will be at my own room waiting, in two hours we leave to go shopping." He then said and left the room.
-Hours Later-
"Naruto my boy! Welcome, was starting to think that you wouldn't show up anymore... Oh, who are these? Friends of yours?" Asked a certain old lady as her favorite customer walked in, accompanied by three other women, Kalawarner, Valerie and Asia.
The sun was still up and bright and they had just about finished shopping and had everything sent to the hotel. Kalawarner and Valerie hadn't pulled any punches when it came to buying new clothes, the two made it their personal objective to use as much money as possible.
However what they didn't know was that Naruto was slowly buying the entire city under different aliases, and all places they went belonged to him in one way or another.
"They're my friends, baa-san... Meet Asia, Kalawarner and Valerie." Naruto introduced the three.
"Nice to meet you three, have a seat. Naruto's friends are allways welcome here. The old coot is in the kitchen but he feels the same." Riho replied with a 'grandmotherly' smile.
Naruto took a seat along with Asia and glanced at the other two, the message was quite clear for them, so as such they followed right after. "I would like the usual, obaa-san. What will you three have?" Naruto asked them and each got a menu.
"Umm... I don't understand what is what, can I have the same as Naruto-san's." Asia asked after looking at the menu.
"Sure thing sweetheart, Naruto normally has miso."
"Ah thank you. May the Lord Bless you!" Asia clasped her hands in a prayer gesture, by now they were all already used to her habits.
"I want to try this one, tonkotsu." Kalwarner said after looking around the menu.
"Me too." Valerie said right after the fallen.
"Coming right up. How have things been for you lately, Naruto? Yui has been asking about you." Riho said, peaking the interest of all three girls, for different reasons.
"Just been busy running some errands here and there, is she alright?" Naruto asked, actually showing concern, something that actually, surprised Kalawarner and Valerie.
"She has been getting better since last time, been getting some color in those cheeks. She's upstairs in her room, want me to go call her?" Riho asked and Naruto nodded. He could tell that she was feeling a bit more relieved lately by her general posture.
"Actually baa-san, can I go call her? You shouldn't have to bother yourself and I wanted to surprise her.'' he said and Kalawarner started looking at him strangely, it was like he was an entirely different person.
"Aww, yeah you can. just go up the stairs into the hallway. Her room is at he end of it, a red door. I'm sure she will be happy to know you're here."
Giving her a nod, Naruto went up the stairs and instantly saw her door, it was open and he could see the opposite side of a bed and in it, the glimpse of a pair of tiny white feet loosely wrapped up in a light blue blanket.
Quickly, but silently making his way towards the room, he stopped by the door and looked inside and there she was laying upright on the bed with a book on her hands, she did indeed seem to be gaining color, her skin had gotten a soft tan and her cheeks a light tone of pink. She was still very pale and thin compared to a normal and healthy girl, but the progress was there.
Knock knock.
''Eep!'' She squeaked, closing the book in surprise and bringing her knees closer to her chest.
"Baa-san was right, you really do look better." Naruto said, walking inside the room. Surprised by both his sudden appearance and his words, Yui's cheeks went from her newly acquired pink tone to a full blown crimson blush.
Hearing a chuckle, she started to relax, ''N-Naruto-san? Is that you? Don't say those things.''
''Aye it's me,'' he sat besides her on the bed, ''Baa-san said I could come in, are you alright?''
''Ah...'' She paused in thought, ''I am feeling better.''
''That's good, I'm glad... Is that book good?'' He asked her, settling his eyes on it. Unfortunately he had never before gained interest in braille and as such, he really didn't have the slightest clue of anything in it.
''It's a collection of stories and fairy tales... It's nice...'' Yui replied, letting it rest on her lap and caressing the cover.
''Is that so...'' Naruto hummed, ''Maybe one day you can read me some of them.''
''I can read you some now... I just got started with it, we can read together...'' A cute pink blush made it's way towards her cheeks.
Naruto chuckled, a low, soft and throaty chuckle. He could see that she was trying and it was good enough for him.
Yui mistook it for mockery and turned away from him. ''You're a bully, go away...''
''Hey..." He placed his hand on her shoulder and she tried to move away, but she was already out of room in the bed, ''It's not like that, I would like to read it with you, just at another time. Jiji and baa-san are waiting for us along with some of my 'friends', I brought them here to meet you, can't keep em waiting for too long, can we?''
"Ah..." She paused in thought, "You brought friends?"
"Aye I did. Do you want to meet them? The are downstairs waiting for us." He took her hand and brought her up.
"You think they will like me?" She asked and he grinned, not that she could see of course.
"Of course, what's not to like?" He brought her hand to his elbow.
It wasn't like any of the girls really had a choice besides Asia. Kalawarner was warned that there would be severe consequences in case she did anything funny and Valerie was too terrified of him to try anything in general. He kidnapped her in the middle of her factions castle, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't get too far.
Asia didn't need anything of the sorts, the nun was genuinely kind and friendly.
And so the two went, Yui latched onto his arm and using him as a 'guide'.
'No way...' Kalawarner thought upon seeing the girl. What she was seeing was the exact opposite of what she expected, nothing of the place was what she expected. She figured that due to his power he would prefer a something more... Glamorous... Not a simple ramen bar and certainly not a sick, blind girl.
-Meanwhile in a building nearby-
"You arrived early, Crom." Naruto said leaning onto the balcony as a man with heterochromatic eyes came besides him. The place where Naruto was observing was none other than Ichinose, where his clone and newest 'companions' were at.
"I was in a nearby city when you had me called. So the time has come to start with the plan?" Crom asked, following Naruto's gaze.
Naruto nodded, "Yes, now that I found the beast, it is time to start... Pfft, to think that it was in 'The end of the world' all this time. It's as powerful as I expected, the Biblical God did the right thing in sealing it at the time, that outrageous old man. The seals placed on it are no joke, but they shouldn't be a problem.''
"I see..." Crom narrowed his eyes in thought, "So how would you like me to go? Where should I strike?"
"For now, you must steady your hand. I want to see how many allies we can get among the factions before we start laying siege against them. Midgarsormr is already with us for the Apocalypse, I will try to gather the remaining Dragon Kings and bring back Vritra. Hades would also probably like to take part in this. I can also convince Michael to support me as well, I believe he is having a hard time managing the system."
"I see... I get why you would want Hades and Michael to our side, but the Dragon Kings? Look at them, they hardly deserve the title anymore.'' Crom replied, narrowing his eyes.
''Deserving or not, they are still quite powerful, could be of use to us and I would like to avoid slaughtering our own kin. Wouldn't hurt to try diplomacy for once.'' Naruto replied, remembering a certain former Dragon King that lived in the underworld.
"I understand...'' Crom sighed, ''If I am allowed to ask, what are your plans for them? They are all weak, can hardly be of any use to your plans." He gestured towards Ichinose.
"Humph, you can ask whatever you want, me answering it is an entirely different thing..." He paused and closed his eyes. ''The big crow has arrived in the city. It's about time."
Crom blew out a stream of black fire. ''You sure you want to make alliance with him? I don't see why we need to do such a thing, they are weak, we can just simply crush them all. Or wait, don't tell me that this is the old you speaking, is he really coming back?''
"You will watch your tone, Crom.'' Naruto glared and Crom immediately averted his eyes from him, ''I put up with your sarcastic comments because I find them to be quite amusing, but don't you dare disrespect me. There are reasons for my decisions, leave them for me to deal with.''
Black smoke then gathered around the space besides Naruto and formed into a perfect copy of him, which then vanished in a burst of speed.
Crom nodded with his head down, ''My apologies, Lord. Is there anything you desire of me?"
''Yes.'' a paper appeared in his hand, "I'm gonna start that little project of mine and gonna need you to help me manage it.''
Crom looked up and took the paper. ''If that is my God's wish."
-Back at Ichinose-
"Valerie-san what about you? How did you and Naruto-san meet?" Yui asked, already having shared her story of how she met him.
Valerie whom had tuned off the conversation in favor to eating her noodles, blinked, "huh?"
"You and Naruto-san, how did you two meet?" Yui repeated and Naruto glanced at the girls.
"Uhh..." Valerie tried to form a response, "I don't remember well, it happened so fast..."
Naruto chuckled and Kalawarner sweatdropped, "We ended up bumping into each other, was it in a Garden?" He 'asked' the dhamphir.
Getting no response, he took a few bills from his pockets and placed them on the counter, "Well I'm stuffed, what do you say we all go for a walk? Still have plenty of time till night. If I'm not mistaken there is a karaoke nearby that we could go."
"Maybe you shouldn't have eaten six bowls." Kalawarner replied cheekily and Naruto ignored.
"How are karaokes? I never went to one, Naruto-san." Asia said, looking at him with her big, round, green eyes.
"Me neither..." Valerie said from besides her.
"Uhh..." Naruto scratched his chin, "I believe it is a place people go to sing and hang out... To be honest I also never went to one, but I heard about them a couple of times."
Given his rather limited twenty-first century contact list, and people he socialized with, he hardly went to any of the modern socializing places that required other people.
"I don't think I can go, baa-san w-"
"Oh you youngsters have fun! Don't you worry about me, I will be fine." Riho interrupted her granddaughter, "Naruto, you promise to take care of her."
"Baa-san!" Yui protested, she probably would have been taken seriously if it weren't for the a large blush she now had.
"It's okay," Naruto got up and held the back of Yui's arm, "I promise to take good care of her.." If only they knew the seriousness in those words were. Two words that were commonly tossed around by mortals as if they had no meaning or worth.
Riho stared back at him for a few moments and then nodded, "I trust you will, be careful."
"Sure, you have nothing to worry about." He replied and helped Yui get up from her chair, the rest of the girls seeing that it was time to leave, also got up.
"Thanks for the meal, may the lord bless you." Asia told Riho, clasping her hands in a prayer motion.
"It was good..." Valerie said right after, though she probably meant to use the word 'great' given that she had six bowls.
And so the five left in their own, slow pacing, Yui holding onto Naruto's right elbow, an action that brought her many stares from both those that wandered around the city, and those that walked alongside her, mainly Kalawarner, Valerie and Asia for different reasons.
-Near a river at the same time-
Sigh.
"Now how am I supposed to find him..." Azazel said to himself. He had just recently arrived in Kuoh via magic circle along with Dohnaseek, Mittelt and Raynare. Whom were all to his right, looking down as if they were seven year old kids that had just got their ears pulled by their parents.
Azazel became very disappointed with them once Raynare explained what they had done. Not only did they disobey him, they nearly started a war by attacking a servant of the current Lucifer's little sister.
Yet those two things still weren't the worse of it. The worse was that they took help from hilam. Few knew of his existence as a real thing, even less knew about his methods. Crossing the Harvester path was already a sign of bad omen, being in debt to him was even worse.
There generally was only one payment that he accepted, only one thing that Azazel knew that he accepted, and it wasn't gold, silver, art or any type of money. He took souls, it was the payment that he normally took for his services.
Yet for some reason that Azazel knew not, he allowed three to go and only kept one. To Azazel that was very suspicious. So he came to Kuoh in hopes of finding the blond, apologize and pray that it would be squared.
Problem was, he hadn't a clue on how to find him. After all that he had seen in the war, he had took it to avoid the blond to the best of his abilities, plus he hadn't a clue on what race he were, if he knew then he could check the most common places that they go to, to more efficiently avoid him.
Releasing a sigh, Azazel started walking. The other three fallen following close behind, to ashamed to even look at him in the face. Though he himself didn't want to talk with them either.
Just as they were about to leave the riverside, a flapping sound was heard above, making them all look upwards to see a small piece of paper, fluttering along the wind towards them.
Catching it as it passed by him, Azazel's eyes glazed over it's surface.
"Hmm..." He raised his brow and pocketed it away, then glanced around the riverside, "Well okay..."
-In the Occult Research Club-
"Is there something wrong Buchou? Is it about the Exorcist?" Issei asked Rias, whom had just called all of her peerage sans Gaspar to the club room.
"Not this time, Issei. Please sit down." Rias gestured towards the sofa where Kiba was seated at. Koneko was on a separate couch while Akeno was standing near the wall.
Issei wondered for a few seconds what she meant and then sat down, internally cursing Kiba for being handsome.
"Well, as some of you may have noticed, I have been away lately..." She paused as Kiba, Koneko and Issei nodded. "It is because I have been training... I came to notice that as I am now, I am weak and have a lot to learn about my magic."
''But isn't Buchou like super strong?'' Issei asked, with genuine confusion.
Rias resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, he was a real test to her patience, but she had to put up with it, getting angry with him would do her no good, ''I am strong, but not enough. There are many things I can learn... Which brought me to this decision, from now on, during every break possible, we are going to train. I will train with Akeno and you, Issei, will train with Kiba.''
Issei's expression instantly changed into one of disgust upon hearing that he would have to train along with 'Prince Kiba', then changed into one of despair once he realized that he wouldn't have any more free time to watch porn, then changed into one of confusion after noticing a few things. ''Uhh... What about Koneko?''
His question brought all eyes back on Rias, Akeno glaring slightly at her, still mad at her for what she had done.
Releasing a sigh, Rias steeled her nerves and gathered up courage, what was done was done, she would have to tell them sooner or later, ''Koneko won't be training with us... She will be training elsewhere.''
''Elsewhere?'' Issei repeated and Rias turned towards her rook.
''Your training will start tomorrow morning. During your training you won't be going to school, do contracts and... I won't be able to see you through it.'' Rias said sadly, shocking the three.
''...'' Koneko stared back at Rias, it was hard to tell what she was thinking, but thanks to years of knowing each other, Rias could see that she was confused and sad.
''S-so Koneko will be going to a training camp?'' Issei asked and Rias mentally thanked him for putting it that way. Calling it a training camp made it sound much simpler than it was.
''Sort of, yeah... Only one of us can go, and you're the most compatible with it, you okay with that?'' She asked the white-haired nekomata, bending down in front of her so that she was eye level.
''...'' Koneko stared at her for a few seconds and nodded. What Koneko didn't know was that the question was rhetoric, she didn't have a say or a choice, and Rias didn't want to find out what could happen.
-Later somewhere else-
''Yup, this looks like the place.'' Azazel said to himself, checking the paper that he found earlier and comparing the address to the structure in front of him. Looking at his watch, he then noticed that there were still five minutes till the time written in the paper: Nine Pm.
He couldn't say that he was expecting the type of place for a meeting, but given what it was, he wouldn't complain because it was actually his type of thing. It was a night club, a very fancy one by that, three stories tall, filled with people inside and outside trying to get in.
Ignoring the rather large line of people trying to get in, he along with his subordinates went straight to the front and stopped by the 2 guards in the entrance, the first a simple brown haired man and the second a guy with black and blond hair. The amount of power
"The boss is waiting for you inside. He will take you to him.'' The one with mixed hair-colors said, gesturing to the brown haired one. The amount of power that he radiated was enough to make all of Azazel's danger senses go haywire, he was powerful, very much so, and wasn't in the least timid about showing it.
The inside of the club was dark and crowded with people dancing and making out, there were several poles spread across it with dancers on it, on the side on top was the cabin for the dj, on either side there were two bars. The guard guided the fallen angels and opened way through the crowd until they reached a part with several couches near the wall with tables.
On the last one, in a closed off area were Naruto and Kalawarner, both on a couch with two bottles of champagne on top of it and six glasses. Naruto seemed relaxed, his body was leaned back and his arms slack, while Kalawarner seemed a mixture of embarrassed and flustered, her clothing was her usual uniform, but for some reason to Raynare and the rest that knew her, she seemed different.
"Right on time, Azazel. Take a seat." Naruto gestured to the couches opposite to his own.
Azazel glanced between the bottles, the couches, Naruto and the glasses. Trying to find anything 'off' about them, but since everything was as it seemed and he didn't want to offend, he obeyed.
"To what do I owe the visit, don't think you came just to chat with little ol' me." Naruto said and started to pour champagne on their glasses.
Azazel looked at his glasses but didn't pick it up, "I came here on their behalf, I feel that it is best for me to apologize and make amends for what they had done. Even though they acted on their own accord, I am still responsible for them."
"I know, drink." Naruto ordered, sliding Azazel's glass closer to him. "I already took my payment, but if you want to make amends, then I can think of something."
A bead of sweat fell down Azazel's face, here he was, only a meter away from him. Now Azazel was no coward, he had fought against both God and Maous, Heros and Dragons, and he knew the creature in front of him was on a different level. The memory was still vivid in his mind, the countless that he had slaughtered during the war, the futile attempts to stall and kill him, which only resulted in the death of more and more of his men, all without suffering a scratch.
He was nervous, and it took all that he had to not show it. But nonetheless, he took the glass and drank it all in one shot.
"Think of something...? About that, I was wondering if it is possible for us to come to a deal for her soul. She is one of my own, she has information on my organisation." Azazel replied and Naruto's eyes hardened.
"Her soul is non-negotiable, if you had something I wanted, you wouldn't be sitting where you are now. Her soul is mine and it will remain like that until I decide to either eat it, or release it, none of which I intend on doing anytime soon. But none of those things are why I invited you here."
''And that would be?'' Azazel asked, glancing at the three fallen besides him.
''I wanted to know what you think of this place. Some humans were kind enough to donate it to me and then I gave a personal touch." He replied, and Azazel instantly knew that said humans probably didn't exist anymore.
Azazel looked around, the place was nicely made, too nicely for it to be the work of a common humans. He could feel that there were several supernatural creatures of various types mixed among the people, he could identify one of the dancers as a low-level youkai along with two other bartender. He couldn't tell what species or faction the heterochromatic man that he met in the entrance belonged to, but given his aura, he was quite sure that he belonged to the higher godly tiers.
''Under other circumstances I could actually enjoy a place like this. Is there a purpose for this?'' Azazel asked
''This is a Neutral Zone, any type of aggression is forbidden in here. The creatures you may have noticed are all factionless, blending in with the human world is difficult when you're a outcast or a renegade." Naruto gestured toward one of the dancers afar. Things were indeed difficult for outcasts, getting a job was problematic without the proper documents and references, and attracting unwanted attention.
''A Neutral Zone huh, those are hard to come by.'' Azazel replied, relaxing a bit. Neutral places were extremely rare, for a place to become truly 'Neutral', the god taking care of the area needed to not have any problems with any other faction, or simply not be affiliated with any, he also would need to be powerful enough to enforce the 'no-aggression' rule. The person needed to be powerful and respected by the gods of other pantheons, which was hard to happen.
On another case, the host of the Neutral Zone had to be feared, something that the blond in front of him was very much so, especially by those that knew about his existence.
''Ah and before I end up forgetting...'' He turned to Kalawarner, ''you start tomorrow.''
''What?'' She asked in disbelief. ''You fucking with me?'' She complained and the moment that those words came out of her mouth, she regretted it.
Naruto stared at her blankly for a few seconds, his cross-shaped eyes dilating into a diamond or kite pattern. The tension in the air became thicker and Azazel placed his right hand inside his coat, onto the Down Fall Dragon Spear, until all the pressure went away and his eyes reverted into their 'normal' state. ''Watch your tone when you speak with me, this is your first warning...'' He sighed, ''I won't simply hand over money to you, while I can I know it would only damage your almost non-existent pride. So you will work for it in here during the weekends in which you aren't training.''
Kalawarner nodded quickly, daring not to open her mouth.
''Good.'' Naruto leaned back into his chair. ''Besides, you're already half-way into the job just by how you dress anyway.''
Kalawarner's cheeks immediately lighted up like a light bulb.
It was also the very first time somebody had pointed out her style of dress, even though it wasn't a complement. In heaven everybody of her rank used similar clothes, nobody cared if you walked naked in the Grigori and most people she had apart from those two circles mostly ended up dead or trying to make her get off the clothes, but never had anybody called her out on it, for good or bad.
''You had mentioned that you could think of something to help make amends, what would that be?'' Azazel asked, trying to get back into the conversation.
''Well, you could start explaining why I can smell dragons on you, and why is it so familiar to me.'' Naruto replied, looking Azazel dead in the eyes.
'Shit.' Azazel thought, getting nervous.
''Ah, of course...'' Naruto then said, getting up from his chair and walking towards Azazel, making all of the fallen tense, ''No wonder you seemed familiar, it's good to see you again, Fafnir. Almost didn't recognize you in that little toy.''
He then reached inside Azazel's coat and pulled out the Down Fall Dragon Spear. Azazel would have at least tried to stop him, but no matter how much he wanted it to, his body simply wouldn't obey.
''This is actually pretty decent, not quite on the level of the Longinous, but also not down there with the lower tiers. I had heard rumors about you research on the Sacred Gears, but this is the very first one I have seen, and while this thing would probably be incapable of bringing out Fafnir's full power, it certainly is a nice piece of work...'' Naruto said after inspecting the Artificial Sacred Gear, then placed it back into Azazel's inner pocket.
With the device now with him once more, Azazel started to regain control over his body, along with the other fallen there present.
"... Ah Albion... In a half devil host? No wonder I couldn't identify his smell." Naruto said with a smile, shocking Azazel.
"What?! How do-"
"I know this?" Naruto interrupted and then gestured towards his head with his thumb. Well you told me, sort of."
"How dare you attack Azazel-sama! You will pay!" Dohnaseek growled and glared at the blond. Making Naruto shift his gaze onto him.
There was no energy spike and no warning whatsoever. Dohnaseek who was sitting right there in front of them, suddenly vanished before their very eyes, a speck of dust falling onto the couch after he disappeared
Then without a care in the world, he shifted his gaze back onto Azazel, whom was gritting his teeth in anger.
"Ooo, how scary, such wicked thoughts. Sadly however, your subordinate is still alive, somewhere in Africa. Like I said before, this is a non-aggression area. Can't guarantee you that he arrived in one piece." Naruto chuckled and then took a sip from his glass.
"For your sake, he better be." Azazel replied with narrowed eyes, making Naruto raise a brow in amusement.
"C'mon Azazel-chan, this intimidation thing just isn't your gig. We both know there are no bullets in your 'gun', you don't even know what I am. But that aside, I really didn't call you here for a fight," he then glanced at the other fallens including Kalawarner, making them all tense. "The big boys need to talk so enjoy the club and have fun."
-Many years ago In the Underworld-
"This the place." Sirzechs said to his peerage of Grayfia, MacGregor, Souji, Surtr and Beowulf. Gesturing towards a medium sized tree in the middle of a plateau.
''So this is where he trained you, what's with the tree?" Beowulf, the newest member of the peerage asked. The casualness in which he spoke to Sirzech seemed to 'tick' his fellow demon companions sans Sirzechs.
"This is a Spirit Tree, they aren't supposed to exist anymore, especially not in the Underwood. I would say that it is a little far from home." MacGregor said, inspecting the tree.
"Indeed it is, he planted it there after I finished my training... Well I don't think I can call it training, he would sit where that tree is, I would ask questions on how to improve my abilities and he would tell me what exercises I should do. Can't say we had a relationship, he was sort of a dick back then, but he was the only one who actually helped." Sirzechs replied, going over to the tree.
"He must be strong." Surtr spoke with his usual gruff tone.
Sirzechs rubbed his chin in thought. "I never seen him fight personally and the books about him aren't trustworthy, books never are. Though for him to last this long he must be really strong, but I'm confidant we are more. I think we can beat him."
"How do you plan on bringing him here?" MacGregor asked, still inspecting the tree.
"Like this." Sirzechs said and countless small orbs of destruction appeared around him.
''Wait!'' MacGregor exclaimed, seeing what his king was about to do. ''Are you sure this is wise? These trees are extremely rare, very few exist in the surface and this is the very first of it's kind to appear in the Underworld.''
''It isn't wise, but it is the only way I can think of to get him to show up. Tried tracking him down but he's good at staying off the radar. Now step aside." Sirzechs ordered and his bishop obeyed, then With a mental command, all of the orbs went towards the tree and started to erase it, leaving not a single leaf of it behind.
"He should be coming now, stay close to me." Sirzechs commanded and then looked up to the sky, which was quickly becoming dark. The ground started to rumble and a streak of dark light descended where the tree once was.
''I-Incredible... What an overwhelming presence!'' MacGregor said as a silhouette became clear. A tall, blond male wearing a dark, tattered and torn long sleeved coat, opened in the left side showing his crimson tattooed left arm.
''My Spirit Tree..." The man growled, locking eyes with Sirzechs, "You have quite the nerve to destroy one of my filters."
Sirzechs narrowed his eyes back at the man and met his glare. ''I needed to get your attention somehow, Naruto. You have been eluding me for quite some time now.''
''You inflate your significance if you believe I would actually try to avoid you, your incompetence is all your fault, but now you have my attention...'' He started walking in Sirzech's direction, making all his peerage tense and ready themselves ''I have nothing to discuss with you anymore, whatever you have to say better be good, for they might be your last words.''
His aura then skyrocketed, shattering the ground beneath them and making Sirzechs and his peerage take several steps back.
''I-I...'' Sirzechs tried to find the correct words, but the closer the blond came, the worse the feeling was. Grayfia and the rest weren't fairing any better, Beowulf, Surtr and Souji were all struggling to stay on their feet and remain conscious. ''... I came here to convince you to join my peerage.''
The words escaped his mouth and he cursed himself mentally. He had prepared an entire speech for when he found the blond, but the pressure imposed on him nuked all thoughts of any speech he had prepared. However what Sirzechs didn't know, was that it was in fact one of his abilities. By imposing his presence and will, he could clear all thoughts of those around him and force them to say the truth.(1)
''Peerage?" Naruto repeated, stopping a few meters away from them.
''Yes, they are groups based on Chess. Everyone in the group represents one or more piece of Chess.'' Sirzechs quickly answered, recovering a bit of his composure.
''I see... Let me guess, you're the king? Hmm... That explains the bond I sense between you and them...'' He glanced at his Peerage. ''You seriously had to destory my tree for this? I don't take after d?.'' He said and the world around them changed, replaced for grassy plateau with several mountains on the background.
The sudden change place all of the devils on the edge, there was no warning, no magic spike, nothing.
''Humph,'' Naruto snorted, ''The soil is still good, won't take me much to recreate the tree. The Underworld is too inappropriate for battle, this place can take damage better. This is a dimension of my own, it used to belong to a certain goddess, but she won't be needing it anymore... Let's see how much you have grown, Sirzechs, if you want to make me bow, then I welcome you to try."
Souji, Surtr and Beowulf glanced at each other and then at Sirzechs who nodded at them, launched themselves towards Naruto. Souji arrived first, appearing in front of the blond in the blink of an eye, sword unsheathed and ready to bisect his opponent.
However just as the blade reached it's target, Naruto bent backwards in a ninety-degree angle, making Souji pass by harmlessly. Quickly spinning around, Souj launched himself towards Naruto once more, picking up even more speed as he went.
Not even a little impressed by his speed, Naruto side-stepped his slash and glanced upwards to see Surtr falling towards him, body blazing with a intense orange fire. The Fire Giant impacted harshly against the floor, bringing up a cloud of dust, something that didn't hinder their sight one bit.
Macgregor extended his right hand upwards and a dark magical circle appeared in front of it, and from it shot a bolt of dark lightning towards the now airborne blond. However just as it reached him, he vanished in a burst of speed.
Seeing it all, Grayfia took a step forward aimed her right hand towards where Naruto was landing, and just as his feet touched the ground, he was encased in a large pillar of ice.
''You got him!'' Beowulf exclaimed, looking at the frozen man, but Grayfia shook her head in a 'no' gesture.
''Afterimage.'' She replied, just as the image of the blond started to fade within the ice-pillar.
''Too slow.'' Said a voice from behind them, making them all turn towards the source, to find Naruto sitting in a tree's branch with a half-eaten apple on his hand. ''If this is all you guys can do, then I'm disappoint- huh?''
Naruto stopped as he noticed the several crimson orbs around him.
''I'm much stronger than when I was a little kid, Naruto. Just give up and join my peerage, serving me won't be that bad.'' Sirzechs replied with a smirk, which soon turned into a frown when he noticed Naruto's look. It wasn't the look one would expect to give when cornered, he didn't show any fear or nervousness, instead he seemed bored.
Naruto chuckled and dropped the apple, letting it fall onto a orb and be reduced into nothingness. ''You overestimate yourself too much if you really think these things can hurt me. Yea it's a nice technique, but sorry...Nice isn't enough.''
Suddenly all of the orbs vanished, completely disappeared into nothingness, and Naruto hopped off the branch.
'What technique was that?' Sirzechs thought, narrowing his eyes. 'I need to see it again.'
''Well I guess I will have to make you take me serious then.'' Naruto said and then glanced at Surtr.
''Raarrrrrgggggghhhhhhh!'' Surtr shouted in fury, growing fully into his giant form and completely igniting his body aflame. The suddenness of the action sending Beowulf and Souji flying backwards. The knight getting the worse of it due to being the nearest of the two.
''That might be a problem...'' Naruto told Sirzechs from besides him, and right when the red-head created a Orb of Destruction, he vanished.
Surtr then charged a fire ball in his hand and shot it at Sirzechs and Grayfia's direction.
Reacting fast, Grayfia created a massive ice-spike in between them and the Giant, throwing him off his balance and making him fall backwards, causing a small tremor to happen, ''I will deal with him, you deal with Naruto!'' She then shouted, freezing the ground below Surtr. Her ice however didn't last long, being completely evaporated by the giant's flame short after.
''I will help yo- agh!'' MacGregor got beside her and prepared several magical circles, until a sharp pain made it's presence in his chest, making him fall on his knees and cough several globs of blood.
''Fuck.'' Sirzechs cursed under his breath upon seeing the condition of his bishop. Then started darting his eyes around the area in search for Naruto, which he found besides Beowulf, who was also on his knees, but unlike MacGregor, he wasn't coughing up blood, he was instead stuffing his mouth with red raw meat, which was conveniently placed in front of him in a large basket.
The Naruto besides Beowulf then turned into dust right as a red beam struck it.
''You missed.'' Naruto said from behind the man, making him quickly whirl around towards him, a magical circle already formed in front of his hands. On his knees in front of the blond was Souji, his hand resting on top of the knight's head.
''Because of the time we spent together, I will let you into a little secret. Every time I absorb a soul, I can learn anything that made it special... So I present to you War, Pestilence and Famine,'' he gestured towards Surtr, MacGregor and Beowulf with his free hand, ''I think we both know which of the quartet is missing? Is this enough for you to take me seriously?''
Death.
The only one missing was Death itself. The strongest and most ruthless of the Four Horsemen.
''I-Impossible.'' Sirzechs replied, gritting his teeth in anger.
''On the contrary, it's very much possible and I will unleash it on him and the rest of your kind if you think I am playing around. It is my job to destroy any faction that brings imbalance to the world, Death and Pestilence caused quite the ruckus during the Black Plague, I had to bring them to a halt. So c'mon take the shot." Naruto said and Sirzech's right arm became covered with an immense amount of Destruction.
The ground started to shake, Surtr stopped his rampage against Grayfia to turn towards the two, MacGregor stopped throwing up and Beowulf ceased his 'assault' on the never-ending basket of meat.
''That's more like it...'' Naruto grinned and Sirzechs disappeared. The next thing he knew a crimson fist impacted against his face. Creating an enormous shockwave and sending him flying backwards.
Flipping around and adjusting himself in the air, Naruto landed a good hundred meters away with a smudge of blood on his lips and red burnt mark on his cheek, the latter vanishing and healing completely a second later. ''Hah! That's the spirit!''
The blond met him mid way and both fists clashed against one another, flesh meeting against Pure Destruction. Empowered by his fury, Sirzechs retreated his arm and disappeared in a burst of speed, appearing behind the blond in the same instant with his right leg completely covered in the Power of Destruction.
Lifting his right arm just in time, Naruto blocked the kick and sent a left-handed hook towards Sirzechs stomach, only for the red-head to disappear again and appear besides him, with his left hand aimed towards the blond's heart. Though Naruto's senses proved to be more than just a match against Sirzechs's speed, and so he spun around evading the hit and sending a palm thrust towards the devil's chest, striking him flat on and sending him flying backwards.
Releasing his wings and correcting himself in the air Sirzechs immediately launched himself towards Naruto, whom also launched himself towards Sirzechs, kicking the air and clashing with him mid-flight. The two exchanged three or four punches each in the air until Naruto kicked him downwards.
Impacting harshly against the ground, Sirzechs quickly got up and launched himself towards Naruto again, half of his body now covered in the Power of Destruction. The two met by exchanging jabs on their faces, every punch of Sirzechs hits leaving bruises that would heal a second after, while Naruto's made his limbs empowered by the PoD flicker, though that didn't stop it from spreading across his body until it completely covered him.
For each punch Sirzechs landed on Naruto, the blond would return one back of equal potency, until after the fourth exchange, Naruto got the upper hand and punched him in the gut, taking away his breath and sending to the floor.
Though his fury wouldn't let him stay in the ground, not after what the blond had done to his Peerage, his people, so with even more rage, he got up and delivered a uppercut on the blond and followed up with a punch towards his chest, and another towards his face, chest, face, gaining more and more momentum after each and every single punch.
Somewhere along the way he had turned fully into the PoD, and in a punch towards Naruto's face, he stopped, or better yet, was stopped. Naruto's scilera had gone completely black and pupils changed into a diamond shape. Not even a bruise was made from the punch.
Grabbing his arm with his right hand, Naruto kneed him in the gut, punched him with his left hand and then roundhouse kicked him away.
''I commend you Sirzechs, you're the first to ever push me this far, but this as far as you will go." Naruto said, as Sirzechs struggled to get up.
His body felt numb and his senses had turned dull, every single hit he had taken was excruciatingly painful, but the last three took the cake. His ears had became deaf, his organs were busted and his ribs had turned into powder, yet he still had to go on, it was the one thing the blond had taught him, to never give up.
Coughing some blood onto the floor, he mustered up some strength and slowly got back up, then covered himself in the PoD once more.
"So be it then." Naruto said to himself as Sirzechs flew towards him. In truth he was rather proud of how strong he had become, damaging him wasn't an easy task, even if his regeneration simply nullified it all, making him bleed was a true accomplishment. Yet despite his feelings of pride for his former 'student', a fight was a fight.
Dodging Sirzechs's punch, he kicked him in the gut and punched his shoulder, dissipating the PoD that coated those areas.
He then tried to grab Naruto, whom stepped aside and delivered a punch to his face and kicked him to the ground, completely dissipating what remained of his PoD.
"Is this truly all you got?" Naruto asked him, staring at the back of his head. "Then I should probably end those servants of yours." He turned his back on him and started walking in the direction where Grayfia and the rest were, far in the horizon with a large, cracked barrier around them.
Sirzechs couldn't hear him, his ears were completely destroyed by the blond's punches, but he did know where it was that he was going, and he couldn't allow it. Mustering whatever remained of his strength and got up one more time.
Seeing the red-head getting up in the corner of his eyes, Naruto turned to him once more.
It wasn't just about himself anymore, it also wasn't just about his peerage, much more was at stake. He couldn't allow such a powerful foe to get away, he had to do something about it. So he covered himself in the PoD once more, only that this time he was giving it his all, every bit and drop of magic that he had. It was it, all or nothing.
Space warped around him as he dashed towards the blond, that didn't move a single muscle, he just stood there and waited.
The Crimson Devil struck the former human straight in the chest with the power of a hundred nukes, creating a massive explosion that lighted up area completely.
Ba-dum.
A heartbeat was heard in the crimson span.
Ba-dum... Ba-dum.
The sound became even more clear as the light started to dim down, to reveal a gigantic crater, with Sirzechs standing in the middle, Naruto on the ground, the entire right side of his body missing.
''It's over...'' Sirzechs sighed, falling down on his knees, his vision fading away as the stress of the battle came in.
Clap. Clap.
His eyes widened upon hearing the sound of a set of palms meeting against each other a few feet behind him, and he once more glanced downwards, where Naruto's corpse was, only for it to turn into dust and disappear.
''Impressive...'' Naruto said stopping a feet behind him.
Sirzechs would turn around to face his blond enemy if he could, but his body simply wouldn't obey him anymore.
''I'm impressed, that really was a dangerous technique, I would be in some serious trouble if I hadn't switched myself with a clone in the last moment... Or not.'' Naruto grinned, not that the devil could see it though, he was on his last legs, he had given it his all, and failed...
Ploft.
Sirzechs fell to the ground, completely exhausted, and just as he fell, the right half of his body started falling apart, his arm, leg, ribs.
''You're the first to push me this far in a very long time. I know that someday somebody will rise and best me, but it won't be today and it won't be you...'' Naruto pointed his palm towards him and a small dark orb with four whirling blades appeared on it.
''Good-bye.''
-!
Just as he was about to release it, a wave of ice magic passed by and froze whatever left of the ground that he was standing on, including his feet and Sirzechs.
''Hmm?'' He turned towards the source of the magic, completely ignoring the ice encasing his feet as if they weren't even there, shattering and destroying it as if they weren't even there.
The source turned out to be Grayfia, Sirzech's trusted Queen. Her body was badly burnt, her clothes were torn to a few unrecognizable rags and her skin was dripping with blood, the results of her battle with the fire giant and the collateral damage of his fight with Sirzechs.
Looking back at Sirzechs, Naruto realized that the attack wasn't meant for himself, instead it was aimed at the red-head.''You stopped his bleeding by freezing him solid. A clever plan, but it won't work. Even under the absurd chances that you somehow manage to grab him from me, leave this dimension and rebuild his body. The rest of his body will eventually end up collapsing on itself for not having a complete soul.''
Showing no signs of actually hearing him, Grayfia fumbled forward and collapsed, then started rolling down the crater, losing momentum at the half mark of it.
''Hmm..." Naruto stared at her for a few seconds then glanced back at Sirzechs.
Snap.
He snapped his fingers and all the other members of Sirzechs's Peerage appeared on the ground, every single one of them frozen solid in a very thick and dense shard of ice, which was probably the only reason they survived the collateral damage.
Naruto sighed, "Killing such a promising team would be such a waste, but I can't just let you all walk out of here, you know too much..." he locked his eyes on Grayfia's back
(2)
-Present day-
"Is something troubling you, Sirzechs-sama?" Asked a certain silver haired devil, Grayfia Lucifuge, Sirzech's Queen
Both were in now in his office in the Capital, Grayfia standing by the door and Sirzechs sitting on the his chair, shirtless looking at his hand. His tunic and upper clothes thrown in the ground carelessly.
Grayfia didn't even feel like reprimand him for the mess, not this time.
A magical circle then appeared on top of his hand and passed by, dispersing the illusion he himself had placed on it and replacing his skin on the entire right side of his body for a onyx armor plating, ''I was so foolish, I was too confidant in my power, I thought that after so much training, and because of my mistake you ended up paying the price...'' Sirzechs got up from his chair.
''The disappearance of the Tepes Faction has his name written all over it, he is on to something. It has been almost two centuries since he last made an appearance, and he is resuming his work... I will have to discuss this with Ajuka, Serafall and Falbium. We still don't have any weapon capable of taking him out."
He casted the illusion over his body once more," I must make sure that they stay out of his path. I still wasn't a Maou back when we fought, so to him I was probably only a brat discovering my space on the world. Now if a Maou attack him, he may see it as a declaration of war from our race... " He sighed, ''I should also check on Ria-tan, would be horrible if he finds out about her existence.''
(1) - He has used this ability on Rias a lot. It is one of the reasons she occasionally says crap in here. Sometimes she does have a more subtle approach, but he forces her to throw them away and say her true desires.
(2) - This Sirzechs while still using his normal techniques, is more of a fist fighter than in the DxD. He is also a bit stronger and faster due to better training. He is also younger in that part.
I didn't write the Karaoke part on purpose. It will be very important later on.
For pairings, my mind is a bit hazy, I'm testing grounds. Yui is the first candidate, will think about others.
As I wrote in a previous chapter, Naruto's body is made of both Great Red's flesh and Ophis Power. Ophis can take on the True Longinous into the chest without bleeding.