Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD. This is a non-profit-based work.
Note: Once again I'd like to thank you all for your support. All of the reviews so far have been supportive and encouraging. Safe to say my motivation for writing has returned, I don't think I've ever written this much within a single week.
I've taken a lot of your words into consideration. The other Bijuu won't make an appearance here, so I do apologize if some of you wanted that. I also had suggestions to keep Naruto's peerage pure DxD, but I'll have to disappoint here. I'll be using characters from other series, and try my best to make them fit into the world with their own backstory and the like.
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-Chapter 3-
Return to the Underworld.
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It had been a week since Naruto arrived in Kyoto, a week since he had met Kurama along with the run-in with Kuroka. The majority of the time had been spent catching up, and it was safe to say that Kurama was beyond amused that Naruto had gone from first being born as a nobody with nothing, to a high-class devil that grew up in a luxurious mansion.
How the tables had turned.
The Youkai had started accepting the presence after the first few days. Well, at least a bit more. They were still wary of him, but after they saw how good friends he was with Kurama already, they were at least willing to talk in a friendly manner with him.
They were currently still in Kyoto, but with his schedule, he was planning on returning to the Underworld soon… but first, a friendly spar was in order.
So at the moment… They were in a secluded section of the forest with a barrier to conceal their activities.
Naruto could be seen with a grin on his face as he rushed across the green forest floor, trading blow for blow with his newest and first peerage member.
With a laugh, he spun through the air and sent a kick toward Kurama's head, which the Youkai blocked with his forearm.
Each blow got increasingly heavier and faster, as they picked up the pace. Though, none of them had yet to land a hit on the other. Every punch and kick was parried or evaded, and every time they clashed, a powerful shockwave swept across the grass and leaves.
The mere sound of the power would be enough for ordinary people to think there were chain explosions going off in the woods.
Thank Satan for barriers.
Kurama grinned as he pushed the leg away and tried to sweep the dark-haired opponent off his feet, to which Naruto flipped backward and out of the way.
Not giving him a chance to catch his breath, Naruto ran forward and ducked under a strong right hook, sending his fist flying toward Kurama's chest.
With a wide smirk, the newly reincarnated devil caught Naruto's wrist before it could land, and used this new position to slam his fist up toward his opponent's stomach with all the strength he could muster.
Naruto steadied his footing as he raised his hand, catching the incoming fist with the palm of his hand, but the mere force behind it was enough to make his muscles feel the strain throughout his arm.
They stood for a while and tried to overpower the other, a struggle that was in Kurama's favor, but as the full-blooded devil began to feel his footing slip he threw the fist to the side, knelt down, and swept a leg into the side of Kurama's knee.
The Youkai grunted as he was forced to kneel down, allowing Naruto the opportunity to leap backward.
Kurama had to chuckle as he rose back to his feet, "It's good to see you haven't gotten weak upon dying," He complimented and cracked his knuckles.
Naruto landed on his feet again and dusted his jacket off, "I could say the same to you!" He shouted back.
Despite how short the fight had been so far, he could already tell the key differences in their fighting styles. Kurama easily had the advantage in strength, but he was fast enough to render that advantage null.
Kurama's fists certainly hurt a lot more than his own did, but the number of attacks he could manage in comparison was greater, with that taken into consideration, they were equally balanced so far.
Not feeling finished yet, the fox ran forward with a fist cocked behind his head. He slammed it into the ground as the dirt exploded up into a small cloud.
Naruto's eyes widened at the distraction as he saw a fist escape out through the debrief in the air. He quickly fell to his knees and leaned backward, watching the fist graze past his face.
Rotating around he placed his palm on the ground and sent a roundhouse kick at Kurama's midsection.
Unable to see it coming from his own makeshift smokescreen, Kurama coughed in surprise as some of the air was knocked out of his lungs.
'Not bad kit.' He smirked and prepared himself for the attacks that would undoubtedly follow.
And just as expected, Naruto rotated out of the dirt and through the air as he sent two quick kicks from above to Kurama's chest that he managed to parry to the side.
He snickered and leaped back into the air as he spread his tails out, "Why don't we take this to the next level?" He asked with a large grin, as orbs of bluish-green fire blazed into existence in front of each of his tails.
Naruto's eyes widened a bit, before he smirked in return, 'So this is the foxfire I've heard so much about. I better not get hit by that.' He thought and took a step back, preparing to let loose a little.
Kurama took this as an acknowledgment and thrust his palm forward, whereupon the fireballs bolted forward, spiraling through the air whilst leaving behind a blue trail of embers in the air.
The fire roared, lighting up the ground and torching the grass without even being in direct contact.
With a surprised look, Naruto quickly spread out his arms and muttered the simple sentence, "Time Magic: Chrono Stasis."
Confused and slightly scared at the sight of Naruto just opening his arms up to the attack, Kurama was prepared to distinguish the attack before surprise overtook him and his eyes widened in an instant…
Every fireball had stopped in place.
Naruto felt the heat of the air hit his face and rush through his clothes as blue spheres with orbiting rings filled with Roman numerals encased the foxfire, pausing their advance a mere meter away from him.
"Oi… what the hell is that?" Kurama suddenly asked, a mixed hint of both astonishment and disappointment in his tone as he had kind of hoped they'd hit.
With a chuckle, Naruto let his left hand fall to his side and twisted his right in the air, causing the blue spheres to dissipate into nothingness alongside the bluish-green flames within them, "My inherent magic ability has the affinity of time itself. And this was a stasis spell, in which I can forward or reverse the time of whatever is trapped inside."
A sweatdrop slid down Kurama's forehead as he clenched his fist.
Naruto was about to ask if he was okay but was caught off guard as the queen of his peerage roared out laughing whilst clutching his stomach.
"You never cease to surprise me, Naruto…" He started, as he calmed down slightly, "The boy who ran out of time, got the affinity for time itself…"
A sheepish chuckle escaped his lips as he ran a hand through his dark locks, "It's not like I do it on purpose."
Kurama kept laughing for a bit before he slammed his fist to his palm, with a determined look, "If that's the case, I'll just have to kick your ass faster than you can stop time. What do you say, care to find out who is stronger?"
"Isn't this what we've tried determining this entire time?" Naruto laughed and crouched down, preparing to take off.
The fox snorted loudly, "Come on, we both know we've been holding back since the start. Or are you just too much of a coward?"
Naruto's brow twitched, "Say that again once I've won."
"You'll try." Kurama quickly laughed and clapped his hands together, before slamming his fist to the earth. Grasping his forearm as it hit the dirt, a magic circle appeared beneath his feet as a ring of blue flames exploded from the ground around him.
The young devil grinned and held up his palm, "Time Magic: Infinite Sphere!" He shouted as the blue orb he had used to send Bikou flying spun into existence in his hand.
Kurama had to acknowledge the sheer magic power radiating through the air as he prepared to raise the ring of flames into a protective dome.
Before their attacks could collide, a loud cough from the side of the clearing caught their attention.
Naruto raised a brow as he turned his head to spot the blonde leader of the Youkai faction walking over with her daughter in tow, as he slowly dispersed the magic - whilst Kurama canceled the ring of flames orbiting around him.
Yasaka chuckled as she stopped in between them, "As much as I enjoy seeing the two of you getting along so well, I'll have to ask the both of you to refrain from burning down my forests. Barrier or not, such a forest fire won't be easy to cover up."
The orange-haired man raised a brow, "You're overexaggerating."
She raised a brow, "Am I really now? Your foxfire burns several times hotter than any ordinary flame, and your master uses a spell that contains condensed air. Or did I sense it wrong, Naruto-san?"
Naruto blinked and scratched his neck, "You hit the nail on the head actually."
She gave a nod of confirmation, "So tell me, will I have to explain what happens when such a quantity of air does when it comes in contact with such powerful flames?"
Kurama's cheeks flared up a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest, but he decided not to answer.
Yasaka had to stop a smirk from forming on her lips, "Thought so, regardless, I see that you picked a strong king to follow. I hope this event will be able to help us form a friendship in the future."
Naruto could only nod in agreement to that, though he had actually never thought about it that way. He may have been more knowledgeable in politics this time around because of his sister being a Satan, but all he had really thought about was getting his friend back.
"Whatever, I'm clearly stronger. I was inches from kicking his ass back to where he came from." Kurama grunted, with a mild smirk.
She had been used to this behavior from Kurama, so in order to mess with him, she chuckled and shot a glance in the young devil's direction, "That so? From where I stood, I thought our guest was winning."
Not that it was wrong, there was something different about this devil. And she'd have loved to find out more about it, but she did prefer her forests intact instead.
Kurama had to calm down his annoyance as his brow twitched dangerously, and was only further irritated by the sound of Naruto's obnoxious laughter at the revelation.
The young girl that stood beside her mother couldn't help but comment on the look on her uncle figure's face, "I'd have to agree with my mother."
Naruto couldn't see if the girl was smirking or not from his position, but Kurama almost deflated like a balloon which was making his day.
It was interactions like this that really did make him wonder if he made the right choice when he turned Kurama into a part of his peerage. Sure, they had fought a war together and died together, but he seemed content here. Accepted and, despite the teasing, happy.
His new life here was vastly different from the Elemental Nations, and he was starting to wonder if taking Kurama away from this would be a good idea.
Eventually, Kunou turned to face their guest, and with a curious expression asked, "So how long will you stay?"
At that question, even Kurama had his eyes pointed at him.
He scratched the back of his head, "I planned on going back this evening."
"So soon?" Yasaka asked with a mild frown.
With a small frown he nodded, "Yeah, I have to go back. My sister might send someone to look for me if I don't, and I also have matters I need to attend to. Though with your permission I'd love to come to visit again."
Kunou smiled as she stared at him, "You better."
"Kunou?" Yasaka asked as she watched her daughter with interest.
The young girl gave a small chuckle, "After all, you can't say you like staying in Kyoto before you've had the full tour."
Naruto had to blink as he analyzed those words, he couldn't stop himself from smiling, "With your mom's permission I'll come back soon. Then you can show me around if you want."
Kunou looked up expectantly at her mother, which Yasaka had to adore. Even if she was practically treated like a princess, her childish innocence warmed her heart.
The older woman nodded her head in the devil's direction, "As long as you let me know ahead of time, I see no issue. Now, I'll have to leave, but please come by for dinner before you depart."
Naruto gave a small mock salute, as he watched the two Youkai women leave the clearing.
Kurama took this as his cue to walk over, as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Kunou has taken a liking to you."
"She has?"
He rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed, it's not exactly hard to see. It reminds me of how that brat Konohamaru looked at you."
Naruto barked out laughing, "Except she is much more well-behaved than Konohamaru ever was."
Kurama snickered, "That's for sure. If she behaved like that brat I'd have gone off the map ages ago."
"You're quite close, aren't you?" Naruto asked in a soft tone.
The fox raised a brow before he turned his gaze away with a shrug, "I don't exactly kiss ass. So she took my attitude differently than most would."
Naruto turned to look at him, "What do you mean?"
He turned back to meet the gaze, "She is practically a princess. The amount of respect she is shown is way too much for a child if you ask me. I don't kiss ass, no matter who they are, so she seemed to like that."
"So she likes you because you treat her differently?"
Kurama shrugged, "Perhaps, though I don't think she minds her treatment because she knows how important her mom is. But kids get curious about new things. So we ended up spending some time together."
"I see," Naruto thought out loud as he crouched down and watched the forest around him, seemingly getting deep in thought.
With a snort, Kurama tapped his foot against the devil's leg, "What're you thinking about? It looks painful."
Naruto had to roll his eyes, before he smiled slightly, "You sure you want to come with me? You can stay here if you want."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
He closed his eyes for a bit, as he started plucking strands of grass idly, "You seem content here. Compared to how life was in the Elemental Nations for you, this place must be amazing. I don't want to drag you away, just because of a bond we once had."
Kurama's eyes narrowed slightly as he placed a foot on the dark-haired boy's back and pushed him down to the ground, as he towered above him, "Do you think I spent the last twenty-five years waiting for you to appear, just to be left behind? Stupid Ningen."
Naruto's eyes widened slightly before he chuckled. With a shake of his head, he rose back to his feet and dusted his clothes off, "Well, technically I'm a devil now. You may have to rethink those insults on the road."
He rolled his eyes in return. "Congratulations. You have finally begun to touch upon my reputation. Now get your stupid ass moving, we probably got work to do, don't we?"
As he readjusted his jacket, Naruto stuck his hands inside his pockets, "Yeah, I need to have a conversation with my sister. That thing with Kuroka is unsettling me."
"How so?"
He turned to watch his companion, "What exactly did you mean when you said you felt no malice from her?"
Kurama raised a brow, "Exactly what I said. I know senjutsu like the back of my hand, there was no negativity or malice coming off her. Furthermore, she wasn't morphed into some kind of creature, so it's not like she lost control of her demonic powers either. She seemed perfectly fine."
Naruto hummed a bit as he started to talk toward the exit of the woods with Kurama beside him, "I can't be the only one that thinks something is off about this. You said the vibe she gave off was like Itachi, didn't you?"
He nodded, "Yeah, that guy acted like he was on drugs too, but when I sensed him after he got reanimated, it was beyond obvious it had all been a plot. It gives me the same vibe this time, though I have no idea what her deal is."
Naruto nodded his head thoughtfully, he'd have to ask his sister about this. Perhaps she could investigate it.
Part of him wasn't surprised that something like this had been unknown, the amount of skilled senjutsu users was few and far in between. Not to say that most of them had likely been killed off in the genocides.
Without Kurama having been there, he'd likely not even have noticed it himself. He'd have to think more on this, there was only so little they could do on their own.
But for now, he'd just enjoy a… hopefully, peaceful dinner with the leader of the Youkai faction.
He smiled with amusement. His sister would love to hear about this when he got home, and he could already see the expression on her face.
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"Seriously? You mean to tell me that you, somebody that used to be a homeless bum, grew up in a place like this?" Kurama's voice echoed in the large hallways of the Sitri manor as he gazed up and down the walls, feeling immensely out of place.
Naruto had to chuckle at his partner's reaction as he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin, "Yeah, home sweet home. I live down at the end of the mansion, ended up moving there after a while because my younger sister wanted… privacy, to talk with her friend. Plus she was severely displeased whenever I caught something she said through the door."
Kurama raised a brow, "You eavesdropped on your own sister? Didn't know you had that kink."
With a twitching brow Naruto raised his hand with a loud sigh, "As much as she wants to say I was, I wasn't. Trust me, I would rather not, but you try not overhearing Ino talking with Sakura… If a shade or two quieter."
The Youkai snorted with laughter, "You sure you still couldn't hear it from your new room?"
Naruto had to sigh for what had to be the hundredth time, "I could vividly hear it echoing down the hallways. Seriously, at times I studied in the cellar because they were so obnoxious."
"So where is she now?" Kurama asked next.
With a thoughtful look, Naruto turned down another corridor, "She lives in Kuoh now, in fact, both of them do. They attend a normal school, I think they're third-years now."
"So you have this entire place to yourself?"
Naruto shook his head, "Nah, my… new parents live here along with the staff. My sister is the Leviathan so she pretty much has a damn castle for herself and whoever serves her."
Kurama looked intrigued, "You don't speak of these parents with as much affection."
He shrugged and dug his hands into his pockets, "It's not that I dislike them. I'm just indifferent. As I said, I had a hard time coping with what happened in the past, and it took me a while to get in touch with my magic. So I guess you can say I was a bit overlooked, but it's not like I was neglected in any way."
"I see," Kurama hummed in return, "Will we be meeting them?"
He shook his head, "Nah, they're busy people. We rarely talk either way, but I try to stay polite and greet them when we do see each other. I'm much closer with my sisters though, as much as Sona hates to admit it."
"She does? Why is that?"
Naruto was about to respond, but when he heard the very familiar yell of 'Naru-tan' in front of him, he just smiled and pointed a thumb in the direction of the rapidly approaching raven-haired girl, "That's why."
He quickly turned around as he was wrapped up in a bone-crushing hug. It was surprising, such a small girl was about to snap him in half. No wonder she was the Leviathan.
His entire face turned blue as he tapped her on the back, "Can't… breath!"
Serafall blinked as she let him drop back to the floor, and blushed in slight embarrassment as she watched him try to catch his break as the color returned to his face, "Sorry about that, so how did it go?! I just got word from Kyoto, they say the visit was pleasant!"
Naruto readjusted his jacket as Kurama watched on with great amusement, "It went pretty well actually."
She quickly nodded with a pleased smile, before her expression turned from glee to surprise as she saw someone standing behind him, "Who's this?"
The dark-haired boy blinked and turned to Kurama, "Oh right, no reason to hide your tails and ears now that we're back in the Underworld," He grinned and turned back to his sister, "Anyhow, this is Kurama."
The Youkai raised his hand in a greeting as his nine tails sprouted from his tailbone, and he popped up on top of his head. A look of nervousness spread across his face as he watched the short girl's eyes practically glow with recognition.
If Naruto would describe the look in Kurama's eyes as he glanced over at him with a sweat-covered face, it would be 'help me' but what would be the fun in that?
"You actually did it! Oh, man… I knew sending you to Kyoto was a good idea!" Serafall coughed and tried maintaining a calmer posture, but everyone present could see she was straining herself as she reached her hand out, "Hi there, I'm Serafall Leviathan and Naruto's favorite sister, Pleased to meet you!"
Kurama's brow twitched as he reached out to grab the girl's hand, "P-Pleasure's all mine," He managed to grumble out before he leaned over to Naruto and hid his mouth with the back of his hand, "Are both your sisters this crazy?"
Naruto quickly shushed him as he watched the encounter.
Serafall eventually stepped back and nodded her head, "I see that you're a fox Youkai, I'm happy that you're in my brother's peerage. He has been a bit of a… late bloomer, so he first started looking for members recently."
Kurama snickered before he rested his elbow on Naruto's shoulder, "Someone has to make sure this guy stays out of trouble."
Naruto had to roll his eye as he pushed the elbow off him, "If anyone gotta make sure someone stays out of trouble here, it's me you stupid kitsune."
With a cough into her hand, Serafall broke off the almost verbal fight, "Anyhow, I hope this will help our possible friendship in the future. We're very happy to have you Kurama-kun."
The fox raised a brow as he crossed his arms, "Yeah, whatever, me too. Hooray for friendship." As he felt an elbow slam into his side he turned to watch Naruto's sweating face, "What?"
"You really don't have manners, do you?"
Kurama rolled his eyes, "Is there a point to changing awesome? You should take notes, you ungrateful brat."
The raven-haired teen rubbed his forehead, "Whatever, just don't come screaming for help when your attitude has the four satans sending you to death row."
Kurama gulped with a slight sweatdrop, "Whatever."
Serafall watched the interactions with clear amusement as she giggled behind her hand. It looked like this friendship would work out just fine, it already seemed like the two had known each other forever.
"I don't want to be rude, but I should probably get back to work. Once again, a pleasure to meet you Kurama! Naruto? Please go find more peerage members, you seem to have an eye for the interesting ones." She spoke with a happy tone.
Naruto nodded his head before something came to mind and he raised his hand for her to stop, "Actually, I have something important I need to talk to you about. Do you have time?"
She tilted her head in confusion but nodded her head as he led them down to her office. Her office, despite being rarely used, was quite spacious, and she took a seat behind her desk as she watched the two with curiosity, "So, what is it? You're not in trouble, are you?"
He quickly waved his hands dismissively, "Oh no… or well, not sure."
A frown settled on her face, "Naruto…"
With a sigh, he sat down as Kurama leaned up against the wall behind him, "Something happened when I got to Kyoto. I was attacked by the Monkey King, Bikou. At first, it seemed like he just wanted a fight, but that's when we ran into someone new."
Serafall looked more serious now, getting in a fight with a Youkai the moment you got to Kyoto was bad, but this was Bikou. He had gone missing from his mountain some time ago, "Who did you run into?"
"Kuroka," He answered simply.
Her eyes widened slightly as she in an instant had a more serious attitude, "Did she hurt you?"
He shook his head, "No, but she did give me an invitation extended on behalf of Ophis."
If she hadn't looked serious before, she sure did now, "Did you see Ophis?"
He had to shake his head again, "No, all I got was an offer to join something called the Khaos Brigade. She said that in exchange for joining, Ophis would grant me what I want, though it sounds like what a terrorist group would be."
"That it does… I'll have to bring this to the other satans as soon as possible. One can only wonder what the likes of Ophis need with people like you, Bikou, and Kuroka." She wondered.
Naruto folded his hands in his lap as he crossed his legs, "I need to talk to you about her too, something is unsettling me."
Serafall leaned back in her chair, not quite used to the look in her brother's eyes, "What about her?"
He shot a glance back to Kurama who just gave him a nod, "The moment Kurama joined my peerage, she approached me with the offer as I said. The thing that I discovered after due to Kurama's skill in senjutsu is what makes me… a bit nervous."
If she had been surprised before, she certainly was now. The people that were able to use senjutsu were very few, and her brother had managed to get one into his peerage, "What did you find out?"
Naruto waved a hand to Kurama, who took a step forward to stand beside Naruto's chair, "The fact of the matter is quite simple. She is lying."
Serafall looked on with an unchanging expression, "Explain."
He nodded and looked in between the siblings before he sighed, "Senjutsu is able to pick on the emotions of people. The stories go that she went nuts using senjutsu, but there are two simple things we all can agree on. First, if you lose control of your demonic power, you're bound to morph into some kind of creature, which she didn't."
"And the other?"
Kurama looked on with a calm expression, "If you lose control of senjutsu, it means that you become a host of negativity. If what happened to her should be true, then she'd be radiating negativity, but she wasn't. I didn't sense an ounce of malice rolling off her, or anything related. Nor was she morphed into some kind of beast. Something is off."
Serafall looked at her brother, and something changed in her eyes, "I'll have to have a meeting with the satans about this. Stay on standby, both of you, with these things coming into the light we may need to debrief you."
Naruto nodded his head as he stood up, "Sera-nee?"
The girl looked a bit surprised as she gazed up at her brother, "What is it?"
He looked a bit uncertain, "You know something, don't you?"
She sighed with an apologetic smile, "I can neither confirm nor deny that, but I can say everything will make a lot more sense soon. Please believe me."
With a sigh, he nodded his head. She had never given him reason to not believe her before, so he'd trust her words.
Though something felt certain, he had touched upon something that was supposed to be buried.
Now the question was… What could it be?
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As the sun disappeared in the distance, she sat on top of a boulder with her kimono and dark locks swaying hypnotically in the wind. Her amber eyes gazed out into the horizon, as she waited for her accomplice to join her.
Despite the turn of events, she wasn't disappointed. No, she was more intrigued than anything else.
"It seems like you had no luck." A voice called from behind her, "Or did you pussy out, Kuroka?"
She snorted a bit and turned her head to watch him, "You never get tired out of the cat puns, do you Bikou?"
"What's life without a bit of comedy?" He grinned and took a seat in the shade of the boulder she was seated upon.
With a roll of her eyes, she watched him from the corner of her eyes, "To answer your question, then no, there was no luck. Though I won't let that stop me."
Bikou raised an amused brow as he rubbed his hand, "Oh, you going back for seconds? That's surprising."
"How so?"
He shrugged and rested his back against the boulder, "Not like you to show any interest in our new recruits. Yet you seem interested in this one."
She remained silent for a bit before a chuckle escaped her lips which turned up into a small smirk, "Perhaps not, but none of the other recruits were like this one. He's… unique."
"Oh ho? You seemed captivated, should I order a table for two?" He snickered.
With a sigh aimed at his obnoxiousness, she dropped down to the ground, "As I said, he's unique."
"May I ask why you're so interested? For me it's simple, he's strong, and I want to beat him."
She watched him but didn't feel like the real reason she wanted to go meet him again. Though, there was another part of him that kept her interest up, "Well, no one has ever told Ophis where to shove it before."
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That's another wrap. Thanks for reading, if you have two minutes to spare I'd appreciate it if you let me know your thoughts in a review. Specifically, the spar, since I'm still practicing a lot with writing fight scenes.
I know you've asked for longer chapters, but I try sticking to the bullet points I have for each chapter in my outline. Hopefully, the chapters will get longer as we progress, but I feel 5k words is a good place to stop if I've achieved what I wanted.