Arc of Time

by Skairipa1337

As he was called to the task of saving his world, he both succeeded and failed. In their moment of triumph, he let his guard down to the danger that had been there all along. As he died at the hands of his best friend, Naruto cheated death and was reborn as a Devil, as well as the son of the House of Sitri. Time Magic Naruto. Naruto x Kuroka.

4. The Cats out the Bag

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD. This is a non-profit-based work.

Note: I may take it a bit easy after this chapter. I think I've pretty much written the past four chapters in a little over a week, and a few people have told me to slow down so I don't burn out. I may look into writing another crossover on the side, just so I don't rush myself with this story.

Also, taking your words into consideration with the fight I wrote the last chapter, I'll try to not open a chapter with fights unless it's continued from the last chapter.

If y'all are interested in joining a community of readers and several talented authors, consider joining AizenTheGoat's Discord server.

QBzbm58Dn4

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-Chapter 4-

The Cats out the Bag.

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Naruto yawned as he waltzed through the halls leading to the Great Devil Lucifer's office. One thing he never failed to be amused over was how no matter what place he was in, the most powerful person always had an office.

In this case, it was even more hilarious. A man with that much power to literally obliterate almost anything he wanted… had a desk.

Oh well, that was beside the point. He was on his way there to have a meeting with him. And he highly suspected it was because of the talk he had with Serafall a couple of days prior.

It had been a few days since he arrived back in the Underworld with Kurama. And to say that the fox had taken great advantage of the luxuries living in a mansion provided, would be an understatement.

The first thing he had seen Kurama do after they had parted for the night when they had arrived, was in the morning when the orange-haired man had laid on the balcony of his room with a maid hand feeding him grapes.

It was like something out of a movie.

He had never laughed that hard since being reborn into this universe.

Though he was glad he was enjoying himself. It certainly had to be a lot better than living in a mindscape that resembled a sewer, so he didn't comment too much on it. Well, not more than he had to.

Kurama's annoyance was still very entertaining, just like it had always been.

With a small sigh, he raised his hand to knock on the door and waited a few seconds before he got the affirmative to enter.

Which he did.

As he entered the devil's office, he was immediately taken back by how…. Comfy it all seemed.

He most certainly didn't expect couches to sit in, it was definitely much nicer than what the Hokage's office had been like.

"Ah, Naruto, I'm happy you agreed to meet with me on such short notice."

The dark-haired boy blinked as he turned to watch the red-haired man approaching him. He was clad in a pretty formal attire compared to the usual armor he was seen wearing in public.

Since his younger sister was friends with Lucifer's sister, he had met the man before, but he never stopped feeling a bit uncomfortable in his presence. In his opinion, the redhead was way too easygoing for his own good, so he never knew when to be formal and when not to.

Unsure of whether or not to bow he raised his hand in an awkward wave, "You know what they say, if Lucifer calls then you answer."

Sirzechs chuckled a bit as he motioned for him to follow, "Still, with the recent events coming into the light, you must've been using a lot of time to reflect on them."

Naruto followed after him and watched as the powerful being sat down on one of the couches, and signaled for him to sit on the one across from him, which he did.

The redhead took a second to get comfortable, and gathered his hands in his lap, "Do you have any idea why I wish to talk with you?"

He shook his head slowly, "Not sure, but I guess it has to do with what I told my sister."

Taking that as his cue to continue, Sirzechs cleared his throat, "Partially yes, we're still working on the details of what you informed us of. Before I continue I'd like to say we're grateful, had we learned of this sooner there may have been consequences we'd rather avoid."

"What type of consequences?" Naruto asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

Sirzechs waved his hands dismissively, "Not any we need to worry about at the moment, but it's always good to be aware of when beings like Ophis are making plans. It could go south, so being prepared is essential."

He couldn't disagree with that. While the problems the Akatsuki caused in his old life were quite severe, he didn't want to think about how bad it could've gotten if Jiraiya hadn't been made aware when he did.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. So uh, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Sirzechs nodded, "Right. From what I understand, you came into contact with Kuroka? And your newest addition to your peerage was able to reveal some truths with his use of senjutsu, correct? By the way, congratulations on finding a member for your peerage, your sister was ecstatic about it."

"Thank you, I think." He scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, Kurama called bullshit on what the stories say about her."

Unable to hold back an amused look at the choice of words, Sirzechs intertwined his fingers, "It's possible dangerous territory you're in. So for you to be able to tread carefully about your next moves, should you run into her again, I wish to give you a bit of context."

"For free?" He added as a joke, but when Sirzechs just smirked he instantly knew the man was up to something.

Sirzechs leaned back in his seat, "Well, I won't say that the information has a price, but I do hope you'll help me with a favor in return."

"Sure, I mean, I don't think I could say no with a good conscience." He chuckled.

The redhead just smiled with a satisfied nod of his head, "With the news of Ophis and this Khaos Brigade, I had hoped you'd perhaps take residence in Kuoh for the time being. Both for Rias' sake, and also for Sona's. Just as a safety precaution."

"If you're telling me to go attend school, then I'll say no. I hate academics…" Naruto groaned with a mild headache returning as the memories of the Shinobi academy resurfaced.

Sirzechs had to hold back a laugh of amusement, "I'll not have you attend school, but perhaps as a club supervisor. Just to keep you in the loop, you won't have to do anything remotely close to homework, rest assured of that. You have my word."

"Then I don't see why not. Any other reason you want me to go? Or, anything else really?"

He took a moment to think, "Well, there is a potential thing. This is a more personal favor from Sirzechs Gremory, instead of Sirzechs Lucifer. My sister has a member in her peerage, his name is Gasper."

Naruto blinked, unsure of what it was supposed to mean.

"I'll be blunt, Gasper possesses a scared gear. Specifically the Forbidden Balor View. He has time powers, and as it stands right now, you're a perfect candidate to teach him how to control this power. Rias has some… issues, with controlling him, so he is sealed away for now. I won't ask you directly to teach him, since that should be her place to do so, I'd just want you to keep it in mind."

Naruto's eyes widened at that, he didn't exactly consider himself teacher material but if he was the best candidate, he'd at least be open toward it, "Got it, if Rias asks I'll hear her out."

Sirzechs gave a pleased nod of his head, "Thank you. Now, the second thing. I want you to try and stay out of their way as much as possible."

Naruto almost doubled over in surprise. How could he ask him to help her and stay out of her way at the same time?

The devil king laughed slightly, "I see that you're confused, let me clarify my request. I wish for Rias and the others, as well as Sona, to grow naturally on their own. So while you can help them, I do not wish for you to fix their problems for them unless it's a critical scenario."

The dark-haired boy made an 'o' shape with his mouth out of realization, "Ohh, I get it now. So I can teach, but not solve their problems, that makes sense. I'll keep that in mind."

After further thought, he realized he had probably just been made into a make-shift academy teacher.

Sirzechs took a moment to look him over, "You're awfully accepting of this without questioning it, it's a whole new life you'll have to get used to. I do not mean to be rude, but your sister has said you're a bit of a recluse."

Naruto almost doubled over again from the revelation. So much for having faith in him, he thought with a mild sweatdrop as a mental image of Serafall's cheeky grin came into mind.

"Well, it's been a while since I saw Sona and I'd like to get closer to her again. Rias is also a friend of mine since she spent so much time with Sona. In general, I don't see many negatives with going. After my visit to Kyoto my desire to see the world has come back, I have to admit it gets a bit boring just lazing around in the Sitri manor all day."

With an understanding nod of his head, Sirzechs took a breath and got a bit more serious, "Well, now you know what I hope you'll do after hearing what I have to say."

"I'm listening," Naruto responded curiously.

Sirzechs nodded his head and sat up, "What I'm going to say is not concrete. I want you to know that, and I'm going out of my way to say it so you have an idea of what you're dealing with. I have a feeling you'll look more into the Kuroka case regardless of what I come forth with."

Naruto hummed for a bit before he shrugged, "I mean, I probably will if she shows herself again. It troubles me a bit, she reminds me… of someone I once knew."

"And for you to be able to perhaps solve this mystery, I'd like to lend you a hand. You know the story of how she supposedly went crazy, right?"

"Of course."

With a slow breath and closed eyes, Sirzechs collected his thoughts on the matter and opened his eyes again, "From what I can tell you, her former king was not a good person. We've been heavily suspicious of his activities in regards to what he did with the Bael clan and the old Satan faction."

"So you're telling me this could be self-defense in her case?" Naruto asked with a surprised look. He knew that the words going around about the old Satan faction and the Bael weren't exactly always the prettiest.

He nodded, "And given what your new peerage member says, it only fuels my suspicions. Senjutsu users are few and far in between, given that he was able to pick up these signals, I'm tempted to say that she may have been triggered to do it."

Naruto looked on whilst trying to conceal his growing feelings. This case reminded him more and more of Itachi, and if it was… then he knew what he would do, "What if it was self-defense, and that her former king had it coming?"

Sirzechs looked on with a blank expression, "We cannot do anything without proper channels getting involved. We'd have to have her undergo a thorough interrogation, and then decide."

"But what if she was innocent?" Naruto tried again.

With a raised brow, Sirzechs cupped his chin, "You're quite interested in this. I have to admit I'm surprised, you just met her."

Naruto frowned a bit and lowered his head, "If she's really like the way I think she is, then she's a good person. And I hate seeing good people take the fall for the actions of bad people."

Sirzechs smiled a bit at the proclamation, "I understand. After all, it's when good people do nothing that the bad guys win. You're a good person, I just hope that you know what you're getting into."

With a determined look, Naruto raised his head, "I don't care what I'm getting into, but if I can help her then it'll be worth it."

'Selfless as stated, he's indeed an interesting individual. I can see why Serafall thinks so highly of him, and not just because it's her brother. Having him around Rias will definitely be beneficial,' Sirzechs thought and kept up the smile, "Hold your horses for just a bit, we don't know if it's the truth yet."

"Right… How can we go about this?"

Sirzechs chuckled and stood up, "I cannot act on much on my end yet, but I think the case will be in good hands."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure I follow."

As he walked over to his desk in the room, Sirzechs picked up a picture of a small silver-haired girl, which he handed Naruto, who looked at it with confusion, "I want you to find the truth. I will need that, along with Kuroka's consent to an interrogation."

"And if we're right, then she can be free again?"

Sirzechs frowned, "Not quite."

Naruto raised a brow and stood up, "Huh, why not?"

The frown intensified as the older devil let Naruto stare the picture over, "That is her sister, her name was Shirone. She now goes by the name of Koneko and is a part of Rias' peerage. Her execution was called for when Kuroka did what she did, but I protected her and put her in the care of my sister."

Naruto's lips fell down into a frown as he stared at the picture with a sorrow-filled expression, "I see."

"The problem with the matter is there'd be retaliation should we redeem her name off the bat. Just like the other Nekoshou, there are likely powerful people that'd rather see her dead than alive, and not only would she be in danger. Both you and anyone affiliated with you or her could be in potential danger."

With a look of realization, Naruto looked up from the picture, "You're thinking of Rias and Sona, aren't you?"

Sirzechs nodded, "Yes, those two could be caught in the potential crossfire."

Now that was something he didn't want, but at the same time… he didn't want to sit around and do nothing if his suspicions turned out to be true, and he could help.

"So what can we do?"

The great devil put his arms behind his back and thought for a second, "If we can cover up the possible redemption of her name with an event that'll displease those people more, it'll work in our favor."

Naruto looked surprised, "So we cover it up with something they'll hate more, and then they'll forget about her?"

"It's only natural, if they have to focus their anger on something that is bigger than her, they won't have time or the need. That'll be our only play if we can prove her innocence. Let's just focus on figuring out whether or not we're making theories for nothing first."

Yeah, that made sense. It made him feel a bit silly, they had just thought of almost an entire strategy to help a criminal that maybe wasn't as innocent as they thought. Time would have to tell.

"Alright, I'll do it. And I'll tell you as soon as I know something." Naruto proclaimed with a thumb pressed against his chest.

Sirzechs just looked a bit amused. It wasn't often he met someone as headstrong as him, though Rias was up there.

He gave a quick smile and extended his hand, "I look forward to it. Now, what will you do?"

Naruto quickly accepted the hand for a quick handshake, "I'll go to Kuoh as intended, though finding a place to stay will be hard. I'm not exactly a pro at real estate."

"Hmm, I may be able to help you out there."

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Naruto's brow twitched slightly with a mix of annoyance and amusement as he stared at the building in front of him, but was broken out of his stupor when he heard a whistle behind him.

"You know, when that great devil guy you met said he'd help you out… this wasn't what I imagined."

The dark-haired boy turned around to watch Kurama waltzing up beside him with his Youkai features now hidden since they were in public. His hand was combing through his hair as he stared at the building in front of them. And he couldn't blame him for the reaction, not in the slightest.

After all, who would've guessed that a mere favor would involve a two-story-tall mansion made out of black brickwork? And that was just the exterior, with no reaction yet to the interior.

"I find myself agreeing. I had just thought he meant he'd get us some kind of apartment with enough space, but this… I don't even know what to say. I guess it pays handsomely to be Lucifer." Naruto chuckled.

Well, he could probably have bought this himself, but turning down help from Sirzechs seemed like a bad idea. Especially since being on good terms with him and his sister on top of that, would give him a lot of options in the future.

Kurama scratched the back of his neck, "Well, I suppose that means we can fit a whole peerage in here. Not that we have anyone else yet."

Naruto felt as if that was a blow to his pride, and coughed into his hand as something came to mind, "Well we do have one other member, but he is still in the Underworld. He became part of my peerage a while ago, but considering I wasn't really doing anything I just let him do his thing for the time being."

Now, this intrigued Kurama, "So who's the lucky or unlucky fella, depending on how you look at it."

With a small huff, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "His name is Veldora. He is one of the sons of Tannin."

"Tannin? As in one of the dragon kings?"

Naruto shrugged, "Former dragon king actually, heard something about his pride getting hurt when great red ignored him, but yeah him."

Kurama gave a slow nod of his head as he let that sink in. Even in Kyoto, he had heard of Tannin, even when the information they had was little, he was still aware enough to respect his strength.

It did make him wonder how powerful his son would be.

"So how strong is this Veldora?" He finally asked, to satisfy his curiosity.

The young devil hummed as he let his eyes wander over the building again, "Pretty damn strong. Probably around your level, maybe stronger now if I think about it. Though it's hard to say, it's been a couple of years and Veldora is… special."

Kurama raised a brow, "Special how?"

Naruto chuckled as he went over the memory in his head, "He likes to fight, let's just leave it at that. He has probably fought countless strong people, and he has all eight of my pawn pieces."

With his curiosity once again peaking, Kurama let a smirk form on his face, "Sounds like he'd be an interesting opponent."

"You want to fight him?" Naruto asked with a small smile.

Kurama cracked his neck and punched a fist to his palm, "I don't see why not, we only have the fun we make ourselves. And it won't hurt having a rival beside you."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly in surprise, "I'm a rival to you?"

The fox snickered with a mischievous gaze, "Don't let it get to your head, but you're probably the strongest of the two of us. If Yasaka said so, even if it was part of a joke, I'll respect it, but I'll win against you one of these days."

Part of Naruto started to question his decision-making. The two people he had gotten into his peerage were apparently both heavily addicted to fighting. He just hoped Kurama wasn't as serious as Lee had been when it came to stuff like rivals.

He'd rather not deal with that. While he did like to fight himself, and he fought enjoyment and satisfaction from winning, he'd rather not constantly have to fight both Kurama, but also Veldora.

He started laughing a bit to himself, he did have quite the peerage so far. Normally devils would reincarnate humans with tools like sacred gears to expand their peerage but also the devil population, but he had gone ahead and taken in a fox Youkai from Kyoto, but also a dragon who was the son of a former dragon king.

If he kept that up, it'd only be a matter of time before his entire group was filled with remarkable people from all kinds of species.

The future would indeed be full of fun and entertainment, just the way he liked it.

"Anyhow, are we gonna stand here and worship the craftsmanship of this Sir-something, or are we gonna take a peek inside?" Kurama asked as his impatience started to show.

Naruto sighed and walked forward and unlocked the front of the house, "His name is Sirzechs, you should probably remember that."

"I'm better with faces than with names," The fox spoke non-caringly.

Deciding to ignore Kurama's attitude this time, Naruto opened the front door to their new home.

It took them a while to explore the entire thing, but there was every necessity that they'd need. Sirzechs really hadn't been cheap with this, and it made him almost scared of what kind of palace his sister might be living in.

Though part of him knew it likely wasn't a palace she was living in, the word of why Rias Gremory lived in the human world wouldn't go well with the idea of her living in a castle like some sort of queen.

Or well, king.

The residence they had been given had around eight-bedroom, and four bathrooms. A joined kitchen and dining room, along with a huge living room.

Not to mention the furniture, and everything else.

He'd always been intrigued by the technology of this world, so when he discovered several stations to play various games in the living room, he already knew he'd spend a lot of time playing those games.

The master bedroom was a dream in itself. A King-sized bed in the middle, with a private bathroom, and a glass sliding door leading to the garden, along with enough space to make anyone jealous was only part of the reason that he had pulled the 'king of the peerage' card to get it.

Much to Kurama's annoyance.

No, the biggest reason he had taken this room for himself was the onsen in the backyard, and the door in the room led right out to it.

He had always been too busy to try and kick Sasuke's ass and bring him back to properly enjoy these in Konoha, so he jumped at the chance to thoroughly abuse his chance this time around.

Oh, and then there was his second favorite thing. A giant backyard.

Some might ask why that was his second favorite thing when comparing it to everything else the mansion provided. The answer was simple though.

It provided enough space to both put up a barrier, but also spacious enough to contain the undoubtedly large amounts of spars and fights there'd occur here.

Naruto gave a small sigh as he walked into the backyard and looked up at the night sky, intertwining his fingers under the back of his head as he closed his eyes, it had taken a while to get settled in the new place, and it was already nighttime.

And while he was enjoying this new house already, he was a bit afraid of what was to come.

He had gotten this place as a… helping hand, so he started to fear what kind of horror it would be to look out for Rias.

It wasn't like he didn't know the girl, his younger sister was friends with her so they were acquainted, but that was years ago. Perhaps it was her peerage. Was she as… lucky, as he was in regards to gathering interesting individuals? Perhaps that was it.

He let out another sigh as he lowered his hands and opened his eyes, slowly turning around to stare at the corner of his house, "How long are you gonna stand there and watch me? It's getting a bit creepy after you sought me out on the train."

A dark figure waltzed around the corner as he chuckled, wearing a traditional robe with his hands hidden in the sleeves, "You've gotten quite perceptive of when people are watching you, I have to admit I'm impressed."

"Azazel, right?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

The man gave a small grin, "So you remembered my name, I'm flattered."

Naruto rolled his eyes with a look of amusement, "Hard to forget when the leader of the Grigori decides to have a casual chat with you out of nowhere."

"So you're interested in why?" Azazel stated more than asked.

With a nod of his head, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "That'd be an understatement."

Azazel smirked a bit as he took a seat on a bench that was placed along the mansion's wall, "It's quite simple actually. You, my friend, are weird."

Naruto groaned. It wasn't like he'd disagree by any means, but it was still annoying to hear it from others, "So?"

The older male sat back and relaxed, "It's not necessarily a bad thing, trust me you should see some of the people I'm around daily."

"Will this conversation get anywhere? Not that I don't enjoy the visit, but I have to admit I'm not exactly sure that a fallen angel visiting me is a good thing."

Azazel let out a laugh as he hit his knee, "So you're worried I'm here to cause trouble? Well, you're in luck because I'm only here to chat with you. You're an interesting fellow, that's why I wanted to get to know you."

"What's so interesting about me?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit more relaxed.

The fallen angel shrugged, "What's not interesting? Half Agares, half Sitri, despite being the oldest of the younger siblings, you're not the heir to your house. You use time magic, exceptionally at that."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit at the obvious compliment, but also a bit surprised by the amount of information Azazel had on him.

"You're not making me worry any less by stating my entire resume to my face like that though," Naruto replied with a small sweatdrop.

Azazel waved his hands, "As I said, I'm just here to have a friendly chat with you. Plus it would be fun to have another companion to hang around with now that you're taking residence in Kuoh, my fishing trips do get lonely on my lonesome."

Part of him was starting to think he'd just found the second coming of Jiraiya, this guy was equally weird in some aspects and was scheming to take him along on some trips. He wouldn't even be surprised if this guy turned out to be a pervert.

"Why'd you invite a random person you basically just met out for a fishing trip? Sounds a bit suspicious if you ask me." Naruto questioned, getting a sense of deja vu from when Jiraiya had back in the day asked him to go on 'research' detours during their training trips.

The leader of the Grigori gave him a calculative look, "Aren't we all supposed to be good fellow citizens?"

"I suppose," Naruto muttered, but not one less bit confused, before he'd answer the question he'd at least have to ask his sister for advice on this. Azazel didn't seem to want any trouble, but this guy wasn't to be underestimated by any means.

He was confident in his ability to fight, but he did doubt that if the fallen angel wanted to clash, he'd win that easily if even win that battle at all.

The battle experience he had in comparison was off the charts, and he had no idea about what he was capable of.

Azazel on the other hand had clearly shown that he knew what moves he had in his arsenal, so the odds were stacked against him from the start.

"So, shall I take that as a yes?" Azazel smirked as he inspected the thoughtful gaze on the young devil's face.

Naruto blinked as he returned from his train of thought, "Maybe, I can't answer at the moment. I have some business to take care of, but I have a feeling you'll drop by again soon regardless of what I say."

"Guilty as charged. Very well then, I'll leave to whatever you gotta do. Though I hope you'll consider it, it's no fun going fishing alone." Azazel chuckled as she spread out his black wings and disappeared out into the night.

Even just at that display, Naruto felt inferior. The number of wings the guy had was a clear indicator he was powerful.

But after seeing that, part of him wanted to fight him just a bit more than he had previously. Perhaps Kurama and Veldora weren't the only ones that were a bit battle-hungry after all.

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I originally wanted to fit more content into this chapter, specifically a Kuroka encounter, but stuff suddenly started to pick up and I was out of space haha. Felt this was an appropriate place to stop it, plus I didn't want to overload the chapter with more information than what was necessary.

I hope it wasn't too heavy to digest in regards to how many conversations there were, I tried splitting it a bit up with the new how they got so there were more visuals as well.

Anyhow, I hope you liked the chapter. Please feel free to leave me a review with your thoughts, I'm for the next three chapters gonna be without my usual beta since he is busy, so I hope I'm keeping the story on the right track.