Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DxD. This is a non-profit-based work.
Note: First of all, I apologize for being "late" with this chapter. I had intended to publish it last Friday to keep up with my weekly schedule, but my beta was busy. And I procrastinated writing chapter 12, so that isn't finished yet. In the end, I decided to wait and publish this chapter today, and then have another week or two to finish chapter 12.
So, here we are. Just going to say this, some of you said I've been… blue balling you, in regard to showing how strong Naruto is. Which I found funny as hell, not gonna lie, that cracked me up.
I think it's safe to say that the rating game won't be the next chapter, possibly the one after. I had like 3 points in my outline for this chapter, and before I even finished one I had 4k words, so I need to adjust my outline once again.
If y'all are interested in joining a community of readers and several talented authors, consider joining AizenTheGoat's Discord server.
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-Chapter 11-
An Extra Guest.
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The evening air swept through her kimono as she stood on top of the water tower looking over the town of Kuoh. Her amber eyes glanced curiously down at the city's lights as she idly scraped the bottom of her sandals along the concrete surface beneath her.
Kuroka gave a small sigh as she looked at the sunset, part of her questioned why she was here again, but it wasn't like she needed an answer.
There was just this voice in the back of her head, one that had been there for many years. Even as she had gotten acquainted with people like Bikou, or her other friends in the Khaos Brigade, it had always been there.
She trusted these people now, but it had never changed the fact that she had always been wary of them. To some degree, she still was, though she'd assume that paranoia like that would never disappear.
It didn't change the fact that she wanted to trust him too, but the variables felt overwhelming. He seemed genuine, but devils could be smooth talkers and liars in nature and be so good at it at the same time they'd be able to convince a regular person that the moon was square-formed and you couldn't see it because of the lack of light in space.
She chuckled at the thought. He had to have returned to the human world by now, the information they had gotten had stated as much. The meeting he had said he'd have with Lucifer, had really happened.
So at least he'd have been truthful about that. Though, short of speaking with Sirzechs himself, there was no way to know if it was the truth.
Time would have to tell, though for now, there was not much else to do. She'd have to trust her instincts and make sure to get away if she ever felt that it was a trap. As much as it didn't, one could never be too careful.
"You're coming out here a lot these days, any specific reasons? Or… person?" A voice called from behind her, and she turned her face to look at him.
Or rather, them. Behind her stood her group of friends, the people she had been with ever since the 'accident' with her former master. Though, one was lacking. No surprise there, with his current position among the Grigori it had to be expected he wasn't available for a little expedition.
She gave a small sigh, and then a small smirk fell upon her face, "I didn't figure you guys for stalkers, but I guess you learn something new every day."
Bikou gave a loud snort followed by a chuckle, "Hah, and that came from the cat. That's funny, ain't that so Arthur?"
The man standing beside him shook his head and adjusted his glasses, "What Bikou means to ask, is why the sudden interest? We know that you have plans that you're heavily invested in, but still. We're interested in who it is."
Kuroka gave a small laugh, "Well you know what they say about curiosity and cats."
The monkey king shrugged his shoulders, "It's not like we don't know she's visiting her new boyfriend."
A shorter head peeked up at that, her curious blue eyes with a tint of innocence looked at the older woman with utmost curiosity, "She got a boyfriend now? I hope he's cute!"
Arthur gave a small nudge at his sister's shoulder, "Le Fay, Kuroka may not want to share too many details with us. It is considered private after all." He finished, but there was the smallest possible lace of teasing in his tone and expression.
The blonde-haired girl pouted a bit at that and crossed her arms, "I just want to know what he's like, I think it's great! She deserves someone like that, somebody that'll be there for her."
As the conversation spiraled out of control, the dark-haired woman rubbed her face, "For the last time, no, he's not. And Bikou, if I catch you spouting such nonsense again I'll claw your eyeballs out."
The monkey Youkai snorted and stuck out his tongue, "As if I'd let you. And what's the matter, he's strong. He's a good choice. Though if you don't mind, tell him I want a rematch."
"I'll extend your invitation, but if you're so interested in him perhaps you should date him yourself," Kuroka grinned carelessly.
Bikou gave a look of mock-hurt, "Seems like kitty got claws, though I wouldn't count on it. Wouldn't want to steal your boy toy."
Le Fay gave a small frown, "You don't have to be mean about it… Why would she tell us if that's how you'll react?"
The brown-haired man raised a brow, "What? I'm not mean about it, I'm just messing with her. She's a big girl, she can take it."
The blonde gave an unsure look as she switched her eyes back to the other girl there.
Kuroka just shrugged her shoulders non-caringly, "As if anything banana-brains said could hurt me, if anything I'm just more curious about him coming out of the closet. Though I guess I already had my suspicions since he's so interested in Vali."
As Bikou lifted his hand and was about to retort, he paused as a hand grabbed onto his shoulder and turned around to watch Arthur's gaze.
The swordsman gave a small chuckle, "I think it's about time we left. We could stand here bickering all night, but that'd just interfere with all our plans. I wish you luck, I hope you find what you're looking for." He finished, his gaze turning to Kuroka.
She gave a small nod of her head, "Thanks, good luck to you too. I'll be back later, I don't plan on staying long. Though if you manage to find Vali, tell him I wish to ask for a favor."
Arthur got a curious expression, "Mind if I ask what kind of favor it is?"
Her amber eyes glinted mischievously, "I need to test someone's strength, and I think Vali will be more than interested in doing that for me. Hell, he's in the prime spot for it."
Le Fay hummed a bit as curiosity got the best of her, "If you want to know if he's strong, then why not ask him for a spar? I mean… even if you're not like what Bikou says, then you're still close right?"
"I wouldn't say we're that close, but he's alright. I don't know if I should, plus, I somewhat owe Vali one. I think he'd be interested in seeing a potential opponent like this." She mused.
Arthur listened and thought for a second, "You know Ophis still wants to have him join her cause. I know he declined the offer, but she might want to get more persuasive."
Kuroka remained quiet for a bit, "Is he really that strong? He might seem impressive, but that impressive?"
The blond-haired man pushed up his glasses, "Let's just say that despite his reputation, he's known to have bested several strong opponents in the Underworld. He's a prime rival of Sairaorg Bael, and we all know by rumor how skilled he is despite how challenged he was in life."
"I forgot about that. He also seems resourceful, I mean, it's not every day you just get an audience with Lucifer when you want to either." Bikou chimed in, appearing a bit more serious than before.
The dark-haired woman gave a chuckle, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out. Though I have no reason to believe he would ever accept the invite from Ophis. She may have to get a bit more personal about it."
Le Fay seemed to get a bit more nervous about it, "Isn't that bad though? I mean… if Ophis has to get personal about it, then he could be in trouble."
Arthur shook his head, "She wants his help, and he'd have less reason to consider it if she were to get ugly. I think Ophis would agree to that, and… behave."
The younger girl gave a small nod of understanding, as Arthur swung Caliburn to create a rift and led the others through, "Just keep it in mind, though once again I wish you luck."
No more than a second later, she was once again alone on top of the water tower.
As much as he loved her friends, they often got too many good ideas about what she was up to.
And while Le Fay might've been right, that wasn't the dominant thing in her head at the moment.
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It didn't take her too long to find him. Senjutsu was an amazing tool in her arsenal, and she opted to just watch him for a while as he waltzed down the streets of Kuoh with a grocery bag under his arm.
Seemed like he was alone, his peerage nowhere in sight. As she moved over the rooftops, her keen eyes kept a close watch.
At the present time, she didn't know why she hadn't just dropped down and surprised him like she normally would have. Perhaps it was the… fear, of not knowing what had happened at the meeting.
Anything could've been said, anything could've been done, and her only answer to it would be what he said.
Maybe it was that slimmer of hope she had started to feel, that made her uneasy. Whether or not she could accept it, was what she wasn't sure about. Sure, she had said he could go with it if he wanted to.
But the undeniable fact was just that there were no guarantees. Anything could go wrong, just like it had always had.
In the end, she just had to figure out if she was willing to grab the hand he had offered her.
Knowing there was only one real way to figure out if she was ready, and it was to hear his words, she jumped down and made her way toward him. Her ears and tails were hidden away from the general population, as she got closer.
Though, even without seeing him. It felt like something was off.
With a quick tap to his right arm, she maneuvered around his right side to stand in front of him as he turned his head.
She heard him give a small chuckle as she prepared to spook him, but her lips immediately fell into a pout as he spoke.
"You know, you can try and sneak up on me as many times as you want, but it won't work… again."
Her face fell into a blank stare as he turned his head with a small laugh at her misfortune.
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "You could've at least pretended to be scared or something since I went out of my way..."
"Out of your way to stalk me?" He countered with a small chuckle.
With a roll of her eyes, but soon got a look of surprise, "Kind of funny you mention it, Bikou just said indirectly I was a natural stalker since I'm a cat. He might've been right."
Naruto blinked at her, "I see, so how is Bikou? Been a while since we… crossed paths, to put it lightly."
Kuroka laughed and started to walk with him, "Oh let's just say that he wants a rematch. He told me to ask you if you were up for that."
She watched as he halted in his steps with a curious look on his face, "Any particular reason?"
The raven-haired woman shrugged her shoulders and looked back at him, "He likes to fight strong people, and you put on a performance the last time. He knows you're capable of more, and so are others, he just wants a little… friendly brawl."
Naruto chuckled loudly at that, "For some reason, I feel like if I say yes, then I'll have more people like that coming. Am I wrong?"
She got a mischievous look in her eyes, "Only if you win."
He smirked a bit back, "Oh don't worry, I'll win."
"I take it you accept the challenge then?" She asked with mild surprise.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his chin, "Maybe, not now though. I got a rating game coming up in a couple of days, and I got things I need to take care of. Though I'm not against the idea, it's just a bit of a bad time."
She frowned a bit, his words starting to merge with the vibe she got just a moment before, "Did something go wrong with the meeting?"
He blinked and looked at her, quickly shaking his head, "Oh, no, not at all. Quite the contrary actually, everything is going as well as it can. Which is actually why I had wanted to talk to you about something."
"Well, what is it? Going to share the good news with me?" She asked, the hopeful tinge in her eyes returning.
There was a quick nod of his head, "Yeah, actually, we got a new peerage member today. And since we're having a celebratory dinner, I figured that we have more than one reason to celebrate. I just wasn't sure if I'd see you in time, but here you are. So, would you do me the honor of joining us?" He asked, the same small grin on his face as he extended an arm toward her.
She knew it was his way of meeting her playful behavior, but she stared at it for a while. It was like now was the moment of whether or not she'd accept the hand he had extended toward her.
As she didn't make a visible move, the look on his face almost seemed to make him take his offer back. Though, before he could, she gave him an arm and released a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Fine, I'll tag along. Though, there's something that I'd like to ask too," She started and waited for a response.
He blinked and looked down at her and asked, "Sure, ask away."
After another pause and looking him over, she hummed and started to walk, letting him lead her the way, "You seem… off, or am I wrong?"
"That obvious, huh?" He chuckled.
She gave a nod of her head, "Yeah, both your face and energy seem almost horrible. I almost thought for a second the entire plan had gone bad, but I guess it's a more personal matter."
"What's wrong with my face?" He asked with a raised brow.
With a loud snort, she pointed at it and poked at the dark spots under his eyes, "Do you want me to find you a mirror or take a picture because there is plenty of stuff to poke at."
He shook his head with a small laugh, "Nah, I'll take your word for it. It's a mix of a few things honestly, both the whole plan, my peerage, and my sister. Everything really.
"Want to talk about it? I don't have anything but time anyway," She offered and put up a small smile.
Naruto chuckled, "How ironic, but, it's alright. I doubt you'd want to hear me rambling all day."
Kuroka gave him a blank stare, "Okay, I'm not sure what it is you're dealing with… yet… but you've given me every opportunity I have to make everything right again. This is a way for me to start repaying you."
"Repaying me? With what, listening to my sorry ass?" He joked with a mild chuckle.
She gave a quick nod of her head and took her arm back, and sat him down on the curbs, "Yes, by listening to your sorry ass. You listened to mine after all, and we're not gonna go anywhere until you spill. And if you're difficult I'll just sit on you and make you."
A mischievous grin formed on his lips as he chuckled at her supposed threat, "Well if that's what's in it for me when I'm difficult, it's quite the temptation."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms under her chest, "Be serious."
The look on his face changed, and eventually gave a small nod and patted the seat beside him, "Fine. Take a seat at least."
"So, why are you looking so serious all of a sudden? It can't be that bad, I mean, how much can happen in under a week." She tried and sat down with a small sigh.
He nodded his head, "Yeah, it's not that serious. It's mostly like speculations and the like, so it's not really something you have to bother yourself with. I promise."
With a quick jab to his side, she shot him a heated glare, "Listen, I'm not going to offer it again. So spill it, if the two of us are meant to be friends you know what's required, don't you?"
With a quick moment of silence, he looked up at her from the corner of his eyes and started chuckling idly, "I think this might be the first time you recognized us as friends. I'm glad, I'd hoped it could be like that. Alright… I know being friends is a two-way street."
Kuroka visibly relaxed more and retrieved her hand, "Good, now spill, Naruto."
He blinked, as he recognized this was the first time she had used his actual name instead of some kind of nickname, "It's just, I never thought I'd be in a situation like this. I just find it hard to not disappoint people."
"Who would you disappoint? I mean, it's evidently clear that you're willing to do a lot of things for people you don't even know. Like me." She countered with skepticism.
A smile settled on his lips, "Yeah, I want to help where I can. It's just that I don't know if I can be a good king, it didn't really strike me as an issue before I left to get groceries. Probably because it's the first time in a while I was truly alone to think things over."
"Anything else?"
He nodded, "Yeah, also your case. I just don't want to fail to keep my promise. I'm all about not going back on my word and all, but if it should backfire on me I don't know what I'd think. Or what Rias, Sona, or you would think for that matter."
She let out a small sigh and placed a clap on his shoulder, "Listen, you're doing what you can. I won't blame you if it doesn't work in the end, you and Sirzechs are trying, which is what counts, and your sister… well, without knowing her, I don't think you need to be so worried."
Naruto nodded his head slowly, "Thanks, I needed to hear that. I just don't want to fail anymore, y'know? And being a king, like, I want everyone to feel welcome and like it's a home and not just some sort of private army. I don't know if I'm leader material."
Kuroka chuckled much to his confusion, "That's what your queen is for, that… Kurama guy, right? He's your second in command, he'll help and advise you. And if everyone knows they have a say in what's going on they'll help you. You're seemingly close with Sirzechs, and your sister and the Gremory girl are also there. They've been in this game longer than you, so if you ever feel lost there are always people you can ask for advice."
He remained quiet for a while before he gave her a last smile, "I probably knew all of this, I just needed some confirmation. Thank you."
"Was that so hard? Now come on, I'm starving." Kuroka snorted and stood up and grabbed the grocery bag out of his hand.
With a dumbfounded look on his face, Naruto shook his head and followed after, "Yeah yeah. Well, it'll still be fun to explain this to the peerage."
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As Naruto arrived back at the mansion with Kuroka, he bit the inside of his cheek and turned to her, "I'm just gonna be ready ahead of time here, I haven't told my peerage yet about the plan. The only people that know are Sona and Rias, but I haven't given them any specifics about your story. I figured that wasn't my place to tell."
She halted in her steps and tilted her head to the side, "I appreciate that, though what does that mean?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Let's just say my friend Kurama is pretty energetic, and considering how the circumstances were the last time you two met, he might not think we're friends."
"So, let me guess, he'll speak with his fists first," She thought out loud, with an amused tone.
He nodded his head, "Most likely, yes. Though don't worry, as soon as we're seated I figured I'd tell them along with you what happened with Sirzechs and I's talk. And if you want, you can tell your side of things. You don't have to if you don't want to, as again, it's not my place to tell."
As he finished his sentence he turned around to open the door, though he wasn't exactly ready for what was on another side.
It was a bit like fate's irony, as his orange-haired queen piece was standing with a cup of water just a few feet down the hall, and the look on his face was not close to amused the second he spotted the person that was with him.
But while he had expected Kurama to make some kind of violent motion, he just came walking down and stared him straight in the eye, "What's she doing here?"
Naruto blinked, "I've got to admit I'm surprised, I half expected you to come rushing down with a bat or something to knock some heads off."
Kurama snorted, "Because of our last meeting?"
The dark-haired boy gave a nod of his head, as his equally dark-haired friend glanced between the two with a curious glint in her eyes.
The fox snickered, "I guess you were wrong again bird-brain. I was the one that told you her story was worth less than that bushy-browed kid's barber, I just didn't know you'd get a friend out of it."
Naruto looked at Kuroka, and then back at Kurama, "I'll explain in a bit, a lot of… things have happened."
"Let me guess, it has something to do with why you and that Lucifer guy are best friends now?"
He chuckled at the wording and just nodded his head, "Hit the nail right on the head there, now come on, we need to get started on cooking, or else this celebration will take all night."
Kurama offered a slow hum in return before casually walking down the hallway and into the kitchen.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, as Kuroka walked up beside him and nudged him in the side with her elbow, "That was a surprise, huh?"
"Sure was, I pretty much expected him to try and roundhouse kick the door down, but I guess everything can happen these days," He chuckled and followed her inside, closing the door behind him.
As he entered his home he quickly summoned his familiar and handed over the grocery bag that Kuroka had decided to carry for him. Without having to say anything, the crow transformed into its humanoid form and disappeared into the kitchen.
It wasn't exactly anything he was proud of, but his familiar was able to cook… much better than he could.
And since there was a lot to discuss, he figured it is awkward as hell to just let people sit and wait thirty minutes with no word of what was going on. This way he could at least be on top of the situation, and also have food served right after.
As he let his familiar do its thing, he walked up and tapped Kurama on the shoulder, "Can you gather the others and have them meet us at the dining table? I figured that'd be the most appropriate place to talk."
The orange-haired man raised a brow before he gave a small nod of his head, "Sure thing."
It didn't take long for the fox Youkai to gather the last two remaining peerage members and gather them at the table.
As he sat there, Kurama sat on his right, and Kuroka decided to take a seat on his left. The rest of the peerage filled in the remaining spots, as he glanced them over, noticing their curious expression as to what was going on, but also who the newcomer was.
It was kind of funny to him. He had read a few history books, not because he wanted to, but because he thought he had to. And one story about the knights of the roundtable, suddenly reminded him a bit of this situation.
Perhaps he should have some kind of meeting room set up in the basement, or perhaps get a second floor. He'd have to think about that, unless they needed to address major situations often there wasn't really the need.
As their eyes turned to him, and he suddenly started to feel like the spotlight was on him, he cleared his throat and coughed into his hand, "Well, I guess this may seem a bit confusing considering we're supposed to have a celebratory dinner."
Veldora chuckled, "That's for sure, feels like we're having a conference now."
Naruto had to share the chuckle as he scratched his neck, "Yeah, there are a few things we need to discuss first. Because we have more than one reason to celebrate today, and in advance, I'd like to apologize. The other reason is something I haven't been honest about."
The newest member looked a bit unsure between them, "You make it sound serious."
The dark-haired boy shook his head slowly, "No, it's not. Or well, it honestly depends, as it's serious in a good way. Initially, I had decided that only I would be aware of the situation. However, things are different now, and I can afford to be a bit more open about things."
"So, what is it? We've already figured it's tied into whatever you've been talking with Lucifer about," Kurama chipped in, his arms crossed over his chest.
Naruto gave a quick nod of his head, "First of all I'd like to introduce my friend here, her name is Kuroka. She is tied into what I've been working with, and that'd be clearing her name, and also reuniting her with her sister."
As he finished the last sentence, there was a small round of greetings and questions, which Naruto replied to as they came. By the end of it, none seemed to have a problem with it. Saeko even joked around and tried to reassure the dark-haired woman about him helping her out too, that he was trustable.
Kuroka had remained quiet throughout most of it until he got to the point where he started explaining his relationship with Sirzechs, to which she started showing more visible interest. Everything from the first meeting with Kuroka, up until the latest talk they had. And then how it all tied together with the plan that had been set in motion.
When he had finished it, he had shot a look at her. Which Kuroka took as her invitation to tell her side of the story if she wished to do so. Before she decided, Naruto had made sure everyone at the table would stay quiet about things until they could properly exonerate her.
He did so because it was the safest option, both for the people they cared about, but also for themselves. The more people that were aware, the higher the chance of the word spreading. And they all knew that wasn't an option.
In the end, she had stared them over and tightly gripped the fabric of her kimono. She had shot a glance toward Naruto, the look of uncertainty in her eyes present. In the end, he had openly told them that her side of the story would only be shared at her discretion.
It took her a couple more minutes before she started telling her story to his peerage. As she neared the end where she met Naruto and got his offer, she felt Saeko's hand grab her own supportingly.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, I hope I speak for all of us here when I say we'll help with your and Naruto's plan," The purple-haired girl said with a small comforting smile.
Kuroka gave a small nod of her head, as Naruto's familiar started to put dishes on the table, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
At that, Naruto clapped his hands together as he stared hungrily at the food, "Now that we're all on the page, I guess we can finally celebrate. Everything is going well, and I hope that you feel welcome."
She gave a smile, one that seemed more genuine than usual, "I do, thank you for inviting me. I hope that we have no bad blood between us," She finished and shot a look at Kurama.
The orange-haired man waved his hand, "No grudge from here, you were keeping up a facade. That's all there is to it."
Naruto smiled a bit to himself as he watched the interactions. Had this been the Kurama he knew from before the war, then he'd for sure have held a grudge. He was thankful that his friend had come a long way since then.
With a look of appreciation from her side, they started eating. Mild conversation across the table, and she had to admit it felt as strange as it felt good to be here.
For as long as she could remember, she had only done this with members of Vali's team, and she of course loved her friends, but something about this was completely different. For once in a long time, she felt normal, like she was a person just like everyone else here.
She could hear Naruto bickering with Kurama and the one she had come to know as Veldora, everything from battle to strategy, and everything in between.
There was no doubt that the dragon was very energetic in comparison to the two others, and that said a lot.
As something came to her mind, she looked from her dish and looked in the dark-haired boy's way, "That reminds me, you said you were fighting a rating game soon?"
Naruto blinked as he realized it was him she was talking to, and turned her way, "Oh, yeah! I'm having an unofficial game with my cousin, we've for a long time wanted to figure out who he is best at using time magic."
A curious expression lifted her features as she paused eating, "I've been curious about that, in how many different ways can you use it? I know you can do that reversing thing from when we first met."
Saeko nodded her head as she listened in on the conversation, "He did that to help my dad, but I have to say I'm curious too."
Kuroka got a mischievous glint in her eyes, as an almost proud smirk lifted her lips, "I figured out when I tried to poison him."
Naruto's brow twitched as he mumbled, "Yeah, that wasn't fun."
'Not fun?' Saeko sweatdropped internally.
Kuroka shrugged casually and shot him a wink, "First impressions count."
"You certainly got your point across," Kurama chuckled with a shake of his head.
Veldora blinked at the conversation before he snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah, he can also shoot air with it. No idea how that works, but it feels like a building drops on you. Best spar we've had," He nodded and recalled the supposedly fond memory.
While what Veldora said wasn't technically incorrect, it wasn't correct either. Naruto just sighed, "Y'all are just giving away my secrets at this rate…"
The dark-haired woman hummed at that mention, and pointed her chopsticks at him, "If you could combine the ability with senjutsu then you could probably amplify it a ton. If he says it feels like a building imagine how much worse you could make it."
He paused in the middle of taking a bite of his food and shot her a curious look. "Hmm, interesting…"
Kurama narrowed his eyes and gathered his hands in front of him, "What're you planning?"
"Nothing… yet." He chuckled, "Though, could I perhaps ask a favor of you?"
She tilted her head, "Sure, depends on what it is though?"
He smirked and clapped his hands together around his chopsticks, "Would you be interested in teaching me about senjutsu? Not necessarily teach me how to do it, since it's not certain I'm able to, but just theory and concept?"
Kuroka blinked, confused, "Doesn't your queen already know it though? I could, but it seems a bit counter-productive."
"He's already been teaching me. I just thought that his views and yours might be different, and if I could cross-reference all of that then I'd maybe be able to learn something. I just thought it could be a good idea to know a bit in case Kurama needed some help, or I had to fight someone that uses it," He mused.
She chuckled, "Like Bikou?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin, "Perhaps, he does want to fight afterall. Though I thought that I should be ready in case someone in the rating games would use it, and I'd like to be more helpful to Kurama and potential others that join us."
Kuroka gave a small smile in return and nodded her head, "It's a date then, you free tomorrow?"
As Naruto was about to respond, he looked to his right as Kurama laughed, "That sure escalated quickly."
The dark-haired boy shook his head at the fox Youkai's antics and gazed back over to his left, smiling as he replied, "Yes, I'm free tomorrow."
Small talk filled the table again until they were finished with their food. Naruto stretched as he dried the dishes after Veldora would wash them, whilst also trying to stop him from throwing them like frisbees at Kurama whenever he'd interject with some kind of comment.
He could of course just reverse time and clean the plates that way, but this was a lot more entertaining, despite how chaotic it was at the same time.
As he heard a knock on the doorframe leading into the kitchen he turned his head to see Kuroka standing with Saeko beside her, "Is that hot spring or onsen thing still working?"
Nodding his head, he put another plate away, "Sure is, what's up?"
She gave a small smile and wrapped an arm around the purple-haired girl's shoulders, "Oh I was just wondering if I could borrow it for some girl talk," She grinned cheerfully.
Saeko smiled a bit nervously as she raised a hand to scratch her cheek, "I hope you don't mind, but I told her you had one in the backyard…"
Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "She already knows, she joined me the other night… Which sounds a bit odd out of context."
As he finished his sentence, he felt a fist collide with his shoulder and looked up to stare at Kurama who flashed him a grin, showing off his canines, "Seems like you're keeping more secret from me than you're admitting to, what else have you been doing that I don't know of?"
With a deadpan expression, Naruto returned the favor by smacking his own hand into the slightly taller man's arm, "Nothing, we just talked about the plan. That's all. I swear to the Satans, you get weirder by the minute…"
Kuroka blinked amused at the situation unfolding, fighting her inner urges to continue to mess with the dark-haired boy at his expense. In the end, she decided that Kurama had that under control.
Scratching the back of his head, Naruto sighed and looked at her with a minor smirk, "Yeah, you can use it. Make yourself at home."
Needing no more confirmation, she flashed him an excited smirk and was about to latch onto Saeko's wrist, but she paused just a second before.
Before she started to drag the poor girl with her she looked him in the eye and waltzed up to whisper to him in the ear, "While I don't mind you joining me, I'm not sure she shares the same sentiment. The others might get jealous too."
As the hairs on the back of his neck stood up from the hot breath against his skin, Naruto gave her a small playful push, "Get out of here before I change my mind," Though, despite his words, a smile was present on his face as he shook his head.
On her way out, she shot him another look before she latched onto Saeko's hand and started to drag her along, leaving Naruto to stand back with Veldora and Kurama, who both looked quite amused.
He already knew now that she'd constantly mess with him. And he had to admit it was fun, it was refreshing compared to how serious everything had been.
"Not a word," He muttered and put down the towel in Kurama's hands, and started to make his way out of the kitchen.
After he had pushed his kitchen duties into Kurama's hands, he walked into the living room and turned on the gaming system, and grabbed a controller. Everything had gone better than he could've hoped for.
As much as he trusted his peerage, there was always that small voice in the back of his head that said the secrets he'd have kept or would be keeping, were gonna be a problem. Luckily enough for him, they had just waved it off.
He was also happy that Saeko had taken Kuroka in as quickly as she did, while he hadn't pushed for it, he had inwardly hoped that those two would hit it off.
While he obviously already cared for his new friend, he also wanted her to feel welcome in the house. Which was another thing he had to thank them for, especially Kurama.
Veldora was always happy to meet new people, even though his usual social skills were about picking a fight because he thought it was fun.
Kurama, on the other hand, well. He didn't need to tell anyone that the guy was probably more reserved than anyone he had ever known in his two lives combined. And for a good reason too.
The evening passed by as he just zoned out in front of the TV. Flicking the buttons around on the controller as he figured that his two male peerage members were probably either fighting or doing an arm wrestle at this rate.
As he heard some footsteps from his right, he turned his head and watched the amused expression of Kuroka that stood a raised brow at him.
"What's up?" He asked with a small chuckle.
She grinned and shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing, I was just coming to tell you that I was heading out. Saeko asked me to tell you that she was staying here, your queen offered her to spend the night."
A frown fell upon his lips, "Already? It's pretty late, I mean, you can just stay here. It's not like we lack space as you know. Seems like Saeko has taken a liking to you too."
Kuroka shook her head, "Nah, I think I'll just head back. It was fun though… I appreciate it. I can't remember the last time I did something like this, so… thank you for this, and the food too."
"I'll be sure to tell my familiar you liked its cooking," He snickered and leaned back into the couch, "It was really fun, I'm glad you decided to tag along."
A smile grew on her lips, as her amber eyes fell to the TV, the curiosity on her face showing as her cat-like ears did a small twitch, "What're you playing?"
A knowing grin lifted his face as he reached down beside him to grab a spare controller, and lifted it invitingly toward her, "Street Fighter, care to join me? I have to admit it's no fun playing alone. I could use a challenge too?"
Her eyes almost seemed to glow as she eyed him and then the controller, the voice in her head telling her she should probably go home, but at the same time, she didn't want to.
Shaking her head, she snatched the controller out of his hand and dropped down on the cushions beside him. Her legs crossed over so their thighs were slightly touching, as she smirked, "You're on, just don't expect me to go easy on you."
"Oh? I'm not planning on losing you know!" He chuckled and got ready to pick his character in the game.
She snickered and shot him a glance from the corner of her eyes, "Prepare to eat dirt, Sitri, because there is no way in hell I'm losing either."
Naruto had to stop himself from laughing, "Very well then, let the best one win."
"Oh, she will." Kuroka gave a quick nod of her head before she suddenly got an idea, and turned to watch him. His curious expression meeting hers, as she just smiled, "Got any snacks by any chance?"
He blinked a bit in surprise, humming as he smiled back, "Oh I'm sure we can figure something out."
改行
That's a wrap, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. I tried to make the interactions as natural as possible, but since there was so much I want to do with the characters, I had to hold myself back a bit so it wouldn't be rushing anything important.
Anyhow, if there is anything you're curious about let me know!
If you have a couple of seconds to answer one or two questions, I got a few.
1) Since you seemed to like the Saeko interlude at the beginning of the former chapter, what were your thoughts on the Kuroka interlude and focus on the first half of the story? I thought it was fun playing a bit around with the characters of the Vali team.
2) Do you think I'm neglecting any of the peerage members? I try my best to get their fair share of interactions across, but it can be hard without forcing it if that makes sense. Hopefully, it'll be better by the time of the rating game.
3) I've had some mixed opinions on my secondary DxD fic, some say okay for Devil Naruto, but a lot of people also seemed to want something else. So I was curious, what race would you prefer if any? I personally just like devils or fallen angels more.