The Legacy of the Most Unpredictable Ninja

by RekkingPride

After checking up on a strange rift in space and time, Naruto ended up in a foreign land where new allies and enemies await. However, his wish to bring peace to his home still resonated...so he will do everything he can to return home, no matter what! 3 Crossovers mixed right, with a 4th on the way. A new narrative with believable characters! Strong!Naruto and mostly in-character!

33. Chapter 33

AN: This is a big chapter, so if you're not into that, please try and pace yourself. :P

---

"Naruto~ Come on! Wake up!"

"...Why...?"

Kunou huffed as the sleepy teen tried to stall for time, trying to get more rest. "Cause it's morning of course! Come on, let's go and play!"

Naruto groaned in agony. This child was going to be the death of him if she kept waking him up at obscene hours...

"Alright, alright...I'm up. Just give me a minute to change my clothes, I'll be out after that." he managed to say, words slurred as he moved to get up.

Immediately following her orders, the little kyuubi scrambled away from her fellow blond and ran out of the room. Beaming as she did so.

As soon as she ran out of the room however, the shinobi felt the strength leave his arms and tumbled back onto the bed that he was sleeping on. Moving the covers over himself in an attempt to fall back asleep.

He lied. There was no way that he'd sacrifice his beauty sleep, damn it.

With that determination in hand, the blond let himself slowly drift to blissful unconsciousness.

At least until he heard the pitter-patter of little feet approaching.

"...Son of a..."

"Naruto!"

Kunou jumped through the door-

"GAAAAAH!"

-and landed right on him.

Naruto's eyes were wide open, bulged, as the air was knocked out of his stomach by the sudden blow.

"You're not going back to sleep, I won't let you!" the little girl declared, crossing her arms as she glared petulantly at the groaning young man under her.

He didn't even respond, as he was too busy trying to trying not to strangle the brat that was sitting on his stomach.

"Kunou~ Where are you~?" Yasaka called out lightly as she entered the room, before looking taken aback when she saw her daughter laying on top of their powerful guest. "Oh my. You woke Naruto-sama already hm?"

This time the shinobi managed a groan in complaint, which was completely ignored by the little girl that had too much energy in the morning. "Yep! I was hoping that he could play with me before he came to eat with us though..."

Yasaka shook her head, motherly tone light but firm. "Sorry Kunou, eat first, play later. You know the rules."

Kunou pouted, getting up from the teen below her with reluctance. "Oh, but kaa-chan..."

"Don't 'oh, but kaa-chan' me young lady." the kyuubi mother reprimanded. "Breakfast first."

"...Fine." the small blond relented sadly, moving away from the still-prone teen and back out the hallway. Her shoulders hunched.

Yasaka watched her daughter go, making sure that she didn't try anything funny, then turned her attention back at the young man who was still laying in his bed.

He hasn't recovered from her daughter's surprise attack yet.

"Sorry about that Naruto-sama." the yokai faction leader apologized, smiling softly. "Kunou's just excited that you decided to stay behind and rest for a little bit. You know...I have never actually seen her act so familiar with someone before, besides myself of course."

A grunt was her only response, followed by a pathetic attempt to get up, before falling down on the bed under him.

Seeing this, the powerful yokai chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, I'm sure that you want a little bit more rest before you eat. Come join us whenever you find the energy."

With that last assurance, Yasaka closed the door and walked off, giving the blond the opportunity to go back to sleep.

Except that his blue eyes were a lot less bleary compared to when Kunou first came barging in.

To put it bluntly, Naruto was far too awake now to go back to sleep. Much to his simmering annoyance as he glared at the ceiling.

"...Naruto..."

The shinobi's ears predictably perked up when he heard his friend call his name beside him.

Yuki, who was laying on a bed of her own near his, looked at him with bleary yellow eyes and opened her mouth to ask...

"...Why do loud things always happen when I'm around you?"

Naruto felt like he could cry at his pitiful luck when she said that.

"To be honest...I want to figure that out too. It's annoying sometimes."

Yuki couldn't help but agree, even if she didn't verbalize it.

---

"Ara ara...you look much better in comparison to earlier, Naruto-sama. You just needed some time to wake up I assume?" the yokai matriarch asked rhetorically, smiling as the blond teen really began eating with gusto.

Naruto, who was finally fully awake, offered a sheepish grin in return. "Ehehe...yeah, sorry about that. Went to bed late last night, and I was so tired that I didn't want to get up. At all, really."

"Mhmm!" Maria heartily agreed, her cheeks bloated as she was stuffing rice balls into her mouth. "We stayed up until it was super late last night! Though...I'll leave the specifics of what we did to your imagination. Better for everyone that way!"

The shinobi turned his gaze to the silverette, giving her a withering stare. "Way to make it sound weird."

He got a thumbs up in response.

"It's what I do!"

Typical.

"I see." Yasaka muttered, interested. "So then...have you three decided upon how long you'll be staying here?"

Naruto nodded, leaning down to take another bite out of his food. "Mm...we're gonna stay for at least four more days or so. Mostly until the worst of Yuki's and Maria's wounds have recovered thanks to your healers."

Indeed, both young women would have to go through quite a bit of healing before they could truly exercise their strength at one-hundred percent again.

Speaking of which...

The table rumbled slightly as Maria banged her head against the table, moaning in pain as she felt her wounds sting her when she twisted her body to turn to the shinobi again.

Yuki on the other hand managed to eat peacefully and without much of a fuss. Carefully using her single hand to eat like a civilized human being compared to her compatriots, who were stuffing their faces in while eating.

Naruto sweat-dropped when he figured that out.

"Excellent!" Yasaka remarked, clapping her hands together. "Kunou will be so happy that you've all decided to stay behind for a little while longer. She was practically bouncing off of the walls when she first woke up, she really wanted to see you Naruto-sama...you as well, Maria-san."

The blond teen chuckled nervously, remembering that the little kyuubi was so excited that she'd jump on top of him to wake him up.

Maria managed to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity, but immediately began groaning again in pain.

Everyone ignored her.

Naruto in particular, since he was still a little sore that she listening in on the blond's and Yuki's conversation yesterday.

"Speaking of which." Naruto started, switching topics abruptly as he became more solemn. "Did...Kunou have any nightmares? You know...about what happened?"

The kyuubi's expression followed her fellow blond's at the question. "Actually...yes. She squirmed and wrestled a few times in the middle of the night, most likely against the people that tried to kidnap her. I actually woke her up once, since I stayed with her during the night and wanted to comfort her, but...do you know what she did?"

A soft smile tugged at the blond woman's lips as she gazed upon the young man that saved her daughter. "She went and comforted me. Telling me that I'd be alright, that I didn't need to worry about her...that she wanted to handle the nightmares herself."

Yasaka shrugged her shoulders, that soft smile growing. "She went back to sleep after that, and as far as I know, she didn't have any more nightmares."

Naruto grinned, heartened and proud that the young girl did what she did. "That's awesome to hear...your daughter is one tough cookie, ya know?"

The powerful woman flashed her own grin, one that only a parent with pride could flash. "Oh. I know."

The shinobi chuckled, getting a nice and fuzzy feeling in his chest after hearing that nice little tidbit.

Yeah...this was nice too.

"Ah...that reminds me." Yasaka piped up, expression shifting once more to a more serious tone as she gained the shinobi's attention. "I've received the first field reports from my people that I sent out to the forest. I assume that you want to hear their report as well?"

The young hero at the table perked up slightly, eyes meeting the whiskered teen's as he turned to her as well. Knowing that this was important for her to hear as much as it was for him.

Now both; Naruto and Yuki focused their full attention on the female yokai, deadly serious.

Though Maria was still groaning softly, far too annoyed to pay attention at the moment.

Seeing that she had their attention, Yasaka continued. "Well, first I have to mention that the yokai I sent out brought back the unconscious and...the recently departed humans that you fought against yesterday. The moment that they returned, I made sure to review over the captured warriors to find the leader that you mentioned, the one that confronted me...and we couldn't find him. More than that, we couldn't find his spear either."

Naruto straightened his back, eyes narrowing.

Yuki on the other hand actually stood up from the table, face contorting in outrage. "What do you mean!? That's impossible...!"

"No." the shinobi quickly cut off, stopping the tirade that the hero was no doubt about to start. "It's possible. One of the clones that were supposed to guard Yasaka and Kunou when they were both unconscious found Cao Cao's spear...but he was attacked before he could secure it. I was afraid that maybe Cao Cao's allies might have gone back to take it or something...but to think that the yokai couldn't even find the body either..."

"Wait." Maria spoke up, finally getting over the pain that her wound caused her. "Are you saying that there are more of those 'hero' guys out there?"

"Hero...?" Yasaka parroted, feeling that the term was familiar but forgot where she heard it.

Then her eyes widened when she remembered...

"That's what they called themselves. " Naruto said, helping the yokai connect the dots in her head before turning to the succubus. "And yeah, I think there are more of them. When the clone was attacked, I...well, to be honest the memory is a little fuzzy because of all of the excitement the other day. But I remember...what looked like a pair of red slit eyes staring at me. Trying to force it's will onto me. I don't know what that was, but it definitely ain't normal."

More than that, it felt kind of familiar too...

"Red slits?" the yokai faction leader parroted again, but definitely not confused this time.

All eyes turned to her.

The blond woman closed her eyes, remembering the sensation, the loss of control, the sheer lack of power she had over her own body...

"Yasaka?"

Golden eyes fluttered open, trying to refocus and get back to the point at hand. "Well...what you just said just...reminded me of what happened when I was under that man's control. I remember seeing red slits when I lost control of my body, when my actions weren't my own anymore. It was just looking at me, calculating and cold."

Naruto clenched his teeth, remembering faintly that the red slits he saw were indeed cold and calculating. Far more than Cao Cao's arrogant gaze, those eyes were filled with malicious intelligence.

"...It looks like there really is a remnant to Cao Cao's group, how many though is a different question. But if they have the man's body as well as his spear then..."

Yuki's eyes snapped to him, lips set into a thin line. "...Do you think that they'd try to secure his Sacred Gear?"

Maria gulped at the thought, remembering the feeling of danger that she got when in near proximity to that powerful spear that he wielded. "That sure isn't a nice thought...more than that, they probably have a grudge against us as well for taking down so many of them."

The shinobi sighed, scratching his head at the dilemma at hand. He suspected that maybe something like this would happen when he first recalled the clone's memory after Yasaka reminded him about the clean up outside of Kyoto. But the thought of handing that spear to someone else was...well, bad.

More than that, they didn't even know how many of those 'heroes' were left.

It wouldn't exactly be too much of a stretch to assume that they'd try to attack Yasaka and Kunou again if they retained Cao Cao's crazy ambition either.

"I hope that you can get some information out of those 'heroes' that you've captured, because as it stands, we don't really know anything about the remnant of Cao Cao's forces. Their ambition, their numbers, their leader...nothing." Naruto grumbled, scratching his head as he considered what to do.

Yuki nodded, agreeing silently. That information would not only be useful for the yokai, but it would be useful for the Hero Tribe as well. She had no doubt that the higher ups would want to either keep an eye on such a group...or just eliminate it in it's entirety.

Either or wasn't exactly a problem for her by this point, they were simply too dangerous and unstable as a faction.

Those thoughts about the psuedo-heroes eventually led her to...

"Ah, I think I'll be excused for now." the female hero began, getting up from the table lightly. "I'm going to check on Basara and his condition, then I suppose I'll let the nurses take care of me for a little bit. Thank you for the food."

The young woman bowed to Yasaka, offered a nod to Maria, and then turned to Naruto, her eyes suddenly unreadable.

"I'll see you later?" she eventually offered.

Naruto locked eyes with her before he shifted in his chair uncomfortably, somewhat taken aback at just how...'strong' her gaze was.

There was just no other words to describe it.

Best play it safe then.

"Yeah." he replied, offering a small grin once he regained his mental footing. "I'll see ya later."

Yuki cracked a smile at the response, then walked off to see her old friend.

Blue eyes trailed after her, his own face becoming indecipherable to anyone else that might have been watching.

"Well...that was a bit uncomfortable." Maria noted dryly, sending a sidelong look at the teen beside her.

Naruto coughed into his hand as he turned away from her.

The succubus eyed him for a few beats, then shrugged her shoulders and stood up, wincing in pain as she did so. "Oww...alright, I'm gonna go back to see these wounds looked at. Apparently I'm not as healed as I thought I was, so try not to flirt with too many girls while I'm getting better Naruto-sama!"

The half-devil ducked as Naruto flung a hastily-made paper ball at her in annoyance, managing to scoot out of the room before the blond could throw another object at her.

"...Damn." he cursed as Maria escaped.

"Ara ara...I already thought that you had interesting relationships with your friends, but I never thought that you all had such lively personalities too."

The shinobi turned back to the powerful yokai close to him, who was currently smirking at him.

"I suppose that's one way to call it." Naruto dryly retorted. "Actually...to be honest, you don't even know the half of it. They are all a handful."

"Ufufu...and I suppose you're any different?"

The young man opened his mouth to deny it, knowing that he was without a doubt a very respectable member of Kuoh-

'Gama-tan!'

Then he shut his mouth.

"...Most of the time."

Yasaka didn't look convinced. "Why don't I believe you?"

Instead of attempting to disprove her, Naruto instead chose to petulantly glare at the woman. She was being cheeky.

Seeing the look on his face, the yokai mother chuckled softly. "My...you lot are interesting. Especially you...Naruto-sama."

Naruto scratched the side of his face, somewhat embarrassed by her words. "Ah, well I'm not that interesting 'ttebayo..."

A sly smile grew across the kyuubi's face when she noticed his embarrassment, could it be that despite his confidence, he wasn't used to such overt flattery?

"Speaking of interesting things..." Yasaka stated suddenly, switching topics seemingly out of the blue. "Do you think that the way that some of your allies treat you is interesting? Like your friends here do?"

The shinobi's eyes squinted faintly at the question, not at all sure where the topic came from.

He replied anyways though. "Uh...well not really. Why?"

The yokai faction leader lowered her head onto the palm of her hand, her elbow on the table as she leaned closer to the teen. "Really...? Not interesting whatsoever?"

Blue eyes blinked. "Well, not really. I mean, yeah, sometimes some of my friends act weird, but it isn't something too strange ya know? For example; just yesterday Yuki accidentally tripped and her lips fell on my cheek. Yeah it was weird, and I got a little flustered...but it ain't a big deal, right? Also, Maria was talking about some weird shit too...but she's a prankster, so it ain't too big of a deal."

Even as he was speaking, a sweat-drop quickly began forming on Yasaka's forehead, only growing bigger as he continued.

...D-Did he really not notice...?

Her mind's eye traveled back to when the silver-haired girl -or woman?- cradled Naruto while he was unconscious. While she could tell that the blond's ally had a prankster streak, that was most assuredly not the actions that a normal friend would take.

More than that, the girl with the light-blue hair most assuredly didn't trip onto Naruto's cheek.

Either the teenager was living in an alternate reality, or he was well and truly dense.

One thing was for sure though, the only thing that would ever register to him was something extraordinarily blunt and obvious.

"Anyways." Naruto spoke up, cutting off Yasaka's thoughts. "Thanks for the meal, the hospitality, and the info. They were all very much appreciated. I think that I'm gonna go check out the battlefield just in case your people missed anything...mostly for my peace of mind."

The shinobi pushed himself off of the chair he was sitting on to get up, flashing a grin at the woman next to him. "Tell Kunou-chan that I'll play with her later if she asks for me, I'll see you later!"

Yasaka didn't even manage to get a word in, as the whiskered blond quickly opened a window and jumped out. Well on his way to check the forest.

She couldn't help but let an indulgent smile grow across her face. "...He really is too cute sometimes. A little bit like a puppy."

---

Naruto honestly wanted to take some time to tour the city of Kyoto, to relax in one of the most famous cultural centers in Japan.

But he had something to check out, and there was more to do than just simply checking the battlefield for Cao Cao's body.

No, much more than that.

Thankfully, Yasaka apparently hasn't brought down the barrier that covered the forest yet, meaning that the normal humans still have no idea about the damage in the area.

Perfect for privacy.

So the shinobi quickly sped across the city, moving fast enough to easily avoid detection from human and yokai alike.

It didn't take long for him to transition from city ceilings to forest tree branches, and from intact tree branches to shattered ones.

Blue eyes narrowed when they finally laid themselves onto the barren field where he clashed against the 'heroes'...

And the place where he lost control.

He didn't really notice it last time, but the area was thoroughly destroyed, with the trees knocked down like dominoes and the ground completely devoid of any soft soil and grass.

It was lifeless.

The blond teen shook his head. He had to focus on his objective here.

Naruto jumped from his spot atop a tree stump to land on the ruined ground, he already knew where to go thanks to the somewhat hazy memories from his clone.

The shinobi quickly reached the location of 'that' clone's unfortunate end...and where the powerful spear should have been.

Should have been.

As he feared, the weapon of the Hero Faction's leader...simply wasn't there.

Gone. As if it had never existed to begin with.

Naruto took a moment to check the area around him, making sure that maybe -just maybe- in the confusion, the weapon simply got hidden away in plain sight.

...

No such luck.

The young man cursed under his breath, annoyed that someone managed to secure not only the spear, but the body of it's wielder under their collective noses.

The faction that they fought yesterday wasn't finished, it was just severely weakened.

With his luck, he'd have to face them again one day...

But at least the yokai faction was fully aware of the danger, not only that...but Yuki no doubt would inform Jin about the new rival faction as well.

Would that be enough though...? Vigilance alone probably won't help them reach any conclusion anytime soon, it'll just keep them on their toes.

Actually, more than that, they'd just be reacting to an attack rather than proactively trying to take it out...

Naruto's eyes narrowed when a new thought emerged from his overworked head; the Hero Tribe and the yokai under Yasaka...their interests were aligned in this threat, right?

So...he had no doubt that the yokai could share valuable information to the heroes under Jin, whereas the heroes could give invaluable insight to the yokai about the Hero Faction. After all, this new 'hero' group was based off of the Hero Tribe, right?

An idea began to formulate based on this reality, realization began to make his already bright-blue eyes to brighten further as he continued this train of thought.

Maybe...this entire trip would prove to be very helpful after all...

Naruto stopped his train of thought there before he could go too far however, he would figure out the specifics later...preferably with Yuki, but first he had to do something else first.

After all, he didn't just come here to check up on Cao Cao's body.

The shinobi checked one last time whether he was alone, then once he figured that the coast was clear, he closed his eyes.

It took a few moments, but eventually all sound began to drift away to nothingness, and his consciousness focused inwards...

His facial features twitched when he felt the tell-tale signs of water flowing past his feet, as well as the consistent dripping noise that characterized the area he had just entered.

Blue eyes revealed themselves after he was thoroughly sure that he had finished the 'transition' so to speak.

"...It's been a while." he couldn't help but whisper, a faint sense of dread permeating his being as he stared at the massive gates that categorized his tenant's seal.

He was in his mindscape again, where the powerful kyuubi no yoko was sealed.

The shinobi firmly gazed upon the large gate that kept the legendary beast contained, lips set in a thin line as he waited for the inevitable.

...

Naruto's eyebrow twitched when he continued to wait for the inevitable, waiting for the great beast to speak as he usually did.

But for some reason that the blond couldn't fathom, the kyuubi stayed silent as well as out of eyesight. Remaining deep inside the cage instead of moving closer to speak or look at the young man.

"...Um...hello?" Naruto eventually called out, neck stretching forward as he attempted to look for the bijū in the darkness.

The ground under him rumbled faintly, the slightly flooded water that filled the sewer-like area rippled as it was disrupted.

The source of the disturbance soon revealed itself in the form of a massive fox-like creature with nine long flowing tails behind it, gazing at the puny human that called for it with it's large red slits from behind the massive gate.

"...Well, it's been quite a while since you've come here to visit, hasn't it?" the great beast rumbled, staring at the significantly smaller being. "Considering what has happened...I suppose you're here to-"

"Why did you help me?" Naruto interrupted without warning, cutting through the niceties and moving straight to the point. "Why did you go out of your way to help me yesterday...when I lost control?"

The kyuubi didn't respond immediately after the blond threw his questions at him, instead he chose to lower his body to the ground and lay down to reach a more comfortable position.

"...I suppose that your confusion is understandable, brat. We haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye or have been the best of friends before, to the contrary as a matter of fact. So you're no doubt a bit suspicious." the bijū stated bluntly, similarly refusing to beat around the bush.

The shinobi nodded slowly, listening intently to the kyuubi.

Red slits closed slowly for a moment, as if their owner needed to take a split-second to consider what to say next, then opened them up again to lock unerringly at a pair of oceanic-blue pupils. "To be completely honest, after taking a lot of time to think...I have 'reconsidered' some of my previously held assertions and beliefs. Mostly thanks to the fact that I've...never seen humans live in such harmony before. This land we're in; Japan, is extraordinarily peaceful in comparison to any land in the Elemental Nations. I thought that humans were deceitful beings by nature...yet a society such as this has been built by humans. So perhaps humans can be trusted...humans such as you...Naruto."

Both of Naruto's eyebrows rose up in surprise, this definitely wasn't what he expected to hear today.

"Surprised?" the kyuubi questioned, smirking slightly at the blond's confusion. "I guess since the last time we really talked to one another was when you were going berserk in that eight-tailed state against the Akatsuki leader, your response isn't that far-fetched. But I'm telling the truth here, brat. That being said, it's not like I want to be friends with you or anything, so don't get your hopes up."

Now the young jinchūriki was just flat out scratching his head, thoroughly befuddled. The damn fox wasn't making any sense here.

"So you've changed your opinions and helped me out against...whatever happened before, but...you don't want to maybe, oh I don't know...become closer allies or something? You know...in the name of camaraderie? Or maybe self-preservation?" the blond asked, fishing for something akin to a straight answer.

Vague answers sucked.

If the great beast could have made it work as intended, he would have shot the human a deadpanned look. "Quit trying to simplify the issue here, you damn brat."

This time it was Naruto's turn to become incredulous. "Huh!? You're the one making this so complicated! You changed your opinion of me, right!? So considering that your opinion of me was pretty damn bad before, that means that you see me in a better light, right? Especially when you helped me out, so that should be the proof! So shouldn't that mean that we should be closer now?"

Then the young man just threw his hands into the air. "But apparently not! Because life just wouldn't be right if things were easy for me, now wouldn't it!?"

With that small tirade out of his system, the blond sat down petulantly, ignoring the water as he grumbled to himself about annoying powerful beings of unlimited energy.

At least he did until he heard the sound of the powerful bijū snorting from behind his jail.

"Heh..." the orange fox coughed out, trying to stop the chuckling that wanted to come out of his throat. "Sorry about that, I forgot that you've been dealing with almost nothing except terrible luck when it comes to events that shape your life, right? Alright, alright...I'll give you a break with this."

Naruto frowned, but didn't bother trying to refute the powerful entity's words. He was absolutely right, and wasn't that just sad?

Seeing that he had the blond's attention, the kyuubi continued. "I wasn't really planning on expanding on my reasons...but I should first explain that throughout my long life, I have had a...rocky relationship with humans. A very rocky one. So much so that I've come to distrust and dislike them on principle, including you."

Red slits glazed over a little bit, remembering past events from what seemed like thousands of years ago. "But before I became so bitter against your kind...I was told by my 'jiji' that my fellow bijū and I would meet someone who would show us what true power is...and a part of me believes that you might be that person."

The shinobi opened his mouth, gaping openly at the confession, his body shaking in his complete and utter disbelief that he would be hearing this from the freaking kyuubi!

"...Who are you and what did you with the evil furry...?" he asked hesitantly.

Almost as soon as that last word left his throat, Naruto was knocked down to his feet when the ground under him shook violently.

Mostly because the kyuubi smashed his head against the bars that made up his jail and growled at him.

"I'm being SERIOUS you damn brat! Do you want to hear what I have to say or not!?"

"S-S-Sorry!" Naruto cried out, his eyes comically turning into white circles as he crawled backwards.

The powerful beast huffed, reigning in his anger as he forced himself to relax. "...Keh, whatever. As I was saying, a part of me believes that you could be the person that jiji was talking about...but the key phrase here is; a part of me. You have to understand that despite my shift in beliefs from watching this...peaceful land, it's still obvious that humans are killing one another in other lands in this world. So I suppose you can say that I want to believe that humans aren't as bad as I thought...but I've been burned so many times by your kind that I'm hesitant to trust. So I'd like to...make sure that I'm not making a mistake."

The shinobi glanced up from his downed position, shooting the skyscraper-sized entity a look at his last sentence. "Uh...and how are you gonna do that exactly?"

Red slits closed and a smirk stretched across the kyuubi's lips. "Why...by watching you of course."

"...Hah?" Naruto couldn't help but utter doubtfully. "What are you-?"

"You're conflicted, Naruto."

Naruto immediately shut his mouth, back tensing.

"...You don't even realize the scope, not really, but you're reaching a crossroads here, Naruto. The issues that you've ignored and pushed away for most of your life are coming back to haunt you...and unless you deal with it, it'll be those who are closest to you that will suffer." the great beast muttered softly, genuine. "The issues you face won't come to a head yet, but it will reach a breaking point inevitably. It's a matter of when, not if."

And from that conflict...the powerful beast would finally make a decision.

Silence followed the fox's solemn statement, stretching out to the point that the vacuum of any sound began to become deafening in of itself.

For some reason, the blond had to interrupt that silence. His discomfort becoming acute the longer that he had to contemplate the words that echoed across his brain.

So he began to chuckle, a soft rumbling in his throat that ended the loud silence, that gave him some sort of reprieve.

"...What are you talking about, you damn fox?" Naruto couldn't help but say, voice light, expression easy-going. "You're talking about some weird crap, you know? I ain't conflicted at all, your chakra just happens to be more toxic than usual, that's all. I'll just avoid using it, but the only thing that does worry me...is that other voice I heard before. Do you know about that, kyuubi?"

Red slits took in the young jinchūriki's words, his mannerisms, his dismissal.

And he sighed. It was as he feared...

Naruto wasn't ready.

He wasn't ready to hear about the twisted emotions that were swirling inside of him, that were getting enhanced by nature's twisted energy, that was becoming more obvious from the bijū's own chakra...

The young man would just dismiss it, as he always dismissed the darker emotions that were hidden deep inside. He wouldn't believe it unless he saw it himself.

Telling him would do nothing except push him to deny it even more.

The shinobi that stood in front of him lived a hard life, one that would have been far more difficult to survive in if he had acknowledged the simmering dark emotions within.

So he pushed it away, ignored it, repudiated it, and tricked himself to believe that it no longer existed.

...And wasn't that ironic? The ultimate in shinobi trickery. He had no need to trick anyone about the hatred within, because he himself didn't believe he had any.

No need to trick anyone else, when he could just trick himself.

"Oi, do you hear me!? Kyuubi!"

The bijū finally snapped back to reality, gazing upon the irate blond in front of him.

...He could criticize the human for his foolishness, but really...while the shinobi refused to acknowledge that he had a problem, the kyuubi just flat out refused to face his own.

He had no right to lecture.

"What do you want?" he drawled out, tone dismissive.

Naruto glared at him, then jabbed a finger at him. "I was asking whether you knew about the other voice in my head. C'mon, pay attention!"

The kyuubi closed his eyes in response, as if contemplating.

Then he answered.

"No idea." the great beast answered.

Before the whiskered teen could complain, the bijū forced himself onto his feet and turned his body around, moving towards the back of his jail.

"Ah...hey! Wait! Where are you going!?" the teen called out, waving his hand frantically to try and grab the orange fox's attention.

The kyuubi didn't respond and kept moving.

"Hey! Come on, is it something I said!? The least you could do is tell me your name dattebayo!" Naruto shouted out, head poking through the massive bars.

Finally, the powerful being stopped it's movements deeper into the jail cell, staying silent as it stayed still.

Seeing that he managed to grab the fox's attention, the shinobi continued. "I mean...I can't just keep calling you 'kyuubi' now that there are kyuubi yokai around me, right? So surely you've got something that I can call you..."

The kyuubi didn't respond to his words.

Until suddenly, he did, and turned it's head to the side, throwing a small grin at the surprised shinobi.

"Ask me that question again when we both have the balls to stop being cowards."

---

Blue eyes snapped open, followed by a gasp as Naruto fell to his knees, sweating slightly as he quickly managed to gain some semblance of balance in his real body again.

He groaned, swiping his forehead in annoyance. "Back to square one..."

Damn it.

The human male stretched his limbs to try and regain his bearings, scanning around the area to make sure that he was still alone.

He was, although he had no idea how much time has passed since he has gone into his mindscape.

Since talking to the fox in his belly was a bust in terms of figuring out his actual problems...he might as well try something else while he was alone.

At least he was going to until he froze in mid-thought, remembering something.

"...Kyuubi has a jii-chan?" Naruto couldn't help but mutter out loud, incredulity taking over his features.

Seriously? There was a grandpa kyuubi running around in the Elemental Nations!?

The inevitable image that popped in Naruto's mind after seriously thinking about it was one of a giant kyuubi; one that was full of wrinkles, standing with a walking stick, hunched over, and a massive white beard that framed it's face.

...

...Well that was a disturbing thought, and the shinobi was seriously annoyed that he didn't ask the kyuubi about it now.

Oh well, he would ask the fox later. First things first.

Naruto carefully brought his right hand up to his face, eyes narrowed as he considered how much chakra he should utilize for this jutsu...

It's been a while since he's done this, hopefully his theory from before held true and the jutsu's effectiveness has improved.

Nevertheless, the young man finally brought his finger to his mouth and bit onto it, drawing some blood at the small wound that he inflicted on himself.

Then, and only then, did the blond flash through the seals that he needed to activate the jutsu and slam his hand onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

An explosion of smoke emerged from his hand, covering up his body as he lifted his hand up from the ground. Hoping that he got a decent toad with fifty percent of his chakra.

He squinted to see through the smoke, seeing the familiar form of a toad...

"...That's it?" he couldn't help but breathe out in disappointment, downcast at his 'progress'.

Out from the smoke emerged a small toad, one that was almost as big as Gamakichi was when Naruto first met him, just staring at him blankly.

The shinobi could have cried at the injustice of it all. The toad was barely larger than the last summoning he made!

Of course, the blond was referring to the summoning he made ages ago now. It was his attempt at reestablishing contact with the Elemental Nations again through Mount Myōboku.

But apparently all he could summon were children and toddlers...beautiful.

Sighing, the young man leaned down and eyed the little toad critically. "...Can you understand me?"

The horizontal bars that made up the amphibian's eyes stared at the shinobi, unresponsive.

Then, to Naruto's complete surprise, the little guy actually nodded.

Blue eyes widened to the size of saucers at the same time as the blond's jaw hit the ground. "Are...are you serious? Please, don't pull my leg here, do you actually understand me?"

The little toad rolled it's eyes as if it was annoyed and nodded again, moving onto it's hind legs and crossing it's arms.

Two arms suddenly wrapped themselves around the toad, catching it by surprise as it was carried to the whiskered teen's face as his entire face lit up, practically beaming as a matter of fact.

"R-Really!? Oh...oh...! This is great! Oh, I have sooo much to tell you! I mean I've been stuck here for a really long time, so hopefully I didn't miss anything important back at home...but more importantly, how's everyone back at Mount Myōboku? Are they still recovering from Pain's attack? Tell me everything so that I can-!"

Naruto stopped speaking all of a sudden, body becoming rigid as his senses blared out in warning.

The barrier was gone, broken, destroyed.

And someone was coming.

Someone powerful.

And they were heading straight for him.

"Never mind everything I said." the shinobi ordered crisply, eyes sharpening as he became serious. "Just tell everyone that I'm safe and that I'm still thinking about them. More importantly, tell them not to worry about me...I'll contact them soon."

Naruto didn't even wait for a response, instead opting to release the jutsu that was keeping the toad here and bringing a hidden kunai out, just in case whoever was coming was hostile.

They were powerful, that was for sure.

So the shinobi gazed to the sky, grimly thankful that he kept the policy of only using fifty percent of his chakra to try the kuchiyose no jutsu, as he would have been in pretty bad shape if he used more than that.

Actually, to be blunt, he was already in pretty bad shape as he was. He figured that out almost as soon as he released the summon, as the shinobi felt the fatigue immediately set in after the initial excitement of getting a good toad ran it's course.

Basically, as usual, he had shit luck.

Just the core of the matter.

Naruto snapped his head to the side as he saw a blur soar to him, a black dot that was moving at incredible speed to him.

Blue eyes narrowed...that dot looked familiar...

Then they snapped open, his expression falling apart in disbelief.

This was...ridiculous.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

---

"It looks like that the storm that was moving eastward throughout Japan has subsided, thankfully, I was sure getting worried that it would hit Yokohama...that'd be annoying, wouldn't it?"

"That it would! But it seems that the storm has petered out right before it hit the Kanto region, so all of the folks living there can also breathe a sigh of relief. On other news..."

If one were to enter the living room at right that moment, they would notice that the only occupant in the house was currently staring at the television screen blankly.

Frankly, it was obvious that the occupant wasn't really watching it as much as she was staring through it.

Pink eyes were hazy as they coolly regarded the news outlet, not really paying attention to what was being said. Instead, the occupant was tapping her finger onto the wooden table she was leaning on, trying to calm herself down to some semblance of ease.

Why? Because neither of her family members had called her back yet.

Mio's breath was steadily coming out in short bursts, her heart beating at a rate that was slightly faster than normal, all while trying not to pick up the phone that she laid on the table.

...What was taking them so long?

After Rias-sempai had temporarily stopped the search for Kiba-san, the half-devil quickly returned to the safety of her home and called Naruto's new cellphone. More than a little excited at the fact that she'd hear her brother's voice again.

She never realized how much she became accustomed to his presence until he was gone for...what? About two days?

Though she would never admit it to him, or admit to Maria that she missed her as well.

Anyways, the current incarnation of her worries emerged as soon as her call was sent to voicemail, without bothering to ring once to indicate that the call actually connected.

Her initial response to the voicemail was concern, but the red-head quickly comforted herself by believing that her occasionally dense family member probably just forgot to charge his phone.

That initial concern then bled into complete uneasiness when she called Maria'a phone however.

Similarly to Naruto's phone, Mio couldn't connect to Maria's phone and was quickly sent to voicemail, for whatever reason she couldn't fathom.

As expected, the female teen began to seriously fret over the disappearance of her family, but she remembered what happened the last time she attempted to find out where Naruto disappeared to...

She didn't want to make that mistake a second time, so she resolved to have faith in the two people that she considered to be her kin in all but blood. If they were in trouble, then they'd be able to handle it.

At least that's what she tried to convince herself with.

Then of course, the morning came. Without a peep from her phone.

Her current mood? Bordering on distress to be perfectly honest with herself.

Mio sighed, smoothly getting up from her seat to go get ready to meet with the Gremory heiress, all in order to continue the search for her Peerage member. Hoping that she could keep the issue she was having out of her mind.

They were alright.

They were alright.

"Breaking news! Breaking news!"

The red-head didn't stop to look at what was no doubt an interesting piece of news, she was too busy getting ready and much too distracted to worry about it.

At least that's what she thought until she heard the next piece of news reach her ears.

"We are live in Kuoh Town, where we recently received reports about the thorough destruction of a local run-down church in the area. Apparently there was an incident about three weeks ago that afflicted the long-forgotten church, where it was vandalized horrendously by mysterious perpetrators. Initially, it was treated by local law enforcement as a mean prank pulled by some delinquents, but now the structural oddity has been completely leveled. According to residents nearby, there were sounds of a large-scale scuffle coming from the church, following the building's collapse. Is there a new gang war plaguing Kuoh Town? Unfortunately, we have not been able to check out the damage ourselves as local law enforcement has blocked off civilian access for investigation-"

Mio was silent as she stopped moving, mostly so that she could listen in to the report that has been given out, jaw clenching as a memory tickled the back of her head...

...She would have to trust that Naruto and Maria could take care of themselves in Kyoto, she couldn't worry herself to death while helping the devils find their missing comrade.

Because she was more than a little sure that she may have just found a clue to Kiba-san's location.

So she quickly ventured to grab her things and leave, internally hoping that her family was alright, and promising that everyone would be safe and sound by the time that they got home.

She would make sure of it.

---

"How is he?"

The yokai nurse that was tending to her lifted her head, smiling pleasantly. "He's fine, simply resting now. That young man used up quite a lot of energy when fighting it seems, so it will take him a while to make a full recovery. So expect him to sleep a little bit longer at the very least."

Yuki nodded slowly, staring at a set of curtains that kept Basara from her view. "That's good to know, thank you."

If the yokai responded, the hero didn't hear it, as her mind was very much focused on the young man that was resting from his ordeal with their 'sensei'.

Or rather, she was focused on how to break the news to her adoptive father. As well as the rest of the Hero Tribe.

No doubt there would be plenty of explaining to do, considering all that has happened, but she was also genuinely concerned about how the other higher ups in the Hero Tribe would take Basara's actions.

She seriously doubted that others would be so forgiving of a traitorous hero...especially considering how divided many of the heroes were.

More than that, she had no idea about the young man's frame of mind...how would he react when he woke up?

Yuki honestly wasn't sure.

Thankfully, she had time to spare when it came to finding out what to do. Hopefully she would find a way to solve this problem before they returned home.

At least...that's what she thought until she heard the sounds of shouting echoing from somewhere relatively close by.

The young human's ear twitched as she began to strain her ears to listen more intently, frowning at the thought that something had happened...

As soon as she began to focus her hearing, the very ground below her began to shake lightly as if a small earthquake rocked the room, much to everyone's collective surprise. Especially as the shouting outside grew louder in alarm.

Yuki grabbed the covers that were over her body and jumped out of the bed that she was resting on, materialized her katana; Sakuya, just in case.

"...Why does it feel like the world hates us...?"

Yellow eyes were drawn onto the groaning form of the silver-haired half-devil, who was also resting and being tended by the nurse.

Maria turned to her, looking more than a little disgruntled with the interruption.

"...Can't we all just get a few more days of rest before the world tries to make us it's chew toy again?"

Yuki could only shrug her shoulders lightly.

Apparently not.

With that, the hero turned around and ran out the door, moving to find the disturbance and face it alongside the yokai.

By following the sounds of the shouts, it didn't take her long to deduce that the sounds were coming from the front of the large building...

"Hey! Wait up!"

A small grin began to grow on the female human's face following Maria's cry, obviously she was planning on helping out despite her complaints.

So the two continued racing down the hallways, maneuvering past the yokai that they began to run past on the way there. All of them milling about, nervous about the shouts that were becoming louder in frequency the closer they moved.

So it came as something of a surprise when the shouting suddenly ceased by the time that the duo reached the door that would lead them to the front.

Yuki placed her hand onto the handle of the sliding door, prepared to rush in and fight in case she heard the familiar sound of fighting inside...

But she didn't hear anything, just total silence.

"Come on already...open the door, Yuki-san! I wanna see what's going on!" Maria impatiently told her, hopping up and down to see what was going on.

The hero shot her an annoyed look before acquiescing and slowly opening the door, allowing their eyes access to what was going on...

Yellow and purple eyes blinked slowly, seeing the mass of yokai that were standing in front of them, and according to the tension in the room...obviously very wary of something.

Yuki raised her katana a little higher, unsure of what was going on, but she wanted to make sure that if anything bad happened...she'd be ready.

Now...in such a situation, they needed to be smart. They needed to stay low and stay quiet in order to gather information, all to create at least a decent response to-

"Ah, excuse me..."

Maria walked past her and began pushing her relatively small body through the horde of yokai, too curious to wait.

The hero's eye twitched as she watched the succubus wiggle her way through the yokai, throwing all caution into the wind in her haste to see what was going on.

"...So much for the safe approach..." Yuki grumbled, getting up from her lowered position to chase after the loli.

She copied Maria's movements and forced her way through the crowd, apologizing softly to every yokai that she pushed along the way.

After a few more seconds of struggle, the teen managed to catch up to Maria, who was standing just outside the front door and staring at the sky with wide eyes.

Frowning, the hero approached her, the creases on her forehead growing as she realized that a certain kyuubi mother-and-daughter duo were also staring at the sky. The former with wariness and the latter with wonder.

As Yuki was about to check what exactly everyone was looking at, her eye caught a flash of spiky gold that could only be from one person...

Naruto was facing the building and the group, tapping his foot and looking decidedly annoyed by the situation if his expression was anything to go by.

Now really curious, yellow eyes drifted upwards to see what exactly happened-

All thoughts ceased the moment that Yuki's eyes locked onto the fallen angel that was floating in the sky while waving at everyone awkwardly, with all six pairs of his wings out and his poor attempt at a comforting smile present on his face.

"...Uh...mind if I come in?" Azazel asked with a thumbs up, flashing his best easy-going grin at everyone down below.

No one even bothered to respond.

Instead, all eyes fell down back to earth and aimed at the blond that could possibly hold the answers to the questions that were plaguing their minds.

For his part, Naruto shrugged, then moved his right arm to scratch the back of his head awkwardly, features apologetic.

"...I...really can't explain what happened. So the best I can do is say..."

The shinobi inclined his head down, bending down his body a little in a slight bow.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble."

Sighs rang out from the assorted group.

---

"Wait, is this true Mio-chan?"

Mio nodded, straight-faced. "Yeah, it was on the news...and I definitely think that Kiba-san is involved."

Rias bit her lip, eyebrows scrunching as she was reminded about the incident with the fallen angels. It felt like months ago...

The abandoned church...huh?

"Well, this is the best lead we've ever gotten, I say we go and check it out. Besides, considering it's history, it seems pretty likely that the supernatural was involved in the building's destruction. We should investigate it regardless and maybe even erase some memories." Sona stated bluntly, crossing her arms beside her fellow high-class devil.

Rias simply hummed in agreement.

Both high-class devils and their Peerages were inside the ORC clubroom, gathered in order to move out and search for the missing reincarnated devil; Kiba Yuuto.

They were supposed to divvy out places to search, but the information that Mio obtained while watching the news had obviously derailed that plan.

"Buchou, I also think that we should investigate the church. And soon. If Kiba-kun was there, then I don't want to lose our lead on him." Akeno advised, standing beside her friend.

The Gremory heiress didn't respond at first, but after a beat she pushed herself up from her desk in order to give every occupant in the room a look.

"...As was pointed out by others, the recent destruction of the abandoned church is the best chance we have to find Yuuto. So before we go, I want everyone to be on the same page. So is there any questions that anyone would like to ask me before we move forward?"

Sona snapped her gaze to her friend and rival, understanding what she was doing but believing that this wasn't the time or place for that.

Keeping everyone focused was important, but they were on a time table here. If there were questions, it could wait until after.

The Sitri heiress could only sigh, another thing that they disagreed about no doubt...

Meanwhile, Rias' blue-green eyes panned from one end of the room ro the other, counting down in her head how much longer she'd wait.

"Um...I have a question."

All eyes shifted to the white-haired young girl that lifted her hand up shyly.

The redhead's own eyes narrowed, if she recalled...this girl's name was...

"...Momo-san, right?"

Momo smiled faintly and nodded, pleased that the pure-blood devil remembered.

Rias smiled in return, easing the teen in. "Alright then Momo-san...what's your question?"

The devil from Sona's Peerage stopped smiling, turning serious. "W-Well, I was just curious about your Peerage member; Kiba. Do you have any idea why he disappeared...? Maybe we should keep in mind that he might not be willing to come with us willingly..."

Rise and Akeno glanced at one another, both of their lips thinning at the bitter possibility that the reincarnated devil reminded them of.

"Well..." The high-class devil began, closing her eyes. "I can't really go into any specific details, but suffice it to say that Yuuto has had a...difficult life. So I think his actions are connected to that. But as for why he's doing this now? No clue. He only started acting this way when Naruto left."

"Wait, Uzumaki is gone!?"

Blue-green eyes focused onto the form of the only male member of the Sitri group, her pawn to be exact.

"That's right Saji-san." the red-head replied evenly. "He left about two days ago to go to Kyoto for personal reasons. Sona didn't inform you?"

Sona's slightly embarrassed cough echoed across the small room.

Ignoring that, Genshirou Saji clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. "So that's why everything has been so quiet...so do you think that he may have something to do with this?"

Before Rias could even say anything, the other red-head in the room took an aggressive step forward, glowering at the pawn. "...Are you implying that Naruto pushed Kiba-san to leave?"

Saji turned around to regard Naruse Mio, who wasn't exactly looking friendly at the moment. "...I just want to get all the facts straight, that's all."

"Well I'll tell you right now, Naruto would never encourage Kiba-san to disappear like this." Mio ground out, voice venomous. "And don't you dare make that assumption again."

The blond haired teen splayed his hands up in an attempt to placate the younger female, flashing a weak smile. "Hey, hey...it's not like I was saying that, just that I wanted the whole story. Though in question to what you've said...how do you know that Uzumaki didn't do something like that? I mean, it might be a coincidence, but it's a pretty interesting one that Kiba would act weird right when Uzumaki left."

"How do I know...?" the half-devil echoed disbelievingly. "Why the hell does that matter...? It's a fact. Naruto wouldn't do it, end of story. Coincidences are just that; coincidences."

"But how do you know?" Saji reiterated, frowning. "I'll let this go if you could prove it, then we can look elsewhere for the reason of Kiba's actions."

"Saji."

The pawn tensed as soon as his king's words reached his ears, full of authority and voice tinged in disapproval.

Sona took a step forward, eyes unerringly on the male teen. "While I appreciate that you're trying to get to the bottom of Kiba's actions, and that you and Uzumaki-san don't exactly see eye-to-eye...this isn't-"

"I just know!" Mio shouted out, cutting off the devil with her raised voice, her expression thoroughly aggravated.

Just the sheer thought that someone thought or might believe that her brother could do something like that really pissed her off. It simply wasn't true, she knew it wasn't.

Naruto was...

"Horrible...just horrible! Of course you can come with me dattebayo!"

Saji, himself now incensed that the red-head would cut off his king so blatantly, turned back to her and glared at her. "That isn't proof! You can't just say something isn't so because you don't want it to be so! I'm not really pointing the finger here anyways, I'm just saying that it's a possibility."

"It isn't! Not even a remote one!"

"Heh. I know right? I can be so awesome sometimes that I surprise myself at times."

"Again, how the hell are you so sure!?"

Mio, with her breath short and her eyes dilated, stomped her foot to the ground and screamed.

"Because he's...!"

"...You know what! I'm not even jealous! You know why!? Because wings are sooooo old-fashioned!"

"He's...!"

"...Precious people...like you Mio."

Tears began to pool from her eyes as random memories began to pop up in her head, reinforcing what she already knew about the one she considered to be a part of her 'family'.

...And she wouldn't allow other people to demean their character...!

"Because he's my...!"

Especially not her older sibling!

Especially not her...!

"Because he's my onii-chan!" Mio yelled out, jerking her head forward hard enough to send her long red hair flare out like a halo around her, while her face was sheer inches away from Saji's.

Saji took a step back, eyes as wide as saucers as he watched the young girl's eyes flare, her words harsh and even more venomous.

All the while the room fell into silence, shock reverberating at the younger red-head's words.

Mio, who was only now coming down from her tirade, blinked as her own words actually registered in her brain.

She blinked one more time for good measure.

Then her face lit up, turning as red as her own hair in embarrassment at her own words. Realizing what she just admitted out loud.

So she did the only thing she could.

"...Uuuu..."

Rias stared as her kohai suddenly ducked down to the ground, hands covering her face as it went bright red. Trying to seem as small as possible.

The high-class devil took a second to try and imagine herself in the younger red-head's position in order to understand her embarrassment; defending her onii-sama hotly while declaring him as 'her' onii-chan..."

...

...

Rias' already pale face went as white as a sheet, taken aback in horror as she could almost feel the shame that she would have gained from such an action.

"...Take your time Mio-chan." she couldn't help but mutter in support, thoroughly sympathetic now.

The blond pawn also watched the mortified teen, bemused if anything, but he took a step forward to restart the argument-

"Hey, wait."

Saji shifted his gaze from the red-head to the approaching form of the only other male in the room.

Issei walked up to him, shooting Mio a curious look before he reached him, and clasped his hand onto his shoulder. "Look, I get what you're trying to do here. Honestly, I do. But..."

The perverted boy jabbed a finger at the still-embarrassed teen on the floor, eyes dull.

"...You have to realize that you're dealing with a bro-con, right?"

"I'M NOT!" Mio roared out, her face contorted in rage as she snapped her head up from the ground to glower at the other pawn.

Issei snorted faintly at her defense. "See? How can anyone think differently after that? Seriously...she tried to hide it, but the entire school has figured out that she's a closet bro-con. Basically Saji, you're not gonna get anywhere here. Best just to drop it."

"Damn it Issei-san...! Quit making weird rumors about me!" the red-head retorted hotly, before turning around to look at everyone in the room. "...I mean, that's not true right? There's no way that the entire school could think that I'm a bro-con...right?"

Practically everyone in the room glanced away, their eyes going shifty as they refused to respond to her.

"...No way..." Mio whispered in horror, losing the strength of her legs as she fell back to the floor, a depressive energy swirling around her. "That...can't be."

Sweat-drops abounded when the half-devil began mumbling to herself darkly as a dark cloud began to form over her head, her depression reaching new heights.

Saji watched, genuinely unsure if she'd be alright...

At least before Issei interrupted his train of thought. "Seriously though, while I get what you're doing, Naruto definitely didn't push Kiba to do stupid shit. If he did however, it would have been an accident or something like that."

"...Eh...you too Hyoudou?" the pawn questioned, genuinely surprised.

The brown-haired boy scratched his cheek nervously. "Ah well...I owe Naruto a lot, he was the one to really make me think about some important crap. The least I could do is speak for him when he can't speak for himself...he's just a good guy man."

As his fellow reincarnated devil expressed his opinion, Saji felt someone place another hand onto his other shoulder.

"Saji, that's enough." Sona reprimanded, eyes sharp. "I myself am not particularly happy with Uzumaki-san at the moment ever since his little...'stunt' last week, but he isn't the type of man to do such a thing. As far as I can tell anyways."

The wielder of the Absorption Line was definitely thrown off his guard when his king, the infamously stoic kaichou, actually went out of her way to defend the teen that gave them so much trouble.

"...If even my strict kaichou is vouching for him, then I really can't say much anymore can I?" Saji admitted with a sigh. "Right, let's take off Uzumaki in our list of suspects..."

"Excellent." Rias stated with approval, smiling as that little spat was solved. "Is there anything else?"

No one answered, which meant that the only sound that the red-head heard was the pitiful sounds coming out of her kohai, who was still lamenting over the destruction of her social standing among her peers.

"I think that's everyone Buchou." Akeno noted, her standard pleasant smile plastered on her face. "Despite the drama, it seems that everyone is on more steadier ground now that they have more information, as little as it is. I suppose that was your aim?"

The high-class devil smirked at her queen. "Precisely. With this, everyone will be less distracted over questions that they might have had. Now everyone will be able to focus on their objectives. Hopefully."

With that small explanation on hand, the Gremory heiress scanned all of the assorted devils present, prepared to give out the order along with her friend to go to the abandoned church and...

Then she paused.

"Akeno?"

"Hm?"

"Where's Koneko-chan?"

Akeno's pleasant demeanor vanished the moment that she heard the unsure undertones of the question, turning to carefully scan the room in order to find the suspiciously quiet rook.

...

"...She isn't here." the black-haired teen whispered with alarm, eyes widening.

But she was just here moments ago...!

"...Rias? Akeno? Is something wrong? You two look awfully pale..." Sona asked, a tinge of concern in her voice.

Mio also looked up from her crouched position, breaking through her depression once she sensed the total shift in atmosphere.

Instead of answering, Rias moved away from her desk in order to leave the room, eyes flaring violently with her power as she made the order.

"We are going to the abandoned church, now."

Considering that her eyes were literally blazing with what looked like miasma to the naked eye, no one thought it prudent to question her.

So when the high-class devil suddenly snapped her gaze to her only pawn, Issei was more than a little worried that she would take out her frustrations on him.

"Except for you Issei." Rias ordered, eyes sharp. "You need to do something else for me, considering your...abilities."

The perverted boy blinked.

He wasn't sure how he should feel about this...

The group that would set out to find Yuuto and Koneko would leave when the sun was still high in the sky.

---

"Ah...nothing quite like a relaxing bath to let the stress of the day just...slide off, eh brat?"

Naruto didn't respond, he just kept staring at the water that he was sitting in, like a statue.

"But geez! This place has changed a lot since I've last been here! I mean how long has it been, really? At least a few centuries or so, but how long specifically? I couldn't tell ya. Time just seems to swim on by when you're having fun. But why was I not allowed to come by here last time...? Did it have something to do with that one lover I took and what we did to that shrine...?"

"Ok! Ok! I don't need to hear anymore!" Naruto cried out, covering his ears. Knowing instinctively that the damn old man was about to spill things he really didn't want to hear.

Azazel smirked at him, pleased that he broke his silence. "Thought that I had to go into detail to break ya. You're a pretty innocent kid, aren't you?"

The shinobi didn't even bother to respond to his charge, instead choosing to sink into the water to avoid looking at his smug face.

"Hoh...? So does that mean that you're a virgin?" the dirty old man pressed, that smirk growing ever wider.

The blond wanted to punch it right off his face.

"...Fuck you."

"Hah!" the fallen angel roared out, amused. "Well don't feel too bad brat, I didn't lose my first time until after I was a few hundred years old! So you're good."

An exasperated sigh escaped Naruto's mouth, wanting to be somewhere else besides here.

Currently, after the leader of the fallen angel somehow managed to track him down, the two men were in the middle of a hot spring. Ostensibly to relax and speak privately with one another.

There was a big hullabaloo earlier when the powerful faction leader first showed his face, scaring quite a bit of the yokai in Kyoto, as well as alerting Yasaka and his allies.

So right after his initial arrival, Azazel and Yasaka went to a private room to speak with one another -albeit with great reluctance on her part-, then she essentially kicked him out of their impromptu meeting in order to calm down her people.

Meaning that Naruto had the displeasure of seeing a half-naked Azazel waltz in on his relaxation time, an annoying development since he was thinking deeply on more important stuff.

But seeing as he's got no choice in the matter anymore, he figured he may as well find out why the hell he was here.

"Why the hell are you here?" the shinobi asked bluntly, not bothering to phrase it more politely. He really didn't have the patience for it.

"Well...I thought that you'd never ask!" the older man exclaimed, jubilant. "I'm actually here for..."

As he was speaking, he stood up puffed his chest out, leaving him in nothing but the towel that was wrapped around his waist to cover up his decency. "You of course!"

Naruto blinked slowly, staring up at him with a blank expression.

Only one word even bothered to pop up in his spiky-haired head.

"No."

The fallen leader faltered at the immediate dismissal. "Ah...wait, this is actually legitimately important, so hear me out before-"

"I'm not listening."

"Hey! This isn't a joke! Something big is about to happen and I need-!"

Naruto slowly stood up from the heated water, making sure the towel he had wrapped around his waist was stayed that way, and made to leave the hot springs.

"WAAAAAAAIIIITTTT!"

Two strong arms wrapped themselves around the blond's stomach, stopping him in his tracks.

"Oiiiii! What the hell are you doing!? Do you realize how wrong this looks!? How do you think most people would react when hearing that a grown man went ahead and hugged another man from behind!? Let go of me!"

"No way!" Azazel protested, holding on tightly. "Not until you hear me out! I need you!"

"Don't say that when you're holding onto me so tightly damn it! Alright, alright! Fine! I'll listen! Just let go of me already..." the blond said with grit teeth, shaking at the implications and praying that no one saw them.

After a quick couple of awkward seconds, the two males eventually made their way back into the spring, both pretending that everything that happened in the last minute or so just didn't happen.

"Ok, now that all of the pleasantries are out of the way, it's time to get to the real reason I came-"

"Wait." Naruto interrupted, raising a hand arbitrarily. "I got a question."

Azazel twitched, but any unpleasantness in his features was quickly smoothed out into a pleasant smile. "Yes~?"

The blond noticed the complete one-eighty in the older man's demeanor, but ignored it. "How did you find me? Like seriously, are you a stalker or something? Do I have to get a restraining order? Because if I have to, I totally will, this is just next level stalking dattebayo..."

"I'll fucking kill you, you damn brat." the fallen angel threatened darkly.

Well. That escalated quickly.

Naruto watched as the faction leader of the fallen angel faction took a moment to calm down, muttering darkly under his breath about dangerous things like; strangling, beating, and flat out blowing up a certain blond teen.

He wanted to point out that he was literally right there, so he could hear him, but the older man cut him off.

"Your cellphone."

Blue eyes locked onto violet ones, a hint of confusion in their orbs.

Seeing this, the thousand-years old man decided to explain in more detail.

"I had some of my people search for your name and phone number by hacking into certain organizations and businesses, eventually we found them and we were able to pinpoint your location to 'somewhere around Kyoto'. But we weren't sure where, so I was actually heading to speak to Yasaka-san to see what she might know...I didn't expect to run into you specifically."

Naruto tilted his head, still befuddled rather than anything else. "...But how did you know I was in Kyoto?"

This time a crafty smirk grew on the man's face, one that had way too much smugness in it. "Why...I do believe that you made a call to a certain someone while in that forest, didn't you?"

The shinobi tilted his head even further, mind focusing on anytime that he might have called anyone-

Oh.

Yuki. Back at the cave.

"...So? Considering how indebted all of the yokai here seemed, you'd think that you did something of extreme importance. So it must have been quite the emergency for you to contact someone during your little adventure. Or...maybe it was simply an important person?" the Grigori leader pushed, fishing for an answer.

Naruto looked at him warily, unsure of where he was going with that line of thought.

A massive shit-eating grin split the man's face, the glint in his eye growing brighter, all to the blond's growing wariness.

What was he-?

"I bet it's a girl, right? A girl that you're...'interested' in?"

The shinobi slammed his head into the water, splashing it hard enough to send a column of water into the air. His face burning.

Fuckin' burning.

What was this guy...? A reincarnation of ero-sennin? Seriously...only he was so interested in his personal life.

"W-!? What the hell are you talking about old man!? That isn't the case! Besides, I needed to contact Yuki..." the blond started hotly, before ending lamely when he realized that he mentioned his female friend's name.

Considering the cheesy grin that the fallen angel was sporting, he could see that he made a mistake in mentioning her name...

"Hoh? So it is a girl then. Is it that 'hero' girl that I met during that incident in the church? I bet it is! If so then you have good tastes brat, she'll grow up into one hell of a beauty, I have no doubt of that. That form-fitting uniform she wore helps too..."

"Alright. Alright." the shinobi interrupted irritably, rubbing his temples. "You're a stalker and a pervert, I get it."

Azazel just chuckled in good humor, unaffected by the charges. "Heh, I suppose I can seem that way sometimes. But at least most of your tension is gone now. So that's a win in my book."

The blond raised an eyebrow, frowning visibly as he tried to figure out what the fallen was saying through his cryptic wording.

Then blue eyes widened imperceptibly, realization lighting up those pools of cerulean. "Wait..."

Now that he thought about it, initially, the young man was very much confused, concerned, and cautious about the fallen angel's sudden arrival.

But now...thanks to his ridiculous shenanigans, the blond completely forgot about that.

Was this his way at clumsily helping him out? Or was it more cynical or practical than that?

Naruto had no idea.

Azazel gazed upon the younger man, his mirthful expression sliding away to a more somber one as the blond kept contemplating upon his words. "Though to be fair...checking up on your love life is pretty important for her too...as much as she hates to admit it..."

The shinobi snapped away from his internal questions to look at the centuries years old man, blinking. "Uh...sorry, I was distracted. Did you say something?"

Like a switch, the old man's expression slid back to a mirthful one. "Ah, nothing brat. I was just about to tell you about my reasons for being here is all."

Azazel rubbed his shoulders absentmindedly, rolling his neck as he continued. "You see...there has been a certain...'incident' among my people, where one of the leading members of Grigori started some trouble by stealing some of the Church's powerful weapons; the Excalibur fragments. For what reason? I'm not entirely sure...but I have my suspicions."

Naruto didn't reply, choosing to wait for the the man to continue.

"...Anyways that man; Kokabiel, has gathered up a substantial following of fallen angels under his banner, and the last time there has been any sighting of his followers were...in Kuoh Town."

Now the blond was fully immersed into the conversation, eyes sharpening at the implications. "Are you saying that...?"

The fallen leader nodded grimly. "Anyone that is in any way related to the little sisters of the current Maou Lucifer and Maou Leviathan are likely going to get dragged into this mess of a situation."

Naruto leaned away from the other man, his right hand cupping his mouth as his mind raced on what to do. This was big.

And if a member of Grigori was leading this one...then that meant that everyone back at Kuoh Town was probably facing nothing less then a fallen angel with five pairs of wings.

Bad. This was bad...

"While I'm sure you find this information distressing, this isn't what I sought you out for. We have a bigger problem than that." the Governor General pointed out, tone apologetic. "You see...in order to prevent any misunderstandings with the devils there, I sent a representative to Kuoh Town to explain the situation. As a matter of fact...it's someone you should know."

"Someone I know...?" the blond echoed, frowning. Who did he know from the past that could be a part of the fallen angel faction...?

"Ah! Is it that fallen angel that you took under your wing? Uh...'Raynare'?"

An enigmatic smile split the fallen leader's face, pleasantly surprised that he remembered her name. "Yep, exactly that. She feels indebted to you, you know? Very much looks up to you for what you did for her back then."

Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Does she really? Well...I'm kinda flattered, I hope she's doing alright."

The older man's smile only grew at the question. "She is doing quite well, it turns out that she's a pretty good student when it comes to subjects that she's interested in. But for other subjects? Well...she isn't pretty good at those. She can barely remember the names of important figures, let alone geography!"

It was genuinely impressive how much she flat-out didn't care about the powerful people in the world, or about the layout of the land that everyone inhabited. It was all about research for her.

Yeah...he remembered how she responded to his criticism about that...

"Hah? You want me to waste time focusing on some irrelevant crap like geography? Why the hell would I do that?" Raynare complained loudly, disgruntled.

Azazel pinched the bridge of his nose in ire, trying to make her see why skipping out on something like geography wasn't a good idea. "I understand that you want to focus all your energy on helping me find a cure for the 'Seven Deadly Sins'...but keeping yourself safe with some basic layout of the land is a smart investment in case of future conflicts. You do want to live long enough to reach your goal don't you?"

The younger fallen paused on her reading, violet eyes flicking to her 'teacher' and away from the many descriptions of general anesthesia that she was studying. "Yes...I suppose that would be important to learn about...but since I'm doing combat training, it doesn't matter that much-"

A slap to the back of the head knocked her head forward, much to her irritation.

"Hey. Idiot. These small tidbits of knowledge can make the difference between life and death in a battle. Don't be lazy and spread your knowledge out a little bit. For your sake." the fallen leader reprimanded, tone firm.

Raynare peered up from her lower position, eyes dry, with a large lump on the back of her head. "Ugh...yeah, yeah...but what's even the likelihood that I'll even go out and fight...? More likely I'll just stay in a Grigori compound and try and work on some experiments with some diseased fallen angels..."

Azazel snorted. "Like hell you could predict what will happen with 'likelihoods'...you're just being painfully single-minded is all."

A ghost of a smile stretched across the younger fallen's lips, a knowing glint in her eye. "You're absolutely right Azazel-sama. But...who do you think I got this attitude from in the first place? Mister Sacred Gear?"

The Governor General winced visibly, regretting that he mentioned how obsessive he was in seeking knowledge about Sacred Gears to the detriment of almost everything else.

That was totally part of the reason he wanted peace.

Seeing Raynare's triumphant look however, the powerful twelve-winged fallen angel quickly made to counter her argument. "Well I was a badass fallen angel with six pairs of wings, brat! Only the most powerful of foes can take me on! How many wings do you have again...?"

To be honest, he expected to rile her up with that last comment, or at least elicit a glare for reminding her of her present weakness.

Instead, she shrugged. "If push comes to shove, I'll just use 'that'. As long as I stay on the opposite side of morality, I should be fine against anyone that would willingly try and kill me."

Azazel straightened his back slightly, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

The young woman in front of him, whether by sheer luck or genetics, has access to a power that he suspected has only been rumored about. As it was very much an impossibility to obtain.

It was an impossibility because it was a polarity; a sharp contrast between two powers and energies.

Which was why he was very curious on how she managed to obtain it.

Honestly though, the fact that the God of the Bible has...permanently...left the world stage probably has contributed into such an oddity.

Into such a beautiful dichotomy...

"Azazel-sama? You're doing that thing again where you're freaking me out..."

The fallen leader snapped back into reality, coughing politely into his hand as he tried to regain the dignity he had temporarily lost.

But before he could, Raynare piped up to include one more tidbit.

"Azazel-sama...I understand that you want to help me by making me branch out a little more, but my intention to help find a cure for my okaa-sama is one that I want to focus all of my energy on. Besides, if I'm not that interested in it, then it makes the subject far more difficult to learn for me."

As she was speaking, a slow and crooked grin emerged from the woman's facial features, along with a certain glint sparkling in her eye.

"Though I should point out that even if I somehow get myself into a bad situation...then I will simply follow 'his' advice."

Azazel's eyes widened slightly, knowing exactly who the young woman was referring to.

'Nothing is over, until it's over'...huh? So she was saying that she'd fight with tooth and nail if necessary if she was in a bad fix? To utilize everything she had if the situation called for it? Not a bad philosophy to make sure that she would survive in big fights.

To think that she respected that boy so much that she'd take his words so deeply to heart...

"Oi, Azazel-san, you alright?"

The fallen angel's attention was brought back to earth when the blond teen spoke up. "Ah, sorry about that brat. Just remembered something that happened a while ago is all."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, seeing the older man slap the sides of his face with his hands, mumbling to himself to get back on topic after speaking.

He honestly didn't know what to say to that.

"Alright!" the powerful supernatural being exclaimed. "As I was saying before, I sent Raynare to Kuoh Town in order to explain the situation to the young Gremory and Sitri devils. Mostly so that we don't get implicated in any misunderstandings...but like I said before; there's a problem."

Finally getting to the crux of the issue, Naruto leaned in a little, paying attention.

Seeing this, Azazel continued. "Thanks to some information I've received from some spies in the Vatican...I've gotten word that the higher ups in the Church have sent a powerful exorcist to Japan, all in order to retrieve the powerful weapons that have been stolen. And it's a very likely possibility that the exorcist might run into young Raynare at this rate...and if you take into account the current climate of suspicion when regarding the fallen angels, then it isn't too unlikely that the exorcist could conclude that the devils and fallen angels are working together."

The shinobi's eyes sharpened, realizing just what the problem was. "More than that...it's the younger sisters of two Maous as well as your representative..."

"Exactly." the Governor General confirmed. "It will look like that the leaders of the fallen angels and the devils are at the very least using indirect means to weaken the Church. Meaning that war could very much spark from such an incident."

Naruto leaned back, only now appreciating the graveness of the situation.

"...So you want me to get involved I guess?" the blond eventually asked, knowing that that was the likely reason that the man sought him out.

Azazel nodded, serious. "Yeah, I was hoping that you could go to the Central Japan International Airport in order to...'stall' our friend from the Church. How you do so is irrelevant, I just want you to keep whoever it is at bay until at least tomorrow night...unfortunately this exorcist should be arriving at the airport by tonight."

Blue eyes widened to the size of saucers, this was in such short notice...!

Golden locks then shadowed over the young man's eyes, covering them up as he bit his lip. Seriously wondering if he could get involved in this.

...No.

He was gonna get involved, that wasn't a question. The question was...how far would he go for this mission and what would he get for doing this.

...

"Alright, I'll do it. Though I suspect that you knew that already." Naruto stated simply. "But I have a condition for taking this job...after all, it seems like you suck at getting good subordinates to do this kind of thing for you..."

Ignoring that last second jab, the fallen angel inclined his head, acknowledging his probable demand for a reward.

"...Seeing how you are the leader of Grigori, I'd like to get some measure of security clearance into your facilities; mostly so that I could see how Raynare is doing and to get the chance to talk to some of the fallen angel faction's higher ups." the blond suggested, a beatific smile on his face.

Azazel's understanding demeanor shattered about as quickly as it was made, completely thrown for a loop by the insane idea that was posited by blond.

"...Excuse me? You want clearance to my super-secret Grigori facilities? Where some of the most advanced research and hidden projects for my faction takes place? As well as sensitive information?" the fallen leader questioned quietly, genuinely in shock that the blond would even ask him.

Naruto just shrugged. "You've trusted me with information about Vretiel and her attempted rebellion, which if I remember correctly...could have sparked a larger reaction from the other supernatural factions that are looking to expand their power, right? And now you're trusting me with information about a spy in the Church and some insider information. After all of that, surely you can trust me with some access to Grigori?"

"No." Azazel rejected, not even hesitating.

The shinobi twitched, trying not to let his irritation at the blunt rebuttal get to him. "...Fine, then I'm sure you can find someone else to handle this for you."

And with that, the teen dragged himself away from the hot water that he was laying in, prepared to go and wipe himself off and get something to drink.

Even as he was moving out of the water, he could practically feel the older man's annoyed glare boring into the back of his head. Frustrated, yet too prideful to actually stop him and admit his mistake.

Naruto sighed. This guy was so childish sometimes...

So instead of finishing his move to leave the hot springs, his body shifted to the side towards the wall that kept the bath isolated from the outside and grabbed a stool. Sitting down onto it in order to use the faucet there to wash his body and hair more thoroughly.

Before he started his wash, he tilted his head and glanced back at the fallen angel, eyebrows wiggling up and down in a prompting fashion. Inviting him to say what he had to say.

Azazel groaned, knowing that he didn't have much of a choice to say no...his hands were simply metaphorically tied.

"I'll accept that groan as a 'yes' to my conditions. Tell me more about what I have to do later. For now, I'm just gonna finish washing myself I think." the blond finished easily, grabbing a bucket and using the faucet to fill it up to the brim.

"...Tch, fine brat. Have it your way." the fallen leader grumbled under his breath as he pushed himself out of the water himself. "It's not like you pushed me over a barrel or anything...and it's not like I needed your help or anything..."

The shinobi didn't bother to reply as he watched the grumbling man shuffle his way out of the springs and into the changing area. Obviously annoyed that he had no choice in the matter.

Blue eyes continued to watch, at least until the owner was fully convinced that Governor General had left the vicinity.

Once he was sure of that, Naruto quickly placed the filled bucket of water onto the ground and ran back into the steaming water.

He only left the soothing water in the first place so that he could act cool, he didn't really want to leave yet damn it.

It felt too nice, and he needed some relaxation time anyways!

So with that, the blond settled into the hot spring again. Breathing out in his content state.

Now he could finally just...relax...

Until he felt something furry rub against the back of his head.

Blue eyes snapped open as the shinobi whirled around, his guard up to face against-

A pair of yellow eyes -bordering on gold- with slits locked with his much larger oceanic ones, staring at him with something approaching curiosity.

"...A cat?" Naruto whispered disbelievingly, his jaw dropping slightly at the realization that he went into 'battle ready' mode by getting caught off guard by a cat.

A cat.

The young human blew out some air, internally berating himself for being so strung up. Before turning his attention back to the little cat.

It was a relatively small cat covered with black fur, staring up at him as if it was trying to understand a great puzzle.

He lowered himself so that he could meet the small animal face-to-face, musing about how cute the cat was. "Hey there little guy, what's up?"

As if it could understand his words, the feline brought out it's front paw and pat him on the face. Almost like it was reprimanding him.

The shinobi blinked once.

Twice.

Then he chuckled, dismissing the idea outright.

As he was chuckling, the cat quietly stalked closer to the teen, rubbing it's small head against his while purring softly.

Taking this as a sign of how much the small animal liked him, the blond took the chance to place his hand behind it's ears and scratch it. Grinning slightly as the feline began to rub it's head against his hand, trying to move closer.

"Ehehe...you lost little fellow? I can't quite believe someone would abandon you dattebayo." Naruto stated, confident in his claim. "Do you want to hang out with me?"

A content little meow emerged from the cat, ostensibly approving of the idea.

So some time passed just like that, with Naruto remaining inside the hot water and comfortably scratching the small feline. With the animal itself choosing to stay close to him.

It was a minor change, and a minor pleasure, but sometimes it was the small things that made certain actions more fun or pleasant.

Yeah...that sounded about right.

He would have stayed in this pleasant atmosphere for a little while longer, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually.

Specifically, this pleasing arrangement was broken when he heard someone enter the hot springs through the sliding door.

Knowing exactly who it was, Naruto sighed and got up to address the annoying leader of the fallen angels.

Except, after the split-second he took to confirm who it was, he realized it wasn't him.

Not by a long shot.

For one thing, he didn't have long golden hair.

Or golden eyes.

Or such nicely maintained pale skin.

Or a large bust.

"Ah. Well...fancy seeing you here, Naruto-sama." Yasaka said, tone light and easy as she walked towards him with a smile.

Naruto for his part was forced to look away, blood rushing to his cheeks as he tried not to look at the flimsy towel that she had wrapped around her body. "Uh...yeah...fancy..."

The yokai giggled softly, reaching the edge of the bath and kneeling down close to the red-faced blond. "You seem somewhat surprised Naruto-sama! I could have sworn that I mentioned that this was a mixed bath, didn't I? Ah, nevertheless, it's nice to see you. I meant to come here in order to relax after seeing that man again...but this is good too."

"H-Huh?" the teen echoed, unable to think at just that moment. "What do you mean by 'that man'...?"

Even though he wasn't facing the yokai faction leader, just by hearing the inflection in her voice he was able to figure out that she was at the very least; displeased.

"Oh, don't get me started." Yasaka groaned, shaking her head in feigned despair. "That man is notorious as a womanizer, he's the kind of man that would try and have 'forbidden' sex, regardless of the social consequences. Truly, the entire reason he wasn't allowed here in the first place was because of an incident where he took a young yokai to a shrine and then-"

"Ah! Don't! I don't want to hear it!" Naruto interjected quickly, knowing full damn well that he was about to hear something that he shouldn't.

Despite being cut off so rudely, the yokai matriarch heeded his plea and turned away, looking a little embarrassed if anything. "Apologies. When it comes to that shameless man, I sometimes ramble off. It doesn't help when he tries to blatantly flirt with me during our meeting..."

The shinobi cringed at that, it really did sound like the reincarnation of ero-sennin...

All down to the righteous fury that he stoked up in the victims- women he met.

Really, all that was left was the inevitable gathering of pitchforks and a large amount of angered females to supply it to.

As he was comparing and contrasting the effects that the two perverted old men had on fifty percent of the population, his fellow blond got up onto her feet again and suddenly moved to grab his arm.

Caught by surprise, but not exactly unwilling, Naruto allowed himself to be dragged to wherever Kunou's mother wished.

It was as he was moving that a stray thought entered his head, pushing him to glance back at where he was just sitting to look for his temporary companion.

He was saddened to see that the little black cat has disappeared, probably scared away by Yasaka's entrance.

"Naruto-sama."

Blue eyes turned to meet gold.

The yokai martriarch smiled, ever pleasant and soothing.

"Since this is a rare opportunity, let me wash your back for you, hm?"

Naruto froze, brain unresponsive thanks to the offer that was placed onto the table. He simply couldn't comprehend it for a few seconds.

Ngh...was it possible for a brain to get a blue screen...?

Ignoring the asinine philosophical questions, Yasaka softly pushed the unresponsive teen onto the stool. Kneeling behind him and gabbing the already full bucket there.

Naruto twitched when he first felt the beautiful woman's soft dainty hand glide across his back, following the crevices made by his shoulder blades and slowly moving downwards to his waist.

"You have a strong back..." he heard her murmur softly, taking her hand off of him to grab something else.

The shinobi couldn't respond, he was too busy trying to stop his blood from rushing to somewhere else that wasn't his face.

He wasn't doing a good job.

Those small hands returned with a vengeance however, this time wielding a sponge, using it to slide up and down his back. Pressing it against him.

The faint friction that the sponge caused by sliding against him actually felt very soothing to the somewhat weary blond, making the entire experience begin to feel like a massage.

About the same time as she started washing his back, she also started humming a soothing tune, one that also helped ease his senses.

Altogether, slowly but surely, the teen's eyes began to droop faintly as all the tension he has built up slowly left his body, released in an undercurrent of contentment.

He could fall asleep like this...

It was while he felt like he was on cloud nine, that the yokai matriarch slowly slid the sponge around his back, aiming to begin washing somewhere else.

It wasn't until he felt three very distinct things that his internal alarm bells went off.

First; he felt two thin arms wrapped around his waist.

Second; he felt the sponge that was once focused on his back was now sliding across his bare chest.

Third; he felt two impossibly soft bumps press themselves against his unyielding back.

...

"Gah! W-Wh-!? What are you doing!?" Naruto shouted out, turning his head to the side to eye the yokai faction leader, who seemed focused on her task.

Golden eyes looked up to see the horribly red face of Uzumaki Naruto. "Is something wrong? I'm just washing you, remember?"

Even as she was speaking, in order to reach a specific spot in his abs, she would have to stretch her arms a little more to get it thoroughly.

Which meant that the 'bumps' on his back were now outright squished against him.

Naruto nearly yelped, but he managed to bite his tongue and lessen the amount of twitching that his left eye has succumbed to. An unfortunate casualty in order to maintain his sanity.

"Y-Yasaka..." the shinobi gasped out, his left eye still twitching sporadically. "Thank you for helping me wash...but I could have sworn that you said that you'd...wash my back."

The kyuubi tilted her head, a glint of...something in her eye. "Well you know...I just figured that since I'm washing your back already, I may as well continue washing you down...thoroughly."

Blue eyes blinked. "Thoroughly?"

Yasaka smiled, it was a very pretty smile. "Thoroughly."

If anyone wondered what kind of face someone would make while dying of constipation, he was pretty damn sure that he was making it now.

He was in serious danger damn it! And it was a very different kind of danger!

Did she even realize what she was doing...?

He was so embarrassed by this...the whiskered teen very much wished he could just hide in a hole and stay there for the rest of his life.

Come on...he had to think of way out of this!

He could do it! He was Uzumaki- freaking- Naruto!

"What's wrong?" Yasaka quietly spoke, tickling his ear as her breath brushed against it. "Do you feel...uncomfortable?"

...

He was fucked.

It was at that moment, with the sound of a door sliding open, that fate seemingly conspired to give him his salvation as well as his damnation at the same time. As was his luck with such things.

Naruto only noticed it when the loud sound of a bucket crashing against the floor echoed in the small space.

Both blondes snapped their gaze towards the entrance of the hot springs, following the source of the sound.

Yellow eyes were staring at both of them in complete and utter shock, their owner's mouth open in the shape of an 'o'.

It was Naruto, with his horrible attempt at a comforting smile, that broke the silent stalemate. "H-Hey there...Yuki. Fancy meeting you here, huh? Ehehe..."

Yuki didn't respond, instead she continued to stare at the two figures, about as unresponsive as the shinobi was just moments prior.

Then the hero girl herself tried to create a comforting smile, but this failure came out as a shaky upwards tilt of her lips rather than any kind of smile.

"...I apologize, am I interrupting something?" the female human questioned, a very faint edge to her voice that the blond teen has never heard before from her.

Yasaka shrugged with a faint smile on her face, slowly unwrapping her arms from Naruto's waist. "Nothing in particular. As a matter of fact, we were just about done. Right, Naruto-sama?"

Naruto could do naught except nod, feeling like that was his only real option at the moment.

Satisfied with that, the yokai faction leader slowly stood up from her place behind the teen, holding onto her towel to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Then proceeded to head towards the exit, her pleasant demeanor still as strong as ever.

Yuki watched her go, looking at her from the side of her eye. Body posture on alert.

If she noticed the tension in the young human's body, she didn't voice it as she moved past her. Reaching the exit and passing through, closing the door once she entered the changing room.

But not before she sent Naruto a playful wink, sliding the door close immediately afterwards.

Naruto waited for a few more precious seconds, then finally sagged in his stool after making sure she left the vicinity, his relief palpable, both burned out and 'full of energy'.

A strange mix that left him pooped, really.

Actually. More than that. Why the hell didn't she actually take a bath...? Wasn't she here to take her own bath?

...Maybe she forgot?

Wait. What if this whole thing was just him over-blowing things, like, maybe she didn't notice what she was doing to him?

It felt nicer to believe that, so he was just gonna put his faith onto that line of reasoning.

He felt more than heard Yuki walk up to him, kneeling next to him as he struggled to slow down his ridiculously fast heart beat.

"...You said that friends couldn't do that." the hero stated evenly, accusatory despite being neutral.

The shinobi winced, remembering exactly what she was talking about. "...Well...they shouldn't-"

"Yasaka-san did." Yuki stated again in that same tone of voice. "If she could do it, why can't I?"

Naruto felt himself begin to sweat a little, this day was just not going his way, was it? "Well...that was kind of special..."

Yellow eyes turned away, simmering frustration boiling in those orbs. "...It isn't fair that she could do it and I can't. Does that mean you're closer to her than you are to me...?"

The shinobi couldn't say anything as he watched Yuki turn away from him completely, looking genuinely hurt by the thought that it was true. "...Do you think that I don't want to get closer to you, Naruto?"

Yuki could only shake her head slowly, pushing herself off from the ground to leave-

"Wait."

A strong hand clasped Yuki's shoulder, stopping her cold for just a moment.

"Hey...look, don't think like that. Never think that you're just someone I could just throw away casually." Naruto said solemnly, any and all hesitation gone. "You're someone that I'm proud to call a friend and a comrade, nothing less than that. As for what happened here? This was all probably just Yasaka's prank on me...maybe she's just feeling mischievous today...? I don't know. But the point is this; you're one of my closest friends Yuki, so please don't count yourself short."

The hero didn't respond. All the blond heard was her somewhat heavy breathing thanks to the heat of the springs.

Until finally, he heard her breathe out a sigh.

"...Fine. I understand." the female human conceded quietly, turning around in order to face her friend. "But...I don't like this. It makes me feel..."

She paused, a frown marring her features as she tilted her head downwards.

"...Uncomfortable." she eventually clarified, finding the right word.

The shinobi scratched his cheek, having no idea how to help her feel better. "Um, well I'm sorry that she made you feel that way dattebayo..."

Yuki peered up at him through her light-blue bangs, biting her lips faintly as she did so. "...Let me do it once."

Blue eyes blinked. "Eh?"

The hero slowly straightened her back, drawing herself up to her full height, gathering up the courage to ask this of him. "Let me wash your back. Just once. Please."

Naruto unwittingly chose that moment to really look at the young woman who was making such a suggestion, instantly turning away when he realized that he was staring.

It was kind of hard not to.

Her body was all wrapped up in a towel, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination as it was held together tightly against her body.

A part of him couldn't help but think that she was actually a very pretty young woman...

"Naruto? Are you ok? Your face is red..."

The shinobi was jolted from his entranced state of mind, snapping him back into reality when the hero called out to him. "N-No worries! I'm totally fine! Totally fine!"

Yuki tilted her head, but didn't question him about it. "So...can I do it then?"

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to remember what they were talking about before, his brain was malfunctioning thanks to the clothes -or lack thereof- that Yuki was wearing.

But after a few seconds of meaningless brainstorming, he just couldn't seem to recall no matter how much he concentrated.

So after looking back at her and seeing her hopeful expression, he didn't really have the heart to deny her.

"...Fine, whatever." he grumbled out, crossing his arms.

Accordingly, Yuki beamed thanks to his acceptance, her mood from before all but destroyed and overwhelmed in her new-found positive disposition.

The hero's joy was so contagious that even Naruto couldn't help but smile in return.

"Thank you Naruto. Thank you." Yuki said with a smile, as if gratified. Bowing her head slightly to her comrade without hesitation.

"Hey, hey...there will be none of that." the shinobi protested lightly, nudging her a little to get her to stop. "We're equals here. No need to bow."

After a few more nudges, Naruto managed to get the female teen to stop bowing, a little exasperated by her display.

Honestly though, seeing her good mood restored was more than enough for the blond to overlook her excessive behavior.

"Hey, Naruto? Are you gonna finish taking a bath?" the hero inquired, absentmindedly pulling her towel up since it was beginning to loosen.

"Nah." the shinobi immediately declined, beginning to walk past her to reach the doorway. "I think I've had enough fun at the baths today. I'm gonna check up on Azazel-san to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid I think."

A flicker of disappointment flickered across her eyes, but was quelled about as quickly as it had appeared. "I see...alright then, I'll finish up here then. When I get out, can you remind me to contact otou-sama? I need to tell him about Basara, it feels like recent events have conspired to keep me from doing so..."

A sweat-drop formed on the male teen's forehead, internally apologizing for causing his friend trouble. "Right, I'll make sure to do so-"

Then he paused, his eyes widening when he remembered something thanks to her words.

...This was his chance. It was now or never.

"...Hey Yuki."

Yuki perked up at her name being called. "Yes?"

She wasn't sure what she expected to hear or see when her closest friend called her name, but she at least wasn't expecting to see his serious shift in demeanor.

"...I have a favor to ask."

The hero raised an eyebrow, getting a faint sense of foreboding at what words will come next.

Blue eyes locked with her own, and that sense of foreboding only got worse.

"I want you to ask Jin-san if he could possibly reveal the Hero Tribe's existence to Yasaka, all in the name of building an alliance between the yokai and the heroes."

...

"EH!?" Yuki cried out unintentionally and uncharacteristically, such was her surprise.

Naruto could confidently say that he has never seen the female hero look more shocked in the entire time that he's known her.

"...Naruto..." the young human started slowly, searching for the right words. "...I don't think that you understand what you're asking me to do. The Hero Tribe has stayed hidden from the other supernatural factions since it's initial creation...all in order to make sure that we could always intervene on behalf of humans without starting a war. And you're asking me to ask my otou-sama to give that up?"

The shinobi grinned, sheepish. "Kinda."

Yuki wiped her hand across her forehead, somehow getting over her initial shock. Only Naruto could ask for something so thoroughly outside of the realm of common sense with a straight face.

"No worries, it isn't as insane as it sounds, there is some logic to what I'm asking." the blond assured easily. "I mean think about it for a second; the yokai under Yasaka won't do anything to regular humans as long as she remains in control, and they are completely neutral to the ther conflicts that the other supernatural factions are embroiled in. Even more importantly, the Hero Tribe and the yokai could work together to create counter-measures against the Hero Faction."

"No...I understand that." the hero admitted easily enough. "It's just the not-so-small fact that my people would have to give up anonymity for such a cooperative effort. Even if the yokai chose not to divulge the fact that there is a faction of heroes, it's still a massive risk for relatively short-term rewards..."

Yeah, if that was all Naruto had in mind for such a alliance, then Yuki would be absolutely correct. The idea just wouldn't benefit the Hero Tribe that much.

...But there was more to this.

For now though...this probably wasn't the best time to go into any detail.

Besides, the blond was mentally tired already, no need to push himself over the edge for something that could be properly explained later.

"Alright then...tell you what, let's hold off on my crazy idea for until we get back to Kuoh Town. Since I'm sure that this is something that we need to go into far more detail about than what we're doing. Sound fair?" Naruto offered, striking up a plan for a future time.

Yuki stared at him for a split-second, expression unreadable.

Then she nodded, seeing no reason to wave away his idea -even if it was insane- without hearing him out first. As it was now, this simply wasn't the best time to be discussing this.

"Awesome!" the shinobi cheered, exuberant. "Then it's settled! Now I'm gonna leave you to your relaxation time Yuki, and I'll make sure to remind you about calling Jin-san..."

A sudden gap in the conversation emerged when Naruto stopped speaking, eyes closing as he tried to recall one more thing.

...

He snapped his fingers.

"Please be careful while you're taking a bath, would ya Yuki? Don't want your cast to get wet dattebayo." Naruto advised sagely, nodding his head in a self-congratulatory way.

Yellow eyes trailed to her arm, sweat-dropping when she just remembered that she was still wearing a cast.

Good thing he reminded her...she probably would have went inside the water without thinking about it...

---

"So, who died?"

Yasaka very much had to stop herself from returning the question with a biting response, knowing that despite her personal distaste for the man...she was still the representative of her faction.

So she offered him a pleasant smile instead. "Why...I have no idea what you could possibly mean."

Azazel was lackadaisically slumping in his comfortable chair while using another chair as a footrest, looking at her with a quizzical expression. "Oh come on, don't act obtuse Yasaka-chan~"

"Don't call me that." the kyuubi stated bluntly, chaffing at the use of a far too familiar honorific.

Anyways, unfortunately for her, she actually did know what that man was talking about.

The overall atmosphere among her people -even before Azazel arrived unexpectedly- was very much tense.

Her people simply haven't completely recovered yet from the shock of their leader and princess almost getting captured, as well as the battle that raged just outside of the Kyoto's city limits.

Even after Yasaka and Kunou returned safely, the tension was still present, just bubbling under the surface. Joy temporarily snuffing it out.

At least until Azazel showed his face...

Said fallen angel mock-pouted at her. "Oh come on~ I'm a guest, right? So shouldn't the hostess be more accommodating? It's only common courtesy you know?"

Yasaka wouldn't even bother bringing up the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the man in front of her came in uninvited.

"...Very well." she eventually relented, albeit grudgingly. "Yes, I do understand what you're referring to. And this atmosphere which you're probably referring to revolves around what happened yesterday."

The fallen leader hummed, interested. "...So...?"

"Apologies." the yokai faction leader said, but not really meaning it. "But that's by this point; classified information. And don't even bother trying to coax it out of some of my subordinates...I've already warned them about you."

As expected, Azazel shot her an affronted look at what she was implying.

"Hey, I'm not that bad..." the Governor General protested, but still completely at ease with the subtle charge levied against him.

It was also telling that he didn't actually deny any of them.

"...Though considering what I've seen along the way here..." Azazel drawled slowly, eyes shifting to focus on the other leader's facial structure. "I think I can hazard a guess about what happened here."

Yasaka carefully kept herself in control, her face giving away nothing. The epitome of neutrality.

Violet eyes narrowed faintly. "Considering that amount of damage I saw that was done to the forest...as well as the barrier that was put into place...I'd say that there was quite the conflict just outside Kyoto, wasn't there?"

The kyuubi didn't deny or affirm his guess.

Seeing her stony expression, the fallen leader's eyes softened, his voice and posture returning to something more light. "Ah...but no worries. I understand, it's all classified info, right?"

The yokai's golden pupils bled a faint bit of confusion now, not seeing what the promiscuous man was up to. And getting a little more wary because of it.

"...But there is something that I'm curious about."

And her caution only increased.

Azazel inclined his head, attempting to appear trustworthy. "Maybe you can...oh I don't know...tell me a little bit about Naruto's abilities?"

Yasaka's face twitched.

So that's his angle...

"Now before you completely shut me down...I actually do have a decent reason for asking this of you." Azazel started, raising his hands up in a placating manner. "You see...I care."

...

"You...'care'?" the yokai leader parroted, disbelief plainly visible on her face. "And you expect me to believe that?"

The Governor General chuckled, shaking his head faintly. "Not entirely I guess...so allow me to rephrase myself a bit."

A single golden eyebrow was raised, wondering what other random excuses he would make up to get information that he was 'interested' in.

But, to her genuine surprise, the fallen angel shifted from a generally mellow attitude to a bordering solemn one.

He was legitimately serious now.

"It's not like I don't care about the brat." the fallen leader began, all signs of the perverted good-for-nothing gone. "But we have, at best, a professional relationship with one another. So no...my query isn't for myself, rather...it's for someone else."

Yasaka didn't comment, electing to let him finish. Gauging his sincerity.

"...The thing is, the favor I'm asking of Naruto is really important, super important. But...at the very least, I'd like to make sure that he could handle whatever might come his way with this mission. As I doubt that the Vatican would send anyone less than an elite to Kuoh Town after that incident with Vretiel..." Azazel explained, elaborating on his thoughts. "To be blunt, this is meant for somebody else's peace of mind. Pure and simple. Though I am curious myself."

With that, the Governor General turned away, intensely self-conscious thanks to his admission. Trying to regain his 'cool' demeanor.

It was only for a split-second...but in the end, it was that fact that helped her make her decision.

So Yasaka opened her mouth in order to give her answer, much to Azazel's rising anticipation.

"Sorry, I still can't tell you." she answered without remorse.

The fallen leader literally deflated in front of her eyes, with his entire posture slumping down.

"...But I can tell you this-"

Azazel perked up slightly, definitely paying attention.

"That boy has the power...to ignore power." she claimed, thoroughly sure of her observation.

Before the inevitable questions were asked, Yasaka continued on speaking, unabated. "Azazel...how do most people determine how strong the other is? How do most calculate one another's strength when pitted against other powerful individuals?"

The Governer General gave the rhetorical question some thought and quickly reached an answer. "Power. Or more specifically; how much shit one person can blow up in comparison to another."

Yasaka nodded. "Exactly. Now; if I were to estimate from what I know...I'd say that Naruto-sama could face off against a fallen angel with four pairs of wings with only pure power alone."

As soon as she finished speaking, she aimed her head towards the ceiling, a wistful smile stretching across her lips as flashes of what happened yesterday filtered into her head.

Of animalistic red slits.

Of bubbling red cloaks.

Of mindless and vicious attacks from someone who completely lost control.

But most importantly in regards to the current conversation; of how Uzumaki Naruto disappeared.

She could remember it now. How one second the blond was far enough away that any attack he attempted should have been practically telegraphed for her, and how he closed the gap between them within milliseconds. So impossibly fast that from a single blink, all she saw was a clawed hand smashing against her...

It didn't matter that she could destroy a city without much effort, it didn't matter how much destruction she could cause, and it didn't matter that she was the yokai faction leader.

None of it mattered.

Simply because he was far too fast and too physically strong. Adding in his endurance was just piling on.

"To put it bluntly." Yasaka stated with finality. "It's thoroughly possible that Naruto-sama, with all of his abilities, can take on opponents that are far 'stronger' than him. So much so that I'd hazard a guess that he could even take you on...Azazel."

Azazel's eyes widened, shocked that the woman in front of him could actually place so much faith in that man's abilities.

Seeing his expression, the yokai leader couldn't help but smirk a little. Pleased to see him lose his know-it-all attitude.

Though to be fair, all that Yasaka said about Naruto's power were based on her observations. More than that, they were based on his usage of that red cloak yesterday...and considering the fact that he lost control of himself back then...it's very likely that he won't use that power for a while...

So really, just because he could 'take on' Azazel, didn't mean he could win against him. She had no idea about that.

"I see...that's very useful information..." the fallen angel muttered, eyes clouded. "So if that's true...then..."

"By the way." the kyuubi interrupted while giving the only man in the room a pointed look. "I'm not giving you any specific information. Only my opinion. So don't try to weasal anything out of me. This is your only warning. You want more? Ask Naruto-sama himself."

Azazel felt a sweat-drop form on his forehead, she really didn't trust him...

As the Governor General began to mope a little at the blatant hostility that the yokai matriarch was displaying, a rather loud rapping was heard coming from the door behind him.

He immediately stopped moping for all of about a few spare seconds to look behind him, seeing a certain whiskered teen slide the door open to enter.

Violet was quickly reintroduced to blue.

"Ah damn, you're still here." Naruto grumbled, annoyed.

"...What kind of reaction was that, you little bastard?" Azazel retorted, returning back to his moping almost as quickly as he left it.

The shinobi stared at the downtrodden form of the fallen angel for all of about a heartbeat before moving onto the only other individual in the room. "Yasaka...I guess you've heard from Azazel-san?"

Yasaka's entire demeanor changed drastically when her gaze landed upon the blond, her tone of voice and posture all became far more soothing and welcoming. "Why yes, Naruto-sama. Azazel did in fact tell me about the mission he's offered you...he wouldn't have been let inside the compound if he didn't. The question here is...are you going to accept it?"

Naruto nodded firmly, leaving no doubt to his intentions. "Yeah...this is important. I can't afford not to go."

Despite the short notice, this wasn't really something he could just hand off to someone else. He needed to make sure that this didn't blow up in everyone's faces.

The yokai matriarch sighed, already aware that there was no way that he'd let the current situation stand without intervening. At least based on what she knew about the blond.

So instead of doing the stereotypical thing; like trying to convince him out of it, she opted instead to do something else.

"Alright, I'm gonna go look for everyone so that I could tell them about my 'mission'...man...what should I tell Kunou-chan though?" the shinobi wondered aloud, turning on a dime in order to go and look for his friends.

But before he could actually reach the door, he felt two -familiar- arms wrap around his chest as his back was turned. Pulling him backwards onto something soft...

"I know you're going to go despite any possible protests...so instead of doing anything to convince you, I'm simply going to give you a good luck charm." Yasaka murmured softly, hugging him from behind.

Naruto twisted his head around, eyes wide, trying to ignore the feeling that was pressing against him. "Ah...what are you-?"

Soft lips pressed against the crown of his head, a feather's touch that left a tingling sensation behind. Freezing him to the spot.

Immediately after, the powerful yokai let go of him, a toothy grin on her face as she swiftly returned to her prior position on the floor. "Good luck Naruto-sama~! Make sure to give Kunou a proper goodbye, ok?"

The blond didn't answer, staying rooted to the ground like a tree, unresponsive.

Yasaka could only giggle quietly. He really was far too innocent.

Those giggles quickly died down when the yokai matriarch noticed a certain fallen angel shuffle closer to her, bowing his head a little so that the crown of his head was aimed towards her.

A golden eye twitched as her good mood evaporated.

"...No, you will not be getting any good luck from me Azazel."

Azazel just clicked his tongue in response. "...Damn, that brat gets all of the luck..."

It took a long time for Naruto to relearn how to walk after that.

---

"Hey, hey! Whatcha want to play next, Maria? Tag maybe? Hide and seek?"

The succubus offered her a strained smile, marveling at the infinite stamina of youth. "Ah...well I don't think that the nurse would appreciate me getting out of bed, what with my injuries and all. So how about you give me some time to rest for now, surely you're getting tired as well?"

A sad frown grew out of the little kyuubi's facial features, not at all happy to hear that. "Aww...but I wanna play more! You guys won't be here much longer, right? So we should spend as much time as possible!"

Maria winced, knowing that she was absolutely correct. But it didn't change the fact that she was exhausted from playing with the little girl for so long.

After the craziness that characterized Azazel's -and how did Naruto-sama know him?- arrival, the succubus quickly chose to get away from that specific situation. Knowing intrinsically how much trouble that that man would cause.

...That and her wounds prevented her from properly enjoying the hot springs that everyone wanted to relax in. It seriously sucked for her.

So she was stuck at her bedside, moping, at least until Kunou came barging in to play with Naruto.

Except she didn't find the blond, but found her instead.

After getting through all of the amazed questions about why Maria looked so young, the small blond got it into her head that they should play some games to pass the time.

The loli was all for it...at first.

Until she realized that Kunou doesn't want to stop playing.

So in typical fashion for her, Maria cooked up an excuse to try and get out of a dodgy situation.

"Ah...! That reminds me!" the silverette cried out, latching onto the excuse with all of her might. "I still gotta change clothes! So can you give me a minute, Kunou?"

The little girl looked taken aback by the abrupt question, but when it actually registered in her head, it pushed her to jut her lower lip out. "Oh come on..."

Maria just shrugged with a very airy smile.

Golden eyes locked onto her for a heartbeat longer, then Kunou twirled around on the balls of her feet and trudged out of the room. Her lower lip still jutting out.

The succubus breathed out some air in relief, temporarily rid of the persistent young girl.

Unfortunately for Naruto-sama, she was probably pushing the problem onto him now since Kunou was still bored.

A hearty chuckle emerged from her throat as she concentrated on her clothes for a second, preparing to switch out her somewhat revealing combat clothes for her civilian gothic dress.

She was not at all embarrassed to be walking around with the clothes she had, it was who she was. But her regular clothes were more comfortable...

...And she needed to show Kunou that she actually did change her clothes.

So in a flash of purple, her body was enveloped by her demonic energy. Switching her clothes in almost an instant.

When the light died down, she was back into her usual garb, stretching her arms and humming in satisfaction. Comforted by the soft material she was wearing when compared to her battle attire.

It was at that moment of small bliss that the silverette brushed against something in her dress due to her movements, catching her attention.

"...Oh right." she mumbled to herself, remembering that she had pockets in this dress.

Silly her, she must have forgotten some things in her dress when she changed clothing yesterday.

Maria dug into her pocket absentmindedly, feeling the smooth metallic object inside and pulling it out. Already aware of what she had in her hand.

Her phone.

The succubus began to sweat a little after opening up her phone, a shaky smile plastered on her face.

It was dead.

Ah...Mio-sama was probably gonna kill her for not contacting her...

Actually, wasn't the entire point of the silverette tagging along supposed to be for contacting her charge? Informing her that they were alright?

Then she was doubly screwed when she got back home...damn it. After everything that happened, calling Mio-sama was practically the last thing on her mind.

"Ah...! There you are, Maria! We've been looking for ya!"

Maria jumped into the air, yelping loudly, but not that high into the air.

Maybe.

"Woah there! Calm down now." Naruto eased her, smirking at the fact that he caught her off guard. "Sorry for interrupting you, you busy?"

The succubus turned around, her body movement robotic, and faced the blond. Not at all amused. "...That wasn't funny."

The shinobi snorted, not even bothering to comment.

"Ah. Excuse me..."

Maria's attention shifted from the smirking teen onto the other teen beside him, who was pushing her way into the room.

"You too...Yuki?" the loli rhetorically asked, realizing that something may have just happened for both teens to be looking for her.

Yuki inclined her head. "Yes, Naruto caught me right after I finished taking my bath in the hot springs. Apparently he has something to tell us both."

Both females then turned to look at the whiskered teen, waiting for him to divulge...whatever he was supposed to divulge.

Realizing this, Naruto cleared his throat. "Right, right. Ok...so you guys don't know this, but Azazel-san has come by here in order to ask me to help him out with a certain...incident."

Yuki's eyes narrowed faintly. "Well if that doesn't sound suspicious..."

Maria couldn't help but silently agree. A 'certain incident' doesn't exactly help specify anything to them.

The shinobi blinked, then sheepishly began rubbing the back of his head. "Uh...I guess that does sound a little bad actually."

"I know, right?" the succubus agreed readily, crossing her arms with a grin. "So seeing that you agreed, I assume that you realized how stupid of an idea it is to accept such a mission?"

Naruto turned away, eyes becoming shifty, a faint red tint on his cheeks. "...Not necessarily."

Maria's grin slid right off of her face.

"...You didn't." Yuki spoke up disbelievingly, refusing to believe that even he could just so willingly-

"Oi! I know what I'm doin'!" Naruto protested firmly. "And unlike how I said it, I actually have a good idea of what's going on! I just don't really want to give out some sensitive info..."

Both females shared a glance with one another, communicating something with one another without actually saying anything.

Then that moment ended when the hero turned to him, eyes sharp.

"Then what exactly are you gonna be doing? Fighting?"

The shinobi frowned trying to remember all that was told to him. "Uh...well that's...kinda complicated. I need to stall...but it could devolve into a fight. So...I guess so?"

Yuki decided not to mention how unsure he sounded, she was sure that he himself noticed it.

"Then who is it that you're gonna be fighting? Any ideas?" Maria questioned reasonably, tilting her head to the side.

Naruto leaned back, uncomfortable with what was increasingly feeling like an interrogation. "...Um...erm...I don't remember?"

Case in point.

"Naruto..." the female human began, trying to think of a way to convince her friend out of this.

But right at that moment, the blond managed to regain his inner steel. "Alright, look...I know this looks kind of bad...but I do know what I'm doing. This incident that's going on? It's gonna have some very bad impacts on the future if it goes to shit. I'm the only one who can make this end on a decent note...I trust Azazel-san enough to not lead me into some sort of death trap. Just trust me, ok?"

Yuki didn't answer, staying quiet to look, just look, at the blond. Wishing she could see what exactly went on inside his head.

...But unfortunately, she knew that his mind was already made up.

"Is there really no other option available, Naruto-sama?" Maria asked quietly, tone imploring him to at least think about it.

It didn't work. Naruto stayed firmly on his path, as always.

"Sorry." Naruto apologized. "No can do...and I've thought about it."

The hero closed her eyes, already accepting of the fact that the blond would go through with this.

Yes...she has accepted this already...but now she was angling for something else that would make up for it.

"Very well Naruto...I understand, and I'm sure Maria-san understands too." Yuki started solemnly, opening her eyes to gaze upon her closest friend. "...However, I think it would be prudent if we also-"

"No."

The young human blinked, her train of thought cut off abruptly when the whiskered teen denied her her second goalpost. "...No chance at all, huh...?"

Naruto smiled. "No chance at all...Yuki."

Maria's eyes moved in-between the two teens, confused. "Um, did something just happen? I'm totally lost here..."

Blue eyes focused on her, twinkling slightly. "Yuki tried to get me to let you two tag along with me. It didn't work, since you two tagged along already in this trip to begin with."

The succubus' gaze snapped to the female teen, seeing her 'what can you do?' shrug.

"Besides." the shinobi continued, his eyes sliding away from his two allies and onto a curtain to the side. "I think you two need to focus on something else."

Yuki frowned, and followed his gaze.

Her expression swiftly became more somber, to her shame she almost forgot about him...

"...'Basara' was it? Well I think he should be taken to his father sooner rather than later. If those bastards from before had any affiliations with the restless members of the Hero Tribe, then it would be better that you break the news to Jin-san before anyone else gets any information on our unconscious friend."

The blond was now well aware of his friend's relationship with Basara, as after their talk yesterday, she told him about everything that went on in her fight with Cao Cao.

Saving a friend from himself was something that he completely approved of. No surprises there.

Maria shot him a look, realizing what he was suggesting. "...You want us to go back to Kuoh Town? Without you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. The situation with Basara-san has to be dealt with, but more importantly than that is...well...I heard from Azazel-san that things might be getting pretty bad in Kuoh Town soon enough. So for my peace of mind, please go back; both to help out and to be as safe as can be by being surrounded by allies again."

The hero pursed her lips. "...Can you tell us anything?"

The shinobi shook his head, apologetic. "Sorry, this is all probably sensitive information."

As he was speaking, a small hand shot up into the air, as if a school girl was raising her hand so that she could be called on by their teacher.

Naruto turned to the hand's owner. "What's up? Is there a problem?"

Maria lowered her hand to scratch her cheek, looking a little embarrassed. "Well...the thing is, I'm actually willing to go along with this plan. Resting at home and staying near a lot of friendly faces sounds like a good idea to me, especially if bad things are gonna start happening there. But there's one problem with all of this..."

The loli stopped scratching her cheek and used that hand to point her finger towards the curtain that the blond was looking at earlier.

Ah.

"How the hell are we gonna drag Yuki's friend all the way back to Kuou Town? It'd be awfully suspicious if we just carried an unconscious man over our backs for the entire journey. Not only that, but he shouldn't be moving too much, right...?" the succubus pointed out.

The shinobi's eyes widened. That was...

That was...!

...

Oh wait.

"Never mind, false alarm." Naruto drawled out, any tension in his form as good as gone. "I've got you covered, just rest up a little bit before you head out. The transportation should be instant."

Yuki squinted her eyes. "...Um...'instant'?"

"Mhmm!" the shinobi chirped. "All we gotta do is make Azazel-san take you! He could do that thing with his wings to transport people, so this shouldn't be too much trouble, right?"

Maria jerked away, horrified by the suggestion that they'd be getting a faction leader to give them a ride home. "N-Naruto-sama! You do realize who that is, right? We just can't ask him to do that for us!"

Naruto was already in the process of turning around, moving to get out of the room to inform Azazel of what he needed of him. "And why not? The man owes me big anyways, it's not like he's gonna say 'no' or anything."

"Naruto-sama!" the succubus wailed, rushing after him.

Yuki watched the two go, her eyes dry. Those two never changed...

The hero then moved around to gaze upon the curtain that hid Basara from view, jaw set.

She had to inform her father, but truth be told...what could she tell him? How could she possibly broach the subject to him?

She had no idea. Not even a clue.

But it was something that she had to do, pure and simple.

So as her two friends went off towards the fallen leader, she dug into her pocket and grabbed her phone, mentally preparing herself for one hell of a conversation.

---

"And that's how it is. Please take care of them, would ya?"

Azazel stared at the blond in front of him, eyes dull, not able to quite fathom the balls that he must have had to point-blank ask him for such a thing.

"...So you want me; the leader of the great and powerful fallen angels to...play taxi for your friends?"

Naruto nodded. "Exactly! So, you're gonna do it, right?"

The fallen leader truly didn't know how to respond, so instead his eyes panned across the room, seeking ideas on what to do.

Yasaka was trying -and failing- to hide her smirk behind a cup of tea. Whether it was at his situation or...the other thing, he had no idea.

His eyes then traveled to the small form of Uzumaki Naruto's ally, the silver-haired one. Who was attempting to smile and appear calm, but was failing miserably.

She looked far more like a deer caught in a car's headlights than anything else.

Finally, his gaze has moved onto the blond menace himself, who was standing there with his arms crossed, his usual confident self.

That smirk on his face was annoying as hell damn it...!

"So? Come on, I'm doing you a favor here! It should be a small thing for you to take them to Kuoh Town, a tiny thing really." the shinobi pressed, impatient for an answer.

Azazel twitched. "...Oi, brat...you do realize that asking me to do this would seriously lower my street cred, right? It would be difficult for anyone to respect me if they learned that I just transported some brats like some sort of taxi service..."

Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes. "Oh come on, don't be so melodramatic. No one will know that you're there, only the people here know anything about this."

"And what? You expect me to just believe that you'll all keep this private?" the Governor General retorted doubtfully, not trusting any of the individuals there for an instant.

Naruto blinked slowly, as if looking at him for the first time.

"...Don't sweat the small details."

"That's a pretty big ass detail!" Azazel shouted angrily in return, stomping his foot onto the ground. "Don't make light of me damn it!"

"Come on~ Do it~"

"Are you making fun of me!?"

Maria sighed as the two males went back and forth, not relenting at all one another.

This could legitimately take all day.

Yasaka was apparently just enjoying the show, beaming as she watched the blond begin to disparage his 'adversary'.

"...Tch! To think that there were such fallen angels with such low energy...I mean seriously, how hard is it to take three bodies to Kuoh Town from here? Unless of course...you're too weak to do it? Aw man, that would suck! Azazel the wimp can't even do a small thing like that! Hope that info doesn't go viral!" Naruto complained audibly, eyes aimed towards the ceiling.

Azazel's face was now red, twitching periodically. "...Hoh? So now you're trying to browbeat me? Blackmail? You really are a little shit, aren't you?"

The shinobi's face went blank. "I know what you are, but what am I?"

The fallen angel didn't deign that with a response.

Maria could only shake her head, despairing at the current situation.

As the despair set in, a certain hero walked in, confused at what was going on. "Maria-san? Naruto? What's going on?"

Temporarily, all eyes shifted to the doorway where Yuki came in, who was blinking periodically in her own befuddlement.

Azazel twitched when he looked at her, really looked at her for the first time that he saw her.

...

"Alright. I'll take them." the Governor General acquiesced all of a sudden, much to everyone's surprise in the room.

And before Naruto could even comment on it, Azazel turned to him and glowered. "...If you told me that they were partially incapacitated, I'd have agreed immediately you brat."

Ah. Her cast.

The shinobi took a step back, embarrassed that he didn't try that.

At least he tried to.

Instead, he nearly tripped and fell onto the back of his head, all thanks to the relentless little girl that was desperately hugging his ankle.

Azazal still wasn't sure whether Yasaka was smirking at his situation or the fact that her daughter was holding onto Naruto for dear life.

"I...I don't want you to go yet! Why do you have to go...? I want you to stay a little longer..."

Naruto's eyes softened when he heard the soft pleas from the little girl holding him in place, turning his head down to see her watery eyes staring up at him.

The second that she heard he was leaving, she pretty much leapt to his legs and held tight. Probably resolving to never let go of him so that he'd be forced to stay. At least for a little longer.

Of course though, he couldn't do that. He had to go.

So with that in mind, the shinobi lowered himself to the ground as best as he could, looking her in the eye. "Kunou-chan...we had a very short, but very successful partnership; you and I, didn't we? We stopped the bad guys and saved your mother, just like what you wanted, right?"

The little kyuubi didn't respond, instead she pushed her head against his ankles, refusing to look at him.

He continued regardless.

"...Well I have to go. Whether it's to beat more bad guys or to save other people, the fact is...I can't stay here now. I have to help someone else out, much like how I helped you. You know I have to...and you know I can't stay here forever anyways."

Kunou already knew this.

Kunou already knew all of this.

...She just thought that she had more time is all.

To play.

To talk.

To cuddle.

To...

"...Promise you'll come back to visit?" the small kyuubi whimpered into his jeans, drying her wet face onto his clothes.

He didn't mind. Not even a little bit.

"I promise." Naruto agreed, smiling. "And I never go back on my word."

Kunou stayed like that, clutching his clothes, wanting to remain as close as possible before he left.

Once more, the blond didn't mind, proving this by moving his hand to rub the young girl's head soothingly.

Naruto then turned to the girl's mother, who was getting up from her seiza position to move to him after finishing her tea.

"Well Naruto-sama...it certainly has been short, but nevertheless, it has truly been a pleasure to meet you. Know that as long as I remain the leader of the yokai, you will always be an esteemed guest in Kyoto." Yasaka commended, a simpered look on her facial features.

The shinobi grinned, happy to hear that. "Awesome...thank you. It was an honor to meet you as well, Yasaka."

As soon as the young man finished his sentence, a certain twinkle shimmered in the yokai matriarch's eye. Though it was completely unnoticeable to the blond himself.

But it dulled as quickly as it appeared.

As much as the kyuubi wanted to, this wasn't the time to be playing around.

So she simply gave him a platonic hug, one that didn't give off any hidden subtext beyond that 'she cared'.

She'd see this young man again, in a less volatile time where her more lax behavior would be more appropriate.

But until then...

"Stay safe...Naruto-sama." she whispered to him as she hugged him close.

Naruto nodded, accepting her hug by reciprocating with one of his own, more than happy to do so.

And more than happy that it didn't elicit more troublesome feelings out of him as well. He didn't need another pseudo-heart attack.

After the two blondes ended their hug, the shinobi turned to his two friends that traveled with him during this trip. Looking at them with an apologetic expression.

"Stop giving us that look Naruto-sama..." Maria spoke up dryly. "We both understand that we can't stop you from doing this, but at the very least, could you make sure that we feel appreciated here? I mean I'm sure Yuki-san here feels pretty damn under-appreciated here, you know?"

The hero gave the silver-haired girl a sidelong look, a deadpan on her face as she realized that the succubus was projecting a little.

She was about to say as such, but she immediately shut her mouth when the blond teen in front of her quickly and without warning pulled her into a hug.

Not just her though, Maria was also dragged unwittingly into a bone crushing group hug by the blond. Much to her surprise.

Naruto didn't say anything as he held them both, conveying his feelings through this act rather than speaking.

"...Oh Naruto-sama..." Maria mumbled out. "This is such a cop out you know...? We both have bad wounds, and yet all we're getting is a hug out of this...? Seriously...who's benefiting from this? I mean this is what they call having 'a flower in each hand' right?"

So she said, but Yuki felt the succubus press her head against him, moving closer into the hug and holding the blond more tightly.

More than that, she -without a doubt- heard the fond bit of exasperation in her voice.

For Maria, this was good enough.

As for Yuki? Well...the fact that the act put her into such close contact with her friend again made her heart begin to hammer against her rib cage.

She felt like the organ might legitimately try and break through her chest at this rate...

Was something wrong with her? She didn't quite understand why she was reacting this way.

It's not like she did any strenuous activities or anything like that. So then why...?

She had no idea. But she did know one thing.

Despite the worrying idea that her heart might explode one day if she kept this up, it also felt...warm.

The hero liked it, to some extent.

Naruto held onto both of them for a little bit longer, sorry that they had to part ways, but knowing that it's for the best.

"...You two are going to be ok, right?" the shinobi made sure to ask, making sure that they were really alright.

He felt more than heard the silverette's grin on his chest. "Yeah...we'll be alright I'm sure. Right, Yuki-san?"

Yuki nodded against his chest, not wanting to leave quite yet.

The whiskered teen beamed, happy that both were satisfied, before slowly allowing his arms to fall to the wayside-

"No. Wait." Yuki protested quietly, intercepting his arm before he could let it drop all the way. "Not yet. A little more."

Naruto blinked. But did as asked and placed his hand back on her back. Keeping the hug alive a little longer.

Azazel watched the whole proceedings with a deadpanned look. "...How enviable, brat. I'd actually like to say 'good job!' but if anything you're pissing me off a little bit."

...And it wasn't necessarily because he had 'a flower in each hand' either.

...Huh...he wondered how 'his' brat would react to this?

The shinobi looked up from the two females to look at him, slightly sheepish. "Ah...sorry about this. I just don't want them to feel unappreciated dattebayo."

At that split moment, Yuki jabbed a finger into Maria's side, making her jump a little.

Naruto didn't notice. "Anyways, how long do I have to get to the airport? You said that this church agent would be coming tonight, but when tonight?"

Thankfully, the sun was still high up in the sky, so it's not like the blond had anything to worry about. But he better be sure, sunset was just around the corner after all.

The fallen leader squinted his eyes, trying to recall. "...I think a bit after midnight. So you've got time to kill brat."

The shinobi nodded, appreciative. "Alright, good. I wanted to work on some things on the way there. So this is perfect."

As he was speaking, slowly, but this time firmly, he let go of his friends. Knowing that the time has come.

This time Yuki didn't stop him, despite her obvious disappointment.

"Alright guys...I'm off." he said gently, giving them a thumbs up.

Maria smirked and gave him a thumbs up in return. "Whatever trouble happens in Kuoh Town, we'll make sure to deal with it by the time you get home, Naruto-sama!"

The female human firmly inclined her head in agreement. "You have nothing to worry about."

Naruto's eyes brightened as he pumped his fist into the air. "Right! And I in return will come back from this little detour super quickly! Safe and sound!"

The small group basked in the positive attitudes that everyone was displaying, newly confident that everything would be resolved quickly.

But none of them knew that, as Naruto turned around and began his trek to the airport to the east, that their personally assigned tasks would not be completed as easily as they hoped.

The shinobi especially, had no idea about the powers at work that were now beginning to mobilize.

Whereas before, powers such as the Old Maou Faction or Cao Cao's 'Hero' Faction were focused on long-standing goals that could destabilize the world; the ones that were beginning to move also had such lofty ambitions...except there was one clear difference.

They were focusing on Uzumaki Naruto to help complete those ambitions.

Yet the teen himself had no idea about any of that, all he knew was that he was going to destroy any possibility of a stupid war breaking out.

The simple fact was that the world which Naruto found himself in was one with clashing ambitions, ideals, hopes, and dreams.

One that, much like his original, was rife with conflict; current and potential.

The shinobi was already aware of that in some level, however he was not aware of just how bad it was. Or how easily things could deteriorate.

He would find out soon, just how delicate the world's balance really was. Especially since he's upset that balance.

It was inevitable, as the more he intervened, the more well-known he'd become.

And the more well-known he became, the more that the world's many powers would begin to take note and wonder...

Which side was he on?

Some leaders would try and entice him to their perspective 'side', while others would try and out-and-out get rid of a potential rival in the grand game of power politics.

And some of those powers were already beginning to prepare themselves to move out.

---

A small black cat was resting on top of one of the myriad buildings of Kyoto, just laying down and enjoying the cool breeze that the afternoon was giving her.

It was really nice for the feline to relax like this, honestly, she was never usually one for vacation spots. But Kyoto was definitely a nice place to just wind down.

Too bad she was here on a mission.

But now she was just enjoying the rest of her day, since her mission was all but completed already and she had time to kill.

As she was enjoying her small time off, the small feline began to shift in shape and size, growing into something else.

The metamorphosis was quick, with a young woman taking the place of the black cat that was resting on the roof.

That young woman yawned, playfully kicking her feet in the air as she considered the goal that she was given just yesterday.

Ophis wanted answers, and she was now ready to provide them.

Yellow slits were dancing as she remembered the young man that was resting in the hot springs, talking to the fallen leader as if they were old pals.

It was without a doubt him. She would recognize him anywhere after what happened yesterday.

She was in Japan at the time, with her comrades to decide on what their future objectives were going to be long-term. Simple really.

But then she felt him.

It was like a siren that stretched across all of East Asia for her, blaring loudly about their location and that they were very, very powerful.

Senjutsu.

It was strange, the senjutsu that she utilized was partially used to hide her presence, yet the one that she sensed was blaring out to the world about it's power.

Nevertheless, anyone that utilized senjutsu was able sense that.

When she informed her comrades before Bikou had the chance, the consensus was to immediately inform Ophis of this new development.

The only one that protested the decision, ironically enough, was their leader. Who wanted to keep it quiet until he faced the man who used such powers himself.

Arthur, the reasonable one in the group, quickly dissuaded him of that opinion. Noting that he could face the man after Ophis dragged him into her Khaos Brigade.

It would be better to keep her thinking that they were useful pawns to be used rather than annoyances to be swatted.

So she elected to go and find this man herself after Ophis ordered someone to find him and identify him, in preparation for recruitment no doubt.

Seeing him half-naked in a hot springs, with water droplets trialing down his well-muscled frame was an unexpected treat for her, and she wasn't complaining.

Now here she was, trying out the name that she heard the yokai faction leader, of all people, use to refer to him.

"...Naruto..." she pronounced, before emphasizing it. "Na-ru-to..."

A saucy grin spread across her lips as she crossed her arms, supporting her large bust as she stood up to stare at the falling sun.

"I hope you survive Ophis-sama's recruitment, it'd be a shame to lose such precious genes nya~"

---

It's said by many that the past has many important lessons to teach, as well as many secrets to hold.

That those that don't learn from the past are the true fools that will ruin the future.

The elderly man that was sitting in his opulent chair happened to have such convictions, believing that the past could solve the issues facing those in the present as well as save the future.

But of course, such convictions are difficult to follow through, as much history has been lost to the many conflicts that plagued the earth.

Much knowledge has been lost, never to return.

Except he was an exception, one of those rare individuals that could see the past plainly.

And with that ability to see, to truly see...he could learn.

He could learn from the people of this world...and from the people of the other world...

And now he truly had the chance to complete his research, thanks to that young man's cunning. Shiba was his name if he recalled...?

That young man...he thought that he was so clever, trying to twist his arm into giving him concessions for such vital information.

Well, he didn't mind playing his games for now, the exchange may have been seen as a 'win' for him...but he had no idea what he just conceded to him.

Shiba has given him the means to complete the most important...no...vital part of his research.

His research to create new heroes, but more importantly...new humans.

All that was left to do was to lure him here...

The elderly man raised his head as the door to his office was opened, the one opening it not even bothering with the niceties it seemed.

"You called chairman? What do you want?"

Pale blue eyes focused on the young woman that entered his space, looking not exactly particularly pleased to see him.

He supposed a part of her blamed him for making her life as it was. But it was also he who was making her into what she would become.

The savior.

Or perhaps more aptly: the king of kings.

An ironic smile spread across his lips. Ah...how the 'king' would loathe to hear that phrase...

"I repeat; what do you want?" the young woman asked again, impatient.

The elderly man stroked his white beard as he focused on her, smiling. "I apologize for being so quiet my dear...I'm simply contemplating how to best utilize the chance that we've been given is all."

Her ruby eyes regarded him suspiciously, not trusting his intentionally vague word games. "Get to the point. Why. Am. I. Here?"

Ah. No patience. The youth of the modern day should learn more about that.

"...We have information about him. The one that I informed you about...he's here. In Japan."

Her ruby eyes, once bored and suspicious, shifted as soon as he finished his statement. Her entire demeanor shifting to one of shock and...

And...?

No. It was impossible to tell what other emotions were flitting across her eyes.

Was it hate? Love? Hope? Despair? Admiration? Disgust? Superiority? Inferiority?

It was impossible to tell because it was probably very much all of those things.

In many ways...she was created by that man; Uzumaki Naruto.

In other ways, she was created to replace him.

So she no doubt had complicated feelings towards the young man.

The old man's eyes were calculating as her face was forced back to a more neutral expression. Shoving her emotions down to deal with the present issue at hand. "...Are you going to send me to face him?"

"Not yet my dear." he replied easily, his fake smile still on his face. "Not really...but I would like you to relay a message for me. If you can, maybe you can study his abilities personally...and make it your own if you can."

Truth be told, his perfect specimen simply wasn't ready to deal with Uzumaki Naruto quite yet. She needed more time.

Unlike those fools who fought the young man before, he was well aware of several of his abilities. But more importantly...

Of how he fought.

The young woman bit her lip, but didn't protest. This was an important moment for her...to meet the source of all of this old man's ambitions.

Honestly, she didn't care about this dusty has-been of a hero or any of his ambitions for the future, all she cared about was that he would push her closer to what she was born to do. Her true calling in life.

Her only calling in life.

Perfection.

The 'king of kings' turned around, her long purple hair flowing behind her like a curtain, reaching for the exit to mentally prepare herself for the confrontation that was destined to occur.

"Don't do anything foolish my dear." the old man couldn't help but add, closing his eyes until they were slits. "I wouldn't want to worry about you losing your life now...you're necessary for my experiments after all."

Her hand froze right when they were about to reach for the door handle, the owner twitching when he made that statement.

Then she slowly turned around, coldly regarding him with dull red eyes.

"Don't bother worrying about my life, chairman." she rasped quietly, turning back to open the door and leave. "Everyone is born without a purpose, everyone lives for no reason, and everyone dies for nothing. Being the sublime being that I am...I'm the only one that can't be allowed to die in this world."

And with that, the young -twisted- girl closed the door behind her, leaving the room as quickly as she entered it.

The old man could only smile his unpleasant smile.

That child, for all intent's and purpose, had no meaning in life. Not really.

No morals and no heart.

She didn't care about the people that she hurt along the way, why should she? She was above everyone else in her mind.

And to her, life was simply pointless.

"...My my, it seems I've truly created a monster, haven't I?" he noted lightly, keeping his eyes closed as he vividly remembered one of the first ever visions he ever saw of that world.

The vision was about a boy, one with spiky golden hair, simply looking at a mirror. Staring at himself through it's reflection.

One of the things that stood out to him back then was just how...dull the boy's eyes were.

Much like his perfect experiment's.

It was obvious just by looking at him, that the boy was filled with hate. Against his home, against it's people, against life.

...Oh...how he has grown.

"...Then again, I suppose you need to create a monster to destroy another monster, don't you?" he mused quietly, sipping his wine casually.

---

AN: I am so sorry for taking so long everyone. All I can say is that final's week caught me off guard and that I've actually written *now* up to 40k words for a single chapter. I had to cut it into two separate chapters since it was too damn big.

The next chapter should come relatively quickly then, since it's 12k in I think already.

Alright, just as an aside, next chapter will mostly be dealing with what everyone back at Kuoh Academy is up to. As that's what made up the other piece of the chapter. Naruto will still be there, he will just have less of a role to play until the chapter after the next one. So...chapter 35 I suppose.

Ok, apologies for the large chapter to anyone that doesn't like large chapters. Next time it should return to the more normal 20k or so. :3

Edit: Alright, bear with me here. I completely forgot to make sure to leave a note to explain why the moderately perverted Naruto reacted the way he did. The answer to that resides in a question for everyone who wonders this; have you ever seen a (canon) female ever come onto Naruto sexually? Blatantly?

Honestly, I think Naruto would react to some perverted situations with a blank look, the only time I've really seen him act in a perverted fashion is when Sakura is involved. Basically, he only really acts like a "moderate" pervert is when it comes to women he at the very least has a crush on.

Everything else he sort of just ignores, as evidenced with the fact that he never reacts to women like Tsunade with a perverted attitude.

As for my question, no, I've never seen anyone come onto him blatantly before. At least not *that* hard. So honestly I think he'd be super flustered when those kinds of situations come up.

Just my two cents. :P

-RekkingPride