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!

42. Chapter 42

AN: From on, if I get big chapters like these and take too long in making them, I'm going to place little flashback sequences to help remind the readers what happened last chapter as a little fresher. :3

---

It was dark out.

Dark enough for someone who, say, wanted to go on a secret covert operation, would want to work with.

Uzumaki Naruto, or rather; his clone, was on such a mission.

The corporeal copy of the enigmatic blond was currently wearing a plain dark shirt paired with dark pants, as well as a bandanna that covered his face and a dark beanie to shroud his hair.

Why was he wearing such clothing?

As he has stated; because he was on a top secret mission, duh.

That being said, he knew damn well that the dark clothing and the items that were used to shroud his face weren't necessary, he could infiltrate almost anywhere with very little trouble.

Nah, they were mostly there just to make him feel more 'official'.

...That, or maybe he was letting the popular imagination of what a 'shinobi' was get to him.

Either of those reasonings could work, frankly.

It didn't really matter in the end, since the end result was going to be the same anyway.

The blond was going to successfully infiltrate the Student Council's work space, and...make some changes to something within it's confines.

Something that he knew that the orderly student council president would keep for her own personal use, probably to reference and follow to the letter.

The book that outlined all of the school's rules and regulations.

If someone were to look at him, they'd see the dark grin that were splitting his features as he jumped high into the sky, blending in with the night sky before the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon.

Hopefully his real self was actually working while he was getting the goods...

---

Naruto had almost fell back to sleep as soon as he made his clone.

Thankfully, the shinobi had enough self discipline to drag himself out of his own home before he fell into temptation, aware that a part of him, deep inside, wasn't exactly raring to go.

Because, frankly, what he was about to do could have certain...implications.

Implications that he wasn't ready to deal with just yet.

Still, it was something that he had to do.

Sprinting across the empty streets of Kuoh Town, wearing nothing but a simple orange tank top and black sweatpants, the teen moved without a care, knowing damn well that people weren't largely awake yet to start their normal days.

Thus, he could move freely, and as quickly as he wanted.

Good, because he wasn't going to half ass or slow down.

He just wasn't in the mood for it.

Blurring across the sizable settlement, he made sure that the nice and properly planned buildings of Kuoh Town began to shift into the slightly dilapidated version of those prior buildings.

One that surrounded a familiar building.

Landing softly right before a large electric fence, Naruto raised his bowed head to face the rundown factory that stood at the absolute edge of Kuoh Town.

Once upon a time, this area was probably an industrial zone that had been abandoned, left here to rot as those who worked here moved onto other better things.

The last time he was here, he had pretty much kidnapped a certain fallen angel and interrogated her, and then got attacked by her allies, leading to the eventual fight that broke out in that abandoned church.

Hmm. Good times.

Thankfully, given the complete lack of activity, he'd say that people had finally stopped giving the site any attention after an eye-catching explosion had drawn the local police and news people there.

Which was just what the young man wanted.

Flipping over the electric fence that he had completely ignored the last time he was here, Naruto sprinted inside the abandoned factory, finding a spot that gave him ample room to work with.

It was when he reached the center of that decaying building, where there was a large opening in the roof that allowed for light to reach inside, where Naruto finally stopped.

Breathing in, he made sure to double check if there really was no one around him that could see what he was about to do.

...

No one. Great.

Breathing out now, the shinobi hesitantly raised his thumb to his mouth, opening his jaws to bite down onto his digit, prepared to draw blood.

'Why else would anyone leave home?'

His blue eyes hardened, his resolve pushing back against the bit of hesitance that was plaguing him as he reached this spot.

Bringing his canines together, making sure that a bit of skin was in-between their contact, he flashed through some hand signs as blood dripped from his open wound.

Cerulean flashing, Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground, focusing chakra onto it, an explosion of smoke cloaking him and his surroundings as his jutsu went into effect.

Swiping away at the smoke, he zeroed in on the spot where he placed his hand, awaiting for the toad, knowing damn well that he put enough to meet with one that understood him.

Expression stony, he had gotten just what he had wanted.

At the epicenter of the artificially made cloud, emerged a small toad, blinking at him with it's bar-like irises.

It tilted it's head, obviously not really recognizing him. "Who are you?"

Naruto smiled softly. "...Yo. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm looking for Sage Jii-chan."

The small toad regarded him, blinking owlishly. "...Sage Jii-chan?"

Smiling just a bit larger than before, the shinobi decided to clarify himself. "Heh, sorry, I forgot that not everyone knows about my nicknames. It's actually been a while since I've used them, ya know? Forcing myself to sound formal when I first came to this world, just so that I could attract less attention was really tough dattebayo. Anyway, you probably know him as Fukasaku; of the Nidaisengama. (Two Great Sage Toads)

He hit the jackpot.

His words made the small amphibian's eyes widen so much that they nearly fell right out of their sockets, really.

It was kinda funny actually.

"Eh!? Wait, actually, I think that I remember Fukasaku-jii-chan saying something about a lost summoner..." the toad mentioned after recovering from his shock, squinting as it tried to recall.

Surging forth, getting right into the amphibian's face, Naruto's eyes became intense, looking like he was trying to dig the information right through the little guy's head. "What? What did he say? Come on, I'm sure that Sage Jii-chan must've said something to everyone by now!"

Nonplussed by it's summoner's lack of personal space, the animal squirmed on the spot, uncomfortable. "Well...I think that he said something about reverse-summoning..."

Heart beating faster, the blond leaned just a tad closer, his eyes digging even deeper to the toad.

But he would just as quickly deflate at what the amphibian would say next.

"...But then claim that it was almost impossible, or something like that."

Naruto felt cheated at that very moment.

"W-? What does he mean by that?" the shinobi questioned with disbelief plainly written on his features. "Impossible? It can't be impossible!"

Horizontal bars that replaced normal irises gazed upon him. "...I...I think he mentioned something about it costing too much chakra to be...uh...'feasible'? Feedable? I'm not too sure which big word he used..."

By that point, the toad's summoner was completely ignoring the child's floundering in remembering difficult words.

His mind was racing far too fast to deal with the little guy, trying to grasp the implications that he has just heard.

Too much chakra...

Not feasible.

...Now that Naruto thought about it, how much chakra did it cost him just to get this small toad to...wherever the hell he was?

He was damn well aware that he had massive chakra reserves, way beyond kage level as a matter of fact.

So then...keeping that in mind, how much chakra would it take to drag someone like him, with his chakra reserves, back to the Elemental Nations?

Hell, he wasn't even counting the damn fox that was sealed in his stomach!

Pure frustration tore through him, his fist slamming into the cement ground as he fell to his knees, gnashing teeth harshly enough to rattle his gums.

What the hell was he going to do now?

How was he supposed to-?

"Well, yeah, he said something like that." the toad eventually concluded, not paying attention to the blond's mood. "He also said that if any of the toads should ever be contacted by our summoner again, then we should tell him to be patient, since he and Shima-baa-sama were going to try and gather a lot of chakra to help make it possible to bring him-"

Blinking, horizontal bars checked it's dangling feet, confused to find them off of solid ground, unsure why-

"You..." it heard the teen in front of it growl, his blue eyes flashing with barely repressed anger.

Weird. Why was he so angry?

"...Mention that earlier, you damn brat!"

---

Naruto took a deep breath, centering himself after getting thoroughly frazzled.

Honestly, if the not-even-an-adolescent toad had just played a prank on him, then he'd have to congratulate it on a job well done.

But, sadly, he was pretty sure that it's childish mind gave it trouble when trying to remember some details.

And stuff.

Still, did the little toad actually have to laugh at Naruto's yell?

Seriously...the shinobi sometimes felt that every kid that he's come into contact with have either laughed or retorted angrily back at him when he got angry at them.

He wasn't sure whether he was good or bad with kids...

...Ugh, he remembered once when Sakura-chan wondered whether kids were at ease with him because he acted like one.

A low blow to a thirteen year old, no doubt.

Naruto's visage fell a bit at the thought, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Damn it...

He missed them. Everyone in Konoha.

How were they holding out without him? Were they rebuilding by now? Were they looking for him?

Were they preparing for what was to come?

The shinobi had no idea, be he at least hoped that they were doing alright.

It pained him to think that maybe something bad had happened in his absence, and if something did, he wasn't sure whether he could forgive himself for it.

...Which was why he was confused.

'We're on personal business you could say, for why else would we be so far away from home?'

Deep inside, when he heard those words, it had instantly sparked memories of leaves, brushing past him as he walked down bustling streets with a grin, animatedly talking about something and nothing with his teammates, and an indulgent sensei.

It sparked a longing that he didn't know that he had.

...But that wasn't all that it sparked.

To his confusion, and to his shame, he felt a twinge of uncertainty appear at the very edge of his awareness.

Even worse, it spawned...a hesitance that he never had until then, aimed at the prospect of going back home.

Naruto, frankly, was pretty damn concerned about why he should feel hesitant about going back home.

What he was doing here, was helping out the friends that he had made in this world, but it was only supposed to be temporary, until he managed to find a way back.

So...why?

Blue eyes wavered, stuck in indecision, wondering for a moment whether he'd gone and got too involved with this world.

Then that oceanic colored gaze steeled.

He didn't have time for this.

Not for these doubts, or even his stalling for that matter.

The time to leave hasn't arrived yet, nor would it be for a while now, since the cost of taking both; himself and the biju within would be massive from this world.

He would think on this, but he wasn't just here to summon the toads.

No, he was also here to get some work done, so for now...

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Several copies of the stationary shinobi appeared all around him, stretching their arms and shuffling closer to their creator so that they could get assigned.

"Hey! You guys over there! Continue working on that seal, we need some kind of insurance just in case we lose control over ourselves again! You! Take a batch of clones and begin the super-top-secret project that I just came up with! And for goodness sake...someone please master that damn fire seal already!"

Giving orders left and right, several copies sprinted off throughout the dense machinery of the factory, aiming to complete their tasks with the limited time frame that they've got.

And, of course, they knew what their boss would be focusing on.

Huddling up with the rest of his corporeal copies, Naruto met all of their expectant looks with one in return, nodding at the difficult task ahead of them.

"We're... he drawled lowly, raising his fist in determination. "...Going to master the Futon: Chakra Mode. Everyone ready?"

No words were spoken in response.

All that was left was action, and the sound of wind ripping through the air itself.

---

Sona crossed her legs, pursing her lips as she took a sip from her cup. "...Excellent tea, as always, Akeno."

Behind her, the Gremory group's queen bowed her head a tad, her lips twitching upwards. "You're too kind, Sona-kaichou."

Taking a chance to take one last sip, she lowered her cup daintily onto the coffee table as soon as she was done, eyes zeroing onto her fellow high-class devil. "Rias. Do you know why I'm here?"

Rias, in the midst of doing some paperwork in regards to the territory that she ruled, lifted her eyebrow as her pen hand continued scribbling. "Not necessarily. The school day hasn't even started yet, and I'm trying to get some work done before we have to get to class. I don't recall any plans for meeting with you, so..."

"Don't worry." Sona folded her hands together onto her lap. "We didn't have any prior arrangements, but I figured that this was a good time to reestablish the fact that we really should try and renew our contact with the Underworld. It's...well, I wouldn't say urgent, but we should really should just in case we actually have to for whatever reason."

That and the idea that they had no contact with the Underworld was...somewhat embarrassing.

It wasn't like either of them were too worried, since the both of them were actually quite sure that they would've heard from their older siblings if anything too...troubling happened.

That being said, a whole three days without getting any contact was beginning to push her to action, whether Rias wanted to participate or not.

She must've seen this resolve in her features, since Rias didn't even bother trying to convince her otherwise. "...Right. The moment that school's over, we'll give it another shot. If we don't get anything, then I suppose we should actually go to the Underworld and check, shouldn't we?"

Adjusting the glasses on her nose, the king of the Sitri group couldn't agree more with this plan.

Best to do it when they had more time on their hands.

Mentally switching gears for a moment, Sona cupped her chin with her hands, tapping it with an errant finger. "Shifting topics for a moment, I was wondering; have you been into the Student Council office yesterday after school, Rias?"

Her pen hand finally stopped moving at the query, the red-head lifting her head to give her old friend a look. "...No. Why?"

Straightening her back, the Sitri heiress crossed her arms and sighed. "Oh, nothing. It's just that...it felt like some of the items on my desk were moved around. I tend to be pretty organized, and yet some of my paperwork were...'shifted' from their pile."

"Shifted?" the Gremory high-class devil echoed.

"A millimeter or two. Yes."

Rias leaned back into her seat, looking like she wanted to say so much more, but didn't have the energy to do so. "...I see. Well, isn't it possible that you...maybe just shifted it when you passed it by?"

That was the logical assumption here, right?

"Impossible."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

"I'm very thorough when it comes to these things." Sona insisted, frowning. "There's no way that I'd accidentally move some paperwork by passing it by. That's how messes are made, and that's we lose paperwork. I'm sure that you've learned that yourself, haven't you, Rias?"

Wincing, the red-head had to give her that one.

She hasn't done it recently, but she has been guilty of losing important paperwork in the past.

Cheap shot to bring that up after all of these years though.

About to make her displeasure known, the high-class devil opened her mouth to complain, until she heard the front door leading to this room creak open.

The trio of devils turned on the spot to see another red-head peek inside the room, somehow managing to make a mix of nervousness and determination that only Asia could pull off.

"Mio-san?" Sona ventured, looking plainly confused to see her at all. "What are you doing here? Classes don't start for another half an hour."

Indeed, Sona and Rias had occasionally gone to Kuoh Academy early, usually to deal with some issue or another that had to do with the supernatural.

But for what reason did the half-devil have to come here so early?

"Mio-chan!"

At least she managed to receive a clue when she heard the older red-head chirp their kohai's name with enthusiasm.

"Rias-sempai." Mio murmured softly, timidly even. "I...well, I was hoping that we could-"

The half-devil couldn't really get another word in when her sempai suddenly teleported in front of her face, that same unnerving sparkling effect that she had last time in her eyes when she grabbed the both of her hands with her own.

Behind her, Sona felt her jaw slam the floor.

While Akeno simply took it in stride, daintily covering her mouth with her hand, failing miserably to stop the small smile from reaching it.

Mio squirmed a bit when the attention of the three devils in the room concentrated on her, her cheeks pink.

Thankfully, Rias figuratively and literally began to drag her out of the uncomfortable situation by pulling her into another room, not even bothering her to ask her for her consent.

The student council president stared as Mio was bonelessly taken into one of the spare rooms, the door closing behind them as soon as her dragging feet was secured inside.

...

"I think I'll take my leave for now." the Sitri heiress decided on the spot, smoothly getting up from her seat.

Her decision was pretty much a foregone conclusion after she saw her friend just drag a teenaged girl into a room with sparkling eyes.

That was simply something out of a horror flick.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." Akeno agreed sagely, offering her an apologetic smile. "Nevertheless, I hope that you could forgive her for her...eccentric support for Mio-chan. She's been over the moon that Mio-chan sought her out for help with something like a first crush, she hasn't stopped talking about since last night actually."

Flicking her violet orbs to the door that the two red-heads went into, the Sitri heiress could definitely believe that the older of the two was more than a little excited to help.

So she shrugged. "I'll try not to hold it against her. That being said, I'll see you later, Akeno. Try to keep your king in line, if you can."

Forming a wicked smirk, voluptuous teen shrugged. "I'll do my best. Even if it is a full-time job."

Sona didn't retort to that, no matter how much she really wanted to.

It was only as the young woman was leaving, escaping the confines of her friend's base, that she allowed herself to really wonder.

Was she really just being paranoid? Thinking that someone might've entered her office space?

At first, she was positive that she was correct, but now that Rias had voiced her doubts, the Sitri heiress felt her own rise in response.

Deciding to let the matter drop for now, Sona made her way back to her own home base, prepared to send out the pamphlets for the Ball Tournament to the school body's many clubs.

The date has been determined after she had made sure to go through the administrative board, giving her the green light to truly advertise the event to everyone.

However, since the event was originally going to be scheduled this week when it was being formalized as a concept, that meant that the board couldn't justify as much time to prepare for the festivities as planned.

They had other scholarly events lined up after all.

Thankfully, everything that's really needed for the Ball Tournament has already been gathered, all that's really needed is to inform the student body and to decorate, which is something that the Student Council could accomplish without too much trouble.

She just hoped that the week would be relatively calm for once...

---

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Let it be known to all that Naruto wasn't the best when it came to time management.

Like now for example.

The shinobi was so focused on his training earlier this morning, that he nearly blew past Kuoh Academy's morning bell.

Hell, he was pretty sure that it was going to ring in about a half an hour, so he didn't have much time to waste.

That may seem like plenty of time, and it really was for the blond, but he had to make some pit stops before he actually got back.

It'd be a miracle if he actually managed to get to class in time.

Which was why he was sprinting at an incredible pace, at least for regular human beings, with his school uniform thoroughly ruffled.

Not that he cared really, he was more focused on the stores that he was racing past, looking for something specific among the many options that were presented to him.

He didn't need rugs.

Or futons.

Or wooden furniture.

And definitely not a blow-up doll.

Who even bought those things anyway...?

Deciding not to follow that train of thought, the shinobi didn't stop 'running' towards his next destination, hoping to find something before he reached it.

Blitzing past a light in an intersection, and nearly giving a driver a heart attack when his form literally blitzed past his vehicle as he was going through the green light, he would finally find a store that was somewhat satisfactory.

Skidding to a halt in front of an apparel store, the spiky-haired youth trudged in with sharp eyes, looking for something very specific in it's selections.

He completely ignored the cashier that was laying on his ass reading the paper, looking for all the world like a classic lazy salary man.

Scanning the many purchase options given to him, he made sure to check his internal parameters to see if the items he was looking through actually matched what he needed.

Well...not needed, but he really wanted it.

Finding this thing might make things a lot better after all.

Lips flattening in concentration, the teenager continued to look around, hoping against hope that this little article of cloth was even being sold in Kuoh Town.

It was a pretty small town, so he didn't exactly have high expectations.

So after a few more seconds of searching, the teen breathed out in resignation, accepting the unfortunate fact that the item he was looking for may not be around here.

In this little shop at the very least.

Still, he had to ask the shop owner just in case, just to make doubly sure that this item really wasn't here.

Moving up to the front of the desk that the cashier was lazing on, the blond pinned the presumed owner with a look, awaiting the inevitable question that he was going to eventually elicit.

That's usually what happened when he stared at someone for an extended period of time anyway.

But this guy seemed like he was one of those obstinate 'I'll pretend that I don't see you' types, since he continued to scan the pages of his newspaper without sending him a glance, seemingly absorbed.

No worries though, he'd call the guy's bluff.

Eventually.

Staying there, leaning in a bit against the counter, Naruto quickly got bored with just staring at the unresponsive clerk, making his gaze wander.

Specifically, onto the merchandise that was available behind the unresponsive man.

Where the blond saw something that made his eyes widen.

"That's it!"

The clerk jerked, threw the newspaper onto the ground, and went rimrod straight. "Uh-! Good morning, precious customer! How can I help you today!?"

Blue eyes blinked.

Wait...

"...Did you not notice me this entire time?" Naruto questioned, his incredulity obvious.

Seeing the lost look that the young man behind the counter was sporting was more than enough of an answer to his query.

...

Well shit.

It looked like that his patented 'annoy the hell outta someone until they acknowledged you' needed some work.

Either that, or he had become less annoying as he got older.

Hmm...

Who'da thought it?

---

Mio really should be writing some of these things down.

Honestly, while she wasn't sure how her sempai would advise her, she was honestly getting some useful information out of this talk.

"Of course, since you won't tell me who your crush actually is, I can't give you any specific tips. Only general ones that affects most males in general." Rias continued on with her lecture, in 'teacher mode'. "Like; appealing to their ego, or their sense of chivalry. In general, plenty of boys like to feel that they've done something to please their significant other. And usually, there's nothing worse that you could do to someone in the gender of the masculine variety than question their usefulness to someone they care about."

So, to put it simply, a lot of guys liked to feel needed?

How interesting.

Then again, if women had egos, then it stood to reason that men had those too.

Mio just never really thought about it.

"So!" the Gremory heiress exclaimed, clapping her hands together, a certain glint in her eye. "Can you tell me anything specific about this boy that caught your interest? Anything at all? If you do, then I can actually give you something specific instead of vague to ensnare him."

The younger red-head decided to ignore the use of 'ensnare' entirely and simply focus on what her sempai wanted from her.

Even if she knew on some level that the high-class devil was also fishing for more information to piece together who she was planning to ask out.

Her curiosity was obviously getting the better of her here.

...Who she was going to ask out.

Who she was going to-

Oh god, she was going to ask Naruto out on a date.

Trying to kill the flush of her cheeks, she decided to be general as possible. "He's very kind."

Nailed it.

"...That's it?" Rias asked with a frown, crossing her arms. "Come on, there has to be more to it than that. I mean; what about him caught your interest?"

Mio blinked.

What about him caught her interest?

Boy...

First off; it wasn't like she was asking him out because she wanted to get together.

Of course not.

This was to get to know him better.

That was all.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

As for her sempai's question, which was left hanging between them with as much subtlety as an elephant using trumpets...

Well, she thought about it for a bit.

What exactly drew her to him?

Several things came to mind the second that she gave the idea some serious thought.

His magnetic personality and charisma, both of which made anyone feel like they were beside someone larger than life could permit.

It made someone insignificant feel like they meant something.

His confident 'we can do it' attitude, which made even the daunting of tasks seem like a plausible goal.

Or his empathy, that could allow him to connect to people in such a way that could spurn people to be better.

No.

Altogether...there was one thing that could meld all those things together.

A simple statement, a simple phrase that explained the 'what' in a satisfactory manner.

For herself at least.

And when he managed to form those words in her head, it unintentionally spilled out through her lips, their importance not lost to her at all.

"He pushes me to be the best that I can be." was all she said.

Then, after a spare moment, she realized that she actually verbalized it.

Raising her head, she wasn't sure what she'd see in her friend's expression.

Indeed, she was right to be cautious.

Since all she saw was stars in her eyes.

"That's so cute!" she gushed, unable to contain herself. "Mio-chan, you've just made me more determined to help! You'll ensnare this guy, no doubt!"

She used 'ensnare' again...was this a devil thing?

"And if he hurts you in any way, just tell me, and I promise that I'll make him disappear."

Maybe Mio should tell Naruto to watch his back for a little bit...

"Ah, by the way." Rias shifted gears, moving away from the topic of assassinations. "Have you changed your hair because of this crush of yours as well?"

The half-devil squinted, tilting her head in confusion. Her lack of understanding flashing in her pupils.

The Gremory heiress pointed a digit at her, or more specifically, at the top of her head. "Well, normally you'd tie your hair into twin-tails, but instead you've let your hair down for this entire time. So..."

Mio raised her hand and brought a few strands of her vibrant red hair to the fore, raising it for inspection.

Yeah, her sempai was right.

Ever since the ribbons holding her hair up was burned up by that asshole of a devil in their fight, she hasn't tied up her hair at all.

It wasn't because she was trying to impress anyone though. "I can't. I don't have other ribbons."

"You don't?"

Mio shook her head. "I only had one pair, and that pair...well, it meant something to me. So I didn't bother to get another one."

The Gremory heiress gazed upon her kohai curiously, wondering if that black ribbon really meant much to her.

But she didn't have the chance to think on it much more. "Also, the guy I'm trying to ask to dinner is kind of...dull, so what do I do to deal with that?"

Rias said nothing, for all of about five seconds.

Then she grinned, getting back into it. "Right. So this is what you do..."

---

Yuki was a little nervous.

As much as she'd like to attribute that nervousness to being late to school, she couldn't.

Not without lying to herself.

To be perfectly honest, being late to school was probably among the last things on her mind, with the coming meeting with a certain blond replacing it as a higher priority.

She didn't know why it made her nervous, especially when he came to her house once before, albeit unannounced, but it did.

For some reason, this specific instance made her heart hammer more than any other in recent memory.

Which was why the young hero was distracting herself by creating a chart of her current symptoms, hoping to narrow down which disease was ailing her.

Marker in hand, a plain white board in front of her, and a silent determination to find out what was going on spurred her on with this action.

Yuki popped the marker's cap off and began jotting down her 'symptoms'.

First; an uncomfortably tight feeling in her chest, which eased and grew stronger depending on proximity to him.

Second; a heat that pooled into her cheeks whenever she was close to him him.

Third; a loss of breath that could, once again, be attributed to him.

And, perhaps the most infuriating symptom; the feeling of nervousness that prevailed whenever she knew they were going to see each other.

Her thoughts would always drift to whether her clothes were appealing, if her hair was alright, whether she smelled or not, or if she was acting too awkwardly.

Every time.

Yet...she didn't dislike it, if that made any sense.

Strangely enough, these symptoms weren't constant like other diseases she were aware of, and in fact, only activated in regards to a certain spiky-haired troublemaker.

That fact worried the hero a little, making her seriously wonder...

Did she have a strange new type of disease? Perhaps a mutation of some pre-existing ones?

Because she was pretty sure that there were no listed sicknesses that had symptoms as she did.

So just what was wrong with her-?

"Mornin', Yuki!"

Sakuya materialized in the palm of her hand and was swiftly brought to bear upon the board in front of her, making passes across it's flat surface mercilessly.

Within a single second, the board fell onto the floor as several tiny pieces, completely destroyed and unreadable to anyone that tried to look at it.

Yuki took a breath, let it out, de-materialized Sakuya, then turned to the blond that was temporarily left stunned silent. "Good morning, Naruto. How are you?"

Naruto, who had seen himself in through her door, wasn't sure what to say, so had instead opted to glance around uncomfortably.

The small home, which externally had a western style theme to it, was, internally at least, a 'Japanese' home.

The floors had tatami mats instead of tiles or rugs, the doors inside slid instead of opened or closed, and the light bulbs were replaced by simple Japanese-themed lanterns.

It was pretty unique, if the whiskered teen thought about it.

But he couldn't really ignore the elephant that was in the room so easily, even if he wanted to. "...Uh, hey Yuki. Look, I'm not sure what that board did to you, but I'm sure it didn't deserve that...pretty brutal slice and dice."

Yuki didn't hesitate to retort. "It did deserve it."

Naruto said nothing for all of about five seconds.

"...Did it now?"

The hero nodded firmly. "It did."

Huh.

Well that was a thing.

Deciding to chalk this strange incident as yet another thing that he didn't understand about his almost humorously stoic friend, the shinobi gracefully changed the subject. "So, you ready to name this new club of ours, Yuki?"

The hero, whose back was tensed up, immediately let the tension in her form disappear into nothing, the faintest twitch at the edge of her lips hinting at how ready she actually was. "Yes. I'm ready."

Grinning, the blond moved closer to her, prepared to bounce ideas with the other teen so that they could reach a badass name for, what he hoped, would be a badass club.

At least that was the idea, until he saw the bluenette raise her hand to stop him short.

"That being said..." she murmured, glancing down at the floor, her hands going down to bunch at her pajama pants.

Wait.

Why was she still wearing her pajamas?

"I-I was wondering if we could do...that thing now."

Hmm?

Hmmmmm?

"That thing?"

"...That thing."

Naruto swallowed a lump that formed in his throat without warning, a creeping feeling crawling up his spine. "Wait. What's that thing? What the hell is that!?"

Yuki bit the bottom of her lip, her eyes hooded when she looked up at him. "...Like with Yasaka-san. You promised."

...

Oh.

Unbidden, a memory of a beautiful blond woman entering the baths that he was in came to mind, washing his back as he burned like the sun in embarrassment.

Then, he clearly remembered a strangely forlorn hero prodding him, asking him why she could wash with him when she herself couldn't.

The only way he managed to appease her was by promising her that they'd get to bathe together once, at least.

Well...it looked like now was the time.

"Wait." he raised his hand, feeling this visit go completely out of hand. "We have class soon, if we do this now, then there's absolutely no way that we'd make it to class on time, ya know?"

There.

That line of reasoning, should've been more than enough to convince the goody-goody Yuki to back off from this for the moment at least-

"I don't care."

$&) %!?

Naruto's jaw must have hit the ground loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, but Yuki was completely unconcerned about that. "Naruto...I don't know what's been going on with me recently. But I know that, ever since Yasaka-san got to bathe with you, that I've been wanting to do the same. I want to feel close, Naruto. And you're the first friend I've ever really had, so..."

She trailed off there, looking more lost than anything else, unsure of how to proceed.

All she knew was that this felt right to her, and that she'd feel closer to him if she did this.

As close, if not closer, than the yokai faction leader herself.

Even now, just thinking about that beautiful woman placing her hands onto her friend's naked back to wash him...stirred something within her.

A deep and unsettling feeling that left her breathless, similar to how she felt when she was around Naruto.

Except...this was somehow extraordinarily unpleasant.

She didn't like it. Not one bit.

But with this, Yuki was confident that she would be able to become even closer to Naruto, closer than anyone.

At least, that's what she had managed to understand about the act of skinship and it's properties.

So, with a determination befitting that of a hero, the young woman tugged on Naruto's unresponsive form, grasping his sleeve, and began dragging him with her towards their next destination.

It wasn't until the shinobi was brought to the entrance of the bathroom that he managed to snap out of his stupor. "Uh..."

"We're doing this."

And that was that.

Yuki was completely adamant in doing this now, and the blond had made a promise to allow her to do so.

Raising his chin up as he faced his destiny, Naruto was at least going to make damn sure that he was going to face this newest development with the air of a defeated samurai.

Nothing less was going to be enough for this.

At least, he thought so up until the bluenette in front of him dragged him inside the bathroom, closed the door behind them, and then proceeded to pull her shirt over her head.

Face growing hot, the shinobi grit his teeth and defiantely looked the other way, wondering how he could be so affected by the sight of Yuki's sizable breasts being contained in a white and blue bra when he'd seen worse.

Seriously, he's invented the Oiroke no jutsu by looking through porn magazines as a kid, went through several brothels with his perverted master, and has met plenty of gorgeous women that liked to show off their cleavage.

Konoha's current Hokage notwithstanding.

So why the hell was blood rushing towards his cheeks as he witnessed Yuki pull her pajama pants down?

He only pondered this question for a fraction of a second, until the hero in front of him turned to him, her cheeks flushed.

It was only when his blue orbs met her yellow ones that a possible answer reached him.

Those eyes.

It was those eyes.

Peering into the window of his friend's soul, the shinobi was able to see many things reflect in those pools of gold in front of him.

Most of them were too hard to pinpoint out specifically, but there was one feeling that shone out more than the others.

The passion that were exhibited in those orbs of her's, aimed at him, stewing under the surface.

That alone, made him flare up more, unable to help himself.

He remembered seeing a look like that only once before in recent memory.

From Yasaka, when she was washing him during his stay in Kyoto.

"Naruto." Yuki murmured, her arms modestly covering her underwear clad body as she pursed her lips. "...Can you hear it?"

Throat dry, the shinobi attempted to give a response. "...Huh?"

The hero opened her mouth, closed it, then placed her hand on her chest, her breathing becoming shallow. "...It's loud. My heart. It's beating so fast and hard that it feels like it could come out at any moment."

Naruto didn't respond, couldn't respond, since his focus was shifting from her strange words to the hand that was dangerously close to her scarcely covered chest

Ah.

Shit. Down boy.

This was Yuki, damn it.

In a daze, the bluenette shuffled closer, tugging at his clothes, eyes hooded as she looked up at him. "Come on...you have to strip too."

Naruto gulped.

This...he wasn't sure if he was terrified or ecstatic.

---

Issei quickly realized that this wasn't going to work.

To be frank, he actually realized this yesterday.

But it turned out that Asia was really good at convincing him to do things that he would normally scoff at.

Especially when she gave him that puppy-eyed look that she had mastered hands down.

Damn.

He turned into putty when she pulled that.

Still, the prospect of taking in a teenaged guy into his home in the late evening proved to spark many questions from his thoroughly worried parents.

'Issei...has your perversion grown to such levels that you'd be willing to drag young men into it!?'

Damn it all! How low did his mother think of her own son!?

Issei just sighed by this point, already tired as he trudged his way towards school, doing his best to ignore the talking next to him.

"Hmm...this place is so...open. Are there any walls surrounding the town or anything? Any kind of defenses?"

"Walls? Defenses? Um...no, I don't think so. Japan is very peaceful, so I don't think anyone even thought about it."

"But what if someone has hostile intentions? Surely it's best to have some kind of preparation just in case. I remember that my home had some kind of defenses, even when everyone was sure that no one could actually reach it..."

"Oh! Do you remember something about your home, Basara-san?"

"...No, just that it was protected, and that I didn't stay there. Sorry."

On a normal day, Asia was usually walking beside Issei as they made their way to school.

However, unlike usual, there was another addition to their standard morning group.

Wearing a spare uniform that Issei had, a young man with shaggy brown hair and piercing emerald eyes was methodically walking beside them, doing his utmost not limp or show any signs of his weakness.

After being bedridden for an extended period of time, it was kind of hard for him to just walk around without feeling his cramped and sore muscles protest each step of the way.

Still, something ingrained in him rebelled at the idea of allowing his pain to be shown.

By that point, Issei finally relented and turned to look at the other male, his eyes dull. "I know I sound like a broken record by now, but you seriously don't remember anything? At all? Not the supernatural, or Kyoto, or even of your fight there?"

The new member of the community of supernatural-aware teens scrunched his slightly thicker than normal eyebrows, rubbing his cranium. "...I'm trying to remember, but all I really know is that I once lived in a village that was well-protected, and that I was training to be...something."

"That's it?"

Basara shrugged. "For now, yeah. Besides that, everything is...blurry."

Issei shared a look with Asia, seeing his concern reflected off of her green irises.

Amnesia was never a good thing.

"Well, we've got to take you to see Buchou anyway. She might be able to help you out, hopefully." the pawn informed helpfully, turning to look ahead.

Honestly, it was just his luck that Asia wanted to give one last check up on Yuki's formerly unconscious friend before they left, only for him to wake up then and there.

His luck was only exemplified more when Buchou and the rest all left by that point, with the red-head entrusting him to lock the door on the way out.

So...yeah.

His luck was shit.

Sighing for, perhaps, the third time in the last half an hour alone, the reincarnated devil idly wondered whether a certain blond, whom he knew had similar luck, was doing better than him today.

---

Sometimes Naruto wasn't sure whether he had the shittiest luck in existence, or whether he was the luckiest son of a bitch to ever walk the earth.

Or, maybe, he had such bad luck that it went right back around to good luck?

Hmmm...

The shinobi had such thoughts swirling in his head as he used his hands to cover his manhood, crouched naked as he sat on a small stool, trying not to squirm.

No matter how he looked at it, he was in a bit of a precarious position.

Internally, the blond wasn't exactly opposed to having a bath with the hero, not really.

He was just embarrassed as hell about it.

Even more when Yuki was literally right behind him, wearing nothing but a white towel around her naked body, rubbing a bar of soap with both of her hands so that foam could cover them.

Naruto twitched as a soft finger trailed down his back, the cleansing foam left behind as it traveled south.

Following that digit's lead, soft hands covered in foam began rubbing up and down the blond's back, giving him a soothing sensation, especially with the faint callouses that existed in his friend's palms.

"...Does it feel nice?" his friend asked him quietly, her voice sounding almost breathless.

"Ah...mmm..." was all he could say, since he bit his tongue before he could groan at the nice feeling.

Heartened, she pressed her palms onto his back with a bit more strength, nails lightly scratching him in a soothing manner.

All the while, Yuki's breathing became just a tad heavier and labored as she inching closer to the warmth of her friend's back, not understanding why she just wanted to...get closer.

Why was her body on fire?

And why, oh why, did she want it to burn even more?

"Y-Yuki?"

The hero tapped her forehead onto Naruto's back, right in between his shoulder blades, taking a shaky breath as she did so.

The fire that was pooling across her belly, spreading throughout her body, suddenly grew in intensity as soon as she began to meld her body with his.

It...

It was...

Intoxicating.

She didn't even care that the towel that was wrapped around her body slipped thanks to her sudden movement.

All she cared about was getting closer.

"Yuki!?" Naruto's voice was pretty much a squeak by that point. "Oi, damn it…this…do you even realize what you're doing!?"

"Hmm…?" the hero murmured under her breath, far too busy with her ministrations to think about her words. "Getting closer, right?"

Oh yeah, she was doing that alright.

But if she wasn't careful, then she'd get a little closer than she bargained for, he was sure.

That train of thought actually managed to cool down the burning that was making it's way down south to his groin.

That was right.

Yuki probably had no idea what she was doing right now, especially if this went any further.

She just wanted to get closer to him, and this was what she saw as the way to do it.

But if they went further than this…

Well, the blond was more than positive that she'd probably regret going that far, if not now, then later on.

He wasn't gonna do that to her, no way in hell was he going to hurt Yuki if he could help it.

But…damn it, she owed him one for this.

Taking a deep breath, the shinobi calmed and centered himself, somehow managing to give himself a steady voice when he spoke. "Yuki…listen to me for a sec."

The hero's lips ghosted upon his bare back as she pressed herself into him even more, her light blue bangs keeping the blond from seeing her face. "…Do you want me to stop?"

Doing an admirable job ignoring the feeling of Yuki's -his friend!- chest pressing into him, especially when the slightest movement on her part made the sensation ten times better, the blond pressed on. "Y-Yeah. I don't think that this is a good idea dattebayo…"

As he was speaking, Naruto was twisting his neck, giving him the chance to see the hero tilt her head up at him, her eyes shimmering with emotion, barely kept in check.

"…Why should I?" she demanded quietly, her eyes hardening, almost accusatory. "You didn't object when Yasaka-san did it, so why-?"

Glancing away, Yuki turned away from him then, looking inexplicably down.

"Am I…just not enough?"

"…Hah?"

The disbelieving tone that was utilized made the teenaged girl slowly pan back to the spiky-haired blond in front of her, meeting his dumbfounded blue eyes.

"Oh geez…is that what this is about?" Naruto shook his head, despairing over the situation. "Yuki…you don't have to compete with Yasaka-san, you do know that, right?"

But when he tried to emphasize that point by locking his focus with her's, all she did was stubbornly flick her head to the side, away from him.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

He shifted to meet with the hero's eyes again, hoping that she'd-

She then flicked her head to the other side of the bathroom, a pout formed on those slightly puffy lips.

"Yuki, don't be childish."

Her response was a thoroughly unashamed silence.

Making sure to take a deep breath before taking action, the shinobi resolved to grab and keep his friend's attention.

So, with careful precision, Naruto fully turned around and extended his arm.

All Yuki felt by that point was rough fingers gently grasping her chin with a tenderness that she didn't expect, angling her head so that they could return to face a pair of determined blue eyes.

Swallowing the lump that entered her throat, she found herself entranced by his eyes again.

She said it once before, but his eyes were honestly very-

"Hey…you know that you don't have to compete with Yasaka-san…right?" she heard him ask of her, searching her features. "Do you know why though?"

The hero pursed her lips, staring up at him, expectant.

Naruto grinned at her, a wry fondness in those features of his.

"It's because I treasure what we've got, Yuki."

Yuki felt her cheeks heat up again, and, unsure of how to respond to it now that she had her friend's undivided attention, she hid her head by pressing it against his naked chest.

Naruto didn't stop there though. "To me, Yasaka-san is a nice acquaintance, don't get me wrong. But you? No…I don't want to jeopardize our friendship by doing something stupid, it means too much to me."

Although the whiskered teen couldn't see the teenaged girl's face, thanks to her light blue hair acting like a curtain on his chest, he was still able to feel the nearly unnoticeable twitch upward that her lips made.

"So don't feel forced to do something like this, alright?"

Yuki twitched at that last bit.

"…I didn't feel forced though…"

The shinobi leaned down, ears straining. "Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that. It's kinda hard to hear you when you're faceplanting my chest dattebayo."

Then and there, the hero quickly made a choice; clarify and embarrass herself by making eye contact with Naruto during her curious state, or retain her dignity.

No contest.

Refusing to speak further, Yuki just shook her head and wrapped her lithe arms around the waist of the teenaged boy she was leaning on, idly noting how nice his toned body felt against her's.

She didn't even notice the sharp intake of breath that he took when she did so.

"So…" the blond's voice, strangled as it was, was still clear. "Do you get it now?"

"…Mmm."

"Does that 'Mmm' mean 'yes' or 'no'?"

It meant 'yes'.

That being said, Yuki didn't want…whatever this was to stop.

To the contrary, if anything, she wanted to keep pushing to see how far this development could go.

Never before has her body reacted in such a manner.

Never before was she driven to continue with a course of action because of an overwhelming urge from her base instincts.

It was…something else.

She didn't want to stop.

But the thought of entering some sort of unfamiliar territory with Naruto, while appealing to her in a way that she didn't quite understand, was also…

Scary.

She could certainly understand why the blond was unsure whether they should continue what they were doing.

Such a thing could harm the bond that they've cultivated if they unintentionally hurt the other, which could happen when one considered their dual inexperience.

Hasn't she always been taught to never enter a situation impetuously? Especially when ignorant?

The dangerous prospect, among other things, was what stayed her wandering and curious hand.

Disentangling her arms with a lowly sigh, Yuki gave in and backed off from Naruto, squashing down the urge to ask whether he wanted to wash her in return.

It wasn't until she shuffled back from him though, that she remembered something.

Somehow, after admitting that he didn't want to lose or hurt the bond that they had with each other, she just couldn't look at the blond in the eye without becoming flustered.

But when she moved away from him, she not only found his gaze trained onto her once more, but she also recalled the fact that she was completely and utterly naked.

Of course she was, and she had no problem with it.

Yet her cheeks blew up regardless, and an uncharacteristic sound came out of her as a result.

"…Uwa…"

She bowed her head, hoping that her bangs could shield her embarrassment.

To Naruto though, not only was he once more seeing Yuki naked again, with her unblemished skin and perky breasts in full display, but it happened while his self-control was reaching it's limit.

All made worse when she made an adorable sound and bent her head down, unintentionally making something bounce on her chest.

Naruto felt his face slacken, then adopt a far-away look.

"Ero-sennin…it seems that…I've reached my limit." he whispered to no one in particular, entirely dazed.

Yuki glanced up, confused enough to momentarily regain her composure.

"Guh!"

But there was nothing that could have prepared her for this.

Blood spurted out like a hose from the blond's nostrils, launching him backwards and smashing his body into the wall of the bathroom, delivering spider cracks all across his impact point.

From his new spot on the wall, the shinobi slumped, a blissful aura gracing his form.

"N-Naruto!?"

"No…regrets…"

Of all of the ways to go, Naruto quietly admitted to himself that this wasn't too bad.

---

Yuuto Kiba was pretty much caught up on the happenings that have hit Kuoh Town in the last week or so.

Which meant that he was aware of the friend that Yuki had found during her fight with the 'heroes' in Kyoto, as well as his comatose status.

Hell, he even knew about the fact that the yokai healing him have claimed that he would probably wake up soon.

Yet, when Issei showed up at the old school building so that they could hang out as a Peerage before class, he showed up with someone that he didn't expect to see up and about anytime soon.

"…Issei…that's…" Rias' gaping face made clear her feelings on the shaggy-haired youth that was casually glancing around the gothic-styled décor.

"Yeah." the pawn grumbled, still irritated that his parents drew the conclusions that they did. "This guy woke up last night, Buchou."

All eyes were inexplicably drawn to the amnesiac, oblivious to the wariness that his presence had caused to the devils in the room.

Akeno, who was right beside her king, as usual, pointed out as such. "Buchou, Yuki-san was one thing, but are we really sure that this boy won't try and harm us?"

Honestly speaking, the red-head couldn't.

When the young man finally woke up, she expected to have Yuki on hand to speak to him, aware that having someone familiar with him could keep him from doing anything…rash.

Too bad that it didn't work out that way.

"Basara-san. That's your name if I remembered correctly, yes?" Rias decided to aim for some pleasantries first.

Said youth snapped his focus to the red-haired teen, straightening subtly. "…Yeah."

Seeing the rigid posture that the young man had adopted, Rias quickly determined that he was, at best, uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving.

This wasn't going to work.

"…I'm not sure how much you remember, Basara-san, but a friend of yours had asked us to keep you safe here while you were in a comatose state. As to the 'why', well…I'll leave that to her to inform you about."

Looking about as lost as can be, Basara nodded, at the very least sensing that these people didn't mean him harm.

Still uncomfortable though.

Deciding to do something besides stare at the new and unexpected arrival, Yuuto made a show of checking his watch. "Hey, Buchou. I think that it's about time that we get to class soon…"

The knight thought it prudent to ignore the hasty thumbs up that Issei discreetly gave him.

Silently though, Rias was congratulating her friend's quick thinking in getting them out of this awkward situation. "Ah. Yes! Yuuto's correct, we should all get going to class. Don't want to be late, do we?"

Next to her, Akeno scratched her cheek lightly, her indulgent shake of the head saying more than enough.

Gracefully, the red-head ignored her and stood up from her seat.

Following her lead, the present members of her Peerage got ready to go as well, refusing to be left alone with someone that they didn't know that happened to be a 'hero'.

Or a self-proclaimed one, at the very least.

"Basara-san, feel free to stay here while we're attending class. There's plenty of tasty snacks that Akeno made on the tray on top of the coffee table." Rias was walking towards the door now, trying her hardest to offer the plainly confused newcomer a reassuring smile. "Yuki-san should be getting to school soon, and I'm sure that you two will have plenty to catch up on."

From there, Basara watched as practically everyone in the building filed through the door leading outside, with the only one being reluctant to leave, which happened to be a certain nun, was getting dragged out.

He only really had one thing to say about this.

"…Huh, since it was offered, I guess that I should get some food."

He had a feeling that even when he had his memories, that he was kinda easy-going, but not to the point of being lax.

---

It was a quiet trip back to Kuoh Academy.

Yuki somehow managed to save his life after he lost an excessive amount of blood, by some miracle.

That being said, as Naruto could have guessed, the aftermath of this…'event' left the atmosphere between them painfully awkward.

As in; 'please kill me now' kind of painful.

It was bad enough that they had a literal physical distance in between the both of them as they walked to school, totally silent.

Though, it seemed that they were still on the same wavelength however, since the two of them didn't head straight for their classes after they entered the Academy gate.

Nope, they headed straight to home base of the Gremory princess that lived in Kuoh Town.

Which is where they ran into a…interesting sight.

Of course, the blond had to give his nonchalant greeting of the day, no matter the situation.

"Yo, what's going on, guys?"

Literally, while leaving the old school building as a group, a small procession made up of mostly the Gremory devils were leaving their base.

Well…escaping was more like it, what with their frantic pace and all.

Honestly, he had no idea what this lot was doing.

Or, for that matter, why Rias was looking at Yuki in particular with palpable relief.

"Well, as you can see, we're apparently running away from our newest acquaintance." Akeno supplied helpfully, the end of her lips twitching upwards for not even a second.

The resident shinobi of Kuoh Town blinked. "Say what now?"

Rias shot a tired look at her queen, before facing the two humans with an apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, while I hate to admit it…Akeno's statement isn't incorrect."

Seeing the lost looks that entered both of their features, the red-head turned to her pawn, whom she knew could give a short explanation with the finesse of a bulldozer.

Something that she felt would be perfect for this situation.

Acquiescing to this, Issei jabbed his thumb at the door that they have just exited from. "Yuki-san's friend woke up, and he's probably raiding the snack tray right about now."

Yep, as she suspected.

In the edge of Naruto's vision, Yuki flinched, visibly thrown off by this piece of information.

Not that he had much room to complain, since this threw him for a loop as well. "Wait…Yuki's-? You mean Basara is awake!?"

"Mmm." Asia made her voice known, glancing back at the old school building with uneasiness. "He woke up last night, so Issei-san took him in for the night. But he doesn't seem to recall anything about the life that he's led up until now…"

The blond spared a look at the shaken hero beside him, sympathetic, before turning back to the nun. "Amnesia then…huh? That's annoying dattebayo."

"Indeed." Rias absentmindedly twirled a few strands of her long crimson hair, in thought. "Honestly, that was why I was going to leave Basara-san here. I had no idea how to approach this…delicate situation, but maybe you might, since you knew him personally, Yuki-san."

It made sense.

Yuki could clearly understand the reasoning that was laid out before her, as well as read inbetween the lines and see how…uncomfortable it made the devils that another who held the term 'hero' was in their midst.

Or, at least one that they didn't know on a personal basis.

Still, trepidation stayed her hand.

She didn't know much about amnesia, but she was aware that many who were affected by such a condition…ended up as different people afterwards.

Most of the time at least.

So…would her friend be anything like the kind, yet, always-too-serious little boy that she met long ago?

Before she could ponder the idea further, a familiar hand clasped against her shoulder, squeezing as much as gently pushing.

Turning just enough to meet with concerned blue eyes, she once more felt that disconcerting and pleasant tingling in her chest flare.

She turned away, doing her best to let the heat that burned her cheeks simmer down, until she glared at the building in front of her.

Without another word she took a step forward and opened the door, her gait steady despite the nervous energy that she held within.

Naruto stepped forward to, but not until glancing at the procession next to him. "It's all good, guys. I'm sure that Yuki can handle it from here, so you lot can…'enjoy' class if you want."

The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable, evoking dry looks.

He wasn't done however. "…Hey, before I go help Yuki out, I noticed that Koneko isn't with you guys. Any idea where she is?"

Yuuto raised his hand at that query. "Uh, well, Koneko-chan was tired after yesterday's training, so I think that she's going to be a little late today."

"Yes…I think she said as much in that group text last night." Akeno input, sending a smirk to the blond. "Why? Are you planning to torture her in your next training session, Naruto-kun?"

Copying the expression on her face, the shinobi showed his pearly whites. "…Well, she probably won't be able to move by the time we're done, that's for sure."

Spinning on his heel, Naruto then chased after Yuki, interested to meet this new member of their little group in Kuoh Town.

Behind him, many among the group were giving their queen owlish looks.

"…'Naruto-kun'? Since when did you use such a familiar honorific with him, Sempai?" Yuuto wondered, asking the question that many were about to.

A giggle that was covered by a dainty hand was all he got in response, as Akeno twirled about and began walking towards class.

Rias watched her go, her brows scrunched together in consternation, unable to stop the irritation from crossing her features before she smoothed it over.

"Let's go." was all she mustered, her voice strained.

Thankfully, it was hardly noticeable.

---

Yuki wasn't sure what to expect when she entered the main room of the old school building.

But seeing Basara casually munching on a pastry whilst relaxing on the couch was among the less…expected outcomes.

Slowly panning his head around while chewing, the young man raised one of his eyebrows. "…Huh, you're with that group from before, right? Well, sorry for asking, but do you guys have anything besides pastries here? I don't want to intrude, but there's…well…nothing but sweets here."

The female hero didn't reply.

As expected, he took her silence the wrong way. "Ah, but if that's all you have, then don't worry about it. I'll manage. Anyway, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is-"

"Basara."

Basara paused in his introduction, then slowly nodded his head.

Yuki stepped forward and crouched in front of her old friend, features blank.

"Basara."

Exasperation and a little bit of suspicion bled into his face. "…Yeah, that's me alright. And you're-?"

"Yuki." she said simply, emotionlessly. "Your friend."

Basara gave her a strange look, snapped his head behind him, as if to check that she was actually talking to him, then went right back to her. "…My friend?"

Yuki nodded, the first crack of that unexpressive mask appearing when she smiled. "…Yes. It's…really nice, seeing you again. For the longest time, I thought that you were…"

She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. "It doesn't matter. Now that you're here, maybe otou-sama…"

"Wait."

Words dying in her throat, the active hero allowed for the shaggy-haired teen to speak his mind, interested with what he had to say.

"…Who…are you, exactly?"

Yuki nearly slapped herself on the head in her beleaguered realization.

Basara had amnesia.

To him, she was probably either speaking gibberish, or was just plain insane.

Even worse, she was probably a stranger to him…

Swallowing the lump that appeared in her throat, she prepared to start the process of revitalizing her friend's memory, hoping that her walk down memory lane would trigger something.

"Ohhh…so this is what you're like when you're not trying to kill me, huh?"

Such plans were rendered moot when a certain spiky-haired teen entered the room and made his feelings known.

Basara frowned visibly, his shoulders squaring as he gazed at the newcomer, a wariness entering his emerald orbs. "…And you are?"

Sapphire danced when they met emerald, looking far too amused for Yuki's comfort. "Your future best buddy. And someone that you tried to kill. That too."

"Naruto…" the female hero whispered, a faint warning inherent in her tone, her attention split between the two males.

Both were too pre-occupied with the other to actually respond to her though.

"…I tried to kill you?" now Basara was frowning for a completely different reason.

"Not just me." Naruto claimed, refusing to hold back any punches. "Yuki and Maria too."

Sparing a glance at the worried bluenette beside him, the former hero met the blond's gaze with a sincerity that genuinely threw him off.

Just a little.

"If you aren't lying to me…then I'd like to apologize for my actions." he stated clearly, solemn, and meaning every word that he was verbalizing. "I don't remember anything before I woke up…so this is all I can really do right now."

Hands clenching into fists, the young man that had a single scar on his cheek pinned the other male with hard eyes. "But, if you'll give me the chance, I'll definitely make up for my transgressions. Count on it."

Naruto kept their connection for a moment.

Then for one more.

"I like this guy."

Yuki sighed explosively, turning away from the blond resolutely so that he couldn't get any satisfaction from her.

Not like she could ignore his beaming visage though…

Still, she wouldn't waste this newly formed gap in the conversation. "Basara. I need to ask; does the word 'hero' mean anything to you?"

The young man jerked, as if stung, rounding on her with a faraway look in his eyes, face tight with tension.

"That…word…" he whispered, so quiet was he that the other teens barely heard him. "It sounds…familiar."

Yuki bit her lip, conflicted whether she should say more, or stay her hand for now.

It was obvious that the word meant something to him, but his struggle with it proved that it wasn't enough to help him remember.

Maybe she could-

"Yuki." Naruto interrupted her thoughts, glumly looking up at the clock that was held suspended on the wall in front of him. "It kills me to say this, but we're gonna be late to class if we don't hurry. You can help him out later."

At that moment, she wished she could've seen her own face, because she was positive that she looked ridiculous as she gaped at the blond. "…Are you pushing me to get to class on time?"

"Don't get your hopes up." he growled, annoyed. "If I fuck around too much, then the student council will try and capture me with that giant net of theirs again. I don't need to garner a lot of attention by dodging Saji's swings again dattebayo!"

Yellow eyes blinked.

Oh yeah.

That did happen once, didn't it?

She was also pretty sure that the pawn of the Sitri group still nurtured a grudge against her friend after he glued that bucket onto his head as well.

Not that she could blame him.

Inevitably, Naruto's and Yuki's attention fell back onto Basara, who was looking decidedly interested in the little tidbits that their banter had revealed about their lives.

"Basara-san, could you do us a favor and stay here until we get back? I'm pretty sure that the both of us have a free period right before lunch, so just hang around here 'till then."

Basara deadpanned at the blond. "…So just keep doing what I've been doing?"

Naruto offered a positively beatific smile. "You're catchin' on!"

With great reluctance, the young man felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards.

This guy sure knew how to alleviate someone's tension. He'd give him that.

---

Ok, so Naruto didn't exactly rush Yuki back to class just so that he could get there on time.

While a clone was left back at his death-by-powerpoint world history course, the original was making his way to officially hand in some paperwork, aware that he was on the clock.

He knew that this stuff had to be handed in during faculty working hours, so he had to wait until the first bell rang, unfortunately.

Because he knew that this paper had to be given early, as in, as early as humanely possible.

Not only were people still groggy early in the morning, making them prone to mistakes, but the longer that he dragged this out…

Well, the more likely that the student council would find out what he did, probably by randomly checking their important documents.

Yeah, that wouldn't be a thing.

Briskly walking at a sedate pace towards his destination, making sure not to seem too desperate to get there, while avoiding any questions that might've arrived about his lack of class attendance-

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Shit.

His plan was foiled before it could even begin.

Slowly panning his head to the stairway that he was passing by, he locked with a pair of heterchromic irises, focusing upon him with intrigue and a bit of wariness.

He supposed that she had a decent reason to be wary though, considering the fact that he gave them so much shit.

"Tsubaki-san." Naruto inclined his head in acknowledgement, refusing to stop moving all the while. "Sorry, but I'm kind of in a rush, so hopefully we could talk later-"

"Have you played a prank on my king recently, Uzumaki-san?" she interrupted, regarding him with those strange eyes of her's.

Forced to stop this time, lest he garner suspicion, the shinobi fully faced the queen of the Sitri group, looking about as puzzled as he actually felt. "…No. I didn't. And if I did, I would've owned up to it, since seeing you lot get your panties in a bunch really makes my day. No offense."

Tsubaki took offense, understandably.

But despite the twitching of her cheek, she managed to remain straight-faced for the most part. "…I see. I apologize for taking your time then. Kaichou suspects that someone has gone through her office and rummaged through her papers last night, and you were among the first suspects that we considered."

Naruto managed to keep his features relatively free from anything that could've implicated him, thankful that he accidentally misinterpreted the teenaged girl's question.

His clone's actions early in the morning wasn't that of a prank, rather, it was the culmination of his strategy to build his club.

So when she asked him her query, the thought of earlier this morning was among the furthest thing from his mind.

Good thing too, since his genuinely confused expression seemed to have convinced her of his innocence.

"No worries." he excused easily enough. "If anything, this worked out for me. Do you know if Sona-kaichou is at her office right now?"

"Yes." she answered, tilting her head in interest. "Do you have business with her? She should be free for all of first period."

"Ah…no, just curious." the shinobi responded, shuffling backwards. "Anyway, I'm kinda busy, so I'll see you later."

Not even waiting for an answer, Naruto continued on his trek, ignoring the feeling of Tsubaki's eyes boring into the back of his head.

He was right about needing to hurry and hand his paperwork in.

If he didn't, then the student council president might actually sift through her things to check if they were tampered with.

Even when he reached the door that gave him access to the faculty room, he knew that he wouldn't feel relieved until he actually had it signed.

Taking a breath, the blond knocked on the door, preparing to enact his rehearsed sob story as to have his clubs, and it's members, officialized.

Outside of that, all he needed everyone to do today was not do anything stupid so that he could concentrate on his mission.

---

Freed Sellzen was hungry.

No, scratch that; starving.

It's been two nights ago since he was beaten up, captured, and tied up by a blond faggot and his bitch of a girlfriend, and he was still furious over it.

Worse than that, they even took his new toy before he even had the chance to use it.

That wasn't fair at all!

Still, at least it helped clarify who he wanted to kill first as soon as he got out of this shitty situation.

Grunting a bit as he squirmed, shifting his bound limbs in order to get some leeway from the tight knots.

They didn't budge at all.

"Having trouble being tied up like some sort of pig on a fire, Freed Sellzen?"

Snapping his head up as much as he was physically able, the man with long silver hair glared daggers at the source of the voice that pierced the darkness of the room, recognizing and loathing it.

He tried to curse out the woman that stood idly leaning on the door frame, verbalizing the most distasteful and creative cusses that he could think up.

Too bad his voice was muffled thanks to the ball gag occupying it.

"Oh, I think you hurt my feelings just now." Raynare snarked, a hint of a smirk reaching her lips. "I might have to write my feelings down in a dairy to recover from this, don't you think?"

If looks could kill, the fallen angel would've been completely disintegrated, she knew.

Not that she cared. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm here to give you the food and water that I know that you want. Or need, if you feel like living."

Just the thought of food and water made his stomach grumble in protest, forcing Freed to dial back his vicious glare from pure spite to mere hatred.

"Good boy." the raven-haired woman taunted, but still pushed herself from the door frame to walk to his prone form. "Was that so hard?"

The bound man barely managed to hold himself in check from the taunt, and instead watched as the woman crouched in front of him with a plastic bag filled with goodies.

He could feel himself salivating…

Slender fingers edged towards his face, plucking out the ball gag that firmly latched onto his mouth without hesitation.

"But before I give you your nourishment." Raynare continued, as if she hadn't stopped to begin with, peering down at the defenseless man. "I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

Her tone of voice indicated that it wasn't actually his choice to make.

Still, ever ballsy, the insane exorcist let his tongue hang as he provoked the one who had his food and beverage. "Hoh? So now that you're some kind of bigshot, you think that you could just do whatever you want? Well fuck that! You're just some cunt muffin that just let go of her mommy's teat-!"

Freed was forced to stop his tirade before he could really get going.

Mostly thanks to the carefully aimed spear made of light that was held over his skull, ready to be brought down end him.

Raynare coolly watched him squirm for a bit as she held it suspended over him, not appearing fazed by his words at all.

"Would you like to keep running your mouth? Because unlike some people, I have no qualms with ending your miserable existence."

This time, wisely, the exiled exorcist stayed silent.

Accepting this as his acceptance of the situation, the woman squared her shoulders once she crossed her arms. "…Why are you still here, exorcist? You served under the banner of my mother in the name of conflict, and yet, you stayed here, in Kuoh Town."

Freed grinned sharply. "What can I say? I like killing shitty heathens, that's all."

"Don't try and play me for a fool, Sellzen." the fallen snapped, features shadowed by her dark bangs. "You're sadistic and insane, but you're no fool. You wouldn't stay here when there were powerful devils in the area, not unless you had something keeping you here. Your sense of self-preservation is too strong for that."

"Oh~ How nice that you look at me with such admiration! If you look at me so highly, then just skip the foreplay for now and-"

"You're working for Kokabiel, aren't you?"

Raynare's query, given with a flat tone, did not receive an answer immediately.

Which, for him, was as much an answer as an avoidance, considering how much he liked to hear himself talk.

At the very least, she could conclude that he was involved with the rogue Grigori member on some level, though maybe not directly.

"Why'd you do it?"

Pausing her thinking, the supernatural being regarded the human below her, interested to see a genuine hint of anger in his eyes.

Not the insane over-the-top anger either, rather, it was more akin to the reasonable one that one would see from feeling the sting of betrayal.

Interesting.

"What? Did you think that we were comrades? And if so, in what exactly? Surely you must have realized that our interests weren't even marginally aligned?" she asked of him, unable to see his logic, nor expecting to.

Growling, Freed glared daggers upon his former superior. "Damn it…! I know! But I also knew that no one that served with Vretiel-sama would consort with heathens and shitty devils!"

Violet eyes flickered to the door, wary, before bearing down on the silver-haired man, venomous. "Don't presume to understand me. If you think for one moment that I trust devils, or even humans, then you have me completely mistaken. I…I've only made an exception, that's all."

"An exception!?"

"It's of no concern to you." she hissed, drawing closer to him, overtly threatening. "All you need to know is this; we aren't friends. We are enemies, and that I won't hesitate to end you."

With a clean and deft movement, Raynare stuck her hand into the insane man's pocket, grasping and pulling something out before he could even react.

At first glance, it looked like a dark yellow handle of a sword, without the blade itself.

In reality, that's exactly what it was.

And if one wanted to actually get the blade, all they needed to do was press the small button on it, which allowed the container that held light energy within to power the hilt.

Which, she promptly did.

A blade formed of pure white light shot out and pushed back the darkness in the room, illuminating both of the occupants' features.

Freed didn't like what he saw in the other person's eyes.

"Consider this your one and only warning, since I know that nothing but a threat will stay your hand."

Raynare swung the blade down, forcing the light sword to cut through clothes, skin, muscle, and bone.

"Ah-! MHPH!?"

The fake priest nearly screamed out, but it was muffled by the ball gag that the fallen quickly snapped back over his mouth, keeping him relatively quiet.

He could do nothing except handle the pain of having his right thigh impaled by his own weapon.

As well as wish that he could have even an inkling of a chance to kill this bitch and anyone that she might give a shit about.

"Your only warning." was all she claimed afterwards, looking particularly haughty. "You'll stay like that until someone decides to pull that sword out of you. I'm sure that our resident super-powered human might do it, but he won't be back until at least the mid-afternoon. So…hold out until then, ok?"

That last bit was offered mockingly, before she sauntered her way out of the room, slamming the door on the way out.

And Freed was left there, his own light sword sticking out of his leg, fucking furious.

A feeling that was amplified when he realized that that fucking traitor left his food and drinks in the plastic bag on the floor!

Wishing he could scream out the profanities that he wanted to express, the disgraced exorcist wiggled out in protest, ignoring the stinging pain that accompanied it.

Then he heard something.

Scowling as much as he could with a ball gag in his mouth, Freed managed to turn his head enough to look at the weapon inside of him through the side of his eye.

His red eyes widened at what he saw.

…

…Maybe he could turn this around after all.

---

"Mio-san!"

Mio jerked, knocked from her daydreams by her teacher, who was looking quite worried.

A sentiment which seemed to be echoed by most of her peers as well, seeing as she seemed to be the darling of their grade.

Not that she really put much stock in that though.

"Sorry, sensei." the red-head bowed her head a bit, her lips twisting upwards in an attempt to reassure him. "Just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

And she was being completely honest, she really did have a lot on her mind.

It just so happened to be on a single subject.

Her teacher didn't look entirely convinced though, but couldn't press the issue further when an annoyingly loud bell rang out.

This class period was over, according to the school bell at the very least.

Which was why Mio's classmates all scrambled to gather their things and get out of their while the going was good, some even managing to just leave immediately since they packed their things already in anticipation.

Mio followed their lead, piling all of her school supplies into her carrier bag and swiftly getting up to leave.

All the while feeling the teacher's worried gaze burn into her back.

She knew that he was worried, but it was fine, really.

She knew what she needed to do now, and how to get out of her funk.

All that she needed to do was somehow get Naruto to go on a date with her.

...

Unbeknownst to her, all of the other students in the hallway gave her a wide berth, shooting her strange looks as they saw steam blow out of her ears and her face go cherry red.

A berth that was only made worse when she firmly shook her head, her long hair acting like a whip that smacked anyone that came too close to her.

To her, the idea of spiky-haired teen with eyes as expansive as the ocean was…

Well…it was beyond anything that she could have imagined.

Still, now that the idea was put into her head, it simply couldn't be dislodged.

Rather, as much as the thought of it should disgust her on principle, a part of her couldn't help but wonder…

How would it be like?

That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she could learn more about the man that could has so thoroughly upended her life's path, for the better she felt.

There were so many questions that she wanted to ask…

So deep was she caught in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice how empty the hallways became as she drifted towards her next class.

Nor did she notice the subject of her thoughts rush up the stairs, a victorious grin gracing his visage.

At least until he noticed her.

"Yo, Mio!" Naruto waved at his sibling with a cheeky smirk, his good humor only rising when she jumped a foot in the air.

The half-devil whirled on him, a high voltage glare accompanying her incoming tongue lashing.

Which died as soon as she saw who actually made her jump. "N-Naruto…"

Noting the lame way she made that sentence, the resident powerhouse looked upon her with a sweatdrop. "Er…you alright there? That was pretty weak coming for you dattebayo."

How could she be 'alright'?

She was about to attempt something that was making her heart beat so fast that it felt like it might explode!

Still, she didn't want to waste this opportunity.

Pumping herself up by mentally repeating; 'Go Mio!', the young woman called upon the wisdom that she had received from her senior and began her assault.

"N-Naruto!"

"…Yeah?"

Mio jabbed her finger at her adopted brother, mustering up her bravery for this attempt at gaining something that, until now, she didn't even realize that she wanted.

"I-I'm hungry!"

The most intelligent thing that the shinobi could say in response to that was; "…Huh?"

"I said…" the red-head managed to sound haughty for this one. "I'm hungry! And the food that I have with me isn't enough! So maybe, if someone was enough of a gentleman enough, they could…take me to get a bite to eat...or something."

Then, scrunching her countenance, she proceeded to one-up herself in the 'strange' department. "N-Not that I want you to do it or anything, stupid!"

Naruto, for the first time in a while, was at a lost for words.

And his lack of a reaction to Mio's outburst was something that she recognized swiftly, even as she continued to stand tall without doubt weighing her down.

At least, so she appeared.

It didn't take too long for her body to begin to vibrate, shaking a lot as her eyeballs went glassy.

"…Uh…"

"Right!" Mio uttered out, shuffling backwards as she shook just a little bit more. "I'll just…yeah…"

Mutely watching his sister slide back, making stuttered comments until she managed to slip out of sight at the corner of the hallway, Naruto really could only say one thing about the whole fiasco.

"…What just happened?"

---

Mio felt like she could just die.

That was just…the worst. The absolute worse!

The 'tsun-tsun' tactic obviously wasn't going to work here, and if she tried again, she was liable to hide away for a week out of shame.

Either way, out of everything that she was taught from her sempai, she knew that, at the very least, she had to try and get her dense sibling to make the first move.

If not that, then she couldn't be too obvious about her actually wanting to go.

All she needed to do was dress it up as either; his idea, or a suggestion that she didn't necessarily plan on following through

She believed in her sempai's experience with guys, so if she claimed it to be important, then it had to be done, of course!

Even with this setback, she wouldn't give up quite yet.

Determination in hand, Mio raised her head to glance at the clock, liking what she saw.

Alright then…onto the next plan!

---

Naruto decided to actually go to class for once, if only to kill time than anything else.

He had to wait just a little bit longer for his plans to flourish now.

Which was why he was just casually walking down the hallway, taking in the festive atmosphere that lunch time had brought forth from the student body.

He hoped that Yuki was doing alright with that Basara guy…

"Naruto!"

The shinobi stuffed his hands into his pockets as he twirled on the balls of his feet, offering a small grin at the familiar visage of his adopted sister.

Hopefully her strange behavior had whittled down a bit. "Yo, what's up? Heading to lunch?"

Mio huffed as she stopped in front of him, sweating as she leaned over and plopped her hands onto her knees, using them to support herself. "Y-Yeah…but…I have to…"

She stopped, took a large gulp of air, and tried again. "I want you to have something."

Hoh?

Interested, the blond leaned closer, blue pupils scanning her form for anything out of ordinary.

He needn't have bothered, as Mio held something behind her back as she took another step forward, presenting it to him with a tentative smile. "…I-I made a little extra food when I cooked my bento this morning. So I put it into a separate bento for you, in case you wanted it."

Blue eyes sparkled, taking in the sight of the small box wrapped in colorful cloth with delight. "Ohhh…! Thanks a bunch, Mio!"

Eagerly taking the box with food into his hands, Naruto impatiently opened the box to check it's contents.

…And regretted his actions immediately thereafter.

What he saw was absolutely delicious, with a healthy serving of onigiri, yakisoba, and a small portion of vegetables on the side.

What he smelled on the other hand…

Well…the fact that the shinobi felt his consciousness waver proved that it was beyond his expectations.

Just not in the way he expected.

"Uhh…"

"O-Oh, by the way." Mio was fidgeting now. "I don't really have anything else to eat, so…if you feel like it…after school, maybe we could…"

Wait, hold the phone.

Wasn't this bento extra food that she made?

Was this just a misunderstanding then?

So…did that mean that…he shouldn't eat his imouto's lunch?

…

Thank goodness…

"No way could I deprive you from your healthy meal dattebayo!" Naruto declared unilaterally, thanking whatever deity that allowed him to dodge this 'incident' that would've ended with his hospitalization as he handed her back the bento. "Here, I'll just leech off of someone else for a bit."

The red-head stared at the box, then snapped her head back up as her eyes widened. "Wait a sec-"

By the time that she looked back up, all that was left of the blond that she was speaking to was the dust cloud that he made when he made his escape.

Mio clicked her tongue, irritably grabbing one of the onigiri that she had made and chomping down on it to stop herself from saying more.

…

She lurched, her vision darkening for a second, but she managed to stay conscious.

Looking down upon her food with a sweatdrop, the half-devil couldn't help but wonder whether the fact that she couldn't give Naruto her food was a blessing in disguise.

Still! "…Next time!"

---

Watching from behind the corner of the hallway, a succubus was tearing up watching her brave charge finally take the offensive.

Albeit, in a strange way.

Still, for her to go and grab her during her free period before lunch and actually ask her for help was something that she never expected.

It wasn't like she was doing much anyway, as she tended to just relax while Naruto-sama and Mio-sama were away at school.

Which was boring, to say the least.

But she didn't want to get Mio-sama angry at her a second time, not after lucking out last night.

After having went to Kuoh Academy despite her charge's wishes, Mio-sama proceeded to have tied her up in a roll last night, and then leave her on the couch like some kind of large sushi roll.

It took the succubus about an hour to break out, and that was only because she wanted to make sure that the red-head was asleep by that point.

Maria couldn't help but feel that the other half-devil was too distracted to genuinely punish her, though she had no idea what could have occupied her mind to such an extent.

Until now that is.

Not that she bothered to question her good fortune or anything at the time, just in case she was tied up with something even stronger than rope next time.

Sometimes it was better not to question some things.

Like; that paper that Naruto-sama made her sign last night, which incidentally had Raynare-san's signature as well.

Yeah, like that.

That being said, she was planning on checking on that guy that Naruto-sama brought over, just to make sure that Raynare-san actually fed him while she relaxed back at home.

She wasn't sure, but she had the feeling that the fallen angel had something of a mean streak with that people she didn't like.

At least, that was her plan, up until a certain red-head came busting through her door with equal parts determination and hesitation.

If that made any sense.

So here she was, back to where all the fun was.

And she was eager to see what spawned this behavior, if nothing else than to help her out.

She was waiting for this inevitable day anyway, and there was no way this wasn't going to happen!

Naruto-sama and Mio-sama would go on a date! Her OTP would become a reality!

So she waited eagerly as Mio-sama crossed her, the bento forgotten as she looked through a sheet of paper that she was scanning with fervor.

…

That being said, she had to wonder what kind of advice she was following.

"C'mon, Maria." Mio forged past her, pink eyes burning. "I ain't giving up that easily!"

Either way, the succubus grinned, wanting to see things play out.

And end favorably, of course. "You got it, Mio-sama!"

---

Naruto officially had no idea what was happening around him anymore.

Bad enough that Yuki nearly made him bleed out earlier that day.

But now Mio's weird behavior from the past few days have gotten even weirder, just in a different way.

Why?

Hell if he knew!

All he knew was that her personality kept shifting back and forth, and that it was seriously giving him whiplash.

"Hey, Naruto! I heard that you didn't get to eat during lunch, what's up with that? Did someone hurt your feelings or something? Don't be too macho to admit to your hunger, otherwise you won't have any energy, you know~?"

What in the actual fuck.

Naruto took a step back, blinded by Mio's worry for him, which was beyond anything that he has ever seen…ever.

He expected to see this kind of expression on a doting sibling.

Like. A seriously doting one.

While Mio was many things, this wasn't quite one of them.

"…I think I'll be fine dattebayo."

The shinobi shuffled towards his next class, dazed to say the least.

While the red-head cursed under her breath.

Damn it. Next time.

---

"Naruto!"

The shinobi was sinking into his seat, hoping that he could hide from the one that was seeking him out.

He felt like he failed in that endeavor.

A feeling which was compounded when a young woman leaned closer to him over the desk, giving him a smile.

A dangerous one that is.

"Y-You know, I think that you've been a little…tense recently." Mio claimed, playing off her stuttering as if it didn't happen while lowering her tone of voice to a whisper.

The shinobi shied away, kind of scared.

Why was this a thing?

Mio, you're scaring your onii-chan right now!

The red-head raised her hands, reaching out to him. "Let me touch you for a second, let me loosen your muscles…"

Her fingers began wiggling threateningly, and Naruto felt scared for his chastity.

If she touched him, he may never be able to get married!

"Uwah!"

Flashing through hand signs as Mio grabbed his shoulder, she quickly let out a surprised shout when he blew up in a cloud of smoke.

Coughing and sputtering, the red-head took a step back, cloaking her eyes in order to peer through the sudden cloud in front of her.

And what she saw gave her pause.

"…A log?" she asked no one in particular, incredulous.

It took all of five seconds for her brain to process this event, and recognize the face that her target had just escaped.

Again.

"Mou!" Mio stamped her foot, cheeks bloating up as she went through her tantrum. "And I thought that I had him this time!"

Pulling the small notebook –notepad really- from her skirt pocket, the red-head gazed upon the strategy that she called upon for this occasion.

"Loosening your target's tension through a friendly backrub, then guiding the conversation into a friendly talk over a meal…" Mio murmured to herself, face scrunching up.

Damn.

Next time.

"…Mio-sama…"

The half-devil spun her head around, seeing her guardian biting onto a napkin as she cried a waterfall of proud and distraught tears.

Why was she the one crying when Mio was the one dealing with this exactly?

Too tired to question it, the red-head sighed.

She had to keep trying, if not for her own sanity, then for the desire burning in her heart.

If there was one thing that really rubbed off on her from Naruto's influence, it was his ridiculous stubborn streak after all!

---

"Hey, Rias."

Rias stopped scribbling onto her notebook, glancing to the side to meet her friend's curious gaze. "Hmm?"

"What kind of advice did you give Mio-chan exactly?"

The high-class devil smirked at this question. "Hoh? Could it be that even you have someone that you want to impress, Akeno?"

Akeno smiled pleasantly. "If I did, I don't think that I'd take your advice, Buchou. I'm just curious is all."

Ignoring the snub that she had just received with a flick of her long crimson hair, the red-head leaned closer to her friend conspiratorially, lips curving devilishly. "I took a page out of one of the most reliable sources for relationship advice out there. That's all."

"And that is?"

Rias' ahoge twitched with her excitement. "A gal game, of course."

Akeno felt her facial features slacken.

Oh dear.

She was almost afraid to ask but… "You play those games?"

"I'm interested in all facets of Japanese culture, including the 2D!" Rias declared without shame.

The queen tapped her chin thoughtfully, coming to the conclusion that her king's 'experience' would probably blow up in their kohai's face.

Should she tell her or should she let it play out?

…

Nah.

---

"Sona-kaichou!"

The Sitri devil felt the peace that descended on her small piece of Kuoh Academy shatter by this shout.

Made even worse when one considered the fact that she was alone in the room.

"…Naruto-san." she replied evenly, peering up at him through her long lashes.

She wasn't sure what she expected to see when she looked at his features, but she didn't expect to see him nervously checking the door behind him, as if fearing that he was being followed.

Or the fact that he was literally quaking in his shoes.

Interesting.

Seemingly snapping himself out of his state of mind, the blond took a moment to compose himself, ignoring the fact that he accidentally called out the devil's name out of a hope that she could save him.

"Anyway…" he decided to skim over all of that and get onto the reason he was here. "I've come to give you something that needs to be signed. I just picked it up from the faculty's office and it has all of the necessary signatures. I just need yours now."

The student council president felt her reservations grow. "…I understand, may I see this form that you need signed?"

Shuffling closer while pulling out a slip of paper, the blond handed her something that the high-class devil simultaneously didn't, and yet did expect.

A form that allowed for the formation of a club.

Which just so happened to have names that were not present in the current student body, she noticed.

"I can't sign this." she stated flatly. "Under current school regulations, only those who are registered in this school as students could join a club, and could only partake in their activities during festivals and such."

Sona wasn't sure what the blond's game was, but she felt like her refusal to sign wouldn't end this conversation.

Her belief was validated when he placed his hands onto her desk, grinning like the madman that he sometimes acted like he was. "Really? You sure about that?"

The young devil folded her hands onto her lap, confident in this at least. "I've memorized the numerous rules and regulations that Kuoh Academy officially utilizes, especially in regards to the conduct of clubs, since they are an important facet of student life in my opinion."

As well as an easy way for supernatural beings to hide amongst normal humans, she reflected pointedly.

And yet, even with this factual statement, her adversary when it came to following school rules didn't look fazed.

"I don't doubt that for some reason." he stated dryly, before quirking a brow. "But, then again, rules change sometimes, right?"

An ominous feeling crept up Sona's spine at that last bit, her hand deftly sinking to open the drawer on the bottom half of her desk, retrieving an important object from within.

The official school rulebook.

As in, the school rulebook that all other school rulebooks were initially copied from.

She always made sure to have it on her desk, just so that she could refer to its aged pages should she need to confirm something.

Like right now, for example.

Opening its old leather confines to reveal the pages within, the student council president skimmed through it in order to find the specific regulation about clubs.

Or, who could join them.

It took a sparse few seconds, but eventually she managed to track down her target and properly read the content that held the answers that she sought.

…

Carefully placing the open book down upon her desk, Sona took a breath and glanced up at the only other occupant of the room through a critical lens. "You changed it."

Naruto had nothing but a toothy grin on his face. "That sounds pretty baseless to me."

"You're lying."

"I don't lie though."

"That is most definitely a lie."

"You can't prove it though, can you?" the shinobi didn't bother to hide the smug tone his voice.

Because he was exactly correct.

She couldn't prove his involvement at all, and that meant that even if she suspected him, she wouldn't be able to do much about it.

Again.

A fact which was obviously annoying the cool student council president. "…Even if you managed to somehow rewrite the rules that dictate who could join a school club, I won't sign your form and allow it to become legitimate. I know what the rules were like before they were tampered, Naruto-san."

The shinobi shrugged his shoulders, expecting as such from someone as stubborn following the rules as he was breaking them, not really annoyed by it.

If anything, that made it all the more satisfying winning this little battle between them.

"You say that." he stated clearly, not holding back in his rhetoric. "But I don't think that you've got much of a choice, not unless you wanna break your own rules that is."

Sona looked almost amused by this statement. "Oh? And how would I do that exactly?"

Naruto wagged his finger back and forth, shaking his head. "Cause you're mistreating me, duh."

...

"Excuse me?"

Blue eyes sparkled with barely contained mirth. "You've literally got no reason to deny me my request, you're only doing it because you believe that I did something wrong. A belief that has nothing to back it up. Basically; you're being bias against me dattebayo. Please stop that, eh?"

Sona had to reel at that, inspecting her actions not through her own lens, but the lens of an outsider.

And, oh boy…

Pushing her glasses up, the young woman glared at the male in front of her, sour. "That's dirty."

"I never said that I fought fair, ya know?"

This was true.

Grudgingly accepting the fact that her metaphorical hands were tied, Sona glanced up, a tinge of respect hidden behind her severe annoyance. "How exactly did you convince a faculty member to sign that form anyway? They must've known that what you were asking to sign was against school regulations."

Indeed, she very much doubted that the blond could or would change each and every book on school regulations in Kuoh Academy, something like that would be too tedious for someone like him.

And she received her answer in the form of a hand sign.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu."

Shimmering into existence next to his creator, the clone grinned cockily and made a hand sign of his own, whispering something that Sona barely heard, even with her incredible hearing.

"Oiroke no jutsu."

At the explosion of smoke that erupted from the copy of the troublemaker, the Sitri heiress was put on her guard, unsure of what to expect.

Well, she can guarantee that what she got was something that she couldn't have seen coming in a thousand years.

"Yahooo~"

Sona felt her eyebrow twitch.

"…Turns out that some of your male professors can be sweet talked pretty easily by a beautiful woman." Naruto spoke with such pride, one would think that he was the one that actually tricked the man into signing the form.

In a way though, wasn't he?

What a disturbing concept.

So, frustrated, yet unwilling to express it, Sona opted to just voice out her annoyance with the current state of affairs.

"…You've annoyed me, Naruto-san."

The shinobi scratched the back of his head, bowing his head in genuinely contrite fashion. "Sorry for being a pain in the ass, Sona-kaichou."

Rubbing her now closed eyelids, the young devil had to give the blond credit where it was due.

Apologizing to her after having won the battle for gaining club members from outside the school? And in such a fashion?

Already she could feel her irritation leak away, no matter how much she tried to retain it.

He was just too damn honest.

Leaning back into her seat, she opened her mouth to ask something that has been bothering her for all of this time, acting as something of an itch in the back of her mind. "…Why do you even want those friends of yours to join in your club anyway?"

No matter in what angle she looked at his actions, wasn't he going too far for non-students to join in a club?

A twinkle entered the young man's eye at the question. "To make the Ball Tournament fifty times better than it was going to be, of course! Especially if we…spice things up a little bit."

Sona stared at him for all of about a second, a twinkle entering her own irises in response.

"We shall see if your plans actually come to fruition during the Ball Tournament, eh, Naruto-san?"

Naruto grinned. "Ya know, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing you try and stop me, this wouldn't be as much fun if you didn't anyway dattebayo."

She couldn't stop the small and challenging smirk which graced her features, the blond's attitude infectious.

She may have lost the battle…but she wouldn't lose the war quite so easily.

---

"Having trouble, Yuki-san?"

Yuki didn't turn around, biting her bottom lip, her foot tapping the floor incessantly. "Yes."

Rias had to agree with this blunt assessment, as she glanced between the two humans that were occupying her base's living room.

Facing the no doubt frustrated hero, Basara was looking particularly contrite for the crime of not recalling his past, what with his hands folded on his lap and all.

"This isn't working." the hero claimed with a sigh, the blank stare that she was aiming at the ground in front of her being retracted.

The red-head didn't fail to notice the breath of relief that the young man in front of her released. "How long have you been at this, just out of curiosity?"

Relaxing into the cushions of the sofa she was resting on, Yuki hummed in thought for a moment. "About…an hour or so?"

To say that the devil's heart bled in sympathy for the youth subjected to this was an understatement.

She only came back here to get some paperwork done, which mostly revolved around the applications that some supernatural beings have sent to her to request entry to her territory.

Just one of those small constants in the daily minutia of controlling a piece of land, she supposed.

Back on the subject at hand however… "Don't you think that that's a bit much, Yuki-san?"

If the other female heard her, she didn't act like she did as she pursed her lips, eyes faraway.

Taking one good long look at her, the high-class devil could only shrug her shoulders in helplessness.

There was no saving that boy now, he was on his own when the hero was like this.

Cautiously moving around the two, Rias made her way to her desk, sliding into her seat right when the door to the room slammed open.

All eyes turned to the opened door, seeing a certain perverted boy crash into the living room, huffing as if he had just rushed here.

Honestly, he probably did.

"Hey, Buchou! Do you know if that guy is still…" Issei began, trailing off as soon as he saw Basara and Yuki on the couches. "Oh, he is."

Basara frowned, features pinching together as he looked at the newcomer. "You're…that perverted guy, right?"

Valiantly keeping himself in check from giving a harsh retort, the brown-haired boy turned to Yuki. "Hey, you're still having trouble in helping this freeloader remember anything, right?"

Behind her, Basara twitched, but was summarily ignored by Yuki. "Yes, do you have any solutions, Issei-san?"

Initially, the perverted boy responded with a grin, only interrupted by the sound of his fist colliding into his open palm.

"Easy!" he declared, exuberance and a tinge of righteous anger coloring his tone of voice. "All we need to do is have him unlock his instincts in a fight!"

Not even noticing his king blanche at the idea, Issei jabbed a finger at the resident amnesiac. "Hey, spar with me, would ya?"

At this, the messy-haired youth blankly stared at the other male, completely unresponsive.

Until a ghost of a smirk snuck its way onto his features, a bit of excitement lighting his emerald eyes.

The hero couldn't tell whether he was drawing from an instinct that he had grown through his time as a warrior, or whether it was just a masculine joy of fighting that was spurring him on.

Either way, he was looking livelier than she had ever seen him since he has woken up.

Even if she didn't personally agree with this 'plan'…it looked like it may actually accomplish something in comparison with her methods.

So she simply followed both of the boys as they made their way to their 'battleground'.

All the while, Rias was watching the proceedings unfold with some apprehension, wondering whether a fight between a reincarnated devil and an amnesiac hero would end well at all.

Especially when she knew that at least one of them was very hot-headed.

…Well, it wasn't like they were going to listen to her.

Yuki-san was probably one of the few that could safely calm Basara-san down should he…revert, so maybe it was for the best that she stayed out of this one.

As soon as the red-head reached this conclusion however, she raised her head when the sound of her door opening alerted her to someone else's presence.

She wasn't particularly surprised by whom she saw. "Akeno. And…Sona? Back already?"

From behind the door's expanse, the two dark-haired women entered the living room with two totally different attitudes.

One seemed to be having a really good day, if her pleasant disposition was of any indication.

While the other was…well, obviously not having such a great day.

It shouldn't be too hard to guess who was feeling what right now.

"Yes, unfortunately." the Sitri heiress grimaced, looking almost embarrassed to be back. "Not by my will, I assure you, Rias."

Rias wasn't too sure how her fellow devil could be unwilling to come here, after all; why would she be here if not for her own will?

"Just listen to her for a moment, Buchou." Akeno looked absolutely beatific as she made her suggestion, trying and failing to stay composed. "…It seems that our kohai has struck again."

Seeing someone like Sona, the epitome of rationality and poise, flinch visibly at the queen's words managed to pique Rias' interest.

Then she actually thought about what was said so far, and quickly connected the dots. "Naruto?"

Another flinch.

A fit of giggles that refused to stay contained.

Rias nailed it in one.

"What? Did he flood the Student Council room or something?" the red-head herself couldn't prevent the fond smile from reaching her features.

"…Not quite." Sona responded with a scowl. "He tricked me into allowing individuals that weren't students here to join his club. He probably intends to join the Ball Tournament."

"What? Did he outmaneuver you or something?"

"Worse." the bespectacled devil replied, almost ashamed to admit to it. "He…changed the rules."

Rias cocked her head to the side, decidedly confused.

"…Literally. He literally changed one of the rules in the official school rulebook in regards to club membership. It wouldn't have been a big deal if a high school professor didn't already sign the form, giving the rule some semblance of legitimacy." Sona was just ranting quietly to herself by now, an aura of depression surrounding her by this point.

Speechless, the red-head turned to her queen, seeking understanding.

"Ara? Are you just going to let our cute kohai get away with this?" Akeno asked, smirking openly by now, having fun fanning the flames.

With those words, Sona's downtrodden aura was washed away, her head snapping up back to the other ravenette, a clear glint of challenge in her violet eyes. "Not at all. He may have won this round, but I won't just allow him to have his way so easily."

Rias could only sweatdrop at how quickly her friend rebounded from her depression.

That sweatdrop only grew bigger when Akeno began to clap politely at this show of determination.

"…Is there anything else that you've come here for?" she hazarded to ask afterwards.

The Sitri heiress blinked. "You don't have to worry about helping me search for the one that meddled with my paperwork anymore."

That let loose another fit of giggles from Rias' queen, unable to help herself by this point.

Not that the crimson king could really blame her. "My…he got you good, hm?"

"Yes…I suppose so." Sona groaned, massaging the bridge of her nose. "But why does he garner so much pleasure from making my life more difficult? Does he simply have a distaste against authority?"

Rias hummed, considering it. "From what I've seen, that does seem to be pretty spot on. But I can't say for sure. Why don't you ask him?"

"Absolutely not."

The Gremory heiress rolled her eyes.

Her friend always did have a strange sense of pride that prevented her from asking her 'opponents' simple questions.

She'd rather solve something about them herself than just do the easy thing.

"I'm sure that you could gather something of his personality the more that you speak with him. He's pretty straightforward and blunt, as I'm sure you've figured." Rias offered, easily recalling how her friend and ally always spoke his mind.

Without fail.

"...Is he though?"

Sona wasn't the one that asked that question of her.

Both high-class devils turned in surprise to the only other person that could have possibly asked such a question, but the red-head among the two was obviously a bit more nonplussed than the other.

"What do you mean by that, Akeno?" she had to ask of her close friend, finding her words to be...strange to say the least.

Akeno, previously having a difficult time in stopping her giggling fits when hearing of her kohai's actions, was now frowning, visibly serious.

"I mean just that, Rias." her use of Rias' actual name proved just how serious she actually was. "Is he actually as straightforward and blunt as we think?"

Rias couldn't quite believe that she had just heard that question come out of Akeno's mouth. "Um...are we talking about the same person right now?"

To the red-head, nothing fit the description of the blond as; blunt and straightforward.

Maybe mischievous worked too, but she wasn't going to argue about which trait defined him more.

And while the other high-class devil stayed silent following that exchange, her quirked eyebrow was proof enough that she was also skeptical of Akeno's doubts.

"I've…just been thinking about it recently, about how Naruto is like with us." the queen admitted, tapping her bottom lip with a dainty finger, thoughtful. "Especially after what he told me yesterday."

The Gremory heiress piqued a bit in interest, leaning forward a bit, waiting for her friend to expand on that last bit.

Even if she had to stamp down on the reflexive question that she wanted to demand; 'When did you two get so close?'

"Oh, if you're curious, then you'll just have to ask Naruto-kun himself, Buchou." the designated Yamato Nadeshiko of Kuoh Academy deftly rejected her king's wish to hear more, much to her frustration no doubt.

But, perhaps seeing how the Power of Destruction was leaking off of the crimson-haired beauty, Akeno felt it was wiser to at least give her the highlight of their conversation. "That being said…he admitted something incredible to me, Buchou. Something that I never would of thought him capable of before. Not him."

At that admission, the black miasma that represented Rias' signature power retreated back into her form, the dark look that she sported fading away as innocent curiosity took its place.

What could he have possibly told Akeno to have her think so deeply about how he interacted with them?

Was it even that big of a deal?

Seeing that she not only had grasped her own king's full attention, but the focus of her Sitri counterpart, the ravenette folded her hands over her skirt and spilled the beans. "Buchou…Naruto-kun has actually hated someone before."

Blue-green eyes blinked.

The owner of said eyes then sagged a bit. "…Is that it? Oh come now, Akeno…I don't think there's a person alive who's never hated someone else before."

Indeed, she's hated Riser for trying to take her hand in marriage, so even someone like her has hated someone before.

Was it that far-fetched for the spiky-haired blond to be the same?

Sona, standing beside her, felt her face pinch up. "I don't think that the two of you are using the word in the same context."

Akeno nodded, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Yes, Sona-kaichou. Buchou…it's hard to explain, but what I'm talking about is worlds apart from what you felt with Riser. If anything; I'd liken it more to how Kiba-kun felt about Excalibur than anything else."

Flashes of the young man and his borderline insane actions popped up in Rias' head, evoking a frown.

Comparing and contrasting such raw and destructive behavior with both blonds; Naruto and Yuuto, she found that she couldn't even fathom it.

"Are…you sure?"

"He told me himself." Akeno replied, brushing a stray bang so that she could clearly meet her king's gaze. "And…that made me realize that maybe I don't know him as well as I should."

"…And perhaps…that he's hiding things from us." Sona remarked quietly, unwilling to believe it, but knew that she'd be remiss to discount the theory.

While that remark earned her a scolding look from her fellow high-class devil, it had to be noted that she didn't refute her either.

Rias turned away from Sona, sighing as she took a few steps back and plopped back onto her seat, crossing her arms together as she fell into deep thought.

Mostly falling back towards several moments that spoke out to her, in regards to the whiskered teen.

One moment in particular stood out like a sore thumb.

Just a mere two days ago, when every supernatural being affiliated around Kuoh Academy met in her clubroom to discuss the series of events that hit them all throughout the past few days.

She remembered clearly how reticent Naruto was when he spoke of that faction that his group fought in Kyoto; the Hero Faction, if she recalled correctly.

Especially when the subject of the group's elites was broached.

She took a single glance at the blond's expression, his tone of voice, his reticent attitude, and quickly decided to let the matter drop.

Even when she wanted to ask more questions about what happened out there; from what the objectives of this 'Hero Faction' was, to where it came from, and more…she didn't.

She didn't for the same reason why she didn't probe him over what he was exactly.

"I-I know." was all the red-head said at first, biting her lip. "I know."

Akeno and Sona alike turned to her, giving her a concerned and quizzical look respectively.

Neither had a chance to open their mouths however. "I already know that Naruto isn't telling us everything…but…is it really that important?"

That's right.

She still adamantly believed that the young man that they were referring to was blunt and straightforward.

Rias just happened to believe that there were exceptions to that general rule, for whatever reason that she couldn't quite decipher.

But was it really so important?

If Naruto didn't want to disclose something, then surely, they shouldn't pry?

Was what happened in Kyoto, what happened on his journey back, hell; his general past so important as to possibly endanger the trust that they've earned from him?

To possibly endanger their relationship with him?

Her relationship with him?

No…best to just forget about this subject, move past it.

After all, if he deigned to keep such information, then who was she to dig deeper?

"You…knew?" Sona started slowly, face scrunching. "So why haven't you done anything to rectify the situation?"

The Sitri heiress herself wasn't entirely sure whether the blond was keeping things from them or not until just now, seeing as she only recently spoke to him on a constant basis recently.

Rias on the other hand, knew and spoke to him for longer periods of time, so what was her excuse?

"There's nothing to rectify." she replied resolutely, turning her head away from the two eyes pinning her down. "Obviously, he's left his past in the past, there's nothing to fix there."

Akeno's tiny frown revealed her feelings on the matter, without needing to say a word.

Sona wasn't nearly so reserved. "Rias, I may not know much of the effect someone's past has on their present selves, but surely it leaves behind some influence on them. You can't be naïve enough to think-"

"Of course it has left an influence on him!" the red-head snapped, scowling now. "But whatever his past may be, it obviously wasn't severe enough to leave him as anything but a well-adjusted young man. So of course I wouldn't try and go further!"

Recoiling at the forceful way that the Gremory heiress spoke to her, as well as how genuine her belief was, her fellow king had to at least accede to her point.

From what she's seen of the blond, there was nothing that suggested that he was troubled, if anything, outside of his annoying tendency to prank people and his ridiculous confidence, he was actually among the sanest in their little group.

…Not that that was saying much, since she could've placed Kiba Yuuto in such a category two weeks ago as well.

"Rias…" Akeno tried to speak up, hesitating, before making the plunge. "Maybe prodding into his personal life before we met him may seem intrusive, but, for what it's worth, I'm not actually too worried about the fact that he's hated someone before."

Blue-green eyes flickered to meet violet, a hint of confusion within their depths now. "Then why are you so eager to dig?"

The queen tilted her head, looking about as innocent and innocuous as she actually was at that point. "Because I want to know more about someone that I care about."

It happened in a flash.

So quickly that, beside the other ravenette beauty, Sona almost missed it.

A subtle twitch of her lips downwards, almost twisting into a scowl.

Hoh?

"You think that I don't?" Rias demanded, her demeanor aggravated.

Obviously, considering the growing grin on Akeno's features, she noticed. "Hmm? Do you? If you wanted to, then surely you would've tried and learn more about him before this, no? Or maybe you could stop making excuses?"

Oh dear.

Seeing the red-head grow increasingly agitated, it became clear to Sona that she was now in the middle of a veritable minefield.

She remembered hearing the mumbled stories from the rest of Rias' Peerage about how her queen would sometimes get under her king's skin enough for it to come to blows.

She thrived on it apparently.

Well, it looked like it was about to reach that point, and the Sitri heiress wanted no part in it.

Taking a few cautious step back as the air became charged with power, the young devil was going to let these two go at it without comment and come back later.

When they weren't going to destroy the environment around them.

At least, that was her original intention.

Such an action was kind of difficult when a sizable rune circle flashed underfoot and cut off her attempt to move away.

Thankfully, the magical construct's appearance garnered not only Sona's attention, but everyone's attention, distracting the two would-be combatants from actually going at it.

Normally, this would be a good thing.

But Sona wasn't sure whether Rias and Akeno coming to blows wasn't preferable to this when she recognized the symbol upon the magic circle.

The transportation circle.

"Oh great…"

---

Koneko was late to class.

No, more than that, she was late to school.

Lunch period was already over, and she was only just entering the gate that led to Kuoh Academy.

Though, the rook wasn't particularly worried or anything, it wasn't like she did something like this often or anything.

Unlike some people she could name off anyway…

Hazel pupils flitted across the sparsely populated main square of the Academy grounds, seeing no one except the backs of frantic students racing towards their next class.

Normally, she'd follow their lead, but today was somewhat…special.

No, she'd go so far as to say momentous.

She had spent almost all of her time resting so that she could clearly think upon what she wanted from the training she was undergoing.

Or, rather, whether the fears that still boiled within the pit of her stomach would prove to be unfounded or not.

Which was why the teenaged girl was trudging, not towards the school building, but to the old school building.

Where she knew that her king's headquarters were located.

And, she hoped, where a certain blond was prepared to continue where they left off.

"Aha! There you are!"

Speak of the devil.

Koneko tilted her head upwards and over her shoulder, seeing a blond student jab his finger at her from the school building's third story, a grin befitting of a predator adorning his features.

She was completely unperturbed by the fact that, as soon as the other teen made his announcement, he jumped over the window ledge, despite being on the third floor of the building.

Landing in a crouch, his legs bending in order to absorb the impact of his fall, Naruto rose and walked up to the expectant first-year, prepared as she ever could be for what was going to happen next.

"Ready to get started on your real training?"

Staring without comment for a few moments, the white-haired girl finally deigned to open her jaws to give a proper answer.

At least, until she saw her sempai glance back at the window he jumped out from warily, as if expecting something.

And, following his line of sight, she came to the conclusion that she was correct in her observation.

Upon the third floor, a red-head was jogging down the hallway, her profile plainly visible from their angle, and was obviously looking for someone.

The evidence was in the furtive glances she was sending everywhere.

"C'mon, tell me later." Naruto urged, pushing the smaller form next to him lightly. "For now, uh…well, just run with me, yeah?"

Koneko didn't want to do that.

She had found some semblance of resolve that was needed to actually partake in this training.

And…if she were perfectly honest, she wanted to share it with him.

To let him know verbally that she was prepared to take this extra step into the unknown.

But, as the two drifted away from the school building, and the blond studiously acted as if he wasn't avoiding someone, he sent her a wry grin as they made their way to the only place where they could train in peace.

Somehow, even without words…

She felt that he knew anyway.

Honestly, she wouldn't put it past him.

---

"Ready, Basara-san?"

Basara cracked his knuckles idly as he stared down the other boy, a fire lit in his stomach, urging him.

Both young men were practically alone in the middle of the training area below the old school building, prepping themselves for a spar.

A little session that the both of them seemed to be looking forward to.

Without preamble, Issei conjured up a crimson gauntlet that covered his left forearm, tightening his hands into fists as he fell into a fighting stance.

Something that, surprisingly, received an echoed response from the 'new guy' as he instinctively followed suit.

However, even as his legs spread out and his hands cupped together in front of him, he knew that there was something missing.

Something vital. Key.

The perverted boy was about to comment on how he weird he looked, looking like he was standing in a guard position with a weapon when he had no such thing within his clasped hands.

But he never had the chance, as a look of concentration washed over the scarred youth's features, body shivering in…something.

At first, nothing happened.

Then; in a lightning-quick motion, emerald eyes snapped to the crimson gauntlet that occupied most of Issei's arm.

A powerful green aura overtook his hands, which were occupied by holding an imaginary hilt, clasped tightly against air.

That didn't remain to be the case.

Within seconds, a hilt formed in between his palms, materializing within the wild aura that he controlled, yet didn't.

Bending his legs, the amnesiac kept his hands together as he threw his arms to the side, taking the classic stance of a samurai drawing his katana.

The reality of what he was about to do wasn't too far off from that, since the green aura expanded further, forming a wicked blade that was silver in color and curved.

"…Brynhildr…" Basara murmured, brows scrunching, confused, yet certain.

Absolutely so.

This burst of knowledge, this…illumination.

Emerald eyes stared into the orb of power that glowed bright green within the ring that was connecting the hilt to the blade itself, his features illuminated by this power that was until now; unknown to him.

"Hoh…?" Issei's smirk was more prominent, excited even. "Sheesh, that's a badass sword right there. But, then again, do you even know how to use it?"

"I…think so?" the way that Basara phrased his statement made it come out as more of a question than anything else, but the shaggy-haired youth still turned to face his opponent with a serious attitude. "Let's find out."

To Issei, he had surged forward towards the blade wielder, his fist raised and primed to launch, holding himself back just a bit in his speed and strength so as not to intimidate his sparring partner.

He needn't had bothered.

In Basara's eyes, as soon as the battle began, time just seemed to…stall.

It was as if a switch had been flipped in his head, bringing forth instincts that were honed in what felt like another life.

His body moved appropriately to the threat; his feet spreading and his arms brought to the side in preparation to swing.

But more than that…

…

Was…Issei always so slow?

Indeed, in the young man's eyes, the other boy was charging at him in slow motion.

Internally, the amnesiac couldn't help but note that he had nothing to worry when it came to his opponent's speed.

No, he had to worry about the strength that his fists carried.

Which was why, his body on autopilot, he moved forward and intercepted the perverted boy in front of him.

Chocolate-colored eyes widened, the Boosted Gear user barely managed to react to the slice by raising his gauntlet to block the wide arc.

Sparks lit both of their features, with both teens meeting each other's gaze at they clashed.

Issei obviously underestimated his opponent, and his improved reaction time was the only reason he was able to block the attack that could've left him with a pretty vicious wound.

"…You were holding back." Basara accused, his lips forming a fine line. "You were moving slower before, but you sped up when you reacted to my attack."

The pawn chuckled nervously, keeping the wicked blade away from his skin. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I wasn't holding back that much though…I'm just pretty decent at reacting to things thanks to the shit I've been through."

His features, formerly lax, grew taut with his growing sense of tension.

"Serious time now."

Boost!

Making its declaration, the Boosted Gear doubled its wielder's power, signifying the beginning of his re-energized assault.

Something that Basara took keen note of as the pawn jumped forward, displaying speed that he didn't have until now.

It wasn't hard to deduce that his glowing gauntlet had something to do with it.

Tilting his head to the right of the brawler's left hook, which just so happened to release enough air pressure as to nick his cheek, the amnesiac followed his instincts and spun around to swing his broadsword at his opponent's back.

He wasn't exactly enthused to find that he only shaved off hair instead of leaving a gash on the other male's back, since he reacted to his swing by ducking underneath the arc.

It was only made worse when the perverted boy cocked his fist back, aiming to elbow the holder of Brynhildr in the stomach, using the fact that he was within his guard to his advantage.

However, proving that he still had the superior speed, Basara pushed against the ground and flew back and away from the incoming elbow, making space between the two teens.

Brown eyes widened, then narrowed just as quickly, prepared to move right on in after him.

So he did, using his already bent legs to springboard to his retreating opponent, confident that he could at least score one good shot off of him.

At least, he was, up until the swordsman slammed his broadsword into the ground, slowing down his momentum.

Then, with precision that could have only come from extreme dedication in honing his skills, he propped his feet onto the hilt of his blade, which was still carving into the ground.

And then pushed off of it.

Literally, Basara jumped into the air, cutting into his former momentum.

All while completely avoiding the devil that had just reached his former position.

To make matters worse, he hadn't even jumped that high, leaving Issei at his mercy since he was out of his fist's range while still being within Brynhildr's.

By the time that the pawn had realized this, and began turning to intercept the swing that would inevitably carve into his exposed back, Basara was already in the process of bringing his blade down.

Emerald eyes shined in triumph, the first he had felt ever since he had woken up.

It was in such a moment that he felt truly like he was alive.

This clash that forced him to react and try and to outmaneuver his opponent was just like one of those old legends that he recalled.

From where, he didn't recall, but he knew that an event like this would be considered as the prelude of a 'turning point'.

Something that he saw only a certain group of people accomplish, he somehow knew.

A group of people that adhered to the name of-

Boost!

A crimson gauntlet smashed into the sword of stainless steel, knocking both weapons back from the recoil that both suffered the sudden clash.

Basara stared and met with the determined gaze of the teen below him, getting further away due to the force that pushed the airborne youth further high up.

"Don't get cocky!" Issei growled, spinning around once to take control of the recoil before stomping his foot onto the ground and aiming his Boosted Gear's open palm at the flying Basara. "This ain't over yet, buddy!"

Demonic energy was built up into that open palm, resulting in a small crimson ball that occupied that space, radiating in its barely contained shape.

Issei tensed, the jewel within his Boosted Gear glowing brilliantly as he fired.

"Dragon Shot!"

Following the loud declaration, the crimson orb flashed forward as a beam that was almost as big as the teen himself, following the trajectory that was given to it.

The amnesiac stuck in mid-air.

Basara cocked his blade back, gripping its large hilt with both hands as he prepared for a mighty swing, somehow confident that he could at least stop the attack from doing too much damage.

More than that; he was pretty sure that he could completely 'kill' it.

Whatever the case, the young man held Brynhildr behind him, elbows bent with wound up strength poised to be unleashed, prepared for a mighty swing as words spilled from his lips.

Not even once wondering about the completely instinctual actions that he had just undertook in this fight.

"Banishing Shift!" came the roar, an emerald aura coating the young man's body as the sword made its powerful curve and made contact with the beam.

Smaller columns of the beam's original form spread apart as the broadsword was held in front of it, forcing Basara to squint at its proximity.

His arms shook at the impressive force lodged against him, struggling to carve through the energy attack, feeling like it should be easier.

Through grit teeth, a stray thought imbedded itself within his mind, far away, and yet…so intimately familiar.

'Is this all you have?'

The beam began ebbing, its power becoming unstable.

'This power is nowhere near enough to justify the name that you have adopted for yourself.'

Whatever aura enveloped him, its flow waving up and down his body, reaching his blade.

'Aim higher, and truly become one with the title you that you've adopted…and surpass it…my apprentice.'

A roar tore through Basara's throat then, a foreign and completely familiar power giving him the strength to complete his cut straight through the crimson energy.

Instead of getting split apart by the slash however, instead, it simply…

Evaporated.

No, more than that, it was completely erased.

Banished beyond this plane of existence.

Eyes that were the same shade as the grass, alive and fresh, peered open, staring at the blade in front of him.

A word unintentionally escaped his lips then.

"…Hero?" he murmured, distracted.

So distracted that he completely missed the fact that the fight wasn't over.

"ORRRRYYYAAAA!"

Neck nearly cracking, Basara saw stars as a fist knocked him down from the air, sending him down to earth like a ragdoll, leaving quite the crack onto the ground, despite how it was reinforced by magic.

Gasping, the amnesiac coughed as he tried to get the stars out of his sight, the taste of copper registering in his tongue.

"O-Oh shit!" he heard his erstwhile opponent curse under his breath, before going loud. "Hey! You alright there!? I didn't think that I'd get you with that punch!"

Basara forced himself up as soon as his brain stopped rattling in his skull, a dry chuckle rumbling in his chest. "Y-Yeah…my bad. I got distracted there for a second there."

Issei landed right next to the downed teen, rising up to give him an incredulous look. "Hey…don't apologize for getting knocked onto your ass, that's weird."

A dry grin etched its way across his features on that admission. "Sorry."

"You just did it again."

Breaking out into a fit of laughter, the shaggy-haired youth laid back down onto his back, wincing only a bit at its soreness. "Got it, got it. But…I don't know, there was something liberating in that, I think. I feel…at ease even."

Legs giving out beneath him, the perverted boy joined his counterpart on the ground, shooting him a tired smile. "Yeah…I know what you mean. It's pretty cool, fighting like that when there aren't any stakes in it. Just throwing all you've got against someone else, one on one? It's one hell of a stress reliever, I'll tell you that!"

He turned away then, looking a little chastened. "It's kinda hard to explain to be honest, so much so that I can't really get Asia to understand. It'd be nice if I could help her understand eventually."

Indeed, Asia really didn't get how a spar like this could benefit anyone much, and honestly, given her upbringing, may never get it.

Not that she tried to stop him or anything, rather, she just always tilted her head in confusion whenever he brought it up.

He'd like to change that one day.

"Asia?" Basara echoed, propping his elbows on the ground to raise his upper body a bit. "That's…that's that blond girl, right? What, are you two married or something?"

If anything could have broken Issei's composure, it was definitely a question like that. "Huh? What the hell kinda question is that? We're teenagers!"

"Well…I don't know. From what you've said, you two sound just like a married couple or something. Am I wrong?"

"Yes!" Issei cried, sputtering. "We're close, but we haven't reached that stage yet!"

Basara couldn't help but notice a key word in the other teen's sentence. "Yet?"

The perverted boy huffed, rolling his eyes. "Leave me alone, damn it."

A snort was all he got as a response, the amnesiac's elbows giving out on him as he fell onto his back, inexplicably satisfied and calm.

This atmosphere was nice to him.

And he had a feeling that he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

"My arms hurt." he complained lightly, eyes staring at the ceiling above. "That last energy attack of yours packed a punch, you know that?"

He couldn't see his sparring partner from his position on the ground, but he could imagine him scratching his cheek nervously regardless. "Ehehe…I actually got a little caught up in the moment to be honest, I didn't mean to throw that much power into my Dragon Shot."

Craning his neck to look at Issei, Basara gave him a flat look.

Obviously, the pawn had to defend himself. "Hey, I could've maxed out on my boosts if I wanted to, you know? I made sure to keep myself in check!"

The new guy didn't reply, opting to rest his neck by staring back at the ceiling again.

…

"…Sorry."

"Now look who's apologizing?" Basara muttered dryly, a twinkle in his eye.

Twin sets of chuckles emerged from that comment, coming from both boys as they relaxed on the ground, carefree.

At that moment, Basara felt that he could grow to like these people.

And, in that moment, at a secluded area away from the two combatants, another young hero watched the two teens speak with the smallest of smiles.

It looked like Yuki had nothing to worry about here.

---

Fire.

While Sona was expecting as such, it came as a bit of a surprise to the other two devils in the room, who didn't even notice the magic circle until now.

Rias and Akeno finally turned away from one another to focus on the magic construct in the middle of the room, spewing fire in all directions in a manner which was eerily familiar to the both of them.

Especially to the red-head. "Oh no…not now…"

While neither of the ravenettes made a verbal comment to that effect, their expressions made their opinions about the situation just as easily known.

The only possible positive about consolation about this, was the fact that the flames were significantly toned down, comparatively.

Still, it was a cold comfort for any of them when a familiar head of hair emerged from the ground through the demonic-powered rune circle.

Accompanied by aristocratic features and piercing blue eyes.

"…Riser." Rias spoke up levelly, the other two devils next to her shifting close to her, closing ranks against an external threat. "What are you doing here?"

In the middle of the room, with his hands stuffed into his pockets, was Riser Phenex.

One didn't need to be a genius to figure that Rias could have gone through her entire life without needing to see him again.

A fact that the blond devil must have picked up on as he turned to look at her with a neutral expression. "Nice to see you too, Rias."

"Let's skip through the niceties, shall we?" Sona cut in, recognizing the telltale signs of her friend's rising anger once she squared her shoulders. "Surely you aren't here just to antagonize us, correct?"

Riser didn't react to her words one way or another at first, simply choosing to slide his gaze across the assorted group in front of him.

It wasn't until he did a thorough scan that he actually opened his mouth to speak.

"Trust me, I don't want to be here anymore than you do." the high-class devil remarked, a tired sigh escaping his lips as he did so. "But I was ordered to do so, so here I am."

"Ordered?" the Sitri heiress repeated doubtfully. "You? Who exactly would-?"

Her words died before she could even bother asking.

All thanks to the finger that was raised, pointing straight at Rias, leaving no doubt as to who the young man was referring to.

"Her onii-chan." he stated dully.

Rias blinked. "Onii-sama? Why would he-?"

"Throughout the past two weeks or so, I've been working with Maou Lucifer-sama in regards to an investigation." Riser explained, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes. "Today however, he has sent me to seek you out and give you a message."

Rias and Sona exchanged concerned glances, not sure whether such an action by the Maou Lucifer could be considered a good or a bad thing.

It was Akeno that pointed out a missing component in this puzzle though. "Buchou, Kaichou, I'm not entirely sure, but perhaps this contact has something to do with our inability to contact the Underworld?"

Blue-green eyes snapped to the queen, widening as her mind raced at the implications.

She needn't have bothered. "Actually, this is exactly about the recent breakdown of communications."

All eyes turned back to Riser, who was now casually leaning against the back of the couch in the middle of the room. "As you seem to have noticed, all communication to and from the Underworld has been disrupted, making it almost impossible for anyone to reach through across the dimensions to speak or see one another. So don't even bother right now."

The Gremory heiress craned her head forward, incredulous to say the least. "I've never heard of such a large disruption before, as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure that this is unprecedented. Unless you're talking about the Underworld during the war, but that's understandable for obvious reasons."

"Rias is correct." the Sitri heiress murmured, pushing her glasses back up high on the bridge of her nose. "Discounting the times when there was civil strife, something like this is…unheard of."

The blond devil amongst them blinked slowly, breathing out a drawn out sigh.

As he raised his hand to wipe at his eyes, Rias couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes…

"That's just it." he spoke out finally, sounding resigned. "There is civil strife going on in the Underworld as we speak."

If anyone could describe the feeling that hit all of his listeners, it would probably be surmised as; the feeling of a lead weight falling in their stomach.

And Riser was probably someone who noticed this. "Relax, while it sounds bad, the unrest hasn't reached a critical point yet. It's just enough to worry plenty of devils enough to completely overwhelm the magical servers that regulate communication between the Underworld and other dimensions. That's all."

While Sona audibly eased up from the tension that entered her frame, Rias on the other hand, did not.

"…You've changed, Riser."

Riser scowled at that. "Don't remind me."

The resident red-head gazed upon him in wonder, having difficulty connecting the man that almost forced her into an arranged marriage and the one before her now.

It was bizarre to say the least.

"Getting back on topic…" Sona felt it necessary to actually figure out what was going on rather than ask about personality shifts. "Why did those servers break down? Surely Maou Beelzebub-sama could simply accommodate the influx of discourse between the Underworld and other dimensions?"

It was a reasonable question.

Ajuka Beezlebub was the Chief Advisor of the Technology Department of the Underworld, and was, by all accounts, a genius when it came to his job.

Such a problem should've been nothing to such a competent man in such a position.

"Normally, yes. But ever since Maou Beelzebub-sama has heard of Diodora's criminal status, he's been rather…distant."

Sona's cheek twitched.

Diodora Astaroth.

An insane devil that had committed nefarious actions by attempting to kidnap both; Asia and Mio at differing times.

As well as the overall crimes that come with attacking other devils and invading their private property.

And Ajuka Beelzebub...who was once known as Ajuka Astaroth.

She could already see the possible issues here.

"…I thought that Maou Beelzebub-sama was very distant with his younger brother." Rias murmured under her breath, her disbelief plain to see.

The Phenex shrugged, unable or unwilling to give his opinion on the matter.

After that small pause though, he continued on as if nothing had happened. "Anyway, the only reason why this came up as a problem in the first place is because of that strife that I mentioned earlier, plaguing the Underworld. Which brings me to the second reason of why I'm here…"

Blue eyes sharpened, pinning Rias with a stare.

"Do you know where-?"

At that moment, the creaking sound of a door opening was heard, causing every devil in the room to focus upon it.

Riser's eyebrows creased at what he saw.

"Speak of the devil."

---

"What will you be teaching me, sempai?"

Naruto stopped, turning to look at the loli next to him, only about a minute's walk away from their destination.

He regarded her for all of a second, before turning away from her, thoughtful. "Well…I think I mentioned this before, but I can't teach you much. I can only teach you techniques that your chakra allows you to."

The rook cocked her head to the side, decidedly puzzled, even when she had an inkling about what he was talking about.

Seeing this, the blond elaborated. "Well, I'm sure you've noticed, but your chakra and my own are similar, but not exactly the same. My chakra has a bit more mixed in to allow me to use certain techniques…abilities that you're unable to use without it."

Hazel eyes crinkled. "Techniques like what?"

Naruto didn't respond verbally.

Instead, he raised his hand, as energy swirled on his palm, spinning to coalesce into a very familiar sphere.

The devil stared at it, transfixed, always impressed by its hypnotizing visage.

"Like this." the shinobi claimed, allowing the incomplete rasengan to fizzle away.

Back while he was in Kyoto, he recalled where he and a certain yokai faction leader compared notes about their respective energy sources.

Apparently, the chakra of the yokai of this world had an imbalance of energies mixed within it, in stark contrast with the balance present with the chakra of the shinobi.

An imbalance of spiritual and physical energy; Yin and Yang.

An imbalance that left the spiritual energy as the dominant force.

The shinobi couldn't remember the specifics to save his life, but he knew that physical energy was vital for ninjutsu in general.

So that left Koneko, and literally every other yokai in this world, absolutely no access to those kinds of techniques.

That being said… "I may not be able to teach you that, but I can show you how to do this."

In a flash, the blond brought his hands together in order to weave a single hand sign, causing an explosion of smoke to hide his self.

Then, through the smoke, emerged a pair of hazel eyes.

Hazel irises met with an exact replica of hazel irises, with the original set registering that everything else was an exact replica as well.

Koneko was currently staring at Koneko.

Before she could even be taken aback by the bizarre situation, another explosion overtook her copy, camouflaging 'her'.

Thankfully, Naruto's looks reverted back to what they once were, sporting a playful grin as he laid his hands down.

"Henge. While it's harmless on its own, if you try and think outside of the box, you could really do some amazing things with it. Take my word for it." the whiskered teen explained, that grin of his ever present.

"Oh…" the reincarnated devil leaned forward a bit, the only sign that she was interested since her features remained stoic. "I see…but is that it?"

"One more." Naruto replied, bringing his hands again to form a hand seal. "It's similar to my kage bunshins, but this one is illusionary."

In a puff of smoke, as expected, a copy of the blond appeared right by him, a clone to its very core.

But, interestingly, Koneko witnessed Naruto wave his hand through the clone, proving that it wasn't solid by any means.

"This is just an ordinary clone, one that is much easier to make than the corporeal clones that I make all of the time. I'm sure that I don't have to explain the advantages to having this baby in your arsenal, eh?"

A correct assumption on his part.

Without prompt, the illusion faded away without making a sound as the blond crossed his arms and hummed, raising his head towards the sky, peering up at the clouds above. "Now, besides those two, I'd like to see if I could teach you another technique, but that one might be a bit more difficult to grasp to be honest. We'll have to wait and see. But the rasengan and the kage bunshin are impossible techniques for you to learn, just so you know dattebayo."

The rook nodded, taking this all in, already trying to figure how these abilities could be used to her advantage in the future.

But before she could delve too deeply into that train of thought, her ears twitched.

"Someone is coming."

Naruto frowned, opening his mouth to ask what she meant by that.

"F-Found you!"

He may as well not bother.

The shinobi froze on the spot, growing pale when a familiar set of pink eyes pinned him down, accusatory.

"M-Mio…" he gulped, shying away from her uneasily. "What's up?"

Mio took a menacing step forward, the eerie light of insanity touching her eyes.

Naruto may have squeaked when she did so.

Maybe.

"What's up? What's up!? Do you have any idea how I found you, Naruto!?" she practically raged, eye twitching.

Violently, he may add.

Obviously, his precious imouto was on a roll, so Koneko decided to do the smart thing and shuffle quietly away from the new ground zero and support her new sensei from the sidelines by giving him a thumbs up.

It was obvious what she was trying to say to him.

'Good luck, sempai.'

Lucky little…

"I found you thanks to the puffs of smoke that you kept releasing here!" Mio dragged his attention back to her, much to his chagrin. "If it wasn't for the fact that I was looking for you and cutting class, others could have noticed it! Why! Do you! Endanger yourself! Needlessly!?"

The red-head heaved, her breath spent as she paused to take a gulp of air.

Meanwhile, Naruto blankly looked at her as she did so.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Were you worried about me, Mio?"

The scion of the Original Lucifer tripped over air over that one, recovering only enough to gape at him as her cheeks blew up metaphorically.

"Y-You…"

Mio tried to deny it, she really did, but his earnest expression made it difficult for her to garner the necessary indignation for her to keep herself angry.

She turned away, suddenly embarrassed, hand digging into her skirt pocket, seeking out the notes that contained her sempai's nuggets of wisdom.

Naruto stared.

"Ok." he murmured to himself softly, lips forming a flat line as he steeled himself. "This has gone on long enough dattebayo…"

Koneko, who was standing at a fair distance away, still managed to hear him thanks to her supernatural hearing, and felt her interest pique.

Striding towards the flustered girl, the shinobi firmly grasped her shoulders and forced her to face him, cutting her sputtering short.

"Mio." he spoke, voice firm and unyielding, demanding to be listened, refusing to be interrupted. "Listen, I don't know why you've been acting so strange recently, but…I'm beginning to get worried about it. Ever since I came back, your actions have been weirding me out 'ttebayo! I have no idea what's going on in your head anymore, if I were honest…"

Pools of cerulean blue shifted downward to the forest floor, troubled. "I-I'm not too sure about what to do. So…well…"

He fell into silence, having difficulty expressing what he wanted to express.

Until he gave up entirely and shoved his hands into his pocket, snatching something up and offering it up to the red-head.

Mio blinked, peering at the open palm that was presented to her.

It took a moment for her to register what it was, but when she did, it made her breath escape her lungs.

"Naruto…" she whispered, transfixed. "This…this is…"

"…I just noticed that you didn't have one anymore, that's all dattebayo…" he scratched his head, decidedly nervous, but trying to play it off. "I mean, I don't know if it meant anything to you, but I figured that…it'd be nice, ya know? A nice gesture, I guess?"

If Mio was paying attention, then she gave no indication of it, far too focused on the item that she was holding up to eye level.

It was a small thing, really.

Small things.

It was just a twin set of black strings, nothing more or less.

But she instantly knew that these were for.

Hand absentmindedly combing through her red long hair, she knew instinctively that there was nothing there holding her hair up.

Usually, she'd have a pair of strings to tie the sides of her long hair into twin pigtails.

But ever since her fight with Diodora, that hadn't been the case.

Mostly thanks to the fact that he destroyed them during that very clash.

…

If she were honest, thoughts of those strings have only passed her by occasionally, and rarely if ever haunted her.

So consumed was she by Diodora's parting words, that she barely noticed its absence.

Yet, the second that she touched these strings, a shock of nostalgia gripped her.

Instead of a rough and calloused masculine hand offering out the accessory set to her, for just a moment…they were feminine.

A soft and motherly caress, soothing her as those hands deftly combed through her long hair and tied the strings through her long tresses.

Warm mocha-colored eyes looked down upon her, a smile expressed without needing to make one.

Always so expressive, never shy to act on her feelings for her adopted daughter.

It was a visage of a young brunette whose hair was tied into a bun, wearing an apron and wielding a spatula after having just left the kitchen, cooing quietly as she gave her a look of adoration.

You look so beautiful, Mio-chan~

And then, just as quickly as the vision appeared in front of her, it faded away.

Leaving a very nervous blond in its place, squirming at the silence.

Mio rolled the strings over her fingers, distracting herself from her shaking bottom lip, her eyelids fluttering.

"…That's not fair."

Naruto finally pulled it together. "Eh?"

The red-head said nothing, simply raising the strings up and deftly combing them through her long locks, mimicking the actions of the woman from before.

With practiced hands, she sectioned off some of her hair and tied them up with one of those strings, before moving onto the other side and doing the same to it.

As soon as she was done, she brushed her hair back, and took a shaky breath, calming her beating heart.

After all of this time, she had stayed quiet.

And it didn't change, even when she plucked the notepad from her skirt once more and scanned it blankly, not actually reading it.

Then, she let it fall through her fingers, hitting the ground without bothering to try and get it.

With all of that said, she finally turned back to Naruto, who was looking mighty confused.

"Naruto." she said simply, the edges of her lips twitching upwards into a smile. "Want to go out for ramen as thanks for this gift? I'm paying."

The shinobi gazed at her, inexplicably befuddled even further.

But…unlike the other times that she invited him out, there was just something…casual about this.

Very different from before, which almost seemed to be characterized by desperation than anything else.

So, lured by the prospect of ramen, and eased by the more positive shift in her demeanor, the shinobi grinned.

"Sure." he nodded, pumping his fist. "Let's do it."

Mio grinned herself, folding her hands behind her back as she twirled away from him, making her way to the ORC clubhouse. "We'll figure out the details later then. For now, let's see how everyone else is doing, hm?"

And, just like that, the young woman casually walked to the older red-head's place, humming a tune to herself all the while.

Naruto watched her go, his features softening, and his concerns dimming over her behavior.

He had no idea what had just happened, but…

It looked like she was gonna be alright.

"…Welp, might as well get going, eh, Koneko?" Naruto called out, turning to look at the devil that had dodged that entire mess.

Near him, the rook was also watching the first-year go, an inexplicable expression dominating her face, which shifted back to her usual stoicism as soon as the blond called for her.

Chancing one last look at Mio's retreating back, the reincarnated devil walked up to the shinobi, nodding firmly that she was ready to continue.

Then, as a group they walked towards the old school house, reaching it within the predicted minute time hack.

Before either of them could have actually climbed the steps to reach the front porch though, Mio spun around again and faced the spiky-haired blond, a smile from ear-to-ear on.

"Hey, Naruto." she said, eyes bright. "We're family, right?"

The shinobi was taken aback by the query, opening his mouth to retort in a smartass manner about the stupidity of asking such a question.

But before he said a word, something deep inside him roiled.

It was hard to explain, but just at that moment, the sheer thought of answering that question caused something deep-seated to rebel, raising its ugly head to lambast against it.

To push the thought, the idea away.

To banish it, where it could never hurt it again.

Remember before, where you considered others to be your 'family'.

Naruto faltered, looking uncertain.

Where is that 'family' now?

He glanced down, uncomfortable, throat clenching.

Pain borne from broken bonds…don't fall victim to that pain again-

"Because I do."

Blue eyes glanced up, meeting the brightest of pink, shining even.

"I probably said this before." she piped, all positivity. "But…I'm really happy that I met you, Naruto."

Taking a stance, executing a flourish, the young woman kowtowed before her adopted sibling, expressing profound gratitude by action and words.

Externally, Naruto didn't react to the move.

But internally, the fog that had encroached into the depths of his mind were suddenly pushed back, fading away deep into his psyche.

The treacherous words that came from within grew more distant, more difficult to hear or pay attention to.

He couldn't have possibly known that the words that his imouto had just given him had, temporarily at least, beaten back whatever had been plaguing him ever since Kyoto.

But, for now at least, his eyes cleared, and his conviction had been reaffirmed.

With that reaffirmation, came that in/famous boat load of confidence that Uzumaki Naruto was known for.

"Of course!" the shinobi bellowed, huffing loudly and haughtily. "Sheesh, even now, you insist on asking really weird questions dattebayo…"

Mio straightened herself, a sound that suspiciously sounded like a giggle coming from her. "Yeah, yeah. I know, it's just nice to say it anyway, ya know?"

"What's the point of saying it when it's a fact though?"

"…Mou, can't you just accept a nice gesture?"

"Nope, I'd be screwing up my duties as an 'onii-chan' if I didn't give you crap for stupid stuff like this."

"Hmph…maybe you really are a bully…"

"What was that!?"

Koneko rolled her eyes, unable to take the back-and-forth between the two siblings as they walked slowly up the steps, bickering as only they could.

So she decided to take the initiative and move ahead of them, opening the door to the Gremory group's base of operations, ignoring the pang at her chest.

It must be nice…having such banter between siblings…

Those thoughts were immediately killed as soon as she opened the door though, taking in a familiar and decidedly unfriendly surprise.

It didn't take long for the bickering siblings to notice her pause, with Naruto in particular glancing over the rook's head to check out what was going on.

He felt his shoulders sag.

"Speak of the devil."

That wasn't him.

"Son of a…"

That most definitely was.

In the middle of the main room of the building stood an aristocratic blond devil that no one in particular was exactly eager to see again.

"Riser…" Naruto drawled, shoulders squaring. "What brings you here, of all places?"

The Phenex stared stonily at the teenaged human, saying nothing.

From behind the high-class devil were some familiar faces, all giving varying greetings in accordance to their personality to said whiskered teen.

Sona gave a respectful nod.

Rias smiled and waved.

Akeno just shot him a sultry smile.

About standard.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Riser spoke up, sighing with the same breath of his words. "To be honest with you, I feel like I should owe you for your actions during our last encounter rather than resent you for them, and it's a shame that we couldn't meet under better circumstances, but…"

He frowned deeply, so much so that it left large creases on his forehead, obviously not taking pleasure in what he was about to say.

"Naruto…I'm here to inform you that large protests have broken out across the Underworld against the current status quo of devil society."

Eh?

"…And that many among them are crediting using that speech of yours back in that party as inspiration for it." Riser claimed bluntly, eyes sharp.

…

…

"Eh?"

That was all Naruto could really say about that.

---

"He's late."

An elderly man was casually sipping on some tea as he allowed his greatest experiment to vent, unflappable as ever.

Across from him was that very experiment, aggravated as she had her arms crossed and tapped her finger repeatedly.

A being that he intended to have as the first true human of this world to master the power of the humans of the 'other' world.

A young woman that had forsaken her past and her name on her path for power and perfection.

A young woman, that just so happened to be standing in front of his desk, glowering down at him with those dull ruby eyes of hers.

"Late?" the old man asked, playing dumb. "Whoever could you mean?"

Those eyes, typically dispassionate, grew poisonous, as they were liable to do when this specific individual was involved.

"You know exactly whom I'm referring to."

The elderly man, otherwise simply known as Shiranui, shrugged his shoulders lightly, taking the chance to take another sip of his tea.

Glaring down upon the aged human, the teen once known as Kurokami Medaka took a step back, taking stock of the situation that she had returned to.

She had hoped to return back to her domain with all of the pieces necessary to continue putting pressure upon a certain blond, challenging the ideology that he had adopted to the breaking point.

If there was anything that she had learned of that boy, it was that; if he had enough time, he could very quickly recuperate and come back with a plan or with renewed vigor.

If nothing else, he was not someone that anyone could afford to ever hold back again, not if they wanted to defeat him.

He could be given no time to rest or relax, it had to be a constant pressure.

And yet, the first essential step that she needed to defeat him physically could not be achieved, not without her second-in-command.

Not if she wanted to remain anonymous and not receive a large target on her back like Uzumaki Naruto had garnered by showing his hand for the world to see.

Her next evolution was ready, but she couldn't achieve such a thing here.

She needed to get more information about artificial Sacred Gears, and she couldn't get it here.

No, there was only one place where such information could be readily available and accessible, and she would need Kumagawa's…unique abilities to remain undetected.

Not that the old man in front of her was even aware of what she was up to.

"So, child." Shiranui finally spoke, raising his wrinkled head to regard the young woman. "What is your opinion of the sole shinobi of this world?"

She didn't hesitate. "He was weakened by the time I fought him, but he still proved to be a fierce warrior. I haven't been able to fight like that in a long time. And…if I were honest, I doubt that I could defeat him as I am now."

The former hero felt his eyebrow rise. "Hoh? Quite the admission from someone as proud as yourself."

"It wasn't unexpected." she explained, features neutral. "He's as special as I am after all."

Shiranui didn't respond to that, waiting patiently for his creation to continue.

And she did. "…That being said, the mission was a success for you, chairman. It seems that the Sacred Gear that you artificially created within me allowed me to copy not only other artificial Sacred Gears, but jutsus as well. The kage bunshin no jutsu is an ability that I now have access to."

A smile overtook the elderly man's features at this piece of information.

The tyrant idly noted that she didn't like it.

"As I'd hoped…research into the jutsu of the shinobi is progressing, as I'd intended. However, seeing as that seems to be all you have, that means that The End is still incomplete, yes?"

Ruby eyes narrowed, but their owner didn't say one thing or another.

There was a reason why Shiranui sought out Uzumaki Naruto, and it wasn't just to have a guinea pig to learn about and eventually spread the power of chakra to others.

It was also to perfect her.

"…If that is all you need, then I need to change clothes and make sure that my subjects haven't done anything to…unsavory while I've been gone." she eventually said, turning on her heel, her long purple hair following her trail.

She could feel the old man's gaze piercing into the back of her skull.

But she didn't particularly care about it one way or another.

In reality, she didn't care one bit of Shiranui's ambitions, or about the goals of the other 'special' people here.

She didn't particularly like the idea of the blond becoming a guinea pig either.

No, she sought the destruction of the current Naruto, that was all.

Something that sounded so simple and petty, but which could be considered to be almost an impossible task, and one that had many personal stakes.

In some ways, she knew, her goal placed her in tandem with the old man, for now at least.

But in other ways, they were opposed.

She knew damn well that there were other groups out there that had their own ambitions, and that the one she sought to change was probably a nominal enemy to each and every single one of them, knowing him.

But she knew that he could handle them.

Just like she knew that he could handle Kumagawa.

No, if there was anything that she feared, it was that Kumagawa knew about her efforts and would try and attempt to sabotage them.

Just the thought of that occasionally insubordinate boy made her fists clench tightly, providing enough pressure to crush boulders under the pressure.

She swore…if that boy did anything to jeopardize her plans, then she'd have to devise a way to kill him repeatedly for his treason.

Breaking out through the doors of the building that she was just in, she gazed up at the sky, ruby eyes glistening in the starry night.

She wondered…

Was he also preparing for the future? As she was?

Eventually, they'd face again. But whether they'd go through other enemy factions before each other or deal with the other first was what she was curious about.

"Whatever you're doing out there…" Kurokami Medaka murmured, staring at the beautiful sky. "I hope you're prepared for whatever there is to come…Naruto…"

She raised her hand up, offering it up to the sky, waiting for someone to grasp it, so that she may drag them down with her.

To her 'truth'.

"I will be the one to change you…just you wait…" she whispered, determination pouring out of every pore of her body, the wind brushing past her features.

"Just you wait…"

---

AN: Ok, yeah, this took a while. Much more than I thought it would. Thank the fact that I had to go to the field for drills and exercises for that, leaving all of my technology behind... T.T

Ah well, regardless, another chapter is done. And things are moving forward as I'd like. :3

Lastly, for future reference for guest reviewers, if you're asking me a question, then it's impossible for me to answer you without an account. And I can't really afford to reply to so many guest reviewers...

Basically, if a guest really wants an answer, then plz make an account so that I could personally answer your query. I don't always answer each and every review anymore, but sometimes I have the chance to.

Ok, think that's it! :P

-RekkingPride