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!

43. Chapter 43

Naruto figured that it had to be a joke.

Taking in the fact that the blond devil was looking grimmer than he has ever seen him, his cocky attitude from the past nowhere to be seen, and the devils behind him were expressing how seriously they were taking the situation…

Well, the shinobi could honestly believe that he was being pranked, that they were pulling his chain, and that they were jerking his leg.

But the tension in the room didn't dissipate whatsoever like he hoped it would.

"…Are you serious?" the blond breathed, eyes wide in disbelief.

He wished that they weren't.

Alas, he was wrong.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news." Riser drawled, the bags under his eyes prominent. "But it's true, and the situation could possibly escalate further if nothing is done."

Beside the whiskered teen, who had bit his lip as he took in the consequences of what he had just heard, Mio stood.

The red-head, who used to be in a rather fine mood herself, was alternating between giving her sibling a worried look and glaring in suspicion at the spawn of the Phenex clan. "How do we know exactly that you're telling the truth? You haven't exactly proved to be our friend before, right?"

Expressing an almost carefree attitude, the blond devil shrugged his shoulders. "Then don't. I'm just doing what I'm told. That's all."

Rolling his shoulders for a moment, Riser turned away from the wary half-devil to face the other blond in the room, features growing stern.

"That being said…" his features sharpened as he continued to speak, meeting the human's gaze with his own, refusing to break from it. "…I owe you, Uzumaki Naruto. I owe you a debt that can't be repaid anytime soon. So, as someone that doesn't like to owe debts, let me tell you…that while the situation isn't grave, it has disrupted daily life in the Underworld. More than that, it has spooked many, especially those who have much to lose should the societal structure break down."

He combed his fingers through his golden locks, glaring at the low-born that had bested him.

"Those who are in power will seek you out, to use you to force the unrest to die down, while keeping their own positions safe. If I were you, I'd be wary of devil nobles seeking to befriend you until this situation died down. That's all."

Saying his piece, Riser took a step back, seemingly content that his job was done.

All while leaving Naruto staring at the floor, absorbing what he had heard, stuck with indecision.

He himself knew and saw that the society in the Underworld left…much to be desired.

But he didn't think that things would escalate so damn fast!

Just how should he respond to this? What could be done?

It was too soon for him to do anything worthwhile in the Underworld, and he felt that this wasn't exactly the best time to be acting for such a change there anyway.

But…wasn't this a chance?

"Wait, Riser, I have to know." Rias interjected, eyes calculating. "Do you know which clans, if any, have any plans to seek out Naruto?"

She could only think of a handful of clan leaders that could be crafty enough to; not only present an excellent case, but to actually convince the blond to get these protesters to back off.

In her opinion, far too many of them were arrogant in their status, and she doubted that someone as willful as the sole human in the room would ever be convinced by such people.

Unfortunately, when the Phenex turned to her, it was not to acquiesce to her request. "No clue. It's impossible to tell up until they act. To be blunt, it's likely that there are going to be some backroom dealings in order to figure out what should be done as a collective group. But then again, I'm sure you've realized that."

The casual air and the 'devil-may-care' attitude he had when he made such a conclusion gave almost everyone there the impression that he, honestly, didn't care.

And they weren't too far off from hitting the mark.

To Riser, he had done his part, and was not obliged to go further than he already had.

His job was effectively finished.

"Hey. Riser, right?"

Still, before he could prepare to leave the premises now that his duty was fulfilled, he was called out.

Turning with his hands in his pockets, the humbled noble met the gaze of a set of blue eyes that were of a similar shade to his own.

Naruto stared him down, brows scrunched together.

"…Why do you feel like you owe me?"

During a conversation about the civil stability of the Underworld, Riser had to say that he wasn't exactly expecting such a question at this point in time.

Then again, he should've realized, that the teenager in front of him wasn't exactly one that was easily understood.

Clicking his tongue, the high-class devil created a magic circle that enveloped the floor under him, bringing an orange glow to the room as fire surrounded him.

"Don't worry about it." Riser claimed, crossing his arms, still keeping his focus on the other blond as the flames rose. "I'm sure that this won't be the last time that we'll meet, so when we do, I'll make sure to properly repay my debt."

Before the flames could reach his head, the young devil then turned to his former fiancé, an unreadable expression on his features as he looked at her surprised visage.

"…For what it's worth, sorry for causing you trouble."

Not another word was said as the flames shot up and wrapped around the Phenex, and then sputtered out, as if the energy behind the fire was suddenly cut.

The unnatural glow that was given to the room had died, with the uninvited intruder nowhere to be seen, leaving nothing but a slightly charred floor as proof that he was ever there.

That and a slightly shaken group, leaving naught but a thoughtful silence to reign supreme.

Naruto, especially, had a contemplative air about him.

Something which Sona didn't allow to continue. "So...what are you going to do now, Uzumaki-san?"

A valid question in regards to the situation at hand, since the blond was technically the one that sparked this incident in the Underworld to begin with.

Not that she, or anyone there actually held any animosity against him for it.

Everyone there clearly remembered why he railed against society in the Underworld.

Naruto for his part, looked entirely distracted as he glanced at the Sitri girl. "Honestly? I'm not sure. The fire chicken didn't exactly look too concerned about what was going on…but it looks like I'm gonna have to make a quick visit, just to get an idea of what's going on."

No matter how the blond looked at it, he was gonna have to go to the Underworld eventually in order to get a grasp about what was going on.

And, hopefully, diffuse whatever tension was brought forth by his actions.

That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

Besides, apparently there were some devil nobles that wanted to reach him anyway, right? So he may as well get that messy business over with sooner rather than later.

Rias hummed, combing through her long crimson hair, more nonplussed with the situation than she cared to admit.

Hard enough to swallow the shift in Riser's personality, but now there was unrest brewing in her home as well?

Yeesh.

"I'll think on it dattebayo, don't worry about it." the shinobi finished, sparing a glance at the rook that was behind him. "For now, we gotta get back to work, right, Koneko?"

Close to him, the young girl that he was referring to clenched her fists, meeting the side of his eyes with a firm nod.

"Ara." Akeno, of course, had to chip in. "So eager to hurt your kohai, hm?"

"Not that you have any right to talk…" Rias couldn't help but comment to herself, glaring at her queen through the side of her eye.

In response to the charge levied against him, the blond shrugged airily. "Hey, if it gets my kohai stronger, then what's a few broken bones?"

Behind him, Koneko blinked.

Then paled.

Say what now?

Mio had to give her a look of sympathy as realization dawned upon the smaller girl.

She obviously wasn't gonna have a good evening, that was for sure.

Speaking of evenings… "Hey, Naruto, on the way back, let's talk about our plans for dinner, ok?"

From behind, the red-head clearly saw her sibling stiffen, earning him a deadpanned look.

He forgot, didn't he?

"R-Right! Of course!" Naruto spun around and gave her a thumbs up, clarifying how dependable he was. "Yeah! We'll definitely do that!"

Yep, he definitely forgot.

"Hoh? You two have plans for dinner? Sounds like something special." Rias grinned as she observed, finding the entire thing cute. "What's the occasion?"

Obviously, she figured that this planned event was of the 'innocent sibling' variety, and saw nothing wrong with it.

One had to wonder how she would react when she learned who she was helping her kohai ensnare.

"Eh, she kept bugging me about food, so I figured that getting a bite to eat together would be pretty cool to do every now and again." the shinobi admitted, figuring it to be normal.

Only Mio looked embarrassed to admit that they were going to have a dinner together, shyly ducking her head from the inquisitive looks.

Something which, apparently, only Sona noticed given her raised eyebrow.

"Welp, we have more things to think about for sure, but for now; I gotta focus on Koneko's training. I'll see you lot later." Naruto shuffled towards the entrance that allowed him to go down to the training center, making sure to drag a certain rook along with him.

Mio, for her part, stayed where she was, wondering whether the loli would really be alright with her training.

It wasn't until the duo had left earshot by taking the elevator downstairs that Rias finally fully acknowledged her.

And by that, she meant teleport in front of her and breaching her personal space.

"So~? How'd it go?" the Gremory heiress practically demanded of her, eyes bright with her attentiveness to this appealing scenario. "Did you snag him yet?"

The half-devil, for her part, grinned awkwardly at her sempai, scratching her cheek. "Ahh…well…you could say that-"

All she was able emit after that was a breathless gasp as a vicious bear hug robbed her of her ability to speak, thanks in no small part to the woman that was rubbing her cheek against hers.

"Oh! You did it, Mio-chan! I'm so proud of you!" the older red-head squealed, crushing the life out of her kohai as a conspiratorial gleam entered her eyes. "So, how did my advice work for you? I bet he turned into jelly when you used the 'tsun-tsun' tactic, right?"

Behind her, Akeno coughed, barely managing to disguise the giggle that she so wanted to express.

With her eyes bulging from their sockets, Mio somehow managed to speak with a calm voice that she was seriously hard-pressed to keep level. "Ah. W-Well…it gave him a shock, that was for sure…"

Seeing the beaming visage that her comment evoked from her friend, the red-head didn't have the heart to be blunter.

Sona sighed at the scene, pinching the bridge of her nose at what she just knew was another crazy event that she wanted no part of.

She had enough of those recently, thank you.

"The bond between sempai and kohai is strong, don't you think, Sona-kaichou?" Akeno bedazzled the Sitri heiress with a smile of innocence and virtue.

At least, so it'd appear to anyone that didn't know about her real personality.

"…If you say so."

"Ara."

Sona began making her way out of the room, ignoring the pleading look that she was being shot with by the captive half-devil.

Sorry to say, she was on her own.

She had more important matters to attend to anyhow, with issues like; that damnable holy sword that a certain blond has procured, and the implications that it left for them.

The matter with the Underworld could wait, seeing as she had no information on it, and also couldn't very well leave Kuoh Town until she was assured that it was safe for its residents.

As was her duty as the student council president.

---

The day had quickly passed them by after that jarring event had caught the small group in the ORC headquarters off guard.

Eventually, with several members of the conventionally named 'Kuoh Pact' emerging from the training center, and everyone else coming back from class, Rias felt it prudent to inform them all of what was going on in the Underworld.

Of course, nothing could be done about it, but she felt that everyone should be aware of what was going on anyway.

Naruto, for his part, was currently unlocking the door to his home with a breath of relief, about ready to knock out on his comfy bed.

Koneko's training was now well underway, with their first steps focused on actually learning how to utilize her power.

A process that he continually interrupted by smacking her upside the head with a random tree branch that he had procured out of nowhere, at least to her knowledge.

It was all nice and dandy to learn how to use chakra actively in a stable training environment, it was another thing to use it in the middle of a life-or-death battle.

So, being the sadistic teacher that he was -at least according to some, namely a certain pervert- he made sure to smack her anytime she made some progress.

Understandably, she tried to retaliate each and every single time.

It didn't work.

Hey, at least he was improving her durability, right?

All that being said, neither of them were expecting to see two teenaged boys lackadaisically laying in the middle of the training center, talking to one another without a care in the world.

Things were only clarified after Yuki, who was watching the two while leaning against the wall next to the elevator, ventured to explain Issei's brilliant plan.

Honestly, Naruto could definitely understand his logic.

But Koneko, for her part, just rolled her eyes and murmured something about 'boys' under her breath.

Needless to say, the tree branch came back with a vengeance, much to her annoyance.

And now, Naruto was eagerly shuffling inside, grinning at the prospect of a much deserved rest.

"Ah! Naruto-sama! You're back!"

Oh shit.

"...Wait, what was with that; 'Oh shit, I forgot about this one' look that you just had? It couldn't be...did you forget about my existence, Naruto-sama?"

Yes. "No."

"You liar! You definitely did!" Maria cried out in outrage, pointing an offending digit at the guilty blond.

As soon as she did so, she blew up her cheeks in a pout, reminding him of a child that was angry that they did not get the toy that they were begging for.

He could do naught but awkwardly scratch the back of his head, caught red-handed, having nothing that he could defend himself with.

Turning away from him, Maria grumbled to herself. "Sheesh, sometimes I feel like you don't appreciate me enough, Naruto-sama. I had to babysit that weird guy that you captured the other day, as well help Mio-sama earlier today. And, somehow, that guy you captured still hurt himself somehow! Don't ask me how that's even possible-"

"Wait, wait, hold the phone for a sec." Naruto needed a second to actually grasp what he had just heard. "You helped Mio today? That weird priest guy got hurt? What the hell!?"

Seriously! How was that latter part even possible?

"I know, right?" the succubus nodded frantically, eyes bewildered. "Mio-sama never really got the chance to learn how to cook, but she has a special kind of talent to be that…bad. Also, that guy that you captured…well, I don't know how he did that. There wasn't even a weapon on the wound. It was weird."

Naruto shared her opinion, on both of her topics.

Opting to at least figure out what was going on with his insane captive, the blond shuffled around Maria to go and do just that, only stopping when said loli next to him piped up.

"Ah, wait, Naruto-sama." Maria spoke up, raising a roll of toilet paper to his eye level. "Before you go anywhere else, can you take this and replace the empty roll in the bathroom when you're done? I'm in the middle of making dinner right now."

The shinobi grunted, grabbing the roll as he moved towards the door leading to the spare room that housed their unwilling guest, wondering whether he could look intimidating while holding such a mundane object.

Walking up to the entrance of the room, Naruto gripped the knob to push the door open, squinting as his gaze met with the darkness of the room.

Taking a second to let his vision adjust to the lack of light, blue eyes latched onto the glaring red eyes which he was expecting to see glaring up at him anyway.

Hm?

Strange, he could've sworn that he left this guy on top of a couch.

And yet, this guy was now laying down on the hard floor, for whatever reason.

Not sure of what to make of this except as a weird attempt at rebelling against him by spitting on his generosity, the shinobi arbitrarily decided to let the matter drop and get back into the thick of things.

"Yo." the blond waved his hand in greeting, the toilet paper in hand. "Seems you got yourself hurt there, somehow, someway. Mind telling me how?"

A muffled sound that sounded suspiciously like a raspberry was what he got as a response to his query.

Right, he forgot.

"Kinda hard to talk to me when you've got this little thing stopping ya, huh?" Naruto asked humorously, indicating the ball gag in the man's mouth, before carefully pulling it off.

He immediately regretted his actions afterwards.

"Ohhh…thanks for that you shit, I hated that ball, it was so hard to breathe and curse your dumbass out for dumbass shit. Oh, I said dumbass twice-"

Freed sputtered when the ball gag was re-attached onto his mouth, cutting him off before he could truly get started on his rant.

"I forgot about that mouth of yours." Naruto deadpanned, peering at the young man with a blank look. "My bad."

A megawatt glare was the only thing that the disgraced priest was able to spare.

Deciding to ignore that harsh look, the shinobi turned away from the captive's face to scan his body for that wound that Maria had mentioned earlier, making sure his inspection was efficient and cursory.

Taking a moment, his gaze finally locked onto the man's leg, focused.

He found it.

A bloody hole that was present within his left calf, still leaking a little bit of blood from within, festering.

And, most interestingly, without the weapon that could have possibly caused the festering injury in the first place.

"So, if I take off that gag again, would you be willing to actually tell me what happened to your leg?"

Freed grunted, but didn't say anything else.

Taking another chance, Naruto pulled out the gag preventing the insane man from speaking, face twisting in a grimace as saliva dripped from it.

Using the opportunity to lick his dry lips, the disgraced priest venomously snapped his gaze up at the whiskered teen. "You really don't know? You didn't order that traitor to stab me? I call bullshit."

Blue eyes crinkled. "Traitor?"

If anything, the unstable man's regard became more derisive from the query. "What? You don't know? Well then…it looks my group won't be the only ones backstabbed by her."

Freed choked when a hand shot out and grabbed his collar, raising him to meet the eye level of smoldering blue orbs.

"I hope that you could back up what you're saying." Naruto intoned seriously, visage sharpening. "Because I really don't like it when an asshole badmouths my friends, and I'm pretty sure that you're doing that right now."

A grin emerged as a direct reaction to this, despite the fact that the silver-haired man was at the complete mercy of another. "Hey, it ain't my fault that that fallen traitor has a habit of switching sides. Or, for that matter, keeping secrets."

Gaze flickering and lingering upon the wound that Freed still had, Naruto glared hotly at the other male. "What? You're telling me that Raynare did this?"

The insane man's red eyes drifted towards the ceiling, purposefully looking away as he spoke in a drawl. "Who knows~"

The grip holding up the bound male gained more pressure, prodding him to explain.

"…Tch! Believe what you want, I don't give a shit, heathen." Freed spat, his breathing labored thanks to the tight grip around his collar. "Not my fault you can't keep tabs on that bitch…"

With a grunt, the vulgar man was dropped back to his regular spot, with the blond himself left in a contemplative silence.

Why, exactly, would Raynare go so far as to wound this weird and stupid person?

No.

He shouldn't be making assumptions, rather, he should be going to ask the woman herself for her reasons. Besides, he had no doubt that this was what this bastard wanted.

Sighing, the shinobi combed his hand through his spiky hair, taking a step back from the poisonous individual in front of him.

The last thing that he needed to do was to do something rash to the captured 'priest', at least before he could figure out what to do with him.

Taking that step back, the young man barely noticed the item that was knocked over by his heel.

That being said, he did hear the sound of plastic being ruffled.

Looking down at his foot, Naruto frowned as he stared at the plastic bag that was left deposited on the floor, abandoned for all intents and purposes.

His frown grew deeper when he managed to read the logo of one of the items within, recognizing it as one of those popular snacks that people like to eat.

Snatching the baggie off of the floor, he quickly determined that that bag of goodies was meant for the tied up captive that was busy mumbling foul things under his breath.

He figured this out thanks to the loud rumble that this guy's stomach made when he brought the bag up, as well as the fact that his focus locked unerringly onto it.

"…You're pretty hungry, huh?"

Freed, if possible, managed to give him a stupider look than his usual expression.

In Naruto's opinion anyway.

"What the hell do you think, heathen?"

…

Sometimes he wondered whether being the good guy was all that it was cracked up to be.

Nevertheless, with a sigh, the young man crossed his fingers to make a familiar hand sign and activated one of his signature techniques, spawning a puff of smoke.

Emerging from the smoke was the predictable deadpanned visage of Naruto, belonging to a complete copy, which just so happened to be aimed at the original.

"Really?" the clone had to express its disbelief. "You want me to feed this bastard?"

Even if his copy hated the idea, the main man was obviously insistent. "What? Would you rather I free his arms so that he could feed himself? C'mon, we're not that stupid, right?"

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who's feeding him…"

"Then do you have a better idea, smartass?"

"Maybe."

"Liar. You're me, remember? And this is all I've got."

"…Then we really are that stupid dattebayo…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Quit being a baby and just do it already. The faster it's done, the faster you could get out of this, so hop to it."

Visibly stopping itself from trying to strangle its creator, the clone snatched the plastic bag from him and whipped out its contents, grumbling dark things under its breath.

Something about forming a union for shadow clones or something along those lines.

Psht.

From there, the shinobi made his way out of the room, idly bouncing the roll of toilet paper from his palm, moving onto his next mission.

Which just so happened to be the bathroom.

He made sure to ignore the succubus when he walked past the kitchen where she was concentrating on dinner, and apparently wrestling with the pots with her ladle.

Not really surprising.

Still, he did as was asked of him and reached the bathroom, blandly swinging it open so that the mundane task of toilet roll replacement could be done.

Though, that plan took a backburner immediately as soon as he took a step inside.

Mostly due to the fact that Mio was on the toilet, in the middle of getting up and pulling her underwear up from her ankles, and was now owlishly staring at the unintentional peeper.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit.

"N-Now wait." Naruto waved the toilet paper in the air as if it could ward away evil spirits, or save him from a tongue lashing. "Before you say anything-"

A hand was raised, ceasing his fumbling attempt to explain himself.

The owner of the hand took a deep breath, and mechanically continued where she left off and pulled her pink panties all the way back up, making sure that the only other person in the room couldn't see anything.

Mio's hand was still up, holding his tongue, and left the two of them with an awkward silence.

At least, until she finally spoke up. "Naruto…be honest with me for a bit."

She looked at him with hooded eyes, features carefully blank. "Was Maria involved?"

His expression must have given him away, because the red-head took all of about a few seconds to study him in order to reach her conclusions.

"Excuse me." she stated abruptly, smoothly standing up. "I'm going go and throttle a succubus now."

The shinobi didn't really have a problem with that.

Shuffling past her sibling, Mio paused and took a moment to glance back at Naruto, grinning at him. "So, we're good for Saturday, right?"

Naruto blinked, genuinely confused. "Say what now?"

"Our outing, remember?"

A light bulb flickered to light in his head, urging him to widen his eyes. "Oh! Right, yeah, we'll do that. Have any idea where ya want to go?"

Mio shrugged, a coy smile reaching her lips. "We'll both think on it, hopefully we can figure something out. If not, then I'm sure we could improvise, we're good at that, right?"

The shinobi had to smirk at that. "Careful, you're taking more after me than you'd like dattebayo."

"I'm doing no such thing." the half-devil waved off the comment, taking a step out of the room, glancing at the bathroom door along the way.

He didn't miss her last comment.

"She even took off the 'Occupied' sign…I'm gonna kill her for this one…"

May the ramen gods have mercy on Maria's soul.

---

The warm wind brushed past Naruto's golden locks as he laid his back on the roof of his own home.

Now, if people saw him, he had no doubt that they'd ask him why the hell he was hanging out on the rooftop like some kind of creeper.

Well, the answer was simple.

He was bird gazing.

Mio didn't really question him for his strange timing in choosing to do something as mundane as bird gazing, probably figuring that it'd cost way too much energy to try and understand his thought process.

And Maria was…too occupied to ask.

So the young man was just relaxing, eyeing the sky like a hawk, looking for movement.

Which was kind of difficult in the night sky, but hey, he never claimed that what he was doing was easy.

Thankfully, due to years of finely honed instincts thanks to his…career, he was able to notice the smallest of changes that occurred within his line of sight.

To notice things that many would just dismiss out of hand.

Like, say, a dot that was floating so high up in the sky, beyond the clouds, and beyond what a normal human being of this world could possibly see with the naked eye.

"Got you…" Naruto murmured to himself, hopping to his feet in order to bend down to a squat.

Thinking about it, this was kind of familiar to how he met this 'dot' in the first place, wasn't it?

Scoffing, the shinobi had to wonder whether she'd notice that too.

Thinking no more of it, the blond pushed against the ground and soared into the air, the destruction of the sound barrier marking his exit of the land below the clouds.

As well as his entrance above it.

Closing in on his target in the sky, Naruto was pleased to notice that that 'dot' very much noticed his presence closing in.

And, from what he could tell, was giving him a dull look for it.

"Do you have to be so dramatic, Naruto?" Raynare asked of him rhetorically, flapping her double set of wings to give him a berth of free space.

Probably so that he couldn't knock her down from the sky a second time.

Hah! She remembered.

"Nope!" the shinobi replied cheerfully, shooting past her spot in the sky a bit before gravity took hold of him again. "That being said; mind giving me a little help dattebayo?"

The fallen's eyebrow quirked when the teen above her began to descend, nothing holding him up, unlike her own wings.

Moving to intercept his future trajectory, the young woman easily grabbed the would-be human comet's hand before he could gain momentum, expression dull all the while. "You didn't think of a way to get down?"

"Nah." Naruto shook his head, that intractable grin still in full force. "I can technically fly now, but it's way too annoying to do that. To be honest, it's more like hopping than anything else. So this is much better."

Raynare blinked, warring with herself whether she should ask for clarification, but decided against it. "So? Do you need something?"

"What? Can't I see a friend that just so happened to be several thousand feet above the ground?"

"Depends." the ravenette retorted smartly, the faintest upward twitch of her lip hinting that she wasn't nearly as cross as she acted. "Will you punch my stomach in mid-air again?"

Yeah, she remembered alright. "Accidents happen."

"Is that what we're calling it now?"

Naruto shrugged as much as he could while hanging in the air, only thanks to the hand that was latched onto his own.

With a shake of her head, Azazel's technical protégé had to marvel at her ally's balls.

Then again, considering all that she knew about him, maybe she should've expected as much.

"Ok, now, in all seriousness, what's going on?" Raynare questioned, not fooled for a second.

Naruto scratched his cheek with his remaining hand, looking bashful. "Right, right, I'll get to the point dattebayo. You see, I was hoping to ask you a few questions about our resident prisoner in my house."

Immediately, the genial features that the fallen angel had adopted fell away, replaced by a pinched expression. "Oh. Him."

While the shinobi didn't want to be that guy and bring down the mood, he still needed to figure out what happened with that tied up bastard. "Yeah. I checked up on him earlier, and for some reason he had this puncture wound in his leg. I just wanted to figure out whether you knew about-"

"Oh, that? Yeah, that was me."

…

"Wait, really?"

Raynare inclined her head just a bit, acknowledging the question with an affirmation. "Yes, I did that. But I only did that to get some information out of him, that's all."

Naruto was interested, that much became clear with the way he was looking at her, prompting her to expand on what happened.

She didn't grant him his reprieve for his curiosity. "Naruto, do you know any techniques that could track someone without their knowledge?"

Seeing his brows scrunch, the query clearly came out of left field for him. "…Not strictly, but I have a trick that could help with that, why?"

Raynare hummed, not answering immediately, concentrating on her inner thoughts for a period of time.

It wasn't until a decent amount of time passed them by that she finally spoke up again. "Because your method is probably infinitely better than my own, and we're going to need such an ability soon."

"What are you talking about-?"

The fallen, while typically composed, was particularly calm when she made her next statement, despite how insane it sounded. "Because, Freed Sellzan is going to escape soon. I guarantee it."

Eyes widening, the blond figured that he must have looked hilarious while hanging limply. Not that he cared about such things though. "What are you talking about?"

"Did I stutter?" his ally didn't beat around the bush. "Not only is Freed going to escape, but I can probably predict accurately enough to pinpoint when he will break out of his binds."

Naruto stared at the young woman, unsure how he should swallow this tidbit of information.

And this would only get worse when she continued where she left off. "I can do that mostly thanks to the fact that I gave him the means to do so. And, if you're curious; I predict that he will be out by two days."

If it could, Naruto's jaw would have become so unhinged that it would fall all the way back to Earth.

"Y-You…" the shinobi stuttered, not believing his own ears.

"I understand that this sounds insane. But hear me out." the ravenette presented her case calmly, but her friend's incredulous stare let her know that she would have quite the uphill battle in proving her sanity. "You see, I'm now certain that Freed Sellzan is working with someone in Kuoh Town, and that he will return to that someone's base of operations as soon as he is able to."

Her gaze slid past the hanging human to peer down at the unsuspecting human settlement below, living life ignorantly, not at all aware of the danger that they were all in by simply living in the town colloquially called; Kuoh Town.

"And that someone is definitely Kokabiel."

Naruto, somewhere along the line of her explanation, grew serious as he regarded her, recognizing that this wasn't a joke by any means. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"He may as well have admitted as such during my interrogation."

The shinobi felt his lips press against each other, flattening into a line as he absorbed this newest bit of information.

Kokabiel was still in Kuoh Town? Without a doubt?

And that insane bastard that he captured with Akeno was associated with him?

If all of this was true, then Raynare's idea to track this grunt back to where the big man himself was could save them all from a big headache in the future.

Leaving someone like a former member of Grigori around without dealing with them, at least if Azazel was to be believed, was a bad idea all around.

If Naruto knew where he was and he could take him down before anything too crazy happened…

"How will Freed escape?" the shinobi had to ask, as much for necessity as for curiosity.

Raynare raised her free hand, a familiar light brightening up her palm, bringing forth shadows when a solid spear was formed from the mystical energy.

"Exorcists, even exiled exorcists like Freed all carry light guns and swords, all of which utilize light energy as a power source. Albeit, with a very limited capacity." within the confines of her palm, that very energy that she was referring to was being manipulated freely, shattering like glass when she willed it to do so. "So, with my own experience with light energy, I siphoned a decent chunk of the light sword's energy and stabbed him with it."

Blowing some air out of his nose, the young man hanging limply in the air had to seriously wonder how such an action could help the 'priest' escape.

Of all things, wouldn't stabbing someone in the leg make it harder for him to escape?

"I can guess what you're thinking, and you're correct. Honestly, while I could probably justify stabbing him, I actually just felt like stabbing him."

For some reason, the blond wasn't particularly surprised to hear that.

Clearing her throat, the fallen tried to wipe away the pleased look that made its way onto her face, failing completely in this goal. "In all seriousness, by siphoning light energy from the light sword, I have done enough to make the energy blade…flicker. On and off. It's lack of power forcing it to act like a light bulb that is going bad. And with it, make it easier for the blade to be extracted by a simple jerk of movement. Or a wiggle, in this case."

His mind's eye flashing towards the bound man inside his house, Naruto keenly recalled the fact that there was no light sword anywhere in sight, leaving the gaping wound clear to him without any indication of what actually caused it.

Which could only really have meant one thing. "Somehow he managed to get it out of his leg and hide it away, huh? That's some dedication dattebayo…"

Not only that, but looking back, the fact that his captive was on the floor instead of on the cushions had now gained a whole new dimension.

"So, can you follow him when the time comes, Naruto?" the fallen questioned, her violet eyes boring down onto him, an intensity that he didn't expect to see within their depths.

Naruto looked back up at her through his lashes, eyes hardening when he met her gaze. "…Yeah, more than that, I can probably pinpoint when he will escape specifically. I just need to set up a clone inside the room while he's sleeping to watch him."

"Good." she looked pleased. "Tell me when he's made his move. I want to go to this secret base of theirs."

Nodding, the blond glanced downwards, tugging at the hand that was keeping him afloat. "Can you drop me off at a height where I don't risk breaking my legs? My arm is falling asleep over here."

Lips twitching into something resembling a grin, the fallen tilted her wings in such a way to allow for a slow descent towards the ground, passing by the cool moisture of the clouds along the way.

Watching the ground grow closer to his feet, the shinobi felt that he had to ask a question that was being bandied around in his head for a little bit now, plaguing him.

"So." he started, not sure how else he could bring this up. "Why do you want to follow Freed back to his hidden base anyway?"

Floating down at a seemingly crawling pace, at first, the blond thought that the one who was carrying him was going to ignore his question.

Until he heard her speak again that is, the low rumbling of her throat highlighting her sober disposition. "…Back at the Grigori base that I was stationed in, I was hearing quite a bit about the strange behavior that the veteran 'Kokabiel-sama' has been emitting recently. That he's been prone to extraordinarily erratic behavior, specifically; that he's become very…vengeful."

She paused then, going quiet, collecting her thoughts as she took a steady and shaky breath. "…Do you remember, Naruto? What Azazel-sama revealed to us almost a month ago at the abandoned church's underground cavern?"

Eyebrows scrunching together, the blond's features lit up when he recalled the talk that transpired following his fight with Raynare's mother, who had pretty much gone insane at the time with her hare-brained scheme to…

To…

…What the hell did she try to do again?

Actually, now that he thought about it, Naruto intervened in that whole mess to stop the woman named Vretiel from sparking a conflict in the long run, no more or less.

He recalled thinking about how…strange he found her behavior, how inconsistent, how bizarre.

"Yeah…" he drawled, decidedly unenthused by the memory of the less-than-stable woman. "He said something about there being a strange disease that only affects fallen angels, right?"

"That's right." Raynare wasn't really looking at him by this point, even though her eyes were trained in his general direction. "And, for a while, no one apparently thought much of that man's behavior, not that I blamed them or anything…seeing as such a topic would be considered very taboo. But, knowing what I know about the situation of the fallen angels, and seeing it from personal experience…I couldn't help but wonder if…"

The hand holding the blond grew tighter, unveiling the growing strength behind her deceitfully thin arms, as well as how important she felt about this.

"…What if Kokabiel's erratic behavior has a connection with the affliction that struck others before him?" she asked, the query not really aimed at anyone. "I know that the thought of such an ailment has been completely swept under the rug in fallen society, so most people tend to ignore such a possibility, but I can't help but wonder whether Kokabiel's…anger has anything to do with what happened to my mother…"

Naruto blinked, and not just because of how his eyes had to readjust to the sudden shift in the air once they broke through the clouds. "It's personal then, huh…? But isn't that kind of risky?"

Raynare laughed, and despite the fact that he knew it was somewhat bitter, it still sounded somewhat pleasant to his ears.

"Don't worry. I have my ways to stay under the radar." she claimed easily, waving off his concern.

Now, the blond didn't necessarily believe her, but he dropped it anyway since he was getting involved in this now anyway.

Just as he reached such a conclusion, he noticed that he had more than reached the minimal safe distance he needed to land to the ground safely.

"Alright, I'm good from here on out. You can drop the load." Naruto allowed, flexing his wrist to alert the one holding him that he was good.

Not hesitating, the young woman let the grasp she had over him slip away, allowing him to freefall to the ground at breakneck speeds.

At least, to normal humans, at least in this world.

To him, it was pretty damn leisurely.

Landing in a soft crouch in the middle of the street right near his home, Naruto's neck craned to the sky to see a his friend descend back down to earth with her wings flared, blending in with the night.

"I'm counting on you, Naruto." she said suddenly, walking up beside him with her arms crossed.

He didn't fail to notice the pressure her fingers were putting onto her biceps.

Naruto smiled. "I got you, don't you worry dattebayo."

That earned an appreciative nod in return, a small smirk touching her lips.

She didn't need to say anything further for him to know that she was grateful.

---

"Ya know, I'm not surprised to see this. I'm really not."

"…You think so?"

"Mmm. As a matter of fact, I probably could have told you that this was gonna happen. But you probably wouldn't have listened, right?"

Maria didn't answer that, since she was too busy trying to best phrase her next statement, which could possibly get her out of this mess.

Standing in front of a blond teen who had a look that roughly translated into; 'you should've seen this coming', a loli was hanging upside down by a rope that was tightly wrapped around her.

Yeah, one could say that she was in a bit of a…bind.

…

…

Ok, that was pretty bad, she had to admit.

"…I feel like it was kind of worth it though."

The shinobi made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, rolling his eyes.

"Why do you do things like this anyway?" Naruto poked her in the nose, repeatedly. "You knew that Mio was probably gonna retaliate, hell, she does enough that I feel like I don't have to do too much after she's done."

Maria vibrated, which turned out to be her attempt at a shrug. "Seeing your flushed face is still a dream of mine, Naruto-sama."

Oi.

She was still about that crap?

Acting all smug, or at least trying to, the succubus vibrated as she chuckled with that patronizing smirk of hers. "There are some sacrifices that are worth making, that's all."

A blank stare was all that she received, not impressed. "How could you act like that while you're hanging upside down? You look ridiculous dattbayo! Read the atmosphere and self-reflect a little!"

Purple eyes copied his blank stare. "…I don't really wanna hear this from you of all people, Naruto-sama…"

Fair point.

Naruto still sighed by this point, taking a step back to let her stew there for a little bit, if only to appease Mio.

The red-head would let her down eventually.

Probably.

"Naruto!" he suddenly heard a certain imouto of his call out from somewhere in the house, voice echoing. "I'm gonna throw the trash away in a bit! Did you make sure to separate the recyclables this time!?"

…

Awww crap.

It seems that his lack of a response was damning enough evidence to make Mio groan so loudly that it somehow fully enveloped the building.

Maybe even loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

As expected of a teenaged girl, the neighbors would definitely bitch about this the next time he saw them.

He supposed that her loud reaction was to be expected though, since she was probably going to shift through the garbage in the kitchen and separate the recyclables properly. All thanks to his negligence.

As he was wondering how he should reply to the ongoing groan, he couldn't help but notice that Raynare was putting away the dishes from the dishwasher, idly doing some chores while wearing that outfit of hers.

He couldn't help but notice because of just how bizarre that looked to him.

"…What?" the fallen murmured out loud, glancing at him through the side of her eye, a hint of pink staining her cheeks.

Naruto just grinned.

"You look weird, wearing that corset while putting away dishes."

An indignant huff and a flurry of black later, and the young woman was storming away while grumbling about humans and their poor taste in fashion sense.

The blond's grin only grew wider in response.

"Hey…"

Swerving his upper body, blue eyes moved to face the hanging loli with curiosity. "What's up?"

Incidentally, the shinobi wasn't sure what he was going to see when he looked at his friend's face.

But, of all things, all he saw was a smile.

It was a small thing, dwarfed from the full blown Cheshire-like grins that she had so often gave before with unbounded energy.

Unlike those though, this one was subdued, bordering solemn even. A big departure from anything he has seen prior to this.

"Hey…" she tried again, still giving him that quiet smile of hers. "Do you think that you'll remember that bathroom incident fondly?"

Cocking his head to the side, Naruto shrugged. "Hell, it's just a day in the life in this household, right?"

She laughed then. "Yeah, just another crazy day."

Soon after, her laugh ceased, that small smile returning to the forefront. "Well, you're at least closer to Mio-sama, right?"

Que his crooked grin. "Didn't she tell you that we're going to go out and eat dinner in two days? So I'd say so 'ttebayo."

"Great!" she squeaked, all energy again. "That's great! You two should be super close! As in; you should share the same bed, the same shower, and even the same clothes if you're into that kind of-"

"No." Naruto deadpanned, shaking his head. "Damn, what's with you and-"

"Naruto! C'mon over here! We're gonna separate the trash together! I'm not doing it by myself this time!"

The shinobi winced, grumbling to himself under his breath even as he moved to follow the demand. "Right, right…"

Maria, even from her awkward position, was able to easily see her blond and red-head family members meet up at the trash can at the edge of the kitchen, both sharing blank looks with the other.

Until the teenaged girl relented and dug into the trash can, grabbing the bag within and wrestling with it as she attempted to pull it out without breaking it.

As soon as it was pulled out, a bit of the contents within accidentally were jerked out of the bag's confines, spilling onto the blond standing beside her.

Naruto's resulting look of disgust was priceless.

And it was an opinion that the red-head shared apparently, since she had to physically stop herself from snorting at the scene.

Which was a sentiment that was killed shortly afterwards thanks to the garbage that was thrown back at her in retaliation.

Predictably, this sparked a war between the siblings, as garbage suddenly began to fly in a childish display, both teens having large tic marks on their foreheads as they smashed their heads against the other.

Say what you wanted about how close they were, they were still going to end up like this.

Maria giggled at the scene, finding it adorable.

Honestly, it soothed her to know that the two of them were getting along so well, easing her in the knowledge that they would have each other's backs.

Even if it left a pang of discomfort in her chest.

Her attention stayed on the pair in front of her, with only the faintest bit of wiggling on her part to readjust the binding ropes to distract her.

Nice as the scene was though, she hoped that, at the very least, her charge could eventually cut her down before all of her blood ran to her head.

That'd be mighty appreciated.

---

Freed was frustrated.

Actually, he wasn't just 'frustrated' anymore, he was definitely beyond that by this point.

Barely being able to hold the weapon that he had thanks to the fact that his hands were tied, and being forced to repeatedly turn it on since the damned thing just kept shutting down on him proved to be…taxing, at best.

Obviously the battery within was losing power, so the stability of the blade's energy output was waning to the point that it would flicker and die periodically.

"Fuck, fuck, fucking shit…!"

And he didn't like it one bit.

The light sword that he was trying to use had barely been pried from his leg last night, and he was only successful in the venture thanks to the fact that the weapon's stability was seriously compromised, most likely thanks to the lack of power.

And even then, he was only able to get it when the blade's flickering existence finally petered out, dropping down to the floor when he was still on the cushion, and forcing him to roll off of it to grab the damn thing.

He was glad he did, because his position on the floor was what helped him hide the weapon by nudging it underneath his body, hiding it from view.

Something which proved vital when that blond idiot came to check up on him.

Thankfully, the copy didn't try and manhandle him back to the couch that he was laying on before, and obviously decided that the action would prove to be too annoying to attempt.

So, after getting his wound dressed up and getting force fed some snacks, he was left off much better than before.

If nothing else, the former priest could at least appreciate the small act of kindness enough to decide that the boy's death would be quick and painless once he inevitably killed him.

A luxury that he wouldn't be giving to others, without a doubt.

Gritting his teeth, Freed wiggled a bit and pushed the hilt of the standard exorcist weapon in-between his tied up hands, flicking the power button to bring forth the contained energy beam.

With careful precision, the young man methodically and with extreme precision worked to cut the ropes up, seeking to free his limbs from their confines, cursing when the blade kept flickering.

If he even made a small slip up, then he'd be kissing one of his hands goodbye-

"Yo~"

The weapon jerked on the tips of Freed's fingers, his already loose grip almost failing him when an annoyingly loud voice took him by surprise.

Thankfully, he was able to fumble the hilt towards his chest, letting him plop on top of it before a stupid blond opened the door to his room, carrying something in his hand.

"Sorry." the boy spoke up dryly, not sounding sorry at all. "Gotta drop this remote controller off. Can't let Mio gain control over the television this time around dattebayo."

Obviously, the tied up man had no idea what the fuck this weirdo was saying, so he said nothing when the teen passed him by and placed the device onto a random spot.

Rather, he prayed for him to get on with his stupid shit so that he could leave the room as soon as possible.

"Hey, you doing alright there, buddy?"

Freed went frigid, gnashing his teeth against the ball gag in his mouth as he glanced up at the other human who was giving him a flat look, waiting for a reply.

It took him a moment to realize this.

Eyebrow twitching, the fallen priest nodded, cursing the damned ball gag covering his mouth.

"Right, just making sure." the shinobi turned away from him, making his way to the exit. "Just so you know, it's likely that everyone is gonna be gone from the house on this coming Friday evening, so don't do any stupid shit while we're away, got it?"

For once, Freed was thankful that his body was wrapped up, since his reaction to those words were far more subdued than it could have been without them.

Chance! This was his chance to escape!

And if he played his cards right, then he could get out of this shithole with plenty of spare time to gain a decent distance away from this prison.

Now marveling at the new possibilities that were just presented to him, ideas and dreams of escaping began coaxing him to make as much progress as possible to cut himself free.

So distracted was he, that he didn't even pay attention to the fact that the blond was making to leave.

Nor did he see the shit-eating grin that stretched his lips across his features, nearly splitting his face.

---

The night had come and gone, and the second-to-last school day had begun, with every member of the school community obviously looking forward to the coming weekend.

Some more than others.

Unlike those individuals though, Mio didn't have her eye on Saturday or Sunday.

Rather, her focus was strictly on the last school day, hyper aware of its existence, thus looming over her as something larger than life.

Put shortly; she was nervous about Friday.

So much so that she was pretty sure she was walking towards school with a face that resembled someone who ate too many lemons.

At least, that was probably why she was getting sidelong glances every now and again.

Still, as that event slowly drew closer, she was made painfully conscious of a single fact.

"…I don't have anything to wear."

That was right.

While she had a few casual clothes to fall back on if she wanted to go anywhere, she had nothing for…this.

The thought never crossed her mind while she was on the run, and it never crossed her mind while she was here for about a month.

Now though, the thought of wearing casual clothes during this date brought her nothing but trepidation.

It just left her with a bad taste in her mouth, not showing up with something better than the clothes that she would normally wear for normal days.

This was special to her damn it! So she should at least dress for the occasion!

Hopefully, by the end of Friday, she would understand the young man that she had accepted as her brother in a way that she couldn't fathom now.

And with it, develop the link that connected the two of them.

But first, she had to not look like a slob.

Already nearing her final destination by entering the school building entrance, Mio allowed herself to sigh as she readjusted her carrier bag and began walking towards class, ideas of what to do about her conundrum being bandied around in her head.

A certain one began to stick.

"…Maybe I could ask Rias-sempai for some clothes to borrow?" she wondered aloud, considering the idea.

Normally such an idea would've been considered ludicrous to her.

But, if she were to compare her body to the other high school girls around her, then it was obvious that there was simply no way that she could even try and fit herself into clothes meant for them.

There was a part of her that was really well developed for a fifteen-year old after all.

But Rias-sempai on the other hand…

Yeah, that could work.

At least she hoped, since there was no way that she'd bother asking Akeno-sempai, who was beyond the both of them in that department…

Fist clenched, Mio huffed, finally figuring out what she had to do in preparation for this important dinner.

"Morning, Mio-san! Oh, you seem to be in a pretty good mood right now. Did something good happen?"

A month ago, the red-head would've jumped a foot in the air if someone managed to catch her so off guard.

Now though, only one person could still make her do that these days, and the person who was speaking to her wasn't him.

Turning a bit, the young woman smiled pleasantly at one of her classmates, whom she knew to be involved in the supernatural like her.

They weren't exactly friends, but they were decent acquaintances.

"Good morning to you too, Ruroko-san." the first-year allowed an air of smugness to discreetly enter her tone. "Yeah, I'd like to think that something good has happened. Or, I guess will happen."

Nimura Ruroko, her classmate, and a reincarnated devil in the Peerage of Sona, shuffled closer in her unrepentant curiosity. "Ohhhh! Sounds nice! C'mon, share of all of the juicy details!"

Mio chuckled, taking a step back from this typical example of a teenaged girl, whom she knew loved to delve into gossip. "Ehehe, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Cue the inevitable pout. "Oh come on, just a hint at least, please? Good news should be shared after all!"

Betraying her, Mio's lips twitched upwards, a part of her wanting to at least share a bit of her trepidation and excitement to others in the coming prospect of growing closer with someone she really wanted to.

Even while she had some reservations in doing so.

Still, that part of her that was still a normal high school girl managed to win out. "Well...if you must know, I have a nice dinner planned on Friday night with someone. That's all."

She couldn't have stopped the pleased look on her face if she tried.

Neither could have her classmate stopped the wide-eyed starry look that overtook her face. "Oh! You're going on a date, aren't you!? Congratulations!"

The half-devil beamed. "Thanks, this is something that I'm definitely looking forward to. So do me a favor and try not to spread this-"

"So who's the lucky guy?"

Crap.

The one thing that she wanted to avoid talking about no matter what.

The identity of her date.

"Sorry, that bit's gonna have to stay secret~" Mio tried for the coy approach, winking in a playful manner at the other girl.

And while this earned another petulant pout, this time, thankfully, Ruroko stood down. "Awww…alright. I guess I'll just have to speculate, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"…Is he at least good looking?"

At this, a hint of pink arose in her cheeks, conspiring against her.

"…I don't think he's bad looking." Mio mumbled, glancing away uncomfortably.

Ruroko's resultant giggling only deepened the red-head's blush, wishing that the conversation could move away from the current topic.

"So, is that why you've stopped being such a sadsack in class?" Ruroko hazarded a guess, doing exactly as the half-devil hoped.

She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. "Y-Yeah, you could say that."

"Good!" she chirped. "I hope he's good to you when you guys go on your date."

Unwittingly, Mio smirked at that last bit.

"He's been good to me so far, so I doubt I have to worry about that."

Ruroko halted, staring at her classmate as she walked on ahead to class, continuing to do so even when she made a turn at the end of the hallway and left her sight.

"…Wait, what?"

---

The first bell had rung already, signifying the start of the official school day for those who attended Kuoh Academy.

And Naruto had completely missed it.

Not that he cared. If anything, that was pretty standard by this point.

But even he knew that he couldn't just keep brushing off class like this all of the time, not if he wanted to keep the Student Council and Yuki off of his back.

Still, what could he do? He was busy training in the morning these days, so of course he'd be a little late to class.

Of course he was gonna go and nap somewhere instead of go to class!

So, yeah, while a normal student would go to class anyway and try to catch up to the rest of the class by copying someone else's notes, he was just going to flat out go and take a nap.

Once more, pretty standard for the delinquent.

And he had already chosen the perfect spot to do just that.

Stepping out of the nearby woods that surrounded the main school building, he walked up the steps of that building's predecessor and walked inside like he owned the place.

Probably because he assumed that there was no one inside since class had started.

An assumption that ended up being incorrect.

He turned out to be very incorrect.

A grand total of four individuals were in the old school building, not including the blond himself.

Two of which were to be expected, the other two on the other hand…

"Basara? Yuki? What are you two doing here?" the shinobi had to ask, befuddled at seeing the two humans standing in front of Rias' desk.

With Rias in it, of course.

"I could say the same thing." Yuki answered, features flat. "Why are you here instead of going to class, Naruto?"

"Oi! I asked you guys first dattebayo!" his demand was obviously a ploy on his part to throw her own question against her, putting her on the spot.

A ploy that was ineffective at best. "Rias-san is helping me get Basara enrolled, temporarily."

If the blond could have cursed without sounding suspicious, he would have, since that sounded like a pretty legitimate excuse.

Yuki cocked her head to the side, yellow pupils somehow demanding answers without prodding too hard. "So? Why are you here?"

Beside her, Basara was shooting the other teenaged male a look of sympathy, by this point well aware of how pushy the hero girl could be when it came to her friends 'doing the right thing'.

He's experienced that recently himself.

In sharp contrast to his sympathy, Rias looked like she was watching her favorite show, as she paid rapt attention to their interaction, the tiniest of smiles pulling at her lips.

Akeno was nowhere near as tactful as her king. "Ara, it looks like Naruto-kun is in a bit of a bind."

The queen gracefully ignored the baleful glare sent to her by said blond.

"…I'm just relaxing after doing some training, nothing much." the shinobi eventually answered, managing to sound level-headed.

Yuki's long-suffering sigh, despite being quiet, managed to be heard by everyone in the room.

Unsure of what to do about this atmosphere, Rias moved to get away from the topic that was managing to bring stress to the human teen in front of her desk. "So, I've heard from Sona that you've managed to get that 'club' of yours approved, Naruto. Have you figured out its name yet?"

Two immediate changes followed after her harmless query.

First; Yuki's face switched from its previously borderline deadpan appearance to something akin to extreme chagrin, something which became clear once the blood rushed towards her cheeks and eventually made its way to the roots of her hair.

Second; Naruto suddenly gained an intense interest in the painting that was hanging up on one of the walls, looking a tad flushed.

"Uh, well, I guess you could say that I was kinda…" blue eyes warily drifted towards the hero, snapping away as soon as he made contact, gaining a deeper flush for his trouble. "…'Distracted'."

Yuki's shoulders twitched, but didn't verbally say anything in response to his statement.

Flicking her focus between both human teens, Rias frowned. "You were…distracted?"

Naruto coughed. "Y-Yeah. Very."

Chancing a look at the awkward bluenette, the red-head's frown deepened, before being wiped away as she regarded Naruto once more. "Alright then, do you have any idea what your club is even going to be about?"

Thankful for the shift in topics away something uncomfortable to him, the blond cleared his throat. "Well…about that-"

"You don't, huh?"

Pausing only to register her rhetorical question, Naruto shrugged helplessly. "Haven't thought it all the way through yet."

"Really?" Akeno asked curiously, turning to look at the young woman that was slowly regaining her natural skin tone. "You accepted Naruto-kun's offer to join his club when there wasn't even a theme to it yet?"

Yuki brushed some hair behind her ear in a casual gesture, not at all bothered by her decision. "Yes, is there something wrong with that?"

"Not necessarily." the queen replied easily, an almost whimsical air about her. "But if he happened to be a sexual deviant, then he probably could have made the club into something…risqué, you know?"

"Oi! What are you doing making weird assumptions about people, Akeno!?"

"Ara…" the yamato nadeshiko of Kuoh Academy daintily placed the palm of her hand onto her cheek. "Don't you worry, Naruto-kun, it's just a rhetorical question. Unless…I hit a little too close to home?"

Naruto's jaw dropped, and then was summarily picked back up from the floor so that he may respond properly.

"O-Of course not dattebayo!" stammered the blond, trying not to fidget.

Kind of hard to do when he had literally just received a vivid picture of Yuki's towel-clad body thanks to the subject matter at hand.

"Hoh? Are you sure? I can't help but wonder about that." the ravenette looked a bit too smug for Naruto's tastes.

"Are you done yet, Akeno?" Rias interrupted blandly, trying to make sure that she didn't look too enthused by her friend's antics.

Placing a single finger upon the bottom of her lips in mock-thought, the young woman seemingly considered it. "I don't know~"

"Rias, tell Akeno to quit bullying me." Naruto complained, the biggest of grumpy scowls marring his features.

The red-head snorted, turning away resolutely from the two in mild disgust to look at the two quiet humans in front of her desk. "Yuki, are you certain that you want Basara-san to attend this school? Even temporarily? I can pull some strings for you, but is that really what he would want?"

Taking a moment to regard Naruto and Akeno, cheek twitching minutely, the female hero finally faced the high-class devil with a firm nod. "I think so. Basara should become reacquainted to how normal human society works, plus; we can't just keep him under house arrest. Currently, this is the best option for him, I think."

Humming, Rias rapped a digit onto the smooth mahogany surface of her desk for a time, however limited that it was.

Only to push herself up and pace towards the building's exit, beckoning for the two heroes to follow her lead.

Sharing a glance with one another, Yuki and Basara made to follow without a second thought.

"Naruto, I'll be right back." the Gremory heiress spoke to the blond as she was stepping out, offering an encouraging smile. "So can you stay behind for a little bit? I'd like to talk to you when I return."

The shinobi seemed inquisitive once he looked at the crimson teen, quirking a golden brow, interested. "Alright, I'll wait. Won't wait too long though."

A playful grin inching its way to her without her consent, the young woman left the room with a twist of her neck, her long crimson hair whipping behind her.

Right before she followed her outside, Yuki glanced at the young man one last time before disappearing, moving beyond his sight, the door closing behind the trio.

Watching them go, the blond crossed his arms under his head to act as a pillow, leaning back towards the cushions that were present on the couch.

Damn, he had to admit, these couches were comfortable as hell…

"Hey, Naruto-kun, do you think that Buchou is cute?"

Annnnnd there went the calm air that he had obtained, blown out of the water mercilessly by a blatant and unapologetic sadist. "H-Huh?"

Although the shinobi wasn't looking at her, he could still practically feel the sly expression that she had taken as her own. "Do you think that Buchou is cute?"

Rolling around to stare at the beaming queen, the blond did his best to get his flushed cheeks to die down before he answered. "…What kind of question is that dattebayo? Is this a trap? 'Cause it sounds like one. I mean, I could ask if you like me, Akeno, and I doubt that you would-"

If possible, Akeno cranked her smugness up by eleven. "I do."

"O-Oh…" Naruto wasn't sure what he should say to that.

"So?" the queen prompted, refusing to be dissuaded. "Do you think that Buchou is cute?"

"Uh…" he hesitated for a second, plunging ahead with a small sigh. "Well, I think it's obvious that she's cute, isn't it?"

"Really?" she made it sound like she wasn't expecting to hear as such, but somehow he doubted that, what with her grin and all. "And do you think that I'm cute, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grunted. "What are you up to? The simple fact that I have no idea where you're going with this is scaring me, ya know?"

Seriously, sometimes he had no idea what went through this girl's mind.

Perhaps realizing this, the devil took on a more apologetic look as she righted herself. "Sorry, sorry. I suppose this is a little roundabout, isn't it?"

"Roundabout?" A little?

Akeno tapped her lips, a ghost of a smile touching that very part of her body. "I suppose you could say that I was…just a little curious. About you that is."

"Hoh…?" the shinobi tilted his head, frowning. "You were curious about me? Well, I don't think that you needed to ask me such a weird question to learn more about me..."

"Really?" the queen, wondered aloud, still tapping her lips. "Then, how about this; what kind of women are you attracted to?"

"Now wait a minute-"

"Actually, are you even attracted to women at all?"

"What the hell!?"

"Don't worry." Akeno grinned. "There have only been some rumors about your sexuality going around. For now that is."

Or, maybe they were wishes?

After all, she knew damn well that some girls at Kuoh Academy entertained notions of male homosexuality with their oh-so-perfect 'prince' of Kuoh Academy.

"Who are the bastards!? I swear that I'll beat the shit outta them!"

"…So you aren't-?"

"No!"

Akeno's forthcoming grin was both; beatific and completely smug. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it now?"

A loud and exasperated sigh was all she got out of him, with the blond flat out falling back onto the couch with an annoyed grimace. "You nearly gave me at least two heart attacks within roughly three minutes, so…you tell me?"

Her grin went from smug to predatory within the span of a single eye blink. "Don't you feel closer already, Naruto-kun?"

"'Closer' isn't the word that I'd use." was the indignant reply, rolling his neck in his aggravated state.

Giggling ensued, and the source of which was patently obvious, even if she tried to stifle it with her dainty hand.

"Oh! You're too easy to tease, Naruto-kun!" the queen gushed, unashamed in her admission as her giggling died down, allowing for that predatory grin of hers to return in full force. "You just make me want to tease you more."

With deliberately slow and steady movements, the shinobi turned to look at her, licking his lips nervously. "…Can you not?"

"…What a way to break a young maiden's innocent heart."

Innocent.

Yeah, ok.

Knocked out of his momentary musings, Akeno had deliberately shimmied close to him and sat down to his left on the couch, a pout on those lips of hers.

"You're a hard man to understand, do you realize that?"

Naruto would have snorted if he wasn't quite so disconcerted by the lack of personal space. "You're not really one to talk dattebayo…"

"Oh, but I don't do what you do." the queen countered, wagging her finger in a 'tsk tsk' fashion. "I don't falsely advertise as being an open person like you. How cruel is that? Acting like you're everyone's friend, when you're actually quite reserved."

"Reserved? Reserved?" he was pretty sure that he sounded offended, and justly so. "I am many things, but 'reserved'!?"

Wiggling a single thin finger towards him, the reincarnated devil poked the blond square in the chest with a playful attitude. "Admittedly, not the best term that I could have used. But the fact remains; you're a mystery, Naruto-kun. And don't think for one moment that that will remain so for too much longer. Not if I have a say."

"You're being dramatic here." twisting in his seat, blue eyes met with violet. "Even more so than usual."

"Am I though?" she challenged, acting coy. "Or am I just being honest?"

A snort later, the shinobi sunk into the couch cushions with a prominent frown, dismissive of everything that was just said.

And why shouldn't he? While there were some topics that he was…hesitant to broach liberally, he was still super open with his friends.

Wasn't he?

"Aww…are you upset, Naruto-kun?" Akeno cooed, her hand rubbing the crown of Naruto's head.

The very edge of Naruto's lips twitched. "A little actually."

"Would you like me to make it up to you?"

"…Well, now that you mention it-"

"You two seem comfortable."

That last comment wasn't from either of the teens resting on the couch, a fact that was obvious when the two of them turned to look behind the couch, seeing a familiar heiress walk inside the room.

The look that she was giving them, coupled with the tone of voice that she was using, painted a picture of a young woman that was not entirely enthused by what she was looking at.

A point which was only driven further by her sarcasm. "What? Surprised that I came back so quickly? Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to…interrupt anything."

"Ara." Akeno supplied, unhelpfully making the situation worse in the process. "What's wrong, Buchou? Do you feel left out?"

"Not in the slightest." came the reply, accompanied by a pointed glare. "Now if you're finished, I'd like to borrow Naruto for a minute."

Inclining her head, there was no mistaking the flat tone in Rias' voice. "If that's alright with you, of course?"

Miserably failing at hiding her amusement behind her hand, she gestured for the red-head to go ahead, giving her her silent approval.

Not wasting her chance, Rias strode past the couch and headed straight towards one of the spare rooms by her desk, grabbing a sleepy blond's sleeve when she passed him by. Making sure to ignore his weak protests along the way.

Especially taking great pains to brush off her queen's beatific smile, lest she try and blast her.

The building couldn't afford such an exchange.

Opening the door next to her work desk, Rias jerked the blond inside with token resistance from his part, closing the door behind her as soon as she was able.

Taking a breath to compose herself, blue-green eyes opened and met with bland oceanic blue. "…Hello, Naruto."

"Hi." was the shinobi's reply, stretching his arms as his jaw opened wide, a yawn escaping from within. "Damn though…you came back much faster than I thought you would 'ttebayo."

"Would you have preferred to have waited longer?" the Gremory heiress crossed her arms, visibly pouting now. "Were you really having that much fun hanging out with Akeno?"

"Eh?" Naruto's eyebrows rose so high up his forehead that they nearly disappeared under his golden locks. "What are you talking about? I was just commenting about how fast you were. If anything, I was kind of hoping that Akeno would quit teasing me so much, damn it."

"Oh, is that so?" she turned away idly then, absent-mindedly twirling a stray lock of crimson hair. "W-Well, that's good then. I didn't want to keep you waiting for too long, so I had to twist the arms of a few school administrators to allow Basara-san admission. Now they shouldn't have too much trouble, unless one of the administrators felt like losing their careers anyway."

Unconsciously, the whiskered teen inched back a bit, silently wondering whether this was a textbook example of corruption.

Like…seriously, that was some yakuza shit right there.

"Speaking of Akeno, has she…asked you about anything weird?" the devil glanced back at him through the side of her eye, seeming a little worried. "I mean, more than usual."

Slightly taken aback by the sudden query, the blond scrunched his face a bit in thought, only really able to recall one thing that could be considered 'weirder than usual'.

Frankly, that girl was weird as it was, so it wasn't easy to narrow down something weirder.

"I guess, yeah. She kept making comments about me being reserved of all things, can you believe that? Me? Reserved? Psht, it still boggles my mind that she would believe that!"

The creases in Rias' face only deepened at this apparently rant-worthy assertion, combing through her long hair. "Right…I figured that."

Ceasing the tirade that he was about to fall into, Naruto pointedly glanced at her direction. "Wait, you knew she would do that?"

"Yeah…" the red-head hesitated, but only minutely. "For some reason, she was talking about weird things yesterday. Roughly about getting to learn more about stuff that you haven't told us about yourself yet."

She shook her head, a bit dumbfounded still about her queen's stubborn will to probe for information.

Seriously, here he was; in good health, a good friend of theirs, and obviously sane. There was no reason to pry, literally!

Yes, she could very well understand her curiosity, since her own very much burned under the surface.

But the young man before her was someone that very much resembled a free spirit; someone that did as he pleased, regardless of anyone's feelings or opinions about his actions.

All anyone needed to do was note how, despite officially being enrolled in school, he still refused to attend classes like literally every other student attending the prestigious institution.

Despite the student council's efforts no less.

He did whatever he willed based on some superfluous whim that he has deemed sufficient enough to take action upon, damn the consequences.

Of course, he had limits, but those were self-made, not something borne from the expectations or rules from others, or even society.

Uzumaki Naruto did as Uzumaki Naruto wanted to do.

Pure and simple.

And just like Uzumaki Naruto barged into their lives with the force of a horde of stampeding rhinoceroses, he could just as easily back off without so much as a whisper.

He did as he wanted, and if he wanted to quit school, leave Kuoh Town, and never speak or associate with them ever again…then he could do that.

It wasn't like anyone could stop him.

And if there was one thing that she noticed from the typically random teen, it was that he would become very uncomfortable when certain subjects were…broached.

So much so, that the red-head had made it a point to subconsciously stray away from anything that seemed to make him squirm, such as the business with the supposed 'Hero Faction' and it's elites.

The topic of Naruto's past? That was without a doubt another subject that was to be avoided.

Honestly, she never even realized that she was straying away from such things until Akeno brought it up the other day, it was just a thing that she had done without thought.

Fancy that.

Through unfocused eyes, she verbalized what she genuinely felt about whole situation. "Honestly, all things considered, it's not like what happened to you before has any bearing on you now, right?"

Though, even as she spoke as such, another part of her honestly wondered whether that statement of hers was what she truly believed, or whether that was what she wanted to believe.

Either way, she wouldn't catch the blink-and-you'll-miss twitch upon Naruto's cheek, something which was suppressed as soon as it appeared, allowing him to offer a small smile.

"Yeah." he said quietly. "Probably."

Blinking out of her stupor, the red-head finally refocused on the blond, scrunching her eyebrows together when another thought took the forefront of her mind.

"So? What are you going to do with the club that you managed to form?" Rias brought up the topic that she was originally intending to point out.

She was gracious enough to leave out the fact that the club was only created thanks to the fact that the teenager in front of her twisted Sona's arms for it.

Blue eyes fluttering, the whiskered youth's disposition turned sunny once again. "What? That thing? Ehh…I'm still thinking about it, why?"

"Still thinking about-?" the Gremory heiress released an exasperated breath of air. "Look, I don't mean to rush you, but they're not going to let some random club without a name or purpose join the Ball Tournament. So…you might want to work on that. Soon."

Scowling, Naruto scratched his spiky locks, grumbling at being rushed, before snapping back to meet with blue-green pupils. "Got any ideas?"

Stumbling on air, Rias recovered admirably. "…Are you serious?"

Splaying his arms widely, the shinobi didn't hold back any punches. "I. Didn't. Think. This. Through."

"Of course not…" the red-head snarked, not sure whether she should chuckle or scowl at this unapologetic attitude.

Raising her chin, the devil hummed, thinking of something, anything really.

The first idea that popped into her mind managed to evoke a grin, one that spoke of nothing but bad news to the spiky-haired male.

"…What?" he was almost afraid to ask.

Rias looked at him, grinning a small, genuine, yet evil smile.

"Why not call your new club; 'The Committee to Aid in Scholarly Excellence.'?"

Blue eyes blinked, not quite processing for a split second.

Until he did, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers as a result.

---

"Anyway, like I was saying, this is an incredibly…unusual request so late into the school semester. Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd suggest that you wait for next year. If only for your sake, since you missed so much school material already. However, the decision is not up to me. So I can only pray that you turn out better than our last last-minute transfer student…"

Basara looked interested as he listened in to the school's admissions officer begin to complain about the higher ups and their arbitrary decisions, deciding to pipe up. "Who was the last one?"

The elderly woman flexed her jaw at the question, looking like she wanted to answer, but barely kept herself from doing so. "…Apologies, forget what I said. I should be more professional. Now; I just need you to sign some things to finalize the process…"

Yuki had begun to drone out of the conversation by this point, already familiar with the process that her friend was undergoing, since she had to actively be prepared for such a thing when she enrolled in the first place.

It wasn't exactly easy to 'transfer' into Kuoh Academy when she had no prior transcripts in any official Japanese institutions.

Doubly so when it was a school populated by devils.

The only interesting to happen so far was the fact that Basara of all people was interested in the process, and that was probably only because he never had to deal with the mindless minutiae of bureaucracy until now.

She wasn't sure whether that made him lucky or unfortunate.

As she was tuning out the conversation going on next to her, the hero suddenly frowned, a feeling welling up in her chest.

"…I feel like I missed an incredible opportunity." she stated out loud, somehow sure of this.

She missed the strange looks that the two humans next to her gave her.

---

"No! No! No! No! No! Hell no!"

Rias laughed boldly, her mirth bringing forth tears from her clenched eyes as Naruto continued to chant his refusal. Loudly.

"This isn't funny!" he wailed, grabbing the older woman by her shoulders as he shook her, her laughing growing louder. "It's shit like this that gives Yuki ideas! Don't ruin this for me! Don't you dare! Do you hear me!?"

"Ok! Ok!" she gasped, grabbing the arms that were shaking her as she quelled her laughter into giggles. "I'll stop! I promise!"

The shaking stopped as soon as he got that promise out of her, leaving nothing more than his glare to express his displeasure.

That look that he was giving her made it harder for her to kill her giggling, if anything.

"You done?"

Giggling being converted into coughs, the red-head cleared her throat, unashamed. "Yeah…I think I'm done. Anyway, in all seriousness, is there anything else that you're passionate about?"

Holding the dark look he was giving her for a little bit longer, if only so that he could retain his righteous indignation, the teenaged male relented and gave the query some thought.

Something that he was passionate about?

Something…maybe…he was good at?

A thought struck him with the power of a lightning bolt, a bedazzling smile marking its arrival.

"How about a gambling-!?"

"No." Rias deadpanned, shutting down the idea before it gained any traction.

"Damn." Naruto cursed under his breath, defeated before he could even begin. "Fine. Then how about…I don't know…"

He glanced about, searching for anything in the room that he was standing in to clue him in on what he should base this club on.

Within the small room, there wasn't much besides the Victorian-styled curtains draped across the windows, a flat screen television that was connected to some kind of machine in front of it, and a table that was pushed against the far corner of the room.

His eyes naturally fell onto that table. Specifically to the weird assortment of metal that was haphazardly thrown onto its flat surface. "What's that?"

Following his line of sight, the Gremory heiress scowled. "Oh. That, Naruto, is a pair of valuable items from a bygone era of this country. Which I bought for quite a hefty sum of money, I might add."

Walking up to the table, now able to deduce that the metal was probably whole once, the shinobi couldn't help but notice the bitterness in her tone. "Huh. So how'd ya break 'em?"

"I didn't." she seethed, eyebrows twitching in agitation. "A damned frog and an irresponsible cousin of mine dressed like an apple did."

"Ah." there was a tinge of nervousness to Naruto's voice now. "I see."

Reaching out with a hand to grab one of the metal shards for closer inspection, the young man wasn't sure what to expect when he studied them.

But, for some reason, a nagging feeling in the back of his head prevented him from leaving it alone, annoying the hell out of him.

"Hey, Rias. What are these exactly?"

Still stewing from the reminder of her lost items, the red-head responded curtly, thinking nothing of it.

"They're shuriken."

Naruto jolted, recoiling as if stung by the cool metal he was now holding in the palm of his hands, that nagging feeling falling away with the last puzzle piece falling into place.

Viewing the metal pieces with a more critical eye, he could instantly tell through the rust and the dulled edges that this once whole weapon was finely crafted. Enough to be considered a quality weapon of war.

He was already well aware of this country's history, and how the Feudal era of Japan featured a group of spies and assassins that carried the same name as the native warriors of the Elemental Nations; shinobi.

So this shouldn't have surprised him, or garnered as much focus as it had.

Yet…as he continued to study the broken pieces that make up the shuriken, he felt like there was something…more to it.

"Rias?" he wasn't sure what possessed him to ask, but he did so anyway. "How did you get these things?"

"Umm…" tilting her head to the ceiling, the voluptuous woman had to think about it for a second. "I remember buying these shuriken off of an online auction for ancient weapons. Admittedly, it was done on a bit of whim, but it was just so cool!"

And there she went, going off into space as she gushed about the weapons that she had procured.

He wouldn't catch most of it, but the very first thing said in her defense of her purchase was the one thing that he latched onto.

"Apparently, if the official website of the audition was to be believed; the shuriken that I bought originated from someone near the western coast of Costa Rica of all places! Isn't that incredible!? More than that, allegedly it was found by this person's ancestors around the tenth century! It really makes you wonder how-"

Naruto heard no more after that, his body going rigid at what he has just heard.

That should've been impossible, there was absolutely no way that shuriken could have been created for ninjas up until at least the fourteenth century, if he recalled from his cursory interest in the profession. Not to mention the fact that an ancient ninja weapon had no reason to be on the complete other side of the Atlantic.

…Wait, no, the Pacific. Damn, he hated geography.

Of course, maybe the once-whole metal star had nothing to do with Japan. Maybe it had more to do with the native culture in that area of the world?

But, even as he considered such a thing, he knew for a fact that this was untrue.

This was too finely crafted to serve a specific purpose, and was obviously set up to reach some kind of standard.

More than that…

The shinobi started at it, eyes sharpening impossibly at the idea, comparing and contrasting with the weapons that he routinely utilized.

Feeling the smooth and cool metal through his fingers, he traced over it and placed a mental image over it, finding it eerily close to the infamous stars of his profession.

No, scratch that, this damned thing was almost exactly like his shuriken.

But then…that could only mean that…

He wasn't the first.

"What's wrong, Naruto? You've been glaring at those broken pieces of metal for a while now." Rias peeked over his shoulder, curious. "Are you…?"

The jinchūriki turned his head to the side, looking at her through the side of his eye. Not saying a word.

She met his gaze, eyes burning, smoldering really. "…Are you interested in the shinobi too?"

Naruto nearly face vaulted. "Ah, er…well…I guess?"

"You are!?" she gasped, her visage lighting up like the brightest of stars in a dark night, a sloppy grin adorning itself upon her. "If that's the case, then come here for a second!"

Nearly being taken off of his feet when she snatched his hand, the blond was literally caught flatfooted by the red-head's sudden excitement and insistence, as well as the complete lack of general maturity that she always surrounded herself with.

What could have possibly gotten her so excited…?

Whatever it was, it was leading her to go back the way they came, thus aiming for the door that led to the main room in the ORC building.

And they would have, until the sound of the door opening stopped them short.

From behind the door, a young woman with vibrant red hair flicked her pink irises across the room, looking for something, before quickly settling onto her two seniors that she nearly smacked with the door. "Ah…"

"Mio-chan?" Rias looked surprised, probably because she wasn't expecting to see her. "What are you doing here?"

Mio looked flustered as she opened and closed her mouth to speak, with no words coming to the fore as she stared at the blond, who was giving her an amused smirk.

That, coupled with the shock of seeing him here, conspired to leave her tongue-tied and more than a little pink in the cheeks.

It seemed that the world pitied her enough to lend her a hand though, and that help appeared in the form of a dainty hand placing itself on the shoulder as someone came up behind her.

"Ara? Ah, I see. Apologies, I thought that you were aware of Mio-chan's entrance, Buchou." Akeno smiled, a conspiratorial air reaching that benign twist of the lip. "Was she interrupting something?"

Rias flushed under her queen's knowing look, a sentiment that she crushed as soon as she mustered up the effort, collecting herself to give her a friend a defiant glare. "As a matter of fact, yes. I was hoping to show him something cool…but whatever, I guess."

The ravenette opened her mouth, a perfect shaped 'o' created in her befuddlement. "…You were going to show him your 'collection', weren't you? Well…it's a good thing I saved him then."

"How rude!" the Gremory heiress looked genuinely offended. "You don't know whether he will enjoy it or not! For all you know, he may appreciate it! My hobby isn't even that bad!"

"I beg to differ."

The two siblings were flicking their attention between the two women, clueless as to what they were actually talking about.

"Yeah? Well that shows what you know, since I know for a fact that Naruto is interested in the shinobi." Rias bragged, flicking her incredibly long hair behind her, showing off.

Behind her, the blond took a step back to dodge the hair locks that nearly slapped him in the face, sweat dropping when he saw the two devils butting heads, literally by this point.

"Hm? Is that so? Well, that's quite the leap of logic to make, don't you think? To think that you could be so arrogant as to assume that Naruto-kun over there would be interested in your childish hobby…how shameless!"

"Excuse you!?"

"Oof." Mio winced, wanting more than anything else to walk away before explosions rang out.

Someone managed to pull it off before she could however, if the pat on her shoulder was to be believed.

Her head turning as if it was on a swivel, the red-head felt her jaw drop as her troublemaker of a brother gave her a thumbs up as he squeezed her shoulder.

The message he was sending out was obvious.

'Good luck dealing with them.'

"Wait, don't leave me with-!"

"You wanna keep insulting my precious collection, Akeno!?"

"Ara, I think that you already do the work for me, Rias."

Dark miasma and crackling electricity conspired to drown out the hybrid's pleas, preventing her from calling out the escaping teen.

Oh, how she envied him at that moment.

Never before had she wished to have mastered the power of the escape artist as Naruto had up until that moment.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like this heated contest between the two teens was going to subside any time soon.

So, with great effort, the red-head did the only thing that she could think of to actually ask her sempai the question that she needed to ask.

She slammed her flat palm upon the door.

The two girls, whom were either sporting an impish smile or a dark glower, were broken from their trance and finally turned as one to their kohai. Obviously they completely forgot that she was there.

Now, with the attention of both older teens focused upon her, Mio felt her voice stammer as she tried to make her request. "U-Um. Rias-sempai, I…well, I was just wondering whether you could let me-"

"Oh crap, Mio-chan's here!" Rias gasped, cutting off her kohai as she faced her queen frantically. "Akeno! If Mio-chan is here, then that means that her last class finished, right!? What time is it!?"

The reincarnated devil blinked. "…Ah."

"We're missing class!" the red-head hissed, snapping her focus back to her kohai. "Mio-chan, sorry, but you're going to have to ask me your question later. Akeno and I are already late, and I don't need Sona to get on my case right now."

Mio said nothing as both devils moved past her, one clearly more hectic than the other, and made their out of the building without another word.

Now she stood alone in the building, speechless, lost as to what to do.

Huffing out a sigh in pure irritation, the fifteen-year old glared at the room where her sempai and her brother were together in.

By themselves.

The thought, the idea tied knots in her stomach, leaving her more irritable in the process.

Doing her best to ignore the feeling, Mio waltzed on inside the room and looked around, wondering what the two teens could have possibly been doing.

All she saw was a table that held a bunch of broken metal pieces, and a television set that was connected to something that she only knew of thanks to advertisements and the gossip of her school friends.

Before she turned her attention to those pieces of machinery, her eyes lingered over the table and specifically; over those metal pieces.

Even as she studied them, a feeling of…familiarity welled up inside of her, confusing her. Did she see those items somewhere before?

Their general shapes, even when taken apart, resembled something that eluded her at the moment, but still conspired to annoy the hell out of her.

It took a few more moments to pass before she grunted in failure, resolving to forget about the broken items lest they drive her insane, and focus on the flat screen television set and the strangely shaped black box that was connected to it.

Except, that wasn't any ordinary black box, hell, it actually wasn't a black box at all.

Rather, it was a pretty popular console that she knew plenty of students in this school used for entertainment, and to kill time.

It was a PlayStation 3, and Mio was more than a little surprised to see it here, in one of the mostly empty rooms within the club building.

Then again, she supposed that it wasn't that surprising, considering that Rias-sempai seemed enamored with Japanese culture, which probably included its video game industry.

With want of something better to do, the half-devil shrugged her shoulders helplessly and folded her legs in front of the mechanical wonders, figuring that she may as well kill some time until her friend returned from class.

She never was interested in this kind of thing, but hey, she may as well try it and see what all the hubbub was about now that she had the chance.

---

Leaning over the railing at the absolute top of the high school within Kuoh Academy, Naruto was inspecting the metal piece that he accidentally brought with him while tapping on the metal railing, his regard intense.

He was pretty damn sure, just looking at the thing, that it was made with the same material that his kunai and shuriken were made with.

Which could have only meant that he wasn't the only person from the Elemental Nations in this world before.

But, then, was it possible that there still shinobi in this world somewhere? Or are they long dead?

Or maybe they even managed to get back home?

He earnestly had no idea, and he had no way to find out on his own, since he had pretty much scoured for as much information as possible in regards to super powered ninjas within this dimension, and had either come out blank or without anything credible.

So basically, he was right back where he started.

The grip that was loosely holding onto the metal shard tightened, the sharp edges biting into his skin when he made a fist. A small grin disproving the idea that he was upset.

To the contrary, this was something, this was something.

He wasn't the first one here, and maybe, just maybe, someone before him had found a way out.

And while the thought of actually leaving this place gave him mixed feelings, it still felt nice to know that he even had the option.

Deflating a bit, the blond wrenched away from his current thoughts to deal with the things that may or may not become a problem in the near future.

Two things; the Underworld, and the Hero Tribe.

The Underworld thing was obvious, since a bunch of people protesting under his name could very easily blow up in his face, since he had no idea what exactly they were standing for.

Going back down there and clearing some stuff up might be for the best. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss off people, especially the influential, for some stupid reason.

…Then again, what if those protesters were fighting for a just cause?

He groaned as he ruffled his own spiky hair, he seriously needed to check what was going on down there.

The best time to do it would probably be after his little dinner with Mio, since that would be the start of the weekend, and it wouldn't conflict with either of the high-class devil's schedules too much. Hopefully.

Which only left that thing with the Hero Tribe.

Or, specifically; whether he could convince Yuki to get her adoptive father to enter an alliance with Yasaka-san's yokai. All to deal with whatever was remaining of that rogue hero faction.

Now that would be tough…not that he blamed Yuki for being resistant to the idea.

He had his reasons, and he planned on going through them with Yuki, and to at least convince her to call the 'Great Hero' to arrange a meeting between the two of them.

"…Ugh, since when did I have to juggle so many things?" Naruto questioned aloud, rubbing his temple in irritation.

He wanted to help his friends in this world, yes, but sometimes he seriously wondered whether he was going too far.

"…Ah, found you."

The shinobi wasn't even surprised to hear those soft words, spoken barely loud enough for him to hear.

Tapping on the cool steel on the railing one more time, blue eyes swiveled away from the long drop in front of him to meet with hazel eyes, his grin still present. "Yep. Ya found me. So, what's up, Koneko?"

Just outside of the stairway, Koneko stood tall, if one ignored the slight limp that she had. "Train me."

"…What? No please?"

The rook didn't bat an eyelash. "Train me ple-"

"Ok, ok. That's ok, I was just joking." the shinobi raised his hands up in surrender, rolling his eyes at his bluster being called. "I suppose that you want to go back to the clubroom now, right?"

A bit confused by the obvious question, the younger girl nodded regardless, seeing no harm in it.

That blank expression of hers would fall apart shortly.

"Eh…instead of the doing our training there, let's switch things up, shall we? Let's continue our training up here."

As predicted, the reincarnated devil's features slackened in disbelief, followed by suspicion.

She didn't need to say a word, the look that she was sporting spoke more than verbal communication ever could.

"Now, I get that you're skeptical, but hear me out." the shinobi soothed, bearing with the blatant skepticism that she was blaring out. "Listen, I've been beating the crap out of you-"

"…Very true."

"-for the past two days, ever since we've started training together." he ignored her agreement with his words, sniffing at how rude she was being. "So, rather than beating you up, I figured that we'll…focus more inwards today."

Koneko's features softened a bit, but still retained a bit of that doubtful mindset. "…Won't people see us up here?"

In typical fashion, that concern was waved away. "Eh, if no one could see a teenaged girl threaten a guy with a katana up here, I doubt that they'll see us doing other stuff either."

The rook's eyebrows scrunched together.

…Did he make that up just now, or-?

"Besides, we're too high up for anyone to see us. And the both of us would be able to tell if someone was coming up the stairs, so we've got nothing to worry about."

He wasn't wrong.

Finally letting the matter drop, Koneko closed her eyes, doing as they have been doing in every session.

Like clockwork, the words came. "Last time, I asked you to retain focus of that chakra of yours while I attacked you. Now we're gonna see if you can actually make ethereal copies of yourself with that energy."

She nodded, breathing in, breathing out, keeping a rhythm as she tapped into the calm power held deep within, and focused.

With just the slightest of mental nudges, she could feel the power coursing through her, ready to be utilized at will. All that needed to be done with it was to direct it.

"Alright, good. As I thought, you're a natural at this!" her sempai sounded genuinely impressed, and a slight heating up of her cheeks was the result. "Now, I want you to make a mental image of yourself, imagine it."

Biting the bottom of her lips, the loli envisioned as she was asked, picturing a mirror copy of herself within the depths of her consciousness, visualizing it up to the smallest of details.

"Then…" her sempai's words rang, taut with an underlying tension. "Use that energy to give form to that image."

A mere twist of the lips, the smallest of twitches in her cheek, the slight traction within the muscles in her arms all gave away the concentration that she was putting into following the directives she was given. To the letter.

This tension continued on for a few strained seconds, culminating in the complete slackening of her muscles and the complete loss of air when she released the breath that she was holding.

All at once, she nearly fell onto her butt, a burst of frustration igniting at this latest failure.

She didn't even manage to-

"Stop. Don't think. Just keep trying." Naruto insisted, no condemnation in his voice whatsoever.

Swallowing her disappointment, Koneko tried to look past this setback, focusing on the dormant energy that was calling to be used once more, ignoring all but the task at hand.

Watching her concentrate on her task without complaint, Naruto smiled fondly, a bit of pride entering his pupils.

Yeah, he was probably going too far in helping his friends.

But damn, small things like these just made it worth it for him.

---

"Mio-chan! Are you still here?"

Mio squeaked, fumbling with the controller in her hands until she pushed it away from her, trying not to act like she was caught with her hand inside the proverbial cookie jar.

Not that her precautions would do her any good when Rias came walking in, following the sound that the game was making.

"Mio-chan?" the Gremory heiress gave her a wide-eyed stare, blinking in disbelief at what she was looking at. "Are…you actually playing video games?"

The half-devil licked her lips, at a loss for words. For all of about five seconds. "…No?"

Rias didn't believe her, if her starry look was to be believed. "Mio-chan…I didn't know that you liked playing video games!"

"I don't! This was just a one-time thing!"

"Really?" the older red-head deflated a bit, sighing. "That's a shame then. I bought this game console just so that I could try it out when it first came out roughly two years ago, but I never got the chance to use it. It'd be nice to play with someone one of these days…"

The hybrid moved her attention between her sempai and the electronics beside her, her gaze lingering a bit onto the pause screen of the game called 'Soul Calibur 4'.

Something which Rias noticed, but didn't really comment on, deciding to let the matter go. "Ok, so what did you want to talk to me about?"

"O-Oh! Right!" Mio's fist bopped into the open palm of her hand. "Listen, Rias-sempai. I need to ask you a favor, a big one. You see, I don't really have anything to wear tomorrow evening, and I didn't want to wear anything too casual, so-"

Her words, well thought out thanks to the alone time she had, suddenly trailed off when Rias clasped her hands onto her kohai's shoulders, squeezing with more force than anticipated.

There was no mistaking the glassy look in her eyes though, nor the pride in her voice. "Mio-chan…you're planning on sealing the deal, huh? Keeping your acquisition under tight wraps?"

"I…wouldn't use those words…but yes." Mio was seriously concerned about the language that the older teen used.

Pumping her fist in triumph, a sly grin appeared and adorned itself upon Rias' features. "So then, are you planning on marking him after your date?"

Sucking in air sharply, the hybrid's cheeks twitched as her skin tone quickly raced to match the shade of her hair, staying quiet for a bit.

She needed to cool off.

…And she needed to let the images that were flashing through her head to fade away.

Down girl!

"…No." was all Mio could say, her voice strained.

"Want to wait a bit, hmm? Well, I suppose to each their own." Rias shrugged, before meeting her kohai's gaze as she crossed her arms. "So, can you tell me who the lucky guy is now?"

Within the daughter of the old Maou Lucifer's head, an image of her sempai and brother earlier flashed through her mind's eye, when they were alone in that room without supervision. Her hand holding his.

She glanced away from her. "Not really."

"Aww, come on Mio-chan~"

"No."

No matter how the younger red-head looked at it, the fact that she and Naruto were going on a date would probably end up causing widespread confusion, especially if the rest of the student body caught wind of it.

'Ehh…so that bro-con finally managed to touch the forbidden fruit~?'

'T'was to be expected!'

'Let's all be honest, who didn't see this one coming?'

She could practically hear everyone's snide remarks.

Best to just let this stay anonymous, for everyone's sanity. Especially hers.

"…Hmph. Fine." Rias' infinitesimal shake of the head didn't last long in comparison to her indulgent smile, which let the younger female know that she was fine, even if she was really curious. "Anyway, as to your request, I think I may have something that could fit you just right."

The corner of Mio's lips twitched upwards, her strained visage softening.

Even if she didn't particularly like the idea of those two being alone in a room together, it still didn't mean that the high-class devil didn't have her best intentions at heart.

And she should be thankful for that, if nothing else.

Even if she was absolutely positive now that her advice from before was mostly…inaccurate, to say the least.

"Now then." the Gremory heiress rubbed her hands together, grinning. "Let's make sure that your date can look at no woman besides you, shall we?"

---

"So…I'm starting classes tomorrow then?"

Yuki nodded.

"…And my homeroom is with you and Uzumaki, right?"

"That's right."

"Hmm."

The two heroes were finally finished with the arduous paperwork that enabled Basara to temporarily attend Kuoh Academy.

Well, actually, it was more like they finished a while ago, and Yuki had now just finished giving her old friend a tour of the high school. Giving him an idea of where to go and what to do tomorrow as well.

Yuki frowned a bit.

Huh.

Somehow this felt like déjà vu for the bluenette.

Dismissing the idea, the female hero was now walking back with her childhood friend in tow, finished with the school day.

And, to her annoyance, missing pretty much the entire day of class.

She had already missed quite a bit of class material before, and now she was even further behind than before.

There was a lot of work that had to be done in order for her to catch up.

…

No matter how she looked at this…it felt like Naruto's bad habits had rubbed off on her instead of vice-versa.

That rankled her more than she cared to admit.

"Oh, look who it is."

Yuki glanced up as a response to Basara's words, following his understated grin to see a familiar teen standing at the gated entrance of the Academy.

Well…two familiar people, really.

"Working her hard, I see." the female hero commented, as the two humans walked up to the spiky-haired blond standing in front of the gated entrance.

Naruto, who was standing there, seemingly innocent, didn't seem so innocent to her when he glanced away from her.

The reason for this was the young woman that he was holding up in a piggyback, sleeping. But was most likely unconscious.

"…Yeah. You could say that." the blond admitted, refusing to meet her blank yellow eyes.

Yep, unconscious it was.

"Aren't you pushing her too far if that's the case?" Yuki asked, studying the lax features of the shorter girl, making sure she wasn't too hurt.

"She was insistent on pushing herself this far, I couldn't really do too much about it when she refused to take a break." the shinobi shifted a bit, adjusting his grip on his kohai, making sure to mind his hands. "Besides, I doubt that you could lecture me on 'going too far', ya know?"

Given the hero's blank stare, he figured that he had to elaborate. "She knocked herself out by pushing herself too hard mentally. Every time we have one of those 'sessions' of yours, you push me so damn hard that I always feel like I'm this close to losing consciousness myself!"

A roll of the eyes was her answer. "That speaks of how much you need an education rather than anything else."

"Not true!" he protested. "If you don't want me to end up like Koneko here, you should lay off the tutoring thing! Permanently!"

"Not happening. More than that, how is learning how to utilize new techniques that you've never tried before even comparable to learning how use trigonometric functions exactly?"

"Easy! One is interesting, the other is useless!"

"Once more; this says more about your mindset than anything else…"

Basara scratched the crown of his head, figuring that this would happen, but unsure of whether he should intervene in it or not.

He couldn't tell whether they were enjoying themselves or not either.

What he did know, was that they were the focus of many stray glances by curious students heading back home.

He had no idea how he should approach this, or how to respond this.

"Ah, well look who it is."

The amnesiac, thankfully, didn't really have to think of a way out, thanks to the crimson-haired girl that was walking out of the gate of the prestigious institution.

Next to her, interestingly, was another red-head carrying a bag, hugging it securely to her chest.

"Aha! Rias! Oh, and Mio too! What were you two up to?" Naruto cut into his argument with Yuki to face the two beautiful women, focus snapping between both.

Mio shot Rias a look of borderline desperation, but was seemingly completely ignored by her sempai. "Well, you see, we were just having a little fashion show back at the club building. You know, some quality girl time."

Sighing in relief, the hybrid was more than a little thankful that the topic of the dinner wasn't broached, since the consequences of people connecting the dots out in the open were, quite frankly, horrifying for her school life.

"Oh, I definitely don't want to hear about that…" the shinobi retorted dryly, features turning serious. "Anyway, I'm glad that I caught you before you left. Can you take your club member off of my hands?"

Moving her attention onto the blond's back, the Gremory heiress felt her face slacken a bit in incredulity at the set of white hair pressed against the back of his neck.

A state that she quickly recovered from. "…Pushed her too far, huh?"

Naruto gave her a blank stare, and pointedly ignored the piercing look that was being levied at him by the female hero next to him. "It wasn't my fault."

Rias made a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat, cracking an eye open after she pretended to clear her throat. "Either way, despite going too far, you're still helping out a member of my precious family. And for that, I thank you, earnestly."

Taking a step forward, the high-class devil opened her arms, giving the spiky-haired youth the chance to transfer his unconscious load onto her, which he gladly acquiesced to.

Shifting her rook's body around so that her head would snugly be placed onto and supported by her upper arm, the king smiled fondly at the serene face of her kohai.

"Don't worry about her, I'll take her back home." she spoke softly, her voice low so that her Peerage member wouldn't wake up. "By the way…you still haven't figured out what your club is going to be about, right?"

Naruto's resulting silence was enough of an answer for her.

"I have a suggestion then." she kept Koneko close to her, that smile of hers still with her. "How about…the 'Shinobi Historical Society'?"

The shinobi squinted, silently rolling the name with his tongue, inspecting it.

"Shinobi Historical Society…the SHS, huh? It rolls off the tongue well, and it has to do with shinobi!" Naruto couldn't have sounded more impressed if he tried. "Ya know what? That works. I like it!"

"Excellent." Rias looked pleased that this small hurdle was overcome. "Then it's settled. By the way, word came down by the school administrators that the Ball Tournament's official date is now settled on Monday, so it looks like you've got time to spare for any plans that you might hatch."

"Oh crap…" Mio cursed, not liking the idea of giving her brother time to come up with mischief.

Yuki felt the same way, but had presence of mind to keep quiet about it until she could possibly curtail his crazier ideas in private.

Verbalizing her displeasure now would only spurn him on.

"Sounds like fun." Basara grinned, liking the idea of a Ball Tournament, mostly due to his competitive nature springing forth. "Where do I sign up?"

"You can join my club if you want!" Naruto zipped next to the amnesiac, grinning like a madman. "We've got plenty of space, and we're definitely gonna stir shit up!"

"We are?" Yuki had to ask.

"We are!"

Basara pumped his fist, copying the grin that was being flashed at him. "Sounds like my kind of place."

"Naruto…" Yuki drawled in warning. "Please stop corrupting my childhood friend, it's unappreciated."

"Never!"

"Mou!" Mio was pouting now, her arms getting tired from holding the bag within her arms so tightly to her chest. "Can we just head back home already!? My arms are getting sore for crying out loud…"

More than that, she had to check herself out with the items inside, just to make sure everything was perfect.

She couldn't prepare enough for tomorrow, in her opinion!

"…By the way." Naruto went tiptoed for a second, trying to peek at the bag's contents. "What'cha got there?"

Even while he was speaking, his sister pulled away from him and hugged the bag closer to her body, her pouting becoming more adorable as she did so. "No! You can't see what's inside! It's a secret!"

Surprised by her refusal, the shinobi frowned. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Yes!" she insisted, not budging. "If you want to see what's inside, then you're going to have to wait!"

Opening his mouth in order to protest, Naruto was cut off from saying anything when Rias chuckled good-naturedly.

"Alright, alright. It's obvious that Mio-chan has some…work to do. Well, that and I have to get Koneko-chan back home so that she could rest properly, so why don't we call it a day for now?" she claimed, winking at the younger red-head.

Huffing, the shinobi grumbled as he took a step back, backing off from seeing the contents, despite feeling inquisitive. "Fine, whatever. But only because Mio feels so strongly about it, that's all."

Turning his head to the side, he inclined his head towards Basara in acknowledgement, and then offered a cheesy grin towards the female hero. "Whatever you do, don't let Yuki see you cut your schoolwork. Not if you want peace and quiet that is. But I'm sure that you've realized that."

Yuki crossed her arms, lips flattening. "I noticed that you told him to not let me see him skipping his work…"

Sticking his tongue out playfully at her, he turned and wiggled his eyebrows at the amnesiac. "Good luck, man. Looking forward to seeing you around, and maybe we could spar sometime, just for shits and giggles, eh?"

Snorting, the former apprentice of Cao Cao nevertheless gained that challenging glint in his eye. "Yeah, we'll see."

Snatching Mio's hand, Naruto sprinted away from the Kuoh Academy gates, dragging her along with him and damn well nearly making her drop her bag in the process.

Her long red hair flying behind her, Mio squeaked as she tried not to fall flat on her face as she ran. But, soon enough, her squeaks began to sound more like giggles than frightened yelps.

Really…this brother of hers…

---

"That Naruto guy is pretty cool, why do you always get on his case?"

Yuki stopped brushing her hair for a moment, hearing her friend's question from across the house.

Basara was going to live in a spare room in her home temporarily, until further notice at the very least, seeing as she didn't really have a space ready or available for him.

Thankfully, there was a spare bathroom upstairs.

Anyway, in regards to his query… "Naruto is a good man, he just needs some…encouragement towards the right direction is all. Once he gets older, I'm sure that he'll understand."

She had a feeling that the amnesiac upstairs was shrugging his shoulders in response, simply curious, as usual.

Unlike her rapidly developing social skills, Basara was leagues behind her in regards to human interactions and understanding why people do what they do.

Her talk with that blue-haired swordswoman from the Church was proof enough of her growing mastery of social interaction, and she didn't doubt that Basara would envy her latent abilities.

Continuing to brush her hair, the hero contemplated her hopes for her old friend, seeing easily that his time under the thumb of…that man, proved to be a very negative experience for him.

There was so much for him to learn and experience now, the proof was in how interested he was in the simple and tedious process of becoming a student. Something so small had managed to garner his attention with just how different it was.

Now, with so many new things around him, he should be able to live a better life by accepting these new experiences and learning from them.

Much like she did, with a certain blond.

Tightening her grip on the brush a bit, she had to acknowledge that her world view had altered drastically from one meeting, from one experience in this relatively insignificant settlement in the middle of nowhere.

And the same could happen to Basara, who knew?

That was for him to learn and decide, and she intended to give him that chance. She owed him that much.

Eyes staring off into the distance, Yuki was understandably distracted from her surroundings.

So as such, she twitched rather violently when her cell phone blared out its ringtone beside her.

Blowing out air through her nose, the hero put the brush down by her futon and went on all fours to pluck her phone and check out what all that noise was about.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the text message that she had received.

It was given to her by 'Unknown'.

As in; that was what the called id showed, which proved that the sender of the message wasn't traceable at all.

Quickly opening the message, the young woman skimmed through the brief and to-the-point text with careful consideration, as was befitting a trained woman from the Hero Tribe.

However, even while she was reading the message, the hero's visage began to pale significantly, her eyes were widening in blatant disbelief, and her fingers started shaking as they held the phone.

"W-What...is this?"

She let the phone fall out of her numb fingers without another word, staring at the floor blankly, shaking her head slowly.

All she could do was mentally go over the last two sentences that were within the message that she had received, wishing and praying that she misread them.

'So, in lieu of recent events, you are hereby temporarily suspended from your active Observation status and ordered to return to the Hero Tribe HQ in Tokyo. You will be replaced by a special team that has been deployed to Kuoh Town in your absence until you are cleared from all suspicion.'

---

"We're about halfway there."

Kurumi glanced up at the gruff voice, the long cape of her erstwhile ally being the only thing that she could see of Hayase Takashi as he led the way.

"How much further?" she asked, for want of something better to do.

He didn't answer at first, simply marching forward with the military precision that has been drilled into him for almost his entire life, alert at all times.

"…About two fifths of the way there, roughly." he eventually claimed, glaring as he always did.

It was pretty much his default expression actually.

The young girl sighed, shaking her head, which made her ponytail bob a bit in conjunction to her movements.

At this rate, they'd be in Kuoh Town in a matter of two to three days or so, if their current pace was of any indication.

It didn't help that the small group of heroes had to make sure to travel through the countryside instead of the cities, considering the attire that they were wearing and all.

Hopefully, by the time that they arrived in Kuoh Town, Kurumi's sister would prove to be forthcoming with what was going on with this suspect in the attack in the Hero Tribe.

Clenching her fist, she resolved to search for the truth, and to act accordingly with what she learned, regardless of how their group's leader felt about it.

Both; for her sake, and for her sister's.

I'm coming…Onee.

---

「Oh…so this is Kuoh Town?」

From atop a hill looking over the settlement, a young boy regarded it with the brightest of smiles and the liveliest of eyes.

If one were to just look at his surface persona, one wouldn't be too hard-pressed to believe that this scrawny teenager was nothing more than an eccentric kid that smiled too much.

But those that knew better could only claim to see his smiles and bubbly personality as something akin to a doll.

All show. No substance.

「Eh…it looks kind of boring to me.」the boy frowned a bit, looking upon the area as if it was a kind of puzzle that he couldn't quite figure out.

It seemed to be an innocent curiosity, fueled by wonder.

But that impression could be dissuaded easily if someone were to look at the boy's visage just…twist.

The smile grew a malevolent tint to it as they curved like the reaper's scythe, the eyes stretched out and narrowed as if to leer at the unsuspecting people below, and the angle of the sun conspired to cloak a portion of his face with shadows.

「Then again…just looking at this place, it gives me the feeling that many, many things are about to happen.」he murmured, a sickly grin adorning his features. 「So, obviously, it's up to me to make sure that my new kohai learn from the upcoming experience. As a good sempai!」

Features quickly returning back to what it was before the darker shift, the average-looking teenaged boy shoved his hands into his black pants pockets and began walking down the hill, all smiles and positivity.

「Man, I hope that Naruto-kun is worth all of the hype. It would stink to hype up the main character and then let him flop before he could even reach the final boss. Eh, it should be fine. Also, I wonder how many times Medaka-chan will kill me once I get back?」

The crawling chaos that was known as 'Kumagawa Misogi' was making his way to Kuoh Town.

---

AN: Ehehe...it's been a while, guys. Sorry 'bout that. :3

Anyway, by next chapter, shit will start roll again, and I'm looking for to it. Especially looking forward to chapter 45! :P

Have something specific planned for that little tidbit. :D

-RekkingPride