Hey people another update enjoy.
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On to the story.
Arc: Initiation
Chapter 5: Familiarization
Kuoh
The weeks following the situation surrounding the Fallen Angels and their rogue underlings had gone better than anyone in the peerage of Rias Gremory could have expected. Naruto was back to his old self, perhaps even brighter and happier than he had been. Asia had quickly proven just how wonderful of an addition she was with her personality being sweet enough to cause cavities. Not to mention, after seeing how dangerous the supernatural world was Rias' new pawns were all more than happy to jump straight into training. Initially that is.
To say the pawns of Rias' peerage had developed a new appreciation for their seniors in the group was an understatement. The only thing now overshadowing the respect they had earned, was the terror at the exercises that Rias, Akeno, and Naruto put their group through. The three joined them for every exercise making it hard to hold anything against them, but it became quite clear all three had a sadistic side of varying size.
Kiba and Koneko seemed to have known all of this beforehand and had jumped to the moment training began. Those that fell behind were motivated harshly. Whether it was small zaps from Akeno, the tiniest of knicks from one of Naruto's seemingly endless kunai, or the actual riding crop Rias pulled from some hammerspace, the pawns and bishop soon learned to keep pace whatever the workout.
As good as physical training was coming along under the reunified bosses of the peerage, something that confused the new pawns being as Naruto was a rook but seemed to hold similar standing among the group as Akeno. Still it became clear early on his orders weren't disobeyed unless Akeno or Rias herself contradicted them. The paramount of which seemed to be Naruto's recent curbing of the Aika and the perv trio's habits. As best as could be managed. Even with the heavier hand of Naruto coming down on them they proved impressively determined to retain their normal habits. The only real difference was the training and jobs they had to do with the peerage diminished just how much they could perv out, that and a new unannounced rule seemed to also become present.
A week after the church incident, Aika had seemingly started really converting her fellow pawns into their own little group. Something heavily encouraged by Rias to try and make sure the peerage had close bonds. However by the fifth week things had taken an odd turn. Aika's habits had slowly worn down poor Katase and Murayam's defenses and it was clear the three girls were developing a truly...unique friendship. Of course they weren't the only victims of an overly touchy Aika, the girl had repeatedly woken up with a sore jaw after pressing her luck with either Koneko or Asia. Koneko less than accepting of the girl's roaming hands and Asia's looming Uzumaki guardian sharing the opinion.
Issei had been somewhat in a slump the last week however. Having finally worked up the courage to talk to Asia rather than spy or day dream about her he had approached the girl in a far more respectable manner than Naruto had expected the boy capable of. Adding to his impressed nature was the way the boy had approached her wasn't through fear of Naruto, who normally stuck nearby the always smiling bishop. Naruto had of course been close by, or at least a pair of shadow clones had been, but Issei and Asia both had been unaware.
He wasn't sure why, but the thought of Issei and Asia as a couple annoyed him greatly. He chalked it up to the fact the boy was an irredeemable pervert and dreamed of being the 'Harem King'. Something Naruto found reidiculous. He knew plenty of polygamous couples both in the underworld and back in the Elemental Nations, but none the he ever saw working centered around someone wishing to simply collect women for themselves. That sort ideology would have been better suited to the Old Satan faction from what he had been told.
Still if it was what Asia wanted, Naruto wouldn't get in the way of her finding happiness. He would be ever looming though should the little pawn harm her in anyway. Not that it mattered in the end as Asia had very gently turned him down. Telling him that she was interested in someone else. Words that left Naruto torn on how to act.
He felt guilty for spying over her and a private conversation like that one, however he also wasn't so dense as to not have an idea she was talking about himself. That also rolled back into an issue Naruto had struggled with since he had come to this world.
Since becoming a member of Rias' peerage Kyuubi had steadily let slip little pieces of his parents' identity and what it meant for him. By now Naruto knew who his parents were, some of their jutsu, and some about his clan, practically extinct as it was.
With that knowledge he had spoken a lot with Rias' mother and father. Zeoticus had actually experienced something somewhat similar to what Naruto was with his clan. Before marrying Venelena Zeoticus had sadly become the last direct descendant of the Gremory founder. Many expected the family to die with him. Instead Zeoticus had married Venelena through a contract similar to the one hanging over Rias' head. He had also had his own set of concubines with which to rebuild his family. There was no law enforcing it, just titanic pressure to produce enough offspring that even if they weren't pureblood at least the Gremory line would not fully vanish.
Rias actually had nearly a dozen half siblings spread across Gremory territory as more minor nobles of the clan. Their mothers usually ruling smaller estates and territories in the head family's, her family's name.
Naruto knew the same happened in the Leaf as well, though when he had asked Kyuubi directly if his father had any concubines the fox had laughed and said that his mother had been nearly too much for Minato to handle. That she would be the one with concubines if there were any. Naruto had quickly realized he did not want to actually know any details of 'relations' between his parents or anyone else for that matter and the topic had been dropped.
That brought him back to his thoughts regarding the girls he cared most for. More specifically Asia, who he knew he wanted to pursue something with. Whether it ended up being nothing more than friends, perhaps even pseudo-siblings, Naruto believed he could be happy. Though a small voice inside seemed to disagree. That little voice had been weighing in more and more since he became Rias rook. He knew that voice now, it was the same that desired more than just the bonds of friendship he had sought so zealously for growing up. Not just with Asia but some others of his group of loved ones as well.
For now he needed to push the thoughts regarding all that out of his mind. It was important afterall the that three kneeling boys before him learned the lesson he was to impart on had caught them trying to peek in on the girls of the peerage as they were changing in the rebuilt clubhouse's locker room. Something that wasn't about to happen while Naruto was about.
Not that it could have had he been gone either. Grayfia had briefly come to help him in repairing and remodelling the building after giving him one of her usual scary lectures regarding the ordeal around Asia. They had decided to add several seals and wards t the building to increase it's defenses effectively turning the place into a shelter that could be locked down till either Rias, one of her peerage, Grayfia, or one of the Maou arrived to unlock it. He knew Grayfia had been mostly going through the motions with the lecture anyway as everything had more or less panned out for the better, but the idea of Naruto becoming entangled with members of the other two factions wasn't about to be fully ignored either. Rias had also received her own lecture, and Naruto, Rias, and Akeno would be having a small meeting together to talk about what exactly Grayfia had mentioned would happen as the fall out for what had happened.
That reminded him he needed to wrap up here and actually attend said meeting.
"Girls, you wouldn't mind taking it from here would you? I am a little late to meet with Rias and Akeno for something." Naruto said with a smile toward Koneko, Katase, and Murayama.
The sadistic grins on two of their faces and slight twitch of lips on Koneko's sent the boys into sobbing messes. Well either that or more likely they were jealous Naruto would be spending alone time with the Two Great Ladies.
As Naruto walked toward the stairs hearing the sound of the boy's being once more 'reminded' of certain boundaries, he decided it was probably a mix of both. Putting the lesson from his mind Naruto started up the stairs to meet the girls.
On the upper floors the clubhouse proved to be far more empty. With the bulk of the peerage on the first floor at the moment, Aika and Asia with a shadow clone getting both girls used to using his modified shield seal and Kiba on another job, it pretty much left himself Akeno and Rias the run of the newly expanded building. The clubroom itself now felt more like a ritzy suite and Rias finally had a separate office to do her paperwork away from the group.
Right now, Naruto was headed for the newly installed meeting room. One Rias had gotten the idea for from some book or show. The room resembled more some cartoonish crime family's meeting hall. A large table took up the majority of the room, inlaid with the Gremory crest and with chairs situated around the length of both sides. Currently only the more throne like head seat held anyone as Rias sat scouring over papers in front of her.
Nearby Akeno glanced over the redheads shoulder with a thoughtful look in her own eyes. This wasn't the usual work Rias had to contend with on a daily basis. At least from what Naruto could tell as he made his way up to them. The papers were all centered around the same problem Rias had been dealing with for as long as he had known her. It had plagued her so long that as far as he knew she had no other ambitions at the moment than to overcome this singular obstacle. He was a little curious what exactly she would set her mind to once this distraction was gone. He knew it was only a matter of time. He wouldn't stand for anything less afterall.
"Naruto," Rias greeted without looking up from a transcript of Riser Phenex's second Rating game. One she had read a dozen times before. "How has today's training gone?" She asked as if she didn't know.
"Well as can be expected. They have all started to notice a difference for themselves. The boys are still pretty clumsy but you were right about Motohama having a sacred gear. It's not really ready for use in any kind of fight, but I think it can be confirmed as the Hunter's Measure." Naruto explained.
"Hunter's Measure? Remind me on that one." Akeno tapped her chin in thought.
"It gives it's bearer nearly perfect measure of distances and sizes of objects within their sight. Almost useless in most cases but perfect for a ranged fighter." Rias explained. She memorized as many sacred gears recorded in her family's archives as possible as a hobby. This one wasn't one she expected to have remembered though.
"Well it is completely possible he could make a good support fighter at longer ranges with it unless it has abilities that weren't recorded in the Gremory Archives, which honestly is very possible, then maybe he has other roles as well." Naruto said as he slid into a chair to Rias' left.
"What about the girls?" Rias asked.
"Asia is soaking up magical spells like a sponge as expected. If it's a barrier or protection spell she's like a fish in water. The moment it becomes something for attack though-" Naruto let the sentence end there getting a nod from both older girls.
"Aika is similarly taking to the magic spells quite well. She has a much smaller reserve of magic than Asia, but much larger than the other pawns combined. No doubt in a few years she will be a real beast with how fine her control looks. At the moment though she doesn't have large enough reserves to take on someone outside of the mid-class range and even then it will be a very tight fight without support. On the other hand Katase and Murayama are both picking up their new sword training fast under Kiba's supervision. They won't ever match him, but then again he is a knight. The two of them are almost like secondary knights or at least will be. They prefer katana style blades and we had some made for both of them." Naruto explained.
"That's good, though I would prefer things be sooner than later when it comes to their skills. All that trouble with the fallen is having the exact repercussions we were expecting." Rias sighed.
"Nothing is certain for now Rias, perhaps nothing will change. It will be at least another five years before you finish at Kuoh university as was planned." Akeno tried to reassure her King.
"I wish we could rely on that, but you both know the truth like I do. Riser will be pressing claims sooner with this showing of my 'incompetence'." Rias growled.
"No doubt he already has pushed to move up the date or at least force meetings like he has tried in the past. Lady Venelena can only do so much without overstepping Zeoticus' ruling." Naruto commented. He adored both of Rias' parents but Venelena had been like a mother to him since coming to this world and she had already spoken against the match of Rias and Riser. He might be a bit favorable toward her over her husband Zeoticus.
"That means we need to prepare for the worst case scenario." Akeno said.
"Yes. We need to plan for a rating game at our current strength. We can reevaluate when we are where we want to be but we need to have a plan for now." Rias said as she turned her attention back to the various reports and interviews following each of Riser's wins.
The other two devils nodded before Akeno got up to prepare some more tea for what would likely be a long process and Naruto pulled out some paper of his own to begin jotting down the occasional note or possible idea that he came up with.
After a few hours of planning they settled on a rough strategy to begin working from, for preparing the peerage.
"Alright so Team One composed of Issei as the team leader and Matsuda and Motohama backing him up are our first wave. They're slightly more durable than the average low-class devils of the underworld and with the threat of them being able to promote once inside Riser's territory not to mention if we can get Issei to utilize his gauntlet to some extent then they make a good first wave." Naruto spoke confidently. Sadly Issei and the other boys were practically cannon fodder at this point, and he expected even they weren't too stupid to miss that fact when the peerage would begin training with their new formations.
"Yes and a ways behind them will be Team Two made up of the rest of the pawns. Aika and the sword sisters will stay close enough to the trio of perverts to snap a trap for any piece sent to destroy the pawns. Overwhelm whoever is sent with three durable pieces to take the beating, two sword bearers to slip in some better damage and a decent low-class witch for added fire power and they should be able to handle most of what Riser would throw their way." Akeno said looking at what they had written on the table.
"Defeat in Detail. We get him to send his more powerful singular pieces to be surrounded by our pawns and eliminated and we can begin the real fight." Rias nodded.
"Yeah well that brings us to Team Three, the quick reaction team. This is all you, Kiba, and Koneko-chan Akeno. Your main focus will be to watch for vulnerable pawn pieces to smash between the three of you but if our pawns look like they need support give it to them." Naruto said, getting a nod from the ravenette.
"Of course, then you two and Asia-chan will be the reserve team in case a true hammer blow needs to be given to break a hard enemy piece or someone needs healing. Then when the other team seems to be breaking or only the last bit of the opponents' peerage remains Naruto joins team one and Rias team two with Asia joining team three allowing for a hard hitting final push." Akeno finishes.
"It's vague at the moment but hopefully it will be flexible enough we can adapt it to whatever we end up facing in the game." Rias said with a sigh once again as she stood and walked toward the window.
"It's the best we can do at the time, plus it's best to get ahead of this so we are at least somewhat prepared. If everything goes right we'll just have a few years of preparation, if everything goes wrong, at least we have some idea of how to handle it before diving headlong in." Naruto encouraged.
"Right, now the trick is just to train the peerage to the proper role set for them I suppose. Still I wonder how happy the boys will be when they realize exactly what is in store for them." Rias said though she giggled slightly at the thought of them learning they would essentially be bait in any upcoming rating games.
Akeno joined in the small bout of laughter at the thought of their reactions.
"It'll be evening soon. I suppose I better get Asia and head home for the night." Naruto said as he stood up.
"Yes, you go send the others on their way and Akeno and I will clean up this. I'll probably come over tonight." Rias said absentmindedly as she began cleaning up the papers causing Akeno to stop and glance toward the two others in the room.
"Hmmm both of you and sweet little Asia? Maybe I should come over and we can have a proper...slumber party." Akeno tilted her head in faux innocence as she spoke.
"I have no problem with the two of you coming over, but know that Asia has been dealing with nightmares and sleeping beside me the last few nights. Don't wake her when you come in and don't hog the blankets." Naruto said as he waved, stepping out the door. His slightly reddened cheeks at the thought was something that annoyed him more than the fact the girls continued to slip into his bed at times. He expected he'd be completely immune to the thought of Rias and Akeno's bodies by now.
As Naruto left Rias and Akeno shared a look.
"It seems our little nun isn't quite as innocent as she lets on." Akeno giggled.
"What do you mean?" Rias asked.
"Oh come now, odd that she didn't start having these nightly nightmares till weeks after the horrible events that she more than likely says caused them." Akeno pointed out as she finished wiping down the tea set from earlier.
"That's a lot of assumptions in one accusation Akeno." Rias said dryly.
"Of course what was I thinking. What young hormonal new devil would want to have an excuse to be held in the big strong arms of the handsome man that rescued them from their personal hell? Not little Asia of course." Akeno remarked before disappearing into the hall.
Rias blinked at that before sucking air between her teeth. Grumbling something about Akeno's stupid mind games she teleported out of the room intent on beating the ravenette to a certain Rook and Bishop's home.
The Next Day
Naruto and the other senior members of the peerage finished up their cooldown stretches just as the last of the newer recruits, Asia, entered the small clearing behind the ORC clubhouse. She was struggling the most currently with the new physical fitness routine the peerage was subjected to. It wasn't that she was out of shape, it was that the poor girl was arguably the clumsiest living being that Naruto had encountered in his entire life. A typical run saw her tripping her way over the three mile course they had set up for her nearly every morning. Not that it seemed to bother her terribly. A cute shout of 'owie' and she was soon back to running. Hopefully when she was finished growing she wouldn't have to adjust with changes from physically growing and could eventually stop face planting every few moments.
While Asia had been struggling because of her clumsiness primarily, others of the new group weren't all that far ahead honestly speaking. The perverted trio looked ready to die. Then again their run had included additional weight and halfway through just as they had begun to slow down some massive black dog had started chasing them out of no-where.
As Issei glanced at the three devils he had come to consider the group's leaders, while he tried to regain his breath, he couldn't help but finally start to see the devils they had claimed to be. Well with Rias and Akeno that was. Naruto honestly scared the piss out of him despite the boy being younger than him.
"Alright everyone gather up please." Rias called out bringing the peerage members over to her.
"We wanted to start teaching about another aspect of your new lives. This has less to do with being a devil in general and more to do with being a part of my peerage." Rias began explaining.
"We've already explained to you the roles each of your pieces hold. How each of your pieces specializes in a different field. What we haven't covered very well is what the evil piece system has led to for the underworld." She continued.
"Are you going to be teaching us, like politics and stuff?" Motohama asked.
"Not quite but eventually at least some knowledge of how the different noble houses works will be necessary. You're each a part of my family's hegemony now. You're not only members of my evil piece set, but vassals of my clan at large. If and when you reach High-class status you will be expected to manage a minor household of your own with an estate and peerage all your own. That's not the focus for today though." Rias said before nodding at Naruto who unsealed an easel and whiteboard.
"One of the current most popular methods in the underworld for settling political disputes is to hold what is called a rating game. Essentially a duel with a system that prevents participants from being severely hurt. All of it is centered around the pieces in a peerage." Rias explained to the new members.
"Soon we will be taking part in Rating Games. They aren't just used for disputes between nobles but also for status. In the underworld power is everything. Doesn't even have to be real power. Some of the most famous and decorated nobles in the underworld at the moment clawed their way to their spot through the rating games. They are held up as important figures but have practically nothing beyond their peerage and victories in the arena to back that up. For our King, the Gremory clan is among the most influential at the moment for a bunch of reasons. The thing is that's the clan, Rias herself is…" Naruto had started strong but glancing at the redhead he tapered off why shooting an apologetic glance her way.
"I don't have very good standing at the moment." Rias interjected, giving Naruto a reassuring glance. "People consider me either an arrogant princess or an idiotic shut in. They call my peerage, all of you, a band of misfits, and that's when they want to be polite."
"How the hell can they say that? They don't even know anything about us!" Matsuda growled getting agreeing nods from the others.
"It's true." Akeno said with a faint scowl. "We are a band of misfits, but that doesn't mean we are weak. That's part of why others have gone out of the way to badmouth Rias and us. We haven't had a rating game yet, but our future opponents already make plans to beat us. So we have to do the same."
The new members nodded in understanding while Naruto took over explaining the overarching strategy the peerage planned to employ for the time being.
"Wait," Motohama said as Naruto wrapped up the plan. "That sounds a lot like the three of us are going to be cannon fodder." He, Issei, and Matsuda looked unhappy with that, but could do nothing but frown as they were ignored while Naruto was discussing more specific things with Kiba and Koneko and Akeno and Rias were talking with Asia.
"It's like we're not even here man." Matsuda whimpered before a sudden weight pressed against the boy's backs and arms pulled them in closely.
"No need to worry, We're your backup after all!" Aika cheered with a grin while Katase and Murayama offered halfhearted nods as well. The two novice sword mistresses were burning a faint red blush seeing the way Aika was rubbing on the boys, but had grown accustomed to such things by now that a mild blush was their only reaction.
"Yeah, we'll...help you guys." Katase said with an only partially forced smile. Ah, progress.
This of course was all it took to have the three perverts in tears over the glorious plan of their King and how much the six of them would be bonding while training for this new plan.
Shortly later the group had returned to the clubhouse and had broken up into smaller groups to discuss things. Naruto and Rias specifically were discussing another major issue the peerage faced beyond Riser's upcoming push for the contract.
"It's been long enough, right Rias? I mean he was starting to really get a hang of control before that last accident took his confidence away. It wasn't even that bad, if anything it helped me." Naruto pointed out.
"Naruto, it aged your body back and forth through time. You're lucky it managed to stop as close as it did to your actual age. The fact it aged you a year physically in the end doesn't help. He's terrified of what would happen to someone should he lose control again. We need to be gentle with him, but you're right. It's time for us to undo the seals. It'll have to wait till after we get familiars for our new members though." Rias explained getting her loyal rook to nod in agreement.
As if on cue, at the mention of getting familiars, Sona and her own peerage entered the clubroom. After brief greetings and introductions things started out poorly. Saji, Sona's four piece pawn immediately began harassing the pervert trio about the number of pawns he took to resurrect. Despite how much Naruto disliked the trio though, he liked them far more than Saji, and they were a part of his new family.
"The only reason you took more pawn pieces than Issei is because of the different level Rias and Sona are on idiot." Naruto scolded only to lean back and dodge a sudden punch by the boy.
"You watch your mouth! Insulting Sona like that, I'll kick you ass." Saji shouted, seemingly oblivious to reality.
The others stood idly by as Naruto easily sidestepped another series of attacks before slapping the older boy across the back of the head sending him end over end into the wall.
"Moron." Naruto growled, fed up with the pawn's entire demeanor.
Sona and some of her peerage helped the boy up. Before Saji was slapped across the face by Sona for embarrassing her causing him to gawk at his king in confusion.
"Saji, Rias is more powerful than me. She can use her excess power to fill the gap of more pieces and resurrect someone for less evil pieces than they would normally be worth. If she were to have resurrected you, I imagine you would only have been worth a single pawn." She reprimanded him.
"Thank you for the compliment Sona, but don't sell yourself short, I might have you beaten in power, but you always win in strategy and tactics." Rias said, trying to smooth things over and pay her old rival a compliment.
"Yes, thanks Rias." Sona said though she shot a glance toward Naruto and Akeno standing beside their king.
"Anyway, this nonsense isn't why we're here. I expect since it is that time again you will be seeking to obtain familiars for your new members. Unfortunately, so is my group." Sona said before both kings got into a heated glaring match. As if having a staring contest.
The majority of the peerage deadpanned at their leaders. Both girls typically acted so regal and commanding, to see them acting like little girls was strange. Akeno didn't help with her giggling at the two girls actions.
"Childish." Koneko voiced in her stoic tone causing both girls to blink before blushing profusely.
"Right, well," Sona said as she adjusted her glasses trying to hide her blush.
"We must decide on a way to decide who will go this month." Rias said, turning her face upward in a haughty manner to hide her own blush.
"This ought to be good, want to go get some treats from the kitchen with me Koneko?" Naruto asked, getting a small smile and nod from his classmate.
The pair left and soon returned with two plates full of treats, which neither of them shared with the others in the room. The pair of kings were still arguing over things while Naruto took stock of the two peerages.
The groups seemed to be getting along well, he was surprised by how well Aika seemed to get the pawns to all interact without a problem. Maybe he shouldn't have been. Once past that overly lewd exterior, one could see the type of person Aika really was. She had a mild charisma and charm that Naruto, and clearly others found endearing.
Not all was good though. As soon as his eyes fell on Asia, or more precisely her conversation partner he felt his jaw set. Saji, having gotten patched up by the ever sweet Asia was tightly holding her hand while talking the poor girl's ear off. She seemed uncomfortable, but as typical with Asia she was too polite to do anything about it.
Naruto however had rarely been described as polite. Handing his treats to an all too amused looking Akeno, Naruto stalked across the room with clear intent, though few saw him as their conversations took their attention.
Stopping just behind Saji, Naruto noticed the change in Asia's demeanor when he approached. Her smile becoming more genuine and her eyes brightened as they locked onto him, causing his own annoyance with the pawn to die away before he shook his head and remembered why he had come over here to begin with.
"We weren't properly introduced, you and me." Naruto spoke with a smile, though only those that had known Naruto a while could see, the smile was more him clenching his teeth.
"Y-yeah. Saji Genshirou, pawn of Sona Sitri-sama, four pieces." He said with what Naruto considered surprising confidence, being as he could see the slight wilting of the boy when he turned to see Naruto there.
"Welcome to the Occult Research Clubroom Saji. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, rook of Rias Gremory, Mid-class devil, mutation piece." Naruto said casually, though he did put emphasis on his being a rook, mid-class, and a mutation piece.
"Right, well it's nice to meet you formally." Saji said, wincing at the handshake he now regretted accepting.
"Of course, if you'll excuse me I intend to bring Asia-chan over to speak with Koneko-chan and Akeno-chan, so until next time." Naruto offered a wave as he turned away gently pulling a surprised looking Asia along to the other side of the room leaving the boy to droop.
Once they rejoined Akeno and Koneko, Naruto simply sent a look to the two girls to not saying anything. Akeno of course giggled and would no doubt tease him later. Koneko on the other hand seemed to be annoyed about something and had taken half his plate of sweets as some sort of punishment. Though she might have just been wanting more and he misread it. The girl could be really hard to understand at times.
"Fine best of three events then." Rias said as Sona nodded, causing the others to look at them.
"Everyone, we have come to an agreement. We will have three events to decide who will be going to the forest this month. The first is a chess match between Sona and myself, the second a tennis match tomorrow morning, and the last a dodgeball game the night after next in the school's gym." Sona informed them getting nods all around.
The group nodded and most departed while Rias and Sona set up a board for their first game. Within an hour Naruto was struggling to hold in laughter as Rias lost her reserved appearance and blasted the board, table and all to smithereens with her power of destruction before storming off.
When he heard her smack headfirst into a wall thanks to the new building's layout he lost it along with Akeno. The pair spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to avoid the various punishments the red faced king devised for them for supposedly embarrassing her.
The next morning went somewhat smoother. At least initially. Naruto had even managed to convince the kendo girls they had to distract the trio so in order to protect Rias and Akeno's virtue from their perverted eyes.
He was honestly a little disappointed in how easy that was. Especially when Aika caught wind and helped Katase and Murayama drag the boys off to who knows where. He didn't honestly feel sorry for them despite the frightening sparkle in Aika's eyes.
The tennis match only went smoothly at the beginning sadly. It was a great spectacle, he supposed. Even having been a devil for as long as he has, he wasn't sure if the girls realized what they were doing when they seemed to sexualize practically every task they did. He was even beginning to speculate it was an ingrained devil instinct and they weren't even aware of it.
The fact that the match continued on after both sides had resorted to magic and ruined the court, and their clothes leaving them in revealing tatters made him think that, no, they did not in fact realize the effect their bodies had on the student populace. Some of these poor boys in the stands would need transfusions to make up for the blood gushing form their noses.
Still, this time the point had gone to Rias. So that left the dodgeball game on friday night as the final challenge.
Friday Night, Kuoh Academy Gym
The two peerages of Kuoh filed into the gymnasium. It was a modest building, compared to some of the school's facilities but it was still quite large. Splitting off into their two teams the groups gathered on either end of the gym and took a moment to go over strategy.
Sona seemed to be running her team in her normal well organized manner. Rigid and efficient. Rias on the other hand ran things far more loosely. Something the pawns soon realized they disliked.
"Why are were on the front row? Shouldn't Kiba be in front or Naruto?" Issei whimpered.
"Yeah. They're way faster than us, president. Maybe we should be up beside you, to like protect you and stuff." Matsuda suggested with a poorly hidden leer.
"Think of this like a sort of trial run for a later rating game boys." Rias plainly said. She might not mind too terribly the leering or even them ogling her when they thought she didn't know they were spying in the changing area, but the thought of them rubbing up against her or groping on her for her protection from the ball was a bit past the line she would cross.
"So cannon fodder?" Motohama groaned.
"I mean it's important enough to have a dedicated name right? My role doesn't have a name." Naruto suggested with a cheeky smirk getting three glares shot in his direction.
Sona cleared her voice and adjusted her glasses in the usual haughty manner she had perfected. Naruto just rolled his eyes after thinking about the fact he knew the girl's eye sight was perfect but she enjoyed the know-it-all look they gave her.
"If we can begin now, my familiar will be one of the judges and Naruto's familiar is the other to ensure a fair game for both sides." Sona explained.
"Woah who are those chicks?" Issei asked startled.
The first was a beautiful elfine girl who looked more like a doll than anything else. He skin was pure white almost blue in tint with soft looking white hair and pale blue eyes. On top of that she wore arguably the shortest and most loosely tied kimono top any of the three perverts had ever seen. While she was not physically much larger than little Koneko, the girl screamed sex appeal.
Almost as if it was the first girl's polar opposite the second girl had a rich chocolate brown skin and bright yellow eyes. Her black hair was wild and messy and she seemed to be grinning about some kind of joke. He clothing wasn't much better than the first girl's a pair of extremely small jean shorts, showing her very absent panty line, and a yellow bikini top. As if to tempt the pervs more she had a collar style choker on her neck completing her punk appearance.
"Like Sona said they are our familiars. Her's is the Yuki-onna over there in the white and blue, and mine is Wulfrun, hough you guys already met her." Naruto said with a smirk.
"I think I would remember someone like her. She's not real big in the chest but I mean she makes it work!" Matsuda shouted.
"Huh, and I thought I heard you complaining about the 'big scary black wolf' that made you guys pick up the pace during your runs." Naruto teased.
"What?" Issei asked the gears in his head spinning.
"Most familiars have two or three forms they can transform between. That is Wulfrun's human form. She's a barghest so…" Naruto explained.
"What exactly is that though?" The trio seemed turned fully toward Naruto now causing the blond to sigh in annoyance while some of his friends giggled.
"It's essentially like a dog spirit or whatever. If you don't focus on the game you won't need to worry about questions about familiars for a whole month." Naruto snapped at them, getting them back into the game.
The game started, and similar to the tennis match it wasn't long before things started getting out of hand and magic began being used. Luckily they had already limited it's use to only enhancing the ball and not directly attacking one another. The last thing anyone wanted was for one of the new pawns to start trying to blast each other with half baked spells.
For his part Naruto was a bit impressed with his new family members. It was clear the training was paying off with them. He had even seen one of Sona's pawns be taken out from Matsuda snatching a ball she had thrown out of the air.
The kiddie gloves eventually came off though and the poor pawns found themselves out of their depth very quickly. Things really heated up, literally, when Sona and Rias both ordered their teams to start adding elemental spells to the balls leaving trails of fire, ice, and other elements flying across the room.
The most shocking, again literally, instance of things getting out of hand was Issei diving in front of the Kendo girls to take a ball meant for them. Unluckily for him said ball had been thrown by one of Sona's rooks after being charged with a powerful lightning spell. Making the poor boy down for the count, only worsened by the fact it was a direct hit to his groin.
Even the other team winced in mild sympathy as the boy dropped to the ground with a squeaky sounding cry. Naruto himself felt bad, though not bad enough to let Asia run over to tend to Issei's special region. Really she was far too sweet for her own good in his opinion. Instead with a nod Aika pounced on Issei with glee. She had received enough training from Akeno and Rias to know how to do basic healing. If there was permanent damage, such was life.
The whole thing quickly devolved into a spectacle. Katase and Murayama had an odd look on their faces at Issei taking the hit for the, not that it seemed a big deal had he gotten hit anywhere else. Motohama and Matsuda clung to their friend and wept openly about avenging his death. Which nearly caused Asia to pull away from Naruto till he reassured her that Issei, was not in fact dying.
"Maybe he won't be able to have children. Less pervs for the world." Koneko flatly stated while walking past to get some water. Naruto grimaced at her cold tone. He thought he was used to it but every once in a while she sent a shiver down his spine.
Naruto could only sigh as he saw the slightly worried looks on Katase and Murayama shift to embarrassed as Aika gave a very colorful description of Issei's gifts causing him to cover the blushing Asia's ears.
"Naruto, isn't Asia your senior?" Akeno teased, causing him to send her an annoyed glance as he awkwardly guided the innocent bishop away from the scene while still covering her ears. She looked seemed to only blush more at Naruto's actions while she let herself be led to the otherside of the gym.
Finally the game could get back on schedule after Aika had Katase and Murayama help her to move Issei to the stands and treat the boy more. It was pretty clear to the more experienced devils the healing was already done but they couldn't be bothered to interfere.
As the game got back under way Motohama and Matsuda looked ready to make good on their vows to avenge their perverted brother. It lasted all of twenty seconds before both were nearly embedded into the back wall from a pair of shots from the queen and rook of Sona's peerage.
Eventually things were looking grim. The only ones left in on Rias's side were Naruto and Akeno while Sona had herself, Tsubaki, and Saji still in the fight.
Dancing around a pair of crackling balls covered in lightning, Naruto snagged one before spinning and aligning it directly into Tsubaki's rear end as she turned and bent down to pick up another ball. The girl yelped and moved to the sidelines while rubbing the spot with a flush.
Now down to two players on each side, Naruto decided using his specialty would likely be their ticket to win. Leaning back slightly with a whisper to his partner he barely kept the grin off as Akeno opened her mouth with a small giggle.
"Ara, ara. I must say Sona-sama the amount of one on one you must have been showing Saji-kun here has really had me wondering. How did you get your mother and father to accept you dating a low class devil?" Akeno asked causing both of their opponents to blush, though Sona seemed more from irritation than embarrassment.
"Man I wonder what the kids in school will think with the student council president and Saji Genshirou being an item. Imagine all the rumors that will fill the school. When those pictures I have of you kissing go out." Naruto added on.
"We have done no such thing! Stop talking and play." Sona flatly stated causing Naruto to act affronted.
"Sona, are you calling me a liar?" He asked with a familiar grin splitting his face causing her temper to flare. Oh how she hated his pranking nature.
"I mean true or not ten minutes on a computer and I can make any lie believable." He said with more menace than was really necessary.
Pulling a piece of paper, a list he had written earlier, Naruto subtly used the transformation jutsu to turn it into an apparent photograph of Sona and Saji, not only kissing, but Sona's hands roaming in a very peculiar direction.
"Uzumaki." Sona hissed in annoyance. Before blinking when a pair of balls bounced lightly off both her and Saji while they stared at Naruto and his fake photo. A moment later the picture poofed and returned to being a grocery list.
"Of all of Rias' pieces, including the pawns, I think you two annoy me the most." Sona growled but conceded victory to Rias' peerage as the Gremory team cheered. She probably could have argued for cheating but they were devils afterall. It was in their nature and she really just wanted a shower and a nap with Tsubaki.
After calming everyone down and congratulating everyone, Rias gave the peerage the next day off to celebrate their victory before asking them all to meet at the clubhouse Sunday night so they could go to get their familiars.
ORC Main Meeting Room
The group had gathered to leave for the familiar forest and the excited but nervous looks on the new members had Naruto smiling slightly. He remembered getting his own familiar. It had been surprisingly easy all things considered. Naruto had a certain way with most animals or animal spirits since coming to this world. Back home some animals reacted poorly to the Kyuubi's chakra that they could instinctively sense from him. Now though, being a Kyuubi himself, and possibly because of his pact with Rias, though he was unsure, the Kyuubi's chakra was almost completely sealed away from leaking out or being sensed unless he tapped into it. Sadly as helpful as that was, it created problems of it's own.
The group blinked away in a red flash and soon found themselves in a clearing within a haunted looking forest. Behind them a small cottage straight from a story book sagged on it's foundation with what was undoubtedly extreme age. The sight that grabbed most of their attention, though, lay with the figure that had appeared in front of them.
The guide had noticeably changed from the last time Naruto had been here. Gone was the excitable but knowledgeable ranger in forester's clothes and instead was...a man child. He looked like a six year old had been walking to school and been hit by some sort of aging spell making him appear in his forties.
Doing his best to distract himself from the man ahead of them who was explaining how familiars worked and how to make pacts with them to the new members Naruto's mind rolled back to the memory of finding Wulfrun.
He had only been in the forest for fifteen minutes when he had found a small black puppy left by it's lonesome. The poor thing looked weak and half starved and Naruto hadn't thought twice about picking it up. As soon as he had the pup had transformed into a tiny girl, looking no older than ten in his arms. No longer in her dog form Naruto could more easily see he was right and that she was half starved and exhausted.
Again he hadn't thought twice, one look at the adorable child and Naruto knew he wasn't about to leave her there. So he had wrapped her up in his coat and that had been the end of things. Wulfrun had proven to be an extremely loyal, and playful familiar and sometimes he couldn't tell if she felt more like a little sister or a pet. Either way he hoped for the new members to have similar bonds with their familiars following this trip.
Heading out the group soon began encountering the first of the potential familiars. As the familiar master mentioned Undine's the perverted trio seemed awfully excited no doubt expecting beauties and the master's description didn't help to dissuade them of that notion.
He couldn't stop his laughter when he saw their horrified faces at the sight of the Undine's true form. He let himself and the others be dragged along by the boys trying to escape the pond afterward only to grimace as the group was set upon by their next potential familiar. Or in Naruto and most of the group's opinion, a pest.
The slime dropped down on the group from the trees, essentially directly onto the girls though Issei's jacket suffered a similar fate. As the slime began eating away at the clothes of some of the girls the perverted trio began fighting over who would be it's master only to break down into sobs as Naruto and Rias destroyed the slime entirely.
Naruto had been especially careful to destroy it before it could damage Koneko and Asia's clothing. He wasn't about to let the two girls closest to him be ogled by Issei and his friends. He had to give his jacket to Rias and shirt to Akeno though to try and better conceal their own underwear.
Aika had outright refused his offer of his undershirt and with surprising charisma that was beginning to make Naruto uncomfortable she convinced Katase and Murayama that they needed to embrace their natural beauty as well and show how confident they were in their skin. How the hell they bought that speech while she was literally fondling both of them he couldn't say.
"It feels like we'll never find one at this rate." Issei complained.
"We haven't even been here an hour." Naruto pointed out.
"Ugh, what the hell. That's forever." Motohama growled.
"Maybe for you." Akeno giggled. The trio froze in their tracks and looked at the older girl with agonized expressions. Akeno just giggled and enjoyed the looks they gave her.
"Calm down you three, and Akeno stop teasing them. We'll find something soon, I know it." Rias commanded confidently. Clamping their mouths shut the group continued on once more.
After another half hour with little more than the occasional animal type familiars a sudden smell of ozone brought the group to a standstill. The guide became excited as shortly following the smell the entire group felt a faint electric charge pass over them. Enough to make the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end.
"Oh ho! We might be in for a treat. If I'm right one of us has gained the attraction of a sprite dragon. There!" He said pointing at the tiny dragon that circled over the group as if examining them.
No sooner had the group locked their eyes on the creature before it dove toward them. It sped down at them letting off a blast of lightning toward Naruto, as he stood beside Asia, only for Naruto to sidestep the lightning and draw a kunai in preparation to kill another pest.
He stopped short as he saw the little beast dive into Asia's arms causing the girl to let out a surprised squeal. The dragon let out another bolt of lightning, which Naruto sidestepped again only for it to hit Matsuda and fry the poor pawn.
"That's about enough of that." He growled at the little creature causing it to shuffle deeper into Asia's arms.
"Well, little lady, looks like that one has you pegged as a new master. You should form your pact with it. Sprite dragons are incredibly loyal beasts and rarely get bigger than he is now so it's not too much of a hassle to care for them." The guide instructed.
Glancing first to Naruto then Rias and getting reassuring smiles from both of them, Asia did as she was told and formed her pact with her new familiar.
"Now to finalize it, Asia, you need to give him a name. Some familiars have their own names but others like sprite dragons are closer to animals and don;t really have the agency for that." Rias said.
"A name?" She asked herself while looking into the little dragon's eyes. She didn't take long. With a smile shifted the creature to one hand while rubbing it's head with the other.
"Raito!" She chirped happily as the creature seemed to accept and nuzzle into her palm.
Rias and Akeno giggled at the name while Naruto gave them a confused look. Shrugging his shoulders he and the other continued on trying to find familiars for the rest of the group.
After another two uneventful hours the group came to a small clearing in the woods. At it's center was a small stump dressed up to appear like a tiny cottage. Letting the guide handle things they watched him approach and gently knock on the tiny door with the tip of his finger.
After a shout and some clattering sounds from inside a tiny form swung the door open and was followed out by an equally tiny form. The group couldn't help the surprise at the appearance of the tiny people. Pixies. One with short brown hair and the other long pink. They both seemed upset and in a hurry to leave before they froze at the sight of the figures towering over them.
"Devils?" The pink one asked the other.
"This is perfect Caranet!" The brown one cheered.
"What do you mean Mena?" The pink responded.
"Think about it, we have been looking for a chance to move out of granny's little cottage and why do devils come here?" She responded.
"Oh….OH! You're right! Which ones though?"
As the two pixies flittered around them the group watched with humor as they immediately passed over the boys and Aika. They initially moved toward Asia, but the sudden growl from Raito had them scurrying away from her.
Finally they stopped in front of Katase and Murayama. Oddly enough in front of the girl with opposite hair colors to themselves.
"You'll do just fine." Caranet stated matter of factly.
"Yep, sis is right. So let's start up the pact already." Mena demanded.
Both of the Kendo girls exchanged looks before shrugging their shoulders. The pixies might be mouthy, but a mouthy familiar was better than no familiar. Making the pact the pair returned to their little cottage to inform dear granny of what happened after making sure the girls knew to summon them as often as possible.
"Well, that was...unexpected." Rias dryly stated. The whole situation felt a little backward to her.
"Let's just hurry up and get this over with, we still have four people to get familiars for and only a little bit of time before we have to leave." Naruto suggested.
The group continued on once more. Thankfully the wait was nowhere near as long this time to find another familiar prospect. A goat like boy ran headfirst into Issei knocking both of them down causing both to groan for a moment while the group helped them to their feet.
"Watch where you going asshole." Issei groused.
"Me? I live here you should apologize for being in my way!" The satyr shouted.
"Listen up sheep boy, you better apologize before I show you just how strong a devil of the Gremory House is!" Issei hollered.
"Since when did he start acting all official with this stuff?" Motohama asked getting no response from Matsuda who simply stared at the freak show in front of him.
"Oh, look at me knocking knees together in fear. Have you ever even been in a fight kid?"
"I'm about to be!"
"Ahem" Rias attempted to get both idiot's attentions. The Satyr suddenly dropped his jaw before looking back and forth between Issei and the girls of the peerage behind him.
"Woah. Wait, kid what are you doing palling around with babes like these? There's like one of every flavor just about!" The Satyr said looking stunned.
"Hehe, well like I said I'm a part of Rias Gremory's peerage. She's the redhead. All of those girls are also a part of my group." Issei said putting emphasis on 'my group' to rub the faun's face in it.
"No kidding. Kid what's your name?"
"Issei Hyoudou, you?"
"Cyrus Springbee, and at this moment your humble familiar. A man like you gaining a harem like that at such an age. Your a worthy master indeed!" Cyrus cheered.
"What the fuck?" Naruto asked before being pinched slightly by Asia for cursing.
"How did he even reach that conclusion?" Kiba asked baffled.
"Should I kill the perv or myself out of embarrassment?" Koneko asked flatly.
"Oh so dark Koneko-chan." Akeno said with a giggle.
"Yeah, well I do intend to be the Harem King of course." Issei and his new familiar were ignoring all those around them.
"Such a worthy dream for you young master, please teach me your methods!" Cyrus begged.
"Okay, enough of this shit." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes.
"Hmm, I should help discipline them, afterall it won't do for a naughty pawn to speak of their master and their master's peerage in such ways." Akeno followed after him arcing electricity in her hands. Following right along beside her was an excited looking Raito.
Once the new pair of pawn and satyr had been properly educated on the actual relationship between themselves and the others, and what should happen should they imply certain things, the group had been moving along once more. Sadly with three more needing familiars and tiem running low it was beginning to look like Aika, Motohama, and Matsuda would sadly be out of luck tonight.
Having turned back to make their way to the original clearing they had arrived in the three new members without familiars had gained saddened looks, almost trudging back. Rias kept glancing at them and frowning herself as they made their way back before an idea struck her.
Whispering into the guide's ear, the guide snapped his fingers while nodding with a big smile.
"Great thinking, Lady Rias, I can't believe such a spot slipped my mind!" He said as he began directing them down another path that took a slight detour on the way back to the clearing.
Rias smiled. She was certain at least one of the remaining pawns could get a familiar there. She had come along with her elder brother's peerage once when they had wanted to gain an additional familiar to help watch over her nephew. Hopefully they would have similar luck there that he did.
Reaching the detoured location the group came to a small stream that was picturesque compared to much of the more eerie looking woods they had been seeing. As they approached several possible familiars also seemed to notice them before retreating back further into the forest away from them. Rias didn't take that as a great sign.
Stopping at the stream a handful of water nymphs came to greet them. Unlike with the undines, these creatures very clearly held up to the myths. Beautiful in every sense of the word the nymphs were very friendly, especially with the boys. That is to say especially with Naruto and Kiba. Much to the annoyance of nearly the whole peerage.
One however stood apart from her 'sister' nymphs. Rather than bolting forward to feel up the two boys she instead gravitated toward Aika and her fellow pawns. Initially Rias hoped she was approaching one of the pawns to become familiars, however that quickly changed as the Nymph began feeling up Aika similar to how the girl did her own classmates.
Hearing a pact made after a couple of minutes and Naruto and Kiba were all too happy to lead the peerage away from the handsy nymphs. Naruto had even found a section of his underwear missing as if it had been torn off. How he hadn't felt that even occur made him paranoid for the rest of the time in the forest.
Sadly for Motohama and Matsuda neither received a familiar. Rias and some of the others had encouraged them that they would get one eventually though they still seemed somewhat depressed. Despite that they seemed to get along swell with Issei's familiar, so it wasn't a total loss on that front.
Teleporting back to the clubhouse the group was exhausted by their outing and ready to head off home to rest. While most did just that, the burden of leadership required Rias to check her work first before she joined Naruto and Asia at his apartment.
Rias idly thought about how odd it was she had gotten used to the bishop's presence in the bed whenever she joined Naruto. She had expected to be annoyed, as normally when she chose to cuddle with one of her pieces she wanted them all to herself. She had even fought with Akeno a couple times over both Naruto and Koneko when they were younger. The pair had been irrefutably adorable so both wanted to sleep with them. Normally it just led to her sleeping with Akeno and Naruto and Koneko disappearing to sleep somewhere else. With Asia it was a bit different, the former nun was honestly too much of a sweet thing for Rias to hold any kind of resentment toward her. It was definitely not fighting fair.
Having returned to her office to check on any work sent her from her father or brother Rias froze at the sight of a sealed envelope sitting on the center of her desk. The series of crests decorating the outside and marking it as official correspondence regarding the Gremory, Lucifer, and Phenex houses set her on edge and only one thought swirled in her head.
"Already?"
Alright so that's the end of chapter five and the first arc! Next update we will be getting a new arc as well, but it is going to be quite different. That is to say we will be checking up on Konoha. So until next time!
Please Read and Review.