Chapter 1: A Game of Cat and Fox

Koneko was discontent, even though she should have been happy. The looming disaster that had threatened her master and her by proxy was dealt with, had been for two days now. The situation was handled. Everything was fine. Yet Koneko could not find it in herself to be properly happy about how things had gone.

To explain the reason for her state of mind, one had to examine the story behind it. Koneko was a Devil. She had not been born one; in fact, she had been born a Nekoshou, a rare and nearly extinct race of Nekomata. She had become a Devil through a chess piece-like device known as an Evil Piece. Evil Pieces allowed the High-Class Devil who owned them to reincarnate – sometimes even resurrect – others into their Peerage as their servants. Koneko's master, Rias Gremory, had reincarnated her and taken her into her household after she had lost everything. Yet Rias herself had stood to lose a lot as well. She had been betrothed to Riser Phenex, a man she abhorred for his view of her. That engagement had recently been challenged in a Rating Game between the Peerages. Koneko had been taken out early on, and Rias had lost the game. Only semi-legal intervention from Rias' older brother and Issei Hyoudou, a consummate pervert and fellow servant of Rias, had managed to finally break the engagement. That last part was cause for celebration, but her own role in the ordeal soured Koneko's mood.

"I need to get stronger. I'm the weakest in the Peerage right now," she said to herself.

It galled her to admit it, but it was true. Everyone else bar Asia, who could not really be counted, had contributed more to the fight; and Issei, the second-newest member of the Peerage, who should have been the weak link, had accomplished what everyone else had failed to do. That was a wake-up call for her. She needed to improve if she did not want to be left behind.

That thought accompanied her through the following days of doing contract work. Apart from training, fulfilling contracts for clients was the primary way for Devils to get stronger. Well, for many, it was the only way to get stronger since many Devils, especially pure-blooded ones, were too lazy to train. Even Rias kind of fell into that category; all her training during the preparatory period before the Rating Game had consisted of strategising. That, more than anything, pointed out the importance of getting stronger. Koneko only wished she could do so faster. Contracts were slow to do so, and training yielded inferior results without a instructor.

She had considered the idea of getting one several times now, but there were problems in the way of that. The first of them was that Rias did not have access to one suited for her combat specialty. Hiring a tutor from outside the wider Gremory household was also not viable; it required funds she did not have. Then there was the issue of whether one would even accept her. Her sister's actions had stained the reputation of the Nekomata in the Underworld. If they learned that Koneko was Kuroka's sister, they were likely to simply decline the contract. So, she was left at square one: self-taught training and Devils' contracts.

At least she could devote herself to those contracts in peace. It was not exactly glamorous work since she was most often just there to dress up in a costume and look cute. There was a surprisingly low rate of creeps among those who requested her for a contract. The few who wished to live out inappropriate fantasies involving her were either filtered out by Rias or beaten into a pulp by Koneko herself. Devils were free to decline a contract, after all. Most of her customers were nice, however. Some people just wanted to vent with a cute girl to listen to them; others simply wanted to dote on her; and one time she had even been hired to serve as a model for the cover of a children's storybook. The deaths caused by Freed, a maniac who had murdered some of her customers, cast a shadow over the whole thing, but the man had disappeared after the battle at the abandoned church. Things were calm now.

But therein lay the problem. Uneventful days meant no progress on the strengthening front. That was the sad reality of it. Sighing in resignation, she dedicated herself to her last contract of the day.

She had chosen that contract to be the last for its laid-back nature. It was about taste-testing ramen, of all things, at a recently opened shop. As she was a consummate glutton, she had been given the request by Rias. It was not like Koneko minded, however. She did like to eat, and having ramen sounded like a good way to end the workday.

Soon after she had set foot on the teleportation circle, it activated. She arrived a moment later at her target destination. The room she found herself in looked clean but a bit barren; the only defining feature of it being a multitude of boxes and crates. It looked like she had been summoned into a storage area.

It was not long before she spotted the figure of her summoner. He was a blond man of average height. His build was lean but strong, and he wore a friendly smile on his face. Said face bore strange, whisker-like marks on the cheeks. Was he some sort of Youkai?

"Are you the one who summoned me?" she asked, for formality's sake.

The man nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Name's Naruto Uzumaki. What's yours?"

"Koneko Toujou," she answered. If nothing else, he was courteous, even if his speech was very casual. Still, the previous question remained, so she asked: "Are you a Youkai? I've never seen a human with birthmarks like that."

He laughed and replied: "I get asked about those pretty often. My parents were human, if that's what you're asking, but there's something else in the family tree."

Koneko nodded in acknowledgement before she moved on to the next topic: "What's the specifics of the contract?"

"You're all business, huh?" he asked.

"I just take food seriously," she answered.

He grinned and said: "And I take ramen very seriously. You see, I've invested in this place. I want only the best ramen sold in any shop I have a stake in, and for that I need taste-testers."

"I'm not complaining, but why did you hire a Devil for that?" asked Koneko.

"The answer is pretty easy," he said, "Your senses are sharper than a human's. You're better at tasting small nuances. When I said that I only wanted the best ramen served, I meant it."

They then left the storage area and headed outside to the front of the shop. It was closed, even though the kitchen was running, so the two of them were alone. The kitchen staff was there too, but they seemed to not pay attention to them at all. The lack of customers meant that the two of them ate mostly in silence. That changed, however, when Koneko looked to the side and noticed the ever-growing tower of empty bowls next to Naruto.

"Where do you stuff all this food?" she could not help but ask.

He stopped his ravenous devoration of the ramen in front of him. A moment later, he had chewed and gulped down the food in his mouth so he could answer.

"I used to have a problem with that when I was a kid. I got stuffed way too quickly. Then I started taking my training seriously," he said.

She frowned at him. "That's not a real answer. How does training help you fit so much into your stomach? You should be bloated right now."

Naruto scratched his chin and answered: "I've never been big on the academic stuff, but isn't matter just energy in another form? My training takes a lot out of me, so I get my energy back by eating a lot."

"It doesn't work like th-," protested Koneko.

She stopped in thought. Her retort felt not entirely true. If a human of her body type and size ate as many sweets as she did, they would rapidly get fat. Being a Devil afforded her some control over her appearance, but that ability took power. Naruto was at least partially right, since food really did get turned into energy, just not quite like he described.

"Okay, it does, but not that fast or that directly. What you're describing works for Devils, not humans. And you're a human," she pointed out.

He snorted and said: "What's to stop a human from training? After you've reached a certain level, it's easy to do it."

She pondered that statement and resumed eating. He did the same, inhaling even more ramen. And so, their silence returned for a while. Several minutes were spent like that until they were both finished with eating.

Once Koneko was done trying out the menu, she filled out the question form her contractor had given her. It was surprisingly alike to the questionnaires Devils handed out after the fulfilment of a contract. It made sense from a certain point of view, but it was also somewhat suspicious.

"Am I the first Devil you summoned?" she asked.

He shook his head and said: "Nope. Some guy I accidentally summoned when I toured Africa was the first one. A bit stuck-up, but friendly. He helped me with a bit of trouble I had with a local warlord. I paid with a few old gold pieces I had on hand. Apparently, they were counterfeit Ryo, but it was still gold, so he took the payment. That's when he explained Devil contracts and valid forms of payment to me."

"That explains the questionnaire," she said. "It looks a lot like the ones we hand out."

"It does, yeah. I modelled it after yours," he admitted. "Speaking of which, I gotta fill that out. I don't want to keep you here longer than I need to. You feel a bit tired."

Koneko nodded absentmindedly before she handed him his completed questionnaire and the empty one for her contract. She was kind of tired. Between school, exercise and the contracts, she was pretty much done. If even a human could tell that she was exhausted, then-

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt. He had said that she felt tired. Felt, not looked. She warily turned to him and braced herself for a confrontation. "What do you mean by 'feel?'"

He lifted his hands. "I don't want to pick a fight, though I'll agree to a spar anytime. While we're at it, I could also teach you how to properly use your chakra. It fluctuates too easily with your emotions and makes you easy to read," he answered her.

"You can use chakra?!" she shouted. Then she looked around for the kitchen staff.

Before she could get far with her thoughts, Naruto answered: "Of course. Why do you think the cook and the server don't comment on our talk?"

He then handed her the questionnaire, which he had filled out without her noticing. After that, he made a strange hand sign with his right hand and said: "It was nice having you here, believe it! See ya!"

A whirlwind engulfed him out of nothing after he had finished speaking. Not a moment later he was gone, leaving behind a very confused Nekoshou.

"I need to tell the President about this," she murmured.


Naruto Uzumaki was old. It was not odd for the people of his clan to live well past a hundred; the youngest natural death of any clan member was a man aged 97. But even by the standards of his ancestors, he was ancient. In fact, he was so old that he barely even remembered his age. And yet, he looked no older than when he had been thirty.

The reason behind this went a lot further than genetics. His ancestry still played a large role. He was the inheritor of Ashura Otsutsuki's spirit, which had enhanced his already powerful life force. Even then, he should not have made it past two hundred years, an age which he had eclipsed a very long time ago. The true reason for his longevity lay a bit further back than Ashura. It was the man's father, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, who had made it possible.

Hagoromo was the Sage of the Six Paths, a being of nigh-incomparable power and wisdom to the people of his home. He was also Naruto's ancestor, which had allowed him to appear before Naruto during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War; for Hagoromo had done the impossible and transcended death. After his demise, he had gained the ability to leave the Pure World and track his descendants through their chakra. He had come to Naruto's (and his friend/rival Sasuke's) aid at the conclusion of the war. His appearance had made victory possible.

That appearance had planted a seed in Naruto's mind. If Hagoromo could transcend death after dying, was it possible to transcend death before dying? It had taken until his wife Hinata's death at age 77 that he had begun to stop contemplating and start studying. He had loved his wife dearly, loved her even more still, and he had not been able to bear the reality of being parted from her for the several decades it would have taken for death to claim him as well. And so, he had figured that if transcending death allowed the dead to leave the Pure World and return to it, it would also allow the living to visit the Pure World.

It had taken him twenty years to achieve his goals. Most of it had been spent trying to find a way to summon Hagoromo (or Old Man Super Sage as Naruto called him) and get an explanation. Even more time had been spent trying to convince the old man to help him. Naruto had only ever received partial answers. As such, he had been forced to consult with Orochimaru, a mad scientist, who had thankfully begun the process of turning into a decent human being. The man's quest for immortality had yielded surprising success, but he had known very little of transcendence. Still, his knowledge of the Shinigami mask in the Uzumaki mask temple had been the solution to the problem. A pact with the Shinigami later, and Naruto had transcended death.

The price, however, had been steep. The Shinigami had charged him with mercenary work. Being a shinobi, Naruto had not minded much, but the sheer volume and difficulty of the work had been staggering. These problems had traditionally been taken care of by the Shinigami itself, and the level of difficulty truly was worthy of a divine being.

The problem the Shinigami saw itself confronted with was the security of the world. That had been as true then as it was now. Back then, however, that problem had been far more dire. As the only being of its power level, it had been the only defence against outsiders, which were beings that crossed the boundaries between worlds. Worlds, not planets. The Shinigami had had trouble holding the line, and it had needed a helper.

Naruto had been that helper. He had realised early on that his power, although considered nigh-insurmountable by his fellow Shinobi, had barely sufficed to endure the weakest of onslaughts from the outsiders. The one saving grace there had been their disunity, as they had belonged to many different factions. The constant struggle against such supreme power had allowed him to grow stronger with each encounter, and his morale had been maintained by frequent visits to his wife and family in the Pure World. In time, he had grown strong enough to stand at the Shinigami's side as its equal. And then, after aeons of fighting, the invasions had slowly petered out until they had stopped entirely.

The Shinigami had then released Naruto from its service. Both parties had fulfilled the conditions of the pact. They had also formed a strange but comfortable friendship between them. Naruto had nonetheless had the wish to leave the Shinigami's side then. He had not had the chance to keep up with the times as much as he would have liked, and he had wanted to familiarise himself with all the new jutsus and technologies.

So had passed many centuries on top of the millennia he had spent defending his world, and he had grown wary of it. His desire to discover new things had thus led him to explore the vast stretches of his homeworld but also other worlds. And although he always made frequent trips back to his own world, the exploration of others had become Naruto's way of life.

This had ultimately led him to where he was now. This strange world that looked like so many others (Earth was a very frequently occurring planet across many different worlds) had a strange pull for him. He had set foot on it in Africa and stumbled through the continent for over a year before he had familiarised himself somewhat with the quirks of this world. Copious amounts of time had been spent on studying all sorts of things, including these Sacred Gears this world seemed to love so much. They were all over the place in Africa, and he had been curious to see if that was the case for the rest of the world too. He had then taken trips across the globe until he had ended up in Japan. What had pulled him here was the above average frequency of chakra users. He would have gone to Kyoto if he had not known that it would have resulted in political problems. Instead, he had wandered through the country and eventually settled in a town with only one, sometimes two, distinct chakra signatures.

Was this person a master? If so, he wanted to learn what he could from them. As powerful as he was, there were always new discoveries to be made. Was it a novice? In that case he would teach. It had been an awfully long time since he had last taught an apprentice. All he knew was that the person had to be a Devil. The chakra he was sensing had their distinct colouring imprinted on it. Figuring out their status was now a small passion project of his.

There were other passions in his life, however. One of them was ramen. He had never been able to let go of his obsession with the 'food of the Gods' and its intricacies. It was no wonder, then, that he began setting up a ramen shop that would serve the divine delicacy of Ichiraku recipes. He would have to frequently verify the standards of the products, of course. It was there that a thought occurred to him. He could combine his passion for ramen with his passion for the study of chakra!

"Now let's see about getting a contract flyer!" he said with glee.


Koneko had hurried to the Occult Research Club building as fast as her teleportation spell had been able to be cast. It was late, and everyone had already gone home, but that was what led her here. Rias lived in the ORC building, although that would change very soon. For now, she was still there. That made it convenient to find her when something important had to be reported.

To be fair, it must have seemed like less of a convenience for Rias herself when Koneko barged into the building and banged on her door. "President!" she called.

The busty redhead's groggy voice called back: "Who is it?"

"Koneko," answered the younger girl.

The door promptly opened. Rias was dressed for bed like she always was, which was to say: not at all. Koneko spent half a second jealously regarding the gorgeous naked girl in front of her. She discarded any thoughts about that instantly, though. She was here for a reason.

"What's wrong?" asked Rias. "You normally wouldn't bother me if it weren't important."

The white-haired girl nodded and said: "I encountered a strange man on my last contract…"

From there, she recounted what had happened on her last job of the day. The strangeness of the request did not register as particularly alarming; there were many weirder requests coming in daily. What raised eyebrows was what had happened at the tail end of it.

"It's good you came. To think that a supernatural being could sneak into Kuoh without our notice, again. That is cause for concern," said Rias.

"What should I do now?" asked Koneko.

The redhead paused in thought for a short moment. Then, she instructed: "If you get another contract from him, I'll come along. Don't go alone."

"Okay," replied Koneko.

Rias smiled softly at her. "Now that that's done with, why don't you stay the night? You shouldn't be out alone at night."

Koneko knew that that was a lie. She was fully capable of taking care of herself, and her apartment was not far away from Kuoh Academy. She suspected that Rias simply wanted to cuddle. They had done that a lot when she had been new to the Peerage, a scared little girl in dire need of affection. That, and Rias liked cuddling something or someone in her sleep.

"Fine," said Koneko.

As soon as she was finished speaking, she was pulled into a tight hug. That resulted in her face being sandwiched between the older girl's well-proportioned breasts. Rias was surprisingly shameless about her body around those she trusted. Koneko only wished it would involve fewer instances of having her own inadequacies shoved right into her face, literally.

It only got worse from there for the Nekoshou. Rias was a clingy sleeper, which was expected, but she had apparently also picked up the habit of talking in her sleep. That alone would not have been so bad, but the subject matter of her words left Koneko with images she did not want to have in her head.

"Oh, Issei…," mumbled Rias in her sleep.

Koneko covered her ears as best she could. She did not want to hear about the pervert while she was trying to sleep. The boy was far kinder than she had initially expected, but he was still a lecher, and she really did not need to hear a live commentary of her master's wet dreams involving him. Sadly, it was not to be.

"Do that again," came Rias' low voice as she hugged Koneko tighter.

You're the worst, glowered the white-haired girl in her thoughts.


In another part of Kuoh, Issei Hyoudou suddenly awoke bathed in cold sweat. He had the bad feeling that somebody was directing their malice at him.

"What did I do?" he asked himself


The next morning saw a very irritated, sleep-deprived Koneko devouring a stick of pocky in silence. She had not been able to get a lot of sleep. Rias apparently had a very active imagination, much to the younger girl's detriment. Next time she needed help from the ORC President, she would not agree to a sleepover again.

"Koneko? Are you alright?" asked Rias.

Contrary to the other girl, the redhead was well-rested and full of energy for the day.

Koneko gave her a short answer: "You talk in your sleep."

She left it at that and Rias did not press any further, although she briefly looked a bit sheepish. Still, the problem of sleepiness remained. Rias sighed.

"You can take off from doing contracts today. Get some rest tonight," said Rias.

"Thanks, President," responded Koneko.

As it turned out, the promised rest would be needed. The school day was unusually tough, and Koneko had a hard time concentrating on the material. By the time it was over, she was almost nodding off. Fortunately, the last matter of the day was club activity, which meant she could go home after the initial briefing.

While Gasper was, as usual, missing, the other members of the ORC were present. Kiba, who was considered the 'Prince of Kuoh Academy' by the predominantly female student body wore his usual smile. Another perpetual smiler was Akeno, perhaps the only woman bustier than Rias this side of Japan. She was also providing tea for everyone. Situated on the couch was Asia, a former nun of very gentle disposition. Next to her sat Issei, the resident pervert and the current Red Dragon Emperor. He also made a lewd face while staring at Akeno and the last member of the group aside from Koneko: Rias, the club president. This sort of scene was slowly becoming familiar.

"Please listen, everyone," began Rias. "Koneko brought something important to my attention last night. There is a new supernatural presence in town. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, average height, blond hair and fairly muscular, although not to the degree of a body builder. He can also use chakra, an ability that is normally restricted to Youkai. He made a contract with Koneko yesterday and revealed himself to her. So far, we don't know if he's hostile or not, but he has shown friendly conduct as of now. I want you to be on the look-out for him while you do your jobs."

Issei then asked, "Does that mean he's dangerous?"

Rias turned her head to Koneko, who answered: "I don't think so, but he might be. It's possible that he's strong. He offered to teach me about chakra."

"As I have told Koneko, if you encounter him, contact me immediately," finished Rias.

"Yes, President!" was the chorus of responses.

"Good. Then let's go. We have work to do. Koneko, stay please," said Rias.

A bit annoyed that she could not go home to rest immediately, Koneko waited for her master to address her again. She only hoped it was embarrassing.

"About last night, I'm sorry I disturbed your sleep. You said I talked. What did I say?" asked Rias. There was a faint air of embarrassment about her.

Koneko was a bit too sleep-deprived to measure her response and said: "You kept saying Issei's name. Enthusiastically."

There was now a bright blush on Rias' face, which she promptly buried in her hands in mortification. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like him, so I apologise for making you listen to that," she said. "This is embarrassing."

The younger girl. "I don't dislike him… too much. He's courageous and a reliable friend. Sadly, he's also an idiot and a pervert."

To be fair, the last part was not a deal breaker. Many Devils were perverts, and if she was honest, she had to admit that the biggest sexual deviant of the Peerage was Akeno, not Issei. The latter's problem was the manner in which he expressed it. At least he was being honest about it, but it was still very much an acquired taste.

"It can be annoying," conceded Rias, "but it's also a bit endearing. The way he looks at me is adorable."

Case in point on the deviancy front, Rias was apparently also a pervert. Go figure, thought Koneko.

Out loud, she said: "How is that different from Riser? The two are quite similar."

Rias shook her head and retorted: "Riser saw me as a trophy, a source of prestige. Issei sees me as an object of desire, not for the Gremory name, but for me."

"For your body," corrected Koneko.

"Well, I do have quite the beautiful body, don't I? I don't mind him desiring it. But that's not the only thing he likes about me. He shows genuine affection. You know that," argued Rias.

Koneko was reminded of the nature of Devils. They were beings of sin, and each one had at least one favourite sin to follow. Koneko's own sin was gluttony, Akeno's was lust, and Rias' was pride with a hint of vanity. Being an object of desire was not demeaning to her, so long as that desire came from someone she did not dislike, and was backed by an otherwise palatable personality.

"I guess," said Koneko. "Just don't moan his name into my ears again."

There was now a renewed blush on Rias' face. She apologised once more: "I'm sorry about that."

Koneko shook her head. "It's ok. Sorry for being snippy. I'm tired."

The redhead quickly regained her composure. She nodded and said: "Apology accepted. Go home now. I've kept you here long enough. Rest well, and don't forget your assignment once you're up and running again."

"Yes, President."


Things happened fast over the next few days. Rias moved in with Issei, Akeno was getting all giggly for some reason, and Koneko found herself being led around by the nose.

That last part irritated her quite a bit. Wherever she went, she could see signs of activity from the blond human who had become the target of investigation. She would see flashes of his hair, only to find nothing when she turned around. From time to time, she found coupons for a bowl of ramen randomly laying on the ground right in front of her. One time, a blonde woman – a very rare sight around these parts – even handed her a flyer advertising that ramen bar where her contract had been completed. It mirrored the way Rias handed out he contracts perfectly. Koneko was sure that he wanted to send her a message in this convoluted manner.

Guessing the content of this message was rather easy. The coupons were a big hint. The question was whether to follow the trail of breadcrumbs or not.

The decision was ultimately taken out of her hands when she presented one of the coupons to Rias. The redhead was a japanophile of the highest calibre, so she convinced herself in record time that she should check out the locale for the dual purposes of "experiencing Kuoh's unique flavour of the Japanese ramen culture" and scouting out a person of interest at the same time. There was no stopping Rias from dragging her along on this endeavour.

"If nothing else, we'll get to eat for free. That's something," thought Koneko to herself.

They found themselves again at the shop in short order. It was not all that hard to find, which made sense from a business perspective. Said business seemed to be booming too. There were many customers either sitting at the bar or at one of the tables. Finding a spot for themselves proved to be difficult up until they found an empty table with a sign on it that read "Regulars only" with the image of a coupon beside it.

Believing that this was the right course of action, Koneko and Rias sat down there. Only moments later, a server came to their table. After they handed him their coupons and took their orders, they waited for a bit. Their orders arrived promptly.

"This is delicious," said Rias.

Koneko only nodded and focussed on her food. That was one thing that could be said about the place. The food was superb.

It was only after they had finished that something interesting happened. The one who came to collect their dishes was not the server from before but the financial backer of the business himself: Naruto Uzumaki.

He grinned at them and said: "I was wondering when you'd show up. To be honest, I expected you to do so sooner."

"I would have if you'd summoned me again," said Koneko bluntly.

"Now where's the fun in that?" asked Naruto rhetorically. "In any case, hello again. And this must be your [King], right?"

Rias nodded. "That's right," she said.

The blond man clapped and said: "Great! That saves some time."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" asked Rias.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't let the little one learn from me without checking if I'm trustworthy. I may have been an idiot in my youth, but I'm still smart enough to figure that out," answered Naruto.

Koneko glared at him. "Don't call me little. I'm sixteen."

He raised an eyebrow and replied: "I'm more than ten times your age. To me, you'll be a little one until you're forty."

"Be that as it may, your assumption is correct," interrupted Rias before he could call her little too. "I want to see for myself that your offer to teach my adorable servant is not a trap."

While Koneko was somewhat annoyed to have her own protestations undermined by her master, Naruto simply smiled and assured them: "No problem. Follow me. I'll bring you to my training ground."

The three of them then departed for the back area of the shop. Thanks to a number of seals, none of the customers bothered to question their behaviour nor the entirely suspicious scene of a (seemingly) thirty years-old man disappearing into the back area with two high school girls. Naruto was not in the mood to be accused of being a creep. His chosen form of exit was simply the most convenient way to reach the training ground without being noticed.

Koneko recognised the storage area where she had been summoned for the original job. It looked mostly the same as before, but now there was some sort of symbol array painted on the ground. It was a bit larger than the teleportation circle in the ORC building. She wondered if it served a similar purpose. The symbols on it were strange and unfamiliar, however.

"Please stand on the circle. It's the fastest way to get to our goal," said Naruto.

They tentatively followed his instructions and stepped into the circle. Once he saw that they were fully inside, Naruto performed a series of hand signs.

"Reverse Summoning Jutsu," he said, more to inform them than out of necessity.

A cloud of white smoke engulfed the three. When it cleared, the two girls were left staring at their surroundings. They could see that they now stood in a clearing in the middle of a forest. There was a small waterfall at one end of the clearing. The grass, the trees and even the water from a small nearby stream that contained the waterfall seemed positively vibrant. It was a wondrous place.

"Where are we?" asked Rias.

Naruto laughed and answered: "That's a secret. It's safe, though."

Koneko was too distracted to pay attention to the conversation. She was entranced not only by the beauty of this place but also by its feeling. As much as she feared Senjutsu, her natural affinity for it screamed at her that this place was full of natural energy and life. It felt free of all taint. To a Nekoshou like her, this clearing came close to paradise. She had not known that a place like this could exist.

"It's so peaceful here," she whispered.

Naruto smirked. "Yep. I cleaned up the natural energy myself. It makes teaching Senjutsu a lot easier."

Koneko swallowed empty air. "You want to teach me Senjutsu?" she asked in a small voice.

He frowned at her and said: "Eventually, but you don't seem to like the idea. Don't worry about it. It's too soon anyway. You first need to know the basics of chakra."

"My…," she began, "Someone I knew went insane while using senjutsu. I don't want the same thing happening to me."

He blinked at her. "Huh. I knew a guy who was like that as well. In his case, it was the result of improper balance and some sort of complicated enzyme or whatever in the bloodstream. The method I learned has other risks. But let's leave that alone for now. It's time to teach you a thing or two about chakra."

Koneko perked up at hearing that. She asked: "Where do we begin?"

"I think it makes the most sense that we start with what you know," he answered.

"I don't know much. I haven't used Youjutsu since I was very young," she told him.

So, she did the next best thing. She tried to remember the very few lessons she had had in the past with her sister. Slowly, she roused her chakra. She made sure not to exert too much control over its flow or to stimulate her aura with it, lest she accidentally perform Senjutsu. It was easier than she had thought, actually. She had not done this in such a long time that it surprised her how quickly she had managed to set some chakra free.

"Weird," muttered Naruto.

"What do you mean?" asked Rias from the sidelines. "Is something wrong with Koneko?"

Naruto hummed and said: "Can't say. Her chakra is almost 100% physical energy. The split should be around 50/50. The flow is also not like it should be. I can't detect a chakra pathway system in her body. It's no wonder that people go insane using Senjutsu if that's the state they're trying it in."

That statement shocked both Koneko and Rias. The Nekoshou asked: "Does that mean I can't learn techniques from you?"

"Not as you are," said Naruto, "But my ancestor Hagoromo Otsutsuki invented a technique that creates a chakra pathway system in others. I can use it on you if you want."

"Are there any risks? I will not allow you to endanger my servant, I'll have you know," questioned Rias.

As bossy, greedy and perhaps even a bit arrogant she could be, Rias cared a great deal for her Peerage. She loved them like family. There was no way she would ever let someone inflict grievous harm on any of them.

Fortunately, Naruto shook his head. "There are no risks involved. I do have to warn you, though. It's an intense experience for first-timers."

"First timers?" asked Koneko.

"Yeah. The creation of the pathways is just a side effect of the technique. Ninshu – that's its name – is a sacred practice to its followers," answered the blond man.

"Are you one of those followers?" asked Rias.

Naruto nodded and said: "Yes, but not of the original doctrine. My school of Ninshu is the Will of Fire, if you want to know. And before you worry, Koneko won't be forced to do anything. I'll still teach her what it's all about, but there's no big religious dogma involved."

"Alright. If Koneko wants to, she can learn," allowed the redhead.

"I want to, for the pathways if nothing else," said the girl in question.

A cheerful grin came upon Naruto's face. He held out his fist to her and said: "Great! In that case, bump it."

She hesitantly lifted a hand of her own, and formed it into a fist. She bumped it lightly against his, and noted that it seemed to stick.

Then, he spoke: "Ninshu is the path to understanding. Brace yourself."

Suddenly, Koneko felt something seep into her. A strange but comfortable heat crawled up her arm, through her shoulder, into her heart and then all throughout her body. It felt kind of pleasant, but when it finally reached her head, she gasped. And then, she understood.

The man before her was pouring his spirit into her, and through it she could see the shape of his character. He was kind, loyal to a fault, and so full of life. Her senses were overwhelmed by it, in fact. It seemed impossible for any being to have this much life within their body; and the strength of his spirit was equally impressive. The weight and volume of his chakra dwarfed hers to a ridiculous degree. She was half a drop of water before all the seas combined. She was not afraid though. There was not a single doubt in her mind that this man was a good person.

As suddenly as it had come, the feeling of epiphany disappeared. She gasped for air, noticing only a few seconds later that her fist was no longer touching his. The strange heat still persisted, but it was dying down to a gentle warmth. The biggest thing she was left with, however, was a feeling of confusion.

"What was that?" asked Koneko with a low voice.

"The most basic ability of chakra is to connect energies. When physical and spiritual energy are combined, you get amplified combat-grade chakra. But you can also connect the energies of different people. Our spiritual energies were connected for a short moment just now. You saw who I was, and I saw who you were. I gotta say, you're one of my most interesting students yet," explained Naruto with a grin.

"You read my thoughts?!" exclaimed Koneko.

He burst out laughing. "No way. Ninshu reads the spirit, not the mind. With practice, you can tell what the other feels, but not what they think. Mind reading with chakra techniques is possible, though that only works when the target is restrained. Not like I need it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Koneko.

There was a broad grin on his face again. "That would be telling. Maybe you'll figure it out at some point. For now, let's get started with the lesson."

Koneko straightened up and paid attention. As irritating as his refusal to answer was, she understood that people kept secrets. "What's first?"

"The absolute basics of the chakra-based Shinobi arts," answered Naruto. "I could teach you the techniques of the monks or of the samurai, but they're a bit simple and restrictive. In other words, they're boring."

"Shinobi?" asked Rias with raised eyebrows. He was throwing around terms that should have been familiar, but she had never heard them connection with chakra

"Yeah. Not quite like the ones you're used to, though. Sure, stealth is important, but Black Ops stuff is reserved for specialists like the ANBU units. Most Shinobi where I come from are main force combatants," elaborated the whiskered man.

"So it's straight into sparring?" asked Koneko.

Naruto nodded and said: "Almost. I hated being stuck in a classroom, so I'm going to keep the theory to a minimum. We'll start with the three main types of Shinobi arts: Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninutsu. The first one's self-explanatory; Genjutsu are illusions that only work against people with chakra; and Ninjutsu is everything else. Both Genjutsu and Ninjutsu require hand signs to stimulate the chakra flow. From what I know, they're almost the same as the ones these Onmyouji guys use."

"Are they necessary? That sounds like a big drawback," asked Koneko.

"At the start? Yeah. You can cut them down with practice. Otherwise, no one would use the Water Dragon Jutsu. Forty-four hand signs for a B-ranked technique are a bit much," answered Naruto. "And it's not much of a drawback if you're fast enough. There are worse ones; doing maths during battle like those magicians sounds more impractical, for example."

Both Koneko and Rias had to concede that point. It was a big distraction to do that. There was one thing to add, however.

"Many spells can be put on paper as pre-calculated, or so I have heard," said Rias.

Naruto pulled out a slip of paper with symbols drawn on it. He slapped it on a rock and threw it in the air. Once it had reached sufficient height, he made a single hand sign.

"Same with chakra," he said.

Boom!

A big explosion occurred in the sky. The shockwave ruffled the leaves of the trees and the blades of grass in the clearing.

Naruto elaborated: "Fuinjutsu, is a sub discipline of Ninjutsu. It's also my family's specialty. You don't need magic when you have chakra, believe it."

"Interesting," muttered Rias.

"Wow," said Koneko.

Naruto merely grinned again and said: "Right then. Let's start with the hand signs"

And so, the first of many lessons for Koneko began, with far-reaching consequences for the world.


AN: Greetings, dear readers! Welcome back to all those who've read Headmates, and hello to everyone who's new.

I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter of my new story. If you've found it to be refreshing and interesting, I've done my job right.

I wanted to go with something I've seen rather little of. Often, crossovers between Naruto and High School DxD take on the form of reincarnation stories or OC-replacement inserts. The result of this is that DxD's main cast often get sidelined by the "intruding" cast. The biggest victim of this is usually Issei, who is an entirely underappreciated character. Maybe it's the anime's characterisation of him (I'm a light novel reader), or maybe it's because of DxD's usually blunt, on-the-nose writing that the genuinely interesting complexities of his personality are lost on so many people. As such, I intend to give him some well-deserved spotlight and appreciation. The same goes for other underappreciated characters, such as Koneko (whom I want to make this story's protagonist), Irina, Ravel and Asia. Considering the size of DxD's cast, this will be quite the task. Wish me luck to succeed there, folks!

As for timeline and canonicity, this story begins shortly before DxD Volume 3. On the Naruto timeline, ignore anything that is Boruto. I've never read or watched it, and from what I've heard of it, it's also not particularly good, or even respectful to the original series.

If you have any questions regarding this chapter or the overall plot, don't hesitate to leave a review or a PM. I can't promise to give a satisfactory answer if it results in a spoiler, though. If you've spotted inconsistencies or logical errors, please notify me as well.

With all that said, I bid you farewell for now. Until next time. Stay happy and healthy, everyone!