NOOOOOOOO!
PLEASE! DON'T THROW AWAY MY PROTEIN SHAKE!
…
My bad lads, I was just recalling this weird dream I had of a friend being a dickhead and throwing away my protein shake when I finished working out.
Anyway, you all are here to see another chapter.
So let's see another chapter!
Start:
Complex was an apt description for how one would describe the mood and atmosphere of the ball, guests and devils of importance all mingled with one another.
Trading fake smiles and giggles as conversation flowed between different parties. Each had their own agenda that they wished to promote as one clan leader bartered with another about ideas of arranged marriages, while others wished to promote trade or strengthen alliances through different means.
It was a crowd of power-hungry people, one that only cared about climbing up to the top of the pyramid and nothing more.
No one was exempt as sophisticated looking men and women laughed and jollied with their fellow devils while greedy intentions were hidden behind a pair of understanding and kind-looking eyes.
Deception and ambition was the theme.
And Naruto was a master of both.
Tonight's ball was one of captivating mystery, everyone of importance in the devil world attended the event, highly intrigued by the idea of a surprise and sudden ball hosted by the Phenex clan.
A clan of immense prestige and power.
Yet one that remained isolated and kept mostly to themselves ever since the ill-fated death of Kaisen and Sinthia Phenex.
Arguably, it was the Phenex clan that deserved the spot for the clan that held the least number of parties and events across all the devil clans, and that contrasted greatly against the usual in which the more prosperous a clan is, the more events they would host.
Taking that into consideration along with the fact that the ball was suddenly within a week's time instead of the usual month and above and that culminated into a stirring pot of curiosity that no devil could bring themselves to turn away from.
As though trying to further solidify the mystery air exhibited in the event tonight, the theme of the ball was masquerade.
And devils liking to be over the top and show off their wealth, many male and female devils came with masks that glittered with gold, diamond, or precious stones while concealing part of their features.
There was no denying that every devil in the room were enjoying themselves, that included the four satans that were who knows where in the massive ball room.
Elegantly ambling around, mask hiding away everything from above the lips excluding his eyes, Naruto mingled with the crowd, flashing fake smiles and engaging in shallow conversations with his fellow devils.
Perhaps it was best to reiterate that every devil in the room were enjoying themselves, everyone excluding the seventh hokage.
Having grown up in this kind of society in his first life, Naruto was coming to remember just how much he hated having to deal with stuck up nobles and whatever devil was deemed important because of winning a good number of rating games or whatever.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell who you are?" Lord Vapula laughed cheerily, his mirth shared with the surrounding devils who were paying attention to the conversation. "Surely you did not need to go to the trouble of hiding away most of your face."
Naruto inwardly rolled his eyes while smiling externally. "The theme is masquerade, and you'll have to forgive me but I can be quite passionate when it comes to the allures of mystery."
"I certainly can't fault you for that." The devil lord nodded approvingly. "Passion, power, and mystery are traits that every good devil must possess."
"Indeed you are correct."
"Perhaps once this event ends, we can speak further of this lovely discussion, this is a conversation that one can wholeheartedly enjoy after all, even more so with a cup of tea. I imagine we can come to many kinds of agreement." Lord Vapula suggested while his eyes gleamed with intent.
The masked Naruto nodded with a smile. "Your generous offer is one that I will certainly consider."
"Splendid then!"
Exchanging farewells, the pair turned away from each other and Naruto's smile dropped, nearly replaced with a sneer before he fortunately caught himself. there was no need to get agitated with the intent of a greedy devil.
All devils, Naruto himself included, were greedy by nature.
But the shinobi personally concluded that these devils were one who took that level of greed to astronomical levels. It was just too much.
Pushing his thoughts away, he continued mingling with the crowd, just exchanging smiles and words.
Eventually, Naruto's aimless path had landed him a few feet directly behind someone who he hadn't had the pleasure of seeing for so long.
His first friend in his original home world, and without a doubt the closest friend he had ever made in both his lives. Selah Gremory, now known as Selah Lucifer.
Her head was half turned as she seemed to be in the midst of talking to someone, and the only thing masking her identity, Naruto thought with small amounts of sarcasm, was a glittering black venetian mask that framed the edge of her beautiful purple eyes and nothing else.
Selah's crimson-colored hair, glamorous and shimmering, fell down her back as though it was a curtain of silk, stopping to just above the hips while her hair at the top framed an exquisitely beautiful face.
A good number of her bangs draped over her forehead, with the ones in the middle criss-crossing against each other as they landed to just above her small button nose, drawing attention to the captivating amethyst orbs that were on either side of said bangs.
Her complexion was smooth and milky, impervious to any flaws or scars. A point of envy for many women across the vast world.
And Selah's lips were full and plump, coated with moist bubblegum pink lipstick that caused devils left and right, male or female, to have fantasies of being coupled in an intense make-out session with arguably the most beautiful woman in all of the underworld.
Only two other women in the underworld could contest against Selah for that title. Grayfia and Serafall. Two ladies that Naruto was close to so long ago but not anymore.
Shoving those sad thoughts away for now, Naruto resolved to make it up to everyone he knew who he hurt with his absence.
His gaze fretted down from the side of Selah's heart-fluttering visage and down to her state of dress. A sensual evening gown, midnight blue in color and one that was held in place only due to it being a snug fit for Selah's huge breasts and her lithe waist.
Naturally, that meant that her neckline and a more than generous amount of her large cleavage was unveiled for many wandering eyes.
A daring side slit ran up to the top of Selah's thick pale thigh, a small glimpse of what would lead to boundless pleasure that could tempt all manners of rich devils to spend fortunes to uncover, with her feet adorned in black heels that helped her otherwise short five-foot four frame reach a five-foot six.
It was a sensual gown, one that was made for an especially gorgeous woman.
With Selah wearing it, it became a garment that whispered of moonlit trysts and promised secrets that only the night could keep.
She was even more beautiful than ever before…
Picking up his loose jaw, Naruto realized all too late that he stared a bit longer than necessary as the female Lucifer turned his way, having sensed his gaze, calculating amethyst orbs landing upon his masked visage and tracing the contours of his visage with suspicion.
Now… the funny thing was… Naruto was a master assassin at this point, he could sneak in and out wherever he wanted, could gleam whatever information he needed with mind-numbingly ease, and could certainly defeat any who he wished to beat.
One doesn't become and remain hokage for seven-eight decades and doesn't absolutely master every art there was to know about being a shinobi after all.
However… There was one thing that Naruto was forever bad at.
And that was looking innocent or stoic or calm whenever someone he loved or immensely cared for gazed upon him with suspicion. Lying suddenly became a task,a burden that not even Atlas could shoulder, and Naruto lost track of the number of times he had to fess up to Hinata whenever she caught some food missing in the kitchen and gazed upon him with suspicious eyes.
Or whenever he did something he wasn't supposed to do like allow Boruto and Kawaki to fight and beat the shit out of each other.
Naruto was just bad at lying or looking innocent or calm whenever someone he loved or cared for just gazed at him with suspicion. It was something that he struggled with in both his first life as Naruto Phenex, and the second as Naruto Uzumaki.
It was his Achilles's heel so to say.
How did that relate to the current issue one might ask?
Because he just did his signature, clumsy, nervous, caught with his hand in a cookie jar kind of smile and Selah let out a silent gasp, eyes widened like dinner plates in shock while the world of devils continued to chatter away with malevolent ambition.
Well…
He got caught.
Not exactly how he was planning to show himself to his closest friend after a separation of one/two centuries but whatever.
He signaled her to follow him and turned tail, expertly dodging and walking through the haze of bloodthirsty savages hidden behind facades of gentleness.
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Entering a private room that belonged only to him, the former shinobi didn't have to wait long as the queen of the underworld entered not a minute too soon.
…
Placing his hand on the mask, he removed it and set it aside while smiling gently at his closest friend. "Hey, it's been a while."
Gasping as his voice and full face greeted her senses, Selah cupped her mouth in shock before looking down, her lips trembling as a glossy coating of tears brimmed her eyes.
Seeing the way her shoulders shook and her overall stance, Naruto's smile dulled into an expression of concern as he walked over to the red-head, gently removing the eye mask from her face while tilting her chin upward so he could meet her watery gaze.
It took everything he had within him to not pull his childhood friend into his embrace, for as much as he wanted to, there was no way of knowing if she was fine with it after how he had callously cut off their friendship in the pursuit of revenge.
Having experienced what it was like to be in her shoes thanks to his experience with Sasuke, he understood full well the betrayal and pain that he caused her.
He felt his heart constrict. "I really hurt you, huh." It was more of a statement than a question, both knew that.
The queen of the underworld didn't reply, biting her lips to stop the trembling while tears trickled down her cheeks. She was feeling humiliated, and pained, and so many other things and despite her many years of living, the strongest female devil found it hard to right herself.
How could she when she was finally face to face with him!? And after soo long!?
Knowing that the sight of him was what caused his closest friend to be stooped down in such sorrow, Naruto's head lowered down while guilt flooded his heart, seen by the swell of shame that blared within his eyes.
"Selah. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry for leaving you the way I did. I know it doesn't excuse the pain I caused you and I promise that I will make up for it. And…And I know I have no right to ask, but can you ever forgive me?" His tone was soft, fragile, vulnerable.
Her heart broke for him.
Selah released a loud shuddering sob in response before she lunged into him, her arms desperately wrapping around his frame with the intent to never let go while she wailed into his chest.
Stunned, Naruto backpedaled from the force of her lunge while his arms instinctively wrapped all around her, relief swept from within and he laid his chin on the top of her head while he comfortingly rubbed her back.
He and Selah were always super close.
Much closer than the usual closeness of genuine best friends. It was honestly hard to describe, but often at times, Naruto felt like his red-headed friend completed him.
They were always a pair, two peas in a pod as his mother and lady Venelana liked to tease the two of them about. It didn't exactly help that Selah always was super affectionate with him much to both of their mother's amusement and delight.
Thinking about how the days were spent back then, of simpler times, he couldn't but wonder if he'd ever have those days again with her.
His shirt was now positively soaked with tears and Naruto just continued to provide Selah with the physical comfort that she hadn't received from him in two centuries.
The value of time was lost as the blonde and red-head pair lost themselves into their own world, each one consumed by thoughts and feelings that phased them out of reality. It could have been ten minutes or an hour since they were locked into an embrace and neither of them would know.
Eventually, Selah's sobs began to quieten, her shoulders began to tremble less, and it was only two-three minutes later that she found the strength to release the hug and pull away from him while Naruto stood resolute on his feet.
"Are you oka-" Slap!
Naruto's head was thrown to the far right, a bright red handprint painted on the side of his visage, barely withholding a grunt of pain, he turned to face her and –
Slap!
And his head was forcibly spun away again, pain assaulting his nerves as he took another hard smack to the face.
Waiting for a good moment for the stinging sensation to subside, Naruto slowly turned around, eyes closed while he braced himself for a third smack that he knew was coming and was well deserved.
…
Warmth enveloped him, the shinobi's skin tingling with an unexpected sensation, stirring a blend of confusion and wonder. His eyes fluttered open, drawn irresistibly to the dearly beloved friend he had deeply wounded by his abrupt and sudden departure.
Selah, always the affectionate one of all those he knew, had her left hand tenderly cradling his cheek, a silent testament to the bond they shared. Caught in the whirlwind of emotions, Naruto remained speechless, entrusting her with the rhythm of their exchange.
Allowing her to dictate the course of their interaction as was her right. She took her sweet time trying to find the right words to string together in order to describe how she felt.
Only…Words failed Selah, their insufficiency glaring in the face of the vastness of her feelings.
Yet, the language of touch spoke volumes where words faltered.
Slowly, Selah's right hand ascended, mirroring the gentle embrace of her left as she cupped the other side of his visage, caressing the curve of his cheekbone with a sweetness that Naruto had only ever come to feel from his mother, and the women he had dated or married.
He closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the blissful, comforting sensation.
…
Wait… did she?
"Selah…" Naruto uttered her name quietly as his eyes opened and latched onto purple. "Do you… love me?"
Of all the stupid things he could do, the one on the top of his list was blurting out the first thing that came to mind. He felt trepidation as he waited for her answer, yet he didn't know what kind of response he even wanted to hear.
"I do." She whispered just as quietly, her cheeks briefly touched with a hint of pink before they faded away just as abruptly as it appeared.
"Oh…" Naruto resisted the urge to look away. "I definitely did not have this in mind for our first meeting after so long."
"I wasn't expecting any of this either."
"Fair enough."
…
…
The silence between them was awkward, and Naruto nearly sighed as he could already imagine similar encounters with all his other friends… except for maybe Ajuka, damn prick was probably still holed up in his lab.
"I forgive you." A voice cut through his thoughts and the shinobi took a second to process what was said before he focused back on his friend.
"But aren't you furious with me?" He couldn't help but wearily question.
"I understand why you wanted to leave and why you needed time, if I experienced what you did, I would leave too." She replied while giving him an understanding expression before she turned stoic, her hands dropping away from his visage. "But I'm furious because you left without saying a single word to me, and for two hundred years I had to wonder if the man I love was even alive or not."
"Do you know what that kind of agony is like? To wonder if someone you loved so much had just disappeared from the face of the earth and there was nothing that you did that could help?" Selah asked stoically, lips drawn into a tight line.
Naruto barely withheld a wince. "I'm sorry."
What she had questioned him with honestly sounded like pure hell.
He sighed and looked away guiltily. "How about everyone else, how are they? I can imagine some of them are still angry with me."
"Ajuka, Serafall, and Falbium have already forgiven you. they could understand where you were coming from. Grayfia… She's a different story. She hasn't forgiven you and such is her anger that even a mention of the name Phenex draws her ire. She didn't even come to tonight's ball."
Naruto winced. "I'm not too surprised to be honest. I did hurt all of you pretty bad, and you and Grayfia took the worse end of it. I'm still surprised that you've forgiven me to be honest."
"You lost your family." Selah's tone was gentle as she looked at him softly. "Of course you wouldn't be thinking straight. I know I wouldn't be thinking straight if I lost my family."
"But please." She sounded so tired and emotionally fatigued as she looked into his eyes, a fact that Naruto guilty took a hold of. "Naruto, whatever you do, just don't…" her lips began to wobble and it was only due to tremendous effort that Selah managed to not cry a second time. "Just don't leave me again. I don't know if I can handle losing you a second time."
"I won't leave again. I promise." He replied truthfully while pulling her into his arms.
Selah felt serene as she welcomed his embrace, her own arms wrapping around him while her head nestled into his chest, listening to the audible and soothing beat of his heart.
She sighed as she closed her eyes, feeling all the exhaustion and fatigue that piled up over the years just wash away.
Feeling the strength of his arms, the security of his embrace, the comforting weight of his chin on her head, the queen of the underworld had to acknowledge that she really was hopelessly love-stricken.
"But Selah, there is something you should know…"
Feeling his pulse begin to enter into a faster rhythm, her eyes opened and narrowed in suspicion.
"I am married."
…
"…Who?"
Naruto honestly was ready to break his promise and make a run for it as he sensed the sheer amount of jealousy that was emanating from Selah thanks to his emotion-sensing ability. "Yasaka."
Saying he was flattered was putting it lightly.
Who wouldn't be when arguably the most beautiful woman in the entire underworld felt jealous that they weren't your wife? Every man (and a lot of women) would be happy to know that.
Naruto himself was no exception and the greedy side within, the devilish side, surged upward in his soul with glee as thoughts of claiming Selah as his, flashed to mind. His wife, Yasaka, was perfectly alright with him getting a harem as long as she was recognized as his main wife.
Shushing those thoughts away, the seventh hokage remained still, anxiously waiting and cringing as the queen of the underworld grew furious.
Panicking out of fear for his wife's health, Naruto blurted out yet another thing that came to mind. "She has no problem with me getting a harem as long as she is recognized as the 'Alpha wife'."
Seeing the way Selah looked up to him with crimson blazing orbs, he honestly regretted opening his mouth.
"Do you honestly think…" She slowly cracked her knuckles. "I don't know that?"
Huh?
Selah read the expression on his face and elaborated. "Every woman in the supernatural world knows that if their man is powerful or important, that he'll get a harem. It's just how our world is. But what we want is to be recognized as the alpha wife. The woman who with absolute certainty is the one that owns the man's heart."
"Oh." Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly before his expression turned into one of confusion. "But Selah, if you've loved me all along, why didn't you tell me?"
Biting her lips, she pulled away from his embrace, taking a step back as she pouted and looked away. "I was trying to! I was throwing so many signs at you and somehow you failed to read or notice any of them, then Grayfia came into the picture and I was angry and jealous that you somehow noticed a former enemy but not me, the woman who's always been by your side."
"I was thinking of just killing Grayfia but then everything else happened and I…" She gulped, taking a moment to push past the constant pain she felt for over a century. "I just knew that if I ever saw you again, I was going to make you understand how I felt."
He sighed and laid down on the bed right next to where they were standing, feeling the beginning of a migraine trying to emerge. "I really am an idiot."
"Yes you are."
…
Naruto honestly did not know what to say or do, he was out of his expertise at this point, rather understandable as he was dealing with a whirlwind of a reunion with his closest friend who he had learned was in love with him for so long and still was to this day.
He also just realized that his childhood best friend admitted to wanting to kill his then fiancé at the time.
It was a lot to process.
"Naruto, I'll admit that I'm really, really jealous of Yasaka for getting to marry you first." Technically second, but Selah currently did not need to know that. "But she doesn't matter to me right now. There is only one thing that matters to me at this moment." She whispered, her voice beginning to rasp as she got onto the bed and over his frame.
Having a good idea of where this was going, Naruto did nothing to stop Selah's advance as her eyes began to glow with a hint of smoldering lust, the queen of the underworld crawling over the shinobi until he was directly below her, hands placed on either side of his head while her knees were planted firmly on either side of his core.
Slowly, her head began to tip down until their lips touched.
A small peck before the devil queen pulled back. "Do you want this? Do you want me?" Selah's second question came off more vulnerable than she had ever sounded in her entire life.
"I do." Naruto admitted. "You're absolutely beautiful and I'd love to make you mine." Selah blushed while smiling happily at his proclamation. "But Selah, let's take this step by step. I want to do right by you. How about I take you out on a date this coming Saturday?"
Getting up and rolling over and off the bed much to the shinobi's inward disappointment, the red-head hummed in thought, feeling a small swell of disappointment that was quickly quelled away as she considered his thoughtfulness. "I can do that, but I expect you to tell me everything. I want to know every single detail about your life."
Naruto sweatdropped but nodded. Yup, Selah was still the same to prior when he had left.
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Time-skip: Ten minutes later.
Seeing Selah emerge from the bathroom, all traces of tears and imperfections washed away, Naruto was once more in awe as the red-headed temptress swayed her way into him until she was but a foot away from him.
Her gaze was serious and the shinobi felt his own gaze turn stoic as he eyed her expectantly.
"Assuming that we don't get the chance to talk later tonight and that's most likely the case, there are three things that I want to tell you."
The shinobi remained silent, giving her all the grounds to speak.
Selah grasped his hands into her own, getting a comforting squeeze in turn. "One, I am happy beyond belief that you've come back, words fail to express my happiness that you're here." The shinobi couldn't help but smile, touched greatly at that. "Two, I love you. I love you so, so, so much and I'm really excited about our date."
He was not ready for the confession, evident by how his face was flushed pink. The only saving grace was knowing that Selah was similarly affected as her visage glowed with a red hue before dialing back down to normal.
"And three." A dangerous glint entered the devil queen's amethyst-shaded orbs. "Tell Yasaka that I don't plan on giving her the position of alpha wife. Understood?"
Having borne witness to many catfights or soon to be ones, Naruto knew what he had to do and not to do. "I'll let her know."
"Good." She nodded with satisfaction before a sultry smile tugged at the edge of Selah's lips. "Now here's something to help keep me in mind." She roughly grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him into a passionate kiss.
Let's just say that…Their kiss lasted for a good, long while.
End.
Ooof. What a chapter.
Lads, my bad that I couldn't bring Grayfia on the scene, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was better the way I set it up as it flowed better.
I do hope you all liked the heart to heart scene with Selah.
I know I already described her appearance, but think of Selah as the mix between Venelana and Rias.
She has crimson hair but purple eyes, and rather than mid back length or upper thighs, the length of her hair is to lower back. As for face, she just has Rias's face but more mature.
Anyway, next chapter is where the reveal of Naruto's identity happens, where we see more devil interactions and everything.
More Chapters are posted on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n Feel free to check it out lads, here's the link
www.#patr#eon.#com/Demon_Knight939 (Just remove all the hashtags)
I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter regardless, it was fun to write.
Anyway, take care lads.
Peace.