Rias was not fun. She was boring; at least that's what he had been muttering under his breath. As his feet made their way through the isolated yet beautiful trails of the mountain, he could not help but remember how she had made him leave the small ramen stall when he was just on his seventh ramen bowl.
Crazy.
Naruto wanted to call her that but did not because he knew it would only lead to them crossing the mountain silently without speaking a word to each other. He did not want that either. As much as he loved ramen, he liked talking to Rias too. She was the only person he had met who would never get tired of listening to him, and that was what he wanted.
Crazy.
Naruto wanted to call her, but didn't because he knew it would lead to them crossing the mountain without speaking. He did not want that either. As much as he loved ramen, he liked talking to Rias too. She was the only person he had met who would never get tired of listening to him, and that was what he wanted.
"You still annoyed about it, Naruto?"
Yes, he was. How could he not be annoyed by it? There was no way he would ever not be annoyed by being forced to leave a bowl of ramen untouched. "Nah, I'm good, Rias." He lied and even flashed her a fake small smile, a gesture that he was sure would be enough to make her stop asking more questions.
"Sure..." The way Rias said that word told Naruto everything he needed to know. She knew he was lying.
"I'm not lying, Rias," he groaned in response, and he had to jump to avoid a small boulder. "See," his lips curled upwards as he formed another small smile. "I'm all good, you know." The words that came out of his mouth were laced with lies, but this time they were delivered in a convincing tone.
"Sure... I believe you, Naruto."
'Fuck...' He thought to himself as he realized that he must have misjudged his ability to lie. During the war, it was perfect and enough to convince people to join a battle that would ultimately cost them their lives. Now, not so much. "Fine, I accept it." He raised his hands and sighed. "I'm a little annoyed." His eyes moved to her face in order to read her reaction. "But just a little bit, okay?" He stopped when Rias smiled at him and turned her head away to take in the view of the grassy fields below.
"It's fine, Naruto," Rias whispered, her eyes still staring at the grass that was swaying left and right in the wind. It was beautiful to look at it, just like Naruto's smile, when it was genuine, of course. "To be honest, I didn't want to leave the ramen stall either." Her words elicited a puzzled look from Naruto. "But then I remembered someone saying that the sunset here looks really cool, and I wanted to see it." She paused and looked at him again. "I wanted to see it with you." The way her eyes squinted as a smile formed on her lips tugged at something inside Naruto's heart.
"I-I mean, you could have told me that earlier, you know." Naruto responded, his words beginning with a stutter and ending with him looking away from her to hide his shame.
Rias chuckled softly at him, finding his embarrassment endearing and cute. "I guess I wanted it to be a surprise." She admitted and had to hold herself from chuckling again when Naruto shot a blank stare at her. "But now that you know about it, I guess it's no longer a surprise." She looked back at the setting sun, waiting for it to disappear behind the clouds and mountains.
Naruto wanted to say something to Rias as he watched her staring at the sun, but he stopped when he saw how much she was enjoying the view. The cold wind, the grassy plains, and the orange rays of the sun were creating a great view together. Everything around them was looking heavenly, and he did not want to ruin the moment.
So, without making much noise, Naruto lied next to Rias on the grass and began to admire the breathtaking scenery. 'It's nice.' He couldn't help but compliment the view, especially the beautiful golden-orange rays of the sun that were casting a warm glow over everything. 'Everything...' Naruto slowly moved his eyes towards his right and sighed when he caught sight of her face.
It was looking beautiful, even more than the setting sun above. The way a few strands of her red hair were shining in the golden light was indescribable. The more he looked at them, the more at peace he felt.
'Her journey is not going to end with me.'
Naruto was going to make sure of it.
-oOo-
[A few hours later]
Zeoticus Gremory was a man of his word. He had always been that way, for as long as he could remember. Once Zeoticus made a promise, he would go as far as possible to keep his word, sometimes going beyond his limits just to make sure his promise was kept. His words were like an ancient prophecy etched into an unbreakable stone.
No matter how absurd the promise may have seemed, Zeoticus never backed down from it, not even when his own daughter's life and freedom were at stake. He ruined her life just so that he could save his reputation in society. For him, respect meant everything, and for that, he was ready to face anything.
At least, that's what he used to think until that stupid daughter of his ran away with a being capable of effortlessly defeating devils. Now, he was no longer the Zeoticus of the past. For the first time in his life, he was feeling scared, and that fact alone was enough to make him realize that he had made some mistakes in the past for sure. As a high-ranking devil, he was not supposed to be scared. A being like him was meant to instil fear in others, not the other way around.
So, in order to prove that he was still worthy of the title of high-ranking devil, Zeoticus left the safety of his house and decided to face that boy on his own. He knew his son was going to be mad at him, but that was something he was ready to face if it meant he could kill that boy with his own hands and bring his daughter back to where she belonged.
"Where is he?" He whispered to himself, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of the boy he had been following all day.
Zeoticus had seen it. He had seen the way his daughter followed that boy everywhere he went, and he did not like it. Rias was not supposed to be doing that. She was a princess, and princesses like her were supposed to enslave people like him. But from what he had seen for the entire day, it looked like the boy had enslaved his daughter instead.
"I'm going to kill that pest for what he has done to my daughter." The rage in his voice was palpable, as was the fear in his eyes, yet he dared not talk about it. "He has made her weaker than before." Zeoticus did not fail to notice the way Rias was trying to suppress her energy the entire time. It was like she was trying to be a human for him, and that fact made him nauseous. Humans were weak. They were beings of the lowest order. His daughter was not a human. She was a devil, just like him.
"Kill me? For what?"
Zeoticus almost lost his balance when a familiar voice reached his ears. It was him; he did not even need to turn around to know that the boy was standing behind him. "So, you were aware that I was following you?" It was a question hidden within the statement, meant to gauge whether the boy was aware of Zeoticus' presence or not.
"Kind of," Naruto whispered from behind, his feet now beginning to move towards the man. "I knew someone was following us but did not know who." His feet began to move faster, matching the pace of Zeoticus' heartbeats. "But then you flared your energy an hour ago, and I saw you." He was standing just behind the man now and was scanning him intently with his golden eyes. "Your energy is very similar to Rias." Naruto noted as he stared at the small orb of energy that was bubbling inside the man. "It's not as strong as hers though." His comment did not go well with the man, as Zeoticus abruptly swung his arm towards him.
"You pest!" Zeoticus roared as energy began to flicker around his arm. "How dare you speak to me-" he growled, and was about to deliver the finishing blow, ready to shatter the boy's face with his powerful arm. However, before he could act on his rage, the young boy quickly grabbed his arm and snapped it in half in an instant.
"Arghh!" Lord Gremory roared in pain, his ears still echoing with the sound of his bones snapping like a twig. It was brutal how the boy was able to just grab his magic covered arm and snap it like it was nothing, but more brutal was the pain that followed it. "You-" He again tried to speak, but just like before, the boy did not let him utter a single word more. He again grabbed his arm, this time the other one, and threw him towards the huge tree on the side.
'Thud!'
The way Zeoticus collided with the wood was unsettling and agonizing. It was incredible to witness how he managed to make a dent in the tree trunk, but the intense pain coursing through his body made the entire ordeal seem futile to him. Every fibre of his being was begging for relief, yet there was none to be found in sight. The only thing Zeoticus could see, through his pained, fluttering eyes, was the boy who was now walking towards him once more.
"You are her dad, right?"
He knew him. The boy knew who he was. Then why was he treating him like this? Zeoticus could not help but wonder as he tried to rise to his feet again.
"The guy who made her like this."
Fear. Zeoticus was experiencing that emotion again, but this time more intensely than he had ever done in his life. "What-" He wanted to know what the boy meant with his words, and so he tried to ask him about it. However, it was as if the boy had absolutely no intention of listening to him speak. As soon as Zeoticus opened his mouth, the boy swiftly lifted his foot and forcefully stomped on his head, causing it to echo, fracture, and go completely blank in an instant.
"You know how much she adores you?"
Naruto's words rang inside his blank mind again, but he could not understand what he was saying. Zeoticus' mind was too much in pain to even assist himself, let alone process any words spoken by someone else around him. 'Who is he?' Yet it could not help but worry about the being that was standing above him.
"Of course you don't."
Zeoticus wanted to respond, and he knew the boy probably sensed that because, in a second, another kick landed on his abdomen, causing his organs to convulse and squeeze in pain. "Please stop!" He managed to choke out between his painful gasps, desperately hoping that the boy would show some mercy to him.
Sadly, he did not.
In a movement that was too hard for him to follow, Naruto made a sphere of chaotic blue energy and slammed it on Zeoticus' face.
"Argh!" Zeoticus screamed again as the small torrents of that energy began to peel off the skin of his face. It was unbearable. It was as if a thousand razor blades were carving new paths into his flesh. 'Stop!' He could feel the warm trickle of blood pooling in the cracks formed by his new scars as his vision started to blur and fade.
"You were always ashamed to show your face because of her, right?" Naruto hissed, his voice dripping with anger and a tinge of remorse. "Well, I solved that problem now." He added as another rasengan began to form in his palm. "Monsters like you don't deserve innocents like her in your life." His anger was consuming his remorse now. He knew harming her dad was futile, and yet he could not stop himself from doing it.
It was just like how he had felt during the pain invasion. His heart wanted revenge, although his mind knew very well that it was futile. Harming her dad would never bring back the childhood Rias missed, but he knew it would certainly bring peace to his heart. Naruto wanted to leave Rias with a feeling of freedom, and for that, people like her dad needed to go. They needed to die, die before him.
"Rias is not weak, you know." Naruto raised his palm in the air, and soon the rasengan that was spiralling within it began to glow with an electrifying blue light, blades of wind forming around it. "She is just too kind for her own good." The blue sphere began to descend towards the scarred chest of Zeoticus, its blades glittering like the piercing light of heaven.
"You think you will be able to face all the devils on your own if you defeat me?"
The rasengan stopped just a few centimetres away from Zeoticus' chest, its blades still spinning and waiting to pierce his flesh. "What do you mean?" Naruto asked the man, no doubt a little confused about what he was trying to say.
"I-I..." Zeoticus groaned as a jolt of pain surged through his body and scar-ridden face. "I am a high-ranking devil and the father of Lucifer, boy," he murmured with a voice filled with pain, his lips still bleeding and far from being fully healed. "Killing me would mean inviting the wrath of Satan upon you and Rias." His eyes twinkled with hope as the ball of blue energy disappeared from the boy's palm.
Noticing that all he got was a moment of silence from the boy in response, Zeoticus began to speak again. "You think I'm t-the only one following you?" He asked Naruto and flashed him a bloody smirk when he said nothing in response. "If you think so, then you are wrong." His smirk turned vicious as the boy took a seat in front of him. It was working; he could sense it. "The father and family members of the boy that you killed a few weeks ago are also hunting for you, and so is my son. Their numbers will only multiply if you kill me at this moment." The pain Zeoticus was feeling a moment ago vanished as adrenalin began to surge through his veins.
Zeoticus knew he had the boy in his grip when he saw confusion and doubt flicker in his eyes for a moment. "No matter how strong you are, boy, you can never defeat an army of devils on your own." He said and spat out the blood that had welled up in his mouth as he took a seat in front of the boy. "Also, you have to think about Rias too, right?" Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it underneath Naruto's chin. "She is not as powerful as you are, dear." His whisper was full of anger and admiration, if that was possible. "You are amazing." Zeoticus smiled as he gazed into his golden eyes. They were full of power. "While she is nothing but a failure-" He could have finished his sentence, but a strong punch on the face sent him flying towards the tree again.
"Haa!" Zeoticus gasped in shock, feeling the splinters of wood penetrating his back and piercing his organs. "You idiot..." His short breaths turned into painful gasps as he struggled to disentangle himself from the jagged pieces of wood. They were sharp and were drawing blood each time he tried to move. "I gave you a chance to correct your mistakes and..." He paused as a small piece of wood went too deep into his back. "Argh! And you threw it away..." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he became aware of the gravity of his injuries and the blood that was staining his back.
Naruto scoffed at the man. "I didn't throw away anything." He whispered, his feet starting to walk towards the man. With each step Naruto took, his resolve grew stronger and the breaths of the man weaker. "I just didn't like the way you were talking about Rias." His eyes regained the earlier coldness once more.
"She is your daughter..."
'Slap!'
Naruto raised his hand and slapped Zeoticus' bloodied face, making drops of the red liquid fly high in the air. "At least speak of her with decency, even if you don't love her." He muttered and grabbed the man's hair, his hands matching the colour of the hair.
'Slap!'
Another forceful slap stung Zeoticus' scarlet injured cheek, this one more severe than the earlier one. "Pay attention when I'm talking to you, you weak devil." Naruto knew the words had done their job when the man began to glare at him.
'Slap!'
The third slap was softer than the second one but managed to break a few of the man's teeth. "Why are you glaring at me like that?" Naruto lowered his head and hissed at the man. After a while, he took a step back, his eyes narrowing with anger and sadness. "Didn't you tell Rias that the strong should always be respected by the weak?" He asked him.
"Y-yes."
'Slap!'
"Then where is my respect?" Naruto whispered with a tone as cold as ice.
Zeoticus was done. His spirit was broken. The level of disrespect he had experienced was enough to extinguish the fire within Zeoticus. Now, he was nothing but a shadow of his former self, a mere remnant of the person he once was. "I-I'm sorry." He swallowed the last bit of pride remaining in his body and apologized, begging for the boy to spare his life.
"Are you stronger now?"
A blink of confusion was all Zeoticus could give in response to Naruto's question.
"I mean, did this humiliation make you stronger?"
"N-no." Zeoticus murmured weakly, his voice barely audible amidst his ragged gasps of pain. He was still as weak as he was before. As weak as he had always been.
Naruto glared at the man. "Then what was your twisted logic behind believing that humiliating Rias would ever make her stronger?" He sneered and tightened his grip on the man's hair, forcefully smashing him against the tree trunk, amplifying the pain as splinters of wood pierced his flesh further. "She still begs for your mercy in her sleep because of that!" The force behind his grip increased as his fingers started to pull Zeoticus' long hair from his scalp, causing him to wince in pain.
"I... I thought... I thought it would teach her to stop relying on others..." Zeoticus gritted his teeth and managed to choke out a response.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, his anger intensifying. "Stop relying on others? Is that what you call being strong?" He shook his head in disbelief, his voice filled with disgust. "You're an utter disappointment as a father." He spat out and slammed Zeoticus' head into the tree again, drawing out more blood.
Zeoticus gasped in pain, the metallic taste of blood filling his parched mouth. "You don't understand... I was only trying to make her stronger," he rasped, his voice barely audible. "She... She is weak..." His voice trembled with agony as he struggled to go on. "She is going... going to die one way or another if... if she remains with you." The smile that bloomed on his face after those words was pathetic but disturbing enough to make Naruto halt, resisting the urge to crash his head into the wood again.
"She won't."
Zeoticus scoffed and winced slightly as the movement caused the embedded splinters to shift inside his back. "As I said before..." He stopped to take a few breaths. "You can't fight them all, boy." His smile turned more disturbing as he gazed into Naruto's eyes.
"Listen here, old man," Naruto whispered, his voice growing colder with each passing second. "When I started this journey with her, I made a promise to Rias," he grabbed Zeoticus by the neck, applying enough pressure to make him stop breathing. "And I won't allow anyone to come close to her until I fulfil that promise." His statement was immediately drowned out by the chilling sound of the swirling sphere taking form in his hand.
"You can't-"
"I will destroy each and every one of those devils if it comes to that!" The ground beneath Naruto began to crack as the sphere in his hand continued to grow in size. It was turning violent, and Zeoticus knew it.
"You can't!" The head of Gremory House managed to speak out somehow. However, his voice went unheard as the sphere of blue energy began to descend on him again. It was inevitable now. Zeoticus could sense his own impending demise. It was looming over him, just like the weight of his past failures always had. And just like before, he could do nothing but face them like the weakling he was.
'You are weak, Zeoticus. Your weakness makes you hate your daughter so much.'
"I will."
Zeoticus eyes widened with fear and sadness as Naruto's voice somehow reached his ears.
"Because I'm not weak like you."
He could feel the heavy weight of his past mistakes and regrets, burdening him and suffocating him with guilt and self-loathing. No matter how hard he tried to escape them, Naruto's haunting words continued to echo in his mind, tormenting him with the painful truth he had tried so hard to bury.
'I'm weak.'
"Rasengan!"
Zeoticus closed his eyes, gripping his fists as if trying to squeeze out the unbearable agony and sadness that was threatening to engulf him before the sphere could. His chest tightened, and the tears that he had been desperately holding back finally spilled over, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
'I was always weak.'
-oOo-
It was midnight. The stars were twinkling in the dark sky, accompanied by a brilliant moon that was bathing the entire town in its ethereal glow. The gentle, cold breeze was rustling through the trees, carrying with it the sweet scent of flowers and a sense of peace.
Unfortunately, that sense of peace was not helping a certain individual at all.
"Where is he?" Rias muttered to herself as she looked outside her room's window for a sign of her friend. "He told me he was going for a walk and has still not returned." Her eyes welled up with concern. "Did he get into some trouble?" She sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Moments like these were the hardest to pass. Without Naruto, there was nothing much to do for her. He made her life interesting. It was with him that she enjoyed goofing around. Even preparing food for him felt surprisingly satisfying, something she used to loathe doing in the past. Well, in her defence, he does the same for her as well. His ramen was the best in the world. No matter where they ate during their trip, the sense of warmth his ramen brought to her could not be matched.
The way the broth would coat her tongue and the perfectly chewy noodles always made her heart flutter with joy. She couldn't help but smile every time he made them for her because she knew they were prepared for only her, no one else. Rias knew Naruto did not like to show affection, so the ramen was his way of expressing care and affection. The way he would pour his heart into each bowl was evident in every bite she would take.
"His miso ramen is the best!"
"I know, right?"
Rias almost gasped as Naruto's familiar voice entered her ears. "Naruto!" She immediately turned around and smiled when his face came into view. "Where have you been?" Her question stopped him before he could enter the room. "I've been waiting for hours, you know." She scoffed as the boy tilted his head to the side, feigning confusion.
"Umm... I was walking towards our inn when suddenly..." Naruto paused, trying to think of something reasonable to say. "A tiny dog brutally attacked me!" he exclaimed, displaying his arm where a few lingering scratches were still healing.
His dramatic play elicited a mix of amusement and scepticism from Rias as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts. "A puppy, huh?" She repeated it in a playful tone. "Then what? Did he manage to cause you any more harm, or did you chase him off?" Her eyes curved upward when Naruto looked away from her.
"First of all, it wasn't the puppy that caused these scratches," Naruto replied, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "It was a dog—a small devil from hell." He corrected her before she could say anything more. "And yes, I managed to scare him away for good." His voice turned a little serious for a second before returning to normal. "He won't trouble anyone any more." He muttered and finally entered the room.
Rias chuckled at the way Naruto had just described the event. It was so over the top, yet still believable for some reason. "I'm glad you were able to chase off that devil, Naruto." Rias replied with a playful smile, finding his use of the word devil adorable.
As Naruto settled down on the cosy corner bed in the room, Rias managed to notice a few drops of blood staining the back of his sleeve. "Naruto!" She rushed towards him, immediately grabbing his hand and anxiously searching for more stains. "Did the dog manage to bite you?" Her eyes, filled with worry, narrowed as she concentrated on searching for any injuries on his arms.
Rias even used her devil senses to thoroughly search for any injuries on his body, but fortunately, she couldn't find any. He was perfectly fine, except for the blood stains on his arms.
"Rias..." Naruto grabbed her hand gently and removed it from his arm. "I'm absolutely fine," he assured her by moving his arm up and down. "The blood likely stained my sleeves when I punched that idiot dog." The chuckle that followed his words managed to calm down Rias a little. "He was very annoying, you know." He added it with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.
Rias forced a smile, trying to match Naruto's light-heartedness, but she couldn't dismiss the concern that was trying to engulf her heart. "Was that really a dog?" She whispered, finally asking what had been plaguing her mind since the moment she saw blood on his jacket.
"Huh?"
Her smile vanished as she looked down, overwhelmed with shame. "It was those bad guys from earlier, right?" Her voice trembled with hurt as sadness started to consume her.
Naruto's expression softened as he realized what was going on inside Rias' mind. "Rias," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I swear it wasn't those guys." His eyes shimmered with warmth as he ruffled her hair. "They are never going to find us here. So, stop worrying about them." His words managed to calm her down once more.
"O-okay."
"Plus, if they do end up finding us, I'm sure that you would be able to beat their asses with ease this time." He giggled as the girl blushed and buried her face in her red hair. Soon, Naruto's giggle turned into a reassuring smile as he gently tilted Rias' chin upward, making her meet his eyes. "You're stronger than you think, Rias," he said softly, his gaze filled with unwavering belief in her. "So, stop worrying so much and start believing in yourself a little, you know." He muttered and turned around to prepare for bed.
While Naruto was doing his thing, Rias was staring at his back. His words were still ringing in her head. They were different, different from what she was used to hearing. "H-how can you say that?" She winced when Naruto stopped his action and looked over his shoulder. "I mean, what makes you believe that I'm strong?" Her question hung in the air, waiting to be answered by the boy.
"I don't know," Naruto responded, still with his back turned to her. "I guess it's just something I feel in my heart." With that, he resumed what he had been doing earlier.
Rias wanted to ask more questions but refrained when she noticed the bright smile on his face, filled with warmth and pride for her. It was similar to the smiles of her brother and mother. They used to smile at her in the same way, always telling her how strong she was. In the past, she used to think they were lying, but now, after hearing Naruto say those same words, a part of Rias' mind couldn't help but consider that maybe they were right.
Maybe she wasn't as weak as she had always believed. Perhaps she wasn't as helpless as she had deemed herself to be. Maybe she wasn't a failure, and maybe she wasn't destined to suffer. And just maybe...
'Maybe I'm strong.'
-END-
I hope you liked the chapter.
Drop a review as they motivate me.