Note: For Full First Chapter and Further Chapters, Follow on Ao3. Naruto X Arlecchino

It had been some time since he resided in the House of the Hearth.

His friends… No… His family here were so nice… Even if they had to be distant. He held hard feelings towards any of them for it. Mother was callous.

On the outside, she looked like a Saint. Her sweet and dulcet tone would confuse outsiders because she seemed an angel. But they knew otherwise. That was all a part of her deception to the world to conceal the webs that lay beneath.

She was a demon.

He had no idea how he ended up in this place. One day, he was training to be a shinobi and screwed up a massive prank on the old man… the next few weeks, he was scraping by, starving, until Mother found him and brought him home.

Her children were all raised to oppose and defeat one another… To stand at the very top and become King. Yet despite this, they were to show kindness and treat one another with respect outwardly…

This was not an act. This was genuine.

All his friends here at the Hearth cared for one another. Yes, they did what they had to survive. Endured the strict tutoring of Mother to condition them into becoming her King…

All except her. …She stood alone—an odd one out.

Just like he was back home.

Stepping into the garden within the House, he sighed as he found her sitting all alone. Perched and knelt before a tree, a young girl with white hair with black strands swept within it blankly stared at a small mound of dirt in the grass.

Naruto softly smiled, stepping beside her. "How are you doing, Peruere?"

"Did Mother send you?" Black iris with x-crossed pupils blankly glanced up into his.

"Well, she did ask where you were. Didn't tell her where you were." Naruto shrugged as he knelt beside her. "Spiders don't live for very long. Because they don't last for long, they don't make for the best of friends, ya know?"

"They are my only friends." Peruere emptily stared at the grave where her friend lay.

"Ow. I'm right here, ya know?" Naruto weakly muttered and flicked his hand through his hair.

Peruere simply shook her head and stood up. "We cannot be friends. Mother will not allow such a thing."

Naruto scrunched his face. His gaze sharpened and focused on Peruere's retreating form as she walked away. He jumped up and scowled. "Well, I don't care what Mother thinks! I didn't have a friend back home! Just like you, I was all alone! Now, here with a chance for family and friends, I won't be told no!"

Stopping in her tracks, Peruere's head dropped thoughtfully, and her figure hesitated momentarily. Turning around, she coldly spoke. "You are not my friend. Your friend ate mine."

"I said I was sorry!'" Naruto winced, holding his hands before his face for a moment before flailing his arms at his side indignantly. "It was an accident! Gama-chan got out into the garden and…"

"It is the laws of nature." Peruere plainly responded, turning away. "I have accepted what happened. It was the rules of nature… Just like Mother wishes for us. …I, too, have accepted this. You should as well."

" Peruere?"

"It will be easier when one of us has to dispose of the other when the time comes." Peruere slowly strode away, eyes closed. "You know as well as I, Naruto…"

"Mother favors us as her Kings. It will come down to us. "

"Please… Just finish it…"

"I refuse! This will not be how the story ends! Mother will not get what she wants!"

"If you don't… She will come after you… Please… You are the best of all of us… Carry on our collective will… End this…"

"I said no! What will that accomplish, Peruere?! I'm not playing this stupid game any longer! I don't want to see any more of my friends perish!"

"I see… You still are still the fool… Very well… Allow me…"

"What… No! Peruere! You…"

"I'm sorry… This had to be done… Carry on our will for me… Become the King and tear down her world…"

"No… No! I refuse to bend to her rules any longer! No… We are done!"

"What… What is this… This glow… Naruto? My wounds… How are you…"

"I said we are done! …It's time to introduce Mother to a true demon."

"Mother?"

"Hm?" Crimson x-shaped pupils looked up from her red leather-bound chair to a grayish-brown hair bound and tied into a low, thin ponytail, holding a cup of tea toward her. She gently took the cup and smiled at the cat-eared girl. "Ah, Lynette? I apologize if I worried you. I was lost deep in thought. Thank you for bringing the tea you brewed for me."

"Yes, Mother. It was prepared the way you like it," Lynette properly bowed in a robotic tone. Her lips, however, quivered as her ears twitched, noticing Mother gingerly the Steambird from her engorged stomach and wincing. "Is Father going to be gone longer? Shouldn't he be back soon?"

"He will be gone as long as he must, dear. He roams the Abyss searching for answers for the approaching flood and how to stop it." Arlecchino sipped her tea, softly smiling at the girl. Despite how she hid it, she saw through her uncaring and stoic demeanor. She was worried about her condition.

Gazing upon her swollen belly, the woman once known as Peruere hid her smile. It would be long until she officially would be 'Mother.'

Glancing back toward Lynette, her stern and stoic facade returned. She must be the discipline for the children and continue to ensure they were well looked after. "Do not worry about my condition. Even in a weakened condition such as this, I am at my most dangerous. I can take care of myself. You should focus on your jobs. … Lyney."

The drop immediately snapped open, and Lynette's brother hastily opened it, and Lyney nervously entered, bowing before Mother. "Ah, please forgive me for eavesdropping! I was simply worried and wish to check in on you…"

"I understand. You worry for me in place of Father while he is out. I accept these terms." Arlecchino responded, her gaze falling upon Lyney, crossing her arms over her chest. "To keep you from worrying, I have a job for you. …A target from Sumeru is arriving. One of high priority?"

"A target?" Lyney nervously rose. The word target never had a great connotation to it. He knew that, as Fatui, they did some… Questionable jobs… Father and Mother were the only ones assigned from the House of the Hearth.

"From Sumeru?" Lynette brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully. She scanned the Steambird that Mother was reading and remembered reading similar articles before, her lips pursed. "Is this target the person that Lady Furina is preparing a Grand Arrival for?"

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth at the name of their Archon, Mother rolled her eyes. Reaching toward her desk, wincing, she scowled as Lyney moved to files she tried to retrieve for her and handed them to her. She refused and had him keep them. "Unfortunately… Yes. It is. Read them. You'll need to get to know him."

"I would like to get on good terms with the Fourth Descender." Arlecchino rimmed the tea ring, staring directly into the sibling's eyes. "He's been on bad terms with Fatui. We are not the Fatui. We are the House of the Hearth. Father and I have worked hard to separate this House from them, and we will not let that change.

"We stand alone, together!"

R & R.