Summary: "Finally, I have my peace." Naruto was grateful he woke up in this new world where he wasn't hunted or hated just for existing. It was a peaceful life for him, and he did what he had always wanted: To stay away from trouble and live on the sidelines. But as always… Naruto Uzumaki would be dragged into something sooner or later. "Ah, come on!"

"Speech."

'Think.'

Technique/Magic

Events of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other Anime/Manga material used for this fanfiction.

Warning: English isn't my first language.

The morning sun slowly but surely rose over the horizon, bathing everything in her warm light. It was a peaceful morning in Tokyo. Humans, animals, and other living beings slowly woke up from their slumber.

Inside a specific apartment moved the body of a beautiful young demon princess. Mio Naruse's finger twitched before her arm followed, and afterward, her entire body. She rose to a sitting position with her eyes closed. She stretched with her arms above her head, feeling her sleeping muscles slowly waking up. She lowered her arms and let them fall on her lap.

She opened her eyes and blinked a few times when she saw an unfamiliar room. "Huh?" Mio looked around and didn't recognize the furniture. 'Where am I?' thought Mio. She carefully removed the blanket from her body and stood up from the comfy bed.

She walked to the window and saw the street. She couldn't remember the street she saw right now. She was definitely in Tokyo; she could see the skyscrapers in the distance that were in the center of Tokyo. But she hadnever been to this part of Tokyo. The last thing she remembered was how she said good night to Maria and Basara before walking into her room. She didn't even remember how she went to sleep.

So how did she end up here in this foreign place? She looked at the door from the room and got a focused gaze. She walked away from the window and towards the door. She tried to hear something from the other side, but she couldn't.

She waited for two minutes before she decided to open the door carefully. She peaked outside and saw a corridor with a few doors. From the looks of it, she was inside an apartment, if she had to guess.

She exited the room and walked toward the door that looked like the apartment door. She froze when one of the closed doors opened. She was with her back to the person who walked out of the room he hadjust come out of.

"Oh, you are awake," said Naruto. Naruto just ended his meditation and wanted to look after Mio before he made himself something to eat. But as it turned out, Mio had already woken up.

Mio turned around and instantly recognized the voice. She saw Naruto and got wide eyes when she saw that he didn't wear anything on his upper body. He only wore his pants right now since he trained in the living room a little and sweat. He took off his shirt because it was drenched in sweat. She flushed and became red in her face.

"N-naruto?" asked Mio, blushing up a storm.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her reaction and looked down at himself. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think you would be awake by the time I finished my training in the living room," said Naruto. "You can go into the kitchen." He pointed his thump to the side, towards the kitchen door. "I will explain everything when I showered."

Mio could only nod, looking down. She was way too embarrassed right now to look him straight into his eyes. She also didn't want to stare too much. Naruto's upper body was lean and fit, something that wasn't directly clear since he always wore clothes that hid his muscular body pretty well. She raised her gaze and looked behind her. She watched how Naruto walked into his bedroom and came out of it with some new clothes. He stopped when he saw she was still in her position when he walked past her.

"Everything ok, Naruse?" asked Naruto.

Mio blushed madly and rushed into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her. 'What was this reaction?' thought Naruto. He shook his head and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He undressed and threw his dirty clothes into the laundry basket. He stepped into the shower and turned it on. He sighed in satisfaction when he felt the warm water all over his body. After he talked with the Kyūbi, he thought about everything during his meditation and training. After he meditated for 2 hours, he saw that he still had time to kill before he would look after Mio. It was still in the middle of the night, so he decided to leave his apartment for 5 minutes to visit the abandoned factory to create his clones so they could continue his training.

Since the Kyūbi was inside him again, his regeneration was back to its former state. That meant inhuman. The chakra he used yesterday was already recharged even when he only slept 3-4 hours last night. From now on, he would get faster results in his training. His muscle growth would be enhanced since the damage he did to his muscles during his training would close much faster now that the Kyūbi was back inside him. In general, he could train harder and longer and would be fit the next day. He was already feeling how his muscles were recovering from his 2 hour long, intense full-body workout in his living room.

Naruto stepped out of the shower 5 minutes later, dried off, and dressed up. He exited the bathroom, closed the door behind him, and entered the kitchen. Mio was sitting at the kitchen table, looking out the window. She looked toward Naruto and sighed in relief when she saw him completely dressed, even when she wasdisappointed to some extent. Not that she would say this to anyone.

Naruto sat down at the table as well and said, "What are your last memoriesfrom yesterday?" He wanted to make sure he had the situation figured out. It could well be that Takigawa lied to Naruto – something that was possible. But it could also be that Takigawa told Naruto the truth about the little Succubus.

"Well… I said goodnight to Basara and Maria before I walked into my room. The next thing I know is waking up in your bedroom," said Mio. "How did I end up in your apartment? What happened?" Mio was sure that Naruto knew everything.

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms before his chest and said, "Before I tell you that, can you tell me if this Maria you just mentioned is a Succubus?"

"Yeah… why do you ask? Did something happen with her?" asked Mio, worried.

"Yes," said Naruto. He closed his eyes and hoped Takigawa lied to him to some degree, but as it turned out, Takigawa told him the truth. "Ok, listen… I will now tell youwhat happened last night and what I know."

"Shit!" cursed a young woman. She flew upwards and vanished behind the clouds just in time to avoid some beams of demonic energy. 'Just a little more, and I am there,' thought the young woman. She had bruises everywhere, and blood came out of some wounds on her body. She was exhausted from the long chase she had to endure over the last hours. It was a miracle she wasn't caught yet or collapsed. Only her strong will to live because of the promise he made to her dying mother kept her going. Her violet eyes were focused on the horizon where the first signs of the capital of Japan were visible. Her long black hair moved wildly behind her. Normally, she tied her hair up to a high, long ponytail. Her hair was very long; even when she bound them up, they still reached her ankles. She was wearing a traditional miko attire, consisting of a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zōri with white tabi. Four black feathered wings were visible behind her back.

She looked behind her and saw multiple devils coming out of the clouds, seeing her in the process. 'Only a little bit more!' thought the fallen angel. She pointed her hand behind her towards the devils. Even when she had almost used up all her energy, she still could use her abilities. It's not at full power, but it should be efficient enough. White-yellow lightning crackled around her hand before multiple white-yellow magic circles appeared behind the woman.

"Holy Lightning!" called the fallen angel.

Regular lightning mixed with holy lightning, a fusion of holy power, and lightning shot out of the multiple magic circles. The lightning bolts flew at high speed towards the enemies of the fallen angel. The devils had to create multiple defensive magic circles to block the effective attack against them. Since Holy Lightning was infused with Holy Power, they were very deadly for devils. Even if the lightning attack weren't at full power, it would deal significant damage to devils.

The lighting attack crashed into the defensive magic circles of the devils while the fallen angel got faster and cameto her goal closer. She had a good reason for her destination, which was Tokyo. Tokyo was a neutral territory because of the hero clan. A few supernatural beings were able to live in peace, hidden between the humans, just because they were living in Tokyo. The Hero clan was always present in Tokyo since it was the capital of Japan.

If they weren't there, then many devils would look for potential Sacred Gear users under the humans. Between millions of humans, there was a high chance that a strong Sacred Gear could be attached to one of those humans. In the past, devils and other supernatural races were kidnapping humans from major cities like Tokyo to gain something from those humans. Whatever it was, the humans either turned into devils, were killed, or were never seen again.

After some time, the heroes and the church made a deal to protect the major cities from each country and protect those innocent humans. It took a while, but nowadays, there is rarely a major city that is targeted by supernatural races.

There was also another reason why supernatural races were taking a long turn around Tokyo in the last two years. There were rumors of a strong being who made Tokyo his home. Hero activities were not as strong as they used to be because of the war the devils and the hero clan used to have just ten years ago. The hero clan lost many of its members and didn't have the manpower to be as present as prior to the war against the devils.

Since the hero activities weren't as strong as before, a few devils or other supernatural beings used the situation and visited Tokyo for different purposes. If now to search for humans with Sacred Gears, artifacts hidden in special locations somewhere in Tokyo or something else. Strong and weak supernatural beings came to Tokyo to never return. If now a fallen angel with two wings, one with eight wings, a low-class devil, or even a high-class devil… no one returned. Everyone was missing, and with time, there were rumors about someone who killed them all because they invaded Tokyo – the new home of this powerful entity.

The fallen angel with six wings who was on her way to Tokyo saw this city as her only chance to escape the devils she just attacked with her holy lightning. She saw an abandoned factory with multiple halls on the outskirts of the city.

'This is the perfect place to hide and to regain my strength,' thought the fallen angel. She wanted to lower herself to the ground slowly but stopped when she got sweat all over her body. She didn't know what it was… a strong force was crashing down on her being. She couldn't move… it was some invisible force thathindered her from moving any closer to the factory.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that the devils also were frozen in place. It was like someone used magic to paralyze not only the fallen angel but also the devils. She looked toward the abandoned factory and gulped when she felt a pair of eyes looking at her. She couldn't see the person who looked at her, but she knew this person or individual was way stronger than her. Just with a look, she was completely stunned, frozen, and unable to move.

A chilling gust of wind blew through the sky where the fallen angel and the devils were. Everyone could feel it… this gust of wind was a warning. It was like someone said to them, "Come closer, and you will regret it."

The fallen angel didn't pay enough attention to her back since a fireball crashed into her back. She screamed out in pain when she was hit. She flew away toward the abandoned factory. She gritted her teeth and spread her four black feathered wings. She could catch herself and keep herself in place.

"Why don't they learn?" The fallen angel got wide eyes when a yellow blur shot past her toward the devils. She couldn't see a thing because she was hit in the neck with a chop, letting her get unconscious. The last thing she saw washow the devils began to fight the unknown man, who looked like he couldwalk intheair.

Naruto's clone took the fallen angel into his arms and let himself fall down. He landed gently on the ground and said to another clone, "Dissolve yourself so Boss knows what's going on."

"Roger that!" said another clone before he exploded into smoke.

Four other clones also landed on the ground after they dealt with the devils in the sky. "Will you watch her? We will go back and continue training."

"Of course, I will take her to a remote place and look over her. The boss must decide what to do with her," said the clone.

"All right," said another clone. The clone with the fallen angel in his arms vanished in a flickering motion, and the rest went back to the others to continue training.

"… this is everything that happened last night," said Naruto to Mio. He watched her carefully the entire time. It should be clear that she had a shocked expression on her face. He didn't know the exact relationship between Mio and the Succubus named Maria, but he guessed they both knew each other well.

"T-that can't be… Maria would never do such a thing! She was the one who rescued me the night my parents were murdered!" said Mio, shocked. She couldn't believe Maria would do such a thing.

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you if this is indeed true; I can only tell you what I heard from Takigawa. But I can tell you that Tōjō was different. He radiated demonic energy. It was clear that he wasn't himself when he attacked me last night," said Naruto.

Mio looked at the ground, unsure what she should do now. How could this entire situation happen? Yesterday, everything was okay. She was eating with Maria and Basaraandhaving a good time. Maria tried to set her up with Basara, but Mio hindered her in her attempts. She was a perverted Succubus, but she was her good friend at the end of the day.

Now, when she thought about it… after Naruto healed her in the park before defeating Kokabiel, she never had any problems with the curse anymore. Naruto told her how Takigawa said that he somehow broke the connections between her and Basara. How he did it wasn't really so important; the important fact was that he did it. Instead of being connected to Basara through the master-servant contract, she became somehow connected to Naruto. It was obvious after everything she experienced afterward with Naruto in the subspace where the sun was, seeing part of his past memories and so forth.

After that day, Maria didn't try as hard as before, setting up perverted situations between her and Basara. It was like she changed just out of the blue. She didn't complain since she was happy about it, but now it was odd. Why did she do that all of a sudden?

Naruto remained silent and let her think this through. He had no right to interrupt her. He looked at the ceiling and twitched when he got the memories from his clones at the factory. How out of nowhere, a fallen angel appeared, followed by multiple devils. His clones made sure that they weren't discovered. After they saw how the devils attacked the fallen angel and obviously wanted her to die, they decided to take care of the devils and save the fallen angel.

Naruto closed his eyes in irritation. He couldn't have his peace for just one moment. It was like the universe wanted to mess with him every second it could. Luckily, his clones couldn't use the yang seal since only the original had this. No matter how many clones Naruto created, they didn't have the yang seal on their body. Meaning they couldn't use it to heal someone like Naruto could.

He knew where the clone with the fallen angel went. He stood up and said, "I will wait in the living room. When you need me, I am there."

Mio looked up and only nodded. She saw how Naruto walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Mio looked at the table again, lost in thoughts.

While Mio was thinking about everything, Naruto entered the living room and summoned another clone. "Yo, boss!" said the clone with a salute.

"Hey, I just summoned youso that the others will know this as well. The fallen angel can be left alone. Just place her somewhere where she can recover and make sure she can't remember anything about what happened," said Naruto.

The clone nodded and said, "Sure thing, boss! I will let the others know right away!" The clone exploded into smoke and dissolved himself. Naruto sat on the couch and sighed.

Ten minutes after he entered the living room, summoned his clones, and sat on the couch, Mio entered as well. He looked at her and could see that she calmed down a little. She was in a tight spot since she lost everything she had in just one night. She lost her good friend Maria; she more or less lost Basara because Maria used her powers to control his mind and damage him in the process… the only thing left was Naruto. He was the only one who still somehow was a factor in her life. Yuki Nonaka could be called a factor as well, but she was only in her life because of Basara. If Basara wasn't in Mio's life, then Yuki wouldn't be Mio's ally.

She was surprised about herself and how fast she could calm down after she heard everything. She was sure it had to do with Naruto and his connection to her. Normally, she would surely freak out about losing everything again in just one night, like she lost everything when someone murdered her foster parents. But being near Naruto had a calming effect on her. There could also be the fact that she slept very well last night and wasn't exhausted like usual because of it.

Mio sat down beside Naruto on the couch and looked at the ground, thinking what she could even do now.

"So, Naruse, what are your plans from now on?" Naruto asked.

Mio looked at him, a bit startled because she was momentarily absent. She had bathed briefly in the warmth that briefly emanated from Naruto. She also sat on the couch and looked at the floor. She didn't know what to do from now on. She was now with the only person she could count on, and now? She had no idea!

Naruto leaned back and let Mio think. He just closed his eyes and enjoyed the quiet a bit. Even after 10 minutes, Mio still hadn't spoken. Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her. She seemed nervous and only looked at him for a moment. Naruto sighed and went back to a normal sitting position.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on with you? It's not for nothing that so many people are after you." Naruto said. Mio looked at him in surprise and didn't seem so nervous anymore.

She nodded. "Ok… my real name is Mio Gremory. Naruse was my foster parents' last name. I grew up in the human world, unaware of my origins or powers. I had a beautiful and peaceful life. My father was an auto mechanic who always made everyone laugh. He always worked late but made time in the evening to do my homework or watch a movie with me and my mother. We used to have barbecues on the weekends in the summer, and my dad invited the whole neighborhood over." Mio told the story in a gentle voice. Her gaze was dreamy as she remembered her father.

Naruto just stayed silent while Mio told her story. He wouldn't dare say anything. He looked at her directly. Saying it all out once seemed to have a positive effect on her already. She didn't seem tense like she used to.

"We lived in a small suburb where there were not many residents. The whole neighborhood knew each other, and everyone helped everyone. If you broke a pipe somewhere, you just had to walk to the end of the street where someone who could fix it lived. No matter our problems, we can always rely on others. There were three other children my age, and I grew up with them. We were inseparable and screwed up a lot." Mio said with a slight giggle. She still remembered all the things she had done with the others.

"My mother was a cleaning lady and a bit strict at times. Since my father was always working until the evening, she had most of the work with me. But no matter what, she always gave me the closeness and protection of a mother. Whether I had problems or a stupid idea, my mother always listened to and supported me in everything, no matter what it was. When I got older, my father and my mother sometimes left me alone so that the two of them could have a nice evening. I always invited my friends to my place in the evenings, and we always watched films that we weren't allowed to watch." said Mio.

Naruto could tell right away from her looks and story that she had a good childhood. She had the love of both parents and friends. He was glad that she had a nice childhood.

"But then this night came..." Mio's voice became quieter, and her smile disappeared. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the story slowly reached its climax. He already knew how that night ended since he saw it in the memories he saw while he was in the subspace with the sun when Mio appeared at the factory.

"I was awakened in the night by a strange noise, so I went downstairs. I noticed right away that there was a strange smell in the air. It smelled like it was burnt. I thought at first that my mother had left the stove on, so without further thought, I went downstairs to turn off the stove. But as I started walking down the stairs, the smell grew stronger, and a reddish-yellow light illuminated the darkness. It flickered and got unusually warm. When I got to the ground floor, I saw it. There were flames everywhere, and my parents…" She started sobbing, and her body started shaking.

Naruto stood up and sat down next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder, and reflexively, Mio leaned right onto Naruto's shoulder. Mio held onto his black blazer as she buried her head in his torso. Her sobs grew louder, and after a short while, she began to howl uncontrollably.

All the emotions she had buried for the last two years because she needed to be strong came to the surface again. She just couldn't anymore. Her body seemed to realize it could now let go with Naruto nearby. Mio had been looking for this warmth for so long. That warmth emanated from Naruto. Her subconscious, body and everything else wanted to let it all out.

She had Maria at her side, but she somehow never really talked with Maria about this topic. Sure, they talked about it multiple times, but it was only on the surface. Mio never got the feeling she could really let herself go with Maria beside her. Not that she was aware of it at the moment. Subconsciously, she always knew that Maria wasn't who she pretended to be. She just wanted to believe something like that. Mio always told herself that Maria was her good friend, even when she was perverted.

Naruto just held Mio so she wouldn't fall to the ground. He watched her with a whole new expression. His eyes showed understanding and caring. It was as if the story had triggered something in him. Naruto didn't care what was happening to him at the moment.

'After her parents died, she must have realized who she was. She had to learn a lot to survive. She had lost her peaceful life in one night and everything else, too. She was forced into a fate for which she was not responsible. It was just like me...I didn't have a choice in my Jinchūriki status either. Because of other people's choices, Mio has had to suffer and go through a lot.' He closed his eyes and clearly remembered all the scenes where he was ignored and beaten by the villagers as a child. His life was hell; there was nothing else to say about it.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Mio. Some time had passed, and she had fallen asleep on his legs with her head. Naruto's hand ran over her long red hair while he looked at her sleeping face. He picked her up carefully after a few minutes and carried her through the apartment. He went into the hallway, walked past his room, and then turned into the bedroom. He put her on the bed and covered her up. He looked at himself again, turned, and left the room. He closed the door quietly behind him and walked out of his apartment.

'It's time I get to know what is happening around me. I can't ignore this any longer. I must know everything there is about the supernatural world, and the one who can tell me everything about it should be near,' thought Naruto.

He made a hand sign and exploded into smoke. He needed to meet this person. He only hoped that he could control himself. He felt the little bit of chakra the person emitted and appeared in a flickering motion in a forest.

"Come out," said Naruto.

A giggle could be heard from the shadows of a tree. Kuroka slowly but surely became visible when she walked out of the shadows of the tree. "Hello there, I am so glad you came looking for me, Naruto-kun," purred Kuroka.

Naruto could remember the experience he had with this cat woman and couldn't help himself but look at her large cleavage for a second before looking her in the eyes again. Kuroka was beautiful. There was no other way to describe her. It was simply a fact.

"I have questions, and I hope you will answer them for me since you want something from me," said Naruto.

Kuroka's smile didn't vanish when she stopped 2 meters before him. "Hmm… I wonder?"

"I can also go to someone else and seek answers there," said Naruto. He knew he was still himself, so whatever Kuroka did last time had either no effect on Naruto or she hadn't done something yet to control him like last time.

"Now that would take all the fun, wouldn't it?" asked Kuroka, pouting.

"It depends," said Naruto. He could already tell that she was like a cat. Literally. Her instinct to tease and play with others wasn't normal. But it also awoke something in Naruto, a side he never thought he had. He somehow wanted to play along and try to see what would come out of this. Maybe he would have been a prankster in his past life if it wasn't for his shitty life because someone played god and fucked his life up.

Kuroka's eyes shimmered with mischievous intent. "Now I am interested, Naruto-kun," said Kuroka, taking a step closer to him.

Naruto wasn't sure if he really made a good move here, but he needed to find out more about this entire supernatural thing. He really needed to know everything, and since Ms. Hasegawa should be busy getting Basara back to normal andMio sleeping, he could only think about Kuroka.

Takigawa and Yuki were out of the picture in this regard. There only remained Kuroka. Even when their last meeting was weird as fuck, she didn't hurt him in any way. Even when she controlled him a little, he had to say that he liked the things they did.