Disclaimer: Bonesboy15 doesn't own Helluva Boss or Naruto. The following is a written work of fan-fiction. It contains adult language and situations. Reader discretion is advised.

Who's That Father?

Basic Thuganomics

(Then: Gluttony, Mountainside)

Wet thuds and cracks echoed through the tunnels as the young kit scampered towards the source. She preferred to avoid such places, but when one is ordered by the King Under The Mountain to act, one acts. The blue and white kit hesitated outside one of the door before she used the heavy golden knocker to announce herself. The wet thuds stopped and a mutter was faintly heard past the heavy wood that held it. A moment passed before the door was pulled open and the Captain of the Guard glared down at her, bright green eyes narrowed.

"What?" He asked around a snarl and the faint sound of liquid striking ground had her consider to peek in before she remembered her duty. A scroll was held out to the Captain and he took it from her. His lips curled back and his teeth bared. "No–! He can't be serious!? It's an intruder! A Mutt!"

The bruised, battered and bloodied Hellhound behind the Captain let out a chuckle and smirked at the Captain. He was an oddity, for what the kit understood of Hellhounds. The males were supposed to be hulking, mindless brutes with brains made for sex and violence, while the females no less violent but more cunning, smaller and slender. Their colors were normally of darker shades, to be less conspicuous when working topside, but this one had the colorings of their kind: The Kitsu-ne. Not only that, but this one was slender, not too large and not too brutish, and his eyes were... a lot like hers.

Mother had said she'd met her father while on a mission in Gluttony, her first infiltration and seduction, those six years prior. Privately, the kit thinks she was an accident, and were it not for the secrecy their King worked by, she wouldn't be unfamiliar with her father.

"Uh-oh, sounds like someone got busted overstepping."

"You're not free of your binds yet, Mutt." The Captain snarled and whirled around to her again. Green eyes narrowed, conflicted. "This came from His Majesty?"

"Yes." The kit nodded. "Ji–Er, Lord Kyūbi demands the prisoners release and return to the wood outside Beelzehaven. The shifter has been found in the kitchens."

"Ooh, so that's what you were so interested in?"

"Mutt, there is nothing in the demand that requests your ability for proper speech be left untouched!" The Captain snarled. The Hellhound chuckled and let his head roll back.

"Fuuuck," he groaned. "No wonder this job paid so fucking much...Can I have my stuff back? I got some lotion in there to deliver to a lying cheapskate fuck that wanted me to die."

The Captain snarled and crumpled his orders in his claws before he approached the Hellhound and leaned into his face.

"Listen, Mutt, if it were up to me, we'd be sending your skinned ass out to dry. Your corpse to act as a warning for your blind kin. You are a dog of war, a pawn to be used in the Gluttonous Queen's war games. Worthless, honorless, and gutless mutt that you are, be grateful I don't hunt down your blood and relieve them of this Hell." The Captain growled. "So, it would be prudent to be on your best fucking behavior."

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure, hey question for you, Cap? You up for promotion?"

"...Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I am."

"Ah, that explains a lot. You get a new picture with your ID?" There was a gleam in the Hellhound's non-swollen blue eye.

"It is procedural, yes."

"Cool. Cool." He grinned, exposing an incisor tooth that was growing back into place where the other was missing. "You plan on smiling during it?"

"What is the point of this?"

"Oh, just wondering if busting your teeth down your throat would delay your picture plans."

"And how would you do that, Mutt?"

"Slip out of these binds and break your jaw with my stubborn assed, hard as a rock head." That sounded suspiciously like a callback. Perhaps the Captain's lips were a little liberal with his words during this interrogation.

"How exactly would you slip out of your binds?"

"Like this." In a flash of mystical light, where there was once a Hellhound came a smaller, leaner Human. His hands slipped out of his binds and grabbed the Captain's face before he could say anything. Another flash came before the Hellhound's skull made impact with the Kitsu-ne's muzzle.

CRACK!

The kit winced and stepped back as the Hellhound roared and lifted the dazed Captain up over his head and drove him face first through the chair. His large foot ground down into the back of the Captain's head, pushing him further and further into the stone floor, and leaving a widening pool of blood while doing so. The Hellhound's glowing blue eye narrowed as he leaned down.

"If you ever fucking threaten my puppy again, I'll come back and you'll fucking wish that you look as pretty as you do now. Get me?"

He stomped off of the Captain hard enough for another crack to echo through the air and rolled his shoulder so it popped back into place before he turned to make eye contact with the kit. As if he hadn't just bested and planted the strongest of their force face first into the floor, he smiled down at her. A disarming gesture, one thought best for a child. The kit was both insulted – she had trained for three of her six years to be counted among The King's elite! – and felt warm from the gaze. He crouched down with a wince before he grinned again.

"Sorry you had to see that, hon. Your 'king' said I could go, right?" He asked and the kit nodded. His grin grew wider. "Great! Any chance you can lead me to my stuff? If I don't get this delivery done, I can't get food for my puppy."

An unpleasant twist in her gut had the kit nod again, a bit slower. The Hellhound beamed and put a clawed hand to his chest.

"Well, my name is Naruto. What's yours?"

"...Yasaka." The kit muttered. Not untrue, it was a name she went by when she met strangers. She didn't know how he'd react to her real name. Didn't want to know, not after what she saw. She didn't know enough about him or whether her hypothesis was correct.

"Pretty name." He praised her and she felt heat flush through her ears. He nodded to the unconscious captain. "Let's get out of here, Yasaka. Pretty sure he's starting to stink."

'Yasaka' nodded, took hold of his claw – which caused a whole new kind of warmth to spread through her – and led him to where confiscated goods and belongings were kept before she led him to the exit toward Beelzehaven's forests. As she watched the large hound limp away, her eyes burned and her chest twisted some more. She may never see him again, and she might never learn the truth. So why did it matter?

As if sensing her distress, which was entirely possible, a familiar presence appeared behind her. Powerful, overwhelming and insurmountable.

Lord Kyūbi.

The King Under The Mountain.

Her Grandfather.

"I distinctly remember telling you to not engage with the prisoner." The King rumbled as he knelt beside her and stroked her hair. She trembled and faltered for words. He sighed. "Ask the question, kit."

"...He's my father, isn't he, Jiji?" 'Yasaka' asked quietly.

"He is." Jiji nodded. And nothing more was said. 'Yasaka' felt her chest tighten and her eyes burned further. A giant gentle paw rested on her head and combed through her long golden locks. "Come now, kit. It is unbefitting of my heir to be seen in distress."

"Okay, Jiji." She said with a shuddered breath, her emotions masked scarily fast for a kit her age. Dutifully, she followed her lord, king and leader. Hesitantly, she matched his pace and, in a fit of childishness and selfish need, reached for his claw. He granted it and led her with him. "Is he the reason Mother has that mission? Because she slept with the Ninth without permission?"

"Partially. Your mother's decision to seduce him was...ill-advised. All actions have consequences, kit." Jiji admitted. He looked down at her, luminous red eyes in the black void that showed a plethora of complex, darker emotions. "But do not think for a second that her act to birth you was one that upset me. You are my Heir, not your mother, not your father. Understood?"

"Yes, Jiji."

"Good." They walked in silence for a bit longer. 'Yasaka' felt her mind wander to her father, the ferocious fighter, the warm smile, the honesty in his threat to the Captain and the promise in his words. All of that, for a puppy she didn't know, that didn't know she existed. Would he still act that way for her if he knew? Would he–? "He will love you, Kit. Don't doubt that. You are his, and though he doesn't know of you yet, one day he will, and on that day, he will love you."

"Yes, Jiji." 'Yasaka' meekly squeaked when her grandfather hoisted her up and carried her on his hip.

"Enough of this depression, little one. Let's go play some games, hm?"

(Now: Pride IMP Offices)

The day started out so smoothly. The spare cookies were dropped off and they had marked the calendar accordingly. They sent Fatty, Millie and Blitzø off to the first job on the schedule without issue. Loona took a few calls, took the names of a few clients – all of whom thought her 'sister' was adorable and one boldly asked if she was available. That fucker was getting his price quadrupled – while Himawari colored or added her own notes. It was about the time that

"Loona, close the portal!" Blitzø had shouted as he fended off the encroaching squad of assailants with Moxxie's help. Loona jumped to attention and flipped through the Owl Fucker's book. Not a swear, innuendo, stutter or joke. He was serious, he was demanding it, it was an order.

"Launchers, move up and fire!" One of the humans shouted from the other end of the alleyway. Cables attached to harpoons were launched. Loona dropped the Grimoire and scooped the puppy into her arms as a harpoon pierced into the floor.

There goes that deposit, she thought dryly. She turned the squirt around and barked in her face when she was locked on the violence happening not five feet away. "Hey! Squirt!"

"Huh? Y-Yes?!"

"When I open the door, you're gonna run upstairs and find that doofus that works for your dad. Stay with him, okay?" Loona asked. The Squirt's eyes watered and she whined. Loona didn't have time for this, and shook the puppy. "No! Stop fucking crying, you need to grow up right the fuck now!"

Another harpoon burst into the office.

"Millie!" Fatty's outrage soon followed.

"Loona, goddammit, close the fucking portal!" Blitzø's order was panicked. She glanced at the Grimoire nearby and looked at the puppy in her hands again.

"You have to be brave, okay kid? Remember how you found us?" Loona asked. The Squirt whimpered but nodded. The older she-hound let her eyes narrow. "Be that little brave badass again. You didn't know us, but you knew what we were about. You broke your dad's fucking rules to save your friend, right? That was scary, yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

"This is scarier, but you can fucking do it. I know you fucking can." Loona urged, saying things that she would say to herself to psyche herself up when she was in the orphanage. Prior to meeting potential new roommates or parents. She cupped the Squirt's Face. "You fucking got this, okay? On three, ready?"

"B-But what about–?"

"On fucking three!" Loona snarled. The Squirt whined and wiped at her eyes before she nodded. "Alright, one, two–"

"Two lupine-class! Stun 'em! Max voltage!"

"Copy!"

"Three–!" Loona yelped before the word got out of her mouth as something pierced her side and a series of jolts went through her system. Her eyes went blurry and she slumped to her knees before she reached the door. The Squirt tumbled out of her arms to the side.

"Miss Loona! Miss Loona, no! Please! Miss Loona, wake up!" The puppy whined and yipped before she growled her cute growl. Loona tried to focus, tried to zero in on the puppy, but another sharp penetration followed by volts took her out. Just as the world died around her, she could've sworn she heard: "Momma!"

(Unknown Location, Cell)

"Fuck, my head." Loona groaned and held her head as she started to get up. "What the fuck happened–Hurk!"

The chain attached to her collar stopped her short of rising to her full height, barely able to rise above a kneel. She growled and tugged at it. Durable, strong, The sharp squeal of the P.A. system clicked on and a masculine presenting voice came over.

"I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. The safety precautions on the cells are linked. If you'll take a look to your left," they said. Loona growled but turned to the indicated direction and her blood ran hot.

Chained up to the floor, not too unlike herself, was a little purple puppy. Only this puppy had something wrapped over her head and around her muzzle. Red-lined blue eyes stared at her, fur around them matted and uneven, and the puppy curled into a tight ball to hide.

"Squirt?" Loona whispered. The puppy turned away with a whimper, and as she did the chain around Loona's neck sank into the ground. Now, she might've dropped out of college when the assassin biz started picking up, but while Loona wasn't a scholar, she could figure out enough. Her eyes shone and she glared around until she spotted the camera. Her teeth bared, she tried to rise again, only for the puppy to whine and remind her why that was a bad idea.

"There's a good bitch." Loona snarled at the condescending tone. "Now, this is your only warning. If you try anything, your little puppy suffers in your stead. One step out of line, and, well…I think a Hellhound's foot would sell well on the black market, even if immature."

"When I get out of this, I'm going to rip your tongue out of your fucking throat!" Loona growled, even as she lowered herself down, to give the chain slack. She glanced at The Squirt, who could pull herself away from the center of the cage and tried to get closer.

"Adorable, if your threat was credible, I might even be nervous. But, it's not, is it? One toe, bitch, one toe out of line." A yelp came from Himawari and Loona glanced back at her to see her recoiled from the spark that lined the cell. "Our specialists will come get some samples from you in a minute. Remember my warning, bitch."

Then the overhead speaker clicked off. Loona growled but kept low, and adjusted herself so she could face the exit across from her cell, and the trembling puppy.

"Squirt? Hey! Heema!" She hissed. The puppy flinched and looked up. Fuck, that muzzle restraint looked painful. Loona glanced around her cell and found the remnants of her own muzzle restraint lying scattered about a corner. She didn't even remember having it on or ripping it off. She felt her gut churn, what else happened while she was out? "How're you holding up?"

"...Wan...Daddy..." The Pup barely managed to whimper out with the thing over her face.

"Yeah, I'll fucking bet." Loona huffed a mirthless chuckle. "I wouldn't mind having your dad here either."

A click on the far right had her whirl around with a snarl bared. Two bipedal hazmat suits with mirrored face shields walked in, bags of 'goodies' in their hands. Printed on their shoulders was an acronym that Loona couldn't fully make out.

"Which one should we go for first?"

"Agent One suggested we start with the big one. Even if it's still conscious, it'll be too groggy from the anesthesia to stop us from getting samples from the other one."

"Right. Just...you got the tranq? We might need a dose just to get in."

"Can't. It'll interfere with the results."

"Shit."

Yeah, c'mon in you dumb fucks. I'll show you some grade-A Hellborn gratitude for your shit hospitality. Loona growled and let her hackles rise. Her growling stopped when tweedle-doofus made his next suggestion.

"Well, what if we start with the brat then? It's already restrained. And if the big one tries anything, we'll just take a bigger sample. Like a tooth or claw for analysis."

"Hm, it would reduce future lacerations when we get to the more invasive tests." Both hazmats nodded and then walked past Loona's cell. Her heart plummeted when the puppy started to whimper and tried to back away as the hazmats entered her cell. Loona snarled and tried to round as best she could without jerking the chain connected to the Squirt.

"No. No! No, hey, get the fuck away from her!" She barked. Tweedle-dumbass jumped back while Tweedle-doofus barely reacted.

"Holy shit! Did you know it could talk?!"

"Pretty sure it's just a mimicry. You know, like a parrot. Preliminary exams prove its a glorified dog. Like a wolf. Just, maybe a little bigger."

"Huh, you learn something new every day. Alright. C'mere puppy puppy, who's a good puppy?"

"I said get the fuck away from her!"

"Are you sure it's mimicry?"

"Eh, ninety-four percent. Hey, you. You gonna behave if we come in your cell first?" Tweedle-doofus asked, tilting his head. Loona bared her teeth and he shrugged. "Alright, we'll start with the puppy–"

"No! I'll fucking behave!" Loona snapped teeth grinding and tail lashing at the thought of these faceless freaks cutting around on the pup. She laid down and kept her head low. "I'll…Just leave her alone."

"…Huh, look at that. Almost sounded sentient."

"Pretty sure most countries consider mammals sentient."

"You know what I mean. Like on our level. A human level."

Fucking figures. Loona growled. This was why she had absolutely no qualms about increasing the amount of fucking Sinners in Pride: Humans just fucking sucked. She squeezed her eyes shut as the two humans entered her cell and forced herself to lie still.

Squirt better be fucking grateful. So fucking grateful.

"We'll start with some blood samples."

"Fuck." Loona grimaced. That meant needles. She fucking hated needles. Just before the first prick broke skin, the door to the cells was thrown open. Tweedle-doofus, the 'smarter' of the two hazmat idiots, looked up and greeted the third Hazmat-clad human.

"You're just in time to see what color the lupine demons bleed."

"..." Hazmat Three tilted their head. They were significantly shorter than the other two. Vastly shorter than Loona. And armed with a silenced pistol.

"Whoa! What the fu–aaah?!"

Pssht. Pssht. Pssht. Pssht. Pssht.

Third Hazmat? Officially best Hazmat. This human died slower, and Loona would even consider to thank them once they got her out. The armed Hazmat looked at her, head turned, and tilted their head again. Then they looked at The Squirt and they squared up. Loona tensed. They could get her loose any second now.

"Wait...Why–?" Tweedle-Dumbass didn't get the full question out before a blind shot aimed behind Third Hazmat hit him between the eyes.

"Okay, good. Nice job. Now cut us loose." Loona growled. Third Hazmat ignored her and walked to tweedle-doofus' corpse. They ruffled around the body for a moment before they pulled another gun out, this one with a long tube for a muzzle and weird top-loading feature.

No.

"Don't you fucking–!"

Shzzt!

Loona choked on her words and quickly pulled the dart out of her neck.

"Oh, you motherfuuuu–!" Her eyes rolled up and her vision went dark just as Third Hazmat turned toward The Squirt again.

To say Himawari wasn't a fan of her current situation would be a massive understatement, even though she couldn't exactly parse it that way.

Her body trembled long after she got poked with the hot rope gun that the Bad Guys shot her and Miss Loona with. Then they shoved something onto her face and put her in a dark room alone. That was until the Masked Man came in, his scary orange mask that only showed one red eye. She tried really, really hard not to think about Mister Tex whenever she looked at the Masked Man; Mister Tex was nice, almost like her Uncles, but he got weird and quiet a lot when he looked at her. She didn't like it.

She'd felt really, really cold ever since that Masked Man poked her with his glowing blue shot. She hated getting shots, it always hurt no matter what anyone said! Worse yet, Daddy wasn't around to kiss it better and she just knew that's why it hurt so much more than her last set of shots.

Then, after she was put back in the cage with the stupid thing on her face that pulled on her skin and hurt so cussing much, Miss Loona started to jerk and jostle around in her sleep. As she did, the chain would pull on Himawari's neck, and her little body would be yanked to the floor over and over again, until one of her paws started to hurt almost as bad as it did when the building fell on it. What was worse was that no matter how hard she tried to speak or say anything, the collar would cut her off and she'd barely be able to get a word out.

So yeah, this place? Himawari hated it, and Himawari didn't hate things easily. She hated the people in it, she hated Glasses Guy and Glasses Girl, she hated the White Harsh-Mellow Men with their pokers and tools, and she especially hated the Masked Man. Him and his stupid little red spinning eye. She wanted to poke that stupid eye out.

When Miss Loona woke up, she wanted to be happy. She wanted to feel better, but everything ached and it was hard to think straight. Her head burned and her body shivered, it was like she was sick and Himawari hated being sick! Being sick meant she had to either eat icky medicine goop or get shots to get better, and while neither was "particularly appealing" – as Doctor Nairod put it; Himawari liked him, he was cool and super duper nice all the time. Best yet, he could do magic! Even Daddy couldn't do magic, and Daddy could do anything! – she would rather eat icky goop than get more shots.

Two White Harsh-Mellow Men came back after Miss Loona woke up, she couldn't make out their words but their tone was Scary-Dangerous-Threat and matched Miss Loona's growls until she went quiet. They came toward her cage and it was all Himawari could do to try and get away.

Then White Harsh-Mellow Man Three came in.

They didn't say anything, just shot the other two, and then shot Miss Loona so that she got quiet. W.H.M.M. Three came to her cell and Himawari started to cry, she wanted to be brave but she was tired and she hurt and she felt icky all over and hot and cold and it was so much awfulness! She just wanted to go home!

"Shh." W.H.M.M. Three slowly took the awful thing off of her face and took the chain off her neck. She wanted to run away and hide, but she was too weak – lame hellpup, crybaby, Trash-Can Bastard! – and couldn't muster the energy to even attempt a bite when they picked her up. "Sleep, little one. I'm going to get you out."

"...Dah...Dee..." Himawari wheezed and whimpered. After another coo, W.H.M.M. Three put a finger to the side of their head.

"Jiji, I have her. I need a Slip back to–...Of course, Jiji." W.H.M.M. Three lowered the finger from their head and hugged her close. They were warm and her nose was clogged but there was a faint violet smell that was a bit familiar. It helped Himawari relax before the pretty rainbow lights flared up. Then, as soon as the light vanished, the warmth went with it. Himawari was laid on the couch that – even with her nose clogged – smelled like Daddy. Before she could fully relax, W.H.M.M. Three poked her with a shot. Her yelp was unavoidable, but the telltale sound of claws scraping along the ground – heard over the frantic shouts and muffled growls common in Daddy's office – told her she was heard. There was a hiss before something popped.

Then, W.H.M.M. Three put a hand on her head again and this time gently stroked her hair, like Daddy did. Himawari looked up, her blurry eyes found a smaller, but familiar Hellhound-shaped face hovered over her. Orange and black near two bright blue eyes, brown closer to the deep black nose. She blinked.

"...D...Daddy?"

"Shh." The voice was not Daddy's, but had the same softness he would use for her at bedtime or after a nightmare. A soft, wet pressure pushed to her head before one last stroke of claws raked through her hair. "Sleep well, little one. Father will see you soon."

Then rainbow light came and left again just as Miss Priscilla ran in.

"What the fuck–? Himawari?!" Miss Priscilla scooped her up and sniffed around her head, chin and neck. Himawari whined, still sore and so very very tired. Then came a tight hug that screamed Warmth-Protection-Love. "Thank fuck– Lucifer's Mercy–How did–? ..Shit. Rios, cover Control radio! Gamma, Echo, Mouse, make a full sweep of the perimeter! We've been breached! Dr. Nairod, I'm bringing you a pediatric priority!"

Himawari, safe, secure and so very tired, succumbed to the calls of slumber not a second later.

(Unknown Location, Observation Room)

"How are the lizard demons doing, Agent Two?"

"Well, one's bawling its eyes out, one's cursing so creatively I think I should take notes and the last is reenacting a rock ballad about…drugs?" Agent Two shrugged her shoulders. "Still nothing about any secret entrances or exits. Hey, One, has Zero gotten back to you yet?"

"No? He probably moved onto his next mission after he brought these five specimens to us." Agent One scoffed and crossed his arms. "Fucker always likes to keep himself 'the favorite'. Like, what if I wanted to lead the next assault on the Mirror Dimension, huh? I'm good enough!"

"Right." Agent Two snorted and switched view-screens back to the Lupine Demons. She nibbled on her lip and squirmed. "Ohh, they just look so cuddly! Such cute widdle babies to huggle and snuggle!"

"Two, seriously. This dog thing you've got–"

"I don't want to hear it from you, Mr. I'm-A-Cat-Person."

"I am! Look, I don't mind dogs as long as they go somewhere else after I indulge them for ten minutes."

"Pfft," Agent Two rolled her eyes behind her ever present sunglasses and huffed. A flicker in the corner on One's side of the screens caught her eye. "Whatever–hey, check out Forty-Two."

"Again, not gay, but yeah. He's hot–"

"No, not the agent stupid, the camera!" Agent Two snapped. "But at least we agree on him being hot."

"Well, yeah, I'm not blind." Agent One huffed as he went to enlarge Camera Forty-two, which covered the agency's secret public entrance. Parked outside the front was a large black and red APC. A grainy hand popped out of the window and pointed something at the camera. "Huh, is that a gun?"

The camera feed went to static in the next second. At the same time, on camera Fifty-Nine, which was focused on the cells holding the Lupine Demons, a Science Guy – or rather, a field scientific specialist that worked for the agency; Agents One and Two preferred to call them Science Guys – suddenly shot and killed two others before they tranquilized the larger Lupine Demon. They unshackled the younger one and then vanished in a flicker of light.

Agent One and Agent Two exchanged a look. Teleporting technology was nowhere near that close to being field ready. That meant they had been infiltrated, and considering their agency was so much of a laughing stock that private funding did more than actual government contracts did, it was by someone or something that knew about them. There was only one course of action to take next.

"...Lock down?" Agent Two asked.

"Lock down." Agent One nodded

They simultaneously slammed their hands on the big red button in the center of the video console and the alarm blared.

(North America, Small Town, Pet Store)

"Foxtrot, this is Control, you have human first responders en route. ETA, ten minutes. Acknowledge, over," Priscilla said over the radio.

"Control, this Foxtrot. I acknowledge, five minutes to search, over. Flip this fucking store! I want the entrance found!" Naruto barked as he lowered his claw from his earpiece. He growled back at the humans that were frequenting the store, the AR kept them rather placid and trembling. His lip curled back and his trigger finger twitched. "Phones. Now."

"Like-like jinkers, bro. I only just got the new model." The peach-fuzzed lanky brunet trembled as he held the smartphone out. Huh, as above so below reflected tech, too. Naruto snatched the smartphone and examined it before he crushed it in his hand. "Whoa, not toasty!"

"Shut it, Shuggy!" The ginger girl hissed and glared at Naruto. "You can have it over my dead body, you furry reject!"

"Done." Naruto snarled. A brown paw pulled the AR aside just when the barrel lit up.

"Whoa! Boss, how about I watch the hostages, huh?" The Rottweiler-like Hellhound named Kal, Lambda's heavy hitter, offered. Naruto snarled at him before he closed his eyes and huffed.

"Fine. Break the phones, or break them and then the phones. I don't care which."

"Oh, man, way to go Delilah. Now we gotta get a new read on this werewolf!"

Fucking stoners. Naruto snorted as he walked by the rest of Lambda. Jay and Haze were patting the walls and moving shelves respectively. The team leader was investigating dog treats. Naruto gave him a flat stare.

"This is some cheap ass, chemical latent shit we don't have." Mitch muttered and then gulped. He offered the open bag. "Wanna try it? It's beef-flavored."

"...Mitch." Naruto pinched the space between his eyes. "Don't make me regret bringing you."

"They got yellow five in them. You know how good that shit is for us?"

"I'm familiar–fuck's sake, give me that." Naruto sighed and took the bag to examine the nutrition facts. He arched a brow as he read it. "This shit would give dogs cancer if they ate it...grab as much as you can to go."

"Just that or all the flavors?"

"...there's other flavors?"

"Six others here."

"Bag em." Naruto ordered as he kept reading and walked away. "And then help your fucking teammates find the fucking door–"

"Alpha to Foxtrot. Found an entrance in the back–Get the fuck out of my way! Over!" The sudden comm from Rex had Naruto run for the back.

"Jay, Haze, shove everything to the front! Barricade that glass before the cops get here! Mitch, move the APC around the back then finish the secondary! Kal, get rid of those brats!" Naruto barked out the order as he burst through the storeroom door. "Rex, what do we have?"

"Mediocre shit, boss. And I'm talking, basic government-level defense here. Need at least a good pound of Semtex to get through," Rex muttered. He ruffled around in his side pouch and pulled a small package of explosive material out with a grin. "Shall I knock?"

"Set up. Alpha Team, breaching formation!" Naruto ordered, taking the left position while Rex applied the explosive to the door. Payne and Panik stacked up beside them, one each respectively with their small arms ready, while Kodiak swapped his LMG for the pump-action he carried on his back. "Kodi, keep the rear and cover us as we breach. I don't want a stray shot to tag anyone."

"Yes, sir." Kodiak nodded. Naruto locked eyes with Rex as he pulled back and braced the right wall. He nodded and looked away as Rex called out a warning.

"Breaching!"

The door imploded and flew down a hall that suddenly gained a thick smell of blood. Splattered humans had gotten in the door's way. The alarm was annoying, but easily ignored.

"We're under attack! Ready your weapons!"

"Aw look at the cute little humans and their sidearms." Rex cooed mockingly as he blew a human's head off. He snarled. "Where's our kid, fuckers?!"

Such a good 'third' he had.

"Moving up!" Naruto warned as he and Payne advanced. The gunshots became white noise and rooms were cleared violently without remorse or hesitation. In the fourth room down the eighth hall – this place's layout was fucking ridiculous! Where did they get the funding for this shit? – they came across an observation room. Within were two agents, and the female one froze.

"One. One, they're all...they're all...!"

"Fucking, shit. Right, the dogs." The Agent that spoke had a similar voice. "Zero said they might show up. I forgot about that. Whatever you do, Two, don't let them know–"

"They're all so cute!"

"That you like dogs. Dammit."

"Payne. Panik. Deal with the male. Rex, why don't you make a friend?" Naruto suggested as he moved in. The twins rushed the male, One, while Rex sauntered up to Two and started to talk her down. Naruto, meanwhile, advanced to the monitor screen and scanned each camera. Rooms thirty through thirty-two had the Imps from I.M.P., and fifty-nine had Loona on the ground by two dead bodies. He'd get to her once he found–

His phone rang and he pulled it out to see it was Loona's number.

"Control, Foxtrot, answering a call. Trace it. Out." Naruto relayed fast before he answered the call with a snarl. "Where the fuck is my daughter?!"

"Now, now, we both know that you have her. Had I known you'd already infiltrated D.H.O.R.K.S., I wouldn't have bothered leaving her with them." The Unknown Deadman purred. Naruto furrowed his brow, he never had even heard of D.H.O.R.K.S. before today. "No matter, the antidote she requires is still in my hands. If you want to save her, you'll make the meeting tonight."

"...Oh, I'll meet you tonight for sure." Naruto growled. "Just so I can personally rip your fucking face off and watch you fucking bleed out!"

"Ooh, doggy's got a loud bark. Keep that up, and this antidote goes bye-bye."

"Why don't you just fucking tell me who you are? I wanna know what fucker's name I need to carve on the fucking tombstone I'm going to bring with me, you cocksucker?!"

"Language, dog. Language." The U.D. chuckled before he hissed. "See you tonight, Naruto."

Naruto snarled and almost broke his phone when the line cut. A double tap of a microphone in his ear had him press down on his comm.

"Give me good fucking news, Pris."

"Uh, so much for radio protocol–er, well, two things. One, not Pris." Rios returned. "The call was traced to the same location. The phone is likely being used as a relay. We'll need it if we want to find this walking deadman."

"So, find Loona's phone. Great. Then I'll have to convince her to let me keep it." Naruto rubbed his face. "Control, what's the other good news?"

"Uh, well, Pickle's back and–"

"What." Naruto snarled. Did he seriously just get lured up top?! For no fucking reason?! Well, no, his girlfriend was still unconscious on the screen. He'd have to go get her and figure out what the fuck happened after. Hopefully Jiraiya would get word back to him by then.

"Pickle's back, she just...appeared in your tent. Sleeping. There's a note beside her. Addressed to you." Rios hesitated. "Bo–Foxtrot, it's got a weird seal on it. Like, an inversion of your seal. And, uh, a red spiral."

Red Spiral. Like the one Rama – Kurama, Shadow of Gluttony's Violence – used and wore. Was this all one of his twisted takes on pranks? Like the time he was lured into the middle of a gang war on forty-third because there was supposedly a sale on ramen? ...Well, not supposedly, there was a sale, it was just really unfortunately timed on his part to go check it out. Not the point, could he trust Rama?

Probably about as much as he trusted Bee, which suffice to say, wasn't a whole fucking lot.

"Foxtrot. Foxtrot, verify status. Over."

Right. Still topside. He could worry about his lacking trust issues later. Naruto shook his head.

"Control, this is Foxtrot, I verify. Wrapping up here. Securing secondaries for evac. Prep post-op report on return, over."

"Wilco, over."

"Roger, out." He growled and then spoke again. "Alpha, Lambda: Prepare for evac with secondary objectives. I'm going to leave some collateral. Silence, out." Naruto growled before he set about dismantling the monitor system. Then would come the operatives in this shithole. His puppy might be safe, but she was still taken, still fucking hurt and scared.

He wasn't going back to Hell until he got his fair cut of fat.

AN: Whoo! The Puppy is safe! And a new player has emerged! So many secrets hidden amongst The Shadows. So many pawns and schemes, fuck I hope I don't lose track!

Thanks for reading!

Hey, anyone see Steve? ..I get nervous when he disappears like this.