AN: The user drewbear89 asked a question concerning the Biblical God I'd like to answer for everyone:

The Biblical God is currently in suspension. The forbidden seals he used on Trihexa prevent him from beginning his resurrection process. Until and unless the seals break, that will remain so. The power that would normally be used to fuel that process is still being gathered, though. Heaven's System can use that energy thanks to the Holy Ghost, the still-living third of the Biblical God.

Think of how the Bible says that man was made in God's image. Humans are comprised of body, mind, and soul. Conversely, God is comprised of the Son, the Father, and the Holy Ghost. So, while the Son and the Father died, the Holy Ghost is still around. Soul and mind are always linked, even if that link is very distant in this case thanks to the forbidden seals.

I bet at least one of you spotted the elephant in the room with that series of statements. Easter and Ascension are holidays for a reason, after all. There is an explanation, but it will remain a secret for now.

Chapter 13: A Week of Change

Monday came as a big surprise for Koneko. It was not that the school was cleaned of the numerous corpses and bloodstains, nor was it the repairs that had taken place since the peace conference; those things had been expected. No, the surprise came in the form of Rias, Issei, and Asia, arriving not just hand in hand – a scene that was fairly typical – but with their arms wrapped around each other. The rumour mill had exploded as soon as the trio had come in sight, speculating what this new level of closeness meant. Koneko knew what the meaning was, of course, but she was very surprised that it had happened so early.

They followed up on my advice awfully fast, she concluded.

While the schoolyard descended into what Koneko considered monkey noises, she decided to check on things instead. She cast a quick illusion spell to cover up what she was about to do, and then gathered natural energy. The appearance her three fellow Devils were making warranted a certain amount of investigation beyond her initial assumption that things were fine.

The monumental headache she developed told her that this idea had been a mistake. The emotions of all the students around her were drowning her sensing abilities. There was nothing she could do to get a proper read on her targets unless she got closer and reduced the range. Seeing no other recourse, she went to do just that.

"Good morning, President, Ise, Asia," she said in greeting as she approached them.

The three were still being crowded, but nobody dared obstruct the path of the school mascot.

Idly, Koneko wondered: I don't think I'll keep that title after this summer. I'll be a lot bigger by then, I hope.

"Good morning, Koneko," said Rias, the other two echoing her.

With the close proximity and her adjusted sensing range, the young Nekoshou could finally do what she had wanted for a few minutes now. She went fishing for their emotions. The first one she looked at was Rias.

Avarice. Satisfaction. Love. Pride. Contentment.

That was fairly standard, though there was a positive development. After some thinking, Koneko had concluded that the she could feel the emotions most aligned with a Devil's sins quite easily, at least in most of them. Avarice and Pride were two things that fit Rias very well. The other emotions seemed to support Koneko's current theory of what had happened between the three.

Next, she went to Asia.

Avarice. Happiness. Lust. Love. Positivity. Annoyance.

There were a few surprises there. Koneko guessed that she had finally figured out the Sins to which Asia had the most attunement. Avarice was not that hard to think of, but Lust was what made the Nekoshou blink mentally. Still, the girl was happy, even if she was growing irritated with the gaggle of girls not-so-subtly trying to drag her away from the object of her affection. That the kind girl would express it as much as she did was a surprise in and by itself.

And then there was the source for these feelings. Issei was the one Koneko had saved for last. He had the most unresolved mental baggage of the three, and it was he who held the answer to the burning question on her mind. So, she read his emotions too.

Joy. Happiness. Lust. Avarice. Protectiveness. Lo- Fea- Love. Satisfaction. Wrath.

That was a lot to unpack. It did confirm that Koneko's assumption was correct. Rias and Asia had broken through whatever mental ailment he had. It was still present, but it was weakening almost by the second. The white-haired girl guessed that they had officially started a relationship. She was surprised by something else, however. The boy seemed to be aligned to three Sins. Lust was expected, considering his "grand ambition." The same went for Avarice; wanting to have so many partners as bad as he wanted was a big hint. Wrath was another story altogether, especially as he seemed to direct it at his friends Matsuda and Motohama. Perhaps they had said something about the two girls he was holding. It was no skin off her back. That was a mystery she did not feel compelled to unravel.

Having finished her assessment, she resumed the conversation with her fellow ORC members.

"You followed my advice, I see," said Koneko to the two girls.

Rias nodded. "We did. It worked."

Asia added enthusiastically: "It was a great help. Thank you, Koneko."

The only one who was confused was Issei. He asked: "What advice? I get the feeling I'm missing something here."

Conscious of the regular humans around them, Koneko obfuscated her answer somewhat: "I saw the signs and told them to act on them. It was easy to see you three are in love. I advised them to make the first move."

Gasps of surprise went through the crowd. The statement also drew shouts.

"How could you?!"

"With the pervert? No way that's true!"

"You shitty bastard! How dare you score with two girls at once?!"

Koneko's eye began to twitch with irritation. "I did what I did; he did what he did. You don't get to comment on it. Leave."

The cold answer slowed to crowd down a bit, but it did not stop it. Questions were shouted again after some time, and the students had to be dispersed by the student council in the end.

.

"This day has been a mess," said Koneko with a sigh.

It was after school now, and she was busy with club activities. Her usual contractors were still issuing requests to her, although several had commented on her recent growth. It would probably impact business later down the line; her customers liked her cute kid aesthetic. For now, it was still manageable, however. Plus, as she was finding out, she was drawing new customers.

"Is that so, dearie?" said the elderly woman who was her current client.

Koneko nodded and answered: "People were a bother at school."

"I remember my own school days. Bad times, those," said the woman. "I never got along with the girls my age."

Koneko considered those words, and said: "Sorry for bringing up bad memories."

"No worries, my dear. I only wanted to tell you that I understand. There is nothing to feel sorry for," replied the woman.

"… Thank you."

"Have you found any sign of what we are looking for?"

Koneko nodded at the question. "Yes. We need to get to your grandson's room, though."

The old woman had requested help because of her grandson. She was afraid he was falling in with a bad crowd, but she had also wanted to confirm her suspicions first before confronting him. She had initially requested Issei, mostly because his reputation in Kuoh was one that put him, in this case incorrectly, with "the bad crowd." She had wanted him to search her grandson's room for drugs she suspected were there. Issei had professed his lack of expertise and instead recommended Koneko because of her superior sense of smell. So, the Nekoshou had come to the house where the woman and her grandson lived, and begun the investigation.

Koneko noticed the strange smell immediately. She could tell that it was not a drug as the old woman was expecting but instead something else. The smell reminded her of certain powders and substances used in some forms of human magic. Such magics were less sophisticated and less versatile than magic modern magicians used, but they were harder to trace after being cast. Sadly for their practitioners, the ingredients were easy to track before use. The disadvantage that came on top of the previous ones, however, were cost and time. They were usually prohibitive. On the upside, such ritual magics required little in terms of innate magical talent. This situation reeked of a small-time magician getting a sponsor; a secret one at that. Koneko was sure that she now knew what the "bad crowd" the grandson had fallen in with was, but she needed confirmation.

When the old woman opened the door to her grandson's room, the young Nekoshou made her way in and carefully analysed it. She need not have bothered. The magical ingredients were improperly concealed underneath the bed, only stuck in a locked strong box with a simple magical lock. The grandmother would not have been able to open it, but even a Devil child could have opened it with ease. Koneko did so, and the contents of the box were revealed to her.

Apart from the suspected ritual items, she also found a short letter. It was written in Devil runes.

It happens tonight. The fools will be holding their conference. Distinguish yourself, and I will grant your heart's desire. My body will be yours for a night if you perform above my expectations.

-Katarea

The implications were unpleasant. It meant that Naruto's repeated complaints about Kuoh's security barriers were still accurate. On a more personal level, it also meant that Koneko's client was about to receive bad news.

"Has your grandson been missing since Friday?" asked Koneko.

Startled, the old woman answered: "…Yes, he has been. But he has had suspicious absences before; disappearing without saying anything and coming back days or even a week later."

Koneko was uncomfortable now. Nonetheless, she pressed on: "I think I know who the people your grandson… associated with are… and what happened to him."

.

Koneko returned to the club room in a foul mood. The old woman had been inconsolable after finding out the truth of what had likely happened to her grandson. She had thanked Koneko and given her the payment for her services all the same, but it had been clear that the woman was heartbroken. After giving her heartfelt condolences, Koneko had left the place with a bitter taste in her mouth.

The other occupants of the room, those being Issei and Yuuto, noticed that she was not well.

"Are you alright, Koneko?" asked Issei.

"Has something happened?" doubled up Yuuto.

Koneko took a moment to choose her words, and then said: "… You could say that. I had to give bad news to the old woman."

That got Issei's attention, seeing as the woman had been his client before he had deferred the contract to her. He asked: "Did something happen to her grandson?"

"He was an amateur magician, and hid the fact from his grandmother. He was part of the attacking force at the peace conference," answered Koneko.

The two boys grimaced.

"That's a messy situation," said Yuuto.

"Looks like it," commented Issei. "That can't have been pleasant to tell old Madam Yukihara."

"It was not," said Koneko in response. After a short pause, she asked. "How did your jobs go?"

Yuuto answered first: "It was mostly normal. There were a few creeps, but the boss is wary of them too."

The blond boy often had contracts that had him work at a local host club. He was as prone to encounter the unsavoury sort of people as Koneko was during contract work. Like she did, he also had a blacklist for this very reason. Fortunately, most customers seemed fairly normal, though.

The same could not be said about Issei's clients. They ranged from slightly whacky to batshit insane. By some stroke of luck, however, he had never once encountered a contractor who had acted in bad faith or could have been labelled a bad person. The misfortune he usually had to shoulder in exchange was that he could not seem to complete any contract his clients initially wanted, with a bare few exceptions. The requests he was summoned for were just that outlandish.

"I got requested by Mil-tan again. We watched a few episodes of a magical girl anime and played a few rounds of a magical girl-themed fighting game. Fairly standard, all told. He still wants me to turn him into a magical girl, though, no matter how many times I tell him that I can't. The customer review is great, at least," lamented the boy.

Par for the course, thought Koneko with amusement.

"You sound frustrated," said Yuuto.

"Well, I've been wanting to be here when Asia and the Pre- uh, Rias show up," admitted Issei.

Yuuto smirked at hearing that, and Koneko nodded approvingly. She was glad that he seemed to be taking that relationship seriously. It would not have been any good otherwise.

"Take good care of them. If you hurt them, I'll hurt you," she told him.

"I'll do my very best to keep them happy," he stated resolutely. "They're not just my precious comrades, they're girls I love."

Satisfied with that answer, Koneko dropped the matter. "Good," she said.

"Something occurred to me," said Yuuto. "Do you not have training with Mister Uzumaki today?"

Koneko shook her head and answered: "No. He called me and gave me the day off. He said he was busy with the dragon he captured."


The training ground was on fire. Responsible for this was a cranky dragon; a state the being was in thanks to what Naruto presumed was its past treatment at the hands of Walburga and her band of losers. Whatever the reason, the dragon had defaulted to its instincts upon awakening. Said instincts were what had caused the outburst of excessive pyromania.

Naruto stood amidst that conflagration, smiling serenely. This was not the first time he had witnessed something like this, and it would likely not be the last time. It was fortunate, then, that the training ground was so easy to restore for him. A few minutes would be enough. That was a price worth paying for the benefits of the situation. The dragon would tire itself out eventually, and then it would be time for a calm and reasonable talk.

"Where are you, you damn bitch?! Show yourself so I can tear you apart!" screamed the dragon.

Well, that was as good a cue as any, Naruto supposed. He asked: "You wouldn't happen to speak of Walburga, would you? If so, I gotta tell you; she's dead."

The blond Shinobi considered it a good sign that the dragon could speak. Many species of dragon were not sapient; others only gained the ability after decades of an animal's existence. Only very few species were capable of speech early on in their lives. The ability to speak presented the opportunity to negotiate and explain.

The only problem Naruto saw was that the dragon showed no signs of belonging to any of the species which were speech-capable. It had the most peculiar multi-coloured scales. Red, gold, black, white and blue were the colours he could spot. The being's eyes were heterochromatic, green and amber respectively. Such strange colourings did not belong to any recorded species of dragon at all.

The conclusion that had to be drawn was that this was a new species. It happened very rarely, and these new species usually went extinct early on thanks to dragon hunters, but it did happen. Dragons were power incarnate, after all. Naruto's research of the past few days, which had once more involved ransacking any records he could find, had told him that dragons could not only be born normally; they could also come into existence from an accumulation of power. This had to be one of them.

Such dragons were often powerful, but since they had not been raised by anyone, they also had poor impulse control. As a result, they were usually killed during one of their initial rampages. The dragon before him, however, had been captured by Walburga, likely to enhance her Sacred Gear. It was clearly more powerful than she had been, but it was also inexperienced and could not control itself very well.

His words had made the dragon pause, however.

"The woman with the fire cross?" it asked.

"Yep. She attacked the wrong people and got killed for it," answered Naruto.

The dragon grumbled. "Serves her right."

"That leaves us with a situation, though," said Naruto. "When she died, her Sacred Gear, the flaming cross you mentioned, disappeared, and you were left. You'd been strapped to the cross. That thing strengthens itself with the power of whatever you mount on it."

"So that's why she captured me," pondered the dragon. "Well, you defeated her. You've got to be strong, then."

Naruto grinned. "One of the strongest. My name's Naruto. What's yours?"

The dragon looked thoughtful for a moment. "I do not have a name."

"You must be pretty young, then," mused Naruto.

"No idea how old I am," replied the dragon. "The first thing I can remember is a purple sky and a large field full of bones. That Walburga woman came by and said something about finding a gem on the last battlefield of the Great War. We fought and I lost because of her tricks. After that, nothing until today."

"So you are young, and you got snatched up right after birth, huh? That's gotta suck," said Naruto.

"It does, but I'm free now. You have my thanks, but I should leave. I'm itching for a fight," said the dragon.

Naruto scratched his cheek and replied: "Yeah, about that. Folks don't like random people, dragon or otherwise, rampaging through the countryside just for a fight. If you want to challenge strong opponents or train, I can set you up with a great training course. What I can't do is let you destroy random stuff. Doing that is a fast way to get killed anyway, so it's in your best interest too."

The dragon grumbled: "You might have a point. I've just… I've got this urge. I need to let my power out."

Naruto nodded and said: "That's why I'm offering to send you to my clan home. The Uzumaki Clan has training grounds and trainers that suit a being of your size and body type. You can let loose without pissing off anyone important, and you get to improve your skills as a bonus."

"That does sound good," considered the dragon. "Very well. I will take a look at what you're offering."

The Shinobi grinned. "Great," he said. "I'm expecting people from my Clan soon. I can send you to the Uzumaki Clan main compound with the same transportation array. I'll arrange everything. You're welcome to watch me do that. We might even come up with a name for you while registering."

"I have one question, though. What do you get out of this?" asked the dragon with some suspicion in its voice.

"Hm? Oh, that's easy. You're quite strong; about the lower end of Ultimate Class. The troops back home could use a strong sparring partner like you. It's especially good since you're not a Shinobi like we are. It gets the newbies used to fighting something else for a change," answered Naruto.

"That almost sounds like you're preparing for a big scrap," said the dragon.

Naruto scowled and said: "There's war on the horizon, if it hasn't started already. I hate war, but it's unavoidable this time. Training troops in preparation for the battles to come is only common sense."

The dragon hummed. "Well, better to prepare early, I guess."

"Not that early," said Naruto with a snort. "Others have started mustering troops before me."


Irina had a bad feeling as she entered the main hall of the Canterbury Cathedral. It was the assembly point for every exorcist of the Protestant and Anglican Churches in cases of emergency mobilisations. That alone told her that something really big had happened. What really enhanced her feeling of unease was how few people were in the Cathedral. There were only a handful of priests and exorcists. A single nun and a sole monk were also present. Apart from that there were only two six-winged Angels near the altar. Such low numbers in response to a crisis usually meant classified missions… or classified "missing people reports" that were thinly veiled executions of traitors and heretics. She prayed silently and hoped that the latter, at least, was not the case. Her nervousness left no question that she still considered the scenario, however.

That fear was exacerbated by another factor. Everyone assembled here had received a piece of information the day after the peace conference in Kuoh. God was dead… or mostly dead, as far as the explanation went. It had shaken them all. Irina had been catatonic for days due to how that knowledge clashed with her faith. Said faith had survived the crisis in the end, although she had to be pulled out of her funk by an Angel who had told her to come here. Now it was time to see whether those who possessed the dangerous knowledge of God's death would survive as well. She had already noticed that not everyone who had been at the first meeting was present.

Any further ruminations on the issue were cut short by the appearance of a magical circle by the altar. It flashed, and when the light had died down, Michael, the leader of Heaven, was there. His golden wings and the halo above his head shone with an unusual intensity as if hiding some sort of great light just beneath the surface. He surveyed those who had been brought to the Cathedral, and then he smiled.

"I am pleased to see so many of you here," he said. "You have passed the test."

Whispers spread immediately. "What test?" "What is this supposed to mean?"

"It was a test of faith; a test to see whether your beliefs were true regardless of God's condition. I am glad that all of you still hold to your convictions," answered Michael.

"God is our Lord," said one of the priests, "whether He is on the mortal coil or not. His teachings persist, and we shall follow them."

The nun was quick to agree: "Ideals are not so quick to die. We shall follow His example to the very end."

Murmurs of agreement went through the small crowd. Irina felt much the same as those two who had spoken. She was saddened and shocked at God's death, but Heaven yet stood, and the ideals of its creator had not yet been forgotten. She would hold to them.

Michael continued to smile as he continued: "Until recently, I would not have been able to share this information with you. For you see, Heaven ceased function after God's death, and we Seraphs were only able to restart it improperly. It was highly unstable, which meant that any further instability was a serious threat to Heaven. Knowledge of God's death caused such instability. There have been several cases of exorcists and clergy being excommunicated for acquiring said knowledge. Let me be clear when I say that they were exiled because of necessity, not because they deserved it. I implore you to feel compassion for them, because you would have been among them by now if not for a stroke of good fortune."

Irina put two and two together. Unable to hold herself back, she blurted out a question: "Is that what happened to Xenovia?"

The most senior son of God looked directly at her and nodded as he answered: "Yes. Kokabiel spoke of God's death during their battle. At the time, there was no choice but to exile her."

"Then what changed?" she asked him curtly.

She was indignant. Xenovia had been her friend for years. The pain of the blue-haired girl's supposed betrayal had been deep. It hurt to know that the responsible party had been Xenovia at all but instead Heaven and the Church. The rational part of her mind agreed with Michael, but her heart demanded that she air her feelings on the matter in some small way.

"We Seraphs rectified a mistake," said Michael. "In our desperation, we had unknowingly not performed the reactivation of Heaven's System correctly. It was our fortune that we received the knowledge on how to do it correctly from a Sage who had been able to contact the Holy Ghost directly. Heaven's System is now operating without issue. There have been no stability issues from the things which used to cause them, including knowledge of God's death."

Sages were mysterious beings. Knowledge of Senjutsu was rare, and even fewer were those among its practitioners who could call themselves Sages. Those who could, however, were outrageously powerful. Sun Wukong was the perfect example of that. It was not outlandish to consider that one had the ability to reach out to the Holy Ghost, but it was hard to believe that someone had actually done it.

Still, none dared naysay Michael. Angels did not lie, least of all about matters pertaining to God. It had made their covering act for God's death all the more impressive in a sad sort of way.

"Irina," said Michael, "you have met this Sage. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Seriously? The ramen shop guy?" she asked in disbelief.

Michael nodded. "He and Pahaliah are friends. My fellow Angel reported that Uzumaki managed to steal Kokabiel's light. Uzumaki himself told us that he used that light to establish contact with the Holy Ghost. I hope that suffices as an explanation for now."

"It does, Lord Michael," said Irina.

"Good, then I can proceed to the next point," said Michael. "In the process of reactivating Heaven's System, flaws were discovered. Among them were loopholes in the arbitration function that governs whether Angels Fall or not. Through these loopholes, traitors had managed to stay within Heaven. Those have all been expelled when the restarting process was completed.

"This is the reason why all of you have been gathered. Your faith had to be tested, and all of you passed that test. You will be needed in the fight against those who did not. You have been assembled to join the pacification effort aimed at those who have betrayed Heaven and the Church."

"But Lord Michael, we are far too few for such a task!" protested the monk.

"I am aware. You are not the only group I have gathered. I have already visited the Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, and Coptic Churches. More will be rallied in the coming days as I visit Jerusalem and Mekkah. Additionally, Uriel and the Inquisition will be at the forefront of this conflict. As further reinforcements, Naruto Uzumaki has promised us significant assets," replied Michael.

"Is he trustworthy?" asked an exorcist.

Michael answered: "Gabriel and I believe so. Metatron shall be keeping an eye on him in any case."

"That's one way of calling it," said a voice from above.

Irina looked up and spotted the familiar figure of Naruto Uzumaki standing upside down on the ceiling. There was a carefree grin on his face as he looked back. He waved at her when he noticed her gaze. She awkwardly waved back, making his grin widen.

Michael looked surprised as well, but he calmly responded with: "I did not expect you until tomorrow."

"Time zones, Glitterbird," said Naruto. "You've become shinier since the conference. You're hiding it decently well, but you need to practice your suppression more."

"I shall see about that," replied Heaven's leader.

"Well, it's not you I gotta train," said Naruto with a shrug. He turned to the small crowd in the Cathedral and told them: "You lot look like you need it, though. Too bad I don't have the time. I guess I'll have to let my troops whip you into shape while you're on mission. This is gonna be a very educational experience."

The bad feeling from the beginning was back. Irina shivered.


Shivers of delight nearly went through Rias every time she considered how her life was developing. She was in a relationship with a man she loved. The high that had begun days ago was still going strong. The benefits, such as the more intimate but still rather innocent cuddling and the far less innocent kissing and groping, ensured as much. It was a joy, even if she did not have Issei for herself.

To be fair, it was no hardship to share with Asia. Rias liked the girl a lot. The blonde former nun was kind to a fault, and had a personality that was impossible to hate. She was grateful to her boyfriend for convincing her to reincarnate Asia way back in that abandoned church. A pang of pain went through her chest as she imagined not having the girl as one of her precious servants. No, if anyone deserved to be in a relationship with the same man as Rias, it was Asia.

That said, Rias was not opposed to sharing in the first place. Harems were commonplace among Devils and other supernatural beings. She did not particularly care if Issei was with other women, as long as she approved of them. The problem was, as was fairly common among younger Devils, that her sin of Avarice got in the way. She accepted on an intellectual and emotional level that there was nothing to be jealous over. That did nothing to stop the bursts of possessiveness over Issei when another girl made moves on him. After Koneko's talk with her and Asia, she recognised that viewing him as a thing to own, even in bursts, was a recipe for disaster in the long run. She was thus working to rectify the problem. Akeno's recent escapades made that difficult, however, as they put her possessiveness into overdrive.

"Will you stop with that?" asked the redhead indignantly.

She had pulled away her [Queen] after the last club meeting at the newly renovated Hyoudou residence. The two were in private now, and Rias felt free to air her grievances.

"Stop what?" asked Akeno back with a teasing smirk.

Rias growled and replied scathingly: "You know that exactly! You were basically climbing on Ise and shoved your tits in his face! Never mind that you implied you'd do naughty things with him in the bedroom. Not to mention what you did this morning, crawling into our bed trying to seduce him while Asia and I slept. What the Hell is wrong with you?"

"Ufufu, wrong? I don't think anything is wrong with me. You get to shove your tits in Ise's face, so I got a bit jealous. I want to play a bit with him too," countered Akeno.

"This isn't a game, Akeno!" said Rias vehemently. "I won't let you toy with him."

"I didn't say toy; I said play. I'm not planning on using him to cuck you and then throw him away," countered Akeno. Then, her face became serious. "I have a genuine interest in him."

"And I won't let you take him away, least of all to, as you put it, 'cuck' me!" said the redhead with anger in her voice.

Rias could see that Akeno tried to and only partially succeeded in suppressing an eye roll. "Rias, we've been best friends for years. You know exactly that I'd never do that for real. I remember you liking the idea of me pretending to snatch a man you liked so you can swoop in and snatch him right back. Don't tell me you forgot," she admonished.

Truth be told, Rias had not remembered that conversation until now. They had been near the height of puberty, and they had spent some time on a specific kind of girl talk that was common among Devil friends at that age: discussing their preferences and fantasies. Rias had had similar conversations with Sona, but that way lay madness; the studious girl's fetishes were hard to comprehend. That had left her to exchange her thoughts with Akeno. That was how she had found out about her [Queen's] sadomasochistic preferences, and it seemed Akeno had picked up one or two things about her as well. That said, it had been years since then, and with Riser hanging over her head, the mere thought of the scenario had been ludicrous. Now, however, she recalled that talk, and she blushed.

"I was fourteen! I wasn't thinking clearly either," she said.

"Were you too horny to do so? Ufufufu," teased Akeno.

Rias' blush deepened. "No comment."

"As you see, there should be no issue," said the dark-haired girl.

"Yes there is!" protested Rias. "We've just gotten together. I won't have you tempt Ise away from Asia and me."

Akeno smirked as she replied: "I'm not planning to. It is as I said. I have a genuine interest in him."

Rias' eyes narrowed. "Do you? I recall that you simply like teasing him."

The other girl nodded and answered: "I do. Yes, I thought I'd just tease him and leave him blue-balled, but that was when he was just a shy, adorable pervert to me. I got to know him better, and when he was at the shrine… The things he said touched me deeply. This is serious to me, Rias."

The [King] of the peerage maintained her scrutiny upon her best friend, but she considered what Akeno said. If the other girl did have feelings for Issei, then that would complicate matters. That said, Akeno was Rias' best friend. She would give her a chance if what she had said held true. One thing had to be made clear, however.

"… If you're not lying, I guess I can let you take your shot. But remember: I have the top spot," said Rias.

Akeno smiled, a pleased yet naughty expression on her face. "Ara ara, so dominant." She licked her lips, making Rias blush again. Then she went on: "But I understand. I will be happy taking third place."

After calming down, Rias nodded and said: "Good. I'm glad we cleared that up."

"… I'm still going to tease Ise a lot, fufufu," said the [Queen].

"Akeno!"

"… unbelievable," said a voice from the doorway. The short but slowly growing stature and her white hair gave her away as Koneko. "Perverts. I'm surrounded by perverts."

Both older girls were embarrassed to have been caught like this. Only Rias showed the signs outwardly, however. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Since the beginning," deadpanned the Nekoshou. "I figured you wanted to explore the house and went to follow."

"Oh… So, you heard it all then," said Rias meekly, clearly embarrassed.

Akeno was silent for once as well.

Koneko nodded. "I did," she said. "Akeno, a piece of advice."

Surprised by this, the busty dark-haired girl asked: "Yes?"

"I think Ise will be good for you, so don't rush it," said Koneko. "He has issues. So do you. Don't make them worse and it should work."

Rias blinked in surprise as Akeno nodded seriously. The redhead had not expected that. "You're in favour of this?" she asked.

"Akeno has been smiling a lot at Ise recently. Smiling for real, I mean; not teasingly- She really likes him, and he likes those real smiles as well," said Koneko.

"He does?" asked Akeno.

Her tone was unusually shy. Rias had no idea how deeply rooted the other girl's insecurities were, but she suspected they were deeper than she had assumed so far. The only one in the Peerage with any kind of idea was Koneko, and she only spoke of such things when needed. Going by Akeno's body language and the subtle shift in Koneko's facial features, this was a delicate matter.

"He does," confirmed Koneko. "So do I. It makes you look even prettier."

"Oh my," said Akeno as one of those genuine smiles came about. "Little Koneko thinks I'm pretty."

"You are," said the Nekoshou bluntly. "Now think about how to woo your crush."

"So defensive," snickered Akeno.

The blank stare the younger girl sent her way made her laugh, but she calmed down eventually.

"Thank you for the sage advice, Koneko. I think I will take my leave for now and settle into my new room here," said the [Queen].

As the girl left the room, Rias sighed. "That was exhausting. Speaking of rooms, though, how do you like yours, Koneko?"

The Hyoudou residence had been rebuilt literally overnight while its occupants slept. There were rooms for the Hyoudous and a few guest rooms as well as rooms for Rias, Asia, Xenovia, Akeno and Koneko.

"It's spacious and has everything I need. I like it," answered the white-haired [Rook]. "I wonder why Kiba and Gasper aren't here, though."

Rias sighed again and explained: "I believe Kiba is trying to be Ise's 'wingman' in this arrangement. And Gasper… he's not ready for communal living."

"Makes sense," said Koneko, accepting that answer.

"I also believe that Brother wanted to play 'wingman' too," said Rias with a bland look.

Sirzechs had taken a liking to Issei. It was no surprise to Rias, seeing as the two shared certain similarities in preferences. When he was not his professional self or goofing off, the man was fixated on Grayfia's chest like nothing else. In that regard, those two operated on the same wavelength. To be fair, however, Sirzechs also had a sense for romance and how well people fit together. He seemed to think that there was a compatibility there.

"Figures," said Koneko. "But I don't mind."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Rias.

"… Nothing for now," said Koneko. "The gathering of Young Devils takes priority."

Rias hummed. "Agreed. It will be quite eventful."


"So we'll strike during the gathering?" asked one of the masked ninjas.

Their Clan Head nodded. "Yes. You will be assisted by some of Satan Beelzebub's best black ops specialists. They will be disguised as fellow ANBU so as not to raise suspicion within the Devil government. Beelzebub is not happy about the family degenerate."

It was now the day before the Gremory Peerage's departure to the Underworld. The past week had been full of preparations and secret projects. The final peace of those before the operations truly started was the briefing that was now taking place. The as of yet unnamed dragon had been sent to Naruto's homeworld to be trained by the Bijuu, and in exchange, the troops he had requested had been summoned. They only needed to know where to go.

"Any further orders, my Lord?" asked the ANBU captain.

"Not for now," replied Naruto. "Standing orders are to regroup with the rest of the troops after your assignment is completed."

That was the cue for the Division Commander of the regular Uzumaki troops to step up. She was an Uzumaki woman in her early thirties with vibrant red hair and green eyes. She had an attractive face, although it bore a no-nonsense look. Her height was slightly above average. More discerning features could not be made out under the armour she wore. She led the ten thousand-strong force that the Uzumaki Clan had sent its Head.

"What is your bidding, my lord?" she asked.

Naruto nearly sighed at her formal tone, and he replied: "Himiko, don't be so stiff. You're not an on-duty ANBU. No Uzumaki should ever be so humourless."

He saw the corners of her lips twitch: "But my Lord, I could not fathom such disrespect being shown to the Venerable Ancestor."

"Sure you can't" said Naruto drily. "Toshiro got you, didn't he?"

"My cousin does like his fun at your expense, Lord Naruto," she said with a laugh.

"Bloody comedians, you lot," grumbled Naruto. He handed her a scroll. "Here are your orders."

Himiko's face became serious again, this time for real. She took the scroll and asked: "The summary?"

Naruto explained: "You have four major orders. First is the security of Kuoh town. Strengthen the barrier and establish patrols. Too many infiltrators have managed to get in undetected lately. I expect that only one of the barrier companies will be needed. Second: Assist the forces of Heaven and the Church in suppressing the rebellion they are experiencing right now. Capture or kill at the discretion of the local commander, but exercise your own judgement as well. Third: Establish a hidden base of operations. Kurama has managed to create a full subdimension in the location of my training grounds. You are to erect suitable facilities there. And Fourth: search for and neutralise any threat to Koneko Toujou, a declared daughter of the clan, and investigate her sister Kuroka's supposed crimes. Ensure that both stay alive. The details of every order are in the scroll."

"Your orders will be fulfilled to your satisfaction," stated Himiko.

The Clan Head smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Lord Naruto," spoke up one of the ANBU, "I would like to ask how much power we can use."

"That's a good question. Thanks for reminding me, Lizard. This world has a resilience rating of at least 86. You can go all out," answered Naruto.

A fact that Naruto had discovered on his travels was that certain worlds could take more damage than others. He had encountered several worlds where so-called planet busters went around blowing up entire planets casually, yet any of them he had fought would have barely rated K-rank back home. K-rank was what was beyond S-rank in the Shinobi ranking system, yet only the upper echelon of even those could destroy a planet. The complete ease with which those (relative) weaklings did such things had confused Naruto until he had found out the reason: Some worlds were simply more resilient to damage.

The scale had been refined over the years. It went up in even steps; the higher the number the more resilient the world. At a resilience rating of 0, a world was fragile, and almost none of those had any supernatural presences on them. Once it was determined that a world could withstand more damage than mere physics suggested, the rating went up. The world Naruto was now in not only had celestial bodies that took many times more power to destroy than a world rated 0, but also possessed a very strong fabric of space and time. The latter was relatively easy to manipulate but nearly impossible to break. Thus, a resilience rating of 86 was not only appropriate but also possibly lowballing it.

This knowledge was unclassified and therefore spread out across the Shinobi Alliance as a whole, and to the Expeditionary Force and the Uzumaki Clan in particular. The ANBU present were part of the Clan and therefore knew of this as well.

"Thank you for the clarification," said Lizard.

"Don't sweat it, man," said Naruto. "You and the rest of the ANBU are off duty after the end of this meeting until tomorrow morning. We need to get that stiffness out of you. We Uzumaki need to let loose."

"Lord Ashina would not appreciate such a lax attitude," interjected Himiko.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, right. I'll tell you a few stories of his youth once we're done here. They'll be very enlightening for you."

"… I think I will take you up on that offer, my Lord," she said. "Is there anything else you wish to mention?"

"There is," said Naruto with a nod. "Do we have Sages?"

"We have two," she answered.

Naruto was pleased. That made things easier. He said: "Then I'll assign them to Koneko, my student. She's undergoing Sage training on top of a rather intense regimen for the next month. I want those Sages shadowing her and making sure she doesn't suffer an accident."

"It will be done," replied Himiko.

Her Clan Head grinned and announced: "Neat! In that case, happy hunting to those who need it. Dismissed."


AN: Greetings, dear readers! Welcome to yet another chapter of this story.

While action is absent today, I do think there was some progress. It may seem a bit filler-y to some, but I wished to address certain things. The first of these is that Rias, Issei, and Asia are almost public. Once the normal students realise that this is not a joke, Hell will break loose. I also wished to add some explanation as to how the Khaos Brigade managed to get so much disposable manpower to throw at the peace conference and infiltrate Kuoh in the first place.

The dragon Walburga brought along is being handled as well. It will make a reappearance, but it might take some time, depending on how my plans for the story develop.

I've used parts of this chapter as a vehicle for lore, particularly concerning the Church, Naruto's world travelling and ranking systems. As a side note, the K-rank is from what I can tell a fanon invention to rate beings on the level of Chomei and up.

One other important point of this chapter was a bit of exposition on Akeno. Since this story's main character is Koneko, a girl who's part of a harem, I thought it would be appropriate to dive a bit more into how the current and future members of that relationship interact with each other. As such, I gave Akeno and Rias a bit of additional background while laying the groundwork for future synergy.

… I hope those words make sense. Contact me if you have questions.

In any case, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my readers. All of you, especially those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed, motivate me to continue writing.

With those words said, I now take my leave. Until next time. Stay happy and healthy, everyone!