Alright, before starting with the chapter, and just to make this clear one more time for that type of YouTuber who uploads my stories without permission… and not the channel that is actually called Trevor-Chivi, that one is mine, I do not give permission to upload my stories, especially if they just take them and don't even ask. And believe me, I have the rights to the story since it's under the umbrella of "parody," ergo it's mine according to copyright laws, even if the characters aren't the same… well, except for the OCs, those are legally mine and oh surprise, I can sue you for using my OCs… and yes, that's the reason why I put an OC in every story.
With that said, let's begin with chapter three and for those who watch the official video uploaded by Me to YouTube in Spanish… the Like goal hasn't changed, 350 for chapter four… and leave a comment with your proposals for Naruto's missing six pawns.
Reading 3:
—Alright then, you idiots… everyone agrees that it doesn't count as a family breakup if the family was never united to begin with?— I asked the group of idiots in front of me, all while wondering, How the hell did I end up in this damn mess? Having to be a moderator in a debate about whether a family breakup counted as such if the family was never united to begin with.
—No.— said all the Gremorys except Grayfia and Millicas.
—Your opinion doesn't matter to me, you're biased.— I said curtly.
—Your opinion about us is biased!— Rias yelled at me.
—That may be true… but I don't care, I just want to end this damn discussion and start with chapter 3.— I complained loudly, damn it, they had been going on with this stupid debate for two days and hadn't reached absolutely anything.
—If this frustrates you so much, why did you choose to moderate us?— Odin asked me with his eyebrow raised.
—It was fun for the first ten minutes.— I replied, shrugging my shoulders, after all, the first ten minutes had genuinely been fun… after that it became repetitive and tedious without reaching absolutely anything.
Chapter 3:
"You know, Okita... you really didn't need to come with us," Naruto commented, his voice soft but laden with an unusual mix of gratitude and concern. "I mean, we're going into the icy Siberia, and you..."
The young Gremory didn't complete the sentence, his gaze fixed on the knight escorting his older brother. A pang of genuine concern pierced his chest as he observed Okita Shouji, a man whose loyalty and ability Naruto deeply respected. Okita, dressed in his impeccable black uniform that contrasted with the paleness of his face, wore his jet-black hair tied back in a taut high ponytail, a detail that accentuated the rigidity of his posture. He was one of the few beings in the opulent Gremory mansion whom Naruto professed sincere respect for.
—He doesn't care about anyone.— Rias yelled, completely incredulous that the story actually thought Naruto cared about anyone other than himself.
—Says the girl who let two of her servants rot in hatred, another be a spineless coward, and lets the last one suffer severe depression just because it's easier than dealing with them and their problems.— Ajuka scoffed, honestly finding it utterly fascinating that Rias had made it to 18 without being stabbed in the back or any of her pieces committing suicide.
—I love my servants very much!— Rias yelled at the green-haired Satan, who simply shook his head.
—Loving them implies helping them, not letting them suffer just because it's convenient for you.— Ajuka replied curtly before simply deciding that this discussion wasn't worth it and turned back to watch his precious student.
Unlike the arrogant demons who swarmed through the corridors or the flattering servants who sought to curry favor, Okita was a warrior consumed by the ambition to perfect his sword art. His loyalty to Sirzechs was not blinded by adulation, but rather he saw the elder demon for what he was: a lazy and unreliable being.
—I'm not lazy or unreliable!— Sirzechs yelled.
—Sirzechs, almost all the problems the Underworld faces are your fault, and if I agree you're not lazy, you're directly negligent because you create the problem and then simply ignore it, hoping it will disappear.— Ajuka scoffed, damn Sirzechs, for all he was worth, shouldn't have been a Demon King.
—Not to mention he constantly shirks his work.— Grayfia murmured to herself, after all, Sirzechs literally ignored his work constantly.
And there lay Naruto's concern. Sirzechs had promised to cure Okita's tuberculosis, a promise he never fulfilled. This act of negligence turned Sirzechs, in Naruto's eyes, into an imbecile of epic proportions. Not only had he shown indifference towards a man who had sworn loyalty to him, but he had broken a fundamental principle for any demon: the fulfillment of a deal. While it was true that demons sought to gain advantages and often deceived their contractors, they always fulfilled their part of the bargain, even if at an exorbitant price. Okita, on the other hand, had received nothing in return for sacrificing his own life.
"Boy, I'll be completely honest with you," Okita replied, letting out a tired sigh and a grimace of bitterness that crossed his face. "Your sister is mired in one of her tantrums because she has destroyed her favorite teddy bear... again. I prefer the icy winds of Siberia to endure the attempts to calm little Rias-chan."
—That plushie was special!— Rias yelled because no one understood that it wasn't a tantrum but a very natural reaction to having lost something she genuinely valued a lot.
—Mr. Cheeks was special… and I didn't throw a fit because you killed him in your tantrum.— Millicas replied dryly, making everyone look at her with an expression that said it all. "If an 8-year-old can understand it, why can't you?"
His harsh and dismissive tone made clear the deep displeasure he felt towards the situation. In the eyes of the former samurai, the Gremory family was not raising a young woman fit for society or a noble worthy of her lineage. They were raising a spoiled creature who would lead their clan to ruin, and he preferred to stay as far away from that disaster as possible.
Naruto couldn't help but crack a small smile at Okita's brutal honesty. He himself had requested a training trip to Siberia to escape what he considered a complete and utter stupidity, so he couldn't blame the knight for seeking the same escape.
What did surprise him was that Okita had offered to accompany him, considering that they were heading to a place that would probably worsen his already delicate health condition. However, he decided that he could house the man in a warm cabin and not stray too far during his training. It was the least he could do for one of the few beings in the Gremory mansion that he liked and that shared his vision of the true Rias.
Natsumi, for her part, walked a few steps behind them, maintaining respectful silence. Her four tails waved slightly, betraying her obvious nervousness in the presence of a high-ranking demon who was not her master. Grayfia was already intimidating enough, but Okita, in her judgment, was even worse. Somehow, the samurai radiated raw, pure power, very different from Grayfia's calm and contained energy.
—Well, that's natural, Okita is known as the Demon Child after all.— Tsukuyomi commented calmly, naturally the aura of the legendary swordsman would be much more intimidating and oppressive than Grayfia's, who was a much colder and more calculating demon.
(A/N: Yeah, it was the first thing that came to my head, sorry, but there isn't much to react to in this part.)
As for the reasons for the trip, Naruto had two main reasons. The first, and the most important, was that Natsumi belonged to him, not Rias. He was not willing to allow his sister, with her laziness and lack of ambition, to corrupt his queen with her ideas of idleness and childishness.
—Wait, that's contagious.— Amaterasu said before dramatically moving away from Sirzechs… not that she had been close to him at any point.
—Unbelievable as it may seem… yes, it is contagious.— I commented, remembering how during my university years my roommate, a studious guy, ended up becoming an idle slacker for hanging out with a guy who ended up dropping out of university in the second semester.
The second reason for the trip was far less obvious, since, among all possible destinations, they had chosen the icy Siberia. His goal was to test Natsumi's understanding of the rudimentary notions of ice magic that Grayfia had passed on to her.
Naruto was aware that Grayfia had not delved into the details of her own magic. He didn't blame her; Grayfia possessed a… let's say, conservative view of training. He, on the other hand, was more akin to the description that Ajuka Beelzebub had given him on countless occasions: "an idiot who takes his experiments to absurd extremes to prove his theories." Naruto knew that the description was accurate. He always sought to push things to the limit to prove his points. What good was being an ice mage if you didn't master absolute zero? Ajuka had confirmed to him that reaching that temperature was theoretically possible through magic, but that no known mage had achieved such a feat. If it were up to him, Natsumi would be known as the witch of fire and ice before she turned sixteen, and would become the first mage in history to master absolute zero.
—He was quite ambitious, wasn't he.— Amaterasu commented with a smile, honestly not expecting the little Gremory to be as ambitious as he was turning out to be from a young age.
—Actually… he achieved it.— Odin commented, remembering how little Natsumi, as soon as she awakened the seventh sense, was able to reach absolute zero… not that it had done him any good against Thor.
Momentarily abandoning his ambitious thoughts, Naruto turned to the samurai who escorted them to the frozen lands of Siberia. "Okita, would you have any advice for an aspiring King looking for a worthy knight?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly with genuine curiosity and softening his tone of voice.
Unlike Rias, who seemed to expect others to build her peerage for her or who sought out people with serious emotional problems to avoid earning their respect, Naruto understood that his older sister's strategy could only lead to a catastrophic outcome.
"Look for someone who doesn't have obvious mental problems and who doesn't try to stab you in the back at the first opportunity," Okita replied with his usual frankness. He was fully aware of what would happen with the knight Yuuto Kiba in a few years: he would rebel against Rias at the first opportunity. He only hoped that Sirzechs would not intervene, because Rias needed to learn that her actions had consequences and that the world did not bend to her whims.
—Kiba would never betray me!— Rias yelled, she was fully aware that Kiba would never, ever betray her, much less stab her in the back.
—It's a universal constant that he betrays you, and that you forgive him for not having enough character to make you respect him.— I commented dryly, leaving the place completely silent… at least until Amaterasu started to laugh out loud.
"Hmph… then my observations about Kiba Yuuto were correct," Naruto murmured with a slight smile, before stretching slightly. Kiba disturbed him, even for someone like him. His false and spooky smile was not funny at all, and the ease with which he deceived Rias was unsettling. His eyes, meanwhile, were completely empty. Naruto supposed that he could unravel the mystery of Kiba, but that would be a task for later.
He shook his head to dispel those thoughts. At that moment, he had more pressing matters to attend to: traveling to Siberia to begin Natsumi's training in the true essence of ice magic.
With that determination in mind, Naruto began to walk with a firm step towards the exit of the Gremory mansion, with Natsumi following him closely. Seeing that she was falling behind, Natsumi quickened her pace to keep up.
Listening to the words of their younger brother/son, all the members of the Gremory clan began to think about their interactions with Kiba, no longer seeing him as the unsettlingly friendly knight but as the boy who, genuinely speaking, was a subject whose eyes were completely and absolutely empty, whose smile was completely and absolutely fake… memories and thoughts that simply made them shudder.
A week later, in the heart of frozen Siberia, the wind howled like a hungry wolf, lashing at the small log cabin with relentless fury. Inside, Natsumi trembled uncontrollably, her arms wrapped around her own body in a desperate attempt to conserve heat. The steam from her breath formed small white clouds that dissipated quickly in the icy air.
"Naruto-sama..." her voice was barely a whisper, trembling and weak. "Could I know the exact purpose of this... penance?"
Her hazel eyes, normally full of life and curiosity, now reflected a mixture of confusion and despair. They were in the middle of a log cabin, abandoned and devoid of any semblance of comfort, in the dead of Siberian winter. And, to make matters worse, Naruto had forbidden her from lighting the wood stove, the only source of heat in that frozen wasteland.
—. . . for a few moments, no one said absolutely anything, the mere image of Natsumi, a kitsune, that is, a spirit naturally of fire, freezing in the middle of the Siberian winter, was something truly powerful.—
—What the hell was that child thinking?— Venelana asked, completely astonished that Naruto had tortured his queen in that way.
—He's a demented genius, that's what he is.— Odin commented wisely while stroking his beard, after all, what he was doing had a certain level of sense, after all, to be able to master the cold, you have to be one with the cold.
Naruto, for his part, seemed immune to the penetrating cold. In a strange display of polarity, and perhaps driven by his own desire to master the frigid temperatures, he was dressed surprisingly lightly. A sleeveless white shirt, a worn black sweatshirt, and equally dark pants were his only protection against the relentless cold. His skin, normally pale, acquired a bluish tone, and his teeth chattered with a constant rhythm.
"You see, Natsumi," Naruto began, his voice maintaining its usual calm and analytical tone, despite the obvious physical discomfort. "Since my... sister-in-law, so to speak, has introduced you to the rudiments of ice magic, I consider it appropriate to instruct you in the true essence of this power. That which no ice mage dares to reveal."
His gaze, hidden behind his usual dark glasses, conveyed unwavering determination. Naruto was determined to push Natsumi to the limit, to forge her in the frozen depths of Siberia, so that she would master the ice like no one before.
"I didn't know you were an ice mage, Naruto-sama," Natsumi murmured, her voice barely audible through the chattering of her teeth. Her eyes, dilated by the cold and surprise, rested on Naruto with a hint of amazement. "I had never been told of such an ability."
—That's because he isn't.— Rias said, scoffing at the idea of her brother being an ice mage.
—He wasn't.— Ajuka said, reminding Rias that Naruto actually was an ice mage, or rather, a perfectly capable cold mage who had surpassed Grayfia and Serafall's level, at least in terms of ice mastery, when he was only 13 years old.
—What the… oh right, Aurora Execution.— Ruval tried to ask, only to then remember how Naruto had literally launched a cold technique at his disgraced younger brother.
"Oh, I'm not!" Naruto exclaimed with a strange joy, although his body trembled as much or more than Natsumi's. The difference lay in his iron will, in his determination to master the cold like no one else. "I'm freezing to the bone, Natsumi. But a king who does not lead by example is not worthy of his title. And, to be completely honest, you seem too... charming to me to let you freeze to death in this cabin."
If the circumstances had been different, Natsumi would have blushed until she turned the color of a ripe tomato at her king's praise. The word "charming," spoken with Naruto's usual indifference, resonated in her ears like a strange and captivating melody. However, the extreme cold and the fear of hypothermia clouded any hint of romance. Her teeth chattered with a frantic rhythm, and her eyes remained fixed on Naruto, seeking in him a hint of warmth or comfort.
"Hug me," Natsumi begged, her voice breaking from the cold. Normally, she would never dare to request such a display of closeness, but hypothermia threatened to take her life, and frozen death seemed an even more unacceptable prospect than indecency.
—As if…— Rias tried to yell, only to be buried under a pile of bunnies that were shot at her from all directions until finally only her feet remained outside the large pile of cotton tails.
—It wasn't just one at a time?— Azazel asked, meaning the last time the defense system had activated, only a single bunny was fired.
—During the debate, I set it to machine gun mode.— I said with a shrug. To be fair, I should have set it up like that from the beginning… or failing that, activate the rabid squirrel catapult.
Naruto, whose own teeth were chattering with a frantic rhythm, finally yielded to the request. He extended his arms, allowing Natsumi to take refuge in his warmth. "You have incredibly fluffy and warm tails, you know?" Naruto murmured in a playful tone, a hint of unusual warmth in his voice. In other circumstances, Natsumi would have blushed at the comment, but the extreme cold and the need for warmth took precedence over shyness. Instinctively, she used her four tails to wrap them both, creating a kind of improvised blanket.
"Then..." Natsumi stammered, still trembling, although the shared warmth began to mitigate the cold. "What is that secret that no ice mage dares to reveal?" she asked, her curiosity struggling to overcome the numbness.
Naruto gave her an enigmatic smile, while letting his head rest on Natsumi's warm ears, a gesture that denoted a strange comfort. "They don't understand the true nature of cold," he stated, his voice resonating with an unusual authority. Natsumi looked at him in bewilderment for a few moments, before a gust of icy air forced her to bury her head again in her king's chest, seeking refuge in his body heat.
—. . . — no one said anything for a few moments, trying to understand what Naruto had said at that moment. What did the nature of cold have to do with ice magic?
—. . . — I, for my part, had decided to take out my phone to play Plants vs. Zombies Fusion. I had to finish the damn 100% of that game, even if it took me my whole life
—Hahaha, oh father, your grandson is brilliant!— Finally, after a good while, Azazel finally understood what was happening and couldn't help but burst out laughing. After all, Naruto had just spat in the face of over 40,000 years of ice mages who were never able to understand the way to master ice magic.
—Do you know what Crow is talking about?— Amaterasu asked.
—Molecular movement.— was the fallen angel's simple answer, causing Ajuka to facepalm. Of course… of course Naruto would understand ice magic as magic of vibrations, and worst of all… it had worked for him.
Naruto let out a soft and guttural laugh at Natsumi's reaction, before resuming his explanation with a rhetorical question. "You know, Natsumi, what cold really is?"
Natsumi, aware that her king was looking for a specific answer, and preferring to maintain her warm position rather than provoke his wrath, shook her head in silence. She knew that Naruto would provide the answer he sought.
Faced with the lack of verbal response, Naruto gave her a small indulgent smile. "You see, Natsumi, ice mages only scratch the surface of their power. They freeze objects, create frost, even sculpt small figures of ice. But they ignore its true essence... the cold itself."
"And you understand it?" Natsumi asked, not with skepticism, but with genuine curiosity.
"Vibrations," Naruto replied, his smile taking on an amused hue.
"Vibrations?" Natsumi repeated, her brow furrowed in an attempt to understand.
"People associate fire with combustion, but its nature is much more complex," Naruto explained, his voice adopting a didactic tone. "Heat, in essence, is myriads of molecules vibrating at breakneck speeds. The greater the speed of vibration, the higher the temperature."
—That would explain the fire techniques.— Odin commented, remembering how in his training with his favorite son, Natsumi, seeing that ice didn't work on Thor, he performed a technique identical to Diamond Dust but instead of launching cold air, he launched superheated air.
—And why they achieved absolute zero at such a young age.— Ajuka now commented, because seriously, how the hell hadn't anyone realized that the key to achieving absolute zero wasn't simply freezing more, but simply understanding a concept as basic as the vibration of molecules.
—Still think the Six Eyes aren't a big deal?— Ravel asked Venelana mockingly, after all, she knew that if Naruto deciphered absolute zero, it was because his eyes allowed him to see molecular and even atomic vibration, and this in turn led him to absolute zero.
Natsumi nodded, indicating that she understood the concept, although she still did not see the connection with cold. However, she trusted that the deprivation of heat to which they were subjected had a purpose.
"That is the true essence of cold magic," Naruto continued, his voice charged with conviction. "Not freezing, nor frost. The comprehension of molecular motion, the manipulation of atomic vibration, until reaching absolute cold, zero Kelvin."
"Absolute zero?" Natsumi inquired, the concept resonating in her memory. During her research to build the ideal peerage for her king, she had come across the term in ancient grimoires of ice magic. However, it was considered an unattainable goal.
Curiously, Naruto was not referring to ice magic, but to cold magic.
Naruto nodded solemnly. "My eyes are special, Natsumi. They perceive the very essence of the universe. I see Grayfia's limitations, the reason why she will never reach absolute zero. And I think I have the key to achieve it." Naruto had developed a training plan inspired by the Knights of the Zodiac, adapted to each type of magic. However, he lacked an excuse to ask Grayfia to instruct him in cold magic, which he considered, at least for him, the easiest to understand. Now, with Natsumi as his apprentice, he had the perfect opportunity to put his theories into practice.
—He could have asked, and I would have taught him without any problems.— Grayfia said as if the idea that she would have taught him ice magic without issues wasn't a big deal… because honestly speaking, it wasn't a big deal.
—Really?— Ajuka asked with a raised eyebrow.
—It's not like I was forbidden to for Sirzechs-sama, his younger brother was so irrelevant that he never forbade me from interacting with him in any way, unlike how he did with Rias.— Grayfia admitted indifferently. She liked Naruto much more than she liked Rias since he actually listened when someone spoke to him; that he tended to ignore the instructions of those who ignored him was a completely different matter.
"What if you're wrong?" Natsumi asked shyly, not because she doubted her king's ability, but because of the simple statistic that dictated that perfection was rarely achieved on the first try.
"Well, we are training, Natsumi. It's obvious, isn't it?" Naruto replied with an ironic tone, although a slight smile softened his features. "I haven't come to Siberia simply because I enjoy the frigid climate, you know?" he joked, although the chattering of his teeth belied his words. "To master absolute zero, we must first acclimatize ourselves to the cold itself. We will remain here for a couple of hours, enduring this... austerity, and then we will dress appropriately to recover the lost heat. We will return with Okita to the town, where a comforting warmth awaits us."
"How much time do we have left?" Natsumi inquired, her voice imbued with a renewed hope. The prospect of hot chocolate and a soft bed, where she could curl up until her king decided to return to this icy torture, filled her with sudden enthusiasm.
"About fifty minutes, approximately," Naruto replied with a casual tone, although his gaze reflected a slight uncertainty. The truth was that he had lost track of time. He had left his watch with Okita; the metal, in direct contact with his skin, would only accelerate the freezing process of his extremities.
—Never one for being on time, was he?— Azazel asked with a grin, because come on, the idea that one of the most feared beings of the current era was bad with time was incredibly funny.
—Not really… he'd be late to his own funeral if it were possible.— Ruval said, knowing that Naruto and being on time were never in the same sentence unless the word "never" was in the middle.
—He'd find a way to make it possible.— Ravel scoffed, knowing that Naruto had taken that challenge personally… Why did people insist on challenging him with impossibilities when he had already proven more than once that he would find a way to make the impossible possible?
-A few weeks later, deep in a Siberian forest-
Sara, with her small bare feet sinking into the damp earth and her violet eyes sparkling with an astuteness unbefitting her age, was the undisputed queen of hide-and-seek. No one, not even the adults of her tribe, could catch her if she didn't allow it. Despite her young age, she had achieved a strength that defied the laws of nature, a power disproportionate for a child. Her muscles, tense and fibrous, contracted under her smooth skin, revealing the agility and power of a born predator. Her senses, sharpened by her Therianthrope (or Beastkin, as they were known in some circles) heritage, allowed her to perceive the slightest whisper of the wind, the faintest crackle of a branch in the forest's thickness. She was a creature of nature in her purest essence, agile and stealthy, capable of merging with the environment like a dancing shadow in the darkness of the night.
—Sara…? But she's Aunt Delta.— A genuinely confused Millicas asked after seeing his favorite aunt looking really Latina, and especially because they were calling her Sara when her name was Delta.
However, all that strength, all that skill, had proven useless against the relentless pursuit of her own father. A new wave of lacerating pain ran through the little Therianthrope's leg, an acute and intense suffering, as if a hot iron was piercing her flesh. The pain forced her to fall on her small knees, her hands clutching handfuls of damp grass as tears sprang from her eyes and a heartbreaking moan escaped her lips.
"It hurts..." she murmured between sobs, her voice choked by pain and fear. "It hurts... a lot..."
The memory of the chase, of her father's hate-filled words, of the stinging sensation of the arrow piercing her skin, tormented her like a recurring nightmare. Other arrows had struck her back and her arm, but the dense vegetation and her own agility had prevented deeper wounds.
"It hurts... really... it really hurts..." she moaned, as she curled up, seeking relief uselessly in her own embrace.
—. . . she was possessed, right?— Azazel asked after a good while of silence.
—And one of the most severe cases, no less.— Ajuka confirmed.
—What does that imply?— Ravel asked, to tell the truth, although she knew what possession was, she had never seen the effects on a living person… or one that hadn't been healed.
—Basically… that Delta is a monster because she has so much magic in her body that it was killing her before her body was able to handle it, now that she's a devil.— Ajuka's explanation was much more concise than it would have been just a few years ago.
But she couldn't afford to stop there. Her father was chasing her. Certainly. Probably. Or maybe not. She had already gone quite deep into the forest, away from the tribe, hadn't she? It was better to be safe than sorry. With a guttural growl and a clenching of teeth, Sara got up with an effort that tore a pitiful moan from her, and continued her escape, leaving a crimson trail on the immaculate snow.
Each step was agony. The wound in her leg, inflicted by her father's arrow, throbbed with unbearable suffering. The blood, warm and viscous, spilled over her skin, soaking her pants and staining the snow with a scarlet trace. The glacial cold seeped into her wounds, like icy needles piercing her flesh, making her teeth chatter and her body tremble uncontrollably.
She kept walking. It was the only thing she could do. Stopping meant dying, and she wasn't willing to give up.
She was strong and fast. She could run faster than almost anyone in the tribe. But the wound inflicted by her father had crippled her. Now she could only limp, trembling and shuddering from the cold, weakening with each passing minute. If she didn't find shelter soon, she would freeze to death. She didn't even know where she was going. She only cared about getting away from her father and the tribe. She was the hunter, not the prey.
Because Sara, in her childlike innocence, didn't understand...
Dad had sentenced that she was possessed, a sentence that had triggered her hunt. What exactly did the word "possessed" imply? It's true that strange and grotesque protrusions adorned her chest and arms, but what was their significance? Sara, aware of her limited intellectual capacity, would be the first to admit it. She had never been known for her cleverness.
However, despite her mental clumsiness, curiosity gnawed at her. She wanted to understand the mystery that surrounded her.
—Aack?!
Her injured leg gave way under her weight, and this time, her strength abandoned her completely. She collapsed on the snow, the impact shaking her bones and clouding her vision. Blood pooled under her body, staining the world with a somber crimson. A freezing breeze caressed her tangled hair, and with it, darkness began to invade her field of vision. Sara resisted dying. She longed for food, power, warmth. But she lacked all of these, which condemned her to an imminent death, an irrevocable sentence.
A rustle in the snow, behind her, interrupted her bleak thought. Two aromas invaded her nostrils: the musky smell of a fox and another unknown aroma, a strange combination of old paper and... strawberry cake?
—. . . once again, no one said anything, since well, what were they supposed to say? After all, it was strange that a Therianthrope, no matter how sensitive their senses were, would be able to identify Naruto's very specific scent.
—. . . for my part, I was simply having a really noticeable twitch in my eyebrow. Who the hell programmed the damn game so that the easiest difficulty implied "you're not getting past level three, bastard?"
—What the hell?— Finally, Azazel was unable to maintain silence. Damn it, what kind of devil's luck… never before, that's right… did Naruto have to find a Therianthrope as incredibly powerful as that… by pure damn luck.
—Well, well, what do we have here? —A child's voice resounded in the icy air of the forest, imbued with a playful curiosity—. It seems that luck is smiling on us today, isn't it, Natsumi?
—Ehm... I'm not sure if it's so, Naruto-sama —replied a childish voice, tinged with shyness and dismay—. What are those grotesque marks on her arms?
Sara, with a superhuman effort, lifted her head. Her violet eyes, clouded by pain and tears, rested on the newcomers. There were two: a boy dressed in a dark blue coat that contrasted with his fiery red hair, and a girl with long fox ears and four snow-white tails, which waved nervously. The boy's face showed an enigmatic smile, but his eyes, hidden behind dark and impenetrable glasses, were a mystery to Sara. The girl, for her part, observed her with a mixture of curiosity and concern. She seemed scared, but not of her.
—She's definitely afraid of Naruto.— Rias yelled as she stood up once again, after having gotten out from under the giant pile of bunnies.
—You know she wants to have children with him, right?— Ravel asked with a raised eyebrow. After all, Natsumi was the number one candidate to be Naruto's wife… not that Naruto wanted to get married anytime soon, according to him, "I'm young, I'll get married when I'm 500 years old," although he actually changed the age at which he would get married every time you asked him.
—And how the hell did you get out of the bunnies?— Serafall asked. Damn it, those were a lot of bunnies to be able to get out from under them.
In response to her question, Ajuka simply gestured towards one of the strangest scenes possible… a monkey on fire attending to an endless line of the same bunnies that had crushed Rias, in what appeared to be a therapy session.
—Great, I'm going to have a damn debt for a therapist for them.— I muttered to myself. Of course, my own therapist was probably going to have a very merry Christmas this year.
Despite their harmless appearance, Sara perceived the smells emanating from them: the strange and sweet aroma of the boy, of old books and pastries, and the musky and wild smell of the fox girl. However, beyond those superficial aromas, and contradicting the boy's words, Sara did not detect great strength.
"The weak can't save me," she said to herself hopelessly, letting her head fall onto the bloodstained snow. "They are just playing."
—This isn't going to end well, is it?— Azazel asked, after all, if the little Gremory boy hated one thing… besides being compared to his siblings… it was being told he was weak.
—It's Delta.— Ajuka reminded him.
—Ah, right, I forgot.— In the crow's defense, the girl was now called Sara and not by the name that the entire supernatural world knew her by… well, her name by which a good part of the world knew her, most of it actually knew her as the Devourer Slayer or the Fenrir Slayer.
However, the boy crouched down in front of her, his smile unwavering, as if his presence radiated the certainty that he could save her.
—Hmph... yes, she is possessed... and it's a serious case —he commented, without losing his enigmatic smile.
Sara ignored the reason why everyone repeated that word. Her father's words resonated in her mind, once again. "What does all this mean?" she wondered desperately, feeling the shadows of incomprehension engulf her like a shroud.
—Come on, come closer —invited the boy, his voice resonating with a strange mix of sweetness and authority. He extended his hand towards Sara, his fingers wrapped in a reddish aura that throbbed with an unknown energy—. In exchange for your soul, I can save you.
—Ah, I don't really use that phrase… tell me I don't use that phrase.— Ravel complained, really wishing that her best friend… and romantic interest, hadn't used the most cliché damn phrase in the history of cliché demon phrases.
—He used that phrase.— Ajuka said while rubbing the bridge of his nose, torn between amusement at the way Naruto was playing in such a frankly delicate situation, and frustrated by the way Naruto was playing in such a damn delicate situation.
—It's because of idiots like that we have a bad reputation.— Rias said, earning a "you don't get to talk, brat" look.
—To be completely fair… you have a bad reputation for being demons, not for idiots like him… besides, come on, you can't tell me you've never wanted to use that phrase yourself too.— Amaterasu scoffed. Sure, Naruto was infamous and gave demons a very bad reputation by basically killing anyone for the right price… or doing anything for a price, but at the end of the day, he at least enjoyed life.
—Naruto-sama... this doesn't seem appropriate to me —Natsumi interrupted, her voice a trembling thread, a chill running down her spine.
The boy let out a soft and melodic laugh, a sound that mixed with the whisper of the wind through the trees, creating an unsettling melody. —Oh, come on. I've always longed to utter those words —he said with a playful tone, observing Sara's reaction with insatiable curiosity.
Sara, however, had stopped listening. Panic flooded her being, her heart beating with frantic force, resonating in her ears like a war drum, clouding her thoughts. "He's a demon," she remembered with terror, evoking the chilling tales that her mother had told her about those evil creatures. "Mom always warned me about demons. They are evil and cruel beings, who snatch souls and devour them."
—Oh, come on…— all the demons present complained. Why did they always get the reputation for eating souls? Souls didn't even taste good.
—No! Demon! —Sara snarled with distrust, her voice hoarse and weak—. Go away!
But the boy was unfazed. On the contrary, he dropped his dark glasses, revealing his eyes. Strange and crystalline eyes, of a deep blue that seemed to harbor the starry sky itself, shone with an unsettling amusement.
—And why would I do that, sweetie? —he asked in a voice as smooth as silk, a chilling contrast to the coldness of his words—. I can save you, or I can leave and let you freeze to death. I've been subjecting Natsumi to similar training for the last month, until we have finally been able to withstand the harshness of the weather. But I digress. Personally, I desire to save you.
His hand, pale and delicate as porcelain, moved even closer to Sara. Driven by fear and desperation, Sara reacted with an animal instinct. She opened her jaws and bit hard the hand that was offered, her canine teeth sinking into the flesh with a desperate ferocity. A stifled cry escaped the boy's lips, not a cry of pain, but of surprise. Two of his fingers, severed just above the knuckle, fell onto the bloodstained snow.
—. . . for the third time, no one knew what to say at that moment, this time because everyone was completely shocked after seeing how Delta, the incredibly adorable, fearless, and slightly idiotic girl that everyone had grown to love, had ripped off two of Naruto's fingers.—
—. . . Millicas had actually fainted at the scene, not expecting that his favorite aunt would actually mutilate his uncle.—
—The monkey is a good therapist.— I said to Grayfia, who simply gave me her best poker face.
—I'll take that into account.— she murmured with that tone that clearly said, "Don't dream of it happening."
However, the boy showed not a trace of annoyance. On the contrary, a smile of genuine fascination appeared on his face, his blue eyes shining with an intense light. Natsumi, who had witnessed the scene with horror, fainted, her unconscious body collapsing onto the icy snow.
—Fascinating —Naruto commented, his smile not reaching his eyes, as he observed his now three fingers, or rather, the gap where they used to be, with a look of intense fascination—. Muscles strong enough to pierce the skin and flesh of demons... You are a fighting creature, aren't you?
As he spoke, Sara watched him with silent amazement, which intensified as she witnessed his fingers begin to regenerate. The reddish energy that had previously enveloped his hand extended to the wound, closing it as if by magic. The boy... somehow, seemed much more imposing than before. His blue eyes, now visible after the fall of his glasses, shone with a supernatural intensity, like two bonfires burning in the darkness of the night.
—Now, I suppose this means that I'll have to resort to the other method, right? —Naruto commented in a thoughtful tone, although his eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity.
Before Sara could react, Naruto bit her, quick as a flash, just above one of her ears. A sharp and unexpected pain ran through her, a cold and stinging burn, much more intense than the wound inflicted by the arrow. The sensation spread like lightning from her head to the tip of her toes, forcing her to arch her back and howl with a heartbreaking cry.
—Ouch! Why did you do that? —Tears welled up in her eyes, mixing with the blood flowing from the wound.
Sara didn't get a verbal response. Instead, a cold and firm hand closed around her neck, forcing her to lift her head. Her violet eyes, still clouded by pain and tears, met Naruto's, blue and penetrating as ice. An electric current ran through her body, making her tremble uncontrollably. Naruto's face, inches from hers, wore an amused smile, but his eyes were an unfathomable abyss, a void that both attracted and terrified her.
"It's as if he sees all this as a game," Sara reflected desperately, feeling her own will crumble under the intensity of his gaze. "As if it were an experiment... a spectacle for his amusement."
—Because it is!— Rias yelled at the screen once more.
—Can I hit him, boss?— Delta asked from the other room in a tone of voice so loud that it actually sounded like she was right next to my guests.
—Later.— Naruto's reply was much softer, but everyone was still able to hear him clearly.
—But Delta wants to hit him now.— If they could have seen the girl right now, they would have seen her make a slight pout.
—You're going to want to hit him later too.— Naruto's voice was calm once more, and after that, Delta said nothing else.
And the worst of it all was that Naruto showed no trace of anger, annoyance, or amusement. He seemed genuinely interested in something she couldn't understand. As if her pain, her fear, and her despair were an enriching experience for him.
"Only the strong... no, only the really, really strong have the right to look at others like that," Sara said to herself, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the cold. Something inside her shuddered, a primitive instinct that screamed at her to submit, to surrender. "He's strong... much stronger than me. Does that make him the boss?"
—How the hell did she reach that conclusion?— Amaterasu asked. Damn it, even she wouldn't have reached such a far-fetched conclusion as that, and she was famous for her hasty conclusions whenever she was furious… which happened more times than she would have liked.
—Therianthrope.— I reminded her indifferently.
—Ah, right… their damn race and their need to mate with the strongest.— The sun goddess murmured with a nod… Tamamo was actually the same.
The word resonated in her mind, like a distant thunder. "Boss... I like the sound of that."
—Boss... —Sara murmured softly, barely a whisper that was lost in the sound of the wind through the trees. Her violet eyes, still clouded by pain and tears, fixed on Naruto's, recognizing in him a strength and authority that surpassed her. A strength that, despite everything, attracted her.
—Now, sweetie, I'll ask one more time —Naruto said, his voice mixing amusement with seriousness. His blue eyes scrutinized her with a mix of curiosity and something incomprehensible—. In exchange for your soul, I can save you. But if you bite me again, I'm afraid I'll have to punish you. You understand, right?
Sara moaned, not daring to speak for fear of provoking his wrath. Her body, weak and injured, trembled under Naruto's penetrating gaze. She didn't understand what he meant by "soul," but the threat in his tone was unmistakable.
—Use your words —Naruto pinched her nose delicately, but even that gentle touch caused her a pang of pain. Sara let out a gasp of surprise—. Do you want to bleed out and die? —His voice was colder than the snow on which she lay—. Because that is a valid option. I have no interest in saving someone who doesn't want to be saved and who will only try to hurt me... well, not at the moment. I haven't reached that level of masochism yet.
Sara blinked, confused by Naruto's words. She opened her mouth to respond, but only a choked sound escaped her throat. Finally, with the little strength she had left, she lowered her head and shook it slightly. A tired growl resonated in her throat.
—Sara... wants to live...
—Delta —Naruto's whisper resonated in the silence of the forest, charged with a mysterious force that made Sara's violet eyes widen, fixing on the blue ones of her new "boss"—. I will not heal you so that your father can continue hunting you. That is your new name, Delta. Now tell me, will you give me your soul?
Confusion settled on the girl's face. "Marry?" she wondered, unable to understand the meaning of those words. "What does giving my soul entail?" A chill, unrelated to the glacial cold of the snow, ran down her spine, driven by the intensity of Naruto's gaze. Her hands, cold and weak, clung tightly to the snow, as if seeking a rock to hold on to in order not to fall into the void. She bit her lower lip, feeling the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
"Sa... Delta will listen to you... boss," she replied in a trembling voice, bowing her head in a gesture of submission. Naruto's gaze, so intense and penetrating, intimidated her, but at the same time, she felt a strange attraction towards him, an unsettling mixture of fear and fascination. An instinctive, almost animal submission ran through her body, which relaxed slightly, yielding to the inevitable presence of the boy who was now her master.
Naruto observed her with his blue eyes, which seemed to analyze every detail of her expression, every beat of her heart. A slight frown formed on his face.
"Boss? That's new," he murmured to himself, in a thoughtful tone. "Well, I suppose Okita can take care of you while I finish Natsumi's training... he always wanted a dog." With those words, Naruto turned his gaze towards his companion, noticing, to his surprise, that Natsumi had fainted. "I thought we had already overcome the stage where she fainted from the cold," he commented with a sigh of resignation, before taking his queen in his arms. The journey back to Okita seemed long and arduous.
—. . . for the last time, no one knew what to say once again. Really, Naruto certainly had very, very bad situational awareness, and very bad social skills.—
—Well, clearly someone has to teach him social skills.— Odin said, already thinking about how to get Thor to teach his favorite unofficial son how to socialize… a thought that caused Naruto to have a shiver run down his spine.
—He's 18 years old.— Ajuka reminded him, it was already too late to learn how to socialize.
—It's never too late to learn.— Odin, however, dismissed his concerns as if they didn't matter, because they really didn't matter to him.
End of Chapter.
