Getting ready to head out to the Agares Corp Building to meet Seekvaira, Naruto walks into Akame in the hall.
"Good morning Naruto nii-chan," Akame happily told her brother, who said the same thing for her before she asked him where he was going so early in the morning.
"To meet someone."
"You're meeting someone? Is it someone from our junior high?"
"No, it's someone I met days ago, and I might be gone for the whole day like yesterday." Following his response to Akame, Naruto leaves the house as Chelsea appears behind her little sister.
"He's meeting someone...Did he find another girl?" Chelsea asked out loud, sounding curious.
Agares Corp Building
Main Office
8:55 am
"Naruto, you're a bit early," Seekvaira told her new Rook as he entered her office.
"That's uh...That's what my teachers tell me," he said, nervously giving her a smile after.
"Please, have a seat." Naruto sits on a couch opposite from his King, who assures him that the talk won't take long.
"Infernus, I've invited you and your host here to bargain," she called out to the fire demon. Infernus creates a ring of fire around the two, allowing Seekvaira to talk to Infernus alongside Naruto.
"Oh goody. I wonder what sort of agreement you have in mind..."
"There's a reason why you possessed Naruto Namikaze's body, and we want to know why."
"...I was a powerful demon...If you have lived as long as me, you consider yourself invincible. Dragons, gods, they had no power over me. I could bang any woman I want and not worry about contracting STDs. I was undefeated...until that fucking monster appeared and killed me." This catches the attention of Naruto and Seekvaira.
"Who is this monster?" she asked.
You devils know it as 666...Trihexa." The name alone strikes fear into Seekvaira, while Naruto has no idea who Trihexa is.
"Who is Trihexa?"
"The Apocalyptic Beast. The one thing God fears," Seekvaira responds, a bit shook by this piece of information. "You fought it? By yourself?"
"I was too arrogant. Son of a bitch tossed me around like a training dummy. I died alright...but not after I inflicted the first wound to it as a big fuck you. Died with a fucking huge smile on my face."
"I was hoping you'd be some being that doesn't speak as you do now," Seekvaira told the demon, having regained her composure.
"Get fucking used to it Glasses, because I was always like this. Hell, when you live as long as me, you even get some extra vocabulary in. Now, how does the way I died involve this bargain of yours?"
"Easy: You can't hurt, let alone kill Trihexa as a soul." This surprises the demon.
"You need a physical body to use your powers. However, you can't just destroy the soul of the body you're inhabiting and make it your own. If you do, you risk the body deteriorating," she concludes. The demon can only laugh in amusement, the Agares King being spot on with her answer.
"You catch on quick. Yes, I do need Naruto's body, and yes, I have to share it with him so I don't risk the body deteriorating. And so far, I am impressed with this body and my new host."
Now here's the bargain: Naruto will be able to freely use whatever powers he needs to serve me and help others, including his loved ones. And you must never possess Naruto's body whenever you want to. You must ask for permission from him. In return, Naruto will help you exact your vengeance on Trihexa, wherever this being is."
"...And if I don't agree to this?"
"I take him out of my Peerage and kill him." This response served to shock both Naruto and Infernus as Seekvaira continued.
"You should realize by now that I am not one to be underestimated, just like Trihexa. I could kill Naruto right away without giving you the chance to act. You may think otherwise, but would you take the chance to find out yourself?"
"Pretty cocky aren't you?"
"I'd like to say that I am confident in my abilities to deal with both Naruto and you. So what's it going to be? Will you serve me? Or will you wait again for another 100 years or more to find another host like Naruto?" After ten seconds of silence, Infernus laughs, surprising Naruto, Seekvaira's serious face not showing any fear towards Infernus as she looked straight into her Rook's eyes.
"I doubt you could or would be enough to stop me, but to be able to talk that way towards someone who could rip your head off before you could ever make a thought, oh how long it has been since I have seen that look on anyone's face, especially one aimed towards me. Very well, I will listen to my host, but I don't have to like it."
"I will ask for permission to possess your body."
"...Okay we're good," Naruto said, smiling. The ring of fire disappears around them as soon as talks with Infernus ended.
"Just curious: Would you actually kill me?"
"I do have the (possible) means to, but no. I just wanted Infernus to know that I'm not to be messed with."
"That bitch can bargain the hell out of people if she wanted to."
"Now that your demon won't be freely doing what he wants, let's talk about you as my Rook...First, how about we go out and get some fresh air?"
12:30 pm
Naruto and Seekvaira sat together at a ramen stand as they discussed the weakness of a Rook involving their speed and agility while finishing their bowls of ramen.
"A mere lack of speed's no problem, we can totally kick all of those other devils' asses with our arms tied."
"Now, as you get stronger and do more jobs, you can eventually promote yourself to become a High-Class Devil," Seekvaira further explains. "Who knows, maybe you're a Special-Class, which I just made up."
"What class am I?"
Right now you're low-class. Knowing you, you're one to work for what you want, despite having to resort to a wish to come back to life instead of letting modern technology, medicine, and hard-working doctors save your life."
"Not going to let that one go, are you?" Both King and Rook finish drinking their soup in their bowls before setting them down.
"More ramen please!" Look at one another, looking surprised at first, the two share a laugh after. The chef smiles as he prepares two more bowls for them.
"Naruto?" The blond Rook stops laughing and turns his attention to the person who called him, revealed to be Moka.
"Mo-Moka! Hey...What...What bri"We are...Would you like to join us?"
"I...I have to go. You both enjoy yourselves." Moka runs off as Naruto and Seekvaira watch her go.
"Mind telling me about your relationship with her?" Seekvaira asked.
"She's the girl I'm so in love with...Moka Akashiya." This response surprised the Agares heiress, who wasn't aware that he had a girl he was in love with.
"I wasn't aware that you had a thing for-"
"It's fine..." Naruto told his King as they turn their stools back towards their warm ramen.
"Is there a reason why you haven't told her you love her?"
"Look at me. I'm a guy who has trouble speaking about how I really feel, especially towards girls I love. Ever since second grade, even now, I could never tell her I love her. Heck, I don't think I can ever tell her now that I'm a devil. I blew my chances of ever telling her and hoping for more after that night. Now I'll never know how she feels...Maybe she doesn't feel the same way I do about her, I don't know."
"If I had known-"
"It's okay Seekvaira. Even if I can't tell her I love her, I can still be her friend and keep her safe." Inside, Infernus reflects on its original life but quickly pushes it aside.
"If it makes you feel better, I think any girl, even Moka, would be happy to have you."
"You think so?"
"I'm your King, and as your King, I'll always have your back."
Agares Corp Building
"If I may, I think Alivian hates me. I remember him staring me down as we were heading out like I was an enemy."
"He's just looking out for me. He can come off as cold and anti-social towards some...but if you get to know him better, he's a nice person."
"Him? Nice?" Naruto asked.
"I admit, he's unsure about having you as my Rook, he told me so himself, but I think he'll eventually warm up to you if you ask him to train you," Seekvaira assured her Rook.
"Him? Train you? To hell with that!"
"I guess I can ask him for some training. I mean, we're both members of your Peerage starting today." This response shocks Infernus.
"What!? Oh you little ass-kisser!"
"But for now, I think I must figure out these powers I have now before I ask for his help," Naruto finished.
"That's understandable. If you'd like, there's a training room in the Agares Enterprise Building you can use."
"That would be great. Thank you, Seekvaira," Naruto said to his King, bowing his head to her after.
Training Room 5
2:35 pm
Naruto enters, wearing nothing but a grey tank top with a small red spiral on the top left side, and black shorts and doing a few stretches before readying himself to see what he was capable of.
"Okay Infernus, what sort of abilities do you possess?"
"For starters, using my powers means changing your appearance to strike fear into your enemies, and look cool doing it."
"Like Ghost Rider?" he asked, earning a groan from Infernus.
"Oh you fucking nerd...Yes like Ghost Rider, but without the flaming skull. Did you really have to reference a comic book character? I know the characters but I can't really see the appeal of them. Fuck I haven't even read any stories and only looked at the front covers."
"I was curious, and you need to read comics, they're good depending on the writer...I take it you once had a host who was an otaku like me?"
"Yeah, guy was only interested in cosplaying and shit."
"You killed him didn't you?" Naruto asked. "Because he didn't meet up to your expectations?"
"That and he was a coward. I didn't kill him, though the process of leaving his body was painful, physically and mentally. He's fine though he doesn't remember shit about our encounter."
"Useful, though I wonder how it is he survived you forcing yourself out of his body, given he was just human," Naruto said to the demon.
"Just try not to get on my worst-side."
"That may be hard to do but we'll see how that goes. So how do I initiate this transformation?"
"You have to will it to happen. Just a reminder, the first time is always painful. But you'll get used to it." Infernus informed Naruto. After three minutes of visualizing how his ideal form should look, he finally transforms, though it's a bit painful as expected. His spiky blond hair is enveloped in yellow flickering flames (Like how it is when he's in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode or Six Paths Sage Mode), and his eyes turn from ocean blue to red and slitted. Finally, his canine teeth grow longer and sharper, completing his transformation. Looking at himself at a mirror, Naruto is amazed and left speechless by his transformation.
"Don't you look intimidating," Infernus said, complimenting his host's transformation.
"So what now?"
"Now... let's burn some targets." Several moving targets come out of compartments hidden under the floor, behind the walls, and over the ceiling. Naruto begins throwing fireballs in several directions, hitting every target dead center. Two laser gatling guns come out of the ceiling and start firing at him. The blond devil produces two circular and transparent heat shields that protect him from the lasers. Once the laser guns overheat, Naruto sends the two shields flying towards them, destroying them.
"Fuck, I can't believe I'm saying this but you're the only host to use my powers like that. I mean you're the only one who got this far but damn. Where did you learn that?"
"I read comics like Fantastic Four, Captain America, and Doctor Strange. I also played Mass Effect and Dragon Age."
"I can't believe I'm saying this but being a nerd actually has its upsides. Show me more!" Naruto prepares to destroy more targets as Alivian watched him from the monitors, looking a bit interested in his abilities.
2 hours later...
Naruto exits the room, exiting his transformation in the form of light particles. The room he came out from was wrecked beyond repair, having gone overboard. On his way to Seekvaira's Office, he stops when he sees Alivian waiting for him.
"Hey..." Alivian doesn't speak. The Rook finds the Queen's silence awkward and assumes that he doesn't want to talk before he resumes walking.
"You show some impressive control and imagination over power that is not unknown to any of us." Naruto is surprised when Alivian speaks. Looking around, he makes sure that no one else was around.
"Are you talking to me?"
"You are the only one other than me who's in the hallway," Alivian assured before walking towards Naruto, stopping in front of him. "However, powers alone can only get you so far. That is why I've decided to train you." This surprises the blond, who can't help but smile.
Really!? You'll...You'll train me!?"
"Yes. We can begin tomorrow. For now, Seekvaira wants to have a word with you." Naruto nods before resuming with walk towards Seekvaira's office. Opening the door, a woman with short silver hair and purple eyes exits the office. The woman has an eye-patch where her right eye used to be. She also wore a black suit that shows her cleavage. What catches Naruto's interest is her mechanical right arm. As soon as she's left the office, he enters.
"Who was that?"
"Najenda, an old friend of my father's," Seekvaira responds.
"What was she here for?"
"To inform me that one of her Peerage members, Sheele, died." This response shocks Naruto, who then asked how Sheele died. "An exorcist killed her. Had her body eaten."
"How can someone do this? Especially an exorcist? To a devil?"
"For some exorcists, they can take their roles too far, going after Devils even if they didn't do any wrong. The Church is currently handling this."
"They're handling this? The Church is handling this?" he angrily asked his King.
"Yes, they'll punish the exorcist and-"
"And what!? Set them free? Say that they were only doing their job as an excuse to-"
"I know how you feel Naruto, but we can't interfere without inciting a war with the Church. Right now, that is not why you're here. Please do not interfere with the Church."
"...Fine."
Later
Having finished a contract that involved tutoring a kid, Naruto walks home, thinking about everything he heard about the Church as he cuts through the park to get home faster.
"Something's on your mind..."
"They let exorcists like the one I heard from Seekvaira go out to do God's work? They kill, hurt, and rape in the name of him? That is...a whole load of bullshit!"
"You have the power to punish them...You can make them see that those so-called exorcists are full of shit using their religion to justify their twisted actions. You can go out and deliver true justice for the sinners."
"But if I do that, then I'll incite a war with the Church."
"Maybe, but who knows? Hold on...we have company." Naruto turns around and finds himself against a fallen angel, narrowing his eyes at him.
"What the hell do you want?" he angrily asked him.
"Just to end another filthy Devil like you," the fallen angel said with a huge grin on his face as he aimed his sawn-off shotgun at him. "This is perfect because now I can use this thing against-" Too angry to allow him to finish, Naruto closed the distance and easily held up the fallen angel by the throat and transforms, his flaming hair being red instead of yellow. His eyes give out an intense red glow, striking fear into the fallen angel.
"Monsters like you make me sick," he told him in a cold manner, remembering the crazed fan who stabbed him and made him into a devil. Naruto punched at the fallen angel's face three times, each blow immediately bloodying and bruising his face, knocking him down with the fourth one. Getting down on his knees, Naruto smashed the fallen angel's face with his right fist. As this was happening, his five allies, who were looking for him, found Naruto in the middle of savagely smashing their ally's face in, his right hand covered in blood and brain matter. Some of the blood was even splattered on his face. This act served to strike fear into them as Naruto, having already sensed their presence, turned his head towards the small party, still looking pissed as he slowly stands up.
"You...You bastard!" one of the fallen angels yelled, who fires at him alongside his teammates. Naruto erects a transparent wall of heat the protects him and sends it flying forward as it impacts one of the five fallen angels and knocks her into a tree. Grabbing the shotgun, he fires a round that hits a fallen angel on the chest, leaving a gaping hole wound and killing him. He dodges a sword strike from another fallen angel and shoots him in the leg to cripple him before smashing his face with the gun's stock.
"Oh this is good, this is good! And I don't have to step in. If only I had some popcorn!" More fallen angels started showing when they wondered why some of the fallen angels haven't reported to them. They weren't ready to see a single Rook brutally take them down one by one in a fit of rage.
"What is this...I'm feeling?" Naruto thought to himself as a menacing smile formed on his lips. Even when five spears found themselves pierced into his back, and a couple of swords were stabbed into his stomach, Naruto kept killing them one by one. After ten long minutes, thirty fallen angels had died by his hand, and twelve had lost their limbs to him as they made a retreat, leaving the blond covered in their blood as he held the sawn-off shotgun in his right hand.
"That was quite a show! I never knew any host who was this fucking intense! Who knew you had it in you." Naruto doesn't respond as the thought of him acting on his anger was burned into his mind. The one thing that shocked him was that he enjoyed it and that he smiled as he killed those fallen angels. Quickly he pulls out each weapon that was stabbed into his body, each wound healing within seconds of each other.
"If it makes you feel better, it was for self-defense. That means you won't get in trouble."
"You're right..." Infernus, though he likes how Naruto was agreeing with it, could sense that he's very bothered by how he acted.
"Oh come on, don't start questioning what you did. You're going to have to get used to doing stuff like this. Pretty soon, this will be a usual thing for you. Better to get used to it now than later." Infernus said, justifying Naruto's actions. After burning the bodies, Naruto went back to the Agares Corp Building.
Agares Corp Building
Seekvaira's Office
Without warning, Naruto, his clothes and face still covered in blood, entered the office, stopping in front of a surprised Seekvaira's desk, dropping the shotgun in front of her.
"Naruto!? What happened? How did you get in without anyone seeing you?"
"I had Infernus control my body and surround us in ethanol flames to cloak us," he responds.
"Didn't know Infernus could do that."
"I was attacked by fallen angels, and I...I killed them. On and on until most of those who survived fled, some of them missing limbs," he replied. Seeing the way Naruto was acting worried Seekvaira as she took in Naruto's look of disbelief on his face. "I just recalled what you told me about what happened to that woman's teammate, and what happened to me and...I smiled as I killed those fallen angels. I...What am I..." Getting up and walking over to Naruto, Seekvaira hugs him.
"I can't say I understand what you're feeling, or how I can help you. All I can do is hear you out and hug you, even if your blood-soaked clothes are dirtying my clothes..." With a small smile, Naruto told Seekvaira, "Never figured Devils to be gentle monsters..."
"Maybe back then, but things are different than all those years ago...Whatever you're feeling, know that I can be someone you can rely on. We can get through this together..." After wiping his face and getting him a change of clothes, Seekvaira allowed him to go home. "I heard Devils could get stronger depending on how angry they were. If this applies to Naruto, just how much anger has he been holding in his whole life? If he doesn't release it..." Wanting to help the blond Rook relieve his pent-up anger, Seekvaira makes a call to Sirzechs, who picks up.
"Hello?"
"Sirzechs-sama...I have a request." Seekvaira said. This caught Sirzechs' attention.
Naruto's House
9:58 pm
Naruto enters his home, taking off his shoes before walking up to the TV room. He is greeted by his sister Chelsea, and her girlfriend, Kagura Mikazuchi, someone Naruto took time to know. Kagura and Chelsea have been dating ever since they were 13 years old. Once they were 16, Kagura became a part of the family after Chelsea finally "came out" and introduced her to Jiraiya, who immediately accepted her into the family. Naruto and Kagura had some problems with one another for three straight weeks, but they eventually became friends.
"Oh hey Naruto, how was your day?" asked Chelsea.
"My day was...It was good. Met some good people and hung out with them and all," he replied, still bothered by how he violent nature against the fallen angels earlier. Leaving his thoughts, Naruto turns to Kagura and waves hello to her, who does the same. "Listen, I'm going to go to my room and call it a night."
"Okay, goodnight," Chelsea said. Naruto gives her a "smile" before walking up the stairs.
"Is your brother okay? He seems...different." Kagura asked, sounding worried.
"I'm sure he's fine," Chelsea assured her lover. "He must have had a long day out is all. I'm sure it has something to do with how things will turn out for him when he starts high school."
Naruto's Room
Naruto takes off his clothes before entering his bathroom. To his surprise, Akame was using it. The girl turns to her brother, surprised by his appearance.
"My shower broke and Jiraiya is occupying the main bathroom so I-"
"Akame, will it be okay if I joined you?" he asked, surprising her.
"Sh-Shower with...you?"
"I've had quite a day Akame," he replied. Seeing that Naruto has something on his mind, she allows him to bathe with her.
A few minutes later...
Akame's face heats up as she scrubbed Naruto's back. The two haven't bathed together in 8 years. Back then, she, Naruto, and Chelsea used to bathe together in the same bathroom. They would splash one another with water and Chelsea would wash her back while Akame washed Naruto's. Those days were gone after Chelsea fell in love with and started dating Kagura, and Naruto started focusing on his studies. As for her, she became very popular, making several friends, getting her locker filled with love letters, and being a star student in her kendo club. To have her brother and her bathe together again made the girl smile.
"Hey, Akame..." Naruto said, catching her attention.
"Yes, Naruto nii-chan?"
"Do you think I'm still...me?" This question surprises Akame.
"O-Of course! You're still Naruto nii-chan." This brought a small smile to Naruto's face, telling her, "It makes me happy to hear that from you, Akame."
"If you don't mind me asking...Why did you ask me that?"
"I...I just...After getting out of the hospital, I feel like the world is changing in front of me and...I'm changing with it." he answered, referring to the existence of devils, angels, and monsters as well as his change into a devil. "I don't even know if I can still be myself after what happened."
"Everyone changes Naruto nii-chan. But, even if we experience change in ourselves, whatever form that takes for any person...we still feel...right?" The last question catches Naruto's attention.
"If you still have your feelings...then you're still you. You're still human. Nobody can change that, nor can they take it," Akame said.
"You're right. If I can still feel...then I'm still me." This makes Akame happy knowing she helped Naruto feel better.
"Thank you Akame...If you can, do you think...you can sleep in my room tonight?" Hearing this come out of her brother's mouth caught Akame off guard as the blushing girl started stuttering.
"Wha-Wha-Wha-What!?" she shouts, steam coming out of her head.
"It's been a while since you've slept in my bed. You would sometimes come to my room to sleep when we were little."
"Oh...That's what you meant." Akame said, a bit disappointed. "Sure, I don't mind."
2 hours later...
"He's warm..." was what she was thinking right now, smiling as she laid with the sleeping blond. Soon, she too fell asleep. Inside Naruto's Mind, Infernus couldn't help but find this situation boring.
"Ugh, I was hoping that he'd have sex with her or something. I mean, she's not your sister! Just tell her let's screw and then go sleep!" Infernus ranted before sighing.
"I guess I'll go to sleep as well. Nothing interesting is happening anyways." said the flame demon, yawning before falling asleep. A few minutes later, Chelsea opened the door to Naruto's room to see her siblings sleeping soundly together.
"It's been a while since they've done that..." she told herself. Making sure that Jiraiya was asleep, Chelsea silently entered Naruto's bed, laying on the left of Akame.
"It's been a while since I've shared a room with my siblings as well." Chelsea thought to herself.
"They'll totally flip when they wake up." Soon, she too fell asleep. Two hours went by as the siblings slept. Out of nowhere, a portal opened. Out of it came Moka. To her surprise, she saw Naruto's siblings sharing the bed with him. In her mind, she was hoping that she'd be the only one who'd be sharing the bed with him.
"It seems that I won't be laying with you for tonight...Naruto." Planting a kiss on Naruto's cheek, Moka smiles before telling him goodnight and silently leaving.
TO BE CONTINUED...