The next morning Naruto did everything he would have normally done before Rias entered his life: he woke up, took a shower, made a basic breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, then left for school after locking up his apartment and rearming his traps.
He didn't actually know why he bothered placing all those traps on his home now. Really, what was the point of having a trap that caused his porch to explode and his windows to send several thousand volts of electricity through any would-be intruder when people could just teleport directly into his bedroom?
As soon as he reached Kuoh Academy, Naruto deviated from his usual course, which would have involved him going to class and then falling asleep until class ended. There were more important things to worry about than grades and lectures by stuffy old professors that he never bothered listening to anyway. Instead of heading towards his homeroom, he went straight to the Occult Research Clubroom.
There, he found the situation to be about what he'd expected. Rias was sitting behind her desk. She had her hands laced together in front of her face, her eyes were closed and there was a grave frown on her lips. Standing beside her were both Akeno and Grayfia; one of whom looked decidedly unruffled and the other was clearly trying to put on a cheerful front, even though it was more than obvious that she was worried.
"Rias, Akeno-chan, Grayfia...san," Naruto greeted, frowning at the end. He still wasn't used to using proper suffixes. No matter how many times Tsunade had insisted on the need to use proper suffixes, he had never really bothered. A part of him wondered why he was doing so now. Was it this woman's presence? Her regal bearing? He couldn't say. There was nothing about her that screamed "speak properly to me" anymore than when he was in baa-chan's presence. All he knew was that not knowing why he was acting on lessons he never used before bothered him.
"Ara, ara," Akeno's smiled a patently false smile as she greeted him. Naruto would never claim to be a master of reading body language, but if there was one thing he could do and do well, it was reading another person's smile. Her's was as fake as they came. "How are you doing today, Kitsune-kun?"
"I've been better," Naruto responded dryly. "I didn't sleep as well as I normally did last night." He locked eyes with Rias, whose eyes had snapped open at his entrance. She was staring at him with so many conflicting emotions on her face it was impossible to know what she was feeling. "How about you, Rias? Are you feeling any better?"
"Yes," she lied and they both knew it. Still, for the sake of appearing strong, neither of them said anything that contradicted this. "Thank you for asking."
Naruto gave her a small half smile, "anything for my King."
Moving over to the couch, Naruto sat down, crossed one leg over his thigh and stretched his arms across the headrest.
No one decided to question him on why he was there and not in class. Rias knew him enough to know that he would not be able to focus on class with everything that had happened last night. Akeno likely didn't care, and she wouldn't say anything anyways, since she was also skipping class. Naruto had no clue what Grayfia thought, but he wasn't all that sure he cared what she thought so it worked out.
The silence within the room was stifling as they waited for the others to arrive. Naruto was tempted to ask Rias to tell him what was going on, but he knew her well enough to know she would want to tell the rest of her peerage as well. Thus, he was reduced to waiting in tense silence like everyone else.
To pass the time, the spiky-haired Uzumaki amused himself by picturing Grayfia dressed in cosplay outfits. It was surprisingly easy to do thanks to her clothes. The images his mind conjured of the woman with the regal bearing wearing Neko ears and a tail saying "nya" as she held up pawed hands was definitely a funny one.
"Something you find amusing, Naruto-san?" asked Grayfia as Naruto started snickering.
"N-nothing, hehe, I just thought of something funny," Naruto coughed into his hands a few times, trying to calm down. He didn't think the woman would take it well if she knew he was conjuring images of her in naughty cosplay costumes. "Nothing to worry about."
"Hmm..." Grayfia looked at him suspiciously, but did not say anything else.
A few seconds later the door opened and a person walked in. Naruto was not surprised that the first person to show up after him was Koneko. As a first year, her last period of the class was free, which was why she normally showed up earlier than him and the others.
As soon as she entered the room, her eyes locked onto Naruto. Without offering even a courtesy greeting to the others, she made a beeline for him and unhesitatingly crawled onto his lap before she gave him an expectant look. Naruto just smiled humorously as he began giving the adorable girl his customary treatment.
Grayfia looked over at Rias after watching the white-haired first year purring against the male her husband's sister tried seducing last night, a single eyebrow raised.
"Don't ask," Rias sighed, her shoulders slumping a little bit. "Just... don't ask."
"Very well," Grayfia said emotionlessly as she went back to standing like a statue. "I won't ask."
It wasn't long, relatively speaking, before the other members of Rias' peerage filed in. They all noticed the new addition, that of the gorgeous woman with silver hair and eyes in the maid outfit. Issei damn near died of blood loss when he first caught a glimpse of her. Not that Naruto blamed the boy. Grayfia, despite whatever thoughts he had on the woman, was definitely gorgeous, and she gave off that regal aura expected of a Queen despite her questionable choice in clothing.
"Good, you're all here," Rias stood up from her chair.
"Rias-Sama," Grayfia looked at her. "Would like me to explain the situation to them?"
"No," Rias closed her eyes. "It would be better if they heard this from me." Opening her eyes again, her bluish-green orbs locked on to each member of her peerage. Naruto couldn't be sure, but he thought they lingered on his a little longer than the others. "There is something I need to tell you all. It is difficult to explain, but I―"
Before Rias could speak any further, an orange glow began emitting from the floor, interrupting the red head from saying any more. There was just enough time to see the magic circle with an unfamiliar crest come to life on the carpet before the entire thing burst into flames. Whoever was teleporting into the room obviously had a flair for dramatics.
Before the flames fully dispersed, a figure appeared inside of the fire. There was a gust of wind that put the blaze out, finally revealing the person who had so blatantly disrupted their meeting.
The person in question was a man around his early twenties with short yellow hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right, matching pants and black dress shoes. Underneath was a white dress shirt that was not fully buttoned, giving a view of his muscular chest.
Naruto did not like him. Just from a single glance, the blond had already determined what kind of person this guy was, having seen his type plenty of times before. He was the handsome playboy type who had everything handed to him since birth and whose head was so large he could probably power a city the size of Tokyo for years if they learned how to harness all the hot air he had bloating his over inflated ego. In Naruto terms, this guy was a certified Douchebag.
"Hmm, it's been a long time since I came to the human world," the man said, his eyes looking around the room before landing on Rias. When Naruto saw the delight spring into those eyes, he had to quell the sudden urge to punch the man's face in. The way Rias shuddered in disgust did not help impede this emotion any. "My darling, Rias, I'm so happy to see you."
"Riser Phenex," the way Rias said his name did not invoke pleasant thoughts. It was a name spoken with disgust and enough disdain to fill the building.
She obviously didn't like him.
"I just came here to inform you that the date has been set," Riser walked over to the desk Rias was using a shield to keep them apart. "Now, while I know it's a little sudden, I thought we could go visit the location the ceremony is taking place in."
"I've already told you, Riser, I have no intention of marrying you!"
"M-m-married!" Issei cried out in shock. "What the hell is going on!? Buchou, who the hell is this guy!?"
All eyes turned to Issei. Riser looked at him like one might look at a bug. "Who are you?"
"I'm Hyodou Issei, Rias Gremory-Sama's Pawn!" Wow, that actually sounded pretty formal. Naruto wondered if the boy had been practicing that line.
"Ah," Riser deadpanned in an uncaring manner. "I see."
"And you didn't answer my question! Who are you!?"
"I'm surprised you didn't tell your servants about me," Riser said to Rias. "Though I'm even more surprised he doesn't know me. But then, he does smell like a human. That would make him a reincarnated Devil, so I guess it would make sense."
"I didn't say anything because there was no need to tell them about you," she jabbed at him, her words making him sound like he was nothing more than a pest, something so insignificant he was beneath her notice.
Riser gave her a fixed smile. "You're as harsh as usual, I see."
"This is Riser Phenex-Sama," Grayfia informed Issei and everyone else. "He is a pureblood, high class Devil, and is the third son from the legendary Phenex family. He is also Rias-Sama's fiance."
"F-f-fiance!?" Issei gawked, his mind unable to comprehend the words coming out of Grayfia's mouth. When she gave him a serious nod, completely unfrazzled, unlike the perverted second year, Issei did what all teenagers do when overwhelmed with too much information.
He fainted.
How embarrassing.
~KatCHRP~
"Enough, Riser!" Rias slammed her hands onto the desk as she glared at the blond man standing before her. If looks could kill, Riser would have been dead before he even had a chance to utter his last name. "I've already told you, I'm not going to marry you!"
"You say that like you have a choice," Riser sounded amused, but there was also a hint of steel in his voice. "We both know there isn't much you can do. Both our families have already decided on this and the contract's been written up. Don't forget that your family has been just as hasty to unite our two houses as mine."
"Don't speak so presumptuously," Rias narrowed her eyes. "As the heir to the Gremory family, I am the one who will decide who gets to be my partner. And regardless of that, I was already promised that I would be allowed to do as I pleased until after I graduated from a university in the human world."
"I fear you don't quite understand the situation, Rias my dear," Riser said snidely. "Your parents and Sirzechs-Sama fear your household may go extinct. In the previous war between Gods, Fallen Angels and Devils, many pure-blooded Devils lost their lives in the conflict. And that's not even mentioning the number of households that went extinct. It's only natural that our parents would struggle to protect our pure-blood and household by joining together. The offspring of two high ranking, pure-blooded Devils is invaluable. Even you should know that."
Sitting on the couch, carefully caressing Koneko's ears, Naruto kept his ears open to everything that was being said. He didn't like what he was hearing. Tsunade had taught him a lot about Konoha, including everything she knew about the clans within its walls. This included the Hyūga clan.
What this man, this Riser, was talking about sounded far too much like what the Hyūga did by forcing bird caged seals on their members and putting them in arranged marriages with cousins to keep the blood pure.
This wasn't quite as bad as that, there was no incest involved, but forcing someone into an arranged marriage because of superficial fears rankled on his nerves. It was almost, but not quite as bad as someone insulting his ramen...or the color orange.
"Recently, newly reincarnated Devils like your servants have been gaining greater influence. Pretty soon, pure-blood Devils like us are going to lose all of our power until we have no standing left. Your brother, Sirzechs-Sama, has left the household, which means the only one who can succeed and become the Gremory Clan Head is you. With many of the seventy-two pillars collapsing on themselves, the future of all pureblood devils is hanging on this marriage proposal."
Naruto ignored Issei asking Kiba to explain the seventy-two pillars to him. He already knew about them thanks to Akeno and Rias. Instead, he focused on what Riser and Rias were talking was the more important information in his mind.
In some ways, what the prick was saying made sense. Pure-blood Devils were apparently becoming a rare commodity these days. They were sort of like the bloodline clans that were so famous in his world. And just like those clans, they were more concerned about keeping their blood pure and untainted by outsiders than they were about the individuals in their clan. At least, that was what he was getting out of all this.
"I won't destroy my household," Rias crossed her arms over her chest. "I plan on siring an heir when I'm ready." Her eyes sharpened like blades as she glared at Riser. "But I won't marry you. I'll marry someone of my own choosing. Even the heirs of old households have that much of a right."
Riser gave a long suffering sigh. His fingers twitched in agitation, a sure sign that he was beginning to lose his patience. "You know, Rias, like you, I am a pure-blood Devil of an old household. I bear the powerful name of Phenex. I can't let that name get tarnished. I came all the way out here to the human world just to get you, but I don't like the human world much."
Flames erupted from Risers back, taking the form of wings and showing just why his clan name was Phenex. The fires from his back spread, the sweltering heat had the members of Rias' peerage sweating profusely, their bodies becoming drenched in salty water and their clothes caking to their skin.
Strangely enough, none of them were burned from the incredible heat. Naruto knew what this was; a show of skill. Riser was showing off. And it was beginning to piss him off.
"The flames of this world are filthy. For a Devil who holds governance over wind and fire it's unbearable." His eyes narrowed. "I will take you back to the underworld with me." He looked over at her servants; Akeno, Asia, Issei and Kiba. Naruto and Koneko were on the other side. "Even if I have to incinerate your servants to do it."
"You lay one hand on my servants and I'll put those flames of yours out!" Rias clenched her teeth. How dare this man threaten the lives of her servants! There was no way she could let such a threat go unpunished!
"Riser-Sama," Grayfia said, "I suggest you calm down, or you may find those flames of yours getting doused."
"Oh, well, if the one who was given the title of Strongest Queen is getting involved, then I guess there's no helping it. I wouldn't want to have to face Sirzechs-Sama's peerage. It has always been said that the Red Satan's peerage is full of indestructible monsters."
"Actually, I am not the one you should be worrying about," Grayfia corrected.
That was when Riser and everyone else noticed it. One of the members of Rias' peerage had moved.
Naruto stood behind Riser, two blades in his hand, one pressing against Riser's back, the other being held so lightly against his throat that Riser did not even realize it was there until he looked down. These blades were much different from standard weapons. They were not solid. They were liquid.
Water, to be precise.
One thing everyone noticed about the blades was that despite their elemental composition being water, they were not dissipating from the heat of Raiser's flames. There wasn't even a bit of steam coming off them.
As everyone was trying to figure out when Naruto had moved and Koneko was blinking as she realized her head was no longer being pet, Naruto spoke up in a voice that was very casual, but had an underlying hint of steel in it. "I would suggest that in the future, you refrain from threatening Rias' peerage. I don't take threats on my family lightly." The blade near Riser's throat came close enough to graze skin, hissing slightly as water met fire. "Understand?"
Riser eyed the blade near his throat, frowning. For a second, he upped the power of his clans fire, but all that did was cause Naruto to pump more chakra into his blade.
Very soon, the heat within the room became overbearing as Riser did his best to dissolve the water blade. In return, Naruto narrowed his eyes and began pumping even more chakra into the blade to keep it's form and consistency.
His teeth were grit and several beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he was forced to put more chakra than he had originally intended into his water blade. The heat Riser was producing only compounded to his problems. It was getting harder to breath, and sweat was starting to get into his eyes. He was also beginning to run out of chakra.
If this kept up, Naruto knew he was going to be the first one to give in. Riser had more power than he did...for the moment.
Thankfully, before Riser could decide to up the ante anymore, Grayfia stepped in.
"Enough," she spoke in a calm, but cold voice that had many of those in the room shivering despite the heat. "Riser-Sama, I believe I told you to calm down."
"Naruto, that's enough," Rias added. No sense in adding fuel to this already intense fire.
"I guess you did," Riser let his flames dissolve while Naruto's water blades dispersed.
"Tch." With a small "tsk" of disappointment, the blond Uzumaki walked back over to Koneko, sat down, and pulled her back into his lap. Pretty soon, the cute first year was purring in delight as Naruto worked her ears over good and acted as if nothing had happened.
Needless to say, the sweat drops were in abundance.
"Sirzechs-Sama suspected the situation would become like this. If neither of you can settle this with words, then we will have to resolve this issue with means of a last resort."
"Last resort?" Rias looked at Grayfia in bland confusion, which soon turned to shock upon the beautiful woman's next words.
"Rias-Sama, if you're going to be so insistent with your wish to not marry Riser-Sama, then you will have to settle this with a Rating Game."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Naruto decided to interrupt. "But from my understanding only adult Devils can compete in a Rating Game. Rias has not yet risen to the status of an adult, so how could she compete in one?" Naruto narrowed his eyes as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Or is this going to be an unofficially sanctioned game?"
"It is as you say," Grayfia bowed her head towards Naruto in acknowledgment. "While Rias-Sama cannot participate in an official match, it's perfectly legal for a non-adult Devil to participate in unofficial matches."
"That you are even suggesting this option means that father and the others have already thought of the possibility of my refusal and have made all the necessary preparations for the game to take place." Rias' eyes closed tightly. "Tell me, how long are they going to keep interfering with my life until they are satisfied?"
"Does that mean you refuse to participate?"
"Of course not," Rias straightened up. No longer was she projecting the image of someone who was lost and unsure of what she should do. Instead she was giving off the aura of someone who had made a decision and was going to see it through to the end. "There's no way I'm going to pass up an opportunity like this." She turned to the man who claimed to be her fiance, eyes narrowed in a tight glare. "Riser Phenex, I challenge you to a Rating Game in order to settle this dispute."
~KatCHRP~
With the Challenge thrown down, Riser had no choice but to accept the Rating Game. Not that he had any reason not to. It was clear to everyone that he was favored to win, not just because he was a fully-matured Devil, but also because he had far more experience in Rating Games than Rias. He accepted the challenge with glee, and even went so far as to give Rias and her peerage a ten day grace period they could use to prepare themselves with.
Naruto knew why the asshat had given them those ten days. It wasn't a magnanimous offer or anything of the sort, but a jab at Rias and the strength of her peerage. He was basically telling her it didn't matter how much they trained; she would still lose.
This did not concern Naruto. If anything, it just pumped him up even more. He was not going to let some douchebag who thought he was the biggest thing since Uchiha Madara get away with insulting his King or his friends! When the time came for the Rating Games, he had every intention of kicking that guys sorry ass from here to the Elemental Nations or his name wasn't Uzumaki Naruto!
"Come on, Issei! Hurry it up!"
A snicker managed to escape his lips as he heard his King calling for the perverted second year student and currently the weakest member among their peerage. The day after Rias issued Riser a challenge to a Rating Game, the red-haired heiress to the house of Gremory had decided to take them up to a secluded villa in the mountains so they could train without people getting suspicious. Apparently, her family owned the area they would be staying at.
Just how rich did someone have to be to own a mountain anyways? Seriously, Rias' family must be loaded.
Naruto was actually pretty pleased with this turn out. Having been forced to stay within the city limits, he had not been able to practice his more powerful and destructive jutsu. He had been wanting to see what he could and could not do without worrying about the collateral damage his attacks might cause.
Some he knew were still out of reach due to chakra requirements. For example, Naruto did not have enough chakra to use the Rasengan yet―just getting the damn thing to form took most of his reserves. Pumping a constant amount of chakra into the jutsu to let it keep its form was damn near impossible―but with some more intensive training, that would change.
He did not believe he would be able to get up to the level he had been at the height of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, but Naruto at least wanted to be at the level of a Jonin. That was his goal for the next ten days. Train his ass off and become at least as strong as the average level Jonin.
"Shouldn't we help him?" asked a worried Asia. The young blond girl looked back and forth between Rias and the nearly dead on his feet Issei. Said boy was currently trying to hike up the mountain they were on. Trying being the keyword in this instance. The poor boy looked like he was about to drop right then and there. "I mean, he's carrying all my luggage as well, so it would only be right for me to help out too, right?"
"Don't worry about it," Rias waved Asia's concerns away. "If Issei can't even handle that much, then he'll never get any stronger. And speaking of handling a lot of weight..." the red head's eyes turned to Naruto, "just where is all of your stuff?"
"Sealing scrolls," Naruto absently patted the kunai pouch attached to his left hip. "One of my specialties is called sealing. With it, I can seal things like items and various objects inside of scrolls. Some people who are really good at sealing can even seal energy, elements and people within a seal, though I'm not that good yet." He had been getting there though. He could seal energy at least, though the seals were unstable and would break at the slightest miscalculation.
It was a very good thing he used clones to practice sealing and not himself. The explosion that had literally blew his clone apart when it had first started practicing making energy seals had been no joke. It still gave him nightmares.
"Ara, ara, I've never heard of sealing before," Akeno actually looked very interested in his abilities. "What type of magic is that?"
"It's not magic," Naruto corrected. "It's jutsu. Fuinjutsu, to be exact. It's a ninja art that some humans can learn."
"Chakra ability," Koneko added.
"That's right," Naruto tilted his head back so he could nuzzle his cheek affectionately against Koneko's. The girl purred in repressed pleasure as she rubbed back. "I knew there was a reason I loved you!" Rias twitched while Koneko blushed. Akeno did her "ara, ara" and Naruto...well, he wasn't even paying attention to the reaction the others were giving. He was a little too busy lavishing praise and...erm, affection on Koneko. "I'm surprised you knew about that. I didn't think anyone here would know about chakra."
"I see," Rias clenched her fist into a tight ball as she tried to resist the urge to grab Koneko, toss her into a deep pit and then pinch Naruto's cheek hard enough that it became red and swollen. You'd think she'd get used to it after watching it happen so often, but nope, it still bothered her like nothing else. She made a mental note to keep those two as far away from each other as possible during this trip. "I take it you did the same thing to the items Koneko was carrying?"
"Yep."
"I see, I see," Rias repeated. "Just one more question. Why are you carrying Koneko on your back?"
"Because I felt like it," Naruto answered with a beaming smile that made Rias grit her teeth in irritation. Naruto was her servant! Not Koneko's! He should be carrying her like that! No, wait, he should be carrying her in his arms!
Rias blinked, then shook her head. Where did those thoughts come from?
"Oh, that reminds me," his finger's gently squeezed the powerful thigh muscles he was holding to keep the girl from falling off, "are you comfortable, Koneko-chan?"
"Fine," Koneko purred as she pressed her face against the back of his neck. "Warm."
Rias grit her teeth. Neither Naruto nor Koneko noticed, but Akeno did, and she was nothing if not amused.
"Ara, ara."
"I think I've been told that before," Naruto looked thoughtful. "Baa-chan once told me that my body is always running at 130 degrees all the time. It's actually the reason I've never been sick before."
"I didn't think it was possible for a human to have a temperature that high," Rias frowned. "Wouldn't you die long before your body reached that temperature?"
"Probably," Naruto replied cheerfully. He was completely oblivious to the large drops of sweat running down Kiba's, Akeno's and Asia's head. "But I've always been different from other people. Even back when I was a human people thought I was weird. This is just one of those things I sort of accepted that was different about me."
"I see," Rias said softly. She guessed this was just one of those mysteries that let her know she still didn't know Naruto as well as she wanted to.
At least they had a whole ten days in which she could get to know him better.
"Come along, Koneko-chan! Our training awaits!"
If she could separate him and Koneko, that is.
~KatCHRP~
The place Rias had them staying at was just as extravagant as Naruto suspected it would be; a beautiful looking, several story Western style mansion with dozens of windows and cream colored walls. Naruto could not judge how large it was, but it was definitely bigger than the old school building their clubroom was located in.
It was surrounded by a just as gorgeous garden that looked like someone had spent their entire life cultivating and pruning it. From where they were standing, Naruto could see a Greek Gazebo next to a pond filled with crystal-clear blue water. Behind the estate itself was a large copse of trees that led into a deep forest of viridian colors, presenting a pleasant background to the majestic looking mansion.
According to Rias, this place was a summer home that her family rarely ever used. It was just another reminder of how wealthy her family was that they could afford their own summer estate and never live there.
Almost as soon as they arrived at the estate and put all their stuff away, Rias had them get started with training. She had Kiba work with Issei to teach him how to wield a sword. In her words, giving Issei experience with weaponry would not only help him learn how to fight a weapons user, but also add another means of fighting to his arsenal.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going as well as she had probably hoped. Issei was hopeless as a swordsman. He had no coordination, his grip was too soft, his swings too slow and he completely lacked the grace, power, and speed required of someone wielding a blade. The only thing the young man had going for him was sheer determination, and that could only take a person so far.
Naruto had learned that the hard way.
He still had the scars to prove it.
While Rias' Pawn was unsuccessfully trying to learn his way around a blade, Naruto had decided to ask Koneko for a spar.
Which was how the two of them found themselves in a forested section several dozen meters away from everyone else. It was here that Naruto realized Koneko was quite the little fighter. He had seen her in action before, when she was fighting that giant rogue devil, but it hadn't quite sunken in just how powerful she was until now.
Naruto jumped back as the white-haired first year landed on the ground he had just been standing on, the heel of her left foot smashing into the earth with great force. Large chunks of rock and gravel were up-heaved and the ground shook like it had been struck by a mini-cataclysm. The surrounding area from the center of impact cratered and several large cracks spread out from where Koneko's foot had struck, lifting up even more of the earth to create what almost looked like miniature cliff faces.
A whistle escaped Naruto's lips as he saw the damage done. Had that attack hit, it would have surely done some fierce damage to him. It definitely would've rattled his bones and organs, and might have even been enough to kill him provided it hit him somewhere his body was weak, like his ribs or his neck.
It seemed his thoughts on Koneko's physical prowess were correct. The girl had all the strength of Tsunade.
Of course, saying she had Tsunade's strength was a bit of a misnomer. Physically speaking, Naruto would say that Koneko was just as strong as Tsunade physically. With a single punch, Koneko could cause the ground to crater, the earth to split, she could destroy boulders like they were made of onigiri and was capable of lifting and throwing objects that were fifteen times her weight and several times her mass. In a perfectly physical sense, they were probably about the same.
At the same time, Tsunade would have kicked the cute little girl's small, shapely ass six ways to Sunday. While there was no clear difference in their physical prowess, their fighting styles were another matter entirely.
As strong as Koneko was, she was also predictable. Too predictable. Her punches were entirely linear, coming in projected arcs that even a genin could see them coming from a mile away. They were also very slow, allowing Naruto plenty of time to weave his way between her strikes and get a few shots of his own in.
To put things simply, she lacked the battle experience that made fighting against the woman who would go on to become Godaime Hokage such a nightmare.
A second after the dust that had been kicked up by Koneko's latest attack began to settle, the girl in question jumped out from the crater she had caused, hopping over the uplifted pieces of earth and landing on the ground close to his position. Almost as soon as her feet touched the ground, the girl with amber eyes charged him.
Naruto watched Koneko throw a punch the moment she was close enough to do so. Her execution was perfect. She brought her fist in tightly against her torso, hand clenched into a fist, palm pointed towards the sky. When she released, the fist corkscrewed as her arm extended towards him. It was a textbook Chamber Punch, executed so perfectly Maito Gai would have cried manly tears and shouted about how Koneko was in the springtime of her youth.
It was also far. Too. Slow.
Like water as it flowed around the rock in its path, Naruto dodged the attack. His right foot moved as he pivoted ever so slightly to the right. At the same time his left hand came up and redirected Koneko's hand, pushing it wide. The move not only served to redirect her strength, but with her forward momentum being as great as it was, it also did a splendid job of knocking the girl off balance.
She stumbled forward while Naruto slid into her guard, his fingers poking her in the underarm, clavicle and her neck at the base of her spine in quick succession. Then he was past her, his stance relaxed as the girl halted her forward momentum, fist still extended, eyes blinking as she realized her opponent was no longer in front of her.
She turned around to see Naruto standing there, watching her with eyes that were much sharper than the kind and slightly goofy ones she was so used to.
What had just happened?
Shaking her head, Koneko came at him again, this time unleashing a barrage of punches, none of which hit Naruto. The last member of the Uzumaki clan was like the wind. He never stayed in one place. Constantly, the young man with the spiky blond hair moved, weaving and dodging each attack like he knew they were coming long before the attack was even executed.
Sometimes his hands would move as well, flashing up and knocking Koneko's strikes away from his body, thereby redirecting and disrupting the flow of kinetic energy and making the girl stumble. When this happened, he would poke her in the areas that would be considered 'kill points' on a person if he were to stab them with a kunai, then move passed her. It was only after six minutes of this happening over and over again that Koneko stopped attacking and stared at her sparring partner with surprised eyes.
"How do you keep dodging me?" It was her longest sentence to date.
"That's not the question you should be asking," Naruto told her. "You should really be asking how come you can't hit me." He took a look around at the numerous craters and cracks in the ground from her misses. A good deal of her attacks had left craters that were at least two or three feet wide, some that were even a meter wide, and the cracks looked like miniature trenches that were caused by earthquakes splitting the earth open. "All of your attacks were perfectly executed, textbook attacks. The problem is they're far too predictable to hit someone who is much faster than you."
Rather than wonder why he seemed to know so much about fighting, Koneko merely accepted it and asked the obvious question. "What should I do?"
"The first thing we need to do is work on getting your speed up." Naruto rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "I have a few ways to do this, but I think the best one is to use weights on your arms and legs to increase your speed. I normally wouldn't suggest this, but as you're a Rook and their power is absolute defense and incredible strength, it will work the best for you. You won't ever be at Kiba's speed, but you don't really need to be either. This is just to give you that added 'oomph' so you can surprise your opponents."
Koneko nodded.
"The second thing we need to do is work on finding you a style that fits your body type and abilities." Looking her up and down for a moment, Naruto nodded to himself. "You're very cute." Koneko blushed at the very blunt compliment to her looks. Not that Naruto noticed, busy as he was in his sensei mode, which was, ironically enough, reminiscent of how Jiraiya acted when he taught Naruto. "Most people would either be taken in by your cuteness, or underestimate you because of it. You could easily use that to lure people into a trap. Let them attack you first and use your absolute defense to withstand their first blow. Once you do, you can grab onto their offending limb and from there you have a whole slew of attacks available for you to capitalize on."
Having been part of the war against Uchiha Madara, Naruto had seen a number of different fighting styles in play. He remembered one of the smaller shinobi he had rescued from the Zetsu clone army fought like that.
"Trap them?"
"Yes, for example, throw a punch at me in slow motion."
Koneko did as asked, once more punching at him, but it moved so slowly that even to a normal human it would look like her fist was going in slow motion. The attack connected as Naruto did nothing to stop it. But as soon as it did hit, he grabbed onto her forearm and stuck his hand to her limb with chakra.
"You see this? Now that I have you in my grasp, you're options are very limited. You could attack with your other hand, of course, but if I were a Rook, the only way such an attack would work is if you were another rook; any other piece aside from maybe a queen would need room to create an attack strong enough to break your defense. And unlike you, I actually have several avenues open. I could hit you with a straight jab to the face, or attack with an open palm to the torso, and because you're already coming towards me, any attack I launch will strike with that much more force. I could also use my feet, kicking you in the stomach or stomping on your kneecaps. If I wanted to, I could even trip you up and attack while you're down."
To give her an example of what he was talking about, Naruto's foot suddenly shot out. His toes hooked itself against the back of Koneko's knee. With little warning he yanked his foot back, forcing the knee to give out at the sudden and unexpected force.
Because the knee was a Synovial Joint that could only bend in the direction Naruto had forced it to without removing the kneecap and Koneko had no time to prepare for the attack, the silver-haired female's entire body was forced to bend backwards.
Not even a second later, Koneko found herself lying flat on her back, Naruto straddling her stomach as the knuckles of his right fist just barely touched her nose.
For several seconds, the two simply lay there, Koneko blinking up at Naruto with lightly flushed cheeks as the blond boy grinned down at her. The seconds passed, Naruto waiting just long enough for his sparring partner to realize what had happened before he got off her and offered his hand, which Koneko accepted.
"You see what I mean?" asked Naruto. Koneko nodded.
"Take the first punch, grab on, and attack while they're too surprised to react."
"Exactly," Naruto was grinning widely as he placed a hand on her hair and scratched her right ear. "You're a quick learner. It took me many beatings from my old sensei before I learned anything."
Koneko flushed from his praise...and the way his hand scratched her ear. It felt so~ good!
Naruto looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. "Anyway, it's getting late. Rias should be done training Ise by now. Let's go back."
The pair soon made their way back over to where Rias was watching Issei getting beaten by Kiba. Just looking at the boy getting slaughtered as he swung his sword like a half crazed maniac made Naruto shake his head.
Swordsmanship was clearly not Issei's forte. Not that he could say it was his either. The last time he'd tried using a sword, Naruto almost ended up cutting his own head off as opposed to his enemies.
"How's his training going?" asked Naruto as he walked up to Rias, Koneko trailing behind him.
"As well as can be expected," she sighed as Issei once again tried to hit Kiba to no avail. The blond pretty boy managed to glide around the swing launched his way with simplistic ease and attack Issei from behind, striking him lightly in the neck. Had this been a real battle and Kiba using a real sword, Issei would have been a head shorter.
"I don't think this type of training is going to work for him," Naruto declared. "Issei's not a swordsman: he's a brawler. Trying to impose elegance on his movements is like putting Udon noodles in Miso soup and calling it ramen. Just because you mix noodles and soup together in the same bowl doesn't make it ramen. Without the proper ingredients and additives, Udon noodles and Miso soup are just that."
"That's...a really interesting analogy," Rias spoke with a large drop of sweat running down her face. She shook her head at the very Naruto comment and tried to get back on track. "So what would you suggest?"
"You have him and Asia training with Akeno after this, right?" asked Naruto. Rias nodded. "And I'm guessing Koneko is going to have a hand in training him during the afternoon?" Another nod. "I want to train him after dinner then, when the sun goes down."
"I suppose I could let you do that," Rias said contemplatively, casting a side glance at him. "May I ask what you're going to train him in?"
Naruto smiled.
It was not a very nice smile.
"Survival Training."
Issei, who was trying to dodge Kiba's latest series of attacks, shivered...which led to him getting smacked in the face. As he rubbed his nose, the boy could not help but wonder: why did it suddenly feel like the Shinigami had come to claim him?
~KatCHRP~
Issei grumbled as he walked through the sea of trees. He'd had a trying day so far; constantly losing to Kiba, conjuring only a tiny sphere of magic while Asia conjured a baseball sized one, getting his ass kicked by Koneko. There was no end to the tortures he had gone through this day, and that wasn't even the worst of it. No, while all that was humiliating, the worst training by far was what Buchou made him do.
She had him running up a mountain! With a boulder tied to his back! While she sat on it! And then she had him do three hundred push ups! And he had still been wearing that damn boulder! His back was killing him! It felt like his spine had been snapped in half!
And now, after eating a large dinner, Rias had told him to go into the forest near the estate for his last lesson of the day. What more could they try to teach him? Hadn't he already been tortured enough?
Apparently not.
While walking through the dense foliage of trees, Issei failed to watch where he was stepping. Because of this, he didn't even realize he had stepped on something until a loud 'twang' alerted him to that fact.
Looking down, Issei could see something glinting in the moonlight. It looked like a...
"Steel wire?"
The wire snapped, and suddenly over a dozen kunai whizzed out from where they had been hidden deep within the foliage.
"Hiiiii!"
Issei dodged the attack by belly flopping onto the ground.
This proved to be a mistake as he suddenly felt several sharp, pointy somethings impaling his butt cheeks with incredible force.
"Gya!"
Squealing like a little girl, Issei reached behind him and grabbed one of the sharp objects. A quick yank pulled it out. The pain made him wince, but he tried to ignore the sharp stinging in his ass and brought the object to his face.
The object was a very thin, steel needle. Senbon. Used for acupuncture. What the hell?
The crunch of booted feet alerted Issei to the presence of someone else coming towards him. He tried to stand up, but his butt was feeling strangely numb. In fact, he couldn't feel much at all around his hind area.
Spiky blond hair came into view, and a pair of amused blue eyes looked down at him. "Good evening, Ero-Debegame."
"You!" Issei roared. He tried to stand again, but once more only succeeded in landing flat on his face. "What the hell is going on, idiot-blond!?"
"I've decided to help you get stronger," Naruto said, smiling a very eerie smile that instantly put Issei on edge. For some reason, that smile was making the hairs on the back of his neck raise. What was this strange fear he was feeling?
"Eh? But you're a new Devil like me, right?" Issei asked, trying to get over the almost overwhelming sense of "holy shit, I have to get the hell out of here!" that seemed to have overcome him. "How could you help me get stronger? You should be just as strong as I am!"
"Wrong, unlike you, who grew up living a normal life with a normal family, I grew up being trained to fight since I was a child. I know combat, I know fighting, I know how to kick ass, take names and stick it to the man! And I am going to teach you what I know."
"Really?"
"Really."
Woah. Who knew that Naruto was actually some kind of child super solider? Maybe those rumors he had heard through the Kuoh Academy grape vine about the spiky-headed blond being a former assassin that used to be employed by an Italian Mob Boss had some truth to them.
Despite himself, Issei actually began to feel a bit excited. Perhaps Naruto would be able to help him get stronger. At least he should be able to, if the blond was as strong as he claimed.
"What are we going to do?" asked Issei, wincing a bit as he finally managed to stand up now that he had pulled all the senbon from his ass. Feeling was beginning to return, and he was starting to wish it hadn't. "Sparring? Sword fighting? Magic battle? Exercise?"
"I suppose you could say this is an exercise of a sort," Naruto answered vaguely. "You see, I am going to try to kill you. All you have to do is not get killed."
….
….
"...Eh?"
~KatCHRP~
Early the next morning, Naruto took Koneko out to the same forested clearing they had been sparring in the other day for some more training.
It looked much different now than it had yesterday. The previous day it had simply been full of craters, upturned rocks, and large cracks. Now it was also littered with sharp, pointy objects and blood splatters on the ground and trees.
"What happened here?" asked Koneko.
"I was training Ise."
"Ah."
Since this was caused by Issei getting trained, Koneko decided to ignore the blood and weapons. They were simply signs that Issei was still weak, which she already knew.
"I managed to get the weights for you."
Koneko looked at Naruto in surprise. "Already?"
"Yep," the blond grinned as he handed her a two pairs of bands, one pair that went on the wrists and another that went around the ankles.
"What are these?"
"Sealed bands," Naruto answered. "See those seals right there," he pointed out the strange kanji and symbols that went around the entirety of the bands. "These seals add weight, though it would be more accurate to say they seal away the speed you can attack at. They will make it feel as if your arms and legs are wading through jelly and will force your muscles to work harder in order to compensate, thereby increasing the speed you can attack with. Just by keeping these on you can increase your speed nearly two-fold in just under a week."
Naruto had never told anyone this, but Jiraiya had used these seals when he had been refining the horrid mess the blond Uzumaki called taijutsu. They had only used this type of training for two months. The human body was not made to withstand that kind of abuse, but two months had been enough to bring his taijutsu up to par with most chunin and jonin. The rest of his hand-to-hand talent had come from experience.
"Useful," Koneko said as she slipped the bands on.
"I know," Naruto grinned. "Anyway, I want you to wear these everywhere you go except when taking a bath. This way, you'll get stronger even when you're not training. At the end of the first five days, we'll take them off to see how far you've progressed and get you accustomed to your new speed, then put them back on the last five days."
"Sounds good."
"Okay then, hold out your hands."
Koneko did as told and watched as Naruto channeled chakra into the bands. At first Koneko did not feel anything, but after several seconds her arms dropped to her side without warning. She tried to move them, but found that just making them move at all it was very difficult. It felt like they were stuck in a very thick, quick drying cement.
And then he did her legs. Just making them move after that became a task in and of itself. She could hardly even lift them.
"There," Naruto stood back up and clapped his hands together once. "Once you're capable of moving around in those, we'll start sparring again."
"Okay, Naruto-senpai."
Koneko began to walk around, looking almost like a spaceman on the moon except without the near zero gravity to make her float. Each movement she made was incredibly slow, as if someone were watching a movie at a mere twentieth of it's normal speed.
Naruto thought it was one of the funniest things he had seen in a while. Not quite as funny as watching Issei flounder about while he threw kunai at the boy, but definitely up there.
~KatCHRP~
Rias sighed as she sat up in her bed, unable to sleep. Ever since coming to this place she had been feeling restless. Despite how upbeat and optimistic she had been acting for the past few days, the truth was she had been very worried. Even though they had ten days to get ready, there was simply no way to know if that would be enough time to prepare her peerage to face off against Riser. She didn't even know if she would be ready to face Riser when the time came.
Deciding that if she couldn't get to sleep, she would at least try and do something productive, Rias slipped out of bed and put a sheer night gown over her naked form. Slipping on a pair of slippers and grabbing her glasses and a folder of documents that were sitting on her nightstand, she walked out of her room and made her way downstairs.
She found a surprise waiting for her there.
"Naruto?"
Sitting on the couch with a calligraphy brush in one hand and several sheets of paper splayed out across the table was her most enigmatic servant. He had a serious expression on his face, not as grave as the one on the night she tried to make him take her virginity, but definitely stoney enough that she could not help but think it didn't belong there. She couldn't tell what he was doing, but it looked like he was studying something.
"Hmm?" Naruto looked up, a grin crawling onto his face when he saw her. "Good evening, Rias. Couldn't sleep?"
"Unfortunately not," Rias shook her head as she finished walking down the stairs and moved over to the couch he was sitting on. "I thought you were training Ise?"
"I am," Naruto told her, making her blink.
"How could you be training Ise if you're here? And just where is Ise anyway?
Naruto opened his mouth to answer―
"OH GOD! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE THE PAIN STOP!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA! RUN YOU SCURVY PERV! RUN! BWAHAHAHAHA!"
―When a shrill yell of imaginable horror and pain made itself known along with what sounded like the insane laughter of the damned accompanying it.
"Issei is currently training with my clone," Naruto informed the red-haired beauty, who was looking around for the source of the scream in worry. It was so loud she couldn't tell where it had come from!
"Clone?" She shook her head and stepped behind him to see what he was doing. It looked like he was writing something. Hundreds of strange squiggles lined the paper in conjunction with a very old dialect of Kanji. The squiggles looked like they were forming some kind of pattern, a spiral perhaps?
"It's one of my abilities," he elaborated. Rias watched as he set the brush down and brought his hands into a seal that looked similar to a cross. He muttered a quick "Shadow Clone Jutsu" and Rias watched on in surprise when a burst of smoke appeared to her left. When the cloud dissipated it was to reveal a perfect replica of the blond sitting on the couch. The clone gave a cheeky grin, blew her a kiss, then dispelled. "It's a chakra based ability. Ninjutsu. What I do is split my chakra evenly. The half that was split is used to make a corporeal copy of myself."
What an incredible ability. Rias could only marvel at how useful such a thing was, especially if he could make more than one.
"They're not very strong," Naruto added as an after thought. "One good hit will cause them to dispel, and right now I only have enough chakra to make five, so I have to use it sparingly. They're mainly used for reconnaissance and stealth operations."
Rias nodded as she listened to him, curious to learn more about his abilities. She had heard of chakra, of course, but generally it was a type of energy found in Yokai, not humans. How Naruto could use chakra was beyond her.
"So what's this?" asked Rias, gesturing towards the strange symbols he had drawn. She had to admit, Naruto had great calligraphy. Each stroke of the brush appeared to be masterfully done, reminding her of some of the greatest calligraphists she had read about in her history class.
"I asked Akeno about what she knew of the Phenex clan's power," he said. "She told me how they're able to regenerate near instantly from even fatal wounds. This," he gestured, "is my attempts at trying to create a seal that will take away that healing ability."
"Sealing can do that?" asked Rias, amazing.
"Sealing is nearly limitless in its application," Naruto told her, paraphrasing something Jiraiya once said to him many years ago. "A true master of sealing can seal away anything. Items, power, elements, you name it. With seals, one could even seal away certain aspects of the world, like time for instance, or alter the very reality upon which the world was built."
"I never knew such a powerful technique existed," Rias whispered in awe. "Can you do that? Seal away time?"
"Hahahaha! No," Naruto shook his head as he laughed a bit. "I'm just a novice in sealing. My godfather taught me what he could, but we had focused more on my fighting potential than seals."
"I see. Do you think you can do it, then? Seal away Riser's ability to regenerate?"
"Maybe," Naruto bit his lip as he studied the sheets in front of him. "It's hard to say. Sealing is all about finding the right combination of kanji and combining them with various symbols and lines of power in order to seal something away. In some ways, sealing is almost like its own language. For example, if I wanted to seal a specific item, the kanji would have to be something like 'to seal a steel broadsword of 54 inches in length and weighing 5 kilograms' or something like that. In order to seal Riser's ability to regenerate, I have to come up with the right combination of kanji and combine them with the correct symbols of power and various lines that will direct the flow of that power into the seal."
"It sounds pretty complicated," Rias said honestly as she slid next to him on the couch, placing her own documents on the table.
"It is," Naruto agreed, "And unfortunately, the only thing I'm positive is correct about this seal are the symbols." He pointed to two very specific shapes that Rias would recognize anywhere, even if the kanji used was really old.
"Fire and wind?"
"Yes. Because Riser is from the Phenex Clan, he specializes in fire and wind. They are his elements. Thus, if I want to seal his regeneration, I need to seal his elements."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Rias told him. He looked at her and she smiled. "I have faith in you."
"Thank you," Naruto offered a smile of his own before gesturing towards the folder. "So what's that?"
"This is Riser's official Rating Game record," Rias said, putting her glasses on before opening the folder and grabbing the sheets inside. She turned to Naruto to show him the records, only to blink as she found him snickering at her. "What?" she frowned. "What's so funny?"
An amused smile touched Naruto's lips. "What's with the glasses?"
Rias blushed. "I feel like wearing glasses helps me think better, okay?" she mumbled. Naruto chuckled, causing her face to heat up.
"I'm not making fun of you or anything. I think it's cute."
Her face heated up some more. "You do?"
"Oh yes," Naruto nodded sagely. "You're very attractive in glasses. You give off that sexy librarian vibe I remember reading about in this book once." Icha Icha Librarian. A classic. Why he didn't get into his godfather's literature until later on in life Naruto would never know.
"And here I thought you weren't a pervert," Rias muttered slyly.
"I'm not."
"Then what you?"
"A healthy and virile young male."
Rias' lip quirked upwards. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"No," Naruto shook his head. "A pervert is someone who shamelessly peeks on women, whether that's looking up their skirts on the train ride or peeking on them when they're changing in the girls locker room. They have no respect for a woman's privacy in their quest to see a nice pair of tits."
"So, like Ise then?"
"Yes, like Ise," Naruto nodded. "I, on the other hand, would not peek on women while they're changing, bathing, or getting dressed."
"You stare at me when I'm getting dressed plenty."
"And you get dressed right in front of me," Naruto shot back. "I would also like to add that you're the one who sneaks into my room and night and snuggles into my bed naked."
"Would you rather I not?"
"I didn't say that."
This light-hearted banter continued on for some time before Naruto decided to switch topics.
"So what are we looking at?"
"Nothing good," Rias sighed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Riser's been in 10 official games. Of those games he only has 2 losses to his 8 wins, and those losses were on purpose as favors towards certain clans for past services rendered. He's essentially won every single game he's played. Of course, the reason he won isn't due to the strength of his peerage, but rather his immortality." She narrowed her eyes. "Really, that's what it comes down to. He uses his servants to gauge the strength of the people facing him, then once all his members are defeated, he uses his immortality granted to him as a Phenex to overwhelm them."
"I knew a guy kind of like that once," Naruto said thoughtfully. "He didn't have any regenerative powers or anything, but he was immortal."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, I remember how hard it was to beat him. You could chop his head off and he'd still come after you. Nothing we did seemed capable of bringing him down."
"So how did you beat him?"
"Blow him up and bury his remains in a hole," Naruto said bluntly.
Rias sweat dropped.
"I was wondering, Rias. I know you don't like that Riser guy much. Honestly, I just met him and I can already tell he's a grade A Douchebag in need of a good ass kicking. But your dislike of him seems so much more personal." Naruto looked at the girl who had given him a purpose again, his azure eyes meeting her bluish-green. "Is it because of the marriage contract?"
Rias sighed. Her lips turned down and her eyes seemed to dim in sorrow as she remembered why she hated Riser. "It's because he only sees me as a Gremory." She brought her knees up to her chest and looked down at the table. "No matter where I go, the Gremory name always seems to follow me."
"I get it," Naruto said in sudden realization. "Even though you're proud to be the heir of the Gremory clan, you feel like your trapped by the clan name. Everywhere you go it's 'Gremory this' or 'Gremory that' or 'Heir to the Gremory Household.' Everyone only ever sees you as Rias Gremory, not just Rias. When Riser looks at you, he only sees the Gremory Clan Heiress." Naruto looked at Rias, grinning widely as she gave what she was sure was an expression of dumb amazement. "Am I right?"
"Yes..." Rias breathed, shocked. "How did you know?"
"I knew someone like you once," Naruto smiled with a hint of nostalgia. "He was a little boy by the name of Konohamaru. His grandfather had named him after the village we lived in, Konohagakure no Saito."
"The Village Hidden in the Leaves?" Rias raised an eyebrow. "You're village sure makes up some unusual names."
"Oi, don't be dissing on my home village's name!" Naruto scowled in mock anger, causing Rias to giggle. The blond dropped his scowl and grinned before continuing. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Konohamaru. I bet you think it's an odd name, right? One that would be easily recognizable?" Rias nodded. "And it was, but no one ever remembered his name. Everyone always called him 'Honorable Grandson.' This is because Konohamaru was the grandson of the Third Hokage, one of our most celebrated village leaders, who ended up retaking the position after the Fourth died. So in spite of his name being something that people should remember out of principle, it being such a weird name and all, no one even knew it. All they saw was the grandson of the 'Honorable Grandson of the Third Hokage.'"
"So what happened to this boy?"
"He wanted people to remember who he was, and decided the only way to do that was to step out from underneath his grandfather's shadow. He decided that he was going to become Hokage, and he worked tirelessly towards that goal. Day in and day out he trained for the sole purpose of becoming the village leader so people would stop looking at him as the Honorable Grandson and start seeing him as Konohamaru."
"Did he ever become Hokage?"
"I don't know," Naruto shrugged helplessly. "I left the village when he was just a brat. By now, he's probably only around fourteen or so."
"Oh..." Rias sighed.
"You seem disappointed with my story," Naruto observed.
"No, it was a good story. I was just hoping for something more."
"Like?"
Rias gave a wistful smile. "Oh, you know, something like Konohamaru triumphing over all the odds by succeeding in becoming Hokage, or something to that affect." Her smile left and she sighed. "I guess I was hoping to hear something that would let me know that what I want isn't hopeless. That maybe, just maybe, I can get people to see me for who I am and not what House I come from."
In response to her words, Naruto reached out with a hand...and flicked her ear.
"Ouch!" Rias rubbed her ear and cast him a mild glare. "What was that for?"
"For being stupid," Naruto told her. Rias gawked at him. "I feel like you've forgotten all about me."
"Huh?" It was not the most elegant statement she had ever made, but then, she was confused. Some slack must be given in this instance.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I don't care if your last name is Gremory. I wouldn't care if your last name as Phenex either. To me, you've always been Rias, the girl who found me when I was just going through the motions and gave me a new purpose in life." He gave her a smile that reached his eyes. "And let me tell you, that Rias is pretty damn awesome."
It was probably one of the only times Rias had ever felt herself become this speechless before. For the longest time she had searched for someone who would see her as just Rias; not Rias Gremory, or even Buchou, simply Rias, with no titles or last names attached. Even if it was just one person, she wanted to find someone who would see her for her. For who she was rather then what she was. She had almost given up hope.
And here was a boy whom she had rescued from death, who told her that he saw her as Rias, that he saw her. That he didn't see the titles attached to her name, or the famous clan that came with being who she was. That he didn't care about what she was, but rather who she was. That he liked just Rias.
Thinking on it, Naruto had always called her by her name. He never called her Buchou like the others, never called her by her last name. Because in his eyes, the only thing that mattered was Rias the person, not the clan heir or the club president.
Rias felt her face warm up. A heat like never before spread across her cheeks. She was sure her face had reached a shade of red never before seen on her or any being be they devil or otherwise.
Her heart began beating faster. It felt like a war drum was pounding a frantic beat in her chest. Her breath hitched in her throat and her chest felt like it was about to burst.
And as these things happened, Rias began to wonder. It had not even been a month since Naruto joined her peerage. He was still such a mystery, perhaps even more so than ever before with all the new discoveries she was making about him. It shouldn't have been possible to feel this way for someone she had just met, someone she had only known for a grand total of three weeks. Yet the feelings in her heart were undeniable.
Rias was falling in love with Uzumaki Naruto.
~KatCHRP~
The rest of the training period passed by in a blur. Naruto helped Koneko by sparring with her once she had gotten used to the sealed weights. They had decided not to take them off even though her training had come to an end, and instead have him teach her how to deactivate the seals so she would be able to catch her opponent off guard. As a Devil, Naruto figured she should be capable of withstanding the intense weight of the seals, and it worked out well since she was the only one aside from him who could use chakra.
Issei's training was going as well as could be expected. He wasn't progressing by leaps and bounds, but that was okay. Everyone moved at their own pace. The important thing was that a late night talk Naruto had with the boy after one particularly violent beating had inspired Issei to do better. Rias did not know what was said, but the results from it were more than obvious.
Naruto had no clue how Asia's or Akeno's training went. He wasn't as good of friends with them as he was with Koneko. Asia hung out with Issei most of the time and Akeno tended to do her own thing.
Kiba did as well, but Naruto wasn't sure he needed any training. At least, not in his Knight abilities. The few spars they had together showed that the boy knew how to play to his strengths well.
His late night talks with Rias continued. After their first heart to heart, they had taken to meeting in the living room, just sharing stories about their childhood. Naruto told her about the pranks he had played and how he had always been getting into trouble at the academy. Rias had a good laugh at some of his stories and shared some of the things she had done when she was younger.
Of course, Naruto did not neglect his own training either. He just trained farther away from the others.
Much, much father away. He didn't want anyone getting caught in one of his techniques.
Naruto felt like he had just finished running four hundred miles without stopping for food, water or rest. His body hurt in places he didn't even know could hurt. His legs felt like led and his arms were probably broken in several places. Not to mention his knuckles looked like they had been shattered by that last punch he did.
None of that mattered.
Grinning as he ignored the pain caused by raising his arm to keep the sweat gathering on his brow from falling into his eyes, Naruto looked at the gigantic crater in the ground before him. A crater that was over five meters across.
A crater that he had made with his own hands...hand.
It was strange. Despite the amount of effort he put into learning the secret to Tsunade's and Sakura's super strength, he had been unable to get it right. No matter how hard he worked, he just couldn't get the proper amount of chakra necessary to use the strength technique. He always ended up causing the tenketsu on his knuckles to burst in a most painful manner. However, Naruto had always been an unconventional fellow, and from his many failed attempts, he'd managed to create something just as good.
Well, maybe not just as good, but pretty damn close.
It would not be ready in time for the fight with Riser, unfortunately, the technique was too unstable and did more damage to him than it was worth. That was okay though. He had other aces up his sleeves. One day he would master this new ability, and then he would use it to push his way onto the path of becoming the strongest Devil in the world, no, the entire universe!
"Ha... ha... I did it. I finally did it." Grinning, the young man with spiky-blond hair and sky-blue eyes pointed a single finger up at the sky above. "Just you guys wait! With this technique, I'll become the strongest devil ever! Dattebayo! I'm gonna...gonna..."
His eyelids started to droop, along with his shoulders.
"...I'm gonna go to sleep now."
Exactly one second later, Naruto fell backwards. He didn't even stir as his head smacked against hard, tightly packed dirt. Not even a groan.
Uzumaki Naruto slept the day away in a large five meter crater.
Rias would be very displeased when he showed up ten hours later, looking like someone had buried him alive.
~KatCHRP~
Deep within a castle located in Hell, a meeting was being held between two individuals. These two people were beings of incredible power, ultimate class Devils who were considered the pinnacle of their kind. One stood in front of the other, who was seated on a large dais with a throne-like chair.
Grayfia stood before her master and husband, her hands clasped in front of her as she gave her report on the events that had transpired between Rias and Riser.
"I see," Sirzechs smiled as he sat on his chair, his head resting on the butt of his hand. "So it went down exactly as I thought it would."
"Yes."
"Hmmm. I expected nothing less from my little sister. It's just like Rias-tan to act like that." Sirzechs was silent for a moment. "What do you think of her chances?"
"I don't think she has any chance of beating Riser," Grayfia answered immediately. "He has too much experience over her and his pieces are much more powerful. Only the Lightning Queen would be able to put up a true fight against Riser's peerage, but she's just one person."
"Do not be so sure that Rias will lose," Sirzechs told his wife, the smile on his face growing wider. "My sister has one ace up her sleeve that could prove to be the deciding factor in this Rating Game."
Grayfia frowned. "You are referring to Uzumaki Naruto, yes? What's so special about him that you would think he might actually be the key factor to Rias' victory? If anything, I would have said the wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor Gauntlet would be the deciding factor, were the one wielding it not so weak."
"Naruto is a rather unusual case. His name does not appear in any records within our archives, nor does he appear in any records in the human word. He is not an Angel or a Fallen Angel either. It's almost as if he just appeared out of thin air."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"He seemed to appear out of thin air because he did appear out of thin air," Sirzechs watched as realization began striking his wife's eyes. With a smile large enough to show teeth, the Lord Satan spoke again. "To be more specific, he tore a hole straight through the gap between dimensions and appeared in Hell almost four months ago to this day."
"So that's why you had me personally register him for school." Grayfia's eyes widened. "Does that mean...?"
"Yes." Sirzechs just barely managed to withhold a laugh as he looked at his wife. "He did, and anyone who can survive the dimensional gap with Great Red and come out intact is bound to hold a few surprises."