Naruto had always wondered what it would be like to have a girlfriend. Back when he was younger, he would often daydream about dating Sakura and imagined what that would be like. These images naturally had no basis in reality, as in them Sakura always acted kind and loving as opposed to violent and, well, not loving, but then, that is why they are called dreams. As he got older and after he met Shion, those dreams changed to what it would be like dating the young Priestess of Demon Country (and sometimes Sakura still).
Yet for all his dreaming, nothing could have prepared him for what having a girlfriend in real life would be like. Truly, the difference between fantasy and reality were quite astounding. And now that he had one...a girlfriend, that is, Naruto could safely express his opinion on this matter.
Having a girlfriend was fucking awesome.
"A-Ah!"
Sitting on lip of the tub, her back pressed against the tiled wall, Rias gave a surprisingly loud moan. The sound, a sweet symphony of beautiful music that served to spur Naruto on, echoed around the room due to the bathrooms unusual acoustics.
Her feet were pressed firmly against the bottom of the tub and her legs were spread widely enough that his head could fit between them. A pair of rough, calloused hands rested on her thighs, which in turn were resting above a set of broad, strong shoulders. Feminine hands grasped at unruly locks of spiky blond hair, barely matted down by the water pouring on them from the shower head above. Soft and delicate fingers threaded through strands of gold as Rias pulled Naruto deeper into the junction between her legs.
As his tongue dove deeply into the folds of his Devil girlfriend, Naruto could not help but revel just how damn good she tasted. Rias had a very pleasant flavor; sweet, and with just the barest hint of something else, a flavor he couldn't quite identify, but found delectable nonetheless. If asked, he would never be able to tell someone what Rias tasted like, because he quite simply couldn't think of anything to compare her to. That didn't change the fact that Naruto was pretty sure he'd found his second favorite food.
Yes. Second favorite. Nothing could beat ramen. Not even Rias.
Speaking of which, maybe he should come up with a name for this flavor, you know, since it was so unique. Rias a la Carte had a very nice ring to it.
Actually, no it didn't. Never mind.
"Hnnnh! N-Naru―yes! Oh! R-right there! Uh! Uh! Uh! K-Keep doing that!"
Something Naruto loved about Rias was that, despite how embarrassed she got whenever someone talked about their relationship in public―which was just odd because of how cuddly she was with him when in a public forum―the crimson-haired beauty was extremely vocal when they were committing passionate acts of eroticism in private. Her extremely vocal responses let him know when he did something right―as well as when he did something wrong―and rewarded him by allowing Rias' wondrous moans to grace his eardrum.
Rias had a beautiful voice. At least when she was moaning in ecstasy.
"Oh! A-Ahn! Na-Naru-oh! I-I'm―Ah! AHN!"
Naruto knew what Rias wanted to tell him when her walls clamped down on his tongue and a deluge of her sweet nectar flooded his mouth. He did his best to drink everything she offered him, though a bit of it did make its way down his chin. Which may have been due to his preoccupation of playing with her clit, which he rubbed with his nose to help prolong her orgasm. In return, the sexy young woman with beautiful red hair let out a scream of ecstasy that bounced off the walls...and could probably be heard by every single person within their apartment complex.
Rias wails began to settle down. Naruto didn't know if he could truly call himself an expert at the art of making love. He'd had sex a few times before, back in the Elemental Nations, but three or so acts of doing the nasty did not make one a master. Yet, within the past two weeks, he'd gotten in a lot of practice. Ever since returning from the Underworld, he and Rias had been going at it nearly every night. So yes, while no master in the bedroom with a sex-level that was over 9,000, Naruto could at the very least say that he knew how to please Rias quite well, as proven by the loud vocals she unleashed.
As the thighs resting on Naruto's shoulder relaxed, the reincarnated for just a little over a month Devil looked up and admired his girlfriend. Rias always looked gorgeous immediately after she finished thrashing about in the throes of passion and lust. Her body, sparkling in the light as trails of both water from the shower and sweat accumulated from his ministrations traveled down her incredible figure, was one of the most breathtaking sights he would ever lay on eyes on, Naruto was sure. Her shoulders and chest heaved, causing her bosom to jiggle enticingly. And her face, by the Maou there were few things more beautiful than that half-lidded expression of satisfaction she wore after being pushed over the edge of orgasmic bliss.
Unable to hold herself up, Rias slid down off the lip and into the tub. Because of how small it was, this meant Naruto was slightly squished between her legs, but he didn't mind that one bit. There were few places he'd rather be, except maybe cuddling on the couch and enjoying the after glow that came from sex. He liked that just as much as the act itself.
Grinning, Naruto's hands gripped Rias' thighs just a little tighter and, with a slight heave, pulled her to him. Her legs instinctively hooked around his waist as her body pressed against his.
She didn't resist when Naruto pulled her into a kiss, instead choosing to kiss back just as hard. And while she shared a wet, sloppy, tongue-filled kiss with Naruto, her right hand went through the gap between their bodies and found his shaft resting on both of their bellies.
She began to stroke him, starting from the tip and going all the way down to the base. Naruto groaned in her mouth and jerked his hips a bit, which allowed her the upper-hand in their dance. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and continued to work him over, until she felt his twitching grow spasmodic seconds before he released his load on them both.
The two ignored the cum covering their lower torso in favor of continuing to lock lips. Only after ten minutes of fervent, passionate kissing did the pair realize something.
"We should probably get out or we'll be late for school," Rias said, though she sounded reluctant.
"Yeah..." Naruto had no desire to go to school, which became obvious with his next words. "Or we could just ditch school and stay here."
Rias gave Naruto an indulgent smile. "That sounds nice, but you know why we can't do that."
Naruto grimaced. "I know, but you can't blame a guy for trying."
"I suppose not. Now come on, let's get out of the shower and get dressed."
"We might want to clean up first."
Rias gave Naruto a queer look. "What do you mean? We're already clean. That's what the first half of our bathing entailed."
"Yeah, but we're not clean anymore." Naruto pointed down. "We got dirty again, in case you haven't realized that yet."
Rias looked down at what Naruto was pointing to. When she realized what he meant by dirty, her cheeks took on a very light shade of pink. "Oh. I guess I didn't think about that." She coughed into her right hand, trying to regain her composure. "Right then, let's clean up, um, again, and then we can get dressed for school."
Naruto couldn't quite stifle a chuckle. Rias was just too cute when she tried to give off that whole "take charge" attitude. Although, calling someone cute when they were butt naked might be something of an oxymoron, especially when that naked person is a female who has boobs just a little over half the size of a person's head, but since when did Naruto ever care about semantics like that?
Never. That's when.
"Are you going to keep laughing at me or are you going to help me clean up...again?"
Rias pouted when her words made him laugh harder. She would have crossed her arms, but they were currently around Naruto, so she had to make do with the pout.
"Sorry," Naruto apologized, still chuckling quietly.
"You don't sound very sorry..." she muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something?"
"I said let's hurry up and get clean. I have to keep my perfect attendance."
~Devil Ninja~
Contrary to Rias' belief, she and Naruto did, in fact, make it to school with plenty of time to spare. One of the many benefits to having a ninja/Devil boyfriend was that he not only was he incredible fast and possessed the stamina of a fucking bull, he could also hop roofs and do so in such a way that no one saw him. Naruto held Rias in a bridal carry as he jumped across the rooftops and set her down in a small alley several meters from the school.
They made it to school in record time.
Walking through the gates arm in arm, the young couple found themselves the center of attention.
"Hey, you guys! Check it out! It's Naruto and Rias-senpai!"
"Damn that Naruto! He stole our Rias-sama from us!"
"Why is Rias-senpai dating a delinquent like Naruto anyway?"
"Yeah, isn't Naruto, like, some kind of gangster or something?"
"I hear he was a member of the yakuza."
"That's just a rumor. Naruto's never shown any yakuza traits."
"Mm. Mm. Yakuza don't play pranks like he does."
"Ugh, don't mention that whisker-faced reprobate's pranks. The last time he pulled one it was on my gym class. We still haven't figured out how he put itching powder into all of our uniforms when our lockers were all locked! And don't even get me started on the superglue he put in our shoes! I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to do that without it drying before we put them on!"
Rias withheld her grimace as she listened to all the comments whispered by people who thought she and Naruto couldn't hear them. While some people had good things to say about them―she particularly enjoyed the one that claimed she and Naruto were the new "power couple" of Khou―most of them were either remarks made out of jealousy, or degrading comments made by people who didn't know a single thing about Naruto. They honestly upset her, and only her strong will and poise kept Rias from lashing out at those people.
"Bunch of fucking jerks..." Naruto, on the other hand, did not have her restraint. "These people are getting their asses pranked ASAP."
"While I normally wouldn't mind letting you have a bit fun, I don't think I need to remind you that your schedule this afternoon is already quite full," Rias said. "You really don't have time to be playing pranks on people."
Naruto grimaced. "Yeah, I know. I didn't say I would prank them today, just that they were going to get pranked. A good prank takes time, patience and knowledge about the person you're pranking. I'll have some shadow clones observe the people who made a crack at me and exact my vengeance later."
Rias felt a small trail of sweat trickle down her left temple. Naruto always claimed to be a pacifist who abhorred killing, but he apparently had no trouble exacting "revenge" on people who wronged him. Of course, "revenge" for Naruto really just meant he planned on pranking someone, and while most of his pranks were really funny, some of them could be downright cruel.
Perhaps his Devil side had a stronger hold over him than even the young man realized.
"Buchouuuuu! Naruto-senseiiiiiii! Saaavveee meeeeee!"
Rias and Naruto turned just in time to see a frantic Issei running up to them. The young man stopped in front of the pair, gasping for breath.
"Ise?" Rias said in surprise. She felt a touch of concern as she saw the state her pawn was in. "Why do you look like you just ran a marathon? And why are you only in your underwear?"
Yes. Issei was not wearing any clothes aside from a pair of black briefs and a white t-shirt. He didn't even have shoes on. Despite how hard she tried to think, Rias could not come up with a suitable reason as to why her pawn wasn't wearing his school uniform...or any clothes at all, for that matter.
She really hoped he wasn't turning into an exhibitionist.
"And what are those red marks covering your body?" asked Naruto. "It looks like someone took a flail or something and beat you with it."
Naruto was, of course, referring to the numerous dark red welts all over Issei's arms and legs. There were probably a few on his chest and back, too, but they couldn't be seen. Rias didn't know what could have caused them, though Naruto's comment about a flail held some merit. The marks were long and thin and red, not at all like a bruise. What could have caused that kind of damage? It almost liked like they were from a...
"N-Never mind that!" Issei shouted, his eyes wide and frantic, and the whites slightly bloodshot. They flickered around, as if searching for an escape route. Possessing the maniacal gleam of a man on the edge of losing his mind, Rias could not help but feel a sliver of worry worm its way into her gut at the sight of her servants gaze. How had her servant turned up like this? Was he going to be alright? And what in Satan's name happened to him?
"Ara, ara, why are you running from me, Ise-kun."
Ah. That's what happened to him.
….Wait.
"Gya!"
Screaming like a little girl, Issei completely forgot about Naruto and Rias, and instead proceeded to run right past them like a, well, like a Devil out of Hell.
Naruto and Rias blinked.
"Ara? Ise-kun~ come back!"
They blinked again when a blushing Akeno ran past them, giggling all the while.
She was holding a whip in her right hand.
"Ha...ha...Ise-san! Akeno-senpai! W-wait for me―uwa!"
They would have blinked a third time, but all this blinking was pretty redundant. So instead of blinking, the pair simply settled for staring at Asia, who had tripped and fallen to the ground. After standing there for several seconds, their brains restarted and they did the most logical―and nice―thing they could for the Bishop: help her stand up.
"Are you alright, Asia-chan?" asked Rias once she and Naruto helped the girl to her feet.
"Ah, um, yes!" Asia bowed to the pair. "Thank you very much, Buchou-san, Naruto-san!"
"Ma, ma..." grinning, Naruto affectionately rubbed Asia's head, much like he would usually do with Koneko. "No need for such formality. We're both part of Rias' peerage; that practically makes us family. You can just call me Naruto, or Naruto-nii-san, if you want."
Asia blushed a bit at Naruto asking her to call him by such a familial title. Rias felt a bit amused, but also pleased. Naruto really was a good fit for her peerage.
"O-okay, Naruto...onii-san..."
"Aw!" Naruto practically squealed as he pulled Asia into a hug and began fondly rubbing his cheek against the crown of her head. The blush that had been on Asia's face started from her cheeks, spread across her face and moved all the way down to her chest. "Aren't you just the cutest little imouto-chan a person could ask for?"
"Ah, um, uh, t-thank you..."
Grinning that fox-like grin, Naruto looked down at the girl. "Now, you'd better go catch up with Ise and Akeno-chan. Who knows what that woman's done to the poor boy by now."
"Ah! That's right!" Without a backwards glance, Asia took off running. "Ise-san! Akeno-san! Uuuuu~ Don't leave me behind!"
As they watched Asia run off after Issei and Akeno, the two shared a glance out of the corner of their eyes.
"Well, that was certainly interesting, wasn't it?" asked Naruto.
"Interesting is not the word I would have used to describe what just happened," Rias said, her voice dry. She then sent Naruto an askew glance. "And what's this about Asia-chan being your imouto? I thought that title belonged to Koneko?" When she saw Naruto flinched, her eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up."
"No, no, it's okay." Naruto sent her a trembling smile. Rias felt like someone had just jabbed her in the gut. That smile was so fake it hurt. "I probably should have seen this coming."
Rias grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, which he returned.
As they continued walking to class, the young heiress turned her thoughts towards her Rook. She honestly didn't know what type of relationship Naruto and Koneko had. The two had connected almost right from the get go. Sometimes it seemed almost like siblings, and other times Rias knew for a fact that Naruto had no feelings of brotherly love towards the white-haired girl. All she needed to do was look at his pants whenever Koneko sat on his lap to know that.
Perhaps the reason she joked about them being brother and sister was to make herself feel secure, though that didn't seem to be needed now. Ever since the Rating Game had ended, Koneko had been avoiding Naruto for some reason. Rias didn't know why. She had a few hunches, but they may be wrong and thus, she didn't say anything. Better to say nothing at all than make a guess, get it wrong and end up exacerbating an already tumultuous situation.
"I'm sure Koneko will come around," Rias tried to reassure her servant and boyfriend. "After all, you two get a long so well. It doesn't make sense for someone who likes you as much as Koneko does to ignore you. I'm sure she just has something she needs to think about."
"Yeah...I guess."
Naruto didn't sound very convinced, causing Rias to fall silent.
The rest of their trip was made without conversation, and while they did part ways with a nice kiss, Rias could not help but feel like she'd just ruined what started off as a perfectly good morning.
Damn her and her big mouth.
~Devil Ninja~
On most normal days, school was a drag. Sitting still behind a dull-looking desk, listening to an even duller teacher lecture you on crap you couldn't give two shits about learning and were unlikely to ever use in the real world. You really couldn't get much more boring and useless than that.
Which would explain why Naruto decided to skip class that day.
Times like this made him truly thankful that he had his Shadow Clones back.
Walking into the Occult Research Clubroom, Naruto found that the room was empty, devoid of any and all life. With something of a sigh, he slumped down on the nearest couch and decided to just pass out while waiting for everyone else. Rias apparently had something important to tell them today, so it wasn't like he had time to travel anywhere else.
It was perhaps several hours after falling asleep that his prankster senses began to tingle. A small shiver ran down his spine, alerting him to the pranking intent surrounding him. Like most badass pranksters, Naruto knew when someone was out to get him.
"I-Ise-san, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Of course it's not a good idea. It's a great idea!"
"Th-that's not what I meant..."
"Ara? You're planning on pranking Kitsune-kun, are you? Fufufu, I suppose it would be fitting if the shoe was on the other foot for a change."
"Perhaps it would," Naruto said out loud, smiling when the two figures right next to him―Asia and Issei he guessed―shrieked like a couple of little girls. It was even more amusing because those shrieks sounded almost identical, right down to the high girlish pitch. "But the next time you try to play a prank on me, you might want to be a bit more silent."
He sat up, stretching to work out the kinks in his shoulders and arms, and then opened his eyes and took in all the people around him. Asia and Issei were on the ground in front of the couch he resided on. They must have tripped in their shock at hearing his voice when they thought he was asleep. Akeno was some distance away, smiling gently, as she always did when not in what Naruto had taken to calling her S-mode.
"Fufufu. How long have you been awake?"
"Since Issei decided it would be a good idea to try and play a prank on the master."
"Meep!"
Naruto smirked down at Issei, who looked pale. "Just something to keep your mind on when committing pranks. They don't work if people can hear you when you're talking about them."
"R-right."
Naruto sat back against the couch and watched Issei and Asia sit on the other couch, far away from him, he noted. Another thing he took note of was Koneko, who not only wasn't sitting on his lap like she used to, but also sitting by Issei, which he would have never thought she'd do in a million years. Except she was, and she had been for the past two weeks, ever since they returned from the Underworld.
A familiar pain stabbed at his chest, like a white-hot poker piercing his heart. He did his best to ignore the feeling, but it was hard, especially when Koneko was clearly doing her best to ignore him.
The door opened again and Kiba walked in, followed soon by Rias. While the Knight leaned against the wall near the window, Rias stood in front of her desk, leaning against the lip with her arms crossed under her chest.
"I'm glad to see you're all present," Rias started. "As all of you know, I've decided that it's time for our three newest members to get their familiars."
"Um..." Issei raised a hand. "Could you tell me what a familiar is again?"
"Don't tell me you forgot, Ise." When all Issei did was nod and look sheepish, Rias sighed just a bit, before a resigned smile materialized on her face. "Familiars are helpers for us Devils, one of the most basic tools within our arsenal, although it may be more accurate to call them partners as opposed to mere tools. They can be used to perform a variety of different tasks, including but not limited to the delivering of messages, searching for objects and people, spying on someone and any other number of activities you might think of. Almost every familiars also has the ability to use magic to some extent, though the spells they're capable of performing depend upon their type. Some familiars can even fight alongside their masters."
As Rias explained the concept behind familiars to Issei, she held up her right hand. A brief flare of magic followed by a small cloud of expanding smoke later found a tiny red bat flapping its wings above Rias' hand.
"This is my familiar." She smirked at Issei. "I believe you two are already acquainted, Ise."
"Uh, I'm pretty sure I would remember seeing something like that before."
Just as Issei spoke, the bat exploded in another cloud of smoke. When the smoke dispersed, a cute woman with brown hair and a decently curvacious figure appeared before them.
Issei's eyes widened.
"Wait! That's the girl who gave me that flier!"
"That's right." Rias nodded. "And it's a very good thing she did. Had she not, Raynare would have truly killed you that day, and I would have never been able to resurrect you."
Issei gulped, but didn't say anything.
Rias dismissed her familiar, sending it back to where ever familiars go when they're no longer needed.
Naruto looked at the other members of Rias' peerage.
"So what types of familiars do you guys have?"
"This is my familiar." Akeno smiled as she summoned her familiar: a small green Oni. "Isn't he cute? I actually have a small family of them."
A little ways away, Koneko summoned her own familiar, an adorable kitten with hair as white as its owners. "...This is Shiro."
Naruto felt the temptation to go over there and pet the tiny kitten―although which kitten he wanted to pet was up in the air―but remembered how Koneko had been avoiding him. The small stab in his heart struck again, but this time it came with something else. Determination. He didn't care what he had to do, Naruto was going to find out why Koneko was avoiding him.
Smiling, Kiba decided to join in. "And my familiar is..."
"No one cares what your familiar is," Issei interrupted, causing Naruto to snort and Akeno to giggle. Rias just looked resigned, while Kiba appeared somewhat put out.
"Come on, man. Why you gotta be hating?"
"So did any of you three have any more questions?" asked Rias. When none of the newly reincarnated Devils asked anything of her, she nodded. "Alright then. Remember that tomorrow night is when we're going to get you three your familiars. Try not to be late, okay?"
~Devil Ninja~
The peerage of Rias Gremory appeared in the Familiar Forest within a crimson magic circle containing the Gremory clan crest. Each of the people there decided to come dressed in the style of dress they felt most comfortable in. While Asia, Akeno and Koneko all chose to wear their school uniforms, Kiba and Issei had come in their track clothes.
Naruto and Rias were the only ones not wearing some form of school get-up. Rias had decided to wear a pair of clothes Naruto bought her during one of their shopping dates: a black skirt with crimson rose motifs, a dark red shirt with black designs and a pair of red and black sneakers. She would have worn sandals, but since they were in a forest filled with dangerous creatures, Rias felt wearing something a little more practical might be a better idea. Naruto, by contrast, wore his work-out clothes: dark orange sweats, a dark orange muscle shirt and black arm-warmers along with his shinobi sandals.
On a side note, it had taken forever to find someone who could make Naruto a good pair of sandals.
They just don't make them like they did back home.
"This is it. The Familiar Forest. This forest is a very special place that contains many different types of magical creatures you can turn into your familiars," Rias said the moment they arrived.
All three newly-minted Devils stared at the surrounding forest. Decently sized trees stood over them, their dead, leafless branches casting shadows that swayed in hypnotic and haunting ways along the ground. The earth underneath their feet crunched as they moved, dried twigs snapping under heels. While the trees were not very large, and had no leafs, they were in enough numbers that they easily blocked out much of the light from overhead. Not that it would make much difference, seeing how the atmosphere appeared to be covered in gloomy clouds.
"So this is the Familiar Forest?" Issei questioned, shivering. "Creepy..."
Asia seemed to agree. She moved a little closer to Issei.
"I feel almost like I stepped into some kind of B-budget horror flick," Naruto murmured as he glanced around. He didn't seem nearly as disturbed as Asia or Issei.
"Don't worry Asia, Ise," Yuuto tried to reassure his allies. "This place isn't really that bad. It's where all of us got our familiars."
"Gotta catch'em all!"
"Yuuto is right. And we did so with this man's help."
Rias directed everyone's attention towards a person standing among the tree branches. He looked like, well, like a man-child, someone who had yet to accept that he was an adult and should no longer be wearing little boy shorts. Which he was wearing. Little boy shorts that were slightly loose and allowed everyone to see his hairy legs. He also wore a white wife beater shirt, a cap that he put on backwards and a backpack that looked almost ready to burst.
Yes. Man-child was definitely the most apt description for this guy. He looked like an Ash Ketchum gone horribly wrong. Or an Ash Ketchum who actually grew up...in the most sickening way possible.
"I'm Zatouji! The Familiar Master! I can catch any familiar that you can think of!"
As the man began doing strange sentai poses that looked like something Kamen Rider would have rejected because they were lame, Asia and Issei both felt trickles of sweat running down the side of their faces. This guy was a Familiar Master? Really? And was it just them, or had they actually been able to hear the capitals when Zatouji said Familiar Master?
Akeno must have sensed their incredulity, because she quickly vouched for the man. "Don't let his...questionable appearance fool you. Zatouji-san is the one who helped Yuuto-kun, Koneko-chan and myself acquire our own familiars."
"Hey, speaking of Koneko..." Asia looked around, frowning. "Just where did she go?"
Everyone else looked around as they, too, seemed to finally notice they were lacking one of their peerage members. Two, in fact.
"Wa...Naruto-sensei's not here either."
Rias' right eyebrow began twitching. Really Naruto? Really? Out of all the times he could disappear it just had to be now? And while they were in a place like the Familiar Forest to boot? Damn that troublesome man!
"Idiot..."
"What should we do, Buchou?" asked Akeno, "do you want us to go look for them?"
"No," Rias decided, long red hair swaying as she shook her head. "I'm sure they'll be fine on their own. Naruto is strong, and Koneko's no slouch either. And neither of them is foolish enough to get themselves lost in this forest. At least I hope not."
Despite her words of reassurance to the rest of her peerage, Rias had every intention of having some words with Naruto about responsibility and staying with the group when they returned to the human world.
She might love him, but by the Maou he knew how to give her the most intense of migraines.
~Devil Ninja~
Koneko could hardly begin to comprehend what had just happened within the last few moments of her life. One second she was standing around with everyone else, and the next she found herself being whisked away through the trees.
Even now, as she surveyed her surroundings, trees passed by in an indecipherable amalgam of color and streaks. At least she thought they were trees. She was moving so fast they passed by as nothing more than a light blur.
As her senses began to return, Koneko was able to figure a few things out. One: someone was carrying her. She could feel an arm under her legs and another around her shoulders, holding her in a bridal carry. She also felt her lithe body being pressed into a masculine chest. Second: the person carrying her was Naruto. she wanted to feel panicked at this knowledge. Koneko had gone out of her way to avoid the blond ever since the Rating Games ended, but couldn't seem to muster up enough of the emotion to really put up a fight.
"Put me down."
She still tried though, albeit, weakly.
"Not yet. Not until we're far enough from the others that you and I can talk in private."
Koneko winced, both at his words and his tone. She really should have expected this to happen. Honestly, it didn't come as a big shock that Naruto would eventually do something like this so they could speak away from the others. Yet, for some reason, Koneko still felt surprise.
She thought about the merits of fighting her way out of his grip, but decided it would be pointless. She might be physically stronger than him thanks to her Rook abilities, but he could still outfight her any day of the weak. Even if she managed to escape, he would just catch up to her.
Better get this out of the way then.
"Alright. I think we're far enough from the others."
They eventually set down in a small clearing. Koneko didn't know how far they had traveled, but it had to be at least several miles.
Naruto looked down at her. She was still in his arms.
"If I set you down, are you going to try and run?"
Koneko shook her head.
When Naruto let her down, Koneko's head cleared enough for her to think. Her first thoughts were of running away, but she quickly discarded the idea. She wouldn't be able to escape from Naruto. And so she stood there, eying the young man warily as he frowned at her.
"You've been ignoring me."
Koneko winced. A small hole appeared in her heart. The hurt in his voice was almost unbearable.
"...Sorry."
"I don't want an apology, Koneko. I want to know why?"
The hole began to grow. Just being in Naruto's presence hurt her now. No longer did he bring comfort, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the feelings of comfort and love she associated with him also brought equal amounts of guilt and pain.
"Koneko?"
"It's..."
She tried not to let her feelings slip. She really did.
She didn't succeed.
Koneko felt something hot and wet fall from her eyes. Tears, she realized. Trying to regain her composure, she wiped at her eyes.
Naruto noticed.
"H-hey! Koneko-chan!" Naruto tried to place his hands on her shoulders, an act of comfort. She swiftly moved several steps back, keeping him from touching her. He gave her a hurt look, but she tried to ignore that. "A-are you alright? What's wrong?"
"I..." Koneko tried to keep her thoughts to herself, but that dam had already burst. "I don't know what to do..." she admitted, finally tilting her head to look up at him. Naruto stumbled back, his eyes growing almost impossibly wide, like two dish pans, while his pupils became tiny pinpricks.
"K-Koneko...?"
"I want to be with you...I want to be able to sit on your lap and have you hold me. I want you to run your hand through my hair and rub my ears. I want..." she trailed off before she could say "I want to kiss you." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that. It would only hurt both of them. "But I can't...we can't do that anymore..."
Koneko felt like something inside of her, some part of her was breaking, shattering into a million irreparable pieces. This strange sense of loss, of sorrow, was almost startling. Not just that she felt this way, but how intensely she felt it. Perhaps that was just a testament to show how easily Naruto had wormed his way into her heart.
Naruto frowned. "What do you mean you can't? Why can't you?"
Koneko almost blinked. How could he even ask that? "B-because you're dating Rias..." She trailed off when she saw the dark look overcome Naruto's face.
"That's why you've been avoiding me?" he asked. Koneko almost winced again at the sound of his voice. He sounded angry? No. Not quite angry, but definitely moody. "All this time...you've been avoiding me for two weeks because I'm dating Rias?"
"What else am I supposed to do?" asked Koneko. "I...Rias has claimed you. You and she are together now." Koneko looked down at herself, her small body with little in the way of a chest. It never really bothered her before, but her lack of boobs certainly did now. Would Naruto have dated her instead of her King if she had a figure like Rias? "How can I compete with her?"
"Why do you even have to compete?"
Koneko looked up to answer, though she had no clue what she would say. Yet, the moment her mouth opened, the ability to form words fled, and she found herself staring into bright blue eyes that were mere inches from her own.
"Have you really been avoiding me because of that? Do you really think I would stop paying attention to you just because I'm dating Rias?"
Koneko shook her head, partly because she knew he wouldn't, but also because he obviously didn't realize what she was talking about. It was almost shocking to see how someone so observant could also be so dense. Then again, he'd focused most of his attention on Rias, at least as far as romance interests went, so maybe he just didn't see her as romantic potential.
"Koneko." A hand touched her cheek, jolting her. "Look at me please." When she turned her head to look back at Naruto, it was to see his expressive blue eyes staring into her own. "I don't think you realize how much you mean to me." His thumb lightly caressed her cheek, and in spite of herself, Koneko leaned into his touch. "You are one of the most important people in the world to me."
"Don't say that," she whispered.
"What? Why?"
"Because if you say that, then I...I..."
She didn't get much farther than I. Perhaps she would have, if given time, but Naruto, seeing her conflicting emotions, pulled her into a tight embrace.
Warmth engulfed her. The same warmth that she felt when Naruto first began petting her hair. The same warmth she felt from him every time they touched. This warmth, this comfort, this feeling of safety and love that almost reminded Koneko of her sister but was also wholly different. This was the feeling that she had associated with Naruto ever since their first meeting.
It was also the feeling that caused her to break down.
As she began to cry, a hand came up and began to caress her left ear. It felt soothing and comforting and just made her cry that much harder.
Because Koneko, despite her fifteen years of age and unusual maturity was, in many ways, still just a lonely child.
~Devil Ninja~
Time seemed immaterial to Naruto at the moment. He sat on the ground, leaning his back against a large, dead tree. Sitting on his lap, straddling him in a way that would have definitely looked indecent to anyone witnessing them right now was Koneko. She was asleep, having exhausted herself crying in his arms a while ago. Her torso now rested against his chest, her head tucked underneath his chin. In return, Naruto had pulled the young woman close, and his arms were wrapped around her tight little body.
As he listened to the young Devil's rhythmic breathing, Naruto reflected on the last few...hours? Well, he thought they were hours. They felt like it at least. Whatever. Anyway, he reflected on the last few hours of his life, or to be more specific, the conversation he and Koneko had before the second most important person in his life cried herself to sleep in his chest.
He couldn't believe Koneko had been avoiding him because he was dating Rias. Did she really think that just because he was in a loving and intimate relationship with the red-haired Gremory heiress that it would change their relationship? She was his friend, one of the few people in this world that he could truly say he loved. How could she even think that he would allow something like dating to get in the way of their friendship? It wasn't like he spent all his time with Rias. Sure they hung out a lot more, but he always tried to make time for other things: his friends, training Issei, training himself, sparring with Kiba, talking smack to Akeno and giving her ideas to torture Issei with just to name a few. He would have gladly spent time with Koneko as well had she not been so keen on avoiding him.
Naruto could only hope the conversation they had put all that in the past. He wasn't about to lose a loved one because they decided to be stupid and avoid him for a reason as dumb as not wanting to get between him and Rias. Dating and love were not always mutually exclusive.
The feeling of Koneko stirring against his chest caused Naruto to look down. Triangle shaped ears twitched slightly, before she raised her head to look at him. Naruto smiled at the young Devil hybrid.
"Looks like you're finally awake. Did you have a good sleep?"
Koneko nodded, her mouth opening in a yawn. Naruto thought it was the cutest thing ever. Now if he could just convince her to rub her eyes with the back of her hand, then the kodak moment would be complete.
"Sorry," Koneko whispered.
"For what?"
"Getting you wet."
Looking down at the stain of water on his shirt, Naruto just grinned and began to caress Koneko's ears. "It's fine," he said, watching in amusement as Koneko's body stiffened, right before slumping against his chest. She then began purring, which made Naruto want to let out his inner fanman. Yes. Fanman, because he was far too manly to have a fanboy. "I don't mind my shirt getting a little wet if it means we can be close again."
"Mm..." Koneko murmured. "Naruto?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me you'll never leave me." Koneko's arms came up and wrapped around his waist. "Even if it's just like this, promise that you'll always be with me."
"Of course I'll always be with you." Naruto hugged the young woman back. "You don't honestly think I'll stop being caring about you because I'm dating Rias now, do you? I love you, and I promise to always be with you."
"Thank you."
Naruto didn't know what Koneko was thanking him for. This was what friends did. They helped and loved each other no matter what.
Still, she did thank him. It would be rude not to respond.
"You're welcome."
"I really missed this feeling," Koneko admitted as she sighed, her warm breath hitting his neck. Her large, white cat-ears twitched as he delicately rubbed them.
"My hugs?" asked Naruto, grinning.
"Your chakra," Koneko corrected. "Whenever you touch me, I can feel your chakra surrounding me. It's so warm and pure and protective. I always feel like I'm being wrapped in a warm blanket. I haven't felt this way since...for a while."
"Is that the only reason you let me get so close to you like this? Because my chakra feels good?" Naruto didn't know whether he should be happy or depressed.
"At first," the Devil hybrid admitted. "When you first came into the clubroom and touched me, I felt your chakra and became...a little addicted to the feeling." Naruto couldn't see her face, but he had the distinct impression that Koneko was blushing. "It just felt so good that I let you pet me whenever we were together. I also knew you wouldn't do anything pervert to me like Issei would."
"Because of my chakra?" asked Naruto, not really surprised by how much Koneko was speaking. Most people never heard her talk this much, but that was just because they didn't know her like Naruto did.
"Yes. Everybody's chakra has a very unique feel to it, kind of like a finger print. I have a very strong ability to sense other people's chakra and can tell what kind of person they are from it." Koneko looked up at Naruto, her large golden eyes peering up into his blue. "You're a very pure soul who has been hurt badly by something in your past. You're protective of the people you care about to the point where your willing to put your life on the line for them, and have a very kind and caring personality that's been tempered by hardship."
"Wow." Naruto whistled. Okay. Now he was seriously impressed. All he had been able to tell from her chakra was that she had deep emotional scarring and needed help, which was the whole reason he first started treating her with so much affection and kindness in the first place. "You managed to get all that just from reading my chakra."
"I'm Nekoshō."
"Cat Yōkai, right? I thought they were called Nekomata?"
"They are. I'm a sub-species called Nekoshō. We're the strongest type of Nekomata. Nekoshō are high-level Yōkai."
"That's really cool," Naruto said, grinning so widely his face felt like it was going to split in half...in a good, non-painful kind of way, of course. "I knew you were special the moment I laid eyes on you, but I didn't realize you were some type of awesome species of Nekomata." Koneko blushed a bit at being called awesome. "I'm kinda surprised we haven't run into any other Nekoshō though. I mean, since you guys are so strong, you must be pretty...eh? Koneko?"
Naruto stopped talking when he saw how depressed Koneko looked. Her face was set in a melancholic frown, eyes downcast. Even her cat ears had wilted.
"What's wrong?"
"Nekoshō are pretty much extinct these days." Naruto flinched. The tone in her voice was heartrending. "Several years ago, many Devils went on a manhunt and killed off any Nekoshō and Nekomata they could find. As far as I am aware, there is only one other Nekoshō besides me." Koneko's expression twisted into a mixture of snarling hatred and incredible pain. "It's all her fault?"
"Her?"
"My...my sister." Koneko slumped forward, the fight leaving her. "Nekoshō are naturally adept at using Senjutsu and Youjutsu."
"I know what Senjutsu is, but what's Youjutsu?"
"The ability to craft and weave illusions."
"Oh. I didn't know you guys could use illusions. That's pretty nifty. I always sucked at genjutsu and..." Naruto trailed off, blushing. "...and I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry for interrupting. Please continue."
"When I was really little, I lost my parents. I don't remember much about them, or anything about them, really. All I remember from back then is my sister. We used to live on the street, with my sister taking care of me as best she could. It was hard, but we managed to get by, if barely."
"One day a Devil came to us and offered my sister a chance to join his peerage. She did on the condition that I be allowed to come with her. He agreed and my sister became a member of his peerage."
"Life was much better after that. My sister's master was a high-class, pureblood devil, so we lived in a mansion and had all the comforts you could think of. We didn't need to worry about when we'd get our next meal. We didn't have to worry about attacks from Devils and other Yōkai. Life was good."
Koneko's expression darkened. Odd shadows played across her face, casting her features in a grim light that seemed to be an expression her inner feelings.
"And then one day my sister killed her master. I hear she was training to use Senjutsu and went mad with power. After that, everyone went out to search for my sister and bring her to justice. When they couldn't find her, the Devils began slaying my kind so another incident like that wouldn't happen again. Even I was slated for execution, until Lucifer-sama rescued me and sent me to live with Rias-Buchou."
"I see." No wonder Koneko was usually so quiet. Scars like that change people. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to go through all of that. She must be very strong willed to have kept on living after something suffering from such a terrible tragedy.
It was only after he felt his admiration for Koneko grow that he found himself startled by something else she said.
"Wait. She went mad training in Senjutsu?"
Koneko looked at him oddly, but nodded. "Yes," she said, slowly, as if confused as to why he was asking her such a thing.
"B-but why? How could she go mad while using Senjutsu?"
Though her face didn't change much, Naruto couldn't help but feel like Koneko was staring at him incredulously.
"Because whenever someone tries to gather the energy of the world, they also end up taking in all of the malice and ill will that taints the world." Koneko frowned. "Shouldn't know you this? You can use Senjutsu, I felt you use it during the Rating Game."
"I can, but I've never―" Naruto paused. "Wait. This malice you're talking about, is it like a voice in the back of your head telling you to slaughter everyone and bathe in their blood?"
"I...maybe," Koneko said, sounding uncertain. "I've been told that it's different for everyone. Some may feel as you described, while others might feel emotions like hatred, rage and the desire to spill blood. I've never tried using Senjutsu before, so I don't really know what it feels like."
"Huh." Naruto scratched the left side of his head. "In that case, I do actually know what you're talking about. Back when I was fighting against Riser, I heard some voice inside my head telling me to kill everyone there, even my allies."
"I'm surprised it didn't drive you insane," Koneko said. "It's nearly impossible for even Yōkai to use Senjutsu. You're a human, or, well, you were human. I didn't even know they could use Senjutsu, or chakra for that matter. Until I met you anyway.
"Yeah. I guess it's pretty rare for a human to use chakra here. Where I come from almost everyone could use it though."
"And Senjutsu?"
"No. I was actually one of the only people able to use Senjutsu, and I had to train my ass off to master it."
"How did you deal with all that hatred?"
"I just ignored it."
"Eh?" Koneko gaped at him. "I-ignored it? You ignored it? Just like that?"
"Yep. I knew that voice didn't belong to me. That it wasn't my voice, so ignoring it was easy. Aside from that, I'm used to ignoring entities of hatred and malice. I did it all the time when I was younger."
"I resent that. I am not an entity of hatred and malice. I just didn't like humans."
"You might not be one now, but you were back then."
"W-whatever."
"Are you embarrassed?"
"Psh! No! Now leave me be. I want to get some more sleep."
"Whatever, lazy bastard."
"Obnoxious brat."
Naruto almost chuckled as he and Kurama finished male-bonding through the use of insults. He focused back on Koneko and saw her staring at him in wonder, as if she were seeing him in an all new light.
"Something wrong?"
"N-no." Koneko looked down, her cheeks flaring. "I was just wondering you would..."
Naruto blinked. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part."
"..."
"Uh, c-could you repeat that, please? A little louder?"
Koneko took a deep breath, and then spoke. "I asked if you could train me in Senjutsu."
"Sure."
Koneko looked up in surprise. "Really? You'll teach me Senjutsu just like that?"
"Of course I will. You're one of the most important people in the world to me, remember?" Naruto's grin caused Koneko to feel hot, and not just her face. "I want to help you in any way I can, and if I can do that by teaching you Senjutsu, then I'll do whatever I can to make sure you master it."
"Thank you."
Koneko pulled her body closer, which Naruto didn't know was possible, and hugged him for all he was worth. Naruto returned the hug easily enough, enjoying the feel of the lithe hybrid Devil's body against his. She might not have Rias' amazing figure, but that didn't mean Koneko's body felt any less amazing pressed against him like that.
"Naruto-senpai," Koneko said after several moments of silence.
"Yes?"
"You're poking me."
"Ah..." Naruto felt himself flush a bit as he realized that he was indeed poking her in the stomach. That...was actually kind of embarrassing. "I-it can't be helped. I have a really cute girl sitting on my lap."
Koneko smiled into his shirt. He couldn't see her lips curving, but he could imagine it.
"It seems Naruto-senpai is a pervert like Ise-senpai."
"T-that was a low blow Koneko-chan..."
"Do you deny being perverted?"
"..."
"I thought so."
Despite her accusation about Naruto's perverted nature, Koneko made no move to get off his lap.
~Devil Ninja~
Naruto returned to the clearing where he, Koneko and the others first arrived in the Familiar Forest.
When they got there, it was to see Rias, Koneko and Asia practically naked. They were only wearing panties. What's more, Rias looked like she'd swallowed something stale. Her face was all puckered and pinched. Naruto could see that she was displeased by something, immensely displeased.
"What happened to you guys?" asked Naruto.
"Never mind that," Rias declared, her cheeks turning just a little bit red. She tried to cover her blush up with a glare, which she directed at Naruto and Koneko as they walked up to the group hand in hand. "Where have you two been?"
"Oh, we've been around," Naruto said, smiling. He gave Koneko a small wink, to which the little Neko's cheeks puffed just a bit as she struggled not to giggle. Rias' right eye twitched at his cryptic answer, but he didn't give her time to retort. "So, I'm guessing something monumental happened while Koneko-chan and I were gone?"
"If by 'monumental' you mean monumentally stupid, then yes."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. When Rias refused to say anything more, he directed his gaze towards Akeno, who raised a hand to hide her smiling face, before giving a demure giggle.
"We ran into a slime monster." Naruto didn't know what a slime monster was, and apparently Akeno realized that because she elaborated further by saying, "it's a monster that looks like green slime. It also has the power to eat clothes."
"That would certainly explain why you, Asia-chan and Rias are naked." Naruto then looked over at his disciple. "I take it this slime has something to do with the reason Issei is crying, too?"
"Oh Slimey! We were parted far too soon!"
Naruto looked at Issei, who was an absolute mess. Tears poured from his eyes in a never ending river, and snot was coming out of his nose. The boy looked heartbroken.
"We got rid of it," Rias huffed. Naruto had the impression that the only reason she didn't cross her arms under her chest was because they were being used to cover her boobs. He felt some disappointed (Rias had awesome breasts), but he also didn't want Issei getting a free peep show at his girlfriend, because then he would have to kill the kid. It would suck to find another apprentice to mess with.
"Uh huh..."
Naruto felt a drop of sweat travel down the side of his face. This boy...he might just be more lecherous and perverted than his old sensei. He might even be more perverted than Ero-Sennin and Kakashi-sensei combined! That was, like, twice the amount of pervage all bundled into one person. He didn't know whether to be impressed or shocked.
Koneko looked disgusted.
"So I take it you didn't find your familiar?" Rias attempted to change the subject.
"No." Naruto shook his head. "We got sidetracked talking and never bothered to even look for one. It's okay though," he said, grinning. "I'm plenty awesome without a familiar. And besides, give me a few more weeks and I'm sure finding a familiar won't be an issue anymore."
"Oh? I take it you've got an idea on how to get a familiar, then?"
"Not in the way you're probably thinking," Naruto said, "let's just say I have an idea that, should it prove fruitful, will be killing two birds with one stone."
Rias stared at Naruto for a moment, before shrugging. "Well alright. If you don't think you need a familiar, then who am I to stop you. Although it does seem like most of our trip was a waste now, since two of our new peerage members didn't even get a familiar."
"Does that mean Asia got a familiar?" asked Naruto.
"Oh yes!" Asia came up to them. It was only now that he'd started paying more attention to her that he noticed the dragon being held in the blond girl's arms. It was small, tiny even, and possessed blue diamond-like scales and wings. "This Rassei. I named him after Ise-san because of how protective he is of me."
Naruto grinned when he saw Issei blush a bit, obviously embarrassed at having a dragon named after him.
"He's definitely a cute-looking dragon. Good potential too. I bet he'll be strong when he grows up." Dragons normally were.
Asia beamed. "Thank you!"
Rias interrupted their conversation before Naruto could say anything in response with a cough. "Now that we're all here, let's go back to the human world. It's probably almost morning by now. I don't know about any of you, but I want to get some rest."
Akeno and many of the others were nodding, apparently in complete agreement with their King.
Except Issei. He was still crying.
The life of a pervert sure is tough.
~Devil Ninja~
Several miles out, far beyond the city limits, deep within the forest, two people were training.
"You need to be faster than that if you want to strip me of my clothes, Ise-kun~!"
"Oh don't you worry! I'm gonna strip you naked if it's the last thing I do!"
Yes. This was training.
"I've got you now! You're mine―GUAG!"
Standing on the sidelines, arms crossed over his chest, Naruto watched as Issei was kicked in the stomach by a female clone of himself. Several seconds later, the dragon-type Sacred Gear holder was blasted backwards, breaking straight through one of the trees, bark and wood flying in all directions as the trunk shattered, before landing on the ground and rolling to a slow, painful stop.
"Come on, Ise-kun~! Surely you've got more than that! You must not want to see me naked very badly if this is all the effort you're willing to put in!"
"Ngggg..."
Issei struggled to his feet once more, shoulders slouched and his breathing heavy. Blood dribbled down the left corner of his mouth, which he wiped off with the thumb of his right hand.
"Ha...ha...don't think this is all I have," Issei said, groaning in obvious discomfort and pain. "I've still got way more fight left in me." And then, just like that, the young man seemed to gain his second wind. "Just you watch! By the end of this spar, you're gonna be butt naked!"
"BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!"
With a loud shout, Issei raced towards the Naruto clone, who they dubbed Naruko for this training exercise. His speed picked up at a decently impressive rate. Before long, he was traveling at almost a third of Kiba's speed which, while nothing amazing, was impressive for Issei, who used to be slower than molasses in winter.
When he reached Naruko, Issei stretched out his gauntlet covered hand and prepared to unleash unholy hell on the seemingly hapless young woman by using the most perverted attack in the history of ever.
"Hyaaaaa―GUUU!"
He was then sent flying back as Naruko leaned backwards, bending and contorting her body at an angle that no male could ever come close to, and then planting a swift and powerful kick into Issei's chest.
The young man was sent flying back...again.
He also hit another tree.
As Naruto and Naruko waited for Issei to get back up (they knew he had more fight in him), Rias appeared before him within a magic circle.
"Hey, Rias," Naruto greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. One that she returned eagerly, much to the enmity of a certain perverted disciple.
"Damn you, blond-bastard-sens―GUA!"
"Never take your eyes off your opponent, Ise-kun~!"
"Guuuu...fuck that hurt..."
Issei staggered back to his feet after once more getting sent flying, this time by a double fist punch to the chest. He staggered around for a moment, seemingly experiencing some issues with his balance. Naruto and Rias watched the young man shake his head, then slap his cheeks, before finally charging back into the fight...if getting his ass kicked like nobody's business could really be called a fight.
"BOOST!"
"How is Ise coming along?"
Naruto glanced over at Rias, then returned his attention to Ise. Now that he'd boosted himself five times, Ise's prowess seemed almost equal to Naruko's. At least, until Naruko decided to up her game and started attacking with even more ferocity, speed and power than before. Once that happened, the young man began to take another beating.
"He's doing pretty good, actually," Naruto said, smiling when he saw Ise actually manage to get several quick swipes in despite the pounding he took. "It might not look like it, but Ise's improved a lot."
"You're right. It doesn't look like it." Rias winced when she saw Ise's face almost cave in from one of Naruko's punches. That had to hurt. Blood flew everywhere, and she could have sworn she even saw a tooth fly from Ise's mouth. "By the way, why does your clone look like a girl?"
"This is how I train him," Naruto admitted. "Ise's two greatest strengths are his loyalty and desire to help his friends, and his lust."
"Many people would consider lust a weakness," Rias commented.
"Many people are also idiots," Naruto shot back. "Haven't you and everyone else said it before? That our greed is what gives Devils our power? Going by that logic, using Ise's lust to increase his power has merit."
As Rias' lips turned into a thoughtful frown of silent contemplation, Naruto continued.
"Right now, I am using Ise's lust to increase all of his abilities as a fighter. Naruko's purpose is not only to present Ise with a pleasant piece of eye-candy, but also to make him push himself more. His goal right now is to strip Naruko of her clothing, which motivates him and allows him to transcend his previous limitations. Within the past two weeks, his speed, strength, reflexes, hand-to-eye coordination and ability to adapt to new and dangerous situations on the fly have all improved by leaps and bounds. I would say that his strength has increased by about a third of his overall previous prowess."
Rias gawked at him. "You've managed to improve his physical abilities by that much?"
"Yep." Naruto felt a small bit of pride, both at Ise and his own accomplishment in helping the pervert get to his current level. "I don't think he's even realized it yet, but after each session, Issei is just a little bit stronger, a little bit faster and a little bit better. I do this by having Naruko increase her own abilities in proportion to Ise's growth. She always makes sure to stay just out of the range of what he is capable of, making it feel like he actually has a chance to increase his confidence, but also posing a real enough threat that he's going to get hurt if he doesn't improve."
"That's...that's really cunning of you, actually," Rias admitted.
Naruto shrugged. "That's how my sensei trained me. Whenever we sparred, my teacher would limited his fighting abilities to just above my own and slowly upped his level over time. It was still a horrible match up," he admitted. "Ero-Sennin had way more experience than I did, so even though he limited his strength, speed and techniques to just a bit better than what I could do, our fighting abilities were still horribly disproportionate."
"Much like you and Ise are now."
"Exactly. But that will also help Ise get stronger. By fighting against someone who has more combat experience and therefore more tactics to use in battle, I'm forcing him to become more capable of thinking on his feet."
Naruto looked over at Ise and Naruko. He could see some of his female clone's clothing had been removed. It was just a sleeve, but it meant Issei was getting better. He would have Naruko up her fighting prowess during their next spar, but for now...
"Alright, Issei! I think we can call it quits today!"
"Oh thank God―ouch!"
With Naruto telling Issei he was done training, the young man slumped to the ground (and winced when God decided to tell Issei not to use his name), exhausted. Lying on his back, arms and legs spread wide, the Boosted Gear user looked about ready to pass out.
"Are you ready to head home?" asked Rias, holding her hand out to him.
"Yep."
Naruto grinned as he took Rias' hand. Much like everything else he and his girlfriend did, the act of holding hands sent just as much of a thrill through him as having sex. He really did love this feeling. Truly, nothing could be more addictive than being close to the person you loved.
They began to walk off hand in hand, but not before Naruto gave the dead-tired Issei, who was just now climbing to his feet, one last parting comment.
"Oh, and Ise!" The perverted boy looked up. "You'd better get a lot of rest! Tomorrow we're training your speed and strength!"
Issei just groaned, too tired to even shout.
~Devil Ninja~
When Naruto and Rias arrived home, it was to a surprise of epic proportions.
"What the hell happened to my apartment?!"
It was also the biggest shock of Naruto's life. His entire apartment complex, as well as the two complexes on either side of it were no longer present. In their place was a mansion, a literal, honest to God mansion. Built in the traditional Japanese style complete with lintel posts, sloping roofs, paper walls, wooden walkways and everything he'd ever seen in a Japanese mansion, the entire structure held all of the aesthetic appeal that of a Daimyo's palace. It even had a koi pond.
"Oh?" Rias also looked surprised, though not as much. "It looks like Onii-sama has finally decided to upgrade our living space. I knew he planned on doing this for a while, but didn't know it would be so soon."
"You mean aniki did this? That...that...arg!"
"W-wait! Where are you going?! Naruto! Naruto!"
Naruto growled as he ran into the mansion. His sandal clad feet banged against wooden floor boards as he rushed towards the two large energy sources in the mansion. He could feel them getting close. Wooden boards became tatami mats. The energy signatures got closer. Finally, after opening one last shogi screen door, Naruto found them: Sirzechs and his wife/maid, Grayfia.
"Ha...ha...aniki..."
Sirzechs looked up and smiled when he saw Naruto standing in the doorway.
"Ah. Otouto." The much larger man stood up, his armored joints clinking and clanging. He walked over to Naruto, until he stood right in front of the younger man. "I see you've finally returned. How do you like the renovations?"
"Renovations?" Naruto took another deep breath, and then plastered a smile on his face. "Their great!" He said, his smile turning into a grin so large and cheesy it forced his eyes to close and his whiskers to stretch. "Amazing even! I've always wanted to live in a mansion like this."
Sirzechs looked like he couldn't be more pleased. His chest swelled and his smile grew. "Really?"
"NO!"
POW!
"OOF!"
Sirzechs was forced to double over as Naruto's fist made a hard impact with his gut. Falling to his knees, the greatest of the four Maous curled around his stomach, arms wrapping around his torso for good measure. He looked at his "little brother" as Naruto took several steps back, tears springing from his eyes.
"Otouto...why?"
"Because you renovated my home without permission." Naruto ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Seriously aniki, you can't just do stuff to my property without my say so. That's a violation of the bro code?"
"The bro code?"
"Yes." Naruto gave him a serious nod. "There is a powerful code of honor among brothers. A certain form of laws that all brothers must abide by. One of those many rules is 'thou shalt not mess with another brother's swag unless granted permission."
"I see." Sirzechs sniffled. He looked up at Naruto, his eyes looking at the blond imploringly. "I am sorry, otouto. I didn't even realize there was a brothers code." His long red hair swayed as he shook his head. "Please, can you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you, aniki." Naruto knelt down and clasped a hand on Sirzechs' shoulder. "You just let your over eagerness get the best of you. So long as you know better now, it's okay." Tears soon sprang to Naruto's eyes. "Everything's okay now."
"Otouto..."
Sirzechs' eyes grew large and...moist. It was all kinds of disturbing.
"Aniki..."
So did Naruto's, for that matter. They looked like puppy eyes, all big and blue and teary.
"Otouto."
"Ankiki."
Grayfia's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. She tried to stop it, tried to keep them from committing an act so heinous it caused even her devil blood to run cold.
"Otouto!"
"Aniki!"
Yet she could do nothing, like a person staring at a train wreck or a bunch of children beating on a puppy, she found herself incapable of stopping them. All she could do was watch in horror as Naruto and Sirzechs...
Hugged.
~Devil Ninja~
Rias arrived just in time to witness a sight she would rather never see again. Her eyes widened in horror as brimstone and fire sprung up from the now cracked and craggy ground. The walls and ceiling dissolved around her to reveal a dark purple sky. Her skin began to swelter, droplets of sweat trailing down her forehead in small rivulets as the overwhelming heat from the fire got to her. And in the center of his wasteland, this hellish nightmare made manifest, was Naruto and Sirzechs.
They were hugging.
Shudder.
Rias tried to calm down.
'Get a hold of yourself Rias! Dammit! Stay calm! Think. You managed to stop them before, you can easily do it again.'
Yeah. Like that.
"Grayfia!" Rias shouted at Grayfia, who once again appeared absolutely horrified by the site before her. It was a testament to how truly terrifying this technique was that even the one who earned the title "Strongest Queen" seemed defenseless against the horrific trauma of this technique. "Grayfia we need to stop them!"
Grayfia's wide, frightened eyes snapped to her. She blinked, and then nodded. The two of them rushed towards Naruto and Sirzechs, intent on ending this terrifying ability.
Seconds later, the sound of two people getting smacked in the back of the head followed by two equally loud yelps of pain rang through the room.
~Devil Ninja~
After being dressed down for nearly fifteen minutes by two irate females, Naruto and Sirzechs found themselves sitting down in a strangely European-styled living room. Strange because the rest of the house looked Japanese.
Sitting by Naruto's side was Rias, while Grayfia stood behind Sirzechs, looking very much like a maid of the Gremory clan should.
Naruto thought she looked kind of ridiculous. Why did she need to maintain her maid persona when it was only the four of them? This wasn't some kind of big gathering where pomp and propriety were needed.
Then again, maybe the woman just had a maid fetish. Yes. That must be it. Like how feet people like feet and lolicons like lolis, this woman must have a thing for dressing up as a maid.
"May I ask what brings you here, onii-sama?" asked Rias. In her hand was a cup of steaming hot tea, which she took intermittent sips of every few seconds. "You don't travel to the human world very often."
"I have two reasons for being here, actually," Sirzechs said, "the first is to inform you both a little bit about Naruto here, more specifically about the Evil Piece that you used to resurrect him. The second reason I am here is for a favor."
Naruto and Rias looked at each other, and then back at Sirzechs.
"So there's something special about the Evil Piece used to resurrect me?"
"Indeed there is. I am sure that Rias has already mentioned how she does not know what the Evil Piece she used on you is called, correct?" Rias and Naruto both nodded. "That is because the Evil Piece is not one of the known pieces used in regular chess. It's a very unique piece. I am hesitant to call it a Fairy Piece, despite how similar it is to one."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not very familiar with chess." Naruto scrunched up his face. "What's a Fairy Piece?"
"A Fairy Piece is an unorthodox chess piece that is not used in conventional chess, but incorporated into several different chess variants. Because of the uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, the same piece can have a different name and different pieces might have the same name depending on the context."
Naruto had absolutely no clue what Sirzechs was talking about.
"I see..."
So he said that.
"Think of Fairy Pieces as special chess pieces that you won't find in a traditional game of chess. In the Evil Piece system, a Fairy Piece can grant the person resurrected by it special abilities or powers that you won't find in traditional pieces. For example, an Empress piece has all the speed of a Knight and the impenetrable Defense of a Rook. An Amazon piece, on the other hand, is a combination of Queen and Knight. They have the incredible boost in all of their base properties like any Queen would, but their speed is maxed out far beyond those of traditional Queens."
"Ah. That makes sense." Naruto gave Rias a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Rias."
"You're welcome." Rias smirked at Sirzechs, who appeared to be skulking.
"How come Otouto understood Rias-tan's explanation but not mine?"
Grayfia, seeing her husband getting depressed, snapped him out of his funk using the most tried and true method.
She whacked him in the back of the head.
"Anyway..." Sirzechs coughed into his hand, getting back on track. "Otouto's Evil Piece is very similar to a Royal Piece in that, should he be taken out of the game, then you would automatically lose."
"W-what?" Rias' eyes grew wide and round, like two ping bong balls. "How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure," Sirzechs admitted. "The Evil Piece system is always evolving, always changing. That's how the Mutated and Fairy Pieces came to be in the first place. However, no one really knows why this is. Even Ajuka, who created the Evil Pieces, doesn't understand why some are different from orthodox chess pieces."
"What we do know is this." Sirzechs shifted in his seat and a sudden tension rose into the air, causing Naruto and Rias to straighten almost subconsciously. "When Naruto appeared in the Underworld four months ago, one of the chess sets that Ajuka was working on responded to him and began to change. The pieces combined into one, creating a Fairy Piece that was a combination of every single piece, yet didn't seem to contain any of the power that comes from the other pieces, which is the reason I was able to trade it and a Mutated Pawn for two of your Pawns."
"I-this is very hard to take in," Rias said. Unlike Naruto, who knew only enough about chess to kick her butt with random moves that he pulled out of his ass, she understood what her brother's words implied. Naruto's Evil Piece was created by combining an entire chess set, all fifteen pieces, but contained none of their powers and, like a King, would cause her peerage to be disqualified should he ever be taken out of a Rating Game. That actually made him a weak link. Or it would, if he weren't so powerful.
"Does being this strange Evil Piece come with any benefits?" asked Naruto.
"Not that we've determined," Sirzechs said, "from what Ajuka told me, the Evil Piece responded to the incredible energy emissions you unleashed when you tore a hole through the Dimensional Gap and ended up here."
"Somehow I'm not surprised you know I tore a hole through dimensions and-wait. Did you just say dimensional gap?"
"Yes. The dimensional gap is the gap that exists between worlds and is considered a void world, because it is said to be devoid of all life except for the one known as Ophis, the Orouboros Dragon or Infinite Dragon God."
"Infinite Dragon God?"
Rias saw Naruto perk up at the mention of Ophis and inwardly cursed her brother. Couldn't her brother have left that part out? She knew of Naruto's goal to become, in his own words, the "Ultimate Badass of the Universe" and with the knowledge that there was a being powerful enough to be considered a Dragon God never mind the Infinite part, he would undoubtedly seek them out and challenge them to a fight.
Naruto may abhor killing and bloodshed, but combat was something he seemed to love almost as passionately as he loved her.
She really hoped Naruto wouldn't become a battle maniac.
"You mentioned something about the Dimensional Gap," Rias tried changing the subject. Fortunately, she was successful.
"Yes. For a long time now, the Dimensional Gap has been considered the gap between the three worlds of Heaven, Hell and Earth. Naruto's appearance disproves this theory, leading Ajuka and I to believe that there may be many other worlds out there, paralleling our own. This is all theory, of course, and I hardly understood half the stuff Ajuka was talking about. But I do know that Naruto is not from any of the three worlds that we know of."
Sirzechs grew silent after that, allowing Rias and Naruto a moment to reflect on what they learned. Rias already knew that Naruto was from another world. That had been one of the first subjects Naruto spoke of after they got together, so this didn't surprise her. Although, she was surprised to hear that her brother knew Naruto wasn't from this world. She probably shouldn't have been, but she was.
"Now that you two know this, there is something else important that I need to tell you." Naruto and Rias were snapped out of their thoughts and looked at Sirzechs. "From this moment on, I want you two to be very careful. Word about your power has spread to all the Devils in the Underworld, and if they know about you, then others are bound to find out sooner or later. There have been rumors of Devils with strong powers disappearing in the human world recently, so I want you two to watch yourselves."
"Ha! I say bring them on!" Naruto pounded his left fist into his right palm. "I'll shove my foot off in the ass of any jebroni stupid enough to mess with me! Ouch!"
"We'll be careful, onii-sama," Rias said after cuffing Naruto in the back of the head.
"Good. And since we've gotten all that out of the way, I have a request I would like to ask of you."
Rias felt her curiosity grow at the mention of the request. She couldn't help but wonder what he needed from her. A glance at Naruto revealed that he, too, was likely feeling a touch inquisitive to know what the most powerful of the four Maou wanted from them.
A red magic circle appeared on the floor off to the side. Rias recognized the crest as the crest of Lucifer, her brother's personal crest.
A figure soon appeared from within the circle. The person, a female, stepped forward, allowing them to get a better look at her.
Rias was shocked. Even Naruto's eyes went wide.
"You're..."
"It has been requested of the Gremory clan by the Phenex clan that we allow Ravel to transfer into Kuoh academy, so that she may gain experience living in the human world." While Ravel stood there, hands clasped in front of her and appearing almost nervous, Sirzechs smiled. "And because you have proven yourselves so capable, it has been decided that you and Naruto shall be tasked with helping her acclimate. I hope you two don't mind."