Arthur and Kuroka watched as Naruto's struggles ceased. His head dropped as if his neck had become boneless, spiky blond locks swaying forward with the motion to cover his eyes. His hands, which had been gripping the pavement hard enough to leave indents, relaxed along with his shoulders. Arthur smiled.
"I see you've finally decided to stop struggling. Wise choice. There is no point in pointlessly fighting against the inevitable. No one can withstand Excalibur Ruler. Better to just give up and allow yourself to fall under my command. Now then, come here. It is time for us to leave."
Naruto didn't move. Arthur frowned.
"I said come here."
Naruto still didn't move.
"Do you think he's still fighting against Excalibur Ruler's ultimate command?" Kuroka asked unsurely, wincing as she rubbed at her left breast where Naruto's fist had bruised her badly. She clearly still remembered how powerful he'd been when they were fighting and wondered if perhaps the blond could resist even Excalibur Ruler.
"Doubtful. Look at how his muscles have completely relaxed. He's not struggling anymore. And besides, the command of Excalibur Ruler is absolute. None can withstand it. Certainly not a mid-class devil."
Arthur walked up to Naruto until he stood right in front of the spiky-haired blond. He looked down at the young devil, frowning.
"I believe I've had enough of your impudence." Arthur reached out to grab Naruto by the hair and pull him to his feet. "It's time to for you to get up and—" he would never get the chance to finish that sentence as Naruto, reacting quicker than the Excalibur wielder could have anticipated, launched himself from his prone position and slammed his cranium against Arthur's nose, which crunched under the sudden and violent assault. "Ga!"
Stumbling back, Arthur held a hand up to his nose, which was now broken if the blood pouring from it was any indication. Grunting in pain, he cracked the nose back in place and blew the remnants of blood out of his nostrils. Meanwhile, Naruto stood in front of him, staring the two down with a squinty-eyed glare.
"Who the hell do you think I am?!" Naruto pointed a finger at Arthur. "Listen up, blondie, because I am only going to say this once. I'm Uzu-fucking-maki Naruto, the greatest ninja in the entire world and the person who will become the strongest being in the universe. There's no way in hell some weak ass little sword with the power to control people's minds is going to get the best of me, but if you'd like to try your luck then be my guest. I'll kick your ass from here to the underworld!"
"How were you able to escape from Excalibur Ruler's hold?" Arthur asked, too flabbergasted by this recent turn of events to be angry about his broken nose. "It shouldn't be possible for someone like you to break free of my sword's ultimate command. Excalibur Ruler's ability to subjugate the minds of others is absolute. There is no way some mid-class devil like yourself should be capable overcoming its power!"
"Don't underestimate me, jerkwad! I've dealt with mind manipulation abilities far stronger than that puny little stick of yours. Compared to the Sharingan and some of the other things that have tried fucking with my mind, your Excalibur Ruler is nothing!"
"Is that so?" Arthur said, not at all pleased by Naruto's insult to Excalibur Ruler's power. Glaring at the young man, he slid into a basic two-handed sword stance. "In that case, it looks like we shall need to use force, after all."
"Nya, I should have known it would come to this." Kuroka also slid into a basic fighting stance, though she did not appear as enthusiastic as Arthur. She clearly remembered how Naruto had her on the ropes last time. "My Shirone would never pick someone weak, after all."
Naruto had no clue what Kuroka meant by "picking someone" but found himself not really caring. This woman no longer had any right to call Koneko her sister as far as he was concerned. Even her continued use of Koneko's old name bothered him immensely, though he didn't say anything, as he had far more important things to worry about than something like that. The situation was about to get dicey once again, and he needed to be on top of his game if he wanted to fight a two-on-one battle and win.
"What do you think Kurama?"
"Hmm… individually, they are not strong enough for you to worry about. That Kuroka is talented, but lacks your strength and stamina, and aside from that Excalibur Ruler and the other holy sword he wields, I cannot sense anything else about this Arthur character that would prove detrimental to you. Just so long as you do not let his Holy Swords damage you, victory should be within your grasp. I'll begin gathering Senjutsu chakra for you again. Resisting that sword's command expended the last of it."
"I know, we were pretty lucky you were gathering Senjutsu chakra for me. I hate to admit it, but I might not have been able to resist that sword's control without having the Senjutsu chakra in my body to counteract the worst of that sword's effects."
"Arthur, you need to be careful when fighting him, nya," Kuroka warned. "This boy is a Senjutsu user. He's even better at using it than I am. He might even be a master, nya."
"I see." Arthur narrowed his eyes. "I had not realized human/devil hybrids were capable of using Senjutsu. Could that be the reason he managed to break free of Excalibur Ruler's control?"
"Maybe…"
"Hey! If all you two are going to do is talk, then I'm going to be the one to start this dance! Get ready for me cuz here I come!"
Arthur and Kuroke leapt out of the way as Naruto barrelled towards them, leaping into the air and descending upon the spot they'd been standing with a mighty roar. The ground exploded with dust and debris, which scattered across the ground. Several shuriken were launched from within the natural smokescreen. Arthur blocked the projectiles with his sword while the weapons went straight through Kuroka, who vanished, revealing herself to be another illusion. Naruto then burst from the dust, a fierce grin on his face as he raced straight at Arthur, who he'd already deemed the bigger threat due to those holy swords.
Seeing the spiky-headed blond traveling toward him, Arthur attacked with a downward slice of his Excalibur Ruler. Naruto didn't pause in his charge as he pulled a kunai out of the pouch he kept hidden behind his back and used chakra flow to strength the blade with the wind element. The intense sound of steel clashing against steel precluded the tiny projectile weapon blocking the much larger sword. Arthur seemed shocked by this new turn of events, but quickly tried pushing against the kunai with little success.
"I have no idea how you managed to block my sword with such a tiny blade. Excalibur Ruler is the most powerful of the seven Excalibur fragments and should be more than capable of cutting through such a miniscule weapon," Arthur said, gritting his teeth as he and Naruto fought for dominance.
"Heh." Naruto smirked. "Something like this is easy for someone as awesome as me. You'll find out soon enough that I'm just full of surprises."
"Nya! You may be full of surprises, but I doubt even you can get out of this!" Kuroka shouted as she came at Naruto from behind, her clawed left hand ready to rend flesh from bone.
Naruto realized the danger he was in and moved quickly, shifting his body to the left while grabbing one of Arthur's hands and pulling him into Kuroka's attack. The nekousho had excellent reflexes, however, and managed to stop from skewering her comrade by leaping into the air, flipping over the young man and attacking Naruto from the other side.
The blond dodged the flurry of attacks sent at him, then slipped into her guard and kicked her away by planting his right foot in her stomach. Kuroka slid along the ground, holding her stomach with one hand. The other she used to launch a magical bullet at Naruto, which he dodged by sliding underneath it, allowing the projectile to blow apart a wall somewhere behind him.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto created several clones, two of which attacked Arthur and two that went after Kuroka. Two more clones stuck by the originals side as he held out his hands for them and created a rasengan in each hand. While Naruto handled the shape manipulation, the clones took care of adding the wind-natured chakra. A bell-like screech soon filled the air as the two rasengans gained four blades that spun fiercely like a pair of windmill shuriken. The noise alerted Arthur and Kuroka to the danger just as they were finishing off the clones.
"What kind of attack is that, nya?!"
"There's a lot of compressed energy in those attacks. We'd better not let either one hit us or we'll be finished!"
"Why don't you two try this on for size! Rasenrenshuriken!"
"He threw them!" Arthur yelled in shock as Naruto chucked the two Rasenshurikens at them, one at him and the other at Kuroka. As the dual Rasenshurikens flew toward the pair, the ground splitting apart, chunks of black top flying everywhere as they were shredded to bits by the incredibly powerful jutsu.
Kuroka and Arthur leapt into the air, away from the attacks that continued on to strike the walls they'd been standing in front of, which the Rasenshurikens bore straight through like they were made of soggy bread, before continuing on for several more meters, tearing apart walls and buildings with ease and then exploding with impossible violence. Houses were destroyed like they were nothing as the materials that made them were sliced apart at the molecular level by countless millions of wind blades.
While the amount of sheer destruction did not reach the same size as his newest attack, everything within the dome-shaped radius of the jutsu was annihilated to the point that nothing remained, as if his jutsu had disintegrated everything caught in its destructive blast. By the time the two Rasenshurikens power ran out, there was absolutely nothing left but two large dome-shaped, perfectly smooth craters.
"W-what kind of attack is that?" Arthur asked in shocked awe. Kuroka didn't answer, or to be more precise, couldn't answer, because she was too busy gaping in barely masked fear at the damage done by the two attacks. "How can a mere mid-class devil use such destructive techniques?!"
"I can do a lot more than that, blondie!" Naruto shouted as he placed his hands on the ground and channeled his chakra. Six chains shot from the ground around Arthur and Kuroka, forcing them to move as the chakra chains tried to capture them.
Kuroka began shooting orbs of destruction from her palm, blasting the chains apart as she used her cat-like agility and reflexes enhanced by Senjutsu to dodge them before they could capture her. At the same time, Arthur backpedaled while swinging Excalibur Ruler around in graceful arcs, slicing apart the chains sent his way with ease. Naruto clicked his tongue when he saw that his jutsu wasn't doing anything and dismissed them, allowing the parts that hadn't already been cut into itty bitty pieces to disperse.
"Dammit, I wish I had some long-range ninjutsu to use." Having always preferred fighting up close, Naruto didn't have many attacks that could reach long distances. His Ransenshuriken was one of the few in his arsenal, and that took time to gather the chakra and charge it with the wind element. It also took a lot of chakra, and he really didn't feel like being wasteful at the moment.
"You could always use that new fighting style you created based off Tsunade's super strength technique."
"It's not complete yet," Naruto told Kurama, eying Kuroka and Arthur as they came at him from either side in a pincer maneuver. "Tsking" he began gathering wind-natured chakra along his hands and arms, making it swirl around the appendages like a tornado. "But it seems like I don't have much choice in the matter. Alright then, here we go!"
"Tatsumaki ken!"
Thrusting both fists out and away from himself, Naruto unleashed a powerful blast of wind at Arthur and Kuroka who came at him in a pincer grip. The fierce winds, enhanced by the Senjutsu chakra running through his body, smashed into them like the fists of an angry god. Arthur just barely managed to bring his sword up in time to block it, and even then he was pushed back for several meters, smashing through six walls which all crumbled around him, before coming to a stop. Kuroka turned out to be another illusion, the blast of wind traveling through her and causing her image to disperse like a ghost.
Knowing what that meant, Naruto rolled along the ground, dodging the magic bullet that Kuroka sent his way, allowing it to strike the ground with incredible force and leave a decent, foot-long crater.
Kipping back to his feet, the blond Uzumaki charged wind into his fist and sent a wind bullet hurtling toward Kuroka, who flipped out of the way. The bullet, unable to maintain its shape for long, dissipated before it could hit anything. So he was right; all this was jutsu style was good for was mid-range attacks and enhancing the power of his fists. Oh well.
Arthur charged at Naruto in a full-on frontal assault, forcing the young devil to dodge the many swings and slices of his Excalibur Ruler. To counter this man's sword, Naruto pulled out another kunai and enhanced it with chakra, blocking the holy sword in a series of lightning fast moves. He used the smaller weapon to his advantage and fended off the sword with one hand while he lashed out in a heel kick at Arthur, who leapt backward to avoid getting hit.
Despite Arthur backing off, Naruto wasn't given much time to recover as Kuroka attacked immediately after, which forced him to utilize some fancy footwork while moving backwards to escape, avoiding the Senjutsu charged strikes when he could and blocking them when he couldn't. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated Kuroka and she slipped a hand around his guard and fired a magic bullet at him point blank range. The blond hissed as he was sent skidding backwards along the ground, his damaged torso steaming as it quickly healed up.
"Nya, that healing ability of yours is almost unfair," Kuroka said, pouting. Naruto smirked.
"I'm a ninja. We don't care about being unfair. Besides, you two are the ones fighting me two-on-one. I'd say that you have an even more unfair advantage than I do."
"Yes, well, you have proven quite aptly that we cannot attain victory over you unless we team up against you." Arthur stepped up alongside his partner in crime, Excalibur Ruler at the ready. "I will admit, I can see why she wants to meet you. Your powers and abilities are most impressive."
"Flattery isn't going to convince me come with you, just so you know," Naruto told them flatly.
"Of that I have no doubt." Arthur's shoulders relaxed while Naruto tensed, sensing the holy energy wafting from the sword increasing in power. His fellow blond was definitely planning something, and whatever that something was it couldn't mean anything good for him. "I was merely being complimental. It does not matter how powerful you are. As the strongest holy sword user, I shall defeat you and take you to meet our leader one way or another."
"And I already told Kuroka that I'm not interested," Naruto shot back. "If your leader wants to see me so badly, then they should come and meet me themselves."
"Ha… I see that words will not get through to you. Very well then. It appears more force is required."
Naruto sensed the shift in the air. The area surrounding them became saturated with holy power, sending his devil instincts haywire. They warned him that whatever this man was planning to do, it would not be good for his health if he allowed it to hit him.
Arthur rushed at him again, faster this time. Naruto pushed chakra through his limbs to keep up. He blocked a strike from Excalibur Ruler, then watched in shock as his chakra enhanced kunai was sliced through as if it was paper.
He jumped back, narrowly avoiding injury by taking several great leaps that put him out of Arthur's attack range. This didn't allow him any reprieve, though, as several magic bullets fired from Kuroka, who'd leapt onto a roof, kept him on the move, weaving around attacks and explosions that saturated the area in fire and dust.
Deciding to fight fire with fire—or magic with wind—Naruto channeled more wind-natured chakra into his limbs and began smashing the magic bullets apart with punches and kicks. His chakra, enhanced by the Senjutsu chakra Kurama channeled through him, blasted the bullets to pieces. When the attack ended, Naruto was presented with Arthur already moving in to cut him in half.
"The hell? I thought you were trying to take me alive!" Naruto shouted as he leapt backwards. He could no longer block Excalibur Ruler with something simple like a chakra enhanced kunai. His devil powers made his own chakra weak against holy swords, it seemed, so he'd have to avoid Arthur's attacks from now on. How annoying.
"We were ordered to take you alive," Arthur said, "However, it has become clear that we cannot capture you without inflicting grievous injury upon your person."
Arthur and Kuroka attacked again, and Naruto quickly discovered that the two were not well-versed in teamwork. They worked well enough together that they didn't get in each other's way, but they couldn't really work as a team. At most they tried attacking him at the same time or occasionally took turns attacking him to ensure that he never had a moments rest. It was a decent enough plan. Were Naruto not such a stamina freak, it would have worked well. But he was a stamina freak, and therefore an attack plan like this didn't do much, as it required exhausting the opponent by never letting up, and this plan was more than likely going to exhaust them before he started running out of steam.
Not that this meant a whole lot. Their plan of attack might not be exhausting him like they hoped, but he still had to deal with two people who never gave him a break. It was difficult getting an attack in when he was always having to worry about one of them attacking him from behind while the other kept his attention. Good thing he had clones.
Naruto made liberal use of the Shadow Clone and Substitution Jutsu to escape death via being bisected by Excalibur Ruler. By this stage in his life, he'd become so talented at those two jutsu that it only took point-zero-eight seconds to cast both simultaneously, allowing him a near instant escape from most situations.
Unfortunately, Arthur wasn't the only person fighting him, and his other opponent was a Senjutsu user to boot. Kuroka managed to track his movements via the sensing abilities granted to her and fired off several magic bullets, forcing him to repel them using the Frog Kata he learned from old man Fukasaku.
While Naruto dealt with the magic attacks sent his way, Arthur closed the distance and attempted to slice through his waist. Naruto sensed him coming and avoided massive injury by leaping over the horizontal slice and slamming his left heel onto the flat end of the blade, letting it strike the ground and gouge out part of the street. With his path of attack clear, Naruto finally managed to land a solid hit, knocking Arthur upside the head with a powerful Senjutsu enhanced kick that sent the young man flying backwards to smash through a wall.
At that moment, Kuroka came in at Naruto with a series of lightning fast strikes infused with Senjutsu chakra. Naruto met her attacks head on, matching her strike for strike, the air becoming displaced with a series of loud booms! like crashing thunder whenever their fists met.
Arthur pulled himself from the large hole he'd made in the wall and charged toward them. Kuroka sensed him coming and jumped away at the last minute to allow the holy sword user to strike at Naruto and hopefully end this battle. Too bad for them Naruto had also sensed him coming, being even more in-tune with senjutsu than the nekousho, and quickly replaced himself with a clone that got sliced in half.
"Arthor, above you!"
Arthur looked up as the sun was blotted out by the body of a descending Naruto, green wind-natured chakra swirling around his arms like a maelstrom.
Not wanting to get caught up in whatever Naruto planned, Arthur leapt backwards seconds before Naruto's fist could impale him through the head. Instead of striking the Excalibur wielder, the fist struck ground, causing the earth to split and crater with a thunderous roar.
"This is getting us nowhere," Arthur said as he and Kuroka regrouped. "He isn't tiring down and I can't land a clean hit on him."
"And my fists aren't damaging him either, nya," Kuroka added. She'd managed to slip a few blows through Naruto's guard, but they didn't seem to do anything. Like some kind of juggernaut the blond-haired devil just took the punches and delivered an even more punishing blow. She actually had a large bruise on her stomach where Naruto had managed to strike her good.
"Ha! Did you people really think you'd be able to beat me just because it's two-on-one!" Naruto laughed at the duo and pointed at himself with a thumb. "It doesn't matter if you fight me two-on-one or two-hundred-on-one! No one can defeat the great Uzumaki Naruto!"
"This boy is pretty arrogant," Arthur stated as Naruto made something of a fool of himself.
"He's definitely not taking this seriously enough, nya," Kuroka agreed. "But we haven't been able to land a clean hit on him either. He's incredibly strong."
"True enough," her companion said, "I guess that just means we'll need to put a bit more effort into this battle ourselves."
Arthur shifted his stance and readied to begin the fight anew. Seeing this, Naruto stopped gloating and grew serious once again. He didn't know what they had planned, but whatever it was, he would break it and show them how stupid they were for going after the person who would become the most powerful devil in the universe.
The tension in the air began to thicken as the three had a classic stare down. Naruto glared at his two opponents, who looked ready to come at him again. He could hear his heart hammering in his chest. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, heightening his senses and making him hyper aware of his surroundings. Perhaps that's why he felt it when two more people entered the barrier that separated this space from the rest of the world before either Arthur or Kuroka did.
"It looks like you two are having problems securing your target," a voice said, causing all three to turn and look at the new arrival. A young-looking man with light-colored hair and dressed in some kind of ancient armor that reminded Naruto of an anime Rias had made him watch stood before them, his left hand settled on the shoulder of a very familiar and very scared young woman: Asia Argento.
"Asia!"
"N-Naruto-nii-san."
Asia didn't appear to be harmed in any way, but she was definitely scared. Naruto glared at the man who, oddly enough, reminded Naruto of a monkey. Even his chakra felt playful. "I don't know who the hell you are, but unless you want to receive the most epic ass kicking of all time you'll let Asia go right this instant."
The man just laughed at Naruto like he'd heard something funny, causing the spiky-headed blond to grit his teeth.
"Don't worry, blondie. I have every intention of letting your friend here go… provided you come with us, of course," he said, adding that caveat at the end. "Oh, and for future reference, my name's Bikou. You might want to remember it."
He didn't know how this man managed to capture Asia, though that he did suggested he'd either somehow slipped past both Akeno and Issei, or he'd beaten them both, which meant he was strong, especially as he didn't seem to have a scratch on him.
Naruto was in a pickle. On the one hand, he didn't want to go with this people who attacked him without provocation because he refused to meet their leader. Yet he couldn't let them harm Asia. Could he reach that man and snatch Asia from him before he hurt her? He didn't know, but simply gauging him based on power-levels alone Naruto didn't think so. He had a lot more chakra than Kuroka and seemed far more wiley.
And then there was still Kuroka and Arthur to deal with as well. They'd already proven to be capable of holding their own against him, even when he was in sage mode. Given time Naruto was sure he could beat them, but time had officially turned against him now. In a three-on-one battle, Naruto was not sure he could win, not while also rescuing Asia at least.
He sighed. There really was only one choice.
"Alright, you guys win. I'll go with you, but only if you let Asia go first."
"No!" Asia shouted, clearly confused by her situational altercation, but aware enough to know that he was giving himself to these people for her. "Don't do this, nii-san! You can't go with these people!"
Naruto gave her a sad smile. "There isn't much choice, Asia. I can't let them harm you, and if this is the only way to make sure you're safe, then I'll give myself over to these people." He looked at the three enemies and smirked when both Kuroka and Arthur tensed under his gaze. "Just don't be too disappointed if I end up kicking your asses after I meet your leader."
Bikou laughed some more. "What an interesting guy! You're certainly not lacking in confidence. However, how do we know we can trust you? Aren't you supposed to be a ninja or something? I've heard you ninja are known for being good liars."
"You clearly haven't done your homework on me, have you? If you did, then you would know that my nindo is that I never give up and never go back on my word. I've given you my word that I'll go with you and meet this leader you people keep talking about, but only if you let Asia go. If you don't let her go, then I'll shove my foot so far up your asses that you'll need to use a bedpan for months."
"What an unusual ninja you are," Bikou chuckled. "Alright then, we'll let the girl go if you promise to come with us."
"Then we have an accord."
Tears pricked at Asia's eyes. "B-but you can't. What about Rias-buchou and the others?"
"You'll have to tell Rias and the others what happened here for me. Let them know I'll be gone for a little while." A clone suddenly came up to Naruto and handed off the bags filled with presents. He then walked up to Bikou and Asia, giving the girl the gift bags and patting her on the head. "Be sure to give those to everybody for me, okay?"
"N-nii-san…"
"Hey, hey, no crying," Naruto chided the distraught girl, wiping away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes with the tenderness of a big brother. "Nothing's going to happen to me. The leader of these people just wants to talk. I'll go with them, find out what their leader wants, then leave, so don't worry, okay?"
Asia still looked worried despite his reassurances, but she put on a strong front for him and smiled tremulously. "O-okay."
"Right. Now, off you go." Naruto pushed her along the road, even going so far as to pat her on the bum to get her moving. Asia gave him one last sorrowful look before taking off down the road. He watched her go, sighed when she disappeared around a corner, then turned to look at Bikou. "I'm ready."
"Alright then!" Bikou said, grinning like a loon. "Let's get going!"
"Nya, are you sure it was wise to let that girl go?" asked Kuroka as she and a wary Arthur walked up to them. "You know she's going to tell the Gremory group what happened here."
"So?" Bikou shrugged. "It's not like they can do anything even if they do know what happened. And it's not like they even know who we are. And besides, I'm loath to kill a girl who has no intention of fighting back."
Kuroka shrugged. "Your choice, nya."
The world around them began distorting. Naruto watched as the edges of the space surrounding them started to tear, like a tapestry being unwoven as the very fabrics of this dimension was ripped apart at the seams. He'd never seen such an advanced form of space manipulation.
A second after the space distorted Arthur, Bikou, Kuroka and Naruto vanished as if they'd never existed, and the barrier surrounding the small suburb broke apart, making it look as if the battle that had taken place never happened.
~Devil Ninja~
Issei was at a loss. His entire body felt numb. He and everyone else had just been told that Naruto had been taken. Kidnapped. He was gone and none of them knew when or even if he would be coming back.
They were all inside of the Occult Research Clubroom, the entirety of Rias Buchou's peerage. Kiba leaned against the wall several feet from the center of the room, biting his thumb and looking anxious. Issei understood out he felt. Akeno stood behind her King as always, but her expression was downtrodden. She was no doubt feeling the loss of her favorite verbal sparring partner.
However, the worst of the group was Asia, Koneko, Ravel and Rias. Koneko sat on the couch that she and Naruto always shared, her eyes blank, lips quivering. The mochi she'd been eating lay forgotten on the floor. Ravel sat next to her. She didn't seem as bad off as Koneko, but it was clear to all that she was incredibly worried. And Rias Buchou, his beautiful president and onee-sama sat in her chair, fingers locked in front of her, hiding her face, which was further concealed by her thick red bangs of hair. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he knew she had to be hurting.
And Asia…
"I'm so sorry! If only I was stronger! If I wasn't so weak I would have been able to fight back! Then maybe… then maybe…"
Asia was inconsolable. Issei held the girl in his arms as she cried. Her eyes were red and puffy and there was even liquid running down her nose. He remembered quite clearly when she'd burst into the room just as they were about to have a meeting and told them how Naruto had allowed himself to be taken by a group of suspicious individuals to protect her.
Naruto had been taken.
The thought sounded so wrong in Issei's head. Naruto taken? What sort of trickery was this? His sensei was strong. He'd never met anyone as strong as Naruto. Even though they were both newly minted devils reincarnated at the same time, Naruto had always seemed so much better than him; wise and powerful and knowledgable. He always knew what he was talking about and adapted to the changed circumstances in his life like a fish to water. Issei couldn't imagine someone taking Naruto down.
But it had happened. Asia couldn't lie if her life depended on it, and she was so distraught that he and the others were forced to believe her.
Issei didn't know what to do in a situation like this. What should he say? Should he tell the others not to worry? That Naruto would never let himself be kidnapped? That he was probably just pretending until he was certain Asia was safe and would come barging through those doors with that large grin on his face? He wanted to have faith in the person who helped him get stronger, but how could he show that faith when everyone else acted like Naruto was dead.
"I can't believe that Naruto-san of all people got kidnapped," Kiba broke the silence. All eyes turned towards him. "Out of all the people here Naruto is the one person I would have never expected this to happen to. He always seemed so strong."
"I know what you mean," Akeno said, glancing over at Issei. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to go to him, but her duty to her King held her back. Her loyalty to Rias exceeded her desire for personal comfort. Issei admired that about her, even if he wished her S-side would come out far less. "Kitsune-kun has always been a powerful member of our group right from day one, and his strength has only increased by leaps and bounds. For him to be captured is unthinkable."
"It's all my fault." Asia sobbed in Issei's arms. The sound tore at his heart. "This is all my fault."
"This isn't your fault," Issei said. "There wasn't anything you could do. From what you said, that man who took you appeared without warning."
Asia looked at him, puffy red eyes blinking.
Issei smiled at her, then looked at everybody else, eyes blazing with determination.
"We can't give up! Those people said they wanted Naruto to come with them so he could meet their leader, right? That means he's still alive, and if he's still alive then there's a chance that he can escape! Even if he can't, that doesn't mean we can't find him and take him back, right? Isn't he a member of our peerage?! Isn't he a member of our family?! We can't just let some bastards take him from us!"
Issei's words seemed to inspire those around him. Even Koneko perked up, her vacant eyes gaining a bit of vibrancy.
"Issei is right." Rias stood from her chair and slammed her hands on the desk. Her bluish-green eyes had a fire lit within them. "We can't just give up hope. We have to believe that Naruto is out there, safe and waiting for us. I want all of you to begin searching for him with your familiars! We'll find those people who took him, take him back, and make the fools who dared to kidnap a member of my family regret ever being born!"
Issei felt hope rise within him. He didn't have a familiar, so he couldn't help, but surely with all of the familiars Buchou's peerage had they would be able to find him. More eyes meant they would have an easier time tracking him down. The familiars would find him, then Issei and the others would rescue him. Simple.
He, along with the other member's of Buchou's peerage, stood up and offered her their loudest: "Hai, Buchou!"
This time it would be Issei's turn to help Naruto.
~Devil Ninja~
Things were not looking good. A week had passed since Naruto's kidnapping and not only had they not found him, but their companion didn't appear to be anywhere in the city. Even sending their familiars further out into Japan had availed them nothing, and the peerage of Rias Gremory was forced to come to a startling and sickening conclusion.
Naruto was gone.
For a time, Rias Gremory tried putting up a strong front for her peerage. As their king she needed to be strong, to be seen as someone who wouldn't grieve and wouldn't give up. However, as the days passed and Naruto still wasn't found, the young woman became more and more reclusive, until she was rarely ever seen outside of the manor she shared with Naruto.
Issei Hyoudo was at a loss. His friend and sensei was missing. His king had become a sexy, redheaded hermit. Koneko and Ravel had both stopped talking to everyone else, and Asia kept blaming herself. The only two people who remained strong was Akeno and Kiba, and that's because neither of them were as close to Naruto. Kiba was an occasional sparring partner and Akeno was simply a person the spiky-headed blond traded barbs with.
"You seem worried, partner."
As Issei walked down the street, ignoring the setting sun at his back, a voice spoke up from his hand.
"Of course I'm worried, Ddraige. The blond bastard is missing, buchou and Koneko are depressed, and I don't know how to make things better."
"I see, so even you, a person whose lecherous nature surpasses anything that I have ever seen, can think about something other than breasts."
"Of course I think about things other than breasts!" Issei wasn't sure if Ddraige had just complimented him or insulted him. "I think about butts and booties and cooch's, too!"
"Butts and booties are the same thing, idiot."
"And I also think about Akeno-oneesama and Asia, and my friends, I think about them, too. And there's also…"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Well, there's that thing sensei talked to me about. You know, how I need to find something important to me, something that can give me more strength than simply thinking about breasts can. I don't really get what he meant, though. He kept going on about the meaning of true strength and weird things like that. I don't understand it. What is true strength? And how does someone go about getting it?"
"I think his meaning was fairly straightforward."
"Really? How so?"
"... You really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"Hey!"
"Listen partner, throughout history people of great power have been driven by something; a goal, a person, an ideal. Do you think all of those insanely powerful people you've heard about just acquired power because they wanted to suck on a pair of nipples? No, each of these people had something they wanted, a goal they wished to accomplish, a place they wished to protect. This desire to accomplish something beyond what most humans could dream of accomplishing, this desire to protect something that meant more to them than their own life, these things gave those people incredible strength and allow them to overcome any obstacle. That is what your blond sensei was talking about."
"I see…" Issei scratched the back of his head. "I still don't get it. All I want to do is become Harem King."
"Is that really all you want out of life? Can you think of nothing else that you want?"
Issei thought about Draigge's question. "Well, I also want to help Buchou. She's really hurt right now and I don't like that. And Asia. I really want to help her. I know she blames herself for what happened to sensei, but there wasn't anything she could do! It's not like she could fight off whoever those people were. Asia's not a fighter, and those people must have been strong if they could fight sensei."
"So you want to help Asia? You want to let her know that she's not to blame?"
"Of course I do! Asia's important to me!"
"You want to protect her, then? Protect her from all the people who would seek to do her harm?"
"That's right! I'll protect Asia from anyone and anything! I won't let anybody harm a single hair on her head!"
For several long seconds, Ddraige remained silent. Issei wondered what the dragon in his gauntlet was thinking. Then…
"... I was right. You really are an idiot."
"Don't say that without explaining why, dammit!"
"But you're also on the right path. Keep protecting that nun and I'm sure you'll figure out what your blond sensei was talking about."
"Um, sure, okay."
Issei didn't know what Ddraige meant, but decided to put it out of his mind as he stepped into the entryway of his home.
"I'm home!"
"Ara, ara, welcome home, Ise."
All thoughts about protecting Asia and Naruto's words left him when Akeno stepped out from behind the kitchen door dress in an apron.
In nothing but an apron.
"Ufufuf," Akeno giggled demurely as blood trickled down Issei's nose. Then she did a spirited twirl, allowing him to see that she wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing. Holy crap! Akeno-oneesama was naked! Nudity! It was the naked apron! This was awesome! "Do you like my outfit, Ise?"
"I love your outfit!" His nose bleeding by the bucket loads, Issei lifted a hand and gave Akeno a thumbs up. "Akeno-oneesama looks incredible as always!"
"Ufufufu, you know just what to say to make a girl smile." Akeno walked up to him with a deadly sway to her hips. Issei's could have sworn his mind "pinged" as it went straight down the gutter. "I'm glad to see you like my outfit. It's a little different than what I normally wear for you."
K-ku, that's right. Akeno normally wore leather whenever she teased him, and she usually knocked him out with drugs and stuff, then tied him to the bed and did ecchi things to screw with him… and used her whip to hurt him. Oddly enough, he didn't mind that.
He must be turning into a masochist. Damn Akeno-oneesama and her S-mode! She was turning him into a masochist! How could he become Harem King if Akeno-oneesama turned him into an M?
"W-why are you wearing something like that?" Issei asked. "I mean, it's totally cool that you are! You look fucking hot! I'm just curious to know why, cuz, you know, I've never seen you in something like that."
Akeno's delicate fingers rubbed gentle circles on Issei's chest as she leaned against him. "I suppose you could say this is my way of helping you and Asia-san out. Things are looking pretty bad right now with Kitsune-kun kidnapped by an unknown group of people. Asia-san has been pretty down in the dumps and you're working hard to make her feel better, right? That's why I'm doing this. Asia-san isn't quite ready to join in our S&M yet, so I'm going with something a little lighter tonight."
"Oh… I see." Issei pressed his right fist into his left palm, nodding. "Yeah, that makes sense. Asia's not really the type to do S&M and… wait. Yet?"
"Ufufufu, never mind that. Just come on into the kitchen and sit down. We'll have dinner ready in just a bit."
"Dinner? We?"
He wasn't given an answer as Akeno pushed him into the dining room and Issei was given the shock of his life.
"Oh, Ise-san! I'm glad you're back. Why don't you sit down. Dinner will be ready in just a moment."
Issei stared at Asia as she stood by the stove wearing a pink apron with hearts on it and nothing else.
A naked Asia in nothing but an apron.
A naked Asia…
Asia… naked…
Kong.
Akeno and Asia watched in mute silence as Issei was blown backward by a jetstream of blood flowing from his nose, his back smashing into the wall and then sliding to the floor unconscious.
"Ah! Ise-san!"
As Asia rushed toward her savior, Akeno pressed a hand to her cheek and smiled. "Ara, ara, I knew this was a good idea."
~Devil Ninja~
Ravel Phenex sat on the couch in the living room. The TV wasn't turned on, yet still she stared at it with blank eyes. Her mind was locked in turmoil.
Naruto was gone. She didn't really understand her feelings for the blond man all that well. She knew he meant a lot to her, and she admired him greatly after watching him fight against her brother. She admired him even more because she knew he'd done it for another person, just like those people in the stories her mother used to tell her every night before going to sleep. She'd come to the human world in order to learn about what it was she felt for him. That had been her sole reason for asking if she could stay in the human world.
That wasn't possible now because Naruto was no longer with them. Ravel felt her chest ache at the thought, as if an icy hand had grabbed ahold of her heart, holding it within a vice grip. Just thinking about how he was missing hurt. She could only imagine how Rias felt.
Rias… thinking about the red-haired heiress also caused Ravel to feel pretty awful. If she had been hurt by Naruto's disappear then Rias had been devastated. The redhead had tried putting up a strong front for her peerage, but after a week with no word, not even a hint of his presence, Rias had begun to withdraw. She'd locked herself away in her room and wouldn't come out unless it was to eat, sometimes not even then. It was getting to the point where Ravel worried the older devil would waste away.
"What am I doing here?" Ravel buried her face in her hands. "All I wanted to do was find out how I felt about Naruto-sama. Nothing more. Why does this hurt so much?"
No one answered her. Not that she expected someone to. For all intents and purposes she was alone in this house. Rias was a non factor and no one else lived there. She wouldn't be getting any of the answers she sought. Not here.
Ding dong.
The ringing of the doorbell alerted Ravel to the presence of someone at the front door. Wondering who it could be, the blond devil heiress walked to the entrance and opened the door.
"Hello, can I… oh, it's you."
"Yakitori."
"What do you want?" Ravel asked flatly as she stared at the little white-haired girl. Koneko looked about as bad as Ravel felt. Her eyes had bags under them and were slightly bloodshot. She'd obviously been having trouble sleeping.
"I came to see how you and Rias-Buchou were doing."
"O-oh…" So she was concerned? Ravel was surprised. She didn't think this girl would feel concern over her. It wasn't like they were friends. "I'm fine."
"Liar. You can't hide your feelings from me. I can see it in your eyes and feel it by reading your spirit."
Ravel looked away, scowling—or at least trying to. "Don't go looking at my spirit! And what does that even mean?—no, you know? Never mind, I don't want to know. And I am fine. It's not like I—I mean it's not as if I was really close to Naruto-sama. I barely even know him."
"And yet that does not stop you from feeling worried and missing him."
Ravel flinched as that strange fist clutching her heart became unbearable. It did hurt to know that Naruto was missing from her life. Ever since she'd met him he'd been nothing but supportive of her—well, he'd been supportive after thoroughly creeping her out with their first meeting, but after that he'd been nothing but her staunchest supporter; making sure she was getting along in class, helping put her at ease with his presence and words, and even paying compliments on her cooking and beauty. Now he was gone and all that support she'd been secretly relying on to get through the day had disappeared, and she didn't know what to do.
She felt tears sting her eyes but determinedly wiped them away.
"If you're done pointing out my feelings, perhaps you should just state what you want from me and then leave."
"What makes you think I want anything from you?"
"Then why are you even talking to me?!"
Ravel wasn't sure what sort of answers she'd been expecting from Koneko, however, head petting was not one of them.
"It'll be alright," Koneko said, gently petting her on the head in a manner eerily similar to how Naruto would pet the white-haired girl. "Naruto is really strong. I'm sure he's okay, wherever he is. He'll come back to us, so we need to stay strong so that when he does come back, we can greet him with a smile instead of tears."
"Don't treat me like I'm some kind of dog," Ravel muttered, though she did not try to move Koneko's hand away either. "Do you really think Naruto-sama is alright?"
"Yes." There was a certainty in Koneko's voice that had not been present several days ago. "I am sure that he's fine, and I'm sure that he'll come back home eventually. I believe in him, so I know everything will be okay."
Ravel had to admire Koneko's certainty, especially since she had been one of those hurt by Naruto's disappearance the most. This girl had clearly done a good deal of soul searching these past few days, and whatever she had discovered was giving her the strength to carry on.
"I wish I had your confidence."
"Once you admit your love for Narut-sempai, you'll gain the same confidence in him that I have."
"W-w-w-what—love?!" Ravel squeaked as her Phenex powers over fire went wild, causing her face to burst into flames in a very literal manner. Koneko quickly removed her hand to avoid being burned. "W-w-w—I don't love Naruto-sama! What could possibly make you say something like that?!"
There was no way she could love Naruto-sama. He was just someone that she admired because of his strength and refusal to give up. Even if she did feel something for him—which she didn't—Naruto-sama was dating Rias-sama, and that woman would never let her boyfriend have another woman in his life.
Unless that woman was a member of Naruto-sama's peerage. Even if Rias-sama was Naruto-sama's King, even she wouldn't be able to do anything if Naruto-sama decided to take Ravel as a member of his peerage. Then she could always remain by Naruto-sama's side. Who knows, he may even take her as a concubine and—
"No! No, no, no, no! Stop thinking like that, Ravel! This isn't why you came here! You only came to ascertain what it was about Naruto-sama that made your heart race! No other reason! You didn't come here to become a member of Naruto-sama's peerage and have him take you as a l-l-lov—concubine! It would never work out anyway. Naruto-sama is in love with Rias-sama and no one else."
While Ravel reaffirmed her belief that she was not there to become a part of Naruto's as-of-yet nonexistent peerage, Koneko gave the blond girl a blank look.
"If you don't love Naruto-sempai, then why are you here?"
"I-it's because… it's, uh, political! I'm here for political reasons! Nothing else!"
Koneko looked at her for several seconds, then shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, is Rias-Buchou home? I was hoping to speak with her."
Ravel was thrown off by the sudden change in topic. "Uh, yes, she is. I don't think she's left her room for at least a few hours." More like a few days, but who was counting the time?
"Okay. Now get out of my way, Yakitori."
"Who are you calling Yakitori?!"
~Devil Ninja~
Rias sat on the bed she shared with Naruto, her knees drawn up to her chest as she thought about the young man she loved and how he was no longer there with her. She knew that, as a king, she needed to be strong, but all she could do was lament the loss of her boyfriend. Some part of her felt weak that she couldn't seem to function without him, but the rest just didn't care. Naruto was gone and she didn't see the point in continuing to put on this charade that everything was okay. Everything was not okay, and it wouldn't be until her love was safely in her arms again.
A knock came at the door.
"Rias-Buchou," a familiar voice said from the other side. "It's Koneko. Can I come in?"
Rias didn't answer. She didn't feel like talking to Koneko, Akeno, Ravel or anyone else. She just wanted to be left alone.
The door rattled for several seconds as Koneko tried to open it. When the 15-year neko/devil hybrid realized it was locked, she kicked the door down and stepped inside. Bright yellow eyes with slightly black bags underneath them observed their new surroundings.
"So this is where you and Naruto-sempai sleep?" her Rook said. "It's really cozy. I'm kinda jealous that you get to sleep in here with Naruto."
Rias sighed as she realized her Rook wasn't going to leave her alone. "Is there something that I can help you with, Koneko?"
Koneko stood in front of Rias and looked down at her, which was a definite change because it was normally Rias looking down at Koneko due to their height difference.
"I want to know why you're staying cooped up in here."
"I don't see why it matters. What I do is my business and no one elses."
"It does matter!" Koneko's outburst startled Rias into looking up into the normally emotionless eyes of her Rook, which currently brimmed with emotion. "It matters because what you're doing isn't healthy! You're our king! We need you to be our King, we need you to lead your peerage. No one else can do this, and Naruto-sempai wouldn't want you destroying yourself by becoming a hermit!"
"What would you know?!" Rias shouted, suddenly angry. "Naruto is more than just a member of my peerage! He's also my boyfriend! He meant everything to me and now he's gone! Someone like you could never understand how I feel!"
Rias knew the moment those words left her mouth that she'd said the wrong thing. She didn't even need to see the tears pricking at Koneko's eyes to know that.
"Koneko, I'm…"
"You think that you're the only one who loves Naruto-sempai?" Koneko asked. "Reality check, Buchou, just because you're the one dating Naruto doesn't mean you're the only one who loves him."
Koneko placed a hand on her chest, her eyes smoldering with an intensity Rias had never seen from the white-haired girl before.
"I love Naruto-sempai just as much as you! He means so much to me that I feel lost without him! Just thinking about how I can no longer see him, how he's no longer around to hold me and help me, tears me up inside! Naruto-sempai means the world to me! But I also know that he wouldn't want me to be depressed and incapable of functioning like a normal person whenever he isn't around. He's been training me to be strong, not just in body but in mind too, and I know it's because he realized that he might not always be around to protect me! It's the same with you, isn't it? Hasn't he been doing everything in his power to help you reach your goals of becoming your own person and not just the heiress of Gremory? Well sometimes being your own person also means not relying on others!"
Rias stared at Koneko in shock. Had she ever heard her Rook speak so passionately before? No, never. In all the time she'd known Koneko, the young freshman had never spoken like this. It just went to show Rias how much Naruto's influenced had changed her. Koneko was stronger now than she'd ever been, both physically and mentally, it seemed.
"You're right," Rias said, reaching up to grab Koneko's arm and gently pulling the white-haired girl into a hug. Her Rook returned the hug fiercely. "I've grown so used to having Naruto do everything for me that I've forgotten what it means to do things myself. I need to be strong and stop relying on him for everything; that way I can stand by his side as an equal when he comes back. I'm sorry, Koneko, can you forgive me?"
That's right. Even though she was Naruto's king, it sometimes felt like their situations were reversed. She knew why. Naruto was a war hero in his old world. He'd already experienced the things she and her peerage were going through and came out on top. That's why she relied on him so much, because he knew what to do, but really, all that did was turn him into her crutch. She'd been using him without even realizing it.
"I forgive, Rias-Buchou," Koneko's voice was muffled by Rias's bosom, upon which her head rested.
"Thank you."
Silence descended on the room, neither stifling nor awkward. Rias held Koneko close, marveling at how small and frail the girl seemed despite knowing of her strength.
"Um…"
A voice alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone. Rias and Koneko turned to see an uncertain Ravel standing in the doorway.
"I-I just wanted to tell you that the other members of your peerage have come over," Ravel said. "They're sitting in the living room right now."
"Did you do this?" Rias asked Koneko, who just looked away, causing her to smile. She then turned to Ravel again. "Thank you for telling me this."
"Um, you're welcome."
Rias and Koneko stood up and walked to the door. As she exited, Rias stopped in front of Ravel and placed her hands on the younger devil's shoulders.
"I'm also sorry for the way I treated you. You may not be a member of my peerage, but you are still a guest of this house, and I've been ignoring you."
"Ah…" Ravel flushed fiercely under the older woman's ernest stare. "I-it's alright. I know that you're going through a hard time right now."
Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red when Rias gave her a knowing look. "I'll bet."
As they began walking down the hall toward the living room, Koneko spoke up. "Rias-Buchou, you might want to take a shower before meeting the others."
Rias looked at her Rook.
"Why is that?"
"Because you stink."
And that was when Rias realized that it had been two days since she'd taken a shower. Flushing with embarrassment, the young woman decided to follow Koneko's advice.
"Right. Okay, so, um, why don't you two go on ahead while I take a shower, then?"
"Okay."
"You've got it, Buchou."
~Devil Ninja~
Several days after her talk with Koneko, Rias sat behind the desk in the Occult Research Clubroom, getting through some of the reports she hadn't done because of her own despondency. There were quite a few, a whole weeks worth in fact, and she needed to finish them and send them back to the underworld before her brother realized something was wrong. Fortunately, Sirzechs was a slacker and enjoyed putting off his own work, so he probably didn't even know her reports had yet to come in.
The opening of the door caused her to look up and see Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, walk in.
"It is good to see you hard at work again," Sona said by way of greeting. Her fellow king stopped in front of the desk, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I was pretty worried for a while when you stopped coming to school."
"Sona," Rias greeted, "It's good to see you, too."
"How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well, all things considered."
"That's good to hear. You really had me worried. I heard about what happened to Naruto. You have my condolences."
"Naruto is alright," Risa said, ignoring the ache in her chest. "I'm sure that, wherever he is, he's doing just fine and waiting for a chance to return."
Sona's smile was small but visible. "I'm sure. Knowing your servant like I do, he's probably just waiting for the right moment to make his entrance. Then he'll swoop in and cause a big ruckus that will shake the entire campus and cause me a headache."
Rias smiled. "Yes, that would be just like him, wouldn't it? However, I'm sure you're not here to reminisce with me about my servant. What's up?"
The smile left Sona's face and a serious demeanor overtook her. "We have a bit of a problem. Two members of the church have recently been spotted in town. they contacted us and wished to request a meeting with you as overseer of this city."
Rias focused her full attention on Sona. "That is an unusual request. Did they say why they wanted to speak with me?"
"No, only that they needed to talk as soon as possible."
"I see. In that case I suppose I can meet with them tomorrow. I don't have any training sessions planned, so I should be able to see them."
"Very well. That will be fine. Be careful when you meet with them, Rias."
Rias heard the tone in her friends voice and looked up in concern. "Is something wrong, Sona? You're always serious, but you don't normally sound this grave."
"This is just a hunch," Sona started, "But I believe there is more to these two than meets the eye. They have a strange aura about them that sets me on edge, and the packages they were carrying worries me. They had the same feeling as a holy sword."
There were two holy sword users here in Kouh? If that was the case, then it spelled nothing good for Rias. She didn't let Sona know this, however, and instead responded with a nod. "I see. Don't worry, Sona, I'll be careful."
"I'm pleased to hear that."
After exchanging farewells, Sona vacated the room with her Queen, leaving Rias alone to her thoughts. It seemed as if things were going to be problematic in the coming days.
"Naruto," Rias whispered, her hand reaching up to grip the green gem hidden underneath her academy uniform. "Wherever you are, please, come back to me. I have a feeling that your strength is going to needed soon."