The situation couldn't have been more tense if a cadre of fallen angels walked through the doors right now and declared war on all of devil-kind. Nothing seemed out of place in the Occult Research Club Room. Everything looked just as it always did. The only difference between now and every other time Rias Gremory and her peerage spent time in this room was the two guests sitting on the couch.
Both of them looked like ordinary teenage girlsㅡprovided you discount the fact that they wore long tan cloaks and were carrying some kind of holy sword on them. Rias could feel the unusual amount of holy power radiating from the large object resting against the couch next to the girl on the left. It was wrapped in cloth, so she couldn't see anything, but judging from the shape, size and power radiating from it, it couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a holy sword.
The one on the right had light brown hair in twin tails tied on either side of her head. Each tail was long, traveling all the way down to her backside. Her eyes were a bright violet and, for reasons that Rias couldn't understand, the girl had an abnormally cheerful disposition. She just sat there, smiling brightly, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she was surrounded by a peerage of devils.
The other girl had messy, chin-length blue hair, yellow eyes and fair skin. While the twin-tailed girl's features were clearly of Japanese origin, this girl had the appearance of a European. One thing Rias noticed that seemed odd was the green fringe of hair on the right side of the girl's face. Unlike her companion, this girl was wearing her game face. Her eyes were completely blank, almost empty of all emotions save one: complete and utter confidence in herself and her purpose.
Both girls sat across from Rias, her peerage and Ravelㅡwho Rias let join themㅡall of whom were looking at the pair before them with distrust in their eyes. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, this tense situation, if it wasn't for the killing intent pouring off Kiba. Rias was actually worried about him, as the normally cordial blond man looked ready to leap from behind the couch and attack the two girls. She could only hope he would keep his anger in check.
"So you are the two members of the Vatican church who requested to see me," Rias crossed her arms under her chest, presenting the image of a confident young woman. "I'm honestly quite surprised. I've never had a member of the church try contacting me before."
"Circumstances dictated that we have this meeting," the blue-haired one said. "Believe me when I say that we would never want to sully ourselves by being in the presence of devils if we could help it, but the situation we find ourselves in is strange."
Rias ignored the insult. She knew what this girl was trying to do, baiting her into lashing out in order to gain the upper hand in their talks. It was a common tactic for when two forces of opposing ends underwent negotiations, however, Rias would not allow herself to be put into an unadvantagious situation. Nor would she allow herself to show weakness by letting someone from the church goad her into getting angry.
"So it seems. However, before this meeting can begin, I would like to know your names. You clearly know mine, which puts us at something of a disadvantage, not to mention it's only proper to give your names after seeking someone out."
"Ah, that's right!" The bubbly girl said, "We totally forgot to give our names. I'm Shidou Irina, and this is Xenovia."
Rias gazed at the cheerful girl, Irina. There was something odd about this girl. No one surrounded by a group of potential enemies should act so cheerful. Either this was just her base personality, or she simply did not feel threatened by the presence of numerous devils.
"So I see. Very well then, you two have requested this meeting, what is it that you wished to discuss with me?"
"Before we can tell you our… request, it would be prudent to inform you of the situation at hand, that way you will have a better understanding of what's going to happen," the one named Xenovia said. "As you are probably aware, there are six holy swords known as Excalibur in the church's possession. What you probably do not know is that three of these swords, one belonging to the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen recently."
Rias didn't show how startled she was to hear this, instead choosing to think the situation over. Beside her, Ravel also furrowed her brow, and she knew the Phenex heiress had probably already realized what this meant.
"The fact that you're coming to us means you've managed to track the thief to this location," Ravel determined. Rias had also come to this conclusion. "So the thief is here in Kouh? And I'm assuming the church sent you two to retrieve the Excaliburs?"
"That is correct. Irina and I were sent by the Vatican to retrieve of the holy swords Excalibur."
"Hold on." Rias turned her head to Issei, who stood behind her couch with Akeno, Asia and Kiba. The young man looked confused. "I don't get it. You said holy swords, as in, like, plural, right? I always thought there was only one Excalibur."
"That is only partly correct," Rias spoke before anyone else. "There was only one Excalibur. However, that was a long time ago. Sometime during the war between the three faction, Excalibur was broken. The fragments were then collected and reforged by the church." She turned to the two Vatican members. "Isn't that right?"
"Yes, that is correct," Irina said, "Excalibur broke and was reforged by our alchemist. However, our alchemy wasn't strong enough to reforge Excalibur completely, and so it was forged into seven different swords. This is my Excalibur."
The cloak opened as Irina moved her arm, revealing the skintight black bodysuit underneath. Rias absentmindedly took note of the girl's valoptuous figure and supple muscles, showing that she'd clearly gone through intense physical training. The church goer then grabbed a small string tied around her right arm. The string lengthened and wiggled as if it was alive, and then it changed shape, straightening, solidifying, hardening, before eventually morphing into a long katana.
Rias eyed the weapon warily. She could feel the power it radiated. It was strong, but nothing for her to be concerned about. However…
He eyes glanced at her peerage, seeing the different reactions. Asia was clearly as frightened as she was awed. Rias could only imagine that being in the presence of a holy sword brought the former nun conflicted feelings. Issei was taking care of her, though. He had an arm around her shoulder while Akeno had one around them both.
Sitting by her side, Koneko scooted against her. She didn't know if the white-haired nekousho was afraid, but she clearly sought comfort, and as Naruto wasn't there, Rias happily took his place.
Her eyes then turned to Ravel. The girl was shaking. Rias doubted the Phenex heiress had ever been in the presence of a holy sword before, and it obviously frightened her.
Rias reached out and grabbed one of Ravel's hands. The blond girl did not hesitate to squeeze back.
"This is Excalibur Mimic. It has the ability to change shape into anything I want it to, so it's really useful to have around. Unlike Xenovia, I can just carry it like this." The sword changed back into a string, which Irina then tied around her arm again.
"You shouldn't give away your Excalibur's power to a bunch of devils, Irina," Xenovia scolded her companion, only to soon realize that everyone was giving her expectant looks, including Irina. She sighed. "This is my Excalibur."
Xenovia unwrapped her weapon, revealing what appeared to be a giant sword. Rias knew instantly just from the feelings it produced that this sword was more dangerous than Excalibur Mimic.
"It's called Excalibur Destruction. It was one of the two Excaliburs in possession of the Catholic Church. The protestant Church and Eastern Orthodox Church also had two Excaliburs in their possession. There was a seventh Excalibur, but it was lost sometime after the war."
Xenovia rewrapped the sword in its cloth. Rias noticed the symbols on the fabric. The holy power that saturated the room disappeared, leading her to believe those symbols sealed away the sword, keeping others from sensing it. That meant it must have incredibly destructive powers, then again, with a name like Excalibur Destruction, what else should she expect?
"And you believe the three Excaliburs that were stolen are somewhere in Kouh," Rias stated.
"That is correct. We have managed to track the location of the people who stole the Excaliburs to this location."
Rias wondered if headaches were going to be the norm for her. First a group of fallen angels invaded her territory, then she had to deal with Rizer and his attempt at marrying her, and now she was dealing with two people from the church who had come here because three powerful holy swords had been stolen. How much more trouble was going to befall her territory?
"It seems my territory has been full of incidents like this lately. Do you know who stole the holy swords from you?"
"We have reason to believe that they were stolen by members of the Grigori."
"So the Excaliburs were stolen by the fallen angel's organization." Rias wanted to rub her forehead to rid herself of the migraine, but she dared not show weakness in front of these two. "It seems like they're causing all kinds of problems recently, and it's definitely something they would do. Devils aren't really interested in holy swords, but the fallen angels, yes, I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on something like that."
"We already have a suspect who we believe is the main culprit behind the thefts. One of the Grigori leaders, Kokabiel."
Pensive was the best word to describe how Rias felt. She didn't let anyone know this, however, and instead presented the church goers with a smirk. "So the theft was done by Kokabiel, one of the leaders of the Grigori and a survivor of the war between the three factions. I suppose it only makes sense that someone like him would be behind the thefts. Kokabiel is one of the fallen angels that appear in the bible, so he must be powerful. No one else would have the power to challenge the church and steal the holy swords."
"True. Kokabiel is definitely capable of doing something like that. We sent several Exorcists here in secret to uncover his location, but they kept getting killed."
Rias felt a flare of anger. Exorcists were being sent into her territory without her knowledge? How was she unaware of this? If there was something going on in Kouh then she should have known about it long before now. What's more, the church was sending Exorcists into her territory without her consent or prior warning. It was an insult to her. They might as well just slap her in the face! At least then she would be able to retaliate.
She kept her cool. Rias wouldn't let this get to her. She was the heiress to the house of Gremory, so it was important to maintain appearances.
"And what is it you want from me?"
Xenovia raised an eyebrow.
"From you? Nothing. We want nothing from you. All we want, our requestㅡno, our demand is that you stay out of our affairs. What's happening here is between the church and the fallen angels. Devils have no business interfering in this."
Okay, now that Rias could not let stand. Let a pair of exorcists with holy swords wander her territory without supervision while chasing after a group of fallen angels being led by a Grigori leader, who just so happen to have stolen three holy swords? This girl must be nuts if she thought Rias would just let them do as they please, especially when they had been sending other exorcists into her territory without asking first.
"You must be awfully worried if you're coming here and trying to make demands of me. Are you worried that I might side with the fallen angels? Perhaps you're thinking that myself and my peerage might be in collaboration with the fallen angels to steal the holy swords Excalibur?"
"Headquarters did not deny the possibility of that being the case," Xenovia said mildly, though Rias could detect the hint of threat in her tone. "After all, holy swords are the enemy of your kind. They are one of your greatest weaknesses. The church understands this simple fact and has come to realize that it wouldn't be all that unusual if the fallen angels and devils joined forces. Both sides stand to profit a lot if the holy swords went missing from the church."
By now, almost everyone was staring at Xenovia with anger in their gazeㅡsans Asia, who was far too kind a person to show resentment in any fashion. She did look shocked, though. And even Irina looked startled by her teammate's words.
"H-hey, Xenovia, that isn't whatㅡ"
"That is why we are here. To deliver a warning. We came to tell you that if you decide to side with the fallen angels and Kokabiel, then we won't hesitate to eliminate all of you."
Some people would have probably been upset by the blatant disregard Xenovia spoke with when stating she would kill Rias and her peerage, but Rias only felt triumph.
"Don't make empty threats that we both know you can't keep."
Xenovia's eyes hardened into a vitriolic glare.
"What was that?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Rias questioned, leaning forward on pinioning Xenovia with a glare of her own. "It's well-known that of the three factions to have partaken in the war, the angels suffered the most. Many of them were slain by fallen angels and devils, and even more fell after the war ended. You think I'm unaware of the real reason the church keeps mostly to itself these days? I know the real reason is because you lack the power to fight on par with devils and fallen angels. Even with God on your side, the angel's faction is the weakest of the three right now."
Xenovia hissed and Irina glared.
"How dare you!"
"No, how dare you!" Rias stood up and glared down at the two, who tensed when she unleashed a small sliver of her devil power, which exceeded those of both the holy swords in the two's possession by a wide margin. "You think you can just waltz into my territory, demand that I stay out of your business while you do who-knows what, and then threaten to kill me and my peerage without suffering any kind of consequences? Do you want to start a war? Because that is exactly what will happen if you tried killing me! And you and I both know that restarting the three-factions war is the last thing the church wants, isn't it?"
Her brother was Sirzechs Lucifer, the most powerful Satan, a devil whose power is said to have exceeded all four of the original Satans combined. He was also a well-known siscon. Even the church had to know how protective her brother was of her. If they killed her, then Sirzechs would rain unholy hell down upon the church. He would annihilate it before the angel faction even realized what was happening. The church would be no more.
Irina and Xenovia remained silent, and Rias knew she had them. They were trapped and they knew it.
"Don't make threats you won't be able to back up," Rias warned Xenovia, who merely looked away. Rias sat back down and regained her composure. "Now then, you mentioned each church still having three Excaliburs, yet I only see two with you. Has the last one not been dispatched yet?"
Xenovia said nothing, obviously miffed from Rias scathing words, so it was up to Irina to pick up the slack. "No, they're staying with the Orthodox Church. They plan on protecting the last Excalibur in case Xenovia and I fail."
"So it's just the two of you, then? Isn't it reckless to send only two people to retrieve the stolen Excaliburs? Even if you are holy sword wielders, you're still going after Kokabiel, a fallen angel who is one of the leader's of the Grigori. I doubt two humans would be able to defeat someone like him, even if they each possess their own Excalibur, especially since he has three in his possession."
"That doesn't matter. We can't allow the Excaliburs to remain in the hands of the Grigori. I don't want to die, but I am prepared to if it means doing God's will."
"I see the teachings of the church are as extreme as always."
"Don't speak ill of the church, Rias Gremory. We might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but even so, I won't have you saying bad things about our teachings."
"You're right. I'm sorry," Rias apologized sincerely, which surprised Irina. "You are entitled to your beliefs, and I certainly shouldn't insult someone for believing in something. That being said, what if you can't retrieve the holy swords with just the two of you? What then?"
"We would like to retrieve the Excaliburs, of course, but we have been told that, should we be unable to retrieve them, then we should destroy them. Better to have them destroyed than in the hands of the enemy. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs out of fallen angel hands. How that is accomplished will be up to us."
Out of the corner of her eye, Rias saw Kiba tense. The look on his face startled her. She knew of his past, of what he'd been through, but she never expected to see such a dark, angry expression on his face. That look of hatred he possessed worried her greatly.
Rias decided that she would need to speak with Kiba soon.
"I don't have a problem with your goals," Rias told the two holy sword users, who relaxed at her words. "Howeverㅡ" they tensed "ㅡwhile I do not disagree with them, you must understand that given what's happening, I cannot allow two members of the church to run around in my territory unattended."
"But that'sㅡ"
"Please let me finish." Rias held a hand up, forestalling Irina, who'd been about to speak out. "I will allow you to conduct your mission to seek out and reclaim the stolen Excaliburs, but I can't let you do so unattended."
Rias smiled when Irina and Xenovia stiffened in their seats.
"Tell me, do you two have a place to stay?"
~Devil Ninja~
Rias wondered if some part of her had been corrupted by Akeno's sadistic nature. There weren't many other reasons she could think of that explained why she was taking mild pleasure in the discomforting expressions of Irina and Xenovia as they sat at her dinner table.
After working out the details of their stay in Kouh City, it had been decided by Rias that she would take the church goers into her home, allowing them to use her mansion as a base of operations while searching for the stolen Excaliburs. The two had tried protesting, claiming that they couldn't spend time in the house of a devil, but Rias refused to back down, telling them that it was either they accept her decision or get out of her town.
Which was how they found themselves in their present situation, with Xenovia and Irina sitting at her dinner table, trying not to be unnerved by the bored stare Koneko gave them.
Yes, it definitely amused Rias a great deal to see the two people who tried threatening her into complying with their demands cowed by a fifteen year old girl. It felt almost like winning an all-paid vacation to a luxurious hot spring resort.
"Rias-sama," Ravel called out, "I've finished adding all the ingredients. What do I need to do next?"
Rias turned to Ravel. Like her, the young blond girl was wearing an apron over her academy uniform. Ravel's apron was purple on the bottom while the chest piece consisted of a red heart with pink frills. Rias thought it suited the girl.
She then looked down at her own apron, which seemed almost plain in comparison. However, that was only to those who didn't know how amazing this apron really was. While it's color was plain white and bland, there was a large image of a cutting knife stamped on its chest and the words "I am the bone of my skillet" written underneath the image. It was a gag gift that Naruto bought for her when they celebrated their one-month anniversary.
"Just continue stirring for now. How much longer does the pork have?"
Ravel looked at the kitchen timer, which Rias couldn't see because the Phenex heiress blocked her view.
"Um, it says we have five more minutes."
"Good. That should be plenty of time to finish with the rest of the food."
After Rias snapped out of her funk caused by Naruto's kidnapping, Ravel had come asking if she would be willing to teach her how to cook. Rias had been surprised, but soon learned that Ravel's only talent in the kitchen was baking desserts. She couldn't cook a decent meal to save her life, thus Rias decided to teach her. It would be a good opportunity to learn more about the younger girl anyway.
They worked together in the kitchen, preparing the meal. Ravel listened to everything Rias said, hanging off the older woman's words like they were a lifeline. It was really cute to see how eager the girl was to please. She always made up excuses like, "I-I'm only doing this because you accepted me into your house!" or "D-don't look to into it. I'm just helping out because I'm a guest here! It's only right!" but Rias knew the real reason, even if Ravel refused to admit it.
The food was soon prepared. Rias and Ravel put all of it on several trays and brought it into the living room. Koneko's eyes instantly tracked the food as it was brought in. Even Xenovia and Irina were not immune to the scent of the well-prepared meal, and Rias watched in amusement as the two sniffed the air. Was Xenovia drooling?
"Well, here you two are. I don't know if Japanese cuisine is to your taste since you two live in Europe, but I hope you enjoy it."
"Itadakimasu."
Koneko didn't even wait for the others before she began eating. She just started digging in. Rias wasn't bothered by that. It was just how the girl was.
What bothered her were the two church goers.
They were saying grace.
"Oh, Lord! Please bless forgive us for accepting this devil's hospitality and bless this food. Also, please bless the devils who made this food, for even though they are creatures of sin, they have still accepted us into their home."
"Owch!"
Ravel nearly fell off her chair as God's blessing was drilled into her head like a stake. Rias winced, but didn't react otherwise. She still gave the two a dry look, however.
"I don't mind if you two pray, but please refrain from asking God to bless us."
Xenovia and Irina looked at each other, and then Irina turned a sheepish expression on Rias.
"Ah ha, sorry about that. I forgot that devils can't accept God's praise."
"It's fine. Now then, why don't we dig in."
They began to eat. Rias maintained her poise and dignity while eating, even though she could feel two sets of eyes on her. The holy sword users kept sending her glances. She ignored them for the moment, knowing they were nervous and wanting to make them sweat some more. She needed them off balance. The more out of sorts they were the easier it would be to deal with them.
After dinner, Rias took their dishes to the sink. Irina actually tried to protest, but Rias would have none of it.
"You two are guests in this house," she said, "And I will not be a bad host."
Irina had eventually backed down, even though having a devil they'd almost gotten into a row with treating them so kindly had to bother her. Xenovia certainly seemed troubled, as she had barely said two sentence since they arrived.
After putting the dishes in the sink and summoning her familiar to wash them, Rias walked back into the living room and clapped her hands. "I hope you two enjoyed the food."
"It was very good," Irina said, apparently trying to be a good guest, even though she was clearly bothered by the whole situation. "It's been a long time since I've had traditional Japanese cuisine."
"That's right, you grew up with Ise, didn't you?" Rias knew, of course, because Issei told her about what happened when he arrived home one night to find these two at his house.
Irina nodded. "Um, Ise-kun and I used to play together a lot. We were really good friends back then, before my parents and I moved. I was pretty surprised to find out that he became a devil."
Rias didn't really like the glare being sent her way, but also understood Irina's anger. "If it makes you feel any better, he only became a devil because it was the only way I could save him. You see, before I knew him, Issei ended up getting involved with a fallen angel."
"W-what?! How? Why?"
"Don't look so shocked. You should know by now that Issei is a holder of the Boosted Gear, one of the thirteen longinus said to be capable of killing a god. The fallen angels found out and one of them decided to get rid of Issei before he became a problem. This fallen angel, a girl named Raynare killed him, but I managed to bring him by back reviving him as a devil."
"I didn't know that," Irina admitted. "I still don't like how you revived him as a devil, though."
Rias shrugged. She didn't really care. Issei was her servant now, a member of her family, and someone important to her Queen and Asia. She wouldn't be relinquishing him to anyone.
"In either event, you two must be tired from your long journey here, and I doubt you've had much chance to relax. I have a hot spring in the back that you two can use. Irina, I'm sure it's been a long time since you've had the chance to relax in an authentic Japanese hot spring."
While Irina almost sparkled at the idea of being able to experience the joys of traditional Japanese bathing in a hot spring, Xenovia looked skeptical.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "First you confront us like you did during our meeting and now you're treating us with kindness? It doesn't make sense. What are you after?"
At her words, Irina went on guard. Rias affected a mock hurt expression.
"Come now, do you really think so little of me? Is there something wrong with me helping two people out of the kindness of my heart?"
Xenovia snorted. "What kindness? You're a devil. Everyone knows that devil's aren't the kindest of people."
Rias's eyes hardened. "You would do well to watch what you say. It is indeed true that not all devils are kind, that some are cruel, however, I won't hear something like that from a member of the church. There is plenty about your group that doesn't show you people in the best light, plenty of dirty little secrets and atrocities that the church has committed in the name of God. You speak of us devil's as if we're a bunch of monsters, but I know for a fact that some of the greatest monsters on this planet are human, and some of those monsters are members of your church."
Xenovia gritted her teeth while Irina looked worried. Rias relaxed, presenting the two with a smile.
"But let us not speak of this anymore. You two are obviously tired, which I'm sure is the reason for your lack of tact. Please accept this small token of my hospitality and enjoy some time bathing in the hot spring. I'm sure you won't regret it."
~Devil Ninja~
It was late at night. The sun had fallen and millions of twinkling stars dotted the twilight sky. Kiba didn't much care for the stars, or the sky, or anything, really. At that moment, the only thing on his mind was what occurred a few hours ago.
What was Rias thinking, speaking to those two holy sword users when she should have just told them to leave. Or better yet, told Kiba to kill them. Rias knew about his hatred for holy swords better than anyone, yet she still allowed those two to stay in Kouh. Worse still, she was allowing them to spend their time in the city at her residence!
It infuriated Kiba. He loved Rias like an older sister, but he couldn't abide by what she was doing, especially not since she knew of his intense hatred for holy swords.
Not really knowing what else do, and feeling no desire to return home, Kiba wandered aimlessly. The streets were abandoned. There was barely any light to illuminate his path. A street lamp to his left flickered, emitting an annoying buzzing sound. He ignored it and continued walking on, struggling to maintain a grip on his rage.
As he passed by a street sign, a flicker of killing intent shot through his senses. Kiba reacted on nothing more than instinct, summoning his Holy Eraser sword and spinning around to block the incoming attack.
Clang! Sparks flew as his sword was met by another sword. He didn't recognize the make, but he didn't need to. He could feel the holy power coming from it.
"A holy sword!"
The wielder of the holy sword leapt back when Kiba pushed the sword away and tried cutting the person in half. That was when he got a good look at who attacked him, and Kiba's eyes widened in shock.
"You're… Freed Sellzen!"
It was, indeed, the exiled priest that he, Issei and Koneko fought to rescue Asia from the fallen angels. He didn't appear to have changed a bit. He still wore the robes of an exorcist. His white hair remained the same length. His eyes still held the same insane bloodlust as before. Kiba was also disgusted to notice that his tongue still hung from his mouth, as if the thought of battling and killing was causing him to salivate like a dog in the summer heat.
"Well, hello, shitty devil scum! Fancy running into you here!"
"What are you doing here, Freed?!"
Freed grinned maniacally at him.
"I'm glad you asked! My boss doesn't need me for anything right now, so I was wandering around looking for something to do. I'm so bored, you know. Any time not spent killing shitty devil scum like you is time wasted. That's why I was out trying to see if I could find one of you guys to play with. I'm glad it's you. I was hoping to have a rematch. I have to pay you back for the humiliating defeat you gave me! Now let's dance!"
Freed came in fast. Kiba raised his blade and quickly blocked the series of strikes sent at him. Was it just him, or had Freed become even faster than the last time they fought?
Clang-clang-clang! Their blades clashed several times. Kiba backpedaled as Freed slashed away at him with a mad series of blurring strikes. Yes, he noted, the insane priest had definitely become much faster than the last time they fought.
"It seems you haven't lost your touch!"
"And it seems you're still as insane as ever."
"Only a person who doesn't understand the definition of insanity would say that!"
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Deciding to go on the offensive, Kiba attacked with several swift strikes. Overhead. Underhand. Horizontal. Vertical. His blade moved as a series of flashes that were met by another blade moving just as fast. Every time he struck Freed's holy sword was there to meet him, keeping him from skewering the insane priest. It was beginning to infuriate him.
They broke apart and Kiba stared at the sword in Freed's hand.
"That blade…"
"Do you like it? This baby's name is Excalibur Rapidly. It's one of the seven holy swords created from the fragments of the original Excalibur. I've been wanting to test it out on you devils. I want to see how quickly it can kill you!"
Kiba's anger surged. He charged Freed head on, attacking and counterattacking with a ferocity he rarely possessed. Every strike he tried landing was a killing blow. A thrust to the chest. A strike at the neck. An attempt at cutting Freed in half from the waist. Much to his mounting frustration, none of his precisely timed and incredibly swift attacks landed. Freed matched him blow for blow.
"Oh, you're good! You're so good! Yes! Yes! Let's take this up a notch, shall we?!"
The Excalibur Ruler in Freed's hand began to glow.
And then the unthinkable happened.
SHATTER!
Kiba stared in shock as his Holy Eraser shattered small fragments. He jumped backwards as a laughing Freed tried taking advantage of his distracted state. The holy sword missed cutting him, embedding itself in the ground where he'd been standing, gouging out a large furrow in the road. Freed pulled the sword out of the ground, grinning.
"What's the matter, is your shitty little devil ass scared?"
Kiba began laughing, but there was no mirth to it. His laugh was harsh, dark and grating, nothing at all like Kiba's normal laughter.
"Scared? No, why would I be scared? You've just given me a great gift."
Swords began appear around Kiba, dozens of them, all of them poised to attack Freed at the slightest provocation.
"Here I was upset because I had an Excalibur right in front of me and couldn't destroy it, and now you're here, carrying another Excalibur. It must be my lucky day. You see, I've made it my goal to destroy Excalibur, and now that you've appeared before me, I can do just that."
Kiba's cold smile was met with an insane one from the Exiled Priest.
"Now that's the spirit! This is the fight I've been waiting for! Let's see which is greater, your shitty ass demonic swords? Or my Excalibur Rapidly!"
Kiba didn't hesitate to take the invitation offered. Several dozen demonic swords were launched at Freed, who began destroying them with Excalibur rapidly. The battle was on.
~Devil Ninja~
Irina sighed in content as she slowly lowered her body into the hot spring. She sank in until only the top of her breasts floated above the water's surface, then leaned back against the warm stones that made up the spring. It felt so nice, the warm waters lapping at her body, relieving the aches and pains from spending several hours on a plane and then several more walking. She decided right then that few things were better than a soak in a hot spring.
"I know this is the first time you've had a chance to experience these hot springs, Irina, but try not to let your guard down. Don't forget that we're currently in the middle of devil territoryㅡin Rias Gremory's home no less! We can't afford to become complacent."
Irina pouted at her partner for this mission. Xenovia was her friend, but sometimes their personalities had a tendency to clash. while she always tried remaining bright and cheerful, the wielder of Excalibur Destruction remained serious at all times. It kind of bothered her.
"I know that, Xenovia."
"Do you?"
"Of course I do. I understand that we can't trust devils."
"You certainly don't act like it."
"That was uncalled for. I'm just trying to keep the peace. In case you haven't realized it, we're at a disadvantage here. We can't start a fight with the Gremory group; we're outnumbered here, and that Rias Gremory is a powerful opponent. Surely you felt the power she released during our meeting."
Xenovia hesitated. It was only for a second, but Irina could see the small flash of worry that crossed her partner's eyes.
"I did."
"Then you know why we can't afford to fight with them. I'm not too thrilled about being forced into living here and having the eyes of a devil peerage on us either, but I also want to accomplish our mission. If we die fighting the devils, then we can't retrieve the stolen Excaliburs."
"I know that," Xenovia mumbled, and Irina knew she'd won this round. It wasn't like she didn't understand Xenovia's concerns, but they had to look at the bigger picture. If they ended up fighting the devils and dying, then they would fail in their mission before they could even start. They couldn't allow that to happen.
The sound of a door sliding open caused them to look up. Rias walked into the hot spring wearing nothing but a towel. Behind and on either side of her were the equally naked Koneko and Ravel, whose blond locks had been let down from their usual drills.
"What are you doing here?" Xenovia asked suspiciously.
Rias Gremory gave the Excalibur Destruction's wielder an amused smile.
"Relax, I simply decided to also take a bath in the hot spring. After all, this is my house."
"Tch."
Irina wondered if it was wrong of her to feel slight envy as she watched Rias wade into the steam-covered waters. She knew that she was quite well-endowed, but the Destruction Princess's bust was astonishing. Her breasts were so large they were actually floating as she sat next to them!
"Let me wash your hair, Yakitori."
"Stop calling me Yakitori! I'm not Yakitori!"
"Would you prefered if I called you KFC?"
"S-s-s-shut up, you stupid cat!"
Irina's eyes were drawn to Koneko and Ravel. The Phenex heiress was sitting on a stool. Koneko sat behind her, rubbing shampoo into the other girl's hair. Ravel was pouting, her cheeks flushed and pink. She looked oddly conflicted, like she wanted to be there but at the same time didn't. What an unusual pair.
"So how is it?"
"E-excuse me?"
"This is the first time you've been in a hot spring in a while, right?" Rias's disarming smile put Irina on guard. "How does it feel?"
"It's… nice," Irina admitted slowly. She knew that they couldn't afford to let their guard down around this woman. At the same time, she didn't know what to think about one Rias Gremory. The little sister of the Sirzechs Lucifer confused her greatly.
"I'm glad." Rias looked around at the hot spring, and for just a second, an expression of melancholy flickered across her face. "It's been a while since I've actually been in here."
Irina's curiosity was peaked.
"Why is that?"
"Because I usually spend time in this hot spring with Naruto, and without him here, this place just feels empty."
"Naruto?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot you don't know anyone in my peerage besides Ise. Naruto is another member of my peerage and also my boyfriend. This house was actually where his apartment used to be before my brother rebuilt it into this mansion."
"I-I see."
Irina didn't know what to make of that. Her brother demolished an apartment complex to make this mansion? Seriously? What kind of people were these Gremorys?
"So, um, you said Naruto isn't here with you? Why is that?"
"Because he's… missing."
"Missing?"
Rias sighed. "Since I'm keeping you two here, I suppose it's only fair that I tell you. Naruto was kidnapped by a group of unknown people a little over two weeks ago. We don't know why they wanted him, but he hasn't returned yet."
Irina didn't know why she felt pity for the devil before her. Maybe it was simply because of her religion. God always mentioned how you should show compassion to others, even your enemies.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Rias shook her head. "I'm positive that Naruto is okay and that he has a reason for not returning yet." Her smile returned, holding a hint of mischief. "Trust me on this, Naruto isn't the type of person to just let himself be taken. If he's still missing, then it's not because he's being held captive but because he decided not to return yet."
"Now it's my turn! Ha! How do you like that?"
Once again, everyone looked at Ravel and Koneko. They had traded places. Now it was Phenex girl washing the Nekousho's hair. She was scrubbing really hard, as if she was trying to dig her fingernails into Koneko's head.
Koneko yawned.
"You need to try harder than that, Yakitori."
"Whaㅡgrr! I'll show you!"
"Tch! That feels annoying. You're not very good at washing hair, are you, Yakitori-Hime?"
"Y-y-y-you…! I'll fry you!"
"Try it and I'll make KFC out of you."
"Do those two always fight like that?" asked Irina.
Rias continued watching the two for a second, her amused smile showing what she thought of the pair's antics. "Not always. They're actually really good friends. This is just there way of messing around."
"Die!"
"... I think."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in this Naruto guy," Xenovia said, bringing attention back to their original conversation. "It sounds to me like he was pretty weak, getting himself captured by a group of people."
Rias glared at Xenovia. Irina wanted to groan. While she actually agreed with her partner, it really wasn't a good idea to state their opinions so blatantly like that, especially since Rias and this Naruto character were apparently dating.
"Knowing Naruto-senpai, the reason he probably hasn't returned yet is because he's found a really cute girl and wants to pamper her." All eyes turned to Koneko. At some point she and Ravel had made their way into the hot spring. The Nekousho made her way to Rias and sat down, then crossed her arms and swelled her cheeks up in a pout that even Irina couldn't help but find cute. "I'm the only one he should be pampering."
Rias placed a hand on the Nekousho's head and began petting. "Don't worry, Koneko. I'm sure Naruto isn't pampering some girl he just met because she's cute."
Somewhere in an undisclosed location, Naruto sneezed.
"I bet Naruto-sama is just gathering information on those people who kidnapped him," Ravel added her own input. "He's a ninja, right? Every good ninja knows that accurate intelligence is the key to taking down the enemy. I'm positive that's the reason for his prolonged absence."
"You know an awful lot about ninja," Rias said.
"T-that's becauseㅡ"
"It's because she was always talking to Naruto-senpai whenever you weren't spending time with him," Koneko said. "I sometimes saw them sitting together during lunch and he would regale her with tales of his time as a ninja."
"I don't want to hear that out of you, Ms. I Love Getting my Head Pet by Naruto-sama!" A red -faced Ravenl shouted. "And don't make it sound like I was the only one monopolizing Naruto-sama's time! You were always with us!"
"Better to have my head pet than waste time fawning over someone who already has two women in his life."
"What was that?!"
"Naruto-senpai belongs to me and Rias."
"W-whatever! Like care for that really kindㅡI-I mean really stupid blond devil."
"Are you talking about yourself?"
Irina wasn't sure if the way Ravel's face turned red was due to the water or Koneko's words. Given that her head spontaneously combusted despite how they were in a hot spring, Irina was inclined to believe it was the latter.
Rias turned back to Xenovia. "Of course I have faith in him. Naruto is the strongest member of my peerage and my boyfriend. He's also one of the most amazing people I know, always helping others, always doing what's right even at personal cost to himself. You won't find a person better than him."
"You make it sound like he's some kind of saint instead of a devil."
"It might be hard for you to swallow, but not all devils are evil, you know. I'll admit, we're greedy. Unlike the angels, we devils live according to our desires. We don't deny ourselves what we want. When we want something, we strive the claim it for ourselves. However, greed isn't always a bad thing."
Xenovia snorted, clearly not believing a word Rias said. Irina didn't either, but now she was curious.
"How can you say something like that? Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Allowing your greed to get the better of you is one of the worst sins a person can commit."
"I'm a devil, so greed doesn't affect me the way it does you humans."
What did that mean? Irina wondered. Were devils somehow immune to the corrupting effects of greed? Well, they were devils, so they were already corrupted. Maybe that's what Rias meant?
"So how do you two have a plan for retrieving the stolen Excaliburs?" asked Rias, drawing attention to herself again. Irina and Xenovia looked at each other, silently debating the merits of telling Rias their plan. In the end, they decided to go with the truth. Not like it mattered since Rias would be having someone watch them for the duration of this mission anyway.
"We were just planning on wandering the city during the night where the attacks took place," Irina said.
Ravel, whose head stopped combusting when Koneko dunked her under the waterㅡtrying to put the fire out, she claimedㅡsent one last glare at the Nekousho between the strands of blond hair stuck to her face, then looked at Irina.
"So you're basically trying to lure him out by visiting the places that the other exorcists were killed? I bet you two were hoping to lure him out by using yourselves as bait, weren't you?"
Ravel's almost smug look caused Irina to feel embarrassed. Had their plan really been that easy to see through? She'd thought it was a rather good plan, but if a fifteen year old girl could see through it so easily, maybe they needed to rethink their plans.
The smug expression on Ravel's face was soon wiped off when Koneko pushed her head back underneath the water.
"Don't look so smug, Yakitori."
A flurry of bubbles as Ravel superheated the waters was the answer Koneko received. The Nekousho jumped back as the water exploded in a spray of steam. An angry Ravel leapt out from the white smokescrean, lunging at the other girl, who dodged to the side.
Irina, Rias and Xenovia watched in mute silence as the Phenex heiress chased Koneko around the hot spring.
Ravel's head was on fire. Irina wondered if the reason was because she wasn't a mature devil. Were her powers not fully under her control yet?
"Well." Rias stood up and smiled at the two. "I don't know about you two, but I think I'm gonna get out."
Irina looked from Rias to the other two devils.
"Get back here!"
"No."
She looked back at Rias, and then stood up. "I think I'm going to follow your example."
Rias's answering smile was strangely relaxing. Irina knew she couldn't let her guard down, but for some reason, seeing that genuine smile made her feel at ease. It bothered her a great deal.
Xenovia also decided to follow their example and leave. Irina imagined that her friend just didn't want to be alone with two devils, even if they were acting like immature children at the moment.
As the three walked out of the hot spring, they could hear the continued splashing and angry shouting behind them.
"Stop running!"
"Don't wanna."
"I'm gonna fry you!"
"You can try, Yakitori."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
~Devil Ninja~
The next morning Rias called Sona and informed Kouh Academy's Kaichou that she and her peerage would not be attending school for a while. Her best friend seemed curious, but accepted her words and said that she would let the teacher's know. She did ask how long Rias and her peerage planned on being absent, however, and the Ruin Princess had been forced to admit that she didn't know. Sona reluctantly agreed after that.
That morning breakfast was served courtesy of Rias and Ravel. They used the formal dining room several buildings away from the living room. The table was longer and therefore capable of fitting more people, which was good, because there were a lot of people that morning: her entire peerage plus Ravel, Irina and Xenovia.
As her gaze swept over the table, Rias frowned when she noticed someone missing. Issei sat between Asia and Akeno. Akeno was teasing the two about something, and Issei and Asia were getting embarrassed. Koneko traded barbs with Ravel, or rather, the Nekousho fired off sharp insults while the Phenex heiress blew her top. Irina and Xenovia mostly stuck to themselves, sitting as far from the group of devils as possible.
Kiba was not there.
A glance around the room revealed where her Knight was. He stood by the doorway, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, brooding. Rias's insides squirmed. The dark expression on his face did not sit well with her. She really needed to speak with him soon, preferably after this meeting was over.
After everyone finished breakfast, Rias had her familiar take the trays and plates away.
"Now that we've all had a chance to eat, I believe it's time we discussed the latest problem here in Kouh; the stolen Excaliburs." She looked at the Phenex heiress. "Ravel?"
"Ah, yes, Rias-sama!"
Ravel leapt to her feet and stretched her hands over the table. A red magic circle with the Phenex family crest appeared on the table. From within the crest, a map of Kouh city materialized. She then took a deep breath and, quite suddenly, a three-dimensional version of the map projected itself into the air.
"Rias-sama and I have been talking with Irina and Xenovia about the stolen Excaliburs. From our discussions, we have managed to pick out all of the known locations where exorcists sent by the church were attacked and killed."
As Ravel spoke several red circles appeared on the screen, designating the places where exorcists had been attacked. The circles were then connected by a series of lines that ran through the city. All of the lines traveled inward, intersecting with each other to form a small pentagon in the center.
"As you can see, all of the attacks that took place were done so within a five kilometer radius of this spot," Ravel said, tapping on the small pentagon. "While we have no definite proof, logic dictates that whoever has stolen the Excaliburs and been attacking exorcists is operating out of this area."
Before Ravel could speak any further, Issei interrupted. "So, yeah, this is great and all, but I'm not really sure what this has to do with us. I mean, it's the church's problem, right? Why are we getting involved? I thought Rias-Buchou didn't like us being involved with the other factions because of how dangerous it is?"
While Ravel glared at being interrupted, Rias smiled and said, "While it is definitely a problem for the church, it is also our problem. The Excaliburs are powerful holy swords, more than capable of destroying low-class and mid-class devils with ease. The fact that a group of fallen angels has three of them in their possession is cause for great concern. Issei, you should know well how vicious their faction can be. I would rather have those weapons in the hands of the church than the fallen angels."
Issei seemed to think on that, eventually nodding. Then he noticed Ravel glaring at him for interrupting her and shuddered at the fiery expression.
"Uh… you can, like, continue now… and stuff… hehe, don't mind me."
Ravel tried killing him via her eyes a second longer, then huffed and continued speaking. "The plan that Rias-sama and I have come up with is simple. Our first job is to gather accurate intelligence. We're going to split everyone into groups of three. Rias-sama, myself and Irina will make one group; Issei, Akeno and Asia another; and Kiba, Koneko and Xenovia will form the last group."
"Asia?" Once again, Ravel found herself interrupted, not by Issei this time, but Xenovia, who peered at Asia with narrow-eyed. "She is talking about you, right?"
Asia almost seemed to shrink in on herself. "U-um, yes, she is."
"I see. Then that would make you Asia Argento, wouldn't it? The person who was once proclaimed as a holy maiden, but was later exiled as a witch. That is you, right?"
"I-I… well…"
"Wait!" Irina looked at her in shock. "Are you really the witch, Asia Argento? I heard you were exiled because you could heal devils and ended up joining the fallen angels. Who would have thought that you would become a devil yourself."
Asia's body shook. Tears welled up in her eyes. Rias felt a flash of anger at Xenovia for bringing attention to Asia's status. She knew that the former nun still felt guilty about becoming a devil, even thought she was also happy. The girl remained a devout believer in God even to this day, and knowing that she couldn't even pray without suffering intense pain hurt her.
Before Rias could snap at the two for their crass disregard of Asia's feelings, Issei stood up and slammed his hands on the table, glaring at him.
"I think you two should stop talking while you're ahead. Neither of you has the right to criticize Asia for the choices she's made in her life, especially when everything that happened was the church's fault."
"Heh, you think Asia Argento's exile was our fault?" Xenovia also stood up, placing her hands on the table and leaning over to penetrate him with a glare. "You're clearly a very deluded young man for thinking something so stupid."
"H-hey now, let's try not to fight, Xenovia," Irina said, attempting to keep her friend from becoming confrontational.
"What was that?!" Issei hissed at Xenovia, his brows furrowed in anger.
"You heard me. Asia was exiled because she healed a devil. To commit such an act is an atrocity against God and cannot go unpunished. It's blasphemy. Quite frankly, I'm surprised the church even decided to let her live. Once a holy maiden falls out of God's grace, they are destined to live a cursed life, unable to hear God's call, no longer capable of spreading God's word. There is no more purpose to their life. They might as well be dead."
Rias felt a mild pulse. She directed her gaze to Issei's arm, to the small gem situated on top of his hand. "I see… the Boosted Gear reacts to the emotions of the wearer." Rias smiled. "It's just as Naruto said. Ise, you're really…"
"That's how you feel, isn't it, Asia Argento?" Xenovia directed her gaze toward the former nun, who quaked underneath those yellow eyes. "You feel lost, right? I bet you even still believe in God despite becoming a devil."
"Is that even possible?" Irina asked.
"It's perfectly possible. While there are some who try to forget about their former life under God's grace, there are just as many who can never truly let go. They feel guilty for being unable to live in the grace of God and it eats them up inside. That's how it is with you, right?"
Asia breathed in deeply. Rias was impressed when she saw the former nun regain her composure. Staying under the same roof as Akeno must have done the girl good.
"Yes… it's true. Even though I've become a devil, I still believe in God's teachings. I've been a servant of God all my life. I can't just… I can't let go of that now, even if I am a devil."
While Irina looked genuinely surprised, Xenovia nodded to herself, as if she'd just solved a mystery. "In that case, you should let me kill you. Even though you've fallen from grace and become a devil, I am sure that God will forgive you if you repent your sins by allowing a member of the church to end your life."
Okay, enough was enough. Rias had stayed silent because Issei spoke up on Asia's behalf, but this was too much for her to bare. Asia was a member of her family, her peerage. She was important to Rias, and the Ruin Princess would not allow Xenovia or anyone else to insult someone so dear to her.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Once more, Issei's loud shout reverberated through the room, silencing everyone. "You think you can talk to Asia like that?! Who cares if she's fallen from God's grace? What the fuck has he ever done for her?! All of you people, you treat Asia as if she was some kind of thing; you put her on a pedestal and tell her to heal others, then exile her because she did exactly what you told her to do. How fucked up is that? Did any of you even think about Asia's feelings?! About what she wanted?! All Asia ever wanted out of life was friends to stand by her side, not worshipers who treated like an object to be watched from afar, and then treat her like crap because she failed to live up to the expectations those same people put on her shoulders in the first place!"
"I-Ise…"
Xenovia scoffed. "Tch, friends? A Holy Maiden doesn't need friends. The love of God is all they need to sustain them. People who feel they need more than God's love aren't cut out to be Holy Maidens in the first place."
"Were you even listening to me?! Asia never wanted to be a Holy Maiden in the first place! You guys were the ones who forced that title on her! You demanded that she be something she didn't want to be and Asia, amazing, wonderful and kind girl that she is did exactly what you wanted! She became your Holy Maiden even when it meant that she would be unhappy! She did everything you wanted of her and you threw her away because you found out that she could heal devils! You're the ones who failed Asia, not the other way around!"
Issei's nostrils flared as his harsh eyes stared into Xenovia's. Moving behind Issei, Akeno placed a shoulder around the blond girl, who leaned into the Yameto Nadeshiko's bosom. Rias watched it all and decided that now was the time to step in.
"Enough! Now is neither the time nor the place for our two sides to fight with each other," she snapped, her own not-insignificant powers flaring, causing the others to cease what they were doing and stare at her. Rias matched their glare and then exceeded them, forcing Issei and Xenovia to stand down.
Seeing the two sit back down, Rias let her powers go, though her glare remained.
"Xenovia, I would appreciate it if you never spoke to my servants like that again. They are my family. Any insult made to them is an insult made to me. You would do best to remember that."
"Come on, Xenovia," Irina placed a hand on the other Excalibur wielder's shoulder. "I thought we agreed not to start trouble."
"Tch."
Rias watched Xenovia tisk and look away from her friend. She then turned to Issei.
"Ise."
"Uh, yes ma'am?" Issei unconscious straightened in his seat and visibly tried not to sweat. He became confused when Rias gave him a disarming smile.
"Thank you for defending Asia. I'm very glad to see that my choice in letting her stay with you was correct. Keep up the good work."
Embarrassed, Issei bashfully scratched at his cheek. "Ah, heh, i-it was nothing. Anytime."
Rias looked around before noticing something. "Where is Kiba?"
"KIba?" Akeno also looked around before she, too, noticed that the knight was missing. She put a hand to her cheek. "Oh dear, you don't think he already left, do you?"
"Ravel, why don't you continue briefing the others on the intricacies of our plan? I need to find and talk to Kiba."
"Okay, Rias-sama."
While Ravel started going over the inricacies of the plan that she and Rias had conceived in more detail, the Ruin Princess rushed out of the room and began searching for Kiba. He couldn't have gotten far, and he hadn't. She found him not long after leaving the room, standing out in one of several gardens, underneath a sakura tree, staring at the sky with a dark expression on his face.
"Kiba!" Kiba turned with a frown as Rias walked up to him. "Why did you leave? Ravel wasn't finished explaining the plan." Her knight said nothing, causing her to grow concerned. "Kiba, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Buchou," Kiba said, "I know you mean well with what you're doing, but I can't do this." His hands clenched into fists. "I can't work with members of the Catholic Church, especially ones wielding the Excaliburs."
"Can't? Or refuse to?" Kiba said nothing. "Dammit, Kiba, are you really going to be this stubborn? I know what happened to you. You have every right to hate holy swords, but do you really think anything will be solved by acting like this? Answer me, Kiba!"
Kiba sighed, then began walking off. Rias gritted her teeth as she rushed over and grabbed his arm.
"I didn't say you could leave, Kiba! You and I are going to have a long talk about this."
"No, we're not." Kiba ripped his arm out of her grasp. Rias was too shocked to do anything as he started walking away again. "You've been very kind to me, Buchou, however, I will not work with people who wield holy swords. From this point on, I'm going it alone."
Rias looked aghast. "W… what? I don't understand. Kiba, what are you saying?"
Kiba stopped and turned his head, staring at her out of his peripheral. Rias was taken by back the blatant hatred that shone in his eyes, the underlying hint of fury and rage that lay within their depths.
"I'm saying that if you're going to work with holy sword users, then I can no longer be a part of your peerage. I suppose you can consider this my letter of resignation."
Rias's eyes widened as she watched Kiba leave. His words clenched her heart like icy fists. She wanted to run after him, but her body remained stuck in place, frozen from the shock and hurt coursing through her. All she could do was watch as the young man she rescued from certain death several years back walked out on her.
~Devil Ninja~
Naruto couldn't see where he was being led. It might have had something to do with the blindfold covering his eyes, but it didn't change the fact that he couldn't see. His hands were also tied behind his back with some kind of chain that drained his devil powers. How cute. These people thought draining his admittedly weak devil powers would keep him from breaking out if he wanted to. The idiots.
"You're the only idiot that I can see here." From within his cage, Kurama flicked his ten tails back and forth, watching everything that Naruto saw, which at the moment was nothing. It was like staring at a blank screen. Stupid blindfold. "Seriously, Naruto, why are we even doing this? You can escape any time you want to, so why put yourself in the hands of these people?"
"You already know the answer to that, Kurama. We need to learn more about these people, and the best way to do that is to meet with their leader."
"I suppose…"
"Don't worry. I've already got several escape plans in mind. Worst comes to worst and we'll just synch up and blow this place to smithereens."
"We still don't know what our combined powers could do, though. Will you even be able to control it?"
"So long as I've got you as a partner, there's nothing we can't accomplish together. Still…"
"Did you guys really have to blindfold me?" he asked out loud. "I mean, I can appreciate having to keep your super-secret bad guy base a secret, but come on, can you people at least try to be a little more original? I feel like I've been suddenly transported into one of those really cheesy anime that my girlfriend makes me watch."
While Naruto couldn't see anyone, he heard Bikou laugh from somewhere behind him. "I'm impressed that you can still crack jokes like that. You really are an interesting guy. I can see why she wants you."
"So your boss is a chick?" Naruto asked, then paused. "Is she cute?"
While Bikou laughed some more, Arthur sighed. "I don't know why you're acting so casually. We're holding you hostage and you have no way to escape."
"Says you," Naruto fired back, not missing a beat. "So, about this boss of yours…"
"Our boss is many things, nya." Naruto's ears perked at the sound of Kuroka's voice. He'd already figured out that Bikou and Arthur were behind him, and it sounded like the Black Nekousho was leading the way in front. "You'll find out exactly who she is upon meeting her."
"Did you pick that line up from an anime? Because that seriously reminded me of this show this one anime whereㅡ"
"Would you knock it off with the anime references already!"
"Kekeke, relax Arthur. Let the man have his fun. It makes things more interesting."
"Che, maybe you don't mind him having fun at your expense, but I do."
"You're such a stick in the mud."
"Cut it you two, nya."
Naruto wondered if these people knew that every second they spoke, he learned even more about them.
Oddly enough, none of these people seemed insane or necessarily evil. Not even Koneko's older sister. Bikou sort of reminded Naruto of himselfㅡexcept he was way more awesome than that monkeyㅡand Arthur was a stuck up jerk, but Sasuke had also been a jerk, so that didn't bother him too much. He couldn't really get a lock on Kuroka, but the fact that she seemed quite sane earned a few points in her favor. He still didn't like her, though, not after she left Koneko to fend for herself.
Naruto bumped into Kuroka when the woman stopped walking. "Hey, why did we stop?"
"Cao Cao."
"Cow Cow? You guys have cows here?"
"Kekekeke, this kid is hilarious!"
"Don't call me a kid, you overgrown monkey! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm the best damn devil ninja you'll ever meet!"
"Devil ninja, huh? What an interesting title."
"I see you managed to capture the target that she has asked for," a new voice spoke up. "Tch, it's a pity this person is a devil. We don't need anymore of their kind around here. This place is already crawling with enough devils already."
Naruto tilted his head at the arrogant voice. Then he turned to where his senses perceived Bikou to be. "Who's the douche?"
"Kekekeke!" More laughter erupted from the monkey yokai. Naruto also felt some killing intent fill the air. It came from somewhere in front of him. Probably from the douche. "The person you call a douche is Cao Cao. He's part of the group we belong to, though he belongs in a different faction."
Naruto nodded in a sagely manner. "I see. I see. Cow Cow, huh? What an awful name. It's no wonder he sounds like a stick's been shoved up his ass. With a name like that, I'd be pretty angry, too."
"It's Cao Cao, not Cow Cow," the angry voice of the douche named Cao Cao said.
"Right. I gotcha. Cow Cow. Moo."
Naruto felt the killing intent intensify. He wondered if that meant Cao Cao was glaring at him.
"Is Ophis here, nya?" Kuroka asked, probably in an attempt to stop a fight from breaking out.
"No, she left a little while ago to seek out another Sacred Gear user who caught her interest. Some half-breed named Vali."
"Wait, so you're telling me that your leader went out to find someone else, but sent you guys to get me? How insulting. I don't think I want to meet your leader anymore."
While Bikou laughed some more, the sound of Arthur facepalming reached Naruto's ears.
"It doesn't matter anymore. You're already in our possession. Escape is no longer an option for you."
"Says the man who thought he could control me with a stick."
"Do not insult Excalibur Ruler's abilities. I don't know why it didn't work against youㅡand I will find out how you managed to resist its powerㅡit is still one of the most powerful holy swords in the entire world. Even after being shattered into seven pieces, it still holds great power."
"Uh huh. That's nice and all, but you know what they say: a stick is a stick is a stick."
Arthur's killing intent soon joined Cao Cao's, while Bikou continued laughing. He couldn't hear anything from Kuroka, but he imagined that she would be amused if nothing else. She seemed the type. So, that meant the two humans were the hot-heads, or at least the ones more easily irritated. Good to know. Naruto wondered if he should push these people a little more to see where their breaking points lie.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself."
"I have no clue what you're talking about. I am simply making the best of a bad situation."
"It was your own innate curiosity that got us stuck in this situation, you know. You could have just as easily replaced yourself with a clone while they weren't looking, but decided to stick around for some reason."
"A clone might dispel before I learn anything interesting. Better to deal with this myself than send in a clone and have it pop before I can gather any useful information."
"Point taken. And it's not like we can't bust out whenever the hell we want to. Our chakra has synchronized now, and none of these people feel strong enough to stop us. Although I do feel something near us that might cause some problems."
"Ah, you felt that, too? I wonder what it is? A Sacred Gear, maybe?"
"Maybe. I suppose we'll need to stick around for a while longer if we want to learn more."
"Right."
While Naruto spoke with Kurama, an argument ensued between the people around him.
"So what are we supposed to do with him, then? We can't leave this boy alone, nya. He'll escape if we don't have anyone watching him. He might escape even if we do have someone watching him, nya."
"We could always just kill him. I doubt Ophis really needs another devil in her ranks."
"You remember her orders. Ophis wanted this boy brought to her alive. Or do you want to be the one to tell her that you killed someone she wanted to meet because you didn't like them?"
"Why don't we just put him up in one of the empty rooms and have several of our more powerful warriors guard him around the clock in shifts."
"We could do that, but we'll need at least three people guarding him at any given time. He's already proven that he can fight two of us at the same time on equal footing."
"I don't want to waste any of my faction guarding a devil."
"Then don't. We can have people from the other factions help us if you're people aren't up to the task."
The four argued for a little while longer before coming to a decision. Naruto was then led to what he believed was a room. The one known as Bikou shoved him in the back, causing him to stumble forward before catching himself. He straightened and turned to glare at the monkey-man, even though he couldn't really glare because his eyes were still covered.
"The hell was that for?"
"Kekeke, these will be your accommodations for the duration of your stay here. I hope you try to cause some more trouble. I could use the entertainment."
The doors soon shut behind him and Naruto heard one of the four people walk off. Judging by their unique signature and the feeling of that strange yet dangerous power receding, he believed it was that Cao Cao character.
He thought about trying to goad the three who brought him here some more, but decided not to in the end. Instead he brought a kunai out of the storage seal on his left sleeve, applied a small amount of wind chakra to it, then cut through his bonds. After that he pulled the blindfold off and observed his new surroundings.
"What a boring-looking room." He thought, noting how uniform it looked. This room didn't have a single decoration; no pictures, no windows, and the only pieces of furniture was a bed in the far corner. The white walls looked abnormally drab.
"I doubt these people really care about interior decorating." Kurama snorted in amusement. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Wait. Not like I can do much else. And maybe I'll play a few pranks while I'm at it."
"You're going to piss of your hosts."
"That's kinda the point."
Just then, Naruto stomach gurgled. He patted his belly, trying to sooth it. "Heh, guess I'm hungry. Well, it has been a while since I've had anything good to eat. All those people gave me were rations, and those taste like shit."
"You've been spoiled by your mate's cooking."
"Probably," he agreed.
Naruto sat down on the bed and took out a scroll that was sealed on his arm, thanking the high heavens that he had the foresight to seal stuff on his body and not just in paper. Arthur, Bikou and Kuroka had confiscated all of his weapons and sealing scrolls.
An application of chakra and poof of smoke later revealed the contents of the scroll: a steaming bowl of miso ramen with complimentary chopsticks. Licking his lips with anticipation, Naruto broke the chopsticks apart and started eating.
Damn he loved ramen.