Chapter 116
"Urgh!" Issei fell onto his knees, his nostrils flaring while his mouth opened wide to greedily devour oxygen. He was dressed in simple black shorts and a white tank top and had his boosted gear activated on his left hand. Seated atop of a boulder before him was Naruto, dressed in grey shinobi pants and a navy blue shirt. His ankles had white bandage wrappings and on his feet were black sandals.
"Get up," his quiet but powerful voice echoed out through the barren landscape with purple glass-like layers forming a perimeter around them, blocking a viscous orange substance with dark patches on it.
The space had a quartz ceiling and was little up by dozens of green orbs and dozens of blue orbs. "Is that the attitude you will maintain when Asia is about to be harmed?" he asked, a dark tone lacing his words like poison. The words forced the red dragon emperor to grit his teeth and slowly force himself to his feet.
His muscles twitched and shivered in protest, harmonizing with the squeaking of his joints. The emerald gem on the boosted gear briefly shone a fluorescent light before dimming down.
"Reset!"
Issei gasped and collapsed into a heap making Naruto tilt his head and scratch his temple. "Maybe I overdid it with Weight seal," he thought, referring to the seal Jiraiya had created. It was a storage seal that did not seal away an object's weight. Naruto had placed it on Issei before loading it up with Earth chakra and setting up a transcription seal that would cast Earth Release: Weighted Boulder Jutsu whenever Issei started getting used to the weight. Cruel but effective as it was one of the ways Jiraiya had increased his speed to the point that he could just barely edge out Rock Lee in pure running speed, no enhancements.
Naruto had been training Issei with a combination of HIIT and hand-to-hand training. He'd have the boy sprint while being weighed down and force him to dodge a variety of objects including but limited to Kunai, ice shards, rocks, swords and fireballs.
Naruto had the seals weigh him down while he dodged rapid-fire attacks before releasing their effects to allow the young devil to rest before repeating the process.
Naruto had forgotten to deactivate the seals which caused Issei to collapse in front of him due to the immense fatigue eating away at him.
"Gotta admit, the kid has made pretty good progress in the last couple of days," he thought, pushing his arms into the air and swaying his upper body a few times, holding in a yawn.
The two young men were in an underground training facility that had been constructed by The God of Shinobi using the Organic Reanimation Jutsu, the cursed marks he had been able to produce because of Shukaku and Earth Release. Naruto's had such a solid grasp of Earth Release that he could produce low-quality Jewelry if given enough time and could produce quartz instead of traditional rocks and dirt.
The cursed marks had been used to produce various seals that could seal away impacts that could damage the integrity of the structure, keep the earth's particles from shifting thereby creating a lattice and held in stores of healing jutsu that would heal the trainee's wounds if necessary.
"I'm sorry," Issei said, turning onto his back, wincing from his sore muscles and the bruises that colonized his body. Naruto shrugged and jumped to the boy, helping him up and creating a bench and a table.
"All Gucci. It's lunchtime anyway," he shrugged before clapping his hands twice. A series of polygons drew themselves onto the before a line encircled itself around them creating a magic circle that gained a bright orange glow.
The glow disappeared and from it appeared an extremely attractive young woman in her teenage years dressed in a black french maid outfit. Her hair was blonde and tied into drills that reached to her waist. Her name was Ravel Phenex, Naruto's obligee and maid who attend to any of his desires.
She was born and raised in the prestigious house of Phenex before she had offered herself up as compensation in exchange for her elder brother's life. Now she served as Naruto's assistant and when called she would come to him at a moment's notice.
In her hands was a white and crimson tray and on it was a bowl of ramen and a plate of sushi and onigiri. Chopsticks were neatly placed in front of the bowl and plate. Ravel placed the tray on the quartz table and picked up the plate and placed it in front of Issei. "Your lunch Issei-san," she said, her pleasant voice ringing through his ears.
Pink pigment pooled at Issei's cheeks as he moved his hand stiffly, his muscles screaming as he reached for his chopsticks, taking no notice of Naruto's raised eyebrow. Issei's eyes zeroed in on the young lady's chest, bringing the girls attention to him. Ravel flinched slightly but maintained calmness and placed the tray in front of Naruto, presenting him with noodles in steaming broth.
"Your ramen my lord," she said, lowering her head. Issei watched with wide eyes as the young lady picked up the ramen spoon, dipped it into the soup and lightly blew on it before bringing it up to his friend's mouth.
"Oi! Oi! Oi! I'm the injured, tired one, feed me instead. Naruto you fucking bastard, flexing on me aren't ya?"
Another spoonful of soup warmed his mouth, diffusing addictive flavours onto his tongue pleasing him to the point that he had an uncharacteristic affable expression. "Your cooking is wonderful as always Ravel," his countenance had a soft look. A ghost smile made its way onto the maid's features, bringing her outer beauty to new levels.
"I am undeserving of your praise," she responded with humbleness and humility. The soup in the bowl had receded considerably so the girl placed the spoon back onto the bowl and reached for the chopsticks. She picked up and wrapped the noodles around them before delivering them into Naruto's waiting maw.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doing? Are you making fun of me or something? You aren't even injured and exhausted yet you are being fed. What are you a baby? What the fuck?!" Issei complained with a tirade that reeked of jealousy.
Ravel's eyes narrowed, "Issei-san, please refrain from disrespecting my master," the girl denounced, frowning at the lecherous dragon emperor. Issei averted his gaze with a humph and turned away from the master-servant duo.
Naruto gave a wry smile, maintaining his usual relaxed expression to hide the aching that had come as a result of training. Issei and the other members of Rias' peerage were not the only people he through the wringer.
He put himself through the wringer because he hadn't trained in a decade and naturally he was very rusty. If the present him were to fight the version of himself that had entered the world a while back, he would lose and because of that, he had to regain his edge.
The boy had applied weighted seals to himself as well and trained by sparring with a shadow clone enhanced with Six paths powers whilst he would go base. Of course, the clone wrecked him but he was getting back into shape. He had also strapped weight seals onto himself, turned invisible and sprinted across the globe in under 4 hours.
After that, he would continuously practice hand seals and slowly got rid of them to practice casting jutsu without hand seals. While he had gotten so skilled that he didn't need hand seals to cast his jutsu, using hand seals made it easier on his mind when it came to casting jutsu. Overusing his no hand seal casting wore him down mentally.
Before arriving at this world, he had almost gotten over this weakness but all that effort was for nothing, as he now had to start over. He could have used Six Paths powers to ignore the weakness but that would be cheating and that wouldn't improve his overall abilities. He wasn't in a fight so he had to improve his base abilities.
All in all, his training took a better part of the day and as such that made him really exhausted which led to him having a clone take over his academic and financial duties. Then he had to train the peerage in person...
The past few days had been awkward but they had all been able to somewhat rekindle their relationship. All except Akeno...
Naruto sighed, waving goodbye to Ravel who had cleaned up after the boys and bowed to him before leaving to attend to her other duties.
"Alright, Boob dragon emperor, we have got work to do," he said, getting up and doing a little stretch. Issei nodded, wincing as he stood from his seat and faced Naruto. "Calm down Ddraig. Shhh! Shhh! It's okay," he softly comforted his partner.
"WAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"Creatures as prideful as dragons must hate it when their titles are parodied," Issei sweatdropped and continued attempting to use comforting words to placate his partner.
His kind words fell on deaf ears as the dragon wailed and complained from within its confines in the Sacred Gear. An audible sigh escaped his mouth as he got into the stance his friend had taught him, spreading his legs shoulder-width apart.
Naruto shook his head and Issei nearly broke his stance in confusion. "Wha?" he asked, tilting his head. "We need to get your body used to the balance breaker," he stated moving until he was an arm's length away. "Activate it," he commanded.
"Wait but... When I'm normal, I can hardly maintain it for more than 10 secs. I am super tired right now and activating it takes time," Issei explained, doing a few stretches in hopes of relieving some of the aches he felt.
"Just do it."
Naruto slipped his chakra into Issei body and used yin release to create a mental connection with the entity residing within the devil. The entity did not resist and allowed the boy to communicate with it in private
"Ddraig, if I were to offer support to his body, would that increase the time he could maintain his armour?" Naruto lowered his eyes, staring at the crimson gauntlet. "Sniffle! It depends on what you mean, by support?"
"Call it a god's blessing if you will. It will just make his body more durable and allow him to recover stamina quicker."
"In that case, that should increase the time he can maintain his armour. I assume that you intend to have that temporarily in case of emergencies."
"That is correct. I can't expect him to be a Super Devil within a weak of training so I feel like implementing a fail-safe just in case. I would like to use this opportunity to see how I can affect him and Sacred Gear to allow him to get better from using it."
"I see. I will cooperate with you as the time to meet the white one is near."
The dragon residing within the boosted gear respected Naruto. It did not know who or what he was, but it knew his strength was incredible. Try as he might hide it but, Ddraig could still feel the remnants of an aura that felt somewhat divine in nature. The aura that the boy had was overwhelming even when he hid it but it was practically invisible to lesser creatures and lesser creatures to him included gods.
Ddraig concluded that the boy's power was at least god-class if not more.
He felt that antagonizing the boy was not the way to go but instead working with him was the better option and was more beneficial to him and his host. Naruto trained Issei so he could be able to protect himself and their friends and that training would be very useful against his rival.
Ddraig observed how attentive Naruto was when it came to Issei's training and because of that, he trusted him to be careful. The boy had inserted a strange energy into his partner that served to constantly relay information of his body's state allowing him to monitor Issei's progress and stop potential injuries from appearing.
"What is this? This is… Strange, the timer has been reduced. What did he do?"
Naruto nodded and stared at Issei's gauntlet for a moment. "What the? I kinda feel stronger," Issei announced, staring at his hands with wide eyes. Every ache in his body was absent and his muscles felt like they had a rush of adrenaline except they didn't. The aches just disappeared, not like he recovered or adrenaline distracted him from them. They were just gone. His muscles felt stronger like they had been enhanced by some sort of exo-suit.
"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!"
"What? It hasn't even been a minute yet," Issei screamed internally as his body spontaneously combusted in roaring, swirling flames. The sounds of moving iron synchronized with the flame and various pieces of crimson armour pieces appeared throughout Issei's body. A helmet appeared and covered Issei's head as the armour pieces connected, giving Issei the appearance of a crimson miniature dragon. His tail whipped slightly as a crimson aura slowly and ominously flowed from his body.
"Good, it worked," Naruto nodded, feeling the breeze pushing his hair back. "Now, the reason I am having you do this is that I don't want you to save a sudden powerup that will fuck up your senses. You won't have time to adjust during battle so we'll be fighting here. You and me. Put everything you have learned since you became a devil and you will be fine," he stated not bothering to enter a guarded stance.
The blonde eyed the brunette, watching him adjusting the rush of power coursing through his body.
Issei nodded in understanding and crouched before suddenly leaning back in surprise. A sword had lodged itself in front of him. Issei recognised the blade as the one the boy had carried during Rias' rescue.
"That sword is a poison to me and I hate it and as such, I can never recognise it as my own and it can never recognise me as its partner. It belonged to one of my greatest enemies... The one who had the balls to take my lover's corpse from its grave. The fact that that sword in front of you is one of the tools he used to cut her open disgusts me," he revealed, sporting a despondent look.
"Then why? Why don't you get rid of it then? Why are you having me use it?"
"The master was evil, the sword is not. A fault of mine is being unable to draw a line between it and its previous owner. Its power and usefulness is what drove me to keep it. It is ridiculously sharp and like a Sacred Gear, its other abilities vary from user to user. I want you to have it Issei. Protect what is close to you and if for some reason I am not around, please protect my dear and your fellow servants for me," he spoke softly with shoulders drooping.
"Is it right to take something that hurt him?"
Issei tentatively reached out to its snake handle and grasped it and watched the snake transform to a crimson dragon that vaguely resembled Ddraig. "But still, this will be a great tool to help me in any battle and save lives," he remembered Naruto's lessons that taught him that his Sacred Gear and weapons he may get on his way up as mere tools.
In as much as it was contrary to what he learned, he realized that he can't suddenly increase his strength in a few months so it was better for him to master his Sacred Gear and gain more tools. He swore he wouldn't overly rely on the boosted gear and improve himself as a fighter but he knew that the would-be times when the Sacred Gear would be the only thing that would be able to save him.
"I accept it," he said.
"If I may partner."
"What's up?"
"The Sacred Gear's functions are meet your desires. I suggest storing the sword within the Sacred Gear so you may call on it whenever you wish. A benefit to this is that if you are in an anti-magic space, you can still call your weapon," the dragon explained.
"Just grasp it and focus on your desire."
Issei closed his eyes, his left hand clamping down on his swords. Naruto watched with mild interest as the jewel on the back of Issei's hand glowed before the sword disappeared.
"Good... Now, from here on out, I am your enemy. Come at me with the intent to kill and make sure I never come after you again," he said, flaring his chakra. The ground below him caved while the training facility's temperature dropped considerably.
Issei took a step back, gasping. "What power!"
"W-wait, before we begin, as a kid I have always wanted to do this standoff thing, like the wild west," Issei explained, getting into a stance. Issei's words drew a snort from the steel-faced blonde. Like a river exploding out of a dam, a green ocean-like mat of grass and moss grew from the room's environment with frightening speed.
The flat landscape warped and distorted, shrieking as if bones were being shattered and re-arranged to meet the perpetrator's desires. Pebbles became towering hills and infertile bed rock bore trees. A small, newly born stream acted as the separating line between the two combatants.
Naruto saw no problem with fulfilling Issei's desire as a battle wouldn't likely take place in a flat landscape such as the previous landscape. He hoped that Issei would try to use terrain to his advantage but he'd have to wait to see how far Issei could go.
Tumbleweeds raced across the battlefield as the sound of wind whipped in their ears.
Naruto picked up a pebble and tossed it into the air, drawing Issei's eyes to it. "Come at me with the intent to kill. Use everything you have learned ever since becoming a devil. Is that how you will behave when Asia is in danger?" the pebble remained in the air for what seemed to be an eternity. Issei clenched his hands into a fist and grit his teeth.
THUD!
FWOOSH!
"So... So Fast!" the world around Issei suddenly accelerated as he dashed for his enemy, covering the great distance between them in an instant. The colourful world around him became so heavily blurred that he felt like an infant being subjected to 6Gs of force. The sheer speed he moved at surprised him so much that he almost blacked out right then and there.
"Urgh!" Issei tumbled past Naruto who looked at him somewhat amusedly. "Dang it! He didn't even need to move! Okay, maybe going all out when I am completely new to this is a horrible idea. I should just start slow," he thought before getting up to see Naruto blurring through a dozen hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball," the boy spat out a massive ball so hot that nearby trees caught fire. Issei's reaction was quick as he rolled away, dodging the attack by what felt like an inch.
"I lost sight of him," he noted. Issei stayed put allowing his eyes to slowly scan his surrounding. Issei looked to his side and saw a shadow interacting with his, "From that angle!" the boy turned and threw a right hook. Naruto stood there, holding Issei's gauntlet with one hand looking at him with approval.
Issei, knowing how dangerous his teacher was didn't let himself sink into excitement, instead fired off a beam of green energy from the gauntlet that had been held. Feeling the energy build-up, Naruto let go of his fist while tilting his head, narrowly dodging the attack.
Issei sent a series of jabs and kicks at him, watching in frustration as each one was swatted. He ducked under a roundhouse and used the force pulling him down to explode into a sweeping kick which Naruto jumped over. "Okay, I can kinda make out images at high speed now," he noted, getting distracted briefly.
Naruto distanced himself and weaved handsigns again, much to Issei's horror. "Lightning Release: Electronic Murder," he opened his mouth and released a bolt of electricity that shook the air that surrounded it.
"Ahhhhh!" Issei screamed, feeling all his muscles twitch and convulse. "Shit!"
Naruto moved.
Issei scrambled to his feet, clumsily blocking attacks from his master. Issei did so well that he expertly caught punches and kicks with his face, effectively staining the brown earth red.
"Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!"
Issei became faster and faster, allowing him to slowly overcome the difference in speed. The two teenagers, just blurs at the point shook the air as they dashed back and forth. Bashing their fists and legs against each other, wrestling for dominance shaking the very air itself.
"He is getting better," Naruto narrowly dodged a punch aimed at his cheek and retaliated with an elbow jab which Issei did not catch with his face this time. Crimson shards littered the floor whilst Naruto's skin remained immaculate, showing who really had control of the battle.
The boys' fists met with a jarring jolt, forcing the air around them to explode outwards, shaking the flora around them. Their bodies became crimson and blue blurs, moving forward and ramming into each other before dashing away and repeating. The ocean coloured blur displayed greater agility than the crimson one, peppering it constantly. For every one blow, the red one successfully landed the blue delivered a dozen more in response.
Issei brain was rattled by the hill drop that delivered to him, reducing his ballistic pace and bringing clarity to his form once more. He crossed his arms over each other receiving a corkscrew punch before pushing outwards, hoping to break his balance but Naruto used that momentum to slip into his defences and deliver a knee to his gut.
"I am fast but he is just... He is on another level," Issei grit his teeth, preventing blood from exploding out of his mouth as his body was introduced to another barrage of blows. Issei felt amazing, he felt like he could take on the entire world with his new form. He was super strong and he was super fast and so nothing could beat him but that arrogance was swept away quickly. Naruto moved so quickly and was so agile that trying to hit him made Issei feel like a drunk man trying to swat a fly.
"Dragon Shot," Issei punch a green orb that exploded into a beam of light, forcing the blonde to distance himself so he wouldn't get hit. The boy exploded off his feet, jumping and back flipping, casually evading the energy beams exploding beside him. He moved his hands up to his chest and began weaving hand signs.
Issei raised a magic circle that successfully blocked, jets of water, bolts of lightning, and squalls of wind. He jumped over the collapsing medium and created another one of at mouth area and took a deep breath before spewing a stream of orange flames towards the blonde.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall," he willed every semblance of moisture within a few meters of him to coalesce into a wall. The two opposing elements clashed sending volumes of steam into the air. "Not bad Issei," he thought, "He is taking advantage of the room's healing properties and to do that he needs to delay me. Sucks that I can sense ya," the boy grinned feeling his hair dance with the rolling steam.
"But beating up an injured kid isn't fun. I'll bite I guess..." He waited for a moment before turning in a seemingly random direction.
"Here he comes!" Issei activated the jet boosters on his back to propel him away from the numerable balls of fire descending upon him. Issei's ears twitched and he quickly deactivated his boosters and jumped in the opposite direction, avoiding being turned into a kunai pin cushion.
Your eyes are important yes but learn to detect changes in the environment with your other senses. Use your ears to listen to the shifting in the air. Use your hair to detect incoming lightning strikes. If something tastes funny then something is wrong. If something smells off then it probably is off. If it smells like something flammable then fire. Just... Don't overuse your eyes, your other senses are there for a reason.
Issei took that lesson to heart as he evaded jets of water and blades of wind. "My plan has backfired on me. I can't even get close because of that ridiculous magic he is doing. His hand signs... Wait, he said I should approach with the intent to kill which means that he is my enemy and I'm allowed to try different cards. Hey Ddraig, is the-"
"Yes, there is a noticeable pattern between his hand signs and his elemental attacks. From my observation, each element correlates with a specific handsign."
The mist was cleared away by the force of Naruto's relentless attacks. "Work with me please. I'll have a really hard time remembering those at a glance," he requested, sending three orbs at 3 globes of waters, canceling them out.
"Got it. Fire," Ddraig announced.
Issei rushed directly at Naruto, raising his crimson aura to serve as a second layer to stave off Naruto's attack.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb!"
"Boost! Boost! Boost!" Issei could feel his body screaming but he pushed forward. If this was the normal him he would have collapsed minutes ago but he had somehow been enhanced by Naruto. The amount of stamina being drained was nothing like the first time he activated it so he was able to maintain his power for the past 3 minutes.
"Water! Wind! Earth," Issei out manoeuvred the spears growing from the ground, threatening to puncture his body. He destroyed a jet that spewed from Naruto's with a swing of his arm and maintained his high-speed charge at his teacher. His insides boiled as if to fuel this mad rush, last the vengeance of a man on his stand.
The rush was similar to the first attempt at attacking but this time his mind and eyes had begun adjusting to the new stimuli and allowed him to depict his environment with great clarity.
"Good. He won't be like I was the time I first became the God of Shinobi," the boy winced, reminiscing about how he ran face-first into the 10 tails, nearly knocking himself out. It was a good thing the showers of attacks that his allies rained down prevented them from seeing something so awkward. They assumed the 10 tails being sent rolling was an attack when in actuality it was him being unable to control his speed or strength causing him to ram into the beast with enough forced to wreck mountains.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb," he cast the jutsu once more.
Issei burst through his dragon-shaped fire attack and raised his hands before bringing them down with great force. Naruto raised his hands in response and had locked his hands with Issei's. He then felt Issei clamping tightly and leaning backward as if desiring to be overpowered.
"Just what is he doing," he overpowered Issei pushing him on the ground with enough force to cause the soil to shift. Naruto then leaned back before throwing his head forward like a hammer only for his eyes to widen in shock as his reflexes took over, forcing him to leap away from Issei.
"Bastard. That was a good one," he smiled, moving his hand to wipe his forehead and brought it forward to observe it. It was covered in a crimson, warm, and sticky fluid that slowly drifted from its spot on his forehead. As his healing factor worked to get rid of the poisonous effects of Issei's attack, Naruto looked over to Issei who was getting up.
On his helmet, like a horn growing from a dragon's forehead, Kusanagi's blade grew from it.
"What the fuck is with this sword?" he questioned, thinking about how he had been able to harm someone who did not have a scratch after taking an orb of destruction to his face.
"It's... It's too much," Issei began panting, struggling to push himself off the ground. The armour he wore, which was as light as a sheet of paper had suddenly become a tonne of bricks and his muscles attained the stiffness of lead. Miraculously, he was able to get up to face his teacher.
Issei took a single step forward before his armor shattered and was converted into a crimson light before fading. Before he could fall onto his face, he found himself being supported by his buddy.
"Good job. I'll take you home so you can rest, you deserve it," he praised with a grin. Issei gave a weak smile before feeling the pull of sleep luring him in.
"Thanks."
"Just as I thought, he can't handle it for very long. I suppose this can be used in case of emergencies," he thought, shooting up to the ceiling with Issei in tow. The boy stood upside down as he sunk into the ceiling, bringing the two to the surface after a moment. "Using Yang chakra as a substitute for his stamina works however his body jas no chakra points, severely hampering the transfer. Let's not even get started on how weak it is... I think using Yang Chakra is a bad idea as that may cause his dragonification to accelerate. Rias will be on my ass for that..."
He slid into an open window, leading him right into Issei's room.
"Good evening Asia. He overdid it again so please take care of him," he greeted the girl who sat in Issei's room. "Good evening Naruto-san. Please leave him on the bed," the girl said in halting Japanese.
"Sure," he did as he was requested and gently placed the unconscious red dragon emperor on his bed.
"Ano?"
"Hmm?"
"What is it exactly that you do that always renders him unconscious? T-this can't be healthy," she expressed her grievances, clutching her fist tightly. "Why does he always have to get to this degree?" she moved to the boy and hovered her hands above his body. The ring on her finger created a green bubble around her hands.
Naruto stayed silent, unsure of how to answer as she looked like she was about to burst into tears. He sighed audibly and turned his back to her, "The time of peace is coming to an end with how fallen angels are encroaching into our territory and bringing in unsavoury goods with them," he sneered, remembering the absurd holy object he felt entering the town before disappearing suddenly. He had gone to investigate and found fallen angels but they all had their memories erased.
"This territory belongs to the sisters of the Maou's so things can escalate quickly. Whoever is behind this is clever so until we find clues our best bet is to be as strong as possible and Issei understands that. That's why he pushes himself to the limit because he desires to protect all of us, not that I need his protection," Naruto snorted as he reached for the window.
"Oh, and Asia, one more thing," he turned to her and stared past her eyes, straight into her soul. The girl gasped, nearly stumbling back as a frosty feeling washed over her entire being.
"Issei is okay with always protecting you but I am not... There is no place for damsels here," he returned to facing the window. "My advice for you is to be like your god... He is said to be good but is very much capable of evil and the same should go for you. Be ready to do even the most heinous crimes or else there may be a time where you don't and you will regret it," he raised his hand and pointed at Issei.
"He has potential and has to survive to meet it. He most definitely can't get anywhere with bad apples in his group. Everyone has to have a level of strength so he can push himself more. That is all from me. Good evening," he disappeared in wisps of smoke leaving a frightened Asia on the floor.
Asia thought back to when she was in the fallen angel's hands, all she could do was watch as they ruthlessly slaughtered people who forged contracts with devils. She couldn't even offer a semblance of resistance when they strapped her to a cross and extracted the gift which she had received from God to save people. Instead, it would be used to bring harm to them.
All she could do was sit around and watch as Issei and the others rushed to the frontlines and faced enemies she could never face. She wasn't even good enough to do the only thing she could offer to the team which was healing.
Asia turned slowly and watched Issei's chest rise and fall and closed her eyes, clasping her hands together. "Oh, father-" she winced but continued her prayer.
"Now then, time for dinner," he rubbed his hands as he leapt through an open window, moving past Ravel, who had already gotten used to her master's antics. Koneko and Rias had been kind enough to construct a spreadsheet of his behavioral patterns and with that sheet, Ravel knew when exactly the boy wanted to eat, which windows he preferred jumping through and which days he felt like going through the door.
"Welcome home master," she greeted his retreating back.
"Suh," he waved as he rushed past the massive entrance to his home and ran upstairs and took a left, running past a well-decorated hall. He opened the door to his room and rushed for his chair.
"My limited edition porno is here! Let's goooooo," he cheered as Ravel followed closely behind him. "Excuse me," she entered the room, her face red as she gently placed a plate of beef wellington and a side of fries on his desk.
He didn't pay her any mind as his eyes scrolled over the naked bodies of women on the page. After hearing the sound of pouring stopping, he reached out and casually lifted the glass of wine and tipped it into his mouth. The sweet flavor tickled his taste buds before slipping into his throat.
He gently swirled the glass whilst staring at the magazine, giving him the impression of a sophisticated scholar... Though that image was spoiled by the woman bending over and showing off her assets.
"M-master..."
"I'm master."
"What are you doing?"
"Reading a porno, what else?"
"B-but, that's inappropriate, how would Lady Rias feel."
"Probably disgusted or something," he responded easily before taking another sip at his drink. "B-but."
"If you have a problem with it, then strip so I can fuck you right here and now. Then at least I won't read the mags."
"That's even worse! E-excuse me," Ravel dashed out the room, not realizing that she did not offer her master ice or give him chopsticks. Naruto was a weirdo that preferred eating een European food with chopsticks.
The boy chuckled at her adorable red face before creating chopsticks with wood release and slicing the wellington with wind chakra. He lifted a piece to his mouth and smiled, "Since when did I eat like a noble?" he questioned. "Who knew doing the most morally questionable thing would be so pleasant?" the steak practically melted onto his taste buds.
"Well... Not like I have done morally unsound stuff before... Hmmm... Oh well," he shrugged, putting away his book in favour of enjoying the mouth-watering steak. He picked up a chip and plopped it into his mouth.
"So crunchy," he stated approvingly before picking another one up and dipping it into a dark sauce then did not smell familiar. "Bruh, this sauce. Holy shit, this girl is goated like bruh. BRUUUHHHHHH!"
As Ravel dashed away from her master's room, red at the face at high speed. The girl started slowing down, realizing her blunder. "My," she said, placing her hand on her chin. The girl's expression was mildly relaxed, if not for the slight twitches and a bit of sweat on her temple.
"W-will he be upset?" she re-entered the room with shaking shoulders, expecting to be harshly berated but contrary to her expectation the boy paid her no mind, focusing on his magazine whilst chewing on something. She watched him reach for a chip and lower it into an empty container, hitting it with a dull clunk.
He frowned and turned to her, "Ravel, get more of this sauce please. It's fantastic," he requested practically making puppy eyes. He plopped it into his mouth and closed his mouth as if vibing the crunching noises that came from it. He reached for another chip and dunked it into the empty container again and frowned.
The girl couldn't help but smile at the amusing scene because watching someone capable of extreme focus kept forgetting there was nothing in the container. "O-of course," she said before rushing out of the room.
POV Swap
In all honesty, I have nothing to complain about. I made the deal and paid for it. I am no longer a noble, just a simple slave girl serving an enigmatic human. Growing up, I have heard numerous stories of people getting introduced to unpleasant environments as soon as they became slaves. Elder brother and I also happened to witness such happening in foreign territories and it disgusted me.
Seeing that led to me interacting more with the maids and manservants that worked in our home and that exposed me to much more. I gained a lot from them such as my ability to do any form of housework and the ability to appreciate the smaller things in life. They were uneasy at first but we eventually got along and we conversed often. I considered them my friends and because of that I sometimes helped them with chores when I was free and no one was watching us.
I may have gotten along with them and helped them but I never was truly in their shoes so when the time came for me to start serving my master I realized how horrid things could be. I remembered how other devils, including my father, treated their servants.
At least my father is kind but my master is not. Fighting him when he came to rescue lady Rias and listening to him speak during the meeting, watching him play mother and father into his hands like a cruel puppeteer. He was just... Terrifying. I was so afraid, of him to the point that death felt like mercy.
Watching the darkness creeping up my skin tore nearly tore my heart out. A darkness that was followed by an indescribable pain that could only be caused by a throng of ailments and curses. My master, conjured them with ease and his mastery over this darkness completely overwhelmed my clan's famous regeneration.
A power so strong that our warriors could blindly rush into battle without any worries of death. Even an item that is created by my clan, the Phoenix tear, is completely ineffective against his curse.
I understand just how easily he can kill me and that makes me feel... Vulnerable in the sense that he can do as he wishes and I would not be able to retaliate in any way.
But still, I understood this when I made the deal. For my elder brother's life and his future happiness, this sacrifice was worth making.
At a glance, Master is a person who has no real sense of morality and justice and would do just whatever conveniences him. I expected to be constantly shouted at as I made mistakes and beaten down to an inch of my life should I have failed but my expectations couldn't be further from the truth.
He isn't at all like I expected. He is a strange yet fairly normal teenager. When playing that call of duty game on his console, he rages and raves, saying extremely inappropriate things and accuses people of cheating when in reality he got outplayed. Humans call this behavior being salty I believe.
He indulges in a lot of pornographic material and does not even bother hiding it and he hardly cleans his room, not that he needs to as he has me now. And that's the strange thing, despite the fact that he has me to do all the housework, he still does some of the chores himself. Just the other day, I had to remind him that I was the maid and he did not have to clean up after himself.
Though I haven't had an unpleasant experience these past few days, I still have the feeling that interacting with him is like exploring an ancient ruining riddled with booby traps. One wrong step and he wouldn't hesitate to kill me.
Living in the same building as him does horrors for my mental state. I can't sleep peacefully knowing that the monster that nearly killed my brother rests in the room above mine. I can't sleep peacefully with the knowledge that the very same force of nature that nearly killed me, would have done the same to my entire family if they continued antagonizing him.
I should be insomiatic but when I go to bed I always feel safe, like the warmth of the sun is cradling me and singing lullabies into my ears, lulling me in nightmare-less slumbers. The conflict I feel is nearly unbearable.
The boy that screams profanities at his Television. The boy that gently tends to the verdures in the garden. The boy that lets a white cat rest on his lap whilst he affectionately strokes her ears, displaying a strong feeling of satisfaction as she nuzzles his hand. The boy that... He is.
They can't possibly be the same person! Can they?
I sometimes fail to remember how horrible he is and instead choose to recognize the more clumsy and gentle-natured version of him. Sometimes.
I feel as though remembering how horrible will make me descend into madness so this is my only option.
I can feel his power flowing through me, maintaining the contract that is our bond. I want to accuse it of whispering to me and threatening me with the most horrid tortures in existence but... It doesn't. It's just there, laying dormant like it was never meant to be awake anyways but...
In the end, there is nothing I can do. There is no escape from my fate so all I can do is make the most of what I have now... Which is nothing.
"Master, I have your sauce," she walked up to him and presented him with the substance he desired. The boy nodded in approval, taking the sauce and placing it on the table before dipping one of his chips into it and chomping away.
"So cute slave of mine."
"Yes, master?"
"How goes your work? How is everything? Are you adapting well to your new living conditions? If you aren't, I can make arrangements to lessen the strain?" he questioned shifting his legs into a cross position.
"My adaptation has gone well master. As you may have noticed, I have experience in domestic chores, and as such adapting was not too difficult. My only issue is the sheer scale of the mansion but I have solved that issue through dividing it into quadrats and through the use of magic," she answered honestly.
"I see. That's good to know," he said before taking his attention to his porn magazine in his hands. Ravel had a look of contemplation as she rubbed her knees against each other and made herself look smaller
"Master..."
"What?" the sound of a page-turning permeated through the room.
"W-what are your goals for the future?"
"Now why would you ask me something like that?"
"I-it's a servant's duty to know their master's plans so that they can prepare to meet those goals," she explained, shuffling slightly.
"I see... My goals vary as time passes however the theme they consistently share is related to peace... I just want to have peaceful life..." he trailed, his eyes not leaving the seductive images in his grasp. "Peaceful?"
"..."
The deafening silence that followed weighed heavily on her heart. The girl bit her lower lip before stepping back and slowly shuffling away from him, inching towards the door. "E-excuse me, I will be taking my leave," she said hurriedly before turning.
"Dishes."
"Oh! Of course," she rushed to his side and collected his clean plate, and rushed out the room.
Naruto closed his magazine with a light thud and sighed, "Now where might I find a devil with fallen angel origins I wonder?"
The boy produced a slip of paper from his pocket and wrote, "Went out to bully Rias' kids."
With his message written, a puff of smoke appeared before vanishing, revealing the space he had occupied was now empty.
Stars illuminated the path that was a fair distance from the nearest road. It was unnaturally smooth, having no coarse or sharp rocks or jagged thorns that could tear through one's shoes. The sound of crumbling leaves permeated from his feet, combining with the various sounds of the forest's inhabitants.
He could hear the distant call of an owl, the scampering of a group of rabbits and a weasel lurking in the trees above them. The bland path soon transitioned into a stone-paved way which would lead its follower to the top of one of the mountains that surrounded Kuoh.
A light breeze tickled the blades of grass that flowed freely through the land, occasionally being crammed in between rocks in some places. The distant town was blocked by thickets and foliage allowing for separation between mankind and nature.
Naruto casually hopped over the stone stairs, passing through the shadows cast by the falling dancing leaves and tori gates, and finally arrived at a large open space that was a Shinto temple.
"To think you would come here."
"Why the cold shoulder Akeno, aren't you pleased to see your master?" he turned and regarded the Yamato Nadeshiko. She was dressed in a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zori with white tabi.
"You could learn a lot from Ravel," he smiled.
The girl gave no answer to his remark instead narrowed her eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Can't I hung with a buddy of mine I wonder? Perhaps I desire to sate my lust with your body? Perhaps I just came to annoy you," he responded cheekily, moving his hand to lightly scratch his whiskered cheek.
"..."
His sigh traveled through the air as his shoulders drooped at her silence. "She isn't fun anymore."
"I want to settle things between us. I am sorry."
"Ara? What might you be talking about I wonder?" her voice was pleasant but the look in her eyes was not. Akeno looked to be an inch away from entering an attack phase to get rid him.
"I'm sorry," he repeated lowering his head, "I have no excuse for allowing that shit to happen when I easily could have stopped it." Naruto still felt like beating himself for his weakness of being unable to summon his powers simply because of his past. His past was over, all he had to do was look into the future but he couldn't. He just, couldn't. He was pathetic.
"Hmm. Yes, I see. But, that still doesn't change the fact that you were very much aware of what you were doing. Lying to us your friends, allowing your significant other to suffer when you could have stopped it," she responded causing him to flinch slightly.
"Correct me if I am wrong but, isn't it hypocritical for you to be like this to me? I mean, you have holy powers which are highly effective against devils. That bomb queen should be no match for you, what held you back?"
Akeno visibly winced at his assertation before leveling a glower at him, "You don't know anything about me. All you see is the beautiful, sadistic onee-san. You... You are a monster. You allowed this torture to be brought onto us and Rias. Do you have any idea how many times she has cried, hoping that one day she could be free to do as she wishes and marry who she loves?" Akeno's face contorted, her voice becoming more and more acerbic.
"We all thought you are just a human. Someone to be protected from the supernatural at all costs and that eventually evolved into a relationship. A relationship that was a lie. A lie," her voice withered in a sorrowful whisper.
The boy was riddled with numerous conflicting emotions as he listened to her words. He bit the bottom of his lip slightly and crossed his arms whilst forcing his eyes to stay on hers. "Even if I lied to you, our relationship is very much real. I love all of you," he started giving her a weary smile.
"I was pretty much depressed and set on living out the rest of my natural life alone but you were all there for me. You held me and valued my beliefs and ideas and my personality and that was not fake to me. At this point you are my family," he continued, seating himself on the ground and propping his knee up allowing his forearm to rest on it.
"Yet you didn't bother," she the swealtering rage in her heart going into overdrive. Despite his words, his facial expression remained neutral. He was doing one of the things that irritated her the most, saying things whilst not allowing his body to express his feelings.
"I know that I could have done something but... Please don't forget that I am human just like you. Ah, wait... No, but you get the idea. I have emotions too, my own past and most definitely my own faults," his stoicism faded and his eyes became droopy. His appearance completely betrayed what she knew of him before the events with Riser. He always seemed full of life and energy but now he looked like a wet, diseased dog nearing its death.
"But..." she tried reasoning but the words could no longer form. The conversation had been so short yet he had already managed to corner her and catch her tongue.
"Akeno... You and I are very similar and you recognize it. You mirror yourself onto me and because of that I ask you, why do you hate yourself so much?" his words were sharper than the edge of katana, slicing through her heart.
Akeno's eyes went wide, feeling as if she had been shot through the chest. She stumbled backward, holding touching her chin, "W-why?" she muttered.
"I..." she averted her gaze, attempting to hide the glassy texture her eyes began attaining. Akeno could no longer look him in the eye nor maintain the hostility that she had displayed when they met. His ability to see right through her frightened her, making her feel vulnerable. She began reminiscing about her past, bringing a dark cloud onto her heart.
The black water she kept dammed up cracked the concrete wall that kept it imprisoned.
He push himself off the ground and moved his hand to cup her cheek. Akeno watched his hand slowly approach her. The hand resembled an oasis for a dehydrated man in a desert. A godsent, something without any imperfections.
Akeno leaned in slightly, feeling her heart racing as it approach but as she was about to close her eyes the hand's visage shifted. It became larger and more callused like a man she had in her life that she remembered very well.
The man who had been with her since her conception and spoiled her rotten as she grew up. A rough-looking man who went to great lengths to make sure his wife and daughter lived under a roof and had good food to eat. A man of quite literal power who guarded his family against their enemies and past enemies.
A man who stayed consistent not only because he was obligated to, but because he wanted to. All his heart desired was their safety until one day he failed.
A failure that would create a rift between him and his daughter.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU ARE JUST LIKE HIM!"
Naruto's body suddenly had thousands of volts of electricity coursing through it, singing his clothes. The sudden attack did not deter his hand's approach as if glided through the air.
Akeno stood transfixed, before feeling an inexplicable rage exploding from her heart. Another bolt of lightning struck him. And another. And another until she couldn't anymore. Her attempts were unsuccessful as he sported no physical injury. His shirt had long since burnt away and his pants had miraculously survived her onslaught.
She felt a rough hand grazing her cheek, overwriting the moist warm feeling that was present.
"You are beautiful," he said with great conviction.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No-mphhh."
Akeno fell limb into his arms, unable to bring herself to push him away. Her eyes closed, focusing on the warmth on her mouth. Any form of resistance had disappeared at that point and she just couldn't. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as leaned into arms and savored the kiss.
He pulled back, watching a stream of saliva act as a connection to their lips.
"Let's talk, okay," he gave her a warm smile before taking her hand. Akeno absent mindedly allowed him to lead her back into the temple.
"Yes," she whispered, matching his steps as they entered the building.
Naruto and Akeno knelt at a table, with them on the opposite sides of the table facing each other.
"I don't want you to make the same mistake as me," he locked his eyes with hers. "I can understand how you feel which is why I am here. To help you," he expressed, feeling a bit of nervousness making its way into his psyche. He clenched his fist slightly and focused on Akeno who moved to wipe her tears.
Black feathers exploded from behind Akeno, temporarily masking the raven-like wing protruding from her back. Another wing emerged from behind her, one that closely resembled that of a bat with its leathery frame. Akeno watched him closely, feeling trepidation as she predicted a disgusted response. He sipped on a mountain dew like he did on a normal day.
"I... am a fallen angel. I am half... I was a fallen and..."
He nodded, not keeping his words to him to allow her to express herself better. He listened as she attempted to explain the circumstances of how her family was created with her mother falling in love with her father. She told him how her clan, one of the 5 Principle clans of Japan, did not approve of their relationship and attempted to separate them numerous times.
The clan attempted to kill Baraquiel to get to the mother and daughter but they were continuously defeated by the cadre so they waited for the moment he was away. They killed Akeno's mother in front of her and that led to her developing a hatred for fallen angels. Her father arrived too late and Akeno rejected him then fled.
Her hatred for her father's species was brooded by the fact that her clan considered her a disgrace and actively hunted her to get rid of her before the Shinto gods became aware of her.
"Feelings of abandonment coupled with severe shaming and hatred. Really rough on a child's mind," he did not change his facial expression but he did feel irritation. Perhaps they were more similar than he thought.
He reached out and grasped her hand tenderly, giving her a comforting look.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise when Akeno mentioned Heinrich Agrippa, recalling from history texts he had studied some time ago. Just how old was Sirzechs exactly? Well, that didn't matter at the moment so he focused on Akeno.
"Man..." He started, scratching the back of his head with uncertainty as to what or how he should respond to that, "That shit is deep," he continued, drawing a giggle from Akeno. That was Naruto she very familiar with.
She couldn't help but giggle at his statement, "This guy." She couldn't help but laugh a bit, expressing the problems that stayed buried in her heart had done wonders for her state of mind. She felt unbelievably relieved that he had no concern with what she was. He expressed no form of distaste, dislike and disgust at her hybrid features and she felt. Accepted.
Her cheeks gained a light hue as she recalled the texture of his lips leading to her placing her hands on his own.
The blonde closed his eyes, placing an elbow on the table and pushing his cheek onto the palm of his hand. "All I can say is, I don't feel like your father is at fault," the temperature of the room dropped once more but Akeno stayed silent.
"Even if he had a duty as your father and your family's protector, he is still a high-ranking member of one the most powerful factions in the world. Him neglecting his duties would likely be catastrophic," he explained.
He opened his eyes, not at their normal width instead he kept them narrowed as he spoke. "Your clan waited until your father was gone and I am sure they had no way of knowing that unless an internal within The Watchers leaked it. Your father is thousands of years old so he should easily be able to find forms of spying with relative ease due to the amount of knowledge he racked up over the years."
"..."
"You were set up," he stated his theory. "I may be wrong but I think you should talk to your father if you meet him again, I am sure he really loves you," he squeezed her hand. Akeno took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.
"Will you be there with me when I meet him?"
"Of course," he responded, causing a bright smile to grace Akeno's features.
"Will you be there for us when we need you?"
Naruto shook his head, causing her to recoil in shock. "I am not an all-powerful god. I can't predict the future and I am may make mistakes. That is why I am pushing so hard for you to get stronger because I want you to be able to fight in the event I am unable to help you. I did not fall for a damsel," he smirked, looking into her eyes.
"Fall for?" Akeno blushed slightly as she gaved into the ocean that was his eyes.
Akeno sighed in exasperation before shaking her head, giggling. He smiled softly watching her beautiful features expressed happiness.'
"Thank you," she said before standing and moving to his side and kneeling beside him. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Stay with me," she wrapped her arms around his arm, enveloping into the immaculate softness that was her breasts. She leaned in and claimed his lips once more before back rubbing herself onto him
"Sure, I can let a clone train Issei and Kiba. Ah, looks like Asia wants to join too. I can telepathically communicate with my clones and he just told me he is going to get Kiba first then go grab Asia and Issei," he explained.
Akeno gave a weak smile before yawning. She stood up, taking his hand and pulling him along. "Please clean us up," she requested and in that instant, all odours that wafted off them disappeared as if they had taken a bath.
"Wait, you can actually do that? Ara," she said in surprise.
"Yeah. Winged it didn't ya?," he laughed, "I can create chemicals and compounds and stuff, just destroyed the nasties and made it go away with moisture on the surface of the skin before remoisturizing," he explained.
Naruto's clothes faded and were replaced with blue onesies with bunny ears. "Oi, don't look at me like that, they are comfortable," he huffed.
Akeno giggled before gaining a teasing look. "And here I thought you would want to push me down and violate me," her innocent smile gave predatory vibes. "Eh, maybe later," he shrugged before jumping into the bed, "Besides, I don't think you're ready for that," he continued causing her to sigh in disappointment.
After seductively changing into a nightgown, she joined him within the bed.
Naruto proceeded to wrap his arms around her and pull her in, forcing himself to stay under control as his nose was invaded by her intoxicating scent.
"Naruto..."
He was pulled out of his thoughts by her pleasant voice.
"Thank you. For everything and I am sorry."
He smiled and said nothing, instead pulling her closer and placing his hand on her head.
"You are important to all of us so please don't push yourself too hard, we will all get worried. We are able to confide in you but you aren't able to confide in us so if you ever have problems... We will be here for you. I will be here for you," she said as her voice faded off leaving the boy awake.
"That's sweet of you but I'm still a shinobi. A man who has walked down the path of war and spilled the blood of countless people. A man responsible for the suffering of countless and a man who unjustly changed the very structure of the world just suit to his desires.
Was it fair? Of course not. If I tried telling you about the person I used to be, the thing i used to be then I am afraid you might turn away from me. I suppose I can keep this a secret, all my enemies are dead in another dimension so they can't tell a soul.
I don't particularly regret some things I have done but I know that they are all morally unacceptable. I know peace is impossible so me being a shinobi is the only thing I can be for all of you. I'll gladly walk the path of war if I am able to help you live happily without any worry of what the world will drop on us.
As protectors of our villages and our countries, we are expected to eliminate threats before they even come, even if that means killing slaughtering a country of innocents. No humans enjoy this so we have to take one for the team and hold it in because if we take it out, we will destroy everything around us.
I hate myself and some crimes I have commited but I can't really change my past. All I can do is look to the future and my future is being a shinobi. We are so inhuman that having feeling makes us feel extremely vulnerable. I feel vulnerable but you guys make me feel safe. I'll do what I can for you.
I'll suffer again if I must. We suffer, we endure and we perseveer. We are shinobi, I am a Shinobi and Shinobi don't cry, we bleed."
With The Clone
After hearing Naruto's thoughts it audibly sighed.
"Are you okay Uzumaki-san?"
"Yeah , I'm good Asia. Let's that perv out of his room, we got a lot of work to do."
Naruto's ear twitched and he raised an eyebrow as he heard heavy panting. It did not come with the wet smacking he would expect from Issei so assumed he was just watching normal porn.
"He should know that right now is training time, let's have a little fun," he thought, holding back a grin at the thought of Asia covering her mouth in shock as Issei watched porn.
Naruto grabbed the door handle, twisted, and pushed.
"DROP YOUR PANTS SOLDIER! I'M GONNA SHOW YOU WHY THEY CALL ME THE DRILL SERGEANT!"
Issei was on a chair eating half a sandwich whilst his pants were down. The other half was... Explained the strange smell of lotion mixed with... PB and J. "Oh my god," Naruto thought as he and Issei made eye contact.
Issei's eyes flicked onto Asia who looked like she had seen a ghost. Asia suddenly felt dizzy and she collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud with Naruto not even bothering to catch her.
"Wait, I can explain, this isn't what it looks like." The sound of a whip and a zippe echoed through the room followed by the groaning of a man. Naruto didn't even want to know what the hell was on that screen.