"That is the current situation, Sirzechs-sama." Grayfia said demurely, as befitting her position as a maid.
"...Thank you Grayfia." a young-looking man with crimson hair replied, a serious edge to his voice.
This man was none other than the current Maou Lucifer; Sirzechs Lucifer.
He was staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused, as he considered the implications of the information he has just received.
He was rarely serious, usually preferring to stay lighthearted, especially when it came to his younger sister.
But when that sister of his was threatened? All chips were down.
The issue revolved around the all-female group that his beautiful maid has brought back from the Gremory summer home, very likely the Peerage of a high-class devil from what he understood.
They needed to be taken care of, their circumstances were obviously...unfavorable to say the least. But more importantly, he wanted to find out who led them.
Getting answers from the women themselves may pan out, but he was told about how loyal they seemed. So studying their evil pieces in order to trace the identity of their owner may be the better option.
But he wasn't one who necessarily understood how the Evil Piece System worked, so he needed Ajuka to find the answer for him...
"Sirzechs-sama, are you well?"
Sirzechs Lucifer blinked for a moment, consciousness leaving the recesses of his mind and refocusing on his lovely wife.
"Yes, apologies Grayfia. I was just thinking." the current Maou Lucifer muttered.
The maid looked at her husband in concern, while she preferred that Sirzechs was more serious, she didn't expect for him to drift off.
That was concerning.
"Sirzechs-sama, while the attack at the Gremory summer home was one of the things that I wanted to tell you about...there is another issue." the maid of the current Lucifer stated seriously.
Sirzechs glanced at Grayfia in confusion, was there something as serious as the well-being of his little sister?
"It seems that the Rias-sama has made some...interesting friends since the last time I've seen her. One of which was the daughter of the original Lucifer."
Now that was some interesting news.
"Well...I never expected for Ria-tan to make friends with such a controversial person." the red-headed Maou remarked with a wry grin.
But Grayfia didn't see the humor in the situation.
"Sirzechs-sama, personal feelings aside, is it a good idea to allow such an individual to be so close to Rias-sama...?" the maid asked with a frown, obviously not comfortable with the idea.
Sirzechs just waved the question away. "Last time I checked, it wasn't the policy of the current government to condemn people for the blood coursing through their veins...or the actions of their families."
He made sure to give the silver-haired woman a pointed look at that last statement.
She didn't look convinced. Though the point was noted.
That just made the Maou sigh, she was rather protective of her new family, so her attitude was understandable.
"Alright then, this is a good chance to get some answers anyways...how about we try to schedule a meeting with young...'Naruse Mio', right? We could make extra sure of her intentions and maybe find out more about what my predecessor was up to before he was captured." the young-looking man suggested lightly.
Maybe the young devil had some information about her late father?
The maid merely bowed, realizing that her opposition wasn't acceptable when considering the roles that they were both playing. She didn't have the right to question him. As was proper.
Sirzechs looked at her and sighed again, he wished that she could lighten up from her 'maid role'.
The Maou's expression turned serious again, just what was going on?
How could someone have the ability to enter the Gremory summer home without being detected?
Why did Ria-tan make friends with the daughter of the Original Lucifer?
There was also that...'Unknown Variable' that he has been hearing about recently.
All of this occurring when the issue with the Phenex engagement was still prominent on his mind...
"I suppose that you're going back to the mansion, Grayfia?" the Maou asked with a serious expression, exuding the authority and grace that his position demanded.
"Of course, I suppose that you wish for me to inform Rias-sama about the possible alternative to the engagement?" the maid inquired, well aware that her king was giving his younger sister a way out of her ordeal.
Through a rating game.
The red-headed Maou nodded. "That's right, but I want you to give invitations to Ria-tan's guests...I'd like to see who my little sister has befriended."
The maid bowed in response.
Morning reached the summer home of the Gremory.
The sun was high in the sky, signaling to a bored Naruto that he should be having breakfast.
Too bad he was eating ramen already.
He sorta gave up on going to bed after waking up twice, so he figured that eating some ramen to get rid of his hunger pangs was a pretty good idea.
It was. He had no regrets.
While he was eating, he had a piece of paper in front of him with a pen on his hand. On that paper...was a picture.
A picture of a chicken on fire.
He had no idea what a 'phoenix' was supposed to look like, so this was the first thing that came to mind when thinking about the bird.
Apparently, the Phenex family had powers that were just like this legendary bird. So getting a decent grasp for what he was dealing with was a good way to kill time.
So...he was dealing with fast regeneration and powerful fire attacks, right?
Well, both were not exactly 'new' things for him. Just annoying.
The shinobi stared at the picture blankly, trying to convince himself that this burning chicken was a threat...but not really succeeding.
The best he could imagine was a hilarious scene of a chicken running around with it's head on fire.
"...Pfft." Naruto chuckled, covering his mouth as he struggled to stop himself from laughing.
The scene was so ridiculous that he might not be able to take this Riser guy seriously at this rate.
"You seem to be in a good mood, Naruto."
Naruto immediately stopped his chuckling in embarrassment, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as he greeted his 'sister'.
"Yo Mio! Finally woke up I see! Where's the...uh...'other' me?" Naruto asked with a cheesy grin.
Mio looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"He went back to sleep."
Lazy bastard.
The blond shrugged it off though, what could you do sometimes?
The red-head took a seat for herself, facing towards the blond, then gave him a determined look.
"Naruto, we need to talk about Rias-sempai. I think she's in trouble and that she needs help-" Mio began quickly, hoping to get Naruto's backing to help her friend.
But she was stopped when the whiskered teen raised a hand up with a bored look on his face.
"Sorry Mio. I'm way ahead of you already. You're going to ask me to help Rias-san about her engagement issue, right? Old news already. Get on with the times." Naruto drawled with a smirk.
He enjoyed the flabbergasted look on the red-head's face.
Then she shook her head in disbelief. Just how did he dothat? He was asleep at the time, right?
Ah well...she shouldn't question it. For the sake of her sanity, she couldn't think too deeply on the blond's 'Narutoisms'.
"Alright...assuming that you're going to help her...what are you going to do?" Mio asked curiously, wondering what the teen could do about such a complicated problem like pre-arranged marriage.
The shinobi simply shrugged, seemingly content with torturing the female teen by refusing to quench her curiosity.
The half-devil gave him a dirty look. "Ugh. You're being difficult on purpose."
Guilty as charged.
He was just bored.
Mio's expression then shifted into a frown, before she leaned closer to him. "Though...if you're ever having trouble...you can come to me for help you know? I don't want you to overwork yourself over some harebrained scheme."
Naruto blinked at her shift in demeanor, maybe she wasn't entirely convinced that he was ok now?
Nevertheless, he nodded with a confident smile. Assuring her that everything was going to be alright now.
Judging by the loss of tension in her muscles after his assurance, he'd say that he did a pretty good job.
"...Oh my. I believe that I'm interrupting something quite juicy here."
Mio's eyes widened and her face turned as red as an apple at the insinuation thrown at herself and Naruto.
The blond didn't catch the teasing however, so he just looked at the resident succubus with confusion.
"Maria! It isn't like that!" the red-head cried out, feeling very much embarrassed at what her guardian was implying.
Maria merely shrugged as she walked into the dining room, a teasing grin still remaining on her face. "I don't know...you seemed to enjoy moving into Naruto-sama's personal space and asking him to rely on you. You also seem to be closer than before...did something happen, I wonder?"
Mio looked away.
Naruto coughed into his hand.
...
"...Wait. Did something happen?" the succubus asked with a wide-eyed look.
The shinobi shifted uncomfortably on his seat as the silver-haired girl's eyes concentrated on him with frightening intensity.
Then her eyes teared up.
"How could you!?" Maria cried out, her face was filled with despair at the lack of denial.
This bought the duo's attention to the succubus, they were both slightly alarmed at her sudden outburst.
But before either of them could ask her what the problem was, she cried out.
"Why didn't you do this when I was around!? Now I can't save your shameful faces in my video cam!"
Just like that, Maria lost all sympathy.
"...Is catching people in embarrassing moments your only mission in life?" Mio asked quietly, an annoyed glare aimed at her guardian.
Maria looked offended at the accusation. "Of course not! How could you think of me like that!? I have standards! I only do my best to capture embarrassing moments of people I like!"
Ah. Of course. Mio really shouldn't be surprised by this point.
Naruto looked on, an indulgent smile creeping onto his facial features.
He was happy that these two were having fun, despite the dark circumstances just yesterday. It gave him a nice and fuzzy feeling.
Now all he had to do was keep it that way.
All by beating up some random fire chicken?
Yeah...he could do that.
After a while, the rest of the mansion began to wake up to greet the new day.
Yuki woke up and joined them at the table soon after Maria made her...interesting entrance.
She nearly gave him a minor heart attack when the young hero suggested that they should get some studying done before their little trip ended, all to 'help him' of course.
He didn't need that kind of help, damn it!
So he was immensely thankful when Mio managed to grab Yuki's attention long enough for others to get to the table.
Soon afterwards, Issei and Asia-san both entered the dining room as well, looking as if they hadn't gone through a life-or-death situation.
The shinobi wanted to keep it that way.
Albeit, Issei looked a little rattled, and walked up to the blond with purpose.
Maybe he wanted to talk about what happened yesterday? Well it wasn't like they couldn't talk about it...just that this maybe wasn't the best-
"Naruto. What do you do when a giant dragon appears in your dream and calls you his partner?" Issei asked, a thoroughly serious expression on his face.
...
"...Hyoudou-san. Maybe you should get more rest." Yuki said blandly, voicing out the opinion of most of the occupants at the table.
The brown-haired boy tried to defend himself.
"I'm serious! I got a dream where a big-ass dragon came to me and called me his partner! Whether I'm tired or not is another issue! I'm new to this supernatural stuff...so I need to know whether this is a one time thing." Issei pointed out with a twitching eyebrow.
"...As much as I hate to admit it. Issei-san's got a point." Mio interjected grudgingly, before turning to her guardian. "What do you think of this, Maria?"
Maybe her 'sometimes wise, sometimes not' protector had some information.
The succubus blinked for a moment, before turning towards her charge sheepishly. "Sorry Mio-sama. I was actually thinking about a dragon and Issei-san getting married. You know...as 'partners'?"
Well...that figured.
Seeing that none of the girls came up with anything useful, Issei turned back to the person he initially asked. He's been awfully quiet...
The perverted boy saw a blond teen, he had his bangs covering his eyes and his shoulders were shaking.
"...Why can't you be like that...you damn furry...!" Naruto vehemently whispered to his own stomach.
Seriously! What the hell! Issei got a dragon to accept him the second they meet!
Him? He had to make sure that his stupid furry of a 'partner' didn't kill everyone he cared about!
...No wait.
Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could get rid of the stupid furry...give it to someone else and let it be theirproblem!
After he finished his internal rant and scheming, he turned towards the other male with a dark look in his eye.
"...Wanna trade?"
"...What the fuck are you talking about, Naruto?"
"Alright. So you got some big-ass red dragon in your Sacred Gear. Not too big of a deal." Naruto said blandly, not really impressed.
"...Maybe in your crazy world it isn't. But for me it is!" Issei retorted smartly.
Well...he wasn't wrong at least.
"Now calm down, Hyoudou-san. Was there anything else that this dragon mentioned?" Yuki interjected quietly, seeking answers to this interesting puzzle.
From what she knew, there weren't many Sacred Gears that had a conscious. So this was actually quite an interesting experience.
Issei thought about it. The dragon actually mentioned some stuff that he didn't know about before...
"Issei-san. I think you mumbled something in your sleep before you woke up. Something about 'Boost' or something like that." Asia pointed out while raising her hand.
"...This ain't school Asia-san. No need to raise your hand..." Naruto retorted tiredly.
Ignoring the blond's mild rebuke, Issei tried to remember...dreams were hard to remember after a while.
Then his eyes lit up.
"Boosted Gear! That's right! My Sacred Gear is called the Boosted Gear!" the brown-haired boy declared proudly.
He was looking forward to some awed responses, but everyone didn't seem too impressed.
"So how is this...Boosted Gear of yours any better than your last one?" the shinobi asked with a curious look, Issei's future training might have to be modified if Naruto was wrong in his assump-
"It allows him to double his strength every ten seconds, at least that's from what I remember." Yuki voiced out, her face was slightly strained as she tried to remember what such a powerful Sacred Gear was capable of.
Naruto fucking called it.
"...Thanks for that. I actually had no idea." Issei said with a sheepish look on his face.
Figures.
Before anyone could continue the conversation, the soft pitter-patter of feet began to echo from the hallway.
"Did someone mention Boosted Gear!?"
"...Hello to you too, Rias-sempai." Mio stated with a shaky smile.
She has never seen the usually composed older red-head look so...excited before. Like she just won the lottery or something.
Well, she probably did.
Rias was wide-eyed as she processed the information that she happened to hear when she got up to go to the bathroom.
She got herself a Longinus!
If she could've gotten away with it without anyone seeing it...she would've done a fist pump.
But Rias wasn't the only one to hear a piece of the conversation.
"Ara ara, as much as I'm sure that the information has excited you...you should still probably take a shower now that I'm done with the bathroom." Akeno said with a ribbing tone and an amused smile.
Ah. Right. Morning shower.
Rias' cheeks went slightly pink now that everyone knew that she hadn't had her morning shower yet.
"Ah...right. I'll just...be right back." the red-head mumbled, before speeding past Akeno towards the bathroom.
All to the black-haired teen's amusement.
"...See Mio-sama? Akeno-san teases Rias-san all of the time. Why can't you be as lenient as Rias-san?" Maria complained to her charge. Seemingly decrying the injustice of her situation.
"That may have something to do with the fact that Himejima-sempai isn't trying to embarrass her so horribly, that she may not be able to go out in public anymore. You Maria...? I don't think so." Mio retorted with a disgruntled look on her face.
Maria just pouted, Mio-sama could be such a kill-joy.
Akeno glanced at Mio in curiosity. "What exactly does Maria-san do? Surely it can't be quite that bad, right?"
In response, the young red-head simply gave her sempai a deadpanned look.
"She tries to engineer these situations where someone...usually Naruto, would see me in a very compromising position. Like when I'm changing clothes." the young half-devil said, thoroughly convinced that no one had it as bad as she did when it came to annoying friends.
Akeno put her finger on her chin, a wondering look on her face.
Then a dark glint entered her eye, completed with a slightly sadistic grin.
Naruto suddenly had the feeling that he shouldn't let Akeno-san and Maria talk with each other for any period of time.
He just shouldn't. End of story.
"Alright, now that everyone is present and accounted for, there is something that needs to be discussed."
Everyone turned to Rias, giving their attention to the master of the house.
"Naruto informed me of what happened yesterday, first I'd like to apologize for the trouble that all of you have endured. I'm...somewhat ashamed that someone managed to get inside the barrier." the high-class devil apologized solemnly.
Naruto just looked annoyed at that.
"Hey. You couldn't have known. So quit trying to take the blame here, instead...let's focus on the perpetrator. Let's find out who this bastard is and what he wants." Naruto interjected, a frown marring his face.
No one here was 'responsible' for that attack. Even he couldn't sense that bastard properly without his use of demonic energy. So instead of pointing fingers, it's best that they just find the bastard and put him down before he tries anything again.
Nods of agreement were murmured between all of the occupants of the table and Rias gave the blond a grateful nod.
"Speaking of which, I think that I know why that masked bastard attacked us, I think that he was after Asia." Issei added quickly, positive that he was right.
The shinobi glanced at the wielder of the Boosted Gear with a pointed look. "I thought that that might be the case, but do you have proof? Something that he said or something like that? After all...he could've also been aiming for you."
He had a point, the masked guy left the Peerage at the forest to hunt down Issei and Asia-san...so which one was that bastard targeting?
The pawn nodded. "In a sense, he was after me...just that he was after me to hurt Asia. He said he wanted to see her in pain...so he wanted to hurt me to do that."
Well...that was pretty morbid.
"Well, considering that this masked individual seems to be a high-class devil at the very least and that he only had fourteen Peerage members...we can infer that this man tried to take Asia-san for some twisted reason." Yuki deduced quietly, it sounded awfully close to what she heard that the devils of old would often do.
Asia just shifted uncomfortably, intensely aware that some dangerous individual was hunting her for some reason.
Issei placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
She appreciated that.
"...So do you think that he'd stop if she became 'unavailable'?" Mio wondered out loud.
"Maybe, but I think it's best not to do anything too...permanent until we have more information. Besides, this bastard sounds like he would target Asia-san whether she's part of a Peerage or not." Naruto replied with a serious expression, sure that someone like that would always try to get what he wanted.
Arrogant pricks were like that.
"Nevertheless, Asia-san is in danger now. So perhaps she should learn how to defend herself properly?" Yuuto suggested, seeing that as the best solution so far.
No one objected to that idea, so it was pretty much accepted.
"Um...if I'm going to train, then what would I learn? I don't exactly have that much combat potential, I think..." Asia asked with a hesitant face, she didn't see how anyone could train her properly for fighting.
Naruto simply grinned at her. "Leave that to me. Besides, I don't really think that you need to learn how to fight...just how to stall. Besides, while you're right in that you don't have much fighting potential, you do have potential somewhere else."
Akeno frowned, somewhat confused. "Maybe she could be a powerful support, but I don't see how her abilities could allow for her to stall against a concerted attack."
The blond simply shrugged. "Normally I'd agree. But I think she's got a shot with some...uh...intervention I guess."
He didn't elaborate.
"On a different topic, when will Grayfia-san come back?" Naruto inquired while turning to face Rias. "I wanted to talk to her about the fire chicken."
...
"Wait...what?"
"I wanted to talk to her about that Riser guy."
Rias stared at the blond for a moment, did she mishear him...?
She decided to let it go and answer his question.
"She's supposed to come by today in order to inform me about those women you've captured. I'm not too sure when...but it should definitely be today."
The shinobi nodded, then he had a little time to get something ready for his idea...
With that knowledge at hand, he stood up from the table with a foxy grin on his face.
"I gotta get something ready, so I'm gonna head to my room for a while. See you guys later!" Naruto chirped, before moving away from the table, back to his room.
The entire group watched him leave, some with verycurious stares.
"What's the prankster from hell up to...?" Issei mumbled warily, unintentionally voicing out everyone's concerns.
Rias especially gave him a curious stare, was it about what he told her last night...?
"Ara ara...it seems that our foxy-kun has a secret or two. Do you have an idea about he's up to, Buchou?" Akeno asked with a genuinely curious expression.
The entire table turned to her.
...Damn it Akeno...
"...I think that he may be preparing himself to help me with...that issue." Rias stated casually, trying her hardest to appear calm and centered.
"Eh? Are you in some sort of trouble, Rias-san?" Maria inquired with a worried expression. Anyone that treated Mio-sama and Naruto-sama well deserved to get help in her eyes.
Mio glanced at Maria, suddenly realizing that she never told Maria yet.
Well...it was a pretty busy day yesterday...
"Well, I'm getting set up with a man by the name of Riser of the Phenex clan by my family. It was made without my consent or approval and I wish to dissolve the engagement. Naruto has volunteered to help me cancel it...but the problem is that I have no idea how he could." Rias explained with a far-away look in her eyes. Obviously attempting to scour her brain for what the unpredictable blond could be up to.
She got nothing.
"Maybe he said something that could give us a hint?" Mio pointed out, she herself was extremely curious in finding out what her 'brother' was up to.
The older red-head thought about it for a moment.
Then it clicked.
"He did seem to hone in on the idea of contracts...maybe he wants to trick Riser into signing one?" Rias wondered aloud.
But...no. That doesn't make sense.
As arrogant as the young son of the Phenex clan was...he still had his excellent education. As befitting a high-class devil of such a clan.
He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't fall for that.
But what else could the blond be planning...?
Then the quietest member of the table decided to point something out.
"...Naruto-sempai is strange. The way he thinks is strange. So trying to find out what goes on in his head is...strange." Koneko mumbled quietly.
...
...That was probably the most logical sentence that has come out of anybody's mouth throughout this trip.
...And it came from the quiet loli.
Thus, nothing more was said about the subject.
It's been a few hours since everyone woke up from their sleep.
Naruto was hard at work, finishing the last pieces of his ultimate weapon against the fir-he meant...Riser. His ultimate weapon against Riser.
Yeah.
His brows were furrowed and his face was scrunched up, concentrating on his masterpiece on this piece of paper.
He was drawing something...
The thing that would set his entire plan into motion.
He wasn't the only one who was working hard.
There were at least fifty clones that were bunched up inside the room, working hard at their own 'drawings'.
As a side-note. He just realized how ridiculously big these rooms were...
Each of his clones were carefully brushing their ink brushes onto their own individual pieces of paper. Concentrating heavily on their important tasks.
They were almost done...
Then they all snapped their heads up. Eyes widening as they sensed a demonic energy...
Shit! They didn't have much time left!
"Everyone! Double time!"
It's been a few hours since Naruto went back to his room.
The mansion has been suspiciously absent of explosions, at least to Mio.
It was making her antsy. A quiet Naruto with no explosions in the background was a very suspicious Naruto.
"Don't you think that you're being too hard on him, Mio-sama?" Maria asked with a sheepish smile.
The red-head didn't reply, she felt totally justified. Past experiences warned her about taking her 'brother' lightly.
But she decided to be patient and watch the fireworks this time, maybe his shenanigans could scare off Rias-sempai's fiancé ?
Really. Anything was possible with him...
"...You wonder why people question your relationship with Naruto-sama...your thoughts always go back to him..." the succubus pointed out with an indulgent smile.
Maria just got a death glare from her charge for her trouble.
But before Mio could go on a rant on how she didn't always think about a certain blond, a bright light suddenly appeared from behind them.
Both half-devils turned around in shock to check on what caused the sudden occurrence.
A magic circle.
A silver one.
It also seemed that they weren't the only ones who noticed the energy surge, as other members of the mansion began to rush back to the dining room in order ascertain what was going on.
Most of them recognized this demonic energy.
As expected, the maid of the Gremory family appeared from the magic circle, prim and proper as always.
"Rias-sama, I apologize for the intrusion." Grayfia stated while bowing to the high-class devil.
The red-headed devil put her poker face on as she approached the queen of her brother's Peerage. "It's fine, Grayfia. Are you here to tell me about what happened with those girls?"
The maid nodded, she was indeed. But that wasn't the only reason she as here.
Before she continued, she made sure to pay more attention on who was present, all of Rias-sama's guests to be exact...
She frowned at what she saw.
"...Why are there at least two humans here, Rias-sama?" Grayfia asked quietly, her eyes sharpening as she realized that they have seen her use demonic energy.
Asia's eyes widened in alarm and Yuki crouched her legs, ready to move if a fight broke out.
"Wait! These are my guests! They are well aware of the realities of the supernatural! They will not be harmed!" Rias demanded sternly while using her body to stand in the way of the maid and her friends.
She knew damn well that Grayfia could get through her whenever she wanted, but she was banking on the fact that the silver-headed maid followed protocols and class ranks while on duty.
Her bet paid off as the maid immediately stopped her hostile actions.
"Very well, but your brother would definitely want to hear about this." the older woman said, not even appearing fazed by Rias' actions.
The maid took another quick look around and couldn't help but notice that the blond male wasn't there...
But she had work to do, focus on him later.
"Rias-sama. Sirzechs-sama wishes to trace the identity of the king of those women that were captured by using their evil pieces. Ajuka agreed to do the honors, but since this was in short notice, he won't be able to help for an unspecified amount of time." Grayfia explained concisely. Not too much detail or too little.
"I see...well...I suppose asking every high-class and ultimate-class devil to account for themselves and their Peerages would be somewhat extreme wouldn't it?" the red-headed devil murmured quietly.
At least she was sure that this guy couldn't act recklessly from now on, they would be ready next time.
"...That isn't the only thing that I wanted to tell you, Rias-sama." the maid continued, her eyes scanning the room as she wondered whether it was a good idea to discuss Gremory issues when there were strangers present.
"Grayfia. They know about it already. I told them. It's fine." Rias assured calmly without a hint of self-doubt.
The maid simply sighed at her mistress' insistence.
"...Very well. As you are aware, Riser-sama doesn't wish to wait for the marriage ceremony to be postponed until you graduate university."
The Gremory Peerage all glanced at one another with small frowns, expressing their discontent with the situation.
"I'm aware. What of it?" Rias retorted, she felt her irritation grow as their conversation continued. They've already established this and all the information did was make her day worse.
"Well...he wishes to speak to you about it personally." Grayfia finished solemnly.
...
"No. No, no, no, no! He's not allowed to enter this summer home!" the Gremory heiress declared hotly, furious at the idea that such a man would be allowed inside the area where her allies and friends were relaxing.
Mio made a quiet fist pump, internally cheering her older friend on. All to Maria's amusement since she noticed it.
"...Apologies Rias-sama. I've already gave Riser-sama permission to use a magic circle to enter the premises." the maid revealed stoically, not even a little bit remorseful.
Rias couldn't have looked more bitter if she tried.
As if on cue, a orange magic circle appeared behind the maid, which in turn released large doses of flames. Those who weren't expecting it, flinched at the sudden rise in temperature.
After a moment, the flames died down and revealed a young man with short blond hair, with a fringe that stood up in the middle. He wore a pair of burgundy colored pants and a blazer that had a white dress shirt underneath it.
"...Riser Phenex." Rias practically spat out his name in disgust. Insulted that he would have the gall to show up at a place of relaxation and in front of her guests.
Riser turned to face the red-headed devil with a grin, seemingly uncaring of his intrusion. "Ah! Rias! My love! I've come for you!"
"...Why are you here?" the red-headed devil asked quietly. Her default facial expression has now become a heated glare as she looked at her 'fiancé'.
The Phenex shrugged with a smug smirk that remained on his face. "I've come to discuss with you about your selfish actions, your family can't cater to your wishes forever you know?"
Her eyes narrowed in anger. "...I like how you call my actions 'selfish' when your actions happen to be just as selfish...you just happen to get something out of this."
Once more, the older blond merely shrugged helplessly. "Doesn't change the fact that this has to happen, with your approval or not. So don't make this hard, eh Rias?"
Everyone else was watching the back-and-forth with morbid fascination, some felt that they had no right to interfere, while others felt that they would only make the situation worse with their input.
The only one who knew how this thing worked was Rias herself due to her education, no one else was nearly as qualified.
It didn't mean any of them had to like it though.
"...This is frustrating to watch." Yuki stated quietly, voicing out the quiet majority's opinion on the matter.
Mio nodded to that, then she turned away from the verbally sparring high-class devils to the room where Naruto had secluded himself.
This was a perfect chance...Riser Phenex was here and Grayfia was here...so what was he waiting for?
...
"It's done!"
"I see that you two have reached a stalemate. My master has foreseen such an event...and has created an alternative to this desperate situation." Grayfia declared to the quarreling devils.
The Phenex and Gremory devils stopped their heated conversation to face the famous queen, intrigued by the idea.
But before she could voice out her master's plan, she was interrupted by an obnoxious cry.
"Hey! Everyone! I'm finished! So what'd I miss!?" a blond boy called out as he slammed the door open from his room and interrupted the conversation.
She narrowed her eyes...the boy from before...
"N-Naruto!" Rias called out in surprise, shocked that he seemingly forgot about the situation at hand and that he entered the conversation so suddenly.
The reactions were varied among the whole group.
Yuuto, Mio, and Maria all had sheepish grins, complete with sweatdrops at the blond's method of entering the conversation.
Akeno had a sly smirk, pleased that the blond intervened.
Yuki's lips twitched upwards, not surprised that he entered in such a way.
Koneko's eyes softened in slight relief, maybe he could do something?
Issei fist pumped, confident that he could do something.
Asia was just happy that the whiskered blond made it at all.
Grayfia, for her part, was somewhat annoyed at the interruption and intrusion. In response, she felt that the boy required a lecture in manners to set him straight.
Riser looked even more annoyed at the intrusion, wishing to end this ridiculous situation before it escalated.
"Who the hell are you, you cad?" the older blond asked with an annoyed scowl.
Naruto ignored him entirely. "Sorry everyone! I was really busy with some work, but it seems that the person that I've waited to see again has arrived! Grayfia-san, right? Listen, I want to talk to you about this Riser guy..."
The room was silent, in awe at the obliviousness of the teen.
The maid wasn't as surprised, he reminded her of her husband a little bit, she was used to his silly antics by this point. This boy had nothing on him.
"Riser-sama is right here."
Naruto blinked, turning slowly to face Riser face-to-face.
"...Who the fuck are you?" the shinobi asked, a befuddled look stuck to his face.
...
"I believe that the strongest queen has already introduced me...I'm the son of the glorious Phenex family, Riser Phenex." Riser retorted, getting annoyed at this nobody.
"Bullshit. I heard that the Phenex clan are based off the legendary phoenixes...you don't look like a bird. You're a phony!" the whiskered teen declared, before turning to Rias. "You don't have to marry a phony! Rejoice! As you have been saved from your engagement!"
The room was silent again, the blond's audacity was incredible.
Riser was now beginning to get angry, who did this little shit think he was!?
"Rias, who is this little shit and what is he doing here?" Riser questioned, a dark look entering his eyes.
The red-head snapped her head to the older blond in shock, surprised at his blatant antagonism.
But before she could reply, the whiskered blond continued.
"Eh? Do you continue to deny that you're a fake? The evidence is all here though, right? Phoenixes are fire chickens! So if you were a real Phenex...then I'd be able to serve you over a fire...take a piece out of you...put teriyaki all over it...then take a bite out of it and call it 'delicious'! Can you do that!? Phenex Riser!?"
Riser's jaw just slammed to the ground.
"...It's...Riser Phenex..." was all that the older blond could say, as he stared incredulously at his fellow blond.
Naruto just waved off his comment. "You're in Japan. Deal with it. Seriously though...I'm disappointed because I wanted to give you a souvenir as a fire chicken...look."
The shinobi then took a large stack of small paper from his pocket and showed it off to everyone.
There was a picture on the front.
It was a drawing of a chicken on fire.
It was the fruits of his labors!
"See? It was gonna be a gift to get you to back off of this engagement...a nice little token of appreciation. But you ruined it, now you can't get the flip book." Naruto stated sadly, then he showed it off to Riser and began flipping the pages.
As the pages were flipped, it made the stagnant pictures seem like frames from a real television. The scenes portrayed a flaming chicken that was running around in circles frantically.
The shinobi even began to make small noises to help with the imagery.
"Buc buc...bucawk! BUCAWK!" Naruto chirped loudly, innocently helping the scene with his input.
Then the final scene of the flip book ended with the flaming chicken falling flat on it's face, finally ending the fire.
...Then getting set back on fire again.
...Because it was a fire chicken.
Naruto finally closed the book, a sense of finality reaching his voice. "To think that I got my hopes up...you're a disappointment. You should've been edible. I prefer my fire chickens to yours any day."
...
...
"You...LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"
Naruto couldn't help but notice that Riser seemed upset.
"You think...that you can just waltz in here...decry my name...question my family's prestige...insult me...and just get away with it!?" Riser roared in his fury.
...
"Yeah, kinda did." the shinobi retorted while he began to yawn.
Riser lost it.
The Phenex's wings were flared and fire began to envelope him. His furious eyes were honed on the other blond, intent on doing some serious damage.
Then someone stepped in.
"As the queen of Sirzechs-sama's Peerage...I cannot allow anyone to get hurt. Verbal sparring is admissible, but unless the fight is sanctioned, there won't be any fights here." Grayfia interrupted solemnly, she illustrated her point by flaring her demonic energy.
That took the wind out of Riser's sails.
Rias was watching the entire proceedings go down with a frown, why was Naruto being so...insulting? That wasn't really like him...
Then she saw the absolutely wicked smirk on his face as Grayfia intervened.
It dissipated as quickly as it appeared however, smoothed over into a concerned frown.
She narrowed her eyes, just what was he up to...?
"...You know what. I have been somewhat rude haven't I? Maybe it's best that we have a little spar to release some tension. After all, we can't have a good conversation when everyone is so tense, right?" Naruto suggested casually, trying very hard to not let the grin on his face get too big.
The maid narrowed her eyes, was this boy a fool? Allowing himself to clash against a high-class devil? He didn't have demonic energy either...or any other energy signal that she was familiar with. So did that mean that he was human?
Even more of a reason to disallow any fight.
"I agree. I promise that the cad won't get killed in the fight. It's fine if no one dies right? Just a little stress reliever for everyone involved." Riser agreed with a dark smile.
"See? Even the fake fire chicken agrees."
Grayfia stared at the two blonds, positive that this wasn't a good idea.
...But she was in her 'maid role' as her husband would describe it. She had no real say while she was like this.
So reluctantly, she gave up and agreed to the sparring session.
"Naruto...what are you up to?"
"...Nothing much. Just leave it all to me, ok?"
Rias stared at the whiskered teen, eyes boring into his head with high intensity.
But the shinobi didn't budge, unimpressed by her efforts.
But he did say one thing.
"Rias-san, just follow my lead alright? If I ask you something, just follow through." the shinobi said quietly, before turning to face his 'sparring partner'.
The high-class devil sighed, she didn't understand what the point of all of this was...
She felt a hand clasp her shoulder.
She turned around to stare face-to-face with Yuki, who was staring at her calmly.
"...He hasn't let us down yet."
...Fair point.
Rias sighed, she couldn't help but be worried though. This engagement would change her life, and not for the better.
"I think that you shouldn't be worried too, Rias-sempai. This is Naruto after all...if he says he's got this...then he probably has some sort of crazy plan that no one could guess in a million years." Mio reassured her red-headed elder, sure that her 'brother' has got this under control.
She was curious about what he had planned, sure. But she was sure that it was an effective plan.
"...I guess you're right Mio-chan." the Gremory heiress said quietly, she was staring across the forested field that they have moved to.
Naruto and Riser were standing near one another on an open field right next to the mansion. An open area which allowed for freedom of movement.
"HEY! Rias-san!"
The sudden shout made Rias jump a little, despite herself.
The perpetrator turned around and pointed a finger at the red-headed devil.
"You are leaving this to me right!?" Naruto called out with an annoyed look. He even had a little glint in his eye that told her that she really shouldn't answer with anything but a yes.
"O-Of course!" Rias called back, shocked into immediately agreeing.
Naruto grinned and then turned away to face the fire chicken again.
Grayfia rolled her eyes, what a redundant child.
"Hey! Riser! How about we make this more interesting?" the shinobi called out with a grin.
Riser raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself. "What could a peon like you ever have that I could want?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I'm human. Not a peon, what the hell is a peon, some kind of bird...? Anyways, I just figured that since I'm here...that I could break my friend out of an unwanted marriage. So I wanted to make a deal with you about that."
But Riser wasn't paying attention. His eyes were wide as he stared at the now confirmed human in front of him.
Human...
Human...
"...If I could kill you, then I would. I've been shamed by a rotten human...? You can't suffer enough punishment for this...!" the son of the Phenex clan roared out, his eyes blazing with power.
"Ok. You gonna agree to my interesting idea or not?" Naruto asked, bored with the constant talking.
Riser was about to deny him, disallowing him from helping his friend out of sheer spite.
Then he stopped.
He was human. Human. What could he ever do to a high-class devil like him.
More than that, the human's defeat by his hands wouldn't be enough to quell his anger. No...he needed something more complete and elaborate.
A wicked grin spread across his face.
"Oi! Are you scared of losing against me or something? Sheesh...I really do appreciate how highly you look at me...but I was hoping to fight someone with a little bit more balls." Naruto drawled.
Riser turned to face the human teen with a smirk. "Very well, we will play by your rules...if I'm defeated, then the engagement will be canceled. If I win...then you have to be my slave for the rest of your natural life.
The shinobi shrugged. "I'm cool with those terms, I agree."
Riser grinned. Even if Rias gave the human some sort of advantage in order to 'defeat' him...his agreement to cancel the engagement wouldn't matter.
The engagement was seen as something vital and extremely important to all devils. They wouldn't accept something as pathetic as a sanctioned spar against a human to be the catalyst for the destruction of such a celebrated union.
Devils were selfish like that.
He had all of his bases covered and this human was about to get what was coming to him.
Naruto for his part, simply gave his opponent a smile.
Then he raised his hand to Riser, extended for a hand shake.
"Well, may the best man win I guess?"
Riser had his smug air again. Assured of what he was doing.
"Very well human, considering what is about to happen, I will allow you to have your way one last time before I crush you." the older blond agreed, before taking the ninja's hand and shaking it firmly.
It also allowed the high-class devil to prove that this spar was indeed sanctioned, so no one could claim that he was causing unnecessary trouble in the human world.
But he didn't notice the positively evil grin on Naruto's face.
The two then separated and gave each other some distance.
Grayfia glanced at the two opponents and raised her hand.
"The match between Riser-sama and Naruto-sama shall now commence! Begin!"
The second that she announced the beginning of the battle, Riser raised his hand and poured demonic energy into an orange magic circle.
"I'll hold back a little bit to show you the difference between us!" the Phenex declared, before he shot a large fireball towards his opponent.
The human just stood there, staring at the incoming attack without any sense of stress.
Then the attack reached him and enveloped his form, much to the consternation of the on-lookers.
Riser frowned, that was even more disappointing than he thought...
"So. What are we looking at?" whispered a voice behind him.
Riser's eyes widened in alarm as he whipped around him to-
He felt something slam into his torso, knocking him off his feet and into the air. As he was sent flying, he kept his eyes shut due to the pain. But the second he opened them...
He saw that annoying human sailing towards him with a leg raised high.
"Fu-!"
That was all Riser managed to get out, as the enemy blond smashed his foot into his face and sent him crashing towards the ground at breakneck speeds.
Naruto landed gracefully as Riser crashed harshly into the ground, leaving a crater a lot of dust in his wake.
Grayfia's eyes were wide in shock.
This human was...strong.
Grins were exchanged between the allies of the 'Kuoh Pact', looks like they had nothing to worry about.
Large wings of fire exploded from the recently made crater, those flames revealed a perfectly unharmed Riser Phenex.
He wasn't happy.
"So...turns out that you can fight." Riser deduced darkly, he was floating in the air now with his flaming wings.
Naruto shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm surprised that you don't at least have a few broken teeth from that...I hit you pretty hard."
The blond devil simply gave him a smug smirk. "That would be because of my regeneration abilities. Even if you happen to be strong...for a human, you won't be able to defeat me. This fight is mine."
The shinobi didn't respond. He was too busy cracking his neck.
Then he looked up, giving the high-class devil a deadpanned look.
"You know...I'm beginning to think that I could make a business out of beating the shit out of arrogant pricks. It seems to be a theme with me. I'm thinking about opening up a business based on that, what do you think?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious about such an idea.
"Do it! Totally do it!" someone cried out.
Thanks Issei.
Riser didn't look amused.
"Learn your place human!" the older blond roared as he flew straight towards his opponent with a magic circle prepped to fire.
Naruto's face changed not a whit as he jumped away from the fireball that was created from the magic circle. Still considering his own idea when he landed a ways away.
Riser grit his teeth as he created an even larger magic circle and released a heavy dose of fire that was shot like a flamethrower.
This time, the shinobi clearly charged into the attack, not bothering to defend himself.
"Riser-sama! That's going to far!" Grayfia shouted, alarmed that the young man would take the human boy's words seriously.
But before she could stop the match, something shot out of the flames and towards the blond devil.
Naruto came out of the fire, completely unharmed and smashed his foot into the Riser's stomach, causing the young devil to bend over from the sudden attack.
The attack sent Riser back with the force of the kick, but Naruto was seemingly stuck on Riser's stomach.
He was using his chakra to stick himself onto Riser's body in order to keep himself afloat.
So before he lost his balance, Naruto smashed his other foot onto Riser's face repeatedly. Stomping with incredible force and doing heavy damage to the devil's face.
Each kick left Riser's face in even worse condition.
The first gave him a black eye.
The second broke his nose.
The third sent some teeth flying.
The fourth broke his jaw.
The shinobi sent his final one by raising his foot into the air and sending it down to the back of the devil's head, all while letting go of the chakra that kept him stuck to his fellow blond.
The result was Riser's face being sent to the ground face-first and with his butt sticking up into the air.
Naruto backed up temporarily to watch whether the repeated damage would be healed by Riser's regeneration.
It was a bit of a test.
...
That and it felt good.
The blond devil slowly rose up from his position on the ground and raised his head to face the human.
Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest. His face was healing alright.
Almost instantly at that.
But if it was healing that fast, why didn't it heal him whileNaruto was pummeling his face in?
No...maybe it was. Maybe he was just doing damage overthe healing?
Curious.
"You...cad! How dare a mere human do this to me!? I will destroy you for this!"
The shinobi didn't look impressed, he heard of better death threats before.
Riser stood back up again and created a magic circle, this one significantly larger than any other he has created.
The magic circle released a large amount of flames, large enough to begin covering their entire makeshift arena. Those flames coalesced together to form a practical fire storm.
All aimed at Naruto.
Naruto stared hard at the approaching walls of fire.
He closed his eyes.
He faced fire before. Compared to that person's fire...
This wasn't much.
The flames enveloped the blond again, swallowing him whole as it ate him up like some sort of living beast.
Riser grinned maniacally, the wretched human was gone! Finally!
But then he saw something.
A shadowed figure began approaching towards his direction.
Like some sort of monster, the shadowed figure ignored the flames that were covering his body without a flinch in sight.
Riser's eyes widened in shock.
Then it turned to horror.
"Impossible...that...isn't possible!" the Phenex whispered in disbelief.
Then the figure cupped his hands together.
He couldn't see properly...but he thought that he saw a small orb coalesce between his palms...
Then the human charged out of the flames, with a spinning blue orb in hand.
Naruto carried the still incomplete rasengan at hand, one made by his own two hands rather than one made with clones.
He was getting close...almost there to full completion.
But he wasn't focusing on that.
With the same attack that took the face of an even bigger than bastard this guy...he would find this guy's weakness!
"Rasengan!"
Riser nearly screamed as the blue orb smashed into his stomach.
He felt skin, muscles, bones give way to the attack. All intent on going in deeper.
But he withstood the pain. He was used to taking pain by this point!
His healing capabilities would cover for him!
Then he watched in muted horror, as his regeneration wasn't fast enough to heal his body while the blue orb continued to do more and more damage.
But the rotation that was required to keep the chakra contained in the rasengan was beginning to disperse. It simply wasn't complete enough to retain it for too long.
So eventually, mercifully. The orb exploded.
The explosion sent Riser spinning into the forest, smashing into a tree and toppling it to the ground.
Naruto stared into the forest, watching for movement as he stood back up from his crouched position.
He thought that his attack was pretty effective. His rasengan was perfect for that asshole's regeneration.
The entire field was silent as the on-lookers couldn't help but stare at the whiskered teen who has just thoroughly trashed a high-class devil.
Rias herself thought that she appreciated Naruto's strength a whole lot more when she wasn't on the receiving end of it.
Grayfia was giving the blond human a hard stare, unsure of what to make of this strength.
Was it dangerous to Rias-sama? He may be fighting for her now...but what about later?
Her thoughts were ended as a figure trudged back from the forested area.
Riser has come back, his torso completely healed.
Naruto sighed, this was getting annoying.
"...Do you understand? No matter what kind of power that Rias has given you, you won't be able to defeat me! I am a Phenex! My regeneration will always restore me to perfect health! You have no hope of winning! I will simply outlast you! Like in all of my Rating Games!" Riser proclaimed with a smug grin, despite the ruined state of his clothes.
The shinobi wasn't impressed.
He supposed that he could just use the incomplete rasengan to drain him enough. But that would take him too long.
But at the same time, he really didn't feel like showing off any jutsus like his kage bunshins...not against this guy. He wasn't worth it.
Naruto looked down at his palm. The rasengan was the perfect weapon against this guy...but the only one that could truly last long enough would be the one completed version.
He closed his eyes...
Then his eyes snapped open.
That's it! Once upon a time...before he used clones to make complete rasengans...he used a different method!
The blond ninja held his left hand out...and focused chakra on his right hand...
Then the right hand began to repeatedly cup over the left hand. Seemingly grabbing something that wasn't there.
Use the left to hold the chakra...
Use the right to create the rotation...!
Naruto then slammed his hand over the blue orb that coalesced over his left hand.
A completed rasengan.
It wasn't as complete as he'd like, since he can't make it with one hand yet...but he could do it with two hands! Without clones!
Maniacal grin in place, Naruto turned towards the son of the Phenex clan and began walking towards the hapless devil.
Riser widened his eyes as he saw the blue orb.
No...! Not again!
He desperately created large fireballs, one after the other, all thrown at the incoming human beast.
"Stay away! Why won't my flames hurt you!?" Riser screamed out loud, fear began to drown his senses.
"...Hey Riser. Do your flames melt stone? Are your flames strong enough to immediately evaporate large pockets of water? Because if not...then you have no business in trying to use fire on me." Naruto said seriously, not bothering to try and defend himself.
Riser just frantically tried to throw more and more fire onto the younger blond, hoping that it would stop him.
Then he stopped.
He stopped because the enemy that was at the very least ten seconds away...was suddenly right in front of him.
"...The attack that I used on you before was an incomplete version of this one. It's rotation continually grinds against the opponent. The rotation will never stop unless the user ends it or it faces something strong enough to slow it down. Your body isn't one of those things. So you have two options. You can either give up and not take this rasengan...or you can take this attack to the stomach and wait until you can't regenerate anymore." Naruto stated clearly, face completely serious as he stared down the older blond.
...
Riser glanced at the blue orb he was holding.
The first one he used...was incomplete...?
This wasn't worth it.
It wasn't like he lost anything anyways...this deal won't count.
"...I give up." Riser muttered quietly.
Grayfia raised a hand up. "The spar is over! Naruto-sama is victorious!"
Naruto ended his rasengan peacefully, as promised.
Then he gave the high-class devil a look.
"Well. I guess the engagement is canceled eh?"
Riser said nothing.
Then a dark grin spread across his face.
"Did you really think that a deal made in a sparring match would end an engagement deemed by devil society as vital? Don't be ridiculous. I made the deal with the reasonable expectation that you were a normal human. But it is obvious to me that Rias has done something to you...thus I wasn't treated fairly in this agreement. Besides, even if it was fair...high devil society wouldn't accept it. They wouldn't accept that their precious engagement wouldn't happen because of the actions of a mere human." Riser explained with a maniacal grin, thoroughly pleased that he managed to trick the human.
"What! That's not fair!" Mio cried out, she was jogging towards the two former opponents and she heard what Riser had said.
Everyone else followed closely behind her, especially a disappointed Rias.
"Doesn't matter whether it's fair or not. High devil society wants this to happen. The only way they'd accept the engagement's cancellation...is if both parties fairly end it." Riser continued haughtily.
Heated glares was sent towards him by Rias' friends, but he ignored them.
How did it feel to fail, human!?
Naruto didn't look crestfallen.
Or disappointed.
No. He looked amused.
"Normally, you'd be right. Rias-san explained that to me before. But it actually doesn't matter whether high class devils accept it or not...because you have to abide by the contract." Naruto retorted with a grin.
All eyes turned to Naruto in confusion. What contract?
"...So that's what you were up to..." Grayfia muttered as she moved to join the group.
"Heh...so you get it?" the shinobi stated smugly.
"Wait wait wait! What are you talking about? Whatcontract!?" Rias interjected in shock.
"...A traditional contract needs to be signed, sure. But a hand shake can be considered as a binding contract by itself, right?" Naruto pointed out.
Rias wasn't convinced. "It can count as a binding contract...but..."
Then she stopped.
Devil society was in a sense, ran by business transactions.
From human-to-devil transactions when devils complete a wish for a human...to transactions between devils themselves.
So devils have contrived numerous ways to make sure that they can't be cheated out of such a transaction. Some based on the human world.
A hand shake wasn't usually a binding contract...but it couldbe under certain conditions
If there was someone present when the hand shake was made after a clear agreement...and they could clearly testify if asked to do so...then it is binding!
"...I figured that it would work a lot like a contract if people saw it. I actually saw a lot of that happen back at my home, where people would hand shake with one another to form a binding agreement. I thought that if I could trick Riser into doing a hand shake after we've made an agreement...then it could count as one. Especially when Grayfia was sitting right there." Naruto explained while scratching the back of his head.
Everyone was silent as they stared at the blond.
"But...I wasn't aware that the hand shake was about the agreement!" Riser pointed out, you needed both individuals to be aware of the agreement before a hand shake could be considered binding!
Then his eyes widened when he realized what he just said.
"That's right. You were aware about the agreement. We shaked after you gave us the conditions of what happens when who wins. Like someone who signed a contract without reading the fine print...it doesn't matter about how butt hurt you are after the fact." Naruto retorted stubbornly.
Riser grit his teeth, desperately thinking about a way out of this situation.
Then it clicked.
"Even if I've accidentally signed a contract...it wasn't one that was done with Rias and myself! A contract can't overwrite another unless the conditions of the first one was met in some way! Which means that unless Rias and I agreed to this new contract...that engagement can't be canceled!" Riser explained with a smug smirk.
"I thought of that too." Naruto pointed out quickly, before turning to Rias. "You should know too."
Rias blinked, she should?
She thought back, what did Naruto do that could be interpreted as her speaking...?
Then her eyes widened...that's why he...!
'You are leaving this to me right!?'
'O-Of course!'
"When you asked me to leave it to you...that could be taken as you representing me...!" the red-headed devil realized in slight awe.
"Yep!" Naruto chirped, happy that his brilliant plan worked.
Grayifa nodded, it was a simple and yet brilliant legal move. Surprising that this boy could think of something so elaborate...
He essentially created a situation where Riser and himself could clash with one another in a battle. Then he made sure that he got permission to speak for Rias-sama by asking her to 'leave it to him' publicly. From there, he set up the conditions for the match, creating a condition that they both agreed upon...and as Rias' representative, they essentially passed the conditions left to the engagement contract to set up a binding contract over it. Giving the second legal precedence.
The final nail in the coffin was when the human boy made the pretext that they were hand shaking for a good match, but he never mentioned what it was about. So Riser agreed to the new contract.
Simple, yet extremely effective.
Riser fell on to his knees, shell-shocked at what has just occurred.
Naruto gave the similarly shocked Rias a thumbs up.
"Am I a badass or what!?"
She said nothing.
Then...
"NARUTO!" Rias cried out, tears pooling from her eyes as she hugged the life out of the whiskered teen.
The shinobi gave her a soft smile. He began to rub the crown of her head in comfort.
Her ordeal was over.
Riser Phenex left the Gremory summer home the second he could think properly.
He didn't want to stay there for a single second longer than he had to.
...This was a bad dream. This had to be a bad dream!
He couldn't have lost to a human...
He couldn't have been tricked by a human...
He couldn't have canceled his engagement with the heiress of the Gremory family...
He would wake up any second now...
...
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Riser shouted out, not caring how childish he was sounding.
He lost his prestige, self-respect, and engagement! All in a single day!
Because of him!
"I see you're having a bad day, Riser Phenex."
The high-class devil widened his eyes as he heard a foreign voice in his own home.
Where...? Where did it come from!?
"Looking for me?"
Riser snapped his head towards the ceiling, watching a young man dangle from the chandeliers of his mansion.
He looked familiar...
Then it clicked.
"...Diodora Astaroth?" Riser asked in slight confusion.
What was he doing here? More than that, how did he get in here?
"...I see you're confused, Riser. But instead of focusing on me...how about we focus on something else...?" Diodora replied, before spreading his wings and settling down to the floor.
It was only once he reached the floor, that Riser noticed why he had such trouble recognizing him.
He had an opera mask that completely covered the left side of his face.
It was half of a happy white mask.
He was about to question it, when Diodora asked something that made his question die in his throat.
"I suppose Uzumaki Naruto has gotten you as well...yes?"
That was the human's name...Naruto.
Diodora's grin was large and twisted, but Riser didn't care.
"What's it matter to you?" the blond devil asked harshly, he turned away from him glared at the floor.
"...I suppose it's because we have a common enemy. Uzumaki Naruto...is a threat to not just you or me...but to alldevils. He's touched and hurt you, a high-class devil, has he not? He's raised his hand against his superior. What would happen if those who were meant to stay low on the food chain took his example? Low-class devils rebelling against their high-class masters...it would be chaos...and you could stop it." Diodora whispered, treacherous and dark ideas were being weaved over Riser Phenex.
Riser was staring, eyes unseeing as he contemplated what the heir of the Astaroth clan was saying.
...Yes. He could see it...a chain reaction. High-class devils needed to retain their prestige, otherwise the 'lower' classes wouldn't look up to them anymore, as they should.
Yes...he was a threat. Not just to him, but to all devilhood.
Diodora grinned his sick and twisted smile.
It was easy...so easy. Riser was a proud man...one that hated the thought of losing...especially to those he saw as inferior.
He wanted to believe that Uzumaki Naruto was a threat. He wanted to believe that he could receive nothing but accolades from his thoroughly selfish actions.
The perfect little puppet.
"What do I have to do?" Riser asked quietly.
"...I have someone who can help, a friend that will give you power. Use that power and show Uzumaki Naruto who is superior."
As is just.
As is right.