Blue eyes sparkled as they regarded the many possible choices, there were so many to choose...oh, but there had to be a right one.
He only needed one 'other' persona.
Naruto was in a dingy little shop, hidden deep inside an alleyway, almost as if it wasn't meant to be seen by individuals who weren't worthy of it. Only those with the fortitude could find it, if they needed it.
Yes, that's exactly what it was.
The store was filled with wondrous things; spray cans, face masks, body paint, costumes, whoopee cushions...!
Truly, this was his kind of place.
The shinobi was looking for something more specific for his arsenal, something to hide his features while still being well known. Something unique.
He supposed he could just use a classic henge to get the job done, but this is professional pranking hour, he needed a standard here.
That and he was pretty sure that he wanted to focus all of his attention on his 'activities' rather than focusing on keeping the henge on. After all, they needed to be sufficient enough to to push Sona-kaichou into letting him go without any complaints.
It needed to be grand. It needed to be overwhelming. Nothing less than a complete and total defeat for the student council president!
But first...his disguise.
Naruto turned to face a heavily wrinkled old man, obviously the owner of the store. "Excuse me, but I need to-"
"Get lost kid." the old man interrupted, shooing the blond.
The shinobi stared at the elderly man for a second, surprised, before turning around in a huff.
"Asshole..." Naruto muttered under his breath, deciding to find what he was looking for himself. He didn't need the attitude.
The blond searched around the shop, taking note of everything that he could possibly use for his war against the student council, something unique and memorable...
Then his eyes locked on to it.
A few seconds later, he slammed the item that he wanted to buy on top of the counter, eyes sparkling. "Ojii-san! I want this!"
The old man carefully regarded the item on his counter. "...Is this a joke or something? You can't be serious? No one has bothered to buy this thing in years...almost as old as I am."
"That only makes me want it even more!" Naruto retorted excitedly.
The shop owner shook his head. "Trust me kid, don't buy this thing. Your reputation will never be salvaged once you put it on."
"...Would you just let me buy this thing already, jii-chan?" Naruto grouched, annoyed that this was taking so long.
Now the owner looked annoyed. "...What happened to the 'ojii-san' earlier? Run out of politeness, you immature brat?"
The shinobi lifted his chin in defiance. "First off; I've been calling you 'jii-chan' the entire time. Second; I don't have much politeness for rusted old windbags like you."
...
"...Get the fuck out of my store you deluded psychopath."
"Just let me buy my shit you stupid old crone!"
A day in the life.
"Maria, I thought we went over this yesterday during your punishment. You're not coming to school with me." Mio said, firmly looking ahead towards the road.
"I know, I know! The bump on my head can attest to that..." Maria retorted sulkily, before becoming chipper again. "But I'm not going inside the school! I'm only escorting you on the way there, you know...in case something interesting happens."
The red-head sighed mournfully as the succubus followed her with a cheery smile.
"...You're just hoping that Naruto will do something crazy, aren't you?" the half-devil asked eventually, eyeing her guardian.
Maria shrugged. "Maybe, but honestly, anything would do."
Though she was counting on the blond to do something, especially since he left early this morning for something heinous.
...Again.
...It was probably heinous, right?
Hopefully?
The succubus pondered her questionable motives as the duo continued their trek to Kuoh Academy, neither of them particularly taking note of their surroundings.
Until Maria did that is.
Mio kept walking, her head in the clouds, until she finally noticed that the silverette has stopped following her.
Turning around, she saw Maria staring at something with frightening intensity, eyes wide as saucers.
"Maria? What's up? Are you ok? You like you've seen a ghost or something..." Mio asked, slightly worried.
The succubus didn't respond, she simply kept staring at what she was looking at without fail.
Frowning, the red-head followed her gaze and tried to what exactly she as looking at-
She froze.
"Wh-? Huh!? What the hell is that!?" Mio cried, doing a double-take as she looked at the completely bizarre thing.
Both girls were staring at a green beast with a large chubby stomach, black beady eyes, webbed hands and feet, ovalish face, and...
...Was that blush on it's cheeks?
But it was Maria who connected the dots and realized what the creature was.
"...That's a frog." Maria noted in morbid fascination.
It was a frog as big as a normal human, sitting on it's hind legs, in the middle of the street.
...Well, the succubus was looking for something crazy, so maybe she should be more careful with what she wished for...
Then, horror of horrors, the frog turned it's massive head to face them. Beady eyes staring, unblinking.
Mio and Maria watched the frog warily, unsure of what it would do, unsure of what they would do.
They were about to find out, as the frog immediately jumped into the air with incredible speed and landed right in front of them without warning,
Both half-devils backpedaled quickly, acutely aware that they did not want to be anywhere near this thing.
The frog then, strangely, began using it's hind legs to stand up, like a human.
Finally, it opened it's mouth.
"Yo."
...
...
""NAAARRRUUUUTTTTOOOO!?""
The frog winced as the dual screams emerged from the two females. "Owww...why did you two scream for...?"
Mio completely ignored the complaint and pointed an offending finger at the giant frog. "Naruto! Why the hell are you wearing a frog costume!?"
Before he answered, Naruto opened the frog costume's mouth and revealed his face from within the suit's 'mouth'. "...First off; this is a toad costume, not a frog."
"No, I'm pretty sure that's a frog..." the succubus mentioned slowly.
"Secondly!" the blond cut off. "This is my new alter ego; Gama-tan."
...
...
Both girls silently stared at the blond before them, so completely and utterly incredulous that they were literally struck dumbfounded.
Naruto just nodded with pride. He obviously dazzled them with his incredible style and naming skills. They were speechless!
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and enact my war against the student council. See ya!" the shinobi chirped, closing the mouth of the frog costume and jumping away with incredible speed.
Neither of the half-devils stopped him, frozen as they were due to the fact that their brains were trying to catch up to recent events.
Then they caught up.
"...Damn it Maria..." Mio cursed, glaring at the succubus that jinxed their day.
Maria shrugged at the red-head with a sheepish expression.
Be careful what you wish for, huh?
Meanwhile, a ways ahead and much closer to Kuoh Academy, Issei and Asia were making their way to school as well.
At least they were. Now they're staring at an...odd sight.
Odd, but not completely insane to be fair. Just somewhat flamboyant.
In front of them was a fruit stand, selling a large amount of delicious apples for low prices.
...Only apples.
But that wasn't what was odd about it.
The odd part that made them stare; was the vendor.
The vendor was an extremely muscular man, wearing what amounted to an apron around his torso without an undershirt, along with a pair of shorts.
More importantly though, was the fact that he was wearing a giant apple on his head.
Issei had to blink a few more times to get that thought to wrap around his head, the man had an...apple...apple on his head.
Why did he feel like his life had gotten a hell of a lot weirder recently? It wasn't just him, right?
The 'apple' wasn't just any apple though, it had a adorable happy face on it along with rosy red cheeks, all of which contrasted sharply with the bulging muscles...
It was just wrong on so many levels.
"Issei-san...is this normal?" Asia asked hesitantly, tilting her head sideways.
"No, this definitely isn't 'normal'." Issei returned slowly, before shaking his head.
Ignore it, maybe it would go away if they ignored it.
"C'mon Asia, let's just go, we're going to be late." the brown-haired boy said, tugging her hand as he tried to shepherd them away from the strange sight.
The second he turned around however, he was face-to-face with a large green face with-
"Wait. What the fuck!?" the pawn exclaimed, backpedaling rapidly at the way-too close green visage.
A frog? A frog as big as him!? What the hell!?
"Issei-san...is that normal?" the nun asked in slight awe, she didn't know there were large bi-pedal frogs in the world!
"No! No way in hell is that normal!" the perverted boy returned, trying to stop his racing heart.
The frog just stood there, staring at them. Unmoving.
Unbeknownst to the two teens, a certain blond had a large grin on his face as he decided to start acting out his new 'persona'.
The frog then raised it's arms to the sky, much to Issei's and Asia's curiosity, then exclaimed in a loud and childish voice-
"Gama-tan!"
...
...
"Can we keep it Issei-san!? It's so cute!" Asia squealed in delight, eyes shining as only a young girl could.
The brown-haired boy sweat-dropped, how should he respond to this exactly?
He didn't trust that frog, for obvious reasons.
The green amphibian piped up again. "Gama-tan!"
Issei glared at the bi-pedal frog. "What are you, a damn pokemon?"
"Gama-tan!" Asia parroted cutely, a happy smile on her face.
"Gama-tan!" the frog shouted again.
The pawn was groaning now, shaking his head due to his headache, why him?
His eyes then sharpened, determined to stop this frog's shenanigans.
"Alright, you had your fun now, now do you mind telling us who's in that costume?" Issei asked, a suspicious frown in place, all while moving to try and take the frog head off.
The frog didn't respond until the teen got close.
"Gama..." the frog muttered quietly.
Issei's hand was about to grab the amphibian's head-
"TAN!"
The frog raised it's arms and shoved the perverted boy back, enough to knock him off his feet and on his ass.
Ok, now Issei was incensed!
"Oh!? You wanna go you damn pot-belly bastard!?" the user if the Boosted Gear roared, pointing an offending finger in challenge.
"Gama-tan!" the frog shouted in challenge, raising it's webbed hand in a 'come here' motion.
The reincarnated devil got up and put up his fists, ready to duke it out with the stupid bastard in the frog suit.
"Ah...Issei-san! Gama-tan! Please don't fight!" Asia begged, glancing rapidly between the devil and the frog.
"Asia! There's definitely a pervert in that suit! He isn't a real frog!" Issei returned quickly, taking his eyes off the frog and to the female blond.
Bad move on his part.
"Gama-!"
That was all Issei heard as he was once more, bodily pushed back by the frog and to the concrete again.
The devil growled and got onto his hands to try and get up, but saw that the frog was incoming again for another bodily push.
This time he was ready though!
"-Tan!" the frog shouted, hands stretched forward to push again.
Inside the suit, Naruto was practically giggling in excessive amusement, not at all worried that the brown-haired boy could win, so not paying attention due to his assumption.
He should have remembered what were the problem with assumptions, and the fact that he did actually train Issei a little bit.
With sharp eyes, Issei stayed low on the ground, but brought his legs out and about to sweep under the frog's legs.
Naruto was suddenly flying, his momentum sending him over the pervert's head due to his quick thinking, about to crash into the floor.
At least the blond would have.
Unfortunately, he didn't notice the small fruit stand until he was sent crashing into it.
Issei winced as the frog fell face-first into the stand, scattering the apples that were meticulously placed for sale, and breaking apart the wooden construct upon impact.
...Although he didn't mean for that to happen, Issei still had a large smirk on his face. "That's what you get you pot-belly jerk! I'll have you know that someone put me through hell to let me do shit like that, so you don't have to be ashamed that you lost to me."
The frog was motionless, the occupant was currently very much happy that he was anonymous right now, this information must never leak out.
It was only after a large shadow eclipsed the sun's rays to his form, that Naruto realized that he had another problem entirely to deal with.
"Hey...why did you destroy my apple stand for?" the 'apple man' asked gruffly.
The frog stayed silent for a moment, contemplating his dilemma.
He didn't want to hurt the guy, so using physical strength was out of the question.
He could explain and apologize, but then Issei would realize that he just tripped up Naruto...
...Fuck that noise, he knew what he was doing.
"...Gama-tan..." the frog said apologetically.
The apple man said nothing for a moment, staring down at the frog by his feet.
"You're apologizing?" the apple man eventually asked.
"Gama-tan."
"So you understand your wrong-doing then?"
"Gama-tan."
"I see, I'm happy to see that you're owning up to your mistakes." the apple man concluded happily, nodding to himself.
Asia clapped her hands in her joy. "Amazing! That man actually understands Gama-tan! This is incredible!"
"...Is he a pokemon master...? Issei asked seriously, analyzing the situation.
Then the muscular man raised his fists. "Very well then, as you suggested, we shall face each other with our fists and determine who shall pay for the damages!"
Everyone was silent after this announcement, unsure if he was serious or not.
"...Did Gama-tan really make that suggestion, Issei-san?" Asia questioned, frowning visibly at the prospect of another fight breaking out.
Before the pawn could answer, the frog began shaking it's head wildly, crossing his arms into an 'x' to indicate it's disapproval.
"So you're placing your guard up already? Good! Let us begin then!" the apple man roared in approval, before crouching and preparing himself to fight.
Issei's eyes were dry as he regarded the amphibian that was still shaking it's head wildly. "...I don't think that 'Gama-tan' made that suggestion."
Then his eyes widened in alarm.
"Asia! Move!" the devil shouted, pushing the nun to the ground as something was sent sailing over their heads.
Both teens winced as the frog was once more sent flying, crashing into a building window amid the screams of the owners of the apartment.
"What the fuck!? Are you insane!?" the pawn shouted towards the apple man, incredulous that he would actually take this 'fight' seriously.
Also, he could have seriously hurt the guy in the frog suit!
Before the apple-wearing man could respond, a webbed foot was smashed into his face, sending him crashing into the ground.
"Gama-tan!" the frog uttered, obviously unhappy with it's treatment.
Now the muscular man was sent crashing to the ground, cracking the concrete slightly under the impact.
Issei's jaw dropped to the ground, the pot-belly bastard may actually be pretty tough...
"Issei-san! Asia-san!" a feminine voice cried out suddenly.
Both teens turned around to see Mio and Maria running towards them in a hurry, both of their eyes were panicked.
"Have you seen Nar-!?" Mio tried to ask, before catching sight of the two two mascot-like individuals fighting.
She literally couldn't say anything about it, this was just so unbelievably bizarre!
The two combatants then began clashing fiercely, smashing their fists against one another with incredible strength and speed. The shockwaves of their attacks were strong enough to push back everyone who was watching the fight unfold.
More importantly however, the fight was attracting unwanted attention.
Several humans, who were just getting ready to go to work, were now watching in abject awe as a frog and an apple were going at one another.
Mio tried to open her mouth to give out a warning, but she was more than a little late to stop what happened next.
Once more, both combatants smashed their fists against each other, knocking every normal human to the ground, much to their overwhelming awe. This was an elaborate show for them!
Before that awe could turn into fear, Gama-tan managed to trick apple man into making an error. That error being that the frog would engage him in another clash of fists, in a show of pure power.
He had no idea who he was fucking with.
The fist went sailing towards the amphibian's big face, but it quickly ducked under the attack and jumped past the muscular man. Hopping away in a hurry.
"Hoooo? Are you taking the fight to a better location!? Very well!" the apple man roared, giving chase to the fleeing frog.
All of the Kuoh Academy students watched as the frog and the apple ran away from the area, most of them realizing where they were headed to their rising horror.
Kuoh Academy.
"...Shit." was all Mio could say.
It was a normal day at Kuoh Academy.
Students were entering the premises of the prestigious and safe institution of learning, all prepared to have a relatively stress-free day.
Saji was currently standing at the entrance of Kuoh Academy, welcoming students as they entered the school.
He really didn't want to be here though...standing around and flashing everyone the same generic 'good morning' just gets old after a while.
So he expected a rather slow start to his day.
What he did not expect was for screams to ring out somewhere a fair distance away.
The pawn of the Sitri group turned around and frowned, kaichou would want him to end any kind of scuffle that involves the student population.
But of course...it wasn't gonna be that easy, was it?
He had an inkling that that was the case when the second he turned, all he saw was a green blur heading straight for him.
Funny how things work...
Almost as if a car glanced him by the side, a green blur went right past him and hit him at just the right angle, that it sent him spinning on the spot.
But, as if he was hit by a literal car, another blur smashed into him as he was spinning, sending him soaring into the sky.
Ah...sorry kaichou...it seems that he wasn't quite good enough for the job he was given~
Maybe next time, he could just go back to that paperwork~
So mused Saji, victim of circumstance.
Rest in peace.
The young man in the frog -no- 'toad' suit, felt as if he accidentally hit someone during his escape. But quickly shrugged off the feeling, he didn't hear any nearby shouts, so it was probably his imagination.
Or maybe just the numerous other screams drowning out that particular scream.
He also never noticed the student that was sent airborne either.
So instead, he focused on more important things.
How to get rid of the insane apple-guy? That was a pretty important question, right?
Apparently, running away wasn't working, he also inadvertently ran away straight to Kuoh Academy without thinking...he was just way too used to going to school by this point. It was instinctual.
Meh, maybe he could use this?
His thoughts on the subject were cut short when he was forced to turn around and catch the flying fist that was aimed at his back, right in front of the school building.
After blocking his attack, the frog held firm for a moment, before swinging it's other hand under the apple man's caught arm. Using that chance to raise the muscular man's arm to swing his body up into the air.
Finally, the frog turned it's body around and flung the apple towards the high school building, making sure to throw him to a mostly uninhabited part of the building...
The ceiling.
*CRASH*
...
...He aimed too low...all he did was smash him into the hallway...
Damn it.
"So all of the funds have been secured for the Ball Tournament? We are set?"
"Yes kaichou, the next step should be to inform the numerous clubs about the impending event. Should we hand out fliers or simply tell the teachers to inform their students?"
"...Both perhaps, doesn't hurt to be extra careful."
Sona and her queen; Tsubaki were speaking about the student council's preparation for the Ball Tournament, an event that requires a lot of time and effort to plan, despite it's simplicity.
They were supposed to really get started yesterday, but Uzumaki Naruto happened.
At least that's what Sona firmly believed, even if she didn't really have proof.
Before anyone could say another word though, the entire room shook, as if something impacted nearby with incredible force, slightly alarming everyone there.
"...What was that?" Sona asked warily, glancing about the room as the room calmed down after the initial shaking.
Before Tsubaki could answer, a young girl with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair slammed the door opened. "Kaichou! Did you feel that!? What was it!?"
The king didn't respond immediately, staying quiet to listen for anything.
She heard it faintly now...the sounds of fighting. Definitely not between ordinary humans, was it an attack or...?
A stray thought entered her mind as she turned to the girl that just arrived in a panic. "Tomoe, have you seen Saji? He was supposed to be overseeing the arrival of the students this morning."
Maybe he had some answers after all, but then again, she would have heard from him if he did, right?
The girl known as Tomoe opened her mouth to respond, but someone behind her cut her off.
"Kind of hard to do that when unconscious, don't you think kaichou?"
Everyone turned to look behind Tomoe, a young girl with long white hair was moving towards the student council room while dragging a teenaged boy over her shoulder.
"Saji..." the Sitri heiress muttered, noting his roughed up and unconscious form. "What happened to him, Momo?"
"Not sure, Gen-chan crashed through the window as I was making my way here kaichou." Momo remarked, looking entirely bemused.
Tsubaki turned to Sona, a frown on her face. "He seems fine, but it doesn't change the fact that someone knocked him out. Should we search to find the perpetrators?"
Sona bit her lip lightly, this would have to be handled delicately. "The student population has yet to arrive in force yet, you can go but make it quiet. But before you do so, maybe Saji could tell us a bit of what exactly we're dealing with?"
Her Peerage members frowned, how exactly could he answer any questions?
The king leaned close to her pawn boring into his face.
"If you don't wake up Saji, I will administer several hundred spankings in recompense."
Saji's eyes snapped open in horror, somehow instinctively knowing that he had to get up. Otherwise he would regret it.
"...That worked?" Momo questioned, blinking rapidly in her confusion.
No one could answer her, but it was obvious that Sona was satisfied with the outcome of her threat.
"Saji, can you tell us about who attacked you?" Sona asked quickly, unrelenting as ever.
The pawn blinked a few times, trying to gather his bearings, there was really only one thing on his mind...
"...Frogs and apples." the young male muttered, shaking slightly.
...
"...Kaichou, I think that he needs some time to rest. We will find the perpetrators." Tsubaki said firmly.
Sona nodded. "Very well, find out what's happening and inform me, while I go and tell Rias."
The room shook again, whoever that was, they were obviously not treating the building with the proper amount of respect.
After the frog knocked the apple into an empty hallway, it followed him to hopefully knock him out before things got worse. Entering a classroom since that's where the apple ultimately ended up in.
...
...
...
Then the amphibian ran out of the classroom, several projectile desks following it on it's way out. Forcing it to jump out of the window, breaking a window in the process.
No time to jump out of a window several stories above the ground civilly, unfortunately.
The second the green animal made it to the ground, it began dancing around the falling desks that was being used as makeshift weapons.
No respect for public property damn it!
Though...to be perfectly fair, the young man under the suit was actually having a lot of fun, just a fight without the risk of losing something was pretty badass.
He was having so much fun that he even made sure to only use his fists like the apple man suggested.
...It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to keep his identity a secret. Honest.
After a few more desks were thrown his way, the blond in the suit took the opportunity to jump back into the hallway once the muscular man used up his batch of desks. Breaking another window on re-entry.
...Ok, so maybe he wasn't exactly too responsible either. Meh.
Before the apple could respond, the frog quickly closed the distance between them and shoved it's webbed foot into the apple's face. Sending the man further down the hallway.
Using this chance, the frog sped after the apple, only stopping itself after it has completely moved past the apple. Only bringing a foot up high in the air in preparation after gaining enough distance.
Then the apple finally caught up.
The frog brought the foot down just as the muscular man reached it's location, smashing the man through the floor and down to the next level.
Blue eyes from under the 'toad' suit peered through the hole, Naruto hoped that the apple-guy was ok...
He never even thought about the destroyed infrastructure, so absorbed was he in the fight.
The shinobi then made the quick-second decision to go down and check if his opponent was ok, this was a fun fight, not a serious one. No need for life-and-death struggles.
Though it seemed that the apple man was smarter than the blond gave him credit for. The rubble that covered the apple man immediately exploded outward when he got close, with the fearsome apple latching on to the frog with a firm grip.
Blue eyes widened under the frog suit, that wasn't-
As the muscular man began to run down the hallway, smashing the frog onto the floor and dragging it through the floor as he kept running, the frog couldn't help but reflect.
The happy apple head on the muscular man suddenly seemed strangely horrifying after the man lunged at him all of a sudden...there was just something about a happy apple attacking him with such vigor which seemed...terrifying.
The frog was consciously ignoring the pain as the rubble kept smacking it in the head, getting dragged through a floor could do that to you.
But it seemed that the apple wasn't done quite yet, as he finally stopped dragging the amphibian through the floor and ran out of a window, smashing the glass in the process.
While in mid-air, the apple immediately flung the frog towards the ground, where a building happened to be.
Blue eyes couldn't help but stare with morbid fascination as the roof of the building got closer and closer to him...
Mio, Maria, Issei, and Asia finally made it to Kuoh Academy after rushing to get there.
Although they had to slow down for a little bit for Asia's sake, she was still human after all. She also never really a 'physical' type anyways.
Now that they reached school however, they could now appreciate the damage that has been done.
To put it bluntly, it was a mess.
Just looking at the external damage, she could see that several windows were shattered, as if hoodlums had vandalized the school.
With her supernatural sight, she could plainly see how utterly ravaged the hallways on two separate floors were.
...Was a large portion of the ceiling in the bottom floor caved in!?
Just what were those two idiots thinking!?
To make matters worse, it seemed that they weren't the only ones who noticed the damage, as several student council members were standing in front of school gate. Trying to make sure that not all of the students entered. Although they were severely understaffed to stop the flood of students from coming in.
In short, some students got past them and entered the building, despite the damage.
The teens tried to squeeze through the crowd that amassed outside the gate, students who just wanted to get to their classes or were juts curious to see what was going on.
Then the red-head saw a familiar face.
"Kiba-san!" Mio cried waving her arms in the crowd, trying to grab his attention.
The blond did indeed notice her, tilting his head curiously as he moved away from the young teenaged girls that were admiring his features.
"Hello there Mio-san, good morning." the knight said genially, giving her his trademark smile.
Mio idly noted how this was par for the course for the male in front of her, but refocused to more important matters. "Kiba-san! What happened? Why aren't the students being allowed entrance? Have you seen who did the damage to the school?"
Yuuto raised his hands in slight surprise at the rapid fire questions. "All I know is that the student council won't let us in, it probably has something to do with damage done to the school building. I'm actually a little surprised that the school was vandalized at all...it wasn't like that when I left..."
Behind Mio's back, Yuuto saw Issei quickly shake his head, eyes wide.
Ah right, secret until Naruto kept his end of the bargain, right.
If Mio caught his slip, she didn't comment on it, instead focusing on the school building, scanning it for movement.
Did another window shattering count as 'movement'?
Someone smashed through a window, in plain sight to everyone there, holding on to what looked like a ragdoll behind him.
She recognized that ragdoll.
The man, while still airborne, flung her brother straight down into the building below them. She simply watched in growing trepidation as the blond's body crashed into the building.
The crash brought up a large amount of dust from the debris, making sure that if anyone didn't see it before, they sure as hell saw it now.
Which is why many of the students began to gawk at the scene, she supposed that they couldn't really be blamed for that though. When was the last time someone saw an apple throw a frog into...
Into...
"...Don't tell me that's what I think it is." Mio grumbled, her eyebrow twitching at the 'coincidence'.
"I think that building is one of the girl's locker rooms." Yuuto remarked, scratching his chin in interest like one would study a volatile chemical.
"...Lucky bastard." Issei cursed under his breath.
Mio turned slowly, giving the brown-haired boy the stink-eye.
He shifted his expression from jealousy to a disapproving frown in an instant. "I-I mean...how shameless."
Before the red-head could comment, Maria sped past her while the student council was busy dealing with the hysterical crowd. "Well this looks like a train wreck waiting to happen! So we should at least get front row seats for it!"
No one could truly deny her assessment of the situation.
Blue eyes scanned the stunned ladies in front of him.
Hmm...what to do...what to do...?
He supposed that he came in at precisely the wrong time, all he saw was exposed flesh of young girls that were coming into their own as women.
The inner pervert in him that ero-sennin cultivated wanted to spread some compliments, but that might break the spell of shock over them.
In short, he really wanted to comment on the situation, but Gama-tan really shouldn't be connected to Naruto by this point.
At all, shit, his reputation would be trashed.
Everything was silent at the moment, the girls were entirely shell-shocked to find a giant frog crash through the ceiling. Their brains would catch up eventually.
Not quick enough however.
The frog quickly jumped out of the way of his initial crash spot, as the apple landed right where it's body once rested.
Several sets of eyes bulged as an extremely muscular man with a happy apple on his head crash landed inside the girl's locker room.
The apple man said nothing for a moment, surveying his surroundings, then inclining his head slightly.
"Apologies ladies, this will just be a minute."
All he got was a couple of unsure nods.
Secure in the knowledge that he had the girl's approval, the apple turned to face the frog. "Gama-tan, you have been an exceptional opponent. I don't think I have ever faced someone who could face me with pure physical strength and technique alone. Not only that, but you barely seem hurt at all, despite my efforts. So in acknowledgement of your skills, I will begin to utilize my true strength!"
Apple man clenched his fists, eyes furrowing as he concentrated within himself to-
"Gama-tan!"
The apple stopped his concentration to listen. "What's that?"
"Gama-tan!"
"You don't want me to use my full power? Why not? I thought you were enjoying the fight."
"Gaaaaama-tan!"
"I see...it's for the school then. You're right, using more power could level the entire building..."
"Gama-tan."
"Very well, we shall continue to use our repressed strength then." the apple agreed finally.
The girls around them were entirely dumbfounded, how the hell did this weirdo get all of that from 'Gama-tan'!?
Both combatants got into position again, preparing to clash again.
But the frog turned to face the group of girls, staring at them.
Then giving them a thumbs up. "Gama-tan!"
...Somehow they knew exactly what the frog wanted to say.
Almost immediately after, the frog turned back to it's quarry and charged at him.
The apple quickly brought up his guard, but while he was quick enough to get his guard up, it still wasn't good enough.
The amphibian closed the distance and brought it's hand towards the floor right in front of the muscular man, going on a handstand, then viciously smashing it's feet under the apple's guard. Sending him high into the air.
All of the girls present stayed silent as the green creature hopped after the man wearing the happy apple.
Complete and total silence.
That silence was finally broken by the complete incredulity of what just occurred.
"...Did that just happen?"
Blue-green eyes were shining in delight, staring at the gems of history in her hand.
Rias was admiring the shuriken in her box, completely content with her life at the moment. They were simply so interesting!
"Ara ara Buchou...you just can't put your new toys down, can you?" Akeno stated, a wry smile on her lips.
The red-head didn't bother to turn to look at her queen. "Geez...just let me have my fun, would you? I've been busy, this is my relaxation time. No one is going to rob me of that."
Both 'Great Ladies' were resting at the OCR club room, taking their time to start the day since they both had free periods in the morning.
It was during this free time, that someone slammed the door open and ran towards them in the main room.
Rias raised her head up in annoyance, only Naruto would be so unbelievably rude to slam the door open with such force. She really needed to teach him some mann-
"Rias, Akeno, we have a problem." Sona stated briskly, as she stormed her way inside.
Both members of the Gremory group stared owlishly at the student council president. Did she really just come in in that manner?
"Well...this already sounds like fun." the red-head retorted blithely, placing her box onto her desk. "Now care to tell me what's going on?"
Sona didn't respond immediately, frowning. "Where's the rest of your Peerage, I was hoping to get more manpower."
Akeno sighed lightly. "Koneko-chan is going to be a little late, a client needed her help with something. As for Kiba-kun, he should have been here already. Same for Issei-kun."
The Sitri heiress clicked her tongue, so much for the extra support. "Looks like it's just you two for now then, I'm surprised you haven't noticed, but the school seems to have become a playground between a...frog and an apple."
Neither of the 'Great Ladies' said anything for a moment, simply staring down the student council president with intense eyes. Studying her facial features.
"...You're serious?" Rias asked in growing incredulity.
Sona nodded. "Unfortunately, it seems that whoever is fighting is also harmless however, Saji was just caught in the crossfire. But the problem is that they're scaring the students and destroying infrastructure in the process."
"Wait, wait, wait...can we please take a moment to appreciate the fact that an apple and a frog is doing all of this? How do you know this exactly?" Akeno asked skeptically.
"My Peerage members have informed me, Saji told me first, then Tsubaki confirmed his words when they spotted them crashing into one of the girl's locker rooms."
"Issei would love that..." Rias muttered under her breathe, unable to take the situation seriously.
A glare from the girl addressing her dissuaded her from making anymore comments however.
"This is serious Rias!" Sona snapped. "I've already made the order to begin erasing the memory of every human that saw what happened! We might legitimately have to shut down school for repairs for at least a few days!"
...
"That doesn't sound so bad actually..."
"Rias!"
Rias sighed dramatically. "Fine...we were going to help anyways, so where is this...uh...'apple' and 'frog'?"
Sona opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she noticed the red-head suddenly straighten her back and narrow her eyes.
Akeno noticed the change as well. "Buchou? What is it?"
The high-class devil didn't respond, narrowed eyes glancing upwards, feeling...something.
This feeling...it felt familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Then her eyes grew wide.
"Oh...you've...gotta be kiddin-!"
The ceiling exploded, with rubble crashing to the over the red-head's desk, caving in a large portion of the room.
Everyone was staring with wide eyes at the form that was laying on top of the rubble, motionless at first.
Then, like a zombie from some kind of horror flick, the body began to move, trying to force itself to stand up again.
Then it turned it's ugly head towards them.
It's unbelievably happy face towards them.
"...So there really is an apple running around." Akeno mused lightly.
Sona simply gaped, it was one thing to hear about it, another thing to actually see someone wearing an apple on top of their head!
Rias for her part, shakily stared at the apple-wearing maniac that crashed into her headquarters. Why the hell was he here!?
The apple, regarded the group arrayed in front of him, saying nothing for a moment before staring straight at the red-head.
"Hey there Rias! Fancy meeting you here!" the apple called out genially, seemingly pleased.
The Gremory heiress said nothing, the constant tapping of her feet was the only sign of her disapproval.
"...Sairaorg." Rias responded levelly.
Sona and Akeno's eyes widened, at that.
"Ah...you figured it out. As expected of my cousin." Sairaorg said in an easy-going manner, grinning under the apple mask.
"S-Sairaorg!? What are you doing wearing that ridiculous costume!?" Sona demanded, a burning anger simmering due to the man's actions.
He should know better!
"Ah...well I was advertising the sale of apples for my clan, which would hopefully pave the way for the creation of a new branch in Kuoh Town." Sairaorg claimed, looking somewhat sheepish under the apple.
The Sitri heiress looked entirely unconvinced by his words, turning to Rias for confirmation of his words.
"Unfortunately, the Bael clan does indeed have a thriving apple industry. Though the merits of trying to advertise apples with that costume is...'off' to put it lightly." Rias stated dryly, clearly unimpressed with the Bael heir's efforts.
The muscular man just laughed. "Ah! Critical as always Rias! I'd like to think that spreading the word one way or another could increase sales, especially when playing my role as the 'Bapple'!"
Akeno looked on in curiosity. "Bapple? What's a bapple?"
Sairaorg turned to Akeno, grinning despite the fact that she couldn't see his grin. "If you put Bael and apple together...you get...?"
No one responded, nothing needed to be said about the name that wasn't already obvious.
The apple was about to say something else, but instead he turned around and glanced towards the sky.
"Apologies, but my duel with Gama-tan is still underway. He's truly a worthy opponent! I haven't felt this alive in a long time! We will see each other again, Rias!" Sairaorg bellowed, as he bent his knees to jump into the air with his incredible strength.
Sona, alarmed, stretched her arm towards him. "No, wait! Your fight is destroying the-!"
The apple jumped out of the ORC club room, ascending to the sky in order to clash with the frog again.
The three girls raced towards the hole in the ceiling, watching as the apple smashed against another figure that was heading towards them. Changing their course in mid-air and sending them crashing into the nearby forest.
"...Was that a frog?" the Sitri heiress asked calmly, regarding the two figures falling to the earth before they completely fell out of her line of sight.
"I think so." the queen of the Gremory group maintained, looking slightly amused if anything.
Up until she personally gets affected by these events, she would be able to breeze past them with relative ease. She was simply that kind of person.
Both black-haired girls stopped watching the sky after they both saw Rias collapse in their peripheral vision however.
"Rias? Are you ok?" Sona asked urgently, leaning close to make sure that her physical well-being was alright.
The red-head didn't say anything for a moment, only staring blankly at the floor under her.
"...My shuriken..." she whispered brokenly.
Ah...right...those things were on top of her desk, weren't they?
"...Why? It was so beautiful...how could something so terrible happen to priceless artifacts? Is it my fault? Is the world taking out it's frustration against me by destroying old weapons of the past? It happened so fast..." Rias muttered out loud, eyes clouded in grief.
Sona felt a sweat-drop forming, she was taking this rather hard...
"Ara ara...she seems to have formed a bond with the shuriken, hm?" Akeno stated with interest, watching her king fall into depression with a literal storm cloud forming over her head.
How cute.
Right at that moment, the front door slammed open with several teens pouring inside.
"We came as fast as we could! Is everyone alright?" Issei said as he entered the club room, alarmed at the damage done to the building.
"Mostly, we aren't physically harmed, but Rias is somewhat...upset at the loss of her favorite toys." Sona explained, a deadpanned expression prevalent on her face.
As the pawn entered the room, Mio quickly rushed past him and knelt to Rias' eye-level. "She seems shell-shocked..."
"I think that's an apt description." Akeno agreed, chuckling slightly.
"More importantly!" Maria shouted as she entered the room as well. "Where's the...uh...'toad' and the apple? We were just in the forest, so we couldn't really see where they ran off to."
Sona blinked. "I'm pretty sure that's a frog..."
"Yeah, I thought so too. But it calls itself; 'Gama-tan'." Issei remembered, scratching his chin lightly.
Mio glanced at the others warily, were they really unaware that 'Gama-tan' was actually Naruto? Was everyone really that stupid? It was pretty obvious, even if the blond didn't tell anyone...
Ah well, maybe it was best to leave that information out for now.
"By the way, that 'apple' you keep referring to is actually Sairaorg of the Bael clan." Sona explained quickly, glancing back up to the hole in the ceiling.
Issei frowned, turning to look at the silverette behind him.
She just shrugged.
He then glanced back to the student council president. "...Who's that?"
The Sitri heiress' eyebrow just twitched in annoyance, did Rias not explain this already?
"Ah...we made it." stated Yuuto as he carried Asia on his back, finally catching up with the rest of the group.
"Is Gama-tan here? I was hoping to see him, maybe I can talk him down?" Asia wondered while on the knight's back, glancing around the club room.
Before anyone could answer, Mio finally stood back up and glared at everyone present. "Hello!?"
Everyone except the still shell-shocked Gremory turned to the half-devil in confusion.
"I'm sure everyone wants to relay what's happened to them recently, but don't we still have a frog and an apple to deal with!? Can we please focus?" Mio cried out, annoyed.
Sona coughed, a pink tint to her cheeks. "Of course...yes. Let's all go and forcefully break the two up. I suppose we should-"
"SAIRAORG!"
Everyone jumped slightly, eyes growing wide as they regarded the suddenly energetic Rias stand up and bellow the Bael heir's name.
"I can take a bit of extra work...I can take the vandalism of my school...I can take the ravaging of my club room...! But you do NOT screw with my hobby!" Rias shouted, teeth grinding and eyes flaring with red-black miasma as it eventually enveloped her body.
"Oh dear...it seems that Rias is taking this seriously..." Akeno mused, getting so much amusement out of this that she forgot to refer to her friend with proper terms.
Rias glared towards the sky. "Both Sairaorg and Gama-tan won't get away with this! They will feel the pain that they caused me when they killed my shuriken!"
"...She's treating her shuriken like her children..." Issei noted with a deadpanned expression.
"That's our Buchou!" Yuuto said with a cheerful smile.
Then the red-head spread her devil wings, soaring into the sky to mete our her vengeance.
"Ah! Wait, Rias-sempai!" Mio cried out, alarmed.
She was way too late however, much to her chagrin.
"Well...she may be a bit overzealous about this, but she has the right idea. We should back her up and end this quickly." the Sitri heiress stated, flaring her own wings to give chase.
No one objected to that.
The small forest that separated Kuoh Academy and the old school building was usually very serene. A place of introspection and beauty.
At least it was.
Now many of the trees were getting knocked down as if there was a bulldozer trying to make space for a new mall.
Instead of a vehicle however, it was a muscular man with a happy apple on his head.
The apple was currently chasing after the run-away frog, sometimes knocking trees down since the frog kept using their branches to evade it's opponent.
As the muscular man continued to try to force the amphibian to the ground, the green creature had already formed a plan to keep it's adversary down.
When the frog landed on the tree branches of another tree, the apple responded immediately by ramming said tree, weakening it's foundations to the point that it was going to tumble.
But as that was happening, the frog jumped away from the tree branch it was on to another tree, then quickly jumping back to the first tree using the gained momentum from it's jump. Smashing itself onto the first tree to control where it wanted the large plant to fall.
In this case, on the apple.
The apple wasn't immediately aware of what the frog was up to, but quickly figured it out when the shadow of the tree enveloped his form.
The tree impacted harshly against the ground, smashing the apple into the ground without mercy.
As the frog jumped away from the falling tree, it rebounded into another tree, angling itself in a way to push another tree to fall on top of the still-downed apple.
Then it did it again.
And again.
And again.
After the fifth tree being forced to fall onto the victim, the frog fell back to the ground, surveying the damage it has wrought.
...Did it go too far?
...
Nah, the bastard was tough, he can handle it. He was a devil after all.
Yep, ever since the man punched it square into that apartment building, a quick use of it's senses helped it deduce that he was a devil. A familiar one at that, but it couldn't place it's finger on who...
Nevertheless, it seems that the frog was the victor of this battle!
As the amphibian began to congratulate itself for a job well done, it quickly tilted it's head to the side, hearing movement nearby.
Someone was coming.
The person in question jumped out of the bushes, sharp yellow eyes assessing the situation and a katana in hand.
Those yellow eyes immediately fell onto the frog, shock quickly replacing focus in those orbs.
"...Naruto?" Yuki asked hesitantly, staring dead-center at the amphibian.
Naruto's eyes inside the suit widened, how did she...?
Blue eyes scanned around, trying to figure out where the hell the female came from, at the forest of all places!
Then he noticed, they were close to the back entrance of Kuoh Academy...
"Back entrance, the student council was preventing students from entering, so I came in this way." the hero answered, noticing her friend's wandering head. "More importantly though, why are you wearing that costume?"
Shit, damage control.
"Gama-tan!" the frog cried out cutely.
The hero continued to stare, blinking every now and again. "No...you're definitely Naruto."
The blond stayed silent, trying to stay firm with his cover, hoping that the female would give up her assertions.
But she stayed firm, narrowing her eyes at the silly costume that was standing on two feet.
...
...
...
"Fine! You win, yes...it's me." Naruto grumbled, throwing his hands up in the air.
Yuki merely gave him a small grin. "Of course I'm right. You don't need to tell me that."
The shinobi didn't reply, petulantly turning away. Way to ruin his fun.
"How'd you figure it out?"
Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Your stance. Your fighting stance hasn't changed since we've first met, so seeing someone wearing a frog costume gives me the impression that my friend is in said suit. That and no one fights with such...extravagance."
Naruto blinked at that, shit, that actually sounded pretty smart. It was sometimes hard to reconcile the socially awkward girl in front of him with the warrior.
Then again, was he really that different?
Behind the blond, the trees which held down his adversary began to shake violently, as if someone was trying to shake off their weight.
The shinobi clicked his tongue. "Shit...looks I got to beat him up again...the guy is stubborn alright."
As Naruto turned around to face his opponent, he felt the hero place her hand on his shoulder, fist slowly clamping down harder.
Uh...
"Naruto...? The student council wouldn't let people in because someone was vandalizing the school...it wouldn't have something to do you, would it...?" Yuki asked quietly, eyes sharp and unrelenting.
The blond huffed. "Of course not, when I fought with the apple-guy, we only broke a couple of windows, desks, a ceiling, and a few trees. That ain't too bad, right? More than that, can't Sona-kaichou and Rias just erase the memory of everyone who saw us? No harm, no foul I say!"
Yuki tilted her head, lips thinning slightly. Did he really not notice how many people saw this entire charade? Possibly...he could be kind of dense at times. But surely he wasn't unaware of the damage that was done to the school itself?
"So let me get this straight then, you fought with this...man, then you damaged school property throughout your fight, possibly scared a lot of students...but you think it's alright?" the hero asked slowly.
Naruto began to sweat slightly at the methodical breakdown of his actions. "Well...when you put it like that..."
He didn't do that much damage, right? He obliterated windows, ceilings, and trees all of the time!
"Not only that, but didn't you literally just admit that you did damage to the school? Isn't that the vandalism that the student council was talking about?"
"...No."
"You're lying."
"...No."
The hero sighed, ok, so he obviously was the perpetrator of this incident. His track record was quite solid anyways.
"Look, I'm about to win this fight, I haven't fought a worthy opponent for fun in a while, so let me have this. I'm trustworthy about stuff like this, honest!" Naruto claimed.
With that statement, the blond turned around to face the muscular man, ready for one last clash to end this fight.
Yuki sighed once more, looks like she would have to use her secret weapon...
"...I understand that you want to keep fighting Naruto, but you can't. We have a tutoring session soon." the hero stated calmly.
The effect was immediate, as the shinobi froze in his tracks and whipped his head around to look at the female. "What!? But we still have classes!"
The hero inclined her head in a nod. "Yes, normally we would. But your actions today might have to force the school to close down for repairs, which means that your time is freed up for our tutoring session, right?"
Naruto gaped, horrified by the concept.
"Not only that..." Yuki continued. "But since we have extra time, I was hoping to get more into advanced calculus..."
The blond was just frothing at the mouth by this point, hearing only of the horrible torture that he might have to endure.
Then his eyes lit up. There was an a way out of this!
Soon after, the apple smashed through the trees which trapped him, looking to restart his fight with the frog.
"Time out!"
The apple stopped cold, shocked that the frog actually spoke properly.
"Time out? Why? I thought that you were having fun?" the muscular man asked, frowning.
"Yeah, I was. But there's something far more important than having fun sometimes." Naruto said seriously, eyes sharpening.
"I have learned that our fight has caused unwarranted destruction throughout Kuoh Academy, unnecessarily causing damage to this school! I can't, in good conscience, continue this fight with the school caught in the crossfire!" the blond continued, eyes lighting up in passion.
Purple eyes were wide as they regarded the frog in front of him, this was...
"So know this now...I ask for you to work with me. Let's stop our fighting, maybe settle the score between us at a different time and place, so that others could go to school without our meddling. It's the right thing to do!" the shinobi finished, clenching his fist in his belief.
Yuki watched the entire speech in bemusement, this all came about from not wanting to be tutored? Just how desperate was he?
More than that, maybe Naruto was a little too good at those speeches of his...
"...I understand!" the apple declared. "Truly, you are an interesting man! Very well, we will settle this fight later, but when we next meet, I expect you to face me seriously!"
The blond gave him a thumbs up. "Of course! You can count on that!"
Nodding firmly at the confirmation, the devil summoned a magic circle, preparing to take his leave now that his reason for being in the human world was a bust.
"...See you later...Uzumaki Naruto." Sairaorg whispered, as the magic circle enveloped his form.
The shinobi blinked as the devil was overtaken, how did the guy know his name? So have they really met before?
"Alright, hopefully the school will just let me take my classes and my naps..." Naruto muttered, completely unrepentant in trying to use school classes for sleeping.
Yuki rolled her eyes, of course he would react this way...
Then her eyes caught something in the sky, getting closer and closer...
"...It's Rias-san." the hero noted, staring up into the sky.
Naruto quickly followed her line of sight, before jumping away from view in a hurry. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Yuki watched in curiosity as the blond began struggling with the suit, trying to take it off as the red-head got closer to their position, with a lot of other people in tow.
Rias landed a few seconds later, glancing around with hard eyes. "Yuki-san, where's Sairaorg and Gama-tan? They need to be punished..."
Well, that wasn't ominous.
"...I don't know who either of these people are." the hero responded lightly, watching as several other devils landed after the high-class devil has arrived.
"Have we missed them? Shoot...I was hoping to end this quickly." Sona cursed as she looked around for the vandals.
"Where do you think they ran off to now...?" Mio mumbled out loud, hoping to look for clues to where her foolish brother ran off to.
Yuki consciously looked at the group arrayed in front of her, while stopping herself from glancing towards where the blond was trying to get rid of the costume. He can never claim that she wasn't a good friend.
As the group looked around, searching for clues, a certain succubus walked towards her and looked up to her. "I have a question...why are you even here? Kind of coincidental, right? To be here right when the frog and apple escaped."
The young hero twitched slightly, the loli just had to ask her that question, didn't she?
Several eyes locked themselves onto her, newly-found suspicion in their pupils.
Damn...she wasn't good at the whole 'social' thing, so finding excuses on the spot was...
Fortunately, she didn't have to.
Naruto, after finally getting the costume off, managed to walk towards the group through the forested area with nary a sound, only gaining their attention by intentionally coughing.
"Morning everyone! What's going on here?" Naruto inquired out loud, grinning at the assembled group.
All eyes shifted away from the hero to the blond, eyes widening at the his sudden appearance.
"Naruto!" Rias said, her voice rising slightly in surprise. "Where did you come from?"
"I've been around." the blond replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So what's with the looks you've guys got on your faces? You all seem to be on edge."
The shinobi paused, considering.
"Except you, Akeno." he eventually amended.
The queen smirked. "As always."
Both Maria and Mio glanced at one another with deadpanned expressions, even with all of the trouble he caused today, he's still as loud as usual.
"Naruto-san..." Sona stated matter-of-factly. "Where have you been this entire time?"
Naruto kept his grin, a teasing glint in his eye. "I'll answer you if you answer me, I asked first after all."
The student council president grit her teeth in annoyance, did he have to be so him right now?
"...We've had a bit of a problem with two vandals harming school property...do you know about any of that?" Sona asked with thinly veiled suspicion.
The shinobi blinked slowly, carefully regarding the black-haired girl. "Really? That's actually..."
"Inexcusable?" Sona provided.
"Awesome!" Naruto finished grandly, stars in his eyes.
Rias gave out a long-suffering sigh, shaking her head. Figures.
"Everyone, wait here. I'm going to go ask all of the students what happened, maybe someone got it on video!" the blond exclaimed with excitement, turning around to do just that.
"Wait...what!? No!" the Sitri heiress denied. "We have to erase everyone's memories of what happened! Too many questions will begin to surround the school if we don't!"
Naruto stopped after the devil finished her statement, features hidden since he was facing away from her.
"...I know right? Isn't it grand~?"
Sona shivered slightly, what was that...?
The shinobi turned around slightly, a positively evil grin spread across his lips. "What should you do~? If you let me continue, then some video evidence of the day's events may accidentally end up on the internet~. Ohhh...what a dilemma, hmm?"
"W-What...? Why would you...?"
"Unless!" Naruto interjected, eyes narrowed to the point of slits as his cheshire grin had formed. "You get rid of me for a little bit...then that won't happen, now will it?"
Sona's jaw dropped. She was being...she was being...!
"...You're actually blackmailing her..." Rias muttered in disbelief.
"Ara ara, our foxy-kun truly is a one of a kind." Akeno drawled by her side.
"Evil..." Mio hissed.
"...Not bad." Maria nodded, approving of the tactic.
Up until her charge slapped her upside the head for it.
The blond spread his arms out, inviting. "Blackmailing is a bit harsh, let's just agree to do what's best, huh?"
The Sitri heiress stayed frozen for a moment longer, before gathering her wits about her. "You...you're bluffing."
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Wanna take that chance?"
Both teens kept their eyes locked with one another, neither giving up ground as they regarded one another. Playful blue and rigid purple.
Yuki just watched the farce play out, knowing full-well that he was bluffing, he hated tutoring that much. He was trying to have his cake and eat it too.
But Sona-kaichou didn't know that, did she?
After a few more seconds of stressful silence, Sona finally made her decision regarding the annoying blond.
It had to be done, no other choice.
"...I'll stop you." the young high-class devil declared, demonic energy flowing through her in preparation.
"Uhh...I don't think that's-" Mio tried to cut in.
"Hoh?" Naruto wondered, eyes lighting up in amusement. "You think you can take me on? You sure about that?"
"It doesn't matter." Sona stated levelly, eyes narrowing. "You've been getting too cocky recently, and I still think that you were involved with what happened yesterday. For all I know, you may have been involved in today's 'incident'. Nevertheless, it's about time that someone-!"
"You'll destroy public property even more, Sona." Rias deadpanned.
Sona froze, eyebrow twitching maniacally as she realized the flaw in her plan, all to the annoying blond's amusement no doubt.
"...That's what I was trying to say..." Mio mumbled, annoyed that she was cut off.
"I was goinna mention it too." the shinobi drawled. "But now that that's out of the way, whatcha gonna do now, Sona-kaichou?"
The Sitri heiress' eyebrows kept twitching, frustration lacing her features, this intractable...insufferable...smug...!
"Fine!" Sona bit out. "You win, you can take a leave of absence as you wish. But...make no mistake...this isn't over."
Naruto, gave her a shit-eating grin. "Of course! How can I ever make that mistake, hmm?"
The high-class devil huffed, turning away and storming back to the high school, too angry to think about the vandals that escaped. She was simply too preoccupied with mumbling out foul things under her breath.
Naruto turned away from the retreating back of the student council president to the everyone else that remained. "...That was fun."
"It indeed was!" Akeno chirped in agreement, clapping lightly.
The shinobi merely bowed, he was humbled by the support.
"Don't encourage him...it's bad enough that I have to take even more time out of my day to calm her down." Rias ground out. "Even worse, it looks like Sairaorg got away with murder...not to mention the frog."
"Murder she says..." Mio said, shaking her head.
As the red-head continued to shake her head at her inconsolable sempai, three forms emerged from the general forestry to reach them.
"Ah...seems we missed the fun, huh Issei-kun?" Yuuto asked rhetorically, an easy smile still plastered on his face after all of this time.
Issei, who was struggling to keep up after he began carrying Asia, only panted slightly in response, trying to catch his breath.
Asia herself looked on worriedly. "Issei-san, it's ok to put me down if it's too much trouble..."
The brown-haired boy nodded mutely, good idea, brilliant idea.
The shinobi snorted at the pawn's fatigue, before regarding everyone else. "Alright, I'm gonna head to class now, see you guys later."
Naruto didn't even complete his first step when someone grabbed his arm from behind.
"...I think it's obvious to everyone that classes are going to be cancelled today. Nice try." Yuki stated quietly, grip firm and unyielding.
The blond began to sweat slightly, shit...
"...Can we talk about this?"
"No."
"...Please?"
The hero ignored his increasingly desperate protests, dragging the blond away so that they could go and study at the library.
"No! Wait, please! Come on! Have mercy!" Naruto cried out, flailing around like a child with teary eyes.
Everyone just watched as Yuki dragged Naruto away, more than a few feeling that the whiskered teen had it coming. All the while ignoring the pitiful protests coming from the young man's mouth.
Someone in particular was taking great joy in this scenario.
Maria was actually giggling from it. "This was an incredible day! I didn't think that the day would bring in so much adventure! We should do this again some time! Maybe make this a scheduled event?"
All except the sadistic queen, the knight, and the innocent nun answered immediately. With one voice.
"""NO!"""
The succubus pouted, they were no fun...
Sairaorg returned to the Underworld small grin on his face, wanting to speak to his father about possible avenues for business expansion. It may not seem like much, but in accordance to the inherent greed of devils...every little bit counts.
But first, he had to make a stop first, as always if he had the chance to do so.
It was this fact that sobered his good mood quite a bit, serious time, hmm...?
The moment that the heir of the Bael clan re-entered the Underworld, he made sure to transport himself to the countryside of Bael territory.
A small home was his destination.
The young devil quickly entered it, taking off the 'bapple' costume on his head so that he may properly gaze upon his loved one.
As Sairaorg reached it's confines, going inside a bedroom where a woman lay in sleep, but in actuality; comatose.
It was his mother; Misla Bael.
The high-class devil quietly took the seat that was next to her, occupying it in order to gaze upon her form without disturbing her. She seemed so peaceful...
"Okaa-sama, I came by to check up on you, are you well?" Sairaorg asked gently, combing her hair out of her face.
The young devil paused for a moment, simply gazing on her still form. Motionless.
"...I want you to know that...like you advised, I've grown strong in different ways. Even now, I seek out challenges to test my power, to become the strongest."
Purple eyes continued to gently regard the woman that they were so transfixed upon, focused on nothing else.
"Also...that my desire to seek out new challenges has been rewarded recently. You see...I've met a man, he's incredibly strong, especially if the rumors are to be believed. Some say that he defeated a legendary phoenix at the ball that Lucifer-sama has hosted! If that's true, then I wish that I didn't leave the party early, maybe we could have fought then and there? It would have been quite the sight to see..." Sairaorg rambled, eyes fixated upon the woman that he owed everything to.
"...I think that you'd like him, he has good eyes...you always were good at judging people through their eyes..." the young devil trailed off, a content smile on his face.
Then his smile fizzled out, suddenly more gaunt and grim-faced.
"...I didn't expect you to be here." Sairaorg stated with little emotion, tilting his head to the side to regard the man who just entered the room.
An elder-looking man that bared striking resemblance to Sairaorg stood at the entrance of the room, looking grave.
"Sairaorg...I was informed that you returned. I wish to speak with you." the man demanded, no quarter given whatsoever.
The younger devil slowly got up from his chair, turning to face his father.
"Of course, what is it, otou-sama?"
Lord Bael, the head of the Bael clan, stared at his son for a moment before continuing. "Sairaorg, you have attended ball that Sirzechs-sama has hosted, correct?"
The younger devil nodded.
"Then I assume you know of the rumors regarding one of his...'special' guests?"
"You mean Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" Sairaorg guessed, it wasn't hard.
Lord Bael nodded firmly. "Yes, I've received reports from contacts who are working in the media, they are going to begin speculating on it on live television soon. But I've already received the myriad details of it already. My only question for you is this...does he really want to reform devil culture?"
The Bael heir blinked, confused. "...If he had, then I wasn't there when he did it. I apologize otou-sama."
Lord Bael said nothing, only grunting in annoyance. "I see...then a question to amend the last one. Is he strong? In mind and body?"
With that, Sairaorg straightened his back. "I can say definitively that he is strong in both aspects."
The older devil's frown became more prominent. "...I see...very well, thank you for your time."
Lord Bael turned around and left the room, barely acknowledging his own wife in a comatose state.
Sairaorg gave his mother a slightly bitter smile, filled with self-effacing humor.
"...Seems we still have a long way to go, huh...? Okaa-sama..."
Lord Bael was storming out of the small countryside home, anger palpable as he seriously began to consider Sairaorg's words.
A young man who wanted to change devil culture...
That was dangerous.
Rumors come from some basis of fact, usually blown out of proportions to help bring out the sensationalism of the news.
But these are first-hand sources, the information hasn't shifted through enough hands to be overblown, which meant that...
More than likely, this boy's achievement of defeating a phoenix was fact.
Such power...yet this was the first time that this boy was seen or heard about? That should be impossible...
The head of the Bael clan hated a lack of knowledge, he needed to know everything about his possible enemies. He had the most to lose after all.
He was the head of the Bael clan, the most highly respected devil clan in the Underworld.
The Great King.
Truth be told...they held more influence than even the Yondai Maou, the Bael clan greatly benefited from the current system. Pure and simple.
They were like powerful feudal lords, with the Maou as the king. The feudal lords held the real power...an aristocracy more than a absolute monarchy.
Yet someone, from out of nowhere, with the power to destroy a phoenix, was challenging the culture that allowed for his clan's superiority. For their power.
No, not just his clan, the 72 pillars as well.
This was an affront that had to be answered.
But for now, he would keep his ears to the ground, sound out public opinion, not only of the common people, but of the other heads.
This threat needed to be answered, one way or another. The changing of the status-quo is an unacceptable proposition that must be crushed before it could gain traction.
Somewhat paranoid? Perhaps. But he didn't stay as influential as he had by being dismissive of possible threats to his power.
...
There was something poetic about the scene that the young man was surveying.
Rubble everywhere from the obliterated buildings, smoke pouring from every artificially made aperture due to the small fires which were still raging.
Yes...poetic is the right word for it.
The destruction of this place was necessary, even if it was a little bit more difficult than he imagined...with this, his old allies would be weakened enough to stay out of his way.
It helped that he got some new recruits as well...
Coal-black eyes continued to regard the smoldering ruins, his old home...when he called these people 'heroes'.
What a foolish idealist he was back then.
Their idealistic world view allowed for the world to be divvied up between the many supernatural factions across the planet, all because they were too afraid to move past their obsolete tendencies...
He would change that, their time in the sun was over. He would show them what a true hero was.
"Cao Cao, the preparations are almost done. You alright?"
The young man slowly turned to regard his comrade, another young man with handsome features and silver-white hair. "Good, we are leaving immediately, have you gathered all of the artifacts, information, and Sacred Gears in this branch?"
The other hero nodded. "Of course. Though...I must question why we are prematurely going to Japan, is this about that potential recruit that you heard about?"
Cao Cao's eyes shifted downward, remembering the information he has received from the leader of the Old Maou Faction...
Uzumaki Naruto...huh?
"Partially." the young leader admitted readily. "But that information was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. There have been troubling reports about what's been going on in Japan...and we have special interests there. It's imperative that we complete our objectives in Japan before we lose our opportunity. Especially since the Japanese branch is more well-developed than their Chinese counterpart..."
The young man leaned back, laying his back on the warm rubble that he was occupying to stare at the sky. "Especially since Toujou Jin is at the Japanese branch..."
He could hear rather than see the other man's astonishment. "...He's alive? Really? I thought he was just a legend..."
A somewhat self-depreciating grin grew on Cao Cao's face. "No...he's alive alright, he was my mentor while I was in the Hero Tribe."
Now the hero leader could practically feel the other man's shock. "...I didn't know about any of this. You were never very willing to divulge information about your time as one of...them."
Black eyes shone with slight amusement at the thought. "Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I'm sitting on the smoldering ruins of my first home, the Chinese branch of the Hero Tribe was where I was initially posted. Before I was transferred to the Japanese branch to be personally tutored by the 'Great Hero'...it was an honor back then. I was a prodigy, growing through the ranks quickly, even getting my own apprentices at age thirteen."
"Apprentices?" Siegfried parroted, too engrossed in his boss' past to shift the topic away into more something more practical. "At age thirteen? You must have been quite the powerful hero, huh Cao Cao? I rarely hear of such talent...though that wouldn't really surprise me to be honest. What ever happened to them after you...left?"
Cao Cao closed his eyes, a serene smile on his face. "I had two of them, a boy and a girl. I...did what I had to do with the boy, he was simply too dangerous. As for the girl, she survived, but I doubt that she will amount to much after what happened. A shame too, if things were different..."
The hero leader shrugged. "Oh well, it happened. I think I've bored you enough with story time, is the plane ready for take off?"
The silver-haired man nodded. "Yes sir, so then we're going to Kyoto? To capture the kyuubi?"
Cao Cao nodded, standing up from the rubble he was sitting on. "That's right. First we will make sure that we can utilize the leylines in Kyoto to our advantage, control of such a resource could be invaluable. No one will be the wiser due to the yokai's penchant of neutrality. After we've established control over Kyoto...we go after Uzumaki."
Siegfried saluted and turned, about to give his comrades the go-ahead to start the plane's engines.
The hero leader watched him go, before turning around to regard his first ever home.
He cut ties with the Hero Tribe long ago, but while he destroyed his ties to this branch...he had more loose ends to cut.
The Japanese branch, Toujou Jin.
...And if necessary, his old apprentice too.
"I wonder if you've become a real hero after all of this time..." Cao Cao wondered, before turning to join his comrades.