Chapter 32
"Alright! You heard the boss! We're gonna make sure that Kunou-chan and her mother are protected! Everyone spread out to cover as much area as possible!" a clone ordered, waving away his brothers.
The clones did as ordered and spread out, making sure to watch for any potential enemies, just in case they come by.
As they did their duties however, a single clone accidentally ran into a very familiar weapon. Stopping him in his tracks to stare at it with something approaching trepidation.
That was...
'Naruto' crouched slowly to the ground, studying the weapon with a serious gaze, wondering how the weapon should be treated with it's owner gone.
He thought about it for a bit, narrowing his eyes, would anyone besides the weapon's owner even be able to utilize it?
Honestly wasn't sure.
Water droplets still pelted his hair as he grabbed the powerful weapon, debating about what could be done with such a Sacred Gear. It was very different from the other Sacred Gears in some way, if only in the aura that it projected out.
Not only that, but based on his limited knowledge of Sacred Gears...shouldn't it be gone by now, or something like that? Wasn't it connected with that guy?
More than that, it was powerful...something that the original 'Naruto' didn't really notice as he fought against it.
As his attention stayed onto the Sacred Gear, the clone never noticed the group of yokai that reached them, talking to the lead clone as he led them to their royalty.
'Naruto' moved his hand to his back pouch after a minute or two of consideration, grabbing a small scroll, an idea popping into his head as he moved away from the clone group just in case.
He didn't want to test out whether he could use it or not, it simply wasn't smart to use a strange and powerful weapon right next to his fellow copies and the two females they were supposed to protect. He was also fairly certain that gaining ownership of the item was much more complicated than just simply holding it.
So instead of just leaving the weapon here for anyone to pick up, he decided to seal it inside his sealing scroll. He would study it later-
The clone froze, eyes wide, as his body went rigid.
What was-?
'Naruto' fell to his knees as it felt like someone was trying to drill a hole through his skull, gripping his skull tightly as he grit his teeth.
He could see red slits through his mind's eye...coldly regarding him as it tried to push into his mind...
This feeling was...familiar too. As if it was an echo of something long past, of a power he's seen before...
But before he could try and question it further-
*Poof*
Gasps rang out across the field as the clone exploded, his brothers following his lead as something happened to the original.
The yokai would eventually follow the instructions that the lead clone gave out before he expired, eventually reaching their newly-made comrades.
But no one was aware of the clone that drifted off to seal away a powerful weapon.
No one except one.
"This will be your room for the foreseeable future. If you need anything, feel free to ask me. You are our important guests after all." the female kappa stated genially, bowing to their honorable guests.
Yuki inclined her head politely. "Thank you, we will do so. We appreciate your hospitality."
With one more bow, the yokai left the room, giving them their privacy, sliding the Japanese-style door close.
The hero watched their host leave for a moment, making sure that she actually gave them their privacy, then turned around and glanced back at her two allies once she was sure that the yokai was gone. Walking up to them quietly.
Naruto was still knocked out, looking incredibly peaceful when compared to earlier. Laying down on the ground and resting his head on Maria's lap, where she was just brushing his hair soothingly, like a doting mother almost, especially as she still retained her older-looking form.
"How is he?" Yuki asked, voice clipped, eyes firmly on her friend.
Maria looked up, still brushing his hair absent-mindedly. "He's fine now...but I still can't help but worry for him. Did you hear? Some of the yokai were mentioning that he had fought a guy that sounds an awful lot like that guy from before...your old mentor. As well as the yokai faction leader...all at the same time."
The hero scrunched her eyebrows together, jaw clenching silently, disgusted with the fact that she didn't stop her old master. If only she managed to warn Naruto before...then maybe none of this would have happened...
If only-
"Stop."
Yellow eyes snapped to the succubus, meeting dry purple eyes.
"...Geez, you realize that you and Naruto-sama are the same in this respect, right?" she sighed, shaking her head. "You expect the world of yourselves...look, we don't have the full story. But Naruto-sama doesn't have a scratch on him. Whatever got him to act the way he did...probably has more to do with that strange power he had."
Yuki frowned, remembering the blond's red slits...a sharp contrast from his usual oceanic blue.
"Do you think it had something to do that dark power we felt earlier?" she asked quietly, contemplating.
This time, the succubus took her turn to frown, combing his hair soothingly. "Maybe. We can't know definitively until we ask him ourselves. For now...we should take some time off I think. Get our wounds looked at."
Purple eyes traveled to the large gash that stretched from her shoulder to her hip, smiling faintly as it continued to drip some blood.
The hero nodded, placing her only good arm over her broken one, noting that it has gotten numb by this point...
Probably not good.
"You're right. We've had enough excitement for a while...let's get our wounds looked at. I'll call the hostess."
"Roger!"
Shiba's long hair was flowing behind him as he watched the ground carefully, searching for the center of the battle that ended the lives of so many of his allies.
The remnant of the Hero Faction was quickly moving over the forest surrounding Kyoto, following the only man that seemed willing to lead them now that the elite and their leader were away. Many of them confused why they were going in the first place.
They would find out soon enough.
"We're approaching the coordinates you gave us...what should we do now? Shiba?" the hero piloting the aircraft questioned, eyes scanning for any movement. Knowing full well that they were in enemy territory.
The de-facto new leader of the Hero Faction kept his eyes closed, scanning for the increasingly distant sources of power, keeping tabs in case any of them decide to return...
"Settle down our helicopter once we reach those coordinates I gave you and relay my order; the other heroes are to stay in the air and keep lookout. Understood?" Shiba ordered, his tone leaving no opening for discussion.
His subordinate nodded, nudging his co-pilot to begin relaying the order while he set to settle down the vehicle, squinting slightly sine the heavy rain was still making it difficult to see the ground properly.
But when he finally got an eyeful of the ground he was landing on, the human's eyes couldn't help but widen.
It was...barren.
An entire section of the forest was completely gone, as if someone had flat out taken a chunk out of the earth, leaving it permanently scarred.
He also couldn't help but shiver as he neared, unknowingly echoing his comrades as they shivered along with him, feeling the same sensation.
It felt like an echo of death hung over the field...as if they narrowly missed a mass-slaughter...
So, that worrying feeling stuck in his throat, the pilot landed the craft, turning to his passengers to indicate that they were free to step out of the helicopter.
Shiba needed no prompting however, as the young man took the initiative to leave the aircraft and scan his surroundings, features serious.
...As he expected, the entire area was filled with the scars of battle, a vicious one at that.
"...What happened here?" the youngest member of the Hero Faction questioned softly, turning to the older human.
Shiba didn't respond to the boy's query, he simply continued to scan for anything to indicate where his old ally was...trying to remember where he could be.
There.
The young man jogged quickly to the edge of a large crater that was nearby, peering inside to see if the individual he was looking for was inside...
A frown spread across his face as he coolly regarded the pitch-black form of a body, still and silent, deep inside the crater.
It was relatively large...and vaguely humanoid...
That meant that this was Heracles at one point, whether he was burned to death or suffered something far more gruesome, the hero had no idea.
What he did know, was that the body he was looking for wasn't there. As expected.
Eyes scanned the landscape once more, searching for the body of the former leader of the Hero Faction.
...
Found it.
Shiba was confident that he found the body this time as he rushed across the wrecked battlefield, eyes focused on the body that was distantly sprawled on the ground.
When he reached it, he knew exactly who it was.
Cao Cao's body was face-down into the moist ground, motionless, getting pelted by the rain relentlessly.
Shiba quickly moved up to the body and flipped it around, eyes searching for life in the form he was holding, then placing his ear to the man's chest. Searching for a heartbeat...
...
The young hero's eyes narrowed.
"...Shiba...? Is that...?" a hero murmured, walking up to him as he slowly recognized the body on the ground.
As the hero member spoke, several other humans followed after, leading to audible gasps that echoed across the field at the sight of the body that was laying down onto the ground.
It looked like...
"...This is indeed who you think it is. It's Cao Cao." the de-facto leader of the Hero Faction revealed, standing up slowly after studying the body for a moment longer. Making a show. "...And I'm afraid it is as you all fear. He has no heartbeat."
Gasps rang out from the crowd again, horrified that their leader was gone, slowly bringing forth panic as many realized that someone...or something killed off the most powerful man that any of them had ever known.
Before it could come to that though, the last elite of the Hero Faction straightened his back to reach his full height and exude his presence onto his comrades. "Don't panic! You'll all do a disservice to what Cao Cao has done for us...and what he has managed to keep doing for us."
That, indeed, managed to stop the hysteria that nearly took hold of everyone, with their attention all on Shiba as they took in his words.
Seeing that he got their attention, he continued. "You see...I have found out that our leader has left us a parting gift before he met his...untimely end. Proof that he kept us all in his heart at the end. That he fought bravely against a powerful beast while making sure that the future of the Hero Faction was kept secure!"
His grandiose proclamation was in full view of all of the remaining heroes present, not only on the ground, but those who were watching from the remaining helicopters that were in the air.
For the moment, he had their undivided attention, for better or for worse.
Knowing this, he turned around and kept his charade going, keeping in mind how delicate his situation was. Aiming for a specific reaction from the remaining humans.
He already knew that the hero leader was dead before he arrived, he was also fairly confident that the man's last thoughts were most assuredly not about the faction he was leading.
But his followers didn't need to know that, no...what they needed to know was that the man that they admired not only kept their well-being at heart, but that he also fell in battle honorably against a powerful foe.
More than that however...he knew where it was...
The copies that the blond menace created after he left the premises...one of them had it...
"Where is the proof of my claims...some of you are no doubt wondering? How could I make such a statement about a man when I wasn't there to see his final moments? Well...the answer is obvious..." the young man continued, walking away from the group and the corpse by moving to the edge of the clearing. "The answer is right in front of all our eyes actually."
After a moment of walking, he found it, causing his eyes to gleam as he found the powerful weapon, just laying there, as if waiting for him to come and claim it.
Almost as if...it was a miracle.
In a sense, it was, but it wasn't one brought forth from Cao Cao's cunning or through the grace of the God of the Bible...no...it was simply from circumstance...and his planning.
But once more, his comrades didn't need to know that.
"Behold! The True Longinus is here!" Shiba declared, bringing forth the Sacred Gear from the muddy ground, still in pristine condition. "This legendary weapon has somehowmanaged to remain undetected from our enemies, despite it's legendary stature and strength! Yet here it is...do you all understand what this means?"
The crowd was silent, leaning towards him as they were caught up in his fervor.
With a smirk, he held the spear loftily, eyes still gleaming in the dark atmosphere. "...There is a hidden power that only a true user of the True Longinus could utilize...it is called the Truth Idea; an ability that allows the user to create miracles through their sheer will...and is the fact that this powerful weapon managed to avoid detection not a sign of it? A sign that Cao Cao not only utilized Truth Idea to allow our faction to retain control of the True Longinus...but that he kept us as his highest priorities! After all, such a powerful will to make a miracle could have been used upon his enemies...yet that will was spent on us."
Leonardo walked up to the front of the crowd, his stoic features softened as he watched what looked like a sermon from an overzealous priest for his hero.
"...This man had faced a beast of overwhelming power, yet he had focused the last of his strength for us. Is that not the definition of a hero? Is that not what we have all aspired to become? This man...is everything we should all look up to, aim for, strive for. As his disciples...we cannot allow his bravery to be relegated to history!"
The young boy's attention was transfixed onto the de-facto hero leader, so intensely focused that he barely heard the low rumble of cheers that was occurring behind him from his comrades. Approving of the idea that was put into place.
"With what is no doubt his last wish for us, we shall take his body and extract ownership of the True Longinus and give it to someone else before it could be reincarnated into someone else! We must act quickly, before the process begins! Also, Cao Cao needs to be honored and respected, not only from us, but for all heroes who will follow us! As a symbol against the system that has been put in place against us! As our inspiration! As our hero!"
This time, Leonardo definitely heard the roars of approval, dragging his attention away from Shiba to his fellow humans, raising their arms up, fists clenched, screaming their new leader's name to the stars.
It wasn't just them, as the heroes on the helicopters in the sky were also roaring his name to the point that it felt like the ground itself was shaking from the power of their combined lungs.
As his attention was overtaken from the actions of the heroes, Shiba moved to face the crowd personally, before eyeing the young boy at the forefront.
"...Leonardo." Shiba muttered out, staring at the boy. "I understand that Cao Cao convinced you to join the Hero Faction personally...so, despite the fact that he's gone, will you still serve under the Hero Faction?"
The youngest hero didn't reply at first, opting to look around and study the cheers of the heroes around him, seeing the new-found determination to not allow themselves to let their hero down.
"...I was nothing without Cao Cao." the boy replied, turning to lock eyes with the older male. "...I owe him my life for giving me a purpose to live. To fight. I will serve under you as I had while under him...sir."
Shiba grinned, darkly elated that the boy with the best potential in the Hero Faction would continue to serve under his new leadership.
But they weren't ready to face off against anyone, not as they were, let alone against the man responsible for this unmitigated disaster. They needed time...and resources to truly challenge the current power structure.
...He knew where to go.
"Apologies Cao Cao...I lied when I claimed that I didn't know where the crazy village elder went..." Shiba whispered under his breath, regarding the fallen body of his comrade.
The man who allegedly went insane, who betrayed the Hero Tribe to create something...different from the heroes of the past and the modern day, who had allegedly disappeared forever.
Shiba knew that man, as a matter of fact, it was thanks to that man that he was able to control Yasaka at all.
It turned out that he wasn't so insane after all...
Though they had different end goals, he had information that the old man didn't have...that he knew that he would want, that he would need.
That was the thing with information, wasn't it? Whether it was a devil that wanted to overthrow the current Underworld government or an elderly human that wanted to create a new 'hero'...they would both either want or need it.
Information was vital to both parties, giving him the upper-hand in any negotiations.
The information about the previous Lucifer's daughter and her vulnerability was for the devil...but for the old man?
It was Uzumaki Naruto.
He was the key to that man's research, the final piece he needed, the piece that he predicted.
That man had an ability, an ability that made his betrayal of the Hero Tribe that much more cutting, more painful.
He was the faction's seer, a man that could predict events far into the future via his Sacred Gear.
Through that power, the heroes of old were able to respond effectively and efficiently against any attempts by the supernatural to abuse humanity, all while staying undetected.
It was a flawless system...except...until recently.
When the man saw visions of things that were considered impossible, of something...outside of this world.
But more importantly; of a boy.
Of a boy, who's mere presence would change the course of history.
That man predicted his coming, his entrance to Kuoh Town, his attempts at getting home.
But that was all he knew, no more, no less. Especially since his abilities were not controllable, quite random actually.
Which was where Shiba came in.
They had established contact long before he had left the Hero Tribe, informing each other, with the younger man keeping tabs on the Hero Tribe so that his elder could remain undetected.
While the old man himself gave him information about the 'dreams' he had.
He didn't realize that thanks to those dreams, Shiba was able to proactively test whether they were true or not. Utilizing his sensing abilities to find this mysterious being that captured his slight interest. Knowing full well that since the old man was laying low, he would have no way to track the powerful blond down.
Well, the traitorous hero found him alright, leading him to consider his options, eventually deciding to inform the higher ups about his presence. Pushing the Hero Tribe leadership to keep tabs on the errant human.
He never imagined that Jin's adoptive daughter would be the one to confront him however...or that they would eventually become allies.
Truthfully, despite the old man's prediction, he didn't really hold the blond up as anything special, so he forgot about his presence for quite a while, opting instead to focus on destabilizing the Hero Tribe from within.
He could see now that that was a mistake, the boy was a legitimate threat, one that needed to be dealt with.
Before, Shiba didn't know what to do with the information he had about the blond, so he decided back then to simply wait for the information to become more valuable.
That time has come, the old man would be informed about Uzumaki, in exchange for his aid.
The Hero Faction would be reborn under his leadership, taking in the success of the elder hero's research and using it to further his own goals.
His ambitions would be realized...and they didn't necessarily follow Cao Cao's goals either.
"...Take Cao Cao's body and place it in our helicopter. He will be honored for time immemorial. Before that though, we have to extract ownership of the True Longinus, we will decide who receives that momentous gift after we group up." Shiba ordered, moving past the group and towards the helicopter, the True Longinus gripped firmly on hand as he turned back to the boy by his side. "We will back off for now, also...did you establish contact with the Old Maou Faction yet?"
Leonardo trailed after, watching his comrades extract their former leader's body. "Not yet...but contact should be established soon...what are you planning, sir?"
The new leader of the Hero Faction merely smirked as he stepped into the aircraft, eyeing the broken body of his predecessor, of the martyr he has just created.
Even in death, Cao Cao was still an integral part of the Hero Faction.
"To make a final parting shot onto our enemies." he stated, unrepentant. "Also...after our faction returns to mainland China, I'm going to return to the Hero Tribe temporarily and make some...changes, might as well utilize my accessibility to that faction as an opportunity to advance the Hero Faction. Await further orders until I return."
Like Cao Cao before him, none of his followers even thought about denying him.
"Does your arm feel ok?"
"...It's been better, honestly."
Maria chuckled at the dry response, before wincing as the yokai nursing them bopped her upside the head for moving. Trying to keep the succubus from moving too much as she wrapped the bandages around her torso, trying to stop the blood from flowing.
Yuki on the other hand, was already finished getting her wounds nursed, having a large cast wrapped around her broken arm as a sling was holding it up. An occasional twitch affecting her eye as she realized how much she disliked staying in a bed so that she could nurse her wounds.
There was no particular reason why she didn't, she just didn't.
"Gah! Watch it...!" the half-devil complained audibly, grabbing the hero's attention.
Maria was gritting her teeth as her eyes began to water, wincing hard as the nurse continued to wrap her wounds up.
She obviously wasn't used to this.
So the yokai let loose some air in relief when she had finished her duty in covering up the succubus, having trouble with the task since the silverette's risque choice of clothing was getting in the way.
Especially considering her change in...body stature.
Nevertheless, the yokai eventually managed it and bowed to the two females, smiling brightly. "As our honored guests, you two will receive nothing but the best treatment while you two remain under my care. Same with your...friend."
Maria perked up. "You mean Naruto-sama is here?"
The nurse's smile faltered faintly. "Um...no, Naruto-sama is resting somewhere else since he bears no visible wounds on his person. I was talking about your...'other' friend."
Yuki's eyes shifted from the yokai to her comrade, realizing what she meant.
"Basara." the human female muttered out, getting a nod from the yokai and a surprised look from the half-devil.
"...Hoh? So the guy that made us like this is here somewhere, hmmm?" Maria noted with interest, leaning back onto her bed as a dark smirk spread across her face.
Yuki shot her a look, knowing exactly what was going through her head.
If the silverette noticed it, she didn't comment.
"So...is he ok?" the hero questioned, turning to the nurse.
Said nurse nodded, smiling. "He took quite the beating, but he'll live, it was a good thing that you got him to us as soon as you did though. As we had some difficulty re-attaching his arm, but the operation has been successful, mostly because the damage was relatively fresh, but it will take him some time to recover fully. If he should wake up earlier than expected, make sure to tell him to avoid using his arm until all of his nerve systems have fully recovered."
Yuki nodded faintly, breathing a sigh of relief that her old friend would be alright.
"At any case." the yokai interrupted, gaining the attention of both of her patients again. "I'd just like to inform the both of you that Yasaka-sama and Kunou-sama are both now resting in their quarters. The remaining yokai are also scouring the field to retrieve the bodies of the fallen humans for questioning and autopsy if necessary. Do you have any recommendations for them? Considering you had more contact with the elite than we had...?"
The hero leaned forward, pushing her body from the bed to offer just what their nurse wanted. "Indeed, I do. If you can, search for a man among the fallen with jet-black hair and who is wearing some ancient Chinese attire around his waist...he is the leader of the group. Make sure to find his weapon as well, be careful with it...it's very powerful."
Their nurse nodded, understanding. "I will inform the search party, thank you for your recommendation. Please rest now...I think that you two deserve it."
"You'll get no argument from me about that." Maria agreed, flashing a tired smile.
Yuki nodded slowly in agreement, slowly leaning herself back to lay down onto her bed, allowing the adrenaline that was still buzzing through her body to die down.
The moment that it did, fatigue hit her. Hard.
"...Tired, huh?" Maria questioned lightly, breaking through the fog that was the young human's mind a little.
Yellow eyes blearily turned to look at the succubus. "You aren't?"
Said succubus tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace instead. "Ah...it hurts too much to sleep. So I'm bored."
"...Woe is me then." the hero couldn't help but snark, a wry smirk making it's way to her lips. "Maybe turning off that new form of yours will help you relax, hm?"
The half-devil grunted. "Ah...can't do that."
Yuki shifted her body to the side, facing her partner. "Why not? Is there a problem?"
Maria shrugged her shoulders, trying to look unconcerned. "...No reason, really."
Her words weren't heeded as the female hero continued to stare at her without stopping, boring her eyes into her skull.
The succubus felt a sweat-drop form onto her forehead, she could sympathize with Naruto-sama more now that she was met with the teen's unnerving stare.
She could see how the hero managed to force him into taking tutoring classes.
"...It'll hurt."
Yuki blinked.
"What?"
Maria shifted uncomfortably, a bit of pink reaching her cheeks.
"...If I change back...my wounds will hurt more since my new body helps me resist the pain better." she mumbled out, cheeks burning.
...
"How old are you again, Maria-san?"
"...Shut it, Yuki-san."
...
...
"Hey."
"Ngh...just...let me stay like this a little longer..."
This time the teacher didn't deign to respond, choosing instead to slam the palm of his hand onto the pervert's desk.
Issei jerked up from his desk accordingly, getting up so fast that he hurt his neck in the process.
Bleary eyes took in the sight of his teacher, who was glaring at him, hands on hips.
Ah...
"Sleep at your own time, Hyoudou, not in my classroom." the teacher growled, annoyed that the student had the gall to ask for time.
The young man could only grunt in affirmative, trying to get the cobwebs out of his head.
Huffing, the class' sensei was about to speak again, but was once more, interrupted.
A sharp ringing sound echoed across the halls, indicating that the period was over.
Students, without even waiting for permission, were already grabbing their bags and leaving the room, trying to get out of there as fast as possible.
Issei for his part just offered his sensei an apologetic smile, shrugging in a 'what can you do?' fashion.
The teacher sighed, before moving away from the boy in order to prepare to go to his next class, letting the incident go for now.
"Issei-san, are you ok?"
The perverted boy dragged his gaze away from the instructor and moved to the blond nun, who was gazing at him with worried eyes.
Ah crap...he got her worried.
"Hehe...no worries Asia, just a little tired, that's all." the teen assured, rubbing his hand on her head as he stood up. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
Asia scanned his face for a little bit, finding no lie, then smiled, grabbing his hand as he began walking to leave the room.
"ISSEI!"
Both teens jumped as a loud voice stopped them still, keeping them in place so that two boys were able to run up to the reincarnated devil and grab his shoulders, flanking him all of a sudden.
He recognized them, much to his chagrin.
"...Matsuda, Motohama...what do you two want?"
The other two members of the infamous 'Perverted Trio' scowled at their comrade. "How rude! Just because you happen to hang around cute girls more often...doesn't make you better than us, damn it! Right, Motohama!?"
Motohama, pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, nodded sharply. "Exactly! You've been trying to act all cool recently now that you've been hanging out with the ORC, Asia-chan, and...that blond delinquent. We're here to pull you back to your roots!"
The nun's green eyes shifted back-and-forth between the exasperated Issei and his perverted comrades, confused. "...Is it not alright for Issei-san to spend time with his friends?"
Motohama and Matsuda both twitched at her question while her friend regarded her with a tired smile.
"Don't listen to them, Asia." the brown-haired boy muttered, throwing his perverted friends tired looks. "They're just jealous."
"HOW COULD WE NOT BE!?" both boys roared out, shocking the duo with the intensity of their emotional outburst.
"...You...! How could you Issei!?" Matsuda howled, falling to his knees, his bald head reflecting the ceiling lights. "You've betrayed us! You got yourself a beautiful blond that hangs on to your every word! You hang out with several top-class beauties! You've betrayed the perverted pact! Traitor! How dare you become more popular than us!"
Issei felt a sweat-drop forming, how exactly could he calm these guys down...?
"More than that!" Motohama interrupted, pointing an offending digit at their fellow pervert. "You've even become buddy-buddy with our mortal enemy! A popular guy! To become friends with someone like Uzumaki...! It's unforgivable!"
"...Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he couldn't find a girl to have sex with you?" the reincarnated devil wondered aloud, remembering when the blond mentioned something along those lines a while back.
He specifically remembered his unbelievably smug look...
"It has everything to do with that!" Motohama proclaimed, as tears furiously began to fall down his cheeks. "He...he...! He didn't even try! He could have! I know he could have! Damn it...! We had a deal! I was looking forward to losing my first time...but he ruined it! I'll never forgive him!"
"Death to all popular guys!" Matsuda cried out, raising his fist up into the air.
Issei could only scratch the back of his head, unsure about how to respond to the allegations set against him.
Truth be told, a part of him wanted to join the two teens in their perverted endeavors, but with Naruto temporarily out of the picture, and considering the dangerous things that were happening lately...
Well, he was training on a constant basis for a reason.
So the perverted boy opened his mouth, about to make up an excuse to get his buddies off his back.
"...Issei-sempai. Asia-sempai."
But he was interrupted by the quiet voice of the younger devil that just appeared in the hallway.
The group went silent when Koneko walked up to the door leading into the classroom, staring at them with nary an expression on her face. Stoic even.
"...Buchou wants to see all of us. She said it was important...come on." she stated, jerking her head back, motioning for the two of them to follow.
Brown and green pupils quickly turned to one another, confused about what was going on, but their bodies began moving anyways to follow her.
Once more, two hands grabbed the perverted boy by the shoulders, holding onto him with a vice grip.
The pawn swallowed the lump in his throat, turning around cautiously as he practically felt the jealousy that the two boys were emanating towards him.
As he expected, Motohama and Matsuda were crying bitter tears as they glared at him.
Ugh...what to do, what to do?
A cheshire smile began to grow across Issei's face, a dark look entering his eye as he straightened his back and raised his nose into the air.
"Heh! You do know that jealousy is a feeling that will make you ugly, right? Although, I can't really blame you...you don't have the luxury to see such beauty on a daily basis like me! So I suppose it's fine...now burn! Burn with jealousy! Let it consume you as your imaginations run wild with my enviable life! Weep! Weep!" he cackled, eyes burning as he twisted the knife further.
Now the perverted boys began letting loose so much tears that they became virtual waterfalls, flowing to the floor and pooling around them with their bitter enmity.
"Yes! I'm practically feeding off of your despair, it makes me stronger! This is revenge for starting rumors about me, damn it! So I'll be savoring this for the rest of my life, bastards!" the pawn proclaimed, pointing at the duo with an accusing glare.
"D-Damn you...!" Motohama cried out, stamping his feet.
"I hope the gods of perverts curse you!" Matsuda cursed, shaking his fist in his anger.
With those last tearful words, Motohama and Matsuda ran off, cursing their friend's horrible betrayal.
Issei watched them leave, chest puffed up as he gave the rook a thumbs up. "That was fun. Ready to go now. Lead the way, Koneko-chan!"
Koneko simply stared at him, stoic as ever, honestly not sure how to take the outburst.
She quickly decided to take it in stride.
Her sanity was frayed enough, she really didn't need to get the pervert to make it worse.
"Um...so is there something wrong?" Asia started, walking side-by-side with the younger girl as they made their way to the king's base of operations.
Koneko tilted her head to look at the two teens that were following her, the first flash of emotion finally appearing in her hazel orbs.
It was grim.
"...Unfortunate news." she muttered.
When Mio was told about Rias' emergency meeting, she wasn't particularly feeling bad about missing some time off of class, if anything she was quite glad. She was quite tired after all.
But when she entered the old school building, curious, that somewhat content feeling drifted away when she saw the serious look in the older red-head's eye.
By the time she arrived, nearly everyone still present in Kuoh Academy that she knew were involved in the supernatural were there, looking about as serious and tense as the Gremory heiress herself.
"Mio-chan." Rias spoke up, grabbing her attention as she entered. "Glad you could join us, you should be here to hear this."
Well, this was a promising start...
As Mio walked inside the main room, scanning to see if she could try and ascertain what was going on, someone else spoke up.
"Rias. What's going on? You rarely ever do something like this...so it must be serious, right?" Sona remarked, sitting on the couch, completely attentive.
The half-devil's eyes shifted from the student council president to her sempai, knowing that this incident was no joke if Rias called Sona to come by.
The Gremory heiress nodded solemnly. "It is. First things first; I've recently received some...troubling news from the Underworld, specifically about the clan heir of the Astaroth clan."
Sona's interest was definitely piqued at that information, but others in the room were instead confused by the information.
"Well...that sounds interesting Buchou." Issei tried to say as diplomatically as possible. "But what's that got to do with us?"
"Patience, I'm getting to that." the red-head assured, moving on when no one else raised a fuss. "As I was saying, the news is a bit...troubling. You see, the heir of the Astaroth clan is in fact; the little brother of the current Maou Beelzebub...and it seems that he has been banished from his clan and has been declared an S-ranked criminal by the government. For what reason? I'm not sure. But this is a highly irregular act to be sure."
The Sitri heiress steepled her fingers together, deep in thought now as the words sunk in. "...That man's name was...Diodora, correct? What could have possibly happened to force the government to declare him a criminal...? Let alone to have the Astaroth clan banish their only heir?"
No one had an answer for that.
Seeing an opportunity, Mio piped up, a question coming out of her mouth. "Alright, I get it, this guy is pretty important. But I have to agree with the pervert on this one...this has nothing really to do with us. So I'm guessing there's more to this, right?"
Rias allowed a small grin to grace her features.
But it was her queen that answered the question in her stead. "Indeed, there's more to why Buchou called all of us here, but this has it's own importance, even if it isn't obvious."
"Right." the Gremory heiress affirmed, tone neutral. "You see, the only thing that could have possibly pushed such a powerful clan to formally disown their heir...is if the devil himself did something that was considered 'unforgivable' to devil society. An action that needs to be enforced, despite the conflict of interest that it creates with the Astaroth clan. Something like, say...a devil that invaded another's private property without their permission?"
Now that caused some eyebrows to rise.
Before anyone could say anything however, she continued. "Don't get me wrong, this is merely an educated guess, but suffice it to say, I have my suspicions. This information was recently made public and is currently on the Underworld news, and it follows closely onto the heel of reports that Maou Beelzebub has met up with my onii-sama for a talk. Now I'm sure you all remember that Naruto sent the bodies of the girls that he captured during the attack at my summer home with Grayfia so that they could be inspected, right? So that Maou Beelzebub could scan them for their Evil Pieces?"
"...Oh!" Issei realized, taking a step forward as his brain connected the dots. "So you're saying that this Diodora guy is the one that attacked me and Asia?"
"It would seem so." Sona remarked grimly, internalizing the information. "At least if we take into account the timing. But this is still just a theory, correct?"
Rias nodded. "Correct. We don't have any proof, and we won't until I speak to Grayfia or onii-sama about it. It's still likely however, so I just want to advice you...all of you, though especially Issei and Asia...to be careful from now on. Diodora is nowhere to be found and he's attacked our group before, it isn't far-fetched to think he could do it again.
"...Do you really think that he might attack us?" Asia asked tentatively, green eyes nervous.
The pawn patted her shoulder, easing her. "Hey, you don't have to worry about a thing. This is why we were training, right? I've learned some new tricks compared to last time, so I won't be beaten down so easily. You too as a matter of fact, right? We've all been getting ready for stupid crap like this."
"He's right." Mio assured, patting the nun's other shoulder. "There's no way this creep is gonna take us out that easily! Besides, if push comes to shove, we've got each other's backs, right?"
Asia gripped her fists together, as if in prayer, breathing out some of the tension in her frame, internally thanking the two teens for the encouragement.
Rias and Akeno exchanged small smiles, content that, indeed, the group present would look out for one another.
"...Buchou."
The red-head blinked however, when a quiet voice knocked the temporary good mood that the previous scene rendered her in, forcing her to interrupt it.
"...As much as I'd like to say that's it, unfortunately, it isn't. We have another problem." the Gremory heiress spoke up, eyes shifting from her queen, to Sona, then finally to the silent rook beside her.
Koneko was silently regarding her, still stoic, but there was a genuine edge to her as well, one that was far more obvious than usual, mostly because the new issue was compounding onto her older one.
When Issei, Asia, and Mio finally started paying attention again, they quickly found out what was pushing the reincarnated devil to such a mood.
"...After a small period of absence from school, and after we've checked his apartment...Akeno and I have come to the conclusion that Yuuto is missing." she declared solemnly.
Shock quickly reverberated across the room, knocking everyone who wasn't aware into silence.
So before the inevitable questions were asked, the high-class devil took this chance to explain. "...My knight; Kiba Yuuto, has been acting strange recently, starting around the time that Naruto left for Kyoto...whether the two events are connected or not, I don't know. What I do know is that he has been extremely introspective and withdrawn ever since then, at first I thought that he was going through some...'personal' issues...so I left him alone. Figuring that he would come to me as soon as he felt he was ready. We are family after all..."
A bitter smile grew on her face as she turned away.
"It seems that he didn't feel the same way..."
Mio took a step forward, alarmed. "Wait...how did this happen!? Why would he disappear? Yeah, he was acting off...but that isn't a reason to run away or anything, right?"
"Y-Yeah...maybe Kiba-san is going through a bad time in his life? Maybe that's why he made such a rash decision?" Asia tried to deduce, her brows scrunching together in concentration.
Meanwhile, Sona stood up and walked up to her solemn friend, eyes as sharp as a knife. "What I want to know...is why you are only doing something about your knight now. Why didn't you try and speak to him before this got out of hand?"
Blue-green eyes narrowed at the words that were set against her, recognizing the pressing demand for an explanation. "...Sona, you must understand that Yuuto had a...difficult past, one that isn't easily broached in the best of times. I had more than a bit of a hunch that his attitude stemmed from his past, so I didn't want to intrude onto his personal life unnecessarily. I had no reason to assume that it would come to...this."
The Sitri heiress sighed, wiping her hand over her face. "Rias...you're too lenient at times. You're their king, you are responsible for them, which means that sometimes, you have to interject into their personal lives at times..."
"Don't start." the red-head interrupted quietly, but firmly. "We've had this discussion before Sona, I refuse to push my cute servants to give me information when it is too close to home. Not unless it's important. In this case, it wasn't the correct action to take, but that isn't always the case. You have your ways of doing things...and I have mine. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"
Both high-class devils stared each other down, eyes firm, unyielding.
"...Buchou. Kaichou."
The young kings shifted their eyes to the diminutive reincarnated devil, who was gazing on them with something approaching reproach.
A true rarity.
"...Please...Yuuto is gone. I want him to come back. He's...family." Koneko muttered, hazel eyes clenching shut in impotent frustration.
Rias and Sona stayed silent as they watched the distressed rook, shame unwittingly bleeding into their eyes as they watched.
This wasn't the time for this.
"...I'm sorry, Rias." Sona apologized quietly. "This isn't the time for this. First things first...bringing your lost family member back."
A slow smile made it's way to the red-head's lips.
"...Thank you, Sona. Honestly."
Mio breathed a sigh of relief, eased that the two devils weren't going to have a row with one another.
But the issue about the missing knight still loomed over their heads, more than that...was how they were going to deal with the problem?
"...Alright, with that out of the way. On to Kiba-kun." Akeno quickly took charge, refusing to be derailed on the issue any longer. "Buchou; I suggest that for the rest of the day we search for Kiba-kun on foot, staying in groups of two as we scour Kuoh Town for him. It could be that he's just found his own place for introspection. We don't want to cause a ruckus over a non-issue."
The king of the Gremory group nodded at the idea. "Excellent suggestion, Akeno. I'd also like to suggest that everyone get going immediately, I don't want anyone to continue searching for Yuuto late a night...not while we have Diodora on the loose. More than that, Yuuto could try and come by our homes during the night as well. We don't want to miss him if he does do that. Am I understood?"
A series of nods were her answer, some more nervous than others, but all as determined as the other to protect one of their own.
"Alright, I'll send my Peerage out looking as well. If we find anything, we'll contact you Rias. We'll also have to stay grounded instead of searching from the air unfortunately, we don't want to get spotted by the regular human civilians around Kuoh Town after all." Sona remarked reasonably, pushing her glasses onto the bridge of her nose casually.
"Got it." the red-head affirmed, standing up as she scanned the room, making eye contact with everyone present.
"...Let's go!"
"""Right!"""
...
"Mmm..."
"...Ah! Kunou-sama!"
Kunou groaned as a loud voice broke through the fog of her mind, as she opened a bleary eye.
As she regained some sense of her surroundings, a young woman entered her line of sight, gazing upon her worryingly.
"...You..." the young kyuubi murmured, blinking repeatedly so that she could gaze upon the woman more clearly. "You're a yokai...aren't you?"
The young woman smiled brightly, pleased, as she rubbed her hand over the princess' head. "That's right young one, you're safe now."
Golden eyes exhibited her confusion, trying to recall what happened before she-
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Wait! What happened? Where's okaa-sama? Where are the bad guys? Where's Naruto!?" she shouted out, trying to get up as her head swiveled around frantically.
A calm hand rested itself upon the crown of the little blond's head, stopping her frantic movements for a moment.
More than enough.
"It's ok my princess, the young man that saved you, his allies, and Yasaka-sama are all safe. They are currently recovering from their ordeal however, you are the first one to awaken. We were hoping that you could explain what happened after you've recovered enough actually." the female yokai explained patiently, rubbing the kyuubi's head.
Kunou took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down after hearing what the -obvious- servant had to say. "I-I see...then can I go see them? Now?"
For the first time, the yokai servant's happy demeanor disappeared from her face, forming into an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Kunou-sama, but I think that it would be wise for them to get some rest first. Let them recover."
The little girl pouted, crossing her arms at being denied the chance to see her mother and her new friend. "...Fine, I get it. But I'm hungry, so can I get something to eat?"
Once more, the yokai let loose a tender smile, pleased. "Very well Kunou-sama, considering that you slept through practically the whole day...it isn't much of a surprise. Stay right here, I'll whip you up something to eat."
With that, the servant bowed and left the room, sliding the door shut on the way out.
Kunou quickly got up from her comfortable futon and ran up to the door, placing her ear on it as she listened to the receding steps of the yokai who was watching over her.
...
Good, she was gone.
The little kyuubi slid the door open and poked her head out, making sure she was alone in the hallway.
After accomplishing that, she walked out of the room and slid the door close on the way out. Making her way to where the small nursing area was, intent on seeing her mother and her friend.
She wasn't going to wake them up or anything, she just wanted to see them, face-to-face.
To assure herself that they were ok.
So Kunou made her way to the nursing area of the large japanese-style mansion, making sure that her footsteps weren't too loud as to not attract attention to herself.
As she continued on her way, she stopped for a moment when she noticed something peculiar outside a window she was passing by.
It...was dark.
The day had passed and had given way to night, as the cool and calm clouds drifted lazily in the sky.
It was kind of surreal, she fell unconscious in the day while in the midst of a rainstorm, and she woke up in the calm and cool night.
The lady that was taking care of her wasn't kidding...practically the entire day had passed her by while she was out of it.
Kunou shook her head. No, she was on a mission, she had to see those she cared about otherwise there was no way she'd get any amount of decent rest.
Resolve clenched in her fingers, she ran to the nursing area, heart beating rapidly, and it wasn't just because she was running.
After a few more precious seconds, she finally reached her destination.
Golden eyes peeked through the crack that she made when she slid the door open, making sure that the coast was clear.
She didn't see anyone inside, the exception being those who were occupying the beds.
Kunou quickly took this chance to enter the room, looking around to find the right bed which her loved ones were occupying.
A quick split-second look confirmed that the first bed was occupied by a young woman with light blue hair, wearing a cast that covered one of her arms as she rested.
Golden eyes narrowed faintly, not recognizing her, maybe this was one of Naruto's allies that she heard about?
Nevertheless, she wasn't the one that she was looking for.
So she moved past the bed and went to check the next one, seeking either of her targets.
She blinked.
...It was empty.
The covers were recently moved and haphazardly laid across the vacant bed, as if it's occupant left in a hurry.
Golden eyes traveled around the room, wondering where the occupant could have gone, wondering if it was either okaa-sama or if it was the blond hero.
She closed her eyes, scrunching her eyebrows together in concentration as she strained her ears to see if she could find out where the patient went...
Luckily for her, despite her caution, the mansion was mostly empty due to the fact that everyone was still out cleaning up the forest outside of Kyoto, meaning that if she was lucky...she might be able to hear where the missing patient went.
Good thing that that luck pulled through for her.
Golden eyes snapped open when she heard the very soft sound of a door closing shut in the distance, at least two hallways down through the opposite side of the nursing room.
Kunou quickly jogged past the still-unconscious patient to reach the other end of the room, noting that the door on that side was left wide open.
She was on the right track.
After a few more tense moments of silence and walking, the little girl eventually made her way to the predicted door that she heard, staring at it as she swallowed her nervousness.
It was slightly open, giving the small blond a glimpse of what was inside.
Taking the chance that was offered, the yokai princess leaned in and peeked inside.
What she saw honestly shocked her still for a moment.
She indeed found one of the people that she was searching for, but that person was obviously still out of it, laying down on the floor peacefully.
At least he would have been, if you ignored the fact that his head was laying on top of a beautiful young woman's lap, allowing her to quietly comb his hair, comforting him in a motherly fashion.
Kunou nervously gazed onto the scene, not too sure of what to make of it. She's never seen this lady before, and she wasn't exactly comfortable seeing her treat the older blond with such familiarity.
The young woman was covered with bandages that crisscrossed her well-developed body, with long silver hair that stretched to her lower back, all while wearing revealing clothing that showed off her figure.
All in all, not exactly the sort of person that she expected to be tenderly grooming the teen's hair, soothing him in his sleep.
It was at that moment, that the woman's purple eyes drifted away from the young man and to the door...
"I know you're there you know?" the woman stated easily, a small smirk touching at the end of her lips.
Crap, she noticed.
Kunou quietly slid the door all the way open, eyeing the silver-haired woman warily as she entered the room. "...Who are you? Are you a friend of Naruto's?"
The young woman blinked at the kyuubi's question, purple eyes locking with golden.
"You're...you're that girl that Naruto-sama saved, right?" the silverette wondered aloud, before offering her a genial smile. "Well, it's nice to meet formally meet you at last. The last time I saw you, you were unconscious and being carried by Naruto-sama. My name is Maria, what's yours?"
If the young yokai was caught off guard by the succubus' pleasant demeanor, she didn't express it. "I'm Kunou; the princess of the yokai faction...but I suspect you already knew that."
Maria sheepishly scratched her cheek, chuckling. "Ehehe...was it that obvious? Sorry about that, I was just a little nervous, that's all."
Kunou frowned this time, allowing herself to fold her hakama so that she could sit down. "Nervous? What could you possibly be nervous about? You're safe here."
The half-devil's smile slipped off of her face as her eyes drifted downwards, a neutral expression taking it's place as she rubbed the palm of her hand onto Naruto's cheek.
"It isn't my safety that I'm worried about." she eventually admitted.
If anything, this confused the yokai princess more, as her limited knowledge of the blond's actions practically guaranteed him VIP status at the very least. The young woman should have no reason to fear for him.
Seeing her confusion, Maria considered whether she should fully inform the younger girl about just what happened earlier in the day...
But quickly decided against it. It simply wasn't her place to tell the yokai about what had happened, it was something that was up to either Naruto or the faction leader to do.
So when she opened her mouth, originally to explain the situation in more detail, something else unwittingly came out of it.
"...Look at him." she spoke up softly.
Kunou's eyes followed the silverette's gaze downwards, latching onto the unconscious blond.
"...You see it too, right?" she remarked, poking the whiskered teen's forehead.
The action caused him to grunt in annoyance in his sleep, turning over to his side as he subconsciously tried to get away from the annoying prodding.
Golden eyes continued to watch Naruto, watching him sleep peacefully, without a worry in the world.
"He's...content." the small kyuubi realized belatedly, glancing upwards to meet the succubus' face. "The last time I saw him, he was...in pain, trying to save me from those bad guys. Even before that, he was always...on edge, prepared to fight whenever necessary for me."
"Exactly." Maria agreed, pulling Naruto closer to her. "After everything that has happened today, after seeing his distressed face after...well...everything, he is finally relaxing. No worry, stress, or fear lacing through his features."
A bitter smile crossed her lips as she shrugged.
"I guess I...just want to make sure that he gets as much rest as possible. Make him as comfortable as possible. This boy is the one that provided my charge and I a home when we were in trouble, the one that protects us on a constant basis...he's a piece of my important family. So while I can't do much for him...I can at least watch over him when he's like this."
Kunou nodded slowly, understanding lighting up her eyes as she gazed upon the two, watching the woman smile as the young hero muttered in his sleep again.
"Do you like him?"
Maria blinked, shifting her gaze away from her family to the curious little girl.
They stared at one another for a split moment, locked, as a slow smirk spread across the half-devil's face.
"That's a good question, maybe. Maybe not. Would you believe me if I said that I had no idea, however?" she chirped humorously, suddenly cheerful.
The young girl tilted her head, unsure. "...How can you not be sure? Isn't it obvious that you like him?"
The succubus laughed, almost having a giggling fit from the frank response.
She had to laugh, really, because if she didn't then she would cry.
After getting off of her sudden laughing fit, her happy demeanor crumbled away, leaving a decidedly solemn woman in it's wake.
"Why am I not sure? Well...it's because I'm terrified of finding out the answer of course." Maria noted, gazing back down onto the mop of golden hair that was laying on her lap. "This boy...has no idea how much of an effect he has on other people. Really...I have my own problems to worry about, and him acting so heroic all the time is definitely not helping me sort them out. I have my own skeletons in the closet you know...?"
She leaned her face down, closer to the sleeping boy, eyes drinking in his features. "Do you hear me Naruto-sama? You're not the only one who has secrets here, not by a long shot. But more than that, you do realize that you're kind of like a womanizer, right? Even if you don't know it, the way you act, the way you consistently butt into problems that technically doesn't concern you, the way that you lend an ear or a hand for someone else...they effect people. You're shaking a lot of hearts, don't you know? I can name quite a few girls that are at the 'precipice' so to speak, do you realize that?"
Naruto didn't respond, he stayed silent, resting, completely unaware of the silverette's small rant.
Maria blew the hair out of her face, an exasperated smile on her face. "You...don't realize it at all, do you? How hard it is for the young maidens that are just coming into their own as women to be around you? You're a human boy, didn't you know? Anything...'more' would end disastrously for any supernatural female, so how could you be so dense, Naruto-sama?"
The shinobi snored faintly, shifting to the side as he unconsciously searched for a more comfortable position.
"...Ah, look at me." the succubus murmured. "Talking to you while you're asleep, knowing that you can't hear me. But refusing to talk to you about this while you're awake. Turns out that it takes a different type of bravery for that stuff, huh?"
As if agreeing, the blond shifted his body back to face the silver-haired girl, face-to-face, but still unconscious.
A pout formed on said woman's lips, slightly annoyed that he was so content while she was so disoriented.
To rectify that, a feminine hand snaked to the blond's face, eventually landing on his nose, where fingers squeezed against his nostrils.
Naruto physically frowned as a hand flew up from his side and swiped at his face, trying to stop the annoying feeling of getting his nose clogged.
Maria quickly moved her hand back, watching him slap his face with his own hand, grunting softly in protest.
A giggle came out of her lips, feeling slightly better.
...Despite her complaints, she was pretty happy that the whiskered teen was dense about such things, it would complicate things tremendously if he wasn't.
Thanks to that, she, and possibly many others now had the chance to let any stray emotions to falter and die out. Anything more than friendship was doomed to fail anyways, why put anyone through that?
She shook her head slowly, scratching the boy's whisker marks reflexively. The dynamic between everyone back at Kuoh Town was stable, but any attempt to switch that dynamic could cause friction...and she didn't want that.
She wanted to keep her family as it was, and she was sure that Mio-sama felt the same.
Purple eyes closed shut at the thought.
That was right...Mio-sama must know, so she must be having a difficult time too...
"Uh...um!"
Maria's eyes snapped open again, zeroing in on the little girl that was sitting opposite of her, a red tint in her cheeks.
Ah...
She forgot that the yokai was there.
"Ehehe...sorry, I went off on a large tangent, my bad." the succubus apologized sheepishly, sticking her tongue out childishly.
Kunou stared at her, eyes wide, honestly not expecting the admission that the silver-haired woman gave out as her cheeks burned in light embarrassment. Mostly because she felt that she heard something that she shouldn't have.
"Ah...well, I don't really get what you're talking about. But...you sound like you have complicated feelings, do other people have such complicated emotions too?" the kyuubi squeaked out, golden eyes the size of saucers.
Maria scratched her cheek, somewhat nervous. "Uh...that's kind of a hard question to answer, but if I were talking about the people that I know...well, I'd say quite a few to be honest. Comes with growing up I'm afraid."
The little blond sighed mournfully at the admission, growing up sounded tough...
Then she felt a hand place itself onto the crown of her head, rubbing it as the hand's owner grinned at her.
"Aw, don't worry about it too much. I may be complaining a lot, but it isn't as hard as I made it seem. There will be hard moments, no doubt about that...but I have a feeling that you are a hardy little girl, aren't you?"
Kunou's cheeks expanded when she blew into them, frustrated that she was called a 'little girl'. "Hey! I'm not a little girl! And for your information, I am tougher than I look! Naruto even told me so! After talking to him as a matter of fact...I'm even stronger!"
Maria raised an eyebrow in interest. "Are you now? How do you figure?"
Golden eyes turned away from the older female, shifting downwards to stare at the tatami mat that she was sitting on. With her little fists clenching together.
"...After he saved me, I was scared about a lot of things. Everything felt different, everything felt less...safe. I actually wanted him to stay in Kyoto for a little bit so that I could feel safe again." the yokai princess revealed softly, eyes glazing over as she recalled events and words that occurred only earlier that day.
The succubus tilted her head, idly scratched Naruto's scalp, making sure that he was comfortable. "Huh...I guess that means we have to stay behind for while, hmm?"
A chuckle was her response.
"Nope. He didn't want to." the small kyuubi said easily, shrugging her shoulders.
Now that pushed Maria to do a double-take.
"Yeah, I know...weird, huh? But...the thing was that Naruto didn't want me to become dependent on him, feeling that the fear I got in my heart could be tackled with my own strength. I didn't believe him though, but then he gave me this whole speech, telling me how he wanted everyone he cared about to be strong! It was pretty cool!" Kunou gushed, eyes gleaming as she leaned forward like a child.
The dry smile she got in response let her know that this wasn't exactly uncommon for the blond.
But that smile became far more affectionate when purple eyes drifted downwards, scanning his face just in case he was about to wake up.
"...My my, Naruto-sama. So that's how you felt about us, hmm? I better be careful with you, shouldn't I...?" she murmured softly, before turning to the smaller blond. "So you're going to face your fears then? To fight them and move past them?"
Kunou nodded frantically, all smiles and sunshine. "Yep!"
Maria smiled in turn, inclining her head in respect. "That's an awesome goal. I have an ambitious goal myself, want to hear it?"
Still excited, the little girl went on all fours and crawled closer, heart racing at the prospect of hearing a secret.
"...My goal is to definitely, without fail, make Naruto-sama blush!" she cried out, raising a fist as a fire ignited in her eyes.
Golden eyes blinked, darting from the unconscious boy to the fired up silverette, copying that action for a few seconds.
"...You're very pretty though, are you sure that you haven't made him blush already?" she wondered aloud, placing a finger on her chin in thought.
A rush of pride swelled into Maria's chest, pushing her to straighten her back and raise her nose in the air. Her confidence, overflowing. "Exactly! Naruto-sama stands no chance against me as I am now! As a matter of fact, I should be careful...if I'm not, then Naruto-sama may just fall for my overwhelming beauty! What should I do, hmm? Ohhh...but having him become a stuttering mess in my presence really isn't a bad thing~"
The succubus quickly began to devolve into a giggling mess, fantasizing about all of the cute faces that the blond teen was going to make when he saw her, suddenly wishing that she brought her camcorder to record his expressions.
Kunou felt a sweat-drop form as she watched, confused, as well as unsure if she was looking forward to her teen years or not...
But as she continued to fret about her future emotional stability, Maria suddenly stopped giggling and eyed the door, wariness predominant in her pupils.
Someone was coming...
Purple eyes narrowed as she pulled the sleeping blond closer to her, cradling his head in her arms, protective.
...It couldn't be, right? It was too soon. She thought that it would take more time for her to recover...
As expected, the door suddenly slid open, catching the little yokai off guard enough to make her fall flat on her face in surprise.
She swung around, holding her nose in pain as she opened her mouth to complain to who-
Any action she was about to partake in was forgotten, as she gazed upon the form of a beautiful woman with long blond hair...
Her eyes teared up as she jumped to her feet and smashed her face into the woman's stomach, nearly knocking her off of her feet.
"...Okaa-sama..." Kunou whispered, grasping Yasaka's waist with all of her strength, rubbing her head onto her, not wanting to let go.
"...Kunou." Yasaka murmured in return, a warm smile stretching across her face as she hugged the smaller form that was wrapping itself around her. "Welcome home."
Maria watched the mother and daughter hold one another in a touching scene, wishing to feel better as she watched them, but knowing full well that the woman may very well have bad intentions for Naruto...
That wish to empathize with the small family increased when the faction leader let go of her daughter for a moment in order to kneel, making eye level with her, before pressing her head to her bosom. Pressing her lips onto the crown of her forehead, whispering sweet words to her only offspring.
The succubus felt her caution and wariness slip the longer she watched the mother's acts of love, slowly loosening her hold of her friend's head as her eyes softened...
At least she did, until the kyuubi's golden eyes snapped to her.
Gone were the warm eyes of a mother, instead replaced with complete and utter detachment.
Accordingly, her guard went back up, her hackles raised, unsure of how the woman would react once she was alone with the vulnerable teen.
Yasaka let her daughter hold onto her for a few more moments, holding on to her in turn, far more happier that she was safe than she was expressing, but knowing that her duties as a faction leader had to be her priority at the moment.
In the most coldest terms; there was a very volatile individual that was very powerful in the middle of her home and close by her daughter. It had to be addressed immediately.
"...Kunou." she spoke up, motherly tone obviously in use. "I'd like to have a long talk with you about everything that has happened, a family talk. If there's anything that you want to tell me, don't be afraid to do so, ok? But...right now, okaa-san has to talk to our guests. It's important business, alright?"
The yokai princess loosened her grip slowly, eyes puffy as she made eye contact with her mother, sniffling softly. "...Does it have to be now?"
The yokai faction leader nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry dear, we will spend as much time as you wish once I'm done."
"...You promise?"
A smile was her response.
"I promise."
Kunou searched her eyes a little longer, finally letting go of her once she determined that her mother was being honest, moving to leave the room while turning back to look at Maria and Naruto.
She had no idea what was so important, but she hoped that her mother and her new friends wouldn't fight...
But she knew her place in this, unfortunately, she was too inexperienced to understand such intricacies and political shenanigans that was understood so easily by her mother.
So all she could do was hope as she slid the door closed.
Silence was all that was left inside the room that Kunou left behind, with it's two conscious occupants locking eyes with one another, a new tension in the air that wasn't apparent prior.
Yasaka softly lowered herself onto the tatami mats, folding her hakama as she knelt onto the ground, eyeing the succubus with careful neutrality.
Maria simply kept Naruto close, waiting for the woman to say her piece.
"...I'm sure that you realize what I'm going to ask of you." the kyuubi acknowledged easily.
As expected, the pair of purple pupils that were aimed at her turned into slits. "Oh...I'm aware. But you do realize why I'm more than a little...hesitant to heed your request, right?"
A sad smile grew in response on Yasaka's facial features. "Yes, I am indeed aware. But as the leader of the yokai faction, I have to take into account all possible threats that could harm my people. It is my responsibility and my duty to do so."
The succubus clutched the blond in her arms tighter, eyes dilating as she was incensed. "...Is that what he is to you? A threat? This is the boy that saved you and your daughter!"
"You don't think I'm aware of that?" the kyuubi stated quietly, eyes sharp. "This is the young man that saved my precious daughter, the young man that saved the lives of many of my people, the young man that saved me. It...hurts having to treat him like this, but you haven't seen him when he went...berserk. I need to know that he won't lose control again, for all of our sakes. Including yours."
Maria clenched her eyes shut, grinding her teeth. "...Shouldn't you be giving him the benefit of the doubt? Or at the very least, let him have some rest?"
"...I reiterate." Yasaka responded. "You haven't seen him when he lost control. You haven't seen the blood lust in his eyes or the feral power that was unleashed. He is dangerous. As the leader of my people and as a mother...I can't just leave this to chance. You must realize that, right?"
The silverette didn't respond, she simply held onto the mop of golden hair that prickled her skin, fearing for the answer...and his treatment while he was as weakened as he was.
More than that, he needed his rest. He's had more than enough...
"I do understand...it still doesn't make the decision any less bitter though..." she noted grimly. "He will be treated like a criminal instead of a hero, woken up from much-needed rest, and will be forced to face...whatever he was dealing with before he lost consciousness. It just isn't right."
"It isn't." Yasaka agreed softly, sympathizing, wishing that she didn't have to do this. "But it has to be done...as distasteful as it is. If...it makes you feel better, he will be treated with nothing but the utmost respect once I find out whether his 'condition' will emerge again or not. I can promise you that."
Maria bit her lip, regarding the teen, wishing that he would have more time...
Then a reluctant sigh emerged from her lips, slowly backing up from the whiskered teen as she let go of his head, eyeing the woman across from her starkly.
"...If you hurt him, I'll never forgive you."
Golden eyes closed shut, more than understanding.
The half-devil watched her for a split-second longer, nodding when she didn't rebuke her. Then she got up and moved to leave the room, softly sliding the door shut on the way out.
Yasaka watched her leave, silent, turning her attention to the resting hero that was effectively forcing her to be the 'bad guy'. Smiling in spite of it.
"...Seems that you have people that truly care about you, hm? So much so that you seem to have awakened that woman's protective instincts. How envious." she joked faintly, attempting a smile.
He didn't respond, as expected.
A sigh unwittingly left her own lips, copying the succubus that made a similar reaction just a few moments ago.
...Time to wake him up.
"...Hnrgh."
Naruto grunted lightly when he felt someone shake him, obviously trying to catch his attention.
Damn it...just a lil' longer...
His drowsy mind didn't fully grasp what was going on as he squirmed away and grasped something soft to use as a side-pillow, his consciousness not entirely 'there' yet.
He didn't really want to get up...it was so comfy...
"...Either you had a thing for thighs already, or your friend from before gave you a new-found 'thing' for them. Either way, it's actually a little cute, you know?" a soft feminine voice noted with slight amusement.
Blue eyes snapped open to the size saucers, all cognitive functions returning to him as he immediately backed up and disentangled himself from the woman he had hugged, face burning in absolute embarrassment.
In his quest to make space however, he accidentally reached the wall and banged his head against it, disorienting him and making him slip to the floor, groaning in his self-inflicted pain.
"...We're quite excitable when we wake up, aren't we?"
Naruto wanted to bury his head in the sand at the moment, or better yet, go back to sleep.
After the teen finally managed to crawl back up to a sitting position, he turned his bleary blue eyes to the one who woke him up, trying to blink the sleep away.
"...Yasaka-san..." he muttered, shaking his head to get the cobwebs out of his head. "It's you...you managed to recover already?"
The faction leader nodded, serious again. "Yes, while I stay inside the city limits of Kyoto, I can draw upon the leylines that crisscross the area. The excess magical power that flow from them can then be utilized to strengthen me and to increase my healing capabilities...among other things. Also, please call me Yasaka."
Naruto blinked, deciphering the words that were coming out of the kyuubi's mouth.
"...So, basically, you're more powerful when you stay in Kyoto, huh?" he rationalized after a moment, before stopping short, frowning. "Also, I did call you Yasaka. I don't use honorifics dattebayo."
Now it was the yokai's turn to blink, befuddled.
But she quickly decided to let it go, determining that the boy was one of those 'unique' individuals. It would do nothing but distract her from having the conversation that needed to happen.
"Naruto-sama."
Accordingly, she got her fellow blond's attention.
"I apologize for waking you up from your much needed rest, but I must ask you some questions...about your 'condition' on the battlefield. I'm sure you understand my concern." she finished, serious, but keeping a neutral tone in her voice. Refusing to be accusatory.
The moment that the yokai faction leader finished her sentence, the shinobi's eyes went blank, recalling all of the events that happened before he lost consciousness.
"...Right." he agreed silently, straightening his back to regard the powerful woman. "I suppose this should've been expected. So...just ask me whatever you wish."
Yasaka glanced down, uncomfortable, but soldiered on anyways, determined to get through this as quickly as possible. "Thank you for your understanding. Now...tell me, what was that power from before? I've...never felt something like that before, though it felt kind of..."
She paused, considering her words, then shook her head. "Nevertheless, I was somewhat conscious during the fight, so I was able to see what you became during the entire battle, so please be honest."
Naruto bit his lip, also taking the time to consider his words, but mostly in regards with how much he could explain.
To put it bluntly, he didn't want to explain his unique situation. Not at all. He simply didn't want to involve this woman into any of his problems, both for her sake, and for Kunou-chan's.
...But then again, was he telling himself the truth? What if he was just telling himself this so that he could excuse himself from telling anyone about his past?
Then he did a double-take, confused.
Where did that idea come from...?
His eyes shifted, locking with the beautiful woman that was demanding answers from him.
He was looking at the mother of Kunou...