An embarrassed smile spread on the red-head's lips. "Yeah...I was gonna do that. What of it?"
Rias shot her a critical look at the admission, but Tsubaki continued unhindered. "Well, I'd assume that Rias-sama wouldn't approve-"
"You're absolutely right, I don't." the Gremory heiress snarked, crossing her arms while glaring at her sheepish kohai.
"-So I suggest a compromise." the queen continued unabated, as if she was never interrupted. "Perhaps one of us could stay with Naruse-san to make sure that that woman won't do anything...untoward once she wakes up."
Mio stretched her hand out with a scowl, annoyed at these measures.
But Sona spoke up before she did. "I see...that is indeed an interesting idea. I think that's more than fair for a compromise, wouldn't you say? Rias?"
The other king nodded, a satisfied smirk plastered on her face. "I'd say so."
Mio was about to stomp her foot on the ground, as well as raise her voice at the completely unnecessary addition to watching over the fallen angel.
Then she was completely dissuaded from making her complaint when her sempai shot her a dark look, implying that she better take the compromise.
So she slammed her mouth shut; she had to pick and choose her battles here.
"Then it's decided." the Sitri heiress concluded with a tone of finality. "I assume that Mio-san will take the fallen angel to her home to recuperate, meanwhile we'll continue to search for Rias' lost knight."
With that, the teenaged king turned around and began walking out with Tsubaki in tow. "Come Mio-san, tell me what the fallen angel has told you in detail."
Mio sweat-dropped as she was asked for such a thing when no one bothered to help her drag Raynare out of there. She was left to do it all on her own.
So, grumbling under her breath, the red-head managed to force the downed woman's arm over her neck to drag her out of the unsafe area.
"Hey...where's Koneko...?" Mio complained loudly, slowly following after Sona. "I could really use her help right about now."
The high-class devil stepped inside the hole that was made earlier and kept moving, answering her on the way. "We left her at the entrance in order to keep guard...no need to leave our back unguarded. It's a precautionary measure."
The younger female teen watched as both; the king and queen of the Sitri group entered the hole that the small group made, making their way out.
Mio sighed as she bent over a little and maneuvered Raynare's hapless body, making sure that she didn't bump her in the small space.
Blue-green eyes gazed at the young fifteen-year old, watching her slowly make her way through the massive amount of rubble by using the hole that was made.
She continued to watch her until she was sure that Mio was out of earshot, before finally turning to the side to regard the one person that has managed to stay quiet during the entire exchange.
"...Akeno? Are you ok?" Rias asked quietly, tentatively walking up to her friend.
Akeno has stayed unnervingly silent ever since the group began discussing with one another about the prospect of trusting the unconscious fallen angel, not making any input whatsoever.
Violet eyes, once dull, quickly regained focus and life as they focused on the high-class devil. "Ah, apologies Buchou, did you say something?"
The Gremory heiress studied her queen, hesitating. "...You seemed distracted."
Akeno idly looked down and smoothed her skirt, shadowing her eyes with her bangs as she answered. "Distracted? Not at all. I was just thinking is all..."
Rias tried to see her old friend's face despite the angle, only managing to see the lower half of it.
She couldn't help but notice the tight smile that she had plastered on.
"...You disagree...don't you?"
The black-haired girl flinched and stopped moving, the smile that she had on quickly disappeared as if it had never existed.
It took a few spare heartbeats before she actually tilted her head upwards again to lock eyes with her king, grim.
"I...don't particularly see it as a wise decision. That's all." she admitted quietly, her ponytail bobbing a little when she turned away.
The red-head's licked her dry lips. "...Care to tell me why?"
As her queen glanced back at her, she quickly began working her brain overtime to try and delicately phrase her words.
By this point, she had already recognized what this was about.
Akeno set her jaw by this point, grasping her resolve as she spoke again. "I apologize for being frank Buchou, but I don't think that that fallen angel can be trusted. Fallen angels are beings of deception, so trusting one enough to leave your back open to them is-"
"Akeno."
The young woman cut herself off, knowing instinctively that the tone of voice that her king used meant that she was at least a little upset.
Rias stared at her for a moment, silent, before blowing out some air somewhat listlessly. "Akeno...I understand that you've had some bad experiences with fallen angels, but I don't think that Mio-chan is necessarily incorrect about that woman. Are you sure that you're not letting your bias get the better of you...?"
Violet eyes focused elsewhere, anywhere other than the blue-green of her close friend.
For some reason she just couldn't look at her right at that moment.
The Gremory heiress wanted to comfort her, to say something like 'it's ok, I understand' or 'don't worry about it'.
After all, she was more than aware of her history, of the grudge she held against the people that she had relations to.
But this time she couldn't. She simply couldn't allow Akeno's ghosts from the past to affect the present.
If that fallen angel was indeed a friend of Naruto's, then as long as she proved trustworthy, she wouldn't be abandoned. Pure and simple.
"Akeno." the high-class devil started, tone brooking no discussion. "I understand that you still hold...that man'speople in contempt. But it doesn't change the fact that Mio-chan believes in her and she may be the ally of our ally. We can't be making enemies at a times like this, not with so many of our comrades out of the picture. Do you understand?"
The queen bit her lip, obviously conflicted.
But eventually, after a few more tense seconds...she managed to make an agreeable smile.
It was one of the most forced smiles Rias has ever seen.
"Of course Buchou. You're absolutely correct." she agreed easily enough, her fake enthusiasm framing her fake smile. "I'll do my best to not let...unfortunate incidents in the past get in the way of what's going on."
Even as she was speaking, the emotions she exhibited seemed brittle and weak.
Akeno bowed slightly and walked past her king, entering the hole without further comment.
Rias just watched her go, about as frustrated as any leader could possibly be in such a situation.
It felt like the ghosts of the past were doing their best to batter the unity of the little group she has formed around herself. Splitting them up and causing mischief in formerly solid relationships.
She could only shake her head sadly as she moved to leave the caved in area, unintentionally making a silent plea out of growing desperation to keep everything together.
"...Come back home soon...Naruto..."
Buildings blurred past Naruto's eyesight as he took a second to glance outside. Wishing to see how much time he had.
Beyond the blurred buildings, he saw the orange sky that was giving way to blue due to the falling sun just over the horizen.
It was sunset then.
Ok, he still had time.
The young shinobi was well on his way to the airport after taking the chance to use another train, enjoying the smooth travel that he was deprived of last time. Hopefully he'd reach the airport that the Church agent was gonna land in before they arrived.
Really though, this transportation was a luxury, it was mostly meant to buy himself some spare time to just let himself relax before he faced the agent in the future.
...Well actually, that wasn't the only reason he decided to take the train.
It was also a convenient place to begin practicing some fuinjutsu on the way there, letting himself fall into the rhythm of smoothly writing kanji onto pieces of paper for badass effects.
And recently he became convinced that he had to learn more, as the abilities he could get from that knowledge had become far more critical than before.
...Yes...ever since...
His hand unintentionally fell onto his stomach, narrowing his eyes in response.
Yeah...this had become more important.
Naruto turned his head to the side, glancing at the hengedclone by his side, who was currently busy working on fuinjutsu as well. Though it was focused on more combat-related things.
He's been recently neglecting his fuinjutsu training anyways, mostly because he was re-focusing on his more wind-based abilities.
But now it had to become his main priority, the welfare of his allies depended on it.
Sleep could come later, this was for now.
Sure, he'd be a little late to get back to Kuoh Town, but it wasn't like there was any kind of existential emergency back home, right?
As long as they stayed united, everything would work out.
At least that was the blond's belief.
Though if he did have a single worry that he attributed to his comrades back home...well...it would probably have to rest with the knight of the Gremory group; Kiba Yuuto.
Whether anyone else saw it or not, the shinobi couldn't help but be slightly...off-put by his shift in behavior.
Why did that happen though? Where the hell did it come from?
He had no clue, but he hoped that the guy wouldn't do anything rash...
It was by that point that the young man blew out some air in frustration, suddenly wishing that Rias and Akeno weren't so spot on in predicting that he'd lose his phone.
Damn them.
He wanted to stew a little more, but Naruto broke from his irritated state of mind and shook his head rapidly, trying to get himself to re-focus.
Worrying about others when he had his own battle to fight wouldn't do anyone any good. He would deal with this, get a few hours of rest, and then rush back.
Just in case.
So with that plan in mind, he tilted his head down and restarted his fuinjutsu training.
This wouldn't be wasted time on his watch.
Wet gasps echoed across the the hidden grove, with the sound of crunching leaves interlacing interchangeably, as if they were one and the same.
The sounds were all coming from a handsome young man with blond hair, who was currently limping towards a rock, which he was planning to use to rest up and recuperate from yesterday's events.
Kiba Yuuto grit his teeth as he leaned against the relatively sizable solid object, regulating his breathing as he shifted to his right leg. Supporting his left side due to the wound that was plaguing it.
He was careless...
The young man honestly didn't expect that fallen angel to put up that much of a fight, or to escape his grasp by collapsing the ceiling.
It was embarrassing to be pushed back by a woman with only a single pair of wings, but as much as he hated to admit it, he fought far too aggressively back there...
His simmering anger and rage blinded him, pushing him to fight with brute force rather than using his speed like he usually did.
So because of that, his fight with that black-haired fallen ended up as a tie. With him retreating due to the very loud and obvious damage done to the church.
A snarl emerged from his throat as he pushed himself off of the rock he was leaning on, pacing around with his damaged leg, angry, furious.
His lead was completely destroyed and he had no idea how to find the location of those swords without that woman...
Maybe if he could find other fallen angels or fallen-aligned beings he could...'persuade' them to give him some information.
Yuuto finally stopped moving for a moment, his steely eyes turning upwards as he felt a rush of exhaustion hit him. Making him weary as he looked at the falling sun, watching it as it gave way to the night.
As his weariness grew, he briefly entertained the sanity of what he was doing, of why he was going so far to achieve his ambitions.
...No...he knew how all of this started.
It happened back then, before Naruto-san even left for Kyoto and after the whole 'Bapple' incident.
More specifically, it started with a simple conversation that became so much more...
A bit less than a week ago...
"Oh please...have mercy on me...I-I can't take anymore!"
"No. Not yet. We still have to keep going."
"Ugh...I'm gonna die at this rate...you damn slave-driver..."
"Did you say something, Naruto?"
"...Not really."
This was the conversation that Kiba Yuuto heard while he was on his way home after completing another contract, forcing him to stop as he heard two familiar voices close to him.
It's been a few days since Kuoh Academy temporarily closed down due to the damage done by...'hooligans', so the handsome young man was spending the early half of his day catching up on some of the backlog contracts and requests. All of which was created because he was away from Kuoh Town with everyone else.
So here he was, in the middle of a small market district and in front of a small restaurant.
The young man veered his head around, trying to find the source of those voices which he rarely heard outside of Kuoh Academy, genuinely curious.
Ah. Found them.
Huddled around a small outdoors table and in plain sight was Naruto and Yuki, the latter of which was directing the whiskered teen about the finer points of advanced calculus, with the former legitimately crying in pain.
By that point the blond man decided that he didn't want to get involved-
"Ah! Yuuto! Please save me!"
...Unfortunately, it seemed that Naruto managed to notice him before he left.
Not only that, but thanks to years of experience with the fairer sex, he easily saw the flash of disappointment flit through the young woman's eyes when he reluctantly walked up to them after essentially being forced to.
How vexing.
"Apologies Naruto-san." Yuuto said easily enough as he flashed a smile at the two teens. "I doubt that Yuki-san would appreciate it if I tried to 'save you'."
The hero nodded, unyielding in her belief. "Thank you Kiba-san, Naruto needs his education in order to advance properly in the human world. This is for his own good."
Naruto groaned, slamming his face onto the table with a *thud* when he lost his chance at escaping his hell.
Then a thought floated across his head, lighting up his eyes.
"Hey Yuki." the shinobi piped up, his voice the epitome of reasonableness. "I'm a little thirsty...and I want to concentrate on my studies, so can you do me a favor and get me some water? I'll pay you back later."
Yuuto glanced at him, sweat-dropping at the fact that his fellow male could actually think that the young woman would buy his excuse. She may have been a little dense at times, but she was by no means stupid-
"Sure." she accepted without question, pushing herself off from her seat. "I'll be right back, please make sure that you continue to look over those equations that I asked you to work on."
And with that, the hero turned around and walked inside the restaurant, intent on getting that drink so that the blond could concentrate.
The knight watched her go, jaw unhinged at the fact that she bought such a weak excuse.
"...Ah...damn it...now I feel guilty."
Yuuto turned his attention at his fellow blond, who was currently in the middle of cursing under his breath for feeling guilty. He supposed that even the prank-loving teen couldn't help but be affected by her earnest attitude.
As soon as the thought crossed the handsome teen's mind, another realization hit him as he gazed upon the internally flagellating whiskered teen.
He very quickly realized that he had a golden opportunity to detach himself form the situation-
"Kiba-san...what the hell do you think I should do in this situation?"
Ah.
Naruto has once more turned his attention to him again, his blue eyes teary at the conundrum he found himself in.
Hmm...what could he say? What could he say?
"W-Well...what do you really want to do, Naruto-san?" he tried asking, throwing the metaphorical 'ball' back into the powerful man's corner.
All he got in response was a confused blink.
"...Hah? What kind of retarded question is that?" the shinobi retorted rudely, not at all impressed. "I'm having so much trouble deciding what to do because I know what I want!"
Now it was the knight's turn to be confused, since he was rendered inert for all of about three seconds due to that retort.
His brain restarted in short order.
"Um...I'm not sure that I understand to be honest." Yuuto hesitantly said, deciding at that moment to take the seat that Yuki-san had left behind.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. "Alright, basically my problem is this; what I want to do is different from what I'd like to do. Very different dattebayo!"
This time the shinobi crossed his arms, nodding his head sagely. "Indeed, what I'd like to do is run away in order to save myself from Yuki's torture...but what I want to do is...something more than that."
Yuuto's eyebrows scrunched together, even more confused. Did Naruto misunderstand him or something?
Ignoring the look he was being given however, the powerful teen continued anyways. "You see...the way I see it; what I 'want' is something that I'd like in the short-term and more importantly; something that I could live without. But something that I really want is something else...it's something that I'd be willing to truly aim for and strive for. A 'goal' I guess you can call it. The big finish line in comparison to a small checkpoint."
By this point, the reincarnated devil was more than positive that his fellow blond misunderstood him. Also it was really weird how he could go from 'dense prankster' to 'nuanced philosopher' in a matter of seconds...
Naruto all of a sudden slammed his fist onto the table, rocking it and making the bishōnen jump unintentionally.
"And you want to know something!? This is what I really want! Right here!" he declared, one-hundred percent assured.
Yuuto's eyes traveled to the blond's fist, staring at it as he tried to interpret what the hell he was trying to say.
The shinobi waited for a bit, hoping that the -marginally- better looking teen would figure out what he was saying, assuming that it should be simple.
...
...
...
"You still haven't figured it out yet?" the whiskered teen questioned with a dull look.
The knight scratched his cheek nervously, wondering whether he should mention the fact that his words were by no means easy to understand.
By this point, Naruto just blew out some air, rolling his eyes. "I suppose moments like these count as well..."
After making that last vague statement, the young man pushed himself from his seat and stood up. His eyes sharpening in his convictions, as if he was an orator that was about to preach to the masses about the 'truth'.
"Moments, events, conversations, interactions, and the dynamics that are made from my relationships with others and their relationships to others..." Naruto explained, blue eyes shining. "More than anything else, I want to protect these things. They are my day-to-day reasons for getting up in the morning and beating the shit outta bad guys. Keeping them alive and keeping my relationships with them intact is my day-to-day goal. That's what I'm saying dattebayo."
But the second he finished explaining himself in deeper detail, his face fell in despair.
"...But despite how much I hate it...I can't help but be partially content with the fact that I enjoy my relationship with Yuki! I hate it and love it at the same time! What the hell!? Am I secretly some kind of masochist or something!? And why would I feel guilty about leaving when Yuki was the one to force me here to begin wiiiiith!"
Yuuto watched as his fellow blond fell into despair, silent. Internalizing what he just heard.
What Naruto just said...was that why he did everything he did so far?
The pact between everyone in Kuoh...
The training...
The interventions...
All to protect his current relationships with the people he cared about?
...Key word; current.
Then...what if those relationships, those dynamics, changed?
Would he like that? Would he do his best to revert them to what they were before?
Those were the questions that were being bandied about in the bishōnen's head as the whiskered teen continued to despair.
But soon after, something else completely wiped those questions from his mind, focusing all of his mental efforts onto a single word.
Goal.
Goal.
Goal.
Something clicked in the young man's head.
"...Hey, Naruto."
Naruto quit shaking his head for all of about three seconds to look at Yuuto. "What? Can't you see that I'm a little busy-?"
"What do you think is a good goal?" Yuuto questioned quietly, face serious, eyes sharpened.
The shinobi blinked, tilting his head. "Uh...I don't think I can really say to be honest. I suppose it's similar with something that I said before, right? Something that you really want to do, no matter what."
Externally, the knight was staring at the other male with unwavering attention. But in reality, the pale blond was staring right through him. Internalizing the answer.
...So it should be fine, right? Aiming for his own goal?
Right...it was fine.
It was something he forgot, something that he hadn't really given much thought in a long...long time. But...a goal...a goal still was-
"However."
Yuuto's attention was brought back to reality, focusing back on Naruto once again.
The shinobi raised his chin, his own demeanor serious as well. "In my eyes, you can't consider something to be a 'good' goal if you hurt those you care about, those that care about you, and yourself while aiming for it. That just makes it...well...a selfish ambition. At least to me."
As he was speaking, the young man could practically feel the whiskered teen's form droop a little. As if an invisible weight suddenly pushed him down, making him seem much older than he was.
"Yeah..." he whispered now, a solemn smile stretching across his lips. "A selfish ambition..."
The bishōnen regarded him, his lips thinning as he considered everything he just heard.
...
"I have to go." the young Sacred Gear holder muttered softly, getting up from his seat. "Thanks for the talk...it was...interesting, to say the least."
This time Yuuto did manage to pull himself away from the situation, doing his utmost best to ignore the powerful human's penetrating gaze, feeling as if it would peel through his emotional defenses to reveal the man underneath.
Behind the soft-spoken 'prince'.
The knight felt a depreciating smile unwittingly grow on his face at that fact.
*Psst Psssssst*
Yuuto was knocked out of his temporary trance when he heard a less-than-quiet hiss aimed at his general direction.
Turning to find the source, he blinked at the visage of a familiar red-head that was hiding behind a garbage bin, looking entirely suspicious.
Naruse Mio, the imouto of Uzumaki Naruto, and -at least very much gossiped about- heavy duty 'bro-con' for him.
The young first-year was wearing an overly long trench coat that covered her whole body and pooled around her feet, a pair of sunglasses, a bowler hat, and what looked like a fake mustache under her nose...
It was a disguise, and a terrible one at that.
Mio was frantically waving her hand at him, trying to grab his attention, and ultimately grabbing the attention of the many civilians that were passing by.
The bishōnen slowly walked up to her, trying not to pay attention to the many conspiratorial whispers being bandied about.
As soon as he reached her, the poorly disguised female spoke up. "Hey...Kiba-san, how are you doing? What are you up to? You uh...busy?"
Yuuto squinted his eyes, not too sure about how to respond to the seemingly random barrage of questions. "...I'm doing well, Mio-san. And you're-?"
"Good!" the half-devil quickly answered, rushing through the conversation as if she had no patience. "S-So, I saw that you were making small talk with Naruto...so...how's he, uh...you know...doing?"
Realization shot through the knight's core as he quickly figured out what this was about, although the completely broken conversation should have been a dead giveaway to be fair.
"...Well..." the bishōnen admitted slowly, cautiously. "He actually asked me for some advice, to my surprise. But in actuality...he may have been the one to have given mesome advice..."
Then he spoke in a lower voice, eyes dulling a little bit. "...Relationships...huh...?"
He stayed like that for a little bit, drifting off to the importance of that word. Trying to grasp at it.
That word...meant a lot. Deep inside he felt that way.
But his 'goal' from long ago...the one that he kept close to his heart, locked away, was something that could possibly run antithesis to that word...
Then the blond shook his head, trying to bring his mind back into the present. He was speaking to someone after all.
But when he managed to do just that, he was forced to do a double-take.
The young woman that he was talking to was gone, nowhere to be seen, and no evidence anywhere to indicate that she was even there.
"NARUTOOOOOO!"
"Gah! Mio!? What the-!? What are you doing here!?"
"You can't! I-I don't approve! You're too young to be making such decisions! Besides, Yuki definitely doesn't know much about those kinds of interactions yet! It's wrong on all fronts! You need to wait until you're more mature!"
"Haaah? What the hell are you talking about...?"
"Don't play stupid with me! I know about what you were talking before!"
"...No...I really don't..."
Yuuto easily heard the loud bickering of the brother-sister duo echoing across the street, a sweat-drop trailing down his head at the reaction he had inadvertently forced out of the red-head.
But...despite all of that...
"What's going on...? This ruckus..."
"Ah, Yuki. Sorry about that, but Mio came by and began lecturing me about something again. Don't mind her."
"Be quiet for a second, Naruto."
"Now that was just rude..."
"Anyways, Yuki, now I know that you and Naruto are friends and all, but doing what you're doing is way too soon! And honestly, if you ask me, you're both a hundred years too young for such an upgrade."
"...I'm lost."
"Welcome to my world, Yuki."
The reincarnated devil turned his head to look at the three teens, watching as the hot-blooded Mio continued to lecture the blond and the hero, the socially awkward female human continued to stare at the half-devil with befuddlement, and the male teen continued to shake his head mournfully at the situation.
Despite how...strange the conversation topic was, he could tell that at the very least, none of them were upset or particularly off-put by their talk.
If anything...they seemed to be enjoying it.
The very faint amusement that bled into Yuki's eyes.
The reluctant upturn of Naruto's lips.
And, strangely enough, Mio's growing sense of light exasperation began to permeate her facial features, making the entire exchange almost seem like a charade.
"...Gehehe..."
Steel-grey eyes shifted towards the roof of the building he was next to, focusing on a certain silver-haired loli that was giggling while taking pictures of the scene. Looking more than a little happy to be doing so.
Probably for some blackmail material or the like...
Yuuto's gaze inevitably went back towards his fellow blond, remembering what he said before about what he trulywanted.
His relationships.
Or to put it more aptly; his bonds.
...This scene was a small thing, a tiny thing. A random occurrence that happened during the road of life.
Yet...they were enjoying themselves, at least on some level.
Honestly, he could see why Naruto wanted to protect such a thing, it was something that many took for granted. But when one was involved with the supernatural...such things could easily be taken away.
Yuuto idly turned away from everyone, beginning to walk away as he delved deeply into the question that began to echo in his heart.
Which was more important to him, which did he want more?
His goals?
Even now, he could still feel the blood flowing through his fingers...
Or the bonds that he had forged?
As if he beckoned them, several images flashed across his mind, all of them about the many comrades he had made.
Buchou, Akeno, Koneko, and the newest addition to the Gremory group; Issei.
Not to mention his newest allies.
Without even realizing it, the knight's fists began to clench.
...What would he do? What should he do?
Present...
He had made his choice.
Yuuto plopped down from his standing position, letting his wounded leg rest, it did get hit by a light spear after all.
The light in the grove slowly gave way to the night as he sat down, the sun dipping down in the horizon.
Indeed, the knight had decided to finally achieve his long-held ambition of avenging his loved ones from long ago, although it should be noted that it was a very close decision.
His decision wasn't one that was made in a vacuum however, rather, it had much to do with an event that occurred just the other day.
That man with the half-mask...
Instinctively, Yuuto didn't trust that man, feeling deep inside that normally such an individual wasn't trustworthy.
But...his eyes...his eyes...
In that man's eyes, he very much saw a reflection of his own.
He was also seeking revenge, and in that they had a kinship, however weak it was.
So when the masked man told him about the fallen angels and their latest treacherous act of stealing...thoseswords...he was at least partially inclined to give that new-found lead a try.
What did he really have to lose in trying?
Of course, that meant that the knight had to check the one place where there used to be significant fallen angel activity, in the hopes of finding some intelligence that might have been left behind.
Then that fallen woman showed up.
The rest, of course, was history.
Yuuto clicked his tongue, annoyed that he lost his chance at learning where those swords may have located. That woman's reaction to his questions definitely gave away the truth of that masked man's words...
So now, all that was left for him were two options; find the fallen woman, or find the masked man.
Since the black-haired female was currently underneath an exorbitant amount of rubble, and the area had probably accrued an enormous amount of scrutiny by the general public as well as the attention of both; the Gremory and Sitri groups. It was obviously not a good idea at this time.
That left his fellow revenge-minded 'ally'.
When they last met, he claimed that he would be hiding out in this area, for what reason, Yuuto had no idea.
Nor did he particularly care at the moment either.
What he did care about was finding him and gaining some more information.
Especially before Buchou found him...
His facial features twitched when he thought of the possibility, before his heart was quickly filled with shame at the very thought.
No...he definitely couldn't let any of his...former comrades see him.
What he has done has effectively spit upon everyone's kindness, he knew that already.
So the last and best thing he could possibly do for everyone that he cared for was...just the one thing.
Make sure that they forgot about him.
He wouldn't say goodbye.
He wouldn't say thank you.
He wouldn't try and soften the blow of his betrayal.
More importantly, if they managed to find him, he would try and inflame their frustrations and anger.
Yuuto wanted them to not only forget about him, he wanted them to hate him, loathe him.
That way...they wouldn't be as hurt by his actions, they would regard him as scum and drop him. As they should.
He would destroy the relationships he made...for their sakes.
The knight nodded grimly, assuring himself that it was the only course of action that was available to him.
A sad smile stretched across the young man's face.
He seriously hoped that Naruto would never find him...that guy would definitely knock him around for making this decision.
Good thing he was a long way's away from here.
Yuuto pushed himself from the ground, expression becoming more neutral as he refocused himself to the task at hand.
Finding the masked man.
So he moved back to the rock in the center of the grove, in wait of the man that he knew on some level understood, ignoring the fall of the sun and the onset of the night.
"Rias, we're almost there."
Rias was already well aware of that, not really needing Sona's input to see the forest enter her view.
The significantly smaller group of devils had followed the lead that Mio managed to procure from the fallen angel about Kiba Yuuto's location.
Northwest she said...
"It's strange to be back here again..." Akeno muttered out, her words so low in volume that they were barely discernible to her king.
Though in regards to her comment, the red-head was inclined to agree. It really was strange to be in this area of Kuoh Town again.
This was close to where the Gremory group first officially met Naruto and Yuki, right after their first clash if she recalled correctly.
Was her knight in there somewhere? Or was he just passing by in order to get away from the scene at the church?
Did this place hold any significance to him, at all?
She wasn't sure, but it practically didn't matter. She would drag him back home with her and get her answers regardless.
"Sona!" the Gremory heiress called out, slowing down her flight so that the wind buffeting them wasn't loud enough to drown out her voice. "Let's descend a little bit! I want to get a decent aerial view of the surroundings!"
The bespectacled girl in question raised an eyebrow, slowing down marginally so that she could speak clearly as well. "I was going to suggest that myself."
With both devils in agreement, the grand total of four devils lowered altitude in order to stay just above the treeline, giving them the most optimal view of the ground below.
As the small group began to studiously inspect the area, Rias reflected on the current situation at hand.
Specifically, on the fact that there were so few of them and why that was so.
The rest of Sona's Peerage was still back at the church, getting rid of any evidence of the supernatural at the scene of the clash that took place there. Leaving only Tsubaki to travel with her king.
Meanwhile, Mio has head on home with the fallen angel in order to give her some medical treatment. With Koneko helping her out as well as guarding her, just in case.
Which only left Rias and Akeno of the Gremory group to search for their lost comrade.
Hopefully they won't have to, but if necessary, they could call Koneko to help them if they really needed help.
"Kaichou, I think I see something!" Tsubaki called out, pointing at an arbitrary part of the forest with intense scrutiny.
Sona didn't even hesitate, choosing to immediately stop her generic flyover and instead zero in on the area that her queen pointed out.
The entire group followed suit, with everyone else quickly seeing what the heterochromic-eyes girl was speaking of.
It would have been practically impossible for the normal human eye to see it, but thankfully, their devil eyes were more than up to the task.
A little stain of blood on the ground, which led to otherstains of blood, was found by the group. Meaning that they had just found a possible trail to the errant knight.
It seemed that the fallen angel wasn't the only one harmed in the fight.
"Buchou, should we contact Koneko-chan now? Her senses could prove useful when it comes to tracking." Akeno consulted to her friend, landing softly onto the ground and putting away her devil wings.
Blue-green eyes snapped to the pair of violet pupils, partially to marvel at the complete disappearance of her disgruntlement from before as well as to actually consider her point.
"No." she quickly concluded, landing beside her friend. "We can handle this, we don't need much more than our eyes. Besides, Koneko-chan has been under a lot of stress recently...best to let her relax a little bit."
The black-haired woman nodded, accepting that logic.
...She also accepted the unspoken fact that none of them trusted the fallen angel to be alone with Mio for any extended period of time.
So with that, the small group trudged forward, keeping track of the occasional blood stain in order to let it lead them to their run-away comrade.
Rias couldn't help but marvel at what they were doing however; she was, the heiress of the prestigious Gremory clan and the daughter of the most powerful Maou in all of devil history.
...And here she was, personally searching for clues for one of her lost Peerage -family- members while walking through a dark forest.
This was far more gritty than anything she has ever done in...well...ever.
She wasn't really complaining about it, she just couldn't help but marvel at the shift in what she has done before and comparing it to the here and now.
To put it simply, the prim and proper Rias Gremory was supposed to elegantly appear to whatever hot spot or issue that sprung up in her territory. Not walk there while moving the occasional tree branch out of the way that threatened to stab her in the eye.
A reluctant chuckle escaped from her lips as she continued to move, perhaps she was a tad bit spoiled...
Indeed, even the fact that her Peerage was as fractured as it was something that she never had to deal with before.
Then her thoughts froze, latching onto that word with frightening intensity.
Fractured.
Her Peerage was split up.
Fractured.
Sona's Peerage was split up.
"...Isn't this strange, Rias?"
The Gremory heiress turned to her fellow high-class devil, almost immediately knowing what she meant. "Unfortunately...I think that you're right."
Sona nodded, idly pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "Indeed, there's been a few things that made me question whether there is...more to all of this than we initially believed. For example..."
The Sitri heiress crossed her arms, grim. "Isn't it interesting that Kiba Yuuto just so happened to meet that fallen angel, who was allegedly here to simply meet and speak with us? Or how he began to act out just around the time that such an individual would sent by Grigori? Of all times?"
Rias bit her lips, remembering that Mio-chan told them about what the fallen angel was doing here as they were leaving the underground cavern.
It truly was quite the coincidence.
"Yes...it really is interesting." she admitted slowly, her brain trying and failing to connect the dots about the chain of events that recently occurred.
"...But there is another, far more interesting thing that has my attention." the black-haired devil noted, eyes sharp. "Which has everything to do with your knight's past."
The red-head didn't even have a chance to wonder what she meant before her friend leaned closer to her, her demeanor conspiratorial. "You think that this has something to do with what happened to him in his past, correct? That that is the most likeliest of culprits to his complete change in attitude?"
This time Rias did manage to respond, in the form of a wary nod, almost afraid of the conclusions that were about to be made.
Sona raised her chin up, the glare of the moonlight catching her glasses as she did so. "Then let me ask you; is there any possible connection to his clash against the fallen angel and what happened to him in his past? Any connection at all?"
Time stopped.
That was it, that was it.
Because from her point of view, there was absolutely no connection between that fallen woman and Yuuto's past. None at all.
And considering that Yuuto's current behavior wouldn't make sense unless he was acting out on that past...
...That meant that the knight must have done this for a reason that she wasn't aware of. A reason that connected the two events somehow.
But if that was the case then, then how could he have possibly gotten that kind of information? Because it obviously wasn't from her.
That could only mean one thing.
"There's another actor in play here." Rias concluded, with her eyes closing in finality.
The Sitri heiress didn't need to even affirm her fellow devil's findings, already having reached that conclusion a little while ago.
Nevertheless, in an effort to ease the negative feelings that this revelation must have drudged up, she couldn't help but ask. "Do you happen to believe in coincidences, Rias?"
Seeing this as the slightly clumsy attempt by her friend to ease the tension, Rias chuckled a little. "Ara...if I say 'yes', do you think that maybe this could actually end up as one?"
"...Unfortunately, I don't think we have that kind of fortune, considering recent events." Sona explained, before her lips twitched upwards faintly. "Though it wouldn't hurt to hope however."
The Gremory heiress allowed for a dry chuckle to escape through her throat, not at all eased, but was grateful for the attempt at the very least.
Still though, they had to do something if there was another party involved. More than that, splitting themselves up to such small groups may have been a bad move...
"Buchou, are you ok? You seem somewhat tense."
Blue-green eyes shifted to the side of her eye, locking onto worried violet of her queen, who had walked up to her from behind after seeing her and Sona speak seriously.
Before she even tried to alleviate her worries, someone else spoke up first.
"Kaichou, the trail ends over here..." Tsubaki called out, alerting everyone else.
All eyes followed after the bespectacled woman's gaze, realizing why this was an interesting predicament immediately.
The blood trail which they were following ended up leading them to a path through some bent trees, which were moved in such a way as to almost look like a door.
Though it wasn't that fact that interested everyone, rather it was what that path led up to.
"...Is that a grove?" Sona questioned rhetorically, not quite able to acknowledge what she was seeing.
Indeed, the path through the trees led to a grove, which completely lacked any undergrowth and almost seemed to be independent from the forest surrounding it.
But natural groves were somewhat rare, especially when so close to a human settlement.
Not only that, but none of the devils present ever heard of the presence of a grove in the area.
Considering that these teens lived and breathed in the supernatural world, it was obvious that they'd all at least be a little cautious of such a place that no one was aware of. Especially when it was so close to their home.
The area was a simple plain surrounded and encircled by the trees around it, with a relatively large rock sticking out of the middle of the field. In addition, the trees that were present also managed to block out most of the light from above, except in the center.
Moonlight pierced through the trees and illuminated the center of the grove.
Tsubaki took a step forward first, aware that she was the only one present with any experience with hand-to-hand combat.
But she might as well as not bothered.
"Yuuto."
Rias' voice echoed in the small area, as if nature saw fit to repeat the word so that all who were present could hear.
And indeed, all who were present did hear.
From behind the rock, hidden from sight, emerged a handsome young man, his impossibly sharp steel-gray eyes focused on the group that just arrived.
"...Buchou." Kiba Yuuto murmured, voice bereft of any inclination of happiness or joy.
Rather, it was about as empty as one could possibly imagine.
Undeterred, Rias took a step forward, her arms splayed out in a welcoming gesture. "Yuuto...it's us. We're here now. Come on, enough of this foolishness. Come home."
If anything, the knight's unfriendly disposition was made worse after his former king's plea.
"...What are you doing here, everyone?" the young man questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. "Especially you two; Buchou, Akeno-san."
This time, Akeno took a step forward, her gaze locked onto her ally. "Kiba-kun...I don't know why you did what you did. But no matter what happens, you're still our friend. You're still a part of our family. Even now."
Yuuto didn't answer at first, staying quiet as he slowly got on top of the rock that he was laying on, getting to the top.
His eyes were narrowed as he gazed upon the devil group. "Leave. Now."
It was by this point that Tsubaki spared a glance to her king, sending a silent query.
Sona raised her hand in response, shaking her head almost infinitesimally.
She would let the Gremory group have a solid try before trying anything, though she couldn't be blamed for intervening should things get...ugly.
Meanwhile, after the revenge-minded young man made his demand, Rias took a hesitant step forward, trying to defuse the situation and understand her erratic servant.
"This isn't a request, this is a demand...Buchou." Yuuto stated in no uncertain terms. "Leave. This has nothing to do with you."
This wasn't good.
This wasn't what Diodora-sama planned, let alone expected.
The fast devil wasn't supposed to reunite with his former comrades, he was supposed to stay hidden. To keep the devils of Kuoh Town from accomplishing their mission, to keep them spread thin.
So that Diodora-sama could accomplish his true objective.
Yet that hasn't happened, the grove that he created was supposed to hide Kiba Yuuto, not give his allies time to catch up to him.
More than that, they weren't as split up as Diodora-sama wished...
The destruction of the abandoned church has caused far more annoyances than necessary...
...No choice, he had to intervene.
For Diodora-sama, he had to play a part, and play it well. All in order to buy him enough time to complete the daughter of the Original Lucifer's capture.
That man saved his life and gave him back his sanity...andwas allied with the true heir of the Original Lucifer.
It would be an honor to die for both; his savior, and the Underworld's true ruler.
So the young man -beast- focused his attention on the group of devils that entered the grove, carefully bending his knees to strike...
"Nothing to do with me? Nothing to do with me? Kiba Yuuto...I am; your master, your king, your savior...and your friend." Rias grit out, unwilling to admit how much his words stung. "And if you continue to act out so selfishly...you will leave me no choice except to punish you!"
The knight's eyes narrowed, his face twisting darkly.
Sona shared a knowing glance with her queen, both teens figuring that the talks were just about over.
Akeno closed her eyes, mournful. "...Koneko-chan misses you, Kiba-kun. We all do. We've been searching for you everywhere. Please...don't do this."
At first, if Yuuto's twitch was any indication, it seemed like the young man was actually affected by the reincarnated devil's words. Stopping him short for all of about two seconds.
Then his dark demeanor returned, refusing to be reasoned with.
He opened his mouth, preparing himself to administer another verbal lashing at his erstwhile allies.
At least until he saw the Gremory and Sitri groups both widen their eyes at something behind him.
Yuuto snapped his head behind him as a shadow emerged from the forestry, moving towards him at incredible speeds. So much so that the knight was barely fast enough to respond.
Nevertheless, he managed it, as he jumped away from the rock that he was standing on and created a sword from his Sword Birth so that he could fight. Prepared to clash with another enemy.
He winced when he finally landed however, as his bad leg was still wounded.
Before anything else could be said or done, the blond turned to the devil group that was present. Features more acquiescing. "Buchou...we will discuss my actions in further details later, for now, I'd say that we both have bigger problems. Wouldn't you?"
Rias didn't comment, but she didn't deny his words either, instead choosing to stare at the new combatant that decided to reveal himself.
The possible enemy that landed on the highest point of the boulder gazed down upon them, alert and acute.
The young man in question sported pitch-black straight hair that covered his face and stretched down to his waist in cascading waves, a completely bare chest, a pair of entirely-ripped up jeans, and a pair of sandals to finish off his odd look.
Truly, the Gremory heiress wasn't sure about how she should respond to this interruption.
Turns out that there was no need to find that out, as the young man in front of them took their options out of their hands.
All he really needed to do, was tilt his head upwards to stare at the night sky.
...At something specific in particular.
"...It's a full moon today..." the young man quietly murmured, a grim edge to his voice.
The Sitri heiress' eyes snapped to the sky, or more precisely, to the moon that was clearly visible at the unknown male's current position.
As soon she did so, the black-haired man quickly began to change.
Hair began to grow all around his body, covering his skin like a dark coat, almost as if it was...fur.
Limbs strengthened and grew longer, hands morphing into claws, feet changing into large paws, nose growing into a snout...
His red eye focusing with single-minded intensity on the moon.
Something in Sona's head clicked, forcing her eyes to widen to the size of saucers.
"...Werewolf...!"
Feral red eyes snapped to the devil group, as the beast bared it's impossibly sharp canines and stood upright.
Until it turned back to the moon and howled.
*Owoooo...*
As if a signal was made, the underbrush that surrounded the grove began to shift, as if something was moving through them to reach the one that 'called'.
All of the devils had no choice except to turn their backs to one another, making sure to cover as much area as possible.
Stray devils.
Stray devils of all shapes and sizes emerged from the general greenery, closing in on them as their feral 'leader' glowered down on them.
"...Kaichou?"
The bespectacled king made a small affirmative-sounding noise to acknowledge that she was listening to her queen.
"...Doesn't that beast look a little familiar?" Tsubaki whispered hesitantly. "I feel like I've seen it before."
Sona scowled, the uncomfortable feeling she was getting when she saw that werewolf finally made sense after she heard that little tidbit. Realizing that she, no, they have seen this man before.
Last time he wasn't anywhere near as threatening...or sane for that matter.
"That's probably because you have Tsubaki." the Sitri heiress replied, voice clipped. "We crushed him during our last mission...of course, I never thought that he was a legitimate werewolf."
Rias kept her eyes focused on the feral beings that were inching ever closer to them, but still listened in on her friend's conversation. "So...that means that that man is the stray devil that you destroyed during your last mission? But if that's the case...how is he here? Alive, in perfect health, and sane?"
Sona turned to the red-head, facial features grim. "...I do believe that there's a third party that we're still not aware of yet, correct?"
Ah...
A bitter smile spread across Rias' lips, before it was wiped out to make way for a serious expression. "It seems our hands are tied then...so since this is the case, I'd like to make a little announcement."
She turned to her allies around her, a wry smile plastered on her face as they all spared her a glance. "As of now, there are no king or pawns in this battle, no grand strategy-making, and no organized plans of attacks. Instead...we're all simply comrades-in-arms, back-to-back. Let's all do our best to survive this situation, shall we?"
Akeno smirked, electricity crackling through a magic circle that she created on the tip of her fingers.
Sona, serious as ever, forged her own ice-blue magic circle, water condensing and bending to her will.
Tsubaki refrained from using magic and instead decided to call on her naginata to fight in close combat, swinging the pole with the blade end without any difficulty.
Finally, Rias herself formed two magic circles on both hands, spewing the black miasma that was her Power of Destruction. More than ready to try out what she has learned while she trained with her Peerage.
The odd man out of the small group, Kiba Yuuto, held his demonic swords with grim determination. Quietly accepting the fact that he had to fight alongside his comr- formercomrades...one last time.
So he closed ranks with them, helping form a perimeter.
And it was a necessary measure, as the stray devils wasted no time in charging towards them when their 'leader' gave them the signal.
"Ok...there we go." Mio whispered, just as she finished wrapping the last wound around Raynare's rib cage, being as gentle as she possibly could.
The fallen woman winced as she accidentally touched one of the gashes that crisscrossed her torso. But besides that, the older female took it like a trooper.
Still unconscious though.
"...I still don't understand why you've allowed this fallen angel in your home...Mio."
The red-head tilted her head, looking at Koneko through the side of her eye, connecting with curious hazel pupils.
She turned back to the unconscious form of the fallen angel, shrugging almost nonchalantly. "A bit of a long story."
Koneko raised a single eyebrow. "...I think we have nothing but time..."
Mio coughed at that, internally acquiescing the point. "Well...ok, fine. But let me give you the condensed version instead; basically, she knows Naruto, and I think she's trustworthy enough to allow her to stay here. I'm sure Naruto would agree...if he was here."
The rook slid her gaze over to unconscious female, watching as her chest rose up and down in a steady rhythm. Peacefully resting.
She knew Naruto-sempai...huh...?
It's been a while since Koneko was chosen to watch over this woman from the abandoned church, it came as more than a 'little' surprise.
What she expected to do was run out of the church and continue the search for Yuuto after getting new information. What she got instead was a mission to...babysit, essentially.
Yet here she was.
It took a while to drag their limp 'friend' back to Mio's home, but they eventually managed it, and she kept guard over the two supernatural beings for the entire time that the red-head did her work.
Honestly, she was a little sore that she couldn't stay with Buchou. Just a little. But she did understand her concerns.
Still. She couldn't help but wonder if everything was going smoothly-
Koneko froze, yer eyes widening to the size of saucers as, unbeknownst to Mio, hidden cat-like ears twitched after catching the sound of something that chilled her to the bone.
*Owoooo...*
"Hey Koneko, I'm gonna go out and grab some painkillers, you wanna come with?" the oblivious red-head questioned lightly, already moving around to grab her bag so that she could carry the item she sought.
"No."