Chapter 40
"Hey...brat."
Naruto opened up a single eye lazily, it's cerulean color making itself known to those that were watching, somewhat droopy thanks to being dragged out of the confines of sleep.
"What do you want..." the young shinobi drawled, his single eye swiveling to the older man behind him as he moved his head a bit. "...Ero-sennin?"
Jiraiya growled from behind the young man, offended, as he always was when the blond used his nickname. "Listen here you...do you have any idea how lucky you are to be the student of the great Jiraiya-sama!? I can assure you that many ladies would be more than willing to take your place if you're too disrespectful!"
The blond paid no heed to his tirade, choosing instead to go back to bed rather than listen to his master's gloating, too tired to have his typical argument with him right at that second.
And he thought he was gonna stay that way, until he heard his master speak again, in sharp contrast to his earlier hysterics.
"Naruto."
From behind the tree that both males were leaning on, back-to-back, Naruto's eyelids snapped open, turning his head to look at the wild mane that was his master's white hair.
Not only did the Toad Sage use his serious voice, he also used his actual name rather than 'brat', as he normally did.
Whatever he wanted to talk about was pretty damn serious if this was how he started out.
So the younger man waited, eyeing his master's ridiculously long hair until he finally turned around to meet his gaze, ebony with cerulean.
They stayed like that for a moment, gauging each other almost.
Until the damned pervert finally continued.
"You're still gonna do it...aren't ya?" he asked, eyeing his student with a critical focus, studying his reactions.
Naruto knew what he was talking about immediately.
"...I can't not do it." the whiskered teen responded, his tone implying that his answer was obvious. "That bastard was...no...is family, so it's only natural that I go and save family, right?"
The older male frowned. "And if that so-called family member of yours doesn't recognize you to be family?"
Naruto laughed airily, waving away the possibility. "Ah, come on Ero-sennin! Even that bastard admitted that we were practically like family. And it's a family's duty to protect their own from making stupid decisions, of course."
Jiraiya sighed, turning away from his student to study the treeline above, watching as leaves as numerous as the stars slowly floated down from the towering branches above. "Well, considering who the Uchiha is training under, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much...your friend may be too far gone when you two meet each other again."
"Even if that's the case, I would always be there to help that bastard whenever. I refuse to abandon my family just because they made shitty decisions in their lives." the blond maintained, ever firm with his stance on his friend lost to the shadows.
The Toad Sage said nothing for a moment, seemingly done with the conversation for now.
Unsure of this, Naruto twisted back forward, laying his head back against the solitary tree in the middle of the meadow that they managed to find, comforted by the sounds of rustling leaves as they drifted to the ground.
"Hey...Naruto."
Said young man perked up almost infintismally at his name being called, but didn't turn to face the older shinobi this time, choosing to listen.
"...Don't lose."
Though, what Naruto heard only served to confuse him.
Yet he still didn't turn around.
"What the hell are you talking about now, old man?" the shinobi snarked, though his voice held no rancor.
Jiraiya paused, as if trying to put his next thought into words, but only for a fraction of a moment. "Do you remember that conversation that we had almost two years ago? About the shinobi world?"
How could Naruto forget?
The talk that they had early on his training, where his teacher first told him about what he felt about the current state of the Elemental Nations as a whole, and the shinobi in particular.
How hatred and conflict fed into more hatred and conflict.
"...Yeah." the blond murmured, eyes hazy, seeing something far off.
Although he couldn't see it, he knew that his master nodded. "And you...?"
"I will." Naruto interrupted, tone confident. "I will help you find a way to stop this cycle...I've seen this cycle play out in front of me myself. I can't let something like that continue dattebayo."
He felt more than heard the older man chuckle behind him, the vibrations to the bark supporting his head clueing him in. "And that's why I don't want you to lose."
Before Naruto could irritably try and retort, the Toad Sage continued, finally choosing to explain himself.
"When you get back to the village." his teacher began. "You will have to face the trials that we have been training you for these past two years, possibly without my help."
Naruto nodded, eyes narrowing at the thought of those powerful ninja draped in black with blood-tinted clouds.
"And...throughout my life, I have seen plenty of shinobi break and bend because of the trials that life threw at them, changing them for the worst. Even those with willpower to spare." Jiraiya noted, shifting against the cool wood that he was resting on. "I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
"Hey, hey now...what's the matter Ero-sennin?" Naruto replied easily, not worried at all. "What brought this up?"
"Thinking about the future, it's something that geezers like myself do a lot." Jiraiya retorted blithely.
"Well, you're worried for nothing, cause I'm not gonna change. The Akatsuki isn't gonna change me, neither will-"
"I'm not just talking about the Akatsuki or the Uchiha, brat. I'm talking about everything else after them as well."
Naruto frowned, stubborn. "I'm still not going to change."
His stubborn determination managed to make the powerful sage chuckle, shaking his head. "Calm down, Naruto, I never said that all change was bad, did I?"
This time the blond blew out air explosively, exasperated by his master's vagueness. "Then what the hell are you spouting right now?"
"Just listen for a bit, would you?" Jiraiya scolded lightly, his voice light before growing serious. "People change Naruto, that much is inevitable as they grow, for better or worse. No, I'm not asking you not to change..."
This time, the older man turned his head just a bit to look at his apprentice, who he knew was listening despite the fact that he was laying his head on the tree that they were sharing.
"...Don't lose yourself."
Naruto straightened, just a bit. "Don't...lose myself?"
"Yes." the Toad Sage confirmed, every bit the wise man that sometimes emerged from his perverted exterior. "People change, Naruto, but sometimes...instead of simply change, they lose what made them that individual in the first place. Crushed by some kind of pressure that shattered them to their core. What made them...'them', simply was lost."
The young shinobi licked his lips, uncomfortable with the thought of Uzumaki Naruto no longer being Uzumaki Naruto. "And...you think that could happen to me?"
"We don't know what the future has in store for us, Naruto." the older man explained. "Even someone like Tsunade, who had an indomitable will, lost herself when she lost two of her closest loved ones. It can happen to anyone, in our line of work."
Blue eyes took in the peaceful sight of the meadow around them, a scenery that very much conflicted with the seriousness of their conversation, letting his teacher continue speaking, knowing that he wasn't finished.
"Naruto..." Jiraiya murmured, so quiet that his student almost didn't hear him. "No matter what happens in the future, no matter how dim and hopeless, I want you to retain who you are; your core. To remember all of the people that have placed their faith in you; their hope."
Although he couldn't see it, Naruto somehow knew that the wise old man was smiling faintly now, a bit of pride leaking into his voice.
"Their legacy."
The younger shinobi slowly raised his arm from his side as he listened, bringing his hand to his chest, which was open thanks to the fact that his orange and black jacket was unzipped, gripping the small emerald gem that was hanging from his necklace tightly, somehow warming his palm at it's touch.
"Don't lose yourself and stay strong, Naruto..."
The wind brushed past both men, the floating leaves comforting both as Naruto began to drift off to sleep, aware of his teacher's smile as he fell to blissful rest.
"Stay strong..."
Light peeked through the slightly opened curtains, lighting up the dimly lit room where a certain blond was stirring.
Twisting a bit, the young man groaned as he opened an eyelid, pupils droopy as they regained focus.
It took a bit, but Uzumaki Naruto was waking up, pushing himself to sit up, dragging himself from the confines of his sleep.
However, despite how tired his body was, his mind wasn't in any such state.
To the contrary, his mind was very much going over the dream he had just awoken from.
Staring at the beam of light that illuminated his features, Naruto was silent for several moments, mulling over and making sense of what he had just experienced.
Then, inexplicably, a grin formed, genuine as it ever could be.
"You were right old man...it didn't just end with the Akatsuki at all." he admitted, raising his head towards the ceiling, as if the person he was speaking to was hanging right there. "But I swear...that I won't lose my core. Not without one hell of a fight."
As soon as he made his vow, the blond's features softened, hoping that his words would reach the great beyond somehow.
"...Ero-sennin..." the shinobi couldn't help but whisper, eyes unseeing, before a ghost of a smile graced his lips. "...Thanks, you damn perverted old man."
His words, spoken to no one, meant for a man that wasn't there, still held the teenaged boy's thorough gratitude.
Somehow, the blond couldn't help but believe that his teacher managed to reach him and give him some encouragement at just the right moment, considering all that has happened recently.
That, or Naruto simply recalled that memory from the deep recesses of his mind due to everything that has happened.
Either or, he was grateful.
He needed to hear that, then and there.
Taking a moment to bask in the warm feelings that his dreams elicited, Naruto took a second to grasp his surroundings, trying to remember the previous night's events.
He blinked, recognising where he was as soon as he saw the familiar outlines of furniture thanks to the light.
He was in his living room, for a reason that the blond couldn't recall then and there.
Not only that, but it turned out that he was sleeping on his -kinda- comfy couch.
The teenaged boy sighed as he shifted his body, idly wondering why he was on his couch in the living room and not in his-
He paused his thinking right there, registering that his hand had just touched something while he was shifting around on the couch, getting him to turn and look down.
After seeing what he had accidentally touched, the young man couldn't help but smile, unable to do otherwise when he saw the peacefully sleeping face of his practically adopted imouto.
Though why they were sharing the same couch was still a minor mystery for him.
Looking around, it seemed that they weren't the only ones in the living room either.
Scrunching his eyebrows together at the particular situation he found himself in, Naruto carefully got out of the couch without waking the slumbering red-head, intent on getting to the bottom of this.
Before he could reach the curtains and do anything to solve this mystery however, he was forced to stop all bodily movements, freezing in place.
Mio was stirring, and in the faint light, the blond could clearly see her features twist in worry as her hands stretched out, grasping for something in front of her.
And the longer that he watched, the more distressed the half-devil's features became.
At first, the shinobi was thoroughly confused as to what was going on, not sure what she was grasping for.
Then, in a click, it hit him.
She was searching for him.
Guilt awashed the young man, knowing damn well that despite her assurances, that she was clearly more affected by her trials than she let on.
With a sigh, Naruto made a familiar hand sign, whispering something under his breath as he did so.
Without uttering a sound, a copy of the blond appeared besides him, shuffling forward to crawl back onto the couch.
As soon as the clone managed to occupy the space left by the original, he felt Mio quickly settle down as she instinctively felt his body heat, her distress washing away in her contentment.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, before finally reaching the curtains to pull them back, letting the sunlight do it's job.
What he saw was both; expected and surprising, if that made any sense.
And it also managed to trigger the memories that led to this...situation.
A few hours ago...
"...Wow, you lot really did go through the ringer today huh?"
Sona nodded, tone dry. "I'd say so."
The sun was slowly peeking out from over the horizon, indicating that the day has arrived over Kuoh Town, and that the night was done.
And boy, what a night it was.
Following immediately after Naruto reunited with everyone in Kuoh Town, the group huddled together in order to share their experiences with one another, curious to see what has happened with them.
For now, Rias and Sona were giving the blond a summary of everything that has transpired since he was away.
And he was not happy.
"Diodora...so that's the bastard's name, huh?" Naruto growled, crossing his arms in agitation. "To think that that masked guy from before was a noble. And to think that he had the balls to come back after I ripped apart his face..."
"You're telling me..." Mio agreed with a sigh, shaking her head. "He was relentless, and probably insane to boot. I barely managed to beat him back when we fought, though if it wasn't for Issei, I would have been done for."
A snort, coming from the perverted boy himself made his opinion known to all in regards to that situation, but didn't deign to comment as the nun focused on wrapping some bandages on the crown of his head, basking in her familiar fretting.
Deciding to let him do his own thing, the shinobi turned to Mio, a toothy smirk in place. "But from what everyone's been telling me, you only lost that battle thanks to the stray devils that that bastard had under his control. Which means you've just trashed a high-class devil by yourself, doesn't it?"
The half-devil continued to shake her head, ignoring the warm effects of his not-so-subtle praise. "I only won because I managed to drop two buildings on him, I didn't win with my power..."
"Wait...you dropped two buildings on him!?" Rias exclaimed, her eyes wide.
She just finished giving their neighborhood troublemaker a rundown of everything that has happened while he was gone, yet she had no idea that her kohai literally smashed that horrible man with at least six floors of concrete...
Naruto, far from shocked, just bent his head back and barked a laugh. "Ha! That. Is. Badass!"
"Great..." Yuki couldn't help but sigh. "She's becoming as destructive as her brother..."
Mio gasped, horrified. "I'm nowhere near as bad!"
Naruto rolled his eyes, amused as the red-head continued to deny their similar effects on the area around them.
He couldn't help but be proud of her destruction of public property, especially since it hurt no one in the real world and was used as a way to let her get close to her enemy.
Apparently, Yuki very much noticed his pride, as she poked him in the stomach in faint irritation, her eyes dull.
"Stop encouraging her increasingly bad habits, Naruto." she complained, blaming him.
The shinobi gaped at her, rebelling against the accusation. "Hey! I had absolutely nothing to do with that!"
In response, a certain succubus piped up, at precisely the moment where Naruto really didn't need her input.
"Eh...Mio-sama was never quite this destructive until she met you, Naruto-sama." Maria pointed out.
"...Bad influence." Koneko couldn't help but mutter under her breath, believing that to be the case.
Unfortunately, both lolis got dark looks from the pair of siblings, stopping their little comments cold.
"My...what a carefree bunch."
A sarcastic comment managed to cut through both of their glares though.
Naruto swerved his head to the side to find the source of the voice, feeling like he's heard it before...
And, sure enough, the young man's eyes lit up when their focus went to the air, seeing a certain fallen float above everyone.
"Raynare!" the shinobi exclaimed, flashing a toothy grin without reserve. "Holy cow, it's been a long time! I'll admit, I almost didn't recognize you without that...'outfit' of yours, but that permanent scowl on your face did a great job at rejogging my memory."
The raven-haired female's scowl, still present after thinking about some rather unpleasant things following the blond's little speech, softened just a bit at his bright grin.
Something that did not go unnoticed by someone.
"It really has been a while...Naruto." Raynare replied, the edges of her lips twisting upwards just a bit. "And I see that you still manage to drag yourself into the most...'interesting' of situations."
Scratching the back of his head, the teen chuckled. "Yeah, somehow. If anything though, it's gotten worse since we last met dattebayo."
"I figured that when I heard about what you did at that devil party back in the Underworld."
Naruto blinked owlishly at that, surprised to hear that she knew about what happened in that party following Rias' dissolved engagement with Riser. "You...knew about that?"
Raynare snorted. "Knew about it? How could I not? Theentire Underworld probably knows about it by now, since the news wouldn't stop talking about you after your little stunt."
Seeing his wide-eyed look, the young woman then jabbed a finger at the two devil kings on the ground. "If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask them about it. I'm sure that they've heard about it too."
Sona, who was just casually listening in, gave the fallen woman a blank stare. "...Actually, this is the first time that I've heard about that event getting such coverage. Same for Rias as well, I'm sure."
The red-head jerked at hearing her name being used, caught unawares as she continued to needle her kohai with similar colored hair about dropping buildings on people. "Eh? Ah...yes."
Raynare snorted again as Sona twitched, taking some satisfaction in knowing something that the devils didn't.
Petty? Yes. But she didn't really care.
Better than outright hostility in her book.
Clearing her throat, the Gremory heiress refocused back on the task at hand, much to Mio's relief no doubt. "Anyway, Naruto, going on a tangent for a moment; how exactly do you know Raynare-san?"
"How'd I meet her you ask?" he reiterated, tilting his head up to make a thinking pose, looking for details. "Well...I accidentally knocked her out while I was in a ramen-induced rage, then her mother tried to kill me, then I helped Issei over there try and keep Asia alive...then Raynare and I became friends."
He nodded, sure of this chain of events.
Things tended to go like that.
Apparently he wasn't the only one who thought so either.
"...I knew about that last bit, as a matter of fact, I half expect for something like that to happen again in the near future." Yuki stated, nary a doubt in her voice. "But I had no idea that that entire debacle started because of you, Naruto."
Mio couldn't help but concur. "...What the hell, you totally seem like the bad guy in this situation..."
The blond shrugged. "Things just sorta...happened. I guess."
"Wait."
Everyone's eyes panned to the shaking figure of a certain fallen angel, taking in her outraged expression.
"You mean to tell me..." Raynare started lowly, body shaking with repressed rage. "That you knocked me unconscious, let me get interrogated by that weird pale guy, and started a literal war with your damn copies...all because you wanted some ramen!?"
...
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty messed up."
The fallen's mouth hung open, anger petering out at the massive balls that the shinobi must have had to act so nonchalant with the situation.
It was something that even said shinobi had noticed eventually, given the looks he was being given.
Naruto coughed, doing his best to ignore the pointed stares by everyone around him, as well as the hanging mouth of the fallen angel. "So...uh...how've you been since then, Raynare?"
While anyone with a brain was able to see through the blond's lame attempt at changing the subject, they were not able to figure out that he was also trying to stop them from figuring out who exactly that 'pale boy' was.
Maybe he was too good of an actor sometimes...
"Geez...there you go, acting as if this was just a casual afternoon day." Mio noted with a 'hmph'. "But do you realize how worried we all were about you? No one was able to contact you at all when you went to Kyoto, and we had no idea where you went after that either. It was..troubling."
She made no mention of the fact that the blond's uncanny ability to ease the frayed nerves of his allies was helping to nurture this 'casual' atmosphere, allowing everyone present to simply speak their minds for the most part.
For the most part.
Oblivious to his effect on others though, the young man frowned. "Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to cheapen your recent struggles. I just thought that focusing on the shitty stuff could wait for a bit, you know? Seeing each other again shouldn't be a doom and gloom fest 'ttebayo."
Pink eyes fluttered, their owner unable to truly try and get upset at her beloved sibling.
Truth was, a part of her couldn't help but be somewhat upset at how easily the whiskered teen was able to bounce back from his distressed state when she last saw him about to face that woman with purple hair.
It was mind boggling, yet here he was; a shoulder to lean on when things got rough, a solid rock to help and weather whatever storm came by.
Again.
A part of her was envious, she knew, and she had to lightly reproach him, lest her zigzagging emotional state lead her to say something she would regret.
"No. You shouldn't have to apologize..." the red-head admitted eventually, sighing as she nudged a little closer to what she was leaning on, letting the comfortable position calm her down. "I was the one in the wrong. You're trying to make everyone ease up again, and here I am playing sabotage."
She turned away from him, downcast. "...Sorry."
It took all of about three seconds to feel the blond place his hand on her shoulder, grasping it in order to comfort her.
"Hey now, don't worry so much about it. We're all a little tense after all." he soothed, before scratching his cheek, looking a little nervous. "Uh...that being said, can I ask you something?"
The half-devil turned back to him, pink eyes curious. "What?"
Now he was just flat out giving her a strange look. "...How long are you gonna keep my arm hostage for?"
Mio inclined her head a bit to look at their crossed limbs, her arm hugging his tightly like a vice so that he could scarcely move without moving her.
I'm reality, ever since the blond had finished raising everyone's spirits, his imouto had pretty much latched onto his arm and stayed there, refusing to be dislodged.
So much so that the teen had slowly lost all feeling in it.
In response to the shinobi's question, the half-devil's features scrunched up, finding the question to be weird. "Can't I hold onto my 'nii-chan's' arm anymore? What's the problem."
Taken aback, both by her refusal to acquiesce his arm and her usage of her sibling status to justify her actions when she's never been so outright affectionate before, the blond could only stare.
"Hey...are you alright, Mio?" he questioned hesitantly, meeting her gaze.
Squirming just a bit while under those blue -too blue- orbs, she replied. "I...just let me stay like this, alright? I'm fine, but let me stay like this."
Naruto, who was in the middle of opening his mouth to protest, didn't get the opportunity to actually speak.
"Indulge her."
So Rias requested anyway, with her arms crossed and a serious expression donned. "She's had it the worst today, just let her do as she wishes for now."
Moving his focus in-between both red-heads, the blond hesitated for only a brief moment before nodding firmly.
So, ignoring the young woman holding onto him for a moment, he also shifted into his serious frame of mind. "So, just to be clear, why did you all split into different groups?"
Sona shot Rias an interested look as her friend went rimrod straight, caught in a dilemma.
The two devils gave the blond an abridged version of the events that transpired in Kuoh Town while he was away, omitting a few things for the sake of brevity.
Except for one detail, that just so happened to be about a certain knight.
The Sitri heiress followed along for her friend's sake, but she was aware that the omission was a rather gaping one, and hard to hide.
To be fair to the crimson haired princess, if they divulged what happened, then Kiba Yuuto's general bodily functions might be seriously in danger.
Which was probably why Rias was so desperately trying to grasp at a cover story.
Fortunately for her, someone intervened.
"It was my fault."
Naruto frowned, following the source of the voice to look at a pair of hazel eyes, burning with a quiet determination.
"Your fault?" the shinobi repeated, seeking clarification.
The rook nodded. "Yes...I-I wanted to get stronger, so I ran away from Buchou so that I could fight stray devils on my own...but she came after me eventually...and-"
Koneko continued to ramble on about what she has done, laying the blame on herself for getting Mio into the terrible position that she was left in, as well as for placing everyone's lives in danger.
And it was one of the easiest lies that the blond had seen through.
Not only was the white haired teen creating a story that was obviously being made on the fly, the reactions of everyone else around her gave her away.
They ranged from disbelief, to consternation.
And for one, outright guilt.
He knew that someone would break and spill the beans, and that it would probably come from Rias, who was looking particularly perturbed.
But the one who was carrying the heavy guilt would reach that point before she even could.
"Please...stop, Koneko-chan."
That soft voice, despite how it barely reached above a whisper, somehow managed to kill the rook's desperate explanation, leaving her deflated.
Naruto didn't need to be a genius to figure out just who the young devil was trying to cover for.
"...So...this is because of your actions, huh...Kiba-san?" he asked the handsome blond that just emerged from the alleyway of two buildings.
Yuuto Kiba had arrived, much to the shock of his fellow Peerage members, clasping Koneko's shoulders with both of his hands, refusing to let her take the fall.
Something which earned him about thirty seconds in the shinobi's head before he began to break some bones.
"Why?" was all Naruto questioned, direct and to the point.
"For revenge against the Excalibur swords." was his fellow blond's response, following his lead.
At this, the youth's countenance darkened, recalling a moment a few days ago where both blondes had a discussion which he hoped wouldn't cause any trouble later.
Sadly, he might just be disappointed.
"...Is this your so-called 'goal'?" Naruto spat, making the word sound almost like a curse with the amount of venom in his voice.
Yuuto didn't make any excuses or justifications.
"It was."
"Was?"