Naruto didn't stop there though. "To me, Yasaka-san is a nice acquaintance, don't get me wrong. But you? No…I don't want to jeopardize our friendship by doing something stupid, it means too much to me."
Although the whiskered teen couldn't see the teenaged girl's face, thanks to her light blue hair acting like a curtain on his chest, he was still able to feel the nearly unnoticeable twitch upward that her lips made.
"So don't feel forced to do something like this, alright?"
Yuki twitched at that last bit.
"…I didn't feel forced though…"
The shinobi leaned down, ears straining. "Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that. It's kinda hard to hear you when you're faceplanting my chest dattebayo."
Then and there, the hero quickly made a choice; clarify and embarrass herself by making eye contact with Naruto during her curious state, or retain her dignity.
No contest.
Refusing to speak further, Yuki just shook her head and wrapped her lithe arms around the waist of the teenaged boy she was leaning on, idly noting how nice his toned body felt against her's.
She didn't even notice the sharp intake of breath that he took when she did so.
"So…" the blond's voice, strangled as it was, was still clear. "Do you get it now?"
"…Mmm."
"Does that 'Mmm' mean 'yes' or 'no'?"
It meant 'yes'.
That being said, Yuki didn't want…whatever this was to stop.
To the contrary, if anything, she wanted to keep pushing to see how far this development could go.
Never before has her body reacted in such a manner.
Never before was she driven to continue with a course of action because of an overwhelming urge from her base instincts.
It was…something else.
She didn't want to stop.
But the thought of entering some sort of unfamiliar territory with Naruto, while appealing to her in a way that she didn't quite understand, was also…
Scary.
She could certainly understand why the blond was unsure whether they should continue what they were doing.
Such a thing could harm the bond that they've cultivated if they unintentionally hurt the other, which could happen when one considered their dual inexperience.
Hasn't she always been taught to never enter a situation impetuously? Especially when ignorant?
The dangerous prospect, among other things, was what stayed her wandering and curious hand.
Disentangling her arms with a lowly sigh, Yuki gave in and backed off from Naruto, squashing down the urge to ask whether he wanted to wash her in return.
It wasn't until she shuffled back from him though, that she remembered something.
Somehow, after admitting that he didn't want to lose or hurt the bond that they had with each other, she just couldn't look at the blond in the eye without becoming flustered.
But when she moved away from him, she not only found his gaze trained onto her once more, but she also recalled the fact that she was completely and utterly naked.
Of course she was, and she had no problem with it.
Yet her cheeks blew up regardless, and an uncharacteristic sound came out of her as a result.
"…Uwa…"
She bowed her head, hoping that her bangs could shield her embarrassment.
To Naruto though, not only was he once more seeing Yuki naked again, with her unblemished skin and perky breasts in full display, but it happened while his self-control was reaching it's limit.
All made worse when she made an adorable sound and bent her head down, unintentionally making somethingbounce on her chest.
Naruto felt his face slacken, then adopt a far-away look.
"Ero-sennin…it seems that…I've reached my limit." he whispered to no one in particular, entirely dazed.
Yuki glanced up, confused enough to momentarily regain her composure.
"Guh!"
But there was nothing that could have prepared her for this.
Blood spurted out like a hose from the blond's nostrils, launching him backwards and smashing his body into the wall of the bathroom, delivering spider cracks all across his impact point.
From his new spot on the wall, the shinobi slumped, a blissful aura gracing his form.
"N-Naruto!?"
"No…regrets…"
Of all of the ways to go, Naruto quietly admitted to himself that this wasn't too bad.
Yuuto Kiba was pretty much caught up on the happenings that have hit Kuoh Town in the last week or so.
Which meant that he was aware of the friend that Yuki had found during her fight with the 'heroes' in Kyoto, as well as his comatose status.
Hell, he even knew about the fact that the yokai healing him have claimed that he would probably wake up soon.
Yet, when Issei showed up at the old school building so that they could hang out as a Peerage before class, he showed up with someone that he didn't expect to see up and about anytime soon.
"…Issei…that's…" Rias' gaping face made clear her feelings on the shaggy-haired youth that was casually glancing around the gothic-styled décor.
"Yeah." the pawn grumbled, still irritated that his parents drew the conclusions that they did. "This guy woke up last night, Buchou."
All eyes were inexplicably drawn to the amnesiac, oblivious to the wariness that his presence had caused to the devils in the room.
Akeno, who was right beside her king, as usual, pointed out as such. "Buchou, Yuki-san was one thing, but are we reallysure that this boy won't try and harm us?"
Honestly speaking, the red-head couldn't.
When the young man finally woke up, she expected to have Yuki on hand to speak to him, aware that having someone familiar with him could keep him from doing anything…rash.
Too bad that it didn't work out that way.
"Basara-san. That's your name if I remembered correctly, yes?" Rias decided to aim for some pleasantries first.
Said youth snapped his focus to the red-haired teen, straightening subtly. "…Yeah."
Seeing the rigid posture that the young man had adopted, Rias quickly determined that he was, at best, uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving.
This wasn't going to work.
"…I'm not sure how much you remember, Basara-san, but a friend of yours had asked us to keep you safe here while you were in a comatose state. As to the 'why', well…I'll leave that to her to inform you about."
Looking about as lost as can be, Basara nodded, at the very least sensing that these people didn't mean him harm.
Still uncomfortable though.
Deciding to do something besides stare at the new and unexpected arrival, Yuuto made a show of checking his watch. "Hey, Buchou. I think that it's about time that we get to class soon…"
The knight thought it prudent to ignore the hasty thumbs up that Issei discreetly gave him.
Silently though, Rias was congratulating her friend's quick thinking in getting them out of this awkward situation. "Ah. Yes! Yuuto's correct, we should all get going to class. Don't want to be late, do we?"
Next to her, Akeno scratched her cheek lightly, her indulgent shake of the head saying more than enough.
Gracefully, the red-head ignored her and stood up from her seat.
Following her lead, the present members of her Peerage got ready to go as well, refusing to be left alone with someone that they didn't know that happened to be a 'hero'.
Or a self-proclaimed one, at the very least.
"Basara-san, feel free to stay here while we're attending class. There's plenty of tasty snacks that Akeno made on the tray on top of the coffee table." Rias was walking towards the door now, trying her hardest to offer the plainly confused newcomer a reassuring smile. "Yuki-san should be getting to school soon, and I'm sure that you two will have plenty to catch up on."
From there, Basara watched as practically everyone in the building filed through the door leading outside, with the only one being reluctant to leave, which happened to be a certain nun, was getting dragged out.
He only really had one thing to say about this.
"…Huh, since it was offered, I guess that I should get some food."
He had a feeling that even when he had his memories, that he was kinda easy-going, but not to the point of being lax.
It was a quiet trip back to Kuoh Academy.
Yuki somehow managed to save his life after he lost an excessive amount of blood, by some miracle.
That being said, as Naruto could have guessed, the aftermath of this…'event' left the atmosphere between them painfully awkward.
As in; 'please kill me now' kind of painful.
It was bad enough that they had a literal physical distance in between the both of them as they walked to school, totally silent.
Though, it seemed that they were still on the same wavelength however, since the two of them didn't head straight for their classes after they entered the Academy gate.
Nope, they headed straight to home base of the Gremory princess that lived in Kuoh Town.
Which is where they ran into a…interesting sight.
Of course, the blond had to give his nonchalant greeting of the day, no matter the situation.
"Yo, what's going on, guys?"
Literally, while leaving the old school building as a group, a small procession made up of mostly the Gremory devils were leaving their base.
Well…escaping was more like it, what with their frantic pace and all.
Honestly, he had no idea what this lot was doing.
Or, for that matter, why Rias was looking at Yuki in particular with palpable relief.
"Well, as you can see, we're apparently running away from our newest acquaintance." Akeno supplied helpfully, the end of her lips twitching upwards for not even a second.
The resident shinobi of Kuoh Town blinked. "Say what now?"
Rias shot a tired look at her queen, before facing the two humans with an apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, while I hate to admit it…Akeno's statement isn't incorrect."
Seeing the lost looks that entered both of their features, the red-head turned to her pawn, whom she knew could give a short explanation with the finesse of a bulldozer.
Something that she felt would be perfect for this situation.
Acquiescing to this, Issei jabbed his thumb at the door that they have just exited from. "Yuki-san's friend woke up, and he's probably raiding the snack tray right about now."
Yep, as she suspected.
In the edge of Naruto's vision, Yuki flinched, visibly thrown off by this piece of information.
Not that he had much room to complain, since this threw him for a loop as well. "Wait…Yuki's-? You mean Basara is awake!?"
"Mmm." Asia made her voice known, glancing back at the old school building with uneasiness. "He woke up last night, so Issei-san took him in for the night. But he doesn't seem to recall anything about the life that he's led up until now…"
The blond spared a look at the shaken hero beside him, sympathetic, before turning back to the nun. "Amnesia then…huh? That's annoying dattebayo."
"Indeed." Rias absentmindedly twirled a few strands of her long crimson hair, in thought. "Honestly, that was why I was going to leave Basara-san here. I had no idea how to approach this…delicate situation, but maybe you might, since you knew him personally, Yuki-san."
It made sense.
Yuki could clearly understand the reasoning that was laid out before her, as well as read inbetween the lines and see how…uncomfortable it made the devils that another who held the term 'hero' was in their midst.
Or, at least one that they didn't know on a personal basis.
Still, trepidation stayed her hand.
She didn't know much about amnesia, but she was aware that many who were affected by such a condition…ended up as different people afterwards.
Most of the time at least.
So…would her friend be anything like the kind, yet, always-too-serious little boy that she met long ago?
Before she could ponder the idea further, a familiar hand clasped against her shoulder, squeezing as much as gently pushing.
Turning just enough to meet with concerned blue eyes, she once more felt that disconcerting and pleasant tingling in her chest flare.
She turned away, doing her best to let the heat that burned her cheeks simmer down, until she glared at the building in front of her.
Without another word she took a step forward and opened the door, her gait steady despite the nervous energy that she held within.
Naruto stepped forward to, but not until glancing at the procession next to him. "It's all good, guys. I'm sure that Yuki can handle it from here, so you lot can…'enjoy' class if you want."
The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable, evoking dry looks.
He wasn't done however. "…Hey, before I go help Yuki out, I noticed that Koneko isn't with you guys. Any idea where she is?"
Yuuto raised his hand at that query. "Uh, well, Koneko-chan was tired after yesterday's training, so I think that she's going to be a little late today."
"Yes…I think she said as much in that group text last night." Akeno input, sending a smirk to the blond. "Why? Are you planning to torture her in your next training session, Naruto-kun?"
Copying the expression on her face, the shinobi showed his pearly whites. "…Well, she probably won't be able to move by the time we're done, that's for sure."
Spinning on his heel, Naruto then chased after Yuki, interested to meet this new member of their little group in Kuoh Town.
Behind him, many among the group were giving their queenowlish looks.
"…'Naruto-kun'? Since when did you use such a familiar honorific with him, Sempai?" Yuuto wondered, asking the question that many were about to.
A giggle that was covered by a dainty hand was all he got in response, as Akeno twirled about and began walking towards class.
Rias watched her go, her brows scrunched together in consternation, unable to stop the irritation from crossing her features before she smoothed it over.
"Let's go." was all she mustered, her voice strained.
Thankfully, it was hardly noticeable.
Yuki wasn't sure what to expect when she entered the main room of the old school building.
But seeing Basara casually munching on a pastry whilst relaxing on the couch was among the less…expected outcomes.
Slowly panning his head around while chewing, the young man raised one of his eyebrows. "…Huh, you're with that group from before, right? Well, sorry for asking, but do you guys have anything besides pastries here? I don't want to intrude, but there's…well…nothing but sweets here."
The female hero didn't reply.
As expected, he took her silence the wrong way. "Ah, but if that's all you have, then don't worry about it. I'll manage. Anyway, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is-"
"Basara."
Basara paused in his introduction, then slowly nodded his head.
Yuki stepped forward and crouched in front of her old friend, features blank.
"Basara."
Exasperation and a little bit of suspicion bled into his face. "…Yeah, that's me alright. And you're-?"
"Yuki." she said simply, emotionlessly. "Your friend."
Basara gave her a strange look, snapped his head behind him, as if to check that she was actually talking to him, then went right back to her. "…My friend?"
Yuki nodded, the first crack of that unexpressive mask appearing when she smiled. "…Yes. It's…really nice, seeing you again. For the longest time, I thought that you were…"
She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. "It doesn't matter. Now that you're here, maybe otou-sama…"
"Wait."
Words dying in her throat, the active hero allowed for the shaggy-haired teen to speak his mind, interested with what he had to say.
"…Who…are you, exactly?"
Yuki nearly slapped herself on the head in her beleaguered realization.
Basara had amnesia.
To him, she was probably either speaking gibberish, or was just plain insane.
Even worse, she was probably a stranger to him…
Swallowing the lump that appeared in her throat, she prepared to start the process of revitalizing her friend's memory, hoping that her walk down memory lane would trigger something.
"Ohhh…so this is what you're like when you're not trying to kill me, huh?"
Such plans were rendered moot when a certain spiky-haired teen entered the room and made his feelings known.
Basara frowned visibly, his shoulders squaring as he gazed at the newcomer, a wariness entering his emerald orbs. "…And you are?"
Sapphire danced when they met emerald, looking far too amused for Yuki's comfort. "Your future best buddy. And someone that you tried to kill. That too."
"Naruto…" the female hero whispered, a faint warning inherent in her tone, her attention split between the two males.
Both were too pre-occupied with the other to actually respond to her though.
"…I tried to kill you?" now Basara was frowning for a completely different reason.
"Not just me." Naruto claimed, refusing to hold back any punches. "Yuki and Maria too."
Sparing a glance at the worried bluenette beside him, the former hero met the blond's gaze with a sincerity that genuinely threw him off.
Just a little.
"If you aren't lying to me…then I'd like to apologize for my actions." he stated clearly, solemn, and meaning every word that he was verbalizing. "I don't remember anything before I woke up…so this is all I can really do right now."
Hands clenching into fists, the young man that had a single scar on his cheek pinned the other male with hard eyes. "But, if you'll give me the chance, I'll definitely make up for my transgressions. Count on it."
Naruto kept their connection for a moment.
Then for one more.
"I like this guy."
Yuki sighed explosively, turning away from the blond resolutely so that he couldn't get any satisfaction from her.
Not like she could ignore his beaming visage though…
Still, she wouldn't waste this newly formed gap in the conversation. "Basara. I need to ask; does the word 'hero' mean anything to you?"
The young man jerked, as if stung, rounding on her with a faraway look in his eyes, face tight with tension.
"That…word…" he whispered, so quiet was he that the other teens barely heard him. "It sounds…familiar."
Yuki bit her lip, conflicted whether she should say more, or stay her hand for now.
It was obvious that the word meant something to him, but his struggle with it proved that it wasn't enough to help him remember.
Maybe she could-
"Yuki." Naruto interrupted her thoughts, glumly looking up at the clock that was held suspended on the wall in front of him. "It kills me to say this, but we're gonna be late to class if we don't hurry. You can help him out later."
At that moment, she wished she could've seen her own face, because she was positive that she looked ridiculous as she gaped at the blond. "…Are you pushing me to get to class on time?"
"Don't get your hopes up." he growled, annoyed. "If I fuck around too much, then the student council will try and capture me with that giant net of theirs again. I don't need to garner a lot of attention by dodging Saji's swings again dattebayo!"
Yellow eyes blinked.
Oh yeah.
That did happen once, didn't it?
She was also pretty sure that the pawn of the Sitri group still nurtured a grudge against her friend after he glued that bucket onto his head as well.
Not that she could blame him.
Inevitably, Naruto's and Yuki's attention fell back onto Basara, who was looking decidedly interested in the little tidbits that their banter had revealed about their lives.
"Basara-san, could you do us a favor and stay here until we get back? I'm pretty sure that the both of us have a free period right before lunch, so just hang around here 'till then."
Basara deadpanned at the blond. "…So just keep doing what I've been doing?"
Naruto offered a positively beatific smile. "You're catchin' on!"
With great reluctance, the young man felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards.
This guy sure knew how to alleviate someone's tension. He'd give him that.
Ok, so Naruto didn't exactly rush Yuki back to class just so that he could get there on time.
While a clone was left back at his death-by-powerpoint world history course, the original was making his way to officially hand in some paperwork, aware that he was on the clock.
He knew that this stuff had to be handed in during faculty working hours, so he had to wait until the first bell rang, unfortunately.
Because he knew that this paper had to be given early, as in, as early as humanely possible.
Not only were people still groggy early in the morning, making them prone to mistakes, but the longer that he dragged this out…
Well, the more likely that the student council would find out what he did, probably by randomly checking their important documents.
Yeah, that wouldn't be a thing.
Briskly walking at a sedate pace towards his destination, making sure not to seem too desperate to get there, while avoiding any questions that might've arrived about his lack of class attendance-
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Shit.
His plan was foiled before it could even begin.
Slowly panning his head to the stairway that he was passing by, he locked with a pair of heterchromic irises, focusing upon him with intrigue and a bit of wariness.
He supposed that she had a decent reason to be wary though, considering the fact that he gave them so much shit.
"Tsubaki-san." Naruto inclined his head in acknowledgement, refusing to stop moving all the while. "Sorry, but I'm kind of in a rush, so hopefully we could talk later-"
"Have you played a prank on my king recently, Uzumaki-san?" she interrupted, regarding him with those strange eyes of her's.
Forced to stop this time, lest he garner suspicion, the shinobi fully faced the queen of the Sitri group, looking about as puzzled as he actually felt. "…No. I didn't. And if I did, I would've owned up to it, since seeing you lot get your panties in a bunch really makes my day. No offense."
Tsubaki took offense, understandably.
But despite the twitching of her cheek, she managed to remain straight-faced for the most part. "…I see. I apologize for taking your time then. Kaichou suspects that someone has gone through her office and rummaged through her papers last night, and you were among the first suspects that we considered."
Naruto managed to keep his features relatively free from anything that could've implicated him, thankful that he accidentally misinterpreted the teenaged girl's question.
His clone's actions early in the morning wasn't that of a prank, rather, it was the culmination of his strategy to build his club.
So when she asked him her query, the thought of earlier this morning was among the furthest thing from his mind.
Good thing too, since his genuinely confused expression seemed to have convinced her of his innocence.
"No worries." he excused easily enough. "If anything, this worked out for me. Do you know if Sona-kaichou is at her office right now?"
"Yes." she answered, tilting her head in interest. "Do you have business with her? She should be free for all of first period."
"Ah…no, just curious." the shinobi responded, shuffling backwards. "Anyway, I'm kinda busy, so I'll see you later."
Not even waiting for an answer, Naruto continued on his trek, ignoring the feeling of Tsubaki's eyes boring into the back of his head.
He was right about needing to hurry and hand his paperwork in.
If he didn't, then the student council president might actually sift through her things to check if they were tampered with.
Even when he reached the door that gave him access to the faculty room, he knew that he wouldn't feel relieved until he actually had it signed.
Taking a breath, the blond knocked on the door, preparing to enact his rehearsed sob story as to have his clubs, and it's members, officialized.
Outside of that, all he needed everyone to do today was notdo anything stupid so that he could concentrate on his mission.
Freed Sellzen was hungry.
No, scratch that; starving.
It's been two nights ago since he was beaten up, captured, and tied up by a blond faggot and his bitch of a girlfriend, and he was still furious over it.
Worse than that, they even took his new toy before he even had the chance to use it.
That wasn't fair at all!
Still, at least it helped clarify who he wanted to kill first as soon as he got out of this shitty situation.
Grunting a bit as he squirmed, shifting his bound limbs in order to get some leeway from the tight knots.
They didn't budge at all.
"Having trouble being tied up like some sort of pig on a fire, Freed Sellzen?"
Snapping his head up as much as he was physically able, the man with long silver hair glared daggers at the source of the voice that pierced the darkness of the room, recognizing and loathing it.
He tried to curse out the woman that stood idly leaning on the door frame, verbalizing the most distasteful and creative cusses that he could think up.
Too bad his voice was muffled thanks to the ball gag occupying it.
"Oh, I think you hurt my feelings just now." Raynare snarked, a hint of a smirk reaching her lips. "I might have to write my feelings down in a dairy to recover from this, don't you think?"
If looks could kill, the fallen angel would've been completely disintegrated, she knew.
Not that she cared. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm here to give you the food and water that I know that you want. Or need, if you feel like living."
Just the thought of food and water made his stomach grumble in protest, forcing Freed to dial back his vicious glare from pure spite to mere hatred.
"Good boy." the raven-haired woman taunted, but still pushed herself from the door frame to walk to his prone form. "Was that so hard?"
The bound man barely managed to hold himself in check from the taunt, and instead watched as the woman crouched in front of him with a plastic bag filled with goodies.
He could feel himself salivating…
Slender fingers edged towards his face, plucking out the ball gag that firmly latched onto his mouth without hesitation.
"But before I give you your nourishment." Raynare continued, as if she hadn't stopped to begin with, peering down at the defenseless man. "I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."
Her tone of voice indicated that it wasn't actually his choice to make.
Still, ever ballsy, the insane exorcist let his tongue hang as he provoked the one who had his food and beverage. "Hoh? So now that you're some kind of bigshot, you think that you could just do whatever you want? Well fuck that! You're just some cunt muffin that just let go of her mommy's teat-!"
Freed was forced to stop his tirade before he could really get going.
Mostly thanks to the carefully aimed spear made of light that was held over his skull, ready to be brought down end him.
Raynare coolly watched him squirm for a bit as she held it suspended over him, not appearing fazed by his words at all.
"Would you like to keep running your mouth? Because unlike some people, I have no qualms with ending your miserable existence."
This time, wisely, the exiled exorcist stayed silent.
Accepting this as his acceptance of the situation, the woman squared her shoulders once she crossed her arms. "…Why are you still here, exorcist? You served under the banner of my mother in the name of conflict, and yet, you stayed here, in Kuoh Town."
Freed grinned sharply. "What can I say? I like killing shitty heathens, that's all."
"Don't try and play me for a fool, Sellzen." the fallen snapped, features shadowed by her dark bangs. "You're sadistic and insane, but you're no fool. You wouldn't stay here when there were powerful devils in the area, not unless you had something keeping you here. Your sense of self-preservation is too strong for that."
"Oh~ How nice that you look at me with such admiration! If you look at me so highly, then just skip the foreplay for now and-"
"You're working for Kokabiel, aren't you?"
Raynare's query, given with a flat tone, did not receive an answer immediately.
Which, for him, was as much an answer as an avoidance, considering how much he liked to hear himself talk.
At the very least, she could conclude that he was involved with the rogue Grigori member on some level, though maybe not directly.
"Why'd you do it?"
Pausing her thinking, the supernatural being regarded the human below her, interested to see a genuine hint of anger in his eyes.
Not the insane over-the-top anger either, rather, it was more akin to the reasonable one that one would see from feeling the sting of betrayal.
Interesting.
"What? Did you think that we were comrades? And if so, in what exactly? Surely you must have realized that our interests weren't even marginally aligned?" she asked of him, unable to see his logic, nor expecting to.
Growling, Freed glared daggers upon his former superior. "Damn it…! I know! But I also knew that no one that served with Vretiel-sama would consort with heathens and shitty devils!"
Violet eyes flickered to the door, wary, before bearing down on the silver-haired man, venomous. "Don't presume to understand me. If you think for one moment that I trust devils, or even humans, then you have me completely mistaken. I…I've only made an exception, that's all."
"An exception!?"
"It's of no concern to you." she hissed, drawing closer to him, overtly threatening. "All you need to know is this; we aren't friends. We are enemies, and that I won't hesitate to end you."
With a clean and deft movement, Raynare stuck her hand into the insane man's pocket, grasping and pulling something out before he could even react.
At first glance, it looked like a dark yellow handle of a sword, without the blade itself.
In reality, that's exactly what it was.
And if one wanted to actually get the blade, all they needed to do was press the small button on it, which allowed the container that held light energy within to power the hilt.
Which, she promptly did.
A blade formed of pure white light shot out and pushed back the darkness in the room, illuminating both of the occupants' features.
Freed didn't like what he saw in the other person's eyes.
"Consider this your one and only warning, since I know that nothing but a threat will stay your hand."
Raynare swung the blade down, forcing the light sword to cut through clothes, skin, muscle, and bone.
"Ah-! MHPH!?"
The fake priest nearly screamed out, but it was muffled by the ball gag that the fallen quickly snapped back over his mouth, keeping him relatively quiet.
He could do nothing except handle the pain of having his right thigh impaled by his own weapon.
As well as wish that he could have even an inkling of a chance to kill this bitch and anyone that she might give a shit about.
"Your only warning." was all she claimed afterwards, looking particularly haughty. "You'll stay like that until someone decides to pull that sword out of you. I'm sure that our resident super-powered human might do it, but he won't be back until at least the mid-afternoon. So…hold out until then, ok?"
That last bit was offered mockingly, before she sauntered her way out of the room, slamming the door on the way out.
And Freed was left there, his own light sword sticking out of his leg, fucking furious.
A feeling that was amplified when he realized that that fucking traitor left his food and drinks in the plastic bag on the floor!
Wishing he could scream out the profanities that he wanted to express, the disgraced exorcist wiggled out in protest, ignoring the stinging pain that accompanied it.
Then he heard something.
Scowling as much as he could with a ball gag in his mouth, Freed managed to turn his head enough to look at the weapon inside of him through the side of his eye.
His red eyes widened at what he saw.
…
…Maybe he could turn this around after all.
"Mio-san!"
Mio jerked, knocked from her daydreams by her teacher, who was looking quite worried.
A sentiment which seemed to be echoed by most of her peers as well, seeing as she seemed to be the darling of their grade.
Not that she really put much stock in that though.
"Sorry, sensei." the red-head bowed her head a bit, her lips twisting upwards in an attempt to reassure him. "Just had a lot on my mind, that's all."
And she was being completely honest, she really did have a lot on her mind.
It just so happened to be on a single subject.
Her teacher didn't look entirely convinced though, but couldn't press the issue further when an annoyingly loud bell rang out.
This class period was over, according to the school bell at the very least.
Which was why Mio's classmates all scrambled to gather their things and get out of their while the going was good, some even managing to just leave immediately since they packed their things already in anticipation.
Mio followed their lead, piling all of her school supplies into her carrier bag and swiftly getting up to leave.
All the while feeling the teacher's worried gaze burn into her back.
She knew that he was worried, but it was fine, really.
She knew what she needed to do now, and how to get out of her funk.
All that she needed to do was somehow get Naruto to go on a date with her.
...
Unbeknownst to her, all of the other students in the hallway gave her a wide berth, shooting her strange looks as they saw steam blow out of her ears and her face go cherry red.
A berth that was only made worse when she firmly shook her head, her long hair acting like a whip that smacked anyone that came too close to her.
To her, the idea of spiky-haired teen with eyes as expansive as the ocean was…
Well…it was beyond anything that she could have imagined.
Still, now that the idea was put into her head, it simply couldn't be dislodged.
Rather, as much as the thought of it should disgust her on principle, a part of her couldn't help but wonder…
How would it be like?
That wasn't even mentioning the fact that she could learn more about the man that could has so thoroughly upended her life's path, for the better she felt.
There were so many questions that she wanted to ask…
So deep was she caught in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice how empty the hallways became as she drifted towards her next class.
Nor did she notice the subject of her thoughts rush up the stairs, a victorious grin gracing his visage.
At least until he noticed her.
"Yo, Mio!" Naruto waved at his sibling with a cheeky smirk, his good humor only rising when she jumped a foot in the air.
The half-devil whirled on him, a high voltage glare accompanying her incoming tongue lashing.
Which died as soon as she saw who actually made her jump. "N-Naruto…"
Noting the lame way she made that sentence, the resident powerhouse looked upon her with a sweatdrop. "Er…you alright there? That was pretty weak coming for you dattebayo."
How could she be 'alright'?
She was about to attempt something that was making her heart beat so fast that it felt like it might explode!
Still, she didn't want to waste this opportunity.
Pumping herself up by mentally repeating; 'Go Mio!', the young woman called upon the wisdom that she had received from her senior and began her assault.
"N-Naruto!"
"…Yeah?"
Mio jabbed her finger at her adopted brother, mustering up her bravery for this attempt at gaining something that, until now, she didn't even realize that she wanted.
"I-I'm hungry!"
The most intelligent thing that the shinobi could say in response to that was; "…Huh?"
"I said…" the red-head managed to sound haughty for this one. "I'm hungry! And the food that I have with me isn't enough! So maybe, if someone was enough of a gentleman enough, they could…take me to get a bite to eat...or something."
Then, scrunching her countenance, she proceeded to one-up herself in the 'strange' department. "N-Not that I want you to do it or anything, stupid!"
Naruto, for the first time in a while, was at a lost for words.
And his lack of a reaction to Mio's outburst was something that she recognized swiftly, even as she continued to stand tall without doubt weighing her down.
At least, so she appeared.
It didn't take too long for her body to begin to vibrate, shaking a lot as her eyeballs went glassy.
"…Uh…"
"Right!" Mio uttered out, shuffling backwards as she shook just a little bit more. "I'll just…yeah…"
Mutely watching his sister slide back, making stuttered comments until she managed to slip out of sight at the corner of the hallway, Naruto really could only say one thing about the whole fiasco.
"…What just happened?"
Mio felt like she could just die.
That was just…the worst. The absolute worse!
The 'tsun-tsun' tactic obviously wasn't going to work here, and if she tried again, she was liable to hide away for a week out of shame.
Either way, out of everything that she was taught from her sempai, she knew that, at the very least, she had to try and get her dense sibling to make the first move.
If not that, then she couldn't be too obvious about her actually wanting to go.
All she needed to do was dress it up as either; his idea, or a suggestion that she didn't necessarily plan on following through
She believed in her sempai's experience with guys, so if she claimed it to be important, then it had to be done, of course!
Even with this setback, she wouldn't give up quite yet.
Determination in hand, Mio raised her head to glance at the clock, liking what she saw.
Alright then…onto the next plan!
Naruto decided to actually go to class for once, if only to kill time than anything else.
He had to wait just a little bit longer for his plans to flourish now.
Which was why he was just casually walking down the hallway, taking in the festive atmosphere that lunch time had brought forth from the student body.
He hoped that Yuki was doing alright with that Basara guy…
"Naruto!"
The shinobi stuffed his hands into his pockets as he twirled on the balls of his feet, offering a small grin at the familiar visage of his adopted sister.
Hopefully her strange behavior had whittled down a bit. "Yo, what's up? Heading to lunch?"
Mio huffed as she stopped in front of him, sweating as she leaned over and plopped her hands onto her knees, using them to support herself. "Y-Yeah…but…I have to…"
She stopped, took a large gulp of air, and tried again. "I want you to have something."
Hoh?
Interested, the blond leaned closer, blue pupils scanning her form for anything out of ordinary.
He needn't have bothered, as Mio held something behind her back as she took another step forward, presenting it to him with a tentative smile. "…I-I made a little extra food when I cooked my bento this morning. So I put it into a separate bento for you, in case you wanted it."
Blue eyes sparkled, taking in the sight of the small box wrapped in colorful cloth with delight. "Ohhh…! Thanks a bunch, Mio!"
Eagerly taking the box with food into his hands, Naruto impatiently opened the box to check it's contents.
…And regretted his actions immediately thereafter.
What he saw was absolutely delicious, with a healthy serving of onigiri, yakisoba, and a small portion of vegetables on the side.
What he smelled on the other hand…
Well…the fact that the shinobi felt his consciousness waver proved that it was beyond his expectations.
Just not in the way he expected.
"Uhh…"
"O-Oh, by the way." Mio was fidgeting now. "I don't really have anything else to eat, so…if you feel like it…after school, maybe we could…"
Wait, hold the phone.
Wasn't this bento extra food that she made?
Was this just a misunderstanding then?
So…did that mean that…he shouldn't eat his imouto's lunch?
…
Thank goodness…
"No way could I deprive you from your healthy meal dattebayo!" Naruto declared unilaterally, thanking whatever deity that allowed him to dodge this 'incident' that would've ended with his hospitalization as he handed her back the bento. "Here, I'll just leech off of someone else for a bit."
The red-head stared at the box, then snapped her head back up as her eyes widened. "Wait a sec-"
By the time that she looked back up, all that was left of the blond that she was speaking to was the dust cloud that he made when he made his escape.
Mio clicked her tongue, irritably grabbing one of the onigiri that she had made and chomping down on it to stop herself from saying more.
…
She lurched, her vision darkening for a second, but she managed to stay conscious.
Looking down upon her food with a sweatdrop, the half-devil couldn't help but wonder whether the fact that she couldn't give Naruto her food was a blessing in disguise.
Still! "…Next time!"
Watching from behind the corner of the hallway, a succubus was tearing up watching her brave charge finally take the offensive.
Albeit, in a strange way.
Still, for her to go and grab her during her free period before lunch and actually ask her for help was something that she never expected.
It wasn't like she was doing much anyway, as she tended to just relax while Naruto-sama and Mio-sama were away at school.
Which was boring, to say the least.
But she didn't want to get Mio-sama angry at her a second time, not after lucking out last night.
After having went to Kuoh Academy despite her charge's wishes, Mio-sama proceeded to have tied her up in a roll last night, and then leave her on the couch like some kind of large sushi roll.
It took the succubus about an hour to break out, and that was only because she wanted to make sure that the red-head was asleep by that point.
Maria couldn't help but feel that the other half-devil was too distracted to genuinely punish her, though she had no idea what could have occupied her mind to such an extent.
Until now that is.
Not that she bothered to question her good fortune or anything at the time, just in case she was tied up with something even stronger than rope next time.
Sometimes it was better not to question some things.
Like; that paper that Naruto-sama made her sign last night, which incidentally had Raynare-san's signature as well.
Yeah, like that.
That being said, she was planning on checking on that guy that Naruto-sama brought over, just to make sure that Raynare-san actually fed him while she relaxed back at home.
She wasn't sure, but she had the feeling that the fallen angel had something of a mean streak with that people she didn't like.
At least, that was her plan, up until a certain red-head came busting through her door with equal parts determination and hesitation.
If that made any sense.
So here she was, back to where all the fun was.
And she was eager to see what spawned this behavior, if nothing else than to help her out.
She was waiting for this inevitable day anyway, and there was no way this wasn't going to happen!
Naruto-sama and Mio-sama would go on a date! Her OTP would become a reality!
So she waited eagerly as Mio-sama crossed her, the bento forgotten as she looked through a sheet of paper that she was scanning with fervor.
…
That being said, she had to wonder what kind of advice she was following.
"C'mon, Maria." Mio forged past her, pink eyes burning. "I ain't giving up that easily!"
Either way, the succubus grinned, wanting to see things play out.
And end favorably, of course. "You got it, Mio-sama!"
Naruto officially had no idea what was happening around him anymore.
Bad enough that Yuki nearly made him bleed out earlier that day.
But now Mio's weird behavior from the past few days have gotten even weirder, just in a different way.
Why?
Hell if he knew!
All he knew was that her personality kept shifting back and forth, and that it was seriously giving him whiplash.
"Hey, Naruto! I heard that you didn't get to eat during lunch, what's up with that? Did someone hurt your feelings or something? Don't be too macho to admit to your hunger, otherwise you won't have any energy, you know~?"
What in the actual fuck.
Naruto took a step back, blinded by Mio's worry for him, which was beyond anything that he has ever seen…ever.
He expected to see this kind of expression on a doting sibling.
Like. A seriously doting one.
While Mio was many things, this wasn't quite one of them.
"…I think I'll be fine dattebayo."
The shinobi shuffled towards his next class, dazed to say the least.
While the red-head cursed under her breath.
Damn it. Next time.
"Naruto!"
The shinobi was sinking into his seat, hoping that he could hide from the one that was seeking him out.
He felt like he failed in that endeavor.
A feeling which was compounded when a young woman leaned closer to him over the desk, giving him a smile.
A dangerous one that is.
"Y-You know, I think that you've been a little…tenserecently." Mio claimed, playing off her stuttering as if it didn't happen while lowering her tone of voice to a whisper.
The shinobi shied away, kind of scared.
Why was this a thing?
Mio, you're scaring your onii-chan right now!
The red-head raised her hands, reaching out to him. "Let me touch you for a second, let me loosen your muscles…"
Her fingers began wiggling threateningly, and Naruto felt scared for his chastity.
If she touched him, he may never be able to get married!
"Uwah!"
Flashing through hand signs as Mio grabbed his shoulder, she quickly let out a surprised shout when he blew up in a cloud of smoke.
Coughing and sputtering, the red-head took a step back, cloaking her eyes in order to peer through the sudden cloud in front of her.
And what she saw gave her pause.
"…A log?" she asked no one in particular, incredulous.
It took all of five seconds for her brain to process this event, and recognize the face that her target had just escaped.
Again.
"Mou!" Mio stamped her foot, cheeks bloating up as she went through her tantrum. "And I thought that I had him this time!"
Pulling the small notebook –notepad really- from her skirt pocket, the red-head gazed upon the strategy that she called upon for this occasion.
"Loosening your target's tension through a friendly backrub, then guiding the conversation into a friendly talk over a meal…" Mio murmured to herself, face scrunching up.
Damn.
Next time.
"…Mio-sama…"
The half-devil spun her head around, seeing her guardian biting onto a napkin as she cried a waterfall of proud and distraught tears.
Why was she the one crying when Mio was the one dealing with this exactly?
Too tired to question it, the red-head sighed.
She had to keep trying, if not for her own sanity, then for the desire burning in her heart.
If there was one thing that really rubbed off on her from Naruto's influence, it was his ridiculous stubborn streak after all!
"Hey, Rias."
Rias stopped scribbling onto her notebook, glancing to the side to meet her friend's curious gaze. "Hmm?"
"What kind of advice did you give Mio-chan exactly?"
The high-class devil smirked at this question. "Hoh? Could it be that even you have someone that you want to impress, Akeno?"
Akeno smiled pleasantly. "If I did, I don't think that I'd take your advice, Buchou. I'm just curious is all."
Ignoring the snub that she had just received with a flick of her long crimson hair, the red-head leaned closer to her friend conspiratorially, lips curving devilishly. "I took a page out of one of the most reliable sources for relationship advice out there. That's all."
"And that is?"
Rias' ahoge twitched with her excitement. "A gal game, of course."
Akeno felt her facial features slacken.
Oh dear.
She was almost afraid to ask but… "You play those games?"
"I'm interested in all facets of Japanese culture, including the 2D!" Rias declared without shame.
The queen tapped her chin thoughtfully, coming to the conclusion that her king's 'experience' would probably blow up in their kohai's face.
Should she tell her or should she let it play out?
…
Nah.
"Sona-kaichou!"
The Sitri devil felt the peace that descended on her small piece of Kuoh Academy shatter by this shout.
Made even worse when one considered the fact that she was alone in the room.
"…Naruto-san." she replied evenly, peering up at him through her long lashes.
She wasn't sure what she expected to see when she looked at his features, but she didn't expect to see him nervously checking the door behind him, as if fearing that he was being followed.
Or the fact that he was literally quaking in his shoes.
Interesting.
Seemingly snapping himself out of his state of mind, the blond took a moment to compose himself, ignoring the fact that he accidentally called out the devil's name out of a hope that she could save him.
"Anyway…" he decided to skim over all of that and get onto the reason he was here. "I've come to give you something that needs to be signed. I just picked it up from the faculty's office and it has all of the necessary signatures. I just need yours now."
The student council president felt her reservations grow. "…I understand, may I see this form that you need signed?"
Shuffling closer while pulling out a slip of paper, the blond handed her something that the high-class devil simultaneously didn't, and yet did expect.
A form that allowed for the formation of a club.
Which just so happened to have names that were not present in the current student body, she noticed.
"I can't sign this." she stated flatly. "Under current school regulations, only those who are registered in this school as students could join a club, and could only partake in their activities during festivals and such."
Sona wasn't sure what the blond's game was, but she felt like her refusal to sign wouldn't end this conversation.
Her belief was validated when he placed his hands onto her desk, grinning like the madman that he sometimes acted like he was. "Really? You sure about that?"
The young devil folded her hands onto her lap, confident in this at least. "I've memorized the numerous rules and regulations that Kuoh Academy officially utilizes, especially in regards to the conduct of clubs, since they are an important facet of student life in my opinion."
As well as an easy way for supernatural beings to hide amongst normal humans, she reflected pointedly.
And yet, even with this factual statement, her adversary when it came to following school rules didn't look fazed.
"I don't doubt that for some reason." he stated dryly, before quirking a brow. "But, then again, rules change sometimes, right?"
An ominous feeling crept up Sona's spine at that last bit, her hand deftly sinking to open the drawer on the bottom half of her desk, retrieving an important object from within.
The official school rulebook.
As in, the school rulebook that all other school rulebooks were initially copied from.
She always made sure to have it on her desk, just so that she could refer to its aged pages should she need to confirm something.
Like right now, for example.
Opening its old leather confines to reveal the pages within, the student council president skimmed through it in order to find the specific regulation about clubs.
Or, who could join them.
It took a sparse few seconds, but eventually she managed to track down her target and properly read the content that held the answers that she sought.
…
Carefully placing the open book down upon her desk, Sona took a breath and glanced up at the only other occupant of the room through a critical lens. "You changed it."
Naruto had nothing but a toothy grin on his face. "That sounds pretty baseless to me."
"You're lying."
"I don't lie though."
"That is most definitely a lie."
"You can't prove it though, can you?" the shinobi didn't bother to hide the smug tone his voice.
Because he was exactly correct.
She couldn't prove his involvement at all, and that meant that even if she suspected him, she wouldn't be able to do much about it.
Again.
A fact which was obviously annoying the cool student council president. "…Even if you managed to somehow rewrite the rules that dictate who could join a school club, I won't sign your form and allow it to become legitimate. I know what the rules were like before they were tampered, Naruto-san."
The shinobi shrugged his shoulders, expecting as such from someone as stubborn following the rules as he was breaking them, not really annoyed by it.
If anything, that made it all the more satisfying winning this little battle between them.
"You say that." he stated clearly, not holding back in his rhetoric. "But I don't think that you've got much of a choice, not unless you wanna break your own rules that is."
Sona looked almost amused by this statement. "Oh? And how would I do that exactly?"
Naruto wagged his finger back and forth, shaking his head. "Cause you're mistreating me, duh."
...
"Excuse me?"
Blue eyes sparkled with barely contained mirth. "You've literally got no reason to deny me my request, you're only doing it because you believe that I did something wrong. A belief that has nothing to back it up. Basically; you're being bias against me dattebayo. Please stop that, eh?"
Sona had to reel at that, inspecting her actions not through her own lens, but the lens of an outsider.
And, oh boy…
Pushing her glasses up, the young woman glared at the male in front of her, sour. "That's dirty."
"I never said that I fought fair, ya know?"
This was true.
Grudgingly accepting the fact that her metaphorical hands were tied, Sona glanced up, a tinge of respect hidden behind her severe annoyance. "How exactly did you convince a faculty member to sign that form anyway? They must've known that what you were asking to sign was against school regulations."
Indeed, she very much doubted that the blond could or would change each and every book on school regulations in Kuoh Academy, something like that would be too tedious for someone like him.
And she received her answer in the form of a hand sign.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu."
Shimmering into existence next to his creator, the clone grinned cockily and made a hand sign of his own, whispering something that Sona barely heard, even with her incredible hearing.
"Oiroke no jutsu."
At the explosion of smoke that erupted from the copy of the troublemaker, the Sitri heiress was put on her guard, unsure of what to expect.
Well, she can guarantee that what she got was something that she couldn't have seen coming in a thousand years.
"Yahooo~"
Sona felt her eyebrow twitch.
"…Turns out that some of your male professors can be sweet talked pretty easily by a beautiful woman." Naruto spoke with such pride, one would think that he was the one that actually tricked the man into signing the form.
In a way though, wasn't he?
What a disturbing concept.
So, frustrated, yet unwilling to express it, Sona opted to just voice out her annoyance with the current state of affairs.
"…You've annoyed me, Naruto-san."
The shinobi scratched the back of his head, bowing his head in genuinely contrite fashion. "Sorry for being a pain in the ass, Sona-kaichou."
Rubbing her now closed eyelids, the young devil had to give the blond credit where it was due.
Apologizing to her after having won the battle for gaining club members from outside the school? And in such a fashion?
Already she could feel her irritation leak away, no matter how much she tried to retain it.
He was just too damn honest.
Leaning back into her seat, she opened her mouth to ask something that has been bothering her for all of this time, acting as something of an itch in the back of her mind. "…Why do you even want those friends of yours to join in your club anyway?"
No matter in what angle she looked at his actions, wasn't he going too far for non-students to join in a club?
A twinkle entered the young man's eye at the question. "To make the Ball Tournament fifty times better than it was going to be, of course! Especially if we…spice things up a little bit."
Sona stared at him for all of about a second, a twinkle entering her own irises in response.
"We shall see if your plans actually come to fruition during the Ball Tournament, eh, Naruto-san?"
Naruto grinned. "Ya know, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing you try and stop me, this wouldn't be as much fun if you didn't anyway dattebayo."
She couldn't stop the small and challenging smirk which graced her features, the blond's attitude infectious.
She may have lost the battle…but she wouldn't lose the war quite so easily.