Chapter Twelve
The Future of the District
"Where in the fuck am I?"
"We're in your mind."
Dobermann twisted around to find Naruto standing behind her. His hands were in his pockets while he looked around the dark blackness they found themselves in. He looked very relaxed for someone trapped.
"What do you mean we're in my mind?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the demand of the Doberman hellhound. He sighed after a moment and shook his head. "I'm here to find out your secrets. As I said, I'm finding out what happened to those children and you don't seem too keen to just tell me."
"You'll have to kill me before I let you-!"
"Sit."
She was about to punch him but with the simple command she was forced to her knees. She sat back on her legs with her hands in her lap even as she stared at the blonde in surprise and embarrassment. She sat perfectly in front of the blonde, her back straight and her ears flicking anxiously.
Orange, beige, and orchid surrounded her much to the blonde's amusement.
"What is this?!"
Naruto smirked at the scandalous tone and squatted in front of the hellhound woman with a flash of his teeth. "From my world, our animals have been tamed by us ningen even while they are as strong if not stronger than us, much like how humans tamed their wolves. What you are feeling right now is the understanding of your position below me. So be a good girl and let me find what I want."
Suddenly, the room they were in exploded in light and sound, almost deafening the two of them. It rushed by them at a speed similar to twenty-four hours being condensed within thirty seconds. Demons sped by them too fast to discern any unique features but it was not what Naruto was looking for.
"This isn't Pentagram City." Naruto walked forward a few feet as the surroundings crawled to a normal pace.
That's when everything came crashing to normal. They were in front of a small cafe that was serving various types of demons, but what caught his attention was Dobermann. She is sitting at one of the outside tables, spinning a spoon in her cup while mindlessly reading from her hellphone.
"What are you doing here?"
He asked the question without expecting an answer and slowly walked towards her table.
Ring!
Dobermann's phone began ringing and vibrating in her hand and she answered it before he could see the name.
"Hello, sir, do you have my next assignment?"
"Dobermann, Izzy needs more hellbeasts being sent to Driftwood Cathedral as soon as possible. The adoption centers we currently use are not cutting it."
Dobermann nodded her head as she drank from her cup. "Understood. Do you have a location in mind?"
"One of my agents in Pentagram City says most of the centers there would be hard to take control of, but there is one that we could work with. The place is called Bernard's Adoption Center and the previous Director died at least eight months ago. There is no replacement."
"Send me the location and files to support my application to be the Director and I will get it done, sir."
"Good. Do not fail our boss, or Tribune is the final rank you will ever reach."
The call ended quickly and Dobermann growled low and in her throat before pocketing it in her dress jacket.
"Fucking bastard. Just because he's worked for our boss longer he thinks he's better than me." She downed the rest of her cup before getting out of her seat. "You're a Tribune too, fucking jackass."
She dropped the change on the table as she left.
So that explains why she came there.
Now all he needed to know was who Izzy was?
The world paused now and Naruto turned to look at the real Dobermann. She had not moved from her spot, watching him closely.
"What is Driftwood Cathedral?"
Dobermann growled and bared her teeth at him.
Naruto channeled a quick lump of chakra to his mouth before spitting a weak stream at her face. "Try that again. Speak."
Dobermann sputtered and whipped her head from side to side at the sudden rush of cold water splashing against her. "Grrr. Driftwood Cathedral is the location of my boss."
Naruto understood that by boss she meant this Izzy guy. "Where is it?"
"It's not in Hell or Heaven," Dobermann told him before a triumphant smirk made its way on her face. "The only way to reach there is to know where it is and the magic spell to teleport inside."
Naruto grabbed his chin at her words. It did not spell good for him as her tone made it clear that she didn't have that spell or knew where it was. She would not be able to get him there. However, the most concerning part is that if the Cathedral was not from Heaven or Hell meant that whoever this Izzy was he was a very powerful person.
He had his own fucking realm to transport everyone to and from. That made the idea of going there and confronting him all that much more impossible or dangerous.
"Fuck."
Naruto pinched his nose and paced back and forth. "Do you not feel bad for sending children to become nothing more than soldiers for one person's army?"
Dobermann snarled at his words and her dark eyes stared into his red fiercely. "My boss is not some disgraceful abomination like you Sinners who squander God's gifts. He would not do anything he did not think was necessary."
The ferocity and conviction in her tone made him pause momentarily and he had to really look at her aura to understand that she truly believed this and there was no deception or fake loyalty. He did not know how that truly made him feel but he just scoffed and shook his head.
"I hope you are correct, Director Dobermann, but I want this to stop." With that, he manifested an iron chain in his hand that began growing in an arc towards her neck before finally connecting to a thick studded collar. "No longer will you be sending these kids off to join the man's army. You will now work for me, and should you deceive or betray me, your soul will be mine."
Dobermann stared up with shaking eyes as he towered over her and held her literal leash in his hands.
Naruto blinked as he returned to the real world. He recognized the spartan walls and furniture of the office at Bernard's Adoption Center. Director Dobermann hunched forward in her seat while rubbing her throat as if she felt something sitting there.
And that's when he saw it. It is black with five shiny silver spikes measured around the length of the leather. The spiked collar's buckle is designed with the same swirl-like pattern that he saw on Konoha flak jackets. But why would that be on a collar tied to his soul?
He hissed to himself in sudden discomfort and shook his hand as he felt pain shoot past his wrist up to his elbow. It felt like his ring finger on his left hand was being branded with a hot iron and he looked to see what was causing this pain. Instead of anything that could be hurting him, he watched as a black line wrapped around his finger just above his first knuckle.
He then realized that this is the mark to prove that he owns the leash around Dobermann's soul.
"Looks like we will… revisit your tenure as Director of Bernard's Adoption Center," Naruto spoke as he flexed his fingers and got to his feet. "Come. There are some things you need to be present for."
The Doberman hellhound could not argue his command and got to her feet to follow the man. Despite her predicament, she still walked with the poise and snob of an Ars Goetia demon he saw at Charlie's birthday party. He found it amusing, though, and he found the shades of orchid and purple amusing for a woman who just lost her soul.
He said nothing, however, and only led the way to the cafeteria, this time just with Gretchen trailing behind Dobermann. He was excited to give the news he just came up with while in the hellhounds mind. He will be doing a lot to make sure nothing like this happened in his area again.
This is my… turf. I will take responsibility now.
He finally made it to the cafeteria where he found all of the kids waiting and talking. Some of the kids who were part of the buddy system he implemented all that time ago and were separated were now talking to each other. Some were hugging each other. And it wasn't separated by race either, and he was able to see one larger hellhound girl protecting her hellcat buddy by wrapping her arms around them.
"The fuck, I thought you'd kill that bitch!"
Naruto looked at Blitzø when he shouted and raised an eyebrow. "I never said I made that decision. I just said I was going to have a talk with her."
His eyes looked to see Loona behind the imp a bit standoffish and embarrassed. He smiled at her when she looked at him. "How ya feeling, Loona?"
"Fine, I guess," she muttered while grabbing her arm anxiously. "Sorry about your arm… by the way."
Naruto chuckled at that and waved his hand. "Don't sweat it! All healed, you see!"
Naruto raised his forearm and patted the skin a few times. "So don't worry ya pretty little head about me, you did what was right. You'll never know what kind of men are going to approach you at your weakest so it's best if you think of them all as dangerous."
Loona was surprised by the blonde's words as he articulated quite well a defense to her action without her needing to do it herself. She quite entirely thought he would yell at her or threaten her with some kind of "punishment" in retaliation. But no, he just waved the event off with nothing more than basically saying "it was right do it again if you have too!"
You're weirder than this imp who wants to adopt me.
Naruto chuckled softly to himself at the colors swirling around the girl. She was happy, and that was hard to tell as she was able to prevent her tail from wagging in excitement. He doubted she was against the adoption at this point.
"Okay, kids, I'm sorry to have kept you here waiting!" He looked around as the children quoted down to hear him. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I run a restaurant down the street and I am a Sinner who arrived nearly three years ago. I am also going to be the new director of this place."
He raised his hands when he began hearing quite a few kids begin shouting and cursing at him. He did not expect a welcoming reception so he was not upset when the insults began being hurled at him. He would have hoped for this at any other moment and just because it was him coming with good intentions does not mean it wasn't justified any less.
"Please hear me out before you judge me!" Naruto got a bit more silence this time, but that was mostly at the hushes of the older buddy pairs. "Thank you. As I was saying, I will be the new director of this place. For those who already have a buddy, you know me from the first time I came here around one year ago. For those newer than that, I am the person who will make sure you can call this place home with dignity."
"No longer will you be treated like a savage animal while here. You will follow my buddy system and from there you will build a community surrounding the protection of your buddy and each other. I promise a place of love and protection, and no longer will you be cramped into these rooms like sardines. Trust me when I say that unlike every other adult you've met, I will keep your well-being as high as I do with my own."
Naruto looked around to take in the faces and auras of these kids who've known nothing but fighting to survive. He hurt for their suffering, feeling like they've been betrayed by a world that should have helped and protected them. But he will change it.
"Do not believe me now if you can't trust too quickly anymore, but I will deliver well on my promise. Starting today, rooms will be built to accommodate the larger number of children. From there, I will be going around giving everyone buddies again. If there is an issue or concern, whether it is personal or health related, do not be afraid to come up to me."
He now paused to see if anyone had any questions or statements but he just found that most of them just looked apprehensive at trusting him. Just when he felt that no one was going to comment and was going to continue on, he saw a hand raise and it was from the hellcat in the hound's lap. "Yes?"
"What took you so long?"
The hellhound tightened her arms around the bobcat feline and whispered in her ear, but Naruto just laughed at the justifiable question. "Indeed, what did take me so long. I'll be honest, I was not taking myself seriously as I wanted a quiet time after dying so young and I just never checked in on this place. That led this one here to be able to come and get a job in charge of all of you," Naruto jabbed a finger back at Dobermann, getting a huff from the woman. "All I can say is that I will be taking the responsibility for all of you. If you want a job, I can get you one. You want to go to school, I will build one and staff it with whoever I can find. If you want to go and live on your own once you are eighteen, I will provide you with an apartment at the cheapest cost I can provide it at. You are the commanders of your own futures and I will pave in the direction you wish to walk."
Naruto took a deep breath as he felt himself start to go on a roll into what would be a lecture and tirade on fate and destiny. "But understand that what you do will impact me and my people. If you anger an Overlord or someone important I will have no choice but to come to your defense. But if you act up in places you have no business in or act in such a way you are in the wrong just know that after I protect you I will punish you myself like any good older brother would do. Am I understood?"
A chorus of affirmations rang around the cafeteria and a smile grew on his face before he clapped his hands. "Excellent! Now, let's get to work!"
Naruto made it back to his restaurant a bit chakra depleted and exhausted. He left Dobermann in charge and with very strict orders and threats of what would happen to her should she do anything he would not approve of. After he got her affirmation, he teased her by calling her a good pet.
She did not respond well to that, but her aura told another story.
He also left over three dozen clones at the adoption center to begin building more rooms for all of the children while a separate dozen were sent to many of the furniture stores to fill up these rooms. It will cost quite a pretty penny to get all of this stuff but he felt that it will be worth it in the end for the kids. He will do what he can to help them not have the same type of childhood he had.
"Welcome back, Naru," Charlie smiled as she saw him enter the restaurant.
She was cleaning the reception area as they had closed for the night and was glad to see the boy after he had been gone for quite a few hours. She was almost about to leave, mostly because she had noticed how antsy Tayuya and Helsa were getting as time passed by, but they were all stopped by Haku. He had told them that none of them were leaving the store to go after Naruto, and if any of them tried to, he would freeze them in place until the restaurant closed.
"Good to be back," Naruto smiled at the princess. "I want you to keep a lookout for anyone coming to the door, I'm expecting some guests to talk to in a while."
"Okay, Naru."
Naruto saw the lapis around the girl and sighed softly to himself before approaching her, getting a confused look. He softly brushed a few strands behind her ear before petting her head while spacing out in thought. The lapis was quickly replaced with yellow and pink, almost pulsing between the colors while her ears burned bright pink.
"You're doing a good job, Charlie-hime. I just wanted to let you know."
The girl bowed her head to hide the dark blush spreading across her cheeks and smiled wide at his words. "Thank you, Naru… it means a lot to hear that."
"Of course, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Naruto chuckled before lowering his hand from her head.
A bit of static shocked between them as his hands brushed her cheek and his eyes widened while her breath hitched in her throat. That felt… weird.
"A-ahem!" Naruto cleared his throat before turning from the girl. "S-sorry about that. I'm going to go check on the others… I'll see you in a bit."
Charlie nodded silently as she watched him walk away. She gripped the front of her work shirt as she just stared at his back, and then the door once he walked into the kitchen. Her heart was beating rapidly, almost as if she was having a heart attack, and it was taking everything to not pass out right then and there.
Why did the shock feel good? Why did his touch make her feel all giddy? Was this love? She never felt this with Seviathan in the years she's been with him. So was she never in love in the first place? If so, and she was truly in love with Naruto, how can she approach him about it?
She loves what they have going right now, even with Helsa around, so why did this have to happen? She didn't want to ruin the friendship she's got with him just because she thinks she is in love with him.
I should just give it some time, I'm sure it will go away.
With that, the princess went about her closing tasks with the feeling lingering at the back of her mind.
Naruto, meanwhile, was putting it at the back of his mind as he had a bunch of other things on his mind currently. One thing at a time, Naruto.
Naruto rubbed his face and quickly leaned against a counter before he lost his balance. He needed to calm down.
"Everything alright, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto looked to see Haku standing there out of his work uniform, wearing a tank top with black shorts with white stripes down the sides. His hair is put in a small ponytail while two bangs framed his face, his brown eyes looking at him closely.
"Yeah, just a lot on my mind," Naruto sighed but gave an honest smile. "I'm going to be doing something insane."
"You were pretty good at that when I knew you back when we were alive," Haku teased with a smirk on his face. "What makes this any different?"
"I'm going to become the Overlord of the Entertainment District," Naruto stated calmly, his eyes looking at Haku closely.
The older boy's eyes widened and he moved his mouth as he tried to think of a response. "Oh."
Naruto snorted at that, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
It was quiet as Naruto just thought about his plans on how he was going to succeed in all of this that he had planned.
"Good luck."
Naruto laughed at the boy's words and his apologetic gaze. "Thanks, I'm gonna fucking need it."
"What do you plan on doing?"
Naruto sighed and let his head fall back. "That's the trick, I don't fucking know. I got a bunch of the landowners in this area coming over and I'm going to make them sign the housing properties to me so I can have control of the prices. Then I'm going to start a school around here for Sinner and demon children, but that means I need educators."
"There's millions of people in this district alone, I'm sure there are some teachers around somewhere."
Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "I just need to look. But my biggest problem are the Vees. They are the ones who run most of this district and they will be in my way if I do not handle them now."
"Kill them?"
Naruto scoffed at that and shook his head. "I will be needing their services to run everything for me. Don't forget, I plan to expand into Uptown and that will need to be handled personally for a while. I won't be able to focus on both here and there."
Haku shrugged his shoulders just as Charlie came through the doors. "Fantastic. Charlie, go get changed, we are having movie night and it's your turn to choose."
The princess smiled brightly and nodded her head excitedly. "Awesome! I have so many I want to watch with everyone!"
Naruto sighed and grumbled, "I missed my night."
He pulled out his phone and dialed in Cherri's number, who gave it to him before she left. Haku and Charlie had disappeared to leave him alone as he had important things to do.
"Who the fuck is it?"
"Cherri, it's me, I wanted to ask a favor."
"Oh, hey blondie. Sure, but it will cost you."
"Anything within reason, but I need you to deliver a message for me to the Vees."
Anthony, more often referred to by his porn name Angel Dust, sighed as he sat on a curb closest to his favorite club. Unlike all of the previous times he has come here, he did not feel like drinking or dancing long into the night until he eventually found some poor fucker to sleep with. This was just one of those nights where he will feel empty and nothing he does will make him feel better.
Fuck, I don't even want my drugs anymore.
He tossed away the little bag of powder and within moments some stranger came rushing by to grab it before running off. He wasn't even pissed or regretting his actions, more annoyed at the actions of the Sinner than anything. He had been like that, too, at times.
Suddenly, his hellphone's ringtone was going off - Rude Boy, a song by some artist named Rihanna that he heard from one of the more recent Sinners. He fished his phone out of his pocket and looked to see who the fuck was- oh it's Cherri.
He pressed the green button and brought it to his ear with a smile. "What's up, bitch!"
"Angie! I need a favor, baby!"
"Anything for you, babe," Angel leaned back on his lower two arms. "What do you need?"
"I'm gonna be sending you a video and you need to show it to one of the Vees." Cherri's request made him frown and he felt himself growing colder at the thought of having to speak to Val again. "It doesn't have to be that moth bitch, just any of them. Please!"
Anthony sighed before nodding his head into the phone. "Okay. I got you, babe. Send the vid and I will give it to Val."
"Thank you, Angie! I owe you big time!"
"You remember that, bitch," he chuckled and hung up the call.
His smile went away as he looked up at the V Tower, the center of the Entertainment District; the headquarters of the strongest Overlord alliance in the city. One of whom he worked for… and sold his soul to.
Fuck. I didn't want to see the bastard on my day off.
He picked himself up off the curb and brushed off the fur on his legs before walking to the Tower. He was really dreading the coming hour he will spend around the three most hated people in his book.
"Hello, Angel," the receptionist greeted as soon as he entered. "Called in by mister Valentino again?"
Angel snorted cockily and shook his head. "Nah, I came to deliver something to him and the others. They said it was important."
The woman nodded and waved him along. "Go on, don't let me keep you."
Anthony nodded his head thankful as he continued to the elevators that would take him up to the top floor where Valentino should be. No expense was spared in making sure that every feature of the building looked like it was made for God. From the golden handles and rails to the polished marble floors and ceilings, it was enough to make rich people feel poor. That included the fucking elevator, which had a mirror on the wall opposite of the doors.
Seventy-three floors and each one the elevator past on its way to the top felt agonizing to him. His stomach sank more as he saw the floor number go higher and higher until it finally reached his intended floor.
Ding!
Anthony took a shaky breath before exiting the lift. He looked around, finding the typical attendees and stars of Valentino's porn industry. Some have been his partners in past recordings but he did not give them another look. Val should be in his suite.
Valentino's sweet is a place he knew very well. More often than not he was brought in by the moth demon for a personal viewing or service. The fact that he could not deny the man because of the deal they made put a bad taste in his mouth. It sucks being owed by another person that did not even consider him a person but a toy.
Merchandise to use and exploit until it breaks, then cast aside to make room for the next one.
The thought made him knock on the door a bit harder than he meant to and he felt like he was going to be hit as soon as the door opened. He winced when the handle jiggled and opened but instead of something hitting him, he felt the familiar sensation overtaking his mind. The power of his mind-controlling smoke that could take on the smell and taste of anything the recipient loves most.
"What do you need, Angel baby?"
He bit back a scowl and gave the man a cocky smirk. "I was told to give you a video. I don't know why, but if it was for you and your friends then it has to be important."
Valentino looked down through his glasses and smirked around the end of his pipe. "Okay, come in and play it."
Angel was not surprised that Vox and Velvette were already there, it was a common thing since the three of them worked closely to manage their territories. Velvette was the one who made most of the plans and turned it into action, partly because she was headstrong and partly because Valentino and Vox did not care for anything beyond their circles of influence.
The two in question had turned to him when they noticed him enter and he felt his heart beat faster anxiously. He swallowed as he approached the television to connect his phone.
The video had been sent and it was just a black start so he couldn't tell what it was for. He just sighed and loaded it up before pressing play.
"Hello!"
Anthony stepped back when he heard the chipper voice come from the speakers and all he found was one hell of a sexy man. His animalistic look, especially the thick marks on his cheeks, made him look beastly and it was really working for him. Hello, daddy!
"Hello Velvette, it's been a while!" His grin was teasing and Anthony saw at the corner of his eye that the woman sat close with a smirk on her face. "I haven't been introduced to you both, but greetings as well Valentino, Vox. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Vox grunted as he did not care for the blonde, only knowing the first name from Velvette's rants about some sexy blonde restaurant owner taking a chunk of her territory from her. Valentino looked intrigued and he sat on the loveseat to the side, watching the screen closely.
"I own and run the restaurant Get Wasted and Get Out as well as the territories surrounding it. You have most likely heard of the restaurant but not of me so I hope this is a good first impression." The delicious blonde grinned at the screen as it shuffled and blurred from him falling back into what might be a bed. "Now, I know it is weird for me to be contacting you suddenly out of nowhere, and having someone do it for me, but I promise you won't want to miss this."
"You see, I have suddenly come upon grander ambitions that I did not have previously." His words were teasing and coy, a smile on his lips even as he tried to sound as if he came down with some kind of sickness. "I know that would not sound important or matters to you, but I promise that these ambitions will end up having us step on each other's feet. So long as you operate the way you do, my ambitions will put me at odds with you and none of us want that."
Anthony felt his heart stutter at the way the red eyes looked at the camera, barely noticing the tension settling upon Valentino and Vox. Velvette, on the other hand, licked her lips softly and shivered as she slid to the edge of her seat.
This sexy animal has BALLS!
"So here is where contacting you becomes important. I want to play a game, a bet of sorts if you will. I know none of you can resist bets, especially ones where you stand to gain a lot." That got the Vees' attention and even Velvette was now paying attention to more than just his voice and face.
"We can talk more face to face. Meet me at the abandoned shoe factory on the border of my and Velvette's territories. Come alone, please. I can't wait to see all of you!"
As the video ends, only his pearly grin is the last thing shown.