Welcome back, my dear readers, to a brand new, and long ... long awaited chapter! Man, seriously it took me way, way too long to actually finish this one, and I apologize for this. Unfortunately, I no longer have that much time to write, due to being in the two last years of my Master in University and my student job, and the sparse free time I have, I could not always bring myself to write. I guess, for some time, I lost interest in writing Fanfiction, a shame I think, but nothing that could be done about that.

I too had some family issues, which broke down my moral a bit, but that is a story for another time. This chapter was actually already finished a month ago, but as I stated in my profile, I had problems uploading a new chapter, the site wouldn't let me do it. Seems to be a Mac specific problem, so I had to wait until I was back home from University to upload. This quite unnerved me, you could guess.

I also revised the first five chapters, to make them more comfortable to read, trying to find some mistakes (though some might still be there), so I hope you find them more agreeable to read. I too will not do a question and response Panel this time, and maybe for the future chapters too, since it takes quite some time and you probably just want to read the real chapter, neh?^

Enjoy!

I do not own Naruto, Highschool DxD, Fairy Tail and other trademarks that I use in my story.

(Side note: Don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.)

Chapter 6: Mistakes of the past

Three days later, abandoned castle somewhere in the Underworld

Deep darkness and eternal silence was all that greeted them.

Naruto's eyes shifted across the large throne room, not at all disturbed by the darkness that consumed the once great castle. Yet it was a problem for his companions so it seemed, as his lovely Grayfia casted a small light spell, illuminating the waste room and allowing them to see the ruined state it was in.

This place seemed to have been deserted for many hundreds of years, yet the blond Transcendent knew better. He could still feel some traces of devilish energy in the air, reinforcing him in his belief that they arrived at the right place.

The group walked deeper inside the castle, exploring the ruin yet finding nothing of interest.

Naruto frowned.

This was not what he had expected. At first, he had been delighted that his spy Zetsu might have found something concerning Yasaka's and Kunou's location. Kaguya's creation had found this abandoned castle ruin only two hours ago, since before, it seemed the building had been shielded away by some sort of barrier, something neither he nor Zetsu had come across till now. Suspicious enough since there was no Devil barrier that could not be felt or penetrated by them.

Naruto immediately travelled to Zetsu´s position in the underworld, taking some of his Peerage members with him. Needless to say, the former Shinobi had started to hope once more, hoping to find some clues of his two protégés whereabouts.

A faint hope it was, but better than nothing. At least now, they knew where to start searching.

Grayfia's light ball floated above the group, illuminating the spacious throne room in an unholy bluish light.

"Can you hear something, Cobra? Anything of interest?"

The former Dark Mage grunted, keeping his gaze solemnly focused ahead. "Nothing, only vermin, maybe some rats crawling underneath us. Yet I hear no other soul, not even in the near vicinity of the castle."

His King remained silent, yet his Pieces knew that he was not pleased.

Were they too late?

So it seemed, yet still … maybe they could still find some useful information, anything that would help finding them and the ones who did this.

The group of four slowly moved further into the castle, inspecting the countless ruined rooms before descending the main stares down to the cellar. Just as expected, no one was there. The place was completely deserted and whoever had been here, he practically left no traces.

Almost

There was not much inside the spacious room underneath the great hall, yet his eyes caught sight of a single elevated platform in the middle.

His eyes narrowed.

Slowly, he stepped closer to the granite platform, followed by his faithful fiancé, who was dressed in her specifically made battle outfit. The blond Shinobi crouched down, letting the small ball of light float above his head to get a better look.

Shattered chains were spread over the platform. He could still feel the remains of Magic inside them. Suppressive Magic, perhaps? It was then that he noticed the dark patches on the granite stone, several of them staining the cold surface.

Carefully caressing over the dark-red stains, fear gripped him. Dried blood, and a lot of it.

"Anata, do you think…."

Grayfia did not even need to finish, as the expression on her King's face was already answer enough.

"They were here. I just know it!"

Naruto focused his gaze once more across the room, hoping to find some more traces.

"Boss, I think I found something."

Cobra's shout brought him out of his stare, quickly moving towards his Rook Piece with his Queen and Bishop in tow. The former Dark Mage stood at the end of the large room, an uneasy gleam in his lonely eye as he starred down to the ground.

Narrowing his eyes, the blond Transcendent crouched down in front of the strange object, or rather the pieces that were scattered over the cold stone ground. Taking one of the small green crystal-like pieces into his right hand, he analyzed the strange object, clearly feeling the dark energy that still lingered within it.

This energy was strangely familiar to him. And it did not soothe his troubled mind, if he might say.

An uneasy thought invaded his mind.

"Ultear, if you may please."

His Bishop silently nodded, the raven-haired woman now dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, which exposed her flat stomach, the woman also wearing matching combat gloves and black boots. Ultear, on her adoptive daughter´s insist, had taken a liking to wear very revealing and skinny black pants, leaving a good amount of her creamy thighs exposed while a white long skirt was wrapped around her brown belt, only open to the front. A simple grey coat was draped over her shoulders. Naruto had taken her with him to this reconnaissance trip, glad he had done so since her unique ability was truly useful in situations such as these here.

"Toki no Aku: Resutoa"

Ultear's left eye glowed red before changing to a pinker shade. The unleashed magic quickly took effect and right in front of their eyes, the shattered device was restored to the state it had been before whoever destroyed it.

Naruto rose back to his feet, a frown marrying his stoic face as he starred at the restored object. His fiancé stood at his left side, her silver eyes hiding the worry she currently felt. "What is this thing? I have never seen such a material in this world…."

"It is as I feared."

His words made the other three tense. Carefully, the former Shinobi touched one of the strange green-glowing crystal pillars. He did not react as Zetsu emerged from the ground, a frown on his teethed face as Kaguya's creation stared at the scene.

"Someone managed to build this portal. A weak one it may be, but a portal nonetheless. And something came through it."

"Our worst fears have come true … they are already here."

Naruto gripped the crystal pillar tighter. "At least some of them have come through. The portal itself seems too unstable and weak to allow a great number to pass, yet … yet I fear what those few, who came through, will unleash upon this world."

"Indeed, Kil'jaeden is no fool and he surely made plans for the inevitable invasion we will have to face."

"Can you not trace them, Naruto? You should be able to, or not?"

The blond man gave a weak and forced smile to his fiancé before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, I am not. The situation is a bit more … complicated after all. The Demons of the Burning Legion are not from this world, or should I say, not from this Cosmos. They have a dimension of their own, known as the Twisting Nether, and as such, they should not even exist in our worlds. It is impossible to feel or track a Demon's signature, unless they want us to feel their foul power … and therefore, this is most troubling. The few who have arrived on this world cannot be felt by any creature, not even by myself or Kaguya."

"Great, simply great." Cobra clearly did not appreciate this new information, a sentiment shared by the two women of their small group.

"Trying to find them is futile … our only lead will be the upcoming events that might seem strange or out of this world. Mother will not be pleased with this new turn."

Scoffing, Naruto´s grip on the crystal tightened, small fissures appearing on the green-glowing surface due to his strength. He could not believe how stupid and careless he had been! How could it have come to this … had he truly been so blind and narrow-minded not to see all the possible leaks in this world? Someone had managed to sneak past his senses and allied with the Legion, actually managing to bring some of them through the Dimensional Barrier into this world … he dared not think what horrors they would unleash upon this dimension.

And Yasaka and Kunou were in the middle of all this!

How could he have failed this much?!

His oppressive aura leaked out and made the ruined castle crumble in its very foundations. The cursed crystalized portal was blown apart, shattered into millions of fine dust particles while the ground beneath him cracked open.

Ultear and Cobra especially were shaken to the core as they felt but a fraction of their King's power. They knew or had heard that he was strong, the strongest being they had ever met, yet seeing and feeling it now first hand … it was terrifying.

Grayfia did not dare to calm her lover, knowing that it would be a futile task. Though his thick and heavy aura was slowly becoming too much, even for her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see both Cobra and Ultear on their knees, panting hard and trying to stay conscious. Zetsu did not seem to mind, though she could see the worried gleam in his white eyes.

Fortunately, Naruto had erected one of his strongest barriers around the castle. If not, then the whole Underworld would have felt his anger.

The castle already vanished in a huge cloud of dust and dirt.

Later in the evening, Naruto´s mansion, Kuoh City, Japan

Quickly slugging the entire glass content down his throat, Naruto slammed the empty cup onto the table to his right, nearly crushing it. The former Shinobi sat on one of his comfy chairs, facing the open glass wall of his private bedroom to gaze at the slowly vanishing sun on the horizon.

The blond man silently poured himself another glass, his hollow gaze not lingering on the eight empty Vodka bottles on the table. Taking another gulp of the strong alcohol, he tried to focus on the more pressing matters at hand.

Mostly how in the blue hell they should deal with this new development.

And unfortunately, no useful ideas came to his mind.

To his great fury, they had found nothing useful inside the run-down castle, where the Legion had first stepped foot into this world. The Demons had made sure that nothing of value would remain inside, apart from the shattered portal they had come through. Naruto balled his left occupied hand to a fist, knowing that they had wanted him to find the remains of the portal, they wanted him to know that this world would suffer the same fate as his.

And as it looked, it could truly happen that way.

And as Zetsu and he had thought, the search for the few Demons would prove difficult, if not outright futile. And knowing that Yasaka and Kunou were right in the middle of this ordeal, made the former Jinchuriki desperate to say the least. He knew that the chances were slim that he could find them in time, more so if they were taken prisoner by the Legion. The two Kitsunes surely had Demonic Suppression Magic on their bodies to prevent anyone from pinpointing their location, so it was like searching for a needle in a haystack, literally.

It was even possible that by now … the two were no longer alive. Naturally, he did not want to think about it, yet now, with the evidence of the Legion's scheme, it became more and more probable that both Yasaka and Kunou were dead.

Yet he still grasped the faint hope in finding them, sooner or later.

He could and would never forgive himself if his two godchildren had been killed. He had failed too many precious people already.

So far, his search had been fruitless, his Kage Bunshins having found no traces of apparent demonic influence in all the Godly Realms, so the Legion had not been that long in this world. Yet it was only a matter of time surely, before they would spread their corruption. He did not even want to think how many servants they already managed to corrupt prior to their arrival.

Once more, he had underestimated Kil'jaeden's cunning mind and his prowess in manipulating others. A mistake he would not make again.

The only good thing that had happened so far lay in his left hand palm. Unclenching his fingers around the small object, the blond Transcendent starred at it. A small dark-brown gem, no bigger than his palm, with the number eight engraved into it, something that managed to ease his troubled mind a bit.

One of his clones had found another gem, one of nine gems he intended to collect in order to stand a small chance against the coming invasion. It seemed Odin, the old chief deity of Norse Mythology and Ruler of Asgard, had installed the precious gem into his royal staff, surely not knowing what he had exactly found and took in. It was only by luck that his Bunshin, who infiltrated Asgard in search of Yasaka and Kunou, had spotted the staff inside the throne room. A rare chance of luck for sure, something he could not waste, so his clone managed to replace the jewel with a hastily created fake. Hidden in several layers of Genjutsu, the old fool and his people would not be able to tell the difference.

Naruto allowed himself one last glance at the jewel in his hand. A rare true smile graced his face.

´It's good to have you back … Gyuuki!´

The gem then vanished into his pocket dimension, where the other three were stored for the time being.

The former Jinchuriki continued to stare outside, before a small sigh escaped his lips and he opened the first upper buttons of his white shirt. His fingers softly grasped the now visible chain around his neck, letting the small simple medallion rest on his open hand palm. His eyes gained a sad gleam as he starred down at one of the last pieces of his old life, the last reminder of his lost family.

Opening the two-faced medallion, Naruto's gaze softened at the small image of his wife, Mei Uzumaki Terumii, and their three-year old daughter, Rin Uzumaki. It had been taken on their daughter's birthday, only five months before the Legion destroyed his home world.

If only he had known….

Those memories of his wife and daughter were still strong and meant so much to him, even after three centuries, or were it nearly four now? Damn, he even forgot his own age by now. He was so lost in his memories that he did not even react as the door to his chambers opened and Grayfia stepped in.

Said woman silently moved towards him, though he noticed that she was a bit hesitant to interrupt him. He sighed as his fiancé wrapped her slender arms around his neck and rested her chin on his head, yet she did not speak.

Casting one last glance at his deceased family, Naruto closed the medallion and stored it back inside his shirt, not seeing the sad gleam in Grayfia's silver eyes. The former Devil knew that she should not have interrupted him during these moments, yet her heart pushed her to be there for him and give him some form of comfort. He needed it, especially after it became clearer and clearer that both his godchildren were possible dead.

She bit her bottom lip at the thought.

Feeling the tension rising inside his lover, Naruto lovingly caressed her arms, satisfied to share such a moment with the woman, who taught him to live again.

After a few more minutes of silence, Grayfia softly raised her voice. "Dinner is nearly ready. Mira is finishing the last preparations and the others have already gathered."

"Mmmh"

The silver-haired beauty hummed softly. "Thinking about them, are you not?"

Her man chuckled mirthlessly. "Not a single day since their disappearance has passed without me worrying about them … but please Grayfia, let's just drop this, all right? I am not in the mood for that conversation, though I do appreciate your concern."

Grayfia only sighed sadly. "If you insist, but know that I always have an open ear for you, my love."

"I know babe … I know."

They remained in their positions for a few more minutes before Naruto slowly rose from his chair, casting a small smile at his Queen, who stood behind him, worry clearly visible in her beautiful eyes. "You should go and help Mira finish. I will go greet our guests outside."

"As you wish."

Before he stepped through the doorway, Naruto turned his head to gaze at his fiancé. "And prepare two more rooms. I think we will have two more housemates from now on."

"Yes, master."

A small smile graced Grayfia's lips as she heard him cursing, knowing that he did not like to be addressed in such a formal way, especially not by her. At least she still could rile him up sometimes, revenge for the countless times when he managed to tease or embarrass her … which happened quite often, much to her frustration.

While his silver-haired Queen moved to the kitchen, Naruto walked out of the mansion, through the driveway. He did have a car, but only to keep appearances for the neighbors, as he did not want to completely shield his life by an illusion.

He could already see his two guests standing outside the metal gate, patiently waiting for the house owner to arrive and greet them. One of them was a small young woman or rather girl while her companion was definitely a man, a rather tall and bulky looking man. A small smile graced Naruto's lips as he caught sight of the two, happy to see them looking well after the whole Legion experience they had to endure.

Flicking his right thumb and finger, the gate to his alleyway moved to the right.

"I already wondered if you two would return. I thought you would be out for a little longer, already tired of sightseeing?"

The man, who was at least one and a half head taller than him, gave a small smile before bowing slightly, much to Naruto's annoyance. "Naruto-dono, it is good to see you again."

"I already told you Jura, you do not need to call me that way. In fact, I would appreciate if you just stopped, you know?"

The now named Jura just shook his head, his smile still present. "That I cannot do, Naruto-dono. You deserve nothing more than my respect given that you risked your own life to come to our aid. Showing you my respect is the least I can do!"

Naruto's right eyebrow twitched, already fearing that this would become a common occurrence in the future, especially if they now stayed with him. He truly hated honorifics … even in his younger days, he never showed any respect and actually, he never wanted to be respected in such a way, more like acknowledged for being himself and not his Bijuu friend Kurama.

Those were the old days … some good, some bad, though he would never question the choices he had made. Or he probably would not have caught the eyes of his beautiful Mei-chan after all.

Shaking his head, the blond Shinobi allowed a smile to grace his lips as he studied his two guests.

"Jura, Sherria … it's good to see you two again. I hope you had a nice trip, and may I presume that you will stay for a bit longer this time?"

"That was actually our plan, Naruto-dono. I think we have seen enough of this world for now, so if the offer still stands, we would like to take it." The petite girl next to Jura smiled and nodded, something Naruto was glad to see. Sherria had been a mess when he brought them to safety. Clearly, Jura managed to cheer the young woman up a bit.

Both of them were survivors from Fiore, saved from the grasp of the Legion in the last moments when all seemed lost.

Jura Neekis was a truly tall and muscular man, easily towering over Naruto who himself was already quite tall. The man was bald, or maybe he just shaved his head, with large round eyebrows and black eyes. His skin was quite tanned, though his most notable trait was the long, thin dark beard, which grew from his chin and went down to his upper chest, coupled with a small-cut moustache. Jura wore a more Japanese outfit, which had him surprised. Well, at least he would not draw that much attention to himself this way. His clothes consisted of a dark-grey Hakama combined with a long-sleeved white Kimono, showing off a bit of his chest. Jura wore white sandals and traditional Japanese sandals while a simple dark-brown mantle was dragged over his shoulders.

"I would be honored to welcome you into my humble home, enough room we have after all." Naruto's eyes then shifted over to the petite young woman next to Jura, a large smile now adorning his face. "And how are you, Sherria? Did you see some interesting things while travelling with Jura?"

The girl was the youngest survivor of Earthland, and cute to boot if he might say so. Sherria was sixteen years old, being a lovely young lady with shoulder-length amaranth hair, which she tied with orange bows in two short pigtails. Two smaller hair bangs framed her cute and innocent pale face while her big blue eyes peered up to him, her lips curled into a small yet beautiful smile.

Her outfit however … drew attention since not many girls her age would dress the way she did, not that he would dare to criticize Sherria's fashion style. He actually did find it quite interesting if he was perfectly honest with himself. While the pale-blue mini skirt she wore was more than normal, the rest of her clothes were not so common: a pink sleeveless top, from the middle of her chest in a deep blue color, doing nothing to hide her already quite developed figure, with white short gloves and a pink thin fabric going up to her upper arms. Black stockings, which went up to her creamy thighs, with white leg warmers and black-pink shoes and an orange ribbon tied around her neck completed her outfit.

All in all, he quite liked her fashion style, though he did wonder if all the money he had given them was used to make similar dresses. Sherria definitely was not your common girl, something he actually quite enjoyed.

Naruto could not help but beam inwardly. Finally, another person seemed to appreciate the glorious color that was orange! Those ribbons looked really good on her, though he would not mind more orange. Even after all those centuries, he still found the color to be awesome. Unfortunately, the ladies in his life seemed to have a different opinion.

The former Jinchuriki could still remember the time when he started to date Mei-chan. Though he really loved the auburn-haired woman with all his heart, she had not … appreciated his fashion style and on their fifth date, when things seemed to get really serious between them, the female Kage had taken him on a shopping tour to purchase a more adequate set of clothes. That was the moment where he had to say goodbye to his various orange jumpsuits … he nearly cried when Mei-chan burned them with her Youton.

It was only ten or eleven years ago when he had found a similar looking jumpsuit in one of the stores in Tokyo. Great had been his joy as he bought the cloth, though the joy would of course not last. The moment his Grayfia-chan laid eyes on, in his opinion, awesome cloth, her mouth corners twitched violently before she froze his newly bought jumpsuit, much to his horror. And with the beating that followed, he was forbidden from buying such a horrendous thing ever again.

Seriously … why was he the only one who liked the color orange? At least, the silver-haired beauty allowed him to wear some clothes with the color, mostly some shirts. It was not much, but he could not whine. To contrary belief, it was not him who wore the pants in this relationship, but Grayfia of course.

Why was he so attracted to women who knew how to restrain him? Or beat him up?

Surely something he inherited from his father….

He was shaken from his thoughts as Sherria's cheerful and soft voice reached his ears. "It was truly fascinating, Naruto-san! There were so many cool places Jura-san and I visited, you know? It was … refreshing for me, those travels to keep my mind off. I wanted to thank you for all you did for us till now. Thank you, thank you!"

Chuckling, the blond man patted the young woman on her head, ruffling through her hair and making the girl's cheeks flush red at the warm gesture. "Glad you enjoyed yourself, Sherria. You know what? I know a person who would be really happy to see you again. I am sure Mira would be more than happy to welcome you in our home!"

Sherria's blue eyes shinned with joy, making him smile happily.

"Mira-san is here?! Really?"

"Yes, so go on already! She is in the kitchen right now, and will too be happy to have you here."

"Yay" The cheerful girl immediately ran past him and dashed into the mansion, though not before tripping over a non-existent brick on the driveway. Fortunately, she did not hurt herself and laughed innocently. It seemed she was still clumsy, and cute not to forget.

Both men gazed at her before she entered the house. A small smile crept up Naruto's lips.

"She truly seems better now. I am glad … you really did a good job, Jura. She was a mess just four months ago."

The Fiore Mage nodded, knowing that it had taken quite a while for him to help the girl coop up with the tragedy. "Indeed. I too am surprised how quick she recovered. Though I cannot blame her, she is still young and it was simply too much, she lost too much that day."

"All of you lost much that day, Jura."

"Yes, but for Sherria … not only did she lose her loving cousin and Guild members, but also a good friend she had made, and her … first love. She may look fine now, Naruto-dono, yet the pain is still there and it will take far longer for her to heal. I can only admire her strong will. She will become a great person, Naruto-dono, that I can promise you!"

"No need, Jura." The blond Shinobi turned his head to look at the tall Mage. "She already is a great person, don't you think so?"

Jura only smiled, wholeheartedly agreeing.

"So, how was your trip? Did you have any problems during your travels?"

"Nothing, Naruto-dono. It was quite eventful and we learned much about this world. Though I still wonder how technically developed the people here are, even without the use of Magic. We even encountered some of those supernatural beings, but good for us, you had placed your suppression seals on us. We did not really want to be involved in any of their conflicts, as they would have surely followed us if they knew of our power."

"Indeed." Nodding, the blond Shinobi crossed his arms over his chest. "Most of them tend to … recruit gifted humans into their ranks. Not a bad thing per se, yet I considered that if someone managed to take you under their wing, it could be very well myself."

"For the better, I think. Personally, I would have accepted your offer the day after our rescue, but with Sherria's broken state, finding time to heal her was more important. She did not seem to trust you or the other people, maybe she was even afraid of you, so taking her away seemed like the best way."

"Well, it did help her, as I can see. And that is all that mattered."

Nodding at Naruto's offer to move to the house, both males continued to talk while walking up the driveway. It seemed clear to Jura that his savior had further plans, which involved them in some way, and he was pretty interested in hearing them.

"And what is this proposition of yours, Naruto-dono?"

Smiling gleefully, the blond Shinobi patted the bulky man on his shoulders. "You will see in a short while, my friend. But first, let us enjoy Grayfia's and Mira's amazing cooking skills. Amazing, I say!"

There would be enough time to speak after some healthy dinner after all.

Three days later, afternoon, outskirts of Kuoh City, Japan

Taking a soft breath, letting the fresh and strong air fill his lungs, Naruto slowly opened his eyes, dropping his Sennin Modo and feeling completely at peace for once. This was one of the reasons why he enjoyed gathering Nature's energy, to let it ease his mind and strengthen his body. Meditating always helped when he needed to clear his head.

He really thanked Pa and Ma for all their training, for letting him succeed in Jiraiya's steps.

Though a soft sigh escaped his lips as his ears picked up the faint sound of sandals on the wet grass in the distance. He already sensed the presence a while ago, trying to sneak upon him with great care. Yet it was near impossible to try sneaking up to him.

The intruder did not learn in that regard, so it seemed. Or she did not care.

Naruto focused his attention back on these last few days. Even though he still knew nothing new about his godchildren, the blond Shinobi was happy to have gained two new members to his Peerage. After having explained his plans, both Jura and Sherria agreed to stay and help in the upcoming war against the Burning Legion, though Sherria had been quite scared, but with Mira's comforting presence, the young girl too wanted to help.

He was quite pleased with his newest members. While Sherria was the weakest among his allies, she would still be a valuable comrade in the coming fights. Jura though … had been a surprise. The tall bulky man was instantly reborn with eight sets of wings, something he thought not to be possible apart from Cao Cao and Vali should he decide to include them into his Peerage.

Naturally, Mirajane had told him that Jura was considered to be one of the strongest Mages in her world, but hearing it and seeing it with own eyes was something different after all. It had been a pleasant surprise and raised his dampened moral after the terrible news from the past few days.

With both a new Rook and a new Bishop, Naruto could start and try to finish his Peerage in the near future. Time worked against him, so he needed to go and recruit them quickly before it might already be too late.

Rubbing his temple, his noise picked up the faint scent of lilac and gooseberries, quite a familiar scent. Maybe even too familiar for his taste, given that said person often, if not always, teased him.

"Why do you still try to sneak up on me? By now, you should have realized that I always manage to find you long before … and here I always thought cats learned from their mistakes."

There was no response for a moment, but Naruto already knew what would happen next and so he was not at all surprised when someone jumped onto his back and his head was squished against something very soft … against two very soft and large pillows to be precise.

To his credit, only a light blush tainted his whiskered cheeks given that he had experienced this feeling already often enough, though he could not help the slight twitch of his right eyebrow after all.

Two slender arms wrapped around his neck and pushed him deeper into one of the softest embrace to have ever existed before an amused and seductive voice broke the silence on the clearing.

"I just can't help but try to surprise you, nya! Neh neh, have I gotten any better?"

He could already feel the incoming headache. "You know, I do not have a problem with you visiting me. In fact, I quite enjoy it, yet your … welcoming hugs tend to get a bit too much, maybe?"

"Nya, you say you don't like it anymore?"

His blush deepened a bit. "I didn't say that…."

The newly arrived person laughed happily before Naruto felt the grip on his neck loosening, followed by his head being freed from the soft coffin. Though his relief only lasted shortly as the female presence now took a seat to his right, pressing herself as much against him as possible, her arms once more finding it's way around his neck.

"You never change, do you Kuroka?"

It was a rhetoric question and both knew it. The woman also knew that he did not mean it as such. She knew just how much she meant to him after all.

Naruto's now amused gaze fell upon the woman on his right, taking a moment to gaze at the stunning and familiar female attached to his side.

Kuroka was truly a beautiful and attractive woman, seemingly in her early twenties. She could not remember her family name nor her parents, but she liked to take his name, often calling herself Uzumaki Kuroka, which left no mistake to her intentions and future plans. The woman had pale flawless skin with long black hair, which she kept tied in several long buns while more bangs framed her beautiful face. Her exotic hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils starred mischievously into his own, a playful smile on her plump cherry-colored lips.

The skimpy yet elegant outfit of hers did nothing to hide her amazing voluptuous figure, only wearing a black Kimono with a red interior, the cloth being open at her shoulders and giving quite the view on her large cleavage, which always managed to capture his eyes. Currently, the young woman was pressing herself deeply into his side while her Kimono struggled to keep her two large babies contained. They were even bigger than Grayfia's, which was a feat in itself!

Her outfit was completed by a yellow Obi, which kept her Kimono tied around her slim waist, followed by several golden beads. Though the black Kimono barely hid her most private parts and gave him a wonderful view of her creamy thighs and her long strong legs. She only wore simple brown sandals and nothing more, her finger- and toenails coated in a layer of black, a color he had come to like over the last years.

While Kuroka looked like a normal yet extremely beautiful woman, she was in fact a Devil-Youkai mix, or more precisely a Nekoshou of the Nekomanta race. Given her origins, she had some distinctive features only to those of her race, namely two black cat tails sprouting from above her firm behind and two black fluffy cat ears atop of her head, which were simply too adorably in his eyes.

The female Youkai gave him a wry smile, content to push herself as close as possible to his frame. His warmth and scent always managed to calm her down and feel at ease, especially after he stored up some Senjutsu. One of the reasons, why she tended to visit him after his meditation. Just basking in the feeling of his potent Chakra was … simply indescribable to her.

"So, any reason why you graced me with your beauty? Or do you actually have a valid reason this time, huh?" She could clearly see his amused gaze, as well as the small grin that spread across his face.

"Do you…."

"Nope"

Pinching him in his side, satisfied to see the brief expression of pain on his face, Kuroka puffed her cheeks. "Mou! You didn't even hear me out, nya!"

Naruto simply rolled his eyes. "I am quite sure you wanted to try and seduce me again, am I right?"

"…"

"You see, my little Kitten, I don't even need to hear you out. You made your intentions quite clear over the last years…."

Pouting, the black-haired Nekoshou rested her head on his biceps, her cat ears twitching cutely.

It was then that Naruto's gaze caught sight of something special. At least it was for him.

Proudly displayed on top of her head, directly attached behind her fluffy ears, was an old-worn and black-colored headband with a metal plate.

A single leaf was engraved into the metal plate.

A soft sigh escaped his lips. Apart from the medallion of his family, this was actually the only thing that remained from his old life. He had never worn it again since his arrival in this dimension, too painful were the memories in the end. Only keeping it on his person, he had given it to the young woman only three years ago.

As a gift.

Feeling the feline stirring against his arm, her bemused voice reached his ears.

"And here I thought I was Sensei's favorite student, nya!"

"More like my most troublesome one … if I may say it in the words of an old friend."

Yeah, she had been, or still was in fact, his disciple, one of them. The former Shinobi started to train her, together with her current teammates, teaching them many things during the last six years, although none of them as much as Kuroka. The reason was simple: the female Youkai could use Chakra, like most Youkai's did, his godchild Yasaka included. But unlike the training with the beautiful Kitsune, he could even extend Kuroka's training regime and had helped her to master her greatest ace, as well as her greatest fear … Senjutsu.

So even though he trained her whole team, the black-haired woman definitely learned the most from him, next to Bikou who too could use a different yet weakened form of Senjutsu.

And to crown the end of her training, he had gifted her with one of his greatest treasures. The blond Shinobi thought she deserved it, showing how much faith he actually had in her, something she quickly realized as she took his gift with shaking hands. Though her training was mostly finished, Kuroka still had much to learn from him, and he quite enjoyed her presence.

Though her attempts to seduce him grew more and more daring….

"So … how comes your training around? Did you finally master the few Jikudan Ninjutsus I taught you? Hopefully you were careful, those Jutsus are not for blind use … they could very much kill you if used unwisely."

Naruto raised his eyebrows as he saw the big smile on her lips and her shining golden eyes.

"Nya, Sensei does care for his little Stray Cat after all! I am so lucky, nya."

And before he could retort, the daring woman had latched onto his neck before licking his whiskered cheek. Naruto shuddered at the feeling of her rough cat-like tongue, even more so as she licked his sensitive whiskers. Damn, she knew exactly how to play him.

Trying to stop her proved to be quite fruitless, as she was more than persistent. Though that was a trait he liked about her in the end, he had to give her credits for her stubbornness and persistence. Kuroka was much like him in that regard.

Though both knew that she was right about her being his favorite.

Kuroka indeed was his favorite disciple, even more so than Vali or Cao Cao. He did not know why exactly, but he had always held a soft spot for the black-haired Nekoshou, something the young woman made use of many, many times. Kuroka always managed to crumble his hardened shell, especially during training.

Naruto smiled. His youngest student, Le Fay Pendragon, often whined because he went too soft on her female teammate, though to be honest, the young girl too was sparred from his most … intense training sessions. So it were mostly Vali and his two male friends, Bikou and Arthur, who were beaten to the ground.

Honestly, as if he could ever hurt his two cute female students.

Casting a brief glance at the black-haired woman snuggling into his right side, he allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Though it is good to see you again, Kuro-chan. Maybe you could bring your team next time, I actually have to speak with Vali about something."

The beauty clinging to his arm blinked before she followed his gaze. "Nya, Vali too wished to talk, but he seemed … a bit off lately. I don't know why, but he seemed sad. Not even mine and Bikou's pranks managed to rile him up, nya."

"Is that so? Seems our talk needs to happen sooner than I thought then."

Kuroka hummed softly, letting her chin rest on his biceps to look up at him, seeing him starring calmly into the depths of the forest surrounding them. A soft smile graced her lips. She really had missed him these last few weeks when she could not visit him. Damn her smug team leader from keeping her from visiting.

Yet at the mention of Vali, she grew a bit nervous, worried even. Something seemed to deeply trouble the current Hakuryuuku, the White Dragon Emperor or Vanishing Dragon, as he started to behave strangely about a week ago. Now that she thought about it, Vali grew tense the day of Kyoto's destruction.

A bit strange indeed since her team leader was quite the easygoing guy and solemnly focused on fighting strong opponents. Though to be honest, his crazy battle lust had considerably lessened after their Sensei trashed the ground with him, on several occasions she might add. Vali changed much since then, after learning from the blond Shinobi that an even greater force would soon invade their dimension.

Fighting the Great Red, the supposed strongest existence in their plane, became without purpose since Naruto forbid him to fight the True Dragon, who seemed to be one of their Sensei's allies and subordinates.

As long as he could challenge the blond Shinobi, Vali did not mind, especially since he was far stronger than Great Red. Though he still wanted to kill that certain someone, something he had not even told their Sensei. Even his team did not know whom it was that they were supposed to fight in the future. Kuroka was quite sure that this was the cause for Vali's unrest nowadays, yet she had no proof. She would let the two of them speak before jumping to conclusions, something her loveable Sensei taught her, among many other things.

"You know, he respects you very much, nya."

Chuckling, Naruto gazed down at her beautiful face. "You should have seen him the first time I met him then! Such a foolish and prideful brat he was. A true battle maniac at heart to put it mildly, with no respect for his elders, though I should not speak in that regard." Leaning his head on hers, the Shinobi smiled at the fond memories. "After several beatings, he became a bit more … calm and collected, before he wished for me to train him and the team he wanted to assemble. The Vali you came to know is far more sociable and likeable than his previous self, which I had the great pleasure of educating. Truly, youngsters these days."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

'Though he has by far exceeded my expectations in the end. He has become even stronger than Albion's previous wielder … I am sure Daisuke is more than proud of his successor. I know Albion is. Though honestly, I do not know if Issei will reach the necessary height. Only time will tell I fear.'

Both shared a comfortable silence, basking in the cool summer wind and the warm rays of the sun.

"I met your little sister several weeks ago."

Kuroka instantly shifted against his side and gazed at him with expectant eyes. "Shirone, nya."

"Yes, though she goes by the name of Koneko nowadays, Toujou Koneko to be exact."

The Nekoushou's ears fell a bit, but she brightened as she saw his smile. "She seemed quite fine to me, a bit too quiet and emotionless for my tastes, but the Gremory family took good care of her, like I told you. Yet, even if it is not my right to say, I think you should soon try to speak with her, Kuro-chan. She needs it more than anything else."

With a saddened smile, the female Nekoshou snuggled into his neck. "Easier said than done, nya. Surely she hates me, Sensei … for not taking her with me that time. I couldn't even rescue her in time and if not for…."

Seeing her eyes tearing up, he kissed the top of her head, knowing that that particular day was still a sore spot for his favorite student. "Now now Kuroka, don't think too much about the past. That's not healthy, I should know after all."

"But…."

"Everything will come alright, if only you take the time to talk to her."

The female remained silent for a few seconds, her lower lip trembling. "If it had not been for you…."

Naruto raised his right eyebrow. "You knew? Since when?"

She chuckled bitterly. "Did you really think it was a mere coincidence that the current Lucifer was that day in the capital, whereas he should have been at a ball sponsored by the Belial Pillar, nya? Was it coincidence that the Elder Council wanted her to be executed on the spot, yet choose not to due to some of them being kept from the meeting?" Kuroka took a deep sniff of his scent, regaining some of her previous composure. "You managed to keep my sister from getting executed, nya. If not for you, Lucifer wouldn't have been in the capital at all to oppose the Council, nor would Shirone even have gotten a … fair trial. I owe you my precious little baby sister, Naruto-kun."

Said man sighed, a hint of guilt and regret creeping into his voice.

"I'm sorry, Kuroka. I could have freed her, yet choose not to. I thought it would be best to let the Satans handle the situation, thinking that it was for the best not to directly involve myself. I knew that Sirzechs, despite being a knucklehead, would never allow such a decision and would surely take her to his family. If I had known you at that time, I would have freed her myself … so that you two could have been reunited."

"I thought you said not to dwell in the past, Sensei?"

He chuckled at her response. "Indeed, you little smartass. Nevertheless, I wish I had done it another way … as I wish I had been faster to prevent the hunt on your race, Kuroka."

The black-haired woman stiffened.

"To my great shame, I did not even know what happened that time in the Underworld, and I had Zetsu doing some reckoning in the Norse God Realms. If not for Yasaka contacting me, I wouldn't even have known of the Nekomantas … I grew too lax and didn't take the necessary precautions. I know I should have persuaded Yasaka to keep the Nekomantas in her territory and not settle in the Devil's territory of the Underworld, even though they allowed it. Too many lives were lost, just as I lost some great and loyal allies that day. Even to these days, relations between the Devils and the Asian Youkai Tribes lie in pieces … if not for Yasaka and Serafall, war would have erupted that day."

Kuroka only listened silently with sad eyes. Her Sensei still felt responsible, even though it was her who condemned her already endangered race to near extinction. So many of her kin were hunted down, leaving only a handful left, scattered all over the world.

"I-it was … my fault, nya."

"No, it was not, Kuroka!" She flinched at his raised voice and could not even look into his eyes. "You did nothing wrong at all. I would have done the same thing, of that you can be sure. Honestly, I am actually surprised you managed to endure your former King for such a long time … given my informers, Rasul Malphas was, even for traditional Devil standards, a prideful and arrogant one even among his peers, not to mention a disappointment as rightful heir to his Pillar Clan."

Gently taking her chin into his hand, he gazed into her sad eyes.

"Remember this, family … always comes first, Kuroka. Always."

Slowly, a beautiful smile came across her lips, feeling extremely relieved that the man truly did not hold her responsible for the loss of his valued allies.

Naruto softly kissed her forehead, earning a rosy blush in response. "You could not have known the consequences of your actions, at least not that your race would suffer from this lone act. In fact, the Devils ignorance left me stunned. As if Senjutsu could make you lose control, truly ignorant fools they were and unfortunately, most still are."

As she wiped her tears away, the female Youkai could not help but fall even harder for him. She was sure of it. She definitely found her one and only mate, the man she intended to share the rest of her life with.

Though the situation was a bit complicated, much to her ire. While she could accept him being in another relationship already, it would take a bit more time to … persuade his first mate, namely one Grayfia who she had the pleasure to encounter on several occasions already.

Needless to say, the silver-haired Devil did not appreciate her teasing, not at all.

But she would convince her somehow. More importantly, she wanted her Sensei to return her feelings, already knowing that she held an important part of his heart. Yet even though he may very well love her like she wanted him to, Naruto would never cheat on Grayfia. He was loyal to boot, something she found quite attractive and made her desire him even more.

All she needed was time, before she could embrace her future.

Casting a brief glance at his silent company, Naruto sighed before smiling. "You know, your dear sister was quite suspicious of me the first time we met. I am sure she will keep a close eye on me, not trusting that I am a but simple human."

"That's my Shirone, nya!" Kuroka laughed happily, feeling proud that her little darling sister still trusted her instincts to guide her. "But she will soon see that you are a big softie at heart, nya. Plus, you wouldn't dare to hurt cute little things!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, an amused smile present on his lips. "If I remember correctly, a certain young black Kitty was quite afraid the first time she met me … she was so scared that she did not even dare to come closer than twenty feet to my person."

"Nya, I was not!"

Snipping her cute nose, Kuroka scrunched her face and hissed, her cat ears flattening on top of her head as she showed her sharp fangs. Her reaction made Naruto laugh and ruffle her hair, much to her embarrassment.

"Oh yes, my dear. You were a terrified little Kitten that time, though to your defense, you were actually the first Youkai to actually feel a part of my sealed power, something not even the Kyuubi Tribe managed. Most Youkai do trust their instincts when it comes to me, feeling that I am stronger than them and could threaten their existence. Hence the reason why the Youkai Tribes became my first choice in possible allies. Better having them directly on my side than keeping myself hidden all the time … the other Factions and various Gods are far easier to trick after all."

"Nya, so I was just unlucky."

"More like it showed me your potential, and I was not disappointed in the end. My star disciple, are you not?"

Kuroka's fluffy tails swirled excitedly behind her back. "So I am your favorite, nya!"

"Yes, yes you are."

The Nekoshou happily buried her head back into his neck, making him sigh in amusement. "Will you keep an eye out for my Shirone, nya?"

"Of course I will. I actually spent quite the amount of time with your sister's Peerage nowadays and I'll keep my eye out for her. Maybe I can incite them to train a bit harder from now on … I truly hope Rias will start to really train herself and her Peerage. She will need it."

"Thank you, nya." Kuroka's head then dropped a bit, biting her bottom lip before she addressed the surely sore topic. "I am sorry for your loss … you know, about Yasaka and her daughter, nya."

She could feel her Sensei tense before taking a deep breath. She knew it must be all the harder for him.

"Yeah … I still hope for the best, Kuroka-chan. My heart tells me they are still alive, even though the chances are slim, very slim. And unfortunately, things are not looking very good for us, another reason why I need to speak to your team and Cao Cao's faction."

"My team too started to search for them, as does Cao Cao's Hero Faction. Ophis has been quite silent these last few weeks and doesn't even bother to keep us in check, nya. Though we too did not find anything…."

"Honestly, I don't expect you to find much. Things have gotten complicated, to say the least."

Kuroka hummed. Her Sensei seemed deeply troubled, so it must be truly something big that had happened. And whatever managed to trouble the former Shinobi meant big problems for the entire world. Not a reassuring thought she might add.

Despite the rather dark and discouraging events that they shared moments ago, a comfortable silence fell upon the sitting couple, both simply enjoying each other's presence and the warm sun tickling their skin.

Kuroka especially enjoyed the time with her Sensei, something she had desperately missed these last few weeks. She truly hoped they could start to spend more time with each other from now on.

"You know what, Kuro-chan? Just bring your team over in the next few days, and I'll try to convince Vali that you can stay at my mansion, maybe the rest of your teammates too will take up my offer. You know how much I want to spoil my cutest little student, La Fay … though I admit, your sister may be cuter."

"Nya" Purring happily, the black-haired Nekoshou pecked Naruto's whiskered cheek, making him smile. She often forgot that he could read emotions, if he wanted to. Her Sensei always knew what troubled her. He should even feel the love she held for him, though he not once returned her feelings.

Disheartening for her, yes, but she had time. He would soon realize his feelings for her. It was only a matter of time after all.

A sly smile spread on Kuroka's lips, as she embraced the man's right arm.

Naruto soon realized that his student was far too quiet from her usual self. Though he noticed how she tightly hugged his arm into her soft cleavage, not that he was complaining, yet the former Shinobi was too slow to realize her intentions.

His cheeks gained a deep blush as his hand made contact with something very soft, warm and wet.

The female Nekoshou giggled, gaining a rosy blush of her own as she felt his hand on her sacred part.

"Kuroka?"

"Nya?"

"You're not wearing any panties today, are you not?"

That was a stupid question, now that he thought about it. He often tended to forget how shameless his favorite student in truth was.

"Of course not, silly. Sensei knows how much I hate wearing underwear, nya. They are so uncomfortable after all!"

The woman only purred happily, quite smug with herself if the trickle of blood flowing down his nose was any prove.

Damn that woman!

In the meantime, somewhere in the Underworld

The two armored guards made place for the lone person walking up to them, opening the large hall door to let him in. Not sparing the two Devils a single glance, Rizevim Lucifer walked into the large throne room of the castle, noticing several others of his kin seizing him up as he moved towards the throne at the end of the room.

A sly smirk sneaked upon the silver-haired man's lips.

The silence was broken by the deep royal-like voice of the man sitting on the throne.

"It has been quite some time since your last visit … brother. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Rizevim chuckled softly, ignoring the frown that appeared on the man's handsome face.

"Quite simple, my dear brother. Do you enjoy being Ophis little pet?"

The man sitting on the throne balled his hands to fists, making the Devils spread across the ball room tense, several of them already ready to attack the intruder on their master's order, yet he waved them off after a moment. His stern gaze once more fell upon the silver-haired Super Devil in front of him.

"What do you truly want, Rizevim? You rejected Ophis offer for power a long time ago, not at all wanting to join her Khaos Brigade. Nor do you want to restore our old Bloodlines, so I ask again. What is your business with me?"

Lucifer's descendant slowly walked up the stairs before stopping right in front of the throne.

"I came … with an offer to you, my dearest brother."

Shalba Beelzebub, descendant to one of the original Satans, only raised his left eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

"An offer you will not refuse, that I can promise you."

Beelzebub's heir hummed in contemplation.

Shalba was a tall and handsome man, seemingly in his mid thirties yet far older. His brown hair went down to his hips, with several hair bangs framing his cold pale face and covering his right eye. His lone visible blue eye carefully studied his brother standing before him. The descendant was clothed in black armor, with a brown furred cape draped over his shoulders.

"An offer I cannot refuse, you say? I wonder … will this proposition of yours have the same effects on my person, as it seems to have on yours? The green glow in your eyes does not seem healthy, brother."

Rizevim chuckled as he massaged his stiff neck. "I agree … my appearance may not seem appealing. Believe me brother, those green veins disgracing my usual flawless skin were a pain at first, yet … I never felt better."

Lucifer's heir smiled.

"Back to the question at hand, Shalba. Do you not wish for more, my fellow Satan? I know Ophis forbad you from planning your coup against the Underworld. I am in the belief that her decision did not dwell well with your future plans. Katerea and Creuserey are surely just as disappointed. After all, the only reason you joined the Khaos Brigade was to gain part of Ophis power to ensure your rights on our forefather's positions."

"Your point being?"

Shalba was beginning to get annoyed with his fellow Maou heir, something Rizevim was counting on.

"Ophis' snakes can only do so much, my friend. The power boost you gain from them is far too … low, is it not? Surely even you have realized that even with them, you can never hope to match Sirzechs or Ajuka's true powers. It simply is not enough for you to succeed."

Gritting his teeth, Shalba tried to reign in his anger, though he knew that his brother was right. Despite his hatred and despise for the current Satans, they were no pushovers, especially that damn Sirzechs. The power they gained from Ophis was simply not enough for their plans to succeed, especially since that naïve Dragon forbad the Old Satan Faction from attacking the Underworld.

Things had not progressed as he had planned in the beginning.

"Surely you must feel frustrated? Knowing that Ophis does not allow your little rebellion against the current generation of Maous … she did not tell you why of course? Even Ophis seems to follow someone's commands, someone powerful enough to order her around, a person we did not yet have the pleasure to meet, my dear brother."

Beelzebub's heir narrowed his eyes, growing increasingly curious.

"Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, follows someone's lead? Surely you jest, Rizevim."

Lucifer's son smiled wryly. "Oh, but she does. Even she has become someone's pet, even though it may seem surreal. She no longer can do what she wants and therefore, her little group too is not allowed to do whatever they want … Ophis may seem naïve to many, but she is not that stupid. Even she knows that going against her master would mean certain death to her."

The two heirs fell into silence as they eyed each other. Shalba was tipping his fingers on the armrest of his iron throne, clearly shaken by the news his brother brought him. He knew they were true. Rizevim, despite being just as cruel and manipulative as himself, did not lie about something of this magnitude.

So even Ophis had been put on a leash. Quite the interesting fact.

"I know you are quite … disappointed with your current employment, my dear brother. As such, I came here today with a special offer, for you and your fellow Satans."

"Continue"

Grinning darkly, Rizevim stretched out his left hand before a golden chalice appeared in it.

"I have a gift for you, brother."

Shalba narrowed his eyes. Inside the chalice, he could clearly see a glowing green, bubbling substance.

"Embrace my master's gift, my friend. Embrace it, and you will acquire power beyond your imagination. Power not even Ophis can give you."

The silence inside the room was deafening.

"Drink, brother, and reclaim your true heritage. Drink, and become the true ruler of the Underworld, and of your kin."

Two days later, abandoned church, outskirts of Kuoh City, Japan

"They will kill each other, Naruto."

"I know, my love."

The Shinobi's gaze never left the scene, which happened right beneath them. "Though I doubt Rias and Akeno will have any problems in dealing with them."

Currently, the group of five people was floating several feet above the ground, hidden under several layers of Genjutsu to prevent anyone from seeing them. Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the air, levitating without the use of his wings as he watched the upcoming battle beneath them. His silver-haired Queen was floating next to him, her twelve sets of silver-glowing tendril-like wings gently sweeping behind her.

"Should we not intervene, Naruto-sama? Surely you do not wish for anything bad happening to your … protégé's Peerage."

"When the time is right shall we intervene, Hato-chan."

His lovely pink-haired Swordswoman was right behind them, floating next to Ultear, both women gazing down at the scene. The two of them had grown stronger since their evolution, now sporting six sets of wings, Ikaruga's being a gentle pink glowing color whereas Ultear's were black-colored.

Naruto rested his head on his right hand palm, unimpressed as Rias Queen summoned a red-glowing barrier around them to prevent the three Fallen Angels from escaping.

"And you are sure those Fallen did not act on someone's orders? Not even yours?"

"Tze, as if I would waste my time on them. Azazel and his loyal dogs, especially Shemhazai, are far too scared to risk a war over something like this. Despite his thirst to categorize every single Sacred Gear, Azazel would not risk war because of Twilight Healing."

The gruff voice of Kokabiel echoed in the air, the Fallen Angel leader flying several feet away from them with his ten wings out.

Naruto hummed in thought. "Even though this … incident was not planned, we can make use of it in the end. Yet I hope your plan will be of success, Kokabiel. I need a reason to bring the Three Factions on the negotiation table, something important enough to make them talk. Failure is not an option, you know that."

"Yes, you were quite … persistent on that point, Naruto-san. I already dispatched my minions to Vatican City and Istanbul. They will return once they stole the remaining fragments. Michael will have to react, yet he will probably only sent some weak Church followers to reclaim the Swords … he will not risk sending one of the Seraphs."

"I'll hold you to that, Kokabiel. Now go and make sure it will succeed."

The Fallen Angel grunted and with a simple bow, he stretched his black-feathered wings and flew off.

"Now that the troublesome one has left us, let's see how this will develop." A sigh escaped the blond man's lips as he sensed another signature popping up in the nearby forest, futilely trying to stay hidden. But not from him, so it seemed.

"Grayfia, be a dear and please look after our newly arrived Devil, will you? Just don't kill him, a simple memory wipe should be enough I think."

"As you wish, Anata." His Queen vanished in a burst of speed.

"And what should we do, Naruto-sama? This little dove of yours is itching for a wondrous fight … yet she would not dare to reject her handsome master's advances, now that his protective fiancé left his faithful side." Ikaruga hid her smirking lips behind her long sleeve, wiggling her eyelashes at her King, who slapped himself. Ultear too seemed quite embarrassed, though the light pink staining her pale cheeks indicated that she was too imagining some alone time with their savior.

"Not now, Hato-chan."

The pink-haired woman pouted at yet another rejection, which earned her a snicker from the other woman present. Meanwhile, Naruto rubbed his temples, clearly able to feel the glaring contest taking place just behind him. Sometimes, they were a handful, his Peerage … and yet, they were his friends. His family.

Focusing his gaze back on the small battlefield beneath them, the Shinobi already knew how this would end, the moment Akeno transformed into her Miko gear, ready to fight the three weak Fallen Ones. Now would be the time to interfere so it seemed.

"Ultear"

Said woman stopped glaring at the annoying pink-haired Mage, her curious eyes starring at her King. "Yes?"

"Could you please try your new technique? Let's see if your training has been fruitful, shall we?"

Ultear seemed a bit hesitant, something he could feel even without looking at her. "I … I don't know, Naruto … it isn't field-practiced yet. I'm not sure if I can do it…."

"Now now, Ultear-chan." She blushed at the affectionate suffix added to her name, even more so as her King turned his head and smiled at her, his strange purple-ringed eyes holding warmth and confidence. Confidence in her, something she was not used to. "Just do what I taught you during training. The more you believe in yourself, the more powerful your Magic gets. Now you have to believe in yourself, just as much as I believe and thrust in yourself. Can you do that, Ultear-chan?"

"I … I can." Damn, he surely did not know how much that smile of his was charming.

Smiling, the blond man turned his attention back towards the fight, which was about to start.

Hearing his Bishop taking a deep breath, he patiently awaited the result. And he was not disappointed.

"Toki no Aku: Toketsu Jikan"

The moment the words left her lips, Ultear's Time Ark Magic took effect, much to his joy and pride. The whole area around them simply … froze. The whole forest, plus the neighboring church, stopped moving, safe for Naruto and his Peerage.

The former Dark Mage panted hard as her Magic was completed, clearly exhausted from her first successful use of this technique. Yet a proud grin quickly grew on her lips. She did it. She finally managed to evolve her Ark of Time to a new level, after only being able to manipulate time around non-sentient objects to move them forwards or backwards in time, and to a lesser degree on living beings. Yet now, with Naruto's guidance, she could freely change the condition of anything, even freezing time and space itself, though it was far from perfect and had many weaknesses.

"Wonderful, my dear, simply wonderful. I knew you could do it."

Blushing under the praise, the former Dark Mage tried to hide her red face from the giggling Swordswoman. Better not let that seductive woman have any more leverage against her.

"Now then, follow me, my dear ladies."

Their King floated to the ground, quickly followed by his two Pieces. The red barrier Akeno had set up only shortly before shattered into million pieces the moment Naruto passed right through it. Grunting, the man landed right in front of a frozen Rias and her black-haired Queen.

A small smile crept its way on his lips as the former Jinchuriki gazed at his ´girlfriend´. He did not like doing this. He never liked lying to the young woman. He needed to make it up to her, sometimes in the future … telling her the truth and hoping that, that she would forgive him. A faint hope it was.

Glancing at the three Fallen Angels floating in the sky, two women and one man, he shook his head. Stretching his right hand in their direction, the two women of his Peerage could only gaze in awe as the Fallen Ones were slowly being moved towards their direction.

Pushing the three Angels towards him, Naruto then softly placed them onto the ground, keeping his eyes firmly glued to their frozen forms. The former host did not react as Zetsu emerged from the ground next to him.

"Bring them back to the Grigori, Zetsu. Make it seem like they are given … as a peace offering. This will ease the path to further negotiations, or at least I hope so."

"Consider it done."

Naruto glanced at Kaguya's creation. "Are you able to infect them with those … spores you used during the war?"

Kuroi Zetsu only shook his head before grapping the three Fallen Angels. "Unfortunately, this body of mine does not have Hashirama's cells infused … only Shiroi Zetsu could use Mokuton to such an extent."

"Shame, could have been useful to gain more Intel on the Grigori's lower ranks. It seems like Vali is still my only good leak to Azazel's schemes, tough that cunning pervert starts to distrust him more and more." Naruto turned back and walked closer to the two Devil women. "Get them out of my sight already!"

Kuroi Zetsu did not reply, simply vanishing into the ground with their three prisoners.

Coming to stop in front of the crimson-haired woman, his gaze softened. Starring down at her frozen somewhat angry face, Naruto could not help but smile a bit. Rias sure looked cute when she was angry. To be honest, she was always cute, especially when she tried to act like a proper lady, or more like a proper girlfriend in his presence.

He truly enjoyed his time with the young woman.

Leaning down, he gently kissed Rias forehead, ignoring his Hato-chans annoyed huff at the gesture.

"This is for your best, Rias-chan. The first path towards a true peace for all Factions … the first step to a peaceful life for you, your family and your friends, my dear." A sad smile graced his face. "I hope that soon, I will be able to tell you the truth. And I hope you can forgive me for all my lies, Rias."

The former Jinchuriki then placed both his hand palms on the two girl's foreheads.

"This will be the last time I manipulate you like this. Afterwards, I will let you make your own choices, that I promise you."

His hands glowed white before he altered the girls' memories.

Ten minutes later

A somber look was plastered all over Naruto's face. His eyes were emotionless as they continued to watch the ongoing battle, a battle he needed to interrupt as soon as possible. The Transcendent together with his Peerage, Grayfia having returned from her mission, stood shielded away by a barrier in the corner of the abandoned church.

Things had taken a rather interesting turn.

After altering Rias and Akeno's memories, making them believe that they refrained from killing the three Fallen Angels to let them face punishment by their higher-ups, Ultear cancelled her Magic and time returned to normal.

His group watched as the girls moved to the church to assist their friends in rescuing that nun from whatever plans the Fallen Angels had.

His faithful Ikaruga, who was tasked to observe Rias Peerage members, told him days ago that one of his potential allies, the current wielder of his old friend Ddraig, Hyoudou Issei, had befriended a young blond-haired nun, who had been exiled from the Church and brought to Japan. The nun's future did not look bright.

Maybe he should have kept more attention to Kuoh City. He had believed that Rias Peerage would be able to deal with this rogue group, a group Kokabiel had not included in his plan and thus was irrelevant to his cause.

The same group that killed Issei and allowed him to become a Devil. At least this way, the boy could activate his Sacred Gear and would hopefully … reach the heights of his predecessor. Because honestly, he had been disappointed with Ddraig's new wielder, already knowing that the perverted boy, even though he was nice and loyal, would never become as strong as the previous Welsh Dragon wielder. He was not as promising as Vali, who had surpassed his predecessor, much to his joy.

Maybe as Devil, Issei would be of use to him. Only time would tell.

Following Rias and her Queen into the Church, he had come upon an interesting scene. Naturally, he had already sensed several presences inside the old building, most of them being humans with a single Fallen Angel presence … a familiar one now that he concentrated on it.

Most of the humans, who were either exiled Exorcists or Fallen Templars, had already been defeated by Issei and his two friends, Koneko and Kiba, Rias lone Knight Piece, who he had not yet met on many occasions.

That feat itself was not surprising, but the act that they actually managed to free the nun, who was called Asia Garganto, from the huge wooden cross she was tied to. They freed her without the female Fallen Angel doing anything against it.

Starring at the cute and young blonde nun, Naruto could not help the smile that came to his face. She was such a beautiful young girl, and her soul … her soul was so warm and pure. He had never felt such warm feelings coming from a human. He basked in her pureness, in the warmth, the joy she felt as her friend rescued her.

Asia truly had one of the most beautiful souls he had ever come across.

The former host was glad she had been saved from whatever fate the Fallen Ones had planned for her.

Yet after the heroic rescue, things did not went in favor of the Gremory group.

Rias decided to engage the lone Fallen Angel, the last of the little rogue group. And despite having her outnumbered, the crimson-haired Devil was still losing the fight.

During the whole encounter, Naruto's eyes were solemnly focused on the lone Angel.

He had already been suspicious before, yet now….

She had changed, blossomed into a beautiful woman that much he could tell.

Yet seeing her now….

It just reminded him of his many mistakes.

´Ray-chan´

He watched the whole battle, saw how Kiba and Koneko were quickly disabled by the Fallen Angel, shortly followed by a very tired Issei. He could only watch as Rias and Akeno tried their best to overwhelm the lone enemy, yet it was of no use. While the young nun desperately tried to heal her fallen Peerage members, the crimson-haired heiress fired one last Magic Spell at her, the black-red Orb of Destruction growing in size and destroying everything in size, ready to annihilate the female Angel.

The moment he gazed into Raynare's tired and lifeless eyes, the moment he felt her sadness … her despair and loneliness, he acted.

He would not allow her to die, not like this, not without apologizing to her and try to fix what had become of her.

She deserved better than this.

A loud explosion shook the abandoned church as the Power of Destruction seemingly annihilated the lone Fallen Angel standing in its path.

Only a few black feathers remained.

An hour later, outside of the church in the forest

The darkness slowly ceased to have her in its cold grip. Her whole body was cold, it hurt and she was exhausted. Opening her eyes, it took her a moment to adjust to the dazzling light, noticing that she was in a forest, leaning against a tree.

Ignoring the pain in her limbs as she massaged her temples, Raynare tried to stand up, despite her body's protests at the unwelcomed action.

What had happened? All she remembered was that girl's attack threatening to destroy her before darkness claimed her. Why was she not dead? Biting her supple bottom lip, the Fallen Angel balled her fists.

She had been ready. That attack could have killed her, even though it had been weak. Without the desire to defend herself, pretty much everything could kill you after all.

"I see you have recovered."

That lone and soft-spoken voice froze the Angel to her deepest core.

It could not be?!

Slowly, Raynare lifted her head. Her vision was still blurry so she had not immediately spotted the group of persons standing only a few feet in front of her. She could not even feel their presence at all, as if they did not exist.

Yet it were not the women who held her gaze, no … her eyes were solemnly focused on the lone man standing a bit further away from them. Her sight bettered and she caught her first real glance of the male.

Of him.

"It has been a long time, has it not … Ray-chan."

It … it truly was him! The same whisker-like marks on the cheeks … the same bright blond and spiky hair, although a bit longer, and the same azure-blue eyes she had so often gazed into as child, though now … now they actually radiated warmth, and regret.

Naruto, meanwhile, simply gazed sadly at the unmoving woman in front of him. His Peerage was oddly quiet, probably feeling that it was not right to intrude on their moment. Even his Grayfia was standing behind him and not on his side.

The former Shinobi sighed before eying the lone Fallen Angel once more. She still looked mostly the same as she had done as a child. Her silky black hair reached her waist, several smaller bangs covering her forehead and framing her beautiful yet tired face. She still had those gorgeous violet eyes, her pale skin mattered with several bruises from the fight, but nothing grave. She had matured a great deal and due to her Fallen blood, her body had developed quite nicely, far more than a normal human body should have over the years.

Though he blushed a bit at her rather … revealing outfit. Wearing a black leather corset that did nothing to hide her most generous bust, leaving her flat belly exposed, with equally black shoulder plates and matching thin gloves, down to her wide hips only covered by a black string while thigh-high stockings and combat-boots completed her seductive appearance.

Gone was the once small child … she had matured into a beautiful woman, his little Ray-chan.

Naruto smiled sadly, seeing the shock and unbelief in her wide-open eyes, the Fallen Angel desperately trying to stand on her feet. His eyes drifted briefly towards the now three sets of black-feathered wings that sprouted from her bare shoulder blades.

She grew stronger. Part of him was definitely proud of her, though he tensed as the black-haired woman slowly moved closer.

Signaling his Peerage to remain silent, the blond Transcendent did not move an inch, not even as his former … charge came to stop only a mere inches in front of him. Gazing down into her violet orbs, he noticed how she bit her bottom lip.

"A-are you … are you really h-him?"

"I am."

He saw it coming. He did not react. He had no right to evade.

The resulting slap he earned echoed across the silent forest.

It hurt, it truly did. Emotionally at least, knowing that he deserved way worse than this simple slap.

Grayfia especially looked stunned for once, having not expected that her lover would let himself be hit by this Fallen one. She already deduced that this woman may have history with Naruto, but she had not expected this … not this violent reaction. The regretful gleam in her man's eyes would be forever engraved into her mind.

"How … how dare you?!"

Her voice was low, yet with a dangerous and dark hint.

Something he had expected, yet it still hurt. He could still faintly remember her shy and soft voice as a child.

The woman standing in front of him … he could hardly recognize her, apart from her presence.

"I deserved that."

This only seemed to infuriate the Fallen Angel even more. She was now biting her lips, drawing blood while glaring hatefully at the man, who flinched.

"Y-you think … you only deserved that slap!?"

"No" The former Jinchuriki continued to glance down at the beautiful woman, a frown marring his face. He should have known it would come to this. He had left her alone after all. That was not something to do to a young child … a child who only had you at that time.

"Ray-chan, I…."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

This time, Naruto grabbed her wrist before she could slap him, noticing how she had coated her hand in her Magic. He smiled sadly.

"You … have no right to call me that, not after abandoning me! You left me alone when I needed you most … it was because I was annoying, wasn't it? A child only slowed you down, especially an abomination like me."

Raynare grew silent while tears started to pool down her pale cheeks. She slapped his hand away before freeing her captured hand from Naruto's now loosened grip.

"I'm sorry."

The female Angel chuckled mirthlessly, a bitter smile gracing her now bloody lips. "You're sorry. As if that could make everything all right, Naruto … you left me all alone. You left me when I thought I finally found someone who actually cared for me and not saw a disgrace in me. I was a fool, was I not? For believing I could count on you … you were the same as them."

He wanted to say something, something to retort, yet he did not know what. She was right. He had left her. He hoped someone else would take the child in.

He had been a coward. He still was.

The raven-haired beauty sobbed before turning around, not bearing to be in his presence any longer.

Naruto could only watch helplessly. He wanted so much to hug her, to make up for her pain, to say he had not forgotten about her, yet nothing escaped his lips. He simply did not know how to help her.

"You know how much I wished for you to come back and take me with you? The wish of a stupid and lonesome girl … a wish that never came true, despite of my prayers that were never answered. If not for Shemhazai-sama, I would have died in the streets…."

Brushing away her tears, Raynare turned her head, her usually shiny violet eyes full of sorrow and grief, her anger long since forgotten. She did not even have the strength to be angry with him anymore. She truly was a failure. That was surely the reason he deserted her, he had foreseen what would become of her, so the man wanted to get rid of her.

This was the price she had to pay for existing.

The fate of loneliness.

"I … I never wanted this to happen, Raynare."

The black-haired woman chuckled bitterly. "Neither did I … and yet, it did."

The two starred at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Raynare smiled. There was no joy in that smile, nor in her violet eyes.

"I hate you."

Naruto did not react, yet his former charge saw the brief flash of pain in his strange eyes.

The Jinchuriki did not stop the injured Angel as she spread her black-feathered wings and took off into the darkening sky. He did not know how long he starred at her retreating form, even as she disappeared on the horizon.

He looked down at the ground. A single black feather was lying in front of his feet.

Sighing, the man turned his gaze off the feather, turning around to face his Peerage who had watched the whole scene with mixed emotions. He preferred they had not seen this, but perhaps it was for the better.

They had a right to know what he had done in his past.

And how easily he threw away those that needed him.

Grayfia slowly stepped forward, a frown etched on her beautiful face as she saw the man's hollow eyes. How she loathed seeing him like this. It reminded her too much of how he used to be.

"What … what was that all about?"

She asked the question they all wanted to know.

Naruto simply gazed at the tree women before moving past them.

As he passed his silver-haired Queen, the Shinobi smiled sadly.

"Just one of my many past mistakes, Grayfia … just one of many."

The day after, Island of Capri, Gulf of Naples, Italy

A soft breeze blew across the idyllic landscape of Capri, accompanied by the warm sun and beautiful weather with no clouds on the sky. Even though the day was nice indeed, Naruto could not really welcome the inviting mood of this beautiful island.

The blond Shinobi slowly walked the pathway along, already seeing the Punta Carena lighthouse only a few hundred meters ahead of him. The sight was worthwhile, yet he was not here for the sightseeing. It was already enough that Grayfia urged him to visit this island more often than he liked, but what could he do? His fiancé loved the flare of this particular island and he happily obliged in the end.

Though the man wondered why his next recruit had chosen this place. Even with all the money he had given Fiore's survivors on their way, they still needed to be careful. Capri was expensive, something his wallet had come to feel whenever Grayfia went on a shopping spree.

Maybe he shouldn't tell the other ladies of his Peerage about Capri now that he thought about it.

That was the best for his wallet after all.

Naruto's eyes fell a bit.

The day before had not been one of his best. Not only had he manipulated Rias and her friends again, no, as if that was not enough, he couldn't really apologize to Raynare as she flew off before he could form the words in his mouth.

And he had not stopped her. What was the old saying? Once a coward, always a coward. That actually nailed the situation quite good.

He simply did not know how to deal with this situation. There was no good way to make things right, nor did he have the right to earn her forgiveness in the first place. Hell, he wouldn't forgive the person who abandoned him, abandoning a small child nonetheless.

Raynare did not deserve her fate.

She was all alone only because he could not move from his past.

The girl at that time had reminded him too much of his sweet daughter. A daughter he was not able to protect. And being with Raynare, who needed him more than any other … it hurt him so much.

But it was not her fault for his failures. And yet she was the one who suffered.

Naruto balled his fists. He desperately needed to amend. He would not leave the Fallen Angel alone again. He would not fail her again.

His train of thoughts was interrupted as something landed on his left shoulder. Cursing himself for failing to notice, the blond man turned his head to gaze at his … attacker. Well, attacker was a far stretch since he already knew who it was.

"Lector"

Standing on his left shoulder was a cat. No normal cat of course, since he had yet to encounter other cats such as Lector. Something that would probably never happen, since the Burning Legion had annihilated the world he came from.

Contrary to the cats he was familiar with, Lector had a more humanoid form, standing on his rear legs while his front legs acted as arms. He was as tall as his head, covered in dark-brown fur except for his large head, paws and belly which were of a lighter pink. And contrary to normal cats, this one actually wore some cloths. Well, only a blue unbuttoned shirt, but a cloth was a cloth.

Oh, and the white feathered wings sprouting from his back were probably an abnormality too.

"Long time no seen, Naruto-san!"

And that he could talk. That, in fact, was the least surprising for him since most of the Summons of his old world could talk.

Well, he was not a cat per se, but a … what was it called? Exceed, or not? Yeah, he was an Exceed, a special race of cats, which could use minor magic, Flight Magic to be exact.

Shaking his thoughts off, Naruto smiled at the small cat. "You seem to be doing well, Lector. It actually took me some time to track you down since you changed locations quite often in the past. So, why did you stay here for the last two weeks?"

The cat scratched his whiskered cheek, an uneasy smile on his face.

"We are actually stranded on this island, much to my ire. And we have no more money left to leave … we don't even have a roof to sleep under."

"Ho?" Raising his eyebrows, Naruto continued to walk towards the lone lighthouse and the platform underneath it. "Why did you even come here in the first place, I wonder. And where has your … wonderful companion gone to? I only felt yours and Rogue's magic signature on this island?"

"Ah yes." Lector smiled sadly. "Our Lady left us a while ago, said she wanted to explore the world alone. She was also the one who wanted to come here, with her Magic, it is really simple to travel you know. Yet now, we don't have that luxury any longer."

"So I have to track her down? Great, that will be some fun I presume … but that will be for another time. I've come for you two, in fact. How's Rogue doing by the way?"

"You will see, Naruto-san."

Both finally arrived at the elevated platform, which gave a wonderful view over the Mediterranean Sea. A lone man was sitting on the only bench available.

Sighing, Naruto sat down next to the male, Lector still on his shoulder, said cat looking worriedly at his partner.

Neither of the three said anything for a few minutes, only continuing to gaze at the faraway horizon. The silence, however, seemed to unnerve the other man, who signed.

"Not gonna ask how life has been?"

Shrugging, Naruto scratched Lector behind his pointy ears, earning a purr from the Exceed. "Well, I can already see from the glooming atmosphere how things still stand for you, Rogue. Did Minerva leave you two because of that? Not that I could fault her…."

Rogue simply scoffed, even as Lector replied that it was that exact same reason why their Lady left.

"So, you enjoy being stranded here? With nothing to do as it seems, apart from pitying yourself and giving Lector headaches on how to cheer you up."

"I … I wouldn't say headaches, Naruto-san."

"Now now, no reason to beat around the bush! I can see that you moved on from the past, unlike this big baby who can't seem to honor the memories of his friend who saved him."

Rogue balled his hands to fist, his body tensing much to Naruto's amusement. Good, he was still easy to rile up. Maybe then he would hear his request.

"I lost two of my best friends … one of them sacrificing himself and taken the hit that was meant for me, while I was mourning the loss of Frosch who I was unable to even protect! How is that different from what happened to you, Naruto?!"

Staring right back into the man's narrowed eyes, the former Jinchuriki smiled sadly.

"At least I learned not to spit on their sacrifice."

Rogue widened his eyes, before turning his head away. Sighing, the blond Shinobi clapped his shoulder, feeling him tense at the amicable gesture.

"It is alright to mourn, Rogue. We are only human after all." Closing his eyes, Naruto remembered how he felt. How he still felt sometimes. "But do not question why your friend saved you. Don't question why he gave his life to save yours … as a friend, as a true friend, you would gladly sacrifice yourself if it means your loved ones would live on. And that is the person Sting was to you two, wasn't he?"

The small Exceed on his shoulder wiped the tears away, remembering all the happy moments he had shared with his deceased partner Sting, and with his fellow Exceed Frosch. The four of them had always been family, a family they did not have before.

Naruto gazed at the mourning man next to him.

Rogue Cheney.

A young man in his end teens, of medium height, a head smaller than the blond Shinobi. He seemed to be quite handsome: red eyes with black slits, a small scar across his nose, pale skin and messy black hair, which he kept in a small ponytail while the right sight of his face was covered by his hair.

Rogue wore white light leather armor without sleeves, dark-grey pants that were tucked in his black combat boots as well as a leopard-patterned Kimono that only covered his right side however, leaving his left arm free. A grey sash around his waist kept the Kimono together, the man also wore black-grey combat gloves.

Quite an impressive outfit he had chosen. Must have cost a small fortune, of that he was sure. Naruto did not want to know what their female companion had bought. Most of the money surely went down that window.

From what Mirajane told him, Rogue too was quite a powerful Mage from their world, who seemed to have been her Guild's enemy just moments before the Gate had opened. While the beautiful Take-Over Mage had not much positive things to say about Rogue's Guild, Sabertooth, though the man seemed to be the most caring and dependable of them. Though naturally, that did not mean that his Guild deserved the fate that had consumed their world.

Rogue still was not over the fact that he had lost his two best friends, one of them had sacrificed his own life to save his.

A difficult situation it was for him.

Something he came to help with, among other things.

"So, Rogue." The blond man glanced at his brooding companion. "Maybe you are interested why I'm here?"

The Mage scoffed. "Wanting to teach me a lesson, I suppose. Saying how much of a coward and failure I am, are you not? How I shouldn't let myself fall so deep? Easy to say for you, I guess … you probably wouldn't know how I feel, how much I despise myself right now. For letting my friends die, while I survived. For breaking my promise to protect Frosch … the one promise I never wanted to break."

He clenched his teeth. "I should have been the one to die, not Sting! He had his own promises and dreams, his own friend to protect … and yet, he chose to save me. He chose to save someone who doesn't even know who he is, who can only live in the shadows, someone who has been manipulated by them his whole life. I wouldn't have saved someone like that, and yet … Sting did. He can no longer protect Lector, all because of me."

"Rogue-kun" Said cat could only look at him in sadness, before sitting down on Naruto's shoulder, a lone tear threatening to roll down his whiskered cheek.

Naruto simply closed his eyes.

"A coward like me has not the right to live in his place after all."

"Then from one coward to another." Both Rogue and Lector looked up, gazing at the silent man. "Trust in the words of someone who too lost everything he held dear in his heart. Someone who suffered long enough because he too was a coward to move on. Someone who would still be lost if not for Grayfia."

The Shinobi turned his head, a sad smile now present on his face.

"I know exactly how you feel, my friend. How powerless you feel, how much you want to exchange your life for that of your friends … I felt the same way for a very long time. I was alone, no … I wanted to be alone, thinking I deserved it due to my failure, for breaking my promise."

He shook the image of a smiling Mei with their daughter in her arms out of his mind.

"Yet you still have someone to live for, don't you think so?"

The former Jinchuriki pointed to the furry friend sitting on his shoulder. "You still have Lector. Just as he has you. Your friend Sting has entrusted his safety to you, has he not? Will you simply disregard his feelings?"

Rogue's eyes widened.

"I do not think you are the kind of person who would disrespect his friend. After all, your friend Sting chose to save you, you said so yourself. You should not question why he did it. A true friend would save you, no matter what, even at the cost of his own life." Naruto smiled softly. "So instead of grieving his loss, you should learn to treasure his life. I should know after all, after losing my family and my friends, I lived in the past for far too long. And in doing so, I spat on the memories I had of them … I did not have someone like Grayfia for the first two centuries, I had no one who was there for me, granted due to my own fault, no one who told me what I just told you two."

The two Fiore survivors continued to listen, clearly mesmerized by the words the blond man spoke, to listen how he dealt with all the crap that happened. How broken he sounded … how his voice filled with warmth as he spoke of this Grayfia woman and his new friends.

Rogue especially was shaken. This man may have lost more than him, had a far more difficult and gruesome past than him and yet … he managed to move on.

"I'm not saying you should stop to grieve, no. In fact, I think it is quite important to do so, but honestly, you forget that you still have Lector here with you, as well as your … charming Milady, wherever the hell she graces the people with her beauty."

The Exceed on his shoulder actually chuckled at his remark, just as Naruto himself who already feared the joy he would experience the moment he actually found the woman. Even Rogue lips slightly curled upwards.

"You already know what to do, do you not? To not let your friend's sacrifice be in vain, to follow into his footsteps … and to live for him."

The Mage lowered his head, gazing down at his open hand palms.

He did not react as Naruto stood up and patted his right shoulder.

Lector flew off from his shoulder, a small smile present on his adorable furry face as the cat gazed down at the two humans.

"Your friend gave you this power to live on in his place."

Rogue's right hand was engulfed in shadows while a piercing light erupted from his left hand.

"I think that it is time for the White Shadow Dragon Slayer to rise, my friend."

Later on in the evening, Kuoh Academy, old school building, Japan

Rias Gremory continued to stare at the falling sun. Since she was little, she had always enjoyed gazing at the sun fall. One of the reasons why she had often visited the Human world in the past, much to her parents' amusement. A shame the Underworld only had an artificial sun, yet it still lacked something compared to the real thing.

The heiress stood near the large window, crossing her arms underneath her bust.

Her expression softened as she saw the last rays of sunshine disappearing on the horizon. It always managed to ease her mind, and she had a lot to think about at the moment.

After all, her Peerage had nearly died that day.

And all because of her stupid decision to engage that Fallen Angel.

It actually was a miracle that they had managed to beat the Rogue Angel.

Rias bit her bottom lip. She knew why they had won. Only because their enemy had not fought them seriously … she had seen the look on her face, the look of someone who had given up on life. The Fallen Angel had simply let herself be hit by her empowered Orb of Destruction. If not … they would have not made it out alive that night.

That simple fact had hurt her pride. She realized just how much her Peerage, herself included, was lacking in strength, and proper training. Her friends were simply not ready to truly step into this world, where power was all that really mattered in the end.

Rias knew that she was not the best King. While she may be a good friend, she was not that good of a leader, unlike her friend and rival Sona. She had considerably weakened her Peerage by not training them, unlike what her brother had done in the past. Granted, the Underworld was engulfed in a civil war that time, and the need to grow stronger was more urgent that time.

But her older brother had always trained himself and his Peerage, even years after the war, and now … now he had one of the strongest Peerages of all, maybe only second to Diehauser Belial's Peerage.

The fight with the six-winged Fallen Angel had shown her how much she and her Peerage needed to improve in order to survive in this world.

The crimson-haired heiress had not told her family what had happened. She knew that it would not end too well for her, given her quite irresponsible actions that day. Even though she had been in the right to protect her territory from the unauthorized visitors, it still may have led to some major consequences for her brother.

Rias did not want to be a bother to her beloved sibling.

She just hoped that the Grigori would accept her peace offer, the three Fallen Angels they had defeated and returned back to them.

Even Azazel would surely not want the risk the feeble truce that existed between Devils and Fallen Angels, not over a group of rogue ones.

The young lady shook her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She only hoped that none of this would leak to her family. While Sirzechs wouldn't take many measures, the case might be different for her father, who could order her back to the Underworld.

Something she desperately tried to prevent.

Rias played with her hair a bit, her eyes gaining a sad gleam as her thoughts drifted towards the man who had captured her heart in these last months.

Naruto

The true reason why she was so shaken by her near death experience … she would have died before having had the chance to tell her boyfriend her feelings. Yes, Rias could not deny it any longer. She was sure of it, this feeling was simply too beautiful and strong … nothing like she ever had felt before, and it as all because of that goofy-looking man of hers.

The female Devil smiled brightly while touching her chest, right above her hearth.

She finally felt like a normal girl. With Naruto, she could act like her normal self, where she was only Rias … his Rias. Now that had a nice ring to it. After all, she did really like how possessive the blond man could become on their dates, whenever some guys looked at her in a less than appropriate way.

She had truly fallen hard for him, had she not?

Her eyes hardened.

Akeno, who came with a fresh cup of tea, quickly noticed her King's growing tenseness. The Queen dutifully delivered the hot beverage, and stood behind the heiress as she took a first sip of the delicious tea.

"Rias?"

"Cancel all our plans for the next week, and prepare a note for Sona so that she may excuse us from school activities." The raven-haired beauty looked curiously at her friend. Feeling her Queen's gaze behind her back, Rias finished her tea. "I think it is time for us to do some serious training, don't you think so too, Akeno?"

"Ara ara" The busty young woman smiled charmingly. "Sona won't be happy about this, but I guess she does owe you a favor. Yuuto too will be thrilled to hear about this training trip, Issei not so much I think, but this will only make it more interesting."

Akeno cupped her right cheek. "So I won't be able to see Naruto-kun this week? How mean of you, Buchou! Just when it became so good between Whiskers-chan and me … I only hope his poor heart can endure this."

The heiress rolled her eyes, quite unnerved by her Queen's words. "Oh, I am quite sure Naruto-kun will be able to survive without you bugging him all the time."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Buchou."

The crimson-haired Devil snorted. "Why would I be jealous? He's my boyfriend, and he will only miss me! Just as I will miss him! Though, naturally, I'd prefer to stay here, and spent even more time with him."

"So, why this trip now of all times?"

"This is for Naruto-kun too, Akeno." The Gremory heiress turned her head. "And for us! We need to grow stronger, all of us. I don't want something like that to repeat itself. You probably too, huh?"

Akeno smiled, though it was not a pleasant one.

"Definitely not … absolutely not, Buchou."

Nodding, Rias moved over to her desk, followed by her loyal Queen who took the empty cup from her friend.

"So" The raven-haired girl poured her King another cup. "Will you actually ask your brother for some training advice? I am quite sure Sirzechs-sama will be delighted in teaching his little sister, even though it may be seen as favoritism by the other Houses, not that it would deter him in the end."

"No, I cannot always rely on Onii-san, Akeno." The heiress furrowed her eyebrows. "But I am not too proud to admit that we actually need some sort of help."

Rias eyed her cup of tea before a mischievous gleam appeared in her sea-green eyes.

"Maybe … maybe I should just take my dear cousin up on his offer for some training exercises, wouldn't you think so, Akeno?"

Said Queen only smiled wider.

In the meantime, outskirts of Kuoh City, Japan

´Nothing knew to tell Naruto in the end. Tze … this is getting quite humiliating for me, the supposed best spy in the world. I can find absolutely nothing about them, not even a single damn trace!'

Kuroi Zetsu had returned from his scouting in the Underworld, empty-handed of course, even though he had hoped to find something. Which was a blow to his pride of course, not being able to locate these visitors. His mother had indeed always told him about the Legion, but he had yet to encounter them personally.

He could appreciate their elusiveness if nothing else.

A tired sigh escaped his teethed mouth. Things sure had changed drastically these last few days … they had severely underestimated the Legion's ways to sway the population of the world the planned to destroy.

The Demons were surely scheming right now on how to bring this world to its knees.

Naruto feared for the survival of this world, and his fears were not unfounded, but very much true.

They needed help, desperately.

Shaking his head, Zetsu was just about to vanish into the ground as he stopped abruptly. His white pupiless eyes widened, before turning his head.

Only seconds later did a rift manifest behind him, opening moments later and much to his growing surprise did a woman fall out of it.

Zetsu instantly rushed towards the downed female, not minding the rift closing.

He carefully grapped the Kimono wearing woman at her shoulder, and gently rolled her on her back.

The woman's long silver hair was partially mattered with bloodstains, as well as her clothing, yet what worried Zetsu more was that she seemed to be unconscious, probably from the pain she might be feeling. Her feminine pale face, once shining with beauty and grace, was disgraced by countless green looking veins, which seemed to spread from her upper body.

A huge slash blemished her left side, having shredded her Kimono, blood gashing out of the giant wound, which still glowed a bright green.

The wound was not healing like it should, much to Zetsu's consternation.

"Mother … how could this have happened?"

Ootsutsuki Kaguya seemed on death's door, her breathing basically non-existent while blood leaked from her black-coated lips.

Zetsu established a mental link, and could only hope that Naruto would get here soon.

And done! Uff … that was a long ride for me, from the first idea to the final draft. It took me way over a year I think, damn. Well, I stated my reasons for the extremely long delay, not much I can do about since real life comes first and I don't earn money with my writing. Gotta hand it to the fellow authors who can actually uphold their update schedule despite real life.

Concerning another point, I must say I am extremely disappointed the way Fairy Tail Manga has developed since the end of the Grand Magic Games. It was never one of my most favorite Animes, but I did quite enjoy it, but especially the last Arc of Alvarez makes me want to puke. The hype for the Spriggan Twelve was soon over, although I did enjoy some of their characters and powers, but of course, Hiro's friendship power-ups just continue to make me wanna puke, especially concerning Erza and Natsu. Erza is truly the worst … chapter 519 was the greatest bullshit I have ever read, not just because of Erza being able to do her shit, simply because she's Erza, no … Hiro managed to make me hate the one female villain I truly came to enjoy since her introduction, Irene Belserion … seriously, 3 pages and she goes from hating her daughter to declaring her love for her … the words truly failed me there. Her character was awesome, her ruthlessness and coldness, and cruelty, even to her own flesh and blood … all ruined by the same crap of love and friendship. Oh no, that better be not how this ends, at least not in my Fanfic!

Author's Notes:

So, our lovely Kuroka finally made her debut, and I can tell you, I absolutely adore that woman! Probably my most favorite girl in Highschool DxD, so be prepared that she will play a major role in the story. I too am actually tempted to make her part of the harem, as a definite candidate. More of her backstory with Naruto will be revealed in future flashbacks, so stay tuned.

There was once a question in the commentaries why Naruto gave, I think, Ultear and Meredy his powers and made them part of his Peerage. The reason is not because they are hot (of course they are), but because they are not that often used in stories and I try to have a variety of different powers/magic in his Peerage. But the main reason is simply because Naruto, due to his sensory skills, can sense the emotions of others and therefore, he can easily deduce who is trustworthy and who deserves to gain power from him. Naruto seeks those he can trust and rely on, he wants loyal allies who will stand by him till the bitter end.

So Raynare seems to have a deeper relationship to Naruto, something I will develop in future chapters. I did always kinda like her, I guess, and I want to make more of her character since in most stories, she is killed and forgotten.

Naruto´s Peerage:

Uzumaki Naruto (no King Piece (his soul acts as such), wings unknown)

Lucifuge (Uzumaki) Grayfia (Queen Piece, twelve sets of wings)

(Uzumaki) Ikaruga (Knight Piece, six sets of wings)

Neekis Jura (Rook Piece, eight sets of wings)

Strauss Mirajane (Rook Piece, seven sets of wings)

Cheney Rogue (Rook Piece, seven sets of Wings)

Cobra (Rook Piece, six sets of wings)

Milkovich Ultear (Bishop Piece, six sets of wings)

(Milkovich) Meredy (Bishop Piece, four sets of wings)

Blendy Sherria (Bishop Piece, three sets of wings)

Lexicon:

Tou-san=Father

Kaa-san=Mother

Onii-san=Big Brother

Obaa-san=Aunt

Nee-san=Sister

Anata=Darling/Honey (not ´you´ in this story)

Majin=Demon

Banbutsu Sozo=Creation of All Things

Hiraishin no Jutsu=Flying Thunder God Technique