Rise of a Crimson Maelstrom, Chapter: 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the OC(s).

I am terribly sorry for such a slow update, but I am not the one to fully blame here. If you want to blame someone or rather something, blame Fate Grand/Order phone game, I had downloaded it 24 days ago and I am very, very addicted to it, I am playing it day and night. I like to believe I am doing good since I am already halfway through the Babylonia singularity, but that is my opinion. If anyone else plays it and wants to add me as a friend, just P.M. me.

Now, I want you guys to help me with two things.

First, can anyone please recommend a website on which I can upload pics for the characters or miscellaneous items used in my stories. Make sure to recommend one - which is free to use and I can paste the link on my profile too, without the link getting removed by the site.

Second, it's about a question relating to grammar actually. I want to ask, should I capitalize the terms of endearment or some titles, for example:

"Hello, dear" Should I capitalize the 'D' of dear in this or not?

"I came here for you, young one." Should I capitalize 'Y' and 'O' of young one in this or not?

If someone can help me with this little problem of mine, it will be greatly appreciated.

Now onto the reviews!

Z-Breezy: Don't worry, you will find that I pay more attention to character interactions rather than fights, but the power level is important too in this type of fics to not let the fic get boring. I do hope you understand.

Xionsd: I love Kushina too, she is my favorite Naruto character. Totally agree with your opinion on Asuna, though about her background, I will not say anything either about any of her abilities for now. Totally right, Moka has great potential in this setting and I will try my utmost best to make her shine as she should. You're right about Ingvild, she will be appearing in the next chapter so I won't say much. Not gonna say much about Ahri. Can't reveal Riara's background right now. Shit! I wrote a reply and it's probably me just saying can't reveal anything in a nutshell, oh, well. Thank you for your kind support.

Sarcoisagoodboy: Thank you so much for that comment.

Bigbangredhead: Sorry to disappoint you, but no, they will not be in the harem.

Calderoneric758: He is a devil.

Darth56: FWAHAHAHAHAHA! The ORC club will be totally background characters in this, nothing more nothing less. Pffft, Raiser, as if Naruto would fight someone like him, and why would he in the first place, the ORC club will be mere friends at most and acquaintances at the worst and that too, much, much later in the fic. You see, I will follow the canon very, very loosely, Naruto and his girls will have their own opponents since there will be many original arcs. You're welcome.

Batthanthedarkknight: No, it will not happen. Let me say this again, Naruto-verse characters will not appear again in this story, except for two or three more, and those are the one who has a major role in this. Big Spoiler(Not really): like his father for example.

Selenethenerd: Amazingly written masterpiece is a bit too much, but thank you so much for your extremely kind words.

Heroesuck: Thank you so much. I just want to say, I absolutely loved your 'Seducing me' and 'Spoiling the war' those two were hilarious. I hope you would write more like these. And about bashing, I do believe I went a bit too far, I don't think I will be adding any bashing in my stories any further. It kinda felt… childish after I re-read it after posting the chapter… so yeah.

Windycityslayer1: I can see you don't like Issei very much, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions. TBH, I don't know about Issei's harem, I am thinking of giving him all the girls he originally had except few. Bah! I will see to it when the time comes for the canon to start.

Narutoxasuna25: I apologize but I will not be able to add Alice, see the problem is, I have already thought about the scenarios of how the girls will meet Naruto and their backgrounds already. So, it will be very hard for me to change the harem now. I hope you will understand this, and truthfully, I still haven't watched the SAO Alicization, I will in the future but not right now. Regarding Naruto's wires' ability, HOO BOY! I am sure you all will like how he will use them, don't worry.

Trex0428: No, no, no. I perfectly understand where you are coming from, it's in no way bitching, rest assured. When I was writing the names, I didn't think much of it and just wrote them down thinking 'Bah! They are just fodders, who cares!' that was wrong of me, I should have paid more attention. It will be corrected in the future chapters, thank you for pointing it out for me.

Fatherofallprotogenio: Like I have said in the comment before, I will fix it in the future chapters. If your concern is about Sharingan, forget it. No other Uchiha will appear again. Of course, Naruto will expand his abilities, I am not going to say to what, just that, he will have an arsenal of abilities. Thank you for liking the story.

Yuukiasuna-chan: Really? I would like to believe there are more fics out there with a lesser cast, personally, I like to believe the lesser the cast the more development they will be able to get, but perhaps that is just me seeing people give Naruto a harem of 50+ girls XD.

Sometimes, I don't understand what these people are even thinking when they decide to do that, but then again, that's just me. I am glad my AN saved the day XD. Eesh, harsh much! Regarding the first one when he did that against Makoto, it was just to intimidate him further. Other than that, I don't think he really explained how his abilities worked, just furthering the general information the public already knows about the Uzumaki attacks, nothing else.

Hmm… you know, one other person also wrote the same thing about calling out attacks, but other writers do it too, so the reader can tell what attack is used at the moment and they don't get confused. If it is annoying to read, please tell me, I will change it, probably.

Midnightscar17: They are not gonna be Naruto's love interest in this story, sorry.

Finally, done! I am sorry if I wasn't able to answer all the reviews, but it will get too much if I answered everyone.

So, without further ado, let's get on with this chapter.

Lucifer Office, Lilith.

Sirzechs Lucifer or otherwise known as the leader of the four Satans, sat behind his desk with an annoyed look on his handsome face as he stared at the person sitting on the opposite side of his desk.

He is a handsome man with the appearance of a man in his early twenties, he has crimson hair that his Gremory Household is famous for, and baby blue eyes. He was dressed in a white formal dress as he sat behind his desk.

"So, let me get this straight, you want me," Sirzechs pointed his index finger towards himself, "To handover the jurisdiction of a young devil to you." Sirzechs pointed his finger to the person sitting in front of him to further emphasize, "You, the person who delegates more than 80% of her paperwork to me. Is that right?"

Serafall fidgeted in her chair as she gave off a sheepish laugh, "Come on Zechs, I am not that bad, hahaha…" Seeing the annoyed look hasn't faded from his face, Serafall dropped her head as she let out a sigh, "Okay, all right, I am that bad! So would you mind transferring Naruto under my juris-"

"No." Sirzechs cut her off with a firm denial.

"What, why not?!" Serafall cried out as she flailed her arms around her.

Sirzechs heaved an annoyed sigh as he looked at Serafall, "Look, all you would do is increase my paperwork, nothing else. Besides, all the military affairs fall under Falbium's jurisdiction, why are you even coming to me for this?"

Serafall pouted as she crossed her arms under her large breasts, "Don't try to dump it over baldy's head, Zechs. You know it as much as I do, all the new High-Class Devils' files go through you first. I just want you to transfer Naruto's file under my jurisdiction instead of Falbium. What is so wrong with that?!"

Sirzechs frowned at Serafall's persistent attitude and heaved another sigh, "Look Sera, there is nothing wrong with it, even Ajuka has done this and took some devils under his jurisdiction, but the problem here is: you."

Serafall grimaced as Sirzechs pointed his finger towards her, "What is the damn problem?"

"You're careless, lazy, and carefree surrounding your duties, granted you do your part when the situation calls it, but other than that, you always dump your paperwork on me. If I transfer this young talented devil under you, you will do nothing but increase the amount of paperwork for me." Sirzechs bluntly stated.

Serafall winced but gave Sirzechs a determined look, "I will not do that! I will even decrease the amount of paperwork I dump onto you by 30% if you agree to this Zechs. Please, just transfer Naruto under my jurisdiction!"

'Have you no shame! That is still your paperwork!' Sirzechs deadpanned at her. He closed his eyes and heaved another sigh, he had been sighing a lot lately, he firmly gave her his answer, "No."

Serafall dropped her head in defeat, she raised her head and looked at him with resignation in her eyes, "I guess it can't be helped then."

Sirzechs shook his head, "No, my decision is final."

"Then I just have to use this!" Serafall declared with a malicious grin on her face as an object materialized on her outstretched hand.

Sirzechs' eyes widened in horror at seeing the object on Serafall's hand, "Th-This i-is-"

Serafall cackled evilly, "Yes! If you don't transfer Naruto under my jurisdiction right now, I will show this to mood swings suffering Grayfia! Imagine Sirzechs! Imagine! What will she do to you after she finds this little secret of yours! Mwahahahahaha!"

Sirzechs felt beads of sweat roll down his face and his hands felt clammy as he stared at the object in Serafall's hand, he stuttered out fearfully, "Ho-How di-did you manage to find it?"

Serafall cackled even more, "Mwahahahaha! If I told you that, I will be in trouble too, Zechs. Just remember, if you transfer Naruto under my jurisdiction, you will have it back and Grayfia will be none the wiser, but if you don't transfer Naruto under my jurisdiction, this will reach Grayfia and you know what will happen when she finds about this little secret of yours, don't you?"

Sirzechs gulped audibly as he looked at the grinning form of Serafall, she truly looked every bit of a devil that is described in human's urban legends: cruel and manipulating.

If he wants to live, he will have to relinquish young Naruto to Serafall, but if he doesn't do that… a terrible shiver racked his entire body at the mere thought of what his mood swings experiencing wife will do to him.

As he was struck in this situation, he couldn't help but remember just who was sitting in front of him. While she has a tendency to act childish, she is also the same person that had sealed many deals for the Devil faction from other factions; as she is the person in charge of the foreign affairs of Underworld.

Truly, a fearsome woman beneath her childish persona.

As much he hated paperwork, his life was more important to him.

And maybe, just maybe, Serafall will also start doing her paperwork more as she just said.

Sirzechs gulped thickly as he said the words that will save him from a guaranteed doom, "I will do it."

Serafall's grin threatened to split her face at that moment, "Do what Zechs? You will have to be more clear than that~"

Sirzechs gritted his teeth, "I will transfer Naruto under your jurisdiction."

Serafall extended her free hand towards him, "So we have a deal?"

Sirzechs looked at the extended hand and back up at the grinning face of Serafall, he couldn't help but think about the irony of the situation, 'So this is what it feels like to make a deal with the devil huh…'

He raised his clammy hand shakily and gripped her hand, "We have a deal."

Serafall loudly whooped in triumph, "Yahoo~! I knew you will be able to see it my way, dear ole' Zechs~! Here, have fun~"

Sirzechs fumbled with the object as he caught it and clutched it tightly to his chest; as if it was the most precious thing to him in the entire world.

Serafall giggled to herself, "Now I can surprise him with this news and then he will tightly embrace me while screaming 'You are the greatest big sis ever, Big Sis Sera! I love you so much!' Kyaaaaa~! Hug me tighter, Naru~"

Sirzechs felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he watched Serafall wiggling excitedly while hugging herself in the chair opposite to him, 'Talk about a brother-complex!'

You should be the last person who should be thinking that!

"You really love him, don't you?" Sirzechs asked with a wry smile on his face.

Serafall stopped her fidgeting as she looked at Sirzechs with a beaming smile, "Well of course! Why would I even offer to do that damned paperwork if I didn't love him that much!"

'But that is your paperwork!' Sirzechs mentally screamed at her, outwardly, he just sighed with a small smile on his face, "Then please, wear something formal tomorrow for his ceremony, not this costume you love to wear."

Serafall looked at him with a dead-panned look, "Do I look like a fool to you, Zechs?"

Sirzechs forced down the urge to scream 'yes' as he gave her outfit a once over, instead, he gave her a placid smile in return, "Of course not Sera, I am just reminding you, that's all."

Serafall squinted her eyes in suspicion causing Sirzechs to sweat at the heavily suspicious look she was giving him, but suddenly, a cheerful smile came upon her face, "Alright then! I will be going now, enjoy yourself, Zechs~"

Sirzechs inwardly sighed in relief at evading her wrath and plastered an easy-going grin on his face, "Bye-bye, Serafall!"

He watched her cheerfully skip her way out of his office because teleportation wasn't allowed in Satan's office unless it was a family member. She pushed open the ostentatious door of his office and closed the door behind her.

He heaved yet another sigh and looked down at the object clutched within his hands, it was his greatest treasure, his little Ria's sleeping photos that he had been diligently taking every. Single. Night.

It was his little secret that somehow, Serafall had discovered, and it could spell the end of him by the hands of his beautiful pregnant wife if by any chance she stumbled upon it.

Just as he was about to fawn over his baby sister's photos, the door to his office creaked open and Serafall poked her head inside with a sadistic smile on her face.

Wait! A sadistic smile?!

"Oh, and Zechs~," She purred his name out in sadistic glee and he shivered, "I will be telling Grayfia about your little secret, as your punishment for thinking of me as a fool of course! Enjoy the few moments you have left, Zechs! Bye-bye!"

Sirzechs'.

Eyes.

Got.

Really.

Big.

"Ser-Serafall!" Sirzechs barely stuttered out as she closed the door again behind her.

No response.

"SERAFALL!" Sirzechs loudly called out.

No response.

"LADY SERAFALL!"

No response.

"I AM TERRIBLY SORRY LADY LEVIATHAN!"

For many years to come, people of the Underworld will be forever haunted by the terrible screams that came from the Lucifer mansion that night.

Uzumaki Residence, Day of the Ceremony

Naruto stood in front of the full-body mirror with a curious look on his face, he was wearing an expensive, embroidered crimson formal dress shirt and a designer black tie hung from his neck. Over the shirt, he was wearing an expensive, midnight-black suit jacket with golden embroidery on the lapels and at the end of the sleeves. For the bottoms, he was wearing midnight-black chinos with formal black dress shoes.

He looked up at his mother who was standing behind him, wearing an expensive, designer red mermaid sleeveless, halter-top party gown. It was a backless dress but everything was covered with her ankle-length, silky curtain of smooth crimson hair. Her front of the dress has a very narrow opening from just below her neck to just under her breasts, in a stretched diamond shape, which bared just the hint of her cleavage and nothing more.

Her dress flared in a floor-length gown from her mid-thighs; hiding her four-inch designer heels from the view in the process. Finishing her outfit was a pair of red satin opera gloves and her signature Uzumaki necklace that she always wears but remains hidden from the view.

The necklace was a green crystal gem, which belonged to the progenitor of the Uzumaki Household: Kaguya Uzumaki. She had bought this necklace for the price of three mountains worth of gold mines, and now, this was the only remaining crystal of the like in the entire world. If one were to sell it, they could easily gain three hundred mountains of gold mines as of now. Such was its worth.

"Isn't this a… bit too much, Ma?"

Kushina looked down at him and blinked in surprise, before a soft smile played on her ruby red glossy lips, "Nonsense! This is your day, after all, you have to look the best today, y'know!"

Naruto looked back in front of him and slightly tried to adjust his tie, but his hand was quickly slapped away by Kushina, he shot a quick look of annoyance at her and she just giggled in reply. He sighed and looked back at her through the mirror with a smile, "So, how do I look?"

Kushina placed both of her gloved hands at his shoulders and gave a quick look over him, she nodded her head in satisfaction, "Like a handsome prince, of course!"

He fidgeted slightly as an embarrassed blush crept upon his face, "T-Thanks, Ma."

Kushina giggled seeing him getting shy, "Awww, you're so cute!" She giggled more at seeing him fidget even more. She looked at him through the mirror and curiously asked, "How do I look?"

His reply came not even a heartbeat later, "You look really, really pretty, Ma! Like super pretty!"

Kushina giggled and bent down slightly, and she placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, "Why thank you, sweetie!"

Naruto didn't take too kindly to that. Nope, not in the least. "MA! Look, I got a lipstick mark on my forehead, don't do that!"

Kushina burst out in melodious laughter at seeing him furiously rub his forehead to get the lipstick mark off his forehead. Since his spiky hair was gelled back, his forehead was clearly visible as opposed to his hair covering it and it made the lipstick mark all the more prominent.

And for Kushina, it made the situation that much more hilarious and adorable.

"Alright, alright, stop. I will get that cleaned for you." Kushina grabbed a tissue from nearby and wiped the mark of his forehead, laughing all the while.

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Don't laugh at me, Ma! I just want to look good because it's my first time going to an event like this, y'know."

Kushina's laughter abruptly ceased and her eyes softened, yes, that's right, it will be the first time Naruto was going to attend an event meant for High-Class Devils. Since his academic fees and her treatment puts a very heavy strain on their financial accounts, they have never attended any formal events like this.

Oh, sure, she got countless invitations for formal events every year either due to her beauty or due to her reputation, or occasionally, Serafall inviting them to events she had organized, but they never attended any due to the extra strain that will put on them - due to having to buy ridiculously expensive dresses every time they had to go to an event.

Devils were flashy, plain and simple. Anything they did, was always done on a grand scale. No matter what it was. Everyone was expected to always wear the most expensive clothes one could think of during any event, and that was a luxury they couldn't afford.

Due to this reason, they have never gone to any event and Naruto never got the chance to mingle with kids his own age. At the academy, he was always the youngest in the class and others either looked down upon him or flat out ignored him or some assholes tried to bully him.

When he had first met a child of his own age, Serafall's sister, Sona, she had flat out ignored him and called him annoying any chance she got, and that still hasn't changed.

If there is one thing Kushina hated, it was this, he never got to make any friends. Either he was in the wrong age group or people looked down upon him, that was his situation every single time.

When she was at his age, she had already met Serafall and look how it turned out for her. They had become an anchor for each other, always there for one another, pulling out the best in the other.

Sisters all in but blood, that was how their relationship could be best described.

Despite all of Serafall's faults, she loved her like she was her own sister and the feeling was mutual at Serafall's side. Serafall was someone - that had always been there for her.

When her entire family got killed, she was there.

When she discovered her life-threatening disease, she was there.

When that man revealed his true self, she was there.

When Naruto was born, she was there.

And Kushina wished her son would find someone or rather certain someones, to be there for him even when she wouldn't be there for him any longer.

That was her greatest desire among a few others.

"Ma! MA! Underworld to Ma! Are you there Ma?"

Kushina jerked out her thoughts as Naruto waved his hand in front of her. She blinked several times before a sheepish laugh escaped her, "Ehehe, sorry, sorry, Naru. Just got lost in thoughts for a moment there, y'know."

"Are you alright, Ma? You looked… sad for some reason for a moment."

"Oh, sweetie…" Kushina gently cupped his cheek and rubbed her thumb over his whiskers like hereditary birthmarks and smiled when he leaned into her hand, "I am alright, don't worry. It's just… you never got to make friends due to our financial problem, and I just…"

Naruto's shoulders dropped in relief, "What? It was just that?" He waved his hand dismissively and gave a broad toothy grin, "Don't worry, I don't need anyone else as long as I got you and Big Sis Sera. Besides, everyone is a snot-nosed kid or as Sona eloquently puts: they are 'annoying'."

Kushina blinked several times before she started giggling, "Aren't you a kid too, Naruto?"

"What?! Me, a kid, oh nononono! I am a High-Class Devil starting from today, I am not some kid, Ma! I am an adult! Umu. That's right! I am an adult starting from today!" Naruto bobbed his head sagely and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a huff to further emphasize his point.

Kushina giggling turned into loud laughter at his proclamation and she pulled him towards her and started tickling him, "Come here, my little adult!"

"Ahahahaha - Ma, please - ahahahahahah - stop, please - ahahahahahaha!"

"What happened, my little adult? Adults aren't this much tickly, are you sure you are one?"

"Please - ahahahaha- I give, I give - ahahahaha - just stop please, y'know!"

Kushina stopped but her laughter didn't cease nor did Naruto's as he laughed with her even after she stopped tickling him.

Abruptly, Naruto hugged Kushina over her waist, "I love you, Ma."

Kushina blinked in pleasant surprise before she readily hugged him back, "Awww, I love you too, my little maelstrom!"

They stayed like that for a moment before Naruto pulled back and Kushina blinked as she registered a breach in the barrier around their house.

"Looks like our ride is finally here, Naruto."

Naruto started to fidget, "So… it's time huh…"

Kushina placed both of her hands on his shoulders and bent down slightly at the waist so they were face to face, "Are you feeling nervous?"

Naruto averted his eyes and softly replied, "... A little bit."

Kushina smiled gently and squeezed his shoulders, "Don't worry Naru, you have worked very hard to achieve this promotion and a little something like a ceremony shouldn't be making you nervous, after all, you are an adult starting from today, right?"

Seeing his mother's cheeky smile, Naruto couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, you are right Ma! I am an adult starting from today and adults don't feel nervous about little things like these, right?"

"Mhmm, now be brave and let's go, y'know!"

"Yeah!" Naruto also fist-pumped along with Kushina and they both shared a laugh.

Kushina stood straight and smoothed her dress out and turned to Naruto and did the same for him, she gave a once over at both their dresses and her eyes widened, "I knew I was forgetting something, wait here! I will be back real quick."

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion as he watched his mother briskly walk away with an audible 'click' from her heels.

He didn't have to wait for long before Kushina returned with a suit cover in her hand.

"Eh? Do I have to wear more? Isn't this already enough, Ma?"

"Oh, hush! This is something you have to wear, after all, you have to show which house you belong to, don't you?" Kushina gently rebuked him as she unzipped the suit cover and pulled a jet black, furred cloak out of the suit cover with great care.

Naruto remained quiet after that and stood patiently as Kushina came behind him and draped the cloak over his shoulders and tied the silk thread in front of his neck.

She took a step back and nodded in satisfaction, "Done! Look at you, you really look like a royal prince of the Underworld now, Naruto!"

Naruto gently ran a hand over the cloak and felt awed at how soft and rich it felt, he turned a little and smiled as he saw a large Uzumaki Household emblem etched in a crimson color at the back of the cloak.

"So, how's it?"

Naruto looked at Kushina's hopeful face and grinned widely, "This is awesome Ma!" His smile fell a little and he bit his lip in worry, "But don't you think... it's a bit too expe-"

"Stop right there!" Kushina's stern voice cut Naruto off in mid-sentence. She smiled softly and patted his slicked-back hair, "Honestly, such a worrywart kid you are. You shouldn't concern yourself with such matters Naruto, just enjoy your day and leave all the worries to me, all right?"

"I-I…" His shoulders dropped at the stern look he received from his mother and he smiled at her, "All right, Ma."

"Good!" Kushina smiled in satisfaction and patted his head, she straightened up and offered Naruto her gloved hand, "Now let's go, our ride is here, y'know!"

Naruto nodded his head and took her hand, Kushina smiled and they both started to walk towards the entrance of their house.

Before long, they reached the entrance door of their house and Naruto decided to open it quickly in his excitement - only to be stopped by Kushina putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked back at her with a confused look, "What's wrong, Ma?"

Kushina silently stared at his face for a long minute before she heaved a sigh, "Naruto… will you promise me something?"

"Huh…" Naruto tilted his head as he turned around properly to face his mother, "What is it?"

Kushina stayed silent for some moments before she softly started, "Do you know, I... don't want you to become a High-Class Devil, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened considerably, "Wh-Why not?"

"I don't want you to endanger yourself, Naruto. This supernatural world is a very mean world, and conflicts are bound to happen no matter what era. Someday, no matter what, if you are a High-Class or a Low-Class Devil, you are bound to get pulled between said conflicts if you are a part of the devil military. I… don't want to lose you, Naruto."

"Ma…"

"But this is what you want, right?" Kushina softly asked, and Naruto reluctantly nodded his head, "Then… I want you to promise me a single thing, will you do that?"

"Yes, anything." Naruto hastily replied.

Kushina bent down slightly so they were face to face and gently stated, "Promise me, no matter what happens, no matter what kind of situation you are in, you will always find a way out and will return alive to me, please, promise me that."

"I promise, Ma. No matter what kind of situation I am in, I will always come back to you. Always." Not a heartbeat later his reply came, determination and resolve burning fiercely in his sapphire eyes.

Kushina seeing this got down on her knees, uncaring of her dress and hugged him over his neck, her arms tightened around his small shoulders, "Don't break this promise Naruto, I have already lost too much and I… I will not be able to live if I lost you too. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, please, don't let anyone take this from me, please."

Naruto's arms slowly came up and he hugged Kushina back just as tightly, he could feel her frame trembling slightly and it broke his heart to see her in this condition. She was the person he admired the most, the unshakable pillar of strength for him.

And seeing her like this, it tugged every single string in his heart.

The resolve to keep the promise burned ever so brightly in him. Naruto seriously stated, "Don't worry, Ma. No matter what, I will keep this promise to you. That is my promise of a lifetime to you."

Kushina's lower lip quivered at hearing the resolve behind his words and her embrace got even tighter as she buried her head in the small crook of his neck, "Th-Thank you, Naruto. Just don't ever break your word, always come back to me, always."

"I will Ma, I will. Don't worry."

They stayed like this for some time before Kushina pulled back and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, which Naruto didn't try to even remove this time. Kushina wiped any stray tear from her eyes and gave Naruto a warm smile, "You really did grow up, comforting your poor mother like this. Heh, now I am actually worried about Sera's words, if you are this good right now, only Satan knows, how good you will become at comforting women when you are older."

"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head with a confused frown etched on his face, "What are you talking about, Ma?"

Kushina laughed good-naturedly at his confusion and poked his nose with her gloved finger, "Nothing you need to worry about, for now, that is."

Naruto pouted but decided to let it go, "Oh, okay."

After her soft laughter died down, Kushina stared at his face for a second before she silently raised her hands behind her neck and unclipped her necklace and pulled it free from her neck. She held the necklace close to her face for several long moments with a melancholy expression on her face.

The very reminder of the entire family she lost.

She turned her focus away from the necklace and looked Naruto in the eyes and flashed him a small smile, "Naruto… do you know about this necklace?"

His face scrunched up in confusion as he answered, "It belongs to the progenitor of our Household, Kaguya Uzumaki, but why are you asking that?"

Kushina laughed at his confusion and turned her focus back at the necklace, "This necklace is what you will call our family heirloom Naru. From generations in our house, every new heir is bestowed with this necklace in hopes, it will grant success to them like the original holder of this, Kaguya Uzumaki. It was given to me by my father when I was thirteen years old, and it was given to him by his mother, and so on and so on."

Her eyes focused back at Naruto's slowly widening eyes and she gave him a gentle smile, "And now, it is my turn to pass this to you, Naruto."

Kushina looked at him expectantly and Naruto lowered his head in return to her, she gently tied the necklace behind his neck and moved back. She smiled softly as she looked at the necklace dangling from his neck, she looked back at his face and leaned close, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"May your journey in the future be a successful one, and by the grace of our ancestors, you shall always stay safe in your future endeavors."

She silently stood up and patted her dress to smooth it down.

Naruto slowly raised his hand and held the necklace in his right grip. He looked up at Kushina with a determined expression, "I will do you proud, Ma."

A warm smile came on her face as she patted his head affectionately, "You already have, my sweet boy." She held her hand out to him, "Shall we go? We have already spent more than enough time and we don't want to be late now, do we?"

"Of course not, y'know!" Naruto replied with a wide grin on his whiskered face as he held Kushina's hand.

Kushina laughed at the sudden change in behavior, "Then let's go, y'know!"

"Yeah!"

Ceremonial Hall, Lucifiad

Naruto silently stood as straight as he could at the stage, as he watched the ceremony proceed.

Kushina was sitting in the front row due to her being his mother, obviously. She had a permanent grin etched on her face as she watched the ceremony proceed.

Strangely enough, the red Satan -Sirzechs!- was giving him and his big sis a stink eye, and was he nursing his right side? And for what reason did the strongest queen of the Underworld -Grayfia!- looked so damn pleased with herself at the moment?!

Ah, he was glaring now. Wonder what crawled up his behind and died.

He decided to cast a discrete look around the massive ceremonial hall, anything to distract himself from the constant glaring of the leader of the Underworld. His ma and he had been escorted here by a limousine that was surrounded by several other limousines for protection. Apparently, a High-Class-Devil-to-be is considered a V.I.P. and is escorted here with very heavy protection.

He thought it was a bit over the top, honestly.

The ceremony had started a few minutes ago, as his big sis -much to his surprise, but not a bad one, mind you- continued with the customary speech that every Satan-in-charge has to give upon the start of the ceremony.

His big sis looked very beautiful today -certainly not much as his ma, but you can call him biased on that- with her wearing an elegant, backless mid-night black dress that complimented her raven hair perfectly, which for once, were not done in twin pigtails like she usually had, instead, her hair fell like a shiny curtain of silken threads and covered her exposed back.

Like his ma, she only had done a bare minimum of makeup, with just a hint of eye shadow here, a bit of blush there, and a shiny lip gloss to top it off. Honestly, they looked more pretty to him when they were going all-natural, but that was just him.

"-ould Naruto Uzumaki, please step up in front of the Altar for the further proceeding of the ceremony?"

Naruto was snapped out of his musings and instantly and as elegantly as he could, stepped beside her and stood just a foot apart from her in front of the Altar.

Serafall flashed him a brief smile before she turned around to face the audience and started reading the certificate in her hand, "Now, I will proceed with reading Naruto Uzumaki's achievement that has earned him a High-Class promotion. Naruto Uzumaki had joined the academy for the Devils of Extra Households at an early age of six years old. He had proceeded to skip the complete duration of the third and fourth year of schooling that focused solely on combat with his sheer talent in combat. Clearing the report writing at his first try of the final exams."

Serafall stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, "Coming third during the theoretical part of the second test. In the final test itself, he had broken the record for fastest elimination ever by eliminating: now-deceased, High-Class Devil, Makoto Itou, at a mere 9.3 seconds, a far cry from the previous record of 35 seconds set by our beloved second-ranked champion of rating games, Roygun Belphegor. Proceeding to defeat two war-veterans of Devil Civil War with masterful planning and great combat prowess. Ultimately, rightfully earning his promotion in the process."

Serafall turned to face Naruto and he immediately took a knee in front of her. Serafall fought down the urge to frown at seeing him kneel in front of her, despite being this a completely professional setting, she didn't like seeing him kneel in front of her. Nope. Not in the least.

Nonetheless, she plastered a small smile on her face and proceed with the ceremony, "I, S'rafall Leviathan, the Satan-in-charge of thee, grant thee, Mast'r Naruto Uzumaki, the esteem'd position of a High-Class Devil, yond shalt beest effective immediately. Anon, extendeth thy handeth and taketh thy c'rtificate of promotion, Mast'r Naruto."

Naruto silently took the certificate from Serafall's hands and displayed it to the audience once - to which everyone applauded. He silently rolled the certificate and held it in his hand as he bowed his head, knowing what was to come next.

Serafall stood patiently as a servant came beside her and presented her with an ornate royal crown that was resting on a maroon velvet pillow. With great care, she lifted the crown from the pillow and gently placed it upon Naruto's head.

A round of applause followed and that signified the end of the crowning ritual.

She took the crown off his head and placed it back on the pillow.

Naruto swiftly stood up and waited patiently for the ceremony to continue.

Serafall snapped her fingers and an ice blue magic circle formed in mid-air, a shining pitch black stone monument emerged from the magic circle and started floating in the air.

Serafall turned towards Naruto and beckoned him towards her, "Come here Naruto. Place your hand on this so you can be officially registered as a King for the Evil Pieces you're going to receive."

Naruto nodded his head and sauntered towards her until he stood beside her, he looked at her once and she nodded her head with a smile on her face, he smiled in return and breathed in deeply. He enveloped his hand in his orange aura and placed his open palm with fingers splayed on the stone monument.

BA-DUMP!

He felt his heart make a particularly large beat as the stone monument started to glow orange for a moment, its shine started to die down and he removed his hand. His handprint stayed on the stone monument for a moment longer before it faded along with the shine dying down completely - the monument returning to normal in the process.

With a snap of her fingers, an ice blue magic circle appeared under the floating monument and it gobbled up the monument in the next moment.

Serafall turned to Naruto, yet again, and raised both of her arms in front of her with both of her open palms facing the ceiling, a small magic circle appeared on top of her palms and a black case with a tinted glass cover appeared in her hand.

"Your Evil Pieces, Naruto. Place your hand on top of the case and channel your magical energy in the case to bind your Evil Pieces to yourself."

Naruto did as instructed and placed his hand upon the case and channeled his magical energy. The case glowed for a brief moment before the glow died down and Naruto removed his hand.

Serafall quickly flashed Naruto a smile and turned towards the crowd, "With this, I am pleased to announce the ceremony is officially over." A round of applause reverberated throughout the ceremonial hall at her words, once it died down, she continued, "As one of the four Satans of the Underworld, I would like to express my gratitude to every single esteemed individual present here that took their time out of their busy schedule to attend the promotion of a young talented Devil. It is because of this support, our race continues to thrive, and I hope, every single one of you will continue to show this support to the many upcoming future Devils. Thank you and have a good day."

A great round of applause was her answer to her words and as soon it died down, a great many people started to immediately leave the ceremonial hall.

Serafall heaved a deep sigh and her shoulders slumped slightly, "Acting all professional is such a pain."

"I thought you were very cool today, y'know!" Naruto cheerfully chimed beside her.

A smile bloomed on her face and she puffed her chest out as she turned towards Naruto, "Ufufufufu. Wasn't I?"

"Mhmm, very cool, Big Sis!" He exclaimed cheerfully before his eyes fell on the case she has in her hands, "Umm, can I see that?"

Serafall looked down in her hands and back at him, a wide grin came upon her face, "Here, of course, you can, these are yours after all!"

With great care, Naruto accepted the box and opened the tinted glass cover, his curious expression changed into one of awe as he gazed at his softly glowing orange Evil Pieces. "Woah…"

"Woah is right."

"Wahhh!" Naruto yelped, as another voice suddenly came from directly behind him, one he was intimately familiar with. "MA! You nearly gave me a heart attack, y'know!"

Kushina brought her gloved hand up and giggled behind it as she saw the pout on his face, "Sorry, sorry! Can't help myself, y'know."

"Fine!" He relented as his pout turned into a smile as he directed his attention back at the box in his hands. His face scrunched up as he took a single piece out and held it up in front of him, "Why is this slightly different from everyone?"

"Oh, my. Would you look at that? A mutated Queen. A mutated piece that is said to appear only once in a hundred sets. Why am I not surprised at your luck at these kinds of things." Serafall dryly said as she gazed at the mutated queen piece in Naruto's hand.

"You're just bitter you never won any game of chance against us, that's all." Kushina quipped with a smug smirk on her face.

"That's totally not it!" She exclaimed with a slightly red face. Serafall was totally not bitter at losing every game of chance against a 10-year-old kid. Nope. Not in the least.

Kushina's smirk didn't falter even for a second and Serafall's face only grew redder at that.

"So this is a mutated piece! Wow! What can I do with this?"

Serafall quickly recovered herself and flashed a small grin to an excited Naruto, "You can reincarnate me in your peerage with this particular piece."

"Woah! Really?!" Naruto looked at Serafall with wide eyes full of disbelief.

Serafall bobbed her head, "Of course! A mutated Queen is the strongest piece you can come across and you can reincarnate anyone with it, bar the Gods of course. I would have even let you reincarnate me as your queen, but I am a Satan so that cannot happen, obviously. Use that piece wisely, Naru~." She ruffled his hair affectionately as she finished her explanation.

Naruto puffed his chest out and bobbed his head as he replied, "I will, Big Sis Sera! Don't worry, I am a responsible adult from now on after all."

Serafall blinked at his words and started laughing a moment later, "A responsible adult, you say?"

"Hey! Don't laugh!" Naruto petulantly complained as he watched Serafall and Kushina laugh.

"Alright, alright, I am sorry! I will not laugh!" Serafall managed to say in between her laughter.

"Hmph! Don't talk to me! You too Ma! Both of you, don't talk to me!" Naruto turned his head away with a pout on his face.

"Awww, is my Naru upset with me? Mama is sorry, y'know!" Kushina apologized, even going as far as gripping both of her ears.

Serafall also mirrored Kushina's action, "Big Sis Sera is also sorry Naru, don't be upset! Please!"

Naruto watched them both from the corner of his eye and smiled, "Alright! I will forgive you both!"

"Yeah!" Both of them High-fived each other.

"But…"

"Eh?" Both looked at him questioningly.

"Only after we go to Ichiraku Ramen after this."

Kushina being the ramen fanatic, her answer was pretty simple, "Of course!"

Both of the Uzumaki turned their eyes and looked expectantly at Serafall. Serafall heaved a sigh at their looks, and smiled, "It's fine with me."

After all, one does not simply stay a friend with Kushina as long as she has and couldn't help but come to love ramen after eating it so many times.

This time, Naruto and Kushina high-fived, "Yeah!"

Serafall's smile widened at seeing the sheer look of delight that appeared on the mother-son pair's face.

Lilith! She really loved both of them.

"Naruto."

Naruto stiffened just for a moment at the voice of the person who had just called his name out. He turned towards the source and a slightly awkward smile dimpled on his whiskered cheeks, "S-Sona."

Sona Sitri, the younger sister of Serafall Leviathan, stood in front of him wearing the exact same type of dress as his big sis was wearing with it being a violet-colored one, which matched her eyes well enough.

Annoyingly enough, she was also two inches taller than him, a thing which infuriated him to no ends and pleased her at the same time.

Before anyone could say anything, Serafall loudly squealed and leaped at Sona, "SONA! MY BABY SISTER!"

With practiced ease, Sona stepped aside and didn't even bat an eyelash as her big sister comically fell on the ground, she pushed her glasses up and stoically said, "Behave yourself, Big Sister. This kind of behavior is unbecoming for a person of your age and stature."

Serafall stood up from the ground with a pout on her face and she crossed her arms under her bosom, "Mou, you are so stingy, Sona."

"I am not stingy, Big Sister, you are just way too childish." Sona instantly retorted.

Serafall dramatically clutched her chest, "Ughh! Your words wound me, Sona. How can you be so cruel to your extremely loving big sister."

Sona didn't deign it necessary to reply to Serafall and turned her head back towards a fidgeting Naruto.

"Good afternoon, Sona. You look really pretty in that dress." Naruto greeted her with an awkward smile still in place.

A very faint blush spread across her face at his praise, "Thank you, and good afternoon to you too, Naruto." She averted her eyes ever so slightly, "And… congratulations on becoming a High-Class Devil, Naruto. I… watched the final part of your test and your performance was… extraordinary."

Naruto's eyes widened at receiving praise from Sona and a huge grin spread on his whiskered face, "Thank you so much, Sona!"

Sona's cheeks got redder at seeing his huge grin directed towards her and she pushed her glasses up and hastily replied, "Yes, well, you're welcome."

A pleasant moment passed between them before Sona opened her mouth again, "You're still annoying, though."

"Ugghh!" Naruto ducked his head dejectedly at hearing that from her for the umpteenth time.

Sona smirked to herself in smug satisfaction. Serves him right for making her flustered.

Kushina giggled behind her hand at seeing the byplay between the two, she could tell Sona didn't mean her words this time around and was starting to warm up to him. Perhaps, she realized he wasn't all talk and now had the strength to back up his boasts.

Regardless, Kushina was happy with this slow but steady development. Kushina caught Serafall's eye and both smiled at each other with the same thoughts passing through each other's head.

Her eyes rounded on the two figures standing behind Sona and she smiled politely and bowed her head in greeting, "Good afternoon, Lady Sitri, Lord Sitri."

Lady Sitri, or Serena Sitri, was just an older and more physically fuller version of Serafall. Whereas Lord Sitri, or Ezekiel Sitri, was a rather thin, but tall man with raven hair and violet eyes.

While Serena was seen always wearing a small smile, Ezekiel, on the other hand, was always seen with that stoic look he had mastered.

Probably the reason why his daughter turned out to be such a big stuck-up.

Serena nodded her head with that small smile on her face, "Good afternoon, Kushina. You look especially lovely today in that dress."

While his wife was being an expressive person that she was, Ezekiel just gave a brief nod in return to her words with that perfect stoic look on his face, not even uttering a word of greeting in return.

'Talk about being a stuck-up of the highest caliber.' Kushina masked her annoyance perfectly as always in front of Serafall's father and returned the smile to the ever-smiling woman, "Why, thank you, Lady Sitri. You too look very beautiful today."

Serena raised a hand and giggled behind the back of her hand, "Thank you, dear. It always is flattering to hear that I still have the charm, since certain someone is too high and proud to give compliments."

Ouch.

Kushina mentally winced at the not-so-subtle backhand insult at Serafall's father. She had to applaud the man for his stoicism because if he was upset with the comment, he didn't even so much as twitch at that and remained silent.

An awkward smile that clearly matched her son's, bloomed on her beautiful whiskered visage, "I-Is that so…"

"Yes, quite so." Thankfully, Serena immediately turned her attention towards the little maelstrom before the situation could get too awkward for Kushina's liking, "Congratulations on becoming a High-Class Devil at such a young age, Naruto. Your performance was, as Sona stated earlier, quite extraordinary, to say the least. I especially liked the part you killed that scummy devil Makoto within seconds, good job on that honey!"

Ah, what a terrible thing to say with such a bright smile on her face.

Naruto shifted slightly in his place as yet another awkward smile formed on his face, "...T-Thank you, Lady Sitri."

Serena nodded her head with the perpetual smile on her face, not at all bothered by Naruto's awkwardness.

"Serena, it's time." Ezekiel's monotone voice reached everyone's ears.

"Ah, is that so, well, we are sorry, Kushina, Naruto. We have to go." Serena gave an apologetic look to both Naruto and Kushina, and turned her attention towards her youngest daughter, "Come on Sona, say your good-byes, we are going, it's time for your classes."

"Yes, Mother." Sona nodded her head respectfully and turned her attention back to Naruto, a slight flush rose to her cheeks, "Next time… let's play some chess when we meet, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened considerably and a bright grin came on his face, "Sure! I will be looking forward to it, Sona!"

Sona gave a small smile in return and turned towards her mother.

Kushina smiled to herself, yes, they were finally moving towards building a proper friendship. In other words, Sona has finally come to respect him as an equal.

Ezekiel's gaze got locked with his eldest daughter for a brief moment and he questioned in his usual monotone voice, "Will you be coming with us, Serafall?"

Serafall's smile faltered just for a moment before it came back not a second later at hearing her father's devoid of any emotions voice. She shook her head and shot an apologetic look towards her mother and younger sister, "Sorry, but I still have work to do and I will be coming late as usual."

"Hn, suit yourself." With that, Ezekiel turned around and started walking away.

Serena gave an apologetic look towards Serafall, to which she nodded her head with a small smile. Serena, along with her youngest daughter, joined her husband.

"He still got that two-foot pole jammed up in his ass, huh…" Kushina muttered with an annoyed look on her face.

Serafall shook her head, "Nah, it's probably grown up to be a three-foot pole by now."

Both of them looked towards each other with impish grins on each other's faces and burst out in laughter.

All the while Naruto stood there with a confused look on his face, 'Wonder what they are talking about…'

"I hope I am not interrupting something pleasant, Lady Leviathan, Lady Uzumaki." A gentle feminine voice that was soothing to hear reached the trio's ears and they turned to face the person.

Naruto's eyes widened and sparkled with awe, "Y-You're Roygun Belphegor! An Ultimate-Class Devil and the Second-Ranker in the Rating Game Championship!"

Roygun Belphegor was a beautiful woman appearing to be in her twenties with long, wavy, pink hair. One of the most defining features about her was perhaps the two horns protruding from her head. She had a voluptuous figure with a well-endowed chest and a slim waist.

She was wearing a shiny silver, high-cut formal dress with high slits, and finishing her outfit was a pair of high-heels.

Roygun giggled behind her hand at Naruto's sudden outburst, "Why, yes. I am indeed Roygun Belphegor, young one."

An embarrassed flush rose on Naruto's cheeks at the sudden outburst, "I-I am sorry, it's just that… I am a really, really big fan of your rating games. I have watched every game of yours countless times, y'know."

Roygun giggled once more at his words, "Is that so? Well, it warms my heart to have such an extremely cute one such as yourself as a fan of my games. I will be sure to do my utmost best in my next game too, to make it more interesting to watch, young one."

Naruto looked on in awe at the apparently kind noblewoman, not at all like what he had imagined her to be in real life.

"He really is quite a big fan of you, Lady Belphegor. He always goes on and on about how he will beat you when he grows older, whenever he is watching your games." Kushina happily chimed in beside Naruto. Always happy to find some ways to make him embarrassed if a situation presented itself, within limits of course.

After all, it was one of the greatest privileges of being a mother. And she was more than shamelessly happy to do just that.

"MA! You don't have to tell her that, y'know!" Naruto cried, totally aghast his mother would reveal such a thing.

Roygun merely laughed in merriment, not at all offended by such a claim like some of her fellow high-rankers would have gotten, and well, it was fairly amusing to watch Naruto getting all flustered like that. "Ufufufu. Well, if you do manage to become an Ultimate-Class Devil in the future, I don't see why not."

Naruto's eyes along with the other two older female devils widened at her words. Naruto stuttered out in sheer disbelief, "Re-Really? You will have a match with me if I become an Ultimate-Class Devil."

Roygun nodded her head with a kind smile on her face, "Yes, of course. I love Rating Games, some would perhaps say a bit too much really, but I beg to differ. And if in future, you managed to become an Ultimate-Class Devil, I would be more than happy to have a game with you!"

Naruto only had a few words to say to her in response, "You are so cool, y'know!"

This time, the buxom beauty couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped her at Naruto's words. She wiped the stray tear of mirth from her eyes as she calmed down, "Why, thank you, young one! Besides, I won't lie, I am interested in you."

Kushina's maternal instincts screamed at her and she immediately pulled Naruto behind her and leveled the second-ranker with a wary look on her beautiful face, "I have heard you are into younger men, but isn't he a bit… too young."

"S-Shina, I uhhh... don't think, she meant it like that…" Serafall said with an awkward look on her face, as she looked in between the baffled Roygun, a startled Naruto, and a glaring, overprotective mama-bear.

The utterly baffled Roygun blinked several times before an awkward smile came upon her face, "Do forgive me, Lady Uzumaki. I uhhh... should have worded that out with more care. I am not interested in him like you have assumed, even I would admit, he is a bit too young for my tastes as of now."

Kushina blinked several times at Roygun's words and a sheepish laugh escaped her as she rubbed her nape, "Ehehe, of course, you didn't mean it like that. I already knew that of course. I was just joking, just joking y'know…"

"... Of course, Lady Uzumaki." Roygun muttered with an awkward smile on her face.

An awkward silence descended after that as everyone there supported awkward smiles on their faces, except Naruto, who stood there with a confused look on his face.

"So, umm, you were saying Lady Belphegor." Serafall decided to break the silence.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Roygun latched on the lifeline Serafall threw and coughed in her fist as she started again, "Ahem. As I was saying, I am also interested in Naruto, after all, it's not every day that my own record gets broken after so many years, and I just had to see the one who had broken it personally."

Serafall suddenly was struck with realization, "Ah! Is that the reason you came to this ceremony? You are someone who stays quite busy in order to prepare for your next games, so I was also quite baffled when you attended this ceremony personally."

"Yes, you are right on that account, Lady Leviathan. I stay quite busy due to my preparations for rating games, so I hardly have any time for ceremonies like this, but... I just had to meet the one who had broken my centuries-old record you see." Roygun flashed a smile to Naruto to which he beamed at her.

"I am sorry for my earlier assumption, it was very rude of me, Lady Belphegor." Kushina politely apologized after hearing the real reason from Roygun.

Roygun waved her hand dismissively with a kind smile on her face, "It's perfectly alright, Lady Uzumaki. I myself, are at fault here for my poor wording, so no harm is done." She turned towards Naruto and flashed him an encouraging smile, "Be sure to become an Ultimate-Class Devil in the future in order to face me in the game. You have garnered my interest after breaking my personal record, so I will be more than happy to face you in the future to see if you could overcome me in the game too, young one."

Naruto beamed at her, "I will try my best to reach your level, Lady Belphegor! Then we will have our match!"

Roygun laughed good-naturedly at him, "Ufufufu. You sure are an adorable one. But sure, I will sure be waiting, young one." She turned towards Kushina and Serafall and bowed her head once, "I must be going now, Lady Leviathan, Lady Kushina. This had been a pleasant talk and I had enjoyed this very much. Until next time. You too, young one, keep working hard so you can reach my level, okay?"

"Yes, Lady Belphegor!" Roygun smiled at the energetic response and ruffled his hair once before walking away.

Naruto squealed like a fangirl after she disappeared by teleportation, "She is sooo cool, y'know!"

Kushina laughed and ruffled his hair, "Yes, that she is. Now come on, we have got some ramen to devour, yeah?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto fist-pumped and Kushina and Serafall both shared a laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Let's go then!" Serafall also chimed in enthusiastically before the trio started to get enveloped in a magic circle.

"Don't you think we should change before going there?" Serafall questioned Kushina with a tilt of her head.

"Meh. if you got it, might as well flaunt it, y'know!" Kushina uncaringly shrugged.

"Heh. That's so you." Serafall snorted before the trio disappeared.

Uzumaki Residence, One Week Later

"Are you ready?" Kushina softly inquired, as she turned her focus away from the permanent magic circle she had just drawn on the floor of their basement, towards her son; who was practically bouncing in place with a mix of anticipation, happiness, and just a touch of nervousness mixed in the fray.

"Of course, Ma! I have been waiting for this day for ages, y'know!" Naruto's reply came not in a heartbeat later.

Kushina laughed softly at the expected reply, she fully turned towards him and affectionately ruffled his spiky mop of crimson hair. "Alright, you remember the three rules I have set, yes?"

"Yes, Ma!" Naruto replied and raised his hand and closed his pinky finger and thumb as he started to count off the rules, "Rule number one: Always be polite with the client. Rule number two: Don't accept any request that you found morally wrong. Rule number three: Only take fair compensation, nothing too excessive from the client."

Kushina patted his head with a satisfied smile on her face, "Very good. Now, be on your best behavior and try your utmost best to get a contract on your first try, okay? But don't be sad if you don't manage to form a contract, there will be countless more chances in the future, okay?"

Naruto nodded his head and thumped his chest proudly, "Don't worry Ma! I got this! I will get a contract on my first try, you will see!"

Kushina gained an amused smile at his claim, "Is that so? Well, if you do manage to form a contract on your first try, then hmmm…" She thumbed her chin in thought, thinking of a proper way to reward him.

"Then what?" Naruto leaned in with an expectant look on his face.

"Aha!" She snapped her fingers as a perfect thing came to her mind, one that would help him in his future endeavors, "I got it! If you do manage to form a contract on your first try, then I will teach you a really cool technique that will surely help you in the future."

"Alright! I will definitely form a contract on my first try, you should start preparing to teach me that cool technique, Ma!" He boisterously proclaimed.

"Alright, I will, now go! Your client must be waiting, no?" Kushina gently nudged him.

Naruto bobbed his head and he practically bounced towards the magic circle, such was his excitement. "I will see you later, Ma! Bye!"

"Bye! Remember to be polite and don't accept any request that you think is out of your area of expertise, understood?"

"I will! Bye!"

"Bye! Take care!" Kushina waved her hand to Naruto as he finally disappeared as the glow from the magic circle died down. She sighed softly as she turned around and started walking towards the stairs, "Now, what to make for dinner tonight? Hmm, decisions, decisions…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto opened his eyes as the glow from the magic circle died down and he immediately looked around, it didn't even take a single second for him to realize he was in a penthouse.

A very expensive looking penthouse.

His eyes settled on the person sitting directly in front of him on a sofa. She was a very beautiful woman, almost inhumanly so. Silky midnight-black hair tied up in a high ponytail, sharp facial features with a pointed jawline. Unblemished, perfectly tanned skin that made her that much more beautiful. Her eyes were akin to looking at the sun itself, such were the shine of her brilliant, molten golden-colored eyes. Oddly enough, she had a bright red tattoo of a sun on her forehead.

Even though she was sitting on the sofa, he could tell she was a rather tall woman, well, definitely taller than his ma. She had a voluptuous figure with a rather large bust.

She was wearing a simple, white full-sleeves tee-shirt and jeans. A rather simple outfit for a person living in such an expensive penthouse. But anyone could tell she was a woman who was quite rich, evident by the heavy necklace made purely out of gold hanging from her neck, which consisted of four small magatamas and a large magatama in the middle of the four magatamas, made purely out of platinum, and the heavy earrings also made out of pure gold that she was wearing.

The strangest thing about her was her presence, not that it was evil or anything, on the contrary, her presence alone was like nothing could ever harm anyone if one were to stay near her. Like his ma, dare he say. Further putting anyone at ease by her bright, warm smile she had on her face.

His further studying was cut short as the words of his ma about mannerism kicked in and he sketched a perfect bow, "Good evening. High-Class Devil, Naruto Uzumaki at your service, My Lady. What would you like to request today?"

The woman seated in front of him blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Before she started laughing, it was not one out of mockery, rather, it was a very pleasant laugh, one born out of happiness. Once she calmed down from her laughter, she wiped a stray tear of mirth, "Ara. I was definitely not expecting it to work. But my, oh my, aren't you a rather extremely cute one and polite too."

Naruto let out a sheepish laugh as he rubbed his nape, "Ehehe. Thank you, My Lady, you are also very, very beautiful too."

She supported her cheek in her palm and her smile widened, "Ara, ara. A young charmer, I see. Truly a devil in making with a silver tongue of flattery. Well, not that I am complaining, keep the compliments coming, ufufufu."

Naruto tilted his head and an inquisitive expression came on his face, "So, umm, what would you like to request of me today, My Lady?"

"Before that, please call me Ama-chan from now on, that would be my first request of today." The now known Ama-chan requested.

"Ama-chan…?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion as he tested the name out, he knew '-chan' suffix was used in the Japanese language since he had seen countless animes alongside his ma every day and he also had studied several cultures, Japanese being one of them. Now that he noticed, she was certainly speaking Japanese. "... Are you sure?"

"Yes. Please, call me Ama-chan!" She bobbed her head with an eager smile on her face.

"Alright,... Ama-chan." He slowly said that to gauge the reaction of the woman sitting in front of him, and if the happy clapping of her hands were any indication, she quite liked it, almost too much really.

"Alright! Now that is out of the way, I am going to call you Naru-chan from now, is that alright with you?" She inquired with a rather cute smile on her face, almost begging him to not deny it with her suddenly large golden eyes.

Naruto fidgeted a bit under her begging look, "S-Sure, I don't see why not."

"Yeah~! Alright! So, what can you do, Naru-chan?" She looked at him with a tilt of her head and that warm smile of her, that he was thinking was a character trait of her.

"I can pretty much do anything you would like me to, within reasons of course." He hastily added the last part after remembering the words of his ma.

"Ara. Can you, now…" Her golden eyes squinted at him and for some strange reason, he stood straighter than he ever had under those brilliant golden eyes of her that was looking him up and down - as if she was judging his very worth at the moment, and the consequences would be heavy if she didn't like what she saw at the moment.

After some long tense moments of silence, her eyes gained that warm look of her back and she nodded her head with a satisfied smile on her face, "You will do."

Naruto released his breath, that he unknowingly held when she judged him with those shining golden eyes of her. That was definitely intense, but for some strange reason, he felt those words of her held a great deal of meaning behind them, but he shoved that thought back in his mind and he coughed in his fist to regain his composure. "Ahem! So, what will you like me to do,... Ama-chan?"

"Ara... can you cook? You see, I am a very, very bad cook. I have utterly destroyed several kitchens whenever I tried to cook and so it would be absolutely marvelous if you could cook." She said with a rather miserable look on her face.

Eesh. How bad a person had to be to destroy several kitchens just to try to cook something. He absently wondered if he would meet someone else like that in the future. Bah! Surely not. No one can be worse than this, right?

(In a certain snowy jungle, a raven-haired fox-girl violently sneezed several times.)

Naruto nodded his head with a toothy grin, that was something he could definitely do. "Yes, I can cook. Though I am certainly not anywhere near the level of my ma, but I am a pretty decent cook considering she has god-like skills in that department."

"Really? It must be amazing to eat food that good every time, eh? So, umm, what is your specialty?"

"Miso broth and braised pork ramen and red bean soup!" He loudly answered her inquiry, though, he calmed down a moment later, "I can also cook other things too, but those are my favorite, y'know."

She tilted her head as an amused smile graced her flawless face, a verbal-tic, she mused. Her amused smile changed a moment later to her perpetual warm smile not a moment later. "Ara. Ramen is it? Hmm, it's been a rather long time since I have eaten that, sure why not, cook that for me, Naru-chan."

"Alright, show me your kitchen and I will get started right away!" Naruto enthusiastically said as he started to roll his sleeves up.

"Ufufufu. Sure, follow me, Naru-chan!" She stood up from the sofa and Naruto realized his earlier assumption was correct, she was certainly taller than his ma, probably four to five inches taller than his ma - who stood at a good height of five feet and four inches.

He pouted as he followed her, everybody seemed to be taller than him, how unfair.

It didn't take them ten seconds before they reached the kitchen, it was an open modern kitchen, with a kitchen counter in the center of it. In no time, she started showing him where the ingredients were, and for someone who couldn't cook, she had basically every single thing present.

"-nd this is the final shelf which contains all kinds of spices, did you get all that Naru-chan, or shall I repeat myself once more?" She turned towards him with a questioning look on her face.

He finished tying the simple apron that was hanging on the hanger near the entrance of the kitchen and shook his head once, "No, I got all that, M… Ama-chan. No need to repeat it again, just sit right there and your meal will be prepared in no time at all!"

"Ara. Such a good listener too, sure, I will sit right there and wait for it." She nodded her head with that warm smile on her face and sat down on one of the many chairs of the kitchen counter.

She watched him for a few moments silently and suddenly stood up which drew his attention, "Just wait for a second, I have a thing that I would like for you to wear. Stay there."

"Huh…?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion as he watched her open the door of one of the many rooms and waited patiently for her to return.

She returned mere moments later and presented him the thing she wanted him to wear, "Please, wear this while you are cooking."

"Eh?" He stared at the object in her hands and tentatively reached for it and took it from her. He stared at it for a few seconds before he wore it on his head.

He turned towards the fridge and saw his reflection in the glossy doors of the fridge.

A pair of crimson cat ears peeked from his spiky mop of crimson hair.

An indescribable urge racked his body and he balled his fist and waved it in the air, "Nya~"

Click!

His head quickly snapped towards her and a flush rose to his cheeks when he registered what he had done and what was the strange sound he had just heard. "Did you jus-"

"Nope!"

"I swear I he-"

"Nope!"

"But I am sure I defi-"

"Nope!"

"Huh…" Naruto stared at her face with a look of suspicion in his eyes, he observed her face for any signs of deceit, other than a faint flush and slightly ragged breathing, she was perfectly fine. No, scratch that, her eyes were closed and she had a strange smile on her face, and it freaked the hell out of him, "... Ama-chan, your smile is scaring me out."

"Ara, ara. Whatever (pant) do you (pant) mean, Naru-chan." She opened her eyes, and were those literal pink hearts in her eyes? And for what reason, was she closing the distance between them?! And why the hell her breathing was getting more ragged for every step she took?!

Naruto felt his back hit the slab as he backed in the corner, "A-Ama-chan, y-you're scaring me out."

"Ufufufu. Don't (pant) worry, Naru-chan. This (pant) Onee-sama will take (pant) good care of (pant) you!"

"N-No, s-stay away!"

"Ufufufu."

"I sa-KYAAAAA!"

"Ufufufu."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mou, you didn't have to pull my cheeks so hard, Naru-chan," Ama-chan complained with a pout, as she nursed her red cheeks gently.

"Hmph! If I didn't do that, you would have suffocated me with your chest, y'know!" Naruto retorted with a slightly reddened face, and it was not only due to the blood going to his face but also due to the many lipstick marks too. He felt as though he may have barely escaped death there, what with all her smothering and continuously kissing his face.

"I would have not! I would have stopped before that, probably." She lamely finished to herself.

He shot an annoyed look over his shoulder as he gently stirred the miso broth, in return, she stuck her tongue out childishly.

He hmphed as he turned back to his work, he left the broth to cook and started cutting slices of the pork he had seasoned with various herbs. He placed the slices of the pork on the preheated pan and watched the pork sizzle. "So, were you aware of the Supernatural World before you summoned me today?" He questioned as he continued to cook.

She inhaled the pleasant aroma emitting once and hummed in delight, she shook her head to his question, "Hmm, not really, I have heard in the passing from here and there that Devils and Angels were real, but I didn't believe in that until I finally summoned you."

He looked over his shoulder with a visible look of surprise filtering on his face, "Really? I could have sworn you were aware of the Supernatural world due to lack of shock, awe, or fear on your face that I have heard generally appear on the face of normal humans when they first summon my kind."

She giggled at his look of surprise, "Ufufufu. Trust me, I have seen much weirder things in life to get shocked or surprised by something like this, besides, it helped the devil I summoned was such an extremely cute one, I doubt any women would fear you if they summon you, when you have such a cute face with those adorable whisker marks."

"Hey! I can get scary too if I want, y'know!" Naruto embarrassedly retorted with a pout on his face.

"Ufufufu. I doubt it really!" The buxom beauty laughed good-naturedly with a teasing smile stretching on her full lips.

"Hmph!" He turned his head away from her with a pout and his pout increased as she continued to laugh. He sulked as he tasted the broth once and nodded his head in satisfaction and closed the burner underneath it. "Umm, what do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking, Ama-chan."

She shook her head with her usual warm smile on her face as she placed her elbow on the counter table and rested her cheek against her palm, "Ara, I don't mind at all, Naru-chan. I am the leader of my fac… er, company actually." She smiled awkwardly at her near slip-up.

Naruto caught her slip-up but didn't think much of it, she could just be saying factories or something like that, so he dismissed it entirely. He hummed in thought as he cast a look around, "Hmm, I guess you have to be someone like that to own a place like this."

The golden-eyed woman internally sighed in relief and nodded her head against her palm, "I guess."

Naruto finished pouring the broth over the noodles in the bowl and added the braised pork and slice of vegetables on top of the steaming noodles and broth to finish it off. He picked the bowl up and turned around, he walked till the counter and gently placed the bowl in front of her. "Here! A steaming bowl of miso broth and braised pork ramen for you, Ama-chan!"

"Mmmmm! It smells sooo good~!" She moaned in delight as she took a deep inhale of the noodly goodness. She looked back at him with an expectant look on her face.

He titled his head in confusion as she continued to stare at him, "What?"

She pouted, "Mou, feed me!"

"Eh? Feed you? You are too old for stuff like that!"

"Ugh! That hurt right here, Naru-chan! Right here! Your words wound me greatly! Besides, talking about a woman's age is very rude."

"Eh? Is that so? Nobody told me that, why is that?"

"I-It just is! You don't question things like that and quietly follow them! Please feed me Naru-chan~!"

He stared at her begging face and let out a sigh, "Alright, I will feed you."

"Ufufufu. I knew you would see it my way! Now come on, feed me! Ahh~" She opened her mouth wide and stared at him expectantly.

He smiled a little at yet another eccentric person in his life, he picked up the chopsticks in his right hand and picked up the soup spoon with the other. Naruto rolled the noodles around the chopsticks and blew a little to cool the steaming food, he gently presented it in front of her and she eagerly gobbled it up and drank the broth from the soup spoon.

"Mmmmmmm! Sooo goood~! This is one of the best ramens I have ever tasted, Naru-chan!" The smiling woman praised him with a look of delight on her face.

Naruto laughed at her praise and a genuine grin of happiness came upon his face, "Ahahahah. I am glad you liked it, y'know!"

"Yes, enough talking and more feeding. Ahh~"

"Eesh. I am the one who is ten years old and you are the one who is acting like that."

"Mmmm! So good~! Yes, well, it's always fun when you don't have to act your age, Naru-chan. You will understand that when you grow older. Now, another one, make sure to add a piece of pork this time. Ahh~"

"Hmm, I will be sure to remember that, Ama-chan. Yes, yes, here, don't look at me like that, y'know."

"Ufufufu."

Rest of the time passed between the two quickly, as they continued their conversation, and Naruto reluctantly at first, but quickly came to enjoy feeding the eccentric woman and before both of them knew, she had devoured three more servings of the ramen - that he had made in case the first one wasn't enough.

Naruto dried his hands off with the towel that was hanging beside the sink and removed the apron he had worn earlier after finally cleaning the dishes off. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt back down and turned to the apparently ever-smiling woman. "Will that be all for today, Ama-chan?"

She sighed in content and nodded her head with a warm smile on her face, "Yes, that will be all for today, Naru-chan." She then tilted her head with a questioning look on her face, "You aren't going to ask for my soul as compensation, are you?"

Naruto rapidly waved his hands in front of him, "No, no, nothing like that! I will admit, in older days, devils used to take soul as compensation but now, my race is much more relaxed and only takes something of monetary value equal to their services."

The black-haired beauty sighed in relief, "Ara. That's good, for a moment, I thought I would lose my life in exchange for a good time and some very tasty bowls of ramen. I like to believe my life is worth a little more than that, you know."

Naruto laughed at her joke and gave a wide, toothy grin to her, "You are right, four bowls of ramen are a little too less in exchange for your soul, ten more and it would probably be enough, y'know."

She clutched her chest overdramatically, "Ugh! To think, my life is worth only fourteen bowls of ramen. Oh, Amaterasu-sama! Forgive your follower for being worth only fourteen bowls of ramen!"

Naruto burst out into laughter at her dramatic acting and she joined him not a moment later. After they have finally calmed down from their laughter, Naruto gave a small smile, "As for what would be the compensation," A slight flush rose on his cheeks and he looked away, "S-Since you're my first client ever, I guess this one will be one me."

Genuine surprise filtered in the older woman's eyes, "Really? I am your first client?"

"Uh-huh. I have been a High-Class Devil only for a week, so only now I was allowed to go for requests or anyone that would work under me. So yeah, since you're my first ever client, it will be on me, y'know!" He declared with a toothy grin on his face.

She gave a warm smile to him and shook her head, "Ara. While I appreciate your generosity, I can't in good conscience do that. So wait here for a moment, all right."

Before he could even say a word to her in response, she was long gone.

"Catch~"

Naruto looked up after hearing her voice, and immediately reacted and caught the object she had thrown his way. His eyes widened at seeing a gold bar in his hands, a heavy one too. He looked up at her with wide eyes, "I can't take this, this is too much for some simple bowls of ramen."

She nodded her head with a slight laugh, "Ufufufu. Yes, for simply ramen, it is too much. But this isn't in exchange for ramen, Naru-chan."

He tilted his head with a confused frown on his face, "Then what is it for?"

The mature beauty smiled softly and looked outside through the window nearby and observed the twinkling lights of many buildings in the city. "It's for showing me a good time, Naru-chan. Since I am the leader of my company, I remain mostly busy all the time and this has been the most fun I had in a rather very, very long time."

She looked back at him and flashed him her signature warm smile, but this time, it was more radiant than all the previous ones. "So, don't think too much of the compensation I give you for it, for me, something like that is utterly worthless, but the time I spent here was priceless. So please, accept it, Naru-chan."

"I-I...," His shoulders dropped at the smile she was directing at him and he nodded his head with a smile, "Alright, I will accept it."

"Ara, ara. Such a good boy, come here, you definitely deserve a reward for it!"

"N-No, no, n-not this time! Stay away!"

"Ufufufu. Come to this Onee-sama, Naru-chan."

"I said no! N-No, don't come any closer!"

"Ufufufu."

"I said n-KYAAAAAAAAA!"

"Ufufufu."

AND DONE!

Wooh! One major character is introduced, I am pretty sure I have given way too many hints on who this 'Onee-sama' is XD, but if you still didn't get it, oh, well.

I don't think there is anything else to say and I am getting sleepy…

So, please review! See you next time! Bye-bye!

Ah, one more thing, stay indoors and be safe. FUCK CORONA! I am sorry if I offended anybody whose name is Corona, I meant virus, sorry.