On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Chapter 07 – A Welcome Visitor

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Highschool DxD.

X

Little feet danced into Naruto's consciousness. It was a strange and annoying sound to hear when you were resting. When resting, he preferred the gentle perfection of silence. Sadly, silence was something he rarely got. Ever since his stays in the Konoha Hospital, he had grown accustomed to idea of company. Company that in his later years had shrunk down to one single individual. At the beginning everyone would come, even people that didn't know him personally, they wanted to see Konoha's Hero. It felt nice in the first couple of months, people constantly being at your side, caring about you, wishing you the best.

The best part of it all was when they divulged in stories. It was basic human instinct to want to listen in on other people's conversations. Nothing shameful there.

Naruto chuckled, fondly remembering one of the many arguments between Shikamaru and Temari. They were so much fun to listen in to, with Temari's boisterous shouts of pain which were followed by a snarky reply from the lazy genius. The time she though he was cheating with some girl from the Cryptanalysis Team. If Shika didn't have such trained reflexes, Naruto guessed that his head would've rolled into his bed. Another good thing about Temari was that she was creative with her curses, unlike Sakura-chan who more often than not merely used variations of the word 'idiot'. A real spectacle indeed.

Someone touched his whiskers and his eyes leapt open. Only a startled gasp could be heard until his eyes focused in on the culprit. A little girl, maybe around ten years old at most. Her eyes so wide that they covered half of her already small face.

"Bu."

The little girl screamed with all decibels a here tiny form could muster.

"MOTHER! MOTHER!"

He groaned, her scream made a thousand senbon piercing his ears look kind. He let himself fall down into soft pillows. Soft? he thought in surprise. That meant that at least he wasn't in a hospital. The pillows in the Konoha Hospital were as hard as bricks and as comfortable as a hammer to the scull.

The girl ran out of the room with the speed of a gennin, her nine golden tails straight as arrows.

Wait.

Nine golden tails? The only other woman with nine tails and blonde hair was Yasaka. So that meant that the girl was Yasaka's…niece? Hopefully, it was her niece, because he had a hard time imagining a woman of Yasaka's years with a child of ten. Yasaka was in her late twenties at most! So that meant that she had a husband, who was oddly absent from the meeting. Naruto breathed out a sigh, just when he thought on puttin' the good ol' Uzumaki moves on her.

In his boredom, he looked around the room, and found it by surprisingly well crafted. The wide windows were thrown open, letting in some of the fresh, spice filled Kyoto air. The ceilings itself was even well taken care off, molded into fine shapes.

"I should've warned you she smelled bad." Yasaka said, entering the room with a servant behind her. Seeing the look on his face, she added. "Too late?"

The servant set plate full of fish in front of Naruto, along with a cup of steaming tea. He guessed that it was herbal judging by its scent. Within less than a second a connection was forged, a connection known since the dawn of time.

The bond between a man and his food.

Like a true animal he ravished the dish within minutes, with only the shocked gasps of the servant making themselves known. Looking up, he saw that Yasaka was staring at him in a mixture of awe and disgust. It heavily leaned towards the latter.

"I'm glad you're feeling…better." Yasaka said, waving off the servant girl. The girl left the room, staring at Naruto in fear of being devoured like the rest of the fish.

"When we told Sirzechs-dono about your condition, and he was very worried," Yasaka said, absently raising an eyebrow. "How close are you two?"

Naruto looked down at his plate, and seeing that it was empty he shrugged his shoulders, and turned towards his fellow blonde. "Not that much really," Naruto said, drinking the last of his tea. "But overall he's a cool guy."

"Is he now?" Yasaka said, a calculative look making itself known. "Then you're close to his sister, perhaps?"

The he schooled his features. She was asking too many questions. The answers to which weren't hers to know.

"I'm not on trial Yasaka-san," He said, a certain coldness that was attained during a hundred council meeting bleeding into his normally cheerful voice. "If fact, I am here to ask you questions. Not the other way around." He neatly placed his tea cup on the drawer to his left.

"Forgive me for intruding onto your personal matters, Uzumaki-san." She said calmly, without single crack in her voice. She really had a nice poker face. And a nice face in general. He couldn't imagine how many men had fallen victim to her charm and wit over the years, but he knew better. He had to show his 'A' game since the whole Phenex Ball debacle.

"But can you answer one last question for me, Uzumaki-san?"

He nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me you hailed from the eastern lands?" She asked attentively, her voice soft and casual. The perfect hook to draw his interest. She underestimating him if she thought he'd fall for it so easily. When she looked at him, she continued. "I mean your looks are that of a westerner, but you speak with the honorifics that are only known in the Eastern Lands."

Naruto smiled, at least some part of the Elemental Nation's culture survived throughout the years. "Let's call it a long, long, story, alright?"

It interesting him that Rias used the –kun honorific with him, though. He'd look into that later.

Yasaka obviously wasn't going to intrude on him. She was great diplomat from what he could see. She knew when to try to scout for info and when not to. He'd personally given her the ANBU mask if they were back home, and their positions were reversed.

"Now let's get down to business," Narutos said, his electric blue eyes diving right into her hazel ones. "Tell me everything you know about Sairaorg Bael, and everything that happened around him during his stay in Kyoto."

Her reply came within an instant.

"There isn't much to say really." Yasaka said, the warm and casual air still around her like she was a beacon of light.

"I'm willing to get the scarps." Naruto insisted, she wasn't going to leave this room without at least telling him something. It might be the name of the killer, it might the guy's favorite color, but he was getting something out of this.

She seemed ever friendly as she spoke. "If you insist, then I'll tell you all I think will be of interest to you." Yasaka said. "Sairaorg-san was truly a good man. He told me how he gave Stray Devils a second chance. I honestly wouldn't know someone who would be willing to hurt him, let alone kill such a kind soul."

Naruto rolled his eyes. He already read the guy's bio.

"I don't know how it is in your culture, but back home speaking ill of the dead isn't something bad." That was absolutely true. Even over twenty years after the White Fang's death his name was still only brought up when there were talks of cowardice.

Yasaka's brow furrowed uncomfortably. "He was a bit hotheaded. Some of my citizens say he got into fights on a regular basis. But still, even when he one he always helped out the loser, even buying him a drink." She chuckled. "Some of the men wanted to fight him just for the free drinks afterwards."

Naruto frowned, feeling the clutches of guilt over his heart. He knew there were other guards there…but he felt like he could've made a difference that night. Maybe that's why the woman had seen fit to make a shooting star of him.

"I don't think he even had any enemies," Now that's where she was wrong. Everyman had enemies. No matter how kind, or how just he was, everyman had enemies. Some just preferred the comfort of the shadows. „If anything I believe him to be a casualty of a larger conflict."

He looked up, feeling something he could grab onto. She knew what he was going to ask so she quickly added. "A confclit I know nothing about."

He breathed out a sigh in disappointment. He didn't even find out what his favorite color. His palms clenched into fists. A dead end, he thought grimly. His only lead turned out to be a dead end. It was times like these that he truly felt powerless. In a fight, even if he was up against a man who was a hundred times stronger than him, there was always a shot at victory. Here on the other hand, in the off chance she was lying, he could do nothing. He was well aware that if he so much as lay a hand of her it'd an international scandal, and the blood of the innocent is never far away from these cases.

"I won't give up." No matter what. He'll find a way to find the murderer. Even if it takes him to the ends of the world. He'd do it in a heartbeat.

"I'm glad to see that I haven't dulled your ambition," Yasaka said, smiling, showing her perfect teeth. No surprise there. "I'm glad that a good man will shed light on another good man's death. I believe you can do it, Uzumaki-san."

"Call me Naruto." He was the brat that would go to the most respected man in the village, kick the door open, and call him 'old man'. His dislike for anything formal went both ways; he never said anything against Konohamaru, the head of the Sarutobi clan, calling him 'oni-chan'. Naruto was a free bird. Maybe that's why he hated formality, because it shackled people into being socially correct.

And maybe he just didn't give a damn.

Yasaka's smile widened ever so slightly. "You would be surprised about how similar you are to Sairaorg-san."

X

Naruto lied in his bed for hours after Yasaka had left. There was an ergent meeting demanding her attention, and promptly apologized. Yasaka told him that she'll try to be back in a couple of hours.

He knew she won't.

If any of his own council meetings had taught him anything, it was that they never ended until every single son of a bitch flapped his gums. Especially the urgent ones. Those tended to force an all-nighter. By the timer they were over, there was barely enough energy in his body to move him to his personal bed chambers.

That posed a problem, though.

When he was by himself, alone in the room, memories were free to do as they pleased. A ghost of a pale skinned, blue haired, lavender eyed woman stared back at him with all the worry the world in the world. She was always there when he was bedridden, always watching, always helping. It made him feel like trash every time she'd come to greet him and help him. Always expecting an answer from him. Never receiving. That did nothing to stop her. She continued to come. If only for the company.

It wasn't false kindness. He remembered getting hit by a terrible poison during the Second year; he barfed all over the floor. She had embraced him until he was done shaking, then she personally rolled her sleeves and cleaned up the vomit herself, not wanting to bring any of the ANBU stationed to guard him. She did it all without ever uttering a word of complaint. Naruto felt all the more guilty for it.

Silence offered tranquility to those who had a peaceful heart, but it only served as cold hell to those that didn't

Kunou came in. Her small hands were enveloping a large, old looking book. "May I come in?" She asked shyly, her eye glued to the marble floor. You already came in, Naruto thought fondly. Some of his best memories were those when he came to the Old Man for company. He'd come in, shout, and then demand a story from the Old Man.

"Sure," He almost said 'make yourself at home', but she was at home. „What's that book you've got there?"

Kunou looked surprised at his warm demeanor. She must've been expecting a wicked Devil of sorts greeting her with sharp pointy teeth, and a long snake –like tongue. Orochimaru seemed more and more devil-like every time he thought about it. Was one of his experiments the first devil? Far fetched, but not completely impossible. Naruto wouldn't put anything past that man.

Kunou stared down at the book, her voice quiet. "I was ,um, hoping you could ,um, read me a story…" Ah, she had the cutest look on her face. She reminded him a lot of Konohamaru's girlfriend. Maegi? Majedi? He couldn't quite point out her name; he was only ever close to Konohamaru himself, never that much to his friends.

"Sure, but don't you have guards and servants to do that?" Naruto was very aware of the dangers the world held. He didn't expect anything less from Yasaka than the maximum amount of protection for her one and only daughter.

"Yea, I do, but they don't know that I have a way of sneaking out." She chirped, her nine tails waving around her. Cute, indeed. It was probably wiser to call the guards, tell them that she snuck out. It'd be the grown up thing to do, he wasn't twelve anymore. He was a responsible adult who had to take safety before anything else…

Who was he kidding?

"Just tell me which story you'd like to hear."

She happily handed him the book, of course being as delicate as possible, and took her place on the chair right next to the bed. When he asked her about which story she wanted to hear, her reply was 'Legend of the One Hundred Tailed Kitsune '.

How I used to love stories like this one. When the brave heroes defeated the evil villains without a care in the world. When being a good guy meant more than just placing your bets on a seventeen year old Kage, when being a bad meant that you were born rotten to the core. Can men like Nagato and Obito be considered evil? They sure as hell weren't saints, but they weren't monsters either. They seemed to want to make the world a better place in their own twisted way. Maybe I like them because I could've become a mirror image of them if a few moments in my life went to shit. In the stories killing someone meant him falling down while the hero stood victorious. That was probably the biggest I've read in a while. When you slit his throat, his still warm blood with spray itself onto your hands, if the body stays under the sun for too long it will begin to create an infamous stench, when a body is burned by the very fire Kunou was playing with , the stench could make a grown man run away.

Naruto hated killing more than anything. Sadly, the world loved blood. He remembered when killed Vinnie's men in the nightclub, they weren't good people. Hell, most of them were trash, but who was he to judge? All the faces of the men and women he murdered for the village had piled together in his mind. He'd always say that it had to happen. That it was for the betterment of the world. For the safety and happiness of his precious people. That didn't stop it from leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

The more he thought about it, the more he distanced himself from the idea of being any closer to his Rinnegan wielding distant cousin. Nagato was effortlessly played by Obito, who ironically was played by Madara. There were no phantom strings making Naruto dance, he made sure of that. It was one of the reasons why he opposed the idea fate or Kami. There was no higher being making him dance to its tune. No, there were only choices. Choices he concisely took and he'd live with for the rest of his life. Some were wise, some not so much. What was important was that they were his. And if the old witch was right about some ghost from the past being stuck in the same time as him, then let 'em come. Because Naruto was always ready for a fight.

Believe it.

By the time he was done reading the story, Kunou was already in the land of the dreamers. She even snore lightly, like cute little kitsune. She truly was an adorable child. The she snored lightly, her kitsune ears twitching was beyond cute. His hand moved towards her head, brushing against her hair. A cute little frown glided into her adorable face when he stopped.

Naruto gently picked her off the bed, and placed her in his arms. Opening the door, she cringed when it creaked audibly, but with the subtlety of a shinobi, Naruto carried her gently through the long wooden hallways. With each step he took, the sound of creaking never reached her furry ears. His movements were neither slow, nor fast. He didn't hand her to any moronic guard. Understandably, they were loud and sure wake her up.

He found her room a few moments later. It was easily recognisable with the large pink sign that read 'PRINCESS'. Considering the lack of nobility in the mansion, he bet that this was her room. If not, he was careful enough to not draw attention to himself. He hated not doing it, but, in the end he could do it. Naruto just had to put his mind up to it. He leaned her small body against his chest as his hand lightly pushed down the doorknob. He peeked inside, and saw luxurious empty room filled with all manner of pictures of a little girl and Yasaka. Sheesh, the girl really loved her momma. Naruto lightly pushed the door open, making sure not to awaken Kunou who was still peacefully sleeping in his arms.

The room really was big. It could've easily been five times the size of his apartment. The door decided to spare them its creak this time around.

When Naruto placed her on the bed, she seemed distraught for a moment after his warmth left her, so he quickly placed a blanket, softer than anything he'd touched before, over her form. The kitsune girl didn't seem too happy about it, but she slept anyway.

He took a moment to look around the room. It truly was as exotic as the city around it. Even more so, actually. With long curtains folding from either side of the room, to the great window that gave the perfect view of Kyoto. With all the different lights shining like lanterns in the dark. It made a man feel free, not caged. He preferred it over Rias' room which felt more like prison, rather than living place. Not to say it lacked in the luxury department, if anything it exceeded it, but it felt cold, closed off from the rest of the world.

His narrowed lightly.

In the corner to the left of him there was something. A smudge of darkness laid between the shadows. Silently peering at them. Naruto was never good at concealing his body language.

A good way to counteract that weakness was to strike first. And strike first he did. Not even a heartbeat later, Naruto was already in front of the silent specter, his fist cocked at the back of his head. No one would ever say Naruto didn't hit hard, especially when using Sage Mode. His strike easily broke bones when hit properly.

Twin golden eyes snapped open in fear, a female body tearing itself from the shadows. Showing cat-like dexterity, she slid underneath his fist, attempting to sweep him off his feet with a quick strike to the back of the knee.

Naruto did his father proud, faster than the eye could see; he already launched himself over her kick, landing softly on the other side of the room. Blue glared shone with fury. An assassin? Sent after a girl barely ten years old? He growled. Had the Serpent send her?

But as he stared at her, the pieces fit together perfectly.

The voluptuous figure, the golden eyes he had mistaken for orange, the long raven hair.

It was the assassin from the ball.

This was his chance. If he captured her, it'll be all over. Considering that she was given such a high risk operation as assassinating not only the Bael heir, but also the daughter of the Kyoto leader meant that she had more than enough information to trade in for her life.

"You." His voice was low, dangerous. She grinned as she took a loose fighting stance. The dark clothing did little hide her quite literally killer figure. Where Yasaka's shone with grace, the Assassin's screamed with mischief.

"Now, now," She purred, her voice making him feel something he hadn't felt in months.

Pure lust.

Naruto had encountered kunoichi that were prone to using their looks as their deadliest weapon, and she was no different. He always felt the itch to just go and ravish her, but he never scratched it. Because he knew that a kunai to the back was soon to follow. "Why didn't you tell you could fly, handsome."

"I wouldn't keep your interest if I told you."

The woman's golden eyes almost smothered him with lust. The amount of arousal she could create just a few words was impressive, outstanding even. Thoughts of what would've happened if she wore more revealing clothing were…steamy to say the least. He honestly wasn't sure if he could hold himself.

"I'd never lose my interest in ya." She licked her lips in satisfaction. "I'd take you right here. What would ya say about that?"

The straw that broke the camel's back, the drop that spilled the dam, or whatever you wanted to call was all that was needed to make him risk a kunai in the back.

Impossible.

He knew he wasn't that easy. Sure she was beautiful, and her purring felt like teasing in it of itself, but still! There were others who tried to seduce him long before she was even born.

When the realization finally hit home, Naruto wanted to bash his head into the amethyst wall. He would've, but he didn't want to wake up Kunou.

With a sudden burst of chakra, the allure was gone. The mystic aura around her had vanished as quickly as it had come in. He saw her for all she was: A hotter than life woman in clothing made from the shadows of the night, and the intent to probably murder him, and a child.

"Neko got your tongue, handsome." She said, ever so slowly walking towards him. Her steps soft against the wood, she obviously didn't want to wake up her future victim.

Within a moment her ample breasts were pressing themselves against his chest, her heart shaped face mere inches away from his. The whiskered blonde smiled as a small knife revealed itself from her left sleeve.

Faster than she had thought Naruto swept her off her feet.

Literally.

Her back hit the floor with a dull thud, her hands pinned to floor by his, their faces still inches away from each other. He leaned in, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Sweet." He stated her lips truly were delicious, if he had taken more after Jiraya he probably would've succumbed to her charms. Thankfully, this was one of the times being afraid of Sakura-chan surprisingly paid off big time.

"Wanna have another go?" She said, her hot breath tickling his face. Her distraction proved fruitless, her hands were just as useless to her as before.

"Maybe later, but only if you're lucky." He winked. The whiskered blonde didn't waste any more time, quickly tearing the hood right off her face, he could gasp at what he saw. There were twin fluffy ears on head. "Kitsune?" Was she a relative of Yasaka? If the whole leader thing was in any similar to the Daimyō position then that meant that the closest relatives had the right of succession.

"There's something you should know." Twin tails appeared from behind him, tying themselves around his neck, strangling with the power of a fully grown man. She used the opportunity to turn him over as fast she could.

Kunou snored loudly.

The woman smirked.

"I like being on top," She straddled his hips, lightly rubbing against his crotch. "And no, I'm a Nekomata." Naruto looked closer, finding his gibbet made out of two cat tails. Seeing that he had no intention of becoming purple anytime soon, the blonde used his superior strength to only lift her up, smashing her body against the purple wall.

Kunou stirred in her sleep.

The pain of her tails harshly meeting the walls freed him from her death clutch. He quickly wrapped his hands around her neck, growling. "Try anything, and we'll test how many lives you have left." There was steel in his voice, making the threat seem not only more real, but also, more threatening.

"I'm all ears." Her cat ears twitched lightly.

"You're going to tell me everything about the Serpent. Got that?" He applied more pressure to her throat to get the point across. After he let go she began drinking in air with the greed of a devil.

Light touched his whiskers.

Wait.

It was night; all the lamps were shut off, so that meant…

Cocking his head to the side his eyes met with another pair of golden eyes. But this time they were a pair full of shock and fear and rage. The Kyūbi looked none too pleased.

A sudden laughter filled the room. All eyes were on the assassin. Naruto could only watch in horror as purple haze erupted from her mouth. Not a few moments later, the entire room was clouded in it. Yasaka immediately began to cough, her body falling down against door. When he himself began to cough, his horror only grew.

It was poison, a lethal one.

The assassin burst free from his weakened grip, bursting through the window, the pieces of glass flying in her wake.

Kunou's cries were heard from the bed. She was coughing up a storm, what made his blood freeze over was the blood tricking down her lip, and the pained look on her face.

He was faced with a choice.

He knew he could give chase, he had breathed in only the minimal amount of poison, he sure he could power through it catch up to her. From what he saw she wasn't the best hand-to-hand fighter. He could beat her and solve the entire case in doing so.

On the other hand a little girl's blood would be on his hands, the blood of being that had never been the chance to live her life.

Solving the case now would be too easy.

Showing remarkable speed, Naruto grabbed Kunou and dashed out of the room. To his shock the poison had already filled the entire hallway. Yasaka's body was face first on the ground, a small puddle of blood forming beneath her mouth. Taking her on his other shoulder he briefly debated his options.

There was posion as far as his eyes could see. There was no telling how far it had spread through the building.

He coughed, hard. Examining his hand, there was blood moving between his fingers. He looked toward the wall at the end of the hallway. There was only one way out.

By the time he got there, a cerulean sphere was already in his hand.

X

Author's Notes:

I know this chapter turned out kind of short, 'cause I decided to cut a large Rias scene. It just wouldn't have fit in with the chapter, you know? But at least makes one third of the next chapter compleast. Yey.

There's something I need to ask you, my readers. Did you enjoy the whole 'eastern' and 'western' speech I'm trying to implement? The Devils will use terms like 'Lord', 'Lady' etc, while the Youkai will use the Japanese words and honorifcs. I hope that it doesn't make it hard to read. I think that it gives the story some flare, but still, I need to ask for some input here.

Now I don't want to spoil anything, but that failed assasination there just left a bigger clue than you would think, huehuehue. The trail went from ice cold to blazing hot.

Have a nice day.