Chapter 1

Naruto pulled out his orange bento box and sat down underneath one of his favorite trees on the Kuoh Academy grounds. He then unveiled his pair of chopsticks and began to dig into the lunch he'd made that same morning.

The spring breeze blew over the young blonde teen gently while the bright green tree leaves above him rustled in the wind as he thought, It really is peaceful here. Nowhere near as hectic as it was back in Konoha.

Indeed it is, Naruto,Kurama responded to his thoughts. It's also exceptionally –

"Boring!" the teenaged young man finished for him. "And I'd have to agree you on that, Kurama."

"Yo!" a voice the whiskered teen recognized called to him. The blonde turned his head towards the person and watched as a spiky-haired boy with his hair a dark brown ran over towards the sitting Naruto. "Naruto!"

"What is it, Issei?" he asked while Issei made his way over to the tree everyone at Kuoh knew was Naruto's and Naruto's alone. The few who'd challenged the former shinobi for that spot found out very quickly that – even without the ability to use Chakra anymore – the whiskered blonde was very territorial. Just want to reiterate that I still blame you for that, you damn fox.

Oh, shut up and pay attention to your friend, Kurama responded with annoyance.

The amber-eyed sixteen-year-old clambered into the shade and let out a few gasps for air as he took a seat right next to Naruto.

"Go right ahead," the blonde began while offering a bite of an egg roll to Issei. "You didn't have anything for breakfast, I take it?"

Issei shook his head as he took the egg roll, tossed it in his mouth, and devoured it greedily. He then answered the blonde, "No. Mom and Dad have been on vacation the past few days. They should make it back tonight, though."

"I see," Naruto responded carefully as he bit down on another bite of food.

Naruto,his inner fox piped in from inside his head. Can you feel that?

I can, he told the biju.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed. He then turned and looked directly at Naruto as he asked, "Do you remember Yuuma-chan?"

The blue-eyed young man blew out a frustrated breath before reminding the other boy, "I was out sick the past few days, remember?" I should've followed that girl better, he told himself darkly while preventing his facial features from showing any indication of his internal strife.

You'd have been slaughtered and you know it, Kurama reiterated for him. Face it: Without Chakra, all you can really do is sense presences. Had you gone after someone on even her level of power as you are now you'd be dead.

Naruto's face twitched at the blunt statement from his inner partner. He was well-aware of that fact, but having it pointed out in such a manner wasn't called for in his mind.

"Oh," Issei blinked dumbly at Naruto's answer to his query. "I guess I forgot that I never introduced you to her. But do you think I'm a liar like Matsuda and Motohama?"

Naruto openly snorted at the question as he told the boy, "Issei, you're many things: Weak as a newborn, just as hard-headed as I am, and quite possibly the biggest pervert I've ever had the pleasure of meeting – and believe me when I say that actually means something positive. But a liar? No way. You couldn't lie to save your life. Back where I'm from, a six-year-old could lie better than you. So if you say you had a girlfriend while I was out sick, even though I'll be skeptical, I do believe you, Issei."

"You're the only person I asked who believes me!" the naïve boy cried as he then wrapped Naruto in a hug that left the blonde feeling slightly uncomfortable since he could now feel his shoulder getting a little damp. "You're a wonderful friend, Naruto," Issei insisted after peeling himself off of the blonde.

"I'm just someone who knows a liar when he sees one, Issei," the whiskered boy repeated, "and you're not a liar. Now, can I eat the rest of my lunch in peace? I'd also like to finish that homework First Period gave us since I have the time…"

Issei Hyoudou stood up and let out a few chuckles as he told Naruto, "You're way too serious about that stuff, Naruto. You ought to be focusing on getting your hands on some girls before we graduate like me! I mean, can Physics offer you the splendid view and feeling that a wonderful pair of oppai can?"

"Well, I say you should focus on losing your virginity before claiming I prefer class over breasts," Naruto fired back teasingly at the teen, making Issei freeze and stare at him in shock.

"You-You mean…" Issei stammered in reply.

"Yep," the whiskered teen chuckled as the perverted boy's jaw went slack. "It was back before I came to Tokyo, and no, I won't give you any details," he told Issei sternly as the gold-eyed teen made to ask. "All I'll say is this: Fit women have amazing bodies, Issei."

The perverted boy then turned and sprinted away from the cackling blonde at full speed. As Issei made his way further away in his dust cloud Naruto heard, "Even Naruto has seen a real pair before me! The world is just too cruel!"

"What did you just say!?" the voice of Matsuda echoed over the grounds.

"Did you just say what I think you said!?" Motohama added on.

"Naruto lost his virginity before us!?" both other members of the Perverted Trio screamed in disbelief so loud it left an echo over the entire Academy.

Meanwhile, Naruto was currently rolling on the ground and shaking in semi-silent laughter at the reactions that particular bombshell had gotten out of the Perverse Sannin. "I wonder how bad the rumor mill's gonna make that bit of news?" he thought aloud after ceasing his chuckles and managing to prop his back up against the trunk of the tree.

I was never one to care for gossip, Kurama chimed in, that was more Matatabi, but what these humans in this world come up with never leaves me un-entertained.

"I'll give you that," the whiskered blonde replied verbally. He then looked to his left and noticed a group of girls standing about thirty yards away from him and realized just who was always followed around by that many females at once. "Hey there, Kiba," he greeted his fellow blonde politely as the group of fangirls followed the heartthrob around campus.

"Hello there, Uzumaki-san," Kiba Yuuto returned with a polite nod, smile, and wave of his hand. "How are you today?"

"Can't really complain," he shrugged back in answer. I was right, he then thought. Issei's aura now feels like how Kiba, Koneko-chan, and the entire Student Council's feel. Just what happened yesterday? he silently wondered.

I can't tell you, the gigantic fox in his belly repeated. While the powers from all those people and now Issei feel quite dark, it's not necessarily evil.

"That's good to know," Yuuto answered the other blonde. "Well, I must be going, Uzumaki-san. Class is about to begin again."

"Eh," the whiskered, spiky-headed teen replied with a shrug. "I may not even bother going back today. Exams are still a few months away, after all. No need to rush."

The pretty-boy with the fangirls shook his head in bemusement before saying, "No wonder people seem to think you're a delinquent, Uzumaki-san. Skipping class?"

"My teachers can't really complain though," he fired back. "Last I checked I was fourth in the year."

"Third now, apparently," Kiba informed him, making the former shinobi raise an inquisitive eyebrow at how he'd gotten that bit of information since not even his teachers knew that yet. The only ones who had access to that information were the Student Council and the Top Staff of the school – and him, since no lock could hold him out.

"Well that's fantastic," he drawled out sarcastically as he stood up and dusted off his pants. Naruto collected his bento before sticking his hands behind his head, turning, and beginning to walk away from Kiba and his little following. "I guess I'll see 'ya around," he finished with a dismissive wave of his hand before continuing on until he simply walked out the Kuoh front gate.

The former shinobi whistled a jaunty tune to himself as he made his way across town and to the apartment he was currently calling home. He made certain to always keep his eyes looking out for any of those pesky 'Police Officers,' as they were called, because the first time he'd skipped class they'd dragged him back to it, as it was apparently against the law for someone his age not being in school during school hours.

Assholes.

Naruto walked into the practically-empty building and made his way straight to the elevator. Once the slinging doors had opened he entered, pressed the button for the top floor, and rode the machine up to the floor his room was on.

As soon as the doors opened up once the elevator reached the ninth floor, Naruto exited the elevator. He then began to make his way through the basically-deserted, but eerily clean, hallway until he reached the apartment his scholarship gave him: Room Nine-Seventeen.

After pulling out his keys and unlocking the only occupied room in the entire complex, Naruto entered his domain. Immediately upon stepping through the doorway, he jumped back into the hall to avoid the falling bucket of water he'd left as a trap and caught it before the contents could spill out and make a mess. "Still got it," he grinned to himself as he set the aluminum pail just inside the door and next to his umbrella stand.

The young teen's blue eyes darted around the room at speeds that would've made a hawk jealous in an effort to determine if there had been any intruders in his time away – ever since his apartment had been broken into three months ago, he always left things in a random order when he went to school every morning in order to prevent a pattern from being noticed. Noticing nothing out of place, he heaved a sigh before closing the door behind him, knowing there was no need to lock the door in a seemingly-abandoned building while he was there.

The highschool shinobi then walked across his large living room and threw his backpack on the blue sofa as he made his way into the standard-sized kitchen. His eyes scanned over to the lone window and stopped as he stared at it in shock. "Well they fixed that quick," he noted aloud.

Isn't that the window you broke this morning to test this building's owner's response time? Kurama queried.

"Yep," he answered the fox. "I shattered that thing pretty good too."

So that means our hunch was correct.

"It does," he nodded in agreement. "It looks like I'm not just paranoid, Kurama. This apartment is being watched."

"I'm telling you it's true!" Issei insisted once more.

"Uh huh," Naruto returned with a roll of his eyes, though he was inwardly filing all the provided information away. "And that fountain's made of gold," he stated sarcastically while pointing at the park's water spout.

"I swear it upon the greatness of oppai that I'm telling the truth, Naruto!" the brown-haired boy declared while they walked through the park together. "I really do see better in the dark, and I really can hear things from far away."

"Prove it."

"Fine," Issei huffed in agreement. He then pointed towards a tree about one-hundred yards to the two friends' left and told the blonde, "I can hear a bird in that tree's braches, and – now that I'm focused on it – I can see that it's a swallow."

"Yeah, right –" Naruto started before his sharp eyes caught movement from the aforementioned tree and witnessed a red swallow fly out of its highest branches with a small chirp. "Huh. I guess you're really not pulling my leg, Issei."

So we know his sight and hearing have each been amplified at least tenfold now, Kurama summarized for Naruto.

And the only major difference is the new aura around him, Naruto continued. Then the source of the energy change is most likely the cause of his senses becoming so acute. It's like he's using Chakra to enhance his senses.

It looks like things are getting a little less boring around here, eh, Naruto?

Before Naruto could even reply to his inner friend, a brief sense of vertigo washed over him that nearly made him fall over. The vertigo was accompanied by a small flash of nausea that he had to force down by using his iron-clad willpower.

"Whoa," Issei realized once he looked back at his friend. The brunette propped one of his hands on the bent-over Naruto's chest with his other on the blonde's back. "You okay, Naruto?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied with a small grimace. The former shinobi managed to right himself after a few deep breathes and stood back up. He smiled at his friend gratefully as he expressed his thanks, "Thanks, Issei. I'll be fine. Must've been something I ate."

"You really need to –" Issei began to scold, but Naruto's eyes went wide as his finely-tuned senses picked up something he hadn't felt since coming to this world: Killing Intent.

"Issei, down!" Naruto screamed as he pushed his confused friend down onto the ground just before two flashes of light went over their heads like a pair of projectile weapons. The two teenage boys rolled on the ground together for a moment until Naruto managed to separate himself from the now-frozen Issei and rolled himself into a crouch facing the direction the projectiles just came from.

The shinobi glared heatedly at the man he decided was the perpetrator of that last attack on Issei's person. The potential enemy was a middle-aged gentleman-looking man who stood at a slightly-above average height. This man's attire consisted of a pale-violet trench coat over a white dress shirt with a matching ascot, black pants and shoes, and a dark fedora sitting atop his head.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not who I'm after, human," the man addressed the battle-hardened warrior. "I'm after that Stray Devil over there."

Stray Devil? Naruto briefly wondered before filing his words away to think on at a later moment. He's obviously after Issei, but why?

Think on that later, Kurama reminded him. This man feels similar to that Yuuma girl, Naruto.

You're right, Kurama, the whiskered blonde realized. "Who are you?" he demanded of the other man.

The man's beady dark-blue eyes narrowed at Naruto as he answered, "Nothing here concerns you, human. How you're still conscious and standing while my barrier is up is a mystery, but don't presume to meddle in affairs that don't concern you."

"The hell they don't!" the jinchuuriki shouted angrily. "You just tried to turn my friend into Issei-ka-bob! And nobody hurts my friends," he finished in a feral growl.

The enemy let out a few chuckles in amusement while shaking his head a few times. "A human who thinks he's on par with a Fallen Angel? Laughable!" the trench-coat-wearing man exclaimed with a hearty bellow.

Fallen Angel? the blonde thought on his words.

"Enough stalling," the Fallen Angel stated after calming his laughter. "Last chance, human. Leave that Stray Devil to me and forget you ever saw me, or else you will end up sharing his fate."

Naruto's cerulean orbs narrowed and he slid his feet into a battle-ready stance that he'd learned from the Toads as he replied stonily, "You want him, you gotta go through me."

An insane grin crossed over the Fallen Angel's face as he heard Naruto's answer to his warnings. "Very well," he agreed ominously. "If that's your wish, then you can join that devil in oblivion!" he declared with relish as a jagged spear with a two-pronged tip appeared in his hands and charged at the blonde.

Fast! the shinobi realized as the enemy crossed the thirty yards between them in just over a full second. He then ducked under a horizontal swipe at his neck and countered quickly with a strong right fist buried into the man's gut. But predictable, he finished with a grin as his enemy doubled over and gasped from breath.

Naruto quickly jumped back out of reach from that glowing spear while the Fallen Angel gathered himself. Mad chuckles that would've frozen most men came from the older enemy, but Naruto had dealt with Orochimaru's crazy cackling, so he felt no fear of the man.

"Naruto!" Issei exclaimed in shock, but Naruto's eyes never strayed from his opponent.

"Stay back, Issei," the shinobi ordered icily, making Issei freeze at his tone. "He's after you, and to do that he'll need to make it past me."

"But –"

"No 'buts!'" Naruto shouted intensely as his thoughts briefly ventured down an alley he'd rather they didn't. "I can handle this guy. Even without my chakra," he finished in an unheard mumble for himself.

"Is that so?" the Fallen Angel asked with a sense of superiority that made Naruto sick to his stomach. "Well then, why don't we test that!?" he screamed insanely as he threw his spear at the blonde.

Not feeling like testing out the type of damage that self-made weapon could dish out, Naruto ducked to the side before falling backwards into his hands in order to avoid the man's fist. He then utilized his flexibility to get out of the way of another punch and spear thrust before executing a back-handspring to separate himself from the opponent.

However, the Fallen Angel wasn't letting him get away, once he'd landed on his feet Naruto had to spin to his right in order to avoid another spear thrust. Naruto and his opponent then engaged in a deadly dance where the blonde ducked, spun, and twisted his body away from the new kunai-looking spear of his enemy while continually being forced to retreat backwards.

The jinchuuriki jumped back once more to avoid a particularly long swipe at his midsection and felt his back slam into something rough and much larger than him. Realizing that he'd been forced into backing against a tree, Naruto's eyes widened for an instant and the Fallen Angel smirked before thrusting his spear at the blonde's head.

The side of his mouth twitched before Naruto avoided the attack by simply leaning his head to the right and the first six inches of the spear's blade dug into the tree trunk behind him. The shinobi countered by hitting his foe with a faster-than-sight right cross that made the Fallen Angel stumble backwards, but he managed to keep a grip on his weapon. Naruto then reached up and grabbed the spear's shaft with his left hand tightly, used that hand-hold to vault himself off of the ground, and delivered a devastating right kick directly to the side of the man's face, making him leave the ground from the force used and sprawl out on the ground.

The spear then dissipated in the air while he'd still been holding it, forcing Naruto to spin in the air to counteract his momentum and land on one knee in a crouch. The blonde then stood up and sucked in a few greedy breaths as he felt his lungs burn from the effort he'd had to exert in the last ten minutes. "If that much got me this winded then I must really be losing my touch," he gasped out between rasps.

Just goes to show how much you shinobi all relied on chakra to enhance your abilities,Kurama pointed out lazily. That guy was on par with a green Chuunin at best, and he actually put you on the ropes until he gave you that chance, Naruto.

No, he petulantly denied while visualizing the smirk crossing Kurama's massive face. I was simply lulling him into a false sense of security so he'd let his guard down.

Whatever helps you sleep at night, the fox snorted patronizingly.

Well, he conceded to his friend, it has been six months since I actually was able to really, seriously, train…

"Naruto!" Issei's frantic voice broke Naruto out of his mental debate and made him turn to see the brown-haired boy running over to his side.

"Are you okay, Issei?" Naruto asked with concern in his tone. "Any of his attacks end up hitting you?"

The golden-eyed youth shook his head in the negative before his eyes lit up and he began, "But that was so cool, Naruto! I didn't know you could fight like that! Why didn't you ever say you could? Can you teach me how to fight like that? How long have you been able to kick ass like that?"

"Okay, okay," Naruto stopped him before he hyperventilated. "Breathe, Issei." The boy did as instructed and Naruto began to answer, "To answer your questions: You never asked, I can teach you a little but not all, and for as long as I can remember."

"Sweet!" Issei proclaimed gleefully with stars in his eyes and a fist thrown into the air. "I'm buds with the biggest badass at Kuoh and nobody but me knows it!" he exclaimed as he began to make his way away from Naruto and towards the defeated Fallen Angel. "Now Naruto's gonna teach me how to be just as much of a badass and the girls won't be able to stay away from me. They'll be all, 'Oh, Issei! You're so strong! Please let me bear your children!' I'll finally achieve my dream of seeing a real pair of oppai without needing to peek!"

"Issei, you really shouldn't –" Naruto started to warn his friend, but his breath hitched as he saw the supposedly-unconscious man's fingers twitch. "Issei, move!" he commanded as his body moved towards his friend.

"You're mine, Devil!" the Fallen Angel screamed with glee as he suddenly sprouted two black, feathery wings and used them to lift his body from the ground before summoning one more spear of light and charging at the stunned Issei.

As the Fallen Angel beat his wings furiously and got closer far too fast for him to react, Issei could only close his eyes and hold his breath while awaiting his end. The sound of a wet 'splerch' caused the brown-haired youth to open his eyes and freeze in shock at the sight his eyes recorded for him.

Naruto stood in front of him with the man's kunai-shaped spear pierced completely through his stomach. The blonde stood strong as his fierce blue eyes glared at his killer with such complete fury in them that even Issei was cowed even though the look wasn't directed in his direction.

Both of the shinobi's shaking arms gripped the spear tightly and held it there. "You…will not…harm…my friend!" Naruto howled at the Fallen Angel before pulling his left hand off of the spear and connecting a harsh uppercut into the enemy's jaw, sending the winged man into the air.

As the man flapped his wings once to steady himself in the air and set his jaw again, Naruto coughed out a thick glob of blood and fell to his knees while pain wracked his body. The spear of light then disappeared and the sudden lack of anything in his body forced the former shinobi to fall on the ground face-first while a puddle of blood began to pool beneath his shivering body.

Damn it! he mentally cursed as his mind began to blank out. Am I really going to die here? Kurama, can't you do your healing me thing?

I only wish I could, Naruto, Kurama responded with melancholy. However, without open tenketsu, my chakra can't flow through your body. Looks like this really is the end, kid.

A few moments of silence passed once Naruto felt that news sink in. But…what'll happen to you? he asked timidly. I mean, won't you just reform after a few years like you would back in the Elemental Nations?

I doubt it, Naruto, the biju answered with a resigned air. Back there, there was enough residual chakra in the air for a biju to reform after a few years, but here, where there isn't even the faintest whiff of chakra in the world…

I'm sorry, Kurama, Naruto apologized to his friend. My useless hero streak was the death of us both; just like you told me after the war.

Yeah,Kurama agreed sadly. I only wish it wasn't truly the end.

Well, you know what that Headmaster called death in that book series I read after making it here, right?

The Next Great Adventure.

The last thing Naruto's eyes recorded for him was a flash of bright, crimson light.

Rias Gremory and her peerage were preparing to make themselves known as soon as Hyoudou's friend, Naruto Uzumaki, had fallen to the Fallen Angel's Spear of Light.

"A pity," the despicable creature in the air spoke with a sneer. "He would've made a fine familiar."

Issei was still frozen at the sight he'd just been forced to witness, and Rias couldn't blame him at all for it. To watch as a close friend gave their life to save yours was supposed to be a very traumatic event.

He must be in shock, the crimson-haired young woman thought with a slight frown. "Akeno, Kiba, Koneko," she then called, and all of the available members of her peerage looked to her. "Be ready. If the Fallen Angel makes another move towards Issei, then we will intervene."

"Hai, Buchou," each of them acknowledged with a nod.

Show me a glimpse, Issei, Rias silently implored of him. This should be more than enough to awaken your Sacred Gear. Show me why I had to use all eight Pawn Pieces on you. She'd planned on helping him obtain his Sacred Gear after explaining everything about yesterday and today to him, but she recognized that this scene would likely be a shortcut for him to awaken his power. If anything, the Sacred Gear awakening would help convince him even more than just knowledge of who that Amano Yuuma girl really was to him.

"Well, I suppose that is the fate of those who don't understand their weakness," the crow in the air mocked Uzumaki's sacrifice, making Rias clench her fist in anger.

Such a sacrifice is not to be mocked! she thought in rage.

"N-Naruto," Issei called out in a broken voice that hurt the Gremory heiress more than she thought it would. The stricken young man fell to his knees in the puddle of dark-red liquid, making the reflection of the moon ripple. "Come on, man," he nearly begged. "This isn't funny. Get up!" he cried out in desperation as a few tears fell from his golden eyes and dripped off of his chin. "Get up," he truly begged of the blonde on the ground, but there was no reaction from him at all.

Issei's tear-stained face then looked up into the distorted night sky and a bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat, and that scream made Rias' decision for her.

The azure-eyed beauty felt a tug on her skirt and looked down to see her Rook, Koneko, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "…Buchou?" she asked in her usual monotone, but Rias had been around the girl long enough to notice the sadness in her eyes. Uzumaki had been kind to her whenever she'd been caught tailing him under her King's orders.

The Gremory heiress simply nodded to her and assured, "Don't worry, Koneko. I will. He proved he has abilities we could use in his fight, and Uzumaki-kun's presence would help settle Issei back down after tonight." The Rook nodded in acceptance before both she and the busty woman resumed watching the scene play out.

"…You," Issei growled out with such complete venom that it took Rias completely by surprise. "You did this," he accused of the Fallen Angel as the man landed on the ground.

The crow gave a sinister grin in response as he picked his fedora up off the ground, dusted it off with his hand, and put it back on his head. "Yes," he responded without remorse. "I killed that Devil-Lover, and you're next."

The Fallen Angel then created another Spear of Light and prepared to throw it at the unmoving, still-kneeling, Issei and Rias called to her Knight, "Kiba!"

"Right!" he acknowledged the order as he summoned one of his blades through using his own Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, and prepared to intervene should Issei be unable to protect himself.

Without needing to be told, Akeno summoned a few bolts of her lightning in her hand as she let out her customary, "Ara, ara."

Just as the Fallen Angel made to throw his spear at the still Pawn, Rias felt a power surge come from the newest member of her peerage. She let out a sigh in relief before growing a small smile as the power from the brown-haired boy's Sacred Gear caused the thrown Spear of Light to veer off-course for his heart and instead just barely sliced into his right arm.

Before Rias even needed to order and the crow could even react to what had just happened, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko were on the move. Akeno served her role as Queen well as she shot off a warning shot of her lightning at the man which caused him to jump back to avoid it, only to feel the cold steel of one of Kiba's blades touching the center of his back before he could even move again. Koneko, knowing well what her role as Rook was, jumped in front of Issei and took a defensive stance while Rias slowly walked out from the shadows and stared at the Fallen Angel with an unreadable look on her face.

"Don't make another move, Fallen Angel-san," Rias spoke first with authority.

"K-Koneko-chan, Yuuto, Akeno-senpai, and Rias-senpai?" Issei realized with his eyes wide in shock. "What're you –" He was cut off as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell over. Koneko caught him and gently laid the unconscious boy on the ground as flashes of red disappeared from his left arm.

A small grin made its way onto the heiress' face as she thought, So I was right, but the trauma from what he's just experienced was simply too much for his mind to take in all at once. He'll need to be healed tonight.

"I see," the winged man realized after shaking himself from his shocked stupor at seeing the group appear almost instantaneously. "That hair of yours. You're from the Gremory family, aren't you?"

"I am Rias Gremory," she stated for him, "and if I were you I wouldn't make any sudden movements, Fallen Angel-san."

"I admit I had no idea that this was the Gremory heiress' jurisdiction," the man revealed while keeping his hands open and out to the side. "I'm guessing that the devil over there is one of yours?"

"Indeed he is," Rias told him, "and I will show no mercy towards you if you should come after him again."

"Well, it seems I must apologize for thinking he was a Stray," the Fallen Angel spoke with hardly any regret present in his voice at all. "However, I would recommend you keep a tighter leash on your servant's collar, or else someone like me might just spot him and decide to go on a little Devil Hunt."

"I appreciate the helpful advice," she returned with just as much false-politeness as her verbal sparring partner. "But allow me to issue you a warning as well: Should you or your ilk ever attempt something like this, it will be the last mistake you ever make," she promised with a look that could've cut glass from its sharpness.

"The same to you, Gremory," he returned before slowly walking away from Kiba's blade, using his wings to fly off, and disappear into the night while dispelling his minimal barrier. "My name is Dohnaseek," he warned them all. "Pray we never meet again, devils."

Rias paid no heed to the warning of such a mediocre crow and instead turned towards her Rook and called, "Koneko, how is Issei?"

"Out cold," the white-haired girl responded. "Scratch is only visible wound."

"But Uzumaki-kun's death would hurt him more than any weapon of Light could," Kiba spoke in. "Aside from Motohama-kun and Matsuda-kun, Uzumaki-kun is Issei-kun's closest friend."

"Indeed," the crimson-haired girl agreed. She then turned to her Queen and asked of her, "Akeno, is Uzumaki-kun truly deceased?"

"Not yet," the dark-haired beauty answered, "but he will be very soon if he isn't healed immediately. Luckily, he wasn't a devil when he got stabbed, or else he'd already be gone."

"Will you save Uzumaki-senpai?" Koneko asked as the Gremory heiress walked over and joined her Queen in standing over the nearly-deceased form of Naruto Uzumaki.

"I will," she told them all, much to all of their relief – Koneko even let out the breath she'd been holding. "However, I want you, Akeno, to take Issei home and heal him overnight. When he wakes up, I want you to explain to him how he's now a Devil and is a member of my peerage, just like you. I leave it up to you how you explain it, but don't physically scar my newest servant."

"Ara, ara," Akeno let out a few of her prim giggles. "So mental scarring is okay, Buchou?"

"Like I said, I leave it up to you. Just don't turn him gay, though."

"Uh… I don't think that's physically possible, Buchou," Kiba intoned nervously.

"Hentai," the smallest of them all agreed.

"Ara, ara," the raven-haired beauty continued to giggle as she collected Issei in her arms and extended both of her Devil Wings. "Come along, Issei-kun. Akeno-senpai has lots of instructing to do." She then flew off while Rias felt a small shiver travel down her back as she suddenly got a bad feeling that decision wasn't going to go over well.

She quickly shook herself of those thoughts, however, as there were more important things to do at the moment. The Gremory heiress then kneeled down and looked at the face of the blonde second-year. I've always wondered if those were just tattoos, she thought before reaching one of her hands down and tracing one of the whisker-like markings on his cheeks. Well I'll be, she thought in awe, they're not tattoos.

For the past four months she'd kept tabs on the boy who'd been personally sponsored by her elder brother at Kuoh Academy. Sirzechs nor Grayfia had been forthcoming with answers as to why Naruto had gained the Maou's attention, and the lack of answers had only intrigued her even more.

Rias had asked Kiba to try and get close to Naruto when the new term had begun, but the unknown blonde had wisely decided to keep the Knight at a distance and instead decided to befriend Issei. Kiba had revealed that Naruto had the walk and situational awareness of a warrior who'd seen around as much battle as his own sensei, and that was truly saying something if it was true. The only real information that Rias had been able to gather about the enigmatic blonde was only what it seemed he was willing to allow her to see, which frustrated her to no end.

He was not only smart when it comes to his classes, but he was truly intelligent and ingenious in his methodology whenever he detected and decided to lose the tail she'd placed on him two months back. While Rias' bat-familiar wasn't as intelligent as, say, a Sprite Dragon, her familiar was not unintelligent herself. For a single human without even the smallest hint of either innate magic or even a Sacred Gear to not only realize he was being followed by an invisible bat but also to lose them at will was a feat Rias couldn't even believe with her own eyes.

Shaking her head of those musings, Rias pulled out her Devil's Devious Network – or D.D.N. – device and pointed it at the bleeding blonde teen. Since she'd gotten no feelings at all from him when she'd extended her aura to examine him to see just what the cost would be for him she was forced to do things the old-fashioned way. The crimson-haired heiress then pressed a few buttons on the display screen and awaited the device to finish its scan and calculate the exact value of Naruto in terms of Evil Pieces.

"Huh?" Rias was dumbfounded as the device showed in bold red letters, 'ERROR.' "Hunk of junk must be broken," she mumbled tersely as she then put it away into a magic circle. "I guess it's guess and check then. I really hate this method though.

"We'll start with the Knight," she told the unhearing blonde on the ground. "You proved you're already quite quick, Naruto, so I suppose that a Knight's speed would make you just as if not even faster than Kiba."

The heiress then took out a horse-headed, red glass Chess piece and placed it on top of the boy's chest right above his heart. She then summoned all of her magic and demonic power forward in order to create the appropriate magic circle.

A large, red Magic Circle appeared above Naruto's prone body and Rias began the appropriate chant to make Naruto into a Reincarnated Devil. "I, Rias Gremory, do hereby order you in my name: Heed my call, Naruto Uzumaki! Tie your soul to this world and become a devil of my House. You shall become my Knight, and rejoice in your new life!"

However when she opened her eyes and looked down, Rias was positively flabbergasted to discover that literally nothing had changed from when before she'd begun the chant. The magic circle still remained circling above the semi-dead teen and the Evil Piece hadn't even reacted to the ritual at all. It was as if she'd just tried to turn a stone into her Knight!

"Uh… Was that supposed to happen, Buchou?" Kiba asked nervously.

"…Trouble?" Koneko queried.

"At the very least there should've been something," Rias grumbled to herself as she tuned out her two present servants. "A sign of rejection, not enough value in the Piece, something! I've never even heard of this complete lack of the reaction before. Maybe the Rook will work instead? It is worth two more in value than the Knight. It should at least be worth a try…"

The heiress then took out her red Rook Piece and exchanged its place with the Knight Piece. Rias followed that action by repeating the process with the Rook, but was rewarded with another no-reaction.

"Bishop!" she tried.

Nothing.

"Knight and Bishop!"

Nothing again.

"Knight and Rook!"

Nothing once more.

"Bishop and Rook!"

Nada.

"Knight, Bishop, and Rook!"

Zippo.

"What is wrong with you!?" she shrieked in frustration at the oblivious blonde while she let out a few pants from the exertion trying to do what she'd just attempted did to her energy reserves. "Evil Pieces were made to reincarnate anything from this dimension into a Devil! Humans, Youkai, Dragons, it doesn't matter! So long as it lives, the Evil Pieces can work on it! And I got mine from Beelzebub-sama himself! Ugh! If only I'd had another Mutation Piece besides Gasper's!" She then stopped cold and blinked dumbly as her last statement finally registered in her mind and it caused her to remember something. "Oh, wait. I do have another one."

She then reached into her uniform's pocket and pulled out an Evil Piece she'd only received two weeks ago. Sirzechs had assured her that it would serve its purpose in reincarnating someone, but since it had the same reaction to Issei that all her current Pieces had just had to Naruto she'd assumed that it was just a faulty piece.

"Maybe you're supposed to work here," she spoke to the Piece. "It's not like anything else is working here…"

An unspoken rule about the Evil Piece system was that each Evil Piece looked exactly like the Chess pieces that the system based off of. The Pawns looked like the pawn, the Bishops looked like the bishop, and so on and so forth. Even the standard Mutation Pieces like the chess piece they were originally based off of before they absorbed the powers of other Pieces.

This one, however, didn't resemble any known chess piece at all. It had an odd swirl-fashion outer armor that coiled up the Pieces three-inch length until it reached the peak, where two horn-like protrusions extended out perpendicular to one another. While Rias had no idea as to what she was supposed to claim this Piece as, she somehow felt like there was some kind of connection between the Piece she held and the blonde on the ground now that she focused on the Piece.

"Well, let's see if this works," she mused aloud. The Gremory heiress then placed the unnamed Piece onto the blonde's chest over his heart and chanted, "I, Rias Gremory, do hereby command you in my name: Heed my call, Naruto Uzumaki! Tie your soul to this world and become a devil of my House. You shall become my Devil and rejoice in your new life!"

A small tug of her lips' corners was the only outward sign that Rias was in fact pleased by the sight as she watched the unique Piece glow brightly in response to her call. The slowly-spinning magic circle then began to descend towards the whiskered teen and continued on through his body until it ceased its drop once it reached the concrete below him. To signal the end of the ceremony, the unique Piece flashed brightly once and then sank into the blonde's chest and bonded with his very DNA.

An exhausted sigh came from the crimson-haired beauty as she let her arms fall down to her side. She then called to Koneko, "Can you check on him for me, please? I'm too exhausted to trust my senses right now."

"Hai, Buchou," Koneko answered her. The Rook then walked over to Naruto and kneeled down at his side. She gave him a cursory once-over with her heightened senses and innate Nekomata abilities before checking his vitals with her fingers and saying, "Alive. He'll make it."

"What a relief," Rias spoke as she let out a thankful breath.

"But the wound isn't healing."

"What did you say, Koneko?" Kiba asked of the youngest in the group before their Master could.

"Funny feeling from it," the cat-like girl explained briefly while pointing at the open would. "Will need healing as well."

"It could just be his body's reaction to the residual Light particles left from that spear," the blonde swordsman offered a possible explanation.

Koneko merely shook her head and repeated, "Funny feeling. Not from Fallen Angel. Not sure from where. Wasn't there before ritual though."

"While you could be right, Kiba," Rias chimed in before the two could continue, "I'd rather not take the chance. The Piece I just used on Uzumaki-kun here was a Unique Piece Onii-sama gave me two weeks ago through Grayfia. I never got any explanation of it out of her though, so we don't know how the Piece will react to his body. It would most likely be safest if I take him home and heal his wounds overnight."

"But Buchou –"

"I appreciate your concern, Kiba," she stopped him before he could offer his protest with a small smile on her face. "Really, I do. However, me staying with Uzumaki-kun is not just so I can heal his body. It lets me be the first person he sees in the morning so that I can answer any immediately-concerning questions he no doubt will have. In cases of unknowing reincarnation – like both Issei and Uzumaki-kun are – it is better for the Master or someone the Master trusts absolutely to explain their situation to them in order to prevent them from drawing incorrect conclusions.

"Now then," she then directed to her two servants. "You two go on home and get some sleep. I'll contact you tomorrow after Akeno and I have spoken about what will have happened tomorrow morning and decide on an action to take."

"Hai, Buchou," Kiba accepted reluctantly while Koneko merely gave the King a nod in response. The pair of Devils then each summoned a magic circle and teleported on to their individual homes.

"Now for you," Rias turned towards the steadily-breathing almost-corpse. She then started digging around in his pants and jacket for some kind of identity so she could find an address since she'd never been able to find his actual living address before – not even Sona's records had one. "Aha!" she exclaimed victoriously after finding his I.D. card deep in his pants' left pocket. "Now, to get you home and healed up."

Focusing on the address on the I.D., she summoned a teleportation magic circle and the two Devils disappeared from the park, with only a puddle of blood reflecting the moon's pale glow as a sign that anything had occurred that night at all.

Rias didn't notice the faint outline of red that covered Naruto's wound's inner walls.

A/N: Well, this is the newest child of mine for all of my loyal readers to read. I have been in LOVE with Highschool DxD ever since the anime came out, and I really, REALLY wanted to come up with some way to write a story, but I never could think up a way to spin that world other than how it'd already been written. I got the idea for the crossover actually when I started writing my Naruto fic and became obsessed with crossovers.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I really pray all of you hop on the wagon that is the Shadow of the Devil and enjoy the ride with me!

dripley11

P.S. Okay, since so many people don't seem to understand what I did, I will spell it out for you: Naruto didn't lose his chakra, he lost the ability to use it. As explained when the Byakugan's abilities are shown in canon, the tenketsu are what allows the Chakra to be used in the external world and create ninjutsu, genjutsu, and even some taijutsu techniques. With closed tenketsu, Naruto isn't able to actively make use of his chakra, but he still has it; it's just been locked away. Why was he still alive you ask? If you want to know, then you'll need to stick with the story, because I'm done explaining things.

There. I hope you all are happy now. Also, congratulations to the reviewers and other readers who were able to piece it together by looking underneath the underneath and not assuming I don't have any reason aside from 'OMG! I'm going to make Naruto so WEAK so that he can be killed and Rias can turn him into a Devil!'

I apologize for the blunt nature of my Post Scriptum, but I was getting tired of getting flames in my reviews claiming I didn't know what I was doing when I do, in fact. Unlike many, I meticulously plan out each and every one of my stories before I even write them.