Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or High School DXD. Most character in this story, with the exception of OC creations, belong to their respective authors. Please respect their property rights and ownerships!

Chapter 1: Beginnings

When people wake up to the sound of an alarm, most people have varying reactions of the some kind but generally fall into one category or another. Some people are morning people, able to get up and start their day as easy as breathing. They loved the morning and the sun that rises each morning with it, always in a chipper mood if unheeded by a problem of some kind. Some people could grunt and groan but get up none the less, neither cursing nor loving the light of life. And then you just had to people who just could not get up at all period. They wanted nothing to do with the mornings and believed the best time to get up was around noon.

Naruto Tachibana fell into none of these categories. When he woke up he stared at the smooth orange ceiling, the light from the earth's favorite star splaying across and highlighting it beautifully. He looked up at it as though he were numb, a feeling he had felt every morning for as long as he could remember. He would almost call it as familiar as meeting an old friend if he had enjoyed the feeling. To Naruto, it sickened him to no end but he had long learned to ignore the feeling.

It was during this usual morning occurrence that he ended up pondering something. Throughout his life there had been times when the young man had wondered if something were missing from his life; if there was something he were supposed to be doing differently that he was not doing already. It was something that he had come to ponder each and every morning to no avail. And when he did, he reached the same conclusion he did each of those other times.

Everything is alright. There is nothing wrong with the world and everything is as it should be. It's just you and your imagination.

And it was then he wondered if others his age had ever asked the same question to themselves that he did on a regular basis. Were he stupid enough he probably would have already asked by now and more likely than not gotten strange looks in response. After all, what teenager thinks this way anyway? Most people his age went on with much of a care in the world with the exception of some school tests here and there. It was a fact that most adults that he knew always complained about whenever possible, about how his generation was "to careless" and "not thoughtful enough of the ever changing social climate." It was rather annoying of them to continue to point out continuously.

It was usually with these thoughts running ramped in his mind that Naruto started his morning. Every morning it was the same thing over and over again for as long as he could remember. There had been no change in his usual morning routine and some days he wished something strange would happen just to change it up a little bit. He wished that something odd would happen that would make his morning slightly more exciting and not so… boring.

However, ignoring his wish for a change once again, Naruto began his morning rituals. Naruto removed the sheets his mother had claimed were "just so orange they're tacky" and began his morning rituals. Walking over to the closet near his desk, Naruto pulled out the standard uniform of the school he attended and began the process of putting on the white collared button up shirt. After making everything was cuffed properly he put on a black tie, his sign of protesting the ribbons they made the male student wear like they did the females. After pulling up his pants he placed his favorite pair of aviator goggles on his head and threw his blazer over his shoulder, grabbing his bag as he walked out the door.

As the young spiky haired blonde got to the stairs, he took a waft of the sweet smell in the air and walked down. That smell in the air was fairly familiar to him. It meant his mother was making a western styled breakfast today, something she did not do very often. Despite growing up in Japan, he had always enjoyed western styled food a little bit more than the traditional Japanese breakfast and the few times his mother made it he could truly felt genuinely excited.

As he entered the kitchen, he noticed his mother standing over the stove, her brown hair swaying back and forth as she moved her head back in forth to the tune she was humming.

"Good morning mom," the blonde youth said brightly to her, pulling out a chair to sit at the table of their dining area. His mother, Hana Tachibana, a fair looking woman in her early forties, smiled at her son in response.

"Good morning to you as well, dear," she responded, returning her attention to what she was making on the stove. "How are you this morning?"

"Anguished over the fact that you didn't tell me that you were going to be making Pancakes this morning," he shouted in an attempt at feigned annoyance. It was a daily morning routine between his mother and him. His father, Norio, was usually up and gone by the time Naruto got up to go to school so most mornings it was just him and his mother. Since he was little, they had always had a relationship where they could joke around, especially since most kids avoided him like the plague due to him looking like, as some have put it, a "foreign American-looking Yakuza type with wicked looking scars on his cheeks." That was said despite his high grades and his rather calm disposition in most cases but, as his mother put it, people were always quick to believe in sensationalism.

It was due to him having few friends that he could talk to that the sort of relationship they had developed. His mother, the kind woman she was, was always there beside him to help pick him back up after kids said all the mean things they did about him. Whenever he had a problem, he knew he could always talk about it with mom and if it weren't for the fact he already had a best friend, he would have given her the title. Dad always did jokingly call him a momma's boy.

His mother, oblivious to his inner thoughts, giggled into her hand and did not even bother turning around as she addressed him. "I wanted it to be a surprise. You are supposed to be finding out the scores from your last round of testing aren't you?" She flipped the pancake as she pulled out a plate, prepping it to put the pancake and the bacon she made on it. "It's a good luck breakfast of sorts, you know."

Naruto snorted, leaning back into the blazer that hung off the back of his chair. "You know I don't need luck," he responded arrogantly with a small grin tugging on his lips. "I'm near the top of my class! I bet you I aced it!"

His mother turned around sharply. "Naruto Tachibana get off you're high horse," she admonished, shaking the spatula she held at him. "Just because you get good grades usually do not expect to always get them. You worked hard to get where you are but don't start acting arrogant now. Remember what you're father has told you. 'Remember, it may not always seem like it but…'"

"'… there is always someone better,'" he groaned in response as he finished reciting his father's favorite phrase. "Jeez, can't you just let me do it for once."

His mother smiled and stuck her tongue out at him through her smiling lips in a teasing gesture. "Nope," she said brightly, eyes closed. "I've got to keep my boy humble and honest!"

"Yeah, keep me humble and honest while the foods burning," Naruto grunted in response, allowing a small smile as he watched his mother quickly turn around and start to comically trying to salvage the burning breakfast. She really did know how to brighten his mornings, even if it was unintentional.

(A Little Later)

After finishing the half burned breakfast his mother had put in front of him with a sheepish smile, Naruto quickly ran out the door due to running late and still having to meet up with his friend. He ran actually quite quickly, faster than most people would be able to, as he sped down the street.

That was another thing about Naruto. Ever since he was young, Naruto had always had slightly better strength, speed, and overall agility than most people his age. In gym class he was quite easily able to keep up with people who trained on a daily basis. The school track coach had even once tried to recruit him under the banner of the team only to find out Naruto really was not all that interested in sports despite his abilities. Most people, like the ones who thought he was a foreign Yakuza, just chalked it up to the supposed "super-secret ninja yakuza training." He would always laugh at that one slightly regardless of the fact it made most people stay away from him more.

"Ah, shit, I'm late," came a cry from one of the people who fell outside of the most. As Naruto ran past, he was quickly joined, abate more slowly, by his best friend who was a rather thin young man with brown hair and brown eyes, his open uniform showing his red shirt swaying behind him slightly in the wind. When he noticed Naruto ahead of him, his eyes shot open in recognition. "Yo, Naruto!"

Naruto smiled at his best friend. "Late as well I see, eh Issei?"

Issei's face gained an angry tick. "Yeah because I spent time waiting for you this morning," he shot back angrily as he continued to run. "Where we're you? You're never late you blonde bastard!"

Naruto sweat dropped as he ran, chuckling sheepishly. "Yeah, well, mom kind of screwed up breakfast… again."

It was then Issei's turn to sweat drop, his eyes set into a deadpan stare. "You're mother wasn't paying attention again was she?" It may have come out as a question but they both knew that Issei already knew the answer. While Naruto's mom was a great cook, if she didn't pay attention things tended to burn a lot worse than what would happen for the average cook. In fact, when they were kids, Naruto's mom was distracted making breakfast once and ended up accidently lighting Naruto's father's hair on fire. To this day his father stayed as far away from his mom as possible when she was cooking.

"Well to be fair I did kind of distract her this morning." In reality, looking back on the situation, it was his own fault. Pushing that aside, Naruto arched his head back slightly to look at him as they ran, the school now visible in the distance. "By the way, remember that exam scores for the mid-term are being posted today. How do you think you did?" He saw his friend's sour expression and sighed. "Don't tell me you didn't study again."

"Well to be fair I was distracted," the brown haired boy said boldly.

"You were staring at some poor girls tits again, weren't you," the blonde asked, dreading the answer he already knew.

"Well they were quite the pair if I do say so."

"Issei," Naruto groaned.

"What, they just looked so lonely with no one looking at them. I think they wanted to feel needed, desired if you will, and the safety of a pair of breasts are more important than any stupid tests!"

Naruto almost tripped on that one and if he hadn't already known Issei's habits when it came to his desire of the female flesh then he probably would have actually tripped. Issei had been like this since they were around ten, when they had met a perverted man in the park who had explained to children about the joys of the female breast. At first the young blonde had kind of thought the man to be kind of crazy; the kind both his and Issei's mom had told both of them to stay away from. Looking back though Naruto could see why Issei was the way he was. The old man was really freaking persuasive. In fact he probably would have been the same as Issei had he not asked his mother about it when he got home.

It was kind of funny. After that event they had not heard hid or hair of the old man who had told them about the joys of breasts. The onetime he said something to his mother she gave him a dark smile and told him not to worry about "crummy old men like that lousy son of a…," trailing of slightly at the end as she mumbled to herself. He had never bothered asking her again.

The young blonde sighed at his friend's obsession. "You really need to stop obsessing man," Naruto shouted to his friend as they finally reached the school gate, stopping to let Issei catch his breath and pant while holding his stomach. "No girl is ever going to want to date you if you keep obsessing over their figure," he said as he ignored the looks they got from people walking into the academy.

Issei glared at him, looking up as his breathing slowed. "No way," he shouted the heavens for all the school to hear. "I won't stop until I suffocate in them after becoming harem king! It's why I came to Kuoh in the first place."

Naruto felt a drop of perspiration go down the back of his head even though he realized Issei did bring up a good point. Kuoh Academy, up until three years ago, was a famous all-girls school renowned for its high class education and bringing up great female leaders, some of whom had gone on to become major company owners. Everyone in the area wanted to send their daughters there and if it weren't for the fact that there were no student dorms they probably would have had students from all across japan come.

A few years ago however, the school board decided to begin admitting male students, ending the legacy of the once all female school and turning it into something new. Of course that did not mean it was immediately easy for students to get into. In fact they still had a rather rough examination process that most students had to go through to get in.

Naruto himself had decided he wanted to attend do to it being the closest school to his house, though the high class education also did it too. Any other school would have been a longer trek for him to do and quite frankly not something he felt like dealing with unless absolutely necessary.

Getting into the school was not as hard for him as it was for some others. The fact of the matter was that he was one of the smarter students in their grade already. He had really good grades to the point that even if he had not done all that well on the entrance Kuoh had still said they would reserve a spot for him. It was a rather nice gesture and something that was incredibly rare for a school to do for that matter. By the time the test came around he had already known he was going to end up at Kuoh. Issei on the other hand…

Issei's getting into Kuoh was kind of lucky if you asked Naruto. At their last school, during their first year, he had met Matsuda and Motohama, two boys who had a level of perversion that actually equaled Issei's, which he had never thought possible. Together, even in middle school, they became known the menaces to female society known only as the Perverted Trio. Unfortunately, due to becoming such, with the exception of Motohama, Issei and Matsuda had effectively become the some of the lowest scoring students in the school. When they had heard Kuoh was opening up their ranks to male students, they jumped to go there due to what would more likely than not be the high female to male ratio among students. So, in order to pick up their grades, Issei and Matsuda came to him to help them study to gain acceptance.

Now Naruto would have done anything for Issei. When they were kids he, their buddy Irina, and Naruto were best friends. They did everything together and even when Irina left he and Issei had remained best buddies. After all, despite his perverse nature, Issei was still a good friend to him and whenever people had been rude to him always helped him out. He would always have Naruto's respect and friendship. In fact Naruto was really happy Issei wanted to go to Kuoh, even when he had heard the reason why. Even if it was only a minor role, he had decided he would help his friend achieve his dream… while silently apologizing to the female population for what he was about to do.

Helping Matsuda on the other hand was another matter entirely and not something the blonde honestly felt keen on doing. Naruto did not really get along with Matsuda or Motohama. Unlike Issei, who was accepting of him, they had made fun of him for his lack of interest in the pleasures of the flesh since they had met him. It was different then the teasing he usually got about looking like a thug but it still pissed him off to no end. Add to the fact they only furthered Issei's corruption with their own breast obsession and Naruto just wanted him to get away from them. Unfortunately for him Issei was for some reason really good at begging and managed to convince him to tutor Matsuda too.

Naruto had to say that in the few weeks he tutored the two of them that they were truly dedicated to their studies. In fact he would have to say that it was the most he had ever seen Issei study. He and Matsuda studied hard, getting together with him every day after school to go over notes and concepts, doing extra practice materials he had found of them online, and even going so far as to do flash card reviews with him. He later was even more surprised to find out that they had sworn off porn just till they passed. He had never been more proud of his friend when he had found out that piece of information.

And when that test finally came around the two were thoroughly prepared. They managed to pass the tests and meet the requirements to get in. Naruto had been proud when he saw their scores… only to later regret what he had released on the world when the three perverts had started jumping up and down in excitement shouting about how they were going to become harem kings. In that moment he could feel all the women in the room glare at him simultaneously and he had heard in some circles of female friends that he was not spoken fondly of.

But despite Issei's proclamation about being the next harem king, Naruto could do nothing but chuckle at his friend's antics.

"You do realize," he began pointing out, "that no women will ever want to be in a harem, right? There would just be too many different dynamics, clashes of personality, and so many other problems that would come up. You would never be able to attend to them all."

Issei sighed at his friend, shaking his head in a manner as though he were trying to explain physics to a child. "Naruto, my friend, you just do not understand. Harem is not just for the sake of adding women to some collection! No, a harem is formed by the love of a man with multiple women who love him and would be willing to live with one another just to be with him! They will love me like I do them and do anything to be with me, even accept being in a harem." Issei grinned in satisfaction and pumped his fist in the air. "And when they do, it will be glorious!"

The blonde sweat dropped and would have commented on his friends speech were it not for the sound of the bell beginning to ring. He sighed to himself. "Come on Mr. 'Harem King,' we need to get to class." At that, the two friends ran into the school, not even noticing a pair of blue-green orbs staring at them as they made their way into the school.

(After School)

Naruto Tachibana liked to nap. More specifically, Naruto Tachibana liked to nap in the afternoon under one of the larger trees outside school. It was his favorite thing to do in the afternoon after a long day's work at school. He found the shade of the tree to be quite comfortable, especially with the wind lightly blowing past as he laid on the cool grass.

When Naruto first came here, due to his size and appearance, most clubs were not exactly willing to admit him due to the belief of him being some sort of yakuza. His height, which was taller than the average Japanese person at around five foot eight, and overall appearance did not at all help matters with encouraging people that he was, in fact, a good guy. So with that in mind, after trying to join clubs a few different times, he just eventually gave up on trying.

Eventually he found a routine he liked and that was lying down under the shaded tree and taking a well-deserved afternoon nap, listening to the sounds of rustling trees and the sounds of student athletes hard at work in the distant training area. Yup, there was nothing more he liked than his napping periods.

"Good afternoon Tachibana-san."

What he hated most, however, was when someone decided to interrupt that nap he was choosing to take. It happened every so often and when it did it usually ended up being the same person.

The spiky haired boy open an eye slightly and stared at the admittedly beautiful forms of the student council president Sona Shitori and her vice president Tsubaki Shinra, who was also an admitted beauty in her own right. Sona, the shorter haired girl with a bob-cut and traditional black hair, gave him a small smile as she stared down at him.

"Sona, Tsubaki," the blond grunted their names slightly, adjusting his body to another position now that they had woken him. "Lovely to see you." His tone had been slightly sarcastic but if either of them could tell they didn't acknowledge it. "And what can I do for you today, madam president?"

"I saw your test scores when they were posted," the black haired girl stated bluntly. "They were quite impressive. Top of the class in fact." The girl adjusted her glasses slightly, the light from the sun reflecting off the surface as her violet eyes peered through. "Congratulations."

Naruto raised the brow of his slightly opened eye and looked straight at her small cool smile. It was rather odd in fact.

The young blonde and the student council president had a rather interesting first meeting. The fact of the matter was they had barely known acknowledged that the other had existed until an incident that had occurred during his freshman year at the academy. She was one of the more popular students in Kuoh, actually holding the title of being third most popular. She also just happened to be the student council president, in fact the first one to be elected during their 2nd year, and was also one of the most popular girls in the school. Of course with everybody thinking him to be a yakuza he wasn't going to be known to them. With the exception of his grades he was in the bottom of the food chain like Issei and the rest of his perverted cohort.

However it was towards middle of his freshman year when their first, if a bit odd, meeting had occurred. While he was walking around campus, he had meet a black haired young looking girl. Two things about this girl stuck out about her: 1. She was jumping all over the place and 2. She looked like a magical girl. It was so strange he had begun to wonder why people in the area were basically ignoring it. He had almost managed to ignore it too until she started causing trouble. It was in the midst of the chaos that Naruto had seen the young student council president run up with the rest of the council and try and calm the girl down. Unfortunately for them the magical girl wannabe was not too keen on the idea of calming down and started shouting off stuff about "So-tan," her apparent name for the president, being mean to her.

It was in that moment Naruto thought two about two different courses of action he could take which essentially ended up being that he could do nothing and save himself the trouble of having to deal with the lunatic girl… or he could do something to try and help, putting himself under much unwanted scrutiny again. The latter was something he would have preferred to avoid if at all possible.

The idea of doing nothing though was taken off the table once he saw the fake magical girl literally knock out one of the student council members with her fake wand. In that moment Naruto decided it was time to do something. He walked up behind her and smacked her on the back of the head, almost mortifying Sona and her council while the fake magical girl got all red faced and stared at him as he calmly talked her down. Once he had managed to do so he pulled out an ice cream, one that he had been saving in a lunch cooler for later, from his bag and offered to give it to her if she would calm down.

A few minutes later the kid was sitting down eating an ice cream while Sona and her council continued to stare at him in bewilderment, almost like he had literally punched out Cuthulu or something. It was just a little kid. She was harmless. Sona, finally snapping out of her bewilderment, said thank you to him and took the girl with her back to her office.

The next time she saw him she had struck up a conversation with him. Despite her outwardly cold demeanor, she was a rather nice individual, if a bit strict, once you talked to her. She was rather easy to have an academic conversation with, especially since her grades are basically the highest in their possible grade. Besides some of their conversations, however, the blond did not know all that much else about the council president, which was what made it weirder whenever she talked to him. The president was well known for not really getting close with anyone unless they were people on the student council and yet, despite the fact, she kept coming back to talk to the guy no one really wanted to be around.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Naruto grinned at her while rubbing the back of his head slightly. "Thank you Sona," he said earnestly, ignoring the fact that most people would shriek over the fact that he referred to her with such familiarity and without the proper suffix. "I really do appreciate the complement." Naruto cocked his head to the side though to get a better look at them. "Now while I do not mind you visiting Sona is there something you two need? You wouldn't come over just to congratulate me Sona. I know. I've had my grades posted before and haven't gotten the kind of congratulations from you before nor am I foolish enough to believe that you are here just for a social call."

Naruto noticed a glint in her eye. It was the kind of glint that said all it needed to, one that would have him start running for the hills.

"Actually," Sona began, he stare becoming slightly more serious. "I'm her to discuss with you the prospect of you possibly…"

"RUN AWAY!"

Sona was interrupted by a shout from the field where some of the teams were practicing. The three turned to stare as three boys ran away, running so fast they were kicking up dust behind them. What ended up identifying the three, however, was the angry all female kendo team chasing after them, wooden swords in hand.

"Well, it seems that Issei Hyoudou and his friends are up to their usual antics," sighed Sona as she rubbed her temple, turning back to Naruto to see him getting up and throwing his blazer and backpack over his shoulder. "Where are you going, Tachibana-san? I haven't been able to finish…"

"Listen Sona," Naruto said, walking toward the action and using this as a way to escape whatever she was going to request from him, "I'll listen to your request later." He sighed slightly. "I got to go save Issei from getting the crap beaten out of him… again. If I don't I'll have to hear about it later with him saying stupid stuff like 'you were just too lazy to get off of your ass and save me' or something similar." He cocked his head back at her and grinned. "Besides, Miss President, you're going to have to calm those girls down anyway before they destroy the place." He waved to both Sona and Tsubaki as he ran to help his friend. "See you later!"

"Tachibana-san," shouted Tsubaki as she was about to run after him, only to have a hand placed in front of her by Sona. The tall black haired girl looked to her side to see her master staring at the blonde haired boys back as he ran towards the action, a resigned expression on her face as she shook her head. "Madam President…"

"It's alright Tsubaki," the girl said softly, continuing to watch him go. "I can ask him to join later."

"But the reason you were asking now was because they have been sighted in the area," protested her assistant. "If we keep letting him walk around without telling him anything about the danger than he could…"

"Tsubaki," her leader repeated her name sternly. "Enough. I know enough about the danger that exists for him. It was bound to happen to him sooner or later."

The vice president bit her lip slightly. "To think someone who is completely ignorant to our world could have that much power within him," she said softly, a little bit of awe seeping into her voice. "The fact that he had not been approached yet is…"

"Surprising," finished Sona. "Yes, I'm fully aware. But both Rias and I have kept an eye on him since he came on our radar his first year here. The amount of raw magical power he has should not be possible in a human without training and constant refinement in order to control it. Yet here he is, unknowing of anything about his potential. Observation has shown consistently that he knows nothing of our world yet he still has that kind of monstrous power. If it weren't for the fact I've seen the data collected by the school on him I would almost say there was no way he could be human."

The two continued to look on as Naruto jumped into the fight to save his friend.

(With the Perverted Trio)

There would be many days in his life were Issei Hyoudou was happy to say that he was a pervert. He could say he knew everything about the human body sexually. The fact he aced the health portion of his gym class could tell you that much. He could guess a female's size in various area almost as good as Motohama and was as lustful as Matsuda.

Issei Hyoudou thought himself to be a connoisseur. He enjoyed all kinds of women of all different types. Short or tall, skinny or slightly chubbier, he didn't care. If they had a nice pair of breasts on them then he did not care. He was not discriminatory when it came to a beautiful pair.

Yes, Issei was happy to be a pervert. Yes, most days Issei was indeed happy to be a pervert… that is to say when he was not caught in the act.

Right now Issei was almost kicking himself for being a pervert.

Issei Hyoudou had been ecstatic when Motohama and Matsuda told him they had found a new peeping spot to use, especially when they mentioned it lead to the changing room regularly used by the girl's kendo team. The team was actually considered to be the biggest single grouping of beautiful women that got together on a regular basis. Sure there was girls track and girls tennis but they did not have the following the girls of the kendo team did. Add to the fact that they would more likely than not be sweaty from practice and that they would be changing as well. Issei had been salivating just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, what the trio did not quite expect, was for one of the girls to accidently leave their equipment behind at the field. What they also did not expect was for her to hear the three of them giggling as they watched her teammates through the little hole in the wall. What they really did not expect was her sudden rage filled battle cry of "perverts", a bunch of startled girls, said girls running out of the changing room, and said group of girls moving to catch the group of perverts that had begun to head for the hills with their wooden practice swords to, more likely than not, beat the crap out of them.

And so here they were, running for their lives from the bane of their existence: angry women who did not enjoy being peeped on.

"This was Matsuda and Motohama's fault," the brown haired pervert thought, running as fast as his legs could carry him. "They're the ones who supposedly found the 'nirvana of spots'. Why do I have to suffer because of they couldn't check how obvious the spot would be?"

Issei wished he could escape. And, as if he had the god of perverts smiling down on him, Issei's request to escape came in his usual form of escape.

"So," drawled someone from beside him and drawing the attention of the other two members of the trio. They saw Naruto running beside them, easily keeping up with them as his blazer fluttered in the wind behind him. "You idiots seemed to find yourselves in another bad situation. So what did you do this time?" The blonde turned and looked behind them to see the angry group of girls chasing after them. "What's up ladies," he called out, much to the dread of the three perverts as his presence only seemed to antagonize them further.

"Tachibana," shouted one of the girls, Murayama he believed her name was. "What are you doing here you stupid yakuza?"

"Oi," shouted the blonde as he began waving his fist at her, "how many times do I have to tell you idiots I'm not a bloody yakuza! I'm the highest test scorer in our year for Kami's sake! Stop calling me a damned yakuza!"

"As if we would believe you," shot back her friend Katase, the other girl leading the chase to take their heads from their shoulders. "Besides, if you aren't, then why are you helping a bunch of perverted idiots like them?"

"Cause one of them is my best friend," grumbled the boy as he turned his sights back to the fleeing trio keeping pace next to him. "So what did you morons do this time? Steal some poor girl's underwear right off her body?" He then pointedly stared at Motohama. "Oh kami Motohama, please tell me you told some poor girl you're going to rape her in your imagination… again."

"Oh fuck you Naruto," shouted Matsuda, who was pumping his arms and legs as quickly as possible, trying to keep up with the group. "You're just as unlucky with girls as we are."

"Yeah," joined in Motohama as he jumped of a misplaced piece of fallen track equipment. "You're in the same boat as us. In fact why you even running with us. You weren't there when we were looking through the peep hole!"

Naruto just stared at them as he ran with them as they came toward the entrance of the school. "You know you actually make a good point but I'm going to ignore the only smart thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth and help you instead."

"Oh thank you," shouted Issei in joy, knowing if it was Naruto he might have a chance at escape.

"Oh fuck no," shouted the other two of the perverted trio. "There is absolutely no way were getting help from you," quickly added Motohama. "You'll probably chalk it up to us owing you a life debt or a similar system that you yakuza believe in!"

"Oh yeah," challenged the blonde. "Then why didn't I tell Matsuda he owes me a favor or life debt or whatever when I helped him study for the entrance exams?"

"Cause you know the only thing he's good for is ogling some girl's breasts," stated Issei while Matsuda squawked at the betrayal by his fellow pervert and ignoring the fact that he too had the same problem.

"Regardless of Matsuda's short comings," began Motohama as he to ignored Matsuda's continued shouts of indignation, "there is no way were accepting help from a guy like you."

The blonde just stared at him, his eyes scrunched up in annoyance. "You know what… I was going to save you guys anyway when I was saving Issei but now…." He ran in front of the two of them, noticing the horde of fit girls getting closer to them, and then swept his leg under them knocking them over as he and Issei ran for the hills. "Now you're the sacrificial tribute to keep them from burning mine and Issei's hides!"

As the two fell behind, he could hear the female rampage behind them disappear as he heard twin shouts of "fuck you Naruto." This was followed by lots of crying with the sounds of various genitalia being squished echoed right behind him. Unlike how they wanted him to feel though, the blonde could only feel the sense of satisfaction.

Issei stared at his friend as they ran passed the school gates, his expression filled with some remorse. "You know what Naruto, normally I might have called you a traitor for allowing them to fall in battle in such a manner…" he began before looking back at the beating his fellow perverts were receiving, "but at this point I have to say better them than me."

The foreign looking blonde just grinned at his buddy and slapped him on the back. "See, I knew you'd think so."

(Later)

After the duo had made sure they escaped the wrath of the all-female kendo team, the two of them sat on a bench in the part, munching on some snacks they had bought from the local convince store and just talking the way they used to when it was just the two of them against the world. Before Issei had Matsuda and Motohama to hang out with too.

When they were kids they had come to this park a lot to hang out and play games, even when no one else really wanted to play with them. Since Irina had moved away it would be just the two of them playing games but to them it did not matter. Even if it was just them they always managed to have fun regardless of the situation.

It was hanging with Issei like this that Naruto missed when they were kids. When school wasn't so complicated and they didn't have to worry about going to college and finding jobs soon, not that Issei was actually thinking about that anyway. He was too busy with trying to get a harem that Naruto even wondered if he thought about college and working, if he was too busy chasing his dream.

But he supposed that was what he liked about Issei, he was always chasing his dream no matter how crazy it seemed. It was practically impossible to have a harem in this day and age and the people who did were usually some form of royalty with a series of mistresses who more likely than not did not know about each other. Finding a situation where they did would require him to go even further back into history looking at the harems of various royal figures and what not. But hey, it was still a dream Issei chased and that made Naruto somewhat envious of him. At least he had one.

Naruto on the other hand did not have one at this current moment. He had no dream to speak of, no desire that he wished to achieve to the point where there were times he wondered why he tried so hard to do as well as he did in school. He didn't even know what he wanted to do. He didn't even feel like there was something for him to do. He had no dream for the future and that made him feel even more abnormal than other people already did.

"You used to have a dream you believed in,"whispered a small voice in the back of his head, which he desperately attempted to ignore due to it rearing its ugly head every so often.

"Shut up," replied the blonde as he palmed his head in frustration, trying to ignore the voice that seemed to be attempting to coax a reaction.

"Hehehehehe," giggled another, sounding almost like a madman he had seen in one of those bad horror flicks. "Come on kid, you know it's true. You used to have a dream and now you can't even remember what it was," the voice continued, taunting clear in its gargled voice. "Poor baby!"

"Shut Up," he returned, a pained expression stretching across his face as he stared into the tan colored palm of his hand. "Just leave me alone!"

"Oh but we can't Naruto," repeated the voice from before, it's voice almost cruel and filled with… a longing tone. "After all…"

"We're always with you," said a multitude of voices as one.

"… Naruto," shouted a voice next to him, startling him out of his trance. He stared at Issei, whom was next to him looking at him with a worried expression. "Naruto are you okay there buddy? You've been out of focus for about a few minutes now."

Naruto let go of a breath he had not realized he was holding. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Issei sighed as he kept looking at his friend. "Is your schizophrenia acting up again?"

The blonde could only nod his head. "Their getting worse too," he admitted. "Lately they have been getting rather restless."

Issei could sighed and patted Naruto on the back, having grown used to the problem by now. "You need to relax buddy. Have you been taking the pills?"

"Yeah but it seems they have adapted to them. They just show up at random and without warning now." The blonde put his hands on his head. "There are times where I don't know what to do anymore."

"Calm down Naruto. Just relax. I'm here for you so you got no need to worry. The great and powerful Issei-sama will support you no matter what."

"…Thank you, Issei. I can always count on you, huh," the blonde chuckled to himself softly while the brown haired boy grinned in excitement.

"Yup," he exclaimed, his grin almost splitting his face. "You can count on me." He then threw and arm over Naruto's shoulder, pulling him close to his side and stretching his hand out toward the sky. "Just stick with me and watch as I become harem king!" If it were possible his grin grew even wider as he shouted his plans to the heavens "You'll be my first loyal subject in my kingdom. And who knows, I, in all my wisdom, might seem fit to gift you with a harem all your own."

The blonde snorted but decided to play along. "And what would my duties happen to be, my liege," he asked playfully and jabbed his friend lightly in the ribs to get perverted boy to let him go. "Surely you would not gift me with a harem all my own for free?"

"Of course I would," returned the boy, catching on. "After all, if a king is not kind to his subjects than what kind of king is he. He would happily give his first loyal subject a harem even if he was an asexual moron such as yourself."

"Oh yeah," the blonde cried in annoyance. "Well I would rather be asexual than some perverted bastard who has boobs on the brain every second of everyday and can't get anything else done because of it!"

"You wanna go, 'Mr. Foreign Yakuza,'" asked Issei, bringing his head forward and smacking his forehead against Naruto's own, annoyance rising in him.

The blonde pushed back. "Bring it on King of Perverts," he countered, smoke being released from his nostrils as he kept pushing forward into their stalemate. "I think I can stand to knock you down a few pegs."

All of the sudden, Naruto charged full force knocking Issei over and to the ground, playfully punching him all the way. Issei let out a grunt as he hit the ground and punched Naruto in the chest, knocking him over and into the ground. Issei jumped right on top of him and punched in the cheek, laughing all the way as he did so.

"Feel the power of my lust," bellowed the boy like a villain from a corny cartoon. As he was about to jump on top of the blonde he was quickly mule kicked in the chest, pushing him away. Naruto quickly scrambled his way onto all fours and bum rushed him, knocking the boy over again.

Standing, the tall blonde placed his foot on top of his fallen foe as he too adopted the laugh of a cartoon villain. "Muhahaha," he cackled in delight. "Your power of lust is no match for my sheer strength of awesomeness!"

"Awesome my ass," his fallen opponent replied, gripping his subjugator's and pulling him down, forcing his body into the grass next to his. They steadied their breathing as they stared at the skyline that slowly began to fade to orange. They were silent as they looked up at the beautiful dusky sky that they had been entranced by since they were kids, silent and ignorant of the world that continued on without ignoring whatever behest they may have made. All was silent until the same laughter they had made as kids echoed into the skies above.

They did not care at that moment if onlookers were to stop and stare, taking them for fools. They did not care that about the time of day it was or how close it was to dark. They did not even care what time they would have finished.

In that moment Issei for once did not think about breasts and buxom women. He did not think about becoming the harem king or even about actually finding a girlfriend. Gone were his usual thoughts. The same could be said of the worry wart Naruto, who for once was not thinking about his future or the things that might have been missing in his life. He did not think about his problems or even the voices he heard in his head. For this singular moment in time, Issei and Naruto were truly content with their lives.

It would be the last time they ever would experience the feeling together.

(A Week Later)

Naruto had experienced many things in his life that shocked him. He had been shocked when he found out that his friend Irina was moving away. He had been shocked when he had found out his best friend had become a pervert that he had only ever heard legends about. He had been shocked when he found out that he had a form of schizophrenia that had never even been heard of before. Those were typically the shocks that he could deal with.

Issei, his perverted best friend, actually getting a girlfriend was one of the few shocks that did not fully compute with his brain and in fact, for the most part, fried the logical section of his mind.

If you had asked Naruto before when he thought Issei would finally get a girlfriend he would say probably after college, when his lusts would be satiated by other things occupying his mind. By then he would probably have realized that he actually was a fair looking guy and that if he calmed down a bit women would be more receptive of him. After all, behind that crazed lust of his, he really was a kind and thoughtful individual who cared about the people close to him.

No, Naruto was definitely sure that Issei would not have a girlfriend in his high school years. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the outlook of the person looking through the viewing glass, it somehow seemed that his prediction of the future had once again been incorrect. Then again whenever Naruto tried to predict the future involving Issei he had always managed to find a way to surprise him. In fact, in quoting one of the games he and Issei played as a kid, they had managed to change "evil always finds a way" to "perversion always finds a way." Kami knew Issei proved the fact continuously.

When Naruto had first been told the brown haired pervert had gotten a girlfriend, much like Matsuda and Motohama, in denial of the whole thing. In fact it was the first time the three of them actually agreed on something if only for different reasons. Matsuda and Motohama were mostly in denial because they did not want to believe that their fellow perv had, as they put it, betrayed them by getting a girlfriend. Naruto was in denial of the fact due to the overall idea that Issei had found a girl that could actually handle his perverse thought process.

They were at first given evidence in the form a photo of a black haired girl, who was around their age and in a uniform from one of the local schools in town, smiling and standing next to the boy with a delightful looking smile on her face. Motohama, being the smartest of the perverted trio, actually claimed that the picture was photo shopped and were it not for the fact Naruto knew Issei couldn't work a photo editor for his life then Naruto would have agreed.

The shots kept on coming for the other two, however, when Issei's girlfriend, whom he now knew was named Yuuma Amano, actually came to see Issei after school was let out. Needless to say, the two blew a gasket and now refused to even speak to Issei as of this moment. If anything it kind of made Naruto happy those two idiots were leaving his friend alone for once.

And so it came to the situation he was in now. After planning on going home for the day, Issei invited the blonde to join him and Yuuma to go to a café with them. Of course, Naruto had originally wanted to decline, not really wanting to interrupt and be a third wheel while Issei was spending time with his new girlfriend. Upon the brown hair boy insistence, however, he revealed that his girlfriend was really interested in meeting her new boyfriend's best friend due to all the stories he had shared about them when they were kids.

Wanting to support Issei in his relationship, the blonde finally gave in and agreed to meet them at the café. Upon his arrival to the area, being a little bit later than he was supposed to be, he found his perverted friend laughing and smiling with the black hair girl who had become the object of his affections. Upon walking closer, Naruto noticed more closely some of Yuuma's features.

She was without a doubt beautiful, almost ethereal even. Her long silky black hair cascaded down her back, going right down to her pelvic area. Her face was smooth and angular, without an ounce of baby fat on it as the bright violet gems she called eyes sparkled in delight. And her body… that really explained why Issei accepted her invitation to become her boyfriend. She had the body of a model, her smooth, curvy figure showing clear through the tight school uniform that clung to her body to the point it even accentuated Issei's favorite part of the female body quite nicely. She was beautiful in every sense of the word.

It put Naruto on edge.

A girl like this was interested in Issei? He loved his best friend but this was the type of girl that was typically out of both of their leagues. Yet here she was, sitting there next to Issei and laughing like a normal school girl in love. It was suspicious and he did not like it.

Finally deciding to take the plunge, he greeted the two as he walked up to their table. "Yo, Issei," Naruto said simply as he pulled out his chair and sat down, putting his blazer on the back of the chair. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, looking toward his friend, "but I was needed after my last class by the teacher." That was a bold faced lie but he went with it.

Issei just smiled at him in response. "It's alright," he replied. "You were only late by a few minutes and Yuuma-chan and I haven't been here all that long."

Naruto cocked his head toward the side, looking to see the beauty he had yet to have a conversation with until now. The girl who had wanted to meet him. He extended his hand toward her. "Hi. The name is Naruto. Tachibana Naruto. But you can just call me Naruto if you want. I don't do formalities, you know."

The girl cocked a brow but smiled none the less, shaking his hand with her own. "It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san." Naruto's brow twitched in annoyance at the formality, causing her to giggle melodiously. "I've heard a lot about you from Issei-kun. I've also heard rumors about the famous 'Foreign Yakuza of Kuoh.'" Naruto's brow twitched twice while Issei broke out into full blown laughter. "I must say the rumors about you do not do you justice."

"Kami damn it, have those idiots have been spreading rumors again," he groaned, palm meeting face as he rubbed his eyes in annoyance.

"Don't worry about it Naruto-san," she began placating, "Issei-kun has told me that those are all just misconceptions and that you really are a nice guy. I don't judge."

"Yeah Naruto," chimed in his friend. "Yuuma-chan is really sweet. Trust me."

Yuuma playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh stop it you," she said, giggling lightly as Issei swung his arm around her.

Naruto just stared at their interaction. Something was wrong here. The fact that they had only been dating for a week, without even going on a date he might add, and already being this familiar was incredibly strange. In japan it was considered odd for this type of relationship to develop in a week, even if you were dating. Hell in America it was weird for a relationship to develop this quickly and Americans got into serious relationships like freaking lightning.

Another thing he found disconcerting was the glint in her eye. It was barely noticeable unless you looked close and even then she was good at hiding it, but he could almost see a thinly veiled line of contempt hidden behind those expressive eyes. It was the kind that spoke of someone who thought that they were speaking to someone who was below their station, a look he had seen on one to many kids who thought themselves kings due to their popularity in middle school and even at Kuoh. It was a look of someone who had questionable motives. And while it may have just have been the minor case of paranoia he received as part of his schizophrenia flaring up but there was definitely something wrong with this girl in front of him.

"…is he okay Issei-kun," he heard, breaking him out of his stupor and allowing him to see both Issei and Yuuma looking at him with concerned looks, or at least Issei's look was full of concern. The black hair girl's expression was more of curiosity, even interest dare he say it.

"I'm fine," he replied eagerly, hoping not to tip the girl off to his thoughts. "So, how did you meet Issei? I heard that you were the one who asked him out." He saw her eyes narrow slightly.

"Smooth move moron," one of his inner voices called out, this one gruffer than the two who had spoken to him previously a week before.

"Oh, Kami, not now please," the blonde thought desperately. Now was not the time for the crazy voices in his head to speak up and cause him problems. He needed to hear what she was going to say.

The girl slowly blushed, allowing Naruto to note how good of an actor she was due to the fact she could seemingly blush when she needed too. "Kyaa," she cried cutely, her blushing seemingly adding to the image of a love struck school girl. "Naruto-san, didn't you're mother ever tell you it's not nice to ask a girl a question like that." Issei fell for the ruse but Naruto could see her eyes narrow even more at him, studying him intently for reaction.

"She knows you're on to her now," a cruel sounding voice chimed in from the back of his mind. "You can feel it now, can't you. That churning feeling in your stomach, the feeling of dread filling the air. You're friend Issei is oblivious to it. You are obviously not."

It was true. No one else in the café could feel it but the air had suddenly gotten thicker, wither just directed at him or whatever he did not know for sure. Maybe it was all in his head, just like the voices, but right now he felt almost as though he were having trouble breathing. As it was he was having trouble keeping his breathing steady to try and not make a scene. Whoever this girl was, she was dangerous.

"Of course you realize that now," commented a different voice, this one not unkind but definitely sarcastic. "She's going to try and kill you! You need to stay away from this chick!"

"Yeah man," an energetic voice chimed in. "There ain't nothing lucky about the situation you find yourself in, yeah!"

"Maybe we can convince her to leave us alone,"a timid voice suggested. "Maybe she doesn't really want to fight."

"Oh please," cried another voice full of pride. "This bitch wouldn't be throwing around such killing intent if she wanted to be pals. I say we squash her!"

"Can the voices in my head please not have a conversation without me and act like I'm not here," howled the dismayed blonde, shutting up the different voices in his head. "Please just keep quiet! I'm trying to concentrate on what to do! Just let me think!"

The voices stopped abruptly and did not chime in again as he continued to stare at the girl. He decided he would get nowhere unless he pushed the envelope more.

Smiling sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, shucks, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't realize that was so personal for you."

She smiled lightly, her eyes glinting. "That's ok, you didn't know."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what do you like about this crazed guy here?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean," the brown haired boy complained, pouting lightly. "I am not crazed!"

"Says the boy who stole panties from the girl's locker room in middle school and refused to let the go even when they caught you," deadpanned his friend.

"Dude, I thought you said you would never mention that incident again! What happened to our agreement?"

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see Yuuma break her act for a second to scowl lightly in their direction. "I kind of forgot about the agreement."

She noticed his look and almost flawlessly reapplied her act, smiling at Issei lightly. "It's ok Issei," she soothed. "I understand. A legacy of inept youth and crazy times, am I right?" Seeing Issei quickly nod his head, she smiled cheerfully. "Good! Then you promise to never do it again, right?"

At this, if it weren't for the fact that he thought Issei and himself were being targeted by this girl, he would have laughed at Issei's downcast expression as he seemingly almost contemplated giving up his desire to steal girls' underwear. It was almost picture worthy when Issei's lip got appeared in a pushed out manner and his eyes watered slightly. Finally realizing if he didn't say yes he would be in trouble, the distraught boy nodded his head and causing the girl to nod cheerfully.

"Ha, she's got him so well trained after a week," laughed a deranged sounding voice.

"Shut Up," Naruto reminded, again silencing the voices in his head. Naruto outwardly smiled at the interaction, not wanting to let his internal thoughts out. "So, is there something else you wanted to talk to me about, Yuuma-san?"

She shook her head slightly, making a slight noise to herself. "You know Naruto-san, a girl is never going to like a guy that is so abrupt," she said, ending it with a slight mocking smile. It was a smile that made him feel fear for his and Issei's situation. It was the smile of a beast playing with their food. "I actually asked you to come here because Issei mentioned that you were interested in games."

Naruto was startled. The blonde did indeed like games. He played all kinds in fact. While he would admit to playing some of the more mindless console games most kids his age played on occasion, he mostly liked games of chance and games of intelligence. He had no explanation for why he liked games of chance with the exception that he liked the risks he took when playing them. It was few times, due to his isolation, that he actually found some fun outside of reading a good book. There were usually a small set of guidelines that were followed by all but the rest was left up to chance and that was something he liked a lot. It made it somewhat more challenging.

What he meant by games of intelligence was a game that challenged the mind, typically a player verses player type game like chess or some of its Asian equivalent Shogi. He liked testing his skills and his know how strategies, ones he typically made on the fly. It felt like whenever you played that kind of game with someone you were capable of telling what kind of person they were. It was a rather interesting feeling.

Naruto, realizing he had yet to answer the question, simply stated "Yes, I do." At that, her smile almost seemed to split her face and it only further solidified that he wanted nothing to do with the woman.

"Well, my friends and I play a little bit of a role playing type game," she said simply, casually stirring the coffee she had apparently bought before his arrival with a small stick. She pulled out the stick and sensuously licked it lightly. "It's a little get together with some of my friends that we have every week."

"What do you do exactly," Naruto asked, leaning in marginally as he awaited her response. This was it? Had his fears really been for nothing? Had it really just been paranoia that made him look at her so skeptically.

"Oh, it's kind of like a game of magic," she commented, almost offhandedly. "Tell me, what do you know about mythology?"

"A lot," he replied cautiously. "Anything specific?"

"Do you know about gods," she probed.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Rather enjoy reading about the lore and some of the practices of the cultures who worshiped them."

"Well in this game, all gods, no all beings from mythology… are real. Gods, Demons, Angels, Dragons, and all other kinds of fantastical beings are real."

"Ok…"

"And we are warriors who brave through the hardships of such a world where the beings exist. But in order to do so, we need weapons called sacred gears."

"Sounds exciting," interjected Issei, who seemed to really be getting into it. Issei, when he was a kid and before he had become boob obsessed, was actually much like Naruto in his passion for mythology. When they were kids, in fact, one of the things they used to love to do was play games where they were heroes who fought demons, gods, you name it and they had probably made a game where they had killed it together at least once. So even now, after so many years, Issei could still get excited about such games if possible.

"Yes, it is Issei-kun," replied Yuuma, smiling in a joyous manner. "You see, these weapons have different abilities and give users all sorts of different skills. It's rather a lot of fun!"

Naruto, for some reason, felt his gut churn at that. She seemed rather enthused about this game. A little too much so in fact. He couldn't shake it. He knew that these paranoid feelings were wrong but he couldn't shake them.

"So, with that I mind, I asked you here tonight so I could ask you both if you would like to join in our game," she asked happily.

Issei grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him, startling her slightly. "That depends Yuuma-chan," he said, his expression deathly serious. "Just answer me this."

"Yes," she asked, waiting with bated breath for his question.

"Do you guys cosplay," he asked, still completely serious.

She looked unsure about how to answer it. "…well…um…yes?"

"And are the cosplay outfits… skimpy in some areas," he asked, his urgent tone never wavering in the slightest despite how crazy the question was.

"Ano… yes," she again answered, testing the water slightly to see if it was leading in the direction she believed it would while Naruto face palmed, already knowing that was exactly where it was heading.

"And do you have a lot of female members," he asked finally.

Finally realizing where this was going, she answered confidently. "Oh, absolutely. There is Akane-chan, Biwko-chan, Aki-chan, Chi-chan, Suzuki-chan…"

Naruto watched as his friends face continued to flush as she listed off names of some of the females in the group, already knowing that she had found Issei's kryptonite and was now just jamming it in further ensuring he would give in. After finally reaching ten names Issei flew back in his chair due to a noise bleed, a happy smile working its way across his face.

Jumping up, Issei grabbed Yuuma and began shaking her. "Yes," he shouted. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! Where the hell do I sign up?"

Yuuma smiled at Issei as she took his hands in hers. "That's great Issei-kun," she shouted back. "I'm so happy you'll be joining us now."

Issei fisted his chest. "Of course," he replied confidently. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Oh thank you Issei-kun," she continued to thank. "You're the best boyfriend ever!" After that she kissed his cheek, ensuring there would be no way for him to convince Issei to back out of it. He blushed as he scratched his cheek in happiness. Yuuma then turned her sights toward him. "And what about you, Naruto-san? Will you join us too?"

The blonde was at a loss for words. He honestly did not know what to do. His gut, the voices in his head, hell his own perceptions were screaming at him that it would be a horrible idea. Even if it was his paranoia talking it had kept him out of a lot of troublesome situations before. Hell, being overly cautious was something he would prefer at this point. This was the first time he had met Yuuma and quite frankly, even without the paranoia he could tell there was something that was completely off about the girl. Behind that kindly looking girl was an aura that screamed danger at his senses.

But then there was the fact that it might just literally be all in his head. He did have bloody schizophrenia after all. Most, including himself, were known to over exaggerate situations and turn them into things they weren't and even though it was only a minor form, doctors only having been able to diagnose him with the two with two symptoms: his auditory hallucinations and extreme case of paranoia. It was still enough to say it was a minor case of it but it still drove him bonkers. All of those thoughts about something not being right about her, they could just be delusions he dreamed up.

"Listen to me kid,"stated a guttural sounding voice, breaking him of his thoughts. "There is something not right about this bimbo. Grab the pervert and get the fuck away from her."

"Listen to us man,"chirped the energetic voice. "There is nothing lucky about hanging around this girl. She is about as unlucky as you can get. Listen to me because I know luck and she is all bad luck man!"

"Naruto," Issei called out, interrupting the voices. "Can't you see she just wants to hang around with you and get to know you better? I would love it if my girlfriend and my best friend got on good terms with each other, you know."

"Issei… I…," Naruto tried to speak but it came out a garbled mess. He didn't know what to do.

"Listen brat," shouted the prideful voice. "Get the fuck out of here! She is bad news! Her energy is fucking radiating ill intent!"

"I know you just think we're voices in your head, but please just listen to us just this once,"tried the timid voice diplomatically.

Naruto held his head in pain as his thoughts jumbled about in his head. Issei walked toward his friend, grabbing him by the shoulder and leading him to an unoccupied corner of the room. "Naruto," he asked in concern. "Are they acting up again?" The blonde nodded slowly. "Come on man, snap out of it. You've never had it this bad before."

"Issei, that not the only thing," Naruto explained. "There is something off about her… Yuuma, I mean."

"What do you mean," Issei inquired. "She's been nothing but nice to you. What is off about her?"

"It's because every time I look into her eyes I see something I don't like. She is hiding something Issei!"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it! She comes out of the blue and asks you to be her boyfriend!"

Issei scratches his head slightly. "Well she said that she had been observing me for a while. She said about how she liked what she saw about me. My kind nature and stuff, you know."

"I know that and you know that but you don't think it's suspicious she didn't try to be friends with you first or something like that?"

"Other people do it all the time!"

Naruto let out a frustrated growl. "And we are not other people Issei! You're smarter than this for kami's sake! She wants something from us! She has that glint in her eye!"

"Naruto you're just being paranoid again! Stop letting it rule you damn it! She just wants to be your friend!"

Naruto startled, having lost whatever other words were about to reverberate from his throat. She just wanted to be his friend? She really just wanted to be his friend? Was that really the case? As it was he really did not have many.

"When I told her about you she thought that you sounded really cool," Issei stated fiercely to him, defending his girlfriend and her integrity. "She even said she was envious that I had a friend as cool as you! You Naruto! She said that you sounded cool just from a kami forsaken preliminary description. Hell when I got into details about some of our adventures as kids she giggled the entire time. She told me to ask you to come with us today so she could meet you, my best friend!

"When I told her you had said yes she was so excited. She couldn't wait to meet the person who, and I quote, 'sounded really awesome.' She wants to be your friend too! Not everyone is out there to get you or me Naruto! There are plenty of people out there who are genuine and she is one of them. I can feel it! Please, join in and just give her a chance. I don't want you to not like each other."

Naruto was at a loss for words. A small part of him, one he really did not even want to admit existed, always thought that Issei would drop him on a dime if a girl asked him too. He always said it wasn't likely to himself but the thought still existed. Maybe that was why he had been so adverse to her. He thought she was going to take his only real friend away from him. That realization made him feel horrible.

He bowed his head in submission, recognizing Issei had a point. "I'm sorry Issei," he apologized genuinely. "I guess you're right, I really am being really am being unreasonable. I'm sorry."

His friend slapped him on the back, grinning slightly. "Hey, that's fine," he stated. "Look, just give it a try. Who knows, you and I might actually make a few friends."

Naruto too put on a small grin. "Hey, I think you're doing this to try and turn a bunch of cosplaying nerd girls into you're ideal harem."

Issei's grin grew. "Yup, got it in one. It's the first step to becoming harem king." He poked Naruto in the chest. "And remember, as my servant, you've got to assist me in my endeavor, you know?"

Naruto just chuckled. "Yes, yes, harem king-sama. I, your faithful attendant, shall help you create the promise land!"

Issei howled in delight. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Come on, we gotta tell Yuuma your joining us." He dragged his friend back toward their table, where Yuuma had just finished getting off the phone. "Hey Yuuma-chan! Guess what. Naruto said that he would join the game too, so sign us both up."

Yuuma looked really happy when she heard that. "Really," she asked, tone excited. "That's wonderful! Everyone will be so happy we have two new players joining us." She picked up her bag from under the table. "Come on, one of my friends is outside to give us a lift to the meeting."

Issei looked surprised as he went and grabbed his bag too. "Wow, that was quick," he said, running toward the café door in a hurry before shouting back at them. "Come on, we'll be late if you guys keep moving at the pace you are right now."

"I'm coming Issei," complained Naruto with a smile. "Just hold you're horses you damned perv." After grabbing his back and blazer of the back of the chair he walked toward Yuuma. "Hey Yuuma?" She looked toward him, her eyes curious. "Thanks for the opportunity to do this. I'm really looking forward to it, you know." He looked down, eyes shadowed by his hair. "And I'm sorry if I said or did anything that offended you. I'm not really good with new people."

Yuuma, instead of retorting or anything, just giggled. "Hey, don't worry about it," she placated. "Its fine, you know. I just know were going to be great friends!"

Naruto looked up at her and smiled softly. "Yeah, I would really like that." After their exchange, they both walked outside where there was an unmarked white van waiting for them. Inside was Issei, who was already buckled up with his head leaning back into the seat, eyes closed with a content smile on his face. Sitting behind him were two non-descript looking men in priest looking robes with sun glasses. He turned to look a Yuuma. "I suppose these guys are of the holy man class in the game or something?"

She looked at him, her small smile widening even more. "Yup," she said, giggling to herself as she skipped to the front passenger seat and stepped in. Peering out the window, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on you slow poke! Issei is right. We'll be late if you take any longer!"

Naruto just sighed. "Yeah, I'm coming." He walked to the open passenger door and jumped in, setting his bag down on the ground as the van door began to close.

"You realize you've made a horrible mistake, right,"asked the guttural voice, rearing its head once again.

"No I haven't," he replied defiantly as the van door snapped shut. He heard some shifting in back of him, the priest character probably adjusting in his seat or something. He also heard a giggle from up front as he saw another man in priestly garb and the same sun glasses nod his head into the overhead mirror. He saw Yuuma nod her head at something from the corner of the mirror.

And then there was a sharp pain in his neck and he slumped forward, his sight and mind slowly going blank. The last thing he heard before it all went dark was the guttural voice telling him the most over used line to say that someone was right about something.

"I told you so."

(Episode End)

(Preview)

This world is full of lies, truths, and half-truths. I was too ignorant to see that until it was too late. Had known what was out there, if I hadn't ignored the signs, would we be here in this mess? Would we have to die for a world we had had no part in? Was life truly that cruel? Maybe. I guess that was one truth I refused to see until it stared me right in the eyes with a sword of hot burning white light.

Next Life: Discovery

Stay strong young dragon!

Authors Note:

Good evening everyone and thank you for reading my new story Dragon of a Different Kind. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the story because I know I honestly had fun writing it. There are so many different Naruto-DXD Crossovers out there some of you are probably wondering why I wrote this and if it will be like any of the other stories posted under the Naruto-DXD Crossover banner.

Hopefully the answer is no. I've read a lot of stories under the banner, hell even some I don't like just to make sure I'm that this story will be unique in of itself. Besides it is only the first chapter so if there is anything in the plot that I need to change I can do so without much problem.

Yes, by the way, I already have the plot and various arks laid out all the way up to 10th or 11th volume of DXD so be exited for that. So does that mean this story is going to follow the DXD plot verbatim with few changes here and there? Nope, absolutely not! My story has its own arcs and its own path to follow. Now, here is just a preview of some of the arcs coming up. The arc titles are all one word but if you think about it hard enough you can guess:

Arcs:

Lies (The Current Arc of the Story)

Truths

Fallen

Guardian

Brother

Power

Acknowledged

Disappearance

Game

These are the first nine arcs names that I've given you a preview of. Gather from them what you will as some of them are original arcs all my own.

Now a couple preliminary questions and answers!

Question #1: Will Naruto be a part of the Gremory peerage or be a devil of any kind at all?

Answer: No, absolutely not. That has pretty been done in like 3/4th of the time when it comes to this crossover type and I kind of want to do something different. So no, in this story Naruto will retain his humanity!

Question #2: Is this an AU Naruto, a dimension hoping Naruto, or something completely different?

Answer: It is a mix of an AU and something else that will be a major driving point of the story. If I told it to you now that would kind of ruin the story.

Question #3: What will be Issei's role in all of this and why is Issei slightly OCC?

Answer: Issei is the way he is right now due to Naruto and Issei growing up together. They are literally best friends in this story and that means that Naruto's existence has changed Issei's slightly. As for his role in the story… it will be major but not in the way you think. You'll have to keep reading to find out what.

Question #4: Okay, so if Naruto won't be a devil and will remain human, what will he be doing? The novels follow the lives of devils mostly.

Answer: Naruto may be human but that does not mean he will not interact with the devil world. As for what he will be doing I can't reveal but as the time of this writing I can guarantee you it is not something you have seen in this crossover type before.

Question #5: Just answer me one thing… what is the pairing?

Answer: As much as I hate to admit it I have, for the sake of the stories plot, sadly fallen into writing what I believe to be at least a somewhat tastefully done harem story or so I freaking hope so. And no do not tell me who and who not to include. It is freaking set already so deal with it. And I'm not telling you because then there will be a riot and trust me I dealt with that enough when it came to my surprising successful, to my shock at least, "The New Devil."

So, I hope you all enjoy this new story as I have got plenty of it planned. In fact part of the reason it took me so long to even get this published was because I was working to make the plot sound.

Enjoy the new story and please review if you can. All comments, be they criticism, enjoyment, or anything else are all welcome.