Hi. This is my own take on a Devil-Naruto story. I know next to nothing about DxD besides what I've read on Wiki/what my friends tell me so you can consider this AU. Contains amnesia, gore, horrible plot twists, slow updates and generic mediocre writing with a splash of basic anime troupes.

Later!

*dabs*

A realm built of crimson shores and dim virulent skies. Sand stretched on forever, building textured mountains that barely met the twisting heavens above. There was no sun hanging over his head. There was nothing. This place is a ghost ship, another hollow voyager within the black sea. Soulless and without life.

Except, for him.

Pallid and cracked lips opened and closed ever so slow. Dull, bloodshot eyes gawked at nothing. The color in them conflicting the worn red veins threatening to pop from the socket. Tattered and split fingers desperately tore at the sand underneath them, clasping to life. A hopeless endeavor.

This boy is dying. What remained of him lay sprawled in a puddle of blood and entrails. His torso and right arm were all he had left. 'What happened to you? How is it that you're still alive?' A dozen questions raced through his tired mind as he beheld the human child who walked alongside death. Nearly gone. A strong desire to live brought Sirzech here, to this far away place—to him. The thought filled his head with more questions than answers. Was it a fluke? Or perhaps, something else entirely? Sirzech couldn't help but wonder what sort of twisted desire brought a human to cling to life so hideously.

"What is it that brought me to you? What is it that you want? What are you looking at with those eyes?" Sirzech kneeled, admiring his features. "Oh, that's right. Of course. You can't hear me, can you? That's because you're going to die here."

The war back home raged on with no end in sight. Even now people were dying. Throwing their lives away in a pointless battle against their kind. So then, what was he doing here? Wasn't he the leader? Ajuka is awful at morale, he can't give big speeches, and besides that—a hand shot up, grabbing the rim of his coat—his breath left him.

Sirzech froze mid-thought, captivated by the sight before him. 'Incredible.' He peered down the trembling, smashed limb and met a single, brilliant cerulean eye. A single candle burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. Those battered lips stirred and something inside of himself roused. Sirzech could not look away. He was fixed. 'What? What is it?' It chilled him, he'd never witnessed anything like it before. 'What is it that you see?'

He did not believe in fate, he rejected the notion outright. Nothing in life is set in stone. Nothing happens for a reason. Good and bad luck were relative, the concept just another product of people's minds, human or otherwise, to rationalize what they could not bear. If he wanted something, Sirzech fought for it. Destiny would not lead his people away from the path of extinction. Those with the will and heart to make a real change would. Drive. Want. Desire. These are the things that made a Devil. Theirs was the Sin of Wanting, but few conquered the hunger. A Devil falls victim to its greed and is consumed by a lust for more power and the cycle renews. He would crush the endless wheel. That's what he'd promised.

"I want to talk to you more, but there's no time." Those burnt and split digits loosened, the hand dropped with a faint thud. He was not long for this world. "I hope that one day you'll come to forgive me."

Sirzech had forgotten. Left it behind to be devastated within the wildfires that came after, and now he'd found it again, here of all places.

Indeed, he did not believe in destiny.

Fate is never predetermined. It is decided.

Chapter One:

/The Utterly Useless, Pointless Life Of A Low-class Devil Who Can't Get A Break/

"Get out of the way!" He yelled, shoving anyone and anything in his path. The sound of heavy footfall filled the large halls, the dense clusters of students dividing for one as he dashed by with an outraged mob of baseball players hot on his tail.

"Get back here you fucking clown!"

"You can't run forever, Uzumaki!"

"Yes, I can!" Naruto glanced back at the angry swarm of players chasing after him, their team uniforms dyed a myriad of colors and grinned. "Catch me if you can, idiots!" He sped up, shifting left and right while avoiding the startled onlookers. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel in his sight. "I'll see you!" Through the open window of the second-floor of Kuoh Academy, he jumped.

The athletes huddled around the windowpane, scanning the ground below. Murmurs erupted behind them, until a whistle caught their attention. Bringing it to the tall tree a good length away from the building, where a beaming blonde sat kicking his feet.

"You freak! What gives?! You scared to face us like a man! You'd rather climb trees like a monkey?! Is that it?" The captain of the team, Takashi, barked at him. "Get over here and take your thrashing like a man, loser!"

"Chill out dude. I see your slobbering from over here. Besides, you don't have any proof I did it. There's plenty of people who don't like you, and yeah, I'm one of them, but that won't get you very far without some concrete evidence, you know?" Naruto said while absentmindedly picking his nose. "At this rate, you're just digging your graves. Anyway. I think you look great in your new uniforms. It draws out your sensitive sides!"

Takashi turned beet red. "Screw that! You stay right there, shithead! I'm going to hit a home run on your face! Let's go!" His team roared behind him as they stomped toward the stairs. Their intent was clear as day.

He watched them go with a crooked smile. "Stay right here? Hit a home run? Man, that's lame. Who writes this stuff?" Naruto snickered as he dusted himself off, walked on the forked branch, and sprung back into the building. The rest of the students gaped or cast their glares while whispering among one another, but he didn't care. The blonde stuffed his hands inside his pants pockets and whistled a light tune.

"Another win for me I guess."

"Ara? Is that so?"

The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. His heart raced like a river and a sudden chill overwhelmed him. 'Oh. Oh no...' He didn't turn to face the creature, that would only anger it. 'I'm so close. It's the last period of the day! How did she find me?!' Now isn't the time to panic. Rather, Naruto took a deep breath and started a measured stride toward anywhere but here. His mind was set. This would work, he told himself. He just had to keep up the act. 'Out of sight, out of mind. That's how it is.'

He's safe.

"I don't think so."

A pair of slender fingers pinched the edge of his ear and like that his towering frame was reduced to half of its size. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Akeno! Stop, that hurts! People are w-watching! S-Stop! Fuck me! Stop pulling so hard! I'm going! I'm going!" With sloppy tears in its eyes, the prey fell victim to the predator. Like a bad dog on a leash she dragged him along. A curt wave of muffled titters echoed in their wake.

How embarrassing.

'I...I looked so cool too.'

"Youh shknow, you'reluckhy I mlove rhamen sho dhamn mwuch!" With lips splattered in sauce and broth, Naruto grinned, a single noodle poking out of the small gap in his teeth.

"Please, I'm begging you. Don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

He didn't hear a word she'd said. His entire being lost in the brew.

Akeno fought back a sigh and poured herself a cup of tea. She took two sips and stared at the herbs floating inside her cup while psychologically preparing herself for the conversation she was about to have, not that it would do her much good. It wasn't that she hated Naruto, far from it. It's just that he was remarkably dense—frustratingly so—in fact, she suspected that convincing a fish to fly would be easier.

Akeno had enemies, a lot of them, and she had friends too, albeit she could count them on one hand. Naruto was neither. The blonde airhead held a unique place within her awkward social circle. Akeno did not like or hate Naruto Uzumaki, but for whatever reason, she did trust him—him—the absolute worst student in the history of Kuoh Academy and the single stain on its otherwise impeccable white gown. A hyperactive, blabber-mouth senior who's only concerns seemed to be what time his next meal was and if it were related to ramen.

"Yo. Akeno? Are you internally monologuing again? What are you thinking about? Is it me? Are you thinking about me? It's me, isn't it?" The blonde waggled his eyebrows and tried to appear somewhat charming, unfortunately, he did not succeed.

"I'm thinking about why it is that we have to have this talk for the third time in a week." She smiled sweetly. "As an upperclassman and your only friend, and I am your only friend..." Akeno ignored his muffled protest, the grin in place. "It's my responsibility to remind you that you are in your final year of high school, and that contrary to what you think, you do need to graduate. Which of course requires you to show up to class every once in a while."

He stared at her and she stared back.

"...What are you saying?"

Akeno's smile faltered ever so slightly. "Do you have a sick and dying hamster running that broken wheel of yours? Are you suffering from head trauma? I'm worried about you, Naruto."

He scowled. "I'm not stupid! I know about a lot of stuff, just...the stuff that matters to me. I don't care about long names and even longer stories about dead people. History? It's in the past. Philosophy? I don't even remember what that word means. Math?! My microwave counts the three minutes I have to wait for instant ramen for me." He nodded his head, sure of himself. "Yup! I'm fine. Whether I graduate or not what does it matter? It's not like I switch schools or anything, or maybe..." He trailed off, bottom lip quivering. "Maybe you want me to leave? Is that it? You want me to go to a different school? Is that it, Akeno-chan! Do you never want to see me again? Tell me the truth! Is there someone else? Tell me now!"

Akeno placed her dish down on the table between them and this time, she did sigh. "You shouldn't yell so much. We are, after all, inside of a Library." She crossed her arms underneath her chest. "Also, I know it was you who planted paint bombs inside of the headmasters' car and flattened his tires, and before you start, no there's no proof as of yet..."

The blond smiled. "Then there's no reason to worry. The guy is a pervert anyway, I don't know why he hasn't been fired." He shrugged his shoulders and averted his gaze, finding anything but her to look at. The grin on his face appeared a bit more stifled now.

Akeno went on, "...but if they manage frame you, they'll have all of the evidence in the world needed to have you expelled. The patron of our great school is a busy man who never visits much, and even though you're here on his particular scholarship program, even that can't protect you if something like this were to happen on the off chance."

Naruto watched the fly that was maneuvering dangerously close to his meal with narrowed eyes. When it flew too close, he puffed his cheeks and blew at it, the surprisingly precise shot of wind carried the insect far away.

"Yeah, well, I don't care. Trust me though. That will never happen. I'm too good at what I do." He dug into his third bowl, nonchalantly stuffing his cheeks. Akeno grit her teeth in response. He was dense, infuriatingly so. Naruto was without a doubt the most stubborn, hardheaded person she'd ever met. Why she even bothered was beyond her.

"Sho, ish that why yhou phublicly shmumilated meh? To thell meh sthis?"

Okay.

She'd finally had enough for one day.

"Are you deaf and stupid? I can see soup juice trickling down your chin. You're literally drooling on yourself. Have you no shame? I am a Lady." Akeno watched him stomach a whole mouthful in one fell swoop whilst wrestling back the urge to choke. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and slammed the bowl down on the table, shaking her cup and knocking their books down.

Everything that he did drove her mad.

Everything.

"What? What did you say?"

"That's it. I'm done. I have important places to be and I can literally feel myself losing brain cells talking to you." She grabbed her things and stood, not once meeting his gaze. "You'd do well to apply yourself now before it's too late. You're not particularly handsome or funny, you have no family, and your overall brain capacity is exceeded by that of a common milk carton. Start with cutting that crows nest you call hair, yeah? Goodbye, Naruto."

She turned her back to him and walked away. Chin held high.

"Bye, Akeno! Thanks for the meal! See you tomorrow!"

"Quiet moron! This is a Library!"

"Oof, sorry mam."

The edge of her lip kicked. Idiot.

Akeno moved down narrow paths set by the outlandish bookcases surrounding her, a faint scowl on her attractive face. Her fingers gripped the edges of her school book and she took additional care not to crush them in her hands. 'I don't care, he says. What a load of crap. Who does he think he's fooling?' How very aggravating. The thought alone made her head throb. Luckily for her, she did have other things on her mind to distract. At the end of the far wing, gorgeous ruby locks waited, a pair of sparkling sky-blue eyes set on her that glistened like the stars.

/The Utterly Useless, Pointless Life Of A Low-class Devil Who Can't Get A Break/

Naruto watched from his corner on the rooftop, chin resting against the rail, as streams of students and teachers gathered in the courtyard below. The sun had almost settled and those tired bodies were set for home.

'Is that all it takes?' They fascinated him. Despite how hard he tried too, Naruto could not understand why it was that he yearned to be a part of it, knowing far too well he never would. If their laughs were the lamps that lit the nighttime sky than his eternal silence was the darkened canvas that allowed them to glow in the first place. 'Or maybe, I am the stupid one...' A gentle breeze swept through, tousling his already unkempt hair and exposing the faded scar spread over his brow. 'I guess I'll head out too. Kurama will be angry with me if I'm late again.'

People roamed in the dark all their lives, stumbling about, feeling for something—anything—that'd make some kind of sense. In his own experience, it never came.

For as long as he could remember, Naruto hid within it. He wasn't looking for a way out. In truth, he did not want to leave because he was scared of what he'd find. In the dark no one saw anything. No one talked to him. No one cared, not even him. He wasn't happy or sad—he simply was. He'd found peace. Naruto often wondered if anyone felt the same as him.

The all-powerful storm of humanity roared around him. The wide avenues with wilted trees and great buildings crowded with people, each person in the mob moving as if unseen hands pulled them along with eyes cast down.

'I'll take a long way home today.'

In this world, people live and die predetermined lives whether they want to believe it or not. Your birth, your family, and a thousand little things you never had any control of affect what you will eventually become—who you will be. The illusion of choice is all anyone's ever had. It's all we'll ever have. No one ever gets exactly what they want in life. Instead, they're forced to make the best of what's given. It didn't matter who or what you were be it a man, God, or anything in between.

The laughter of children in the park had long dissolved, along with the last light of the day. The wind blew harshly, trees swayed around him leaves scurrying along the stone path.

'I should have taken the train.'

"State your business here." She was pretty, Naruto thought, with dark features and creamy skin. Clad in blue and black leather that covered every inch of her body up to the neck—raven wings turned black from sinning spread behind her. "Tell me what it is that you're doing here, loathsome creature, or forfeit your life where you stand."

Cruel though as it may sound, once the light blinks out in our eyes—it's over. There's nothing there anymore. The soul has moved on and what remained were an empty set of eyes gawking at a sky they'd never again see.

"Ugh. Forfeit my life? That's so cringe." Gore splattered the fountains and painted the water. It brushed the grey and tan rocks crimson. Blood everywhere. This was no mercy killing. It was slow and agonizing. It's easy enough to see that this monster enjoyed every second of it. "Man, I have like the worst luck. A fallen angel? How unfair can it be? I just wanted to get home to my cat." Naruto shook his head, pensive eyes set on the silent body leaking fresh blood even as he spoke. The faintest twitch of a bloodied finger telling him everything he needed to know. "How sad. A being of the light, a champion of righteousness, killing what He loved and cherished most in cold blood. Don't you feel any shame? Aren't you supposed to look over them?"

The fallen angel sneered, violet eyes lighting up with righteous fury. "Silence! You don't know what you're talking about! It is because of Him that this human suffers. He is the one to blame for this!" Her hand came up and a spear of light burst to life within her open palm, its notched edges crackling with power. "Now then, I won't ask you again. Tell me what House it is you belong to and what you were doing right here at this very moment before I lose the last of my patience, Devil."

She spat the word out.

"Me? Oh, I'm nobody. I don't live in any house. I live in a one-bedroom, no bathroom, shitty apartment complex because I can't afford the dorms. As for who's side? Well, I'm on my side. I guess. Unless my side is the losing side, then I'm on your side. Um, what else did you ask? What I was doing? Well, I was walking home from school. I got sad though so I decided to talk the long way around and avoid the crowds and then I heard this—" A spear embedded itself inside of his stomach and effectively cut him off.

"Shut up. You're annoying."

Naruto stared at the rose lance rending through his liver, watching with wide eyes as blood oozed out of the newly made opening bit by bit. The angels' wicked laughter ringing in his ears.

'I don't understand? I just don't get it...' It ached and burnt at the same time, a feeling he couldn't even begin to describe with just words alone. His gaze hung on that lone human who lay dying. The peaceful life set for him cut short by what should have protected him from the start. 'If you are good. Why was I born evil?'

He grasped the holy weapon piercing his naval, the skin burning upon contact—and shattered it.

The laughing stopped.