Humanity's Stranger

"As I said, we ask only that you not interfere with our work. If you do so, this conversation will be the extent of our dealings."

"Very well," Rias said lightly. "I pledge non-intervention in this matter, as both the heir to Pillar Gremory and the joint custodian of this town."

The Exorcist girl with the blue hair, Xenovia, simply nodded in acceptance, but Issei could almost feel her satisfaction. "Then we will take up no more of your time."

She and Irina stood and turned to leave, and Issei thought on the strangeness of this whole thing. Recognising one of them from his childhood had already been weird enough, not to mention finding out that Irina had been a girl all this time, but this whole interaction somehow still stood out for other reasons.

The razor-edged tension beneath a simple conversation, the calculating glances from both sides, and that slightly too sweet tone from Buchou. It all made his shoulder itch.

His last contact with people from the church had prepared him for open hostilities, but not this.

Halfway to the door, Xenovia stopped and eyed Asia with cool interest. And seemed to really see her for the first time. She stopped. "You there. You wouldn't happen to be Asia Argento, would you?"

Irina looked on in curiosity from beside her partner. "Oh? I heard she was excommunicated, but to become a devil? Are you really her?"

Asia's eyes were wide and her lip trembled for a moment before she caught herself. "Yes. I am."

"How tragic, for a holy maiden to fall this low," Xenovia said, shaking her head. "But even the faithful are still a human in the end. We are all tested in different ways. Not everyone manages to succeed. Do you still keep faith with our Lord, Asia Argento?"

"Come on, Xenovia. She's a devil." Irina gave the word such a nonchalant twist, but even Issei understood what she was really saying. Childhood friend or not, he wouldn't stand for this.

"Even blasphemy can be well-intentioned. Faith alone is no guarantee. I can believe even a sinner retains some modicum of it in their heart."

"Yes. I do," Asia answered, before Issei could open his mouth. She ducked her head, shoulders hunched defensively. "I-I can't quite let it go."

Xenovia reached beneath her cloak and revealed a sheathed sword. One hand on the hilt she took a step forward. "If you repent, I would show you this final mercy. It would be quick and as painless as can be."

"You—!" Issei got no further before Koneko's small hand tightened on his arm, hard.

"That is quite enough," Rias said coldly. "I might have pledged non-interference, but if you will antagonise my servants I will retaliate in kind."

"It was no antagonism," Xenovia replied, still completely calm. "The proposal was earnest. Had she made different choices, I might have called her comrade now. I see it as my duty to extend this offer, even to one of your kind."

"That does it!" Koneko's grip had loosened slightly, allowing him just enough give to pull his arm free and step in front of Asia. Screw keeping things civil. "You call Asia a sinner, you'll kill her? For what, for healing people that are hurt? That's the right thing to do! Screw whether they are Devils or Fallen or whatever! Asia is one of us, she's my friend! I won't let you hurt her!"

Xenovia gave him a hard look, glanced at his left shoulder, and then brushed him off to eye Rias again. "The reverse obviously holds true for us as well."

"Obviously," Buchou agreed, still sitting on the couch. She waved a calming hand his way, a small smile on her lips. "That is enough, Issei. Let—"

"Very well," Kiba, who had been silent until now, interrupted from the side. "There has been enough antagonising for some retaliation. I'm ready for a fight if you are, Exorcist." They hadn't gotten around to talking about the incident at yesterday's Stray hunt yet, but unlike the strange, distracted behaviour Kiba had shown then, now he was as focused as he had ever been, something cold lurking in his eyes.

"And you are?"

"Your senior," Kiba answered with crossed arms, his right hand clenched so tightly onto his sleeve that the fabric was crumpling under the grip.

"Yuuto, that is enough from you as well," Rias repeated, looking at the knight. Then she sighed heavily, seeing the uncharacteristic stubbornness in Kiba's eyes. "If anything has to happen, do it outside." Her voice grew harder, not giving another inch. "But only if the two will agree to a little sparring, to keep minds and blades sharp. No more than that. We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."

Kiba inclined his head and headed out.

The two Exorcists exchanged a silent glance, before Xenovia shrugged, and Irina beamed an ill-fitting smile, both turning for the door. "Oh why not. It could be fun."

Not to be forgotten, Issei made to follow, before remembering one crucial thing. "Buchou, my arm… Can I try it out now?" He bowed his head, hand at his side. "Please, Buchou. Just for a short time."

Rias bit her lip, thinking. Akeno leaned down from her customary position at her shoulder. "This might be a good opportunity for Issei-kun to get adjusted, if nothing else."

"Oh, very well," Buchou conceded with a tolerant smile and moved to her desk.

Koneko and Akeno left to join Kiba and the Exorcists outside, while Issei began shrugging out of his uniform and took a seat on the just vacated couch. Asia sat on his right, worried and concerned but no longer on the edge of tears as she had seemed before. That was good.

The limb looked the same as it had done three weeks ago, when Rias had showed it to him for the first time, polished to a silvery shine and magical markings covering the surface. First, Rias handed him the accompanying bracelet.

Issei slipped the metal onto his wrist and waited. It dangled uselessly, far too large to stay in one place. "Um, is it supposed to be like this?"

Rias gave him a patient smile, prosthetic arm in hand. "Channel some of your demonic energy, silly. That is how you will control the limb and how the bonding works."

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, feeling the heat in his face, and did as she had said. Along the outside of the bracelet, foreign symbols flashed, before the material flowed like water to mould itself to his wrist. Near double its former width it now sat snugly on his skin, unmoving even when he shook the arm up and down and out of the way of any hand movements.

Rias took his hand in her own, making a different kind of heat mark his face, and placed his palm against the prosthetic. "Again, Issei-kun."

Blushing, he did it again.

While Rias placed the silvery limb against his bare shoulder and the material once more flashed with magical light, his entire body tingled strangely. Issei could not help but shudder, even if the sensation was gone as soon it had appeared.

For one last moment, he hesitated, and then he looked to his left.

Just like with the bracelet, the metal had moulded itself to his body, sitting comfortably against what had been left of his shoulder before. Shrugging his shoulders, the arm moved upwards just like it was supposed to. That side felt noticeably heavier now, but he thought that was only the sudden addition of a replacement limb and not any difference between it and a normal arm.

"So, how do I use it?" Issei laughed awkwardly, having no idea how to go about it.

"Your demonic energy controls the limb down to every twitch of the finger," Rias explained patiently, kneeling before him. "Simply channel it and will the limb to move. You are a devil, magic is only a matter of imagination and power for you. At this point you will not be able to use it indefinitely. I would say maybe twenty minutes while you are getting used to it. The rest will come eventually, with time and training."

Frowning with concentration, Issei tried to make a fist. Demonic energy answered his call as he had practiced while trying to reach the point of being able to teleport. He was almost there.

Glyphs and markings shimmered again, until remaining in a barely lit state. Slowly, silvery metal moved and his new fingers curled into a fist. He smiled in triumph.

"Well done, Issei." Rias sounded proud, kind of like she had in the bits and pieces he remembered from after losing his arm. It made him feel warm inside.

Asia cheered him on as he slowly bent his new arm at the elbow before moving it around in the air. It felt strange, not only the arm itself but the act of willing it to move. It strained him, like exercise but for his mind, even after barely a few seconds of doing so.

"Let's go outside, before you exhaust yourself," Rias said, handing him his shirt and standing up. Fully clothed again, Issei followed her out of the room with Asia, entirely focused on moving his arm in all the ways he hadn't been able to for the last weeks. It felt good.

Everyone else was already waiting for them behind the old school building.

Xenovia and Irina had discarded their white cloaks and the black habits they had worn beneath, to reveal clothing that resembled some of the things he had seen in action movies.

Form-fitting black shirts with long sleeves covered their upper bodies, above which Irina displayed a simple silver cross, while fitted pants allowed all the necessary movement without getting in the way. Xenovia had a rosary dangling from her belt and a bandolier of knives across her chest. Both of them had a pistol holstered under the left arm and a small flask of holy water kept at their waist, not to mention whatever was hidden in the multitudes of pockets and pouches they had all over them.

They looked like soldiers or some special military unit or something, and Issei was suddenly painfully aware of his ordinary school uniform. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped up next to Kiba nonetheless, slowly clenching and unclenching his prosthetic hand.

---

While they waited for the rest of the devils to join them, Xenovia took a moment to stretch her body in preparation for the spar to come. Not that it would be much of one, but getting a good look at what these devils were capable of might come in handy one day. You never knew.

Irina finished with her own movements and lightly touched the band of cloth around her upper arm. With a golden glow, Excalibur Mimic took on the shape of an ordinary katana.

Their blonde 'senior', who until now had simply been sulking off to the side, immediately took notice, a thunderous scowl appearing on his face.

Xenovia unsheathed her far more ordinary blade — two-handed but with a shorter blade than most — and placed the scabbard with her other things, before taking her rosary by the cross and kneeling in the grass. A moment later, Irina joined her, her own cross in hand.

They shared no words, and Xenovia did not know what her fellow Exorcist was praying for. She did not need to know. Sharing this much with someone, knowing that they were similar in that way, was always nice.

Instead of a complete battlefield prayer, Xenovia kept things short. This was only a spar after all, even if they were devils.

A feeling of peace and comfort in her heart, she rose again, only moments before the rest of the devils exited the building. Where there had been only one arm before, were now two.

She had wondered what the point of a spar would be against a cripple, not to mention an untrained one. This at least answered the first part.

Still probably pointless, but less so than it had seemed.

Irina twirled Excalibur Mimic with a flourish and their blonde 'senior' laughed. It wasn't a happy sound.

"What's so funny?" Irina asked, assuming her favoured guard.

"I've been searching for a long time, and now I have finally found what I wish to destroy." Without even a gesture, eight blades sprouted from the ground like weeds, all of them different from each other.

Sword Birth, Xenovia recognised it immediately. Powerful, and wielded properly it was a valuable tool, but also a shame to see wasted on a devil.

Unlike the match-up they had intended — Irina against her childhood friend and Xenovia against their purported senior — the devils seemed intent on the other option.

It would not change the outcome of this spar. Even nightfall was not capable of that.

"Let's begin," Xenovia said and ran a hand along the ordinary steel of her sword, the power bestowed upon her at her fingertips. Unlike Irina, she wasn't using her holy sword, which meant she had to do it the hard way if she wanted to have similar results.

When the sunlight hit the steel just right, it glowed a bare tint of gold. It would not last, not without using holy water or actually having the blade ritually blessed, but she had slightly more than a minute like this.

"Boosted Gear!" A red gauntlet appeared on the right arm of Irina's childhood friend Issei, claw-like fingers splayed out and the green jewels set into the armour flashing with power.

"Boost!"

Another Sacred Gear, even more notorious, and simpler in application. A shame as well, but she didn't consider that any more deeply. Instead, Xenovia went on the attack.

She advanced, sword held level with her eyes, until she was just close enough. A quick step forward and steel flashed in a horizontal cut across Issei's front. Slightly exaggerating the initial motion made it visible, predictable, and obvious. Which of course was the entire point.

Claw-like nails or not, her opponent was a pugilist fighting against a sword with near a metre of blade. Even disregarding the bad time he would have specifically because of being a devil, that was not a situation you ever wanted to be in. If she understood how he tried to deal with that, she would know just how to disable him.

Issei retreated, fists rising into an unpractised boxer's stance, the prosthetic left slower than the normal right.

Xenovia was ready for that, stepping with the cut and lunging into an extended stab that grated against his left shoulder. The sound of metal against metal reached her ears, and she cut nothing but cloth.

Issei retreated further, feet nearly tangling with each other in his haste to do so, and Xenovia allowed him that small reprieve.

Not far away Irina wove around a blade made of ice before countering with a swift false-edge cut, not yet resorting to Excalibur Mimic's ability to warp its form according to her will. A blade that could change shape and size at will was a dangerous weapon, and best handled with caution.

But Xenovia could not waste time watching the other bout when her own opponent was not yet beaten, especially against the Boosted Gear.

Across from her Issei rallied, his uniform cut above the left shoulder to expose the slight shine of silvery metal beneath. She advanced again, blade held low with the tip to the ground. As she expected, that seemed to encourage her opponent, as if she couldn't launch into an upwards cut more quickly than he was capable of reacting.

He stepped into range, red-armoured fist snapping forward, but her sword was faster.

Give him that much credit, Issei's eyes noticed her sword snap upward. He had been trained enough for atleast that, but noticing it and being able to react to it, much less moving to counter, were different things.

Xenovia could see it in his eyes. That overwhelmed urge to move that she knew from training. But there was also hesitation there, and the confusion of not quite knowing what to do and having to think about it. It pricked at her pride that someone this green would even think of challenging them.

Glowing steel flashed, but she did not open a shallow cut from hip to collarbone as she had planned. Instead, there was another sound of metal on metal, the edge of her sword meeting Issei's prosthetic for a second time.

His shoulder jerked backward from the harsh motion and there was a grimace on his face, but the result was still an effective deflection.

It took a blink of an eye for Xenovia to fully realise what had happened and a second one for her to move to adapt. That movement had been faster than she had expected from someone like him, right on the edge of her ability to track, but whether it was a sword, an axe, a polearm, a knife, or even a prosthetic arm, a bind was a bind.

A twist of her wrist freed her sword and brought it around his metallic left while the momentum made up for her moment of surprise.

The green jewels on his gauntlet flashed with power to another cry of "Boost!" but this time there was no sudden interception by metal limb. Empowered steel bit through cloth and into flesh, caught too late by the armoured palm of his right hand.

Issei buckled underneath the cut, sharp pain and queasy discomfort on his face.

Xenovia retreated and pulled her sword to deepen the wound before twisting it up around the pivot of her hands. The battle was over by now, even if the effect of the wound would be lesser than if it had been caused by Durandal or even Excalibur Mimic.

Stubborn determination was well and good, but the boy was a devil and holy energy anathema to his power and very being. He tried to stand, but his arms fell limply to his sides and all the accumulated energy in his gauntlet faded away again with a call of: "Reset!"

Time and effort would see him grow stronger and faster, eventually even beyond her own ability to combat. Beyond any human's, really. This display of weakness made her sick.

"You're a fool to think you stand a chance," Xenovia sneered down at the devil. "I've been training at combat since I could walk, have been trained specifically to kill you and those like you. And you think you can just beat me? After being crippled and barely understanding what you are working with?"

Issei did not answer, silently driving his knuckles deeper into the grass. The prosthetic was unmoving.

She watched him struggle to stay on his hands and knees a moment longer before dismissing his efforts for Irina's battle.

Swords clashed again and again as the two fought.

Irina was still sticking with her basic form, relying purely on her swordplay to come out on top, while her opponent seemed intent on cycling through every tool available to him. Considering Sword Birth's ability to create any thinkable blade, the list of those was rather long.

A sword with flames blazing on its single edge was discarded for a heavy executioner's blade without a point. Irina stepped quickly, sharply changing directions against the harsh swings, before stabbing when an opening presented itself.

Kiba dodged, barely, abandoning his weapon and rolling backward to avoid the holy steel. He got to his feet again and there were already new weapons around him, just within reach.

He grasped two this time, a rapier and dagger combo, and the strange feeling Xenovia had been developing finally made sense.

She thought they were about the same age, yet his swordplay was off, somehow. Certainly not as good as she would have expected from someone with his confidence when faced with an Excalibur.

Her own opponent had been far worse, but she had expected nothing from him in the first place. But this one had called himself their senior and had been born with Sword Birth to boot.

He was definitely quick, and beyond any novice swordsman in skill, but Xenovia was sure she was better. He wielded every one of the blades he summoned with confidence, but not a single one with anything close to mastery.

At night he might have been a threat, when his speed and strength were enhanced, but not now.

Irina's next swing was caught on the parrying dagger's cross, only for the steel to flow like liquid and encase her blade entirely. Kiba pulled her in by her own blade, suddenly with a better grip then he should have had and exploiting surprise, but it didn't matter.

Before he could even stab her, Irina twisted Excalibur Mimic against the hold and made summoned steel shatter like glass. Had they simply followed through, both of them would have ended up with a small wounds, but Kiba was clearly well aware of the difference in effect that would have.

He retreated again, rapier dropping from his hands, only to summon a large, two-handed weapon instead, fury etched onto every line of his face. The mean-looking blade was larger than even Durandal's impressive profile, and with a roar from its wielder it began to glow and grow even bigger. Large, but clearly heavy, and therefore more burden than boon.

Irina firmed her stance, even in the face of a weapon near twice her own height, and began to circle carefully, maintaining distance.

Kiba moved first, noticeably slower with the added bulk, and made to end the spar in one devastating strike. Irina surged forward as soon as his sword moved towards her, stabbing twice in quick succession, and then tightened her grip.

Excalibur Mimic glowed gold.

He recoiled from the holy light, already unbalanced from evading the tip, and Irina followed through, snapping her sword forward in a deceptively small motion, the blade suddenly slightly longer.

Then she retreated, assured of her victory.

Kiba was kneeling on the grass, a grimace on his handsome face and one hand hovering over his cheek. The sword faded from his hands, as did all the other blades that had been summoned.

The cut was small, barely even weeping a thin trail of blood, but Xenovia could see the same effect on him as she had seen on Issei. Holy swords were anathema to devils.

Rias Gremory sighed deeply where she was standing to the side before stepping forward. "This little exercise is over." She smiled an obviously fake smile. "Congratulations on your victory, Exorcists."

Xenovia did not care for the words and paid Asia Argento no mind as the younger girl ran forward to worry over her cohorts. Walking over to her belongings, she put on habit and cloak so that they could leave and work on their actual mission again.

"Remember your words, Rias Gremory," Xenovia said, before turning to leave the school grounds.

Irina waved happily in the direction of the devils, voice entirely too cheery. "It was nice seeing you again, Issei! I'll pray for your soul!"

---

Toji twisted a sphere of water between his hands, annoyance visible in the smooth, well-practised motions. "Those devils stuck in the past, Nilrem, some collection of who-knows-how-many disparate groups, and fucking Ophis are making trouble in the world. And now Azazel wants a very coincidental gathering with high-end protection. Is it just me or does this all sound like the beginning to a shit joke?"

"Language," Aly said disapprovingly, sat on the grass near the great oak that was the main feature of this courtyard. She turned hazel eyes on him, her voice softly inquisitive. "Though not untrue. This is certainly not 'staying out of things'."

"It is not," Naruto agreed, leaning back against the same tree right next to her. "Azazel is planning things, as he is wont to do, but that is no concern of ours. We'll just be doing our job. But if something is going to happen, it will happen at the conference, which means the only real chance of stopping this war from actually starting is right there with it."

Kazane looked up from cleaning her sword for a moment, the movement making her horns gleam in the sun. "Does that change what we'll be doing?"

"No." Arms crossed, Naruto shook his head. "It only changes the importance of doing it right. I am confident we will, but I wanted everyone to be aware of that. Ophis won't act herself, but there is much we don't know about the Khaos Brigade in its current form. We will have to be at our best."

Quiet acceptance reigned in the courtyard, a comforting breeze making the leaves rustle and blades of grass tickle cloth and skin.

Frowning, Sylvir fingered the golden bangle on his upper left arm, strands of his silver-blonde hair that was always contained in a tight knot for combat whispering across his sharp face. "The Azazel contract notwithstanding, why don't we simply ally with Ophis? I have no love for devils or any of the other factions making up the Brigade, but if our intel is correct Ophis is majorly responsible for stirring things up this way in the first place. Fix her problem and all of this might blow over, right?"

Toji let his water seep into the earth around him with a grimace. "You say that like Great Red will just do what we want if we ask nicely. The Dimensional Gap is Great Red's home now, for all intents and purposes. There is nothing to be done about that. We are just going to have to deal with the mess that leaves us with."

"I'm well aware," Sylvir answered, giving the magician a cool silver glance. Then he looked at him knowingly. "Don't tell me you haven't thought of a way to deal with that issue."

Naruto gave a small grin in response. "I might have gathered some ideas over the centuries." Now he had everyone's undivided attention. He stopped smiling and motioned for the now sputtering mage. "But Toji is still right. Even if what I have in mind did work, we would be exchanging one problem for an even bigger one. And there would be no chance of things working themselves out."

"Killing the dragon could be managed, even with that one's strength. Power alone doesn't change what you are, after all. But everything beyond that? No." He shook his head at the very idea. "You know what Great Red really is. This dream we all share, the world as we know it. Truly killing that, if its possible at all, would mean we all cease to exist. If we only killed its current form, well… the Gods are not the only ones that understand grudges and vengeance."

"Meaning we'd be next as soon as there is a new Great Red," Toji finished, rubbing his forehead. "Wonderful."

"That is the gist of it." Naruto nodded. "Let those fools garner that reaction, if they manage to succeed at all." He glanced at Sylvir. "Though there are other reasons why I have declined joining Ophis' schemes. How many of you have been approached?"

Kazane and Sylvir nodded their heads, while silent Isao lying in the grass just outside the shade raised a lazy, clawed hand, his green eyes remaining closed.

Even without any explanation from him, they didn't take long to understand. Sylvir frowned. "Ophis can't get into this place?"

"I am sure she knows of it, at least in some way, but when we created the barriers all eyes were blind to it, those of the divine and those beyond even them." Naruto took pride in that work, though it had been far from pleasant in the moment. Alyendra's soft fingers met his own and they shared a small, private smile. He was eternally grateful to her, for accepting his plans as her own. "Allying with Ophis would inevitably expose us to the world beyond the ways we choose ourselves. And while Ophis might not care to try and mess with us, others won't be so restrained."

"The last time, you said something about Odin not escalating things right now," Kazane said, sheathing her sword and putting it to the side.

"Odin is not to be underestimated or disregarded. It was not his strength and skill at arms that made him feared in the Nine Realms, considerable though they are, but instead his intellect and cunning," Alyendra answered for him and Sylvir grimaced knowingly. Though they had never met the one-eyed god in person, Alfheim had tales aplenty of his deeds and he had only added to them over the centuries. "There is never a time that the All-father would not jump at the chance to escalate things should he see an advantage in acting so."

"And he is not the only one," Naruto added. "Even if Odin did keep to himself for now, Loki could not keep to the status quo if he wanted to, and there are others that might use any chance to indulge in violence." There were plenty with a wish for war or some other grand conflict in the world, and there was a good number among them that would love a chance at him personally, if they had to use others to get there.

He looked at all of them, his family, his people. It was rare that they could gather even this number on a whim. A part of him felt Kuroka's absence, which was sign enough that it might be time she was properly welcomed to the inner circle, to complete the picture slightly more. "These old bones tell me that there will be war, no matter what we do. We've had peace for too long and the world will not abide it. Azazel is a naive fool, if he is truly planning a peace conference, but there is little we can do to stop him. Turning our backs will not make things any better."

Naruto extended an open hand from the shade of the tree and felt the sunlight play comfortably across his skin. He always felt slightly less human when thinking back on his many years of life, but the bonds he had forged in that time served well to ground him.

"There is honouring contracts and then there is Konoha. War will come or it will not, but until it has we will stay true to our word." He closed his hand into a fist and felt the beast inside clawing at its cage. He felt restless. "If war does begin, we are Konoha. We look after our own first. Everyone else comes after."

Kazane smiled a teeth-baring smile and there was grim satisfaction on Toji and Sylvir's faces. Isao's approval was a mental nudge of ascend that was half a wolf pack's howling.

Naruto gave them a moment before wiping any traces of a satisfied smile from his face. "Speak to your lieutenants. We have some time left until things truly start. We'll use all of it to the fullest. Train, all of you. With each other, with your subordinates, alone, I don't care. Once we have ironed out all the details, I'll be available too." He looked at all of them in turn. "I don't want your best, I want the step beyond that. If there was ever a good reason to reach it, this is it."

A heavy silence spread in the courtyard, the weight of his words fully understood by everyone present. Sylvir frowned even more heavily than was normal for him and Toji was scratching his dark beard with a grimace. They all knew the way of the world.

Training would only do so much. The true teacher when it came to combat had always been and would ever continue to be battle. But there were foundations to be laid before that.

Kazane, the youngest among them all, was the one to break the silence. "What about the others?"

"I'll talk to them myself once they are back from their assignments."

She nodded before getting to her feet and brushing any grass from her black hakama. "We'll get there," she promised with a challenge in her turquoise eyes. "Just be careful we don't surpass you while we're at it. I'm not working under a leader that's weaker than me, father or not." She turned and left, giving a lazy, insubordinate wave from over her shoulder.

"Heh," Toji chuckled after a moment and ambled to his feet, hands quickly hidden away in his sleeves. He glanced at Kazane's retreating back, lips tilted into a lopsided smile, before facing him again and dipping into a polite bow. "Seems our commander has made her decision already. Would be poor form if I lagged behind everyone else."

As the mage turned to leave, Isao flipped onto his feet and made to follow. As always, the Yokai spoke no words, but he still gave a cheeky two-fingered salute and a grin before walking away, hands folded behind his head.

Sylvir shook his head and stood from his cross-legged position in one graceful motion. He and Kazane had forged a strange rivalry ever since the latter had shown a remarkable ability to grow in leaps and bounds despite her comparatively young age. His slender fingers were restless, subtly twitching towards the place he usually wore his blades. No doubt, he was already imagining potential training exercises.

"I'll be ready," he said simply, and left Naruto and Alyendra alone in the courtyard.

"Overconfident brats," Naruto muttered under his breath, and ignored the smile tugging at his lips.

He watched them all disappear from sight, relieved and proud, but also conflicted. He knew, deep down, that if it meant his family was safe he would bury the world in ice and let storm winds scour it forevermore, if it cost him his life to accomplish.

But Naruto knew his family aswell. If necessary, they would stand with him against any foe. And they would never stand for him simply laying down his life.

He shook his head with a chuckle. "Sometimes I forget how much they take after me."

"Some might call that a self-inflicted problem, dear," Alyendra added gently.

Naruto could not help a wide smile. "Too true." He glanced up through the foliage, gauging time. It was still a few hours until sunset. Which meant there was still time for work; the necessary, annoying part that came with running this place and keeping his people happy. Taking a final deep breath of the fresh air, he ran a hand through his hair. "Time to get back to it."

Aly let herself be pulled to her feet when he offered his hand and they walked from the courtyard hand in hand. Her fingers gently tightened on his own. "I was thinking of joining you, for tonight."

"Oh?" Naruto drew her further into his side. His smile was sly now, and he did not bother hiding his thoughts. She did not need to be Isao to know perfectly well what they were. "Really?"

"True, it has been some time." Her own expression was uncharacteristically impish now. "But I could not bare the thought of having Kuroka suffer you on her own for so many times. Sacrifices have to be made."

"I have to be suffered now, do I?" he asked with playful affront as they turned a corner. "And here I was thinking I might have been a bit neglectful in my attentions lately. So many years and I still haven't managed to figure you out."

"Not to worry," Aly said lightly, resting her head against his shoulder. "You still have time."

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

---

Xenovia quickly but carefully searched the ground for more specks of blood, while Irina kept an eye on the surroundings.

She had clipped Freed Sellzen's thigh in that last exchange, and besides any tracks left in haste, finding small crimson splatters was their best shot at finding their targets again. Excalibur Transparency and Nightmare meant that a view of their targets alone was an unreliable indicator of anything.

As much as she still harboured serious doubts about working with devils, at least they had been successful at flushing those two heretics out of hiding. For now, that was all that mattered.

There. Barely visible even under the light of a full moon. Just the slightest spot of crimson. Which meant Valper and Freed had changed directions and headed deeper into this forest instead of turning back towards the town proper.

"Come on," Xenovia said and ran to follow the trail. Their path disturbed brush and undergrowth in a way their targets had not, but this wasn't an ordinary hunt. Supernatural targets were usually fiercely territorial and could be relied upon to not reflexively change locations, but there was no such consideration here.

Valper had come here from Europe, and who knew exactly how many locations he had visited before this, to disturb any trail he might have left. The man certainly would not hesitate to leave again, and she could not allow that.

She and Irina headed deeper into the forest, a mountain range looming in the distance, and though the drops of blood eventually stopped appearing, they found other signs of recent passage. Enough to lead their way.

"Up ahead," Irina said quietly as they ran, just loud enough to be heard over the distance between them.

A few steps later, Xenovia saw it aswell. Freed was alone, standing to face them in a broad clearing, Excalibur Transparency grasped in one hand. Valper Galilei was nowhere to be seen.

There was no need for words between them. Irina widened the distance, going further left to wrap around from behind, while Xenovia slowed her pace and reached for her gun.

Her first shot took Freed in the heart and the second between the eyes. He faded away into nothingness. Another illusion.

Another Freed appeared further left and Xenovia did not risk more shots while Irina was moving in her line of fire. Holstering her pistol, she took up her sword, and tried to listen for anything that might let her tell reality from illusion.

He cackled when she came into view. "You came after all!" His eyes were wide with amusement and that same disturbingly mad spark from before. "Chasing me all this way only to die. You must have a thing for me!"

Gaze flicking around the clearing, she raised her sword. The voice seemed to come from where she saw Freed standing. "Where did you leave your ally?"

"Ha? The old man? He's got other stuff to do. I'm your opponent anyways, little lady." He moved into a swordsman's stance and suddenly grew a lecherous grin. "Unless you came to me for something else."

His gaze on her body felt revolting, but she had better things to worry about. Xenovia was reasonably sure that this one was the real one and not an illusion, but she would have to stay on guard if there was another trick. Irina would look for a clear opening before engaging with surprise on her side.

She knew of Freed Sellzen and the Sigurd Institution, though she wasn't sure if Irina did. Another church project with varied results, and not readily known even among Vatican Exorcists.

Xenovia firmed her stance and put everything but the fight out of her mind.

With another cackle her opponent rushed towards her at speeds impossible for any ordinary human. She caught his swing on her sword and stepped sideways, nearly sending him tumbling past her. Her palms throbbed from the force of the blow. The familiar ache grounded her.

Supernatural strength was part and parcel of Exorcist hunts and a human disguise was not uncommon either, even if this target truly was human. Xenovia breathed a steady rhythm and was ready for the next attack, deflecting Excalibur Transparency up and away from her body.

She was trained for this. She had all the tools she needed for success.

Their swords clashed and Xenovia spared a single thought for the maker of her blade. Whoever they were, they had done fine work. It was facing a holy sword of the highest calibre and holding up well, at least for now.

Freed slashed at her and she caught the blow early, forcing a short battle of strength, though the outcome was clear from the start. Just as he gained the advantage, she let off. Her opponent overbalanced and she lashed out with a kick at his stomach.

He dodged, barely.

The separation gave her just enough time to hurl one of her knives at his face. A thin red line on his cheek and a strand of cut hair were all the proof of the attempt.

Then they clashed again, continuing.

She feinted high and cut low, but Freed was fast enough anyway. A twist of her feet made the counter flash past her torso and then her own sword was back to block the extended swing trying to catch her while unbalanced.

This time, Xenovia forced herself forward. He might be stronger than her in a direct contest, but with an extended arm he could not possibly match a two-handed swing. His blade was there, ready to defend, but she pushed him back.

Freed let his arm swing all the way behind him, exposing himself completely with the exaggerated motion, and Xenovia stabbed forward. She felt the tip scrape across bone before her opponent twisted away with wide, excited eyes empty of pain.

Behind his back, the air flashed gold for a single moment and when his arm came forward again, his hand was grasping nothing.

Xenovia deflected the invisible blade too late to counter effectively, but she stepped close all the same, trying to control his angles of attack. Maintaining perfect distance against a weapon she could not see was impossible. She wasn't that good.

Soon, she was pushed back. There was little she could do about that but slow the progression with every little advantage she could find.

Freed came low and she blocked before he could kneecap her. A turn of her wrists had her sword screaming towards his neck, but he only jerked back impossibly fast, jumping backwards, and cackled again.

"Hahaha, good! Good! You're putting up a fight! A real one! Not like that other coward!" Still laughing, he surged forward again and exploded into a flurry of slashes and stabs she could barely follow.

Xenovia gritted her teeth when he got past her guard the first time in this exchange. She couldn't feel the cut in her shoulder with adrenaline numbing the pain, but she knew it was there. She fought on. There was no other choice.

The second cut made blood weep from her cheek, a sensation she was only peripherally aware of as she countered the next two slashes and stabbed at Freed's face. Three and four followed shortly after, forearm and hand respectively.

She parried a blade she could not see, and in that single moment of pause she could see the nicks her sword had suffered until now. It was exceptional work, but not enough.

Over Freed's shoulder, she saw movement, and hid a vicious grin.

Irina rushed from the darkness of the treeline, Excalibur Mimic ready, and Xenovia forced herself to move and create an opening. Their swords clashed once more.

"Ah, right. The boss wanted something with you and all that."

Xenovia's ordinary sword snapped on Excalibur Transparency's holy edge and she threw herself backwards to avoid following suit, all the while hoping that it was enough.

Squelch

Excalibur Mimic clattered to the ground, dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers.

In the midst of taking her next step, Irina stumbled.

And then she fell, a spear of pure light impaled through her stomach.

The sky darkened above the clearing and the air grew heavy enough to make her bow down. "What have we here? Two Exorcists, vying for victory with my subordinate."

Xenovia strained to raise her head, hands tightening on the hilt of her shattered blade until her knuckles felt close to crumbling under the pressure. The sky had been a deep dark blue before, with a full moon shining on the world beneath and innumerable stars glittering all around, but now the only thing above them was a man, five pairs of wings black as pitch flapping behind him.

She could not make out any features against the moonlight at his back, but she felt the power in the air, felt the forces pushing her to her knees. She felt monumentally outmatched. This wasn't just supernatural strength, this was the presence of a predator with true might unlike anything she had ever faced.

There were exceptionally few Fallen Angels with that number of wings and the power to match. No matter who, against something like that she might as well be a helpless child.

There was a wet, hacking cough.

Xenovia saw Irina claw at the dirt, her body straining against the ground and the spear fixing her in place. She couldn't see the extent of the wound, but the location was bad. There was no time to waste. If she didn't get Irina medical attention she was dead.

If she didn't manage to get them both out of here, they would both be.

"Ha? Nothing to say, girl? How disappointing. Considering your predecessor, I expected some entertainment at least." The Fallen shrugged broad shoulders and shook his head. "Well, then I have no use for you at all. No one is going to start a war over your corpse, but you have no value to me living." He raised his right hand and another spear of light flashed into existence, while Freed seemed overcome with cruel joy at all that was happening.

There was no room for elaborate plans or strategies, so Xenovia simply moved.

She was on her feet and a knife buried in Freed's knee before he knew what was happening, and all her remaining strength was used to push herself up and towards Irina, never letting the Fallen Angel completely out of her sight. Her left hand reached for one of her many pouches while she extended the right away from her body.

There was no time for anything more than what would keep her and Irina alive in this very moment. That was the trouble with rituals and arias and chants of every sort. They were obvious, they were time consuming, and they made it abundantly clear that you were doing something the opposition would likely want to stop in its tracks.

So instead, Xenovia reached desperately for the bond, the appropriate pleas and names a mere afterthought. "Durandal!"

Golden brilliance flashed, coalescing first into shards and then her holy sword's distinct weight and profile, just quickly enough for her to swing with all her might. She felt something strain and then tear in her upper arm and shoulder, but it was enough.

Still-glowing steel interposed itself between her and the spear screaming towards her head at speeds she could not hope to track, and then the danger shattered into so many fading shards of energy. Xenovia dove for Irina's too-still body and focused on the small square of paper she had fished out of the pouch at her hip.

She had paid the small bit of convenience no particular mind when Naruto had mentioned the markers upon their arrival, but she had stuffed them into her kit on a whim when they had left the house before coming to Kuoh. Xenovia had never been quite as happy about one of those before.

The lines of ink on the parchment began to glow in response to her direction just as she came into contact with Irina. The world glowed as well then, almost hiding the rain of spears now illuminating the sky.

Xenovia shattered one with Durandal and a second grazed her shoulder, and then the breath was driven from her lungs and the world lurched in place.

Instead of the forest clearing, they were now surrounded by the four walls of her guest room.

She collapsed to the floor with a gasp, allowing herself a single second of relieved ecstasy.

Then she heard Irina grunt into the floorboards, clearly stifling screams of absolute agony, and got back to the present. They were in a safe place, but this wasn't over yet. She jumped to her feet and nearly stumbled right back down.

"Okay, okay." Xenovia breathed again, longer, deeper, slower. Deliberately calming. She was shaking and slowly becoming aware of the injuries she had suffered herself, but there was no time.

Getting to her feet slightly slower, she went for the light switch. She couldn't see much of anything in the dark room, even with a full moon somewhere in the night sky.

Things were visible then, but as she knelt next to Irina she almost wished they weren't.

What had looked bad before looked even worse now. Kokabiel – and right now she couldn't think about why she was so sure about it being him even though she shouldn't know – had left a fist-sized hole in Irina's lower torso, right through the spine. With the spear gone, nothing was stopping the blood from flowing. Xenovia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and tightened her right hand around the hilt.

She hadn't even realised that Durandal was still in her hand. She dismissed the sword and took Irina's hand in her own. She wouldn't lie. "It looks bad." She squeezed the hand, hoping the other girl could feel that much. "I'm getting help. Just stay alive until then."

Irina's eyes were scrunched against the pain, tears streaming from closed lids, and she was loudly grinding her teeth, but she still managed a short, jerky nod against the floor.

Xenovia stifled a curse and ran from the room, already shouting. "Help! I need help down here!"

Down the hall and up the stairs, she almost stumbled twice in the darkness, and that made her throat tighten painfully, stopping another shout. The house was silent against the blood pounding in her skull and ears and she could see no light anywhere.

It wasn't long past midnight. Not an unusual time to be in bed. She hoped.

Xenovia slammed against the bedroom door, loudly, but the wood didn't budge an inch. The handle rattled noisily when she tried, but was just as uncooperative. Locked, and no sounds through the door. Despair was a black pit in her stomach.

Her fists hammered against the door anyway. "Anyone in there?!"

It felt like minutes, her hands aching and all the little cuts she had taken beginning to burn her with annoyance, when her next slam against the door suddenly missed, the wood swinging inwards. Any further shouts abruptly died on her tongue.

Everything just stopped.

"How can I help you on this fine night, Xenovia?" Naruto asked, making no attempt to hide his annoyance. The feeling she always got near him was even stronger this time, making every one of her hairs stand on end.

His skin was flushed from exertion, white hair tousled wildly, and the only piece of clothing on his body was a pair of dark lounge pants that did very little to hide the collection of old, faded scars and the far more recent scratches and marks scattered over his muscular body.

There was not a single sign of recent sleep on the man.

The room behind him was dimly lit and mostly hidden from her sight, but she could smell sweat mixed with other, distinct scents she did not want to consider any more deeply. Unseen sheets audibly moved in response to a body and then another voice spoke up. Kuroka, the man's lover. "If she isn't going to leave, I'll myake her come in and join us."

Naruto rolled his eyes with a small grin and stepped slightly closer to casually lean against the door frame. "Don't mind her."

His shoulders suddenly stiffened, amusement and the remaining traces of annoyance wiped from his face, but she didn't care to know why. The pit in her stomach was filled with anger now and her ears burned. "You-you… Do you have no shame at all?" She pushed an accusing finger into his face, blind with emotion. "We were out there fighting, we could have died, Irina's dying right now! You were supposed to keep an eye out! You should have been there to help!" She had to stop to take a breath. "And instead you were here-here—"

Fingers like vice grips tightened on her shoulder and his eyes were hard and terribly cold. Xenovia refused to flinch, but for a single moment she considered that she might have made a mistake.

"Details, Xenovia. Now. Irina is dying?"

Xenovia swallowed and nodded stiffly, her free hand numbly hovering over the corresponding area on her body. "A spear of light went through her stomach."

Naruto swore under his breath and turned back into the bedroom, his eyes on something out of sight. Kuroka groaned, annoyed, and his voice took on a quieter, intimate tone. "Dear–"

"I heard," an unfamiliar voice interrupted. It clearly belonged to a woman that was not Kuroka.

There was the shifting of sheets and fabric again, followed by the splashing of water, and then a woman stepped into view, drying her hands with a small towel while Naruto moved further into the room. She was clad in a night robe of forest green silk ending just past her knees, falling leaves tumbling in a breeze embroidered on one side in gold.

'Elegant' was the first word Xenovia's slightly overwhelmed mind supplied, which somehow seemed to encompass very nearly everything about this new woman. 'Tall' was the second, seeing as she stood roughly a head taller than her. The third and fourth were 'not human', on account of the long, pointy ears peeking through her straight curtain of honey-brown hair and the striking, slightly otherworldly beauty of the slender woman.

Kind, hazel eyes with an unknowable depth to them regarded Xenovia for a quiet moment before a beckoning hand motioned for her to move ahead. "Show me."

Xenovia hurried down the stairs and tried to get her mind back into the now before they reached Irina's side. Halfway down the stairs, Naruto caught up with them.

She was the first back in the room and the first to see the blood forming a carpet below Irina's unmoving body. Naruto pushed past her with a brusque: "Not dead yet." when she failed to make space.

He knelt by Irina's head while the elf woman took a spot at the wound, long fingers already dancing through the air and weaving yellow-green magic into being with a whisper of phrases she did not understand.

Naruto turned Irina's pale face to the side and then opened a small, crystalline flask before tipping the contents into her mouth. "Try to swallow if you can hear me, Irina."

For a moment nothing happened, and then Irina's jaw and throat worked sluggishly. She swallowed with a pained moan, turning her head slightly, and then her violet eyes opened to regard them all. Life and energy almost visibly returned to her body with every moment, and with it came a lot of pain.

Irina grimaced and groaned and gritted her teeth against any screams before losing the invisible battle, but Xenovia still exhaled a grateful breath. Pain meant still alive.

Her right shoulder and arm were aching something fierce, but seated against a wall and watching the two adults work as a quick and efficient team, she ignored her own body's protests and all the thoughts swirling in her head. They would still be there later.

She fought the pull of sleep for a few minutes, until Naruto glanced at her, hands still wreathed in green energy, and said, "She'll live."

A part of Xenovia protested it, but she believed him. She was out before her head was even resting against her knees.

---

Naruto passed another chakra-wreathed hand over Xenovia's shoulder before stopping the basic medical jutsu. She had partially torn a bicep tendon and the muscles had not liked whatever movement she had made, but she was young and strong. She'd be fine in a few days at the latest, after his own healing touch.

Aly was still busy with Irina, but the absolute worst was handled and his own attention better focused elsewhere.

He needed answers to a few questions, but he didn't want to disturb her while she worked.

Carrying the sleeping Xenovia out of the room would have been easy enough, but they weren't that close and he didn't think she would have appreciated it even if they had been. So instead he nudged Xenovia by her left shoulder until she began to stir. "We have some things to talk about."

It took a few moments for her to take stock of the situation, but then she was rolling her neck and rubbing any traces of sleep from her eyes.

"And up we go." Naruto put a hand under her arm and pulled her to her feet before subtly steering her out the door, stopping any questions in their tracks. "The living room," he said, before she could even think to ask.

Once she was deposited on one of the couches, he went to collect the medical kit from the connected kitchen. Healing with chakra was like most other forms of magical recovery. Ordinarily, it exhausted both those doing the healing and those getting healed.

Seeing as Xenovia had already been on her feet for half the night, and done fighting in that time, exhausting her further to take care of a couple of scrapes wouldn't improve the quality of her answers. The sting of disinfectant might actually manage to improve them.

"Make room," Naruto said and took a seat in front of her. Xenovia looked out of it and tired, but she still managed a rebellious, teenage grimace at being told what to do.

He worked on the cut in her hand first, not saying a word until he was done. It was furthest from her face, which meant it made ignoring him while he worked very simple for her. She wasn't exactly pleased with him after being abandoned, in her mind atleast, not to mention how she had found him. Even that bit of silence would go a long way.

He had raised plenty of children. They weren't that difficult to figure out, even when they were almost adults.

"Roll up your sleeve," Naruto said, reaching for the bottle of disinfectant. Xenovia obeyed without fuss. When her lip was twisted in discomfort from the sting, he began. "Who was it?"

"Kokabiel," she admitted quietly once he was done with cleaning the cut.

"He's a dangerous one," was all he said in response. It explained Xenovia's and Irina's states. In his prime Vasco might have been able to match Kokabiel for some time, but expecting the same from Xenovia when she wasn't even fully grown or fully trained wouldn't be particularly fair. And even if she was, she wouldn't have been the first to fall short of lofty expectations.

"How is Irina?" Xenovia asked, deliberately avoiding his eyes.

"Alive," Naruto answered, stopping his work for a moment. "The Phoenix Tears I had her drink meant she would pull through for a few hours despite the blood loss and we got to her quickly enough to do the rest. She probably won't regain consciousness for a few days, but the worst should be dealt with by the morning."

There was still the question of full physical functionality afterwards, but he knew better than to bring that up right now. Aly would do what she could, and both Xenovia and Irina were perfectly aware of what an injury like that might entail. Nerves were always a bitch to work with.

After the cut in her forearm came the two in her shoulder, one shallow and one less so. Xenovia hesitated for a few moments before taking off her shirt. Naruto didn't mind, simply waiting until he had room to work with.

Paws were almost silent on their way down the stairs, but his senses were better than any humans and there was no intent to hide in the first place. He continued cleaning the wounds. "How did you get into that situation?"

Xenovia looked at the cut, barely even grimacing at the sting of disinfectant this time. "Our contact in Kuoh never showed up for our meeting. He was just a priest in the area without any combat training, but you still expect a message when something goes wrong, right?"

Naruto nodded, thinking off an entirely different report that had never reached him. He finished tying a bandage as she continued her story.

"He'd been killed by Freed Sellzen, some Rogue Exorcist wielding Excalibur Transparency and Nightmare. We found him and Valper Galilei a day later. With some outside assistance," she admitted, eyes shifting to the side. "They disappeared and we had to track them through a forest to catch up. Then we fought. Irina stayed out of sight while I engaged alone and when we were about to get the drop on him, she was speared through the stomach from above. I've never faced something like that. I could barely even move." For a few moments there was a spark of helplessness in her gaze, swiftly hidden under stubborn, fiery pride when she remembered his attention. "If Kokabiel hadn't been there, I could have taken him."

He smiled and didn't care that it was a bit more bloodthirsty than usual.

Kuroka landed on the couch's backrest before slinking down the cushions to his side, one of her two tails trailing along Xenovia's leg. Her eyes told him exactly what she thought about this interruption to their activities.

Naruto reached out with the hand not cleaning the final cut in Xenovia's cheek and began gently scratching along Kuroka's back. She stopped looking quite as displeased. With both of his hands busy it took a few moments longer, but eventually Xenovia was fully taken care off.

He put the medical kit to the side, a black, purring bundle in his lap. "You'll have your chance to prove that tomorrow."

Xenovia's attention lingered on the two swishing tails for a moment longer before she seemingly decided not to bother. Instead, she looked at him, a silent question in her eyes.

"I failed to uphold my word once, that's not happening again. I'll deal with Kokabiel," Naruto explained simply. "But that's for tomorrow. You should rest now, and regain your strength." He shooed her off the couch and into the other guest room before she could marshal enough energy to protest.

Once the door was closed and he heard Xenovia move towards the bed, he went for the room holding Aly and Irina, cat-Kuroka hanging onto his right shoulder.

Long fingers still danced a slow, soft rhythm, trailing life-giving light and making Irina's wound knit itself together cell by cell. The smell of blood was strong in the room and pounded at his brain, but at least no bones were exposed anymore. Having marrow and spinal fluid assault his nose when his instincts were closer to the surface than on other nights hadn't been pleasant, and concentrating on healing had taken more effort than he would ever admit to anyone other than himself.

Naruto let the work continue without interruption while leaning back against the closed door and absent-mindedly scratched under Kuroka's chin. She pushed insistently against his fingers, demanding he not stop, even if she clearly would have preferred they continue from where they had been rudely interrupted by hurt and dying teenagers.

Aly's motions continued for another half an hour until raw, red skin kept any further blood from escaping. There was still work to be done on the wound, but going beyond this point right now would only exacerbate any remaining issues. Irina's body needed to rest, even more than just passing out from the pain of having your spine reconstructed.

With a final exhale, Aly smoothly drew her palms together above the wound, drawing all her magic back from the injury and the world around it. The near-imperceptible hum that had accompanied the process quietened before fully disappearing from the room, leaving everything lesser than it had been only moments ago.

Just as Naruto made to stand from the door, the ANBU mark inked into the face of his left shoulder burned.

"Oh, for the love of all that is holy," he bit out through a tight jaw. Frustration was a fire in the back of his throat, announcing the coming bite of animalistic rage.

Sharp clusters of ice were summoned to his unoccupied hand before being unceremoniously crushed in his grasp. The cold sting of already healed cuts brought things back into focus before he could actually get pointlessly angry.

It just had to be today of all days.

Well, nothing to be done about that now. He had made a promise, didn't matter that he felt like slaughtering something right now.

"I need to go."

Aly already regarded him with an understanding smile, still kneeling next to Irina's resting form. "Go on. The night was rather ruined already." She glanced at the unconscious Exorcist again, and he could see that familiar care in her eyes. "I will see to things here."

Naruto turned his head to look at Kuroka while his shoulder continued to burn. Almost time. "If I'm not back by the time things start in Kuoh, I'll need you to handle Kokabiel. You don't need to fight him, just keep things from escalating too much. I'll be there myself as soon as I'm able and do the rest."

Golden eyes peered into his own and then a tail flicked his ear. "You'll have to myake it up to me." Before he could even answer she jumped from her perch on his shoulder and made her way to the empty bed. Spinning twice on the cushion, Kuroka made herself comfortable.

He could only smile, grateful for them both as he turned to leave the room and put on some clothes before he was summoned to the side of whoever else was in desperate need of his help.

---

What to do, what to do?

Rias slowly drummed her fingers on her desk as she looked at the wall of the club room, thinking.

Her cute, disobedient servants had gotten involved in church business against her explicit orders and while she had already doled out some punishment to Koneko and Issei, Yuuto had not shown up at school or the club room since yesterday's spar. Not to mention that the church business was not yet handled.

Familiars were already looking for all the involved parties in the area around Kuoh, her own, Akeno's, and Koneko's as well, but until any signs were found there was nothing to do but wait on that front.

She wondered what she should do about Yuuto. Running off like that, provoking fights with others even if they had been less than pleasant, and now staying away without even a word or message. It was all so unlike him.

With the shards of Excalibur being involved, some lenience seemed appropriate, but she had thought he would not abandon them all in the pursuit of his goal. She had thought their bonds were stronger than that by now. Strong enough that Yuuto would rely on them to be his support in times of need.

Thinking about the fact that he clearly did not made something cold curdle in her stomach.

Were their bonds worth so little?

Her fingers continued to tap a rhythm on the wooden surface and she narrowed her eyes at the wall she was facing.

Rias had not said it to anyone in so many words, but she disliked that all this was happening here. Agreement with the church or not, sharing with Sona or not, Kuoh was her territory and dealing with any issues that occurred her responsibility. She wanted them gone, the two Exorcists and all the rogue elements that had snuck in before them.

Yet there was little to do in that regard without provoking greater hostilities with the church. That, nobody wanted. Nobody sensible, in any case.

Which all brought her back to her original question: What to do?

She sighed deeply, tilting her head to take in the ceiling.

Akeno released a gentle laugh from her side and placed a teacup on her desk, before taking her tray to cater to the others. Rias stopped short of pouting at her back as Asia and Issei accepted cups of their own. Koneko looked content simply nibbling on some sweets.

Considering the events of yesterday, none of them had gone out to work on contracts yet. The Peerage came before that, and Rias was proud to see them all wordlessly agree and wait.

The clock hanging above the door told her that the ordinary club activities would end soon and there was still nothing from the familiars. Worry joined her complicated mix of feelings about Yuuto and his absence and she tried to distract herself by sipping some tea.

When the sound of students leaving the premises drifted through an opened window Rias decided that enough time had been wasted already. Straightening in her seat, she faced the room. "Alright everyone," she began, trying to let nothing of her former thoughts show. "I want you to work on your contracts for the rest of the day. And if you find out anything about Yuuto or the Exorcists in town, report back immediately."

Akeno smiled from her position beside the couches while Issei and Asia gained looks of resolve and made to stand. Koneko's golden eyes were focused on Rias, even though she never stopped nibbling on another cookie.

Before she could take her final bite, Koneko's hand stopped halfway to her mouth. She made a small noise of interest in the back of her throat.

Rias felt what Koneko had noticed before her rook could even say a word.

Yuuto had entered the school grounds just now, finally returned and quickly moving in their direction.

Only a couple of minutes passed, while Akeno explained what had happened to the two newest members in quick words, before the door opened inward, revealing her knight.

Yuuto was panting harshly, doubled over and leaning on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. Rias stood, her relief suddenly turned to anxious confusion. She had the sudden, foreboding feeling that something was very, very wrong right now.

"They're coming," Yuuto spat out, still trying to catch his breath. Everyone was on their feet by now.

"Who is?" Rias asked quickly, already dreading the answer.

"Those rogues the Exorcists were chasing." He swallowed harshly, straightening, and when he continued his tone was bleak. "And they have their leader with them." Yuuto glanced at Akeno before facing her again. "Kokabiel."

As if on cue, the world beyond the windows brightened noticeably in the direction of the gym.

Rias felt magical energy gather and then take shape outside. She could not tell what the purpose of it was without a closer inspection, but it was big and not something she wanted happening in her metaphorical backyard.

'Kokabiel,' she reminded herself, trying to remain calm. Neither she nor her Peerage could afford anything else at the moment.

Not a foe she could handle on her own. Kokabiel was a leader of Grigori and had contended with God and the original Satans. Maybe not by himself, but he had lived to tell the tale, which was reason enough for anyone to be wary.

But she wasn't alone in this. Sona was here, and no doubt aware of something happening by now and her Peerage was all the help Rias could ever need. Kuoh was her territory, even against powerful Fallen Angels. She would not be intimidated.

"Akeno, help Issei with his arm." Her queen gave a serious nod. "Everyone else, we are going out."

With a chorus of "Yes!" they left the room for the school grounds, Issei and Akeno soon to follow.

A single man stood on the baseball field. He was stocky and balding, curling wisps of grey hair peeking from beneath the white cap crowning his skull. Small spectacles balanced on a broad nose, barely hiding the fascination for the process going on in front of him.

Three connected spirals glowed golden on the ground, the centre of each holding one Excalibur fragment. Rias did not like the way the process felt even from a distance.

High in the sky, an elaborate marble throne floated, as if that was the most ordinary thing in the world. Kokabiel reclined on scarlet cushions while leaning on a closed fist and gazed at the surroundings in disinterest.

Above him, a barrier began to lower on the school grounds. Rias recognised Sona's work immediately. She breathed a small sigh of relief. This was contained to the school grounds already. Better that than all of Kuoh fall victim to Kokabiel's plans.

"Rias Gremory." The high collar of his dark robe hid much of his expression from this angle, but Kokabiel's blood-red eyes were still fixed on her with a lazy attention. His voice carried easily over the distance. "Will your brother be joining us as well?"

"A satan has many duties but this territory is not one of them. You will have to contend with me."

His eyes narrowed slightly before glancing over her servants, lingering just slightly on Issei and Akeno approaching from the club room. He did not look impressed. "Unfortunate," Kokabiel said eventually, the undertones of irritation barely heard, and waved a dismissive hand. "But he will come either way, in the end. His inclination is well known, as is Serafall's."

Rias knew a threat when she heard one, especially after the last few months. By all rights, she should have informed her brother immediately upon hearing of Kokabiel's presence, but how was she to ever grow if she never truly handled any of the problems that cropped up in her way?

This wouldn't be easy, but she didn't need to beat Kokabiel in a fair fight either. He seemed content with simply watching for now.

Akeno's mind prodded her own, and Rias instinctively allowed the exchange of thoughts. Her queen's voice sounded in her head a moment later. "Sirzechs-sama has been informed of the situation."

Rias' answer was affronted, reflexively, disregarding her earlier deliberation, "Akeno!"

Her queen gave her a side-long glance, understanding and yet just the slightest bit admonishing. Rias stopped herself from ducking her head like a child. That was beneath her. Instead, she sighed deeply. It was out of her hands now.

They just had to hold out until then.

Squaring her shoulders, Rias focused her mind on what lay ahead. She raised her hand toward Kokabiel, gathering power in the magical crest she summoned. "We are stopping that ritual."

Pure destruction went flying as the power of her Peerage heightened and firmed. All of them were ready.

Kokabiel brushed her efforts aside with a lazy backhand. Her attack went careening off to the side, until the energy dwindled enough for it to lose any shape and capability to do damage.

It had not been a strong attack, certainly not the best she could throw at him, but knowing that he could simply ignore her power's nature like that still gave her pause.

"Too weak," Kokabiel judged. "There is no edge to your power, no lethality to your intent. Barely even worth deflecting." She thought he sounded honestly disappointed. He snapped his fingers and summoning circles marked the ground below him. "Rabble should deal with rabble."

Fire roared and then two three-headed beasts stretched their necks into the night, flickers of flame sparking between gnashing teeth near as long as Koneko was tall, while snakes for tails hissed and coiled at their back.

Cerberus, or at the very least some imitation of the hound of hell, seeing as there were two of them now growling on the sports grounds of her school. At their feet, far smaller cousins mingled, sniffing the air for prey to be scorched and devoured.

The pack of hell hounds was the far smaller concern to her, even if they were vicious, ravenous beasts entirely capable of ripping any one of them to shreds should they get the chance.

"Watch each other's backs," Rias ordered, never taking her eyes from Kokabiel.

---

Xenovia watched the barrier descend upon Kuoh academy and disappear from sight from the other side of the town, a black two-tailed cat hanging onto her shoulder. She had almost turned away again to focus back on her search when she hesitated for a moment.

She could feel nothing out of the ordinary at this distance, but barriers were usually erected for a good reason. Crossing that distance would lose her precious time if it turned out to be something else entirely. Worrying her bottom lip for a moment, she glanced at her current ally. "Can you feel anything at this distance?"

Golden feline eyes stared straight ahead, reaching out with magical senses far beyond her own. "I'd say it's Kokabiel."

"You're sure?"

Kuroka regarded her with equal parts annoyance and amusement. "Yes, I am."

Xenovia nodded her head and took off at a run, aware that she couldn't afford to exhaust herself too much just to get there a bit sooner. She was heading into very dangerous territory.

Kuoh wasn't exactly rural, and certainly more populous than the usual mission location for an Exorcist, but Xenovia was glad that its urban development had not lead to excessive sprawl.

Breathing and the act of running were little more than an afterthought as she crossed the distance, her mind furiously going over ideas of what she might encounter at the academy. She didn't know about Kokabiel's plans or even those of Valper Galilei, much less how the local devils fit into them, but she didn't need to. She had a mission and she was going to accomplish it.

A part of Xenovia wanted to know what all those plans were anyway, if only to get a better read on what she was really dealing with, but there was nothing to do on that front now. The only thing she could still control were her own actions going forward.

She would get the Excalibur fragments back and she'd beat Freed Sellzen too.

"Can you really handle Kokabiel?" Xenovia asked between controlled breaths, not paying the odd looks she earned from a couple walking on the other side of the street any mind. They would stare and wonder for a day or two, but as long as they saw nothing truly important they'd eventually forget her again. She'd just be an odd girl in a nun's habit running through the streets with a cat on her shoulder. A story told once or twice before being replaced by more important, or amusing, matters.

"I've nyever met him before," Kuroka said eventually and Xenovia almost missed a step.

She was already angry enough at Naruto over this whole thing. First for not keeping his word to look out for them while spending his time chasing pleasures with two women, and then for acting like he would handle it before not even being there when she woke up, apparently called away on sudden business.

Xenovia turned a corner and nearly bowled over an elderly man with a cane taking an evening stroll. When she had her stride back she turned heated words on the cat. "Do you think this is some kind of joke?"

Kuroka rolled her eyes, tails flicking the nape of Xenovia's neck. "Oh relax. You worry about your holy swords and I'll worry about the Fallen Angel."

Xenovia felt the desire to strangle the cat, even if it would make her look even weirder to everyone that was still out and about. She settled on her nastiest glare instead.

Kuroka clearly didn't care.

Twenty more minutes of silent running and the school grounds came into view. The barrier hid all the proceedings on the inside, but even without knowing what exactly she was walking into Xenovia's training said to circle the perimeter and enter from a less obvious direction.

She followed the wall on the outside and reached for her pistol. The school grounds opened right into the surrounding forests at the back, though there was a demarcated property line some distance in.

Xenovia felt the energy right in front of her, and now that she was so close she could notice the way her senses were being just slightly distorted. She was sure that she could simply step through, or cut the barrier apart with Durandal if necessary, but unlike her, Kuroka was anything but unnoticeable when it came to magic. "Can you get us through? Without attracting any attention?"

Kuroka wordlessly hopped from her shoulder and stepped right up to the barrier. Her tails and ears twitched and then she raised a paw to touch the invisible wall.

Xenovia didn't know what exactly happened next, but small waves spread out from the point of contact and then, like passing a hand through a waterfall, the barrier opened like a curtain. When she looked back after stepping through, the opening was already gone again.

Lightning and thunder cracked, fire roared, and heavy impacts made the ground shake slightly even at this distance, but the thing Xenovia focused on first was the golden pillar of light reaching into the sky and the throne suspended in the air right next to it. She was pretty sure where Kokabiel was.

"Okay, I'm going to head right for Freed while you..." she trailed off. Kuroka was gone without a trace. Xenovia tried to find any inch of the annoying woman for a minute before gritting her teeth, swallowing her temper, and resolving to do what she had come here for alone.

Kuroka was here somewhere, and even if Xenovia didn't exactly trust her she didn't have much of a choice otherwise. She couldn't fight Freed while also taking care of Kokabiel, not with a dozen more years of training. In the end she was only human.

Palming a knife with her free hand, she set off.

The pillar of light and floating throne made it more than obvious were to head, but Xenovia stuck to the cover of the trees and made her way further around the outside. When she passed the old school house, she finally had a view of the sports fields and everything that was happening.

Pressed against the bark of a tree, she watched.

Valper Galilei was easily recognised, even when he was laughing to himself in delight while Yuuto Kiba knelt a few paces away. The rest of the devils were further away, fighting a pack of black wolf-like beasts and a much larger three-headed monster. A second one was laid out on the ground behind them, small drifts of smoke curling up from its body, dead.

Of Freed Sellzen there was no sign, but Xenovia was sure he was close by.

Rias Gremory sent crimson energy flying and one of the hell hounds was too slow and simply ceased to exist. Lightning sparked in the wake of that magic and struck at the closest pack mate, lancing out from its formerly straight path.

The golden pillar she had seen from a distance was really three different lights braiding together, one Excalibur fragment suspended in the air at the centre of each of them. Slowly, the light brightened, so much that Xenovia had to avert her eyes from the sight.

When the light died down and she could watch again, there was only a single sword left in the fading remains of formal-craft and ritual circles. Freed Sellzen stood with Valper Galilei, still in his dark vestments and white coat, and grasped the unfamiliar weapon by the hilt.

Armed again with holy steel, Freed set off to cut his opponents apart.

Xenovia decided she had seen enough and darted from the treeline, knife and gun in hand. Freed had been annoying enough with just Excalibur Transparency or Nightmare, having Mimic aswell, and being able to freely shift between their abilities as seemed likely with this blade, could only be worse.

The best opportunity was now, when he wasn't yet using any of them and had not noticed her. She stopped as far away as she dared, hoping that he had not heard her footsteps on the dusty ground, and shot him three times.

One caught him in the arm. Somehow, Freed dodged the other two.

A lot of eyes were focused on her now.

"Bitch!" Freed swore as he turned to face her, fingers coming away bloody after touching the wound in his arm. "I'll gut you for that!"

Instead of responding, Xenovia continued shooting.

Freed ducked beneath the first and tried to close the distance with quick steps, but she backed up as soon as he began to move, still shooting. One grazed his shoulder and two more missed him entirely, while a fourth tore a hole in his coat.

Xenovia switched targets for the last bullet, and put it into Valper Galilei's shoulder when Freed was too occupied to think about intercepting it with Excalibur.

The disgraced bishop jerked forward from the impact, a red stain quickly spreading across the white fabric around the wound, and turned away from Yuuto Kiba long enough to give her a cold, disapproving glare.

"Freed," he called, already turning back towards the blonde devil. "Do away with that young woman, if you would be so kind. Her presence is rather bothersome."

Freed smiled widely, eyes shining with excitement and rushed towards her even faster than he had before.

Xenovia holstered her pistol and fingered a second knife instead. She doubted they would hold up as well as the blade she had used in yesterday's fight, but they very likely could take atleast one blow before being shorn apart by holy steel. That would have to be enough.

The first swing was caught on both of her knives before she could find out just how sharp the combined blade would truly be. She pushed upwards on the sword, freeing one of her weapons, and lashed out at Freed's midsection, but then the steel glowed, elongating and twisting down and around her hold on it to strike at her anyway.

Xenovia retreated with quick steps, abandoning the attempt and allowing him to force her closer to the edge of the sports field. The devils were fighting over an extended area as the smaller hounds circled and chased them while weaving between the larger monsters legs, and she didn't want to be anywhere close enough to be caught in sorcerous misfires.

Freed gave chase, first with Excalibur Mimic and eventually his own feet.

There was no doubt that she had managed to piss him off, which wasn't always a good idea on assignments, whether the target was human or not. Freed already had the advantage when he could close with her and a berserker's rage would only make that worse.

Xenovia made for the trees further away. An open field was only to her disadvantage, and her footing would be just as sure over there. She had no delusions about how well ordinary trees would stand up to a combined Excalibur, even if only a partial one, but being unseen could be just as valuable as being protected.

She saw light in her peripherals and ducked beneath the holy steel coming for her head. She rolled to the side and behind a tree for a bit more separation, before quickly flinging one of her knives in his general direction while continuing to run.

The tree was felled without issue and Excalibur continued extending towards her, growing longer and longer and following irregular lines to throw of her ability to predict the next attack.

Xenovia twisted around another tree, heard the bushes and trees be disturbed by the holy steel, and dashed back out in the same direction she had come, her second knife put back into its proper place in the bandolier around her chest.

"Catherine. Agnes. George." She was forced to duck under the returning blade, rolling along the ground and coming up again at a run. "Holy Mother Mary. Hear my plea." Chains rattled and light flashed a brilliant gold between her hands and with the blade still taking shape she threw herself around another thick tree trunk.

When she came to her feet, she was facing Freed head on. Holy blade to holy blade.

Xenovia had considered how to approach this confrontation ever since waking up. Freed's advantages were no lesser today than they had been yesterday. He was both stronger and faster than her, and his size gave him a slight edge in reach, even without any of Excalibur Mimic's abilities.

But she had meant it when she had insisted on being able to beat him. Maybe she was fighting an uphill battle in purely physical terms even with the injury she had inflicted yesterday slowing him down, but her swordplay was better and a disparity like that more than familiar to an Exorcist.

And beyond even that, there was the simple fact that an incomplete attempt had no hope against a truly holy sword.

Xenovia tightened her grip on Durandal's hilt and waited, eyes never straying from Freed and his weapon. She wanted him to make the next move and as impatient as he was, she did not think she would have to wait very long.

"Nice blade ya got there. I didn't get much of a look at it yesterday, but it's the real deal isn't it?" Freed smiled like a child and waved the fused Excalibur through the air. "I'll have to ask the old man if he can add it to these later. It looks a bit big for just one hand."

"Over my dead body."

Freed's excited expression darkened and he leaned forward, about to strike. "That's the idea."

Xenovia caught the partial Excalibur on Durandal's edge. They struggled against each other, searching for any opening, and she felt the moment Freed's strength began to overwhelm her own.

A twist of steel separated them, and then they descended into a flurry of stabs and cuts.

The Excalibur came high but she was already there. She went low, falling into a combination of probing stabs and footwork that forced Freed into an uncomfortable block with his arms twisted to one side.

Durandal flashed forward a final time and was only stopped from carving a bloody line down Freed's face by a suddenly longer blade. Mimic's ability came for her, twisting and turning to get around her own sword, ever seeking blood.

Xenovia slashed to the left and then changed her grip to wrench the wide blade in a right turn, shattering the flowing steel surrounding it. The combined Excalibur glowed, returning to its normal shape, and shards of holy steel faded into glittering motes of light all around them.

She breathed once, twice, and then they were at each other again, both one wrong step away from losing the fight.

A high thrust at Freed's face was pushed aside with enviable ease and Durandal's large profile acted as a shield to keep the riposte that followed from drawing blood. Xenovia stepped with her next two slashes, short choppy attacks that were powered entirely by her twisting wrists, and her opponent cackled like a child when he fell back under the ensuing onslaught.

His coat split along her blade's holy edge, offering no resistance at all, but he was quick enough to escape again, uninjured. The Excalibur fragments glowed, a blinding light that made her squint her eyes to keep track of any attacks.

She buckled under a heavy overhead swing, one hand moving from the hilt to brace the blade against the force, but before she could throw Freed off the light winked out. Her opponent held an invisible blade.

He went low, seemingly empty-handed and out of range, and was blocked again by her own weapon.

Instinct alone made her twist her body. It meant she wasn't skewered completely, but invisible steel still tore into her side, sliding along one of her floating ribs. Xenovia felt the invisible edge moving through her flesh and knew from the angle that she was surrounded.

Angling Durandal below the blocked slash, she forced Freed's extended blade up. A twist of her wrists and a false edge cut audibly shattered steel, and the Excalibur imitation appeared in a short flash of gold, now back to its old size again.

Xenovia lunged and caught Freed in the side, cutting through coat and vestments and into flesh.

When they separated, both of them carried mirroring wounds.

Quick fingers told her all she needed to know of the wound, eyes never straying from Freed's slowly circling form. His weapon was still visible.

Xenovia didn't need any other invitation than that. Whether it was a result of timing or of choice, it didn't matter. She engaged him with an aggressive thrust at centre mass, immediately turned into an arcing slash at his face when he tried to block.

Freed jerked back and brought his own weapon up to deflect again, before turning that defense into an offensive flurry of his own. Steel seemed to curve from his speed alone, flowing around her blocks only to finally halt before the tip could draw blood, barely stopped.

A sound from the side reached her ears, barely audible over their clashing.

Freed caught her on the next riposte, a cut to her left arm that made blood flow and her muscles tighten in a sudden jerk of fibres, and she almost managed to return the favour on the next exchange.

Bark cracked and wood splintered and something came flying through the trees towards them.

Dark and four-legged, Xenovia quickly recognised one of the wolf-like beasts the devils had been dealing with, and now it was sailing through the air not of its own will but that of another.

Reflex made her want to slide a foot back, retaining her balance and evading any collision without problem, as Freed was already doing. It was the correct move according to years of training in the sword.

Xenovia overwhelmed that response with another one, the reasons barely even half-formed in her mind. Her foot slid forward instead and Durandal rose. Her hands tightened as her view was momentarily obstructed and she reached for more.

Holy steel fell, cleaving through thick leathery hide and demonic flesh, and into the man behind it.

Nothing but a grunt passed Freed's lips, his Excalibur rising in response even with a bloody cut opening his chest from shoulder to hip.

The blade glowed a blinding gold, but this time Xenovia was ready. She knew what he would try and she knew how to respond.

She abandoned thoughts of defense and pressed her advantage. Holy steel crashed together and for the first time she won the direct confrontation. Again Durandal tasted blood.

Freed retreated with a flourish, blade glowing again and extending into Mimic's malleable form. His breathing was heavy with exertion but still controlled despite the injury.

Xenovia took her stance and waited, balanced to spring forward at the slightest hint of an opening. A dip of the sword, a relaxing of muscles, a cough of blood, anything like it and she would have him.

Another rustle from the right disturbed them. Freed glanced and Xenovia lunged.

The fused Excalibur lengthened and those red albino eyes were right back on her, shining with sadistic glee.

Xenovia followed through despite that.

She approached the block from below, knowing that the blade was already curving around her to impale her from the back. It was how Irina had nearly been killed only last night, which no doubt seemed a fitting reason for a man like Freed Sellzen.

Xenovia reached for that same place again, the one she had just barely touched only moments ago. Durandal was a holy blade of the highest order, its most prominent blessing the ability to cut through everything, but it was also special in another way. Durandal did not obey just because she wanted it to.

The wound in her side was a hot flare of pain and swiftly ignored.

Impact rang like a church bell through the forest and the fused Excalibur held.

Her throat tightened with failure, with the galling bite of defeat, but she reached for anger instead, her thoughts firm. 'Not yet. It's not over yet.'

Wrists twisted Durandal around and up, and she brought all her remaining strength to bear for this second, final try. Xenovia pushed through the burning in her arms and shoulders, though it made her bones feel brittle in a way they never had before.

She saw the blade, saw the very point that both swords would make contact, and she knew what would happen. She had only centimetres now, before she was impaled as her comrade had been, she was sure of that, but she needed no more. There was no place for doubt in her mind, no consideration for anything other than success.

This time there was no tolling bell. Only a soft little chime as the false blade snapped just above the hilt.

Freed had no time for surprise.

Durandal leaped forward, gliding through him like he was nothing but air, and a forearm went flying. Flesh split like undone seams, bone was nothing but an afterthought, and half of his right side was parted from the rest of his body, barely held on by the clavicle and the top of his ribcage where holy steel had not reached.

"Ha?" A single step back and he stumbled, collapsing to the ground.

Xenovia came to a stop and had to brace Durandal against the earth to stay standing herself. It felt like only her bones kept her from collapsing into a pile next to her opponent, and will alone was keeping her eyes open.

Fighting her body's protests she took in the result of her final cut.

Blood pooled under the Rogue Exorcist's chest, bubbling where she had slashed open his lung, and his throat moved with a sluggish exertion that made him spit crimson onto himself to keep from choking. With every pump of his heart, more life left him, but despite that Freed Sellzen did not scream or cry.

His remaining hand clawed at the earth, but there was no true desperation to the motions, only the trained search for a broken weapon laying out of reach.

Xenovia forced herself next to him and looked into eyes that took in the night sky with a cold indifference that seemed out of character.

They had been opponents, even enemies. He was a distasteful man down to the core and a traitor to everything she stood for and defended with her very life. A part of her even hated him personally.

She felt only pity now, for the man he was and the one he might have been.

Footfalls on earth barely reached her ears and Xenovia palmed a knife. Durandal still felt far too heavy right now.

Instead of a new opponent she only found Koneko, the diminutive Gremory rook, standing a few paces away, a pale tail slowly moving through the air behind her and two feline ears twitching on top of her head.

It wasn't difficult to connect the dots.

"Thanks for the assistance."

Koneko gave a clipped nod. Another survey of the surroundings, pointedly lingering on Freed's paling face, and she turned to go back the way she had come.

Before the other girl had managed to get very far, the air quivered with power. Xenovia's hands tightened around steel, her gaze drawn to a new golden glow illuminating the sky. A ring of light rose, before expanding rapidly to cover the surrounding area.

A part of Xenovia wanted to collect the remains of the fused Excalibur, reach for the marker stored in one of her pouches, and get out of here. She had accomplished her mission, done everything expected of her, and anything that followed wasn't a concern of hers anymore.

But…

She could feel the power in the air and even a conservative guess didn't leave much of Kuoh standing once it was utilized. The loss of life alone would be a mark of shame, even if her mission would be called a success afterwards and her record without blemish.

There was also the fact that Xenovia hated running away.

Maybe she couldn't match Kokabiel alone, but doing that and stopping this destruction from occurring were two entirely separate matters. Now, she might even see what Kuroka's word was worth.

With a rallying roll of her shoulders Xenovia stowed her knife, hefted Durandal by its two-handed hilt, and moved to follow the now-running Koneko towards the others. Freed was still alive, fighting unconsciousness with every bubbling breath, but it would only be so long before he died.

She caught up to her at the treeline, where Koneko was crouching behind a bush and paying rapt attention to the events playing out before them.

All the beasts had been dispatched by the Devils already, only their remains dotting the grounds anymore while Yuuto Kiba was approaching Valper Galilei with one of his many swords, a straight-edged blade split down the middle, a deep black on one side and a pure white on the other.

The excommunicated bishop stumbled in his retreat, any remains of his former facade of control long gone as his eyes stayed fixed to the blade bared at his face. "Impossible! Completely impossible!"

Rias Gremory's knight clearly did not care for the words. Three steps and he was towering over the fallen old man and then his blade flashed forward.

Valper clutched at his throat, trying to quell the bleeding, gaze never straying from the steel. His voice was whispery now, speaking through his torn throat and blood welling from the wound, "It… cannot..." Behind the round spectacles, there was realisation. The former bishop smiled through his pain. "Of course… Two sides… equal in death."

Kokabiel stood from his throne and unfolded his wings, uncaring even of his subordinate's death. As the hovering seat fading into glittering motes, he inclined his head to Valper. "Coming to that realisation honours you, even if it was too late in the end."

Valper Galilei never stopped smiling as Yuuto Kiba braced himself and cut his head off in one clean slice.

"Well, well. One side of the rabble emerges victorious." Kokabiel's eyes glowed as he took in the scene and Xenovia saw him glance at her specifically before settling on Rias Gremory. "You have proven yourself less insignificant than I thought, daughter of Gremory. Perhaps that will offer some solace to you and yours in death."

A snap of fingers and three bright spears appeared above him, one for Yuuto Kiba, one for Rias and her Peerage, and one for Xenovia and Koneko.

Xenovia ignored her body's protests and raised Durandal. She had done this before, she could do it again.

The spears raced towards their targets on some unseen signal, seeking to destroy. Magic answered from the devils, arcing out as lightning and forming whirling crimson shields, but Xenovia had only eyes for the glowing tip headed her way.

Two blue spheres slammed into the spear from the right, staggered and spaced out to twist the spear through the air and let a third projectile punt it on a path for the sky instead.

At the spheres' origin sat a black, two-tailed cat calmly licking its paw.

"Oh?" Kokabiel gave the newcomer a curious glance as the other two spears exploded. "Who do we have here?"

Golden feline eyes stared right back, neutral and calm.

Xenovia breathed a small sigh of relief and firmed her shoulders. She stepped onto the sports field with renewed resolve and raised her blade at the Fallen Angel. "You have not won yet, Kokabiel."

Red eyes took her in, focusing on the blade in her hands before moving to match her gaze. A chuckle burst from his mouth. "Heh. You, wielder of Durandal? You seek to face me? I fought your predecessor once, a man mightier than you by far, and I still nearly killed him. What hope do you have?"

"She isn't alone," Rias Gremory's imperious voice sounded from the slowly-clearing cloud of dust left by the attack aimed at her. Half her Peerage stood at her shoulder, roughed up but ready for more. "Far from it. And I have had enough of your presence in my territory."

The green jewel in Issei Hyoudou's Sacred Gear flashed.

Kokabiel laughed, honestly amused. "Good, good! Defiance always makes it so much more interesting. Now, let us test what your resolve is truly made of." A beckoning hand. "Show me your strength, your hope, all of it, so that I may show you its futility."

"You won't find that to be easy." Rias flared her power, a magic crest formulating into the air in front of her. "Our resolve is not so brittle."

Kokabiel smiled as if he had only waited for another display of bravado. "Is that so? Tell me then, can it even handle the truth?"

For whatever reason, Xenovia's stomach sank. "What truth?"

"The only truth that matters." The Fallen's expression was sharp with glee, immediately focusing in on her. "The one that exposes the lie that all of your lives have been until now. When the Great War was fought between the heavens and underworld, every side knew death. Most of them were forgotten quickly, or never even known about in the first place, but one, the only truly important one, that one was hidden."

"Even I complied," he continued, as if admitting to some personal flaw. "But what sense is there now, when I have no intentions of keeping the peace even a day longer?" Kokabiel shook his head, clearly not expecting an answer, and his excitement returned. "The Satans died, every child knows as much, but on that fateful day, on the same battlefield, God fell as well. Your Lord, your Master, the Father above, Creator, God! He's as dead as the rest."

"It… can't be true," Xenovia whispered through a tight throat. Her head was drowned in screaming denials, but she could not give them voice.

"Oh, yes it is. Michael and Gabriel tried to maintain what had been put in place, and they do so to this day, but it is nothing but an imitation. Every prayer answered, every wish granted? Nothing but lies. A curtain of falsehood and trickery to maintain the facade, to trick humans into security and faith. And it has worked wonders."

"It's a lie!" She was shouting now, at him as much as herself, because a terrible part of her already knew. "Nothing but a lie!" Xenovia looked at the others, at Asia Argento and her new comrades, and read the same shock in their faces she had felt like a punch to the gut. Bile threatened to rise, barely forced down again.

Kokabiel only watched, twisted joy in his red eyes, and motioned them all forward. "Come now, it was nothing but the truth. A taste of reality, and everything suddenly crumbles? Surely, this cannot be enough to stop you? Show me. Give me a taste of what remains of your resolve."

Lightning arced, swatted aside like a children's toy. Yuuto Kiba's sword flew straight as a lance and was caught with casual ease. Kokabiel returned the blade to its wielder, who barely dispelled it before it could pierce his torso. Crimson destruction roared and was caught bare-handed, nothing but a thin layer of gold protecting the skin, before being wrenched aside.

Xenovia grasped Durandal's hilt with all her strength, but her limbs were frozen in place and her legs shook below her. She was screaming inside, joining the other denials, but she could not move.

"Do you see now? You only play your parts, not truly understanding. In the end, you are nothing." He raised his arm into the night. Soon, the sky glowed brighter than any day, covered by an entire arsenal of light. With that number, there was no need to worry about one or two being deflected. "But you will be part of something greater, truly, something beyond your meagre existences. Rejoice."

Kokabiel's hand fell and death rained down on everyone present.

Xenovia tried to summon some last bit of strength, tightening her fingers around Durandal's hilt, but inside her there was only a gaping abyss, inviting what was to come and smothering the whisper of defiance still sparking in her heart.

Her sword dipped and she closed her eyes.

Wind roared up in a barrier and every single attack was deflected.

Naruto's hard voice sounded from the roof of the old school building. "Beating children, Kokabiel? Is that how you spend your time now?"

He was clad in black pants and a simple dark orange shirt which clung tightly to his frame. No weapons, not even really combat gear, and Xenovia tried to summon some anger at him for that, for coming as he had now, but it simply would not come. She was only numb.

What did it truly matter? Win or lose, her whole life had been a lie.

Kokabiel's expression, which up to this point had varied between dismissive attention and cruel glee, could only be described as hungry now. Blood-red eyes were wide with excitement and some twisted form of joy and the Fallen Angel was honestly smiling now. It was not a nice smile. "Ah, humanity's monster in the flesh. It has been too long. I was beginning to bore of all these weaklings."

Naruto glanced around the school grounds, and Xenovia thought his cold gaze lingered on her for a moment longer than everything else. "I can see that. But I'm not here to entertain you. There is a score to settle."

"Oh?" Kokabiel took a moment to look at everyone gathered before him, seemingly giving them all the attention he had not until now. "Is it the Red Dragon Emperor?" A quick shake of his head and blood-red eyes were focused on Xenovia instead. "No. The human girl, then? If it stays your hand I will leave her be," he offered magnanimously. "I am still waiting for Sirzechs or Serafall to arrive anyway."

For all that Kokabiel sounded casual about the entire thing there was anticipation under the words, almost like he was hoping Naruto would not stay his hand either way. Or like he was looking for just what he had to do to provoke an escalation, despite the polite overture.

Naruto only looked on, face carved from stone.

Something thoughtful passed through his eyes then, and it seemed like he had come to some conclusion he did not particularly like. He sneered, but the anger in that expression was for no one here, and his face settled into a more relaxed version of before, any of his thoughts and feelings hidden away again.

He stepped forward, off the roof, and fell.

Just before a painful meeting with the ground, his descent abruptly slowed, and slippered feet touched down as gentle as a feather.

Across from him Kokabiel touched down as well, wings folding close to his back, and the two men faced each other head on.

"Why are you doing this, Kokabiel? The Excalibur fragments, employing Rogue Exorcists, and now this?" Naruto made a sweeping gesture at the school grounds. "And all in the pursuit of continuing a war that was decided more than a millennia ago? Desperation does not suit you."

"Decided? Decided?!" The Fallen looked ready to blow a gasket, fingers clawing and twitching with barely suppressed rage. "Nothing was decided! Victory was at our fingertips, things would have been decided then, with our enemies slaughtered to the last!" He slashed a furious hand through the air and his voice took on a deeper, darker tone. "But Azazel cowed the weak with words of peace and made us back off, made us throw away everything we killed and died for. They hung on his every word like little lambs when he spoke of the terrible losses we had suffered, of the devastation that would only grow worse if the battles continued, of the toll it would all exact! And so we lifted our knees off their necks and allowed them to stand."

"I had followed him for centuries, fighting at his command and by his side, and I knew him well. Better than those weaklings ever could." Throaty chuckles burst out, and Kokabiel clutched at his face. "Or so I had thought. A ruse, all of it, I was so sure, so very confident. Some twisted plot of his to lure our mortal enemies into a trap I could not see, leaving them exposed and ripe for the taking." He sneered, all traces of amusement falling from his face and leaving only fury in those baleful red eyes. "Azazel was ever so very good at those."

"Only it turned out to be no plot at all. His talk of peace was truly just that, talk of peace!" Kokabiel spat the word, features distorting every time he said it. "His goals had changed, he said to me then. There was no sense in further warring, only loss. Peace, would suit the world far better. Peace, would be our goal now. If they had not been black already, the betrayal alone should have darkened his wings."

One pale, accusing finger pointed at Naruto. "And now you ask me why I do this? You speak to me of desperation? You have the gall to play at confusion, on this of all matters?" Kokabiel shook his head, disappointed above all. "I know you feel as I do. You're no different from me. We were made for battle, for war. Made to spill the blood of our foes and revel in the carnage. Always seeking to be faster, to be stronger, to be better, until there is only victory, wrested from the corpses of our enemies."

He leaned forward, like an animal about to strike. "I was forced to give it all up, leashed to civility and weakness, and discarded like some unneeded pet that had served its purpose. I was nothing but a tool, forgotten as they all turned their minds to other schemes, playing with lives like puzzle pieces as they had before, only now cloaked in the veneer of politics. I was left to starve for fifteen centuries and every time I wondered at change, I let myself be pacified with the petty conflicts that arose. Azazel served me morsels when I could have been feasting for a long time. And now he wishes to take even that from me." Kokabiel clenched his fist, power spiking with his rage for a moment, though his voice remained deceptively neutral. "I will not have it, not anymore. I have been made to ignore my nature, my very being, for long enough."

This time there was no accusing finger, only an open hand raised in invitation. "I know you, Naruto. Deep down, you feel the same way. But there will be no need for restraint soon." A thoughtful look passed through Kokabiel's eyes, gauging the man before him in a new light. "Or have you lost yourself? Found yourself unknowingly crippled, your edge dulled for so long that you cannot even feel its absence anymore? No matter. I remember the world as it was, as it should have always remained. I will usher in the return by myself, if necessary."

Xenovia suddenly became aware of her sweaty palms. She hadn't considered something like this in her wildest dreams, but she didn't need to think very hard to figure out what could happen if Naruto suddenly decided that promises to her were irrelevant anyway. He hadn't exactly started by weighing them very highly.

Something stroked the back of her leg, and only an effort of will and focus kept her from flinching in surprise. Kuroka moved between her feet, before taking a seat right next to her, one calm golden eye peering up at her before focusing back on the confrontation in front of them.

She felt the back of her neck relax.

Naruto ran a hand through his white hair, vaguely frustrated. "For someone who knows him so well, I would have expected you to notice when you are part of one of those plots."

Kokabiel lowered his hand, frowning. He seemed puzzled for a moment, before his mouth twisted harshly, like he had just swallowed something very, very sour.

Naruto glanced at the sky. "Sirzechs and Serafall won't come. Most likely, they have no idea at all what is happening here and I'm surprised you haven't realised that either."

Out of the corner of her eye, Xenovia saw Rias Gremory flinch, surprise etched into her features. Her black-haired queen mirrored the expression.

"But that's of no consequence to me." Naruto casually shrugged his shoulders, hands spread openly. "I gave my word I would deal with you, but what that means depends entirely on you, Kokabiel. We can both leave here and deal with other things. I'm a busy man and I have no personal stakes in how exactly all this is resolved, but I'm not giving you free reign either." His raised eyebrow was part question and part challenge. "You talked so much about the good old days, so let's have it plain and simple. Leave right now or get to it already."

Kokabiel went unnaturally still.

Xenovia felt all her hairs stand on end and tightened her fingers on Durandal's handle in response. She could almost feel the violence in the air. Then the Fallen raised a hand above his head, and where it passed through the air, darkness was left, lit by innumerable stars the like she had never seen.

Naruto's grin was far too wide. "Thought so." He raised a hand of his own, two fingers extended upwards. His eyes flashed with power and Xenovia's next heartbeat went off like a giant bell in her skull.

"First Wind: Gentle Breeze."

---

Wind blew over the school grounds, ruffling clothes and hair with the barest of questing touches.

Naruto took a breath and felt the air respond in kind. What the wind saw, he saw, stretching his senses over the school grounds and then even beyond the barrier erected to keep any confrontation from spilling into the town proper, feeling every life in the area, those obvious and those trying to stay hidden.

Most of the information he pushed to the back of his mind for now, as he had done with any questions about Durandal or what exactly had been happening before he had arrived. Even Azazel's games and interference were a matter for later, though ignoring the furious voice in the back of his mind that insisted his people mattered far more than his casual promise to a friend's student was no simple task under the current circumstances. The cold knowledge that Azazel would still be there afterwards allowed him the final, silencing push.

Chakra thrummed under his skin, every cell humming with the long familiar power, and his heart beat a steady, excited rhythm. Even through the barrier, he felt the moon beckoning his instincts to the surface and now he didn't fight that pull anymore.

His blood was singing and he didn't wait for a signal to start.

Wind sharpened with a thought after he had made it more pliable than usual, two knives that were air coming for Kokabiel's neck, and Naruto was right behind them, crossing the distance in a flash that cracked the ground where he had been standing.

Light shaped two swords, blocking the wind, but his fist hammered into Kokabiel's face without any opposition. His other hand followed, grasping onto the Fallen's collar and pulling his head down into a rising knee.

Stars shifted subtly and the conjured sky expanded without the need for gestures or words and then starlight rained down as a continuous hail of arrows from Sagittarius' bow.

Naruto twisted around Kokabiel, abandoning his attempt to grapple, lashed out with a kick that sent the Fallen flying, and was making distance before he could find out if the changed light energy had gotten any stronger over the decades.

Kokabiel's wings spread wide, all five pairs of black feathers buffeting him against the force and stopping him in place before he could crash into the old school building. The arrows of starlight stopped while he wiped the blood from his split lip. Kokabiel smiled hungrily, eyes shining with violence.

The next arrows were less numerous, but bigger and faster.

Naruto twisted left and right, flowing around the projectiles, and he was already close again when the first went off behind him, shaking the ground. Chakra spun into existence in his right hand. The Rasengan shattered Kokabiel's block into motes of golden light and was shorn apart by the counter that followed.

He let the chakra destabilise, controlling its direction. Spiralling energy curved in unpredictable paths, lashing out like scouring whips at the Fallen Angel's chest and face.

The next punch snapped Kokabiel's wrist, loosening his grip on the second blade of light. Naruto wrested it out of his grip, his own magical energy keeping the weapon from disappearing with a thought, and buried it in Kokabiel's chest. The Fallen was quick enough to twist his torso so that the tip just barely missed the heart.

Black wings surged forward, protective and aggressive at the same time, trapping him close to Kokabiel while a bigger arrow writhing with astral energy appeared from the stars.

Sheathing his forearm and hand in wind Naruto tore his way from the cage of feathers, jumped and knew it had been the wrong choice before the two other arrows had even fully formed. Wind pushed him back to the ground and out of their path and then he stopped. His foot carved a circle around him as an anchor and he was already flowing through the necessary hand signs, empowering the technique beyond its strength without them.

He finished on Snake, already busy drawing on and strengthening the earth under him as his chakra did its part.

'Third Wind: Warding Gale.'

The arrow exploded with power and wind roared skyward around him, and then his world was engulfed by shades of purple, blue, and gold in a luminous tapestry of the night sky without the light pollution of the modern day.

When his vision cleared, the sports field around him had been annihilated, turned into a crater nearly as deep as he was tall. All except the spire of ground under his feet, and the small hill left below Kokabiel. The Fallen himself had escaped the blast of his own energy entirely unscathed, only the wounds he had suffered beforehand visible among the flickering motes of starlight clinging to his clothes and skin.

The vision of stars above his head shifted again, and Naruto found the patterns easily. Gemini twinkled in the centre now, and Kokabiel healed right before his eyes.

With a crack, the Fallen's wrist snapped back into place. The hole in his chest closed up, covered by smooth, unblemished skin, and what blood that had been spilled dried and flaked away. The wings that had been shortened to little more than half their size were restored to their full glory again.

The star making up the rightmost foot dimmed slightly, before the vision shifted back nearly to its former spot. Scorpio glowed and Kokabiel caught the spear that dropped from its poisonous tail in his now restored hand. The metal looked like it had been shaped right from the night sky hovering above his head.

Naruto thought of calling a weapon of his own to his hand, but decided against it. He felt like getting physical right now, and tonight there was very little that would even slow him down.

Wind was at his fingertips, always and everywhere, ready to be his weapon or his shield. He needed no other tool than that for Kokabiel.

Lowering his stance, Naruto waited for the Fallen to make the next move.

Kokabiel spun the spear in his hand, wings fanning out behind him, and charged behind the point of starlight. The tapestry of night above his head shifted and arrows of light flew, racing to put a hole in his head.

Naruto rushed left, putting the woods at his back and all the spectators outside the line of fire, before closing with the Fallen. A twist of footwork had the tip of the spear lance past him. He grabbed the haft, lashed out with a thundering backhand, and then used the weapon and Kokabiel's unyielding grasp as a pivot to twist his lower body upwards.

Three wings slashed past him, missing, and he snapped two kicks down at the Fallen's head. More wings surged forward, another three for each leg absorbing the impact, while the final one headed for his face.

A Rasengan spun to life in his free hand, heading on a straight path for Kokabiel's face, while chakra-turned wind gathered in the other. He wanted to see how resilient that astral steel really was.

Kokabiel jerked against his hold, trying to dislodge the spear, but Naruto was stronger.

In the next moment, three things happened at once.

First, he caught the final wing coming to carve into his skull between his teeth, clamping down on bone and sinew with sharpened canines.

Second, his Rasengan was averted a few precious inches by Kokabiel's left hand before it could begin grinding into the Fallen's face, only to begin destabilising with a mental nudge.

Third and final, the wind he had been gathering exploded from his palm, crushing force that could level mountain ranges hammering onto the shaft of glittering starlight.

Kokabiel exploded backwards, ripped from the ground by the sheer forces exerted on him, and disappeared in the bowels of the school building behind him, his back for more resilient than the flimsy concrete walls. The aftershock of the impact made half the building crumble on top of him.

Naruto completed his aerial twist and landed, before spitting out the piece of wing he had ripped out with his teeth. "That should have scratched the thing, at the very least."

Something glimmered in the shadows and debris.

Naruto sidestepped the spear that came flying from the wreckage, noting the numerous cracks along the haft as the projectile passed him by.

A new explosion rocked the earth behind him, actually making him use a touch of chakra to strengthen his stance.

Steps echoed from the wreckage, accompanied by a multitude of glimmering lights, but this time no spears followed. The glow strengthened, throwing shadows across the clouds of dust, and then the lights folded in on each other into a singular point, dropping and then caught by Kokabiel's pale hand.

The Fallen stepped from the wreckage, the last of his wounds already disappearing, and the stars that had been illuminating his tapestry of night having lost their light. In his hands he carried a new spear, quite like the one before, but brimming with incomparable power. The darkness and shimmers hovering above him were washed away, dispelled.

Naruto opened his right hand, a new Rasengan spinning to life. The technique had eclipsed his hand by the time he added wind. Even without any contact a groove was being cut into the earth along the line of whirling blades, the high pitched whirring of displaced air drowning out all other sound.

Despite the Rasenshuriken's power, he knew that his attack might still be outmatched. Naruto had no intention of leaving things to chance.

Something hammered on the barrier above him, magical sigils flashing into existence before fading away again just as quickly. Still holding, for now at least, though Sona and her Peerage likely would have been incapable of maintaining it without his subtle strengthening from earlier.

He felt Kuroka's chakra join the effort, no more than a minute flare of her power, and paid the distraction no further mind for now. Kokabiel was still alive, and even with the difference in power between them it was never good to underestimate someone like that.

The Fallen spun his spear and fell into a low stance, weapon held in both hands.

Naruto threw, the Rasenshuriken arcing through the air on a curving path, and rushed forward on a direct route himself, another identical sphere of chakra spinning to life in his hand.

Another two impacts from above made the barrier flash, still holding.

Kokabiel's wings flared out behind him and he only bothered with the first explosive step before simply flying forward.

Both of them took less than half a second to meet in the middle, starlight spear to Rasenshuriken. The curving twin took barely a moment longer.

Kokabiel's instincts did not fail him this time either. He angled his spear, taking the attack on the shaft instead of it carving into his side, but it helped him nothing.

Two Rasenshuriken expanded at once, exploding into a storm of needle winds attacking at the cellular level, while the spear unleashed its astral light.

Power roared outward, clashing against each other and carving away at anything caught in the path.

Kokabiel had seen the two threats for what they were, recognised them and moved to counter with his own power as well as he could. Starlight sheltered him, pushing against the assault of wind and storm, and for now it held.

Only, Kokabiel had not seen the third threat.

Naruto's left hand reached forward, untouched by his own attacks, and plunged into that shimmering energy. The sheath of wind that surrounded his skin was only offense, making a blade of his limb while the flesh beneath was burned away and regenerated just as quickly, with the full moon looking down from above.

His hand slammed through skin and bone, shredding muscle and cartilage on its way through the Fallen Angel's chest.

The starlight shifted and nails bit into his forearm, sharp points of pain that tried in vain to dislodge him and already losing strength. Jerking death throes dug the pain deeper even as the stars lost their battle to the winds.

Destabilizing power lashed outwards with a final effort and when the vortex of power quietened, Kokabiel breathed his last.

Above, the barrier shattered.

Naruto ripped his arm free, spun, and caught the clawed gauntlet reaching for his back by the wrist before contact could be made. A twist of core and legs and a kick hammered into white draconic plate, a shock of chakra behind the impact.

Vali Lucifer, owner of Divine Dividing and holder of the Vanishing Dragon, bounced off the earth before righting himself with a twitch of his wings. He finally came to a stop at the treeline, four furrows left by his normal limbs the only sign of the struggle fighting his momentum had been. Where leg had met armour, the material was cracked and dented, slowly repairing itself.

A beat of silence as wind whispered through the trees.

"Hello, Vali." Naruto faced the new arrival, unsurprised. "A lovely night, don't you think?"

"I suppose," came Vali's answer, voice distorted by the helmet of his Balance Breaker. "I care little for it."

"You wouldn't," he acknowledged, absently checking his blood-covered nails. "What brings you here, then? Besides the obvious."

"Idle curiosity." Vali threw a heavy glance to the side. "Though it turns out to have been a waste of effort. Figures. It's what I get for doing Azazel a favour." A white-armoured arm rose to point at Issei. "Red Dragon Emperor."

Issei pointed at himself in confusion. "Me? What do you want with me?"

The Boosted Gear's gems flashed. "I would think nothing, boy. He cares about me. Isn't that right, Albion?"

Vali's wings flashed in kind. "Not quite, Ddraig. Waiting for a new host is always such a bore, and our current ones are already grown, though it changes little about their quality. Unless matters change significantly, these two will have to be the ones for now. And through them, us."

"True enough."

"You carry the twin to my own Sacred Gear," Vali said, taking over the conversation again. "Your Boost to my Divide. History tells me that we should battle, that we will fight, but right now it would be neither. You would lose before you even knew it, and that would be a waste, of my time and your life." He lowered his arm again. "As you are there is no point to it at all. Gain strength, so that one day we might truly face each other."

Another glance at Kokabiel's corpse and the ruin of the school grounds, and then Vali left again as quickly as he had appeared, rising into the night on sapphire wings.

Naruto watched his retreating form for a few moments, thinking. It surprised him that Vali and Issei had not come to blows, no matter the difference in strength. The rivalry between the two Heavenly Dragons was no simple matter, and the force drawing them together and into conflict was not to be underestimated.

Perhaps his own presence had kept both of them in check, or Vali truly was as dedicated to true battle as he seemed, enough to overcome even a dragon's volition for a time. Time would tell.

With no further possibility of battle, Naruto moved to join the others, everyone alive and accounted for. A mental nudge got the Shadow Clone hiding nearby moving as well.

Xenovia stepped forward, nearly stumbling, and gave him an empty-eyed look. "Is it true?" The words were question and accusation at the same time.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Is what true?"

She seemed to bite her tongue, something between anger and grief carved into her expression and stopping the words.

Rias was the one to answer. "That during the Great War, not only the Satans died, but God aswell."

"Ah. That." Naruto considered his response for a few moments. He could lie of course, and had it been only Rias and her Peerage he might have, but Xenovia had the doubt now and it would not be dispelled so easily. Left to fester it might destroy her. He did not want that. "Yes, that is the truth."

---

One arm still covered up to the elbow in blood, Naruto somehow managed to look casual as he stood before them. Like it meant nothing. Like the world wasn't crumbling right now. Like what had been said was entirely without consequence.

He looked them over with a critical eye that reminded Xenovia of Griselda after a mission. Discerning, assessing, questioning physical and mental state, only with the addition of that strangely unique sensation that was part of his presence making her hair stand on end. She hated it.

"Seeing as the fighting seems to be over for the night, I will take my leave." Naruto walked forward and took her by the shoulder. "Come on, the devils can take care of clean up."

Xenovia tried to wrest herself out of his hold, but his grip was steel. Not painful, but not yielding either. She stopped fighting him after a few steps, too tired and too done with everything to bother. "Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere we can talk without being disturbed. I think that is necessary right now."

A magic circle later and she was sitting in a comfortable armchair while her host went off to gather some refreshments. This was obviously not the same house as the one she and Irina had been invited to before. The style was different, larger and more expansive, and the very air felt like this was an entirely incomparable place.

Xenovia didn't trust Naruto, not fully anyway, but thinking about him and his motives served as the best distraction at hand. She didn't know how to even confront what she had learned, much less what she should do now.

Griselda had called him a friend, and the way that he had dealt with Kokabiel made it clear that he was on another level entirely. Even if she was at her best and used everything she had, breaking and burning out Durandal in the process, there was no chance she could actually take him.

It galled her, nearly enough to overcome the shadow darkening her thoughts, but it was not enough in the end. What was the point, after all?

"Whatever you decide to do, don't rashly discard your humanity," Naruto said, walking over with a tray of assorted snacks and beverages that he placed on a low coffee table in front of her. He'd also cleaned the blood off.

"How–"

"How did I know that is exactly what you were considering?" Naruto smiled and there was something parental about his expression. "You are not the first to find out, nor will you be the last. There is also the fact that I was young once and did a lot of foolish things. Things I would have been better advised not doing."

Xenovia frowned and crossed her arms. "Why would giving it up be foolish? If Go—" she couldn't even say it, a wobble she hated coming over her voice. "If what Kokabiel said is true, what does it matter?"

He still smiled that same smile and regarded her seriously. Xenovia had to suppress the urge to look away from that heavy gaze.

"Don't be shy. Drink," Naruto said and motioned for the assortment he had brought.

Xenovia nearly mouthed off reflexively, since Griselda was nowhere in sight, but she clamped down on that instinct with all the control she could still muster. Instead, she took one of the cups, filled it with coffee, and drank. It was piping hot and burned her tongue on the first sip, but Xenovia refused to flinch.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He had clearly noticed.

After another few careful sips he began speaking again, absently looking at one corner of the room, though he was clearly seeing something else right now. "Do you know what the difference is, between a human and a god?"

I was not the question she had expected to be presented with. Not now, not ever, if she was honest.

"I… I don't know, not anymore," Xenovia eventually answered. Humans died, all the time, but not God.

"Everything that exists harbours some divinity. The exact amount differs from creature to creature and from being to being, but the fact remains. For humans it is only a spark, for normal animals barely more than a dusting. But it is divinity nonetheless. The gods..." Naruto trailed off for a moment before continuing.

"The gods are divinity taking form, and in that they embody an aspect of existence, of reality itself. War, marriage, the sun, the moon, the hunt, harvest, whatever it happens to be. Every god embodies at least one, and so they reflect those things back at others, those who worship them and those that do not. That is what gives them power and dominion over lesser existences. Yet it limits them aswell."

"Limit them? How can that be?" Xenovia was willing to accept many things, the education and training of an Exorcist practically required it, but there were limits nonetheless.

"Because the gods cannot change. They are as they are. Now, and until existence eventually crumbles."

"How can you know?"

Instead of answering, Naruto only smiled. It looked almost sad. When she had finished her drink, he spoke again. "How old do you think I am?"

She remembered Griselda saying something about Cardinal Strada and the Second World War, which made him at the very least eighty years old. Which wasn't entirely impossible. There were a rare few circumstances that could allow even her own kind to live for longer than normal, and appear youthful throughout.

"Around a hundred and fifty years old, maybe?" Xenovia answered carefully. She was mostly guessing.

The wide smile Naruto gave her showed far too many teeth for her liking.

"Come with me," he said, standing, and began leading her through the house. Xenovia followed him with only a moment's hesitation, though she still scanned the surroundings for traps out of sheer habit.

Through three hallways he led her, before stopping in front of two large double doors.

Magic answered his call, and he went to work undoing charm after charm and unlocking sigils and seals. The process took an entire minute, before the final defense gave way beneath his touch.

Both doors swung open, revealing a seemingly endless hall filled with weapons, armour, clothing, and trinkets of a thousand kinds as far as the eye could see.

Xenovia was not often impressed, but even she could admit it now. The collection she was being lead through could put most museums to shame.

Plate armour, kevlar vests, blades of a hundred lengths and materials, guns, bows, and everything else she could think of, not to mention quite a few things she had never heard of, all rubbed shoulders. There was not a single implement of warfare not represented at least once in this vast room, all of it meticulously organised and maintained.

As he passed certain pieces, Naruto let a hand pass through the air near them, clearly remembering one thing or another.

Xenovia was a student of history by necessity more than any intrinsic fascination, but she knew enough to date a few of the things they walked past.

Plate harnesses from the fifteenth century, a cuirassier's armour with a pair of flintlock pistols from the seventeenth, and a simple hauberk and spangenhelm older than the sixth were all found together. There were pieces sourced throughout time and from all over the world, brought together in a display of the past it was impossible not to be impressed by.

The oldest they passed, she thought, was a bronze hoplite's armour, which might have seen two and a half millennia pass, if it wasn't even older than that. Her knowledge had its limits in the end, and some of the assortments of weapons and armour that she could only constrain by dating them as 'very old' and placing them vaguely in the middle east might have been the true victor.

Finally they reached what Naruto had been leading them to.

Two sets of armour stood side by side, arranged in they way they would have been worn six hundred years ago. Naruto stood before the left one, but his gaze was on the right.

The first thing Xenovia noted was the fleur-de-lys subtly etched into the steel near the shoulders and over the heart. The second was the general shape. Maybe it was only the direct contrast offered by the armour beside it, but the shape of the breastplate: the slimmer shoulders, the slightly deeper upper chest, and the subtly thinned waist, it all made her think this armour had been made for a woman.

Scratches and other marks of battle scarred the steel, making it more than clear that it had been put to good use by its wearer.

There was sword nearby, attached to a pristine shield, and a large flagpole with a steel spike at the top. The white cloth was fringed in silk, more lillies scattered over the visible parts.

Naruto reached forward and his hand passed through an invisible barrier she had not noticed before, small ripples trailing through the air around his wrist like he had pushed through a film of liquid.

He picked up a small cross placed on a velvet cushion below the armour. The rosary beads were mother of pearl set in silver, connected by small links of silver chain, and the medal was a sapphire expertly cut into shape. It was beautiful and surely incredibly expensive, and therefore stood in clear contrast to the cross itself.

Carved from wood, it bore its simplicity with unashamed grace, proud of the wear produced by a thousand earnest prayers. Suddenly, for whatever reason, Xenovia understood.

"This–" She turned her head so quickly she nearly gave herself whiplash. It could not be.

"Yes, it was." Naruto nodded, clearly understanding her unspoken question. "It was a gift I made her when her old one was torn in a sortie. But she insisted on keeping her old cross. Her father had carved it for her when she had been very young and she would not have it replaced by pomp and luxury. 'That would sully its meaning,' she told me. 'True belief has no need for that.'"

He breathed long and low, a finger absently running over the cross and then shook his head with a small wistful chuckle. "When I told her the truth, it broke a part of her deep within, one that never healed until her passing. I swore to myself that I would not do that again."

His hand had closed around the cross as he spoke, but now Naruto relaxed his fingers and gathered the entire rosary in his palm. He was still looking at the armour.

"I was born Naruto Uzumaki, an orphan of Konohagakure, more than five thousand years ago, and I have seen things you could not believe. I have been a king, a lord, a conqueror, I have been emperor and general. I have been a soldier in wars uncounting and spilled enough blood to drown entire cities." Naruto looked right at her now. "I am not a good person, not anymore, if I truly ever was one in the first place, but I have people I treasure and love and there is little I would not do for them. And from time to time I try to be a decent man to even those outside that group."

Blue eyes glowed against the chamber around them, shining with power and making no attempt at hiding their age. Naruto seemed more now, more present, more there, his being weighty in a way she did not understand. He regarded her silently, before extending his hand towards her, the rosary dangling from his fingers. The offer was clear.

"You asked me how I could know, what the difference is between man and god? I know because I've met them. I have seen their kind argue the same conflicts again and again, never truly reaching a conclusion. I have seen them exact their wrath on those beneath them, and seen them frown and grumble and rage at every slight, whether real or imagined. I have loved them and hated them, I have even fought some of them. I know."

Xenovia swallowed through her dry throat, unsure who to obey. Her mind, telling her to run and forget this had ever happened, or her body, which seemed entirely intent on remaining right where it was and not moving a muscle. She supposed she didn't have much of a choice anyway.

Naruto sighed, now only a man again, no matter how strange. "I don't expect you to understand all of it, you are young yet, but like it or not you have been made part of conflicts kept from most, and for good reason. You will have to adapt, or be forced to by others."

"You might not wish to hear it from me, or from anyone else, right now, but it should be said. The teachings you grew up learning and following, what you know to be right and wrong, and good or bad; none of that has to change now." His gaze was heavy. "Certain truths have strength beyond death's own claim."

"You might find yourself faltering in time, you might have doubts or misgivings you did not before, but as you did in the past, you can let your faith guide you. That God is dead or not, changes nothing at all, not in any way that truly matters."

She should have been angry, at hearing it spoken again, but she could not summon those emotions anymore, not after everything else today had included. "How does it not? How does it not change everything?"

"Because faith and knowledge are two entirely separate things. The latter you can acquire. Man is obsessed with the pursuit, has been for as long as I have been alive, and that will never change. The former?" Naruto shook his head. "It is a gift, a rare one, and some try to pretend to have it, but it is not the same."

He reached for her, his fingers warm against her cold, clammy hand. His touch was surprisingly gentle as he unclenched her fingers one by one, only a light pressure against her skin as he directed her palm below his other hand. Depositing the rosary in her hand, he folded her fingers over the cool metal again. Xenovia made to protest, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"This is a gift too, and I won't have you returning it without good reason. Use it, or don't, keep it in a strongbox or below your pillow. It is yours to do with as you please."

"I…" Xenovia hesitated, swallowing through a dry mouth, and looked down at the rosary. She ran a finger across the beautiful sapphire amulet and felt conflicted. "I can't possibly accept this."

"But you will," Naruto said, smirking, and moved back the way they had originally come, clearly considering the matter over and done with.

As Xenovia made to follow with a final, lingering look at this incredible cache of history, rosary clutched tightly to her chest, she caught a glimpse of something at the end of the hall. Simple grey garb bordering on armour, with a mask in place of a helmet, coloured markings on the pale surface. The sight, even this short momentary one, unnerved her. She left with slightly hurried steps.

When they were back in the seating area they had first arrived in she found her voice again.

"What now?" Xenovia asked. She was tired, physically and mentally, and with the immediate shock long since faded away only its after-effects and her own curiosity had kept her going.

"I'll bring you back to the house, so that you can rest and spend a night sleeping on what you have learned. If you are asking about after that, that depends entirely on you," Naruto answered calmly. "Your training and bond with Durandal strengthen you beyond the means of the mental interference I am capable of, but I could give you severe head trauma, which might induce amnesia. The physical injury I could heal quickly enough, but the damage to your memory would likely remain. It would take care of your problem entirely, if it works."

A quick solution, but the coward's way and a touch too unreliable for her tastes.

No, even if success was entirely assured she would not do it. Pain did not discourage her, but forgetting a lie she knew to exist, even if she wouldn't actually know anymore, that was wrong. Deeply.

Xenovia shook her head. "Another option, if you would."

"I thought so," Naruto said, nodding. "If you can bare to live a lie, you return to the Vatican and continue as you have, training and working as an Exorcist for the church. You could never tell anyone, but it is possible, should you wish it."

She couldn't say whether that option seemed better or somehow even worse than the first one. To simply continue as she had, seeing all those faces, all those people struggling and fighting and dying, all the while knowing that it was all a gigantic lie?

"Alternatively, you may cut ties with the church and live a life of your own choosing. If you want to gain an education or learn a trade, I would give you a stipend for those years. You could start a business, or work a mundane job among ordinary humans, and you would have what assistance you needed to get started. Or you could continue doing the same work you have been doing, only under me instead."

A part of her wanted to jump at the offer without question. Whatever Naruto truly was, he was incredibly strong and clearly involved in the same line of work she had grown up in. But no matter all the things she had seen and heard today, she had been trained as an Exorcist under Griselda Quarta. Suspicion and caution were how you managed to live beyond your first assignment.

It sounded too clean and too simple to be real. "Why are you helping me like this?"

"Because I call Griselda friend, and if she is no longer able, it falls to me to care for what she holds dear," he answered simply, as if that was reason enough to go out of his way for someone that barely passed for an acquaintance.

And maybe it was, in a certain, strangely twisted way. She did not think he had lied to her, about anything, though it was inevitable that certain truths had been shaded or talked around today.

Xenovia could see his offer for the lifeline it was, and pride and sense warred about that knowledge.

But she also knew that she should not decide now. Not something as large as this, even if her heart already seemed sure.

"That bed sounds good right now," she said instead. Naruto nodded, understanding in his eyes, and stood to bring them back.

Xenovia had her answer the next morning when she woke.

---

The small industrial harbour was empty of people in the night, except for Azazel, sitting at the edge of a jetty with his hands hidden in long sleeves and a fishing rod propped up just beside him. The line was as calm as the water.

"You really are a bloodhound."

Naruto leered at the Fallen's back, his restless fingers tightened into fists. "Maybe you just aren't as careful as you think you are."

Azazel barked a laugh and reached for a flask leaning against the cooler box on his right side. "Maybe." A swig of alcohol and he hid it in his sleeve, still staring at the water. "Was it quick? For Kokabiel, I mean?"

Naruto frowned, arms crossed and a clawed nail tapping against his bicep. "You already know."

"Even so. You know how it is with reports. Ha." Another swig of alcohol and Azazel's voice was suddenly more subdued. "So unreliable."

"Careful." A few steps and Naruto was even with the Governor General, one eye tracking every little twitch, just waiting for the other man to give him a reason. "Be very careful."

Azazel did not give him one, only waiting and watching.

"Kokabiel died fighting, nothing else matters. Quick or slow, he went out in the only way he could ever accept."

"True enough." Azazel chuckled, shaking his head, and reached for his flask again. Long, greedy gulps followed, until only drops remained inside. "Ah! A good match for the occasion. Satisfying and yet it burns going down." A flick of the wrist and the flask clattered to the ground, forgotten.

Silence stretched, echoing off the walls and shuttered gates of warehouses.

"He really was one of yours then?" With a sigh, Azazel reached into his other sleeve and produced a slip of paper and a silver band that he held out to him silently, gaze never straying from the water. "That should hopefully take care of things between us."

Naruto stared at both, one familiar and one new, before stashing the bracelet and taking the paper. He quickly scanned the contents. A location and a time, below that the amount to be collected. His chakra spiked and rage was a cold fire in his gut, howling for blood.

The fishing line stilled, frozen in place with all the water in the area.

"Oh? Not enough for him? He didn't seem that strong." Azazel shrugged, unbothered. "There is room for negotiation of course. I really didn't know until it was too late."

Naruto thought long and hard, waging a war with himself in the confines of his own mind.

He had been alive for a very long time and he had seen a thousand different ways to rule and lead. He had tried his own hand at a fair few of them as well, and as much as he had changed as a person all his life he had stayed the same at least as much.

Konoha was his, and he had a responsibility to the village. But beyond that, her people were his people, every single one of them. They had been since he had founded this Konoha centuries ago and they would remain his until the day he drew his final breath. He had a responsibility to them as well.

Sometimes, what might be best for the village was not best for its people. And equally so in the reverse.

But his people believed in him, all those that chose year by year to remain part of Konoha and all those that had chosen so since this version of the village had first been founded. They believed in him and trusted him, to lead them and rule them, to be their sword and their shield, with strength, with honour, and with wisdom and guile. With mercy when it was right and with ruthless brutality when it was necessary.

Naruto knew that this was one of those moments. One of the decisions that only he could make.

Rage and remaining doubt left him in a frosty breath, and all the ice melted back into water. The fishing line bobbed with the gently lapping waves. Even with the moon barely still full overhead, he felt calm. Every part of him was in agreement.

"Did he fight?"

Azazel glanced his way. "His instincts were sharp, to notice me at all, but it was already too late. If it had not been he would have."

Naruto nodded. "His family will be glad of that, at least." Held between two fingers, he waved the slip of paper through the air. "Triple the amount and our agreement stands. I have a location in mind already and preparations will continue as we discussed."

Azazel thought for a moment, before agreeing. Then the leader of Grigori grinned boyishly, already moved on. "That is good to know."

Naruto turned around, walked half a dozen steps, and stopped. His gaze found the moon. "Twenty four hours after your peace conference has ended, Grigori is my enemy. I run across you or your people, I will kill at my convenience. My people will have orders to consider your organisation hostile on sight from then on. Your people ask for mercy, they die. Your people wave a white flag, they die. You come to settle things before the year is out and without a liaison we both trust, you die."

Azazel shifted in place, but Naruto did not let him speak. "I do not care for your reasons or excuses. Your ignorance is nothing to me, as are your goals. You did what you did and now you get my response. I have no interest in a pitched battle that has us throwing our people against each other, their lives are too precious to me for that. I won't intentionally seek you or your people out either." He waved his empty hand through the air and continued to walk away. "Call that peace or war, I don't particularly care."

"All for one single man? With strength barely beyond the ordinary?"

"His strength is irrelevant. He could have been the weakest of us, and the worst. Either way, he was a part. By attacking him you attacked my Konoha. I have started wars for far less." A final, cold breath. "You have bought an attempt at peace with your plots, but you might have considered more carefully who would take the loss." Naruto raised the slip of paper as he reached the gap between two warehouses. Chakra sparked and flames turned the paper to ashes. "Remember, Azazel. Triple."

---

I hope you enjoyed chapter 5.

With this part done, most of the direct canon parallels should be done and over with. There is obviously some similar things to come, the Peace Conference for one, but I hope for things to diverge more and more from now on.

I gave Kokabiel a power set that was hopefully a bit more interesting than: Light Spear but very big this time. With the star connection and constellations, something like this seemed fitting. It doesn't help him much. In terms of sheer power he still just can't compete with Naruto.

Some new powers for Naruto too, his wind for now. I have an entire set laid out already, which will slowly be revealed as he uses it. No way would he just stick to Rasengan variants his entire life.

Freed surviving in canon is strange to me. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think he is particularly entertaining or interesting as a recurring villain, especially when Siegfried is pretty much a carbon copy of him without some of the lunacy.

Vali's defeat of Kokabiel shows of well just how ludicrous the two Heavenly Dragon Sacred Gears are. Without the time delay between each boost/divide, those powers are just beyond broken. How Issei ever struggles beyond that point mystifies me. He just somehow never raises his base stats beyond pitiful so he needs a thousand boost to even approach his opponent's power. The counter to both, ironically, is speed, though some kind of ultimate defense would work against Divine Dividing too.

Most of the supernatural characters are not good people. Azazel certainly isn't, though he is far more peaceful than others. Odin definitely isn't, warmongering trickster that he is.

For those interested, the next chapter for A Song of Magic is finished and currently being edited. I'm hoping for a release this weekend, but we'll see when it gets done.

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next time.