185Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Highschool DXD if I did this story would not be here
A/N: Sparda44: Don't you worry, Kurama is still with Naruto, he's just unavailable at the moment.
Guest comment: Well to explain what I mean, it's that losing Naruto was a HUGE loss to the leaf's military strength with him being Kurama's jinchuriki and what not, So Danzo spent most of that time trying to recuperate what was lost. But then again, It's Danzo, he did some shady shit but not so much that it becomes a major problem down the line.
Vermilion Devil
Chapter 15: Conflict between allies!? Naruto vs Kiba
"Kiba!? What the hell are you doing!?"
"Tch…" Kiba used his other hand to try and punch Naruto but Naruto crossed his arm and caught the second one. Naruto threw Kiba's hands away from him and created a little bit of space between them.
"What the hell was that about?!"
"You! This is all your fault!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
Kiba refused to elaborate as he came running at Naruto with more speed and although Kiba came at him faster, it didn't help him. Kiba threw an uncontrolled punch at Naruto which he easily dodged. It didn't deter him at all as he went for another one but Naruto leaned to the side, allowing it to pass by him. Naruto then grabbed Kiba's arm and spun him around before twisting the arm behind his back.
"Kiba, Stop this."
"Did you stop getting in my way?"
"Wha-Gagh!"
Kiba stomped on Naruto's foot and slammed the back of his head into his face, forcing Naruto to let go of him. Kiba kicked Naruto in the stomach which sent him sliding back a bit.
"Because of you, He got away!"
"What?"
"If it weren't for you, both those Excaliburs and Valper would be gone!"
"How was I supposed to know that the building was gonna collapse on itself!?"
Kiba clenched his fists tightly. "If only you didn't follow me, I would've had my vengeance by now! I had him and those swords dead to rights and you cost me that. Now, it's time for you to pay." Kiba took up a fighting stance.
'He really means to fight me, doesn't he?' Naruto looked at Kiba with a look of acceptance. This was the outcome he wanted to avoid when he first saw that hate in his eyes. Deep down though, he knew that this was going to happen eventually. He thought back to when Kiba first tried to catch him off guard. Kiba wasn't trying to kill him, that much he knew. If he was, he wouldn't have tried to punch him. That meant one thing. He isn't so far gone that he can't be reasoned with.
But not in the state he's in now.
'He's too angry, he won't listen to a word I say like this. I need to wear him down without hurting him. Then I can talk him out of this.' But can he afford to wait that long with Kokabiel on the loose? Naruto weighed his options. Knocking Kiba out now would save him a lot of time and allow him to catch up to Irina and his clone, but that wouldn't do anything to help Kiba and that would leave them with two allies down against Kokabiel.
He knows it might be risky but he would have to bide his time and hope that his clone can make it to the others and get them prepared for what's to come. Naruto took up a Wing Chun stance and prepared to defend himself against Kiba.
Kiba ran up to Naruto and threw a wide punch to Naruto's face but Naruto did a high Taan Sau block, stopping the punch in its tracks and throwing Kiba's arm away from him. Kiba came right back at him with another punch but Naruto did a Lap Sau block. Naruto pivoted to the side and threw a pulled counter strike, hitting Kiba in his chest and sending him back.
Kiba's strikes were easy to react to, obviously as a result of mainly fighting with a sword. He wonders how long it will take him to realize that trying to punch him out cold isn't gonna work. Naruto looked into Kiba's eyes and saw that he was only getting angrier.
Kiba clutched the spot where Naruto hit him. Kiba scowled at Naruto's calm face.
"You need to calm down."
"And you need to stay out of my way!"
"I just can't do that."
"Why does this even matter to you!? You have nothing to do with it!"
"Because I made a promise." Naruto took a breath and let it go. Yes, he made a promise to them. Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Issei, and Asia all flashed in his mind. They weren't the Konoha 12 but he'd never forgive himself if he let them go through what Sakura and he did 4 years ago.
He made a silent vow to himself the day he left to train with Ero-Sennin that he would never let another comrade fall to hatred again. Even if he was the one that had to fall first.
"A promise?"
"Even if I have to break every bone in your body, I won't let you go down this path!"
"Then we're at a stalemate. I made a promise as well. That I will stop at nothing until those Excaliburs and all those related to it are dead."
Kiba appeared in front of Naruto in the blink of an eye. Kiba threw a right, an uppercut, and a back all in rapid succession. Naruto fucked and dodged each one and jumped before throwing a spin kick on Kiba. Kiba leaned back to dodge it and threw a low kick which Naruto blocked with his own leg. Kiba threw two more punches which Naruto caught and threw away his arms. This opened up Kiba for an open handed strike from Naruto to his chest.
"Letting your anger guide you doesn't help you in the long run. You'll lose sight of everything, trust me!"
"Why should I trust you? All you've ever done was get in my way!" Kiba created a dagger and threw it at Naruto only for him to catch it between two fingers. Kiba used his super speed to try and catch Naruto off guard. Kiba appeared on Naruto's side in an instant and threw a punch to his head but was surprised when Naruto's other hand came up to block it. Naruto's head slowly turned and he and Kiba locked eyes.
Kiba knew that Naruto could react to his speed when he threw Koneko into him during that test. But he was moving much faster here than back then.
"Your speed won't work on me Kiba."
"Don't fuck with me!"
"I'm not."
Kiba zipped around to Naruto's other side and threw a kick to his ribs but it was blocked by the flat of the dagger that he threw at Naruto a few seconds ago. Kiba dashed away from Naruto and came back in quickly with a flying knee but like everything else he threw at Naruto, it was blocked. The force of the knee managed to knock Naruto off his feet, though. Naruto did a backflip in the air to recover. As soon as his foot hit the ground however, Naruto jumped again and did a twisting flip to avoid Kiba sliding in to knock him off balance.
Naruto landed again and raised his arms above his head to block a dive kick from Kiba. Like earlier, Kiba dashed around to a different angle to another hit but Naruto blocked that too. Kiba dashed around Naruto again and again and tried at each angle to land a hit. To Kiba's great frustration Naruto blocked every single one.
Kiba tried one more time to blitz Naruto. Kiba threw a haymaker but Naruto decided not to block this one. He instead ducked under the haymaker, allowing Kiba to pass by him. Before he could go flying past him, Naruto grabbed him by his shirt and threw him down to the floor.
"As I told you earlier, your speed won't work on me Kiba."
Kiba slammed his fist on the ground before getting up off the ground. Naruto noticed that Kiba's breathing had become a little bit heavier.
"Kiba, look at what you're doing now, what would the others think if they saw you like this?" Naruto asked. Kiba didn't respond to his question. "Tell me Kiba, after you get your vengeance. What then?"
"Stop talking." Kiba said. He summoned a full length sword before taking a stance, ready to resume the battle.
"Are you gonna try and kill me now that you realized that knocking me out isn't gonna work?"
"I said stop talking." Kiba said a bit more angrily. His hands shaking and his eyes burning with rage.
"If you keep going this path, you'll find yourself all alone, with nothing but emptiness in your heart."
"SHUT UP!"
Naruto quickly raised the hand that held the dagger that Kiba threw at him earlier to block the downward slash from Kiba. Naruto and Kiba's hands shook against each other as they glared at each other.
"If you're really willing to do anything to get your revenge then prove it to me. Show me you're willing to take that path." There was an unspoken message in his statement. One that both he and Kiba recognized.
"You…" Kiba said angrily. Kiba broke their clash. Kiba threw a horizontal slash at Naruto but Naruto leaned back to dodge it. He leaned all the way back and did a back handspring kick to disarm Kiba of his sword. The kick was successful but it didn't do much to slow Kiba down as he just created another sword and the two clashed again.
"What do you even know about it!? Do you know what it feels like to watch your friends choke on their own blood!?" Naruto didn't respond to that immediately, which Kiba took as a no. "As I thought, you have no idea!"
"You'd be surprised."
Naruto suddenly shunshined behind Kiba and went to Kick him but Kiba looked behind him and sped away in time. Naruto didn't give Kiba any time to rest as he immediately ran up to him just as fast. Kiba barely had any time to react as Naruto charged up a heavy punch. Kiba put up his sword to block the punch but to his bewilderment, his sword completely shattered underneath the force of Naruto's punch, leaving him wide open.
"Hah!" Naruto took advantage of the opening and landed a heavy uppercut on Kiba's chin, sending him flying.
Time seemed to slow down for Kiba as he was flying through the air. When Kiba opened his eyes, his vision was assaulted as all he saw was white. Where was he? Kiba looked around at his surroundings to see absolutely nothing as far as his eyes could see. What is this place? Is this all in his head?
"Isaiah!"
Huh?
"Isaiah!"
Kiba turned around to see Yuki and his other friends running towards him.
"Guys? Guys!" Kiba exclaimed happily. Was he dreaming? Maybe. Why were they here? They were all here though, everyone! He was as happy as he was confused. They were here but…Was he dead? No, that couldn't be it. He couldn't imagine that Naruto would-
…
…
…Naruto?
Suddenly, the world shifted around him as Kiba looked around in confusion. The blank space transformed into the familiar snowy forest that he was all too familiar with.
"What's going on?"
"Isaiah!"
Kiba looked back at his friends. "Wha?" Kiba's eyes then widened in recognition and horror "No…" He whispered.
BANG
A gunshot could be heard and one of Kiba's friends dropped dead to the snow. "No…No no NO!"
BANG BANG BANG
One after another, each of Kiba's old friends dropped dead to the ground.
"Isaiah!"
"Yuki! Run!"
And run she did, but she wasn't running fast enough, not to Kiba's liking anyway. Kiba used all of the speed he could muster to reach her, but he felt like he was moving like a snail, he couldn't tell whether he was moving or not.
"Yuki! YUKI!"
BANG
The final gunshot could be heard and Kiba's eyes widened in horror as blood shot out from Yuki's back and she fell forward. Kiba managed to catch Yuki before she hit the ground.
"No, no not again! Yuki!"
"I-Isaiah…"
"No please!"
Yuki breathing slowly got shallow until finally,she went limp in Kiba's arms, taking her last breath. Kiba shook in both sorrow and rage as he looked up from her body to see the culprit. To his fury, he saw Valper standing there with a gun in his hand and a sinister grin on his face.
"VALPER!"
Kiba got and tried to run towards Valper but he was met by an immovable force.
"What!?" Kiba tried to push through the barrier but to no avail. Kiba then tried to stab through the barrier with a sword but the sword bounced off the barrier and flung away from Kiba's hands. Kiba then took a step back as the barrier took form. After a few moments, it took on a very recognizable physical form.
"Naruto!?"
"Naruto" crossed his arms and had a smug smirk on his face as he regarded Kiba.
"Kiba Kiba Kiba, you're not getting past me."
"What!?"
"Naruto" let out a small chuckle and put up a finger and wagged it while sucking his teeth.
"You're not getting any vengeance if you're that weak."
"Weak!?" Kiba exclaimed. Kiba clenched his fists tight while gritting his teeth.
"Did I stutter? As long as you keep coming at me like that, you'll never avenge those guys."
Kiba closed his eyes as he shook with unreleased anger. "You..You…" what Kiba didn't see was the fake Naruto transform into himself.
Kiba's eyes snapped open with a start and he stared into the deep night sky with hate.
"YOU!" Kiba summoned a sword and did a backwards somersault and stabbed his sword into the ground and dragged it across the earth, stopping his momentum from the punch Naruto gave him. Kiba let out a few breaths before gritting his teeth and looking up to send a heated glare Naruto's way.
Naruto, surprised by the heat and intensity of Kiba's glare, froze for just a split second. As his mind immediately substituted Kiba for Sasuke.
A split second was all Kiba needed.
"Tch!"
"Wha-?" Naruto didn't get to finish as Kiba ran up to him faster than he was expecting from the sword user and Naruto got clocked in the face by Kiba. Naruto took a few steps back and shook off the blow. Naruto looked from side to side as he followed Kiba who was circling around him. Naruto narrowed his eyes and threw a right haymaker which connected to Kiba's face.
Kiba slid back but the punch didn't deter him as he came right back at Naruto. Naruto once again used the dagger to clash with Kiba's sword once more.
"You won't stop me from avenging my comrades!" Kiba yelled.
"I'm trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret!"
"Oh I won't regret killing him." Kiba let one hand off the sword and created a second sword and tried to swing it at Naruto. Naruto was one step ahead of him however, as he did the hand sign for a shadow clone while holding the dagger. The clone appeared and used his hands to balance on the original and threw a kick at Kiba, which he blocked with his second sword. The kick succeeded in breaking up their clash and creating space between the three of them. "That's not what I meant…" Naruto whispered.
Naruto let out a sigh before putting one hand behind his back and his other hand in front of him. Reminiscent to that of Rock Lee and Might Guy. "Come, Kiba. Show me the extent of your hatred!"
Kiba responded by taking on a ready stance with his swords.
"I'll tell you this one more time, Naruto. Get out of my way."
"Then I'll tell you this, no matter how hard you try, I won't let you leave this spot until you calm down."
Kiba growled at Naruto and his grip on his sword got tighter. "NARUTO!" Kiba shot off towards Naruto at great speeds.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'That's right Kiba, come at me like you mean it. Show me your hatred, let me shoulder your burden.'
"Has there been any word from Kiba, Buchou?" Issei asked.
"No, but that's not surprising. Yuuto's head is so clouded right now I don't even think calling us has crossed his mind." Rias said.
"Naruto-Senpai hasn't said anything either." Koneko said while munching on a cookie.
"Do you think that they're ok?" Asia asked.
"Naruto-San? Yeah he's fine. Yuuto? Not sure." Akeno said
"What do you mean, Akeno-San?" Issei asked.
"Yuuto isn't thinking straight so it's gonna get him into trouble."
"And Naruto?" Rias asked.
"I think Naruto has been holding out on us."
"Holding out?" Issei asked.
Akeno lifted her fingers as listed off reasons. "Think about what he's been doing for the last couple of weeks. He took on all of us and won, went off by himself in the rating game and came out unharmed even against Riser. And he caught an Excalibur by the blade and came out with just a scratch. On top of that he can make clones of himself."
"He also caught a light spear with his bare hand." Koneko commented.
"He can also transform into other people."
"He can what?" Rias asked.
"See? Not even you can do that, Buchou. No human turned devil should be able to do what he did. At least not after a couple of weeks."
"Even Issei-Senpai is no exception, and he's the Red Dragon Emperor."
Rias tilted her head in acknowledgement to Akeno's statement. "I'll admit, I questioned it a bit. It is strange."
Asia held her hands together. "I pray that they're both ok. Dear lord,I pray that they both-Ow!"
"I know, I'm worried too. I'm sending out my familiar." Rias said. Her familiar came out with a puff of white smoke. "Find Naruto and Yuuto please."
Her familiar let out a squeak before flying off into the air. Rias put a hand on her chin.
"Hm, now that I think about it, we have no way to contact Naruto do we?"
"Nope." Koneko said.
Rias let out a sigh. "Great…"
'You know, Kiba. You remind me a lot of Sasuke.' Naruto thought. Naruto took out a couple of shurikens and threw them at Kiba in rapid succession. They didn't do much to slow Kiba down as he weaved through them without much effort. 'The fangirls that swooned over you when you step into a room, even your obsession with vengeance. It was like I was hanging out with him for the first time in years.' Naruto jumped away from a horizontal slash from Kiba. Naruto weaved another downward slash and threw a right punch to Kiba's abdomen and smacked him with a left overhead before vaulting over his back, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and throwing him away.
'But at the same time, you're also different from him. For starters, you're not an asshole. On top of that, you didn't stop reaching your hand out to me, even when I told you outright I didn't want friends. Despite what I had told myself before ever coming to the school, I just could never make a real attempt to avoid you.'
Kiba came back at Naruto in a burst of sonic speed. Kiba threw a combination of slashes with rapid speed. Unfortunately for Kiba, Naruto could keep up with him as he bobbed and weaved every single one at the same speed. Naruto kicked Kiba away.
'It took a while, but you grew on me a bit, all of you really. I know that I can't get too close to you guys but that won't stop me from helping from afar!'
"Damn it! Why are you so determined to stay in my way!?" Kiba yelled.
"I won't let another friend fall to hatred, not again!" His words seemed to stun Kiba for a second before the shock quickly gave way to more anger.
"Friend!? You wanted nothing to do with us in the first place!" Kiba and Naruto clashed once more with their blades. "Now all of sudden you care!? Bullshit!"
Naruto looked at his dagger in surprise when he heard a cracking sound coming from it. Soon enough, the dagger cracked in half. Kiba took advantage of Naruto's surprise by ramming the hilt of his sword in the back of Naruto's head. Kiba smirked when Naruto dropped down to the floor seemingly unconscious. Kiba walked a little closer to him to make sure he was knocked out. Just as Kiba got a little too close…
BAM
In a blink of an eye, Naruto was back on his feet and landed a clean uppercut on Kiba's chin, sending him flying back and ramming his back into a tree. Naruto narrowed his eyes on Kiba.
"It's not."
Kiba groaned in pain as he leaned against the tree. "Why?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"Why can't you understand that I need to avenge my fallen friends!? I can't let their sacrifices be in vain!"
"It's because I do understand where you're coming from is why I can't let you get your revenge…Not like this."
Kiba's eyes widened in confusion and clarity for a split second but Naruto saw it. A crack in the armor of hatred that surrounded Kiba that he could exploit.
He's just gonna have to keep pounding away at it.
"Akeno."
"Hm?"
"If Naruto really is holding back, then how was I able to reincarnate him?" Rias asked.
Akeno put a hand on her chin in thought. "You told me something went wrong during the ritual you used to reincarnate him right? Maybe that has something to do with it."
"Maybe it's a potential thing like Issei." Although a good theory, Rias didn't believe it all too much. Even with Issei, the ritual hadn't hurt him. Albeit, he was already knocking on death's door when she reincarnated him but still, out all of the times she had reincarnated someone, this was the only time where the ritual caused damage to the one being reincarnated.
"And for some reason, he doesn't react to holy power like any other devil would."
Was it the piece she used on him? She contemplated on bringing the matter to her brother and Beelzbub when she visits theunderworld this summer.
Rias let out a sigh of annoyance. "So many questions and yet he doesn't answer any of them."
"He's a stubborn little punk. That's for sure." Akeno said in annoyance.
Taken back by her choice of words, Rias chuckled a bit. "You don't seem to like him very much."
"He doused me in pink and strung me up by my legs. I've never been more embarrassed in my life than he did in a couple of weeks." Rias's giggles increased. Not used to Rias laughing at her, Akeno blushed a bit in embarrassment. "What's so funny?"
"It's just, it's not like you to express your dislike for someone like this. Especially using words like "punk"."
"I don't dislike him per say, he's just a little annoying that's all."
"Still, it's refreshing. Now I have something to tease you about."
Before Akeno could think of a response, their conversation got cut short when Rias's familiar came flying in frantically. This alerted the group.
"Did you find them?" Rias asked.
Her familiar nodded its head and flew off in a certain direction. Rias decided to contact Sona before following her familiar. Eventually, Sona and her peerage caught up to them and the bat led them towards a mostly empty street aside from three people. Naruto's clone holding a very injured and unconscious Xenovia, and Irina.
"It's about time." Naruto commented.
"Naruto, are you ok? What happened?" Rias asked.
"I'm fine. Asia?"
"Yes?" Asia asked. Naruto tilted his head towards Xenovia. Asia seemed to understand Naruto's unspoken message and came over and started to heal her as Naruto laid her down on the ground.
"Irina, you ok?" Issei asked.
"A little banged up but I'll be ok."
"What happened over there?" Sona asked.
"And where's Yuuto?"
"We managed to find out where the fallen angels were hiding out. As you can see, it didn't exactly go to plan. And Kiba well, I don't know."
"What? What do you mean you don't know?" Rias said.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I mean the last The Boss had seen him, the building had collapsed on us."
"The Boss?" Sona asked.
"He must be a clone. Which means the real Naruto is still back there." Rias said. Naruto confirmed this by nodding his head. "So what happened to her?"
"Kokabiel ambushed us when we were sneaking around their base. Caught us off guard completely. Xenovia, she slammed her Excalibur down to save us." Irina said.
"So that's how the building collapsed." Naruto said. Irina nodded her head in confirmation.
"You came into direct contact with Kokabiel?" Sona asked.
"Yeah, he was about to kill her when I intervened."
"He saved me from that creep, too. After that he took Xenovia's blade and left." Irina said with a bit of frustration. Irina felt a warm feeling enveloping her and saw the green hue of Twilight Healing. She looked to the side and was surprised to see Asia healing her. Asia gave her a soft smile but Irina looked away. "...Thank you." Irina looked at Issei and felt a bit of jealousy creeping in at the way he smiled at Asia. Irina immediately pushed it down. "How is she?"
"She had a lot of injuries but she'll be ok." Asia said.
"Wait, you said Kokabiel left. To where?" Saji asked.
Suddenly everyone but Naruto and Irina tensed up.
"Buchou." Akeno said. Rias nodded her head.
"Yeah, I feel it too."
"Something holy is nearby." Koneko said as she took a fighting stance. Seeing everyone tense up, Naruto put up his guard as well.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"So you really can't feel the holy energy?" Rias asked, surprised.
"Told you." Akeno said.
Naruto was about to answer her when he heard something split the air behind him.
"Naruto, mov-" Rias tried to warn him but was stunned into silence when he quickly turned around and caught a light spear that was thrown at him. Sona, who had her hand up to make a barrier, was also stunned that he caught that.
"Above you!" Akeno shouted. Naruto spun the light spear vertically to block the downward slash from above.
"It's Freed!" Issei exclaimed. Freed looked like he wanted to tear Naruto's head off his shoulders. His jaw was also swollen and a little bloody from the punch he received earlier. Naruto broke the clash and Freed slid back.
Issei and Koneko cringed when they saw Freed's face. "Ouch." Issei said while chuckling a bit.
"What happened to your face dude?" Koneko asked.
"I broke his jaw a while back when he was attacking her." Naruto said while pointing his thumb at Irina.
"Nice." Koneko said
"Well I must say, I wasn't expecting you to catch my light spear. It was one of my weak ones but still, I'm a little impressed, just a bit." Everybody looked up to see Kokabiel with all ten wings flying above them.
"Kokabiel." Sona said. Both Saji and Issei looked at her in surprise. Issei pointed up to the man.
"That's Kokabiel!? He looks like your textbook vampire."
"Agreed." Saji said while nodding his head.
"Focus, Issei!/Focus, Saji!" Sona and Rias said at the same time.
"Right!/Right!"
"Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri, you two truly are their siblings. The resemblance is uncanny as it is revolting."
"You're one to talk, looking like that 24/7." Naruto commented under his breath.
"So why have you come here Kokabiel? It's not everyday a leader class fallen angel gets up close and personal like this." Rias said.
"During this time of fragile peace I have been so bored out of my mind. I've had little to no action since the great war and I guess you can say I'm feeling kind of restless."
"What does that have to do with us?" Sona asked.
"Everything actually. I've been thinking and I've decided that your base of operations would be a good place to start some chaos."
"What are you plotting, Kokabiel?" Rias asked. Kokabiel took a seat in the air and crossed his legs and put his hand on his chin.
"Well, to put it simply, I want to draw SirZechs and Serafall out of hiding. Seeing their siblings dead on their own territory should do just the trick."
"What do you need those Excaliburs for?" Irina asked.
"I thought that by stealing the Excaliburs would bring Michael out of his clouds but unsurprisingly, his punk ass only sent two dumb exorcists who don't know what they're doing. He could have at least sent someone competent."
"Doing all of that will restart the three way war. None of us can afford another one!" Rias exclaimed.
"That's exactly why I'm doing this, to start another war! Azazel and Shemhazi have been twiddling their thumbs for far too long. They don't want another war but I don't give a fuck!"
"Azazel?" Naruto asked.
"The head of the fallen angels." Rias answered for him.
'I remember Raynare saying something about those names before.' Issei thought. He was about to go into a deep dive of his memories of Raynare but shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.
"Why? Why do all of this to start another war?" Sona asked. Kokabiel let out a groan of frustration.
"Do you know how long it's been since I felt the rush of a real fight? Literally hundreds upon hundreds of years of sitting around doing nothing and now Azazel is going on and on about these sacred gear things."
"What does he want with sacred gears?" Rias asked.
"I don't know and I don't exactly give a damn. I'm tired of sitting around, I need something entertaining."
"You're starting a freaking war for nothing but entertainment!? That's it!?" Naruto exclaimed. Kokabiel let out a laugh.
"Yeah, that's it. No grand scheme about world domination or any of that bullshit."
Naruto growled at him. This guy…He is worse than Nagato. At least he did what he did in the name of what he deemed was peace. This guy is just doing this for kicks! It pisses him off! "You're a maniac!"
Kokabiel noticed Naruto growling at him and chuckled to himself. Kokabiel thought back to when the guy almost got the drop on him earlier. On top of that, he caught his light spear and he's still holding it! Now that's not something you see often. This guy…He could have the potential to be a little entertaining. At least, until the big names come kicking down his door. "And that's why I'm starting with you devils this time around, since angering the angels didn't work much…Pussies."
"Why our school grounds?" Sona asked.
"With both Lucifer's and Leviathan's sisters both sharing the same ground, you too pull in a lot of power. By killing you both I can start the war anew with my own two hands!"
"This guy is seriously messed up in the head!" Saji exclaimed.
Kokabiel switched his attention to Naruto and he smirked. "I must admit, that was a good kick back there. I actually felt that one."
"I got more where that came from, you crow." Naruto said as he glared at Kokabiel. Kokabiel just chuckled lightly.
"Oh I hope so, cause you all will serve as entertainment for my forces and I until SirZechs or Searfall comes." Kokabiel let out an evil laugh. "See you on the battlefield!" Kokabiel then flew off into the air. Naruto watched him leave before his gaze lowered to Freed. Seeing the rage in his eyes made a small darker part of him want to laugh.
"Got something to say to me, bubble face?" The response was immediate as Freed took out his gun and shot at Naruto. Naruto raised the light spear in his hand to block it but the bullets were stopped by a red barrier that appeared in front of him. Naruto looked to his right to see Rias standing next to him with her hand outstretched. Freed growled in anger before throwing down a flashbang, effectively leaving the area.
Naruto frowned a bit. Huh, he doesn't remember being one to poke fun at his opponents when they're angry. Weird. Maybe it was because the guy was a lunatic and he wanted to see him taste his own medicine. Yeah, that had to be it.
"With the power like that and the excaliburs at his disposal, who knows what kind of damage he can do." Sona said.
"We can't let that happen!" Issei exclaimed. He thought of his parents, Asia who was right next to him. There was no way he was gonna let him destroy everything.
"Issei's right, we need to head back to the academy and set up a defense against Kokabiel and his forces quickly." Rias said.
"I'll have my peerage put up a barrier to keep the fighting within the school grounds." Sona said.
"He's bringing more fallen angels with him so be prepared to join in on the fight just in case everything gets out of hand." Rias responded. Sona nodded her head in agreement.
"Hopefully, it won't come to that."
Naruto let out a tired sigh. This is turning out to be more than what he bargained for. This was turning out to be so troublesome. But…
'By killing you both I can start the war anew with my own two hands!'
Naruto thought back to his conversation with Nagato.
'You might try to find meaning in war, but all there is is loss and unbearable pain. All that senseless death, it unleashes a cycle of violence and hatred that never ends. War creates only more war.'
Naruto crushed the light spear in his hand which caught everyone's attention. Naruto took a deep breath to reign in his rising anger. "You guys go on ahead try and hold off Kokabiel for as long as you can."
"Where are you going?" Koneko asked.
"I need to dissipate so I can let the original know what's going on. I also need to grab the rest of my gear from my apartment. Rias, Akeno."
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
"Like I told Issei and Koneko earlier, this isn't a rating game anymore. You'll be fighting for your lives this time." Naruto put a hand on their shoulders. "I want you guys to protect each other and yourselves."
"You got it. I won't allow any of you all to die." Rias said
"Same here." Akeno said.
"Good. Be careful and stay safe." Naruto looked over to Issei and Koneko and nodded his head at the two of them before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.
Rias looked at Sona and could see the questions appearing in her eyes from Naruto's display of abilities.
"I'm going to need a long explanation after this."
"Right now questions can wait."
"Agreed." Rias and Sona began to walk towards Kuoh Academy.
"Let's go./Let's go!"
"Yes Kaichou./Yes Buchou."
Naruto ducked under a slash from Kiba and froze when he received the information from his dispelled clone. This momentary freeze almost cost him as he narrowly dodged Kiba's flying punch. Naruto jumped away to create some space between him and Kiba. It didn't do much as Kiba was right back on him.
"Kiba, we don't have time for this!" Naruto ducked under another sword slash and countered by throwing a left to the side of Kiba's body. It didn't take long for Kiba to recover however as he shook off the hit and lunged at Naruto. Naruto sidestepped the lunge and grabbed Kiba's arm and twisted it at an angle to force him to drop the sword. Naruto then flipped behind which caused Kiba to wince in pain as his arm was twisted behind him.
"Everyone back at the school is in danger!" Kiba seemed to freeze for a second before he tensed up again.
"You're lying!" Kiba stomped on Naruto's foot hard before slamming his head into him, forcing Naruto to let go of him. Kiba kicked Naruto in his stomach, sending sliding backwards.
Naruto easily stopped his backwards descent by plunging his feet into the ground. "Why would I lie about this!? Kokabiel is planning to attack them soon!"
"Shut up!" Naruto pulled out a kunai as Kiba picked up the sword Naruto had forced him to drop. The two dashed to each other once more and clashed their blades. The two continued to clash, countering each other's strikes in something akin to a dance. As Kiba and Naruto slid across the forest from each other, Naruto noticed that Kiba's strikes and slashes had less power and more hesitation to them than when they first started fighting.
"Why are you so determined to stop me from avenging my comrades? You weren't like this not even a week ago. So why now!?"
"I tried minding my own business, to let problems sort themselves out on their own but I just can't. Not when it's causing you to suffer like this."
"I'm not the one who suffered…They are the ones who suffered at the hands of excalibur. I promised myself that I wouldn't rest until those swords and all who were connected to it were destroyed. I've come so far since then. I appreciate everything Buchou has done for me up until this point. But before her, It was them. They all had dreams, dreams bigger than mine, and that was stolen from them! By some bullshit project THAT DIDN'T EVEN WORK!" Kiba clenched his fists. "I can't take that lying down, I won't."
"I understand how you feel, believe me I do, but what you're doing now isn't avenging your friends. You're just destroying yourself from the inside. Revenge isn't what you need."
"Like you would know what I need."
"Ok then, let's say you do get revenge, then what?"
"Anything after that doesn't matter anymore. My mission will be complete."
"If you truly believe that then you're a bigger idiot than I thought you were. Rias shouldn't have bothered."
"What?" Kiba said angrily. Naruto let out a breath before steeling himself for what he was about to say to Kiba. If he was lucky, his next words would either drop a cold bucket of water on Kiba's fire, or pour a big bucket of gasoline into it. What was it called? Reverse psychology?
"Rias wasted her time saving you if you're gonna throw your life away for stupid revenge. Yuki and the others sacrificed themselves for nothing."
Kiba took a step back as if Naruto's words had physically hurt him. Naruto inwardly cringed as the rage he saw that filled Kiba's eyes went hand and hand with Sasuke's when he reunited with Itachi years ago and he silently hoped he didn't push Kiba past the point of no return.
"For nothing!? How dare you…NARUTO!" Through one last burst of anger, Kiba ran at Naruto at great speeds, 100 percent determined to shut him up. Naruto watched Kiba come at him in slow motion. He saw the whirlpool of emotions going through Kiba's eyes, namely confusion and anger. What he couldn't tell was that Kiba's anger was directed at him or something else. Deciding that he had fought Kiba long enough, Naruto dropped his guard, allowing Kiba's punch to land. Naruto fell to the ground and Kiba didn't let up, getting on top of him and landing another punch.
Kiba landed another punch on his face, this time with blood coming out of Naruto's mouth. He landed punch after punch, wailing on Naruto until he was satisfied. Each of Kiba's punches echoed through the forest, with Naruto doing nothing to defend himself. This ordeal went on for some time before Kiba's punches started to slow down as clarity began to come to him.
Kiba threw one last punch towards Naruto but right before it could connect with his face, the fist stopped. Naruto looked at Kiba and saw that he was shaking.
"Why?" Kiba asked through gritted teeth.
"Hm, come to your senses?"
Kiba grabbed Naruto's collar and pulled him up to his face. "Why did you allow me to hit you!? You could've dodged it!"
"Are you satisfied?"
"What?" Kiba asked in confusion.
"I said are you satisfied? Did hitting me make you feel any better?" Kiba got up off of Naruto and Naruto got up off the floor before wiping himself off. "Now that you expended all that pent up energy, tell me. Do you feel good right now?"
"I…" Kiba opted to look away from Naruto, knowing what that answer was.
"It felt good didn't it? But tell me Kiba, was it worth all of this?" Naruto put out his hand to put an emphasis on his point. Kiba looked around the forest and saw there were cut down trees, trees that had holes in them. Pieces of the ground were caved in and stabbed through. "Look what it led to. All this destruction, by you and I. Do you think this is what your friends would have wanted for you?"
At the mention of his old friends, Kiba tensed up.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Which part? The need to avenge the fallen, or the part where you throw your entire life away in order to achieve it?"
Kiba glared at Naruto. "Well then what was I supposed to do, let their deaths go unpunished!? No way!"
"Kiba, you need to let it go."
"Let it go!? You want me to let them go!? Right when I'm close to avenging them!?"
"I'm not saying that. I'm saying you need to let go of that hate inside you. Don't you see Kiba, you're clinging to it like a lifeline." When Kiba showed no signs of talking, Naruto continued. "Kiba, when you cling to something like a lifeline, eventually it ceases to be a lifeline and just becomes your life. This hatred you're carrying, it's consuming you from the inside out." Naruto put his hand on Kiba's shoulder. "Let it go, before you do something you can never take back."
Kiba shook off Naruto's hand and turned his back to him. "I don't think I can, not until those swords are destroyed. They were like family to me. I can't let their suffering be in vain."
"Ok then, let's say you do end up getting your revenge, what will you have after that? Nothing."
"That's easy for you to say. You have no idea how it feels to watch your friends die! How would you react if I was the one who killed your friends in front of you!? You'd be doing the same thing I am!"
"Easy there, just calm down. Besides, you're a little late on that theory of yours."
"What?"
Naruto looked at Kiba with eyes that held both understanding and hidden sorrow. "You're not the only one who lost people, Kiba. Remember, you've only known me for a couple of weeks." Naruto walked up behind Kiba and put his hand on his shoulder. "Kiba, you've been given a second chance at life. You shouldn't throw it away for something like revenge. You have people waiting for your return."
"The club members…Buchou…Naruto?"
"Hm?"
"Why would you go so far? To allow me to beat you down like that. Why?"
"...Because I'm your friend, Kiba."
Kiba gasped and looked back at Naruto, surprised that he actually came out and said it.
"Rias told me that she sees you guys like family. I assume you feel the same for her?"
"Of course, she's the main reason I'm standing here now." Kiba said without hesitation.
"I'm glad you feel that way because right now she's in danger."
Kiba quickly turned around to face him. "What!?"
"Kokabiel and Valper are heading towards Kuoh Academy right now. Rias and the others are heading to hold them off until the SirZechs or Serafall arrive. Whoever those guys are."
"Why didn't you start with that!?"
"I tried, but someone was busy trying to cut my head off!"
Kiba winced at the statement and looked away. "I wasn't trying to kill you…Just knock you out."
"Anyway, Those guys need you, Kokabiel is going to kill Rias and Sona so he can incite a war. With you there it can even the playing field, even if just a little bit."
"And where are you gonna be? You're a part of Buchou's peerage too." Kiba noticed Naruto making a face as he mentioned the peerage but quickly masked it.
"I need to grab the rest of my gear from my apartment. Unlike the rest of you, I can't create my tools out of thin air." Kiba nodded his head as he began to walk past Naruto in the direction of Kuoh. "Kiba, I mean it. Let it go, before it consumes you again."
Kiba stayed silent as he stopped walking. The silence continued on for a few moments before Kiba. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I don't think I can. Not while Valper is still alive and causing more havoc." Kiba then sped off into the night.
Naruto let out a sigh of frustration as he brought a hand down his face. "At least he's back to semi-normal, I guess." Naruto began to scratch the back of his head before shunshining into the trees and leaping towards the direction of his apartment. 'If he loses himself and tries to fight me again I'm breaking something and dealing with the consequences later.'
Chapter end
Happy Halloween everyone. Yes I know that when you guys read this it'll be the day after Halloween but anyway Hope you guys had a great Halloween. I hope the fight came out good, because I know Jack shit about sword fighting, let alone versus someone without a sword. Did y'all like the way I went about the fight? My intention was for Naruto to knock some sense into Kiba but not so much so that his development in the fight becomes useless. I hope that got across well.
I send my thanks to all of my returning readers and my new readers for sticking with/joining me on this journey. I will be working on the next chapter soon, leave all reviews whether positive or negative and suggestions if you want. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.
This is The Devious Duckling signing off.