764I Don't Own or Highschool DxD
Thunderous Music - Chapter 2
Naruto watched on in amusement as his two subordinates wolfed down the large amount of food he had ordered for them. It was funny to think that two Holy-Sword warriors coming from one of the wealthiest organizations in the world would not have any money for food. He himself had access to some of the Vatican's accounts, and he could use the money inside as long as it relates to his mission in Japan…but no one would mind if he bought a new grand piano for himself.
"Thank you…Senpai!" exclaimed Irina in between chewing and swallowing. "I love these family restaurants!"
Xenovia nodded quickly before she grabbed a plate of omelet rice. "Yes…this country's food is heavenly, thank you, Naruto-senpai!"
The blond rested his back against the seat as he sipped on his own iced tea. "No problem, remind you to transfer some money to your account so you would be able to buy food for the rest of your mission; I can't be seen eating with you two so often."
"Oh Senpai, you are an angel!" exclaimed Irina happily as Naruto chuckled.
"No, just an exorcist…"
Xenovia polished off her plate and grabbed another. "We will now be able to fight a full strength!"
Naruto chuckled again as he shook his head. "With the money I give you, please go and get some normal clothes, we don't want everyone in town to think the two of you are crazy." Irina nodded a little confused, but was going to follow orders either way. "Also Xenovia-san, please try to find some sort of case to put your Holy Sword in; people are moving away from you in the streets because of the size of that thing."
The blue haired girl looked at her blade a little confused. "But I don't have a case for it…"
"I think I have a spare Cello case at home, I'll get it for you later…"
Xenovia wiped her lips and bowed until her forehead touched the table. "Thank you again, Naruto-senpai; we would be lost without your leadership!"
"Remember…" started Naruto more seriously than before. "I am only here as a last resort; I will only interfere if the two of you are in danger or are unable to continue the mission, so make sure to report every detail to me as you find them."
"Hai, Senpai!" replied the two girls in unison.
Naruto nodded as he crossed his arms. "Now, I believe you both already now of the small group of Devils that resides in this town?"
Xenovia nodded seriously. "Hai, there is the Heiress of the Gremory Family and the Heiress of the Sitiri Family." Irina nodded along at her partner's words. "They both have their own peerages, and the Gremory Heiress has the Seikeryutei as her pawn."
The blond nodded. "Yes, I ran into them just last night at my recital; the Gremory girl does appear to be quite strong for her age, but it's nothing to be worried about." Naruto looked over at Xenovia and leaned further into the table. "Set up a meeting with Sona Sitiri and Rias Gremory, and tell them both about our current mission in town…this is something between us and the Fallen Angels, so it would be best for them to stay out of the entire ordeal."
Irina nodded. "Okay…"
"It was also mentioned in your report that you personally know the Seikeryutei, Irina-san?"
"Hai, he was my childhood friend back when I lived in this town, but he was just an ordinary boy back then…" Irina had a small pout on her face as she poked the table. "I didn't know he was going to be turned into a Devil…"
"Yeah, I know how you feel…" Before Irina could question him about what he meant, he continued. "But anyways, I am going to be a student in Kuoh Academy for the time being, and I have suppressed my powers to the bare minimum so the Devils can't sense me, so any sort of fighting would be carried out by the two of you." Naruto pulled out two small pieces of paper and gave each of his subordinates one. "If either one of you find yourself in a dire emergency, channel some magic into these, and I will come help immediately."
Xenovia smiled at the piece of paper with some sort of seal on it. "Ah, this must be Naruto-senpai's infamous teleportation spell."
Irina's eyes were twinkling in excitement as she looked down at the piece of paper. "With this spell Senpai destroyed one hundred and fifty Fallen Angels on his own…and got the moniker Kiroi Senko!"
Naruto smirked and chuckled. "Yes…but you must only use them in emergencies; remember, I am only here as a last resort." The name of the Kiroi Senko and the strongest exorcist had been heard too often lately, and the church didn't want to attract too much attention to him; it would be bad if the Devils and Fallen Angels band together to terminate Naruto.
Xenovia bowed again as she smiled at Naruto. "We won't let you down, Naruto-senpai!"
"Hai, we'll get the swords back safe and sound!"
Naruto smiled back and nodded. "Good…now let's get some dessert!" He only chuckled more when he saw the delighted smiles on the girls' faces.
Back in Kuoh Academy, Akeno was acting out her usual routine of preparing snacks and drinks for her club members. It was Saturday, and according to her own personal schedule, she was supposed to bake some chocolate chip cookies, which were Koneko's favorite. The Onee-sama of the Occult Research Club had a smile on her face as she pulled a tray of freshly baked cookies out from the oven, but it looked as if she was forcing the smile on her face.
Akeno felt lucky that there was no school today, and she could waste the day by doing perfunctory tasks. Ever since she saw Naruto again after so long, she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. The girl tried her best to convince herself that she had no feelings for Naruto, and it was partially true, she had no romantic feelings for him at the moment, but she really wanted to meet up with him just to find out what he has been doing for the past fourteen years.
As Akeno placed the cookies onto a nice plate, her mind wandered in her memories of the previous night…
The concert was very good, and she thought that before she realized the conductor was her childhood crush, but she really wanted to know how Naruto turned into such a scholastic young man. From what she could remember of Naruto, he was a loud, cheerful, and hyperactive boy. She wondered if something drastic had happened to him to cause him to change so much…
"Hey everyone, let's have some snacks!" chirped Akeno with a smile as she pushed her snack cart into the meeting room. "I made your favorite, Koneko-chan!"
The petite white haired girl jumped from her seat and grabbed several cookies in one go. "Thank you, Akeno-senpai…" said Koneko with more emotion that normal.
"You're welcome!" Akeno made a steaming cup of tea and placed it on Rias' desk. "Here you go, Buchou."
Rias smiled at her Queen and nodded. "Thanks, Akeno."
Akeno smiled back and stood behind Rias as she would usually do…
The club president skimmed through a stack of papers on her desk and smiled at her servants. "This has been a good month!" said Rias happily. "Akeno made eleven contracts, Koneko made ten, Yuuto made eight, and Asia made three!"
Kiba smiled at the new bishop and nodded. "Amazing Asia-san, you are certainly getting the hand of being a Devil."
"Yeah, you're doing great, Asia-chan!" exclaimed Issei happily as he wrapped his arm around Asia's shoulders.
"But Issei, you didn't make any contracts this month…" said Rias as she looked at her pawn sharply. "If this continues I will has Asia teach you a few things."
"I'm sorry, Buchou~!" cried the young man with tears falling from his eyes.
As the usual meeting went on like it would go every day, Akeno's mind was being pulled to another place. Much to her own frustration, she kept wondering what Naruto's life was like in the past fourteen years. Did he go to music school? Did he travel to other countries? Did he keep the watch she gave him? Did he have a girlfriend? There was virtually no reason for Akeno to think about such trivial things, at least it was what she tried to convince herself of, but her curiosity was getting to her nerves.
Life really had its own way of showing irony and amusement. Back when Akeno was kicked out of her family and was alone on the streets, she often thought about Naruto and how he would come out of nowhere and help her find her mother again. The blond boy became an imaginary escape Akeno had from reality, and even though she had only associated with him for half an hour at most, he became one of the most important people in her life. Akeno wouldn't be able to count how many times she dreamt about Naruto finding her when she was alone…
But fate was cruel enough to let her see Naruto again when she no longer needed him to rescue her…
Akeno closed her eyes and sighed as silently as she could.
All the things Rias said to her the previous night had also been bothering her. Akeno knew full well that the "Naruto" in her mind wasn't the actual Naruto, he was only an image she created by her mind as someone who could potentially rescue her from her loneliness. Akeno could still remember many of the scenarios she imagined back when she was still alone, and most of them involved Naruto coming in to save her like Prince Charming.
A small smile came onto Akeno's lips as she shook her head at the thought.
'I doubt he even remembers me…I was just a girl he met fourteen years ago for half an hour; only a fool like me would think so much about this…'
"Akeno?" said the sudden voice of Rias.
Akeno jolted from her position as she was pulled from her stupor. "Y-Yes?" muttered out the girl as she looked down at her Master.
"Are you okay?" asked Rias looking concerned. "You were really spacing out for a moment…"
The Queen composed herself and nodded, "Yes Buchou; sorry about that, I had something on my mind."
Rias had a good hunch on what was bothering her best friend, but decided to speak with her about it when they were alone. "Okay…now let's continue." Akeno forced herself to pay attention to the meeting, but it was getting harder and harder by the second. "Tonight we'll all meet at the old warehouse; we have to destroy the stray tonight!"
"Hai, Buchou!" replied everyone in unison, including Akeno.
'Maybe a good battle will take my mind off this…' thought Akeno as she closed her eyes again.
Naruto had his eyes closed as he took in the variety of sounds that rushed into his ears. The fishing rod in his hands was being gently pulled by the river water, and the vibrations that ran through the rod made a nice tempo for his natural symphony. The wind blowing through the leaves were his flutes, the birds chirping were his brass, the light vibrations were his percussion, and the fishing rod in his hands was his baton.
A small smile graced the young man's face as he harmonized the natural sounds with a soft hum of his own. Although he was supposed to be in class right now, Naruto couldn't help but spend some quality time with such natural delight. The sunlight felt warm on his skin as the light wind cooled him to perfection; fishing was just an appetizer.
"Oh, I didn't know youngsters like yourself like to fish…" said a man beside Naruto with a casual tone. "I'm happy the next generation will carry on this wonderful hobby." The man had his eyes locked onto the river; never once did he look over to Naruto as he spoke.
"I came here for the serenity, but fishing is certainly one of my favorite pastimes", replied Naruto just as casually as he looked at the man through the corner of his eyes. The first thing Naruto noticed was the man's hair; it was mostly back but he had golden bangs hanging from his forehead. Naruto felt something from the man, but he couldn't exactly put his finger on it; it was as if the man was hiding his something from him.
"Well you have good eyes; this is one of the best fishing spots in the city." The man sighed lightly as he readjusted his sitting position. "I usually catch at least one here every day."
"Really?" asked Naruto with a small smile. "That's impressive."
The man sighed again as he leaned back on his left hand. "Well this is a small town with almost no pollution, so the rivers are very bountiful." Naruto absentmindedly nodded at his words. "But lately many people have been coming into this small town, which is very interesting since there really isn't much here."
Naruto was beginning to sense a subliminal message, but decided to ignore it for the moment. "Tourists are always good for towns; they bring in extra money, new insights…with all these new people this town will become a large epicenter."
A soft chuckle was heard as the man looked over at Naruto. "Yes…that is what I'm concerned about." The man adjusted his fishing rod a little before he looked back down at the river. "We get some tourists every now and then, but for the Vatican to send their most powerful soldier here…now that is something very interesting…"
Naruto closed his eyes and smirked. "I knew there was something odd about you…but to think that someone of your caliber would reside in such a desolate town." The blond rested his fishing rod on the ground and used his foot to keep it in place. "What is it about this place? Is there some form of magic rendering this place into a supernatural gathering place?"
The man chuckled again as he looked over at the young man. "Well not really, I like it here because it is quiet and I can focus on my research…but one question, do you really know who I am?"
"Well it really isn't that hard to guess…to be able to sense who I am with my powers suppressed to this level…you can only be a few people." Naruto sighed and rested back on his elbows. "Given that our mission here is to retrieve something the Fallen Angels took from us, it would be safe to assume that you are one of the leaders of the Grigori…" The man smiled and nodded. "And the fact that you are here fishing while the church is hot on your tail suggests that you are not Kokabiel, he is nowhere powerful enough to be relaxing…so I'm going to take a wild guess and say you are Azazel, the Governor of the Fallen Angels."
The man laughed light-heartedly and also placed his fishing rod on the ground. "To think that someone so young would already be so integrated into the world…you really are something, Kiroi Senko-san."
"Thank you, Azazel-san, but like me ask you; how did you sense me?"
The Governor smiled a little as he reached into his Kimono. "You did suppress your aura to the bare minimum, but it still has your distinct signature…the same signature you left in Spain a few years ago." Azazel revealed a bottle of sake and two small plastic cups. "It wasn't hard after all that…" The man poured the liquor into the cups and handed one to Naruto.
Naruto accepted the cup with a nod and downed the drink in one go. "So you were in Spain three years ago…"
"Yes, and I must admit that it was a very impressive display of power." Naruto seemed emotionless as he let the man continue to speak. "It's not every day that a boy can destroy an entire army of Youkai using only one spell…" The battle was not recorded in any document, but almost everyone in the supernatural world knew of it. It spoke of a young exorcist who destroyed a Youkai army of three hundred by himself; his movements were so quick he killed every single one of his enemies in just three minutes. The spectators of the battle gave the young exorcist a name: Kiroi Senko.
"I'm flattered; it is also not every day that the Governor of the Fallen Angels praises someone."
Azazel chuckled and shook his head. "But I was a little disappointed that time…"
"Why?" Naruto asked as he poured himself another drink.
"Because I was hoping to see you use your actual power, not just your Teleportation Spell." Azazel focused his eyes on Naruto as he said that. "You are human…and no matter how talented or well-trained you are it would not be possible for you to emit such a powerful aura at the time, so I know you have a Sacred Gear of some sort." Azazel narrowed his eyes. "A very powerful one…"
Naruto smirked as he enjoyed the stinging drink. "Is this why you confronted me today?" asked the young man casually. "I thought you were here to discuss matters regarding the stolen Excalibur blades and Kokabiel?"
"Those things don't really interest me…I am more of a Sacred Gear enthusiast, so I am much more interest in your real power."
"I'm sorry Azazel-san, but I am not obligated to say anything about my powers…" Naruto said with an amused smile on his face. "But if Kokabiel is strong enough to force me to save my subordinates, then you might see me use it."
"Oh please!" exclaimed Azazel with a friendly laugh. "Kokabiel is not strong enough to force you to use your Sacred Gear!"
"Well that is not my problem, but you can always send stronger foe to fight me if you really want to see my power, but I wouldn't recommend it." Naruto muttered after another drink. "I am really not one to enjoy fighting; I'd much rather stay at home and write up some new scores…" With a sigh, Naruto reeled his line back in and packed up his things. "This sake is really good, thank you, and if the next time we see each other is another friendly encounter, I would gladly share a glass of vintage Italian wine I brought with me."
Azazel smiled and nodded. "Thank you, I might hold you to that offer." The Fallen Angel watched as Naruto walk away from the river. "Hey!"
Naruto stopped and looked back through the corner of his eyes. "Yes?"
"What is your name, I don't want to keep calling you Kiroi Senko?"
"I am Naruto…" With that, he walked away and disappeared into the distance.
'Maelstrom huh? I have a feeling that Vali would love to meet him.'
The final bell had rung throughout the many hallways of Kuoh Academy and it marked the end of classes. Student happily ran out of their prisons and chatted loudly as they made their way to their lockers. It was a Monday, so school seemed extra lengthy and boring to most people, and the bell was a like a message sent from heaven. Though one person was walking particularly slower than everyone else, and she had a rather depressed expression on her…
"Akeno, are you alright?" asked a concerned Rias as she walked up to her best friend. "You've been in a stupor the whole day…"
The black haired beauty gave Rias a small smile and nodded. "Yes, I'm just tired."
The Gremory nodded rather reluctantly and led Akeno over to a vending machine. "Come on; let's get you a cold drink." Akeno followed after her friend, but was back in her thoughts almost immediately after. "I nice iced tea will wake you up a bit…" said Rias as she inserted some coins into the machine. "Here, drink this…" Akeno took the can into her hand and felt its coldness against her palm, but her eyes glazed over when she saw the smiley face right in the middle of the can.
Rias saw what her Queen was looking at and sighed. "Come on Akeno; stop this or you'll go crazy."
Akeno shook her head and looked back at her best friend. "I-I'm fine…" She looked back down at the can and sighed a little at the yellow smiley face. "It's just that…"
"Do I still look like that when I smile?" asked a sudden voice from behind Akeno and Rias, and the both looked back to see Naruto smiling at them. The young blond was wearing the winter uniform for the school, and it looked quite well on him if the girls passing by were of any indication; Rias would usually only see them act like that around Kiba.
"It's you!" exclaimed Rias a little louder than she would have liked.
Naruto maintained his smile and nodded. "Yes, it's nice to see you again Rias-san…" The blond looked back over at Akeno and looked into her confused and dazed eyes. "I'll ask again…do I still look like that when I smile?"
A small smile involuntarily came onto Akeno's face as she nodded. "Yes…Naruto-chan."
"It's great to see you again, Akeno-chan…"
Rias stood beside Akeno for support as the latter stepped closer to Naruto. "So you remember me?"
Naruto nodded as his smile grew brighter. "Yes, I didn't recognize you at first since you've become even more beautiful than before, but that orange ribbon on your head confirmed everything."
Akeno giggled and gave a small nod. "Thank you…it seems that you have changed a lot also."
The blond nodded. "Yes, I have…"
Rias decided that she really was getting in the way of the two, so she stepped back. "Hey, I have something to do in the clubroom, so I'll leave you two alone…" Akeno looked over at Rias a little surprised, but the Gremory just smiled at her. "I'll take care of everything today, just go catch up!" With that, Rias ran down the stairs, not given Akeno any chance to argue.
Naruto chuckled a little before he looked back at Akeno. "So Akeno-chan, how about we go have a drink and catch up?"
Akeno smiled in the end and threw away her canned iced tea. "Sure Naruto-chan, I would love that."
"Please follow me, Saito-san told me of a nice café just next to the school…" Akeno nodded and followed him with a smile. "But one thing first…can you please not call me Naruto-chan?"
Akeno giggled again and nodded. "Sure, is Naruto-kun okay?"
"Perfect!"
The café close to the school was actually very nice in Naruto's opinion. It was an open-air café with quite a few tables spread out between a very nice organization of plants and flowerbeds. The tables and chairs were not unlike ones he would see back in Italy, and they play some soft classical music in the background, which made everything better in Naruto's mind.
It appeared to be quite a popular place among students; looking around, almost every one of the other tables was filled with people wearing Kuoh Uniforms. Some people were looking over at Naruto and Akeno with widened eyes, probably because it was not every day that one of the goddesses of the school would be accompanied by a young man.
Naruto ignored everyone around completely, and pulled out a chair for Akeno before she sat…
"Thank you, Naruto-kun…"
"You're welcome…"
A waitress walked over to the two with a nice smile. "Hello there, what can I get for you today?"
"I'll have an iced tea please, what about you, Akeno-chan?"
"I'll have the same…"
As the waitress left their table, Naruto immediately looked over at Akeno and their eyes met. He had thought about finding Akeno again countless times before, and he had thought of many scenarios, all in which he would try to be as cool as possible, but for some reason he couldn't think of anything to say at the moment. Akeno was, in some ways, the same as he remembered her; like her silky hair and pretty violet eyes, but her entire demeanor changed a lot since then. She appeared to be more elegant and mature, which was expected with the coming of age, but there was also a subtle hint of something he couldn't put a finger on…
Naruto had thought about just pretending to not recognize Akeno and leave things the way they were. It would be a very weird and awkward friendship; he had become an exorcist, the most powerful one at that, and Akeno had become a Devil. It was a shock to Naruto that his childhood crush had somehow been resurrected as a Devil, most likely by the Gremory girl, but he was sure that was an explanation behind it. He wanted to know what happened to Akeno after the parted all those years ago…
"So how have you been?" asked Akeno breaking the silence.
Naruto smiled at her without breaking eye contact. "I've been good…just moving from town to town performing."
Akeno smiled and nodded back, but had trouble asking about anything else…
The girl berated herself inwardly as she bit into the side of her mouth. She had thought about speaking with Naruto the entirety of the previous night, but she didn't expect the situation to be so awkward. She didn't want to bring up anything that would lead them to talk about their parents or anything that would lead to the fact that she was a Devil…
"You…" started Naruto softly as he leaned forward. "You still have the orange ribbon on you…you never threw it away?"
"No…it really has become a part of my daily life." Akeno said very genuinely with a smile gracing her lips.
"Well I still have this." Naruto pulled up his sleeve and revealed a very childish looking watch with a smiley face as its background. It barely fit on Naruto's wrist; its black band was being stretch a little, but it was still ticking.
"Oh my, you still wear that?!" asked Akeno with a giggle.
Naruto laughed heartedly as he nodded. "I don't usually wear it, but I always take it to a shop every six months to keep the batteries from dying." The blond smiled down at the watch and patted it with his finger. "I always make sure to smile like it!" He held his wrist next to his face and grinned exactly like the smiley face.
Akeno giggled harder at that and shook her head. "Okay, you haven't changed as much as I thought." The mood suddenly became much more relaxing and casual, and both were very glad because of it. "Your smile and hair still look the same as before."
"Really?" asked the young man with smile. "I thought my hair is less messy now!"
"Nope, it's just the same as before!" chirped Akeno happily. "But it still looks cute!"
Naruto chuckled and wiggled his brow. "Well thank you~"
The waitress came back with a tray on her hand, and placed down the two iced teas on the table. Naruto and Akeno both reached for theirs with a smile on their faces.
"So you've become a Conductor…how did that happen?"
"Well I have always loved music and it just sort of caught on…" said Naruto as he sipped on his tea. "I helped out a large church orchestra back in Rome, and when I transferred back here Saito-san asked me to help with the school band."
Akeno lightly sipped on her straw and nodded. "It was amazing how the school band had improved so much compared to last year…"
Naruto chuckled. "Yeah I heard, Saito-san was pretty mad at the previous band teacher."
"So how is this going to work, you are going to be a student and the school conductor?"
The blond nodded as he rested his elbows on the table. "Pretty much, I spent today organizing my schedule with the Headmaster so everything should work out fine." Naruto then had a smile on his face as he leaned in further. "I'm also going to be in your class; apparently I was already placed in another class, but Headmaster suddenly decided to switch me into the other class."
'Rias…' thought Akeno as she just responded with a smile. "Perfect!"
For the next few hours until sundown, the two old friends continued to chat in the small café. It has been a very long time since either of them had a normal conversation. They felt like they were normal humans again. Both of them stayed away from things like religion, supernatural discussions, and parents, but more and more topics came rushing out.
By the end of the day, they had more iced tea than they ever had before…
The End!
This is the second chapter of Thunderous Music, and I hope you all liked it.
The next few chapters will have much more action and fighting in it, and will explain more of Naruto's powers and heritage.
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!