chapter 7

Can't we just talk it out? I like solving my problems with my words not my fist."

"You're the one who attacked me first. I haven't even attacked yet!"

"You make a good point." Naruto released a frustrated groan at the man's behavior. It had been a total of 3 minutes since he met the man and Naruto could confidently say that he was insane. The man claimed to be a pacifist yet came out of nowhere and started to attack him. The blonde shinobi honestly didn't want to fight in the clearing. He had just cleansed the area using his chakra and didn't want to ruin it again. The man in front of him, however, had no qualms when it came to throwing around giant constructs of light energy. Several trees had already fallen to the man's attack and Naruto was sure more would've been damaged if he hadn't placed an impromptu barrier around the area.

"I swear if you attack one more time, I will put you down." The winged man seemed to honestly think the situation through before a ball of light energy quickly formed in his hand. The man raised his arm up to the sky as the ball grew larger and larger.

"How about no." The man said before the ball seemed to reach the apex of it's growth. A wide smile appeared on the man's face as he threw his hands down, sending the ball of energy careening towards the ground.

Or that would've happened if Naruto hadn't stopped the man. The blonde shinobi flashed behind the winged man and slapped the man on his back. The fallen angel let out a loud yell as his arms and legs slapped together. His wings went limp as he fell straight to the ground. The blonde behind him exploded in a puff of smoke as the man smacked face first into the ground.

The real Naruto walked over from his position on the forest floor to the squirming man. A small seal tag was glowing on the man's back.

"Ah … Can't we talk this out?" The man said as Naruto stared down at the man before raising his foot. The fallen angel attempted to scream but was silenced when Naruto's foot slammed into his head, sending him into unconsciousness.

When Koneko felt herself being summoned, she had expected a lot of things. She had expected a fight against a stray devil. She had expected to be confronted by Akeno and Rias. She had even expected to have to fight against the two girls.

What she didn't expect was to appear in Rias' room with the girl being half-naked. The girl's cheeks and eyes were bright red as she stared out her bedside window. The girl didn't bother to cover her modesty as the nekoshou appeared.

"I'm glad you showed up, Koneko-chan." The red haired girl said while turning her head towards the younger girl. Koneko's face stayed stoic as the girl rose from her position on the bed and slowly walked towards her.

"I … I know recently we haven't seen eye to eye. We've been arguing and fighting … and … I just would like to apologize for that." Koneko's mask of stoicism finally broke at the girl's apology. She watched as the girl's head dropped to towards the ground. Rias' body began to shudder as the red-headed girl released several whimpers.

"I know I haven't been a good friend. I just wanted to protect you. We've been so close, ever since we've been children and when it started to feel like we weren't anymore … I just acted. With everything that had been going on … Raiser, the clan, the fallen angels … I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't mean to offend you. I didn't mean to invade your privacy … I just wanted to protect you, Shiro-chan." Koneko froze as the girl in front of her spoke her true name. She hadn't been called that name in years. That name brought up so many painful memories and experiences that she had tried so hard to repress. All those memories were now resurfacing and assaulting the small girl's mind.

All those memories stopped when Koneko felt a pair of arms wrap around her body. She looked down and saw the Gremory heiress enveloping her in a hug. The girl's cheeks were red and streaming with tears as the girl shuddered continuously.

"I'm so sorry, can you please forgive me?" Rias muttered while clinging onto the smaller girl. Koneko stood there, frozen in shock as her king begged for her forgiveness. She had grown up with this girl and she could use a lot of words to describe the Gremory clan member. Prideful, selfish, mischievous, manipulative, those were words she would use to describe the girl at times. The heiress had a stubborn streak a mile long and hated losing or being proven wrong. So to have that same stubborn, selfish little girl that she had grown up now be hugging her while begging for forgiveness, it was a very experience.

Koneko was snapped out of her musings when Rias' shuddering grew to an even greater level. The girl was now freely crying into the younger girl's shoulder. Koneko began to find it harder and harder to stay mad at the girl as the tears continued to come out.

The last bit of her resentment left as the girl collapsed onto her knees. Koneko let out a small sigh before slowly wrapping her arms around the girl. The two remained in the embrace for several long minutes while Rias' crying slowly toned down. After a full ten minutes, Rias slowly separated from the embrace while looking the nekoshou in the eye.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Koneko had to release yet another sigh when she saw the amount of hope and wanting in the girl's eyes. The young nekoshou rolled her eyes before speaking.

"Yes, I forgive you. Just please stop crying." Rias' face instantly split into a wide grin as she enveloped the younger girl in a much larger and more compassionate hug. Koneko could only sigh once again and bear the brunt of the girl's excitement.

"I wonder what Naru-kun is doing right now? I wonder if he thinks I made the right decision."

"Look, I really am a peaceful guy. I was justing testing you out man." Naruto groaned as the blonde haired man continued to make excuses. The winged man was bound against a large oak tree while Naruto sat not to far away from him.

Naruto had retreated deeper into the forest after "knocking the man out". It turns out that the man wasn't actually knocked out, he was merely faking it. Naruto had first thought the man was just making excuses for being knocked out so easily but after the supposed angel revealed his name and origin, the man's claims started to have some ground to stand on.

This man claimed to be Azazel. Just that name alone meant something to Naruto. The blonde haired shinobi had read parts of the bible and knew the Azazel was commonly referred to as a fallen angel. The man's black wings and crazed personality seemed to be a fit for the title "fallen angel".

It was the second part of the man's introduction that made Naruto groan. Apparently Azazel was the governor of the entirety of the fallen angel population. On top of that, he was also the supreme leader of a group made from fallen angels, exiled church members and something called a "sacred gear" user.

"Testing me for what? I haven't done anything to alert any supernaturals of my presence." At this, Naruto stopped his pacing. He turned to the tied up man and began to stare at him intensely causing Azazel to roll his eyes.

"It wasn't anything you did per say more like how you came in." Now it was Naruto's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh dont play dumb, its obvious you are not of this world. You don't reek of devil taint and you don't seem like an uptight, breast hating angel. I would know if you were a fallen angel. And if you were a descendant of a hero, I would be able to see your lineage just from your appearance. Plus, when you entered this world, you released a LOT of energy. I wouldn't be surprised if every single faction is on your ass right now." Naruto released a frustrated groan as he collapsed dramatically to the ground. The fallen angel watched curiously as the boy laid completely still on his back.

"Is what he saying is true?" Naruto mentally asked his kitsune partner. The teenage boy waited several seconds for response only to hear light snores. The shinobi wanted to scream out in frustration as his partner's snore continue to rang clear in his head.

"Forget about that loser, I can help you!" Naruto almost jumped up in shock as a new voice spoke in his head. At first, he didn't recognize the slightly slurred and crazed tone but after several seconds of recognition, it finally clicked.

"Shukaku?"

"The one and only. Old brother is taking a nap because he's a lazy jackass so the amazing Shukaku will be helping you today." Naruto had to hold in a chuckle from the bijuu's wild talk, causing Azazel to shot him a curious glance.

"Shut your damn mouth and be quiet. People are attempting to sleep in here." Naruto's shock was reawakened when he heard yet another voice rang out in his head. It only took a split second for the boy to recognize this voice as it began to engage in an argument with the one tailed beast.

"You stay out of this Son. No one wants your red ass here anyway. Why don't you go back to eating your bananas, you dumb monkey." Naruto could feel his skin began to heat up as Son's anger became more and more intense.

"Shut your sand filled mouth, you crazy overgrown rat. I will not be insulted by anyone, especially you. Try coming back and talking to me when you have a grip on reality."

"HEY! Im perfectly sane. My outlook on the world is just a lot more unique than how you view it, Sonny." Naruto wanted to laugh at the nickname given to the five tailed beast but he was pretty sure doing that would only fuel the Bijuu's anger. Instead, he continued to listen to the two "brothers" argue and bicker.

"Don't you dare call me that name. I'll turn you into a damn sandbox if you say it again."

"Sonny~ Sonny~ Hey Sonny, do you like your eggs sunny side up? Do you like the summer because it's always sunny? How muc-" The one tailed beast was interrupted when Son released a loud battle cry. Naruto couldn't see what was going on but from the sounds coming from the two, he could only guess the two were now wrestling with each other.

"Get your hand out of my stomach, you pervert!"

"That doesn't even make any sense. How about you stop becoming intangible, you dirty sand rat." And with that, the wrestling began anew. Neither one seemed to be actually attempting to do any lasting damage as they were just using their physical strength. Sony seemed to have the upper hand if Shukaku's screams were anything to go by.

"Meh, Meh, my brothers can be so troublesome." Yet again, a new voice spoke out inside Naruto's mind. This new voice had a noticeably feminine tone to it.

"Is that you Matatabi-chan?" In the background, a loud series of crashes could be heard as the two bijuu continued to wrestle. The two tailed beast let out a small sigh before addressing her container.

"Yes its me. I heard my siblings arguing down here and wanted to see what the big issue was. I wasn't too surprised to see the two arguing like little kids." A loud screech reached Naruto's ears. Sony's laughter could be heard very shortly after the screech.

"Well while you are here, can you do a quick scan of my body? Apparently I've been leaving a trail of my chakra around that's making it pretty hard to stay hidden in this city." The cat-like being let out a thoughtful hum before going quiet for several seconds. All Naruto could hear was the sounds of destruction being created by the rampaging bijuu in the background.

"This man is right. A small amount of excess chakra has been leaking from you. Normally, in our world, this would go completely unnoticed. Large amounts of chakra was constantly being pushed into the air every single second of the day. Every single living being had chakra back in our world. Here, things are different. Chakra is nowhere near as prominent. Even the smallest traces of it stand out. Anyone that knows of chakra and knows how to sense it could possibly track you and find you if given enough time." Naruto mentally cursed at the new information. This would make staying hidden much harder to do.

"I'll deal with that after I finish with this guy. Thanks Maa-chan for the info."

"Not a problem at all Naru-kun. If you need me, I'll be disciplining these two for waking me up." Naruto had to hold in another round of laughter as the cat released a loud battle cry and jumped into the fray. A new bout of screams filled Naruto's mindscape as Matabi began to beat her siblings.

"And people have the nerve to call me crazy." Naruto was snapped out of his small trance by the fallen angel's voice. The blonde haired shinobi rolled his eyes at the comment while walking towards the fallen angel.

"So … Azazel. You have my attention now. What do you want?" The man's face slowly morphed into a small smile as he looked the blonde boy in the eye.

"All I want is a fishing partner and some nice conversations."

Ophis' eyes scanned over the destroyed section of the forest. A large section of trees had been completely wiped from existence. Huge chunks of the earth were gone. Giant gashes were cut into the remaining trees while a multitude of misplaced branches and leaves were scattered around the small clearing.

"He was here … I can sense him. That same energy." The infinite dragon said to herself as she examined the clearing.

The small girl was so caught up in her examination of the clearing that she didn't notice the small herd of deer that had wandered into the clearing. The deer had noticed her though as they slowly made their way up to the powerful being.

Ophis looked down at her hip when she felt a small prod on it. She was slightly surprised to see a young buck poking its nose against her leg. The dragon gave a small scoff before redirecting her attention back at the clearing.

The young deer didn't seem to get the message as it continued to push its head against Ophis. The dragon let out a small sigh before raising its hand. The deer watched as the petite hand went up to the sky before quickly descending towards it.

A loud crack spread through the clearing as the limp body of the deer went sailing across the clearing. Ophis watched as the carcass slammed into one of the remaining trees in the clearing before falling to the ground.

"It should've went away." The young girl said as she turned to leave the clearing and continue her journey. She was stopped, however, when she heard a loud series of growling.

The girl's head turned and she was unexcited to see a small herd of deer angrily growling at her. It seemed that the death of one of their children had angered the herd. Each one of their deer were breathing heavily while lowering their antlers towards Ohpis.

"Do not make me kill you as well." The deer paid no attention to the girl's word as they charged at her. Ophis released a sigh as a portion of her powers manifested in her hands.

So troublesome." And with that, the clearing exploded in a large blast of dark energy.

"There's a lot of things going on in this world that you are unaware of. A lot of moves going on in the background that may or may not involve you in the future." Azazel said casually while sending his fishing reel into the water. The blonde shinobi and the fallen angel were sitting in a simple wooden boat that was floating aimlessly in what looked to be a large lake.

Naruto, after several minutes of inner debate, had decided to let go of the man and "go fishing". The boy was sure he could restrain the man if he attempted to do anything tricky plus he was curious on what information the man held.

"Well that's rather obvious. I didn't expect this world to be filled with devils, angels and fallen angels. I'm only just hitting the surface on all of this. I need more information." The blonde stated with a clear amount of agitation in his voice.

As a shinobi who had been on his fair share of missions gone bad, Naruto knew that having information was key, no matter what situation you were going into. His mission in wave was a prime example for that. Tazuna didn't tell Team 7 that he was being hunted down by Gato and Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and even himself had almost died several times during that mission. Because of the lack of information, Team 7 went in under-powered and completely unprepared. And that almost cost them their lives.

"I want you to tell me everything you know. I need to know." Azazel's eyes narrowed while the smile on his face grew. Naruto could already sense the man's intention before a word even left the fallen angel's lips.

"I want you to work wit-"

"No." Azazel's smile immediately fell form his face at the denial of his request. The grown man crossed his arms and began to pout, giving him a rather strange appearance.

"You didn't even let me to finish my sentence." Naruto crossed his own arms as he gave the fallen angel a stern stare.

"If it involves working with you and your faction, my answer is no. I'm still sure I can't completely trust you and I know for sure that you have some ulterior motives. Your body language literally screams it." Azazel's pouting reached even higher levels at the biting remark. Naruto had to hold in a shiver at the sight of a grown man whining and pouting like a child.

"I'm a good guy, I swear! After all, I was an angel. I was made to be good."

"WAS is the key word. You're no longer an angel. I read up on fallen angels. You guys lose your status as holy beings when you indulge in sin. I wonder what sin made you fall. Did you kill someone, steal something important? Stealing? Being envious?" Azazel's pouting disappeared at Naruto's questioning. A dark look covered the man's face as he began to chuckle manically.

"I am one of the original fallen angel. My fall had an aftershock that was felt through the entirety of the seven heavens. My sin was so great that I was one of the first that God made fall. My sin was…" Naruto gently leaned in as the man gave a small pause. Curiosity had claimed the boy at the fallen angel's dramatic tone.

"I coveted the very thing no angel ever should. Breast! Wonderful, fluffy, meaty, silky, jiggly breast. My love and want for breast far surpassed anything that my former holy nature could contain. I knew that each handful of breast held an almost infinite amount of possibilities and power that was just waiting to be unlocked. God knew this as well and made me fall. That bastard!" The blonde shinobi stared at the dark haired man in silence for several seconds. Azazel seemed to be completely wrapped up in his own speech as the man didn't see the younger male walking towards him with his arm pulled back. He didn't even sense him when Naruto was standing only a foot away.

He did sense him, however, when Naruto slapped him upside the head, sending the fallen angel down to the ground. The man's mad rambling about breast was now being silenced by the wonderful piece of ground that had found its way into his mouth. Naruto was standing above the man with an agitated look on his face while staring down at the perverted angel.

"I think I was cursed since birth by kami to be surrounded by perverts. I can never get away from them." Naruto mumbled to himself as the man below him started to mumble about breast while slowly climbing to his feet. Azazel ascension was brought to a halt when Naruto's foot slammed into his back, sending him face first into the ground once again.

"I see you are one of the breasts haters. You are no better than God himself! He didn't understand my love for breast and made me fall. Now you have done the same! You are all terrible." The man sprung up to his feet and shouted at the blonde haired boy while pointing an accusing finger. Naruto gave the man a deadpanned look before slapping the finger away.

"I can no longer take you seriously. I don't even know how you're a leader of anything with that type of behavior, Ero-datenshi."

"Don't call me that. I am a well-respected general of the fallen angel army and my name is feared by both devil and angel-kind. You should call me Azazel or Azazel-sama if you want to impress me."

"I think I'll stick with Ero-datenshi."

"Dont call me th-"

"Is Ero-datenshi getting upset?"

"Listen here you br-"

"Ero-datenshi, you agitation is showing you, perv."

"I WILL KI-"

"Calm your nerves Ero-datenshi, I'm just messing with you. You don't have to hide your perversion around me." If looks could kill, Naruto would be dead nine times over as he continued to play on the fallen angel's nerves. The man's eyes were dangerously narrowed as they were aimed at the snickering blonde.

"If you're finished with your jokes, maybe we can get back to the main topic."

"My answer is still no Ero-datenshi."

"DAMN YOU BR-" The man suddenly froze as a large energy wave rode washed over the him. Naruto froze as well as his sensing abilities picked up on the energy as well. The energy was originated from the spot where he first encountered the fallen angel in front of him. It was strong and very dark. Not the corrupted darkness that the fallen angels had or the type that the devil had but a numbing and all consuming darkness that he had never felt before.

"The dragon…" Naruto's head turned back to the Grigori general as the man let out a small mumble. The playfulness had drained from the man's face as he looked off into the distance with a serious look etched on his face.

"A dragon?" Azazel turned towards the blonde haired boy while nodding his head.

"This is part of what I meant when I said there are things going on in this world that may shock you. There's a being in this world called the infinite dragon. No one knows for sure but its rumored that the dragon has been in existence since the creation of this world. Its powers are unrivaled by any human, devil, angel or fallen angel. It usually lives in the gap that separates the different dimensions of this universe but for some reason, its here now."

"Hmmm, sounds pretty interesting." Azazel's head snapped back towards the blonde with an incredulous look on his face.

"Did you hear anything I just said? Even I wouldn't be able to last long against that beast."

"Didn't I just beat you in a battle?" The shinobi pointed out.

"I let myself get captured so I could get closer to you and sway you to my side, of course!" Naruto's deadpan look made it rather obvious to the fallen angel that he didn't believe the older man. Azazel let off a small pout at the blonde's face before turning away from him, causing the blonde to let out an agitated sigh.

"Well while you sit here and mope, I'll be going to this "infinite dragon". Someone has to make sure that this "dragon" doesn't destroy anything." Before Azazel could say anything, the blonde boy flashed away from the boat, sending the small, wooden watercraft tipping over, which sent the fallen angel into the cold waters below. The fallen angel splashed wildly in the water for several seconds before finding a small grip on turned over boat to haul himself up with.

"I can already tell I'm going to hate that brat