1 chapter The shop

Rias Gremory prided herself on many things within her admittedly short life. She was born to the Gremory family, one of the last remaining pillars that made up Devil society. The Gremory family was known for their kindness towards each other and their peerage. That brought up another thing she was proud of, her peerage. Ever since she had acquired her first piece, her queen, it had been slowly growing. She managed to gain a knight with a very powerful sacred gear, a rook who was a former Nekoshou and a Dhampir who had the power over time. Yes, she took a large amount of pride in her peerage members and her ability to connect with each of them. The relationships between herself and them were extremely close, with each of them pledging their loyalty to her at some point in their lives. It was because of this closeness that Rias felt that she knew each of her member's emotions rather well. Though recently, something or rather someone had been testing that closeness.

Koneko Toujou was someone who rarely expressed her emotions. Due to her past and the trouble she had gone through in her life, she had become somewhat reclusive and rather callous towards others. It was only with her closest friends that the young girl dared to express even the tiniest amount of emotion. And when she did, it was usual in the form of a snarky remark spoken with a dull tone. But recently, that habit seemed to be getting even worse. The girl would spend shorter amounts of time in the club room where Rias's peerage would meet. When she would show up, she wouldn't even accept any treats offered by Akeno, Rias's queen. She would just sit on the couch and stare off into space with an emotionless expression on her face. At first Rias, had simply played it off as Koneko simply being Koneko, but that thought was slowly wiped from her mind after several weeks of this behavior. She had originally held off on sending her familiar to shadow the girl. She had felt that it may have been an invasion of Koneko's privacy, but now, the resolve that had once fueled that decision was quickly fading.

Rias released a sigh while running a hand through her scarlet hair. By her side stood at attention was her buxom dark haired queen. The girl was sending worried glances down at her King as the redhead sat in the rays of the afternoon sun.

"This has been going on for several weeks Rias-chan. She hasn't laid a finger on a single sweet I've tried to give her. This has been going on for far too long. I think it's time we get to the bottom of this." Akeno spoke with clear amount of worry in her voice. Rias sighed to herself once again as she let her best friend's words sink in. She knew that Akeno was right but she was still against the idea of spying on one of her peerage members. It was breach of privacy that she was sure would anger her rook if she ever found out. But her growing concern for the girl was outweighing Rias's worry of angering her.

"You're right." Rias huffed before placing her hands on the table in front of her. Slowly a crimson, circular symbol appeared on the surface of the desk. The symbol began to glow an eerie red before a flash of light emitted from it, forcing Rias and Akeno to look away. When they finally able to open their eyes, they turned and saw the creature Rias had summoned.

The best way to describe the creature was as a miniature bat. It's face was very human like as its small wings kept it afloat. It's eyes locked with Rias's before it suddenly took off towards the girl. The redheaded girl had a gentle smile on her face as the small bat perched itself on her shoulder and begin to gently rub its head against her cheek.

This creature was a familiar that she acquired during her first visit to the summon's forest. The nocturnal animal had stayed by her side for years and would constantly find new ways to make itself handy. Like spying on Koneko.

"Do you remember Koneko?" The small bat creature flew off its master shoulder and gave a small nod." Good, I want you to follow her around. See what she is up to. Stay hidden from her and do not let her know you're following her." The creature gave a mock salute for dashing its way out of the open window, leaving Rias alone with Akeno.

"I can't help but be anxious for the results." Rias merely nodded while her eyes continued to stare out the window.

The sun was shining down from its position in the sky. The rays of sunlight illuminated the streets as citizens casually went about their days. Cars zoomed up and down the roads as shop owners happily greeted and spoke with their customers.

It was on this particular summer day that we found Koneko Toujou making her way through the busy streets. Koneko was a small, petite girl that looked to be around the age of 15. She had snow white hair and hazel eyes. She was currently wearing a white long-sleeved button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset with a magenta skirt that had white accents. Her small and cute form caught the attention of many pedestrians who sought to get her attention but they were all ignored.

Koneko continued to make her way through the streets, making a turn every once in a while before eventually stopping in front of a shop. The store's display window was adorned with different picture of various sweets and other treats. Kanji surrounded these pictures boasting about their quality and authenticity. Above the windows sat a medium sized sign that read "Uzumaki's Sweets".

Koneko pushed open the doors of the shop, making a small bell ring loudly through its interior. Several occupants threw glances towards her before returning their attention back towards their desserts. The girl ignored these looks as she strode her way up to the front of the store where a white counter was located. She stood still for several second before ringing the bell.

It only took several seconds for her to get response. Someone gently shouted out "I'm coming" from the back room of the shop before going silence. Koneko continued to stand at the counter for several more seconds before the owner of the voice was revealed.

The boy was young, at least when you considered the fact he was running the store all by himself. He looked to be around 17 years of age. He had golden blonde hair that went well with his tanned skin. He was rather tall, standing at a respectable 6 foot and had a lean figure. His light blue eyes lit up when they met Koneko's hazel ones. He was currently wearing a black apron that seemed to be covered in a mixture of sugar and flour. Underneath he wore a very simple orange button down shirt and a pair of khakis.

"Hey Ko-chan!" The boy said as he approached the counter. For the first time since the beginning of her day, the hazel eyed girl smiled as she leaned over the counter. The male bent over the counter as well and their lips met in the center. The two stayed in this position for several seconds, fully enjoying the lip lock before eventually pulling away.

Koneko had a small blush on her face as she stared at the bashful blonde in front of her. This man was Naruto Uzumaki and her first ever boyfriend. At the thought of this, Koneko blushed even more as the concept of having a boyfriend was still very new to her. The two had only begun dating one month, 3 weeks, 5 days, 8 hours, 44 minutes and 13 seconds. She had kept track.

You see, the meeting between the unlikely couple had happened completely by chance. Akeno and Rias had been particularly busy one day, leaving the young girl on her own to satisfy her need for sweets. She had traveled to her usual sweet shop only to find out that the owner had suddenly passed away. This had left the girl rather sad and without anything to munch on. Forming a dejected aura around her as she trudged aimlessly around the city. She would've continued on until one of her fellow peerage member had found her if it hadn't been for the blond standing in front of her.

Naruto had been standing in front of his newly opened shop and was advertising it. When he saw the dejecting girl, he had immediately stopped her and offered a small sample of a simple vanilla cream wonton. The girl had immediately been mesmerized by the small treat before grabbing it at an inhuman speed and stuffing it in her mouth. She chewed it for several seconds before freezing. The young man had been initially scared that he had done something wrong as the girl remained unresponsive for several long seconds. His worry was quickly alleviated when the girl immediately dashed into his shop and sat at one of the chairs placed at the counter. She had a menu in her hand and was looking over it intensively, leaving Naruto to stand in shock in the middle of the street. When he finally managed to get behind the counter, the girl had already begun listing off several items that she wanted. Naruto could only chuckle at the enthusiasm behind his first real customer before beginning to work on her order.

At first their relationship had been strictly as customer and cook, albeit slightly more relaxed. The blonde haired man had a charismatic air to him that made even the usual stoic Koneko break down and share a conversation with him. After several weeks, the boy had gradually broken down the barrier between the two and transcended their relationship into a more friendly one. The girl would come to the shop to simply talk about her day and exchange casual conversations with Naruto while also enjoying his delicious sweets. Naruto would be happy to oblige her with treats and a chat while also giving her large discounts. This pattern had continued for several more weeks before eventually the blonde haired boy had asked the girl out. The request had taken the Nekoshou by surprise and had honestly left her stunned. Naruto had apparently taken this as a no and immediately apologized to the girl. The depressed tone the boy had snapped the cat-like girl from her shock induced trance before she grabbed the boy, unconsciously forcing some of her devil strength into her arm, and pulled him closer to her. She hesitated once again before offering up a meek 'yes' and placing a small kiss on his cheek.

From that point on, the relationship between the two had been growing exponentially. Koneko could be consistently seen at the store, sharing a conversation with her boyfriend. The girl was content with sitting in his lap and having him feed her treats during some of the less busier moments of the day. His gentle hand combined with the natural warmth he exuded had immediately convinced the girl to make her boyfriend pet her. Naruto had no problem in indulging the cute girl and now could usually be seen stroking the girl's head or back.

Their relationship had been going amazingly except for one small issue. That issue being the fact that she was a devil. The girl had always felt a certain amount of guilt whenever her partner shared a part of his day with her and she couldn't be completely truthful with him. Sometimes she was summoned in the middle of their conversations, forcing her to leave without any warning at all. When she would return, she would once again have to lie and embellish her activities. The blonde haired boy would always accept the girl's excuses which only caused her to feel an even larger amount of guilt. She knew if the relationship continued to an even higher level that she would be forced to reveal her nature but for now she would allow the issue to rest.

"How has your day off been Ko-chan?" Naruto asked, snapping the girl out of her small thoughts. Her eyes met his before she offered a small shrug and jumped up on the counter. Naruto rolled his eyes at the girl's behavior while a small smile played across his lips. He placed his hands on either side of the girl's waist before dragging her over the counter and setting her on his lap as he sat down on a stool. The girl let out a small huff that immediately turned into a purr as Naruto's hand found their way to her scalp. The girl's purr was silenced when a stick of dango was placed in front of her lips. The white haired girl opened her mouth and allowed her boyfriend to feed her the snack. Her voice turned into an appreciative moan as she enjoyed the combination of her boyfriend's baking and petting. If anyone from her school had seen her like this, they would be absolutely shocked at the amount of emotions the stoic girl was showing.

"Hey Neko-chan?" Naruto asked, once again snapping the girl out of her train of thought. She briefly turned her head only to feel the blonde haired boy's lips against her own. Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden contact before she relented to the kiss. The two held that position for several seconds before Naruto pulled back, leaving Koneko with a heavy blush. The girl's eyes locked with his, surprise filling her at the amount of emotion present within his eyes.

"I love you." Naruto stated, once again surprising the girl. This had been the first time either of them had ever gone as far to say the "L-word" to each other. As a teenager that would be surprising to most but both had agreed they would rather not rush the relationship. Over the course of the relationship, their feelings for each other had been growing immensely but neither had ever taken it this far. Though once she saw the emotions behind her boyfriend's eyes, a reaction was set off within herself.

"I love you too Naru-kun." The girl stated, causing a large grin to sprout up on his face. The girl was brought into a massive hug as Naruto wrapped his arms around her. Koneko rolled her eyes at the boy's reaction but still had a small smile on her face. In the end, she chose to just snuggle into the embrace and enjoy this special moment with her boyfriend.

"Are you absolutely sure of what you saw?" Rias asked as her summon flew in front of her. The creature was once again in its bat form as it reported its findings to Rias. The bat gave a small nod, making Rias lean back in her seat with a heavy expression set upon on her usually beautiful face.

"You are dismissed." The red head stated, causing the summon to disappear in a small puff of smoke. Akeno stood by her king's side with a shocked look adorning her beautiful face. The two sat like that for several moments before Akeno finally spoke up.

"If this is true then that means…" Akeno trailed off as the idea became so absurd that she couldn't even articulate it. Rias nodded, sharing the same amount of shock as her queen.

"Yes. Our little Koneko has a boyfriend."

Naruto smiled to himself as he steadily ran a rag over the counter of his shop. The last customer had long since left, leaving the teen all to himself. A small light directly above his head was the only one on in the shop, highlighting the boy in a mysterious light.

To others, Naruto Uzumaki was simply the only employee working at the small sweets shop. But in reality, the boy held so much more. He was Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the nine-tailed fox, descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki and future Hokage. Well the last title was true until he found himself in this new world.

A last ditch effort by Kaguya had sent him blasting through space and time using her powers. Just as he had managed to seal her, the woman had activated the technique. The experience had been painful as his very existence was tested by the laws of space and time. It felt as if his body had been torn apart and put back together over a whole century before he finally regained any sense of awareness. When he awoke, he found himself located in a desert that seemed to stretch on for miles. Exhausted, injured and dehydrated, he was forced to trudge his way through the miles of golden sand.

It has taken him several days to reach any type of civilization. His first contact was with a small town that seemed to be centered around an oasis. The citizens had been rather put off at the sight of a basically naked, blonde haired, bleeding man limping his way into the town. Luckily some of the town members decided to show him a bit of mercy and patched him up. Unfortunately, they spoke a completely different language than his own, forcing him to eventually leave.

From there, he spent the better part of several months exploring the world. The world he found himself in was entirely different from his own. The absence of Chakra within humans was the first big shock. Chakra was basically non-existent in the world. Pure nature chakra was even harder to find as the pollution being spewed out by the humans clouded the world. The second big shock was the advancement in technology. Back in his world, trains and Chakra armor were some of the most advanced technology he had laid his eyes on. In this world, a train was considered obsolete compared to the flying machines that sped across the sky faster than the speed of sound.

Eventually, after much travelling, Naruto had decided to settle down in Japan. The people here spoke the same language as him and the culture was rather accepting of some ridiculous things. He figured he would be able to easily fit in despite his lack of knowledge.

The first thing he had done was make his way to a library. After creating some clean clothes for himself using the henge technique, he had snuck his way into bathroom of the library and created several clones. Naruto and his clone crew then spent the rest of the day going through the vast number of books, absorbing some basic information that would better help him blend into this society.

The first obstacle he ran into was the fact that he did not exist. According to the government, he had no social security number, no passport, no license, absolutely nothing. His first task was to remediate it. This had taken a lot of infiltration, document manipulation and even a tiny bit of genjutsu usage. That last one had taken a very long amount of time due to his utter lack of any knowledge regarding the art. Though in the end, he managed to cast one that made it slightly easier to influence others to go along with his will. An amateur technique that any beginning Genin could have learned in a matter of days but to Naruto, it had taken weeks and proved to be a giant success.

So according to the government, he was Naruto Uzumaki, orphaned since birth with no family ties whatsoever. He spent the first 16 years of his life in an orphanage in Tokyo before eventually finding himself a job. After scraping together enough money, the young man purchased a small property that, with a combination of henge'd clones, he managed to turn into a respectable shop that sold sweets of all kind. Of course he had originally wanted it to be ramen themed in remembrance of all the good times he had at Ichiraku's but decided against it once he realized that no matter what he did, his ramen would always pale in comparison to the legendary noodles. Also he had been surviving off of cheap sweets since his arrival in this world so might as well start making his own. After making sure the shop was completely finished, he began to advertise.

Due to his rather small budget, he was forced to stand in front of the store and hand out flyers. He had a clone in the back, making a small amount of treats that he would give out as samples. Meanwhile he would stand outside, a plate full of treats in one hand and a handful of flyers in the other. It had all started off rather slow but once a brave couple had stepped forward and tried a stick of dango, it all picked up. Steadily, a stream of customers slowly began to enter the shop. His clone began to serve the people outside while he attended to the others outside. By the end of the day, he had managed to make over sixty thousand yen in profit. That night, he managed to sleep very well in the backroom of his shop.

Over the next several weeks, his shop had experienced a wide range of success. It had become a local hit around the neighborhood and Naruto managed to even acquire some people he would even call "regulars". Everything was going quite well for the blonde haired boy.

Things changed on the day he met Koneko. He had once again been advertising his store when he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time, a large source of chakra. His eyes had immediately locked on to the white haired girl that had been dejectedly walking down the street towards him. Her emotions were visible to everyone as she trotted down the street. Though, unlike everyone else, Naruto could detect a small output of chakra coming from her. The girl immediately caught his interest and he knew he had to know more about her. So he decided to offer her a sample. He did not expect for the girl to suddenly rush into his shop and set up camp in a seat.

He also didn't expect the girl to keep coming back. Day after day, the young white-haired girl would continue to come back to his shop for me. At first, Naruto had just attempted to pry information from the girl. Their conversations were very sparse and short. Slowly that began to change. Naruto began to grow curious about more than just her chakra. He started to ask questions about her day, her mood, her feelings. At first, he was met the stoic attitude that she showed everyone. Not one to be put off by such behavior, Naruto continued to poke and prod at her cold exterior. Slowly, ever so slowly, he managed to worm his way past the girl's exterior and find a place in her heart. Her cold answers became sarcastic quips and her blank stares began to show the smallest amounts of interest. As the weeks went by, the girl began to open up more and more to him as he did the same. Finding out how she had chakra was far from Naruto's mind by the time he could truly consider the girl a close friend. The feeling of friendship soon develop into something more as they became more and more open with each other. Too often he would find himself getting lost in her hazel eyes. He noticed that his stares would last a bit longer whenever he got to chance to look at her rear or budding breasts.

Panic had quickly began to rise in him when he noticed his feelings for her. That panic was soon relieved, however, when he began to see some changes in Koneko. She began to demand that she sit him on his lap while eating her treats. Her excuse was that he gave off a certain warmth that she found very comforting due to the harsh winter they were going through at that point of the year. He could feel her gaze locked on his back whenever he was preparing desserts for other customers. She would become defensive whenever any female customers showed the slightest signs of attraction towards him. Due to dealing with his own feelings and emotions, he was able to figure out that Koneko was attracted to him. It was surprising at first to think that her feelings for him stretched any further past friendship but he soon came to realize that Koneko's behavior towards him went past the realm of just friends. In the end, Naruto had decided to act on these feelings and ask the girl out. And to his pleasant surprise, she had accepted. Ever since then, the two had been happily together. The relationship between them hadn't changed much except they were much more open about their feelings for each other. Koneko no longer needed an excuse to sit on his lap while hugging and small kisses had become the normal greeting between the two. It was honestly some of the best time the blonde haired boy had had in his rather short life.

Naruto's train of thought was abruptly cut off when he heard the door to his shop open suddenly. He looked up and was immediately frozen in place by what he saw. Standing near the entrance were two beautiful young women. Both were dressed similarly, wearing an outfit that seemed similar to what a schoolgirl would wear. The one in front had crimson hair that fell down the length of her back. Her eyes were narrowed as her gaze locked onto his form. The woman behind her was what some would describe to be the ideal Japanese woman. Her long black hair, angular face and slender form would've attracted the gaze of any hot blooded male. Fortunately for her, Naruto was a faithful man and kept his eyes firmly locked at eye level.

"I'm sorry ladies but we are closed for the night. You're free to come back tomorrow when we're open." The redhead's eyes narrowed even further at the boy's innocent behavior. She began to slowly make her way towards the counter while her black haired companion followed close behind. Naruto remained completely still, a small smile still on his face as the irate girl marched her way towards him.

"What is your relationship with Koneko Toujou?" The girl asked while slamming her hands down on the counter. Naruto caught a brief spike of energy coming from the girl before Akeno placed her hand on Rias shoulder. The energy immediately died down but it still lasted long enough to catch Naruto's interest. Whatever that energy was, it felt powerful yet felt nothing like chakra.

"Oh, you gals know Ko-chan? She hasn't mentioned anything about you guys, I think." Naruto had to hold in a snicker as he literally saw the girl grow angrier in front of him. Koneko had actually spoke about her upper classmate who would look out for her and take care of her during school. He could only assume that this girl was the same one she spoke about.

"Answer my question." Rias managed to spit out in between clenched teeth. Naruto's smile grew a bit larger as he turned his back to the two girls and began to clean his cooking station. Immediately, Rias's anger spiked again and she had to be physically restrained by Akeno from attacking the boy.

"Neko-chan is my girlfriend. We've been happily together for a couple of months at this point." Naruto calmly said while cleaning several of his utensils. He was greeted with silence for several seconds, causing him to turn around to see how the girls were reacting. He was caught by surprise when a hand full of glowing energy was thrust into his face.

"I'm sorry but I can't allow this to continue. This relationship will only end in pain for the both of you and as a king, it's my job to protect my peerage." Both Naruto and Akeno were caught off guard by the tone the girl was using.

"Rias, don't you think this is too far? Shouldn't this be Koneko's decision?" Akeno was immediately silenced when Rias held her hand up to her. The black haired girl lowered her head and stepped back. She knew that her king had made her decision and she could not change that. The girl was just that stubborn.

Rias leveled her eyes to the surprisingly calm Naruto. The boy's eyes were locked onto her glowing hand as he continued to stand still.

"Your memories of Koneko and this visit will be erased. You may be angry at me now but things are far more complicated than they seem. I am only saving you the trouble." Rias stated while the purple glow of her hand grew brighter.

Naruto could only grow more curious as he felt a force settle over him. If he had to compare it to something, it would be as if someone was attempting to cast a genjutsu on him. This only made him more curious as the two girls in front of him seemed to be able to wield this energy for offensive purposes. Plus the girl's mini speech tipped him off that things weren't as simple as they looked. He would have a lot of questions for Koneko when he saw her again.

"Goodbye mortal." Rias said before placing her palm on Naruto's face. The glowing light in her palm latched on to Naruto's head, causing the boy to flinch. Rias stepped back as a bright purple light surrounded the blonde haired boy's head. The light began to grow brighter and brighter before suddenly dissipating, catching both Rias and Akeno by surprise.

"That was a rather interesting technique you have there. I would give it a C-rank if it was a genjutsu. Though, you're sort of out of luck. I'm used to dealing with annoying people and their illusions." Naruto stated as the last remnants of the purple light fell at his feet. While the girl's powers were impressive, they didn't stand a chance to a quick burst of his chakra.

"Who are you… What are you?!" Rias managed to spit out despite her shock. She didn't sense any demonic, angelic or magic energy from the boy. There was no way he should've been able to break through her hypnosis technique.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm just a guy who works at a dessert shop. The better question is who are you?"