chapter 10

Koneko loved her boyfriend. She loved his bright, sunny hair. She loved his smile that never seemed to fade away. She loved the positive and carefree attitude he had when it came to life. She loved almost every single thing about the boy.

All those feelings had been immediately buried in the girl the second she had began Naruto's training regimen. The blonde had started her off with a grueling set of physical exercises that had left the girl sore in places she had never been sore in. Dragging boulders, thousands of pushups, miles and miles of running, every single thing the boy could think of was thrown at the girl.

"This is to strengthen your body Ko-chan. There's no use in even attempting to learn senjutsu if your body cannot physically handle the power of nature." Naruto had told her as she finished her twelfth lap around the perimeter of a clearing with a small boulder strapped onto her back. Normally, she would've been able to finish the exercise without any issues. Unfortunately for the girl, Naruto, in all of his infinite wisdom, had placed something called a resistance seal on her body. Now instead of blazing through the workout with the use of her devil powers, Koneko struggled to balance herself with the massive rock strapped to her back..

After finishing the set of exercises, Koneko would then be subjected to meditation. Not just any type of meditation but meditation that required her to remain perfectly still. Each time she so much as twitched, she would be bopped on the top of her head by Naruto. The crown of her head had started to get tender after only ten minutes into the meditation. How in the world did her sporadic boyfriend ever manage to get this down, she would never know.

When Naruto had first demonstrated the technique to the girl, he had made it seem to easy. The blonde had simply sat in a crossed leg position before settling his hands on his knees and inhaling a deep breath. After that, the boy closed his eyes and seemingly froze in place within the same moment. Not even the rising and falling of the boy's chest could be seen as he descended deeper and deeper into his meditative state.. He was as still as a tree, completely unmoving as a soft wind blew through the clearing.

Seconds after Naruto had started his meditation, Koneko felt an all too familiar force appear in the clearing. The air grew thick and heavy as nature's hate began to pour from out the plants and grass. The girl had almost fainted when she was exposed to the malice that the clearing contained. It was a thick, ancient feeling of hate that had been built up over centuries of abuse. And all of it was flowing into Naruto.

If it wasn't for the fact that Naruto had explicitly warned her to not come in contact with him while he was gathering the natural energy, Koneko would've immediately ran over and knocked him out of his meditation when she felt the hate. Instead, she watched with a combination of fear and amazement in her eyes as Naruto continued to absorb the chakra, and with it, the hatred. The blonde didn't even offer up a single flinch as he bore the brunt of Nature's wrath. The process had continued for a full minute before Naruto had finally opened his eyes from his meditation.

And with the opening of his eyes, a new feeling filled the clearing. Koneko had to hold in a gasp as the same feeling of comfort and peace from before swept over her body. A wave of comfort swept through the clearing, washing over everything it touched. Koneko was not the only one who was affected as a multitude of animals who had perched themselves around the edge of the clearing slowly came out of their hiding spots in an attempt to experience more of this euphoric feeling. And at the center of this tidal wave of energy was Naruto.

"One key thing that people don't realize when it comes to using senjutsu is that one must become fully connected with nature when using it . You must accept it, all of its flaws, its imperfections, its hate and its strife. You cannot be selective of what you bring in when you absorb natural chakra. You must be able to take it all." Naruto had spoke to her as he approached her downed form. Koneko couldn't even focus on the boy's word as the pure, untainted power of nature swept over her. The power was so exhilarating yet calming at the same time. Just being close to it had filled her with so much energy yet she felt so peaceful at the moment.

"I didn't feel this when I sensed Kuroka use senjutsu.." Koneko managed to mumble out through her haze of euphoria.

"Your sister didn't purify the natural chakra. She merely molded and used it for her own personal gain. She was causing more harm to herself than good. As a sage and a senjutsu user, my body acts like a purifier for natural chakra. Instead of just simply taking it in and using i before spitting it back out, my body absorbs the chakra, processes it through my chakra pathway before releasing it in its purer form. What you're feeling right now is a combination of my chakra and the natural chakra absorbed from the earth." Naruto explained to the girl as he took a seat next to her. It seemed like the girl was slowly becoming used to his overwhelming presence as her eyes seemed less glazed over.

"How are you able to do it? All of that hate … Just being near it makes me almost faint. How you can you just put that into your body?" Naruto let out a small chuckle at the girl's question, drawing a curious glance from his glance. The blonde then looked up to the sky as he began to speak.

"I am used to internally dealing with hatred. My world was filled with so much of it. Everyone, from my closest friends to my greatest enemies, was filled with hate. Even I had it within me. So much hate was inside me when I was younger. So much hate for my village, for the people who had scorned me, for the person who ruined my life … I hated them all so much." Koneko's complete attention was focused on Naruto. The boy's face was turned away from the girl as he continued to stare into the sky.

"The hate built up. It grew stronger and stronger until it began to affect my life. I started to lose control. I lashed out in anger. I hurt the people who were the closest to me. I had started to become consumed by it." The remorseful tone in the boy's voice had Koneko hanging onto each word that exited the boy's mouth. While she was well aware of the boy coming from a different world, he had never gone into much detail about it. This was the first time she was able to get details about it.

"Eventually there came a time where I thought I had to conquer my hate. I had to destroy it, wipe it completely from existence to move on. I wanted it gone. I wanted it to never bother me. I didn't realize just how wrong I was for thinking that." Naruto gently formed his hands into a fist at this.

"Hate isn't something you get rid of. It doesn't just fade away with time. You have to accept it. All of your emotions, even your hate, make you what you are. You can't pick and choose which ones you want. Accept it all. I use this line of thinking when I'm meditating and absorbing natural chakra. The hatred you feel is apart of the earth. It's been embedded in its core from years of abuse. Acceptance of this hate is the key to properly using natural chakra." Naruto finished as he turned his head to Koneko. A gentle smile was placed on his lips as his hand settled on Koneko's.

"I know you can do this Ko-chan. You have the will and strength to get through this." A wave of confidence swept through the girl at Naruto's word. With the blonde by her side, she felt like she could do anything.

"You just let him leave? Do you realize just how big of a security risk this is? He could be wandering through Heaven right now!" Michael released a low groan as he sunk deep into his chair. The archangel could already feel a headache forming and the meeting had only begun a five minutes ago.

As soon as Michael had recovered from his shock in the interrogation room, he had summoned the council of archangels. This was a collection of angels who were known for closeness to God and their power that far outmatched any regular angel.

"Raguel, I understand your frustration but I assure you that the boy is no longer in heaven. I have already secured the seventh and sixth level personally. Guards posted along the perimeter of levels five and below report no sign of the boy." The silver haired angel known as Raguel let out a sigh as he sat back down his chair. The archangel of justice had been livid when he discovered that a foreign entity had invaded heaven and managed to escape right under Michael's nose.

"While I trust your word, Michael-san, I do not trust the actions of this "human". The fact that he managed to break into heaven is very alarming. Even the devils faced a huge amount of difficulty with this task and this human apparently did it on accident? This is very alarming." The calm voice of Camael reached the ears of each of the archangels. Even with the events surrounding the angels, the bearer of the flaming sword of God maintained a serene air around himself.

"I have written this boy off as a threat. His mere presence in heaven, even for such a brief period of time, makes his capture a #1 priority." Michael stated.

"What if it's too late for that? What if the way was in leagues with the devils or our fallen brethren? What if he has already revealed the secrets to breaking into heaven? Maybe instead of prioritizing his capture, we should be preparing for an invasion." Of all the angels, the one who had just spoke looked to be the oldest. The angel's black hair was already showing signs of greying. Wrinkles covered the man's face as a small frown settled on his lips.

"Aren't you being a bit paranoid, Raphael? He is just a human." The youngest looking of the angels spoke. The child of God had a youthful face with an extremely pale complexion. His eyes were completely black, adding to his strange yet young appearance.

"You should know just how resilient these humans can be at times, Sariel. You see them at their weakest yet they continue to struggle and cling onto life with the strength of a dragon. Never underestimate the potential of a human." Raphael fired back to the angel of death. Sariel's smile disappeared from his face at the older angel's words.

"If you're finished educating the youngling of the group, I would love to hear you contribute something other than hypothetical situation." Raguel spoke up once again, causing Raphael to shoot a glare at his fellow archangel. The older angel glanced around the meeting room, taking notice that he now had the attention of everyone in the room, before speaking.

"I advise that we start our search on earth while also splitting the distribution of angels in heaven. We cannot be too careful when it comes with dealing with the humans. We also can't be too zealous in our pursuit." Michael hummed softly at his comrade's proposal as the archangels began to talk amongst each other.

"Seems like the simplest and most effective method at this moment. At Least until we have more information. I'll personally send out the order to start the search on earth. Raphael, you plan out an advanced border patrol for each of the seven levels. I want a drawn out plan on my desk by the end of the day. The rest of you are dismissed." One by one, each of the archangels rose from their seats and left the room, leaving only Michael and Gabriel remaining in the room.

The silence between the brother and sister was noticeable as Michael tried his best to avoid the knowing look that he was certain his sister was sending him. The archangel could feel her gaze on the back of his head as he stared at the wall in front of him.

"Don't even say it Gabriel. I don't want to hear it." Gabriel chuckled at her brother's words before rising to her feet. At her full height, one could truly appreciate the beauty that God had created. In essence, the woman was the very definition of beautiful. Although her figure was covered by her priestly robes, her face spoke volumes of her attractiveness. The angel's long blonde hair fell down the full length of her back. Her bright blue eyes and large smile gave off a sense of innocence that would warm the heart of even the coldest people

"I don't have to say it Michael. I already know you're embarrassed because you let that boy get away from you. No use in hurting your already damaged pride, brother." The strongest of the archangels began to pout at his sister's words.

"He caught me off guard. If I had been more prepared he would've never gotten away. Now I have to run damage control while getting everyone else involved." Gabriel's smile left her face as she sensed the remorseful tone of her brother. The angel made her way to her sibling before gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No one is blaming you Michael so you have to stop blaming yourself. The boy escaped and you have to accept that. It's time for you to move on from that and start focusing on other things. We can't have our leader moping around all day." Gabriel's upbeat tone managed to erase the smile frown off her brother's face and replace it with a small smile.

"You're right Gabriel. Thank you. You can go now. I need to start preparing myself for these upcomings events." Gabriel offered her brother a large smile along with a short nod before stepping out of the room, leaving Michael alone once again.

Once his sister had fully left the room, the smile on Michael's face faded away as the archangel released a heavy sigh. In that moment, the angel looked to have aged ten years as he sat at the head of the meeting table.

"How did you do this father? How did you deal with the constant pressure and stress of leading a whole nation of angels and humans? I don't know how you did this for so long." Michael muttered to himself as he looked up to the sky. When God had been slain in the war between the three factions, it had been unanimously decided that Michael would take over for his father. His closeness with God, his position as commander of the forces of Heaven and his overwhelming power made him the prime candidate.

When originally presented with the position, Michael had been ethustiac to take over for his father. He had dreams and aspirations of leading Heaven into a new age of advancement and prosperity. He wanted to personally make sure that the legacy of his father's work did not go to waste.

That had been ages ago. The enthusiasm and positivity quickly faded as reality struck the archangel. Daily, the blonde had to operate the God system. Hundreds of millions of prayers reached his ears. Some carrying the innocent nature of children while others carried the perverted and depraved nature of heathens who simply used christianity as an attempt to fuel their own greed.

Through the prayers, he heard the worst of humanity's struggle. Death, illness, poverty, greed, violence, every journey into the God system reminded him just how much humanity suffered.

As if dealing with the strifes of humanity weren't bad enough, Michael also had to deal with the everyday details of life in heaven. Food, clothing and other supplies weren't an issue in God's domain. It was the rate at which angels were fallen that alarmed the archangel. Every single week, a folder would be set on Michael's desk that contained the name, history and abilities of each angel that fell due to sin. Some weeks, the folder was thin, something that Michael had started to savor when it came. Other times, the folder would be as thick as the book of Jeremiah.

"Wherever you are father, I hope you're watching over us. I feel that your blessing in this time of change would benefit us greatly. Unfortunately, we must push forward without it. I know you wouldn't want us to give up. We can't afford to anymore"

"GODDAMNIT SHEMHAZAI, I SAID I WAS SORRY." Azazel yelled as he ducked under a spear of light. The spear exploded in a brilliant display of light that glowed a dark blue. Each spark emitted from the light spear left a small trail in the air. Azazel had no time to enjoy the lightshow as he continued to run from his pursuer.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Azazel. I'm getting tired of your antics!" Azazel's pursuer yelled as the man looked to be charging up another attack. The fellow fallen angel took the appearance of a young man who looked to be around his mid 20's. The man had a long mane of white hair that flowed freely down his back. His scarlet eyes were narrowed in righteous fury at his long time friend. The man was dressed in a blue trench coat that allowed his ten jet-black wings to flutter freely behind him.

"I told you that I tried to get him to stay!" Azazel yelped as he dived to the ground, just in time to avoid another light spear from his friend. The fallen angel started to climb to his feet but was interrupted when Shemhazai's foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him collapsing back to the ground.

"We gave you one job! One simple, little job and you couldn't even do that. You're our leader for christ's sake." Shemhazai threw up his hands in frustration as he walked away from his downed friend and technically boss' body. The leader of the Grigori let out a pitiful moan as he clutched onto his head while climbing to his feet.

"If you're done playing around with the idiot, I think it's time for us to get down to business." Another man spoke as he emerged from the shadows. This man was middle-aged with short black hair and a matching beard. His muscular body could be seen through the red overcoat he wore.

"I'm sorry Bara but this idiot's actions just piss me off sometimes. How are we even still friends after all these years?" Shemhazai muttered while walking over to one of the three empty seats that surrounded the dark oak wood table that sit in the middle of the living room. The older man followed his friend's lead and took a seat next to him while Azazel hobbled over to the last empty chair.

"Look, I'm sorry guys but this wasn't some ordinary human. He had to be the descendant of a hero. He managed to keep up with me. He BEAT me. He could've killed me if he wanted to." Azazel exclaimed wildly to his two best friends. The two men in front of him looked at the friend before sighing simultaneously.

"Why didn't he kill you then? Any normal person, human, devil, angel or fallen angel, would've retaliated against the person who attacked them." Baraqiel questioned the fallen angel.

"That's the thing. I don't think he was part of any faction, even the hero one. I was suspicious of what ties he had when he turned down my offer but I'm convinced that he is a loner now. He seemed ignorant to some of the common knowledge that I know is shared between the factions. He didn't kill me because there was no reason for him to. He was confident in his ability to handle me so to him. Me attacking him was only a minor annoyance, not an actual threat." Azazel explained to the two men. Baraqiel let out a thoughtful hum as Shemhazai's frown deepend.

"An unknown entity with a great enough power that it attracted the attention of Ophis. For all we know, he could be wrapped around that goody two shoes' finger. Or he could be Ophis' lap dog. God damnit, I hate not knowing." Shemhazai slammed his fist onto the oak table, causing it to shake violently.

"I understand your anger but we must remain calm. Reacting in anger will only hinder us. Cool heads will prosper in this situation." Baraqiel said while directing his stare at Shemhazai. The spirited fallen angel let out a loud groan as he collapsed back into his seat. He knew that his friend was right. He also knew that uncertainty and unknowns could lead to his death, something Shemhazai was not particularly looking forward to.

"I don't think we have as much to fear than you may think." Azazel's words caught Shemhazai and Baraqiel attention. "The boy, for the lack of a better word, seemed carefree, almost uncaring to a certain extent. Plus it seemed he could handle himself. I doubt that Michael would be able to sway him to his side. If he did engage with Ophis like he had planned, I doubt that he would willingly go along with the girl. Best case scenario, he is dead and out the picture. Either way, there is nothing that we can do in this situation so there's no point in stressing about it." Azazel punctuated his statement by kicking his feet up on the table and leaning back in his chair. Silence quickly filled the room as the trio of friends sat together.

That silence was quickly interrupted by a loud yelp from Azazel as the man was forced to dodge yet another one of Shemhazai's spear. The Grigori leader quickly lost balance and found his face reunited with the ground once again.

"Stop being so casual about the situation, damn it! This is serious. We can't just sit back and do nothing. There is still a chance he is alive and there is a chance that he could be plotting against us right now. We must act accordingly to these risks." Shemhazai yelled while Baraqiel nodded his head in agreement. Azazel shakingly picked himself up from the ground with the help of the table while glaring at his best friends.

"You could've told me that without throwing a spear at my face. You need to learn how to communicate with your words, Shem-ch-" Azazel quickly ducked underneath the table just in time to avoid another light spear. The fallen angel quickly popped his head up and began to blow raspberries at the man . His childish actions were quickly put to rest as a weakened but faster version of a light spear slammed into his face, courtesy of Baraqiel.

"Both of you shut up and act your own age." Baraqiel said as he stood from his seat. "Since you seem incapable of governing the Grigori and assisting with this issue at the same time, Shem and I will handle it." Azazel raised his head from back under the table to shoot the man a small nod before ducking back underneath the furniture in fear of being attacked once again. Shemhazai rolled his eyes at his friend's behavior before standing from his own seat.

"Try not to mess anything else up. Also, be sure to continue to watch over Kokabiel. He has been oddly silent over the past couple of weeks." Azazel's head briefly popped up again to give his friend a nod before retreating once more. Shemhazai sighed at the man's behavior, calling him an idiot under his breath, before disappearing from the room in a flutter of feathers. Baraqiel offered his concealed friend a final farewell before doing the same, leaving his best friend to stay hidden under the table for another full hour. The fallen angel was fearful that his friends were just waiting for him to pop his head up to nail him with a light spear.

Fear was a powerful thing, even for a fallen angel.

Naruto watched with a small smile on his face as his girlfriend disappeared from his sight in a bright flash of red light. The two had been training for the better part of the day and had made great progress, at least when it came to senjutsu. The girl still hadn't managed to hold still for longer than half a second and Naruto could still sense the trepidation in her body whenever she made an attempt at it. The two had been on the verge of a breakthrough when Koneko had been summoned by her master. Koneko, aware of how Rias was feeling, had apologized to him as she felt that she HAD to answer the summons. Naruto had waved off the apology and kissed the girl goodbye.

Once the Nekoshou had left the clearing, Naruto disappeared from the forested area and reappeared on the front door step of his house. The blonde placed his hand on the door handle, the knob glowing a light blue as the seal implanted on it recognized his finger prints. The handle let out a soft click, signalling it was unlocked, just before Naruto pushed it open. The blonde then stepped into the house before quickly closing the door.

As Naruto was locking the door, a sharp whistle blew through the air. The shinobi casually tilted his head to the side just as a fist buried it's way into the wall behind where his head was only a second ago. The owner of the fist seemed had a fair skin tone with a petite frame, if their wrist and forearm were anything to go by.

"I just got this place cleaned up! Don't go around and destroy it again." Naruto was forced to duck as his intruder attempted to take his head off with an overhead kick. The attack sailed harmlessly over his head but unfortunately landed up hitting his door, shattering the the poor thing into thousands of wooden shards.

"Nya!~ You deserve to die for trying to teach Koneko senjutsu." The now revealed Kuroka yelled as she stood in the opening of Naruto's house. The woman's usually beautiful face was twisted into a harsh scowl as she stared at Naruto. Her tail was waving around erratically behind her, showing just how agitated she truly was.

"So you attack me? I'm just trying to help her." Naruto yelled back at the girl. The nekoshou seemed to pay his words no attention as she rocketed towards Naruto. The devil crossed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye with her fist raised, ready to attack. When she got within range, the girl unleashed her punch … straight into Naruto's awaiting hand, to her utter dismay.

With his grip on her fist, Naruto pulled on the girl's body, throwing her off balance. With the girl off balance, Naruto grabbed onto her forearm and twisted his body along with hers then releasing Kuroka's arm and sending the girl flying across the room. The agile feline quickly recovered from the throw and landed on her feet in the middle of the living room, her scowl still present.

"Do you know what senjutsu can do to you? You call that helping? You're going to kill her!." Kuroka yelled as she leaped at Naruto once again, her claws protruding out of her fist as she prepared to rip Naruto's throat out. Unfortunately for the Nekoshou, the blonde was too quick for her and sidestepped her attack once again, angering the girl even more.

"Why do you use it then? You're being a giant hypocrite right now!" Naruto yelled back at the girl as she pressed her assault.

"Thats because I can control it. She's not ready yet! You're going to ruin her." The girl's anger became more intense as wisps of Yojutsu began to creep into the girl's attacks.

"You just can't stop yourself from attracting trouble, can ya?" Kurama questioned as his container dodged the flurry of punches, swipes and kicks that were being aimed at him. Naruto released a silent scoff as he continued to dance around the Nekoshou's attacks.

"It wouldn't be a normal day if I didn't have some type of excitement in my life." Naruto punctuated this statement by spinning around a particular vicious jab that would've most likely punctured his neck if he allowed it to hit him.

"Well I recommend that you end the excitement a bit early. She can start drawing on natural chakra at any second and I don't think you want to spend another day repairing your house." Naruto nodded at his partner's advice before refocusing his full attention on the raging bull of a girl in front of him.

"Sit still and let me carve out your face, Nya!" Kuroka screamed as she continued to swipe at Naruto. The stupid blonde just wouldn't sit still long enough for her to land an attack on. Just when she thought she had caught him off guard, he would always manage to somehow dodge. It was beyond frustrating!

"Now why would I do that? I haven't done anything wrong." With that comment, The girl saw red as she prepared to draw on her senjutsu and tear the teen a new asshole. Fortunately for Naruto, she would never have the chance to do that.

Kuroka released a loud gasp when she felt a hard pressure slam onto the back of her neck. The girl's vision started to quickly change to black as her consciousness faded from her. The Nekoshou, realizing this, leveled one last glare at the boy before falling unconscious.

The clone standing behind Kuroka caught the girl's falling body before it could slam to the ground. Naruto offered his coby a small nod as it carried the girl over to the couch. The clone would apply several chakra and movement suppression seal to the Nekoshou in order to make sure she didn't try to tear the boy's throat out when she woke up.

"Well that's taking care of for now. Not looking forward to when she wakes up." Naruto muttered to himself as his clone dispersed itself.

"There also the fact that you don't have a door anymore. You may want to deal with that."

"Fuck."