chapter 19

The light filtered through the main window of the living room. The soft sound of birds lively chirping could be heard from within the confines of the room.

Laid on top of the singular coach was one of the last remaining Nekoshous within existence. Her expression was one of serenity as the early morning sun shone onto her blanket covered form. The soft chirps of the birds made her second set of ears twitch slightly as she slept.

The girl managed to keep her calm aura and appearance for several minutes before the chirping of the birds became too much for her unconscious mind to ignore. With slight twitch and a loud groan, Kuroka returned to the land of consciousness. The Nekoshou slowly shrugged off the blankets covering her body as she sat completely upright on the couch. She gave off a loud yawn and she stretched her arms up to the ceilings, filling the room with the sound of bones cracking and setting as she worked out any kinks that had built up in her sleep.

She finished her stretch with a loud sigh before allowing her arms to fall limply by her side. She gave a comedic smack of her lips while looking around the room. Mounds of clothing and food containers could be seen strewn across the floor, giving the room a rather messy appearance.

The mess was entirely caused by her which was a fact that irked her blond housemate/kidnapper while bringing her a large amount of joy. Surprisingly, at least to her, the blond seemed to detest the mess that had managed to build up within the main living area. The empty ramen packets seemed to serve as reminders of the ramen he hadn't gotten the chance to enjoy. The clothes and other miscellaneous junk only served to salt the wound.

He never verbalized his agitation, though. She figured it was partly out of guilt of 'holding her captive'. She used that phrase lightly since her occupation within the Uzumaki household felt far better than being held in captivity. Despite their rather odd and sometimes tumultuous relationship, the blond was an amazing host. He brought her clothes, though she was sure that was only because he got tired of her kimono 'accidentally slipping' throughout the day. He brought home food for her when he could and when he couldn't, he made sure the kitchen was properly stocked. He even held conversations with her when she took a break from teasing him.

All in all, she had enjoyed her stay within Naruto's home. She wished that she could've slept in the same bed as the blond but the couch would do for now. She would just have to wait until she was ready to confront her little sister, heal her relationship with said little sister then convince that little sister to let her share her adorable blond boyfriend.

"Easier said than done." The Nekoshou muttered to herself before standing from the couch. She gave another long stretch of her body before heavily plodding over to the kitchen area of the apartment. She knew that she didn't have to worry about being quiet as her house guest was long gone. He always got up early to either open up the shop or to prepare food for the shop or to order something for the shop.

"Everything he does is either shop or Shirone related, Nya~." The girl mused to herself out loud as she opened the door to the refrigerator. Every single morning, she liked to start the day off with a large glass of milk, courtesy of Naruto, of course. The action always seemed to annoy the blond as he was constantly forced to buy more milk and not actually get a chance to enjoy it.

The girl gave a nonchalant shrug while scanning over the contents of the fridge. Her eyes seemed to light up as they landed on the object of her affection. The spark of excitement instantly turned into one of curiosity as she noticed a small sticky note attached to the carton of milk.

"Hmmm." The girl verbalized as she withdrew the milk along with the note from the fridge. She absentmindedly allowed the door to the kitchen appliance to slam shut behind her as she began to read the note out loud to herself.

"Dear Kuroka, odds are that you haven't noticed the fact that I've removed your collar if you're reading this." The girl instantly checked her neck to confirm. She was surprised to find that the collar that had been restraining her to the confines of Naruto's home was now missing.

"It's been awhile since you first came into my house and tried to kill me. I originally put that collar on you to make sure you wouldn't kill me while I tried to convince you to … not kill me. Probably wasn't the best plan but it was the best I could come up with. I'm not much of a strategist. Anyways, I noticed that you haven't tried to kill me the past couple of weeks and I now trust you enough to let you go. I left some money by the door, hopefully enough to allow you to travel wherever you want. I hope that we can continue being friends and one day we can fix your relationship with Ko-chan. See ya later." The girl finished reading. There was a small smiley face written next to the closing line of the note.

"Nya~" The girl said dejectedly as she continued to stare down at the note. Weirdly, the concept of her freedom didn't bring her the type of joy she had expected. She had truly become comfortable under the blond's care.

"I don't wanna leave.."

"I can't believe you turned into a devil while I turned out to be an exorcist. That's like the biggest coincidence ever." Irina exclaimed out loud, drawing the attention of the people around her. Beside her, Issei released a bout of nervous laughter before gently grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her away from the crowd.

The childhood friend duo had been reunited when Xenovia and Irina had 'demanded' a meeting with Rias. The exorcist duo had basically threatened the Gremory heiress before demanding that the girl stay out of the situation with Kokabiel while they handled it. The situation quickly devolved into violence, mainly to Kiba's vengeful nature and Xenovia's straightforwardness. Luckily, Irina, along with the help of Rias' Queen, managed to defuse the situation by separating the volatile duo.

After a bit of talking, Xenovia was eventually escorted out of the clubroom while Irina and Issei decided to take some time to 'catch up'. This time consisted of Issei absentmindedly guiding the exorcist around Kuoh while trying his best to keep his eyes away from the skin tight layer of clothing that hid the girl's rather perky assets.

"Yeah … Its pretty wild." The boy took in a silent gulp as he fought the internal battle to stare or not to stare. For someone that was as gifted in the art of perversion like himself, this was a hard fought battle.

"Mew, I'm sorry about what Xenovia said about Asia-san. My partner can get very passionate about our religion." Irina muttered out nervously while glancing at Issei. During their meeting at Rias' clubroom, her partner had said some rather cruel thing about the former holy priestess that had sent the innocent girl into tears. That had just been the final straw to the eventual broken up meeting.

"You don't have to apologize. I actually feel sorry for you having to deal with such a stuck up prick as a partner." The boy started off angrily. Irina said nothing as the low class devil fumed silently over the actions of her partner. His fuming behavior quickly devolved into a more embarrassed one as a small blush covered his cheeks.

"I guess I should also apologize for trying to use dress break on you. I was trying to keep up with you and I may of went a little over the line." The boy mumbled out his apology. Irina's own cheeks lit up in embarrassment as the memories of the boy's technique flew through her mind. The 'attack', if it could even be called one, seemed to instantly strip it's victim of its clothing. She had fortunately managed to dodge getting hit by such an embarrassing move but Asia and Koneko had been unfortunate victims of it.

"Its fine. It was a battle and sometimes in battle, you have to use every advantage you got. I just feel sort of bad for your two … peerage mates." The girl said the last bit hesitantly as she tried to find the best words to describe the other members of Rias' peerage. She didn't want to incur the boy's agitation especially after being reunited so soon.

She glanced back over to the teen to gauge his reaction and was panicked to find that he now seemed to be frozen in place. Her mind instantly went into a frenzy as she blamed her reference to his friends as the cause of his frozen state.

Unknown to the exorcist, Issei's behavior was not the cause of anything she said. If anything, she had only reminded him of why he should be panicking in the first place.

He had stripped Asia and Koneko with his technique. He had seen them completely naked. He had happily soaked in their nude forms. All of this wouldn't have been a problem if the Nekoshou he had seen naked hadn't had a ridiculously powered blond boyfriend who he was sure would tear him limb from limb if … No… when he found out about the incident.

"Oh god, he's going to kill me. He is going to KILL kill me." Even the pain that came from thinking the Lord's name couldn't phase the boy's panic. Irina became increasingly worried as the color continued to drain from her friend's face.

"Issei…" She mumbled hesitantly while gently touching his shoulder. The girl's touch seemed to snap the boy out of his daze as he jumped slightly. He looked around wildly, panic clear in his eyes, before his gaze eventually settled upon Irina.

"I-I'm sorry about that, Irina. Got caught up in my thoughts." The boy nervously stuttered out. His explanation was met with confused looks from the exorcist which only caused the devil to release another bout of nervous laughter.

"Just don't worry about it." The boy unexpectedly took the girl's hand into his own and began to drag her down the sidewalk. Irina, completely not expecting the action, could only sit in shock as the devil dragged her away.

"May I take your order?" The couple standing at the counter couldn't help but feel a bit surprised at the person behind the cash register. The monotonous tone she was using was very off putting and her bored expression definitely did not make her out to be the best at customer service. Nevertheless, she had on a small visor with the store's design on it and also had a small smock wrapped around her waist.

"Well?" The girl's voice snapped the male and female duo out of their momentary shock. The two gave each other a quick glance before the male of the two stepped towards the counter.

"Ah … Yes. Can we have an order of ... " The man made a mistake of looking into the girl's eyes. He found himself at a loss for words as he stared into her hazel eyes.

"Ummmm.." The man stuttered, earning him a worried glance from his female companion. If his stuttering wasn't bad enough, he also began to shake slightly. His companion seemed to become even more worried as she took a hurried steps towards him.

Koneko couldn't help but sigh at the scene in front of her. This hadn't been the first time someone had reacted to her in a similar fashion. She had no idea why people reacted to her so weirdly but she definitely knew that it was starting to get annoying.

"Leave if you can't order." The girl's internal annoyance slipped into her tone as she addressed the shaken couple. Her voice seemed to snap the male out of his shock but also earn her the ire of the female. The woman took a demanding step forward as an irritated look crossed her face.

"Pardon me? Is that any way to speak with your customers?" The woman angrily questioned. The Nekoshou couldn't help but roll her eyes at the customer's question. If only she knew how little she cared.

"You're not my customer until you order something and you're also holding up the line." She responded in her usual monotone response. A shocked look crossed the woman's face before she quickly turned to verify the authenticity of Koneko's claim. Standing behind the duo was a line of irate people that looked to be seconds away from cursing the woman out. This didn't seem to deter her much as she rounded on Koneko once again with even more agitation clear on her face.

"I don't care about those people. What I care about is that you have the nerve to treat the people you're serving as rude as you have treated my boyfriend." The woman's voice had risen in volume in an attempt to try and win the hearts of the agitated people standing directly behind her. Unfortunately for the woman, she didn't get very far as the crowd only seemed to grow even more irate at the sound of her voice.

"You're annoying me and the people who are willing to order something. Leave please." Koneko stated simply while giving a dismissive wave of her hand. The response seemed to shock the woman as she gave a physical recoil to the girl's words. Her jaw dropped as her eyes seemed to almost pop from out her head. She quickly recovered, however, as she picked her jaw up off the ground and squared her body to face Koneko.

"This is outrageous! I demand to see your manager. I will not leave until I do!" The woman all but yelled. By this point, her boyfriend seemed to have recover from his shock as he stood behind furious girlfriend, looking stuck between being embarrassed by her or wanting to support her. The man settled for simply for remaining quiet and letting the situation play out.

Koneko gave a slight tilt of her head while saying nothing. Silence permeated the store as the two females entered into a staring match. The apathetic gaze of the Nekoshou combated the angry glare of the nameless woman as the tension between the two seemed to rise dramatically. This silent battle of wills continued for several long, uninterrupted seconds before the girl gave an uncaring shrug.

"Sure." Was her simple reply before hopping off of her school. The irate woman watched intensely as the girl leisurely strolled towards the back of the shop and disappeared behind it's curtains. Once the girl was gone, the woman seemed to visibly relax before suddenly turning on her boyfriend, seemingly more mad than ever.

"Can you believe this? How much nerve does this little girl have? I'm going to tear into her manager. They shouldn't have someone like her as the cash register. I hope she gets fi..." The woman fired off in rapid succession. All her boyfriend could do was simply nod in response and hope that she wouldn't find a reason to focus her agitation on him.

"Ahem." The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted the woman's ranting. In a smooth motion, she turned on the spot, ready to fire off on the person that had interrupted her only to freeze when she came face to face (chest) with the figure.

"Is there something I can do for you?" The woman was forced to focus her gaze upwards to look into the eyes of the man in front of her. His form, while not overly tall, seemed to tower over her in every shape and form. His scruffy blond hair, large frame, cocky smirk and electric blue eyes did not help to rid him of an image of someone who did not belong in a candy shop.

The woman didn't let this bother her though. She had already came this far and her anger needed someone to be directed at. If this man wanted to step up and be that person, so be it!

"Thats depends. Are you the manager? Because I don't want to speak to anyone unless they are the manager." The woman stated hotly. Her comment was met with a light smirk from the blond man before his face took on a bashful express as he began to rub the back of his neck.

"I don't know if they count as the same thing but I am the owner. That's gotta count for something, right?" The blond said before releasing a loud laugh. A momentary hesitation fell over the woman at the revelation but she quickly pushed the feeling aside to continue her crusade against bad customer service.

"Even better!" The woman started off as her confidence seemed to be restored. "Just what kind of place are you running? The girl at the register was rude and completely unprofessional!"

Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the irate woman standing before him. During the brief lifespan of his shop, he didn't really have to deal with many angry or dissatisfied customers so the experience was rather new to him. If he remembered correctly, you were supposed to appease the customer in these type of situations because 'the customer was always right'.

"That's completely bullshit. If the customer was always right, they would always choose to order the Uzumaki Special ramen flavored ice cream." The blond's thoughts shifted to the seldom (never) ordered special he had put in place several weeks ago. He had expected the item to sell like crazy, just like the rest of his items, but it seemed that people didn't have the same passion about ramen as he thought they would.

"They don't know what they're missing out on." The blond mused to himself. His Uzumaki Special was the best item on his menu. Even Koneko had said so. It had taken a full week to convince the girl to actually try it but when she did, she loved it.

It was after having this thought that Naruto realized that he still had an irate customer standing in front of him. His silence only seemed to have had a negative effect on her mood as she came off as even angrier.

"Ehhh …" The blond started off, momentarily forgetting just why exactly the woman was angry. He felt a soft pressure on his side and looked down to see Koneko now standing by his side. Her presence triggered the blond's memory as he turned to face the woman again.

"I'm sorry that my … employee" Naruto sent a quick side glance down to Koneko. He figured for this situation would be better not to outright say the nature of their relationship. He figured that her knowing it would only agitate the woman further. "Offended you." The blond finished off rather lamely after such a long pause. His short statement was met with a bewildered look from the woman and a small sigh from her male companion.

"Is that it? I'm sorry?" She questioned incredulously. Naruto's eyebrow shot up as he began to inspect the woman.

"Are you hurt or something? I know some first aid." Naruto questioned back, making the woman physically recoil. She looked almost disgusted at the the blond's question as she looked around the restaurant as if for confirmation that the blond was being serious.

"No, you idiot! I'm not hurt. Your employee was being disrespectful and I think I should get some type of reparations for having to suffer through it!" The woman fired back. Her response seemed to confuse the blond as a perplexed look crossed his face.

"But … why? I mean, I can understand an apology but why should I have to give you something in return? If you're that offended why don't you just leave or something?" Koneko couldn't help but release a small chuckle at the unintended bluntness behind her boyfriend's statement. The no nonsense logic he was putting to use would usually be okay in any other situation but in the food industry where the customer was always right, it came off as a bit … rude.

The woman didn't seem to share the same sense of humor as Koneko as her face took on it's angriest expression yet. Several high pitched, guttural noises left her mouth as her body tensed up immensely. She looked towards her boyfriend, receiving only a small shrug in return, before turning to face Naruto.

"You know what?" The woman started with a loud huff. "You're right. I'm not going to sit here and take this rudeness from you. I hope you know that I will be leaving the worst review of your store possible. I will tell all my friends to never come here. EVER!" With that, the woman charged out of the shop with a loud huff. Her boyfriend remained behind for several seconds, dejectedly looking at the treats he would be unable to eat before sadly following after his girlfriend.

"Well she wasn't nice." Naruto commented after several seconds of silence. Koneko released a small shrug before reaching behind her back to untie her knot holding her apron together. Without a second of hesitation, she threw the garment in the blond's face before heading towards the counter of the shop.

"Hey!" The blond yelled indignantly yelled as he ripped the sugar covered piece of cloth off his face. By the time he had cleared his vision, the Nekoshou was standing in front of him with her backpack loosely slung over her shoulder.

"Leaving already?" Questioned the blond.

"Clubroom. Mandatory meeting with some special guests." The girl stated. A crestfallen look quickly crossed the blond's face before he spread his arms out wide. Koneko rolled her eyes at the teen's gesture before making her way towards him. When she came within arm's reach of the shinobi, he quickly scooped her up into a massive bear hug while lifting her off of her feet. A small smile worked its way onto her usual stoic face as her boyfriend held the embrace for several seconds before lowering her back down onto her feet.

"Do you always have to do that whenever I leave?" Koneko mumbled softly as she readjusted her backpack. The hug had attracted the attention of the customers around the duo, making the urge to leave the shop even greater within the Nekoshou.

"Yes I do. Now stop complaining and stop keeping your friends waiting." The cheerfully said while giving the girl a small pat on the head. The girl quickly shook away the boy's appendage with a small blush staining her cheeks. She muttered a silent goodbye to the blond before leaving the confines of the shop.

"If you could please stop staring at your girlfriend's ass, we have more important issues to discuss." The blond sputtered at being caught so easily before quickly regaining his composure. With a quick glance towards his remaining customers, the blond quickly made his way to the back room of his store.

"I know what you're talking about but I don't think we have to worry about it. Yeah, they've been lingering around the shop for a bit but I don't sense any bad intent coming from them." The blond thought to his partner before making a clone to take his place outside the shop. With his customers taken care of, the shinobi settled down onto the floor of the shop.

"Recently there have been a bunch of people who haven't shown malicious intent but still turn out to be a thorn in your side." Kurama's comment earned him a small chuckle from the blond as the sage got into a meditative stance.

"Stop worrying so much. We can take whatever anyone has to throw at us. After all, if we can survive a fight with a dragon god, what's the worse that can happen?"

"What's the matter, devil child? What happened to the passion I felt earlier? What happened to the hate I can still sense flowing through your veins? Give it to me!"

The remnants of his weapon laid fading around him. Dozen upon dozens of his sword were now broken shards of metal. His own blood decorated the ground along with the broken remains of his Sword Birth.

Kiba's chest rose and fell heavily as he stood in a shaky stance. Clasped in his hand was one of his newest swords, the Holy Eraser. Despite it's name, the sword hadn't been doing him much good against the crazed exorcist.

"Well? C'mon you shitty, little devil! Show me what you got." Freed yelled before charging at the devil. The exorcist had his own sword, his much more elegant than the one in Kiba' hand. The sword was, in shape, similar to that of a kris. The blade of the weapon was freakishly wide and diamond shaped. Two spikes protruded out near the bottom of the blade.

Kiba didn't have time to fully observe the holy blade as he was forced to raise his blade in order to block a blow from the exorcist. The devil felt his muscles buckle under the force of the man's blade as a power struggle took place. Kiba quickly realized he would be on the losing end of the struggle as he jumped away from the blond and settled into a defensive stance.

"Aww, am I going to have to start all the fun?" Freed yell before charging even faster after the devil. This time, Kiba was giving no time to rest as strike after strike was rained down upon him. It took everything in him to counter the man's swordplay, ultimately leaving him a bloodied, panting and breathless mess.

The exorcist released a loud bout of laughter before sending an overhead strike down onto Kiba. The devil raised his sword to block the strike and was sent staggering backwards in response. With the devil off-balance, the man quickly pressed his advantage slashing at the boy's chest, cutting through his clothing, flesh and muscle.

"Did I leave a booboo?" Freed joyfully proclaimed as Kiba stumbled backwards while clutching onto his wounded chest. The devil managed to regain his balance with the usage of his sword before taking off towards the exorcist.

"Yes! This is the fire I wanted to see. Show me what you got!" Freed yell as Kiba took the offensive. Every strike sent out by the devil was fueled by the boy's rage and was meant to kill. Unfortunately, none of them landed their mark as Freed skillfully blocked and parried whatever came his way.

"Shit! I'm starting to grow bored." Freed yawned out as he lazily blocked a particularly vicious blow from the teen. With a flick of his wrist, the exorcist sent the devil flying off of his feet.

The blond recovered in mid-air and managed to land lightly on his feet before once again taking off towards the exorcist. Freed, seeing the incoming threat, released a disgustingly pleasure filled moan before raising his blade into the air.

"Ah, ah, ah, No more sword for you! Keep up!" Within a single second, the blade within Kiba's hand shattered as if made from glass. The devil didn't even have time to react before a foot planted itself firmly within his chest and sent him flying through the air.

"You're too slow. You're too slow~. I hit you seven different times and I bet you didn't even notice!" The exorcist sang out loud as he watched the devil bounce limply against the ground. The man's laughter boomed throughout the empty plaza as Kiba laid still on the ground. The laughter was quickly put to a stop when the devil released a loud groan shakily standing to his feet.

The devil looked worse for wear as he struggled to stay on his feet. His body was littered with stab wounds and bruises from where Freed had struck him. A thin line of blood was flowing from his lips. Every inch of his body was shaking violently as he fought the urge to collapse to the ground.

"Looks like you still a little left in the tank. Good! I can't wait to continue beating your as-" The man didn't get to finish as he was suddenly and unexpectedly kicked in the side of his head. The force of the kick was enough to lift the exorcist off of his feet and send him flying several meters away.

"K-Koneko." Kiba managed to stutter out through the pain. Standing in the spot where Freed once stood was the devil's fellow peerage member. The girl's backpack was slung loosely over her right shoulder as she looked stoically at her injured classmate.

"Senpai … Looks like you need help." Koneko stated in her usual tone of voice before taking several steps towards the injured devil. Her advance was interrupted as the man she had previously kicked in the head decided to make his presence known to the devil duo.

"Now there's two! They just keep multiplying! Oh, what fun!" The man exclaimed as he ran towards duo. Kiba looked readied to confront the exorcist but was stopped when Koneko held out her hand towards him.

"Rest. You can't fight." Kiba wasn't fit to argue in his current state so he decided to oblige by the girl's will and sit.

With the knowledge that her partner wouldn't interrupt, Koneko turned to confront the charging exorcist. The man had recovered much of the distance he had been kicked during the Nekoshou's talk with Kiba. This didn't seem to bother the girl as much as she settled into a loose stance and for the man to approach.

"Come here, little kitty kat!" Freed yelled while charging at the Nekoshou. The man quickly got within striking range of the girl and immediately attempted to take the girl's head off with a side swipe of his sword.

Unfortunately for the man, it wasn't meant to be as his wrist was seized within the girl's grip. Before the man could react, his wrist was snapped with a sickening crunch and pop before he was slammed mercilessly into the ground by the small girl.

"Oh sh-" The man was interrupted once again as Koneko's fist slammed into his head, sending him deeper into the ground. The girl would've landed yet another hit if a volley of crossbow bolts hadn't forced her to jump away from the downed man.

"Freed. Stop with the obscenities and collect your weapon. We have more important matters to take care of." Kiba's eyes widened at the sound of his voice as he attempted to stand to his feet. Due to his current condition, all the devil could manage to do was to get several inches off the ground only to collapse back down.

"Valper!" Kiba grunted out through his pain as he laid eyes onto his childhood torturer. The man sent an apathetic side glance down at the injured devil before refocusing his attention back onto the exorcist. At this time, the man had managed to recover his sword and scramble back up to his feet.

"Old man, why do you have to ruin all my fun? I was just getting into it with these shitty little devils." The exorcist whined in a childish voice that was not meant for someone his age. The Genocide archbishop rolled his eyes at the childlike behavior of his charge as he shouldered his crossbow.

"Do not test me, child. You've already made me do more than originally plan. Retreat. Now." The man left no room for argument as he levelled his crossbow at the former exorcist. Freed, seeing he had no other option, wisely choose to obey the man's wishes while grumbling incoherently beneath his breath.

"Don't ignore me!" The excommunicated church member's attention was brought back to the injured devil as Kiba shouted out. This time, with the help of one of his swords, the boy managed to climb back up to his feet. The devil's face was screwed in a mixture of hate and concentration as he glared at the man.

"I remember you. I had figured you would of died with the rest of them. It's a shame to see that even my trash has sided with the devil." The man's comment made Kiba see red as he attempted to take off towards the former bishop. Unfortunately, due to his condition, he only managed a couple of steps before his legs gave out under him. Fortunately for the boy, Koneko was there to catch him before he could fall to the ground.

"R-release me!" Kiba grunted out as he attempted to stand back on his feet. Koneko ignored the devil's protests and instead focused on keeping him on his feet. The devil watched in anger as Freed quickly leaped over to his partner position and lifted him from his feet. A guttural growl left his throat as he watched the dark exorcist effortlessly leap away with the man on his back.

"You let him get away. You stopped me from getting my revenge." Kiba growled out as Freed and Valper disappeared from his sight.

"I stopped you from getting killed. Now, be quiet. Rias-Sama needs us." Before the blond could protest, the Nekoshou teleported the duo away.

"Another, my fine dessert connoisseur! I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight if I don't get another taste of your amazing sweets." Closing time had long since passed for Uzumaki's sweets but the shop was still open. The bright lights illuminating the interior of the shop spilled out through the windows and onto the streets.

Despite the lateness, the shop actually had several occupants, all of whom were sat/stood at it's counter. The tallest of the customers was a handsome, black haired man dressed in a japanese schoolboy's uniform. Strapped to his back was a large spear that covered the entirety of his back. Sat in front of the man on the counter wa a multitude of empty dishes.

Sat on either side of the man was a single man. To his right sat a young, black haired man wearing a pair of spectacles and the same pair of clothes his partner was wearing. Overall, he seemed to have a shy demeanor as he silently sat and ate the dessert in front of him.

Sat to his right was a man who looked to be the exact opposite. He was a handsome young man with mid-length silver-white hair. He was dressed in a uniform similar to the one the other two occupants wore. The interesting thing about the man was the amount of swords attached to his body. Two were strapped to each side of his waist while one sat diagonally across his back. The man looked serene as he slowly consumed his food.

Naruto didn't seem to be too bothered by the amount of weaponry the men carried. In all actuality, the blond looked excited as he dashed from end to end of his counter, making and pushing out all types of dishes to the trio of men.

"You got it. Another Uzumaki special on its way." Naruto beamed out before beginning to make the dish. The spear wielder seemed to be appeased by the teen's comment as he sat back down in his seat. He shared a knowing look between his two partners as they watched the blond deftly prepare their food. The shop owner seemed ignorant to the look shared between them as he put his full focus into his food.

"Y'know, up until recently I was completely unaware of you and your lovely shop." The man started off as he directed his gaze onto the blond. Naruto only hesitated in his movement for a second before his hands went back to work.

"I'm still sort of new to the area so that's probably why. The neighborhood seems to be welcoming me pretty well though." He punctuated his statement with a nervous chuckle while doing his patent head scratch with one hand and kneading dough with the other. The lead male brushed off the strange showcase of multi-tasking in order to speak again.

"I can see why. Your dishes are delicious. Everything I've been hearing about you is chalking up to be pretty accurate." The man stated casually just as Naruto placed his Uzumaki special in front of him. The blond gave a slight tilt of his head as he stood in front of the trio.

"I hope the things you've heard have been good. Just today I had a lady threaten to leave the worst review ever." The blond sheepishly stated. The bespectacled man twitched nervously at his words, catching Naruto's attention. The shinobi let his gaze on the man linger for only a few short seconds before veering his attention back to the black-haired man.

"Oh trust me, it's been nothing but good. The things I've heard about you have … as you say, piqued my interest." The man's tone and body language seemed to shift as he locked eyes with the blond. To his side, both of his partners shifted as the carefree atmosphere between the group slowly faded away.

"Ehh … What do you mean by that?" Naruto's face was one of innocence and ignorant as he directed his question back at the spearwielder. The man took it all in stride as he sat straighter in his seat.

"Oh, nothing serious. It's just that you usually don't hear about someone surviving an encounter with Ophis. When I heard what you had done, I knew I needed to meet you in person." With those words, any ignorance the blond had been feigning immediately faded away. The man's two companions seemed to pick this up as they became much tenser and alert.

"I see." The shinobi started off before crossing his arms across his chest. The action caused the man's companions to flinch but nothing else. Their leader didn't seem to bothered by the action as a small smirk slowly worked its way onto his face.

"Yes. Now, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cao Cao and these my are partners, George and Siegfried." The newly revealed Cao said while pointing towards the two men. Georg gave a nervous nod of his head while Siegfried offered nothing but a slight narrowing of his eyes.

"You could say that we are associates of Ophis … but our goals are separate from her own." Cao quickly explained when Naruto began reach for his waist. His explanation seemed to appease the blond as he stopped the action.

"Oh really. And let me guess, you want me to help you achieve these goals." Naruto's comment and sardonic tone earned him a small chuckle from the leader of the Hero faction as the man seemed to relax in his seat.

"I see that you have gone through this process before. If what I heard about your encounter with Ophis is true then I can see why you seem a little jaded at our presence. But at least allow me to explain my goals before you place your judgement." Cao offered up. He was met with silence at first as Naruto seemed to contemplate his request. The man knew immediately the blond's choice when the shinobi released a soft sigh and unfolded his arms.

"Fine. I'll hear you out but only because you haven't tried to take my head off yet." Once again, the blond recieved a chuckle from Cao before the Hero descendant began to speak.

"I would first like to inform you that the people I work with have a singular goal and that is for the advancement of the human species. As you are already aware, the threat to mankind is not just ourselves. It is the Devils, the Angels, the Dragons and even the Gods. I feel that it is my job to push mankind to be able to compete and protect ourselves from the supernatural threat that these beings pose. I've been recruiting humans with especially extraordinary talents to assist me in my goal. I would love to have you join us."

Naruto had to give it to the man he was definitely charismatic. The way the man spoke was filled with confidence and conviction that would've swayed a majority of weaker men and women. Unfortunately for Cao, Naruto could easily see past the relatively thin veil of charisma in order to question the man.

"You claim to hate dragons and gods yet you are apparently working with Ophis. That seems a little odd, don't ya think?" Naruto questioned. His questioned procured him a small sigh from the descendant as the man gave a strong shake of his head.

"There are things you must do in order to achieve your goals. Working with that … girl is not something I enjoy doing but it is a necessary … for now. Soon though, we will no longer have any need for her and will properly dispose of her." Cao spoke. Naruto gave a small hum in response as his arm shot up to rub his chin.

"While all this sounds tempting and you seem like a pretty nice guy…" Naruto started off. "I don't think I can sign on to your cause. I don't think I have the same amount of passion that you have on the topic." Naruto finished sincerely while offering the man a polite nod of his head. The blond's comment seemed to agitate the swordsman of the group as the man shot up from his seat while reaching for one of the many swords attached to his hip. He was stopped, however, when Cao reached out his arm, effectively blocking the path between the two.

"I understand." The man's comment seemed to catch his partners by surprise. He stood from his seat before offering a low bow to his blond host. "I respect your decision and choose not to pursue the issue any further."

The man promptly turned and began to walk towards the entrance of the store, leaving his two companions at the counter. The duo remained there for several seconds, seemingly too shocked to move before eventually following after their leader. The trio reached the door of the shop and looked prepared to exit before Cao froze, causing his two partners to stop in their tracks as well.

"But…" The man turned to face Naruto as a small smile crossed his face. "If you ever find that your mind has changed, know that the offer is still on the table. Just voice your desire and I will be there to answer. I hope to see each other in the future." With those parting and rather cryptic words, the man turned and exited the store with his two companions trailing him, leaving the blond once again alone in his shop.

"I can tell that he's going to be a pain in the ass." He couldn't help but think to himself before glancing down at the counter. Left on it was a multitude of bills that added up exactly to be the amount of the man's check. Next to the stack of bills was a single sheet of paper that was covered in an intricate and indiscernible design. The only aspect of the seal that Naruto could make out was a twin pair of swords going through its center along with a spear running straight down it's center. Written below the design were four simple words.

"I will be watching." Naruto read out loud as he raised the paper to eye level. After studying the design for several seconds, the blond couldn't help but sigh before pocketing the small slip of paper. He then began to painstaking task of cleaning up the mess left behind by the trio as a single thought continuously played through his head.

"I'm going to have to deal with another black-haired prick, aren't I?. Kami, what did I ever do to deserve this?"