A Simple Teenage Shop Owner

7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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