45 Chapter - 45

"Hello."

"Hello." Sasuke tilted his head to the side, unsure how to deal with the sudden appearance of Naruto's fiancé. He'd just been sitting quietly, sharpening his demonic steel katana over a whetstone when the girl had just popped into existence. Lost in thought, the Uchiha had been carefully planning the training regimen for the peerage for the next week.

It was something he really should get back to.

"So, are you just going to ignore me, or…?" Raval prodded Rias' Pawn, watching the dark-haired devil return to caring for his blade. It wasn't the first time they'd met, but they didn't generally come in contact in their very different routines. That wouldn't stop her from getting a touch of amusement out of teasing him. Naruto had told her all about how easy it was to wind him up.

"You know, my older brother collects swords. Ruval says they're beautiful works of art, and that a well-made one carries the spirit of its smith. Riser says it's all garbage though. What do you think, Sasuke-san? Is your sword full of the beautiful soul of a hairy middle aged man?"

"Toujou, deal with this."

Rolling over on the bench she was sprawled over lazily, Koneko looked between one devil and the other with a single amber orb. "No."

A sigh.

"Yuuto?"

"Sorry, no can do."

"Akeno?"

"Oh, but revenge is sweet, isn't it, Sasu-chi?"

"Rias."

The Ruin Princess roused from her book, peering out of the comfort of her hammock through a pair of gold rimmed spectacles. "I'm sorry Sasuke. I can't hear you over the sound of my sore fingers screaming in pain. It seems someone thought it would be a good idea to train them until they cramped up."

Ravel snorted and rolled her eyes. "It seems you're unpopular in these parts, my broody friend. We'll just have to wait until Naruto comes back to take me off your hands, since you can't handle an innocent little girl."

"Hn."

"What was that, boy? Timmy's down the well?"

"There is a difference between capability and desire, you fool."

When Naruto walked back into the garden, his brain short circuited. There was no way for his mind to process the sight of Yuuto standing uncertainly with a katana in his hand, hovering by as Ravel beat Sasuke over the head with 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. Akeno leant over the back of a bench, guffawing so hard her face turned red while Koneko struggled like a wet cat in the groping circle of her arms. Rias was just lazing about in her hammock, throwing her slippers at the cursing Uchiha and scolding him for his dirty language.

So he didn't process it.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Oh hey." Ravel greeted him cheerily, carelessly dropping the partially demolished novel into the tub of water Sasuke had been using to sharpen his blade. "What took you so long?"

"I just had to clear a few things up with dad about the patrols first. You know how he gets with the whole bonespider thing. Thinks it's a waste of my time. Anyway – so I see you're all getting along out here?"

"Yep, me and Huck Finn here are the best of friends now."

Naruto cracked a smirk. "Well I guess it fits. Sasuke was always the kind to break all the rules. Even had the hobo thing going on for a while."

"I don't want to hear that from you, you fucking dumpster diver."

More than one set of eyebrows began to climb as the two reincarnated shinobi descended into increasingly obscure inside jokes and bizarre insults.

"At least I never chose to become a dirty homeless vagrant."

"No, you were too busy bigshotting it up and enjoying the fruits of talk no justu."

"Hey man, don't hate the playa. It's not my fault your one-man power trip couldn't make it to the finish line."

"At least I wasn't getting by with the power of friendship."

"Better than the power of crazy eyes."

"-relying on a dozen blond clones-"

"-Blood tears of drama and relentless wangst-"

"-and the world's most underrated fox pest problem-"

"Mommy, mommy, I take hickies from strangers!"

"Hey look at me beat this guy with a fucking fart!"

A sudden shriek cut off the argument, drawing all eyes to a horrified looking Ravel. The expression on her face as she stared at Naruto was utterly betrayed, and pressing a hand over her heart she gulped. "Naruto. Are you..."

"Ravel, what-"

"…Into men?"

"Huh? Wait a minute. Where did you get that from?"

"Well, you see." The blonde repressed a laugh, the effort at seriousness ruined by Akeno's howl of mirth. "I can't see any other reason you two would fight so often but have all these nicknames and personal jokes. The unresolved sexual tension is thicker than molasses. Sasuke's a real looker too."

"Who the hell said that?!"

"Quit joking around." Sasuke muttered, backing away from Naruto with a pale face. "You're making my skin crawl." The Uchiha violently repressed memories of a certain classroom incident, and based on the green tinge to Naruto's cheeks, the redhead was doing the same.

Naruto grabbed Ravel's hand with a scowl. "We're going now. You heard nothing. You saw nothing. Or else." With that final threat, the Gremory heir and his fiancé left. He led Ravel out of the garden and back into his grandfather's mansion, muttering under his breath all the way.

"Not that I mind, but are you going to keep holding my hand the whole time?"

Releasing his grip with burning cheeks, Naruto shoved his fists into his pockets. The constant weight of his saber bounced against him hip, reminding the boy that he'd had other plans before the blonde had popped up out of the blue. "So, you never told me why you were coming over today."

"Ah, well I was hoping I could move in with you."

"What, really?"

"No." Ravel huffed. "Are you always this dense?" The eleven-year-old wondered, throwing herself into a spontaneous twirl. A few of the maids gave her scandalized looks at the break in propriety, but she didn't really care too much. "Maybe I just wanted to see you, did that ever occur to you?"

"No, not really."

"Jeez, you're just all sugar and ice, aren't you?"

Falling into their back and forth typical banter brought a smile to Naruto's face. He still wasn't too hot on the whole engagement side of things, but despite the political headaches and her brother looming around sometimes, Naruto was enjoying their time together. Ravel was becoming a good friend.

"So." He began conversationally as they took a winding aimless tour through the mansion. "I don't think I ever actually asked before, but when's your birthday? I'm not the greatest with presents, especially since your family seems to have the 'I'm super rich and buy everything I want' angle going on. I need a lot of time to prepare."

"Today."

"What?"

"Today is my birthday."

Naruto ground to a screeching halt, head snapping back to offer an incredulous gaze. "Are you taking the piss right now or are you serious?"

"I'm serious." Ravel sighed, picking at the threads of her dress. "Today's my birthday. I am actually twelve."

What? But where was the party? Shouldn't she be holed up somewhere with her parents having a little celebration, if not throwing an extravagant birthday bash for the extended Phenex clan and its allies. They certainly had money to burn. "So… why are you here and not at home right now?"

The hesitation that twisted his friend's mouth drew Naruto's attention like a fox to a hen. Even before Ravel opened her lips and carelessly writ off his concern, Naruto was suspicious. "There's nothing big going on. I just felt like getting out of the house for a while. Eventually, you get bored with the way your parents want to make every little milestone the world's biggest achievement."

Lying.

She was lying to his face, but why?

"I see." Naruto responded slowly, running a thoughtful hand over his chin. He supposed he'd have to be patient and keep his ears open. "Alright, since you went and decided to make things difficult by not giving me fair warning to pick out a gift, I'll just have to prove no one gets one over on me. How do you feel about going out somewhere?"

"Like, a date?"

"…Depends how you feel about doing a little pest control, I suppose."

Blue eyes lit on the saber at Naruto's side, and a slow predatory grin curved over the blonde's face. "I thought you'd never ask."