A Simple Teenage Shop Owner

14

"For the last time Rias, I don't want to join your peerage." Ssid girl let out a loud groan as she dramatically slumped down in her seat at Naruto's counter to her offer. Sat in front of her was an unobservant Koneko who was silently munching away on a plate full of sugar cookies.

"But you could be closer to Ko-" The girl was stopped in the middle of her sentence when a half eaten cookie slammed into her forehead. The redhead turned her eyes to her rook and saw the nekoshou giving her a small glare.

"Don't do that." Koneko stated just as a small, balled-up napkin smacked lightly against her face. Her eyes fell upon her boyfriend who was busy fulfilling orders for the customers in the shop.

"Don't waste food by throwing it at people." Naruto said without looking up from his work. Koneko offered the boy a soft apology before turning back to Rias just in time to catch the girl blowing her a raspberry.

The duo of king and rook had made it a habit to visit Naruto's shop almost everyday after school. Koneko's reason were, of course, to visit and spend some quality time with her boyfriend. Rias,on the other hand, main intention was to try and recruit the boy to her peerage. Ever since watching his perfomance in the Ratings game, the girl had been unrelenting in her attempt to get the boy to her side.

Speaking of Naruto's actions, the blonde's assault on several mid to high-tier devils and his interruption of a Ratings game had left the blonde in some pretty deep shit when it came to the devils. It was best to say that he was on the "wanted" list of several devil clans. At the top of that list was the Phenex clan for sure. When Lord Phenex had awakened to the news that the engagement had been called off, he was not exactly the most receptive to the news. The man felt like he had been cheated and demanded that the decision be reversed due to Naruto's interference in the match. Unfortunately for him, Sirzechs was hearing none of it. To the Satan, his decision had been made and it was not changing. And with the backing of two other Satan's, there was really nothing the Phenex could do.

So instead, the clan had effectively put out a hit for Naruto. Because the boy had made it rather clear that he was allied to no faction, the clan had put out an award of the boy's death. Both Rias and Koneko had been furious when they heard about the bounty but were eventually were calmed.

Sirzechs had attempted to bring Naruto to the underworld in order to work out some agreement or alliance with the blonde. While the Satan knew he didn't have a full gauge on the boy's ability, he still was able to sense the raw power that the shinobi contained. Being the first to ally with someone with such power would only be a boon to the devil's power. Unfortunately for the devil, Naruto was having none of it. The blonde made it clear that he wanted no involvement with the devils. The feeling seemed to be mutual as most of the devils that participated in the "fight" against the boy held a strong grudge towards him and wanted nothing less than to be working alongside him.

"C'monnnnnnn. You'll get awesome devil powers, no one in the underworld will be able to do anything to you and eventually you could get your own peerage." Rias' was met with another deadpan look from the blonde. The girl released a sigh before deciding to stop with her recruiting attempts for today. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

"That idiot from before is approaching the shop by the way." Naruto paused momentarily in his action at his partner's comment before continuing to knead the lump of dough in his hand.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that. I know a lot of idio- Never mind, I see what you mean." Naruto interrupted himself in the middle of the sentence as the man in question walked into the shop.

The man's unkempt golden bangs were even more wild than usual considering the fact that they were covered in soot and ash. His burgundy trench coat had several holes burned into it. The man's exposed chest was littered with cuts and bruises that were leaking with various amounts of blood.