Devil Ninja

All Out or Nothin'!

Rias Gremory expected to feel the crushing pain of being smashed beneath the paw of a monstrous wolf, so when she didn't feel any pain, she wondered why. Looking up from where she was crouched protectively over Koneko, Rias blinked several times. Was she seeing things? She blinked again. Nope. She wasn't seeing things.

Standing in front of her was a woman with dark hair like midnight. This woman was not facing her, but facing the claw that had nearly crushed her and Koneko. The woman's kimono flapped as her arms shook. A tail poke out from underneath the short skirt of the kimono, splitting off to almost appear as if she had two tails. Cat ears sat on her head, twitching periodically.

"You are... Kuroka, right?" Rias asked.

Kuroka turned and gazed down at her with a single yellow eye. "That's right. And you're in the way. Grab Shirone and get her to that healer of yours. Leave this beastie to us."

Rias would have wondered what she meant by "us," but something powerful chose that moment to strike Hati Hróðvitnisson in the face. Fire burst from whatever had struck the beast. It was a gout of flame that rose in plumes from the monster's face like the nuclear explosions constantly happening in the sun. Hati Hróðvitnisson howled as it was sent sprawling to the ground. High above the beast, darting to and fro, was a blonde girl flying on a broom.

"Is that a magical girl?" asked Rias.

"No, that's Le Fay Pendragon, our mage," Kuroka said. "Now hurry up and get out of here! If Shirone dies because of you...!"

"Don't worry. I'm already moving."

Rias didn't need to be told twice, or even once, that she needed to get Koneko to Asia. Koneko was a beloved member of her peerage, a part of her family, and, more importantly, Naruto's girlfriend(?)—she still didn't know if that was the right term. More than that, Rias loved Koneko. She had loved Koneko before Naruto even showed up, and she would continue to love Koneko regardless of what her relationship to Naruto was.

She lifted Koneko into a bridal carry. She ignored the way her Rook's leg dangled from fibrous strands of muscle and, without even looking back at Kuroka and Le Fay Pendragon, she took off toward the last known location of Asia and Issei.

Koneko groaned in her arms.

~Devil Ninja~

"Kiba! Kiba-kun!!"

It was the feeling of a hand shaking his shoulder that jolted Kiba awake. He groaned, blinking in an attempt to make the blurriness in his eyes go away. It worked, albeit, it took awhile. It was while he was getting his vision back that he realized someone was standing in front of him. As his vision sharpened, he noticed that it was Tsubaki, tears in her eyes as she shouted his name. He blinked several times, then groaned again, hair swaying as he shook his head.

"I'm fine. What happened? What are you doing here?"

"I came back to help. Reya is with Issei-san and Asia-san. Fenrir nearly killed you," Tsubaki said, still appearing ready to bawl her eyes out. "When you struck that wall, I was so worried. You weren't moving or anything. I thought you were dead."

"That so...?" Kiba recalled being struck by the giant wolf's paw. He couldn't remember hitting a wall. He must have blacked out before then. "Speaking of, where is Fenrir?"

"He's battling against the White Dragon Emperor," Akeno said. She was standing beside him and Tsubaki, arms crossed. Kiba thought she was trying to act cool at first, but then he noticed the blood seeping from between her arms.

"You're injured," he said.

"Not as badly as you," Akeno countered.

A loud rumbling interrupted their conversation as, without warning, the building several dozen meters from them exploded when something crashed into it. Fenrir. The wolf of Norse Mythology, the son of Loki, tried to flatten the person flitting along through the air.