Naruto's eyes snapped open early. He sat up, looking around. There was no one staring down on him.
It was something he used to take for granted, but after how this life had started he learned to love the little things. He was ten now, a true Phenex with their traits fully materialized, including the healing factor, giving him some much needed breathing space.
Naruto brought his fingers together. He summoned a clone and felt the gut punch of his chakra being halved. It wasn't something he was going to complain about. He wasn't completely sure how he even had chakra, since he'd been reborn as a completely different person (and race). Besides, even his old fashioned reserves were plenty to work with.
And he was used to working with them now, considering he started every day with a shadow clone before breakfast.
"Go," Naruto said.
His clone pinged away, flipping the window up and ducking outside. The temporary blond would find somewhere secluded in the woods and meditate, acclimating to the differences in this world's nature chakra. It was a process Naruto had been repeating for the last four years.
The natural chakra here was different. Every time Naruto got close to it, it threatened to take him over; drive him berserk. That was a new danger compared to what he was used to. So he was taking it slow, using clones the way that he had in his last life.
As Naruto climbed out of bed, his door was thrown open. Ravel stood there, having skidded to a stop with her socks sliding along the hardwood floor.
"Naruto! Today's the day!" she said.
She was wearing a lovely dress that was noticeably nicer than what she typically wore around the house.
Naruto smiled at her.
"It sure is!" he said. "Are you excited?"
"I can't wait!" Ravel said.
Which is what she said, but five hours later, she was using Naruto's body as a shield.
"Ravel, I can't walk," Naruto said. "It's hard enough in this getup without you holding on so tight."
Naruto was dressed in a suit every bit as nice as Ravel's dress. He hated it. He could barely move, and it kept chaffing him. No wonder Riser always fought with their mom to keep his collar unbuttoned.
Riser was in the room with them now, standing at the far end of the castle's biggest ballroom (yes, they had multiple). He was wearing a nice burgundy suit, although as ever, he'd undone the top three buttons, leaving a scandalous amount of his chest out.
Riser was flexing his arms, laughing and spinning in circles as Ile and Nel, two of his pawns, squealed and hung from his arms. Yubelluna, Riser's Queen, watched on from behind them with crossed arms and a smile.
"Mom's going to hit him," Naruto said. "She told him not to attract attention."
Ravel just whimpered.
Naruto sympathized with her plight. Really, he did. There were so many devils here, and they were all here for THEM.
It was their eleventh birthday. That mattered, in devil culture. Before that age High Class Devils were kept secluded in their respective families, basically considered babies. They often didn't meet a single devil outside of their family members and the family members' peerages, who were basically family themselves.
That's how it was for Naruto and Ravel too. For a long time, they'd only known a few people. Now they were in a room crammed with strangers, many of whom looked strange or even frightening.
Naruto understood why that would be overwhelming; Ravel had literally never met a true stranger before. It's just that his sympathy could only last so long when her grip on his suit was choking away his air.
"Greetings," said a girl, striding up to him and his twin.
She was slightly older than Naruto and Ravel, maybe by a few years. She had long chestnut hair and a pretty face. She was also wearing her suit far more comfortably than Naruto.
"Sup!" Naruto said. "I'm Naruto! Who're you?"
Briefly surprised by his manner of greeting, the girl raised her head.
"I am the youngest daughter of the Furcas Clan, Bafeel Furcas," she said. "It is a gifted day for me to meet you."
"Likewise!" Naruto said.
Again, Bafeel hesitated.
"I don't mean to be rude…" she said. "But have you not been tutored on inter-house relations?"
"Oh… Those lessons. Yeah, we got them. I spaced out!" Naruto said.
"I see." Bafeel was forced to pause every time they exchanged words, as Naruto kept surprising her. "It would aid you to memorize the protocol of greetings. When one says, 'It is a gifted day for me to meet you.' It means that they are from a house of a lower rank. When greeting someone from a house less prestigious than your own, you are to say, 'I know you will receive me with honor.'"
"Like, every time?" Naruto asked. "You just say the same two things to everyone?"
"Yes," Bafeel said. "It is tradition."
"How am I supposed to know who's higher up than me, and who's lower down?" Naruto asked.
"That… Would have been included in your lessons," Bafeel said.
"Ah! The ones I spaced out in."
"Yes. The ones you spaced out in."
Bafeel's last second lesson was put to the test as Naruto was approached by another boy, although Naruto mistook him for a grown man at first. An honest mistake, since the guy was over seven feet tall.
"I am the Heir of House Balam, Gandoma Balam. It is a gifted day for me to meet you," said the rocky boy.
"Sup!" Naruto said, giving him the same greeting that Bafeel got.
When Gandoma looked surprised, Bafeel met his eyes, telling him something with a slight nod. Maybe they were acquainted?
"Naruto has not had ample opportunity to hone his social etiquette," Bafeel said. "He doesn't mean any offense."
"None taken," Gandoma said. "I remember how lost I felt last year."
He had an easygoing voice that made Naruto like him immediately. He reminded Naruto of a rockier version of Choji. But something he said caught Naruto's attention.
"When you say last year… Was that when you turned eleven?" Naruto asked.
"Indeed," Gandoma said. "It was not an event as grand as this one, of course, but my family invested all they could."
"T'was a good occasion, to be sure," Bafeel said, confirming that they had met before.
All Naruto could say was, "You're twelve."
"Yes, Naruto-dono."
"You're one year older than me."
"Yes… That's correct," Gandoma said, beginning to sound nervous.
Naruto's disbelief at the age gap between him and the sedimentary hulk was paused as another young attendee approached the group.
It was another boy who towered over Naruto. This guy, though, Naruto could immediately tell was young. There was an element of youth in his face, highlighted by how hard he was trying to look solemn.
He was tall, with spiky black hair and purple eyes. His suit was red with black trim and basically screamed Look At Me! The boy came to a stop in front of Naruto and Ravel, saying nothing, though he crossed his arms.
Naruto lifted an eyebrow, waiting for a greeting from him. The guy didn't say anything. Was Naruto supposed to give the greeting this time?
"I'm Naruto… This is my house," he said. "It's a, uh, gifted day to meet you?"
He was pretty sure that he remembered that right. Bafeel and Gandoma actually both sighed with relief. Either Naruto did the right thing, or he'd come closer to the right thing than they thought he might.
"What is your standing?" the boy in front of them said.
He still hadn't introduced himself. Rude.
Naruto was about to say that, yeah, he WAS standing, when Raveled let go of his suit.
"We are the youngest of House Phenex, Ravel and Naruto." She curtsied. "It is a gifted day to meet you."
The boy with the purple eyes grunted. "I know you will receive me—Magdaran, Heir Bael—with honor."
Naruto was pretty sure that Magdaran was making his voice deeper than it normally was. Naruto smiled at him, happy that Ravel had smoothed things over, but his eyes flickered past Magdaran.
There was a man across the room, chatting to Lord Phenex and Ruval. The man shared Magdaran's purple eyes, looking like an older version of his son, just a little bit slimmer and with a beard. This man's shoulders were pointed at a slightly unnatural angle. It would look, normally, like Naruto's brother and father had his attention… But Magdaran was who he was really following.
Naruto looked him in the eyes.
"Is that your dad?" Naruto asked Magdaran.
Magdaran stiffened. He clearly wanted to look back, but he did so as briefly as possible, facing Naruto with a ramrod straight back.
"Yes, that is Lord Bael," Magdaran said.
I don't like him, Naruto thought.
Lord Bael had walked into their home, sent Magdaran to test Naruto and Ravel, and was watching the whole thing, sizing them up.
You don't size someone up on their birthday. It's bad manners.
Naruto would know, because his manners had always been atrocious.
"It is considered rude to stare a lord in the eyes," someone said.
Two girls joined them. The one who just spoke had short hair and glasses. She was carrying a glass of juice, gripping it the way you'd hold wine. The girl behind her also had glasses, was slightly taller, and had long black hair. They came to a stop just to Naruto's right.
"I'll receive you with honor," Naruto said.
"I outrank you," Glasses Girl said.
"Oops. It was a fifty fifty shot," Naruto said.
The girl's nose twitched.
"You're making an embarrassment of yourself," she said.
"You can't embarrass yourself on your birthday," Naruto said. "Everyone knows that's not how it works. Birthdays give you a free pass."
"No such custom exists," she said.
"That you know of," Naruto pointed out.
"I know all the customs!" she insisted.
Stuttering slightly, Ravel repeated the introduction that she had given Magdaran. While giving the formal reply, Glasses Girl revealed that her real name was Sona, and that she was the Heir of Clan Sitri.
"It seems one of you has some sense," Sona said, looking approvingly at Ravel.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.
Just because he reincarnated didn't mean he had to act mature ALL the time. Plus, Sona seemed to be becoming desensitized to him. She didn't even chastise him this time.
"What family are you from?" Naruto asked the girl who arrived with Sona."
"I am Tsubaki. A mere Low Class Devil," she said, looking at Naruto's chin to avoid meeting his eyes. "Queen of Sona's Peerage."
One of the main parts of the coming of age ceremony at age eleven was receiving your Evil Pieces, a chess set that let you turn others into your servants. Naruto and Ravel would be getting their own tonight when the party hit its climax.
Since the other heirs here were slightly older, they would already have gotten their sets, hence how Sona had collected at least one servant. Naruto was aware how fast some devils worked on that front, given that Riser had filled out a third of his peerage within the first month.
His youngest brother was… Well, Riser knew what he liked.
"You didn't bring your peerages?" Naruto asked the other young devils.
"No," Magdaran said.
Bafeel and Gandoma both shifted, looking a little bit awkward, not answering.
"Do you not have ones yet?" Naruto asked.
"No, not yet," Bafeel said with a somewhat sad smile.
"Not all houses can easily support servants," Sona said. "We're the lucky ones. Houses that are in poor financial shape must usually attach themselves to another house, rather than staying with their own."
"You two have to join peerages, then," Naruto said, his eyes widening.
Bafeel's sad smile grew. "My clan specializes in horses, so we make fine knights."
"And we are sought after as Rooks, given our builds," Gandoma said.
"It is not some terrible thing!" Bafeel insisted. "We're much more fortunate than Low Class Devils. Eventually, we'll have peerages of our own, making up part of one greater house or another."
So she said, but Naruto couldn't help frowning. A few minutes ago they'd been talking just as the kids of two families in the same boat with coming of age parties and everything, but he was starting to see that the paths they were on weren't as similar as it first looked. It made him, well, a little sad.
Not to mention the talk of different classes, Low Class up to High Class. He didn't mind Ultimate Class devils, because from what Naruto could tell, they had to earn it, like Kages back home. But it seemed wrong that someone could be born High Class, while another devil born the same day would be jammed at the bottom of the totem pole.
Maybe it was just a more honest version of how Konoha's major clans had a much better shot at rising up the shinobi ladder, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Here you two are! Getting along with everyone?" Lord Phenex asked. He was a big man with a fluffy golden beard, and a smile as bright as you'd expect for someone named after a bird made of fire.
"Yep!" Naruto said, while Ravel gave their father just a nod.
Lord Phenex put a hand on each of their backs, guiding them toward the middle of the room. "I'm glad to hear it. Let's make this day even better."
The guests spread out to form a big big circle. Lady Phenex was waiting in the middle, plus Ruval (the family heir) and, for some reason, Lord Bael.
"Please, Lord Phenex. Won't you give me the honor?" Lord Bael asked.
He gestured to two ornate wooden boxes that were sitting at the ready.
"If you're willing, I can hardly say no!" Lord Phenex said.
Ravel and Naruto stepped forward. Lord Bael picked up one box first, presenting it to Ravel with a smile. Clinking could be heard inside; they all knew what these boxes contained. The Evil Pieces that would turn into their respective peerages.
When Lord Bael gave Naruto his, the clan leader knelt down, whispering to Naruto:
"I saw the way you looked at me, boy. Dead in the eye. Grow up big and powerful, or else I might take offense."
He patted Naruto's shoulder, who grinned like he hadn't heard anything, taking the box from Lord Bael's hands.
All around the room, every guest got their wings out. Lord, Lady, and Ruval Phenex all did the same, though obviously their wings were fiery instead of leathery and batlike. Naruto and Ravel brought their own wings out, at which point the applause began.
Naruto waved to the crowd like an athlete touring their city after taking home the championship. Ravel blushed and gave much smaller waves. Eventually, the ritual portion of the party ended, and the party aspect really came into its own.
Food was brought around by servants. Many of the adults drank alcohol, while the kids guzzled non alcoholic options. There was cake, but the surprise of the day had been prepared by Ruval.
He mussed up Naruto and Ravel's hair, planting his palms on top of either of their heads.
"Remember when you were asking me about human birthdays a few months ago?" he asked. "Well, I remembered. It sounded like it caught your interest. So I came up with something to make the day special."
Ravel gasped as a colorful bird shaped piñata was lowered from the ceiling of the ballroom. It stayed floating about thirty feet up, not coming lower. No problem for a family born to fly.
One of Ruval's Rooks handed him a baseball bat, which he held out, leaning down between Naruto and Ravel.
"It's full of lollipops," he said. "Raspberry flavor. Your favorite.'
Ravel's eyes damn near caught fire, which could literally happen with their power set.
She grabbed her brother's hand. "Naruto, go get it for me!"
Taking flight and swinging a bat with all her might wasn't her kind of thing. The idea of doing so in front of a bunch of strangers was way too embarrassing to even attempt.
Luckily, she had a brother to do the dirty work for her, and he LOVED hitting things.
Naruto seized the bat from his brother, giving Ravel a grin.
"Raspberry lollipops coming right up," he promised.
Naruto's wings exploded out of his back, spreading gracefully. He shot upward, following a curved path, rearing back with the bat as he went. He judged the distance and knew exactly when to swing. Five seconds, four seconds, three seconds, two seconds, one second—
His pupils changed.
It's human nature to get used to routines. It's devil nature, too; devils do it even more since they live such long lives, falling into habits. Like, for example, sending a clone out to gather nature chakra.
Originally, when Naruto first started doing it, he gave them the command to dispel and feed him nature chakra as soon as they succeeded, so that he'd know right away that it worked.
All this time, he sent his clones off with the same instruction. But over time, he forgot what the instruction was. He'd just say "Go" and they knew what to do.
Point is, he forgot what he'd been doing. Forgot about the command he'd given, right up until the moment his clone solved a problem that had faced him for years… Doing so at one of the most inopportune times possible.
Naruto's bat made contact with the piñata. All around the room, devils slammed their hands over their ears. Peerage members pushed their Kings down and reached for weapons or summoned magic circles as a shockwave hit them.
But the only thing in danger was the poor party attraction Ruval had brought. Or maybe it was a damn LUCKY piñata.
After all, the fake bird got a chance to fly.
Naruto hit it so hard that it blasted straight through the roof of the castle. A hole was opened as the piñata flew so far away at such a fast speed that it disappeared as a glint in the sky.
Naruto hovered in the air, suspended by his wings, staring at the damage he'd caused with distinctly toadlike eyes.
"Oops?" he said.
Ravel started to cry.
"My caaaa-aa–aa-aaaandy…" she wailed.
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