Note**: Just to clarify, the reason I am twisting and playing with some macabre stuff here with the Snake demons is: 1. If you think about it, the Sakamaki's and Yui's relationship is already somewhat disturbing – like it or not, vampirism is macabre, so these snake guys, as the demon race that seemingly "outdid" Karlheinz to some degree, must be somewhat worse in their nature than the bat clan & 2. The only way to pit them as true enemies would be to create a vice in them bad enough that the brothers could not just dismiss the snake demons as a little threat, 3. I needed a way to present Sepsei as a rival to woo Yui.
Anyway I digress...
Thank you for the reviews! Enjoy.
Scallywag: to behave badly, but in a mischievous rather than destructive way
Chapter 7
"Do not pretend like you are all not here for a reason either. If he is a crimson vibora demon, I cant imagine you all are just here for fun." Reiji focused his attention on the group.
"Well that's no fun if we just tell you." Belladonna challenged.
"Given the nature of our bet, I agree and think it's best we allow you to find out yourselves. Although Sepsei here has misrouted our plan, I can see valor in where this may head. And if you really wish to keep your King a secret, I would not short hand us." Misceo scoffed.
"You don't know which one of us is King... don't bluff." Subaru shook his head.
"If you really must be difficult, I am already about to bet one of you deals with neurotoxins...something about the brain perhaps? I'm also nearly convinced one of you is probably on some terms with a Myotoxic venom...not to mention I'd be surprised if one of you does not carry a deadly poison on your tongue." Reiji adjusted his glasses. "Call my bet or bluff but frankly we'll figure it out sooner or later."
"And what do you have, the powers of deduction?" Misceo looked darkly at Reiji.
"No, venoms are my forte. Or should I say herbal poisons. Do not think us all daft." Reiji challenged again.
"Oh, dear Reiji brother you always speak so highly of the rest of us..." Laito made a short laugh through his nose.
"And how do you really think you're going to steal Yui from me?" Ayato challenged, irritated that because of these idiots Yui was now angry with him. "Because so far, I'm not impressed."
"Ah, if any one of you wishes to take a bet, I bet he's the King." Sepsei bent forward and leaned in, staring right at Ayato, his hands casually in his pockets. While his cheek was still scarred with blood, his slight smile was all so playfully challenging.
"And if you do bet on it, it would take all but one minute to persuade you otherwise." Shu was sick of the games, tired of this backwards-forward threatening. "Now if you're done, I think I want to leave."
"I agree...if you refuse to give us any clue as to your tactics...as obviously poor as they may have been before, I think I have enough understanding." Reiji turned away.
"Suit yourself." The stoic Savide's voice seemed to rumble through the air, as if to put it as eloquently as "the end" comes to the end of a fairy tale.
"Oh perhaps we will. Twas fun meeting you all...I don't doubt it will be just as fun when we meet again." Laito tipped his hat, and gave them a devious look.
With that the strange Vibora group departed, disappearing into the night as quickly as they came.
"Why didn't we just kill them there?" Subaru scoffed.
"Because, Vibora demons are not ones you just enter in battle with without knowing what poisons their tongues hold." Reiji said cooly. "Our fault in the last battle with them, one our father even faltered slightly, was the that King Burai's tongue is one of many vibora languages. His ability to aquire the poisons of more than one family of snake demon is questionable but something we cannot be undermined by. Like I said, take a bit of poison in your tea or your blood and perhaps we can withstand some of their power."
"I don't like playing passive either...but dear brother has a point." Laito shrugged. "Is it not true they do have a persuasive tongue?"
"Yes. Some have said their eyes have a strange glow...the same way we can entrance our prey, they can persuade their pray into their grasp. What one might call the myth of snakes to be hypnotic is no doubt derived from the Vibora clan. Luckily the more aware you are of their power the more likely you are to be able to resist it. Now Ayato I do suggest you make sure Yui understands we did this only on the terms to play it safe – once we deduce their venom we can strike to their weaknesses..."
"He already left." Shu said, bluntly.
"Good. This isn't just a war of blood this time..."
"And what the hell was that?" Misceo looked to Sepsei with scorn.
"Simple. I wanted to test the waters."
"But we had planned to infiltrate them. Now they know we are here, all because we had to pick you up to make sure that the only last Crimson snake didn't get chewed to pieces by the heirs to Karlheinz..." He stood up, too irritated to sit.
"Did it matter?"
"How do you suggest we get close when they expect us?"
"I was planning on surprise."
"And how far did that get you?" Misceo, however shorter in stature, seemed to hold the most knowledge of them all.
"Oh come now, surprise can be fun. I think it would be fun to disrupt that dark haired one's preconception of us...I hate to think I'm an open book." Belladonna looked over at them. While she was playfully entrancing at times, her serious tones reminded them never to quite undermine her.
"See, she gets it? We have the power of his tongue too? We can go incognito. Blend in. Surprise them and pretend or at least try to be her friend..." Sepsei shrugged. "Burai wants her, so if we can avoid killing her then why not?"
"Well it was terribly easy getting her to explode on that one brother for treating her like a good..." Misceo sighed, messaging his brow. "And do you really think I can't see what you're doing?"
"No." Sepsei pushed himself up from his leaned position on the door frame. "But Burai already likes that I'm the last orphan of my kind, if I can get her to like me too well, I'll take on the role of King should he offer it."
"I still think we should have brought more of us." Savide's voice held persuasion that they all had to wince to resist.
"If surprise is our game now then maybe we will dear brother." Bella shrugged.
"So what's the strategy? Shadows and persuasion?" Misceo sat down again on his sofa chair, with a book in hand.
"I have a few ideas."
