A demon's word is binding, what comes out can never be taken back without an extremely high price, forcing demons to think though what they say carefully. sometimes, they are called cunning, clever, and evil. These are correct, but truly, it depends on the context...

"Cimeries!" The stern cry rang out, forcing the golden-eyed demon to look up silently, his eyes narrowing in barely veiled disgust and hate at the Princes seated about the familiar semicircle of the high court. Once again, the courtroom was packed with demons, young and old alike, discussing the most widely debated topic of late - The hunt for one Prince Sebastian Malphas Lucifer.

"You have been brought here today, on the combined commands of the High Prince Vassego, and the Great Warrior Prince Orobas, both first of their name and born to the Great Lord Lucifer, on account of you knowingly assisting the fugitive Malphas, healing his wounds and even offering him shelter and later, assisting in his devious escape," Alaster, the demon in charge of reading out these long winded scrolls, paused to catch his breath and stare at Claude, the surprise obvious on his face as he continued.

"Do you deny these heinous crimes?" The words came out mocking, in a tone that was at least three tones higher than his normal voice, his eyes seeming to pierce into his very soul, compelling him to tell the truth.

"... I do not," he said finally, looking up at the princes in turn. Claude was currently on his knees, two guards on either side of him holding onto chains tying his wings and arms together, as well as one power-suppressing collar clamped about his neck.

An audible murmur of noise greeted his words, as demons whispered theories and speculation about his act of treason. With a tired sigh, Vassego raised his hand to call for silence, looking terribly exhausted.

The courtroom immediately silenced, eager to hear what they hoped would be the next piece of the puzzle.

"Why?" he whispered quietly, looking at Claude with nothing more than honest curiosity and maybe a faint trace of irritation.

"Because I had recieved no word of his banishme-" He tried to explain, only to feel a painful jolt being sent through his spine, almost knocking him unconscious. He was stopped, however, by the pair of guards who held him upright with chains, putting unnecessary pressure on his joints.

"Demons should know better than to lie to those of higher rank than them," Gaap said quietly, looking at him coldly. He showed no emotion, no indication of what he was truly thinking. Claude was no exception, as he struggled to make sense of what was running through his head. "Does thou admit thy lies?" He asked coldly, reverting back to his Habit of old English.

Hanging his head, Claude nodded quietly, his mind reeling. "Yes, lords. I knew of his banishment," He said, the words barely a whisper as they left his lips. What the heck, he had no pride left anyway.

"Why lie?" Vassego asked quietly, his voice hoarse from disuse and lack of sleep. A number of worried glances were cast his way, mostly from his personal guards.

Surprisingly, Claude bit his lip, stubbornly keeping his mouth closed and shaking his head ever so slightly. "Answer the question!" Seere snarled viciously, his eyes glowing slightly in time with the magic circle lighting up and shocking Claude again, causing a terrifying shriek to tear from his lips, a scary sound when coming from a normal demon, but for Claude, or rather Cimeries, a highly respected Marquis and mage, reduced to this state, it was downright terrifying.

"Brother... Please..." Stolas spoke up quietly, gently guiding his brother back to his seat and trying to get him to calm down.

"I cannot answer that question," Claude whispered, though it came out as more of a croak, accompanied by a spurt of blood.

"Mage Cimeries," Ipos said with a faint smirk of mirth. "Need I remind you of your current position. You are testing out patience, and I assure you, the longer you take in answering our questions, the longer and more painful your death will be. So I would highly advise you to reconsider your previous answer."

A long, painful pause followed his words, before Claude again shook his head, his whole body tensing as he waited for the punishment that was to follow.

"My lords!" a panicked voice cried out, the great door to the atrium slamming open as one of the scouts they had sent to track Sebastian burst in, breathless and jittery.

Vassego's eye twitched slightly, his patience running thin at the unusually long time this trial was taking.

"What?!" he all but snarled at the poor messenger demon, his eyes glowing angrily as he glared him down.

"News about the fugitive Malphas, sire," The messenger said meekly, dropping onto one knee, his voice wavering dangerously.

A deadly silence filled the courtroom at that sentence. Orobas' eyes narrowed to slits, looking at the messenger. The last piece of news they had gotten was that he was being held prisoner by the shinigami. "Speak," he commanded immediately.

"Yes, sire," he whispered softly, straightening up. "Malphas has since been recruited by the angels, after one known as Guardian of the Fallen, Ash Landers, broke into their prisons and coaxed him to join their ranks."

He looked up timidly, and was met with only carefully neutral expressions, though everyone could see the princes very slight scowls. This was most definitely not news to rejoice about. If the angels had managed to get a living weapon to join their ranks, and with more than his fair share of Hell's secrets as well, then...

"Court is dismissed," Vassego hissed quietly, startling everyone from their own thoughts. "Everyone leave except the Councillors. Now," he added in a deadly whisper, glaring around the courtroom.

A guard coughed lightly, lightly jingling the Claude's chains to bring their attention back to the demon in question. A cheery sound that sounded extremely ominous in that sense.

"Kill him," Vassego said, without a moment's hesitation, even meeting Claude's shocked eyes for a moment. "He is useless to us now. And he was knowingly harbouring a traitor. You know the penalty for that is death," He said simply, before sighing and rubbing his temples tiredly.

"Brother, let me have him," Orobas said, having been surprisingly quiet throughout the entire trial. His blood red eyes looked at Claude calmly, though there was a knowing spark in them.

Vassego took in a deep breath, looking at him as he mentally juggled the pros and cons of handing him over to his most, maybe second most, insane brother. "Fine," He forced the one word out through gritted teeth. "But if anything happens and he's the cause, it's you I'm sending the armies after," he said under his breath, causing Orobas to chuckle.

"They love me more, anyways," he snickered, before gracefully leaping down from the High Table in front of Claude, his long, midnight blue cloak billowing around him gracefully as he lightly took Claude's chains from the guard, jerking on it lightly before dragging Claude of the courtroom, leaving his brothers and a useless group of ancients to discuss their next course of action.

~XoX~

"You failed me," Orobas hissed angrily, glaring down at Claude with blood red eyes, now lit with an angry fire in them, one only seen when something went very, very wrong.

"I know, sire," Claude whispered meekly, looking down at the ground quietly. He was kneeling on one leg on the ground, keeping his face low so that he didn't accidentally catch Orobas' eye. "But sire, I had to let him leave, or else my cove-"

"What is your duty?" Orobas interrupted, his voice quiet but nevertheless commanding as he casually leaned against his desk, chipped and slightly worn from years of abuse from its owner. He casually picked up a beautifully elegant sword, with snarling dragons carefully engraved around the hilt. One of his personal favourites, he now took the time to start polishing it.

"To serve as your pawn and to do your bidding," Claude whispered submissively, not daring to look up lest he see a blade just inches from his face. Schrodinger's theory was right. He didn't know how close he was to being killed until he actually looked up.

"Correct," his voice flowed smoothly over to him, the mocking gentleness adding increased humiliation to his current situation. "And what was my bidding, exactly?" he asked, his tone suddenly changing into a hard and harsh one.

"To form a contract and stay in the human realm, to be Seba- Malphas' unknowing rival, to train him and ensure he was kept in good condition for war," he said quietly, his voice a low murmur.

"And?" Orobas spat at him, a dagger flying past his ear, missing it by mere inches, before implanting itself firmly into the wall behind him, cracking it slightly. Claude flinched. he had forgotten about Orobas' horrible strength and even worse temper. Wait... No he hadn't.

"To ensure he didn't get out of hand and forget his purpose," He said meekly. "To keep him in check and ensure that he was still disciplined..." He added in a low whisper, flinching as he heard Orobas' combat boots clomping towards him.

"Correct," he said quietly, moving behind him to pluck the dagger out of the wall. "And what were you supposed to do if he was in danger of fleeing from us, or turning traitor?" he hissed.

"Kill him," Claude said monotonously, finally daring to look up at him.

"Good boy," Orobas said quietly, patting him on the head with the flat of his blade, causing him to flinch violently. "And why didn't you kill him?" he added in a dangerously low whisper.

"Because... I felt sorry for him..." Claude said quietly, closing his eyes just as he felt the sound of a cursed blade sliding through his bicep, stopping just short of hitting the bone. It was a masterful cut, he wouldn't die from it, definitely, but it caused him to see a whole new level of pain.

"Sorry?!" Orobas spat coldly, throwing his dagger at the wall opposite. "Did I order you to feel sorry for him?" he snarled. "I was being merciful. I even gifted you with the sword Laevateinn for it. it would have ended his life quickly and mercifully. And yet you failed," he said coldly, his voice dripping with disappointment. "I hope you realise the magnitude of your mistake, letting our weapon get out of hand like that," he said coldly, glaring at him. "Lord father will not be pleased," he hissed.

Golden orbs widened at the mention of Lucifer. He hadn't realised that he was involved in all this. Only now did he realise what that one moment of weakness was going to cost him.

"No..." he croaked out quietly, finally working up the courage to look up at him, silently pleading. "Please... I cannot... there must be something I can do..." he said quietly, panic and fear making their way into his words.

Orobas pretended to think, a sadistic smile on his face. Finally, he reached over and gripped his chin tightly, digging his rather sharp nails into the other demon's soft flesh. "One chance," He said quietly, and suddenly Claude could swear he felt the temperature in the room plunge into the negative.

"Y-Yes, sire," He managed to force the words out, not daring to look away from him. "Thank you, sire," he added in a low whisper.

"You will capture him," Orobas said firmly, locking eyes with him and digging his nails in further to emphasis his point. "But you will not turn him in to the court. You will bring him to me, understand?" he hissed quietly, glaring at him coldly.

Claude nodded quietly, lowering his gaze again and nodding. "Yes, sire," He murmured smoothly, not questioning his commands.

"Good," Orobas said with a quiet sneer, before letting go of him and letting Claude collect himself for a few moments. "Now go," he said quietly, turning away and slowly wandering back to his desk, acting as if Claude no longer held any form of interest for him.

Shaking, Claude quietly got up and half stumbled to the door, his legs having suddenly lost their strength. He considered himself lucky. Not many were fortunate enough to leave Orobas' territory in one piece.

"Wait," The cool voice greeted his words, and he hesitated before steeling his nerve and turning around. "Yes, sire?" he asked, before a gasp tore from his lips as he saw a grey and silver blur hurtling towards him, a sickening squelch sound being heard as it easily pierced through his abdomen. No matter how hard and well toned his body was it couldn't hold a candle to the hard cursed blade of steel.

He coughed violently, blood spurting from the open wound. "H-Highness!" he cried in shock, falling to his knees in pain.

A cold, harsh laugh greeted his words. "Just a little reminder," He said innocently, before hie cheerfully fake demeanor disappeared completely.

"Next time that blade will between your eyes," He warned in a deadly whisper, stepping forward and plunging the blade further in before laughing cruelly, his eyes traveling downwards to his mark, his lips curling upwards in a snarl-like grin when he saw the wound. Right on mark.

"Better get that looked at," he said, completely neutrally. "And remember..." He warned quietly, his voice dropping significantly. "Fail again, and you answer straight to me."

Claude grit his teeth, both to suppress his anger and the immense pain building up as he obediently dropped to one knee, sluggishly crossing his hand across his heart and bowing, feeling his head swirl and black spots dance before him.

"Yes, your Highness," He almost spat the words out, and along with them came out a horrid spurt of blood.

"Good," Orobas laughed, before promptly brushing past him and into the hallway, off to finally attend the meeting with his other brothers and leaving Claude to slowly limp to the infirmary.

~XoX~

The meeting passed slowly, with barely anything being accomplished. Orobas kept stealing nervous glances at his older brother, the newly re-crowned High Prince. His deep crimson cloak and intricate crown, bringing out the fire in his eyes, seemed to place the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Thinking back to the coronation ceremony, Orobas knew Vassego's spirit had been crushed, despite how much he protested, he knew that Lucifer not being there to crown him had broken his spirit, and after the ceremony he had sworn he had heard his brother sobbing in his chambers.

"This meeting is over," he said irritably, glaring at the squabbling Councillors, his usually loud and commanding tone seemed to have shriveled up at died, and the Councillors smirked, ready to prey on this moment of weakness. They all knew that the Councillors would take any opportunity to ridicule their princes, and had to be kept on a tight leash at all time.

"Leave the room," Gaap ordered, his eyes narrowing dangerously at them as he stepped up to protect his brother from what might happen.

Muttering curses, the disgruntled Councillors slowly filed out of the room, leaving behind the remaining princes of Hell. Sighing, Gaap got up, his hand hovering above Vassego's shoulder for a moment he had an internal debate to see if touching him would turn his wrath upon him. Finally, he gave Vassego an awkward pat before leaving, a silent cue for the rest to follow.

Orobas looked at all of them warily as they filed past him before getting up, dusting himself off like an ancient artifact before starting to make his way out.

"Wait," A cracked and quiet voice hoarsely whispered, before a milky white hand shot out and grabbed his forearm with a vice-like grip, surprisingly strong despite how delicate the crown prince looked at the present.

"What is it, brother?" He asked innocently, mentally wincing as he felt the full brunt of a demon's claws digging into his skin.

"You were awfully insistent on having Cimeries Faustus as your servant, weren't you?" Vassego whispered quietly, glaring at him.

Orobas grinned slightly as he teasingly leaned over and ruffled Vassego's hair, grinning slightly. "Aren't you grumpy today?" he snickered slightly, earning himself a glare from his irate older brother.

"Don't touch me," Vassego ordered sharply, his voice holding a strong air of authority. "Not when you've been dabbling with suspected criminals. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were one yourself," He spat at him, eyes glaring holes into him.

Orobas, suitably offended, huffed and walked out, not bothering to comment, which was strange considering the Prince's natural inclination towards wrath.

"Hiding something, are you?" Vassego muttered quietly, sitting down and cradling his head in his hands as a devious smirk appeared on his face, a plan already falling smoothly into place.

If Sebastian couldn't be captured and brought back, then maybe a scapegoat would have to do. After all, Hell couldn't risk having one of its biggest crimes go unsolved. A smile ghosted across his features as he thought of the perfect one. A certain warrior prince...


Only onquick explanation here. The sword of Leavateinn is the one claude uses in Kuroshitusji II. I really liked it and so when hunting around for a suitable weapon just sorts decided. Heck it, let's use it.

As always, feel free to review and ask for more explanation if you need it!