Though many demons were currently amassed in the middle of the marketplace, not one seemed to speak in more than a whisper. Ryou glanced around the massive-yet-quiet assemblage with wonder- surely no single stock-keeper's wares could draw this large of a crowd? Nervous, he gently tugged on his bodyguard's sleeve before whispering in a tense manner. "Bakura, what's going on? Is there a problem? Why is the main path blocked?"

But the guard only shook his head- he was loathe to admit it, but his own height was scarcely greater than the cherub's. He was also unable to see what was going on at the moment. "Ssh- I'm trying to figure it out."

"..." Undaunted, Ryou decided to try a different route. By standing up on his tip-toes, the curious angel could just make out the reason for the gathering.

The large audience had collected in a full circle around two young demons. One was a black-haired female with dark red eyes; the other, a teal-haired and golden-eyed male. They seemed to be about the same age, and they were facing each other with knowing smiles.

The crowd suddenly shifted, allowing the shorter fiend a glance at the center. Bakura chuckled before holding out one arm to make sure his tip-toeing charge didn't stumble forward. "Oh? How interesting... it seems you're really getting your fill of Underlands culture today- it looks like a marriage proposal is about to take place."

"Oh!" Ryou gasped, his voice rising in pitch as he excitedly whispered: "So, this is how demons finalize their courtship?"

"What?" Bakura answered distractedly as he watched the still pair. "Yes, sure; whatever you want to call it- this is the last step before they are bonded together in a later ceremony on a chosen date."

The entire audience flinched as the female suddenly punched the male- hard- right in the gut. The demoness was smiling as she watched her partner stumble about before he countered with a vicious kick.

"Oh no!" Ryou started darting back and forth along the circle's edge, as though unsure of who needed rescuing from who. "Why is she attacking him? And now he's attacking her?! Oh no, oh dear... why doesn't anyone do something?!"

"Why would they?" Bakura frowned at the fretting cherub. "Stop pacing, you're annoying the other spectators!"

"But- but they're hurting each other!" Ryou added worriedly.

The pale guard raised an eyebrow as he turned his attention back to the battle. "YES, they are; and quite well. What's your point?"

"Wha-" the angel's jaw dropped as he slowly sputtered, "-b-but, isn't that... bad?"

"Bad?" Bakura scoffed. "What do you mean, 'bad'? This is normal."

The lighter being seemed lost beyond cognition. "You mean it's... normal for demonic partners to beat each other up?"

The white-haired fiend sighed as he realized this was yet another awkward difference of cultures. "Well, no; it's not normal under typical circumstances... but like I said, this is a proposal."

Ryou's blank stare told Bakura enough about the Upperlander's knowledge of demonic courtship.

The partly-attentive fiend sighed as he hastily explained. "Look, it's like this: we demons value physical prowess above almost everything else. So if you want to marry someone, you have to prove your worth through a show of skill and force."

The quick-witted angel tilted his head in bemusement. "But... can he not simply fight another male to show his might and superiority?"

Bakura smirked. "Your angelic mindset is almost adorably deluded... of course he could ask a buddy to fight him, but such an arrangement would hardly assuage a discerning female." He gestured towards the still earnestly sparring pair. "After all, the two friends could easily set things up ahead of time to make the caller seem the greater victor."

"What do you mean?"

The demon guard nearly cursed as he struggled to overcome the cherub's naive nature. "Staged. They could stage a grand-scale fight, and who would be the wiser? After all, anyone with decent combat experience knows how to act like they're fighting, even when they aren't."

The angel turned his chestnut eyes towards the pair, still uncertain of their motives. "But... if he loves her, why is he hurting her?"

"To prove his love. Trust me, it's necessary."

Ryou watched as the couple both paused after near-simultaneous blows. "It just seems very cruel..."

"Not at all. It's a key part of our relationship values. He's fighting to prove himself worthy of her- and she is doing the same."

Somewhat appeased, the curious cherub tried to voice his thoughts in an unoffensive manner. "Oh... that sounds somewhat... convoluted. In the heavenly realm, we do not ever make battle with our loved ones."

The scarlet-eyed demon raised one eyebrow in disbelief. "Then how do you judge the appropriateness of a mate?!"

Ryou's face flushed slightly as he explained his own cultural norms. "Well... we talk. We get to know the other through years and years of shared activities and experiences... and if, after all that time the two still wish to wed, then they simply declare it."

"That sounds boring, time-confusing, and hardly faultless." The white-haired fiend snorted, clearly not convinced. "And how do you know they are not lying to you about their intentions?"

Ryou gave a soft smile as he theorized. "It would take a very skilled charlatan to fool someone after all that time, but I suppose it would be possible... if not for our empathetic abilities."

This time, it was the demon's turn to blink in bewilderment. "Your what?"

"Angels can usually sense the emotions of others; animals, demons, even special plants- but we are most in-tune with other angels. It is very difficult to carry on a profound deception- after all, it is only through repeated practice that we even learn to hide the smallest of lies and half-truths from each other." Ryou let out a brief chuckle as he added, "although heavy drinking is known to impair this ability- that is why we Upperlanders have an old saying: 'Only small children and drunks are completely honest'- since they cannot hide their true feelings."

The impromptu audience slowly began growing as the couple fought on, and soon the two discoursing males were surrounded. Yet neither one seemed to notice or care.

Bakura seemed to be ponder the cherub's revelation for a minute, before turning back to his charge. "Wait, but I thought you sky-kissers love the whole 'truth and purity' thing- why would you even bother learning to lie?"

The angel's face flushed as he tried to give a general scenario. "W-well, suppose a close friend is being fitted for a new uniform, and they ask if a specific tunic makes their, erm, 'backside' appear larger than normal..."

"Then you tell them it's their fat making their *ss look big, not the fabric." The darker male shrugged in careless advisement.

"W-what?!" The slender angel gasped as he spluttered in shock, "y-you can't just say that!"

"Why not?" Bakura was actually starting to enjoy riling up his wide-eyed charge. "I thought you were all about honesty, right? So, you should be honest."

"B-but if you truly care for the other person, you should also be considerate of their feelings. In other words, a small lie or deflecting statement is perfectly acceptable."

The demon could feel his head starting to spin from all the ethical debate. "Tch- then how the h*ll do you know when someone's telling the truth or not?!"

"Exactly." Ryou grinned, apparently thinking he'd justified the nonnative concept. "There's always a chance of sincerity, so such small statements are regarded as an excusable margin of error. It's both polite and wise, as it means you're considering the other person's expectations along with their emotions."

Bakura shook his head in bewilderment, as though trying to clear the muddle of tangled philosophy from his brain. "Dear h*lls, it's like you angels try and make things as complicated as possible!"

"it's not so bad... most of the time." Ryou admitted quietly as he watched the still-battling pair. "It's the other expectations I had a much harder time understanding..."

But before either of the pair could speak further, the crowd suddenly let out a loud roar of approval. Both of the courting demons were lying on the ground, exhausted and bruised. Yet as soon as they were able to get back on their feet, they embraced and exchanged tender words. The female even began bandaging a small cut on the male's left forearm, while he began brushing dirt off her clothing.

Ryou felt his confusion waning. 'Oh... so they really do love each other. How very peculiar... I don't suppose any of the books in the Royal Library ever noted this ceremony... perhaps we've misunderstood other demonic customs as well.'

(A/N: ~I based the demon's courtship rituals on the real-life mating rituals of the Tasmanian Devils of Tasmania Island. I watched a documentary a year ago, and was shocked by the brutality of their battles! But I also understand why they evolved to such a state- survival of the fittest, I suppose!)