Good Afternoon! I hope all of you are doing well in these trying times.
A bit of a mixed chapter this time around, pretty much all talking but some interesting topics are addressed so not a complete slog. But, as always I put in the plug for the action junkies that this may not be your chapter, so feel free to skip since it is dialogue driven.
I am curious to get some responses on this chapter, as it branches out into some new ground in some avenues (this will be apparent when you get to the end of the chapter in particular). As always, reviews are welcomed provided that they are done in a civil manner.
Most of what I had for up here; as always ignore any grammatical or other mistakes you may come across and please do enjoy yourself!
Following the realization that Sasuke was the true inheritor of the Andromalius Pillar, the meeting topic shifted to a discussion on how the inheritance changed the nature of the plan.
Sasuke was intrigued.
"How does my being the true inheritor of the Andromalius Pillar change things with regards to our plan?"
Rias nodded.
"Up until now, there was a significant amount of risk involved on my side. If it was discovered that you were an impostor, suspicion would also fall on my house for our association with you. This is part of the reason why I was initially reluctant to pursue a political marriage with you in the first place. Now that you are a true successor to the house, you are a legitimate prospect for marriage. In truth, your claim as Lord of House Andromalius would have superseded the Phenex claim since Riser is not the first son of the House."
Sasuke frowned.
"I assume though that my marriage prospect hinges on the fact that everyone believes me to be a true Devil Lord, which is still only half true."
"Yes, it does. The idea of a true inheritor to one of the lost pillars marrying a daughter of House Gremory is not far fetched at all, thus our entire original plan. If it was discovered that you inherited the Pillar as a human though, the backlash could be far worse than if you were a mere impostor. Impostors are annoying but easily dealt with; the idea of a human inheriting one of the ancient pillars would put the populace and the aristocracy in an uproar to put it mildly."
Beelzebub looked pensive.
"What Rias says is true; a human that is also a devil lord would shake the very foundations of our society. There might be a way for this to all work out though, provided we play our cards right."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and made a motion to continue.
"Simply put, we have our aspiring Lord here gain his reputation in the arena before we even bring up the idea of him marrying you Rias."
Rias did not look pleased.
"Are you crazy Bee?! Sasuke-san's strength is not in question, but that practice was abandoned years ago for a reason!"
Sasuke interjected.
"No, I would like to hear this. What kind of arena fighting are we talking about, and why would it make my claim any stronger?"
Beelzebub assumed his lecture stance.
"Throughout our History, we Devils have prided ourselves on our strength. It was a common practice for disputes to be decided by whoever was the survivor of a battle between the two aggrieved parties. As time went on and we became more "civilized", arena duels became more common in order to settle disputes. Simply put, each side would present a champion in a fight to the death. The winning side would be awarded whatever dispute they were attempting to resolve. As time went on, the arena became a proving ground for young warriors that often rose to become legends in our society."
Sasuke interjected.
"I assume there is a reason it is not still around today?"
Giving Sasuke the evil eye at the interruption, Beelzebub nonetheless answered the question.
"Simply put, the death matches became far too much of a burden on a society that was already reeling from the massive population loss brought on by our many wars. The idea of our best and brightest killing each other over disputes or to raise their reputation became too much, and the practice was done away with. It has been hundreds of years since the last arena challenge, mostly because the younger devils have their much safer rating games now and the older generation is able to settle most of their disputes bloodlessly."
Sasuke scratched his head.
"I still fail to see how this will help us towards our goals here; using an old archaic practice that was used to gain reputation or to settle a dispute just doesn't seem applicable to the task at hand."
Beelzebub rolled his eyes.
"Because you have no vision! It's all about pageantry of course; if we don't make a big show out of this and entertain the masses there is no chance of us being able to pull this off. We come out and deliver the gut punch right out the gate: you are a human that has inherited the Andromalius Pillar. Obviously, there will be outrage in the streets at the idea of a human inheriting one of our most sacred families. Even as they call for your head on a pike, we give it to them."
Sasuke raised both eyebrows.
"Well, not really of course. Instead, we say that the new Lord Andromalius welcomes any challengers to his power in an old school death match. This will cause a huge wave of excitement as everyone shows up to see the human get put in his place by the aspiring Lords. Then, we set up a tournament where all the top challengers face off to see who gets the honor of facing the new Andromalius Lord. In order to sweeten the deal, you will have to put the Lordship on the line magically; if you lose in your match, your power would go to the winner of the bout."
Sasuke snorted.
"Considering that it would be a fight to the death, losing my newly acquired Devil Lord powers would be the least of my concern should I lose. I am intrigued at the plan though; do you truly believe the devils would accept me after I defeated all challengers to the title?"
"Yes and no; I believe that the Gremory and Sitri House putting their weight behind you would help your cause, as would your display of strength. If you truly annihilated your opponent using unmistakable techniques such as the Ruby Lance, very few would question your legitimacy. At that stage, it would more hinge on old prejudices that are still very much alive in our society.
Most importantly though, it would head off most potential problems that the original plan was rife with. Realistically, the ruse would have been discovered eventually and the best case scenario would have been your divorce and exile. However, by taking this route we can get ahead of the largest obstacle and use it to our strength instead."
Rias glared at Beelzebub accusingly.
"You old fraud! You just want to have a tournament so badly that you are willing to risk Sasuke-san in order to get it!"
Beelzebub shifted guiltily.
"I will admit, the idea of a tournament has been rolling around in my head for some time now. The rating games are great, but nothing truly got the blood pumping like the winner take all tournaments from before the wars. Besides, my plan will work; it just happens that we both get what we want out of this deal."
Sasuke smirked.
"I'm curious if a certain someone will be making a small fortune off this event, since the odds would likely be 100 to 1 against me."
Beelzebub returned his smirk with one of his own.
"You know how it goes; some people just can't help taking sucker bets every time. With the odds on your match i'll probably clear enough capital to fund my most ambitious research for the next century."
Rias gave Beelzebub a disapproving glance.
"I'm still failing to see how this helps the political marriage idea Bee; even if his legitimacy is not in doubt after he vaporizes the competition, won't all the people still hate him? If everyone hates him, the announcement of our marriage would still lead to the initial problems of the people not accepting it."
Beelzebub nodded his head in agreement.
"The arena fight is really only the first step, but a very important one. Once it is established that he is in fact the Andromalius Lord, the next goal will be to get the people in his corner. There may be more devils than you think that will accept him solely after his performance in the arena fight, particularly among the younger crowd. Much like the gladiators of the old days or the more modern sports stars among the humans, fame and power is often the key to many a fickle heart. If nothing else, I will organize some of the more amenable Lords to give him a better public face and endorse him among the rabble. Throw in a few good deeds with the face time among the well loved Lords and public opinion should shift enough in our favor to proceed with the marriage announcement."
Sasuke and Rias both looked very skeptical.
Beelzebub held up his hands in a placating gesture.
"I'll grant you, the details are still a bit hazy but I believe we can get this done. To put it bluntly Sasuke, if you agree to the arena fight I will do everything in my not inconsiderable power to make sure you are the golden child of the public. You can drop the icy look Rias-chan; it's not just about the money or getting my arena fight, it's also about taking the current Lords down a few pegs. For too long we have rested on our laurels, sneering at humans and other races as we languish in our lack of progress. I'm hopeful that your marriage to a human will help break down some of the old world ideology and get some of the Lords back in gear towards modernity."
Sasuke sat still for a few minutes pondering what Beelzebub had proposed.
"Very well, let's go forward with your plan Beelzebub."
Beelzebub rubbed his hands together in glee.
"Perfect; let me handle all the details. This will take a few months to set up, so I would suggest practicing with your new powers in the meantime. You will need to give the rabble a good show if you are to gain the approval of the crowd.
I'll coordinate with Sirzechs to get the word out that a new human Pillar Lord has arisen for House Andromalius, and he's taking on all comers."
Beelzebub left in a rush, chuckling to himself as he no doubt envisioned all the money he would gain via the upcoming matches.
Rias turned to Sasuke as Beelzebub dissipated via his magic circle.
"Are you certain you want to go through with this Sasuke-san? You have already done so much for my peerage and I; to be honest I feel uncomfortable at the thought of you risking your life just to obtain a sham marriage with me to discourage suitors."
Sasuke looked at Rias thoughtfully.
"Time will tell what will become of our political marriage; it certainly would not be the first time that such a sterile arrangement led to something more over time. To be honest, the kindness and care you show towards your peerage has caused me to see you in a much better light than when we first met. Even if nothing ever came of our marriage romantically, I believe that it is worth the risk to secure you and by proxy your family as an ally."
Rias looked startled as a slight blush rose in her cheeks.
"Thank you Sasuke-san, I must confess that I also see you in a much better light than when we first met. At the time I thought you rude, and I was so desperate to escape Riser that I engaged in tactics that were shamefully beneath me to try and get you out of the way. Frankly, I acted reprehensibly towards you and it still makes me cringe when I think about it, especially after all that you have done since then in saving me from Riser and rescuing my peerage in our time of need. Can you forgive my former reprehensible behavior?"
Sasuke waved away her apology.
"You were backed into a corner, I understand why you acted as you did. Our fears can often lead us to rash action until we grow older and are able to temper fear with experience and empathy."
Rias seemed to come to a decision.
"Sasuke-san, would you like to go over the marriage terms?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"If that is what you wish, very well. Asia-chan, would you scribe for us please?"
Asia picked up the magical pen and contract that Akeno produced and sat at the ready.
If Sasuke didn't know better, he would swear that she wore a slightly petulant expression as she prepared to fill out the binding magical document.
The hours passed as they went over the terms and clauses that would allow them to both get what they wanted out of the arrangement.
Initially Rias had planned to keep her name of Gremory, but since Sasuke was the Lord of the Andromalius House it required her to take his name. Children would be decided at the discretion of Rias, as would any potential bedroom activities until the marriage was consummated. Both parties agreed for clauses of personal freedom, in that they would not be bound to one another financially or magically for the moment. Obviously, they left room to change this option at a later date depending on how things went.
As they were wrapping up the terms, Sasuke noticed Asia's increasingly stormy expression and decided to speak with her as soon as possible. He was not a fool, and living to old age had made him infinitely more aware of certain tells regarding human behavior. Asia would either need to discard her obvious infatuation with him or they would have to come to an equitable agreement about it, especially with his political marriage looming in the background. He met Kiba's eyes across the room as they briefly experienced a moment of shared pain; truly, the life of a bishounen was not for the faint of heart.
As the two parties came to an agreement, Sasuke rose to shake the hand of Rias.
Rias colored briefly as Akeno chortled.
"It is customary for the potential groom to seal the agreement with a kiss Sasuke-san."
A pen snapped as the sweetly smiling Asia suddenly looked far more scary than her usual demeanor allowed for, even as the remaining peerage looked on in anticipation. Perhaps the only member present besides Asia that looked less than enthused was Lione. Sasuke supposed it was not really surprising, considering the casual prejudice most of the devils had for humans, especially among the aristocratic class in their society.
Rolling his eyes internally, Sasuke moved towards Rias with intent as she started to breathe a bit faster in anticipation.
Most of the audience was dissapointed as the taller Sasuke planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head; Rias in particular looked like Christmas had just been cancelled.
Lione looked relieved even as Asia sported a smug look Sasuke had never seen before. Yes, he would definitely need to get ahead of whatever her feelings on the matter were before things got worse.
As the groups began to disperse, Sasuke signaled for Asia to follow him even as Issei shrugged and made his way home, hands shoved in his pockets.
The journey back was mostly filled with a tension driven silence until Sasuke decided to uncharacteristically break the proverbial ice.
"So Asia-chan, I take it that you have romantic feelings for me?"
Asia turned beet red and sputtered as she floundered for a response.
"S-s-saint-sama! What do you mean?"
Sasuke turned a knowing eye to her as he leaned on a guardrail overlooking the river below.
"There was a time when I was oblivious to the female intention, as are most men below a certain age. Once you know what to look for though, it is impossible to mistake for anything else. Your anger, your territorial feelings towards me when we were drawing up the political marriage contract, all point to one thing. Unless of course I have misread the situation and you harbor no feelings for me outside devotion and friendship?"
Asia looked down at her feet and refused to answer.
Sasuke's gaze softened somewhat as he turned to the river, watching the boils and currents as he considered his words carefully.
"There was a time when I would have spurned your feelings towards me and labelled you under the 'fangirl' group. I would have tried my best to dismiss you from my life in a rather cruel and callous fashion now that I look back on it. In truth, it took me a long time to better understand people, especially women. By the time I did, there were a few women that bore emotional scars from my callous treatment. I always regretted not treating them better.
In truth, the vast majority were able to write me off soon after my rejection or were a true fangirl and frankly deserved such treatment. It was only after seeing the effect my casual disregard had on the minority that I have examined my actions and decided to be better. Which leads us to the current situation."
Asia was spellbound as Sasuke revealed part of his life to her; it was not often the taciturn boy spoke of himself.
"Saint-sama, sometimes you speak as if you are an old man, reliving the follies of youth; just how much experience have you had with women before?"
Sasuke smiled at the obvious trap and dodged effortlessly.
"Some days I feel like an old man; we'll just leave it at that for now. Back to the original point though, what are we going to do about this?"
"What do you mean Saint-sama?"
Sasuke turned back to Asia and locked gazes with her.
"What I mean is that I can't have your feelings for me interfere with our work or the goals that we are trying to accomplish. For now at least, Rias and the political marriage is a means to an end. However, she is a stunningly beautiful young woman that has also developed feelings for me after I saved her from a life of servitude to that fool Riser. The idea that our "political" marriage may become something else over the years is not altogether far fetched. It would be unfair to you if I pretended to not see your feelings, or to lead you on in that I return them towards you currently."
Asia watched in silence as a single tear rolled down her cheek at the blunt assessment.
Sasuke sighed in exasperation and pulled her into a rough embrace, pleasing the surprised Asia before he gently let her go.
"I do not want you to think me completely uncaring of you Asia-chan; I am quite fond of you in my own way and hope for your happiness in life. That is why I am bringing this up now, so that we can determine how you would like to proceed going forward. You should know that I am a difficult person to have feelings for in general; I can be capricious and anti-social at the best of times."
A comfortable silence passed between the two as they watched the river flow for a few minutes.
"I'm not sure Saint-sama; I won't deny that I have had feelings for you since you saved my life at the risk of your own. Is it okay if we spend more time together, maybe reinforce the dating persona for our school mates by going out on the weekends? I promise to not act jealous around other women so long as you give me a fair chance to get to know you as well. Once we have been dating for a while, I feel that I can make a better decision regarding pursuing you long term."
Sasuke nodded.
"I am surprised at your maturity Asia-chan; I will agree to a once weekly real date if it will help you come to term with your true feelings regarding me and how you would like to proceed going forward."
Asia hesitated.
"Saint-sama, would it be alright to hold hands as we walk home? Just to keep up appearances in case we run across anyone from school of course."
"Of course Asia-chan, constant vigilance and all that."
The two walked home quietly in the night, the stars the only witnesses to their clasped hands.