Kasane was training, as was the norm for her lately. Even though she had been diligent ever since she became a devil, her knives still moved differently to what she was used to. They were more precise, faster and accelerated at a different rate. It was all positive, but for someone used to their weapons acting in a certain way for years, it was hard to adjust to any changes. Especially through just training, without any live combat.
It was also only one of the many changes that she had recently undergone. Ever since she became a Devil, something she still didn't know how she felt about, her senses had changed. Colours had become much more vibrant, she could hear with astonishing clarity, her sense of smell became much sharper. It had taken her a few weeks to even get used to those changes, never mind the other ones.
Her eyes tracked over to the source of said changes, Damocles, her 'King'. Her relationship with him had been considerably strained due to the way it came about, with him successfully manoeuvring both herself and her sister into agreeing to enter his service.
She was still sore about being tricked, but as time had passed she had to be honest with herself, she was more angry at not properly thinking things through and allowing herself to be tricked. She had planned to approach him soon and apologise for her behaviour, maybe see about starting over again as she had learned to do with her squad.
Before she could, however, he had inducted another member into their Peerage. Shiro, the small girl, seemed to have a strange sort of distance between Damocles and herself. Kasane was worried that he had somehow forced her into his Peerage. She didn't think Damocles was the type of person to do that to a young girl, but the way they were acting did make her wonder.
Then at breakfast today, she was surprised when Shiro had shuffled in, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she crawled into Damocles' lap. Damocles himself had seemed a bit surprised, but as she looked up at him with begging eyes he shrugged and them began petting her head, feeding her with his other hand from his plate.
Seeing the two like that, so comfortable in each other's presence, had been a bit of a shock. Watching Damocles dote on the young girl, gently wiping her face after she spilled a small bit of the food, Kasane was suddenly struck with the feeling that they truly did look like siblings. The way Shiro looked at him, the affection beginning to form, she had to admit this was not the behaviour of a wronged child.
Thinking back on how she had treated Damocles, who had been nothing but accommodating and helpful after their first meeting, she felt slightly ashamed. She watched distractedly as she practised, seeing the way he gently guided Shiro and her sister through the current magical exercise he was showing them.
Shiro seemed to get the exercise right first, a small arc of electricity sparking between her hands, startling the girl slightly. She wasn't surprised for long, turning to look at the other two with a small, relieved smile, saying something that Kasane was too far away to hear. Naomi and Damocles smiled to each other, before congratulating the young girl, Damocles petting her head while doing so, causing her to close her eyes and lean into his hand slightly.
Watching him interact with the two, Kasane resolved herself. If he was going to show his true colours, she would have seen signs of it by now. Instead, he had done nothing to justify her suspicions. As she nodded to herself, deciding on apologising to him. As soon as she decided on that, it was if a weight that was on her shoulders was suddenly lifted, making her feel lighter than she had in a while.
After Damocles had finished with his lessons to Shiro and Naomi, he walked over to her, smiling that polite smile of his, "Well Kasane, I think it's time to try something a bit different for you. You've got the hang of your Speed and the way your knives work, any kinks can be ironed out with practice. So today we are going to do something new!"
She nodded, responding, "Before that, I wanted to speak to you."
He raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
She bowed slightly, obviously surprising the younger boy, "I wished to apologise for my actions towards you. I was angered by your deceit, but I have been treating you unfairly for far longer than I should have."
She was telling the truth, too. After researching on this worlds version of the BrainNet, she had come to the conclusion that Damocles must have been truly desperate for allies like her and Naomi. His position was even worse than hers was after she was framed for the murder of the Prime Minister, even if her suspicions of his current relationship with the New Satans was incorrect.
The boy blinked , telling her, "Thank you Kasane. I never thought you were being unfair, my actions were not ones that fostered trust. Thank you for deciding to look past that."
He then smiled at her, one of his true, happy smiles. Kasane felt a warmth fill her and relief at being forgiven welling up. Frowning, she controlled her reactions, idly wondering what it was about this boy that got her to react as strongly as she did.
Sniffing, attempting to move on from this awkwardness, she inquired, "What did you want to teach me?"
His eyes lit up in excitement, "Well Kasane, I know you're used to fighting while floating in the air, but I think it's past time you learned how to fly!"
Shiro sat patiently, hands in her lap. They were at a Government building, finalising her adoption into Damocles' family. She was very nervous, hoping that things went smoothly, but she prevented any of it from showing outwardly. Damocles had been very gentle with her, not forcing any behaviour on her part, but she had done her own research in his big library, as well as the Devil Net.
She was being adopted into a Noble House. It was incredibly rare, somewhat frowned upon and incredibly strange to do to a reincarnated Devil like her. When she brought it up, he merely waved it off and told her that it didn't matter and not to worry, he would take care of it. She admired his confidence, how he seemed to just not care how his actions would be viewed by others.
Still, it didn't change the fact she was nervous. Damocles had moved forward to the desk, speaking to the clerk, too far away for her to hear. Seeming to sense her gaze, his head turned towards her and he sent a warm smile her way.
She felt warmth in her belly, the same warmth that she started feeling the first time she met him. Every time Damocles smiled at her, or patted her head, or told her that she did a good job, that same warmth welled from her tummy. Unconsciously, she rubbed the tattoo on her stomach.
Remembering how he comforted her last night, promising her that he would keep her with him no matter what once again, she let out a soft breath. She decided to trust Damocles, her Nii-chan, that even if there was a problem, her would sort it out. He chose her, he wanted her to be his little sister. No matter what other people thought or did, that is what mattered to her more than anything.
As she had that thought, the warmth in her stomach became stronger, and she luxuriated in the feeling.
Yes, she decided, whatever happened, she will do her best for her Brother. The one who saved her from her loneliness.
Rias was worried.
The heiress had gone to the Anime convention held in Lilith, seeing it as an opportunity to bond with the youngest member of her peerage, Koneko. It had gone very well, actually, much to her surprise. The young yokai had been less interested in the various types of entertainment being showcased, being more attracted to the spread of exotic and tasty foods. Still, they had been enjoying their time together, Rias could tell.
That was before the red-head was enveloped in a merch stand for Drag So-Ball, having been so enraptured in her purchasing decisions that Koneko had wondered off without her noticing. Initially she had panicked, but then she remembered the function of the Evil Pieces that allowed the King to track any of the other members. Focusing on Koneko's piece, she had followed the direction it lead her, growing more and more concerned as she walked out of the bounds of the Convention proper, into a nearby park.
She was almost frantic, thinking that someone had abducted her cute rook or she was tricked into following them here, when she spotted a sight that made her stop in her tracks. Sitting on one of the park benches, was an older boy with white hair, with a younger white haired girl snuggling into his chest on his lap. The girl held a tray of sweets in her hands, that she occasionally reached out to another familiar white haired girl. All while the boy simply smiled and gently pet their heads.
Idly, she thought that they looked like a close family, the cuteness of the scene hitting her hard.
Shaking her head, she ran over to them, yelling, "Koneko! There you are!"
The two younger girls simply blinked at her, still nibbling on their sweets. The boy however, pulled his hand off of the head of the girl in his lap, causing her to sit up and glare at the interruption, then he waved at Rias.
"Oh, hello. Is this wayward kitten one of yours then?" He said with a cheeky smile.
"Yes!" The Gremory replied, "Koneko, why did you run off like that?"
Her Rook merely blinked at her, before taking a cookie from the spread on the tray in front of her. "Tasty." Was her monotone response.
Rias sighed. She guessed that answered that. Her focus was brought to the boy when he laughed, hand returning to the top of the other girl's head, who snuggled into his chest again as he stopped petting Koneko to indicate towards the Rook.
"Koneko came up to us while we were walking around, saying she could smell the treats I packed for my sister here. Shiro didn't want to share, but I had extra so I invited her to sit with us and have some." he grinned up at Rias, winking.
"Though maybe I should start packing more healthy things instead, like salads. Hey, Shiro? What do you think? You might get chubby!" While he said so, he poked the girl on his lap's stomach, causing her to squirm away from his finger.
Both young girls, Shiro and Koneko, looked positively mutinous at his threat.
His sister, Shiro, however, schooled her expression, looking up at her brother with big, sad eyes, softly pleading, "Please don't, Nii."
Rias was struck by the absolute adorableness the girl exhibited, a strong urge to hug her and reassure her that whatever was making her sad would not come to pass. If she dared to do something similar to her brother, she worried about how crazy he would go, gushing about how cute she was and how he would destroy anything that made her sad.
That's why she was so surprised when the older brother merely rolled his eyes and lightly flicked his sister's forehead, chiding, "Stop that, I was only kidding."
The girl leaned back, covering the spot he had flicked with her small hands, muttering a soft, "Ow..."
Koneko, hearing that he was only joking, relaxed and started nibbling softly on her treat again.
Inwardly squealing about how cute the smaller girls were, Rias decided to speak, "Thank you for taking care of Koneko, I was so worried when I couldn't find her." She stepped forward, hand extended for a handshake, "My name is Rias Gremory, of House Gremory."
He took her hand, bringing it up to his lips, "Damocles Sagan, of House Sagan." He indicated to his sister, "This is Shiro Sagan, my sister. I would bow, but..."
Retracting her hand with a slight blush, Rias waved it off, "It's fine, I understand. House Sagan... I wasn't aware that that house had been reinstated."
His smile didn't drop, despite the fact that she belatedly realised her question could have been interpreted as quite rude. He shrugged, "It's a relatively new thing. It will be announced at my Reveal soon. Unfortunately, being only a Baron, I don't know if I'll see a Duke's daughter at the ball."
The redhead frantically searched her memories for any planned Reveals she knew of, but could not recall any happening soon. That was not actually uncommon, as her family frequently did not inform her of the functions she had to attend until quite close to the event. Supposedly, it helped them teach her what she needed to know about the attendees if all the new information was condensed into a short time before she needed to use it.
She smiled awkwardly, "I don't know if I am scheduled to attend, my apologies."
He did not seem that bothered, "I hope you do, I will look for you during the festivities. Now that the boring polite, stuffy things are out of the way, would you like a brownie?"
She looked down, remembering the tray that Shiro was holding, seeing what looked like some truly delicious looking baked goods. The white haired girl herself was not pleased with his offer, tightening her grip on the tray and moving it away from Rias and closer to Koneko and herself.
Damocles bopped Shiro's head lightly with a finger, "None of that. Share."
Pouting, Shiro extended her arms, bringing the tray into reach of Rias. The Gremory herself wanted to refuse the offer, warnings of taking food from strangers running through her head, but the smell combined with her own hunger weakened her resolve. On top of that, Koneko and his own sister had been eating them for what looking like quite a while, with seemingly no negative effects.
Letting her stomach win, she took a brownie from the offered tray, taking bite before she could change her mind. Her eyes widened at the warm, gooey chocolate flavour, the treat being better than some of the treats her family's chefs had made for her.
"Where did you buy these? They are amazing!" her eyes sparkled as she asked, only repetitive manner training keeping her from asking that with her mouth full.
Damocles laughed, "From my kitchen. I made them myself."
Rias felt her eyes grow wide, "You cook for yourself?"
He merely raised his brow at her in confusion, causing her to duck her head in embarrassment. She was never allowed to cook in the Gremory kitchen, the staff always shooing her away when she entered.
She was brought out of it by Shiro, saying in that monotone voice of hers, "Nii's cooking is the best." She nodded after her statement, as if cementing it as a fundamental law, like gravity.
Damocles smiled down at her, "Thank you Shiro, I'm always glad to see you enjoy my cooking." He gently pet her head as he said that, causing Koneko to pout at him, making him roll his eyes as he reached out and started petting her too.
Rias was struck with a strange sense of jealousy.
He stopped after only a moment however, before sighing and snapping his fingers, causing the tray to disappear. Both of the younger girls had negative reaction to that, but he merely rolled his eyes.
"Come on you two, there's a convention going on that you came to have fun at. We can't just laze around and eat the whole time." His voice was chiding, but both of them reluctantly agreed and started to get off the bench.
He stood, stretching slightly, before bowing in the direction of Rias, "My Lady. Part of the reason why we took this break is that my poor sister and I were overwhelmed by the displays on offer, not being versed in the understanding of the fictions portrayed. Would you deign to be our guide?"
Playing it up, he pompously extended his arm towards her, exaggerating the movement. Rias hid a laugh behind her hand, before curtsying toward the older boy, "Of course, My Lord. Please allow me to explain the various wonders on offer."
She stuck her nose up in the air snootily and took the proffered arm, acting like some of the stuck up nobles she had seen talking to her parents at balls. The two children looked at each other, their blue eyes meeting, before both them broke into laughter.
Once they recovered, they agreed to go back to the convention and see the displays they hadn't visited yet together, Rias happily explaining everything about the various Anime and Manga represented to the interested brother and sister. Of course, Rias was sure to keep a strong grip on Koneko's hand this time, to prevent the curious kitten from wondering off again.
AN: Sorry for the smaller chappie this time, the next scene I had planned just didn't fit well because of a combination of two Rias POVs in a row + small Timeskip and I had nothing to break up the two (This will make sense next chapter I swear please no bulli)
Koneko is Cute, Shiro is Cute, these are universal truths. I think that they are going to be great friends.
Q: Why was Rias alone at the convention?
A: She wasn't, there are Gremory staff shadowing her, but she's getting to that phase where she doesn't want to be shadowed around everywhere by her controlling family and her way too overprotective brother. Kids, amirite? So they are doing the whole out of sight out of mind thing.
Pity Sirzechs didn't tell his family about Damocles otherwise the staff trailing Rias might have been on the lookout for him. Although if he did and they suddenly appeared to take her away from what looked to be a perfectly nice boy who was kind to Koneko that could have caused quite the argument and made Ri-tan very cross at being followed.
Was he lucky or unlucky? You decide!
Let me know if you spot any typos or editing errors. I did give this a second draft, but I do miss things.