Chapter 82: A Meeting of Minds
It took some time, to find a way for all her pets to touch some part of Damocles, or one of the beings coming with them to be able to touch someone who was touching him. Thankfully, she managed it, having travelled back to his home without incident, despite the suspicious glances Orin and Okuu sent the Devil’s way. After they arrived, Damocles had led her to an area of his mansion that she could convert into a menagerie.
She had left her subordinates there to carry out that task, then joined him with her sister to meet the rest of this new ‘family’ that she had joined. The first thing she noticed after being led into the empty living room was, funnily enough, the quality of the furniture. Just by looking at the couches, she could tell that they were ancient, yet they were in better condition and of higher make than her own in her Castle.
To be fair, it wasn’t something that she had focused on when furnishing the place, but she still had an eye for quality. This more than anything, confirmed to her that Damocles truly was a Noble amongst his people.
A people that he despised.
As if he could tell the shadow that had come over her thoughts, he turned back towards her, eyebrow raised and mind open, “Do you wish to postpone? We could do this once you have everything set up and had some time to process.”
It was rather odd, the way he thought.
It was like someone looking at an equation and choosing the completely wrong method of solving it, yet still somehow coming up with the right answer. His words when taken at their face value, painted the picture of someone considerate, who was looking out for her and being attentive to her needs. Yet his mind painted a different sort of picture.
He was attempting to be as considerate as possible to her, but not out of any notion of chivalry or compassion. Damocles cared for her, that much she could tell, having been impressed by how she had conducted herself so far. However, rather than use that to guide his actions, he instead treated everything as an exchange.
He wasn’t extending the offer because it was the right thing to do. He was extending it because he knew she would appreciate it, thus making her more positively disposed towards him and trust him later. His whole view on relationships was built upon give and take, so he gave in full expectation of taking later.
More to the point, he smiled as he felt her read his mind about this exchange. He was selfish, incredibly so. However, he was also painfully honest. Something she appreciated and reassured her, which he knew it would. Thus allowing her free reign in his mind.
She shook her head in response to his question, “No. We should do this as soon as possible. I don’t want to cause a disturbance if my presence surprises the others.”
His thoughts flittered through the forms of his conquests at her words the emotional hue attached to them reminiscent of the one colouring her in his mind, but the possessiveness and affections was a great deal more intense.
The thoughts were also tinged with amusement, the reasoning made clear by his next words, “They could hardly miss all the animals that you brought with you. They have been aware of your arrival for some time now.”
Koishi, who had finished inspecting the room by this point, interjected suddenly, “Yeah, but they don’t know what we look like, right? From how you think of them, they seem really interesting. I can’t wait to meet them!”
Her sister’s words brought his attention towards her, allowing new thoughts and desires to populate his head. She was prepared for them, after the bet, but it seemed that he had already decided that with the marking, both of them were his. The strength of his desire was something that surprised her, but what was more surprising was the iron wall of restraint that held it back.
It appeared that their new ‘owner’ struggled with his own being, almost as much as they did. The realisation left an odd feeling behind, the marking growing warm as it did.
Ah, so that was how it worked. It didn’t force loyalty, or insert feelings into their mind. It simply was attuned to certain thoughts and emotions when it came to Damocles, which it then amplified when they felt them.
How insidious.
Yet at the same time, a small bit of the stress that had been gathering fell off her shoulders at the realisation. Her mind was still her own. She could resist, even fight back if she wanted to. All the marking did was make falling for the one who applied it easier and faster. It was something she could deal with.
“I must admit,” She spoke, hiding her relief at the knowledge, “I am also interested in meeting our new ‘family’.”
There was a flash of amusement at her sarcasm, but he nodded regardless, “Alright then. Fair warning, they have the same way to defeat your mind reading as me, so they will be aware if you attempt it.”
He didn’t say more, simply giving the information and letting them decide what to do with it. His thoughts made his perspective on the matter clear, that he believed that most of the other women would be very annoyed by the attempt. However, he didn’t wish to impose his views on them, rather preferring to let them develop their own relationships with the rest of the group without his micromanaging.
It said a lot that he was confident in being able to adapt to whatever they chose, as well as the fallout of said decision.
Looking towards her sister, their thoughts mingled once more, unhappiness being felt by them both. Sighing, she closed her third eye, shivering as her world dimmed and the light of the minds around her disappeared. Koishi did the same, but didn’t seem to react as badly. Had her time without her Sight made her less reliant on it?
Such a thought would require time to fully digest, which she would not be granted. Soon after her eye had closed, the door to the room opened, letting through a small girl with white hair.
---XXX---
She lent back, nestling into the embrace of her brother. She had seen the two new women in the room, but she had discarded them as unimportant. She was aware that her brother had gone to fetch the next members of his Peerage, so she assumed that was them. Regardless, their place would be revealed in the coming meeting, so she could ignore them in favour of more important things.
That being claiming her rightful spot before the leech did. She knew that the Vampire drank blood, but she also knew that the conniving harlot didn’t need to. At least, not nearly as much as she did. She wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up getting fat. It would serve the glutton right.
It didn’t help that the girl was so similar in build to her and took delight in goading her each time she drank. She knew that she and her brother were involved, the leech had made absolutely sure that she was. Even if she were blind, the way the blond draped herself all over Damocles-nii made it more than clear.
The last member of the Peerage entered, breaking her out of her thoughts. Kasane didn’t apologise for being the last member to arrive, simply closing the door and crossing her arms to lean against it, looking at Damocles-nii expectantly.
The conversations that Shiro had not being paying attention to trailed off with her arrival, Nii-san nodding towards the girl.
“Thank you all for coming. As you know, I went to gather our last members tonight. Allow me to introduce Komeiji Satori and her sister, Koishi.” He spoke, his voice rumbling in the chest pressed into her back, causing her to close her eyes in contentment.
She heard the green haired girl speak next, “Pleased to meet ya all!”
Satori, the pink one was respectively, much more subdued and formal, “Please treat us well.”
Damocles nodded, she could feel on top of her head, “Please introduce yourselves.”
The rest did as he asked, some with more or less enthusiasm, before she felt him gently nudge her side. Opening her eyes, she beheld the whole room staring at her, waiting. She resisted the urge to preen like a queen on a throne.
“Shiro. Damocles’ sister.” At those words, the pink haired one’s eyebrows rose high, while her sister’s grin turned teasing.
Whatever they felt at the revelation, amusement or otherwise, was deflected by CC’s next question.
“So, why them specifically?” The Queen wasn’t seated, standing in the side of the room that put her furthest away from Melina, “From the Demonic Power I can feel from them, they are strong, but not nearly enough for you to save them for long as you have.”
Shiro must admit her own curiosity in this regard. Her Brother’s choices so far were very well picked, giving him almost everything he could possibly need. Kasane gave them Military training and power, Naomi took care of everyone personally, CC was politically astute and schemed with him, Shiro and Selene were magical prodigies and Ranni brought overwhelming force to use as a deterrent.
With their powers and skills, they were incredibly well rounded. The only thing missing would be a trump card, some kind of esoteric ability that was outside of most people’s abilities to predict or a way to protect everyone, to ensure that they could recover from anyone who got in a lucky shot on any of them.
She knew which one her Brother likely picked.
“They were cursed.” Damocles answered, his voice level, “With the ability to hear the deepest thoughts of everyone around them, with no way to block it or turn it off.”
She could tell there was more to it, but she didn’t think too much about that, considering what he just revealed. Everyone straightened at the reveal, some warily looking at the two sisters.
Ranni’s cool voice broke tension, hands gently alighting on Damocles’ shoulders from her position behind the couch he was sitting on, “Tis a heavy burden for any to bear, much less young maidens such as thee. Mine condolences.”
Damocles nodded, “Part of accepting the pieces allowed them control over their abilities. You should be able to feel them trying and block them if you wish, but I leave that decision to each of you personally.”
“When our eyes are open, we are unable to really control it yet. So I apologise if you feel like we are prying.” Satori spoke, bowing in pre-emptive apology from her seat.
“I am familiar with mental effects.” CC replied, looking away from the two with tension still in her frame, “I can help you get a handle on it, if you want.”
“That sounds great!” Koishi cheered, “Man, Damocles really wasn’t kidding when he told us how great you all are.”
There were some smiles and blushes at that, which was likely the point. The girl was not nearly as simple as she seemed.
Shiro however, merely catalogued that in the back of her mind, still seething over what she had figured out. Someone being able to read his mind was exactly the sort of thing that a godsend to her brother. He would so easily be able to tailor his thoughts to wrap them around his fingers that it was almost like he was playing a game on easy mode.
That meant that he definitely took advantage of that. That meant that they two new arrivals had heard her brothers thoughts.
Her fists clenched at the idea, determination filling her. It didn’t matter, even if they could read his every desire, she refused to lose.
---XXX---
Runeas jumped, the door to her room suddenly opening. In walked someone she had never seen before, in real life or pictures. The pink haired girl was dressed in very old fashioned Japanese clothing, but that wasn’t the most distinctive thing about her. No, the most striking feature was the red, blood-coloured thread that wrapped around the young woman, upon which was sat an unblinking eye with a red iris, locked unerringly onto her.
Was this a servant of Damocles? Why had she never seen or heard of her before? Wait, no, she was wearing Japanese clothing. Was she a Yokai? She didn’t look like any that Runeas had ever heard of before.
“Who are you?” The Gremory smiled, quickly attempting to restore a modicum control, “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure-”
“What are your plans for Damocles?” The girl interrupted, causing her to frown.
“Now, it’s rude to not even introduce yourself.” Her mind scrambled, trying to figure out the trick, even as she considered the plans she had made, both old and new, in the back of her mind.
The girl didn’t even act like she heard her, “What have you told your family and Sirzechs about what you’ve seen here?”
Runeas instantly moved to deny, “I haven’t-”
“How long have you known Damocles was a Lucifer?” The girl asked, before frowning and reaching into a pocket of her robes.
“I don’t even know who you are.” Runeas was starting to get annoyed, but went silent as the girl pulled out a piece of paper, which she quickly unfolded.
Not even looking at her with her main eyes, she read from the paper, “Why did you wait so long to reveal that information?”
Runeas remained silent, mind working overtime. Perhaps it was some form of hypnosis? Is that what was going on here? She didn’t feel any different, did that mean it wasn’t working?
“Do you consider Damocles an enemy?’ Was the next question.
“Of course I don’t, what kind of-”
She was cut off, “What do you know of Damocles’ plans?”
Before she could even formulate a response, the next question was asked, “What are your plans for the Sagan? What do you know of the New Satan’s plans? Was Rias aware of Damocles being a Lucifer?”
She was barely able to get a word in edgeways, as question after question hit her.
She realised that whatever it said, it apparently didn’t matter to the girl, so she instead attempted to figure out what the point of this was. Was the eye some sort of empathetic link? She knew that some Yokai could read emotions through Senjutsu, so was this some attempt to profile her using that?
After a few more questions, the girl finally stopped, before fixing her with a look that made her feel like something filthy. She turned toward the door, before pausing, hesitating. Turning back towards her, she seemed to be contemplating something.
The next question was different from all the others, obviously personal.
“What do you think about Damocles?” She asked, before sniffing and completing her turn, leaving without waiting for a reply.
Runeas was left blinking, stunned and utterly bewildered about what just happened to her. What was the point of that? What did the Sagan gain from letting that occur? How did he profit that exceedingly odd interaction?
Answers were not forthcoming. Nor, did it appear, that anyone was in any hurry to give them to her. Her experience and her gut told her that there was a point behind this, something that she was not aware of at play here. However, that same experience also let her know that she had nowhere near enough information to figure out what exactly was happening here.
Instead, energy would be better directed to continue refining her plans on how to ingratiate herself to her new lord. Her haste had almost damned them, but the situation as still salvageable. She knew this, because the Underworld still existed. With Ranni and Ophis on his Side, Damocles had shown remarkable restraint. A blind person could see that he was preparing for war, many young devils in his place would have already started one, regardless of his heritage, such was the power of the cards he held.
Yet, he hadn’t.
That meant one of two things, either Damocles was waiting until his position was secure enough that it was a certainty that he would win, or he was attempting to create such an oppressive force that there would be no war at all.
She understood him less than she thought she did. That much was clear. She would have to tread very carefully.
Her train of thought was broken by the opening of her door, the Devil she was thinking of himself walking in.
“Hello Runeas. I apologise for the wait.” Sarcasm was clear in his voice, displeasure writ large upon his visage, “You caught me when I was busy with other things, you see.”
“Well, that charming young woman recently kept me company, so I assure I was not too bored, Lord Sagan.” She spoke, carefully choosing her words.
“Yes that was one of the things that I had to take care of.” He answered, eyes narrowing, “Satori had some very interesting things to tell me about you.”
Runeas’ face paled at his naming of the girl that had visited her. Her mind instantly made the connection, between the name and the monkey Yokai that most overlooked, because their ability was only useful on humans. Even when some Devils had resurrected them, the ability didn’t gain any potency whatsoever. So the thought that shook her made no sense, yet she found it impossible to dismiss.
After all, the interrogation she just went made perfect sense if one party was mind reader.