538Author's Note: Finally trying to return to fan fiction. Apologies for the delay, and for any cobwebs or rust that may have accumulated in my absence. Do enjoy.
The Prince of Darkness
Chapter 9:
Diverging Paths
Sona did not like huge events.
From the very second they arrived, they had become the star attraction, or at least, a small part of her pride would like to believe that she was also part of the star attraction, but she knew that to be highly untrue. Everyone was interested in Sasuke, he had been met by the likes of Riser Phenix and Sairaorg Bael, wanting to judge him for his strength, then soon afterwards their parents had approached him as well, wishing to judge him for his character, then more and more devils came forward, asking him questions from something as mundane as what his favorite food was to something as heavy as who he was contemplating as a potential love interest or partner.
Of course, all of these questions were asked in ways that either wrapped them in disguise as something else, or utterly made it seem as though they were innocuous statements that had no subtler meaning. Some were vague, others were blatant, and it had reached a point in which she was worried for her brother, but she found her fears immediately unfounded.
"No."
"I have not contemplated it."
"Perhaps."
"Not in the nearest conceivable future."
"If my father wills it."
"It sounds interesting."
She watched him, with those five responses, shoot down or divert nearly any and all questions that would have incriminated or otherwise bound him to some form of verbal agreement with the people speaking with him. He was utterly unflappable, his eyes and gaze cold and hardened, his lips fixed into an eternal thin line, and his gait and stance like someone who was ready to take on tsunamis and use them to run power stations.
Sona knew for a fact that their parents allowed this to continue, or at least, Shifra did, and had told Sinbad not to interfere. Everyone lapped up Sitri Sasuke as though he was some sort of unforeseen, mystic that had the power to grant them their hearts desires.
It was perfectly natural for them to be interested in her little brother was it not? He did have a tremendous gift with music after all, and Sona was content, with sitting at the sidelines, watching as everyone approached her brother, whilst she drank some wine from a fancy fountain.
She was content. Why wouldn't she be?
Eventually, she had born witness to Venelana Gremory, the celebrant, and her mother striking up conversation like they were old friends. It was at this point, that Rias had followed, with vivid red hair, an enchanting smile and face, dressed in a brilliant gown, which, to Sona's chagrin, she could already see the small bumps appearing on the girl's chest, even though they were the same age.
Still, the sight of the one person in this entire place who actually knew her and would give her the time of day managed to fill Sona with much, much joy, though she would never admit it to her friend.
"Sona!"
"Rias." She greeted formally, and the girl embraced her in a hug, the close contact once more sending the ever so annoying reminder to Sona that her friend was more developed than her in certain areas. No nine year old should be so well-endowed in Sona's humble opinion.
"It's been two years! You – you're looking great! How has it been? When you stopped sending the letters several months ago, I had thought –"
She had paused, mid-sentence, as it occurred to her all of a sudden that she had somehow missed the person right beside Sona, and she gave him a quick once over, before blinking.
"Rias, this is my twin – Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Rias – my friend I told you about."
Her brother, for his part, gave a brief, unimpressed and uninterested nod of the head to Rias, who was still staring at him for several seconds.
Her brother wasn't that attractive was he?
"O-oh, Sasuke is it? N-nice to meet you."
Sona found her irritation grow by the second. Rias stuttered. Rias never stuttered.
"Ah Sasuke, I see you have met young Rias here."
Shifra chose that exact moment to step in, which felt a tad bit too contrived for Sona's taste.
"Both Rias and her mother have been very interested in the rumors surrounding your musical ability, as are numerous other guests. Perhaps you would not mind entertaining them?"
Sona wanted to object, she truly did, she had sat down, awkwardly sipping drinks throughout the entire party, watching as people approached her brother for numerous reasons, and then the one person who she actually knew and was her actual friend had finally come up to talk to her, but her mother wanted her to talk to Sasuke instead?
Yet, her objection never left her mouth, she swallowed down her own thoughts and sentiments, and watched as Sasuke left, moving unto the grand piano center stage, and then he began to play.
The gathered devils and the birthday queen herself, Lady Venelana, watched as her brother began, his fingers effortlessly gliding across the instrument, each stroke and each key matching perfectly to what Sona could idly recognize as Beethoven's Fifth, and in no time, the entire large ballroom was filled to the brim with wet-eyed devils.
"Beautiful!"
"I've heard the song a thousand times, but never with such passion!"
"At such a young age no less!"
"With such skills and looks, he could easily become the Underworld's most eligible bachelor when he grows up."
"The Sitri Clan's future certainly is bright with him as their head!"
Sona wondered why her chest was suddenly feeling icy cold, and why she could feel some precipitation on her palms.
"Oh, but I heard he is the younger twin. He may not end up being the Clan Heir."
"Really? Who is the older twin then?"
"Oh, just some antisocial little bookworm. She's nothing special."
"Ah, that's a shame. The parents must be disappointed."
Sona found herself leaving the ballroom. Her legs rebelled against her body. Her chest felt icy cold. It was as though serpents gathered and coiled around her lungs. Every intake was pain and every exhale was torture. Her throat burned, a heavy, thick lump forming within it that would not go down no matter how hard she swallowed.
'I love Sasuke.'
'I love my brother.'
'Nothing can change that.'
'Nothing can change that.'
This was the mantra that she found herself often repeating in her mind, whenever her brother performed some great feat that she could never truly hope to attain, whenever certain events seemed to want to pull on the relationship between them, or when other particular activities had put a damper on her spirits.
She could almost picture him, walking up to her, with his usually unsure expression that he wore when he was out of his elements in emotions and asking her, "Genie, you okay?"
She let out a sardonic chuckle.
She hated that nickname, she really, really did.
As per their agreement of no lies, she had told him that she found it annoying, but he had taken it as the initiative to keep on calling her that. She found the nickname to be patronizing at best and a blatant lie at worse, one which Sinbad had sprung up whilst halfway through a dinner and on the spur of the moment.
After the one time she told him that she did not like it, she had not mentioned it again, particularly because there was a small part of her that argued that Sasuke found it endearing, and the fact that he actually cared enough to use a nickname to address her meant that he cared for her. It was what she wanted, it was all she had dreamed of over three years ago, when her own brother barely spared her the time of the day and she could wish nothing more than to for once have him glance her way and smile.
She only wished that the nickname didn't have to be something that sounded so mockingly insincere, even when he wasn't actually trying to be. She wasn't a genius, no, everything she had learned and acquired was through painstaking hours of reading and research through the nights, through repeated trial and error, all because of her own innate fear of being left behind by the true genius. If her brother was not so talented, she would not need to work so hard in order to catch up, to have used her book-smarts as a way to even the playing field, and make it seem, at the very least, that they could stand together, on equal footing.
The very fact that she felt that she needed to be on equal footing with her younger brother was one of the few things that chipped away at her slowly, because she was fooling herself if for one brief minute, she believed she could be his superior.
And even then, for all her efforts, she was an "antisocial little bookworm."
She grit her teeth and shook her head. Sinbad had mentioned it, he had said it that he would eventually end up leaving her in the dust, one way or another, but there was a difference to being left in the dust by your twin, and being so utterly outshone that she could not even reside in his shadow.
She came to a stop in front of a fountain, staring vacantly at her reflection in the water. Could she really blame them? Any of them? With her glasses, her stony-faced expression, her lack of development compared to other females her age, her lack of significant talent –
How could she compare to him?
She almost laughed at herself as she knelt in front of her reflection.
In hindsight, what real hope did she have when he was essentially the reincarnation of a god-level being from another world?
How could she beat that?
Her fist struck against the water, against her reflection, paying no heed to how her midnight-blue gown got splashed.
It wasn't fair.
She struck again.
It wasn't fair.
And again. And again. And again.
It wasn't fair.
Xx Prince xX
Thick, echoing applause filled the Gremory Family's event hall. Shifra watched, unable to hide the pride that exuded from her as she watched the applause that resounded around her son. Her pride grew further, once she noticed that tear-stained eyes of certain individuals, and she found others, dabbing hankerchiefs at the corners of their eyes, moved to tears from hearing nothing but a brilliant musical composition.
She did not know how her son did it, she did not know what sort of impeccable talent that could allow him to remaster the works of great musicians and play it as though it were his own. She had no clue as to the source of the mystical dancing notes that would break through the barriers of the mind and soul and turn devils into weeping, exuberant fanatics, like a young mother witnessing her child's graduation.
Still, she bathed in it. She bathed in the applause provided to her son, the applause and recognition provided to her family. Sasuke stood from his place at the piano, taking a deep, formal bow. His expression was one that Shifra had never been able to read, and as much as it irked her that she could never understand the thought-process or comprehend the emotions of her own son, she was glad for it in this instance. Had he presented a face of satisfied cockiness, it would have marred the brilliance of his performance. Had he presented a visage of deep exhaustion, it would have ruined the nigh-effortlessness appearance of his composition. Had he, devil's forbid, been exuberant, or gleeful, or shown any sort of personal enjoyment of his own work, all of his professionalism would have evaporated as steam in the wind.
But this expression of his – cold, unreadable, indifferent – when also blended into place with his unarguable handsomeness, had lend to the notion, the belief, and the establishment that Sasuke Sitri merely did not care.
To Sasuke Sitri, the act of rendering Beethoven, Mozart and Bach into a triplet of sniveling amateurs, begging and groveling in the gutters for a taste of his talent… was banal.
She could already see it in the eyes of the other devil's present, scrutinizing him for any sign or any indication that he was even slightly winded, or that his performance had taken effort, and they would find none. None in the slightest. That fact, of course, would only sky-rocket her son's value.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Shifra's eyes shot over to the sound of the voice, noticing her friend and birthday celebrant, Venelana, clapping eagerly at the display. More importantly however, was the fact that her son was also beside her, as well as her husband and both of them seemed incredibly pleased.
"Sinbad, dear."
She called to her own husband, and he nodded, almost completely minutely. They had long since learnt how to read each other and understand what the other wanted without ever needing to communicate.
She immediately moved forward, taking a place beside her own son, and allowing a smile to form on her face with practiced ease. She stood at his right, and, immediately afterwards, Sinbad stood at his left.
"My, if anything Shifra, the rumors of your son's musical ability was understated." Venelana said with a large smile, "I've never heard music so beautiful before."
She never allowed her own smile to leave her lips, even as she turned her gaze to her son. Sasuke was not the most social person, and while he had been able to cover up that flaw of his with a veneer of aloofness and disinterest, this was a situation where showing any of those two things would be seen as highly disrespectful. She needed to handle this with care, and to ensure that no one even possessed a reason to suspect that her son was not properly trained at handling the complex socio-political climates of devil society.
"Nor will you ever again," Shifra spoke up, her voice mellow, her smile never leaving her lips. "At least, not so publically. Sasuke here is the greatest musical prodigy in the underworld, so we can't have him performing for just anyone."
Venelana's lips twitched. "Ah, but I'm not just anyone, now am I Venelana?"
"I suppose," she said, her own lips curling and her eyes closing. "But, since you are such a dear friend of mine, perhaps if we were to work out an agreement later on, you would get to listen to such musical melodies as much as you want."
Venelana smiled. "I believe I would like that as well."
Perfect.
It was all about marketing, Shifra knew. As it stood, she had very publicly hinted at the possibility of an alliance between the Sitri Clan and the Gremory Clan, two clans as of which, had two of their members currently among the four Satans. The Sitri Clan did not have much in the way of special powers except for their special alignment towards water magic the likes of which no one else in the Underworld could conjure. However, presenting a new player to the table in the form of her son, whose magical prowess with music may or may not be hereditary, would definitely increase the Sitri Clan's value in the eyes of the underworld. Now, all she needed to –
"You're the Lucifer?"
Shifra steeled her emotions to prevent the shock that ricocheted through her from hearing her son speak up. More than that, from hearing Sasuke speak up, and then pointedly, and directly address Sirzechs, with not the slightest bit of respect in his tone.
Sirzechs for his part, merely smiled, before bending down to Sasuke's level.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun. And I must say, I am impressed with your music."
"You can't play?"
The question threw everyone for a loop. "Er… no." Sirzechs said with a laugh. "I can't play any instruments unfortunately."
"Then why are you the Lucifer?"
Shifra decided she needed to end this here and now. "Sasuke, the title of Lucifer is granted to the strongest devil in the underworld. It, unfortunately has nothing to do with musical talent."
The boy's eyes seemed to widen for a second, before he turned his attention back to Sirzechs.
"The strongest devil?"
"That's me."
"You don't look it."
Silence.
Shifra was doing her best not to grind her teeth at her son's comment, and she turned to the side, knowing full well that her husband Sinbad, was finding the situation immensely amusing, and he looked as though he was a few seconds away from cackling out loud.
Don't you dare, she shot at him. Don't you dare laugh Sinbad.
On the other end, she could tell that Zeoticus Gremory was also holding back his mirth, whilst Venelana placed a hand in front of her mouth to prevent her giggling from appearing too obvious.
"Oh? How did you think the strongest devil would look?"
Oh no – Shifra snapped her gaze to her son, practically daring him to answer that question –
Sasuke shrugged.
He couldn't. He wouldn't.
"Less girly."
He did.
"Come now dear, even you have to admit that Sirzechs does look a bit too girly." Sinbad said, amusement all over his face. "Even when he was a tiny twerp – you could put him into a dress and comb his hair a bit, and no one would ever know he was sporting a sword instead of a sheathe."
"I am not amused, dear." Shifra responded with a bite.
They had walked away from the main hall, or more accurately, Shifra had all but done her best to avoid throttling her son as they left the main hall, and Sinbad had playfully ruffled said son's hair, before sending him off to go and mingle. Upon seeing how his wife looked several inches close to positively exploding, Sinbad wisely found themselves a quiet spot away from the festivities, next to a small water fountain, in order to allow the woman to vent.
"Sirzechs seemed to be amused. I would say, all of them were rather amused." Sinbad countered. "People tend to forget that he is a devil like the rest of us, prone and open to jabs and criticism. All they see is his title of 'Lucifer' and they feel he is above reproach. Serafall got so tired of people walking on eggshells around her, she created a show where she's constantly sexually assaulted by tentacles in a magical girl outfit so people can relate with her. I can't imagine how much more worse it must be for Sirzechs."
Shifra frowned. "And what if he had taken offense to Sasuke's comment?"
Sinbad shrugged. "Anyone who gets pointlessly angry or makes a needless fuss because a nine-year old devil called him 'girly' clearly does not possess the temperament or maturity to be a leader. Much less the leader of devils."
The mother of Serafall huffed. She hated it when her husband was right. The problem was, he was almost always right, especially about things like this. "Part of me knows that this is your fault."
Sinbad rose an eyebrow. "My fault?"
"That reckless audacity… all of our children get it from you." She said with a sigh.
"Oh? But isn't that what made you fall for me?" Sinbad said, his lips curled.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me." She shook her head. "But at the very least… things did not stray too out of hand. The Gremory family has taken quite a shine to Sasuke now – so it should make future plans far easier."
"Future plans?" Sinbad's voice was tethering towards a dangerously low tone. "Don't tell me you're actually still planning on keeping that agreement with Venelana?"
"And what exactly is wrong with it?" she challenged, "I believe Rias would make a wonderful wife for Sasuke."
"And if he doesn't want Rias?"
"Irrelevant." Shifra dismissed with a wave of her hand. "If he finds a woman who later catches his fancy, he may take her on as a mistress in his harem. However, he will get married to Rias. Their union will bring our families immensely closer together, and cement a permanent alliance between the Sitri Clan and Gremory Clan."
"And what of Rias?" Sinbad asked.
"What of her?"
"Do you not care at all that the daughter of your close friend, the friend of your daughter, might end up marrying someone who will never care for her?"
Shifra exhaled. "I forgot you were such a sentimentalist." She moved towards her husband, trailing her nails and drawing circles on his chest. "Dear, when I first saw you, I despised you with every fiber of my being and wished to have nothing to do with you except to perhaps crush you underfoot like a troublesome cockroach. Now, a few hundred years later, I still find myself smitten and wonder how I would have lived without you."
She smiled. "In time, they will learn to love each other. It may take a hundred years or a thousand, but it will happen." She turned around. "Besides, I'm doing the poor girl a favor. If she does not marry Sasuke, then the only other suitor she will have available will be Riser Phenix – and you have seen how the boy behaves. Sasuke may not be fond of Rias, but at the very least, I can be certain that he will see her as more than a pair of breasts and a tight hole, given how she is Sona's friend."
Sinbad looked at her, before scratching his head and sighing. "I hate it when you're right about these things."
"I knew you would see it my way dear." She said with a pleasant tone. "There is, of course, only one thing left to do before the marriage contract is formalized."
Sinbad rose an eyebrow. "What now?"
"Whereas Venelana could afford giving Rias to the third son of the Phenex family, particularly due to their special family traits… the same cannot quite be said of us. The bond between the Sitri and Gremory Clan must be one made from equal standpoints… so…"
His eyes narrowed. "So…?"
"So… we need to make Sasuke the clan heir."
There was the large sound of something falling, and both Sitri devils rapidly turned their gaze to the direction of a bush. The duo's eyes met, a silent agreement forming as they moved as one.
Sinbad snapped his fingers, and water from the fountain rose, forming into the shape of a large kodachi, immediately slashing apart the bushes in seconds. Shifra waved her hand and more water emerged, turning into an elegant fan, which whooshed away the leaves effortlessly, revealing their eavesdropper.
"S-Sona?" Shifra spoke, baffled, before her eyes narrowed. "Where exactly have you been all evening? And – and – your dress! What happened to your dress? Why were you hiding behind a pair of bushes–"
Now that Shifra thought it over, she realized that her daughter had been missing for a while. It hadn't quite occurred to her because she had been focused on finalizing Sasuke's first ever public appearance… but at the same time, she realized that this had also been Sona's first ever public appearance…
But no one had been interested in her daughter. It was harsh, but Sasuke was far more compelling, visually, charismatically, and essentially. Sona was not fantastically beautiful and well-endowed for her age like Rias Gremory, nor did she possess any special magical abilities or powers like Ravel Phenex – there was almost no reason for anyone to want to speak to her, in comparison to the plethora of reasons they would want to speak or meet her brother, or any of the other young females present.
Sona's only friend – Rias – had been busy trailing after Sasuke all evening. It was clear that she was enamored with the boy… too enamored to have bothered remembering about her friend.
It hurt Shifra to admit it… but Sona was normal. Too normal. Average. The girl's budding intellect was her strongest and most defining feature, but here, intellect meant nothing. To devils, intellect mattered very little, it mattered even less if you were a female devil, if anything, all it did was isolate you even further from the females who would be envious of you, and the males, who would become insecure around you. Sona was a complete contrast to her elder sister, Serafall, who had entered the world and blown everyone away with her cheerful persona and ray-of-sunshine attitude that excellently displayed her extraverted charisma. It also didn't help that Serafall was arguably far more powerful, more talented, and more beautiful as well.
"Are you going to make Sasuke the clan heir?"
There was an uncertain coldness around her question. Shifra didn't quite know where it came from.
"We –"
"We haven't decided anything yet."
Sinbad's voice cut over hers, and she wanted to complain, only to stop at the strong look he sent her.
"Oh." Sona said. "I see."
"Sona –"
"Sorry about the dress mother. I did not mean to do anything which could cause trouble for you. I will remove myself from the premises and wait on the Sitri train."
Sinbad frowned. "Chibi-glasses – wait –"
"Do not worry about me father," Sona said with a calm smile. "I am not too fond of parties, or of large crowds and events. I prefer the peace and quiet. This will also allow me to catch up on some reading."
Both parents could do nothing but watch as their daughter walked away from the area with a deceitfully high level of maturity.
"Dear, you have to stop doing things like this. You cannot shield her from the truth." Shifra said coldly.
"I'm not shielding her from anything, because we haven't decided on anything." Sinbad said. "Making him the clan heir would be a slap in Sona's face. It would be telling her that she wasn't enough – she wasn't capable, and that her younger brother could do more than she can."
"And can he not?" Shifra retorted. "I cannot stand hiding the truth from someone in the name of sparing their feelings. Daughter of mine or not. The truth remains that Sasuke was born with talent, and she was not. Sasuke was also born male, and she was not. It is unfair, yes, but the world has never been fair to anyone, least of all to devils. The sooner she comes to terms with this, the better."
"Shifra…" Sinbad growled.
"Don't you dare 'Shifra' me. Your sentimentality and misguided notions will be the death of this clan Sinbad. All the time you spend in the human world is making you soft, soft, and stupid." Shifra argued, turning to stare at her husband. "We are devils, Sinbad. Devils. A measly hundred thousand years ago, our species ate humans and bathed in the blood of virgins for sustenance. You cannot expect me to avoid making a decision that would guarantee the prosperity and strength of our Clan for thousands of years, merely because it would hurt my daughter's feelings. If word got out on our reasoning, we would be the greatest laughing stock in the Underworld."
Sinbad took in a deep breath. He was angry. He was angry because he knew it was true. Devils, devil society – it was cold, harsh, and unforgiving. Before the birth of Sirzechs Lucifer, the Gremory Clan was a clan of laughing-stocks – they were people who viewed their slaves as family, people who treated humans with a degree of compassion and reason, as opposed to merely viewing them as livestock and/or disposable entertainment. Even now, there were absolutely no punishments in place for young devils who went into the human world, kidnapped young women as their slaves, and brought them to the underworld to do as they wished. The very worst one could get would be a half-hearted warning, and that was only if the young devil did it far too frequently, and kidnapped an upwards of over a hundred young girls.
Humans were viewed as animals in one way or another. Half-devils were viewed with scorn and disdain – and the society was not one where you could avoid to do things based on sentiments.
He was afraid that something like this would happen. He just had not expected it to happen so soon.
"So. The family mole becomes the clan heir, and Sona loses what should be hers by inheritance. What becomes of her after you make it clear to her that she's the black sheep of the family?"
"Must you always be so dramatic?" Shifra frowned. "Sona is not the black sheep. Admittedly, she is the least talented child we have, but that still makes her extraordinary. I will give her free reign to find a suitor of her choice… or, if she wishes it, she may undergo a personal internship with Ajuka Beezelbub. She is free to do as she wishes – it is the least I can do for her."
"I don't like this." Sinbad said, voicing his discomfort.
"And you shouldn't," Shifra said, a smile on her lips. "At the very least, if one of us strongly opposes, it should perhaps make things better."
"…"
"It's as I said dear. I cannot stand hiding the truth in the name of sparing someone's feelings. I cannot stand it even if it's my feelings that are to be spared." Shifra said, "I am aware my own children see me as more of a monster than a mother. I haven't done much to correct that assumption – so I cannot blame them. Everything I do – I do out of my love for them... even if it doesn't seem like it. Even if they may not know it."
She shook her head.
"I love Sona. I love her, but I cannot lie to her. I cannot tell her that she is like her siblings when she is not. I cannot fill her heads with ideas of her equality when it is not feasible. Her weaknesses are plenty, and her strengths are few. Her talents are her own – and she may one day go on to become the greatest researcher or scientist ever seen in the Underworld – but for now, she is just a young girl with none of the traits appreciated or valued by society."
Shifra smiled.
"But if she works on those strengths of hers… if she is not daunted by the superiority of her siblings… if she decides to find her own path to the history books – she will be something, truly, spectacular."
Sinbad's lips were unable to stop themselves from curling into a smile. "Now… who's the one being dramatic?"
Shifra laughed. "I suppose I get it from my roguish barbarian of a husband." She said with a smile. "It's a good thing you cut that beard – I don't want you seducing any young women with those looks. It's mine, and mine alone."
Sinbad saluted. "Aye – Aye Ma'am."
"Now, go get your daughter back here, and I'm going to go make sure our son refrains from pointing out the feminity of the strongest man in the underworld. With any luck, we'll be able to try to enjoy ourselves, before the evening is over."
