Rias sipped a tall glass of water. Across the table from her, in a room used for business conferences by hotel guests, Ravel and Xenovia both looked back at her.
"So," Rias lowered her glass from her lips, "are the two of you serious?"
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't serious!" Ravel said. "I might be the youngest child but I'm still a Phenex! Our word is as good as gold."
"I'm aware of your family's reputation for honor," Rias assured the girl.
She was also aware that not all members cultivated the family reputation equally. Ruval Phenex was known as a paragon within the Underworld, powerful yet fair and friendly. Sirzechs had high hopes that Ruval would become a key pillar of support for the Maous. The second son, Riven, was a researcher. His contributions to magical advancement were considerable… But he was personally sloppy, even more than Ajuka Beelzebub, without much power of his own to speak of.
Riser Phenex, the third son, was a better fighter with a worse character. He had already caused a stir by having unsanctioned flings with three high class devils. His peerage was a harem and he wasn't afraid to love them publicly. There had already been multiple public promises made by Riser that he failed to keep, most of them to do with pretty young women and oaths of eternal love that ended up lasting a single night or month. Not a crime, obviously, but not the greatest example of honor and someone whose word could be implicitly trusted.
Naruto and Ravel were too young to have their own reputations. Her dealings with Naruto had been a ringing endorsement to his character. Rias would give his twin the benefit of the doubt.
"Even if you're serious about what you're offering, you know this is very unusual, don't you?" Rias asked. "You've put me in an awkward spot. Usually, when a high class devil joins another devil's peerage, it's because their family can't support a peerage of their own. Whether the problem is money, lacking the fame to recruit skilled servants, or a lack of power to train new devils properly, there's always something. Your family has none of these issues."
"Everyone knows that the Gremory Clan is rising to new heights," Ravel said. "The last three children have all been born with the Power of Destruction of the Baels. You're the clan of the current Lucifer."
"He left the family to take that title."
"Technically," Ravel said, "but I dare another family to look down on you. How harshly could I be scolded for making a tie to such a clan?"
Rias pursed her lips. She nodded, conceding the point, and took another sip of water before turning to Xenovia.
"What about you?" Rias asked. "Ravel has presented me with a headache because as unprecedented as it would be to accept her, I know how incredibly useful she would be. I only have three pieces to spare. Why should I use one on a human girl who doesn't even have a sacred gear?"
Xenovia got to her feet and went toward the door.
"Are you giving up?" Rias asked.
"The blond boy in your peerage is a swordsman," Xenovia said. "Once I beat him, you'll have to let me in."
"Excuse me?" Rias asked, insulted that Xenovia made it sound so easy.
"Sit down!" Ravel grabbed Xenovia's arm, pulling her back to her chair. "You should convince her using your words!"
Xenovia sat again, frowning. "I'm not good with words. I've always been better with my sword. I could defeat almost any young exorcist in a spar, but they never seemed to like me afterwards. I suppose I was simply too good. I had Sister Griselda and a decent partner, those two were enough."
"You're strange," Rias said.
"So I've heard," Xenovia agreed.
Rias sighed. She was starting to suspect that Xenovia WAS skilled. In Rias's experience, the weird ones tended to be powerful. She wasn't basing everything off an assumption like that, though. The main reason she believed Xenovia's was worth it was her relationship to Griselda Quarta. They even used the same last name and it was clear to see how close they were. Even Rias had heard of Griselda's feats.
"Skills aside, there's also the matter of your motivations," Rias said. She rested her hands on top of her water glass, covering the opening with her palm, looking seriously at the girls. "Why do you WANT to join my peerage?"
"To get closer to God," Xenovia said.
"Because!" Ravel said.
Rias sighed, resisting the urge to pinch her nose. She knew that her peerage was all a bit strange. Even still, these two were confusing her more than she was used to.
She didn't even know where to BEGIN with Xenovia's answer, so she focused on Ravel.
"I'm going to need you to explain more," Rias said, giving Ravel a sweet smile.
"I can't let my brother get married!" Ravel snarled, taking Rias aback with the small girls fierce tone. "Mommy and Daddy decided it all on their own! I was going to join Naruto's peerage, but he used both his Bishops on Kuroka when we were so young. Mom would NEVER let me become his pawn. She says that's beneath a High Class devil."
"You could be a Rook," Xenovia said.
Ravel looked like she smelled curdled milk. "And have my strength boosted? No thanks! I only need magic, thank you very much. I wouldn't be caught dead running around punching things like some kind of brute."
Xenovia squinted at her. Finally, she shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't understand devils."
"I won't let this marriage happen!" Ravel said. "That's the bottom line! If I have to join your peerage to make that happen, Rias, then that's what I'll do!"
In spite of how taxing this conversation had been, Rias was charmed by hearing that.
"Thank you, Ravel," Rias said in a tender voice. "I appreciate it. I'm sure Naruto appreciates it too."
"He better," Ravel grumbled, crossing her arms, smiling despite her tone of voice. "The only person he can marry is ME."
Rias's smile froze in place, while concern appeared in her eyes.
"When you say that…"
"He has to marry me," Ravel said. "We're made for each other. No girl can be closer to him than I am. I admit, I was a bit worried when my mom announced they were trying to marry him off. I should have trusted Naruto. He never let the temptress sway his heart—no offense intended, Rias—and remained true in his love for me."
"Has he… Said these things?" Rias asked.
"He doesn't have to," Ravel said. "There don't have to be words between us. We instinctively understand everything about each other. He's aware of my feelings, we'll inevitably marry, we'll have a chocolate wedding cake and I'll wear a ball gown wedding dress, then we'll go on our honeymoon to the crystal marshes Valac territory and he'll peel the dress off of me and—Eeeeh!" Ravel slapped her hands to her cheeks, ending in a raw squeal.
Rias had a sudden sense that she was in danger. It didn't make any sense. She was stronger than Ravel Phenex. There was just something in those blue eyes all of a sudden that made Ravel look like a rabid hamster. One with regeneration powers, so if you got on its bad side, it would heal through whatever you threw at it while it was clawing out your eyes. Unconsciously, Rias scooted her chair back a few inches.
"Yes," Rias said carefully, "that sounds wonderful."
The madness disappeared again. It was only covered up, though; Rias didn't make the mistake of assuming it was gone.
"Naturally," Ravel said. "So, can I assume you're agreeing? Frankly, both you and Naruto need me for this. I don't have much faith in your strategies. You both strike me as THAT type."
"What type?" Rias asked.
Ravel wrinkled her nose. "The type who thinks brute force is the only plan you need."
"If you use enough power, nothing else is needed," Xenovia said.
"Of course YOU would think that," Ravel said. She went back to addressing Rias. "When I have a better grasp on the skills of your peerage, I'll be able to refine these further, but for now this is what I've come up with. To start with, these seem like optimal formations."
A magical circle appeared above Ravel's palm and materialized a stack of notes as thick as the bible. It landed on the table with an audible smack. Ravel started to sort through it. Rias used to think that she had given a lot of thought to the ways to get the most out of her peerage. Within a minute, Ravel had shared three novel ideas of how to get the most out of Elmenhilde's vampire abilities and shared two tactical setups for rating games that Rias never even considered.
"I get the picture," Rias said, holding up her hands. If she didn't interrupt, it seemed likely that Ravel could go on all day. "I just have to ask one last time. Are you both sure?"
The former exorcist and the Phenex Clan's daughter didn't hesitate.
"I'll pass this test and confirm my faith!" Xenovia said.
"Whatever it takes, we'll win this rating game," Ravel swore.
Rias produced two pieces, one in either hand, holding them out. On the left was a knight piece and on the right was a crimson bishop.
"Why is it red?" Ravel asked. "Evil pieces aren't supposed to be customizable."
"It's a very, very long story," Rias said. "But the piece works normally. If you want to follow through, take it."
The girls took the pieces out of her hands.
Meanwhile, outside the conference room, Fujimai approached the door purposefully. The spaced-out look she'd worn all morning was gone, replaced by an expression of focus. Before she could enter the room, her path was blocked.
"Please move, Naruto," Fujimai said. "Lady Phenex was very clear. I'm not supposed to let anything permanent happen to either of you. Entering a servant contract with Rias Gremory counts as that."
Naruto was standing between Fujimai and the door. He had an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"Ravel is eighteen already," Naruto said. "I know devils do things a little differently since we live for so long, but in my book she's already an adult. She's not dumb, Fujimai. She knows exactly what she's agreeing to."
"Her mother would want to talk to her before she makes such a huge decision."
"You mean that Mom would want to make the choice for her," Naruto said. "Yeah, she would. I'd know."
Fujimai's cat ears perked up. She stared at the door, sensing magic within the room.
"I have to get inside," she said. "My Lady's instructions were clear."
"I'm not going to let that happen," Naruto said.
Fujimai disappeared. Each of a nekoshou's tails told a story of their power. Fujimai had three. Even if she preferred cooking and chores, senjutsu and youjutsu were as effortless to her as breathing.
She went for the door handle at such a speed that most devils couldn't have seen her. Before her hand could grab the metal, Naruto was holding her wrist.
Fujimai turned into a mist and reappeared a few steps to the side. There was a long window flanking the door, which she planned to break through to enter the room. Before she could, Naruto was in front of her again. The two of them blurred, reappearing in a dozen positions, Fujimai appearing first only to be blocked each time. She made roots spring out of the carpet to hold him in place. Naruto burned through them using a minimum of magic, keeping up with her. She tried to blind him with a ring of fog over his eyes. His bright blue pupils remained locked on her, looking straight through the mist like it wasn't there. Fujimai had only ever seen that reaction from her old leader in the East Yokai faction.
In the middle of another lunge toward the window, Fujimai froze.
Long fingers were petting her cheek. The one doing it was behind her. Fujimai's whole body was frozen. She was a nekoshou, a predator, even if her temperament never matched it… Suddenly, she felt like prey. The bloodlust was so thick that Fujimai could tangibly feel it on her skin.
"Are we eating her?" Kurama asked.
"Absolutely not. Just make sure she can't get into the room behind me," Naruto said. "Keep her where she's standing."
Fujimai heard Kurama sigh. A second later, fingers wrapped around one of her soft white tails. They ran from the base up to the tip.
"Three little tails," Kurama said. "Not as many as I have. They're so skinny, too. I bet they wouldn't even taste good. I heard from Naruto that you were one of Nurarihyon's."
"You know the Leader?" Fujimai asked.
"Of course I know him," Kurama said. "He gave me the most annoying fight I've ever had. Always running and playing tricks. It took me three days to land a clean blow on him." The killing intent concentrated behind Fujimai increased. "It was so satisfying to see him twitching in the crater where I left him. Of course, I don't hold a grudge about it. He's served me well since his loss."
"It was you," Fujimai said. "You're what destabilized the balance between the youkai."
"Did you just figure that out?" Kurama chuckled.
Before Fujimai could say anything else, the door she'd been attempting to get through opened. She had forgotten what she'd originally been trying to do as soon as she felt Kurama's killing intent. The ominous aura vanished when the kitsune strolled around next to Naruto.
He rubbed her head to say: thanks for the help. Kurama slapped his hand off, growling. Fujimai looked at Ravel.
The daughter of the Phenex Clan had undergone a subtle change. Her magical power had increased. Rias looked happy, while Xenovia was turning her hands over and studying them to try and find a difference.
"Let's go home," Ravel said. "We've accomplished what we needed to in the human world."
"Sounds good," Naruto said. "I'll get the gang together and we can hit the road. Do you want to help, Fujimai?"
She nodded, mostly to have an excuse to follow him. While Rias talked to her two new servants, the other three headed out to the courtyard, Kurama walking behind Fujimai and Naruto with a bored look on her face, disappointed that the entertainment was over.
Fujimai couldn't forget the feeling of Kurama's killing intent. She glanced to the side at Naruto. The speed he used to stop her…
"You're hiding your strength from your mom."
Naruto groaned. "It wasn't on purpose! Well, I mean, that wasn't the main reason. Every time I learned something new, she just panicked that it might be dangerous. I didn't want to worry her."
"I think you achieved the opposite," Fujimai said. "How powerful are you?"
Naruto smiled.
"I think I see Kuroka over there," he said, pointing across the garden. "Let's go and get her before she gets into any more trouble."
Fujimai stopped for a moment, watching Naruto walk ahead of her. Looking at him from behind, he suddenly looked taller. She was hastily correcting some of the assumptions she'd made about him. She knew he was talented and could use senjutsu despite being a devil… But she suspected his true abilities were beyond her most outrageous expectations.
He even knew that she would report this to her King. Hiding his abilities from his mom might not have been his intent when he started, but right now, with Rias's rating game idea, he wasn't going to sit down and explain it. Fujimai would have to counsel Lady Phenex to take this as seriously as possible.
She wondered if that was going to be enough.
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