Chapter - 17

Feeling absurdly underdressed in a pair of plain blue-grey pajama bottoms and a robe, Sasuke nonetheless carefully moved towards the girl and settled cross-legged on the very edge of the bearskin rug. Silence hung in the air between them, tense wariness on his part and musing thought on hers.

"Do you like my Star Chamber?"

Her voice cut through the air, blue-green regard refocusing away from the abyss of the ceiling to peer through the messy locks of her red bangs at him. Seeming content to wait on his answer, the crimson haired girl watched Sasuke with a heavy gaze until he nodded with affirmation.

The heavy gaze grew even weightier, and Sasuke wondered if he'd failed some test. But the only thing he could do was meet her eyes with a coal dark stare of his own. Some instinct warned him that trying to bullhead through things like Naruto would be – not dangerous perhaps - but very ill received.

"What do you think of it?"

"The Star Chamber?" Sasuke clarified, craning back slightly to catch the edge of the domed ceiling in his field of view.

"Yes."

Savagely repressing the urge to scoff, the Uchiha forced himself to consider the question. Was he supposed to answer honestly? Was he supposed to try and please her? But how could he? A few short minutes in company without introduction was hardly enough to accurately guess her preferences. Unless it was a trap?

There was nothing for it but to answer honestly, Sasuke supposed. If they were going to kill him off for the arbitrary answer to some pseudo-philosophical question, it wasn't like he had the power to stop them.

You are weak.

Enough.

"Solitude. It reminds me of walking through this world's darkness… and that so long as you don't shut your eyes, even the tiniest ray of light will reach you."

"I see." Airy tones reached Sasuke's ears as she rolled onto her side and propped her head on her arm to better consider him.

"Did you know I've asked that question many times ever since I saw this room? I've asked my parents. I've asked my brother, my nephew, my servants, and my friends. Every time, they've given me platitudes. 'It's beautiful'. 'It reminds me of the pure night sky'. 'It's like a shower of fireworks'. Every time, I get answers like those. You're the first person to suggest a different type of perception. Something beyond the obvious and the material."

"I see." Sasuke muttered in reply, slightly unnerved by the sharp intensity of her regard. Switching topics, the Uchiha tugged at the collar of his robe and fired the question that had been niggling him since he woke up. "How did I get here?"

The girl offered a wordless hum of acknowledgement before shrugging one shoulder. "Who could say? You washed up on the river dividing my estate. Koneko-chan found you, so we took you in. Beyond that, you know more than I do."

So, she knew just a little as Sasuke did. Damn. The shift from bleeding out in a forest to sleeping in a luxury suite was just a great black emptiness. The only clue was Ophis' voice in his ears as Sasuke bled everywhere, but even that might be a fever dream.

Do you want power?

The Uchiha was pulled out of his thoughts be a soft poke at his knee. "Well if you don't know, I don't know. But what I do know is that I want to know who you are, stranger."

"Uchiha Sasuke." He grunted, watching a thoughtful look cross her face as the girl touched a graceful finger to her full pink lips.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha… Sasuke. Hnn… Nope." She decided with a vaguely interested expression. "I've never heard of that family. Are you a reincarnated devil? Who is your master?"

Denying her instantly, Sasuke glared "I have no master."

Which was probably a poor response given how the friendly light slipped right off her face and the muscles of her arms tensed. "Are you telling me you're a stray devil, Uchiha Sasuke-san?" A red spark flared into existence before swiftly extinguishing. There was nothing overt, but the threat was clear.

Cold sweat broke out across Sasuke's back. "No." Sasuke rushed to deny, squashing back the sudden lurch of his pulse. "I've never had a master. I was just born in this underworld one day, and I've survived."

"I see." The girl mused, all hints of violence fleeing her taut form as she flopped to her back. Stray devils were those who had abandoned their masters after swearing loyalty and accepting Evil Pieces to join a peerage. Gehenna in general expected devils to at least adhere to the letter of their agreement, but the real concern with stray devils came from them running wild with the enchanted chess pieces still inside of them. It was a threat to the social order.

While most devils, even those of the lowest classes, had masters because of the feudal nature of their society and the bona-fide serfdom of the peasantry, it wasn't unheard of for the odd devil to slip through the cracks. There was no technical law against moving from one clan's territory to another, so long as the devil in question accepted the rulings of the governing family, upheld their duty to them by paying taxes, and supported them during times of crisis. The crimson haired girl likely assumed Sasuke was just another vagabond.

"And you?"

"Hmm?"

With a rush of irritation at her wandering attention, Sasuke clarified. "Who are you?"

"Rias Gremory."

Rias Gremory.

Moistening his suddenly dry lips, Sasuke swallowed. "Rias Gremory of the Gremory family? The Gremory family of the 72 Pillars?"

The expression of annoyance the crossed Rias' features passed so quickly Sasuke half wondered if he imagined it. But he didn't imagine the peeved hum of confirmation.

Shit.

Shit.

Sasuke had spent the last decade in almost complete isolation. Thieving and relying on Ophis' alms for survival, the only person the Uchiha had truly spoken with more than a couple of random times was the lolita, and after she'd vanished two years past he'd been basically a hermit.

Despite all that, Sasuke was aware of the 33 clans that remained of the original 72 Pillars.

Gremory, just like Stolas or Astaroth or Bael was a name of power. A clan of such absurd blue blood and wealth that it would make any human king green with envy. The entire government of Gehenna only functioned by the leave of those 33 clans, to the mingled bitterness and awe of commoner devils. They also elicited disgust from the Extra Demons that had sided with the Old Satan Faction in the civil war and been excluded from government after peace was made.

For the second time since being born into his second life, Sasuke was acutely aware of his own fragile mortality. The girl sprawled before him could obliterate the Uchiha with a single order, assuming Rias didn't just do it herself with the barely hidden vast well of magical power Sasuke could feel skirting on the edge of his senses.

"I see." Sasuke offered for lack of a better comment. Well, if he was about to die, at least he would die comfortable. Loosening the belt of his borrowed robe for breathability, Sasuke twisted and flopped down on his back. The fur of the bearskin rug cradled his head even as the lower half of his body stretched out over the cool black marble.

Magnificent artificial stars weren't what Sasuke would have chosen for the last thing to see in his life, but there were worse visions.

Suffocating silence gave way to a more amicable quiet as the minutes ticked by without Sasuke getting blown to pieces or threatened into some form of servitude. The Gremory princess didn't even offer to pay him to do some form of dirty work. It kind of violated his expectations of hedonistic nobility.

It was almost nice. The stillness was companionable enough. No pointless chatter filled the air. There was only the soft sound of breathing as the two young devils weighed their own thoughts. If not for the exaggerated fear of death and need for survival engendered by his recent fight, Sasuke would admit he even enjoyed it.

"Do you have any friends, Uchiha Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke barely had to think about it. Kakashi, Sakura, Team Taka – they weren't friends really. They were friendly allies, but Sasuke had never considered the former three his confidants. And Ophis - if she'd truly saved his life, she didn't consider it worth enough to stay around until he woke up. Someone like that wasn't someone Sasuke would easily label with the coveted title of friend. Naruto was his friend though, his brother even; and the Uchiha opened his mouth to answer affirmatively.

But Naruto was living his life in the other world.

Whatever fucked up process it was that summoned Sasuke to a new life and a new body, he was alone. There were no friendships this side of the void, and his jaw clicked shut.

"No. Not anymore."

Blinking back the faint hot sting in the corners of his eyes, Sasuke glared determinedly at the ceiling. It didn't matter. He'd survived almost his entire life without relying on bonds with others. Even when he acknowledged those bonds, they were so distant that they had no impact on his life most of the time.

"That sounds lonely, Uchiha Sasuke."

"It sounds like none of your business, Rias Gremory." He bit out with instinctive defensive rudeness, only to tense up once more.

Sasuke's nervousness was unfounded, as the blueblood devil only huffed a laugh at the Uchiha's snark. Cloth and fur rustled as Rias rolled onto her stomach, shimmying across the rug until she hovered within arm's reach of the dark-haired devil.

Tracing an errant hand boldly across the weaker devil's face, Rias paused with her pale hand cupped the curve of Sasuke's jaw. "Solitude." The Ruin Princess pondered absently, brushing a thumb over the Uchiha's slightly open mouth and ignoring the reluctant enthrallment in his dark eyes. "Are you lost in darkness, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sea-green eyes grew hot and intent as Rias brought her other hand forward. There was a certain desperate brittleness in her gaze that made all of Sasuke's instincts scream in suspicion, but he was too absorbed already.

Cradled within her elegant fingertips was a clear crystal chess piece. The Pawn began to glow with crimson light, dominating over the soft rainbow that was twinkling away in the midnight dome.

"Shall I show you a light?"