After the servants offered out the gaggle of children, the silence between the two of them was almost palpable. Both them were incredibly proud women who would rather die than to back down now but they weren't fooling the other. The endless march of time had changed both women. From their first meeting all those centuries ago, they were enemies that been a real nuisance for the other.
With Grayfia's powerful magic eradicating a score of soldier to Yasaka's sneaky tricks that had forced a majority of the enemy army to subsist on nothing but the morning dew. They were people of war back then and each of them vividly remembered how viscous their battles had been. How many were caught up in the aftershocks and had lost their lives.
But life had smoothed out those rough edges and neither of them were those energetic youth's with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
They had families now, they had been engulfed with that all encompassing feeling of love and care that it had smoothed out those impulses to but mere blunted daggers. But alas, there is a saying about dull daggers..
They can still cut, and the wounds they leave behind are anything but clean.
"You are looking good." Grayfia had to admit to that, if there was one thing that all Devils were envious of it was the Kitsune's incredibly long lifespans. She looked exactly the same as she did all those centuries, of course minus the intricate clothing the leader wore. Actually, put her back in that roughed up armor and it would've been like they traveled back in time.
"Thank you, so are you." Her painted lips quirked up as those golden eyes ran up the tight french maid uniform. "What's with the get up? Didn't know Sirzechs was into that."
"At first, it was for him." She was sure the man would feel mighty uncomfortable with having his business out there but if he wanted a say then he shouldn't have spoiled his sister so rotten. "But then I started liking how I looked in it and became entranced in the role."
"I'm sure your maids must feel very uncomfortable." Yasaka's laugh was light and airy, like chimes tinkling in the breeze. It was a pleasant sound that dragged the wannabe maid back into the past, making a small smile to appear on her lips. All that was missing was a bottle of brandy to share between the two of them.
"I like to believe they've gotten use to it." She lied shamelessly. It had been a few centuries since she became obsessed with dressing and acting as a maid, and none of their servants had ever gotten use to it. It had gotten so bad that the once bustling Satan mansion now only had a few residents that hadn't quit due to a 'heart attack' from seeing the very same Satan's wife sweeping or mopping.
"Indeed." The blonde nodded. "My own maids become quite frantic whenever I cook for Kunou-chan."
The warmth in her tone was evident and reminded Grayfia a lot for her fondness for her own little one. There they just submerged in those feelings of care and love, the emotions enough to wash away the bad taste Rias's behavior had left behind. Like a heavy downpour of rain to get rid of a heavy layer of dirt.
But alas all good things must come to an end.
"Why are you here, Grayfia?" Yasaka asked suddenly and it was like she could hear the metaphorical armor clicking into place. "There's no way the Sirzechs I know would ever send his wife and child to a possible enemy."
"If that's the case," The maid straightened her back until it was akin to a metal rod than something made of bone,"I'm hear to feel you out. To feel out your people's reaction to Devils...and to see if we need to worry about the Heavenly Demon coming down on our heads."
There, it was out there in the open. She wasn't here because she legitimately felt bad for what had happened to her once friend nor was it to pay back all the abuse levied at the Kitsune. The 72 Pillars had been stepping on the neck's of Yokai for centuries without fear of reprisal and would've continued to escalate things until the blonde became nothing more than a plaything of some heir. Her faction laid in shambles, her people enslaved and her legacy tarnished.
But now with her master back, how would he react to seeing his favorite disciple forced into a corner as such? It would be a slaughter of such proportions that their entire race would've been destroyed. Slain to the last. And instead of Yasaka's empire being nothing more than a memory, it would be the Devils being relegated as mere myths. Their history dashed, and their legacy considered poison for any who dared to dig too deeply.
Grayfia didn't come here to make amends, she came to appease the wrath of a roaming god. And if possible, take him out if it came down to it.
Yasaka laughed. Deeply, and hardily. Resembling nothing like that warm or delicate giggle that would've slipped past even the coldest of hearts. No, she current sounded like a creature toying with their prey. Malicious and slightly mocking in the way her shoulder's shook. A flash of gold flickered across her narrowed eyes, a vindictive smile stretching across her face.
Fate had played the Devils a cruel hand. They were provided with a punching bag of a faction for centuries, where all they did was take and take and take. It was safe to say that they had benefited a lot from that kind of relationship. But now it was time to pay the pied piper.
"I haven't heard from either you or Sirzechs in centuries," The Kitsune calmed in one breathe, hiding her venom beneath a suddenly unfurled fan. Her nails glistened under the sun that streamed in," I've sent a multitude of letters to both of you. In fact, if you had read any of them they would've shown that I had begun to beg. I wasn't asking for a lot, just keep your Houses on a tighter leash. To ease the boot your people had off my neck. To even have Serafall pick up this case and take it from the hands of the 72 Pillars. Nothing that would've cost you anything."
"I was even willing to take on an Evil Piece if that was required for my daughter and people to be safe…" There her voice dropped to a mere whisper, seeming as to the world as nothing but a defenseless girl. But Grayfia knew differently, this was no delicate flower. The woman was a Venus fly trap trying to lure her in with sweet words and appearances. Everything she had said so far was true. The maid had seen the mass of letters Sirzechs received before leaving and she had even noticed a few letters addressed to her of all people. Despite that, it hadn't earned her further attention beyond a passing interest.
"And after centuries, only now do you appear before me. Only now do I receive answers to letters from centuries ago. Only now am I worth your time? I fought in YOUR war!"
It felt as though her organs were be squeezed simultaneously, like a hand had reached out and tugged with the gentleness of a naughty child. Sweat drenched her entire body as breathing became a chore of epic proportions, sending heavy droplets to collect on the wooden floors. But when the edges of her vision began to blur, she had enough. And with a force of will, she allowed her magical aura to push back against the rising pressure.
Strands of arcane energy, each as thick as a single forearm, curled protectively around her organs and suddenly she could breathe once more. Instead of going further to lash out at the Kitsune across from her, she allowed that display to showcase her unwillingness to take further abuse.
'It seems those lessons were of actual use…'
Despite how much the man unnerved her, his tips hadn't gone unheard. Developing a defense against Divine Pressure was of the utmost paramount if she was ever responsible for killing an Ancient Senjutsu Practitioner. It didn't matter how powerful your spells were or how fast you were, if your organs just couldn't work then you were dead.
"Let's stop playing these games Yasaka." Grayfia said after patting down her maid's uniform thoroughly, having her organs nearly crushed wasn't an excuse to have wrinkled clothing after all. She wanted to end this conversation as fast as possible, having felt the steady draw of magic the spell sucked away like a veracious beast. "What is it you want?"
It was like a switch was flipped as the Kitsune looked at her, that expression of outrage and hurt sliding away under a cold and calculative look that made the woman look more like a fox than a person. Honestly, she looked annoyed above all else.
"Simple." She shrugged a single shoulder and stood to her full height, tails unfurling behind her as she looked down imperiously on the still sitting Devil. Golden eyes carrying so much disdain for her very existence, as though she was some sort of disgusting bug that had dared to crawl out of the nearby sewer. "Nothing. I want nothing from you people. No materials, no justice, nothing at all. Everything I wanted from you was already written in ink a while ago. I will continue to play as though we are allies. We will come to your aid if it comes down to it, as written in the treaty. But Grayfia Lucifuge, we are not friends. Nor will my people ever see you as nothing more than just that."
And with that her clomping footsteps could be heard as she walked to the open door, the showing of her back both an insult and a statement. If she dared to attack, the world would truly learn who was stronger. The Strongest Queen or The Demon Fox. Also that simple action had acted as a preferable door being slammed on their relationship, Yasaka had truly severed any bonds with Grayfia from that day forward. This was possibly the only time she would get a meeting this easily again and even then, it would never be as friends. But as foreign diplomat and Faction Leader.
She felt a strange tightening in her chest and this time, it had nothing to do with the pressure. Because of her actions during the war, none looked too fondly onto her. Even most of her 'allies' saw her as nothing more than a traitor that had caught a scent of the changing tides. Meaning, the only people she really spoke to on a personal basis was her husband, son and finally, the Yokai that had made it her business to walk out on centuries of friendship. And there was nothing she could to stop this chapter of their lives from closing.
But that didn't stop her from asking one last question, a last hurrah to ship off this newly severed bond.
"Why?"
Yasaka stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around, after all for what reason did an empress have to glance upon a maid?
"Simple. I don't wish to force Master to sully his hands with your blood, he is no weapon to just be pointed in a direction of my enemies. Plus besides, Devils are naturally self destructive. You'll end yourselves without me or him ever lifting a finger. Goodbye Grayfia Lucifuge."