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FICTION

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Chapter 26: But also not!

Maybe I should've expected for things to be far from idyllic. Even that walk, that simple action that had long grown in me as a good thing to go through without fearing any problem, soon was tainted by the chances of being ambushed.

The first clue that today was far from 'over' came in the form of a single statement that only I heard as it was established within my head.

Someone is trailing us.

The mere affirmation caused me to tense up momentarily, just for a brief moment as I continued to stare forward and ignore the need to check around the group.

Ingvild had decided against staying back at school to finish some of the preparations needed for Hamlet, with Baraqiel having refused the duty of picking her up to not risk chances of finding her daughter around the premises of the school.

Thus it was just me, Kunou, Invgild, and Koneko. And our tracker.

Someone I know about?

…I don't know. I think the energy pattern is familiar. Maybe something I've felt while I was dormant… thus not someone from this town.

And that reply offered me much and close to nothing. While this crossed the possibility of it being some Devils in Kuoh Town following us, it didn't help me lessen the various candidates that could've been behind this ordeal.

All candidates were equally troublesome, with a couple of exceptions that made any encounters nightmarish.

Starting with Ophis. The Infinity Dragon would definitely love to make a comeback after so long, but I would have seen her attack now, directly and without any waiting.

Kimiko would easily win another battle about that…

Next were the Pendragon Siblings. They didn't have a reason to hunt me down but… who knows what people do in this universe without a legitimate reason behind their actions.

Then there was… Cao-Cao? He couldn't track me down… especially when his priority should be retrieving True Longinus before finding me.

Finally… Rivezim? The man would've been recognized by Lucifer, and just like Ophis, wouldn't have wasted time trailing us.

Who was hunting us? And why did I feel like I should facepalm right now?

Instead of lingering on these inconsequential thoughts, I shifted my attention to another situation. I could technically get us all out of there and back to home.

I had a Seal specifically made for this kind of situation, and while that would get us out of trouble at once, I knew that the tracker would've taken the opportunity to change their pattern and avoid making mistakes if Baraqiel was alerted.

…

But what if I tried to trick our pursuer?

Engaging a battle right now would be cumbersome for me. Kunou and Koneko were the only one that had some legitimate fighting prowess, with Ingvild's abilities relying on her natural Devil disposition and her Sacred Gear meant to weaken Dragon targets.

Considering the chances of us being trailed by someone with dragonic nature… yeah, I wasn't going to bite that bullet right now.

Thus I had a single plan in mind. One that could end up with me getting some heavy lecturing from Baraqiel, but if it all worked as perfectly as I wanted, then it was going to be the only thing I was going to worry about once this was all over.

"Oh, before I forget," I muttered loudly, interrupting the conversation the girls were busying themselves with. "There is something that I forgot to give you, Ku-chan."

The blonde blinked in confusion at first, but then her eyes widened as I reached for her right hand, leaving the paper with the seal in there.

She glanced at it just briefly before tensing up in recognition. "N-Niichan-"

"I want you to use it when I tell you. Then you tell him to find me as quickly as possible."

"What is going on?" Koneko asked, turning to her Kohai. Ingvild looked confused too, but she didn't speak, realizing that I was quite serious about the situation.

"Seal to home. Stalker," I answered curtly. "Both of you keep near to Ku-chan. I will see you soon."

"I… O-Ok," Kunou muttered before nodding with a determined look. Silence ensued for a while as I started to count how much time I would have to turn the nearby corner and bolt away in a safer position.

…

"Now."

My voice was louder, and the young Kitsune activated the seal, opening a portal right back to the living room of my house. Once they disappeared from sight, I bolted away from the current position, leaving some cracks on the concrete of the sidewalk with that sudden blitz.

I was glad nobody was around to see this, but I wasn't planning to fight in the streets. I needed somewhere that would avoid dragging attention on me. A place that was naturally inaccessible…

And that was the roof of a building.

Using some Silver Linings, I propelled myself over a parking lot with multiple floors. Once I had landed atop of a large unused area, I took a moment to look around for any hints of our pursuer and… nothing happened.

Frowning, I lessened my guard just for a moment, looking more for anything that could give me sight over the stalker and… I paused when I saw a black cat curling on the roof of one of the cars nearby.

One would easily confuse it for a simple stray kitty that had wandered to a spot where to enjoy some sun but… I could feel some magic from it.

A familiar.

Which meant that its owner had to be nearby and-

Behind!

I rolled just in time, the dark blur that dived for my back ended up slamming and crashing part of the surface we were standing on.

Taking a guarded stance, I allowed the dust to settle- to reveal that my worries were indeed true in front of me.

"Nya~ You're faster than last time."

"And you are as cheeky as I remember you."

The rebuttal was met with a raspberry. "Meanie, I know ya love my company."

"Only if you submit so I can haul you to Grigori's own prison."

A huff left Kuroka's lips as she adjusted her Kimono, a mirthful expression on her face as she straightened herself up.

"My, oh my, you say one thing and then you behave like a pervert," The woman accused giddily. "'Submit me'? I didn't know you were into that stuff, Matey."

"I can use that word in its proper usage, but I suppose you lack the maturity to understand that," I replied fiercely. "And… Matey?"

"You like it? It's a pet name I wanted to use with you. You see… you made me think a lot of things about my life," Kuroka explained, sounding as genuine as she could be. "It was a little after I was kicked by that crazy brigade after being 'beaten by a lowly member of Grigori'. Do you know anything about him?"

She was… out of the Khaos Brigade?

"Only that he is currently napping away from Kuoh and from Japan altogether."

Before I had the chance to say more, I found myself backing away as she rushed towards me. I blocked the first three punches, then rolled away to dodge two rapid kicks.

"Li-ar~!" The woman rebuked before allowing a brief giggle. "Still, I respect the fact you're trying to keep your appearances. If some of my former bosses knew that you were here… they would definitely try to siege Kuoh much earlier than planned."

I formed two Light Lances, busying my hands as I bolted towards her. She erected a couple of concrete walls from the floor of the roof. I slammed through, piercing easily through the barriers, but failing to catch up with the faster Nekoshou.

"You're really going all in with that stupid act, aren't you? I can't see you ditching the fun place like that."

My banter was met with a sigh, my offensive halted and countered by numerous balls of Ki rushing towards me. I blamed senjutsu, the skill allowing the dark-haired catgirl to keep on going with this, barraging me with Ki blasts-

Goddammit, I miss Dragon Ball!

"That's why I was the one kicked, and not the one that quit!" She remarked dryly. "I swear, it seems like you're not even listening. And that needs to change if you want to have a happy life as my mate."

"I don't recall doing anything warranting that much… affection."

I swiftly tried to stop the barrage with a quick strafe of Lightning bolts, only for the attacks to be dodged and mostly ignored as most were shredded by the ki-based attacks. I needed to change tactics to something stronger and impossible to block.

And I had just something that could've worked… but I needed an opportunity to strike.

"Oh, you humble lovely man. Of course you did, it's just that you can't accept the love in the air~," She paused to sniff around as in to emphasize, only to regret this choice of action since there was an unpleasant stench coming from some trash cans nearby. "And the romantic moment is ruined."

"I'm not strong enough to warrant the attention-"

"But you have the potential to be strong, and you have a good mind and heart- plus you're nice with my little Shirone."

So, she saw us like that. I wonder how much she thought of it.

"You mean… Koneko? The silver-haired girl?"

She nodded, her smile widening at that inquiry.

"She has grown so much! I can tell that she can easily be a pest against a High-tier Devil, but there is something I need to ask since you two seem rather close," Kuroka muttered with a serious tone. "...Does she know about Jojo?"

…

"I introduced her to Part 1."

"Then it's settled. I need to marry you-"

"Like hell you will!"

She giggled. "How rude. A girl opens her full heart to you, and you reject her without giving her a chance."

"I think the chances for this burned together with some bridges. Something about being a criminal that tried to kidnap someone I care for," I remarked calmly, holding a dark orb of energy in my left palm. "By the way, dodge this!"

I threw the sphere at her, the magical construct soaring without restraint towards her… quietly slamming onto the Ki blasts and… exploding in more smaller spheres instead of shattering.

The process continued some more, until the smaller balls ended up breaking in a storm of needles all around their proximity.

The senbon-like projectiles trailed way faster than any of the attacks thrown by the girl, and there were way too many to counter all of them at once.

Panic rushed to Kuroka's face as she dropped the attacks to produce a quick magical barrier. The shield held against the large majority of problems, but a couple of needles managed to find 'home' by her legs and left arm.

With that partial success, her face fought off all the pain erupting from the new injuries… but she was barely prepared to react at my next spell.

At first the woman felt at ease as she saw a familiar string of silver appearing in front of her barrier, this Silver Lining moving upwards and allowing its tip to rush swiftly down in a momentum-driven attack.

She ignored the danger, and thus my newest ability, Silver Whip, had an easy way to slam into her shield… shattering it without issue.

It was all Physics in its natural expression through magic.

Pressure could be created by two simple factors. Force and the Area of action.

The less the Area was when the Force was exerted, the greater the Pressure was going to be. In this case, by using the Force created by the whip-like effect of a Silver Lining onto the little spot its tip was going to hit, I managed to rush all the Energy accumulated within the motion into a single quantity of Force.

The attack might seem feeble from the distance, but it was all about being able to see the smaller picture of a battle.

Kuroka failed to do so, and she stumbled back in surprise and pain when her only defense against me crumbled before her eyes.

I rushed for a final attack, this one meant to put an end to this farce of a fight. Silver Linings formed around her arms and legs, binding those together as she was flipped on the side all so suddenly.

She struggled against her restraint, but I created more of those. The light magic was hurting her, thus I had it lower a tone or two down before it could cut her hands and feet off.

"K-Kinky, but I'm not into this stuff."

"Good, then you will be happy to know that Grigori prefers to leave dangerous criminals like you in solitary cells."

"Oh, the cruelty," The Nekoshou bemoaned with fake horror, yawning as to show that she cared little of what I had just said. "But I think Azazel will not have me sent to prison."

I frowned. "How so?"

She giggled. "You see, since I'm no longer stuck with Rizevim and the other Old Satan Families, I have all reasons to seek membership in Grigori."

…She wasn't planning to-

"Azazel wouldn't allow a terrorist to the Underworld in his group."

The Nekoshou merely smiled at my refusal.

"He allowed you, a simple human that has ties with Kuoh Academy, in. Your revelation can cause quite upheaval among the factions since you are so close to strike the little sisters of two of the Satans."

And that wasn't something I had the chance of thinking about until now. She wasn't lying by bringing up how dangerous it would be for my existence if Rias discovered the truth. To have a Grigori agent in her school? She would speak to her brother and, knowing Sirzechs, he would do short work for me if only for worrying about his little sibling's wellbeing.

The incident would bring tension and a serious simmering of relations between Hell and Grigori. And that would be a loss-loss scenario for me.

"And you expect to be pardoned because… you have a chance?"

"I have information he needs," Kuroka rebuked mirthfully. "Stuff that would avoid the full collapse of Grigori. Traitors, spies and… plotters."

"Truly? And how can he trust you?"

"I'm willing to sign a magical contract if needed. I've nothing to lose by bailing those jerks."

…

I crouched down to look at her restraints, knowing that she was eventually going to get free the moment Baraqiel acquiesced to that kind of demand.

"Why did you come here in Kuoh Town? Why not try elsewhere?"

Her bravado faltered for a moment and she looked away for some reason.

"If I've to be honest, I wanted to check on my adorable sister before trying my luck somewhere far from here… but then I saw you. I recognized your scent."

"And you decided to stalk us… why?"

"Didn't I tell you?" The Nekoshou retorted giddily. "I wanted to see how nice my matey was with my Shirone."

I frowned sternly at the frustrating personality of hers. "Don't you get tired of being a fucking liar?"

"Oh? Mr. Pot calls Ms. Kettle? How are you-"

"I lie to protect those I care for, but what do you get by demonizing yourself?"

…

"What?"

"Do you really think I believe the crappy spiel of some Devil politicians that you went mad with power? That you killed your former Master out of insanity?"

"It worked until now," The catgirl pointed out. "But I suppose you know that it is quite the Bullshit, how?"

"You're a pervert, but you are too focused to be crazy. Too logical even in those annoying bouts of yours," I replied curtly. "I can tell that the bastard tried to do something to Koneko, but you stopped him."

…

"How?"

"She has nightmares," I answered quickly. "And she was literally left without emotional support for a long time."

… "My sister is strong-"

"She was a child. You could've taken her with you-"

"And then what?" She demanded with a stronger tone, ditching her coy attitude for a more serious one. "Force her to live the horrible life I did? Get her to go through the groveling I had to endure all for the sake of living through the worst!?"

"I wanted you to give her a life! Because in your own majestic plan, you thought it smarter to ditch her to the authorities," I yelled back, her eyes widened in a mix of anger and surprise at my retaliation. "She was going to be executed for your crimes- and yet you still think now that it was the brightest idea you could've gone for-"

"I was afraid!"

…

"I was fucking afraid that I had to slaughter that pig to save her- to not allow father's work to be forced on Shirone- for her innocence to be spared by- BY THAT FUCKING BASTARD'S WORK!"

Her furious take on the discussion was then mixed with some action. I didn't notice her break through her restraints until it was too late as her Touki-enchanted fist slammed onto my chin and sent me soaring for a moment.

Some Dark Lining wrapping around my waist and pulling me down on the ground, pain exploding all over my body once the fall was over, but the swift kick that ensued sent me rolling for a couple of meters to leave me in utter agony.

She advanced towards me and… I felt something shuffle in my shirt. Kimiko left the safety of my clothes, standing between me and the approaching Nekoshou.

I couldn't move, my limbs too strained after that sudden rolling and… I didn't have any Phoenix Tears to use at the moment. So I stared, my heart drumming louder and louder with each step the woman took towards us.

The little familiar was ready to fight but… then the Sprite Dragon eased her guard once our enemy was over us. I was confused at first but then I felt a sob, then two… finally the woman crouched down and sat close to us. I could now see her crying self and I was confused by it.

"I- I didn't want to go that far- but I had to. Mama said- Mama said to keep an eye for her- Shirone. She- She deserves freedom and… and happiness."

But what about you?

I couldn't ask. I didn't have the strength to do so.

A few moments after she said those words, a familiar figure landed a couple of meters behind her. Kuroka tensed up, her head arching away from her leaned down position as she turned to grace a furious Baraqiel.

"What have you done to my student?"

The air felt zapping all too suddenly, and I felt the need to cough at the unpleasant atmosphere.

"I deserve punishment."

Confusion doubled back in my brain as I listened to Kuroka's words.

"I will take anything."

So empty, so devoid of life… what the heck? What is going on?!

"Death should be your punishment-"

"N-No."

My voice was hoarse, but I could actually speak even if limited by my injuries.

"She is a criminal."

"She is… not."

"The decision is-"

"Mine."

The Fallen Angel looked annoyed but mostly confused by my attempt. And he wasn't the only one from the way Kuroka looked all tense and almost ready to turn around to quiet me down.

"Why?"

…

"I… trust her."

The sobbing resumed and Baraqiel found himself handling the craziest scene he could've expected from this encounter. If only he knew how things were just beginning to be this strange…

"She is here."

Koneko was sitting on the couch right in front of the one I was resting by. She was attentive, she looked uneasy and unhappy with the situation she could perceive.

But worst of all, she looked ready to attack the room where Baraqiel had sealed the older Nekoshou to. The guest room was completely enclosed in a special space-time barrier that wouldn't be possible to break from anyone weaker than the Fallen Angel, thus rendering any attempt of escaping for Kuroka impossible.

Kunou was nuzzling on my chest, the girl looking worried and terrified, while Ingvild was offering me a lap-pillow as she played a little with my hair to soothe her own concerns.

I had taken some Phoenix Tears, but I still felt drained after that crazy fight. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to look at it, except for how maddening it was.

Kuroka was a character I never understood to begin with. While one could attribute her normal attitude to years of living as a 'stray Devil', I knew that this facade had to be something of an illusion she had built over the span of several years.

Despite how strong and fierce she was both in body, spirit, and mind, the young woman was still someone that cared immensely for her sister.

The series never brought up how the dark-haired Nekoshou felt when her sister was close to being executed, and it didn't even try to make a compelling effort to patch things up between them.

Koneko was way more traumatized than the show had displayed her to be, and thus I wasn't much surprised that there was something more to the older cat-girl that just didn't match with the way she was portrayed in the original timeline.

Too confident, too easy going- one could be those in a normal circumstance… but when those traits were conceived out of an ugly situation like the one that saw Kuroka kill her former Master and jeopardize years of progress? I knew it wasn't meant to last.

She was going to recover. Despite that nervous breakdown, I knew that these were elements that were going to stay as those were defining to Kuroka's character. She was meant to be cocky, stubborn, and something of a teasing woman… but something was to change after today if she wanted to genuinely repair the burnt bridge she had left with her sister.

Things were different, everything was a tiny bit more serious compared to what I knew and… people were meant to change to adapt to the circumstances.

The only thing I was certain of these uneasy times was that I had to keep an eye out for Koneko. She was already pissed at the development, but she had yet to say anything about it.

She didn't know the truth, she didn't know what really pushed her sister to kill the hand that fed them both. And that ignorance was going to be painful to handle without creating mistrust between her and me.

You sure know how to put yourself in a lake of drama when you want.

When I want? Since when do I want to be forced to deal with this BS?!

Since you care. I think we had this conversation.

Prick.

"Why is she here?" The silver-haired Nekoshou finally asked about, her eyes turning to me. "Why is she here when she hurt you so much?"

…

"She is going to be evaluated for recruitment."

"She tried to kidnap me," Kunou rebuked quietly. "She is a bad person."

I sighed, scratching her foxy ears as I pondered over the words I had to use to avoid a riot in the living room.

"She intends to backstab those that planned to kidnap you. And that would save lives."

Koneko groaned at this. "Kuroka is not stable. She can't be taken in as a trustworthy agent."

…

"You can't be serious. You believe that-"

"I know things you don't, Koneko. Stuff about what happened the day she left."

…

"How?"

"I dug around the matter. Grigori actually has a dossier about the matter… and let's just say that the Underworld tried to bring that storm under the rug."

"Is she bad?" Ingvild asked. "You didn't say anything about that."

Fair concern, I conceded within the safe walls of my mind, and answering it was going to be a pain in the butt.

"She is… not."

"She is insane!" Koneko remarked sternly. "She killed our family, she tried to kidnap Ku-kohai- and you dare to say she isn't a bad person!"

…

"Yes."

…

…

"WHY!?"

I groaned at the loud exclamation. "Because there is-"

"Something I don't know. And that is? How does that spare her of her crimes?"

I couldn't actually tell her the whole truth without pissing off Kuroka. She might be dealing with the breakdown, but I was quite sure she would murder me if I said anything about it.

Yet, something peculiar happened. And it all started when a certain woman quipped with a quiet tone.

"He can't tell you. I demanded him to not say anything."

Kuroka was walking beside Baraqiel, her frame restrained by several chains with seal marks within their surfaces.

"You- Why are you here?!"

"She is currently a prisoner to Grigori. I've sent a message to Azazel to consider her proposal… and I believe that she will be accepted."

"How- How dare you-"

"Young Koneko, you're asking questions to the wrong people," The Fallen Angel interrupted. "The one that has all the answers is your sister. But even so, I wouldn't be keen to know the truth if I was you as it is painful and-"

"I deserve to know!"

…

"Yes," Kuroka muttered. "You do deserve the truth."

…

"And?" Koneko pressed on, growing impatient because of the silence from her sister.

"Your mother's name. It was Fujimai."

Both Nekoshous snapped their attention on me and I sighed at the dual combo of surprise and confusion.

"My… My mother?"

"Mama was beautiful," Kuroka started to narrate. "She would always be there to keep watch over us. I was… a pest. I would always cause trouble wherever I went and… you were an adorable baby."

"Why… why is this important?"

"Father was a researcher. He was… diligent. Obsessed," The woman replied with a sigh. "His love for us was different from Mama's. Mama loved us as her children, while Father saw us as a chance to further his studies."

"The project your father was assigned to was something that stemmed from the rarities among the Underworld's races," I spoke up with a tired voice. "The Nekoshous were a rarity to the Nekomatas and that served in developing theories about a new kind of Devil. A better version of what one could expect from normal ones."

"Father eventually failed to stand up for his duties as a parent," The dark-haired woman added. "He saw us as candidates and Mama acted against it. She died to end his madness for once and save us from suffering because of it."

...

"Mother… how did she look?" Koneko inquired softly.

"You resemble her a lot. She was silver-haired too," Kuroka replied with a slow nod. "And the reason why our parents are important in this matter is… that Master took us in because of our father's research. None of the kindness he showed us was true."

…

"You're lying-"

"Shirone-"

"I- I can remember these times. When his Peerage would treat us as a family. I was happy, you were happy-"

"I was used as a tool for his amusement. I was sent against the worst odds and… expected to perish so you wouldn't have had any guardians to rely to."

"The peerage-"

"Would've had no choice but submit to their Master," I muttered calmly, intervening again. "It's the rules."

"B-But… this- it's just… why? Why then did you leave me?"

"If I took you with me you would've been branded a traitor like I was," Kuroka replied slowly. "And I wanted you to have a life that wasn't like mine, always on the run."

"I was put on trial. I was going to be executed if it wasn't for Buchou… how is that better than what you had to go through?"

"It wasn't as easy as you think-"

"I was about to be fucking executed and you're trying to tell me that 'it was not easy' to live like that?!"

"Shirone… I didn't know that-"

"I don't forgive you," Koneko replied resolutely. "I refuse to see how this can ever forgive you. You left me, you ditched me, all because you were afraid of being my sister and failing at it."

…

"But I also thank you for… telling me the truth," The girl admitted. "I wanted answers and now I have those. I'm not happy how you gave them to me, after so many years of thinking that you just went insane and… killed everything that mattered to me."

"I'm sorry."

The conversation ended there, and Kuroka was taken back to her room at Baraqiel's demand.

The living room was quiet and… nobody was willing to talk for some time.

The atmosphere was still tense and I too was unsure how I was supposed to handle this.

Kuroka had told the truth, but I wasn't planning to have her do that this suddenly or quickly. As expected, Koneko wasn't happy with the truth as it felt so meaningless, so purposeless.

It made redemption a harder case for her sister to accomplish and… I couldn't see a way for me to facilitate that.

I knew both were meaning well… but I couldn't do much without hurting them both at once.

And yet, I found myself saying some words that were going to hurt Koneko right now as… It was just a duty as a senior student and surrogate sibling for me to go through.

"Koneko-"

"I'm sorry," She interrupted suddenly. "I should've… not yelled like that."

"It's alright," I forgave quietly. "You were angry, you were confused- and you did have the rights to know."

"I'm still sorry."

I nodded. "I hope you understand that I have to ask you to spend the night here."

The girl tensed up at the sudden change of topic, but her nervous look suggested she was more unwilling than else.

"I… She is here-"

"And I will make sure she will stay in her room and that will not be let out until you're here," I assured her with a nod. "I know you aren't happy about it, but I can't allow you to sleep tonight without someone to keep an eye out for any panic attacks."

Her uneasiness increased, and I could tell from her nervous look. "I… I'm fine. I will be fine."

"I'm not backing away-"

"N-Neither am I, Senpai!"

…

"I suppose we're in an impasse. I guess you're staying."

She frowned at that. "I said no."

"And I said yes, and thus it's a yes."

"How- Why?!"

"Because Senpai is responsible enough to not allow you to be a dummy, and I will not concede any compromises."

…

"Senpai, you're dumb."

"And you're dumber, kohai!"

Koneko cracked a smile at the response and… she crouched on her couch, looking at my chest with a mischievous look. Her eyes locked on Kunou's and the Kitsune giggled for some reason.

It all happened suddenly, with the blonde moving away from me as a certain Nekoshou, now exposing her cat ears and tail as she jumped towards me.

The scene saw my jaws drop, my eyes widen and… my chest compressed at the sudden weight slamming on it. Groaning, I was forced to smile at the ensuing giggles from the cheeky kohai.

"I don't recall offering the spot."

"Well, I wanted to- so it's settled."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because Kohai is responsible enough to not allow you to be a dummy, and I will not concede any compromises-Gah!"

"You don't sound much smartassy when I'm pinching your cheeks, Kohai."

"Nwoooh~!"

I knew it was the confusing new info entering her mind making her mellow and more than happy to give in to any emotional support, but I wasn't going to shy out from that chance.

This senpai ain't allowing his kohai to suffer a nightmare-fueled night!

AN

Some serious words about this chapter: Many expected this to be mostly light-hearted. Understandable. Now imagine the situation and how Kuroka tried to handle it. Not only did she try to get hired by Grigori after fighting Hoitsu, but she partly expected forgiveness by telling the truth so soon. I love her character, but I have to treat her properly through a growth for it to be a legitimate case of 'love'.

Some people will 'accuse' me of changing characters' personalities 'too much', when in truth what I'm doing is actually applying canon within a realistic scenario. Kuroka couldn't just be forgiven with some Senjutsu/Touki training and a heartfelt talk.

Koneko was close to fucking die when she was a little less than ten, and that's horrifying to even consider as something solved with that little. It's not a critic to canon, merely a defense to my perspective on the matter. The show is good as it is most of the time, but I will not accept anything that is legitimately too silly to apply to reality.

This marks the beginning of a road for both Koneko and Kuroka to take. None will change 'too much' in this path, but they will start to develop over their respective surroundings. Don't expect anything immediate or a complete flip of their personalities, Kuroka is still a cheeky pervert, and Koneko will serve as her partial opposite.

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REVIEW Q&A!

Fan XXI: Maybe.

Flygar: Correction, Heliel became a cunt after getting thrown out.

Guest (Chapter 29): There are some elements on their case that have yet to be brought up in this story. I'm working with this situation, it's not like I would've wanted perverts of this caliber to be set free like this for so long…

Zerak: If I did, I would've to bloat the AN. And that would be bad. Plus, you can use the Dms if it's that problematic to remember the reviews (or even check the Review tab for your User page).