Koneko

Koneko's eyes opened and she took in an unpleasantly familiar sight. Dreams suck, she thought, beholding the house she had grown up in, before Kuroka had changed. She begrudgingly gave in to her subconscious and walked up to the door, pushing it open as she had so many times before. She knew what awaited her behind the door. Her sister lay outstretched on a large sofa, an emerald green ball of pulsating energy held in her right hand. It illuminated her face distorted into a sickening grimace, her jet-black ears and tail flicking in delight. Before her sister lay a body so destroyed Koneko nearly vomited at the sight of it. Only the sticklike black wings that protruded from its back gave away that the unfortunate creature must have been a devil. Koneko screamed out in horror, and her sister turned towards her and spoke with a disembodied whisper.

"That little priestess of yours is next, Shirone."

Koneko's eyes flew open and landed on Asia, still laying next to her. Her slow breathing was calming, but there was no chance she was getting any more sleep after that. She quietly slipped out of Asia's room and headed to her usual midnight thinking spot, the small balcony at the end of the hallway. She sat, pulling her knees up to her chest and letting the moonlight wash over her. I might not be as strong as you, Kuroka, but if you touch her I won't show you any mercy, even if you are my sister. The thought made her sick. Families were supposed to love each other unconditionally, weren't they? I don't want to fight her. She wished she could have had anyone else for a sister. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"You've been coming out here almost every night," a small voice chirped from the doorway. Koneko turned to see a small silhouette in the shadow of the hallway.

"Hi, Gaspy," Koneko replied. "You can't sleep either?"

"Not really, even though I can go out during the day, I don't want to. There's just too many people for me." He stepped out and sat beside her, his blood-red eyes glittering as the moonlight reflected off them. Koneko patted his head and Gasper smiled. She had a particular fondness for the cute boy. She knew what it was like to carry the burden of having too much power to control. Gasper rested his head on her arm.

"Are you doing alright after everything that's happened, Gaspy?" The second the words left her mouth, Gasper's face fell, and he looked almost as if he were about to cry. She wished she'd worded it better, but she tried to salvage it. "I know you looked up to him, I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

Gasper stood up, glowered at Koneko, and puffed out his chest, trying very hard not to look as short as he was. "It's my job as a man of the Gremory household! Protect all the ladies! That's what Issei told me!" Koneko couldn't help but be proud of how far he had come from the little boy that cried to even be set free from that dark room in the old schoolhouse. He continued, "I'm just not as strong as Issei...I can't even control my powers without him giving me his blood..."

"I'm sure you will, Gaspy. When the time comes, I know you'll know what to do." Gasper beamed at her.

"Thanks, Koneko." He said, turning on his heel and walking back down the hallway. Koneko waited a few moments, and followed him back down the hallway, sliding back into bed next to Asia. She stirred and sleepily mumbled something Koneko couldn't even hope to try to understand. She kissed Asia's cheek as softly as she could, as to not wake her. Before she drifted off to sleep, she whispered,

"I love you, Asia."

A/N: I know this one's a little short but I'm trying to get all my plot points in place before the big midpoint and I'm DESPERATELY trying to get back to regular biweekly/weekly uploads. Thank you to everyone that's been here from the start that's had to wait this long, I've just had so much going on that it's hard to sit down to write. If you're still enjoying, please like, follow, pm me, or whatever. As always, thank you for reading!

-Nighthawk